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Another Goodbye

By Editor

Friday, November 30th, 2012

My last post was September 20, 2012. My Uncle Don died on September 22, 2012. Fast forward to November 27, 2012…my dad called to tell me that my 52 year old cousin had laid down for a nap and didn’t wake. Massive heart attack the apparent cause.

I hadn’t spent a lot of time with any of my cousins since we were children but Facebook has allowed me to follow many of them. What have I learned? My cousin was a man of God. He was a good friend and neighbor. He was a positive influence on a lot of people. He helped his parents. His father was recovering from open heart surgery which he’d had only a few weeks ago.

He lost his first wife in a car accident when his two children were very young. He remarried and had another child who has now lost her father at a very tender age.

I spent a lot of time with Gary and his sisters during summers as a child. They lived on an old motel site on Route 66 in Oklahoma. It was a great place to visit and explore. As I recall, when they bought the place it was a motel, cafe and service station. They closed the cafe and service station but continued to live in the lodging area which they converted into a house. Oddly enough I remember hot summers playing in rows of okra. Picked a lot of it as well but it’s really prickly and makes you itch.

I spent a lot of time learning to play an old piano in the back room. That was probably intentional because I’m sure it was quite annoying. We spent a lot of time with flyswatters seeing who could kill the most flies. Kids today would be bored stiff but we always found a lot to do.

His funeral is tomorrow morning and I won’t be there except in spirit. Another brave soul came here to learn and has now returned home, free and in a much better place. RIP Gary

Categories : Roberta's Commentary

Tags : death, Gary, Obituary

Saying Goodbye Is Never Easy

By Editor

Thursday, September 20th, 2012

Tomorrow will be a difficult day. I’ve yet to lose a parent to death so I hope I have the words to comfort my cousins who face losing their father very soon. I have lost a husband so I do know something about my aunt’s grief.

I spent a lot of time with this aunt and uncle as a child. Lots of summers in the country, working the garden, fireworks, singing along to country music and catching fireflies. When stories are retold by others I’m amazed at how the stories differ from what I recall.

One summer I remember burning my hands on firecrackers which exploded before I could get rid of them. I never liked firecrackers afterward but I did get out of hoeing the garden that year. I was laying around on a cot under a shade tree watching everyone else work.

I left home at a young age and lost contact with my cousins but I would occasionally call to check in with my aunt and uncle. Uncle D always sounded like he had been sitting there waiting on my call. He made everyone feel that way. He was always full of stories and laughter. He loved to talk. He was generous and compassionate.

I remember when he wore his hair flipped across his head to cover this bald spot. It was always a joke between he and my husband who had the same condition with one exception. My husband didn’t wait as long to get rid of the flip. Their joke was “God only made a few perfect heads and on the others he put hair!” I have to say that those two heads were close to perfect and both will be celebrating while waiting for those of us who are left behind to come home.

I’ve always believed that funerals are for the living. The living are unable to let go because their grief clouds their ability to see that those who pass are blessed and those left behind have so much more to do.

I hope I get there tomorrow before he passes but if I don’t I know it’s because God was ready to bring him home. It is as we must know, God’s time, not ours.

Uncle D’s spirit will always be with us, all we have to do is believe.

Categories : Roberta's Commentary

Tags : death, Dying, Goodbye

Yes, the Post Office Again!

By Editor

Sunday, June 3rd, 2012

As a general rule I avoid the post office. 4 out of 5 interactions with the post office create stress for me. In the last 12 months it has pushed 100% if you don’t count walking in to check my PO box. No people interaction there.

It began last year when my passport application was lost by the main Plano branch. If a package or letter can’t be delivered and I have pick it up, I don’t go to the closest branch but to a location which was built farther away when the branch for our zip code closed to make room for a new Kroger. The new post office location was an old Food Lion store building which had been vacant for several years.

My current gripe? I’ve had a PO box since 1996. Why? Back then, before Google knew everything about everyone, I wanted an address for virtual me. I don’t remember the exact rental rate for 1996 but I think it was around $50 a year. I couldn’t get a box at the branch for my zip which was the closest (until they moved a couple of years later) so I went to Wildcat station which was a small prefab temporary building. Plano needed a new PO because it had outgrown the system. Because it was so new, they had boxes!

The next time I really paid attention the rate was $96 for a year. I had been thinking about not renewing for some time so I decided to pay every 6 months. 18 months of $48 for 6 months and BOOM!

I don’t go to the PO often but I knew it was close to time for renewal so I had been checking the box for the renewal notice. If you don’t pay before the last day of the month you will be locked out on the 1st.

I checked the first week of May and there was no notice. It didn’t cross my mind again until the end of May. Sure enough I was locked out. On May 29 I went to the counter to pay the rent to renew for 6 months. “That will be $75.00″ If the expression on my face wasn’t warning enough, I reiterated that I only wanted to renew for 6 months.

The clerk told me that it included a late fee. I asked why a late fee when I had never been given notification. He said I was already 2 months past due so there was a late fee.

He let me into the box not only to find that there was no mail but also no rental due notice. I was so taken aback by the fees I just had to get out of there. I’m not one to be rude to people but something about the Post Office just makes rude words come to the top of my throat and I nearly choke trying to contain them.

I hustled to the car before I exploded only to realize that the clerk hadn’t given me a receipt! I begrudgingly went back inside and asked for the receipt. I didn’t look at it until I was in the car. The 6 month rental rate had increased to $60 and the “handling” fee was an additional $15.

