I'm sad

 Short.

Went out back with dogs.  I looked at garden.  Big dog was by the fence barking at neighbor.  I went over and shushed her.

As I walked back, a bird flittered by me and landed on a fence.  It was a baby learning to fly..

I thought I could get passed it without causing panic.  I was wrong.

It tried to fly away from me landing in the grass 20+ yards away.

My dog Sadie ran and grabbed it.  Dead in less than a second.   A male red winged blackbird was flying in and out of the encounter.  Sadie killed a baby bird.  I'm sad.  Nothing to do now.

Misc report - disasters and otherwise

June 1st - year 2023 - nice day - sun shining - sprinkler system worked this morning with no problems - 3 dogs in residence today - #1 child working today - wife watching TV and coloring - I'm taking care of business online and other places because it is the 1st of the month.  Note:  today starts Pride Month.  Worthless events highlighted by the press as wonderful.  We move on.

We just returned from a flying trip (in the car) to Lubbock for my #3 and last grandgirl's high school graduation from Frenship High.   Nobody knows why it is spelled Frenship - just cause.  

It was a nice event running 635 or more students across the stage in about an hour.  No speaker other than H.S. Salut and Valdic - they were just fine.  Being somewhat deaf, I'm not sure what they projected for the future.  Both speeches got right to the point and included only a bit of remembering childhood.

We left Friday - attended a grad party of Sat. - grad was at 3 p.m. on Sunday.  Yes, Sunday.  They had it at the United Supermarket Spirit Arena - or whatever it is contractually named.  The Lubbock schools had the arena booked up on Thur/Fri/& Sat.  The place was full of screaming mommas and other relatives.  Since I got out of high school, I don't suppose I have held these Commencement Services in too high of regard.  Mine was important of course.  Theirs?  not so much obviously.

One of my bits is to send Graduation Cards in the mail.  I sent each of grandgirls cards.  The bit is to send more than one.  Each received maybe 10 cards spread out over 3-4 weeks.  Some were serious; most were dumb.

Since I taught 38 years, I attended 38 high school graduations, some better than others.  Some were like attending a circus - I particularly remember Tascosa H.S. in Amarillo as close to riots.  Tascosa had recently (3 or 4 years earlier) gone through a court case in which the name Rebels was removed by the court.  They were no longer the Tascosa Rebels and by court order, the rebel flag could not be flown AND Dixie could not be played as the fight song. Thus, locals who were irritated would bring rebel flags and whistle Dixie - so forth.

Aside: the administration with student help picked a new mascot -  The Rebel Kid.  Drawn as a cowboy with a gun.  So, they were still the Rebels, weren't they?

At graduation one year I was there, someone figured out how to get into the rafters of the Amarillo civic center.  They installed a garage door opener.  At the appropriate time, the opener worked pulling out a large Rebel flag and a tape player blaster out Dixie from the ceiling.   I wonder what that cost. How did they find the electricity up that high.  It was effective to a degree.  The students loved it and the Administration was duly embarrassed.  Tascosa was always a circus.

But, enough of that.  We enjoyed the Lubbock trip while we were there.  The 300 mile drive each way is another story.

--------------

On Tues. before we left, my wife was at the front door watering out inside plants.  She has her little watering can - bends over a bit and sprinkles.  Something went wrong - perhaps a dog running through or ? who knows.  She got top heavy and went down.  Nothing serious.  Nobody even knew it except her.   A few moments later, Christine walked through the room and saw blood all over BJ's white shirt.  My wife was unaware that she was cut.

I was called back inside.  We looked.  There was a cut behind her ear and blood had squirted out.  By the time I arrived, it was not bleeding - surface cut.  

After a bit of dabbing and attempting to clean, the shirt was changed - a call was made to local Baylor Scoot & White clinic (4 p.m. plus) - and a quick trip was made to the doctor's.  No doctors were there at 4 p.m. of course on this Tuesday.  A nurse practitioner or maybe just a nurse gave aid.  I stayed in the waiting room while the 2 girls went to the back.  I don't care to watch blood.

BSW was fantastic.  2 stitches went in and cleaning took place.  It was a good experience considering. $5 Copay.  Of course I may get a bill later for $5 million.   Yesterday, out came the stitches.  Another fine experience, considering.   no copay this time.

Life is full of these little dramas.   We have a theory that she bumped the side of her head slightly against the corner of the piano bench just enough to tear the skin.  

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another event perhaps worth reciting:  while in Lubbock we completed our doctor papers  - the ones where you give someone else the right to decide your medical fate.  A friend of the family came over and did the notary work. Papers have been signed and posted.  Another joy-of-living taken care of...

more later if there be a later,

M3

p.s. not proof reading this.  You correct errors for me.

Mr. Charisma

Better stand back - I am loose on the world.

