October 1999
|
October 1999
|
 (Click on Thumbnail) Pictures
are of Calie after the recital and a new picture of the kids:
Red shirt ="B",
Baby is Autumn, Holding her is Cindy, behind her is Mike, goof-ball is
Christian, Butterfly shirt is Calie, Star is DaMoke.. Aka Monica.. Beware of all
enterprises that require new clothes.
-Henry David Thoreau-
Friday September 1, 2000 … Autumn and I went to her Therapy today… we said good-bye to Melbourne, she is moving to a new CCS location in Valencia (I think) We will meet the new Therapist next Wednesday. Myra, the OT, will stay with Autumn. Myra is Japanese I think, and very pretty. Autumn seems to be a little leery of her and Myra has a hard time keeping Autie focused, 30 minutes is about the limit for a session without Melbourne to distract Autumns attention. Christy made two trips to the store to shop for clothes Once with Calie & Cindy and once with Mike & Mokie. …I took Mike and Christian to soccer practice, Calie wanted to tag along. I dropped the boys off and went around to the schools to get the class assignments, that are posted on the chain-link fence out side the offices… Calie has Mrs. Heilmann (sp), Christian has Mrs. Mileham Cindy is with Mrs. Conant in SDC I don’t know who her homeroom teacher will be. Autumn has Mrs. Renneri (sp) and DaMoke has Mrs. Hickman… the lady I just got upset with for locking up the school parking-lot gates while we were still inside at soccer practice… Oh well, I’ll apologize I guess. I know better than to try to get a teacher to break the rules, no matter how stupid the rules are… When I got back to the soccer field I discovered that there was nobody there for Christian… the coach was on vacation. Saturday September 2, 2000 …Cops paid a visit to the neighbors this morning… Mike was going to spend the night there last night, I told him NO. I have no idea what’s going on and it’s none of my business I guess, I have a tendency to want to get involved because Mike and Christian spend a lot of time over there… the Dad apparently has some coping problems… Mike says he is treated well over there and has no problem with the Dad… I worry though Mike talked to them… apparently there was someone over at the neighbors property… a wrecked trailer… he was coming onto their property… they called the cops… If it’s the owner, they did the right thing… he’s a scary guy Sunday September 3, 2000 …I watched football off and on all day… the last one between the Titans and the Patriots was a pretty good game, Packers had a chance to win too but Farve’s arm is wrecked… he needs time off and Physical Therapy… he won’t though, too macho, He has tendonitis, it is extremely painful and saps your strength… I have it. Monday October 4, 1999
It’s been a hectic week but I am at a loss, again, for something to write about… The kids are taking up most of my time… sometimes I can stand outside myself and comment about the world around me but not this week for some reason… Christy is up in the mountains again, by the time I have fed, cleaned up after, medicated, transported and monitored the whereabouts of all these little guys there isn’t much day left. I am really looking forward to the ships reunion, probably a mistake… I am leery of ‘high expectations’. I want to hang out with Orvil and Sheryl, I want to wonder around the Navy Base a little and have some beer with all the Old Farts. The biggest contingent of this organization seems to be my age group… the Viet Nam Era, of course there’s also the guys that call themselves the “Tweeners” (the guys that served between Korea and Viet Nam) and the Korean Era and WWII Vets…They are something to behold, these guys are in their 80’s and 90’s some are pretty sharp but most are pretty hard to communicate with… I am trying to get the fella’s who put on this shebang not lose sight of the fact that we are not dealing with a vibrant new growth oriented organization with a bright future. If we were to sign up every guy that ever served on that old bucket who is still able to stand up and pee by himself we would still be dealing with a bunch of old farts who are going to be wandering