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What novel most influenced me in high school?
I'm listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir tonight. Their rendition of the "Battle Hymn of The Republic" was awesome.
My day started off digestively unruly. From time to time my digestive tract complains of being forced to constantly accept the consequences of oral and visual excitement. After sincere repentence and a promise of intake reform, the situation slowly subsided.
It does seem somewhat surprising to me how many people in various locations are reporting intestinal bugs this weekend. While I may be dismissed as a conspiracist, I do believe that all unexplained evil can be blamed on the government or pharmacuetical companies and the mark rarely be missed.
Traveled to Beaumont last weekend to attend the funeral of my cousin, Mike Carder. Lung cancer took Mike at age 52, although he never smoked. I guess maybe Mike was the Boy Scout type. In the most important ordinary and enduring ways that world often overlooks, Mike was faithful to family, faithful to church, and faithful to country. Mike spent six years as a marine. The world is always the lesser when we lose men like Mike. Semper Fi!
Today was the Valley Ranch annual pot luck dinner. The VRapld is Chuck and Nell's ministry. Lots of preparation, lots of cooking, and lots of cleaning up. The purpose seems to be affirming a belief that when we share a most specific part of the universe, we should know the specific people with us.
The event starts with a prayer. That is comforting for me. When I was young, so many things in my life started with prayer. Now prayer is much rarer. Prayer taught me to perceive good food as a blessing. And while young people may enjoy good food as much as I, I am not sure they perceive it as a blessing. Prayer taught me that we should express gratitude for our food. Do today's young people express gratitude for food?
Of course, we had food prepared and cooked by someone who loved us. Today's food is made in plants. It comes to us from a frozen food bin via a microwave or a fast food assembly line.
The VRapld is held in a century old, two room school house in Valley Spring. The old school reminds me of my own elementary school days. We didn't have air conditioning either. But we had women who prepared and cooked each meal. They cared both about us and the food they cooked. I happily cleaned my plate each day. There were no sodas or fruit flavored sugar drinks. Chocolate milk was an occasional extravagance. And on the days when we had oatmeal and raisin Flying Saucers, I couldn't believe life could be any better. For a nickel, I got a second Flying Saucer. I have yet to come across another buy as good as that.
Kids today no longer have home made cooking. They have prepared food. There are no longer any cooks. Today, there are cafeteria workers. I don't know why, but everytime I hear the job title "cafeteria worker", I think of "sanitation worker."
Homemade knick-knacks are furnished by some of the locals and everybody gets a door prize. This gives the event a slight Christmas flavor. Most leave fat and happy.
Later that afternoon I called Marianne. Marianne was one of the unmet people from my cyber life. She is a friend of Hank's. I realize that many who read this have never met Hank and have no idea who Hank is. Well, if it is any consolation, I have never met Hank either. But there appears to be a cult which I call, Friends of Hank, somewhat similar to Friends of Bill. This is in no way meant to disparage Hank or Friends of Hank. Not all cults are bad. After all, if it wasn't for cults, we wouldn't have culture. And culture can be a good thing. Especially the one used to make cheese.
But I digress. Marianne was attending a weekend chemotherapy education course in Austin. Austin is almost two hours drive, one way. I pull that stunt all week long. Normally I wouldn't drive back to Austin on a weekend to pick up the winning lotto check. But Marianne is a nurse who lives in San Francisco. She is studying to get a chemotherapy certification. When I was seven, I was in the hospital for a while. A nurse who had been in a MASH unit in Korea pinned her lieutenants bars on my pajamas. Ever since I have had more and more markers floating around the nursing profession. When my dad died of cancer, the pile probably doubled.
So....., "Would you like to go out for supper?" "That would be nice. Are sure it's not too much trouble?" "No problem. I'll pick you up between 5:30 and 6:00 pm." I arrived at 6:15 pm. I am usually late. I think it is passive aggression.
Marianne was staying at the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel. I am familiar with that area. I took a couple of back streets because it is quicker. I passed a couple of apartment complexes surrounded with rolled razor barbed wire. My mother used to live in one of those complexes. The complexes reminded me of the state prison over in Eden. When I was a kid people left their homes unlocked. You've come a long way baby.
The initial contact on a blind date is always special. People can't help but make visual projections of what people they have contact, but have never seen, look like. When women meet me, the facial expression always conveys, "how could I have been so wrong." I do think, however, that nurses recover quicker. Kind of a, "they've seen it all" thing.
Marianne, on the other hand, ... how shall I put this? Let's just say she was better than any of the door prizes at the Valley Ranch annual pot luck dinner.
Marianne had gone to the University of Texas in the 70's and was familiar with parts of Austin. We went down to the Drag, which is the street on the west side of the University. Marianne decided that she would like to eat at a 75 year old greasy spoon called Dirty Martin's. We ate as unhealthily as we could. Marianne eating more than I. I just hate it when women try to intimidate me.
Well, we finished eating and since Dirty Martin's is not known for it's ambience, we left. The sun was still up. I am quite aware that blind date protocol does not allow you to take a girl back until the sun sets. So, what to do? Austin certainly has a lot going any Saturday evening. I knew that the well-tattooed Patrice Pike would be performing with Adrian and The Sickness that evening, but that was a little too involving. I drove around central Austin describing what used to be where. I showed her Pease Elementary where I started school and old austin High across the street where I graduated. Marianne went for a walk around Town Lake. Some think of a walk around Town Lake as entertaining or romantic, I think of it as cheap.
Even though Marianne was in heels, and I was sweating a lot, it was a nice walk. The problem is that as I get older, rest rooms become farther and farther apart. I think it part of that expanding universe thing. I tried to talk Marianne into checking out Hooters (she has never been to one) but she saw Threadgills a half a block further and suggested we go there.
Have you ever been out with a nurse when both of you go to the restroom? With other women I can take care of business and go over to Threadgills' bar and have a beer before my date emerges. I walked out of the restroom and Marianne was just standing there, waiting for me. That was awesome.
It was getting dark when we left. It was a little cooler and but calmer. When we got to the foot bridge that crosses Town Lake near Lamar Blvd. Marianne suggested that we detour and watch the moon set from the middle of the Lake. Now I have been around the block and I knew what she was up to, but there is a nice, cool breeze in the middle of the Lake so I agreed.
We turned towards the footbridge. "Excuse me." There were several people going in several directions. Unless they are females with nice bodies I don't pay much attention. "Excuse me." We turned to the voice. The voice continued, "We're lost."
The "we" were a couple of University of Texas sophomore transfers, Christy from the University of Oklahoma and Suzanne from the University of Richmond. For an hour and a half they had been trying to get to their car. They asked several people for directions but kept getting lost. It was now dark, they didn't know where they were or how to get back to the car. They were a good two miles from their car. The trail runs under trees in that area and gets seriously dark.
Maybe Marianne came across as a mother with three daughters in their teens and twenties. (She is). Whatever, they accepted a ride with a lady that maybe reminded them of their mom and a guy that looks slightly like Santa Claus. Guess they felt there wasn't a lot of choice.
Marianne talked about soroieties while we traveled to lessen their anxiety. Nothing seems to calm a young college female quite like talking shopping or soroieties. When we pulled up behind their car it was all by itself. I later told Marianne those girls have really good guardian angels. I wonder if some of the wise decisions that we think we make in life are really our guardian angels taking over controls.
Marianne and I celebrated our good deed at the Magnolia Cafe with their homemade brownie and Bluebell ice cream.
Catcher in the Rye
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life's a holiday
People hear what they want to hear, and believe what they want to believe.
Last edited by primroselane; 08/20/07 at 09:39 AM.
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