I’ve been dreading this post. Seriously! I feel bad about this. I saw it coming a few weeks back, but I thought as late as last week there would be hope. Alas. There will be no t-shirts in time for Christmas this year. I apologize. Everything became balled up in the new Web-page design; there is a lot going on around here, too much for me to devote the time necessary to successfully rolling out the t-shirt sale. The news isn’t all bad: there will be t-shirts by spring. I suspect some of you already were suspecting this, and the regulars among you will not be surprised. It’s just a slight delay!
Stray Thoughts
By Jimmy Johnson
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56 responses to “Stray Thoughts”
BTW Debbe, Spotify has the entire track list for The Endless River to listen to. There is a free version of the service, have your son hook you up if you don’t have it.
Thanks, Mark, for mentioning to Debbe that Spotify should be available for free on her PC. I had meant to tell her that and had forgotten. When I signed up for a paid subscription it was because that was the only way to get it on my mobile devices, and I was traveling a lot at the time. As far as I know, that’s the way it still is.
Jimmy,
Another one of your true husband and wife classics. These are the types that I tend to save for future perusing whenever I might get laid up in a hospital for a few days.
I noticed that you name your files in the same manner that I name my photos and other dated documents: YYYY-MM-DD blah-blah-blah
I still prefer the old method on handwritten items such as checks (Dec 09, 2014), but this is another way that computers have changed our lives. YYYY-MM-DD is certainly easier when trying to find and sort electronic files.
Then, just for confusion, the military and related agencies have a fond love of “julian dates.” dddYY format. ddd being day of the year from 1 to 365 (6) and YY final two digits of year. Some records also use dddYYYY. Like the twenty-four hour clock, julian dates march to a different drummer. Always been curious how left and right survived when port and starboard are so much more mind numbing.
David in Austin, I heartily second your idea about closing one day’s comments when a new post comes up. I try to read everything (being somewhat OCD about things like that) so I have to check in a lot on the previous day before I can start the new one.
I also second the thoughts and prayers expressed by so many here in the Village.
We signed on because we love to read your comic strip. That’s all we show up for. Anything else is gravy!
I want biscuits with my gravy. 😉
I own two houses, the one we’re living in and the one that will be finished next month. One of my three cars is a Caddy and we are both retired and financially secure. I beat cancer and the Parkinsons is under control pretty much. But, I have three children, two of which I have not seen in years and one that I see rarely because he lives far away. I feel guilty about a lot of things and of them is probably that I don’t deserve either the things that I have or the things that I don’t have, if that makes sense. Where I’m going with this is that you can’t really compare lives and we should try to appreciate what we have and don’t feel sorry for yourself over what you don’t have. JJ, I thought that you had a cat but Arlo would never refer to Lud as “the cat”. As I tell Cilla when she ignores me, don’t give me that I’m just a cat and I don’t understand stuff. I know better.
I have a good friend Tom Pamperin who just published his first book about voyaging in a $300 boat named Jagular. As another friend said, “Tom’s OK and kind of funny but that boat is a hoot!”
Because the boat talks to him and I mean talks BACK to him with a real attitude. Sometimes his food gets snippy too, like the raspberry Newtons that caused him a lot of grief on one trip.
That is how I am about cats (and dogs) they can talk to you and answer you and they sure as heck understand us. Last night I had a 10## dog and three assorted cats taking turns licking me.
Cats do not normally lick people, it is them saying “I’m sorry and this is the best I can do, so I hope you will feel better.”
Now this is weird, I can tell the difference of course in a tiny dog’s tongue but those cats lick and groom and rub differently!
And I know Ludwig licks Arlo and kisses him, so he loves him, as Arlo loves Ludwig.
Love, Jackie
The rescue cat I had but had to get rid of [I hope his new owner has more success with him] liked to lick, but if I did not quickly stop him, he would always nip me after several licks.
sideburns – MUST you rub it in? Low of 29 tonight.
Spring for t shirts is nice because I got a new quote on repairing my gravel driveway which is almost 4 times the original and is more comprehensive. It even includes reshaping part of my hill. So for the next 4 months I will be saving up to afford that.
As hard as it is to deal with the sudden and/or untimely death of a loved one, being there and attempting to support and comfort a loved one who endures a long illness before expiring can be a horrendous ordeal for the survivors (and for the caregivers*). I look back and honestly cannot believe how difficult and stressful it was for my mother, my brother-in-law and me during my sister’s seven and a half month hospitalization prior to her death. I can only suppose we got each other through it.
However, no matter the timing of the death, the resulting grief and the effects it can have on one can be devastating. It is amazing to me to look back and realize to what extent grief affected me without me realizing it at the time. I do not now understand why I did certain things in the months following my sister’s death that I did, and I do not understand why I did not do some things that I should have done. My best advice: If you are ever in that circumstance and are fortunate enough to have someone in your life who knows you and truly cares about you, seek that person’s support. And specifically ask them to warn you if you begin acting in ways that are out of character for you.
*The RN in the long-term acute care facility who cared for my sister on her first day there was on duty as her nurse when she died. “I’m so glad you were here today,” I told her. “I’m not,” she replied softly, with tears streaming down her cheeks. That from someone who has seen no telling how many of her patients expire. At least I only had to go through it once there; she has to go through it repeatedly.
Mindy, all I was doing was pointing out that there are parts of America that don’t normally get covered by snow every winter. If you don’t like snow, you don’t have to live in snow country. My personal feeling has always been that snow has its charms, but I’d rather view them from a (long) distance. Now, of course, I have so little internal insulation that I’m reluctant to go out at night this time of the year because it’s in the low 50s and I get chilled very easily.
Think of it this way: if you like snow and cold weather, you’re probably living in the right part of the country; if you don’t, why are you living there?
