Observations

[larryJ]

Thanks.  I think she is because she just got up to take #1 granddaughter to school.  I just don't have enough energy for that yet.  Maybe tomorrow. 

I read, hear and see pictures of the weather that is happening in Kansas and back East and I am glad I don't have to go through that.  Yesterday the temperature was in the high 70's with sunshine and today will be slightly cooler because of a low area moving through and maybe a chance of rain on the weekend.  But for the most part the weather stays pretty nice.  I certainly don't miss the days of snow and cold when I lived in Colorado and Wyoming.  Except for a few Christmas visits, I never experienced any bad weather in Howard.  We were always there in the summer.  Stay warm and dry, my friends.

Larryj

[larryJ]

Having almost fully recovered from my illness, I went to my annual appointment with the Pulmonary Doctor.  My wife took me as she was concerned that I might not be able to do it by myself, meaning that I might need assistance getting to the office from the parking lot.  I always shudder when my wife goes along to my appointments.  She tends to inform the receptionist, the nurse and the doctor about any and all happenings in her world.

However, despite that, the Pulmonary doctor was skeptical of the Internal Medicine's doctor's diagnosis of pneumonia from last Tuesday.  He didn't come right out and say that I didn't have pneumonia, just that he wasn't sure about it.  (READ:  I don't see pneumonia in your x-ray, but I won't call the other doctor an idiot due to professional courtesy.) 

I did feel much better yesterday and did not require any assistance from the lot to the office.  Nor did I require any assistance from the office to the lobby and the parking lot.  Years ago, when my father-in-law was living with us, the VA had graciously given him a wheelchair.  We still have it.  It is a big chair and heavy.  I have been procrastinating about giving it back to the VA or to my American Legion Post.  It sits unused in the garage.  Yesterday, at the appointment, my wife decided that the doctor should order us a light-weight wheelchair.  I said I didn't think we needed one, but then what do I know.  So the order was put in.  Thinking about it later, I thought of the upcoming back surgery that my wife will have and that a light-weight chair will be handy.  Sometimes it pays to bring her along.

Larryj

[larryJ]

As you are pretty much aware, I love the humor in life.  One of the highlights of the day (yeah, I know what you're thinking) is watching the TV weatherperson.  If the weatherperson is female, the stations generally hire someone who can actually understand what they are saying along with having a perfect ten body, mostly the body. If it's a male, slick hair styles and flamboyant personalities are the norm.  They hire these people to enhance the weather segment so the viewers will watch.  My favorite from a few years ago was a young lady, well endowed, whose wardrobe consisted of clothes that were not quite big enough for her.  I could care less about the weather when she was on.  That said.....

Most of the time, none of them can really predict what if going to happen as usual.  In the past few weeks, we have been told that a storm was coming and there was going to be high winds, thunderstorms, and lots of rain.  Didn't happen.  This weekend we were told that a storm was off the coast to the north of us and while we will see some cloudy skies and some wind (National Weather Service predicted high winds) but we would not see any rain as the storm was too far north of us. This morning when I went out to get my local paper off the porch, it was raining........lightly, but raining.  There were no high winds.  I had stopped watching the channel with the well-endowed young lady a few years ago, but I might go back to that channel.  I might as well be entertained despite what she says about the weather. 

The same holds true for some local stations that actually have a traffic person.  He or she will come on for the two minute segment to alert us to the traffic conditions.  Again, most are female and very good looking, but totally lost as to what and where they are talking about.  They stand in front of the green screen and look at the monitor in front of them and tell you what you can see for yourself.  Of course, now that I am retired, I could care less about the traffic conditions, but it is entertaining to watch them try to get through the report without flubbling it.  Example:  a few weeks ago, a young lady was advising us of a major tie-up on the "uh--uh--what is that freeway.  Oh, it's the Pomona freeway."  This happened because she was reading what she was supposed to say, but the monitor was slow in showing where the problem was, meaning the map was up with all the red lines indicating traffic tie-ups, but hadn't caught up with the graphics showing the number of the freeway.  (giggling.)  She must have just gotten off the boat and wasn't familiar with the area.  (still giggling.)

