WE were in HEAVEN!!

I took Bruce to the Lawn Fire Company motorcycle breakfast in Lawn,PA. It is back of Mount Gretna,Pa. Are you ready for this, there were over 500 motorcycles there! I was not ready for the feast of bikes, and their riders that showed up. We got there about 8:30 AM, and left about 10:30 AM and they just kept coming, and coming! Bruce ate breakfast, I did not. I was too busy looking over the bikes. My favorite Boss Hoss, small block chevy trike was there. It has the body look of a "57 chevy. Pictures are as follows.

The original Chevy cycle. Over 800 horsepower!           

E.J. Potter, The Michigan Madman from 1966 at York U.S. 30 dragway!

     

                                                                                   

Just a small sampling of the bikes at the breakfast meetings going on every month in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. We will continue to visit the gatherings. As Bruce cannot ride since his stroke, at least I can take him to be with our comrades!

I'M SPEECHLESS?!!!

Now you know me better than that, I am speechless for very little of my life. But this week I celebrate my good fortune many times over. My soulmate of over 42 years got a clean bill of health from the hospital. The terrible  pain in her chest and right shoulder was not her heart. They don't know what it was, but it is less now!

The friend Dave H. and I are helping was assured by a spitfire lady lawyer that he will get relief from his financial troubles and no longer fall thru the cracks of the system.

All in all this was a super great week. And having the family together for our first picnic on Sunday, even though Tim, Jeff and Heather were not here was great. Jeff and Heather will be moving home the beginning of June. He starts at the Lancaster Seminary in the fall. And Tim will be back from a seminar about autistic children, his chosen occupation, on Wednesday from Chicago. Yes this was a great week for us. More good times to follow.

The Polar Vortex winter is behind us. My knee bothers me a lot, but I am used to pain. Mary and I keep the pain pill people in business! Both our aging bodies have been worked hard over the years, and it shows. Like Mic Jagger sings " ain't it a drag getting old" but it beats the alternative! The good times with the grandkids cancel out any pain filled moments.

Thank You,
Randy "Hoss" Caldwell

WILD PPAARRTTYY? ------- NO intimate family Party!!

It is saturday night. I have spent most of the day with my sore knee stretched out on my la-z-boy. Got some housework done, preparing for our family get together tomorrow for Memorial day. We have Laura, her husband Rich and the three grandkids, and Rich's son Ritchie. Ritchie was absorbed into our family when he was little, when Rich and Laura first hooked up. Rich is our son now too! Sarah our daughter close to two years now since she married our older son Tim. Sarah will be here for the gathering. Tim is in Chicago for a conference for his work with kids with autism. Sarah  works with Tim too. Heather, another RN is the newest member of our family, the soon to be wife of our youngest son Jeff. They are moving home in about two weeks from North Carolina for Jeff to start at Lancaster Theological Seminary. He got the Calling. We are very proud of the six kids in our family! And we are very proud of the three grandkids, so far just three, that we have, including Ritchie our adopted grandson who just recently moved in with Laure and Rich again. Sunday our house will be full again. And that is a great feeling. Laura is bringing cup cakes. Sarah is bringing potato salad. I am bringing my appetite as usual! I got STRICT orders to keep away from the party fixings. There is little notes on the soft drinks, potato chips, cookies and other items saying."Keep away, for party only" Mary knows me too good.

Mary has recovered since her chest pain incident wednesday and thursday that put her in the emergency room over night. Thank you GOD for giving me back my soul mate! Her heart was not the problem, they don't know why she was in such great chest pain and that is still a little scary! I will pick up the newest member of our extended family. Bruce my friend since 1967 is invited too. He had a heart attack years ago, and several strokes recently. I am helping him by running him around because he is not suppose to drive yet. Mary said to me last week, invite Bruce sunday, he has no close family members to be with for the holiday. We had him over last christmas for a gathering. What's one more to join the family. We have room. I take him to breakfast every Saturday. He likes to see his favorite waitress Linda. She is really kind to Bruce and makes him feel special. He takes candy for all the girls. I will do a page on   The Udder Choice  our very favorite eating place. I told Bruce we will keep coming here as long as I can still walk and drive to get us here. I take Bruce to the cycle shows too. We both like to see the bikes and the babes who ride them.

Christian Motorcyclist prayer tent. They minister to the hard core bikers to bring them to the LORD!

We had a lot of people living with us over the years too. We feel it is our responsibility to help friends when they need it. Laura's best friend Heidi still has a lot of belongs in our basement from her break up. We have the room, so we help do what we can.

Hopefully we will be able to have our supper out that we did not have time for earlier in the week. Our 42 nd anniversary was Tuesday the 20th of May but Mary was going to her older sister Shirleys over night, since her husband of 55 years Donald died in January and Mary doesn't want her to be alone all the time. Shirleys daughter Donna lives with her which is a help, but Mary and Shirley have been close for all their lives. We just feel the need to help. That is why Mary and I hooked up over 42 years ago. Although different in a lot of ways, you know me by now, our capacity for feeling others pain and helping others is great in both of us. We see a need in others and have to remedy it. It is our calling you might say.

Family get togethers are very important to both Mary and me. It is a lot of work, but we both enjoy the time together so much. We have the grandkids over usually every other weekend. The fighting, and yelling time is soon forgotten. The good feeling time is remembered forever. Now you have met our extended family. I don't know how much it will grow from here. More grandkids? New adopted members. We have a big house for get togethers.

My need to help others is why I have this blog. To alert you to the dangers I see in society. To help those who need to make more money. To give you the advice to not make the same mistakes I and others have made in life. To help you avoid the pitfalls in life. Alas I realize we must make the same mistakes others make so we learn the lesson. But I hope my raves alert you to a dangerous situation, and hopefully your situation will not be as bad as ours has been.  Thank you Randy"Hoss"Caldwell

Tough times never last; tough people do. Join us and be tough, but tender and helpful when someone needs you!!

