Ghosts of Halloweens Past

This amused me.

My grandnephew Tristan, isn't he cute?

The Medicare drug plan is signed sealed and delivered and pretty much paid for. By switching to Humana's mail order pharmacy I can escape co-pays and will come in around $357.00 for the year as opposed to $2800 if I paid out of pocket. This depends on my doc approving generics. Even if not, I am glad to have the process over. I think it it is cruel to send old people 73 page books with fine print and dozens of disclaimers and exceptions.

Halloween has been a favorite holiday of mine since I lived in Rawlins and Scott and Nathelle had a party in their garage where booze and costumes resulted in debauchery and anonymous groping. An anonymous grope opens up the eyes to a world of possibilities! But I was 23 then. I'd probably be offended today. Maybe not. Definitely wouldn't be the same.

As a Holiday Halloween is mostly fun and no pressure, no gifts to buy, lots of laughs, candy, tricks, and treats. What is not to like?

In the Denver days one parent, a Jew, took us all to the Evans mansion, down the street. The door opened and closed and, after a long wait, the butler brought a tray of petit fours, one for each, on a salver with a doily on it. They were stale. I think the parent was giving us a lesson.

In the Steamboat Springs, kid days, we tricked and treated, played ring and run, laughed about but never tried, the dog-poop-in-the burning-bag trick and tipped an outhouse or two. I discovered I could run fast for a fat kid. The adrenaline was a reward.

In the Casper days we had cars and toilet paper! TP'ing somebody's house or trees and trying not to get caught was a blast. I was so pleased when they TP'd my tree- I was in!

In Rawlins, we new teachers were special targets. Frank Aldrich got egged. We put the top down on Oscar's Chevy II convertible, cleaned out Safeway's egg department and got our revenge. Not a word of reproach from anybody.

In the old Gardini's Bar days when I was door-guard bouncer by night, Halloween was a trip. Discounts for costumes. People let their secret personalities out. "Drag" in Riverton, Wyoming! The "princess syndrome" was rampant. I see some of those girls stocking shelves at Walmart today-not exactly princess time but for one shining moment they were young and beautiful and had hope in their hearts. There was one terrible man- a troublemaker who caused fights every time he came in. He was a druggie to boot. He was fooling around with a woman who had a depilatory business (Scher's Removatron) Her mute husband Leroy came home and caught them in bed and shot him and the waterbed. He lost his arm from just above the elbow down and continued his wicked ways-being obnoxious. This background is necessary to explain my costume: big afro-wig, arm tucked inside a bulky sweater with a pinned up sleeve and a big old pig syringe attached to it. There wasn't a soul who had to ask what or who I was. Most people laughed long and loud, some said "That is cold." His brother Frankie, failed to see the humor. Never came back. Boo-hoo. (By the way, Leroy walked: on the charge and the wife.)

My last Gardini Halloween I came home from work, set right to getting garbed as Obi-Wan Kenobi, with army blanket robe, sandals, sword, swag lamp chain belt, and I broke open a cryalume stick to provide glow-in-the-dark face makeup. Sat down to rest before heading to the bar and woke up at 11:00 p.m., bagged it and went to bed.

Re: The Toga party at Ray and Teri W.'s. I said I wouldn't tell and I haven't.

A few years ago I tried to organize a Halloween party, progressive supper here in the valley. It snowed BIG. The supper just moved to Thayne and Paula's house after canape's in the Fegler's underheated shop. The cowboys/farmers were threatened for the most part. Only Guy and Janet and Charlene and I costumed and they were great. (my afro wig was resurrected, sprayed silver and rode again.) Rasty wouldn't come at all. The Fegler's came as themselves. Kind of telling. It turned into just a dinner more or less. That was the end of my Halloweening. When the child inside you can't find any playmates, it hides. But there are great memories-those that can be told.

Sad State of Affairs

It's a sad state of affairs when the excitement of the day is a power outage. Left us in the dark. It felt familiar. It was pretty impressive as outages go. There seemed to be surge and darkness, surge and darkness. Honey thought we were under siege and was on full alert/attack. Buster was already underfoot because of thunder. After calling the power company and learning it was general, we took a drive. As if by magic, the lights were on when we got home.

Had email from Harold and Julia. They will leave Moncton, New Brunswick for Florida on the 24th of November. They rented a spot at Sunshine Trailer Park- a park in transition from old mobile home park to an apartment complex. The owners are trying to generate revenue as they clean out the old residents. I will watch their experience with interest.

From email: Patsy and Joe are in St. Augustine, will be in Fort Myers Beach November 1, John Prince by American Thanksgiving. Canadian Thnksgiving is in early October.

