Observations

[Diane Amberg]

WARPH's "Surprise' might be of a different kind. I'm still waiting to hear from my family and friends out there. I hear CA is in for it too, not sure where.

[larryJ]

There are some days when I read the paper that something cracks me up, i.e. the following.....

BEER TRUCK CRASHES ON THE 57 FREEWAY.

Glendora...A big rig hauling beer spilled its cargo after the truck driver lost control, ran off the southbound 57 Freeway and through the Auto Centre Drive on-ramp Tuesday.

California Highway Patrol Officer Rodrigo Jimenez said a tractor-trailer was traveling around 55 mph when for reasons yet to be determined, veered to the right.  The big rig went through the on-ramp, collided with the guard rail and went down the embankment.

The trailer overturned onto its right side and spilled the kegs and boxes of Lagunitas it was carrying.  The CHP didn't know how much beer was in the trailer.  (yeah, right). The driver, a 41-year-old Fresno man, wasn't hurt.

Authorities say the investigation is ongoing. 

(and this is the line that got me.....)

The cause of the crash doesn't appear to be alcohol related.

(There's got to be joke in there somewhere!)

Larryj

[larryJ]

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the "back to the beach" party in Newport hosted by my son and daughter-in-law.  They are back in the winter quarters.  The party coincided with their daughter's fourth birthday, #3 granddaughter.  The party theme was "Frozen" which all the kids like now.  The attendees were all the usual folks that come to the parties at the beach.  Some have become good friends of ours.  All are friends of my son or his wife.  There were about 30 people there including the kids.  It began inside the house and quickly moved to the patio on the front of the house.  There was food and drink.  The price of admission was a box of Mac and cheese for my granddaughter to donate to the food bank.  She does this every year.  Usually it is canned goods.

Years ago in college, I had a psychology professor who said we could learn more about psychology by sitting on a street corner and watching people than we could in his class and he was right.

The observation........At any party there are different types of personalities.  Starting with the really neat cool people, then the so-so people, the "shouldn't drink" people, the wallflowers, the socially challenged and the obnoxious.

When we first arrived we sat in the living room until we appeared to be the only ones in the room.  So we moved outdoors.  We are the old folks and tolerated because we are the parents. At this point this is a 30-40 year old something crowd.  As time went on some older folks, friends of ours, arrived and things got better.  He is actually two days younger than me.  She is a year of so younger than my wife.  She is still recovering from foot surgery which had her off her feet for four months.  They had purchased two scooters and were entertaining us by racing up and down the street.  They have a daughter who is one of the really neat cool ones.  Towards the end of the day she found the time to come sit by me and we talked for quite a while.  She is really pretty and very pleasant and I enjoyed the attention.  Her husband is also a nice guy and was always asking me if I wanted anything to eat or drink.  There is another couple that my son used to work with the husband and we have known them for a while.  They would fit into the so-so crowd.  As my daughter-in-law is Chinese there were a few Chinese people there and all are very nice, but tend to be the wallflower type.  They speak perfect English so it is not a language thing.  They just tend to be socially challenged.  Then there is the guy who is a brother of someone else at the party that nobody really knows.  He is just there for the beer and drank more than his share which he shouldn't do.  It brings out the stupid part of his personality. 

Then there is the obnoxious.  This guy thinks he is the most important person there is.  His wife is gorgeous and always dresses rather suggestively. For the life of me I don't know why she ever married him.  She is not the shy type being very social with everyone.  Included in this group is a 40 something woman who does ironman competitions two or three times a year.  She is also very pretty and always comes alone and likes it that way.  She is always nice to me. 

Back to the idiot.......You almost feel you have to have an appointment to be in his presence.  I just ignore him and he could care less.  My wife doesn't care for them and she is a good judge of character.  At midpoint, Mr. wonderful decided that he and his wife and the Ironman woman should go for a walk on the beach.  This is acceptable as many do take a stroll on the beach for a few minutes.  These three were gone for about three hours.  They returned just as it was getting dark.  We were leaving and the party was winding down.

