Rex We Hardly Knew You

We have not seen a chicken for about three weeks. And I must confess Rex, was not our chick, probably we were more like Rex’s people. I guess if there was anything that best describe Rex, it would be that Rex was the neighborhood chicken. If there ever was a free range chicken it was Rex. I want to say he but in actuality Rex was a “she“. She gave us some very fine eggs.

I have to admit I miss Rex’s daily gift of an egg but more than that I miss Rex. I miss, when opening my front door in the morning to have Rex greet me busily scratching for bugs in the front yard.

I first noticed Rex couple of months ago. I thought sure the bird was a rooster ergo the name “Rex” but when we first found the clutch of eggs a few months ago in a small   space  between our garage and our stack of firewood 15 to 20 eggs, some broken some looking way old and some  okay. Dianne  put together a  cute nest, in a cardboard box. Dianne even fashion a roof out of scrap  tin to go over the box and straw nest. Rex obviously loved the space nest because we found a egg in the nest almost every day. And again it is not about the eggs it’s about our friend Rex, the chicken, who genuinely seemed to enjoy interacting with Dianne and I. Many times on returning home in the van, Rex would see us all the way at the other in the block from running to greet us. Many mornings Dianne and Rex would have long conversations out on the ramp.

As I indicated earlier, Rex was a free range chicken. We kind of believe Rex was housed out of the neighbor’s house a few doors down. This neighbor collects many stray animals especially cats, feral cats. The postman thinks that Rex may have escaped from a caged chickens in the other block. He indicates there other fowl in this cage that look remarkably like Rex. So possibly Rex escaped, captured by the Catwoman, who basically then let Rex wander and who recaptured Rex when she realized Rex was spending too much time at our house. But everybody misses her, the postman my neighbors and us… Having Rex around was like being a little bit rural.

The End of Summer

The summer of 2014 is nearly over, sure there’s still a month, I don’t count the last week July, this month is over and so that just leaves August. There well still be well still be, maybe even hot days but as the days shorten and the time of darkness lengthens the great coolness begins.

The family reunion began a week go, today. The reunion is long over now in fact Dianne and I just finished processing all the extra chicken and ham, ordered thinking there would be much more in attendance then showed up. That’s okay not a problem we are glad that we had enough food for everyone and everyone seemed to have a good time. Last year we sent a lot of the extra food home with the travelers to the reunion. This year however we were bit more Machiavellian choosing to keep the food ourselves and figure out a way to use it to make some special dishes over the fall and perhaps winter should the food last that long. We’ve been taking the week since the reunion to rest up refocus on our living situation. We’ve been doing a little cleaning in the house and spending a lot of time in the back with our  garden. I’ve been really tickled watching the eggplants, which seem to really be growing. We should be able to have mature eggplants in a couple weeks if their growth continues as robust as now. Dianne says we have large tomatoes coming to maturity in the big garden in the backyard. Little tomatoes are those up in my growing area just haven’t done much. I’ve enjoyed this growing season however large the fruits in my patio garden become.

I think if I need a project, or have a project for the remainder of the summer it might be the modification of the weight machine I finally retrieved last week and which now sits under a blue tarp on my back patio. I still think I can get this modification accomplished through the efforts of UCA T. I don’t know how seriously they will take my project but I think something will happen one way or another. I have faith in this equipment and I know if I can get the modifications accomplished,  the machine will be of great use to me and my body. Other projects I would like to see accomplished by years or summers and would be cleaning on the house, some repairs to the house and maybe a long-term project that might take me out of the house on a regular basis. I did, couple days ago when we picked up the machine inquire as to Big fives need for holiday help. I don’t know if I really want to work but maybe something part time over the holidays might be somewhat interesting and be kinda fun. Then again I could renew my interest with volunteering at the Intermountain Hospital not far from my home. Intermountain certainly be interesting but very rigorous and very rah rah. I could pursue the same option for University Hospital whereas University of Utah medical Center is not so corporate as Intermountain medical Center there is the time/distance consider. I’m sure something will come when the time comes.

