feel like this guy probably does http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0594063/ but nobody will even tell me what I did!!!
feel probably like John McCain did when he was a POW. Is there any relief in sight? Is there an end in sight? Does anyone know or care what’s happening to me?
I guess I don’t understand how I can get this and nothing since. I haven‘t had a visit yet. He did contact me once to say that the Masonic Home didn’t receive my paperwork that he assured me he sent at the time.
From: Dane Dawson [mailto:danebdawson49@comcast.net]
Sent: Saturday, February 06, 2010 6:48 PM
To: Drew
Subject: Re: Question
I don't know, but I have never been in your situation. Do the installers of the new heater have some clue to this? Isn't there an office for the county that would have an answer?
On a completely different note, do you have Dara's Email address?
On another note, I was "let go" from Stericycle in October for not being up to the new speed standard. Perfect accuracy notwithstanding (or unimportant). Funny, though, I received a $50 gift certificate just two days earlier, for perfect attendance!
I should try to visit you soon. When should I come, or not come? What I mean, is when are you able to interact, without others to intrude? Got a piece of mail for you, that I will bring.
I haven't forgotten you. I still love you.
From: Dane Dawson [mailto:danebdawson49@comcast.net]
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2010 1:34 PM
To: Drew
Subject: Re: You rang?
Masonic Village called; they haven't received the "position form" from you. They say they sent you this form to fill out in Feb 09. The number given is 800-422-1207, name was Cindy Ankin(?).
----- Original Message -----
From: Drew
To: 'Dane Dawson'
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2010 6:55 AM
Subject: You rang?
Dane,
Didn’t quite understand your vm. Maybe you can use this medium instead.
Thanks
Drew
DrDOS / DCal
Normally this wouldn’t matter but having to move things out of my path seems a bit much considering all the other challenges I have to face each day. Whether they be trash, clothes, dog toys, animal hair or appliances, it makes no sense as to why this is added to my almost daily routine. I’m including a few pictures by way of example. You can draw your own conclusions as to whether it’s really of any importance.
I’ll try to remember their names and the order so excuse me if you feel I left one out.
Sean – Golden retriever that my dad brought home. He was a loving and obedient pet. We lived on the end of row houses and he would run the length of our alley. He could chase balls and even bring them back. After about 6 months or a year, Dad took him to live on a farm where he would have more room to run around and not be penned up so much.
Blue – Mutt I got somewhere
I didn’t always feel the way I do now about work. I avoided it as much as I could when I was younger. In fact, I was probably considered lazy. I guess it was after my dad died that I started thinking about my life, where it was going and where I wanted to take it. I did what I could to help my mom around the house. Clean, cook, mow the lawn, I even had a job delivering newspapers for a while. After I went away to school, I would work on my summer vacations. One job I had was washing dishes in a restaurant. Didn’t pay much but it was something.
Three weeks after graduating from high school I joined the USAF. I did it for several reasons: my mom couldn’t afford to send me to college but they had the GI bill and I joined that branch thinking it would be my best chance to NOT go to Vietnam. I found out that wasn’t completely true but I did luck out and get stationed in AZ for the rest of my tour.
After the military I had a few different jobs until I moved the Bay Area and started out in a career of word processing. They were: (AZ) cleaning two post offices before they opened for business; (PA) worked at a pottery factory (1 week) which was hard considering what I had to breath in every day; a shipping/receiving clerk in the restaurant at a Hilton (there about 2 months and my boss was rumored to have ties to the mob); (AZ) a pest exterminator (there about six months and hated it when I found out they were doing all they could to rip off the customer; at the end of the day we would sit around telling stories of all the stupid customers we scammed); (CA) maintenance man in a 96-apartment building in Oakland – I expected to be assistant manger but after I got there that job was gone; full time (on GI bill) student at Laney College and later part time as the bill didn’t pay what I hoped and I needed to get a job. I went to a school courtesy of the CETA Act. I tried to take welding which paid $19/hr to start after graduating and I wasn’t afraid of heights but there was a year waiting list and needed something right away. What was available right away was word processing. What is that? Typing and working with computers (this was 1977 after all). Well, I taught myself to type when I was 13 (bored ok?) but I hadn’t done any typing in about 5 years. Well, they had a practice center 1 block away from my apt so I went over there to see where I was. I needed to do 30 wpm and had a week to do it. I was at about 12. The day I took my test I did exactly 30 wpm. 
I started class 3-4 weeks later. I was 1 of 2 males in a class of 25. It was a 9-month course that I finished in 2, not because I was particularly smart but the government wanted to make sure people would pass. I helped the teacher for about another 2 months (i.e. procrastinated I mean). You see I found out I would have to create a resume and go through an interview process. I had never interviewed for a job before. I had always filled out an app and said “when do I start?” I guess I thought of it as performing. Funny thing. First place I interviewed, they hired me! I guess I was worried for nothing.
In (CA) Crocker National Bank. They started with about a dozen word processors in their training and development department and when I left 5.5 years later, it was just me. I was responsible for typing up the training manuals for every job in all of CA. I even remembered what I typed, not that I was cross-training or anything.
