day....boy hood story II.....480

 Yesterday's stroll down memory lane got me thinking

    My brother Dennis might have been described as a heller.  He wasn't bad, but sometimes found himself on the wrong side of right.

    He eventually straightened out, mostly.  He died in the mid 90s when he was just over 50.  Heart attack.  It was a shock.

    But like I said, he was a bit of a heller.

    I don't remember why, but one night he took me with him.  He and a guy named Rebel were going out, and I joined them, along with two other teens.  I bet I was 12....certainly not much older.

    Rebel was a street racer.  He would drag race for money and he was looking for a race.  We drove around for a while but did not find any challengers.

    At some point Rebel had to go to the bathroom.  So he pulled his souped up white Ford into an alley, go out, took a leak, and got back in the car.

    We began the drive down the alley and suddenly police cars blocked the exit!  Two squads rolled  down the alley behind us.  Police were all over the place, shining spot lights on us.

    The told Rebel to exit the car and patted him down, along with my brother, but not the guys in the back seat.  At least I don't remember them getting a pat down.

    He had to open the trunk, and everyone except me was made to get out of the car.

    All the while the police gave no explanation.  After going over the car and checking the trunk, they asked Rebel why he had stopped in the alley.  Rebel said, "The kid in the back seat had to pee."

    Police shined their light on me and said, "Is that right, kid?"  

    Nodding my head like a crazed chicken, I said yes, I could not hold it any longer.

    The police kind of looked disgusted and told them all to get back into the car.

    Somebody asked why the big deal.....turns out the building we parked behind had been burglarized several times and police were running a stake out, until we ruined it.

    I remember Rebel saying, "We were only looking for a place for the kid to pee."

    One officer said, "You come around here again and you are going to find yourself in the shit house."

    Of course, then I really had to go!

    That was the only time I went with the big boys.  I don't know if I wasn't invited, or wasn't interested in going.

    Memories.....sometimes they pop up at the craziest times.

Peace and Love

day.....boyhood story.....479

 I just thought of something that happened 55 years ago

    My memory may be a little hazy, but this is how I think everything happened.

    We were all hormone affected teen age boys.  Riding around in a car one night, looking for girls, we saw three rather attractive though slutty looking girls in a laundromat.

    So, we pulled the car into the alley and three of us got out to chat up the chicks.

    They seemed friendly.  We talked, we laughed, and then it went downhill.

    I beliieve it was Marc.  Maybe not, but I am going to say it was him.

    We had passed through the doorway where the girls were standing.  

    Marc said, "So....do you girls have boyfriends or do you live off yourselves?"

    To this day, I do not know what he meant.  Did he think they were lesbians, which back in the mid 60s would have been rare.  Or did he mean they had to spend their own money on movies, food, flowers, etc.

    Whatever he meant, one girl did not take it well.

    She reached into her purse or pocket, I don't remember, and pulled out the biggest knife I had ever seen!

    "Do you want to repeat that?" she snarled, waving it inches from our bellies.

    Upon seeing the knife, we slowly edged our way back through the door,  apologizing profusely before walking very quickly to the waiting car.

    From then on, we avoided girls in laundromats.

Peace and Love

day.....YIKES!!!!......478

 I had a terrible fright tonight, and it hurt

    Background.  I have a pain in my left butt cheek. It runs down my left leg to my knee.  I have had the pain for about 10 days, but in actuality it has been much longer.

    I never thought about it before.  Slight pain in my hip.  Leg cramp while driving.  When I was walking Corki on day she made a quick move in front of me and I had to sidestep to avoid stepping on her, and it hurt.

    When doing my exercises for my surgery, I always heard a "pop" noise when lifting my left leg.

    But 10 days ago, moving Jackie from her chair to the wheelchair, I tiwsted and the pain was tremendous.  

    So today I went to a chiropractor. (Not sure I spelled that correctly.)

    He said my hips have rotated slightly, causing my body to be out of alignment.  A few treatments should restore the balance.

    I did notice I felt better...the pain was not as bad as before.

    We had an Exit 99 meeting tonight and it was great to sit with TC, Beth, and Carrie and laugh like we used to 16 months ago.  We are planning our lineup for the July 23 show at Kennay's Distillery.  Tickets will go on sale through the VCCT website because this is a benefit for VCCT.

    After everyone left, I took out the garbage. I am getting there.  Don't worry.

    I like to step outside and listen to the night.  Sometimes I turn off the lights and stand in the driveway in the dark.

    Tonight I turned off the inside lights, stepped outside, stepped back inside and something huge landed on my head!  

    I swatted at it, knocking off my glasses and one hearing aid.  I also twisted my body, sending an excruciating pain through my buttocks and down my leg.  

    I picked up my glasses and hearing aid and discovered both were out.  Luckily, I found the second one in a watering can.  Thank heavens it was empty.

    I also found a little green tree frog!  It was on the floor by my glasses and when I went to pick it up it hopped onto the closed garage door and began climbing up!

    I surmise that the frog was hanging out unde the outdoor light, and when I stepped back it leaped onto my head.  I thougtht it was a bat or a huge wolf spider and panicked.

    I opened the overhead door and it fell off, then proceded to hop out of the garage and back to the driveway.

    In summation:  A small  frog caused me to smack myself in the head, knock out both hearing aids, cause pain in my butt and leg before scampering off to catch more bugs.

    Now I am sitting on an ice pack, hoping it helps.

    Watch out for those frogs.

Peace and Love

day......huh?....477

 I need to wear my hearing aids more

    I admit, I have gotten lazy about wearing them.  Usually that isn't a problem.

    Last night Jackie was watching tv and asked me for a "piece of cheese, like last night."

    So I cut her a piece of cheese.  I gave it to her and she looked at it and said, "What's this?"  I said it is the cheese you asked for.

    She said, "I asked for tea like you got me last night."

    Tonight she said, during the Cubs game, "The announcers said the Cubs have a bad defense in the outfield."

    I said I was surprsed they would say that, that the defense wasn't terrible.  She looked at me and said, "They said the sun made it hard to play defense in the outfield."

