The cast for High Chaparrel was in the La Fiesta de los Vaquaros parade. Mom and I went to the parade because I was not riding in it that year. My mom locked eyes with Leif Erickson. Mom went weak in the knees at that one look. She said that he had looked through her and now she knew what all the fuss with Frank Sinatra was.

Goodbye 2020

 

There have been some difficult times. For everyone. I am a laid back personality. But this year is one which I am waiting for the other shoe to drop.

As you may know, I am doing a build for a new home.  This mobile home is being sent to the parking lot in the sky. Why do you ask? Nothing works. Well, the items replaced still work, but I won’t name them here because you don’t want to praise your children. The mobile home is a little too mobile. I can lay an egg on the counter in the kitchen and it rolls without help, to the north wall. I only have one working toilet. The heater is not working, as is my oven. The stovetop only goes to medium heat. The home is also home to cats, rats, squirrels, lynx, javelina, and cougars.

I should have done these years ago, but I had a bad attorney.

To top everything, I messed up on my iPhone and had to wait in “jail” for them to decide that I was alright and unlocked my phone. Note to self, do backups from time to time. I finally got into my phone on December 29^th and I lost everything. I am spending my time looking up appointments and loading data into my phone. What little data I had.

It will be warm (in the 60s) so I can spend my afternoons working on my fence with my jacket off.

I will wave goodbye to 2020 and welcome 2021.

Then today I looked up the length of time for 1918 Pandemic. It lasted for two years. Buckle up Buttercup.

The Goddess

 

Reclining on the chaise – she let out a long sigh.

A sigh from the core of her being.  With that sigh, there coalescing from the dust, a collection of stars, planets, and natural satellites.

Deeply inhaling, she sighed again and mountains raised, rivers flowed, lakes and oceans formed. Meadows and forests grew, and clouds rained down.

Again, this time a shuttering sigh, and the places were populated with all sorts of creatures. From the single-celled to the complex animals in sea, lake, or land.

She then slept for an eon, to wait for the result.

Missionaries

My dad was LDS and he hated when the missionaries would come over. He devised a method that worked a lot of the time. He would introduce them to a new invention of his. This time it was the "Propcycle", a bicycle-powered by a propeller. One of the missionaries took a ride on it and the other asked my mom a question. Has Mr. Watson invented anything for you? Why yes he has, it was a solar clothes dryer. At this point, the missionary got wide-eyed and asked if Mr. Watson had any difficulties with it. My mom said yes, He had difficulty in getting the ends dug deep enough and at the right angle to allow for the strain of the lines. His eyes then spied the outside clothesline. My mom was great with the puns.

Dentists are Special

I was in a conversation today. Someone was nervous because she was having 2 wisdom teeth taken out. It made me think of some of the dentists which have had me in their chair.

Dr. C was discovered when I woke up one morning with a gum abscess. It seems that when I was 12, I was hit in the mouth by a thrown softball. Twelve years later, the abscess finally blew up. He told me that abscesses would sit for several years. He would usually see them in men who would get into fistfights. However, he had not seen an abscess which had remained in situ for such a long time.

Many years later, I had a renter who had planned to go on a motorbike tour of some duration. He would be leaving on a particular date, which he did. But he returned only a couple of days later. I asked him why he returned so early. He said that he had a gum abscess. I related what the dentist told me, and his frown turned into a glorious smile. I smiled back and I said, "you were in a fistfight." He said yes, and he was thinking of the other guy, and the pain he must have had.

Anyway, back to Dr. C. He treated the abscess, then when the infection was gone, he did a root canal. That was not so bad because the tooth was dead in the first place. He had carefully placed a wire apparatus in my mouth and draped the rest of the mouth. He started drilling on the backside of the tooth. Partway through the procedure, he uttered a single word. "Damn." Huh???? I never asked him what happened, and I probably should have. He told me he would have to cap the tooth. I would have to do that within the next 5 years or else the tooth would fall out. Here it is, 35 years later, the tooth was never capped and I still have that tooth.