I then went to Townsend and Townsend (T&T) and worked with my sister who I had just helped move to CA a few months earlier from IL (along with my niece). I was there for the next 6.5 years. That’s where a partner came into the WP center one day, plopped down a new IBM AT (’83 I think) and asked “anyone want to learn about this?” That’s when I set on my new career path.
From there to Heller Ehrman, White and McAuliffe (HEWM). I was there for 3.5 years before marrying and moving to IN. Funny, I went from highest salary, HEWM, to lowest, Pythia. 
When I was discharged from the USAF, I had no idea what to do next. It happened pretty quickly. Fortunately I was able to get a job right away. Maybe that’s because the job was cleaning post offices. Menial labor is usually pretty easy to get and I wasn’t too choosy. I had two to do before they opened in the morning so waking at 3:30 AM was something I had been used to from the military. I used to work 3 days,3 off, 3 swings, 3 off and then 3 mids, 3 off. Crazy huh? Well, after working this job for about 4 months, I had saved about $200. My Honda car had bit the dust so I bought a friend’s Dodge Dart for $75. This car took me from Tucson to Washington, PA. I made two stops. One was to where I used to live near Seven Corners in Falls Church, VA. So starting at the 4000 block of East Montecito in Tucson, AZ I drove along 10E for quite a bit. It was me and my dog. His name was Blue. I can’t say where he is now but I hope his life was filled with happiness.
I can’t say how long it took me to get to my first stop but I was in no hurry. I even broke down once in North Carolina. It turned out to be a loose wire under my distributor. It didn’t take me long to find the problem and was glad it was easy to fix as I didn’t have much money for repairs. It was October, 1974 and though gas was not like today, it was no longer $.32/gal.
When I arrived, I looked up a neighbor my brother and I both knew. I spent the night and was back on the road the next day. My next stop was the HS I graduated from. Patton Masonic School in Elizabethtown, PA. I thought of visiting my dad’s grave near Philadelphia but was running short of funds. I looked up my French teacher, who I had a secret crush on, and she was getting married to an English teacher from town. Imagine that! Needless to say my crush remained a secret. Her last name was Roth by the way.
My next stop was Washington, PA. I was going to look up a school chum, Greg Clark. Hopefully he still lived there. He was. As it was near the college, the only parking available was at a meter. I spent a lot of time moving the car or bailing it out. I got a job at a local pottery factory sweeping the floors at night. I spent most of my earnings
I had some weird experiences with my teeth, starting in the 2nd (or was it 3rd) grade. I was in a fight during recess. What was it about? Who can remember and who cares? It continued back in the classroom while the teacher was still absent. An area was cleared of desks but he had help too. One person put out their foot and someone else pushed me from behind. The first thing that hit the floor was my mouth. Crunch! My front, top two teeth now had a space that looked like an upside down V. It really hurt for a few moments too. I first went to the Principal's office where I waited for my mom and then went to the dentist to assess the damage. I was OK as it was a clean break but probably did more damage to my psyche than anything. I slowly came to hate smiling as I felt like a freak with the laughing, finger pointing and it didn't help with the ladies (well, girls at that point). Eventually I stopped brushing just them.
The fourth grade brought further changes. I was an all star baseball player (no brag - just fact. I had a few trophies to prove it.). I missed a ball coming at me and instead it hit me in the chin. My teeth clenched and now another tooth gone at the gum line next to the other two. I can't imagine what everyone thought looking at THAT toothless grin. Needless to say I didn't smile much and hoped I could somehow get this fixed.
When I was 11, the dentist said the teeth had become abscessed and needed to come out. A set of false teeth were in my future but they sure cost a lot. I contributed what I could from my paper route and lawn mowing jobs. I even sold raffle tickets at my dad's bowling alley but that was short lived. The three front teeth were then pulled and two weeks later I had falsies.
The teeth felt like I had a whole pack of double bubble in my mouth. I had to learn how to talk and eat all over again. My Sssss sounded like Shhhh and it took a little practice but I got it. I still didn't smile much and now didn't talk much. My psyche was going into underload.
I also learned later that with my mouth changing (I was 11 after all), the plate would need adjustment every few months. I went to the first one or two adjustments, but with the cost considerations I blew off going more than once a year and then just once every few years. I started taking out my dentures at meals. I was pretty slick and could put them in my napkin with a simple motion and back again when I needed to speak. Speaking became a challenge too as they would pop out unexpectedly so I tried to limit any in public. I also gave up eating things like apples unless I had a knife handy. I never thought if others considered me weird. I was just adjusting the best I knew how.
My next adjustment (just painful really) came after I enlisted in the Air Force. My wisdom teeth were impacted (3) and they wanted to remove them. They removed two, then waited two weeks and removed the other two. For about 3-4 weeks I felt like that cartoon character with the kerchief tied around the head and jaw just waiting for the pain to subside and go away. 
Needless to say, not a fun time. Also, when the Colonel was removing the scalpel from my mouth (I did say impacted) he cuts the side of my mouth! I didn't find out for several hours as the novocain wore off. Quite the papercut! In those days, they only gave you a couple of pain pills and there was no such thing as Advil or Ibuprofin. Thanks Doc you @#$#@!!!
My next leap forward was getting a permanent bridge which involved removing two more teeth and applying braces to bring my protruding upper teeth back into my head and straightening my lower teeth. Two more teeth needed to come out and after 2 1/2 years my mouth was ready for the bridge.
