From ‘22 – ‘23 didn’t seem like any eventful memory. It came and went with a few clothing changes, some unfinished chores and nothing extraordinary to remember.
Reflections on the past year…
Chinese balloon. The first news story that caught my attention was this UFO or unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) that seemed to be floating over the continental United States. Were we being invaded? Was it a threat? Was it some advertising promotion? The consciences were a Chinese balloon that got loose in the trail winds. Were they spying? What does the homeland security do to keep the 48 states secure? The solution was to let it float over into the ocean and then get shot down and recovered. What did they find? Was it a won ton delivery? The focus turned to the latest war and all forgotten.
Taylor Swift/ Beyonce/ Britney Spears/ Dolly Parton/ Cher/ Madonna/ Olivia Rodrigo. The year of Taylor Swift and the swifties, followed by a string of women trying to catch the train. I didn’t buy any of their music and can’t sing a lick, but they put on good enough shows to make a ton of dough and so this is the year of the female singer.
Barbie/Oppenheimer movies. A pink movie about a doll and the foreboding of doom were this year’s blockbusters. No, I have not seen either. I didn’t even listen to the soundtrack.
The Beatles’ final song (again) ‘Now and Then’. The last two have dug up some old tapes and added a few tweaks for the ‘last’ song done by four guys from the 60’s. Not the best song ever recorded and you’d think these old geezers have enough scratch than to need another song on the billboard charts?
The Remainders of the Rolling Stones are on tour again next year to support ‘Hackney Diamonds’ sponsored by AARP. How much would you pay for a ticket to watch on a big screen 80-year old’s playing 60-year-old songs to great grandchildren?
Restaurants/ breweries come and go. The culinary news is about which old restaurant is going out of business being replaced by another restaurant trying to find a popular menu to feed the audience. I don’t cook but I’m also bored with others cooking for me. Must be a drinking town because there is a new brewery on every corner.
Tesla truck. Not in the market to buy a truck (like all my neighbors) but am following the tortured path of the transition from fossil fuel to electric vehicles. Some catching fire, some without drivers wrecking, some can’t get enough minerals to make battery chips. The Tesla truck looks different. It is more of a space design than the two-story SUVs roaming the streets now. More to come.
Book of the year? Song of the year? Movie of the year? TV show of the year? Sorry, no recommendations from me. Nothing creative caught my attention.
News becomes Entertainment (and sales) Content providers used to be trained journalist investigating interviews and facts to present relevant newsworthy content. Today, opinionated podcasts fill the airwaves to inform an unknowing public. Unfortunately, I’ve watch people find a website that supports their bias and rule out all other as ‘fake news’. This will show up in the political election.
Weather
Nice winter and spring, then H O T! then a mild fall into a wet winter. It wasn’t THAT hot, but listening to reports of the temperatures in Arizona, Texas, Florida made things seem hotter. Still only one person in the steady stream of cars on the roads so no changes in use of fossil fuel.
Yard
Broken tree. Started off the year with a neighbors’ tree splitting in an ice storm and falling into my front yard. Since the tree was in front of his house, but in that space between the sidewalk and the street (which is really city property), I called the city. A crew came out, cut up the branch and the tree and grown up the stump. No muss. No fuss. No cost to me. It did take out ½ of my dogwood tree, but the fence was fine.
Digging dogs. My other neighbor took down two fences and put up a new one. Seemed fine until his dogs decided to dig under the new fence and roam about in my yard. More to come next year.
New tools. A metal trimmer and a machete. Since most of my yard greenery is vines, I found a string trimmer with a circular saw blade instead of nylon, then I found a machete. A final round with my lawnmower and the yard was full of mulch. Another mow in the spring to mix in all the dried leaves and watch the yard grow again.
Trimmed. The new tools helped thinning out the front yard and a good raking of leaves into the street got prepared for next spring. The crape myrtles were cut down and the city took the trimmings away.
Clothing
Formal clothing and collared shirts have all been donated. Comfort is the rule of the day. Soft shoes, sweats and hoodies. A trio of short sleeve or long sleeve t-shirts are swapped out to wash when they start getting rank. When they get ratty, they are tossed and another trio pulled from the dresser. Threw away one pair of shorts only to find another dozen hidden.
Delivery
Shoes, bike gloves, trimmer string, magnetic hooks, sweat pants, sweatshirt pull over, door knob, towel racks, trimmer, bath mat, leaf gloves, electrical plugs, toe nail clippers, cassettes and a mug.
Beats going out to a brick and mortar and not be able to find what you want. Compare prices and features before you add to cart.
House
Printer cleaned out (for tax printing). There was a clip-on lamp with a plastic cover that was always on. The cover became brittle and broke into my printer and jammed it up. I procrastinated for a year until taxes were due. I dug in with wires and toothpicks and shook it upside down until I could run the paper through and print the downloaded tax forms. Threw away the light and haven’t printed again. Maybe I’ll check again in February. Yes, I’m old school and snail mail my taxes (and utilities bills). I keep electronic (and paper) copies of all.
New computer. Had a sticky key on my laptop. Don’t think I spilled anything, but some days it would work and others…? I plugged in an extra keyboard as a workaround, but it kept bugging me. Took it down to a local computer shop and they were very efficient, so I bought another refurbished laptop computer from them. Now I had a much faster computer (M1 chip) and everything (software and operating system) was upgraded at no cost.
Sink hole. There has been a sink hole in front of the house by the curb ever since I moved in. It may have been a rat hole or a bunny home, but it has been there for 40+ years. I called the city. After a reminder, a crew came out to dig up the street and sidewalk, close the street, heavy machinery, and after a week leave a clean nice solution. Come spring will decide what to plant out there.
Internet upgrade. The power went out. When it came back on, I had no internet. After days of calling and being shifted from one support assistant to another, could not get any results. Finally, an installation inspector came out and replaced and upgraded my 14-year-old connection, at no charge.
Heat broke blower. When it started getting chilly, the furnace turned on and the house warmed to a toasty 67 degrees. Took my ride and when returning, the house had a chill. The furnace had stopped. The next day my Woodfin friends sent an HVAC guy who climbed under the house and found a frozen turn wheel on the blower. It would need to be replaced. I awaited a call when the part could be located and scheduled to be installed while adding another blanket on the bed. The next day, they found the part and by that afternoon the house was toasty again. It pays to be prime.
Transportation
Kickstand/ seat / new headlights. One of my ponies’ kickstands was becoming loose. I went through my screw stores and couldn’t find anything to tighten it, so I took it to my local two-wheel shop. They tinkered a bit and found a suitable resolution – at no charge. They also tightened my wobbly saddle. To repay the kindness, I bought 4-headlights to replace the ones that had stopped working. I don’t travel at night anymore, but it is always handy to be ready if needed. The strange thing was instead of using AAA batteries, these newfangled headlights had to be powered by USB power. Old dog, new tricks.
Pavement covering. My usual path through the neighborhood goes down two blocks of rough payment. Years of potholes, new plumbing installations and whatever else required to keep the autos rolling on the bumpy path. I’d learn how to get around the dangerous hole and bounce over the hills to make the ride adventurous. People started putting signs in their front yards protesting the condition of their street. A city crew came out and, in a few days, had the pavement as smooth as silk. Already there are street graffiti so more digging and patching on the way.
Food
Tummy Temple
redesign. Suddenly there is an army of blue shirts roaming around the aisles
with charts and instructors with no notification to the congregation. I missed
the memo. The cheese was being moved, the spaghetti was moved, the frozen fish
moved to the ice meat area. Someone had decided to refurbish the Tummy Temple. I’d been through a few of these, but this was
chaos. The cookies on aisle 8 were moved to aisle 12 and then moved back to
aisle 6. I like to think of it as a ‘hide and seek’ game. What I’ve come to
consume is in here somewhere, if I can just find it. The walls and the signage
were being changed at night. The carts were installed with locks so they would
not leave the parking lot. Security guards were placed at doorways, but
shoplifting is rampant. The staff was as confused as the customers, so my daily
ventures were always entertaining. 
Shelf heights were increase to require a
ladder or a basketball player to reach the soup cans. Packaging was shrinking
as prices rose. They did not accept my idea of a dollar-a-minute for a ride on
the Zamboni. Even the sushi ninjas were moved out of the entrance. The per-pared chicken doesn’t taste any better, but it is difficult to eat a
chicken and then feed the neighborhood birds. I don’t grow any editable in the
yard so this is where the food is.
Eating. To prepare and consume food is a necessary but not enjoyed. I’ve tried many variations from steak to fish to chicken to Mexican, Thai, frozen and unfrozen, salads and sandwiches. Nothing is appealing to taste. Baked potatoes and hamburger seem to be my latest dinner desire, but that is becoming boring. One meal a day is enough and sometimes more than enough.
Going out to a fast-food or a fine dining restaurant has no appeal. I know what goes on in the kitchen.
Money
Bank online. I’d been using online banking just to check my deposits and withdrawals and balance. When the power went out and the internet got all wonky and then replaced, my connection to the bank didn’t work. A service call and some discussion and several reboots, the suggestion was to try another browser. BINGO! Isn’t technology wonderful?
Surprise check. Got a strange check in the mail. It was a refund from some medical organization. The description said I’d paid for services they did not provide. Rather than depositing it (I was a little weary of a scam possibility) I walked up to the bank and cashed it. Now my wallet is bulging with more cash than I’ll ever spend.
$20,000 goal + $5,000. My 2023 New Year’s resolution was to save a balance of $20,000. Why? No need to splurge on anything. No impending doom expenses on the horizon. Just having a few extra bucks in my wallet. I succeeded my goal and then some. Good way to end the year.
Health
Exhaustion. Took a nice leisurely trip down into the Fan to get my laptop repair. Stopped at the bank to make a deposit, then did the long Cary Town crawl. No stores enticed me with their boutique wears, but stopped at one of the bicycle shops to get my seat tightened. Rode down pass my old apartment to the place I thought was, but was under a different name. Presented my problem for them to inspect and rode home. A trip I’d done many times before going to school and work, but today was different. By the time I got back in my neighborhood I was panting and puffing. I stopped and had a drink of water. I was out of breath and my legs were wobbly. I pushed my pony up the hill and had to stop again. Would I make it home? I finally opened the gate, parked the pony, crawled up and sat down to refresh my mind and my body. I’m not young anymore. After a refurbished renewal, I ventured to my daily grocery run and made it home without too much incident. I have to pace myself at this age. I also learned that going downhill requires brakes and I’m not as flexible at turning left than I am right?
Back. A few sticks picked up. A few leaves raked. A stretch here and a lift there. The next morning my back reminded me of my age. Walk softly in the morning and a daily 5-mile bike ride until all the kinks are worked out.
Constipation. The innards of the sack we walk around in is the engine that keeps us going. Not only do we carry that brain thing that we are supposed to use so we don’t walk into walls, but there are tubes that process the stuff we stuff in our mouth to give us the energy to move before we poop out the leftovers. All these pumps and values have been working at it for years, but after a while, things become more difficult to process. All the years of abusing our gut with junk food our compression system might need some help. The morning dump becomes much more aware as age makes us thankful for the trash removal. Due to lack of mobility, age gets us fat and have to pee more. Several friends announce their antique malady’s but I’ve not gone to check as long as the plumbing works.
Several other friends decided they had enough.
War
As if one was not enough, we change our focus to a new war. There are plenty other places on the globe where people are shooting and killing each other for a variety of reasons, but this is Israel. This country has always supported the Jews (you can figure out your own reason) and are more than happy to send military support against the Arabs (Muslims? Islam?). Does this go back to the Crusades? What about those pesky Russkies? Did that war become a stalemate and we needed something more exciting? Why do we pay for wars just to enhance our military weaponry manufacturers but can’t establish any local gun restriction laws? I luckily still live in a place where bombs don’t fall and guns don’t shoot.
TJHS 56th Reunion
Over a half a century from graduation for a $50 dinner with a bunch of strangers to relive times we don’t remember. Steve kept losing his phone. A few bland conversations with name tags but unrecognizable faces. A room full of old survivors. Did get to play guitar to a lobby full of people who were there for another reunion and would have been questionable for our class. We’ll see if we can make the 60th in four years?
Birthday
LXXV. No cake or candles. A birthday present to myself of a Melodica (similar to the one I had back in the ‘70s). No silly hats or parties. Every day is the present for another adventure. Many don’t make it this far. No angles came by to carry me home…yet.
Holidays
No tree or lights. No wrapping presents. Apple pie for the local fire station. Treats for neighbors’ dogs and horses. 40th anniversary of a Williamsburg wedding celebration. That’s about it.
New Year?
Ham, black-eyed peas, stewed tomatoes and corn bread. New toothbrush.
Headlines for 2024
Trump (doesn’t go away), Climate change, child-care, abortion, immigration, virus, health care cost, infrastructure, gun-control, jobs, union strikes, stocks, reparations, interest, lack of affordable housing, living wage, manufacturing logistics, bike paths, alternative intelligence, influencer, abandoned dog walking, student debt, war cost, hip-hop, TikTok videos, transgender, banned books, crispr, postal service, fake-news, cyber-invasion, opioids, suicides, dysfunctional government, political election, paint-on bathing suits, video games…stay tuned.
Shredder. Time to pull out the old folders of paper bills and divide over the years to last year. All the rest will be shredded and recycled. Cut off the staples and review the past cost. Plug in the plastic shredder and shove into the slot. A whirring grind and letter paper turns into mash. The last years folders are taken back into the files for future reference and the killer machine of paper is unplugged and placed back in the tool cabinet to be used next year. The digital file will be copied to another hard drive and backed up.
Memoir. What started years ago with a review of diaries kept in high school, then more memories from photos and references to starting from scratch and writing down everything I can remember about ‘Just Another Life’. Why? For posterity or just a fad? A written legacy only I remember. Like the post on the Internet and the sounds recorded on CD, it could all be unplugged and lost in time or wind up in a yard sale as a buried treasure for another generation. It keeps the mind active.
Taxes. I have paper records of taxes going back to 1970. I also have digital records that show every dollar I earned and all the taxes (state and federal and city property, but not sales). I check every year to see if the accountants will estimate my taxes (like they do for utilities) and just send a bill? There is still no online form that doesn’t have a cost, so I still download the forms and tables and check then double check each line and box and put my account number and await the deposit. I’m down to the simple form but there are still new questions that I have to look up. I sign my name, put a stamp on the envelope and hope it gets to New Mexico or New Hampshire or wherever they have a warehouse full of folks to tear open, check the numbers and process. When the return arrives, it is like an unexpected Christmas present.
Boredom. Gazing into the crystal ball, there doesn’t seem anything fascinating in the coming year. Resolutions? Scratch off the dusty to-do list carried over for another year? DIY or hire someone else to do it? Play some music? Do some painting? Continue writing? Do some drawing? Inspiration and motivation?
Welcome to the new year’s adventure.
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