Tired of Snow Me Too

In my past several posts that I’ve written, they’ve been about snow. By reports on the television weather channel, we have several more bouts just ahead. I’m not a person who easily feels depressed, so instead of moping around, I’ll write a few sunny recollections from my youth and my tour of duty in Orlando, Florida as a Naval Corpsman.

I was blessed to have an Uncle and Aunt living there, Jake and Helen Stahl. They moved there with their kids so Jake a stone mason could provide for his family. This was my first duty station after spending the winter at great Lakes Training Facility and Corps school. The temperature adjustment was unbelievable, pleasant but a big change. I went from long johns and Mukluks to sandals and Bermuda shorts. There were cousins scattered around the area to, Uncle Jake was upset if I didn’t visit them on my weekends off, but every once in awhile I’d go crazy and spend some time on the beach with a few of my corpsmen friends.

Jake loved to barbecue. He had the butcher shop cut the beef into steaks a certain thickness for grilling. They were good eating. Jake loved his Oldsmobile vehicles. I don’t believe that he owned any other brand except for his work truck. Because he was short and rotund he had a worn spot on the front of his trousers where the steering wheel rubbed his belly.

Aunt Helen loved bright colors. At her house in Pennsylvania, each room was painted vibrant shades of coral, lime, and sky blue. When you entered her home, it was almost like entering a tropical paradise. My memory fails me, but I am unsure if her home in Orlando had the same colors. I can remember the outside was a weathered coral color. The first time as a teen, I visited Daytona Beach My dad Carl could actually drive on the sand. As we drove done, I saw these globed, jiggly orbs. I was shocked. No, they weren’t jelly fish. These mounds were covered with a tiny bit of cloth. It was my introduction into seeing a bikini. Girls swimsuits back home covered SO MUCH more. With the cold outside, it may be time to visit the beach again.

 

She Ain’t What She Used to Be

Because of the cold weather and keeping my driveway clear of snow my right knee that usually has some pain began to hurt when I walked, especially going up steps. My bedroom and computer room are on the second floor, so when I need to stoke the wood burner, I must make the trek down two flights of stairs and then back upstairs. I feed pieces of wood into the wood burner nearly every 4 or 4.5 hours. I have the damper open enough to keep the fires hot so the creosote doesn’t build-up in the chimney.

I went to see a doctor last week. She gave me an injection of steroids in my knee after withdrawing nearly twenty-five cc’s of fluid. I hadn’t noticed until she mentioned that my knee was swollen. It surprised me when she withdrew that much fluid. After the injection, the pain did decrease and walking became easier, but one side effect was to raise my blood sugar. The next morning, my blood sugar was almost double what it normally was. The relief I’ve gotten is mixed, I still have the usual ache in my knee, but the pain has eased when I walk.

Snow removal has been a real pain. Last week’s snow was heavy and the fact that the snowplows seem to enjoy pushing and packing the nearby drifts into my drive doesn’t help. I remove the snow from my driveway and carry it across the roadway shovelful by shovelful and dump it into an empty field. The wind always wants to push the snow in that direction, but the plows push it back in heaps, making the original drift higher. Much of that excess snow ends up in my drive.

I usually clear out an opening for two vehicles in case of visitors, not that I have many. Most often it is my daughter to look for something she’s stored at my house or to store something until she needs it.

Yesterday’s snow that fell was much less and it much lighter to carry across the road. But with the lighter snow, the flakes didn’t stick to each other which caused another problem. It made my driveway extra slippery. The feeling of the icy drive brought back an uncomfortable sensation of déjà vu. It brought back thoughts of my slip and fall in my drove on the ice from February of 2015. I finished clearing my drive and walkway, but I had to be extra cautious.

 

Envious of the World Around You

When we see the world around us having things that entice and make us envious of what they have, consider how they got them. When we do that, we are competing with those who rob, loot, kill, or use influence to bribe others to do what they want. Envy is one of the seven deadly sins.

The wealth of drug sellers carries on by the addiction and misery of people that are enticed into using and becoming habituated on the substance. The addict will do almost anything to get money for the next dose. Junkies will often turn to theft and murder to get what they want. Innocent family members, friends, and strangers become targets, also victims of drug addiction. Don’t fret, even dealers aren’t immune to repercussions of drugs the drug trade. They may not use these destructive substances, but must be constantly wary that someone might rip them off, kill them, take the stash, and be wary of others who want to take over their business. Then there are those who have allowed their greed to lead them to the point they commit murder on demand…abortionists.

Some folk steal from their employers. I knew one man who smuggled enough nails out of his job to build his new home. Another lady stole silverware, plates, and bowls from a cafeteria to serve eight, also supplying her home with sugar and seasonings in single packets to use daily in cooking at home.

