Oh, for crying out loud! Just do your job.

 I am having a very hard time believing that my life has completely changed and that Covid is to blame.  Prime example would be my trash service, or rather lack of it.  I got my bill.  I picked up the phone and called the office and paid my bill.  I know if I do not pay when I get the bill that I will do the procrastination thing and end up receiving a friendly reminder.  Most of my bills are on level pay with an automatic deduction from my bank account.  This one is one I need to pay every 3 months, so I paid it.

Next week I did not have much trash and so I am not sure if it was picked up or not.  Week 2 and no trash pickup.  So I called the office.  "Oh for sure!  So sorry!  Shall I send a special truck out?"  I did not think that was necessary.

Week three and the trash is now up over the top and the neighbor cats are having a field day!  So once more I called the woman  who is now my sounding board for frustrated old ladies who are spending a lot of time on the back burner!  

Of course she checked and they must have just missed me quite by  accident.  Could I just load it into the car and bring it out to the yard?  This struck me as rather ludicrous to say the very least!  I am 80 years old and drive a Honda Fit!  I am doing damn good to get a bag of groceries in it!  Trash is heavy and this is now beginning to smell like garbage.  I do not want to touch it, let alone load it in my car and haul it somewhere that I do not know where it is.  She assured me that this time my trash would be picked up next Thursday as scheduled.  Or Friday if it snowed, which of course it did.

By this time, the dumpster was overflowing, so I had wrapped it with a rubber rope and taken it to my back door to deter the 8 cats that live next door and love to forage.  So, I pulled it to the front yard for the trash man on Thursday.  It set on the front parking all Thursday night.  I did not untie the rope.  I thought I would run out when the man arrived.  

Friday morning dawned and my hopes soared.  Friday night I dejectedly drug that damn thing back to the back yard! Saturday we repeated the scenario.  Today is Sunday.  Tomorrow is Monday.  My trash day is Thursday.  I am beginning to see a pattern here.  Had I not paid my bill, they would tell me my trash would not be picked up because I did not pay.  So...... now what?

I will call out there tomorrow and she will tell me how sorry she is, but you know what?  Sorry doesn't cut it.  Society has rules and one of them is that we pay our bills on time.  I did that and here I set a month later with the same damn trash that I had when I paid my trash bill!  

So, do you have any idea how I can get all that trash in my car to haul it across town?  Will the secretary come to my car and unload it for me?  Or better yet maybe I can just take the tote up to South Road and leave it there.  Someone will see their name on the side and report it as abandoned.  Course that does not do anything about the 3 months of service that I have paid for, does it?

I will call the company Monday and the lady will be very sorry, but you know what, sister?  Sorry isn't going to cut it this time.  I am 80 years old and tired of being screwed with.  Every bill I have is on auto pay so I do not have to screw with people who do not give a damn about whether my trash gets hauled off or not!  You are not the only trash company in town so here is the deal....  I am going to send you a copy of this blog and then Monday morning I am going to call you, cancel by service and demand my money back.  Then I am going to call the Better Business Bureau and tout you as the worst trash service in town.

If you are so busy that you can not service your customers, you sure do not need any new ones!

Ok, now it is getting personal!

 Time to vote and that is what I do.  It is my right.  It is my duty.  You have the same right and the same duty.  I respect that.  I used to love to stand in line and wait my turn at the polls.  I would visit with people in my precinct that I had not seen since the last time I voted.  Course that is all changed.

Now, I get my ballot in the mail and fill it out at my kitchen table.  I then put a stamp on it and walk it back down to the mail box.  Or throw it on the dash board of the car and drop it in the ballot box behind the "used to be bank" building on 8th and Main.  Never had to worry about poll hours or anything that way.  

Now we have a faction in this country that wants to change the voting laws and the way the electorate works.  There has got to be a way to keep the poor, the minorities, the "less equal then us" from being able to cast their ballot without it becoming a hardship!  No mail in ballots, no early voting

I also used to watch the news faithfully to see what was going on in the world.  Occasionally there was something on there that made me feel good, like the time that the rescuers saved those boy scouts who were lost in a cave some where overseas.  A place I never heard of, I think.  Those days are gone.

