once upon a time, a long, long ago

I nearly died

     At least that is what my mom and dad told me.  I truthfully don't remember much about it, maybe my much older brother Carl will.
     I was in fourth or fifth grade at Ravenswood Elementary in Chicago.  (Current link to the news:  Mayor Rahm lives near the school.)
     I think my teacher was a Mrs. Bird.  I think.  I remember her as tall, skinny, white hair and a love for Arizona.  Over Christmas Break she went there, bringing back cactus candy and chocolate covered ants for the more adventurous students to try.  But John will undoubtedly remember the right names.
     Sometime that spring, I got sick.
     High fever, what seemed like daily doctor visits in the third floor apartment we had.  Cold rags placed over my forehead.  I was kept in a room with the shades drawn, I remember being told that the bright light could cause blindness or vision loss if I had looked at it.
     No reading.  We did not have a television that I remember.  If we did, I did not watch it.
     I just remember aching, high temperature, sleeping a lot, and those miserable little red spots all over my body.
     Some days I had to go down the three flights and go to our neighbors.  Mrs. Maudlin and her Scott Terrier Blackie would then baby sit me.  At night I would make the trip back up the stairs.
     I missed a lot of school.  There was some consideration of holding me back because I missed so much and could not do the work at home because they didn't want me to read.
     Realize that was 58 years ago, so some of my facts may be a little off.  But I seem to remember missing five or six weeks of school and getting extra help when I did come back.
     I don't wish anyone to have measles.
     It can be deadly, can cause life long damage, and can be prevented by a vaccine.
     I don't thing that was available back in 1958....if it was, I am sure my folks would have spared me the pain and agony and gotten me the shot.
     That's all I have to say about it.

once upon a mattress

We may be buying a new mattress

     Several years ago Jackie had a back problem.  I figured it was the 20 year old mattress we had been sleeping on, so we bought a new sleeping system.

     That's right, a sleeping system.  

     It has controls for different sleeping needs, from pillow soft to firm and hard, like my abs.  We both have set them fairly high.

     She doesn't like it.  She doesn't feel she has the right mattress for the sleep she needs.

     So we have been watching ads on TV.

     The $179 queen from "mattress outlet" didn't seem like a price you would pay for a quality queen.      Then I saw the bed with the rising back.  You can lift the legs, or the head, depending on your needs.  And each side has its own control!  I could have my head up, she could sleep level.  I could have my feet level, she could have hers up.

     Ideal, is it not?

     I started thinking.  What happens if I hit the lower button in the middle of the night?  Will I get her head caught between the two mattresses?  Will I wake up in the morning and see just her body and feet....and no head??

     What if the bed goes crazy and the feet go up and the head goes up and I have to sleep like a U?

     Will my legs/feet/arms get wedged between the sides and squashed like a roach on a cheap diner's Formica table?

     It is all to much for me to think about.  And I know I can't "sleep on it" because it will give me nightmares.

     So I think we will be looking for a conventional mattress.  

     At our age, it isn't wise to mess with mother Serta.

feeling a little cranky tonight

Some things just bug the hell out of me

     We live in a world fraught with dangers, wars, disease, pestilence, want.....
     My complaints are of a much smaller nature.

     Who designs those packages with the "peel here to open" packaging?  They should be peeled and opened because lord knows I can't get at the stuff inside without a scissors or pliers.

     Why can't people put their cars in the cart corrals in parking lots?  I actually watched a guy load his SUV, then push the cart into an empty space even though he was 10 feet away from a cart corral!  If I didn't fear getting shot, I would have said something.

     Why do people who are afraid to drive in snowy conditions still drive and do 10 miles an hour?  If you are that scared, stay home!

     Telemarketers.  I do not have Com Ed, I won't support your candidate, and I really don't want to take your survey on whatever it is.  Leave me alone!

     People who go out in public in:  their pajamas, sweatpants that are too tight for them, wearing shirts with obscenities, exposing their stomachs by letting them hang uncovered over their belts! Seriously!!

     People who wait until the clerk totals up their purchase to start digging out their credit card, money, or worse yet, checkbook.  If you are buying something, you are going to have to pay so get the money out!

     Lines.  Except at Disney World.

     My inability to remember names.  Or at least, correct names.

     Typos in a newspaper.
 
     Self published books that were not proofed by someone with a basic knowledge of the English language.

     Tossing a pass at the one yard line.

     Beer vendors at the ball park.....why do they always stop and stand in front of me?

     People who smell.  I was behind a guy last week and almost gagged.  Showers and baths are a great benefit to your fellow man.

     People who don't read my blog.

