For The Second Time

We have had a wet summer. I told you about the flooding we had in the spring. That all went away.

A lot of farmers lost large portions of their crops. It took a long time for the flood waters to go down because it kept on raining.

Then came summer. The flood waters receded and the farmers replanted where they could.

Now it is autumn. Guess what. We have flooded again.

Just as it was almost time to harvest, the fields filled with water again. Once again this year the river has flowed over its banks.

There is a big dam in Yankton, South Dakota. Because of the heavy rainfall to the north they have opened the flood gates to release all that excess water from the reservoir.  With all of the rivers in the south are getting all the extra water in their already full beds.

The autumnal flooding is not as bad as what we had in the spring. The fields began to drain almost immediately.

Now it is raining again. It has been raining for two days and the weatherman says probably into next week. I feel that the flooding will begin again.

Never before have I personally seen it flood like this twice in the same year. Crazy, crazy weather...

I AM RELAXED!

 I am a hardened criminal! Yes I have been arrested. By the police. For being a terrible menace to society.

We had recently moved back to Detroit. My parents and brothers and sisters were still living there. We were fortunate enough to be able to rent the house next door to theirs.

My mother had a meeting one day and had asked me if I could pick up my sister from school because the high school she attended only had half a day of classes. My husband had the day off from work but our car was not running so I told her I was happy to help her but I had no transportation.

My father had an old pickup that he used for doing manly things. I could drive that. So I said I would.

My sister had been riding her bicycle the day before and took a really bad tumble. Her arm, leg, and side were covered with the results of the scraping on the street. Mom did not want her to walk all that way from school.

The day of picking up my sister I overslept. My daughter was a baby who also slept late but she was awake. When my eyes popped open I realized that I was going to have a hard time being there for my sister.

I grabbed my daughter from her crib wet diaper and all. We ran out the door and I drove fast to try to get to my sister's school. I was a bit late.

I saw my sister walking on the sidewalk near the school with a couple of her friends and pulled to a stop next to her. She asked if I could take the other two girls home too. I knew that would be too many people sitting in the pickup but it was only a short distance. What could it hurt?

I was pulled over by the police for having too many people in the truck. And I had run out of the house so fast that I had no driver's license with me. Not to mention that I had not transferred it from the state I moved from to Michigan.

Michigan expects you to take care of your driver's license practically before you move there so I was in big trouble.

The officer decided I was a flight risk so instead of giving me a ticket he arrested me. He left my baby daughter, my sister, and her two friends standing on a sidewalk in an unsafe area. They drove my father's truck around the block to park it in a safe place.

Daddy kept some old tires in the back of the pickup for weight in case of an emergency. The police carefully placed all those old scrap tires inside the truck so they would be safe. They left the girls standing on the street in an unsafe area.

They took me to a holding cell at the local precinct house. I had never been in jail before except as a joke when my father was a town marshal when I was a little girl. I settled down to wait for someone to come get me.

Now we had not been there long enough to have our telephone connected. It took a lot longer then because the phone company had to come out to hook it up. So my sister could not call my husband. My mother was at a meeting. Cell phones were not a thing then so she was not available. My father could not be reached either.

Somehow my sister finally got a call through to my mother. Mom started calling her house hoping that someone, anyone would answer.

My husband had gone to my parents' house looking for me. The boys were hungry. When the phone rang he answered and told my mother he would take care of everything.

He arranged for someone to rescue my daughter and my sister as well the other two girls. He called his brother and asked him to drive my husband to the police station to rescue me. Then he called the police station to tell them he was on the way with my driver's license.

In the meantime the police suddenly came to my little home away from home. They had received the call from my husband. They whisked me off to the main police station in downtown Detroit.

I was escorted to a place where they took a mug shot of me. They frisked me. Do you have any idea what is involved in being frisked?

Frisking is not a mild pat down like they show on television. Oh no. They check everywhere. I have had visits to the gynecologist that were less invasive. By this time I was becoming annoyed.

I did not know where my baby was. I did not know where my little sister was. I was being treated like a big time criminal. I forgot my driver's license and was giving some girls a ride home from school.

Then I went for fingerprinting.

The matron inked up my fingers and thumbs. She had the page where my fingerprints are to be stored forever. Then she said, " Relax."

Through clenched teeth I said, "I AM RELAXED!"

After that pleasant experience I was taken to my cell. I sat on the edge of the bed. The sheets were not white as I think they were supposed to be. The pillow had no covering. When I told my husband about the cell he was shocked. He said, " At least you got a sheet and a pillow. In the men's cells they often don't even have a mattress, just a slab of cement."

