ALL my poems, etc.!

If you are coming to this late, and seeing a lot of things that I call Facebook Poems, there is a reason/excuse. About mid-June, I hadn't posted anything anywhere, nor texted anyone, and I don't like to talk on the phone ... so I decided that, when I can, which is almost every day unless the internet is down or I am out of town and do not have access, that one of the first times I'll do each day is write something - usually a poem - on Facebook. I label it simply "Facebook poems", though they cover a lot of subjects. I am labeling THIS note with all the labels I have used. That way, if you click on some label/subject that you think you might find interesting, everything I've labeled as such will show up on this blog. Thanks for reading what I write. I hope that you get a smile, or a laugh, or some encouragement, or that they make you think, etc. Feel free to comment on things I write, too. Thanks. (I am having to post this twice so as to show all the labels that I've made!)

Uh-oh!

Today is a "heat wave"! The temperature is mid-50s. Still chilly wind, and damp air (storms forecast).

I wish our mayor and city council members were forced to ride the city buses. They spend so much money for "consultants" for things that have either been voted down (such a domed stadium - the 17,000 seat arena we have is rarely filled), or for other projects that would be fine if more of us could get to and from such places.

The bus people get the blame when NO ONE can do anything without money! There is no dedicated funding here for public transit.

The 1st "uh-oh" today is that it took me an hour and a half to go somewhere which should have taken about 30 minutes. I scheduled paratransit to go a store. The driver was on time and had no other stops before dropping me off. The transmission on that bus was acting up, so she drove to the bus yard (which was on the way) to get another bus. The 2nd bus stalled right after she rounded malfunction junction downtown. She got it rolling again, but almost hit a concrete overpass rail in getting the bus off the travel lane. She radioed for a supervisor and for a mechanic. After she dropped me off, she was to get a lady in a wheelchair. The bus that the mechanic brought ran fine, but the lift wouldn't work, so I know another driver had to pick up the other person. The dispatcher did at least let me get my ticket back.

The 2nd "uh-oh" is that the store I went to was Michael's Arts & Crafts. I bought about $200 worth! But at least I paid less than $100 (had you going there, didn't I!) ... because of a gift certificate and because all but 3 small items I bought were on sale! It's hard for me to pass up soft 100% wool yarn that's 40% off in price! I bought that as well as other beautiful yarn and some other things, a few which were 70% off (wintry things: snowflakes, etc.). I make a lot of hat/scarf sets, some shawls, some baby blankets, and so on. I will gradually be posting pictures of things I make, which I will sell, on my other blog.

So now I've got even more yarn to knit (some) and crochet (a lot)! If you'd like to buy some of the things I make, let me know!

Election Day

I voted. Did you?

I have 2 polling places. The one for city elections is accessible by city bus, or actually by walking if I so choose, though it's about a mile, and with no sidewalks most of the way, and a steep hill, and with my having poor eyesight and not the best hearing ... groan, whine!

The place I am to vote for everything else is off the beaten path for those of us unable to drive, and is not accessible by city bus (also meaning that the paratransit bus will not go there). So for a few years now, I have requested an absentee ballot. Therefore my ballot was received at the election office a couple of weeks ago.

I have voted in almost every election since I have been of voting age. I read up and study the candidates the best I can Regrettably sometimes it means, to me, voting for the lesser of 2 evils, and that is the case for today's Alabama governor's election.

Contortionist!

Le'see ... I'm 66, a little bit fat, sometimes a bit stiff. Today I had to leave work about noon as I had an appointment near downtown. Felicia was my driver, and was in the paratransit bus that the company got several months ago, with bright fancy colors and logo. The seats are not comfortable, as they seem to be tilted forward just a little, as well as are "short" from the seat back to where the back of your knees are, so it feels like you are about to slide off. I make sure that I wear my seat belt, though a shoulder harness and some kind of handle would make me feel safer. Wearing rubber soled shoes also helps to keep me from sliding forward.

I prefer the window seat because the aisle seat, with a wimpy armrest, makes me feel like I'm going to fall sideways onto the floor. The seat belt buckle was in bad shape, but I got it on and fastened. BUT when Felicia got me to my designation, I could not get the seat belt to unlatch! Part of it would move just a little but not enough to release. Both Felicia and I messed with it, with no luck. I thought, "Uh-oh, the lady I had the appointment with just might have to sit with me on the bus", but that really wasn't an option because paperwork was involved, which would be in her office.

