It is really beautiful, however, the pictures do not do it justice. We
continued on and I took a picture of the water flowing down the Park
Run.
With all the rain it is moving right along.
After breakfast I decided to cut the
grass. It really needed it. It was
such a beautiful day that I took full advantage of “this old Geezer’s
time on my hands.” I worked and loafed. What a luxury to be able to
take as long as one wants to do the job. I bet I broke it into 6
breaks. Just sit there and drink in ones surroundings and enjoy having
the time to waste. It doesn’t pay anything in the coin of the realm,
but it enriches the soul and it is free if we but do it. The person who
said money isn’t everything had it right however we still need it.
This afternoon Belva and Fritz
arrived for a visit and swim. I took
some pictures of course. We went to PMPA for our swim.
Doctor Howard Cyr was conversing with George Ashman when we got there.
We both thanked him personally for his help and counseling during
Queen’s recent and ongoing problems. He is definitely a good man and
much appreciated by all of us. In fact not only he but also Dr.
Everett
has worked with us in conjunction to solving her nighttime dry mouth
problem. I think we are making progress.
Howard said that the part of the
masonry job he was working on at the
Carty residence in Harvard Court was damaged when a shackle broke on
the crane unloading a large heavy, pre-cast top cap for the job that
was being delivered and set up. It supposedly smashed part of his
completed work. I shall have to look at it for myself.
At the end of my laps I spoke with
Howard Witham’s daughters. They just
returned from a trip to the New England states. They too have been
added to the mailing list. I saw Joe Lach on my return from
photographing the mushroom and we conversed a bit.
I took some pictures of the group before
I swam my laps. I love the effect one gets from the water coming off
the big red mushroom. The camera stops the drops in mid fall. Then I
took some video of the kids playing under it as well as the falling
water. I can send the video to any who may wish it now that
I have that free Picasa picture program from Google,
http://picasa.google.com/
It should display them for you as
well.
We all had supper
here tonight. Queen,
Belva, and I hurried home so that Queen could put the beef roast in the
oven. We had an excellent meal consisting of roast beef, mashed
potatoes for us men, baked potatoes for the girls, fresh lima beans
that Belva brought along, a fresh salad they put together, and Belva’s
strawberry muffins for dessert. All of this was followed by an evening
of great conversation on the front porch. About 9PM they left for
Harrisburg.
Monday, August 23,
20047:21 AM . 57 deg at LVIA and
53.9 in the bus stop
It looks like a nice, clear
beautiful day on hand this morning.
This
is from today’s Wall St Journal 8/23/04
By
LARRY GATLIN
August 23,
2004; Page A12
Since Bruce
Springsteen is about to "Rock the Vote" for John Kerry, I'd
be only too happy to start booking my motel rooms to hit the road for
George W. Bush. With my brothers Steve and Rudy, my buddies the Oak
Ridge Boys, Lee Greenwood, Mark Wills and any number of other country
music artists who get their support from the Heartland, I'm going to
find the time, come fall, to tell America that we're playing, and
praying, for President Bush.
Musicians can
be political, and when the right time comes -- and the
right cause -- they will be. But while I respect Bruce Springsteen's
artistry and even his opinions on the current political situation (as
expressed not long back in the New York Times), I see the world
differently. Here's my take.
The intel on
Iraq that President Bush saw raised red flags to some
analysts and doubt in others. Some said there was an imminent threat,
some said there was not. I believe that if one of Mr. Springsteen's
friends were to swear to him that his house was on fire and another
that it was not, he, or anybody, would surely check it out.
Well, our house
was on fire. President Bush and an army of "the good
guys and the good gals" checked it out. Big Time. And as a result, the
bad guys have not been able to set our house on fire again.
To say, as John
Kerry has, that "If attacked I will respond decisively"
is not enough in today's world. Good Lord, Senator Kerry -- Barney Fife
would respond decisively if we were attacked again! President Bush had
the strength of will and courage to preemptively take out those who
would attack us. I say "Rock on, Mr. President" (you too, Bruce). Keep
checking out the bad guys and let Barney keep peace in Mayberry (a
little humor in the middle of a very serious situation).
