Observations

[larryJ]

Thought for the day.......a long thought but you might like.

I rarely get out much except for necessary doctor appointments and special occasions such as holidays or birthdays.  The reason for this is.......laziness.

I had resigned myself into believing that my COPD and other general health conditions made it almost impossible for me to go anywhere without a great deal of hassle. 

Yesterday my wife had an appointment with a doctor, a specialist, in Orange some 30 miles away.  If she has not been somewhere before it is certain she will not be able to find a new place by herself.  So I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to go with her to insure she would get there.  So we got ready and were out the door in plenty of time to make the appointment.  I printed out a MapQuest guide and programmed my phone for instructions.  We got in the neighborhood of where we were supposed to be but couldn't find the address I had researched.  We drove around and we asked people who were outside for this place was.  Nobody could help us not even a local cop.  Then I discovered I had put in the wrong address and we were right where we were supposed to be.  We were 30 minutes late but they let her go in anyway.  This is one that I have to accept the blame for. 

I bring this up because as I said I rarely get out much.  Keep in mind that I am carrying an oxygen cylinder that is supposed to last about 4 or 5 hours.  By the time we were headed home I had turned down the oxygen supple to a lower dosage in order to preserve what I had left.  She had asked if we could eat out and she wanted to go to a specific restaurant.  Normally at this point I would just say I was tired and that we would have to go home and get another tank.  But I said let's do it and we did.

I bring all this up because........

She wanted to eat at a place called Chilis.  They serve any kind of food you want from steaks to pasta to Mexican food and hamburgers, etc.  This particular restaurant is located as a stand alone place in a shopping center.  Back in the day in 1970 I was the store manager in a record store similar the restaurant actually right next door.  At the time the shopping center was owned my May Company.  The record store went out of business a few years later.  I was already gone by then.  It became a restaurant called BJs Brewery and restaurant.  Whenever we go by there we are flashing back to when it was our store.  My wife worked there also.  The other building which is now Chilis used to be the May Company Automotive Center much like Sears stores which have similar such stores.  Sadly those are fading away now.

My daughter-in-law always wants to take me to BJs on Veteran's Day.  We didn't go last year because I decided I couldn't do it..........laziness.

So last night we went out to eat at Chilis and I had forgotten how nice it was to go out to dinner with my wife and have a good meal and a drink.  Because of this laziness I have been selfish in my relationships with my wife and family.  It was kind of a cultural shock also.  Our waitress wore a head covering because she was Muslim.  I have no problem with that.  She was young and very beautiful and extremely helpful to the old people she was serving who had the standard paper menus.  She pointed out that the strange little electronic thing sitting on the edge of the table was also a menu with a touch screen allowing us to select what we wanted.  This included a gluten free menu for me.  I had a steak with French fries which I couldn't finish and had to bring home the leftovers for lunch today.  A very expensive dinner what with the food and the two drinks we enjoyed together.  I mentioned to the waitress that we were eating in the old automotive repair shop and she laughed.  Then she looked at me and said she had not been born yet when that was there making me feel old once again.

Lessons learned.....
1.  We decided that we would make it a point to go out to eat at least once a week.
2.  I am going to make an effort to go places with my family more often instead of waiting for them to come see me.
3.  Never mention to a young person how things or places used to be because they generally don't care making me feel so old. 
4.  Make sure I have the information I need to get where we are going.......all the information.
5.  Don't let this laziness get in the way to spending time with the ones I love.

Larryj

[larryJ]

Another observation that occurred during Christmas........

I was talking to my wife and we were reflecting on past holidays both good memories and bad.  I thought about the Christmas' I spent in Howard.  There were not a lot because we lived far away.  I also seemed to think of the bad times rather than the good ones.  The bad times are a stronger memory I guess.

One Christmas when I was very young my cousin who was the High School girls athletic coach in the town where we were living decided to drive my mother and I to Howard.  We packed up the car with a lot of goodies, cookies and candies and such.  We loaded up the dog and set out.  When we got to Liberal my cousin wanted to stop and visit an own friend.  After the visit we headed back down the farm road to the highway.  A tire blew out and she lost control and the car overturned into a ditch.  We managed to get out of the car while the dog was having a feast on the goodies.  A man with a station wagon came along and helped us.  My mother was injured pretty bad and he took us to the hospital.  She remained there for four weeks and my cousin and I went on to Howard for Christmas.