Beading Venue

For a number of years, I would go to the Gem and Mineral Show in Tucson. Since I lived in Tucson it was convenient. This particular year, I went with my Mom to St. Phillip's Plaza. There was a cover fee to get in, and I paid for it. I carefully went around the vendors with my Mom. I carefully looked at items, deciding on every purchase I made. It was a small room with maximum space for the vendors and little space for the aisles. There were a lot of people in attendance and it was difficult to get by some shoppers because it was obvious they sat a lot. Forget about getting by if there were two of these well-endowed women were looking at things on opposite sides of an aisle. My Mom tailed around me and when we left, and on the way to our car, she said in exasperation: "Boy, there were a lot of women who were two ax handles wide." What she meant by that was that was a lot of women in attendance who sat down all day. I was about to agree with her when her eyes went wide and added very loudly "I didn't mean you! I didn't mean you!" Poor Mom.

New House

I am waiting for the new build for my new house. I haven't had anything new in ages. I want my property split before the build. I am tired of hearing the rats running next to the furnace chase. If I rebuild the trailer I am living in now, It will end up costing me about the same as building new. I will be so happy to get heat in the floor, as opposed to now when I have no heat at all. Why is it taking so long?

Update - Early December. I fired my contractor and my lawyer. I feel that communication is the key but neither of them was willing to communicate. I did downloaded the information on my place as the lawyer canceled my ability to get to my emails.

I am with a company, Fairway Homes West. I have my septic permit and waiting for the plans for the Fire Marshal to sign off on before I take them to the County.

911, Sheriff, butt-dialing

It happened again. The Sheriff's officers were in full force. At a reasonable time this time. Two officers were at my back door, wanting to know i9f I needed help. This time, some woman was butt-dialing her phone, over and over again to 911. Since she was on a cell phone, and no address could be determined to be where she was, the sheriff officers had to go door to door. What a job. That is why I still have a land line. The address is automatically attached to the calls to 911, making life so much easier. This time I was fully dressed, and could correctly answer all of their questions. Whew.

Just an update to my condition... I experienced a stroke and was taken to the hospital for 4 days. I then spent about 3 weeks in a rehabilitation center. I spent most of the rest of 2017 in an assisted living center. I have done very little computer, beading or knitting. I have a little memory loss and cannot use my right side. I drag my right leg a little, my right arm a lot and my speech are normal, mostly. I am driving a little. So that is my story. I have to talk to my doctor about my further recovery.

Red Light Justice

I had a ticket for running a red light.

The intersection was restricted due to construction. The speed limit was 30 miles an hour. There was a police car in the left turn lane, but with his tail of his car sticking out into lane 1.

Knowing the intersection and the light was about to turn, I looked over my left shoulder assuring a car would not try to beat it through lane one and possibly shove me over. Just a quick look over my shoulder and back. When I took my eyes off the intersection, I was about 15' from the intersection and the light was green. I traveled the distance and when I looked back the light was red and I was already entering the intersection. What happened to yellow?

The police car immediately took pursuit and gave me a ticket.

I took the ticket and pled not guilty.

In the meantime, I went to the intersection with a stop watch. The time the light was yellow was 1.5 seconds. I spoke to the City Engineer and the size of the intersection dictated the time for the yellow was 3 seconds. I asked for and received a letter from the Engineer and presented that with my statement to the court.

I was found not-guilty.

Levi Strauss was squatting around a campfire with a brand new pair of riveted jeans. He was asking the cowboy companions how they liked the rivet reinforced jeans. The Cowboys said they were fine, but they would automatically remove the one in the crotch area. Mr. Strauss was confused as this seam took most of the strain during work, and that seam was most likely to split. The Cowboys said it was because of the "Hot Rivet Syndrome." The Cowboys explained that squatting at a fire as they were, that particular rivet would heat up and burn a particularly sensitive area in the male anatomy. Shortly, Levi Strauss leaped up and went screaming into the night. Yep, he was a victim of the Hot Rivet Syndrome. He enjoyed the rest of his trip and when he went back to the factory, immediately ordering the crotch rivet be removed from the production of his famous jeans. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Life History and Tales of Robert Taylor (8/18/1871-6/16/1953)

LIFE HISTORY AND TALES OF ROBERT TAYLOR (8/18/1871-6/16/1953)

Robert Taylor was the first white boy born in Fillmore County, Nebraska. When I was in high school we had a semester of Nebraska history. Dad’s name was in the book. When we had a test about that the teacher looked right at me and said, “You had better get that right!”

His father, John L. Taylor, was a trapper in the winter. One year the weather was very severe, Grandma, Lurana Davis Taylor, was cooking up a stew and she heard a noise on the door. When she opened it, there stood three Indians. They told her by sign language that they were hungry. She brought them in and fed them. They slept on the floor by the fireplace for one night. Next morning they left. After that occasionally there would appear a carcas[s] of a deer, elk, turkey, etc. on her doorstep.