Today there was a posting on FB about it being my granddaughter's birthday and many commented on the party and wished her a happy birthday.  Mr. obnoxious posted a comment wishing her a happy birthday and saying.................."how nice it was to be a part of the birthday party!"  Whaaaaaat?

Looking at the bright side though........with him gone, the party was definitely better. 

Now, y'all know me from my postings or at least you probably have a general idea of what type of easy going happy guy I am.  I never say anything bad about anybody (well, maybe once or twice), but in the future the parties down there would be better if this guy stayed home.  But life goes on and there will be more gatherings and he will be there.  Such is life.

Larryj

[larryJ]

And more.......in the aftermath of the party, my Chinese daughter-in-law posted a picture of items left behind, a lost and found so to speak.  Being raised in a Chinese environment, people who visited the home traditionally removed their shoes inside the front door.  While she does not observe most Chinese traditions, those coming to her house generally remove their shoes when entering.  I am exempt from this as it is too much of a hassle for me to do that and she doesn't really care whether I do or not.  And she loves me.

That said....she posted a picture of some items left behind which included jackets, sweaters, sunglasses, a phone charger cord, shoes..........wait a minute...who leaves without their shoes?  Must have turned into a real hot party after I left.

Anyway, almost immediately there was one woman, the wife of the obnoxious one who claimed a jacket and his phone charger.  I couldn't wait to see who claimed the shoes.  They were nice looking open toed sandals with ankle straps.  I just couldn't imagine anyone leaving without their shoes.

Later on, another woman wrote to claim the shoes saying they belonged to her 7 or 8 year old daughter.

I gave this a lot of thought, having nothing better to do.  I can understand a kid not remembering her shoes, especially this kid who isn't very responsible with her things.  I can't understand a mother who doesn't notice her child isn't wearing her shoes.  It is human nature as a parent that when you are going somewhere you make sure you have everything that is yours.  I don't know the mother very well other than she comes to these gatherings once or twice a year.  She seems to be fairly intelligent. 

I just don't get it.

Larryj

[Diane Amberg]

HA! I totally get it. Ask any teacher who is lining kids up to go home. It's always a problem to get kids to go home with what they came in. Yes, that includes boots, shoes and sandals too! I had one child who took off his winter boots because they were hot indoors and then couldn't find them at bus time. We did finally find them, but he came close to going home on a cold winter day in his socks!

[larryJ]

Diane, while that is true of teachers, we are talking about a parent and one child here.  On our way out to the county fair last night it finally hit me.

I got it.  The parent in not realizing her child is shoeless is showing a lack of responsibility.  Ergo, the child who wouldn't think to put her shoes on when leaving has no parental guidance and is not learning responsibility.

I think.

About last night, my wife felt well enough that she wanted to go to the Los Angeles County Fair.  We had not gone in many years because she wasn't able to get around very well.  However, she discovered that for a mere $50 she could rent a scooter and drive around what is billed as this country's largest county fair.  Her cousin who has problems with her knees also though she could go with no problem and I, carrying my 10 pound backpack with oxygen, thought if we took our time and moseyed around slowly that I would have no problem. 

BIG MISTAKE!!!!!

We picked up the scooter at the entry and off she went.  After a few minutes she remembered that we were walking and slowed down.  We had brought our two oldest granddaughters with us and met our daughter and son-in-law there.  They went off to do the carnival stuff.  We headed for the buildings to see all the vendors.

The main concourse of the fair is L-shaped.  Where we entered would be at the top of the L.  My wife wanted, above all, one of those giant turkey legs which is located all the way to the other end of the L.

After cruising two buildings and stopping to rest on occasion we finally got to the turkey leg.  Cousin had thought to bring the walker in case she needed it.  At this point while they were getting food I was sitting on the walker.  We began to head back and by the time we got to the exit I was pretty much done. 

