Class Reunion

This year will mark the 30 year reunion of my high school class.  I really wish I were excited about this because I have not seen most of those folks since I left school.  However, I have mixed feelings about this.  I think everyone wishes they had been more successful in their career or perhaps had the perfect family.  Having good health at this age is always a plus.  You have a natural curiosity about what happened to the girl you were sweet on or the friend who had a plan to make a million dollars by age 25.  How many of us thought being 25 was old?  I know I did.  There were awkward moments too.  I remember when I got caught smoking on school grounds.  I knew I was in trouble but didn't see the need for all of the fuss they made over it.  After all, it was just a cigarette.  It was only a cigarette this particular time.  I didn't get into a fight in high school even though I came close a few times.  I had a problem with temper in grammar school and I got into a lot of fights.  After grammar school I told myself I wasn't going to fight in school anymore.  For the most part I was a good student. I did my work and if I applied myself there was a lot I could get done.  I wasn't a great student but I was solid  student. I still am.

Have you ever known someone from your school who you recall their face but you can't remember their name?  Someone who for the most part was quiet and seemed to fade into the background without being noticed?  In fact, if it were not for an old annual sitting around you wouldn't remember them at all?  That person was me.  Most of my friends were a year of two older or a year or two younger.  I connected with people who were not necessarily classmates.  The classmates I really cared for moved away during my high school years.  This was not their fault it was just the way things worked out.

Now I am 30 years older and have lived a lot of life.  I have lived much of it for the Lord who I love so much and have given my life to.  I have lived it for the family whom I am so devoted to.  I lived it for an industry which was pretty much run out of this country.  I have lived it the best I knew how to.  So I ask you today, what is success?  Is it only finances and a great amount of friends?  Is it just rising through the ranks in your career?  I think it is much more than that. I think success is to look back and not be willing to change a thing.  Success is such a deceptive topic.  Success is truly relative to the person.  So many things in life depend on circumstances that are beyond our control.  I haven't made my mind up completely if I will be going to this reunion.  I would like to see some of those people.  I know that none of us are the same person.  I know  I am not.  However,  there was a lot of hurt in those days too and the feelings from the ghost of high school past are the most haunting of all.  It brings up memories of things which happened in my life when my life wasn't good.  The reunion isn't until October so I still have a little time to mull over these thoughts and feelings I am having.  I will talk to the Lord about those feelings and then make up my mind.  I will let you know what I decide.

The journey

Today I wanted you update everyone on my continuing saga of losing weight.  I started walking a couple of months ago and I have regained my wind and my distance.  I have to admit that I haven't been the most faithful at sticking to the program.  I am going about twice a week instead of everyday.  I am going to have to change that part.  There is something therapeutic that happens inside of your head after you walk the first mile.  I have in the last couple of months lost about 10 pounds which is just OK considering that the last time I started walking, I lost 30 pounds in a little over a month.  That was 15 years ago though. I really wish that I had maintained what I had then with some exercise.   Hindsight is 20/20 though.  I am not starving myself this time either.  I eat pretty much my normal diet and cut out the second portions.  I have eliminated any drinks and most food containing sugar which is probably a good thing.  I am drinking only water, coffee and green tea.  The occasional diet soda.  I mean the very occasional diet soda!  I don't particularly like the taste of the sweetener they use for those.  I think I can keep up with these kind of changes on a permanent basis.  That is what I think it will take to keep the weight from returning like it did the last time.

I can't say that after losing only 10 pounds I have those ripped abs of steel!  Not even a 6 pack to be seen.  I suppose my belly resembles more of a 2 liter bottle of soda covered with a shirt.  I think I will keep it covered with the shirt for just right now. :) However, something is going on with my body.  I notice that I am able to wake a little quicker as of late.  I have a little more spring in my step.  I know that my attitude is better!  Right now I am going to put on my walking shoes and go out while the morning sun is shining.  So I will continue this little adventure of mine in another month or two to let you all know where I am at with this. 

Spring Flush!

I have been like a kid in a candy store the past week! My roses started their Spring flush. Now I have neglected them over the past 3 years because I could not work with them due to arthritis. My new medicine hasn't cured it, but I can do things a lot better this year. I had 8 plants that I moved to a special part of my garden. This is my rose hospital. These plants were alive, but just barely. I put them in a place that gets full sun for most of the day. It is just a better place for them. It is next to the woods so that I can toss the less fortunate out there. I lost most of my roses through neglect and I lost one to stupidity. I tried to use some fertilizer that was too strong on my beautiful Knockout rose and ended up over doing it. I burned it up! Now I only use a water soluble fertilizer. I was able to take some canes from it before it completely died and had many offspring from this one plant. Let me show you some of the roses in my garden this year.