I dutifully paid my fines when the time came for me to come before the judge. I was guilty. I knew the laws and broke them.

However... I did file a complaint against the arresting officer. He knew the situation with the girls and did not see to their safety. They did take excellent care of my father's junky tires.

I received a letter from the department. Basically what they said was that it was an unfortunate situation but since I did break the law there was nothing more to be done. That was not what I complained about.

I received a phone call from one of the members of the city council. She was very nice. Then she asked me if I was satisfied with the decision. Of course I was not satisfied. She offered to help.

It was the beginning of a wonderful friendship that endured until she died. She was older than I was (my mother's age and they became fast friends also) but I valued her friendship and she helped me in many ways.

With her help I pursued the matter. Eventually after a couple of years of hard work some changes were made.

It seems there was a young father who had dropped his wife off at work. He had his toddler daughter with him when he was pulled over for a minor traffic violation. When the police informed him that they were arresting him and he had to leave his baby he began to fight. Another charge against him.

At least my sister had my baby.

There were already provisions on the books for taking care of minor children if the parent was arrested and no other responsible adult was available. There were other provisions added. And the arresting officer was instructed to issue a written apology to me. Of course I never received it.

So relax. If you are arrested, the police like it if you just relax.

Farewell

Today is Saturday. It is the first full day of autumn and our fields are flooded once again. And Victor Martinez retired.

Baseball is my favorite sport. The Detroit Tigers is my favorite team (and I live in Sr Louis Cardinals country).

Of course, we have two more weeks of baseball left in the regular season. And I will watch. I pay an astronomical fee to be able to get the Tigers feed on my television.

The team is in rebuilding mode. That means a lot of players are gone. They have been traded to make room for newer, younger, and hopefully more energetic players. In some cases maybe better.

We expected a losing year. That is the way it is with a rebuilding team. It was a poor year but much better than I expected. Certainly it was better than the sports media gleefully predicted.

The thing is I get very attached to the players. From 1968 when we won the World Series to 1984 for another World Series win to being the American League champions in 2006 I was there. I was in the stadium to see Mark 'the Bird' Fidrych pitch in his first Major League game.

I loved Norm Cash and Bill Freehan in '68. Mickey Lolich belongs in the Hall of Fame. Al Kaline is a special player and special person. Willie Horton was not born in Detroit but grew up there. He still lives there and is still an avid Tigers booster..

Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker were the greatest up-the -middle team ever.  Kirk Gibson had the most go-gettum I have seen. Sparky Anderson was probably the most beloved curmudgeon as our manager.

Jim Leland gave Sparky a good contest in the curmudgeon department. We have had such great players as Joel Zumaya, Max Scherzer, Maglio Ordonez,  Placido Polanco, David Price, Rick Porcello, Gary Scheffield, Aurelio Lopez, Aurelio Rodriguez, Cecil Fielder, Prince Fielder, Pudge Rodriguez, J.D. Martinez... there is a long list.

I purposely separated Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander. Each is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of player.  Miggy is still with us but has been injured all year. Justin Verlander was traded at the end of last season and helped the Astros win the World Series.

Now back to Victor Martinez.  He was with the Indians for 7 years. Then he was traded to the Red Sox. He has been with the Tigers for 7 years. At the age of 39 he retired today from active playing. He will finish the season with his team but no more playing.

He is still an impressive player. His health has caused problems and he still has a lifetime batting average of close to 300... from each side of the plate. He is a switch hitter which means he bats both right-handed and left-handed. His batting average is almost the same from both sides which is almost unheard of.

Victor will be missed and at the same time we all wish him the best.

A Visit To The Pharmacy

I hate taking medicine. It is a real pain in my neck. However in order to live take it I must.

As I have told you before I have epilepsy. In order to not have seizures I have pills I have to swallow.

I am one of the fortunate ones. My seizures are well controlled. It has been a long time since I had one. Because I learned the hard way to take my medicine.

When I was younger if money was short I often chose to feed my family and put off buying my medicine.  I would often have a seizure because of it.

Each epileptic seizure is worse than the previous one.  They take a longer recovery time. Often it would take me two days to have the strength to get out of bed for anything more than going to the bathroom... with assistance.

I had to make sure there was money enough for my pills. I had four children to care for. So I did not have seizures as long as I had my medicine.

I was seeing a doctor who decided that I was a good candidate to be weaned from my medicine. Yay! Not having to take pills every day would be so nice. Naturally I agreed to try it.

I would take fewer pills each day until I no longer was taking any. Once a week would pass with no pills I would have to take no more medation. It sounded like a good deal to me.

My husband was not happy about it but I wanted to try it. Imagine not having to take any more medicine. It would be wonderful.

