Decade Ending

2010 is about over, another decade has passed. My problem with the 1800-3004000 phone calls which began on November 10th ended December 28th, as on Christmas day, the good Lord revealed the source of my 4:02 and 4:05 a.m. misery. The caller ID revealing SecureCare Technology 1512-3668505 as the contact to stop what the FCC did not do for me despite my 4 filed complaints. I proctored at Cooley and read Tortilla Flat and Survival in Auschwitz, by Primo Levi. I also read the short novels Bunner Sisters,by Edith Wharton, and The Monster, by Stephen Crane, and The Pupil, by Henry James. Jane got her new stove thanks to John Fox, April's dad who did the electrical work and Simon and April who bought the exhaust hood which is still to be delivered. We ended our 3 weeks of under 32 degrees temperature and the snow melt this week. Jane's car got new brakes and I'm babying my transmission for as long as it will last or a great deal comes up for a new vehicle. Thank you Lord for another year and the blessings of health and family. I recollect on the 6 decades of life, as another begins with new challenges of age and experience.

Passing of Time

The school year is passing quickly and I'm staying busy at Elmwood subbing for Mrs. Mosher who is doing the resource room. Making note of time passes us by as we busy ourselves without reflection. The Fall was mild and the snow came over the weekend with 5" and the temperatures dropping into the teens and 20s for the high. Gloria and Holly were here in October for Wyatt's baptism and Petra's dinner ambush of Simon bringing unneeded drama. The boys are finishing their classes and we managed their schedules. Jane is working many hours as usual for Christmas time and she had Thanksgiving here. MSU had an unbelievable football season and I was able to see Brandon and Mandy perform with Eastern's band. The Republicans triumphed during the elections and Obama will now have to show skills in negotiating health care reform and revitalizing the economy. We finally got the ceiling in the hallway fixed and tore out the carpeting there to await some replacement and the diminishing of the cats. Recovery is progressing and sustainability is still in question but life goes on with the passing of time. Nothing profound but openness allows us opportunity for progress.

Ask Your Leaders Why?

I have been subbing the last 2 weeks and normalcy is returning to the seasoned man. I am concerned that my blood pressure which had always been normal has varied the last few months and an episode at Elmwood Wednesday where I became disoriented and could not recognize names on the class list I had been in the day before and the feeling that I was in a dream. Lukas is at MSU taking 4 classes as Phillip is doing at LCC. Jon took a job working for a lawyer in Valparaiso and was here for Ryan and Christinas's wedding, Labor Day weekend. Jane and I went to Owosso to have dinner with Suzie and Rachel last Sunday. Jane and I had our 35th anniversary on Labor day at Boyer's and will celebrate at a later date due to the wedding and Jon being home. Yesterday we had a record 2.28" of rain, and1.46" in 1 hour, as I was subbing at Riddle. It became very dark and the lights went out for 10 seconds when lightning struck close by. We are back to cooler weather and the seasons of our minds are going through their changes. Seek release and leadership will find a way to keep us on the road to anywhere that brings us home. But who are our leaders and what if we decide not to march anymore?

August Disgust 80+

The heat of this summer continued into this week with less than a handful of days below 80 degrees. It has been in the 70's the last 2 days and the low went under 50 last night. We had our week in Grand Haven with no rain until after midnight Saturday. Lukas was with us the whole week, with the other boys coming for a couple of days. Proctoring at Cooley I read Silas Marner by George Eliot and worked 3 days. The end of August is bringing shorter days a glowing sunshine and the return of school routine mentality. Grampa has been having problems with dizziness and balance but no diagnosis yet of why. Blues on the Grand concluded with me missing only 1 show and one cancelled because of weather. Sonny Moorman put on the best show and I still prefer the Square venue though the sound improve over the first night. We have been fighting the flea infestation and Wiley had a ear infection, so added costs. Kittens, cats fill the back porch as I painted the garage and the dormer. My knee snapped one night while sleeping on vacation and is loose and feeling better than it has since winter. Time waits for no one and we must wait for time to take it's time.

