Itchy Feet

 

     Not long after Kay and I were married or maybe it was a little before, my memory not being what it used to be, Kay gave me what appeared to be a large coin. It was to be used for marking the pocket when shooting pool, many players carried and used something similar but this one was different. It was round, double sided and each side had it's own design, one side was of a clock face with no hands, the other was a compass. When she gave it to me she explained the meaning of the designs, the compass meant that we could go in anywhere we wanted, the clock face with no hands meant that we had all the time to get there.

     We celebrated 9 years together earlier this year and we have taken the coin seriously. We don't sit around waiting for our final day to pop up, we are constantly doing things, we are constantly on the go. Monday is shopping day Tuesday is our date day, we shoot pool every Wednesday, most Saturdays we spend with MJ and Matthew, Sunday is our day of rest although most of the time we go for long rides traveling the back roads in three states, we have been on every two lane backroad in Georgia. The rest of the week we make up as we go along, if the weather is good we hook up the boat and go fishing, if the weather is not great we find some project to work on or visit her family or just watch an old movie.

     Every now and then we get a wild hair and go somewhere and I'm not talking local. We got into the habit of going to Tennessee on Uncle Paul's birthday every September, this year he turned 95. While there we get together with family and friends. Kay wanted to meet my whole family so we have been to Tennessee and Kentucky visiting cousins and friends. A few years ago we took a ride on the Amtrack train to Arizona to see brother Pat, what an experience. We have pulled the boat to Tennessee, south Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and Louisianna to fish. We traveled the Blue Ridge Parkway  from Ashville to it's end in Virginia. Every now and then we just go some place for a few days to some destination that struck our fancy.

     As long as we are both in good health, I expect we will continue with our somewhat vagabond life style and why not, we earned it. With more time behind us than there is in front of us we don't intend to waste it. 

     

      

They Don't Make Em Like They Used To

 

     Anybody of my generation will tell you that consumer goods being produced today are not nearly as good as those produced 60 years ago. We have become a throwaway society, from automobiles to appliances, computers and cell phones, everything is made to be tossed in the recycling bin when it's life is done, I think it's called "planned obsolescence". Personally, I find it aggravating when making a purchase knowing that at my age I may well out live the product I'm buying but it hasn't always been like this. 

     The automobile came about in the late 1800's, for a time most were built by hand one at a time, it wasn't until Henry Ford invented the production line that they were mass produced. They were built like tanks with parts that could be repaired rather than replaced, it had to be one hell of an accident to cause a car to be "junked out". Today's cars are designed with parts made from thin metal and even plastic, just be careful not to sneeze on one as that may cause a dent. There are cars and trucks built in the 50's, 60's and 70's that are still running today.

     In the early 70's Linda and I bought a washing machine for $150, it didn't have all of the technology of today's models but it did a great job of cleaning our clothes. We moved that machine from state to state and coast to coast for over the next 30 years before it finally bit the dust in the early 2000's. At the same time we purchased the washer, Eileen had a "used" dryer that she gave us when she moved back to Florida, it was already several years old but lasted until the washer bit the dust.

     When we bought the washer we also purchased a side by side refrigerator / freezer. It too was carted around the country for years, when we sold our house in 2005 it was still working like new but I decided I was tired of moving it and left it with the house. Kay and I bought a new one when we moved in our home about 6 years ago and had to call a repairman twice before it was six months old.

     The telephone I grew up with was an ugly black plastic thing bolted into the wall, it never broke down and worked as long as the lines were still up. You couldn't carry it around in your pocket, they had to be used within ten to fifteen feet of where they were mounted (hence the term - land line) and the only change in the first 70 years were to the style and color. It's only lately that the phone company has decided to no longer service them. Their replacement, the cell phone, is a throw away mainly due to constantly changing technology and style. Their ability to be constantly carried on your person means you are constantly connected to the world around you to the point that some people seem to be constantly talking on it as long as they are awake. The cell phone does so much more than it's predecessor but at the cost of taking over the lives of so many people and constantly changing technology means that a new and improved model comes out every year and cost a couple of thousand dollars.

     Computers are another thing, they made their debut before cell phones but rapid advances in technology changed the world we live in. With their advent, any piece of information you needed was at your fingertips, no waiting. They started out very big and repairable now everything is available on your cell phone, the lap top and desk top computers are no longer fixable, if it breaks - get a new one.

     There was a time when shoes were made from real leather and the soles could be replaced when they were worn down, today most shoes are made from a combination of leather and rubber when they wear out toss them in the garbage. They are cheap to make especially since most are made in China and southeast Asia. 

     Kay and I have a nice set of dinner ware and silverware but we rarely use them. Paper plates, bowls, cups, plastic forks, knives and spoons are so much easier because cleanup requires only a garbage can. Most of our drinks come in plastic bottles so why dirty a glass when a red Solo cup will do just fine or why dirty a coffee cup when a styrofoam cup only needs to be tossed in the trash.

