Chapter 90 - SCORE

Every so often you gotta get lucky. Like my Dad said, "The sun don't shine on one dog's ass all the time." And so it was that the sun, figuratively, shone on me when I drove down south intending to get some night sky shots. I didn't, but I did get shots of the sunset over the Siletz Bay.

And I got this shot which, on a lark, I sent into the News Guard. I do that once in a while and, usually, my efforts are, well, not ignored but definitely not used. Not this time!!

Score!!

Hahahaha, I got one through. Jeremy must have needed a filler or else it was a slow news week. I made the 'Coast Moments' section of the e-version of The News Guard. 

And then, the oft referred to 'Cherry on top of the icing on the cake,' they used it on their FB Page as one of their teasers.

Coolio!!

I made the Big Time. It was a total surprise, given my poor track record, and extremely satisfying. Ah, Fame, you fickle bitch.

Hahahaha, that was fun. Now, let's get back to reality, alright!?!

I have to admit, I am having more fun than I thought I would with the cap thingie. When I said this was "now, officially, a thing", I wasn't kidding. It is a real thing!!

I am working at placing the caps as if I didn't know that later I would take a picture of them. I am trying to be as natural as I can but I'm still aware and that affects the end result.

I've mentioned it before but when that "staging the props" for the picture becomes too much, then this will end. Hahahaha, I have my integrity. When it becomes fake then it's over. But I haven't gotten there yet.

It's such a thing with me that even when I clear off the top of the couch in preparation for moving all the caps back to their proper place in the bedroom I get a picture. Hahahaha, sometimes I amaze myself with my ridiculousness. 

I'm also reminded that I am seriously flawed in weeding out my wardrobe. I mean, I have a pair of shoes, a couple actually, that I know I used to wear back at Montwood Middle. I have a couple shirts that could date back that far, too. My black t-shirts? Most of those are left overs from the two years in Kuwait. It's not good but I can't bring myself to weed them out. They're all still serviceable; it'd be a waste to throw away an item that can still be used.

That's why I deliberately went through my dresser the other day to weed out, seriously thin out the herd so-to-speak, and came up with TWO t-shirts that I could part with.

TWO!!

And so it is no real surprise to me that I've got more caps than I can reasonably use. (And my dirty little secret!?! There are 5-6 more in storage because, well, they're well-worn and faded and crumbly but they're still usable and have memories for me.) I need help!!

Ah, Melancholy Jack. He's been visiting a lot lately. 

While the weather was still unnaturally pleasant, I broke out one of the adirondack chairs and enjoyed a cold one as I sat there watching the waves roll in. Of course I had my trusty camera with me so I could, as is my wont, document the whole, exciting adventure.

As I was leaving for . . . somewhere one of the now, normal, gray, dreary, dismal, cloudy, chilly and miserable mornings, I stopped and grabbed this shot. And then, fitting my "Poor Me" mood, I rendered it in B&W. Hahaha, it fits for my Pity Party.

Lately I have been working at walking more. I've gotten in a rut of wanting to go out for a walk but not being able to muster the requisite enthusiasm to go and walk up the street and then walk back. I'd find any excuse no matter how small or silly as a reason to "do it tomorrow."

But I've made several conscious decisions to take charge and do things that are beneficial for me. First, I think it's a good thing to have some regular habits that cause me to take care of myself. 

I've begun, because I read it on the Internet (and you know if it is there, on the Internet, then it must be true) that a teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) a day will boost energy, benefit your bowels and ease your irritable stomach. OK, simple enough. And so I started doing that. Oh, and I'm gargling with it, too. Because it's suppose to help with the Ol' Halitosis thingie, too. And, believe me, after you've gargled with ACV you definitely want to brush your teeth. So there's another win-win for me. 

I don't know if it is taking charge of myself or the ACV but I've been able to get out for walks. I figure I have to do them first thing, before I've had my coffee, or else it's "Fuggit'bout it, Charley!!" Hahaha, I do know myself. So I've been out for short walks and the pictures I've gotten are shown here. Hey!! Gotta take the bad with the good, right!?! Right!!!

So I got a good shot, one of those Happy Accidents of these particular flowers a couple days ago while wandering around. On this day I thought I would revisit the flowers and see how they're doing. A little compare and contrast thingie.

So here are the first pictures taken several days ago. The one immediately below is the one I used for the Quote at the end of this Chapter. 

