Good example 08.31.17

                                     

              NO!

 

                I just returned from taking Gabi to school. After dropping her off, I was attempting to leave the school parking lot when I observed a, “North end of a south bound donkey”! This person was a police officer in a black unmarked SUV and in a school zone. Traffic was heavy!

                In Texas one is not to use cell phones in school zones. This Donkey’s butt (AKA police officer) was texting! In a school zone, in heavy traffic, he was texting!

                If I would have known which police department he was with, I would have call them and reported him.

                That irritated me to no end!

 

Don’t be a donkey’s butt!

 

Don Ford

Back and forth 08.28.17

                We here at the Ford Homestead have not been effected by the Hurricane, at least not to any bad extent. We have received 2 inches of rain since last Thursday night, and we needed it. There is not standing water around the Hewitt area. Unfortunately, too many have not been as lucky as we have. Do what you can to help the victims, and they are victims. 

                On a different subject;

                This morning, I decided to take my morning walk earlier than usual, as my spouse of 48 years has to get her eyes measured this morning. Before you ask, she gets her eyes measured so they can decide which size lens that she will need when she gets the cataract removed. After the visit to the doctor’s office we will go to the hospital where a friend is having surgery today.

                As I walked in the dark this morning, I had my special walking stick in one hand and a flash light in the other. You may wonder what a special walking stick is, let me try to explain. This walking stick is very similar to the batons we used in the olden days, when we were training in riot control. Yes it is basically a club. Our neighborhood is normally very safe, but it doesn’t mean that a bad person can’t be there, and it is best to be prepared.

                I had completed two and a half laps when I discovered I did not have my two way communicator with me. Odd I thought, I usually carry that with me.             What? You want to know what a lap is. A lap is takes an average of 7.5 minutes. I walk 4 laps which equal 30 minutes of walking. I did not see any bad people.

                It is odd how much we rely on these two way communicators. What did we do before we had them? Why do we feel somewhat naked without them? Even those of us who don’t sit around looking at them all the time, almost feel lost without them. The two way communicator can be a life saver in certain situations. I like mine with me in case this old person was to fall or get hurt and need help.

 

May your two way communicator always be with you, and charged! 

 

Don Ford

They watch us 08.26.17

They watch us    08.26.17

                As my one reader knows, they are still watching me.

                How would that make you feel, knowing you are my one and only reader? Well don’t get the big head, you aren’t!

                Now that I have thought of that, if you want to get off the mailing list send me a note and I will remove you from the list. Along that same line but in the opposite direction, if you know someone who is silly enough to want to get on the list ,have then send me a email and I will put them on the list.

            They are not watching us, they are however, watching me! Why would they want to watch you? You aren’t silly enough to get anyone’s attention, but I am!

                We are getting some light rain today and we needed it. I feel sorry for those people who live down near or at the coast, they are getting too much rain due to the hurricane “Harvey”.

                Back to me and my story. As I sat outside the Homestead on the Fords old rocker, I felt as if I were being watched. You know, you just feel that someone is observing you. Well, I began to wonder if there was a new female person in the neighborhood looking at me thinking, “what a hunk!” I looked around but I could not see any females.

                Something told me to look up, and what did I see, two eyes looking at me from a cloud. As soon as I saw him, he began to dissolve, but I got a partial photo. Why are they always watching me? What is it I have that they want? Photo below.

May you not be observed, unless you like it!

Don Ford

Murder at the Homestead 08.25.17

                Before you get all upset, the title is more of a question than a statement. I am sure some of you have TVs and a few of you have watched TV shows that depicted a murder mystery. In those TV shows there is occasionally an outline of where the body was laying.

                I must deviate from the topic for a few minutes, please bare bear with me. The word mystery got me to thinking, yes I do thank think once in a while. Who in their right or left mind would spell that word that way? I am not an educated person but I can see that word is wrong! If history is correct then mistory is also correct! Why don’t they check with me before they decide on a spelling for a word!

                I feel better now that I have corrected the Liberal Government Spelling Team.

                Let’s see, where was I? Ok, I think I have my thought back again. We all would probably assume, if we were to see an outline of a body on a floor or driveway, that someone has possibly been assassinated. Well, yesterday there appeared not an outline of a body on the Ford Homestead’s drive way, but a blue body representation. What could it mean? Was there a blue person assassinated on the drive? Photo below.

