Aging Part IV: June's dinner

Each summer over the last 12 years Katy and I have traveled somewhere with our with our long time friends, Jerry and Gretchen Schaefer. Usually we go hiking somewhere. This past week we spent time on Vancouver Island. The company was great, the hikes were beautiful, and the weather was just about perfect; we had a marvelous time. We stayed at a bed and breakfast in Sooke. In the morning, Norm, the owner, would prepare breakfast for the guests. We ate a fairly leisurely pace, gathered up our gear, and headed out to hike for the better part of the day. We would return to the bed and breakfast in the late afternoon, read for an hour and then go into town to have dinner. Two of the nights we ate at the Stone Pipe Grill. The menu is varied and the food is very good. The setting is comfortable, the staff is pleasant, and the prices are reasonable. Between the four of us in two nights we sampled several things on the menu. We had Butter chicken, Ginger Fried Beef, Pad Thai, Chicken Penne, Penne Primavera, and a curry dish. It was very tasty. Besides this kind of food the Stone Pipe serves other food also.

On the second night of eating dinner at the Stone Pipe Grill a couple sat down at the table next to us and ordered their meals. I didn’t hear them order but did see the waitress bring the meals. The husband had a cheeseburger and the wife had a chocolate sundae. That’s it, a chocolate sundae. I was really looking forward to my Butter Chicken but couldn’t help but notice that she was having a chocolate sundae for dinner and I was thinking that looked pretty dang good. I mean come on; ice cream has protein in it. Who knows, maybe it has antioxidants and Omega-3’s too. Okay, it probably doesn’t but so what, it might.

I just had to ask her if that was her dinner and she said it was. Now I want to be like that when I get older. I still want to eat (mostly) healthy foods but if I want to have ice cream for dinner then maybe I just will. I walked over to the table, introduced myself, and visited with them. Their names are Graham and June Brawnell. I believe they have lived in Sooke for 26 years but I’m not sure of that detail. I am sure that June felt she had a big lunch and only had room for a sundae for dinner. June is 72 years old and just seemed to be enjoying the heck out of her dinner. I sure would have. I enjoyed visiting with Graham and June for about 10 minutes. What nice people they are.

I sat back down at our table and chuckled about her dinner. It occurred to me that I wanted to take a picture of her eating the sundae but she had finished it. So that made me wonder, “How full is full?” Okay, June was too full from lunch to order Seafood Primavera or Butter Chicken for dinner, so she just had a sundae. But was she too full to eat a second sundae? I didn’t think so. I went to the back of the restaurant and asked the waitress if she would bring June another sundae so I could take a picture of her. I told the waitress that I wanted to put the picture and a short story in one of my blogs. I had offered to pay for the sundae. The waitress talked to the manager and they just brought it to her for free. I think you can pretty well tell from this picture if June enjoyed the second sundae.















Graham, good husband that he is, did help her eat it.



Seriously, here is a 72 year old woman savoring a simple pleasure in life, a chocolate sundae for dinner. It made me smile in the restaurant and it makes me smile now. Thanks June and Graham.

It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive your cars carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally. Enjoy your weekend.

P

Aging Part III: Making Out in the Car

Last week when Katy an I were riding bicycles she fell. She has a huge bruise on her hip and a smaller one on her elbow. The bruises have gotten worse since last week. I wrote last week how amzaing she was to get out there and try to learn to ride the bike at age 61. I was really proud of her for getting up after she fell and continuing to try and learn to ride. We are not talking about trying to remember something she used to know how to do; we are talking about learning to do it for the first time.

After 90 minutes of riding we headed for home. When we pulled up in the driveway I told her that I was very proud of her and that I was impressed with how hard she worked at learning to to do something new and that she got back up after falling.

We were still sitting in the driveway. I looked at her and thought she is still the same beautiful girl I married 32 years ago. So I asked her if she wanted to make out right there in the driveway. All of my life I think that I have had a lot of good ideas. The thing is, is that some of my good ideas work really well and some of the them don't work at all.

I have no idea when the last time we made out in car was. No idea at all. I know we did but who knows when it was. Heck I'm not sure if we have made out in the car since before we were married. Back then I would bring her home and we would sit outside her house in my mean 1969 Dodge Dart and kiss. It was heavenly.

Now my car has the gear shift lever in between two bucket seats instead of a "three on the tree" manual transmission with a bench seat. I sort of leaned over and tried to twist enough to get my mouth facing hers. Good grief, I don't have the slightest idea how on earth we ever could both twist that far for even three minutes let alone half an hour or an hour. I can't just blame it on the gear shift lever and the bucket seats; we just can't face each other anymore while we are sitting right next to each other. In the end, even as impressed as I was with her accomplishments, we had three quick kisses and that was the extent of making out in the car at age 60. Well heck, that's not what I had in mind, not at all. The bad news is that we just couldn't turn far enough to be even a little bit comfortable making out in the car. How did that happen?!