off into the sunset sooner than later. I think we need to keep this association as loose as possible, more like a club than anything else, but at the same time focus on doing what ever we have to do to keep it together and viable. The object, as I see it, is to provide an excuse for all of us to pack up and go somewhere fun and interesting every 18 months. A four (+) day reunion where we can all pretend we still have control over our lives, where the prospect of being able to pal around with a bunch of other like minded old farts is just frosting on the cake. Bill Westphal, one of the guys in the same organization as I when I worked at the Fone Phactory is going to retire. We weren’t exactly best buddies but we got along ok, He is having a retirement Party in the San Gabriel Valley in Monrovia (Bout 4 miles East of Pasadena for you out-of-Staters) on the 29th. Bill is a very entertaining fella, he is always in demand to do presentations and for M C’ing some function or another… he is very comfortable in front of people. Everybody in the company knows him… not everyone likes him but they all know him… seems like just about everybody I know is going to be there this should be one Gala Event … Christy
took Monica to the Doctor, they are going to modify her medication to see if
they can get her calmed down enough to get through the school day without
disrupting the entire class. I
found another ringworm rash on Autumn… on her chest this time… damn. I put
ointment on it and got her ready for school… Tuesday October 5,
1999 …I
am going to “Bag” Cindy and Monica’s room today, I can’t even open the door it
is such a mess… my observation is that girls are messier than boys but boys are
dirtier than girls. The boy’s room smells like the inside of a Dempsy Dumpster
but it’s picked up… the girls room is clean but hip deep in clutter. As
I was putting Autumn on the bus Christy noticed that the rear tires on the van
were trashed… I took the van down to the kids at Affordable Tire and they were
swamped so I stuck around and gave them a hard time about how long it was
taking them to get my tires replaced… I asked them every couple of minutes if
they would prefer that I take the Van across the street to the 76 Station… Cindy
came up to me and said “ I just called Heather and the phone made a noise
Beep….Beep ….Beep. (Busy Signal), she had never heard it before… with call
forwarding, call-waiting and answering machines Busy signals are becoming a
thing of the past… Mike
and Christian went to see the “Talking Doctor” Dr. D. … He is very concerned
about Christian, Christian is unhappy and when the Dr asked what was making him
unhappy he said “"B"”. I worry about these kids all the time, there is an
incredible amount of tension building in this house… the kids feel it and
Christy and I feel it… We really have to get this "B" placement resolved
soon. I
just watched “Sport’s Night” on the TV… it is a very good show… maybe one of
the best I have seen in a long time. Wednesday October 6, 1999
…Christian
had the flu so he stayed home…he was really pretty sick in the morning… he was
throwing up and had a fever but by 11:00 he was feeling fine. I
spent till about midnight saving the Journal one page at a time, as I saved it
as I was scanning it…it was fun to read over the year… it is a little boggling
to me just how much has happened. I also noticed that the pictures I posted
last week are re-runs… damn. Sorry, when ya get old the memory is the second
thing to go… Thursday October 7,
1999 …Autumn
started Physical Therapy at Therapy West today… Christy took her and "B"… I
went to Physical Therapy in Lancaster for my arm… A very nice therapist named
Doug told me more than I will ever remember about my shoulder.. I got Ultra
Sound and exercises to do… I go in twice a week for two weeks for more Ultra
sound… There is an aura of Snake-oil about Ultra Sound but he says it actually
works… we’ll see. The
Lawyer called and said it would be a good idea to send "B" back to school
until the hearing… I am really uncomfortable with this… damn… Christy and I
discussed the pros and cons for an hour and decided to go with the lawyer… I
