Saturday, June 10, 2017.
Timberrrr! Lost Tickets And Laptop.
A couple of days ago, the St. Tammany Parish department that takes care of fallen or threatening trees came to the Cool Water Ranch and dropped a big, dead tree into the most tangled part of the Ranch's overgrowth. They hauled out all the segments of the tree, even though I told them they could just leave them there. It's amazing how quickly a tree disappears once it's on the ground.
Today, I followed the fence line through the property. I am happy to find that the lumberjacks pushed the fence back into place. I found nary a spot that will let the dogs escape.
Best development: since the tree was between a road and a ditch, all this was done for free. Last time I had to pull down a threatening tree, it was in the middle of the property and I had to pay $850 for the service.
I'm beginning to get ready for my trip to Los Angeles next week, getting my clothes together and jobs done. Already two distress alarms have gone up. The laptop computer I bought a bit over a year ago is not functioning in any way. You turn it on, and it starts screaming. This leaves me with my slow, old laptop to keep my columns going while I'm at son Jude's house for eight days.
I printed out my Amtrak tickets months ago when I reserved the sleeper, but I don't know what I did with them. No big problem, hope. I can print out another set, or pick them up at the station. Still, a touch of stress is added to the trip.
I'm on the radio from three until six today, which makes it impossible to rendezvous with the Marys for lunch-supper. I almost chuckled that they will have to get along without me at La Carreta. I don't need to eat, anyway, because I had a big breakfast at the Fat Spoon in the late morning.
It looks as though I can cut the grass after the radio show ends, and as the sun starts declining. Almost as soon as that happens, a thunderstorm emerges behind a tree and continues to dump rain until the lawn is ready to get my tractor stuck in the mud.
In other words, it's a pretty dull day.
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Sunday, June 11, 2017.
Motown Finale. They Do Without Me. Wonder Woman.
Today was to have been the final NPAS performance for this year's season. I thought I could attend, but the radio show ran late enough to make that impossible. I hope nobody notices my absence. What ever will I do on Mondays for the next couple of months?
Mary Ann says she would like to go to the movies tonight. She's heard that the new Wonder Woman movie is pretty good. But it is preceded by a bunch of previews with dystopian themes. If there is a current film trend I hope never to support, it's these end-of-the-world movies. Could it be that they hit too close to home?
Wonder Woman also begins with a war. Mary Ann wants to leave, but I hold on a little longer, as Wonder Woman herself swings into action. And then we did leave, MA getting her money back. This is the third time I've seen her do this. But she tells me that the movie was just starting to get good. Also that she thinks Wonder Woman is really beautiful. I can see that. . .and also that she and MA have similarities in their looks. This WW is too thin for my tastes, but never mind. I recall reading Wonder Woman comic books among the Bat Man, the Flash, Superman, and Superboy books from when I was that young age (comic books were ten cents then!). I always wondered why Wonder Woman's uniform left her close to naked. I'm still an little uneasy about that.
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Monday, June 12, 2017.
End Of Daily Rhythm, But Red Beans Are Great.
I go to Abita Roaster for lunch. They get my current first-place award for red beans and rice these days. The beans are of perfect texture and seasoning. The hot sausage comes in an extra-wide pattie, just peppery enough, carrying the rich amount of rendered red fat. The deal also comes with a corn pancake. Like a regular pancake, but with the texture of cornbread as opposed to biscuits.
The radio show comes from my home office, as it always does on Mondays. It already feels funny that I don't have a chorus rehearsal tonight. What will I do with myself? Oddly, I have been watching movies. Mary Ann and I both have a taste for classics. Todnight we watch a really good one: "Love In The Afternoon," featuring Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper. It has one of the best endings I've ever seen on film. But I am uneasy with the idea of young girl with older man. They didn't seem to worry about that in the 1950s. Women don't put up with that anymore, seems to me, and I can't blame them.
