I'm feeling the earth move....sort of.

     Maybe my weight has a direct correlation to my inability to write.  I keep putting off exercise, and I keep putting off writing.
     So, what has been happening?  A lot, and a little.
     We finally had some dry weather last week and the landscapers came in and moved dirt.  A lot of dirt.  190 cubic yards of dirt.  Dirt trucks kept pulling up and dollar signs kept flashing in my head.  they worked hard Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday....and then it rained.  You can't really do much in the mud.  But it was dry Saturday and Sunday, at least until midnight when it poured.  You can't do much in the mud.  The forecast for this week calls for rain on Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Thursday.... You can't do much in the mud.
     The only end I can see to the rain is for the dirt to get cultivated, smoothed, and seeded...then the rain will stop.  I will have to run sprinklers every waking hour, but the rain will stop.
     Jackie is finally well after battling a norovirus for the last two months.
     Emily is away and I am dog sitting.  Now Cooper is a wonderful guy, but you have to watch him like a hawk.  He has a tendency to seek attention by attacking stuff.  By the way, Emily, if you are reading this... you need a new pillow for your bed.
    My first column was in the Rochelle paper.....and one person emailed me a comment on it!  I am glad someone read it.  My next column tackles the highly controversial subject of sidewalks.
In the past year I have lost 20 pounds.  I lose four, then gain five.  Then I lose three and gain two.  All total, I should way about 182 but in reality I am at 198.  I can't seem to get in the exercise habit.  I am in the eat anything that gets in my sight habit, but not exercise.
      Went out for my birthday dinner last week with friends MaryKay and Steve.  Went to a nice Italian restaurant in Dixon.  Now I love spaghetti carbonara.  It is a pasta dish, with chunks of salty ham or thickly sliced bacon served in a rich white sauce, often times with a soft boiled egg on top.  It is really delicious.  So I ordered a pasta calamari dish.  I have had calamari and always thought they were a little
rubbery.  Calamari, carbonara.....both start with c.  I can be such a dunce.  It was good, but it wasn't carbonara.
     The gasoline smell is almost gone from my Honda.  Spilling two gallons in the trunk is not a smart thing to do.  Not having a cap on my mowing  gas can is a mistake I will not be repeating.
     My basement project is at a standstill.  All I have to do is wrap some pipes and finish insulating.  I was at that point three weeks ago.  Maybe this week.
     And so it goes.  Some days I feel on top of the world, other days I feel the doormat of the world.
     But with all the mud around the house, another doormat might not be a bad thing.

The first of many

Back yard before mowing.

With dirt

Dirt helps!

canyons have gone...still steep

a level front

after mowing

New chapter to an old book

     I think I am just bored.
     I am always looking for something to do, but I don't want to do anything.....which if that makes sense to you, we'll pop a bottle of Indiana red and you can 'splain it to me, Lucy, cause I am clueless.
     Example:  Bought a hook for dearest to hang her purse on...... two weeks and counting and she still puts in on the floor because I haven't done my two minute job.
     But I have played solitaire.
     Have lines to learn for a little play this summer....have not worked on those for two weeks.  But I have taken some naps.
     I am doing a column for the Rochelle News Leader.  It is once a month and will begin after my park board sentence, I mean term, ends on Monday.  It's a column on local issues.....not funny, not serious, not too negative..... I am sure it will be so popular I will be swarmed by autograph seekers and publishers with book deals.
     I finally mowed at Emily's this weekend.  She had done it a couple of times but was gone and I needed something to get me outside.  Mowing when you don't have a yard is like an unexpected Christmas gift from a crazy aunt.  You want to open it, but somehow fear the anticipation is the highlight.
     I should keep track of my volunteer hours.  Maybe I'll create a weekly listing of hours given and distances travelled......and then not fill out the list or actually lose it like I have done the Tuscany list (three times!).
     I should learn to focus  more.... and if you replace the o with an i you get a plant!  Hmm.....
     I was thinking the other day about how I compare with people who are young.  We have our strengths.
     For example, people under the age of 40 know how to download tunes ... I know how to put that spindle in a 45 rpm record so you can play it on the stereo.
     Under 40s know how to text.  I can still dial  a rotary phone.
     Media nuts have multiple controls.  I know how to get up and push the channel up or down button on the front of the tv.
     Garman and Siri tell younger motorists where to go.  I still rely on the voice next to me in the front seat.
     The list could go on and on but I think I'll go put up a hangar.  And practice lines.  And nap.
     But first.....a little solitaire.

Smells, aches, and other neat shtuff

This has been a busy week.
Yes, I am retired.  And I do a lot of things I want to do, as my past week shows:
Monday.....night game at Wrigley
Tuesday.... Prayers2Pass at St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Wednesday...United Way allocation committee meeting
Thursday... oil change in Rockford and cable repair guy
Friday.... Cub game
Saturday... 92 birthday party
Sunday... MS Walk

     So I am tired this afternoon.
     Highlights and lowlights:  The MS Walk in St. Charles.  I had a little over $600 donated in my name, and I thank everyone who gave.  Emily, Sheri, Sarah and Noelle also walked with me along the Fox River.  We had a nice time walking, chatting, ogling other walkers and runners (especially young men!), plus we walked to raise money for a cause.
     Had a coupon for $20 off for an oil change and did not use it, and realized too late I paid for a tire rotation.  The rotation was supposed to be free, but I did not remind them.  Hopefully my account will be credited.
     Cubs won Monday, lost Friday although that was a winnable game and they just didn't hit.
     Lunch in French Market....delicious grilled cheese with cheddar, bacon, and Granny Smith apples.....it was yummy!!
     Lunch at Big Al's Italian beef near the ballpark....and I ate it without dripping on my shirt.  One of the best tasting Italian beefs I have had, by the way.
     Meeting students from every spectrum of life who were concerned about finals, their future, their friends and families.....and offering them spiritual and physical refreshment.
     Listening to the explanations given by various agencies doing business in Ogle County and providing services to the elderly, poor, troubled, and disabled.  These groups do a lot for those who  need help.  So if you don't contribute to the United Way, please consider doing so.  If you want information on how to do that, contact me.
     Spilling two gallons of gas in the trunk of my Honda.  That's why I have been driving with windows open and the heat running full blast.  I think it will clear up in five or six months.
    An addiction in the making......I seem to have had coffee every day.  Robyn's Nest in Oregon, Cypress House in Rochelle, Starbucks in Chicago........ and my personal favorite is Cypress House in Rochelle.
    But the next weeks will be a little less busy:  mini courses at Tilton,  BZ day, Exit 99 show (please come) a birthday dinner, sub gig, and hopefully watching a lawn get planted and the land graded.
     Like I said, retirement is a time to sit back, relax, and do nothing.

