Saturday, January 5, 2019

Odds and ends, part #17,643

I was an only child until I was 17, when suddenly -- eight months after my mother's death -- I became the middle one of five children. On June 6, 1958, my dad married a widow with four children of her own. Bobby was 21, Eddie was 20, Patsy was about to turn 17, and Billy was 15. Bobby was not a Robert and Billy was not a William, but Eddie was an Edward. Since there was already a Bob in the family, I was dubbed "Bob Jr." by my new stepmother and am still called that to this day by my step-relatives. Three of the four siblings are gone now (Billy at 54 in 1997, Patsy at 61 in 2002, and Eddie just this past year at 80. Only the eldest, Bob, is left now, and today is his 82nd birthday. He lives in Texas. I will call him later today. Another example of four siblings where only the eldest is left is President Jimmy Carter. His brother Billy and his sisters Gloria and Ruth all went first. You may consider this your trivia fact of the day.

Tomorrow, January 6th, is Twelfth Night, Epiphany, Three Kings Day, the official end of the Christmas season. This will come as a shock to people who think Christmas is over on December 25th. No, my friends, Christmas starts on December 25th. I will take down the Nativity set from the credenza in the foyer and put it away for another year.

Mrs. RWP and I still have not had our flu shots. Last winter we were sniffly in the fall and didn't get them until January. Both of us came down with the flu (Type A) in March. This year we were sniffly again and delayed getting the shots until we were "better" but so far we have not been. Mrs. RWP's sniffles morphed into a lot of sneezing and coughing, and when she finally consented to see a doctor he diagnosed her malady as the beginnings of bronchitis (which she used to get annually but hasn't had in a few years) and put her on amoxicillin. Now that she is beginning to get better, my runny nose is getting worse. Did you know that if your feet smell and your nose runs, you are built upside down? Be that as it may, I hope we both get well enough soon enough to have our flu shots and avoid getting the flu this year, which happens to be the one hundredth anniversary of the worldwide influenza epidemic that killed millions in 1918, unless that was last year.

Do you guys (an inclusive archaic term that covered gals as well) get the Animal Planet channel on your cable or satellite TV sets? Our little dog Abby loves it. It's what we turn on on Saturday mornings. Abby is absolutely transfixed by veterinarian shows and Crikey! It’s the Irwins.

If it seems to you that I am wandering, grasping for thoughts, struggling for words, not up to par, you are a very discerning individual.

So I will stop now while I am still ahead.

I'm sure I am still ahead.

I'm definitely a legend in my own mind.

What about you?

Who is this man and why is his picture in this post? More importantly, who picks out his clothes?


kylie and sue, and helsie too, and even carol in cairns who hasn't been heard from in ages, this one's for you:


10 comments:

  1. I enjoyed this post, wow, to go from only child at 17 to the middle child of 5 within 8 months of losing your mom. My husband's mom and dad died when he was 16 so I can relate to that a bit. My dog doesn't care about TV, I think that would be cute if he did.

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    1. Terra, thanks for commenting! I'm glad you enjoyed this post.

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  2. I'm not sure why you have pictures of John Legend and Steve Irwin. I am also not sure which one you want me to identify. Perhaps you will let me know in another post.

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    1. Emma, I added John Legend's picture because I had just said that I was a legend in my own mind (a twist on the saying about being a legend in one's own time) and I figured he actually was a Legend in his own mind (John Legend, get it?)

      I added Steve Irwin's picture with the koala because I had mentioned that our dog Abby likes to watch Crikey! It's the Irwins on the Animal Planet channel.

      It made sense to me. I'm sorry it wasn't clear to you. I'll try not to be so oblique in the future, but I can't promise anything....

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  3. Not a fan of Steve Irwin (which may make me unOrstrayan). He did good work, but also severely impinged on animal's personal space. For which he paid a high price.

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    1. Sue, you are a brave Orstrayan indeed to say you are not a fan of Steve Irwin.

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  4. The first picture is of John Legend. I think you chose to insert it because you had just said that you were a legend in your own mind. I imagine that no one picks his clothes. Someone just sends a bunch of reject clothes over from the nearest thrift store. By the way, in England we never use the term "thrift store" - instead we use the widely understood term "charity shop" but I did not wish to confuse you.

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    1. Yorkshire Pudding, please note that my next post was inspired by your thrift store/charity shop explanation.

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  5. The family history is interesting. I had a stepmom for 31 years. She was a very able woman and was able to run both households. I was 37 when she married dad so we were adults but she still held things together.

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    1. Red, I gained my stepmother at 17 and lost her at 63. She and my dad had been married only nine years when he died but I remain a part of the blended family to this day.

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<b>Always true to you, darlin’, in my fashion</b>

We are bombarded daily by abbreviations in everyday life, abbreviations that are never explained, only assumed to be understood by everyone...