INSULT TO INJURY

We had dear friends in a horrible automobile accident this week.  Thankfully husband and wife both are doing well at this point and no one else was injured.  I think the worse part will come when they read the news account of the wreck and learn the husband was referred to as "the  elderly driver".  Yikes!  These are people our age. Guess that is how we are referred to now and I try not to think  about it.  Let's make "elderly" a non-PC term.

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QOTW 11-14-11 ADDICTS

Question Of The Week 11-14-11

What is your  "uncommon" addiction?

I am fairly certain that we all have some kind of addiction, whether it is to a substance or to an activity.  We know the usual addictions that make headlines like drugs, gambling and sex.  But what addictions are not quite as harmful and maybe not as common?  I am addicted to my computer and to television.

(Have you ever attempted to overcome one addiction by replacing it with another?  My sister suggested this question because she traded cigarettes for Nicorette.)

THEY DID IT

Grandson Dillon photographs his medallion. A win that finally comes his senior year. Granddaughter Beth, with two more years in the band, was seen crying when the camera panned in at the announcement.  Grandson Ryan, now in college, celebrates the victory for his siblings and "his" band.  It is not just a victory for the performers but for anyone who has ever been a member of the BROKEN ARROW PRIDE.  It is also tremendous victory for all the parents and family members who have supported this effort. 

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #1 

(I haven't talked to their dad yet, who chaperoned again this year, but I know that is because he hasn't stopped crying yet.)

BROKEN ARROW PRIDE FINALE 2011

The Broken Arrow Pride last won the championship in 2006.

PICTURES FROM THE PAST

PICTURES FROM THE PAST

These pics were taken from color slides found at the Library of Congress. They are dated between 1939-1943. 

The pictures are so clear and the color is so vibrant, it looks as though they were taken just yesterday .  

  http://extras.denverpost.com/archive/captured.asp

My favorites are # 58  # 70...or maybe...oh well, it is very difficult to pick a favorite.  All are awesome.

TODAY WE THANK THEM

 

Tell a story in the comments about a special Veteran friend or family member.

To all  Military Veterans,

Thank You!

11-11-11 

Lynn said...

My late father was a Naval veteran of World War II - he was on a minesweeper in the Pacific theater. One morning the ship's cooks were all killed in a battle. They asked if anyone knew how to cook and so dad and the ship's pharmacist raised their hands. Dad was stretching that a bit - he mainly saw an opportunity to eat better. The first meal was chili - the ingredients had already been laid out for preparation. "Eerie" he said. Someone came by and suggested he make it good and hot, so there was an industrial sized can of chili powder there, and dad split it open and poured it all in. The rest of the story, was hearing about all the sailors with tears streaming down their faces. :)

He had some horror stories, too (edited to some extent) - what I always admired about that was that he never looked for glory - it was just something you do. You serve your country.

  Bonnie said...

There are many vets in my family, my father,his brothers, my brother in law and all 3 of my grandfathers. The one that sticks out the most was my Grampa Comstock because he was a survivor at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed. Unfortunately he died in 1975 when I was quite young and even though I have researched it, I cannot find the name of the ship he was on. God Bless all our veterans AND their families, because they sacrifice too.

6:41 AM

  Changes in the wind said...

My Dad served in World War 2 and survived where many of his buddies did not. He would not talk about it so I do not know alot. I have his uniform, dog tags, maps, letters to my Mom and many other things. I recently read a quote "There are no unharmed war veterans" and think it is true. Indeed we are grateful to all our veterans but we really can not understand their sacrifice unless we walked in their shoes.

7:59 AM 

Rae said...

My father served in WWII. He was shot on the battlefield while rescuing another soldier. He received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star in recognition.

My three uncles also served in the same war. One of them (Ray)was killed in action. My dad wanted to honor him in some way, so he named me after him.

12:20 PM

  Riot Kitty said...

