Our dog your name?

We got a new dog to help grandpa Keary in doing things. And we would like you to help us in choosing a name.

And as usual

Diana got home gave me a hug and a kiss, ate then sat on the couch to watch TV and directly fell asleep.

I don't know what yous guys do to her but she is always so tired when she comes home that she falls asleep.

Actually I do know; she loves her children so much and she always wants to help all she can whether it be one of her children or anyone else. Each of you should feel honored in that you act much like your mother. I know there are differences and you should feel great that you are much like she who bore you.

Strange goings on around here.

I went to bed at around 21:00 last night and woke at 06:30 exactly and noticed that Diana was not in the bathroom as she usally is so I went to her bedromm door and called Diana, Diana, then I yelled Diana, Diana, DIAAANNAA, and then realized that I had been left for another woman. What a terrible feeling, Calixta should be ashamed for doing this to her own father I’ll bet that Diana would not have done this for any of the rest of her kids! Oh, that is because we had other kids at home or because we were trying to drag ourselves out of the financial hole we keep trying to avoid but seldom do.

This year we decided on, no presents for one another, which I broke by writing her a letter of appreciation and putting it on a certificate sheet with gold diamond shapes around the edges. Ah shucks I guess I will be sent straight to the depths of h___ for doing this, or one of many other things.

President Lee Info!

I am just trying to give you all a few pics of the front pages of the Samuel Lee Family history and Genealogy along with some pics of some of my forefathers, however they are related to me. I would be able to figure it all out but my father and his way of doing genealogy is different. He has it all in his genealogy books but instead of putting it on a cd he has put it all on floppies and has not given me instructions as to which family is whose parents and I have as yet to figure it all out.
........................................................................................President Lee and his wife below.

For those who like lights.

Diana went the night before last to see the light show on the Columbia river. We decided that I would have more than I could do in trying to walk and stand at this event. Since I have a sore on my left leg that if I don't get healed may cause another amputation.

Christmas thoughts

The biggest thing about Christmas these days is that the world has chosen to celebrate the Saviors birth at this time which is great. My problem is that satan has demeaned it by making it the greatest shopping time of the year and everyone is trying to gain a little bit of it, from diamonds and other jewelry and cars and yachts and lights to toys and tape and turkeys and hams everyone wants to disgrace othe memory of our Savior. Yesterday I read ten chapters all together in the books of Luke and John to help myself with discouragement.

Christmas 2006

Nothing to say except WOW look at Andrew & Shawnie.

Christmas Past

I don't know if this is what is meant by Past Christmases but one of my favorite memories of Christmas is when we had Santa come to visit with our girls while we lived in Moses Lake, WA. The best thing is that he came into our home and talked to each of the three girls who were alive at that time and when he came back on Christmas morning, each little girl got exactly what she had asked for.

Another story I believe was from Christmas time was when we as a family acted out a play in the Spokane Ward and the girls - Cathy, Kristy and Ciria - sang as the chipmunks of Alvin and the chipmunks and I played the father and kept yelling ALVIN ALVIN in between songs.

At last.

I'm so glad everyone else is blogging as now I don't have to, I can just sit back and read, this takes me a couple hours when everyone else blogs. Do you think your mother will every blog? She says she has to much to do and I am sure of that as she does so much for helpless me! She really does do a lot for me!

I don't know

First off, I must apologize for the lousy post I put in last called "Leviathon" and if you didn't see it you can congratulate yourself as it was that bad. I deleted it for the sake of all those who did not read it.

Sometimes I wonder what life is all about. Diana seems to always know that life is about others and I agree with her only I have a hard time achieving this same attitude. Seems that I could deal with a great big attitude adjustment about now.

Cathy seems to have learned from her mother what I wish I could learn, she is the sweetest person and she seems to always put other people first.

When one looks at me one must wonder how sick is this jerk and no I do not mean physically. I mean psychologically, if I could just look at how the savior lived his life and follow it I would do so much better but I am always worrying about myself and what am I going to get instead of looking at my fellow human and wonderinmg how can I help that person?

It seems that I got the best person in the world for me, I wonder who should have gotten Diana for a wife? I also wonder who could be bad enough to deserve someone like me.

Oh, now I remember

We were extremely rich and lived on a hill in Victor, MT. this was a beautifl site with a small stream running down each side of the hill were I would go fish and catch 12 pound trout that would be caught on a safety pin bent just so. A little sewing thread tied to the end of some pole found in the thick foliage a few yards back of the streams.

We had so many cattle they could only be counted in two months. About three million depending on how succesful the last stranger who had been caught in cattle theft had been. We had two thousand milk cows that I had to milk each morning and evening. We would get about three thousand gallons of milk each time we milked. Boy the dairys and pasturizers all wanted it as it was the best milk in the whol state and probably the nation. This milk carried almost 10% milk fat so it was ideal for butter manufacturering and ice cream as well as for the best tasting milk.

Boy don’t you wish you could have lived then? This is purely made up nonsense. It is only for the highest amount of blog posts so that I can win JK.

Christmas

I think that Christmas is the best of all holidays and yet I never get ready for Christmas. Ask me on the 24^th “are you ready for Christmas” and my answer will most often be when is it? It always sneaks up on me without my having done anything positive for Christmas. This year Diana has fially gotten the Christmas decorations out and asked me how does this look to which I had to say I don’t see it what do you mean.

As we go into this season I always feel sad for Zachery as he has to share his birthday with all the Christmas zeal. Seems that his birthday is almost forgotten because everyone is to busy doing Christmas things. I hope everyone will take the time to wish Zachery a happy birthday this year.

Diana tells me that she finds the blogs I write of my parents lives to be very blah, I hope they aren't seen in this way by everyone, else I will quit with these type of blogs.

Isn't it exciting that we are going to have such an exciting day on the 15th, Alex starting work at a new job and Calixta moving on the very same day.

By the way

Cathy: I am not interested in any contest.
I blog as a way to communicate with all my family as I am very poor at communicating with anyone by telephone, through letter writing or any other method of conversation. But I am interested in what my family does. I have no way of escaping all that Diana does LOL but my children are totally incommunicado con migo, with me. And blogging is an excellent way of writing a journal as you can write what you have done or seen. Some of the more personal things need to be kept in ones diary or dairy as you choose but blogging is a good way for people to write their life.

And I hope that everyone reads this and acts upon it.

Grandmas end

The neighbor tried to do away with my grandpa by poisoning the Epsom salts (strychnine) strychnine in the Epsom salts. They used Epsom salts for just about everything now that’s all I know about my grandmother. (How was she killed rather than your grandfather?) They put strychnine in the Epsom salts that they used for medicine (apparently she,the neighbors wife, came in the house and put some strychnine in the Epsom salts knowing that they would take it for medicine). My grandpa wasn’t feeling well oe night so she fixed him a cup of tea but he didn’t like as much sugar in his as she did and she got more of the s strychnine than he did.(So he got some also?) He got sick but it killed her. (So did they get prosecuted?) No they couldn’t prove anyrhing, they tok it to court but they couldn’t prove anything nothing to prove for sure. This is something I don’t understand. They used strychnine’epsom salts for tea, it wasn’t tea it was a hot toddy that’s why she (tea could have been a hot toddy) I was just wondering why (what is a hot toddy) (I’d say that anything hot was a hot toddy but I don’t know) I don’t know but anyway she got more of the strychnine than he did.

