Jimmys Opinion

Passing The Torch

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 03:28:00 +0000

When someone makes you a promise do you take it in jest or do you take it seriously? Cindy and I threw out a a promise a few years back that was taken in jest, but proved otherwise while we were in New Mexico.

Do you remember the story I told you back in January of the Evil Twin? If not click The Evil Twin and check it out but be sure to come back and pick up here because I just think you may get a laugh out of this one too.

At the end of The Evil Twin I said “My Buddy did come back to live with Cindy and I, He survived the move to California and is patiently waiting for the right day when he surprises someone else”, with this said My Buddy now has a new home..For now anyway.

Way back then we told the boys that the first one to get married would be the one to get the surviving My Buddy Doll, they both laughed, you know that laugh that says Yeah Right!! This is the laugh that we got.

Now after several years of hiding and protecting My Buddy, the torch has been passed to Tim since he was the first of the kids to wed.

Right after Benjamin’s Birthday party I went to the car and got a gift out of the trunk for Tim, I made a big presentation stating Family Tradition and how something sacred was being passed to Tim to protect and pass down to his first child that married.

Tim seemed to swell with pride, I actually saw pride in his eyes imagining holding onto something so sacred as a Family heirloom to pass down to his children.

When he opened the bag I actually had to hold onto him to keep him from falling out of his chair.

The look of ~~shock~~ pride on his face while I made the actual presentation told me that holding out this long to pass My Buddy along was sure worth it.

Now isn’t he cute with his new Doll.

Now that wasn’t nice was it?

Benjamin’s First

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:38:00 +0000

It seems like about this time last year Benjamin was just born, so once the word got out that there was going to be a party Granny and Papa loaded up in the car for a road trip, we can always use a good excuse for a road trip and what better excuse than our Grandbaby is turning one.

Granny and Papa got there just in time to take charge so to say; well we at least took charge of spoiling Baby Benjamin.

Benjamin is walking really well so we were on our toes more than we figured and he is calling me Papa already, as for Granny he has not used that name as of yet, instead he came up with a name all his own “Mimi” pronounced “Me Me” is what he is calling Cindy so it appears for now the Grandparents formerly known as Granny and Papa are now Papa and Mimi.

Benjamin’s party went really well and he was a lot of help getting things ready for the crowd that would fill Tim and Elisa’s home for the big Birthday Bash.

There were balloons to be filled, yes we told the kids of the balloon dangers with little ones but I thought this was a cool picture, Benjamin did laugh a lot while Mimi gathered the balloons for Papa and I had to properly and safely dispose of them.

There was a lot of paper to be crumpled

Presents to be opened

Cake to share with Dad

And even cake for Momma

New toys for outside, (I think Tim has a future lawn mowing chore in store for someone)

And others for inside

But at the end of the day while Momma and Mimi cleaned up the mess that is always left after a Birthday blowout, Papa’s lap is where Baby Benjamin fell sound asleep.

Mimi and Papa were not too far behind him either.

Ninety For Thirty

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 03:24:00 +0000

Made it home a few days ago but finding time to write is almost as hard as it was to type while we were away, by the time evening came around we were so tired that getting on the computer was out of the question, and while I had a bit of quiet time on the road typing and driving was something I did not dare attempt.

The trip in our new car went really well, the gas mileage was impressive, we actually went over five hundred miles on a tank and averaged about thirty two and an half MPG, got nearly thirty five once so I am happy with that, the gas prices on the way home I had to laugh at, we stopped in Arizona and filled up for 3.39 a gallon then drove nine miles into California to see the price jump up to 4.39 when we got into Needles, another forty something miles into Amboy and we saw 4.89, I’m sure proud our car will go five hundred on a tank because we are now home with still a half a tank of the 3.39 stuff and our price here looks pretty good at 3.79.

On our way out to see the kids, well to tell you the truth we were going to see the Grandbaby, the kids are just part of the deal being as he lives with them and we had to have a place to stay, so we will go with, we were going to see the kids so they wont get their feelings hurt, and make us stay somewhere else next time.

Like I was saying on our way to see the kids we filled up in Flagstaff, AZ and drove all the way to Moriarty, NM where we stopped for the night, the Best Western there was awesome so if you are ever in Moriarty I would suggest them as the place to stay, next morning I complimented the man at the desk and told him that we would see him again when he asked how our stay was.

We hit I-40 and saw that Santa Rosa, NM would be our next stop, about eighty miles away we would fill up, since the car said we had about one hundred forty four miles before we hit empty this should be a piece of cake..Right? Well thirty miles down the road Cindy asks me “Jimmy did you get my cell phone charger off the table?” to which she already knew the answer.

After a call back to the motel and making a turn around for thirty miles to pick up said cell phone charger, I told Cindy to tell the desk clerk that I knew we had promised we would see him again but, I really didn’t think it would be this soon, she just kind of rolled her eyes and said I could stay in the car, I don’t think she passed my message along either. We then drove thirty miles back to where we already were and saw the sign which read fifty miles to Santa Rosa and the car said fifty-four miles to empty, piece of cake..Right?

At fifty miles to empty the car starts doing a count down, fifty miles to empty, forty nine miles to empty, forty eight miles to empty, this is where we saw the sign which read forty four miles to Santa Rosa, pulling into the Loves Truck Stop the car was screaming curse words and telling me things like, you only have four miles to go, you should have stopped and bought the expensive gas you passed up, you should have never pushed me this far, we will never make it. When I placed the nozzle into the tank with five hundred two and a half miles on the last tank of gas and four miles until empty per the computer that figures this stuff out, I swear I heard that car say, “Hey Jimmy this was a piece of cake..Right?”

