2014-07-28

If you are watching this on your cell phone, you need to click on the date that appears.  The picture does not always work like you think.


I did not realize that I made this video 6 years ago.  This is the stations of the cross in San Luis.  The dog in the picture joined me at the bottom of the walk and stayed with me all the way up and all the way down.  Two years ago I met my son in Taos, New Mexico.  When I came back, I drove the back way and came out in San Luis.  I stopped on the edge of town to take a picture of the chapel up on the hill.  When I stepped out of the car, I was greeted by a big dog which stood by me while I took pictures.  I can not help but wonder if the dog was the embodiment of some one I had known before.

Maybe when my friend, Irene comes this year, her and I can go visit this.  Her mom lived in this area and I think the one shot I have of the field down the side is where Annie grew up.  Small world, huh?

Catalpa Trees, Clothesline, and Muscovy Ducks

Now what do all three of these have in common?  Oh, I know!  There were all an integral part of life at 709 Strong Street.  They are also things we do not see much any more.  For instance, the clothesline.  Back in the day it was used at very least once a week.  The clothes were washed in a washing machine with an agitator.  Whites were first.  The hot soapy water was wrung out through a wringer and the clothes went into rinse water tub number 1.  The second rinse contained a drop or two of "bluing".  Now the bluing was a very important addition as it gave the whites a bare hint of blue which actually made them appear more white!  This was important in case anyone saw your clothes hanging on the line.  If the whites were not white you were going to be discussed around the supper table that night!

The wash water was always one degree below boiling when the wash was started.  After the whites came out, the light clothes were put in and that was followed by towels and such which was followed by darks.  The last load of clothes were dad's overalls.  If there was any water left at that point we could throw in blankets or rugs.

As each load came through and ended up in the basket, it was taken out to the clothesline and hung to dry.  There were more rules to the hanging of the clothes then even I can recall.  Underwear were to be hung by the waistband with the crotch facing any direction except the road as a pervert might see them and loose control!  If the said underwear had a hole, the item must be folded so the neighbors could not see it and know we were poor.  Shirts, blouses and overalls were hung by the bottom.  Dish towels were never hung by clothes.  Baby clothes were washed and hung very first as babies were delicate.

When the washing was all done, the drain hose was called into action and buckets of dirty water were then lugged to the back yard and dumped in an area that was designated as "the water dumping area."  This is when the Muscovy Ducks were in high heaven.  I do not know if you have ever seen a Muscovy Duck, but they are nasty.  They are usually white and black with a green sheen to the black.  The males are huge with a neck as big as my arm and the females are very small.  I seen them breeding one time which was enough for me.  That was nasty and I am not sure my perception of the Muscovy is not influenced by that experience.

Any way, they would get in the muddy water and root around with thier beaks, seeking God only knows what and that made them very dirty and seemed to make them very horny.  As I side note here, they are the only domesticated duck that (to my knowledge) can fly.  They also chatter to each other.  I hated wash day for that very reason.

Our kitchen had a "pitcher pump" and a sink for the washing of dishes and such.  The drain consisted of a pipe out the bottom that made a hard right angle and disappeared through the wall and drained into the back yard.  You guessed it!  Another hang out place for those damned Muscovy Ducks!

Ah, but my solice lay in the front yard.  In the front of the house by the road that ran by stood 2 tall Catalpa trees.  I have noticed in later years it is fashionable to top them short and they then have a ball on top.  Ours were "ala naturale".  They were both the same height and appeared to be twins, but they were vastly different.  The one on the left had lots and lots of little limbs and it was impossible to climb.

But the one on the right was my friend.  It had only smooth branches.  I would get a bucket and stand on it making it possible to reach the first branch.  I would grab it and hoist myself up, throw my right leg over the limb and survey my kingdom below.  From the bottom branch I would grab the next branch on the left side of the tree and work my way up the left side of the tree.  When I reached "my place" I would set on a branch (always the same branch) and be alone in my head.  At this point I was probably 25 - 30 feet off the ground.  I could see down Strong Street and up Strong Street and I could while away the hours dreaming of things and places I would someday see.  I lived a very happy life in my head.  Had I but known where my life would lead me I would have never come down from that tree.

Momma cleaned houses for the ladies in town and most of the time she walked to and from her jobs.  I always looked towards town and when I seen momma coming I would jump down and run to meet her. I do not know what we talked about or even if we did, but I loved my momma and for just a few minutes she was mine alone.  Of course when we reached the house I had to go get the little kids from Ory Ayers's house and momma was no longer mine alone, because those little brats were so needy!

I can close the door on that part of my life, but I can not make it stay shut.  I have heard it said that as we age we revert to our youth.  I do know people with Dementia and Alzheimer's lose short term memory first and I am thinking, maybe that is a good thing.  My childhood will always be my salvation.  It will always be the one place that I feel safe and when I die I hope I go back to Nickerson and Strong Street with my brother, sisters, and momma.

Yep.  That would be heaven!

I didn't understand what I was voting for that time.

