making a simple process complicated

This morning I took my brother to the local VA hospital for outperson surgery on his foot.  The surgery went well and we were out by 11am.  That part was simple. The complication came in the process of getting him to and from the hospital.  First problem, he had to be there at 6:30am and I can't drive in the dark.  To solve that problem, I drove out to his house (north of Fort Wayne) in daylight yesterday and stayed overnight. His two dogs loved having company (Bubba and I played endless games of catch) and my brother and I enjoyed hearing each others' comments on the State of the Union speech.  We do not always agree but did not come to blows. Second problem, my six foot, six inch tall brother doesn't fit in my little car, especially with a big boot on one foot. So early this morning, in the dark, he drove us to the hospital in his van. We got there in plenty of time and, as I said the surgery went well.  They told me it would take about an hour and a half and it did. The last hurdle to overcome was me driving him home in his big old van.  First I had to figure out how to unlock it.  Did you know you can u nlock a car with the key? No remote here. Once I was in the car with the mirrors and seat adjusted, I was able to maneuver it up to the hospital entrance without hitting anything (I had made him park in a pull-through space so I didn't have to back it up), transfer him from wheelchair to car, and away we went,  Happily it was an easy, uneventful drive back to his house where I got him settled safely inside then hopped in my little Fiat and headed home. Mission accomplished. By the way, there has been a lot of bad press about VA hospitals in the last couple of years but I saw nothing but pleasant professionalism and efficiency at the Fort Wayne VA hospital today.

no real surprises

Back before  Christmas I spit in a tube and sent away for my DNA analysis and now I have the results.  At first glance it seems that my ancestry is 51.8 percent French and German. The French part surprises me a little although my mother always said we had some French ancestry.  Sadly, at least for my son, I am less that one tenth of one percent Asian and less than one tenth of one percent Native American so there go his hopes for minority scholarships for my granddaughters.  There are still several layers of information I have yet to explore like the fact that I supposedly have at least 30 "cousins" living in Ohio and many more DNA matches around the country, notably in Texas and California. I do actually have some cousins in California but Texas??? This is a multi layered report so I will have some fun exploring futher.  Just as soon as I discover that I am related to someone fabulously rich and famous I'll be sure to let you know.

What could be so important?

I just saw a clip on evening TV news from someone's dash cam (an interesting invention) showing a person driving a white pickup truck cutting around a stopped car and crossing a railroad track seconds before a highspeed train came roaring through.  Evidently this has gone viral. He drove around the crossing arms, that were down, and ignored the flashing lights.  So now I'm wondering, why was he in such a rush? Did he have anyone in the truck with him? Like maybe a pregnant wife in labor? So then he'd be risking two lives besides his own?  Was he being chased by police? No sign of that but I bet they're after him now. Was he on his way to a party and didn't want the beer to get warm? Was he late for work or class? Which of those scenarios is worth risking your life for? It looked like there was only one car stopped in front of him at the crossing so it wasn't like he would have to wait for a huge line of cars to get through after the train passed. By the way, lest you think I'm being sexist or politically insensitive, the voice on the dash cam recording referred to the driver as a guy as in "What does that guy think he's doing?" I'm truly glad there wasn't an accident and I hope that the driver has learned a lesson from his close call, but I doubt it.

This would be a shock.

I heard a report on the news this evening about the reopening of an investigation into the deaths of a wealthy couple in California.  Evidently at first it was assumed that the two hanged people had committed suicide but some new evidence is pointing to murder. None of that would have caught my interest but the next statement did. "The bodies were discovered by their Realtor when he came to set up for an open house."  Talk about a nasty shock.  I was a Realtor for 20 years and walked in on some interesting and unexpected scenes from time to time; people sleeping in what was supposed to be a vacant house, a crow caught in a bedroom, dishes stacked to the ceiling in a kitchen sink because the sellers had been told to clean off the counter tops to name a few.  Once, on a group tour to see a new listing, we walked in on a couple (guests of the owners) having sex on the livingroom floor. Their hosts had forgotten to mention that we would be coming. But never, never did I ever find dead bodies in a house where I was planning to hold an open house. I'm pretty sure that would have brought my real estate career to a screeching halt.  No mention in the report if the Realtor managed to sell the house. I'm guessing not but my nasty, mystery loving mind envisions a scene where the Realtor, having found the bodies, but knowing that he has already spent a bundle on advertising, locks the bedroom door, goes ahead with the open house and then calls the police.  Just kidding, I know that would never happen.  

going off the grid

I'll be traveling with a friend to Australia in a few weeks and she called me this evening because she couldn't figure out how to use the power converter she had bought to be able to charge her phone and use her hairdryer while we're traveling.  I was absolutely no help at all.  I explained to her what she then recalled from our other trips together - I don't take anything with me that needs pluggling in or charging.  My digital camera uses batteries, I don't use a hairdryer, and I turn my phone off when I leave the country. I know, I know, how weird is that?  I remember sitting at a dinner in Scotland two years ago. At one point, of the 15 of us around the table only three, myself included, were not on our phones.  I think that's a shame.  There are so many interesting things to experience and people to meet when traveling. For example, during that same meal I had a great conversation with our tour bus driver, a nice young man named Kevin, who spoke with such a thick Scots accent that I had to have him write a couple of things down - TV shows he was recommending I should watch on Netflix. Learning about culture in other countries is so interesting, isn't it?

Banking might be getting easier.

I do much of my banking on line these day but sometimes, like today, I need to get cash and that means actually going to my bank or paying a fee at an ATM, which I don't like to do when I don't have to.  I know, I know, if I calculate the cost of gas vs the fee this may be false economy but it still feels right to me. Years ago, when we lived out north of Dupont Road, I started banking at Grabill Bank which had a branch less than a mile from our house. Over the years, through mergers, Grabill Bank became IAB (I never was sure what those initials stood for). In 2017, another merger, or takeover, happened and now I'n banking at First Merchants Bank.  This is fine, no big changes, but when I need to do banking that I can't do on line I still fine myself driving all the way out to one of two locations on Dupont Road.  There used to be a location on West Jefferson but the last time I drove out that way it had been transformed into a tire store. However, according to the evening news, First Merchant's is going to be leasing the second floor of the new Ash Brokerage building which is right downtown, less than a mile from where I live. Obviuosly I'm easily excited, but this news really does please me. One more good thing downtown!

Walk like a penguin.

Wow, I feel much better now.  When I'm walking on icy pavement, a parking lot, sidewalk, etc., I tend to take very small steps and go as slowly and carefully as possible.  The last time I did this I was internally scolding myself for walking like an old lady.  Of course I am an old lady (gasp, I really can't claim to be middle-aged any more.). More and more, as I take these tiny steps, I remind myself of Tim Conway doing his 'little old man' imitations. But, this evening on the local news a doctor gave some interesting advise. First he said that if you do slip on ice, hold your arms tight to your sides and roll up like a ball to avoid broken wrists and arms.  Really?  I have slipped on ice a few times in my life, most recently two weeks ago, and, believe me, as I was going down I really didn't have time to think about where my arms were. Luckily no broken bones.  But, what I enjoyed hearing in this doctor's advice this evening was "When you walk on ice, take tiny steps.  Walk like a penguin." Well, I feel better now.  I wasn't walking like an old lady, I was walking like a penguin. That sounds so much better.