Thank you Mother, ( I THINK!)

Thank you Mother for not dumping twelve inches of snow on us. The reason we did not get the snow is because frigid air from Canada pushed it south. But now we have below zero cold this week. At least we only got about 2 inches of new snow, but the cold is here for a while to stay. Suppose to be up to 30 degrees by the weekend. Hope they are right and the cold weather breaks.

I will take Mary to work tonight so she does not have to get into a very cold van tomorrow morning. 0 or minus degree temps are not good for old bones. I know from experience! Giving her a ride home in a warm van is the least I can do for my life partner.

When I was working on suicide driveway I must shovel the top eight feet before I start blowing the snow because the tractor coming out the garage and starting down the hill the blower is up in the air till I leave the garage and start down in the macadam and I miss some areas. I was slipping with my cleats again, so I put sand where I shoveled to stand on. Mother you got me twice, and I do not want to fall again. Even stupid people learn from a painful episode.

I called Bruce tonight and harassed him for not riding his Harley this morning. Because of the stroke he cannot work part time or drive and watching daytime TV will drive anybody crazy. I knew he needs a good laugh a couple times a week. I know how it was when I got my operations and was home-bound you go half crazy when you can't get out. Just knowing you can't go out makes it that much more that you want to go anywhere! When Bruce had his heart attack a couple years ago he was home-bound for  weeks, and he survived. We all do what we have to. We complain, but we get through it. Bruce and I will go to breakfast again. He is a good friend. Mary said this summer Bruce and I must ride together again. I agree!

I am learning to take better care of myself. I know I won't live forever, but I am not quite ready to give up yet. Mary and I have a lot of work to do in the gardens this summer.






We need a lot of  time to love the grandchildren yet. And I have to give Bruce a hard time about riding the motorcycle this summer!






We have had a good life so far. I just hope we can keep the good times coming, I know we will try very hard.

Mother Please NOT again.

Tomorrrow night Mother is suppose to hit us again with twelve inches of snow, and freezing rain and ice again. Mother is really mad at us this winter! Mary does not have to work tonight or tomorrow night, This is her weekend off. But it is suppose to start Sunday night with freezing rain, and then snow all day Monday. We will put on a great battle, and we will survive. It is just a lot of extra work. I will do suicide driveway and take Mary to work as usual. The last two winters I hardly used my snowblower. This winter makes up for two easy winters. It is payback time and Mother has a big purse full of pain.

I have sixty pounds of sand and about twenty pounds of ice melter on standby. The snowblower is gassed up and I will charge the battery tomorrow as usual to prepare for the battle. When I got Bruce to take him to breakfast this morning at 5:30 AM we looked at his trusty Harley in his garage on the battery charger waiting for spring. My nomad is waiting patiently for spring to. Jeff and Heather will be home in spring and give the nomad a work out again. I will too.

No use griping  about the weather, all we can do is fight it when it stops. I will be  out in a gallant battle as usual. Help out the neighbors and clean the circle. Soon you will not be able to see my house from the street as the snow is piling up higher even though my house sits so high on the hill. Just hope the ice is not under the snow, that will be a killer combo for all of us. If that happens we will handle it. We always do. Nurses must get there to care for the old people, witch I will soon be. But my fighting days are not over yet. I am still useful in a limited way! Just not as fast. Glad Bruce got some groceries this morning. At least I don't have to worry about him starving. We will probably get some bread and milk tomorrow like everybody else.

Mother do what you can. We will dig out and carry on what we have to. Mankind and womankind will do what we are meant to. We always have, and we will continue doing it till we are stopped by physical limitations. We are a stubborn people, when you tell us we can't do something, it makes us determined to prove you wrong. Thank you Lord for giving us the determination to carry on in the face of impossible odds!

Mary guaranteed me this is the last snow of this winter! She has been looking for a nice winter coat to go on sale and friday she was at the mall and found a great winter coat. She said that she is finally ready for the cold, so It will probably be warm soon and she will not need the coat till next year. LOL

Bruce down, but not out for sure.