My gratitude to
the president isn't confined to his role in keeping us
safe. His tax cuts have helped all Americans who pay federal income
taxes and have jump-started an economy that was in recession through no
fault of President Bush. Those who refuse to see that have their heads
in the sand and a "Kerry for President" bumper sticker on their SUVs.
(I'd say the former condition is pretty much a prerequisite for the
latter.) I'm no economist, but I do know two things for sure: I never
got a job from a poor man; and the more money people have in their
pockets, the more jobs they create by spending that money.
President
Bush's attempts at education reform have been thwarted at
every turn for fear that vouchers might actually work. (Imagine that,
Ted Kennedy!) His faith-based initiatives tried to help those who can't
help themselves, only to be "shot down" for fear that someone might get
well and that God might have something to do with it. I was lucky. I
had the money for my little "28-day vacation in pajamas" 20 years ago.
There are millions out there who are not so lucky. So they die in the
back streets of America for want of help. God only knows how many. (But
there's the rub -- we can't say God and government on the same page.)
In closing, I'd
say this to Bruce Springsteen: We do have something in
common -- we were both "Born in the USA." From the bottom of my heart I
say, Thank God.
Mr. Gatlin is
the lead singer for The Gatlin Brothers, the Grammy
Award-winning country music group.
********************************************************************************************************************************************************
Koch's view
Calling himself
a "liberal with sanity," former New York Mayor Ed Koch
— a longtime Democrat — said he decided to support President Bush in
the 2004 election because of Mr. Bush's stance on
Iraq. "While I don't agree with Bush on any domestic matters,
there's only one matter that's important in this race, and that relates
to standing up to international terrorism, taking it on — and George
Bush has established that he is willing to do that," Mr. Koch
said in an interview broadcast yesterday on the "News Forum" program on
New York TV station WNBC. Mr. Koch crossed party
lines earlier this year to endorse Mr. Bush. He
said Mr. Bush's unwavering opinions contrasted favorably with
what he called the "hypocrisy" of Democratic presidential nominee John
Kerry
And
some of you hoped I was going to shut up! Ha!!!
This morning after
breakfast I burned a
CD ROM of these epistles and took it over to Doc Cyr’s worksite out at
Harvard Court where he is repairing the damage done when the crane
dropped the 1500lb top piece for the entrance he is building at the
Michael Carty residence at Harvard Court.
The
top two pictures show his work when I last visited it. This morning he
showed me what happened
The other cap went on just fine but when the shackle broke the heavy
piece fell and took a chip out of the corner. In addition it did some
other damage when it fell all of which he must now repair. He said it
bounced about when it fell. He was guiding the crane operator and is
lucky he wasn’t killed!!
The picture above shows
how the other one on the right looks
He
said a pair of lights would be installed on top of this
facade. It hasn’t been determined if they will be electric
or gas.
All in all it
made a lot of extra work
for him that wasn’t needed. Doc is a busy man with a lot of other jobs
lined up for completion.
We spoke for quite a bit and I said
it is obvious he is now doing
something he always wanted to do but was dissuaded by his Dad to
become a dentist. One can see he would have been a very successful
masonry contractor. I personally must say that I am glad he became a
dentist!!
In addition he told me that since he
is involved part time in this
legal arbitration work in Philadelphia through his son, the lawyer, he
is going to have to take mandatory computer lessons which are now
required for that job.
I think that is wonderful. This is
not only my surmise but also my hope
that he can see the potential for learning new things and new
approaches to old topics. I am hoping the newfound computer expertise
will kindle his thirst for new ventures and vistas. Howard is a very
intelligent man and should learn enough of it to make computer
navigation much easier and fun. It is not necessary to become expert
but learn enough to be comfortable and get by. As with most folks
working in a difficult complex new technology they are naturally
intimidated by it and very wary.
It is all there if one looks!
If he can see what an old
geezer like me can do the sky is the limit. I told him that when he
views the CD-ROM, he will readily see how this web page effort has
matured as I gradually learned what works and how to make it work. I
didn’t clean up any of the volumes except the first one to show how
these things evolve and improve. Hey if I can do it, anyone
can do it!!
He is an interesting man with many
interests and hobbies. I commented
on my newfound hobby writing this stuff. He said “ Yes, he guesses we
are both nuts”. He has that just about right!! However, mine is a lot
easier on the back.
