Blog number 118 Sep 27, 2007
My dear wife, the loving and caring Teresa, can on occasion be a demanding, micro-managing, complaining, hard-to-please woman.
On occasion.
Especially when she is in pain and/or discomfort.
I brought her home from re-hab this morning, where she was recovering from a knee operation. One of the nurses helped her out to the car and after we placed Teresa in her seat, as I was walking around to the driver's side, the nurse stopped me, took my hand and said that if we ever needed anything, just to ask. Then after a beat - she said with a smile,"just don't bring her back here."
Hah!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
HEADS I WIN, TAILS I DON'T LOSE.,
Blog number 117 Sep 17, 2007
When I was a freshman in High school, I used to go with a new friend during the lunch hour down to a cafe and order mashed potatoes and gravy. Nothing else. Just mashed potatoes and gravy. Ten cents, I think it cost. A very cheap meal anyhow.
My friend used to match coins with the waitress who later became my sister-in-law by marrying my older brother, for his meal. He always had to talk her into it, because she would be reluctant, saying, "Aw, I always lose."
I was surprised that he did this because neither of us had money to throw away. In fact, that's why the mashed potatoes and gravy lunches. It was only many years later that I realized that what was happening was that if he won, he didn't have to pay for his meal and if he lost, he paid for his meal. Hah!
When I was a freshman in High school, I used to go with a new friend during the lunch hour down to a cafe and order mashed potatoes and gravy. Nothing else. Just mashed potatoes and gravy. Ten cents, I think it cost. A very cheap meal anyhow.
My friend used to match coins with the waitress who later became my sister-in-law by marrying my older brother, for his meal. He always had to talk her into it, because she would be reluctant, saying, "Aw, I always lose."
I was surprised that he did this because neither of us had money to throw away. In fact, that's why the mashed potatoes and gravy lunches. It was only many years later that I realized that what was happening was that if he won, he didn't have to pay for his meal and if he lost, he paid for his meal. Hah!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
DICK AND JANE GO THE THE CITY
Blog number 116 Sep 12, 2007
Well, yesterday was another of those days that will live in infamy. September eleventh. It was "Going To Phoenix" day, a day that comes once a week on Tuesday. I had a doctor's appointment at 8:30 am, so we were figuring on leaving for the City around 9:30.
I was the third patient on the list at the doctor's office at 8:15, but the first person came in at 2:30am and was already lined out, so I was number two, actually. "Not bad," I thought.
The first guy's name got called at about 8:45 am. Mine was called at 9:30. I got out of the building around 10:00am from my 8:30 appointment. Not bad. A lot faster than usual.
I drove home, got Teresa off the computer and ready to go. When we walked outside, we noticed a decaled pickup sitting in front with a big guy at the wheel looking like he wanted to talk to us. He got out, showed Teresa an electric bill, asked her if that was her name, she said yes, and he then told her that he was there to shut off the electricity if we didn't pay the overdue bill that day.
Can we give him a check? No, gotta be cash. Can we pay it after we get back from Phoenix? No, gotta be now. Teresa says she already paid it. Not according to his records. After a few minutes of this, the guy says, "Wait a minute. What's your name?"
Teresa says, "Teresa Duran-Reynolds."
"Ah," the guy says, "wrong name. Sorry."
At around 10:30 we left for the City.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
I'M JUST GLAD IT'S THEM AND NOT ME
Blog number 115 Sep 05, 2007
I hate being the bearer of this news, but I think it imperative that we, as fellow travelers, know the true state of the nature of humans and the resulting humanity so that we may prepare ourselves to protect us and those we love. And our property, such as it is.
Protect. And serve. Let me assure you, dear ones, that stupidity and the stupid abound. There is absolutely no danger of their extinction in the foreseeable future. And they can be dangerous - especially if they happened to have some power over you. So you be careful out there.