One winter when they lived in the sod house, she was again cooking stew and there were wolves digging, trying to get in under the door. So she got the fire poker hot and stuck it on their noses.

Grandma was a Quaker. She was ex-communicated when she married out of the church. When there was a revival meeting down in Kansas they would load the wagon and drive down there. They’d camp out and be gone several days.

Grandpa Taylor had a short, small left arm. He fell out of a tree when a child and broke his collar bone. He also was a mean man. They lived in a house half block east of us. There was a building over the well in the back yard. On sunny days he’d sit on a chair in the doorway. While grandma was busy in the kitchen he’ yell, “Raney, get me a drink of water”. She’d have to stop everything and go out to the well house and at the pump just a foot or so behind him, pump a drink for him. He’s drink a little bit and throw the rest out on the ground. (I don’t think he would of lived as long as he did it I had to do that!!!)

When Dad, Robert Taylor, was sixteen he had a flock of sheep on the prairie east of town (Alexandria, Nebraska). He had a collie dog to help him. Dad would come into town on the weekends for supplies. He’d spend the weekend with his family. He’d leave his collie dog to guard the sheep. He would hop the hop the freight train to come and go.

One wintery day he was going to hop the train to go back to camp. The train always slowed down so he could hop on, the steps up the box car were icy and he lost his grip and fell under the train. The left leg was cut off just below the knee. When he landed the other foot flew up against the wheel and the engineer slammed on the brakes and the brake shoe caught his foot between it and the wheel. He lost two toes on the right foot.

The train crew took him home and Grandpa said to Grandma, “You aren’t going to take care of a cripple”. So they took him to the drug store. He was put on a cot in the back.

A doctor from Fairbury came through the snow, with a dentist to clean up the wound and amputate the stump at the knee. They gave him brandy till he passed out so they could saw off the stump. He charged Grandpa $50.00 but Grandpa had to sign a note for that.

The doctor filed a claim against Grandpa’s estate for the money. Dad’s Uncle John paid it.

When infection set in the wound and the town’s people were worried about him, and old Indian, that lived in a cave along the banks of the Sandy River, came [borrowing a wagon and a team of horses] and took him to the cave. A lot of the townspeople objected because they knew the Indian would let him die.

Dad told me how his left leg hurt him even after it was buried. The Indian went and dug it up and straightened it when he reburied it, it didn’t hurt Dad anymore.

The Indian doctored him with herbs and roots and in 6 weeks Dad was taken home walking and using a crutch the Indian made out of a tree limb. Dad later had a peg leg made. I don’t ever remember him having a new one, but it was repaired several times. Since he only needed one shoe, he found a man in Geneva that had the opposite leg missing. When Dad would buy a pair of shoes he’d give the other to him and next time the man bought the shoes.

Uncle John went out and brought the sheep in and sold them for Dad. Dad bought part of the homestead [30 acres] and built a one room house. That room became the kitchen after he added on the living room, dining room and 2 bedrooms. Later, I remember vaguely about this, he moved in a one room school house. That became the boy’s room.

I was told he had only six months schooling yet he was able to read, write and do math. Aunt Violet taught her brothers and sister after she graduated from Normal School. That’s what they called teachers education then. She also at one time taught in Alexandria High School. Some of our older brothers and sister were her students. I don’t know which ones.

He built up a dairy herd, had chickens and pigs. He planted fruit trees and a garden. He could handle a team of horses with the best of them. When he was 18 years old he and Aunt Dora went down to Oklahoma to be part of the “Sooner’s Land Rush”.

At 12:00 noon on April 22nd 1889 the government opened up the Oklahoma territory to homesteaders. They were driving a buckboard with their supplies. They argued who would drive the team. Aunt Dora won. They were driving a fast as they could. She drove into a rut and broke a wheel. So they lost out.

He was always looking for odd jobs to do. He was hired to mow the weeds along the right of way of the streets in town. One day he was just finishing up and as he planned he was right by his house. His collie dog was with him everywhere he went. The dog must of thought he was going into the home place and when he didn’t, the dog named “Bud”, got excited and jumped in front of the mower and his legs were cut off. Dad went to his house and got his pistol and shot the collie. He mourned the loss of his dog for a long time.