Ah, but the good news is that back in the house, even at our age, we are still able to make accomodations or other arrangements. Things worked out just dandy. Its still heavenly.

It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive your cars carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally. Enjoy your weekend.

P

Aging Part II: Learning to Ride a Bike

When Katy was seven years old she got a bike. She rode it a couple times before someone broke into the garage and stole it. It was never replaced so she never learned to ride a bike.

She has talked about learning to ride since we have been married. This week we got a bike for her and she is working at learning to ride. When we tried it out in the parking lot it was an effort for her to go even 10 feet without stopping. After about 40 minutes she made three laps of the parking lot albeit it very tentatively.

We went out on the Centennial Trail late Wednesday afternoon. She was anxious to learn but also very nervous. She was particularly concerned about going by people coming the other direction whether they were riding or walking. She stopped and let everyone go by.

We had been riding for over an hour before she fell. She banged her hip and her leg pretty hard. She got back on the bike and continued trying. We went again yesterday and rode again for about 90 minutes. She didn't fall and was able to ride farther without having to put her feet down.




How about that 61 year old girl! Still learning, still trying new things, still risking, still getting up when she falls. Dang it, ain't she somethin'!

It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive your cars carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally.

P

PS Next week look for Aging Part III: Making Out in the Driveway

My Hard Life: Part I

Some days I get up and say, “Nothing hurts, everything works”; it’s going to be a good day. Some days I try hard to remind myself that when nothing hurts and everything works that’s a lot. Some days I think I have a hard life.

Late last night I returned from some fishing in Eastern Washington. Fishing was difficult the first day. I pouted about that. Like I said, I have a hard life. It was good the second day and very good the third day.

My hip hurts from so much wading the last three days on uneven, slippery rocks. My ears don’t work as well as they used to. Maybe I really do have a hard life.

Yesterday I had a potential seller tell me that they have an in-law who is a real estate agent and they need to work with her. Grrr... That cinches it; I do have a hard life.

It’s sunny out. As the years pass, warm weather makes me more and more happy. My wife is beautiful. I had a transaction close today and another home that went pending this morning. Today, “Nothing hurts (very much) and everything works (pretty well)”. I think that’s pretty dang good. Maybe I don’t have a hard life after all.

It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive your cars carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally.

P

Mayor Kendall

This week Mayor Dennis Kendall of Marysville announced his resignation. He was a tremendous asset to the Marysville community.

In 2002 my students and I began working on a four part program to honor veterans. One of the components of our program was the building of a memorial for Killed in Action veterans from the Marysville/Tulalip area. We met with the architect to begin planning in the fall of 2002. The estimate for the cost of constructing the memorial was $15,000-$20,000. We had never raised this much money for a project and never attempted to construct something of this magnitude. A raffle and a ten site “super car wash” were the original plans we had for fund raising.

My students and I made several presentations about the project over the course of the winter and early spring, one of which was to Marysville afternoon Rotary. This group, certainly known for its strong commitment to our community, was very receptive to our program and in particular to helping with the memorial. At the suggestion of Dennis Kendall and Chris Nation we decided to conduct an auction to raise the money. The auction was a huge success; Dennis Kendall was instrumental in that success. He spent several days in our classroom coaching my students through each stage of the process. His communication skills and enthusiasm were tremendous assets. The memorial is like nothing on a high school campus anywhere in the country; it rivals the scope of a state memorial. During the summer the memorial was built Dennis volunteered many hours helping with the construction as well as helping to arrange sub contractors. His deep commitment to our community, his strong leadership, and his willingness to roll up his sleeves and work were all much in evidence these during the duration of the whole project.

Through the years Dennis was a regular visitor to my classroom. He often stopped in to say hello to me and my students. My students always appreciated seeing him and being able to dialog with him so openly.

Seeing the announcement of your resignation brings back so many good memories for me Dennis—so many positive experiences. Thanks you for your years of support to the community and in particular for your willingness to work directly with my students.

I would add, and I do so carefully and respectfully but without specific detail, that I know that Dennis has known adversity and disappointment, the kind that can make a person wonder, “What’s the point of caring?” Some of that adversity was happening while he was in office and helping us. That you maintained a positive attitude and straightened your back Dennis may be the most impressive thing of all. I am always impressed with people who have true emotional stamina. You do Dennis; you most certainly do.

Thank you for all you did for the community Mayor Kendall. I wish you and Sue the best in this next chapter of your life.

It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive your cars carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally.


P