Live Through This

Fate sent another disaster my way, which I barely escaped yet again. Others were not so lucky. Nuthin' left to do but smile, smile, smile.

Chubba Bubba 2002-2016

He was a good cat.

A Year

To Lydia, Who Left

We could have been happy, but you didn't want that. What a waste. What a stupid, pointless waste.

It worked!

In October 2012 I was laid off from my job at a commercial printing company. I was 53 years old with a mortgage, and a set of job skills that were no longer needed in a fading industry. My wife suffered a debilitating illness. We had about half a year’s worth of rainy day savings. I needed new skills, I needed them fast and I couldn’t afford to spend the thousands of dollars that training required.

After I filed for unemployment, two lucky breaks came our way. We were able to get a year’s worth of mortgage relief via the Keep Your Home California program and through JobLink I qualified for education funding in the WIA program. 

In my job searches I noticed several ads for people with AutoCAD skills. Since SRJC was a short walk from my house and offered AutoCAD classes, I chose Surveying as a major and was once again a college student. One of the required classes for the major was Intro GIS. I had never heard of GIS but it sounded interesting. As my classes progressed, I became fascinated with GIS and switched to GIS as a major. 

Two years later I have begun my new career as a CAD and GIS technician for a local surveying company. This is how it’s supposed to work. I have new skills in an industry with a growing, rather than declining future, and if all goes well, we’ll be able to keep our home. 

I also need to acknowledge Barack Obama and the Affordable Care Act for helping us save $800.00 a month when we needed it, allowing my wife to have the surgery and followup therapy she needed to overcome her ailments, return to work and begin a new career of her own. A former President once remarked that one of the most frightening things he ever heard was, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Easy for him to say, he was wealthy and never needed it. For those of us who have, government help has been a lifesaver.

Thanks

For making it through the year. Thanks to Keep Your Home California, EDD, Sonoma County Job Link and SRJC for letting me try something new. Thanks to Andrew Brill and Sutter for giving Lydia her life back. Thanks, we hope, to Covered California for helping us save money. Thanks to KCSM for the toons.

Thanks that there's food in the fridge and the roof doesn't leak. Thanks to Lydia, for being her wonderful self and perservering. Thanks to friends and relatives. Thanks to Crazy and Lazy, you know who you are.

Achoo! Cough, cough.

It's dusty in here.

Victory is sweet

Jill wins!

Chubba Bubba sniffs the camera

Seven seconds in the life of Seven, the cat.

Happy Halloween

Creature Features on WGN Sunday nights was one of the greatest forbidden pleasures of my youth. Forbidden because it came on an hour after my bedtime and I had to be reeeaally sneaky to see it. The music is by Henry Mancini from An Experiment in Terror from 1962.

The Karcherhaus fight song

I got this on a sound-chip card from my cousin and his family. We play it in the morning to motivate us for the work day. It's called the Polonäse Blankenese, a 1982 German hit by Werner Böhm, under the name Gottlieb Wendehals.

1 Die Kellner hamm jetzt Pause,
wir rollen das Buffet von hinten auf;
die Post geht ab, wir mach’n jetzt ’ne Sause;
der Bier ist los, heut’ wackelt hier DIE WAND!!
Los, Vater kommt in die Sock’n,
und Mutter schlurft in ihre roten Pamps.
Hier geht was los, da bleibt kein Auge trocken,
Klaus-Dieter, setz’n Halben ab:
JETZT KOMMT’S!

Hier fliegen gleich die Löcher aus dem Kase,
denn nun geht sie los, uns’re Polonase
von Blankenese bis hinter Wuppertal.
Wir ziehen los mit ganz groaen Schritten,
und Erwin faat de Heidi
von hinten an die … Schulter,
das hebt die Stimmung,
ja da kommt Freude auf.
(Los, Oma: hak ein!)

2 Das Orchester auf der Bahne packt der Wahnsinn;
der Pianist reiat alle Tasten ’raus;
die Tuba blast den Trommler, das tut weh, weh;
der Dirigent weint eins und schreit: »LICHT AUS!«
Unten tobt das Volk bereits im Laufschritt,
die Banke fliegen tief, die Tische auch;
der Wirt schmeiat sich schatzend
aberÂ’m Aufschnitt; das Chaos tobt —
WIR AUCH!
Der ganze Saal soll heute abend brodeln,
laat jucken, Jungs, die Nacht ist viel zu kurz!
Bis morgen frah soll hier die Elke jodeln —
was danach kommt, ist uns jetzt ganz schnurz.

