A busy day

7/2/07 Monday
It’s already 5:30 and I am just now getting to this journal. It’s been a busy day. I am pretty tired now and have to work to stay awake. The newspaper article came out this morning.

7:00 – Dozed off. For you new readers, this is a common problem with traumatic brain injuries. The doctors call it mental fatigue. I often need to take a nap around 2:00 but usually try to keep going. Some days it’s not hard. It is frustrating for me as I was used to putting in twelve plus hours at the two companies I had. Now I get tired like I’m an old man.

So what did I do today? Ran and got a copy of the paper to read the article on us. The picture was great. I didn’t know what to expect but know that Jimmy is a great writer and wasn’t worried. I read it but don’t really remember what it said. Think it was a pretty straight forward account of what I’ve been through and how Cherie and I got back together. I did check the My West Texas blog to see what he put in there. All I found was the video of the “Toledo’s John Doe” news story ABC had done on me that brought Cherie and I together. I had hoped to find the written article so my friends in Toledo could go online and read it. It could well be there and I didn’t see it. I get lost like that.

I know that I worked on the monkey grass border again. Didn’t get it finished but worked slow and steady as I always do. Cherie let me know that Jen from the Sunday school group had called. She was going to meet Cherie at Solid Rock Café for lunch and asked if I wanted to go as well for her husband Wally would be there. That was fine with me as I planned on getting the Bermuda grass seed I’ve been talking about for a week or three. The Solid Rock Café is a…I guess you would call it a diner, that is part of the First Baptist Church of Midland in a building across the street. The building has a gym, skating rink, game room, and who knows what else. Quite a place. We were to meet there at 1:00 so I finished up the monkey grass I was in the middle of and came in to de-sweat and clean up a little.

When we found the place (Had to walk around for there were no signs) Wally was waiting and directed us in. There were greetings and the conversations that go with meeting people in a new place, explanations of what was what and what happened where as they led us to the dining area. It was too much too fast for me to process, in addition to being unfamiliar surroundings, so I had a slowdown. For you new guys that’s what I call the partial seizures I have. They are often triggered by situations like this. Jen and Wally thought I was exhausted from working too hard so I explained what was going on in the slow somewhat slurred speech I have at these times.

The reason Jen was meeting Cherie was to take her out and select a mattress. I don’t remember what we talked about but after we ate the lunch Jen and Wally bought it was time for them to go. Cherie left with Jen and I headed out to get the grass seed. I stopped at Ace Hardware to see what kind of deal I could get on some more apple trees. At first the manager said I could have them for five bucks apiece if I bought all of them. I went out and looked and got to thinking. They were $17.99 and on sale for 75% off. That works out to $4.50 each so I went back to the manager and pointed that out. He sent the assistant manager back with me to the trees. There were 24 apple trees left and some of them were in bad shape. The guy said I could get them for $3.50 and that would be something like eighty four bucks. It’s a great deal but eighty four bucks is a tenth or so of my nine hundred dollar disability check and more than we can spare. I offered fifty dollars for the lot but was turned down so left. Too bad cause that would have given us thirty three apple trees, which would be a great start to the pick your own orchard we would like to create here. No big deal, we’ll get there. Besides, planting nine trees just about killed me and I still have pain from that two days later. But there is no gain without pain so I’d do it anyway. Just like the tortoise and the hare fable slow and steady will get me there.

So I headed out from the hardware store. Stopped at HEB to pick up the organic soda we like so much. The place was a mad house and all that commotion is hard on me. I picked up ten bottles and hit the register as fast as I could. Paid for it and made it to the truck. By now, between the Café and HEB I was done for so decided to forget the seeds and headed straight home. Haven’t gotten a thing done since. It is now 8:15 and it’s taken me almost three and a half hours to write today’s entry. I have to water the garden before it gets dark so bye for now.
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I was just reminded that I went to the landfill this morning, dumping off the weeks worth of garbage. As usual I came back with something. Found two fence posts and a fifty five gallon plastic barrel. The fence posts I will find a use for so will go into the scrounge pile of stuff that may come in handy. The drum I will cut in half. The top half has holes drilled in it and a large square hole cut out. The bottom is untouched so will hold water in addition to dirt or the rocks I collect for use on borders and such.

Cherie picked out a mattress set. I never knew how much those suckers cost. It will be delivered on Thursday. There are a few couples from the Sunday school class who are pooling their resources to get this for us. I don’t know the words to say to them or about this act of love, this example of Christianity the way it should be. Actions speak so much louder than words. In fact words without action are empty, without value, and speak loudly as well but in a sad way.

James 2:14-26
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

So we are grateful and appreciative of this and the many other acts of kindness that have been shown to us in recent weeks by the growing number of people who have been brought into our lives. It has me thinking and wondering. Thank you.