Now it is politics.  "Them versus us".  It seems that my world pretty much went to hell 3 or 4 years ago.  Respect for government has pretty well gone out the window.  Did it start when the world watched on live feed as a white policeman knelt on a black man's neck until he died? Did it culminate when a band of thugs breached security at the nations capitol and destroyed a piece of history?  And then when we were most vulnerable I watched the television screen show a little red "x" leave Wuhan,  China, travel across an ocean to Seattle, Washington and then cut catacorner down to Florida to begin spreading something called the "Corona Virus" in our country.  

It was then that we scrambled to find a vaccination to contain it and our mortality rate began to sky rocket.  It was then that a faction of America rebelled and refused to wear a mask or be vaccinated because "they" had "rights" that I do not have.  Death rates began to spiral from a pandemic that parts of our society dub a "government conspiracy" to circumvent their rights.  What the hell?

Where is my America?  You know, the one where we cared about each other?  Where are the lines for immunization where we all lined up to fight mumps, red measles, polio, diphtheria.....?  We quit flying the Confederate flag for a reason.  We used to be considerate of other people.  We used to say "excuse me" and "sorry".  A tear running down someones cheek used to invoke sympathy.

Where in the hell did MY America go?  Where is the compassion and common sense?  Maybe I am just a dreamer to think that this country can survive if we all pull together.

It just ain't happening, is it?

Pecan pie and a thief in the walk in.

 

Somebody said something about a pecan pie over on facebook and I immediately remembered back to my days at the Red Carpet Restaurant and the boss's venture into the bakery on south main.  The bakery was in trouble so Bob leased it at t very low price.  Mother had a husband who had a grown son who needed a job (Dammit! I forgot his name, but maybe it will come to me.  The son, not the husband.  His name was George.)  Seems like I had an in with Bob so George asked me if I could talk to Bob and get (I will just call him dipshot for short until I remember his name.) Dipshot hired .  So I did.  Course Bob let me know that I would be responsible if Dipshot screwed up.

I would close the resturant kitchen at 10 o'clock and head by the house to pick up Dipshot and take him with me and we would head to south main to bag the bread that had been baked earlier.  First we had to slice it and then bag it and twist tie it shut. This usually only took a couple hours.  Then Bob decided to add pies to the line.  So cases of pies were delivered to the Restaurant.  I baked these while I was working and returned them to the case which was then taken to south main and sent out to the stores. 

Now Dipshot was not the brightest bulb in the box and honesty did not run deep through his soul!  I was however, mildly surprised when I opened the refrigerator in my kitchen at home and found 6 freshly baked Pecan Pies. Upon closer investigation, I determined that they were from the stock in the walk-in at work.  The fact that there was a piece gone out of one led me to believe that perhaps Dipshot had releived the boss of a case of pies.  A conversation with him later in the day proved I was correct.  I had a thief in my house!  This did not set well with me.

He, of course, promised that this was a one time thing and he would never do that again.  My mind, however, knew that "once a thief, always a thief".    I explained to him that we were going to take the pies back and he could just explain to Bob what he had done.  Of course, he swore he would never do something like this again if I just let this one slide.  Confessing  to the boss was not an option that interested him.  However, being the purist I am, I could not let this go unpunished.

I loaded the pies in the car, retreived my house key from him and bade him a fond farewell.  He had been a friend for a time, but honesty is paramount in my world.  So I drove to the restaurant and explained to Bob what had transpired.  I put the pies back in the walk in.  My heart was heavy at the loss of what had happened, but Bob never brought it up again.

I do not know what ever became of Dipshot, but the last I knew he was living in Western Kansas with his sister.  I lost my brother many years before and for a while I was happy that I had a replacement.  But you know what?  No one could ever replace Jake!  Jake was one of a kind and all of us kids were raised to be honest and respectable people.  And there was something else momma always said that rang true in this experience!

Don't let the fox guard the chicken house!  That woman was always right on!

Peace.   

Christmas Day 2021

 For those of you out there who worried that I would be sad on Christmas, you can put your worries to rest!  I had a very good Christmas! I went over to Ross Barnhart's and had lunch with him and his family.  Food was delicious because Rooster and Missy grow their own vegetables and cook from scratch.  I think Ross made the pork roast.  Robin and Terri made something very good as an appetizer, but I do not know what it is called.

This is Ben!  Ben belongs to Robin and Terri and is a very sweet boy.  He likes to play video games and you will hear more about that yellow thing that someone is playing with there a tad bit later.