    In my defense, I mowed and trimmed today and can't wear my hearing aids because it would blast the hell out of what's left of my brain.

    I put my windmill out.  I anchored it best I could, hope it stays.  I may have miscalculated ..... some of the plants are taller than the windmill.  And my rock from last year is virtually invisible, as is the log I salvaged from a tornado downed tree.

    While my nativegarden thrives, my veggies continue to look awful.

    I know there is a time for every season, and I guess mine is not now.

    Stay healthy.  Stay safe.

Peace and Love

day......rain? no rain?....476

 Today was supposed to be a rain all day event

    All day.  Forecast was 60, 70 percent, heavy rain at times.  We were supposed to expect 3 inches.

    Pshaw!  It stopped sprinkling about 11.  It was cloudy and overcast until about 4, then the sun came out.  We ended up getting a little over half an inch of rain.

    Weather forecasting has to be the best job in the world.  So many times they get it wrong!  Major snowstorm....dusting.  Heavy rainfall....drizzle.   Yet we always check the forecast, heaven knows why.

    I went to the farmers market at 10:15 for a couple of briskit sandwiches for supper.  He sold out just as I got there, but he did have two set aside for me.  He said he cut back on what he prepared because of the forecast and here he was, 10:30 and out of his most popular sandwich.

    But the market was going full steam.  It was great to see all the people and vendors there.  I did not have time to browse, because I had an 11 o'clock zoom meeting.  It was an all volunteer meeting....or a zoo zoom, as I called it.

    BIL Bob and wife Anita called and we had a nice talk about the Cubs, and all sorts of other stuff.

    Afterwards I went out on to the porch to take a nap....but in the two hours I was out there, I never fell asleep.  Dog in.  Dog out. Neighbor mowing. Emily dropping off strawberries and a cherry pie.  Bathroom run.  Drink run.  Bathroom run.  

    My leg hurts a little more today but tomorrow I intend to mow.....I have to, with the rain and heat grass is starting to grow again.

    Now if the Cubs could only get some timely hitting....I could go to bed a happier person.

    Stay safe.

Peace and Love

day....no no.....475

 I was up late last night

    I caught the last three innings of the Cubs no hitter against the Dodgers.  Granted, the game started around 9 but was over a little after midnight, so I was asleep before 1.  (And I used the word caught as in watched.  If I had actually caught the game I would be the oldest active catcher on record.) 

    It was pretty cool to see a team no hit by four different pitchers.  I had never seen that before and I was glad I watched it.

    But it made for a slow wake up in the morning.

    I did get into town and helped with the mobile food truck that comes several times a year.  The truck distributes food to those in need, and there are a lot of people hurting  right now.  So I helped pack up boxes and bags and distribute them to cars as they pulled into the parking lot.  

    It made me thankful for my life.

    Tonght was pizza night with our third and fourth daughters.  It was fun to catch up, laugh a little, share pandemic stories of a sort.  Thanks Bethie and Sheri for coming and visiting with the old folks.

    Now...it's the fourth inning.  Still a lot of baseball left, but no no hitter tonight.

    Stay safe.

Peace and Love

day....entertaining.....474

 We had a read through for the fall show today

    The show is set in a nursing home and I am one of the seniors.

    Can you believe that?  I have been cast in a show about old people!  Me!!  Why, if I wasn't 7------3 years old, I might take offense at that!

    What was I thinking?  I had enough trouble remembering lines when I was young.  Luckily I only have about 1,756 lines to memorize for this one.  

    I sometimes cheat on stage.

    I was in one show and could not remember my entrance line, so I wrote it in big letters and taped it on the back of the couch.

    In another show I had lines said while reading a magazine, so I taped the lines into the magazine.

    In another show I only had a few lines and was mainly in the background reading a book.  So I put the entire script in the book and just followed along.  Turns out, I am not the only actor who can't remember lines!

    I have taped them on tables, the backs of doors, places where only people on stage could see them.

    It wasn't for all lines, just it seems in every play there is one or two lines I just can not get.  I know the line....it just does not come out and I need a little help.

    When we were doing a Tuna show, my line is/was  "I've had it up to my ass with this sorry excuse for a town and sombody's gonna pay."

    I had that line down cold all during rehearsal.  Opening night comes and I said, "I have had enough of this town....and I'm not taking it."  Followed by, "I've had it up to my neck and somebody will be sorry." and about 4 other variations, none involving the word ass or somebody paying.

    Unfortunately, there was no place to hide the correct line.

    We'd get to that part and TC would watch me, beads of sweat forming on my brow, eyes rolling up into my head, a nervous tick causing my entire body to shake like a lime J-ello mold at a Methodist pot luck....and he never knew what was going to come out of my mouth.

    I was so much younger then.

    We'll see how this one flies.

    Stay healthy.  Stay dry.

Peace and Love

day......hair day....473

 Jackie had a hair appointment today

    She does not like the gray hairs living with me cause, so she went in for a cut and dye.

    That means I have about 90 minutes to 2 hours to kill.

    I bopped over to Acres Bistro and was going to have a sandwich for lunch, but figured if I did not finish it, I had to toss it because there was no way to keep it cool.

    So I had soup.  

    It was amazing!  Red pepper something, and it was very good.  I almost licked the bowl.

    Next  I had dessert, as if you had to guess!   Chocolate pot de creme, I believe....also very good.

    With a little time to spare, I decided to sit and read but the bench was too hard for my still aching butt muscle.  So I stopped at Midwestern Clothing and picked up a shirt for Jackie that we had seen on their posting on Facebook.

    When we got home, I settled in my chair for a read and ..... bingo, it became 5 very quickly.

    I checked my rain guage tonight and was surprised to see there was barely a tenth of an inch.  It seemed like it rained a lot more than that this morning.  It's a new guage, so there should not be any leaks.  And why does the word guage always look misspelled to me?

    We had pancakes and bacon for supper, served with lovingly made Vermont maple syrup.  

    All in all, it was a good day.  But I really need to get my butt and leg healthy so I can get some of the chores on my list done.  I have 187 chores down, running from the mundane (cleaning the basement living area) to the difficult (replacing all the blades of dead grass with live grass, hand grown on my own sod farm.)

