Flashback Friday #240

An Overnight Guest



Welcome back for another helping of menutia.

The the last Flashback Friday post, I told you about moving into our new digs. We had moved in everything we had planned to move for the time being and evryone had gone their own ways. It wasn't dark yet, but dusk was setting in. As I was heading into the house from the trailer, I heard someone call out my name.

I looked up and one of the guys that I went to school with, was riding down the road on his bike. Jon coasted to a stop and we chatted for a few minutes. While we chatted, neither of us had noticed how dark the clouds were getting. Suddenly, a storm broke out and both of us headed for the trailer for shelter.

Mom didn't like the idea of Jon riding his bike home in the dark during a storm. His bike was too big to fit into the Pinto, so Mom asked him if he'd like to spend the night. He said he'd have to call home first. His folks were relieved to know that he wouldn't be riding his bike in the storm (he lived about four miles away).

I had never had anyone spend the night with me that I wasn't related to. Aunt Shelly's kids were over several times during the month to spend the night. Since my bed was now a bunk bed, there would be a place for a friend to sleep without sleeping with me or sleeping on the floor.

I always thought that it was funny that the very first night in our new home was spent with a visitor.

Failure At Parenting

Former NFL player Brian Holloway (no, not the former Ohio Bible quizzer) won't forget Labor Day 2013 any time soon. While he was at his home in Florida, 300 teens decided to break into his vacation home in upstate NY and party. Before the police could break up the party, over $20,000 in damage was done to the home.

It was bad enough that the teens nearly destroyed the house, most of the also posted pictures of themselves on social media sites while doing it. That's where Mr. Holloway became proactive. Armed with the social media evidence, he began to identify the teens and post their names along with the pictures they took. All that evidence is going to the Sheriff's department.

Here's the kicker. Several of the parents of the teens have threatened him. They're angered that he posted the pictures. Excuse me, didn't the kids post them first? I know if I had done anything like that, I would have been a senior citizen before I could sit down again.

He tried to be nice and posted an invitation to all the teens to come help him clean up. Zero showed up. However, six teens that weren't involved did. Perhaps there's some hope for the future generation.

You can read the full story here http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/23754594/teens-trash-home-of-exnfl-player-teens-parents-threaten-player

Flashback Friday #239

Move In Day


Greetings to all. It's nice to see you again (even though I really can't, but that's something completly different).

In my last few Flashback Friday posts, I told you of Dad buying a trailer and moving it onto our land. We had been living in a large, old house, but now it was time for a change. Dad worked on getting the water and electricity up & going every night after work.I don't remember why, but somehow I got out of digging the ditch to run the water & sewer. It was dug by hand.

Once everything was hooked up, we had the daunting task of trying to fit everything that was in our house into the trailer. I remember several of Dad's friends and many of Aunt Shelly's kids coming over to help us move. If it wasn't attached, someone was asking "Does this go?" or "Where do you want this?"

When I say "move", it's just a relative term. It was all of 30 feet or so from the front door of the house to the door of the trailer. My parent's bed was moved in and then set up in their room. The bed nearly took up the whole room. There was room to walk between the side of the bed and the built-in dresser, but you had to stand on the bed to get anything out of the closet. I don't remember too many things that were in the closet being worn very often.

My closet was a direct contrast to their's. I hung everything I could and you could readily get to it. Seeing that my new room was a fraction of the size of my old one, I had to do something. It also served as a shelf for my stereo. If you opened my far closet door, my stereo sat there on the closet floor (which was about level with the top of my mattress). My record albums (remember those?) stood up beside the stereo with the 8-track tapes (If you don't remember albums, you won't remember 8-tracks).in a box behind. There was about a two foot section between the end of my bed and the wall that became a "catch-all".

Once the bedrooms were decked out, work began on the living room. We had a sleeper sofa that weighed a ton, and it took several of Aunt Shelly's kids to move it. It went into the "pop-out" section of the trailer. Just lik Archie & Edith, Mom & Dad each had a favorite chair. They were mpved beneath the large mirror, facing the kitchen. The TV went in front of the cut-away section of the kitchen wall, on the back side of the sink counter. Mom said if she was cooking and talking to Dad, he would at least look like he was listening to her while he watched TV.

The kitchen was the last to be moved. As the kitchen table was being moved into place, two of Aunt Shelly's kids bonked their heads on the tiffany light that was to hang over table. The second knocked a piece of glass out and it went into a drawer, one day to be repaired. Once all the food, dishes and cookware was brought over, we were ready for our first night in our new place.

Where ya been?

I know of at least one person has asked this question. Ever since Google decided to "make improvements" on blogger, I've had a rough time getting a post up. As it was, it took me seven minutes from the time I put up the title until I could type what you're reading.

It's not only that, it's been really busy here. We've worked overtime (which is good for the checkbook, not so good for computer time), parked cars at the county fair, worked the sweetcorn festival and spent lots of time in the doctor's office (I had a nasty fall at work and sprained my shoulder and strained my neck, other shoulder, thorax, lower back and hips).

I know I've let you down with no Flashback Friday for two months, but perhaps I'll get my blogging mojo back and we'll pick it up again.