                Why was there a peace sign drawn beside the body representation? Well, after some investigation, we found that Alex and his friend Payton had drawn the body and colored it in.

                The next morning, our cat Charlie was seen not only examining the drawing but he rolled in it. Yep Charlie has blue chalk on one side. Photo below.

                Charlie is temporarily banned from coming inside the house!

                In an effort to provide equal time, we have another photo of the Tres and a friend. Photo below.

                Tres and the friend had been fighting and both became tired and decided to rest together. Click on photos to enlarge.

May your day be filled with fun!

                                                                                                                                                        

Don Ford

Schedule change 08.23.17

                How do I come up with such good titles, it amazes me!

                For those of us who are known as senior citizens, we know that schedules are, knowingly or not, followed religiously. That means, we stick to our normal schedules without thinking about it.

                Well, my schedule has changed this week and I have been almost lost, at least confused, and for sure disappointed.

                One might ask, “How has the Donald’s schedule changed,” allow me to elaborate. The grand kids have started school, need I say more?

                Let’s review how my schedule has changed. Instead of the grandees arriving at the homestead each day and settling down in the living room with their devices, occasionally asking me questions, they are not here, they are in school.

                 At the lunch hour, I, Chef Ford, no longer inquire of the grandees as to what I can fix them for lunch, I just look through the fridge for left overs for my meager lunch.

                After lunch I no longer have to instruct the grandees to be quite while I take a well-deserved nap, there is no one to disrupt my nap.

                Everything has changed and I have not learned my new schedule as of yet. Seniors, at least this senior, do not like to have our schedules disrupted!

 

                An odd occurrence here in the Ford’s old office. As I sat here pounding away at this keyboard, I heard a light knock on the door. There was three taps, and they were quite. I was surprised that anyone would knock on this door. Was the quite knock a child or small person or was it someone who wanted to enter the house to steal or do harm. I prepared myself to hit whoever it was. Right fist clinched and at the ready I opened the door with my left hand. No one was there! I looked down and there was Molly, our cat. How was she able to make the nocking sound on the door? Truthfully, I do not know. The lead and choker chain that she use to rattle when she wanted in, are no longer on the door. It was a distinct but light knock.

 

May your schedule not be changed!

 

Don Ford

Sock-it to me 08.21.17

                The term sock it to me should be used sparingly and with caution. One might get it socked to them in a manner they are not expecting.

                There is a reason that I began to consider this terminology, and it has to do with my lovely wife of many years. My wife has a tendency to go shopping occasionally, and knowing this, I had requested that she might consider purchasing for me, some white socks. You know the kind, they cover your foot up to your ankle and you wear them with your walking shoes. I have several pair of old white socks and they have been worn out for a couple years but, being retired and on a fixed income, I have put off acquiring new socks until now.

                My first wife was nice enough to purchase me a package of these socks! On that same day my present wife also purchased me a package of the white socks. Yep, I now have two packages of white socks.

                I can see that one of you has a question, and I will, in an effort to avoid the tedious task of listening to that silly question, elaborate on this situation!

                My first wife, my present wife, and my spouse of 49 years, are all the same person. Question avoided.

                My lovely spouse purchased a package of socks at one store, and then found them on sale at another store, and decided to get another package!  Nice!

                As I sit here tired from the days boredom, yes I had a boring Friday, as the TV shows I like to watch in the afternoon were not on, and they had some other trash on. One can only stand so much, so called breaking news, and the constant running down of the president, so I tried to take several naps and that also became boring.

                I got to thinking about socks, and how much I am like a pair of socks, but before I enlighten you, I would like to show you a photo that I took from my front window. This photo was taken this week and I might say it could have something to do with the title, “Sock it to me”!

  

                The story as it was later related to me goes something like this. The fellow in the white vehicle did not have a front license plate, the first officer turned and followed him. Seeing the officer behind him, he made a turn onto a different street, failing to use a turn signal. The officer was still following him when he turned into the driveway of our neighbor. The officer followed him. The people who lived there came outside, the officer told them it wasn’t any of their business and to go back into the house, which they did.

                The second police vehicle arrived with two officers in it. With the driver out of his vehicle, two officers watched the driver as the third officer searched the vehicle. A third police vehicle arrived with the K9 unit. They had the dog go around the vehicle but no drugs were found. The police gave the driver a ticket for no license plate on the front of the vehicle.