Name that tune....but not the person

     Here is something true about me you may not know, or even realize.
     Names confuse me.
      I can sing songs from the 50s and 60s, but names of people I know today are often as far away as the moon.
     I find it hard to find differences between similar items.  Or people, similar or not.
     So, when Joni and Cindy come into the Rotary meeting, sometimes Cindy is Cindy, but sometimes she is Joni.
     When I see my twin nieces (who do not look alike to anyone else in the western hemisphere), sometimes Charlotte is Samantha and sometimes she isn't.
     One time we had twins in fifth grade and the girls switched classrooms in the middle of the day.  I did not notice.  The class kept giggling whenever I called on Brittany, because they knew  I had no clue.
     They were not dressed the same, they were not wearing their hair the same....but  I failed to pick up on that.
     Someone who knows better told me:  Just say hello.  Don't use a name.
     Which is advice hard to follow for an impulsive guy like me.
     So when I see Donnie and his son in Headon's today, I say:  Hello Andrew.  You really are tall!
     At home I remembered Andrew is another family.  Robbie is Donnie's.
     (OK, I actually didn't remember but was informed of my mistake by you know who.)
     This is true.  One time we were in Eagle Food Store  (dates me) and I saw the mother of a boy in my class.  I had given him An Important Note.  We had checked out when I saw her, so I told Jack to wait a second.  I went over to the mom and said:  Please look in your son's book bag when you get home.  He has an important note.
    (Now it's an e-mail, tweet or text.  Back then I used paper and pencil.)
     The lady looked at me and said, " Ok, I will do that as soon as I get home."
     You know where this is going.
     Jackie asked me who she was, I told her, and she said the words I hear very often in life:  That was not so and so....in other words, she was a stranger.
     I can see her now, running home to find the note from the good looking, movie star bodied man who hit on her in Eagle.....or to see what pervert was putting notes in her child's book bag.
     I went into Country School recently...twice actually.  Called Kaitlin Ashley.  I realized my mistake....or should I say it did not seem to be correct when I said it.  Also have trouble with Haley and Kelsey...who also work at Country School.  Solved that problem by calling Haley KAYLEY....which isn't even a name of someone I know!  Let me stress...none of these people look like the other!!
      Being a relative does not help.   Ben is Michael, sometimes he is Ben.  Gabe can be Wade and Wade can be Gabe.
     I think it is a problem I have had all my life....which makes me uncomfortable.  Do I really know all the names of people I know?  How many Joes are really Gus?  And is every Mary a Mary?
     So when I see you, and I call you the wrong name, or no name, just tell me who you are.  It will save me a lot of embarrassment.
   And while I don't know a name, I know the person......I can remember their husband's name and all the important parts of their life.
    OK, that is a lie.  I met the husband of a former colleague at a party and said, "Geeze I know you work at that place, you are married to that woman, you live in that house....but I forgot your name."
   It was Terry.   Same as me.  Which means, I can't even remember my own name!!

The Annual Check Up

     I don't think I am violating any Hippa (Hipa?  Hippo?) laws, but we had a visit with the MS specialist at Rush this week.
     I enjoy the leisurely paced drive into the heart of Illinois.  Drivers are most courteous along the route and always drive the speed limit, by the way.  And the 45 minutes it took us to get from Rush to Mannheim was time well spent in communing with nature.
     Her appointment was at 2:30 and she went in at.....2:30.
     Dr. B., and a doctor to be with one year left in her program, (Dr. young and pretty) sat and chatted with Jackie, asking questions, doing reflex tests, balance checks, and listening.
     We talked about a new drug she has been on for a year, Amprya, a drug developed in part by her first MS specialist at Rush.  Some people have been experimenting with the drug, taking two doses in the morning and one at night which seem to have a noticeable improvement over the generally prescribed one in the morning, one at night.
    He told us that the disease usually, and usually is the operative word here, "burns itself out" somewhere in the mid 60s.  What debilitation you have suffered at that point most likely will not be recovered, but can be improved.
    We talked about her discontinuing her weekly injections.  This is a drug that costs a lot of money and thankfully her insurance covers it.  I honestly don't see how people can take this drug without an insurance plan.  Actually, both drugs are in the $$$ range.
     The majority of MS cases are reported in northern latitudes...it is almost unheard of in southern climates.  The majority of victims are women.
    Some studies have linked a lack of vitamin D in diets to the disease, and there may be a cause and effect relationship but it can't yet be proven.  His advice:  tell our daughters to take vitamin D daily....minimum 2,000 units.  He recommended Jackie up her dose to 5,000 units.  He also said this is a long term situation.  Taking Vitamin D for a week or two isn't the key...but taking it for life is.
     Jackie was also one of the lucky winners of the Who Gets Food Poisoning Contest at the recent retired teachers event....in which a rumored 75 of the 100 plus attendees came down with nausea, diarrhea and the ever lovely projectile vomiting. (Whereas I did not suffer any aftereffects.  Sheri K. thinks it's because my world traveling and eat anything philosophy has created a tougher stomach.)
     Dr. B reminded us that MS slows down the body's reaction to fighting illness.  He said while others took a few days to recover from the luncheon, her body may need 2 weeks.  And indeed, it has taken longer than we hoped but she has been fine for two days .... (that is the sound of me knocking on wood.)
     If you live in Rochelle, chances are you know someone besides Jackie with MS.  We seem to hear of new cases every week....friends of friends, sisters of friends, total strangers who now share a link that really nobody should have to share.
     When she was diagnosed 15 years ago, we were told researchers were very close to finding a cure.  Well, they still are looking.
     In some ways we are lucky.  Yes, she shuffles her left leg... but she is walking.  Yes, she tires easy...but she is walking.  Yes she wobbles like a Weeblo .... but she is walking.
     And so am I.  I am walking May 5 in St. Charles in an MS fundraiser.  My goal is $500 and donations can be made by visiting the MS Chicago website, finding the fundraiser button, looking for the St. Charles walk and then entering my name and your donation.
    This disease can be cured, it will be cured.  Hopefully in our lifetime.
     So take your vitamin D and take a moment to support me and the thousands of MS patients in Illinois with a donation.
     We will all thank you for helping win the battle against MS.

