By 2009, when this Sunday A&J first appeared, video games had advanced well beyond what Ludwig is playing, but yours truly still was stuck in Atariland. But after all, he is a cat, and I’m an old man, so cut us some slack. I actually owned an early Atari game console and enjoyed it very much. My glory days, though, coincided with the dawn of computerized arcade games, such as “Space Invaders.” I remember a buddy and I were playing Space Invaders at a two-man, sit-down game console in an establishment called “The Cherokee Inn” in Jackson, Mississippi, one evening in the early ’80s. The Cherokee Inn was, well… they would call in a “pub” in England. Someone who had gotten a head start elsewhere pulled into the parking lot and failed to stop quite in time. There was a loud “wham,” and the plywood wall next to our gaming table buckled inward. If the driver had been going much faster, you might not be reading this, but, unperturbed, we kept playing.
Playful as a Kitten
By Jimmy Johnson
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273 responses to “Playful as a Kitten”
Debbe 😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqXSBe-qMGo
c-xp: No harm done, no offense taken. My wife has a friend who is managing to sell a few dozen books on eBay each month. She goes around to yard sales to restock. That’s is not something I would really want to do. Among other things, I hate shopping!
Mark in TTown: There may indeed be something I can yet do for a trucking company, but I have been hampered by the fact that all my contacts in trucking are up in Montana and I am in Utah. Also, the dispatching that I watched with my former company looked very stressful. The dispatchers appeared to live on coffee more than we truck drivers did. Driving through Los Angeles traffic was certainly less stressful for me!
The good news is that in the last three weeks I have had four job interviews for part time positions—so I have not given up hope of finding something that I can safely handle and, if I am very lucky, enjoy.
Last week I received an email from a non-profit company offering access to at-home positions with private businesses, doing such things as taking orders or booking flights for customers. They appear to be properly approved by Social Security, and such a job may indeed be right for me. The only problem is that they are wanting me to have and use my phone line and a PC. We have no PCs in our home, just Macs. They do say that some of the client companies provide equipment for those working for them. I’ll let y’all know how it works out if I decide to go with it.
Old Bear, no. It’s from PITA. Which reminds me of string theory and living in other universes.
I guess that it’s all related. At least that was Uncle Albert’s theory.
No, Ghost, not OCD. He does hardware tech for a living and put the monitor where most people would want it. Then, when I shifted it, he put it back without even thinking about it. If it were OCD, he’d probably have tried at least once more after I pointed it out.
Trucker, can you write? It doesn’t need to be the “great American novel”, but perhaps something based on your career. It could even be like an informal training book for others entering your profession: “stop here for the best pizza”, “diesel tends to be cheaper west of the divide”, “for Pete’s sake, don’t ever do this!” – kind of stuff. Try humor or serious or both.
Your church just might be small enough that keeping financial records (to a greater or lesser extent, possibly including issuing checks for supplies) would require not a lot of time and might pay just enough to be useful. I suppose most churches have this as a non-paid position, however.
Can you man the front desk in, say, a retirement condo? That ought not require a lot of movement, and would be a paid position. Clearly, it would not be working from home, but I am thinking you have some mobility.
Charlotte, actually both, I have had some horribly bad things happen to me in life and if one accepts them, then bad wins and evil triumphs. I have never accepted that as a valid way to look at life. And I have never believed we are not all capable of great achievements in life, no matter how life has treated us, it is still all up to us in the end to determine what our lives are in most cases.
Physically, I was told to expect not to live to see 21, so here I am at 71 still defying the odds, a triumph as it were. My mother in law who lovingly and willingly embraced ill health (it wasn’t that bad actually) and became a martyr to seek pity always would say things like “You should get a walker like me and a disabled tag” and I’d reply things like, “Well, I am going to have a d—m hard time carrying all these sample cases into shops when I call on them. Won’t it get in my way?” Just never thought of being disabled when I stood on my feet 80 hours a week designing flowers and sometimes more! If I couldn’t stand, then I learned to design seated. You compensate.