As I returned home Doc Nicholson
beeped at me on his way to the
hospital. They too must be home from vacation. Folks like that really
need to get away and have a rest and change of pace.
The nice part about my retirement is that it is all one big vacation. I
don’t know how I would find time to “work” anymore. Nor do I know
anywhere special that I would even want to go. Hell the day isn’t long
enough now!!
Later this afternoon I had to go to
the pharmacy to get a prescription
from our dentist, Dr. Everett, for Queen’s dry mouth problems. I got it
at Shipman’s Pharmacy because Rite Aid does not compound prescriptions
anymore. Apparently, the old mortar and pestle is a thing of the past
for them.
Then I went to the pool for my swim.
It was wonderful swimming today.
When I got home Queen was preparing supper. Yep Monday was washday
the dreaded sheet day. That means we dined in God’s restaurant tonight
with her homemade spaghetti. Ah wonderful!!
My evening shower is now a thing of
real joy .The new facilities are
wonderful and a pleasure to use. It remembers the setting from the last
use and is very easy to use.
Tuesday, August
24, 2004 7:14 AM 63 deg at LVIA and 62.9 in the bus stop It is a sort of
fogy morning. Not cold,
but not very warm either. This morning my blood glucose is 130 and my
weight 195.
This morning in my
e-mail was this
picture from Bob Green taken from inside the borough park facing north
with the Episcopal Church in the background.
It is obviously a postal card
I
don’t know where he gets them but
they are always welcome additions
to these pages.
Now the sun is out and it looks like
it will be a nice day today. We
went up to the Lehighton stores this morning for a few items. She was
able to get some chewing gum for dry mouth here at Rite-Aide. We got
back about 11:30.
Queen took a nap this afternoon. I
too rested and then went to the
pool for my swim. The water was just right.
Here is the obituary of an old
classmate of mine in the PHS Class of
1944 from the Morning Call.
Wilson,N.Serfass Jr.
Wilson N. Serfass
Jr. went to live with our Lord,
Jesus Christ, on Monday, Aug. 23, 2004. He was the
husband of M. Jane (Mellinger) Serfass. In
September, they would have celebrated their 54th wedding
anniversary. Born in Bowmanstown on July 1, 1926, he was a
son of the late Wilson N. Sr. and Margaret
(Grosser) Serfass. After serving in the Navy during World War
II and with the 318th Tank Battalion during the Korean War, he returned
to Pennsylvania to attend Albright College. Upon graduating
from Albright in 1952 and earning a masters degree in business
administration from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, in 1954,
he chose the Lehigh Valley to pursue his career and raise his
family. He dedicated his life to serving others, first as an
assistant professor of accounting at Lehigh University, 1956-58, and
then as a full professor and department head for Muhlenberg College,
1959-82, where he earned the Lindbach Award for excellence in teaching
and retired as professor emeritus. In addition to his
teaching, in 1956 he established W. N. Serfass
& Co., a certified public accounting practice, where he served
as a trusted advisor providing comfort and security to numerous clients
through his sound advice. He was a member of First
Presbyterian Church, Bethlehem. Survivors: Wife; son, David
Wilson Serfass and wife his wife, Maria, of Bethlehem; daughters, Holly
Peterson, wife of Rehn Peterson, of Austin, Texas, Diana Dee Serfass of
Bethlehem; brother, Richard Serfass of Bowmanstown; sister, Jeanette
Parsons of Palmerton; grandsons, Rehn III and Brad Wilson Peterson;
granddaughters, Jaclyn and Nicole Serfass. He was predeceased
by a brother, Edward. Services: memorial, celebrating Wilsons
life will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 27,
2004 in the church, 2344 Center Street, Bethlehem.
Contributions: In lieu of flowers, Lehigh Valley Hospice, 2166
S. 12th St., Allentown 18103, for the loving care and support
they provided to Wilson and his family. Published in the
Morning Call on 8/24/2004.
I saw the URL seen
below with the
thought of you who are on the road a lot might find useful.
http://www.gasbuddy.com
http://www.gaspricewatch.com/
http://www.pmaa.org
Wednesday,
August 25, 2004 7:12 AM 68 deg at LVIA and 67.2 in the bus stopIt is cloudy this
morning. The glucose
level is 140 and the weight 195<Sigh>.