Earth day is when?

     Today, April 22, is officially Earth Day.
     Not sure exactly what that means.
     I look in my garage and realize, Earth Day is more than just today.  I have a can for recycled plastics, one for paper, one for aluminum cans, one for items to go to the zoo.  (BZ has needs of Altoid tins, stackable yogurt cups, plastic newspaper delivery bags and a whole bunch of other odds and end type stuff during the year.)
     I also have a small container for dead batteries.
     And a container for electronics waste
     And a corner for hazardous waste.
     And a box for the resale shop.
     My garage is a mess!
     I once did a presentation in a science class on a scientific concept.  Other people did presentations on matter, energy, biodiversity.  I did mine on the concept of away.
     Which, strangely enough, is not a scientific concept.  But it should be.  What do you do with an unwanted Styrofoam cup?  Throw it away.
     But what is away?  Where is away?  That styro cup or plastic water bottle or plastic bag does not go away.  It lingers in landfills, festers in fields, tangles in trees (in case you have not picked up, I am using alliteration to interest you).  Newspaper decomposes, but those materials just merge into the soil.
     I don't think anything ever goes away.  It just takes a different form.
     So when wifey says, "This doesn't work.  Throw it away." I can't.
I have to check to see if it is recyclable plastic, or an electronic, or an item that can be reused. Only when I have exhausted all areas (and her patience) can I truly put it in the trash and hope the garbage men take it.
     But I know it will never go away.
     So Earth Day is a conflict for me.  I try to be good to  Mother Earth, but let's face it:  We can't save the planet by ourselves.  I think that whenever  I drive to BZ, which is a 160 mile round trip, using about 3.5 gallons of gas.  That is a waste of a natural resource, which is converted to energy and to carbon dioxide which seems to be harmful to the earth and all living creatures.  As the gas guzzlers pass me on the tollway, I realize not only can I do better, but so can a lot of people.
     So on this Earth Day I am going to wash windows.  Instead of using paper towels, I'll use the old dish towels that are too full of holes for drying dishes.  I'll use vinegar and water as a cleaning agent.  Then I'll head off into the garage and try to arrange my mess.
   By the way, my brilliant, innovative and highly entertaining presentation on the concept of away earned a D.  Go figure.

just some weird thoughts

    First off...I feel really young this afternoon.  That's because I went to a meeting of the Ogle Lee Retired Teachers.  Enough said.
    The rain is really quite interesting.  It was raining and blowing so hard this morning, it set off my outside motion detector lights.  I have never seen them on before.
    Those lights are my first line of defense.  Some of you may know me as a carefree, happy, fun loving individual.  But some of you also know me as a paranoid, hypochondriac, manic depressive  who catches every disease mentioned on tv.  I hated watching ER (for you young people, that was a tv show set in a Chicago hospital that featured a young George Clooney) because I would catch the disease of the day.  In one episode a guy showed up in the ER with a hatchet in his head and I got a headache!!  Seriously!
    And paranoid....I have been known to put chairs in front of doors in hotel rooms and in my house.              You never know when someone will break in and a chair will maybe slow them down.
    Now someone as paranoid as me might buy a weapon...and I have.  I have a can of wasp spray.  It sprays for 20 feet and there is no chance Jackie will use it on me, or vice versa, just because we are having a disagreement.  Well, almost no chance.
    I am obsessive compulsive.  I check the door three times at night.  I check the door three times when we leave.  If we are going on vacation I walk through the house at least twice to make sure faucets are off.  When I was teaching, it was not unusual for me to pull out of the Tilton parking lot, then turn left and pull in to check the gym door.  Then I would pull out and repeat the process, for fear I accidentally unlocked the door while checking it.  My record was four trips.  That is true.
    I am convinced one day I will go out for milk and be found 12 hours later in Intercourse, PA, mumbling incoherently and looking for my car while eating a shoe fly pie with my fingers.   I can see the police calling and telling Jack they found me in Intercourse......course I will be senile and won't remember any of it.
    Every time I ride the L in Chicago I am convinced I will be A: mugged; B: fall onto the tracks; C:  be on a train that derails; D: all of the above.
    And for anyone who is still wondering what to do in life.....I have a dream/nightmare that because I don't really pay attention to what is around me, I missed the whole start of Second City in Chicago and because of that I am not famous and John Belushi is.  Course, he is also dead.  But you get my drift.  I was taking guitar lessons at the Old Town School of Folk Music when I should have been taking comedy lessons up the street.  I thought I would be a Bob Dylan, or a Bob Wagner.  Or Joan Baez, after surgery.
    Final thought..... In May I am starting a regular  column for the Rochelle News Leader.  It will be an opinion column on local happenings.  I am filled with dread. It's only once a month.....but for some reason having to do something puts a pressure on me I don't usually have.  That may be a good thing,
I hope.
     Maybe  I am still trying to figure out what I want to do in life.

Red means stop......what is so hard about that?