The Soup of the Day and tomorrow, for sure, was Kielbasa, with fresh celery, carrots, onion, cabbage, potatoes with a dash of butter and a cup of half and half. After seining out onions and other lumps for them, the dogs were as enthusiastic as I. The broth apparently goes well with kibbles. I learned some things as this experiment took shape and it will be even better next time. Nice day if boring to read (and write ) about.

Cold Start

Pretty bitter this morning but in the 60's at 6:oo p.m. The cold kept me in-but not the dogs. Then when it warmed up, lizard-like, I emerged to do chores. I tried out my Humana
Part D drug insurance and it did save me a bundle at the pharmacy though I have to add the premium to that. I got the new 2009 plan in the mail and it has doubled; co-pays have more than doubled. It really is a dodgy system. Now I have to review 48 plans to see if I have the best one and decide before January. This is an annual event for all of us.

Rich did call about 2:00 p.m. He is fine, no stent. His Nuclear stress test had shown a fuzzy result which caused this invasive $10,000.00 catheterization procedure. He will have the hip replacement November 21, 2008. Is that the day before Thanksgiving?

Bought more soup stuff -I am expanding my repertoire in the soup department. I'll let you know how it goes. I have seemed ravenous this past month. I don't need any more weight.

I ran into Harold in Wal-Mart. He was my head custodian at RHS. He had been the foreman of the outfit that built it and was a great (if a little cranky) head custodian. He retired the same year I did but he hated retirement and took a job working at the school's swimming pool. This fall he suddenly was not there greatly disappointing Delores and Ruby. I congratulated him on his retirement. He said, "There was more to it than that!" He looks great. He was always a little bit 'Tut, tut," about the younger generation so I was a little surprised by the pretty sizeable diamond solitaire in his left earlobe, and the neat little beard and moustache. He said he had always wanted to do that. We had an enjoyable discussion of the "retirees epiphany": The "screw you, I don't have to take anything from anybody anymore" moment. It really is liberating.

Aimless Day

Still feeling about a quart low but there are pleasures even in an aimless day. Honey needs reassurance after her "nights out" She does not want to come in and eventually I have to shut the door. Then she feels shut out. She shows her feelings are hurt and stands off. So we have a good rub and lovey and a game or two. Then she is my buddy again-and kind of clingy.

I talked to Rich later on last night. He will have a heart catheterization tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. I have gone-with on all his other hospital procedures-: heart cath, two lithotripsies (you don't want to know-trust me). Val is great in the medical field and knows most of the hospital staff so she will be the best person to go but I will fret until I hear. He may get a stent which will then have a bearing on whether he gets a hip replacement and when. I would like for him to be on an even keel before I go south.

Sunny but a bit chilly: made for nice deck sitting. The season changes the view-endlessly entertaining. Honey tried to sidle up on some geese but gave up before they gave flight. I see where one of the freebies that Senator Stevens got convicted for was a wraparound porch. I think I would like one of those-maybe a three quarter wraparound porch. Florida may not always be "do-able." A nice solar/sun porch would be a very nice thing to have on the south side and an encloseable deck on the north side would be great. Food for thought.

Rich just called. I think he is having a little anxiety too. I extracted a promise to call for what that is worth. If he gets a stent he will be in the hospital for 23 hours-so it is still an out patient procedure. Games! He exercises every day of his life and has never smoked a cigarette. Why him? Judge Hall says exercise is just additional wear and tear. He is in his 70's so he may have something- rail thin, smokes and drinks. Oh well...probably worrying is the cause of early demise. And after watching Rasty's mind depart before his body reminds that there are worse things than blowing a gasket. Charlie Rose is dealing with these very issues right now on PBS. Apparently my waistline is going to become a matter of national importance.

I was a hero to the dogs. Bought and cooked a pound of liver. Made their day! I liked it too. $1.48 worth of fun. Natter, natter, natter....

Stuart Little

As I mentioned before I went to Oregon we have house guests who are not really welcome. I tried two types of "humane mousetraps" and bagged 0. Neither dog seems too interested when they make intriguing noises along the baseboards. The mice seem not to mind our sharing digs with them. In fact I was typing away this afternoon and one peeked around the computer screen. We looked each other over for awhile. This is bad for me because they are kind of cute little critters. The D-Con came out but they seem to know something is fishy. The trick is to find the corpses before Honey does.

Lori, in perfect dog psychology terms, tried on Juneau's Halloween costume. He wanted one too. He seems quite proud of it now. Two poses below-one with a big grin and another in character as a little devil. I see two little devils.

Jason called and we had a good gab catching up on each other's adventures. They loved Nova Scotia, New England, Lexington, Concord, Boston and Martha's Vineyard. There was quite a bit of history in the on-shore tours as well as sights and sites to see. The charter boat business deal has been put in abeyance until the economy settles. I have told you before they are smart. Matt arrives from Oregon tomorrow. He will take a Tony Robbins seminar in Orlando-the brothers and Lori will visit on either end of that.