I Couldn't Be Happier

 I don’t remember if I blogged about it a few months ago but I purchased a weight machine. You know what of those gymnasium type apparatus that allows you to work on numerous muscle groupings of the body. I had been using fairly sophisticated machine at Wellness when I was doing that program and I missed the workout that machine gave me. So in this passion I currently have regarding my bodybuilding and trying to get to a more healthy lifestyle I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a weight machine. I found one a few months ago at the local Big 5 sports store in my neighborhood. I found a machine which was smaller  then the others and I feel I can make do to exercise the muscle groups I think I need to “pulls” and “rowing” and I’m sure there’s a host of other exercises I might be able to achieve having this device.

I knew I would have to struggle with a number of questions, issues and logistic gymnastics even begin this process of owning a weight machine but my history has taught me that I often give up things that I want or feel that I need because I felt I was not immediately ready for whatever the product was. So like the dog who’s caught the car right now figure out what to do with my weight machine. I readily could not even get the machine home not so much because of manpower and a vehicle to transport (though that is definitely an issue) but more importantly he is going to put the weight machine so I don’t only store the device but really use it effectively. There really is no room in the house as the house is set up right now. We’ve discussed possible options but all those options will take significant work. There’s no room in the garage actually there is room but again that will take significant effort  to find the room or organize the room in the garage. The only other option as I see is to store the device on the patio alongside the house until we can make room for it inside the house some.

 I did not make contact with Big 5 for over two months following the purchase and quite frankly, I was afraid they would’ve either trashed the purchase or resold since I had not been in contact but fortunately when I did go in and speak with them they still had it, but were definitely glad to see me, I assured them I would have the device out shortly.

I realized the family reunion was my best option for a pick up truck and sufficient physical help to move my weight to the house. I got my younger brother and his son, who also owns a pickup truck, and we went to Big 5 and got the weight machine. Even though I really did not have a place to put the device I had to get it over the reunion or I don’t think I would’ve been able to acquire device at all. We did it! It was much easier than anticipated. Even the fact that now device is sitting, draped in a blue plastic tarp, wondering what next is going to happen to it. My next move is going to contact U C A T and put them on the spot to see if they will indeed modify the device the way I needed modified.

I have to admit I’m excited I think this will work. I must remain patient as I work through all the different angles I need to bring this project to fruition. Little by little I am building my own  Wellness program and I could not be happier.

Family – 2014

It’s so strange to have it Monday morning, the Monday following the 2014’s Smith  family reunion, we just finished the dishes and getting on with my week. The reunion is over, it pretty much concluded Saturday night after he finally left my brother Carl’s and went are various ways. It was a great Saturday night, sitting under the awning which covers Carl’s back patio. Sister Linda had already left for her flight earlier in the afternoon, getting back to Boise. Many of the family were not able to make this years reunion which is sad they were missed. We hope, I hope they all be able to make the event next year. I hope I will be able to make the event next year since it sounds like the reunion will be held in Boise are more specifically Cascade, Idaho where my younger brother is seriously considering building his dream home. Making a trip like that would be a serious challenge to Dianne myself but maybe it’s something we can work on and be able to pull off next year. The biggest issue would be the actual transportation. However that’s all tralala which I’ll discuss at different points in the coming year. No, the event ended and everybody is okay, more or less. There were some moments of tension and one minor meltdown or near meltdown that I’m aware… There may have been more but all in all we are okay. I was intrigued to find that my younger brother’s wife were neighbors of a close friend of mine I had when I was younger, in fact right after my physical rehabilitation. He and I had met in rehab had a unique life afterwards both be in significantly high traumaead tetraplegics.. I am sure I will come back to this interesting coincidence in the future.

The dinner on Friday night at the Golden corral went off very well later spent time at Carl’s. Saturday morning and afternoon was okay the park we had was cool a little breezy an enjoyable. If there was a drawback it was there is only one child at the whole event he seemed pretty lonely off and on but did a pretty good job amusing him self with the adults. We had the park only till 3 o’clock. Removed the Carl’s Ward spent the rest of the reunion in move to the in the cultural hall/gym, where he a chicken, ham rolls and a host of desserts. It was a good afternoon. At 3 o’clock the crew moved, again to Carl’s home where we visited played around and ate again cold chicken, potato salad, baked beans and more desserts later on around 9 o’clock 10. Carl’s family for the most part gone to the soccer game but they returned later on it visited with the family. Sadly though, the night wound down we all had to be on our way… At least I did. We went home and took Sunday as a truly day of rest and to process the previous two days.