Felicia called dispatch (on the phone, rather than the radio so that others would not hear) to ask permission to cut the seat belt. She never got through to a dispatcher, so went into the building and asked the receptionist if there was a maintenance person available.

I could not get the one end of the seat belt to stretch, as it had tightened a little (I hate for seat belts to do that!). I knew that I am too big to slide toward the floor to get out of the seat belt - and even if I made it a little, I'd probably cut of my breathing and get stuck hanging there!

While she was in the building, I tried something else. The seat belt was near my hips, and of course from then on to my feet, things get smaller rather than larger. (I'm not Dolly Parton or Barbie, but you get the idea.) There was no one in the seat beside me, and while the armrest on the aisle could probably easily break, I decided to take a chance. I held onto the back of the seat, then managed to twist sideways a little, with my back toward the aisle, hoping the armrest would hold. Then I twisted some more, and twisted one hip, knee, and foot in almost unnatural positions, and voila! got one leg up and over the seat belt. The other leg wasn't as hard to free, but still took some twisting.

As I started to get off the bus, Felicia came out of the building - and wondered how I unbound myself. She probably was looking forward to having someone stab and slash at the obstinate strap! ("Take that! you cheap fiend!")

The driver who picked me up to come home was about 45 minutes late, had a couple of others on board, and still had more stops, so I rode for 2 hours before getting home, even though the office where I was is only 15 miles from my house. (Yes, I had crocheting with me!)

But at least I worked 4 hours, got things accomplished where I had the appointment, had 2 nice drivers, and made it home before dark.

P.S. One friend emailed me direct, saying he'd like to have seen me do "the twist and the limbo"! A friend in Ireland asked me if our buses have CCTVs on them (no, they don't) because the buses there in Dublin all have that (and captured her falling on one).

Going Places

While it is nice that the newspaper editors often print letters that I write, sometimes their editing of such letters completely loses what the letter is about. That happened to me in yesterday's paper. I know that I can write well, as I've had many things published (regrettably, not for pay!). I had one article printed in the monthly newsletter of WMNF, Tampa, where I was a volunteer DJ; one or 2 in the monthly newsletter of FoFF (the Friends of Florida Folk [music); some things used in church bulletins and on church web sites and other web sites; a few poems and articles published in the "Braille Forum" (the monthly magazine of the American Council of the Blind); and for over 7 years, I edited and wrote for the weekly bulletin of the church I attended.

So it was with amazed irritation that a letter I fired off on October 2 had the first paragraph reworded so that the meaning was totally different. For once, I wasn't griping about our bus service; I was fussing about all the "grand plans" for metro Birmingham and ... well ... here is what was printed in yesterday's (yes, the BIG Sunday paper! - not hidden in some obscure place in a week day paper):

"In reading the newspaper recently, I noticed that many of the events in metro Birmingham had one thing in common: They highlighted the failure of public transportation."

Here is my original first paragraph:

"In reading today's paper, I noticed that most of the plans for metro Birmingham have one thing in common: better public transportation failed. Why?"

I know that bus management is doing the best they can with the funding they have, but as was in the business section of the paper recently, help to build a better metro transit system is never a priority. It's as if those of us who must ride the bus are not worth anything, yet we pay taxes just like everyone else. Grrr!!!

Going Places

OK. That was a bit of a misnomer, though I DID "go places". This is mostly about our transit system.

First, most of the buses are old, and even if the transit authority had money (which is supposed to come from the cities where the buses go) to fix them, I've heard that some parts are no longer available. Some of the buses ride so roughly that it seems that my back is going to break and my teeth fall out! I call them the "shake, rattle, and roll" buses, what with their worn out shocks and all the squeaks and racket they make! We get hoarse carrying on conversations while riding.

Also, the air conditioning no longer works in most of the buses. Also, I think only 4 paratransit buses will run, and they have to be used for people in wheelchairs. We who are ambulatory ride in supervisors' vehicles, including small white 4-door sedans, a maroon SUV, an old dark blue Mercury Marquis, and some white vans. Some have MAX or BJCTA on them; some are unmarked. On most (not all) of these other vehicles, the AC does work.

I can be on one for less than 30 minutes and have trouble breathing. Drivers, being on these non-AC'd vehicles 8+ hours a day, are getting sick, having to take days off work, and are even being taken by supervisors to the ER! And how about those who ride who've just gotten off a dialysis machine, and the riders who wear metal leg braces ...

And I guess maybe some of the employees who are inside the AC'd building are also getting stressed out. Maybe that's what happened to me a couple of days ago.