Dad lived alone until he married at the age of 26. He added on to the one room house. He also built a barn, chicken house, and later a concrete block building that became the wash house and cream separating house. (Coal was also stored there).

He worked at moving houses, digging water wells and putting on lightning rods on houses and barns. [For the house moving] He felled huge trees and shaped them into rollers, and he made pulleys. He had to buy jacks and rope but with his team of horses he’d move houses. The shortest distance for moving houses was across the street. The Catholic Church was moved. It was a wooden building and they wanted to build a brick one. The wooden building became a family residence. The farthest was 30 miles and it took two weeks. When he arrived to start jacking up the house the lady was packing dishes. He told her to just leave them. He’d move the house and not break a dish. If he did, he’d buy her new set. Not one was broken.

Dad had built a building in back of his furniture store, so the men could target practice. One day when she was getting old, Annie Oakley came to town. She challenged the men to a shooting match, Dad accepted. They were to hold it in his building on Saturday afternoon. She didn’t like it, because she would have to stay over too many days, but she eventually went along with it.

The farmers came to town on Saturday for supplies. The word spread fast. Dad charged admission and the building was packed. Annie was mad about that but they held the contest. Dad beat her by one shot. She left town in her buggy just a whipping the horses and cussing. She’d been taken by a cripple. Dad got the winnings and the admission money.

He owned a furniture store, sold new harness, repaired harness and shoes. He owned several houses that he rented and later sold. We lost everything in the depression except the home place. One winter we had nothing but potatoes and milk to eat until the spring garden came in. We never went on welfare like most everyone else did.

When I was about 12 (1933), Dad had about 75 swarms of bees. I helped tend them. In the winter everyone, that is, those who would, would fold the square boxes that honey came in. They were thin and fragil[e]. It took great care or they would break. It seemed we folded thousands. These fit into “supers”, (the boxes put on top of the hives).

When we harvested in the fall we didn’t use any netting. We just had a smoker. After the super was removed, the squares of honey were taken out and “brood wax” scraped off. It was packaged 5 squares to a package. I would go door to door and sell it. One day I sold $5.00 worth. It sold for 10 cents a square.

One year we had an acre of tomatoes. Mom raised the plants in the hot frame she built. When they were ripe we sold them for $1.00 a bushel. I enjoyed taking the basket and wagon to pick them. They were so big and beautiful.

When I was in high school we raised a big patch of sweet potatoes. When they were ready to dig Dad and I went and did it. He had dug one hole and I put my hand into the hole to pick-up the potatoes just as he rammed the shovel in again. It scrapped the skin off my fingers. He handed me his handkerchief and told me to go to the house. I stayed and we finished the job. My fingers were sore for a couple weeks and I was studying typing. I stayed with the class and got all my work in.

Dad never asked me how it was healing but I noticed he was always there when I changes the dressing. I know he hurt inside.

During the Japanese-Chinese war he gathered up coats, blankets, sweaters, shoes, anything they could wear and at his own expense sent them to China. I wonder how many fit those little guys. He had a book about the war with pictures. Hazel burned it when she cleaned out the house. I’d give a fortune to have had that and Mom’s cook book.

I read in a movie magazine that the movie star Robert Taylor had seen Dad on the street of Beatrice and asked his name. He liked it and used it for his stage name. His real name is Arlington Bough.

Dad was known all over the south and western parts of the state as, “Peg-leg Bob”. He never gipped anyone. His word was always good. He got gipped several time but he said they would pay later (when they died).

I couldn’t figure out how he knew what the days Sunday school lesson was, until I stayed home on Sunday and heard it on the radio. I guess you could say in his own way he believed!

One Sunday we were going to Uncle Ed’s for dinner. The whole family was invited. So on Saturday, Bob, Hazel and I washed and polished Dad’s car. We swept out the interior. It looked real good. On Sunday we were driving along and Dad spit out the window, but the window was closed! We didn’t dare laugh, but to this day it’s funny.

In the winter the boy’s bedroom was always so cold. The boys were called by Dad to get up and do their chores. The second time he called them he would emphasize his foot steps by stomping on the peg leg. You can bet the covers flew then. Bob and I were laughing about that the other day. We think Dad was laughing inside as he stomped.

On the day of his funeral all the stores closed and the church was so crowded that people were standing outside.