It was comfortable
up in the park bench tent this morning. Queen and I shall go for a
walk.
I know Queen is
reluctant to have me
write about her personal problems but I told her that perhaps this
might be of some aid and comfort to others who may experience a similar
problem.
She is still struggling with this
nighttime dry mouth problem. Last
night she didn’t have a great night but it was better than some. We
are doing as our dentists tell us to try things to make her more
comfortable. In my conversation with Dr. Cyr, he informed me that this
is mostly a problem of elderly women. He tells us that many folks
biggest fear is some kind of cancer. He said it is NOT. He
suspects it may be hormone related because old men do not ordinarily
have the problem. Since we both basically eat the same foods that
should not be an issue.
As Queen and I
walked she mentioned how
very caring and helpful our doctors have been during this time. Howard
assured me that this is not a life threatening illness and it is not
psychosomatic. The burning tongue and associated dry mouth is real and
very uncomfortable. He told me the best thing that I can do is
to be as supportive as possible as we try of alleviate the symptoms.
Hey it is in my lifetime contract. She has standing orders to wake me
if she is in trouble. I do check on her on my nightly visits to “Aunt
Fanny. I saw no signs of overt problems last night so I assumed the
best. If she has a good night, so do I.”
This is from Bob Green
North
and South
The North has coffee houses, The
South has Waffle Houses
The North has dating services,
The South has family reunions.
The North has switchblade
knives, The South has Lee Press-on
Nails.
The North has double last names,
The South has double first
names.
The North has Ted Kennedy, The
South has Jesse Helms.
The North has Indy car races,
The South has stock car races.
The North has Cream of Wheat,
chain will be along shortly.
Don't try to help them, just stay out of their way. This is
what they live for.
Don't be surprised to find movie
rentals and bait in the same store .do
not buy food at this store.
Remember, "y'all" is singular,
"all y'all" is plural, and "all y'all's"
is plural possessive.
Get used to hearing "You ain't
from round here, air ya?"
Save all manner of bacon
grease. You will be instructed later
on how to use it.
Don't be worried at not
understanding what people are saying.
They can't understand you either.
The first Southern statement to
creep into a transplanted Northerner's
vocabulary is the adjective "big'ol," truck or big'ol" boy.
Most Northerners begin their Southern-influenced dialect this
way. All of them are in denial about it.
The proper pronunciation you
learned in school is no longer
proper.
Be advised that "He needed
killin" is a valid defense here.
If you hear a Southerner
exclaim, "Hey, y'all, watch this," you should
stay out of the way. These are likely to be the last words
he'll ever say.
If there is the prediction of
the slightest chance of even the smallest
accumulation of snow, your presence is required at the local grocery
store. It doesn't matter whether you need anything or
not. You just have to go there.
Do not be surprised to find that
10-year-olds own their own shotguns,
they are proficient marksmen, and their mammas taught them how to
aim.
In the South, we have found that
the best way to grow a lush green lawn
is to pour gravel on it and call it a driveway.
AND REMEMBER:
If you do settle in the South
and bear children, don't think we will
accept them as Southerners. After all, if the cat had kittens
in the oven, we wouldn't call 'em biscuits.
Have a good day! Send this
to four people that ain't related
to you, and I reckon your life will turn into a country music song
'fore you know it The South has grits.
The North has green salads, The
South has collard greens
The North has lobsters, The
South has
crawdads.
The North has the rust belt, The
South has the Bible Belt..
FOR NORTHERNERS MOVING SOUTH
-----------
In the South: If you run your
car into a ditch, don't panic.
Four men in a four-wheel drive pickup truck with a tow
This is from Queen’s cousin Bob Greenawalt.
Subject: strength training
TRY
IT!!!
This is for older people. Younger people try it at their own risk.
This is working well for me. For those of
us getting along in years,
here is a little secret for building your arm and shoulder
muscles.
You might want to adopt this regimen. Three days a week works
well.
Begin by standing straight, with a 5-LB. potato sack
in each hand. Extend your arms straight out from your sides
and hold them there as long as you can-try to reach a full
minute.