     Thanks, I really do feel better now.  Glad I could get all that off my chest.

time for an update

I am not a statistics person

     I checked my stats page for this blog today.
     There have been 17,105 page views.  So 17,105 times you folks took the time to read, and hopefully laugh, at my daily life.
     People from 10 countries have at least 20 page views.  Of course, the US leads, and Switzerland is second.  Other countries where people have looked at a page include France, Germany, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Turkey, Romania and Italy.  I get Switzerland, can even understand France and Germany, but the others must just be people fishing for stuff.  Maybe the former Soviet Republics don't have a lot of entertainment options.
     Sixteen percent of the viewers used an I Phone.  I guess if you are stuck in traffic and need a brief diversion, this could be the answer.
     And I have made 401 entries, counting this.
     Not bad for a person who can't complete things, although I will not this is the only goal I have completed in the past three years.
     I am 497 miles away from my goal of walking 500 miles, and 483 miles away from riding 500 miles. Conversely, my weight has crept up over the past two weeks.
     But now I have an antibiotic, some extra strength cough syrup, and a medically approved plan to restore my health in three days.
     We'll see about that!

timing is everything

I picked the winning numbers in last week's Powerball

     The problem is, I did not pick them for that game.  I picked them last July, August, September.......whenever the jackpot goes over $200 million.  And I did not pick them all in one game.  A number here, a number there.....but  I  did actually win $1.  The best is yet to come, and I will still treat people to White Castles when I hit the big one.
     Last weekend's snow was long overdue.  All winter I have been waiting to strap on the newly repaired snowshoes and go out into the woods.  Now that we have snow, I have a cold and can't imagine expending energy tromping through the woods.  I can barely keep my eyes open when I am watching TV, yet I don't fall asleep.
      But my timing is nothing compared to Pete Carroll of the Seahawks.  Seriously, I am an idiot and yet I would have given the ball to one of the hardest running backs in football, or at least rolled my QB out to the left and had him run it.  A pass??  Good grief.
     Life is like a good joke.  Timing matters.
     How many times have you missed something, or someone, because you were just a minute late.  You could have been late because you got behind a slow driver, or a tractor, or a school bus, or got caught by a train.  Just as you reach the destination, your moment has passed.  The timing was off.
     I wonder what my life would have been like if I was born in the 1930s, or 1920s.  I love British period pieces, Downton Abbey, Agatha Christie's Poirot, and sometimes I wish that would have been my era too.  Of course I have to get around that Depression, World War thing, but it does seem like a nice time.
     Like I said, timing is everything...... if my German grandmother had knocked on Mom and Dad's apartment door at the right time, I might not even be here!
     And if I don't go to bed soon, I might not get my normal five hours sleep.
     So, my time is up for tonight.

whew, what a day

I have had a very long day

     The heat didn't work.  The hot water didn't work.  It was cold outside.  The driveway drifted.  My daughter was at work, causing me to worry needlessly.  i rooted for the Seahawks.  My cold is still dragging on.
     We have an on demand hot water system.  There is an air filter on the unit, and sometimes it gets clogged with dirt.  Once I figured out that was the problem, it only took a few minutes to take the tank front off, drop the screws on the ground, take out the filter, clean it, replace it, look for the dropped screws, find the directions for resetting it and voila!  Hot water.  Instantly.
     The furnace is another story.  After the new electric meter was installed, the furnace was not running.  I went downstairs and threw the breaker, and it started working again.  Fast forward to waking up to a 62 degree house, and you see my concern.  I threw the breaker again, but nothing happened.  Then about two hours later, it went on!  The house heated up and we were fine.  Until tonight.  Now, nothing is going.  It will be a cold morning.
     That was quite the storm, wasn't it?  The howling, the screaming....but enough about me.  It was so cold, I saw a snowman rubbing his arms together to start a fire!   I saw two snowflakes that were alike!
     A day of sneezing, coughing, wheezing, drinking tea, indifferently watching a Super Bowl game, watching cars creep down the road......now I am tired.  Doing nothing can cause that.

just waiting....and watching

I think it may finally snow

     Anywhere from 6 to 20 inches, depending on the forecast and the direction the storm tracks.
     I was just outside a few minutes ago, listening.
     Listening to a snowstorm at night is very cool.
     You can hear the flakes hitting the ground.  But it's what you can't hear that is amazing.  Not as many cars, no people, no airplanes......it was just drop dead quiet out on the front porch.
     Sure, in the distance there was a train horn, but this is Rochelle.  One car went down Flagg Road, but it was going very slowly, and very quietly.
     In the past during snows I have put on my shearling coat and just gone out into the woods behind my old house, or even just under the pine trees in the back yard, and listened to the snow fall.  It is very soothing to the soul.
     When I was a kid growing up in Chicago I loved hearing the sound snow shovels made on the sidewalks, the scrape, scrape, scrape that often came in a type of rhythm.
     Tomorrow the plows will be out, and the annoying mosquito sounding snowmobiles will be speeding across the yards, people will fire up their snow blowers.  The silence will be broken.
     I always think of Robert Frost:  The woods are lovely, dark and deep; but I have miles to go before I sleep.
     I too, have miles to go before I sleep.
     In the meantime, I think I'll go back out onto the porch.