Okay, I got a Bucket list!

Take Sherry to Athens, and then a Greek Island I once visited as a young Marine. I fell in love with the Sunday with families strolling in the parks and having picnics. The Kaiser’s Palace is there, I think the only tourist attraction other than the natural beauty of a Greek Island.  I love the water of the Mediterranean, probably no more beautiful than the Caribbean, but it is beautiful.

 

So, most of my list is actually travel, no surprise there. I would like for Sherry to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. Great Pomp and Ceremony.

Then I would like to take a train to Ireland, is that possible? If not I would like to take the train then a boat to Ireland.

Gordon has invited us to Kenya, that would be nice. I have never been to any part of Africa.

Now I don’t have many fans, but I do have some. I have promised a Senior Romance Novel, I would like to complete that.

Okay, I do have a couple ‘ego or big personal things’ I would like. Of course I would have to win the lottery to have them.

I would like for Sherry and I to have a Prevost Coach to travel and live in. That is one of the Biggies with everything, including a dishwasher. And a real honest to goodness antique car to tow. Maybe a little MG hill climber 1953. (Since I went from bucket list to dream, may as well dream big, huh?)

I smile when I think Sherry and I are a little different. She has been known to say, I don’t want to be rich, but I do want to have enough that we can eat out two or three times a week and not feel like I am wasting money needed someplace else. I usually retorted; Me too, but I would like to be able to have one of those meals in Hawaii and the other in Germany, and not be spending money needed someplace else. LOL

We reached her level of wealth, and in a way reached mine. A couple weeks ago we had Lobster in Bangor, Maine. One evening lately, we ate at Jackson’s cafeteria in Gastonia, NC. Soon we will have a Pecan Waffle in South Carolina and a few days later we will have a Grouper sandwich in Florida.  True it is not another continent, but it is the best I can do until the lottery thing. LOL

That is my Bucket and wish list. So yep, I found one.

Nite Shipslog

PS: I think this is on from Red Skelton:

My wife and I had words,
but I didn't get to use mine.

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I wouldn’t fuss If I had to tow this 1957 Rambler Palm Beach. (I never saw one in person!)

Towed behind this…. $1.4 million.

Shucks I was confused from Birth

I grew up wanting to be everything. Most of all I wanted to be a cowboy, but someone said time had passed me by. I wanted to be a hobo on the trains and go where the tracks went. I met a man once who did this every once in awhile, just climbed aboard a freight train and went.

(That is me on the right, mama made that uniform!, oh yeah that is Shirl my big sister!)

Then I wanted to be a bus driver. Then a truck driver. My uncles and one brother were truck drivers. I wanted to be a Sailor until my brother (who was a sailor) talked about the Marines, and how tough/Crazy they were in WWII. Then I set my sights on the USMC.

(At’s my big brother Junior, nobody bothered to tell me he was B.F. Darnell Jr.)

I have made a lot of life changes, but always thinking of what was best for the future and our family. It has all worked out. Many changes, a lot of different professions and hobbies but in the end it was becoming a General Contractor that was the most satisfying.

(That is mama’s chicken lot and that is my two sisters, Shirl and Kat. That little guy is going to be a contractor! My dad took that picture, he always wore a hat, see it in the shadow?)

I loved residential building. Seeing a house take shape was a thrill. My son and I could frame a 2000 sqft house in a week, and have it dried in. That wasn’t a super feat, but it was impressive. As a contractor I guaranteed a house in 99 days. Now folks do it in 60 and less.

I am not sure what I want to do next. I have been thinking about this bucket thing. Shirl sent me the info about a movie where the term came from. So now I know that a bucket list is, a list you want to complete before you die.

So my list should be short. Honestly, I did have dreams, most have come true already. I’ve already seen the grandkids in Utah, but I would like to see them again. And after 50+years, I got to see Buddy again and meet Di (his lovely wife), and I do want to make it to New Mexico and see them again.

Now that I started thinking, I would like to take my Sherry to the little Greek Island of Corfu. I would like to see England again and visit Ireland for the first time. So I guess I do have a bucket list. I had better start working on that.

(When Paula walks thru our grave yard she will recognize me!)

Thanks for visiting the log.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

Ideas won't work unless ' You' do.

