Category Archives: Opinions

Golf and Other Important Stuff

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Wow! It’s been 9 days since my last entry. I must have been really busy, you’d think. At least if I was you that’s what I’d think, but I’m not so I don’t. But, I do know what happened on some of those days. Not all of them, just some.

One thing, for sure I remember, is that I went golfing twice. Those Peal brothers, and my lovely bride, are trying to wear me out by making me go golfing once a week, rain or shine. The up side of that is that I’m actually getting a little better. That’s true even though I’ve taken a vow to count every stroke I take. That wasn’t always the case as those of you who read this regularly know. There are plenty of Mulligans and gimmees in my past. Then I decided to quit that because, really, who cares? I just smack the ball, go find it and smack it again. Somethings I smack it pretty good, other times I don’t. But, it’s fun.

During today’s round at the links I had to use a cart because I developed terminal knee pain yesterday while working on the motor home. I could hardly walk yesterday because my left knee hurt so bad and I couldn’t figure that out because it wasn’t swollen at all. But, it hurt horrible, like a for real 10 on that pain chart docs like to use. Today it’s better, but now there’s swelling. Perhaps whatever’s causing the pain is working its way to the surface and once it’s free it will eat my knee cap. Maybe that’s what it’s already doing because it’s the knee cap that hurts. So, I have a parasite that’s eating my knee cap. That could be what it is for sure. If it still hurts tomorrow I might just see about getting a doctor’s appointment for a professional opinion.

The motor home … Since the days have been so nice, I thought it would be a good idea to rip the front right off that sucker. Doing that involved removing about 3 dozen screws of various sizes then expending a great deal of effort to overcome the death grip provided by the incredible amount of various kinds of sealant that held the fiberglass cowl in place above the windshield. It’s been leaking at the seam where the fiberglass meets the aluminum roofing material. Of course I had no idea what I was doing when I dismantled everything, but I did it anyway. It’s OK because Diane’s used to me doing stuff like that. I take things apart. Generally, I get them back together again, too, and most of the time they work better when I’m done. Not always, but most of the time. If I remember, I’ll let you know how this one works out. I have confidence it will work out well because the alternative will involve a divorce lawyer if I don’t get Diane to the beach pretty soon.

Now I must stop and prepare for a good night’s sleep. I have work ahead of me tomorrow. One, for sure, it the motor home, but a new one developed on my way to council this evening. I replaced the headlights on the PT this afternoon and that involved a lot of effort to release those crummy little plastic push thingies that hold the  fender well liner to the body instead of screws in some places. I was able to remove, and reuse three of the 20 I tore out and, of course, I didn’t have any spares. Who does? Like those are parts I make sure I have in stock, right? Well, I don’t. So now I must go buy some because the fender well plastic inserts are flopping around making all kinds of racket that I don’t like. That means I must drive slowly to NAPA tomorrow for the missing parts. Hopefully that’s the cure. Or, maybe I destroyed something during the headlight install.

Did you know you have to take the grill out of a PT to replace headlight units? News to me, too. That, and loosen the fascia. It’s  huge hassle, but it’s done. Almost.

G’night.

Old News, What’s in a Name?, & Jerry 3

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Sports events are escalating with the addition of about 4-5 NCAA football bowl games per day which I find to be OK. Though I’m not a fan of most of the teams who are playing, it’s fun to watch all that commotion as they struggle to be the best at whatever bowl they are playing in. Then there is the NFL which is winding down to another Super Bowl. The BIG one for me, of course, is the Rose Bowl game on New Year’s Day. That will be Oregon and Florida State going at it to advance to the National Title game against either Alabama or Ohio. Should be fun.

All this football causes me to think about team names and how the whole world seemed to get all upset about Indian names being used in a way that has been so demeaning all these years without anyone saying anything about it. That’s kind of like a woman stepping forward to report how Bill Cosby abused them 30-40 years ago, like all the sudden it’s too unbearable to keep a secret any longer. Or, the legion of altar boys who were abused by trusted ministers and pastors. I know, I’m trivializing those situations, but it astounds me that such events are hidden for so long, until one person steps forward. Then another, and another, until it becomes a HUGE problem because the media just eats it up and ensures that everyone is aware of the problem multiple times a day, every day, until a plane crashes somewhere.

