Observations

[larryJ]

I have not mentioned my "other daughter" from my first marriage in some time.  We exchange occasional e-mails and make attempts to get together whenever it is convenient for both of us.  She lives in one of the beach cities on the west side.  Her mother, my ex, still lives in Orange County not far from my son.

Her daughter plays softball and was invited to play on a tournament team at a Toys 4 Tots Tournament which was held here locally yesterday and today.  The first game was late yesterday afternoon and because it was close to me, I managed to attend.  I met her husband and son for the first time.  I did get to see her daughter play although she only played in the last inning.  There was a second game, but by then I was getting a little cold and it was time for me to leave.  My daughter from this marriage, along with my son-in-law and #1 granddaughter also attended.  It was a really nice time getting together.  After I arrived home, I received a text telling me that the team had lost the second game and were scheduled to play at 8:00 this morning.  I decided not to attend this one.  My wife thought that I should.  But this morning I sent a text saying I was unable to attend and she replied that she, too, had decided to stay home and let her husband take the young lady to the game. 

My son announced the annual tradition of Junk Food Night would occur on the 20th coinciding with the Newport Boat Parade.  The first time I went to the boat parade, I bought tickets from the American Legion which is right on the water and took the whole family.  Later on, after "finding" my other daughter, I found out that she and a group of her friends had been at the Legion during the boat parade, but away from the reserved area.  So we were at the same place at the same time and didn't know it.  Since then, my son decided that it was better to have Junk Food Night during the boat parade because we could all get together with friends and family and eat what we want and then walk down to the beach and watch the parade.  This works out better.

If I haven't mentioned Junk Food Night before it is a family tradition I started many years ago.  It originated one Christmas Eve when I didn't want to fix dinner and went to the store and bought all kinds of chips, cookies, candies, etc.  I made some fudge and cooked some hot dogs.  It was a tremendous hit with my kids, but slightly frowned on by my wife.  She has since embraced the idea because it is a family get-together.  It initially was limited to just our family, but now has evolved into a huge party with many friends included.  It has become the "place to be" and is moved from Christmas Eve to another more suitable and convenient time.  I am always given "official recognition as the originator of the idea."  Lots of fun!

So, I mentioned this to my daughters last night and my other daughter told me that she had already planned on being in Newport on that night with some friends and might stop by.  I think she might have been planning to go to the Legion again.

Looking forward to it.

Larryj

[larryJ]

It's interesting how things change over the years as we all know.

#1 granddaughter turned 10 last Wednesday.  It used to be that if a birthday fell on a weekday, there would be an acknowledgement on that day and perhaps a bigger party for a weekend when all the family could get together.  Now it has turned into what I call "birthday week."

On the day of her birthday, the 10th of December, it was our day to pick up the girls from school.  My wife's cousin had taken the younger one to the store on Tuesday and let her design a small birthday cake.  On Wednesday, when the older one came home, she was given a few presents and the cake.  BUT, we didn't eat the cake in order to preserve it for her parents to see and enjoy.  She had also had a party at school that day.  My wife took the girls to Skyzone so they could jump on the trampolines.  On Friday, my wife and her cousin went to my daughter's house because they were going to cut the cake and eat it.  I didn't go as I was a little under the weather and I can't eat the cake anyhow.  On Saturday, yesterday, I am not sure where they took the girls, but it was somewhere for kids.  Today rounded out the "Birthday week" as the whole family including in-laws from both sides met at Northwoods Inn, a popular and expensive steakhouse for lunch.  The birthday girl was given more presents and the wait staff sang Happy Birthday to her and she got the obligatory dessert with a candle on it. 

So "Birthday week" is over now.  What with the presents, Skyzone, and the expensive restaurant, the costs was probably pretty staggering.  Her great-uncle gave her expensive earrings and pearls.  As she is into American Girl Dolls, we had given her several accessories to the doll which are not cheap.

But hey.........You only turn 10 on the 10th once.  And she is my favorite.  I know, I know, grandparents aren't supposed to have favorites, but I do.  Ten years ago, when she was born and I was babysitting, she would fall asleep in my arms.  I could have put her in her crib, but I didn't.  I just sat there and held her until she woke up. 

She is well worth it.

