Summer

This has been a completely uninspired day. I really should have gone to the mall or the movies this afternoon, but it is so hot that I couldn't force myself to do it. I went to Falls Church and got my Avonex shot this mornning, but I've been inside this place for much too long today... gotta get out tommorrow. My self confidence and sense of purpose really takes a nosedive when I don't get out.

Although, actually, tomorrow isn't much better. I have a doctor's appointment in the late morning. Getting there and back will take the bulk of the day. I think, though, considering my state of mind tonight, that I'll go get some pizza and beer for dinner afterward. Nothinng makes my day like pizza and beer!

I'll go if my electric wheelbchair isn't acting up, that is. It hasn't been charging correctly lately, which is as frightening as crap. From day to day, I don't really know if I'll have working wheels on the next day.

Area Access ordered a part. Sure do hope it comes in soon and fixes the problem

Hasta manana, baby.

Back in Business

Ron fixed my computer!!! It took him well over 2 hours, and it is so cold in my room that he very likely got frostbite, but he persevered and now it is fixed!!! I can open two windows at once! I can actually find Google and search on it. I can send an email or make a blog post without getting an error message!!!!! (I had gotten to the point where I was making blog posts from the IPad. This is an incredibly tedious process. It explains why my posts have been few and far between!) I can even write blog posts and play music at the same time!!!! I had SO much crap running on my computer... Ron created a folder as he was sorting stuff out that he titled, "I don't know what that is or how it got on my computer".

But now it works, and it is like a whole new computer!

So I may never be seen in public again.....

Ha, ha! Just kidding. I think. Except that the weather is terribly hot...

Jan, a pal from the CTS choir, came over today. We got lunch at the mall and ate at Chick-fil-e and saw "Water For Elephants". It was a real good movie. My only critcism is that I'd have loved to see the characters of the other circus performers developed more fully, but, had that been done, I'd probably be complaining that the movie was too long.

Maybe I'll read the book, if I ever slow down and stop running from reality for long enough to read anything!

lets see if this works

Sorry I haven't posted for a while, but my computer has been very odd. Ron says he'll come look at it. I think I'll TRY to manage a short post now. Anything might happen, though, so, if I suddenly disappear, it probably wasn't the Rapture that took me, it wras probably a computer glitch.

I've also not been feeling very funny because my wonderful Aunt Brenda just found out she's sick. She's a real great person, so please pray for her. She's a strong lady, and I'm sure she will fight this thing.

There are multitudes of wonderful things I could tell you about Brenda, but here is a cute story insteaad... Brenda was just a little kid when she and Mammaw came to visit Mom and Dad in the parsonage of their first church. One day they all went to a grocery store. In the aisle, a passing woman spotted Dad. She was very happy to see him and greeted him enthusiastically. When she left, Brenda asked, "Who was that?" Dad responded, "Oh, just some woman I married." Brenda burst into tears. "What's wrong, honey?" Mammaw asked. "If he married her," Brenda said, "Then what will happen to Mildred?"

Yet Another Silly Touristy Day

The day began with an unpleasant, but harmless, incident. Today is Sunday, my "go to church" day... one of the few days on which I actually have something to do. Imagine my surprise when the woman who woke me said, "Metro Access was here and waited for a minute, but then they left."

Now, the way this works is, when the bus reservation is originally made, dispatch gives the customer a 30 minute window during which the bus will arrive. If the bus arrives and the passenger isn't ready, drivers usually go to great lengths ro complete the pickup, (This is great for the recalcitrant rider, but totally unfair to customers like me, who are always on time, but then have to wait around for the selfish inconsiderate jerks to decide to show up.)

Anyway, I called dispatch immediately, and they agreed they were early and said they'd call the driver and get him to come back--which he did, but he admitted to having been just around the corner drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. So I guess I interrupted his well plotted break.

The fun thing I did today is that I went to rhe Taste of Arlington festival. Wilson Boulevard was blocked off all through Ballston for the event, which was just a couple blocks from Emeritus. Lots of restaurants and different organizations set up booths along the street. At the end of the street, a rock band played. The resraurants cooked food in their booth. usually on grills, and then sold plates of the food. One place had cups of beer, another cups of wine. Festival goers didn't use money to pay for the food and beverages. Instead, attendees had paid cash for tickets upon entering the gate, and then paid for the food with tickets. All the food was quite inexpensive, which made it possibble to taste nore if it!

