In a 1950s kinda mood…
Planes, trains, and automobiles…
Driver education.
Look out lady! There’s some dead animals around your neck!
Did you ever wonder who started that “couples dressing alike” craze?
But lest you get too nostalgic, the 50s were pretty creepy in many ways…
Last time we were in Korea our garage refrigerator stopped working when the GFCI tripped. This wouldn’t have been a big deal except for the fish we had in the freezer. It took weeks to get rid of the smell. Hell, for all I know it still stinks and I’ve just gotten used to it.
To avoid a repeat of that fiasco, before departing we gave all our stock of frozen fish to my daughter-in-law. She just informed me that she forget about the fish and left them in her trunk.
It’s been 85 degrees this week in South Carolina.
Shutting it down around the old South Carolina homestead.
Ant poison in the yard. Seeds in the bird feeder. (Damn, I hope I got those in the right order. I guess I’ll know if I return to find ants devouring the carcasses of dead birds).
Furling the Taeguki (and Old Glory) until our return.
And putting the trusty kimchi pot away.
A tad more packing to do.
A money dart tournament tonight at the Duck.
A little sleep, then off to the airport in the early morning hours.
UPDATE: Ok, got just about everything in the suitcases. Had to do some shuffling around to get the two big bags under 50 pounds. It’s close, but I should be golden…
Oh boy.
But here’s a day in the life for you anyway:
They took my neighbor away in an ambulance this morning. I hope things work out for him, but I’ll not be surprised if he isn’t here when I return.
So, through some mystery of physics a goodly portion of my clothing seems to have shrunk while hanging in my closet over the years. Nothing to be done about it, so I loaded them up in the automobile and gave them a ride over to the Goodwill store. At the bottom of that pile is a 47″ flat screen TV. I brought it home all the way from Korea and then I learned just how unforgiving electricity can be. You can read all about that unfortunate incident here. Also donated were a set of home theater speakers, a dog carrier for my parent’s now deceased dog, and a couple of used up designer purses.
After leaving those treasures behind (thanks for the memories!), it was on to downtown Columbia to visit the Registrar of Voters. There was a surprisingly large crowd of folks there to register and/or cast an absentee ballot. After suffering the line and completing the appropriate paperwork I exercised my right of suffrage.
Of course, voting is a private matter and I work hard to maintain a neutral political stance here at LTG. Alright, maybe I don’t work that hard at it. Suffice to say, I hold the view that we are Taxed Enough Already and voted accordingly.
Next stop was my credit union where I withdrew some cash money that I will soon convert to Korean won in order to pay for life’s necessities these next three months. Well, I’m going to buy beer and Jee Yeun is going to pay her taxes. And we’ll be eating out a lot at our favorite Korean restaurants I suppose.
I also needed to get a document notarized, a service my credit union has ably performed for me on numerous occasions. To my chagrin, the notary advised that they cannot notarize “legal documents”. I pointed out that this was the same type document I’d had notarized before, so she went to get a manager. The manager came up front and said “I’m sorry” which I interpreted to mean go fuck yourself. So, I left an unhappy camper.
In a tragedy of epic proportions, Jee Yeun ran out of kimchi last night. I was quite certain that she would be suffering severe withdrawal symptoms prior to our Friday arrival in Korea and I can’t stand to see the poor girl suffer. So it was off to the Korean market for a small batch of that pickled delight to tide her over. That put a big smile on her face, believe me.
Next on my itinerary was the Bank of America to make a deposit. I had Jee Yeun stand in a longish teller line while I hunted down a bank official to see if they might be willing to notarize a legal document. To my relief they had no qualms about doing so and soon enough the task was completed. Assa!
The final stop on my quest was the Kroger supermarket for some necessary supplies to sustain me in the Land of the Morning Calm.
Just the bare necessities, mind you.
And now you know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall. Or not.
I guess I’ll call it sickness gone
It’s hard to say to say the meaning of this song
An ambulance can only go so fast
It’s easy to get buried in the past
When you try to make the good thing last.