This is the helmet I had on when I was thrown 30 feet from my bike and landed in the middle lane of traffic. See the damage, that would have been my skull without the helmet! Please convince others to wear a helmet. Their lives depend on it! Thank you Randy"Hoss"Caldwell

My adopted brother Bruce checking out the bikes and the babes! Right now Bruce is down, but with Dave and my help he is far from out!!

Just one more shot of the Legion breakfast in Ephrata, Pa. Soon to follow our trip to Lawn. Pa with over 5oo bikes, and bikers!

HELP

We are getting help for a friend at last. Sometimes the big stick you must flash is in the form of a lawyer. Our friend was taken advantage of by lending institutions and financial people who gave him bad information. He owes more than double on his house than what it is worth. We will not stand by and watch a friend go down the drain without offering to help him wage the war on bad behavior of people that can influence the poor and un-knowledgeable. There are too many people that can be taken advantage of by the public. I and another friend have decided to let this person know we will stand by him in his time of need. No, we are not super heroes, just plain pals who are tired of an innocence person getting the shaft. This is one person who does not know how to fight back and will be taken by our hands and led to life changing help.

What do we get out of this. The satisfaction of helping a fellow human being in time of need. I am not telling you this for glory, I want you to know we are simple people doing a complex task. You can do it too. We do not wear a cape or costume. We just want to stick up for a friend who has been pushed around by people of low character and taken advantage of. Well no more for our friend. And you can do it too. Stand up for the rights of the underdog! It feels good to help someone get a new lease on life. To see the burden lifted from their shoulders. And a glint in their eyes again when they see the light at the end of their financial tunnel.

Yes I use this blog to talk about the things that interest me, but I also use it to rave about the wrong doings of society. We can get involved in what is wrong and try to fix it. Yes, I like to go to motorcycle shows, but I also like to stomp on bad people's plans to hurt others. We are super heroes to other people, just caring individuals according to us. Be your own super hero, help someone today. If all of us help just one person every day, this old world will be a better place for all of us.  Thank you Randy "Hoss" Caldwell

You know me by now, I DO NOT WALK SOFTLY, and I carry A VERY BIG STICK, and the stick (lawyer) IS A SHE!   Do not get in our way!

You must learn to BEND before you break in the WIND!!

If you are not flexible, the business world will surely break you! You must learn to take what you must learn to get ahead in anything you try. Whether it be sports, working or the business world. If you do not learn from your mistakes, you will be powerless to keep from repeating them over and over. If you keep doing the same thing, you will get the same result every time.

I am not telling you it is going to be easy, I am telling you it will be worth it. You must learn something new every day to keep ahead of the rest of the world. I am in the later years of my life, but I am learning new things every day. You must do the same thing. You must change with the rest of the world, or you will be left behind. I am writing something every day. But what I am putting on paper I am changing as I go along.

My writing is not the same as I grow this blog. My outlook on life is changing too. I tried to help everyone I find in life. But I am learning, some people do not want help. They do not want to change. They want to stay exactly the same year after year. And that is called getting stale. Life moves ahead, and we must change to keep up with it.

It things should stay the same, we would still be riding horses like the Amish. Even those people are changing with the world. They use cell phones, and computers. They have trucks and motors to run their machines. They have solar panels to charge their batteries. And air powered washing machines, and propane heaters. They have kept their beliefs, but modify them to make it in the world.

We must do the same thing to get ahead in our business world. I am 66 years old, but I am learning something new every day. I will be learning till the day I draw my last breath.

Thank you Randy "Hoss" Caldwell.

A not so desperate act!!

I picked up a change of clothes, drove the eight or so miles to the Heart of Lancaster Hospital, went inside and picked up the best looking nurse there and brought her home with me. I thanked the people on the floor for taking such good care of my soul mate, I told them I really need her!

Mary is not completely pain free, her chest still has some pain, but it is definitely not her heart. What it was, they don't know. So much for modern medicine. I am just glad to get her back. I do not fare so well without a soul mate to keep me straight! We men need a woman to keep us going. That is why married men live longer than single men. This experience has taught me that "GOD is just a prayer away". Also tough times never last, but tough people do.  And that the female species is a lot tougher than us males. A man would never last through childbirth! And women volunteer to go thru it numerous times.

Yes Mary is home, and I am not worried as much any more. Thank you friends for the e-mails to remind me to keep breathing, so I don't land in the hospital with Mary. You all knew I would be flustered! I went to pick Mary up, and it was the first time I went to the hospital in about thirty years that I was a visitor, and not carried in unconscious in an ambulance. I had a new experience caring for Mary. Not being the one on the table with wires coming out all over the place. I had to call people to tell of the problem she was in instead of me this time. I wish it would have been me, it is hard looking at a loved one in pain, and I can do nothing to help!

Yes, this was an act not of desperation, but of caring for my soul mate. Sometimes we do not see eye to eye, like her throwing me out of the emergency room for being too loud. I was scared, and my volume goes up when I can't handle the situation. But I got her there in one piece, and stayed till I could do no more to help.

Today she was happy to see me. Either she missed me, or was just was glad to get home again. LOL She said she must take a shower, there are sticky places all over her chest from the wire pads they stuck on her to record her vital signs. I know the feeling well, I had those sticky places a lot of times myself over the years. I hope she does not have to go thru this trauma as much or as bad as I have over the years. I would find that hard for me to handle.

I don't want my loved ones to suffer like I have and do now. I am paying for all the hurts I have had over the years. Your body does not forget the mistakes you made, or others made to you. My cycle accident in 2002 is the biggest ghost I have. It will haunt me till I take my last breath. But considering all the good parts in my life, family and the closeness of them, I can withstand the pain for a while longer. I will do it for my family. I owe them that much. They are the best family an old fart like me could ever have. Thank you LORD for showing me the light and giving me the best loving family I could have.  Thank you Randy "Hoss" Caldwell

Yes I am unsupervised again, and I hate it today!

No talk about a wild party this time, Mary is suffering in the hospital, and I am suffering at home thinking of her in constant pain! No smart remarks will make me feel better today. When the one you cherish is hurting,you are hurting too. I said in my other page this is a new experience for me to be on the other side of a bad adventure in pain.

