Never again! I promise!!

If you don't believe-- in God, in the Nature Spirit, in Kismit, in Buddha, in Tao, in Allah, in Krishna... if you believe there is no power out there to judge you or to keep you on the straight and narrow, then have I ever got a story that's going to make you quake in your booties!

I wrote a fairly mean blog post last time, detailing an unfortunate, embarrassing incident which will never, ever be mentioned again, but which happened to my saintlike mother. Immediately after I'd published the mean post, I browsed, went to an infected site, caught a horrible virus, couldn't use the computer, and paid Geeks Mobile USA $150.00 to fix it. (Ron had said he'd look at it when he got back in town, but I was impatient...

So, if you know what is good for you, respect your mother.

New house Roanoke

I think I'll go back to writing about the avarious parsonages we lived in while I was growing up.  I was writing that series a couple months ago, and it seemed to be slightly amusing (as parsonages usually are!).  Apparently, however, I had not gotten very far into the series, because I seem to have ended it in "old house Roanoke", which is a place in which I lived from ages 6 to 8.

"New house Roanoke" was a lot larger and more suitable for our growing family.  Ed had his own room, and Granny always had her own room, so I guess we had 4 bedrooms... unless, that is, they perhaps turned some small room that wasn't supposed to be a bedroom into Granny's room.  They did that sometimes.

All I know for sure is that I HAD TO SHARE MY ROOM WITH THE DRATTED BABY!!  Can you believe it???!!!  How could my parents have forced someone as special and as adorable as I was to share a living space with an annoying little baby?

We had an outdoor patio attached to the house. It was a concrete slab with a steel grate that surrounded it and no roof.  I firmly believed that, if my parents really loved me, they would enclose that area and make it into a bedroom for me.  When I played on it, I would deccide where to put all my furniture.

The house was located on a steep hill in what was known as the Round Hill neighborhood.  We were about halfway up the hill.  One of my earliest memories is of poor Mom getting out of the car on an icy, snowy day, and slipping, and sliding on her rear end through several streets worth of yards and pavement. 

Hairspray

I went and saw Hairspray at the Signature Theater this afternoon. It was fantastic. The music, dancing, singing, and acting were all great. It was a whole lot of fun.

If you've what "Hairspray" is, it's a musical about a plump teenage girl, Tracy, who dreams of dancing on a local TV dance show. When Tracy dances on the show, she becomes an overnight celebrity. She then manages to integrate the show. (This takes place in the early '60's.)

In the movie, John Travolta played Tracy's mother.

Signature is where I went and saw "The Hollow" back in October. I did not like that show much, but I think it was more that I actually didn't like the show itself, as written, rather than not liking the production.

I just re-read yesterday's entry, and it consists entirely of an extravaganza of superlatives! I guess that is what happens when I vent my enthusiasm enthusiastically.

Today I braved the mobs and went to Ballston Mall.

No, contrary to the picture, I didn't go to buy stuff. I went to the movies. Massive droves of other people had come to the mall, though, and my assumption is that they had come to shop. The aisles between stores were "plum full" of people. There were even a lot more people in the movie than there usually are.

The movie I saw was "The Descendants. It was excellent, but rather depressing. George Clooney is so adorable, however, that looking at him always cheers me right up!

Thanksgiving dinner

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It was an old time family Thanksgiving, just like we've had my whole life. Ron had it at his house, and it was absolutely lovely. Mom and Dad and Sue and I came, as did our dear friend Martha.

Ron's house was beautiful - very tastefully decorated. I haven't been in there since David passed way, but Ron has done wonders cleaning out and simplifying, making the space very livable, comfortable, and attractive.

Dinner was wonderful - turkey, gravy, dressing, rolls, green bean casserole, squash, pumpkin and apple pies, Whipped cream.

Dinner was great, but mainly it was great to have all of us gathered around a big dining room table! We could have all eaten at the Hermitage, but it isn't even close to the same. Ron, thanksgiving was wonderful.

Ron set a beautiful table, too, with the good china and plate chargers and fresh flowers.

Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving eve, so I think I'll do a carol.

TO: Hark, the Herald
Angels Sing

Serve the bird with hot dressing,
Gravy covers everything,
Candied yams adorn the plate.
All this food will sure taste great.
Then we nap quite leisurely
While the game plays on TV.
Pilgrims, did you have a clue
What we would do to honor you?
Now that Thanksgiving is done
The Christmas season has begun.

bed

I got my new bed today! Doesn't it look comfortable?


I'd been sleeping on an old hospital bed. It was not a good hospital bed, either. It was just a 3" thick foam mattress covered with plastic that lay on a hard metal frame.
I got the junk man to haul the old bed away. They took the old bed away before the new one came. It felt really strange to send my only bed out the door!

Mom initiated this and purchased the bed. That was really nice of her.

