November 1999
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November 1999
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 Clockwise
from upper right:Rachel and Loren, Sister Sue, Barbara & Mac Bartlett,
Christine (Dean) Aleman and Barbara Columbo, and Kimberly Westphal. Whew… "Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel." -Will S.-
“Thanks Meg” Monday November 1, 1999…Autumn
came back from school festooned with band-aids… she took a tumble on the
playground, we got a note but there were no specifics… Her teachers and aides
adore her and must have been devastated that she got hurt. We were told early
on that the only way she is going to learn and grow is for her to learn her
limits, this involves bumps and bruises… poor little kid has always got scrapes
and scratches… takes a lick’n and keeps on tick’n. It is hard to watch her fall... real hard… Autumn is my hero… Tuesday November
2, 1999 …Dr.
appointment with Dr Fareed. She isn’t my regular Doctor, that would be Dr. Kodel, sweet little guy but he is a little annoying to talk to, he always seems
to be preoccupied with something really important in the next room, but
outwardly staring intently into my eyes and pretending earnestly to be hanging
on every word and to care personally about whatever silly malady I am whining
about at the time. If it wasn’t for periodic Prostate Exams I would consider
switching Doctors, Christy has no sympathy for that sentiment… Dr Fareed really
is a nice little lady, she gave me some pills and prescribed a visit to the
Orthopedic Surgeon for a consultation… She suspects a torn rotator cuff… (Hear
that Karen?) Damn… Mokie
is sick again, head ache this time, I went to pick her up from the nurses
office…I think she is scamming me… her first words when we left school were
“I’m hungry, can we go to Don Cuco’s?” Went
to Cost-Co shopping today… checks are late so I have to cool it… Wednesday November 3,
1999 …It
is Sunday night now, and I don’t remember what I did on Wednesday… I think I
spent a lot of time on the PC because, looking back, I sent out quite a few
E-Mails… Oh well, I’m old… Thursday November 4,
1999 …I
took Mike to see the Russian… I left him there and went to breakfast at McD’s .
When I went to pick him up she mentioned that she was impressed with his
ability to stay focused on a conversation. The medication he is getting appears
to be working. At least during the day… Friday November
5, 1999 …Dr. Appointment with the Osteopathic Surgeon, he gave me lecture on how shoulders are put together and told me what he thinks my problem is, “It’s an inflamed or torn Rotator Cuff”, the only way to tell if it is or isn’t torn without surgery is to treat it for inflammation… if it works then it isn’t torn. . Then he gave me a Lidocane (sp) and Steroid injection into my shoulder…it felt better almost immediately, not perfect but much better. More “penny in the fuse” medicine from Kaiser… at least this makes sense to my feeble mind Saturday November
6, 1999 … I
got up at 02:45 and woke Mike up for the drive to Phoenix. We arrived at my
sister Susan’s home at 11:00 (Arizona Time). Wilmer Hunter’s wedding was at 14:00
so we had some time to get ready. Ross stayed home to work on the house, It has
been literally gutted and rebuilt and they have 11 people visiting over the
course of the next 2 weeks, including his parents… lots’a work, I digress. I
am really disappointed in myself, I can tell you at least something about most
all of my cousins on the Daggett side but I have totally neglected the children
of my mothers sister Rachel. Rachel passed away on October 25, 1981 in Arizona…
I had been to visit her on several occasions. Most times my visits coincided
with visits my parents were making with Rachel. I was contending with a
difficult divorce and trying to start a new life with Christy and pretty self
absorbed at the time. Anyway, I lost touch with all of Rachel’s children after
she died so I was really anxious to see them and… reconnect… somehow.