I have paid for my neglect of the Lotrel BP meds. Joints were very achy in the morning and the water loss has been pretty amazing. Doubly amazing because I did continue to take my aspirin and diuretic all the while. But not so bad all in all. I felt well enough and tricked myself into a Sunday drive. Mailed some pictures to Eve, and delivered the first installment of Delores' birthday present: it seems to have grown over time and I needed to get rid of it while the sack was big enough. ( I gave the second installment before I left- anonymous Whitman Sampler) Delores and Don were doing yard work.

She caught me up on who's croaked. This is a more and more common topic of conversation for us. Two pioneer pillars of the community-real characters. Martha reputedly ran the local cathouse for quite awhile but as her wealth and legitimate enterprises grew, the legend changed. She broke her hip a couple of weeks ago and as is often the case, that was the beginning of the end. Sam, a staunch conservative and Catholic died this week. He was wealthy and did right by his kids- setting them up in businesses. He recently remarried Natalie who was wife number two or three. He divorced her for a younger number which was more or less a business deal. She left with $250,000 for a few years. He was reportedly repentant to Natalie. How he found two women (that I know about) who would administer a daily enema is beyond me! I am almost tempted to attend the High Mass but I am afraid of lightning. Dead Sam and live me in a Catholic Church just seems like a bad idea.

Reading the Tea Leaves

A gentle reader of some 50 years acquaintance emailed, ever so tactfully, that with three rants in rapid succession Mr. Crankypants might be having a blood sugar or blood pressure problem. Recognition was swift on this end. What with traveling and trying to avoid swollen ankles and legs, the BP meds were being neglected. Very rapid relief. Somewhat torpid, but the danger of blowing a gasket is much reduced. Thanks Bon. I feel like a four day old helium balloon but that will go away after a couple of days and good sleep.

Had email from New Brunswick, CA: Patsy and Joe are on their way south and made Lewiston, Maine on their first day. I hope they have some trick routes because they have major cities on I-95 all the way to Lake Worth.

The wind was absolutely fierce today. Things got moved that surprised me-things I regarded as too substantial to be blown about. I am glad the garbage left on a truck. But it is relatively warm.

Trash Talk

Thomas came to haul my trash yesterday and there was a lot. He will return in two weeks and I will again have a lot. It struck me yesterday that I will be heading to Florida in a month, give or take. The (alleged) details emerged from Thomas about why he was unavailable for awhile. Paula and her three kids are subject to a restraining order(!) prohibiting her from getting near Harlan or their place. No violence has been done to anybody or anything except Harlan's pocketbook and ill-gotten gains. Paula had been staying with a girlfriend in town on and off while trying to work things out with Thayne. Unsurprisingly, with that outfit, money was a big issue. Paula has quite a bit of it from a legacy and insurance. First, Harlan borrowed $100,000.00 from her and bought cattle and fed them and sold them ( I suspect unbeknownst to the IRS). She says she got that back, no interest, and announced she was going out of the banking business.. Then she bought a medium sized tractor and attachments for their use on their place. The farm "borrowed" it last season and Paula was surprised to see that it had been leased to the tune of $26,000.00 on the farm tax return she was forced to sign. She took a dim view of that and put a stop to it. Then their basement flooded and Harlan said the house was theirs they should pay. Paula being no dummy went to the courthouse and discovered the house was not theirs, it was in Harlan's name. So she pressed to get that changed and put Thayne in the tough position of standing up to his parents. The relationship went downhill from there. Thayne would stay at his folk's house, uncomfortable silences, at home. She started staying in town with her girlfriend. Divorce proceedings were started and put in abeyance a couple of times. She and the kids were home out here and the sheriff came and evicted them giving them time to pack only a suitcase. All their personal possessions are being held hostage. "Merde du Polloi!"* So that is why Thomas couldn't haul my trash. But they are welcome here anytime. The people at the courthouse said the restraining order, in the absence of violence, is unprecedented. There must be something about that house. Harlan built it for his youngest son, hoping to lock them into servitude for their whole lives. too. Scot and Teff, decamped one day 15 years ago never to speak to his parents again. They have done quite well. Paula will too.

* merde du polloi" is French for Chickenshit.

Other than that I stayed pretty busy with cordless screwdriver and assorted tools.

Greenspan admits ‘mistake’ that helped crisis - Economy in Turmoil- msnbc.com

Greenspan admits ‘mistake’ that helped crisis - Economy in Turmoil- msnbc.com

"Saint Alan," Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand devotee, publicly admits it's all hogwash, dreck, doo-doo, eyewash, B.S., and he screwed up royally, helping to drive the economy into the ditch.

