Hallowed Weenie

 This was a good night, Halloween 2022.

We lived on Richland-Chambers lake just east of Corsicana for about 14 years  --  the last house on the left with a nice cul-de-sac.  For 14 years, I shopped for candy, and piled it by the front door ready and waiting for the mass of ghosts and goblins to arrive.  During the entire 14 years, we had zero, zip, nada, 0 trick or treaters.  After a few years, my wife would fuss at me for buying candy.  I bought it on the QT and waited.  I was the Linus waiting in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin to appear.

zero

14 years

Moved to Salado - the Amity development  (yes, Amity, not Amityville).  This is a nice area with large lots and affordable houses - well, most don't sell for half million or so.  Quiet.  Good yards.  People out walking their dogs.  Most houses have an unattached steel shed - mine is about 20' x 30'.  I really like the neighborhood - or most of it anyway.

Since daughter Christine became part of our household, life has taken on a different slant at times.  She has been living in a duplex with a small yard and somewhat scary neighborhood.  For 15 years or so, she has seen Halloween come and go.  Nobody did the trick or treat thing.  Would you send your kid out where the neighbors camp out in their front yards daily (nightly) eating and drinking and playing loud music of unknown origin?

Today - here she is in a completely different environment.  I bought an enormous package of candy at Walmart - 350 pieces of snickers, M&Ms, 3 musketeers -- you know the company.  We didn't give away any trash candy.

Christine, did some decorating outside.  We moved a couple of chairs to the front porch area.  All lights were turned on.  The candy was poured into a large plastic bowl. She found scary music to play over a speaker.  Then, at 6 p.m. we moved to the front area and waited.  Nothing.  6:05 silence.   About 6:10 a family of 4 walked by.  They were our first.   Another 3 came in a couple more minutes.  It is still light outside.

All of a sudden the flow began.  WHO LET THE GHOULS OUT?   Little kids, Big kids, tiny babies in the arms of a mother, an entire family dressed as the Addams family, dinosaurs, ninja fighters, clowns, Disney, princess darling, characters from TV and Movies that I have never seen, a group of older boys who stopped across the street and sang Christmas carols - yes, a serenade, lighted golf carts loaded with urchins.   I cannot describe all that came to our house. 

I had given my daughter instructions to give each kid 2 pieces of candy.  It was a good thing.  We gave away 227 pieces of candy.  Next year, I'm buying 2 bags of good candy and giving each person more.

It was a fun evening.  We stopped at 7:30 in the dark with nobody in sight.  For a while I thought I might have to go inside and break into my wife's secret stash of Snickers.  In all of my career, I have NEVER seen this much traffic of monsters and creatures on a Halloween night.

I'll say it again.

It was a fun night.

M3, The Candy Man

Every new week is "new" (different)

It seems that each week is arriving at a much faster rate.  This is almost a cliche.  The older you get, the faster the years fly by.  It may not be for everyone, but for me - t'is true.  I suppose a young guy sitting on death row might have a different interpretation.  For me - things are going by really fast.  Do you remember how long it took for Christmas or your birthday to arrive when you were younger?  Not  anymore Charlie.

I just finished up the radiation treatments when we were thrown into my wife's cataract surgery.  (As I have noted before, it should be called Cadillac Surgery $$$).  A week ago Tuesday, I took her to the Pavilion (Baylor Scott & White eye place) for surgery.  They told us to arrive at 9:50 - - no earlier, just 9:50.  We did.  Checked in and found our special room.  She had to wear a hospital gown only on her top half.  Blue jeans were fine for the remainder - AND - I liked this one - she had to wear her shoes to surgery.  Yep.  Shoes.  Why?  They don't want her bending over to put on the shoes especially if it makes her head go lower than the heart.  Who'd a thunk?

We were hardly in the room when the process began.  About 10:20, she was rolled down the hall while I stayed in the room to wait.  The nurse gave me the remote control: "Husbands always want the remote."  I had brought a couple magazines and a Sudoku paperback to keep busy.  10:20 rolled out  - by 11:05 she was rolled back into the room,  wide awake and ready to go.  Mind boggling.  

They had put lots of drops in the eyes so she couldn't see clearly.  Nurse:  "That will go away by afternoon."   Wrong.   All afternoon and evening all I heard was something like, "I can't see."  It pleasured me when she went to bed.

Morning blossomed, and it was:  "I can see. I can see."  She went from one thing to another pointing out what she could see  -- a man on his lawn 2 blocks away --  the house numbers on the house across the street.   Marvelous.  Later that day, back to the doctor for a check over we traveled.  He thought she was doing fine except she had pressure in her eye.  10 ro 20% of people have pressure after surgery.   I didn't watch.  He used some machine up against the eye.  I'm guessing he poked a little hole in the eye to let off pressure.  Yes, I didn't watch.

Here's another bit:  Doc said that people normally have eyes that are size 23 --  I do  suppose that is MM.  whatever.  Her eyes are size 21.  He said that she had very little eyes.  I held my tongue and said nothing about "beady little eyes."  Probably helped save my life at the time.

For the past week:  I put eye drops in her eyes 4 times a day.   Two different prescriptions RX, 4 times a day.  Later this week it goes to 1 prescription 4 times daily.  She has these clear plastic big lenses that are taped over her eyes at night.  It keeps her from rubbing the eyes during the middle of the night.  Frankly, this was a tough battle to fight.  You must wear the lenses overnight.  No argument.  Wear the lenses over night.   

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Done.  another appt later this week; then, a final appt. in a month to check if she will need glasses - reading whatever.  I'm glad it is over and the eye drops are nearing their conclusion.   

I'm next though.  Probably, this time next year, he will do my eyes.  I like this guy.  Personable, knowledgeable, no indecisions, and good at answering questions.              Dr. Mark Morgan.  

Now we move quickly into whatever comes next.  There will be something in the near future.  What?  

Mtz on the back porch enjoying the cooler weather.

Eyes have it

 After many months of waiting (last April), my wife went in today and had her eyes scanned in anticipation of her (I like to say) Cadillac surgery.  When you can't spell a certain word, find one that is close and use it.  Remember to smile.

Considering how much this surgery may cost - BMW surgery may be a better title.  I would have said Lambogeenee Surgery if I knew how to spell that word.  Of course, my puter wants to help me with the spelling.  But, I don't care.  If you care, look it up.

After looking at the little bright light in the doctor's office and being scanned, we went to another building where different docs listened to her heart.  The logic:  When she has "Cadillac" surgery, if something should go wrong, they can say they checked my wife over and she was okay.  If that isn't close to a run-on sentence, I'm not working hard enough.

Outside one of the waiting rooms, we asked a nurse type person if they had a good waiting room.  I was just being full of nonsense.  

She stopped and said, "No, it's not.  It doesn't have whiskey."   We all chuckled.   I love it when people can do their job and still keep their tongue in the cheek.

After all of the testing, a stop was made at the Golden Corral.  In the past 2 weeks we have eaten at a couple fast food places.  The Golden Corral was within a dollar of each.  At the G.C. you get real food and a salad.  You want a burger?  They gots it.  You want meat loaf?  Buckle up your silver belt and call me Cowboy.  They gots that too.  Fried fish & hushpuppies - black eye peas - chicken, fried with too much crust - and sweets galore.  I once knew a dancer by that name:  Pretty little Sweets Galore.  Quite a dancer.

Walking across one of the doctor parking lots today, we passed a rusting white mini-van. . . bumper sticker on the back window:   My dachshund is smarter than your Honor Student.  I believe that says it all.  Our Sadie is way above average.

love ya,

Mtz3