Old Timers Journal

Thanks for dogs and cats

2006-10-12T16:21:00.000-07:00

This is Lady the wonderful dog I brought home from the Humane Shelter five weeks ago. She takes up ninety-eight percent of my time. She loves everybody. And she needs love, I think she was mis-treated where ever she lived before.

My last dog, actually my son's dog, was with us for twelve years. She was run down by a speeding car, in a rainstorm back in July. Needless to say we were heartbroken and this ole house wasn't the same. My son said, "No more dogs."
I know he wanted a dog as much as I did, even Max the Cat needed a dog.

One day, after a doctor appointment, the doc upped my Prozac by 10mg, I went to the County Humane Society and looked at six or seven dogs but hadn't seen one that looked right. Then I spotted a medium sized black dog standing quietly looking straight at me. She didn't move, except for her sad eyes and they went straight through me.

An hour and sixty-five dollars later Lady and I were on our way home. The first couple of days Rick wasn't too impressed and I thought I might have made a mistake, but one day Lady and I sat on the porch when Rick came driving in the driveway from work. Lady barked twice and ran out to the truck and jumped on the door with her front feet, tail awagging like crazy, and now we are a happy family again, of course it took a few days for the cat and dog to become pals. They never did offer to attack each other but were a little stand-offish. Now as I said before...we are one big happy family. . .and that's the truth. . .

Is this goodbye??

2006-09-26T05:35:00.000-07:00

A listserv I am in is going thru some changes and at least one member thinks it should die a natural death. Who am I to say anything about the outcome. I've only been a member for about five years. The list as I understand has been around for over ten years. I don't know how I discovered it but I didn't know any members at the time.

The list is a literary, political, every day personal rant, with some very smart people with varied interests. There are occasional verbal spats, mostly on politics, but I think the combatants are merely trying to rub the fur the wrong way.

Altho I am an infrequent contributor, I would hate to see the place just fold up.
...and thar's the truth...

It was a long run,,,

2006-09-25T10:27:00.000-07:00

1990 baseball season ended with the Atlanta Braves in last place in their Division; the National League East. This year they are going to finish next to last. In that time span they have been an amazing team and had some amazing players.

It looks like the Mets and the Yankees could be in the World Series. It has been a long time for the Mets. Personally I hope the Phils get in...and that's the truth...

Thoughts about reality

2006-08-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking for some time about the end...you know: THE END.
We have always heard, or at least I have always heardthat if you are drowning or falling from a high place, your life passes before you, ie: you remember all that has happened to you.

Now I am getting a little old and not in the best of health, pretty damn poor health actually but I think I still have some time left. My problem and I'm wondering if others have this problem: When I retire for the night I lay there thinking of people I have known and places I have been. A name will come to me and then I'll try to think where and when I knew that person.

I think of a place I have been and how long I was there and who did I know there? Am I crazier than I think?

It has been a short summer, last time here I wrote about hummingbirds and now it is time for then to be leaving...the first week in September.I'll miss them
... and that's the truth...

First Robin, First Hummmer

2006-05-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

Since last I was here we have been visited by the first robin of the year and the first hummingbird. The picture is of the remaining tulips from previous years and of course hundreds of dandelions.

It has been a lousy spring: cold and wet. Not much snow again this winter and people are worried about the water table. If we keep getting so much rain there shouldn't be a shortage of water. Our well is over one hundred feet down and we have always had plenty of water,,,that is if the electric is on.

Headed out to burn papers and hopefully mow some grass if it has dried enough from yesterdays rain.

I'll be back again . . . and that's the truth . . .

Long time gone---again

2006-05-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

I'll be back---and that's the truth---

Legalization or No

2006-03-27T12:38:00.000-08:00

A forum I belong to is discussing DOPE, all kinds of dope. These people by and large are highly inteligent(don't ask me what I'm doung there) who came thru the 60's and most all did some kind of drug. The question is should all these drugs be legalized? They argue that alcohol and tobacco are legal and are additicive. No argument from me there . . . I wasted a lot of my life on booze, mostly beer, but the hard stuff too.

I don't see what legalizing all this crap is going to do to help the sufferers. It will undoubtably will make it all cheaper to buy, but you don't help rapists, murderers and child molesters by telling them that they won't be arrested for their crimes.

That is another subject I could rant on all day . . . CHILD MOLESTERS and sexual perverts. Everyday in every part of the country a parolee has struck again, kidnapping, raping, killing mostly young children. They should be locked away for life, they can not be rehabilitated. Pass a Federal law, get them off the streets.

In case I didn't make it clear, I am against legalizing ANY DOPE . . . and that's the truth . ..

Long Time Away

2006-03-25T14:28:00.000-08:00

This is what we woke to here in NE PA on 3/25/06. By noon with rising temps and a light drizzle it was all gone. This is my first post in a month, since I was last here I have been in hospital twice and had a birthday.
Seventy-seven and counting.

Missed out on a free dinner at #2 Son Steve's Fire Company, always a good time. A year ago on St Patty's Day I fell and did a good job on my face and one knee. Haven't fallen since but did blow a nice little hole in my leg with a inhaler in the waste paper fire. That was on Friday the 13th of January.

Still haven't done much writing, just seems like nothing wants to come from this old brain. Stay tuned, something will come . . . and that's the truth . . .

