Goodbye February, Hello March

So my daughter, Kimmy says "Daddy, do a blog, and make it profound"......or something like that. So, here goes.

2010 and we are down 2 months. Our winter here is nothing like back East......warm, sunny, and a little rain. Just right. The rain doesn't hurt us....we are waterproof. At least my smart wifey says we are waterproof, and I believe everything she says. I love that woman. (Sometimes afraid of her. See below).

I didn't meet any crabby people today. Hey, it's Sunday....there's never crabby people out there on Sundays. Monday through Saturday may be a little different however. We all meet someone who is crabby on those six days. You know how to fix that. Just smile at them....ask them if they need anything. Watch out though....you being nice may make them crabbier. Oh well. Go on being nice. Maybe that crabby person will be nice once you leave their space....I'm sure that is the case. (hey, that rhymes. Cool) Crabby to happy...all in a very short time. Keep smiling.....your crabby face will have a tough time developing. If you really need to be crabby...it's OK, just put a sack on your head.

I wonder what my mom and dad are doing today. My mom died almost 30 years ago. Dad about 5 years ago. Talk about crabby people....Jeez. Good parents in their own way.

My brother and I had to take my mother (after she died of course) down 2 flights of stairs in her townhouse on a gurney that the coroner provided. Mom was a little hefty at the time, and as we turned the corner on the mid landing, her body shifted and we almost dropped her. My brother and I started laughing, then crying. You ask, "hey Bob and Tom, why didn't the 2 coroners take your mom down themselves". The answer: those 2 boys were little pip sweaks, and they had trembling fear anticipating that task. So, brother Bob and I did the job. Whew!

My 40th high school reunion is being planned, for this coming fall. 40 years! Dang! I gotta practice up on the gator. That was a great dance, and man, I am a dancer! Just ask my wife.

"Hey Chris, is husband Tom a DANCER? No. "Got asked to leave the dance floor when trying to learn how to do country line dance years ago". The only dancing I do today is when Lulu wants to dance, and she thinks I'm the best dancer.....

Speaking of Lulu, I was asked by my granddaughter to play house today. It was great. She's not even 3 yet and is already bossing me around. I used to be afraid of just my wife. Then we had a daughter Kimmy. I'm afraid of her too. And now Lulu. 3 women in my life that I'm deathly afraid of. Of course I wouldn't trade any of them.

I get to make a difference tomorrow working with high school students with special needs. Talk about fun, and rewarding.....that is what life is about. High school students, great students.

It's Sunday night and I'm already excited for lunch tommorow. Haven't even made it yet. What's that about? I dunno. (I don't know) or (I do not know).

It has been fun Chris doing the hall bath. I did pretty good didn't I? Love you.

Is there anybody out there?

I have been stripping wallpaper.

I have been using a steamer.

I have been mixing paint.

I have been applying wall patch.

I have been sanding down wall patch.

I have been vacuuming wall patch dust.

I have walked the dog Arthur.

I have not walked the dog Fido.

I have applied the primer coat.

I have applied the finished coat.

I have been excused, with a hug, from this job.

Amen.

Pass me a diet Ditto.

Tom G.

MORE STUFF..... TO...... DRINK

A dream I had, and my wife woke me up thank goodness......

So there we were, out in the car, and nowhere to go. I told my brother, Bob, that this was a dumb idea. He was not listening to me. Of course, he was only 9 months old, and I was 3. It was a bad day. Bob wouldn't share his baby food with me, so I didn't share my graham crackers with him. I was so mad at him, I felt like throwing him out of the car at 50 miles per hour, but that was out of the question as we were in the driveway......we didn't know how to start the car. Even if we could start the car, it wasn't going to happen. My mom had the keys.

My mom was pretty nice most of the time. She was born and raised in the hinterlands of southern Brazil. Many of the neighbor kids thought my mom was quite exotic. Whatever that meant. Anyway, as I got older, I actually taught my mom to speak English......it was our native tongue. And was she bad at the beginning. She was not a good listener. She did not enunciate, she was lousy at the ABC's, and most of the time just wanted to watch TV. TV was just coming into existence at this time, and it was quite normal to have 550 to 500 people in our living room, morning, noon, and night 6 days a week. It was just unbelievable. Everyone had their noses plastered to the TV. Look down and you couldn't even see your feet. You could only see down to about every ones shoulder blades. It didn't smell very fresh in our house because of this. We needed Fabreze, but Fabreze was yet to be on the market......did not exist.

Time to go now. Buy Diet Ditto at Safeway. It is as good as 7-up, and a half case (12 cans) cost $1.99, when you buy 3. Compare that price to a single 32 OZ. drink.......$1.69! Great value that Ditto, and when ice cold, it goes with any meal. Take care!

I love Coffee

Waking up at 4 AM and having coffee with my wife.....every day.

Answering the phone and hearing 'HI PAPA' .

And then talking to my beautiful granddaughter.

Listening to the birds, the rain, the wind.

Sitting silently on the back patio.

For those people that I come across today, and every day,

can I make a difference for them in some small way?

Looking forward to mowing my lawn this Spring.

Looking forward to barbeque's with family.

Taking Arthur for a walk.

Knowing someday that Arthur will take me for a walk.

and......lots of other joys......

Like drinking coffee. With sweetener, and creamer.

In big mugs, and little mugs. Most of the time hot.

