Just Ten More......

Ever Since My Mother Handed Me 1929, 1930 & 1931 Danville High School Year Books I Could Not Stop Getting Them. If She Had Just Given Me Random Books I Might Not Have Reached The Amount That I Have. In One Of Those Books Was My Grandfather.
I Pick Them Up At Rummage Sales, Estate Sales & EBay. My Mother's Picture Is In A Book As Well As My Siblings And Other Relatives. Having A Weekly Rummage Sale Allows Me To Interact With Other People And Their Interests. I Have Heard Of A Variety Of Collections.
To My Knowledge There Are Only Two Complete Collections Of The Danville High School Yearbook(Medley). The Present Superintendent Of Schools And The Danville Public Library. I Received A Call From My Brother This Past Week. He Told Me He Went On The Danville High Web Page And Noticed They Were Selling Some Of The Yearbooks For Only 5.00 Per Book. I Purchased 6 Books I Did Not Have In My Collection. This Leaves Me Only Ten Books Before I Can Declare I Have A Complete Collection. I Have No Doubt At This Point In Time That I Will Succeed And Become Complete. My Reason For Saying This Is My Missing Books Are Mostly Recent Years. The Collection Starts At 1904. I Have Managed A Book Here And There Until I Have Reached My Most Recent Purchase This Past Week. To Say I Am Excited Would Be An Understatement. Did I Mention I Have Signed Senior Pictures Of Both Dick And Jerry Van Dyke?
All I Ask Is After I Depart This Wonderful World Of Ours, Is Not To Piece These Books Out. Keep The Collection Together And The Value Will Be Much Greater. It Has Taken Me More Than 25 Years To Reach This Point. Once The Collection Is Complete The Perfect Christmas Gift For Me Would Be The Most Recent Yearbook Which Presently Is $60.00.
Some People Collect Frogs, Mice, Bells, Etc. I Want To Be Able To Say One Day If You Attended Danville High School I Have Your Picture.

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One Day A Friend Of Mine Said, Open Your Hand. I Did And He Dropped Three Rocks Into The Palm Of My Hand. I Said Ok, What's Up? He Said Those Were Taken Out Of Me. They Were His Gallstones. They Appeared As Ordinary As A Rock In The Roadway. I Found It Amazing Something Like This Can be Taken From The Human Body.
I Happen To Have Some Inside Me At This Moment. My Doctor Told Me They Are Not Causing Me Any Harm And Since My Gallbladder Seems To Be In Great Shape, No Reason To Be Concerned. OOOOOOk.... Besides, The Gall Stones Are The Least Of My Worries. I Also Have A Kidney Stone. It Took Me A Few Weeks To Pass It, Yet That All Depends How You Consider Passed. In My Opinion You Passed A Kidney Stone When It Comes Out Of Your Body. Presently It's In My Bladder And The Hospital Personnel Consider That Passed.
I Was Told To Drink Lemonade, Orange Juice Or Anything Else That Contained Citric Acid. While It's In My Bladder I Can Dissolve It. My Doctor Doesn't Seem Too Concerned About It Unless The Pain Returns. I Have Listened To Various Stories About Men Passing Kidney Stones. Each Of Them Scare The Daylight Out Of Me.
The Most Recent One Was A Post I Read On Facebook. He Is Billie's Cousin And Is A Police Officer. I Was Unaware He Was Recently In The Hospital For kidney Stones. His Comments Got My Attention And Now I Am Determined To Make Sure I Dissolve This Kidney Stone And Prevent New Ones From Developing. Someone Asked Him How He Was Feeling. His Comment Is As Follows;"I Have Been Hit By A Car. I Had My Finger Cut Off. Neither Of These Incidents Compared To the Pain I Experienced Trying To Pass That Kidney Stone".
A Kidney Stone Has Jagged Edges To It Like Glass As It Moves Through Your System It Cuts You. The First Amount Of Pain I Had Was Uncomfortable For Me. At This Point In Time I Will Consider Myself Fortunate And Pray That My Kidney Stone Dissolves.