Our trip was really great and I will fill you in on more of it in the next few days, in the meantime just remember that when you drive thirty miles and forget something, going back to get it gives you ninety miles for thirty traveled and with averages like this you can actually drive five hundred two miles in a four hundred forty mile stretch, I wouldn’t suggest that you try this at home but with a car that gets good mileage, it is always a piece of cake..Right?

Computer Age Gardening

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:42:00 +0000

We have been working on getting our garden growing and have gotten pretty successful if I say so myself, I moved my pepper patch this year to give Cindy more room in the garden for what she calls “actual vegetables”.

Next to the driveway in full sunlight I planted six jalapeno pepper plants, two hot banana peppers, and two chili pepper plants of an unnamed nature (actually I lost the tag and forgot what I bought) that are loaded down with more chilies than I ever could imagine, the first one set me on fire so I have a plan to pick a whole bag full and sneak them in on Tim. Five bell pepper plants got relocated back to Cindy’s garden since they are really not “actual peppers” and shouldn’t belong in a pepper patch.

Crookneck and white patty pan squash we have already begun feasting on, I say slicing them lengthwise and marinating them in Italian dressing then cooking them on the grill is the best, give it a try if you haven’t done so already, works well for zucchini also.

Corn will be coming on before too long, as the plants are already about as tall as I am and tasseling out, we had a few cucumbers and are seeing at least four cantaloupes already, an egg plant blooming back in the corner showing promise of good things to come.

Tomatoes we are going to be overloaded with it appears, I have been working so hard, tying up limbs and pulling up weeds, pruning and staking vines, hoeing and digging dirt, I told Cindy that I was a “Good Hoer” which got me a non amused look and a “Yeah right. You are sick” as she walked away.

What else we have that is threatening my tomato crop is “Critters”, I have already lost about ten tomatoes and my second red one was partially eaten, looks like birds have been pecking my crops as the marks appear to be peck marks, although the half eaten one has me wondering, so I had to investigate.

Getting online and searching for the terms that took me everywhere but to sites about "birds pecking tomatoes", still not sure where "bird peckers" came in nor how they got one that close to a magnifying glass but that is entirely a post for another site.

The computer age told me something I already knew, I have seen aluminum pie tins and little mirrors hanging in gardens to deter birds in the past, I am sure we have a bunch of computer savvy birds now days so I did something that should remedy my bird problem and scare the majority away, you know all those old AOL discs you never knew what to do with:

You think this will help.

Outstanding In Your Field

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 11:15:00 +0000

How good are you at your profession? A lot of people are masters at anything they do, kind of like our Daughter Melissa, anything she attempts she masters 100%, multitasking she makes look easy while single tasking I seem to struggle with, I suppose she must take after her Mom.

Jack of all trades, Master of none is the category I fall into, although anything I attempt I like to do as close to perfect as I can, Outstanding in my field is the category I’d really like to fall into.

As a Construction worker I was a quick learner and soon was able to do my job without supervision, I never ran a crew or owned my own company so I suppose I was good enough, even though not outstanding, as a telephone repairman I was good, I found and fixed outages a lot of repairmen missed, but I never got to drive the truck, not outstanding I suppose, and speaking of trucks I actually drove a Coke truck for a while not outstanding but I did find a lot of shortcuts that a big truck would fit into, I also found that you can’t turn on a dime at 70 mph without spilling some Coke.

As a meter repairman and Serviceman for the water company I’d say that I was as close to perfect as you can get, I had my own shop and trained a lot of men to read meters, I learned all aspects of the business and was one test away from having the highest certification offered, I had to retire due to my health and never got to take that last test, not outstanding once again.

Of all my jobs I can’t recall any I would say I failed at, even though retirement is still one I am trying to master, I filled enough positions to be mistaken for one of the Village People and even though I was never outstanding at any I am pretty content now, I guess I can be considered outstanding after all, because on most days when Cindy is looking for me to do something that’s exactly where she finds me, right in the category I always wished for, yes I’ll admit she sometimes finds me:

Out Standing In The Field

Road Tripping

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:41:00 +0000

Getting out of town for a short road trip, can you believe that little Mr. Benjamin is going to turn one on the first, needless to say Granny Cindy and I are going to be there to help him smear the birthday cake.

I have a couple posts lined up for you in a few days and will be checking in to see what is happening as I can, so if my typing seems a bit messed up that is because it is hard to type while Cindy is driving, and even harder while I am driving so bear with me just in case you find some cake on your monitor.

Rolling down the highway and leaving Miss Dixie and Cindy’s Dad to handle the farm while we are away, I have a feeling that everything will be just fine and most likely the flowers will get a bit more water than usual, and we will find everything will still be as green as things are allowed in Socal this time of year while we are away.

Wish the Grandbaby a happy first on the first and I will share some pictures and adventures with you as soon as I get them taken, typed, and downloaded.

Talk to you all in a few…

Retaliation Or Forgiveness

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 10:14:00 +0000

Retaliation or forgiveness, which is the best way to handle life’s struggles? In a perfect world we would always be able to forgive, so why can’t we have a perfect world.

Sad to say our society thrives on retaliation, if we are wronged we have to give paybacks, if someone cuts you off on the highway what is the first thing you do:

1. Give them the finger

2. Chase them down and cut them off

3. Give them the finger and cut them off

4. Say to yourself Bless their heart they must be in a hurry, or better yet ignore the situation and forgive that person for their rudeness.

Most of us would go for the first three and very few would ignore it and offer forgiveness, but how much better would this old world be if we could go for number four every once in a while.