Family, you got to love them. Our family is huge and our family is complicated, we are a blended family with a complicated mythology/history. Even now I think 95% of our reunion is trying to nail down the mythology/history which is Family

Reunion!

It is started. Today, this evening, actually in just and hour and a half we will officially begin the Smith Family Reunion. I'm not sure if you would call this a tradition but it seems when the family reunion is held in Salt Lake that evening before the reunion, Saturday, those here in Salt Lake meet at this all you can eat restaurant called Golden Corral. I think we began this “tradition” mom Smith was still pretty much in charge and running the boat. Now Mom Smith loved all-you-can-eat places. She liked a good deal especially if she was running the boat and payin for the whole shebang she chose the place and it must've been Golden Corral.

The Golden Corral is really not that bad, it's wheelchair accessible fairly well laid out in a have a good selection of food especially protein and depend on the time of day one goes the protein could even be steak cooked the way you want. The trouble is you have to share this place with the other general public which in many cases our seniors. Now I understand that we not fixed income one has to make the best of what you've got, you got a stretch the dollar and this place G C is the place to do it at. Luckily, Dianne made the arrangements and we should have a room to ourselves so after we get our plates and plates of food we can adjourn to the banquet room and eat in relative peace (get it, relative?). There we will be able to eat with our hands , salivate and steal food from each other just like we did on the Serengeti millions of years ago. We will visit, take pictures of each other unabashedly and generally have a great feast. It should be fun. Most everybody shows up for the Gold movie in the line Corral even when when it became pay your own way. I may be wrong but it seemed at that point the immediate families began to hold up together sort like “circling the wagons”: individual clans inside the big clan. Really interesting.

To be honest I can't believe were still doing the Family Reunion. I thought sure with mom's passing so would be the end of our event. But that does not seem to be the case I think this is the third reunion after her passing there are some people coming from thousands of miles away. I am sensing some tension the some of the older brothers and sisters particularly with inclusion to extended family members and family lines who tend to drop by the reunion. That will not be till tomorrow however. And I don't think any of the extended family will make it by since there is a major familial event going on tomorrow on that side. So maybe we have dodged the bullet this year, but like a smart missile it's out there hovering waiting, patiently for the right time to launch its attack. But hey! It's the family reunion and I know a good time will be had by all.

Empowerment!

I was a little nervous about my participation in the ADA events I participated in on Monday, the event that I wrote about in my last post. I figured I'd be okay five minutes that's hardly anything in presentation time almost just enough say your name little bit about yourself flash a smile and basically sit down. Besides, this was old hat, I knew these people at work with these people often on my whole career here in Utah so essentially they were old friends so this would be easy.

I don't know why I had not put this together before the event but what I was rolling into was a PR production for the C A T committee. I have some very strong issues with the C a T committee I will not go into here. The committee meets once a month and supposedly deals with consumers with disabilities who have issues with the transit authority or questions are considerations regarding disability. In fact I served on this committee for a number of years before I realized that by doing so I was a pawn of the authority. Anyway, that is fodder for another blog. I was there and I was going to be good. So, I waited outside for the conclusion of that meeting. I was pleased when one of my colleagues from the local disability showed up and who was also on the program. Andrew, is significantly disabled, is a good thinker. He works for the local disability Law Center as a consumer advocate. He does a great job in fact, I've often felt he does not get the support he deserves for the work he does but that's Andrew's business not mine.

