America's Duty

 Even though it's Friday, I keep feeling as though it's Saturday.  Don't ask me why.

The skies are overcast.  Temps are supposed to climb in to the high 40s (F), and there are showers on the way.  Notice, that's showers, not rain, nothing that could be considered a steady soaker.  Tomorrow, temps are predicted to cool off, slightly, but the the warm air the Midwest has been having will begin to move through the area.

I got a measure yesterday for cellular blinds.  The young lady wants one, and it needs to be motorized because the window is too high to reach.  The motorization is going to add about $350 to her bill.  

And while I quite enjoy talking to older people, it's not all of them.  Some people want you to feel sorry for them, it's how they convince themselves that they're special.  Take the older woman I overheard at the post office the other day.  She wanted a Post Office Box, but only for 1 month (you have to rent them for at least 3 months).  She whined this story to the clerk: her husband died suddenly 2 months ago leaving her with a large townhouse that was too big for her, so she decided to sell it and move into an apartment.  However, (and this is a big one), she couldn't move into the new apartment for 30 days, and the closing on her house sale was in 2 days and she needed to be out.  And she definitely wanted those standing nearby to feel sorry for her bad planning.  I listened, and said nothing, as the line behind her grew to at least 7 people.  Finishing my business, I left, and I can tell you, the faces on those waiting were not happy.

When I got home last evening, I found the Lade of the House down on the sofa.  She ate her dinner, did her business outside, and then went back upstairs to bed.  I've decided that Lily is going to play the part of the semi-invalid for as long as she can.  

And what about Alabama?  Is a fertilized egg a person?

Of course not.  But this is what happens when you put the Crazy Cracker Jack Christians in charge.  This is the the religious extremism you see in Iran, except this crazy is in America.  In the 3 days since the Alabama Supreme Court ruled fertilized eggs are people, the country has been in an uproar.  It is the Republican party, the GOP, that has enabled these lunatics, and they are out of control.  The party needs to be taken out of power.  All you need do is look at the House of Representatives to see the GOP can not govern.  In fact, they don't really want to govern, they just want to say "Shut up!  We're in charge!"  And it is every American's duty to take what little power they have away from them.

My Mom

At 0641 yesterday morning, just after I posted my blog, Greenfield Senior Facility called me.  They have called me before this early to tell me my Mom had fallen.  Not yesterday morning.  "Dave, I'm sorry to tell you that your Mom has died.  We found her lying on the floor of her room."
When I was 9 years old my Mom had electroshock therapy.  Her temper was most often taken out on me.  My childhood was not good.
She became very self centered and demanding as she grew older.  My Dad and I would go to movies and she would call and criticize the film.  She had no problem criticizing you, or trying to make you feel guilty.  She was very good at that.
I went by myself to the Funeral Directors this afternoon.  My sister doesn't deal with well with these things.  My brother was on his way back from vacation in North Carolina.  For the reading inside the program I chose a poem I love.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

BY ROBERT FROST

Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   

To stop without a farmhouse near   

Between the woods and frozen lake   

The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

My brother did not think it was religious enough.  "She was a very devout Christian," he said.  My reply "I've had a really shitty day and I was there by myself and I picked what I liked."

My Mom died yesterday and I had to cry.  My sister cried, too.  My brother also cried... and complained because I chose a verse that wasn't Christian.  You know it would have been nice if she had at least once looked me in the eye and said "I'm sorry for being so abusive."  Never happened.  Instead she found Jesus who forgave her sins without her ever needing to ask forgiveness from those she'd hurt the most. 

A crack in the heart

Yesterday, as I was selling some carpet to some customers, I heard a page over the loudspeaker regarding a phone call for the flooring department that was on hold.  I said, "excuse me," to the customers and picked up the phone.  A woman's voice on the other end of the line asked me how big was our largest storage container.  I told her we carry we have some very large containers, up to 55 gallons and asked her what she was using it for.  There was a pause, and she started to cry, and said "my dog just died and I need to bury him."
Remembering how a little over a year and a half ago how I felt when Gertie died of a heart attack, I excused myself from the customers and went back to the storage aisle while she talked about her dog, a standard sized poodle.  And I thought about the weather.  Yesterday was a dreary, rainy day here in Central Pa.  And I felt so bad for that poor woman who had just lost one her best friends.  And about having to dig a grave for that friend on such a terrible day.

We love our pets.  The loss of one can be heart rending.  Standing in front of our storage containers yesterday, giving dimensions over the phone, I had to pause and wipe a couple tears from my eyes because her grief had managed to crack open my heart.