I took two different medications. One is a controlled substance meaning that I was addicted to barbituates physically.

The second night without any medication I knew I was in bad shape. I sat shivering like every junkie I had ever seen on TV. I was wrapped in a blanket but I was cold on the inside. My nose was running and my eyes were watering. I knew I would have a seizure if I fell asleep.

When my husband came home he was furious. He said he knew this would happen. He told me to go to bed and he would take care of getting the kids to bed.

As I knew I would I had a seizure that night. The doctor had said that if that happened I should go straight to the hospital and they would contact him.

I was admitted and settled into my room. I promptly had another seizure.

When I regained consciousness I was in a different room. The nurse told me they had a hatd time getting me to breathe. I had almost died.

Of course I began to take my medicine regularly after that. There were a few times I did not have the money to pay for my medicine. (My husband no longer lived with us.)

I almost died two more times. My poor children had to care for me.

Finally came the time when I was able to have my medicine all the time. I have not had any serious problems since... except with my prescriptions.

As I said one of the medications is a controlled substance. I have been taking it for 55 years. Physically I am addicted to it. I do not get high or crave a larger amount. I DO need to take it in order to stay alive.

My doctor cannot give me a prescription for more than 30 days. And no refills.

Okay. I understand the need to CONTROL controlled substances. But really this is going too far.

The doctor is somewhat governed by laws pertaining to controlled substances. I understand the need for those laws. There are people who use barbituates to get high and for other illegal reasons.

But I cannot even refill my prescription a day early! And the hoops I have to jump through if  the day for refill is on a weekend.  Not to mention that I have to drive 50 miles (round trip).

I have to fight the doctor, the insurance company, and the government.

This month my medicine ran out on a Saturday. I called the pharmacy and put in for renewal. Of course there were no refills allowed. They would contact the doctor. This has happened before.

I also contacted the doctor. I explained why I was requesting a refill 2 days early.  He said he would take care of it. I could pick it up on Friday. That was my plan.

Friday I went into the pharmacy. My prescriptions were ready... except for the controlled substance. .

It took almost an hour to wait while they once again contacted the doctor. He finally approved the refill.

My whole afternoon was spoiled because I allowed myself to be angry. After a good meal and a little time I am over it. But I should not have to go through this every month just to stay alive.  

Thanks, Mom !!!

Want to know why I am afraid of vampires? Do I have a story for you.

We were moving into a new house. We moved a lot. This time Daddy was working for a farmer. Part of the pay package was that we got to live in one of the extra farmhouses the farmer owned. That was a common practice at that time.

At that time there were only five of us kids. I am the oldest, about ten years old at the time, and the youngest one was about three. Needless to say we had a lot of stuff to move.

Daddy was pulling a trailer behind his car with as much as he could fit in at the time. He and my uncles would bring a load, empty it, and go for the next load. Mom and those of us old enough to help were busy putting things away.

It was a fairly hot summer day. In the 1950's people did not have air conditioners. The house had good ventilation though. A nice breeze blew through and helped keep us as cool as possible.

Mom decided finally that we had been working hard enough. It was time for a break. There was no furniture there yet so we had nothing to sit on. The floor was dirty from all the traipsing in and out. We flattened a couple of big cardboard boxes and sat on them to have a snack and something cool to drink.

Mom was entertaining us by singing a few songs. Then we asked for a story. We didn't want one of the same old stories she always told. We wanted something new.

She could not think of any. We begged. Finally she started to tell a story and quickly realized we should not hear it. She said it was not a good story for us. We begged and she finally gave in.

Her story was about Dracula, the vampire. We had never heard of vampires before. It was an exciting story. When it was over my little brother was fast asleep and the rest of us had to go back to work.

We worked hard all day. At the end of the day we had not even had time to put the beds together so we slept on the floor. Our rooms were upstairs. The boys were directly across the hall from us girls. The top of the stairs was right outside our doors.

It was a sweltering night. We had all the windows open to catch any breeze that might pass by but there were not many of those.

The main problem was that it was dark outside. Vampires come out after dark. They prey on the blood of poor unsuspecting victims. We were all afraid to go to sleep.

My mother assured us that a vampire could not come into the house unless someone invited it in. We were taking no chances. She told us to leave the lights on which we did.

Having the lights on accomplished two things. Number one; it was dark outside and we could only imagine what was lurking out there just waiting to attack. Number two; moths were attracted to the light. They flew up and banged against the windows. We all knew it was vampires trying to get at us.

Mom tried to calm us. It didn't work. She tried being firm. It didn't work. She finally ended up sitting at the top of the stairs between our bedrooms until we finally fell asleep.

