How did it go? 03/12/2020

            If you read the posting from yesterday, you would have known that I and my first wife were going to the ole employer for a free lunch on Wednesday, and to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the Distribution center which I was general manager of, for a bunch of years. I have a couple photos and a few notes. The first photo is of the break room prior to lunch. Why are all the napkins and table cloths black? Possibly the reason was in preparation for the virus that is coming. Click to enlarge (I am kidding about the virus).

                                               

            They were giving jackets with a logo on them to all employees, indicating 40^th anniversary, it is also black. They did not have jackets for the retirees who were in attendance. They were told they only ordered jackets for the employees. Not a positive point for the retirees. Are the black jackets also preparation for the coming virus? Click to enhance (kidding again).

                                               

            I was asked if I wanted to speak during the meeting. Originally I said no, let Tim (the VP) do the talking. Later I learned that Tim was not coming due to the company flight restrictions because of the virus. I then said I would have a couple short comments. I was not called on to speak. That is ok, I didn’t have anything earth shaking to talk about. I would have recognized those supervisors who were there during the opening, and that our team back in the olden days, seemed to be more like a family. We knew each other and their kids. 

            After the meeting and meal, the meal was very good, one of the employees came up to me and begin to tell me of concerns he has. I want to say, this person never voluntarily talked with me when I was manager. One thing he said, “We didn’t know what we had when you were here, now we wish we had you back”! I have heard this many times from various staff who I had hired in past years. This fellow coming to me, cause me to think, I hope both Corp. and local management are listening to staff and working on improvements.

            All in all, we enjoyed the meal and seeing those retiree friends who were in attendance!

            I returned home and changed the oil in the Ford’s ole riding mower and then I mowed the back yard. I need to change the oil in the Ford’s ole generator too.

            I went over to my Son’s house and fed the animals (cats, mice, lizard, fish, and Guinea pigs) yesterday afternoon. They all seemed to be happy to see a real person in the house. 

May your day be fill with kindness!

Senior kind person and animal care taker; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

What to do 03.11.2020

               With the virus popping up in various locations, some businesses and schools have told their employees or students to, “Work from home”. That seems like a fair idea to me. 

 

               I am heading out to my ole work place this morning to have a free lunch and celebrate the 40th anniversary of this facility. I began wondering what should this type business do, if or when the virus is occurring in our area. If you tell the employees to stay home then no work can be done. The stores this distribution center supplies, would run short or out of items to sell fairly quick.

               This type business receives products from all over the world, is any of it contaminated with the virus?

               In work situations where groups of people are employed, what changes must occur in order to protect the health of everyone. A few things to consider; Arrival by staff, doors, work stations, breaks, lunch, restrooms, intercoms, times and or areas where staff gather or meet. 

 

               Should employees come to work yet stay away from the other staff throughout the day.

               Possibly hand cleaner at all work benches and on all equipment such as fork lifts and tuggers.

               Should staff wear masks, not so much to protect them from others, but to keep them from spreading anything via a cough or sneeze?

               The mask when worn will help remind people to keep their hands away from their face.

            Should doors be left open or open automatically to help avoid contact with door knobs and handles that other have touched.

            Should a company like this employee a special cleaning crew who attempt to disinfect as much as possible. Can you trust this cleaning crew to do their work properly?

            How should they handle lunch? Normally everyone gathers in the break room to eat. Most have their lunch in shared refrigerators.

       How can arrival time and breaks be altered?

 

           

Lots to think about!

 

Senior person who has thought about the virus, Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Spring break 03/09/2020

            Here in Hewitt Texas, our schools have allowed the kids to be off from school for a week, and they call it spring break. We have learned that many parents who work for a living, do not enjoy this so call spring break. Consider if you will, you have a kid or kids at home while you are working. What kind of trouble will they get into?

            As I see it, there is a good point to this spring break and that is, daylight wasting time is this week and that allows the kids to get use to the time change prior to returning to school.

