First Blood Willie

Since James Austin is being laid to rest in his beloved Scotland I thought I would search for any Austin kin I might have. Since I live in Texas if could be historically fun. So far there is Matilda Parsons George my 1^st cousin 4 times removed husband; Lewis Bledsoe Austin born in 1807 in Virginia and died in 1894 in Montana. Well, that is probably going to be an interesting tale.

I am reading a book about a prisoner being transported from Afghanistan on board a C-130 which in case you do not know is my favorite airplane in the whole of the world. My father flew them for years and he always came home. Of course that was the will of GOD but it is an association. 

So reading this novel and the descriptions of the flight deck and cargo and commands is somewhat familiar and calming even during the crash. The crash occurs in Afghanistan in the winter in mountains. What I am getting at is this. They are talking about places, cities, villages, areas that 30, 22, 14 years ago I had never heard of. I can pronounce and have a visual reference in my head where they are. When I was 16 I could not have told you where Bazarak was or Anjuman Pass. I had lived in France and Okinawa not to mention been all over America so I was worldly. My father would bring me dolls from all over the world and part of the gift was for us to spread a huge National Geographic map on the dining room table and discover the country on the map.   I knew where Kuwait was as I had done a Mission Impossible type of report on it while in the 7^th grade (thanx dad for the suggestion and help).  How many people know where Mascoutah is or Nenana, Beaver Creek or Petaluma.  I suppose the same is true of Vietnam and Korea. Some day we could wake up and know every little village, mountain pass and river in Andorra.

This is a statement that appears alongside a graveyard description… Cemetery notes and/or description:

Previously located on a farm on US 19, near Spanishburg, WV, the cemetery has been destroyed to create a roadside site for a mobile home.

Bloody, stupid, inbred Walmartians!!! Arkansas is calling MOVE!!! And put the bloody graves back. Who plops a mobile home down on top of a cemetery? WHO???  4 of my kin were desecrated.

I perform an act of kindness. No hidden agenda. I want nothing in return, I expect nothing or so I believe.  I just do something thoughtful, generous, kind, loving and then I look up from the volatile misuse I receive in puzzlement. It is usually not a shun, the reaction is always hurtful, profane, abusive and extreme. Always! Years of this; since I was little I can remember negative reactions. I would randomly say to my children “I love you!” and they would giggle or roll their eyes and say I love you back to me. I would yell it down into the basement as I walked past the kitchen. Write it on notes and pack it in their lunch.  One day I heard one of my daughters run up to her grandma and hug her and say I love you. Her grandma backed her up looked in her eyes and asked her with a grin what did she want, what was she trying to weasel out of grandma. I snapped. I rushed up to me daughter, picked her up hugged her kissed her, twirled with her and told her I loved her. While still holding her I turned on her grandma and explained that she wanted nothing from her, nothing. She was just telling you, her grandma that she loved you. Her love had no condition, it was not a bribe she was not using guile as a means to get something. She has no concept of that. Do NOT teach her that either. Love is a gift and she was giving some to you. Can you just accept it?  The grandma just looked at me; I truly believe she had no idea what I was talking about.  It has been a constant quest and still I get the same looks from people.  Can’t someone just be nice for the pureness of just being nice? Believe it or not all I expect is for the gift I offer to be received but that is rarely the case. The receiver of my gifts always look for the angle, the retribution, the retaliation and fearing there will be something bad invariably strike and lash out at me first. 

 First blood ….” It will have blood, they say; blood will have blood.”

William Shakespeare  

Willie is right; my next reaction is to strike back. Or maybe, people just don't like me? 

tadına varmak

Gevalia and Telemann

Pandora just inserted the Gevalia coffee ad into my morning….”catchy chorus to hum through the day, ripping guitar solo, all the ingredients of a good melody just like a good coffee…” hee…hee   

 Dear Gevalia I am listening to Baroque music there are no catchy chorus or guitar solos. But I really do not mind the ad break because it was actually created for Pandora, the man speaking has a deep velvety exotic voice and is not the creepy talking chameleon couple squawking about Lowe’s.

My mother asked me to get her a glass of water last night while I was in her kitchen. I asked if she wanted ice. “No I just want water nothing else just water in the glass”. I peek my head around the corner, uhhhmm Mom ice is water. She throws me a puzzled glance, one that looked like she had no idea what I was talking about. I busted out in laughter. This only confused her more. Mom, you do realize that ice is water; I did not ask if you wanted a gold fish in your water. Still confusion fills her expression. Then the light comes on. She grins I want the water not cold. Do you wanted it heated? She glares at me and says “just put it under the refrigerator thing and bring it to me”. Mom it will still be cold. “Oh just shut up!” Oh yeah my mom loves me….ha!