     Red means stop.  That has to be understood, or there will be no meaning coming from this tale.
     Actually had a good/crappy day.  I'll start with the good.
     I went to the zoo.
     I had a great cup of coffee.
     It was sunny and fairly warm.
     I went to the zoo.  It is always fun being at the zoo.  Today I played with paint.  We had golf balls and trays of blue and yellow paint.  You put a golf ball in a tray and rolled it.  Then you put the ball in an oatmeal container that had paper in it.  Then hop like a frog and shake it.  (OK, I felt a little pervy when moms were jumping and I kept saying "That's right, shake it!  Shake it good.")  Then you take the ball out and the paper and you have a cool looking pictures. (My hands are blue.  Evidently, the water soluble paints are not so water soluble when it comes to getting blue off your hands.)
     On my way home I stop at a little coffee shop and hand a candy bar latte.  It has caramel, hazelnut syrup, chocolate syrup, two shots of espresso and steamed milk......and a giant chocolate chip cookie.  (Which was actually lunch, because I got out of my rut and went to a different restaurant only to learn they don't have soup.  And I did not have enough time to walk across the park to the place that does.)
It was sunny and fairly warm.  Enough said.
     Now the crappy.
     At the zoo animals in my area are labeled green, yellow, or red.  Green means everyone can handle them...take them out, have kids pet them or just look at them.  These are animals that have undergone a training regime to accustom them to people.  Yellow means the animal is not quite there yet and can be handled only by keepers.  Red means don't take them out.  Period.
     I took out the baby gecko and had him out for about 10 minutes and went to put him away and.....he's red!  Just then a keeper came up and looked at me and said, "Terry!??"  I explained I looked at the green species tag and missed the huge red tag, and the note that is on the list I am supposed to check that said "DO NOT HANDLE." And the big clue that no one else had taken him out today.
     I felt so stupid.
     On the plus side, I served as a reminder to all volunteers to always check labels and notes, not assume a color is what it has been in the past.  And the keepers learned that even though the gecko wasn't used to humans, he did alright.  I was apologizing so much, I think the keeper was taking pity on me.
    Now I have to try to get the paint off my blue hands.....otherwise people will think I have an oxygen deprivation issue!
   

Where is my typewriter????

     I was Skyping my sister in law Joan in Wisconsin today, when we got a second Skype call from Julia in Switzerland.
     I grabbed my laptop and called Julia while Jackie continued talking to Joan.  After a few minutes, we switched and I talked to Joan while Jackie talked to Julia.
     Pretty boring, huh?
     Joan and I were marveling about our ability to Skype.  Now I am 60 plus.... or 9 in dog years.... and if you are under 55 you can't imagine how life has changed for people in my age group.
     In 1987 Commodore computers were selling for $1,495.  They sold over 1 million in 1991.  They were the leaders in the almost new PC market.  In 2004, over 173 million computers were sold in the world.  Then in 1995 Windows 95 was introduced and the home PC market shot off like a rocket.
    What are we doing with those computers?  We are using them to reconnect with old friends on Facebook, creating new friends, commenting on every topic under the sun, looking up information, finding dates, following our favorite sports teams, viewing porn, and all sorts of other activities that are pretty easy and common to do on computers.
     We are communicating.  Skype has been around for just a few years, and considering the world wide web became available in 1990, and AOL went live in 1993, is just a baby in the communications field.
    When I was a kid, we had those old rotary dialed phones.  And there were party lines.  Your phone had a particular ring and when you heard it you answered it.  If someone else was on the line, you could not use the phone but you could surreptitiously listen in on their conversations.
   Our entertainment consisted of the Saturday afternoon matinee at the Music Box or Rivera or even the Uptown or North Center theater, all in the neighborhood in Chicago.  We could watch three channels on our black and white tv and I was ecstatic when a fourth channel.... public television... was introduced.  My teen years featured Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, Bonanza and Lawrence Welk. (I think Lawrence Welk explains the strange fascination for theater parts featuring dresses.)
    Two nights ago I rented a video from Red Box.  I have watched on demand movies from Comcast.  People have Netflix, Apple TV, and other ways to watch movies, tv shows, or whatever.  We can watch the Rover on the surface of Mars ..... an inconceivable experience when I was a slim kid  and looking up at he stars.
    And boy do we have cell phones.   Computers and Kindles with Skype.  Navigation systems with sexy voices (at least I think they are sexy) telling us that we missed a turn and they are reprogramming.
     Reprogramming.
    The world is becoming smaller.  Communications are instant.  Important news stories reach us almost as they happen and fade from our minds just as quickly.
   It's an exciting, scary, fun time to be alive.
   And my typewriter?  Well, I finally broke down and got rid of it last week.  Took it to an electronics recycling center where the wires will be stripped and recycled, possibly into the next amazing electronic device that we all will accept as normal and not pause to marvel at its genius.

Organic yogurt, burglars, and memory loss

     I know you are asking, "How are these related?"

     I'll explain.

     Jackie and I went shopping Thursday.....Woodman's in Rockford... and I bought some Stonyfield Farm Organic Yogurt.  Now this is a little more expensive than Yoplait.  It was 89 cents for one cup.  But we had a coupon for $1 off a purchase of three.  So I bought three cups and put them in the cart.

     Went though the checkout lane, used the coupon, went home, unpacked the groceries and put the Stonybrook Farm in the fridge, top shelf, right.  I remember doing that as well as I remember putting on  on pants that Thursday.

    Fast forward to Sunday morning.  I get up, open the fridge and there is one.....(1) .... uno..... une...a solitary, lonely, all by itself Stonyfield Farm Organic Yogurt black cherry on the shelf.  

    Knowing I did not eat any, I checked the fridge.  Then I checked the pantry.  (Ever since I stored the Exit 99 checkbook in a shoe for safe keeping and then spent several days looking for the checkbook because I forgot I put it in the shoe, I discovered  I have maybe been guilty of putting things in the wrong place.)  However, there was no yogurt in the pantry, freezer, cupboard or refrigerator, which I checked a second time.

    Asked Jackie.  Nope, she hadn't eaten any.  Checked the car to make sure they did not roll out of the bag.  Nada.  Nothing.

    That's when I realized someone was coming in the house during the night and eating my yogurt!  Seriously!!  How else can it be explained?

     Someone was dubious, but she had no explanation either.  

     Then I wondered, what else was missing?  So I sifted through the recycle bin for the slightly damp receipt and scanned down.  Cheese:  check.  Broccoli: check.  Cool Whip:  check. 1 (0ne) Stonyfield Farm yogurt:  check.  One.  Only one.