I Have Been Asked On Many Occasions If I Attend Church. Sometimes It Makes Me Feel Uncomfortable When Asked. I Have Decided From This Point On I Will Never Feel Beneath Another Because I Choose Not To Attend. I Have My Reasons And I Feel They Are Justified.
There Seems To Be So Many People Who Like To Judge Others. No Different Than This Blog. There Will Be Someone Or Two That May Have A Raised Eyebrow Because Of The Content Of This Blog. I Don't Care. I Passed A Church Sign The other Day That Read; Love One Another. Love Your Neighbor. Yet This Same Church Has Denied Certain Individuals From Participating In Non Church Activities. I Don't Get It.
I Have Been Told My Son Was Not In Heaven Because He Killed Himself. You Can Bet That Person Got An Ear Full From Me After Making Such An Ignorant Statement.
I Was Also Told There Was No Need For Me To Be Baptized More Than Once In My Life.
I Get So Sick Of People And Their Religious Beliefs. From This Moment On I Have Decided Not To Get Into A Discussion Over Religion. If You Decide To Write Your Blog That Contains Your Views Based On Religion It Will Be Ignored By Me. Nothing Personal Because You Have Every Right To Blog About Anything You Choose. However I Don't Have To Read It. I Don't Need Bible Verses Thrown At Me To Strengthen Your Views.
So You Think I'm Going To Hell? Think What You Wish. My Relationship With Jesus Christ Is Between Me And Him. On My Judgement Day I Won't Be Judged By How Many Sunday Services I Attended. I Won't Be Judged On How Much Money I Put In The Offering Plate. I Will Be Judged By The Almighty On How I Treated Others. My Faith I Put In Him In My Daily Life.
I Suppose You Can Consider Myself A Liberal. Quite The Opposite Of My Upbringing. I Believe In Equal Rights Regardless Of How Someone Chooses To Live Their Lifestyle.
I Talked To A Minister One Day And I Casually Asked Him Of His Feeling Of Being Baptized More Than Once. He Actually Laughed. Not At Me But The Thought Of Someone Being So Judgmental Of Me. He Shared That He Has Been Baptized Several Times. A Few In The Jordan River Where Jesus Himself Was Baptized.
My Days Of Being Embarrassed Or Feeling Judged For Not Attending Services Are Behind Me. If I Feel Like Attending Services It Will Be Because I Choose To.
It's My Personal Belief That If You Live According To The Ten Commandments, Ask God For Forgiveness, Be Born Again, You Shall Have Everlasting Life With Our Lord Jesus Christ.
God Knows What It's Like To Lose A Son. I Have Struggled For So Long Over The Loss Of Bobby. I Will Most Likely Mourn His Death Until My Dying Breath. Even Though It's My Desire To See Him Once Again In Heaven I Feel It's Unlikely. Our Earthly Being Cannot Be Compared To That Of Heaven. Our Lives On Earth Is Measured In Time. Heaven Is Everlasting. I Don't Believe I Will Be Standing At The Gate Of Heaven When My Life Is Over. I Also Don't Feel I Will Recognize Anyone Who Has Passed Before Me. I Do However Believe I Will Recognize My Creator And I Will Bow At His Feet. When My Days On Earth Is Over I Truly Believe My Life Will Be Judged Based On How I Lived My Life. Not One Person On This Earth Can Say Who Goes To Heaven.
Jesus Loves Me This I Know, Because The Bible Tells Me So.

Want A Toothpick?

It Was A Hot Evening When I Realized I Was Out Of Popcorn. Each Night I Snack On Popcorn To Kick In My Medicine. I Hopped Into The Truck Heading For The Dollar Store. Once There I Realized I Forgot My Glasses. Well I Knew Where The Popcorn Was So It Should Be No Big Deal, And It Wasn't. I Seen A Long Line To The Register And Realized I Also Needed To Buy Some Kitchen Stick Matches. I Knew Exactly Where They Were Located. I Retrieved The Matches Then Paid For My Purchase. After Arriving Home I Was Asked Why I Bought So Many Toothpicks? By This Time I Had My Glasses On And Saw That Indeed I Purchased 2 Boxes Of Toothpicks That Contained 1,000 In Each Box. The Toothpicks Were In A Similar Size Box As The Match Sticks.
Sure I Could Have Took Them Back But For Some Reason I Never Did. So I Decided From Now On Anyone Who Enters My Home I Will Offer A Toothpick.
Glasses, Never Leave Home Without Them.