When we had the three kids the pain Mary felt was calculated, we knew it would be over, and be worth the trouble. Even when we lost the baby, we learned to accept the fact because Not everything is a sure thing.

I hardly slept last night, because I knew Mary would have a hard time settling down to sleep. I regard the doctors and nurses as GOD'S angels, I Told them so last night. But when they are doing their jobs, it can be annoying when you are hurting and trying to sleep, and they are trying to keep you alive.

When Mary threw me out, when I left I saw the lady in charge of the shift and told her how everyone worked hard to help us. I told her to praise them for the way they took care of Mary, and especially me.

When you hit our age in life, and everything hurts, you get used to the small everyday hurts. But when the person you have spent the bulk of your life with is hurting, and you can do nothing to help them you realize how venerable the human body is. I am over six foot tall, and close to three hundred pounds most of my life. I am afraid of no man.

But watching my wife suffer last night is like when the kids were young and in pain. You realize there is nothing you can do to help them. You realize how worthless all the male macho is in this situation. Maybe I can rip a phone book in half, but helping a loved one not suffer is beyond my capabilities. I cannot beat up pain and knock it out of my loved ones body! I am helpless, and that scares the heck out of me.

Reflecting on the actions I have taken to be on the other side of a loved one in trouble has given me a new look on life. Even when I was young, muscular and had all my hair, I could not fight the destiny of bad actions landing a person in the hospital. Even the not bad actions like having my appendix out at the age of thirteen was a learning experience for me. I will keep learning till I take my last breath.

And my friend who had the strokes that changed his life, I am learning from that, it may be me in years to come. There are no guarantees in life, just learning experiences.  Life is a gift, unwrap and enjoy it! You never know how long these living years will be here for you. Don't waste them! Spend time with your loved ones before it is too late. No one on their dying bed said, I wish I had spent more time at work! Learn from their mistakes!

Thank you Randy "Hoss" Caldwell (a male who is still learning!)

Mary threw me out!!

Mary got home from her overnight trip to her sisters about the time I hooked up on Skype with my Internet coach, Marcy, for our weekly call. Mary came into my office and announced her chest hurt so much the doctor she called said get to the emergency room right away. I shouted to Marcy I had to leave to run Mary in, and she said good luck and I will pray for you and Mary. Good friends always stand by you in time of need!

We flew the eight or so miles to Heart of Lancaster Hospital, and I took her into admitting. While they took her info I moved the car to the parking lot. When I returned they were taking her into the emergency room. Millions of flashes flew thru my brain. Lots of things I hoped to never think about filled my brain!

I finished her paperwork and signed a lot of things I did not read too close. I wanted to be by Marys side. When I walked in the locked door, I shouted, where is Mary. Everyone said room 12 and pointed that way. Mary was laying on a bed with four ladies sticking all kinds of wires on her. For the first time in my life I was really scared. I did not know how to act. I was never on this side of an emergency before. Till now it was always me lying there with people working over me and Mary sat patiently by my side. With the roles reversed I was not ready to accept what was happening. How would I cope, I always had Mary to tell me not to worry, everything would be all right.

As the day drew on I accepted what was happening. Mary was telling me not to worry. She knew me being a man would panic and needed reassurance to maintain my calm. I am glad she was not like me in that bed. Most times I was unconscious from the accident. No help to a worried mate! As time passed and Mary talked to me I settled down, somewhat!

I walk, and talk when I am nervous. I kept walking up and down the hall and talking to the nurses and doctors. Mary told me not to bother them, they are busy. After they told us she would be in overnight I left to get her iPad, charger and the charger for her phone. When I got back I got another diet Pepsi. Mary getting three nitroglycerin pills and a shot of morphine had enough of her senses left to give me a hard time about drinking my third soft drink in four hours time. She always looks out for me, because I can't.

About nine o'clock she got tired of me talking so much and said I should go home and get some sleep. I kissed her goodbye and said remember I love you. She said she loved me too, even though she was throwing me out! I had called the three kids earlier, and her two friends from nursing school. Today I called her sister and two brothers and told them what was going on. Like I said this is new to me, being the one who alerts the family. I told her before I left I wish I could take her pain, I am in pain so many times I feel I can stand anything. Then I remember I am male and cannot take as much pain as a woman. We are wooses I know, but we do love and care for the women we have. Thank you LORD for taking care of Mary! And for getting me thru another crisis.

Put us on your prayer list. Especially ask the LORD to help me, I need all the help I can get! Like I said before it is great to have friends to help you thru a crisis!

PAAARRRRTTTTYYYY

Yes, Mary has left me unsupervised again!  I told everyone, wild party. But Rob is right, I went to my granddaughters softball game, came home and ate my sub from kids school. Hit my la-z-boy at 10:00 PM, and did now regain consciousness till 7:00 AM. Old bones just not up to wild times any more. Yes her team won, 17 to 7. A well deserved win for E-town girls aged 14!

As you can see parties are not my main goal in life now. It is just one more way I can make my friends laugh at life, and get much needed pressure reduced from their soul. Everyone needs to laugh every day. It helps you avoid the psychiatrist couch. The other good way to avoid the couch is ride motorcycle, which I talk about a lot. Look at the pictures on other pages. 

My friend Bruce had a stroke recently and can't ride bike now, So I am taking him to the rallies in my van. It does him a world of good to see the bikes, and walk among brother and sister riders. Don't know if he will ever ride again, but I will keep taking him to shows as long as he can walk. When he is in a wheelchair, I will push him around in the chair with his Harley Davidson license plate on it. Us bikers are a stubborn group. We never give up either!!

Grateful for these living years, all of them!

Yes I an happy to still be alive. A lot of my friends did not make it this far. Some we lost at a very young age. They had no chance to build a family. And a lot of them threw away their family by leaving. I find that hard to fathom, that you give up and start a new family, or stay single into old age. Then some people stay single their whole life. Had I stayed single I would not be alive now. Booze and nicotine would have done me in. And my reckless behavior would have caught up with me. I thank THE LORD every day for giving me Mary. She saved me from myself.

