7-24-23

 July 24,2023

I'm a little behind on writing this week as I usually write these up either on Saturday throughout the day as I sit down to eat or on Sunday morning as the wash is going.  Instead I am writing as I eat breakfast on a Monday.

Today my dad would have turned 75 had he not gone to Vietnam when he was 18.  He has been gone 13 years now, I miss him something fierce lately as he would be able to advise me on my life better than anyone with my current situation and his experience.  I do not grieve his loss though as his time in Vietnam during the Tet offensive of 1968 left him with living nightmares and memories no one should ever have.  For dad death was a blessing.

Dad would have liked this quote as he taught me to live this way:

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

--Robert A. Heinlein

So why am I behind?  I had to drive to Paducah on Saturday to conduct a prisoner transfer from cell block 11328...I was picking up Buttercup--my grand-daughter--for her 2 week visit with me and other family.  The trip isn't bad but it is kind of boring through a long stretch of it.

Buttercup is now a yellow belt in Jujitsu, is 4' 4" tall and only 7, and still has an exemplary command of the English language.  I let her drive the lawn mower around the front yard--it's the smoothest part of the yard--and she picked up the zero-turn controls really fast.  Don't worry I had the speed set so low I can jog faster than it can go and the mower function was not on, basically it was a fancy go cart for about 15 minutes.  She wants me to turn the deck on next time...nope not for quite a while as the engine has to be full throttle for that!

We had a hailstorm roll through with straight-line winds and near golf-ball size hailstones the other day.  My Traverse has over 100 dings in the paint, shattered wing mirrors, and a broken windshield.  It's a good thing I keep a low comprehensive co-pay on it.  I also had about 40 feet of my American Elm blow out, so yeah that is sickening.

I had my interview for Marquis Who's Who on Wednesday evening.  I was surprised it took over an hour, and more surprised that at the end I was told I am now an inductee into the publication.  I was actually invited to apply by Marquis which according to the interviewer means I was vetted before they extended the offer.  The worst part was when they asked about my spouse or significant other and I had to say I don't have one.  It really hurt to say that especially since the one I love would have benefited from the exposure and it could possibly have got them in as well.

On one I love, she will communicate in some ways but not generally.  If I ask how her or the kids are I get blatant silence, she will respond to other people on twitter but not a peep to me.  I did tell her about the interview and got congratulated but then back to silence.  I still do not understand this.  I feel the signs I am being given are correct that there is someone I can't see causing trouble and giving her VERY bad advice.  I guess it could also be that it is easier to ignore/ghost/be silent than to actually discuss and work things out like adults.

As regular readers know I had to put a clutch on the mower recently and sick me made a couple of mistakes.  The first one was I should have extended the wire harness so it was further from the spinning pulley of doom that wound up cutting the wires off.  Not in great mental condition me then repaired said cut in a hurry and apparently the vibrations caused a short...so it has been repaired again, but this time I did it 100% correctly.

In my day job I have begun interviewing potential workers and we have hired one who is supposed to start today.  The next one gets an interview tomorrow by phone, and another on Wednesday in person.  With any luck I may have four new crew members on by mid August and maybe we can let the tech who is day drinking go--he is an excellent plasterer so hard to let him go without a replacement.

You may have noticed I have not yet won the lottery.  I would rather have her as opposed to the money though so thoughts, prayers, spells, whatever you're into are appreciated.

Maura out