I have been afraid of vampires ever since. See what you did, Mom? 

Experience With A Vampire

I know I have mentioned that I am afraid of vampires. They are the one thing I am sure does not exist (I have to be sure) but they terrify me.

I also have to admit I am fascinated by vampires. When I was younger I watched the movies. I read Dracula by Bram Stoker. I recommend this book. I also highly recommend the Wamphyri series by Brian Lumley. Actually it is the Necroscope series if you want to go to the library and look for them. But I digress.

I no longer watch vampire movies. For one thing I am afraid. For another most "scary" movies today are more aptly just "icky" movies. They show blood and gore just for the sake of making a mess. I am not a fan of all that. I can enjoy a movie that frightens me but I do not want to be made sick.

Back in the 1970's there was a movie that was made for television about vampires. It was named Dracula and starred Jack Palance. After the children were in bed my husband and I decided to watch it.

I had a nice rocking chair that I sat in. It is where I sat when I was feeding the babies or just to relax them before bed. While I rocked them I always wore a knitted brown shawl. It seemed so cozy to drape around the baby and me. It created a cocoon that separated us from everything else.

But the kids were in bed. I sat with my shawl around my shoulders in my comfy rocker and watched this vampire movie. I was never a big fan of Jack Palance. This movie was okay but I felt no big feeling about it one way or the other. But it was about a vampire. It did spook me a little.

Before going to bed myself I suddenly realized I had no milk for the children in the morning. We lived next door to my parents at that time. One of the things that I hated the most about living in the city was that the houses are so close together. For instance the house on the other side of us was so close that there was barely room for a little walkway between the two houses.

But in this case I was lucky to have my parents so close. I decided to run next door to see if Mom had a little extra milk until I could get to the store the next day.

As I was going out I turned to my husband and joked, "If I'm not back right away, it will mean a vampire got me." Then I hurried next door in the dark of night.

Was I afraid? I was a little. I knew there are no vampires but ... well you know how it is.

I was lucky. Mom had an extra gallon of milk. She told me to take the whole thing so I did! I wished them good night and went back home.

Now I have to tell you that I knew my idiot husband was going to do something to try to scare me when I got home. I knew it. And I was prepared.

What I was not prepared for was the figure that came flapping at me from the dark between the two houses. It was the size of a man but it had what appeared to be wings of some sort that were flapping crazily. I screamed as loud as it is possible to scream.

Then the figure came out from between the houses into the relative light of the night. It was my husband! He had my shawl over his head and arms and was still flapping like a vampire. He was laughing.

He went into the house with me hot on his trail. I threw the gallon of milk at him. He knew how scared I would be. Well maybe not because he told me that if he had known that I would throw the milk at him he would not have done it. Yeah, right!

Once I stopped shaking I thought I should call my parents to let them know I was okay. I peeked out the window and their house was dark. They were already in bed.

The next day I was talking to my mother and told her what had happened. She said, "We heard you scream. I looked out the window and didn't see anything so I figured you were okay and we went to bed."

What!?!? I think that perhaps, just perhaps, I was under-protected in my experience with the vampire.

911

As I am writing this the date is September 11, 2018. It is the 17th anniversary of the terrible day the World Trade Center was attacked, the Pentagon was attacked, Flight 93 was hijacked and crashed in Pennsylvania.

 At that time I worked the midnight shift at a superstore chain. My sister also worked there so we rode together.

After work I dropped my sister at her house. I went home and picked up my son to drive him to work. Once I finally was home for the day I turned on the news. It was early still but after a full night's work I fell asleep watching TV.

I awoke just in time to see the second plane fly into the second tower of the Trade Center. It took me a few seconds to realize that I was not watching a movie. This was real.

I called my sister right away. When I asked her if she was watching the news she said no, why? I said, "I think somebody just declared war on us."

It was an awful day. Terrorists had hijacked airplanes to use them to attack strategic targets.

American Airlines Flight 11 plowed into the North Tower of the Trade Center first. As news crews were trying to figure out what happened the nation watched in shock as United Airlines Flight 175 flew into the South Tower.

Then before we could catch our breaths we learned that 2 more planes had been taken. American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. United Airlines Flight 93 was headed toward the White House.

The passengers on Flight 93 decided that since they were probably going to die they would protect the White House and maybe the President of the United States. That plane went down in a field in Pennsylvania when the passengers fought against the terrorists.

There were no survivors on any of the airplanes.  Many more people in the buildings died. Still more people lost their lives during rescue efforts.

I obsessively watched television news all day for several days. I saw it happen but it was unbelievable.  Do you remember where you were that day?