Great Plan

Since we fancy ourselves to be writers, why don't we write our own obituaries?

That way the newspapers would have a much easier job.

Goodbye To The Would Be Man.

He was the would be man,
Dreaming of things he could never be,
Even when awake,
He'd fantasize of doing things he couldn't do.

Ruler of the world,
Soccer star,
Singer extrodinaire,
And writing his tales of woe.

Working a two bit job,
Or looking for employment,
His dreams kept him sane,
Or was that just something else he wanted and never had.

Now his dreams have gone,
Just like him,
Will there be another to take his place,
You bet because there's always another would be man out there.

You are not a would be man, you are very impressive.

Thank you.

I agree. Very impressive.

I wrot my own obituary in 1982 or '83 so the paper would have it on file. Now I have written instructions that no obit is to be run in any newspaper.

Dick,

I like your idea. What got me going was a ludicrous obit about Lane.

He would have snorted, "RUBBISH!"

It was poorly written and rife with errors.

Haven't any of you become the family obit writers? People always say, "Have Carol do it. She's the writer."

I've told my children I don't want them to say anything after I'm gone that they haven't said while alive, and I want someone to read my story, Golden Footprints, about how we all make a difference.

But I don't plan on going anywhere.

I cleaned out photos on my computer and found out I'm looking better all the time. I made up a little slide show for my husband of pics from the beginning of the year, that I was really improving. He said I should have had music accompanying it, like, "You Are So Beautiful." Funny man.

Carol

Keep at it, Carol!

Carol Troestler wrote:

I cleaned out photos on my computer and found out I'm looking better all the time. I made up a little slide show for my husband of pics from the beginning of the year, that I was really improving. He said I should have had music accompanying it, like, "You Are So Beautiful." Funny man.

Not so funny, really. I would be surprised if he thought you looked less than beautiful on any of the photos. He probably sees the face he saw on your first date.

I sometimes see the face of my first wife on our first date. Talk about scary!

He came, he saw, and got conquered by a foreign madchen.

Abe F. March wrote:

He came, he saw, and got conquered by a foreign madchen.

Come on, Abe,

YOU ARE FAR MORE THAN THAT! I am shouting on purpose.

Which reminds me, you promised us a story about your grandchildren's visit

I want to hear it.

FOR ALICE:

Grandchildren’s visit (in brief)
We were prepared – so we thought. My wife got some medicine from the doctor to calm her nerves and I just decided to wing it.
My daughter arrived with my two grandchildren: Erik 5, Natalie 9, and this once quite home changed. After settling in, I let things progress until some rules were needed. Turning on lights when entering a room with daylight streaming in, and then not turning it off when leaving, had to stop. Eating seemed to dominate. The kids were always wanting something to eat yet didn’t finish the food on their plates. That had to stop. When they wanted a drink, which was frequent, a new glass was taken. That had to stop. Taking off clothes (sweaters, coats, shoes) and leaving them where they were removed, had to stop. Yes, a few changes were in order.
So, Opa decided to set some rules and things changed.
It started at the food table when I heard, “I don’t like that.”
“Have you ever tried it?”
“No.”
“So then how do you know you don’t like it?” Funny how they began to like and enjoy different foods.
The kids had lots to do. They could wander through town and the vineyards without any concern for their safety and they had lots of fun.
My daughter stayed two weeks and then left with Erik. Natalie stayed for another two weeks and she was a model girl. She made friends with the Local kids and was invited to their homes. Somehow they communicated. I
watched them using hand signals and then repeating words to gain understanding. She learned more German and the local kids learned some English.
I traveled with her back to the States and stayed a month in Virginia. Some of the rules I had established when they were here stuck – at least
when I was around. All in all, it worked out well. I was happy to return home to peace and Quiet.
My daughter is a good mother but a bit too tolerant. The kids have too much in the way of material things. Alone, they are very manageable.
When they’re together they can create lots of havoc, but then kids are that way. They’re both bright and that makes them difficult to control without rules. They know how to get what they want; however fulfilling all the wants is not what a good parent does. Providing their needs and rewarding them with things they want, within reason, helps in maintaining control. Some lessons were learned by all.

Abe,

Thanks, it all sounds normal.

You're smart, Abe. Kids want rules. I found that out during the 13 years I coached Little League baseball. With rules, they know where they stand. Some people don't believe that.
I'll repeat a story. In 1947 two boys deliberately broke a rule, probably to test me. They walked home capless and shirtless after I confiscated theirs and told them not to come back.
The next spring the two of them came into the hobby shop I owned. I said hello and they said hello and then a few silent minutes went by before they told me they had organized a team for 14-and-under boys and asked me to be the coach. I agreed, even though it meant I had two teams to worry about.
Years later I met one of them on the street. He said, "Dick, the biggest favor anyone has done for me was the day you kicked Tom and me off the team."

You're right Dick.

To add a bit more about my visit, I'm reminded of the Art Linkletter show ,"Kids say the darndest things." My daughter and husband went to Washington to a concert and stayed overnight. I was babysitting.
I took Erik to his gymnastics class and planned to pick up a pizza at
Dominos to take home, but the kids wanted to eat out. I looked for a nearby pizza place and passed by the Waffle House. They had signs posted offering 9 meals for $4.95. Sounded reasonable. We sat down, the kids looked at the menu and selected a cheeseburger. I ordered it but was told they didn’t have that. They then pointed to another item on the menu that contained cheese. They didn’t have that either. I asked the waitress if she could tell me what they did have. She said they had run out of cheese and any item containing cheese was not available, so we got up and left.
Right around the corner was IHOP, so I stopped there. We got our menus and Erik asked, “Can we stop for an ice cream after we eat?” I said, “It depends on how you behave during dinner.”
Erik turned to his older sister and said, “Natalie. Behave so we can get ice cream.”

When we took care of my four-year-old grandson last weekend, my son called a few hours after his son had arrived at our house to see how we were doing. My son sometimes gets frustrated with his son, saying he is very strong willed.

I said, "No problem. He said he wanted to go to Pizza Hut for pepperoni pizza, and we thought that was a good idea, so we went to Pizza Hut. Then when we got home he said he wanted to take a bath, so now he is happily playing with his bathtub toys in the bathtub. Mike, he is absolutely no problem."

Well, we have no idea how long Mike laughed.

It was a good weekend.

Carol