Serious wrongs are harder to forgive, say a family who has lost a child at the hands of a stranger, a loved one murdered never to be seen again, can you forgive the person who took your loved ones life? Or do you make plans to retaliate against this person? most of us would say something like I’d kill the bastard, but if you were really in that situation could you actually lower yourself to their level and could you actually forgive?

Serious wrongs like this I have seen people actually offer forgiveness to the offender, and I have also been guilty of holding a grudge but doing this only harms you, planning revenge in your head doesn’t fix anything and acting out in a negative manner will only get you in more trouble than you need.

I know it is not easy but we have to offer forgiveness if only for ourselves and our well being, I’m not saying to let this person off the hook but to leave it in Gods hands and the authorities, retaliating only continues the cycle and will keep you feeling miserable for the rest of your life.

If you can only let it go so to say, whether you actually offer forgiveness or not you have to make peace within your heart and not dwell on what you think should happen, make peace with yourself and give it to God because doing otherwise will only make things worse.

Try to forgive those who have wronged you, most of the wrongs we remember and harp on for years really don’t matter:

He loosened the nuts on my bicycle tire and the wheel fell off while I was showing off to my friends, I like to killed myself, I was so embarrassed, I’ll always hate him for that, and just wait till I get a chance to pay him back someday (actually a true story)

Did I ever pay him back..nope, am I harping on it..Nope, well maybe, no not really but my point is, are things like this worth worrying about, things that can’t be changed we have to let go and offer forgiveness, if only in our heart.

Retaliation is dragging our society down, forgiveness for things large and small will go a long way in making our lives a bit easier. Try to forgive just one person today for something small and see how much better you feel, we can add more as the days go, just think in a years time maybe we can smile and wave with more than one finger when that next car cuts us off, “Bless their heart”

Happy Anniversary Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 19:21:00 +0000

The Bakers Daughter

Born in Holland He departed the Netherlands May 23rd 1903 on the ship SS Noordam arriving at the port in New York, New York on June 1st 1903, he made a home in Kalamazoo Michigan and returned to The Netherlands in 1906 to purchase a ticket to America for his bridesmaid.

She left Groningen, Netherlands from the port in Rotterdam on April 6th 1907 with the ticket to Michigan paid for by him on the ship Niew Amsterdam she arrived at the port in New York where he was waiting for her. They married and lived in Comstock, Michigan working as Celery Farmers, after his death she returned to the Netherlands for a visit with their three children returning back to the USA June 25th 1928.

While there the youngest son learned the trade of baker and in 1945 he moved to California bringing his wife and the first three of four children born to this family, the last son being born in California. Yucaipa, California was the home of the bakery he started and for thirteen years the family proudly ran this successful bakery.

His oldest son worked along side his Dad in the family bakery, learning the trade mastered in Holland from his Dad the son of a proud Dutch immigrant. In 1960 this Son married the love of his life and from this union a Daughter was born, this Daughter the Great Grand Daughter of the man who bought a ticket to America for the Woman he loved and crossed the ocean to live the American Dream is the Girl who said yes when I asked her to marry me.

I shared this story with you over a year ago believe it or not, I thought of it when I woke up this morning and remembered that fourteen years ago on Sunday is the day we said I do, the town we lived in at the time is like a lot of small towns, rumors fly and naysayers lie in wait for their predictions to come true, the rumor on our union was that it wouldn’t last six months.

One hundred and sixty two months past the six-month period I wonder if the naysayers have realized that they were wrong, I have a feeling no one outside of Cindy and I won the bet; the only thing I have to say about this is;

Happy Anniversary Baby

What’s Your Name?

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:57:00 +0000

What’s in your name? What I am asking is do you know where your name came from and do you like it? I hear a lot of people speak of how they hate their name while other folks absolutely love theirs, but where did those names come into play?

Back in the day people named their children after their ancestors, a male child is born so he is given his paternal Grandfathers name, next male is named after the maternal Grandfather, the first daughter is given the paternal Grandmothers name, and so on and so on until they ran out of Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles to name the kids after, now this is not an exact science but it is a pattern I have noticed while researching my family.

Jimmy is a nickname for James, I was given the same name as my Father, his Grandfather was also named James so it appears we are somewhat on track in my family research so far, I have twenty men with the name of James who carry my last name in the family so far, and I still haven’t gotten all the kids filled in for some as of yet, so needless to say there are a lot of James out there with my last name, good thing I go by Jimmy…Right?

What about the people striving for different names, like the ones who exchange letters substituting an I for a Y or even an IE, an E for an A, swapping gender names like Johnny Cash’s “Boy Named Sue” or even something silly like K8 instead of Kate, naming kids after colors, animals, trees, planets, comic strips, sports figures or songs, what I am saying is there are a lot of options for names and whatever name you were given hopefully your parents put a lot of thought into it so you will be proud of it, and even if they didn’t, it is still your name to be proud of.

Your name defines who you are, what you make of your name and how you handle yourself in life is what people remember when they hear your name, so for all you K8’s and Jimmies, Fuchsia’s and Hyacinth’s, Kal-El’s and Kareem’s be proud of your name and do your best to show everyone that it is a good name.

Ask questions and find out where your name came from if you don’t already know, it’s a good feeling sometimes to see the family history in your name, and other times you can get a smile when you see how your name just may have been the first word that popped into your Moms head.

I told you how my Dad was named James, the same name as his paternal Grandfather, well it didn’t actually work that way because they thought his name was George so rather than being called George my Dad was named after his Moms Brother who was a James, and my Brother being given my Mom’s Fathers name for a middle name, his first name came from the #3 Billboard song of 1961 “Norman”, wonder what song was playing in the delivery room, and sad to say we just found out that his middle name was not actually Papa’s name, I guess Momma should have looked at a Crayola box.

