Sunday, July 31, 2022
Saturday, July 30, 2022
Friday, July 29, 2022
Thursday, July 28, 2022
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
111ΒΊ?
It's been SOOOOO hot.
I hear people complain about 90ΒΊ. It just seems silly.
The air conditioner in my room won't bring the room temperature down below 100ΒΊ because it is 106 to 111ΒΊ outside. I have been putting ice packs in my clothes during the day, and sleeping with ice packs at night.
I know. It's a heat wave. It will be over soon. When? Two weeks? A month?
The air conditioners in both my car and Mom's car broke in June. I have been driving with the windows down. Well, that's how they did it in the old days. Then yesterday when I attempted to take Mrs. Billingsley to the dentist in her car, the clutch wouldn't engage and I couldn't make the car move at all. I know know know the heat did this but I don't know how. It melted the clutch I guess. We took my car. I put the fan and air conditioners in the on position, even though they didn't work and off we went on a fairly long trip. Welp, they asked if we would mind coming back tomorrow. Yes, I said, I would mind. Oh, OK. Maybe next week? So we drove home. Guess what? The air conditioner suddenly turned on! :))))))). Yippee.
Monday, July 25, 2022
Sunday, July 24, 2022
O Great Wind
I speak to you to the great, great wind,
the voice of the outraged sky.
I will not revile thee, O Great Wind,
for thou art stronger than I.
Forgive me, please, I beg the sky,
and then I ask, I wonder why?
Why do you shriek, and cry and hurl
hailstone tears of a frozen girl?
Thunder peals like hell's bells.
Lightning crashes, sulfur smells.
How to appease the angry face,
and once again to walk in grace?
Why are you angry? I'm taken aback.
Shall I grieve and dress in black?
Where is the grave by which to cry?
Have I a request before I die?
The wicked wind continues to whirl,
I sail through the air like a flying squirrel.
I fear I may be henceforth lame.
Begone to the place from whence you came!
I cut and run, a quickened pace,
May save me from a dire fate.
Yonder in the wild blue sky
Is where I saw the Great Wind die.
By Helene Louise
Mrs. Wilson Unhinged First Grade Teacher
On the eve of my first day of school, I was frightened. I lay awake wondering what would become of me. I had a nickname, like everyone in my family. But I didn't actually know my name. Tomorrow I would be sent away. I supposed I would never return.
What would my new life be like? I wondered. Maybe some kind people would find me and take care of me. I knew I would never find my way home again. How could I? I didn't know who I was or where I lived. I wouldn't know anyone at the place I was going. I barely even spoke English. What was school? No idea. This was bad.
I hadn't learned my ABCs yet or anything about numbers. We had no telephone. We actually didn't have a TV then. We were somewhat isolated. I didn't know my address. I lived in a house that was in the woods in Atlanta, and wouldn't recognize the driveway if I were driven past it since the house was way down a hill hidden in a little valley in the woods. I didn't even know the names of anyone in my family, since we all had nicknames except for "Mama" and "Daddy."
I guess it never dawned on anyone that I didn't know who I was, where I was going or why, where I lived, or anything that would identify me or anyone in my family. There was no way for anyone to communicate with them either.
I was transported by a school bus far away from home, for the last time I supposed. The bus number was 66, which I know now, but I didn't know then. This might have been a clue on how to retrace my steps, but who knew? And away I went.
I was herded off the bus into a room with odd chairs, and I sat down. There were other children there, and I spoke to them. They looked nervous. Suddenly a bell rang, which meant nothing to me. Another odd event in an odd day. It didn't shut me up. I noticed everyone else got very quiet. Strange.
Suddenly a woman stormed into the room. No introduction. Not a word at all. She was very thin, old, with short, dark brown hair, a weathered, wrinkled face, and a black dress. In fact, as I would later see, she only ever wore black. She was severe looking, and she made a beeline for me. Before I knew it, she had snatched me up by my hair, never having said a word at all since she entered the room. She lifted me up to eye level, and began to shake me with all her might, and then flung me to the floor.
So, that was Mrs. Wilson.
In the years since then, I've rarely met anyone so unhinged. Sometimes I've wondered what people were thinking when they put this dear soul in charge of little children. She must have looked benign to them, being larger than her most likely, and she possibly looked very righteous if not a little too stern. They didn't feel threatened by her. She probably had a different demeanor around them. Someone the little ones would be safe in the care of. The stuff of nightmares.
For a long time I've puzzled over this crazy experience. She continued to be my teacher for most of first grade, until I was switched to another class. She continued to be the scourge of other little children. Probably the panic at the first day of school is a common experience. What was going on with Mrs. Wilson? She may have suffered from senile dementia. That would explain a lot. I saw her once about five years later when we had moved about 60 miles away to another county. She was in her usual black dress, wearing a scowl and shopping for groceries.
Saturday, July 23, 2022
Friday, July 22, 2022
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Monday, July 18, 2022
Mrs. Billingsley's Dental Experience
For several days Mom complained that she wanted me to take her to the dentist. I truly dragged my feet because I didn't know how I would get her there. She couldn't walk to the car and I couldn't carry her.
