Sarkies, sarkies, lend me your ears.

[Guest guest]

Hey, y'all! Let's try another check-in. We only got a few responses last time, but now it's August! Dog days of summer for some, winter for others. I'm so sick of this heat, I'd do cartwheels in the street if it would bring snow. Well, not really, but I'd go stand out in the street. It cooled down a bit last night & it's not so steamy hot this morning. The heat just seems to sap all my energy.

Yesterday some church friends & I had a splash day at church with a kiddie pool, sprinkler, water balloons & homemade slip n slide. Even the teens had a good time. I was happy just getting wet. Other than the heat, I've been about the same. More emotional issues than anything else. My daughter Theresa & her two youngest, -16 & Jon-9, just spent a week in Texas. The kids visited their dads, with mixed experiences. Jon hadn't seen his father since he was a baby. His dad sends him Christmas & birthday presents, but otherwise has little contact. Even down there his dad only spent one afternoon just with Jon & hasn't called him since they returned to Indiana. 's dad called her names & tried to humiliate her in front of her girlfriend, who also made the trip. He also tried to "give" her a junker car, which she can't drive for 6 months, and is "unsafe at any speed." (Trivia fans: who wrote a book by that title? Answer at end of post.) On the positive side, Jon's dad bought him some clothes, including school shirts, & 's dad gave her $100 as a belated birthday present. The other stressful situation is my brother in Houston. On Tuesday he had surgery for 2 aneurysms on his pulmonary arteries. He's 68, been on blood thinners for many years & has other health issues, so I was very concerned. They had to split the sternum & put him on heart-lung bypass to do the repair. Tuesday night he had some bleeding problems, but they got him stable. He's been in ICU since surgery, but should be moved to a regular room today. I wish I could have gone down there, but just couldn't do it. He's not totally out of the woods yet, but I'm feeling better about it.

Okay, trivia answer: Ralph Nader wrote Unsafe at Any Speed, criticizing American auto safety, especially the Corvair (not to be confused with the Corvette!). Our family had a Corvair, probably one of the nicer cars we had during my childhood.

All right, let's see who else can top my combination of whining & trivia.

Ramblin' RoseModerator