Thursday, February 29, 2024

Exactly 64 Years Ago Today I Became A Soldier

Yes, I swore my oath on this very day, sixty-four years ago in the Federal Building in Dallas Texas. I remember it like it was yesterday. A Leap Year, it was.
I was both proud and honored to commit myself to the good of my Country. And I would honor that commitment until I died, whether it be on a battlefield in some God-forsaken place where my blood would make little difference in the world of politics, with all its ugly faces, ill-purposed goals, grandiose dreams, and ego-satisfying bluster, none of which I could understand, much less care about.
By morning, I was awakened on a Greyhound Bus and told to "GET OUT" It was dark, cold, and snowing at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
From that moment on I followed the advice of a friend who had been in the Army. I did nothing except when told to do something. I did not talk unless I was told to talk. I did not move unless I was told to move. And I was not to volunteer for anything, no matter how good it sounded. I felt good having that advice.
I was standing in the snow, wearing thin dress shoes, dress slacks, and a thin cotton dress shirt. I put my hands in my pockets to warm them up. I should not have done that.
A gruff voice with stripes was suddenly blasting words in my face from three inches away. He was saying something about my hands in my pockets and did he tell me to put them in my pockets.
Before I could open my mouth to say something, he was yelling at me to drop to the snow and do some impossible number of pushups, apparently because I did something to anger him.
I dropped to the snow but tried not to go all the way down into the nasty stuff. His boot pressing down on my back clearly indicated that he did not care for my thoughts at the time. I did something over ten (could have been thirty) push ups, and he removed his boot and screamed at me to stand up.
Apparently, I missed the part about me 'snapping' to the standing position without brushing off the snow and black coal soot and something that made it stink.
Then he yelled at me to pick up two baseball-size stones and hold them. They were as cold as the snow, but I instinctively knew NOT to ask the obvious - How Long? He answered it for me.
He ordered me to stand at attention and say, "I WILL NEVER PUT MY HANDS IN MY POCKETS UNTIL TOLD TO DO SO!" 100 times.
That was when I learned to say, "SIR..YES SIR! THANK YOU SIR"
Then I started saying "I will never p....." "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!"
I started again, " I will never put my....." I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!!!"
It was at that moment I grasped the gravity of the situation - He wanted me to hate him so much that given the chance I would not hesitate to kill him and any other SOB that got in my way.
"I WILL NEVER PUT MY HANDS IN MY POCKETS UNTIL TOLD TO DO SO...!"
"I WILL NEVER PUT MY HANDS IN MY POCKETS UNTIL TOLD TO DO SO...!"
"I WILL NEVER PUT MY HANDS IN MY POCKETS UNTIL TOLD TO DO SO...!"
And so on until another gruff voice stopped me. Apparently, I had learned something about the Army.
A few days later my fellow soldiers were on a parade field in uniform, lined up on snow, with M-1 rifles with bayonets afixed going through the motions of thrusting at the invisible enemy, while yelling KILL KILL KILL at the top of our lungs. I could not help but smile.
Now I was not only living up to my oath, but wearing the uniform and being trained to kill the enemy. And I was getting to be pretty damn good at being a Soldier.
I smiled because I was now a real soldier.
64 years ago, and I still think of those rocks every time I put my hands in my pockets, for any reason.
I also think of my oath a lot lately. And I smile. It still works for me.

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Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Surprse

My ancient desktop computer crashed few months ago.  I got it working again, but it does strange things, some of which pushed me to breaking down and buying another computer.

One of the very annoying things it did was to forbid me from posting or updating my Texas Soring Chicken blog site.  That forced me to start a new blog site - Covngton Spring Chicken.  That forced me to have to switch between the two if I wanted something from the old site.

I've had my latest computer a few weeks and decided to post a link on my new blood site.  When I posted it, I was surprised to see the links show up on my old site instead.  Now I want to merge the two into one - the original blog.  But now that we live forever in Covington, Louisiana, maybe I should merge the old blog into the new one.  

I'm actually typing this to make sure it posts on the old blog site.

