FIRST ANNIVERSARY

It’s March 19, 2011. I have been writing this blog for one year as of today. I’m shocked. I have tried diaries, journals, and notebooks at various times throughout my life. None have lasted over a month. I get busy doing something else and it is gone from my mind. I even started out pretty good here then began to miss a few days. Actually, I’m surprised I even came back. There have been more than one occasion when the thought of continuing put me to sleep.

I have no real reason to write this thing. I was encouraged to do so by Duncan, but that never kept me going before. I have been lectured about the value of journaling to no avail. I admit there are things I wish I remembered accurately. I would love to write about the years I kept proctor boys. But it would be a work of fiction at this point. The details are blurry. Actually, fiction may be the best way to do it.

I have tried to journal about my Bible reading. I felt bad when I could think of nothing to write about or nothing jumped out at me. I was a professional religious type person. Surely I sould have insights daily. Ha! It didn’t happen. Sometimes I thought I was a very secular religious professional. Shush! Don’t tell anyone! The clergy already have a bed rap by the likes of the Bakers and others. On the other hand, I’m nobody so my lapses should not add much to the clergy damage.

I admit there is something fun about saying whatever comes into your head. It can be dangerous. I hope it hasn’t been.

I started writing because I though so much of what happened here was funny. It has taken a more serious turn with the huge emotional and legal battles of Chas and Olivia. I wish I could will that disaster away. It’s not going to happen. I lost some of the humorous tone with my own health problems. I moved from satirist to storyteller. The satirical commentator was what I wanted to remain. I have moments, but when there is pain, few of us maintain our humorous edge.

The truth is one never knows if anyone reads their blog without feedback. I love the comments (and help) I get for time to time. It motivates me. Even hard criticism is better than no criticism. At least it’s attention. Some attention is better than no attention. And I guess we write these things either for attention or because we have something we think is significant to say. I’m not saying much of anything so it must be attention.

By now writing has grown into somewhat of an obsession. I have been told many times by untrained, nonprofessionals that I should write. I’ve through about it for years. When teaching I wanted to write a text for an intro class. I concluded I was too inexperienced. I have written many articles about the state of the church and considered myself to cynical for anything by the Wittenberg Door (A satirical Christian magazine that may no longer exist). I have many pages of a biography I was writing for my family. Haven’t even finished that. Considered writing about my son from each of our points of view, but doubt I even understand his point of view. And to be honest, he was much smarter than I. The proctor boys I had were entertaining and challenging. It could have been my best try at comedy. They never really frustrated me, but I laughed a lot in secret and loved trying to out smart them. Even my failures are interesting.

I finally have almost enough data to write about living in an independent retirement home. I could probably turn it into a somewhat entertaining book, but I won’t. My heart would break if some people were identified. I also seriously lack the discipline and most importantly — I don’t want to. What I do like is writing snippets of life as it is. It reminds me that life should not be taken too seriously. All of us here have already had more pain in our lives that we can handle. Why would we want more. One just must laugh about human reaction.

The earlier fire alarm will be funny in a few days, Right now most are mad that we lost sleep. I’m not. I can sleep all day tomorrow and so can most of the others. But it will be more fun to get together and complain.

ANIMAL PLANET

We had our own personal Animal Planet show this morning. On Tuesdays we get a small delivery of bread and sweets from the Food bank and a larger delivery of commodities. That means there were a larger number of people in the commons room having coffee and shooting the breeze – of which there was a strong one today.

Our retired doctor next door is finally cleaning up his yard a piece at a time. The lost was covered and there is a pile (lots) of blackberry bushes. They were so over grown one could not reach them all. But he has been whacking them down one weekend at a time. All but the edges near fences on either side of have been cleared. Their removal revealed a horde of sins. We can now see at least three trailers, an old tractor front loader, a couple piles of rotting wood and the run down shed/house at the back of the property.

When the lot was covered it was home to a large number of critters. We all have wondered where or if the animals have moved and if they have, where did they go. There were feral cats, squirrels, mice, an opossum or two and raccoons. This morning the raccoons put on a show for those of us gathered. It takes very little to entertain us.

At first we could see through the strip of remaining blackberry bushes the mother and two kits. When she took off to the other side of the lot we saw three little ones followings. A few minutes later she returned to our side of the lot and there were four kits. They wandered in the vines briefly before coming right along side the fence looking for a way through the fence. Right outside our window mom stopped, turned, stood on her hind legs and starred back at us. It was hard to know who was watching whom? One of us was saying “feed me.” Two of the children joined mom and we felt like we were in the zoo. After all, they were outside.

There was a clearly worn trail through the berry patch leading to an opening under the fence. The removal of so many bushes most likely made the trail hard to find. They found a space that was too small. Then mother climbed up and over the fence. Three little ones followed suit. There was some nervousness, but they made it. Number four was much more cautious. It (don’t know if it was a he or she) started up the fence a couple of times before getting to the top. Once to the top, “it” didn’t seem to know what to do. “It” tried to balance on the top, but was struggling. “It’ then considered going back the way it came, but the rest of the gang was outside the fence. Hesitantly “it came down on the outside only to discover the others had found the space under the fence and returned to the lot. “It” did catch up and joined the family bouncing around and finally finding a hill to return to the outside. They wandered west of us and we lost them (or they left us – one or the other).

One summer at our home in Canada, some very stupid parents rented the house adjoining our property to the back. Four high school boys shared the house for a summer of parties and mayhem. They had a pet raccoon, if one can have a pet raccoon. The animal could jump out of a bedroom window onto another’s garage roof, climb down some vines and wander wherever it wanted. It seemed to enjoy wandering in our yard. I know it checked out the entire neighborhood, but went though my place first. Since they fed that animal it always returned to them.

The police were at their place often. On one occasion there was an afternoon raid and the boys reached out the bedroom window and deposited drugs in the garage eves. The raccoon was on the garage roof watching the action. It sat and stared at the activity. Soon the police were in the window and they spotted the raccoon, but missed the drugs. Apparently it was against the law to have an unlicensed raccoon as a pet. The little overgrown bandit rat was hauled away.

The boys moved out at the end of August to return to school. Yeah! Early fall some friends helped me tear down my backyard leaning garage. There was about 16-18 inches between my collapsing garage and the other neighbor’s fence. When the garage came down, the marijuana was obvious. That sure explained why the boys were either in my yard near the garage or hanging out behind my garage. It is very hard to get rid of Marijuana without anyone knowing you have it.