In pictures.
Bookcase upstairs with Cameron and Grandpa.
A picture of one of Moo’s dear friends.
Tarping
Oh, goodbye, dear Bob.
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And, now, five pictures of the group gathering for a group shot.
Monthly Archives: February 2009
The long and the short of it
Here is Sydney’s new buddy from Rural King.
Then when we checked out with our tarp and stakes and dog treats, gummy worms and gummy bears and those yucky circus peanuts Der Bingle likes -as well as some wintergreen mints to send to Quentin along with a cute little brown resin bear that carries big bears hugs. The wintergreen mints are pink and Quentin got his love of them from my grandma whose first name was Jessie and who was born in 1881. I loved her dearly. A generational link that skipped two generations – my mother’s and mine – and ties together two who are so dear to my heart.
Oh, yeah, I also got gummy bears, but I’m not supposed to tell that to Der Bingle’s bear colony friends. But, anyway, here we were, checking out and the cashier says if we buy a Rural King burlap bag for $1.49, we will get 10% off our purchase. I say yes and then mention about buying a lawn tractor or something like that and getting 10% off. The cashier tells me, “It has to fit in the bag, Ma’am.”
Up to the fight?
Well, you know I watched “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” last night and a couple of days ago I was writing about Hub’s speech in “Secondhand Lions”. And, so now the lost cause mantra is in my mind – especially the part about lost causes being the only causes worth fighting for. I was puttering around upstairs, thinking that I needed a lost cause and this thought popped into my head: Look into the mirror, AmeliaJake.
Well, that’s self-pity. I’m not a lost cause; I can’t be; I love and care about enough people to not be a lost cause – to not let them down. And so, by gosh, I’m fighting for this non-lost cause. I may not be successful, but I am certainly going to try. Because, you know, I should try.
King Grover in his Coke Room
I was going to tape this on the refrigerator with the title of this post written beneath it.
Der Bingle taped it up with “No Coke for You, Summer” written beneath.
Oh, my goodness . . . Katie, bar the door.
Ah, another movie
Well, Der Bingle walked in tonight in his trench coat and black fedora and Summer and Cameron were at his side from the get-go – still are in fact. At one point, after he’d changed clothes and when they were sitting in the den, he said, “AJ, they have found my stash of movies. But I told them they are not worthy of Split Second and my Kolchak collection.” Cameron was headed up to his room with an armful of movies and Summer has him watching one with her now.
And guess what happened to me? I got sucked into another movie with stirring quotes. Well, some of it is remembered stirring from when I watched such movies as a teenager on The Late Show” before the Star Spangled Banner played and the station signed off.
I saw “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” was on and I thought, no, no, you don’t need to watch this again. But in my heart I ached to hear the Kalterborn report on “Boy Ranger legs” – this quote:
…It is the most unusual and spectacular thing in the Senate annals. One lone and simple American holding the greatest floor in the land. What he lacked in experience, he’s made up in fight. But those tired Boy Ranger legs are buckling, bleary-eyed, voice gone, he can’t go on much longer. And all official Washington is here to be in on the kill.
And so I watched and those other quotes washed over me:
Just get up off the ground, that’s all I ask. Get up there with that lady that’s up on top of this Capitol dome, that lady that stands for liberty. Take a look at this country through her eyes if you really want to see something. And you won’t just see scenery; you’ll see the whole parade of what Man’s carved out for himself, after centuries of fighting. Fighting for something better than just jungle law, fighting so’s he can stand on his own two feet, free and decent, like he was created, no matter what his race, color, or creed. That’s what you’d see. There’s no place out there for graft, or greed, or lies, or compromise with human liberties. And, uh, if that’s what the grownups have done with this world that was given to them, then we’d better get those boys’ camps started fast and see what the kids can do. And it’s not too late, because this country is bigger than the Taylors, or you, or me, or anything else. Great principles don’t get lost once they come to light. They’re right here; you just have to see them again!
I guess this is just another lost cause, Mr. Paine. All you people don’t know about lost causes. Mr. Paine does. He said once they were the only causes worth fighting for. And he fought for them once, for the only reason any man ever fights for them; because of just one plain simple rule: ‘Love thy neighbor.’… And you know that you fight for the lost causes harder than for any other. Yes, you even die for them.
You think I’m licked. You all think I’m licked. Well, I’m not licked. And I’m going to stay right here and fight for this lost cause. Even if the room gets filled with lies like these, and the Taylors and all their armies come marching into this place.
Oh, dear
King Grover of Coke went for a stroll with Summer and the next thing we knew, he transformed into Diet Coke Vampire King who craves the blood of those who drink Diet Coke. Oh, woe is us.
No school
When I drove Alison to work this morning, it was very foggy and I think East Noble had already called a 2-Hour D. I worked a little and lay back down just because I wanted to do. Some time later I heard the cry of 3-Hour D and then a strangled scream of glee. Out she runs – Summer – and says, “I thought I saw East Noble was closed, but I’m not sure; I’ll watch for it to go around again. Okay, Grandma, if you hear a scream you’ll know it’s closed and if you hear a “Nooooooooooo!” you’ll know it’s not.” I heard a scream and I cried out, “Nooooooooooo!”
I have cleaned the kitchen and lit an evergreen candle in a jar and also the hurricane lamp. I like the glow that seems to say we’re home, we’re here . . . you can feel safe. The lamp oil isn’t so expensive that I can’t let that message reach out.
Hail the King
Grover has returned and been unanimously named King of Coke. He is welcoming one and all to a special party of celebration and unconditional amnesty.
We welcome all the folks here at the PBC&R and anyone who wants to stop in. Say, does anyone have any confetti?
Possible last jog in Kendallville
When Alison works as a nurse at the hospital, I drive her over sometime between 6:15 and 6:30 am. During quite a bit of the year, it is dark at that time – we are so far west in the Eastern Time Zone, dontcha know. When the snow is melting off the grass and fields and the landscape blends with the grey of asphalt, everything is dark. And when the sky is like coal, it is very dark.
When Alison works and I take her, I am doing a routine thing; I am not driving to the hospital because I am bringing someone ill there or because I have been summoned because someone I care about has been brought there. I keep in the back of my mind the fact that people in other cars may be doing just that and that their minds may be distracted by distress and worry. I pay attention .For someone this morning, it was lucky that is the case.
All this happened in a fraction of a second – I saw movement and thought paper in the wind? an animal very close to the ground? Oh, my gosh, it’s a jogger! Just then Alison exclaimed, “Is that someone running?! What a fool!”
Yes, it was. In all dark clothing and athletic shoes that were not at all reflective or noticeable, a man was jogging and crossing in front of me. I did not hit him. But I barely saw him. It was so dark when I passed him, I could not make out anything other that he was tall and covered in dark clothing. He ran with arms bent at the elbows and held up by his chest.
After I had made the loop to drop Alison off, I passed him again on my way back. I tried to see him – to see the look on his face – but it was too dark. I barely saw him running so very close to my car.
I imagine he will be at it tomorrow as well, at least this tomorrow.
Grover is missing
Yes, sometime yesterday after arriving home from school and learning about Grover’s promotion to the president of the Coke company, Summer snatched him. I don’t know what good this will do her since Grover will undoubtedly use his double secret cell phone to activate the “No Coke for Summer under any Conditions” directive. We are trying to get a reading on his triple secret GPS signal, but we are beginning to think our engineers may have gone one secret too far.
I’m certain Grover would want us all to remain calm during this episode in his exciting life . . . and I believe I can heard his special message to me, AmeliaJake: “Keep Looking!!!”