I met Bruce in 1967, I was working part time at Dave and Joe's speed shop behind their american gas station on route 501 in Lancaster. About two or three miles from my parents house, I worked there nights and weekends. I usually had a part time job at a gas station in those days so I had a garage with a lift to work on my car. It was late fall, and it was cold, but not too bad. I was on the cycle as usual and bruce's car needed some work and he needed a ride home. Davie asked me if I could run Bruce home and I said sure since I was leaving anyway! Bruce did not have a very warm jacket on, but at that young age, we had good circulation yet and made the ride with not much shriveling. Little did I know Bruce and I would be lifetime friends. We started running around together.

Our first trip together was to the shore on my bike. We rode at night because we could make better time. I don't remember much about the trip down to Wildwood, but on the way home sunday night we ran late and stopped to catch 20 winks. We were startled awake by about ten guys and I thought that we were going to be in a fight. It turns out they just wanted to look at my bike, and maybe a race to see which was faster my bike or his car. We hung around there for about an hour shooting the bull and left without a scratch. We stayed awake all weekend having fun, but when we got home Sunday night Bruce had to work all night at the Sunoco station on Columbia Avenue. I stayed most of the night too. We spent a lot of nights at the gas station all night talking. When your young you don't need much sleep!

Another time Bruce and I were traveling route 30 into York and I was following a big t-bird and we went into some construction and the road dropped about 6 inches without any sign or anything. The t-bird bottomed out on the stone surface and we came flying behind and when I hit the brakes we were in mid air, no traction. Luckily we landed and had some bight to stop my bike! Another time a few years later Bruce and I went to Maryland to do some drinking. Their drinking age was 18 ours in Pa was 21. It was winter and we hopped from bar to bar stopping when we got cold. At 3:00 in the morning the bars closed. We were about 50 miles from home. It was a long cold ride home with no place to warn up. Needless to say we learned a good lesson again. Don't venture too far from home bar hopping when it is cold.

I did not hear from Bruce for a couple of weeks, Bruce and Dave and I meet saturday mornings for breakfast. I called every three or four days figuring he was busy. I was waiting at the eye doctor this afternoon and finally got ahold of him. Here he had a stroke at work at the Manheim Auto Auction and spent two weeks in the hospital. I am picking him up tomorrow he can't drive for a while and we are going for breakfast. Maybe after to get some vittles since he has to stay home and can't go to the diner every day like he likes to do. Yes I was at the eye doctor, I have a floater in my right eye. Old age strikes again, the fluid in my eye is coagulating and being not transparent in one place and I see a place where the light does not pass right and I see a mark in my vision. She said the retina does not look damaged, But I must go back in six weeks for a check again. Its bad enough this winter I had to battle Mother Nature a lot, now old man age is fighting me too. Like Mick Jaeger sings" Its a drag getting old" But it sure beats the alternative!

See my eye Doctor.    lesliebmillerod.com

The Michigan Madman

This is E.J. Potter in his glory when I saw him at York U.S. 30 drag way in 1969. He is riding his 327 cubic inch chevy 400 plus horse power motorcycle. Every guy who rode cycle in those days wanted to be like E. J. He traveled across the country putting on exhibition runs and got paid very well for putting on the show of our lives. He also had a jet car that roared down the quarter mile like a bullet fired from a gun. The night we saw him we talked to him in the pits. He was mad because it was cooler in late fall and the track was cold, he could not get good traction and was only turning in the low ten second bracket about 160 MPH. He spun the back tire the whole 1320 feet and it was not his best times. He made three runs that night and wore out his back tire from laying rubber the whole 1320 feet. He towed the cycle as it had no starter and he had to unhook the towline before the threw the in and out box to engage the motor so he did not run over his tow vehicle. He rode back to the starting line, turned the bike around and a helper and he put the bike up on its stand so the rear wheel was off the ground. He then put the in and out box in gear and the rear wheel spun from the engine and when the Christmas tree turned green he just leaned front and the rear wheel made contact with the pavement. All you could see was the front wheel and his helmet. Everything was hidden by the smoke from the rear wheel burning up.

I never got to see his jet car run. They used to put a junker car behind the the jet exhaust and when he fired it up the junker car melted from the flaming exhaust of the engine. That was exiting to a lot of young male egos! We ran our car that night. Nothing special that night for us. We wanted to see the Michigan Madman, and we got the show of our lives.

        

0 degrees,where is global warming!