Relax. After a few weeks, move up to 10-LB. potato
sacks, and
then 50-LB. potato sacks, and eventually try to get to where
you can lift
a 100-LB. potato sack in each hand and hold your arms
straight out for
more than a full minute. After you feel confident at that
level, start putting
a couple of potatoes in each of the sacks, but be careful not
to overdo it...
We made a quick trip to the pharmacy
this morning for a few items. Then Queen pointed out to me this new
flower starting to open in our upper flowerbed. Mary and Jim gave us
the plants and were told they would grow large and beautiful. I haven’t
a clue as to what it might be.
Since today is opening day at school the pool will not open until 3 pm
so I shall be leaving soon.
I returned from the pool and
conversed with a bunch of folks. Rev Doris
Bray, Evelyn Plicavy, Gail Nonamaker, Jean Fritzinger, the Browne’s,
and of course George Ashman.
I spoke to Howard Witham’s daughter.
She is leaving early tomorrow for
a 14-hour drive back home to Georgia. Golly better she than I.
The swim was wonderful as it usually
is these days.
I just got this from Fran Carazo. I
like it
Subject:
eye test
A Polish immigrant goes to the DMV to apply for a driver's license. He
has to take an eyesight test. The optician shows him a card with the
following letters:
C Z W I X N O S T A C Z
“Can you read this?" the optician asks. "Read it?" the Polish guy
replies, "I know the guy."
Since today is opening day at school
the pool will not open until 3 PM
so I shall be leaving soon.
Tonight for supper Queen had steak
sandwiches with mushrooms and onion.
Boy they were good. That with a fresh tomato was great.
Queen didn’t have
a perfect night but
she seems to be trying to cope with it better. She said her tongue
feels better today.
We went for our usual walk this
morning, up to 1st street across and
down to 4th street and home.
We went downtown
to the bank and then I
took Queen up to Harvard Court to Howard’s worksite to show her the job
he has done this far on the entrance way.
She was pulling
weeds and trimming some
of the bushes this morning. When we got back I helped her finish as
much as she planned to do today.
The Hibiscus is
outdoing itself right
now with profuse large blossoms and lot on buds.
I just got this from Henry Schwartz, I can’t swear as to authenticity
on these.
40
THINGS I DIDN'T KNOW
1. Money isn't made out of
paper; it's made out of cotton.
2. The 57 on Heinz ketchup
bottle represents the varieties of pickles
the
company once had.
3. Your stomach produces a new
layer of mucus every two weeks -
otherwise
it will digest itself.
4. The Declaration of
Independence was written on hemp paper.
5. The dot over the letter 'i'
is called a "tittle".
6. A raisin dropped in a glass
of fresh champagne will bounce up and
down
continuously from the bottom of
the glass to the top.
7. Susan Lucci is the daughter
of Phyllis Diller
8. A duck's quack doesn't echo
.. no one knows why.
9. 40% of McDonald's profits
come from the sales of Happy Meals.
10. Every person has a unique
tongue print.
11. 315 entries in Webster's
1996 Dictionary were misspelled.
12. The 'spot' on 7UP comes from
its inventor who had red eyes. He was
albino.
13. On average, 12 newborns will
be given to the wrong parents daily.
14. During the chariot scene in
'Ben Hur' a small red car can be seen
in
the distance.
15. Warren Beatty and Shirley
MacLaine are brother and sister.
16. Chocolate affects a dog's
heart and nervous system; a few ounces
will
kill a small sized dog.
17. Orcas (killer whales) kill
sharks by torpedoing up into the
shark'sstomach from underneath,
causing the shark to explode.
18. Most lipstick contains fish
scales.
19. Donald Duck comics were
banned from Finland because he doesn't wear
pants.
20. Ketchup was sold in the
1830s as medicine.
21. Upper and lower case letters
are named 'upper' and 'lower' because
in
the time when all original print
had to be set in individual letters,
the
upper case' letters were stored
in the case on top of the case that
stored
the smaller, 'lower case'
letters.
22. Leonardo Da Vinci could
write with one hand and draw with the other
at
the same time.
23. Because metal was scarce,
the Oscars given out during World War II
were made of wood.
24. There are no clocks in Las
Vegas gambling casinos.