Tales from a Museum

The weather today was beautiful! I decided to take advantage of my newly discovered ability to use METRO for free (due to Metro Access) and I took Metro down to the Mall. I went to the African museum because I'd never been there. I was really surprised at how small it is. I mean, for heavens to Betsy, it is a whole continent and they pretty much covered it in 1 room.

After I saw the museum, I wandered around on the first floor and found "The Discovery Theater. A show started right after I got there. The show featured actors from ArtStream Arlington Inclusive Theater Company, which is composed of kids with intellectual disailities. The show was produced by VSA, an organization founded by Jean Kennedy Smith over 35 years ago to increase access to the arts to people living with disabilities. The kids all seemed to be having a wonderful time. This kind of opportunity ought to be generously supported by the public. I bet it makes an 100% turnaround in quality of life for the kids involved.

I've just been staying busy being anywhere but here for the last couple days. Today two of my former employees from CFC took me to Chevy's for lunch to celebrate my birthday - which was real nice of them. I'm surprised they remembered. I ordered a full meal and a beer. Yum!

We didn't really dish any dirt about the affairs of the City. We did talk about the fact that Len Michlowski passed away recently. He was a real character. He was in his 80's, and he hung around City Hall all the time just to share stories. There are a number of people like that. They would come in my office every day and just hang around for hours. I called them "City Hall Groupies". Len was also seen and heard from at all the City Council meetings, and he wrote frequent letters to the local paper, many of them in-decipherable. His favorite cause was veteran's affairs, and I'm willing to bet that the Veteran's Memorial at City Hall would never have been built were it not for Lenny.

I was feeling melancholy aboutt his death, but my friends said, "He was in his 80s, and he didn't know what hit him - he just dropped dead peacefully in uhis own front yard. He was a lucky man." And, especially looking at some of the folks around here, I guess he was.

Bye, Lenny.

Rainy day

There's not a whole lot to talk about today, because the dreary weather discouraged me and I stayed in almost all day. I ran out only to go to Noodles and Company for lunch. I got the Cheesy Noodles with Meatballs. Extravagant, I know, but I'm eating a $2.00 prepared Caesar salad from CVS for dinner.
So do you think it's an indictment of an establishment's food quality when a patron who has already paid for a meal chooses to eat off the shelf at CVS instead?

The food offered here is bland, unimaginative crap. Except for the times it is actually icky! This, of course, is only my opinion, so you should take it with a grain of salt. As should most of our entrees...! And, to top it off, they print up menus and then don't serve everything on the menu that they, themselves, just printed. For example, the other day they offered chicken fingers and dipping sauce. The waitress brought chicken fingers. I asked for sauce. She said, "No sauce." I said, "But It is in the menu." She said, "No sauce!" and walked away.

The best part about eating in the dining room is that I love the little lady from Puerto Rico that eats with me, Francesca. She has become obsessed with Dancing With the Stars, and stays up late every night to see it, but now falls asleep every time she sits down! She also tells me that she was asleep in bed last night and one of the workers here came in the door, waking her up, and then said, "oh, I'm sorry. I was looking for Mr. Johnson." The worker left then, but Francesca got worried that perhaps Mr. Johnson was missing and perhaps they thought he was heading to her room! Poor lady didn't sleep for the rest of the night!

I guess one has to be careful what one says to the elderly!

Groove it

The beatnik coffeehouse event that the church holds wasn't as much fun this year as it was last time. There was some sanctimonious self-justification occurring under the guise of entertainment which put a pallor on the event. The preacher did a funny self depreaciating stand-up routine, though, and another guy did a routine on "the evils of drink", and there were a couple real fun poetry readings, and Roger played guitar, which is always a treat, and another guy and his grown son played violen, so that was nice. I just doubt the church does it again, because the other crap gave the whole thing sort of a negative feel. Or at least to me it did.....

I have rhymed for this church on many occasions - remember, for a long time I rhymed for the church at David's request, so that's a lot of rhymes and song lyrics. Last night at the beatnik coffeehouse, after I'd read the poem, one man came up to me and said, "So you wrote us yet another rhyme. It was great, but it reminds me of a story. It seems that there was once a brillant mathmetician. She could complete any complex math problem that was given to her. One day she was given an especially tricky equation to solve. She immediately snatched up a nearby pad of blank paper and began writing furiously. Finally, after hours of work, she threw down her pencil and handed the pad to her professor.

