I give up...

It's been a long and tedious battle and I'm afraid I lost. I don't feel like writing  anymore. I appreciate those who have read my stories and thoughts, and especially those who have responded. I'm sorry this little bit of cyberspace is forever used up. Maybe we can talk Mike C. into continuing this site. He has some great stories to tell and a much better memory than mine.

Love to all,
Papa

Band geeks...

...were really cool guys and girls dressed up in unusually ugly outfits. Wearing a band uniform to a football game and trying to impress the girls was about the same as John Wayne wearing a prom dress to a shoot out. I remember one Friday night when I was "column leader". I was sitting on the far left side of the band square, in the stands, plume in hat, waiting to go out on the field to show the world why Bell High School really did exist. I probably looked as stupid as I felt but hey, the halftime show had to go on. I had spotted a pretty little lady in the next section sitting there taking quick looks at me. I had to decide if she was looking at me because I was so darn good looking or if she was looking at me because I had a wad of blue feathers sticking out of the top of my hat. I thought it over during the halftime show. It was easy because I had forgotten to memorize the music and the only thing I had to remember was when to turn. I figured she was looking me over because I was so dorky looking. I decided it best not to make plans for follow up. When the band returned to the stands there was a scruffy looking little boy sitting in my spot. He moved over when I came along and waited for me to sit down. I was about to tell him to move before the band director got him by the ear when he started talking. "Do you know that girl over there is my big sister?" "No, I did not know that. What's your problem?" "I don't have a problem. She told me to come over here and tell you that if you wanted, she would give you her phone number." Well, hey!! My head swelled so fast I had to take my feathered hat off. I told him I would like to have that number and he gave it to me real quick. Then he asked if he could go back to watching the game since he didn't really buy a ticket to play matchmaker....little snot. I called this girl the next day and made plans for a date that night. I spent the day washing and waxing my old Studebaker because I knew that was what impressed the girls...clean and freshly waxed old cars. I left the house and headed for Euless around 6:30...I was supposed to pick her up at 7. As I was driving down old
Highway 183 just south of town, the rain started. In just a few seconds it went from a sprinkle to a driving rain with wind and lightning. The windshield wipers couldn't keep up and to make matters worse, the old car started leaking all around the windshield....I had water coming in all over the place. I pulled off at the Hurst Drug Store and ran in to use the pay phone. I called the girl (I can't remember her name) and explained that because of the storm I was going to have to turn around and go home. She was very understanding. She told me if I didn't want to go out with her I could just say so and not make up some lame excuse...CLICK. I didn't find out until the next Monday that another Texas "scattered" shower had passed through Hurst. Euless didn't get a drop of rain that night.

welcome to the 21st century...

Cody welcomed us to the 21st century this week. We had cable installed. We went from having about 8 possible channels (depending on the sunspots, etc) to having approximately 2 million choices. Yesterday we sat down to surf through a few to see what was out there for our entertainment. My goodness. We don't have enough time to watch a tenth of them. We even discovered some stations nobody in the world needs to see...ever...really! Debbie called and told them to take all that filth off our plan. They asked, "what filth"? She said, "ALL THAT FILTH!!! We don't want ANYTHING on that TV the grandkids can't watch!" Well they took care of it in a hurry let me tell you. We now have HGTV, Discovery, and two cartoon channels. Cody was right! Having cable does make watching TV easier. This past week I decided to start chipping away at all the things I wanted to do before I died. I bought a motor scooter on the internet. It is supposed to get here sometime next week. I've mentioned before how much I would like to have a scooter. I'm excited. I found it on a site selling Chinese scooters at rock bottom prices. The one I chose looks like a Vespa (popular in the 50's for those not savvy to the great periods of time). I had a choice of colors so naturally I chose baby blue. I always saw myself scooting down the road on a baby blue Vespa. They were out of baby blue. I said I could settle for red. Red was always my secondary back up daydream. They were out of red. I asked what choices I had left in color. They had black, apple green, silver, and pink. I chose apple green. I always dreamed about having an apple green Vespa if the world ran out of baby blue or red ones. They told me I could get a really good deal on a pink one because they weren't selling so well. I declined. It's going to be hard enough looking tough and macho riding apple green. I mentioned at work I had finally broken down and "bought a bike to ride to work". The mentality of that particular group assumed I had bought a Hawg. One of the guys slapped me on the back and told me he had a spare helmet I could have. It felt good being part of the crowd finally. I hate to show up on that little green scooter next week when they find out my Hawg is really a little piglet. I hope I can ride it better than the time I tried to learn to ride David O's 50cc Honda. I got on it and he climbed on back to show me what to do. I started it with my first kick. It roared into life with the sound of a giant mosquito. He told me to squueze the clutch and pop it into first. I did it like a pro. He told me to S-L-O-W-L-Y let the clutch out while gently increased the rpms. He didn't get the last part out because when he hit the ground on his back all the air in his lungs left him. I did a 50 foot wheelie before losing control and falling off the back myself. The little Honda traveled another 20 or so feet all on its own. It was amazing.