At other times not so hot. It really doesn't matter. I'll drink it

and never complain. It gives me joy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yes.....Coffee. It has really changed my life. Three years ago I never drank coffee. I didn't care for it...didn't like it...didn't think of it. My choice was from the liquor store, and that drink also changed my life. A little over 3 years ago I came home to a living room full of friends, business associates, brother, sister, son and daughter, son-in-law, and daughter-in-law, and my loving wife. They were all there for a reason. To save my life. And they did. I think about 20 people. An intervention.

I reflect back to December 9th, 2006 almost every day. It was that day that these people told me that they loved me, cared for me, and wanted to help me. And before that day on December 9th, I never, ever thought I needed help for anything. Was I ever wrong. I told myself that I could stop drinking anytime I chose to. Like most alcoholics, I did not realize that at this point in my drinking, there was no possible way I could stop drinking on my own, for even a day, or a week, or, forever. It is not possible. I needed help, but was not willing to get help on my own. Remember, I was a strong guy. I did not need help.

Then a true miracle happened to me. It was this. I sat at my desk on a Wednesday morning and prayed a simple prayer...'God, I need help'. I will never forget that prayer. That is all I said. And thinking back now, it is probably the only time I asked for help from anyone, let alone God. But it was an easy way out. No one could talk back to me. But God did answer my prayer. For it was 3 days later that all of those people gathered in my living room for me. And to think that my intervention was planned, by all of these people, well before I sat down, on that Wednesday morning, and asked for Gods help. It was a miracle. And, on that Wednesday morning, my desire to drink left me. I have not had a drink since.

So.....what does this have to do with coffee? It is this. All of the joys that I now have can be done with others, anywhere, anytime over a cup of coffee. And even if it is the worst cup of coffee, I will never complain. The worst cup of coffee gives me a reason to laugh. 3 years ago I had no laughter. God introduced me to really bad coffee, and gave me my laughter back. Thank you Lord.

Now my wife laughs at me with my coffee. I leave cups everywhere. Half full. Full of cream and sugar. Always a cup in the microwave that I warmed up, and then forgot about. I'll find a cup at my desk. How old is that coffee? Ah, who cares. Add some more and warm it up. My perpetual cup of coffee. Sorta fun. And, it fits me perfectly. No worries. Just happy.

Stay tuned. Oh, and by the way. I am now a full time employee at the treatment center that I was once in. Helping others.....it is the best job I have ever had.

More stuff from the new Blogger

Hi Crew. Tom here. I've got my eye on you. Just started this blog and I'm already hearing from people across the world. That's just wonderful. Someday maybe we can all meet at my house. Excuse me for a moment...my wife is yelling something to me......"yes honey, I finished the dishes"....I'm lying, I actually stuffed all the dirty dishes back into the kitchen cabinets. I'll get to them tomorrow. Yes, there is always tomorrow. Just thinking...I ain't using spell check this time, so I really have to concentrate on spelling things correctly. It is a challenge for me, not to use spell check, and, doing the dishes the way my wifey wants. 31 years of marriage (thank you Lord)....I think it's 31 years anyway. "hey honey, how long have we been married?" 8 Years! Holy crap....I think I've been in a time warp. "Honey, our kids are 28 and 26" Not our kids? Where have I been. OK, enough of this.

Now to get serious. My wife told me that my son is going to start a new job within his company......my son is a Biologist, and is halfway through his Masters in Biology from the University of Nebraska......doing it through the Internet. Sort of peculiar as he and his wife live in downtown Nebraska. Anyway, his new assignment is to watch for wildlife and marine life off of a boat, that may be affected by a new pier being built with lots of noisy pilings being pounded into the earth....6 month assignment starting in June. My wish for my son is that he sings "I'M POPEYE THE SAILOR MAN" to the boats captain every day. That's the kind of stuff our world needs. I think so. I'm very proud of my son. He is a very smart guy, and he is married to a very smart lady, who just received her masters also in Environmental Science. Hey pal, what is mitochondria? Text it to me.

My sons name is either Bill, John, Allen, Todd. He lives with his wife in the city of Nebraska, Oakland, Tacoma, Missoula. Good luck.

OK, what else. Talking of family, I am so proud of all of them. Even the ones I've never met. Those guys are probably good people. But, my wife, my beautiful daughter, her husband, and my 2 grandchildren, plus my son and daughter in law.....I could not be more proud, and I am very blessed. Someday I'll let you all know real names, give pictures, towns, and generally more personal information. I will do that when my wife lets me. I'm afraid of my wife. She's scary. Well, off to do some dusting. I love dusting. I love life. Thank you Lord.

Well....here I go with my first (what Bloggers call 'Posts') Post cereal. My beautiful daughter helped me set up this thing, so really this is my second post. That animal hanging over my shoulder in my first post is my dog. His name is FIDO. FIDO is about 8 years old.
The picture of me in my first post is not really me, but it is a picture that my wife liked, so I used it. I love my wife. My day today has been busy.....packed my van with a bunch of stuff out of a warehouse we own. My wife says she owns 90% of the warehouse...I own 10%. 31 years of
love and affection. Now....I have to get some paperwork done for my business....meet a couple of customers later on, then come home, cook dinner, do the dishes, dust the furniture, clean the bathrooms, and all kinds of other man things. I haven't come across any crabby people today, but the day is young...I love meeting crabby people. I try to make their day better by doing some foolish thing.....like smiling at them, saying hello to them.....it does work. Stay tuned.
Over and out, and we will see you again.

First Post!!!!!!

Welcome crew. This will be fun. Stay tuned.