Agnes and Frank

Today, I met Agnes.

I have seen Agnes walk by here every morning.  I don't know which lot she lives on, but every day, between 9:00 and 10:00 she walks past here with her sprightly step.

Today I was outside, looking at my gardens and I said, "Hi'.  Worse one word I have ever uttered.

Instead of just a Hi back or a wave, as most people do and keep on walking, she stopped!  She walked up the lawn to where I was trapped standing and she commenced to converse sermonize talk.

You have heard the term "Ratchet Jaw"?  She makes Dar look like a mute!!

"I've got Iris growing too, but you know, my Grandma had beautiful ones, a whole garden, just Iris (breath) my daughter had a really good job, she quit and is going to work for Quicken Loans, she isn't too bright, but (breath) we had to ration everything during the war, everyone had a ration book, I still have mine, it doesn't have any stamps missing, I guess I didn't eat much, because...(breath) we lived on a farm, all us kids had to work in the fields, and if we didn't work, we didn't eat (breath) there were ten of us, we all had to work in the fields, but I'd rather do that then have to help Momma in the house (breath) never did like house work, still don't, but I do it, gotta keep my place clean (breath) my daughter helps, she moved in next door and she comes over to help (breath) we like it here, my grand daughter comes too, she just got out of school, (breath) we used to get out of school later when I was a young girl, middle of June, these kids nowadays, they got it easy, none of them (breath) have to work in the fields."

"Nice talking with you.  Bye", as I edged towards the porch.  She followed me.

"I got four kids, not a one of them has any common sense (breath) probably cause they never had to work hard when they were kids (breath) they should have had to work in the fields like me (breath) like that jack-ass in Washington, no common sense (breath) bet he never had to work in the fields either, hah (breath) I still mow my own lawn, got me one of those little push mowers (breath) lawn looks nice (breath) eighty-two and I still do it all (breath) walk every day, gotta walk every day to stay healthy (breath) keep my mind sharp (breath) my mind is still sharp."
<really?>

"Okay.  Nice to meet you.  I have to go in now."

"All right."  and she started back toward the street.

"Have a nice day," I called out.  (worse four words I ever uttered!)

"That reminds me (as she walks back up the drive) I heard we got those terror people right here in this country (breath) that jack-ass in Washington got no common sense (breath) get them airplanes up in the sky and drop some bombs on that country (breath) just like we did in WW two, that would end them good (breath) I was in school back then I remember (breath) everything rationed sugar, gasoline (breath) we lived on a farm, had plenty, I worked in the fields, all us kids did so we wouldn't starve (breath)........

"I have to go in now, Agnes.  Bye."  and I walked in and shut the door!

I will NEVER go outside my house until I make sure Agnes has passed by on her morning walk!!

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Then of course there's Frank.  I met Frank a couple years ago.

Frank ambles by here everyday.  He's as senile as Agnes.  I would like to introduce them to each other, but they are on opposite sides of the political system. 

Retired, union Ford worker.  Frank likes to go on about the, "Goddam Republicans in Lansing (breath)can't fix a damn pothole to save their ass!(breath) going to take away my pension and Social Security (breath) I buy lottery tickets every other day (breath) gonna win big (breath) take their goddamn money from them (breath) they don't know how to use it anyway (breath) wife up and died last year (breath) cost me all the money I had put away just to put her in the ground (breath) damn Republicans and their big corporations(breath) every damn funeral home is owned by rich Republicans! (breath) every damn big corporation, owned by Republicans (breath) General Motors, all of 'em."  

I made a mistake and said,  "But Frank, if it wasn't for the big corporation of Ford Motors, you wouldn't have had a good job and a nice pension."

He looked at me, as if I had grown horns.....

"Hell yes I wouldve.  Worked for the union, union got me the job and good pension, goddamn Ford Motors dint have nuthin' to do with it, union, yep, union (breath) worked that assembly line for thirty years, I did (breath) union, yep, union (breath) Ford Motors dint have a damn thing to do with it." 

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Can I please move back out to the farm country where all the neighbor's are normal?  PLEASE!!!

This noon, I went up to Subway to get lunch.  When I walked in, a young lady was waiting behind the counter.  She looked like perhaps a high school graduate in her job for college.

I was feeling silly, so I said, "Do you know where I can find a Spicy Italian...six feet three inches tall, with lots of money?"