His death was caused by a stroke. A week before he died there was a tornado and the roof was blown off the hospital and rain was pouring in. The hospital personnel moved all the patients to a school but when my brother Lewis went to see how he was he couldn’t find him. He went to the hospital to double check but all the beds were empty.

They found him under the bed! He had rolled out of bed and under to get out of the rain.

Gone but not forgotten.

-LRW
The enclosed story is written of things told me by Aunt Violet. Some I remember. I have wished many times I’d had urged her to tell me more and that I’d written it down sooner.
I claim myself not responsible of there is any part not true.
I also apologize for errors in spelling, punctuation, construction and composition. I have forgotten more than I ever learned.
Louise R. Watson
(Rosebell Louise Taylor)

(This is a compilation of letters and statements written by my mother, Louise R. Watson. One letter was dated in 1980 to my brother, Charles. I am glad she wrote this down. Very few edits were done as I believe the original should not be edited. The original contains the flavor of the writer and the times.) (Sandra Watson)

"Pert Near!"

They called him “Purt Near Perkins,”
  for unless the booger lied,
He'd purt near done most everything
  that he had ever tried.
He'd purt near been a preacher
   and he'd purt near roped a bear;
He'd met up with Comanches once
   and purt near lost his hair.
He'd purt near we an heiress
   who had money by the keg,
He's purt near had the measles,
   and he'd purt near broke his leg.

He'd purt near been a trail boss,
   and accordin' to his claim,
He'd purt near shot Bill Hickock –
   which had purt near won him fame!
He'd purt near rode some broncs    upon which no one else had stuck
In fact he was the feller
   Who had purt near drowned the duck!

Now mostly all the cowboys
   On the Lazy SB spread,
They took his talkin' with a grin
   And let him fight his head.
But one named Tom Maginnis
   Sorter told it to him rough:
“You're ridin' with an outfit now
   Where 'purt near' ain't enough!
We tie our lasso ropes to the horn,
   An' what we ketch we hold,
And 'purt near' is one alibi
   We never do unfold!
In fact, right now
   I'll tell you that no word I ever hear
Sounds quite so plain damn useless
   As that little pair: 'purt near'!”

That's how ol' Tom Maginnis
   Laid it out upon the line,
And like a heap of preachin' talk,
   It sounded mighty fine.
But one day Tom Maginnis
   While a-ridin; off alone,
He lamed his horse
   And had to ketch some neighbor nester's roan
To ride back to the ranch on.
   But somewhere along the way
A bunch of nesters held him up,
   And there was hell to pay!

Tom claimed he hadn't stole the horse –
   Just borrowed it to ride.
Them nesters hated cowboys,
   And they'd told him that he lied.
They cussed him for a horsethief
   And they'd caught him with the goods.
They set right out to hang him
   In a nearby patch of woods.
They had pore Tom surrounded,
   With their guns all fixed to shoot.
It looked like this pore cowboy
   Sure had heard his lost owl hoot!

They tied a rope around his neck
   And throwed it o'er a limb
And Tom Maginnis purt near knowed
   This was the last of him.
The suddenly a shot rang out
   From somewhere up the hill!
Them nesters dropped the rope and' ran,
   Like nesters sometimes will
When bullets start to whizzin'.
   Tom's heart leapt up with hope
To see ol' Purt Near Perkins
   Riding' towards him at a lope.

“Looks like I purt near
   Got here just in time,” ol' Perkins said,
“To see them nesters hang you!”
   Tom's face got kinder red.
“You purt near did! He purt near grinned.
   “they purt near had me strung!
You're lookin' at a cowboy
   That has pert near just been hung!
And also one that's changed his mind –
   For no word ever said,
Can sound as sweet as 'purt near',
   When a man's been purt near dead!”
             – S. Omar Baker

Great Inventions

Every now and then, many years ago, the family was visited by missionaries. Dad deflected the teaching they were there to teach by showing off an invention of his. One time one missionary was enthralled by the latest invention, the other was standing, watching on the porch with Mom. He finally turned to her as asked if Dad had ever made something for her? She responded, "why sure. He made me a solar clothes dryer." The young gentleman's eyes popped wide. "That is amazing. Did he have difficulty in making that?" "Well, yes, he had to make sure the posts were exactly square from each other with a slight tilt away from the strain of the wires going back and forth between the posts." His expression immediately changed when he looked at the back yard and saw the clothesline.