     The coupon was accepted, but the product was not purchased.  I know I put three in the cart.  I know I put three in the fridge.  So either I didn't do what I was positive about or someone is eating my yogurt at night when I am asleep or being strangled in addition to finding my store receipts and altering them.

   (Side note:  I had a nightmare that I was being strangled in my sleep Saturday night.  I fought off the person, who shall remain nameless, and managed to live through the night.  When I woke up Sunday a thread ... and I mean a huge one, at least two feet long.... from the blanket was wrapped around my arm.   Come to think of it, the person in my nightmare was using a thread to try to strangle me.....hmmmmm)

     So Sunday after church I had to buy more yogurt.  It's not Stonyfield.  But it'll do.

     And tonight I will double lock the doors and check the windows.  Just in case.

Cornering a market......

    Industrialists corner a market when it will economically benefit them.  If aluminum producers sense a rise in aluminum prices, they will buy up as much as they can to ensure they have a workable, economical supply to meet their demand.
     I too have cornered a market or two:  Scraps of paper that don't seem to have any value except for scribbling notes near the telephone.   Notebooks, partially used but still containing paper.  File folders.
Dividers.
     I swear, I am borderline hoarder!!  I have a 4 inch stack of spiral notebooks with paper in them....some have a lot of paper, some have a little.  At the start of the school year I bought notebooks because they were on sale....these are not included in the pile.  Pne of the pads is a legal pad with numbered lines.....made in 1995!!  Cripes, it can vote if it was human!!
     And folders....some in good repair, some used once or twice.  A stroll down life's lane:  house ideas; life list; bucket list; home ideas; places to go before I die from being buried under unwanted/unused stacks of paper.
     I have folders for: VCCT, Exit 99, BRAT, St. Paul's, park district, evaluations....and one that has some notes in French from when Emily was in high school.
     I should just toss them......or more accurately, recyle them.  But I can't.
    They still have life.  They still have a use.  They still have a contribution to make to society.  I am talking notebooks, right?
     Which is more than I can say for for the scraps of paper.  Note cards.  Recipe cards.  Envelopes of various sizes.  Some yellowed with age, some reflecting a time and society which sent notes though the postal service, not through space.  Those went into the recycling bucket.  Except for the ones on pads....they went by the telephone for making notes.
     I  know someday I will die.  Not to be morbid, but that seems to be the one constant in life. Along with government taxes, Chicago Cubs futility on the diamond, and corruption in Illinois government.
I have visions of my funeral....complete with music.  I'll just say it will be Amazing, Grace.
     I don't want to leave Jackie a pile of stuff she will have to deal with.
    And I sure don't want the kids to open a box and say, "WTF" (That does mean, Wow, that's funny...for those with sick minds.  Doesn't it?)
     So I'm going to make a list of things to sell on e-bay.  I am putting Jackie in charge of monitoring sales and income.
     I think I can find a notebook or two for that.

Just a dog.....

You know we don't have a dog.  And we never will.
There are good reasons for that.  They shed.  They slobber.  They make a mess in the yard and sometimes in the house.  You have to feed them.
Oh yes, you say, but you once had a dog.  We did.  Snooty.  A mixed breed of a mutt that Julia and Emily could climb on, lay on, chase, even share their food with.
Oh yes, I had to clean up the yard.  And the house when she had an accident.
And then there was the winter when the snow was deep..... 79?.... and the damn dog had to use the driveway as a yard.  I did not realize the problem that would cause until spring time when the snow melted and there were these huge blobs of brownish crap  on the roof of the garage.  It seemed I should have aimed the snow blower away from the garage, not at it.  I don't remember how many rains it took to wash that off!
And the dog had a tumor under her left front leg.  When she walked, it looked like she was carrying a basketball.  The tumor was inoperable without causing muscle damage to the front leg, rendering it useless and making her a three legged dog.
Emily was in sixth grade.  That would be 87 or so.  The tumor got bigger, the dog got to the point where she could barely walk.  And it was time to say good bye.
It was the hardest thing I had to do....I took our dog into a vet office, knowing I would not bring her home.  No more picking up the messes in the yard.  No more buying dog food and cleaning the water bowl.  No more yapping in the middle of the night to go out or scare off the imaginary intruder.  No more Snooty.
You know, we don't have a dog.  And we never will.
But Emily has dogs.  Libby is my favorite.  She's the mutt that captured our hearts from the day Emily brought the foundling home from a vet clinic, where she had been dumped.
She's a messy dog.  Sheds.  Drools like crazy.  Demands attention from anyone within arms' length.  And if you don't pet her, she'll lean on you until you do.
For 13 years she has been there, protecting Emily, playing catch with me.  Being my listening buddy and gladly putting up with my kvetching as long as I was petting her.  When she was younger we would wrestle all over the house.   She'd chase a ball.....never bring it back, but she would always chase it.  And tug of war was an outcome whenever she had something in her mouth she wasn't supposed to have.
Over the weekend Libby started bleeding from her ear.  Last November she had her spleen removed and they told Emily she had a rather aggressive form of cancer.  Today the vet said she had a growth in her ear that was bleeding, possibly a manifestation of the cancer which produces tumors throughout the body.
Libby is not in pain, or at least obvious pain.  But the bleeding can't be stopped without a pretty involved surgery which may solve the problem, or may not.  And it won't prevent another tumor from forming in the same ear, or another ear, or elsewhere.
I know she's just a dog.  But I'd be lying if I didn't say it's hurting like hell right now.  Emily has to make the call.  I know what I would do, and I think Em knows what has to be done.
I know she's just a dog.  But she's the dog who backed the greyhound away from Emily after Emily was attacked.  She's the dog that Emily brought home from the vet, saving it from a life of uncertainty while giving it a loving home, plenty of food, and a lot of attention.  She's the dog who is, and will always be my friend.  I will miss her.
I will be with Em when she takes Libby for that last vet appointment.  I will hold my daughter, and my wife, as we all shed tears.
But I won't have another dog.

Who is my daddy?