Stepping On Toes

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 02:45:00 +0000

The blog you are reading is true,

No names have been changed, as I have written no names,

No animals were harmed, because no animals were used,

Toes most likely will be stepped on, and in that event remember,

Some things are your own fault, and I won’t be held responsible.

What is an opinion? In my mind an opinion is exactly that, it is what you think about something, not necessarily something you are trying to make others think, but a feeling that is yours, whether an opinion on politics or what is happening in the world, an observation on how well you remember something that happened in your very own past, or even what you thought should have happened when it all happened all at once, this thought is yours and yours alone..Right?

I myself have an opinion for a lot of things, as you already know, and I’ll be the first to point out that my mind is not always sharp as a tack but my memories are how I remember them and as we have talked in the past, you can have five different people experience a day together and at the end of the day there will be five different versions of what happened on that day.

I hate to be told that my memory of something that happened in the past is wrong simply because the accuser remembers it different, you don’t see me stepping into your head and mixing up your past memories, so please don’t stir up my thoughts any worse than they are already stirred.

Because I have a vent about something that hurt me way back when, doesn’t mean I am lashing out at you, if I pointed my finger into your direction and spouted my feelings then that finger pointing was meant for you, but if your name wasn’t mentioned then why in Gods name are you taking my opinions so personal and thinking that you have a right to get yourself all hurt over what I say.

And speaking of personal, this is a personal blog so I will talk about things that happen in my life, I will be making some minor changes that most will not notice in my writing, but if you got yourself all hurt over something that I may have said then you will be the one to notice the difference, so there you go..Nothing Personal OK.

Coming into the home I live is stepping on my turf so to say, so if something happens on my turf it is my Business whether you think it is or not, so just remember this when you step there because if I see something out of line I will be pointing it out, and if you get upset about this I am sorry but that is just how it is going to be.

My time is important to me, and my time with family and friends is a blessing, I love to read and to write my feelings, I am trying my best to get back into the swing of things, bear with me my friends who have stood by my side and for those few who feel like I just stepped on your toes, you are most likely right.

Happy Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:36:00 +0000

Happy Birthday my love of my life hope you have a wonderful day love you with all my heart

Pen In My Pocket

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:11:00 +0000

They say the pen is mightier than the sword, and words are taken differently than you actually intended at times, with that said here is where I stand:

I removed my last post due to this very reason, I never write anything with the intention of offending or hurting anyone’s feelings, I never write to give the impression that I know anything for a fact, I simply write my opinions and how I see life, I have shared my life experiences with all of you and hopefully have not offended more people than I realize.

I apologize for the feeling of hurt caused by any of my posts; I won’t mention any names or organizations in particular to keep from adding to that hurt, I just want to offer my apology and let you know I now see how to properly write a post if I so choose in the future.

With that said I am now clicking my pen into the closed position and putting it safely away in my pocket so to say.

Actions Speak Loudly

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Mon, 30 May 2011 03:35:00 +0000

Why is it that some people just seem to have a hard time controlling themselves, especially when it comes to family and situations they have no control over?

A death in the family is hard enough to deal with without losing control over your emotions, I’m not talking about the grieving part where you lose tears and cry uncontrollably, or the part where you draw deep within yourself and just sit and stare because you can find no words, nor am I speaking of the feeling of hopelessness you have while pacing the floor feeling like you should be doing something when there is nothing left to do, all of this is natural and these feelings will be there for a long time, these emotions are natural and totally expected.

What about a family member that comes out of the woodwork so to say, thinking they should step in and tell you how things should be run, even when they have not been around enough to know how your household operates, or the one who has not stepped foot on your porch in the last twenty years but now feels it is their obligation to let you know how bad they think you have taken care of your family member who is now gone, questions and comments from those who all of a sudden want to drop by and “See how you are doing” when all along you know they are only there to see what can be had.

When someone draws their last breath they should feel comfortable knowing that all is going to be good with the family they leave behind, if you are one of those who are grieving over the loss of a loved one, and just don’t really know what to do with your emotions right now I say God Bless You because this too will pass, life will go on for you just fine and your life will be blessed for keeping your loved ones memory alive.

If you are one of those who are stepping in making accusations and looking over the house to claim what you think is rightfully yours before that loved one is even cold, if you are one who thinks it proper to point fingers and disrespect those who are grieving, and if you think it is now time to make amends after a death, when they could have been made long ago.

I feel sorry for those who can’t control their greed, jealousy, and anger long enough to mourn a loss in the family, for those who take this road all I can say is Shame On You for you actions, because if you continue to live this way, you will not be happy with where you end up when you draw your last breath.

Monkeys And Duck Feathers- Repost

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Sun, 22 May 2011 03:59:00 +0000

I shared this one with you all a while back but thought it would be worth sharing again :^)

While we were still living in New Mexico Babysitting was one of the many tasks Cindy took on everyday, one of the children she watched was a little girl named Emily, we were actually at the hospital when she was born as her parents were good friends of ours and Cindy started watching Emmy when she was three weeks old, funny how much like Cindy Emmy turned out to be and how many people in our town actually thought she was our child, the things we went through with this child I think we actually thought she was ours also.

Once when Cindy's parents were in town visiting us from California, we decided to show them around the area a bit, they had never been to Ft.Sumner, NM to see Billy the Kids grave and Museum. So we decided to spend a day with them in Ft. Sumner. Emily was all excited about making a trip with Nanu and Papa (Nanu is what all the kids call Cindy’s Mom) somewhere during the ride Emily started talking about going to see the Monkeys, Cindy's Mom was enjoying the excitement coming from Emmy as she told stories to her and all the while listening to Emmy talk about the Monkeys (that only she saw evidently). It was a fun trip listening to this wide-eyed little girl telling Nanu about all the Monkeys, and Nanu pretending to see them and carrying on a long conversation while we drove down the road.