 My
sister introduced me to my cousin Kimberly who was about 6 or 7 the last time I
saw her, she was with her husband Greg who was holding their new baby daughter
Loren. Then I met Carolyn and Barbara… I last saw them about 40 years ago, in
Ashland, Maine needless to say… we have changed. Barbara and her husband Lou
are very nice, Lou was an usher and was part of the groom’s entourage so we
didn’t get to talk much. I talked to Barbara and Carolyn for quite a while but
I can’t remember much of what was said. I was too involved in the moment I
guess. Mike was doing the best he could and actually behaved pretty good…
almost. The
ceremony began traditionally, (Listen to the expert, sheesh) Once everyone had
been delivered to their proper position in front of the altar, the preacher
started to talk as though he were having a conversation. He started the
Ceremony by doing a short autobiography on the Bride and Groom and described
how they met and how Bill had proposed to Yoli… for me it was very moving and a
very nice touch. When he was through I felt as though I was witnessing the
union of people who were meant to be together, I still barely know them but I
felt very comfortable participating in their wedding, even though I was only
part of the audience. Later it occurred to me that my Aunt Rachel would have
had a wonderful time at this wedding, all of her children together, there
wasn’t an unhappy tear in the joint. I
imposed on the formal picture taking after the ceremony and took lots of
pictures. Susan
had to take Christine home to Nick (her baby) and she took Mike with her… we
were to meet up again at 17:30 at (Carlos Murphy’s, a Mexican Restaurant). I
went to the reception which was held across the way in another church building
and took more pictures. The
Reception was pretty traditional, as near as I could tell, I don’t attend many
of these functions. I talked to Carolyn, Kim, and Barbara, stood in the
receiving line and congratulated Bill and kissed the bride on the cheek… she is
a keeper. Her smile light’s up the room I
met Sue & Ross and Christine & Dave and their two kids Jack and Nate,
Sue was feeling pretty punk and went home before dinner started… looking at the
video of the wedding, later that evening, Ross could see that she was feeling
bad there too… bummer. We had a nice dinner and went up to the house, had cake
and ice-cream and sang Happy Birthday to the Mikester. He was pretty bouncy by
then… He tried to go to sleep but he was just too wound up, He watched TV for a
while and then went to bed. Sunday November
7, 1999 …Sue
was pretty weak from the day before so Mike and I just took off for home…the
drive to Acton was uneventful. I stopped in Lancaster and bought him some
rollerblades for his birthday… Christy was at a seminar for her newest project,
she had been downtown all day and Grandma and Grandpa held the reins. I beat
her home by about 20 minutes… we had more cake and sang Happy Birthday to Mike
one more time… I crashed early… The liar's punishment is not in the least
that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else. -George Bernard Shaw Monday November 8, 1999 …Christy
and I took Autumn to get some braces for her ankles, today was the casting.
Autumn was a trooper and actually seemed to enjoy the process. The doctors say
we have to get her some braces because her feet are turning out. She is
actually running in her walker using the inside if her feet, like someone on
ski’s doing the herring-bone to climb a hill. At
1300 we picked up "B" from school and went to Dr. D. , "B" has been
behaving OK lately, he has been argumentative and still has a hard time at
school. He only shows his temper at home, to Christy and I. Tuesday November
9, 1999 …
Christy took Cindy to Kaiser to get her blood drawn, this has to be done when
the psychiatrist changes her medication, so far the level of medication is well
below being a problem. Mike
went to Scott’s house to use his new roller blades. Wednesday November 10,
1999 …Cindy
was bouncing off the walls this morning, she wouldn’t wake up, she wouldn’t
take her medicine, she wouldn’t get ready for school… It took us a while to figure
out that she went to sleep early and we didn’t give her her medication… she was
just a basket case. Mike went a little
bonkers too… not a fun morning. I left Cindy home and took the rest of the kids
to school. When I got back she was much better so I took her to school too, she
was about 20 minutes late. There
is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and
no slave who has not had a king among his. -Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968) I
received some more Allen information from Sally, can’t tie it all together yet
but at least I have something. Allen is my Grandfather’s original family name,
he was adopted by his mothers first cousin when he was about 13… This branch of my
Genealogy stops at his parents, I can’t seem to get past them, it is a mystery,
My grandfather never talked about them and have found no clue to what happened
to them Thursday November
11, 1999 …I took nine kids to the Palmdale Mall so they could watch the Pokémon movie; Cindy, "B" Mokie and Lumpy… three neighbor boys Chad, Jordan & Clifford…and… Mike and his friend Scotty. I decided to just wait for them in the mall the prospect of sitting through an inane cartoon with a theater filled to the walls with six to twelve year old kids was beyond my capacity to cope I just wandered around and had a hamburger at the Red Robin. I managed to bore myself thoroughly in about 15 minutes. I wonder why that happens, am I so devoid of imagination that I can’t find a way to amuse myself for ninety minutes? Guess so… The kids were all very good, Mike made them wait at the exit to the theater until they were all together and then he herded them out to me. I took them all to Burger King because they were giving away Pokémon paraphernalia, the line to the drive through was out into the street, ordering nine “Kids Meals” brought me some curious looks from the kids at the window. The kids behind the counter were working their little butts off. It wasn’t difficult to imagine what their feelings about the Pokémon promotion was. If the marketing genius who made that deal walked through the door they would have torn him to hamburger and fed him to the people honking their horn’s behind me. (It takes a while to make 9 Kids Meals) "B"