     There are antique stores everywhere, they sell everything that has survived decades of use going back for a hundred years but sadly they only bring back memories to us old people they once served, the youth of today don't want them to the point that many things at estate sales wind up being tossed.

     In today's world we have so much that enriches our lives but society has changed to the point that it never shuts down, we run 7 / 24, we don't have the time to worry about making repairs and no one seems to be concerned about passing things along because no one wants them. It's all about information, technology and staying connected. Of course, those of us who lived in an age where things were repaired thinks the world is going to hell in a hand basket but then I seem to remember that my parents said the same thing about my generation, I would wonder what my grand kids will be saying to their kids but they don't make kids the same any more either.

      

    

Family

 

     

     Nine years ago Kay and I were married, on that day our lives changed in many ways. Each of us had been married before, we lost our spouses within a week of each other, together we had been married 82 years. We had a lot of memories and a lot of things from our past but more important we acquired a new future full of new memories and things.

     One of the most important things I gained was a new family. Three new brothers and sister-in-laws, nieces, nephews, and cousins by the bunches. One niece has seven kids, after nine years I finally remember their names, maybe in another nine years I will be able to put the proper name to the right face, I'm trying.

     Like me, the immediate family is aging, changing daily as we all grow older. Kay has lost two for her brothers, most recently her oldest brother Bob passed away. In these short nine years I have grown to love my extended family, I have laughed with them and cried with them, I have watched them suffer and watched them grow. I love them all.

     I have four families now, my own two sons, daughter in law and two wonderful grand kids. Linda's sister and niece and cousins. My two brothers and sister and a whole bunch of cousins and one uncle and now Kay's family. Turns out they are, in my eyes, all alike, some one is always needing something, someone always has a problem and someone is always there to help. They are my family and I love them.

     

It's Been A Helluva Year

 

     This has been a helluva year for Kay and I, it started out in July of 2024 when we both came down with Covid. We had all of the vaccinations to prevent getting the Covid but we may have waited too long to recharge the system. I got it first and had a difficult time, Kay was not as infected as me but we both survived although not without some dreaded side effects. Kay really didn't have any lasting side effects but I had difficulty catching my breath that seems to have finally gone away but has been replaced with exhaustion and low energy after exhertion

     Fifteen months, four doctors, two cat scans, one nuclear stress test and a heart catherization later and my breathing problems are still with me but have changed to a shortness of breath / fatigue. Through all of this I have found out that my lungs are clear and I have a heart that a lot of fifty year olds would love to have. I do have what is now called "Long Covid", the side effects have a name now. I have no doubt that I will survive and the side effects will disappear but after 15 months I'm getting a little tired of it.

     During all my health problems, Kay's life has been upside down. In addition to worrying that I was going to drop dead from a heart attack, her brother Bob was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor last fall and given a short time to live. He found a doctor who gave him hope and underwent an extreme radiation therapy schedule. It worked out for a short time but then he was taken to the ER and had an operation to repair a hole in his stomach. Things didn't go as well as expected, Bob remained in the hospital for the next ten weeks, he never went home. 

     The day after Bob's funeral I underwent my heart catherization, the stress test had revealed that I three arteries blocked and may need open heart surgery, needless to say Kay was worried. As it turned out I have no blocked arteries serious enough to warrant stints much less surgery. I consider this a very good outcome in that it has taken me 78 years to get one artery clogged to 50%, in my way of thinking it's going to take another 78 years to finish me off with heart trouble.

     At the suggestion of my doctor we joined a gym and exercise three days a week, so far that's going well but I still have the dreaded "side effects". It's a very nice gym with a helpful staff and a mixture of young and old people. Going to the gym has made me wonder why I do it, three of my grandparents were born in the late 1800's and the other about 1901, they never exercised, they cooked with lard and used bacon grease and yet they lived in to their 80's. A high school classmate would run for miles every day and ran road races one day he went for a run and never came back, he was in his late fifties so I have to wonder if all this exercising is really necessary.

     As we checked in the other night I saw two notices on the counter, they had pictures of two members who had recently passed away, one man was 74 the other was 76. All of this got me to thinking. I'm about halfway through my 78th year and in pretty fair condition, my family history indicates the possibility of a long life at least in to my eighties, there are more years behind me than in front of me so what is all of this exercise going to get me, damned if I know. I wouldn't mind being around to see my grand kids go out into the world, I wouldn't mind being around a little longer as long as I'm not a burden on.

     The older I get the signs of my aging become more prominent as the days pass, I moan and groan when I move and there seems to be an ache or pain somewhere on my body all the time but I refuse to give in old age. I push myself because I feel like if I accept my plight then then all is lost, I have goals that I have set and intend to at least try to achieve them. I don't know when my last breath is going to come or what will bring it about but I intend to fight for it.

     PS, I bought a water ski last year and was going to ride it but Covid got in my way and now winter is coming on so I'll have to wait until next summer, there will be a video.