Heat Wave

June was very hot and July is continuing a world wide heat wave. We've been in the 80's consistently here in Michigan, but middle and eastern states have been in the 90's and 100's. For those who didn't get enough summer last year a good old fashioned one like 1967 is here now. Blues on the Grand has replaced the Square with a venue I find less friendly and acoustically challenged. The 2 performances I've been to had good acts but the sound and stage set up, leaves you in the sun of the old City Market. I've talked to Jan Fielder from WPCA there and caught up on what's going on. One night we went to The Harrison Roadhouse before the concert for a Shorts Brewing sampling, which I really enjoyed. We spent the 4th at Duck Lake and I talked to Mark Neering and life in Sterling Heights. I found out he met his wife there at Duck Lake as they had neighboring cottages. She is Diana Townes and her family now has the cottage next to the Beckers but they used to be down in the corner from there. Lisa had Wyatt at Sparrow and he ended up with complications from birth and being premature, spending weeks in ICU before coming home and doing very well now. The old Malibu is trying to break me with sensors, brake lines and tune ups, keeping business with Tuffy. I pray it can now run without problems for another year at least. Well, we all have now been to Midwestern Dental and so far it has worked for all 4 of us even though the initial appointments made us wonder if they knew how to schedule them. The 26th Alvarado reunion was yesterday, as the first was at Potters Park July 28, 1984. The next one was there and then one at Delta Mills, a few at Francis Park, and August 3, 1991 to it's location at South Lake Lansing Park. That shows the importance of family, history and tradition that needs to be preserved. Some events are unknown and they pass with no one except those who observed them to carry their existence on. You can't always get what you want but sometimes you get what you need for reasons unknown at he time.

My Good Friend, Howard

My good friend Howard Barrons died peacefully the 16th and was buried today. His son Fr. Brian, co-celebrated his mass with many in attendance. Howard was 90 and I know him from St. Vincent's at Holy Cross where I learned from his active faith the spiritual road I follow. Howard would hug you and was a friend for life who I found out was an all-state fullback at Calumet High School. Only 3 other men who were active in the SVDP Society are still alive from the time I was involved during the 80's. I was gifted with the chance to have gotten hugs and kisses from Howard 2 Sundays ago at the 9:00 mass at St. Gerards, I see it as a commissioning to continue on with good works. Whenever I gave Howard communion at Holy Cross I would say his name because he always would say thank you Joe smiling Christlike. Holy Cross has been closed 1 year now and the school since 2007 and they reduced the price last week on the signs in front of them. Times, places, people change but without love all meaning is reduced and only eternal life holds us grounded to purpose in this world. We all will grow weary and older until we are called home to the heavenly reward of true peace.

School's Out For Summer

On the 17th of May we were in Indianapolis at the Indiana Roof Ballroom for Jon's swearing in to the bar. We stayed the night before and walked downtown Indianapolis and ate at the Rock Bottom Brewery. The ceremony was an hour with the supreme court and other justices presiding over the event. It was a rainy day but momentous one. Uncle Tom is home and building his strength up so that he's back at the mall, but Grampa drives him and picks him up. We now have Helen and her daughter Nancy at Tendercare West as she had a triple by-pass on Mothers Day. The warm weather came suddenly the end of May and it has been summer like to end the school year. The open houses started with Hannah's in Zeeland last Saturday. The old Malibu needed a $500 tune up but is running strong now. The Gulf oil spill is 51 days and millions of gallons of pollution that will harm the Earth for decades. Here the grass is green and growing with all the rains we've had but wildlife suffers along the southern coasts of the USA, thanks to BP. Maybe we'll blame global warming on the Gulf of Oil Mexico and stick our heads in the oily sand.

Pass the Bar

Jon passed the Indiana bar exam on the second try and Jane is very excited and proud. I proctored at Cooley Law, who now are the name on Oldsmobile Park,and read Red Pony, Upon the Head of the Goat, and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich during my 6 days. I found out from Gabor Hardy,who was born in Budapest Hungary, that his grandma also hid Jews during the war. Lukas and Phillip have exams tomorrow and then are done with their term and Lukas with LCC. I've mowed the grass twice in April for the first time in years. It did rain steadily and with global warming maybe that's a factor along with the 2 trees in the yard that are now budding only on a few branches. Uncle Tom is getting around better and is using a walker and starting to eat but it still has to be mushed up. Cinco de Mayo and the Gulf of Mexico fills up with oil thanks to BP. Icelandic volcanic ash fills the skies of Europe grounding flights as nature takes its course. Humankind is not in control as it is at the whim or the order of nature which must be under God. Trust the Lord and know everything has a reason and purpose and we can only serve our purpose by believing the Lord will bring us home someday.

Pandemonium Behold the Bitter Hysteria

Now that I'm 59,sixty is my waiting decade. Spring break begins today and yesterday, a record temperature of 80 was reached as the day before that was our first day of 70 degrees. MSU has made it to the final 4, and play Butler tomorrow. Simon and April are engaged so Jane is happy that she'll finally have a daughter. 3 more cats got fixed, Little Orange, Cinnamon, and Rusty, all boys now we need to get rid of the cat farm. The Pale Ale made for a hoppy afternoon as I must make Shorts Brewpub a vacation destination, up in Bellaire. Their Uber Gubba was a real treat this winter. Easter waits the morn of glory that sets us free and raises us up with Him. No colored eggs or bunnies can save us from the pagan rites of spring that only exist because He created us and this world, let us not forget His Love. Carry on above the dust and clean out our too full closets that only weigh us down. Like Mr. Farnum, Uncle Tom's roommate, and his Resurrection after his head on motorcycle accident, the Lord will call us home when our job is done.