So, then team names all the sudden became a problem because they diminish Native Americans. Most notable, of course, is the NFL’s Washington Redskins. National news, right? So, I propose that we take a look at all team names, not just those related to cultures. Like the New Orleans Saints. Seems like the Vatican should be up in arms about that one because there is no depiction of any of the many saints on advertising, or uniform items leaving one to doubt the validity of their association with the Catholic Church, which is obvious because of the name.

How about the Dallas Cowboys? Shouldn’t REAL cowboys be upset about that name? There is nothing about the team uniforms or logos that have anything to do with cowboys which leaves fans in limbo, allowed to draw their own conclusions about what kind of cowboys the owner is talking about. Everyone knows that only the media knows whats good and bad about all this.

Then there’s the Chargers, Packers, Bears, Panthers, Jaguars, Dolphins, Eagles, Broncos, Seahawks, Rams, etc. Man, if I was an animal of some sort, I’d either be upset because of the ambiguity of those names, or upset because I’m an animal without a team. Like a Chipmunk, or a Rabbit. Maybe the Cleveland Cows. That would be better than the Browns, which is about as undefined as one can be. What about all the other colors? Shouldn’t they be included somehow?

Maybe we could just use body parts as names for teams … like the Miami Knuckles, New York Arm Pits, Denver Dicks, San Diego Scapulas, Seattle Knee Caps, Carolina Cartilage, Dallas Digits, San Francisco Fingers, Pittsburgh Groins … OK, I’m outta names. Gotta quit before I work myself into a frenzy with this stuff because it drives me nuts. Seriously, who cares? Well, in my examples, perhaps Denver would … then, again, maybe not. We will probably never know. It is my humble opinion that those who get upset about team names are people who look for reasons to be upset about lots of things for no apparent reason.

Sorry for all of that. Maybe I should write more about stuff I know something about, like raisins, or dirt, but that would be incredibly boring.

To end I must report that Jerry 2 is alive and well. I know this is true because he called me to make sure I knew that, specifically. It was good to know.

My Wife

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She’s the love of my life, the best friend I’ve ever had, and the person who completes me. She also makes sure I smell good when I leave the house, for any reason, that I wear the proper clothes for the reason I leave, and that I have a list of things I’m supposed to do while I’m out and about. She makes me go golfing a lot, cooks me incredible meals, does all my laundry, irons my shirts, and feeds all the birds. All I do is mow the yard once in a while and get the oil changed in her Buick when needed. I feel that I don’t pull my share of the load, but I’ve learned that I shouldn’t volunteer to help. I should just wait until she asks and when she does, I’m always there. She’s more than earned it.

Today is her birthday so help me in wishing her a really good one. I’m not allowed to say how old she is, but she was born in 1946.

I love you, Diane. Thanks for all you do.

Me

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Prejudice

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Why do you suppose it is that some of our more notable Americans, who fight all comers to supposedly abolish racism, simply ensure that racism remains alive and well in America by stoking the fires that ignite prejudice? Job security would be my guess. If they were truly dedicated to fighting for their cause, they would look at both sides of an issue before immediately jumping on the band wagon of those who, as chance would have it, are the same color they are.

Go figure.

Commercials

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Considering my advanced age, and my desire to improve my health, I’ve been paying more attention to all the advertisements I’ve previously ignored. Oh, I hear bits and pieces but mostly they flit through my brain mostly as white noise. You know, you hear it but not to the point where you actually paid attention. Lately, however, the white noise is fading and identifiable words are filtering through to the part of my brain that understands them. I’m not sure where that part is but suspect it’s somewhere a little above, and between my ears somewhere. Just makes sense. But, then, the eyeballs are connected to the back of the brain instead of the part right behind the eyes themselves. Perhaps that’s because the hearing part was already using that space so the eyeballs had to be rerouted to the back. Kinda like a detour.

Anyway, the words I’m starting to string together into coherent memories from the commercials are a bit disconcerting for me. Perhaps you have the same feeling. Take this one, for example … it’s for a seemingly benign salve for foot fungus that’s supposed to clean up your toenails. the commercial itself is fairly short, but the speed-speaking person listing the list of possible side effects is quite entertaining. It goes something like this …

The list of possible side effects includes, but is not limited to, the possibility of liver and kidney failure unless the salve is applied between 4-5 am on a Sunday morning, severe brain damage if ingested by licking the finger applying the salve within 30 seconds of application, a Viagra induced erection lasting less than 15 minutes, whether or not it was used, heart failure if do, blurred vision, impaired hearing, and possible death if you don’t get a haircut right away.

Pretty much every commercial, about anything, ends with a similar list of ill effects but in a different order. Makes me want to run out and buy stuff like that right away.

