August 06, 2003

06 August 2003

It's been a busy week. Bryan finally surfaced on Sunday night. The previous Saturday, I had cashed a birthday check for him and so knew that he was flush for the nonce. When he showed up a week later, I knew he was broke. His first paycheck at Subway must have pleased him because he didn't come by last night as planned. I still hope to guide him into the military. I found some comparative spreadsheets on-line that demonstrate the total value of salary, housing, food, medical, etc - at the lowest pay level and the combined value is $26,000. It goes only up from there......"there are some so blind, they will not see......"
A couple of months ago, my friend, Dorcas, gave me some books she had read and was purging from her collection. Bryan glommed onto two of them that are the first two books in a fantasy series of eight, to date. Now, I'm hooked! Fantasy has never been a favored genre though I do enjoy some science fiction. This series is The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind with well-defined characters, non-stop action, and a sense of actually being there and caring about all that happens...........and might happen. I'm almost half-way through book two and each one runs 900+ pages. Unfortunately, my collection stops at book two - there are excellent on-line sites where I'll obtain used copies of the rest. Don't know how I'll schedule this critical reading time once classes resume in three weeks.
On Sunday last, I had plans to meet Dorothy (Bobby's sister) in Michigan City IN - about halfway between my home and hers in Kalamazoo MI. I warned her that rain threatened but she assured me that she had consulted the weather map on TV and that the storms had moved toward Detroit - east of her. Within ten minutes of starting out, I was in a deluge. Storms, traffic, and construction conspired to make me more than 40 minutes late. We always meet at Carson's Department Store in the Mall and I arrived before Dorothy. The rain descended in torrents just minutes after I secured shelter inside. Five minutes later, a drenched Dorothy found me perusing the 80% off the lowest discounted price merchandise - This is one episode that she will never be permitted to forget. There was unbelievable traffic on the way back home - ugh.
Tonight, I have promised to help Dorothy collect an arriving guest from Belarus. She has been pen pals with this lady and her daughter for over ten years. Eight years ago, Dorothy sent them money to pay for a trip to America for mother and daughter. Visas were denied and the visit never happened. Now, the daughter is married with two children and her dream of America is dimmed. However, her mother plans to relocate here and Dorothy is her support in this venture. Down the years, Dorothy has opened both her heart and her home to anyone she can help. Our own Theresa Ann was a recipient of her generosity and lived with Dorothy for an entire school year in Michigan. There have been at least ten different persons that she has helped in this manner. The only thing that she requests in return is that a person help another in need. She amazes me.
Anyway, the new guest arrives tonight and Dorothy is fearful of Chicago traffic and the exact route to the airport so I am going to accompany her there and then take the train/bus back home. I'm looking forward to it; Dorothy usually brings chocolate chip cookies.
I'm busy getting ready for an impromptu visit to New York on Monday. There is so much to do and all of that is complicated by my required presence at Naval Reserve this weekend.

Posted by leah at 10:54 AM | Comments (66)