I took Mary to work again, no snow forecast, but it is suppose to be 0 degree in the morning. I did not want her to get in a van that is 0 degrees inside. Besides I can clean the windows of the other girls that work with Mary. I like to help them out too. When it is that cold, it is hard on the engine till it gets warmed up. And you have no heat till you drive a good distance. It is almost 3/4 of the way home till you get heat for us. Mary does a lot for me, so this is one small thing I can do for her. Besides helping others out gives me a good feeling, like I can still help people. I am not as worthless as I feel sometimes. Being old and handicapped makes me feel like I am past my prime. I guess I really am past my prime, but I still have something to offer. We never run short of the feeling of being needed. It is a prime directive of feeling you are worth something yet. When I clean the driveway so we can get in and out of the garage it makes me feel I can still provide a service. I like to help the neighbors too. I am not worthless, I can do it!

A lot of people who are retired and handicapped like myself just give up and don't try anymore. I will never give up till my body refuses to move anymore. I will go to the gym again tomorrow. I go Monday,Wednesday and Fridays. I work out for about half an hour each day. Lately cleaning up so much snow gives me additional workouts. I will not go back to the habit of just sitting around like when I was first forced into early retirement. I just felt sorry for my self and did not care about keeping myself moving to keep my body in shape. I just gave up trying. I know now that was bad for my heart and brain. Writing this blog has helped my body and mind. I am using my mind to further my businesses and I will keep doing it as long as my body and mind let me continue. I am 65 years young and have a long life ahead of me. I have a lot to learn yet. I feel better now than I have in years. Keeping the mind and body busy in old age is important. Mary and I have a lot to do in the garden and yard over summer. When Mary retires next year we have a lot of places to go and see the states. Lots of things to do.

Retirement can be a great adventure if you can get out and do things. We plan on being busy and enjoy our golden years. They may not be so golden, but you can make the most of them if you try. All the pills I take, and the pain killers help me to stay active. My brain is doing better since I exercise it doing my business and writing this blog. Both body and brain need exercise every day to keep in shape. My shoulder that was replaced does not hurt as much since I work out three days a week. The Doctor told me the shoulder muscle was injured in my motorcycle accident. Using it helps keep it limber and not hurt so much. I have cut down on pain killers from every day to missing 2 or 3 days at a time. I think young too, and it helps me so I don't hurt so much. I know what the subconscious mind believes helps your outlook on life. When someone asks how are you, I say great so my mind hears and adopts how I feel. It seems to work for me, you should try it too!

Its two degrees outside.time for post about the beach!

Return to the days of yesteryear for a story about my trip to Bob's place at the beach. It was the spring of 1969. I was twenty one years young, I had just paid off the loan for my 1967 Mercury convertible and I was at the Honda shop looking at a new 450 scrambler. I got a loan to purchase my new bike, and took it home for the first time. Because it was new I had to take it easy to break in the engine right. No high RPM's or wheelies till I had 500 miles on the odometer. I took the 500 miles seriously and break in the engine easily, but not too lazily. I wanted a fast running bike. It was a double overhead cam twin with twin carburetors. Very high tech and very fast! I got my 500 miles on quickly, because I wanted to test the power to run fast.

I planned to go to Bob's in Vineland, New Jersey for a test of the new bike. I was cruising to New Jersey before I knew it. The bike ran great, lots of power. I had 1000 miles on the engine, and it was running great. I changed the oil every 500 mile like my other bike that was a very good running bike. I passed a car in traveling close to the Gap, and inside is the mechanic from the Honda shop. I waved as I blew by.  Later he told me that he knew I must have 500 miles on the engine already as I was going fast. I got to Bob's place with no problems and Steph his wife was waiting for me. Bob was still at work, when I arrived at 4:00 Friday afternoon. Bob took a job with Firestone Tire stores. When Bob got home about 5:30 in the afternoon, he admired the new bike. We reminisced about old times and adventures we had. Before we knew it, it was time for bed and we settled down.

