Senior Citizen Social Hour again....

That is what my aunt use to call them..

Because it seem she and my uncle went so often, that it was their only real social time..

It is Dr. office appt.   Yesterday was the King’s turn. And he is doing well.. both he and the doctor were pretty pleased with the results of his blood test.

Today, is mine.  It is the eye dr. for me.. I am still in transition. Doing the drops and using the $1.00 store specials for reading.  Actually that is going pretty well… But anyway, I have to have my eyes tested and see if they are ready for prime time, of an official prescription of reading glasses.

Wish they had a place you could go and have your ears worked on, like I had the laser eye work done. So I could hear..   as I feel that my hearing is getting worse.  And I am tired as well as I am sure others are.. me saying ‘what did you say?”

Also when I get back .. we have to take out our washing dryer combo.. it has developed a small leak.. and it has been sounding like a jet plane taking off when it spins, for about 5 months.

Oh the fun of that..   

New news is old news...

In the news of last night National News.. (NBC) was the newest FBI investigation of college coaches.  It seems they have been bribing high school students who are good in any one sport.. althought the one mention was basketball.

I don’t know if it was the high school coaches and the parent who were also paid for the student to sign on to any given college or was it just the student.  I don’t think it was all colleges, but there was a good number of them listed and some not listed by name.

After they got done with the  report, I looked at the King and said.. is it me, or didn’t they have a scandal about 20 or so years ago… involving students being promised not only money but cars and etc.  I could not remember if it was high school students or college students being bribed to join a college or national pro teams.. I know it was done, as I remember the cars and trucks (trucks being offered to students of Montana.)  He said he remembered that too..

So I guess we repeat history.. and I am sure the bribes did not stop the first time… they probably were just not so noticeable.. And what brought it to surface once again.. I don’t know.  

Equal opportunity of liars...

I have been watching the PBS series of Vietnam.

We think about our government that we have now, and how much they lie to us.  We feel more than ever, that the government is not trust worthy.

But after watching this series so far… I am amazed how little I knew and how many lies we were told. 

I didn’t know that Kennedy was so involved in the Vietnam War.   He was only a small bit because he was killed and Johnson took over where he left off..  

With Kennedy it was advisor that was in Vietnam, but still there were the lies.

Johnson Administration had a lot to do with the war. It was thrown in his lap.  He did not like it but he kept it going any way. He knew he could not win it.. Or rather we couldn’t. But he and the generals persisted with it..  Westmoreland being one of the heavier players.  

And then there was Nixon… Nixon who talked the South Vietnam leaders to hold off with the talks until he was elected… as he would cut them a a better deal.  Johnson found out about it just 2 days before the election.. but chose not to make it public.. because……he didn’t want to give out his source of information..   that is one of those times you want to say… W. T. H… (I cleaned that up a bit, as the other was really my thoughts at the time.)  And Nixon didn’t stop it either for another, what… 7 years?

During this time, I was busy having children..getting a divorce (1968)..being a single mom and then remarrying.. so I had my hands full, and not political incline at the time.  But I do remember about how Westmoreland was lying about the winning and body counts.

And as you can see, it was an equal opportunity of liars.

Johnson, the Democrat…. And Nixon the Republican. 

I can't even run away well.....

I can’t even run away well……

Over the years I have run away…. When I just can’t take the drama of others.

I was a child, and I ran away..  all the way across the field that we lived on the edge of...  Got hungry and came home.

Many years later with many children.. who seem to get great satisfaction out of fighting verbal often…. I threaten to run away. I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the floor, up to my ears in their constant fighting.. and mumbling to myself, how I was going to bust out this joint and run away… only to hear great laugher from a friend who just step thru the door and heard me.  Had to admit, it was funny..

Another jump forward.. at work, I was giving showers and I had a partner. It was normal for us to do some single showers as well as two us with a difficult one. When who ever got done first, would go get the next one set uip, knowing the other would be there soon.  Well, she wasn’t. And I decided to go ahead slowly.  Only to have the gentleman, stand up and proceed to beat on me.. I put on the light which means I need help.. no one came.. Finally was able to calm the man down and finish.. getting him back to his room and in bed with floor aide.  When I asked the nurse who was next to the signal board why she didn’t send someone in to help me, she said.. I figured you would be able to handle it. Then to find out my “partner” was pulled aside to count empty beds because the inspectors were due. A job that the Director was suppose to do.. I was upset. When I told them both.. they both said well, you did handle it.  I was upset… it was lunch time..  I grabbed my lunch and went home to eat and to decide if I wanted to go back or not. I ran away.  Only to sit there for 15 minutes at home…open my lunch and finding out.. it isn’t my lunch I grabbed.  I had to go back… that person was counting on that lunch in 10 minutes…  See I can’t run away correctly.