Wierd...

We had the weirdest thing happen tonight. Someone knocked on the door and Diana answered it. There was a man there who wanted to come in. Well Diana called me out and when I got there this guy was scared out of his mind. Apparently he and his friend were watching a movie when her ex-boyfriend, a jailbird, said at his door open up as I am coming in. There were three knocks and all of a sudden this poor guys door flew in, frame and all. Well the guy ran as he was frightened to death and hid behind our car then called 911 on his cell phone and talked to the police until his battery died then came to our house and wanted to come in and use our phone. He was scared to the point were he couldn’t sit down or anything. He talked and worried and talked and eventually we found that he works at the same place as our bishop. Small world huh?

Horses and first of grandmas

In here it says tell a story of your grandpa. I don’t remember my grandpa Passey at all, he died from diabetes when I was about eight years old. What about your grandpa?

I only had one grandparent and that was my grandpa Morgan and I was about sixt… fifteen when he died. I was a sophomore in high school and he died in the spring so I think I was about fifteen years old whe he died and all I can remember about grandpa Morgan is that we used to go see him and he lived five mile- seven miles outside of Idaho Falls and it would take us thirty minutes in the car to drive that seven miles at that time. One time Rex and I rode a horse back from his place we started at noon and didn’t get back until dark (slow horse) we would ride a ways and then we would have to get off and lead him (was it winter time) summer time but you didn’t go as fast in those days as you do now (yah well you had a horse that was worse than a mule) just about.

And this one says tell a fond memory of your grandma and I never knew my grandma Passey. She died when my father was about eleven I think but we lived with my grandma Lee and she was always doing or buying us things, I loved to sleep with her in her feather bed. She had a feather bed mattress. I can remember we used to puff it up and pound it down so.

I never knew my grandmother at all but I know that she died when my mother was eleven years old she was poisoned by a neighbor that lived in the area where my grandpa did over a fight over water rights who could have water and who couldn’t have water

Tune in tomorrow for the rest of the story as Paul Harvey would say!!!

Dentures

Uncle Larry told me a story about my grandfather. Gramdpa would take out his knife and whittle on his dentures whenever they would hurt until he had to get a new set of dentures.

Dianas mother will wear her dentures until it is time to eat and then she will take them out and put them beside her plate so that she can eat without any teeth and she does a very good job of it, she even eats tripas without any teeth tripas are normally quite gummy but I guess one could say those tripas are extrely gummy. I remember one day when Cathy was asked to go into the trash can behind the restaurant we had eaten at in order to find those dentures. I don't remember but Cathy would definitely remember if she found them or not.

Want anymore denture stories? I guess I could dig some up and I don’t mean from the grave.

Visits Visits Visits 2

Well Larry did come and Diana did get the house cleaned up and fixed dinner (Chicken, Mashed taters, Green beans and Mushroom gravy) but she was mocing so fast I didn’t see her till we sat down to eat. I sure appreciate it when anyone comes over to eat, I get something besides Nalleys chili con carne or Oatmeal to eat.

Larry said that he had gone up to Spanish Fork Utah to be with his daughter and son-in-law for Thanksgiving. Spent a couple weeks there, went to visit my uncle Bill Barnes for a couple days then went to see Mom and Dad for a couple days then went to see a one of his colleagues in Seattle before coming down to see us. He spent the night with us then went to church with us before leaving to go to Portland to see another colleague. After all of this he will go down to LA for his company christmas party and go shopping with his daughters. We told him to go over to see Cathy and family but I don’t know.

Well now you have Larry’s travel itenary for all to be interested in. I hope this satisfies your challenge Cathy. Oh BTW Larry did give us some of his pictures and genealogy but no money. Larrys wife Jerry died this past May and he showed me a PowerPoint presantation that he had prepared of her life for her funeral dinner I guess, it was very nice. While we were gone to Utah one of the members of our ward had passed away and several testomonies at Fast and Testimony meeting were about death and poor Larry was really suffering because of them.

The above are my mothers family who are still alive. Right to left uncle Keith - looks like a Passey, aunt Karen, Uncle Larry - looks like a Lee and mom. Mom is 76 and Larry is 70. 70 and still working is quite awesome.

Visits Visits Visits

My mother called a little while ago to let me know that her brother Larry was coming by to see me. hope he leaves a great deal of cash while here. LOL Although he is doing quite well, he struggles just like the rest of us. I hope that the visit will be very interesting concerning genealogy and how his family is doing!

Diana is quite upset that we didn’t get more time to clean up0

Thanksgiving!

We were so frightened by the news of Karis illness and it was especially good to go in and see her in the hospital. It was nice to see everyone there at Ciria and Adams house and once Kari got home everyone else started dropping off like flies in October. Well I enjoyed myself even if I got so exhausted that I was home on Tuesday and most of Wednesday.
I forgot Brecks birthday on Wednesday as I was too busy trying to get well enough to see the doctor and then going. I am so sorry Breck. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you.

Hi Alex n Kiki

Doing it again and I still haven't been told what we are doing so I look kind a dumb, normal I guess.

Hi Alex n Kiki, Vallen n Cathy

We are in the monster er dinosaur museum and I am just getting out of the restroom and they want me to join in without explaining what is going on.

Dad in Sports

I hadn't heard this one in the past!


Sports – Me personally.

Well I went to a school – went to a small school that didn’t have football or baseball until I was a senior in high school. Consequently the only sport I played was basketball and there I made the team while I was a freshman. And the coach told me that if I quit doing some of the things I was doing I could play basketball next year but if I continued doing some of the things I was doing which I was – had taken up smoking and I liked to play basketball better than I liked to smoke and it was no problem to quit and I have never touched it since. So the first year we went to the state tournament and in the district tournament a good friend of ours , he was a senior at the time, they had quite an article in the paper of how the rest of the team was in the dressing room when he shot the final shot and he shot it from the dressing room door and it went in, of course he was on the court but it was a longgg shot it was a hail Mary shot and it went in and we went to the tournament. We went to the tournament all four years I was in high school. We never won the state tournament any year but we got to go. Then the year after I graduaed from high shool - they got rid of me they went to state tournament and took the state tournament!

So that is about all I can tell you about sports.

Cowboy Football

How is this game?



Like I say our senior year we got to play football and we played 6 man football as we didn’t have enough kids in school to play 8 man or 11 man football on the team so we played 6 man football. And we went to Iona to play and they’d been playing every year fer all my high school years but I didn’t get to play as I stayed home and helped on the farm till I was a senior and my senior year we went and they put me in as quarterback and we went over to Iona and we had 8 men dressed for our 6 man team. Well like I say they’d been playing every year and they just literally wiped the field with us, we didn’t know what we was doing really, we was trying but… and at half time the coach said they have been murdering you guys, he says I’ll turn my head and you guys go out there and get even with them and they had 12 men dressed for football and they didn’t have enough players to finish the game. They was all bruised up so bad they couldn’t play. Now that isn’t saying much for sportsmanship but they weren’t good sports to start with so we just retaliated. (But Iona won.)