–Neil Young
I used to enjoy Farmer John bacon, but this is ridiculous.
Landsharks.
Too much of nothing
Can make a man ill at ease
One man’s temper might rise
While another man’s temper might freeze
In the day of confession
We cannot mock a soul
Oh, when there’s too much of nothing
No one has control.
–Bob Dylan
Winding down my last couple of days in the USA until next year. I’m looking forward to being back in Korea for awhile, although truth be told I guess I’m also feeling ambivalent. Nothing I can put my finger, just in general I guess. Ah, but this too shall pass.
In other news I’ve decided posting on Facebook is a waste of time and energy. So, I’m going to stop wasting time and energy posting there. Lord knows, there’s plenty of other things to waste my time doing. Like writing worthless shit like this on my blog.
I continue to work on my dart game and hopefully I’ll continue to improve. I’ve got the added motivation of joining my Korea team mid-season which is going to force a reduction in playing time for the current players. Shooting well will go a long way to silence any dissension my presence may arouse, but it is somewhat pressuring. We shall see.
I suppose that’s enough nothing for one day.
Well, at least I tried to vote today. I made the 30 minute drive into downtown and put 50 cents in the meter, only to be told the ballots aren’t ready yet. They said I should call back around the first of the month. I’m not leaving until the 4th, so it shouldn’t be a problem. But if I had left earlier in September like I originally planned, I’d be screwed.
Feeling a little disenfranchised I guess.
Actually, I’m pretty philosophic about the whole voting routine. My kids have expressed their intent to vote Obama, which is a little distressing (I thought I’d raised them better than that!). But Romney is going to carry South Carolina regardless, which means their votes are meaningless. As is mine. But I still believe the Founders were right to go the Electoral College route. Otherwise, a bunch of New Yorkers and Californians would get way more power than they deserve.
And that’s what I’ve got to say about that.
11 years. Still hard to watch. Impossible to forget.
God Bless America.
One of the heroes from that fateful day.
As a nice bookend to my previous post, I offer you this.
Hell, it’s not like he was breaking empty beer cases or anything…
I found this document linked below in my father’s papers. Not sure of its provenance, but my grandfather worked for Delta Transportation. Cook’s was a brewer in Evansville and Delta riverboats carried their beer to Memphis.
Sometimes history is a sad thing to encounter.
Lincoln slays vampires while Obama becomes the Grim Reaper.
What hath God wrought?
Celebrating 236 years of independence. And Jee Yeun’s birthday.
Let’s get to the birthday song.
He could have surgery but he prefers to be “famous”. He’s being kind of a dick about it if you ask me. Or maybe he’s just nuts.
It’s Father’s Day so of course I’m remembering dad.
Home more than a week now and still adjusting to my American life. For example, in Korea I stayed up until 2 a.m. and slept until 10. Now, I sleep at 10 p.m. and wake up at 6. I guess 8 hours is 8 hours, but I seem more tired these days.
Here’s what has been happening since my return:
The house was still standing. All the plants I planted last year are dead. All the weeds Jee Yeun pulled grew back.
At some point during my absence the GFCI in the garage tripped. Which shut down the refrigerator/freezer in the garage. Ever smelled really rotten fish? Not pleasant at all.
Grocery shopping. I confess I do enjoy the quantity of selection of foods I really like at my local Publix supermarket. Seven bucks for a huge watermelon put a smile on my face. I paid W20,000 for melons 1/3 this size in Korea.
And Jee Yeun was similarly happy shopping at the Korean market.
Made a pulled pork bbq dinner for the kids.
Played and won at darts.
Caught up on A LOT of TV shows, including watching both seasons of Game of Thrones. Still have a shitload of stuff in the queue.
Started pulling the “additional documentation” requested by the Immigration Service together. This included getting Jee Yeun’s family documents translated and printing a boatload of photos from Facebook to demonstrate the long term nature of our relationship. Uncle Sam is such a worry-wort. Anyway, should have everything ready to mail next week.