In the year 2010

2006-02-23T08:24:00.001-08:00

This little photo is of me when I was 21, with my new (to me) 39 Mercury.Yesterday I spent 26 dollars and now I have to live until March 14th, 2010 to get my money's worth. I renewed my PA driver's license and it is good for four years and that will be sixty years since the picture was taken. Over the years I have been involved in a few accidents; after all I was a cab driver for twenty years. Those were all minor fender benders and they weren't all my fault.
I had one bad one ... I rolled over (flipped actually) a car of my Mother's. She had only had it for two weeks.I was home on leave and went drinking with a buddy. Too much to drink and too much speed, rounding a curve and hit the curb. The car flipped on its roof and then back on the wheels. No dents or scratches on either side of the car. My buddy was thrown into the back seat without being hurt. I was on the floor on the passenger side. On the way I hit my knee on something and received a big gash that required six stitches. We were fortunate because the roof was crushed down across the steering wheel and the top of the front seat.

The insurance covered the car but it increased the premiuns considerably. I really didn't get much of a chance to drive again, being in the navy and out at sea most of the time. My big chance came in Naples. Italy when a group of us were given the chance to test for a navy driver's license. I don't know the navy's reasoning for this, but what the Hell, go for it. Driving in Italy is quite complicated and nerve wracking. Italians drive fast and use their horn more than their brakes.

We took the driving test in an old jeep with an old gold stripe Chief. I passed on the first go around and this gave me experience for my later job as a cab driver. The next time we were in Naples they put us on Shore Patrol and gave us more old jeeps to drive with more old gold stripe Chiefs. Nobody got killed but a couple of old gold stripe Chiefs were ready for retirement ... and that's the truth ...

Giving this country away

2006-02-22T16:12:00.000-08:00

I'm sure this photo has been retouched but it looks good to me. Let's give the finger to GWB and all his cronies who are taking this country to Hell in a hand cart. W claims he knew nothing about the deal to sell six major ports in this country to Arabs. He also says he will veto any bill that congress passes to stop the deal. This is equal to or worse than the deal that Jimmie Peanut Farmer put together to give away the Panama Canal.

It is time to let W know the majority of the people want us out of the mess in Iraq. The Iraqi people show every day that they do not want our form of government, their election not withstanding. Mister President, bring our troops home, let Iraq and Afganistan do as they please. Let them honor and pray to their god or whomever. We need to stop losing young men and women to a useless war ... and that's the truth ...

PresidentsdDay (long weekend)

2006-02-20T17:15:00.000-08:00

This is a model of the USS Constitution, long a symbol of our superiority of the seas. I have toured this mighty ship twice and enjoyed every minute of it. It is the oldest commissioned ship in service. Of course it will never go into battle but just looking at it makes me shiver. People around the world no longer look up to us, they hate us. We need to turn that around.

This being President's Day honoring Washington and Lincoln there is no school, no mail delivery and the banks are closed ... a Federal Holiday and like most holidays any more are magically spent on a weekend. The price of gasoline keeps most people from going anywhere for four days so why bother changing the day of the holiday?

Turning around the way people of the world look at us is not an easy task and won't happen in my lifetime, but we need to start now. Close our borders to anymore immigration, stop trying to tell other countries how to run their governments, especially by wars. Bring our troops home.

While I'm at it, happy birthday George and Abe, we should be grateful to you ... and that's the truth ...

Weepy eyes

2006-02-19T12:18:00.000-08:00

I have had this picture for several years; it is the US Cemetery at Normandy Beach in France. Things like this make me have weepy eyes. Today a internet friend sent me a slide show of pictures of 2005. There are weepy eye pictures in it. A GI grieving at the grave of a buddy in Iraq, another GI holding a little Iraqi child covered with blood. A young mother and her two children running to meet home coming soldiers.

Get the picture? The local paper had an interview with a veteran of Iwo Jima a deadly battle of 61 years ago. His last comment in the article was, "War is not fun." We as a country need to come together and bring our soldiers home. Enough already ... and that's the truth ...

Goin for the big one baby ...

2006-02-18T14:01:00.000-08:00

Got my tickets for the big one, the Power Ball lottery for tonight is: (trumpets blaring) 365 Million dollars baby. If I should win I'm going to have a lot of work done on this house and property, and have a bigger sign made for out front: DOT'S LITTLE ACRES. Three point five eight acres that is. The sign now is only a small one made at the county fair the first year we moved here. It won't come down no matter what happens.

Another of my fantasies is a house and property about five miles from here. I don't know how much property there is or how big the house is; I just love the location and the outside of the house. There is a chain link fence (four foot high) around the property and a nice size lake.

My son Rick says he will buy it if he wins ... I hope he will let me move in with him ... I would certainly let him move in with me ... I think there is a little house (cabin) that would be great for a housekeeper, we sure need one ... and that's the truth ...

Hug it, kiss it, maybe it will stay

2006-02-16T14:29:00.000-08:00

Almost 24 hours later ... but they say rain is coming tonite and high winds tomorrow, and then turning cold. As Mark Twain said, "Everyone talks about the weather but nobody ever tries to do anything about it (paraphrased) Going now to get my winter coat out again ... and that's the truth ...

Love it while it lasts

2006-02-16T11:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's sunset ending a beautiful day and today is even better.
59 degrees and partly sunny (some would say partly cloudy), but lets look on the cheery side and say partly sunny.Only 36 days til Spring, only 26 days until I'm 77 years young, or old however you want to look at it. Only 23 years until the Century mark comes along and I'm aiming for it
... and that's the truth ...

Spring, ah beautiful blah

2006-02-15T11:19:00.000-08:00

Here we go again with this false Spring. Yesterday's temp was 53, now it is 56 ... but ... Friday night it is suppose to drop to ten. Gas bill is coming and while we have had some mild weather we have had lots of really cold weather.Being on a budget with the gas company keeps me in the red but I can't afford to pay the whole amount ... a mild spring and early summer will get me back on track.

Somehow last evening I managed to write two pages in my book, the first I have written in a month I would guess. Gotta go back and re-read to find the names of some minor characters. I know I should keep a list of them but haven't done it so far. That is what I am going to do right now
... and that's the truth...

