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And the day came when the risk
it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to
blossom.
Anais Nin, writer (1903-1977)
Wednesday May 1 , 2002
I
got some lousy news in this e-mail from Bill Bowman regarding his mother Lettie:
My mother fell and broke her
leg last week, and many complications have ensued. She now suffers from kidney
and respiratory failure, and is on a respirator in a hospital in Ventura.
She recognizes everyone and
likes holding hands, but cannot speak through the respirator. Please join her in
her prayers that the lovable will of God be done.
Bill
I
am sure there must be something I could/should do but I can't think well at the
moment, my litany of petty difficulties seems to be monopolizing my mind.
So... I feel like whining a bit today:
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"B" and Cindy are sick, both have deep coughs, but "B" has no fever. Cindy
has a slight fever in addition to the cough so we are keeping her home, they
both have a doctor's appointment at 1400. |
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Christy has to go 'advocate' at an IEP for a friend that is having trouble
getting services in Agua Dulce for one of her Foster Children. |
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The Social Worker for "B" is most likely going to come, he missed yesterday.
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It's Picture Day for everyone, Autumn had Therapy at CCS but I postponed it
because Therapy can be rescheduled but Pictures can't. |
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The septic take is overflowing, I can't get hold of Joe
Weider, to get the tank pumped, I have been trying since yesterday afternoon.
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The tank overflowing means that the leach line is probably clogged, that means
another $2000 on top of the $2000 for the tank... I haven't got $4000 to spare
at the moment, I spent it on a motorcycle... I knew replacing the tank was
inevitable but I bought a bike anyway. I am still as short-sighted as I was
when I was 20... very disheartening, I am beating myself up mentally at the
moment. |
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The car is losing coolant, last time it was a tiny pinhole in one of the hoses
leading to the engine... I suspect I have the same problem now... but I can't
find the hole... the last time I found the leak by a fluke... it was
vaporizing when the engine was hot but after it cooled a bit and there was
still pressure in the system I could see a tiny drop of coolant on the hose...
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The people from McMahon's are supposed to deliver a table at noon and another
fella will come later in the afternoon to repair a tiny hole in the arm of one
of the new couches. |
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I
have to move the 8X8 foot shed so the crew installing the new septic will be
able to dig the new line, it is sitting right on top of where they have to
dig... moving the shed will be a chore in itself but emptying out all the
'treasures' and junk will be a serious pain in the butt. The kids and I will
work on that after school. |
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I
have to add that I still haven't gotten the drywall up in the dining room...
the next inspector that comes to the house will ding us for sure if I don't
get it done soon. I have to do the boys and Cindy and Monica's rooms too. I
have had tile for their rooms since Christmas but I have to do the walls
first... |
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Bearing in mind the inspectors from County Licensing, I need to build a new
porch and replace the front screen door too.. |
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Christian and Calie are home and they are supposed to be doing school work but
Christian is on the computer, Calie is doing her math but is being bugged by
Cindy... |
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George Overman from the Cogswell Association has been working on the
Newsletter at his office in San Diego, he just e-mailed me that he has a
sixteen page Newsletter for me to edit, it will go in the mail to me in a day
or so... It took me four days to do an eight page one. This time he has done
all the work, he seems to be very proud of what he has accomplished so I will
have a real hard time taking editing credits. |
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The Van is still disabled with a bad transmission... $1.1k would fix it up but
it would still be a 10 year old beat-up piece of Dodge, I have been
procrastinating on making a decision about this too. If I fix it up I could
trade it in or keep driving it till it really falls apart... I am leaning
toward fixing it up and driving it for a few more years... but............? |
0945.... there, I feel better now... time to go work on the shed.
1945... Shed is mostly done, Septic is pumped, furniture is delivered, holding
tank in the motorhome is emptied, kids are picked up, couch is repaired, "B"
has an earache, Cindy has pneumonia. A synopsis of another blissful day at
Morningside Acres, the palatial estate of Peter Allen Daggett, Esquire. Sheesh...
what a day.