Another not so good memory......my mother passed away three days before Christmas.  I was overseas and came back for the funeral.  My brother and I drove to Howard on Christmas for the funeral which was held on the Wednesday between Christmas and New Years Day.

I am sure there were holidays that were good and happy.  But I always remember the bad ones.

Just reflecting.

Larryj

[larryJ]

Nothing to do with Elk County..........just an observation.

Today I received a phone call from a guy who used to live across the street from me.  He moved many years ago but kept the house as a rental.  So I would see him on occasion.  He was a music composer and composed and arranged music scores for himself and other musicians.  He was also an arranger for some movies.  When my wife and I went to the show we were always the last ones out because we waited for the credits to see if his name was there.  His wife was East Indian and was a very talented Indian musician.  They toured all over the world.  I remember stories about her going to India for a tour and they paid her in gold because dollars were difficult to exchange in those days.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer over 20 years ago but seemed to have beaten it.  I had not heard from him in some time.

He called today to tell me that his wife had passed.  She was 68 and had been very sick with cancer that had returned.  Their son was the same age as my son and came to our house many times until they moved.

I mentioned this to my kids and they informed me that I could find her on YouTube which I did.  They also Googled her although much of the information such as birth dates were not quite accurate.  When they lived across the street the house had a room which was soundproofed and she taught lessons to those who were learning Indian music.  Their son became a musician also and has toured Europe and the States.

Sad to hear this.

Just reflecting.

Larryj

[larryJ]

Following through on our commitment to eating out more often......

Last night we went to Marie Calendars.  We had not been there in many years,  it's not like it is far away.  In fact it is only about four miles away.  We expected it to be crowded but it wasn't.  We were seated right away and told our server would be with us shortly.  Twenty minutes later he showed up.  We ordered our dinners after hearing his apologies for being slow.  My dinner, meatloaf and potatoes, tasted not so good and I decided to not eat more than half of it.  I didn't even ask for a box to take it home.  We did order two pieces of pie to take home.  Upon leaving it hit us that the reason we hadn't been there for a while was because the last time we were there many years ago the service was bad and the food so-so.  Live and learn.  Plus I was reminded how old I was when I ask the waiter if they still had Black Bottom Pie as it was not on the pie menu.  He had never heard of it.  So two weeks in a row I have learned not to ask about things that I remember to someone who was probably not born then.

However we did have a good time just going out for dinner.

Larryj

[Dignified Redneck]

Glad to hear that you are getting out and about!! It does a body good!!!! Hope you keep taking your wife out for a meal once a week. Heck, I might even use your decision to blackmail my husband to take me out to supper once a week!!  So proud of your post regarding your children listening to you and spending their precious time with their children. Take care of yourself, your wife and your dog. Hugs, Deb.

[larryJ]

Ah my dear sweet cousin Deb...............I appreciate your comments.  They are not really necessary as we are related and your flattery is not needed for me to appreciate you.  I do indeed intend to take care of myself, probably my wife, the dog maybe.  The brat is not responding to training as far as housebreaking.  This week will slow that down because rain is predicted all week.  And while he doesn't mind the rain I don't want a wet dog trying to get on my lap.  If he was human he would be diagnosed with ACHD.  He can be so loving one minute and tearing things up the next.  Oh well he will get better with time. 

Why don't you tell Carl that you would like a break once a week just to be with him and enjoy a nice time out.  Tell him that a night out would be relaxing and relieve some stress by not having to worry about things for a few hours and enjoy what you have.  If nothing else trying something new or different would be great.

That said.....going out once a week was my wife's idea and a good one.  However I have been married to this person for over forty years.  I know her well and I predict that after a while she will tire of going out and tell me at some point she doesn't feel like going out to dinner.  I hope not but it is inevitable.  If she were a dog she would be hard to train because she can be loving one minute and highly irritable the next.

I remain optimistic though.

Just kidding.

Larryj

[larryJ]

And more about the rain.......

I have mentioned in the past that rain is usually in the months of January and February.  Mostly it is one storm that comes in one day and is gone by the next.  Again as I have said it is usually a soft rain.  However with the recent wildfire damage storms can be devastating to those who live in those areas.  This week will be particularly rough as there is a series of storms coming in with heavy rain.  I do not live in a flood area nor a burn area so there is little concern. 

