Some days I'm busier than a proverbial 'One Legged Paper Hanger in the Ass kicking Contest'. On other days, life is good and the living is easy. Still with the emotional rollercoaster ride with Sybil at the switch of dealing with Senior Citizen family members one of whom is showing signs of weakened mental faculties has been trying upon me. I am looking forward to mid April when I return to NY for my medical and dental appointments. I need the emotional vaction.///
Trying to hold a conversation with my father is hard as he pauses so long to formulate his thoughts that the pregnant pauses last minutes. It is especially frustrating when he comments on a TV program fifteen or twenty minutes after a specific portion of a program hads passed. As for living down here Meh its warmer than the environments I'm accustomed to but the people really make the place and I miss the folks I've formed friendships with over the years.///
Well the High Holy days of the Irish have passed and its becomes a confusing mess when the revelry of Mardi Gras leads into St. Paddy's day. But its an interesting time none the less.///
Leading into March I've been going to different locations to practice with my Bagpipes, It gives me free time away from my famial responsibilites and for that I am happy enough as the mental focus needed to play the tunes allows me time to de-stress my mind. Yet St. Patrick's Day became a strange stressful and stress free (both) day for me. i started the day with a simple performance at the St. Martin Public Library of playing the bagpipes for the Children's Story Hour. That was followed by returning to my Parents' home for a quick bite to eat and then going over to the Biloxi VA Hospital and performing for the folks living in the domicillary care facility. Those two performances were easy enough with non-critcal audiences. The evening performance in The town next to where my Parents live though was physically challenging and felt as stressful as completing a full marathon. Mentally not physically but both take their toll.///
Regardless I shall also be playing my bagpipes again on Saturday for a Childrens' Interactive Learning Center and Museum in another Coastal City west of where I'm staying. That should also be a stress free event.///
In addition to playing around with the bagpipes while on the Gulf Coast, I've also been keeping up with my running and trying to work out on a regular basis. I've been running circuits in Ocean Springs, St. Martin and Gulf Islands National Park. Along with those efforts to keep active I also observe and watch my environment. By knowing what appears normal, I also see the unusual.///
And for now as Spring is coming into the for I see in the local wilds the signs of nature coming out of it's winter dormancy. This also includes an Alligator resting on a modest mud island in Davis Bayou. So yes I can say i've seen dangerous wild life in the natural setting even though it is surrounded by urban and suburban environments.///
Speaking of Animals, On Sunday March 13th, I came across a small black stray dog. Cute and personable? Absolutely! One I seriously considered keeping, enough so that I took her to the local vet clinic and ensured she had rabies vaccination and a basic physical. OK heart worms too but nothing that can't be treated. So I start the process to get her under my care. A few days later while walking her on leash I finally meet her family and relinquish her to them. On friday March 18th I get a phone call from the Veternary Clinic the dog is roaming and could I please get her. Done and done. So I made reasonabe attempts to return her and ended up leaving her at the family's Parent's home. Since she has a tendency to roam I may become her adoptive family yet again. Still I can only hope that the family becomes more responsible for her. Each time she has been collected across the street from the High Scholl where the Town has recreational facilities of Tennis Courts and a Softball Field. I do like that dog who knows....///
Ah Tennis Courts that keys onto another thing I've been up to. Since my Father's heart attack and subsequent recovery he's been using a walker to some extent. He should use it more often but since pride leads to the fall and he is a very prideful person and doesn't like to use the walker he is certain to take a fall again at some point. Yet, I digress, it seems most walkers use tennis balls as glides for the rear feet. To this end they are easily replaceable but depending upon useage they need to be replaced fairly often. So what to do to avoid purchasing Tennis Balls to replace the worn ones? Why check the Tennis courts in the mornings after they've been used at night and look for any thing laying around. Well I've hit pay dirt with that and collected more balls than I'll probably ever use on my father's walker. What to do with the excess? The Answer came to me in a flash (No not a flask, not that I didn't look in one). As a benificary of the Pyhsical Therapy and Prosthesis Facilities of the Veterans Administration, I knew I had a population that probably had the need for those balls. So I've been making trips to the VA with the excess of balls I collect for the ambulatory residents there. The Balls are actually more welcome than Books and Magazines and with a more immediate use.///