By the time our program was to begin the area was crowded with a number of folks with disabilities and I again realized that 9/10 of this program was a photo op for the Authority. At this juncture I just wanted to do my presentation on leave. There was to be a third presenter, another longtime advocate for accessible transportation, who also has a significant disability but she didn't show up but still, surprises me. This was to be a panel discussion which would've been a lot of fun because it turned out to be Andrew was good to his five minutes I was going to my five minutes and that would be that. Andrew had a pressing engagement so I agreed to let him go first. As I said Andrew is extremely bright and knows his business the other side of that nice however is Andrew can be gregarious. He was but he said great things, he briefly outline the national agendas and some feelings about where the disability movement was today. He really covered all the essential stuff the black and white stuff I just had to add the color. And I did.

But I presents I rarely write anything down, I like to speak off-the-cuff and they usually do okay depending on the group to the subject matter and how much sugar I have ingested. I spoke from a position personal knowledge/experience. I spoke to how I became an empowered user of public transit. How I have done the job of advocate for increased access to public transit in the community as just a job until one day when I was without transportation meaning I no longer had transportation, meaning I was totally reliant on the system. Spoke of how one while sitting on the side of the road a U T A bus stopped and asked for going to ride.I talked about how I was sitting in my manual chair and I just looked at the driver and said “can I ride your bus?” And he said “if you could do on my bus you can ride my bus” and with that I crawled onto my first bus in this changed my life, up until then my job is transit coordinator was just that a job now was a crusade. Public transit was a right that everyone had everyone should be able to ride the bus. The only thing that would've made the presentation better would've been a black choir humming the Have him of Republic.

I voice like working with Andrew is fun to bounce off of you can really set a good stage. I forgot how well I do some this kind of work I'm glad I had a chance again to do some something beneficial. I did good and I'm finding out that is harder and harder to do.

Not Quite Yet Gone

I have observed myself becoming more and more invisible as I sink into the abyss we call retirement. I'm not sure if I'm trying to reduce my visibility in my community consciously orifices some bizarre unconscious thing I'm doing. But I've noticed closing out my experience with 211 that are freed up a great deal of time, even if my involvement with two and one was only on Mondays. It was all day Monday. My involvement to an one to hold a out week.. Then I closed out my account with the Wellness project. I started building my home gym with the acquisition of a rickshaw and then this Saratoga Silver. I really believe that this equipment I'm getting the physical workout that I was going to wellness for. I do realize and I miss the social involvement. I tried to make up for that aspect of loss that I haven't replaced the social peace yet but, hopefully that social piece is coming. Wellness took at least three days of my week these were half days it's not more time-wise in this really opened up my week. I feel fortunate in that I continue to offer some time on the volunteer board of Assist, Inc. and even this has fallen off as Assist, Inc. goes through the summer staff take their vacations. I believe I have the whole month of July free of Access, Inc.

I no longer even purchase a bus pass as I had been doing, it's not cost effective, I find paying for my transit one bus trip at the time is the best way to go and even then more than half the time the driver doesn't even take my fare. I really need proof of payment when I ride the train so when I don't get a transfer I purchase the regular fare card. The point beingthe amount I spend on transportation doesn't ever come close to the cost of a monthly fare card even with the disability discount. It is so easy to become invisible it's reinforcing take the easy way out. I found myself sleeping in, and I never do that, I found myself wanting to stay up late knowing I could force myself to sleep into the point of being able to function. I was kind of beginning to worry. I had my little garden to focus on, I was kind of getting into cooking dinners but I was becoming invisible.

Then last week I got an interesting call my old friend Kim, the fellow I used to work with quite close. Kim wanted to know if I was okay with him giving out my phone number to a colleague. I said sure no problem. Not soon after I was contacted by Sherry rupture, ADA compliance officer for the local transit authority. They are having their local ADA anniversary and wanted be to give a five-minute presentation on what or how the transit authorities history with ADA and access is meant to me. Five minutes, five minutes is what they want me to do and I can do that standing on my head. I think I can do this without getting myself into too much trouble. Historically myself and the transit authority have not always been on friendly terms but we are part of each other's history. So, have something on my calendar for next week. The event should be interesting and fun and something to stave off my complete visibility for a few more months.