had dancing, I am impressed with his ability to persevere he really wants to
dance. Some of the first pictures I took of him, when he was less than two,
were of him dancing in the living room… I
was hoping for a good turnout for the ROF tonight but there were only six of us
there… I took my camera but, as Joe mentioned, one picture of people drinking
beer looks pretty much like all the others… so I took a picture of him drinking
a beer and that will have to suffice. The ROF’s were the high social point of
the month for me…I think interest is waning … I really need to get a life…
damn. There
is an IEP for "B" tomorrow, I wish I had foreknowledge of the result. This
whole affair has been an education for me. I thought that the school would “do
the right thing” but it seems to have become a strategy contest, a power
struggle, "B" is irrelevant to the outcome it’s just a win / lose thing. A
chalk mark… a notch on a stick. "B" needs help, we, his parents, can’t help
him, we don’t have the training, the money, the time, nor, it appears, the
authority. The school district won’t acknowledge that he needs help. County
Mental Health says; “Well if he’s violent lock him up.”… and "B" just takes
it and does the only thing his instincts will let him do, he keeps on fighting
for some self esteem… and he yells and screams and cries. If the people that
are ultimately in control of his welfare get their way he will be on his own in
8 years and be lost and angry and defenseless and the world will crush him. I
am depressing myself… Friday November
12, 1999 … I
got Autumn to Carols and drove back to Acton to meet with the lawyers at McD’s
as planned… we jabbered about this and that and went to the IEP. There were ten
people there, four against six we made no headway what so ever, I had to walk
out again, it was very frustrating and another disappointment for me. Ellen Z.,
the representative from Mental Health, was there, I was hoping that she had
some compassion for our situation, but no, she’s a professional obstacle, her
job is to spout the current Politically Correct policies, interpret the law,
throw up barriers and generally ensure that the bare minimum resources are made
available and not exceeded. She
volunteered “Family Preservation Services” (FPS are not available to
Guardianship Parents). She told me, personally, she has “seen too many parents
with Pollyanna expectations of a wonder cure for their problem child. It just
doesn’t work, it stresses the child and tears apart the fabric of the family.
They believe that all they have to do is enroll their kid in a program and he
will miraculously be cleansed of all his problems.” I felt that it was implied that she felt it was her
responsibility to ensure that that sort of frivolous behavior was staunched at
all costs. That was about the time when I lost control. God forbid we should
try something not supported by her personally and have it actually work. We
have to get "B" scheduled for three assessments:
We
are outgunned, their stoic refusal to acknowledge that he is in need of more
help than they can provide is just unconscionable in my mind. By the end of the
charade I was resigned to another battle lost but for a while there , I was so
mad I was apoplectic, I could barely speak coherently. Damn bureaucrats… they
are so comfortable hiding behind their smug assurance that they have the upper
hand, and their interpretation of the one-size-fits-all policies that have
worked so well over the years, that we really are outclassed. Their stance has
withstood years of assailment from frustrated parents, in their minds they have
the “high ground”, they may even believe their own rhetoric … but, the war is
not over. Christy and I firmly believe that "B"’s only hope for a full and
productive life is total immersion therapy, we are committed to getting him the
best help available. Coincidentally "B" was sick today… he felt dizzy in the morning and went to the nurse, he was tired and fell asleep in class later on and by noon he was asleep in the nurses office. I took him home and he barfed twice on the way home… I must have brought the “Arizona Eight Hour Flu” home with me. Mike
and Christian had their “Break Danc’n” class today… Mike is not reacting well
to the medication change, he is arrogant and belligerent in the evenings. He
really gave Christy a hard time and she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be
able to handle it, Mike can be a real jerk when he puts his mind to it. Saturday November
13, 1999 …"B"
stayed home from church, he really doesn’t like it there. We cleaned a little
because G & G are coming over to baby-sit the munchkins. I finished vacuuming as they came through
the door… Grandma looked a little peaked Grandpa plopped down on the couch and
watched football.. They
are here because we’ve been invited to a Just ‘Cuz Party at the Valencia
Country Club… I have no idea what will transpire but, relying on what little I
know of the instigator of this bash, it will be a memorable evening. . It
was… I didn’t know a lot of the folks that were there but the ones I knew were
good friends and the rest of the folks being Minnesotans it was a friendly
bunch. We
got home at about 21:45. and Grand Ma And Grand Pa took off for Riverside… as
usual… we were going to sleep in the MotorMonster, I was actually looking
forward to it but they decided to go home… Sunday November
14, 1999 … Calie woke me up with “DADDY, IT”S DONUT DAY” we finally got the kids ready to go by about 09:10 and I got back at about time to see the kick-off of the Ram – Panther game. Packers lost to the Cowboys, Seattle beat the Bronc’s… Christy took off to babysit Bonnie’s kids, the baby is spiking a high temperature and she has to get the baby to Kaiser, Christy will meet Bonnie at the hospital and bring the kids here… Christy called and the baby needs a spinal tap, Larry is meeting Bonnie at the A.V. Hospital and Christy is taking the kids to their home… school tomorrow. I probably won’t see Christy till the morning… These are adopted Foster Children, the baby is one of the twins, one is ‘normal’ one was not cared for… he is a very sick little boy… Christy got home about 03:30, the tests were negative and the baby is hospitalized for observation. The optimist says the glass
is half full. The pessimist says the glass
is half empty. The pragmatist, not being
thirsty, doesn’t give a damn.