Water Skiing, Not

My brother Bill was very skilled at water skiing. He could stay up for a long, long time. He once stayed up, skiing in the deep channel between Apache Lake Dam and nearly to Canyon Lake. That is a 14 mile stretch. With the boat, that was nearly 1/2 hour of steady skiing. From time to time we would travel to Puerto Penasco near Rocky Point in Mexico. This little community lies on the eastern shore of the Gulf of California. Bill was water skiing in the Gulf and was getting a little tired. He had thought about dropping into the water and end the ride. There is nothing to change your mind about quitting skiing than the appearance of a single fin through the water. Sharks tend to be solitary swimmers and the appearance of a single fin was exciting. Bill continued to ski then the appearance of numerous fins marked that location as safe. Dolphins are not solitary, but swim in groups. The appearance of several fins screamed "SAFE" to my brother. Dolphins, not only were a safe bet, but will chase off sharks. Into the water Bill went.

I have graduated.

I know, this is a little delayed, but I passed my last requirement to my degree, Associates Degree in Accounting. This is great news. I am announcing this a little late, and I hope you will forgive me. I have graduated, but I do not have my diploma, yet. You see, I have to make an appointment with a counselor, so they can double check to see if I have indeed fulfilled the requirements. Besides The Powers That Be charge $15.00 for that piece of paper. It is as if my tuition does not count for anything. Sigh It is what it is.

Procrastination

I sit at the kitchen table, attempting to study because I want to pass my course - Writing 101, and I have a lot of reading to complete. A long time, 44 years, has elapsed since my last high school English class. I enjoy reading. Patricia Cornwell, Anne McCaffrey, and J. K. Rowling each have a pull on my attention when there is something of importance to do. Even reading the classics like Jane Austin, Shakespeare and Charles Dickens will wave at me as I pass by. I have many books set aside to read, but now I have little time. My current book reading is Harry Potter. I pick up that book and read, instead of studying. In high school, I thought I wanted to read Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. I checked the book from the library; I even read a few pages. I renewed that book over 10 times and carried the book to home and back to school. I finally realized that Frankenstein’s monster was never to become a part of who I am. I did love T.H White’s, Once and Future King, a spell binding story of King Arthur. It was made into the Broadway play and Hollywood movie “Camelot.” I have L’ Mort d’ Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory to read on my Kindle. I am enchanted by the Knights of the Round Table, the ladies in waiting and the situations, and, of course, the lives of King Arthur, Queen Guinevere and Sir Lancelot, an epic love triangle amongst the royals. I did not have a difficult time in reading that particular book and I want to read it again. Will I stop what I am doing to read that book? Probably not. Back to the subject of school. Verbs, adverbs, nouns, pronouns. Adjectives, preposition, conjunctives, not to mention interrogatives. I have a question: gerund, is that something used in a salad? I was confused in high school and my grades, though passing, showed a lack of concentration and ample confusion. Was my confusion due to my lack of interest and lack of applying myself to the task at hand? I believe my confusion was more like bringing a horse to water and trying to make it drink. I was in class but I was not thirsty enough to drink in the knowledge offered for free. Now it is different. I am paying for this class and my success or failure depends on me, alone. In a flash, I find myself up and rinsing dishes for the dishwasher. I find a counter which suddenly needs to be cleaned. Objects here and there that need to be placed in their respective, rightful places. I find myself in a spare room used for storage. I begin to pick and poke through the detritus in that space. I consider the tossing of a box and face reality. I pull myself away from the storage space and begin reading again. I make a few notes and read some short stories. The plus is the stories are short. I look at the syllabus again, and read another story. I find myself distracted, again. There is a basket of laundry in the spare room. I pull the basket out and see if anything can be resurrected. Yes. I have recently started a new job and I will need clothing. Some have some issues but I believe I can put things to right and increase my wearable wardrobe. My mind wanders outside of the house. I have some repairs to do, but they have all waited patiently for some time. I cannot afford to have them call out to me and distract me from this goal. Procrastination: the act of delaying. According to the on line Free Dictionary by Farlex, it is: To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness. Funny, I don’t feel particularly lazy. The same posting is using the definition To postpone or delay needlessly, in the second verb. Procrastination: the state of mind where we put off until later, what we should be doing now. Procrastinate. I look up the word in another source. The word procrastinate (just before procreation and after proconsul) in my dictionary. I can relate to that word. Why else would it take so long to take the courses for essentially a 2 year degree. Lord Chesterfield is quoted “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” I am always able to put off until tomorrow. The laundry begins to mock me, begging me to stop studying. I ignore the laundry as it has waited this long, another day or two will not make a difference. I am determined to finish this class, and will continue to follow the syllabus. That does not guarantee that I will not do a repair or two outside, in the meantime. Maimon, Elaine P, Peritz, Janice H., Yancey, Kathleen Blake. The Writer’s Resource, fourth edition. New York, NY. McGraw Hill. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Home and Office Edition. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, Publishers; Springfield, Massachusetts Copyright 1995 The Free Dictionary http://www.thefreedictionary.com/procrastination 1/30/14 Brainy Quote http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/l/lordcheste163891.html 1/30/14