First date according to Dad

Almost exactly like mom told me.


I got out of high school in May and this was in June I mean August that I had been dating this girl and,, her sister was Darlines friend. And Darline had got in trouble last year, her and her friend so they didn’t go to scout camp this year. A friend of mine, one of the kids I run around with in school all the time, he had a date with Darlines friend and she asked Darline to come down that night cause Jerry had asked her to go out on a date and she didn’t want to go o a date with him and she didn’t want to go with him so Darline said yah Ill come down. And so she came down and so when we got there Darline was there and I didn’t have a date – didn’t figure on taking a date but Darline was there and Darlines friends mother asked me if I was going to take Darline on a date. I said I don’t know, I hadn’t thought about it. I says do you want to go out on a date? And that was the beginning of a long romance. And it is still continuing today!

Dad dating

Another I don't remember.


Once I went out with two or three girls the same night, not together but individually. Now if you can figure that out more power to you. I asked “Out to diner or something?” Oh no, I never spent any money! That’s what my mother said, she said you could give Rex twenty dollars and you could give Delbert a dollar and he’d have fifty cents left when Rex was out of money.

Cows and bulls

I do not remember hearing this one.



Question: What was the naughtiest thing you did?

Mom: Mother would ask me to take the kids (her brothers and sisters) and she would say “make sure you don’t get the sun in their eyes.” Of course when I got away from the house I knew that if you got the sun in their eyes they would go to sleep, so then I could take them home and go play.

Dad: One of the naughtiest things I did was when I was a kid. And we had a corral – we had a barn and a corral and the corral came out around the barn and we had a shed out behind the barn a hundred yards or so behind the barn. But there was a big low spot in the corral and when it would rain or snow and then melt then we would have all this soupy stuff in the corral.
Every morning we would have to get up about 4 – 4:30 in the morning and go out and get the cows in and milk them by hand. Well he’d (Rex’d) make mego out and bring the cows in from the shed. Well I’d rebelled one day and made him go get the cows and he didn’t know we had – he knew we had it but didn’t know how to do it because he went into the shed and turned the light on. That woke all the cows up including the bulland the bull took out after him. Here he come running across the (corral) and there was an ice pond there at that time but the bull broke through it and the bull would come through and just butt Rex in the butt end and push him a little ahead until he got to the barn doorand I had the barn door which was a door with a top half and a bottom half were you could open all together or separate and I had the door open so he could get in. just as he got to the door I shut the bottom half of the door and the bull hit him in the butt and just put him through the top half of the door all covered with manure. I wouldn’t do things like that on purpose! (Of course you wouldn't!)

Grandfathers brother

This is one I never did understand until I watched this!

Mother was the youngest of eleven children. There was quite a few years between my mother and her parents in fact my aunt Jane which was mothers oldest sister, her daughter married dads brother. Brother just older than he was (how much older was he than she) Frank wasn’t much older than June was he? Delbert I didn’t know them. There wasn’t too much, Frank was just a little older than your dad wasn’t he? Frank was just two years older than dad (3 Sep 1902) but Frank (11 Feb 1900) married aunt (Sarah) Janes oldest daughter (Selma) June CHARLESWORTH (9 Jun 1905) That made my dads brother his uncle.
Grandma would have been Junes Aunt and therefore dad was a bit mistaken as grandpa (Lenard) would have been Franks uncle.
Dad, Mom, Me

What to say - What to say?

Diana and I are planning a trip to visit my parents this coming weekend and like I said I am going to purchase a tape recorder with several tapes and talk to mom and dad to get the best of their life tales. Mom has told me that she wrote a lot of this kind of stuff for Wendy at one time (probably ten years ago or more, some people are really on the ball) and so I will get a copy of that as well.

Now I hope that dad is feeling up to the task of remembering as many tales as possible. I know that if dad can remember all of the tales it will take about a full week of just listening and I know that mom can tell just as many only she liked to hear dad’s tales and didn’t say a great deal while we were growing up, I remember her telling a few. I do remember how fun it was to hear each tell of how they met and started dating, it is almost like a different tale with pretty much the same ending. The following is how mom told it to me over the phone today then sometime next week I will be able to tell dad’s “getting to know you” storie:

Mom and her friend had done something at camp the previous year and so they weren’t allowed camp that year, but her friends older sister, who was dating dad at the time, had gone to camp. One day my mother went to her friends house to find the boy she had been gowing around with there with dad. (My words or the words I am adding will be in brackets). Somehow mom, her friend and dad and the guy mom was dating (but didn’t like) decided to go out. Now moms friends mother (who didn’t like dad can you imagine) suggested that Delbert go with Darline so (he got down on his knees) he asked her if she would go with him and she said “I’ll have to ask my mother”. (wouldn’t it be so much better if we could get snywhere close to that kind of obedience today?)

Oh, mom also told me that while at the Lee reunion she was given a book explaining how we are related with President Harold B. Lee. If interestted let me know and I will get a copy of this book for you.

Is there anyway that you all can tell me what kind of info you like from this blog?

Hopefuly I can get a few pictures to go along with each tale.

Love you all, dad

My fathers flat tire

This one is hard for me to believe; however, I have never known my father to lie and mom also says it is true apparently she was along.

One night my father had a flat tire and so he went and found a couple making out. He took his jack and jacked their car up and traded his flat tire rim and all. Then he let the car down and the couple never even noticed. He then took the tire and put it on his own car and drove home.

Oh, BTW Alex dad told me each of these and uncle Rex verified several. I need to go back and talk to my parents with a tape recorder as I remember so few of the great many stories he has told!

While my father was reading in class

As my father tells it he was asked to read in class one day and so he stood to read and as he was reading he held a firecracker out so a friend sitting next to him could light it. While still reading he flicked the lit firecracker up underneath his teachers desk. Well the firecracker exploded as can be expected and the poor teacher was up and out of the class room in three steps.

When the teacher came back with the principal she had the whole class under suspicion except for my father as he was standing up reading when the vile firecracker was thrown under her desk.

When my father and his brother had an argument

When my uncle Rex and my father would have an argument my father would run til he got to with eyesight of his mother and then fall to the ground and Rex would jump on top of him and start to beating on my father. Well they both wore the bib overalls that were what farm kids wore in those days of the early thirties and my father would wrap his arms threw uncle Rex’s overalls and hold him so that he could not get in a very good punch as the distance was so short.

Well my grandmother would see Rex beating up on Delbert and she woould go out and beat on Rex until he stopped beating on his little brother. Seems that Rex always got the worst of it.

Zachary being funny!

Kiki taught me how to use YouTube!

This was taken before they moved to Utah!

I wish everyone would get back to blogging once a week at least. Do you think that is possible?

Health questions

I went to the doctor today and told them that I was continually getting bumps on my arms, neck and head that I didn't understand why they were there. The doctor looked at them and told me they were caused by an over production of skin that some people get. Because my mother gets the same type of umps on her I thought I would write and say this as it is probably caused to me as a hereditery type of problem and as I was visiting with Alex this past week he told me that he got some bumps on his head. So I thought I would explain these type of bumps for any other children.

