Monthly Archives: September 2012

Days 7 & 8 – Naval Station San Diego – Dry Side

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Hi All – yesterday was a blur. It was so blurred that I cannot remember much about what happened other than we picked up a whole Buick load of folding chairs, then went to dinner at the Black Angus in Chula Vista, near where we used to live, a long time ago, then came back to our room where I watched the remainder of the Oregon vs. Washington State game.

Gee … guess writing all that triggered a memory or two …

The chairs, 75 of them, were for the hospitality rooms for the reunion. It’s too many, but didn’t know how it would all work out. So far, everything is fine.

Dinner at Black Angus was very good, but it took a very long time. There were 11 of us and they stuffed us into a back room where the waitresses forget to go very often. Still, the food was good, and we all had a great time visiting. We rode with Chuck and Vonnie, Vonnie drove. They have a Kia Soul which has very quick steering, quicker than Vonnie can react, so it was an exciting ride. We made it back to the room safely, however, so it’s all good. I just love charred parts of a dead cow. Tasty.

The game was fun to watch. It was 23-19, Oregon, at the end of the second quarter when we got back, so it looked like Washington State had an upset in mind, but Oregon roared back in the 2nd half to win 51-26. I verified that by asking SIRI, which Kathie thinks “sucks”, a direct quote. SIRI said “the Ducks pounded the Cougars by a score of 51-26”. That’s another direct quote. She really calls them like she sees them. So, now the Ducks are 5-0. Ah, but the Beavers are 3-0 and looking pretty good. It’s going to be an interesting season.

Today was a whirlwind of activity as people showed up to join our little gathering. Pretty much all the old people who walked through the door re ex Buckley crew members. Well, no all of them. Some of them are girl friends or wives. In all, there are about 130 people floating around the Navy Lodge.

We have two adjoining rooms that we rented for our hospitality rooms and both were packed to overflowing. The noise was absolutely tremendous, a nonstop cacophony of overlapping voices, male and female, covering all the ranges of the auditory spectrum. We may never know how any of those voices communicated a coherent thought to the dozens of listening ears, but they apparently did. I know that’s true because as I looked around the rooms, watching their lips move, and their voices add to the rising and dropping crescendo of happiness, those at whom they were speaking would nod their heads, and move their lips in return. All conversations were one-on-one. I had a few of them with a lot of people I’ve never met before. Our only connection is an old ship that is now nonexistent. Funny how that works.

For lunch we took a few people to the NEX food court. It was an excellent lunch. I’m not going to tell you what we ate, but it was really, really good.

After lunch Diane took a couple of people to the commissary to buy “stuff” for the hospitality rooms and I took a couple of people back to the lodge. When I got there one of the ladies asked me where the nearest bar was. Not knowing, I took them to the package store which took care of the issue. They got their vodka and I made two new friends.

Walking around the hospitality rooms, and the lobby area, talking with all of those people made my throat sore. And it made me tired.

Tomorrow we must arise early and all get on buses for a trip around town. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Day 6 – San Diego

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Today was pretty routine. Some might say it was boring, even. But me? Boring or not, I cherish every day that I wake up on the green side of the grass. Know what I mean?

We got up late. Too late for our continental breakfast, again. We’ve been here two days and missed both time. Tomorrow, being a weekend, it will be open until 10 am, an hour later, so we might be able to make it down before it closes. I’m sure they serve delicious, very hearty fare. The most important part, however, is the coffee. Ummmmmm.

Our beautiful daughter, Jennifer, gets migraine headaches whenever she smells chocolate, of coffee. That is just so unfair. Two of the most important food groups, and she cannot partake of them. Makes me wonder what I ever did so wrong to inflict such a terrible thing on her.

I suffer from migraines, too, but love walking down the coffee aisle in any grocery store. It’s such a wonderful aroma that I fear I’ll embarrass Diane and start drooling or something. I know, she’s used to the drooling, but the smell of coffee makes it way worse. That’s about all I ever consume for breakfast … coffee. I eat bananas, too, and douse my coffee with hazlenut creamer, so it’s not just coffee. But it’s mostly coffee.

