Friendship

Friendship. What is it? It is something that is not easy for me to cultivate, but am so lucky to have. I have a network of friends. There is Steve, Alan, and Tim. They're my singing buddies, and they are the guys that I can turn to when the going gets rough.
There is Susan. She is my accompanist when I sing, and our choir director at church. She is also a friend who just seems to understand things that I share with her.
There is Tom. He's a guy who I met in college, roomed with for two years, and that was 45 years ago. We are still best friends. He and his wife have shared their lives with me and mine for all these years. It's a wonderful thing to have a lifetime friend.
Then there is Curley. You all have heard me talk about her since I began blogging. She is this gal I met at work. She's a wife and a mom. She's a daughter and a sister, too. But to me she's a confidant, a sharer, and most of all, my friend. We worked together for a long time, and this purely platonic friendship just went from there. She has taught me how to crochet, and tried to teach me to knit. She understands loss having lost her dad recently, so I can talk to her about loss. She has children of her own, and she has become sort of a second Mom to my kids. She is a person who my children even though they are adults, will call and talk to if they have a concern. Curley is happily married to Hunter/fisherman, but he hates to shop, and craft. These are the things we do together, and he doesn't care. In fact, I think he's relieved that Curley has someone to shop and craft with so he doesn't feel like he has to. LOL! We have a lot of laughs, and also some tears, but through it all, the friendship we have is special. Curley was a good friend to my late wife, Tilly, and I know that Tilly would like the fact that we still maintain that bond.
So, when I talk friendship, I stop and think, "My how lucky I am." Friends like mine, don't just happen. A Higher Power made these friendships and I am blessed to be the recipient.
How lucky can one guy get?

Peace,
JE

I Can't Make This Stuff Up!

This really happened!

Tonight, Grandson Kiddo called me. He was on his delivery route for Pizza Hut, and the house he was to deliver to was an abandoned one. (Cruel joke???) He wanted me to look up Pizza Hut's number so he could call them for further instructions.

Me "You work for Pizza Hut and you don't know their number?"
Kiddo: " I can't remember it." (He was frustrated...it's his first week of work.)

So I got the phone book and was looking it up when...

Kiddo: "Grandpa, I found the number on the ticket."
Me: "It's probably on the pizza box, too."
Kiddo: "Yes, and on the lighted sign on top of my car...duh". "Thanks, bye."

No crap, people, this was so funny I have been rolling on the floor laughing all evening!!

Peace,
JE

Could Fall be Coming Soon?

Yesterday was one of those beautiful Indiana days. Temps were in the low 70s and there was a breeze. I played the slug all day. I relaxed on the porch, and moved in the afternoon into the back yard swing. I was reading a "can't put it down" novel, so I had an excuse. As I sat there, I looked around at the trees and sky, breathed in the fresh air, and I swear I could feel Fall in the air. Surely not already! If Fall is coming early to Indiana, then we're in for a doozie of a winter! I am sure that soon the temps will rise, along with the humidity, and summer will once again descend upon us. But for yesterday, and hopefully, today, the cooler temps are sure a harbinger of Fall.

Peace,
JE

Did you ever wonder...

Why did the right road
Take that wrong turn?
Why did our heart break?
Why'd we get burned?

Just like the seasons
There are reasons
For the path we take
There are no mistakes
Just lessons to be learned.
(Words by B. Streisand)

Peace,

JE

All the "X's" Should Be In Texas

Or any place else but around here. Both of my kids were married before. Lil Bro even refers to his brief first marriage as his "unfortunate incarceration." Our family is still haunted by this woman, who has been married at least twice since.(Divorce final in 2000) Finance companies call us looking for her every now and then. It seems she used my address and phone number when she got a loan. (She never lived her, no did she ever even stay all night here. Ever!) The last one who called got an ear full. I told them that she was married briefly (5 months total) to our son, never lived here, and that she was married to at least 2 other suckers since. I told them that if they ever found her, to just shoot her and the world would be better off!! Maybe I should have just suggested that they ship her to Iraq!
Then, there's Prof''s X. He was seemingly a nice guy for a while. Especially during the 4 years they dated. But alas, he turned "bummish." He is not parent material, has always tried to ignore his responsibility to his son (my grandson, Kiddo) and has just recently shown his true colors which aren't even on the color spectrum they are so low.
So, why doesn't the country just designate an area in some land way far away for these miscreants so we don't have to deal with them. (Preferably not Texas; I have relatives and friends there). Bums, abusers, and gold diggers, along with other bothersome X's would be sent there for just existing in a world and taking up precious oxygen that the rest of us could be using!!!
This is a needless rant, I realize, but I needed to vent!

Peace,

JE

Will it ever quit hurting?

Missing Her

Today would have been our 43rd wedding anniversary. It's a bittersweet time, but the feeling of loss is better. I still miss her and wonder if the empty feeling will ever go away. This song really sums up my feelings today and sometime during most days.

(You can find this song on Carole King's "Livingroom Tour" CD. Ya gotta listen to it!) You can find it on YouTube.

Now and Forever
You were a part of me
And the memory cuts like a knife
Didn't we find the ecstasy
Didn't we share the daylight
When you walked into my life
Now and forever
I will remember
All the promises still unbroken
And think about all the words between us
That never needed to be spoken.

We had a moment
Just one moment
That will last beyong a dream, beyond a lifetime
We are the lucky ones
Some people never get to do
All we got to do
Now and forever
I will always think of you

Didn't we come together
Didn't we live together
Didn't we cry together
Didn't we play together
Didn't we love together
And together we lit up the world

I miss the tears
I miss the laughter
I miss the day we met and all that followed after
Sometimes I wish
I could always be with you
The way we used to do
Now and forever
I will always think of you
Now and forever
I will always be with you.
________________

Will this every get any easier?

Peace and Hope

JE