A trip down memory lane

On the trip to OK, I was inspired by Coreen to take a trip down memory lane. This trip we stayed in a motel in Claremore where I spent some years growing up. We drove out to the country where I lived as a child. Took a picture of a rock house my granddad built in the 1940's. I spent many happy times in this house with my grandparents. The pic of a rock with a hole in it stands at the edge of the driveway to the rock house. I don't have any information about the origin of the hole. Another picture is the library where I spent many happy hours. The library is now a city administration building. We drove past my old high school. A house sits across the street from the HS. Several teachers lived in this house over the years. It is now a tea room. It is a lovely old building that looks the same after all these years.

Spectacular Sunset

I love sunsets. Here are some pictures from our recent trip through TX & OK. The sunset pictures are in Weatherford OK taken over about one hour. We were in a motel across from the hospital. It rained in OK for the next 4 to 5 days. There is one picture of cars half-buried just west of Amarillo. Another picture is a huge cross in a small OK town.

"...Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

Ivy, I want you to tell Hubs, for me, how much I admire and respect him and you for the way y'all deal with your pup's medical issues. With my knowledge and experience with diabetes, I'd be shaking in my boots if I had to do what y'all are doing with my Maggie girl. I'm not kiddin here.

After doing a little surfing on the subject yesterday, you aren't alone. There are many others who have the same problem with their dogs and cats. There's a special place in heaven for you all. When anyone does these kinds of things for their little furry friends, in their care and custody, it shows the utmost respect for life.

"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

That Bible verse comes to mind for me. Hey, I'm no Bible scholar but I did spend lots of time in Church, when I was growing up, and a few things stuck. That verse always had particular significance for me. It has significance for me in my current job. All my peeps at work are in my care and custody and I try hard to treat them like I would want my family treated even if I think they are evil. It's not for me to judge.... but can't say I haven't.

Ya know, the way people treat animals, both theirs and others, tells me all I need to know about them.

What do we do when we are old and all washed up?

Since no one has a new post ready and the 4th of July is getting a little old, I guess I'll stick this up. If you have a better option ready, please go for it.

My recent adventure in elderly rescue has been a big dose of reality shock. I know you guys are past being tired of listening to my woes and I’ve been real tired of thinking and talking about them but this adventure did put a scare into me. It made me realize this could be me one day and that day may come sooner that I want to realize.

I have no kids to worry about me when I’m old but I do realize that having kids does not provide any immunity from finding yourself old, alone and helpless. I used to carry my SF’s old cousin, Ms Bessie, back and forth from the nursing home to SF’s and mom’s house, for every holiday, so she could have dinner and spend time with us. She spent the entire trip to SF’s house crying. She quit just as we got to their house. Bessie’s daughter was an only child and from what I could tell, she was spoiled rotten. She moved to Florida, married some rich doctor and then got divorced…..I don’t remember the rest of the story, I mostly remember the crying.

Bessie’s daughter had the same name as I have, Carol. I remember hoping that the old Bessie didn’t ever get the two of us confused. After Bessie’s daughter left home, she pretty much had nothing again to do with either of her parents. SF, on at least a couple of occasions, one was when her father died, sent her money to come home. Amazingly, she did also manage to make it to her mom’s memorial service when she died, she even participated in it. Wasn’t that thoughtful.

Well, back to my worry about being old, alone and washed up. I haven’t exactly figured out what I need to do to prepare. I need some help. Anyone have any ideas? I have slipped away from worrying about eating healthy and exercising. I’m hoping to drop dead suddenly. Last night, as a start, I had both Shrimp and some, full throttle, ice cream, with chocolate shavings on top. I figured that was a good start. Now what do I do next?

Happy Fourth of July...

Happy 234th Birthday, America....

Memories of Summertime...the Pleasure Beach Carousel

Summer...a time to reminisce...I have fond memories of special times, places, events & just a time for having fun...& since 4th of July is here, I remember a couple of family traditions...then some of the towns & cities along Long Island Sound set off fireworks on the 4th & we all gathered at the family's cottage & from the beach watched those bursts of color in the night sky, with lots of ohs & ahs. (While I am writing this, there are fireworks going off in Trumbull, just a couple of miles from here). My family's cottage was on Pleasure Beach & during the summer we often went to the amusement park & rode on the Carousel....

Pleasure Beach is a small island in Long Island Sound in the harbor between Bridgeport & Stratford, CT...On the Stratford side along a dirt/sandy one lane road there were about 50 cottages built by people (my family included) on land they leased from the town of Stratford...cottage owners could not live there year round since water was piped across the Bpt. harbor & turned off every October...

The only way to get on the island was either by boat or by car crossing a really old narrow wooden swing bridge on the Bridgeport side of the island...I can still hear the click, clack, click, clack of the wooden slats when the car drove over that bridge & if you looked out of the car window, you could see the water underneath through the wooden slats...

The amusement park opened in 1892 and for a time was called Steeplechase Park, then Pleasure Beach...we spent many a summer day there while growing up, but sadly the amusement park closed in the late 1950s, early 1960s, when the rides were auctioned off & the Carousel Pavilion was boarded up...The end of the cottages came after 1996, when that rickety old wooden bridge caught fire & the city of Bridgeport refused to repair it...

Today there is no access to Pleasure Beach other than by water & the island is deserted...after the bridge fire, the town of Stratford decided not to renew the cottage leases or sell the property to the cottage owners & after a long court fight, the cottage owners were evicted & what remains today is an abandoned island, with partially destroyed cottages in the sand dunes now being taken over by Mother Nature (the town never completed its plan to tear down & remove the cottages)....& the Carousel shell no longer remains, since the city of Bridgeport had a contractor flatten what was left of the amusement park structures several years ago...

But now back to the story of the Pleasure Beach Carousel that had been boarded up for so long...years after the park closed, it was discovered that the magnificent carousel horses that had been removed & stored elsewhere off the island had mysteriously vanished & only after some

years did the city of Bridgeport locate & recover many of the horses...all in deplorable condition...

Which takes the story to my recent visit to the Beardsley Park Zoo in Bridgeport, where as a result of major efforts by many people, those wonderful horses were painstakingly restored to their former glory and are now stabled in the Carousel Museum at the zoo....

While they are no longer part of a working carousel, they are on display in the museum along with a working Merry-Go-Round, purchased by the city of Bridgeport, so that today visitors can see the original Pleasure Beach Carousel horses, take a ride on a Carousel....and well....remember some great summertime memories....that just make you smile.

Happy fourth of July....Happy Birthday U.S.A.....Happy Independence Day everyone....

Pagosa Springs

I fear everyone may be tired of seeing baby pictures. Here are some pictures I took on our trip to Pagosa Springs, CO in early May. Pagosa is in the north CO about 30 miles from the NM border. There are many attractions in this small town. It is close to ski areas, especially Wolf Creek. Pagosa is 50 miles from Durango and from Mesa Verde. A big attraction is the hot springs that are all over this area of CO and NM.