For 27 years I roamed the passageways of naval ships, and various shore facilities, clutching a crusty coffee cup in my hand, filling it every time I passed a coffee pot. I only drank it black, and I drank it right up until taps, or lights out at 10pm. Sometimes later than that. It never bothered me. The more bitter, the better. It wasn’t about the taste back then, it was just a need to carry around a coffee cup and an empty coffee cup isn’t normal. That cup never got washed, either. That was a rule because it supposedly ruined the flavor. I never believed that, of course, because, as I said previously, it wasn’t about the flavor. It’s a wonder I didn’t catch something really, really bad. Maybe I did and it just hasn’t manifested, yet. Maybe I’ll wake up and have it tomorrow because it lays dormant for 25 years before it strikes.

What ruined me and Diane for coffee was the first pleasure cruise we ever took. Cruise ship coffee is really strong, and tasty. We loved it so much that we promptly tossed out the Folgers when we got home, bought a coffee grinder, and enrolled in the Gavalia coffee of the week program. For a nominal fee they send us boxes filled with little bags of whole bean coffee from various parts of the world. All of them are good. I’d be perfectly happy with just one kind, all the time, since I now use creamer, all the time, but the variety is great for Diane. All she uses is sugar. I mistakenly took a sip of hers once and about gagged, then acquired a taste for it. I drank it that way for years. Then I went to Starbucks. It was the thing to do every Thursday morning toward the end of my civilian career. Instead of plain old coffee at an exorbitant price, I decided to have a Venti White Chocolate Mocha, no whip at an even MORE exorbitant price. I was hooked. Simply sugared coffee left me wanting. I needed more. I needed something that I could roll around in my mouth and feel the creamy substance absorb into my tongue, and the inner walls of my cheeks. Just like the VWCMNW.

After sampling a lot of different creamer flavors, I settled on hazelnut. I’m so stuck on that stuff that I just can’t drink coffee without it any more. We travel with it, even. It’s an addiction, I think. Not a terribly bad on, but an addiction, just the same.

I’m sorry … I didn’t mean to turn this into a confessionalistic episode, but there you have it. It’s done and there’s no turning back. Maybe I should add a picture. Haven’t taken many, and don’t have an recent ones, so I’ll just give you one of Breezie having a cat nap and call this good.

 

Day 5 – Navy Lodge Naval Station San Diego

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Greetings from sunny Southern California. With the exception of a very sore throat, from snoring non-stop for the past four days, and a wrinkled back for Diane, because she drove almost 400 miles yesterday, we’re just fine. We’re here, and didn’t let even one of of those knuckleheads on the freeway bend our car. I should say, “Diane didn’t let one of those freeway knuckleheads … etc …” She’s awesome!

Today we drove downtown to Santa Fe Station, where all the trains stop, to visit Five Star Tours so we could pay the enormous fee they wanted to provided some large buses to cart our shipmates around San Diego next week. Our new favorite GPS application, WAZE, took us right to the correct address, but it was difficult to find. The office is located inside the station, in a small room with a sign outside alerting everyone that it was the Women’s Waiting Room. Tricky.

Once inside a very nice lady, with a number of festive tattoos, was more than happy to take our money and confirm the arrangements. Now all I have to do is get the driver’s names so they can drive their buses onto the base.

After that, we returned to our room with thoughts of lunch, but it wasn’t quite lunch time, yet. So, I got on the internet to find the nearest VA facility in an effort to see if they might be able to come up with a spare CPAP power supply for me. I talked with Lucinda, at the Pulmonary Checkin office, then Mary, one of the therapists. Mary said to bring my unit and she’s fix me up. But, we had to get there before 3:30.

We made it to the VA Medical Center in La Jolla by 2:30, and I was out the door in about 15 minutes. It was pretty amazing. That facility is absolutely enormous! And, very customer oriented. I could not be happier. Now, I have a spare power supply so should never be without. What was even more amazing is that Diane found a place to park within 100 feet of the front door in their 80,000 vehicle parking lot. It’s enormous, too.