You people who were like me understand what I am saying. Being bi-polar is a great way to an early grave. And I was headed there very fast. Luckily Mary showed up and helped me limp thru life till I diagnosed myself on the internet at fifty years old, Finding the right combo of medicine changed my life for good. I no longer jump from depressed to manic minute by minute. If you have trouble, get help. It will change your life. I am manic most of the time. That is why I have the attitude I never give up!

I was always bullheaded, that is where Kyler gets it from. The terrible three's are bad enough without being head strong too. Yes I am pushing my business. It has mesmerized my outlook on life and given me a purpose in retirement to push to keep alive when a lot of retires wither and die. There are some things since I have gotten older I can no longer do. My knees are shot, I can not get down on them no more. Mt left shoulder was replaced with plastic and titanium and I favor it when lifting.

I have trouble on a ladder now, when I spent a lot of my life on ladders, scaffolds and lift truck buckets. That work is for the young people to take over for me. I did my time doing dangerous work. When I used to fly around in small airplanes to get to sites to repair systems. That is a great memory now. "When I was a kid I used to do that; wait I still do!" Is a saying I use no more. But I can still talk a neighbor thru a repair. I did when Drew next door drilled into the wire in his father-in-law's stove wire putting in a microwave over the stove. I still have my brain, feeble as it is getting! LOL

Yes my kids have the never give up attitude too. I am so glad they absorbed some of my good traits. Hope they forgot my bad ones and do not repeat them.

Thank you. Randy "Hoss" Caldwell

May 20,1972 8:15 PM, the start of our fantastic adventure!

Yes tomorrow it marks 42 years since we built the foundation for our great life adventure. It hardly seems like it has been that long we have traveled thru time together. Where did all those wonderful years slip away to. I cannot believe I will, in two months be 66 years old. I don't feel like an old retired handicapped, old fart. When I look in the mirror, I see a ball headed dude who still looks familiar. And Mary does not look that much different than the day I grabbed her in Jim's and Donna's kitchen and we locked lips for the first time. Is it really that long?

Yes when I get up from my chair and my left knee wrenches me with pain, and the three bones in my spine that are giving me pain from an old injury, I realize I have a lot miles on this body! I did not take the best care of this body when aging. I did a lot of heavy lifting at work all these years. Just like Mary, time has taken its toll on our bodies.

The motorcycle accident in 2002 did me no favors. Do I think about the guy who left me laying in the middle of the road when he took off, I feel sorry for him. He will not treat anyone good. He will not have as good a life as Mary and I have and will continue to have! People who treat others bad, will not have a life that satisfies.

May 20, the day we were married was the Lancaster Sertoma chicken barbecue. It is tomorrow it is held again, like always the third Saturday in May every year. It is in the book of world records as the largest public barbecue fund raiser held. It keeps longs park in business and free to the people of Lancaster. Mary said she always dreamed of getting married May 20. Thank you LORD for making her dream come true.

Mary is on a date with a handsome young man for lunch! Am I jealous. NO! Our older son Tim took her to lunch for Mother Day. I told you we raised great children. They are hard working, and have compassion for others. The only thing you leave from these living years is the people you touched with your kindness and help. Mary and I have touched a lot of lives. It is satisfying to see the legacy we leave behind.

It is not the outside riches, but the inside riches that produce happiness. That was my fortune cookie from my daughter Laura buying us a Chinese dinner several months ago. I will take Mary and Laura yard selling tonight and tomorrow morning so they do not have to walk so far. And keep Kyler our three year old grandson under as much control as I can. Mary's heel still makes her limp. I hope we can get the problem resolved so she is not in so much constant pain.

That is my job to be hurting all the time! It is my constant reminder that I am still alive. I check the paper every morning, and if I do not show up in the obituary column I know this will be a good day. You young whipper snappers will learn you will check the paper every day when you get old to see how many of your friends bit the dust! When you are young you go to a lot of weddings, a happy time. When you are our age, it is a lot of funerals. Not a happy time except when you realize it is not your funeral. but a time for thanking THE LORD we are still alive.

Yes I thank THE LORD a lot. I pray to heal friends from all the suffering inflicted on us at this age. To take care of all who need HIS help and guidance. And to give me strength so I can help others, like Bruce who are a lot less fortunate than we are. 

Yes this thing we call life has been a great adventure for Mary and me. We are not ready to give it up. I have too much helping to do yet. Helping people down and out. Helping people to elevate their position in the financial part of their life. And helping my grandchildren develop the same look to life that we taught our children. To be compassionate and help others in life. I hope our legacy of helping others carries thru coming generations. Our parents are proud of their heritage we carry forward.

The only thing we leave on this earth is the goodness we have shared and the seeds we planted, our children. Let's make both of them a legacy we can be proud to talk about in heaven.

Well it is 1:00 thursday morning!

Yes Mary has left me alone again while she is at work. With no soft drinks, and no snacks she figures I cannot get into trouble with my diet! Well we will see. No, I am listening on my Doctor for once. I am losing the extra pounds I put on when I was depressed from getting shut out of my job at sixty years old, and could not find another job.

My friend Bruce at 66 years old had a stroke, and I doubt he will go back to driving cars at Manheim Auto auction. He has too much trouble with his eyes. He complains about being bored sitting around watching TV.

I have trouble sleeping when Mary is at work taking care of people at the home. I was always a late night person anyway. I can sleep in the morning when Mary does anyway. Then we have all afternoon to do whatever we need to around the house, or go to the store. We are setting up our garden right now. We both like home grown produce better anyway. To pick your meal from the ground and right into your mouth with little preparation is heavenly. Fresh is where it's at.

Well I don't believe I am Toooo sarcastic!

When Mary came down to get supper at 8:15 PM tonight, she says, Thank you for not taking my night pills like last night. I guess after over 42 years living with a sarcastic male it kinda rubs off on you!  When I was a kid; no wait, I still do that! I have the sarcastic streak in me as long as I can remember. It has served me well over the years. I get a lot of laughs with it. Most people get my humor. Those that don't I have never  worried about.

