Military training 01.09.18

            It was a cool winter morning, as I along with the Ford’s dog, ventured out into the front yard. It is pre-sunrise, the sky is a dark gray, the street light at the corner is still on, and there are dark black shadows all around the neighborhood.

            As I step out on the front porch, the motion detector turned on the porch light behind me. If I was in a military setting I would have been an easy target. I stood there waiting for the dog to get the paper, but he was more interested in smelling of everything around the yard. He may be part blood hound, he seems to be able to track anything anywhere.

            Since he was ignoring the paper I began to walk toward it, assuming I might need to get it myself. As usual, he saw me walking that way, so he ran to the paper and picked it up.

            I stood there for a moment looking around the neighborhood. The people who live a couple houses up the street are always out in their garage or standing in the yard every morning. This couple has two kids. This couple also smokes and I assume they have an agreement to not smoke inside the home. Since they both smoke, is that a good example for their kids?

            As I looked toward the lighted garage I noticed a small red light in a very dark area next to the garage. That small red light went from dull red, to bright red, and then back to dull red, finally it was out of sight. I knew there was someone standing in the dark, smoking.

            In military training, soldiers are taught when in a war setting, to never smoke out in the open at night. In the dark, when a person sucks on a cigarette (I use the term sucks as I do not want anyone to think smoking is fun or ok, it isn’t) the tip lights up giving the enemy a location to shoot at. When the person up the street sucked on their cigarette, I saw the glow from the tip, it brought back military training.

            In the olden days, when I was in training, the government provided soldiers cigarettes. If you were given a food ration (eating from a box) there would be a small pack of four cigarettes in the box with the food. Those of us who didn’t smoke, gave them to the guys who did.

 

Smoke not and you will be better off!

 

Senior nonsmoker; Don Ford

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More forced labor 01.08.19

            Yes, you read the title line correctly, there was, “More forced labor”. With that statement I would like to follow up with an explanation. She didn’t tell me to do it, but I knew if I want a freshly cooked meal for supper, I better do it, and that is the same as, “Forced labor”!

            I removed some of the Christmas lights, and then I removed the nativity scene. I carefully folded and secured the wires along with the stakes that secured these decorations to the ground. Most of the items have water in, or on them, so they are left to air dry prior to being placed in the shed. I felt good about the work I had performed, then my spouse of 49 years and 8 months came out side and asked why I had not removed some other decorations. She did not say, you got it right, or nice job, instead why didn’t you…

            I sit here with tears in my eyes, as I try to write this editorial of abuse, to a male, retired, senior person.

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            I have another photo of the Tres enjoying the Ford’s ole couch. He doesn’t even say thank you for allowing him to sleep on the couch!

            The kids are back in school today. On the way to school Gabi and I discussed bullying. She said there is a lot of bullying that goes on. She noted that the bullying was mostly based on one’s appearance.

            I told Gabi of a guy who bullied me in junior high. This boy was bigger than the rest of us and he was always hitting me or someone. No, I did not tell the teacher or my parents. Being bullied was just something we put up with.

            Many years later I was in a grocery store when I saw this guy. He worked there and he was stocking the shelf with bread. I was at least a foot taller than him and much heavier. I thought about going over to him and telling him what I thought about him being a bully. I then thought, I am better than that. I would be the bully if I walked over to him, looked down at him, and told him what I thought! I could have bullied him then, but I am better than that.

            Changing the subject slightly; Gabi now has a BB gun. A neighbor found BB guns for girls on sale, they have a pink stock. The neighbor called us and ask if we wanted one for Gabi. We said yes, so now not only Alex will learn how to shoot a BB gun in Cub Scouts, Gabi can also learn from her dad (not in Cub Scouts).

            Yes I plan on removing other Christmas decorations today. You are right, it is back breaking work for a senior person, but I must do this or else… 

May your day not be threatened!

Poor ole laborer; Don Ford

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Why me 01.07.19

            Well, I began writing this on Sunday afternoon. We, by that word I mean, my first wife and me, went to lunch earlier Sunday. Lunch was good and we saw and talked with several friends. I did get a nap when I returned to the homestead. Our hound dog Tres, who had been in the back yard for several hours, had 4 muddy feet. The towel we normally used to wipe his feet did not even come close to removing the mud. He was banished to the garage.

