Life in the Garden

Matters of Life and Death

customer service

Rude Awakenings

forget me not

Detox is going much slower than we anticipated. It’s time for:

Three Beautiful Things:

  1. The Healing Vapor of Mentholated Chest Rub
  2. Trying on a new “do” after 20 years.
  3. Opening the windows in January.

Everyone seems to be listing New Year’s Resolutions:

Here’s a couple of mine, in no particular order of importance,

  1. Soften the language (don’t swear so much)
  2. Get stronger, burn fat. Walk More.
  3. Refine marketing and distribution strategies.

In the mailbox: From Flo in OR,

Lenette,
Thank you again for your kindness and assistance. It was most comforting, even though I have had many experiences with sending my dear ones on in the past.
You have my best wishes,
flo

Always good to hear a kind word, seems like it’s been more frequent now that the holidays have passed. There seemed to be a lack of Christmas Joy with adults 40-65 on the streets this year.

Our condolences to the GardenSalad/GonnaEatThat household on the loss of Marvin’s grandmother. Here’s a taste of the “Pie”:

Grandma Sophie was about five feet tall, with a flaming head of red hair. Every time she saw me, she’d say, “Did you get taller? Why are you so tall?” I never told her she was a Shrinky-Dink and that was why I seemed like such a giant.

This weeks Sunday Secrets beats any reality T.V. programming you could dial up. However, I noticed that my favorite postcard this week has been replaced. The message was:

“I decide if you’ll merge depending on your bumper stickers.”

Welcome to McDonalds

Customer service note: While catching up with one of our interns who resides in the Orlando, FL area he mentioned visiting a McDonalds at about 3:30 AM. Intern places order at the speaker and is told that despite being open for business at this hour, they have a very limited menu, no chicken, no beef patties, just buns apparently. Intern says, no thanks, he’ll move on. Order taker replies ” Thank you for choosing McDonalds, now go suck a d–k!”

Very nice.

Now board the time machine (or leave) more notes from Grandfather’s diary: This first entry isn’t dated, and probably occurred several weeks after the bombing at Pearl Harbor, late December 1941 or January 1942.

“It was quite a shock to see what the Japs had done to that place. Battleships were laying all over the place. We took off from the Yorktown just off shore in Pearl Harbor and flew into Ford Island but Ford Island was in no shape to receive aircraft so we proceeded to Eva Field- a Marine air base out near Barber’s Point. We did make some low passes out near Barber’s and that picture will always be indelible in my mind. The Oklahoma was bottoms up. The Nevada was beached in the channel and the Arizona was fifteen feet under water at her berth, completely destroyed down to a hulk.

The U.S.S. OGALALA, an underwater mine vessel was sunk right in the middle of the harbor. Her crew scuttled her before the Japs got a chance to bomb her. If they hadn’t done that, I’m sure Pearl Harbor would be a few feet deeper because that ship was loaded with mines when the attack started. Fuel oil was all over the place- at least four inches thick.

We got replacements for our planes and crewman that we had lost. There wasn’t much frolicking going on around Honolulu in those days. There was a 2100 curfew, it was asking to get shot to be out after dark.

Man, that Eva Field was a feeder. Those Marine cooks had an outdoor barbecue pit rigged up and they served the darndest barbecue beef you ever tasted. After the food we had been eating aboard the Yorkamaru, that was heaven. We all ate like there was no tomorrow and for some of us, there wasn’t……

Today’s Memorial Tattoo:

Today’s tip: Spend the day with a toddler.