Doctor, doctor tell me true

2006-02-13T16:50:00.000-08:00

This is the hospital and clinic where I go. The hospital is on the left and the clinic is on the right (is that a dedundant statement?). The cardiac unit is among the top one hundred in the country, the joint replacement is in the top ten percent in the country. I have been an in-patient so much that they have one bed with a gold name plate with my name on it.

I went to the clinic today to see the plastic surgeon who is taking care of the burn on my leg. Did I ever tell you how I got the wound ... well never mind that ... it isn't very interesting, just a dumb move on my part. On Friday the 13th, January I received a burn (more like a bullet wound).

In the morning I had an appointment at the VA to see the podiatrist for a pediacure ... she did a good job and told me about a new program the VA has. Veterans with diabetes are eligible for one pair of diabetic shoes a year. She sent me to get fitted up for my new shoes ... They will be mailed to me. I thank God every day for the VA and what it means to me ... and that's the truth ...

Snow and such

2006-02-12T07:34:00.000-08:00

This very poor picture that was made with my cheap Polaroid digital (now residinging the junk drawer) shows my dog Boo standing in our deepest snow of the year. This was taken in December just before Christmas. Since that time we have had more rain than snow. Now while the East coast is in the midst of a blizzard we have only a trace on the ground, not enough to cover the leaves that have been there since Fall.

This is my first trip to the blogger world in a few days the result of having had a loss of words (better known as 'writer's block').

Back to the East Coast blizzard ... the last report on CNN that I saw Central Park in NYC had 11.5 inches, Columbia, MD had 21 inches, a internet friend in Philly reported 9 inches. A big storm for sure but I remember a big storm in the late 1940's while I was stationed at Rome Air Depot, (Griffiss Air Force Base) now closed I believe. My military MOS was weather observer and I was on duty on the graveyard shift in February. It had started snowing around sundown and we measured the amount hourly. My first measurement just after midnight was sixteen inches, my last just before seven was thirty-nine inches. The next night on the graveyard at four o'clock the temperature was -42. Our weather station was at the front of the main hanger and we had to walk through the building and out the back. From there it was almost one hundred yards to where the thermometers were kept. The temps for five, six, and seven o'clock were estimates, but I was tne only one that knew it ... and that's the truth ...

I Missed It .....

2006-02-05T09:28:00.000-08:00

How did I miss Ground Hog Day??? Here it is the 5th of February and I'm still watchin for the Ground Hog. Did he come out? Did he see his shadow? If we are going to have winter for six more weeks bring it on. I want to have winter and get it over with.

I want at least fourteen inches of snow on the ground and I want the temperature to stay at 18 degrees until St Patrick's Day.
... and that's the truth ...

Didja Ever Wonder cont'd

2006-02-03T09:01:00.000-08:00

I wonder if whoever came up with that saying did any research on it. I think he is a little off (no pun intended). I think it is more like two in eight. If that is true then it's you and me. You may not like my reasoning, but you must look deeply at yourself. Think back at all the things you have done that made people look at you strangely. We are in the same boat baby ... and that's the truth ...

Didja Ever Wonder

2006-02-02T15:37:00.000-08:00

I Wonder

A wasted afternoon at the Doctor's office. Don't go back for eight weeks. He asks the same questions every time and I give him the same answers. I wonder what I would say if he said, "You are very sick and don't know it, I am going to admit you to the hospital."

I wonder what he would say if I said, "I have been trying to tell you that a long time and you wouldn't listen. Sorry Doc but I am changing doctors and hospitals."

Sometimes I wonder about crazy (after all I am a little crazy) things. Like where did the term 'Lazy Susan' come from. I sit at my kitchen table with half of my medications on a little 'Lazy Susan.' I spin it a little and get a pill out of the bottle and put it in a little plastic cup, (I have a dozen of those little plastic cups that I stole from the hospital), they only use them once and throw them away. In the morning I take nine pills and three inhalers. In the afternoon I take three pills. In the evening I take eight pills and four inhalers. Oh yes I almost forgot, I take insulin injections twice a day.

Does that make you wonder why I am still alive? I wonder what useful things I could be doing with all that time ... like writing more in this blog and writing more on my short stories and my book.

Someone called me eccentric, and I have said before that I can't be eccentric, you have to have money to be eccentric so I am just a crazy old coot ... and that's the truth ...

I Remember ... cont'd (again)

2006-01-29T14:42:00.000-08:00

This is me at about ten or eleven years of age. At about this time my friends and I watched them cutting ice from the river. They had big long saws liked the kind used for cutting trees, but of course the saw had only one handle. A man with one saw cut the long cuts and another man made the cross cuts. The blocks were about two feet wide and six feet long. It took two men with big hooks to lift one end up and on to a conveyor belt.

At the end of the conveyor more men skidded the big blocks on to a big sled. There was a huge barn about fifty yards away and the ice was then taken to the barn; unloaded and stacked with sawdust put between the layers and on top. The ice was stacked about twenty feet high with a big block and tackle and a gasoline powered winch.

I think this was the last year that ice was cut from the river. That river not far from where ice was harvested is where I learned to swim ... in the summer that is.That's another story and of course we didn't do anything dangerous or crazy ... and that's the truth ...

I Remember ... cont'd

2006-01-29T08:08:00.000-08:00

High school years have fond memories for me. This is my HS sweatheart. We were steadies for two years until she had to move away. She had a beautiful singing voice and the music teacher thought I could sing too. She gave us the leads in two operettas in our sophmore and junior years. Iolanthe and Pirates of Penzance(sp?) by Gilbert & Sullivan.
I believe she went on to Vasser College to continue her music studies. We have had no contact since my first year in the Navy.

