Atomic Stew

My father was a Boy Scout Master. His troop met once a week.

The boys learned so many things. Knots were easy for him because he had been in the Navy. They learned the correct way to use sharp instruments like a knife for instance. 

They had a new project every week to learn the skills necessary to earn badges to be sewn onto their uniforms. They also learned lessons that would help them be good people and succeed in life.

Once a year Daddy and his assistant took the boys camping for a week. They were in a nearby state park which is still primitive in places.

For the most part they lived on what nature provided. There is a river there that was good for fishing. They ate very well. 

They practiced archery and other outdoor skills. The boys always had a good time and looked forward to the camping trip all year.

The last night of their week was a special. night. Their meal was special too. Each boy had been instructed to bring a can of food with the label torn off. This was the night they found out what was in them.

There were many cans of vegetables. Each was opened and with much ceremony dumped into the stew pot. A couple of years there would be a can of pork & beans. They went into the pot. One year a well-meaning parent put in a can of pineapple chunks. It went into the pot.

The scoutmaster supplied meat to be roasted separately so unless there was a can with meat in it there was no meat in the pot. 

I know you are wondering how the atomic stew turned out. It was loved by all every time.

Birthdays

My birthday is soon. I will be 77 years old. Some days I feel like my age. Most days I just feel like me and not any age.

I was thinking about the birthdays I had when I was growing up.

We did not get gifts... not enough money. But we did not know the difference so that did not matter

What we did get was the meal of our choice. I always asked for creamed peas and potatoes. That is boiled potatoes with peas in a cream sauce and lots of black pepper. Served with scrambled eggs it is one of my favorite meals.

Mom always baked whatever cake we wanted. I always asked for a devil's food cake with fudge frosting. Mom's fudge frosting was creamy with a thin crust on it. I never can make it right.

Added treat was ice cream. Mom always served Neapolitan ice cream. She said it was because that way everybody got the kind they wanted. I happen to know it was because it was her favorite.

With a large family you would think we celebrated birthdays all year. Not so. All of our birthdays including our parents were within 3 months. Most of those are in a one and a half week period.

My birthdays were wonderful. I hope you have good birthday memories.

Moo

 

In the good old days we had milk delivered to our house. Whole milk. In glass bottles.

It was convenient for Mom to just open the back door in the morning and we had fresh milk for whatever kind of cooked cereal we were having that morning.

In the winter interesting things happened to the bottle of milk. The bottles were covered by a little cardboard circle that fit into a ledge just inside the neck of the bottle.

Sometimes in the winter it was so cold that the milk would freeze. As it froze it expanded. Frozen milk rose above the bottle with the little cardboard cap on top of it. I looked for it often.

When my children were small I also had milk delivery. It was so handy.

I could also place orders for the next delivery. Available were cottage cheese, sour cream, eggs, and several other dairy products. It saved me a lot of trips to the store.

I miss milk delivery. It did make life easier.

I Did It

 I killed my computer. 

It was not premeditated. So I suppose it was a lesser charge of compu-slaughter.

I have never been a graceful person. I trip over my own feet. I fall for no reason at all. I knock things over. It is not only embarrassing but I have to pick up whatever fell or was knocked over.

I was working on the computer one evening last week. I saw something fall from a small table I have by my desk.

When I reached down to pick it up everything was fine. As I sat back up my shoulder caught under the corner of my desk. The desk tilted and my computer fell off.

It landed on its head and has not worked since. My son checked it out and the screen was rapidly scrolling up. It just never got better.

So my new computer arrived today. My son hooked it up and made sure everything was fine. 

I was worried about losing all my family pictures but they are here I cannot find my music but my son seems to think he can find it... later.

I write my blogs several ate a time so there would be no interruption there. I did miss reading the blogs that I read all the time.

Now I am back and you did not even know I was gone.

Misheard Lyrics

I read articles every so often about songs that people hear different words than are actually words in the song. Apparently it has become sort of a game to expose these misheard lyrics.

Probably the most famous of these is Louie Louie. It was written in 1955 as a Jamaican sea shanty. The main problem was that when The Kingsmen sang it they mangled the words. And to be fair there might be a naughty word in there.

Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana is much the same as Louie Louie.

Back in the 50's there was a popular song called Teen Angel. One day when Mom was going to the post office she spotted a little girl sitting on the curb. At the top of her lungs she was singing, "Clean Angel."

On the TV show All In The Family Archie and Edith sat at the piano and sang. So many people wrote in that they could not understand a portion of the song they were singing that they had to record it again. The line was Gee our old LaSalle ran great.

The musical band I worked with accepted requests for music to play and sing. A good friend of mine had a request. She wanted to hear One Spit And Twice Shine. The actual song is Once Bitten Twice Shy.

My aunt swore that it was The Singing Num because nuns do not sing. We argued about that for days.

Imagine my shock when I was walking into the Laundromat to hear the song Where Were You When The Ship Hit The Sand. My dirty little mind heard Where Were You When The Shi* Hit The Fan.

I suppose we are all surprised at times. Has it happened to you?

Put On A Happy Face

Twenty years ago I found out the I had colon cancer. The first doctor had been somewhat reluctant to tell me. He finally just blurted it out.

I was sent to see a surgeon who specialized in that type of cancer. He was more matter of fact and explained possibilities.

For some reason I was not concerned. I knew I was going to be fine. My children and grandchildren were more concerned than I was.

When I called my brothers and sisters to tell them I told them to make sure they were checked for colon cancer. It seems to run in families. So far everyone is good.

The point I am making is that I knew I would be okay. I was able to have a positive attitude.

I had the surgery. They removed all the cancer. I did not need to have chemotherapy or radiation. A positive happy outlook works.

I have read that is the attitude that helps a person recover from illness faster.

To be fair I am basically a happy person. Often I am too naive to worry about anything. It is my nature

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of years ago I dreaded telling my daughter. She was going through her own horrors with the same disease. She had a much worse type of cancer than I did and suffered so much for too long. She is still suffering.

Again I knew I would be fine. I was. No chemo or radiation.

So try to keep a good attitude if you do not feel well. You will feel better faster.