We hopped back on I-5 South, vetoing the idea of searching for a place to eat in La Jolla and suffer the horrors of rush hour traffic, and returned to our little safe haven at Main & 28th Street. We went to the Navy Exchange food court and had a terrific meal from Panda Express. Both of us had Chinese food on our minds when we headed for the VA, so had to quench that need. It was extremely good. Then we went shopping and returned to our room by 6pm or so. I just made that last bit up because I don’t have a clue as to when we got back to the room.

I spent a couple of hours setting up the new printer I bought to replace the one sitting next to my computer at home because it’s hosed. I don’t like hosed printers.

Now it’s 1/4 of an hour until 10pm and it’s getting sleepy in here. I was allowed to watch the premier of “Last Resort” and I loved it. That’s about the most TV I’ve watched in a couple of weeks. Seems like I’m always doing something else. Guess there’s something wrong with my world since I don’t watch TV like I used to.

I’ve got photos to share, but don’t have them available on my laptop to add here. I’ll work on that tomorrow … if I have time.

Day 4 – Naval Base San Diego, California

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It’s 1047 and we’re about eleventy-two miles into our final leg.

We both slept better last night, mainly because I remained more vertical than horizontal which help me not snore so much. Diane likes that part.

We both woke up before 0730 this morning, and slowly worked up to beginning this last day on the road. The to our room shut behind us at 0910, and we had everything loaded and rolling out of the parking lot by 0915. Then there was the requisite stop at the base gas station for a refill. We stopped there yesterday but non of the pumps were working, so we went to the exchange and commissary instead. This time they worked just fine and I was able to coax a tank of $4.09 a gallon gas into our tank. I think it took a little over 19 gallons. From there we went back to the Starbucks, which is part of the Exchange complex, for our morning brew. Diane’s is caramel machiatto, mine is white chocolate mocha. The biggest they have. While I was getting our drinks, Diane bought me a T-shirt. She wasn’t pleased with the ones I brought because they all have neckties printed on them.

On the way out the main gate I took pictures of the airplanes on display to share with you.

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Apprehension builds as we travel south, knowing we must enter Los Angeles early this afternoon. The only upside is it’s mid day, not during rush hour. Still, we know it’s going to be a slow, arduous, dangerous transit from the Grapevine through the city. It will be exciting, but we will make it okay.

I’ve been playing with my phone to see how siri works. Pretty soon she’ll have me trained so ask questions in the proper manner so whe won’t have to quiz me. It’s a pretty handy feature. My iPad even has it. How cool is that. And, just a bit ago, Diane had me use her phone to call her Mom, Jean, to see how things are going today. That’s a morning regular, once we get on the road … call Mom … just for fun, I tried to invoke siri on Diane’s phone, but she’s only got an iPhone 4, not a 4S like mine, so she doesn’t have siri. She does, however, have Voice Control, that pops up when you hold down the conrtrol button long enough, and I just told it to “dial Jean”. After a short pause she asked me which one, as there are a few Jean’s in the contacts list. I clarified, and she dialed Mom right up. Jean, by the way, is still doing okay, for which we’re thankful.

It’s 1309 – do you know where your children are?

We just crested the summit of Tejon Pass at the top of the Grapevine leading into LA. It’s 4144 feet high. I know that for sure because there was a sign. It was the same sign we’ve seen on the dozen or so times we’ve climbed that hill. Apparently it hasn’t sunk any.

About an hour ago, we took a small detour, allowing siri to lead us into Bakersfield for lunch at the closest iHop restaurant it could find. It was a really good choice,, getting away from the freeway for food. Cheaper, too, although it cost us a little extra time. We both had their Two x Two x Two … that’s 2 eggs, 2 pieces of bacon, and two pancakes. Diane got her eggs and bacon cooked twice, just the way she likes it, and mine were both over easy. I put my eggs between my pancackes so the yolks wouldn’t run all over my plate. Tasty.

The road at the top of the Grapevine is terrible … lumpy bumpy holey. Caused, no doubt, by the billions of trucks that drive transit the area every 2-3 days. We’ve seen at least a million and a half. There is construction going on with signs it will be finished in 2015. So, it’s improving, and appears to be finished on the southern side, both directions. Four lanes of new asphalt allowing everyone, except us, to go 100 mph, or more.