The professor flipped through page after page of neatly completed algorythem.

"So," he said. "I see the medication still isn't working!"

Get it? But why did he tell that story to me?

New Poem

My church holds an off-beat fellowship event every once in awhile that they call "Coffeehouse at the End of the Universe". Here is a poem I wrote to read at the event.

I have got a tale to tell.
It’s short and sweet and sad.
The tale’s about a waitress and
The troubles that she had.

Each day she carried dishes of
Fine food to those who dined,
But never ate a morsel or
Imbibed a sip of wine.

For she had not a nickel in
Her pocket or account.
She used each dime that she was paid
To help her parents out.

So she was often hungry and
Dehydrated as well.
Its no wonder that the lass
At last collapsed and fell.

Thank God her guardian angel was
On hand that very day.
She laid her gently on the ground
And then was heard to say,

“This lovely girl has worked real hard
And now deserves her sleep.
I’ll put a spell upon her that
Preserves her slumber deep.

Each day her beauty will increase
Till all on earth desire
To hold her tight in eager arms
And thus ignite her fire.

But she will not awaken till
Some very humble cutie
Explains to her why he deserves
The blessing of her beauty.”

And so it was that, for a year,
The lass maintained her slumber.
While just outside, in her front yard
Her suitors grew in number.

One by one, they each appeared
Before the snoozing miss,
Explaining how they knew she would
Awaken at their kiss.

For hey were strong, they said, and kind
And gave to charity.
Some said they weren’t doctors but
They played one on TV.

They counted up their Facebook friends,
They brought a resume.
But when they pecked her on the cheek
They all met with dismay.

For she snoozed on quite placidly
Oblivious as before,
There were some occasions when
The lady even snored!

One by one the suitors tried
Until just one remained.
“Step up,” the Guardian Angel said,
Expecting just the same.

“Name first, then credentials”
Guardian Angel said to him.
The suitor said, “I’m Jeri, and
I am a Lutheran.”

A harp glissando sounded and
There was a slight eclipse.
Beauty, rising from her bed,
Kissed Jeri on the lips.

They later bought a castle
By the Mystic Fairy sea.
And ever since the two of them
Have lived there happily

The Geriatric Set

I've been patient. I've been kind. I've been understanding. In my opinion, I've been angelic.
For example:

Sometimes I am going down the hall in my electric wheelchair and a heedless ancient person chooses to meander into the hallway right in front of me. I just stop until the senior clears the hall.

Sometimes I wait forever for the elevator to arrive, and, when it does, the door opens to reveal a bunch of dazed elders aboard. They then stare at me in total confusion before beginning to shuffle about. Alas, the elevator door shuts and they all are transported to some unintended location. I just sigh and push the button again.

Sometimes I put down something inexpensive and an old coot (whoops -"senior citizen") picks it up and stares at me defiantly while clutching it to his chest, I just leave and let him have the thing.

These things just go with the territory, I guess. Let's all pray that my patience and sanity hold out. Especially patience.

Because sometimes I feel like slapping them.

For example, today a resident scooted up to me on her wheelchair, handed me a brochure, and said, "Here - read this. I think you'll get a lot out of it!", Then she scooted away. Upon looking at the brochure, I saw it was entitled, "Living with Dementia".

It's a good thing she has a fast wheelchair.

By the way, they have a cart here in the entry hallway which has a sign on it that reads "Dementia Library", I wonder if they ever get any of their books back?

Kindle

WOW! My technical skills astound me. After weeks of having a new Kindle, I finally figured out how to get it on a WiFi network and operate! That makes me feel totally empowered! Turns out that all you actually hsve to do is actually read the instuctions and then follow them.

I did have to locate the WiFi password, though. I knew it exsisted, because my brother, Ed, had used it to set up my Ipad. I called Ed for hints when looking for it, and he said, "Well, on mine its on a yellow stickie that I wrote and stuck to the modem", so that was no help at all! But I did find it and get it enterted, though!

And the really cool thing is that now I can carry my entire library with me everywhere I go! An everything can be wide print with just the flick of a switch.