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I know you would like this Chrysler, a 1934 ‘Air Flow’

I slept with a Radioactive Girl last night!

I enjoy Bill Cosby, he has always been one of my favorite performers. He is able to describe how I felt at some stressful points of my life. Have you ever been a new driver, on a hill, stopped at a traffic light in a straight drive car? Bill could describe my exact feelings.  OR: You are walking home at night down a dark alley or scary road?  He can describe the feelings. Then there is the one, son Jack loves, Bill steps on a plane, scared and says loudly, “HOPE THE PLANE DON’T CRASH!”

Another one I like. His ability to describe the feelings in the dentist’s office, when they x-ray your teeth. After placing a lead jacket over your chest, adjust the ‘LASER GUN’ then they step behind the shield and say, “BE very still!”  (He says, as I am shaking, why is she behind that lead shield?”)  LOL

While we are in this vicinity of NC, Sherry’s doctor tries to catch up on what he has missed (money?).  Well sometimes it is, this time it is a thyroid checkup/test/what ever?  Sherry said that the Doctor said, she needed to go to the hospital and take a pill, then return the next day for some super duper scan.

YOU EVER GO TO A HOSPITAL TO TAKE A PILL? I am thinking, this must be some kind of pill.

(side note: Do they pay all these folks that push the patients around in wheelchairs? I counted 20 while I sat there in  about 15 minutes. When I get old I want that job!)

After the paperwork, we were escorted into a little cubicle (yeah, I got to go in also). Mr pill man comes in with a lead cylinder, about 1.5” in dia and 6” long. Hands Sherry a cup of water. pulls a vial out of the lead shield and slides this little capsule out of it, into her hand.

I cannot hear most things, but I understood this, he looked at me and said: “No cuddling tonight!”

HE EVEN REPEATED IT TO HER!

HOW DID HE KNOW MY PLANS?

I told him, nothing personal, but I do not like you! Yep, she ingested some radioactivity, that slowed to a stop, my activity plans! SHUCKS!

Now you know how it is, when someone says steak is bad for you, it makes a T-bone look SOOOOOO good!

Nite Shipslog

PS:

He ain’t said nothing about tonight!  Just so you would know!

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I have used this before, but something about this wood spoked wheels on this 1931 Chevy I just love! I would love to drive that to church on Sunday!

I guess Politicians think we are all dumb sheep (and some times we act it)

It is amazing a politician can promise something and when he cannot do it, spins it to appear he has kept his promise.

It used to be lying, now it is misrepresenting or spinning. Or it is someone else’s fault.

I am glad I do not watch TV on a regular basis. When we go out for Pizza, I watch it.  Our TV might be turned on once a month. I am sure a lot has to do with my hearing. 

I have made up my mind who I am voting for, I remember very well my dad thinking that George Romney would make a good president, and my dad leaned to the democrat party at the time. So since my dad did not get to vote for George, I will vote for his son. I am not getting into reasons, we all can vote for whom we please, this is America and I will vote.

I voted for Jimmy Carter, I liked him.  He was dealt a rough hand to play and his own congress would not back him. I still firmly believe Jimmy was a very good man.  I supported and voted for Ross Perot. I try to vote for a man with a little business sense. This country is in dire need of someone who knows how to live on their income. 

I wanted to vote for Harry Truman but they would not let a 8 year old vote. I would have voted for Adlai Stevenson, but a 7th grader couldn’t vote either. I did attend one of Ike’s rally and ate his cake and cookies, but I still liked Adlai.

I voted for Nixon because JFK was too pretty.LOL

All in all I have voted for losers and winners, but I have voted for the man I thought could run the country.  To tell the truth Bill Clinton wasn’t such a bad president. Other than spinning a good tale and being a womanizer, he was able to get the two parties to work together to a point. I honestly hate the whole Lewinski thing came up. It did not help the country. Kids need to look up to the president.

I really liked Reagan. I was surprised how good he was as president. I think I liked his news conferences best. He knew how to deal with the press.

Mitt is rich, it is not a sin to be rich, I do not envy his money, but I wouldn’t mind having that much. Many rich folk do not give their time or money to others, but you cannot point to Mitt and say that. He has also made a payroll and run a corporation. I did not know he was so involved in Staples. I have also read a little about his personal life, and like what I read. Many folk say, he is just another rich guy.

