MY WORST TRIP EVER! - (Revisiting an old Nightmare)

I have many wonderful and unforgettable memories from great trips I've made during my lifetime but, unfortunately, I cannot shake from my memory the very worst trip I ever took which happened exactly six years ago, back in November of 2016.

SERENITY NOW!

Seven horrible days in Los Angeles and San Diego with my father. 

The old man hogged the driving wheel during the entire trip even though he could barely drive because of his old age and he flatly refused to go anywhere else but the cheapie 99 cent stores where he would stay hours and hours, going slowly aisle by aisle while I just stood there, like a wax figure, motionless and unable to do anything.

The happiest moment came when I realized the end of the torture was coming near!

I never took a trip with him ever again. Mercifully, he died in 2018.

15 Months in Another Town!

I moved into my new apartment away from my hometown 15 months ago, and I have made lots of new friends here. Not human friends mind you, but just a whole flock of birds who visit me every day. 

Not being a gregarious sort of person, I guess this is the best I can get after reaching 70.

The Late, Late, Late, Late Show!

Has this ever happened to you? You are laying in bed, ready to watch a movie when suddenly, without you knowing why, the end credits appear rolling before your eyes...and you didn't see anything before that.

Was the movie too short?  Was this some sort of avant garde, experimental auteur kind of thing? Or was this the first time in the history of films that some studio just released the title and end credits without any footage in between?

No, stupid. You just dozed off as the film began!

More Senior Moments!

But I'm almost sure even millennials have trouble with this!

THE RULE OF THUMB!

If you are a senior citizen, you have faulty eyesight and you're not very technology-wise,

this has most certainly happened to you at least once. Or maybe, more than once. 

But don't worry. That's okay. You're human.  

JUST DON'T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN, OKAY?

Turning 71!

The End of the Holidays?

 

ANOTHER SENIOR MOMENT!

 

NOT 105 YEARS OLD

I really appreciate the congratulatory comments but I want to stress the fact that it is 

the newspaper I'm working for that turned 105 this year and not me!

DOG CHASING MAN

One of the special problems about living in a rural area is that you find a lot of playful stray dogs around who take enormous delight in chasing old guys going out for a walk, like me!

LOST ALIENS FROM BEYOND

I guess there's no WAZE in outer space!

SIX MONTHS IN ANOTHER TOWN

I moved into a new town six months ago and I still feel very much out of place. No familiar faces anywhere and none of my friends live nearby. Anyway, I guess I'll get used to it as the weeks drag by and I finish settling in, but in the meantime, I'll have to get used to this rather uncomfortable feeling!

SENIOR FITNESS REGIME

Exercising after 70 is a breeze! Who knew?

The Fabulous Grim Reaper Chair!

Got my COVID-19 Booster Shot Today!

And I'm now ready for all the ones that follow!

WORST TRIP EVER!

 The trip I try to forget but keeps haunting my nightmares:

One week in Los Angeles with my decrepit old father, who still insisted on sitting at the driver's seat in spite of being obviously unfit to drive. The times we almost crashed, ran over pedestrians or hit stationary objects were too numerous to recount. And when I was not having a heart seizure inside the car, we were wandering aimlessly inside every 99 cent and bargain store the old man could find. 

I never went on another trip with him until he finally kicked the bucket.

SEPTEMBER SONG by SINATRA

This is one of my all-time favorite songs and the lyrics become more and more relevant as the years go by!

When I was a young man courting the girls

I played me a waiting game

If a maid refused me with tossing curls

I'd let the old Earth take a couple of whirls

And as time came around she came my way

As time came around, she came.

Oh, it's a long, long time from May to December

But the days grow short when you reach September.

When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame

One hasn't got time for the waiting game

Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few,

September, November.

And these few precious days I'll spend with you

These precious days I'll spend with you

September, November.

And these few precious days I'll spend with you

These precious days I'll spend with you.

Listen here:

TURNING 70 TODAY...

Turning 70 is an important milestone not just for me but I guess for anyone who is lucky enough to get this far in life. I thank my lucky stars in looking after me all these strenuous years where I've had my ups and downs, like everybody else, but where I've also managed to keep my sense of humor, my sanity, my health and my family and friends who have tolerated me for lo, so many years!

Hopefully, this elevator will still keep climbing a few more floors above!

IN MY MERRY OLD JALOPY

 

COVID Vaccine Follow Up