Finally, after 25 years, I was able to bite into an apple and didn't have to use no sticken' knife! I could also speak with confidence to my friends and started leading training groups on what I had been learning about computers. It really started opening up new worlds for me! It was AWESOME!!!
Saw this on the news so thought I would weigh in.
When I was in school, the paddle was called the Board of Education For The Seat of Learning. Something to be avoided. Follow the rules or else. As I got older, I was resentful if this was done by anyone other than my parents. Grade school is one thing. A swat on the butt is ok if you truly are out of line. You shouldn’t need to be physical with someone not in grade school. If you can’t talk to them they probably should be somewhere else or you need to have a conversation with the parents to work it out. I learned from my parents that you obey those in authority and not just your parents. I think the younger you learn this (or are taught) the easier time your journey through life.
What should be done? Pass laws? How do we (parents) want it to be? Nationally a law should be in effect that forces local communities to make their own decisions. This decision is published on each school’s website and each parent is directed to it. If this policy needs to be changed, PTA or whatever vehicle you use to discuss things is used to make the needed changes.
When I was kid, our principal, for example, would ask you something and if he didn’t get a response, he had no problem giving you a swat on the butt to get your attention.
There should be no reason for the administrators to apply the proper amount of necessary corporal punishment. Now I’m not saying it’s okay for him to waterboard the kids but he should be given our support to make the proper decision(s) with respect to our kids. If’n he don’t, he be fired! No fuss, no muss.
I found out when I went into the military that I was color blind. That severely limited my job choices. I couldn’t even pump gasoline (you know they add dye right?). I guess if I had applied for a drivers license I would have known too. I got that and my first car (bought a ‘62 Ford Falcon for $200 with a buddy) about 1 month before my 18th birthday. I had to get the license for my AF job as a security cop.
http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/ishihara.asp
See a faint 2 at bottom, a 25 at top and 56 (sort of) on second right. All else are just dots.
What I think about these issues
Get
The three-ruling version:
and
The five-ruling version:
Well, it’s not easy to describe but I’ll try. Bear with me.
A normal person is like this
Their hoses are all gushing water as they should. These allow you to move around, well, normally. Imagine if the water is slowing being shut off and the number of hoses are cut down. That’s me.
You can appreciate some of what I’m going through if you look at this video. I will post other links as I find them. http://www.bible-medicine.com/ Look at ones on MSA. They are somewhat older but they shed some light on what’s going on with me rather than on what to do for me.
Standing up I can do with some difficulty. It feels a little like I am on stilts; I’m unsure how to stand, therefore I don’t walk. If you hold me by my arm or shoulders, I might be able to for a while.
I am a member of http://www.psp.org/. So far I’ve attended some informative webinars which have been good about telling me what’s going inside me but so far not a treatment or cure that will put me on a road that goes somewhere rather than nowhere.
Sometimes I feel sorry for myself and even cry uncontrollably. I don’t know what or how to feel.
I think what needs to be done is to come up with whatever will melt or dissolve the glue that seems to be gumming up the works (my brain). Once that is working again, my body can take care of the rest.
I used to be. Not sure why or when it happened. I just was. Sending me to bed first was what my folks hoped would be the cure. Now there was nothing there but I imagined there were monsters under my bed, in the closet and generally any room with the lights out. I would turn down my bed and with my hand on the light switch, run to my bed as soon as I flipped it off. Under the covers, I was safe.
I really don’t remember how long I was like this or when it finally stopped but one day I could even sit in my closet, with the door shut, and not feel afraid.
Compared to others I met, I found there was not much I did fear. Spiders, snakes, heights, water and I hoped even death. I was afraid of diving into a swimming pool for almost a year when I did a belly flop on a dive and really stung my chest. The next summer I finally did manage a dive and I was fine ever since.
I used to climb buildings and trees and not be fearful looking down. I remember even having a recurring dream as a child where I would get back a few steps and then run at full speed off a cliff. I would, always waking before I reached the bottom. I remember being told by somebody that if I hit bottom, I would be dead.
Immediate
Bruce Calvert – got me started with bowling at 4. I sort of liked it but liked it more a few years later as my skill progressed. I hated those gutter balls! He was an imposing figure and I had a lot of respect for him. I hoped that someday I would be like him. At the time I was very skinny and he was 6’ and about 200.
Muriel Jane (nee Bloom) – she was strict when she had to be but didn’t have a mean bone. I loved her dearly and hoped that she knew that.
Dane Bruce – is very smart but didn’t seem to have been around when they were passing out the common sense. At least that’s what we always teased him about. He pretty much kept to himself except when David got in his space.
Dara Lynn (Worrell – married ‘71) – she liked to be left alone. I got the impression that she resented being the only girl.
David Wayne – he liked to get in all our faces but did grow out of it. He would punch me in the arm, tease Dara any way he could and get under Dane’s skin at every opportunity. When he went to Patton, I think he got a taste of his own medicine. He always seem to come to my rescue when I attended a year later.
Cousins – Really liked it when we visited our cousins in Maryland.
Denise – admired her for starting a company. Too bad the greedy bastards of Wall Street and the banks caused her’s and many others to fold.
