Past Milestones

Just Biding Its Time

Collateral Snake Damage

   Hey, snake. I'm sorry if you ate the Borax and sugar mixture, but I have to go on the defensive  against the invasion of ants. Raid spray and Raid Max Ant Baits have not deterred them, nor evidently you either. So, as you can see, I've tried the time-tested blend of sugar and poison. You don't have to eat it, but since you persist in hanging out on my front step, the die is cast.

High School Sad Irony

   As a high school student, I had little hope that I could go to college, though I desperately wanted to. My father was retired by then. We had no money, and, as far as we knew anyway, student loans were well in the future. There were very few scholarships, except maybe for super star sports. So things looked bleak. As it turned out, Dorothy and I were saved by winning the New York State Regents Scholarships. It was a piddling amount even in those days, but the State College then had no tuition, so the awards covered most of the registration fees and cost of books. Of course we had to commute, a nightmare lasting 4 long years. But I digress from my point.
   That being, when I was a senior, only one teacher, Mr. A., stepped forward to try to figure out a way for  me to go to college. He said he thought I belonged there. He said he himself had attended night school, at Siena College, and thought it might be an option for me. (Though all I could think of was how the heck could I ever get there.)  He offered to look into it for me, and even met with me after school to discuss the possibilities. His fiancee, a fellow teacher,  waited in the car; nothing untoward was going on.
   Those two teachers married and moved to New York City. They had one son. The couple attended our 20th Class Reunion. Mr. A. said he no longer taught English but was a guidance counselor in a Long Island school. His son, then about 14, attended private school.He seemed proud of him.
   The son is now imprisoned, having been found guilty as a serial killer, and  is serving a 61-year to life sentence. He is identified on Murderpedia as The Angel of Death.
    Mr. A. has died, but his wife survives, and remains  a close friend to a member of my graduation class.

Call the Mechanic

   As I drove home this afternoon, I passed a John Ray tanker truck being towed on Route 67. It caused me to wonder if there are any mechanics who do road service. I thought of Herman Schroder who was chief mechanic at Colony Liquor in Kingston, NY. He was the one to call if there was a problem with any of their fleet of delivery trucks.
   It was in late November in 1977 when Herman received such a call, on a chilly night, past supper time. He set out to the disabled truck which had broken down near Newburgh, got it running, and left in his own vehicle to drive home. The repaired truck was behind him. The driver saw Herman pull over and cut his engine. And that was the end of his life, at the age of 69.

Cleaning Cabinets

   Yes, I know I tend to save everything,

and I do have 11 kitchen cabinets, all of which have a top shelf I need to access via stepstool or such. So I don't clean them that often any more, but I don't know how to explain a family of honey bears.

Love---Apropos of Nothing

"Yet each man kills the thing he loves.
  By each let this be heard.
  The coward does it with a kiss,
  The brave man with a sword."