Day 4 – New York City

Posted on September 24, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Today was very special because we (Diane, me, and Ruth) rode a train from New Haven, CT all the way to Grand Central Station in New York City. The purpose was to visit the 911 Memorial in Manhattan. To make it more special, Ruth came with us because she’s never seen it in person, either. And, because she came with us, we had a scape goat in case we got totally lost because she lives on this side of the world and we’re just visiting. But, we didn’t get lost.

The first left started at 0740 when we bundled into our rental car and drove to New Haven so we could catch the Metro North line.

Going from Windsor Locks is possible but that would require a trip on Amtrak which is vasty more expensive. It’s like $66 for 3 round trip tickets on Metro North vs. $300 for Amtrak. No contest, really. The drive to New Haven took about an hour then we walked for about 20 minutes to the train station, got our tickets, grabbed our seats, and stayed in them for the next two hours. It was a nice ride and we met some nice folks, James & Millette, who were on their way to The City to celebrate their 27th anniversary. As we talked we learned more about each other and they learned that we were on our way visit the 911 Memorial. Turns out they’ve never visited it, either. For good reason. James works for the city of Darien, CT in public works. On 9/11 he was on an Amtrak with his 3-year-old son traveling to North Carolina to visit his parents. When the 1st tower was hit his train stopped in the middle of the bridge to Manhattan prior moving on to Penn Station. He was provided an unobstructed view of the towers when they collapsed and was stunned the same as every one else that day. He described how scary it was to not be able to contact his wife to let her know he and their son were OK, and that it was 8 hours before he was able to reach a pay phone and call her office. Because of that trial neither of them have found the courage to make a visit down town Manhattan and end their trip to The City in East Harlem. We felt that we had bonded with these folks and gained some good friends during that short ride. Sadly, I did not get a photo of them, but I have these:

When we got to Grand Central, Ruth led us to one of the exits then began walking along 42nd Street. Just before we got to 5th Avenue hunger pangs attacked us causing us to seek someplace different for lunch. We looked around and immediately spied some Golden Arches which seem to be everywhere. Like Starbucks. But, fast food isn’t what we wanted. Ruth spoke to a street person for suggestions about good places to eat and was directed to a place called HTH which happened to be right next to The Arches.

So, off we went.

Inside HTH we were greeted by some very friendly folks who advised us to look around before making a choice. Actually, they didn’t suggest that. We just did it. They didn’t care. The front counter was the source of some incredible looking sandwiches, pre-made and ordered, and the back area was a walk-around counter containing yakisoba, fried rice, shrimp wrapped in bacon, coconut shrimp, lots of other meat choices (but I only focus on shrimp), broccoli chicken, and many other things. Just take what you want then get it weighed at the cash register and pay $8.95 a pound. Sounds expensive but Diane and I ate hearty for less than $20 and I had milk! It was all very good and we highly recommend HTH. I tried to find a web site for them but can’t. We were told it’s a new venue. Awesome!

Once we were all fed and watered, we ventured out, once again, into the New York heat (pushing 90) thinking we’d walk to Ground Zero. But, according to our handy-dandy GPS systems on our phones we learned it was 3.5 miles away. Didn’t look that far on the map, but blocks in NYC are longer than even Las Vegas. So, we began the arduous process of flagging down a taxi so we could experience that aspect of the city. I did it once before, when I as 16, but I can’t remember back that far any longer. So, I needed a refresh.

We flagged and flagged and flagged but the drivers weren’t interested. Then a guy in a Lincoln town car pulled over and offered us a ride. One of those guys who cruise around looking for tourists so they can over charge them. He remained true to that belief by stating a trip to Ground Zero would cost us $45. I scoffed and he asked what I’d be willing to pay him. I said $10. He scoffed back, pulled over to the curb and popped the locks to let us out which I took to mean it wasn’t a valid offer.

Finally, a taxi pulled over to let someone out and Ruth inquired, politely, if he could possible consider allowing us to insert ourselves into the back of his bright yellow Prius for a ride to the memorial. He nodded yes so we got in. It was cozy with me in the middle, and away we went.

The driver, sensing that we were new to The City tested us by heading for the FDR which is on the East Side of Manhattan. We knew, however, that our destination was on the West Side. I called him on his choice so he changed his mind and decided to punish us by driving down every street in NYC where construction seems to be a never-ending evolution. Construction, vehicles triple parked, people walking all over the streets … it was pretty amazing. The result, of course, was that the meter clicked merrily away while we spent a great deal of time just sitting, waiting through each traffic light 2-3 times. That 3.5 mile trip took about an hour and cost $20.80. That $45 offer in a comfortable vehicle began to look pretty good. But, we made it.

The first thing we saw was the new $4 Billion, 350,00 square foot Oculus Shopping Mall. I know those numbers are true because I had to do a web search to find out what the heck it was called. There were no signs – just doors to get in.

Behind me, in the second photo, is the largest Apple Store I’ve ever seen. I suspect I should have taken a picture of it. It’s absolutely ginormous.

We wandered through this incredible structure and were kind of oblivious to our surrounding with the exception of being on constant alert for directions to the nearest restroom. Being old, that’s always our first priority after a long ride, find a toilet. You will be happy to learn that the Oculus has very nice toilets that flush and everything.

The views outside the Oculus are stunning. Words aren’t enough so I’ll just do this:

The memorial pools are located just outside the Oculus and are easy to find. Just follow the crowds, then look for a place where everyone is just kinda standing still. Quite impressive, and far more impressive in person. A very solemn place.