I bring this up because I had scheduled an eye doctor appointment for today.  I called and rescheduled it because it is too hard for us to make the trip in the rain.  Being limited in mobility and the heavy rain keeps me home where it is dry and warm.  Also we had scheduled an appointment with the mobile dog groomer to give a haircut for the dog.  She called and said she was having trouble getting her dog grooming rig to start and might just send someone to take him to her for his haircut. 

So everything that was supposed to happen today isn't going to happen.

Staying high and dry.

Larryj

[larryJ]

Ahhhh, living in SoCal never ceases to amaze me.

One of the highlights of living here in such a huge urban area is the ultimate view of a high speed chase.  High speed chases are considered the most important thing happening.  Local TV stations will always show the chase in lieu of anything else happening in the world with the exception of maybe a natural disaster.  They will interrupt any other news so that we can follow some idiot trying to get away from a dozen or more police cars and maybe two helicopters from various departments.  They are so important that when they happen my wife and I will holler at each other that a chase is one if we are in two different rooms watching TV.  In addition to all these police are the TV news copters following along with the same play by play that you get at a sporting event.  Many chases end in collisions either solo or with other vehicles.  Some end quickly leaving the viewer with a sense of disappointment  that it didn't last longer.  Some chases can last hours.  Sometimes it is just the driver and sometimes there are others in the car.  Recently there was one that slowed long enough for a woman to jump out and casually start walking down the sidewalk.  The cops weren't fooled and she was arrested.  Then again the car slowed and another woman jumped from the back seat but was hit by the door of the car and was injured.  Today's chase involved someone that was suspected of burglary.  It went on for about thirty minutes before the driver took the exit off the freeway and tried to pass a truck on the right and got jammed between the truck and the guard rail tearing the outer shell of the driver side door off.  He was quickly surrounded and had to crawl out through the window.  Another guy then came out  the window and then a woman crawled out the window.  A rare few of these people actually get away.  There was a chase yesterday where the car stopped in a residential neighborhood and five guys jumped out and ran in different directions but there were many officers around and all were caught.  I have seen those when a police dog was involved leaping through an open window and attacking.  Dogs have been also used to track down someone who bailed and was hiding.

Living here can be so entertaining.  A really good day is when there is more than one chase!

Larryj

[larryJ]

This is just too  much.......

Binging on a action paced show where a woman gets  kidnapped and is seen lying on a bed with her hands bound in front of her but not her feet.  She has a blindfold on but doesn't seem to be able to pull it down even though it is easy enough to do so.  Doesn't seem to be able to get up even though she is able to walk.  The writers must think the viewers are idiots.  The hero cuts the power to the building in order to sneak in and when he finds the woman she is in a well lit room while the rest of the building is dark.  Dumb.

Yet I still watch..........

LOL

Larryj

[larryJ]

Many times in the past I have mentioned the rain in this area.  Storms come in and are gone in day or so.  Then there are times when the storms stack up and this week we are getting three in a row.  One started today.  Another comes in on Friday night and the third will come in on Saturday night or Sunday.  These are an irritation for some and a worrisome situation for those in the hillsides and the recent burn areas.  For me it is a great excuse to lay back and enjoy the day.

Meaning..........two weeks a go I had an eye doctor appointment scheduled but it began to rain very hard and I rescheduled it for today.  Then today it started to rain and I canceled and rescheduled for two weeks from today.  I justify this because the TV guy says "If you don't have to go out, don't."  Good enough for me.  The appointment is not that important.

Adding to this.........again mentioning that the puppy is not used to thunder.  Hilarious.  He is currently hiding in a bedroom. 

That said.........my memory fails me as I thought about my summers in Howard baling hay.  I can't honestly remember there being very many rain storms then.  I do remember that we had to wait for the dew to dry before we could work.

I do feel sorry for those in the Midwest today.  My wife has a cousin living near Chicago who sent us pictures of the 18 plus inches of snow at her house.  The temperatures are miserable.  One report of minus 17 degrees yesterday.

I will just be happy with a little rain as I sit in my chair with my electric throw, a big screen TV and a lap dog when he comes out of hiding...........maybe some popcorn........

Aahh.

Larryj