11/19/05 Saturday
It is a bright cloudless morning and the temperature may actually get up to 50. Cherie has gone to work now. She didn’t have to be there till 9:00 and that helped make things more relaxed as she got ready. I already showered and shaved this morning. Off to a good start.
Fred may have me take him to Ed Schmidt Chevy (or some dealership) to look at a Cadillac. His mechanic, Jeff at Firestone, had told Fred he should get another car because the Lincoln is worn out. Fred would complain every time he had to pay for a repair and I would just say “Your car is old and worn out Fred. It’s just going to be a money pit.”. “Do you think I should buy a new car?” Fred would ask. We talked about that and I told him that he could make car payments with what he paid for repairs. As we talked and he went back and forth whether or not to buy I said “Fred, your getting old and you only have so many years left. Treat yourself and enjoy what you can. It’s your money. You can’t take it with you.” or something like that. That was a month or so ago. (Could have been last week, I really don’t know. I can remember things but not be able to put a time stamp on it. It’s weird to be me.)
I am fairly clear this morning. Running at an 8. I think I should call Fred and see if he is up to going today and if so schedule a time so I can plan a day.

Called Fred and went through the traditional “How you doing” exercise. Fred asked why I called so I asked him if he still wanted to go to the car place. He thought I was talking about going right now so I said I wasn’t in a hurry and wasn’t ready anyway. We will leave at 11:30.
I’ve opened the windows to get some fresh air into this apartment. It’s chilly and that motivated me to get dressed. I had decided to put my timeline on the blog probably a month or so but needed to edit it. Of course I have forgotten to do this every time I remember I need to. I know that sounds strange but here’s how it works with me. I am doing whatever and I remember I had a timeline and then that I wanted to edit and publish it. Then I would say to myself “I’ll do that today”. Moments later I’m doing something else and it’s gone, floating away to be remembered at some other time.
So with that said I will pull it up and it will show on the bottom bar so I can see and remember.