We judge ourselves by what we
feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done. -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)- Spare time
… I used to have lots of spare time, I could do the crossword puzzle, watch TV, go dirtbike riding, take a trip to Vegas… but I was working then…I led a regulated life and could plan my day. Now that I’m retired I get to do what ever I want whenever I want to do it… so… how come I don’t have any spare time… I am on the PC a lot… but I am not on it for more than a 20 minutes or so during the day except for rare occasions… mostly I am on at night… from about 21:00 till between 11:00 and midnight. During the day from about 0700 till 2100 I am just bouncing around from one interruption to another. One of my problems is that I am basically a lazy person. I really am, I have tons of work to do around here but I am so good at finding excuses not to do it I even have myself fooled… The Damn Kitchen has been (almost) done for almost a year, it needs about two days work and I haven’t finished it off… …I have told myself that I am not going to do it by myself, it is going to be a joint effort with Christy and I or it isn’t going to get done... there honestly haven’t been two days strung together when Christy and I have been home alone together during the day… not in a year, I suspect that I will have to tear myself away from this PC and get started but it’s going to irk me. I have actually forgotten what I like to do in my spare time anyway… I used to like movies, I used to like to watch TV, I liked to build things in my shed… Now my life is filled with kids and computers. The computer is really a pretty good spare time hobby/toy/tool for me. I can get up and leave it at a moment’s notice, doesn’t take up a lot of room and when I feel overwhelmed I can tune out the bedlam and do this. Happy Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is still my favorite holiday, it’s a family time and there are no toys, festivals, or overblown religious rituals to get in the way. I like to get together with my in-laws and watch football and eat… it’s very relaxing for me… a nice stress-less holiday, easy for me to say… I’m not cooking and it’s not at my house… but even when it is here I prefer Thanksgiving. Have a Stress Free Thanksgiving
Grandpa Rodgers, Christy, Sister Karen, Sister Pat, Eric Moyer,
Heather (Hight) Moyer, Ditto, Brittany Moyer, Moyers and Autumn
When the fox preaches, look to the geese.
-German Proverb
Monday November 15, 1999…Pretty
laid back day, we made some contacts on "B"’s “assessments”. I went to lunch with Christy
and Autumn at Chili's. I over indulged as usual. I have the will power of a
gerbil in heat when it comes to food… When I was a pack a day smoker I could
control my food intake easily… I won’t get regular exercise for some reason, I
could probably start smoking again but everyone says it’s worse than being fat…
not to me (Except for the heart attack part) smoking was a lot more fun than
being fat… I could start dirt-biking again I guess; don’t laugh, it’s pretty
aerobic if you crash as often as I do. Although, the last time I crashed on a
dirt-bike I broke my wrist showing off for my brother-in-law. In the velvet
darkness Of the blackest night Burning bright There's a guiding
star. No matter what or who
you are There's a light,
light In the darkness of everybody's life Rocky
Horror Picture Show Christy
got in late… actually about three in the morning… so she is really tired.