A case in point. Actually, three cases which came into my environment in the space of one half of one of the twenty-four hours allotted us each turn of the earth. The first one I read in the paper concerned the proposal for congress to allow a change in the design of the gold dollar coin "So that more people will want them."
I have railed against this stupidity of assuming that certain coins and other objects are not popular because of the public's refusal of them. That is just not true. Changing the design is not going to help. Just a few months ago they were talking about putting a male face on a new dollar coin in order to make them more acceptable. What happened to that brilliant brainstorm?
The reason that people don't spend gold dollars is because they can't get them because banks don't carry them. And even if they did carry them, the public would, one by one, have to ask specifically for them. If the government so wants us to appreciate their amazing ideas, then the banks had better start giving them out in place of dollar bills. Toot sweet.
On another page of the same newspaper we are told of a service given to a fallen member of the police force. Are you ready for this? The service was for a police DOG "killed in the line of duty." That's right folks. Evidently all dogs don't go to Heaven - at least not without a service with hymns being sung and prayers being said pleading with God to let the poor dog in. This is not really an isolated case of assigning human qualities to a dog either. Several years ago, Chief Gates of the Los Angels police force ordered that the American flags in Los Angels be flown at half mast for a fallen police dog hero.
Shortly after leaving the coffee shop where the above was read, I pulled up to a red light and pulled toward the center, leaving plenty of space on my right for drivers wishing to make a right turn on a red light to continue on their journey. Lo and behold, a pickup with his right turn signal flashing pulled up behind me, partly right behind me and partly in the space I purposely left open. I checked again to see if I had left enough space, and sure enough, I did. Plenty of space. Well, the driver couldn't be that dense, could he? Maybe his turn signal was inadvertently left on and he was going to continue straight, behind me. I have done that myself - left my turn signal on because I was not aware that it was. I have done that plenty of times.
When the light changed, sure enough, the guy made a right turn. I had trouble seeing for a while after that, having slapped my forehead with sufficient force to cause intensive watering of the eyes, shooting stars, and a short period of unconsciousness. I recovered in time to avoid an accident, fortunately.
So watch out. No telling what stupid people will do. They are unpredictable, careless and useless. Too bad slavery is illegal.
I hate being the bearer of this news, but I think it imperative that we, as fellow travelers, know the true state of the nature of humans and the resulting humanity so that we may prepare ourselves to protect us and those we love. And our property, such as it is.
Protect. And serve. Let me assure you, dear ones, that stupidity and the stupid abound. There is absolutely no danger of their extinction in the foreseeable future. And they can be dangerous - especially if they happened to have some power over you. So you be careful out there.
A case in point. Actually, three cases which came into my environment in the space of one half of one of the twenty-four hours allotted us each turn of the earth. The first one I read in the paper concerned the proposal for congress to allow a change in the design of the gold dollar coin "So that more people will want them."
I have railed against this stupidity of assuming that certain coins and other objects are not popular because of the public's refusal of them. That is just not true. Changing the design is not going to help. Just a few months ago they were talking about putting a male face on a new dollar coin in order to make them more acceptable. What happened to that brilliant brainstorm?
The reason that people don't spend gold dollars is because they can't get them because banks don't carry them. And even if they did carry them, the public would, one by one, have to ask specifically for them. If the government so wants us to appreciate their amazing ideas, then the banks had better start giving them out in place of dollar bills. Toot sweet.
On another page of the same newspaper we are told of a service given to a fallen member of the police force. Are you ready for this? The service was for a police DOG "killed in the line of duty." That's right folks. Evidently all dogs don't go to Heaven - at least not without a service with hymns being sung and prayers being said pleading with God to let the poor dog in. This is not really an isolated case of assigning human qualities to a dog either. Several years ago, Chief Gates of the Los Angels police force ordered that the American flags in Los Angels be flown at half mast for a fallen police dog hero.
