Thank God and Greyhound

A bus from the 1950's - click to enlarge
Photo: www.wkikpedia.org

  The song written by Larry Kingston and Ed Nix and made "famous" by Roy Clark sort of says things for me.  My first Greyhound trip was in 1959 from Jacksonville, Florida to Arkansas City, Kansas.
  My first experience with Greyhound in Jacksonville was before the trip.  Sort of new to town and a student at the Naval Technical Training Center, Aviation Storekeeper School I was in town one weekend day and wanted a cup of coffee.  I walked in to the bus station restaurant only to be told that I was "on the wrong side", the "white folks are on the other side".  Surprise, surprise, surprise.  Here's a kid from Maine, with 3 years in Ohio behind me and I had no idea things were 'seperate', they were.
  My first trip came after finishing that school and I was finally on my way to my first duty station, Naval Air Station, Alameda, California, with a stop in Kansas - there was a girl there, and in a couple of million other places too; but I knew this one.
  I don't know what time I left Jacksonville, afternoon I think, and it was a long ride.  Up through Alabama to Montgomery, over to Jackson, Mississippi and up to Memphis.  All along the way I looked out at, or went in to bus stations of all sorts.  In the bigger cities they would be actual bus stations but in small towns maybe part of a store or gas station.  But one thing stood out.  The "black station/waiting area" were nothing but separate.  In the small towns little more than a 3-sided lean to, or shed.  No heat or cooling, no shade or cover from bad weather.  I most remember Tupelo, Mississippi, home town of Elvis and home to the tiniest little shed with no door "black waiting area".
  We crossed the Mississippi outside of Memphis and rolled on through Arkansas to Fort Smith, and crossed into Oklahoma and headed into Tulsa before finally landing in Kansas.
  Funny Arkansas in Kansas is pronounced as Are-kansas or R-kansas (both the town and the river) but in Arkansas (the state) it's pronounced R-kansaw.  It's one of life's puzzles.
  But Thank God and Greyhound I was on my way to my first duty station, and my first Navy job.

Those were the days.  Yes suh!  the geezer says so. - click to enlarge

A happy day for Mama

My mother and me (the geezer hisself) about 1945

  The day after Labor Day in 1946 was the day my mother must have prayed would never end.  I started school, the first grade, at age 5 in grade one.  I walked up the road with my brother, who was seven, it's about a half mile.
  Her instructions to my brother was not to walk with me, or show me the way, it was "and, make sure he gets there!".  You see, well to put it mildly, I was ADDHD before those words existed.  Hyper would have been a mild term, and the ADD part is still with me.  I was always a good worker because my work was finished as fast as I could - - so I wouldn't forget what the "boss" wanted.

North Lebanon, Maine School

  I started on the first floor, there were 4 grades on each, where the green door is now.  There were wooden floors that had been oiled, by my grandfather, over the summer.  I can still smell that odor in my head - it's good, a woodstove for heat, and an 'outhouse' bathroom in back of the wood shed.
  Frank, Eldon, Shirley, John and Joyce joined me as Grade One, we got our new Workbooks and Mrs. Pierce went on the greet Grades Two, Three and Four.  That's it, just four rows of desks a teachers desk up front, blackboards on one wall, windows on the other.  We did have electricity.
  Life was pretty simple in 1946.  Life was good (just a little penned up).

This is Wesley Gene, he is now two days old, my newest grandchild.  His mother had a good day yesterday too.  Welcome to the family Wes, and welcome to the world.
  Wes and his mother, Rhonda, reside with daddy in Ocala, Florida.

2011

Elizabeth Lynn - out with the old, in with the new

  My how time flies.  This series sure didn't seem to take long, but put in perspective it's probably just about right.  Most people don't have much of an impact on the way things work out.  We just vote and hope for the best.  I'll have a message about that tomorrow.
  2011 started with me still with pneumonia, it was finally over in early March.  That happened to be just in time for my mothers funeral, she died before I was really well enough to visit.  She lived 97 and a half years and in her view it was time to go, so she went, she really had been waiting for quite some time.
  If it started in a sort of sad way, we end with a sort of happy way, the birth of my first great grand daughter just two weeks ago.
  We also moved again this year in May, just about 10 miles from the other place in Carmel to Levant.  The place is all on one level, there are no steps out front, or in back, just a curb and a doorway.  We were growing weary of going up and down stairs, so we said goodbye even though we really liked it over there.  So it's been a busy couple of months, moving here, it's quite a bit smaller storage wise, there's no basement to put things, and no extra closets, but Linda has done her very best, as usual.
  Thanks for dropping in.  My life was never something to be excited about, but, at least I was never appointed to rule to world - so you're the lucky ones.