And I also have a cool, lime green Kindle cover!

Mom

Since it is Mother's Day, here are an assortment of pictures of Mom from the last few years. (Obviously, she's a good sportt!)

Ron and Sue and I went over today for dinner and a celebration. It was very nice.

HAPPY MOTHERTS DAY TO ALL!!!

Pals?

Wow - who would have thought? I think I may actually be making some friends here! I was looking up movies in the paper this morning because I had nothing in particular to do today, and this old guy asked what I was doing and said he would go to the movies with me! Having a companion made the experience more pleasant.

We saw The Conspirator. It was a really good movie about the Lincoln Assassination, and could be the impetus for an in depth discussion on the morality of the death penalty.

Wayne (my companion) and I did not have this discussion, however, basically because I barely know the man and was therefore reluctant to start a serious conversation.

I also discovered thet there is a big farmer's market all around that metro stop every Saturday. It would be fun to come back next week and just go to that!

My other 2 friends here are the two old women who eat with me. They both speak Spanish as a first language,, and they love trying to teach me Spanish. They la ugh and laugh. Wonder why?

Just ignore me

Rainy, rainy day today, which tends to put me in a foul mood
because I feel stuck in this stupid old folks home.

You know, the really difficult problem about being here is that nobody listens to a damned thing I say, and, if they do, they don't take what I say to be the definative answer. They are used to negotiating with "the family" of the residents. Residents don't make decisions or make demands about their own care, "the family" does. Much creedence is given to the desires of "the family".

Well, guess what - I'M MY OWN FAMILY! When I say something or ask something, I expect it to be treated quite seriously - not just swept securely under the rug, as tends to be the automatic response to a resident.

What brings this all to mind is that I have a Spanish class in Clarendon at 5PM tomorrow evening. I told this to the physical therapist, since she was trying to work out an occasion for me to meet with a vendor who wants to fit me for an ankle brace. Well. in my opinion, this meeting should be allotted signifigant time, mainly because I don't even know if I want an ankle brace, and, if they want me to spend money on a brace, they need to show me how it will improve my life. So they rell me today that the vendor will be here to meet me at 4 pm tomorrow,

I guess I'll go, and tell the vendor immediately that I need to leave no later than 4:15, and then stick to that and leave at 4:15.

This difficulty has to be due to Emeritus physical therapy staff not taking mt schedule seriously, because I can't imagine a traveling saleswoman not taling the customer's schedule into consideration.

Although the vendor will probably reespond, "Ummm, can I talk to the family please?"

Why, oh why, did they choose to do this on the one day this week that I'm busy?

I love Arlington.

I was at loose ends today and went out looking for lunch and to entertain myself at about noon. I just kind of wandered. It was gorgeous weather. I ended up in Wellburn Square. It is a wonderful little park. They have a Potbelly there, and outside tables, and they had a guy playing the guitar, so I sat out and ate my sandwich and read my paper. Then I got back in time for my therapist.

She was funny today. She had forgotten to bring a purse or briefcase or anything, so, when I gave her the check for payment, she nonchalantly stuck it down her shirt amongst her boobies.

No wonder I'm crazy.

another Sunday

Yesterday was "Paul's Ride for Life". I told you before about this event. It's a wonderful event that Hedi Rossmeissel created to raise money for the Washington Regional Transplant Authority.

The weather was perfect yesterday - warm. but not hot. No threat of rain. Someone came up to Hedi and said something about it, and she said, to me, "I'm sure Paul and David are up there taking care of the weather."

Wow!

Metro Access screwed up big time today. When they picked me up, there was already an elderly black lady on the bus. She was all dressed-up in a pretty green Easter suit and hat. The driver took us all the way into Falls Church City and then the GPS said "You have arrived at your destination.", and the driver said "Mrs. Smith, we are here.".

Mrs. Smith responded, "No we aren't."

Turns out she wanted to go to Randolph Street NW, and they brought her to Randolph Street Falls Church. Then the poor soul had to ride all the way to Reston with me before they took her home.

Think of the mega dollars Metro wastes on gas because of their own stupid mistakes.

On the bus on the way home from church was a foul mouthed, bitter floozie. BLECH! Why do people think they can say such things in public? Why do they think anyone wants to hear it??