Category: Family and Friends

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He Stole From His Mother

About a year ago I loaned Sherri some money because she was in a real bind. She had cashed her paycheck and taken the money home, left her purse in the living room and went to bed. Sometime during the night, one of her kids took all the cash from her purse and took off. The brat didn’t just take a couple of $20 bills, he took her entire paycheck and didn’t leave her a single dollar.

That meant she could not pay her electric bill, her car payment or go grocery shopping for a whole week. That was heartless and unforgivable to do that to your mother, but that’s what kids do when they are desperate for cash. And the sad thing is that she has two sons and isn’t sure which one did it.

So I loaned her the $400 and told her I could wait a month or two to get it back from her. Now I just realized its been almost a year and she’s never paid me back. I am going to have to find a gentle way to remind her that I want my money back.

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Wrapping Gifts Was An Artform

Gift wrapping is a lost art. When I was a kid, getting a gift was a big deal. The wrapping was usually very elaborate. Fist, the gift was placed in a large square or rectangular box. Then a special patterned paper was used to wrap the box. Then a ribbon was wound around the box and a fancy bow, sometimes adorned with ornaments, was the final touch. Every gift was also accompanied by a greeting card. The best cards were Hallmark cards. The other cards were cheaper and considered inferior to Hallmark.

When we opened the gifts, we did not tear into the wrapping. We gently removed the ribbon, saving the bow, and then gently pulled the wrapping paper loose. Sometimes if the paper was in good condition it was salvaged and reused at a later date. Even the boxes were knocked down and saved for later use.

And most important, even if the gift was not exactly what you wanted, you were expected to display a look of surprise and gratitude. A proper thank you was expected and putting the item to use or shared with others with an acknowledgement to the giver was the proper thing to do.

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Gone Fishing

Sometimes a guy needs a break. You just have to walk away from all the daily drama and all the problems and go fishing. My buddy, Claude, called me up last night and suggested a trip out on the lake in his bass boat. That was the perfect excuse for me. So today we’ve been fishing. Caught a bunch – let them go, of course – and just chilled for the day. What a good break that was for me – I needed this.

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Famiy Picnic Plans

Just got l from my brother-in-law, Claude. He wants to round up a bunch of us family members for a picnic on the Fourth of July weekend. Since the Fourth is falling on a Monday this year, none of us will have to work that day. But I suggested we have the gathering on Sunday afternoon, because I know a lot of people already have commitments with their nuclear families on the Fourth itself.

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Too Much Drama

One of my cousins has been posting one or two lines from hit songs as her Facebook status. I never know if what she posted is what she is thinking or if it is just words from a song that she likes. Most of the time they are very dramatic, and could be taken as a sign that she is thinking of suicide or taking off and leaving. It is very upsetting when I first read it, then some of her friends make jokes and I realize that it is a song or something the kids just say these days.

I suppose if it is from a song that she likes she might see some relevance of the words to her life. But it is so confusing.

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Baby Gates

My oldest daughter came by the house with my granddaughter for a visit last night. The baby is walking now and it surprises us how fast she can be. One minute she is in the room with you and the next minute everyone is looking around asking, where’s the baby? And then we find her somewhere inappropriate, like the bathroom. So I figure its time to invest in baby gates to keep that little critter corralled in my house. I don’t want to find her with her hands in toilet ever again.

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Birthday Party

Happy Birthday

The guys are work want to take me out for a few beers and a little party. I think that sounds pretty good right about now. It’s my birthday and I like the idea of spending it with friends.

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Happy Birthday, Vicki!

A friend of mine is quietly celebrating her birthday today.She does not know that everyone at work knows it’s her birthday and we have some surprises in store for her all day!

Happy Birthday, Vicki!

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Sixteen inches of snow in Colorado?

Oh my goodness!!  My friend in Colorado just told me that they got 16 inches of SNOW!!!!  That is awful if you ask me.  The up side is that it’s supposed to be in the 60’s later on in the week.  That sounds like the kind of weather to make a lot of people sick.  As if we don’t have enough to worry about with the Swine Flu, now the weather out there is trying to help it all out.  I think I need a warm vacation after hearing about all of that snow!!!!

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Can you feel it?

Well it definitely feels like fall is in the air all of a sudden.  There is a bit of a chill in the air that wasn’t there last week.  I find it totally amazing how the seasons change and sometimes it can be rapidly and other times, it flows from one to the other with very little change.  I like it when it just sort of flows into the next season.

A friend of mine that lives in Colorado said they are under a winter advisory next week.  Winter?  Not ready for that right now.  Let’s get through fall first.