Let's get at it, 2024

[cineater]

Ouch, ouch, ouch, Jesus!  Went for my annual skin cancer screening.  The woman just started freezing spots on my nose.  Then she moved to my hands and did some more.  Decided she wanted to biopsy a spot on each hand so 3 shots a piece.  Then told the assistant she would need the name of the surgeon in my town.     Not worried about those.  They were puncture wounds from earlier this spring.  The left one probably could have used a stitch or two. And I can't get my hands wet for 24 hours.  Pretty much rules out everything I had planned for the day, including peeing?     She moved me up to checks every 6 months.  Guess I should slip over to Amazon and order next year's calendar.

I deserve skin cancer.  I've had fun in the sun my whole life.  Can't tell Sandy about this.  She'll worry for me and she has that PTSD going on.

Hoarder house is gone!    Was there anything I left behind I could have used?  No, don't think I wanted any of that and if I did, I can buy it.     Easy to let that go.

[cineater]

9th shot this week!  I still have the dentist next week.   

Got my estimate from the siding guy.  When it's all said and done barring anything else, I'm going to make $500.  That's if they give me all the money they are holding on what I didn't repair like the screens.  Now the delay is Mike's insurance didn't pay to redo the underlayment on his siding.  Hope that's settled pretty quick.  It takes them two weeks to order the siding and two weeks to work it into their workload.  I'm ready to wrap this up.  Christmas lights up by Thanksgiving is my goal.

Mom fell, her worst fear come true.  Nothing broken but she got a big open sore where when you're younger would have been a bruise.  She's saying my sister now has to do more because she can't.  Wait a minute, you could do that shit with me, don't use my sister as your personal servant because you're scared something might happen.  You have to be brave when you're in your nineties and go slow.

[cineater]

So the conversation with my disabled brother went like this.  I call his wife up to see if they are using the benefits that come with his medical insurance and the coming changes.  The next thing I know my brother is on the phone.  He doesn't know what I'm talking about and doesn't want to understand.  I offer to come over and help.  We get disconnected.  I wait a minute and call him back.  Start to talk to him and he goes, I don't want to talk about this now and hangs up.

So I discuss the call with my sister.  My other brother is upset because he's the only one going over once per week and taking care of their business.  He's a great enabler.  Remember my nephew?  Hurricane interrupted his sentencing date.  Anyway, my disabled brother and his wife are up to their old lifestyle.  Not my choice, not my problem.  I'll deal with it if and when I have to.  Love that saying. 

[cineater]

Susan and I just wanted to go out for a quiet dinner.  I get there and there are several pickup trucks with Trump flags flying.  Big group partying on the patio.     Fortunately they were wrapping it up.  So the only thing the guy found of real value in the hoarder house garage was the old steam engine toys I was after.  He found a collector, sold them and everybody is happy.  He does plan to rip out some walls during the remodel.  He'll let her know when it hits the market.  We can just look at the pictures online.  She's still got problems creeping in.  This time her internet connection.  Turns out that hurricane screwed with everybodies internet connection all over the country.  But they had also given her a modem that didn't work well with VPN's.  They upgraded her and it's all fine now.  We're both looking for a little bit of fun but too tired to do it.   

The neighbor put up his haunted house.  It's like a room addition.  Still haven't put up my decorations.  Might just pass this year.  Not really feeling it.  My grandson isn't liking the blow up decorations at my daughter's house either.

[cineater]

Shit, the neighbor was asking when I'm putting up my Halloween decorations.

Aw, Grace the pig miscarried but Sally had 9 piglets.  Show I'm watching on farm life at an English farm.  The way they separate mates and babies from mothers reminds me of slavery.  I know, human emotions attached to animals, well then, don't tell me research shows they do have feelings and go through separation depression.  I tell my daughter her son and I are watching Cow TV.  There's a lot of cows at this farm.  She was sad for Grace too.  I have to say, that is the cleanest, well kept farm I have ever seen.  Of course the smell doesn't come across on your TV screen.

I bought the grandbaby too much shit.     His birthday and Christmas are pretty close together so easy to do.  The little shoes are so cute.  I think I'm going to hold some of this for holidays at the first of the year and a few for not any reason but grandma's here with a new toy. 

[cineater]

Maybe I should be worried.  The dermatologist left a message to call about my skin biopsies.  The report isn't in my chart either.

[cineater]

Non cancerous, just have to go in and have the spots frozen.

I tried to go by and do early voting.  The car lines just to get into the place were out onto the highway and backed up on the two service roads.  Our ballot this year is packed with shit and long amendments to read through.  I noticed the only people listed to run for state house of representative spots are Republican's.  Not one democratic running for that or judges.  I'll try again tomorrow or next week.

