Veteran's Day

Veteran’s Day

The realization that today is Veteran’s Day made me think of the vets we have here on the property, and it hit me that one is missing.

The vet I’m thinking of — whose wife I’ve never seen, because she’s an invalid, generally can be seen out walking his German Shepherd.

Now realizing, I’ve not seen him since around July is giving me pause.

I’ll have to catch up with one of the guys, ask if he moved.

Word on the grapevine is that the bank on the corner, across from the market, was robbed on Tuesday by someone welding a shotgun. “Got away clean …. Cops everywhere”.

I didn’t leave the unit on Tuesday, and heard no sirens.

Curious as to details, I’ve searched local news and there’s nothing, but I did see on the bank’s website, that it was “Temporarily Closed” and, checking the site this morning, is still temporarily closed.

Trainer said he actually saw the aftermath — all the cops, but was not in the studio during the time of the robbery.

Can you imagine how desperate someone has to be to walk into a bank with a shotgun and rob the place?

Fortunately, as far as I know, no one was harmed.

My mom was once inside a bank when it was being robbed.

I don’t remember all the details, whether customers were told to hit the ground or ordered to stay in place, but I do recall my mom saying she kept her hands up in the air and had blurted out, “Oh lordy, I’m so scared”. ROFLMAO!

Sorry, not something to laugh at, but the idea of my mom blurting out that line just cracks me up.

Rather than drive out of the area and return to the location I’d gotten Shot 1 and Shot 2, just in case I had a bad reaction, I had plans to get my Booster at the corner drugstore — where I could just walk back home.

Scheduled for tomorrow, or so I thought, I’d had to jump through hoops to schedule the appointment — fill out multiple online forms, answer all kinds of health and vaccine questions, provide doctor information, but I got ‘er done.

THEN, granddaughter called this morning to see if the only reason I’d declined her mom’s invitation to Thanksgiving was because her brothers are not vaccinated.

You read that right, the grandsons are NOT vaccinated.

Why not? , you ask.

Because they’re jackasses and, like I’ve said before, egotistical, think what they think, what they feel, what they want and that’s that.

At any rate, long story short, granddaughter is hosting Thanksgiving at the home she and hubby just closed on and, thinking about the safety of her unborn son, thinking about my not coming because of the boys’ non-vaccinated status, and the safety of others invited, the boys have been told they are not invited to Thanksgiving.

They gone be mad, but it's time they learned the world does not revolve around them.

So looks like I’ve another road trip, hotel stay, and meal planning session coming up, because I have to be so careful about what I eat.

It will also be my first time meeting the in-laws.

So, anyway, after that conversation with granddaughter, something urged me to check my Booster appointment.

I learned I’d had a senior moment and somehow not booked for tomorrow, but for a Friday in December.

The drugstore had no appointments for November.

So, maybe it wasn't my fault. Maybe I'd assumed I was booking in November, when the site actually had me in December.

No matter, I cancelled and scheduled for Saturday out-of-the area, at the location I’d had my other shots, and didn't have to go through the hoops required for the drugstore appointment.

Hopefully, I’ll not have a bad reaction and can drive myself back.

For All Who Served

I have uncles, now all deceased, who served BUT none of my brothers, now also all deceased, served because my controlling mom wouldn’t allow it.

She turned my brothers into mama’s boys, dependent upon her, and taught them what to say and what to do to come off as unfit to serve should they be called up, thereby depriving them of the ability to learn there was more to life than the neighborhood, and grow into contributing members of society.

It did not go well for any of the boys later in life, but mom was content because none of the boys ever went far from home or made a move without consulting her first.

In fact, neither of the twins ever left home, period, (yes, I had twin brothers). They never learned how to handle any aspect of life ─ never owned a car, didn't even learn to drive, and were especially lacking in the area of financial know how because, as adults, mom made them turn their paychecks over to her.

I don't know for sure, but I'm assuming she gave them allowances as adults, because one of the twins, at one point, had an ATM card. 

He didn't know how to use it so he took my girls (his nieces) ─ then around ten years old, with him to the bank to show him how to use the ATM.

Twin 1 came close to serving when she graduated from high school, wondering what to do with the rest of her life. Dipping her toes in/out of taking a deep dive into her prodigal “lost” experience at that time, she was recruited, took the test (for which branch I don’t recall), passed, but then decided “I don’t like anyone telling me to do” and took that deep dive into the hard path through life, doing what she wanted, when she wanted, not listening to my advice nor her sister's, but blaming me later when the horse manure hit the fan and it all became too much for her.

