Past

 

I was stuck in the basement after watching a scary movie. Dad just called down and said, “Come up! Turn off the TV and light.” I turned the tube off and went upstairs.

 

Dad sternly said, “Go back down and turn off the light.” He wouldn’t let me turn the main light on, before I went back down. Walking down wasn’t so bad, but thinking about walking back up in the dark really scared me.

 

I walked to the lamp, slide my hand up under the shade and put right my thumb and index finger on the turn knob. Before turning the switch, I looked around for the monster. I thought maybe to peek behind the couch and move the coffee table out of the way first. Then quickly darkened the room and ran past the top step and slammed the door behind me.

 

Dad grabbed me with a big smile saying, “Good job son! You’re alright, don’t worry you’re alright” He hugged me so tight, that I could hardly breath. I felt so safe in his arms.

 

Present

 

Now I make appointments to be scared. A lady is going to stick a needle in the front of my jaw, then pull real hard till she has what she wants. A wiggly tooth, it’s hurts to bite anything, but I still don’t want her to have it.

 

Last night was my first board meeting at the local “Christmas in April” organization. It was cool, but it interferes with our monthly Charles County Writers Association Meeting. I feel honored to sit on the board, but I have so much to learn about writing.

 

Plans

 

Over the next week I’ll pray about the conflict and talk to a few friends. I have a feeling what they will say. The board is a prideful ego stature building process, while the writing is a pure love.

Past

 

One night in the basement of the Lanham house, I was watching the movie It. Up to then, I had never been more frightened than that night. That show wouldn’t hold a candle to the horror flicks of today. The outer space genre was just getting off the ground.

 

Back to the basement. I was all by myself on the couch while the rest of the family was upstairs. The stairs were to the left in the middle of the basement and the television was to the right. With an simple turn of the head you can see both. Dad yelled down to turn the TV and light off and come up stairs, but the light was next to the TV. Turning off the light would put me walking twenty five feet, then up thirteen steps in pitch black darkness.

 

The monster “It” was in the basement…. Somewhere. However, the light kept him away from me….for the time being anyway.

 

I was so afaid. What you do?

 

Present

 

Today was extremely humid, so I stayed indoors. The sun bakes my fiberglass boat, anything past eighty five degrees puts a strain on my window air conditioner. It keeps running but it can’t keep up. COPD can be a killer.

 

The “happy” for the day was, when a friend dropped off a slab of ribs. He is the best smoker I know.

 

Plans

 

Me and a cousin Jenny are talking about adding her as a guest blogger. Her blogs would be of her and her time with her grand mother. Short little stories combined with her favorite recipes.

Past

One of my cousin’s told dad that I was smoking and that brought on the talk. My immediate thought was, who squealed? Dad was very understanding and had a very gentle way of talking about it. However, only being nine it was easy to be scared of dad, but easier to be scared of the cancer he told me about. I had just started, so it wasn’t hard to quit.

Present

Today I was asked to sit on the board of the local Christmas in April organization. I feel truly honored. I asked my friend what would my duties be and he said in short, I would be an idea man. That’s right up my alley any more, especially since I have forty plus years experience in the construction field. This is a good way for me to stay in my trade of choice now that I’m disabled and can’t work in it.

Plans

I still didn’t walk today, but I think talking or writing about it will help keep me from ignoring it. I can very easily sweep it under the rug and bury my head in the sand.

Past, present & plans 8-9-16Past

It took me two years to pass third grade and the very same year my brother failed second grade. Years later I wondered if something happened at home that affected the both of us. I remember the school talking to mom & dad, but we weren’t privy to the conversation. We both passed the next year, while still in the same school. I have no idea what may or may not have happened. Probably best to let it go.

Present

Yesterday was pretty busy. Had three doctor appointments: the first was with my Podiatrist to pick up my new diabetic shoes, thanks to my insurance company. Second was my Psychiatrist to get my script for my depression meds and thirdly was my Therapist for my depression. Between the foot and head doctors I stopped off at a friend’s to try and help him with his phone. Ran two more errands then hung out at Starbucks until a 5:30 meeting with some friends. My money is never good, so I try to put as many things on one day to save on gas. None of these were physically hard, but it still caused havoc with my COPD. So today I did nothing but rehab.

Plans

I want to start walking even if it’s only for five minutes a day and increase it from there. It’s so easy to plan something, but much more difficult to follow through with it.

Past
One night me, my brother and cousins were playing some kind of ball in the front yard at the Lanham house. This is the first time I remember that the grass would itch if I would roll around in it while hot and sweaty. Someone threw the ball to the left of the house, since I was the closest I got to it first. I thought I saw aunt Bernice in a flowing white gown. Wondering how she got there and changed clothes so quick baffled me, because I just saw her sitting on the front porch. All of a sudden the figure turned away from me and headed toward the fence. What happened next scared me to my bones, the figure kind of glided over the fence and kept heading up into the night sky. I guess it was moving at about a forty degree angle from the ground. I was so afraid that when it was about ten feet or so passed the fence I turned and ran back to the front yard. I was yelling about what I just saw, when I saw aunt Bernice still on the front porch. She sat there and grinned at me while most of the kids ran to the side of the house and saw nothing. However they believed me. I have never forgotten that and have no explanation for it.

Present
I found out today that one of those cousins is in a bad way with her Amyloidosis. Amy for short, is a rare disease that occurs, when an abnormal protein called Amyloid builds up in the major organs, bones and/or tissue. Of course just like any other cancer it can be very painful. There is no cure for it and her brothers and sisters have already died from it over the years.

Plans
I got an email from a friend today urging me to keep writing. Very nice of him to show interest in my guest for story telling by the written word. He said, “you should write thirty minutes a day.” Regardless of what is happening in that particular day. I have to repeat my thought, it was nice to hear that. As I am trying to get this blog off the ground, it takes at least an hour per story and I’m trying to post one or two stories a day.