I take my voting very seriously.  When I get the little booklet from the League of Women's Voters, I devour every word.  I talk to people and weigh the pros and cons.  If I am not clear what it is about, I am going to find out, you can bet your sweet bippie on that!  When the question of legalizing marijuana came to the ballot, I was very sure that I wanted a yes vote on that.  I would have been more excited had they made the legal age 25, just because by the time someone is 25 they are pretty sure what they want out of life.

I have seen what the synthetic heroine and crack cocaine and meth has done to our kids and I did not want that to continue.  The argument that Marijuana is a gateway drug is a crock.  I have seen first hand kids go straight for the meth and other drugs simply because they are very cheap and very, very easy to purchase.  My hope was that by legalizing marijuana some of that would slow down, but I don't think that is happening.  I have never done an illegal drug in my life and do not intend to start, but I can tell you this, I have dealt with kids smoking pot and they do not behave at all like those who have been doing the illegal drugs.  Ever see a kid that is so zoned out they have no idea where they are or what they are doing?  That is not marijuana!  Marijuana seems to make kids a little spacey, but it does not make them stand on a street corner staring off into outer space and drooling all  over themselves.  Most of the marijuana smokers I run into are happy little people and I would just assume they were having a really good day if it weren't for that little whiff I get that is akin to a skunk passing by outside.

I see in the Chieftain that Hasan is funding a study on marijuana and I will certainly be glad when that is done and we can see the scientific evidence of the benefits of marijuana.  Years ago I had back problems and took more pain pills than I can remember.  I recall going to work more often than not with a fog in my brain and I could hover up near the ceiling and watch myself slaving over a hot grill and smoking french fry baskets.  It is a wonder I survived that! I had back surgery and as with any surgery, more pain pills.  Today I have spasms in my back and when that happens I reach for my bottle of marijuana pain cream that I bought legally in Blende.  I do not take any pain pills and I have been told that I would not be able to pass a drug test as there is pcp or thc or something like that in my system, but I do know I do not feel it and I am clear headed, just no pain.  I refuse to take pain pills so if legal sale of marijuana goes away in Pueblo City and County I am just going to have to go back to being unable to function.

I could go on about what good the tax dollars have done for our economy along with our low unemployment rate, but I think that speaks for itself.  I just wanted to give my opinion as a human being.

A sad state of affairs.

I woke up early this morning and peeked out the bedroom window and there were a million stars twinkling in the sky.  It made me so happy to just be alive.  Since it was still before 5:00 AM I decided to just lay there and reflect.  You know, I have seen a lot of "firsts" in my lifetime.  Now, I do not mean in my personal life, but more in the political arena. 

1.  First President to serve 4 terms (also the last!)
2.  First President with only an initial for a middle name.
3.  First President that was a 5 star General.
4.  First President to publicly admit wrong doing and resign from the Presidency.
5.  First Catholic President.  And also my first public assassination.  And my first public     
     assassination of the assassinator. 
6.  First divorced President.
7.  First Black President.

As it now stands, the primaries are in full swing and we will have an election in November.  I will once more witness a first no matter who wins.
1.  Bernie Sanders, Jewish and of Polish descent. 
2.  Hillary Clinton, Former First Lady and a Woman. 
3.  Donald Trump, Racist, Bigot, married 3 times, divorced twice, bankrupt 4 times, not his fault.

Now, I ask you, is this any way to start my day?  How can I let go and let God with this mess on the news all day long?  Right there is reason enough to not even get out of bed in the morning!  And it is not just the political arena that has me dancing around on my back legs.  We are living in a world of the have's and the have not's.  While millions of dollars are being spent on this race for the white house people are starving.  Drive past the soup kitchen down town before 11:00 AM.  The lot is full of people with their worldly possessions in a box or sack or a shopping cart they have commandeered from some place.  Some do not have anything but the clothes on their back.  They have absolutely nothing.  We live in a world where you either have it or you don't.
   
If you have it; you have it.  If you don't; you aren't going to get it.  The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.  It was designed that way.  It is set up that way.  And it works that way.  Way back when I started school, I was taught if I worked hard and was honest, I would succeed in life.  Later in the Baptist church I was taught that if I gave my 10% God would reward me.  I did not even really need to go to church, just make sure I got the 10% there. 

Now many years later, with a lot of lessons well learned and deserved or undeserved hard knocks under my belt, I look back down the road that was my life.  I have a big house full of possessions.  I have a car.  I have bank accounts and bills and a social security check that helps me maintain a certain lifestyle.  Will I ever go on that cruise?  Probably not.  Will I ever have more money than I will ever need?  Probably not.  Do I thank the good Lord every night for getting me through the day and every morning for waking me up?  I sure do. 

Would I want to me the President?  No way in Hell.  That is one of those damned if you do and damned if you don't jobs.  I would rather set here on my little acre and listen to my geese honk, with a cat on my lap and dogs at my feet and watch the sun come up in the east and go down in the west and wonder what I can cook today that I haven't cooked before.  Sure was not the soufflé!

Just some of my ramblings that nobody really understands or cares about, but this keeps me sane!