Observations

[larryJ]

Yesterday, my daughter and #1 granddaughter went to the Legion Post in Newport to have a second meeting with my newly found daughter from my first marriage.  This meeting was set up so she could meet my son who couldn't attend the original meeting.  He and his wife and children all came and the three of them had a nice visit.  I just sat back and watched.  It was their time, not mine.  Besides, I was holding my five-month old grandson for a while.

The observation:  I had arrived early.  My daughter and son were attending #3 granddaughters pre-school recital which was at 10 AM in Newport.  Our meeting was scheduled for 2:30, but I wanted to get a good parking spot.  I parked up front and when I went in the place was crowded.  There were no tables on the patio available.  Alongside the wall is a wooden rail with stools.  Your back is to the wall so you can watch all the boats going by in the bay.  Across from the bar is a row of tables.  The one in front of me was occupied by two couples, one with a five-month old son and the other with a 2-year-old daughter.  I would guess they were in their early thirties.  When I sat down on the stool a waiter came by and asked if I wanted anything.  I opted to wait until the rest of the group came.  After about 20 minutes the waiter came back and said that the people across from me wanted to buy me a drink.  So I ordered and then thanked them asking why they were buying me a drink.  Their answer was because I was a veteran.  My response was that I was probably a veteran before they were born, laughing.

At least they didn't buy me a drink because I looked pathetic or homeless or something.......

Larryj

[larryJ]

This weekend marks my wife's birthday (notice I didn't mention age) and my daughter-in-law has opted to have a small party for her at the beach.  My daughter and her family will be there as well.  My other daughter has been invited and she is going to attend also.  My wife and her have not met yet.  As if we needed any more excuses to party..........my grandson will be six months old on Friday and #3 granddaughter will be closing in on 3 1/2 years old.  The weather will be perfect with the temps in the 70s and clear skies.  Perfect beach weather.   

Oh...........I'm sorry.  I forgot who I was talking to.     Try and stay warm, my friends.

Larryj

[Wilma]

Larry, you did that on purpose and that wasn't nice.  Have a good time and feel guilty that our weather isn't as nice as yours.

[larryJ]

When I first came to SoCal, I got a job working for a record company, the world's largest at the time.  They had six stores around the Los Angeles/Orange counties area.  Over time I worked in all of them doing vacation reliefs for the store managers as well as being manager of my own store.  Most interesting was the Hollywood store.  All the weird people you would ever see were there and of course, many celebrities.  That said........

They have a saying in Hollywood that when a celebrity dies, two more will follow soon.  After the second one dies, everyone holds their breath, so to speak, wondering who the third one will be.  This week we lost Shirley Temple, Sid Caesar and now I hear that Ralph Waite has died. 

It's weird, but it always seems to happen.

Larryj

[Judy Harder]

Not just Hollywood. I have noticed when someone I know Or know of dies, that soon will be 2 more to follow. Sometimes 3 men or 3 women or 3 younger people or anyway I believe that this occurs. Don't hold your breath, just look around.

[larryJ]

Our party at the beach went very well.  My wife was supposed to make her famous Chicken Enchilada Casserole, but couldn't find the time to do it and called our son to apologize as he had asked her to make it.  He asked for the recipe and he made it himself.  I have to say it was good, but not as good as hers.  I think he forgot the chiles, or I didn't get any in my serving.  There was rice and beans and gluten free cupcakes and gluten free cookies (made by my wife's cousin) and other goodies.

My other daughter was able to be there and she and my wife met for the first time.  My wife was a little nervous about meeting her although I had told her that the young lady was very nice and a pleasant person.  After a few minutes, they were getting along wonderfully.  On the way home, my wife said she was very happy to have met her and she now considered her "a member of our family." 

It was really great having everyone there (sans in-laws, thankfully) and the weather (did I mention this?) was absolutely gorgeous.  We sat inside for a while talking and waiting for my grandson to wake up from his nap and then we moved out to the patio which is on the front of the house next to the sidewalk.  The kids were riding bikes and scooters, everyone was telling stories and sharing memories, the neighbors were walking by on occasion saying hi, some of the balloons got away and sailed off to the unknown, two young men walked by holding hands............wait, what?  You might see that in Hollywood or West LA, but in Newport?  The adults either ignored that or just stared, but it wasn't something for the kids to see, not they would think anything of it.  Towards the end, a cheesecake was brought out with candles for my wife.  It was not gluten free, but I had my cupcakes.  Cards were given and a couple of presents and when it started getting dark, we went home. 

All in all, a great day.

Larryj

[Diane Amberg]

What fun. I have been following the introduction of your "new" daughter with much interest.I'm so pleased for you all that it has turned out so well. Happy birthday to your wife too! Now about your weather.....

[larryJ]

The weather.........We are experiencing unseasonably warm days during what should be our cold rainy season.  Many people just say that's why we choose to live in SoCal.  However nice it may be, we are now in a serious drought and really need the rain.  On Saturday, I did wear a light jacket outside as we were near the ocean and when the sun gets lower in the afternoon, it gets a little chilly for me.  Still, I would rather deal with the warm days and the drought conditions rather than the cold and snow in other areas.

However, Murphy's Law will go into effect shortly as my granddaughters will begin their softball season soon and it will get cold and rainy because of that.

Larryj

[Diane Amberg]

Even though another 1-3 inches is predicted for tonight, a warm up is coming later in the week. Maybe that will start a shift to better weather, finally. At least now it's all on the yards and off the streets and sidewalks. We have some enormous "Mount Plowmore" piles in the big shopping center parking lots...I suspect it will still be there in May. Enjoy that wonderful weather for me.

[larryJ]

Here in SoCal, everything is literally at your fingertips.  You do not have to go far to find whatever you need.  Today, I went around the corner to the local Home Depot for a few small items.  I found what I wanted and walked back out to my van.

The observation:  As I was getting into my van I saw two cute young ladies pulling one of those heavy duty flat carts used for carrying heavy objects, say like a large plumbing fixture or a stack of wood, etc.  On it they had cardboard boxes, unfolded, I would say maybe eight of them.  They were driving a medium size car.  Let me say here that they were not, I repeat, not blonde.

The first problem......they had to put the boxes into the back seat of the car.  Being in a parking space, there wasn't sufficient room to open the door wide enough to maneuver the boxes into the car.  To solve this problem they pulled the car out of the space effectively blocking the aisle.  That's okay, it is a big parking lot and you could just go around into another aisle.

The second problem......because the boxes were flat, they had a hard time fitting the first one into the car.  However, they managed to fit one in. 

The third problem.........because one was now in the car, it was almost impossible to fit the rest of them in.  Compounding this problem was the fact that they were trying to shove all of the remaining boxes in at the same time.

Finally, and with a car waiting for them to move and a few more spectators such as myself, watching silently, one came up with the idea of folding the boxes in half, one at a time.  Then they were able to fit them in the car.

The sad part of all this was that they then pushed the cart into their now empty parking space so that nobody else was going to be able to park there without moving the cart. 

All the spectators watched as they left and then walked away shaking their heads.

That was probably my entertainment for the day.

Larryj