Past, present & plans 9-22-16

/ Jim McDonald / 6 Comments

Past, present & plans 9-22-16

 

Past

 

I told you guys that we didn’t have any running water after moving to Hughesville. We had what I called walking water, because George and I carried it from our neighbor. However, there was a non-working well fifty feet from our back door and about thirty feet deep.

 

Dad talked about sending me down the well on a rope seat to investigate. I was so excited to do such a thing and a little bit scared too. That task never happened though. I guess because I was only twelve.

 

He did get the old fashioned hand pump well working though, so we carried the water from our well instead of the neighbor. It was six months or so before the family had running water.

 

Present

 

Yesterday I helped a friend, Bill, remove an old weighted window and replace it with a newer double hung window.

 

After the first hour I had to sit down because of my COPD. It took another four hours to complete the job and I had to sit at least eight more times, probably more. During the last hour I felt dizzy several times and thought I was going to pass out, but I couldn’t stop until the hole was weather tight. I used my experience and Bill did most of the work.

 

If you smoke, COPD could be in your future. I would suggest quitting.

 

Plans

 

At sixty two, I suffer from type two diabetes, COPD and, of course, an assortment of aches and pains. I’m sure the COPD is why I’m disabled.

 

Because of these issues I don’t do much. Maybe if I lost fifty pounds and moved more every day, I would be able to last longer than an hour before I had to sit.

 

I know I need to lose weight, because I don’t see very many older fat people; but, it’s much easier to think about it, than to actually do something.

Your three words, my little story: Carolyn’s words

/ Jim McDonald / 2 Comments

Your three words, my little story
Carolyn’s words: Grace, Jewell & Nell

 

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Cousin Carolyn

 

Special note: Grace, Jewell & Nell are sisters. Each one of them are very special to me and I carry them deep in my heart. One is my Mom, one is Carolyn’s Mom and the other one is Butch’s Mom. The story is fiction, but the Adam’s sisters are real and have all passed away.

 

I will not treat the sisters special in my stories, but like all the other residents of, “Sloan”, they’re good people.

 

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My Adam’s family from the Appalachia Mountains then eastern Tennessee

 

They were raised in the hills of the Appalachian Mountains. Each one of them left home before their twenties to raise their own families. After their husbands passed away and the children left the nest, all three moved to Sloan. They pooled their money together and bought a house on Main St. across from, Judy, the librarian. Judy had no siblings or children and her husband was also dead.

 

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Cousin Butch

 

The Adams sisters were known throughout the county as very caring, loving ladies, that had a gift with a deck of cards. Rook was the main card game in Sloan; and the sisters learned that game the moment they were old enough shuffle a deck.

 

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Mack (dad) and Grace (mom)

 

GRACE and JEWELL were partners on Mondays; NELL and Jewell were partners on Wednesdays; Judy and Jewell were partners on Fridays. It would have been easier for Judy if one of them was her partner all the time; however, it didn’t matter to the sisters because they played the same style all their lives.

 

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In the back are Uncle Jack and Aunt Jewell in the front are Jack Jr and Carolyn

 

Judy never had a sister; now, she had three. It was four of a kind. Where you saw one, you saw four. They were thought of, as the Sloan Sisters.

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Uncle Arthur and Aunt Nell

 

There will be more of Adam’s sister in the future

Guest blog: Casual Conversation

/ Jim McDonald / Leave a comment

I would like to introduce our new guest blogger known as, “sweetpea”.

 

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Casual Conversation

 

Wall: “Hi”
Ceiling: “Hello”– in a soft sweet voice
Wall: “How are you?”
Ceiling: “Fine, how do you like my new design and colors?”
Wall: “It doesn’t match me-I’m so drab. Besides, who’s going to like a ceiling that looks like a sunny blue sky, with fluffy white clouds.”
Ceiling: “I do !! I love it” –she’s a sweet little girl and likes pretty things. “Wonder if you will get a new look.”
Wall: “Don’t know yet. I saw some pictures in the corner over there, but nobody could do that !”
Ceiling: “Don’t keep me guessing.”
Wall: “Well, for starters, there’s a can of ecru. What’s ecru?”
Ceiling: “A Victorian cream.”
Wall: “Oh, no , how boring. You look beautiful and I’m still going to be dull and boring.”

 

The people leave. Both the wall and ceiling are unhappy. And they have all night to think about what will happen next.

 

Suddenly people are in the room, moving ladders and stirring paints. The wall and ceiling are attentive and watching. The wall is still mad about the ecru and the ceiling has decided she wants birds in her clouds.