Hier fliegen gleich die Lacher aus dem Kase,
denn nun geht sie los, uns’re Polonase
von Blankenese bis hinter Wuppertal.
Wir ziehen los mit ganz groaen Schritten,
und Erwin faat de Heidi
von hinten an die … Schulter,
das hebt die Stimmung,
ja da kommt Freude auf.
(Los, Oma: hak ein!)

50 years ago today

I drew my first breath. I'm half a century old. I showed up in a busy year. Some people think that year changed everything. It certainly did for me. My mom is out here celebrating it with me and we both can't believe how time has gone by.

Do not want

It's hot and muggy here in Sonoma county. The sky yesterday reminded me of the summer skies I used to see in the midwest. I do not like it. It saps my energy, makes it hard to sleep and I sweat like a pig. But I better get used to it. My one consolation is that red states will have it worse.

Twenty years ago today

My dad put a bullet through his head. Hope you're happy, Dad, wherever you are.

jck loves leej

12 great years.

Saturday, May 16, 1953

Lee J and I are at my mom and stepdad's house in North Carolina. Keith Fisher, my stepdad, showed us some journals that his grandfather, Edmund Redfield, kept obsessive journals about his life. We got a good laugh reading those so I decided to transcribe the entry exactly 56 years ago. I'll try to make this verbatim, but since this was handwritten in pencil on scraps of paper, some of the words I have to guess at.

Sat. May 16, 1953. Raised west window about 1", Slept to 6:10. Arose. Put on fuzzy-wuzzy slippers. Made a 9-view pencil sketch of a folding aluminum Bee Hive, complete with folding aluminum base, nesting aluminum cover, and lining inner cover, and floor in base. Worked sketching 8:40 to 9:40, up to 1st floor. N.B.E. extensive, loose. Down to basement 9:55. Built up fire in stove with some paper, a board, and a dozen sticks of wood. Put teapot on top of stove. It contained Fenugreek Tea. Added water. Put 74-grams of A&P Summerfield Quick Oats in the top bowl of Pyrex glass double boiler. Placed on top of stove, added 8-oz. of hot water 10:00, wrote diary 10:00 to 10:10. Lay down on bed. Tired and sleepy 10:15. Slept to 11:45. Ellen Bellars came to the door. I arose. Put on fuzzy-wuzzy slippers. Opened the door a little. Told Ellen I was not feeling well, and not dressed. She wanted to know if I wanted anything from the store. I told her I would make out a list if she would wait. Gave her the list and a bill of 40¢ due Eshleman's East Side Market, and some money. She left 12:00. I went up to 1st floor. Took along stainless steel frying pan, also covered aluminum frying pan. Down to basement. Dressed. Put on old white rayon "Du-Ons" underwear, 3rd best blue Kupenheimer pants, heavy wool, plaid work shirt, long, light brown cotton soxs, and old brown oxfords. Pored out 16-oz. of rather weak Fenugreek Tea. Added 64-grams A&P Spring bloom Honey, and stirred. Ellen Bellars got back. She couldn't get all the things I listed. She purchased 1-12-oz carton A&S Cottage cheese 23¢, a 1-14 oz, can of Taylor's Sweet Potatoes 29¢ and 1- Northern Paper Towel 20¢. Total 72¢, Tax 2¢, total spent 74¢. Ellen paid bill of 40¢. Total $1.14. I wrote a note to Vandenberg Paint Store for 1-Qt. of Turpentine 30¢. Gave Ellen 30¢, Tax 1¢, Total 31¢, and 5¢ for the errand, including picking up the turpentine and bringing it back from down town after the show at the Sterling Theater, which she plans to see. She left 12:25. I drank 16-oz Fenugreek Tea. Not very warm. 13:30. Up to 1st floor, bathed face and hands. Down to basement 12:35. Brought along an old face towel and hung on a rack at rear of stove. Wrote diary to 12:50, Got remaining sugar syrup in pt. glass jar and went outdoors. Uncovered the Package Bees under the lean-to shelter. Found a lot of large black ants were licking up the surplus sugar syrup. I killed a lot of them. Fed the Package Bees sugar syrup,  and covered them with a piece of old canvas 12:50 to 1:10. Back in the house, strong cold east wind. Cut out a sliver in left thumb and a couple slivers on back edge of right hand to 1:15. Wrote diary. Put a 5" dia x 19" long chunk of wood in stove. Up to 1st floor. Took along a roll of paper towels. Put in the plastic paper towel fixture. Washed some thin paper off top of a hive where stuck to paint. Down to basement 1:35. Put 13-(92 grams) pitted dates to soak in 200-grams hot water, added 36-grams of A&P Spring bloom Honey, added 20-grams of Lynne Goat Milk Powder, 8-grams of Live Wheat Germ, 10-grams Loma Linda Soyalac, Soy Bean Milk Powder, and about 260-grams of oatmeal. Ate slowly 1:45 to 2:15. Wrote diary to 2:25. Read "Prevention" magazine for April 1953 to 3:25, Earl Ellmaker came 3:25. We went up to 1st floor. Earl nailed together 10 Shallow Supers, and 5-Deep Hive Bodies, and 1-Base. Gave them all a coat of white shellac to 6:15. I nailed an aluminum top on a cover I had given 2-coats of Ivory Paint and sat around and talked. Too miserable to do anything. Bad pains in chest and a dry hacking cough. Down basement 5:20. Earl got a couple 2-Queen Separators. Earl also got a couple crates from the trunk of his car gave me. Earl left 5:25. Raining all afternoon. I noticed Charles Gaumer brought over the old rear porch steps he had a carpenter replace yesterday. I pulled off some board from one of the crates Earl gave me and got a fire started. Wrote diary 6:30 to 6:40. Opened a 1-14 oz. can of Taylor Sweet Potatoes. Put on top of stove to warm. Added a little hot water, and about 1/2-gram of Sage and 1/2-gram of Sweet Basil 6:45. Put on old rubbers, 3rd best Kupenheimer vest and coat, dark gray hat and neutral color Top Coat. Outdoors 6:55. Over to Bellars. Asked Mr. Bellars if Ellen got home. I mentioned I asked her to get a bottle of turpentine for me. He said she was expected home most any time. I walked home 7:00 Removed rubbers, Top Coat, and dark gray hat. Wrote diary 7:05. Knocked a crate apart, Pulled nails put some of the wood in the stove. Swept floor to 7:20. Up to 1st floor. Washed hands. Down to basement 7:25. 

