LouCeeL

Word for Wednesday - Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

It is now just a few short days before the Summer Solstice - the start of Summer and the longest day of the year.

It's the signal for Mother Nature to turn off the air conditioner and crank up the furnace.

We want sweat and sunglasses and white floppy hats to shade our overheated heads.

We want summer. We do NOT want to wake up to temps in the mid 50's.

When I leave a bag of Twizzlers in the car, by accident, I want to come out and find them MELTED.

It's too damn cold. It makes me grumpy.

I don't like being grumpy.

Of course, when it does get to be 90 degrees in the morning, I'll complain.

Ndinombethe.

A Dangerous Place

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

One is supposed to be safe in one's bed.

Under the duvet, even the creatures who live under the bed can't get at you.

But a young girl with "special needs" was attacked and "sexually abused" by someone who broke into her bedroom through her 1st floor window.

Does it make any difference that it happened in Chicago? No. I don't think so.

A bedroom is not supposed to be a dangerous place for young girls with Special Needs. A bedroom isn't supposed to be a dangerous place for ANY kid, special needs or not.

And that bedroom could have been anywhere.

And that's the scary part of this whole story on the News last night.

That bedroom could have been anywhere.

Kinda makes you want to put bars on all the windows.

Which is really ironic.

Ndinombethe.

Monday Meanders

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

Father's Day was a long, slow, lovely day. An early morning viewing of "Man of Steel", in 3D, was followed by lunch with Sons and Daughter-in-Law, and then the afternoon was spent watching the excitement of the finish of the U.S. Open at Merion.

To all those naysayers who thought that Merion wasn't up to the challenge of hosting a U.S. Open in "this day and age" of big hitters and huge golf courses, all I can say is ... the winner of this year's Open was 1 over.

Merion had teeth. And Merion won.

Meanwhile ...

Carlos Marmol gave up two home runs (a solo shot and a three run homer) in the bottom of the ninth and the Mets won, 4-3. I think it's time for Marmol to seek employment elsewhere.

And, of course, the Blackhawks lost in OT and they're 1-1 with the Bruins.

It is my intention to work two years, two months, and three weeks more. In September of 2015, having retired from the workaday world, I plan to go back to school and earn a degree. In what? I do not know. Maybe Art History. And, maybe, eventually, to teach.

Ndinombethe.

Two in a row

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

This is my second consecutive weekend off.

Only because I'm really busy this weekend.

Ndinombethe.

Haiku Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

One hates being late,
All out of sorts, all day long.
Rigors of Schedule.

Ndinombethe.

100 Word Challenge - Sainted

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

What follows is offered in response to Velvet Verbosity's 100 Word Challenge. The challenge, this week, is "Sainted".

Sean & Padraig
Sean and Padraig staggered along the rutted track in the stygian dark of the rural night, both of them drunk with too much stout and too much whiskey. Singing, they were, at the top of their lungs.

"Nah, Sean. That's not how it goes."

"It does."

"No. I'm sure yer wrong, Sean. That last note goes down, not up."

"No. It's you that's wrong, Paddy. I'm sure I sing it aright."

"Sean, my sainted mother herself taught me that song, and the last note goes down."

"Yer mother is not sainted - I sawr her yesterday."

"Oh. Well then. Let's go home."

Ndinombethe.

Word for Wednesday - Stoked

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

I have played at golf for more that 42 years. I took up the game at age 25, although I don't think I've ever played more than a dozen rounds in a year. Not having really played and/or practiced with the diligence necessary to actually build skills in the game, I rather stink at golf. And I stink worst at getting off the tee.

I have played several different brands of clubs, over the years. Everything from sets purchased at thrift shops to custom made clubs for which I was fitted. I'm not sure those were the best clubs, but they were made for me.

I have never had any real success hitting any set of clubs. I am something of a hacker - although I believe I may have aged enough to have earned the appellation "Duffer".

Last week I purchased a club - a Tour Edge 6 Iron-Wood. An hybrid. It was a "risk free" offer via email - if I don't like the club, I can return it within 30 days for a full refund.

They'll have to pry that club from my cold, dead, hands.

I have never had a club so easy to hit - high and straight. Consistently. Ball marks smack in the middle of the club face. Consistently. I hit it farther than I can hit my 5 iron.