I know that mom was always wondering what caused these things on her, so I though I might answer any possible speculations by the rest of my family. Because some of the bumps on my arms have gotten quite annoying the doctor burned three of them with liquid nitrogen to see if this would get rid of them and told me that it would take up to three weeks to find out a definite answer but if this works then she would try with other problem areas.

Babie A playing football

One from Texas

After bring me here to visit with Alex, Kiki & alex, Diana and sister Linda left to go visit Greatgrandparents or their parents in Mission, TX or way down south. Probably 400 miles south. I'll bet you can't guess who is oldest.

As I am having a hard time sleeping I think I will send a short note from Alex & Kiki's computer. I have been having the best time laying around with little alex. He is the best natured child I can think of, at least I don't remember any of my children being this sweet. I think he always has a smile on his face unless he has hurt himself and these episodes only last about 2 minutes or less.

Kiki framed this picture and alex gave it to me as a gift. How special!

But Grandma Diana gets along with alex better than grandpa Keary. Of course this is not surprising as Grandma Diana gets along with everyone better than grandpa Keary.

I really hope and pray for Alex to find one of those do nothing jobs at the fire department, but I think he will find there is more to do than nothing. BTW Alex did not say they were do nothing jobs, we were talking and he said that a lot of hopefuls had that thought. If he can get some experience he will not have to work so hard in finding a job as it seems that most Fire departments are looking for experienced help.

Good night and have a great day.

I guess there is no more ideas!

As Diana and I get ready to return to Texas for the LAST time. I figure there will be no more ideas that will pop up in my weary old head. The one thing I would like to do is to remember to take the Temple Locker Key from the Dallas temple back with me as I have had it for so many years without ever using it while living here in Vancouver. I was issued a locker key at the Dallas Temple while I worked as an ordinance worker there. I got ill and before taking the key back to the temple we moved and I just never could find the little old key through three moves while living here in Vancouver.

The other day I found this key in my desk drawer and asked Diana about it so she told me the history of said key. I guess I am going to put it on my key ring now as I don't want to leave it here at home while I go visit the Dallas area and my Son and grandson Alex.

Call and remind me to take the key if you read this before we leave for the airport.

Well I think we are going to be there with Alex, Kiki and alex close enough to alexs birthday that we can do a little pre-birthday cheer before we leave for home. It'll only be ten - elevyn days prior to alexs birthday. Guess we should have left about 8-9 days later. Diana likes to go for her fathers birthday 10/08/1921(1922)?? But she is going to miss his birthday by a day and her grandsons by 11-12 days, I guess this trip for her is a real waste of time.

Othello Trip

Diana and I went to visit my parents this past weekend and found that we went on a perfect weekend. As we approached Othello on Highway 17 from Mesa to Othello I noticed a house that I remember going to home teach when I was between 14 and 15 then I noticed another house that I remembered a certain family lived in when I was a child. Then finally I noticed a house as we approached Othello tht belonged to the Weibel family and I told Diana I had graduated from high school with a daughter of this family. Later I asked my father if the Weibel family still owned this property and he told me that yes Herbert Weibel still lived there and that the girl I had graduated with had given birth to a baby by a guy by the name of ? Jemkins and mom had said the Jenkins were all a wild lot.

Enough for the nostalgia. I just thought it quite interesting that I was so able to remember these things at this time and had never befre emembered them. There seems to be a lot of things that I am just now remembering and learning that was a part of my earlier years.

Now for the reason of the perfect weekend. It seems that Matthew was scheduled to be given the Melchizedek preisthood on Sunday after church and ordained an Elder. As we were there I was asked to help in the ordination. I was also asked to give my father a blessing of health just after this ordination which I thought was quite special in the event there were many others in the room who could have done just as well or better than I.

Diana and I were able to get home last night at about 11 PM after a very enjoyable weekend. We took the game Blokus with us and everyone who played it had a wonderful time.

Dad's blessing Matthew's Orrdination

Cameron n Samantha , Melissa's children

So where has everyone gone?

I really do know!
One of the happiest moments of our later years was a few years ago when we had the whole family here for Adam and Ciria’s wedding and since then we have gone from everyone to Andrew, Shawnie, Aden and Jocelyn who now live here in Vancouver, WA with Diana and I.

I guess that is alright since we haven’t spent a lot of time with Andrew and family since we moved here in 2000. Of course part of the blame for that is on Andrews shoulders but most of that blame is my own. At any rate this will change now that there is no one left here in Vancouver except for Andrew and family and Diana and I. Is there enough ands in the previous sentence?

While I was working I earned quite a lot of money but I was too busy trying to earn money to really enjoy it. We are far happier now that we are dirt poor than we were when we had quite a lot of money. The most important thing is to enjoy life and not to worry about what one has. Diana and I have six wonderful children and currently 10 wonderful grandchildren. This is real joy and happiness.

When Diana and I were first married she wanted me to get a good education so that I could make a lot of money and it would not have been as hard on me as a manual laborer. Well if Alex gets hired on as a fireman, he will make far more money than I could have and Andrew has just got a job with Christensen yachts and he will shortly be earning more than I could. I guess what I am saying is that I hope each of my children will take it to heart that happiness and joy do not come from how much mone one has but rather what one does with what one has.

Now the five wonderful grandchildren we had living here with us.


Aden has a haircut just like mine
or at least just like mine when I was five years old on July 4, 1956

Jocelyn the model of Andrew and Shawnie is playing with Aden, Zachary, Tonia and Zeke.

And Zachary is getting ready to leave the area of Vancouver and playing with Aden and Jocelyn for the last time in Vancouver. I seriously hope Zachary will be able to make a bunch of friends in Utah like he has here.

Of course Tonia and Zeke are also getting ready to leave us here in Vancouver. I hope Tonia will be able to continue with her ridinng of horses and she will continue practicing her guitar.

Labor Day weekend

We went on a trip up the mountain through overhanging branches only bits of the sky could be seen at first and then we were going up and up and we kept going up.

And there were roadside shops such as the 7/11 you see here. Oh don't believe all you read. This isn't really a 7/11 but rather a 911.

Then there was the mountain up ahead.

And then we finally saw an elevation sign about a fourth way up.

As we got up to the top as far as we could drive there was still this much further that we should have gone but Diana would not let me walk any further. So we started for the bottom and our dreary little lives once again.

On the way down we were lucky to find a few places to rest.

OH by the way the mountain is Mount Hood.

Tomorrow will be another Journal.

Nephew 4

Matthew Tyler Wall has been called to serve a mission in Guadalajara Mexico y ya va a hablar en espanol tambien, and is now going to speak in Spanish also. I am so sorry that my mother was so dead set on the fact that her grandchildren were not going to speak in spanish or each of our children would also soeak spanish.

Matthew will report at the mission home in Provo, Utah on December 6 2006 where he will be discomforted by all the young ladies of BYU and where he will be asked to shave his beard, the hardest thing he will have to do for the next two years. Then will come the hardest thing, that of leaving his beloved people of Guadalajara. He will also have to leave the beauty of Guadalajara.