    Some things won't get done by July 1, my self imposed deadline.

    Oh well....life is funny, not always in a ha ha sort of way, either.

    Stay healthy.  Enjoy the day.

Peace and Love

day....217,446.....472

 There are plenty of job openings in Rochelle

    I get at least 6 e-mails daily telling me about exciting job openings in Rochelle.

    Just yesterday, I was notified there was an opening for a park ranger and the salary was $58,216 right here in Rochelle!

    Amazing!  These folks knew that I, at the ripe old age of seventy    (fill in the word Jackie does not like me to use in describing my age; a word that is used as a noun, verb and adjective)   three years would be interested in a park ranger job in Rochelle!

     I should apply immediately.  However, I am having a bit of a mental issue on where a park would be in Rochelle where they would be hiring a ranger.  But hey, details, eh?

    Same with the welding and executive positions that are open in Rochelle.  Just ripe for a guy my age.

    About the number 217,446.....that is the number of page views this blog has had over the past 87 years  I am impressed that people are able to put up with the trivialities of my life.

    I did check stats today and admit I am puzzled.  Someone read two entries from my blog.......one in July....one in September.....of 2016.  I don't know if it was the same person, or why they picked those particular dates. 

    Maybe they did a Google search for the word Yikes.

    Who knows.

    Stay curious.  Stay healthy.

Peace and Love.

day...third time.....471

 I planted my garden....again

    I have never had to plant twice before this year....and this is the third time I have planted cucumbers and beans.  They just didn't come up.  It may have been my lackadaisical watering process......especially in this dry spring.

    So, pulled up the 6 or 7 bean plants and replanted them, trimmed up the tomatoes and green peppers and tried to get them more upright, leveled my non productive cucumber hill and made a new hill.  This time I will water regularly.

    All of this did take a toll on my altready sore body, so hoping the ice and ibuprofin help.

    My neighbor has a pool and has invited me over to use it, but I am not a big pool person.  We have friends who have invited me for 20 years and I have been in theirs maybe 4 fimes.

    There is one pool I for sure won't go in, at any cost.

    They have built a glass pool in London.  It spans two 10 story buildings.  You can swim from one building to the next, all while 10 stories above a London street.  You can look down at the traffic below....way below.

    I put this on my no way in hell bucket list.  It is there along with skywalks over canyons, leaping out of airplaines, rooting for the Cardinals, and sticking sharp sticks under my nails.

    Not only that, I will go so far as to say I would not even stand underneath this pool.

    I know it has been meticulously engineered, but I have this feeling that every bridge I have been on is just waiting for me so it can collapse, every elevator is due to fall, every tall building is going to topple over just because I am there.  All I have to do is look up and 70 million gallons of water, glass and screaming humans will plummet down and bury me in the London pavement.

    Yes, it is an unnatural fear.  But I am full of unnatural thoughts.  For instance, I think my odds of winning the lottery with one ticket are greater when the jackpot his $300 million.  Crazy, I know!  But I keep buying tickets....and never winning, as you probably know.

    I just hope my luck is better with my garden.  I really don't have many fears there.  Except failure.  And snakes.  And millipedes.  And deadly spiders. And airplanes crashing into Earth where I am weeding.  And meteorites.

    But, that's enough fears for one night.

    Stay healhy.  Stay safe.  Avoid glass pools.

Peace and Love

day......very cool.....470

I got a grotesque present for Fathers' Day 

    Actually, a grotesque donation from Emily and Julia.  It was a donation to the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris to help restore the stone statues on top of the burned cathedral.

    The statues are called grotesques, hence the grotesque gift.

    I am so glad I was able to see Notre Dame in its glory.  I don't know what the restoration schedule is, but I doubt it will be a place I will be able to visit again.  I was literally in tears watching the fire consume this magnifcent structure.

    A great gift, helping a great cause and making my whole family a small part of the restoration and rebirth of Notre-Dame.

    I am still taking it pretty easy.  My leg and butt cheek are still sore, bending over hurts, so I figure to go easy for a few more days.

    But my list of things to do keeps getting longer as I look around.  Who would think someone like me would become an obessive list adder on person?

    At least the rain is here.

    A nice, gentle, soft rain....ok, the weather alarm has gone off four times in the past hour for tornado warnings (far north of us)  2 thunderstorm warnings, (south and west of us) and a severe thunderstorm watch (us) so I am in my usual semi panic weather mode.

    At least I won't have to water the garden, or what will be left of it after the golf ball sized hail and 60 mph winds roar through the area.

    Feast or famine.

    At least the Cubs won.

    Hope you all had a great day, dad or not.

Peace and Love

day......darn.......469

 I love to eat

    For the past few weeks I have had a hankering for a deep dish pizza.  Tonight I ordered one, but instead of deep dish, I ordered stuffed.

    I ordered the special.  My fault.

    I did not read all the ingredients.  I saw mushrooms, green pepper, onions, sausage, pepperoni......but I missed olives.

    Now, I am not an olive lover.  Quite the opposite.

    I picked up the pizza, took it home, opened it.  I had to wipe my chin because I was drooling so much.  Took a bite and ..... olives.

    Lots of olives.....by that I mean more than one.  Green olives to boot.

    Luckily I ordered a small, but I still have two meals left of it.  I will eat it, but the olives will take a bit of getting used to.  Understand, the pizza is very good.  And it was my mistake.  I always used to tell students read al lthe information.....I need to get back to doing that.

    Next time I eat it, I may have to have a mojito to ease the pain.

    I did sit out on the patio tonight, sans alcohol, and enjoyed the longest day of the year.  I also had a pity party on my failed garden and my sore butt.  Day three of not being able to sit for long was not a pleasant day.

    At least my leg does not hurt as much.  That's a blessing.

    I gave up on the Cubs at 7-0.  It's not that I am a fair weather fan.....I just can't stand to watch them lose.  It's been a rough two days.

    Here's hoping your dinner met your dreams.

    Stay safe.  Stay healthy.