The parking lot is located on the other side of the street from the fair and when you exit you walk down an incline and under the street and of course back up again.  At this point older people were asking me if I needed help!  I made to the scooter return and the cousin arranged for a security guy to drive us to the van which was not that far.  But I was grateful because I am pretty sure I couldn't do it. 

Solutions for the future----------1.  Don't go.  2.  Rent another scooter. 

But before I tired out, we had fun.

Larryj

[Diane Amberg]

I have no idea the details about the shoes incident, but some parents of kids that age have given up trying to teach personal responsibilty and figure if the child is inconvienced and /or embarrassed with dirty or wet feet, they will learn a lesson that way and learn to remember their shoes, home work, lunch money or whatever.  Perhaps she should have had the child call you about the shoes...another lesson learned.
Glad you enjoyed the fair, sorry you pooped out. Al has to have his scooter for such things.Then he walks MY legs off!

[larryJ]

We have been graced with the presence of our illustrious leader for two days.  He arrived yesterday for a fund raising get-together last night.  Today he flew to a small airfield just east of us, about ten miles or so, to dedicate some of the San Gabriel National Forest as a National Monument.  The airfield is just across the street from the aforementioned fairgrounds.  It is used for small aircraft and helicopters.

Today was our day for the two oldest granddaughters which meant I had to go to the school five miles to the east of us to pick them up.  Just as I was getting out of the van to walk to the classrooms, seven helicopters flew over flying east to west.  This was our leader headed back from the small airfield to LAX and Air Force One.  Many of those there at the school were yelling and waving (with all fingers) and others were taking phone videos.  I refrained from taking pictures and waving.  All choppers looked alike so no one would know which one he was in.  I did though.  He was in the one that didn't have the big guns on it.

That did break up the monotony of the day, however.

Tomorrow is the pro-rodeo in our neighborhood.  It is a charity event that we go to every year.  #2 granddaughter loves horses and last year after the rodeo some of the Norco Cowgirls came out and lined up along the railing and she got to touch the horses.  She was thrilled to death.  She told me today that she just can't wait to go tomorrow.  It will be fun. 

Larryj

[larryJ]

I consider myself a very fortunate grandpa.  I love my grandchildren and while I am not supposed to have favorites, the oldest granddaughter is my favorite, mostly because she has been around the longest and is a real joy.  She can come up with some of the best "Kids say the darnedest things" lines.

Last night at the rodeo, we arrived early and had no problem finding a place to sit.  The stands are metal bleacher type seating and the first row is designated for handicapped people and one attendant.  My wife was not feeling well so she didn't go, but her cousin did.  We sat on the first row and were joined later by my daughter, son-in-law and my two granddaughters, ages 9 1/2 and 6.  The oldest sat between me and the cousin. 

Now.........when you visit a place like, say Sea World, the first few rows are known and marked as splash zones meaning when the whale jumps up and comes back down you will probably get wet.  I say this because.....

When the first bucking bronco came out from the chute across the way, he came straight at us and then wheeled around throwing dirt all over us.  My granddaughter's reaction.......

"Papa, you didn't tell me this was a splash zone!"

How funny is that......

However, it was not so funny later as the motorcycle stunt performers were in the arena.  My daughter had just brought back hot dogs for the girls.  One of the stunt riders came flying by us just inside the rail and did a wheelie causing a cloud of dirt to fall on us...... and her hot dog.  She was not happy!  But she did get another one.