Above is an antique rose that I grew from a cutting. This is a three year old plant. My mother in law brought this rose back from Ohio with her to North Carolina when she was a teenager. That is the way I understood it. My mother in law will turn 90 years old this year. I am sure this was a popular garden variety rambler in its day. I don't know the name of it. This rose has the classic rose fragrance. I will be taking more cuttings of this one this year.

This rose is a rugosa called "Sir Thomas Lipton."  It stands about 4 feet tall as a three year old shrub. It blooms several times through the year, but the Spring flush is the most vibrant. Believe it or not, this is a bad year for this one. I have seen this rose with so many blooms that you could barely see the foliage. It has a sweet clove fragrance.

This is a floribunda rose called "Europena."  It was mislabeled as a "Mr. Lincoln" hybrid tea. It is a small compact little rose and a good companion for annual bedding plants.

This is a "Mr. Lincoln" rose. A hybrid tea with long stemmed red fragrant roses. I wish that I could get a field of these to bloom in February for Valentine's Day! I have trouble getting this one to live! I thought that it had died last year and it came back to what you see here. It requires pampering and it will grow up to about 6 feet tall. Kind of ugly as a stand alone rose because it is gangly in appearance. Better suited to the back of a rose garden to hide the long gangly canes. One of the best fragrances in the rose world!

This is a "Sunny Knockout" rose that I bought this year. It will grow to about three feet tall by three feet in diameter when it is fully mature. I love all of the "Knockout" varieties because they bloom continuously through the growing season. No fragrance here though. That is the only fault that I have found with this rose. These blooms start out vibrant yellow and fade to a cream color. 

The last rose that I want to show you is called "Pink Grootendorst."  One of my favorite rugosa roses. Hardly any fragrance, which is unusual for a rugosa. Grootendorst also comes in white and red varieties with the same bloom form and carnation appearance.

This is not all of my roses, but I have to stop somewhere with this post. :) I wish these roses had been in better form this year, but that will be something to work on throughout the season. I have yet to deal with the Japanese Beetles, on whom I will show no mercy this year.  I am glad that I was able to have any roses at all to show you all this year. That in itself is somewhat of a miracle. My wife calls this my "therapy." I suppose that she is right. Perhaps I will go outside after while and have a group session. :)

Dearly Beloved

The day I got married was a happy day in my life. That day, I slept until noon! :) I was working a swing shift and I was adjusting to being off for a few days from the night shift. Usually I could make this transition pretty well but this time it took a couple of days. I woke up that day with a lot of happiness and didn't have a care in the world. I had to be at the church at 5:00 PM and the wedding would start at 6:00 PM. So what does a bachelor do on his last day? He wastes time doing a lot of nothing. I did this well until about 4:00 then I realized that I had forgotten to buy the bridal bouquet. "Oh No!" was the first thing out of my mouth. I called the florist to see what time they close on Saturday and they said 4:30. I said, "Could you do me a favor and see me at 4:45?" I told them my situation and they laughed at me, but did agree to this. They put this little bouquet of daisies and roses together for me in about 20 minutes. It was very nice but I had to pay through the eye teeth for it because of my forgetfulness. I also kept them after their normal hours. It was then that I was aware that the time was now 5:15. I noticed that I was starting to wring my sweaty hands.

"OK Khris, time to get it in gear!" So the church was about 20 minutes away at this point. I was dressed and had the bouquet and got there at about 5:45. The traffic didn't cut me any slack. So now I have this bouquet and give it to the bridesmaid and they take it back to my future wife. The preacher, my best man, and I all go into this little room in the back. "Man am I glad that's over!" Then these two proceed to tell me how it isn't over and what to expect. The preacher had laryngitis from a virus and was barely able to speak. About then my legs started to shake. The shaking happened right before the hyperventilation. I haven't been nervous the entire day and all of a sudden, I am terrified! The next thing I knew, it was time to stand at the altar. We proceed out and everything has begun. I was sweating, my knees were shaking and I was just a nervous wreck! My brother was my best man and I could see him smile at me. That was encouraging! He used to only smile at me before he beat me up! How comforting! The music started and I saw my bride. She was the most beautiful sight that I had ever seen in my life. She had the bouquet that I had almost forgotten and her father was walking her toward me. I remember the vows and I remember the introduction of the new couple to the congregation, but most everything else is a blur. The associate pastor had to deliver the final prayer because the preacher had lost all of his voice just after he pronounced us man and wife. I also remember seeing my car as we left the church. It was pretty well made up. All sorts of things written on it and all manner of debris on it. That did not really bother me, it was a Ford and not really a good looking one. This was an improvement actually! :)