I hope she has had a happy and prosperous life ... and that's truth ...

I Remember ...

2006-01-28T16:51:00.000-08:00

I remember this old railroad bridge; it is not too far from where I went to high school. At the time it was built it was the largest, longest, highest concrete bridge in the world. It held that distinction for many years. With the decline in passenger trains it doesn’t see much use.

Anyway, my senior year in high school during final exam week a buddy who was a junior and I and three lovely ladies skipped school. One lovely was my ‘steady’ and a senior; the other two were juniors. I had a 39 Packard coupe with a rumble seat. My steady and one other girl rode in front with me. The other two rode in the rumble with my buddy sitting between them.

There was a road about a half mile away from the bridge and I drove up it and onto the RR right of way and right to the end of the bridge. We all got out and walked around (it was a beautiful June day); my girl and I walked a short way out onto the bridge while the others were telling us to come back.

Out toward the middle of the bridge was a little shack like building and a man came out and yelled at us to get off the bridge and leave. “If you ain’t off there before I git there I’m gonna write down all yer names and call the Troopers.” We left … and that’s the truth …

What Weather!!!

2006-01-28T11:21:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful day here in Bentley Creek, PA on Green Mountain. The sun is shining and the temp on my back (front) porch is 61 ...I have my kitchen door wide open bringing in all that fresh air.

Tomorrow it will probably be 20 and snowing and I'll have a sniffley nose.But I will still be smiling because my oldest sister will be 84 and I talked to her a short time ago and she is doing GREAT.

Well one drawback to this weather is ATVs. They started up a few minutes ago and all I can here is AAARRROOOUUU from at least two of my neighbor kids. Hope they are a little careful, it is muddy and could make it easy to turn over.

We didn't have things like that when I was a kid, but I would never have done anything dangerous or crazy ... I was a good boy ...and that's the truth ...

Odors--Smells??

2006-01-27T15:12:00.000-08:00

While monitoring the fire-police scanner (which every country home should have) the com center sent out a call to a fire department for a odor investigation. What kind of odor ... natural gas? ... human gas? ... foot odor? ... burned the beans odor? (which can be related to human gas that polite people call flatulance.)

Right now there is agood odor in my house. Someone gave my son Rick some bacon that was somehow smoked with a maple sugar flavor. This odor has stayed in the house since breakfast ... okay, so he got up late and had breakfast at noon. This is a very pleasant odor but I've been hungry all day ... so what is different you say ... so I'm hungry all the time but every house has its own odors ... some good, some stinky ... some really stinky bathroom smells.

When I was a kid in grammer school we would get our feet wet purposefully hoping the teacher would send us home ... no such luck ... off with the wet shoes and socks The shoe were placed on the floor beneath the steam heat radiators and the socks laid out on top of the radiators. What a terrible odor ... no wait ...not an odor ... a SMELL.
... and that's the truth ...

Drugs and more

2006-01-26T11:33:00.000-08:00

This man is in jail on drug charges. His son is on trial for murder. This man admitted in court that he was carrying a 45 caliber semi-automatic in the back of his belt but denies killing the deputies and says his son must have done it. He told his son's girl friend to hide when he saw the deputies car and then went outside. He claims he saw the two men on the ground and went back inside and called 911, and then put his gun away, washed his hands and changed clothes.

He may not have done the actual killing but he sure is guilty of helping.
Oh I know ... inocent until proven guilty ... but he will never be tried for anything ... and that's the truth ... as I see it ...

Justice cont'd

2006-01-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

Can't watch or listen to anymore of this travesty ... the ex-girlfriend has changed her testimoney ... now she says he didn't do it ...his father and brother did. My take on it is that all four and maybe more are involved.
... and that's the truth ... as I see it.

Justice

2006-01-24T11:40:00.000-08:00

Here in this county where I reside a trial started yesterday for a man accused of shooting and killing two deputy sheriffs. One was 30 and the other 36 both older than the accused but too young to die. They were doing their job, he supposedly didn't want his girl friend to go to jail. He has been in trouble with the law in two states. In my mind he should have been in jail at the time of the shootings. He served about five months of a five year sentence in New York State for pulling a gun on troopers and assaulting them.

This murder took place almost two years ago. His girlfriend has married someone else. The charges against her have since been dropped for some unpublised reason. His father, where all this occured has been arrested and tried and convicted on other charges. I believe he is out on the street now, but personally I don't think he should be.

This man, I use the term loosely, has admitted that he killed the two deputies to two troopers and to others. We have paid for his food and lodging for two years. Now we are paying through the nose for a trial and it makes me angry ... and that's the truth ...

Close to a Stroke

2006-01-22T14:38:00.000-08:00

Two hours ago I almost ended up in a place like this; going to Microsoft Word to try to put a few pages on my book I was greeted with an error that my work hadn't been saved ... PANIC ... 157+ pages down the toilet. Just last week I couldn't find another story on my laptop; that was only four pages but they were going to be part of the new book.

I was ready to call and order my headstone but swearing quite loudly to nobody in the house I eventualy found everything under a different file name ... HUH ... how did that happen? Soon it dawned on me ... it was the little people; they haven't been showing up at night to do the dishes and cleaning the floor ... well now maybe they have been coming every night but instead of doing what they are supposed to be they are playing on both my machines and maybe Rick's too. He's been complaining about problems with finding files too.

My 157+ pages are now on a CD and I have set up a password ... and that's the truth ...

Lost: One Week

2006-01-21T19:03:00.000-08:00

Since Friday the 13th with my ill fated trip to my back yard burning space that left me with a hole burned in my leg I have been very subdued.Of course I have been to two different doctor appointments; one for my leg and one for a follow up on my colonoscopy. I go again Monday to see the plastic surgeon's assistant ... a female ... nothing wrong with that, hopelfully she has a nice ... ah ... sense of humor.

