TubaOrNotTuba

We spent a fun afternoon with extended family. Not an frequent experience and one that always comes with certain revelations. This one involved cousins and siblings and what I learned is that although we talk about the same family we have different memories of things life in a family is rarely linear and in this case we were dealing with what do you remember about two generations and three generations back. Actually, more than you think. We remember those who came before and if you put enough people around the kitchen table you can build a pretty good view of a given situation. I’m talking only about history here. What we remember about people we haven’t seen in half a century. Remember homes we have not visited in half a century. How we were able to deal with loss and discovery. As I say, a great way to spend the afternoon. This has been a very rainy day and we were left wondering how many windows we had left open when we left the house just after lunch time. Turns out not very many. No damage and no puddles. That’s a good thing to learn. And now we’ll wait for darkness to come down upon us and we can go to bed for another night. Given the hour I doubt we will have any visitors today but one never knows. This is summer and people are out wandering the countryside. Who knows who will appear on the doorstep. When I went to get in the car I missed the fact that it had been turned around. Some confusion.

On a regular basis I watch Jeopardy. Let me paraphrase. Most days during supper I listen to Jeopardy. And I really want to know if they have a special class of game for people like me. Like, can I just call in and get some to credit my right answers for money to pay down my bills. They can label it as a special event jeopardy like they do with so many other things. Just a thought just checking I had a quiet afternoon. While the person in charge of the house was busy running a machine around you know the one with the supersonic volume. I simply went out and slept in the RV, with air conditioning, in the dark, for hours and hours. So relaxing except that I forgot to bring along any food. My bad. We really should have a stock of junk food in the RV for moments like this. I wonder what the rest of my family is doing. Not the kids; rather my sibling who is somewhere nearby and who may have gone to a resort today. At least what we call a resort locally. I have to admit I never went there as a child I never went there as an adult but the name seems catchy. What do they have? Is there a merry go round or a Ferris wheel or bumper cars? What would make it a resort for someone else. We already have the best beaches around so it must be something really special. I’m going to ask some pointed questions the next time we’re in the same room. Or, I could ask the little kids. They will know the true story.

Among the stories on my news feed this evening was the report that part of Hawaii was on fire. I have to wonder if anybody took the time to turn off the volcanoes. Just a thought. We had an afternoon with family. No, I cannot claim to have actually seen them. But, I could certainly hear the joy and the voices of a number of children as they played together with their cousins. I hope they’re building a lifetime worth of memories. The vacation time for family has been remarkably wet. It seems the rain cannot get away. There is talk tomorrow of going to one of the small resorts they cater to children on vacation. I guess getting wet is all part of the game. We’re back home and the sun is going down and I feel so tired. My ability to get involved with large numbers of people has waned. I blame age. Tomorrow we’ll see what else can happen and see if whether or not my condition is permanent. Am I going to become an old man with attitude.

Locally it is being referred to as the new tax fishers are always at a risk. From weather from equipment from lack of prey. But, this is a new one. The fishing industry is being struck by theft. They go out and they catch a fish and before they can get back to port part of the catch has been eaten. Not large numbers. Two days to fish but these are large fish and these are large cases of theft where the fish is being eaten by sharks is there return to port the images are graphic allowable include them when you see a fish as large as a man that suddenly is without a whole section of its body and the teeth marks are clear. It cannot be anything else and I don’t know how this will play out. Is it isolated or will we face season of no money spent in return from this theft. We had to get together with family today familiar faces an unfamiliar location a rental property where we gathered around a table and everything in the room but the faces was unfamiliar I had to ask directions to everything in the house even leaving after dark math navigating a stairwell that was completely foreign to me is it a comfortable thing no but I’ll make do right now the winds are high and apparently it’s upsetting travel for others on a continental basis. I will have to wait to see just how bad this can be but some friends had their flight to another place delayed by the whole day because they could not get from here to there. I hope it is short term disruption.

Pick your refuge, if you can. This afternoon I was faced with two competing soundtracks. 1 an industrial floor machine that had a strong sense of jet engine. On the other hand there was the RV with air conditioning. Noisy question in both cases yes but the one in the RV was cool and comfort rible. And so I spent the best part of the afternoon away from the madding crowds. I was just beyond the range of my Wi-Fi which was a little frustrating but I do not need to be on the net all the time. Right? I used the downtime to simply rest waiting for the next excitement in my life. No I have no idea what comes next. I no longer forecast the future because my results up to now have been mediocre at best. I just take each day and try to make the best of what I can. Still no visit from family members today but they do have lives and when they are here I’ll make up for the down time. As for my children, they’re all back home doing what they have to do to earn a living. Why weren’t we all born filthy rich? I found out why family was absent today. They all went to the city. Shopping? Apparently. When you come from a city of multiple millions to a city of 30,000 the options are probably less. But novel.

