Spring is here

It is in the 70's here, blustery, and thunderstorms are predicted.

Today's post is a hodge podge:

1. March Madness became March Sadness for me as Bradley University beat my Kansas Jayhawks. I felt a little better when Bradley beat Pitt. It also helped seeing other high seeds get sent packing. I guess misery does love company.

On the bright side, LSU is still in it. No doubt, Cindra's Duke Blue Devils will end the tournament for the Fighting Tigers, but you never know. I guess that is why they play the games.

2. On Saturday we were driving through town and passed through an anti-war protest. The protesters looked ridiculous. Central casting must have been in charge of the event. There were a handful of burnt out hippies who probably live in $500,000 homes and a smattering of coffee shop, dark clothes wearing college kids.

They held signs talking about Bush the liar, and then they got down right insulting. I am not a protesting kind of guy. I see that as a pussy play. If you want to change something, do things that will make a change. Holding up a sign on a Saturday afternoon in our town is not going to do a darn thing, but exercise your arms.

Maybe I am missing something, but protestors assume the victim role. They are whiney babies expecting someone to do what they want just because they want it. Sheesh. Hold your breath folks, your efforts may pay off.

3. Doctor's visit: I am going to a podiatrist today to see about my plantar fasciitis / heel pain. It isn't getting any better so I am hoping for some cortisone injections. The MD is supposed to be a sports medicine doc. The difference is a sports medicine doc tries to keep you active. The regular MD says something like, "It hurts when you run? Stop running."

4. iTunes music library: I trimmed my iTunes music library down from 6700 songs to about 4300. How did I do it? I went through and trashed most of the rap and most of the alternative music my son had in there. I kept a couple of 2Pac’s songs and even a couple by Eminem.

John has his own laptop so there is no need for our music libraries to be combined anymore. The best part is I can put the entire library on shuffle and only hear songs I like. It was a tedious job, but completed.

OK, back to work. The dog needs walked, a second cup of coffee needs to be drunk, and I must get ready for work.

Here's hoping you all have a great first week of spring.

Until the next time
John Strain

Spending money

It has been said, "A fool and his money are soon parted." These days it is easier than ever to be parted with your money.

When I was a kid, it was much more difficult to spend money. First of all, I had to have some money. There was no credit or revolving charge accounts. If I didn't have the money, that was the end of the story.

I never had very much money, because whenever I did have a few cents, it would "burn a hole in my pocket." I spent it quick. My sister spent hers fast too, but my brother squirreled his away.

In our neighborhood a distant clanging bell meant the popsicle man was coming. Kids would scatter when they heard the distant clanging coming closer. We all ran to find our mothers and beg for a nickel or a dime to get a frozen treat on a hot summer day.

In those days, change was even important. I kept pennies and I knew exactly how much money I had. I foraged for pop bottles to turn in for the nickel deposit.

Money was harder to come by, and it had to be spent in a particular way. If you wanted a coke out of a machine, you better have change. Today, vending machines accept bills. I haven't seen any, but I would bet others accept credit cards.

The arcades today have change machines and usually a fat guy to make sure customers can convert whatever money they have into tokens for the video games and other machines in their den of noise.

Barbara and I had to use the washers and dryers in apartments for many years. We probably fed enough quarters into those machines to buy our own set several times over. It was always a pain in the neck to get quarters.

Do you remember what it was like before ATM's? If you didn't get cash out of the bank on Friday or maybe Saturday by noon, you were out of luck until Monday. Sometimes you could write a check, but a lot of places only accepted cash.

Now it is easy to spend money. ATM's are everywhere. Vending machines and phones take bills and credit cards.

If that were not enough, the Internet makes it even easier to spend money. Anytime of the day or night you can find exactly what you want and by entering a few numbers, you can spend lots of money.

QVC is good at parting fools from their money. One phone call and you just bought yourself something you didn't even know you needed only five minutes ago.

It certainly is easy to spend money. I only wish it were as easy to make money.

Have a nice weekend and I hope you have fun spending some money.

Until the next time
John Strain

I forget too

by bear

Hi everyone, it's me Bear. Yesterday, Daddy wrote about dementia and a whole lot of you left comments. I guess forgetting and getting confused is something about which we can all relate.

Even dogs forget things. I am always forgetting where my tennis ball is, but I have a big basket full of them, so I just go get another one.

I forget rules a lot. If a cat walks or runs in front of me, I forget that I am supposed to listen to daddy. Then I get scolded. I wouldn't hurt the kitty, but what kind of dog would I be if I let them walk around my yard without lifting a paw to show them who's boss? The other dogs would lose their respect for me and anarchy would no doubt ensue.

