Happy Birthday to me!

Well, I survived another year.  But is that good or bad?  Yesterday marked 74 years that I have been riding this big blue ball around.  I know I have good company in the form or Stephen Smalley, my cousin and my friend Mary Lou Abernathy, who I never see, and countless others that slip my mind.  All the kids checked in along with a mailbox full of cards from the dentist, insurance company, and the hearing aid place who recognizes every important moment of my life and assures me they are there to help me hear all the best wishes anytime I am ready to fork over the $4,000!  Ah, life!
I do like to look back at how far I have come from that little shack on the outskirts of Nickerson, Kansas.  That is where a mother and father made a home for 6 little Bartholomew kids.  Now there are 3 of us left.

Here I am on probably the last day that I was purely innocent.  The last day that I was completely helpless and I wonder where that blanket went!  I bet one of the younger kids got it as a handmedown, because back in those days, everything was handed down to the next kid.  Now do you realize that I got the handmedowns from my brother!

Doesn't look like he is wearing dresses, does it?  As a young girl I remember worshipping him my whole life.  We listened to the Grand Ole' Opry from Nashville, Tennesee on a car radio hooked up to a battery out on the porch on Saturday nights.  He is the one who taught me how to bait a hook and catch a fish.  He taught me how to choose the hardest clod of dirt in a plowed field and how to aim so I could hit someone in our clod fights.  He built me stilts which I fell off of and damn near broke my neck!  He dreamed of leaving Nickerson and coming back rich.  When he was 16 years old he forged his birth certificate and joined the Army.  Of course, he got caught and sent back home.

His name was Delbert Leroy Bartholomew, but in the 7th grade he became known as Shakey Jake.  That was later shortened to Jake because he did not shake.  He wore overalls and was befriended by a man in town named Roy Hasten.  Roy was an older man who had no kids and loved to fish.  I can remember him bringing Jake home and they always had catfish laid out in the back.  Some of them were really big, or at least big to my little memory.  When I hear the song "Bimbo" by Hank Williams, I think of Jake.

There is not enough paper in this world to hold all my memories of Jake.  I told you how he got that scar.  He did go away to the Army and he came home from Germany.  He married and had a son, divorced and had another son.  His second son and mine are almost the same age.  My father died in February of 1965 and Jake was killed that October.  My son was 1 month old.

10/5/37-10/31/1965

This was Mother.  I wonder if she remembered that dog?  Seems when we were growing up there was always an old cat hanging around outside, but never a dog.  Not sure I ever wanted one, but I am sure we never had one.  Dad did not like dogs.  I was always afraid of them.  There were always stories of "dogs running in packs on the outskirts of town, so be sure and keep the kids inside."  Never saw them, but like the Gypsy's (who I also never seen), we knew they were there and had to be ever vigilant.   Oh, yeah, and the cougars!  We could hear them scream down on the river and trust me, that scared the living shit right out of us.  Sure made me appreciate a home with doors.  Not that we ever locked them.  Doors had to remain unlocked in case a hobo or some homeless person needed to get in to get a drink of water or a bite to eat.  Times have sure changed.

So now I am rambling again!  I had one birthday party when I was growing up.  It was for my 8th or 9th birthday.  Mother was cleaning houses for my cousin Paralee Morris who was a teacher and was married to a teacher, so they were rich.  Paralee was the daughter of Frank and Helen Wocknitz.  Frank was the one who made Tony's Bologna and took the recipe to his grave.  She let mother make me a little party at her house and gave me a red Cinderella cookie cutter.  Birthday parties are just not a biggie with me.

(You must understand that all this stuff that I remember from 65 years ago may or may not be accurate and may change every time I remember it as well as every time you read it.  So it is best if you just read what I write and enjoy it and not try to make any sense whatsoever out of my poor befuddled mind!)

Enough about the birthday!  Fall is in the air this morning and I want to check the garden.  For some reason I would sure like to have a cigarette this morning, but I am always grateful when I realize that I gave those up.  That was a good change.  And change is what life is all about, isn't it?

