NONSENSE FROM THE WEST
Terri and Lauren left
Oakley in my care while they went for Sushi. He is a dog used to being
entertained and receiving lots of attention. To that end, he sat a ball
in front of me, looked up at me and barked until I realized my duty. When I
became distracted i was loudly reminded of my duty. I threw the ball and
entertained Oakley for the full 1 and ½ hours the girls were gone. (Ken was
taking a nap.) When Lauren returned I told her that I thought baby sitting with
Oakley might be similar to baby sitting with a spoiled demanding grandchild.
She smiled and acknowledged that he is, indeed, spoiled. I wonder, do
they have a Dr. Spock for dogs?
Of course, as you all
know, California is burning. Fire fire everywhere and not a drop of
rain!! (Actually there may have been a few drops in the mountains nearby but
not where it was needed.)It is sad to see the destruction of these massive
fires and heart breaking to drive through the devastated acres where lush green
forests once stood. Current events suggest that Governor Brown and President
Trump are engaging in a Twitter exchange that will yield neither rain nor
miracles. Oh well, venting is good.
I am trying to resolve
a dilemma. Glendale has a proposed amendment on the November ballot that will
increase our sales tax by ¾ percent. As I understand it there is a
California sales tax maximum of 10.25%. The current rate is 9.5% a large part
of which is State and the remainder is disbursed among the cities and counties.
There is 3/4% tax rate unfettered and, as I understand it, the City fears that
a State or County sales tax might be passed which would distribute the money to
the County or State on an equitable basis. Ostensibly it would raise our tax
rate to the maximum allowable 10.25% (from the current 9.5%). and guarantee
that the ¾% tax generated by passage of
the proposed ballot measure would be retained in its entirety by Glendale.
Admittedly Glendale is not in a bad way money wise (it is not clear how they
intend to use the money) but if we do not pass this increase, we might have to
share with other governmental entities and it appears to be the position of our
City Fathers that we should use the money as they see fit. What will they
think of next? Taxes earned in Glendale should stay in Glendale?
I am sorry.
California is a beautiful and enchanting place to visit and enjoy but it is
fast becoming loathsome as a place to live. If we were not in round 3 of
our 3 round rush to life and have family here, we would find another place to
live. Please don't rush to send me your one way ticket out of town. I am
old and cantankerous.
I had my third visit
with the neurologist who confirmed what I already knew. I have neuropathy
in both feet. As I understand it neuropathy is typically associated with
diabetes and that has never been a factor in my malaise. The Doctor
prescribed some further blood tests in an effort to identify a possible cause.
She has also prescribed a higher dosage of medicine that may reduce my symptoms
and increase my comfort level in my day to day activities. Ken has
also bought me a new stationary bike which is an improvement over the old one
that belonged to his Uncle Bob who died in 1985.
Ken is continuing with
cardiac rehab three times a week. He does good but he tires easy. Chores
that once were simple exercises are now major endeavors. Ah but the joys
of growing old!! One cannot anticipate the frustration of aging in
advance because, like our lifestyle, one size does not fit all.
I had thought that I
might avoid a “rant” this week but alas, our pool was green in spite of a full
time pool service. I questioned whether we were getting our weekly service and
was assured that all was well, the pool was sparkling and everything
seemed in order. We keep a cover over it when it is not in use which heats it
as well as protects it from any falling leaves. When I called our pool man
about the offensive green, his excuse was that we needed to clean the
filter. Well hello there! I thought that was part of our service
and second, why were we not advised that there was a need for extra effort
either by us or them?
He finally came on
Saturday and found that a nut or something had come off the filter which
prohibited its proper functioning. I assigned Ken the responsibility of
discussing his schedule and confirming what our agreement was. Ken decided that
the pool man was not at fault and he was due back today to clean the filter. He
hasn't showed up and I am trying hard to be patient but we may be seeking a new
pool service.
It is with reluctance
that I acknowledge that I may be “hearing challenged” and to that end, I have
new hearing aids. I am not yet entirely committed to the prospect of wearing
them full time but so far, my trial periods seem to suggest improvement.
Further updates will be provided. Ken recently got replacement aids from
Costco. I chose aids advertised on the web for a fraction of that
cost so we will see how the two compare. I consider hearing aids as
another tack in the series of nails that are being added to my coffin!
We are planning a short
three day trip to Canada September 7-10 to attend a memorial service for our
friend from our RV travel, sail "around the horn" and who shared our
around the world adventure. We shared many special adventures, family visits
and great experiences with him and his wife, Diane. We will miss him.
Further, we are looking forward to a visit from my niece, Debbie October
10-17. Nephew, JD keeps promising but California has not made it to
the top of his priority list yet. We will wait.
That’s it for another
week. For someone who has a very mundane lifestyle, I sure do engage in a
lot of hyperbole.