Bonnie’s baby, Eric, is going to be OK…She promised the boys she would take
them to the Skate Park in Palmdale…she took all the kids. Lumpy and Mike skated
and the rest played on the playground. Christy tried out the new Baby-Jogger…
it came in the mail last Friday. It is really slick, an engineering exercise in
efficiency. It plugs together and pop’s apart in about 30 seconds… Much better
than the Zoomer we got at Toys R Us… She got back about 18:00 and went to bed
about 19:30 Monday
Night Football… actually saw most of the game, kind of a rout till the last
four minutes of the game… the Jet’s tried to lose but the Patriots beat them to
it… Tuesday November 16,
1999 "One definition of an economist is somebody who sees something happen in practice and wonders if it will work in theory." Ronald Reagan -- …
Christian has a homework problem… he won’t do his homework at home. When we
went to the school for "B"’s IEP last week I got mad and had to walk out to
collect myself. Christian was sitting on the wall doing his homework. I asked
him how often he does this... he said “Everyday” I asked him why he doesn’t do
it at home so he can play with the other kids. He said “Because the teacher
says I have to do my homework at recess, she doesn’t give me my homework packet
till I get to school” I said that doesn’t. make any sense… I was upset about
the "B" business and didn’t follow through but Christy did… She was
upset. Wrote a letter as soon as she
woke up…She is Then
Calie came home and told us that Mrs W had caught her and Heather sitting on
the “Monkey Bars” and made them count to 500, they were late back to class and
got in trouble with the teacher… then she said that they had been sitting on
the bars every day for three days because Mrs G. said it was OK. Exasperating… Then
Christian mentioned that since he had to wait in the Office for Mom to bring his
medicine and he got in trouble because he was late for the benching, he told
the ‘benching lady’ he had to wait for his medicine but she ratted (My word)
him out to his teacher. Almost
forgot… Mike got sent to the office for calling his substitute teacher a Bitch,
He told me “I didn’t say it to her I said it under my breath” as though that
were a logical excuse. Anyway… I had a theory and asked what happened to get
him so upset. He said that he got in trouble for doing something his teacher
lets him do… something about completing an assignment in stages Mike has ADHD
(among other things) he does the work but he needs to take breaks from it.
Anyway, this Substitute wasn’t aware of the arrangement and threatened him with
benching. (Also not a good idea), threats to Mike are like pulling the pin on a
grenade. He just kind of freaks out. Like the old “Niagara Falls” Vaudeville
routine…”slowly I turned, step by step”… I
think of all the trouble we are having/causing with "B" and I wonder if there
isn’t some sort of vendetta. My
rational mind says no but my paranoid mind says maybe… We have had homework
trouble with Christian since he first got homework in the first grade, but
Christian and Calie are definitely not behavior problems. Calie loves school and
never been in trouble, Christian has not “pulled a tag” (except for homework)
in 5 years. Christy
went and signed herself up for a Sign Language class at AV College, she is
excited about it, she also got called to teach a Stress Management class at College
of the Canyons in January… I picked up the kids and Christy got home in time
for me to take Cindy and Calie to their dance class. Mike went down to Scotty’s
house… Wednesday November 17,
1999 Man's mind stretched to a new
idea never goes back to its original dimensions. -Oliver Wendell Holmes- …Christy
will be taking "B" down to Reseda to get his first assessment done, she
woke me up this morning and informed me she was taking "B"… that’s actually a
big relief for me… I am uncomfortable in interviews. Christy will also take
Christian to the Talking Dr. in Lancaster at 14:00… pretty good trick, things
really have to click into place for that to happen… If she isn’t back by 13:15
I have to take Christian to the Talking Dr. and she will pick up the kids.
Originally I was going to take "B" but part of the process is an interview
and the tester will ask questions I can’t answer. Christy knows all about the
treatment he has had, the family history his learning disabilities and physical
disability and the sort of analysis he will need. Christy had been dealing with
"B" on an ongoing basis since he was 13 months old, I have only been involved
full time since I retired at the end of ’96. Autumn
and I will do some shopping I guess… we need to get some more food in the
larder… the kids are complaining that they don’t have their usual 57 varieties
of cold and hot cereal… Need some dinner fixin’s too… I
actually got up so early that when Calie asked for French Toast I was able to
comply… I
forgot to send Don the pictures from the reunion… I’ve got to run to the Post
Office. One
other event for today, at approximately 13:00 Jennifer Bowman gave birth to
Molly Bowman… I had to find this out third-hand of course… from my sister in
Arizona. 36 hours after the fact…I am at the tail end of the communication
chain for some reason…. I ‘spose that they did have other matters of priority… Thursday November 18,
1999 He who
fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you
gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. -Friedrich Nietzsche …
Took Mike to the Russian… I don’t detect any therapy going on but we did have a
nice chat. The “Special Ed teacher, Mrs. C., teaches Cindy, "B" and Mike fell
and broke her arm in several places. She will be out till next year. She has
been these kids teacher for 3 years. I anticipated trouble from Cindy but she
seems to be coping well, Mike on the other hand is having a rough time… Mrs. C.
and Mike have a lot of unwritten contracts. She has learned over the years what
it takes to keep him motivated and focused. She is very firm and had him pretty
much under control. Yesterday he threw his papers on the floor, refused to go
to the Principals Office, and called her a ‘bitch’ on his way out the door, He
said it under his breath and the aide taking him to the office told on him. One
other development, yesterday Christy was given an incident report written by
his teacher, that said she had to take scissors away from "B", again, because
he was using them like a knife across his throat and telling his deskmate that
he was going to kill himself. Also yesterday on the way back from picking up
the girls at dance he took a shoe lace and ties it around his neck and
pretending to strangle himself…and, again Also… Christy overheard him tell Mike
to break his left arm so he wouldn’t have to go to school and write any more.