Continued from yesterday.

Here is Icarus looking all innocent.  Such a joy to behold.  But think again!

This is where she was just about 10 minutes ago.  This is the cover over my deck and I do not know how she got up there.  Nor do I know why!  Pretty sure there are no mice on top of that thing.

So just walking around looking for lord only knows what.

Oh, hi there mom!  What are you doing down there.  Come on up and let's try to figure out how to get down.  Oh, you could just trot on out to the garage and bring the ladder and then carry me down.

Enjoy me while you can because I am getting ready to go hide in the sunflowers.

Told you so!

Oh, well, one thing nice is if she is hiding or up on the roof she is not batting vernin around the kitchen.  Don't you wish you had a cat like this?  If you have a cat, it probably IS like this!

Meet my REAL honey!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday my friend and I drove to La Junta to buy our tickets for the Amtrak train that would take us to Dallas, Texas next month.  Both of her grandfather's were railroad men back in the day when the rail way was the way to move freight.  The office is only open from 7:30 AM until 10 AM so we were on a mission.  This is the ticket window and the lady in charge was the sweetest little thing and a great help to us.  However we soon found that this was not going to be as easy as it first looked.

The train does not run from here to Dallas.  It runs from La Junta to Kansas City, down to St. Louis and then     down to Fort Worth  area where we could catch a bus on into Dallas.  Oh and this takes 2 days.  There are several 5 hour delays for another train to arrive to take us further on our way.  Now spending 5-6 hours in a train depot is just not on my agenda.  And no where in this scenario did I see any hope of putting this body into a bed  and sleeping the 8 hours I require.  Of course we could take the southern route through southern California and it would add a few hours.  Sadly the lower level has the restrooms and the upper level has the food.  Screwed either way as I see it.  Oh, yeah and then there was the cost of the tickets. $715.00 each.  So $1430.00 and no food included.  Let's just think this over.  Course Nancy is all for hopping on an airplane and arriving in Dallas in no time at all.   Well, it is a thought.  Or we could ride the train to Albuquerque and then rent a car and drive to Dallas.  So we headed home to think on it.

I missed a call outside of Rocky Ford, so I pulled over to return it and up the train track came the train hauling the propeller's for the wind turbines from Pueblo.  Had to get a picture of that.  We are both fascinated by those things. 

 

Well, lookee here, where we stopped!  Since we were right in the parking lot and the sign said "Local Honey.  Come on in!"  We did!

Bet money there is something in here I need!

Look at the size of the honey tank.  I think we figured it holds at least 400 gallons.  Hell, that was yesterday and you know I don't write anything down!  And if I do I do not remember where I put it.  So just go with the 400 gallons like you believe me!

And I was right.  There was stuff there I needed.  Nancy needed stuff also.  Oh, and trust me, this is some damn good honey!  First I had a taste on my finger.  Then I had a taste on a spoon.  Then I had a big taste on a biscuit.  Then another biscuit.  

Nice sign.

Nice flags.

But this is the one I like.  It is a nest from somewhere made by bees and I think they call it a paper wasp nest.  Glad it is empty!

So, we bid farewell to the local honey place on this side of Rocky Ford and  head for home so I can do whatever it is I do.  

Had a lovely day, as always and enjoyed a nice lunch in Fowler before dropping Nancy and heading for the grocery store to seek out Celery Root so I can make some Dill Pickle soup.  Tell you about that one next time!

Jimmy Carter, a man of the people.

I have always felt Jimmy Carter and I had a link since we were both born on October 1, albeit 17 years apart.  Same zodiac and all that, you know.  Libra which is the scales.  According to a site on the Internet  called "getsmarter.com" that I am quoting  "Typical Libras are talkative individuals who value fairness, beauty, culture, diplomacy and balance, states Astrology.com. They're also deep thinkers who like to spend time contemplating harmony and strategizing about things which they feel impassioned."