The funniest thing about Matthew is that he hates to sweat, he bathes and changes his clothes at least 4 times a day according to mom. I think this will change a little as he serves a mission in one of the hottest places he could serve. This will be interesting. I remember a missionary in North Carolina who packed his clothes and rode his bike about 15 miles to the airport and caught a flight home after being in the mission field less than two weeks. This would be a terrible thing to happen for any missionary this came to mind as I write this note and definitely do not think Matthew capable of this type of action.

Matthew is the fourth nephew of mine and the fifth grandchild of my parents to accept the will of our Heavenly Father.

Good Luck Matthew

Funerals 2

I went to a friends funeral today in a Catholic church and was amazed at the differences between my brothers funeral and the one today. Noone spoke except the Preist who was foriegn and I could barely understand him. They also paid some lady to come and play the piano and sing some songs, she was pretty good.

It is also funny to see the differences in the design of their chapel compared to that of our own. Their chapel was almost all glass. I imagine that it s so for the benefit of people driving by so they could see how impressive it is to be of their church. There was at least three podiums the Priest spoke from, I had a hard time trying to find him as he kept changing positions with each change in topic.

Boy I would hate to have to try and keep up with him. At least I wouldn't fall asleep, it is too interesting to watch the traffic go by.

And the worst thing about the funeral I went to today was that there was no funeral potatoes. In fact I had to go home to eat as they were to cheap to feed us for paying our last respects.

Funerals

I never thought I would go to any of my families funerals but they would all attend my funeral while here in this eaarthly life. Was I ever wrong! Not only was I wrong, but it looks as if I am healthier than several in my family. Of course looks are decieving and I may be the very next one to go on to the spirit prison not that Allen went there but I am sure I will.

It is a great shock to learn that your youngest brother has passed on when I felt that I would be the very first. It is even a greater shock to learn that he was strangled to death with no marks left to identify the one who might have strangled him. Actually it wasn’t a person who strangled him but his own body strangled him to death.

After all of the suffering I have gone through because of diabetes I feel this was a very good way to die and it took less than ten minutes. Allen even took the time to tell his wife that he loved her before he passed on according to Lisa.

I was given the honor and difficulty of offering the Family Prayer. I did't know how this should have been done but I offered a prayer of thanks to our Heavenly Father for the opportuniy of knowing Allen and of being a family then I asked a special blessing upon Lisa, my parents and all who would miss Allen that they would be comforted and I said a few other things that I don’t remember so they must not have been important.

As Diana and I talked we decided that we would be of the least to be saddened by Allen’s passing and this gave us some reflection on how we should have taken more time to get to know Allen and then we thought of the last time we had seen him and remembered that he chose to walk by us without even saying hello so I came to the conclusion that I need to take more of a possitive role in dealing with each of my brothers and sisters and to not let small things get in the way of my responsibility to have a good relatioship with each of my brothers and sisters. I need to follow the example of Jesus as Calixta would say.

Responses to Church Callings

"Church callings!"

Alex said...
What a dumb stake president. But i'm sure he had his reasons other than what we can imagine.

Kristy said...
sometimes i wouls like to be put on the do not contact list! But instead i have caller ID!

Kiki said...
Alex and I have both put in our aplications for bishop and relief socity president respectively, but as of yet we haven't heard anything back...suprizingly we haven't been given any callings.

Response: When I was younger I thought I could do better than some of the Bishops we had; however, I am very happy to say this calling nevr came to me.

Cathy said...
I remember you helped translate Spanish on Sundays... was that a calling or just something anyone could help out with?

Response: Translating was a calling. I guess I forgot, you are only going to get the things I remember. Soo sorry!

"Church callings 2!"

Alex said...
I remember that north carolina had a problem with racism. It was weird being called cracker and then the white people not knowing how to treat you. all in all I still loved it there. It was a ton of fun.

Response: That is only because that is where you grew up. I'm afraid you even have some of that racism in your makeup! Should I exorcize it? Maybe next time I see you I can call in a Catholic priest.

Cathy said...
Growing up in Washington we had really strong priesthood leaders in our wards, then moving to NC we were so surprised to see some of the "interpretations" that were going on...very interesting. I didn't remember your callings. Thanks for sharing them!

Response: Thanks for always being so supportive Cathy.

Kiki said...
What did the mouse look like?

Response: Kiki, I don't understand!

Ciria said...
Thinking back on the few callings I have held in my life, I really enjoyed being in the nursery. However, I do agree sometimes having parents in nursery is not the best thing for the children. I check up on Zoë all of the time and I always want to help her, but I know that I really won't be helping.

Kristy said...
I really don't remember a lot of the race stuff with in the church you are talking about. Every place you go to has it's problems...but I agree with Alex, I still loved it there. Would go back, too.

Response: Sorry to burst your bubble but I believe it was there.

"Church callings 3!"

Ciria said...
Funny thing, Adam and I were just discussing callings. I am amazed at all the different places you serve. What a great example!

Response: I am not an example; I just believe that one must serve where one is called as the Lord is directing His church!

Alex said...
I remember sometimes having to take you all the way out to the temple. but who did it the other times? i never knew it was a calling

Response: Well now you know. This was the easiest calling I have had.

Kristy said...
All my callings seem to be in primary....which sometimes I have a hard time not resenting b/c I am with children all the time already. I don't know which is worse though, primary callings or having to go to relief society.

Response: Well I believe we are called to where we need the experience as the Lord is directing His church!

Journal 01!

I found a part of my journal and thought I would share. I did not write a lot in journal form so this is probably all you will get. I wish I could say differently but there it is. The parts in brackets are not in the journal.

01/29/1981 Last night I could not sleep. I kept thinking of my situation at work and decided that I must look for another job that is with a secure institution and that pays me more like what I feel I am worth. I set this figure arbitrarily at $2000.00 a month or more. (Not worth much am I?) I am so sure that Diana will feel that I am worth at least this much and hope dearly that she will understand my need to go out in search of another job that is rewarding, challenging and tha I can enjoy as much as I have enjoyed working for the city of Moses Lake. (Never did find a job that I enjoyed as much as working for the city of Moses Lake.)

and I pray the Lord will bless me with enough money to go out into his vineyard once again only with Diana this time. I feel that my Heavenly Father has something in store for me so as to make my patriarch cal blessing so specifies. And I can see no other reason why He would put up with a sinner such as I unless He wants me to repent and finish the job He has set for me to accomplish here on the earth.

Just to let you know; it took me a little over two years to find a new position.

Church callings 3!

As we left the Chapel Hill Ward I was almost totally blind and for this reason Diana, Ciria, Alex, Andrew and Calixta all got out of the car and refused to go another inch with me driving. I wonder they let me drive as far as I did because we were in Arkansas when they rebelled against me. It is also the reason that I was called to few church callings from then on.

It is amazing to me at the number of callings there are that can be done by people with almost no physical abilities. The Lord truly loves His children. It is amazing to me that I was called as a name extraction person. It also amazes me to know that I am most effective when I am most faithful and I do not feel very faithful right now as it has been at least six months that I finished my last packet of names, the current one seems to have too many problems. Oh, I already I need to get on the ball or get busy!