Yes I am fed up with the way this world is turning away from GOD. I am glad of the recent ruling allowing prayer in meetings. We need to bring GOD back into our lives before it is too late. I am not super religious either. I just believe in GOD, and like to talk to him now and then, like every day. That sarcastic streak again. If we put GOD out of our lives too much no good can come from it. The people who use the crutch of separation of church and state do not understand what the founding fathers meant when they wrote that into law. It means the state cannot tell you what to believe. Not that we cannot mention GOD in a state building. I know with us turning our back on God, is why there is so much trouble in the world. Well enough of my raves concerning religion.

God made me, and everybody else.God does not make trash, so we all are good in our own way. Yes GOD made the murders and bad people too. But they chose to ignore him and follow their own path. So much for enough of my raves on religion. I told you my feeble brain does not work so good sometimes.

Thank you Randy "Hoss" Caldwell

Well this is number 200. Something not so serious this time! Maybe

How about that, 200 pages in just several months. I deleted about 10 pages because I did not like them after I published them. I like everything I put out to make sense. And that can be hard for this feeble mind.

I like to talk, I guess you have figured that out by now. Most of what is pushed out of my old brain is meaningful, at least that is what I am trying for.  I want to enlighten you, make you laugh, and I hope give you some advice on getting through these living years still breathing. I also love to tell you about the great business I have stumbled across. It is no doubt the best move I have made.

I want you to be as happy and prosperous as I am becoming. Yes, I am exited about life. Even though the Golden Years are not pain free, you can enjoy life as you never have before. I like being home, doing my part time work. Either fighting Mother Nature's weather dilemmas, or enjoying time with Mary, just doing what ever we want to. We worked hard all our life, ran the kids to all their functions, and made it this far. We deserve the time we have left. I just hope we get more of this great time in our lives. 

Mary will be getting up soon, to get ready for another night of work. I will join her in a coffee as I usually do. I know a lot of my pages are sarcastic, but I believe in telling life like I see it. There is so many lying people on the net today, at least here I believe in telling you the truth, as I know it!  Yes this is 200 pages of information,and my views of life. I hope you have found something you like. I hope you get the thrill out of life that I do every day.  Every new day is another chance to change your life for the better!

The only limits in your life are the ones you create in your mind. Don't let your limits hold you back another day! Be free to run your own life!

Working in the garden for Mary

Yes I am working my part time job, helping Mary with the chores around the house. Right now we are getting the garden going. It is great over summer to pick some of GOD'S bountiful harvest right from the ground, and have it for a meal fit for a king. When the kids were little we grew potatoes, dug them out of the ground and I made french fries. The kids told everyone we grew french fries in our graden. LOL

Yes we have a lot of fond memories of our family growing up. I just gotta find more pictures and put them on my blog. Having a loving family is more important than having a brick and mortar business. Too many people in business lose their families. I chose to close my business, and concentrate on my family. I am very glad of the choice I made.

When I told Mary years ago that a friend had a nice hot rod, but no family, she answered you cannot cuddle up to a car to keep warm on a cold night. She is right, at least for me. Yes she is very wise and understanding. I told you opposites attract! LOL

I am going out to see what Mary finished in the garden after I left to work on this computer. She has installed one side of the support fencing to hold the vines off the ground. It is almost 5:00 PM, so she has gone upstairs to nap till 8:00 when she gets ready for work. We will attack the garden fence tomorrow afternoon again.

My roofer is coming to check the rubber roof on the back part of the house. the corners have worked loose and stick up. Not bad for 20 years of wear. He was going to come tomorrow, glad he called and said tonight instead of tomorrow. I can ride cycle tomorrow in the morning while Mary sleeps, and work with her in the afternoon.

I took  pictures of gardens, will put them on this page as soon as Mary loads them into the computer. I am not smart enough yet to do it myself. I have a lot to learn on computer and internet workings. Mary has managed to incorporate garden space wherever she has a little bit of space. It amazes me how she can work wonders with whatever she decides to work with. She has even worked miracles with me. And that is really something hard to do. LOL

Stop Chasing the Good life, it is right here!!!!

Yes my life is good right now! I have a great wife, a loving family, and a fantastic reason to get up every morning, my home business. It took most of my life to get everything together.

I will be 66 in two months. I had my own electrical business for 15 years. That is the hard way to make a living, having your own business in a brick and mortar world. You have a lot of expenses every day when you open the door to the world. You have a lot of bookkeeping to put with. Collect taxes, keep a lot of paperwork, estimate jobs, try to get jobs, and do the work.

I started my business because everyone I saw in business had a lot of nice things. I did not realize they worked twenty hours seven days a week to make the money to buy all the nice things they had. I found out the hard way! And when the contractor I was working with filed bankruptcy and did not pay me for the houses I did for him, it broke my business too. I started working for someone again.

It was tough giving up my business, but we did not believe in bankruptcy so Mary and I refinanced our house to pay the bills. We still have a lot of years to pay our mortgage, we both are 65 years old. But I never give up!

Yes that is me in the mouth of the pelican, too stubborn to give up. Sorta like my three old grandson, Kyler. We do not surrender ever! I have endowed my three kids with my never give up attitude. And I am proud of what the three of them have accomplished in life. They have fought for what they have, worked hard and accomplished what they wanted out of life, Their three life partners are the same way too. Together they will have a great life together. The six of them are great workers. Like Mary and myself they will get far in life.

I want to help you get far in your life too. That is what I have found I am good at, helping others accomplish in life what I have done.

You don't have to be GREAT to start, But you have to START to be GREAT!!

Thank you Randy"Hoss"Caldwell

Yes, I still feel GOOD!

I rode the cycle again today. It is such a good feeling, even though I was stuck at a repaving site for 20 minutes waiting in traffic. I shut the motor off so I did not suck up gas, and pollute the area. Most cars and trucks kept their engines running, honking their horn and getting mad. That just jacks up your blood pressure and is hard on your heart. I have learned with old age to be calmer. It took a long time to learn how to be calm. Sometimes I digress and get mad, before I catch myself doing it and relent!