Then Sunday, I was upset with a few people in my life. I decided to runaway after church… So I headed to the beach where my bench is…… only to have the town jerk me around.  See they changed the roads so you can’t get there from here, so I proceed thru the detour that is the normal…only to end up in construction, and have to double back AGAIN, thru the maze the traffic has become in downtown Sandpoint.   But this time I won… I got to the beach… And sighed a huge sigh… enjoyed the view and the peace and quiet of the beautiful sunshine day, with the waters calm…And people walking by, with smiles and good morning…  After 2 hours of this tranquilly, I decided to go home, in a calmer more peaceful set of mind.  

Fake news…. Not new….

There has been fake news long before the past year.

There were the news of Pearl Harbor.  That we learn later the heads of our government KNEW there were Japanese ships heading for our country..  But the government wanted to get into the World War ii.  But the people were so against it. This left the door open with Japan on the way to our country. Knowing full well the American people would not take our shores being bombed..  And they didn’t..

That is why they let the Japanese diplomats cool their heels in the lobby, waiting to see our government officials, so they could declare war on USA.  But our government, let them cool their heels there while they got word that Hawaii had actually been bombed.

Same thing in the Vietnam war… we were lied to as General Westmoreland told the reporters we were winning battles that we weren’t  and that he lowered the count of deaths. 

And then there is the ship called the USS Pueblo, that got us in to another citizen protest war.  

So many things have been printed over the years, only to be found out later that it was not true.. Fake news.. 

And sadly I doubt it will be better, more likely worse.

Battle of the Sexes...

We have all heard the battle of the sexes in so many different ways..  Then there is the Billie Jean King vs Bobby Riggs… which by the way, they are coming out with a movie about that.

Anyway, we all have the battle of the sexes in our own homes, right?   You all hear about how the King made a remark about women’s work is inside work..

So I dropped the log I had in my hand and was stacking, to walk into the house..  And when he cried out, where are you going??  I repeated his words of “women’s work is inside work”, as I head in.  By this time is is along side me.. and saying, well, I didn’t mean you… I stopped and said…Oh? Are you saying I am not a woman?  “no, no, you are putting words in my mouth.”  Then I told him being inside work is women’s work, that he couldn’t cook anymore.. after all he wasn’t a woman… 

Then jump years ahead.. to who is going to take the garbage out to the bin…. Which he said his little comment of inside work, women, … and outside men’s work.. Which I pulled the bag out of the can, tied it off and threw it out on the deck… looked at him.. well, it is outside now… lol..

We don’t need a garbage compactor.. after all neither of us likes to take the garbage out.  So each of us, will push the garbage down in the can, so I don’t have to take it out.. and he does the same. So it is well packed by the time we have to take it out.

Now that it is getting colder…and summer is gone.. it is that time of the year.. THE FURANCE will kick on.  But we have it turn off, as the King clean the filters and etc.. last week.

Neither of us has turn it back on…I have put on sweaters, he has put on long pants.. but neither of us is hitting the button.

Last night, he mention, it is getting colder.  Did you shut the windows yet.  One of them, I said.. the bedroom one is still open (we usually leave it open all winter about an inch, as we both like to sleep with fresh air). I asked him, why are you cold?  “well, yea, a little.”  … so I asked.. do you want me to turn on the heater for you?  “No, not unless YOU are cold”

I told him, I was fine.  “oh”, he says. That is ok, you don’t need to turn it on for me.. lol..  Later he walked by it.. looked at it.. and then headed to bed.

So who flinches first? 

Monday, Monday …

Once again I borrow some song words…

Monday, Monday, so good to me
Monday mornin', it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Monday mornin', Monday mornin' couldn't guarantee
That Monday evenin' you would still be here with me

Monday, Monday,

From :: The Mamas & The Papas - Monday Monday Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Woke up yesterday morning.. with these words on my lips.. and to great joy… I think everyone in our area was thrill to the sound of rain… to see actual puddles in our driveways…

Oh, what a blessing for our firemen out in the woods who are still fighting forest fires..  First was the snow in Montana over the weekend…which dampen the fires there.. and then this morning rain, helped ours.. I hear that south west part of Washington and the north west part of Oregon got rain over the weekend as well..  so much needed for all the fires in our northwest area.