where have you been?!?!

I've been depressed. That's where I've been. I don't write when I'm depressed so I thought it best to stay away from the blog for a while. It's a shame really that I stay away from writing when I feel bad because writing always makes me feel better....but, and this is a big but, nobody likes to read depressing stuff. Several years ago two people at work were pressing me to write another story. I was way too depressed to write anything but they were persistent. I finally broke down and hammered out a story during my lunch break. I sent it to them and they both asked me not to write anything so dark and sinister again. Ergo, (and I learned that word working crossword puzzles) I don't write when I'm depressed. Speaking of crossword puzzles, I've grown into a fan during the past couple of weeks. I hated crosswords growing up. In fact, I hated all forms of puzzles or word games. It was too much like doing homework. Now I love them and wish I had discovered them years ago. I visited a very distinguished and aged woman in the hospital a few weeks ago. Normally these visits go very quickly because older patients tend to not make eye contact while they're busy studying their bedsheets or they are trying to convince me I should sneak them out of the hospital and drive them to one of their children's homes in Lake Dallas. This visit lasted nearly an hour. I tried many times to end the visit and stay within the 9 minute max as recommended by the volunteer program but it was no use. I wasn't going to leave this woman's room until she had told me everything she knew....and she knew a lot. At one point I mentioned how good her memory was and how quick-witted she was "for a woman her age". Of course I worded it differently but she knew what I meant. She then told me she had followed the advice of her dad when she was a little girl following behind him in the cotton fields. He looked back at her one hot, dry day and told her not to waste all her time just walking and picking. She should exercise her brain while she worked. She has always done that. After her retirement as an investigator for the state, tracking down cattle and horse theives no less, she decided she needed to do crossword and word-find puzzles to stay sharp. I stopped at the Half-Price Bookstore on my way home from the hospital and stocked up. I've been working the puzzles every night while we watch TV and I must say I do feel a little bit more sharp. Can YOU come up with a 5 letter word for "more spartan"? Uh-huh, sure. I know you looked it up! You might want to head on down to the bookstore and get yourself busy. You don't want to spend your waning years staring at your bedsheets.

Remember?

Do you remember when life was so simple we actually got bored? The early days of summer, after a long and not so successful nine months of school, were better than can be explained...you just have to have experienced it. I don't know if kids still feel that way today. When we were set free from the classroom for three whole months we knew there was absolutely nothing planned for us except our annual two week trip to South Dakota. The first week or so were spent winding down and getting used to sleeping late and playing with the neighbors. One or two trips to the forbidden creek were usually included in those early days until the sun got too hot for it to be fun. After a couple of weeks the routine of summer wasn't all new anymore. We had to look for things to do to fill our days but the search in itself was usually fun. Some days were boring and if it happened to rain there was no peace for Momma. She would go crazy with all five of us in the house all day. That was fun too. Nothing was funnier than watching Momma go crazy. She could put on quite a show. Ah, to go back and experience it all again just one more time. It seems like kids today go from one hectic schedule in school to another hectic schedule of summer activities. Organized sports have replaced pick up games at the park. Karate classes have taken over the neighborhood brawls we all enjoyed. Summer camp has almost become mandatory when it was something the rich kids did when we were young...and we felt sorry for them having to go. Maybe if the economy continues to erode in this country kids will get another chance to enjoy summer as it should be....unplanned and sometimes boring. I have to go now. My schedule for the day is full and I'm already running late.

mandy....