Friday, July 28, 2023

Another Week, Another Surgery

 The title suggests that I'm walking on banana peels, but this time it's just a simple, "look-see" called a 'veinogram' to check the veins in my legs for narrowing or blockages. It's done in-house by my cardiologist and we should be home in time for dinner. 

He is obviously taking no chances with my health.  I like that in a doctor.

I just saw him last week and I'm fine. My numbers are good, but he took the opportunity to offer some encouragement for me to sit further back from my plate.  I took the suggestion seriously and I'm happy to say I've already lost 10 pounds since last week.

The only thing I can't seem to get fixed is my vision.  I never know if it will be a good day or not-so-good day vision-wise until I'm up and about for an hour or so.  To be safe, I still don't drive.  And if I have to go to my grave without ever driving again, so be it.  I'll play on my big screen computer until I can't see it and then wait for "The End."  

Meanwhile, I will keep trying to cook things I don't know how to cook, or maybe paint something I can't see.  I wish I had learned to play the guitar or piano.  But if I can't make music, I can sure listen to it.  Some would consider me lucky to be able to do that...

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

The Loss of Another Good Friend

One of the saddest parts of growing old is that you are still alive while your family, friends, and salient people in your life pass on before you.  While some may consider it a blessing, others may consider it a sort of curse, or perhaps a God-Given opportunity to get your life together for when you too will come to your end.  

I just lost another good friend - Joe Tom Trunzler.  This is the link to his obituary:  Obituary

But no matter how sweet the words, obituaries only tell a small part of a person's life.  There are both fun and painful moments, mixed into a collection of fear and confusion, love and hate, loss and betrayal, and experiences that cannot be hidden away, never to raise their ugly head.

I knew Joe to be a friend before all else.  We even joked about being 'cousins,' in spite of at least ten generations of people separating us from our latest common ancestors.  At the same time, being 'cousins' gave us a reason to be even closer friends.

The last time I saw Joe, he was a patient in a nursing home.  His fragility was obvious, and there was  little talk between us.  But he knew I was there.  And that's all that matters now.

Goodby Joe.

Saturday, June 10, 2023

La Maison des Poulets Gets a Bath

 We're waiting on our neighborhood handyman to pressure wash our house and Coop.  They both get dirty and moldy from the humidity and dirt in the air.  

The last load of dirt was sand from the Saharan Desert and it stuck to the white of the Coop, and brick on the house.  So Handyman Karl has got his hands full today.  

We removed everything we could out of his way so he can see the areas that need new paint..

There's also a board or two that needs replacing with Polywood, which is impervious to the sometimes standing water in the Coop, especially after heavy rain.  It dries fairly quickly, but the wood touching the Coop's concrete floor will wick up as much water as it needs to feed the rot.  

The clean-u/fix-up also gives us a chance to clean out items we no longer use.  Yeah!  Streamlining and Downsizing.  

After Karl leaves, I will pressure wash my Blackstone Grill.  It's going on 8 years old but works fine.  Sweetie wants to replace it with a new stainless steel version.  It sure would be nice. 

Now if the predicted rain will stay away until he is finished.

Sunday, May 21, 2023

First Trip Driving With My Scleral Lens

 I've really been wanting to go back to my hometown in Northeast Louisiana to visit relatives and friends, but the fact that I couldn't see to drive kept me here in Covington, relying on my Sweetie to deliver me to doctors and grocery stores.  

During the two and a half years of self-imposed "No Driving" I worried that I may be a bit rusty at it.  So when I finally got the okay to drive, I took only a few short trips.  And I did okay.  But I was still nervous.  

Finall, after a successful, none-eventual 40 mile, multi-stop, different kinds of streets and traffic, I decided to make the trip, all 157 miles of it.  And since most of it was on back roads with minimal traffic, I felt good with it.  And we made it there unscathed but about 30 minutes later than our Google Map said it would take.  Apparently, patience is a necessary side effect of not driving for a long time.  Good...  

We spent two nights at my Aunt's house, saw those we really needed to see, and returned home on the third day.

The drive home was a bit more difficult due to my vision being noticability different after wearing the Scleral Lens for so long each day.  But with a few refreshing eye drops, we made it home safe and sound.