Back to the story, when we finally got to Harrah, OK I was called to be the Elders Quorum secretary and while in this position the Elders Quorum president taught me how to use both Microsoft Access and Microsoft Publisher with the idea of writing a Ward newsletter on a monthly basis. We got no support and although we did put out a few publications we were stymied at a feasible way of distributing to those who were unable to get to church on Sundays. We thought of mailing them to everyone, too cost prohibitive; to those who did not get to church, we were afraid of stepping on toes. All in all we were always boggled with another problem with each new idea. The only good thing that came of it was that I did put together the Ward ulletin each week, and even that had problems in that the auxiliary leaders were always late in announcing what was about to happen this week let alone this month.

We moved into the Allen 4th Ward and there I was ordained a High Priest, I was called as an Employment Specialist, something I was and am little capable of doing, and I was called to work in the Dallas Temple a calling I dearly cherished as long as I could get to the temple on time. Well, I will talk some more tomorrow.

Church callings 2!

When we moved into Spokane I was first called into the Elders Quorum Presidency where I served as second counselor to a guy who was the son of a man my father was in the bishopric with in Stevensville, MT. This Elders Quorum Presidents name was Paul Skaggs who worked as a electrical engineer for Hewlett-Packard and he showed us the mouse he was designing at the time. I don’t believe I have ever seen the like.

I had only served in this position for a few months when I was called into one of the hardest positions I have held in the church “Ward Financial clerk”. It would have done me more good than any thing I could have done if I had paid good attention to what I was doing. Unfortunately I didn’t have a strong enough testimony at the time to really learn anything and so we suffered financially for many years after this calling.

After moving to Durham, NC I was called to serve in the nursery and then in the Sunbeams class. In this position I had Andrew in my classes both years before I started traveling away from home so much. I probably did Andrew more damage than I did good for the poor tyke. You see he was in the same class as Skip Lezzettes son (name not remembered) and I was always protecting Andrew from the roughian. I was also called into a genealogy class while we lived in Durham or the “Chapel Hill Ward – Durham Stake”. This ward consisted of Parkwood, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and a couple other little towns in North Carolina.

I think I came closer to totally apostizing from the church while we lived here in the Chapel Hill Ward as a result of the way the black converts were treated. And you all have heard both Diana and I say that these people in North Carolina still acted as if the civil war was still in progress. And I am saying that the south still wants the black people to be slaves and I believe there is no greater harm anyone could do to one of Heavenly Fathers children than to take away his/her freedom to choose for himself. After all this is the only reason anyone came to this earth for, to make correct choices. And if ones chance to make those choices is taken away then we are in essence following Satans plan. And I don’t believe some the Chapel Hill Ward quite follow that line of reasoning.

And finally while in this ward I was called as Sunday School President where I believe my greatest efforts were in trying to teach some of the parents that if they do not attend class then their children will not go to class. And on till tomorrow or next week or at least next time.

I want to complain!!!!

It seems as if no one is writing a blog anymore, rather they are calling Diana and telling her stuff. I just as well not even have a phone for all the calls I get on it. It seems as if I have absolutely no communication with my children and I feel useless as a result.

Is there a fix for this? I do not believe I can do anything to aid this fact as I am willing to talk and or read. I realize that I am not as fun to talk to as Diana is but I have feelings just like you.

And this post will stay up just long enough to make you all feel guilty.

I guess I am defeated in that I don't believe that gossip is a very good thing for anyone to do and it seems as if all my children want is gossip!

I think I will write a short note from Calixta. She got a brand new 2006 Hyandi because she got the Job. And Andrew says that he is very happy now as he has a car that does not break down on him. I was told both things from Diana. I guess gossiping isn't that bad when a wife tells her husband all that she is told. Now aren't you scared?

And I love you all too.

Church callings!

As I stop to think of each of my church callings, I remember none in my youth except for that of Teachers Quorum secretary and of this I have no remembrances; however, I can remember most callings since I served as a missionary but not all or I am not sure I want to admit to the poor job I did in some callings, such as ward financial clerk.

Shortly after Diana and I were married, we were called in Laredo to be the young men and young women leaders. I don’t think I ever understood what it was that I was supposed to do as I had a very hard time associating with the young men. I couldn’t seem to et them to understand the importance of setting goals to make them want to plan on a mission and this frustrated me to no end. I think if I were asked to serve in this position again today I might have a better chance of helping the youth to have a good time and of making plans.

I did not hold another calling until we moved to Moses Lake, WA. Once we moved to Moses Lake I was called to the calling of ward membership clerk, which I think is the best calling I have ever held. While serving in this position I was responsible to report to the Bishop who was less active and then which members were totally not active. Once these people were identified we would go out as members of the bishopric to visit these people and ask them what they wanted to do with their membership records, to which approximately 1/20th of the people would ask to have their names removed from the church rolls and the Stake President wanted to get them off the records to lessen our inactive members but the Bishop disagreed. When we were asked to remove the names we would work even harder to get these people activated and involved with the church once again. If this were not possible we asked if we could just mark their records with a “DO NOT CONTACT ORDER” where the home teachers and/or visiting teachers would be relieved from trying to visit them. I believe our Stake President was a person who was very interested in showing good numbers and not so interested with what happened to the people.

While we lived in Moses Lake both Diana and I took the teaching course. It was only Diana that obtained anyrhing from this though; I don’t think I will ever learn how to teach someone else anything. Tomorrow we will go on to Spokane.

There is so much to tell!

One day this will all be just a nonsensical story with absolutely no meaning to anyone, but for now I will write what happened next in my working life. Before going to work for Merck, Sharpe & Dohme I stopped in Cary, NC for a few months and read all of HP’s manuals of their MM3000 manufacturing software so that I could write some changes that would be acceptable for Austin Quality Foods under the HP standards. This I did within about three months and was accepted by Austin Quality Foods with great aplomb.

So while working for Merck, Sharpe & Dohme, Hp also had me go back to work on occation to do some special work for Austin Quality Foods from time to time. I despised the work at Merck, Sharpe & Dohme as it was mostly report writing and I had always hated to do that type of work. Whenever I could pull it off I would get some one else to do the report writing for me if I could in any way. Many people enjoyed writing reports as it didn’t take many brains to do it so I would always look for the lazier sort of person to ask them to do this. They thought I was crazy in trying to get out of the work when they relished doing it.

While working at Merck, Sharpe & Dohme I met for a second time a gal I worked with at General Electric during my first assignment in the consulting world by the name of Sandy Mathers who had a son the same age as Cathy and who was an LPGA woman while she was younger. She said that she could not support her son with golf so she started programming and to be honest I was very happy that she had as she taught me a great deal about Quiz QTP and the other supposedly easy to use HP programming languages.

While in school I was taught three languages, RPG II, FORTRAN and COBOL, and while working I taught myself several new languages to go along with these three, I guess I could say I know SPL, BRW, PASCAL and APL along with these previous three. I used to love to read manuals and learn to do the things I learned while reading them. This is what led to my getting a job with Bahlsen, Inc. or Austin Quality Foods after I had the stroke.

After working for Merck, Sharpe & Dohme I went to work for Austin Quality foods for a short time while waiting on the Kidney transplant. Then shortly after the transplant I went to work in Harrisburg, PA for a very large electric motor manufacturing company. Don’t recall the name of this company but thjis is were I met up with the Arthur Andersen consulting company and it the first job that was not satisfied with the work I did. So then I didn’t have a job until after I had the stroke when I went to work as an employee of Bahlsen, Inc. where I worked until I decided to accept a disability package. This disability package was for sixty percent of what I was earning at that time which was about ½ what I had been earning as a consultant. And that is the end of my working life. So there.