But First.
We all know that if you read something - anything - on the internet, it must be true.  Nobody ever posts anything that is not factual.  There is a close correlation to reading the horoscopes in a local  newspaper.  Horoscopes focus completely on me - just me.

Horoscopes are  composed by individuals who have an insight.  They must have.  Why would the paper publish an article that was not factual  (think fake news)?  Another Factual (making the word factual into a noun) are those little bits of paper you get at Chinese restaurants - yes, fortune cookies.  I've never read one ( or won, if you prefer  ) that wasn't true.

[I would have used the word inciteful here - but my computer says my spelling is wrong.  No alternate spelling is provided to me.  Let's try:  incitefull    nope, doesn't work either.  insightfull   incitful  ensitefull   Nope.  Give it up.]

Back to the horoscopes:   Mine today, Scorpio,  reads,  

"Your water-sign nature is supercharged today and will bring a wave of fun, a spritz of playfulness and a splash of drama to your day.  Who do you most want to influence?  Focus there because your charisma is on 10."

This brings up a few questions.   (1.)  what is a water-sign nature?  That's new to me.  It seems to provide a fluid way of describing the future day.    (2.)  "wave of fun"  How true.  If there were ever a way to describe me - it would be "wave of fun."     (3.)  "spritz of playfulness"   Surely they jest.    (4.)  Drama?  I have spent most of my life trying to dodge drama.  If you have ever taught middle school or high school girls, you know drama.    (4.)  Finally:  me want to influence someone?  I've had a long hard thought about this.  Influence.  the President?  The V.P.?   My banker?  The food industry who has found a way to double the cost of everything.  The boss of Coca-Cola should be horse whipped for doubling the cost of cokes in 12 months.  I could list other foods ... so could you.  I'll probably be arrested for making a terrorist threat against the CEO of Coke.  

Maybe my efforts should go towards influencing that frog who lives near my back porch.  It loves to lounge in the dog's water dish at night.  The dogs don't seem to care.  We call it frog water.  Might be tasty.  Who knows?  Good Frog.

Lastly, and more important----ly,   Charisma.  That is me.  Mr. Charisma.  Wherever I go, I light up the room with my charisma.  Yep, bubbling personality.  There is a word you don't write often.  bubbling.  Charisma -  Mr. Charisma - gads, did this horoscope peg me right on the button?  Of course they did.  I'm going out in the front yard right now and wave at everybody that comes by.  I may pull a few over and ask how their day is going - how's your mom - read any good books - where did you buy those good looking shoes -  because I am so interested in others.   

Mr. Charisma - shine on!

  

  

20 min. till EAT

5 P.M.  Everyday at 5 p.m.  I say the magical word "EAT."

3 dogs lift their ears and run to the kitchen.  We eat at 5.  Rain or Shine (unless I happen to forget or I am in another location or... y'know).

2 little dogs get a scoop of dry food  - big girl gets 3 scoops.

Then a squirt of salmon oil - I don't know why - the daughter thinks it is a good idea.

Finally, each gets a big tablespoon of wet food from a can.  Stir and Present.   I am a hero.

Many days all 3 circle me and stare starting about 4.  They cannot tell time, but they know.

That's it.

Morning feeding is done by the daughter.

Perhaps, if we were all fed twice a day one cup of dry food, a splash of salmon oil, and a tablespoon of wet food - just perhaps - we might all lose weight.  I'm not sure about that though.

------------------

After several days of rain, I mowed the yard.  up and down, this way and that.  The mower followed my commands dutifully.  Since my daughter wants the yard to be a mecca of plants, mowing is a challenge.  You must circle everything.  It is doable though.  Tomorrow, or the next, it will be weed eating time to clean up the yard.

While mowing in the front, a golf cart whizzed by - stopped up the street - and came back to where I toiled.  I shut down the John Deere to hear:   "What did you do with your Marauder?"

I am not complaining.  It happens all the time.  People love my 2003 Mercury Marauder.  Since we've been having storms, I stored it inside our shed out of the weather.  It is amazing to me how many people want to buy that car or just talk about it.  Ebay sells them for $14,000.  No, let's change that - they offer them for $14,000.   I cannot afford to sell it.  The Marauder is my backup car if the Flex ever gets sick.  You can't sell your second car for $14K if it costs you $40K to replace it - especially if it happens to be a classic.

None of my children want the Marauder when I croak.  I don't understand it.

6 minutes to EAT TIME...  I love my Marauder.  I wish it had a better radio and the AC worked.  It died last summer.   Maybe, soon, maybe I'll get the AC fixed and have a good radio installed.  That would be nice.  Still, with 167,000 miles on it -it is not really a daily drive.

close

feed

later

m

Mum's Day

I had a mother.

My mother had a mother.

My grandmother had a mother.