I may actually get better at the game.

Ndinombethe.

In two months ...

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

... I will be, hopefully, 50 pounds lighter than I was a year ago.

Last August, I got on a scale of a morning and when I saw "250" on the scale, I knew that was enough. I knew that was too much. i knew I had to do something to make that figure (and MY figure) smaller.

I decided on a course of portion control, intelligent eating and mild exercise, and in the last 10 months I've lost 40+ pounds. I say "40+" because my weight chart looks like the stock market - it goes down, and up, and down, and up - but more down than up, overall, and that's what is important. Right now, I stand at 42 pounds off. I've gotten as far as 46 - but I'm at the top (hopefully) of an "up" cycle and I'll be headed down in a day or two.

By August 1st, I will, I hope, be at or under 200 pounds. Once I get "under", I plan to stay there.

I'm doing this for health and longevity. There was a time when I might have done this to "look good", but I'm at an age that I value being fit - because "looking good" doesn't matter so much anymore.

Ndinombethe.

Monday Meanders

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

The Blackhawks are going to the Stanley Cup Finals. Go Blackhawks!!!

The Cubs, meanwhile, continue to wallow in mediocrity - even though they did win, yesterday. In addition to their anemic offense, they have managed to lose 12 late inning leads. They'd be at least a .500 club had they held those leads.

And, just to offer equal time to ALL our mediocre sports teams, the Sox suck lately, too.

Back to work - and back to the blog, too, after a weekend "off". Not that blogging is work, but blogging every day does take a toll, after a while. Toll paid. I'm back.

Ndinombethe.

Taking a weekend off ...

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

Yup. Weekend off.

Ndinombethe.

Haiku Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

All is in full bloom
as June ages, cool and wet.
We await Summer.

Ndinombethe.

100 Word Challenge - Dusky

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

What follows is offered in response to Velvet Verbosity's 100 Word Challenge. The challenge, this week, is "Dusky".

Ralphie
Ralphie Persons was a 7 year old terror who never sat still, always asked questions, and generally tried to annoy everyone. His favorite trick was pinching people when Miss Beverly wasn't looking.

This day, a day at the Zoo, found Miss Beverly with her charges, her dusky brown skin and golden brown hair glowing in the sun. She heard a scream and whirled around just in time to finally catch Ralphie in the act. Almost instinctively, she lightly smacked his cheek.

Ralphie was mortified.

He cried.

He stopped.

He looked up, teary eyed, and said, "Miss Beverly, I love you."

Ndinombethe.

Word For Wednesday - Sex

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

Yep. S. E. X.

And to be specific, Cunnilingus. Known also as Oral Sex (Female). As opposed to Fellatio, which is Oral Sex (Male).

Apparently, Cunnilingus and Fellatio are delivery mechanisms for HPV - Human Pappillomavirus - a virus known to cause some types of cancer. Like Cervical Cancer in women. Like cancers of the mouth and/or throat in men.

There has been a rise, in recent years, in oral cancers in young men in this country. Michael Douglas, whether he was being strictly truthful in his description of the cause of his throat cancer or not, has done a great deal to raise the awareness among our young, of the risks they face with all these new sexual practices they think they invented. Like Oral Sex. Which, thanks to President Clinton, can be argued to "Not be Sexual Relations". It's like they were given a card that says "Get Oral Sex Free" - like the "Get Out of Jail Free" card in Monopoly.

(How come we didn't have those when I was a teenager?) (Or as an adult, as far as that's concerned.)

Anyway.

I truly believe the ghost of the 60s has come back to haunt all of us who lived through those free love (I never got ANY "Free Love") years, those drug enhanced stoner years (I never got stoned, either), those years of Protest and Woodstock and all of that. All that's left is the IMAGE of those years, the ghostly reflection of what was a gritty and sometimes bitter reality. And none of that bitter and grit seems to have survived in the reflection - it all just looks like fun from this vantage point - and the young of today have got the wrong idea. The Sex wasn't free - it came as a reaction to liberation. It came as oppression and oppressive policies were blown away by an awakening body politic, and the sudden freedom was explored and exploited - sometimes to excess. But our young don't see all that. They imitate our reflection - what they CAN see of what we did - minus the grit.