hope she’s right about this… Friday October
8, 1999 …My
turn to take Autumn in to Therapy… Up at 05:30, Autumn and "B" and I were out
the door at 06:30 and we made it to the other side of LA in time for a donut so
I pulled in to the little donut shop down the street from Therapy West… I
pulled out my wallet and it was empty… another Cool Move… I was about to put
the kids in the car and a lady came up to me and pleaded with me to let her buy
the kids a donut… so,… at the same time I felt like an idiot I felt like I was pretty
proud to be a human being too… I
tried to take Autumn in but the kids doing the therapy asked me to wait in the
waiting room… I waited about 30 seconds and went out to find an ATM… We found
one at the Drug Store but it was broken… I noticed a card reader at the
checkout counter so I bought some paper towels and got $40.00 change… What a
wonderful world… Christy
is going back up to Cedar Falls for another weekend… Going to get trained on
starting a “Pathfinders Troup” she took off at about 09:30, she picked up
Bonnie on the way out… Bonnie’s mother is pretty sick and has reached the stage
where she needs more care than Bonnie (with six kids) can provide so they are
going to stop and check out a nursing home on the way up to the camp…. The
school called and said Christian was complaining of stomach pains so I picked
him up after I put Autumn on the bus… I went to Costco to pick up my pictures
and get some instant dinner fixin’s (Anything microwave-able)… got the food but
the pictures weren’t put out yet and I had to get back to pick up the kids at
school… I felt a little grumpy so I fed em medicated em and put em to bed… and
I went to bed soon after… Saturday October 9,
1999 …Ned
is taking Calie to rehearsal this morning so I dropped of her at the soccer
field where his daughter Barbara was playing. Then went to Costco to get the
pictures I couldn’t pick up yesterday, and took the kids to Pizza Hut… they
were not bad, Cindy had a minor fit just prior to going in but got her self
under control, Autumn spilled a pitcher of Diet Pepsi Lumpy got in a funk
because Mike made fun of him… all and all a much better experience than the
last time… The neighbor kids are here again… they have been here all afternoon I was going to have pizza for dinner but my kids fed it to the neighbor kids. Every glass in the house is dirty and half of them are outside… Mokie came running in and put a pile of key blanks and other stuff on my desk and said “Daddy, save this for me” I said “what is it” she said “My Treasures” and ran back out… Sunday October
10, 1999 …Rob
called, he is on his way from his home in Seattle to Cancun with his girlfriend
Stephanie. He said he may be buying a old motor-home too so they can come down
and visit the last time he was here he was sick and the kids tormented him so
bad he hasn’t been back. The kids are intellectually intrigued by having a 30+
brother… they idolize him in some ways and are intimidated by him in others… he
is here so seldom they really have no real sense of who he is so they poke and
prod all day long. They test him and see what makes him happy and what makes
him mad… fun to watch from my perspective… I remember Robert and Jeff when I
came into their lives Rob was 5, Jeff was 2… we struggled with each other for
13 years… I have to be at Larry and Bonnie’s home in
Lake LA at 1030 with all the kids, Christy will be there by 11:00 because Larry
has to go to work. Bonnie will watch all the kids while we go to see Calie’s
dance recital it should end by 17:00. We
got to the theater early, Ned and Cheryl got Calie they’re about 20 minutes
later. The show started right on time and it was quite an extravaganza. The
participants are all students and instructors from the dance studio here in
town called Dancin’ in Acton… an unassuming name for a very professional
outfit. There were a least 80 maybe 100 people in the show, they danced
everything from Hip-Hop to Ballet… there was a 3-4 year old troop of ballet
dancers and two 60+ year old tap dancers. Both acts stole the show, I
have to try to describe the ballet dancers.