Slipping, Slipping Into the Furture

It almost seems I am slipping into a life of mediocrity. This slippage is not intentional it is just that in my retirement I just cannot seem to generate the interest to motivate me to reach out and get out of the house. When I was more focused on the wellness project at University rehab that was a bit different. I was getting up and getting dressed and getting out of the house utilize the transit system in going back and forth and all was good .

The same holds true with the volunteering I was doing with 211 at United way. I had the system down. I was into to 211 every Monday morning for my 8 hours. I loved the ride into the city on the train, I loved hanging with the other operators, being involved with them and the calls. I am good at information and referral and I&R is good for me. Being at 211 puts me right in downtown and I love every bit of being down town. When 4:30 rolled around I rolled out for the week. I was done what a great system. Then with my Assist, Inc meeting he following day—again in the city for half a day. Perfect. When I was finished with the Asssit.inc meeting I felt I had done enough and was happy for the rest of the week—just goosing round and enjoying my freedom.

I still feel I did the right thing severing ties with these two organizations. The organizations were beginning to mess with me and my time and how I did my work. The only problem now is what doI do with the extra time more importantly what do I do with myself and how do I keep my self esteem jackedup to where I need it.

Monday I was pleased when I got call from one of my former work-mates. He wanted to know if it was OK to give my phone number to person with whom I used to work. The next day Sherry called from the local transit authority wanting me to present at the upcoming ADA birthday event. I am to take five minutes give a synopsis of what the ADA and public transit has ment to me over the years.

It's not much but it is enough for me to keep to keep my perspective of who I am and where I have been.

Sunday Afternoon Thoughts

I love my neighborhood, I especially love my neighbors. I have been fortunate to be sandwiched in between not only interesting folk but folk who care about me, my family and my home. I would like to believe that this almost idyllic setting of neighbors would last forever and never change but that's just not practical. My neighbor on one side of the house died twice three or four months ago. They brought it back both times. This guy is almost 90 years old. He is gone through rehab and is back home and he told me the other day that he was almost ready start pushing a lawnmower around again. He is actually come back in the very brink of death. Be that as it may you can only dodge bullets for so long in his numbers coming up.

My neighbor across the street who is currently single, sort of, I think we'll soon be getting hitched. This is good. His kids have left the house years ago he retired and went back to another job. He is currently rented out a couple of rooms in the basement. Now, his house is not a party house but he is sure entertaining a lot more than he used to and I think this is sort of good, but again shortchanges the face of the neighborhood. He is come over a couple of times a little smashed which is never happened before. Then there is me. I am rolling around my house and yard nearly naked and at times completely naked! And I like it.

Down the street a couple of Harley Davi motorcycle heads of moved in and are roaring their bikes up and down the street all summer long. Life is interesting as is the neighborhood. I think I'm finally beginning to adjust to this thing called retirement. I'm not doing as much volunteer work as I probably need to but that's okay to, I'm sure when the time comes and volunteer options make themselves available I will step up to the challenge. Until then I'm quite content sitting back and watching my neighborhood.

Watch Me Grow!!

I guess I am just going to have to warn you all that I am going to be as painful as a new parent for the next couple weeks as the summer runs its course. Finally my little garden is beginning to produce. I had tomatoes for some time now, they are small and show no signs of growing larger and I think the problem is the tomatoes are in little pots in the probably grown to the maximum size that their little confined roots will allow. These tomatoes are in fairly large buckets I thought sure they would produce larger fruit. The same with the peppers, the peppers are small and have turn colors most notably black! They are cute and nice to look at but I don't know more than that. I doubt if there's a whole mouthful to one of these peppers. We'll just have to see. What is really excited me today is that I noticed I finally have blossoms on my eggplants! For some reason this has thrilled me almost like a new parent. I even drug my tablet back to the garden and snapped a few images of the new growth. I know this is silly, I still have a long ways to go before this blossom will produce an edible eggplant but for right now it's given me something to look forward to something to be giddy about just like becoming a new parent.

So I warn you if you hate parents who blog on and on and on about their children or grandchildren then I warn you to maybe drop this blog for a couple months because I have a feeling I will be talking about my eggplants fairly constant for the next couple weeks.