Yvette – really enjoyed writing to her while I was at Patton. It took my mind off my dreary surroundings for a little while and I think helped me mature (grow wiser) a little bit anyway.
Bruce – just remember fishing with him to catch “sunnies”. I don’t ever remember keeping or eating them as I don’t know how to scale a fish.
Niece – Dara’s only and the only although it was close for a time with David until he took a vacation to confirm.
Bridgette Elizabeth Worrell – we both liked Duran Duran and sunbathing. She was fun to be with
A man does what has to be done, or he tries.
That's the only way a man can live, or die.
I would mow the lawn with our tractor mower and all seemed fine. Until I got off. Then it would be like I just got off a schoolyard merry-go-round.
Almost would fall over and had to hang onto the mower. This would pass after a few minutes. Then I could empty the clippings onto the burn pile. This all got worse. Either it would happen sooner, take me longer to recover or the “merry-go-round” effect would be worse.
Q’s or comments made to me by wife since she told me “I’m not going to give into you anymore. I’ve been doing it since Beech Hollow.” We bought a house in Westfield http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&hl=en&hq=&hnear=Zionsville,+Indiana&ll=39.950873,-86.261937&spn=0.113435,0.307274&z=12 in ‘95 and moved in 5/96. Well, I bought a house. I finally spent my GI Bill and she said she had a bad credit history.
Is your talking getting worse or are you not trying anymore? I can’t understand you from the other room.
For some reason, I’ve always extended my pinky when drinking. Here’s the muscle responsible http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extensor_digiti_minimi_muscle
I could fall asleep in almost any position. I was even able to sleep at my school desk with an open book, looking as though I was reading. When the teacher would walk by, I would stir, acting as though I had actually been reading.
I could tell if something was magnetic or could be magnetized. I would just hold it between my eyes and that area would tingle. The stronger the magnetic pull, the more intense the tingle.
This how we met and eventually married.
At the end of ‘73 or beginning of ‘74, I was living on Montecito street in Tucson. It was 4, sometimes 5 GIs. We were all stationed at the local AF base, DMAFB http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wl. Lots of good times. Pool outside. It was a duplex. A couple moved in next door from Indiana (I found out later). They seemed nice. He (Gary) was about 26 and she was my age, 20. I remember I was a little jealous because she very attractive and seemed to be fun. He was well, older. He was a nice guy too; all was good. At that point I hadn’t been on a date let alone much else. We all got along. Swimming in the pool. Having barbecues. Generally just having parties on my meager GI salary.
I was Honorably Discharged in June ‘74 and bought a car from a friend (Gary Vissering), and with $100 in my pocket and a mutt named Blue, I headed East in October. I think I was seeking my destiny or some shit like that. The joke was that we were called Me and Drew and a dog named Blue.
But I digress … The next time I saw Stephanie, except for just some incidental visits, was in 1988. I was living in the Bay Area in El Cerrito http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wl. At that time, I only drove my car for errands. BART was so easy to take. I took a vacation on my 650 Yamaha Turbo and stayed with Mark & Pam Staszak. Stephanie married Gary and had two girls: Alexis (11) and Elizabeth (6). I met them both for about 30 seconds and then they went off to bed. I remember visiting Stephanie at her job at the local paper. I think her main job was editing the TV Guide. It was pretty cool and she really seemed to enjoy it.
The next time I went on vacation to Tucson was in 1990. I had a new Olds Cutlass Supreme and it was burgundy. Stephanie et al had moved back to Indiana and I heard from Pam that they had divorced. About two years later, Pam mentioned to both of us that we should write each other. Nothing more than that crossed my mind as I couldn’t see living in the snow/cold again, growing up back East. But writing sure seemed innocent enough. Well, the more we wrote, the more we wrote. After about a year, we decided it was time to take a vacation so I spent three weeks in Indianapolis starting 4th of July weekend of ‘93. I arrived on Friday, about 5PM on the 2nd. We kissed for the first time at the airport and we both commented that it seemed that everything and everyone disappeared while we kissed. This was the first of a lot of magical moments. Well, I stayed on her couch at http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wl during this visit and we didn’t even become intimate for almost a week. I guess I wanted (and it was her wish too) to make sure that this wasn’t just physical and that we both wanted and were ready to take the next step. I was there until the 25th and I’m sure we just did it twice. Not bad for someone who hadn’t had any for almost 5 years. I thought I showed admirable restraint.
The Obama Deception
http://www.obamadeception.net http://www.archive.org/details/The_Obama_Deception
Am I Trustworthy
http://www.archive.org/details/AmITrust1950
I know. When I look back it’s hard for me to believe it too. But it involved no tats. I didn’t have to murder anyone. I only had to be white and hate blacks. The first I definitely was but the second I wasn’t sure of. I thought I might since a group stole my bike one day right from in front of my house. It was a birthday gift from my dad and chasing them didn’t get it back. The “gang” hung out down at Cobbs Creek Park not far from where I lived on Kent Road (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Cobbs+Creek+Park,+Philadelphia,+Pennsylvania&sll=39.947613,-75.240182&sspn=0.026452,0.076818&g=Cobbs+Creek,+Philadelphia,+Pennsylvania&ie=UTF8&hq=Cobbs+Creek+Park&hnear=Cobbs+Creek+Park,+Philadelphia,+Pennsylvania+19151&ll=39.970674,-75.261068&spn=0.026443,0.076818&z=14) and would throw stones across the creek at anyone not resembling us. I was a member for about 3 months (the summer of ‘66). I think mostly because I was looking for something to do since this was the first Summer without my dad. Well, one day I decided to walk home. This involved walking down the tracks by the creek to the Marshall Road, climbing up the side to it and walking the short distance to my house on Kent Road.