            At some point he began barking and I decided to see if his feet had lost any of the mud, the mud was all gone! Yep, no more mud on his feet, it was now dried dirt. I then prepared a hose on the front porch which would be used to wash dog feet. Tres did not like the cold water on his feet, but he did stand still allowing me to wash them. After I dried his feet, we went for a walk.

            With all that water and feet in mind, a question arose. As you probably know, my mind works outside the areas that would be considered normal. These wonderful thoughts come from places that regular minds can’t conceive. What is the thought that arose? It was a question. “If a person were able to walk on water, similar to the passages in the Bible, would walking on water be slick and slippery like walking on ice or would there be friction under ones feet as if they were walking on a floor.”

            Vehicles can skid out of control (hydroplane) on roadways covered with water due to reduced friction. Now we understand, if you were called to walk on water, you better have at least the faith of a mustard seed, because if you didn’t, you could possibly slip and fall and you could sink under the water.

            Another thought along this line, if there were ripples in the water, when you walked on it, would you feel the ripples or when you step would your foot step on a flat surface?

            What happens if the water was moving as in a swift stream, would you be knocked down?                      

            I told you I think outside the normal. If you can’t have fun don’t do it.

Let us change the subject.

            Winter is here, and spring may have sprung all at the same time. Yesterday it was sunny and 72 degrees      here in Hewitt TX. One would think that with winter being in full swing all the leaves would have fallen from the trees, but not so. I have a photo showing you that our trees have not yet given up, and are still hanging on. When the last leaf falls will that mean summer is here? Yes the blue sky is very pretty and there are no clouds in the sky, but you are supposed to be looking at the leaves still hanging on!

            Totally different subject:

            Tres and I were here in the computer room when we heard a noise which sounded as if someone had knocked something over in the garage. Tres barked and I got up to see what was going on. When I walked into the garage I could see several people in the neighbor’s yard and the mail box had been knocked down. After some investigation we learned that an adult woman was riding a bike down the street when a large dog began to chase her. She road into the neighbor’s mail box and knocked it down.

            Several neighbors responded to help and provided some first aid. The neighbor loaded the bike and lady in their truck, she rode inside not in the back, and they drove her home.

            We hope she wasn’t hurt. I now wonder if the police will be involved since the dog chased her. The mail box was on a 4X4 post but they said it was a little rotten.

Slippery or not, walking on water is still miraculous!

         You didn’t think I knew the word, “Miraculous”, did you?

Senior presenter of odd thoughts; Don Ford

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Something happening 01.05.19

            I am sitting here in front of the Ford’s ole computer, and I do mean old, with the TV on. There is an old cowboy movie on and it is starring John Wayne. John Wayne was a very young person, this may have been one of his first movies as a cowboy. The title is, “Somewhere in Sonora”. What I noticed about this old time movie, John Wayne was riding a white horse and the horse was named, “Duke”. I wonder if John Wayne got the name, “The Duke”, from a white horse he rode in an early movie.

            Something else I noticed, in one scene, John Wayne shot the flame off three candles but in a later scene, when the bad guys were trying to kill him, he would shoot at them but always hit a rock close to the bad guy. Why could he hit a candle flame but not a full grown person?

            Today is Saturday and the weather is getting back to normal or possibly a little better than normal, you know, temps in the high 60s! J We have had the grandkids the last part of the week, they were, for the most part, well behaved. There was a couple times where they had loud debates. I find it interesting that my almost 9 year old grandson is a good negotiator. He out negotiated his older sister a couple times. After one negotiation, he was able to get his sister outside to play kick ball, even though she did not want to go outside. 

            I found it interesting that my grandson, was using his power to get what he wanted, from someone who didn’t want, what he wanted. Maybe this almost 9 year old needs to read my previous posting where I write about Power and its use.

            I allowed the Tres to go out in the back yard this morning, but I did not let him back in, through the door he went out of. His feet were covered with mud. One problem is getting better and another begins. We had the water in the back yard for a while. Now the water is going away and we have super wet ground aka muddy yard.