Three of the instructors got them lined up just visible in the left wing
of the stage. The instructors herded them out onto the stage the girls were
taking little baby steps and going backwards. The instructors abandoned them
there and the music started. One chubby little dark haired girl on the right
started to do the dance and was trying her darndest to get the other six to do
something but to no avail…for the most part they just stood there and looked
around, every once in a while one of them would hear a familiar word of music
and be inspired to wave an arm or wiggle a little but the only one doing the
dance was the little dark haired girl…she was really pretty good for a 4 year
old…at the end they were supposed to link arms and exit stage right… the first
five linked up but the little girl on the left end linked up backwards and
dragged the girl next to her off the stage on the left… it was hilarious ya had
to have been there… the 60+ year old tap dancer was hard of hearing and didn’t
get the cue to leave the stage…owner of the studio grabbed some flowers and
handed them to her and walked her off the stage…to a standing ovation… pretty
classy. Calie’s numbers (She had ballet and tap) went off as predicted… this is
her first year and she was a little tentative, they were all so busy watching
each other to see what to do next that it was a totally out of sync. The back
row was half a beat behind the front row and the left side of the front row was
doing something completely different than the right… adorable. In the tap
number “Rockin’ Robin” the music skipped and threw them into a tizzy and at the
end the front row was supposed to do a little hop-step to the back but they
forgot, the back row didn’t forget and they sort of collided and milled around
for a few seconds looking confused… I loved it. We each gave Calie a bouquet of
roses when she came out the door. She’s got more nerve than I ever had… she had
a ball and is very proud of herself… so am I
Christy holding freshly decorated Autumn, To listen to some devout people, one would imagine that God never
laughs. -Aurobindo Ghose, Indian philosopher (1872-1950)
Monday October 11, 1999…Tried
to take "B" to school today but we have to get some papers signed… "B" is
pretty bummed out… I made my annual trek to the Post Office on Columbus Day
when will I learn…I took "B" out to lunch. Tuesday October
12, 1999 …"B"
started school, he did well in that nobody got hurt, pretty sad commentary. I
worked till about midnight making a CD Rom with all the stuff I want to take to
the Reunion tomorrow. Wednesday October 13,
1999 …Got
the kids to school and came home to pack… I went looking for my keys but
couldn’t find them anywhere… I knew I had seen Autumn playing with them. Just
as we were about to get in the car the Low Water Alarm went off on the water
tank after checking everything out and finding that the well wasn’t pumping I
went up to the top of the tank and cleaned the relays… it started right up,
about that time the phone rang and it was the lady from mental health, she
acted as though she worked for the School System, said she might be able to
come out and observe "B" in his classroom but without a referral from the
school there wasn’t much she could do… we drove off to San Diego… I forgot the
CD Rom I had written with all the pictures of the kids and all my data for the
reunion… the hell with it we kept on going… Thursday October 14,
1999 …Christy
called the Lawyers for "B" to get them looking into "B"’s assessment by
County Mental Health…We were going to go to the Navy Base to see the new
Destroyers but it got canceled and they were going to take all the people who
signed up to Point Loma to see the Sewer-pipe base (Submarines) no thanks…
Christy and I just sort of hung out.. I took a lot of pictures I helped George
Overman a little. George pretty much single handedly set up the reunion, pretty
amazing guy. I would have thrown up my hands and gone to Vegas but he
persevered and made the Reunion a real nice affair. My buddy Orvil and his wife
Cheryl got back from Tijuana and I got George and his wife and we went to
dinner at the (Hungry) Hunter… Very nice. Friday October
15, 1999 …Friday
morning at the Cogswell Association Business Meeting Christy gave a lecture to
all those fuddy-duddy’s. She was really pretty forceful and made good common
sense. Every one applauded her but some how in retribution I got elected to the
Reunion Committee. No one stepped up to
the plate to be the President but we nominated a fella named Frank Willie to be
the committee chairman. We have decided that the next reunion will be in
Atlantic City Christy Cheryl and Mary nominated themselves to be the Cogswell
Association Women’s Auxiliary and decided to make some awards of their own at
the banquet. They spent the day shopping and creating presentations… they even
bought George a birthday cake. At the banquet I went to my assigned table and
saw an old guy sitting there, I introduced myself “Hi, I’m Pete Daggett” and
shook his hand, he said Hi my name is Pete too, this is my wife Rose) It was
Pete Bucher, the Captain of the USS Pueblo, I finally clued in and said wittily
“You don’t look at all like the picture I published” It was taken in 1972. He
is a real nice guy and very funny. He told stories and drank Vodka Collins. He
is not well… There
were awards and speeches, Christy made her presentations to George and the
outgoing President Don Miller and Treasurer Jim Touse (Like Mouse) then Cdr.