Saturday morning we arose and got breakfast and headed for the beach with Bob and I on the bike and Steph following in the car. It was a very warm day, so I was in my swimsuit and shoes while riding around the beach. We took the bike to Higbee beach near Wildwood so we could ride on the sand to the water's edge. The picture of my new bike on the sand was hard to set up because I could not set the bike up because the side stand did not have a place to hold the bike up. I had to put my shoe down to hold the side stand so the bike would not fall over. You can see my shoe under the bike behind it. We rode around a lot that day. Bob is dark skinned, and does not burn. Myself on the other hand am light skinned and burn easily. You guessed it I got fried. The next morning I was red as a beet. I got blisters all over and was in pain. Sunday  and Monday I laid around all day suffering. Tuesday when I was to leave I was suffering a lot. Steph helped me rub hand cream all over my fried skin. I had a lot of blisters that broke as I was putting my jeans and shirt on. It was very painful. My ride home took on a painful pitch, especially when it started to rain about halfway home. It felt like someone was hitting me with a hammer every time the rain drops hit my fried skin. I never rode in swimsuit and no shirt again. The mind does learn from painful experiences

I rode down to Bob's on the bike later that fall. This time the only dumb thing I did was wash my bike before I left and later that Friday evening the temp. went down and halfway there my brake cable froze and I had no front brake. I stopped in an all night gas station and put the bike inside to thaw out the front brake cable so I could stop. On the way home Sunday it got down to 20 degrees, and I was glad I took along my winter riding clothes. Well another adventure stored in my feeble brain. I am glad to have such good memories, especially since at the time they were painful. Now they are good memories! Another adventure in the mind to remember that it was not so bad when I remember it later. You tend to remember the good parts, and forget the bad. At least that is how it works for me! You can tell my bike is new, still had cardboard temporary license plate on back. same size as for a car.

My 450 Honda Scrambler at the waters edge 1969, less than 1200 miles on the odometer. I was getting burned by the time I took this picture. But I was having fun and did not notice the pain right away.

Good times cancel out the bad stuff happening to you. And time cancels out the bad times you went through. We tend to remember the adventures as better than they were!

You can see my shoe holding the bike up on the back side.

Knowledge allows you to make more money in life.

Knowledge is a wonderful thing when you use it right. I have attended a lot of night school over the years. I have told you about my learning problems before. I cannot learn the way school was taught when I went to school. I graduated in 1966. I was pretty down at the bottom of the class. They told me I was not trying to learn. I needed help to concentrate and was not given any. Now days the schools must do what ever is necessary for students to comprehend the lessons in class. When I went to school, students like me fell thru the cracks.

I have excelled in my learning over the years as I taught myself to adapt so I can learn what I need to. Our daughter in elementary school had similar learning difficulty, and the principal drug his feet so they did not have to spend the money to test her. We paid to have her tested and found out what she needed. The principal called Mary and balled her out for testing Laura, because now they had to provide what she needed. I was having a meeting with the shrink who was having Laura tested and told her about the principal calling Mary and mouthing off because we paid to have her tested because the principal put off the testing till the end of the year to delay the findings. I told the shrink if I knew where the principal lived I would go to his house and tell him off. I really wanted to punch him in the nose. The shrink said you will not see him, she would take care of it. I went home and told Mary what the shrink said. We thought that was the end of it. Later that evening the principal called and apologized to Mary. It seems the shrink was on the board that approves money to the schools and had a say over the principal. That was my Ah Ha moment in learning the ropes to take care of people who think they are better than us. Sometimes the right word from the right person is better than a sock in the nose!

I have calmed down over the years and learned to handle my temper. Yes sometimes violence is not as satisfying as well placed help from the right person. I am not going to let anyone push me or my family around, but there is always a better way to handle a situation! I am learning, old dog learns pretty good!

This is one hundred!

Yes I have created one hundred posts so far. It is a milestone I never dreamed I would set in the short time I have been writing on my blog. And yes it snowed this morning again. Luckily it did not snow more than an inch, I pushed the snow with my shovel where the sun is not hitting the pavement and it is melting now. Mary is going to the foot Doctor today so I have the driveway cleared without using the snow blower. I like this kind of snow, not much work to clear. It is cold, but the sun is shining. All seems well with my life again, for now. The cold will continue into the weekend. And more snow is expected. As long as it is not a lot and the wind does not pick up again, the fight with Mother is not too bad.

