The other day John at Going Gently posted about realizing 2/3 of the way through the day that he had not spoken a single word. That got me thinking and it is something common in my life. I go for days not saying a word. Sometimes a word to Timmy. Sometimes a silent conversation in my head with My Robert. But, unless I go to the dining room to eat I can sit in my room and not utter a single sound.

At first I was thinking that this was probably not good for mental health. But then I thought that if I sat here all day talking to myself or no one that would be a mental health issue, not keeping quiet. Plus, I tend to, in a low voice, tend to talk outloud when I am shopping. Last thing I need is for people to think I am just some old man that has conversations with immaginary people.

I heard a comedy routine once that talked about the crazy guy walking down the street talking to himself. But, what if he is not really talking to himself? What if he is actually carrying on a conversation with another crazy person several block away?

Timmy ripped up his stuffed cat last night. Pulled all the guts out and was going after the squeeky thing inside. Well, we had a very short memorial and buried cat in the kitchen trash. I ordered a new toy for him. A hard rubber/nylon bone shaped thing that is flavored with bacon. Just because I can no longer have bacon does not mean that Timmy should go without.

Now for the weather report. Today in the high 60's but tomorrow, and the rest of next week the temps are due to be in the 90's. Yes, that is right, 90's. Early Summer temps and not Spring.

 Well it looks like our roller coaster has come to a hault. This week the temps are consistently in the mid 70's to high 80's which will feel much better to this old body.

Just gave myself my Trulicity shot and am ready to begin my day. Breakfast, a few walks, some outdoor fun with Timmy, maybe begin reading Love's next Meeting: The Forgotten History of Homosexuality and the Left in American Culture.It is only about an inch thick but it is really heavy and has small print that fills up each page. Not like some books that have double spacing and larger print withwide margins so they can make you think it is a big book when really it is little more than a novella.

I did finally break down and had my own internet installed yesterday. Now I have he Giga-bit speed that I want on all my devices and television. It will be an added monthly expense and I will have to give up something else to cover it in my budget, probably no more (or a lot less) Door Dash meals. Have to just eat what they offer in the dining room each day and be happy with it. They always have two entrees, vegies, breads and something sweet. And available everyday hamburgers, salads, fruit plates, etc. So there is no reason to not  enjoy what is actually included in my monthly rent already.

They make a pretty decent iced Tea which is a requirement in Texas. I prefer mine unsweet.

Now, into the day ahead. Have a great one everyone.

 So much going on in the world today that I just can't keep up and my mind is spinning. What with Carlson and Lemon and the Orange Anus and Biden announcing I am just going to turn off the news and let the world continue to implode.

Don't take me wrong, I am not putting Biden in the same category as the rest but, as a 75 year old man, I do feel that he is really too old and the the Democratic Party needs some new and younger blood. There are so many good younger Democrats that could run but so far we only have RFK Jr. in the running and that in iself could be a real nightmare for the country.

I suppose that it is time for me to just pull out my old standby of "it is what it is" and try to move beyond.

Now our weather is beginning to warm us again which I will really appreciate. Going from the high 80's to the 40's is not fun for this old man. Warmer days will help to recharge my batteries.

This week is a down week for me. But next week I have and eye appointment, a visit with my Cardiologist, my first visit with the Pain Management doctor and an endoscopy where we will also address the issue with my abdominal pain and the possibility of Pancreas involvement. Oh what fun it is to be old.

Now it is time to take Timmy out to water the roses and fertalize the garden. Or, in more common parlence, to pee and poop.

Later all.

 Just a quick post. I just watched a movie on HBOMAX called Empire of Light. It is not a great film but it is a very good one. It was made in 2022 so if you want to watch it you migh have to hunt around if you don't subscribe to HBOMAX. I do recommend it.

Now, hope everyone is having a great day.

 Time Takes It's Toll.....

1956

1996

2023

Time is not always a kind event.

 So this passed over Abilene a couple of nights ago. We had massive winds but very little rain or hail. I suspect this storm is the one that went to Oklahoma and created such havoc.

And that is just the part that would fit in the picture. The cloud was huge and much larger than even this picture shows.

