Observations

[larryJ]

Yesterday we got around to celebrating my wife's birthday.  It actually occurred last Sunday but due to a few conflicts with our grandchildren's sports schedules it had to be postponed until yesterday.  This is not something new with my family.  Over the years we have celebrated birthdays and holidays whenever it was convenient for all. 

However............she turned 70.  Which is depressing and then no outright mention of a dinner and presents made her an unhappy person to be around.  So yesterday was a great relief to all of us to finally acknowledge her birthday to make her happy and taking the heat off the rest of us.  I know not funny but I am laughing inside.

My son made reservations at a Japanese restaurant one of those Benihana type places where we all sit around a hot cooking surface and watch the chef go through some humorous antics while cooking our dinner.  The food was good and our grandchildren showered her with pictures they had drawn related to turning 70.  She received cards from all of us and the restaurant employees did a little celebration for her. 

After suffering a week of hurt feelings mostly directed at me I was able to give her a present which I had struggled to keep secret all week.  My daughter-in-law had found a nice expensive bracelet from Tiffanys and I was forgiven for the time being.  I thank God for my daughter-in-law for having good taste and the ability to make my life easier.

Life is good.

Larryj

[larryJ]

I have mentioned in the past, often, about the rain in SoCal.  For many years we had less than the average which is about 15 inches a year.  This year we have already hit the 15 inch mark and the rain season is not over.  Rainfall is measured from July 1 through June 30.  We don't usually see much rain after April.  We have been in a drought condition for many years.  Now they are saying the drought is over and there are still storms in the forecast for this weekend and next week.  The Sierra Nevada snowpack which is a source of water for us is higher than usual.  Some local ski resorts here have announced they will stay open far longer than usual.  Just so you know.

Softball is starting up for our grandchildren.  Hopefully I will get to go to a game this year.  In the past I use to go to all their games.  Then my health declined enough to make it difficult to go anywhere.  But things are seemingly to get better and I may be able to go. 

Larryj

[larryJ]

And more on rain........

We just had another storm move through yesterday.  Another is predicted for three or four days next week.  This is of course the big news story around here.

Which brings me to another thing.  We have eight local television stations here.  There is no lack of news on TV at any time.  Well, except between 2 and 3 in the afternoon which is ok because that is naptime.  The reason I bring this up.........

I am usually awake by 6AM partly because I go to sleep around 10PM so I get my eight hours and partly because the dog is pawing at me to get up on the bed so he can cuddle and sleep between my legs.  So I turn on the TV and go to my favorite news channel.  The people on this channel do report the serious news but tend to be a happier set of personalities that like to joke around and the reporters in the field found do-gooder things to report on.  For the most part they are.......well acting like idiots always giggling and laughing.  Why do I watch this channel you ask?  The weather reporter is a beautiful young woman.  But I digress.  Idiotic......There is something today on the internet about throwing slices of cheese onto babies faces.  This is is going viral because of the reaction of the babies faces. So this morning the three people are throwing slices of cheese at each other.  The purpose is to see if they can get the cheese to stick to each others face.  It didn't stick to the weather girls face.  Just too beautiful I guess. (sigh)

Another thing about this group.  There used to be a anchor who was quite entertaining to some.  Two months ago he died.  He was found midday in a motel room dead from an over dose.  Later it was found he overdosed from Meth.  Sad.  I didn't really thing he was all that entertaining but the others loved him.  After he died the others tried to make him sound like a saint citing his various projects like finding good restaurants in town and toy drives for kids.  I had a problem with this.  It is true he did a few good things but to glorify him as much as they did....no, the man was on drugs and it killed him and that is terrible.

Sunday morning thoughts. 

Larryj

[larryJ]

How funny is this.......I logged on a while ago to comment on one of our favorite things......a high speed pursuit from last night.  This is like watching a favorite sports thing but doesn't usually last very long and can have a dramatic ending or not.  Last night the police were chasing a guy in a stolen car and he had a head on collision with one car and then t-boned a van a few minutes later but kept on going.  He cut off a guy in a black pickup which caused some road rage on the part of the driver of the pickup.  The pickup driver began following the stolen car.  Just before the road rage thing the police had backed off due to the bad driving of the stolen car.  The black pickup continued to follow behind cutting in and out of traffic lanes.  At one point it looked like he was going to try and crash into the car.  Then he got in front of him trying to slow him down.  At this point the police joined back in and the whole thing came to a stop with the police arresting the driver of the car.  After the stop the pickup left the scene but the police pulled him over a few blocks away and arrested him.  You never see a civilian trying to stop a chase suspect so that this one was different. 

Now on the news this morning we were told that after all this the driver of the pickup was released with no charges filed.

What is funny is that when I logged on to the Forum this morning I hear on the TV............A chase is on.  I called my wife so she will know to change to the right channel.  This one was another stolen van driven by a woman.  The police did a pit maneuver causing her to spin out and crash into another car.  She gave up and she was arrested. 

What a way to start the day.