All the books say to take very seriously any threats to commit suicide or
intentionally harm themselves even if you think it’s just playing around you
have to acknowledge that this is very a unhealthy playing around. Normal, well
adjusted kids don’t fantasize about doing themselves in. "B"
went to dance tonight, he really seems to enjoy it, one of the first pictures I
took of him was of him dancing. He is really quite graceful when he dances, he
gets lost in the music. It really seems to sooth him. I got an e-mail from a lawyer named Daniel Mooers. He is a member of the Maine State Historical Society and has managed to solve one of the mysteries in my family tree. My grandfather was adopted by George Herbert Mooers, the only George Herbert Mooers I could find died before my Grandfather was born. It turns out there were two George Herbert Mooers’s. Well… I know this is boring stuff to most… but I am thrilled. Now if I can only find out how my grandfathers parents died I will be able to move on to something else. Friday November 19, 1999 Today, 19/11/1999, is the last date with all odd digits you'll
ever see! After that, we won't see an odd day until 1/1/3111! The next even day will
be 2/2/2000, the first since 8/28/888! (How’s that for
trivia) …
We were supposed to take "B" in for a blood test but he took his medication and
now we have to wait till some other day… We took him to see the Therapist at
Kaiser and she talked to him about all the death and dying stuff he has been
spouting… scary stuff. She
is concerned, not about him killing himself, she thinks that’s pretty remote…
so do I. but about his pervasive lack of interest in anything in his life. Christy
took Calie out to get a new church outfit…I took the boys to their break
dancing class, Mike went with his buddy to spend the night… Christy
brought pizza home, I worked on genealogy till now… it’s 0045… g’night Saturday November 20,
1999 The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time. -Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)- …I
picked up Mike at his buddy’s house and went to EZ Take-Out Burger… I went to
the window and ordered burgers for the boys and myself. When I opened the bags
it wasn’t even close to what I ordered. I asked to see my receipt and he showed
me that it was what I paid for… as though that was the ultimate goal of the
transaction. It occurred to me to get upset but, why waste the energy… I was
tempted to hand the guy $5.00 and say “May I have something please” When he
asked What would you like” I would tell him “It didn’t matter what I wanted
last time we talked, why don’t you just surprise me again.” I
called my sister in Boston to give her a hard time about not calling me about
Molly, her new Grand-daughter, but she wasn’t home… so I called Molly’s father
Mr. William Bowman III (AKA BB3) and he actually answered, so I berated him
severely and he gave me some lame hokum about a missing cord for his digital
camera… as though the loss of the cord somehow inhibited his ability to
communicate… anyway, baby and mom are fine, Molly is a Brunette unlike her
sister Samantha who has hair so red it hurts…His mother was there (Leigh, my
reclusive sister… she never writes and rarely calls) (she reads this
occasionally I am trying to make her feel guilty) Mike
called from his buddy’s house and said he was spending the night … I am a
little torqued about that but I acquiesced. Sunday November 21,
1999 There is this difference
between happiness and wisdom; that he that thinks himself the happiest man
really is so; but he that thinks himself the wisest is generally the greatest
fool. -Charles Caleb Colton
(1780-1832)- Watched the Packers win one finally then sped off for Fontana to meet my Sister-in Law, Pat’s daughter Heather and her new-ish husband Eric Moyer and her step-Granddaughter Brittany. We had a nice visit for about four hours The kids were getting pretty rowdy by 6:00 so we bailed for home. The Kids, led by Mike who was especially bouncy because he had missed several doses of his medication… he was completely out of control. It truly frightens me when he gets so angry.
 Too much consistency is as bad for
the mind as for the body. -Aldous Huxley_ …I
got the Kids to school it was about 38 degrees… Mokie still won’t wear a coat…
we managed to get a sweater on her though.
