We Will Never Forget

LEAVING FOR KOREA, 1950

On June 13 there was an "Appreciation Event" held at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas in honor of the American Veterans of the Korean War. This event, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War was hosted by the organization "Friends of American Veterans of the Korean War". Most of the speakers, including the MC, were Korean; most were too young to have experienced the war; all of them said how humbled and honored they were to be in the presence of the men and women of the U.S. Military who saved their nation from communism.

South Korea is a nation which has not forgotten that the United States, along with Canadian and Australian troops, fought for their freedom alongside their own military to rout the North Korean army and then to defend against the Chinese threat which poured into the conflict, 200,000 strong.
I myself have been the beneficiary of South Korea's gratitude; that government has a program called "Revisit Korea". In 1999, Ray and I flew to Seoul and from the moment we touched down, we were guests of the ROK. They put us up in a five-star hotel, furnished all our meals, hosted all our travels into the countryside. Our buses had banners reading "Korean War Veterans", and when we drove down the streets, the Korean people came to attention and saluted and waved. Our hosts were more gracious and appreciative than we could have imagined.
The Appreciation Event was a fine evening; many Korean ladies were dressed in traditional costumes. The hall was lined with young women in white suits, each with different colored collars and lapels, who bowed and said "Thank You" in Korean. There was music from the Global Symphonic Band. We sang our National Anthem and (listened to) the Korean National Anthem. General Douglas MacArthur was there, or at least someone who looked just like him and spoke eloquently about the "police action" in Korea. Each veteran in attendance was presented with a medal of honor in appreciation for their service.
The four services were recognized with their own marching songs and as the music played, "Caissons Go Rolling", "Anchors Aweigh", US Airforce Song" and the "Marine Corps Hymn", the old soldiers and marines got up and began to 'march' around the room. There was white hair and no hair; many leaned on their canes, some on walkers; some stood straight, some bent. One speaker had commented: "when you went to Korea you were young... and good looking. Tonight you are still good looking". And they were; it made me proud to see them.
In our own country, I think the Korean conflict is not well known. There are a lot of books out there from which we can learn more; I intend to do just that. But one thing I do know: the South Korean people will never forget.

VETERAN OF THE KOREAN WAR, 2010

Lessons I Have Recently Learned

Have you noticed? It's not only pickle jars that are more difficult to open these days. Have you tried to pry apart a 'zip-lock' bag of sliced Muenster cheese or Black Forest ham? Or even a bag of potato chips?! It is nearly impossible! And don't even get me started on those 'childproof' caps on my medicine bottles... you know what I mean.

I have come to realize that after one reaches a certain age one should not attempt to keep on doing those things which were nearly effortless in times gone by. For example, recently we had the "opportunity" to participate in the clean-up, fix-up, paint-up of a rental property. This is what I learned from that experience:
1. If you decide to help paint, you should not get on a ladder to paint all the way to the ceiling. This is dangerous.
2. Because you are unable to bend over much nowadays, in order to reach down low on the wall you can sit on a little short stool. However, you will be unable to get up from there.
3. You should certainly never sit on the floor to paint the baseboards (see above).
4. Even though you wear "paint clothes" (you know what I mean... the jeans you never wear in public because they make your butt look big), and even though you go through the whole day without a drop of paint anywhere on you... as soon as you put on your jacket so you can leave this chamber of torture, you will lurch into a wall and discover that the paint is still wet there.
5. You will HATE the word "mini-blind" after you have thoroughly washed every slat of every blind in the house.
6. While replacing the cover plates on all the electrical switches and outlets, you will drop those teeny little screws over and over again. Eventually, at least one of them will fall into the heater/AC register located on the floor and be lost forever.
7. Your body will ache in places you didn't know existed and in ways heretofore unheard of.
8. You will curse the day you ever invested in rental property.

Putting all that aside... here we are on the Las Vegas monorail with Gus:

A very good day, April 3, 2010

Life in the big city

So, the cat's favorite place is cuddled up next to (or on) his master's tummy... second fave is in the office chair with his new little buddy. Buddy looks really real and he purrs and his tummy moves in and out (like breathing). He can't get into the litter box but now and then squeezes out a couple of little plastic poops.


waitaminit... I just made that last part up...








Okay, so our garage door is one of the five you can see here... could you pick it out while driving backward... and slightly tipsy? (j/k about that). Finally figured out how to spot our garage door... open it before you get there!! Duh...

We went out yesterday (day after Christmas), headed to Henderson for a few errands. First of all I discovered the (heretofore undiscovered) LAS VEGAS PREMIUM OUTLET MALL which happened to be situated right on the way to the freeway I was attempting to enter. Thirty minutes and two dangerous traffic moves later, we were on I-15 north. After a while I became aware that I wasn't recognizing anything along the way, glanced at the vehicle compass & discovered I was heading to Utah... not Henderson as planned. Long story short... we made a very big loop (all the while thinking I knew what I was doing) & finally crossed the original freeway we should have taken in the first place. That's OK... in general, the Mr. and I agree to view these excursions as an "adventure"... and enjoy the view.
We ended our day at the Sunset Station Casino where I was playing nickel Keno... betting the MAX of course (20 cents). But I hit 5 out of 5 numbers which won me 3200 nickels (that's $160 folks)... So... after that we ate a Fatburger and came home (opening the garage door prior to getting there). Life in the big city...