Well, here are what I have so far. Hopefully will eventually be able to include all.
Well, Me 10-14-53
Dane Bruce (brother) 12-6-49
David Wayne (brother) 9-27-52
Dara Lynn (Worrell married name) (sister) 8-29-51
Bridgette Elizabeth (niece) 1-31-71
Bruce Calvert (dad) 10-14-23?
Muriel Jane (née Bloom) (married name Waters) 10-2-26?
William (Bill) E. Waters – stepdad – never knew when his birthday was
Denise Dawson (cousin) Dawson2236@aol.com
Bruce Dawson (cousin)
Yvette Dawson (cousin) yvettebeam@comcast.net
Keith Dawson (cousin Bruce’s son) keif-la@hotmail.com
Cousins Benny & Raymond
Mel Saunders (cousin Dale) ssrekees@yahoo.com
Carol Mobray (cousin?) Carolmowbray@aol.com
As a young man
pinkies look like a Y when I put them together
ear ache in left ear
swing into bridge of nose.
fell one story from school house I was climbing on and landed flat on my back
smacked front teeth on floor causing me to lose two
hit with a baseball in chin which clapped my teeth together and knocked out third tooth at gum line (crown)
cut half my nail off on ring finger with my dad’s razor blade
bike accident on schoolyard
rocks on left side of head
broken right wrist while riding horse
As an adult
fainting in AF
black widow spider bite
landed on head diving into pool
sunburn (twice) boat (was seasick too) and motorcycle
I trusted my dad. When I lost him at 12, I didn’t know who or where to always turn. I did turn to my mom; sometimes I turned to my siblings. I had a few friends I would talk to but it was hard for me to trust as much as I probably should have. I figured most comments from others would just show and tell me their own ideas of how things should be. Of course that’s true but it made me hesitate. As I got older, things turned around in that most of what others said became a good idea. Listening to what others said really confused me, especially if it conflicted with what I was thinking. Where does one go when there is no one besides yourself anymore? My friends in CA are there and I shouldn’t and don’t expect too much from just due to geography alone. My friends here, well certainly my brothers too, seem to be avoiding me I think because they have issues in their own lives to see what this schmuck is into. I haven’t seen Dane since last August. I’ve gotten two emails from him. the last an address for a home in Lafayette. What he probably doesn’t know is what I make each month less than they want for the price of admission. I was hoping that I would go to the Masonic Homes (now Village) in PA as it was right across from Patton. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Masonic+Village-Elizabethtown,+PA&sll=39.950873,-86.261937&sspn=0.105802,0.307274&ie=UTF8&hq=Masonic+Village-&hnear=Elizabethtown,+PA&ll=40.142993,-76.611786&spn=0.024736,0.076818&z=14 Poetic? Ironic? Maybe. I applied there first in November, 2008. Dane helped me fill out the application and then mailed it.
I haven’t heard from brother David since around Halloween last year when I gave him my computer and other miscellaneous hardware. The last thing I said to him is if he would consider having me as a roommate. I asked him if he could smoke outside as that might compromise my breathing. I would think that was why he decided not to go that route.
I started smoking at around 12 after my dad died. I hung around with the wrong crowd. I joined a "gang" with no name. They sat around mostly smoking and complaining about the n_ _ _ _ _s and how we should stone or beat them all. No reason given. I went along with this attitude for a few months but became tired of the tension that seemed to pervade the group and the weird way it made me feel. I was all about finding myself but not at the risk of losing my life or inflicting harm on others. In fact, it took me to a hard lesson in life. I was walking home from a "meeting" for what I knew was the last time. I walked home as I usually did, along the creek on the railroad tracks, heading for the overpass to walk up to Marshall Road and then home. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Upper+Darby,+292+Kent+Road,+PA&sll=39.950873,-86.261937&sspn=0.113172,0.307274&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=292+Kent+Rd,+Upper+Darby,+Delaware,+Pennsylvania+19082&ll=39.95658,-75.255082&spn=0.007073,0.019205&z=16
The concrete incline (you’ve seen them when you go under an overpass on the highway) was the best way to get to the top. Today, it seemed the fastest way too. Before reaching this I was met by several young black guys who just seemed to appear from behind some bushes. Maybe 6 or 8, but don’t honestly remember. Imagine this skinny white boy, about 5’5” wearing a thin, grey jacket seemingly surrounded (a few feet away anyway) by several guys who was wondering what he was doing on their turf. One of them asked me if I had any money and all I had on me was a nickel and a book of matches stuffed in my jacket pocket. Now imagine this skinny kid (I wasn’t even 100 lbs yet), confronted by a group of strangers who were probably not liking this kid in the wrong place at the wrong time. Well, the next thing I heard was “I’ll give you 5 …” I think my heart raced and I took off running towards the underpass. When I reached it I was on all fours climbing as fast as I could.