And yes, Trucker I had thought about the home dispatching but I have a neighbor who lives next door and did that and she was tied foot and horns to that computer day and night, could never leave the house, stress out the spectrum! I didn’t suggest it. And you use your own phones and computers and usually end up paying cost of said.
Love, Jackie
Good morning Villagers…..
Overslept….had company last night. Andrew, Rachael and Kyler came over. Andrew apologized.
Enough of that drama…..
Another hot day at the ‘office’ today.
Ya’ll have a blessed day
GR 😉 I always loved dancing to that song.
Debbe, now I doubt I could live with your drama queens! Not you, the relatives. I like peace too much, something some may doubt! You are a saint, I am not. Sister Debbe, saint in waiting.
How did I miss Ghosts music for you? Brown Eyed Girl, I loved that one. I am re-accumulating CD’s, so hopefully I get someone to sign up up for Spotify and enroll me in my Amazon Prime music since I apparently get it free? Dumb Texas blonde! Well, not too blonde now, more like the frosting I used to pay for.
Got about 20 more CD’s yesterday while picking up the antibiotics for the cat fang puncture wounds. Lots of rock groups including a deluxe two volume Queen. Fat Bottom Girls, you make the rocking world go round!
EMB, we will have to convert you to some rock operas before you check out of life. There is an entire world out there waiting to be discovered you know.
Right now I am actually listening to Arthur Rubenstein playing classical Spanish music, just listened to Segovia, Atkins and several others doing their interpretations of Recuerdos de la Alhambra, beautiful music to wake up to but the birds lost the competition!
Love, Jackie
Great job on the clothespin bag, Jimmy!
Debbe, that sounds very promising about Andrew. He, Rachael, and Kyler need some peace. How has Ian been feeling?
I’ve been following with interest the discussion about vision correction. Having worn glasses for nearsightedness since age eleven, I just don’t look or feel like “me” without them on. I’ve never wanted contacts. As the inevitable age-related farsighted tendency has made glasses unnecessary at times, I opted to get multifocals just so I could keep my glasses always on. I can imagine the sense of liberation many feel, though, to be free of glasses and contact lenses.
So yesterday, Indiana’s Mr. Basketball, (from my HS alma mater) rescinded his commitment to Mich State and may be headed to my college alma mater, Purdue. Yes, I am interested in where he attends school. His legal Guardian went to Purdue and hung out at my dorm room on several occasions. I would hope that he would stay 4 years and get a great education as he is a decent student, but he is talented enough to play in the NBA and will leave sooner.
However, today is not about some 18 year old kid. It is about my Father’s generation. The Greatest Generation. Thanks to all those — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion —
http://time.com/3839303/v-e-day-celebrations/
I was always proud to be a Teleflora designer, to do shows for the company and represent them, both as a florist and a stage designer but I have never been moved to tears by one of their commercials until just now. Up popped a Teleflora ad for Mother’s Day called “Ryan’s Special Delivery”, I watched instead of clicking it off. I know it was staged but I don’t care.
What a wonderful tribute to unwed single mothers who raised sons to be proud of, what a wonderful tribute to those who serve in our military forces! We should all remember those who sacrifice and sometimes as Jimmy says, they are those who stand and wait. I am still crying just a little bit. Watch it for me as well as Ryan and his mom.
Love, Jackie Monies
for ebaying, you don’t have to drag yourself to the post office to ship stuff, you can set up your own UPS account and print shipping labels on line and call them to pick up at your house. The thing with selling on ebay is you can’t do it half-a**ed or part-time, it’s not worth the trouble and expense. You need a complete stash of boxes and packing material and the best thing to do is have one or two specific stocked and inventoried products or some kind of unique homemade knickknack or art. AND categorize it right. As I collected every issue of American Heritage I wound up with a lot of extras. They sell for a dime a dozen BUT for example, one had a big cover story about Duesenburg, so I categorized it in automotive/collectible and sold it for a lot more.