            Spring break for this senior driver of grand kids, to and from school, should mean, “A week with nothing scheduled”.  Well, I do get today off, but starting tomorrow, I will be driving to and from the grand kid’s home twice a day taking care of the animal population (would you believe it is a hundred miles one way). We will be feeding and watering the animal population because the grandkids are taking their parents on a vacation. Even though it will be in the 80s here in central Texas this week, there will be no spring break for the senior grandparents. Thank goodness we have something to do!

            Let’s continue on this weather topic. Yep, it is going to be in the 80s this week, and we are supposed to have varying chances of rain daily. Temperatures that would make you want to get outside, and yet if you do go out in the rain, a sweet ole senior such as me, would melt.

                                                Sugar melts in rain!

 

It’s spring, but is it a break!

 

If seniors weren’t broke, they could enjoy spring break, Don Ford

 

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Daylight wasting time 03.08.2020

            This is the day that most people do not like, the day when some of us lose an hour. FYI, not every area changes to the Daylight wasting time. I awoke as usual at the normal time knowing it was now one hour earlier. Now Tres and the cats were not aware of the time change, but they went along with the change and ate their food as if nothing had happened. I wonder if I will be hungry at the new lunch time.

            News:  The so called news has two things to complain about now, the virus and the president. I am tired of hearing about both subjects. It would be good to get proper news about the virus, and not hear the same information over and over. The way it seems to me, we senior persons are the ones who need to worry. I can’t say for sure, but it may be one of the political parties who are courting the young people, that may have paid to have the virus created. If they can get rid of enough senior persons, then their socialist party might win the presidency. I can’t say that is a true statement, just a thought.

            Kind of along the same line, there was some so-called news about people being ordered to stay in their homes for a period of time, although it isn’t a full-fledged quarantine. The reporter was in his apartment saying how it was very lonely not being able to go where he wants. I considered for a moment, what it would be like being isolated from others. Then it dawned on me, heck, although I am not isolated from others, there are days which pass that I only have contact with family, and that is not all bad. We senior persons do wave at each other across the street from time to time.

            New topic; I have decided to consolidate the stories that I have written onto a single thumb drive. I moved one story that is an explanation of how time began, to the thumb drive. That story is about 65 pages long. I found another story about my time in the National Guard. In truth, I had forgotten that I had written this short story. Then I found a beginning of an instructional booklet about mowing ones yard, odd, yes! Heck, I have no idea how many short stories I have written.

            Subject change; we are drying up from the recent hard rains, and the wonderful prognosticators are predicting possible rains all this week. The prognosticators should learn to predict warm and dry weather at least every other week.

 

Happy Time Change!

 

Senior lonely but not yet quarantined anti socialist; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Homeless in Hewitt 03.06.2020

            We hear a lot about the homeless population in the major cities, but not much in the smaller towns such as Hewitt TX. It was difficult for me to believe what I was seeing. There was this attempt by a homeless to take an established home away from the resident.

            I was able to observe this attempt while sitting here in front of the Ford’s ole computer. As anyone who reads my articles should know, I have 8 cameras located around the Ford’s Homestead. I was here at the computer entering data, when I observed a struggle between a local resident and a Black stranger. The resident and his spouse were fighting with the Black stranger, and I was getting ready to go outside and see if I could help when, the residents were able to run the Black bird away.

            The sparrows were able to keep their bird house, which I believe they have lived in all winter, but there is evidence the black bird was planning to take possession of the house, if he could get inside. The round opening is small, and allows birds the size of a sparrow or smaller to occupy the house.

            I have two similar houses on the front porch, and I have photos of both. The first house has not been bothered by the black bird, and as such, you should be able to see the opening is as it was, when I created it, a couple years ago. In the second photo we see evidence that the larger black bird was attempting to increase the size of the opening.

            Stop looking at the reflection of the photographer, “Me”, in the window, this is about the bird houses! Click on the photo to enhance your enjoyment!

                                               

May your home be safe from intruders!

Senior bird house developer and all round good photographer, Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Not Maybelline but Suzie Q 03.05.2020

As I was motivating over the hill,

I saw Maybelline in a coupe Deville,

Cadillac rolling on the open road,

But it’s no match for my V8 Ford.

            Nope, that is the wrong start to this soon to be most excellent article.