            I let the Tres out of the back yard through the gate near the garage door. When he has muddy feet he goes to the towel I keep in the garage, as he knows he gets his feet wiped off to remove the wet and mud. Then he has to wait in the garage a while for the rest of him to dry off.  

            It is now late afternoon, I have had an adult beverage, or two, and as you should be able to tell, I am once again in front of the Ford’s ole computer.(I have photos on this puter [puter is short for computer] that are 10 years old so the puter must be that old too.)

               My first wife and I went out for lunch and then to the area’s newest form / ranch store, where we purchased a pair of blue jeans for $12.99. I have them on and that is a good value. Finally something that has the right amount of markup.

               This afternoon I cleaned out the back seat of the Ford’s ole Chevy pickup. Tres rides back there and he leaves an amount of hair on each ride. Shed not, less ye get the seats dirty.

               It was so nice this afternoon that I sat outside listening to the radio. Very relaxing.

            My son and his wife had their DNA checked through one of those genealogy companies. Shortly after my sons info returned he received an email from a female stating that she believed she was a second cousin she lives in ST louis, MO. Our son called his mom and asked about various family members that this female was talking about. Come to find out she is a second cousin, my wife knew the people she was asking about. This female stated that she and a couple other family members still own a farm of their grandpa. That farm is on the Mississippi river near Scott City, where we use to live. Donna use to ride her bike out there when she was a kid.

            My spouse and I would like to get our DNA checked but we need to save up the money. Well I guess that is it for now, if you want to donate send them to our website.

 

Adult beverage helps you understand the world around you.

Consumer and enjoyer of beverages; Don Ford

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Water is wet 01.04.19

            Today is Friday the 4^th. My, doesn’t time seem to fly! It seems like it was only a few days ago when the New Year started and now it is already the 4^th. I haven’t heard any fireworks today, but it has been cold and wet, so I doubt anyone is outside shooting fireworks. I know it isn’t the 4^th of July, I was trying to get your attention!  Did it work?

            My spouse of 49.5 years and me, along with the grand kids went to lunch at the new Cracker Barrel in Hewitt. There were few people there, but we did arrive at 11:00 which is early for some to have lunch. We all had a nice lunch and the service along with the food was good. The grand kids both got a toy. The one that Alex got was $14.99. Later, Donna went to the grocery store where she purchased the same item for $2.50. Can we say big mark up!

            Back at home yesterday, I decided to try and water the flowers in the Fords ole hot / warm house. The temp yesterday had been in the 30s all day, and when I opened the door to the flower house, the temp inside was almost 70. The heat lamp does its work as expected.

            I removed the cover from the outside faucet and connected the hose, which by the way was cold and stiff. I pulled the hose through the water that was about 4 inches deep in a couple places. I did get all the plants watered, and the heat lamp turned back on. I rolled the hose back up and the task was completed. If we could afford a grounds keeper, I would not need to do all this work. It is rough being a senior on a fixed income. 

              

Above we see three photos of The Alex, and The Tres. The center photo shows a yellow flash of light reflected from the Tres’s eye. The flash from the cell phone was oddly reflected from Tres’s eye. Does the gold flash of light mean Tres is a Holy being waithing to provide the world with love and kindness, or, could it mean he is an evel power, justaiting to unleashe his super natural distructive control on all of humanity?

            Who knows, heck it might not even mean anything.

            Wait a minute! The Alex is there with him. Maybe the Alex is all powerful and he is passing some of this power on to the Tres!     

            Stay tuned, this unveiling of power, may be continued, in later articles. 

            Yes, I made sure the Alex knew I was writing about his super powers, and he just laughed. I believe the laugh is to be considered a verbal agreement between the all powerful Alex, and yours truly!

Power does not neeed to be displayed, knowing its there, is enough!

            I dare you to take the time to consider the above statement, not only as it could relate to countries around the world, but how it applies in your home life, at your work, or with your friends. Power is often thought of a strength, but there are many forms of power. How do you use your power? Do you, use your power? Should you use your power? When have you seen power abused? Have you, knowingly or unknowingly abused your power?

               Only the wise will take the time to think about this.

           

All wise and partially knowing; Don Ford

           

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It rained all day 01.03.19

 

                    Rain, Rain, go away,

                    Come again some other day,

                    Little Donnie wants to play.