I'll tell her about the time my son Rick took me to an appointment with a bone doctor; oh yeah I've seen 'em all at that Clinic. We waited and waited and waited. An hour and fifteen minutes after the appointment time the nurse comes out to apologize. She says, "I'm sorry for the long delay, we are running a little behind today." Ten minutes later the appointment was over and we headed for home.

Rick says, "In all that time we sat there I never saw one little behind." Onr nurses name was Ann Miller; not the Ann Miller I was thinking of.
I don't know how many younger people will remember her, she was a singer and dancer in the movies. Beautiful lady, georgeous smile, supple body and legs that looked like they went to her shoulders and she could dance with the best of them.

Well any way, my lost week found me not interested in any thing; no news on TV, no interest in the blog and most of all no ambition to write in my book. Depression maybe, but I'm on Prozac.

Things will be better after I hit the 101 million Power Ball tonight ...
... and that's the truth...

Friday the 13th cont'd

2006-01-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

Well the unlucky day for the superstitious(sp?) turned out to be unlucky for Nucklehead Nick aka Clumsy Clarence. Being able to burn waste paper in this part of the country and having accumulated several large garbage bags of said waste paper because of the inclement weather, yours truly ended up at the ER.

It seems that unknowingly I deposited an empty inhaler of albuterol in one of the bags. This is definetly a no-no as I discovered quickly. I have a hole the size of a quarter and about a half inch deep in the back of my leg. Four different doctors and ten nurses all had to look at my wound out of curiousity. They all wanted to know how I did it and then walked away laughing and shaking their heads, then the official team took over.

Tetanus shot, IV for three doses of Demerol and anti-biotic, cleansing with saline solution and a salve called Silverdine, then bandaging. Have an appointment Monday with the plastic surgeon. My son says they will probably plug the hole with a chunk of my dumb butt.

As a result of this stupidity I am confined to my recliner with my laptop to keep my dimbulb brain occupied ... and that's the truth ...

Friday the13th!!!

2006-01-13T09:43:00.000-08:00

Could we possibly make this a national holiday? Just put them all together on one four day long weekend and get them over with. This
would save a lot of hassle and money ... and that's the truth ...

The Boom went bust

2006-01-12T17:03:00.000-08:00

This once was a booming amusement park. From the early nineteenth century through the 1950's it drew people from all over New York State and parts of Pennsylvania and other states. The larger building was a beautiful carousel that drew people to the park. There was a big roller coaster and other rides and lots of concession stands on the midway. It had a big pavilion and an expanse of picnic grounds.

For many years this city had professional baseball; minor league but good baseball. Many present and former major league players went through Elmira. A beautiful stadium was built by a local millionare and was kept in good shape right up until the present time. Besides baseball there was professional boxing and wrestling that drew many fans. There will be no baseball there this year and probably never again.

During World War II there was a picture on the cover of Saturday Evening Post and the headline, *Boom Town USA*. Well the boom has gone bust. An announancement in the local paper that a forty year tradition, the yearly Winter Sports Banquet was cancelled. This drew many people and guest speakers from all sports. The first one I attended I was fortunate to meet and talk with Jesse Owens. A fine gentleman and trackman who twisted Adolph Hitler's nose at the Olympics in Germany.

I consider this my hometown although I haven't lived there for many years. Now I don't even like to go there ...and that's the truth ...

All went well...I think

2006-01-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

They opened a new operating building just for me, actually it opened on Monday and it has 12 or 13 new operating rooms. Personnel were in a little quandry about where things were and where other things went but they got me well takn care of and into the right bed and the right room and even the right doctor.

After they got me all hooked up to the various monitors and IVs and all that the doctor took over and zipped *actually there was no zipper* right through and was done in less than forty minutes. He took out three small polyps to be biopsied and I see him in his office on the 20th.

I am comfortable at home and sitting expextantly by the bathroom ...
... and that's the truth...

A procedure ...

2006-01-10T07:50:00.000-08:00

This guy is smiling because he knows where I am going and what I am going to do tomorrow. Actually he reminds me of the doctor; this is how he will look to me just before the sedative takes over. Don't get me wrong ... I have faith in him ... he performed my surgery last year.

THE PROCEDURE is a colonoscopy to check for any return of the cancer that was in my colon. Anyone who has had a colonoscopy knows what a fun thing this is. As the redneck hillbilly said to the doctor, "Yer agonna do WHUUT with that thang???"

Today I have had my breakfast of one slice of white toast (without butter). I could have had one hard boiled egg or one poached egg. I can't eat eggs that way ... so it was one slice of white toast (dry). I am on my second glass of cranberry juice. I will have just plain water during the afternoon. Maybe a big glass of apple juice for dinner, and then at seven PM comes the big thrill ... Phospho-soda in water ... You haven't lived until you have tasted this stuff.

Tomorrow morning is an early rise ... more Phospho-soda and off to the hospital. Stay tuned for an early update. Believe me I will have a smile on my face ... and that's the truth ...

Spring is here????

2006-01-09T14:32:00.000-08:00

The official temp was 47F. Our good thermometer registered 50. The weather channel says it will be in the forty's for the next three days. My flu symptons have disappeared ... of course my regular pains are still there ... and that's the truth ...

Wish my flu bug would fly away

2006-01-08T04:52:00.000-08:00

As you can see I can't drive my flu bug away and it isn't Asian bird flu so it won't fly away. What happened to the flu shot I got back in the first week of November? For three days now the old bones and muscles (whatever muscles are left) have kept me next to the bottle of pain reliever pills. I have no fever thankfully but I still can't walk too well or lift my arms to drink water to take the pills. If I could find a hole I would crawl in it ... and that's the truth ...

