back when

 Sometimes I miss the good  old days

    I guess I am just a little nostalgic tonight.

    I miss the simpler things. 

    Riding a bike.  Playing ball in the alley. Walking to the movie house to watch John Wayne.

    Catching fireflies.  Playing outside  until the street lights came on.

    The gang I hung around with when gangs were groups of friends, not drug runners or other types of nefarious individuals.

    I miss holding a newspaper in my hands, smelling the ink and having to wash my hands when I was done reading.  We had the Tribune, Sun Times, American, and Daily News when I was young and it was great to read the printed word.  Especially Mike Royko.

    I miss playing with my cousins and eating Milk Bones on a dare, finding out I liked them and continuing to eat  them after the dare was done.

    I miss the joy of Earnie Banks and the unabashed Cub lover Jack Brickhouse calling games and going "wooo heee" or "Hey Hey" when a Cub homered.

    I know my childhood was special because of where I lived and who I was.

    I wasn't aware of the injustices people faced until I heard about civil rights workers being killed, and marchers being blasted by hoses and chased by dogs.

    I remember getting vaccinated agains polio while thousands did not and got sick.

    I don't think I knew anyone who was gay, because that was hidden and not condoned.

    What I did not know made for a simpler life.

    And some of that I miss.  Other parts I don't miss, and neither do those who had. their rights and lives taken away because of the color of their skin or sexual  lifestyles.

    I hope someday kids will look back and remember the good things.

    And someday when kids look back maybe they won't have to remember hatred, war, hunger or poverty.

    Because it won't exist.

    Except in memories of old people.

    Like me.

          Peace and Love

                Especially Peace

A little off the top

 I started trimming bushes today

    We have 15 boxwoods along the front of the house.

    Jackie does not like it when they "touch" each other, so that means I have to trim.

    I had planned on doing 2, then resting, doing 2, then resting......just to give my aging body a break.

    I was starting the fifth one when a friend stopped by.  Thank heavens.

    I had not stopped to rest.  I had not followed my own script.  So a visit was lifesaver.

    I was not at work long because we made a run to Sycamore so Jackie could get her glasses adjusted.  So we do not waste a trip, I also went to Target, Menards, Ulta and Starbucks.  

    There are a couple of people outside the entrance to the shopping complex housing Ulta.  They hold signs asking for money.

    One guy waves at every car that passes, giving off a big smile. He is either deleriously happy or he's an idiot.  Either way, I take the back entrance out because I feel guilty sipping a $90 coffee near him.  Well, not 90, but a lot.

    I should not feel that way.  But I do.

    Anyway, Nadine was driving by and spotted me out working and stopped.  While here we chatted and solved some tech problems with our phones.  Rather Julia solved them.

    Tomorrow could be a rain day.  I would not mind that.

    But I would not mind getting the rest of the buses trimmed either.

    Time will tell.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

whew!!

 I was productive today

    That is unusual.

    Our morning help leaves at 11.  At a little after 10 I went out to the front porch for a 30 minute nap.

    I did not take my phone.

    Then there was a slight miscommunication.

    I woke at 11:45.

    Jackie rolled herself to the front door, opened it, and called me.  If she hadn't, I might still be asleep.

    I should have plainly said wake me when you leave.  But I didn't. Lesson learned.

    When I was a kid growing up in Chicago, we had a front porch that was partially screened in.

    There was a white iron chaise lounge, with a real comfy cushion, on the porch.

    Sometimes in the summer I would sleep out there, especially when it was hot.

    Sometimes I think about sleeping in my porch recliner at night.  It would be cool, comfy, and I could hear most of the night sounds.

    But for some reason, I am afraid to do it.

    I have visions of raccoons jumping on me, or skunks spraying me, or bats nesting in my heart.

    All of that is possible, but highly unlikely.  

    Still, it is enough of a worry to me that I would not sleep, but keep a sleepless vigil instead.

    Such is life, eh?

    Anyway, I mowed, worked in the garden, went to several stores, packaged meat for the freezer, (I bought 2 pounds of ground chuck to make into patties), played with Beth, and made supper.

    Sure, I still have sheets in the dryer.  And it was a little after 9 when I finished the dishes.

    I guess that nap helped.`

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

pa pa's day

 I had a wet Fathers Day

    I just checked my rain gauge and it had 1.3 inches in it. 

    That's a lot!

    I got a funny card from the girls.

    On the front it says:

Dad, You're strong, gentle and things would be crappy without you

    Inside it says:

You're a lot like toilet paper in that way

    I thought it was funny.