    And a happy Father's Day to all you pops, here and gone, tomorrow.

Peace and Love

day....owwww......468

My butt cheek hurts 

    I know!!! TMI!!!

    Butt, it hurts.   Huh.  But it hurts.  Same sounds, different meanings.

    My leg hurts also.  Better than yesterday, but sitting is difficult and uncomfortable.

    I bought more spray for my windmill.  I told Mike at the hardware store that I had bought spray prviously, but can't find it.  He asked me if it was last year and I said no, last month.

    I went in the house and told Jackie I bought more spray.  Then I went out to spray the windmill and.....I can't find the new spray!!!  Holy crap!  Does this stuff just walk off?

    I put on my thinking cap and tried to remember where I had put it 5 minutes ago and had no clue.

    So....back out looking in the garage and bingo, there is was.  Right next to the windmill.

    I made my first mojito of the summer tonight.  I know, but if I open a bottle of wine I have to drink it.  I can make one mojito.

    I use a recipe that calls for lime juice or lemon juice.  Emily and John bought me some run and also some lime juice last year in Key West.  

    For some reason, I took out the little plastic bottle of lime juice we have in the fridge, thinking I should use that.  I poured a little out and it did not look right.  So I turned it over and found the expiration date.

    July 2011.

    We moved it from Skare Court, to the townhouse, to here.  In another week or two it would celebrate it's 10th birthday.

    I really need to pay more attention to use by and expiration dates.

    I used Emily and John's lime juice and enjoyed my mojito on the back deck.     Turned out pretty darn good.

Peace an Love

day....travels and travails.....467

 Everything is going so well and then........

    A snag develops.

    Yesterday I talked about my Michigan memory, brought on by the cooing of a dove and the sound of children laughing.

    I have a newish chair on the porch.  It's a recliner, and I love to recline for a few minutes to relax.

    The other day I had my eyes half shut and when I looked out, instead of seeing my neighbors' houses across the street, their rooftops became mountains.  The road in front of the house became a lake and for a few minutes I was sitting on Julia's balcony, having a coffee and enjoying the view.

    I can't describe the beauty of Switzerland.  I don't have the words.  I do know that I will always have good memories of sitting at Charlie's (a bistro) by the lake and having some wine, or eating ice cream or a jambon frommage avec beurre on a bench by the water.

    I close my eyes and life becomes so much quieter, safer, prettier.  Too bad it can't last forever except in my little brain.

    Last night I went to help Jackie out of her chair and something popped in my left leg.  I have never pulled a hamstring, but I think that is what I did.  It was sore as hell.  I iced it for about an hour, then went to bed with my leg elevated.  Today I used some heat on it.

    While the leg is still plenty sore, what is worse is my butt!  My lleft cheek feels like someone smacked it with a fist.  It is uncomfortable to sit and uncomfortable to stand, so I really am having a restless day.

    The good news is I am royalty!

    I got my crown today.  I'm a king.  All curtsy and maintain that curtsy while backing gracefully out  of the room.

Peace and Love

day......traveling.....466

 I took two mini vacations over the last two days

    I went to a lake in Michigan and to Switzerland.

    I know....that's impossible.

    Let me Splain, Lucy.

    First, Michigan.

    My Aunt Kay and Uncle Jim owned two cottages on Dewey Lake, nocated near Dowagiac, Michigan.

    I think, but am not sure, that before the Crash of '29, Jim owned one of the cottages.  Then the crash came and he was able to buy the second cottage.

    Every year my family would load the car and drive up there for a two or three week stay.  My dad would not stay, he would go back to Chicago on Sunday and then return on Friday night.

    The cottages were about 20 feet square.  

    The cottage we stayed in had a living room, kitchen and bedroom.  Added on to the back was a dining area and a bathroom.  On the front was a huge screened in porch that wrapped around partway on the side of the house.  The porch was where my brothers and I slept.

    The porch had  huge canvass shades that we could roll down to keep out the sun and roll up at night to let in the air.  The porch screen door made a screech and a bang whenever anyone open it  and then let it slam shut.

    The bathroom was a sink and a stool.  The bathtub was the lake.

    It was pretty primitive, but I loved going there.

    I got a science lesson one year.  I could hear the whooing of birds during the day.  I said it was funny to hear, because I thought owls came out at night.  I was told they were doves.

    That's what took me to Michigan.

    I was sitting in my chair on the porch.  My eyes were half closed, but I could hear the cooing of doves and the sound of children playing in the pool next door.

    About 4 cottages down from "our" cottage was a place owned by the Jennings/O'Reilly family.  They were southside Irish Catholics from Chicago, and I always got confused on who was Jennings ane who was O'Reilly,  Their dad did the same as my dad, went back to Chicago Sunday night and came up Friday night.  Sometimes they would ride together.

    There were 7 girls and a baby boy in the family.  I only remember two of the girls, Deanie and Beth.  Deanie was my age and Beth a year younger.

    Every year Deanie and I did things together....played, swam, hiked, talked.  A lot of the time several of the girls would come over and play Monopoly or read some comic books from the gigantic stack I always  brought along.

    When I was 14, my two brothers opted not to go.  They were working, or going to schbool, so my mom allowed me to invite a frined.

    I asked Dickie, a red headed athletic boy who lived kiddy-corner from me.  He was Catholic, Irish and a Sox fan.....complete opposite of me, but we played ball together, rode bikes, wrestled, played cops and robbers.  We were good friends.

    His mom allowed him to go, which was great because we would be spending three weeks together.  I told him about Deanie and my plans to hold her hand and kiss her.  He laughed.

    The first day we were there, the girls came over.  All smiles, all chattering, and there she was...freckle faced, curly hair, happy smile, and little bumps showing under her t-shirt.  The prettiest girl I had ever seen.  I was in love.

    Problem was, it was Beth.  Not Deanie.

    Second problem, Dickie had the same reaction.

    We both spent the first week stumbling over each other in an effort to impress Beth.  Deanie could sense it.  We drifted apart, barely acknowledging each other on the beach or playing Monopoly.  Sometimes she didn't even come over.  I didn't care.