I sat in old Craftsman chair too tired to move. Read a little in Sat. May 16th Gazette to about 9:00. Fell asleep about 10:00. Continued reading to 12:05 Wrote diary to 12:10. Miserable, and awful tired. Up to 1st floor. N.B.E. average, plastic. Down to basement 12:15. Built up fire in stove with some paper. Also put in part of a carton and some thin crate boards. Wrote diary. Sat in old Craftsman chair and read "Life" magazine for May 18th, 1953 to 3:25. Put part of carton in stove. Up to 1st floor. Found I left light burning in dining room. It had been burning since 12:25. Down to basement 3:35. Put part of an old carton in stove. Room chilly. Wrote diary.

Cash on hand $13:24.

Removed clothes. Put on old blue pajamas and old blue robe.

Retired 3:50. Awful tired and sleepy. Chest pains due to congestion, cough, digestive upset after eating. Nervous. Eyes hurt. Miserable, no pep or interest in things, indecisive, tire quickly everything I do, and weary beyond words to describe.

Weather, cloudy all day cold E. wind. Rain, mist all afternoon. To-night, cloudy, more rain. E. wind, miserable weather.

He lived from June 7, 1888 to December 19th 1954.

Spring flowers at La Casa.

I'm always glad to see flowers make it through the winter.

The little purple irises bloom first.

The Japanese cherry is in full bloom this week.

Happy New Year

We're doin' it our favorite way. Dick Clark on TV with the sound off, the KCSM New Year's special on the stereo and the cats for entertainment.

Post-Thanksgiving Belmont blogging

We're here at Lee J's parents again for Thanksgiving and I brought the laptop with me so I've done a ton of web-surfing and caught up on a lot of the blogs I haven't been to lately. It took us a bit to find the password for the wireless, but Beverly, my mother-in-law called tech and got it.

Turkey Day had the traditional dinner which was great as usual and I stopped eating before I reached the pain threshold. I pigged out on Halloween candy, though.

One of their cats went missing about a month ago while their house was being remodeled and the other on disappeared earlier this week. Wednesday night I heard scratching and yowling that sounded like it was above so I suggested we open the hatches to the attic so she could come down that night. A little after midnight I was awakened again by scratching and yowling and I thought the cat might have been stuck in the wall. Then it occurred to me that the sound was coming from the chest of drawers that they had put back in the room after the painters finished. I switched on the light and sure enough, I opened the drawer and out jumped the cat. It took off straight for the litter box. Our cats would have crapped in the drawers.

I wanted to start on the Expectorator, but I forgot most of the files I need. Typical.

Earworm for ya

For some reason, Poinciana has been stuck in in my head lately. Now it's your turn. From the original poster:

Jazz piano legend Ahmad Jamal performing in 2005, in a set of mostly originals, accompanied by drums legend Idris Muhammad and James Cammack on bass.

Life is returning to normal after the election. I finally cut the grass, sorted some files on the computer, put all the Halloween stuff away and vacuumed the upstairs. Well, the Roomba did, anyway.