I Can Drive

 I am a legal driver again!

I went to renew my license on my birthday in August. I passed the eye test and everything they threw at me. Then the woman leaned over the counter and said, "I see you are using a walker. May I ask why?"

There was no reason to lie so I explained that I had a stroke in December. She asked me and my son to step into her office.

The woman explained that she could not issue me a driver's license unless my doctor filled out a form approving my driving abilities. He did. However he wanted the neurologist to give another opinion.

So I went to see the neurologist. She said she could see no reason that I was a danger to drive. However she would need me to take a simulated driving test and pass it before she would fill out the form.

The only place in this whole area that gives the test is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The first appointment available was in three weeks. I took it.

I know that at my age if I allowed my license to expire it would be difficult to get a new one later. I was willing to work to renew the one I have.

Sioux Falls is more than an hour away. It was a misty day. When I got there the examiner explained that she had to test my cognitive abilities before my driving test.

She tested my memory. She tested my knowledge of road signs. She tested my knowledge of what to do in certain traffic and road conditions. She tested my eyes. She tested my reflexes and reaction time. It all took about an hour. I passed.

For the road test we actually got into a vehicle and went driving. We drove all over Sioux Falls including onto the Interstate Highway. It took about an hour. I passed.

The place I go for the driver's license is only open two days a week. I live in a very rural area. I went today. Lo and behold. I am now a licensed driver again!

Aging

 I am now 3/4 of a centry in age.

My 75th birthday was last month. Who would have thought that I would be this age?

There has been so much history. Presidents have come and gone. Popes have come and gone. The Cold War has come and gone. Wars have come and gone. The governments of countries have not only changed leaders but in some cases the countries have become other countries.

My parents and grandparents are gone. I welcomed 6 siblings. Two of them are gone. Most of my aunts and uncles are gone. My ex-husband, the father of my children, is gone.

I was blessed with 4 children. They gave me 6 grandchildren. I now have 6 great-grandchildren. Fortunately they are all still healthy.

I have dealt with health problems at times. Colds, flu, measles, chicken pox, mumps, epilepsy, appendicitis, gall bladder, cancer, a stroke, cuts, and bruises. I am still here. I graduated from physical therapy last week. I am basically healthy and more than content with my life.

My goal from the time I was a child was to be 81 years old. I have changed my goal as we should all do from time to time. I think I am shooting for 100 now.

Love?

 I once knew a couple who were violently in love. Or so they said.

The man worked for my husband. There were several times I had to go to other companies to counteract this man's actions. 

For instance there was a time the man drove a truck loaded with scrap to a company that dealt with that sort of merchandise. When he returned with the full load he was ranting. Apparently he had decided he should not have to wait in line with other trucks. He screamed and swore until he was forced to leave.

I decided to take a truck filled with scrap to the same company. He was to follow and stay in his truck until I took care of things. I went into the office and had everything smoothed over when he came storming in. I turned him around and pushed him out of the office. We unloaded our trucks with no further incident.

His wife was a shopper. She almost lived at K-Mart. We all had a good laugh when she was on vacation and K-Mart issued a quarterly statement that profits were down. She did not shop while on vacation.

They were actually nice people most of the time. We occasionally saw them socially and enjoyed their company. 

The problems arose when they would argue. Which was apparently often. As far as I know they never were physical with each other.

The problem was that one or the other of them would pick up a club of some kind and break out all the glass in the car. That included window, lights, and mirrors.

Every week he would have to purchase new glass and install it. What a waste.

Justice?

I loved living in the small town we lived in in Tennessee. Our house was on a dead-end street. At the edge of our backyard was a dried-up creek bed. I was happy there. My children were happy there.

My husband was a truck driver. He was gone all week and came home on the weekends. All those nice chores that pile up were waiting for him when he came home. 

One weekend he discovered that an unused chicken coop down by the creek bed had a lot of snakes in it. He immediately set fire to it. 

After a length of time the fire department came and tried to put out the fire. The coop was too far gone by then so mission accomplished.

The police issued a strong warning to my husband to never do that again. The shed was gone. It would not happen again. They also issued a ticket requiring him to appear in court so he would make restitution to the fire department.