And this gem. Can't help it. I do likes me some flowers and the pictures I can get from them. I realize it's become almost trite for me to continue taking pictures of flowers but they are one of the more abundant subjects I like to shoot. 

The Red Monster - A Puzzle from Hell!!

I mostly did not enjoy putting together the Red Monster. It was fun building the edges and, starting there, working inward. But the fish and the flower and the picture of the girl . . . those were irritating. They took a long time. You'll see the Red Bitch in just a little while.

But, still, it occupied me and that's the main objective, right!?!

So here's my next puzzle project. I think I might resent this one too. It's from the $Tree and I am sure the pieces are flimsy and without much difference in the cutting pattern. Cheaper puzzles tend to have pieces approximately the same in size and shape.

On the Road Again . . .

For reasons unknown, the reason being lost in those long-ago days, I have two "Passport To Your National Parks" books. I hauled them around without getting too many stamps for a long time now. And then, when I had a golden opportunity to get some stamps!! I forgot them. I. Forgot. Them.

So there I am in Washington, D.C., visiting National Monuments and Memorials and I don't have my Passport. ARGH!!!

Thank goodness Michelle was thinking because . . . 

She went around after me and got the stamps on a slip of paper and gave them to me later.

Smart girl!!

And so I went out and bought a glue stick and did some real cut and paste and put them into my Passport for the National Capitol Region. Yay for me!!

Changes . . .

The out-going Kiwanis President, Tony Herman, recognized five people at the Dinner at the end of his Presidency. Unknown to me, he had selected five people he wanted to recognize for their service during his year as President and two of those five were Carol and me. 

Wow!! What a nice gesture!! And what a surprise!!

He got us a crystal pyramid. It rests now on the fireplace mantel.

Flashback to 2005

Kuwait, working for CSA. One of the posts was Post 17, the ASP. Set out in the desert, it took about 15 or so minutes to get to. From away from anything should the unthinkable happen. They stored a lot of munitions in bunkers sunken into the ground with earthen berms thrown up around them. There was just one point to enter and that was our post. 

It was a four man post. There was the 17A (the one in charge), 17B, 17C and 17D. Each position had a particular area to be in charge of and particular duties that went along with the position. For example, 17D was the Tower. The guard with overwatch over the entry point. The gate was manned by 17B and 17C.  The man in charge was always the 'A' position. 

It was dull, dreary duty but it was easy. Not a lot happening. Occasionally we'd get some trucks in and out but generally we just kept the camels out of the ASP. These were 12-hour shifts and so they had to run us in to the mess in relays.

I mention all this to get to this picture. One day, I wasn't on duty at 17 as we rotated posts everyday, this dog showed up at the post. He was friendly and intelligent and, naturally, just about every guard that pulled a shift at 17 liked him. He was a cool dog. So when the guys went into eat they'd save a bit of their chow and bring it back for the dog.

He became such a regular, out there in that vast stretch of desert, that he even got a name. We called him 17E. The 5th position at that post. I would look for 17E when we came out to relieve the out-going shift and would hope he'd show up sometime during my shift.

I'm sure it was just boredom but for a while, I considered trying to get him sent back to the States I liked him so much.

Naturally, the Captain heard about it and said either we get rid of him or he would. I am not quite sure what happened to 17E but, after a while of no food, he stopped coming by. He was a smart dog.

You can tell how important water was to us. We always had bottles of water nearby. It got hot there. We had this little shack with some netting strung up for some additional shade. No AC, just us in our black t-shirts and long-sleeve shirts. I was on the guard roster for about six months before I applied for and was promoted to Sergeant. Shortly after that I worked it around that I taught all the new personnel the two-week orientation and guard course. Then I worked my way into the LTs office so I didn't pull any more guard duty as a Post Sergeant anymore. 

It was an interesting two years . . . two years of working at least 62.5 hours a week, every week. Sometimes there were 75 hour weeks. Crazy. I was 57 when I started there.

OK, here it is. Final stages there is just the flower left. It's hard to see what with the red top of my kitchen table. Putting those cherries and tomatoes in was a pain. The fish a chore. The flower was a bitch.

Ugh.

But I persevered and finally, there was that one last piece. And, yeah, it felt good to place that one last piece in. I breathed a sigh of relief when this monster was done. 

Yeah, I griped but I had fun. It was more difficult than I prefer but it still got the job done. I was occupied; busy with something other than my mind.

There it is in all its glory. All its red glory.

Really, the fish wasn't as hard as I expected. Mainly because I had built everything around it and so it was just a matter of patience in trying piece after piece in putting it together.

