Sunny and chilly... it's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow morning. 3 to 5 inches maybe.. but it may not stick on the warm roads and sidewalks... we'll see.
Before I tell you about my day, let me mention a couple of items I thought were interesting.
Misplaced Comma:
I received an ad from the California Wine Club.. with a picture of the founders and the caption:
Bruce and Pam Boring, Founders.
When I first saw it, my eyes automatically misplaced the comma so that it read:
Bruce and Pam, Boring Founders.
Never Buy Another Razor?
The Haband Company sent me an ad for their "ForeverSharp" razor. "The last razor you'll ever have to buy!"
You can buy one for $14.99 and get a second one free, with additionals just $12.99. Now, I'm sure this is a good product.. but why in hell would I want to buy or use any other copies if my $14.99 one will be sharp forever?
Sneaky Peeky?
The Haband Company also sent me an ad for video-recording sunglasses.. with "Hidden Pinhole HD Camera." It records for up to 5 hours, comes with 4GB of memory with the facility to add more memory, and includes driving lenses.
I like the idea and I have been trying to think of ways to use it. Perhaps I could sneak around drug buying areas and record deals.. or record police-crook interactions. Or maybe just record the jiggles of Marilyn Monroe type gals in bikinis, without them knowing they are being recorded. Or... do you first have to get "permission to record" and not run afoul of a Supreme Court ruling?
And now... this was my day:
I attended the Genealogy Gang meeting in the morning. Bill Amos and Janet Buchanan gave presentations about family "Black Sheep." Also, as we went around the room, there were lots of interesting stories to listen to.
I told them about my Cousin Billy, who has yet to be uncovered by my genealogical study. He made quite an impression on me when I was younger.. he wasn't that much older than I was, yet, each Summer, he would show up at my Aunt Ella's home driving a new car, accompanied by a different "wife". My poor Aunt Ella was doubtful of the marriage situations, but, because he was, after all, kin folk, and his mother was Ella's sister.... she let the couple stay in her little cottage for a couple of days.
Now, Ella's little house, was a "little" house.. with very small rooms, and when she put up Billy and each "wife" they stayed in a tiny bedroom with a tiny bed... and being so small, the acoustics allowed Ella's family to hear certain things that Ella's family should not have heard.
One thing I have always wondered about... Ella's family used an "outhouse" and Sears Roebuck catalogs.. so how did Billy's Boston Beauties feel about that. I guess he was paying them a bunch of money.. which was probably offset by staying at Aunt Ella's free Bed and Breakfast.
I lost track of Billy for decades after that until he somehow got my telephone number at the Social Security Headquarters in Woodlawn, Maryland. He sounded very sick over the phone and told me that he was blind and hard of hearing, and had no money to live on. He asked me to fix it so that he could get Social Security Disability benefits. If I had done that, I would have lost my job... but I told him I would try to think of some way to help him. (I've written about this somewhere else in my blogs, so this may be a little different, to reflect changes in my ancient memory cells.)
I talked to my boss, who agreed with me that I could not do anything for him. However, we decided that since he sounded so bad and sick, perhaps a visit by a Social Security Field Rep would not violate any laws. That way, if it looked like he might be entitled to Disability benefits, he could file a claim with the Field Rep. All legitimate. So, we relayed his name and address and explanation to the Boston Social Security office that serviced that address.
I forgot about the situation until a few weeks later I received a "Report of Contact" from a Boston Field Rep. May I paraphrase:
"I found his house, a brownstone on Beacon Hill in Boston. I rang the doorbell a couple of times, and finally a loud voice bellowed "Stop ringing my bell! Go away, you SOB!" I persisted, and after a while the front door opened and a grizzled man looked me right in the eye and told me again to go away. I then said, 'I'm from Social Security."
Suddenly, this tall man lost inches in height, put out his hands as though he could not see me.. and said... Oh.. I can't see you, where are you? And I can't hear you.. speak louder!""
Needless to say, Cousin Billy did not get to file an application with the Field Rep. Once a con man, always a con man.
The Genealogy Gang agreed, he was a good example of a "Black Sheep."
After this meeting, I went to a session of the Great Decisions Course. This one was on the United Nations. I read the written material beforehand and found it very dull. However, the speaker was a former resident of Singapore, and the holder of many degrees and teaching positions in the US, She made the topic very interesting. Her 69 year old mother helped her with the slides. Mama was very critical because she was "a Distinguished Toastmaster." (That reminded me that I should make arrangements to bring TM teachings to CLV.
After the lecture, we saw a boring video about the U.N. However, it had some nice photos.
The CLV leader of the Great Decision Program this year is a Scotsman, and he wore his green plaid kilts today. I asked him: "What's worn under the kilts?" I expected him to reply, "Not a thing is worn, everything is in working order." However, instead, he said: "Nothing at all." And I know he is right, because I remember seeing a video that showed Scotsmen in kilts marching in London. At one point a massive blast of wind blew one man's kilts almost over his head. That view convinced me that the "Nothing at all" reply was the truthful one.
After this session, I had to hurry to LABCORPS to have some bloodwork done. I had gotten a call that my cardiologist thought that other recent blood tests showed a high potassium level. I thought that such a reading is good, but apparently not. (I guess I have been eating too many bananas.) So, a cautious doctor insisted that I get another blood test right away.
I got to the LABCORPS office close to closing.. and they rushed me into Room 2. I waited patiently for quite some time.. and finally I heard someone say, "Whatever happened to Mr. Vaughan?" Somebody else said, "Maybe he is in Room 2." I was... and they took some blood and left in a huff... well, not exactly, I left in a RAV4.
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I guess that is enough foolishness for today!
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