Wow - Being a Kid has been hard

Back in the middle of October my 83 year old dad ended up in the hospital with pneumonia, which made him sick for a while, but worse, kicked in a huge amount of memory loss and overall confusion. After my mom passed away six years ago he and Millie, who he had attended grade and high school with, reconnected and eventually ended up living together. As my dad recovered it became apparent he could not return to his condo, so Millie's daughter Gina and I relocated them to a nice 2-bedroom independent living unit at the Forum, a multilevel living facility. He couldn't handle it. Now less than a month later I've relocated him again to an assisted living studio unit at the same location. During the relocation he lived with my wife Betty and I for a week, searching the house for what ever was on his mind for a minute or two, asking the same questions endlessly, and always worrying about his money. Doesn't sound too bad, but Betty and I were in tears several times a day. After two days of moving furniture, buying a new bed and bedding, stocking the kitchenette with drinks and snacks, hanging pictures, and everything else it takes to move somebody, I took him to his new place this morning. Luckily I found Betty's car keys in his pocket when we got there. We had a nice meeting with the staff, unpacked his clothes, and got him settled into his new place. He liked it. Millie came over to visit. I left them and went to his old house and continued cleaning out trash, saving family treasures, and thinking about selling the house and a car. I'm pretty exhausted, but, he liked it!

Bugs

Every night I sit at the computer and I notice a small bug -usually a spider - run across the wall in back of the monitor. They are stopped dead in their tracks with a flat hand and discarded. Funny thing - there is never more than one per night and I never see bugs anywhere else in the room and the window is closed and its not like there are things for these bugs to live on and survive in the room. I wonder if they are being generated by the CPU? Oh no, are these computer bugs?

What did God do on the 8th Day?

I've been away for awhile, but I'm back for awhile. This question, "what did God do on the 8th day?" has been on my mind for some time now. I believe that God created everything during the first 7 days so he could have the 8th day - a day of expereince. A day of happy and sad, good and bad, right and wrong ... ying and yang. Just like all of us (remember, created in his image) life is about expereince. More will follow ...

Another Day Another Buzz

I've been retired for just over a year now. It started off by being pissed off, but has come around to much better times. I've discovered that the white light at the end of the tunnel is generated from within. In the old days it was, another day another dollar." For awhile there last year it was looking for that opportunity to express, "another day another buzz." As of today there is no beer to be found in the fridge so I'll just have to get high on the sky - another day another buzz.

Panda

Papago in September is a bitch. At least we were playing the late games and with the sun down and a slight breeze it was bearable. Mark, Swick and I had made a quick pit stop at Baja Red's on the way in from the West Side, so that helped a little, too. A new season, new shirts and the 29th annual coming together of what had evolved into Panda created that special something we kept coming back for year after year.

We ran into a team as old as us and tied our first game. I felt good. No walks and good command of a dropping curve in the late innings made up for my weak-ass bat and aching right shoulder. We came back to tie it up in the top of the last inning and then hung on. We've alwasys been slow starters.

Now it was the bottom of the last inning in game two with Panda chasing one. There was never a doubt. Big Joe tripled, little Kevin tripled and the score was tied. Sean and Fiore were intentionally walked to fill the bases. They were informed they still owed beer because under no circumstances do you walk in slowpitch. It looked like a smart move for the bad guys when Mark made the first out flying to short right center, Kevin froze at third and Sean almost ran up his butt. Sean was easy pickin's for out number two until Kevin deeked a move to home and their pitcher dropped his jock and we were safe all around.

Frank's night at second base had been brutal having twice been bumbed by baserunners who didn't slide, making numerous dives at hard hit balls that just didn't want to be caught and having dropped a couple of pop-ups, although neither was routine. His bat was mixed having gone deep for an inside trip yet also having hit into the only doubleplay of the night. On the first pitch he drove a sharp liner to center.

Swick got the win. Brian, Stick and Dave, who we often call Frank after Howard who played in the Show when some of us were kids, missed the games that night, but were still part of the fun as we criticized them for weak life priorities. Tony C hung a framed Panda on the dugout fence making Scotty's newspaper photo and my picnic plate of Panda past season's magic.

Several years ago Dave yelled out encouragement as we were making one of our patented comebacks, "There's no I in Panda." The feeling of our team, having been with us for years, now had a name. We are not comrads, not a team, not brothers and not family ... we are beyond those concepts ... we are Panda. It's not about softball because in the words of the old song, "cards never was the reason for the evening" ... it's about Panda.

It's Time to Update the Golden Rule

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." At first glance how can you disagree? At second glance, who gives anyone the right to do unto others? Personally, I am tired of others trying to impose their will on me, convince me to be like them, to believe in their God or to live their lifestyle. I have used my freewill to discover who I am, what I believe, how I fit in and my place in the universe. Yesterday I came upon a quote from an old French philosopher and was surprised that it had taken so many years to find its way into my life. "Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too." Voltaire

This is my first posting to my blog ... enjoy, but please, think for yourselves.