Leigh, My sister in Boston, just called.
she said that a transfusion has
improved her Mother-in-law's condition a little, not enough to get excited about
but enough to be little encouraged.
She and her husband Bill will be out
here Friday they are stopping for a day in Scottsdale to see Sue and Ross, and she has invited me to spin over to Ojai to see her on Sunday.
Her son will be there with his wife Jenny and their three kids, Samantha, Molly
and Emily...
Thursday May 2 , 2002
An Utterly
Absurd Look at Grammar
Dave Barry,
"I cannot
overemphasize the importance of good grammar." What a crock. I could easily
overemphasize the importance of good grammar. For example, I could say: Bad
grammar is the leading cause of slow, painful death in North America, or Without
good grammar, the United States would have lost World War II.
...
Cindy stayed home, she slept till about 1100, I think she is feeling better but
the cough is still persisting. "B" seems fine, a little cranky, but the ear
infection seems to have no effect on him.
I was supposed to interview contractors for
septic tank installation but... I got sidetracked... I went to Wal-Mart, picked
up a book at the library for Christy, washed the car at a coin-op because Calie
wrote "Clean Me" on the rear window... I made her clean it off... she was funny.
My plan was to say in effect, "OK, you think it needs to be washed... so wash
it!" She had a ball... then we shopped at Albertsons... I had to make a deposit
so I sent her off with the shopping cart and a list. She was so cute taking off
with that big cart and a purposeful expression on her face. It took a few
minutes to get to the ATM and by the time I caught up with Calie she was
finished shopping... amazing little girl.
I hope
none of us get sent off with an epitaph like this:
The following notice was found in the "Ellsworth American"
newspaper, of Ellsworth, Maine from the year 1891. The newspaper is still
publishing each week, about 150 years so far. A great sense of humor is evident,
but no author is listed.
Whereas our not so hotsy-totsy sister, Susannah Persis Fluetta Wussener, has
seen fit to depart this life, having done so by running headlong into a
hurricane off Killdeer Point without benefit of oars in her skiff (never having
had both oars in the water during her earthly life), therefore, be it resolved
that we, the happy as clams members of this circle, do solemnly swear that we
will henceforth enjoy being able to promote at least one idea per meeting
without having to listen to twenty-five minutes of her opposing guff, resolved
that we will deck the halls with boughs of holly for the next 12 years in her
memory and resolved that the surviving members of her jubilant family will
receive a hearty handshake when meeting anywhere on the street and, time
permitting, will be dragged off to the nearest bar for a healthy snort, courtesy
of the su-per-flu-wus Memorial Trust.
From
Ancestry.com Thanks to Martha B. Higgins
atlmainiac@peoplepc.com
Friday May 3 , 2002
If you don't know where you are
going, you can never get lost.
- Herb Cohen
... Interesting comment, I have always been wryly amused by this one-liner. I
used to see it on T-shirts and posters in the late '60's quite frequently, along
with "Not deciding is also a decision" A lot of people bought into those passive
philosophies.. including me. It may be part of what causes me to be so put off
by all the passions that have people so whipped up lately... I have not put much
credence in fatalism or destiny... what happens, happens, I think we are pretty
much the masters of our own fates. Occasionally someone else's inability to
control their fate interferes but c'est la vie - c'est la mort.
Calie and I moved the shed... it's an 8' cube shaped shed made of plywood and
two-by-fours and very heavy, I used a house jack and a come-a-long and some pipe
and dragged it back about 6'... more work than I thought it would be... I got it
up on blocks but it isn't level.
Talked to Leigh... our rendezvous is set for 1300 on Sunday... it's about 60
miles from here but it's a tedious trip, even on a bike...
I took Mike to Brian's house, they are going to a dance at the A Fairgrounds I
am a little apprehensive... Brian's 23 year old sister is taking them, I met
her, she is a pretty nice kid. She has gone way out of her way for those
ingrates, I hope they appreciate what she is doing for them...
