six days?

10/7/06 Saturday
It is a bright cloudless day. We are six days away from our projected take off date. This morning Cherie and I worked on lists of things we need to do before we leave. The check from the department of agriculture came yesterday. When Cherie showed it to me she said “We can leave now” and started crying a little bit. For her this was a great relief and one less potential problem to deal with. Mostly it gives us the funds we need for our move and initial living expenses. It appears that the taxes on the farm are only about $300.00. Of course I wouldn’t be surprised of something else comes up but we’ll see. We paid Larry $37,000 for his half of the farm and the Department of Agriculture checks will cover that expense in fifteen or so years. Of course we plan on making this a working farm which will provide a significant (for us) income. Even if that doesn’t happen my Veterans disability check will allow us to live comfortably considering we have no mortgage to pay. We are already good at living frugally and our biggest frill is going out to eat at a nice restaurant once a month or so.

This morning I am much sharper than I was towards the end of yesterday. I hope it lasts all day but as always have no clue. It is hard to go from sharp where I function with excellence to slow down to the point where making a decision whether to use a rivet or screw becomes an ordeal that takes me a half hour to make. Then I make the wrong decision. These times may only last an hour or two or all day long. The blood pressure medicine that the VA neurologist prescribed for my migraines has worked very well. I still have some but not nearly as often as before. I think the slow downs (Partial seizures?) have increased because of the added stress moving to Texas is causing.

We will take the check to the bank this morning. I hope that because it is a government check it won’t take ten days to clear. Another “We’ll see”. I just called Wayne to see if he could use the computer table we don’t use anymore cause we gave that computer away. He said yes and reminded me to bring all his paperwork. He should be getting his first check from Social Security before too long. Just has to wait on the government to process the paperwork. I can’t remember if he has the final approval but know the judge ruled in his favor. His first check will cover the two plus years he has been fighting for this so it will be a chunk of change. I had hoped to be here to make sure he spent it wisely but won’t be able to.

Cherie and I just got back from depositing the check and eating breakfast at the Waffle House. It was in the high thirty’s this morning but is warming up fast. Supposed to reach sixty degrees today. There is almost no breeze so it will be a good day to paint. We both have a busy day scheduled as we will have all week. I am going to buy the tools I need to cut the wood this morning. Should call Nate because he usually knows where the best deals are.

Nate wasn’t answering his phone so I called Cathy, his mother. She let me know that Home Depot was having a sale and Lowe’s has tables with discontinued and display items for sale at drastically reduced prices. Gotta go now.

It’s the end of our day now. I got the a circular and jig saw at Home Depot. Got a good deal on them. I dropped by the storage unit to pick up some boxes. Wayne called and asked if I could pick up a package of hotdogs for him. I did and took them along with the glass chess set I promised him. We visited for a short time and I felt bad about not staying longer but there are things that need to be done.

I stopped by Mytee Muffler to see about getting a high flow muffler for the truck. I negotiated a price for both the muffler and oil changes for both the truck and Cherie’s car. I called Cherie and we dropped the truck off and went shopping for CB radios. First we stopped by mom and dad’s to see if Nate was in. They were all in the back yard cleaning up the debris left by a guy who cut down a dangerous part of a tree. We visited for a few minutes and set a date for us to take the family out for our going away dinner. Over all it was a good visit. Jeremy showed up and I couldn’t resist making a comment to him about calling the mayor a horses ass when he showed up at the house with his entourage. It seems that a neighbors daily calls finally got to the mayor so he came out personally. Turns out Jeremy didn’t say it directly to the mayor, just to a cop near enough for Carty (the mayor) to clearly hear. Not the brightest thing I’ve heard of. Not exactly what is suggested in the book “How to make friends and influence people”. Ought to get a copy for Jeremy.

We left then to continue our shopping. I called Eileen to find out she is in the hospital with pneumonia. Need to visit her soon. Bobby’s (Eileen’s son) wife was there so I talked to her about the CB radio’s Bobby had. She gave me his number so I called him. He has two radios that had belonged to Glen before he died. One was new in the box and he said it cost $500. Had all kinds of fancy stuff on it like a switch that changed how your voice sounds. All I want is a simple, basic, and inexpensive unit so Cherie and I could talk as we drive to Texas in separate vehicles and call for help in case something happened. Not worried about knowing where the cops are cause the only way my truck hauling a seventeen foot trailer can break the speed limit is going down hill.

I might get his other CB that is cheaper and used. He wants too much for it but is out of work and needs the money. Bobby used to be one of my employees who put in some years with both of my companies. When I heard he needed work it was a godsend. I have needed help on this trailer and will need some when we load up our stuff for the move. That coupled with the fact that I know him and his family makes it a no brainer. He’ll start working for me probably tomorrow. It’s a win, win situation. He needs work and I need help. Plus his mom is practically family. I’ve always taken care of them.

We picked up the truck and got Cherie’s oil changed by 5:00. I haven’t worked on the trailer all day despite it being a perfect day to do it. We dropped by Wendy’s for a quick cheap meal. Cherie looked at me and said “I can see your really getting tired”. It was true. I just wanted to go home and sleep. Just came down on me that fast. Nothing unusual there but still frustrating as all get out. It bothers me that I didn’t get anything done on the trailer today. Hope to make up for it tomorrow. I can never predict what kind of shape I’ll be in but pray it’ll be good.

The new tenants downstairs are high school or just out of school age. Last night at one in the morning they were partying and one of them was outside yelling F—k and throwing his cell phone. Not good. If they party tonight I’ll have to go down and have a little talk with them. Personally I don’t care cause we’re out of here in a few days but I want to check them hard for the sake of Fred. Let them know they need to be considerate of others in the building. Probably won’t do any good but I’ve got to try. Fred was bitching about them yesterday and I told him that at 89 years old everyone is a kid and kids will be kids. “Fred, you need to be around people your own age. Things aren’t going to get better here” I told him. His reply was that he’ll hold out as long as he could. Hey, he’s lived here some forty six years so I understand the emotional security that is attached to his apartment but he needs help and assistance.

Good night all. Be back tomorrow.