 

Wall: “(pouting) says “you do look beautiful, I’m so so ugly.”
Ceiling: “Wait, look, here comes brown, black, several shades of green and even some blue. What’s that blue for?”
Wall: ” I’m all ecru now, I look so clean and pretty. Wonder what’s next? I’m really getting excited.”

 

All the people leave. Tomorrow is another day. But the ceiling and wall can’t wait for the sun to come up.

 

Wall: “Wake up the people are coming back.”
Ceiling: “Yes, but they are different people. You are really going to be different from me.”

 

People are milling around, opening cans, mixing colors, testing big brushes and little brushes. They are looking at the walls from all angles.

 

Ceiling: “We are both so excited.”
Wall: “And both of us can watch what is going to happen next.”
Ceiling: “Oh, look at the long brown and black lines. They are developing into a huge tree! They have texture, color and depth. They have so much color. Hey, look at that guy on the tall ladder, what’s he doing ? He has the green and is painting all kinds of beautiful
leaves. Can you see them? From this side I can see everything.”

 

Wall: “Oh ! ! I have developed into a stunning work of art, I feel like summer in the sun ! But I want more. The pictures in the corner, remember
those? Well they are drawings, I think more is coming.”
Ceiling: “You always want more, but you are the greatest–I love you.”
Wall: blushing….” I love you too. Hey, sorry I didn’t feel your excitement earlier, look at me..I’m a wonderful tree!”

 
The people clean up again, they are so neat, we can really see so much while they’re gone.

 
Ceiling: “We are alone again to see the art. There is a little light in the corner and it adds so much ambience in ‘our’ new room.”
Wall: “Try to sleep, tomorrow should be a big day and so much fun. So, I wonder what is next?

 
And the people arrive…there is the little girl, she has come to look. She smiles and reaches to touch me, she says how real I am….WOW I’m a real tree ! !

 

Ceiling: “look, they are measuring her….strange….now those drawings are coming from the corner. Look the drawings are a tree house”
Wall: “I will be special, with my own real, live tree house.”

 

Carpenters begin to measure, cut, saw, hammer, nail boards, tie ropes and paint bright colors
and build a real live tree house in the corner , right in the tree.

 

Wall: “I can’t believe we are part of a real play room….the tree house fits the little girl exactly. She can climb up and peep out of the openings
By the ceiling….right by the tree…..

 

Ceiling: ” I can see her, she is a pleasant little doll. Suddenly she begins whistling. Look ! Look ! they’re opening the blue paint. We’re getting
Blue Birds of Happiness.

 
The sun shines brightly through the Windows, the colors are so real…….the playroom is done. The little girl comes back, with her little brother

 

Little Girl: “When you get as tall as me, you can climb into the tree house with me…we will have a picnic.”

 
As the Blue Birds of Happiness take flight from their nooks in the tree and from the sky ….all is good in the very special playroom………

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This picture and the picture of the sweet peas were found on the internet for free.

How ya like my hat?: Mack in the hat.

/ Jim McDonald / 6 Comments

How ya like my hat?: Mack in the hat

 

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Picture taken 2013

 

do not like
my silly hat
called Mack in
my silly hat
cheaply bought
my silly hat
green and white is
my silly hat
Mack in the hat with
my silly hat
tall and awkward is
my silly hat
little too tight is
my silly hat
I did not want
my silly hat
giveth away
my silly hat

 

By Jim McDonald

Your three words, my little story: Gwyn’s words

/ Jim McDonald / 4 Comments

Your three words, my little story
Gwyn’s words: innocuous, glare & copacetic

 

George, Wally and Popper normally sit under the shade tree in front of Popper’s apartment building. They didn’t sit there everyday, but often enough to become a sidewalk fixture on the west side of the park.

 

They were an INNOCUOUS group of older men from Sloan; they didn’t bother anyone, except for Betty. She worked in the diner on the other side of the park; so, they flirted with her all the time. She loved the attention.

 

Betty walked out of the same building Popper lives in and asked, “How you fellas doin’?”

 

Wally said, “Everything’s COPACETIC Betty. What’s happening in your neck of the woods?”

 

“Did you all hear about the body behind the clinic?”

 

George said, “Not much, but we did see the Sheriff and the ambulance across the street the other day.”

 

Popper said, “We couldn’t see much, because of the GLARE coming off of my car. What happened?”

 

“Don’t know guys! Dr. G found a dead guy next to the dumpster, that’s all I know.”

 

“Who is it?”

 

“Some stranger from Wilson. I do know that much.”

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Taken in PA 2015