And one by one some of them are discovering that there are subtle penalties to pay for all that freedom. Had they been informed, or at least careful, it's penalties that they should never have had to pay.

Thank Michael Douglas for informing our young how to save their lives with a voice they can actually hear and understand - unlike a Parent or Teacher, who can talk til they're blue in the face and it goes in one ear and out the other.

Thank You, Michael. You've done more that I EVER could.

Ndinombethe.

Dry

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

Ever go to the well and the well was dry? Well, that's sort of how I feel right now.

In the face of so much drama, all of which I cannot describe here, and then there's all the little things that Life seems to enjoy piling on - like rugby players in a scrum.

Sometimes, it's just too hard to do. The inspiration fails. That blank mental sheet stares back at you as you search your mind for a glimmer of Subject, Thought or Opinion outside of yourself and the shit. All of which really needs an explanation. For me. For you.

Someday. But not now.

Ndinombethe.

Monday Meanders

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

Rode the bike 14.5 miles yesterday morning. Brisk, windy, yesterday morning. With my neighbor. We rode the Old Plank Road Trail east out of Joliet into New Lenox. The last half of the ride was best - it's all downhill.

BLACKHAWKS!!!!!!!

Poor Cubs. They show flashes of worth - but they just aren't consistent.

If you ever have an interest in reading anything about bicycles that real people ride, and not the racing freaks and their highly specialized and uncomfortable rides, then read "Bicycle Times". I LOVE that magazine.

I went shopping for food, yesterday. Kept it under a hundred bucks and I got enough for the week. Boy, am I good.

Edith Bunker died. She was a sweetheart - and a genius. She made Archie human.

I am reading "Lamb, The Gospel According To Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal". Funny, irreverant, and very imaginative. I like it a lot. I just wish I had more time to read it.

Time? We're out.

Ndinombethe.

One of those things I think about ...

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

I love the way things seem to "come around" in cycles, and it seems, lately, that all the "Wild Men" stories from all around the world are having their turn. Of course, the one we know of best, here in the U.S., is "Bigfoot", or, as the First People know him, "Sasquatch".

Naturally, the question that comes to mind is, just who are these creatures (if it's true they actually exist)? Where did they come from? And are they related to us?

I think we now who they are. Of course it's only speculation on my part - but think about this.

40,000 years ago, there was a THIRD species of human on the planet, living in and around both Neanderthal and Homo Sapiens. The Denisovans.

Denisovan DNA survives in peoples who populate the Southwest Pacific, just as Neanderthal DNA survives in populations whose origins lie in Europe.

The thing is, we don't know what the Denisovans looked like. We DO know they existed in Central Asia 40,000 years ago, but we know little else.

Where did they come from? How did they get to Central Asia? How many of them were there and how long had they been there?

Could it be that they have survived and THEY are the source of the "Wild Men" stories that exist from the Urals of Eastern Europe, to the jungles of Southeast Asia, to almost all the wild and forested areas of North America? Could they have come across the land bridge between Asia and North America that existed during the last ice age?

When they find one of these guys, and they say "Denisovan", just remember you read it here, first.

Ndinombethe.

Oh, Butt, Sore

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 05:01:00 +0000

Not too long ago I bought a pair of those padded spanx one often sees bicyclists wearing. They do, after all, make long distance riding far more tolerable.

However.

I believe I may not have spent enough money. Or maybe the nether reaches of my derriere are just too sensitive for their own good. And maybe I just need to ride more - to ride farther - so as to toughen all that up.

Meantime, just call me Old Bumpy Butt.

Have a good weekend. Get out and ride. It's the first day of JUNE!!!

Ndinombethe.

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Fri, 31 May 2013 05:01:00 +0000

Rebuilding a love
is done piece by little piece
the way it was lost.

Ndinombethe.

The 100 word challenge I'm NOT doing

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Thu, 30 May 2013 05:01:00 +0000

Velvet's offering this week is "Odyssey". It's rather coincidental that there is an Odyssey that will come to an end, this week. If living life is an Odyssey, then this one is an Odyssey WITHIN an Odyssey.