For paratransit, we have to be "certified" to ride, and we have to schedule our rides. An individual ticket is $2, or you can buy a monthly pass for $80 for unlimited rides (the best deal for anyone going to work 5 days a week). If it's the same every day, we don't have to call in (such as going to and from work).

I called earlier in the week to change my Thursday afternoon rides, telling the scheduler that I needed to go to work as usual, but that I needed to leave work between 12:30 and 1:00 to go to meet an insurance agent. After calling 2 or 3 times and the dispatcher telling me the driver was on the way, at 2:00, I finally told dispatch that I was at work ... and was told, "Oh, the driver went to your house". Turns out that rather than it being on someone's manifest to get me at work, somehow my home address was printed ...

I finally got to the insurance office. Luckily the lady was still there. But because I was running late, whoever was to have gotten me of course had to get others, and I had to call dispatch to let them know that I was ready to go.

My other stop was to K-Mart. When the driver got me there, another driver was there already. I was on her manifest! Having just gotten there, again, after doing a bit of shopping, I had to call dispatch to let them know that I was ready to go home. I told the dispatcher that I would be inside because there were no benches outside, plus the fact that the temperature was about 100 (which it's been every day for 2 months).

Again, I waited and waited. Finally the dispatcher called to let me know that my driver was outside. I went outside and - no bus. I told dispatch. He asked, "Are you at the pharmacy side or the grocery side?"

He, or someone, or somehow ... the driver had gone to Wal-Mart, and not the WM 1/4 mile from the K-Mart where I was, but to the WM nearest my house, and about 10 miles away.

I got home about 2 hours later than I should have. I am seriously considering quitting my job; the bus situation is one reason.

BUS

I was on the bus this afternoon an hour and a half or little more ... a bus in which the air conditioning did not work. One big temperature sign we passed at 6 p.m. showed 98 degrees. The thermometer on my porch a little later showed 96 degrees. I have no idea what the heat index is. Not only do I feel sorry for all of us who ride (this afternoon was a lady who works at Blue Cross - she wears metal braces on her legs, and another lady who is on kidney dialysis), but what about the drivers who have to be in such a vehicle for hours every day! Pray for us!

Wednesday again

Not today of course! I actually got to the church house about 6:00 last night! Wonder of wonders! Worship is 6:30 to 7:30. The 4th Wednesday night of the month is singing night. Steve, our preacher and best song leader, and Marlene are on vacation this week. Charles made the announcements then we had a prayer. Danny took over the song leading chores. He said, "The song leaders, in this order, are me, Don, and Bill. After that the next 3 song leaders are me, Don, and Bill." The 3 men did a good job and it was enjoyable as usual. About a year ago, Steve asked me if I could write a song about a certain verse. The lyrics came easy but it's a pain to notate a song, so I not only don't have much on paper, but I can't find my notes! Then a couple of weeks ago, during a slow time at work, I wrote another set of lyrics, using the same Scripture! I do have that one about half notated. When I get it done, I'll try to get someone to scan it so that I can put it here.

It's Wednesday again

Remember what I wrote about last Wednesday? It happened again today ... off work as usual at 4:30 - driver did not get me until about 6 p.m. - a van rather than a bus - "sardines" - 7 plus the driver - I think all but one work at AIB (Alabama Industries for the Blind, in the back of the AIDB building). I got home about 7:15. Worship is 6:30 - 7:30. Sure wish our transit company had dedicated funding. If you've never read or seen the docu-drama, look up "Taken for a Ride". It's about how GM and others (if I remember correctly: Firestone and Standard Oil) pretty much killed city transit companies.

Meetings

I had a choice of 2 meetings to attend tonight. Our underfunded public transit company needs volunteers to ride the fixed routes and do counts of how many people get on and get off each stop. Yes, I know that that should be a paid job (and I think has been such in times past, with "temps"). There was to be a meeting at Central Station at 6 this evening for anyone interested in being such a volunteer. I had both called and e-mailed about it and was going to do it a few days.

But neighbor Anthony wanted us to go the the Neighborhood Association meeting, which was also tonight. I went to a few of those back when I could still drive, and Anthony went to the ones in the neighborhood where he used to live (the airport expansion got his house 2 years ago). Considering that there are some problems on the street where we live regarding noise, too many cars blocking the street and driveways, and some vandalism, that meeting was more important.

