Yesterday evening, we had a very special event in our family. Our oldest son, Shawn, was baptized! This is not a small event. He is 43 years old, and it was something he chose to do, and was something we heartily supported him doing as it was something he really wanted.
We received a Sunday paper, probably by mistake since we don't subscribe, or as one person told us, it probably floated down to our driveway from someone else's what with all the rain we had. For the second time in less than a week we had a great deal of standing water in our yard. I fear that all the grass seed I put down in a few weeks ago has probably drowned by now. I guess I'll see come spring. It probably ended up in my driveway which is the only place where it seems to grow very well.
Back to the paper! I'm glad that there still are newspapers around considering that many are having a problem with loosing subscribers, advertisers, etc.. And I know that much of their income is derived from advertisers. In spite of that, I still wonder why do we end up with fourteen pounds of ads, and two ounces of news? I did use parts of the newspaper in spring to put around the roses and shrubs to prevent weeds from growing in there. That didn't work very well, either. They grew in the mulch I put over the newspaper. We do receive the daily paper, Monday through Sunday. That's so my wife can do the crossword puzzles so she can stay mentally sharp. I think it's obvious that I don't do them...
Yesterday it was cold with heavy rain most of the day. Until last evening when, believe it or not, it stopped, and within less than 20 minutes it was clear out! Literally! not a cloud in the sky! Amazing!
Yesterday was Sunday, and what is Sunday but one of the days when we grab our stack of current reading material and head to Starbucks! I told my wife that as nasty as it was out, they should reward us in some way for being such good customers. Once there, there were a few people inside, but not many. That changed during the course of the afternoon, but even so, the noise level did not deter us from our reading. And, Starbucks had those great cookies with the frosting on them! I became addicted to those last year, and then, suddenly, they stopped carrying them. I had to wait an entire year before they returned. And, I don't know if this is just a short time presence, or they will be there for a while. I guess we'll see.
Last night while I was taking my break from sleeping, I watched an ad about a DVD put together on a show called 'The Midnight Special", music from the seventies! Seeing all those bands and musicians from back them was interesting. I especially thought Rod Stewart in this suspenders, bright green shirt, and yellow, silky pants (at least that's what I remember - it was 2:30 am) and long dark hair, was something else. And then, on top of that, CBS Sunday morning had an interview with Paul McCartney (?). He's my age! But, he can still sing. He talked about the Beatles, and I thought back to where I had first heard them and what I was doing...
I was in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was 1962. I was in a place named "The Dixie Bar", dancing with a young Danish lady people referred to as "Monkey". We were dancing to, what else, one of the first Beatles songs I had ever heard. This was a good two years before they landed in America! When I heard them here I thought they were old hat, not realizing this was their first visit in the states, and that their music was not played here very often prior to that.
If you're like me and wonder why they referred to the young lady as "Monkey", well, unfortunately I learned that by asking others. The reply was, "Didn't you see the needle marks in her arms? She's a heroin junky!" I hadn't. A few days after that, she was arrested for prostitution because she did not have a card indicating she had a regular job. Back then, the Danish police felt that if a young lady did not have a job, she must be hooking to make a living, and it was prohibited. Sad to think of all the people who have given away their lives because of drugs or alcohol.
I will take my leave on that sad note, remembering that today is really a very happy day, for my wife and me. My wife, because it's her birthday, and me because I am privileged to be able to spend it with her. I intend on taking the redistributed wealth stimulus money I received from the "gubmint" and take my wife out for dinner... right... Hope she likes Big Macs...