And you?

Ferguson

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I am sitting safely in my chair this evening, waiting for the the grand jury decision from Ferguson, Missouri. I’m not waiting for the verdict with the same expectations as those who live in that town. Personally, I don’t think it’s going to matter what the decision is because I believe, either way, that town will continue to suffer the consequences of the decisions made by one troubled teenager. If the officer involved is exonerated, I suspect the town will burn due to the perceived injustice. If the officer involved is deemed guilty of misconduct, I fear the town will burn as the result of celebration by people who probably don’t even live in Ferguson. A pretty sad state of affairs, I’d say. Really sad for both families involved, and sad for the town.

Sad.

Dermatology, iPhone’s, & Blood Blisters

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Today Diane took me to my dermatology appointment at Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland where the doc caused me excruciating pain as he burned off a fairly large number of suspect moles from various parts of my body. I was very disappointed to learn how many pain receptors there are behind my ear lobe. Maybe yours are different, but I doubt it.

Eventually the pain went away and the doc helped me up off the floor and allowed me to exit his facility without further injury. To celebrate my release we went to lunch at Home Town Buffet in Beaverton. It’s an all you can eat place, but I didn’t. I could have eaten lots more.

On the way home we stopped at Fred Meyers in Scappoose. I bought a new case for the new iPhone 6 that’s supposed to be on its way to me.

In case you’re curious about what’s been going on for the past bunch of days you’re out of luck because I don’t remember right at this moment. Not all of it, anyway. There is a memorable moment I had alone while chipping through some really old cement in order to make room for a new fence post when I received a career ending blood blister on my left pinky. It really hurt and had something to do with a small sledge-hammer and a wedge meant for splitting wood that I was using as a tool to dismantle portions of a cement curb. It worked better than I thought it would. Turns out it works pretty good for splitting really hard rocks, too. Who knew?

Now I’m tired and must quit.

The News, our House, Ducks, and Ozzie

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 Seems like the most newsworthy “stuff” this past week has been about the Pistorius trial, ISIS “bravery”, and the NFL Commissioner’s bad call. I suspect all of those are a handy way for the media to deflect attention from actually newsworthy “things”. Not being an expert of such matters, I’m not in any kind of position to expand on what those “things” are, but surely there’s something else. Well, there is the pregnant Princess who’s having some pretty terrible morning sickness issues, but I bet there thousands of pregnant ladies in the world experiencing the same terrible malady. Just because they aren’t princess’s doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a little bit of the limelight. Right?

Pistorius is guilty of man slaughter, or the South African equivalent. He shot his girlfriend in the safety of his own home, and should go to jail but probably won’t because he’s missing some parts and was an Olympian. Got it. Let’s move on.

ISIS continues to terrorize the world with its unique display of bravery by beheading the third journalist who had the misfortune of getting captured. In retaliation, the news keeps showing drones blowing up the same two pick up trucks over and over and over. That’ll teach them, don’t you think? I know, there’s lot’s going on that even the news facilities don’t know about but you’d think they could be a little bit more creative with their stock war footage. Maybe they could show something from the Gulf War. Who’d know? Just give us a little variety, OK?

I mean, really, why is it so important that everyone know that NFL front office folks are less than honorable at times? So Rice slugged his wife and only got a 2-game suspension and didn’t spend even one minute in jail. That’s right up there with child-beaters who might wind up with a few months in jail and mandatory anger management counseling. I’ll go out on a limb with the NFL, here, and postulate that Rice is totally guilty, not so much for the deed, but for getting caught. He’s not the only one guilty of this offending activity.

The Princess? Enough said about her. I say leave her alone and let her suffer in peace.

Over the past couple of weeks, or so, Diane and I have been busy painting our home. I may have mentioned this previously, but I don’t care. I’m telling you about it again because it’s a task that’s wearing out my tiny little shoulders and arms as i dangle precariously from the top end of a 12 foot extension ladder extended to about 20 feet. It’s exciting and scary at the same time, kinda like sipping hot and sour soup at a rarely patronized Chinese restaurant in an unfamiliar city. Who knows that kind of outcome either of them will produce? Fortunately, I did not place Diane in the precarious position of having to call 911 to deal with the kind of injuries one incurs when testing the force of gravity from 20 feet up. I didn’t spill any paint, either. That’s the real success. Now all that remains to be painted are the garage doors. They are the only red items left.