Rachel
from the County Special Services, stayed about 2 hours talking about special
services for Autumn… she is very nice and willing to talk about how to use the
inside track. There
was a slow leak in one of the van tires so I took it down to get it fixed…
while Rachel was visiting. Christy and I went to Don Cuco’s and had a rushed lunch, Mike & Christian have to be at the Talking Doctor at 1600, and Autumn had to be at Therapy West at 1600 too… Christy took the girls and "B" to Carols and drove the boys to the Dr and I took Autumn…Forty five minutes down there leaving here at 14:30 and two hours and fifteen minutes to get back… yuck. This is not going to work… we will have to wait until they can cive Autumn an appointment at a more reasonable time. Anytime during the school hours…I feel awful… I suspect that I am paying for the rushed lunch.. Tuesday November 23,
1999 How
much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it. -Marcus Aurelius …Christy
took "B" to Reseda for assessment at about 06:30. I
let the time get away from me and was five minutes late getting the kids out
the door… Cindy had on one white sock and one pink one… Mokie brushed her own
hair and actually did a pretty good job. We got the neighbor kids and made it
to school with a few minutes to spare… On
the way down the hill I noticed the front end making a racket again so I
stopped to have the kids at Affordable Tire look at it, the tabs that hold the
splash guard behind the brake rotor disintegrated over the years and it was
just flopping around. They pulled it off… don’t really need it I guess, there
hasn’t been one on the left side in 3 years. Went
to get Autumn her morning donut and decided to stay there till she finished it.
I
went up to the house and answered some e-mail and then went to Costco to drop
off some film, it dawned on me that Thanksgiving was coming up and I need more
film so I went in to the store get some… Bought Autumn some pajamas and a
raincoat and a pie would be nice to take to Riverside on Thanksgiving, and I
may as well get some chips and dip and one pie won’t be enough so I got another
and Christy has to make he “corn dish” so I bought stuff for that, and we’re
almost out of milk and… one thing led to another and $150.00 later I headed
home… Costco is an amazing place. Wednesday November 24,
1999 "The things that come to those
who wait, may be the things left by those who got there first." n Abraham Lincoln …The
kids were home all day today, Christy went shopping and then she worked on
Thanksgiving (Pies, Maple Fudge, Deviled eggs, “Christy’s Famous Corn
Casserole”) Thursday November 25,
1999 Nearly
all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give
him power. -Abraham Lincoln- …
We loaded the kids and perishables, picked up ice and gas and (this is a first)
managed to leave for Riverside almost on time. The trip over there was
uneventful except for passing a terrible accident in Littlerock, the kids were
impressed with the damage. It concerns me the extent to which we are pulled to
rubberneck at accidents. I have to consciously force myself to watch the road,
it is such a base instinct. I
thought: “There
but for the grace of God…” “Poor
bastard” “Hell
of a way to start Thanksgiving” “Hope
no one was killed” “I
wonder who was at fault” “Maybe
I had better slow down…” all
in about 5 seconds, the kids couldn’t believe the amount of damage… sobered
them up for about 15 minutes. There
was a pretty good crowd at this gathering; Grandma & Pa, Karen & Blaine
and their sons Brett, Wayne & Craig, Suzie and two of her sons Mike and
James, and Mike’s two kids Torry & Tyler, Pat & Mike and her daughter
Heather and her husband Eric Moyer and the nine of us… 26 total, Blaine smoked
a turkey and Karen even made a Mincemeat pie, plus another turkey a traditional
feast, and when it was all over there was food left on the table. The
Cowboys won so Wayne was in reasonably good humor, he’s a little infantile
about the Cowboys. I had a nice talk with Mike and Eric, Eric is a nice fella,
Mike and I will probably never get to be great buddies, our personalities are
just not compatible, I have a lot of admiration for Mikes ability to focus on a
project and see it through, he is an awesome craftsman and artist. My approach
to a leaking roof is a bucket, Mike will build a new roof, I might eventually
get on the roof with a bucket of “Henry’s”. Avoidance, procrastination and
blatant laziness have been my bane all my life. It is a real struggle for me to
get involved in projects, I have to get up a head of steam attack them,
literally, ‘The DamnKitchen’ is a case in point, I am proud of what I have done
out there and embarrassed by what still needs to be done… I am not particularly
good at working by myself, this computer stuff is an exception, I don’t really
understand it… Friday November 26, 1999True friendship is
like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost. -Charles Caleb
Colton (1780-1832) …
Christy went out and did some Christmas shopping, I had to lay down for a
while, something I ate yesterday seems to be punishing me, I feel sort of
yucky. Christy
got into E-Toys this morning and bought a bunch of stuff… She actually seemed