We visited both pools the left Diane in the shade as Ruth and I went on a quest to find a map so we could discover a cheaper way back to Grand Central, like the subway.

Turns out that nowhere in the vast array of information available at Ground Zero is there information about public transportation. So, I asked a couple of NYPD Officers who happened to be handy. They were very helpful, directing us through a maze of construction scaffolding to the nearest subway station. I must make a note here that we all had smart phones on which we could have easily found directions had all three of them not been stone cold dead. We started out the day with them all charged up but taking photos and running Google Maps, we just flittered all that energy away. I actually had a little power remaining, like 7%, but I wanted to keep it in reserve for possible Kodak moments on our return trip. It was distressing, to say the least. I hate being powerless.

This is Ruth pointing out the seat she was going to grab when the subway doors opened up. I believe, however, that no one got off the #4 Train which required us all to stand for the beginning of the trip. I had to stand the entire way, but it was OK. I didn’t fall down. I had an opportunity to get a seat at one stop because I was standing right by one that was vacated. I young man standing in front of it made a move for it, then looked up and offered it to me. I gave it to Diane. Chivalry is not dead in NYC. I was pleased and let him know how grateful I was.

We made it back to Grand Central with no problems or wrong turns and made it to Track 17 about 3 minutes before our train pulled out. It was pretty amazing because getting to METRO North from the #4 Train isn’t a leisurely hike.

We found three seats together and plopped ourselves down, and prepared for takeoff. I opened a souvenir magazine of the 911 Disaster and started thumbing through it when I heard a voice asking if I was prepared to give a detailed dissertation on all the information to which I had so recently been exposed. I looked up and discovered my new friend, Tiffany, who has never seen “Short Circuit”. I explained that she really needs to see it because it was filmed in Astoria, Oregon and the main character’s name is Tiffany. I’m not sure she was suitably impressed with this bit of trivia, but she was willing to continue visiting with me which was excellent.

I learned that Tiffany was in her second year at St. Johns University, in Queens, on her quest to become a Pharmacist. It’s a 6-year program at the end of which she will be christened as a bona fide Doctor. She spends most of Tuesday thru Friday at school then heads home for the weekends Friday afternoon. In high school she was a 4-year Varsity starter soccer player.

I was very happy to have her to visit with and regretted my loss when we arrived at the Fairfield stop where she deserted me. My life was improved by her presence and I have no doubt she’s going to be a huge success in whatever she chooses to do. For some reason she wanted my blog address, so I gave it to her. Therein lies a tenuous thread of contact.

This is the last photo I took before my phone permanently died. It’s looking up the aisle of our train.

On the way home from the train station we stopped to visit Susan & Jay and to pick up Julia who gave us a tour of their home and introduced us to her newly acquired base Fiddle, Jerrie. I was honored that she named it Jerrie, but not sure that she named it specifically after me. That’s OK. I’m still honored. This is Jerrie:

We took her back to Ruth’s where we played Polish Rummy until her father arrived from Boston to pick up at 2300. Then I fiddled with my computer trying to get photos off my phone until I was totally frustrated and went to bed. The hard bed. Where I slept like a baby until 0730 this morning.

There. I’m done.

Day 3 – Windsor Locks, CT

Posted on September 22, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Yes. We’re still in Windsor Locks.

Both Diane and I slept very well even though the bed is exactly as hard as Ruth said it was. We thought she was kidding. She wasn’t. Her bed is so hard that we could easily have been sleeping in the driveway. It’s true. I said that out loud this morning and no one, not even Ruth, did not disagree. Still, it wasn’t bad.

Sadly, when I got up (before Diane did) at 9:17 am, Ruth was battling some kind of bug that was playing havoc with her BS levels. She’s a Professional Diabetic with many years of experience and was crashing, trying to get her level back up. Complicating that effort was, no doubt, a bit of foreign debris flown in from Oregon especially for her. It didn’t sit right. After an hour or so she began to improve so Diane and I left the house to drive around looking at stuff, leaving her with strict instructions to rest, which she ignored.

It’s very interesting to drive around Windsor Locks because you never know when you’re going to wind up in another town. And, all the houses are unique and they are not crowded together like all the new construction we see all over the place.

While we were out we stopped by Target to get a prescription Ruth had filled, and Diane wanted to get potatoes to go with the meat loaf Ruth found in the freezer. Actually, the meat loaf was destined for tomorrow, and we were scheduled to go out to dinner with some of her friends this evening. With her not feeling well, however, the better choice was made to stay in and give her more time to heal.

The meat loaf was really great. Ruth said it was originally destined to be meat balls for spaghetti sauce but she changed her mind because she wasn’t sure if we liked spaghetti. After sharing that spaghetti is one of my favorite meals of all time I suggested that the remaining meat loaf could be cut up into meat cubes for the sauce. Something different. I think she thought that might be an OK thing to do.

After dinner Diane retired to the large (15 x 15) screened porch. It’s her favorite room in the house, she said. It is nice sitting out here listening to the crickets and frogs make noise. Very peaceful.

After looking at that photo of the guy with Diane I’m thinking it’s time to just start shaving my head. The problem with that is that’s it’s just that much more hair that I’d have to shave and I totally dislike shaving. Guess I’ll just have to stick with the Friar Tuck look.

Jeopardy is on so it must be time to go back in the house. Need to get to bed early tonight because Ruth declares she’s well enough to make the trip to New York for a look at Ground Zero. Should be fun.

G’nite.