And, she had a mother.

This could go on for several pages.

It is something I have never thought about until I started doing the 23 & Me / Ancestry dot com.

How many mothers have their been before "I had a mother?"

Now figure this out.  A mother didn't appear out of nowhere (depending upon your belief system with Adam and Eve).  Science has shown we evolved down to where we are.  According to 23 & Me, I have some Neanderthal in my background - so does my wife.  So Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals messed around together - or they were fighting and doing all that sorta thing victorious victors (cute) do after they conquer another group of the less-victorious.  I realize, none of this need be said.  If you, the reader, have half a brain, you knew this merely by watching certain shows on TV.

But way back there, you had a pre-mother.   She was either a Homo Sapiens having a Neanderthals kid, or a Neanderthal lady having a Homo Sapiens' kid.  That is how it works.

Reading in my Archaeology magazine, I read where they found a Neanderthal's cave in which the "N(s)" were cooking their own vegetables in pots.  They dated it to over 3500 years ago.  Really.  3500 years ago.  I don't know if it is more impressive that they had pots and cooked 3500 years ago  - or - it is more impressive that someone figured out how to measure the time.  Or was it 35,000 years ago?  That may be it.  I need to re-read the article.   I really think 35000 is a more correct number.

----

In my own family, my parents were born in 1910.  I appeared in 1940.  My youngest was born in 1970.  I'm thinking he had a child about 2000.  This shows to be 3 generations in 100 years.  Sure, several years back, people married when they were about 13 to 15 years old giving their people about 5 generations per hundred years. Now - figure - 5 generations in 100 yrs.  That would be 50 generations in 1000 years.  That number may be a bit high.   So multiply 50 times 3500 years =  175,000 ancestors -- or 175,000 mothers.

Even if I am off several thousand mothers in 3500 years - folks, that is a lot of moms who were born, matured, married ( or attacked ), and bred a female who - - you got it.  Those moms had to live, eat, have kids, and survive long enough to create another cycle.  Mind boggling to me.

What if that number were 35,000 years ago.

Some were lucky enough to survive the pimples, plaque, measles, mumps, COVID, etc.

AND   HERE   YOU   ARE.         ANOTHER CYCLE RUNNING.

-----

Related, but unrelated:  If the Heaven thing works like they say, we'll all be together once again.  You walk through the gates to greet your mother once again - And, standing behind her, as my daughter Christine commented, behind her in a line -----  175,000 grandmothers waiting to greet you - each one tweaking your cheek and commenting upon your cuteness.   175,000 hugs going through the gate.

As a side note:  that would be several thousand grand uncles ready to rub your head and no telling how many grandfathers spitting tobacco juice.  Probably many of the grandfathers didn't make it through the gates since they were off pillaging and messing with Neanderthal females.  There are rules about getting through the Heavenly gates you know.

We move on.

Happy Mother's Day to my wife.  Today, we cook meatloaf for lunch - her favorite.

And a Happy Mother's Day to my mom, Sara Leanna Smith Metze - waiting in that long line beyond the gates.  

I would be remiss to not mention my wife's mother Josephine Macha Cooper - one of the finest cooks, baker, housewife, and mom -- 

later,

M3  

done

 short & sweet.

mailed my taxes off today at 4:15

done

No return -rant

 Once again I have found a restaurant that will not see my return.

We stopped at the Sirloin Stockade in Round Rock on Monday.  We have eaten here many times.

Not anymore.

It has nothing to do with food.  The workers were excellent.  The girl taking my money was smiling and happy to see us - it seemed.  Our waiter was right there for us.  One cook worker took time to show me hidden restroom...with a smile.  The guy cooking steaks, I think, was more interested in getting a tip in his jar than being functional.  None of this was a problem.  Wait.  Maybe the lack of chocolate cake for my wife might be an influence.  

The problem is the price.  A cheap buffet type place should not cost almost $40 to eat.  That is way over the top.  We use to eat in one in Corsicana before the Flu bug hit.  The price was quite reasonable.  But, now, $20 each.  This is outrageous for a simple buffet.  And that price was with the Senior discount.

I still go to the Golden Corral - but never go on the weekend.   These places serve canned green beans, canned corn, canned everything.  The fried okra was done 3 hours ago and is mushy.  The fried fish is okay albeit sometimes a big grease laden.  Pies and so forth are okay except I am diabetic.  Whatever happened to the sugar free cookies and ....

No sense going on.  

I suppose the problem is the costs that have gone up when there was a perceived shortage - supply problems.  That has ended.  Did the cost come down?

2 years ago, I could buy 2 liter Coke products on special for $1.  Now Cokes are up to $2.50.  Why.  I know, the water to make cokes has increased or the bottle caps or the plastic bottles.  Nope.  None of that.  It is just greed.