Now my bride had woke up at 6:00 AM on the day of our wedding. She had a million things to do before the wedding. She had a lot of family in from out of town and it was very chaotic for her. By the time we got to her apartment after the reception, she was exhausted. For that matter I was too. I would like to say it was a very romantic evening but we were both so wasted from nerves and everything else that we just slept. We had relatives and well wishers over until almost midnight. She had this little twin size bed and we both tried to sleep in it. When I woke up, she was on the floor. She told me there just wasn't room on the bed for both of us. So much for the romantic wedding night. One thing is for sure. It was truly a memorable day for a lot of other reasons. :)

To Mama

Happy Mother's Day! I hope that today will be a joyful memory for all of you. Today I want to share memories of my mother. Some are very happy and others, not so much. My "Mama", was the third of eight children. She grew up on a farm when the predominant crop in the fields in South Carolina was cotton. From what I remember her speaking of, it was a lot of hard manual work. She had six sisters and one brother, so all of them had to work in the field. They were sharecroppers. My father's family was too, but that's a story for Father's Day.

Mama met Dad in the late 1940's and they dated for two years before getting married in the early 1950's. My brother was born first and I followed in 1961. I remember a happy childhood for the most part. Dad worked in the textile mill and Mama was a housewife. My brother and I loved each other, but we fought constantly. I don't mean argued, we fought! I developed a sharp tongue and a foul mouth as well as a quick temper. The temper part plagues me to this day, but I have gotten a lot better at self control. We were poor, but we didn't know it. I had good parents, we weren't abused or mistreated. Spankings were considered the norm if we misbehaved. It wasn't abuse, we knew the rules and penalties. Mama never spanked me with her hand. She would make me go get my own "switch" off of a small tree or bush. She would use that. I learned that getting the biggest limb I could get worked best for me. She would feel real bad about hitting me with something big. :) If you got a wimpy switch, that just made her more angry.

When I was ten years old, Mama got sick. She cried all of the time and thought people hated her. She became withdrawn and fearful. I had no idea what was happening, but Dad had to do something. That's when Mama was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. She spent a lot of time in the hospital and the rest of us just did the best we could with sharing her household duties. This is where I learned to do a little cooking and other domestic tasks. Folks, no one can replace Mama! No one can say the right word when you are hurting, and no one will ever love you like your mother. After all the hospital time, medication, and shock therapy, she did get some better. Schizophrenia is not something that gets cured. Not yet at least. Life was different after that, but I always loved her just the way she was. The only thing I can recall that I didn't like was that if she thought someone wronged me, she would let them have a piece of her mind. That proved to get me into hot water with a lot of my friends and others that I knew. It was just how she perceived it.

I lost her in 2001 to congestive heart failure. I miss her more than I can say, but I have so many happy memories of her. I hold them close to my heart and mind. If your mom is gone as mine is, do something today that you know that she would have enjoyed. If you still have your mom, tell her today how much you love her. Don't let it go unspoken. Do what you can for her even if she drives you a little crazy sometimes. Remember, no one! loves you like your Mama.

Happy Mother's Day!

This is going to be short today. I have something else planned to post here tomorrow for my mom. So I wanted to take the time and opportunity to wish all of the women that read this a very happy Mother's Day! I hope that it will be special for you and that it will be more than you could ask for! You ladies put up with a lot from us husbands and the kids throughout the year. Trust me, I know. :) It is only fitting that you have a day dedicated to yourselves as mothers. This would be the perfect opportunity to ask your kids to do an extra chore or two. :) Even the husbands might get into the spirit with a back rub or something. I think you should push it for all that it is worth. ;) Happy Mother's Day everyone!

That new car smell!