I love the daily humor of life that surrounds each and all of us!

Larryj

[larryJ]

Okay, local weatherpersons, I apologize.  The winds did come.  For those of you that live in parts of the country that have wind on a normal day, here is SoCal we mostly have breezes which come up in the afternoon.  We do get the Santana winds a few times a year and those can be dangerous. 

Unfortunately, along with the warm (75) weather and low humidity (in the teens), the winds bring out the firebugs.  These arsonists will go out when the conditions are right like I just described and set fires.  As I turned on the news tonight, there was a story about a brushfire and stories about downed power lines and trees.  It always happens. 

So again I apologize.

Larryj

[larryJ]

My son who is approaching his 36th birthday has always been my buddy as well as my son.  We share the same sense of humor.  We like to hang out together once in a while at the American Legion Post in Newport.  He is an all-around good guy.  Like father, like son.

He became a CPA some years ago and worked for a firm before going out on his own.  Because he is a CPA, he does my taxes as well as his sisters.  Between January 1st and April 15th of each year, he is swamped with work so we don't get together as much.  Today, he came by with #3 granddaughter to drop off my taxes to be signed.  Where is this going, you ask.

Over the years when he and I were faced with an electronic or mechanical problem, we would work and work to resolve the problem.  Then one day, the treadmill in the garage quit working.  He was here so we took the cover off the motor and looked at it and the drive belt.  We did not see any problems so we put it back together and all of a sudden it worked.  Thus he formed the theory that one merely must take something apart and put it right back together again and it will work.  A few days ago, I noticed that the TV in our family room had quit working.  This is a big flat screen mounted on the wall.  Since he was here, I asked him to help me take it down so I could take it to the repair shop.  We took it off the wall and set it on the couch.  I went to the garage to get the base to attach to it and when I came back, he had plugged it in to another power strip and it was on.  So now you say, there is something wrong with the other power strip.  No so, because the other things plugged in to it were working.  So we remounted the TV on the wall and hooked up the cable and it worked.  Another proof that his theory is sound.

He is tops even though I always have to pay taxes to Uncle Sam and Moonbeam every year.  But he is going to fix that for me.

Larryj

[larryJ]

Normally, our brushfire season happens in the fall when there is more of a chance of high Santana winds.  Today, I attended #2's softball game around 10 AM.  She is four and some of these little 4-year-olds really take the game seriously.  She does when she is batting.  This morning, she had two at-bats and hit a double each time and scored two runs.  But when it comes to being out in the field, that is another story.  The concept of softball seems to be lost to her out there.  She was playing a spot somewhere between first base and second base, not paying attention to the game, but rather to kicking the dirt at her feet.  A ball was actually hit pretty close to her, but her theory is if it isn't hit right at me, I'm not moving from this spot.  And she didn't.

The observation here:  I went to the grocery store after the game to pick up a few things.  On the way home, I saw a column of smoke towards the mountains to the north-west of my house.  My initial thought was brushfire, but as I got closer, it appeared to be a house fire.  It looked closer to civilization than the foothills.  I drove over in that direction to see and as I got in that area, it turned out to be a brushfire.  Watching the news now, it is a brush fire in the foothills above the town of Monrovia.  As of 4 PM, it had burned 90 acres and was 10% contained but that will change fast.  This one was not arson.  A gardener was working on clearing dry brush from behind a house and accidently started the fire.  Sadly, the firefighters have to put with high temps (94 degrees and 10 % humidity with wind gusts up to 20 mph) but no homes are threatened.  These houses are located right at the beginning of the foothills.  Monrovia is located about 10 miles to the north-west of us.  There is no danger to us, but the fire is moving in an easterly direction so it could burn the foothills north of us. 

Second observation:  While at the store, I just picked up a few things and out of the nine checkout stands, there were four open including the express lane, 15 items or less, cash only.  I stood in that line.  I waited......and waited......and waited.  Then I noticed that the woman who was holding up the line was using her state-assisted coupons which takes forever.  Another checker opened up and I moved and made my purchase and left.  As I was leaving I noticed the Mexican couple that I was originally standing behind pointing at me.  They had been really put out about waiting and were pointing out to each other......."Hey, there's that guy who was behind us!"