25. The name Wendy was made up
for the book Peter Pan, there was never
a
recorded Wendy before!
26. There are no words in the
dictionary that rhyme with: orange,
purple
and silver!
27. Leonardo Da Vinci invented
scissors. Also, it took him 10 years to
paint Mona Lisa's lips.
28. A tiny amount of liquor on a
scorpion will make it instantly go mad
and
sting itself to death.
29. The mask used by Michael
Myers in the original "Halloween" was a
Captain Kirk mask painted white.
30. If you have three quarters,
four dimes, and four pennies, you have
$1.19 You also have the largest
amount of money in coins without being
able
to make change for a dollar.
31. By raising your legs slowly
and lying on your back, you can't sink
in
quicksand (and you thought this
list was completely useless).
32. The phrase "rule of thumb"
is derived from an old English law,
which
stated that you couldn't beat
your wife with anything wider than your
thumb.
33. American Airlines saved
$40,000 in '87 by eliminating one olive
from
each salad served in first class.
34. The first product Motorola
started to develop was a record player
for
automobiles. At that time, the
most known player on the market was the
Victrola, so they called
themselves Motorola.
35. Celery has negative
calories! It takes more calories to eat a piece
of
celery than the celery has in it
to begin with. It's the same with
apples!
36. Chewing gum while peeling
onions will keep you from crying!
37. The glue on Israeli postage
stamps is certified kosher.
38. Guinness Book of Records
holds the record for being the book most
often
stolen from Public Libraries.
39. Back in the mid to late
80's, an IBM compatible computer wasn't
considered a hundred percent
compatible unless it could run Microsoft's
Flight Simulator game..
40. Astronauts are not allowed
to eat beans before they go into space
because passing wind in a space
suit damages them
This afternoon I
went to the
pool. The crowd was mighty thin. I spoke with
Romaine Beige another water lover. Harry Brown was there as
usual. George and I conversed as usual this
afternoon. The water was a very comfortable temperature for
swimming. However it was hard work today. Yesterday they went smooth
as glass.
Earlier this
morning into early
afternoon Queen was busy making some peanut butter fingers. It is a
recipe she saw the other day in the newspaper. I took some up to Jean
and Mike our great neighbors and delivered a plate of them to the woman
who was so helpful to us yesterday in the insurance office at Pencor
services. She went out of her way to help and it was appreciated. They
all have been good to both of
us.
Tonight for supper
Queen made a skillet
tuna casserole. We had some fresh green beans, sliced tomatoes, cottage
cheese, and a cantaloupe slice for dessert. It was an excellent meal.
Since I have been consuming the yogurt and bran I seem to have the
feeling of being full without adding too many calories to my diet. She
strictly rationed my quantities tonight and it was fine. The “plumbing”
is doing much better after my disaster with the blueberries!
<Geez!!>
Friday,
August 27, 2004 7:24 AM 72 deg at LVIA and 69.8 in the bus stopThis morning my
blood glucose is 133 and
my weight is 195.
It appears to be a nice day this morning abet more
humid. We plan to go food shopping today.
We went for a
shortened walk this
morning up to 1st Street and only down to 3rd Street and back home. The
humidity is getting bad.
I am glad that
Queen is handling her new
health problem so well. She is still searching for relief but she had
made up her mind that this is apparently a phenomenon that she must
learn to deal with. She realizes it is not life threatening and is
doing as our dentists say to try to find localized relief. All of this
is to her credit. She is an amazing girl and certainly an inspiration
to me.
We were able to do
our shopping this
morning. It is good we went when we did because it is getting
increasingly uncomfortable for Queen. We went to the Farmer’s Market
and got a basket of canning tomatoes, some green beans, and a few
peaches. We had to stop at Walmart also to get some vacuum sealing
bags. We plan to process them and freeze them instead of packing them
in cans. We got back about 12noon. As usual it was a grand
unloading.
I soon will be off
to the pool for my
swim. In the meantime things are popping around here. The house for the
“Duris” lot has arrived. Unfortunately I don’t have the space or the
time for it this week. These preliminary shots are all I was able top
put together in the available time before going on line. As the soap
operas’ say stay tuned for next weeks web page. Ha!!
Please
love one another, Mom and Bob [Queen and Bobby]