It was okay for JFK and Kerry to be rich, if you were a democrat. But they were  sorry rich guys to a republican.

All I do is dig a hole when it comes to politics. Will Rogers said once, “When you  find yourself in a hole, quit digging.”

Nite Shipslog

PS:

I was always taught to respect my elders,
but it keeps getting harder to find one. (Right Lucy? )
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1955 Desoto, that was a tough car!

Shucks, we are still celebrating

Last night Shirl and Smoky took Sherry and I to the Wood Shed Steak House in Stanley, NC. It is one of the best eating places in this area.

I forgot to take pictures inside, the above is Shirl in the car and Smoke on the other side. Look at the moon in the upper left.

We had a great time. While there One of Sherry’s classmates came over for a chat. He had been at the class reunion on Saturday night.

I like the Woodshed, they have two model trains that run over head as you  eat. I always liked model trains, not as much as cars, but I do like them. Smoky had a new Ford and it rides great.

(Above is the nice couple leaving our home after delivering us back)

It is nice to have family and friends who want to help you celebrate.  Smoke and Shirl still entertain some but not as much as they used to. They would have sung to us tonight but he forgot his guitar. Smoke is originally form Texas, but he is still a good guy. LOL

Hope you all are having a great fall. The girls up in Wisconsin (Dar & Mel) are enjoying Darla & Bill’s potato crop. Lucy is still bragging on Joe and Paula is smelling a skunk. I am enjoying the blogs and reading the comments.

Thanks to everyone for the great comments and well wishes on our anniversary. We have had a great ride. I am not just being gracious, but the success of this marriage rests mostly with Sherry. She is honestly an amazing lady, the best.

We are both fortunate to have had great parents and siblings. She has two brothers left and I have Shirl, we both love them dearly. When you reach this age you realize more and more how precious life, family and friends are.

Thanks for coming this way.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

The irony of life is that, by the time
you're old enough to know your way
around, you're not going anywhere.
Also when you get to where you can afford steaks and ice cream, it's not healthy to eat them.

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I believe this is a Jubilee (9N) or an 8N FORD!

Lot of stuff to do.

Do you make lists? I keep hearing the term, bucket list.  I am guessing that is a to do list, or is it a wish list?  Anyway, I make ‘To Do’ lists. This one has about 12 things on it. Not all biggies,  but for me if I do not have a list, I will skip some things.

Last night is one I forgot, but prepared quickly for it, Luke, our youngest Grandson, celebrated his birthday. We took him out for dinner, they chose Ruby Tuesday. He is a great guy, now a senior and 17 yrs old.

One sad thing came up, a dear friend’s son passed away this week. It is always sad when youth dies. Sherry and Mark went to the funeral yesterday afternoon.

Another thing that is not on the list, but will be a pleasure, Shirl and Smoky are taking us out for a late anniversary dinner tonight.

Methinks that it is gonna be cold here in NC before we head South.

Thanks for coming this way.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

Aspire to inspire before you expire.

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No, I cannot remember what it was, but I love it. It was in a museum on the Maine Coast.

Too much of a good thing

We are getting too old for all this excitement. A reunion, family get together, and an anniversary. Usually our anniversary is a quiet affair. We love to look back over our lives and reminisce of times past.  We dwell on our youth a lot and how young we were to get married.  Marriage at 17 & 18 wasn’t unusual in the 1950’s but it wasn’t common place.

(Sherry and I with Mary Ann’s daughter Debbie.

below the same couple today, minus Deb.)

College was normally thought if one was, wealthy so I never considered it. Sherry actually did, she wanted to become a nurse.  She would have made a good one, but I side tracked her goal.

In her later years she did get to practice nursing care. She gave of herself, she quit a good job to stay home and be a nurse to my mother. Later She was working, but worked in time to aid in caring for her dad in his last days. Yes, she would have been great serving the needs of the sick. She shared her love to help with several who needed her in their last days.

There has been too much of that in our lives in the last few years, but we know it is normal at this age in life. One day it will be us. But until then, we want to live, love, laugh and be happy.

We do not dwell on the morbid side but we know, unless there is a freak accident and takes us both at one time, one of us will be left.  We are smart enough to talk about the financial end of that and have made preparations, but neither of us wants to be the one left.