Larryj

[larryJ]

When I woke up this morning, I reflected on what day it was.  That's what you do when you first wake up.  You try to figure out what day it is, and the date, and what it is that you need to do for the day.

My reflection of the day was:  48 years ago today, while sitting in the Orderly Room on a missile site in South Korea, the Battalion Chaplain arrived unannounced and went to the Captain's office.  A few minutes later the Captain came out and called me into his office.  The Chaplain informed me that my mother, Iva Jane Andrews Jordan, had passed away at the home of my oldest brother in New Orleans.  She had been ill for some time, but not with anything life threatening.  However, her lungs were weak from years of asthma.  The Chaplain informed me that I should go pack a suitcase and he would give me a ride back to Headquarters.  I walked down to my barracks and stopped by the corner and gazed out over the beautiful landscape below me and cried for a few minutes.  Our houseboy must have heard me and he came out and asked what was wrong.  I told him.  In Korea when someone dies it is a time of joy for that person has gone on to a better place and they celebrate with a parade.  But he understood that it is not that away in the U.S.  He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash and offered it to me as a loan to help me while I was gone.  I thanked him, but refused the offer.  I packed a bag and the Chaplain drove me down to Headquarters.  The Personnel Office gave me an advance on my paycheck and two men drove me to Seoul to board a flight home.  The day after arriving home, another brother, his wife and I began a not-stop drive from Los Angeles to Howard.  We drove in shifts with one driving, one riding shotgun to keep the driver awake and the other sleeping in the back seat.  I was driving, his wife was shotgun and he was sleeping.  Unfortunately, she was also asleep and I nearly drove us off the road.  But we got there.  The funeral was held in what was then the Moon Funeral Home on the Wednesday after Christmas and she was buried in Grace Lawn Cemetery next to my father.  We returned the following weekend to L.A. and I returned two weeks later to Korea.

That was what I thought of this morning, December22, when I woke up. 

It is through her that I have my connection to Howard and Elk County, a connection that I am very proud to have.

Larryj

[larryJ]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This is the day that our area becomes the focus of many Americans because of the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl game.  Thousands of people will stand or sit on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena and watch the parade.  A B-2 bomber will fly over and I, just like years before, will run outside to see it.  I have only seen the flyover once, but hey, I can try.  Pasadena is about 15 miles west of us. 

I was reflecting the last few days on the logistics of this parade.  There are 86 entries which include the floats, bands, equestrian groups, etc.  At a glance at the Rose Parade/game program that the local paper gives out, one of the bands has 273 members.  I just can't imagine how you could get 273 people to Pasadena, find them a place to stay and feed them for two or three days and that is only one band.  In all the years I have lived here, I just never thought about this.  It's a good thing I don't need to book a room anywhere near Pasadena. 

A few miles to the west of us is the city of Irwindale, a mostly industrial area.  This is where a majority of the floats are built and decorated.  On New Year's Eve they leave Irwindale and slowly make their way to Pasadena.  Can you imagine trying to get all those floats there and in the right place in the parade lineup?  The more I think about this, and it is mind boggling now, the more I want to go back to bed.

Would I miss watching the parade on TV?  Nah, one of the local channels shows the live parade and then two reruns during the day.

Such is life on January 1 in Pasadena.

Larryj

[larryJ]

And a follow-up........When the parade was about to begin, I went outside to look to the northwest where Pasadena is, hoping to see the B-2 bomber.  At the starting time, I could hear it in the stillness of the morning but I never was able to spot it.  Later, my wise-cracking son called me to wish me a Happy New Year and I told him I didn't see the bomber this year.......to which he replied, "Dad, it's a stealth bomber.  You can't see it!" 

I can see that I have passed on my sense of humor to my son. 

Back to the logistics.......there were many large bands in the parade.  Where do they get transportation for 300 kids, chaperones, etc.  How do they get 300 kids to get up at the crack of dawn, get ready, eat breakfast and load onto buses with some carrying instruments and probably a truck to carry the bigger instruments and make it to the start of the parade before it starts at 8:00 AM?  And this is just one of many large bands.  And can you imagine the neighborhood streets around the start of the parade jammed with floats and bands and people from the Tournament of Roses trying to get everyone in the place they are supposed to be? 

