9/5

Yes, we have no bananas and yes, we have no worthy thoughts this morning. This is so common I shouldn't even mention it but I just wanted to remind you why the content is always so blah! I suppose it could be said that the content is most always just a bunch of blah, blah, blah.

Dory and Aunt Sue are going to visit new kneed Lena at the hospital in Columbia today. They have hopes of convincing her to take advantage of the opportunity to move down a few floors to the Skilled Nursing Facility for several days. The doctor recommends the move. If they are unsuccessful, someone will need to stay with her 24/7 which means Dory won't be home again until, I guess, until I see her. I believe the best hope would be sometime Thursday. She and aunt Sue will be taking turns when Lena does come home.

Meanwhile back here it the jungle, a list has been provided! Near the top is getting the machete out and hacking out a few area around the house. After I get things hacked down to a walk around condition I'll take the lawn mower and clean'er up. Can you believe she has added, clean all the mirrors? Geez! Thankfully, that is at the bottom of the list.

Bigamy is having one wife/husband too many. Monogamy is the same." --Oscar Wilde

9/4

There has been thousands of people come past our house via the water in the last couple days, and more with probably some of the same again, going by again this morning. With gas as high as it is I'd say there are a hell of a lot of rich folks and/or some plain folks that aren't very worried about tomorrow or about having anything stuck back to help dampen the drudgeries of old age. I would think one could do a lot of more exciting and safer things elsewhere on the money that's spent riding up and down the lake.

If you look at a 50/60 thousand dollar investment in a boat that begins losing value the minute you accept ownership and then buy that three dollar per gallon gas to make it go, you've got a huge losing outlay. Add storage, winterizing and all the other necessary incidentals and the word dumb begins to glow with stupid doing a slow intermittent flash.

Now think about it: If a person owns a boat, he can hope to use it about seven months out of the year is he crowds both ends a little. Say he makes it to the boat every weekend, which he won't, but say he does, that would be about 28 days. Then he spends everyday of his two week vacation with the boat, which he won't, would be another 14 days. A total of 42 days out of 365. Starting to look a little dumb? If he was to use the boat for four hours each of these days he would accumulate around 168 hours use. Figuring only an average available daylight usage time of eight hours he would use the boat for a grand total of 21 days. Not counting anything else, taxes fuel etc, on a $50,000 boat, his cost per day would run him around $2381 per day of use. If he kept it for five years before updating it would still cost him around $476 per day. The stupid word is beginning to flash a little isn't it?

And the big deal for most, is to just pull a couple of kids on a tube of sorts, up and down a dangerous cove trying to dodge all the other idiots doing the same thing as well as the huge twin engine jobs zipping in and out. Makes for a pretty dangerous outing I think. I've lost my interest in thinking about this but I have enough left to ask, how many safe Six Flags, Disney Worlds and all the other forms of entertainment can a family participate in for $10,000 per year. I'd bet a full years entertainment wouldn't even cost the $10,000 leaving quite a bit to poke away for drudgery dampening in later years.

This boring waste of time is due to the fact we find ourselves old, without a job and in a poor financial state but still may or may not be the true feelings of the writer. The math may be a little off too but if I want to send a note near every day, something has got to be typed. Nothing is nothing whether it be a blank page or something typed by me but there could be no expectations in a blank page. Life without any expectations of some kind would be a sorry thing indeed.

9/2

Cloudy with only a few fishing boats cluttering our waterways. Not probable but possible a little rain could slip in here and there.

What floats our boat we won't be doing today because of a trip to Columbia to check on and visit with Dory's mother. She is getting along just fine but we're hoping for her another day or two of confinement to the hospital. She needs to get as much therapy and teachings on how to get along with her new knee as possible.

It isn't long before our trip will commence so I'm running the cursor up via my wireless mouse to where is says send and left clicking there. Thankfully I've got spell-check to run automatically.

34rgy7uilOP9,m ......Sorry about that but Tommi just walked across the keyboard.

A day starts like no other but you're given the same opportunity to make it great.......or not.~Anon

9/1

Howdy, I'm just so proud to be here.

Dory's mom is doing as well as can be expected. Don't know yet when she'll be released from the hospital. Dory made it home last night and plans to spend the day here. Guess we'll be going to Columbia tomorrow to check on her. I think aunt Sue is going there today.

I got the lawn mowed, blowed and the downstairs vacuumed then got into a pretty good book by James Lee Burke. Don't you just hate to see the last few pages come up of a really good book? It happens to me every time and so far I've not figured out how to avoid it. No! I'll only read a book one time no matter how good it is.