I did like the detail. Thoughtful manner in which it was put together. An interesting idea shooting a theme picture. Nothing else tied these disparate items together except their color.

The artist did throw in some USSR stuff but that was to be expected I suppose. The theme was, "Red" after all. I appreciate that he off-set the Commie Crap with some good ol' Capitalism represented by the poker chip next to the Commie Crap.

Nice touch.

A $5 chip from the Silver Bird Hotel & Casino. 

I have no idea what either of these things are. But they're red.

This shoe was a small bit of a bear to get together. The insole part of it.

Again, it was a relief to get it done. It took me around 3 weeks to get it done. I would walk up to it, sigh, shake my head and walk away an awful lot. I did a lot of small hit and miss stuff with it until one day I decided enough was, definitely, enough. And I pushed through to the end.

Are You Mad at Me!?!

And so Amy, the alleged 'friend' that gave me the Red Monster (she thought she was ever so funny) decided to 'gift' me another puzzle. This is a smaller one, much like the $Tree puzzle I'm currently working on. She cackled when she brought it over and remarked that she wasn't sure all the pieces were there since the box wasn't securely closed.

I was not amused. It is a puzzle I have passed by many times because it looked like it would be, like the Red Monster, a lot of work. Ugh.

With that in mind, I found a piece on the table in the kitchen the next morning when I broke up and packed away the Red Monster. "Hmmmmmmm," I thought, "that doesn't bode well."

Then, when I stepped out the front door to go on an early morning walk I spotted this . . .

Yeah, that's right. A piece of the puzzle Amy brought over. There. On the porch. All night. Oh, this is gonna be one very fun puzzle.

Thanks, Amy.

But, in this (self-imposed) constricted life of mine, there's always another puzzle to work on. And once I had the Red Monster tucked away, I broke open the next one. My $Tree puzzle. As I looked at it I began to doubt the wisdom of throwing down a Buck for this thing. A lot of blue and sky there.

And because it's a cheap puzzle there isn't a lot of variety in the pieces. Look closely and you'll see they're all just slight variations of the same shape. Two males and two females on each piece. These kind are difficult. 

Ratz.

But I'd opened it and was committed. I started, with the same lack of enthusiasm I had for the 'Red Monster'.

Oblah-Di, Oblah-Dah . . .

Life goes on, Brah, and so does my obsession with B&W photography. And it ain't getting any better. Some days the weather lends itself to B&W. Especially so when it's gray, dreary, flat, ugly light. Like this.

But I like the lines and shapes.

As you can see it's just a gathering of the fellows to observe on the day's goings on.

There's always that one that can't get with the program, isn't there!?! Always that one fellow.

Oh, I try. I hope someday to get something usable. I want to get a good B&W picture to frame and put on my "I Love Me" wall.

On my morning walk I encountered a terrible accident. A dump truck had overturned on a sharp curve and lost its load . . .  all over the place.

It was horrible. And messy.

The violence and horror of the crash was apparent.

Another day, another walk. Early morning light on the beachside inns. Definitely an original. Not one of those 'cookie-cutter' motel chains.

There's something about a light at night. If it'd been darker out this would have been an entirely different picture. Moodier. 

I've always wanted to go inside the little cottages at the Inn just up the street. They look cozy and fun to stay at. 

I'll have to satisfy myself with shooting the door.

It's the lone circle of light cast by the single working street light. It sorta makes the picture for me.

OK, there's maybe 3, maybe 5 days between this picture and the one way above in this Chapter. You can see the effects time has had on these flowers. Starting to wilt a bit; looking a bit more haggard.

Which makes me sink down a little with the realization, again, that time wears everything down. Everything. Ah, poor Melancholy Jackie. He's such a downer.

But these two fellows were still lying about in bed, reluctant to get up and greet the dreary day.

This would be much more interesting at night. As it is, it intrigues me but it doesn't make me say, "Wow." Another visit might be in order.

the hotel is expanding. They've been at this preparing the foundation for about 5 weeks now. A lot of earth has been moved. 

It will be a 51-room addition. And the parking lot just behind me will become a two-story parking garage. Remember that disaster of a swimming pool? The one that was filled in with dirt? Well, they're finally going to put that land to some use as part of the parking garage.

You're going to see how this advances as I walk up that way and I always have my camera and I will probably stop by to see what is going on and I'll probably get myself a shot and that means it will appear in future chapters. It's what I do. That and run-on sentences.

