Catching up

[Murfreesboro]

Ah, dry eyes. I'm taking glaucoma drops for the first time (started in March), and I think they're making my eyes dry, too. It's a small price to pay.

Glad to hear colors are still looking great!

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

Andy - I'm glad to hear that your procedures went well, I hope that you have been taking it easy.

Murf - I hope that you have been enjoying your Summerween.

This is going to be a short post, I got back on Monday and I'm just swamped with a pile of things to do at work, but I will be back with more details when I have the time to sit and type it.

I had some great conversations with Millie that I'm thankful to have had with her.

Phoebe won first place in her age group at the Nationals, the tournament went well with only one incident, and there was also a situation at the winners dinner that night, I'll explain later.

The kids are officially on summer vacation, and last week Sam told me that she wanted to work at the restaurant with me for the summer, I was confused at first because I would have thought that she would rather work with her mother at the bakery. Anyway, she started working here today and it didn't take long to figure out why she chose the restaurant ... there's a cute boy working here that she has a crush on, they are both working as greeters at the front of the restaurant, he's 14 and she will be 12 next month, I observed her fawning over him the whole day, but he barely noticed her, so maybe I don't have to worry about it. Man, she's growing up.

I've got to start decorating the businesses tomorrow for the anniversary celebration, and prepare for Phoebe's birthday, we will also be celebrating her win, so it's going to be a big party for her. Come on, you guys know the words, so say it with me ... because everybody knows ... what Phoebe wants, Phoebe gets.

[Murfreesboro]

Many congrats to Phoebe for being National Champion in her age group! Just think how few people are ever able to say that at any period of their lives.

Have a great 4th!

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

Thanks Murf! I hope that you and your family enjoy the festivities!

I have a lot to cover so I'm going to divide my posts, I'll be back later to tell you about the tournament.

The trip to Florida ...

As usual, we visited the various attractions, we went to Disney for only one day, and we went to Universal for 4 days this vacation. I swear to you that with Simpsons and Nintendo world, and the Universal Monsters, I enjoy the theme park waaaaay more than my kids do.

But the main reason we were there was because of Millie's birthday, but since her big birthday was last year, not that many family members showed up this year. On the day of her birthday my family decided to play a trick on her and put 101 candles on her cake, but the joke was on them because she actually blew out every single candle.

While I was there I got to have some of the most interesting conversations with Millie that I've ever had. I asked her if I could record the conversations for the next generations of the family and she was more than happy to sit there and tell us everything that she could remember from the last century of her life. In fact, she wouldn't stop talking, and I got about 10 hours of footage over the course of a few days. She told us things about her life and the family that even I didn't know before.

I also asked her about her memories of the Bicentennial 50 years ago, and she had some great stories about the various celebrations that happened. When I pointed out to her that she was a year old when the 150th anniversary occurred, she paused for a moment and said ... I guess I was, but I don't remember anything about it. Then I asked her how she felt about the upcoming 250th anniversary, and assuming that she makes it to the 4th, the possibility that she will have been here for 3 milestones in this country's history. Again, she paused, then said ... Well sh*t! ain't I f*cking lucky? With the way things are going, it looks like I'm still going to be here for the f*cking Tricentennial ... then she started to cackle.

But then she got serious and started talking about the current state of the world, and the horrific things that she's witnessed. She said that in her opinion the evil in the world today has far surpassed that of Sodom and Gomorrah, and she wonders why the good Lord hasn't come back yet to cleanse the world. She said that now, more than any other point in history, is when we need saving. Then she said ... then again, I'm still here, and I told you that I would be here until the end, so I ain't leaving until everybody else does. We were just staring at her silently because we didn't know what to say, she saw that and then said that there is also beauty in the world, and started talking about positive things.

I'm glad that my kids got to talk with her about life, and every time that we are there I tell them to appreciate the time they have with her because we don't know how long she has. She was also enthusiastic about Phoebe's upcoming tournament, and she told her to ... kill em all! Phoebe said ... I will grammy. That's what the younger family members call Millie. Before we left she told me that she is so proud of them, and she loves them so much, and she said that when she goes she will watch over them. I gave her a hug and I told her that we would come back to visit soon.

We will be calling her on the 4th, hopefully she won't be sleeping.

[Murfreesboro]

Oh, my, I really did laugh out loud at what Millie said about the US celebrations! What a treasure that you recorded ten hours of her conversation. Get those tapes duplicated, transcribed, whatever, Pronto!

I think a great many people are feeling apocalyptic vibes right now. I think my younger two kids are almost paralyzed by their intuition that we are living in the end times. They could be right, but it frustrates me that they aren't living their lives to the fullest, IMO. Dark times shouldn't be an excuse not to strive for better.

At any rate, I intend to celebrate this 250th Fourth of July. What a blessing for us and the whole world that our nation has endured for so long! I feel such sincere gratitude and admiration toward that founding generation, and I have to believe that God's providence has been guiding us.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

In a way I understand how your younger kids feel. As I said before, when I was growing up throughout the 90s, and as we approached the year 2000, we were bombarded by people predicting that the end would arrive on that date. I knew people that were convinced that it would happen, so they didn't care to accomplish anything and they just sat around waiting for it. I was somebody that believed that that a big event would occur on that date, but I didn't think that the world would end, and I continued to get up every day and go to work because I had to pay the rent, and I was hopeful that the Earth would still be here when 2000 arrived.

Of course, nothing happened and life went on, then they said the world would end on X date, and then another X date, and when it doesn't happen people will use any excuse they can to explain why they got the date wrong, and why the end is still coming. I learned that there's no point in wasting your time here worrying about when the end will arrive, it will happen when it does, and it will probably be after we're long gone.

The conversations we recorded with Millie are already backed up on the cloud, and I'll be making digital copies for the rest of the family soon. I just hope that they appreciate her stories and the wisdom that comes from her years of experience that she has passed on to them.

Millie called us yesterday on the 3rd to wish Phoebe a happy birthday, the thing is that phoebe's birthday is on the 5th on Sunday, I guess she either didn't remember the date, or read it wrong, I mean, I guess that a 3 can look like a 5. When I told her that it was on Sunday she said ... Well, tell my ninja baby that I said happy birthday because I'm not calling back. Millie doesn't really know anything about martial arts, so she calls Phoebe her ninja baby. Then again, ninjas train specifically to be assassins, so maybe she knows something about Phoebe that the rest of us don't.

The businesses are decorated for the anniversary, and on Fri. we had a increase in customers, so I'm hoping that people will be out celebrating this weekend. The diner is ready for Phoebe's birthday party on Sun. I hope that she enjoys the 50s atmosphere of the party.

It's after midnight here, so I hope that everybody has a great day enjoying the celebrations with your families. Have fun, eat well, and live well. Stay safe and healthy my friends.