Once I forgot I was inside and marked the corner of the couch by peeing on it. It is funny how when daddy yells at me my memory gets fixed.

Let's see I am sure I have forgotten other things, but I can't remember them. Hey that sounds funny.

I don't chase everything. I like to watch the squirrels from under a shady bush. They are really funny. The squirrels forget where their nuts are all the time. I see them burying the nuts, then I see them looking for them in a couple of days. They always have a dumb look on their face.

Once I yelled over at one of the squirrels. "Hey are you looking for your nuts," I said. "Yes," he said in a meek squirrel voice. "Try looking between your legs." Squirrels don't have much of a sense of humor, but I laughed for about 5 minutes. Oops, I just remembered that what I said to the squirrel was nasty. Oh well.

Speaking of chasing things, once I forgot I was on a leash and I saw a cat. I took off after him, but he was way outside leash range. When the slack came out of it, I had a real sudden stop. That little accident almost turned me into a giraffe.

Daddy has done some funny things. I saw him almost put the peanut butter in the microwave oven instead of the pantry. Then there was the time he almost put the cereal in the freezer.

I never let him forget when it is time to go for a walk. Sometimes I try to trick him by acting like it is time for a walk when it really isn't. Sometimes he forgets and I wind up getting an extra walk. Hehe.

I guess we all have a little dementia from time to time. Sometimes it is funny, sometimes it is a pain in the you know what, but sometimes it works out to our advantage. Forgetting is a good way to make excuses for not doing things - I hear.

It's almost time for me to remind daddy to go out for one last pee, then I let him pet me a few minutes when he gets into his bed. Once I am sure he is settled in, I go to my blanket and lay down. I sleep with one eye open, because it is my job to guard the family at night and that is something I will never forget.

I hope you have a nice day and if you don't, I hope you soon forget about it.

Bear

Dementia

If the week is particularly stressful, by Friday, I have problems recalling information. I'm talking about things like which actor starred in Lethal Weapon and what was that politician's name that rode around in a tank and became a laughing stock.

I actually know those answers, but that is how my brain reacts. I can't come up with names and phone numbers. I find myself saying things like, "Oh, you know, that guy, you know," and "It's on the tip of my tongue."

OK so most people can relate to this sort of thing - can't you? Lately, though, I have developed another problem. The other day, I was talking to one of my friends about football. The Saints were considering a new quarterback, Drew Breese. I went off on a rant about what a jerk Drew Breese is and how he can't take the pressure and how he is a big crybaby. My friend defended him, but I told him the guy was a major jerk.

About a day later, it occurred to me that I was really thinking about Jake Plummer. So I dogged Drew Breese unfairly all the time thinking about the Denver Broncos and Jake the snake.

I saw my friend again and told him, "You know everything I said about Drew Breese? Forget it, I meant Jake Plummer." It was good for a laugh.

If that were the only instance, I could chalk it up to a brain hiccup, but it happened again today. I got a call from another hospital with a prospective patient. The name set off all kinds of alarms in my head. I told the doctor all about the patient and how we would not take him back for some very good reasons.

Then about 30 minutes later I realized I was thinking about another patient. It all worked out though, because even though I was mistaken, the guy they were trying to send was bad news. The sirens that went off in my head were accurate, but I still had the wrong guy.

To make matters a bit worse, I realized the mistake when I was relating the information about the possible admit to the same friend I had the Drew Breese conversation with.

Sure this is funny in an “I’m glad it’s you and not me” sort of way, but I am about one more mistake away from getting seriously concerned. I need my thinker.

Just remember what Dan Quale said, "What a terrible thing to lose one's mind, or not to have a mind at all"

Until the next time
John Strain

Colors of spring

I really like this time of year. Colors burst everywhere. This red geranium is one example. The colors run the gamut and flowers, trees, and shrubs all get into the act.

The winters here are not very harsh and things stay pretty green as it is. I remember the winters in Missouri. The color brown got quite boring. One of the first signs of spring would be the pink blooms of the red bud tree. I took a photo once looking across a valley. The countryside was bleak and brown, but the blooming red buds were testaments of and promises of a coming spring.

After the red buds came the white dogwood blooms. There was a progression and it was all beautiful.

Sunday, I fired up the lawnmower and cut my grass for the first time of the season. The smell of freshly cut grass is another sure sign of spring.

I know spring is bashful further north and winter still has a firm grip, but it is loosening. Soon the warm breezes and fresh smells will herald your new spring.

Take heart folks, spring may not be at your town yet, but it is not far away.

Until the next time
John Strain