The passing of a great man

 The world lost a giant of humanity. On Sunday, James Earl Carter left us at a little over 100 years old.  He was our 39th president during the mid seventies.  His administration was marked with some triumphs and some crisis that were historic with the Iran Hostage crisis.  His post presidential career was marked with numerous human rights efforts and a world changing agreement between adversaries.  President Carter was building houses fort Habit for Humanity into his nineties.  He acted as an observer for fair elections in many countries and won the Nobel Peace prize.  

 Mostly, he was a man of great faith.  Even though he was a Christian, he embraced people of all faiths in every country he entered.  Married to Roselyn for 77 years, she was his constant partner and companion.  Their commitment to each other was beyond measurement.  We could all aspire to be as good a person as he was. I am saddened by his passing but inspired by the life he led.

The new year is approaching.  I will turn 75 in March.  I leave 2024 in great haste being glad is it over.  After a heart attack and stroke, many hours of therapy and a few falls on my face.  I am ready to turn the page.  

I hope for the best for all of us

all for now

A Catholic Encounter

A number of days ago, Shannon's roommate passed away.  Laurie was a senior citizen and profoundly disabled.  Her personality was well hidden and only her caregivers really knew her along with her family.  Shannon's regular comment was that she was noisy at night and woke her up.  We attended her funeral service yesterday at St. Mary Magdalene church in Brighton.  The service was lovely with a modernized version of Catholicism that I was not familiar.  The officiant even offered that there were gluten free hosts that were available for those needing them for the Communion Sacrament.  

It is a gorgeous building, circular in design with the altar in the center for all to see.  Seating that was plentiful, wrapped around the platform containing it.

The pastor is a forty-ish round guy with a full beard that was full of passion about his faith and the ritual that he was presenting.  Sadly though, little was said about the deceased with only her name plugged in at the appropriate times.  I really did not know Laurie, only saying hi and goodby on my visits to pickup and deliver Shannon to her home.  Was hoping to learn more about her earlier life.  

Visits to Catholic Churches for occasions like this always draws up ghosts of my past.  Raised in this faith,  receiving all the sacraments and having a real belief system back then served me well.  All that has faded now.  Seeing the Stations of the Cross and smelling the incense evoke more memories, most pleasant.  I used to spend the 12 to 3 hours on Good Friday enjoying the liturgy.  Coming away from this experience, feelings of upheaval are upon me.

Were I to embark back to religion, this would probably be the one. 

Now, off to the store to buy the fixings for my contribution to the New Gateway holiday pot luck

thats it

all for now

 

 

Holiday prep

A good weekend with Shannon and the kids has just passed.  Just completed drinking my first cup of coffee.  It's an ugly day out there with rain and a bit of fog.  We have put up a few Christmas decorations and Marie constructed a gingerbread house last evening on our kitchen table.  Removed the beard for a while.  Just seemed like a good idea after I messed it up with an ill fated trim.  One of the few things men can control about their appearance is the growth or absence of facial hair.  I am done with it for this cycle.  Wrinkled chin appears more prominent, but I don't care. 

Katey came over yesterday hangry for food.  I provided some snacks first and a plate of pasta to follow.  Her mood improved.  She is really easy to please in this regard.  It doesn't have to be gourmet only filling.  

The Lions lost yesterday for only the second time this season.  Dan Campbell blames himself as always.  Quite frankly, with all the injuries on the defensive side,  the team did quite well running up the score in the last quarter of the game.  Judy will not watch because she claims her viewing causes bad luck.  I view the scores in real time on my phone.  The outcome was a disappointment but I am not disheartened.

My cooking children have decided that we will have baked ziti and sausages and meatballs for our holiday meal.  Sounds right up my alley.  With the two kitchens, it should be easy to accomplish. There is a holiday party this week at New Gateways, Shannons program.  I am making some sort of salad dish.  These folks put on a great event for the season complete with a DJ and a visit from Santa.  They are truly remarkable.  It hit me recently that of my 49 years with Judy, Shannon has been with us for 36.

I am fully numbed over the incoming administration and have wisely stopped monitoring.  

Streamed the last Blue Bloods last night.  We always loved the show and its characters.  But it was time to complete it.

thats is

all for now

Anniversary

Today is our 49th Anniversary.  In Summer of 1975, I met this beautiful girl with flowing brown hair and what I would call an earth mother body in Jamaica, Ocho Rios to be exact.  We spend a few days together and I was smitten..  I loaned she and her brother a sum of money so they could get home.  I got home and called a friend proclaiming I met a girl and I could not get her out of. my mind.  That is Judy, my Judy and I still love her like that.  We have traveled a sometimes bumpy road with kids and parents and many houses.  

I still never know why she puts up with me with far more failures than successes,   going so far as to basically save my life after a heart attack and stroke with falls on my face to follow.  