Ethics

I did it. I re-enrolled in college in a push to finalize my Associate's Degree in Accounting. I was 6 credits away from finishing, with two writing courses. In the interim, another class has been added. I have taken Legal Environment in Business, which also had ethics in the program. Now there is Ethics in the Workplace. I enrolled in Ethics in the Workplace for summer classes and as an online course. This course is shortened in time but with all the content of a semester within the 5 weeks of coursework. I chose online because I eliminate the 1-1/2 drive if I drove into town. I can use that time to study, instead. This is interesting in that the classmates run the gambit. The young people who on believe the Professor is passive-aggressive. Really? There is another student who currently is in Sweden, and is taking the course because it is online, and she can continue her studies even though she is home. She is very bright and her English is flawless, unlike mine. Most of the students have to take this course for their degree, but it is unknown if they will ever be in a position of power, and can do something about any ethics problems they may encounter. Me? I, too am not in power, but I know ethical behavior. I have always strived to be an ethical person. To be fair in my opinions and my actions. To not lie, cheat and steal. I will distance myself from unethical people if I can. Otherwise, I will smile and nod, smile and nod.

Missing the summertime of old.

I am pondering the things I no longer take the time to enjoy. As I get older, there are new things to do or try. I recently tried a zip line. That was an experience. Speeding down the line nearly the length of a football field. I pitied the fellows at the end of my ride. They had a lot to handle, with me whipping all over the place. But it was an awesome experience. The things I miss from childhood summers, are a little less daring. The smell of a new mown lawn. Walking barefoot in the water filled irrigation ditch. The trips to the lake, water skiing, picnic on the beach. Sun suits, peeling skin, apple cider vinegar, skinned knees, calamine lotion, rubber thongs (sandals, not underwear). Dilly bars and lemonade. Watching for Sputnik and other satellites, watching for comets in the evening. Rocketry and the carbide can. New shoes, back to school, permanent wave, new books and a new school schedule. I asked my brother what he missed. He immediately replied: Climbing to the tree fort and listening to the crystal radio he made. Listening to KTKT radio station, which at the time was rock 'n roll. Frank Kalil, the DJ who owned a camel. What do you miss?

Another shark story...

Again, the scene takes place in the Gulf of California. My brother, Bill was with us, too. We had been fishing for some time, and Bill, Mom and I were bored. Dad still trying to catch a grouper. Bill water skis, and if fairly decent at the sport, so we had the 75 foot ski rope and skis with us. My Mom barely swam; the best she did most of the time was the dog paddle. We took the time off from fishing, Because of the tides in the Gulf, a swimmer could quickly become separated from the boat and could not swim fast enough to swim back to the boat. As a precaution, we threw out the ski rope. The idea was that it would be better to swim next to the rope, and be close enough to grab the rope and then be attached to the boat. Mom and Bill took to the water. I stood lookout to watch for shark. Sharks usually swim alone. Dolphin swim in groups called pods. Several fins is a good thing. A single fin is a bad thing. I observed my Mom at the end of the ski rope and Bill was swimming about half way between the boat and our Mom. Then I saw it. A single fin. I yelled "SHARK" then turned to get the ladder out and in place on the transom of the boat. Bill, a college aged, somewhat athletic person, was nearly to the boat, as would be expected with Mom's limited ability to swim. Then as he set his hands on either side of the ladder, a hand reached up, over his shoulder and grabbed him off of the ladder. I helped Mom us and into the boat, then helped Bill in. I then turned to Mom and told her: "You aren't supposed to panic." She was aghast that she did what she did. I wish I would have seen it. I bet I would have seen her walk on water. And Mom always liked Bill best.