But about a week ago we got an excellent new walker. It might seem that this would be a simple problem to solve, but suppose I managed to take her to the dentist. Then I would need to get her into the office. She has a wheelchair but to transport it is a lot harder than it seems. This new walker is a rider walker. I was sternly told not to even think of using it as a wheelchair. Well, it's a great wheelchair. It's small size and only weighs 17 lbs so I can toss it easily in the backseat. The dentist office started looking more doable.
Then I started trying to find a dentist, since her dentist had retired. Too bad. He had nearly a cult following. Driving around town I saw a dazzling place with neon signs that said "Dentist." It really had style, and I decided to check them out on the internet. Yes yes yes. This looks fine. They do root canals, extractions, implants, bridges, dentures, everything. I made an appointment, and we went in today. She managed to walk out to the car with the help of the walker. This amazed me.
The visit went so smoothly, especially considering that the problems were monumental. Mom wore a bridge on the bottom front, but the two teeth that anchored it had to be removed. I had a bottle of Amoxicillin, so I had given her antibiotics for several days before the appointment, and she was ready, on her first visit to the new dentist, to have this ordeal dealt with immediately. Impressions were made for a new bridge, and boom, the dentist took out the two damaged teeth.
The dentist was a woman, probably about 35, beautiful and professional. The whole office just had a wonderful atmosphere.
As I settled with the front desk, I noticed the dental records from Mom's visit. Half the page was taken up by very unusual handwriting. "Is that the dentist"s writing?" I asked. "Yes." The receptionist supposed I disapproved of it. Well, it was different. "Her writing is so large," I remarked. I don't think I've ever seen writing so large. Almost an inch per letter. I told Mom I thought the dentist had weird handwriting.
Lately I've been studying handwriting analysis on the internet. It seems interesting. The size of the writing means how much space a person feels they are entitled to occupy. Not just on paper, but in life. This lady gives herself a lot of room. To a fault? Maybe. Definitely to an unusual degree. The receptionist walked away, leaving me time to more closely examine the writing. She wrote in block print and all capital letters. Her writing reminded me of a shout on paper. There was one slightly disturbing red flag. A loop on the right side of the O indicates deception. I saw that she sometimes did that. Deception? Or a lady with secrets? Very mysterious.
So Mom's dental troubles are on the way to being fixed. She gets a temporary new bridge in a week, and then in two months the new replacement bridge. She made it out of the dentist's office and then began whimpering. At least the worst is over.
Sunday, July 17, 2022
Friday, July 15, 2022
It's Hot
It was hot today. I checked the high on the internet. 99ΒΊ. It seemed hotter than that. I checked the 10 day forecast. When will it rain??
It said that on Tuesday and Wednesday it is forecasted to be 106ΒΊ. Then 104ΒΊ to 105ΒΊ for a few days. Finally next week it goes down to 100ΒΊ to 101ΒΊ. I hope August cools off some.
Every summer I hear someone say, "It's never been this hot before!" Except every summer.
This is TOO MUCH!
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Monday, July 11, 2022
Saturday, July 9, 2022
Friday, July 8, 2022
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
BioWave Arrives
The VA recently said the BioWave would be returned to sender. However, it turns out that never happened. It just remained in limbo with Fedex. So yesterday I went over to my other address, bound and determined to sit there all day if I had to to take delivery of the BioWave.
I stopped by Dollar General to see if it had been left there. Fedex told me over and over it was being left there. They said that for a week. Then they claimed that Dollar General had refused it. Dollar General said they never ever refuse to hold any Fedex parcel. Good to know. But, they didn't have it because Fedex had never left it.
I checked the mail at my old address. There was a postcard from Fedex asking me to call and give them instructions on what to do. So I called. I was relieved to actually reach the delivery person. They claimed they had left many door tags. "No, there were no door tags here at all." So they had never even found my address. I gave them the correct address and by some miracle they showed up today and gave me my parcel.
So am I happy? Yes. Yes. Yes. Does the BioWave really work? Sort of. I would say the BioWave, plus a pain patch or cream, plus Tylenol or Ibuprofen, and maybe ice, and the problem is much better. The BioWave probably does about 50% relief. That's pretty good. The thing I like is that the improvement lasts about a day.
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
Monday, July 4, 2022
Sunday, July 3, 2022
Saturday, July 2, 2022
Friday, July 1, 2022
BioWave Returned to Sender
My BioWave is on its way back to Norwalk, Connecticut, since FedEx refused to deliver it to me.
They did stop by my house today with a bag of potato chips I had ordered from Walmart. However, they also refused to deliver them. They claimed they didn't want to leave a $2.37 bag of chips on the porch due to "safety concerns."
New BioWave technology to help treat chronic pain without the use of opioids
Letter to My Senator
Well, FedEx, you've finally provoked me. I've written my senator. You'll be sorry