An officer from the East Precinct was there and was the first speaker. He mentioned a burglary a block from Anthony and me, and told of some young men who are in gangs. He said that he'd recently caught some of these, with the youngest being 14 and the oldest being 19 - and that one of the younger ones "talked" but when he caught another one on the kid's 18th birthday, this older one lied. He said it felt good to be able to take the older one as an adult now, because now he's off the streets for awhile.

No one from the fire station was there, but the policeman said there was only one fire in our neighborhood since the meeting a month ago.

Someone from the nearest library mentioned some events there, and someone from the mayor's office was there.

I think everyone spoke up with various issues: flooding in houses and yards because of a pipe (owned by the city) corroding, weeds and tall grass, garbage men not putting the cans back in the yards but throwing them in the street, trespassing, a new school going up with both a bar and a liquor store within 200 or 300 feet of the new school (the bar and store have been there for years) ...

The meeting started at 7 and lasted a little over an hour.

Speaking of the buses: I get off work at 4:30. Yesterday the driver didn't get me until 5:25, and I didn't get home until 7:45. I'd love to be able to quit my job - because of the bus situation.

And speaking of the mayor and city council: a few weeks, some man went to the council meeting, gave them a song and dance about his going to have a motorcycle rally which would bring in a lot of money to the city, but he needed $25,000. Without doing any investigating, the council gave the man the money! Then the promoter moved the rally to the next county, almost no one showed up, the man himself was at the rally only a couple of hours, had cashed the check and, according to the newspaper - turns out that he was a convicted felon. The council does not know where he - or that $25,000 - is.

So much for our mayor and city council. Look where greed got them. The bus company and other businesses sure could have used that $25,000. By the way, I didn't vote for these people.

(I am listing this as "family" because that's what we as neighbors should be.)

WORSHIP SERVICES & Rides

The church I attend has Sunday Bible study at 9:30 a.m. (opening with a short prayer), then preaching service (every Sunday consisting of announcements, prayers, congregational singing, the Lord's Supper, the collection, and a sermon). Sunday afternoon we meet at 5 p.m. for another hour.

Wednesday evening service starts at 6:30 and lasts about an hour. It is prayers, Bible study, announcements, and a few songs.

We have no public transit on Sunday so I usually have a ride. I made it last Sunday morning, but not Sunday afternoon. My usual ride (actually 3 in the same family) attended the visitation for a relative of theirs who died last Friday night.

I get off work at 4:30 and ride the city bus paratransit. Today my driver did not get me until 6:25 ... too late to make it to worship this evening. It was not the driver's fault. I think there are more buses in what I call the "bone" yard, than on the ready lot. The one I was on awhile ago, like so many, was one in which the air conditioning did not work. It was still 90 degrees on my front porch when I got home about 6:55.

I'm glad I have a job, and I'm glad we do have public transit; I only wish the area mayors and city councils felt like supporting it.

Buses, Burn, 'n' Love

And no, that's not an Elvis song!

But yes, those 3 do tie in together for me.

Thursday from work I had paratransit to take me to the downtown public library for their free BPL@nite. It was to be an acapella quartet called Blast from the Past, doing 50s & 60s music. I got there in plenty of time. The group was setting up and doing sound checks, but was really loud. "Blast" was appropriate. The library atrium has floor-to-ceiling windows and glass-paneled doors, and the floors and walls are also hard, which of course makes the sound worse.

Much as I would like to have stayed, there was no way without getting more of a headache. I went outside and called the paratransit dispatcher, to see if he could get a driver for me way before my scheduled time to go home. He said he'd try. Rather than go back inside, I stayed outside - and though there was some shade, there was nowhere to sit, and the temperature was about 90. With so many buses breaking down, I had to wait about an hour (still earlier than my scheduled time).

I guess it was the heat, but Thursday night, I felt like my insides had spent the night on a roller coaster, so I called in sick Friday. I stayed in bed most of the day and didn't eat until about supper time.

Then yesterday, I got the 10 a.m. inbound fixed route bus, and got off nearest the Boost Mobile store. Shane lives close by and met me at that stop, and we walked back to Boost, only to learn that because I hadn't bought my phone from that store, that I would have to pay $10 for them to help me with a couple of things I couldn't figure out. We left. I'd bought the phone from Wal-Mart.

So ... because the fixed route bus in this area runs only every other hour on Saturday, he and I decided to walk to WM. That was almost 1 mile, with some sidewalks, some paths, and a little bit having to walk in the edge of a busy highway. We both had our white canes, though so many people don't seem to know what they signify.

Little old fat me ... I'm going to brag now! ... made it, even in the heat, and with not too much trouble. Shane is 38 and also overweight, but walks fast. He was kind enough to keep up with my slow pace. At least the sky was overcast and there was some breeze. Still, "hot" is hot!