It’ 1330 and LA is 50 miles away. We’re almost to the final downhill side because trucks are pulling into the brake check area. Every time we come this direction I tell Diane the story of my trip down this hill in my 1964 el Camino in 1966. I was just cruising along, keeping up with traffic, when I crested the hill. Going around the first corner I look ahead to see brake lights about 1/4 mile ahead, so touched the brakes and not a lot happened. So I pushed harder, and felt a bit of slowing, but not enough. I started down shifting my 4-speed to help slow down, but the vehicles ahead were gaining on me with frightening speed. Finally, I just shifted to neutral and locked up all the wheels, pushing on the brake as hard as I could. I put flat spots on all four of those tires before the car came to a stop about 5 feet from the car in front of me. It was a miracle that the car slid straight for about 300 feet, never leaving my lane. The end result was that it appeared I did exactly what I had planned to do all along … scare the crap out of everyone around me without causing any damage. Pretty amazing.

******* M U C H ***** L A T E R *******

We made it to the Navy Lodge in San Diego shortly before 5pm, and, Diane drove the entire way. I offered to help, numerous times, but she always declined stating she was just fine. Now it’s a quarter to 10pm, we’ve eaten supper, and are learning how to hunt down killers from a TV program. It’s one we watch a lot, but for the life of me I cannot remember the name. Not really surprising. I just asked Diane and learned it’s “Criminal Minds”. Duh! That’s just added proof that I can’t get along in this world without Diane.

Day 3 – Naval Air Station Lemoore, California

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Our stop at Beale AFB was very pleasant. Diane got to watch Dancing With The Stars, and I got to watch most of the Seattle vs. Green Bay football game. The latter was interesting because of the final play of the game that decided the winner. It was really Green Bay, but the officials awarded the game to Seattle for some odd reason. I’m guessing at least one official will be begging for work soon.

We got all packed up and headed for the main gate around 0930. On the way we stopped by Burger King for a breakfast sandwich. Diane had one cup of coffee in the room, but i didn’t because I was waiting for something better … that didn’t happen until we got to Sacramento. I was trying to get SIRI, on my phone, to tell me where the nearest Starbucks was but she kept aiming me at locations 15 miles behind us. I called her names but that didn’t do any good. Thins were better once we got our coffee, from a Safeway Starbucks.

Before getting that far I called Kathie R. to see if she might have a moment to meet us as we motored through Sacramento – she works in an office about 20 feet from the I-5 freeway so it wouldn’t have been a lot of trouble. But, nooo, she begged off saying she was getting a haircut somewhere 50 miles from where we were. So, instead, we had a nice conversation until her barber took the phone away from her. Perhaps we’ll get to see her on the way home … unless she decides to get another one of her hairs cut.

Things went well on the freeway as we headed south, then traffic came to a complete stop about 3 miles from Merced. A ramp ahead was closed for construction of some sort, and the two lanes of 65 mph traffic was being forced to zipper down to one lane. As soon as we did that, the speed went back to 65 like magic, and all the cars and trucks disappeared.

Before getting to the point, however, Diane had me retrieve the remainder of her foot long Subway sandwich and the little carrots so we could snack. After eating 3 inches of the sandwich she reluctantly gave it to me to finish. It was actually pretty good.

Now we’re only about 65 miles from Lemoore. Arrival time is a little shy of 4pm.

Travelling through the San Fernando Valley is pretty boring. I realize that it’s a major food producing area, but you’d think they could spruce it up a little … like paint the median grass green, or just set it on fire and make it black. Brown, all the time, makes me sleepy. Thankfully, it doesn’t affect Diane that way, or I’d be forced to drive. So far today I’ve escaped the hot seat.

Construction, construction, construction … they’re laying down so much cement and blacktop that it’s a wonder California doesn’t just snap off at the Nevada border and fall into the ocean. Maybe if someone took a shovel and made a dotted line along that line there would be no need for an earthquake … nah, that just wouldn’t be right.