Bucher got up. He talked for about 45 minutes to a respectful audience (I was
worried someone would be rude) I gauged the consensus to be that we had been
privileged to hear a true American Hero.
What he went through for his crew and an un-appreciating government was
awesome. He saved his crew and was vilified for it. Shame on us… Saturday October
16, 1999 …We
got a 0251 wake-up call from Mother Nature. When I heard that the epicenter was
near Joshua Tree I got a little concerned… it felt like about a 4.5 in San
Diego it must have been a doozie… 7.1… whew, if it had hit closer to LA people
would have been killed. We
woke up and helped George load the truck and had a nice breakfast… Christy
and I took off about 1100 and drove home, Grandma and Grandpa were out-a-here
in a heartbeat kids were glad to see us…Autumn is a treat to come home to, I
feel important when she greets me… she gets so excited she quivers. Orvil and Cheryl Williams from Iowa were at the
reunion and followed us up just to see for themselves how the crazy people
live… I wish we could have gone out to dinner or something but unfortunately
pandemonium takes precedence over civility. They are on their way up to Reno
via Sacramento, out of their way but a pretty drive. Sunday October
17, 1999 …Football…Talked
to Sue in Scottsdale they are in the midst of a major remodel re-tiling the
floor, new kitchen, new cabinets new paint… didn’t do much today. A purple
cow is a confirming instance of the hypothesis that all crows are black. -Hempel's ParadoxMonday October 18, 1999…Logistics
again, Christy has an IEP at 0745, Kids have to be at school by 0830, Autumn has
an appointment to get braces at 0900, I have a Physical Therapy Appointment at
noon, Big kids have a short day and have to be picked up at 1245, we are out of
food so I have to do some shopping, Christy has another IEP at 1445, I forgot
to get the medicine for the kids, we are almost out of Phenobarbital so Christy
will have to pick that up on the way back… Christy picked up the kids but I
have to load them back up in 20 minutes to drive down to pick up Mokie. Christy
got back from her IEP and errands with some Pizza Hut pizzas and kept a promise
she made to Calie and took the kids to the Soccer Park in Palmdale for a walk.
"B" stayed home with me. Tuesday October
19, 1999 …Another
abbreviated school day for the big kids… they are ecstatic but that means I get
nothing done… again. Wednesday October 20,
1999 …Full
day for the big kids, abbreviated day for the Mokie, it’s a little better for
me, one kid is easier to handle than five… Christy
went down to LA for the final Adoptions Strategy Meeting… she was pretty upbeat
about the future of that outfit when she came home. Autumn
was sick (diarrhea) so the school called for someone to pick her up. They
finally got hold of Carol Holmstrom …who called Christy downtown… who called me
at Best Buy as I was about to drool on PC’s… Mokie and I took off and picked
her up from school the call I got said “Autumn needed to be picked up at
school.” So I didn’t find out what the trouble was till I got there… a little
nerve wracking… Christy
talked to Ellen Zuraval and is now totally pissed… she has written a vitriolic
diatribe of this woman and has asked me to edit it for faxing to our lawyer… I
had to remind her that the lawyer was on our side… she is really pissed off… Thursday October 21,
1999 …Autumn
and Christy went to Therapy West, I took the kids to school and then, at 0920 I
picked up Mike to go see the Russian, Christy got back in time to get Autumn on
the bus and I returned in time to drop off Mike and pick up Mokie at school…
she had an abbreviated day because of Teacher Conferences… Christy, Mokie and I
went to Don Cuco’s for lunch and got home in time to get a conference call from
the lawyer who is helping us with "B"’s case. The bed at Devereaux is gone,
it will be about six months before another bed is available….he may even have
to be re-evaluated by them because it will have been over a year since the last
evaluation, County Mental Health representative Ellen Zuraval is recommending
outpatient treatment for "B", she doesn’t like Residential Placement “on
principal”. “Too disruptive”, “causes separation anxiety”… She has observed
"B" coloring with Autumn. She has never spoken to him, she has never tested
him, she is a bureaucratic hack. After talking to the lawyer we have decided to
postpone the hearing a month so that we can get "B" tested at Kaiser… The
deck is stacked against us… we need to draw a few more cards…I went to school
and asked for another formal IEP to discuss some of the “many resources
available in the area” spoken of by the Director of Special Education. I
requested that Mental Health send a representative (it will be Ellen Z, want to
hear her evaluation of "B" first hand) and that she do a complete re
evaluation of him… not a review of records… this should be an entertaining IEP… A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor. Friday October
22, 1999 …I
made it to Autumn’s Physical Therapy West appointment with 10 minutes to spare.