Sitting alone at the table finishing my supper and realizing that what I’ve just done works fine for one person. However anytime you sit more than two people down the odds that all will be in agreement with the meal are low. For a number of reasons. Let us look at what is considered to be the kind of diet you would give to a prisoner. Bread and water. The water will pass but the bread might not. A number of reasons why someone might refuse to chew the crust. Or how about that famous meal from history involving loaves and fishes. Not everyone wants fish believe me. Think about school when you showed up with your peanut butter sandwich. You cannot do that anymore. Humanity appears to have evolved past that point. Mind you, I have no idea what they eat now. Too many years ago. But seriously we have to recognize that not everyone eats the same thing that we do. You have any number of reasons for not wanting something on the menu. And not everyone has a varied menu to offer. Best to ask questions before assuming that other people want the same thing that you do. Unless, of course, it involves ice cream. Which reminds me that it is time for ice cream. But I digress. In our local stores we can only buy things that we know people will eat. I do draw the line I deliver an onion though. My choice my table. How about you? What things will never appear at your mealtime. Assuming of course that you have access to a given product. And the budget.

It was inevitable. Son number one returned home taking with him the sunshine. During their week here I feared they would run out of sunscreen. Pretty much the best weather you could have for the beach. And then they crossed the border and the rains returned. A lot of rain. Enough that at times I could not see out the window. Followed by lightning I’ve been quiet and then a rainbow. Just like in the movies. That’s a summer day. I have more family visiting in the area and I almost hope we have a power failure. Just a chance to show off how dark it is here when a storm hits. I’m sure the move back out soon and nothing is just wonderful here all the time. A paradise on the coast. Not much else to add to that the day is almost over and I’m ready to go to bed. I tried something new today. Having assistance while doing my Irish exercises. I take a lot longer than I need to because I have to try and figure what’s on the screen. Having an assistant made that particle by very quickly. My level recall may drop but that’s life. At least I’m not trying to translate this into yet another language. Saving that for next year.

If your home is like mine you have floors. In every room. I mean I assume you do not live in a tent. And if you have floors, they require care. Like her. On a regular basis with products that are not always kind to your fingers. Today our floors received a deep clean. We have a gadget. It allows us to get the ceramic tiles back to a factory sheen. But, I’m going to take you back to a different time. Let’s go back a full 60 years, to a time when people scrub their floors and then wax them and then passed the polisher. Work for a whole afternoon. I remember being just old enough to do the job at neighbours. On my hands and knees with a scrub brush and very hot water and Spic ‘n Span or Comet. Trying to remove the old floor wax and the dirt and my sanity. Floors were tough but so were we. And then once everything had dried to a nice matte finish. I would move on to the next step which involved applying floor wax with a cloth. A little bit goes a long way. And when the floor was nicely covered in wax and given time to dry you bring in the big machine. Known as the polisher it contained two or three rotating discs with pads of, I think, sheep’s wool you would move up and down the floor trying to control a machine. With enough care, the floor would become shiny. And then I would collect my salary for the afternoon. $0.25 . Pennies went a long way back then when you were buying only candy. I have not waxed and polished floors in decades nor do I miss the task. It was the thing to do when floors were covered with linoleum or tiles.

I’m sitting here trying to imagine my life if I owned a small restaurant. I do not and will not but imagining cost little. Unlike owning a real restaurant. In my dream there will be a steady stream of clients each day coming to enjoy my table and leave all their money behind. This would go on until I tired of the chore and I will be happily rich. I do not think that’s how it happens in real life. I would like to say that we take the time to frequent our local restaurants. We do, at least once per season. Not making people rich that way. This afternoon we all went for lunch at the closest establishment. Great seats outside with lots of sunlight A gentle breeze and the sound of the sea. We had two dogs in our camp company and they too were satisfied despite the fact that we were not allowed to give them any treats at the table. There was even a sign to that effect which means that others must have tried it before us. When we were done all of us returned home content with our meal. I cannot imagine what it must be like for a restaurant owner to face the good times and bad times. To face those days when almost no one comes through the door. Except for the bills. The days when things burn to the bottom of the pan and you must start over. Just like in real life. Not everyone owns a restaurant as large as the local champ burger chain. Many restaurants are owned by people dedicated to their cause with several tables and the mission to make sure their meals are good meals. We are fortunate that our local restaurant does this willingly. The food is always good and there are usually lines waiting to get inside. The best way to run your restaurant. As I mentioned, today we sat outside. Nothing fancy except for chairs that would be proper on anybody’s deck. But the food was good and heart and we enjoyed the moments when the owner would stop by to make sure that all was well. In my case this is a distant family member. I have to dig deep into my memories to make the connections to my father. But, we were there because we want the restaurant to be a success. We want to be able to return next year and the year after. Such things are not guaranteed for those who decide to get into the business. Actually I never dreamed of owning a restaurant. I think I knew from the get go just how difficult it could be. My own success story was that I managed to eat at the local cafeteria day after day year after year willing to do it again the next day. That, two is a sign of a successful eating establishment.

I have illusions. Not of the fun kind where I believe I’m a movie star or an astronaut or something else that would be historic. Rather my illusions are optical. That means I can see them even if you can’t. Things started a few years ago. I would notice that when the car came to a halt the ground on both sides will continue to move. No I was not the driver so you can feel safe again. And it was inconsistent. Grass worked well where is trees did not. But let me continue. I have a new illusion. Now there is a grid in front of my view. Sort of like a wire fence with rectangles. And I have no idea what sets it off or where it goes when it goes away. I just know that nobody else can see it so it’s my personal version of optical hell. I wonder do animals go through this? Dogs do they see biscuits? I probably will never know. Last night there was a Big Blue dot on the ceiling. If I blink it would go away and then come back. If i kept my eyes closed it would reappear.