My best friend at the time was considered a bad influence by my mother. She was probably right. His name was Bill Rugh.
This will probably just amount to a rant so bear with me would ya? It is subject to change as I or my opinions do.
Leaving debt to our children or grandchildren. What’s wrong with that? Maybe if we do it long enough, one day we’ll turn around and realize the world we want for our children and ourselves exists and we are part of it. THEN we can stop worrying about this issue and start living. You can’t let yourself be minimalized by debt if its incurred for the right reasons. 30% interest rates! Let’s talk about THAT you greedy bastards!!
Dane
I never met Dane’s girlfriend and I’ve always tried to give the benefit of the doubt and not get judgee too early (least not till I’ve met them). Here’s an email I got one time from her (is her name).
----- Original Message -----
From: Drew
Sent: Saturday, August 22, 2009 2:46 PM
Subject: did this work?
J
DCal
++++++++++++++++++++
Dane just sent you an email and I just got home.. He is not a tech person like we are. Half of the time he doesn't carry his phone or check it and 99% of the time he doesn't check email. While I am glued to my phone and computer. This is the first time he has opened his email in months. He says that when he came over to your house he took the trash out every wednesday, chased after the dog that was unleashed to get a stool sample for the vet, moved furniture, etc. I don't care if he comes over there and watches a movie, etc., but it's really hard for him to do household chores, etc. especially before work.
He was hospitalized a few weekends ago for having a very very high sugar level (800+, normal is under 150) and very low sodium level. He was extremely dehydrated and they gave him numerous bags of IV fluids. He was in the VA all weekend and finally allowed to go home on a Sunday. He is now insulin dependent (shots) and on a different blood pressure medicine. He is also on a CPAP machine for sleep apnea. He's doing ok, but I just don't want him to overdo it.
The one car that we have, the engine overheated and we weren't able to save it in time. We had to get the engine replaced. My piece of crap car that I drive has had multiple problems too. We are usually down to only one car on the weekends. I work weekends and Thursdays delivering pizzas for pizza hut. I go to school on Mondays and Wednesdays. So he doesn't have a car on Saturday and Sunday most of the time and Fridays we have been going to the VA. Hopefully we can stop by and see you sometime soon.
-(Name Deleted
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My annotated reply to her. Tried to remove as much duplication as I could. No reply from her on this either.
I hope we can overcome these misunderstandings. I always have looked after Dane’s well-being.
Hope to see you both soon. J
DrDOS/DCal
From: [mailto:]
Sent: Saturday, August 22, 2009 6:39 PM
To: Drew
Subject: Re: did this work?
He says that when he came over to your house he took the trash out every wednesday, He rolled the can up to the house so wife could fill it. That was Tuesdays.
chased after the dog that was unleashed to get a stool sample for the vet, Couldn’t have been more than once. I don’t think he had to chase either.
moved furniture, etc. What furniture?
…
-Name Deleted
When I finally saw Dane later that month he said that was just her. Huh? I suggested he should set her straight. It’s almost a year and haven’t seen either of them.
this may be it. I won’t hurt myself or anyone else, so I guess I should just leave. What a finish huh!
I was called in October ‘04 by my sister. She said that our mom was in the hospital and may be operated on soon. This operation will either extend her life for a short time or end it much sooner. I was never told what she was suffering from except it had to with the lower abdominal region. I was confused that I wasn’t even aware of this as I spoke to her at least weekly for about an hour for the past several years. We had a joke about this. I told her that calling her was free. What I further explained is that it was already paid for and that if I didn’t use the minutes, I would just lose them. Already Paid For = Free She was confused how I made that leap in logic. She didn’t have a cell phone or computer. Imagine!
My brothers and I flew out Thursday afternoon, October 28 to Richmond, California. A friend of Dara’s, Donald, picked us up at the airport. We went to the hospital right away to visit. There we met Dara and talked about what was going on. She drove up from Fresno where she and Bridgette lived. We all met with the doctor only to find she already had the operation and it wasn’t good. We started talking hospice which is probably the first time I heard of it. After visiting our mom, we went to dinner where we discussed this next move. It was a lot for me to take in but Dara had been made the executor of mom’s estate so we followed her lead. My brothers and I stayed at our mother’s townhouse. It was pretty nice.
I wanted to visit my friends in SF but felt this visit had more to do with our mom and a lot less to do with my need to play catch up. I also tabled talking to her about a medical problem that had started with me about six months ago. She was on some pain medication so all that seemed important was for her to be comfortable.
When she was moved across the street to the hospice, we would visit for a few hours, then let her rest for a few hours, then return and visit some more. I could tell she was not comfortable and not liking the dependency. She had always been very independent so now that comfort zone was gone.
We left Sunday and finally got home that evening. Ten days later, Dara called my cell phone and left me a message that our mom had passed. What irritated me is that’s what she left on the voicemail. She didn’t say to call her back. That I felt would’ve been more appropriate.
I sure miss our weekend chats. When I would be in a quandary, I would call her. Now there’s not really anyone to call.