My Beano Is Growing

This Is A Picture Of My Grandson AJ. I Nicknamed Him Beano When He Was Just A Bouncing Baby. He Wouldn't Set Still. He Reminded Me Of A Mexican Jumping Bean. I Have Called Him Beano Ever Since.
Today Was His Birthday Party. He Turned 12 This Past Thursday The 11th. He's A Good Kid. Loves To Play Video Games With His Cousin Blake.
I Was Hoping He Would Take Interest In My Mission In Life. Helping The Ones Who Live In Poverty. I'm Not Sure This Body Of Mine Can Hang On That Long. I Am Getting Tired.
I Told Beano That I First Met His Nanny When I Was 12 Years Old. I Don't Think He Could Even Imagine Me Being Twelve. Seems Like A Lifetime Ago.

Real Men Wear Pink

Yesterday Would Have Been Bobby's 32nd Birthday. There Were A Couple Different Plantings In Our Front Yard. A Snow Mountain Tree That Jackie Purchased. It's A Beautiful Tree. It Blooms In The Months Of July And August.
I Planted Pink Knockout Roses. A Friend Posted A Photo Of Her's In Her Yard. They Were Beautiful. I Knew That Was What I Would Plant For Bobby's Birthday. Bobby Always Said Real Men Wear Pink. He Had A Pink Shirt He Wore To Prove His Point.
I Knocked On Someone's Door This Afternoon To Pick Up A Couch To Be Given To A Family. He Asked Me If I Was Bobby's Dad. It Stunned Me But I Immediately Said Yes. It Made Me Wonder If I Would Ever Be Asked That Question Again. I Must Confess It Made Me Sad. Jackie Will Be Here Through The End Of The Week. She Came To Illinois To Visit With Us For Ten Days. It Was Important She Was Here On Bobby's Birthday.
I Really Am Not Concerned What People May Say Or Think About How I Continue To Grieve My Son's Death. I Will Always Have This Empty Feeling Inside. My Heart Was Broken The Day He Passed Away. If You Are Tired Of Reading My Words About Him I Suggest You lose My Blog Address Or Remove Yourself From My Facebook Page. Some May Wonder If I Will Ever Move On. I Would Probably Say, Probably Not. My Heart Aches.
Thanks For The Memories Bobby. I Will Cherish Them Forever.

Tuck

This Is My Brother Tuck. Today Is His 60th Birthday. It's Not Every Day You Turn 60. It's A Milestone In One Sense Yet In Another It's Just A Number. For Him It's A Little Of Both. He Likes To Say I Am 18 With 42 Years Of Experience Of Being 18.
He Is Always Cracking A Joke. If He Can Put A Smile On Your Face, Mission Accomplished. I Would Say He Has Been A Good Brother To Me. He Has Always Been There For Me. Whether It Be Advice Or A Helping Hand, I Know I Can Always Count On Him. He Is A Good Euchre Partner. He Is A Great Team Mate In Bowling. We Both Bowl On The Same Team Two Different Days. He Lets Me Use His Garage When I Need To Store "Stuff".
He Pointed Out To Me The Other Day I Have Not Written A Blog In The Month Of June. Why? I Have No Idea. I Am So Busy In The Summer Months. However, Today Being A Special Day For Him I Had To Create This Blog Especially For Him. I Chose This Photo Of Him Because He Loves Playing Santa For The Little Children. This Has Been A Tradition For Many Years Now.
I Could Not Ask For A Better Brother. I Know We Never Say It But I Love You Bro. I Cannot Imagine Life Without You In It. Happy 60th Birthday. I Wish You Many More. We Can Celebrate The Entire Weekend If You Want. You Have Earned It.