We pull in to Ft. Sumner and stop at the Museum first, We make our donation and spend a long time going through every exhibit, and making the necessary stop at the gift shop, before going out back to the graveyard where Billy the Kid is buried. This is an old time cemetery with wooden crosses, faded marble headstones, and a lot of graves with no markers at all. On the backside in the middle is Billy the Kids grave, here he is buried between two of his companions Tom O’Folliard and Charlie Bowdre. This grave is completely covered with Iron bars to prevent vandalism and or theft (The headstone has been stolen a couple of times but that’s another story).

We walk up to view these graves inside what looks like a big cage, And the drama begins, Nanu is carrying little wide eyed Emily and they are looking at the graves, When all of a sudden she throws her little head back, places her hand over her heart, and at the top of her lungs yells "Oh My God!! The Monkeys Are Gone!!!" Cindy’s Mom nearly dropped Emmy right there. I was laughing, Emmy was still yelling "Look The Monkeys Are Gone!!” Cindy is trying to help her Mom hold on to Emmy, and the whole crowd is looking at Emmy trying to figure out what is going on. We take Emily back to the car to make our exit while she is yelling at everyone as we pass, The Monkeys Are Gone The Monkeys Are Gone!!!

Needless to say we had to plan a trip to the Zoo the first stop was at the Monkey cage, Emily was satisfied with the fact that the Monkeys had returned, and we went on through till we ran into the Duck, Emily was about 3 yrs old at this time, and being the shy kid she is (ha ha), Was afraid of getting close to the cages to look at the animals, I was calmly trying to get her to take a closer look, and not having much luck.

Next thing I know I turn to see Emily standing face to face with a duck in the middle of the path, The duck opens his bill and makes a noise I can’t describe, Emily takes a step backwards wipes the front of her shirt, then leans forward and proceeds to give a PHHHBBBBTTT!! Right into the ducks face. I yelled for Emily, She yells "He spit on me!!” and the chase was on! OK picture this, Duck running up the path, followed closely by Emily, who is followed closely by Cindy, I couldn’t help much due to laughing so hard, Seems as if everyone else at the Zoo were standing with one hand over their mouth and pointing with the other.

The duck did win the race, Thanks to Cindy being able to catch Emily just before she got a grip on the tail feathers. The story from Emily after that was how this duck had spit on her new shirt. I'm glad we went that day, We had a really good time, laughed a lot, and Emily is not afraid of the animals now, The biggest thing I am glad of is. We are still welcome at the Zoo!

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Fri, 20 May 2011 18:24:00 +0000

Aug 4 1932 - May 19 2011

We are Family

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Tue, 17 May 2011 16:10:00 +0000

Staring into the face of uncertainty, not knowing what the next step is, wondering what that touch on your arm is going to bring, wishing you could open your eyes to look into the faces of the voices leaning over speaking to you.

Watching someone lay and fight for the breath that will keep them alive, wondering what you can do to help them is almost a helpless feeling as the one fighting to regain what they once had.

Hospice nurses in and out of the house, handing out suggestions and providing everything they can to help make the process move along with as much comfort as possible, no comfort ever comes for the loved ones nor the patient in my opinion, regardless of all the fantastic people who are reaching out attempting to help.

Now is the time to come together and be there for one another no matter what comes, a helping hand in doing things from moving furniture to just listening is what a loving family does without question, why do we do things like this without question? Because as Cindy’s Brother told me “We are Family”

Collecting Dead Relatives

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Sun, 15 May 2011 00:59:00 +0000

I saw a bumper sticker a few days ago that said “I Collect Dead Relatives” not that this person actually had a stack of dead relatives laying around his house, maybe a few live cousins and a stack of research that ties his family tree together, I’m thinking.

As most of you know I spend quite a bit of time working on genealogy, and by doing so I feel like I personally know a lot of people who were long gone way before I was ever born. Some I have imagined their mannerisms and way of doing things while researching documents that verify who they are, I can see these family members faces and feel the sadness of their passing while reading the death certificates that sometimes tells you a story you never knew, or leaves you wondering what actually happened to them, when the cause of death is unexplained, funny thing is when I look back at the dates and realize that they were buried sometimes a hundred years ago.

Somebody once told me that in one hundred years it won’t really matter, this may be true for some things like how you do something in particular today, or if you skip taking out the trash right now, but in a hundred years will what you do today make a difference, will how you look or walk be something anyone remembers, in a hundred years will it really matter? I think so.

I found a picture some time back of a Great Grandmother, she was born in 1882 and died a decade before I was born, my Dad has told me stories about her and things he remembers about her, I feel almost like I have sat down to supper with her and laughed at the antics of the close family times shared in this home through his stories.

While sitting and looking at her picture I could see my Grand Dads face so I pulled out a picture of him, next I pulled a picture of my son and in all three pictures you could see the same facial features and profile. My son was born one hundred and six years after her and even though he would never know her, he is carrying her looks and most likely mannerisms with him today, so one hundred years later her influence matters.

Research your family tree and see what you can find, it is very addicting to collect dead relatives and it is a lot of fun, share your remembrances of your Grandparents with your children and the upcoming generations, laugh at how your brother looks and walks exactly like your Mom’s Dad, and share the tales you heard as a child yourself, these stories just may be the thing that brings a smile to someone’s face a hundred years from now when folks are remembering you.