As Dara was the executor, all we wanted (or expected) from her is an accounting of our mom’s estate. The assets we knew about were townhouse, car, jewelry and bank account. We had no idea if there were other assets like an insurance policy. We also knew our mother had co-signed a loan for Dara’s home in Fresno (where she lived with Bridgette) but I don’t believe any of us boys considered that an asset to be divided up as that was an agreement she and mom had.
We never did get that accounting and her evasiveness has estranged all of us. Hopefully that can be repaired someday.
If having MSA wasn't enough, seems I also have tinnitus. I have a constant wooshing noise in my left ear which is something like the sound you get when you hold a seashell to your ear; just louder and more like fingernails on a chalkboard, not rolling waves. I guess that came about from an earache I suffered in my left ear when I was about 5 or 6. As usual, I walked home from school on a particularly cold day. By the time I reached my front door, I was doubled over with the worst piercing pain I had ever felt. I had no way to relieve it as it was inside my head. Fortunately my mother was home. She had me lie on the couch. She put a few drops of warmed (olive?) oil in my ear, gently inserted a cotton ball and within moments the pain had subsided so much I fell asleep. I didn't wake until dinner and by then was all better. Thanks mom!
You hear all the time from the older crowd how different life was when they were young. Let’s compare some of that.
Prohibition/SpeakEasy
Our Parents Had
We Had
Our Kids Have
Social networking (Facebook/Myspace/Youtube)
So, as you can see, we all had our own (but similar) issues. May our kids do as well.
Oct ‘93 – Nov ‘94 – Pythia computer consulting onsite at Indiana State House – newsworthy item KKK
Nov ‘94 – June ‘96 – CBSI – closed their doors around 1998.
Nov ‘95 – Feb ‘97 – part time (closed Fri/Sat night and opened Sun). Needed some extra dough to pay for Liz’s braces. 421 was changed to Jubilee Bowl
Aug ‘96 – Oct 31, ‘01 – Entex – Just a few months before being let go, received an Atlas marking my 5-year milestone – they were bought by Siemens
Nov ‘01 – June ‘02 – SMS consultant at FHLB
Sept ‘02 – Apr ‘03 – Kforce – Computer tech temp at Eli Lilly (probably walked 5-10 miles each day) Learned a lot
Apr 7 ‘03 – Mar 23, ‘07 – DCL Medical Laboratories – Was a great job. Always something interesting to do. Got to work again with a good friend, Sean, who I first met at CBSI – bought by LabCorp after I left
A little bit like the character at the end of The Incredible Shrinking Man. A lot of time to think about my existence and at a loss to do much about it. And, no one really to tell what’s on my mind except here. This blog has been helpful.
That’s how I feel when I think of my situation. Just like in this commercial. Am I the only one who doesn’t get it? Does anyone really get it? After all the years of trying to look after and out for everyone, I feel like the bad guy. But don’t know why. I thought we were on the same page.
White – our race has wasted so much time putting down other races just because they weren’t white. Instead of embracing their differences and discovering what they had to share.
Male – we expend so much energy in figuring out how to deny women the same desires males have instead of assisting them in how they can realize their own dreams.
American – I am proud to be an American but have not always been proud of our history. Slavery, segregation, how we treated the Native Americans, the stock market crash, healthcare, tolerance of others (gays for instance). A lot to think about.
Adult – we treat our offspring as though we are glad we had them for clean up but not for taking the reins when we retire or expire.
Life is so short and precious. Right is right for all. Let’s all work on getting it that way.
Well, I don’t have ALS but it seems that what I have been diagnosed with is very similar to a lot of brain disorders. Parkinsons, MSA. shy-drager; all make you a prisoner of what is left of your life.
If you have some time, watch the 60 minutes show that talks about stem cells and some ALS patients who went undercover to expose a few of those who don’t mind preying on those who have become desperate to try to live again while they wait for the inevitable. In this story, to give you some idea how I talk now, it’s not much better than Michael Martin. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1998/07/08/60minutes/main13502.shtml
If you can’t access this story, it was originally aired on 4/18/10.
Thanks be to one and all.
NOTE TO SELF: Work on some more to verify websitr.
I might have been good at this had I known about Parkour in my younger days. I used to scale the sides of buildings, climb trees and walk the edge of a building like a tightrope. I would gaze downwards and not be afraid. I didn’t understand what others were complaining about. I would go underwater at the pool and skim across the bottom. I would even have dreams of running through the woods at top speed and just leaping over, around and through any opening that presented itself. I would always wonder what it was all about. Weird huh!
Well, sort of.
I don’t remember my age but I think I must have been around 4. Since both my parents worked, they would hire a babysitter sometimes to mind us kids after school. This particular sitter didn’t treat me like my brothers and sisters. While everyone was outside running around and playing, I was confined to sitting in a chair. I was told not to look at anything -- but I couldn’t close my eyes. If I did, I would get a whack somewhere on my body with my belt which I had already surrendered to her. I also remember a strong smell whenever she came over. It could have been some perfume she wore or just clothing she brought. From then on, whenever I would smell that, it would bring up those memories. It took a while, but I did finally stop associating one with the other. It was several years before I finally identified that smell too: leather.
