The Presidential Debate

We sure had some high tides last week.  Last Thursday it must have been 5 feet above normal.  Jerilyn had two, large, potted plants setting on the pier, as well as a hanging basket and a basket on the pier rail.  Like a jughead, I go down during a break in the rain to see how much water is accumulating in the boat.  At that time the water covered the pier and was about 6 inches deep.   It was still two hours away from high tide, but, I’m thinking the flowers will be ok.  They are fairly large and quite heavy, so they should be ok.  About two hours later Jerilyn yells, my two potted plants are floating away.  I look out and sure ‘nuff they are floating up the creek.  I go down to the pier and wade out to the boat, the water is about two feet above the pier by now, and watch one floating downstream.  I dunno where the other one went to.  I lower the boat, disconnect it from the pier and head off looking for potted flowers.  I am sure our neighbors thought I was “nutsâ€, but I was able to retrieve one of the plants.  The other one is hiding out there somewhere.  Where?  Only the shadow knows!

I watched the presidential debate the other night and went to bed thinking it was a draw.  I don’t think anyone changed their mind because of what either candidate said.   I’m still having a problem deciding on which one to vote for.  I’m leaning toward Obama because he seems a reasonable fellow, but I want McCain to convince me to vote for him.   I have received tons of e-mail disparaging Obama and absolutely none doing the same to McCain.   There seems to be something inherently wrong with that.  How can there not be one e-mail with someone saying something bad about McCain?   I want Republicans to convince me to vote for McCain, not make me afraid to vote for Obama.   Tell me there hasn’t been an attack on American soil since 9/11 because of President Bush, don’t tell me Obama is Muslin, or won’t put his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance.   We know Obama is not Muslim and I see people not putting their hand over their heart during the pledge all the time.  Aaaah, if Dad could hear me now, being the good Republican he was, he would roll over in his grave.   I can just see it now, he would say to Mom, “Dolly come over here and look at what Tommy Joe is writing now!† “Well Preachâ€, she would say, “he always was strong headed.† As a footnote, Dad’s nickname was Preach.  His first name was Elden, but Grandma said at age 9 they caught him on a stump after church preaching, hence the nickname “Preachâ€.  I doubt very few people outside our family knew his real name.

Jerilyn and I have spent a lot of time this past week stripping wallpaper off the walls in the family room.  Living close to the water, very close to sea level, has its disadvantages and one of them is that your house has a tendency to settle.  Anyway, stripping wallpaper is not a fun thing to do.  I am not very good at doing things that do not interest me.  Jerilyn really had her hands full trying to keep me on the job.  She is an excellent taskmaster, keeping her focus on the job at hand and not stopping until the job is complete.  If I owned my own company, I would want to hire a dozen employees like her.   I would probably get rich really fast.

My youngest granddaughter, Chelsea, just turned 16 and I received a wonderful e-mail from her.   She lives very far away (16 hrs) and we don’t see each other very often.  She was born about a month after my son, Rusty, and his family moved to Tennessee in 1992.  So, on average, we see each other once a year, which isn’t very much.   She is a lovely young lady and I miss her a lot.  Before long, she will be an adult and I will have had very little opportunity to enjoy her childhood.   Maybe, grandparents aren’t all that important in their young lives, but I like to think we are.  She told me once that I thought I knew her, but that I really didn’t.   In retrospect, she probably was right.  What can you know about someone when you are around them only twice a year.   I have tried to convince her what a great grandpa I am, but, I don’t think I have.   Deep in my heart I know I haven’t.

My brother Jerry was ready for a visit this week, so off I went to his home in Carolina to spend some time with him.  He seems to be doing ok considering everything that’s wrong with him health wise.  His wife, Patty, broke her hip and had two pins put in place during surgery.  She seems to be recovering fairly well.

We are off to Branson, MO, this coming Saturday (10/11).  We went there back in 2006, but Jerilyn wanted to go again, so off we go.  I had fun the last time because I had three first cousins, and their wives, onboard the bus.  You get to meet a lot of people and all the planning and logistics of the trip are done for you.  I never knew that bus tours could be so much fun. I hope to take a lot of pics and share them with you on my return.  I can just hear the groaning now .  I also plan on keeping in touch with my laptop.

I hope you’re enjoying whatever season it is in your part of the world.  Thanks for reading my weekly missive.

You can find my blog at:   http://tommyhale.blogspot.com/  or my pictures at:  http://bipolar66.smugmug.com