All over the building were signs proclaiming they had boxes available. Gee, I wonder why? Over the years I’ve received more mail for somebody else than for myself. If they weren’t the only gig in town they would have been out of business a long time ago.

Categories : Roberta's Commentary

Tags : incompetent, post office, USPS

Christmas in Chicago

By Editor

Saturday, February 11th, 2012

On Wednesday before Christmas 2011 I learned that we were driving to Highland Park for Christmas. We left Dallas on Friday afternoon, spent Friday night in Springfield, MO then traveled on to Highland Park on Christmas Eve. My brother-in-law’s birthday is Christmas Eve.

Highland Park is a nice small town sitting on the shore of Lake Michigan. It’s an old community and I suspect a lot of old money too. Large beautiful homes intertwined with quaint older homes. Rows of neighborhood bars line many of the streets and the train station is walking distance from downtown.

We arrived late afternoon on Saturday and Walgreens was the only store open on Christmas Day so we didn’t do any shopping except tracking down a potato to complete Christmas Dinner. Prime Rib and Duck for Christmas Dinner..interesting combination.

We met many new people and had a great time visiting with and learning about people of whom we had heard but never met.

Monday morning we headed into the city. I had been through both Chicago airports on several occasions but had only visited Waukegan when my son graduated from Great Lakes Naval Station bootcamp. It was a quick trip and we didn’t see much. My husband had never been.

When we left for the train that morning I had no idea what to expect. We didn’t have a map but we were with natives so we put ourselves in their capable hands.

The conductor never appeared on the train coming in so we had a free ride (the Highland Park depot was closed) but we got our return tickets at the station in case we were running late getting back. We arrived around 10:30 and were planning to be back on the train by 2:30. Short trip, how bad could it be?

I thought we were going into the city, look around and head back to train. What else would we do with just 4 hours until we boarded the train back to Highland Park? Without a map, and recreating the trip from a map on the internet, this is my recollection of events.

First stop Millenium Park. We left the station walked on Washington to Wacker; Wacker to Randolph; Randoph to Michigan Ave & Millenium Park. Shortly after we left the train station, my husband says to my sister-in-law, “It’s 11:00.” Then again, “Debbie, it’s 11:00.” He doesn’t have a clue where we’re going or how long it will take to get there but seems to know that it’s getting late. This was my first clue that there was more to the trip and there was a set timeline.

We picked up the pace and arrived at “The Bean” in Millenium Park. I don’t recall the time but I did get the feeling that we needed to hurry. We took some pictures and it really is a cool thing to see. We started walking on Michigan Avenue but Debbie decided we should get a cab because we had to be a mile up the road in a short period of time.

Turns out we had a lunch reservation at Ditka’s to celebrate Paul and my birthday. It was a beautiful sunny day and people were beginning to come out in droves and traffic was getting worse.

The food was really good and it felt really good to sit after all of the walking. Lots of sports memorabilia and cool things to see. Restrooms are upstairs and way to the back so you’ll need lots of time to get there.

Next stop the Hancock Building. The plan was to visit the observatory but we ended up at the Cheesecake Factory getting stuff to go. By this time there were so many people on the streets enjoying the beautiful day and SHOPPING.

We departed choosing to walk back on the Magnificent Mile. There were so many people coming toward us. It was like a sea of people moving slowly toward us. I’m sure the people coming toward us were seeing the same from their perspective. It’s hard to stay together in a crowd like this so we decided to turn on Ontario to get out.

Now it was time to hustle back to the train station. I had no idea how far, only that it wasn’t close. I was certainly thankful for my SAS shoes and thick socks which I packed as an afterthought. You don’t often need thick, warm socks in Dallas.

I began the morning with no idea how far we would be walking and could well have been ill prepared. I think someone should have given me a heads up about what to expect. It could have gotten really ugly, really fast. I’m an upbeat, sometimes even Pollyannish person but surprises that make my feet hurt don’t make me a happy camper.

So, consider this a warning if you’re planning a trip to Chicago. Take comfortable shoes and throw fashion out the window!

Categories : Events

Tags : Chicago, Christmas, magnificent Mile

Winter Is Here!

By Editor

Sunday, December 4th, 2011

Why does the pool equipment always wait until the weather turns cold to break? 3 years ago in freezing weather, the valve on the filter began spewing water and had to be replaced. The guy I paid to install it left with a leak under an abundance of silicone. He told me that it was too cold for it to set properly but that he would be back at the end of the week when the temp was above 40 degrees. Never heard from him again. It was a very small leak which later became several small leaks and last weekend, with freezing weather in the forecast, we had to do something. Not to mention we are in a drought situation and in Stage 3 water restrictions.

It has now rained for two days. Yesterday morning we decided that it was time to take drastic actions since several attempts to stop the leak with silicone failed. My husband works highway construction and knows a little about fixing things so our last effort is more permanent in nature. A chemical weld so to speak.

I have a heavy metal umbrella stand that isn’t used much so I moved it to the pool equipment and setup our patio umbrella to keep the area dry. It had been misting all morning and there was a break but we were running out of time. The umbrella did a good job of keeping the rain off and a plastic bag taped over the filter is allowing it to cure properly. It’s been over 24 hours and freezing temps haven’t invaded so tomorrow is D-Day to see if it works. My fingers are crossed and we have at least 2 more days of rain. Probably not enough to remove us from drought status but every drop counts.