Whenever in Doubt, Google It

As Long As You Own A Computer You Will Never Wonder Why Or How. I Have Found Out How Amazing Google Is. I Can Simply Type In A Question And "Poof" I Get Pages On Top Of Pages Giving Me Anything And Everything That Has Been Written About The Topic.
Recently I Have Been Facing Some Health Issues. I Have Learned A Lot About My Possible Medical Condition. What Causes It And What Fixes It. Google Takes The Wonder Out Of Everything.
I Felt Every Bit Of My Age On The Truck Today. This Season Marks My 27th Year In What I Do To Help Face Poverty. I Knew One Day I Would Take Notice That I Cannot Do What I Have Been Doing For Years. At This Point In Time All I Can Do Is Take One Season At A Time. I Will Have To Admit This Year Has Already Taken A Toll On Me. I Was Hoping I Had At Least Another Ten Years In Me. I Am Guessing A Lot Of My Problems Are The Extra Weight I Put On Last Winter. I Am Still Lugging It Around With Me. I Had Hoped Since We Are Finishing Up The Month Of April I Wouldn't Have All The Aches And Pains I Normally Have At The Beginning Of The Season. I Have Found Me Taking Pain Medication In Anticipation That I Will Be Having Pain. That's How Well I Know My Body At This Moment. I Think If I Could Lose Ten Pounds It Would Make Things Easier On Me.
I Know It Has Been Awhile Since I Posted A Blog. I Must Have Had Writers Block. I Will Try To Get Back In It. Maybe The Next Blog Will Share The Fun Of Passing A Kidney Stone.

The True Test Of Love

Illinois Is In The Midst Of Mushroom Season. Since The Passing Of My Son In 2010 I Have Yet To Go Mushroom Hunting. Ever Since He Was Old Enough To Walk, Every April Bobby And I Would Venture Out Into The Woods In Search Of What I Call White Man's Soul Food. I Would Like To Say It's A Tradition That's Been Handed Down Through The Generations Of My Family.
It's Been Three Mushroom Seasons Since Bobby Passed Away. The Mushroom Season Before He Passed Away He Shared His Favorite Spot With Me. Very Few People Disclose Such Vital Information. He Showed Me This Mighty Elm Tree That Was Rather Tricky To Get To. He Had Been Going To This Spot For A Few Years. He Told Me He Always Found Mushrooms There Each And Every Year. One Year After His Find He Ran Across Another Gentleman Walking Close By. In Their Exchange of Greetings Bobby Was Told By This Gentleman He Also Hunts Near That Tree. So Basically It Was A Matter Of Who Get's There First. He Was Right By Saying That. Even Though I Have Visited This Tree Numerous Times In The Years Of 2011 & 2012. No Mushrooms Near This Tree. Yesterday I Visited The Tree For The Second Time This Season. It Was As If Bobby Was Shining The Sunlight Upon Four Mushrooms Near What I Will Always Refer To As Bobby's Tree. The Biggest Grin Came Across My Face As I Plucked The Mushrooms From The Ground. I Walked Around For Another 30 Minutes Or So And Found No More. If Anything It Was A Proud Moment That I Finally Found These Mushrooms By "His" Tree. If That's All I Find This Year It's Ok With Me. However After Finding Them It Gave Me A Moment To Reflect On How Much We Enjoyed The Companionship Each Year In The Woods.
I Would Like To Think Bobby And I Were A Lot Alike. I Don't Think He Would Want Me To Stop Going Mushroom Hunting Just Because He Is No Longer With Us. I Think It's Long Over Due That I Take My Grandson With Me And Teach Him What I Know About Mushroom Hunting. Hopefully He Can Pass On To His Son And Grandson The Love Of Mushroom Hunting.
So Does The Title Of This Blog Confuse You? Let Me Explain. I Was Taught To Have The Mushrooms Soak Overnight In Saltwater To Draw The Bugs Out. So Basically I Slice The Mushrooms In Half Making 8 Pieces To Be Soaked Then Fried. Everyone Seems To Have Their Way Of Preparing Them To Eat. I Like To Enjoy The True Taste Of The Mushroom So I Prefer To Lightly Flour Them And Fry Them In A Skillet. I Will Admit I Am Not Fond Of Cooking. This Afternoon I Asked My Vegetarian Daughter If She Would Fry These 8 Pieces Of Mushrooms. She Understood Why They Were Important To Me. I Told Her I Would Split Them With Her. I Thought Maybe Once I Got The Taste Of The Mushroom I Would Go Out Again In Search For More. We Have Been Getting A Lot Of Rain Recently And The Grass Has Been Growing A Lot And With The Additional Weight I Had Put On Has Really Slowed Me Down In The Woods. Yet I Was Certain Just The Taste Of These Long Sought For Mushrooms Would Encourage Me To Find Even More Before The Season Ends.
I Found Myself Excited To Eat These Mushrooms. She Brought Them To Me And Explained She Didn't Care For How They Turned Out So She offered Her Share To Me. I Thought In My Mind, How Can You Not Enjoy The Taste Of This Eloquent Fungi? She Handed Them To Me On A Saucer. I Asked Her Where The Fork Was And She Said I Didn't Need One. I Picked Up A Mushroom And It Was As Stiff As A Board. I Took A Taste Of It And The Taste Was Unexplainable. I Immediately Placed The Uneaten Part Back On The Saucer And Told Her I Didn't Like It Either. This Is When She Admitted To Me That She Accidently Dipped The Mushrooms In Powdered Sugar. There Was Simply No Reason To Be Upset About It. I Achieved In Finding The Mushrooms In Bobby's Special Place. That Was The Most Important To Me.
After The Find Gave Me Reason To Continue The Family Tradition In Hunting The Morel Mushroom. I Always Joked About Why I Enjoyed Taking Bobby When He Was Just A Young Boy. Being Short When He Was Young, He Was Closer To The Ground. I Can Still Remember Walking Out Of The Woods With Bobby Riding On My Shoulders Asking If We Were lost. I Assured Him We Were Not Even Though We Were.
Sugar, Flour? The Overall Picture Is I Love My Daughter More Than The Mushroom. Did I Just Say That? Yes I Did. Bless Her Heart.
Memories Are A Gift From God. We Need To Keep Making Them So Others Can Enjoy Them In The Years Ahead.

