And We Didn't Even Get Kissed !

A few nights ago, I was catching the national news on the TV.

They slid by the Social Security increase for this year so quickly, that I'm sure a lot of retired folks missed it.
I was bowled over by the 1.5% increase they said was coming. Now I have to try to figure out what I'm going to do with all that extra money!

The CPI figures the government uses,  is just another tool to screw old folks out of a reasonable increase of a few more dollars. We all know how groceries, property taxes and just about everything else has increased in price, and it's sure more than 1.5%.

It's pretty evident that the powers that be, would like to put all of us retired folks on an ice berg, and float us out to sea on a warm day! Their next big step coming in the revamp of Social Security! Boy, I can hardly wait to see what the dumocrats come up with. You can bet it won't be good, just more cuts and restrictions on people who can least afford it.

Generally, I don't blog about the government, at least not openly. Not much you can do until election time, just suck it up, tighten the belt and go on. But 1.5% is absurd, and a real kick in the pants to us old geezers!

Another Sunday Morning.

Another Sunday morning has rolled around, and after a busy week, I'm glad for it.

The house is quiet, no TV blaring, or some lawn mower off in the distance making a steady hum.

I like to use this time for just reflecting. To look back down the road that has brought me to this point.

The food stamp SNAFU, of the past few days reminded of an encounter I had when we were living in a small mill town in North Carolina. We had been transferred there and were very fond of the folks that we had come to know.

Coming home from work, the wife had asked me to stop at the town grocery store for a few items that she needed for supper. After filling the list, I headed for the check out counter. I could see there was only one elderly lady in front of me, and she had all of her items on the counter ready to be checked out.

They were quickly bagged, and she pulled out her food stamp booklet to pay for them. After that transaction was done, she placed five small metal cans of Tuberose snuff on the counter, and got out her change purse to pay for them. Out of curiosity, I asked her if that was her favorite brand?

She turned and smiled at me, "Mistah, one little dip of Tuberose, will take away all the problems in your world."

Later, I got to thinking about what she had said. For her it seemed to do the job! I remember as a teenager I tried a "dip," and could not stop shaking for the rest of the day. It sure made more problems in my world that day!!

A Brand New PC !

I must be the PC destroyer! The daughters old Dell that I had been using, bit the dust just like my old HP did a few weeks before. They were both old, and I am sure they were loaded to the max with old files. Anyway, yesterday I dug up a few jars out of the back yard and went and bought a brand new PC. This one has a seventeen inch screen, and plenty of speed and storage for what I need.
I am putting up with Windows 8, new tricks to learn, but not as bad as I had envisioned, so, once again I'm flying high on the net!

This past month has been wild around here. Started out with a quick trip to Michigan to visit the wife's brother and his wife. We drove the trip up at night, with very little traffic, but coming back in the daytime, it seemed like I-65 was a parking lot. Construction all the way back to the home place here on the ridge. It was a safe trip, despite one scare with a trucker who lane drifted on us.

I have been losing my hearing in my right ear for sometime now, finally figured I needed to see the EENT doctor to see what's up. After all the tests, seems the parts are just wearing out, and a hearing aid in the immediate future should help. What that boils down to is, I will have dig up a few more jars out of the yard to pay for one. Until then, it's "Huh, wha'd ya say?"  Just more of the joys of old age! 

We enjoyed having dinner with Dapper Dan, (The Cumberland Post-blog) and his lovely wife Joyce.
It had been a while since we both managed to get our schedules together. It was a great evening, good conversation, and the meal was fine as well. Can't beat good friendships!

The leaves here on the ridge are still green, our peak for Fall colors here is around mid November, so we still have a little more time to go yet, more grass to cut, and weeds to pull until a good frost will slow things down.

I enjoy spending time with my son. He is a Luthier, in other words, he builds and repairs acoustic guitars. He got a lot of excellent training from former Gibson guitar people, and what he can do with those skills baffles me. The contacts he has with many of the country music folks in Nashville keep him busy. A few weeks ago, I was in his shop and there was a guitar in for repair that caught my attention that had several bad cracks in it. Earlier this week I saw that same guitar, and you could not tell where the cracks had been. He amazes his old dad to say the least!

That should about catch me up with life here on the ridge. The rest is just day to day things that most of us deal with.

I think this new computer is going to do alright.

 

What's Next?

Well, for starters, the HP laptop I have been using for years finally decided to kick the bucket. I could see it coming, but managed to squeeze every thing I could out of it before it just up and died. I could smell something burning just before it fizzled out, so it must have cooked it's own brain!

Now, I have my daughters Dell laptop she no longer needed, and it is doing just fine. It did take me a while to reload the blogs that I normally follow, but other than that, the transition has gone well.

Just when you think every thing could not be going better, the water heater also felt the need to start leaking. This past week I have felt a little "Snake bit," with things going out, but, hey, that's what keeps life interesting.