OK I’m driving a Cadillac now. We just got back from Ed Schmidt with the car Fred bought. Going over Fred had declared how he was not going to get bamboozled and “I’m not in a hurry. I can walk out anytime I want to. I don’t have to buy a car today”. “That’s right Fred” I assured him. Getting into the dealership from Dussel road was tricky. Had to drive through the service lot and wind through the rows of cars to get to the front. Once there I couldn’t figure out where the used car section was. Fred pointed down the lot exclaiming “The Cadillac’s down there Bob. This is all new cars.”. We are moving past used cars as he said this and there were new trucks where he wanted to go. I know Fred hasn’t been here to know where the car was and that he can’t see what he’s talking about so I parked at the main showroom to go in and find someone to talk to.
Now Fred gets anxious as he points to a small building that had a big sign saying “Leasing – Renting”. “That’s where you go Bob. That’s where the office is” he tells me “Go over there”. I dutifully obeyed and drove over there, parked, and got out. I looked around as Fred held on to the car because he didn’t know where to go.
A sales man came over and asked if we were looking for leasing - renting. I am sure he has seen folks make that mistake before because years ago the building was where the used cars were handled. Anyway he saw us coming and was on it. He told us to just go back and park where I had just been and he would get with us.
I got Fred back in the car and returned to the parking space we had just been in. As soon as I got out the car a guy coming out the door started up a conversation with me. When he learned Fred was looking for a Cadillac he said “I send a salesman out to you”. Whoever the first guy we talked to was he never had a chance to “get back with us”. We were welcomed like water in the desert, they were glad to see us.
The guy sent out to us was a little goofy. He would answer every question Fred had with a question. At first he would talk to me and I would tell him to talk to Fred cause he is the one buying the car. He would look at Fred and then start talking to me again. “Hey, he’s the one to talk to. I’m just the driver.” I let him know. With this he started talking to Fred but would always come back to me.
“How much are you going to give me for my car?” Fred asked. “What do you want? No don’t worry about that. I’m here to help you” the salesman replied. After this kind of back and forth he told Fred that he would have the Cadillac Fred was interested in brought up.
It was a black Cadillac that was called something I can’t remember. Not a model I was familiar with. It was small. Not much to it size wise. Fred started looking through it telling me it was nice until he saw it had a sunroof and that was it. “I don’t like this” he said “I don’t want this car”.
The sales man, seeing this sale vanishing, spoke up “I’ve got another Cadillac”. Fred was inclined to go home so I told him to at least look at it. “What kind of Cadillac is it?” Fred asked. The salesman told him it was a Seville. “Nope, I had a Seville. They’re no good” Fred said. I asked Fred what year his Seville was. “It was a 78” he answered. “Fred they make them allot better now” I told him and the salesman went on a discourse about the North Star engine. Fred agreed to look at the car so it was brought up.
This looked more like a Cadillac. Allot bigger than the first one. I could tell it had been repainted which is an indicator it has been in a wreck. Fred opened the door and began looking around. He liked it and started asking the salesman questions. Now begins again the dance. “How much do you want for this one?” Fred asked. “That depends. How much do you want to give?” Joe Slick salesman retorted. I was getting tired of this so started kind of directing things rephrasing Fred’s questions to the salesman and requiring him to respond. Many of Fred’s questions couldn’t be answered till the dealership appraised his car but Joe Slick kept trying to get a commitment.
Finally I told Joe Slick to go in and get the numbers so Fred could get a handle on this because Fred was just getting confused. The first proposal he brought was ridiculous so Fred got upset and sent the guy back to try again. He came back with payments that were in the range Fred wanted. After all his talk I expected Fred to go home and think on it but he surprised me by telling Joe Slick he’d buy it.
We unloaded the garbage from the Lincoln and transferred it to the Caddy though I would like to throw some of it out. Then I drove it home. Fred needed to get on his breathing machine so we agreed to come out later to go through the garbage from the Lincoln.
Right when we started Cherie called. She was just getting off work so I told Fred we should wait for Cherie so she could ride in the car. We did and Fred wanted to go show the car to Barb so that’s where we went. Fred had to bang on the door for a while to get Barb to answer. When she did she would not come out to look at the car so Fred came back and I took him home.
Cherie and I went to the park for our walk. It is always great to spend time with her and today we walked farther that I think we ever have before. We would come to areas that were completely new to me and Cherie would tell me we have been here before. That’s life with tbi and short term memory loss. I get to enjoy things for the first time again and again till it sticks. We saw some bucks for the first time. They were skittish and ran. I think I got a picture of him but will have to download them to see if they came out.
They came out pretty good considering I don’t know what I am doing. I got lucky on the buck as I shot the picture literally from the hip, hoping he was in the frame. It worked.

It is 8:32 PM right now and I am at St. Ann’s Emergency room. Cherie and I had just finished dinner and I had destroyed one of her pots by forgetting I had turned the burner on high to quickly make the water inside to evaporate. I got distracted and it wasn’t until I smelt the burning pan. I rushed in and picked up the pan. The copper bottom remained on the burner. Shit.
Anyway we were just settling down to relax in bed to the soothing sounds of the TV when the phone rang. It was Barb asking if I could take her to the emergency room. She said her jaw was infected and swollen up and when I had taken her in for this before they told her that if the infection spread it would be dangerous.
I got dressed and Cherie decided that she would go to Jo Ann Fabrics. I grabbed this laptop and Fred’s caddy and left. I picked up Barb and she was talkative. I got her to the emergency room and when I could see her in the light her jaw was ratcheting back and forth it was amazing she could talk. Her cheeks were blotchy red and she was giggly. I’m no doctor but I been around. It sure looks like crack cocaine but who knows, I can’t say for sure. She just called me to tell me they will be giving her a shot for this like the last time. Beats me.
Barb just called again. I’m pretty sure she’s high. There is nothing I can do about it. Dixie is freaking out and calling Barb every few minutes. She wants bleach to clean and asked Barb to find some and then for me to go get some. I told Barb no because this is part of Dixie’s mental illness. She will clean till her hands are raw from the bleach and bleeding. She obsesses about germs and is in constant fear of them.
I took Barb home and she was buzzing all the way there without stopping for breath. She told me proudly that she got a script for some pain pills. I have to wonder if that is why she went. I’m tired so will get this published and turn in for the night.