One thing I would caution about selling on ebay is you may end up spending more than you recover. While I have never sold on ebay, I have certainly bought. I have purchased items, often quite valuable so far as “book value” or antique appraisal value, paid less than 10 cents on the dollar and the people who sold and shipped it to me paid more in shipping than I paid them!
I have given up this particular hobby, much to ebay’s despair, they keep trying to get me to come back, but beware of people like me who may know how to work the system and get a lot of something from you for almost nothing. I remember a particular shipment of Wedgewood I believe purchased from what was I assume an older lady in Las Vegas who’d possibly needed cash to live on or gamble with? Anyway, it was a value of around $1,000 in collectibles, I seem to remember paying around $15 for lot or actually individual items that she shipped together I think. Shipped lovely boxes and properly, shipping far exceeded what I paid.
I actually felt guilty, like I had robbed her. Since I never buy for investment, just insane liking of things, I don’t play musical collectibles, just hang the stuff on the wall. My help/minions often break things so I don’t like to care if they do so!
Love, Jackie
Amen, Steve! We have much to thankful for, and many to be thankful to, on V-E Day.
Moscow poultry case with chickens saluting 70th anniversary of Victory Day. – http://pinterest.com/pin/477381629229014762/?s=4&m=gmail
Denise
Hear – hear
Trucker, with a bit of training, you might be able to set yourself up as a genealogist and work when you want from your home computer. I have no idea, though, of what the companies who provide such data will want in return for your commercial usage thereof.
Would anyone care to guess what percentage of US citizens age 35 or younger don’t know anything at all about WWII, much less what V-E Day represents? I wouldn’t.
Jackie, John Williams (the other one) plays a pretty mean guitar, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPfZVflJdp0
Ghost I totally agree on John Williams. He is incredible. Now who would have picked me as a guitar groupie (no really but I would have I suppose )
Just love guitar in any genre, but classic and rock like led Zeppelin or Eric Clapton ties. Love Jackie
OF due 1306-1336 CDT.
http://www.nps.gov/features/yell/webcam/oldFaithfulStreaming.html
EMB, we will have to convert you to some rock operas before you check out of life. There is an entire world out there waiting to be discovered you know.
Thanks, but that’s true of many areas. I’ve more than enough to discover within my relatively broad areas of interest that I’ll never get to before I die. After that, with my late wife if possible, I’ll find out what I can by spending some time in the Late Permian-Early Triassic of southern Pangea, for starters.
Peace, emb
GR6, I never really had WWII taught to me until I was in college. All the males I grew up around where veterans. I recall Memorial and Veterans Days being the big post holidays, never such for VE or VJ day. The posts in Europe usually had delegates attend the D-day ceremonies, but no on-site event. Rather like they honored the long line of veterans than specific war veterans, which somehow seems right.
While in the Russian sphere of influence May 9 is a national holiday; the official cease fire happened at 0201 May 9 Moscow time. Marshall Zhukov lead a victory parade on Red Square in 1945, the next Victory Day parade was not held until 1965. Since then it has been an annual event. My experiences with Victory Day in Russia, it is more like our Fourth of July.
An estimated 27 million Russians died during WWII. 80% of all Russian males born in 1923 died in the war. Every family has their personal stories of loss and suffering.
Working for a Japanese supplier, I felt awkward telling them about a V-J Day celebration that they still hold in Hillman MI. My Japanese friend took no offense. He said that most Japanese were very happy that the war ended and it was definitely a day worth celebrating.
Here’s a unique assemblage of talent: Lindsey Stirling (dancing violinist), Josh Groban, and The Muppets!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv8msHbqaFE
Ghost there are those who are 35 and younger who know nothing about the Vietnam War. I had a fellow vet tell me that in school they had never even mentioned The Vietnam War. It was sad because he could not draw parallels between The Vietnam War and the Afghanistan conflict. It looks like the next generations will have to learn the hard lessons all over again.