I paid for my movie, received my $2 popcorn coupon and get in line for the popcorn. There is a mom and a 4 year old shopping the candy and treats like it was a shoe sale at Nordstrom’s. After waiting and waiting and no decisions were being made by mom or child I dash on off to my assigned theater compartment leaving the line to the oblivious couple behind me. People!! How about you start thinking what you want from the snack bar before you get to it? If you cannot decide step aside and let the person behind go ahead. You are not the only people who have to get to a movie and want a treat. Some of us knew this moment was coming and had prepared for it.

Horatio! I see you are back to stalking me.

Hey, Mario!!! That red light, the one hanging from the wires over the road; the one that changes color to let traffic know what to do to keep us all a bit safer. Yeah when it turns red that means you need to stop. STOP. Not zoom up to it slow down enough to make the right turn into your HOMA/Gestapo controlled neighborhood. I thought you were going to roll that SUV over. As the police would say “better arrive late then dead because you were reckless.”

I have been over to see my mother for several years now and the elevator area still perplexes me. It is like they change the building around every time. I get on at her floor come down three floors and get off and I always turn the wrong way. Even if I turn the opposite way it is still the wrong way. The elevator seems to be on one side of the building but when I get to my floor it has moved to the opposite hall side and now instead of right I need to exit left but it does not feel right so I always leave there feeling disoriented. Very disconcerting!

Bed linens to change and clients to tweet for.

Have a marvelous day! Enjoy some Telemann…..so energizing….

Pennies

Let’s go over this again people! Those triangular red signs that are facing you on the road mean that you have to yield to

oncoming, merging, exiting traffic. You will slow down; you will allow them to exit. You, female creature in the oversized vehicle learn some bloody manners! Horatio slowed down and allowed me to exit but you, you are a slave to the huge chip you carry on our shoulder. Driving in a huge truck will not compensate for your lack of bearing. That giant fake ring on your right hand does not make you look fabulous.

Those oversized painted fake nails do not make you appear sexy.

Cutting me off was exactly what you intended it to be RUDE!

I heard an interesting question yesterday. Why is the o not capitalized in the United States of America on the penny? The answer is ….

It was a stylized usage. The engraver thought it looked good like that so that is how it was minted. Who knew?

Some other penny facts:

The first image on the first penny was a woman with flowing hair. She was Lady Liberty.

Abraham Lincoln appeared on the penny in 1909.

The shield on the penny represents President Lincoln’s preservation of the United States as a single country.

Paul Revere’s metal company supplied the mint with rolled copper to create the penny.

There 11,178 pennies minted in the first batch.

I have some last minute planning to do for the 50 Shades of Blue mixer on Thursday and some art on display I need to tweek so watch out for the woman in the big burgundy truck!

I'm unhappy

Not that I am in a panic, nor do I wish to create one but, I just seem to have lost the will to write anything. Nothing, I am empty it seems of emotion or drive or curiosity. No desire to learn, explore or create. I avoided these letters all last week; I simply can do that no longer. I have tried to figure out what may be different or causing me trepidation about writing Breakfast letters.

 For one it is bloody hot here, 112 according to my outside thermometer last Tuesday. I cannot tolerate the heat. I have not since we moved here in 1974. It is oppressive, debilitating, and depressing. I do not like the sun blaring down on me with relentless joy. It was a chilly 73 one morning last week and I was elated, overjoyed and energized. I worked out 3 times that day.

 I have Gucci creating a disturbance in my force, meaning I have to accommodate for letting a dog relieve himself outside now as part of my scheduling. I work at a client’s 3 days a week and cannot leave him loose in the house or kenneled up in a little crate for 6 hours so, he goes to their facility with me. This is fine but he gets protective and barks and growls at other people who office in the building. I do not believe he would shred their ankles but he sounds like he might give it a try. I keep a barrier up over the door so he cannot get to them. I crate him if I have a visitor in the office.

Oddly not having a vacuum cleaner is really fussing me up. My floors are a mess but on this 26 year old carpet who can tell. I know though, I know. The padding has been squashed from years of use, cleaning and age. The fibers of the carpet refuse to stand. They have increased my rent and want me to commit to a year. Ahhhh… my heart thumped as I wrote that. We have reached the summit perhaps of my ire. When I first moved in I was happy to commit. But then this flat was not in “the hood” as it is now. I wish they had told me they were selling this complex to the housing authority. I wish I had known it would be downgraded to … to…. How do I politely say …. the ghetto? I did not notice the trashed carpet. I had a vacuum.  I do notice the “hoopty” cars driving through with wheels that cost more than the vehicle, the bass thumping, the loud conversations occurring in the parking lots and on balconies, Children running around loose. The workout center became an “education” center with a “trained” staff of educators. They hold lots of planned community events. But that is not what I moved here for. They replace the carpets but only during a move out. Most people’s lives and circumstances then to improve and get better as they age mine are getting worse. Each change is worse than the one before it. When GOD makes a situation unbearable it is time for a change.