My workaholic neighbor who doesn't like to read, gave me a talking to day before yesterday. Suggested that I need to be doing more with my body rather than sitting around poking junk fiction into my head. I think he is correct but my body doesn't mind sitting here and my mind thinks it's great. Maybe not his words but words to that effect. Anyhow, I'd say my extrasize might be modified somewhat with some exercise. I've got me thinking I might do that after some more of the soreness abates.

In one of the books I got a little quote that I didn't think was junk. A guy was asked if he believed in God. He said anyone in a foxhole believes in God and old age is pretty much a foxhole.

Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle.~James Russell Lowell

8/30

How can a person be all by themselves and not be alone? Memories my man, memories. I've got 65 years of them stored and they are with me all the time. Well, I may not have a full 65 years worth but I've got a pretty huge collection anyway. They are a mixed bunch but it seems the good ones are holding their own against the bad ones even tho I've heard bad is always the easiest to remember. Why do I bring this up? The first reason is that I again have nothing I really want to type about and secondly, which probably should have been the first one, Dory is leaving me here again with the animals while she takes her mother to Columbia for the knee operation. She doesn't expect to be back home tonight and beyond that it is up in the air depending on how things go. I think aunt Sue and brother Bob will be in attendance also so I won't be missed. She did gently tender me the option of staying or going and of course I opted for the first choice which I thought would be the easiest way.

I do happen to have a handy dandy list provided by Dory, of a few chores that could be done in her absence. I don't know why the words mowing the lawn looks so much nicer than vacuuming. We'll do what we'll do and maybe a few things that we didn't think we'd do. To sum it up, it's going to be a couple of those doo-doo days around here.

The things that come to those that wait may only be the things left by those who got there first.~Db

8/29

I don't know for sure but it makes sense that the lack of a lot of daily verbal exchanges with multiple people, can affect a person's verbal skills by slowing his mind considerably and consequently his wit will lose a spark or two. That pretty well describes me in this part of my life and I'm okay with it. My job forced me, during my working days, to talk quite a bit and joke some. You know all that stuff it takes to get along. Anyway I think all that forcing bled out most of my desire for such once so important a thing. I still spend a few minutes each day trying to type a note so as not to feel completely neutered, no matter the struggle. I'd say all this makes me a 'halfast dimmer wit'.

Overall the few replies that a person or two feels the need to send us always tends to fiddle with the spark somewhat. Every so often a reply will ignite it for a full flash but my mind has no place to store it.

You may not be able to hear it but the words look like a lot of rattle rattle to me.

Reality is a question of perspective; the further you get from the past, the more concrete and plausible it seems.~Salman Rushdie

8/28

Another day with the makings of rain in the skies big time. I think even the weatherman suggested the possibility of some showers on and off all day. Whee! We like it to rain here. So far we've only received about 2.8 inches for the whole weekend and last night. We could still use a little more even if I will be forced to start mowing again.

Took a little rest yesterday and the same is my plan for today. Dory has a therapy session for her shoulder and another therapy session for her mind late this morning and early afternoon. Well the second appointment is for a haircut but it does things to her mind. I've seen her happy as a lark after getting a hair cut and I've also watched her bawl after a haircut just by looking into a mirror.

There are several ways to become more aware of life or just some things in life. I didn't visit with the guru on a mountain but I'm about as aware of so many long not thought of parts of my body as I've ever been. I don't recommend falling down seven carpeted steps and landing on your head but it worked for me this time. With the new forced awareness comes some kindness and tenderness for a few of the places that have been so long neglected. Ones chest and back do far more than just provide a place for shoulders, arms and a head. Tho it is my right arm that causes me the most aggravation and that is only because of the raw carpet burn areas. It's also kind of ugly so I won't be looking into many mirrors for awhile. The deal is, my body is as capable as it has been but it seems to prefer obeying my hearts commands at a greatly lessened speed. No jump up spin around pick a bale of cotton for me! And I'm more careful on the steps now too!

Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God, and value it next to a good conscience; for health is the second blessing that we mortals are capable of; a blessing that money cannot buy~Izaak Walton

8/27

I was under the impression that sleep is to regenerate whatever a person used the day before. My sleep failed me last night. Before I went to bed I fell down seven steps slapping my head pretty hard against the tile at the bottom. I'm soo glad to be here! Even with the carpet burns and the bruises I'm up now to doing my thing which doesn't make a lot of difference to a lot of folks. Do you know how to use your curser and hit delete?

This day has us going to the big deal at the Catholic Church in Eldon. A yearly thing that brings in money for the poor church. Isn't it sad that the biggest money making thing at a church gathering is the beer garden?