Jimmy Carter came on the scene while we were still reeling from Richard Nixon, Watergate, Gerald Ford and a financial crisis like never before seen.  Ford had fairly well stabilized the nation, but we were looking for an honest face to put forward and who better than a peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia?  He walked to the White House and we all knew we had a down to earth country boy in power.  One month later he was white headed!  The real world was upon him.  But he tried.  His time in office was one of good will and the only fault they could find with him was that in an interview he had stated that he may have committed adultery "in his heart", because to look at a woman with lust in his heart was to commit adultery in his heart.  We have come a long way since then!

The Carter years were, in my opinion, years of innocence and hope for the future.  As I recall President Carter did not do a lot to change the world during his 4 years, but he was honest and a very religious man.  There was never any doubt that he was a God fearing man.  And when he left office he immediately went into public service.  One of his favorites was Habitat for Humanity.  In that he worked tirelessly.  There are so many things he did that showed God in his life.  I am ill equipped to find words that do justice to this man who has battled cancer for many years and never stopped his hammer.  It is a way of life with him.

There is one man who impressed me with an article he wrote about Jimmy Carter.  His name is Leonard Pitts, Jr. and he writes for the Miami Herald.  He was kind enough to let me share his link with you so you can read what he wrote.  I thank him for that! He is so much better at expressing my feelings than I am!     Click here for Leonard Pitts, Jr. article.

Home on the range.

This is my garage from the backside of the property.  Looks rather peaceful if I do say so myself.

This is Icarus surveying her kingdom  

Her kingdom includes these geese.  They are supposed to be mean, but they do not know it.  I can actually pet most of these.  Only one likes it though.

These are sunflowers behind the garage.  There are very tiny birds that inhabit these and eat something off them.  I think it might be ants since that is all I have seen on them, but I suppose mosquitoes also might be on them. Sunflowers always make me think of Kansas and thinking of  Kansas always makes me a little homesick.  I do not know why because there is no way I could ever go back to the little house on Strong Street.  And if I could, those were days of abject poverty that I would never wish on anyone.  Of course they were part of what made me who I am today, so it is all good.  

I thought I might ought to burn the pile of limbs from the Apricot tree, so I called in and lit the pile.

Whoops, better go take care of that little wound.

 So I finish my morning  having a cup of coffee on the deck.  Life is sure good here on my little acre.  I know sometimes I don't sound like it, but I do love my life.  Gets to be a lot of work sometimes, but isn't that what life is all about?  Put one foot in front of the other and just keep plodding away.

So from my house to yours, and my heart to your heart, keep the faith because God really is good and he does have a plan for us.  It may not look like it at times and it may not feet like it most of the time, but he does have you and me brother, in his hands.

click here to listen

And who will eat my cinnamon rolls, asked the little red hen.

I woke up this morning in my usual why in the hell bother mood this morning.  First I made a batch of cinnamon rolls just because.  Then I checked out facebook and found the usual drama and who gives a damn anyway.  Then I pulled on some rattier than usual clothes and headed out back to drag the limb from the Apricot tree to the back to burn.  I remembered how the limb got on the ground.  I cut it with my little bow saw.  Oh, I had lots of friends who were going to do it.  Sure, it was no problem.  But in the meantime it kept rubbing on the gutter and the roof.  So I cut it and let it fall.  And there it lay.  Until now.    
Now it is in the back to be destroyed.  Of course my mind was working all the time my body was dragging those heavy limbs and I did sustain 5 new wounds in my leg and a really big one in my arm, which did not help my mood at all.

I have set a date of September 30 as some of you know, but few know what it means.  I will now tell you.  October 1 is my birthday.  I will be 74 years old.  I have spent the first half of my life doing for others in one way or another.  I have been a wife, mother, friend, confidante and whipping post.  I have cooked, cleaned, listened, wept, laughed, and sacrificed for anyone who asked.  I have loaned or given away a small fortune to anyone who needed it for what ever reason.  I asked nothing in return.  And usually that was what I got.