I am going to suggest to the grocery stores an idea I had while leaving.  I am going to suggest that if a customer is going to use the state-assisted coupons, they should wait while another checker is brought up just to check them out.  Make them wait instead of the cash paying customers.

Sheesh.

Larryj

[Wilma]

Sounds like a good idea to me.

[Bullwinkle]

      When going to college, I worked as a delivery "boy". It was about the time the welfare system got going, with state issued cards,etc. . The store had free delivery and had to offer the same to welfare customers. They were the first ones to complain if they didn't get their merchandise within minutes. I set my route to serve the cash and credit customers first.

[Wilma]

Good boy, but didn't it mean backtracking at times?  Still I think you did the right thing.

[larryJ]

Today was a rare day..........a day of freedom........or a day off.

My son had invited us down to the beach, but my wife and her cousin chose not to go because of various pains and ailments.  I was told I could go.  So my day started with a trip to the local softball field to watch #2 granddaughter play.  She did well as usual.  I think she plays the game better than her older sister, but I'm not telling them that.  For those of you who live in areas such as Elk County with small and normally volunteer fire departments, this will be interesting to you.

These are four and five year old girls playing the game.  It is a coach pitched game.  Each girl at bat gets six pitches.  If she doesn't hit the ball, a tee is brought out and she is allowed to hit off the tee.  Although it is a coach pitched game, there is still a girl playing at the pitcher's position.  One batter got her six pitches, out came the tee, and she smashed a line drive right back up the middle, striking the young lady in the pitcher's spot square in the face.  It was like a scene out of a movie.  She just folded like she was unconscious and fell to the ground.  All the coaches and a few parents ran onto the field and after a few minutes she was able to stand and walk off the field.  My daughter said that if that had been her child, they would be on the way to the hospital.  Now for the part about the fire department........pay attention, Diane.

One parent ran to the snack bar for a bag of ice.  The snack bar didn't have any ice.  Another called 9-1-1.  After a few minutes, the young lady wanted to go back onto the field and play and they let her although she had a goose egg on her forehead.  She seemed fine.....................Oh yeah, somebody had called 9-1-1, remember?  When you call 9-1-1 here this is what you get.  A fire truck with fireman trained as paramedics, a paramedic truck and an ambulance all of which arrived within minutes after the call.  By this time the inning was over and the young lady was back in the dugout and the game was over.  Six firemen and paramedics along with two ambulance personnel were checking her out.  The decision was made, rightfully so, to load her onto a gurney and take her to the hospital to be checked out.  Other than the knot on her head, she seemed fine.  But it is wise to check on her if she actually had been unconscious. 

Back to the day of freedom.  I joyfully left the game and stopped to pick up some things at the grocery store, dropped them off at home and headed down the freeway, blasting the radio and feeling gooooood!  I arrived at the beach and found parking not far from the house which in itself is a rare thing.  My 2 1/2 year-old #3 granddaughter met me at the door with a hug and kiss as well my ballooning daughter-in-law.  I hadn't seen her since Easter and she is huge now just five months into the pregnancy.  It became naptime for the baby and my daughter-in-law felt the need for a nap, also.  On the downside, my brother-in-law was there.............but then he also decided to rest for a while.  My son and I drove over to the American Legion Post and sat on the patio looking out over the bay and enjoyed a libation.  My drink of choice is a gin and tonic.  I waited outside while my son went into the bar to get the drinks.  We found a place to sit and had a nice visit.  I took a sip of my drink and almost gagged.  He laughed and said he thought it might be a little strong.  He had watched the bartender make it and said he did see the tonic bottle in her hand, but didn't actually see her pour any.  He thinks she just waved the bottle over it!  So after one drink it was back to the house.  It is a good thing the Post and his house are close to each other.  We didn't have to go far. 

All in all, it was a great day.

Larryj