So Monday, Monday.. so good to us…it was all that we hoped it would be. And then Monday, Monday, evening was just as it should be.. more rain.. sadly lightening joined it..but I hope it did not start any new fires.. Hopefully the rain cancelled out the lightening.

Oh, it is a long time from May to December

To borrow some of the words of Frank Sinatra’s song

For it's a long, long while from May to December
But the days grow short when you reach September
And the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame
Frank Sinatra - September Song Lyrics | MetroLyrics

With the frost of Saturday morning .. the leaves are either going to be colored or withered and black.  Withered black if it is your garden..   colors if it is the trees and bushes.

I had to break down and wear pants on Saturday when I got up.. I had been hanging on to summer with shorts each day. I might have wore a jacket or sweater but by job I had shorts on.  But have to admit.. it is getting to the time of getting winter closes out and putting away the shorts and t tops.

Dang, just when I was really enjoy it all.. finally it wasn’t cooking us.. it was 80’s and sunshine.. but then SMOKE came into all of us Northwestern states, and there was not much sun.. and it was red… angry red.. with the smoke. And you couldn’t hardly see across the road.. never mind the mountain view we usually have out our living room window.

But Fall is here.. even if it has 3 more days to be official.  It meant over the weekend, the air conditions came out and found their winter spot in the garage..   Yard art is packed away in totes…  just waiting on the boat.. As we have to have that in the shed before we can pack other things like table and chairs around it for winter.

Ah, September, you are so beautiful.. but I know you are just the beginning of a long winter..

Always heart breaking...

Yesterday, was another school shooting…  by a student.

This is heart breaking on so many levels..  that a child was pushed so far to want to do that. … for the parents of the children shot.. for the parents of the child who died.trying to talk him out of it,  for the parents of the children who were scared to death as they ran out of the building.. …… and for  the parents of the shooter.   How horrible for all of them..

Years ago, when my children were still in school.. over 30 years now.. I thought they should have a class on compromise. Where kids would learn how to adjust to life..  How to comprise, tolerate, and most of all.. find a avenue to go to for problems they can’t handle.  This class would be done in 4^th grade, 8^th grade and 11^th.  I think it would be instilled in them, for adult life.   In this class they would learn how to talk to others who aren’t of the same mind that they are.. ones with different views… and how to talk to each other without bring violence into play..

To me this would be a ploy of how to deal with bullying.. and maybe for people who normally bully, could find how to talk to people without having to bully people.  People thought I was crazy to suggest it…

I wonder in this day and age.. of protest that turn bad, bullying, shootings….. if there were these classes 30 years ago or more.. would we still have it going on?

So prayers for the town to be able to live thru all this.. to the parents of all the children in Spokane, maybe you learn how to deal with this blow… hope and pray this is the last one.. but some how I don’t think it will be..  

THIS IS OUR AMERICA!!!!!

We saw on television a couple weeks ago the horror of some people, the damage they can do to each other… In Virginia.

We were in disgust as our President did not comdemn this behavior.  With his words of both sides are at fault.. which is true.. but he should have followed it up with … AND THIS BEHAVIOR IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.. IT IS NOT WHO WE ARE..

But since then.. in the past week, we see once again…

OUR AMERICA… OUR AMERICA, is the people who you see, taking their boats up and down floated streets .. looking for people who are stranded.  People .. black, white or what ever.. carrying others to safety.. no matter what the color. Blacks carrying white children, while  in water up to their waist…...  Whites carrying black women, all to safety..

Electric companies, from Washington state, and many other states, heading to the South to help where every they can, to get electric back to those homes that did survive. 

Last night, HANDS IN HANDS, was on television.. from L.A. Ca. .. New York, Nashville…. Actors, singers, dancers, tv host.. you name them.. none of their names were used as they sang… or manned the phones for donations. When people called in to donate, they had no clue who they would be talking to.. Oprah, Cher, George Clooney, Jamie Fox or any of the many stars who were not only taking donations from the public, but also giving hundreds of thousand of their own money.. Companies calling.. (Apple donated 4 million AND matched their employees donations.. Foot ball players matching others.. with the Football Assoc. matching that..