I think Ruthie and Dory will make the trip while I sit at home. Maybe a nap will scoot away the ills.

If you want more than this call. I may not answer the phone but the message will be listened to.

The greatest part of our happiness depends on our dispositions, not our circumstances.~Martha Washington

8/26

Sweet heart Dory has decided that I need a little action so she is making me go with her to an auction in Eldon this morning. It looks pretty rainy so it may have been rescheduled. I guess we're going to find out. Just what we need, another or two pieces of junk.

So far this morning but including yesterday, we've received 2.5 inches of rain. More is supposed to happen the rest of today and tomorrow tho it looks to be clearing pretty good right now. We do need the rain!

Sometimes more than none is good which could lead us to sometimes more than one could be better. I almost made an error yesterday but just lucked out of not sending yesterdays note four times. After reading it I see that the forth one wasn't any better than the first one and in truth probably wasn't any better than none. Everyone knows how sorry a person I am so I don't think there is any need to apologize for these lackluster notes so I won't.

I think most would find a little note a relief from all of the daily received jokes that constitutes most of the bulk of everyone's in-box. At least I know I appreciate getting notes instead of jokes. Most of the time any joke someone receives, he'll/she'll get it four or five times then a couple of months later here it comes again.

Now that I think about it, I see that these notes could qualify as a joke and everyone almost got yesterdays four times............I give up!

You can observe a lot just by watching.~Yogi Berra

8/25

I worked some yesterday. I can read that and type it but thinking about it sucks. I took the time to mow the lawn, weed-eat the edges and blow of the road, porches and weed-eaten remnants. Actually the mowing was mostly mulching leaves except for about a 15x30 foot strip of very green doo-doo grass. Doo-doo grass is that which grows real well even during drought conditions because of the constant availability of water provided by the septic tank drain field. It was pretty tall and almost too much for the mower but we made it. I also had to blow several strips of cut grass from that area. A good day overall.

Now this morning a really nice rain is falling. We're hoping the brown mulched areas will get enough to inspire them to try matching the color of the doo-doo grass. All this and the exercise from yesterday makes for a perfect book reading day. Except not for Dory. Dory has the bowling alley on her want to list along with another session of therapy for her shoulder.

Lightning is about to cause some pretty quick unplugging around here. Bye

A liberal is a person whose interests aren't at stake, at the moment.~Willis Player

8/24

I'm not overly enthused about talking of yesterday's gambling boat trip nor many of the results but I will say that Dory came home happy and $40 ahead. She hit four deuces on a quarter machine but unfortunately she had only two coins in at the time. Still, nothing wrong with that. I did win $55 but tried to reinvest it in an unworthy hungry machine or two and it was promptly eaten up. When we left there, if I'd had a tail, it would have been tightly tucked I'm telling you! All that screwing around did make me hungry, thankfully we got fed at the buffet at no extra cost.

Today may be an Eldon trip kind of day. I hear the library calling pretty loud. The volume really increased after Dory told me her plans for the day included doing the wash and cleaning house. Last time she cleaned house she conned me into running the vacuum over all the downstairs. That vacuuming is not a very gratifying job! If I could find one and it was cheap enough I'd hire her a little Mexican gal to help her. Bless her little conniving heart.

"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous." -Ingrid Bergman

8/23

Around daybreak this morning Dory asked me if I was awake. I looked at her through one eye and said, 'mostly'. She then said to me, "Hunky, you have been so kind and patient about my being gone so much that I want to treat you to a bell ringing session of sex." Instantly I was totally awake and the ole sun popped up as I looked at her with very wide opened eyes. The song, "I can see clearly now the rain has gone" popped into my mind along with another line or two of it like, "Gone are the dark clouds that made me crash", "I think I can ride now the pain has gone" and "It's going to be a bright, bright sunshiny day". All this quickly crashed and burned and the clouds gatherer in my mind negating the earlier rise of the ole sun as she continued. "I think I'll take you to the gambling boat in Boonville today."

It didn't take me long to see the bell ringing was going to be from a mechanical machine that I've got to keep sticking money into so that it will screw me. All those bells and flashing lights in a place where 98% of the other folks being screwed sit there without a trace of a smile or any happy. Looking at all the expressions you notice that most are very similar to what people wear to funerals. It's kinda like they've all maxed out on their credit cards and don't know what to do. I don't know what will happen when the machines begin to accept credit cards? Ug, what a thought Popeye!

Where I quoted Dory, she may not have used every word as I've typed it but it is a true summarization of the way I see it now.

That's free enterprise, friends: freedom to gamble, freedom to lose. ~Barbara Ehrenreich