Thirty-seven cents.........poof

2006-01-07T08:48:00.000-08:00

Today is the last day of the thirty-seven cent US postage stamp. Gotta help out the Post Office waste more money. Maybe it will even stop the P O workers from killing each other. Of course the price of postage isn't the only thing going up.

Very quietly gasoline prices are creeping...no not creeping...jumping up again...like fifteen cents in the last week at our local Stop and Rob. They were originally calling the convenience stores that because they were being robbed so frequently...now they are called that because they are getting their money back. Time for an investigation by somebody...anybody but Congress...they need to be investigated too.

You would think that the Senators and Representatives would be making enough filthy lucre with their salaries going up almost yearly that they wouldn't need to take bribes and kickbacks. And then there is their truly outrageous lifetime pension plan.

Don't know why I am complaining, didn't they just give me a big raise in Social Security? With that I can afford the increase in postage.

... and that's the truth...

Goulash

2006-01-05T13:17:00.000-08:00

Just looked up the meaning and spelling of this word. I had the spelling right but...the meaning, well actually the ingedients were not what I was expecting. Meriam-Webster says: A stew made with herdsman meat (beef), and a variety of veggies.Of course it is the Hungarian name gusylas (spelling may be wrong).

I had always heard it called Hungarian goulash so I knew it was Hungarian ... DUH ... but the stuff I always knew as goulash was made with elbow macaroni, meat ... usually ground beef or hamburg as we enlightened Americans call it, tomatoes and tromato sauce, chopped onions, celery and a little garlic. Sounds like an Italian dish, doesn't it? What I am getting at here is ... I just made a big pot of it and after two big helpings and a bottle of Yuengling I am ready for bed.

My Mother and step-Mother both made it better than mine ... don't know what secret ingredients they used but it was different than mine, but the best I ever tasted was made by a dear departed Pal, God rest his soul. I know he was Hungarian because he lived in Hunkie town. I'm not trying to be etchnic bashing but that is what it was called in the town where I grew up. The Italian section was called The Patch for some reason unknown to me, probably because they all had their own little patch of a garden.

Of course there was Jew town, Darkie town and the Irish lived anywhere they were tolerated. My Welch-Scots bloodlines were just not mentioned ... and that's the truth...

Grrrr! and Argh

2006-01-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

Well!!, This is the picture I wanted to show yesterday but the Blog Master or whatever wouldn't upload it.This is what I woke up to yesterday the turd ... er .. third of January. We still have some of it left but it is supposed to rain later today.

Nothing new and exciting except for all the muscle and joint pain that got me out of bed at five am. That really isn't new or exciting but I won't be doing much work today ... okay so I never do much work ...
and that's the truth ...

362 days left in 2006

2006-01-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

Now I'm angry! Blooger won't upload a picture ... I've tried it three times and nothing. I wanted to show you our first snow of 2006. Well we did get about three inches but with the warm temps today it has settled down to about one inch of slush. The roads are clear and I drove about fifty miles today to pay a bill and to get groceries. I'll be able to keep my car on the road and eat for a couple of weeks. Lots of soup and hotdogs, maybe some homemade potato soup with dumplings. Maybe splurge with a cherry pie ... canned cherries and pre-made pie crust. Oh I almost forgot, I still have that one bottle of Yuengling ... but not with the pie ... how about with hot dogs...

Trying one more time for the picture...guess what???, no picture, I'll try again tomorrow. The snow will probably be gone but it will still be in the picture ... DUH...

Lazy, Rainy day

2006-01-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

This has been a lazy day ... if you don't believe me ask my cat, Max.
The rain started around noon; just a fine drizzle and then at times it got quite heavy. It is still coming down, almost a mist. The temp is around 33 degrees and as it drops we will be getting some icy roads during the night. That will keep the fire and ambulance crews busy I'm sure. People just won't slow down; these country roads are not a place for speed to begin with. 35 and 45 MPH in most places and that is too fast when it is icy or snowing. What bothers me is that some idiot will knock over a telephone pole and pull the wires down.

Two days gone in the new year all ready ... time really flies when you are havin fun. Tomorrow is pay day for us senile old folks ... write chex, fill up the gas tank, buy groceries and damn near broke already ... and that's the truth ...

Here it is...a New Year

2006-01-01T05:37:00.000-08:00

2006 didn't start as I had planned...I went to bed early expecting to be awake before midnight as I usually am for the first trip to the bathroom. The cat woke me at two-thirty wanting to go out for his first venture in the new year. So my lone bottle of Yuengling still sits in the fridge awaiting me. The lone bottle is left over from a Christmas 12 pack. I had one then and my two sons and son-in-law took care of the rest. I may not invite them next Christmas.

The picture is my dog Scooby Boo...The date and time is wrong...still haven't figured out how to set it on my new digital that is a gift from my #2 son...I may invite him for Christmas again...so Boo is looking out the window wondering what is so different today from yesterday...it all looks the same to her and I guess it really is all the same.

Maybe...just maybe and hopefully this year will see our troops come home. Even if gas prices go to $5.00 a gallon, let's get along without that oil and bring the men and women of our armed forces home and stop giving Haliburton and the others all that money that could be put to better use.

If I'm awake at noon I'll have that Yuengling with my lunch...and that's the truth...

2005 (almost gone)

2005-12-31T15:22:00.000-08:00

This has been a better year than most of the last five or six. Another BIG raise in Social(?)Security(??) Guess I am better off than a lot of people; I have a warm house and good Health Insurance along with Medicare to pay all medical my bills, and believe me I have a LOT of medical bills.

