Choices !

One question that I used to get asked a lot was "How did you end up in the funeral business." Well, it sure wasn't my plan, but just the way things worked out. I have always been an aviation nut. In high school I washed airplanes on Saturday's just to be at the airport, then throw in flying lessons and occasionally bumming a ride with any pilot that was going up just to fly around. I was sure that aircraft and engine mechanic school was in sight after high school, and  eventually my pilots license.
Then the fickle finger of fate came into play.
My grandmother owned a small share in a funeral home in Mississippi and wanted me to come with them, serve my apprenticeship, go on to mortuary college, then a director position in the firm. Being eighteen years old, sounded good to me. Wear a suit all the time, drive a Cadillac and go to college, and no greasy hands!
Well, long story short, when I graduated from morturary college, she was forced to sell her share of the funeral home.
So there I was, a licensed funeral director and embalmer, and no job! By then I had so much invested that the only choice was to go forward. I was lucky and found a slot with a very large firm in west Tennessee.
For the next 40 years or so my "unchosen profession" fed my family and gave us a roof over our heads. I worked with some really great people over those years, most of them with a great sense of humor, which you needed to make it through the day, with all of the sad stories. The families I worked with and the things I have seen over the years are forever sealed, kind of like the ad that states "What happens in Vagas, stays in Vagas." But, if I could, the stories would amaze!
Years later I did finally get my pilots license, so I could "legally"fly. Nothing can compare to it.
I have also been asked "would you do the same the thing, if you could do it over?" No, I would not!!!
Every time I hear a plane go over, I have to look up. Guess the dream never dies.

The Router?

I have been blaming my HP laptop for all of the computer problems I have had of late. Glad I didn't take the axe to it now! I couldn't understand why some days I could be on the net for hours, and others, maybe five minutes before the connection sign would appear on the screen. Keep in mind that if it's anything other than turning the thing on, I'm lost. So, being a late comer to the cyber world, a fix was way beyond my limited skill level. All I could see was $$$ for a new computer.

This past week end after turning the PC on and trying to get on the net it happened---nothing, Nada, zip! I happened to look at the router which is slightly hidden behind a chair and it looked like a Christmas tree with red and green lights flashing. Could it be the router causing all of the problems? Well, a call to AT&T was in order. I was dreading the call, as last year, I had a question and called their technical service people and ended up talking to some guy in Mumbai, who was barely fluent in English. We all know how that conversation went, but this time I got a 100% American young lady. She explained that the old
router had "bought the farm" and a new one would be on the way and coming to me overnight. That's service!
Maybe AT&T finally got enough complaints about their off shore people to do something about it.
Who knows, but I was very pleased with the results. By the way, the wife (Miss Techno-smart) installed the new router for me! I used to be able to tear down and rebuild a car engine, but the HP is a mystery to me. I admire my fellow bloggers who put all sorts of things on their site, perhaps one of these days I'll try to tackle some of that. Buck, Andy and Dapper Dan do a great job in that department.
So now I can once again spend my mornings with a cup of coffee and reading my favorite blogs, of which there are many. I enjoy them all, even the one's I find a little off of the wall at times. I was remarking to Dapper Dan the other day, about how much the computer has become more a part of my life than I would like to admit. Anyway, it's good to be back!