Electric Reindeer

   The blending of Dusty Springfield's Dusty in Memphis and Radiohead with White Zinfandel elicits this afternoon blog.  YouTube and the computer are limiting the mixing of the multi-tasking of the different mediums, so the 89th album on RollingStones greatest albums of all time will control the direction of the days thoughts.   The last 2 weeks have seen snow and now the sun and the beginning of the winter's thaw.  Back in 1967 we had 23" of snow on January 26,27 that closed school for a week and on the 24th a record temperature of 66 degrees was recorded and it was still in the 60's the 25th.  So who would expect a record snowfall the 26th when I went to school only to be sent home at noon and to have to push my dad's car into the driveway at 5 pm.   The roads remained impassable for days and on the 27th I remember taking a sled up to the Krogers in Saginaw Plaza to get some needed groceries with my friend Tom Phillips and his dad.  We have been having earthquakes in Haiti and now In Chile as the earth is moving and possibly changing the Earth's rotation and our days length according to scientists.  Health care reform is still up in the air with Obama demanding a vote to give credibility to the work that has been put into the possibility of its fruition.  I may very well finish off this bottle of wine before this blog is done so I going down to Electric Reindeer Avenue as I see the deer tracks in the snow outback.  Jon took the bar exam for the second time last week and was here for the weekend.  The boys will be on spring break from LCC next week and have been busy with work this week.   Uncle Tom is at Tendercare West and was able to sit up and talk last night, though he was only conversing in Spanish.   March will move us toward the spring that will renew our souls with the waiting of lent and the Easter that redeems.

Are You Sleeping, Uncle Tom?

Yesterday Uncle Tom was rushed to Sparrow Hospital after cracking his skull falling on the ice. He insists on walking every day despite weather conditions and fell at the corner but would not go to the doctor and insisted he was all right. Later in the day he was found unconscious in the basement and had to have emergency surgery because of bleeding in his head. I am at Windemere View school doing Art today. I have 3 classes to teach and now have a 3 hour break until the last 2 classes. The Art teacher was here to set things up and ended up staying during the 1st class and the tutoring in the morning wasn't needed as the 2nd grade class is outside for recess now. On Monday I was at Waverly East for Spanish and had 4 classes to show the movie Over The Hedge to in Spanish with subtitles.   While I was in Mr. Guiterrez's office I found an old baby book in disrepair and started reading it.  It was for a boy named Henry Jones Jr and had pictures and writing about his development to about the age of 4 which I found when I reached the last page and read the newspaper article about his being killed at the Orchard Lake railroad crossing on August 1, 1924.  Strange how this was in storage at the school and where his story was discovered by me to be preserved as Junior from Pontiac who had visited his Aunt Pearl in Lansing on a "choo choo" ride.   It has been a pretty good week after having lots of half days since break. Jane was sick last week with a bad cold and missed 3 days of work. On Saturday we went to Betty Mccastle's retirement party at the Liederkranz Club, and we sat with the Fabianos'. The only other time I was there was for Bob Leik"s wedding reception. It was also very cold last week with wind chills near zero keeping kids in for recess but we haven't had too much snow. They are considering closing this school and Elmwood next year, I can see due to the budget the need for closing 1 but not 2 schools. This is the oldest school in Waverly now and its floor plan, on 2 levels would make it the most vulnerable to close. Just like at GM, I followed 1 plant closing to the next, unfortunately it's repeating itself in the school districts. It's funny how time slips away as we drift into the future of days that soon will be the past.

Haiti Aftershocks

Big Orange was hit by a car in early January in front of our house. Aunt Anita died January 4 and was buried the 7th, a snowy afternoon. Uncle Nate was of little help in getting things together, so Lynette and Londa made sure everything was done with the dignity it deserved. After the cemetery service we had a luncheon at DeLucas to celebrate Anita's life. Anita was an inspiration to all of us with her courage and fight against cancer. On Saturday Gabe was going with his uncle to live in Oregon much to the chagrin of Petra. Jobs have been mostly of the half day variety subbing since break, so I hope that picks up soon. Haiti experienced a devastating earthquake that we still do not know the human and monetary cost yet. So much bad news in this new year that people were looking to for changes for the better. You walk the aisles of all the stores to find them wider because they are not carrying extra stock as America continues to tighten it's belt. It cost me $107 for my dental cleaning so I think that will not be something we will be doing as we will try joining a clinic for future cleanings. We've kept the heat down to 65 this winter but the bill was over $200 for January. They say it's always darkest before the dawn so we soon should see the light. I'll keep the faith for the hopeless and keep on seeking the light flashing through dreams and reality.