I am so ready for Fall to get here. It was 92 degrees (again) today here on the ridge. The weather is supposed to remain somewhere around that figure for the rest of the week. Come on cool air!

Say It Ain't So !

I normally do not tell a story on the wife, as I would not want to embarrass her, but we have both laughed many times over this one, so I know she won't mind.

A few weeks back she had a doctor's appointment with a specialist to try to pinpoint a circulation problem she is having. It was an early morning appointment at one of the major teaching hospitals in downtown Nashville. So we set the alarm clock, which we had to locate, since we rarely use it,  retired, don't you know, and set it for 6:00 A.M.

We were running a few minutes behind, threw on our "city clothes," and prepared to drive down off of the ridge in hopes the traffic would not be too bad. We made it with about ten minutes to spare.

There we are sitting in the exam room waiting for the doctor and his intern, and she looks down and discovers that her shoes do not match. Same color and basic style, but no match! The doctor's come in, and she is doing her best to hide her feet.  I'm pretty sure they saw the difference, and figured it was a "geezer" thing and tactfully made no mention of it, and having better sense, I sure wasn't going to mention it!

After we finished up at the hospital, we were starving, so we headed for a Cracker Barrel for a little breakfast, she, still hoping no one would notice her two odd shoes.
After we order, I look across the table and on her blouse is a long plastic tape with the size on it, about three quarters down the front. A new blouse no doubt that she hadn't inspected yet. Now, I know we are both getting on in years, but old age can certainly humble you, with what it has in store.

Her explanation was that she had reached into the closet where she keeps her shoes, with out turning the light on and grabbed a pair of shoes. Same for the dresser for the blouse. We both had a good laugh thinking that the doctor's figured that we were just good country folks from up on the ridge, and old one's to boot!

She has another appointment coming up, and both of us agree that a full dress inspection is in order before we leave the house!
Oh, the joy's of getting older!

 

A Short Stroll

Our little village here on the ridge has a Greenway that circles the entire town.
The city fathers had this built some years ago and did a fantastic job. The pathway is twelve foot wide, black top and follows a creek through the woods for most of the seven miles of it.
I just noticed that I used the word "creek." Here in our part the south, there are no brooks, or streams, as they are called in other parts of the U.S. I have lived in.
Everything is a creek!
Anyway, yesterday was one of those days that is rare for late July, cool with just a touch of a breeze. So we headed for the Greenway for a little walk. One of the access points is just a short way from the house, so off we go.
The day was so nice, that we had strolled well over a mile and a half before we knew it.
Generally, we are good for about a half of a mile total. The rest of the story, is that we had to walk back! Now, for an old geezer and gezzerette, the stroll turned into a three mile endurance contest to get back to the access point. The old axiom, "With age, comes wisdom" certainly eluded us yesterday.
This fall, when the weather cools, I'm sure we will try the Greenway again, but with a back pack, plenty of water, and a few snacks. Lesson learned!

 

Flying With Red

When you get up in years, it seems you have a lot of time to reflect on the past. Things just jump out in what memory you have left. Sometimes happy, sometimes not so much.
The house is quiet, no TV blaring, and that's a good time to sit and just think.
So, hang on, and I'll share a little of my past.
When I was sixteen, I spent the entire summer with my grandmother in a small Mississippi river town. Next door to her lived a fellow named "Red."
Now Red made his living crop dusting, and in the winter went to Florida to do the same. I have always been crazy about planes and flying, so Red was a hero to me.
I had been badgering him pretty badly about taking me flying, I guess he finally got tired of it and caved in! I met him the next day at a small dirt strip he had on the edge of the Delta. He had two old Stearman planes, one rigged for dusting, and the other
somewhat dolled up in a red coat of paint.
Man, I was ready to go, didn't sleep much the night before in anticipation of the next day.
I put on the old cloth helmet he gave me, with goggles no less. clawed my way up to the front cockpit, and was told no matter what, not to touch the control stick or rudder pedals, and to pull the seat belt as tight as I could get it. The real excitement began when he started up the old Pratt and Whitney round engine! In a cloud of dust on that hot summer day, we lifted off. It was a ride I will never forget! I think Red put that Stearman through every maneuver he knew. Snap rolls, stalls, inverted flight, you name it. I couldn't get enough! Finally we headed back for his dirt strip. I couldn't thank Red enough for the ride.
Years later, flying the old Cessna 172 I used to rent, I thought about those maneuvers that Red did, but knew the wings would probably fold, if I tried some of the stuff he did on that day.
About four years after that ride with Red, he was killed dusting a field. They said he hooked a wire, and the whole plane turned into a fireball. Sad day, he was a good person.
Some of the happiest days of my life were spent in the cockpit. Great memories and plenty of stories to remember. The old saying among pilots still rings true.
"There are old pilots and bold pilots, but no old, bold pilots."