So here I am on New Years Eve getting ready to have one bottle of Yuengling Lager at midnight...if I can stay awake that long...and looking forward to what is ahead. A question they ask at the VA...one of many questions..."Are you fearful of the future?" Fearful? What's to be fearful of? I have a spot in a National Cemetery next to my wife and the future is still coming. When the future becomes the present then maybe I'll be fearful...and that's the truth...

Christmas (again)

2005-12-29T09:21:00.000-08:00

A pleasent surprise...

Two days after Christmas the USPS(really snail mail) delivered a beautiful handmade Christmas card. It came from the UK...their mail service must really be snail mail too. I should write to the Queen and complain...but then I received the card and that is what really matters.

This was a special card from a special person suggesting that I must be special too. I know my internet friend goes to great lengths to make people love her...and she is loved...thanks again Harriet...

Memories (cont'd)

2005-12-28T20:08:00.000-08:00

What memories this picture brings back. This is THE POPCORN TRUCK This vehicle was a fixture in downtown Elmira, NY for almost four decades. The truck now looks much better than it did as I remember it. It was owned and operated by an Italian man and his sister. This was a must stop on your way to or going home from the movies or shopping downtown.

Elmira had a downtown then and people actually walked around and sat in the park. This was the best popcorn in the world when I was little and after I grew up too. They put real melted butter on it as it was being put in the bag or box. They had soda pop and penny and nickle candy. Anyone who lived in Elmira during the late 1930's, the 1940's and the 1950's knew how great it was to visit the pocorn truck.

But time takes its toll on all things...the man passed away and his sister took over the business with a younger family member helping out. When she got too old the truck was parked in their driveway. It eventualy was sold to someone from out of the area...years went by and the truck deteriated. It was eventually sold again and brought back home. People gave donations and the new owner helped and the truck was brought back to life again but not as a business but as a tourist attraction and to help people remember the good old days.

More money was raised and a beautiful brick and glass garage was built in the park, next to the corner where the POPCORN TRUCK was located for so many years. Now in the summer there is a farmer's market and craft show once a week in the park. The truck is brought out of the garage and once again sells popcorn...but it isn't the same...but what is...

Memories

2005-12-28T08:33:00.000-08:00

Good Memories...This picture was taken in December 1947. At the time I was a lowly Private in the US Air Force...I joined the Air Force in July of that year soon after gradutating from high school and was there until June of 1950. The fella in the peacoat was my best friend at the time. We spent many hours together. He was a great mimic and could sing like some of the top male singers of the time. He was a good ball player too...played first base left handed and was a switch hitter which was unheard of at that time I believe.

He was a great dancer but never had a girl friend...he danced with everybody else's girl, mostly my girl friend. This picture was the last time I saw him. He was a year behind me in school and went in the Army after he graduated. Three years ago I heard from his older brother that he had passed away. I asked him, "What was the cause of death?" He answered me with one word, "Alchohol." So some happy memories turn sad...

Old is...(cont'd)

2005-12-27T06:32:00.000-08:00

Yes...old is...visiting the cemetery at least twice a year...Memorial Day and Labor Day(or the end of summer). If you aren't a visitor at the cemetery, you are a visitee and could care less about what the date is...
you will be there all year anyhow.

One of my Old Timer gripes is the obituaries in the local newspapers. If you or a family member is a celebritiy you will get two pages of type(and typos) telling one and all what a good person you were...and it is all free.

Otherwise you or your family will be charged by the word and they like to add words to these. Your whole family of deceased and survivng will be listed, along with all the pets you ever owned (and supposedly loved). All the fraternal soceities and veteran's memberships. Where you worked faithfully for sixty-two years(where you dropped dead). Before you go tell your family not to be too kind and quick in their final remarks to the newspaper.

The unexpected deaths...the eighty-two year old lady with lung cancer. The seventy-eight year old man who had been fighting a bad heart for sixteen years...me, I expect mine can occur any time. In my book unexpected death is the guy walking his dog and gets hit by a frieght train or the lady whose husband catches her with her lover...

As we get older...I started at about fifty years of age...we read the obituarties everyday just to make sure our names aren't there or to say, "By golly old Jim finally kicked off," or "Holy Nelly, I thought she would never die," and take a big sigh of relief...your secret is safe.
Believe it or not...

Is Christmas really over?

2005-12-25T15:22:00.003-08:00

Do I look surprised? Well I am, Christmas is over and Santa never landed on my roof...how do I know...because my dog didn't bark...last year he landed and my dog barked. That scared Rudolph, et al, and they left the old guy standing on the roof. I had to get a ladder from the garage and help him down. He had to use his new cell phone to call a taxi...as they pulled out of the drive he rolled down the window and shouted, "Don't look for me to come back any time soon."

That doesn't bother me too much, he left his bag of coal and I sold it to the neighbors for fifty bucks. With the bag he had already dropped off to them they had enough for January and February.

I suppose you don't believe this; you don't believe in Santa? What's your name...Scrooge? I believe in him because I had to help him off my roof and he ripped his pants and I still have the piece of cloth from his left pant leg...and that's the truth....

Is Christmas really over?

2005-12-25T15:22:00.002-08:00

2005-12-25T15:22:00.001-08:00

2005-12-25T15:22:00.000-08:00

Who said 'White Christmas'? cont'd

2005-12-24T13:40:00.000-08:00

This is the 'crick' as it looks today before the rain starts. If I'm able and as the sayin goes; the crick don't rise, next spring I'll get another picture from ground level on the ravine floor. Now I'm off to slumber time for the Old People and wait for Itchy Fingers...Sandy Claws...that is......

Who said 'White Christmas'?