53 miles in 2 hours… I Love LA… I gave Autumn her donut in time to get her all
sticky for the therapists… I’m such a sweetheart. She
will be done next week… only two more sessions I
decided to get Christy another PC today… I went to Best Buy to see what is
available… I can get a little HP for $699. I already have the Monitor that came
with this PC, I only used it for a month. Christy
called someone today and now; finally, the papers to get Autumn “vendored” down
to Therapy West are being sent out on Monday…this is a good thing… Therapy West
is a neat place… a bitch to get to but worth the drive… they really seem to be
helping Autumn. Saturday October
23, 1999 … I just bought Christy a new PC, an HP 6535… it is so cute, just over a foot tall and about 7 inch’s wide…Makes the little 15 inch monitor look huge… damn thing is faster than this one… mine is a 450 hers is a 466… I took the $400.00 Prodigy rebate offer and got it for $325.00 I have to stay with Prodigy for 3 years but I had to get Christy Internet assess anyway and what the hell. They had computers called E-Machines that after rebates and the Prodigy deal were free… all you’d have to do is pay the $19.95 Internet connection every month for three years which you’re probably doing anyway. I tried Prodigy and it seems pretty good, the Palmdale Number they gave me didn’t sync up but the Lancaster one works fine… The browser seems faster on Christy’s PC… Hmmm. Sunday October
24, 1999 …Donut
Day… Tim and I went to the Donut Inn and got donuts for the rabble They are
warming up for Halloween and were little horrors this morning… Christy has been
playing with her new PC… she may even like it… I hope so. Send her an E-Mail at
cldaggett@prodigy.net it will make
her day. She was primed to take the kids to Thousand Trails with Bonnie.
However, Bonnie called and said her kids were all sick from their flu shots and
she couldn’t make it… Oh well. About an hour later Sharon called, she is
passing through from Idaho on her way to Arizona via the LA County Court House
(She was a LAC Sheriff and got banged up in an accident and has to come down
here periodically to fight for her medical benefits). She said she would be up
here on 20 minutes…….. Whoa, Sparky…imagine my House = Beirut 1991 … Christy
and I were a blur but the house was pretty clean by the time they got here… I
met her husband Mel for the first time… he’s a nice fella, kind of guy you
don’t mind having a beer with. Had a short visit, she met the kids and held
Autumn a lot. Sharon introduced me to Christy back about a hundred years ago…
1973… I think. It is a long torrid story but suffice to say, we hit it off and
even though it took another 9 years to get married we were soul mates from day
one. Sharon and Mel stayed about an
hour and then they took off for Inglewood to stay with her buddy Kathy till
court on Tuesday. After court they will
go up to Congress Arizona and hunt for gold… he’s a miner… so is she I guess. While she was here I finally realized what it was about her that made me like to be with her. She made every minute an adventure, I never knew from one minute to the next what she was going to say or do, she is still passionate about everything in her life, and she’ll probably end up getting shot taking on some bully some day… she really is someone you want to have on your side. It was good to see her again…
Ashland
Maine
My cousin Alan Daggett from Nowhere, Arizona referred a lady named Sally to me. He asked me to show her the Mayflower link in the Daggett Family Tree. Another distant cousin, Karen Eddy, back in Connecticut had spelled all this out for me once upon a time…. I sent Sally what I had , I was uncomfortable with what I had so I cc’d Karen. Karen wrote back and informed me that my discomfort was justified… I screwed it up Karen showed me the error and finally got it right on the second try, it is a little convoluted. I also have a distant relative that married one of the ladies who were accused of being a witch in Salem Mass… but that’s another story. Anyway, Sally Ferris apparently started reading my WebPage and sent me this: Hi