We hired a lawyer to represent my husband in court. While the judge understood the reasoning behind burning the chicken coop he acknowledged that my husband should have used better sense than to set it on fire without supervision. Case dismissed.

Afterward we were talking to the lawyer. He said to be very careful. He told us that the governing body of the city would look for vengeance.

About a month later I heard a knock at the front door. When I answered it there were two policemen standing there. They were there to arrest me.

The charge was that my lawn needed mowing. I had four small children. Two of them were babies. I couldn't leave them alone. They issued a ticket with an upcoming court date instead of taking me to jail.

I went immediately to call the lawyer. He told me he had been expecting to hear from me. The police had just been at his house. He got a ticket for his yard being "unkempt".

I went to court. The charges were dismissed. We moved.

Have You Ever Noticed?

 Some things never fail. For instance...

A fly is buzzing around. It lands on you. It lands on the table in front of you. You wave it away and it comes right back. Then you grab the fly swatter and wait for it to land on a good place to swat it. THE FLY DISAPPEARS! It only returns when you put down the swatter.

Or...

You have been feeling ill for a couple of days. Your stomach is upset, your head hurts, and you have a slight fever. So you go to the doctor. You sit in the waiting room feeling miserable. You are finally called in to see the doctor. Suddenly you feel fine. No headache. No upset stomach. Your fever has disappeared. The doctor looks at you like you are a hypochondriac. Of course all the symptoms return when you get home.

You have been putting off washing the car. It is so dirty. Finally you force yourself to get out the hose. soap, and soft cloths. When you are finished the car looks so shiny and clean. You feel proud and go inside for a cold drink and to let the car completely dry. When you go out again you are on your way to the store with a shiny clean car. There you see that birds have attacked your car leaving droppings all over it.

Or...

You are extremely late for an appointment. You rush out of the house. As you hurry to try to be even close to on time you suddenly have to go to the bathroom... now.

Or...

You love the smell of clean sheets dried in the sun with a nice breeze. You hang them on the line and go in to put your feet up. After a short nap you awaken to find that it rained and your sheets are now soaking wet.

Or... 

You pick up debris from your yard so you can mow the grass. You spend a large part of the morning pushing the lawn mower. Your lawn looks wonderful and so clean. In the afternoon a huge wind rises. When you look again at your manicured lawn it is once again covered with twigs and trash from who knows where.

Did you ever know it to fail?

Don't Hang Up

 When I was about 7 years old my mother came to me and said I had a phone call. The telephone was a foreign object to me. I do not recall having one before then.

I said, "Hello", as I had seen others do. It was a friend from school.

She and some other children were having a carnival in her back yard. Would I like to come? Entrance was a penny.

I told her I would have to check with my mother. She told me she would wait. I quickly replaced the receiver in its cradle and ran excitedly to my mother.

My mother went to the phone to check on details and discovered that I had hung up the phone. I did not understand the workings of that thing yet. We were new in town. I knew my friend's first name but not her last. I did not know where she lived. There was no *69 to reconnect with her phone.

I was heartbroken. However my resourceful mother found a way to get me to the carnival. She drove me there and gave me a penny for my entrance fee.

When I officially entered I learned that each exhibit required another penny. I had no more pennies so I sort of wandered around. 

Again someone realized I was penniless and I was able to see the attractions for free. 

I remember little of the carnival itself. I only lived in that town for a short while so I do not even remember the names of the other children. I do remember their kindness and I thank them for it.

All things considered I had a good time. And an interesting adventure. 

Did You See That?

I have seen some interesting sights lately.

I told you some time ago about the big foot on my way into Sioux City. He is still there. But I have found more. There is one that I see in a field when I go to therapy. There are two more if I take another route into Sioux City. One is full sized. The little one with it must be a young big foot. 

Then there was a sight that made me laugh. There is a house with a big beautiful lawn. It is well- manicured with a nice bird feeder right in the middle. There stood a graceful deer nibbling at the bird feed in the feeder. I had no idea a deer would do that.

It is amazing what you can see if you just pay attention.