Shortly after leaving the coffee shop where the above was read, I pulled up to a red light and pulled toward the center, leaving plenty of space on my right for drivers wishing to make a right turn on a red light to continue on their journey. Lo and behold, a pickup with his right turn signal flashing pulled up behind me, partly right behind me and partly in the space I purposely left open. I checked again to see if I had left enough space, and sure enough, I did. Plenty of space. Well, the driver couldn't be that dense, could he? Maybe his turn signal was inadvertently left on and he was going to continue straight, behind me. I have done that myself - left my turn signal on because I was not aware that it was. I have done that plenty of times.
When the light changed, sure enough, the guy made a right turn. I had trouble seeing for a while after that, having slapped my forehead with sufficient force to cause intensive watering of the eyes, shooting stars, and a short period of unconsciousness. I recovered in time to avoid an accident, fortunately.
So watch out. No telling what stupid people will do. They are unpredictable, careless and useless. Too bad slavery is illegal.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
JESUS, GOD, AND ME
Blog number 115 Sep 04, 2007
Teresa and I went to Barnes and Noble this morning and one of the new books I saw was something entitled, "Religious Literacy," which sounded interesting to me so I looks inside and it seems to be talking about different people's understanding of the Bible, which from what I gather, the author isn't all that impressed with, overall. For some reason what I read flashed me back to when I was a senior in High School.
I and four other students took Spanish from this rather rotund lady teacher that wouldn't shut up, running topics one after the other with discernible non sequitur. Her voice stayed at the same high pitched tone for the fifty minutes the class lasted. I don't remember her taking a breath. I think she talked on the inward breath as well as on the outward one. Drone drone drone.
The next year the only student she had was me, and I was there because I knew nobody else was going to take the class and I didn't want her to feel bad, like nobody wanted to be in her class, which happened to be true.
I hated that class!
She was supposed to teach me Spanish but most of her talk centered on Journalism which she also taught, and poetry, which she adored. One day she was talking about something and pertaining to a point she was making, she asked me what was the first story in the Bible.
Now, I was first baptized at the age of fourteen, had never been to a church, never looked at a religious book, and the only reason I was baptized then was that the minister of the Methodist church who came out to the farm to tell us my cousin had died in an automobile accident shamed my mother into agreeing to have us baptized.
I knew Jesus had something to do with God, but exactly what, I hadn't a clue nor a care. I started going to young people's evening cinnamon toast and hot chocolate soirees hosted by the minister's hot young wife, and the family - well, my Mom and me and my siblings, even went to a service one Sunday, but that was the extent of my religious training up to the time my Spanish teacher asked me that question about the first story in the Bible.
The teacher kept after me to answer her. "Come on - what's the first story in the Bible about? How does it begin?" Frustration. Now the real horror of being the only student in a class with a clueless drone set in. No fellow student savior. My answer was the only focus of her mind.
I knew something about the story of Christmas, the Three Wise Men and the manger separate from Santa Clause, so I took a stab. "With the birth of Jesus?" She never continued with the interrogation, and I thought I caught a look of intense pity, as if I was a poor cold hungry homeless orphan. "Where is this child's parents?" I thought she thought.
Many years later I was talking to Teresa and Fred from the mountains about Jesus or Christianity or something and I at one time stated, "That's because you and Teresa were brought up with some knowledge of Christianity, but I wasn't."
I was just stating a fact. I thought I was just informing them of something which explained the problem - whatever it was, of which they were unaware. But both of them immediately jumped on me as if I had fabricated what was obviously a lie.
They didn't or couldn't believe that a fellow California American had grown up totally ignorant of the Bible and Christianity. They were projecting their experiences onto me, as did that teacher.
I didn't argue the point with them because I knew that it was just so alien to them that they would think I was making things up in order to be right.
I kind of think that this is what that book is about - that a lot of people think that another lot of people know a lot about the Bible, but that it isn't true. I ordered the book from the library, so I'll read it and find out, I guess.
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