                My grandson and a friend sat at the end of our side walk watching the event unfold. One of the officers gave the grandson and friend some stickers.

                You can’t say we don’t have excitement on Oklahoma Avenue.

                All of that cop stuff has nothing to do with my title story! My story is about me and socks. Would you believe, as I held those new socks in my hand, there was a tear of joy in my eye. It has been so long since we could afford new socks, and now I have two new packages. They felt so good, soft, and they don’t smell like dirty feet. I thought I should get a shower and then try on one pair of the socks. I bet they would feel good if I left them on all night, you know, kind of break them in easy!

                Until now I had not considered how a pair of socks could be so much like me! Think about it, a pair of socks are truly like me. No not because they are clean, smell and feel good, and not because they are white. These socks are, “Neither left nor right”. I am not always right, but I am never left!

                I have finished with this story, so I will leave you for now!

Be neither left nor right, just like a pair of socks!

Don Ford

Full disclosure; I got the idea, “socks are neither left or right”, from something on TV.

"Mr. Tiger"

'Mr. Tiger' Terry Kitchen received well deserved honor

Thursday, August 17, 2017

How do you describe school spirit?

Try, Terry Kitchen.

"Coach" to many, "Coach Kitchen" to others, "Mr. Tiger" to some.

Need an inspirational speech at a Cape Central assembly? Look no further than the man who is always wearing some sort of orange apparel, whether it be tie, shirt, cap or jacket. Like a preacher, which he is, he can passionately rain down school spirit upon the student body. Anyone familiar with "Coach" knows his blood type is "O positive."

A former star athlete for Central, he's also served his alma mater as coach and athletic director, a major part of Cape Central High School and Cape Central Junior High for more than 50 years. He led the baseball program to four state final four berths, becoming the program's winningest coach in the process.

He since has watched over countless ballgames from the sideline as an administrator, raised money for fields, tracks and scoreboards, and makes sure the Tiger greats are forever preserved as the force behind the Cape Central Athletic Hall of Fame. His passion for the orange and black is evident no matter the task at hand.

Tough as they came on the field, he is not without his soft spots. The eyes of the Tiger sometimes well with tears, as they did last year when he spoke about the impending razing of the old Central High School gymnasium. They welled again last week when Cape Girardeau Public Schools superintendent Neil Glass surprised him with the announcement at a district staff meeting that the baseball, softball and track facilities would bear his name, being officially known as the Terry W. Kitchen Athletic Complex. The school board approved the resolution at a meeting earlier in the day.

"Was I surprised? Yes. Shocked? Yes," Kitchen told Southeast Missourian sports editor Josh Mlot. "But what an honor. What an honor. I'm gonna tell you, I just couldn't help but get tears in my eyes and cry because I just love this school district, and I work for the best district around. Gosh, it took me by surprise and shock, but at the same time, just so thankful."

A 1970 graduate of Cape Girardeau Central, he met his wife, Barbara, while a student, and they've raised and wove their family around the orange and black. Not surprisingly his son Tatum, like his dad, is the head baseball coach at his alma mater. Kitchen's own school days coincided with the popular song "Be True to Your School." If we didn't know better, we would have thought a boy from Cape Girardeau slipped the lyrics into a mailbox in an envelope addressed to The Beach Boys.

The song's first verse and chorus:

When some loud braggart tries to put me down

And says his school is great

I tell him right away

"Now what's the matter buddy

Ain't you heard of my school

It's number one in the state"

So be true to your school now

Just like you would to your girl or guy

Be true to your school now

And let your colors fly

Be true to your school

It's good to see the door swings both ways, and that a school remains true to such a distinguished student, alum and employee.

Congratulations Coach Kitchen for a truly remarkable honor. Our best wishes to your health. You have the support of a community that knows you will battle illness with the heart of a Tiger.

Your school spirit has lifted us all. Thank you!

 

WOW!

 

Don Ford

Stretching is good 08.16.17

                Stretching is good for everyone. When you get out of bed in the morning what is one of the first things you do, stretch. Ever watch a dog or cat as they get up from sleeping, they stretch. Stretching is a natural thing and it is a good policy for all and should be done often.

            Stretching is something that should be done whether at work or at home. It will help prevent or at least minimize muscle strains.

            Take the time to learn a few good stretches and use them before and after working.

Stretch not and be sore later!

Don Ford