Good weather, nice day

5/20/06 Saturday

Before, this mind went wandering
however it pleased,
wherever it wanted,
by whatever way that it liked.
Today I will hold it aptly in check--
as one wielding a goad, an elephant in rut.

-Dhammapada, 23, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Buddhist teachings.

Beautiful day out. After ten days of rainy cold weather this is a bright relief. I woke up feeling good and running about an 8 on the Bob scale. Still sharp but a headache decided to make its presence known so I took some aspirin and a Tramadol. I didn’t use the medicine the VA had just prescribed for my migraines because it seemed to trigger a bad slow down. I will try it a few times to see if that holds true but not today because there is much I wish to get done and I like having my brain available for use.

Cherie is packing things in preparation for our move to Texas. She has been incredibly happy for a couple of days now and we would both drop into raucous laughter over the silliest things, sometimes laughing so hard we couldn’t talk or catch our breath. It is hard to kiss someone when you both are laughing, but we are getting good at it.

We have been back together for three years now and the novelty has not worn off at all. As I drove Cherie to the storage unit the other day I looked over to her and was again struck. “I can’t believe your sitting next to me. It just amazes me you are here, that we are back together” I told her with all the emotions I felt. This is a conversation we have several times a week, a realization of how blessed we are. Both of us still start to tear up as we look at each other and talk of our love. “Be quiet. Shut up before I start to cry” is a common statement we both make. Me, I’m the big macho guy who has been to hell and back and I get all mushy and weepy when it comes to Cherie. I don’t care, I love my life, which Cherie brings meaning to, and could give a shit what anyone else thinks. My years of impressing those around me are gone now. I suppose that happens when you become so confident in who you are and how you live that what others think becomes irrelevant.

As per my routine I sat to think of what needed to be done, to schedule the day. I need to get Wayne’s medical records together and send them to the lawyer in Kentucky. I was supposed to do that last week but it got forgotten as so much does in my life. The other thing that needs to be done is filling out the paperwork for Lee’s government annuity so it will be released to Larry and I. I will need to call Virginia to get some information from her.

As I started this the phone rang. It was Fred and he asked “Do you have anything planned today?”. “Where do you need to go Fred?” I answered his question with a question. Fred just wanted to go to Radio Shack. “No problem Fred, when do you want to go?” I said. “How about right now?” he answered so it is time to put on shoes and go.

I had presumed Fred wanted to get some more of the light bulbs for his magnified reader he goes through as quick as he gets them. No, what he wanted was a new tape for his answering machine. He’s bought a few over the last three years and I am sure they are not wearing out but who knows what happens as he blindly pushes buttons to make something happen.

Going into Radio Shack I see signs all over that the store would be closed soon. Everything was 20 to 40 percent off. “Fred you ought to buy out their light bulbs while you can” I suggested. He agreed and went with the sales clerk to find a tape for his answering machine. I heard the clerk say “We don’t carry that tape anymore” so went over to assist. “Fred, you ought to look at getting a new machine. The digital ones don’t even need a tape” I piped up. Considering that the machine he had was probably made thirty years ago I thought it a good idea. He groused about not being able to understand how to use a new one so I promised to show him. Then he asked the price and decided to wait.

Getting done there we went back to the car. Fred said “Do you think Wall Mart will have Papermate pens?”. Sure, we’ve been down this road before. Fred wants a particular type of pen and tells me it comes in a package with one black and one red pen. Haven’t found it in the last four stores we have been in. I took him to Wall Mart and we went to the office section. I found the Papermate flair pens but there was none packaged like he wanted and they were out of the black ones. Telling Fred this wasn’t enough, he had to look for himself so I settled back for the upcoming adventure in shopping.

Fred proceeded to put his face inches from each peg full of products to try and make out what it was. “Fred, that’s white out” I explained as he picked up a package with a square container. “Those are large magic markers” I went on. Finally I decided to try and talk Fred into trying another brand. “You know Fred, there are lots of other companies that make the same kind of pen. I just need a pen to make a mark when I use it” I started. Fred said “No. I use Papermate when I make out my list of bills. That’s the pen I use”. Some how I convinced him to give another brand a chance so we got out of there.

That’s the start for our day. Cherie is shopping and I will be driving to the East Side where the cheapest gas is right now to fill up.