I know in order for me to live the last half of my life doing for myself, I will need to live to be 146 years old and we all know there is not much chance of that happening, but I am going to give it one helluva shot.  If not in a blaze then at least I am going to remember to thank every body for all they did for me.   I have a few minutes before I have to be through the shower and in to town, so I shall do that now.

To the men in my life who unloaded goose food out of the back of my car over the last 12 years, thank you.  Oh, wait!  Never mind, that was me.
To the kind soul who mowed my grass on this acre of greenery, thank you.  Oh, wait!  Never mind, that was me.
To the people who shovel my walk in the winter and break the ice on the pond out back, thank you.  Oh, wait!  Never mind, that was me.
To the people who eat my cinnamon rolls and then help clean up the kitchen, thank you.  Oh, wait!  Never mind, that was me.

To the people who tell me I do too much and I should learn how to say no, what if I had told you no?

To the friends who pick up the phone and call for no reason except to hear my voice and tell me to have a good day, thank you.  You know who you are.

If you borrowed it and brought it back, thank you.
If you borrowed it and did not bring it back, keep it

If I offended you, I apologize.
If you offended me, I forgive you.

Some of you will read this and assume I am nuts.  So be it.  We all have opinions.  They are just like butt holes, we all have them.
Some of you are sure it is not you I mean.
Some of you will think, oh, I should call her for no reason.  Don't bother.  Just write it off to Lou having a bad day.

Some of you will have no clue what I am talking about.

Whatever, just wait and see if October 1 brings a change.  If you call and I do not answer after that day, you will know you did not make the cut!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T spells what?

As I zero in on the end of my journey, I am beginning to get pretty excited about the next mile or so.  I look around at my world and wonder what in the hell happened.  All of my life I have been taught and knew as a fundamental law that my elders were to be respected.  And the elder they were the more respect they were due.  My mother worked all her life to give me life.  I owed her respect for that if for no other reason.  My father did not work, but I still respected him for the simple reason he was my father.  When I was young, that was my world.  I would never have dreamed that the day would come when I would watch young people elbow in ahead of me in a line at the grocery store.  If someone opens a door I am planning to go through I fully expect to walk through it, not be knocked out of the way by some snot nosed kid as he passes me on his way in or out.

Seems like this all pretty well started back in the '60's when Vietnam was in full swing.  It was then that people began to dig into our government and find secrets that were being hidden.  I can remember hearing Vietnam when I was a mother with only 4 kids back in 1965.  How long it lasted is beyond me because when I moved to Colorado in 1973 they were publishing the death count on the news every day.  Jane Fonda was making waves and flags were burning.  The government lost all credibility.  From Richard Nixon and Watergate to  Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddick our leaders turned out to be mortal men.  Televangelists were not immune either.  Bobby and Tammy Faye Baker and their falling empire led to Jimmy Swaggert and and a host of others.  Seems like every one had a secret to hide.  It has not stopped.  The few honest politicians are few and far between and have given rise to the saying, "You can send an honest man to Washington, but you can't get him back."

Seems like the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.  Honesty does not count for anything any more.  An honest day's work for an honest day's pay is non-existent.  We used to get hand me downs from the people on the other side of town, but now Goodwill, Thrift Shops, Consignment Shops are the norm.  Those and yard sales.  Days of sewing our own clothes are history.  Fabric to sew a garment costs more than going to Walmart and buying  something that was made in Tiawan or China.  That is sad.

The information super highway lets us watch the news as it is happening.  That really came across when we were bombing Baghdad.  The rockets red glare has a whole new meaning.  Schools will soon be obsolete because kids are blessed with a smart phone as soon as they can grasp an object.  Want to know something, just type in your question and the answer will appear.  Is this a good thing?  I don't think so, but no one asked me.

So I am going to work on my bucket list and let the world go by at the speed of light.  I will still respect my elders, though they are getting harder to find as I get older.  Guess I am just getting soured on life as I miss the days when deals were sealed with a hand shake and lawyers were used to write your will.  For now I am going to set on my deck out back and look for the Blue Moon which is supposed to be very bright.  At least the moon is still something I can count on seeing.