Walking down a backroad in LCO and I happened on this fellow.

He wasn't comfortable where he was while I was passing him so he raced to the other side of the road as I approached.

He must have felt it safer behind a bush. But, still, I held his attention as I wandered easily by him.

And this picture? Just because. They're always out there and today I wanted a picture. And I got one. Just for the halibut.

Walking around you can see the most individual things attached to people's homes. The ways they personalize their homes. Like this wave on the side of a home.

Well done.

As I was strolling by Kirk's house, I saw this and thought it was a stone. My first thought was maybe it was one of those painted stones but, c'mon, it was, really, just a bit too big for that.

I'd just mowed this lawn maybe 5 days ago and hadn't noticed it. Intrigued, I walked over for a closer look-see.

And found this giant fungus. A blooming mushroom. And a big one, too.

Ah the things you see on the road from here to there.

I had been concerned about getting my ballot. It seemed like I should have had it last week. Yesterday it finally arrived. 

I heartily dislike the way they vote in Oregon. It is rife with opportunities to cheat. It rankles me that something so important is treated in such a cavalier fashion. Voting is one of the great privileges I enjoy as a citizen and to have it bandied about with so little oversight is, well, disappointing and depressing.

I could go on but you get the picture. Voting should be something you want to do; something you must make an effort to do. I would rather have to go to a voting station, wait in line, prove my identity and then vote my conscience rather then wait for the mail to show up with my ballot.

It should require some effort. I've learned, in my road from here to there, any thing that requires little or no effort has, as a consequence, little or no value. It's been true my whole life and it will be true long after I'm gone.

But I had my ballot and I was ready to vote. I'd done a small bit of research on the issues and knew which way I was voting.

And so I quickly exercised my precious franchise. I get a good feeling being part of this Great American Experiment.

I can honestly say I've missed voting maybe two times since my first vote which I cast for Good Ol' Tricky Dick in '72. In this election, I voted for a real Governor, no new taxes and the right to life.

I felt good.

And, in keeping with my personal, "Vote the Rascals Out" campaign, I didn't vote for any incumbent.

Hahaha, I was feeling a bit smug.

"And there she goes!!"

Fly away little ballot and do my patriotic duty.

Way back when I was teaching, I would tell the kids in my class to be sure and not to vote so that my vote would count for even more. That was my lame attempt to make them think that when they failed to vote, they made my little ol' vote even more important and potent. 

It was very much like throwing pebbles at a brick wall. I didn't make much of an impression at all. Still, I tried.

Waiting for the Postman!! Ah, it's an even better feeling than putting in the last piece of a puzzle.

Hooah!!

Hahahaha, Michelle and Matt definitely know how to keep Good Holidays!! Michelle does Christmas especially well. And, on reflection, Amy is no slouch, either. That is, for me, their OMR, a satisfying feeling that they can enjoy the Holidays so much.

How cool is this? The theme for the Ray Clan was Disney Villains. And they nailed it.

Matt is, of course, the infamous Captain Hook. If I had better eyes I would have been able to see the Hook in his right hand. That would have been the right clue I needed before I guessed he was Mr. Smee from the same crew of pirates.

Oops.

Michelle was the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The family went to their Town Square for a Halloween Party and who should she run into but . . .  Snow White.

Who could pass up this picture opportunity!?!

"This is a Magic Apple, my Dear . . . one bite and your wish will come true."

Yeah, right. I'd wish I could win the Lottery!!

And Addie was channeling the spirit of the Evil Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty.

Way to nail it!! She's having so much fun getting into character!!

"Off with her head!!"

Delaney looks great as the mean Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland.

The way these girls are getting into their characters is kinda scary.

Ah, at least one doesn't look totally evil. There's Sweet Frances and she is dressed up as Cruella de Ville from 101 Dalmatians.

Looking good, and semi-normal, Frances!!

And so it goes. Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping, into the future. (You have to read that last sentence while singing the song, Fly Like an Eagle, by the Steve Miller Band. C'Mon, go on and reread it and you'll be singing that song in your head. You know you will!! Do it!!)

The days are moving into the down months. The colder, rainier, grayer, more dismal and definitely more  dreary Winter days. I am dreading it already.

But I am a rock. I have my books and my poetry to protect me. Hahaha, Paul Simon's beautiful lyrics come to me as this wearisome season begins. But, before that terrible time arrives there is the Great Route 66 Adventure to be had.

There is that to look forward to. I just need to work at seeing it.

HOOAH!!