I come from a long line of peace-loving veterans. My great-grandfather lied about his age so he could join the Navy in WWI (where he was a champion boxer), and my grandfather, his son, also lied about his age so he could go fight the Nazis in WWII. Before that, my great-great-great grandfather fought on the Union side in the civil war. I can't imagine that kind of bravery, and I salute them.

  LL Cool Joe said...

I don't really have any stories to tell. As an adopted person my history is very limited. I didn't have a grandfather. Both my parents were evacuated as children in the second world war.

I do have a story about my father visiting the concentration camps in germany, so maybe I'll try to talk about that on my blog one day.

  Granny Annie said...

Ron served 20 years in the Navy through the Cold War and Vietnam. He freely and often tells funny stories from his years in the military but he never talks about the serious stuff unless he is with a group of other veterans. They know that unless we were there we cannot understand.

G said...

I don't have any stories to tell either, however I will mention that my late grandfather was a WWI veteran of the Navy who lost a couple of fingers during combat while loading those big ass cannons (I think. My recollection is a bit hazy on that). Like some patriotic men in those days, he lied about his age so that he could enlist.

7:14 AM

  Snaggle Tooth said...

My Dad was a Sergeant in the Infantry in Korea. The GI Bill helped get him thru Engineering education.

A girl I knew growing up became career Army, as both her parents were. She did 3 tours in Iraq after a tour in Germany, despite being a parent. She works in the Motor Pool division. I think she's very dedicated n brave.

3:54 AM

Comments From Facebook

Judy (kenju)  My dad had flat feet and the services wouldn't take him, but his brother and my cousin both served, and many others in the family as well. We are always grateful for their time in service to our country.

Lucy --  My dad was a veteran... He was in the Navy and he was so proud to have served his country... He loved watching Victory at Sea and we all watched it with him...We had a military salute at his funeral... Miss you, dad...

ALL ABOUT GOAT GREED

Our goats are a lot like chickens.  If one chicken finds a tasty morsel, all the other chickens will give chase trying to grab it while they pass up other food just to get this one thing.  The other day LV (Lord Voldemort) spied a treat near the back of the house.  He began to nibble on it when the other goats stampeded to take it away.  Notice they are standing in a bed of dried leaves which they love to eat but all is abandoned just to steal from LV.  I can put out several dabs of sweet feed for the goats but they will fight over one tray at a time rather than spread out.

They also do not play well together.  The goats enjoy jumping on the big tire, especially the small goats. The bully billy goat, TK, is not allowing the youngsters to climb up and play.

Instead of guessing "Where's Waldo" you can play "Where's Slim" with the above picture.  She blends well with the goats.  Maybe she'd waiting for her turn on the tire.

This is my blog post #1900,  I am hoping to reach 2000 by March 9, 2012, on my 7th blog anniversary of FOOLS RUSH IN.

Here is something funny in case you missed it on my sidebar or on facebook.  My cousin Becky knew I would love it.

 

VINCENT LIVES

See Little Joe, our young rooster.  He is growing very nicely and is a big boy.  At seven months of age he is just right for a rooster stew so I hope none of our hungry neighbors will see him.  We do not eat any of our chickens.


See Vincent at the back of the barn.  I did not know he was there until I looked at this photo.  Vincent was the scarecrow my grandson Michael built to keep predators away from the chickens.  Vincent stood in our back field for a couple of years in rain and snow and sun.  Ron told the boys to take Vincent down their last visit and I just now realized this protector was stored in the barn instead of destroyed. 

It made me smile to see him there.

Visit the original post about Vincent here. 
(The suggestions in the original post comments caused me to have the grandsons all go out and pee on Vincent.)

ALL THAT AND A PhD

My godson emailed these questions when I ask all the family for ideas for my Monday QOTW.  I can always depend on Travis to make any inquiry interesting and these were too clever to wait and post one at a time. 

"There are so many questions... Why do the British spell color colour? or why do the leaves change color? how do roots grow down and branches grow up? why don't penguins live in the northern hemisphere? Why does chocolate taste so good? Does an apple taste like a potato if you hold your nose closed?"