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It’s now 1845 (6:45pm for you non-military minded folks) and we just got bck from the commissary on NAS Lemoore where we purchased a couple nutritious Stouffer lasagne meals. Diane has them simmering in the underpowered microwave as I type. Don’t get me wrong … the room is nice. Nicer than last night.

We arrived about 1500 (3pm), an hour earlier than I previously said we’d get here. That’s because Diane saw an open field and decided to check out the all wheel drive on her Buick. Turned out the field skirted the runway at Lemoore and, for some obscure reason, the fence was down and no one was around. So, instead of having to drive all the way around the base, like we did at Beale, we just drove across it. The AWD works great, BTW.

That’s a lie, of course. There’s no way security would have let us fly across the end of the runway like that. We drove around like we were supposed to. I just had the timing an hour off earlier.

Now we’re going to eat so I’m quitting.

Day 2 – Beale AFB, California

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We slept extraordinarily well last night, even though I failed (I failed) to pack the cord for my CPAP machine which caused concern for both of us. Me, because snoring gives me a sore throat, and Diane because she was fearful she’d have to keep kick-starting me all night long. Neither happened, so maybe it’s OK for me to start breathing fresh air at night once again.

It was interesting that our motel room was 111. Eleven is a number that shows up in our lives repeatedly, so we see it as a good omen.

At the motel, we ate a bit of breakfast, filled our coffee cups in the lobby, and took off. We crested the Siskyou Summit at 9:44 am, and crossed the border into California at 9:48. It’s now 9:54 and we’re coasting in to the border control station at Hornbrook so we can tell the guards that we are not trying to sneak non-California fruits into their state. That’s important to them.

Whew! We made it past the crossing guard station … she was a hottie in shorts.

At the moment, we’re grinding along behind an RV who, in turn, is grinding along behind a semi-truck because the lanes are restricted. They’re working on 2 miles of the downhill side and we’re going uphill. Dang.

During this pause, some of the quaint little place names we’ve passed ate flitting through my little head. One, in particular, reminds me of an old trucker song we used to hear all the time. It’s Wolf Creek Pass which is a little north of Grants Pass. Another favorite is Jump Off Joe Creek, near the bitty town of Wolf Creek, is a name that causes me to envision all kinds of goings on to cause a group of concerned people to christen the place with such a descriptor. Do you think his name was really Joe? Do you think he really jumped, or was he pushed? Or, was this a place where Sam was actually on Joe and the snap of a nearby twig startled them, causing Sam to nervously jump and Joe compounded the visual effect by pushing Sam up and away. Bill, an innocent bystander, the twig breaker, having followed Joe and Sam to this secluded location because of concerns he had for the sanctity of heterosexual activity, witnessed the event and, since not a lot happened in that area of the woods, rushed willy-nilly to the nearest saloon to report that he had just seen Sam Jump Off Joe down by the Creek. Kinda makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

It’s now 10:12 am and we’re cruising by exit 753 which is next to Mt. Shasta. The mountain is virtually naked … just a few spots of snow and ice are scattered sparsely around it’s tippy top.

I’m still think about Sam and Joe, and wonder if they were forced to flee Wolf Creek for warmer climes near San Francisco where they struck on the idea of starting a commune where they could spread the joy they found with each other to those seeking satisfaction in a similar manner. My search of the internet hasn’t revealed any concrete evidence to support this theory, but I think I’ve seen vague references about an obscure little rod and gun club that was opened in 1898 near the corner of Haight & Ashbury.

This, of course, is unfounded discourse,
making me wonder why
someone of my gender would
seek solace in another guy.

OK. That was a lame attempt at a bit of poetry and a disclaimer that what I’m sharing is pure figments. Still, there’s evidence throughout history that this kind of activity has been going on for pretty much ever. I’ve always thought it was one of God’s way to keep the population in check. One might wonder what the world would be like today if everyone had remained staunchly heterosexual throughout history. Just think about all that extra begetting that would have been going on. I suspect there’s a formula somewhere that could compute the difference in population density between the two different lifestyles.

Any guesses?

It’s 10:55 and we’re almost to Shasta Lake. First stop of this leg is Redding for gas and Gas (lunch).