Linda at the new addition to Lisbon High School (where she graduated)

Larry with wishful thinking at Treworgy Farms (orchard and vegetables) a mile from our new home.

Hollie celebrates the Boston Bruins championship.  This was the first time in many years we got a photo without her holding something.

2010

Lysle, the Head of the Clan

  The year started out pretty well, the winter was "normal", meaning the normal of 20 years ago, I think.
We got lots of snow, as did other areas of the country, so we didn't suffer in silence.  Just by way of a bench mark my 70th birthday was in 2010, and the "old cyber hobo" still can't keep my mouth shut.
  Things went really well; I took Darlene and her friend Nicky, up to meet the Appalachian Trail just south of Millinocket, Maine to walk the remaining 50 miles of the Trail.  Tough sledding was the report I received; on the fourth day Darlene was unable to continue and I drove back up to the Jo-Mary Road and brought her back; Nicky continued the hike alone and she made the summit.  Later, in the fall, I drove up that way with Linda to see the foliage, have lunch and just go for a ride.  I didn't feel to well after, had a cold, and things went downhill from there.  Several days later I went to the "Walk-in Clinic" and started antibiotics, after those ten days were up I went to my regular doctor got more pills and took them, then I went to my Respiratory doctor and he had me admitted - for pneumonia.
  I stayed in the hospital for four days and went home for several more rounds of pills, then went back in to the hospital for another day.  This stuff lasted from October to the following March.
  The part of the family that had been in England came back to the States, Cheri, Lita and Amaroq, where Cheri (Doctor Bond) will be employed by East Tennessee State University, as the Associate Director of a research lab at Quillan Medical School.  There are a lot of words there with more than four letters, whew!

Darlene (l) and Nicky (r) "hit the bricks in the sticks".

Rocky all dressed up.

Rhonda and Stu at a Florida park.

2009

The boys of summer-Stuart in the middle

  This series is rapidly closing up, now we're at the years that are hard to remember, I'm a lot older than I was when we started with 1940!
  2009 was a pretty good year, Rhonda came to visit for 2 weeks in March, she was able to catch a ride as far as Sanford, she got in late at night and the lady brought her right to the motel where I was "camped out".  It was good to see Rhonda as it had been a couple of years, she is divorced now and only working part time, so things could be a lot better for her, but she is trying hard to make the adjustment.
  The winter weather has cooperated this year, in fact when Rhonda got here is March it was already warming up for most days, so she didn't freeze up here in the frozen hinterland.
  Hollie is still Hollie; it sometimes seems she hasn't changed at all, and then I realize how much she's changed, she is working hard to lose weight, and has learned how to read labels and about portion control, she could teach me a few things.
  When Rhonda came up Hollie was glad to see Sister and Jon and Darlene came up to visit for a day so we had almost everyone here, Jeff still up in the far frozen north of Alaska.

Linda and her girls, at Hollies house





All but one present and accounted for, Jeff wasn't here



Before and after pictures of Amaroq, a lot of hair to cut!

2008

More spring snow..I'm wearing the Red Sox hat for luck. Hmmmm...

  Another year with nothing to do, not quite.  I think I've been busier retired than I was when I was working, or maybe I'm old and it just seems that way.  There was a lot of snow over the winter and spring did little to stop it, some years are like that.
  I bought a "new" used car in May, it was only a year old, the other one was hard to get in and out of; now, three years later - this one's the same!  I didn't know cars did that when they got older, age I guess.
  In August we helped my mother celebrate her 95th birthday, she was still getting around pretty good, and my brother picked her up and we all went to his house, she was tired before it was all over.
  I started marching in the Memorial Day and Veterans Day parades in Bangor/Brewer last year I think, anyway I walked in both in 2008, it's not bad at all.  The Memorial Day one is short anyway, just around downtown Bangor and up Main Street.  The Veterans Day parade starts in Brewer and crosses the bridge and goes down Main Street in Bangor, lots of people watch both of them, and I've been publicly thanked for my service many times.  The parade is grouped, there are groups for World Wat 2, Korean War, Vietnam, and Iraq and Afghanistan, plus the bands and scouts - so altogether there must be 300 marchers.
  After Veterans Day it's time to go through another winter, and walk the snowmobile trails!