Although I'd "fall asleep" on that old bed, I never got a deep. restfull night's sleep. In fact, I think I've been going through life exhausted, because I fall asleep every time I sit in one place for long. Now if I'm in church or at the movies, that's fine. At least I guess it is. I don't think I snore when I just snooxe. But when I'm on Metro Access? It certainly proves how tired I've been, that I can fall asleep in the bumping and jostle and noise of metro acces.

late October lament

Wow, it sure is cold out. What a bummer. Time to dust off the scarves and mittens.
I bought a new winter coat this year. I really did need it... I have heavy, bulky coats that would be fine in a blizzard, but I didn't have a nice, ligtweight coat I could wear all day. I think last year I wore my leather jacket, but the jacket isn't all that warm.

You know what? Come to think of it, I used to have a full length leather coat. I wonder what ever happened to it? In all the moving and breaking up the apartment and all, I just kinda lost track of stuff.

It will be interesting to be here on a busy city street and see what happens in the snow. At Sunrise, I looked out on a big field and park, which was pretty, but not much fun. Here there is heavy traffic, and people walking up and down the sidewalk all the time.

There is a great place for chili, Hard Times Cafe, down in Clarendon, which is just one metro stop from here. That will be fun in the snow.

I think I'll call this essay "winter is here, so grow up and make the best of it."

dinner

I usually don't eat here, except for breakfast. Breakfast is fine. One can always get eggs or cereal, and toast, and danish, etc.

Lunch is supposed to be the big meal of the day. Since lunch comes in the middle of the day, I find that I am usually out doing something else at noon, and therefore do not eat here.

By the end of the day, at dinner, I am just so fed up (ha, ha - get it? "Dinner" and "fed-up"?) with this place that I'd rather go anyplace else in the world to eat. There is a great place that serves "choose your own" ingredients salads called Sweet Green that I love. There is also a pizza place right down the street.

But tonight, alas, it was rainy and cold. I spent the day getting to, seeing, and returning from the doctor. So I decided just to eat here. Alas. The main course was a fish paddy (like a square fish stick), 0n a dry bun, with a piece of American cheese and a small handfull of limp French fries. I asked for catsup to go with the fries, and was told they don't have any.
Here are some places to eat that might be better:

Verna

Personality Profile -
Verna
Verna is one of my aides. She works the 11PM-7AM shift. I work with her alot, because she is among the crew that puts me to bed at night and is also amember of the crew that gets me up in the AM.

An older, thin woman, Verna is good-hearted and honest and tries her hardest - which is sort of what makes her so gently funny. Because, in a way, Verna is sort of really out of it. Her conciousness is usually out looping around the universe somewhere. She's has a laid-back, cool personality, but cares adamently about the well-being of her charges. It's just that, a lot of the time, she has no idea what it is that they actually need.

One of the unique things about her is the way she communicates. She is from Jamaica, and speaks an "island" English which is difficult to understand. As a matter of fact, though she may talk and talk, no one ever has the slightest idea what she is saying. Which she seems to just take calmly in stride...!

Once she gets a correct phrase in her head, though, she uses it over and over, with appropriate variations. For instance, the crew uses a lift machine to lift me out of the wheelchair and put me in bed. Once they lower me to the bed, Verna always says, "good landing!" One day they let me loose too early, though, and I fell to the bed from about two feet up. As I lay there, shocked and suprised, Verna looked down at me, and "crash landing", she calmly said.

Although Verna doesn't look or act old, Joey, a fellow on her shift tells me that she is in her 60's. She has an afro wig with long rings of black curls. Joey says he has seen her without her wig, and she has short, gray hair.

commitment

It was commitment Sunday at church today. Commitment Sunday is the Sunday when the congregants tell the church the amount of money they promise to give over te coming year. Being a preacher's kid, I know this estimate of giving is very important to operate the church effectively. If they never knew how much money they planned to have, they couldn't hire people or plan programs or incur debt. So when people say they don't pledge because they just "give as the spirit moves them", then they are just closing their eyes to reality.

I, however, plan to give money when I can, but did not pledge. So shoot me.

Dad's sermons on Commitment Sunday were always so intense that they blew the roof off the sanctuary. I remember one Sunday dinner, I think when we were at Dulin, when Mom told Dad, "Your sermon was so good that I put down $5.00 a week more than we had said." Dad went totally ballistic. He was furious, and said, "Honey, why did you do that? We talked about this! We decided how much we could afford!", and she said, "It was just such a convincing sermon.".

Dad was always an incredibly good preacher. He had a Palm Sunday sermon that was so good that congregants from a church he'd served in the past once traveled to his current church to hear it again. He had an illustration for his "suffering love" sermon that was so gut-wrenching that he had to warn us kids each time he used it, or else he knew we'd be in tears. (He repeated sermons we'd heard before after we would move to a new church.)

The gut-wrenching illustration is:
A little boy moved to a new town, and was given a little tiny puppy by his parents. The boy and the puppy loved each other. They played together for hours at a time, they cuddled together in bed at night, and the puppy followed the boy everywhere.

Then one day the boy had a horrible day. The other kids teased him. The school teachers yelled at him. His mom slapped his cheek for misbehaving.