to enjoy herself… CyberPhobic no more… look out Internet here she comes. I
took Calie and Autumn down to Home Depot, Smart & Final and Pizza Hut. We
took Pizza home. Autumn is making a lot of new sounds… it is very encouraging,
I am getting the impression that she is really trying to talk now, the sounds
she is making have inflection and if you concentrate you can hear words… I
think they are words to her… she seems genuinely perplexed when we don’t
understand her, it must be exasperating to her… Just
got an e-mail saying Paul Niefer died tonight… Cancer sucks… Paul was a friend
from my working days… he retired a year or so before I did … I liked Paul quite
a bit, he was hard not to like… he always seemed to be having more fun than
anyone else. He lived a full life in his to short fifty nine years, he had big
plans to simplify his life… A boat he could live on… damn shame… The
neighbor kids are over again… spending the night it is 00:30 and I can still
hear them jabbering. Saturday November 27, 1999 If, after
breakfast, you traveled to the nearest star at the speed of light, then
returned, your coffee would still be warm—but not your toast. ($5.8 billion joint NASA/Chock full o' Nuts
Study) …"B"
and I stayed home while Christy took the kids (plus Chad and Jordan from next
door) to church. Autumn has a fever and so Christy came back early… I
got all the kids Happy-Meals… 9 Happy-Meals = $24.94 if you’re interested…Got
started on the kick boards… finally. I watched the Stanford vs Notre Dame Game…
A good game by a couple of pretty beat up teams… I understand that Stanford and
Wisconsin are going to be in the Rose Bowl… I’m afraid that Wisconsin is going
to tear up Stanford… Sunday November 28,
1999 If the world were
a logical place, men would ride side-saddle .-Rita Mae Brown- …Christy
took "B" in for his blood test and I took the rest out for donuts… Cindy had
another episode on the way back… seems she couldn’t reconcile that I had let
Calie and Christian buy their own sodas with their own money but I wouldn’t buy
one for her. I thought that this would be a pretty simple lesson. I had bought
a six-pack of soda for her the other kids just not one especially for her.
Calie and Christian worked for their money so they get to buy what they want…
Poor Cindy, she understands, I think, but something in her needs to lash out
periodically and she gets a little psychotic. I
watched about 20 minutes worth of each of three football games, today was just
very hectic for some reason. The lady next door was going to come by to talk to
Christy about one of her kids the school says they think he is ADHD and should
be tested… she is panicked, she really doesn’t understand the process, she
thought they were going to drug her kid… poor thing… her name is Cherish
(Wonder what her folks were doing in the 60’s) anyway, She is all alone broke
and totally intimidated by the system… Christy can help her if she will let
her. The
kids had trashed the house again… there seems to be nothing we can do prevent
it… it just happens… like Pigpen in the Charlie Brown strip. All you have to do
is stand there and the place gets messed up …it’s as though have poltergeists…
well we do… only you can see ‘em… there are seven of them. Monday November 29, 1999We cannot be more sensitive
to pleasure without being more sensitive to pain. -Alan Watts- …
My shoulder isn’t getting better… damn. I took one of those muscle relaxer
pills and fell asleep almost as soon as I got back from taking the kids to school
from 9 to 11… I woke up when Christy put Autumn on the bus Christy and I made a mad dash to Costco to pick up the pictures I dropped off last Tuesday… We deposited some money and made the house payment (Which nullified the deposit) had lunch and picked up the kids… we spent the whole day together… almost didn’t know what to say to each other… Christian
was throwing up… no school for him tomorrow I guess. A child of five could
understand this. Fetch me a child of
five. -Groucho Marx-
 …
Meeting with Mrs. N, Christians teacher… He is almost a straight “A” student
but he never turns in his homework… being responsible for doing work outside of
class is a major part of what is taught in the 4th grade. Christian does his homework, takes it to
school and doesn’t turn it in…I don’t understand it… it doesn’t have to be
completed or even have to be right it just has to be turned in. If it needs to
be corrected or completed he does it at recess… She
was trying to figure out how to get him to finish his homework. She was holding
the weekly packet and making him spend a recess doing his homework but that
just made him mad.. he is diagnosed as an ADHD and not giving him an avenue to
expend energy is counterproductive. I will be spending every night with him
until he can do it on his own… I hate to think how long that might be. Autumn
had a big party at school and we had another one here with cake and ice-cream
she was just beaming. I don’t think it really sank in that all the hullabaloo
was for her… maybe… If you ask her how old she is she holds up 5 fingers now… Christian and I worked on his homework for about two hours… I mentioned that he is ADHD…he can sit for about five minutes and then he has to get up and … scurry about… |