All to help these people who have no homes, lost love ones, and have no possessions at all. Even to help the dogs and cats stranded…

THIS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN..IS OUR AMERICA…

If only this was a feeling carried to each and everyone .. every day.. every month … every year..

  

Two eyes, almost...

Last Wednesday I had my second eye done. The removal of cataracts and placement of a len.  And so far, so good.

I can read pretty good without glasses at a slight distance. Meaning as I type this, I can read it…. Without glasses. But definitely need reading glasses.  And because it takes about 3 week or so before the eye really settles down.. I won’t get reading glasses until October.  But I have cheater glasses for now.  So went to the Dollar Tree and picked up 2 pairs for a buck each. Got one of them bright red.. So I can find them.

See I have wore glasses all day long for about 30 years. So putting glasses down and then go get them when needed.. is going to take some getting use to.  So figured if I put them somewhere, where I don’t remember… bright red should make it easier.

Also first thing in the morning it takes a bit to get my eyes to adjust.  As reading is out.. glasses or no glasses.. but after I am up about an half hour or so, they are on track.  It is really nice to be outside without glasses.. no fogging up and etc. in the heat. Except for the fact that my old glasses were also dark glasses in the sun.  Now I have to wear big hunky sun glasses as the sun is too bright for my new eye yet..

And by the way, this time was easy as well as the first one, but especially with the fact, that I knew what I was in for, so that makes it easy… Like I said before the worse is the getting the shot of Novocain like shot…. And even that isn’t really that much worse than getting any shot..  The rest is easy peasy… So if you ever have to have cataract laser surgery, have no fear.. 

I don't understand travelers....

What is it about people, especially from the West Coast..but even North East… they have this death wish to travel to Florida or the Bahamas from July to October.. What is the big draw to there?  

It is the same in the winter… Thanksgivinging.. flying from the East Coast to the West Coast or the other way around. What is it about Thanksgiving and Christmas time…people feel they have to go? 

Is it Russian Roulette syndrome?  After all, you see the same pictures every year…

What part of HURRICANE don’t they get? HURRICANE SEASON!!   Yet they still go… and then are seen crying, about how it ruined their vacation..  No, ma’am.. you ruined your vacation by going to the most vile weather season for that area.

Same for the Thanksgiving and Christmas crowd. Crying on the news shows as they lay on the floor in Chicago OHara airport.  What part of SNOW STORMS of Novermber, December and January .. don’t they get?   

I just don’t get it.. 

The day of Smoke....

Woke up yesterday, Labor Day the 4^th of Sept. smelling smoke in the house.. only to find out it was from outside. Looked up at the sun and it was bright red..  when I took the picture it didn’t look like it.. but to the naked eye… it was RED.  So we closed the windows, and doors.. Which was kind of sad as there was a nice breeze going thru. But it also brought smoke with it.  Pure hell for those who have breathing problems.. thankful, we don’t.. but my heart went out to those who do.

So the day was spend inside.. The King watching a movie and DEAD MAN CHANNEL… better know to others as MYTV.  Which shows just about every 1970 and 80 old western… Big  Valley, Gunsmoke, Rifleman.. well  you get the idea..    And I read some magazines and dabbled on Facebook… keeping up with where the smoke and the fires were. 

Seems like most of them are on the Montana – Idaho border. With a few smaller ones about 30 miles away.. and then there were some down south of us.. with more in Washington state.. But most of our smoke was coming from Montana will brisk 30 mph winds going NE… putting it right across our area.. all the way to Spokane and beyond. 

The air quality had hit 429 by 4pm.. But lowered down to 290 by 8pm.. still too high, but a lot better… the bad news is the air is going to stay right where it is.. due to the wind just going in circles…

And I won’t be blogging tomorrow, as I will be heading to Spokane to get my other eye surgery done. Cataract laser. At least this time should be faster.. as for time there.. only have the surgery and not all the evaluation and etc. So should be shorter by an hour and half.. It will be interesting to see how this comes out…  As wearing the same glasses on the new eye.. has had my stomach flipping…. Kind of like wearing someone else’s glasses..  So hoping this levels the playground of seeing.   So until I can see well again.. probably Thurs. if I am lucky.. other wise next Monday. 

 it looked a lot redder than this shows...