After eating lunch at McDonald's, having the electronics clerk check my phone, and buying a few groceries, we got to the bus stop about 1:30, planning to get the bus that was to be out-bound at WM at 1:37. There is a shelter as well as 2 or 3 outside benches there. We sat on one of the outside benches, and waited ... and waited ... and waited. The weather was just as hot, the clouds had mostly dissapated, Shane is bald, and I am fair - I know to wear a sun-screen hat, but didn't. (I've bought a few from http://www.sundayafternoons.com/) More about that shortly.

About 2:15, we knew that obviously the bus had broken down. With both of us about to bake from the sun, I tried to call my neighbor. He wasn't home. Shane didn't know anyone he could call except for some people who lived across town. Steve, the preacher, lives next to the church house, which is about a mile away, and a couple of blocks from Shane's house. I called him. Luckily he was home, and was at WM to get us within 5 minutes. That's the "love" part. Thank you, Steve!

Just before we got to my house, we saw the big bus. It was at the stop 1/2 block from my house. Because it was there, and because I know the route schedule, I knew that it had quit about 12 noon. The end of the line is a few blocks away, then it is to be downtown at Central Station at the top of the "odd" hours on Saturday. I stayed on my porch where I could see the bus. About 8 until 3, a bus slowly pulled away from that stop, and at 3:00, I saw a big wrecker tow the broken-down bus. I felt sorry not only for those of us who ride, but especially for the driver, who had to sit there for 3 hours ...

If only our mayors and city council members HAD to ride the bus every single day for a week: to worship, work, the doctor, the grocery, a movie, etc. ... then maybe the BJCTA would get some dedicated funding.

And finally (boy! I'm long-winded lately!) ... about the "burn" part - of course there was the heat Thursday evening but I didn't get burned. But when I got up this morning and started to brush my hair, when the bristles touched my skin, I realized that my forehead had gotten slightly burned. Next time, I'll wear a hat!

2 weeks

No, I'm still here. My phone line quit sometime during Friday night of last week. Because Mother's went out a few days before mine, I thought maybe it was something in the lines in this area - she lives 2 miles from me. It wasn't - was just a coincidence. With her being 93 and alone a lot, she needs a land line. My sister reported it to repair, but nothing had been done. So last Tuesday, shortly after I got to work, I called the Public Service Commission. Mother's phone was back to working yesterday. Mine was back today. It's a little bit too lengthy to go into here, but there's more to what happened than I'll go into here. Of course I've been having "withdrawals", not being able to get on line!

In addition, a friend called a few days ago and asked if I felt like I was a year older. I told him no, only a day older than the day before. We have a "birthday club" at work that we each put $2 a month. One of the engineers brought in an ice cream cake for me on Tuesday (my birthday was over the weekend). Luckily we have a refrigerator in our office. There's still about 3 pieces left, which some of us will finish off tomorrow.

And my air conditioning here at home has quit! In talking to a handyman friend, he said it sounds like just the freon stuff, and gave me the number of a man who does HVAC. I left that man a message, and hope he calls tomorrow! We've been having rain almost everyday, but the temperature's also been about 90 during the day. In that respect, I'm glad I'm in the COOL office - though a lot of the buses don't have working air conditioning.

And speaking of the buses (I'm catching up!), I get off work at 4:30, and last Friday, my driver didn't get me home until 7:40!

Join me now: groan - complain - whine - fuss - gripe ... !!!

And I've almost got a new poem written. The idea is from Revelation 3:16.

Two Days of RIDING the BUS

While this is not quite typical, it will give you an idea of riding both MAX VIP (our Metro Area eXpress paratransit, door-to-door scheduled buses) and MAX fixed route buses. I no longer have sufficient sight to drive safely. I had made plans to take last Thursday off and do 2 things, so decided to also go to a store, and had scheduled VIP. Plans for Friday were unexpected, with no time to schedule VIP, so I had to ride the big buses that run a fixed route. We do not have the best service, but I'm glad we do have bus service. Some was good; some OK; some problems the fault of some of the bus personnel; some the fault of a doctor.