Going through boxes can be a difficult task.  I am trying to tackle one or two boxes a week, maybe I can reduce the amount of "stuff" we have accumulated.
We?  Hell, it's the crap I have that causes the problem.
And honestly, sometimes I don't know what to do with it.
Pictures are my main focus this week.
Family History:  My father came to America when he was an infant.  Born in Pozin (Posen) Germany, by the time his mother brought him that part of Germany was in Poland.  So of all the people in my dad's family, he is the only Polish immigrant.
He was born in 1901....so he would be 112 if he were alive today. And he'd be grouchy, because that was his nature.
I don't know him.  Seriously.
He married my mother in 1937 or so.  I actually interviewed my mother a couple of times before she died and have notes.  I should put those in writing and maybe one day I will.
Anyway, she didn't know much about him either.....so his life before 1937 was a blank.  He was 36 when he married.....not exactly someone who did not have life experiences.
So here are my questions.  Look at the pictures and see why I am puzzled.

This could be a picture of my brother Carl, or even me....but it's dad!

My dad (on left, I think) at Camp Grant in Rockford during WW I

Pops in uniform, with a friend or his dad?

He's a doughboy.

Taking aim at the future

With a bunch of guys at Camp Grant....he's in the middle

This is marked Gallup NM 1926

Another Gallup 1926

At some point, he worked at a Glenn Ranch, or Glenn Canyon Ranch.  Note that Mrs. Raney is leaving.

To a good friend, from Cookie

Another reason I am confused.....did his parents own this store?

Man of leisure in California

So, there are some of the mysteries.  What did he do from WW I to when he got married?  I know he was in the service at the very end and was mustered out after training.
And in 1926, how adventurous do you have to be to drive in the west.  Did all of them travel together?  Did they take a train then rent a car, or drive the whole way?  Who are the other people?
Do I have half brothers and / or sisters running around in California?  Inquiring minds want to know.
What I realize is the importance of labeling pictures.  And talking to your parents.  You may find a whole lot that you didn't know.
I think it's kind of neat that I have a direct connection to WW I..... even if he was a short term doughboy who never saw action against his homeland.

Happy Valentine's Day.
Now for my strange journey through the day.
I decided to go through one of the 7 or 8 boxes of pictures I have saved throughout life.  As I sorted through the prints and negatives, I realized that I could have been a rich man if it wasn't for the camera!  I must have thrown out 60 packs of negatives.....one of them was marked $3.26 for developing.  I could have bought some Apple stock and been a millionaire!
Something else that amazed me.....negatives were dated and labeled with a topic!  In other words, at one point in my life I was organized!  I never realized that.
And at times I did tear up.
I looked at one picture of my family with all the relatives surrounding my mom and dad.  Aunt Kay, who once was a stockbroker, one of the first female ones in Chicago.  Uncle Jim, the natural born salesman.  Rondy, the diamond dealer.  Bee, who still had 20 year old canned tomatoes in her garage.    She insisted even though they were purple, her neighbors loved them.  Her husband Henry, a photographer extraordinaire.  Floyd the perv. My brother Dennis.  All of them are gone now, and of the 20 or so adults in the picture there are only a couple of us left.
Pictures of Julia and Emily as young girls.  Jackie as a long haired young woman, and Jackie with what looks to be a soccer ball on her head.  A baby.  A relatively good looking guy with a beard, which I never knew I did grow.

Family.

I always wanted riches, fame, and a great car.  I honestly wonder what my life would have been like if I had it.  Certainly the pictures would have changed..... some would not even be taken.

And it all went past so quickly, like a flash.

So on this Valentine's Day, embrace the family.

I'll let you embrace my family in photos.  Some are easily recognizable.  Some may not be.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them.

Emily with pumpkins on Mill Pond

A young teacher

my girls

Emily getting ready for the horse to roll

Soccer ball or hat?  You decide!

My first Christmas....I was 8 months

Back from Alaska, with a beard!

Newly weds

Snooty was a great dog

A preschool star

Cotton candy is always good

In the land of Oz?

Living in a new house is a matter of adjustment.  You don't know how cold you will be in winter, or how hot in the summer.  You are not sure if the air circulation will be enough when you open windows on the one day in October that seems nice enough to open windows.
Digression:  The window battle is often fought in our household.  Jackie has allergies.  I don't.  Jackie gets bothered with the windows open at night.  I don't.  Jackie does not always like them open during the day.  I do.
If you are married, you can see why I sleep in the spare bedroom on cool autumn nights and warm spring evenings..... I open the windows and close the door.  We both seem happy, until it is time to do the sheets and I have to fold two sets instead of one.
Last night was, how to put it, gusty.
At times I thought the roof was going to blow off.   The house shook.  The siding rattled.  The windows creaked.
How windy was it?
On the port o' pot index, pretty damn windy!
Digression two:  There is a house going up across the street from us.  They have the port o pot in the front driveway.  When it gets really windy the things flops over.  Today it was flopped and pushed and maybe even rolled.  
Now I know a job is a job.  But who is going to clean up that mess?
And by the way, those huge port o potties are not fireproof.  About two years ago a couple of youngins wanted to see if they burned.  So they threw some newspapers down and then tossed a lit paper in and.... surprise, they do not burn, BUT THEY MELT!!
And are they Irish?  I mean, is it port a pottie or port o' pottie? I know it's Patty O Furniture out in the yard, obviously an Irish invention.
But back to adjustments.
We have generally been warm this winter.  Some nights we use the fireplace for heat in the main room. I know, finding wood, cutting it, splitting wood, keeping a stack near the house.  Trudging out in mid January to bring up more wood.  All of this for a guy who is almost 65.  I miss that.  Now all I do is flip a switch and the gas log ignites with a swoosh.  I don't get the burning wood smell, the dust from the ashes.  No clean up required.  And while it's nice, I live in dread of losing power on a cold night and not having a wood burning stove as a back up.
The extra insulation seems to have sealed the drafts.  Despite all the rain, there is no water in the basement or the sump but we do have an itty bitty spot near an egress window.  I think by the time we get a lawn and grading done, that will be a one time occurrence.
The retention pond behind our house was pretty full yesterday and has gone down today.  Kids were using that as a sledding hill when we had our 1 inch of snow.
Traffic is more than I realized.  I think a lot of people are using Flagg Road to go from Dixon to DeKalb and Rochelle.  Unlike the tollroad, you won't pay almost $6 in tolls.  And unlike 38, there are only two stop signs and no towns, so traffic flows a little faster.
And traffic noticeably picks up on our street at around 8 and 3....we must have a lot of high schoolers and/or parents who pick up their kids from school.
We are working on organizing the laundry room....hopefully my next trip to IKEA will mean a wrap up of that project!
I can almost feel the earth outside calling me....... must be getting near spring.  Or maybe it's just the wind.