And guess who had it right? This abstract of an article by John Cassidy which appeared in 1997, in the New Yorker, informed my opinions. Bolded highlights are mine:


October 20, 1997, p. 248

Keywords
Capitalism; Communism; Economics; Marx, Karl THE NEXT THINKER about Karl Marx's influence as an economist... Writer was talking with a college friend who now worked at a big Wall Street investment bank... To my surprise, he brought up Karl Marx. "The longer I spend on Wall Street, the more convinced I am that Marx was right," he said. I assumed he was joking. "There is a Nobel Prize waiting for the economist who resurrects Marx and puts it all together in a coherent model," he continued, quite seriously. "I am absolutely convinced that Marx's approach is the best way to look at capitalism." I didn't hide my astonishment. We had both studied economics during the early eighties at Oxford, where most of our teachers agreed with Keynes that Marx's economic theories were "complicated hocus-pocus" and Communism was "an insult to our intelligence." The prevailing attitude among bright students of our generation was that Marx's arguments were fit only for polytechnic lecturers and aspiring Labour Party politicians... More than fifty years ago, Edmund Wilson noted that much of Marx's prose "hypnotizes the reader with its paradoxes and eventually puts him to sleep." The passing decades have not made the going any easier. Marx was ludicrously prolix... The writer gradually began to understand what his friend meant. In many ways, Marx's legacy has been obscured by the failure of Communism, which wasn't his primary interest. In fact, he had little to say about how a socialist society should operate, and what he did write, about the withering away of the state and so on, wasn't very helpful--something Lenin and his comrades quickly discovered after seizing power... When Marx wasn't driving the reader to distraction, he wrote riveting passages about globalization, inequality, political corruption, monopolization, technical progress, the decline of high culture, and the enervating nature of modern existence--issues that economists are now confronting anew... Marx was born in 1818, and died in 1883... Marx wasn't a crude reductionist, but he did believe that the way in which society organized production ultimately shaped people's attitudes and beliefs. Capitalism, for example, made human beings subjugate themselves to base avarice... "Globalization" is the buzzword of the late twentieth century, on the lips of everybody from Jiang Zemin to Tony Blair, but Marx predicted most of its ramifications a hundred and fifty years ago... Globalization is set to become the biggest political issue of the next century... In one way, Marx's efforts were a failure. His mathematical model of the economy, which depended on the idea that labor is the source of all value, was riven with internal inconsistencies and is rarely studied these days.... One important lesson Marx taught is that capitalism tends toward monopoly--an observation that was far from obvious in his day--giving rise to a need for strong regulation.... Likewise endogenous-growth theory models are undoubtedly Marxist in spirit, since their main aim is to demonstrate how technical progress emerges from the competitive process, and not from Heaven, as in the neoclassical model. Describes Marx's "theory of immiseration" which says that profits would increase faster than wages, so that workers would become poorer relative to capitalists over time, and this is what happened during the last two decades. Inflation-adjusted wages are still below their 1973 levels, but profits have soared. ... A key question for the future, the answer to which will determine the fate of the soaring slock market and much else, is whether capital can hold on to its recent gains. Writer visits Highgate Cemetery, where he visited Marx's grave... Perhaps me most enduring element of Marx's work is his discussion of where power lies in a capitalist society. This is a subject that economists, with their fixation on consumer choice, have neglected for decades, but recently a few of them have returned to Marx's idea that the circumstances in which people are forced to make choices are often just as important as the choices... Marx, of course, delighted in declaring that politicians merely carry water for their corporate paymasters... The sight of a President granting shady businessmen access to the White House in return for campaign contributions would have shocked him not at all. Despite his errors, he was a man for whom our economic system held few surprises. His books will be worth reading as long as capitalism endures.

Microsoft Must Die! Long Live Google!

A few days ago I downloaded the new Picasa3 Beta (FREE) from Google and have been lazily reviewing its improvements. Yesterday, unbidden, Microsoft's goodie page opened and there was a product called "Collage- Maker"for $20.00. I decided it might be fun. So I started to download it. In order to download it I had to download something called "digital wallet" which required credit card info, email verification, etc. etc. The Collage software was 7.8 MB- not too big. But after I downloaded it, I got a message that I must download .Net 3.0 from Microsoft or it wouldn't work. That was a 50 MB download! Hours later, I started to use it and my first attempts said some of my picture files were not big enough. Wouldn't work.Then the light came on- Picasa2 had a collage maker that was nothing to brag about but since Microsoft had one out now perhaps the Goggle Picasa3 one was improved. It was, works flawlessly, is simple and once again FREE. The whole Picasa3 download took a couple of minutes.