I wince when I think of the people who traffic in the sex trade, especially those who take innocent children to abuse and sell. I have no compassion for them and have no condemnation for inmates assaulting these callous perverts while in jail.

Crooked politicians who sell influence to the highest bidders are little more than snake oil salesmen. They smile and tell customers they have a cure, when what they are selling is often little more than sickness or poison. Politicians who proclaim they are there for the good of the people often only help are their family and friends, while helping themselves to tax dollars. Shady deals, deals made with inside information, and selling of influence have lately become the norm and not the exception.

Our Sunday school lesson was on Psalm 37. It advises the reader, “Not to fret of evildoers, neither envious against the workers of iniquity…” and “For evildoers shall be cut off: but those who wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.”

“The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him… But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off…But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD; he is their strength in time of trouble.”

Really Stacked

For my morning chores Wednesday, I opened my garage door to do battle with the elements and was greeted by a two feet high snowdrift. I’ve had deeper snowdrifts there, but because I hadn’t had snow drifting at that spot in several years, it was a surprise. Shoveling my way out to my drive, I began the Herculean task of removing the snowplow piled hardened snow. The snow was heavy. The snow drifts just above my drive and the snowplows push it into my driveway. As I began the task of snow removal, I remembered that I would also need to haul firewood inside for the wood burner in my basement.

I don’t like the extra work of waking up during the night to feed the beast, but I do love the constant heat that it puts out. It’s so much more comfortable than the waves of heat and chill from the oil furnace. I keep a supply of wood just outside my garage door to fill it. Fire is never satisfied, it will eat what you give t and still want more.

The thought of how many times I’ve stacked it or will be stacking it ran through my head. The first time I stack it is when a load of wood is delivered and dumped. When I stack that wood, it takes up less room and I’m able to cover it with a tarp. When I retrieve the split logs into the house, I stack a load onto my flatbed wheelbarrow. Pieced together with scrap wood, it has no sides and an old metal wheel. Hoisting the handles, I maneuver it into my basement where it is unloaded and stacked. I park the wheelbarrow at flat wooden palette. This is the first of two racks and two stackings. The first rack allows any frost  that may accumulated or clinging snow to melt and further dry the wood. When I bring in another load, I make room and that pile of wood and is stacked into the large found metal rack closer to the wood burner.

All that is left for me to do is to toss the firewood into the firebox, stacking it so it can burn completely, without build-up of creosote. Creosote leaves a tar-like substance inside the chimney and is highly flammable. So far this year, I have been blessed no chimney fires. The dryer wood and burning the wood it at a higher temperature, I haven’t had to clamber onto the roof to brush out my chimney.

 

 

Who Was That Masked Man

Do you remember watching the ld black and white television sets with Howdy Doody, Hopalong Cassidy, The Cisco Kid, and Roy Rogers. There were many others, including cartoons of Tom Terrific and his wonder dog, Mighty Manfred, Felix the Cat, and Our Gang. Laurel and Hardy as well as the different cartoons of the Merry Melodies. The one television program I am specifically speaking is the Lone Ranger with his faithful sidekick Tonto. They would ride into town on their horses, Tonto on his paint and the Lone Ranger on his white stallion. They were coming to right the wrong that was running rampant.

The distinguishing factor that made the Lone Ranger so memorable was that he wore a mask…not like the ones today that covered the mouth, making speaking little more than mumbles, but his covered his face from the nose upwards. Even as a kid, I wondered how the small mask over the eyes kept folks from recognizing him, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the program.

Today’s masks are worn over the mouth and nose, effectively disguising the person beneath it. Today I stopped at a local stoe for a loaf of bread and lettuce for a salad. I was greeted by a guy with a beard. I managed to catch sight of it before it disappeared beneath the paper shield. He recognized me because I’d just left the store and removed the mask as soon as the door closed behind me. He greeted me with’ “How have you been?” I replied that I was doing well. He nodded and walked into the store. The voice was familiar, but I still don’t know who was talking to me.

Too often when passing people in Wal-Mart I’m able to recognize someone from their hairstyle or their eyes, but not that often. It’s like living in a world of anonymity.

Perhaps that’s what our government wants. If we can’t recognize each other, how can we assemble and stand firm against dictatorial practices. The right to assemble is a Constitutional right, but with whom will you assemble?

One assembly I am most thankful for is attending church services three times each week. Getting out of the house is a true blessing and being with friends and church family. Our choir has been on break for the month of January and will be back together this month. I don’t claim to have an excellent singing voice, but the Scripture sayd to make a joyful noise, and I guess I’m able to do that.

Mask or not, I’m thankful that God recognizes who we are.