Day 2 – Windsor Locks, CT

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

We stayed at a Days Inn hotel (motel?) last night and had a terrific nights sleep. I wasn’t sure how well I’d sleep because, first, it was a Days Inn facility (reasonably priced) and, second, because I didn’t attempt to sleep until about 2 am this morning. That’s really late for me but using West Coast time it was only 11, or so. I think I woke up once around 4 am to let the dogs out, from habit, then went back to sleep until 9 am. It was a good night. Diane slept well, too. And, the Days Inn was a very nice place with very nice employees.

The first thing I did was rush down to see what the breakfast was like because it was due to close at 10 am. Turned out to be typical choices for facilities that offer free breakfast. You know, the roll over waffle machine, toaster, yogurt, coffee, and fruit. I just got coffee and yogurt for us and wished I’d only got the coffee. It was Danon Yogurt which is pretty terrible when you’re used to Tillamook Yogurt. It’s the best.

Turns out Diane was dirty and needed a shower so she took one. Then I took one, too, because I was pretty dirty from the trip yesterday, too. I was so dirty, in fact, that Diane made me take the first shower. It was good to scrub off the sweat and accumulated body cells shared by the other 200 people on the airplane. I guess the garlic odor finally went away because nothing was said about it. When I was done, Diane took hers so we were equally clean for at least a little while.

That ended when we stepped out of the room at noon to check out. It’s hot here. Did I mention that? And humid? It’s that, too. So, we were promptly sweaty without really doing anything except ride the elevator to the lobby.

At that point we couldn’t put off going to Ruth’s any longer because we literally had no where else to go. So, we engaged the Days Inn van driver to haul us and our luggage over to Dollar Car rental where we picked up an incredibly expensive vehicle. Diane contracted for a Full Size car which, according to Dollar, is a Chevy Malibu. In the real world that’s a mid-sized vehicle. Since we needed room to haul our luggage we opted for the next level up which turns out to be premium, I think, and got a 2016 Impala. We knew it had a very large trunk from previous experience and were able to load everything into the trunk. Noting it had a GPS system, I asked if it was functional and was told, “no, but we can activate it for $16.95 a day.” Really? And she said this with a straight face so there must be some folks out there who pay for it. We’re just going to use our phones to find our way around and that works just fine. I gotta tell you, though, we really like the GPS in Diane’s Silverado. It’s very handy and I can use a handy app on my phone to find a location and send the directions directly to the in-dash navigation system.

After leaving the car rental place we made it the 1.9 miles to Ruth in about 20 minutes. There were a few wrong turns involved which weren’t my fault because I wasn’t driving. I’m not allowed to drive rental cars because Diane won’t let me. I may have mentioned it before. Anyway, Ruth was very happy to see us and immediately went to work cooking stuff to feed us. We had BLT’s without the L. They were delicious. Then we rested the remainder of the afternoon and talked a lot. Well, Diane and Ruth talked. I mostly listened. I find that life is much easier when I listen more than talk. Sometimes, however, I just can’t help myself and wind up in trouble. Every time.

While we talked, Ruth began puttering around in the kitchen making preparations for the evening meal which, again, was delicious. I should have taken a photo, right? I ate more than a normal person should have, but it was really good. Everything Ruth cooks is terrific. That’s one of the reasons why we, as a family, agreed that it was OK when Lyle decided he wanted to marry her. We’ve never regretted it.

Another activity we participated in today was to discover a way to visit Ground Zero in New York City. So, that’s what we’re going to do Friday. Drive to New Haven, hop on a Metro train to Grand Central Station, then catch an Uber taxi to our destination. Ruth has never been, either, so it will her a fun for us all. It’s going to be an all day affair.

As for tomorrow, rumor has it we’re going out to dinner with some of Ruth’s friends. She gave us background on them and it sounds like it’s going to be another fun time. We’re looking forward to it.

Now it’s 2020 (8:20pm) and time to stop.

Airplanes & Automobiles

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Today was fun. We fiddled away most of it by Diane getting her upper and lower digits sanded and painted while I labored away in the yard fixing a broken pipe for the very last sprinkler on the line that feeds all the flower beds around the front of the house. Yes, I did that. But, I must admit that had Jewel not reminded me it was broken, I wouldn’t have done it. So, it’s really her fault that I had to do that. She did, however, save me a load of grief by reminding me about it. For that I’m thankful. I got it done, and I’m not in trouble.

After Diane returned from the paint shop, she finished packing her suitcase in preparation for her trip today. That was my clue that I better start wadding up stuff to put in my suitcase because I was going with her. She said I could.

Having traveled a lot during my life I consider myself a very accomplished packer. So accomplished, I might add, that I even helped Diane pack hers. I rolled up all her underwear so they would take up less space allowing her to include more shoes for the trip. I also rolled up all my underwear, and socks, so she could get more shoes in my suitcase, too. Regarding underwear, since we’re only going to be gone for about a month, I was going to use the old rule that one pair of underwear is good for four days. You know … wear them right the first day, turn them around for the second day, turn them inside out the third day, turn them around the fourth day. Then throw them away. That way, I could get by with only 4 pair. Diane overruled me on that so I packed 20 pair. That means the last 10 days of this trip I’ll be going commando. I’m toying with the idea of slipping a commando day in various places during the trip to ensure I have a pair to wear home in case I get strip searched at the airport. That wouldn’t go over well, I’m sure.

Anyway, we finally got everything together, took our bags down to the Walters’ home and loaded them into Lydia’s Envoy for the trip to the airport. We did that because we got a room at Embassy Suites next to the airport so we wouldn’t have to fight early morning traffic. That, and the Envoy would give the Walters family something to drive home in on their return flight from Illinois. Here we are getting the Envoy from Lydia. I’m not in the picture because I took it. In case you were wondering.