Here, in words as succinct as I can make them, is my message to Microsoft: I am no longer paying big money for products that need to be fixed or updated when you sell them. Although I know how to navigate my computer and the web, I see no reason to have to do this in order to use your products. What I want is to install them and have them work, out of the box or after a download. You know, the old radio concept: turn it on and it works. You have no right to monitor my computer without my permission. For some reason-perhaps experience, I don't trust you but I do trust Google-they have never let me down. You, Microsoft, are so afraid somebody might get something for free that your licenses and products are onerous. If I want to use Collage Maker on another computer, I have to download, pay get a new license, register my computer, etc. I can download Picasa3 for free on as many computers as I want-no hassle. You, Microsoft, are like the Catholic Church ( or IBM, or Polaroid, or Kodak). You got in on the early franchise when the product was new and vibrant and are spending the rest of your life enforcing arcane rules and protecting the orthodoxy. The world is moving on and you haven't had an original idea in years.

That said, the above fun collage of the Anniversary Cruise was created in less than five minutes using Google's Picasa3 Collage maker.

Denuded

A chill and fierce wind blew most of the afternoon. Some leaves on my mature cottonwoods are as big as salad plates and they hit the roof with a healthy sound. Low temperatures are forecast and it is snowing those crystals that look like somebody cut a bean-bag chair. Quite a few little chores and starting heat tapes and pumphouse heaters, stuffing insulation in cracks today. I was glad to see so many leaves fall-that will protect the limbs from breaking. Except for the tops, the trees are denuded. I don't mind this bit of winter but mostly because I have an escape plan. It really is January, February, and March that get me down.

The other rats are planning to desert also- Jayne from West Virginia is on her way to North Carolina enroute to Orlando. Ken and Mervi from Thunder Bay got word the condo they bid on was theirs in January. Lew from upstate New York is going down in mid-November, Joyce and Gary from Pittsburgh are not firm with anything other than intent to go sometime.

My last store trip included lots of canned vegetables among the comestibles. Nice pot of soup today. A nice flat loaf of Focaccia Bread- I have felt very peasant-like all afternoon. A nice round of cheese, or better yet, a loaf of welfare cheddar would have been perfection.

I remember the days when I liked getting mail. Not so anymore. It is either stuff I have to do or junk. But I am getting it done.

I got a nice string of digital pictures from niece Alicia who is in New York with her boyfriend Sean and some others. I was quite surprised because sometime between Rich's wedding and now he got kicked to the curb for being a chippying s.o.b- with another full-figured mezzo- soprano to boot! Isn't life interesting? Maybe it was a misunderstanding ~. .~

Top: Sean doesn't look like...he is 35, does he? Bottom: a scene from Central Park.

Honey is a bit of a trial on these cold days. In spite of my beefing up the curtains to keep the cold out, the old-fashioned door has to be employed in the end. This necessitates a lot of jumping up for a high energy dog. If I leave her out too long, she sulks. In for too long, and the destruction starts. She has had a runny eye for the past couple of days. Buster very tenderly licks it when we all bed down. He is such a sweetie boy. She eats up the attention but when she lays her massive head on his haunches preparatory to sleeping he gives a "back-off" growl which she takes as "get off the bed." I can coax her back. It is a large bed. When I move in that direction, the race is on.There is ample room if everybody doesn't want the same piece of real estate. Is that too much to ask?

It is so inspiring

It is so inspiring when one's own great literature spawns other great works of Art. Denis was moved to create this imaginative work based on my blog entry of last week. It incorporates a Pileated Woodpecker and his conception of a lesbian (not that there is anything wrong with that) Park Ranger. In point of fact, the original observed person was blonde, short, squarely trim, somewhat elfin, with a fetching rip in her tan cargo pants just below the right buttock. She was mid -Jodie Foster /Drew Barrymore in appearance but she was totally John Wayne in language and demeanor. Her compadre was more Cher, tall, italianate, but no vegetarian as it was my misfortune to use the facilities after she did.

Pleasant, Productive, Sunday

After burglarizing a house in order leave a birthday present yesterday-goodies from Oregon's Harry and David's, that needed to be given shelter, I had a relatively relaxed day around here. The iPod I gave Eve a couple of years ago, is registered to my computer. Hers was running Windows ME at the time but now she has a MacIntosh. I spent a lot of time online in the "Lindy studio" trying to get that figured out-and didn't. She can use my account. If the big bills roll in I know where to find her. I recorded some music from Cheryl's collection in Oregon and had to figure out how to get it on the studio computer and on my iPod. That worked. More than 40 days of continuous tunes on that puppy and I enjoyed the listen down memory lane. Honey needed playing with. She is a changed dog after our trip. Much more attached and more mellow. Had a funny email from Casper- a photoshopped woodpecker and (alleged) lesbian inserted in my photograph. The recent snow pointed out some outdoor handeyman chores that needed done so I did them.

