2601 Days since retiring July 1, 2005!

"Jumping Cats! Is it really that late?"

Read on and fall sound asleep

It has been exhausting here at the Manor since my last report. Since then the dishwasher has still not been repaired with all the wailing as expected from the kitchen staff. The air conditioner in the middle bedroom has been reported leaking water. Subsequent investigation reveals their word “leak” would also apply to Niagara Falls, the Amazon , or possibly the Biblical deluge!

Children are our preparation just in case we are destined to Hell. It won’t seem quite so bad after raising children and grandchildren.

As a special treat I took our junior daughter and junior grandson to see “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” On the way we stopped in Burton for more gold impregnated gasoline. After the fill-up the Dodge “special edition” Grand Caravan would not start. We fiddled and we farted to no avail until a young guy with his family pulled up and gave a jump. If not for him we might still be sitting there.

Sunday son, first grandson, and I attended Coriolanus. It was magnificent. I just realized I had already reported that. Ah, the vagaries of memory as one reached even more advanced stages of maturity.

Monday my wife had an office visit with my gastroenterologist. Rudy gave her the plain unvarnished truth about her condition. He seemed very worried. We have known Rudy since our first child was young. She is due to have a colonoscopy Monday. The scoping itself is not bad because of the anesthesia but the preparation with that horrible foul bowel blasting laxative is sheer torture. He gave her the usual warning about polyps and etc. She is also to have an ultrasound on her liver and some other organ. He was greatly concerned about her weight loss and fluid retention. Pray and pray mightily for my wife Carolyn.

Today I tried to force myself back into a reasonable routine. I woke earlier than normal, 11:30 am, mailed a letter of thanks and praise to the students and staff at Winedale and another to Michelle Obama explaining how, despite her lovely letter, I could not contribute to his re-election campaign fund. I don’t think the President of the United States is as much of a threat to the American people as is the sitting Congress. If I were king they would all have already made their last trip to the “wall”. Congress has not done its proper job since the “Gulf of Tonkin Resolution”. The I took the newspaper and a great breakfast of fried eggs, pan sausage and toast to the pool area. It was a dazzling good morning.

Then I turned on my TV to program the recording for evening viewing. As soon as I hit the power button there was a “poof” and black smoke began streaming out of the top of my one month old Spectre TV. SHEESH! I bought it after my larger one exploded in the same way while plugged into the same circuit. The Spectre was an on-line special of Walmart.com. It was $205.65 with free shipping to the local Walmart. I gathered all the stuff, TV, box, remote, and such documentation as I could find. I know I scanned and saved the receipt, I just don’t know where. But I did have the confirmation of the order and the email about its arrival at the store. The lady at customer service was very polite and helpful and cooperative. She issued me a refund in a cash card for $377.79. When I saw that I told her that is almost twice what I paid. She said “Honey the TV you bought was on special and was normally $377.79 with tax so that is wahat you get back.” I shopped briefly and picked out a 32 inch Vizio. At checkout the TV was $268.46. I left Walmart with a much higher opinion of the “evil empire”, a new TV and a cash card for $109.33. All the toing and froing had exhausted me so shortly after dinner I fell asleep in my recliner. Rascal and I slept well until 1 am when Misty asked me the name of the thing you tie around you waist when cooking. Hence the odd hour for this entry.

BTW Rascal seems to be doing much better.

TASKS LIST
Chop down dead vine on front sidewalk fence.
Instruct grandsons to start moving debris to proper pile for heavy trash pickup on 16 th.
Use Sawsall to cut down fallen Oak limb from neighbors tree and cut into sizes to make 4 inch bowls.
Use roofing tar and aluminum flashing to cover several small holes in roof of “rubber shed”.
Haul big dead flatscreen tv to recycle center at north end of Wirt.
clean KOI pond filter.
Clear weeds from around lily pond.

Paddy was in New York.

He was patiently waiting and watching the traffic cop on a busy street crossing. The cop stopped the flow of traffic and shouted, 'Okay, pedestrians.' Then he'd allow the traffic to pass.

He'd done this several times, and Paddy still stood on the sidewalk.

After the cop had shouted, 'Pedestrians!' for the tenth time, Paddy went over to him and said, 'Is it not about time ye let the Catholics across?'

Gallagher opened the morning newspaper and was dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died. He quickly phoned his best friend, Finney.

'Did you see the paper?' asked Gallagher. 'They say I died!!'

'Yes, I saw it!' replied Finney. 'Where are ye callin' from?'

”It is questionable if all the mechanical inventions yet made have lightened the day's toil of any human being. ”
John Stuart Mill

SGGP