Wow! It's been so long since I blogged I forgot my own password. Lucky for me, I keep a list of passwords handy. Lots has happened since I last wrote... for starters, the Mr. and I moved to Las Vegas (yeah, moved) and we are still getting settled. We'll still be living in Bear Valley part of the time so didn't bring much from there. We bought some new stuff and have been haunting garage sales & thrift stores to fill in the gaps. Fun... like being newly wed & broke (again).
Today I was backing into our driveway to unload our 'haul' & kept wondering why the garage door opener wasn't working. Ray finally said "you're in the wrong driveway"... the opener was working fine... our door was going up & down like crazy.
Another change for us: one of our 2 kitty boys disappeared in BVS (probably a coyote snack) so his brother (Smokey) was elevated from outdoor/garage cat to house cat. And since we've been here in Vegas he has pretty much taken over... we just refer to him as "Your Kittiness"... such as: "excuse me for sitting in your chair, Your Kittiness". That would be the (previous) office chair, made extra comfy for YK with one of Papa Ray's warm, furry sweaters.
I witnessed a near miracle this morning on the (always busy) I-15 freeway. Guy in a Cadillac swerved to avoid a chair in his lane; lost control, spun back & forth across all lanes a couple of times & finally did a complete 360 & stopped upside the median wall... all this without hitting or being hit. My advice to that boy would be: as soon as you change your pants, get yourself to the nearest casino... today is your LUCKY day!!

Hello Dolly

When I was very young, we lived on a rented farm called the Pitts Place. The house on that farm had two rooms and a basement; eventually, seven of us lived there. One of the rooms was a kitchen/dining room with a big wood-burning cook stove which contained a 'reservoir'... a container of water that was always warm from the heat of the stove. This is the room where we took our weekly (?) baths in the winter, in a big round galvanized metal wash tub. In the summer we had our outdoor shower, consisting of a big barrel mounted high on a platform on the side of the barn which was near the windmill. There was a pipe in the bottom of that barrel (with an on/off valve) & hanging from that pipe was a tin can with holes punched in the bottom. The barrel was filled from the windmill and warmed by the sun so (if you were first in line) you could have very comfortable shower.
The other room was a bedroom for my folks and my sister, Nora and me. The basement was a bedroom for my two older brothers. When little brother came along (see previous blog) he slept with Mom & Dad.
This was late 30's, early 40's and money was tight. There were not any frills in our lives...but of course, we didn't know that. At Christmas time, I don't know what my brothers received; it seems to me that Nora and I always shared a gift. Once I remember us getting a little red wagon, and when I was five, we woke up on Christmas morning and there in the bed between us was a doll. This story is about that doll.
After my parents both passed on we siblings gathered at their house and in a very civilized manner, divvied up the remains of their lives. Somehow, brother Ed got the box which had the doll in it. Evidently, Mom had kept her all those years, even though her head was broken. Some time later, Ed was about to toss the doll but my niece Cami rescued her and even took her to a doll doctor who gave her a new head and repaired some other blemishes.
Just recently, much to my surprise and delight, Cami sent me this doll who is now more than 67 years old. Thank you Cami, for being so thoughtful. I got her a new dress and bloomers, shoes & socks and she is now on display in the china cabinet. Neither my sis nor I can remember if we named her, or if so what the name was... so I have named her Toots. That was my mother's nickname.
Welcome home Toots

My three brothers

I am sorting through boxes and boxes of pictures (again) and came across this one... my three brothers, date unknown but taken in the kitchen of the 'home place' in Oklahoma. On the left, brother Don, second oldest who just celebrated his 80th birthday this year. He was/is a preacher... still getting behind the podium at any & every opportunity. He recently performed the marriage ceremony for his grandson (Jake, you might want to check if he is licensed in Georgia just to be sure everything is legal).
On the right, brother Vern... the brother who abruptly ended my reign as the baby of the family which, I am convinced had an adverse effect on my ability to mature into a responsible adult. He is the only one of the five siblings who never left Oklahoma and I'm pretty sure the state is better off for that.
In the center is brother Edwin... the short brother. He was nicknamed "Big Shorty" early in life and I can still remember my dad calling him that even after he was a grown man. You can see from the grin on his face that this brother was all about having fun. He never missed giving everyone a call on their birthday... and no matter what time zone you were in, that call would come at five o'clock in the morning. "Good morning! Happy Birthday", his trademark calling card.
Brother Ed left us in 1997 and I imagine he is making sure everyone in heaven is getting up early, birthday or not. When my time here is done and I get that celestial phone call, I am sure it will be Edwin who is on the other end... and I am positive the call will come at 5:00 a.m.

Alas, poor Morty

Recently, as I was shuttling groceries from truck to kitchen, I noticed that both cats were out on the lawn, crouching and pouncing and, in general, acting like cats. At one point, Smokey had his paw stuck down in a hole-in-the-ground... up to his little cat elbow, and evidently he managed to scare up an underground creature which I'm pretty sure is a mole.

Above, you see Smokey and Morty Mole (he was so cute I had to name him) taking stock of each other. Bandit Cat is just to the left, keeping a sharp eye on Morty while Smokey alternately cuffed him around and then completely ignored him (it's a cat thing).

You want a piece of me???

I'm pretty sure that's what ol' Morty was saying to Smokey at this moment. He was such a feisty little guy I was tempted to interfere and set him free, but didn't because I don't really want a bunch of little Mortys burrowing under my lawn. Eventually, Smokey got tired of the game & took Morty to his going-away party. I didn't witness any more of that exercise... just noticed next morning, the obligatory body parts which had been left where we would be sure to see them and know the kitty boys are earning their keep. Ah, life can be cruel... but then you don't want to mess with Mother Nature.