Blank look on the girl. She didn't expect me to say that, so of course, she was stymied.  

I waited...1 Mississippi.  2 Mississippi.  3 Mississippi. 4.....

She had no clue..."Ah....Er...we have Spicy Italian subs here."

"Okay, I'll have one of those."

I know she was new because she took a very long time and when it came to the veggies on it?  I could see her lips move as she counted out, precisely 6 tomato and cucumber slices onto the sub.

Sweet young thing--kids today don't catch on to my humor.  My kids friends would have known and quipped right back.  Maybe kids today are so immersed in their electronics they have forgotten how to jibe back and forth?

Or---maybe I'm just weird in my humor?

Food For Thought

Today was quite uneventful.

Dar had to work.

It was hot and humid, so I stayed inside most of the day.

John picked me up at 6:30 and off we went, up to Howell to Asian Fusion.  An Asian buffet place.  YUCK!  I hate these kinds of places.  Chinese, Japanese, Thai and American and nothing has the distinct taste of the country it is from.  The eggs rolls were made of some kind of beef paste and tough.  I couldn't find any of the Oriental veggies I like.  There was NO steamed white rice that I could find.  However, the hot Oolong tea was good as were the Fortune Cookies.  and the red jello cubes I had for dessert were good.

Of course I didn't complains--are you nutz?  I ate more than I have in a week because....I was trying to find something from under those sneeze shields that tasted like Chinese!!!

When John went back for dessert--I looked at the bill, $23.00 and fished the last five dollars out of my billfold.  When we were ready to leave, I placed them on the table.

"What's that?" he asked.

"I told you last time that if we went out to eat again, I was going to leave the tip."

"If I invite someone out to eat, I pay for it."

"Look, I'm older than you and I'm bigger than you.  Unless you want me to take you down here...in front of all these people and beat you up...you will let me do the tip."

"I believe you could too.  Okay."
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Well, we had a good time talking about when we were kids and the shows we used to watch on the 12-14" TV's our parents had.  "Sgt. Preston" and "Sky King" and "Howdy Dowdy."  And we talked about Maisey--it costs him over $300.00 a month, just for her special meds and food and he had her to the vet yesterday at $250.00 for tests and IV.

Then we waddled out to the car and I said, "I'm going home, find a Peacock feather, stick it down my throat.  Like the Romans used to do, so they could eat more."

"Sounds like my kind of people," he says.

He is extremely easy going, smiles and laughs all the time, just like I do, so it is pleasant being with him.  When we got to my house, I thanked him and he put his right arm out for a hug, so I hugged him and kissed him on his cheek.

"Thanks J. T." I said.

He replied, "Thanks J. J.  Have a good weekend."
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Then I saw him take Maisey for a walk up the service drive.  He's a good man.  A nice friend.

Back At It

Ancestory.com, here I come--again!!!

As my sister has delved into the new information I gave her last November, she is finding inconsistencies.  WE have in our original records a statement that says, "After his wife Margaret died, Conrad went to live with his daughter."  Well--it seems that in the new stuff I typed for her, Margaret died two years AFTER Conrad.  So either I have a typo, which seems logical, or something isn't right in the written story we have.  GEEZ LOUISE!!!

AND because I am writing the history BOOK for my kids, I will have to go into that and make corrections.  AND--the great great grandfather, John, whose obit says he is buried in the local cemetery?  Cannot be found!  Susie found his first wife and two babies that died and  his older child, but not him or his second wife.  Where the hell is he?  I have searched county and state death records and Find A Grave and he isn't listed in any.  I can see why there might not be a headstone--well not really because my family is big on headstones, but why is he not listed--somewhere--in official records?

SO--back I go on Ancestory.com and more searching.  Gotta wait until the first of the month when I get some $$$ in my Pay Pal account.  

If Susie had looked at those files when I gave them to her--she said, "I will wait to read these.  This is a winter project"--instead of waiting until now--this would be all done and we could be outside enjoying our gardens, instead of sitting inside in front of the computers with books and pages of info spread all over.  LOL
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  Then Dar comes over all a thither--she is going on vacation Saturday.