Now I must pause and navigate before I get into trouble. Again.

Hey there … it’s 1:23 pm and we just left the Win River Casino in Redding where we had a very nice lunch. And we didn’t gamble even though we each received $5 on our Players cards so we could get the lunch special at a discount. We figure we made $18 with the free money and discounted lunch. That works.

It especially works because the gas tank lady was telling Diane it’s time to fill up so we stopped at the first station after leaving the freeway. I know, dumb thing to do, but we both thought the safe thing to do was fill up sooner than latter. As you may have guessed, we paid $4.30 a gallon instead of $4.00 had we waited a little bit.

It’s 90 degrees here. And mostly brown. Not pretty like home.

It’s 7:13pm, now. We’ve had a Subway supper and are ensconced in our Visiting Airmen barracks room on Beale AFB. We arrived about 4:00pm. It would have been about 3:30, but Diane let me drive for the last couple of hours and didn’t navigate me very well. The difference was that, instead of going around the right side of the base, to the main gate, I took a left at a sign that read Beale AFB, with a very distinct arrow pointing to the left. The Wazer program didn’t seem to object, except for a distinctive “BEEP”, so I thought everything was just fine. But, we had to drive all the way around the runway to a back gate.

Beale AFB is about the size of Vermont and is covered, mainly, with dried up fields that appear to have been cut and bailed. Very tidy. As we made our way across many miles to the correct side of the base, we watched high altitude spy planes landing. They look like gliders and are the modern day version of the U-2 Gary Powers was flying when he was shot down over Russia in 1960. At that time, the U-2 was running under CIA control. Perhaps they still are. I do not know. But, they are super quiet, and glide along slow as a bird.

Now, about our our barracks room … it’s really nice, actually, something I would expect for the Air Force. They always get the best housing while the Navy always got the best ships. That’s seems fair.

Our room is one of four access from a common area that is about the size of a large hotel room with a living room and a full kitchen. That’s where I’m currently sitting, watching the Seattle/Green Bay game, as I type. Two of the other rooms are occupied … one by a male sergeant, and the other by a female Lt. Colonel. The sleeping rooms are large, with their own TVs, with Dish Satellite. We can’t find anything wrong with the place and, it would be dumb to do so, because the room only cost us $34. Nice. There really is a benefit for spending half your life in the military.

Tomorrow I’ll keep another diary, whether or not you want me to, and finish it up from the Navy Lodge at Lemoore Naval Air Station. That’s going to cost more than tonight, I’m sure.

Day 1 – Medford, Oregon

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We left St. Helens at 2:00 pm and walked into our room at the Rodeway Inn about 7:45 pm. Normally it’s a 5 hour drive with no stops and we stopped 3 times so we made really good time. Average speed was over 60 mph. It would have been much faster but Diane allowed me to drive 150 miles of the trip. She goes 69, I don’t. On the downside, for me, is that she got better gas mileage than I did because she only drove downhill. Almost all my driving was uphill, all the time. Really. All the time.

As we raced down I-5, which we’ve done many, many times over the years, we shared nostalgic memories as we passed, or stopped at the various rest areas along the way. We’ve been to all of them, from Portland to San Diego. We’re only in Medford so we’ve hit almost all of the rest areas on this interstate because there aren’t many of them in California. Their version of a rest area is a strip mall along side the freeway … not just a place to get out, stretch your legs, and take a leak … oops. Sorry. I didn’t mean to let that blurt out. But it did.

Our room at the Rodeway Inn cost a whopping $59 and we agree that it’s better than some $100 rooms in the past. The furniture is a little worn, but the rooms are clean and tidy. Perfect for an over night stop. And, we get a continental breakfast in the morning. Excellent!

For dinner we motored about 1/2 a mile away to the Burger King we passed and got Whoppers, with lemonade instead of soda. Good, huh? For dessert we each ate two rice krispy treats.

Oh yes! More good news on the medical front … brother Jack is doing excellent after his surgery. He didn’t say that, exactly, but I can tell by the tone of his texts that things are looking up for him. We’re both very happy about that. You all should be, too, but, since it’s a personal choice, it isn’t mandatory.