This is Terri, Ben's mom.  She appears happy, but trust me, you better "duck" when she looks at you!

This is Robin, Ben's dad.  He is trying to look so innocent here, but do not let your guard down. He kind of loses something against the bright window, but is still a lovely person.  You can not see too well, but he is setting with a cat who is almost as old as Ben, his son.  Terri and Ben belong to Robin, Ross's brother.

This is Ross's other brother, Rooster!  Rooster is married to Missy and I did not get a picture of her for some reason.  Rooster appears very innocent, doesn't he?  He is not!!!   For the record, he "ducked" me many times!

Now for the record, this is a duck!  It is a rubber duck!  It is about 3 inches long and made of rubber.  You stick your finger in it's head, stretch it out and let it fly at your opponent.  Now for some reason all of them decided I was fair game!  Can you imagine that?  little innocent me! 

This is the host, Ross Barnhart and the smile that looks so innocent is acutally an evil snicker!

And this is what they did to me!  They all shot me with ducks and almost killed me!  But, I have to be honest.... I shot them back!! I am not sure if those are ducks or chickens, but they stretch out to be about a foot long and fly through the air and do not hurt a bit when they hit you.  Where do people come up with this stuff?!?  I am thinking an idle mind is the devils workshop!

I do have to admit, this was one of the best Christmases I have had in recent years!  I usually just go to church and then set home and be miserable, but not this year!  I must admit that this is also the first time I have ever shot a duck!  I did try to conduct myself with some sort of decorum so maybe they will invite me back again!  Sure hope so!

So now, Christmas is but a fond memory and we are fast approaching the New Year.  Christmas was so much fun that New Years Eve will surely be anti-climatic!  And since I am so slow in my blogging now days, I am going to go ahead and wish you all a very Happy New Year!  

  Remember that what does not kill you will make you strong.  May the new year bring you peace and harmony and may the Lord shine his face upon you. 

 

But most of all I wish you peace and love, because when it is all said and done we only get out of this life what we put into it.

Shalom!

Oh, the memories!!!!

 It is almost 5 AM and today is Christmas Eve.  I have my coffee and there was a time I would be enjoying (?) a cigarette.  Not any more.  I checked with my friend Cathy who quit the same day I did.  It has been 12 years!  My lungs are clear which amazes me since I smoked for 54 years.  God has sure been good to me in that area.  Well, let's face it, God has been good to me in every area of my life.

First he gave me the wisest mother that ever lived and definitely the one who was the best mother for me!  Momma always said that I thought she was the best because I never knew any different.  She might be right on that!  I do wonder if I had been born into money and prestige if I would be the same person I am today?  I wonder had my first husband been the one I stayed with my whole life, would I be the same person I am today?  

I can look at my kids and see shades of my mother in each and every one of them.  Debbie is the oldest and the most like me.  She even looks like me.  She spouts things mother would have said.  "What don't kill you will make you strong."  She is a pioneer woman to the core.  She lives with her husband in Eastern Kansas and is raising 3 grandkids on a 40 acre dryland farm.  Her husband, Hammer, bought her a new backhoe or something like that for her birthday or some such occasion.  Mine used to send me flowers!

Today is Christmas Eve.  Holidays are not my strong suite.  To be honest, I could function very well with out any holidays, but nobody asked me.  Tonight I will attend the Christmas Eve service at my church.  Christmas is the holiday that marks the birth of my saviour.  I will go alone and I will come home alone.  I will make oyster soup for supper because that is what Kenny and I did for years.  I guess I am a grinch!  So be it.

The end of the year is for me to look back and reflect on how things went and how I can improve and do better next year.  I spent New Years Eve of 2003 watching fireworks on Pikes Peak.  I set alone in the cafeteria in a hospital where my husband lay on life support.  While I do revel in the baby in the manger, I am a realist. I know how the story ends.

So, to my friends and family, Merry Christmas!  The babe in the manger is our hope for the future.  Take time to reflect on just what that babe did for us.  Our hope for the future and the remembrance of things past.  New Years is coming and we have a chance to make this next year different.

So when you think of the baby and the manger remember it is all part of a much grander scheme than we could even imagine.  It is the birthday of our saviour!

Welcome to my life, Jesus Christ! 