We arrived at Embassy Suites at 6:30 or so, checked in, had a great supper and scored a free cheese plate and a pony bottle of champagne, for Diane, because my linguine was cold. Yes, it was that simple.

After supper we sat in the room waiting for Jennie to let us know their plane was on the ground. Then we waited about 15 minutes and headed for the terminal which is just a hop and a skip from Embassy Suites. Sadly, everyone in Portland chose that exact time to make a run past the arrival area of the airport which made a normal 5 minutes trip last about 20. But, we made it, got them, and made it back to Embassy Suites in time for Dancing With The Stars and the kids headed home. It worked out very nicely, time wise.

That brings us to this morning.

First, Diane made an observation that the garlic in my linguine the night before was apparently seeping from my skin in a potentially offensive manner. This was caused, no doubt, because I found an entire clove of garlic under all that linguine, and really large shrimp, and ate it. I like garlic, but apparently eating an entire semi-cooked clove isn’t a good idea. She said that when I took my shower this morning all she could smell was garlic. All I could smell was soap. When I was done she could only smell garlic when I talked so she started feeding me Altoids. Lots of Altoids. And she did all the talking.

Our flight wasn’t until 10:45 am so we went down about 8:30 to get a ride from the shuttle van guy. We had two bags to check and two for carry on. My bag to check turned out to weigh 54 lbs which means it would cost $50 above the normal free bag check. Diane’s only weighed 40 so we dropped to the floor and moved things from one case to the other hoping to get below the weight restriction. When I put it back on the scale it came up 51 lbs which was apparently within the acceptable maximum and let the lady let it go on through.

Then we trundled our remaining two bags down to gate C2 to wait for our flight. Diane signed us up the the TSA pre boarding line some time ago which allows us to bypass the long lines because TSA has already done a background search on us and knows we’re not scary people. It’s pretty handy.

Finally they called our flight and we boarded the plane for Chicago. That’s where we had to change planes for the final leg to Bradley Field in Connecticut. Getting to Chicago required us to orbit the earth about three times in our Alaska Airlines 737 before they let us land. I must say, though, the seats were comfortable and we had plenty of leg room so it was quite comfortable. Then we switched to an American Airlines 737 that apparently had 20 more rows of seats than the Alaska leg. We were jammed into a row where my knees were almost touching the seat in front of me and it was not comfortable at all.

Enough said about that. American Airlines is off our bucket list.

While in Chicago I called Cedric, who is still lingering at Great Lakes RTC until October 1st. RTC isn’t very far from O’Hare International Airport, but getting up there wasn’t practical for the short layover we had. So, we talked. He’s done well and is on his way. We’re pretty proud of him.

The flight from O’Hare to Bradley was less than 2 hours but it felt much longer than the Portland to O’Hare leg simply because it was so uncomfortable. This is Chicago in our rear view mirror.

Now it’s past midnight here in Connecticut and I really should be sleeping, but it’s really only a little after 9 pm in my head. Tomorrow we’re going back to the airport to pick up our rental car that we will use for the rest of the trip here on the east coast and turn it in at the airport in Norfolk, VA next month. If the car rental is like those we normally have, I won’t be allowed to drive it because Diane won’t let me. She only puts herself down as the driver. That actually suits me just fine. More time to sleep.

Now I must quit.

Ahmed, Off to Chicago, A Wedding, Lydia’s Eye, & Golf

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

I just learned that Steph Curry, 2-time NBA MVP has endorsed Hillary as his choice for president.

I don’t know about you, but this is exactly the kind of validation I’ve been looking for to help me make an informed decision about the upcoming election. Though I didn’t know it, I’ve apparently been waiting for a very young, multi-millionaire sports figure to share his favorite candidate with the world so we can all make the correct choice.

Now my research is complete.

Yesterday we had to get up at 0430 so we could leave by 0530 to have Ahmed to the Cinema 7 at Eastport Plaza by 0630 for a bus that didn’t arrive until 0700. He and all of the exchange students were going to the Pendleton Roundup for their first rodeo. Pretty exciting stuff. It was fun watching all of these kids from all over the world mix and mingle as the good friends they have become, and it made me wish, again, for a more peaceful world where adults could do the same thing. Sadly, when some of us get older power becomes a narcotic-like addiction for a small minority that poisons of the large majority. Why is it, do you suppose, that we allow that to happen? It’s really sad. Everyone of us can look to our exchange students for the example necessary to change the world. That is, of course, an opinion. Ahmed will be back next Tuesday to resume his new life as a temporary Oregonian and will probably be wearing a cowboy hat.

After Ahmed boarded the bus, the rest of us, Daniel, Jennifer, Jeran, Diane, and I, sought sanctuary in a nearby eatery for sustenance. Seems like it was a iHop, but I just can’t remember. When we finished eating we learned that Jeran didn’t see the need for a jacket of any kind for their trip to Chicago for Cedric’s boot camp graduation. That required a trip to a nearby Wal*Mart for resolution.

Then we were off to the airport so they could catch their flight to Chicago so they could see this regal looking guy:

Then Diane and I returned home in time for me to join my friends, Larry, Larry, and Howard for coffee at the Kozy. It’s always fun at coffee. You should join us sometime.