Bruce has a real hard time with getting mad. It will be the death of him yet. With a heart attack, and now a stroke under his belt he must learn to control his temper. I tell him to calm down, but he says he can't.  He will  get mad at the littlest thing. He will not change. So much for me trying to help him relax.

Yes I feel good, my granddaughter's cat was put to sleep, so he did not suffer any more, she got when she was 9 months old. She is 14 now. Tigger had a good long life. He was loved and taken good care of by my daughter and her family. Her cat Damien we got from her at 6 months old. He lived with us 14 years. I got attached to him. I never thought I would. I was a dog person when I was young. You never know what gets attached to your heart.

Mary's alarm is sounding up stairs again while she is in the shower. It is 8:11 P M. She is getting ready for work again. I just went thru my several hundred e-mails and am ready to write in my blog. I need this time writing, I have become addicted to pouring out my soul. It makes me feel like I am producing in the work area of life again. We all need to feel needed.

Mary just came back and said I will not expire right now, since at supper I took her night pills by mistake. I always leave her a note when I screw up, in case it makes me black out, she knows what I did again! She said she is going up with her sister again overnight and she will hide her pillbox so I will not screw up and take her pills again. The pill boxes are the same color, and even though she wrote our names on the bottom, because of my male genes I never look at the directions till something goes wrong.

I will be unsupervised two days again, wild party time! LOL Ladies don't you wish you had an idiot husband like me who is always messing up so you can tell him about it. Mary just loves to read my notes, when I do something wrong. It makes her day! I told you before we were opposites. Me stupid, and Mary smart. Luckily all the kids got her brains. I don't remember what they got from me. Oh yea, a never-give-up attitude!!  They got her good looks too, thank goodness for that!

Always remember;  WE begin to change the world, When we help others change their circumstances, in life, one person at a time!

Thank you for putting up with me.
Randy "Hoss" Caldwell

As Homer Simpson says "PPAARRRRTTYY"  Mary is truly an earthly ANGEL, 1st for being a dedicated Registered Nurse, and most importantly for putting up with me for over forty two years!

Goals

You have to have a goal in life!  Either you run the day; or the day runs you! If you try to build a business with no idea of what you want, what you will get is nothing. You must have in mind what you want out of life.

I have a picture in my mind of what I am doing when I do it. I do not have to have a drawing to follow. I can see my project in my mind. When I built the barn at the old house I saw it in my mind before I started. And it materialized as I was building it. The same thing when I built the play house at this house. I have a picture in my head, and I make it happen.

When I was single I raced my motorcycle and my car. Every time I was lining up to race I saw myself beating the other person to the finish line. I did not know at the time I was doing it, that is what people teach you to do to make things happen the way you want them to happen. I was doing what would drive me all my life. I did not know I was doing what I needed to do to make what I wanted happen. I just thought everyone did the same thing.

I also get a lot of help from Marcy  She is a lot like my wife Mary. She knows how to make me do the right thing to get ahead in my business and life. Marcy started me writing pages in this blog. I think the short time I worked with her, she figured out I have a big mouth and needed a place to put my words. And voila, this blog has jumped out of me!

Writing here is almost as settling for me as riding my motorcycle. Without this blog, and my two wheeled iron horse, I would spend a lot of money to see a shrink! Also I can get the word out to you. I hope it is helping you as much as it helps me!

I am closing up on two hundred pages. I never imagined when I started this before Christmas that so much would flow from my feeble brain, even in such a professional looking form. Thank you, spell checker!

This is the playhouse that I envisioned in my mind, and built it without anything on paper. You must learn to see in your mind what you want in your life, and you will receive it. Once you make a decision in your mind, the universe conspires to make it happen!

I feel GOOD,I Knew that I WOULD! AGAIN!

Yes I am in great spirits today. The secret to getting ahead is GETTING STARTED. Getting started is the big stumbling block in life. Once you get your body rolling, it is a lot easier to keep it going.

This morning I had a foot Doctor appointment at 9:15 AM so I rolled out on the motorcycle before 8:00 A M so I could take the long route to get there. I rode up to Hershey which is about 40 miles out of the way. And coming back on the bypass I could feel the bad vibes leaving my body. After the Doc finished, I took the bypass again and rode up to Reading, a lot of miles out of the way. But it was fantastic.

I was doing what a two wheeled iron horse was made to do. Cruse the interstate with no real destination to end up in. I rode over 120 miles and returned in great spirits. You never see a motorcycle in front of a shrink's office!  It is so much better than on a couch, spilling your troubles. Ask any biker.

Yes today I feel good! I mowed the yard when I got home, and it was about 3:00 when I was done. To top off a great day, I even stopped and got my favorite turkey sub, with extra onions, sweet peppers and a lot of hot peppers. I believe if your mouth does not burn fifteen minutes after you are done eating, it was not hot enough.

Years ago, Mary would not sit beside me when I eat hot peppers, because the lingering aroma would make her eyes water. She sat at the other end of the table, far away. Well they say opposites attract, and Mary and I sure are opposites. But we made such good looking children. Luckily they did not take after me in the looks department!  LOL

Yes most days I feel good. I try to keep a good feeling in my head. When I was younger I had a lot of days of doom and gloom. I had a lot of headaches from worry. It takes years to get over some habits. I quit smoking, which was torture. Limiting the booze took time too. I have only drunk two beers since the new year. I am trying to eat better, too.

Since Mary got me off diet soft drinks I feel so much better. I still drink a lot of coffee. I use no sugar, artificial sweetener, which is probably something wrong with it too. My Doctor told me forty years ago "If you put something in your mouth and it tastes good; spit it out! It is no good for you" !! I tried living on just air, but it is so polluted, it is probably worse than the food! LOL

This is my helmet from the accident in 2002. It is just by the goodness of GOD that I am still around to put my raves on paper. When I was launched off the cycle they tell me I hit head first on the pavement and bounced. I am glad enough people stopped to help me so no one ran over me in the middle lane. It is my angels who stopped and helped me.