 

            I have often said, I wish we would get a Missouri type rain, meaning a slow easy rain that lasts all day. Well that is what we received yesterday. A smidgen over 2.5 inches of rain here at the Ford homestead. Our back yard is standing in water and I still need to get out to the hot house and water the flowers but I don’t have rubber boots here in the garage, they are in the shed and I would need to wade water to get to the shed.

            The neighbor’s back yard drains into our back yard and onto our drive. There has been a steady stream of water running across and down our drive since the rain started. Our back yard use to drain naturally into the other neighbor’s back yard, but years ago a person who lived there planted flowers along the fence in flower beds, effectively stopping our drainage into his yard.    This cold and wet weather has not stopped yet, they say it will be here most of today. L

            For that one person who has no idea who Little Donnie is, I, Mr. Don Ford am the Little Donnie who wants to play in the above opening pome. Have you ever considered that when I use the name Don, I am using an alias, at least in the eyes of the law? I find it interesting that the 39.5 years that we have lived here, our utility bill comes to the house with my alias on it.

            I had a thought again this morning and the thought was, in the olden days when we called a phone number we would often ask, “Is so-an-so there”? In other words, we had a phone in the house and everyone used it. Now days, we don’t dial a number to talk to a person, most often we text. Personally, I don’t mind a text message or two but when it goes past a couple I feel we should have a verbal conversation. When was the last time you shared a phone? Heck, in the olden days mom or dad would tell us to get off the phone so they could make a call. Now we can all be talking to others at the same time.

            I know some of you were kids at one time, and we kids use to play outside and all through the neighborhood (South Benton Street). I wonder if times were better in the olden days, or were we just lucky. As a kid I along with the neighbor kids would roam the neighborhood, we would go into the woods and play, there was a creek that we would swim in. Swim may not be the correct word, splash and play in the water may be a better description as the water was only about waist deep. I remember my older brother Jack would say, don’t get his hair wet, because mom could tell he had been swimming, if his hair was wet. Jack also smoked cigarettes and he tried to keep that a secret too. Smoking from the time he was a kid has a lot to do with his poor health now.

            Well, I just can’t think of anything to write about today. There is just nothing going on with all the cold weather and rain. The grandkids are here and we have obligated ourselves to take them out for lunch. That announcement was met with less than, “Wild enthusiasm”, by the older of the two. Odd that she did not find free food to be enticing.

            Our neighbor across the street is getting their kitchen remodeled by the same people that we used. The trucks were there yesterday and again today as they are bringing things out of the house to be hauled away. It must be nice to be able to afford projects like that and still not need to walk the highways and byways looking for those elusive aluminum cans.

 

            We often think of the weather person as a, “Prognosticator”. Do you know that Psychic is a synonym for prognosticator!  So does that mean the weather person might be a, Psychic?

 

Be careful what you say to others, it can hurt!

 

Senior remember at the Fords Homestead; Donald Ford (aka Don)               

 

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Almost back to... 01.02.19

            We are almost back to normal here at the Ford Homestead. Ok, that may not be true for another month or so, but at some point in the future we hope to be back to normal.

            This morning it is raining so I found the Fords ole umbrella and headed out to the drive way to take the trash out to the curb. As I stepped out into the rain I realized that today is Wednesday, not Monday. The trash goes out Monday. My days have all ran together. I need to get back on a normal schedule. Tres needs to get back on schedule too, he may not be able to poop for several days as he don’t like going out in the rain.

            We plan to unplug all the outside Christmas decorations today, it is too cold and wet to remove said decorations. I need to water the plants in the warm house, but I will need boots to get there, as the back yard has standing water. Standing water in the yard and I need to water the plants, odd?

            The decorations inside the house are Donna’s to place and remove, that will take at least a month. Basically, they are not in the way, so no need to hurry removing them.

            We will have the grandkids here today as school is still out and the parents are returning to work. Grandees in the Homestead will give us some things to do. They have connected to the Wi-Fi and that should be the last we hear from them until they get hungry.

            I walked outside waiting for the arrival of the grand kids, it was a very cold 34 degrees, a light breeze and it is still raining. I checked the rain gage and we have received about ¾ inch of rain over night. As I stood there with the garage door open, the rain falling at a steady rate, I was thankful I could be inside the garage, out of the rain, but it was still a cold damp feeling.