Pete, Thanks for the information on the Howland connection to the Daggett’s. I saw on your web pages a picture of a house in Ashland, Maine. You can not imagine my total surprise that you were from this area. I was born and raised in Ashland, Maine and am currently in Presque Isle. My mother still lives in Ashland and we are constantly going places together. She is asleep right now at my home but as soon as she gets up I am going to show her your web site and the house you lived in for 4 years in Ashland. It truly is a small world when we can find someone on the Internet who we did not know was from my birth place and also a relative. Again thanks for the info. Sally As I was trying to fully understand the last sentence I got this: Hi
Pete, My mother remembers your mother and she went to school with your Aunt Rachel. My mother would like to know who your father is, where he is from, do you have Daggett relatives here? I was so excited to find out about your living in Ashland that I went to see if she was awake and she was so I was babbling almost incoherently about you being born in Ashland. She finally got me calm enough to come look at the pictures of your mother and she recognized her. The house your grandfather built is still standing and in fact when I was in high school I used to baby-sit a child that lived in that house. I always thought it was a beautiful home and still is. Sally Some times serendipity sneaks up and whaps you on the back of the head… It is so cool when that happens… Sally seems like a very nice person… I will do my damnedest to take advantage of her proximity to my “roots”. (Read: I’m going to make a real pest of myself) It’s a Itty-Bitty World. To keep your marriage brimming, with love in the wedding cup, whenever you're wrong, admit it; whenever you're right, shut up. - Ogden Nash I had a lot of fun at the retirement Party for Bill Westphal…For those that are wondering, I am supposed to be putting up a website about it but I haven’t found the time yet… 
Autumn
and her Chauffeur (Dan)
It is more shameful to distrust one's friends than to be deceived by them. -De la Rochefoucauld, French writer (1613-1680)
Monday October 25, 1999…Physical therapy for my antique shoulder today at 0900, I have been there three times and this is the third therapist… I get ultra-sound… seems pretty hokey to me… reminds me of one of those machines that appeared at the turn of the century that would cure everything from dandruff to pneumonia with “Amazing medicinal pulsating electrical currents” The shoulder felt like hell when I went in and it felt like hell when I left… it was nice to talk to a grown-up for a few minutes though. I
got a Certified letter in the mail from LA County Mental Health that implied
that we had refused their assistance and were not doing all we could to get
"B" the services he needed… I was so mad I wrote a letter to the Director of
Mental Health and called the lawyer… she said to cool it… it’s just more fodder
for the trial… but boy I was upset… the bureaucratic, self-appointed
sanctimonious “Experts” have a lot of gall calling Christy and me unresponsive…
I
went over to a friend of Christy’s and picked up another bunk bed for Cindy and
Monica. It’s made of steel so Cindy can’t tear it up… Cindy had another Manic
episode this afternoon, It is getting pretty regular, she just loses it and
starts cussing and hitting over some imagined slight… today she slapped Autumn
so I got a little upset with her. She didn’t hurt Autumn, it was mostly
theatrical, she looked right at me and slapped her, she was daring me to react,
and so I did. Put her in her room, I had to drag her across the living room to
do it. She proceeded to trash her room and cussed and threw things at me… I got
some of it on videotape to show the Psychiatrist on Wednesday. He has to help
us control her or we’re going to loose her. She was out of control for about 20
minutes… maybe less… then she fell to sleep, I am really concerned…Between her
and "B" I am running out of patience. Nothing makes us so lonely as our
secrets. -Paul Tournier - Tuesday October 26, 1999 …Got
the Van smogged today, I only get it done once a year but it’s still a pain… I
mentioned to Jeff that the door latch needed to be replaced and since my