I consider myself most fortunate to have you in my life.  Hope we have a nice day today

all for now

 

Lots of stuff I dont understand

We saw 60 Minutes, a usual event for a Sunday night. .  I always learn something I did not know about from viewing this program.  This occasion was no different.  They did a segment on crypto currency. Hate to say it but I was completely baffled and still don't understand the principal of these monetary units.  What is it, part of reality or some fantasy wrapped in an enigma?  Is somebody getting rich? is it real money?  Can I buy milk and bread with it? There are many unanswered questions for me.  Then there was a segment on using AI in education with sudden participants.  I have an open mind as to its validity.  The students seem to use it as a tool to seek their answers and as a source for information.  Again, another thing that it is past my meager imagination.  Not saying it was better before, only that I cannot comprehend the concept. 

With the incoming administration, all sins are forgiven without going to confession.  All that information that bombarded our brains for the last few months is erased like by the Ministry of Truth in 1984, the George Orwell novel of the forties.  It's as if it never happened. Not saying all is forgiven, really forgotten.  Oh well, this is the world we live in now, as invented by us. 

Going for brunch with friend Mike later this morning followed by a trip to Planet Fitness and a visit to Trader Joes. 

thats it

all for now

Another Gift

Got another gift yesterday.  We were supposed to have pizza with our long time friends Chris and Bob yesterday. We then learned he had suffered a stroke on the day. before.  You paint all those pictures of disability in your head and all the worrying came out in force.  We drove to the Corewell Heath facility in Farmington Hills. Thrilled to see that he is making great progress and was due to be discharged on that day after fhe last MRI.  Again a gift received.

I attended another session of the Writers Workshop in Oak Park Thursday.  On this occasion I brought a couple of my blogs to read and be critiqued by the group.  I was nervous about the reactions.  As instructed, a brought along a few copies tor the members to read along to.  It was really noisy in the place on that night.  I could barely hear the other readers, missing some of the salient points of their stories.  One in particular was a post apocalyptic tale with an imploded earth and the ensuing culture that was left behind.  It was very brutal and clearly showed the underlying anger of the author about the world we live in.  Another was a journey to Nova Scotia with a supernatural twist at the end.  Both were extremely detailed and showed great imagination, something I lack at this point in my live.

I started with the story of the chance meeting of Stuart at the gym.  They liked the food parts but missed the mention of Shrinking (TV series) I don't think they were big TV fans.  Scott, the HS teacher was making notes on my grammar errors and make useful comments that there were actually 4 stories that all could be expanded on.  I then read my Thanksgiving meal entry and it was noted that this was written for people I know, not really for general consumption.  I get that.  My family members are not public figures that would be known outside my family.  This is all part of the learning process for me and will serve to enhance my writing.

When we de convened after about 2 hours.  I spoke with my seat mate, a twenty something woman that had driven to this from downtown Detroit only to have a minor accident on the freeway.  Her vehicle was drivable but banged up.  She was quite pleasant and I hope she attends again.  Another young mad was having a discussion with Scott about politics and education.  I noticed he had black fingernails.  It was curious to me but not my. business.  We followed with disbaraging remarks about the election, shrugged out shoulders and called it a night.  

Went to Trader Joes yesterday and the young man ringing me up had red and green fingernails beautifully done.  As an old man, I must have missed this trend. 

This is Miss Sweetums, our frequent houseguest.

I will attempt to write a story or an essay for general consumption for my next effort in the group.  Thats a lesson learned.

thats it

all for now 

 

Chance Meeting

So I was having a conversation with my wife after the latest Shrinking episode.  I told her I ran into an old aquatinence of mine from my working days at Planet Fitness this afternoon. .  Stuart Lit was the owner and proprietor of Hydride Deli on Michigan Ave near where I worked. This is an old establishment first bought by his father in 1972.  Stuart had been running the place for 50+ years and decided to sell it and move on.   I enjoyed many sandwiches and meals there during my lunchtimes.  He was always behind counter preparing food and shouting out instructions to his employees.  He retired a few years ago, hence his midday visit to the gym.  You know when you see someone you think you know?  And then it's confirmed?  For me, it was one of those events.  He did not know my. name in those days but always was friendly.. Meeting up was one of the small gifts you receive from time to time.  As I age, I've learned to not ignore these occurrences. 

Hydride made the best Rueben Sandwich I had ever eaten and still is the champ in my opinion.  I still remember it fondly.  The point of this explanation is that I remember food.  I could draw a picture of the meal.  Thats one of the differences between my spouse and me.  Everything was perfect about this creation, the corned beef, the sauerkraut and the Swiss.  Even now, I get hungry when I think about it.  

There is a reason I have been told that I obsess about food.  In 1950, I was a premie at 4 lbs, 9 oz.  Not really small by today's comparisons, but then quite critical.  The major effort of my mom, was to have me gain weight so I could go home.  I was fed every 2 hours without fail and I think she kept it up till I was about 4.  In that era babies like me were put into incubators that were flooded with pure oxygen. My vision was damaged due to this over saturation.  It was the current state of infant care at the time.

Shrinking was an exceptionally poignant episode viewed last night.  Two main characters had to confront each other over life changing events.  The outcome was well handled by the writers.  It couldn't be touchy-feely but it had to be done to bring the storyline to a conclusion.  There are a few episodes left. 

Off to the dentist this morning to spend more money.  making mad n cheese for Marie's 14th birthday

thats is

all for now