    On   Friday I convinced Beth to go for a ride with me in Uncle Jim's rowboat.  My plan was to row to the other side of the lake where there was a channel, tell her how I felt, and kiss her.

    I remember it was hot.  I rowed.  And rowed.  And rowed.  Past the swamp.  Past the Irish Village. Past all the summer houses.

    Finally we reached the channel.  It was so quiet, you could have heard a fish fart.

    I moved closer to her and said, "Beth......." but I never go another word out!  

    A car started honking and honking, people were yelling.

    "It's my dad!  He came up early!"

    I looked and sure enough, there was a car full of giggling faces.

    "Come on Beth.  We're going into town for a fish fry.  Terry, you could come too if you didn't have the boat."

    But I did have the boat.  I rowed to the side of the channel, he helped  Beth out of the boat, and I looked in the car to see all the girls plus one red headed  boy with a big grin.  Deanie was laughing for the first time since we arrived.

    I rowed back, sore and angry for the treachery Dickie had done.  He should have said no.....but he didn't.

    That started off a week of moderate snipping at each other, culminating in a front yard fight my mother had to break up.

    Dickie went home a week early.

    Deanie met a boy from the Irish Village settlement on the lake.

    Beth didn't talk to me again.

    Dickie and his family moved away that fall.

    I never heard from any of them ever again.

    My last week was me spending time on the screened in porch, reading comics that didn't interest me and listening to bugs bounce off the screens.  Alone.  Friendless.

    That winter the Jennings/O'Reilly cottage burned down.  When  we went to the lake the next year, there were no girls to hang around with.  The two weeks were spent walking past an empty lot and up to the corner to spend money on a pin ball mchine and root beer.  It was the last time I went to Dewey Lake.  (Actually, Jackie and I drove there when Emily was a baby.  The Jennings/O'Reilly lot was still empty...28 years later.)

    All that came back to me sitting on the porch, listening to the dove and the sound on children's laughter.

    Bittersweet? Yes, but a memory I would not trade.

    Tomorrow:  Switzerland

Peace and Love

day...blah....465

Today was a blah day 

    Last night when I went to bed I was a little light headed.  I did not think the two glasses of wine I had would cause that, but it could have.

    This morning the room was spinning.  Not a lot, just a little.  I got Jacie into the shower, went back to bed.  Got her out of the shower, went back to bed.  Got her dressed, went back to bed. 

    At 11:30 I moved to the porch.  She called me at 1:30 and asked if she could have lunch....I had been asleep for 2 hours.

    Made her lunch, showered, went back to the porch at 2:30 and woke up at 4 or so.  I think.

    The day was a blur.  No energy, headache, but the spinning stopped.  Either it was vertigo or it's a minor migraine....not sure.

    No fever.  No cough.  No sneezing.  No sore throat.  My muscles hurt, my head hurts.

    Now I hope I can sleep when I go to bed.

    Which means....nothing on my to do lists got done today.  During my more lucid moments, I did add a couple of chores to the lists.  I am beginning to hate lists.

    Stay healthy.  Stay happy.

Peace and Love

day......464

 This has been a notable two days

    Yesterday we grilled out with Emily and John to celebrate their anniversary.

    We decided it was time for me to clean out the grill after flames began leaping out the side....huge flames.  The steak ended up well done and my salmon turned out to be smoked.....but both were very good.

    Emily made caprese salad, which I love.  I maded smashed potatoes.  Actually honey smashed potatoes.  Never made them before but they turned out pretty darn good.

        Of course, strawberries were dessert.  We had dessert cups and pound cake with fresh Michigan strawberries....it was soooooo good!

        The forecast is not calling for rain.  When I looked out the front door this morning I was surprised to see a dark cloud that didn't look normal.  I knew it was not rain.

        What I did not know was a chemical plant caught fire and exploded in Rockton, which is maybe 40 miles north of us.  The smoke from the fire was drifting southward and was over Rochelle and Creston during the day.

    It is fairly scary to see a chemical cloud hovering overhead. We have been told there is no danger....they said the same at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island.

    And for the first time in 3 weeks, my car is back in the garage.  Miracles will never cease.

    Stay healthy.  Stay safe.  Don't inhale

Peace and Love

day.......arid.....463

I think the Temptations sang, "Oh I wish  that it would rain" 

    I am inclined to agree with them.  Story I often tell.  Eighth Grade, maybe Seventh (and I don't know why I capitalized them, and why I did not change it) I went home for lunch.  When I walked the 18 miles uphill back to Ravenswood Elementary, it was in a pounding rainstorm.  

    Well, it was raining.  Maybe not pounding.  Maybe lightly. 

    I crossed Ashland Avenue and the rain stopped.

    That amazed me.

    I got back to schol and breathlessly blurted, "Mr. Torres...it was raining on one side of Ashland but not the other!"

    He paused, and with the patience of a great teacher, said, "Well, rain has to start and stop someplace or else it would be raining everywhere at once. Right?"

    I had never thought about that.  But now I do.

    A couple of nights ago in poured in DeKalb.  It rained in Steward.  Dan and Linda had a nice shower in Creston, it rained in Lindenwood and I believe Rockford.

    We did not get a drop.  

    The rain circled around us, leaving us arid, barren, parched, dry, Saharan.  My lawn is turning yellow.  My plants' leaves are starting to curl.  Trees are dropping leaves.  It is starting to concern me.

    I am temped to go do a rain dance and burn a goat as a sacrifice to Mother Nature in a bid to get some moisture.  Please....don't panic.  It will be a paper goat, not a real one. 

    The forecast for the week gives us a 40 percent chance late Thursday night.  That's not a good percentage for people who need rain.

    Tomorrow at 4, I will do my  dance for rain and burn a paper goat.  I know it won't help, but it can't hurt either.  Can it?

    The Temptations wanted rain drops to hide the tears......I want drops to prevent tears.

    Stay healthy.  Stay happy. Pray for rain.

Peace and Love

day.....what have i done......462

I think I may have a problem 

    Three days in a row I have been in DeKalb.  Three days in a row I have had a Starbucks.  I think I may have a problem.