Now it is my turn to be an angel to Bruce. I owe the LORD a lot. He has watched over me for 66 sometimes rough years. Thank you LORD. Please keep up the good work. I still need it! And so do a lot of others. I am so glad the law was passed to allow prayers in meetings. I hope this is a rejoining of putting the LORD back in our lives where HE belongs!

Randy "Hoss" Caldwell

Happy MOTHERS Day??

To all you hardworking Mothers out there, hope you enjoy the day devoted to all your hard work and sacrifice, you deserve so much more, as I wrote in the page before, I did not have a happy time with my mother. She was bullied all her life by her father and her two brothers, and in adult life by her sisters-in-law. She was blasted continually by taunts from her siblings.

It turned her into a troubled and frustrated adult. She would take it out on my Father and me. She left my two brothers alone, but I was too much like my Father so she took it out on us. I wonder now why she did not turn into a raving maniac, and me into a serial killer? It was the hand of GOD keeping us straight. That is why I hold HIM in such high regard!

It is 2:30 Sunday morning, Mothers Day. I woke up from my nap, of course on my la-z-boy to find Mary on her chair. She has taken her new arthritis medicine and it has made her so violently sick she has been throwing up a couple times over night. She asked me if I would go to the grocery store and get her some ginger ale to help her stomach settle. I said of course Snug. You know I would do anything for you.

When we first got married I braved a raging storm to get her some medicine because she was violently sick again. She was impressed I would go out in the storm for her. I said then, I love her and would do what ever she asked. The same thing, now over 42 years later. The love is stronger now than ever. She has done so much for me and the kids all these years. She deserves to feel better, not violently sick!

We are going to our daughter's this afternoon for supper. so Mary does not have to cook. My daughter's husband and his son helped me move Bruce's furniture to our basement for storage. We want to get him out of his house and into a smaller apartment. Help him cut down on his expenses. His Harley is in my garage. I keep his Harley a safe distance from my Kawasaki bagger, so there are no little Kawasaki-Davidsons born in the garage! LOL

I have adjusted from my mother's upbringing. I know that is why I want so much to help others. In her own way she helped everyone, in between fits of rage. Now that I am older and wiser (ho ho) I see life differently than when it was happening. With age comes some wisdom, and tolerance. I have learned, Having a sharp tongue may cut your own throat. Don't get me wrong, there were good times for me and my Mom. When they did not push the wrong buttons in Mom's psyche she was good to me. She just let off, when it was too much for her mind to fathom.

So to all you Moms out there, I say thank you for bringing us up. Its amazing some of us kids survived. Moms have troubled lives too. A friend told me at his Mom's funeral that he and his two sisters were brought up with whenever his mother was stressed out, she would threaten to kill herself if they did not behave. I guess every kid has his or her own story of a weird childhood. We just survive as best we can.

I hope we did a good job with our kids. They all have turned out as responsible adults. Kids are tougher than you can imagine. THE LORD helps us through a lot. Keep up the GREAT work GOD, we really need YOU in our lives. THANK you for giving us GREAT MOTHERS. GOD cannot be everywhere, that is why HE invented MOTHERS!! Saw that in front of a church when I went to Tim's house to feed the cat while they were on vacation for a few days. 

Mary took a shot of ginger ale and went to bed. I hope that settles her stomach.  It is hard enough for her to sleep when she has off work third shift. LORD help her through these rough times with all her aches and pains from a hard working life as a nurse, taking care of people in their old age. Now she is taking care of us in the later years.

Remember when you are in trouble or in pain, GOD is just a prayer away! It is comforting to me, I hope it is for you too. Return and read my blog for a look at life in the feeble aging mind. You need a good laugh, and I hope see some way to help you get thru this hilarious puzzle we call life. LOL Thank you. Randy "HOSS" Caldwell

Procrastination is the biggest thief of time!!

NO I NEVER waste time. YEAH RIGHT!! I watch TV too much when I should be up and about. Lately my arthritis all over, and my bad knee have been my excuse to veg out on my la-z-boy.

I went to the gym and worked out today. I saw Rachel my neighbor, and daughter of my new neighbor. Her dad and I gave her a hard time yesterday for her fussing about her dads Harley being in her garage while her mom and dad moved their boxes from moving into the house.

All my cycle friends said the Harley is more important than her mom's van!! I told Jim her dad, we would get along good, because we both like to give people a hard time in jest! It is nice to have good neighbors again. The couple who left after 32 years here were great neighbors too.

Back to goofing off. I am going to spend more time up and about. I need to keep moving, then my arthritis does not hurt so much.

Yes doing what we should, at the time we should, is a good habit to learn. Unfortunately in my later years I have ignored my activities that need done. I will spend more time with my grandchildren, doing something with them instead of sitting watching them. I must do more helping Mary around the house. Her body is showing the wear and tear of working hard all her life like mine. We both need a tune up, if not a complete rebuild! Time has not been kind to our bodies. But we are both stubborn, and will continue to do what must be done to keep these old bodies going.

Yes sitting around in these Golden(?) years is not good for us. Mary's knees creak when she comes down the steps, just like mine. But we will fight to stay mobile in these living years. We have too much to accomplish yet. Yes it is funny that the more you use your body the better it feels. Keeping everything lubricated from movement helps a lot. I must start walking around the neighborhood again. I will spend time helping Mary. More time with my grandchildren doing things, and time building my business. Eating better, and drinking lots of water during the day are high on my list too. I have Mary to thank for keeping me on the straight and narrow. She reminds me every day, several times if needed!

Thank you for visiting my world. It keeps me sane, and out of trouble. And boredom has left my retirement. I am too busy enjoying my living years to be bored! You deserve it too. You must just want to have a better life. With a little work from home you can have it too. Remember, if you can dream it; you can do IT! The secret to getting ahead; is GETTING STARTED!

Get  started today, this minute and change your life for the better. You and we will be glad you did!

Thank you Randal "HOSS" Caldwell....rcald@ptd.net  717-606-5176

If you want something you never have had; Then you must do something you never have done!

