Ramblings
Below are some of my rants. They are just for fun. If you feel they are offensive, the best thing to do is to not read them.
Defective Drivers
We love our driveway. However, it is a bad driver magnet. These bad drivers fall into four categories: 1. Some people don’t or can’t read. They drive past “Private Drive” signs as if they were 45 mph speed limit signs. I am including a picture taken last fall. If you can squint down to a 20/20 you will notice two yellow “Private Drive” signs and a Private Property sign on a tree. Leaving the signs out of it, does this look like a road that might lead to Rollins Lake? I am just spitballing here, but the Graestone sign gives me...
read moreEarly Flooding in January
There is an old W. C. Field routine in the movie, It’s a Gift, in which Mr. Muckle almost destroys Harold Bissonette’s store. Mr. Muckle orders a pack of gum, and after Bissonette wraps the gum, we have this exchange: Harold Bissonette: Here’s your chewing gum. Five cents, please. Mr. Muckle: I’m not going to lug that with me. Send it! It’s a dry year in Colfax. We’ve only had 7.8 inches of rain this season, but have managed a flood. Ruth doesn’t like our shower head, a splendid device that delivers...
read moreNew Year’s Exercise Regime
I don’t make resolutions, but thought all would benefit from a simple plan to double your daily walking exercise with little or no effort. I plan to send my phone with Ruth when she walks, and I will take hers when I am out and about. Other than the times we go for our walk together, this will nearly double our current steps per day. I am quite pleased with my plan, hatched when she left her phone in the kitchen, and I brought it to her. I felt noble, walking along, giving her steps while also garnering a few for myself. I...
read moreBroken Website
I’ve been fiddling with websites for almost 25 years. You would think I would be further along. I maintain websites for two churches in our parish, and I do them my hand. I write the code––because I can. Notice I didn’t say I was overly talented. I created this website using WordPress, and WordPress has the majority share of websites worldwide. It is supposed to make things easier. On the last day of 2020, I got the bright idea of trying another theme. Everything went wonky, and when I returned to my original them, it was...
read moreBroken Implements
I tend to be a pretty happy guy. Many are griping about having to stay home during COVID-19, but it has given me time to fix some things. That’s good because much of my “equipment-machinery” has been failing: 1. I put a new engine in the motorhome in San Jose. Our friend Manny helped me, and I helped him with some projects. When I got home on March 28th, my pickup had water in a cylinder. 2. Started working on the pickup. At this writing I still cannot get the head off. Special tools, heat, hammering, and general struggling. 3....
read moreWhen You Help, it Doesn’t Help
Ruth and I were on a NOMADS work project in Tucson, AZ. NOMADS are Methodist old goats with motorhomes or campers who work on deserving projects. One of the jobs was to remodel an apartment for a veteran. We were putting in a new kitchen and needed to see what plumbing issues might be under the floor. Being the skinny guy, I said, “I will go under, and rap on the floor when I am in place.” Folks liked the idea, so I crawled down the access and scooched across the building. I could hear talking, and I tapped on the floor and stringers....
read moreDefining Moments
They say only living for the future makes you miss life. I have tried not to do that. On our five acres in Madera, we worked like dogs, making an oasis out of thin topsoil and hardpan. I made up my mind to pay attention when the kids were little, but I was probably pretty useless. Ruth did the heavy lifting. I grew up in a canyon on land that had ups and downs. We lost that place in 1964 to eminent domain, and I can’t go back and look at the old house or visit my childhood...
read moreNeed a Tow?
This is an older rant, but it seemed to need an audience. Years ago, I remember Doc White had a 37′ sail boat. One time one of the guests aboard gave him grief about something, upsetting the other guests. Later he talked to my mother about it. He was puzzled about the reason for the unpleasantness and remarked, rather plaintively, “After all, it’s my boat.” Matthew and So Jung drove up from Los Angeles one Christmas, and I decided to wait up for them. I have an iPhone app called Find Friends and looked from...
read moreDude!
I might as well say, we bought a Tesla Model S. Before you think we are extra rich, we did not buy a new Tesla. Our Model S was made before the styling change, so it is white with the cool black snout. We had a Buick for a while that would pass anything but a gas station. This is so much faster than the Buick, and it passes all service stations. We went to Auburn today, and at one stop, Ruth said, “I park on the street here, so I don’t get nicked in that busy parking lot.” So, I did. Ruth went in, and I was doing some editing on...
read moreForty-ninth Wedding Anniversary
Ruth and were married forty-nine years ago today. We are more in love than ever. As I have told many of you, “If I hadn’t married Ruth, I would have eaten garbage and died.” We were married at the United Methodist Church in Ruth’s hometown of Madera. It was a little like My Big Fat Greek Wedding. On my side, there was my mom and dad and four or five friends. Ruth’s family filled up the church. We lived in San Dimas the first year. (Yeah, I was skinnier than I am now!) Then we spent two years as Home Missionaries (US-2s) for the UMC....
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