Now I’m tired so that’s it for now.

Good News & Other Stuff

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Greetings to you all. Thanks to those who asked about Diane’s mom. Turns out she’s really ok and was just faking it. That’s lie. Her blood pressure was acting up, a lot, causing her to be dizzy. Worrying about tht just escalated the problem because of the stress. Knowing it wasn’t her heart giving out was a huge relief for her because she watched Mel, Diane’s Dad, wither away due to heart problems. It’s a relief for all of us to the point that we were able to make our break for San Diego. She has people who are going to check on her daily and she was OK with us leaving. Well, not totally OK, but OK enough. Plus, we’re cutting the trip short for reasons beyond her health issues.

So, we’re currently south of Salem, Oregon. Our destination tonight is Medford, Oregon, not far from the California border. Even though my chauffeur was up with the sun, and spent an agonizing morning in an overly hot hospital room, she’s perky and driving along quite nicely, like she always does.

I found a new GPS navigation application that’s keyed to commuters. It’s called “WAZE”. It’s free, and really detailed. It’s got all kinds of information posted by other Wazers regarding current traffic conditions, stalled vehicles, and police presence. it also compiles Wazers’ progress down the road and lets others know their progress. It also lets wazers text each other which I think is a stellar idea, especially for those who drive alone. There’s an accident waiting to happen. Still, it’s fun for me.

It’s 4:08pm local and we’re in Albany, Oregon. Well, not really in it, just close to it. I don’t think Albany allows freeways in their town.

So, how about those Beavers and Ducks? Beavers upset UCLA, which is always fun, and the Ducks stomped on Arizona a little bit, 49-0. That secured them a #2 national ranking in the NCAA. Not bad for a little, obscure school from out west. Do any of you remember 2006 when the Oregon State Beavers won the NCAA Baseball World Series? They were the first team in history to lose twice in Omaha and go on to with the series. They were the Cinderella team. Just to emphasize that win, they did it again in 2007.

Time to quit. We’re 84 miles north of Roseburg, and there’s a rest area dead ahead. More later, if I’m allowed.

Emergency Rooms, Coyotes, and Roofers

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Where have I been? Does anyone know? Since my reality isn’t the same as everyone else’s I could use some help to ferret out the “pretend” areas of my life and reconnect with a common reality that’s apparently shared by everyone else. Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy flying around in my reality, most of the time, but sometimes it gets lonely because the only others I see there are captured in their own “moments” and do not communicate well.

Yesterday I was ejected into the ‘real’ world when Diane’s Mom was transported to Good Sam from urgent care in St. Helens for cardiac “issues” related to a “possible” heart attack. We followed the ambulance, and Jennie, Dan, and kids arrived shortly after we did. After monitoring her in the emergency room, for the requisite 3-4 hours, she was admitted for the night and scheduled for a stress test this morning at 0800. After Jean was settled in her room, we all headed back to the ranch, knowing she was in good hands.

Once we got home, being the optimists we normally are, we packed our bags for our trip south which was to begin today. First stop Medford, Oregon. Diane and Jennie are on their way to the hospital as I type so they can be there during the stress test and get first hand knowledge on what’s going on. Me? I had to stay home so I can go to church this morning and answer the questions everyone will have about Jean. Lydia is going with me to play body guard. And visit with her friend, Briana.

Now, about last night …

We packed and puttered around here until almost midnight like we normally do the night before leaving on a trip. The dogs went out and returned quickly for their nighty treat. Couldn’t find the cat, which isn’t unusual, so closed up the house and went to bed.

Shortly thereafter, 3-4 coyotes started yipping in our back yard. Diane let Panzee out on the upper porch so they could ‘talk’ for a bit. Apparently Panzee convinced them to depart, because they did after a very noisy conversation. At times like this, Breezie is a concern because she’d make a pretty nice coyote snack. I know, that’s probably not an appropriate thing to ‘say’, but it’s true. This morning when Diane got up, Breezie was meowing at the basement door, so all is good. The coyotes probably spied her behind the basement patio door which caused all the ruckus. She doesn’t flinch much so that no doubt added to their frustration. I can just see her down there, sitting by the patio door, one hind leg sticking straight up in the air, licking away with an occasional pause to look a coyote in the eye then back to licking.