The replacement for comforts sake.

Geneva Grant, age 95

Talking during a pause in the Veterans Day parade, the woman was the person in charge of Hollies house, the Army Special Forces guy is Urban Vitas a Brewer resident.

2007

Our 25th Anniversary photo, taken in the back yard.

  We moved from Brewer to Carmel in January, now we're close to the home we sold in Newburgh, just on the other side of the Interstate.  The Brewer place as too small, meaning to size of the rooms.  The Carmel apartment is a townhouse type with an upstairs, and a basement and storage room.  The yard would be a huge attraction, but we didn't know it at the time.  Can't see through snow.  Near the end of January there was a big snow storm that probably left us twenty four inches or a little more, just when you think you're used to it, you get some more; so you don't forget I guess.
  This is my first year without working, I thought I'd miss the daily grind of thing that must be done, but I don't.  I really don't miss it one little bit, I'll just enjoy being a geezer.
  The walking won't be too good here, there are hills on each side of the driveway, the only level spot for quite a distance.  I walk in town, mostly because of the pavement and in a place that's fairly level.  Back in the day I made sure to include a couple of hills in every walk - those days are gone.
  Hollie continued being herself, what else would I expect, she is driven by stuff!  We went on our two vacation days, one trip south, and on trip to "The County" as Aroostook is known here in Maine, it's a beautiful place.
  In November we celebrated our 25th Anniversary, as usual by not doing much, we've had a pretty good life together; up to this point anyway.

Some of that January snow!

Kenduskeag Stream with spring runoff, Bangor Maine



Hollie at Bug Light, South Portland, on our "south" trip



2006 more stuff

Linda and I with Jon and Darlene

  A lot more happened in 2006, Linda had back surgery, a knee replacement too.  Her mother, Yvonne, died in March; and there was a family reunion on her side of the family.  Add to that we sold the house in May and moved for a short while to Brewer and I was still working full time until October 4th, I left the day the ad went in the paper for Bell Ringers (yes it was planned).  In November the Brewer City Clerk called an asked me to work at the polls for early voters, so I did that for a week too.
  Now, let's back up to March, Lindas' mother died after her third bout, or fourth, with cancer.  She was a twenty-two year survivor of breast cancer and had come through two bouts of intestinal cancer, matter of fact, she was just worn out.  Yvonne was a wonderful, hardworking and caring person;  a person of French Canadian decent who still had a bit of that accent who loved to travel.  Distance traveling didn't matter; she went on long trips, to Alaska, and short rides and loved every minute of both.
  The Hoffman/Martineau Family get-together was in the early summer, on a hot sunny day.  Rhonda was leaving from Portland that evening but drove Linda's car down, Linda, Hollie and I drove down in my car and Hollie didn't want to go, she wanted to laminate some projects.  I dropped Linda off and said "he" to some of the family, took Hollie and left for a nearby shopping area where the magical Staples had a store.  Hollie calmed down a bit, and we were headed back north and home, about 120 miles north to be exact.  Traffic was heavy, summer in Maine around a huge State Park on Sebago Lake is like that.  We were in stop and go, stop and go kind of stuff, at least all the was to Gray (20 miles), in Gray the Dodge quit, not running, nothing.  The "mechanic" at a service station call a tow truck, the car went to a garage further back down the road.  It was Saturday and they opened on Monday, Hollie and I were stuck.  We went to McDonald's for a lunch, to a store for some drinks to carry, and made a phone call to Hollies home and explained where we were.  We then proceeded down to the Maine Turnpike entrance from Gray to the north.  Our hope was to catch Linda, or her brother Thom, before they got on the highway; I stationed Hollie in the shade of a big sign and stood out by the road, we were about 40 yards from the entrance.  We stood and sat for 7 hours! In the hot, hot sun!  Finally we were hungry, walked back to a sandwich shop, and....as I was ordering Linda drove by.  When she got home, we weren't there so she call Hollies' house and they relayed my story, I had called again to let them know and to tell her we would be a McDonald's (it's easier to find).  She started back, the whole 120 miles, and was stopped for going 94 miles and hour!  She didn't get a ticket....beginners luck.  She arrived well after McDonald's was closed, we were sitting at an outdoor table and happy to be rescued.  Hollie was on the best behavior I've ever seen her on, thankfully.
  Well that sums up 2006, at least what my sun baked brain can remember.