Dear GOD, I am ready. What shall we change?

I smile now because is this not the sort of thing you share with a spouse, a lover, your family, your friends? Guess what? This once blank page, this computer and you who may read this all the way through are my friends.

I want to move out of here………… NOW!

AMV Mystery

Through a series of events, some I know of and some I do not, I ended up with a book. Not just any book though, an enchanting book. It is titled Flower of the Dusk by Myrtle Reed. Myrtle was an American author who lived from September 27, 1874 – August 17, 1911. By the way, the day I am writing this is August 17 2013. (It is just kismet) Flower of the Dusk was published in 1908. Inside the book is written:

 Hallie Pearis

Christmas 1908

A.M.V

Hallie was my grandfather’s sister, making her my grand Aunt.  She married James Harvey Craft in November of 1910 so….. who was A.M.V.? This is my goal this weekend to Pirate up and Treasure Hunt. Inside this book I found 2 obituaries for Mrs. Wirt A. French. We will start here.

I discovered nothing. I found a couple named Viernow middle aged, emigrated from Germany around 1898 and 2 families’ last name Via and the other Varney. Not one member had the initials A.M.V. Mr. Viernow was named Albert, no middle initial given.

                                          Hallie P Pearis

As you may have noticed I have not had a sighting of Horatio in quite some time, however, I have been seeing a yellow Hummer around a lot. Do you think he may have changed vehicles? I will keep a weather eye out.

I had the pleasure of photographing a red carpet event this weekend. The Schertz Senior Center had its annual Gala on Friday and they had the cutest cupcakes I have ever seen.

 I also caught a local Mayor on the red carpet. 

Then on Saturday night it was Schertz Idol and 10 amazing teenage girls sang and our MC was Christian Pop singer Ryan Proudfoot. 

He was given a script to follow which included mentioning the two sponsors of the event. Like in those radio commercials of the 1940s. It was very funny. I asked Alex Hartman from State Farm insurance, one of the sponsors, if he wrote the lines. Alex said he did but then Ryan was ad-libbing some comedy. He did a great job. The girls were all amazing and Ryan sang a couple songs, one from his newest CDs. I have always had an issue with the whole American Idol. They are NOT America’s Idols or even American Idols. They are NOT idols and it always raised the hair on the back of my neck because of this verse, Exodus 20:4 "You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.” There we were Saturday night with an Idol show and it was being held in a church with the Senior Pastor giving the opening statement and prayer. I was very nervous. I wish they had called the show Schertz Singz or something.

This Idol thing is soo wrong and I do not even know what to make of the several Christian artists who have made it to the finals of American Idol. All my phobia aside it was wonderful evening, entertaining and watch those young girls get on stage and own it was awesome! Well done Ladies!

My daughter has dropped off Gucci with me to see if she can live without him. Uh…hhh…. Maybe I do not want to live with him. At some point the opinion of the mother has become obsolete. When did that happen? They tell me that they do not want me to be lonely. Who the bloody hell told them I was lonely?

Wish I had pirated off one of those cupcakes. It would make a great breakfast since I neglected to shop. 

Throw Rocks

I saw from my peripheral the bright colors spelling out something on the grey shirt in the children’s department of the store. I glanced over and it said something about winning. I strode on but something about the word winning on a child’s shirt bothered me. I stopped turned around and went back. There, in bold neon letters, on a shirt for girls between the size of 6 and 12 were the following words “Winning looks great on me”. WHAT??!!?

A shirt for a small child, boasting, as it creates a feeling of competition where one would not exist without the bold statement in an environment that is supposed to be nurturing, educational, unbiased, and fair. This is a shirt that is going to create feelings of entitlement, inferiority, and loss. This shirt offends me in so many ways. I would have such an overwhelming negative reaction to a child wearing such a shirt. If it came down to a situation where there were two children that needed to be saved but I could only save one. I would save the one NOT wearing the shirt because the one wearing the shirt has obviously already won something and they feel they look great. 

However, one of my daughters did have a shirt in Jr. High that said “Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them”.

We all loved this shirt and we thought it was funny, for several reasons, collectively and individually. The first day my daughter wore this shirt to school she was sent to the principal’s office and I was called. They wanted to know if I was aware she was wearing such a violent shirt. Considering it was, in part male violence that made this shirt so funny to us I said yes. We do not condone violence here Mrs. Viceroy said the indignant voice on the other end. That is Ms. Pearis and I believe her shirt says neither does she, I politely replied. There was a loud swift intake of breath on the other end of the phone.