After coffee I don’t recall doing anything of significance the rest of the morning, so I must have had a nap. That’s become an afternoon routine for us, it seems, whether we plan it or not. We just nod off for a short period of time, not to exceed 2 hours. The nap was necessary because we had to journey to the McMiniman Road House on Cornelius Pass road to attend a wedding for Jessica and Reece. Jessica is Jewel’s daughter, the one who flew in from Perth, Australia for that purpose. With her intended, Reece. He flew in, too. As did a contingent of his family. The wedding was very nice. The bride was extremely emotional and happy. The groom was solid throughout and walked out with a look of triumphant satisfaction on his face.

Jewel, I probably need not say, but will anyway, was a basket case. Over the top happy for her Jessica and Reece. So, we were, too.

While we were doing all that, Lydia was on a bus to Hermiston, Oregon to play another soccer game against another 6A school. All by herself. And the rest of the team, of course. She said it took 4.5 hours to get back home but it was a happy trip because they won 2-1. They scored their second goal with 6 seconds remaining on the game clock. Good timing. After Lydia got home she went blind in her left eye when taking out her contacts due to an apparent scratch on her cornea. I know how severely painful that can be from personal experience. Since she was home alone, Jennifer asked if we could look in a check her out, so I did. I did it because Lydia also has a nasty cold which Diane would catch in a heartbeat by getting near her. So, it was up to me. I took her to a local eye doc who said the main problem was a bad infection for which she prescribed drops. I got them, dropped a drop in Lyd’s eye then left her to rest in the dark house while I fried up some eggs (over easy) for her. I checked on her again this afternoon and found her in far better spirits. She can open her eye a little now, and she said it’s better already. Still, the drops must go in and she’s taking care of it as directed. While there visiting, I heated up a can of beef vegetable soup for her to ensure she ingesting something. We chatted for a long time while she worked on it. Then I had to leave, giving her strict instruction to text me “911” should she need me for anything. Then she melted my little heart, the way she always does, when she hugged me good nite and said, “I love you Papa.” Before I left I patched up her eye so she wouldn’t have to hold a rag on it all the time.

This morning I was forced to get up early in order to go golfing with the West brothers. I don’t know why it is that I always seem to go golfing with brothers. Unless, of course, I go golfing with Jim. He has brothers but has yet to invite any of them to golf with us. That would be OK. I did pretty good and will definitely be going out with those guys again because I beat them both. I suspect, however, that should we play on a regular basis that we will all fall into alignment and golf at the same level. Since we’re going to be gone for a while, I suggested that they hook up with the Peal brothers to in my absence. Turns out their next day on the course will be this coming Tuesday, the day we fly east.

Now it’s time to quit. My eyes burn.

Golfing, Shopping, and Ahmed

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Today was terrific for golfing but before going down that road I had to do some digging in the yard to plant a rose bush and to dig five holes for some huge flowers Jewel brought home that have been begging to be set free of their pots. They’ve apparently been living in them for years and they have trunks like trees. Tomorrow afternoon I’ll stuff them in the ground because, hopefully, the dirt will be easier to displace because we drenched the holes with water. They didn’t get planted today because Diane and Jewel went to Portland shortly after I went golfing and they didn’t return until long after I got home from golfing. They had a lot of fun spending lots of money in lots of stores. The retailers love these guys. Key for the trip was to get new suit cases for Diane and me for our trip next week. I needed one big enough to hold 36 pair of underwear, 8 pair of pants, 6 shirts, a spare pair of shoes, and 35 pairs of socks. I need to carry all that stuff because we will have to carry all our dirty clothes with us until we get home, and we’ll be gone for a month. I guess it’s possible that some of the places we will inhabit during the trip will allow us access to washing facilities, but I’m not counting on it. I’ll be ready for the long haul. Diane got a new suit case, too, but her’s is smaller than mine and I don’t know why. Seems like hers should be bigger since it will be carrying all the dirty clothes in addition to what she needs to wear. Or, maybe mine’s bigger because all her girly stuff will be mingled in with my manly stuff. I’m sure I’ll find out soon. Like when we start to pack. Or, maybe as soon as tomorrow.

This afternoon I met my friend, and old classmate Jim, at the Wildwood Golf Course for a festive 18 holes of golf. The temperature was pretty much perfect for us and the course was, oddly, not well populated meaning we weren’t being hustled along smartly by people pushing us. And, we didn’t have to spend endless hours waiting for the folks ahead of us to make their moves. It was very peaceful with no pressure.

Jim beat me, of course, but he’s had lessons. I know that’s true because he told me. I did my normal, kinda, with 58 on the front, 50 on the back. Jim did 50 and 45. That means I was the most improved because he only dropped 5 strokes off his front nine score while I dropped 8. Though he’ll disagree, I’m sure, that makes me the winner. We had a bet, but he may not remember it because I think I forgot to bring it up. Maybe next time.

After finishing we both got a non-alcoholic drink and had a visit on Wildwood’s new patio. They must have spent a zillion $$ renovating the place since the last time we played (last year?) and it’s pretty spectacular. We had a very private visit since there was no one else around. It was nice. We talked about politics, religion, the sad state of our economy, and what might happen after the revolution. Just light conversation. Before parting company, we documented the moment with a selfie.

I arrived home around 5-ish, got the mail, then let the dogs know I was home. They were very happy to see me since they had been alone pretty much all day. Thankfully, the dogs have these huge bladders that can hold about a gallon of pee. We had them installed a couple of years ago when one of them peed on the carpet. We had a serious conversation about how wrong that was but neither one of them would take ownership so everyone paid the price. They all got larger bladders, and we’ve not had another incident. It was worth the price and the dogs don’t seem to mind anymore. At least they haven’t said anything about it to me.