Jon plays with Stuart at Sebago Lake.

A 1994 photo of Yvonne Martineau Hoffman

Linda with her brothers and sisters.

2006

On the market - 2006 click to enlarge

This year, far from quiet, was a year of change.  After my decision to retire later in the year, and a knee replacement for Linda, it was time to sell.  The house was put on the market before her surgery, and was still showing while she was recuperating.  The house did sell reasonably quickly, for a good price and that would enable us to pay down our debt, or eliminate it.  Over the past couple of years Hollie had some cavities, and taking her to a dentist was a whole 'nother thing.  No one is allowed to touch her (according to her), so dental exams became acceptable after a while.  Those exams exposed some work that needed to be done, a dentist was found, 60 miles away, on Mount Desert Island.  She would need General Anesthesia, that's where the money was spent, anyway, two trips to the dentist equaled about $7,000.00 in debt, for four cavities. Ouch!!
  Then early in the year, January even, Linda found out that she needed a new knee.  Lot's of thought and talking went into these decisions too.  We decided to sell the house and pay off the debt and rent thereafter to ease the "house maintenance" load.  I must admit I was ready too.
  And then the year got busier.  The surgery, the sale, the moving and, the really big, retirement - the real kind, the kind where you don't work just because you retired from some other place.  Retirement.  We'll talk about that tomorrow.

Lindas' brother Thom with Louise and Max, at their home in Minot Maine



A portrait of my Granddog Frodo, by me. (click to enlarge)



Our, soon to be, backyard. click to enlarge

2005

A little snow gives the snow-board men a happy home

  Another reasonably quiet year, as I remember, but planning was going on in my head.  I will have turned 65 by the end of the year, a health insurance I have will require me to pay Medicare B, and I will start drawing a check (why make two trips?), my age for full retirement benefits was 65 years 6 months and I didn't lose anything taking it six month early.  The job was getting more stressful, at Christmas my work load is very heavy, lots of reports every day, an extra, weekly, payroll for the eight weeks bells are rung, for 45 to 60 people, bank deposits and counting, and countless "thank you" letters (mail merge is a wonderful thing).  When the season was over the Majors in charge put an ad in the daily paper thanking everyone, by name, who helped at Christmas, no mention of me.  When my friend asked Mrs. Major why my name wasn't included, her reply was "he doesn't help with Christmas".  I don't know what I was doing, I must have been delusional.  That, 2005, was my last holiday with the Corps.
  Hollie is doing well, she "graduated" in June, aged out at 20, and started a day program that she still participates in.  She had some sadness because she will miss her teachers and classmates, but she was excited by the transition too.
  Linda, on the other hand, wasn't too excited by the prospect of having a knee replaced, but she was dutifully getting ready.  She had had enough of the pain, but not anxious to have the surgery.  She'll do fine (next year).

Rocky (Amaroq) took advantage of a rare snowfall in Oxford, England

Jon, dressed for work (not really!)

Hollie at one of her favorite stores, Lighthouse Depot, in Wells, Maine

2004

Snow finally melts, Spring 2004, in our backyard, the water in the marsh is high (beyond the fence)