Collecting dead relatives is a lot of fun, but remembering these people through stories passed down through the generations is a blessing that makes life matter way past a hundred years.

Mini Van Momma

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Tue, 10 May 2011 03:28:00 +0000

Wow it’s been like a month and I lost only one follower, that’s pretty good in my opinion, not that losing a follower is good, I’m just impressed that I didn’t lose more.

They say life goes on with or without you, and life is going along pretty good for us, a lot has changed over the last month and a lot has stayed the same, Cindy’s Mom is in the hospital right now and hopefully she will be back home in a few days Lord willing, I appreciate all of the prayers and kind words you all have given us.

Cindy is not a Mini Van Momma any more but Elisa now is, we actually went out and bought us a new Ford Fusion or should I say, I went out and bought Cindy a new Ford Fusion.

My favorite Daughter in law Elisa once told me that she would never be caught driving a mini van, but you know how it goes you should never say never and since she said never, Tim bought our mini van from us and now Elisa is a Mini Van Momma.

And speaking of Tim he has dipped into the blogging world and started himself a blog, titled using his own name Tim Bagwell, I just had to throw a little shout out for him, he asked for my input and I did give him a few of my opinions, I also told him I would ask my followers to drop by and give him your opinions and suggestions too, so stop by Tim’s Blog and lets get him off the ground, ask him to tell a little about Benjamin in some of his upcoming posts.

I do appreciate all of you who have stuck by me and I look forward to getting back in the saddle myself.

Slipping Away

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:28:00 +0000

What do you write about when you feel there is nothing to say, what do you say when there are no thoughts, and what do you think about when the words in your head are nothing more than the words you have already written.

Dealing with life takes us down many roads, some seem simple but yet the task at hand completely wears you out leaving you with few words, the road that looks hard is quite a bit easier than you have imagined, simply due to the fact that we always make the tasks at hand harder in our minds than they actually are.

Three against one so to say sounds easy, but when those three are helping that one deal with a condition to which there is no return the words are few again, as I have mentioned in the past Alzheimer’s and Dementia are cruel conditions, it is so hard to watch someone’s memories circle the drain and disappear, grabbing those memories is the same as trying to grab that water from the drain with your bare hand and stuff it back into the faucet.

My posts and visits have been few; and I apologize for fading into the background, I will do my best to post something once a week, Sunday sounds like a good day so that is what I am going to shoot for.

Thank you to all of my friends here who leave kind words for Cindy and I, Pray a special prayer for those dealing with Alzheimer’s and Dementia, a cure would be nice but until then I would just like to see those suffering with it be able to have a bit of peace in spite of the fact that everything they have ever known is slowly slipping away.

The Perspective Of A Lemon

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 01:19:00 +0000

When life gives you lemons just exactly what is it that you have, you know the old saying about making lemonade, but that is just a saying…, whether you have lemonade or a bunch of lemons is entirely up to you.

The first thing you need to make those lemons into lemonade is someone who will squeeze the lemons, and if your life is like mine it just goes to say that if you want something done right you have to do it yourself, so guess who will be squeezing the lemons.

And of course you need something to squeeze the juice into, having gathered a gallon jar, pitcher, container or whatever you have that will hold lemonade, you can squeeze the heck out of those lemons, roll them, pound them, slice them, dice them or whatever it takes to make you feel better and produce lemon juice, just do it and add the juice to your container, is this all it takes to make lemonade you ask, well if you think so then just take a sip and you will see life is still not that easy when you get in a hurry, and lemonade at this point in the game is not tasty, yes everything is sour when you overreact and get the cart ahead of the horse.

A little juice goes a long way so we have to add a bit of volume, thin it out so it wont taste so bad, kind of like you do with your problems, they don’t sound as bad when you have someone to help you with them, if only just to listen and share the load, OK back to the lemonade, lets add a gallon of ice cold water, this should thin the taste down to where it’s tolerable..Right?

Looking good and the amount is about right now, but we are still missing something, because the taste is still not there, you actually need to throw in something Hot and Sweet to make it all come together, hot to balance out the cold and sweet to balance the sour you ask, well this sounds good but that’s not exactly the reason, lets say you used about two cups of lemon juice, then this would be the amount of sugar to sweeten the recipe, now for the hot you need something to melt the sugar, so let’s add enough hot water to melt it all down before you pour it into your mixture, and after adding the hot don’t you think adding some ice would help us out, so throw in a hand full of ice.

Sounds pretty good don’t it? So stir it all up and pour yourself a glass, will it be OK to do it in this order, I’m not sure, but like everything else in life there is a proper order to do things, so we don’t overflow our pitcher lets get everything into perspective, don’t get everything backwards and add things before you have all your information together, jumping the gun in life is like doing this lemonade recipe backwards, your pitcher will definitely overflow and you will have a sticky mess with ice floating in it on the counter.

Melt the sugar in hot water first and pour it in your container, next add your freshly squeezed lemon juice and even throw in those lemon slices or lemon halves just to make it look pretty, add some ice if you want and after you do all of these things, you can now add that cold water to top off the pitcher, now you have taken those lemons life gave you and made lemonade, it may not have solved any problems but now that you have beaten the pulp out of those lemons and stirred everything until it is mixed well you should feel better, and look at the recipe you have for a sweet beverage that will come in handy when and if it ever gets hot outside.

Making lemonade is not that hard and neither is life, they are both only as difficult as you allow them to be, now if I can only find where I left those lemons…

It Had To Be Said

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 23:53:00 +0000

Have you ever made the mistake of saying something and realizing it’s the wrong thing just when it’s too late to stop, do you admit your mistake or just roll with the flow hoping to save face, I think the most of us do all we can to save face knowing full and well that it is not working.