Diane texted me, telling me to eat something when I got home so I did. I ate an apple and six red vines. And three large glasses of water. Probably not what she had in mind, but it served the purpose. Before I got to bed I plan to eat some peanuts just to round things out.

On a more personal, and serious note, I must share information about our new friend Ahmed Hassan Saeed. He’s an exchange student from Pakistan who joined the Walters family just last Friday. He’s 15, same age as Jeran, and they have quickly become fast friends. He has integrated as a family member after only two days. To him, Lydia is his sister, and Jeran is his brother. Quite remarkable, but young folks can teach us a lot about how to get along. Ahmed is a gifted young man and a great representative of his country. We’re very proud to know him.

Now it’s 9:30 and time for me to go to bed. I’m tired and need to lay down. I’m old, you know.

Football, Flowers, and Sprinklers

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

It’s Sunday. A fairly nice one. The thermometer reports it’s 72 outside and 71 inside. Frankly, I think it’s a bit warm in side and have seriously considered doffing my Sunday best (I went to church) and replacing them with shorts and a T-shirt. Or, perhaps, some summer jammies. But, no, we’re expecting company later in the day and I don’t want to embarrass anyone by being dressed inappropriately.

The company we expect live in Las Vegas, and are linked in a family manner to Jewel. One is her daughter, and there’s grand daughters, and grand dogs. They picked Jewel up this morning and carted her off to Seaside for a day at the coast. I suspect there will be a little shopping tossed in there since there are outlet stores in the vicinity. Since Jewel’s gained a whopping 5 lbs since coming to live with us she probably needs a whole new wardrobe. I’ll be curious to see what she brings home. That won’t be for a while.

Friday night was a highly promoted football game between St. Helens High School and Scappoose High School called the 7-Mile War. It’s a traditional rivalry that’s been going on forever, even back to when my much older brothers were in High School. That’s a long time. I don’t have any stats to share as to who normally wins the battle, but Friday night St. Helens put a country boy whoopin’ on Scappoose, beating them 41-21, or something like that. We went early because the crowd was expected to be big, and it was. The game wasn’t until 7:00 pm but we got there at 5:30 pm to some rock and roll music that sounded pretty darn good. Turned out to be Bart Hafeman and The Hit Machine. This is a well-known band here in the Great Northwest so it was special. Making it specialer is that Bart is a Scappoose Boy, a Local Boy, who made it good. Anyway, we found some seats three rows from the top of the stands right on the 50 yard line and there’s Bart and the Boys rockin’ out on the track in front of us. I’ve known about the band for years, and have seen Bart many times at different venues (like the Columbia County Fair), but have never heard them play. It was a treat because they play pretty much everything. Even stuff I like. Amazing. If given a chance, you should go see them.

Now, back to the game …

Scappoose and St. Helens are in different leagues but they play each other every year to keep the war alive. Just for fun. The stands on both sides of the field were filled and there were many more lining the fence surrounding the field. There were even people in lawn chairs sitting in their driveways across the street from the stadium area. What fun. Being near the top of the stands allowed us to enjoy the full benefit of the screams of joy when St. Helens did something good, which they did often. In my personal experience, the noise level was worse than that we’ve experienced at a Portland Trailblazer game and the Blazers are down by one, theres 2 seconds to go and Lillard hits a 3-pointer. That’s really loud. Friday night was louder. And really invigorating.

Complicating our presence at the game was the fact that both Diane and I graduated from Scappoose High School, but our children and grandchildren went to, and are going to, St. Helens schools. So, we sat amongst the St. Helenonites. I figured, yes, we graduated from SHS which entailed a 4-year obligation, but we’ve been associated with SHHS far longer, like since 1989. So, I was OK with betraying my old school. By doing so I wound up on the winning side.

Demonstrating the team spirit of both school, all the cheer leaders from both sides joined together in the field at halftime and did an obviously well rehearsed routine.

It was a terrific gesture and made all of us proud. Then all of the youth program football teams and small versions of cheer leaders were introduced and filled the field. There’s a bunch of them so I suspect there won’t be any shortage of football players and cheer leaders for many years to come. There was also a tribute to all the public services when members of the sheriff’s, city police, paramedics, and firemen were introduced. In case you were wondering, everyone was standing, just as they did for the national anthem before the game started. That makes me proud, too.

This was today – another ho-hum Oregon sunrise.

Here’s Panzee displaying her newest trick. She flops around on the yard for a bit, then gets flat on her back and just stays there for the longest time, her impression of a raccoon that’s been laying beside the road for a few days in the hot sun. She must have seen it on TV because I don’t recall ever coming across one while she was in the car with us. Gonna have to start being careful what she watches.

Finally, I spent pretty much all day yesterday working on our in-ground sprinklers. They all worked, to some extent, but not quite as good as they should. So I decided to make them all work correctly. I have, after all, a large box of new replacement sprinkler heads that were left by the previous owner and it’s time to use some of them. I managed to replace the obviously broken units, then started trying out different sprinkler nozzles to see which ones give the best coverage without spraying into a bedroom or bathroom window that someone forgot to close before turning on the sprinklers. That happens. Fortunately, Diane’s side of the bed is the wet one when that happens.

Jewel has been instrumental in the resurrection and transformation of our adequate yard into one with lots of color provided by things deer don’t eat. She spends the better part of each day outside uncovering botanical treasures that we didn’t know we had, and adding more that we had no idea we needed. The result is wonderful and we know we’re going to enjoy her efforts for many years to come. But, what I’ll personally probably remember most, after her efforts in the fall and winter, is the sight of her tending her plants will be the sight of her like this …

She found it at Jilly’s Boutique in downtown St. Helens. She professes that she needed the hat to keep her ears warm on chilly days. The image on the front is a skull so I think it’s more a statement about a previous life style. Whatever the reason, it fits her personality and will, I’m sure, keep her ears warm.