    I love the iced vanilla latte.  Maybe too much.  I ordered a half caf today, but it was already 6 and I know a half caf is going to keep me awake most of the night.  (That means it is half decaffeinated coffee and half regular coffee.  JSYK)  (BTW....JSYK is my shorthand for just so you know.)

    What was I thinking?

    I alwso went out in public wearing shorts and black socks today.  I wandered around the Rotary festival at the park for a while, and the fashion police did not stop me.  Granted, I was sweating heavily, but people just ignored my faux pas.  Or paw.  Or paux.  Whatever.

    What was I thinking?

    I didn't feel like doing last night's supper dishes.  This morning I just stacked breakfast dishes on the counter.  Ditto for lunch dishes.  Tonight I looked at the kitchen and thought....what the hell!

    What was I thinking?

    I put in laundry this morning.  Just finished folding it.  Tonight.  Two loads.  Sheets  and towels.  Had to dry the towels again because they felt damp.  Should have taken care of all that this morning instead of going out in public in my black socks and shorts and being laughed at by everyone under the age of 40 while those of us in the black socks-white gym shoe stage of life don't really care because we like comfort over style.

    What was I thinking.

    And to that point, I think the caffeine is affecting my concentration.

    Stay safe.  Stay cool.

Peace a d Love

day.....give me a head with hair........461

 I have a tendency to let my hair grow

    Let me restate that correctly.  I can't prevent my hair from growing.  It grows.  My ear hair and nose hair also grow, just not as fast or long as the hair on top of my head.

    I just don't remember to get it cut.  

    I do trim my nose and ears, not hat you really want to know that.  I hate seeing men with huge hairs sticking out of their nose or ears.....yuchhhh!  I can't seem to control my belly from growing either.

    So when I looked in the mirror this week I was a little surprised to see it was pretty long, so I got it cut.

    One thing I noticed is how big my forehead has gotten!  Holy cow!!  And my hair is pretty white on the temples.  Plus, I have some red spots....I have had them for years, but without hair hanging over them they are more noticeable.

    I also look like I don't have teeth, but I reallly do!

    Corki had a vet appointment today for routine shots and a check up.  She weighs 22 pounds and is in good health for a 10 year old dog.  We  stopped at Starbucks on the way home and she got a Puppychino while I got an iced vanilla latte. 

 

    As I drove home the sky looked terrible and I figured we were in for a storm.  But now, four hours later, no rain, few clouds, dry lawn, withering plants.

    Mother Nature can be so fickle.

    Hope you have a great weekend.

    Stay healthy.  Stay happy.   Stay cool.

Peace and love

day....thankful.....460

 This hot weather has made me thankful

    I heard it was 97 in Rockford today, I was in DeKalb and the car thermometer registered 93.  I was going to say it said, but it can not talk.  So there.

    I thought of things I was thankful for.  Here are 10 things, not necessarily in any order of importance.

    Swimming pools.......not that I have one.  Or use one.  We have friends who stopped inviting me to swim in their pool because after 20 years of invites I have gone in four times.  Two of them were last summer.  And I invited myself.

    Deoderant.....once I slept with a French girl.  Seriously.  Jackie and I were on a train from Paris to Bayeaux.  We were not sitting together.  After a few minutes Jackie got up and said, "Change seats.  Don't ask."  So I sat next to a rather attractive French woman who apparently did not use deoderant.  It was hot.  She was sweaty.  About 15 minutes into the ride she fell asleep.  After about 25 minutes, I fell asleep.  So technically I slept with a French girl...or I guess more accurately along side her.

    Baby powder......used in proper amounts it prevents certain anatomical parts from sticking to other anatomical parts.

    Air conditioning.....use it.  Sure, I have to sleep with an extra blanket at night and keep a sweatshirt on at various times, but Jackie is comfortable.

    Lawn sprinklers.....nothing like moving a sprinkler and having it aim directly at your crotch and then having neighbors stare at your pants as you go get the mail.

    Electric start on cars.....it would be nice to start the car while walking toward it to get the AC running, but I am the kind that would hit the button in the middle of the store and have my car run for 30 minutes while I shop.  Then I would run out of gas on the side of the road and have to walk 6 miles to a gas station in 97 (or 93) degree heat.

    Ice cream......no need to explain.

    Automatic ice cube makers on the refrigerator.....I seem to go through a lot of ice during the day.  Iced water, iced pop, iced tea......lots of ice.  

    Short hair......long hair gets uncomfortable when it is hot.  Short hair is much better.  Also, you don't have to comb it as much, dry it as long, or worry about people saying your hair has gone from blond to almost white.  Yes it has, because I am seventy-freaking-three years old!  (I used freaking because Jackie gets mad when I don't.)

    Last....I think this is 10.

    No explanation needed.

    By the way....anybody see a bug in this?  I didn't either.  But next time I will look before drinking.

    Stay cool.

Peace and Love

day...Mary, Mary......459

 My garden is not doing very well

    My cucumbers have been planted for two weeks, but no sprouts.  Same with my green beans.  The Italian beans are spotty and the peas, well, we won't have a lot of peas this year.

    I planted peas early because they do not like hot weather.  But all the others should be doing fine by now.

    So I replanted the cucumbers and the green beans after I weeded tonight.  I confess, I have not been as diligent watering this year as I have been in the past.  I will do better.

    I had some spike waterers  you put into the ground and they made a nice little circle with a gentle rain.  But the bases broke off, and they won't go into the ground.  I bought a tripod rotating sprinkler, but it does not do the same job.  So I am ordering a new stick in the ground sprinkler with a "lifetime" guarantee.  We shall see.

    I just met an ungrateful toad.  Toads don't drink.  They get moisture through their skin.  

    When I went to take out recycling, I found a huge toad by my garage door.  I took some water and gently watered it.  It seemed to enjoy the water.  When I went to pick it up to relocate it to a garden area, it jumped out of my hands and hopped under the tractor. 

    I was too tired to start the tractor and pull it out, plus I was afraid I would run it over.  I just hope I don't find a dead toad in my garage like I did a few weeks ago.