I’ve a few scars on my head that most don’t know about. I have only shaved my head twice – high school and USAF. The upside down L on my right side was given to me courtesy of the Byrd brothers – Ricky and Tony. One on Tuesday and one on Thursday, the same week. It even happened under exactly the same circumstances. A gang, a billboard, a tree house, a dare and a rock. Hard to believe but for a very brief time, I was a member of a gang. It wasn’t a serious gang. No tats, no robbing, no graffiti and my personal favorite no killing. I’m not even sure if it had a name. The closest I came to one was Cobbs Creek. It’s where we met most of the time. Anyway, I was at the fortress on Tuesday night, approaching dusk. It was just a small clearing right behind a group of billboards alongside a busy street. We would mostly just hang out, smoke cigarettes and climb atop the billboards and check out the women during rush hour. We were teenagers after all! On Tuesday, I was hanging with Tony and we decided to race to our tree house at the top of the next hill behind a two-story office building. It meant crossing an empty gravel parking lot, going behind an office building and shinnying up a rope to climb onto a wooden platform. All went as I expected, or so I thought. I was the only one who ran up the hill and climbed up to the tree house. Just before I climbed up onto the platform, I felt a pain on the right side of my head and a ringing in the same ear. I immediately climbed down, trying not to fall the two stories to the ground. I then ran down the hill, past Tony, back to the fortress and up the street to my house (about 3 blocks). My sister, being home alone, promised that she would keep this to herself, even though I was crying and bleeding.
Now the only you need do is change the day to Thursday and the brother to Ricky, and you will see how THAT day ended. Weird huh?
Now there is one more scar but on the opposite side of my head. This I got quite a few years earlier. I was riding my new bike that I got for my 8th birthday (which I shared with my dad). I was on the blacktop playground behind my school riding aimlessly. I was riding quite close to the building and when I came a corner of the building, which had a dirt ramp on its side, I ran head on with another kid riding his bike down that same ramp. I don’t remember the collision or who was riding the bike or much of anything else. When I awoke, I was being lifted into an ambulance and heading to the hospital. When I arrived, an x-ray was done on my hip. When it was developed, two doctors got together and within my earshot, argued as to whether I could go home or my hip was broken. I think you can imagine what this youngster was wishing for. After about 30 minutes, they let my folks take me home. Whew! Now they just had to keep an eye on me in case of concussion but that they could do from home. :)
Went head first through a window in high school. Cut my upper lip that would later show up when I grew a mustache.
In October, 1996, I was washing Raven in the bathtub. She looked like a scrawny rat when she was all wet. I don’t think I did anything wrong except ignore the cardinal rule which states don’t wash a cat if they don’t like the water! She sure didn’t. She bit the inside tip of my left thumb. I screamed at the top of my lungs as it sure hurt. The only way I got her to let go was squeeze her neck HARD! When she did so did I. I handed her off to Liz, who was helping, and I tended my “wound”. I ran it under water and after some discussion we all went to the emergency room. It being a Saturday night, hoped it wasn’t too busy – and it wasn’t. Being seen right away sure helped me but the doctor didn’t seem too happy. He wasn’t very personable either to me or the nurse. After it was cleaned and dressed I asked. “Now what?” I was first told to change the bandage daily; then told to leave it covered. After a week it got infected and had to be operated on. Nice. What should have happened was to change the bandage daily and then after a few days leave it covered in the day and let it breathe at night. That’s what the surgeon said anyway …
Follow your dreams but not just in your head. Do what you can to see that they come true.
When I was younger, I wanted to act or perform. I enjoyed singing, dancing or telling a joke. When I had the accident with my front teeth, my world changed. Seemed to me that people were laughing at me instead of at my jokes.
Make a diary if you can. Online. Handwritten. Who cares. Give yourself something to look back on. You won’t regret doing it and you might if you don’t, and by then it’ll be too late.
Well, here’s a who who of those I knew in this life. Obviously subject to change.
Friends:
Patton
Charles Brecht cb_17022@hotmail.com
Roy ‘Peanut’ Kinkead roykwngr@zoominternet.net
Ken Miller kwmiller23@yahoo.com
Tucson
Pam (&Mark) Stasczak Sewnut3@aol.com
California
Sofie Censoprano sofiacensoprano@gmail.com
Julia (Julia.Deleganes@verizon.net)
Laurie l_leppo@yahoo.com
Susan Brockmeyer (SBrockDC@aol.com)
joansuyat@yahoo,com or joan@suyat.com
Lawrence Tom (ltom@wellsfargo.com)
Sal Censoprano (salcens@aol.com)
Indianapolis
Bryan Beswick (hbsd4bk@sbcglobal.net)
Gina Vinson (gvvinson@yahoo.com)
Greg Martin (gmartin845@comcast.net)
Roland Ortega (rortega01@yahoo.com)
Sylvia shernandez@fhlbi.com
Sean Butler sean@dcla.com
Family:
Denise Dawson2236@aol.com (cousin)
yvettebeam@comcast.net (cousin)
Keith Dawson keif-la@hotmail.com (1st cousin) (never had the pleasure of meeting)
Kathleen Insley Fuka jkfuka@verizon.net (cousin)
Mel (Dale) Saunders ssrekees@yahoo.com (cousin)
Dane danebdawson49@comcast.net
David dawsondavid741@yahoo.com
Dara therap4all@aol.com
