Memories

About a year or two ago a singing group called Bon Jovie introduced a song something like, "Do You want to make a memory?" I really liked that song. My head is chock full of memories from my past. Some nice, some not so nice. The song reminded me that the making of memories is a continuous process. I have friends, family and acquaintances that are stuck in the memories of the past and have kind of given up on developing new ones. Admittedly we all run it to that train of thought from time to time but the problem occurs when we languish in the past isn't it? What's that phrase about "it's a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there." I enjoy a visit into the past, I learn from it and, at least in my case my past and the mistakes I made can bring me to my knees either in laughter or in prayer for gratitude I'm still alive.

As some of you already know I spend time visiting or talking to old guys who are alone as they go through the short time they have left here on earth. Most, if not all of them are alone because of their actions in the past and they burned a lot of bridges. In my opinion, That was then and this is now so we do our best to make the lost of the time we spend together. We do that by creating new memories. Playing cards, board games, writing stories, telling a few jokes and in some cases, perhaps fabricating and reconstructing the painful memories they can't stand to bear anymore. I've found that I really don't have to say or do a whole lot other than ask a question or two and they take it from there. I have learned a few lessons regarding some rules while visiting these guys.

Rule number 1: Never bring them Raspberry Flavored Brandy for a sore throat. They just may decide to share it with their buddies and raise Cain in the old age housing project.

Rule number 2: Never turn your back on an old guy when he just lost a game of cribbage to you, he is a sore loser, and he has a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows in his hands.

Rule number 3: If a guy asks for an over the counter sleeping pill, don't bring him any. If they sleep all night they just might pee the bed.

Now those rules may seem obvious to you but I have to admit that I learned them first hand by actual experience. Memories are a continuous journey through life. The best ones are filled with laughter. I've found that when it comes to old guys the process is best dealt with when it is accompanied by huge amounts of tolerance, acceptance and forgiveness. Yeah, with old guys those things are critical.

Trivial, nonsensical pondering

I wonder about, "not so important" stuff sometimes. Not quite sure why I do it. After all, life is complicated enough without wondering about trivial details. I continue to wonder though. Back when I was a kid, Catholic nuns wore habits. A sort of uniform that covered everything except their hands and face. It must have required a great deal of discipline to wear those habits in hot weather. I wondered though in the first few weeks of Catholic school, in first grade whether the nuns had real ears like you and me. I was fortunate enough to have a much older brother who was in second grade and had attended Catholic school for two whole grades already. He straightened me out so I didn't wonder any more. Nuns did indeed have ears, but those ears were huge, strange looking and turned on swivels or something. They got those ears when they turned into a nun. I mean no disrespect to those devoted nuns, it's just the type of rumor that went around in the little kid environment of parochial school halls.

As time goes on I still wonder about things that need not concern me but the subject matter changes. For instance, when an ant eater eats ants with it's long tongue, how does it get rid of the sand in his mouth? I mean like, ants live in sand and dirt don't they? That ant eater sticks it's tongue down into the ant hole and licks out the ants. It's just got to get a rash of sand and dirt along with the ants right? If I was an ant eater I think eating sand would be a major issue wouldn't it? And another thing: When lions and tigers and wolves and bears catch and eat other animals, do they discard certain parts of the victim or do they simply indiscriminately eat the entire carcass? What determines when the carcass becomes too "spoiled" to eat? Are there any "desert" parts? Does an ant eater prefer certain ant species over others? And then there are the moles that run amok in our lawns and flower beds. Have you ever considered what they are looking for exactly besides grubs? Not necessarily something to eat mind you but whatever they find so interesting to keep them rummaging through the ground. Or, is it possible that they may find the world up top rather disgusting and repulsive? Now there is a thought that at times I may agree with what with the words displayed on t-shirts on airplanes these days. But perhaps that's something I shouldn't wonder about. It would be better to spend my time pondering just who designed the stripes on a Zebra. Yeah, there ya go...........Have a great holiday weekend.

Sleep, bad news, caffiene

That's it! I've had enough for now! Way more unnecessary news than I need to know is smeared across the media right now. From some woman breast feeding her kid standing on a stool to the dangers of eating broccolli. I need a break! There were some real advantages to the lack of world news coverage "back in the day". To make my point psychiatrists all over the world advise people not to watch, read or listen to the news at least 2 hours before retiring if they desire a good nights sleep because it can cause restlessness and nightmares. I personally believe that, at least in this case those psychiatrists know what they are talking about. Just before going to bed last night I saw a short news story and for whatever reason I drempt about related stuff all night long. Tossing and turning all throughn the night. That stupid clock at the head of the bed moved so slowly I picked it up and shook it just to make sure it wasn't broke. The dreaming, in part involved me driving my truck across someone's lawn, too close to their fence, uprooting the posts, bumping into a tree, somehow getting their utility trailer stuck to my back bumper and my spinning tires churning up their driveway and leaving a huge jagged hole as I left. Whew! What a nightmare.

My only explanation is that somehow I held that late news story in my sleep driven mind, mixed it with other junk left in there from times and experiences past and came up with a conglomeration of otherwise impossible nonsense. From what I've heard stuff like that is what stories of mind altering drugs and alcohol abuse are made of. I didn't like it one bit. I may not sleep much but I do most often enjoy a deep, restful, invigorating sleep that most people only dream about. (nice little play on words don't you think) Not ever having partaken of any of those strong, mind altering things other than too  much homemade wine once, I wondered in my groggy awakening if that was some sought by taking LSd, certain mushrooms or the infamous Pyote buttons. No thanks. I'll stick with staying away from late night news and getting my usual night of deep sleep. Now, if I can only get this pesky blog site to accept and publish this posting. Am I doing this in my sleep? Is this just another nightmare? Now that I think about it, could all of this have been caused by my three glasses of caffinated tea? Nah! It was surely the news. Right?