He also sent this question and I'm hoping it really has an answer he can verify.  I already made my guess but needless to say, it was wrong.

"There is a prison with 277 men in it. Every man has a number tattooed on the back of his head. 12 people have 1, 84 have a 2, 76 a 3, 104 a 4, and 1 person has a 5. These people cannot communicate and they cannot look at the back of their head. They do not know the number on the back of their head. They do not if they even have a number on the back of their head. They can see each other though.

If a person figures out what number is on the back of his head that person can leave the prison at midnight. No one will guess.

One day everyone is gathered for lunch and the person with the number 5 on the back of his head stands on a table and says, "I see someone with the number 2 tattooed on the back of his head". He does not look at anyone when he says this, and that is all that is said.

How many people leave the prison? When?"

Yes my blog friends, this is what you would call an extra credit question. It should wake you up on a Tuesday.  LOL 

DISCLAIMER:  My dear friends, I should have warned you that my godson is a trickster.  He was the child who, along with his sister, locked me in a porta-potty at the fair parade.  He hid in my closet for two hours when he was a kid, waiting to scare me and he and a friend blew up the dog house with a dry ice bomb when they were 12. Just many in a long list of his antics. I should have insisted on the answer to this question before I posted it,  When I ask him to give me the answer his first response was, "Who said I knew the answers)"  

His second response was, "    

I know the answer. The answer requires an explanation. A guess does not cut it.

To see the answer simply the problem. Try it with 1 #2 and 1 #n. Then go on and look at 2 #2 and 2 #n, 1 #2 1#n 1#m ...."

And that is all Greek to me.  Sorry if any of you over taxed your brains on this.  Let's just say everyone gets extra credit and it appears Whitemist had the best guess.  Sounded good to me anyway. If Travis ever reports in with something sensible, I will share it with you.  Yep, I love him anyway:)

QOTW 11-7-11 MARTIAN ATTACK!!!

Picture by the amazing Crystal Robot for the Julie Kay Portrait Party*

Question Of The Week 11-7-11

Are your taken in by sensational headlines? 

It seems there was a time we avoided picking up the National Inquirer and similar magazines because we knew there was only a tiny shred of truth (if any) to their outlandish headlines.  Now it seems to ALL be tabloid news even in once respected periodicals. 'We grab the paper up or click on the link only to learn there still is no truth to the headlines.  What recent splash caused you to read the story only to learn that it didn't come close to what had been trumpeted?

Here is a true headline for you: MAN WITH "TRUE GRIT" CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY TODAY!  Amazing husband, father, grandfather, commodities guru and military hero named Ron:)

*Can you find me in the above picture?

APPETITE STRIKES

Warning to all vegans...DON'T LOOK!

Ron rarely (no pun intended) has an appetite these days so when something strikes his fancy we go for it.  Yesterday he decided on  Montana Mike's Prime Rib with horseradish sauce, fried okra and green beans.  He did not make a "happy plate" but he sure gave it his best shot and we brought home enough leftovers for his next meal plus a treat for Slim.

NOW YOU CAN

DON'T FORGET AT 2 AM TO

PREPARING BLOGGER OPEN HOUSE

Transferring files to a new computer is like moving into a new home and trying to find the right place for everything. It is absolutely wearing me out to adjust to the changes but oh how I love this new place!  

Cannot wait for all of my blog friends to start visiting me here:)

STRANGE ROAD KILL

Yesterday, returning from a trip to town, I noticed something on the shoulder of the highway.  The tableau that unfolded was a dead animal of some kind and a broken crutch.   Now just what was the story there?  I wish I had gone back and taken a picture.  Any guesses on what might have occurred?

AGAIN WITH THE FINE PRINT

The year was 2000 and I left banking after 32 years.  A lot has probably changed since then but I imagine the fine print has probably only gotten finer.  Opening an account at a bank yields a lot of paperwork and buried in the fine print is a disclosure that states "The rules and regulations on this account are subject to change by the financial institution at any time with 30 days prior notification provided to the customer in writing."  