I was beginning to believe she did not like my daughter’s shirt. You have to come and get her now and take her home to change. That is not going to happen I tell her. I am out of the area with a client and by the time I can get to your school she will already be home. She has to change the shirt the woman says. I giggle, OK. This is not a humorous matter MS Pearis! I giggle again; yes in the larger scheme of things this is humorous. Well! We will have her turn the shirt inside and out wear it that way the rest of the day she determines. I would like you to put my daughter on the phone now. My daughter has heard some of this conversation. I ask her if the principle is listening. Yes, she says. I explain that she will have to wear her shirt inside out the rest of the day because I cannot get there to pick her up so she can change. I am NOT changing shirts, my daughter screams, as I knew she would. No honey you are not, but apparently the parents of the stupid boys do not like your shirt. I can hear the principle, MS Pearis! My daughter laughs at this point as I knew she would. I will put on my hoogie mom and zip it up, my daughter concedes.

Excellent!  Put the principle back on.  Is there anything else I can help you with, I ask her. As she starts to speak in her lecturing tone I interrupt her to say I am with a client I have kept waiting long enough and it was lovely chatting. I ring off.

I was asked in the 7^th grade to not wear a pair of cracker jack

inspired navy blue bell bottom pants because the principle decided they were jeans. They were not made of denim I pointed out.

He then turned on me with such vehemence in his voice I was shocked and my mouth fell open. I had never had a male creature speak to me like that, in that tone, at that volume. I was sure he was demented and instead of quaking in fear, I felt sorry for him, assuming he was handicapped in some way. I felt certain he was unclear about the pants so I again said that they were not made from denim that they were broadcloth. QUIET he yelled. Poor man I remember thinking. Maybe he had forgotten to take his

medication; the way my mother explained my brother’s behavior when he behaved badly. I smiled at him and chirped out “sure!”  Shook my head and walked away. This incident was the first bad male incident I had and one reason the “boys are stupid throw rocks at them shirt” was funny to me. My mother was not happy about the pants either they had been expensive.

Good times…..

Beautiful Sarah

The local grocery store apparently had advertised in their weekly sales flier that they would have 4” potted miniature roses on sale for $1.99. As I walked past the flower department I saw them on a cart with quickly typed signs posted saying they apologize but due to a crop failure the advertised 4” miniature roses were not available instead they were offering 6” potted miniature roses. They are sorry about any inconvenience. Well you bloody well should be! Asking me to pay less money for more flowers is immoral not to mention just plain evil! I bought one out of spite. 

One of those giant wasp/bee things that are burrowing in my front yard just made the mistake of coming into my house. He flew straight to the window and is now exploring various options of escape. Of course there are none. If he will fly down lower to the ledge it is my intention to capture him and return him to outside but right now he is just …well….stupid. Oooo he sounds mad!

After he visited with me and the cats for over 3 hours I finally managed to scoop up the fatigued creature and put him outside. Wish a raspy buzz he flew off. I have not seen him since.

My first cousin Mordecai was showing my mother how to use her phone to take a photograph. This is the result. .

I found a sad tale while ghost hunting. Sarah McKenzie was 13 she had long dark hair and blue eyes. It was said she was beautiful (of course she was, she is related to me!) The year was 1778. Her father an older brother had gone out looking for their horses.

They had just recently moved and having not yet built fences the horses were belled and turned loose to graze. In the morning they could not hear the bells and believed the horses had headed back toward the old homestead her father and brother went after them leaving her mom, her and her younger sisters and brother at home. There had not been any Indian trouble in a while so everyone felt safe. The Indians passing by had seen Sarah and two of her sisters who were also very pretty. They decided to take them. The women barricaded themselves in the house with nothing but an ax to defend themselves with. Sarah fought the first man and actually served him up a blow so hard to his shoulder and neck he died. This outraged the other men and their attack became more determined. She wrestled the next man, grabbing his knife from its sheath (this is why I will come to the conclusion I do) and stabbed him. He grabbed the knife from her (now he is probably very angry) and kills her. Meanwhile her mother is killed as is her baby sister and her brother. The two other sisters are taken captive and the men with the girls in tow head north. These men also take a 15 year old boy from a neighbor and food from another. They are not found again until 18 years later. Their intent was to take the pretty girls. If they had murder on their mind would their knives have been sheathed?  Why worry about a woman, and some children. Her brother was 15 why kill him if they took another 15 year old boy from a place a few miles later?  Had Sarah not attacked first and killed their fellow man would they have killed? Just wondering….

Charles is going in for repairs today! I get a rental car; probably a white Hyundai.

I have biscuits in the oven.