    It's hot.  It's dry.  I'm hot.  I'm dry.  I got up,  showered, then ate breakfast and went out to finish mowing.  I should not have showered in the morning.  When I came in from mowing and trimming I was soaking wet.  Since I had a meeting to go to tonight, I showered again.  Poor planning.

    In case you are wondering about Mary, Mary...quite contrary, how does your garden grow was on my mind tonight

    Stay healthy.  Stay safe.

Peace and Love

day.....found.....458

 Things don't just disappear after all

    About 2 months ago I lost my flashlight.  This is a big, bulky, size of a half a loaf of bread flashlight.

    I looked in the garage, under the bed, in the closet (even checked my shoes), in the basement, in the cars......everywhere I could think  of and didn't find it.  I looked several times, always unsuccessfully.

    Our cleaner found it behind the cable box.  She said it had been there for a while, but we haven't been home when she is here so she never asked about it.

    I remember having to unplug our cable box and plug it back in to reset it.  I must have used the flashlight to see, and just forgot where it was.

    I had thought aliens took it.  Or gremlins.  Turns out, it never left the house.

    Some pictures from the past few days....

    Pale purple coneflower...last year's planting

        The prairie smoke....it looks like smoke from a distance

    Ever hear of a hands pan?  At the market in Creston.  A really neat sound.  I do have a video.

    We have a new resident.  This creature is living under the air conditioner.  This morning it was on the deck.  This afternoon it was exploring the porch.  This explains why Corki has been doing so much sniffing lately.  (That's a lot of this!)

    I believe this is mountain mint.....it is a beautiful, spreading plant and it is loaded with bumble bees!  I have not weeded this area for a while.

    That's it.

    Stay safe.  Pray for rain.

Love and Peace

day.....fini.....457

 I have finished the prairie garden

    Everything is planted, cardboard is down, mulch is down, and my left hip hurts like hell.  Related?  I don't know.

    I can tell one of the new plants is having a tough go.  I was hoping a good rain would revive it, but we did not get a good rain.  I did run the sprinkler on the plot last night, but a good rain shower is always better.

    I have a box of pictures I don't know what to do with.  When I taught I took a lot of photos of kids doing projects, at Halloween, and at a lot of other times during the year.  Most of the pictures ended up in albums.  Most of the albums have been "harvested" for former students I can still find.

    But it has been 12 years.  I need to get rid of the pictures.  I actually put one album in the trash  for about 15 seconds, then took it out again.  I don't know why it is so hard to part with them.

    Also in the closet and in a desk drawer were several cell phones, including a Samsung flip phone, 2 I phones, 6 camera disks, two rechargable batteries for a camera I no longer have, and one thumb drive.  I found a website for selling some of the items....so we shall see!  I will have to find a card reader to check the photo disks. I may be surprised.

    And now, a TMI section.  Jackie has to wear compression socks.  My brother gave me a device that helps, but normal people putting on compression socks have an easier time than someone who can't move their legs very well, or at all. 

    So every morning I spend about 15 minutes swearing and moaning because my thumbs don't work, the socks are hard to grasp, I can't find the heel...among other problems.  

    Certainly gets my day off to a rocky start.

    And speaking of rocky starts......a few weeks ago I mentioned the out of date margarine I tossed.  Tonight I went to get some butter.  We are out.  No butter.  No margarine.  Hardly any milk.   And I went to the store today.

    A list is only helpful if you write things down on it.

    Stay safe.  Stay healthy.

Peace and Love

day....RIP.....456

 I imitated a famous character from literature today

    I guess I was tired.  Maybe from the heat, working around the house, whtever.  I slept until 10:15 today!

    I went to bed before midnight, which is usually about the time I go to bed when I get up at 8 a.m.  Today I Rip Van Winkled it, as I say.

    And the weird thing is,  I don't remember any dreams, or getting up in the middle of the night although I think I did.  Either that or the closet will really smell in a few days.

    Of course by the time I got up, got Jackie up and showered and dressed, it was just past noon.  My sister in law called and we talked for 40 minutes. At 1:15 we Skyped with Julia......and at about 2:30 we finally ate for the first time!

    Needless to say, I did not do anything today except water the garden,  And I am really tired tonight.

    My list of projects keeps growing, while my willingness to do them keeps shrinking.

    But tomorrow is a new day.....and if I get up early enough, I might even get some tasks checked off my list.

    Stay safe.  Get plenty of rest.

Peace and Love

day....takes a village....355

 Sometimes I do need a little help

    Emily helped take care of Jackie today so I could be at the market in Creston. 

    Friend Linda and I had a booth, selling vintage items and memorabilia.  I took over about 25 items and sold 10 or 11.  

    The market ran from 9 to 2, so I got Jackie up and dressed, we ate breakfast, and I told Emily I was leaving.  Emily checked on her, got Jackie lunch, and was on call for anything Jackie needed.

    Meanwhile, Linda, Dan and I sat outside in the 90 degree heat.  We did ok on sales, not great, but not terrible considering the heat, graduations, graduation parties, the heat, and the heat.

    Funny thing.  I mentioned the other day that I put sunscreen on and it burned my face.  Well, I read an article that said some sun screens  contained benzene, a cancer causing agent.  And yes, the stuff I was using had benzene.  I tried another product, and that was also on the has benzene list.  Now I wonder if it's the benzene that causes my burning!

    Dan bought brisket sandwiches for us for lunch.  I took one bite and then dropped it on the ground.  Being hungry and not proud, I scooped up the meat, put it back on the bread, and carefully ate it.  If benzene hasn't killed me, a little road tar won't.

    I did not eat the bun however.....just seemed that may have hidden gravel in it.  At least I could inspect the meat.

    Had a good dinner tonight.  I was ordering on the house phone when my cell phone rang.  Not recgnizing the number, I hit the don't answer button....or at least I thought I did.  One voice is talking to me on my cell phone, another on the house phone, Jackie is saying something and I was really getting too much noise.  I hung up the cell phone again and continued to place the order.  Cell phone rang again, same number, and I again did not answer.