That notification can be delivered to you in any manner.  The favorite is in a line notice across your bank statement.  The reason that is the favorite is because the majority of people (I kid you not) do not even open their bank statements.  Yes Bank of America and all the other banks will find more subtle ways to increase their fee income after abandoning the $5 debit card fees, and a lot of us will not even notice the changes.

There is even more in the fine print that you should start reading. A lot applies to what is the customer's responsibility.  It is amazing stuff.  Have you ever read all the disclosures the bank provides?  Did you shop for you bank based on pricing and policies or convenience?

QOTW 10-31-11 "WHERE'S THE BEEF?"

Question Of The Week 10-31-11

What phrase from a commercial do you find yourself repeating a lot?


We know the famous Wendy's commercial that became an ad legend.  We often find ourselves repeating the line Clara Peller delivered so wonderfully in the 80's.  Doesn't everyone know it?  "Where's the beef?"

My sister's favorite ad line is from Shake n' Bake commercials, "...and I helped". 

I am always saying "Sorry Charlie".   It was a commercial for Starkist Tuna where "only the best tuna" got to be Starkist.

It is amazing the commercials that grab our attention and are then used in our day-to-day lives.   What's commercial sticks with you?


(Thanks to my daughter Chelle for this Question Of The Week)

P.S. Happy Halloween

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

PAINFUL AND NOT ITCHY

We have all heard the expression "He (or she) has an itchy trigger finger".  Well I have a trigger finger but it is not itchy, it is painful.  The middle fingers on both of my hands will lock up and it hurts terribly to open them. Do you know of anyone who has this or have you ever been diagnosed with trigger finger?  Is there a way to treat it without surgery?  Some nights by the time I go to bed I am in such pain that I cannot get a good night's sleep.  The possible reasons are rheumatoid arthritis, stress, carpal tunnel syndrome, diabetes,  injured tendons etc. I cannot bear the thought of going to a hand specialist because we are so sick of visiting doctors.  It is my hope to find relief in the form of home remedies or the successful treatments others have used.  Please let me know if you have any suggestions.  Needless to say this ailment affecting the middle fingers of  both my right and left hands makes it difficult for me to express myself to people who irritate me.  I cannot give them  the international anger gesture.:)

PONDERING TIDBITS

Do not mark on greeting cards.  Post-it notes are great to stick on the envelope with their name and in the card with your sentiment.  This way the recipient can recycle the card..

The new chicks are now named.  They are Bonnie, Clyde, Huey, Huey and Huey.

We received our annual order of fresh Medjool dates from California yesterday.  Oh my goodness they are wonderful.  Yesterday Ron offered a visitor a date.  She had no idea what he was talking about so she must have thought he was asking her out.  She did not know dates were fruit.   She was just sure we were offering her prunes.

My laptop computer broke this past weekend.  Our desktop quit on me for a while today and was very difficult to get going again.  My cell phone broke when I dropped it the other day.  Now it appears our coffee pot is going out. Guess Mercury is in retrograde again.

Do your pets recognize carry-out boxes and go crazy as soon as they see one?

Should you tip the restaurant employee who hands you your to-go order?

How much should you tip the golf cart driver who takes you from the parking lot to the casino door?

Can you remember ever seeing your parents run?

 NOT YET!!!!

Hope these thoughts will keep your mind active over the weekend.  Have a good one and DON'T change your clocks.  We don't "fall back" until November 6th.

STICKER SHOCK

 Can you tell there are FOUR carts in this picture?  It is an invasion!

My husband has not been able to walk very far since his radiation and chemo treatments.  For that reason I have done all the shopping. Yesterday he  got in one of those motorized carts at WalMart and shopped for the first time since January.  I thought we were going to have to call the paramedics to revive him.  Not from the exertion of the event but from the extreme shock he experienced in seeing the prices since his last visit ten months ago.