"I have so much to do!  I need to scrub the bathroom and clean the two little bedrooms.  My brother and Pat are going to stay here until they can buy a new house. (These the two who moved to AZ May 13th and are now back.)  Then I have to clean out and scrub the frig and get money out of the bank and pack.  I just don't have time.  ARGGH!!"

"You've got today off work?"

"Yes.  I have to do laundry too!"

"You've got lots of time.  Make a list and you will get it done.  You haven't opened the two small bedrooms and bath in a year.  I doubt they are dirty.  You can clean out the frig while your clothes are washing and drying.  It's only ten o'clock, you have time to go up to the bank, get any food you might want to leave for Terry and Pat.  Open up your suitcase and pack your clothes as you wash and dry them."

So--at noon!!!!! two hours later, she decides to go home and get started.  GEEZ LOUISE!!!
=================

I watched my Soap and went outside to do a bit of weeding and---Dar showed up again.  Pepsi was on sale where she works so she brought me 10 jugs.  Regular Pepsi.  I only drink Diet and Diet DeCaf.  So I told her and off she went.  She was back in an hour with the right kind of Diet Pepsi.  Why all this?  I guess because she is going on vacation and I am to watch her house and get her rent envelope up to the office and pay our lawn mowing guy for her.

Kind of warm out today, so I came in and sat for a while and crocheted and then at 5:00, back out to finish up and close up my shed.

I came back in to fix supper and.....Dar showed up again.  She came in, sat down and boasted about what a great Union Steward she is going to be, because, "I can be a real bulldog!"

At 7:00 the phone rang and instead of picking up and saying, "May I call you back.  I have a visitor."  I picked up and talked to my sister.  After about 10 minutes, Dar took the hint and left.  

I got something to eat and started crocheting a bit.

Ya know?  I wouldn't be at all surprised if Dar came back around 10:00 tonight because she forgot to tell me something important!  GEEZ LOUISE!

Everything's Up To Date

TIMELINE:

Tuesday--up at 8:00, shower and dressed and out by 9:45 to get to the doc's office at 10:00 to get a simple blood draw to check Potassium level.  Saw Doc--high-five for BP being so much better.

Arrived up to The Farm at 11:15.  Lunch and then BIL drove us around to do what my Sis and I like to do best.  Searching cemeteries for relatives of ancestor's graves to make sure our birth/death dates are correct.  Which then leads to other questions like: "She's here with her second husband.  Where is her first husband?"

Back to The Farm to search through our genealogy records for more info.  "They had a young child that died and is buried in Byron.  Maybe her husband is there too?"  With a promise from Susan, "I have to go to the church tomorrow to knit on the prayer shawls.  Afterwards, I will stop in at the cemetery and check."

Then, she stated, "I don't have time to look through all those genealogy files you gave me.  That's a job for winter time.  I don't have the time now!"

Which led to three phone calls and two e-mails from her last evening as....she was getting into the files and reading the new info I found on Ancestry.  That's the way genealogy is.  It grabs you and then you wonder, "wait now--I thought his spouse was.........." and you go looking for more info.

John called last night at 10:30 and wondered how my day went.

"Did you get to pet any cows up on the farm?"

"No.  They don't have cows anymore."

"Then why do they call it a farm.   If they have no animals?"

"It's not an animal farm.  It is a crop farm."

"Oh...I think I read that book!"

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Wednesday:

Up early at 8:00--to get started to catch up on laundry and cleaning up.  Checked Patient Portal--results in, Potassium 4.5.  Perfect!

Saw John walking Maisey and went out to give her a treat.

"She kept me up all night.  She had another seizure.  I called the vet, he's changing her medicine."

Poor Maisey!  She is twelve.  Has Cushings Syndrome (which I thought was a human disease) and arthritis bad.

11:15--Susan called.  "I found brothers and sister and the baby that died.  But I can't find him."

"I'm looking at his death certificate and his obit and he is interred in Byron."

"Okay.  I am just going to call Sharon (the cemetery secretary) and find out where he is."

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Of course, I had the strongest urge to just jump in my car, drive up to the cemetery and walk it and find him, but...................................................it's really not worth the gas.  We can do it on another day.  Susan e-mailed me photos of the grave markers.

So--I did laundry, and straightened up and watched my Soap and crocheted and watched as the thunder storms rolled over.  Most stayed south and there was some damage.  All we got was rain.

The scenario goes something like this:Sun is out, windows and door open, nice breeze coming through.