One familiar scene that a lot of us have seen is the pregnant woman, or was she actually pregnant? Walking down the hall of the hospital I saw a man with his young son, the child pointed and said to his Dad, Look Dad that lady is going to have a baby, the Dad smiled and explained to his son that he was right and went on to explain pregnancy to him, then to add to the story he asked, When is your baby due, the reply was “My son was born yesterday” that’s him there, pointing into the nursery window.

Now how do you recover from this one, do you apologize and keep walking or do you explain to your son why she still looks pregnant? I don’t think there is an answer for this one, probably best to just keep walking.

Things my Dad says, this one I could write a whole book on as I have seen him slip out with a few comments that just couldn’t be taken back in time, like the time he argued with a clerk at the grocery store for charging him tax on his purchase, this was in Texas and the clerk explained that no tax was charged on food items, and since he was buying beer it was a taxable item, rather than thanking her for explaining he went on to argue that beer could be considered food, I think I got there and moved him along just before security arrived, yes he paid tax on his purchase and since he tried to cover his actions by offering to take her out to dinner, I had to start buying my groceries at another store.

At a convenience store in South Carolina he and I went in to get a cup of coffee, I picked up a few things and paid for our stuff, Dad went to the counter and was told that his coffee was paid for, he smiled and said Thank You Sir, the clerk told him I am not a sir please don’t call me that, Dad sat his coffee down and asked the clerk to repeat what was said and then went on to explain that he was raised to say Yes Sir, No Sir, Yes Mam and No Mam and that he would not apologize for doing so.

The clerk said “This is all well and good but I am not a sir” Dad started getting a little agitated so I apologized to the clerk and said Sorry Mam, you have a good day and I’ll see you tomorrow, she smiled and as we went out the door Dad looked at me and said “I can’t believe you called him Mam” I told him I can’t believe you called her Sir, he said that he was in the store every day and knew these people so he knew it was a man, I told him I am a visitor here and my first time in the store I noticed her name tag said Brenda.

He had to go back in just to check, and the sad thing is I think he still called her sir.

Sometimes you just have to pay attention to the little things, noticing a name tag and calling a person by their name shows you care, holding a door for someone, thanking them for explaining or just choosing not to argue a point when you are clearly wrong will help you look better than trying to get a date with someone that is charging you tax on beer, looking into the nursery window and asking “Which one is yours” rather than “When are you due” when a woman is in a hospital gown dragging an IV with her, because this could be a sign that she is not pregnant anymore, and sometimes the biggest thing you can do to keep the peace is to place your hand over my Dad’s mouth when you are out in public with him, Lord knows I try.

Sorry Dad but it had to be said.

Tiger Blood Or True Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 04:05:00 +0000

What ever happened to being responsible for your own actions? Growing up I was always taught if I did something wrong then doing the right thing was up to me and no one else, so why are we expected to find someone else to blame when something goes wrong now? Is this what we are supposed to be teaching our kids?

Without mentioning any names because Lord knows some folks are getting more recognition than they deserve, I’ll just say that it’s a crying shame that some people think they are allowed to do anything they want, treat others in a degrading fashion, and drink or drug themselves right into the ground and we are supposed to applaud their cuteness, and allow them to blame everyone but themselves for their shortcomings.

If I were to hang out all night long and drink myself into a drunken stupor, bring home a couple of women to fight over me, and treat my co workers like lower class citizens, just how long would it be before I lost my job, and how quickly do you think it would be that my wife would be kicking my rear and pulling out a couple of goddesses hair.

I don’t think I would be able to put out video after video ranting and raving like a drunken idiot, not because I would not be allowed, simply because I would be ashamed of my actions, and whose fault would it be, and who should I blame it on?

So with this said I think next time you see some un named idiot ranting and raving about his self inflicted pain, turn the channel and if he ever lands another gig I think it just may be one I refuse to watch.

Lord knows Rehab should be is this persons future, and accepting responsibility for your own actions should be demanded, because until you do so all of these people who you are supposedly looking down on and calling names will never stand behind you, I don’t care how much Adonis DNA or tiger blood you think you have, this attitude will never bring you any true friends, money may buy you so called goddesses and followers but they will drop you like a hot potato as soon as the funds run out, then you will wish you had treated your true friends better.

Just My Opinion

Remember Me With A Smile

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 03:23:00 +0000

Looking back I see mistakes made over a lifetime, I see lessons learned from those mistakes and I also see the faces of those I wish were still here, looking ahead I see possibilities and promises of good things to come, what will happen I don’t know, but I can see the faces of those yet to be born and join our family.

Looking back there are things I should have done differently but now it’s too late to change those things, looking ahead I know which things will definitely not work now, because if it didn’t work then why should it now, I can’t dwell on things that do not matter.

Looking back I see the memories of good times I have had, fun places we have been, and peaceful times shared together, looking forward I see memories yet to be made, fun places we plan to visit, and peaceful times just sitting and enjoying the beautiful life God has given us no matter where that place will be.

Look back and remember where you have been and where you came from, look forward and plan for things that will come your way, opportunities to help you grow and directions to go in preparation of fulfilling your life’s dreams, but live for today because what you have right now is important and will be lost if you look backward or forward too far.

Life is not always easy, we think that we have to look in so many directions to make it work, if we look backwards all of the time we will trip over what is in front of us, and if we look ahead too far the same thing happens because we trip over what we have right now.

Looking ahead and behind is not a bad thing, but remember to look right in front of your own face, because those things and loved ones you are blessed with right now, will be no more than a memory before you realize, if you fail to enjoy them now.