My first home repair job!

We have been in the house a little over 2 months and I actually did a home repair yesterday.
Jackie bought blinds from an on line company based in Texas.  The blinds are all made in USA, which in itself is unusual.  Plus, they were a great price!
After my friend Steve came out and helped me measure the width of the windows, Jackie placed the order.  We got them while at the townhouse and I put them up as soon as we could after moving in.
But one blind in our bedroom did not lock into the upright position.  So Jackie called the company and they said they would send out a new cord.
It arrived last Friday and for four days I stared at it.
You may know I am a klutz when it comes to home repair.
Among my exploits:  Using a vice grips to grab a live wire and getting blown across the room from the shock while living on Mill Pond.   Taking a 15 foot ride on a downward moving ladder, also on Mill Pond.  Smashing myself in the face with a hammer while removing a nail at the first house on Southview.  Popping a hernia while starting a roto tiller.  (Sure, you can laugh but it hurt!)
So home repair is not a strong suit with me.
Back to the future.
I got my pliers, screw drivers of assorted sizes, hammer,  chain saw, and took down the blind.  I opened the package of cord and found a steel part that closely resembled the plastic part inside the blind rail.
Clipping the ends of the cord, I pulled out the old plastic part, re threaded the new part, snapped it back into place and rehung the blind.  Voila!!  It works!!  Jackie can raise the blind and not yell for me to do it because it now stays in position instead of falling down again.
Which reminds me of a story.
Young, shapely woman just getting out of the shower  hears her door bell ringing.  She goes and yells through the door, "Who is it?"
A man replies, "Blind man, lady."
So she thinks what the hell, I am completely naked and wet, but he's blind.  So she opens the doors.
The guy stares at her and says, "Yeow lady!!  Where do you want your blinds?"
So be careful when coming to my house.  You never know.

Snow fun in Illinoise

I meant to spell it that way!  Why, you ask?  Because all we seem to get out of Springfield is noise.  Ill noise.  So I renamed the state.
Remember before the November elections how everybody was upset about the state finances, the Congressional gridlock?  Congress ratings were something near 10 percent.  Illinois ratings for its elected officials was less than the amount of snow that fell on the ground today.
And almost all of them got re-elected.  Why do we the people put up with the idiocy displayed in Congress and Springfield?  Why don't we just boot them out and put someone else in?  Seems easy.... everybody has a one term limit.
That's what snow does to me.  Makes me think.
Right now I'm thinking about getting a lawn, some bushes, trees, mowing and snowblowing.
Two years ago I had a little surgery.  Dr. Mike said I should not any heavy lifting, including pulling on the crank of a snow blower.  So I bought a new snow blower with electric start.
Those were the days we actually had snow.  I figure I am at about $175 per use at this point.  I bought the new one in December and it was/is as big as a VW Beetle.  Electric start, huge throwing capacity, two reverse speeds....an awesome machine.
Julia was home and we had a big snow.  I got her out there to clear the driveway.  I remember her putting it into the second reverse and having it pin her to a snowbank, and I was laughing so hard I could not get to the controls to move  it forward.  I did manage to get back into the house, grab a camera, and get a picture of her struggling to get out of the snowbank.  She wasn't hurt and it was funny.  I think that was the last time I used it.
Last year we moved and the snow blower went to Emily's.  This year it moved from Emily's to our new house where it sits, primed and waiting....  waiting for a snowfall that covers the ground, grinds traffic to a halt, closes schools and creates mayhem at the airports.
The little piddly stuff we have had so far has not amounted to much.  Sort of like the lawmakers we depend on to provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.
Geez, I think I am hungry for winter!!

A rant guaranteed to offend someone....

Call me crazy, and several of you have, but I am really bothered by a lot of what gets said and posted about religion, gun control, the Constitution, The Pledge of Allegiance and the new right fielder for the Cubs.
So here goes.
I see these bumper stickers that say "Religious Freedom." and I agree, but yet I wonder.  What does that mean?  If you tell people they have to follow a certain religion to get a job, get insurance, get benefits, go to school, then that is not religious freedom.  That is religious totalitarianism.  Surprise...not everyone believes in God!  Some believe in Budda, Muhammad, Yahweh, Jehovah, ECK or Kim Kardashian and some people don't believe in any supreme being.  (Except Superman.)  Yet people keep saying religious freedom.  Which to me means you as a person have the freedom to worship how you want or not worship at all.  You can believe in God, or not.  You should not be required to honor God if you don't believe in God.  Churches claim religious freedom in resisting the Affordable Care Act.  But if your beliefs are that birth control, and the morning after pill, are ok then isn't a church taking away your freedom by imposing theirs?
And the Pledge.  When it was write, the words Under God were not included.  It went that way for almost 50 years until the fear of Communism drove some Congressmen to include the words Under God in the Pledge.  So, if you are not a Christian, is saying the pledge forcing you to acknowledge A God, thereby depriving you of your religious freedom?
Gun control.  No one has said ban all guns.  No one.  Yet people keep posting government is taking away our guns, defend yourselves from big government, yada yada yada.  If you are in the gun rights camp and you firmly believe that weapons are not a problem, you are even more naive than me.
Automatic weapons, weapons that fire lots of bullets in small amounts of time, mega clips....those need to be eliminated.  Weapons need to be registered.  Background checks need to be done on all gun purchasers and ammo purchasers.  People who buy weapons need to be held accountable on a regular basis for those weapons.  And if you really think the government is going to come to all the gun owners in the middle of the night and confiscate their weapons..... well, you might want to talk to a professional about paranoia.  We can't continue to allow people to cross state lines, buy guns, return home and sell them.  If someone has a dog, in most states they have to register it and each year prove that the dog has its shots.  Gun owners should have to show they still have their weapons.
If you want a handgun in your home for protection, fine.  If you are a hunter, fine.  If you are a target shooter, fine.  But your guns should be licensed, registered and tracked.
Does that violate the Constitution?
Hardly.  The second amendment says In order to maintain a well regulated militia, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.  If we are going to follow the Constitution, then each gun owner should be part of an organized, well regulated militia.  If we don't need a well regulated militia to protect us against the invading British, wine swilling French (that is a compliment) and Washington football players, then stricter gun control should be a given.
The Constitution was written to be a living, changing document because those property owning white old guys had the sense to realize the country would grow.  And change.  The Constitution was designed to be changed.  If it wasn't, women would not be voting; minorities would be counted as 3/5 of a person, and state legislators would be electing senators (which is frightening considering how Illinois' jackasses can't seem to clean up their own shit).
And those changes have been made, interpreted,  repealed, and hopefully made the country a better place to live.
Which brings this rant to a final topic..... the new Cubs right fielder.  Really?  A .260 hitter who seldom hits home runs?  Really?  Makes me almost not believe they can win it all this season.
Thanks for listening.