We learn the a basics from family, friends and many of the bloggers here on the net who have lost a loved one. But we know enough that hearing is not the same as experience. That one, they say, is not learned until it  happens to you.

BUT seniors deserve happiness.  Our friend Mary Ann is getting married Nov. 11th. She asked if I still performed weddings.  I had to tell her  I resigned my license to perform weddings many years ago.

(Buck & Mary Ann, at the reunion)

Ahhh, she is in love. We met her ‘Sweetie’ at the reunion, he too is in love. They are in their 70’s. He is a nice guy and they have known each other a long time. I am very happy for them. We will stay here until the wedding and head south soon afterwards.

SENIORS deserve to be happy, and enjoy the fall and winter of their lives.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

Frustration is trying to find your glasses without your glasses.

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From the Cole Museum, Bangor, Maine.

Above is the older beetle bug, next to it is the kit car, a replica of the MG set on the VW frame. These were popular at one time.

Back up a few days and look at: Acadia National Park

Practically surrounding Bar Harbor is Acadia National Park.  (I want to say Arcadia, but that is in Florida.) This is a beautiful piece of coastal property and very important in the early days of our nation. Directly across from Nova Scotia to the East. It lies north of Cape Cod and Plymouth Rock, where the Pilgrims landed. Cadillac Mountain gives a commanding view of the approaching ocean passage and the harbor.

I enjoy talking to folks from the Northeast. There are no “r’s” in their language as a rule.

Lobster is:   Lobsta

Bar Harbor is:  Ba ha ba

Car is: Caa   etc.

I loved to hear JFK.

From this view point you see the sail ship crossing the bow of the cruise ship down in Bar Harbor

From this peak you have a  360 degree view of the area..

These boys like their mama.

I do too!!! (Thru her teeth, she said ‘move your hand’ yeah, she is a prude LOL) (Prude: from the French meaning respectable woman)

Now on to the area of the rocky coast line.

The boys got a kick from the coastline. They are used to the south and Cuba, sandy beaches.

Of course we saw much more, this park is 47 square miles. It is on the second largest Island on the East coast, only Long Island is bigger.

The day was not thru, we were going to eat at Nicky’s Cruise-in diner. Today was the day for the cruise-in.

Thanks for going to Acadia with us.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

You know something is wrong when:

An 80 year old woman can be stripped searched by the TSA but a Muslim woman in a burqa is only subject to having her neck and head searched.

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Spotted on the way back from Acadia. I believe it is an ‘A’ model, I know it is a woody!!!

I am very lucky, We are so fortunate!

To be honest this anniversary is after a whirlwind of activity, and hardly any thought has went into it. I will have to apologize to my ‘sweet’ and plan something later in the week for US.

Sherry’s HS Class ‘get-together’ is also today.  We planned to spend a few weeks here and head south for the winter. Things piled up, but the important day was not forgotten by any means, just slid to the background.

We will be seeing old friends today, mostly Sherry’s, since she was in school with many of them for 12 years.  I was not that fortunate. I was in school about a year and a half with my ‘would have been class’ had I graduated.

Anyway this is an anniversary of my lucky day.  As a 17 yrs old HS drop out, I made a lot of immature promises to this girl. Somehow, over the years, I have been able to fulfill most of them.

I never did get her the mansion on a hill, but some say we did get one, on Main St. I have said many times, I moved her into a 26’ trailer now we live in a 38.5’ motor home, so that is an improvement of over 12’ in 56 years. LOL

(That is Sherry, front row, 2nd from the right, even before I knew her she was cute)

She was fun too!

A couple of my favorite pictures….

Thanks to all the well wishes. We are very fortunate, Sherry’s love and cooking has kept us healthy  and happy.

Thanks Sweetheart, it has been a wonderful journey! YOU ARE THE BEST!

Nite Shipslog

PS:

I wrote a small book once, called “Why Not Forever?” In it I stated, “A marriage requires a lot of give and take. The one who loves the most, is the one who is first to say “I’m Sorry!”

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To show off I borrowed this 1955 Chevy, to go to her house to ask for a date. (it was brand new my Sis & BIL’s car)

 

Below, my car we dated in.1948 chevy

Our first car we had after married. (1950 chevy business coupe)