Chapter 58

Chapter 58 Begins In April. The 21st To Be Exact. So It Doesn't Sound So Complicated Today Is My Birthday. Yep You Guessed It, My 58th. I Look At Life In General Like A Book. In Your Book Of Life Hopefully There Are Many Chapters.
Tomorrow Begins Chapter 59. I Have No Idea What Chapter 59 Holds For Me But I Hope For Peace And Love In My Life. Sometimes When I Look Back I See Happy Times And Sad Times. It's Incredible How Much A Person Can Accumulate Throughout The Years. I Am Referring To Life's Memories, Life's Moments.
Today My Parents Took Me Out To Eat To Celebrate My Birthday. Yes That's Right, My Parents. I Suppose I Am Blessed To Have Both My Parents At My Age. They Are Still Rather Active And We Try To Be Involved In Each Others Lives. 58 Years Of Memories Of Them And Other Family Members Are Precious To Me. My Childhood Memories Sometimes Seem So Vivid And I Can Replay Those Moments In My Head Many Times Over. 1967 I Feel Was The Very Best Moment Of My Life. I Was Only 12 Years Old. It Was My Last Year Of Little League Baseball. It Was Also The Year I Met Billie. We Met In Church One Sunday Morning. Her Cousin Brought Her To Sunday School. That Was The Day. Do You Understand What I Mean By That? Most Everybody Has Them. Fate. For Example My Being Would Not Be In Existence If It Weren't For My Parents Of Course. It Was Fate That Brought Them Together. My Father Worked At A Furniture Store. On His Dinner Break He Would Go To A Restaurant. This Particular Evening The Restaurant Was Closed. He Found Another Small Restaurant. My Mother Had A Waitress Job There. That's How They Met. If It Weren't For Fate That Night I Might Not Be Here. There Are Many Chance Meetings In A Lifetime. For My Parents It Was In The Winter Months Of 1952. Their Chance Meeting Is The Reason For My Being.
I Was Born In 1955. 58 Years Of Fate And Memories Have Been Built Ever Since. I Am Sure There Will Be More In My Future And Yours. Fate Plays A Very Large Part In Our Lives. We Just Don't Take The Time To Notice And Smell The Flowers.
When Fate Happens To You, Which It Will, Smile And Be Thankful For It. Everything Happens For A Reason. That Reason May Not Be Relevant At The Moment, But In Time It Will.