  Well, hard to believe that we could have two quiet years in a row, make you wonder.  But, there have been some quiet years with the empty house, and some noisy ones too.
  Hollie has adapted well to her home now, she comes to our house for overnight on Christmas Eve, other than that she likes her own bed.  Her class at High School always take a trip to Bar Harbor in late spring, they all stay as guests of a very nice Hotel, The Oaks.  She has been Whale Watching and done some other "island" activities.
  Work went pretty good, we bought a new building for the store, a former hardware store, it's 20,000 square feet.  The Salvation Army people at HQ want more paperwork than you could ever imagine, and I had to submit weekly reports as we replaced the heat/HVAC system an expensive project, also painted the entire place inside and out, new flooring and shelving (lot's of it), a huge investment.  The "Army" needs form that an Architect usually provides, since we didn't have an Architect I had to round up some of those forms, fill one out and send it along with the weekly reports.  The big bosses in the New York office do stuff the "big way"; which was okay after a local firm supplied me with the forms.
  Not too many trips this year with Hollie, just our two I think.  There were some Special Olympics that we went to, and a visit or two to the school.  Linda did a lot more of that and I did since work hours ofter conflict with those activities.  That still happens now that I'm not working. :)

Hollie takes part in the Softball Throw in Special Olympics, and some Track events too.

Big Mama at rest.  She was old when we adopted her and had been abused, she loved the quiet life where it was safe,
she never went outdoors it was scary.

After that snow melted (top), we could enjoy the Lupine Patch, I'm almost in the same place in both photos.

Elizabeth, our Great-granddaughter with her Daddy, Nick.

2003

Lights in the snow, the lit tree is about 60 feet from the house.
What other use is there for an extension cord?

  Well, a year without too much hoopla!  And it was just about time.  It's good to settle down once and a while; and take time to relax (just a little)!
  Most everything is routine now, Hollie is pretty much settled in Winterport and doing well for herself, except of course the continual anxiety.  Hollies' motto is: I am constantly worried and concerned that there's not enough anxiety in me.  Sounds funny - proves true (even as I write this).
  A couple of trips with Hollie, one involving family; the three of us drove to Minot Maine to visit Lindas' brother Thom.  One of her other brothers was there too, so we all had a good time, and enjoyed the visit.  It's not often that Hollie will travel with both parents at the same time, I don't know why, it's just that way.  I took Hollie to southern Maine, we stopped to see my mother (for Hollie that takes about 20 minutes) and looked at some light houses, including her favorite Portland Headlight.  We must have done one other but I don't know where we went, most years it once south and once north (to Aroostook County - my favorite).
  At work things were okay this year, we had an outstanding audit, too much time had passed without one; I was a bit nervous at the start not knowing exactly what to expect.  Majors Paul and Shirley Hardy did the audit, gave me a lot of helpful hints, it the first audit I've gone through that was a pleasure.

Linda and I in front of our burning bush which turned so nice and red in the fall.
Fact: Hollie wouldn't walk down and take a photo, so I took one of Linda, she took one of me,
and cut me out of one and pasted me onto this one, that was the obstacle.

Linda with her brothers Thom and Brad

Hollie at Nubble Light, notice she is always holding something,
those are "her friends".

2002

This has nothing to do with 2002, Linda took the photo yesterday on Outer Ohio St. in Bangor
I just wanted to share it.

The Shipbuilders Memorial, dedicated to the men and women who worked at the South Portland shipyard
during World War 2, my Dad worked there as a welder.

  Okay 2002 now, I did get to visit that memorial during the year, and Hollie and I took one trip to Massachusetts and the Northshore Mall, we had been in Massachusetts for the second time and enough was enough, but we did get to see the lighthouse on Plum Island, Newburyport (I think).  It must have been around 2002 when I started taking Hollie for the twice a year "Vacation Days", we've done since so I guess that was it!
  Work was going well, it really was a good job, and easy to do; it was the micro-management that was difficult, it got a little worse as time went on.  What I don't need on a job is to be second guessed by somebody who knows very little about what I'm doing, but enough to be dangerous to himself and others, if you get what I mean.  But, even with that, it was a good job and great place to work, only six of us and some volunteers in the building most of the time.
  My sleep disorder was growing worse as the years went by, by now I was up at maybe 3:00AM and getting earlier as time passed, by 2006 I was awake at 11:30PM and started work at 4:00AM and left at 2:00PM (they were good about that!).
  It was certainly quieter with all of the children gone and Linda a I enjoyed some time by ourselves, although we were so involved with Hollies affairs that we were still busy.

Moppet and Brat, two of our "grandchildren"

Jon and Hollie enjoy lunch with Mom

Mom and Dad visit Hollie at her home.