I will have to continue my adventures on the motorcycle again. Enough has been written about my fight with Mother, I will talk about more fun adventures we have had years ago. Jeff and Heather will be coming home in April or May so he can get started with his seminary training. Heather renewed her R.N. license so she can get a better job when she and Jeff move back. I probably will go down and help drive the u-haul truck with their belongings to Lancaster. I know another eleven hour drive each way. But you do what is needed for your kids. Soon we must get insurance on the motorcycle again so we can start riding again. We had to cancel insurance because we did not have the money in November. Jeff and Heather like to take rides, and we are glad they are moving back home, not California. When Jeff gets his Masters of Divinity we will worry about where he gets a church then. I hope it is not too far away. It is nice having all the kids close so we can get to know the grandchildren. But we will survive whatever happens with Jeff getting a church. Like I said before all our children picked great life partners. I guess we taught them well.

The calm before the storm!

Yes I am waiting for the snow again. This is the worst part of the problem of fighting Mother Nature. When she strikes and I swing into action, I am not excited about the battle, I just do it. Waiting for anything is not my best way of handling any problem. My three year old grandson is the same way. Mary tells him to put his patience pants on when he gets like me. I know he gets it from me. So I cannot say much when something happens, because I feel the same way. I have no patience when I must wait. Especially when I am waiting for Mary outside the store in the car. I must admit I have gotten a little bit better with age. Just a little bit!

Waiting for something is worse than having it happen! You get all worked up, and might throw a fit that is worse than the problem. I know from experience worrying hurts you more than the problem itself. My mother was a worrier. She would get physically sick from worry. I saw it many times. I do not worry that bad, just enough to get my excessive obsessive behavior started. I must do things several times to get it off my chest! Check and recheck till I have done the same thing many times just to be sure it is O.K. It is not as bad as when I was younger, but it is still there. Old habits die hard. Since I have my businesses to keep me busy I do not repeat my habits as much as I did two years ago. But they are still in the back of my head. If you do not hear from me in a while, probably some shrink read my blog and put me under observation to make sure I am not dangerous. LOL

Yes writing this blog helps me get a lot of things off my chest. I thank Marcy many times for getting me started writing these posts to get my mind under control. My bi-polar has my mind going a mile a minute, and this blog helps to keep me sane. I think! Yes I do feel better each time I am done writing. I spend a lot of time promoting my businesses, and I am not thinking about my handicap, or not being able to handle a job outside the home. I feel useful again. When I was forced into early retirement I was really down and felt worthless. I feel better now, I am making money from home, and producing again. I feel alive again. And I will not let myself get depressed again. I have too much to live for to feel sorry for myself again. I am most of the time on my manic swing now. I do not have time to get depressed and I will not, again! Well Marcy, this is post number 99. I cannot believe I have written 99 posts in the short time I have been working on my blog. You knew what I needed to get  me fired up. I thank you for keeping me going. 2014 is going to be a great year for all of us. I know it! And of course thank you Lord for watching over all of us. Keep us safe and help all of us to do what is right in your eyes. We need you, even though so many are trying to shut you out of our lives.

Like it never happened!

I am alone again, Mary is taking a cat nap. It is tuesday night, about 7:30 pm and all is well. At least that is how it feels. I put the tractor battery on the charger so it is up for tomorrow for me to do battle with Mother again. The weather people are saying just a light dusting of snow tomorrow morning. But after so much snow and ice already, I am getting ready for anything. The mimi van has salt stains on it again from the last three days. I had it washed clean, but with so much melting snow puddles on the road it does not stay clean for long. The governor has sent trucks to the docks to pick up more salt for the roads. They are expecting a lot more snow and ice too. I have about 25 pounds of calcium melting pellets left, with no more at the store till who knows when. I have about 50 pounds of sand to hold me over and can get more if I need it. The sand works good for traction, and will get me through till I can get more melting pellets. Right now my drive and sidewalk is clean, like the snow never happened. Just a lot of brown sand over everything.

This feels like the lull before the storm. I am thinking about going to the shore this summer with Laura and Rich and the grandchildren and the grand dog. We will be sweating on the beach, and going to the boardwalk. I know it will get nice again, but I am down right now because of being inside all the time. I have a string of christmas lights over the arch between the living room and kitchen. They are LED's so they take very little power. I read somewhere over winter when you are depressed from being inside in bad weather bright colors chase away the blues. It has helped me cope with being inside. I keep them up all year, because over summer when It is really hot we stay in too.