    When I was done I noticed a voice mail.  It was my nephew Jason calling from Lititz PA!  So I called him and we had a nice talk.  He got the pictures I sent and told me some of them he did not remember happening.  He also asked what I ordered besides tacos and enchilladas.

    Good sale, good supper, good conversation....only negative on the day was the Cubs falling to San Francisco.  Again.

    Stay safe.  

Peace and Love

day...wheh!!....454

 I almost bit off more than I could chew today

    I decided to ride around the neighborhood.  I have a route that goes around our subdivision two times, then south through four more subdivisions.  The total mileage is about 10.

    Today it seemed 110.  I was fine until mile 8, but the heat, wind and sun just got to me.  When I got home I learned it was 91 outside, way to hot for an old fart to be pedaling his ass around rural subdivisions.

    I drove into town, got some cool drinks for Jackie and me, then just sat and rested.

    It's now about 7, early for me to write....but I am going out to the prairie plot to lay down some cardboard and mulch.   I am watering for 30 minutes first so the plants have some moisture before I spread mulch.

    At least it is a little cooler now....only 84.  And the sun isn't quite as strong.

    Here's what it all looks like today.

I guess this isn't today... pretty  sunny today!

That is a big rock!

There's big money to be found in a garbage can!

Suprised Frosty didn't melt today.....but they were backing up the truck for him.

    By the way...you should be impressed I did not bring my garbage finds home!  Of course, it is still early.

    Stay healty.  Laugh a lot, or a little, just laugh.

Peace and Love

day......when it rains......453

 Ever notice how everything happens at once?

    It was that kind of day for me.

    I had just gotten out of the shower when I looked out the back window and saw my rock on the back of a truck.

    Not wanting to go out au natural, I hurridly put on clothes and went out back.  (Truth be told I would love to go out au natural...I am not the problem).

    Landscape guy is about my height but weighs 85 pounds.  By the time I got out there he had wrestled this big ass rock out of the back of the truck.  In an understated voice he said, "That's a big rock."

    I asked him why he didn't bring some of his younger guys to help and he said they were pretty busy shoveling dirt, which was also hard work.

    The rock landed in the general area of where I wanted it, which is fine for me.  There is no way it will ever be moved unless someone gets a backhoe.

    I helped Jackie get ready for the day, w ate breakfast  and by then it was almost noon.  I had to make lunch, fill my pills, do the dishes and change to go ride my bike.  We have help from 1 to 4 on Thursdays and Fridays, so I like to get out at 1 to maximize my me time.

    But an insurance man called at 12, I called him back, he called me back at .... you guessed it, 1 on the dot.  15 minutes later I had my helmet and gloves on and my brother called.  We had a nice conversation but by the time we finished I had forgotten where I put my sunglasses.

    I did get in a ride.  Pedaled through my neighborhood then some subdivisions to the east and ended up with 10.3 miles for the day.

    After supper I went out and planted the rest of my prairie garden, which went rather quickly since  it is all done randomly.  I hope it looks great that way.

    I discovered Sheri K was right in I had too many coneflowers and black eyed susans.  I was blinded by my love for the plants.  But they are in the ground now, so nature will take it's course.

    All in all it was a pretty busy day.  I am tired, but not sore...that will come tomorrow.

    Stay healthy.  Stop and smell the flowers.

Peace and Love

day....open wide.....452

 I sometimes wonder about me and dentists

    Fear.  that is the best way I can describe it.

    I broke a tooth a few weeks ago eating frozen custard.  Don't ask how that happened.  I got a temporary filling until I could be fitted with a crown.  It was either that or some other procedure that left me silently retching.

    So today I went for the fitting.  There was a young woman working there, must have just started, and she was shadowing the hygenist and dentist.

    I told the girl that if she had never seen a grown man cry or bolt during the middle of a procedure, today was her chance to see both.

    She thought I was kidding.

    I did get numbed.  But as he was working, it became apparent I needed more numbing.

    Once they got me off the ceiling and back into the chair, more numbing was done.

    At one point I said, "I am sharting sho schweat." and little bubbles of moisture appeared on my forehead, but it turns out it was just spray from rinsing my mouth.

    Two hours later I had a temporary crown and impressions for a permanent one taken.

    So tonight I am a temporary king.  Love live the King!!

    And my mouth is very uncomfortable...guess I just got used to having part of a tooth missing.

    I did go to a store and wore a mask because my face was a little droopy.  I did not want people to think I was having a stroke.  Plus, the mask caught the drool.

    Live long and Prosper

Peace and Love

day......seems like forever.....451

 I started this blog in 2014

    I know!  I have continued to do something regularly for the past 6 plus years!  For me, that is amazing.  I can't even do something regular for 24 hours.

    Lately it's becoming harder and harder to be funny.  Maybe it is our world, but holy crap it is crazy out there!

    We've got one guy who lost an election who is telling people he will be installed in his former office by August.

    We got another guy saying maybe the regime in Myanmar is on the right track by having a coop.  Or is it coup?  It should be coup, but anyone suggesting one belongs in with the hens aned pigeons.

    People calling 911 because of cicadas.  Really?  The noise scares you?

    Some politicians are saying the rioters on Jan. 6 were just normal tourists.  I went to the Capitol once and took a tour and did not break any windows or assault police officers while threatening to hang the vice president.  Little did I know.

    Some idiot in Nashville is selling yellow six pointed stars, the same design Nazis forced Jews to wear in Germany during WW II, as a protest against masks.

    Like I said, it's a crazy world out there.

    We had pizza tonight, which is not normal for a Tuesday.  But Emily is on the road and we invited John over for supper, and pizza seemed the best choice.  Especially since I worked my copious butt off today.

    Jackie ordered.  I picked up.  Standing in the restaruant I see a sign that says, "BOGO Tuesday.  Buy one pizza, get one of the same size free."  I ask the waitress/bartender/phone answerer/and who knows what if we got a free one with our order.  She said no, we had to ask for it.

    How the hell do we ask for an offer that is on a board in the pizza place?  

    I wish I had asked before I tipped her.

    Stay healthy.  Stay happy.  Ask for discounts.

Peace and Love