Spent time with the newest grandchild, Sydney. She likes her watermelon just like granddad.
Paid my property taxes. Which were due in March. And which I tried to pay before I left in February, but the assessment “wasn’t ready”. So, I got socked with penalty and interest fees.
Watched it rain for a couple of days. And got the oil changed in the car.
And I picked up dad’s “cremains” from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. It was a strange feeling carrying what’s left of dad home in a box.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
In 1978 Brett Kimberlin, aka The Speedway Bomber, set off several bombs in and around Speedway, Indiana. He was convicted for his felonious activity and served time in Federal prison.
But the sad fact is, Kimberlin doesn’t want you to know about his criminal history. Several bloggers who have done so have been subjected to various forms of legal intimidation, harassment, and threats. Some have reportedly lost their jobs, another found it necessary to change his state of residence in order to ensure the safety of his family.
You can get lots of background on what Kimberlin has been up to since leaving prison here. You might also want to watch a YouTube video telling the story of Kimberlin’s exploits.
So, today has been designated for a “blogburst” wherein bloggers large and small stand together to tell Kimberlin we will not be intimated. This is a classic example of why we need to stand up and defend our First Amendment rights.
Ace of Spades said it better than I can:
“Either Americans have the right to state that Kimberlin was convicted of the Speedway Bombing Spree or they do not.
If I no longer have this right, I would like Congress to pass a law stating that I no longer have this right. If we’re repealing the First Amendment, let’s make it official.
If, on the other hand, I retain this right, I would like members of Congress to reassure me on this point, by stating so on the floor of Congress, and entering the long and sordid history of Brett Kimberlin, aka the Speedway Bomber, into the Congressional Record.
And then let him try to claim that no one is permitted to mention this.”
You set off bombs in an American city, you are a terrorist. You go after people who note your criminal past, you are an asshole. Them’s the facts. Deal with it.
UPDATE: How bad is it? This bad.
UPDATE 2: I keep good company, apparently. Here’s a list of blogs that have exposed Kimberlin.
UPDATE 3: And the hits just keep on comin’!
I’d say I’ve been as busy as a beaver, but I avoid trite phrases like a plague. Ahem.
That said, I have been hustling to complete my work as executor of mom and dad’s estate before I depart for Korea next week. They didn’t leave a large estate but it has been a pain the ass to deal with regardless. I closed the savings account out yesterday and mailed checks to my brothers. I’ve been getting forms notarized and “medallion stamped” in a complicated process to get ownership of several small stock funds transferred. We had an auction house handle all the household goods but things sold for a tiny fraction of their value. Ah well.
Still to come is an auction for my mother’s doll collection. She had several hundred and by the book they should bring a pretty penny. Unfortunately, no one pays book value and in this economy people just aren’t spending money for vintage dolls. I feel bad about that, because mom always thought she had made a wise investment with her collecting hobby. I take some solace in the fact that folks are getting bargains and mom always loved a bargain.
Monday I will visit my probate attorney and sign the “final accounting” papers for the estate. I guess it turns out to be true that there is a final accounting at the end of our time on earth.
I also met with a CPA today to get my personal tax situation squared away before I fly. Uncle Sam has traditionally given me a good rogering at tax time. This year South Carolina is poised to bite me in the ass real hard as well.
Anyway, things are what they are I suppose. Once I’m in Korea I’ll be able to think about something else for awhile.
I lived in Prescott in the late 70s/early 80s. It was a happy time. At least looking back on it. But then again, there was a divorce and a broken heart to deal with. Still, I was big into softball, x-country skiing, and I was the local union president for the National Association of Letter Carriers. And I really loved the beauty of living in Arizona’s Mile High City.
What’s the point of getting old if you can’t look back on fond memories?
My modified A-Frame at 1980 Shadow Valley Road.
Our first little house at 785 Western Avenue.
Me on skis. Imagine that…
…buried in the ground…
…Mother Earth will swallow you
lay your body down.
National Cemetery, Honolulu USA.