I have been on the quiet side lately. Not that I did not have anything to say but I have been giving myself a sort of therapy. Trying to get my head back on from a period of meloncholy and a sort of saddness. Something happened that put me in a major blue funk and it has been harder to walk back to brightness than usual for me.

I think it was building for a while but the trigger was when a lady that lives here died. She was really old, in her 90's but the circumstances are what pushed me over the edge. She and her husband have lived here for some time and their 73rd wedding aniversary was on the 18th. But she died in her sleep on the 17th. He is still living here and seems to be functioning o.k. Much better than I did when My Robert died.

But for some reason the entire thing just sort of toppled me over an emotional edge.

I am making a mid year resoloution though. I am going to at least try to focus more on what is good and balanced in my life and in my world. So, god only knows what may end up being posted here. Just hang in there. I those immortal words "it's going to be a bumpy ride",

 Found this online. George Carlin had it right.

 It usually takes a bit to truly gross me out and I admit to having eaten things in the past that I would not allow in my kitchen these days. But this absolutely takes the cake. It is a real product that you can buy at what is probably a reasonable 24 bucks a can.

I would have to be totally wonked out on the highest octane moonshine to even consider putting this in my mouth.

Another beautiful day here in West Texas. Not too hot, not too cold, sunny and nice. May encourage a little walk this afternoon...we shall see.

I finished bingeing All Creatures Great and Small on PBS Masterpiece and can hardly wait for season four to become available. I also bought the books and am reading them. They are equally as good as the series, not better, not worse, but very good in their own right.

Now if I could just figure out why my "smart" TV keeps dropping the wi-fi connection about half way through a program I would be happy. It only just started doing this the past week or two. I don't know enought about televisions to even try to guess. But it is nearing the level of frustration where I usually just toss it and buy a new one. And if I end up doing that I will probably move on up to the 60 inch or larger which I really do not need.

 Timmy's groomer is coming today at 10:30 so I just gave him his tranquilizer so that he will not try to eat the groomer. He is a lot more calm around men then women and it took a while to find a male groomer that comes to you but I finally did about 5 months ago. His name is Juan and he is a cute bearded latino that seems to love my Timmy. So, he has that all going for him.

Otherwise it is just another day at "the home", lots of walks, lots of reading and continue bingeing All Creatures Great and Small on PBS Masterpiece which is an available channel on Prime. Well worth the extra 6 bucks a month.

In the 80's today and the 90's tomorrow but a cool front is coming and it will drop into the 70's which is not all that bad so long as there is not a bunch of wind. They have been issuing fire warnings due to the wind and dry air.

I posted a cute meme on my Facebook page. It is a little dog and the caption says how someone called and left a message that they love him. It was a wrong number but he saved it to listen to when he felt lonely. One of many cute memes I have posted/copied lately. 

Now you all go forth into this day and make it glorious for everyone whose path you cross. Love and hugs to you all.

 Just a quick post this a.m. But wanted to put up Ted Cruz's picture. He/She never looked so good. Makes one proud to be a Texan....

 O.K. Here is one you have to work for...

benedictiones dei tui repleant te laetitia et uoluptate

 Here it is a sunny and almost hot Sunday in West Texas. Not a lot of wind, not even enough to cool things off a bit.

I wanted to recommend a piece of music to all of you. If you have never heard it you should try to get hold of a copy and listen to it. It is a musical that was never performed called GOYA...a life in song. It has Placido Domingo as Goya, Dionne Warwick as the inspiration of the Maja and Gloria Estafan, Seiko Matuda and Richie Havens. The album was produced by Phil Ramone. And, it is on CBS Records.

Originally it was to be staged as a musical with Domingo. But due to scheduling issues with his schedule it was produced as a Studio Album instead.

The music and lyrics are by Maury Yeston and every song on it are wonderful to listen to and made me want to learn more about Goya. Now I am ready for a trip to Spain to see his work, expecially the Black Paintings.

Anyway, try to find it and give it a listen I would love to know what you think.

Now, on other issues, I am still alive and kicking. Lot of good it is doing but I do plod through each day with a sort of joy and a little sadness. Which is probably to be expected for me and my circumstances.

Not whining here just lettng you know that my life does not change much on a day by day basis.

I am constantly entertained by some of my co-residents here in "the home" who have taken to having political discussion in the dining room. And, you can not help but listen because many of them are almost totally deaf so a lot of those conversations are being shouted but not in anger, rather out of necessity.

Besides all the conservatives there are, predictably, a lot of really religious (to the point of bigotry) folks here and sometimes I just have to walk away from them rather than reading them the riot act. They have two church services here each Sunday (neither of which I am remotely interested in) one Baptist and one Church of Christ. And there are, to my knowledge, at least three so-called bible studies throughout the week. I don't know where all that is going to get them but it does support their strongly held beliefs that they are here to suffer until they die and go to heaven. Personally, I just can't buy that and I am, in my own way, a very religious/spiritual person who does believe that there is something after all this mess we call life. What, I could not begin to guess. Just that, if nothing else, the very essence of me (soul?), the energy that animates my physical being, will be released and go out into some void which I hope has some meaning or all this really is not worth the effort.

And I said I would not discuss religion here in this blog. I lied!!! Who knows, maybe I will, in the future, actually bite the bullet and discuss politics.

Hope you are all in a good place and that you are healthy and happy.

 I KNOW IT IS A FAKE BUT I CAN PRETEND IT IS NOT...

 Well, I am in a Sunday morning snit.

First of all, every CD and/or LP that I want of either Nina Simone or Big Maybelle is "currently unavailable" on both Amazon and Tower Records. What is with that, has there been a sudden reawakening of how great they both were and every person on earth has bought them out of stock. Or is it something more sinister...a complete and total shutdown of the message of their music?

The other thing, and something that has been on my mind for a while now, is how I have been living here for five months tomorrow. I completely walked away from my life before and have pretty much settled in here to my new way of living. And yet, not one single person that I knew before the move, many of who live right here in Abilene, has so much as called to see how I am doing. And, sadly, that includes what I thought of as "my" church.

I know that everyone has a lot on their plates these days but exactly how much effort and time does it take to call someone and say how are you doing, are you all settled in, I heard you have had to stop driving can I pick you up and take you to church or the store or something like that.

One thing I do know is that if she taught me anything at all my mother taught me that you can only rely on people up to a certain point and that most of them are pretty unreliable. Also, she taught me how to hold a grudge.

So, I am in a snit, and sitting in grudge soup right now. Don't know where this will all lead or if I will even try to address it beyond this blog. But right now it is where I am and how I feel. A bit alone, a bit abandoned and a bit angry.

Sorry for venting here but it is where I am right now. Oh, and I did a load of laundry, put it in the dryer and went back up an hour later to get it out of the dryer only to find that I had not turned the dryer on. Crap!!!!

 Here it is almost noon on April 1st 2023 and it has suddenly dawned on me that it is also April Fools Day. I am afraid that I took the hook, bait, line and sinker on what I hope to be Lurkies April Fools day posting and that he really has no intention of deleting everything and just turning into some sort of foggie memory for us mortals.

When I read his post this a.m. I immediately caught the Dark Shadows hint but then, like so much of his postings do, it took on a much more serious tone. So, yes, I fell for it (notice Lurkie I fell for the post and not the poster...you turd).

Now feeling appropriately the fool I sit here and pout.

This is, afterall, social media and it is a place where we associate with one another and, in our own ways, be social.

If they took away this blogger environment I would be heart broken to no longer have the virtual  conversations I have with Lurkie and Bob and his Carlos and Sixpence and Jimmy so many others that I also just lurk about daily and absorb what they say and write. But I am just a youngster having been an active participant in the blogscape for only a couple of years. So I would adjust and find other dark shadowy corners of the internet to skulk about I am sure.

We are, afterall, a community of folks that gather together to share so much in such ways that we may never do in face to face polite company.

That said I hope that you all have/are having a great April Fools day and that the jokes are many and that many of them are on you. Now I will go back to pouting and just sit alone in my little room here at the home until the sun comes up tomorrow and the world returns to it normal misserable self.