Last Monday Ozzie had his teeth cleaned. His breath was pretty horrible from the barnacles growing on his teeth so we, and his Primary Care Doctor, felt it was probably a good idea to get rid of them. During the process on dogs, unlike with people, bad teeth are removed as necessary. Ozzie lost three of them because there was hardly anything left of them as most of the roots had been reabsorbed by his little body. We have them in a little tube and plan to add Ziggy’s tooth so it will make a nice necklace for Oz.

He was at the vet’s office pretty much all day and we picked him up shortly after 3 pm. They gave him some morphine for the pain so he was a little wild-eyed for a while and chose to hold up in his kennel for the remainder of the day. We had pain meds and antibiotics for him, but they were in pill form so the only way he was going to get them was to eat something … out of a bowl. There was absolutely no way I was going to hazard my fingers by sticking them in his mouth to administer a pill. Little as he is, with those tiny little teeth, he bites all the way to the bone.  Since the teeth were now clean and polished, it would have been easier for him to do that. Consequently, he didn’t get his meds for three days because he wouldn’t eat. Apparently he didn’t want to get his nice clean teeth dirty. We tried, of course, but he chose to just sit in his kennel, except for an occasional trip outside, dwindling away to a mere 5-6 lbs, or so.  Through it all he had a cold, wet nose, so figured he was probably OK. Still, I called his PCP and arranged to get liquid versions of his pain meds and antibiotics. He got his first dose last night which was a challenge. This morning he got another dose but I tricked him by not flinching when he showed me his Elvis lip, which he does to warn of imminent attack. Instead, I stuck the little syringe dose thing in his mouth and pressed the plunger. Boy was he surprised. Twice. Now I have to do it again tonight. Hopefully he hasn’t figured out my secret. He actually at food today, too, so we know he’s on the mend.

I only worked outside for a couple of hours this morning then terminated all activity because the temperature soared from an early 53 to 97 or so pretty quickly. I still need to paint some, but it’s hard to do when the paint dries on the roller before there’s time to apply it. Really makes a mess. So, we must wait for a cooler day. It will have to be before Wednesday because it’s supposed to rain that day.

Diane and I watched the Oregon Ducks dominate the Wyoming Cowboys 48-14 earlier. Then she left so I’ve been trapped here in my chair having to watch whatever comes on because she didn’t give me the remote before she departed.

Hope she comes back soon because I’m getting hungry watching all these commercials.

Good News, Bad News, & Hotness

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Those of you who know me, or have read the frivolous things I’ve written about, understand I’m not the guy who routinely goes down a serious road. I work more on the positive side of life because I like it better there. It’s more fun and, I hope, provides an opportunity for you to join me there, for a moment, and find a reason to smile. I have no other motive. It’s really that simple. I’m here to counteract just a little bit of the negative aspects of living on planet Earth, deflecting them into outer space, replacing them with happy thoughts.

For just a moment …

It’s brief, I know, and won’t last, because I’m just one old guy pecking away on his computer, trying his best to get along. In order for efforts like mine to make even a tiny impact on anything, we’d need a really large herd of old guys with metaphorical peckers like mine, doing what I do. Better yet, a really large herd of girls and guys, young or old.

I share that bit of information because of recent events in Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis, that hit home for some reason. I’m sure most everyone in the USA has seen something on the news about this. What happened isn’t unique, but it’s still very sad and far more satisfying for news folks to share than the 100’s of good things that no doubt happened in that same neighborhood, before and after the reported event.

What kind of response would you expect for a newspaper, or newsletter, that reported only good events and things? I thought I might take a stab at culling the internet for happy “stuff” and make a newsletter to share all of it. But, gee!, it’s already been done.

Check out these links.

Good News … Happy News … Positive News … Amazing News

Kinda makes the world a better place, doesn’t it?

On a more personal note, I must report that I’ve been trapped in the house for the last few days because of the weather. Diane won’t let me go outside to work because it’s too hot and she doesn’t think she could drag me back inside before I melt if I were to pass out. So, I’m stuck in the house until the temps drop back into the low 70’s. That means I’m going to get a fairly long vacation and won’t be able to go outside to take care of some waterproofing issues until it starts to rain. Makes sense, right?

Now I’m going to watch TV for a while. Not news.

Beware !

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Just so you know, danger, in the form of a cute blond girl, lurks the hi-ways and by-ways of our little city.

Lydia got her driver’s permit.

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I’m confident that she will do just fine and obey all the rules but feel it’s only fair that everyone know. I’m sure she’s been warned to watch out for all of you, too.