But....  There's always a "But..."  It was days before my eye settled down.  During that time, the eye burned whether I had the Scleral Lens in or not.  So I slept a lot rather than endure the burning sesation.  I'll probably need to have conversation with my Optomatrist. 

As for the purpose of the trip and the impression we left with, we were greatly saddened by learning that my Aunt letting us know that she will be leaving her home of 70 years and moving to Alabama to live with her daughter.  She understands the need to gobut wishes she could stay there.  She is such a wonderful person that her friends and neighbors will miss her.

My younger brother, Billy Joe, said he would love to see us but he was leaving tow with a friend.  I'm not sure that;s the reason he didn't want us to visit.  According to my brother Charles...  well, let's just pass on it.

But our visit to my brother Charles, also resulted in visiting with his daughter, Kellie, and her daughter, Jessica, a delightful 13 year old we had never met.  I especially enjoyed our conversations with her.

We also visited my Mom and Dad's graves, my Grandfather and Grandmother's graves, My Sister's grave, My Aunt Helen's grave, and my Aunt Irene's and Uncle Charle's graves.  Mostly to say goodbye.

But our Friens, Joe and Mary Jean, were obviously worn down from their son's death and their beloved home burned to the ground.  Joe was also placed in a nursing home due to a stroke.  They are still friends, of course, but their lives are now focused on day to day survival of two horrible events.  They will never ve the same as we knew them.  We can only wish them well in their remaining years.

Finally, my life-long friend Emmilee, was still her bubbly self.  But she was making ready to leave to go north for a Mother's Day visit with her son's family.

From there, we drove straight home.  The trip home seemed further, as if we were leaving my old hometown for the last time.  And now that I'm 'home' in Covington, I'm certain that it was our last visit there.  Even so, we still have ancient memories to fall back on when needed.




Saturday, April 15, 2023

Driver's License Renewal

 Given that my vision was so bad for the past two and a half years, I could not, nor would I have even attempted to drive a car.  Yet I still had my driver's license.  Occasionally, I could see well enough to drive but I never knew when my only good eye would blur to the point I could not read highway signs.  But a couple of months ago I felt like I could drive to the local hardware store about four miles away.  I did, but my wife had to drive the return trip.

And so it became a frustrating waiting game to see if my final option, a Scleral Lens, would give me back my vision when all other attempts did not.

Meanwhile, my driver's license was due to expire in a few weeks.  I started to get nervous and kept trying this and that doctor until I finally ended up in an optometrist's office.  She specialized in Scleral Lenses.  And for the past four months, she has tried everything she could, including ordering multiple 're-shaped' lenses, each offering a slightly better result.

I'm wearing my fifth lens while waiting on my sixth and probably final lens that will get my vision about as close as it will ever be.

Meanwhile, yesterday morning, I woke to a very good vision day.  And I decided it was a good day to visit the driver's license office.

I had already armed myself with completed forms from my doctors attesting to my visual acuity being 20/40, the minimum for being issued a driver's license.  So I asked my wife to drive me to the state's driver's license office in Bogalusa about an hour north of us.  The local office here is always crowded and uncomfortable.  I thought Bogolusa would not be so stressful.

We both returned home with renewed driver's licenseSeconds. Judy's was easy, but mine was complicated, and even with the doctor's certification, the very nice agent gave me every bit of slack she could without pressuring me.  I still could not read the numbers.  She asked if I bought my Scleral Lens, which I did, and told me to install the lens.  I installed it right there at her counter.  

I promptly read the numbers to her.  And just like that, I qualified for my driver's license renewal.  

It was more than the stress of worrying about passing the tests, it was a validation of my vision returning to me so that I could live a normal life.  

No, I didn't drive home from there.  And today the eye is painful from the stress yesterday. But I hope to drive to the grocery tomorrow.  It has been a long time since I thought I could do that.

A very special thanks goes to the nice lady at the driver's license office for being patient with me.  I wish all government employees could follow your example when dealing with those of us who have challenges that we wish we didn't have.