[cineater]

They're out of here!  Comes a time when you just have to throw out all those old bras.    I've had new bras on list for two years, maybe longer. Have 4 news ones, the boring colors black and beige.  My daughter panicked, "did you buy new onews?"  She has a bra fetish, all the colors and various designs.  
I think the funniest card I ever saw was this:



So true. 

[cineater]

I did give Sandy the air frier.  She was thrilled.  Left here at midnight and went home and made french fries.  She was out shopping first thing this morning.   

[cineater]

Phil Leah from the Dead died.  

They call him the O'Fallon bum.  Homeless guy who lives in the woods around town.  Caught up with him today.  His name is Ray.  Gave him my old tent.  I haven't used it in years.  He wanted it.  He says there are three more of them staying down by the tracks.  One a pregnant lady.  Ray's been around for years.  Seemed like a normal guy.  Didn't have the chance to sit and chat.

The line to get into early voting is still extremely long.

[cineater]

What the living Dead guys said about Phil:

Today we lost a brother. Our hearts and love go out to Jill Lesh, Brian and Grahame. Phil Lesh was irreplaceable. In one note from the Phil Zone, you could hear and feel the world being born. His bass flowed like a river would flow. It went where the muse took it. He was an explorer of inner and outer space who just happened to play bass. He was a circumnavigator of formerly unknown musical worlds. And more.

We can count on the fingers of one hand the people we can say had as profound an influence on our development - in every sense. And there have been even less people who did so continuously over the decades and will continue to for as long as we live. What a gift he was for us. We won’t say he will be missed, as in any given moment, nothing we do will be without the lessons he taught us - and the lessons that are yet to come, as the conversations will go on.

Phil loved the Dead Heads and always kept them in his heart and mind. The thing is… Phil was so much more than a virtuoso bass player, a composer, a family man, a cultural icon...

There will be a lot of tributes, and they will all say important things. But for us, we’ve spent a lifetime making music with Phil Lesh and the music has a way of saying it all. So listen to the Grateful Dead and, in that way, we’ll all take a little bit of Phil with us, forever.

For this is all a dream we dreamed one afternoon, long ago…

- Mickey, Billy and Bobby

[cineater]

There's no continuous keyboard player for the Dead.  They lost several of the early keyboard players to death.  Called the curse of the keyboard player.

They can be a little cosmic, Charlie.     I like how they describe creation as following the muse.  Two drummers and a lead guitarist left of the original band.  I don't think the music will ever tour again under the name Grateful Dead.   

[cineater]

The early voting was open on Saturday.  Again the lines were out on the highway.  Looking like it might be easier to go to my polling place on election day.

My son called.  He's moving back on Nov. 2nd.  He got a car, his license back and is renting a friend's basement.  Sounds like he's got his head on straight.  It's hard to step out and let somebody dive for the bottom.  Believe me they will take you down with them if you don't.  And it's important you let them fight their way back on their own.  There's lots to learn on the way back.  You win those battles with yourself, by yourself and you'll win the war.  Hope that was his last battle.

[cineater]

Going gambling with my sister today.  I didn't get out of bed until 10:30.    Doing remarkably well for kicking my own sore ass yesterday.  Decided to skip that this morning.    That truck is still in Mike's driveway.  We've been through this, he doesn't need a truck.  Yeah, I could use one but not him.  It's a loaner while his dad's car is in the shopping.  His dad says the bed is too short.  Guess he's thinking new truck too.  Boys, it's going to be close if you get out of this without that truck.  

Came home up $19 and with a piece of carrot cake, not great but way better than my usual played it all.     And some nice stuff from my sister's gambling booty.

[cineater]

Cimarron noticed when she took the bag with the bottle, all eyes were on her.  The men and their painted ladies.  Eldron stared a hole in his cards.  She took a slow, long swig and let the liquid burn it's way down her throat to her belly.  She got up, placed the bottle on the table, looking several of the men in the eye.  "Still no fun."  A couple of the men muttered shit.  Eldron chuckled.  She went for the ladder on the wall, climbed up and opened the hatch.

Eldron had turned to watch her.  "Where you going?"

"To drive the train", in a matter-of-fact tone.  She heard Eldron say, "last hand boys", before she climbed through and closed the hatch behind her.

On top of the train the wind was cool.  Cimarron unclipped her hair and let it blow back, spread her arms to stretch her wings.  Out ahead she could see the engine turning into the bend.  The horn blew a low mournful cry, like the coyote makes when calling for his lost clan.  She couldn't help but make quiet chirping sounds in response that rose to a loud screeching sound.  The reply from the train was a howl rising and falling in pitch followed by staccato yips and yaps.  No train whistle, the sounds from the conductor as he leaned out the window, looking at her sitting on top of the train in the moonlight.

[cineater]

Enough of my characters coming to find me.     I'm going to follow them around a little while.  Writing is fun when it comes.  Wonder what they are up to?