What are you doing to stretch your dollars and what price increase has caused you to stop buying certain products?  Are you wasting as much as you did a year ago or have you become more frugal and in what way?


Shoot, I should have saved this as a QOTW. (Question Of The Week).

INTERESTING ADDENDUM:


I cautioned Ron about using the cart and reminded him of how rude some cart drivers are to pedestrians in the store.  I gave him all kinds of tips (my usual helpful advice) about giving the walkers the right-of-way and reminded him to be courteous to them.  We managed to obtain the last available motorized cart and while I was attempting to read the instructions and get him to try it out gently,  Ron took off in a flash leaving a trail of dust in his wake (and a few people fleeing for their lives).  I also believe I heard scary laughter as he embraced this new found freedom. My shopping time was spent pretending I did not know him.  He got back to the van and griped about all the people that got in his way.  Oh dear, he is ONE OF THEM now.

QOTW 10-24-11...HELPFUL OR BRUTAL?

QUESTION OF THE WEEK 10-24-11


Do you want to hear the honest truth?








Does your make-up look good?  Is your hair okay?  Do you have any gunk in your teeth?  Is your fly open?  What about that stain on your shirt?  Are your fake eyebrows crooked? Is your wig or toupee straight? How is your breath?  Did you really say that? Are you really going to wear that?   Should anyone, especially your closest friends, tell you the brutal and honest truth?

(Do I really look okay or is my vision failing me? As we get older do we worry more about our appearance?    "Please tell me if I ever start looking like Myrtle Brown" was a bargain made with Ron years ago.  Myrtle was an elderly customer at the bank.  She had bright red hair with white roots.  She applied her rouge in circles like a clown's make-up and her clothes were ancient and ill-fitting. Yet she strutted around as if she were a model on the  runway.  No one would ever have told her that she looked very strange.  As comfortable and confident as Myrtle appeared to be, would she have preferred the truth to having people laughing behind her back?  Should even our closest friends be expected to tell the brutal yet honest truth?)

DAMAGE ASSESSMENT

It is my custom to lock the goats in their pen around 6:00 every evening.  They are easy to bring in by simply shaking the pan of sweet feed that entices them through the gate.  My primary concern at that time is to be able to stand clear while spreading out the feed in various containers as they begin the battle of the bites.  There is enough of this treat for each of the goats but just like with their hay, they only are interested in what another goat has instead of what is still in the feeder for them.

My task at that time to is to simply exit the pen unscathed.   It is my single goal to get out and shut the gate before they trample me in the melee.  Meanwhile, once the goats are all in, Slim believes her work is done and she has already made her escape. I am left to fend for myself.


Last night as I scrambled to get out the gate my boots became tangled in a wire from the hay bale.  As I went down my life flashed before my eyes and the urge to yell "timber" came upon me.  Once on the ground I held perfectly still as it was time to assess the damage.  That is the rule for us old folks when a fall occurs.  Don't move until you are sure you are okay.

First you imagine the worse.  I will die here while Ron is sleeping peacefully in the house.  He won't even miss me until after dark when he gets up for his supper.  If I don't die, I will at least be crippled for life and we will both have to move to a nursing home until we are well enough to take care of ourselves.  Then what about all these animals?  Who will take care of them and our property while we are gone?  My toes are wiggling and that is a good sign.  Thank goodness I had on boots and not my sandals.  My knees seem fine also.  Thank goodness it was cold enough for me to be wearing long pants and not shorts.  My hands are a little scratched from absorbing the fall but nothing appears to be broken.  Slowly I get up off the ground and brush away the hay bits and chocolate-candy-looking goat droppings stuck to the side of my face:)


I am happy to be alive.  All is well with the world.  Back inside the house Ron is awake and in his recliner.  I rush to convey the events that have just occurred and anticipate the rejoicing we will do together regarding my close call.  He smiles and say, "Could you get me some more peach juice when you go back upstairs?"