Tag Game from Cathy

The tag game
What's in your fridge?
I have no idea except my water and milk
What's in your purse/wallet?
license or ID, Kiaiser card, Safeway card, Soc Sec Card, some dollar bills and some receipts
What's on/in your DVR/DVD?
Nothing, last thing was an educational DVD from Hanger the Prosthetic company.
What's in your car?
That is Diana’s area and I have no idea.
Who's tagged next?
Ciria
Adam
Alex

Responses 2 Here we go again!

Alex said...
I had no idea that you worked for so many different companies. Was it ever hard to find a job

Response: No it was never hard to find a job as I worked for a consulting company and they found jobs for me. The only trouble was that when my salary got too high companies could find cheaper help more and more. I asked to have my salary lowered but the consulting company, wTw or Wesson, Taylor, Wells, would not hear of it. I suppose they didn't want to be sued or something.

Cathy said...
Vallen has thought a lot about consulting like you did... I'm not too excited because I remember how many hours you worked! I'd rather he worked close to home. I'm sure you liked it better too!

Response: My Advice would be to work for a Consulting company as I did. But then he probably has out bid himself before he gets started as his current salary is more than what most companies are willing to pay for that type of consulting. They, the companies looking for help, can get it from college grads much cheaper, not as good but cheaper and that is what most companies want. I probably do not know what I am talking about but I remember working for Arthur Andersen just after my transplant and they had such strict rules to follow that I didn't do a good job. I felt bad about this. Oh well, ramblings of an old fool. One last thing, I hated being away from my family so much which I had too do as a consultant regardless of the hours I worked. And I worked so many hours so that my children could have whatever Diana said they needed.

Ciria said...
It's good to see you blogging again. It is always a learning experience. Since when did you fish with friends?

Response: I fished as a child with my uncle Steve and then later as a teenager with Jimmy Brasheers and then finally with this friend Steve as I was trying to influence his life. Feeling bad about the way he had been treated or something like that. To tell the truth I wouldn't have given up the trips out on his yacht.

Kristy said...
Dad it's like you had a secret life that none of us or at least I never knew about. I guess I always wondered exactly what you were doing while you were away... I just figured working. Interesting insight.

Response: I always thought no one was interested in what I had been doing. Sometimes I would tell Diana but not always. I had the impression that none of my children liked me very much. That is why I treated yall the way I did. Childish I know but there it is.
Fortunately I have grown a great deal as I have gotten older, and your husband has taught me alot as most of my childrens spouses have.

And here is one from Trips are scary.
Alex said...
I keep waiting for your new blog dad. Please think of something to write about. I miss hearing about what's going on

Response: I have written three since then and two have not been commented on. So I guess it is only a one way street for yall. JK LOL :)

Here we go again!

Ever wonder where I am going with this life story? Well Ill tell you… at the end. For now we go on with my dreary life. We left off in Raleigh, NC at Emco Wheaton who made Gasoline nozzles for gas pumps. Now we go to Durham, NC and Northern Telecom Recycling where I worked for a short period of time. So short that I don’t even remember what I did there or why I left but I did leave to go to work in Columbia, SC for Shakespeare fishing equipment Inc. while working here I wrote software to keep track of the amount of line coming off each machine. This was a grand experience as I was talking directly with a machine and only had to talk to people when this project finished and they fired my friend, Steve, the manager of this DP Department and asked me to take over for him until they found a replacement, which I thought they never would.

Before they let him go Steve and I would go out on the lake fishing on his little 40 foot boat er yacht. We would go to the USC ball games and wander around the campus where he had gone to school while he explained to me all of his good times while living there and going to school. I was so sad at some of the things he told me that I tried to tell him of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the resurrected church but he was to stuck in his ways and didn’t want to create ripples. He had been married a long time ago, as he put it, and I later found out had only been two years since she had left him for his drinking and dating other women. The other thing we always did was to go to “Applebee’s” to eat and where he found all of his old chums and would start drinking the night away, it was on our third trip to Applebee’s that I realized I needed to take my own car so that I could get home at a decent hour.

Once they finally found a replacement for Steve I moved on from this part of my life and went back to North Carolina to work at Merck, Sharpe & Dohme a pharmaceutical manufacturing company and we will discuss this next time I get time to continue my story.

Trips are scary!

As we went to see Calixta graduate with her Medical Assstance degree there were very many great moments that I should dwell on; however, I am going to talk a little about the scares I went through first and then I will talk about the best part of our trip. After being there in Utah for a day I started finding it hard to breath and the longer I was there the less I was able to breath’ so we tried using a nebulizer to help me breath better and I do not think that did me as much good as the blessing Adam gave me after he had taught Nate how to ordain me with the consecrated oil. Adam was the best teacher I think I have ever heard while teaching Nate how to ordain me. And I don’t think Nate made even one mistake.

Well I think the Lord must be getting tired of all the blessings I have been given through the years. He must realize by now that I am not worth all the blessings.

I know Alex told me one time that I did not want to start taking oxygen yet. But I think I need to be prepared so that I can continue going to see my children/grandchildren. Now I will tell the best part of taking trips.

I love more than anything seeing my progeny. Each and every child are so special to me and even though I loved working as a consultant it6 was this that took me away from my family so much and I wish everything I had taken a job where I could have spent more time with my family. Now we have moved to this dreary place where no one wants to come visit us. I truly look forward to a time when we will be able to visit at will.

I love the sights of Utah; I think Utah would be a great place to live except the heights and the cold. Oh well we have the rain and the cloudiness. I suppose there are great things about every location as well as the drawbacks. I know California is one of the greatest places to live if they didn’t have the earthquakes, which scare me to death just like the lack of oxygen as well as tornadoes.

I love to give the kids rides on the scooter, which we need to fix the batteries on before anymore trips. I love to take off my legs and get down to the kids size to play with them. I would do this more if I weren’t so rough with the little ones