Someday, when I'm old and grey and they finally have computers that will read my mind and type out my posts for me, I may reminisce about this particular episode and fill you all in. But for now just know that this is an ending looked for and welcome. One small ending as part of a much longer story still unfolding - which is as it should be.

Sports is an Odyssey, of sorts, as well. The trek from first game to last and then through playoffs of various levels is arduous, at best. There is, of course, that prize at the end.
That said, the Blackhawks were taken to overtime last evening by the very good, very tough Detroit Red Wings. I salute you, Detroit. Well done. You were valiant and gracious in your loss. And well done Blackhawks.

Now let's kick some Los Angeles butt.

Ndinombethe.

Word for Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Wed, 29 May 2013 05:01:00 +0000

The Word for this Wednesday is "Trust" - it is hard to gain, easy to lose, and difficult to regain once it is lost.

There's the Trust of Faith. But we're not talking about that kind.

There's the Trust in Institutions - the Government, Bank or Employer. But we're not talking about that kind, either.

The Trust which we address is Personal. The kind of of Trust a man has when his child is presented to him in the delivery room and he knows it to be his. The kind of Trust that grows between two people as they build a life together and share resources. That kind of Trust.

Over time, the trust between two people living as one becomes entangled in all aspects of their relationship, especially in their Love. If either one does something to betray that Trust, the Love may well fall victim to that betrayal. Only the strongest Love can repair and rebuild the broken trust.

Love does, after all, conquer all.

Ndinombethe.

The Applecart

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Tue, 28 May 2013 05:01:00 +0000

After the passage of time, things assume a shape, a constancy, and after the passage of more time, it's like an applecart - sturdy, dependable, not very fast moving.

Sometimes, things take a turn, a sharp turn, and suddenly the applecart is upset and everything gets spilled all over.

If lucky, and the apples are good, with a little work and effort, the load can be picked up and put back in the cart - perhaps not in the same order and places, but back in the cart, cart upright and ready, eventually, to resume it travel to its destiny.

The cart is tipped. It's time to set it upright - and put the apples back where they belong.

Ndinombethe.

Monday Meanders

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Mon, 27 May 2013 05:01:00 +0000

Memorial Day - the day we remember those who gave their lives. Like everyone, my thoughts and prayers turn to those who serve, and have served. Gordon M. (Jimmy) Briggs. He died, shot by a sniper on an operation meant to open up Quang Tri Province, in 1966. He and I were friends. We had served in a unit that held and guarded VC captives I said a prayer over his body as he lay on a stretcher outside the temporary morgue which had been set up at headquarters, a small bullet hole in his stomach and the look of sleep about his person. I remember.

Have a good day. Enjoy your day off. And remember those who serve, and have served.

Ndinombethe.

Scootin'

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Sun, 26 May 2013 05:01:00 +0000

The Coot Scoot is home!!! The fan wasn't working and I couldn't chance taking the scoot apart enough to get at the fan switch to test it, so I had the work done by a professional. And I was right. It WAS the switch, it has been replaced, now, and it works wonderfully.

It was kinda cold riding home from Elgin, IL. That's where my mechanic is - Absolutely Scooters. Dave - the guy that owns the place - he did the work on my scoot. Anyway. It was cold but I was having the time of my life. I hadn't been riding the scoot much, lately, because the fan wasn't working and I didn't want to chance burning up the engine. So being able to get on the scoot and go was very, very, cool.

Ndinombethe.

Foolish

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Sat, 25 May 2013 05:01:00 +0000

It seems I must be a fool. I can't tell you more because my cousin reads my blog and when the juicy shit hits the fan, she tells my Mom - and it might be something which I may or may not have told her about. It depends on just how juicy it is, I suppose.

Bit I have been played for a fool, by someone I trusted. Believe me, it won't happen again.

That said, I guess I am still a trusting soul. But I will be guarded, now, where I never have been before. Guarded but trusting. I know it sounds like a contradiction in terms, but it is real.

Fool me once. Shame on you,

Fool me twice? Shame on me.

Ndinombethe.

Haiku Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Lou Lohman) — Fri, 24 May 2013 05:01:00 +0000

Living. Up then Down.
The raucous swirl of Living,
Always Up and Down.

Ndinombethe.