Happy Anniversary to me!

 40 years ago it was 15 degrees below zero.  I had been living in sin with Kenny Mercer for 1 year.  When we had been dating for a few weeks we decided we would get married.  I told him of my past marriages and that if we could live together for one year without me leaving I would marry him.  So began a life of sin!

That year went by very well with only a few bumps in the road.  We began a trucking business in and life was good.  On December 23, 1983 Kenny and Gene Baugh were putting a drive line in one of the old tandems.  It was 15 degrees below zero!  They went to Pueblo Brake and Clutch to pick the drive line up that had been repaired.  PB&C was closed!  They came home and Gene left.  Over a cup of coffee and a sandwich, Kenny looked at me and said, "Well, it has been a year.  Let's just go get this shittin' mess over with!"  So we did!

We picked up a license and found a retired minister in an assisted living place in Canon City.  He mumbled a few words, had his bed bound wife in the next room sign on the dotted line.  He stepped into the hall and found a befuddled old man to sign on the other line and we left the building as man and wife!  A quick stop at the donut shop for a cup of coffee and a chocolate doughnut and then home to Pueblo.  

Upon our arrival, we found a cheap bottle of wine in the middle of the table.  Apparently Gene had known what the plan was.  The next time Gene showed up we offered to share the wine with him in a celebratory drink.  He declined, saying "If I knew I was going to have to help drink it I would have gotten some good stuff!"

And so began my life as Mrs. Kenneth Mercer, a role I enjoyed until his death in 2003.  We fished, traveled, worked, learned to square dance, played cards, raised 2 of my kids and adopted a grandson.  He retired and I continued to work with my AIDS patients.  He baked cinnamon rolls and made carmel corn.  We joined a church and life was good.  

Do I miss him?  There is not a day that goes by that I do not see those twinkling, beautiful blue eyes.  He is the person who made me realize that I am a worthwhile human being and I should never sell myself short. I have learned to live alone.  He had always said that I should not give up when he was gone.  Life does not end for one just because it ends for the other.   I do date occasionally, but it never ends well. 

He was honest.  He was patient.  He was faithful.  He had an incredible sense of humor.  Trustworthy.  He believed in me.  

I guess mother said it all when she said "When you lose a husband, he immediately takes on sainthood.  Even if he is completely worthless, you will remember only the good in him."

Momma was right!  Momma was always right!

                                                            RIP Kenneth A Mercer  

                                                                    1931-2003

A high tea to remember!!!

 Today I went on an outing to end all outings!  My very dear friend Rebecca Wasil and her delightful husband, Ron, took Ross Barnhart and his step mom, Gail and myself to the Queen's Parlour Tearoom located in the Miramont Castle Museum in Manitou Springs.  Now I have been hosting a High Tea at our church for 7 years with the exclusion of the last 2 years due to Covid restrictions.  Hosting a high tea is one thing, but actually partaking of the ritual is a whole 'nother game!

We arrived early to partake of the ambience and believe me there was plenty of ambience to go around!  We were seated at our table which was set and everything was in it's proper place.  There were 5 of us and the table was set for 5.  

Our waiter's name was Daniel and he was most helpful since I could not pronounce most of the brands of tea.  About all I keep around here is black, green and a little stuff called Pekoe, what ever that is.  Here is Daniel and Leah, who was trying to make me look like I have horns, but she missed my head!  They were both lovely people and the place was busy so they had plenty to keep busy doing, but took time to make little old me feel special!

Daniel took this picture for us, I think.  Him or Leah.  Anyway they had to get on a chair to get this angle!  From left to right, Gail Barnhart, Lou Mercer, Ross Barnhart, Rebecca Wasil, and Ron Wasil.  I could not have hoped for a more congenial gathering of souls!

I am not sure what any of this stuff was, but it was damn good!  I can see that I am going to need to step my game up for the next high tea at First Congregational Church!  Wonder if I can con Leah and Daniel into serving?  Rather doubt it so I may have to train my servers a little better and I gotta say, the scone they fed me was out of this world.  Guess I better hone my cooking skills along with everything else!

All in all it was a wonderful day and I can not thank Rebecca and Ron enough for the experience.  And as tea companions, I could not have chosen anyone better than Gail and Ross!  Delightful light conversations and wonderful food.  Who could ask for anything more?