Thursday:
8:30 a.m. VIP at my house to go to the doctor about 14 miles away.
10 a.m. appointment; I took crocheting to do while waiting.
11 a.m. VIP to go to a restaurant to meet a notary to sign some papers. Our appointment was at 1. I ate lunch and the notary arrived at 12:30. Called VIP dispatch to let them know I was ready about 45 minutes earlier than my scheduled pickup time, hoping there would be an available driver in the area.
Driver got me at my scheduled time. Said she could have gotten me earlier because someone on her manifest canceled. Dispatcher never radioed to let her know I was ready early. Driver took me to the store, was finished there earlier than planned but didn't waste my breathe to call dispatch to let them know I was ready early. Just waited inside the store door until the bus came.
5:30 p.m. - home.

Friday:
Doctor the previous day had written a scrip for me to have a non-invasive out-patient procedure at a hospital about 4 blocks from the doctor's office. Because of meeting the notary (a necessity), I didn't have the time to do that right after seeing the doctor. The doctor said I could "walk in" anytime at the hospital. The place where friend Shane works was closed this day, and he offered to go with me even though he didn't need to (he's 4 years younger than my son, also legally blind but, like me, with a good bit of usable sight; maybe I'll "adopt" him!), and I told him he could go back home any time he wanted to. He stuck it out and, as you'll see, it was a LONG day!

6:45 a.m. - about 36 degrees. Out the door to wait for 25 (route number of the bus that goes on the street 1/2 block from my house). Bus ran on time. Friend got on nearest his house, about 4 miles toward town.
8 a.m. arrived on time at Central Station.
8:35 - the route 14 bus was also on time.
9 a.m. - got off at the stop nearest the hospital, and walked there.
9:15 - got signed in at admitting and got an ID wrist band. Turned out the doctor should have made an appointment for me. Was told that if we had other things to do, OK, and if I returned about 1:00, they could probably work me in. I told them we didn't see well enough to drive, and had ridden the bus. I think they felt sorry for us!
9:30 - walked about 3 blocks to a drug store and got snacks. By now the temperature had warmed to 55 or 60! We sat at a concrete table and bench next door to the drug store and talked and ate.
12:30 - back to the hospital.
1:00 - was taken in for the test, and all was well.
1:30 - walked about 4 blocks to Subway for a late lunch.
2:00 - waited about 30 minutes for the trolley back to downtown but it never showed; maybe broke down or shift change, so walked 7 long blocks to the nearest street where most of the buses go on the way back to Central Station.
3:15 - got the first bus that came by.
4:00 - got one of the 2 buses that goes toward home.
4:50 - got off at Wal-Mart, went inside, bought a couple of things, ending with each of us getting a hot fudge sundae at McDonald's.
5:40 - got 25 on home, with Friend getting off nearest his house, and me riding on of course.
6:15 p.m. I walked in my door.
All 5 drivers were nice.

Even if I'd been taken on in at the hospital, to ride the fixed route buses there and back would still have taken me 5-or-6 hours, even though the hospital is only 14 1/2 miles from my house.

In conclusion

It was 26 on my porch this morning, with frost. I waited 45 minutes for a bus that never came, only to learn that the driver missed the first couple of miles, and started the route at the community college 1/2 mile past my stop. Shane got on, called me, I called and woke Anthony (my neighbor who's often awake by then - it was 6:30), who then took me to WM. Frozen phlanges? They still hurt! Anthony was nice enough to come back to get us. Had we ridden the bus home (yes, it would have been the same driver), I'm sure both Shane and I would have felt like punching the driver for this morning's fiasco. Yes, I did e-mail the bus' executive director. Shane and I bought breakfast at McD's, then bought some for Anthony. Shane and I are an "odd couple": he's 38; I'm - ahem; with Anthony, we make an "odd trio": Shane and I are short and, shall we say, "chunky", white; Anthony's tall, slender, black. We have a great time together though, and it's especially nice to have a neighbor who doesn't mind being waked up to take a couple of blindies somewhere.

Then ... I'm sure I'm boring you but that's obviously not stopping me! ... Diana, my sister, was kind enough to take me to H&R Block to sign my tax stuff and pay for it. Then we went a few more places, and I treated her to lunch. She had some Hardee's coupons, which I used. I had a 1/3 pound thickburger and fries and a diet Dr Pepper. (I had diet Coke with McD's breakfast about 8:30 today, so I'm on a caffeine "high" this afternoon.) She had the same kind of burger, onion rings, and water. I've learned that one way to be able to eat all that meat - is not to eat but half the bun; those carbohydrates fill you up! It was the best burger I've had in a long time. The only "minus" was that there was only 1 thin slice of tomato (not vine-ripe either). I'm sure my arteries are yelling at me, but with all that protein, my brain should be OK! (Any questions as to what I mean, ask me.)