Larryj

[Dignified Redneck]

Good morning from Kansas. This week is "Spring Break" from school in this area. I am blessed with the three granddaughters today. We have a litter of unplanned puppies in the barn, so we will probably make several trips to the barn to check on them. Usually it's a hunt for kittens but I guess all our cats have gotten too old for that nonsense. Carl is at work, so I'm main chef and caretaker. It's supposed to be a nice but cloudy day here. Supposed to have rain off and on this week. Thanks for sending it, by the way. I always enjoy your posts. The most exciting thing here, is the puppies (of course) and dealing with Carl's second broken leg in six months. Same leg but both bones this time. Slipped on the ice three weeks ago this time. Guess he will have to sign up for co-ordination classes after he retires from the college this summer. No chases or broken appliances to lament about but I hope this brightens your day. Deb

[larryJ]

Good morning Deb.  i can emphasize with Carl.  Today is the first day back from rehab for a broken femur.  I tripped over the dog while unloading the dishwasher and falling on the floor.  My wife was away picking up the granddaughters from school.  Fortunately I had stuck my phone in my pocket.  So I called her and she and I decided that the fall was much worse than we thought.  So the paramedics were called and I was off to the hospital.  I have mentioned in the past about how they take you to the nearest ER and then after a few hours of tests and x-rays they send you to the Kaiser hospital which is where we have insurance with.  After a few hours of tests and x-rays they give you a room.  That was on March 8.  On Saturday the 9th the doctor operated on my leg and on Monday the 11th I was sent to a local rehab/nursing home.  At Kaiser I had a private room with a nice TV although no cable.  At the rehab there was two of us in the room and a small 20 inch tv high up on a shelf. There was only the curtain between us.  Now my rooomie was a 83 year old Hispanic man who was deaf in one ear.  The sound on the tv was left off as he couldn't hear it anyway.  The first few nights he had a lot of problems calling out for help.  He was unable to remember to use his call button which made me use mine to get someone to come.  He had managed to develop some sort of rash which was painful and made him scream when they were treating it.  The last few days I was there he seemed to get much better and we could both get some sleep.

My day there consisted of being woken at 6:30.  The nurse got me cleaned up and dressed and moved to the wheelchair next to my bed.  Breakfast was served and then off to physical therapy for a hour then lunch and gratefully back into bed for the rest of the day.  Because of my gluten free diet the food was hard for the kitchen to figure out what to give me.  Toward the end they got it down. 

My son had downloaded HULU on my phone so I was able to keep up with my shows that I watch and I downloaded a music service so I could listen to music.  This was helpful during the night when my roomie was moaning and hollering.  I had earbugs and could crank up the sound to drown him out.

Now I am back in my own bed and enjoying my wife's cooking and everything is okay.  My wife had been the one to get the dog and she became disenchanted with him over the last few months and wanted to give him away.  Tripping me was the last straw and she gave him to a nice family who wanted him. 

It has been a fun two weeks and I have a long road to go now to gain full recovery but it is oh so nice to be home.

I have lots of computer stuff to catch up on. 

Larryj

[Catwoman]

    Sounds like you have been put through the ringer!  Prayers going up for a speedy, pain-free, complete healing for you!!!!

[Mom70x7]

Oh, my!

Talk about memory making! Not sure I would want to create this kind. 

I am glad you are back home and more comfortable. How's your range of movement? Are you back to what it used to be?

Prayers your way.

[larryJ]

More about pursuits.....On Wednesday and Thursday I heard of at least four.  I think this might be a record.  I saw maybe two of them.  Rarely does one of these being chased get away but Thursday night the police were chasing a guy from downtown LA through the eastern part of the county to Orange county where he exited the freeway and got back on going the other way and went back to downtown LA.  At one point because of this guys speed and erratic driving the police backed off and relied on the helicopters to keep track of where this guy was.  However, when you are in downtown LA there are a lot of high rises which inhibits the view of the helicopters.  AND THEY LOST HIM!!! 

As mentioned some of these end peacefully in which the guy just gives up or runs out of gas.  Unfortunately one of the four was a utility truck which was involved in several accidents and in the end t-boned a car.  The truck was disabled and the driver arrested but it took almost an hour for the fire department to get the driver out of the car.  They basically had to cut the car in pieces to get the driver out.  Thankfully she survived although in serious condition.

So four chases in two days.  As one newsman from a news helicopter put it maybe it seemed a lot because they all happened during a time when the time when the news cycle was on and the helicopters were up.

Living in LA is exciting.

[larryJ]

You often hear good news stories how someone helps another person out of the goodness of their heart.  Here is mine.

After 16 days of hospitals and rehab I had grown a lot of hair both on my head and on my face.  I was looking pretty scruffy.  One of the attendants in rehab had made a couple of efforts to shave me but only on my cheeks giving a goatee of sorts.  After almost two months without a decent shave my wife made an appointment with my barber warning him that I was a mess.  That was last Monday.  However, my respiratory problems were bad that day and I had to cancel and reschedule for Thursday.  So I was able to get there and he cleaned me up pretty good.  As we were ready to leave my wife handed some money to the barber and he said it was already taken care of.  We asked him to explain and he said another customer saw us and we reminded him on his parents and he anonymously paid for my haircut and shave!!!!!

So I have heard these stories of others helping people but it has not really happened to me.

I am thankful and grateful to that person.

Larryj