Air Filters, Eboards, Haircuts, Soccer, and iPad Pro

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Today I cleaned our furnace air cleaner filters, attended an American Legion Executive Board meeting, got a haircut, had a couple of naps, and watched a fun high school soccer game, in that order. Oh, and I got my new iPad Pro, too.

First, the filters. I have to do this every month because Diane puts it on the calendar. She knows that I check my calendar every day and am pretty good about doing things listed on the calendar, especially when they are preceded by my name. Like, “Jerrie – Cleans Filters”. The first time I saw that I wasn’t sure what filters I was supposed to clean so I didn’t do it. That, of course, resulted in punishment for Failure To Comply. I quickly learned what filters were involved and have faithfully complied ever since. Now, how I clean them is up to me. Sometimes I just vacuum them off, sometimes I use my air compressor and blow all the dirt in the neighbor’s yard. Or, out into the yard. Other times, like today, I hosed them all down and left them to dry in the hot afternoon sun. Everything dried except for the two big honeycomb things that go on the bottom of the stack. So, I left them in the yard, on a chair, facing the setting sun with a soft summer breeze blowing directly into the little damp holes. That was 8 hours ago and they’re still out there. In the cold damp, dark, night. Guess I won’t be putting them in until tomorrow morning some time. I’d go out and get them, but I don’t want to. I can only hope that some weirdo filter thief doesn’t show up and take them.

Our American Legion Executive Board meeting has historically been held at 10 which is just a little late for breakfast and a little early for lunch. Today it was at 11, making lunch more likely. I had breakfast. Now, calling this the Executive Board sounds a little elegant for our small group, but that’s technically what it is. I must attend because I’m the Sgt. At Arms, keeper of the peace. Yeah, I thought it was funny, too, when they voted me into that position. I actually volunteered to do it because I knew it didn’t involve a lot of manual labor or memory recall. That, and no one else wanted to do it. That was last year. No one else wanted to do it this year either, so I still have the little thing on my hat proclaiming my position. Maybe I’ll do it again next year if things stay calm. At the EBoard meetings everyone else conducts actual business. I just eat and vote when necessary. I voted 3 times today.

After the meeting I got home in time to participate in a haircut marathon involving Diane’s Mom, Jean, Diane, Jewel, and me. We were all in line for a touch-up from the Traveling Hair Dresser which is pretty handy, let me tell you. We just do a little Rock Paper Scissors to see who goes first, then the hair cutter gets right to work and hair starts flying all over the place. Logic says we’d do this outside, on the porch, but it actually takes place on the dining room carpet. Diane likes doing it there because she has this incredible vacuum cleaner that sucks up hair like crazy. We know because we pick up tons of dog hair every week and look at them in wonder, like “I wonder why the dogs aren’t bald?” They actually lose 3 dogs worth of hair every month. I don’t know how they do that. So, picking up a little bit of gray hair from some old people once every couple of months is no big deal.

I had the next to last haircut because Diane told me to get in the chair. I didn’t lose much because it was cut pretty short the last time I had a haircut. Like a buzz cut. Really short. After that I was really tired so stretched out on the sofa and took a few naps while waiting for the next event of the day. I had more than one nap because continuity was interrupted by the UPS lady who delivered my new iPad Pro, an email from Jimbo wanting to know when we were going to go golfing again, a phone call from John to arrange a golf date, and various other noises throughout the afternoon. The result of all the interruptions is that I’m obliged to go golfing three times next week. That’s unheard of for me because nine holes a week is usually my limit. Now I’m going to do 36. Should be interesting. Wonder if I’ll get better as the week goes on. I also wonder if I’ll be able to walk by the end of the week. We’ll see.

During some of my awake time I set up my new iPad. Diane said I needed a new one because the screen on the old one is cracked a little from an injury it received from a drop that I have no memory of. Interesting. One I make the transition to the new unit I’m going to set it up for Diane’s Mom, Jean so she can use it. She doesn’t know this yet and we already know it’s going to be a hard sell because she thinks things like the iPad are too complicated for her to use. We think once she sees what it can do she’ll have a changed of heart. She’ll be connected to the world and will be able to follow Diane and me during our travels, getting all the fancy photos we include sometimes. And Facebook! That will really yank her eyes open. Diane will set up a new Facebook page for Mom. She conquered the Comcast remote control so we’re confident she can handle an iPad and all the notifications one gets on Facebook. Should be fun.

In the evening, before the sun set, we headed for the St. Helens High School soccer field to watch our Lady Lions play against the Astoria Fishermen. Now, right away I saw a problem with the Astoria team name. I mean, this is a team of young ladies and they still call them Fishermen. Shouldn’t they be Fishergirls, Fisherladies, or a more generic Fisherpeople? That would certainly be the case if the ACLU ever hears about this. That’s an opinion, of course. The ACLU might not give a hoot. What’s happened with all the PC stuff about gender specific tags? Whatever … our girls played a great game, for the most part, and won 2-0. The score should have been more like 15-0 because our girls kicked the ball over the opposing net about 13 times. In the second half Lydia, our goalie, only got to touch the ball whenever one of her team mates kicked it to her. Oh, there were a couple of close calls, but Lyd fended them off with the help of her best defender, Ceiarra. Morgan, the first half goalie did a lot of standing around, too, and made some good stops to keep Astoria scoreless.