Time marches on and things change whether we see it or not, kids grow up and move on, friends move away, grandbabies are born, friends and loved ones grow old and pass, there is nothing we can do to change these facts of life because this is how it works, all you can do is try to enjoy and love everyone around you while they are here.

Treat everyone with respect and make the kids laugh when they are around, look for the positive in every situation because you never know when a positive outlook just may be needed, and for God’s sake be nice rather than hateful because you never know when it will be the last time you look into that persons eyes, and myself I would rather be remembered with a smile than otherwise.

Too Stupid To Fall For It

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 04:53:00 +0000

Melissa and Kevin came up to visit this weekend and while sitting around enjoying stories about her youth we got the familiar “How many times are you going to tell this story” statement from her, so with this said let’s talk about Melissa.

There were always pranks and challenges going on in our house, I told you about some of them in Who Is The Woman Now, but this post was just the tip of the iceberg so to say.

Melissa was interested in psychology and forensics, I had told you before that she did a lot of studying on serial killers in hopes to add to her career interest in forensic psychology, so with her vast knowledge of forensics and such she came to us with a test one day, a challenge I suppose you could say, she began by telling us that if she were ever kidnapped that she could escape with no problem, she and a girlfriend had been practicing and had it all figured out, she asked for me to take my best shot at taping her up and she would escape before we knew it.

I went to the garage and got myself a roll of duct tape, I taped her hands behind her back, sat her on the floor and taped her ankles together, to top it off and to slow down the instructions of how I was doing it wrong I just had to place one more strip of tape across her mouth, she nodded that all was well when I asked, so Cindy and I went out to the porch to enjoy the peace and quiet that was suddenly in our home, a few minutes later we opened the door to see her struggling to get free, Cindy asked if she was OK, she nodded and we went back outside, a few minutes later we went back in, Melissa is looking really frustrated now so I offered to remove the tape, she shook her head no, she was not ready to give up.

Half an hour later she is still fighting and refusing for us to set her free, I’m getting a bit worried now and offer to take the tape off, she still refused, forty five minutes later her answer to “Have you had enough” was the shake of her head saying that she had not, after an hour we really made her mad by setting her free, she assured us that she would have been able to escape had we not removed the tape, her record was less than ten minutes when they had practiced before, I had to ask what kind of tape they used and she said that they always used Masking Tape, I smiled when I told her that I had forgotten that Masking tape was the common tape used by kidnappers.

One evening we made the mistake of leaving Melissa home alone while we went to a friends house, part way through the evening Melissa called asking when we were coming home, we thought this strange, thinking her calling just to ask being so out of character, so like smart parents we cut the evening short and headed home.

Walking up the front steps I noticed all the lights in the house were on, the front door was locked so I unlocked the door and opened it to find a reddish brown mess smeared down the walls, the coffee table was laying on it’s side and all the things that were on it stacked neatly in front of it, Melissa was laying on the floor with what appeared to be blood all over her chest and running down her arm, all the way to the telephone that we had replaced for a new one quite a while back, it lay in her bloody hand, I walked in and stepped over her and continued walking toward the kitchen, as I stepped over her I said “Get up and clean up this mess” she sprang to her feet and yelled “Oh my God you are too stupid to fall for it”

Sometimes it’s good to be a stupid parent, I sat there and stupidly smiled as she cleaned the mess from the walls, and I got a good laugh when I went to carry out the trash and yelled for Melissa to come and open the door for me, she grabbed the doorknob and jerked her hand away filled with the combination of whatever she used to make fake blood sticking to her hand, I didn’t say a word but was glad I was too stupid to have noticed that mess on the knob.

Why Can’t I Have Both

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:58:00 +0000

Sitting in the waiting room dreading the call of my name, I looked around at everyone else doing the same, I have never been a fan of needles even though I get myself poked about five times a day, you would think I would be used to it by now, thirty five years of insulin shots and blood draws on a regular basis has not made me immune to the fear of needles as of yet.

Yesterday was time for me to have my blood drawn for the Doctor to get the numbers required to fill in all the blanks on the forms he is required to fill out in my chart, I am sure these numbers will someday save the world once they are plugged into the master computer which will tell Diabetics all over that I shouldn’t have eaten that huge chunk of carrot cake, and this just may be one of the reasons my A1c will not be a good number for the charts this time around.

Now this may be too much information, but I am just stalling even talking about the blood draw, the nurse steps out and yells “Jimmy you are next” so I reluctantly grab my cane and hurry as fast as I can toward the door, Cindy makes a break for the door and blocks it, she turns me into the direction of the slaughter and I feel myself getting weak as they drag me through the proper door, Now with those thoughts popping out of my head I rise from my seat and follow the phlebotomist to the lab.

Inside the lab they have three draw stations, I was assigned to chair number two, and began answering all the questions that verify I am the person they are supposed to be poking, just about the time she began jabbing the needle into my arm I hear a voice asking, How are you doing? I replied to the lady who was being sat into chair number three right next to me, I’m doing good, I was trying my best to not look at the needle in my arm as the phlebotomist switched to a new tube for the next fill.

Look they only took one tube from me and they are getting another from you, I heard from seat number three, I tried to laugh as they changed my tube once again, How are you doing she asked again, I said again that I was OK and she stood to put her jacket on, walking right in front of my chair she says, Looks like you are finished Babe, you still OK? Her phlebotomist giggled and said you act like you know him.

Cindy smiled and said yes I do, he is my husband, they laughed and she said that she was watching us look and react to one another, she figured either we knew each other or there was a lot of flirting going on, I say why can’t I have both.