Overall, the rodeo itself was ho-hum.  This is a professional rodeo.  Some of the participants are world champions at their particular event.  Out of seven of eight bull riders, none stayed on the bull for the required eight seconds.  Out of about ten bulldoggers, only three were able to catch the calf and put it on the ground.  In the last event, the tie down roping, only three of more than ten participants were able to securely rope and tie down the calf.  The barrel racing went okay with only one young lady failing to get around the second barrel.  We were told it was her first competition. The opening ceremony was and is always impressive.  The Norco Cowgirls came out and did a short maneuver and then lined up while Miss Rodeo California carried the America flag around the arena twice.  I always get teary eyed about this point.  My daughter-in-law once asked my son, "Why is Pops tearing up?"  I heard her say that and I told her it made me sad to remember all those who fought under that flag and didn't make it back.  That they couldn't be where I was, looking at that flag and thinking what it means to me.  This happens to me every year at the rodeo.  And I am not ashamed.  After it was over, the Norco Cowgirls came out and lined up along the railing in front of us and our little 6-year-old was allowed to reach through and pet the horses which is what she came for in the first place.

Best of all, a good outing...minus my wife, ill at home, and my son and his family who couldn't make it.

Larryj

[larryJ]

October 23, 2014

Plan for the day...

1.  Get up between 5 AM and 6 AM.  (Woke up at 5:30 poured a cup of coffee and fed the dogs.)
2.  Play on the computer....check e-mails, bank account, appointments, etc. until 7 AM. (Poured a cup of coffee.)
3.  Retrieve the newspaper from the front porch and quickly read the local news.  (It's a small paper.)
4.  Put together the necessary information for the Forum. (Third cup of coffee.)
5.  Between 8:30 and 9, fix and eat breakfast while playing solitaire on the computer and planning my day.
     (go to the pet store for dog food and the grocery store.)
6.  Around 10 take morning meds.  (tried turning on the light above the kitchen table, doesn't work.)
7.  Checked to see if the ceiling fan works.  It does.  Must be the switchie thing for the light fixture.
8.  10:15, began disassembling the light fixture.  Bulbs first then the globes.  Looked to see what kind of switch is needed.  (dropped two tiny screws somewhere.)
9.  Drove to Home Depot about six blocks away.  Searched the electrical fixtures isles before remembering the switches are over by the ceiling fans.  Bought a switch.
10. Returned home and began to install new switch.  Discovered that the new switch part that sticks down through the cover plate on the light fixture is bigger than the hole.  (Just a tad.)
11. Got a drill bit and gently reamed the hole to allow the new switch to fit through.  Tried to attach the retaining nut to the new switch after pushing it through the hole.  (DUH!  If the hole wasn't big enough for the switch to fit through, what made me think the smaller nut was going to fit.)
12. Rummaged through my parts boxes in the garage to see if I had any old light fixture nuts.  (I did, but all were too small.)
13. Decided to return to Home Depot to buy the right size nut.  Opened the front door while looking at the switch and discovered in the brighter daylight that it is not threaded.  It is designed to fit tightly through the hole.  Fortunately, I did not make the hole too big and it seems to fit okay.
14. Returned to the kitchen and began to wire the switch.  (I did pay attention to where both wires went before taking the old one out.  (made some more coffee.)
15. Wife's cousin is now up and about and is giving me "instructions" about standing on a chair instead of a ladder. 
16. Finished wiring the switch.  With some assistance from the cousin managed to install the switch and the plate cover.  (It's a tight fit and jittery from the coffee.)
17. Remembered to put a light bulb in one socket to see if the switch works. (It did.)
18. Removed the light bulb and installed the globes after spending some time looking for the lost screws.
19. Replaced the light bulbs, pulled the chain and it...........

WORKS!!!!!!

YES!!!!!!

20. Began to put my tools away.  It was warm.  Pulled the chain for the ceiling fan to cool down.

FAN DOESN'T WORK.

Musta pulled a wire loose while trying to attach the plate.

12:30.....Cousin decided that I needed a rest and to fix it tomorrow.  Fixing it means taking the light fixture down again and finding the wire I loosened. 
12:45.....Took her advice and sat on the couch and took a nap.

Consequently, I didn't get the dog food.  I didn't get to the grocery store.  But.......
I know what I am doing tomorrow!

1.  Wake up between 5 Am and 6 AM.  yada yada yada..........

Larryj