At the game we were blessed with the presence of the lovely Georgie and her lovely Mom Jacqui. I just learned that she reads this stuff so had to name her. Georgie graduated and we miss seeing her play. She’s very good. Just saying. Rumor has it that Georgie and family will be moving to England at some undisclosed future date where she will attend college and major in soccer. We believe this is possible for her because of the uncanny life-like British accent her Mom uses. And, more probably, because her Mom is really British and they have lots of family still in the Old Country. We look forward to their move so we will have a place to stay when we visit England one day.

It’s almost Eleventy PM now and everyone else in the house is already in bed. I’m watching a recording of the Denver Broncos Carolina Panthers game. Looks like the Jags are going to take it home so I can probably just fast forward to the end of the game to see the final score and go to bed myself. After all, the dogs will undoubtedly wake me up in about 5 hours. Yes, they’ve been edging the time back closer to 4 am lately. I can hardly ignore them since Ozzie is on the bed and he fronts for the big dogs by licking whatever isn’t under the covers until I get up. Consequently, I’m careful about what I leave exposed when I close my eyes for the night, which is just what I’m going to do now.

G’nite.

Golf and Soccer

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

This morning I was once again forced to participate in a golf match with the Peal brothers, Junior & Doug. As some of you may know, when I began this association with them I was a neophyte golfer, calling anything under 70 for 9 holes a good day. And it was. Back then.

Now that we’re older apparently the competition has become more meaningful, or it’s easier to forget more of the bad shots I make, either of which could be responsible for me lowering my scores to the very low 50’s. Today I shot 53 which is really, really good for me. It would have been lower yet had I been able to make some pretty simple putts. One putt I made from about 10 feet out went into the middle of the cup, hit the plastic edge of the hole liner and bounced right back at me, landing about 4 inches from the hole. Remarkable. But, it was fun for all. Doug also had a 53 and Junior beat us both with a 52. In another couple of years I should be able to get my scores into the 40’s. Could be, too, that I’ll lose all my balls before that happens and I won’t have to worry about it.

After golf Doug brought me home. He agreed to do that because Jewel drove me to the course because I still need to put the windshield wipers on my old truck and it was raining. It rained on us most of the way around, but we didn’t care.

I quickly changed my clothes and jumped in the back seat of Diane’s truck and we headed for Dallas to watch Lydia play soccer. That’s Dallas, Oregon, not Texas. It’s near Salem, toward the Oregon coast.

The first half Lydia sat on the bench watching as the St. Helens defense floundered a little and went to the locker room down 2-1. Morgan, the first half goalie, didn’t get a lot of help from her team mates keeping the ball out of the net, and she made some really good stops. Lydia took over goalie duties in the second half and the girls’ offense kicked into gear for 3 more goals. The defense, aided by some pretty awesome saves by Lydia, held Dallas scoreless ending it with a 4-2 win for our girls. It was a really good 2-hour bus ride home for St. Helens I’m sure. They played very well as a team.

Now we’re home and it’s time for bed so I’m stopping.

G’nite.

Listening

Posted on September 4, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Listening involves a lot more than just hearing what someone says. There’s a whole lot of body language that one needs to pay attention to, too. I’ve never been very good at the listening part, but I’m getting a handle on the body language that results when I don’t listen as hard as I should.

For instance, while out shopping in the outlet mall in Lincoln City this past week, Diane went to the Maidenform store to get some new bras while I took the long way around the facilities in search of stuff. I had no plan. I’d already purchased the cheese cutter I wanted from the Kitchen Kaboodle store and there wasn’t anything on my list. Know this, Diane suggest, I’m told, that I should seek out another nice shirt for our trip back east later this month. I filed that away and made a concerted effort to comply but shirts were scarce in the stores I thought I might visit. I suggested that I would be happy to go pick out a bra for her if she would get the shirt, but that summarily dismissed as inappropriate. I guess she still doesn’t know that I always cruise the bra section at Freddie’s when we go there.

So, I wandered off, passing many stores that featured women’s clothing … I mean, I passed a bunch of them … but not one men’s store encroached on my field of vision. That could have been a subliminal thing, I suppose, since I really wasn’t looking for men’s clothes.

Something shiny in a tool store caught my eye as I passed so I stopped and discovered it was a new kind of meat tenderizer and lawn aerator combination thing that you strap to your feet. It had 3 inch spikes all over the bottom of a piece of rubber with little bungee cords to keep the user from falling off. I supposed it would also be useful in really bad weather to keep one from slipping on the ice. Surprised that it wasn’t mentioned on the brochure, I figured the manufacturer missed out on another sales opportunity.

I set the spike shoes aside after the store manager noticed I was making little holes in the floor, and moved on to the section where a vast array of hand tools were displayed. By this time, of course, thoughts of getting a new shirt had been removed from my short-term memory, and out the door. It just wasn’t there any more.

Then I came across this table of shirts that were obviously made for men and the words “GET SHIRT” scrolled across the inside of my forehead and I knew I needed to get one of them. Thankfully, they were all the same color and there were only two choices for the wording.

Simple, right? Well, I pondered for about 30 minutes between the two and finally made the choice …

The other shirt read, “When a Man says he will FIX IT, he will FIX IT. There’s no need to remind him every six months“. I would have gotten that one instead but there were too many words on it.

Although it’s not what Diane had in mind, she liked it so I was able to defuse a potentially contentious situation by doing the wrong thing. Too bad all my wrong decisions don’t turn out that way.

Good Day.