Since the coyotes are prowling, Breezie will have to spend her nights indoors. The problem with that is, if things turn out OK for Jean, we may not be here to ensure that happens and she may not always magically show up when one of the kids checks the house. In those cases she’s on her own, but she’s a tricky cat that survived outside for a year on her own.

Throughout all of this added turmoil, add the noise created by 15-20 guys ripping off your roof and replacing it … in three days. They started last Thursday and finished Saturday afternoon. Pretty amazing to watch and very very loud the entire time. They did a great job and we’re confident that our house will not leak for the next 30-40 years. That will be a comfort when we’re sitting on the porch, watching the sunrise behind Mt. Hood, when we’re around 100 or so.

Now I must go shave and get ready for church. I have an hour before I pick up Lydia. Since Diane isn’t here, most of that time will be spent looking for the things I need to accomplish my task.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day. If we manage to hit the road today, I’ll be in touch. Actually, I’ll be in touch whether or not we hit the road today. I have gizmos that help me with that.

Gilligan … almost 5

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Today Diane and I took Gilligan, our granddaughter, shopping to celebrate her 5th birthday. She won’t be 5 until October 5th, but since we’re not going to be home it seemed like a good thing to do. The original plan was to take the entire family, but that was ruled out because taking Gilligan and Baylee out in public together is apparently risky. So, we settled on Gilligan alone. By herself.

Grandma brough a festive crown for her to wear, we got her buckled in, and were off.

 

On the way to the store we stopped for lunch at Ichabod’s where Gilligan ordered a turkey sandwich on wholewheat, “yellow butter only.” When she got it she promptly dismantled it and feasted on the turkey, ignoring the bread. It was OK because this trip was about her, not about proper eating habits.

After eating we trekked on over to Fred Meyer to get Batman’s Jail, her choice from the moment she got into the car. Holding my fingers, she led us up and down a few aisles and finally found it. Not something normal little girls would like, I thought, but she was so excited about it, how could we deny her.

Having that treasure secured, we went to the other end of the store, to the dresses, to satisfy Grandma’s desire to get her something pretty.

Along the way she tried out a lot of the furniture, blessing us with one of her signature poses.

 

Once there, Gilligan pulled the first dress she saw off the rack and deemed it the one she had to have. It was the prettiest, most expensive, and most inappropriate one in the entire store. She has a knack for this, we decided, and went about the task of altering her decision to include something more appropriate, but still pretty. We found several, explaining that the first choice was one that could only be worn once in a while, but the many others we offered up could be worn for pretty much any occasion. We even tossed in a matching hat.

She delighted in disappearing into the clothes racks, behind us, when we were distracted by the dresses and other pretty things suitable for little girls, bringing to rigid clarity the reason why one at a time was plenty for us old people. Had Baylee been along, we would’ve never kept up. They are busy little people with devious minds. But, she was always close by, and blessed us with her physical presence when asked … sometimes twice.

 

Finally, she relented, deeming her 2nd choice the better of the two, and we were off to the cashier.

Since she had so much energy, I encouraged her to hop on one foot as we went, which she did for most of the way. Once we got to the produce section she decided to do pushups. I told her to “give me 10,” which she promptly did.

On the way home she decided she’d like to see some cows so Diane drove to the places where cows normally hang out, but there were none to be found. With a sigh, Gilligan determined that cow trappers must have taken all of them and that The Pie Man was in charge. Not sure what the Pie Man reference was it took only a little coaxing the figure out that the Pie Man made cow pies out of the cows provided by the Cow Trappers.

Once home she proudly marched into the house with her treasures, showing her Mom Batman’s Jail before anything else. Heather knowingly said, “Uh huh,” and related that Jeff had recently told Gilligan that she couldn’t have it. This points, once again, to the devious side of things because I’m sure she’s going to look at her Dad with her little head cocked, a gleam in her eye, letting him know that, “yes, she could have it.”