A little of this, a lot of that

Christmas is gone for another year.   And I find that very depressing.
I love the holidays.....and I still believe in Santa.  I love the house when it is decorated, but I moan and groan with every box of Christmas cheer I lug up from the basement.  I like it because it is a good time of the year, a time to remember those less fortunate.  A time for gathering of families and friends.
Of course, Julia comes home for Christmas which means our family is complete for a few short weeks.
Then poof....it's all gone.  The glitter and ornaments are packed away.  The dry tree is lugged into town and dumped at a tree recycling center.   Julia is back in Switzerland.  The pantry is slowly being emptied of sweet treats and I am gaining weight like a model who can't puke.
Seriously, why don't I have any will power?  I see food and I eat.  I don't have to be hungry, just breathing.
I am trying.  I have stopped eating at 8 p.m. and now drink a glass of water or two before bed.
I'm 64.  That means water and my prostate combine to cause sleep interuptus.  And being in a new house, that is not good.
I almost peed in the closet one night!  I could not for the life of me see though the fog of sleep (and truth be told, a half bottle of special wine from the Rouge) and walked into the closet.  Lucky for me I could not find the light switch.
I nearly put a grill together today.  Nearly.  I remember when my folks were older and I would go and do things for them because they were too weak, eyesight was too bad, they were just unable to follow the directions.
God save me....I am them!  Putting the grill together today I put two pieces on backwards.  When the top didn't fit I had to take the parts off and put them on again.  Emily had to come and show me what to do because the directions made no sense.
And those damn little screw holes!  I could not see them so she had to do that.
But we got it together.  It looks like it is supposed to.  With the cost of beef rising, I'll be cooking lots of pork and chicken on it this spring and summer.
I just never expected to get old.
There are so many things I want to do in life that I won't be able to do because I did not make the effort or take the chance when I was younger.  Downhill skiing.  Hiking the Muir Trail.  Taking a shot at making it in a  professional improv comedy troupe.  Driving Route 66.  Dancing with Betty White. Finishing one of the books I have played with for months and years. Seeing polar bears in the wild.  Watching a space launch. Living in New York City for one fall.  Being King.  Hiking from hut to hut in the Alps.
So if you are reading this, John in India, Kevin in Switzerland, Ivan in Russia,.... live life.  Enjoy it now.  Take that step and go after your dreams.
Because someday, believe it or not, you too will age.

Am I a klepto???

In the process of moving and organizing, I have decided to group things.  In our old houses when we looked for batteries there were AA in the desk drawer, D in the kitchen cabinet, AAA on the shelf in the pantry...... I had to look all over for a battery.  Now, thanks to the modern invention of Tupperware storage containers, all my batteries are in one spot.  Need a 9 volt?  Look in the plastic storage container in the pantry.  Mouse dead?  Storage container in the pantry.  Flashlight dull.....you get the idea.
I sorted my screwdrivers:  Phillips head in one storage container, regular ones in another.  I put my wrenches in storage containers, regular and metric.
I think I have purchased 21 storage containers.  They are all over the place.  Now I find them with:  extension cords; computer cords; stuff from the desk; stuff I don't know where to put; things from my father  (besides madness and terrible foot odor).   I need a way to organize the storage containers.
I guess the natural thought would be:  Get rid of the stuff you don't use or even have the foggiest idea what it is.  Like the wooden fish with a round hole in it.  Incense burner?  Candle holder?  Or the light meter for flash photography.  Antique?  Usable?
I also have some, hold on to this, Eucharistic candles from a 1926 Catholic convention.  Over 200,000 people heard mass at Soldier Field, a mass delivered by the Pope himself.  Of course, in those days the Popemobile was drawn by oxen.  Just kidding.  He did not need a Popemobile then.  He was much younger and the world was safer.
But I have two candles from that event.  Never used.
I also sorted pens.  Yes, pens.  You never have enough working pens.  Here's what I found in my various pen cups.
About 6 from VCCT, both new and old styles.  I like the new styles...much easier to grip.
One from The Hair Express, and I have to say this is the best pen in the world.  When Jackie gets her hair done again, we'll need another.
Astra Hotel in Vevey-Montreux Switzerland.  Guess who brought that one home?
One from K K Hamsher Funeral Home.  I wrote a check for my mother's funeral there....in 2001!  It still works!!
One from Selden Fox LTD, State Street Mortgage Group,  First National Bank, Rochelle Insurance and Investment, Anderson Plumbing (although to be fair I feel I did pay plenty for that one!) Graber Financial Group, Rochelle Park District, Broome's Barber Shop, and Clinical Key....whatever that is.
And one from Lipscomb:Itts insurance that has  901 area code.  Seriously.  Where the hell is that?? Memphis...that's where.  I have never been to Memphis in my life!!!

Maybe I should sort through the pencils next.
I have a couple dozen of those in various spots around the house.
And I need some more storage containers.
It's a never ending battle.