Many years ago, we happened to be in Newport Beach for my brother-in-laws birthday on December 30.  We went to a local fish restaurant for lunch.  It was a little chilly that day so we were wearing jackets and sweatshirts.  One of the teams in the Rose Bowl that year was the University of Michigan.  Outside of the restaurant is a long bench for those waiting to get in.  There were folks from Michigan here for the Rose Bowl and waiting to go in to eat.  They were sporting tee shirts and shorts.  This wasn't cold to them.  Now..
The Rose Bowl is some 60 miles from Newport Beach.  They told us that Newport was as close as they could get motel reservations for the day of the parade and game.

Speaking of that.......remember when bowl games were labeled the Peach Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Sugar bowl and among others the Rose Bowl.  Now they have all these corporate names.  What's up with that?
And, in those days, the Rose Bowl was always the winner of the Pac-10 and the Big-8 from the Midwest.  Now that has changed over the years.  Anybody can be in it. 

Larryj

[Diane Amberg]

You have the beautiful Rose Parade and we have the Mummers. Both are wonderful in their own way. I understand you are pretty chilly out there today and we were very cold, but bright and clear. Happy New Year!

[larryJ]

My wife has been telling me for some time now that Mother Nature is confused as to what season it is.  She says this because "that plant should bloom in October, not December" and other such comments. 

Now I hear this and file it away with all of the other trivial stuff I don't really need to think about.  However, I am beginning to think she is onto something.

When we bought our house in 1975, there were eight trees in the front.  One was right in front of the house and tearing up the driveway and we had it removed.  The second was a small palm tree that was going to be the cause of many headaches later on and I dug it out.  The third was some unknown tree in a planter which died later on.  The fourth was an evergreen which flourished nicely, but was getting "too big for its britches" and the neighbor next door asked if he could remove it as it sat on the line between the properties and he didn't like it.  It was messy and I agreed to his request.  The fifth was a birch tree which died a few years ago. The sixth was an unknown, maybe an oak, which was pretty much dead at the time we moved in and we had it removed.  The seventh was a Crepe Myrtle planted by the people who built the tract.  Everybody has or had one.  Ours was knocked down by a semi which had traveled up the street only to discover there was no other way out.  He backed up and knocked the tree down.  The eighth is a Liquid Amber (?) which has beautiful large maple style leaves.  It remains as the sole surviving tree. 

What does this have to with Mother Nature?  As the seasons progress, the leaves on this tree begin turning all sorts of colors, red, purple, gold, yellow along with the remaining green ones.  We moved in this house in late November that year and I have a picture of my sister-in-law swinging from a branch of that tree and the leaves had all turned yellow which is the final stage before all the leaves fall.  My neighbor to the west of me moved in his house in 1979 and a few years later took some of the seed pods from our tree and planted them in his yard.  His tree is now the same size and height as ours.  Of course, we keep it pruned every few years.  Last year, when coming home from an errand sometime in December, the afternoon sun was hitting the tree just right and the golden leaves were spectacular and I took a picture of it. 

This year........here it is January 4th and the leaves are still on the tree and in their variety of colors.  It is absolutely beautiful to see.  But wait.......there shouldn't be any leaves on the tree in January and if there were, they should all be yellow.  But they're not, they are still red, purple, bold, yellow and green.  We had a good size wind storm last week during the night and my wife said as we went to bed, "Well, there won't be any leaves on that tree tomorrow!"  But there is.

So maybe she is right.  Mother nature is confused as to what season it is.

Because of our climate, the tree starts budding in March with signs of Spring.  The leaves better hurry up and fall to make way for the new ones.

Larryj

[larryJ]

However........when our tree trimming guy came around the other day to trim that tree, he brought up the fact that the tree was really starting to tear up the driveway.  This is true because the driveway had cracked where a root was lifting it.  At first it was just a crack.  Then it was a small hazard to kids rollerskating and having to warn visitors to watch their step.  Now my wife refers it to our own personal speed bump. 

So...........sadly, today the tree, estimated to be over 50 years old, is coming down.  This is the last of our trees.  She says she will plant another one, but we shall see. 