As I was motivating from the school,

I saw Suzie Q off in a pool,

The front of the car was facing down,

Everyone knew she would not drown.   

            Oh heck, just look at the photo I took. Someone could not see the water covered drive way, which was at least 20 feet wide (trucks use it) and she drove off in a ditch. The cops arrived as I was going past. She was ok but the car wasn’t.

                                   

            In all honesty, it was raining so hard for a while that I could hardly see the road, so I can see how this unfortunate person missed the drive way. Yep she was still in the vehicle when the cops arrived.

            We received 1.75 inch of rain during the Wednesday morning.

            Another fact, my favorite grandson and only grandson, turned 10 years old yesterday. He and his family went out for a birthday supper last night, at one of his favorite restaurant. There will be a birthday party for Alex this Saturday.

            By the way, I am sick and tired of those who are trying to run for political positions. Another thing I do not like is the so called, “Breaking news”. Trust me, it is broken!  

May you not watch any political news!

Senior nonpolitical person, Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Unfinished 03/04/2020

            For some reason I began to think about words with “UN” in front of them. Unload, to remove something from a load, Unlock, to remove a lock, Unleash to turn lose. As you may see there are many words that have “UN” at the beginning, and most of these words seem to make sense. It seems as if the “UN” in these words means to basically change something 180 degrees. For the one person that doesn’t comprehend 180 degrees, basically it could mean reversing something. Then I thought about the word under. What is a, “der”?   

                       Alternate subject; I had the colonoscopy yesterday, “Everything came out ok”! For that one reader, that was a joke, “Everything came out ok”, is in reference to the thing they inserted, it came out, get it? I was awake through much of the procedure. They had three monitors to observe, and I watched the process. The Doctor said he would see me in 7 or 8 years.

                       Additional subject; I had one of the Ford’s ole chain saws out on Saturday. Now that the Ford’s ole Fort K is demolished, the ole tree stump that was a corner part to the ole fort needs to be removed. I began by removing small pieces that my ole senior retired body would be able to pick up and carry, photo to follow.

                                               

                       If you look at what’s left of the standing stump above, you should notice that there are two areas where I have cut the limbs off. I found some natural art work on the cuts, see the following photos.

                                   

In the first photo I see a bird flying. The dark area is a crack in the center of that limb. In the second photo I see either a grand daddy long leg spider, or, what we in Missouri called a mosquito hawk. You may see nothing at all, or you may see something else, use your own imagination.

                       Have you heard that there is some kind of virus going around, and it is kind of like the flu but it affects your lungs more! As with most viruses and other illnesses, they affect the senior and unhealthy population more than the young and healthy population. Have you ever thought, these viruses may be created in an effort to, “Remove the senior and unhealthy population”? Are you ready for the virus? Photo to follow!

                      

May everything come out for you!

Senior chain saw handler, and nature art critic; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Bible items 03/01/2020

            Well it is Sunday so some of the posting has to do with the bible. Below are the Lords prayers from two bible versions. First we have American Standard then the King James Version. They all go in the same direction with some differences.

From the American Standard Version

MATHEW 6:7 

 7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they           suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

 8 “Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him.

 9 “Pray then, in this way:

    ‘Our Father who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

 10 ‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

 11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.

12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Thine is the kingdom, and        the power, and the glory, forever. Amen]

From the American Standard Version

LUKE 11

 And it came about that while He was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of his        disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”

2 And He said to them, “When you pray, say:

      Father, hallowed be Thy name.

     Thy kingdom come.

     Give us each day our daily bread.

     And forgive us our sins,

     For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

     And lead us not into temptations.”

From the King James Version

Mathew 6

9    After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 ‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.

11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.

12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the  power, and the glory, forever. Amen

LUKE 11                                                                                 

2 And He said unto them, “When ye pray, say.

     Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

     Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

     Give us day by day our daily bread.

     And forgive us our sins:

     For we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.

     And lead us not into temptations; but deliver us from evil.

From my point of view, one should keep their prayers short and to the point. 

Thanks for reading my blog and please read a bible!

Senior bible reader and analyst, Don Ford