Healthy and unhealthy

I changed my primary health care provider recently and it will be 12 May before I am able to go visit him for the first time and yet I was not feeling well at all yesterday and so I called to make a same day appointment, seems one must do this first thing in the morning and not wait till noon so I did not get an appointment. After talking to the in charge RN it was determined that my case needed to be handled with utmost care and concern as my case obviously needed delicate care so I was asked if there was someone who could take me to the hospital to which I said my wife would not be at home till 5:30 PM so this nurse said she would call 911 for me and was the address correct? My opinion of ambulance people is very low, sorry Alex but in Washington it is critical they get an IV started before they start transporting a person. Anyway I asked if this nurse, Diana later found her name to be Stephanie, would allow me to try to get in touch with my wife before she called 911 to which she agreed. Before this I asked if she thought I could go to the Kaiser office just a few blocks from our house to where they were and was told the Keyto-acidosus they suspected I was sufferring with was life threatening and the once a year sun we had would not be good for me. So I called Diana and told her what they had said and would she come take me to the hospital. I don’t know how it works that it takes her twenty minutes or more to get to work and she was home yesterday in ten minutes and I didn’t even hear any squealing of tires.
Anyway, back to the story. We got to the hospital and waited a very short time before we were taken back to a room where they would be able to strip me to see how I worked; normally it takes three to four hours of waiting. I guess everyone was being real careful not to spoil their one day in the sun. After I was stripped and strapped to the table they drove spikes in me and we left 5 hours later with a result of no keytones but a slight rise in the abc’s of my chf or something heart failure. Anyway I felt like a new man with all the new things they had added, some bands around my wrist and a band aid or two. I also felt like a newborn as I was extremely hungry. And at last I have decided to leave my leggs to science.
All the way from home Diana said that I had almost made it a whole year without going to the hospital. When we got to the hospital she told the same thing to each nurse and doctor we saw. Diana started telling people that we had been to the hospital at least once a year since 1987 and I just let her say what she was going to say.
Before we left I was out at the nurses station to ask something or other and the doctor taking care of me started reading my health history and thought it was so funny she looked up and saw me and asked if I had written it. After I had gone back into the room this same doctor came in and asked if she could share it around. We said ok but I have since thought I should have asked for copyright rights.
Finally I was supposed to be unhealthy but actually we can still make it more than a year between hospitalizations and therefore I am still healthy

Working again (I wish)

Along the northeastern border of Ohio was a small town about thirty miles west of the border of Pennsylvania right next to lake Erie is a small town Redbird. Anyway I was sent there to help move the computer to Raleigh, NC where this British based company had decided to reestablish their headquarters. I went there to get to know the people of the company and to take over for the head of the data processing department as the previous head had said that she would not leave Ohio for any reason. How narrow minded I believe as I have been in several locations around the US.

I remember the trip up there was like a visit to a third world country. I flew to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania rented a car and drove to this small town. Pittsburg was the last bit of a US that I saw and it was not that great. While traveling west north west from Pittsburg I was shocked at the number of toll roads I had to go through. I probably spent twenty dollars just on tolls! And Pennsylvania was probably the most strict state with speed limits I have seen. I was warned and didn’t get any tickets, but almost as I was two miles from Ohio when I sped up. I should have waited for the half mile point. And to answer your questions I was stopped and lectured as I had a NC drivers license, if it had been from Pennsylvania or Ohio I definitely would have received a ticket. I was told that my name and license number would alert any future Pennsylvania police

There were a young couple who moved with the company who were not married though they had marital relations and I could never understand this as both were in their early twenties and he was an alcoholic and she looked like a two legged bull dog. After getting back to Raliegh I worked with this guy, she worked in a different department, for several months before I was called into the comptrollers office and told to fire him by this totally British guy who had no idea that I was at the end of my rope, so when I refused to fire him he wanted my resignation then and there so I called my bosses and told them, it was no more than twenty minutes when I was called back to the comptrollers office again and begged to stay. The drunkard was an ingenious person with programming but it was only a little time longer before they fired him

I guess that is my story for today. See you tomorrow.

Taxes

That is taxes not Texas Alex. Diana and I paid all of our meager savings to the IRS for taxes that we owed so Alex could go to Texas to start his life. You see we paid the government as much as the government paid Alex to move to Texas. I guess one might say we are still supporting our children. Well this is not my story, I just thought I would give Alex a hard time.

Since we paid so much on taxes – Diana and I have been left this week as broke as scrooge was mean. We have been waiting all week for the disability check to get here from the insurance company. I thought it would have been here on Monday – then Tuesday – then Wednesday – then today and it finally got here today. I was going stir crazy in that I couldn’t have even gone to Wal-Mart for some water as we were that poor. Finally I was going out of my mind and remembered Diana’s little basket of loose change that we never seem to use except for times like today. So I took about 1/4th of it and put it in a little sandwich bag so I would have some money for lunch as I just wanted out of the house after all the waiting. The check came after lunch today bye the way. While I was at the mall getting ready to eat a burrito I sat at one of the tables and dumped the cash out on the table to count how much money I actually had and while counting I dropped several nickels to the floor. I knew where they were so I left them while I finished counting. Well, some lady came over and picked them up for me and I said “Thank You, I am just counting the money to see what I can afford”. I can imagine now what it must have looked like (A little old man with no legs and no money trying to get something to eat).

Well, I went over to "Taco Time" to get a burrito and as I ordered and was waiting for the waiter to tell me how much I owed, this man came over and started talking to the waiter. I was getting upset at the rudeness of the guy to come and cut in so when he turned to me and said “I’ve got it” I didn’t understand what he was talking about and asked what so he told me again and I finally had sense enough to say thank you. And as the waiter gave him the change he dropped it into my sandwich bag for which I thanked him again. Then after I went over to the tables and started eating, as I had not brought out my water, this same man brought me a large drink, that I had not even asked the waiter for!

I told Diana that I wasn’t going to wait for any more money, when I need anything I would just keep the dark glasses on and hold out my hat! That should bring in a couple hundred a day.

Love you all.

Do you want some more of my working life

Or would you like some more of me and my life? I guess I will tell you of my impressions in each location I worked. Will that be better?

I explained why I decided to move to Spokane and I believe it was best for my family but I really struggled while there and because these struggles are personal I will not explain them. Then I was offered the opportunity of taking a job in NC which I wish I had thought more carefully on. Even if it was the favorite job I ever had, I wonder how much my family suffered and therefore I think now that I should have thought more on the subject. When I first went to NC I was awed by the beautiful dogwoods blooming all around and I had seen some postcards showing the beautiful fall season in NC. So just the beauty of the place was a big reason why I wanted to move there, but we had just been through a very cold and snowy winter in Spokane, snow on the ground from early Oct. to early Apr., and I did not want to face another, the weather was quite warm in NC and it was far enough south that I didn’t think we would have to face another cold winter like in Spokane. So I accepted the first job offered in NC but wonder if Texas might have been better.

There are so many memories of the travels I did while the family stayed in NC and I will share most with you as we go along but for today I think it will be enough to talk about two or three. So we should go chronologically and will begin with Newtown, CT where I went after working for GE in the Research Triangle Park. The first time I went there it was a November day and while NC was so beautiful with colorful leaves Newtown was plenty of trees but they were all completely bare, not even one leaf. Well I went there to work for DuPont, Inc. and the entire nine months I was there I was miserable except when I went to New York City to visit on some weekends. The reason they wanted me there in Newtown was that they were switching from an IBM to a Hewlett-Packard and since I had switched the other way they thought I would be a great help.

The next place I went to was Allendale, SC where I worked for Westinghouse. One of my experiences here in Allendale was that I went for brunch one Saturday morning and as I was eating at a local restraint when two young men were coming to eat aso and as the one closest to a pickup sitting there and he ran his hand along the edge of the pickup bed while talking to his friend and all of a sudden he didn’t have an arm. You see there was a live alligator in the bed of the pickup. Why the alligator was there has me baffled but apparently they moved alligators in that fashion. Why one would stop to eat breakfast while moving an alligator is a mystery but ill bet he doesn’t do that again.

While working here I worked a great deal and one week I worked 106 hours, to which my boss asked why I had taken Sunday off.