The East Coast kids got back from their cruise to Nova Scotia and parts in between down to Boston, last night. They shared photographs which I love and am sharing with you. Makes me want to mount up and go! My camera shutter finger is twitching!

These look like jig-saw puzzle pictures! I wish I had taken them.

Jason and Lori are glad to be back with their puppy. They have formed a relationship with Bob the Exterminator (previously mentioned in these very pages- about April, I believe). As noted then, he is a "born again Christian/musician/exterminator" and his wife homeschools their daughter. They are happy to move in while the kids are gone (and who wouldn't be) and be dogsitters. Juneau is well cared for in return (and I don't want to hear about the cash or dead possums).

Mostly Resting

I tried to go to bed hours ago but Honey in her new folksiness, snuggled and rolled and pawed and wiggled, then got hot and jumped down to lay waste to anything in sight with her razor teeth. She knows how to earn a trip outside. Now she is curled up by me sleeping soundly. And I, though so tired earlier that I thought I might be out on my feet, am typing on my stupid Blog.

We went to the store about 3:30 p.m. The snow is melting but cold weather seems to increase the grocery bill. Years of habit in preparing for not going to town for a few days is triggered by snow and cold. Saw some folks -one nice and one nice and insincere. (As my neighbor characterized her: "She smiles even as she is undoing her belt to crap on you." .. .and lest you think that indelicate, I did clean it up already.)

The New York Times had an article on the Northern Arapaho language program. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/10/15/us/20081015-arapaho/index.html

I'm going to be nice and comment-not. It is interesting. It has some pictures of Mark Soldier-Wolf whom I knew first as Mark Dewey. His blind father - a true elder, schooled me on Arapaho history and traditions.

Rich has not received clearance from his Cardiologist on his hip surgery. They have detected some anomaly- I suspect an unmet insurance policy limit, but we will see what we will see. Now I am starting to worry. He can always get a Rascal Scooter to get around but he is irreplaceable.

Oregon to Wyoming

I stopped to take pictures of the foggy lake near Klamath Falls and a lesbian Oregon Forestry lady said there was a pileated woodpecker in this tree. Can you find it? I shouldn't say she was a lesbian (not that there is anything wrong with that) - I didn't ask and she was very nice but if she is not a lesbian, she is missing a helluva good chance: she would make a terrific lesbian.

I tried several artsy-fartsy shots of the lake and none of them please me but it was a wonderful thing to see. There were many scenes like that on the road-vistas so vast and beautiful but camera work does not do them justice. I like the drive even though it is challenging.

The wild burros were not fazed by my curiosity. They were curious right back. I did not linger long. Honey was having a fit and Buster was right beside her.

Red Canyon on South Pass was recovering from the snowstorms. Lots of snow in my yard down here. We arrived at dusk after a 4:00 a.m. departure from Winnemucca this morning. We did not speed or even go the speed limit but we attended to business and made pretty good time. The doggies were sooo glad to see home. There was no dusk discernible damage from the storm. The trip was really good for Honey-she became more of a family member instead of a guard dog. She was getting a little bored near Rock Springs and chewed a plastic coat hanger but, all in all, she was an excellent traveler-even peed this morning in Winnemucca. There is hope! Buster is a good role model for her. Especially in the peeing department.

Reflections

It is mostly sweet, but a little bittersweet, to realize that not only have your children surpassed you in their achievements at their ages but have surpassed you period. Of course, I have been rushing to simplify, to distill, what is important to me and not worry about the rest, for some time. To see them set up in fine homes, with satisfying, if not perfect lives-everybody has crosses to bear, with their own wisdom, skills, perspective, and prospects is really very nice. That I like, respect, enjoy, and admire them as people, is really the icing on the cake.

It is a little liberating to see them independently successful but also a little bit sad to see my own role fading into into irrelevance, except as cheerleader and admirer. Liberating because such competence instills confidence that they likely will be just fine whether I linger a short while or longer, and that I need not worry so much. Like Mission Control, what is launched, is launched, their orbit is their own. There is satisfaction that the engineering was mostly sound but not much that can be done now but admire from a distance. It has ever been thus, I suppose, but I have not experienced it before.

Matt cooked an excellent dinner for five last night-broccoli, fresh squash, barbecued chicken- not a morsel left. Our little Audrey is a good eater, too.

Miss Honey awoke me at 4:00 a.m. urgently wanting to go out. I sweetly complied thinking she had probably just seen or heard a cat because she will not relieve herself except at Matt's but she had the poops and was a good girl to let me know. I left her at Matt's the other day and I guess she sat at the gate (and scratched it) trying to find me. She is a funny one. Very nonchalant about affection when I am near but apparently committed.