    The plan was to cook out, but the rain put a damper on that.

    So I cooked some steaks and butterfly chops in the house.  Not as good as on the grill, but the meat was fine.

    Throw in some macaroni salad, potato salad, twice baked cheesy potatoes, and some broccoli and it was a feast for a king.

    Plus Julia made key lime pie for dessert.

    Kevin, Jen, and Sam came over earlier in the day and. visited.  I got Kevin to take out the dead light in the kitchen, because I could not get it unscrewed.

    All in all it was a nice day.  

    But I am one tired poppa.

    It's hard to relax!

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

aBout time

I thought it would be good to get my bike down 

    Thought.  That is the operative term.

    It never came off the ceiling hooks.  I need to get it down and ride because I feel it calms me and allows me to relax.

    Just do it.  Hey, that sounds like a good tag line for a shoe company.

    I mostly frittered away another day.  Yes, I did 2 loads of laundry and cleaned our bathroom, and let out Emily's dogs, but that was it.

    I spend a lot of time pondering this.

    Debut.   As in he made his stage debut. 

    Person alley, I think  of it as day butt, but that is me.  (Note the clever mis use of personally.)

    What I can't figure out is. the past tense.

    Debuted?     Or as I often say, de butted.  But it is day beud. 

    Neither correct pronunciation has the T pronounced but it is very prominent in the word.

    Then I got thinking of depot.  It's not de pot.  Again, the T is there but silent.

    The T is not silent on pot.  Or but.  Or butt.

    Put that de in front of its and it acts as a silencer.

    And I wonder why I don't get more done.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

eh

 Today was an "eh"  kind of day

    Nothing exciting.  Nothing really funny or odd.

    Just "eh."

    There was a car show at the museum.  Board members posed for pictures wearing our Celebrate 250 shirts.  

    Last month the car show had 40 or 50 cars if not more.  Today there were maybe 20.  It was just very low key.

    Maybe it was the threat of rain.  Who knows.

    An insurance company had a booth for a while.  They were giving out Rand McNally Road Atlases.  I got one, although I have no idea why.

    I guess it will be fun to look up various places.

    Map reading is a lost art.

    When I taught, some of the social studies lessons involved map reading, including using scale to estimate distances.  I bet that is a lost talent now.  All you have to do is say the location into a phone and you get directions, mileage and estimated time of travel.

    A couple of weeks ago I read about a 70 year old woman who was following her GPS and ended up turning onto the tracks of a light rail system.  She drove to the next station where they had to bring in special equipment to lift the car off the rails.

    I am just amazed that people can be that stupid.  

    That being said, the Reflecting Pool in Washington DC also seems to fit into the stupid category.     

    At least the Cubs won a squeaker.  

    And yes, I am feeling the eh tonight.

    Hopefully tomorrow will be a brighter day.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

diggin it

 I have a new project in my head

    I know it is June, but I just recently opened the bird feeder I got for Christmas.

    It takes video of the birds at the feeder.

    The feed gets sent to my phone, and then I can move it to my computer.

    But I have to mount the feeder on something.

    So I am thinking of getting a 6 ft. tall 4 x 4 of treated wood.  Then I will dig a 2 ft. deep hole and put the post in the hole, backfilling it with dirt.

    Then I will mount the bird feeder and the solar panel on the post.

    That sounds like a great plan until I realized how deep 2 feet is and how hard it will be for me to dig it.

    But that is my plan.  For now. 

    Once I start digging I may change my mind.  I may dig the hole before I buy the post.

    Jackie sits at the nook table for breakfast.  She needed to use the restroom today, and as soon as I got her in the restroom I went back to the kitchen and watched a deer dance through our yard.  Jackie missed seeing it by lesst than 3 minutes.

    I have not seem many deer this year.  I am happy, because that means the garden will have a chance to actually grow.

    If only I can figure out what is wrong with my strawberries.

    I also have to figure out how to connect hoses to the hydrants on the house so that they don't spray water.  I have replaced washers,  taken the hose off and reconnected it and still the damn things leak.

    And finally, my most frustrating issue.  The Rochelle paper used to be 3 times a week, then it went to 2 times, now it is once.  I love to do the crossword puzzle..... but for the third time the same puzzle has appeared!  Three times!!!!

    The first clue across is sealed with a kiss and the second clue is large sandwich........as much as I hate doing it, I am not renewing my subscription.

    It is no longer a newspaper....it is just a paper.

    Back to my crossword book.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace