To-Do
Turn the calendar page and with reflection look back to what you’ve done in the last 365 days. Did you accomplish anything special or just waste the time, space and air without causing a headline? Age does make certain things more relevant and others not as important. Still the toilet should have to be cleaned every now and then and the pile of dirty smelly laundry could take a spin in the washer. Time marches on.
Weather
If there was any snow in the winter, it came and went. There was just enough rain in the springtime and plenty of sunshine. The summer was hot. It was supposed to be hot, but when the daily reports of sizzling temperatures just made it feel hotter. All the weather reports talked about climate change, but I didn’t see fewer cars on the road or less plastics, so must adapt. The slow-moving body just moves slower and sleeping commando on a beach towel absorbs the vapor coming out of my body. The fans spin and we sweat (as the body was intended). Cold showers offer a brief reprise, but I was never a fan of air conditioning. When the temperatures drop, another layer provides enough warmth until the early months. The little space heater can contain a comfortable environment until it drops into the teens. From photos posted on social media, there have been a lot of red skies in the morning…and at night. Pretty, but signs of times to come? Time will tell how long these old bones can tolerate climate change?
Yard
A couple of trees in the front were not surviving so a professional came by, and for a price, cut them to the ground and hauled off the remains. This year will require for more thinning out of the forest, but it is like losing children you planted years ago. There is also a birch on my list to be removed for it is dropping limbs and it is too tall for me to take a whack at it. Did purchase a weed eater with a metal saw (instead of string) but have only used it a couple of times. For the most part, the yard just grows and provides shelter for the critters and shade for me. With some of the street work and the neighbor rebuilding a fence, some of the street urchins with pink tails started showing up. I chased them, but they started settling into the yard. I put out some ‘rid’ packages, but they just gobbled it up as another treat. They are not welcomed by the other furry neighbors, so a more powerful medicine was provided to free the yard of ‘pest’ so the others at the daily buffet can eat in peace. Though some of my tree monkeys are being gnarly by chewing on the house, they entertain me with their rolling and tumbling antics. Maybe I’ll hire a painter to do in a day what I’ve been putting off for years to hide bite marks. Raked once to clear the sidewalk of leaves and street cleaning seem to get most of them. The others are in piles of decomposer in the yard to be compost in the spring with the lawnmower. There are thoughts of getting one of those little chain saws on a pole, but not yet. Lost a few of the neighbors, but the J’s and Mr. & Mrs. C and of course, the tree monkeys keep me occupied as a diversion from the silver screen. The bunnies are reclusive this year, but my Bike Buddy wren is acting as a Yard Boss, keeping everyone in order. There are still last year chores, like stump removal, that will carry over to a new year of procrastination. I provide feed for they will be here long after I’m gone for this is their home. No matter the construction or destruction, these creatures adapt as they have evolved.
Clothing
Not invited to charity dinners or formal dances, fashion has been reduced to comfort and practicality. With a social structure that will wear pajamas to an outing; sweatshirts, shorts and jeans are all that fill the closet. There are more than enough t-shirts to fill the rest of my time on this planet, but for the increasing heat, there are a few that are built for ventilation. Woolen socks have been sitting quietly in the drawer due to the area avoiding the frozen tundra. The boots are gathering dust. The heavy coats sit upstairs in bags unused in years. Clothing, at this point in the adventure, will be worn until holes and tears appear to transfer stylist fashion into cleaning rags replaced by another in a storage bin.
House
The ‘new’ steps secure the walk to the yard and the mailbox without pondering if there would be a crack and lay this old body on the ground. Other than that, the power and steam that keeps this abode functioning seems to keep working. The kitchen light needs to be replaced, along with the outside lights…but procrastination provides time, like the vacuum of dust bunnies older than most people I know. I buy all the tools and machines that promise to make everything sparkling, but… They say, “Cleanness is next to Godliness” so there is no vacant chair in Heaven for me.
After my neighbor decided to trim the area between the street and the sidewalk, I noticed a leak at my water meter. A call to the city and a promise it would be taken care of. Even the neighbors noticed I was creating a lake in the front of my house. A wait as my utility bill increased and finally got an email to someone up the chain of command that got a response. A city crew came by, evaluated the situation, dug a hole in the street and after the heavy-duty machinery left and the street was open again to traffic, the leak stopped. The plus was the accountants evaluated the difference between previous bills and gave me a credit for the overcharge.
The city sent a notice about checking for lead pipes, but the water meter fix may have already solved that. The construction on the speed bump finished after two attempts and the new neighbors don’t seem to have additional expansions to their mega-mansions so the noise has stopped (except for the occasion yarn maintenance workers with knapsack leaf blowers).
The future request for the Handyman is to patch a window of water damage that has existed for the past decade or so and I’ve not attempted to repair it. Sometimes it is better to hire someone else to come by and finish a ‘to-do’ that don’t get ‘to-done’. Hopefully there is enough money in the bank for any unexpected catastrophe in the future.
Money
Seems, I can pay all the bills and provide myself with enough substance to survive another year without breaking the bank. With the rising prices at the Tummy Temple, the basic solution is to cut back on the number of meals to consume during a 24-hour period. No real interest in snacks, but have started eating popcorn because it is all fiber and I can share it with the yard crewe.
As the property assessments continue to rise (with the constant expansion constructions of the neighbors and the overpriced sales), so does the property tax. Talked to the homeowner’s insurance agent about the increase in premiums, but understand with the policy payouts from wildfires and natural ‘climate change’ disaster the insurance companies are trying to cope. My only question is will $100,000 policy on rebuilding a structure on this plot in this neighborhood be enough?
With the help of a friend on transportation, went to the Verizon store to confront them with my cellphone bill that could not be understood online or phone and saved $50 a month. Of course, while outside my usual travel range, was provided a taxi to the local guitar store that is still opened to purchase another guitar as a reward. Rationalizes all the savings. Saved $15,000 so that was a good goal. Could even afford Amazon prime.
Health
The year started off with a cold. Nothing really bad, just under the weather. Think I got it from a gathering of friends with one sneezing and coughing. Started feeling bloated and not as regular as I should be, so started taking laxatives. Seems to be working, but have not convinced myself to visit the doctor for a check-up. Trying to make a steady diet of less food, but have formed a nice jellyroll. Still, the elastic pants fit. Exercise maintains a slow ride every day for hydration, but the pace does not help the increased effort. I hear the aches and pains of my friends and venture I have the same without diagnosis. Then, there are more that at this age are disappearing. Should dust off my ‘to-do’ to get new googles for my blurry blues.
Travel/Transportation
The daily 5-mile trip to the Tummy Temple and back is about as far as I go. I don’t explore the neighborhood or wander as much as I used to, for age is proving riding two wheels is more of a challenge. Still, I cannot rationalize purchasing a metal mobile machine to use for a few minutes and then park in front the rest of the day leaking oil or plugged in. I can rationalize forcing myself to climb in the saddle every day for exercise and to get the inner fluids moving. For the year, the cost of transportation was $40 due to two flat tires. I did get chauffeured around a couple of times and it is like being in a movie. It is faster strapped to a comfy seat and watching how the rest of the world travels. Highways make me nervous but so far, the drivers have been able to deliver me unscathed. Perhaps I should take another look at an e-bike when I take my pony in for a spring check-up?
Conversation/ Entertainment
“Brain-Rot”. The word for the year, but it fits. With no BIG screen TV providing a multitude of channels I won’t watch and video turning to streaming, YouTube has become my entertainment media (and it is FREE). I can watch the electoral debates live and listen to my constant companion of NPR for intelligent opinions. I try to avoid as many advertisements and cookies, but they are omnipresent. Logging onto sites has become much more complicated to prove we are not hackers or Ai imitating avatar presenting to another computer that you are not a robot.
Politics and War seems to be the constant ‘news’ stories, plus who celebrity is dating or dying. Short clip videos have taken over social media. Everything and everyone are caught on camera phones and shared to the world. Disasters, crimes, wrecks and most disturbing killings (yes, these are real video recordings of someone being killed. They are not actors in an Action Movie, but real dead-as-a-doornail killings for the viewers delight). The viewer has to determine what went on before someone started recording the last seconds of life for posterity. News at eleven.
This has been the lady’s world in sports and entertainment. Also noticed so many talking heads are now women. Am I listening to the ‘View’ or are they just guys in drag (they call that ‘trans’ now). Voted, but got 4-more years of Trump speak instead of a woman. No way to avoid it. With fewer physical interactions with human beings, speaking to oneself is the best intellectual conversation without conflict or objection.