Larryj

[larryJ]

Hello everyone, I decided to get back into the game.  I really appreciate the postings on the Good Old Days thread.  Those are great.

Why now you ask.......Although I quit posting I still read the Forum every day.  I wish more people were posting and then I realized what a great procrastinator I was.  My way of thinking however was that I had nothing to offer that would be of interest to anyone and the joke thread was getting tedious for me.  I have not been to Kansas in 15 years.  The last time was when my son and I went to Little Rock for a baseball game featuring a minor league player we knew.  On the way home we stopped in Howard to visit with my cousin Bill Redmond.  There are those who do wish to revitalize this Forum and I then decided I would like to be a part of that even if I don't have a lot to contribute.

So.......what has been going on here in SoCal.  Health wise it has been a tough year for both of us.  My wife has had both hips replaced, has fallen two times breaking her thigh bone each time and is still recuperating from that.   I have had a few visits to the ER for breathing problems the last one two weeks ago when I had a touch of pneumonia.  I did have a pneumonia shot and a booster so I guess it could have been a lot worse.  My wife's cousin who lives with us went to stay with her uncle in North Carolina while he had hip replacement surgery.  She will return next week after a two month visit.  This is good news as she was doing the grocery shopping and picking the older granddaughters from school on the days they are here.  My wife has been doing that but it is hard on her.  Now that she is feeling somewhat better she has had our local handyman over painting rooms and hanging new curtains. 

As far as the "Another Slice Of Wry" thread I am still out on reviving that one.  If I do it will be a different format because I think that same old thing every day burned me out.  We shall see.  It is interesting to note that although there are no new postings it is still read by more than ten to twenty people each day.  That's nice to see.  I am glad I am making someone smile.

I have been retired for over 11 years now and here are some things I've noticed.

1.  We have a microwave with a revolving platter.  We have a coffee maker that is programmable so that I can put the coffee together before going to bed and it will be ready when I wake up.  I always wake up early so the coffee is hot when I pour it.  The coffee maker shuts off after two hours.  She does not wake up until after that happens.  Then she calls me and asks for a cup of hot coffee.  So I get her a cup of coffee and put it in the microwave.  Where is all this going you ask?  When I put the cup in the microwave the handle is facing me.  When it is done the handle is always facing the rear.  When I put the cup in with the handle facing to the rear and set the same amount of reheating time when it is done the handle is always facing the ........you got it........the rear.  Go figure.

2.  My son got me a Roku stick for my big screen which includes Netflix.  Now I can sit and binge on all those TV shows that I could care less about when they were on TV.  I am surprised at all the things I missed because I didn't think I would be interested.  Who knew? 

3.  I used to get somewhat annoyed at people who offered to help me do something that I could do for myself.  Now I welcome those people because I grown lazy and finally figured out that if someone wants to do something I normally do who am I to argue.  Case in point.  One day the cousin took me to the hospital for a Doctor visit.  She pushes me in a wheelchair. While in the waiting room she began experiencing heart palpitations and I had the receptionist get some help for her and they took her down the hall to the ER.  I went ahead with my appointment and then had to wheel myself across to the other side of the hospital to the ER.  She was okay.  So as I began to wheel myself over to the ER I discovered, getting back to the point, that when I am wheeling myself no one offers to help me.  If I stop and rest for a while someone will invariably stop and ask if they can push me somewhere!  I also discovered that if someone wants to start a conversation with me and I don't want to talk to them or I'm not in the mood, I pretend to be severely hard of hearing.  Most people will not find it necessary to raise their voices in a waiting room.

4.  As far as this Forum.....have you ever noticed at the bottom of the home page there is a list of those who have been active that morning.  Also listed is the number of people who are visiting the Forum.  This number usually runs around 100 or so.  Who are these people?  And if there are actually this many people looking at the Forum, why don't they post something or sign on?  My thought is that some of these people may have forgotten to close the window although I can't see how they would miss that.  Or they are procrastinators like me.

6.  What happened to number 5?

LOL

Larryj

[sixdogsmom]

Great to hear from you Larry! I missed your day to day adventures with your g/daughters, b/wife and s-in law. Also miss the daily chuckle. Mayhap an occasional one? Best wishes, and it is wonderful  to hear from you.