A friend of mine bought a new car recently. I could tell by the way they spoke that they were very excited and happy about it. I was happy for them as well. Nothing like that smell of a new car. I haven't had that pleasure in quite some time now. I haven't bought a new car since 1990. I buy disposable cars. You know the kind. You find someone selling their old car that is parked in their yard. I do this because I hate car payments. Now once again, this is a personal preference and I think that you should do what is right for you. However, disposable cars are right for me. In 1982 I finally gave up the car that I had when I started driving. To this day, that was my favorite car with the most precious memories. My first date, showing it off to my friends. The cruising! Lets not forget the cruising! This car had passed its prime though. It was blowing oil from the motor and it was getting difficult to maintain.

I found someone that was selling a 1971 VW Super Beetle and I had always wanted a smaller car. I bought it for about $1000, which was a pretty penny then for a car that was 11 years old. I put this notebook in it so that I could log all of my expenses in it for the car. I was going to save a fortune with a smaller car! I paid for it and drove it away. Now in my part of the country, when you make an agreement and shake hands, what you bought is your problem. Even if it dies before you get out of the driveway! It didn't exactly die right then. It did start to rain on the way home. That is when I found out that the wiper motor didn't work. Well that cost a $150 dollars. So I logged that in my book. I couldn't get the gas milage that I wanted out of this car for some reason. I then had the carburetor rebuilt. That was right at $100. One day the horn stuck on the steering wheel. That was another $35. I put a new radio in it, which is another post in itself. That was $250. CB radios used to be a big deal down here. I put one of those in. While doing the drilling for the mounts, I drilled through the gas tank. Not even going to say what that mistake cost me. This car was bleeding me dry! One day I was out with friends on a Sunday afternoon. A Porche 911 pulled up beside me at a stop light and revved its engine. I looked over and nodded and gunned it when the light turned green. I got off to a good start but was overtaken quickly. I'm in a Bug for goodness sake! That is when I heard this "Pop" from the engine compartment. The pop turned to silence as I coasted into a parking lot. I finally found someone to tow me home. I had dropped a valve. This cost me almost $400. I have had this car less than 2 months and I was about broke. I went to the used auto sales lot and bought a 1979 Ford F-150 truck with what remained of my money. You could stick a fork in this country boy! I was done! No more Bugs for this boy. I could have had the engine rebuilt in my old car for what I have spent. I did sell it for what I paid though. I would like to say that I made better decisions in the years to come. Some were, and some weren't. Those are the breaks. If any of you are ever down this way and are looking for a car, I have this "creampuff" out in the yard I will make you a good deal on. :)

What do you think doc?

I really dislike having to go to any doctor. I am not afraid to go to a doctor, but I just hate the time it takes, and the cost involved. Before I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, I went to several specialists trying to find out what was the matter with me. I went to three different doctors without getting a diagnosis. In fact, they said it was in my mind. I still don't understand how not being able to raise my arms above my head constitutes mental illness. This farce cost me a fortune! Finally, I changed General Practitioners and my new doctor found the problem in less than 30 minutes. This experience changed the way that I viewed those in the medical profession. Not just regular doctors, but dentists, optometrists, chiropractors and all of them. My old view was that the doctor was a highly trained professional that was dedicated to my well being. I was not to argue and be compliant. The new view I have is that doctors are trained professionals. Many are more concerned with their golf handicap than my well being, and I should look out for myself. This is not the norm, but it exists. When they don't have an answer, and they put it off on something else, I will challenge them. Like any professional does, they provide a service for hire. If I pay for this service, I want my money's worth. No service, no payment! I ask questions...lots of questions. I didn't go to medical school. I expect them to have the answers.

I went to an optometrist the other day and got my eyes checked. I think he did a very good job in the exam and answering all of my questions. I did not, however, get my glasses from him. The frames and glasses I would have selected would have come to over $250. I thought that was too much and that he would be angry with me, but he wasn't. In fact, he gave me advice about getting my new glasses at a lower cost. Since I am trying to save money right now, I took a chance and got my new glasses at one of the online providers. The prescription I had was for progressive lenses, so I was taking a chance on getting everything adjusted correctly. I selected what I wanted and typed in my prescription and I had them three weeks later. I am happy with this choice now. I have my glasses and can see what I am typing for a change. However, your mileage may vary, and I would be amiss at telling you this is the way to go for you. That is your decision to make! This doctor gave me some hope in trusting my well being to him. Perhaps I have been too hasty in my general assessment of them. Maybe I ask too many questions and am being way too paranoid. Naah! It is much more fun to go to the doctor when I think I am in control!