Though now, seeing, reading and hearing about how some women were treated in the military ─ the rapes, I’m not so sure the hard path wasn’t the better choice. After all, it got her to where she is now ─ serving others in a different way.

Evidently at 76, it’s not too late for me to serve because, as a participant in the DC Batman Run, I received an email yesterday inviting me to “Become a member of one of the most specialized forces in the world. United States Air Force Special Warfare Airmen are the ones other special forces look to when the mission calls for their unique skills and fearless commitment. A job for the mentally tough and physically strong, these heroes go where others will not because they are trained to do what others cannot. They know how to reach their limits and go beyond the call of duty because other people’s lives depend on it. Special Warfare operators go anywhere in the world in combat and humanitarian situations, performing whatever is asked of them. They are willing to risk personal safety in order to accomplish the mission…every single time.”

Sounds like a worthy pursuit, but I don’t think my weak knees and sensitive stomach can handle such a commitment.

On another note, I find myself in an awkward position on facebook.

That friend of 40+ years ─ the friend I outgrew over 20 years ago, the friend whose invitations I always turn down, yet she still won’t let go, the friend whose husband I’m not too fond of ... that friend. Well, her sister sent me a friend request.

I don’t know her sister. Our paths did cross a time or two or three, some 30 years ago, so I do know her but I don’t KNOW her, have less in common with her than I do with my friend (her sister), so I want to deny the request, but don’t want to hurt or piss off my friend (her sister) any more than I already have by my lack of interest.

Something is definitely going on at a subconscious level with that family, because first I had that dream about friend’s husband and NOW her sister is sending me a friend request.

At any rate, until I find the courage to decline and face the consequences, I’m just going to lay low on facebook for a while ... lurk, but not post or like or comment on anything. In other words, hide like a coward. LOL.

That press conference 45's people held at Four Seasons Landscaping, not Four Seasons Hotel, is getting a lot of play on facebook with all kinds of hysterically funny memes.

These two are, so far, my favorites. 

Find a Penny

Arriving bright and early at the University yesterday, to gather game supplies, I was surprised to see so little traffic going in and so few cars parked on campus.

Thinking perhaps classes were starting late, I decided not to risk parking, coming back later to find I’d been ticketed. So, instead of taking advantage of the empty lot, I played it safe and parked on that side street about a quarter mile away.

After crossing the road, walking to where I was now on campus property, I looked down and spotted a bright new shinny penny.

Inasmuch as finding a penny is a good luck omen, I picked it up and recited the ritualistic, “Find a penny pick it up. All the day you’ll have good luck”.

I have absolutely no idea where I got that from, but it’s something I can’t remember ever not doing -- something I thought was universally done until, walking the golf course with a friend some time ago, spotting a penny, picking it up, reciting the ritual, that friend found it strange, saying she’d never heard of it.

I can’t be the only person that does this?

On campus, I later stopped to take a photo of a group of students climbing that big deal wolf statue I’d taken that fake being bitten pictures with a week or so back, but I’ve since been informed “It’s not a wolf. It’s a coyote”.

When I stopped to take that photo, a young man passing by smiled, greeted me and said, “I didn’t get the message.”

“What message is that?”

“That there’s no school today.”

“Ohhhh! That’s why the lot is empty. What’s going on?”

“It’s some kind of holiday, Veterans Day.”

Everything began to fall into place … the empty parking lot, all the facebook photos of friends who’d been in the armed services and/or family members who’d served/serving.

“Since I used the gas to get here, I figured I might as well study, but the Library is also closed”, he went on to say.

“LOL. Well you’re not the only one. I didn’t get the message either. I heard the message, saw the message, but it didn’t register.”

Apologies to our Veterans for my having failed to acknowledge your day, and a sincere thank you to all who defended and are defending.

I can only attribute my faux pas to waking up yesterday, brain fried from current events, feeling as though I was living in a dream state and would, at any moment, wake up.

Elsewhere on campus …

Veteran's Success Center

On tap for today is resting up for tomorrow. Not planning on anything other than Virtual 5Ks remainder of the year, I ended up registering for the famous Mission Inn Run. So it's up and out early tomorrow for what, after a whole lot of nothing but the living dead here at the complex, I hope to be a fun day with lots of active people and a simultaneous health and fitness fair.

Did finding a penny bring me luck you ask?

In a manner of speaking, yes, it did.

A $2 Day of the Dead scratch off lottery ticket, turned into $10, which I rolled over into a $10 ticket, which ticket parlayed itself into an $80 win.

Eighty dollars isn’t anywhere near the millions I'm looking to win but, I’ll take it.