For entertainment, I listen to music. I seek out new music recommended by others, but haven’t made it past a stanza before losing interest. There are plenty of old remakes and achieves to hold my attention. A few clever covers, but these are for half-a-century-old song. Stopped attending live music unless I know the players or can get back stage. Haven’t bought (or downloaded) any music in don’t know when. Still have three stereo systems to wire and plug in. Have posted some of my favorite finds on my YouTube channels. The other entertainment has been the Blogs. It is a mind provoking journal of thoughts that pop up and I post for the world to read (it’s FREE. No subscription required). In the heat of the summer, I wrote my ‘Memoria’. Just stuff I remember growing up that turned into 600+ pages. If this is my legacy, is for others to decide to make my obituary. Haven’t been a graphically inspired, but have a few tunes rattling around. I post some originals (or covers) on two websites, but haven’t recorded my ‘to-do’ list of CDs. Purchased some more tools (toys) to play the tunes just because I could. The other musical/technology I’ve used is recording conversations. A few lunches with some survivors telling their stories and take their words into the recording studio. I’ve not seen any television or movies or read any publications promoted as a ‘must’ by social media. Have I missed anything?
Shopping
Going to a brick-and-mortar store has relinquished to opening a window on the computer and scrolling to view the options never available before to purchase by credit card and have delivered to the front door. This past year I bought some underwear, bike handlebar grips, shoes, caps for stairs, hoodies, a microwave and a guitar amplifier. Not for much want for material goods, it is easy to search Amazon and come away with an empty cart. I don’t use coupons or search for deals, but I do check websites on a regular schedule to see what new innovations are available for the weak of mind.
Food
One must devour protein, fiber, magnesium, fat and the like of the periodic table to provide the energy to keep this shell we live in moving. Along with rising prices, there is ‘shrinkation’. Those oversize bags of potato chips air are now come back to the size of the 50’s. Already mentioned the mini-size cans of the soda, but it has spread to the canned vegetables. The price is the same but the can is the size of a shot glass. Probably holding a spoonful of beans or corn?
The Tummy Temple gives me an array of options, but now I tend toward the easy eats. With half of the frozen food section full of pizza, it is an easy bake for crunchy nutriments. This summer I was fed by Ukrops’ pre-pared package baked spaghetti. Meats seem to make me sick, so I avoid the butcher counter. The produce seems to rot, so I buy prepared salads to balance the starch. There is no desire to eat-out or have delivered, but some day it may be a necessity. Smaller portions are filling and the desire for cooking only comes on holidays. Cooking for one is just a taste of an ingredient to flavor the tongue and be done. Paper plates have become easier than a sink full of dirty dishes.
My Tummy Temple peeps (Keith, Hillary, Debbie, Kandi, Katy, etc.) recognize my existence under my shades and black mask and acknowledge my constant appearance to inform the scanner that I buy the same thing every day, so must move along. Nothing to see here. Do I go there every day for the peanuts to feed the yard or hydration? Half of my budget is hydration. Everyone needs a hobby.
Dreams
I enjoy the dreams now. Most are still problem solving. Some are old work unresolved conflicts that will go with me to my grave. Some are just adventures in somewhat familiar properties with no solution. Some have characters I knew and some are complete strangers. Some are stressful and some are ego boosting. Most are in greyscale with a few spot colors. I don’t eat in dreams so I have no smell or taste, but I do have skin touch recognition. Sleep does not come easy with constant naps and walks down the hall waiting for the sun to rise. Rem sleep is about 4AM when the dreams come. Some wake me up with a shock. Some just exhaust me so I remove the covers and change subjects by having coffee.
End of Year
What will tomorrow bring? Another year of conflicts and murders and disappearing friends? Another year of enjoying peace and quiet rocking on the porch as the neighbors walk by viewing through the bars. Will this be the year of less hydration? Will this be the year of ‘to-doing’ what needs to be ‘to-done’? Will this be the year to wire the speakers? Will this be the year to withdraw from the social media due to boredom? As the temperatures drop, it will be time to gather all the last year’s billings and shred them while gathering up the numbers on a spreadsheet and downloading tax forms to print and mail for refunds. Got my ham steak, black-eyed peas, okra, stewed tomatoes and Virginia spoonbread, so I’m ready. There will be champagne, but no lips to press at midnight. Ends off the year with Uncle Jimmy dying at 100 and naming a baby hippo.
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