2005-12-24T12:31:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken last fall. It is the 'crick' through my little ravine. It is covered with snow now but...the temperature here this afternoon is 54F and the sun is shining. The snow is gradually disappearing and rain is forecast for tonight and tomorrow, Christmas Day.
This must be early 'January thaw.'
We are getting ready for a quiet Christmas Eve...cold chicken leftovers and I may even drink a bottle of Yuengling Lager beer...and that's the truth....

The Night Before The Night Before

2005-12-23T15:32:00.000-08:00

Old is...#3
Believe me when I say old is ...being angry when you make a mistake. This is the second attempt at a little Christmas humor and a memory of a long past Christmas...somehow I deleted the first attempt.

Twas December 23rd, the night before the night before and all through the house not even a mouse was stirring. The fish was in his tank, the cat was in his (my) recliner, and the dog was in bed with me. We weren't expecting Santa tonight but we are ready for him. We had been good; as good as an old fart and his animules can be. We didn't want any coal in our stockings hung by the door. We burn natural gas which is too expensive to even think about...

A Christmas I will never forget...okay, here we go down memory lane...
It was December 23rd, 1940 and I was almost eleven years old. I started out on my adventure with a nice Christmas tree on my mind. I was dressed for cold weather and had my Boy Scout hatchet in it's sheath...tied to my coat belt I had a hack saw(the only saw we owned). I was wearing my new hi-top boots that had a pocket on one leg for a small fold up knife.

It was about a two mile jaunt which didn't bother me, we walked almost that far to school. It was just after lunch and I had no idea that I wouldn't be home before dark (we were always supposed to be home by the time the street lights came on). I reached my destination, which I remembered from our many hikes in the summer. I climbed the old barbed wire fence and tore a hole in my pant leg just above my boot top. It didn't go through my long johns so I kept going. About fifty yards through the snow covered field I spotted my prey...a six foot well filled out tree. I had to get on my knees to cut three lower limbs with the hack saw. Then out came my trusty hatchet and I started chopping. It was a harder job than I thought and took me a long time. Just as the tree toppled over it started snowing with big fat flakes. I got the tree to the fence and over it with no problem. It was getting darker by the minute and I was a little...okay a lot...scared.

I hurried down the road towards civilization and the street lights. I heard my older sisters calling my name. When they saw me I expected words of comfort, but what did I get, "Where have you been...boy you are going to get it...Dad is home with a tree and setting it up." I started to cry but didn't let go of my tree. We got home and I pulled the tree up the steps and onto the porch. The girls went in the house and I sat on the top step crying. Out comes Dad, hadn't seen him in two weeks...out on the job, workin like a devil for his pay...no, that's another story.

"What are you doing out here cryin for, I hear you brought a tree home too." I ponted to my tree in the corner of the porch. "Well get it in here and lets get it set up." We had two trees that year but mine was the best...because my Mother told me so...

Old Timers Journal

2005-12-23T09:35:00.000-08:00

Old is...2

Yes, Old is fallin down, trippin over your own damn two feet. Gettin up quick from bed in the morning and don't know why yer dizzy.Gettin up in the middle of the night for a drink of water without turnin on a light and fallin over the kitchen table and then goin to sleep across the table. Fallin down while yer walkin on dry, level ground. Yes, old is not for the faint of heart.

A Journal

2005-12-21T12:44:00.000-08:00

A Journal

Old is…

The trouble with being old is everybody thinks you are senile. Maybe they are right about that guy who lives down the road or that woman who lives in the trailer court; but not me, my body inside and out is worn out but my mind isn’t.
Hell, I can sit at the computer for hours playin solitaire and then spend half the night writing.

One thing I have noticed in the last year, since I had my major surgery I do a lot of talking; to the dog, to the cat, to the tropical fish. What really surprised me is when they started talking back; now don’t tell me they can’t. Hell, what is the sense of talking to them if they can’t answer back?

Another thing; I can understand the animals but I can’t understand people. Yes I have a hearing problem but I also have a great pair of hearing aids. They make everything louder but I still can’t understand. I don’t watch much TV because everyone is mumble-mouthed. I used to love football on TV but they have three or four guys talking every minute trying to tell you what you just saw; and then re-run it four times and tell you again…just shut up and let me watch the game.

During baseball season I used to watch every Braves or Red Sox game I could but now they break in with another game and explain mumble-mouthed what just happened in that game. Who the Hell cares; if I wanted to watch that game with those millionaire players on the Yankees I would be watching it on that channel. Get on with the game I want to watch. Sure, Chipper just hit a home run and we missed it because we just had to see Jeter make a sloppy play that he gets paid four mil a game to make

One advantage of being old is how nice people are to you. They smile and ask how you are feelin, and hold doors open for you; even the nicer looking young ladies who wouldn’t give you the time day if you were their age. I play it for all its worth; they hold the door and I take five minutes to go in (or out) and see how long they smile.

A good night’s sleep can be interrupted three or four times a night for the little jaunt to the bathroom. I never realized that someday/night I would have to sit to go. Well Hell, it’s either sit in the dark or turn on a light and wake up.

I don’t know why the dirty dishes keep piling up til they hide the whole counter top. The little people are supposed to come in every night but they never show for a week at a time. Oh Hell I might as well do them; and the laundry…I stopped changin my undies every night to cut down on the laundry detergent…it is just too damn expensive, and your clothes don’t wear out as quick.

Well it is time for the evening news…if they have lots of shots of car crashes and murderers and rapists bein hauled in to the slammer I’ll watch it but, if they have some dopey eyed twenty year old frizzy blonde making jokes with a guy from my class at school…Good night Gertie, I’ll read a good book…if I can find my reading glasses.

Nick, who would like to be ‘that old eccentric guy down the street’ but I’ll never be classified as eccentric…you have to have money to be eccentric…so I’l just be that senile old fart on the corner.