When the boy got home that night, he slammed angrily into the house. The happy little puppy came leaping to greet him and jumped up on his leg. "Get out of here!" the boy shouted, kicking the puppy across the room.

The puppy yelped as it flew through the air. It hit the opposite wall and slid to the ground. The boy collapsed on the ground in tears. His tears were soon dried by the tongue of the puppy, who had limped over to him and was licking his face dry.

brrrrr

It's real cold outside now, although it was temperate weather all day. I guess that is what one should expect in November in VA. No one ever knows what to wear. There are folks outside in hats and gloves, and there are young guys with shorts and no socks. Although that seems to be the fashion, now. Young men go out in raging snowstorms wearing running shorts and no coats. That seems crazy to me. Do I sound like an old fogey?

Rip-off

Emeritis is screwing me over. They have raised my "care level" rating to "6", which is the highest level and which is absurd. Level 6 also costs tons of money.

I do not get, or need. Level 6 quality care. I receive help from their care managers basically only when I get up, shower, dress, and go to bed. There are people here who need help to eat, and need help all day throughout the day. That is the type attention that deserves Level 6.

In addition, Emeritis is requiring that I hire a private aide to get me up, shower, and get dressed. Emeritis is not pleased that I get 5 showers a week. The standard here is only 1(or 2?)showers a week, but the salesman who got me to move here from Sunrise promised 5 showers. That is what convinced me to move. Now the Director says, "That was before my time, so I'm not responsible for that."

I feel that Emeritis really gets a free ride from me. It is quite rare that I'm even here during the daytime. I try to stay awway as much as possible. The Care Manager Supervisor even admitted as much, saying, "We would have required a private duty aide during the daytime, too, but we realized that you usually aren't here in the daytime, and we couldn't have the aide just sitting around."

Seems to me that, if I'm off on my own all day every day, I obviously don't require level 6 assistance!

In my opinion, they are ripping me off big time. My advice to anyone with assisted living needs is to STAY AWAY FROM EMERITIS!!!

Because or this, I complained to Sue that I have a limited amount of money and that this will make me run out sooner. "What will I do when I run out of money?!", I lamented.

"We'll just shoot you," she said.

Election

Last Tuesday was Election Day! Wow! It sure is strange to participate as a regular voter. I found my polling place with no problem. It is the Arlington County Art Museum across the street. All the politicos were lined up along the street, handing out literature. One of the political volunteers led me to the wheelchair accessible door, showed me the elevator, put me on it, and then pushed the button for the wrong floor, thereby sending me on a merry tour of the museum!
She must have been a Republican!

All was just as it should have been in the little, tiny polling place. Arlington uses the Winvote, machine whereas we in Falls Church had chosen the Accuvote.

Scarbourgh Fair

I turned on "Scarbourgh Fair" (Simon and Garfunkle), and, boy, does that ever bring back memories. The album was already old back when I was in college. The poetry ofthe songs just seemed to speak to me me. (Unlike later Paul Simon work. Me and Julio says nothing to me.)

There was this guy, Jeff Freehof, who traveled around to the various bars on the Corner and played guitar and sang Simon and Garfunkle songs. I knew Jeff from the drama department, and often went to see him. Sometimes Bobby Tyler, my soulmate at the time, and I went together.

I'll do a seperate entry about Bobby some day. I could do a 7 part mini-series about my adventures with Bobby. Huh, Lloyd??

My last Simon and Garfunkle story is that David knew that I loved them. Not too long before David got sick, Simon and Garfunkle came to Baltimore on a concert tour, and David and Ron and Sue and I got to go see them. Like, wow....

bison meat

Susan Craft and I went to Teds Montana Grill fot dinner last night. It is the restaurant stared by Ted Turner. They have lots of dishes featuring bison meat. They also have a great big, dirty, hairy buffalo head hanging on the wall. That really grossed me out. Seafood restaurants often have big, dead fish hanging on the wall, but they don't have dead cows that watch you while you eat hanging on the wall in steak places' Yeech!

Gertrude Stein

I went to the National Portrait Gallery today to see the Gertrude Stein exhibit. I dunno... I kinda don't see the point of a museum exhibit about a writer. It seems like the definitave word bout an author stands in the work the author shares.

Probably the assumption behind such an exhibit is that the atttendee is already quite familiar with the author's written work. Like, I can see attending a Mark Twain exhibit. But, in my case, this was sort of my introduction to Gertrude Stein, so I just didn't get it. I see from the Portrait Gallery web page that there is a symposium about Stein all day on Friday. Maybe I'll read more of her work by then and decide to go.

A FRIGHTFUL RELEASE

by: Gertrude Stein (1874-1946)

BAG which was left and not only taken but turned away was not found. The place was shown to be very like the last time. A piece was not exchanged, not a bit of it, a piece was left over. The rest was mismanaged.

"A Frightful Release" is reprinted from Tender Buttons: Objects Food Rooms. Gertrude Stein. New York: Claire Marie, 1914.


One quotation from her they were selling on all kinds of paraphanelia in the gift shop is "There is no there there". I think I'm going to find out that I like her!