            Off in the distance I could hear a bird, which oddly enough sounded a lot like a cat. The sound caused me to think of a young cat crying as loud as it could for help. I could tell this bird was not happy being out in the cold windy rain. It caused me to wish I could help in some way, but I could not.

            I then thought of a time when I was a kid, possibly 65 years ago. I remember someone talking about a cat bird. Now they weren’t saying there was a bird that was part cat, they were in fact saying, there was a bird that sometimes sounded something like a cat. No, this bird that I am hearing is not 65 years old, and it did not follow us here from Missouri!

            Think for a moment of all the birds and other wild animals that must endure the cold weather all winter. The statement, “Only the strong will survive”, definitely applies.

            I, being able to do nothing for the bird, returned to the warm security of the Homestead, thankful of all the blessings that we, humans, take for granted. 

You got it good, stop complaining!

Bird whisperer; Don Ford

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Tuesday January 1st, 2019 01.01.19

            I don’t feel real good this morning, I have a bit of an upset tummy. I am assuming it was because I stayed up too late last evening. Like many of you, I did stay up past my normal bed time, not so much to welcome the new year but, I was watching an old movie starring, “A Ford”. Any movie with a Ford in it will obviously be a huge success. Think of the Star Wars movie, it had a Ford in it and it was more than a success.

            Both Mr. Fords (me and the movie star) have a scar on our chins. I know, you never noticed because you are not observant. Why do I even try to educate the reading public?

            Staying up past ones bed time is not good, and it usually leaves them tired the next day, requiring multiple naps. Personally, I don’t mind a nap or two during the day.

            What?               No!    I did not indulge in adult beverages last evening! I stayed up till almost 9:15 pm watching the TV, then I retired to the Ford’s ole bed room.

            As I sit here I am considering getting a cup of real coffee, and sipping on it as I enlighten the reading public. The question is, do I get cookies, of which there are plenty here at the Ford Homestead, or should I get a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit? Neither are fattening, and both are good for old senior people. The cookies lost out.

         I am back and the coffee is hot!

            I have a new friend who helps me with my spelling. As we all know I can’t spell worth a spit. (You did notice I wrote spit and not the sh word.) In the olden days I would reach for my so-called smart phone, key in the unlock code then touch the mic and ask for a spelling. Now with my new friend sitting here beside me, I just ask her and she helps me. She has a very pleasant voice and I can tell, she likes me. I can ask, “Alexa, spell food”, and she spells it without judging me!

            I just had a bite of the biscuit and it is so good! The coffee chaser wasn’t bad. I need to take a break as I should take my time and enjoy this food!

            My belly is full and I have almost finished the cup of coffee, I predict that a nap isn’t too far into the future.

            My spouse of almost 5 decades is going to town this morning, there is a sell with 75% off. If they can sell it for 75% off, how much of a markup was there in the beginning?  The freight hardware store has 25% off but I can’t think of anything I need right now, and I have a gift card.

            A lady I use to work with came over to the Homestead yesterday. She has been with the company for 25 years, I guess you could say, The Donald (me) hired good reliable people. Donna showed her all the inside Christmas decorations, our new cabinets, flooring and bath, then she gave her a bag of cookies and candy. This lady was on vacation when Donna took the tray of cookies, cake and candy to work, so she had missed out on the annual treats.

            It is so cold here today that I will stay inside as much as possible. I think the highs are supposed to get into the mid-40s today. Heck I remember riding my motor cycle in temperatures colder than that. If I still had a bike, I would not ride in the cold weather. 

            Speaking of cold weather, I believe our neighbors may have acclimated to the Texas climate this year. When they first moved in they were seen outside bare footed with shorts and tee shirts on when the temperature was in the 40s. You know, Yankees are use to the cold so they don’t consider the 40s as cold. When one spends a summer here and their blood thins out, aka acclimated, then the 40s are cold and they stay inside. We haven’t seen them outside other than getting into and out of the vehicles, they have acclimated! 

I hope 2019 is the best year ever!  

Senior fellow and poet; Don Ford

           

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