Dark clouds--distant thunder: put in ear plugs, close windows and door.  Hard rain.

5 minutes later:  ear plugs out, sun is out, windows and door open, nice breeze coming through.

Repeat as often as necessary.

See ya.

Monday

Pretty Good Day

An example of a conversation with John:

John:  "I heard we might have some boomers on Monday."

Me:  "Yeah, I heard that too."

"Maisey is afraid of thunder.  She gets very upset and crawls under the bed."

"I don't like thunder either.  I can't fit under my bed or I would."

"I have been thinking about getting her one of those thunder shirts.  Have you heard about them?"

"Yes--I tried to buy one for myself, but they don't make them that big."

"I've got a tarp out in my shed.  That might work."

"It might, but I would need bungie cords to wrap around and hold it in place."

"Got those too."
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That's the kind of conversations we have.  Joking, kidding and fast-paced.  I have missed the fast-paced, quick wit, sarcasm and jabs that I so enjoyed with my long time friends.  He reminds me of my guy friends I had in high school.
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Remember when I told you about Dar being so upset and crying because her one brother, SIL and her 94 year old Dad moved to Arizona and left her here, "all alone".  They moved May 13th.

Guess what?  They are moving back.  The brother doesn't like Arizona--they are far away from their kids--it's too expensive to live there (even though they are millionaires.)

Dad, who hates Michigan, has to move back with them and he and Brother had a fight, so he is moving in with other Brother, who's wife Dad can't stand.

1st Brother is angry because they sold their gorgeous, big house on the lake and ALL the furniture, to take Dad back to Arizona where Dad wanted to live and feels he HAD to make the move just for Dad.

Dad is mad because they won't let him live alone in AZ--he was to sign papers on his new home yesterday.

2nd Brother is mad because Dad gave 1st Brother $5K for the down payment they lost on the house they were going to buy.  2nd Brother wants that same amount from Dad--even though 2nd Brother is a millionaire two times over.

Dad refuses to even consider moving into an "old folks home", which would be the best thing for him.  

Dar is completely unaware of the beautiful Senior complexes we have right here in Brighton.

Judy got a listing of three of the swankiest ones here and sent the links to Dar.  I think when Dad sees how much it will cost him to live there ($2,500-3,000 a month), plus all the women who will fawn over him there, he may just change his mind and want to live there.

I told Dar to check them out and then one day, just show Dad the options he has.  Dad is a millionaire five times over!

So 1st Brother and SIL--who did not want to move in the first place, are coming back with no place to live and no furniture to put in it.  HAH

Dad is flying back next week to a State he hates (winters) and having to live with a son and a DIL he despises.

This could get interesting and probably shorten Dad's life and then all 3 of his kids can enjoy Dad's millions!!
====================
So the guy--that's his name, Guy, came and power washed the house and shed today.  I told him I didn't have the money until June and could he come back then, but he said, "You can give me a post dated check,"  so I did.  Wonderful!!!

 Before                                      

Now, if I just had the ambition to sweep  up all those Whizzers

 off the Maple Trees, it would look great.

I am so glad this man is running for President!

If any man knows what it's like to live in severe poverty, anger and no self esteem and then pull yourself up out of all that, he surely does.  I think he can heal the racial problems in this country way better than Mr. Hope and Change.  AND, I think he would have the intelligence to have the kind of staff around him that knows how to bring our country back.

His wife is homely.  She kind of looks like Eleanor Roosevelt and just as smart.

http://www.biography.com/people/ben-carson-475422


Have a great weekend!  I'll be here doing nothing, if you need me. :-)

ARGGH!

Wish I had a Carson to wait on me!

The funny thing is, if he turned left (N) out of his driveway and went down that street, it would be shorter to get out of the park.  He always comes by my house.  I guess he is wanting to see if I am all right?  I saw him go by at 11:30--he works at the nearby elementary school as a teacher's aid.

I have felt rough all day long!  Probably the new med?  
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Guess where I got to go today?  I haven't been all this year.

My Bridge Card got reloaded today and off I went to...THE RICH PEOPLE'S STORE!!!

What a treat to get a little bit of all my favorite deli salads and two fresh Apricots and some real orange juice and CAKE!  You knew I had to get cake

You can tell it's a rich people's store--they have purple plastic bags!