As some of you know, I have a niece named Mandy. She's the daughter I never had although my sister Cindy says I can't adopt her. She called us....US...Debbie and me...old and worn out....boring beyond human concept, and asked us to meet her for dinner Wednesday evening at our favorite cholesterol hangout, Chapp's Hamburgers. The wind was blowing. It was about 40 below zero..a terrible night to be out but of course we went because A) Mandy asked us, and B) it was Chapp's we were talking about. You don't turn down a Chapp's opportunity. There was no reason to meet. There was no news or family disaster. Mandy just wanted to visit! I love Mandy. While we were waiting for our shots of cholesterol I was telling about a woman I knew  who didn't own a coat. Mandy didn't even hesitate before offering her own coat for the woman. I told her she shouldn't do that. Some of us would get together and buy the lady a coat but Mandy insisted. She did have another coat after all! I couldn't convince her not to give the coat away so after we ate and were standing out on that cold and windy sidewalk, Mandy handed me her coat. I gave it to the lady the next morning and she cried. She couldn't believe a total stranger would do such a thing. I told her this was no stranger...it was my niece Mandy.

what were we thinking???

The call came late in the evening a day or two after Christmas. We were enjoying a quiet, peaceful evening in our den anticipating a week babysitting four of our grand kids. The caller, a veterinarian friend, was looking for a home for a patient of hers. The patient, a four year old, male cat had been shot in the leg. I can't imagine why anyone would want to shoot a cat...being the cat lover that I am...but this one had been shot. The leg had to be removed and it seemed no one wanted a three-legged cat. Debbie did ask me before agreeing to take the cat but you know and I know I can't say "no" to Deb. Besides, Debbie's average time for owning any pet is approximately seven days. I knew I could put up with a cat in the house for a few days. He would keep the grand kids entertained if nothing else. The cat was supposed to arrive around 6 on Monday evening. The kids had arrived around 10 that morning and I was already worn out. After a phone call from the vet at 8:30 telling us she was on the way, I decided to meet the cat the next day and went to bed. Around 4 a.m. I had to make a trip to the bathroom. I did not know Debbie had put the cat in our bathroom. I opened the door and walked in to be assaulted by a very lonely animal. This cat would not let me get close to the...the..you know. He wanted to be held. I don't hold cats...especially at 4:30 in the morning. He kept getting in front of me with that pitiful look on his face that said, "Love me! I lost a leg!" I was afraid I would step on him so I finally closed the door and wandered across the house to the other bathroom. Later in the morning I was sitting in my recliner sipping coffee and staring at this cat asleep on my couch. I hate animals in the house. I especially hate animals sleeping on my furniture. Anyway, this cat finally woke up, stretched like cats do, and decided to step off the couch. He forgot he was missing that front leg and fell off the couch right on his face. I thought cats always landed on their feet but that must just be true if they have four feet. Anyway, I got a pretty good laugh out of that and Debbie was mad at me the rest of the morning. To my credit I did not say or do anything negative concerning that cat. I was very nice and spent my time with the grand kids while trying to not make eye contact with the animal. The next morning after I had made breakfast for the four bottomless pits, I went to the bathroom and found both doors locked. Debbie was in there. I asked her to open the door and she wouldn't. She told me to go away. She has never told me to go away...not in over 40 years, so I knew something was wrong. When she finally came out she told me that cat had to go. I thought she had set a new record for pet ownership. The cat had experienced some abdominal discomfort during the night and pooped all over the floor, walls, tub, rugs...I figured I would never go in there again. And I figured that cat would be gone by sunset. It turns out you should not give your new pet all the food he can possibly stuff into his mouth...and you should not change his food from a bland diet to something great tasting and nutritious, such as the off-brand cat food available at WalMart. After a severe scolding from the vet "we" decided to give the cat another chance. It's been over a week now. The cat was named Tres by the grand kids... I wanted to name him Frank...and he has become a normal fixture in our home. I've come to the conclusion poor old Tres has had a pretty rough life and needs a quiet, loving place to live out his retirement. I've come to feel somewhat attached to our new pet. In fact, if old Tres ever dies on us I am going to want another cat...but only if he's old and quiet like Tres. It also wouldn't hurt if he was missing a front leg. I think that helps.