Brother Rich just called- back from San Antonio, Alamo re-creations, riverwalk, excellent mariachi bands, house tours, Nally's bar to throw peanut shells on the floor and listen to a piano player who sang naughty songs- an excellent time. Val is so good for him. He has gone and done more since they have dated and married than in all of his previous 50 some years put together. He just sounded up and enthusiastic.

Jason and Lori are on a cruise with bus tours of the Northeast U.S. to see the fall colors. An anniversary celebration. Will I get pictures?

This will be my last full day here-on the road tomorrow. Great visit and we will all gather in Florida for a reunion in February.

Fall Fun in Oregon

Petting Zoo, Harvest -Fest, Breakfast at Dolly Varden's Sunday morning and making a jack o' lantern with Audrey- her first, made the weekend fun for Grampie. Of course the camera clicked away the whole time.

Sunday Morning-early

We are waiting until we can decently call on chez Matt Roberts. Honey won't tinkle on a leash so we will go over there and do that, let Dmitri and Honey ROUGHhouse for awhile, go to breakfast and after that I have declared a hiatus-they need some time to decompress and I decided to stay until Wednesday morning. The traveling weather should be sunny and the snow should be melting at home. Pretty impressive snow pictures coming from there.

We are doing Grampy things. I spent two beautiful days with my boy- just hanging- going to the hardware, sports stores, etc. He is a good man. His business confiscates weapons at concerts etc. I went through one box of knives and picked a few. The reserve collection has some murderous items in it. Makes you worry a little about being in public. Lots of scared puppies out there judging from their hardware.

We managed to do the Petting Zoo and the Pumpkin Patch yesterday. Matt had a security job at at a Quincereana (sp) last night. He is getting more and more of those. Hispanic people "present their daughters" at age 15. This one was at the armory-price tag $40,000. L.A. visitors expected. Strong security presence. Meanwhile, Eve made chili, I made cornbread, and we all had a relaxing evening at Eve's. Audrey was pretty good considering how tired she was.

The petting zoo- has a "cornbox" instead of a sand box. Audrey remembered it and she and others certainly enjoyed it.

Busy days, Grampy has had no problem falling asleep-just staying asleep.

Blog Jam

Several times I have tried to update the blog, typed copiously, and posted to ...oblivion. I finally figured out it has something to do with motel's wifi and firewall. So the Verizon aircard is now in play and because I am so far behind am making an annotated album (work in progress)which you can watch here in a smaller format or click on the pix and go to the album for bigger pictures. I am having a great visit.

Objects of My Affection

I am in Oregon very busy and very tired. I will catch the blog up tomorrow.

Hitting the road in the A.M.

The extra day of leisurely prep time was put to good use but a glance at the weather forecast has induced a little panic. Last time I checked the local 10 day forecast-no freezing. Tonight there is some freezing toward the end of the week. Rather than be sorry, I have a few chores to attend to in the morning. I have been rising early so it should be no problem but the first and last day of this particular route are the hard days- Arapahoe to Winnemucca. Then there is the problem of frequent pit stops for the old guy. The "Martha Stewart doggie doors" have been a welcome mat for some unwanted winter visitors. Traps and D-Con to set out in the morning. The rascals try to move in every fall. This is a good opportunity to do them in and not have to hunt high and low for the little stinkers.

I said goodbye to Starband Satellite Internet. That has been a good service for me but the aircard is almost as fast and it goes with me. Starband has no equivalent to vacation service. I migrated my website. It is a little different but should suffice. It strikes me that I am now almost completely portable: Cell phone, Internet, Satellite radio, web based banking, bill pay.

Mr. Crankypants was contemplating the cell phone. Mr. Cranky says these are the new rules:

• If you call Mr. Crankypants to kill time while you multi-task; play with your computer, walk your dog, drive your car, Mr. Crankypants will not answer next time. He finds this insulting. Being something to do while the dog poops is neither a compliment nor a relationship builder in his book. If you are so busy or pressed for time that you must call during these activities, he will understand the long silences between calls.
• If, on the other hand, Mr. Crankypants calls you and you are doing these things, he understands that he called when you are busy and will be brief.
• If you have programmed your phone to show "unavailable" or "restricted" on the caller I.D. , Mr. Crankypants will be similarly unavailable. If you are dodging somebody, like the Department of Justice, remember they can hear every word and since Congress in its wisdom agreed with the F.B.I. that you don't have to be a terrorist to have your cell phone calls monitored, Mr. Crankypants really would prefer to know who is on the other end before he says "hello." Email a time for your call if you are on the lam or arrange a signal.
• If you are eating something when you call, Mr Crankypants regards this as poor form and will terminate the call as soon as he can without seeming as rude as you are.
• Mr. Crankypants takes a diuretic. Contemplate the implications of this. Finish the jingle; "It takes two hands to...." Realize Mr. Crankypants sometimes has a tendency toward hyperbole when writing.
• Mr. Crankypants lives in a fringe area. Besides that, his cell phone signal is iffy. He is also increasingly not too shiny in the hearing department. When he says "huh?" it is not due to inattention.
• Mr. Crankypants takes into consideration your call history. If the ratio of relationship- building calls to "I need a favor" calls is too out of whack, Mr. Crankypants may or may not answer.
• Mr. Crankypants regards Email as a a wondrous invention with the capacity for doing more than forwarding saucy jokes or vilifying politicians, though those are entertaining and open a window on the sender's mind. Mr. Crankypants seldom forwards emails that are sentimental or maudlin. Artistic merit, originality and extreme filthiness are his criteria for forwarding. He makes charitable donations for orphans and other pathetic cases and does not consider forwarding emails as particularly useful. He regards testaments of true friendship forwarded with instructions to forward yet again and send a copy to the sender as emotional blackmail and never gives in.

Go, Stop, Go

Things have come together for lift-off. I wanted to get the trash hauled before I left. I called Thomas and his cell phone was disconnected. So I called his mom, Paula, her cell phone was disconnected, so I called Thayne, her husband. Landline answered. Paula had told me there was trouble in paradise. Thayne told me she was gone. As the cell phone bill runs $400 plus, he pulled the plug on that. Thayne and I talked for quite awhile. He is disappointed but seems to be holding up and the stress is less. I wish them all well. I also wish Thomas would haul my trash.

In the course of conversation I told Thayne I was heading to Oregon and he said it is supposed to be stormy-snow on the passes, etc. So I checked it out on the web and trust the farmer to know what the weather is going to do- he is right. Weather .com has a wonderful feature where you can check the highways/towns along major roads for up to 10 days ahead. Monday is going to give me cool but sunshiny days the whole trip. As my departure was kind of arbitrary, Monday it is. Too old and too much time to travel under fret .

Hauled the hounds to town and we took a break in the park. Honey was great. Buster got a new harness. Honey got a new super leash-extendable and it works and she doesn't hate it. I got most of the burrs off them.

I blogged on my other blogs today-they are mostly informational. I will do a little each day with material I have. This is entry 700 on this blog.

Memory Hook: The Congress passed the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street and added another 100 +billion and gave tax cuts???!!!. 159,000 jobs were lost last month. Then the officials and economists started dropping the hints this will not do much about the recession. Warren Buffett says recovery could take at least six months and possible two years. Hang on to your hats kids, the ride is going to be bumpy.

In related news a 90 year old woman in Akron, Ohio shot herself twice as officials tried to evict her. She is in critical condition in the hospital. Freddie Mac promptly wrote off the mortgage-said she could have the house she lived in since 1970. Now, if she only lives.

Trotting along

All of a sudden October is upon us and I have a commitment to myself to go to Oregon. As always I plod along until I have a "Good Grief," moment. That was last night. Then the "what-if's" set in: "What if it freezes? etc., so I made lists and got after it. I got my flu shot and lifetime pneumonia shot. Got meds for the dogs. Got new split bolts for the powerline that feeds the Lindy RV, got RV antifreeze, and spent the afternoon using the stuff I bought this morning. Some flying ants attacked me while I was up on the ladder. Doggies went with this morning and miss Honey was a delight from early on when she crawled on the bed for a snuggle. She is drooping tonight-this afternoon they both got into some cockle burs. They pull right off Buster but Honey's long hair creates an issue. She may have some on her hiney. She is good about letting me work on her so in the morning we will check and get the scissors.

Susie, Janet's mom called and is going to have a birthday party for Janet on the 13th. I don't know if I will be back and told her so, so they are holding plans. I still don't know but I am going to try for then or the 14th. Friend Delores had a party at the office-she sent a video. We are both messed up on exact dates for each other's birthdays. Shopping for her was on my mind today but I put it off because my vaccinations were making me feel a little strange. ( No, reality wasn't finally setting in... why do you always have to be so sarcastic?)

I used up the last of Janet's homegrown veggies tonight: stuffed green pepper, home-grown corn and tomato. Very satisfying meal. Homegrown is a real treat. (See, the stuffed green pepper I was offered the other night got my mouth set on a taste.)

I worked on my websites last night. I got the old starband website (WCHR) migrated to Google. Worked on the JPP websites and blogs. As with everything, the devil is in the details but I am getting them the way I want them and they will be easier to maintain.