amateur diagnoses have no credibility with him he poked at it a little and then
agreed… I asked him to order one and I would bring the van back when the part
came in. He tried to shut the door and I told him to really slam it… now it
won’t latch at all… I drove home holding the door. Christy
got 12 E-Mails this morning. Prodigy is still virtually impossible to
access…she tried from 0430, finally got in at 08:20. I tried every number in
the list and nada… How can these people stay in business? I found an E-Mail
address and wrote a rant to Prodigy management… nothing will come of it but I
feel better. I put the e-mail in the
left hand column… Wednesday October 27, 1999
… I went to Physical Therapy… The mobility of my arm is normal and there is no pain… if the Therapist is moving my arm… when I do it, it hurts like hell… I have been unable to remember to take my medicine like a good boy and setting aside 20 minutes to do my exercises seems to be outside my capabilities too. So, since my arm is not getting better they are kicking me out of PT...Awww… Christy
took Cindy to Orthopedist, he checked her out and her back is fine. I
took Cindy to the Talking Doctor… Wells Fargo is pretty sophisticated... I'm
surprised. About all anyone can do on the net is transfer money from one of
their own accounts to another of their own accounts i.e.; Savings to checking
to line of credit... any other kind of transfer requires a signature... in
person. I am suspicious Thursday October 28,
1999 …Christy
took Autumn to PT in LA and I took Mike… Replaced
the lock on the drivers side van door $151.00 "B"
to dance, he is taking jazz and tap… "Cleaning your house while
your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing." Phyllis Diller Friday October 29,
1999 …
Christy went to Glendale with Bonnie, I will be going to Bill Westphal’s
Retirement tonight. I
took Autumn to PT in LA, this was Autumn’s last session till we can get
vendored down there by the county. I took lots of pictures and a video of all
the stuff they do to her… they gave us a very upbeat report… very encouraging,
sky’s the limit sort of thing… I hope so. Great party, . I want to put up a page on the
ROF site about it… maybe…I knew most everyone there, lots of faces from the
past, my poor brain was smoking trying to match some of the names to the faces…
I can remember names, and I can remember faces, but I have a real hard time putting
them together. I sat and talked to Sylvia Brooks for about 15 minutes and
couldn’t remember her name to save my life, I finally asked her if she had e-mail and she said yes, I asked her if she would mind letting me have it, as
soon as she wrote SY…. It I remembered …I hate when that happens. Actual News Item: In Portugal, a man is in the hospital with serious facial injuries after he tried to remove an aching tooth by shooting it out with a pistol. Wonder how his vasectomy went…. Saturday October 30,
1999 …Halloween,
kid day… I really enjoy Halloween, the kids’ work together, lots of innocent
rivalry and no condemnation… Halloween is cool for kids… Been hearing a lot of
anti Halloween stuff on the news from the Religious Right. I really think that
they should reconsider… Halloween threatens Religion like Pokémon threatens
Professional Football… I would question the foundation of anything that is
threatened by Halloween, or the Easter Bunny or Tinky Winkie Christy
and I took the kids around the valley Trick Or Treating… The properties are so
spread out up here that the homeowners hang buckets full of candy on a fence
post and the parents drive the kids around in wagons pulled by horses or
tractors… the kids don’t cheat either… not even the little ones… I should have
taken pictures but I forgot… Acton is a nice town most of the time… Sunday October 31,
1999 …I called my sister in Arizona to find out some stuff and found out my cousin Wilmer Aunt Rachel’s son, is getting married (Poor kid was named after my grandfather) they call him Bill (y), The marriage will be in Phoenix on the 7th at the First Christian Church…I will be there one way or another… I barely knew him and his brother Greg and sister Kimberly but I knew his sisters, Caroline and Barbara, from my Aunts first marriage. |