Because: 1. I’ve lived here since ’58, know the town and love many people here, and enjoy certain favorite activities here: writing newspaper columns, my church, volunteering at the superb hospital [and live only minutes from it]., and am appreciated for all of them.
2. Two of my three kids live within a few hours drive from here; the other is in Chicagoland, which is not as far as L.A., NYC, NOLA, Phoenix, or the OR coast [which I dearly love].
3. Becoming a ‘snowbird’ would enlarge my ecological footprint, and because many southerners use more energy / yr. staying cool than many northerners do staying warm. 8-9 months of the yr., any energy I use [freezer, utilities, lighting, etc.] also heats the house. So do yours, and you have to use more to cool it for 6?-9 months.
4. One sure way for a geezer to shorten his life is to pull up stakes, move somewhere where he knows almost nobody, and make multiple adjustments to a new environment.
Bedtime. Peace, emb
One comment about the “how do you say ‘often’ question” from the previous day: How is it no one raised the “often” vs “orphan” issue from G&S’s PoP?
Dearest Ghost, your letter is very, very touching. You and your family really had a tough time, especially with the hopes for recovery, and then the fears of her not recovering … I remember well how you would write in about the ups and downs of her hospital stay.
You have so much wisdom, and can write so well about what you and the family went through. Say, your mother has had problems recently; how is she doing now? Can you reveal your mother’s age? I have wondered, for she seems in such good shape, mostly.
Dear emb, your fine analysis of the situation should be required reading for all “geezers” and lots of future geezers. Many people would profit by your good advice, and it would help the planet, too.
Good morning Villagers…
JJ…..it’s sweatshirt weather, and only 15 days until Christmas…how’s that for pressure 🙂
Mark and GR, thanks for the info on Spodify, I will TELL Ian about it, but I already know his answer “Mom, your computer can’t handle it”….then I will “borrow’ his laptop….he owes me, I gave birth to him!!
GR 😉 thanks for the Enya Christmas song, she truly has a lovely voice, which reminded me of a certain commercial….
Jean, this one is for you:
http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIESHYhUd10AO5T7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTByZWc0dGJtBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMQ–?p=jean-claude+van+damme+volvo+commercial&vid=ef53032f44ef3f01556917ebf414da73&l=1%3A17&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.608015387783597894%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQIN6iRum62Q&tit=%3Cb%3EVolvo+%3C%2Fb%3ETrucks+%3Cb%3Ecommercial+%3C%2Fb%3E-+feat+%3Cb%3EJean%3C%2Fb%3E-%3Cb%3EClaude+Van+Damme%3C%2Fb%3E&c=0&sigr=11bijvv75&sigt=12gefhruk&age=0&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&&tt=b
Man, I win again with the longest link 🙂
When I lived in Corpus Christi all those warm years, and then returned to my Indiana home (there’s a song there). it took me a few winters to acclimate, would that be the right word for ‘getting use to the cold’? And no, I’m still not use to the low temps, single digit weather, but that’s what my Carharts are for….zippidy do dah.
Ya’ll have a blessed day
=^..^=
Miss Charlotte, love reading your posts too, you have wisdom also, along with empathy.
…and Jerry, was wondering what happened to you…how is your stepson?
GR…I just remembered you telling about a certain morning ride to the hospital a year ago. Your playlist was “Homeward Bound” and you described the morning sunrise as “an azure color with geese flying in the azure colored sunrise” And at that time I thought it was a sign from your sister letting you know that in time, all will be well. And I had mentioned that to you. One year anniversaries are hard, I know you have many good memories kept close to your heart.
I am keeping all of you in my thoughts and prayers during this season. I have three good friends and several acquaintances dealing with cancer right now, and I know those of you whose family members are in that situation are in a difficult place. GR, a few years ago, I also went through my mother being in a nursing home situation following a brain bleed and unsuccessful surgery. It was almost two and a half years of daily stress. It was like living in a bad dream. Unfortunately, it was dealing with a difficult family member that caused much of the stress and strain. My husband’s support was crucial. My deep faith sustained me and continues to do so.
Emb, I agree with what you said, “one sure way for a geezer to shorten his life…” – in our area are several large retirement communities where folks from “up north” come and build their huge dream homes. I could never understand why an older couple would move away from their children, friends, etc. and build a huge home for two people. Sadly, I have seen quite of few of them enjoy a few good years and then one becomes disabled, or dies, and the other is left alone, far from family, with the chore of selling a home for which there is little market. I guess I am just a little too practical.
Here’s a story on what you can do with old car parts: http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2014/12/alabamians_can_make_some_prett.html#incart_river
I linked pictures of the rooster last year for Debbe, but didn’t know “the rest of the story”, as Paul Harvey used to say. The other stories are interesting too.
Hi ho, Hi ho, it’s off to work I go.
JJ – My birthday’s in late April, so I’ll use my birthday money to get me a t-shirt or two!
Granny Carol – Being a practical thinker keeps me out of trouble in many ways, but it doesn’t enhance my popularity… I’m known for shooting down family members’ extravagant schemes, but guess who’s the go-to guy when there’s a difficult problem to be solved?
The order of dates can be confusing between Europe and the US. Is today 10-12-14 or is it 12-10-14? I have also received emails suggested that we meet week 50 or worse week 27. I used to go to Google, but now I just print up a calendar with the weeks on it.
My SIL that received the transplants celebrated her birthday yesterday. My brother and niece wrote beautiful tributes on Facebook. My niece knows that I am crazy so I posted on her note ” Not to be flippant, but cousin Eddie may have said it best: It’s the gift that keeps on giving, all year long.”
She wrote back:Are you suggesting my diabetic mother would like a membership to the Jelly of the Month Club?? and I said “No, I was referring to her Donor” She agreed…and smiled.