Most people miss opportunity when it shows up; because it wears overalls and you must do a little work to make it give you what you want in life!

Back to the old grind!!

I did not write for a couple days. My rear was stuck in my la-z-boy, could not get up. My arthritis was acting up. There is that a good enough excuse! My neighbor Jim finally got his moving cartons out of his garage, His daughter was fussing about his Harley in her garage. She could not get her van in. Funny, all my friends said the same thing. The HARLEY was more important than her van!! Just do not understand this younger generation?

I wrote the last page about nurses, especially mine. She kept her car outside over one winter when I had my service truck in the garage. Mary is the greatest life partner ever. She puts up with me, she has to be super. This is not really a grind for me. I get fulfillment from putting my thoughts on paper. It is good for my soul. I hope you get something from my ramblings. At least a good laugh. Every one needs a laugh sometimes. It takes hundreds less muscles to laugh than to frown. I laugh a lot in this life. I hope you do too. Yes you should laugh at me for my good? excuse why I did not write for a few days. The T V is calling me too much lately. At least the refrigerator has not been as verbal lately.

Yes Marcy you did a lot of good getting me writing. At least I will not go completely crazy? Just stay enough sane so I can keep writing.  Sometimes I question my sanity occasionally it replies!    I know the voices in my head aren't real; but they have some great ideas!

Thank you for reading my ramblings on life.

Earthly ANGELS!

Yes I know Nurses are earthly ANGELS. That is why I married the best one. She has put up with me for over 42 years. She is very special to me, I guess you can tell. Seeing as this is National Nurses week, I thought I should write about these special people. I have awoken from a blackout several times, and the first thing I saw was a woman in white caring for me. That is the reason I wanted to be married to one. I knew how caring and helpful they were. I also wanted someone around who knew what to do in an emergency, as I tended to panic in certain situations. I wanted someone besides me who would not panic like I do! Also I liked the fact that she would know first aid, as I usually get hurt a lot ever since I was young.  When I was a kid; no wait, I still do that!  And I figured my offspring would be daredevils like me. Only one out of three is like me. The older boy has a lust for danger like me. His is not as reckless as mine was. Thank you LORD!

I know the nurses do not get the credit they should. Nurses do the hard work in the trenches and the Doctors get all the credit. I am glad nursing is getting paid closer to what they are worth now. It is still hard work, but the rewards are better now than when Mary started working as a registered nurse. The places that employ them are more grateful and most treat the nurses better now.

When the kids and  especially I needed care Mary knew what to do. She still keeps a tight rein on me. Sometimes it actually works and she pierces my thick scull to enlighten me to how I am hurting my chances of staying in the living years much longer. Then I am good for a while. At least till she leaves for work. I would not be here enlightening your reading pleasure if not for Mary keeping me on the straight(sometimes) and narrow. I tend to not have much self control, as you found out on my other pages. Like when I first encountered Mary in my friends kitchen at the party. Impulse has ruled my life as long as I can remember. I just acted without thinking. Getting me out of the way of a dangerous situation, it was good. In regular life situations sometimes not so good. But I have wondered through life in my own way, and got here to 66 years so it worked most of the time.

To all you Nurses out there, thank you for your dedication and love for human kind. Without you taking care of us, and saving our lives we would be in a lot of heartache. Mary does not read my blog so I am not sucking up to just her. She went through my life adventures so she does not need to jog her memory again. She likes to forget a lot of my adventures. They were hard enough to go thru the first time.  I want to thank the nurses every where, for I know I will need them again. God is not finished with me. I know every time I needed a nurse I learned a lot about life. The adventures I needed nurses to save me, made me more willing to help others like I have been helped. LORD I am more open to suggestion without pain now that I am older and a little wiser.LOL  I know nurses are your earthly angels LORD.  Thank you for these wonderful people to help us in time of need. I thank THE LORD daily for people to help other people, and for giving me Mary to keep me in line. I know that is her hardest job on this earth.

Earthly Angels Thank You! Happy nurses week, it should be all year!!

It's two fifteen in the AM!

Yes I have been at it for hours again! I am tired, and going to sleep. See you in a couple hours. Everything is great in my world at this very minute. I hope it stays that way. I rode the cycle yesterday afternoon, so my day was great. We shall see how today goes !!

Felt great today!!

I rode Bruce's Harley over to my house today. We are going to store it hoping he will get well enough to ride again. It was only a little over 10 miles, but it felt good. Except for not having a windshield or leg protection in 60 degree weather. Also it does not have air shocks, fat tires, floor boards and quiet mufflers. Also I got two bugs in my mouth. You know me, I always have my mouth going. Bruce calls his Harley his BABY!

When he called later, I did not answer hello. I said your baby is fine, nursing, on the battery charger. And purring like a kitten. I know Bruce needed a good laugh. We all do in this life. That is why GOD keeps me going to make everyone laugh! He knows I am good at it.

Yes Bruce has had a lot of trouble since he had the stroke. But his spirits are improving. I told him about my neighbor Jim asking about the Lawn breakfast. Bruce picked up three cards at the rally, about the Lawn event. He said here are two cards. One for you and one for your neighbor. No matter how low Bruce might be feeling, he thinks of others.

Yes this weekend Bruce and I will be watching the bikes come into Lebanon. We will not take our bikes, because Bruce can't ride his yet. Baby is waiting patiently in my garage hoping Bruce will heal enough to ride again. Please LORD, help Bruce so he can ride again, even if it is just short rides.

Once biking is in your blood it does not stop till your last breath. I am sure when Bruce takes his last trip he would want his casket to go by the sidecar hearse for his last ride. I know I would like that too. Your last ride, on our favorite transportation, a motor cycle! Hope the weather permits it. There is a tombstone near my parents with a motorcycle engraved on it. It was a young boy who lost his life too early. His parents put his motorcycle and hot car on his stone so when he looks down from Heaven he can see it.

Baby waiting patiently!

Bruce waiting anything but patiently to ride Baby again. !!! You know how us bikers are! I hope Bruce does not have in his will to be buried with Baby! But then it is his decision!