The daughter of a friend of mine gave him a book on how to write a journal... it
never occurred to me that there is a right way and a wrong way to write a
Journal? You sit down and write about what is on your mind… period. It
doesn’t have to be War and Peace, you’re not going to be graded, billions of
Chinese couldn’t care less and 99.99999 percent of everyone else won’t
give a damn either… but one or two folks will… those are the ones I write for…
the rest of the world be damned.
I started writing for my mom, that’s what I
told myself anyway, I kept on writing after she died, I write for me now… it
provides me with a little peace of mind and a little clarity. I am beginning to
suspect I am not as stupid as I thought I was but maybe a bit more ignorant than
I had I had hoped… It is amazing how we manage to get thorough life knowing so
little about it…
Saturday May 4 , 2002
The Impartial Friend:
Death, the only immortal who treats us all alike, whose pity and whose peace and
whose refuge are for all -- the soiled and the pure, the rich and the poor, the
loved and the unloved.
Mark Twain, last written statement;
Moments with Mark Twain, Paine
On May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on anti-war protesters at
Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.
... I went out and Calie, Monica and I leveled the shed...
I took the kids out to see Spiderman... there was a four and a half hour
wait. We went to see "Scorpion King" instead... I expected a remake of Conan the
Barbarian but it was not bad... I am not sure if I enjoyed it because it
exceeded my low expectations or because it was really good... the kids liked it
a lot... Mokie was really impressed.
Mike went to a
"FunLand" to meet a girl while we
went to the movies... the girl didn't show up... Mike is... aw, never mind... he
has a lot of growing up to do, it is too bad he hasn't grasped the concept that
there is a world out there beyond his senses.
I saw two Supercross races on TV...
good races, not terribly exciting but very good. The next race is an outdoor
Motocross race at Glen Helen over in San Bernardino... I want to try to make it
over there... I don't know though, if I do go, it will be the third weekend in a
row...
Christy's foot is hurting her again,
she can barely walk.
Sunday May 5 , 2002
... It's Sunday morning... 8:27 Sunday Morning to be precise, I am the only one
awake...wait a sec... I hear foot thuds, must be DaMoke, it was... she is such a
neat kid. She is very sensitive about all things pertaining to her vision of the
world, totally trusting... but tough...
I took off at a little after 11:00,
gassed up just to be safe and took off for Ojai. I made it about five miles down
the road before I remembered that all of the maps and phone numbers for
contacting Bill and finding the apartment were sitting on my printer at home...
I decided I didn't need it, If I had
to call Bill I would call home and
Christy would give me the number. I told Leigh I would get there at 1300,
expecting I would just get to Ojai and hang out for a while then ride over to
see her but It took almost 2 hours to get there, I arrived at 12:57. They were
just back from visiting Bill's mother, she is improving slowly, apparently the
transfusion did it's job...
I met a whole slew of Bowman's, more
Bowman's than it seems id biologically possible. I took what seems like a
whole lot of pictures but I missed a bunch of people... Leigh's husband is Bill
Bowman, his father was Bill Bowman, his son is Bill Bowman too. I did a search
in "Anywho" a long time ago and came up with over 1000 Bill Bowman's, enough
Bill Bowman's to have a Convention in Las Vegas.
 I
took pictures of Leigh and Bill but they weren't very good... this is a picture
from Christmas... Leigh and Bill and Son Bill are in the front row... also
Bill's three girls and wife Jenny... back row is Meg, Betsy, (I'm gon'na screw
this up) Christopher, Michael, JJ, Peter and Tisha... I think... Robert is
missing... I think... Anyhow, Leigh has 9 kids one is missing from this
picture... I got all the names but they are probably in the wrong order.
It's a nice ride to Ojai, I remember it being a longer ride, only 16 miles from
Santa Paula, takes about a half an hour though because of traffic and a really
twisty road... coming off the hill into Ojai there was an old guy laying in the
road next to his Harley surrounded by paramedics and looky-loos getting his leg
splinted... he looked really pissed.
sddmv 284
   
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