So in addition to collecting tennis balls and playing with the bagpipes as recreational pursuits what have I've been up to? Well running , yes. Still I also have been socializing at the various VFW Halls and Public Houses. I've suggested to the one VFW leadership that approaching the local city government about placing containers for played out tennis balls for donation to the veterans may be a easy enough program to implement as a activity assisting the local Veteran population. Additionally I am hating yard work and Southern Pines with a passion. Pine needles is not straw and to call it pine straw is raising it to a status not worthy of the title. The crap doesn't even make good mulch. I've been raking my Parents' yard on a regular basis to get that crap and the duff up before mowing season begins. As for additional yard work I even had started to remove vines and choking weeds from along the back fence and in the trees there. the worst part is trying to reduce the size of the yard waste so I can fit it into bags for curb side pickup. I hate, with a passion, yard work like this. Give me my chainsaws and let me fell trees. its a damned site easier.///
Well that about sums up what I've been up to for now and who knows, maybe I'll get the motorcycle out for a few more rides and a trip over to Kessler Airforce Base on Sunday for the Airshow commemorating its 70th Anniversary.///
Sunday 20 March 2011; And March Madness marches on!///
I won't be making it to the airshow this afternoon as I'll be going over hopefully and finally to get Suzie/Oprhan Annie a small mixed breed dog I found on her owner's records and off of mine. still a most decent little dog I wouldn't mind keeping. She is a people person of the animal world.///
Continuing on with the March Madness, I've been cleaning my Parents' yard very thoruoghly and have been removing overgrowth that was near impenatrible (yeah my spelling sucks). In the course of doing so I've also uncovered debris going back to Hurricane Katrina. I'll be filling a few more contractor bags with yard waste later but I needed to quite after the termometer was indicating close to 115 in the sun. Yes, It was that miserable and at 11:30 in the morning I was done with the yard for the morning.///
My father is going to be the death of my mother. Pride goes before the fall and thinking he can get around without the aid of his walker is an additional reason he falls. So when I go to get him up I ask my mom to bring his walker around for when I have him up and he starts grabbing for it. He does listen to me when i tell him not to reach for it and to just keep still as I lift him to his feet. Nope He's got to reach. Well the next step is the velcro restraints for when he needs to be lifted. I'm not going to put up with him throwing me off balance by being a stubborn old fool who takes his own advice and no one else's, not even the Doctors. Well, I do whats right and what I can, still, he is trying my patience.///
St. Paddy's Day activites are done yeaaaaaa. Saturday afternoon was my last day of piping and scored 3 complimentary passes to the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center. Those will be given to one of the neighbors as I won't use them. The LMDC is an interactive childrens' center in Gulfport, MS. and is gear for the toddler to pre-teen set. I was providing some entertainment before a children's production of a play and made a day of it.///
Well as it is now 1 PM I'll call it a day on this and get dressed to see what the afternoon brings in the way of misadventure.///
23 March 2011. The calendar shows spring however here is Miserablesippi its frigging hot. 70 degrees farenheit as i ran at 06:30 this morning. Ugggh. Between not wanting to be in full sunlight at mid day and overly humid weather already I can say this place sucks. But atleast the birds singing in the morning make it more tolerable.///
Assholes in the news; Like could give a shit about a potential future King of England. People get married every day of the year. That crap ain't news its putrid pablum for morons. Elizabeth Taylor Kicking the bucket; Not News worthy enought to justify a breaking news announcement on national TV. People die every freaking day and there aren't breaking announcements for them. Now if Mr. Barack Hussien Obama, The President of the United States of America were to be assinated; or Osama Bin Laden were to give him self up and urge extremist Muslim radicals to lay down their arms and persue peaceful meaningful dialog. That would be worthy of Breaking News interruptions. But since the national media chains have lost grasp of what real news is and how to report important breaking events I don't bother with broadcast television any more. TV the saccarin laden pablum for morons.///
In other personal events I've gotten the parents back yard looking more presentable and need to march about with the weed whacker to knock down some begining tendrils for the vines. There is a reason some people should not be home owners; and failure to maintain property while not a major reason should surely be an item on a list of reasons. To hear him say it he's done yard work. When not in this past decade. He had his child slaves in NY state. His idea of yard work is to let things go out of control and have some one else do the work. The worst part is I'm still picking up crap from Hurricane Katrina circa 2005. Yes, I have added incentive now never to be a property owner. unless its a reinforced concrete structure with no trees nearby especially these worthless southern pines. They provide damn little shade and drop needles and pine cones all the time. Only good for paper pulp as its too soft for furniture or construction purposes.///
Still no information on the status of the dog, ohwell at least its in a yard it knows and is comfortable with.
Finally I purchased a new camera having broken one and lost another. So with closing of this and adding it to my blog I'll post a few photos as well.///
Orphan Annie aka Suzie.
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