AN AMTRAK COMEDIAN

One song leads to another

One friend to another

So, I’ll travel along

With a friend and a song…or maybe a comedian. I took a photo of Homer, Sandra and Issac, brothers and sister traveling from Phoenix to Bakersfield.  This was at the Los Angeles station before boarding a bus over the grapevine. Except, none of them should be smiling.  We’ve all had experiences where everything that could go wrong-did!  They discovered there are two airports in Phoenix after they arrived at the wrong one. The relative who left them at the airport had already departed. Getting a ride to the right airport, a traffic hold-up, missing the correct flight by minutes. Then, finding out since it was now minutes after the 24 hour time to cancel, “Sorry, no refund.”  Then renting a car and racing to nearby Maricopa to catch an Amtrak train and barely making it on board before the doors closed.  Ahhh, such are the joys of travel. Makes you want to eat nails. But..Issac kept us all in stitches through the nearly three-hour wait time in the Lobby. They offered me coffee, pretzels, chocolate, mints and gales of laughter.  Issac told me he heals everyday troubles by hugging his three-year old grandson. Laughter is healing and he took  the drudgery out of  my trip and theirs.

I’ve traveled from Northern California to Southern California on Amtrak many times and enjoyed the train.  I’ve seen this bird, or maybe another bird, that appears to live inside the station on popcorn and bread crumbs. I couldn’t get a good picture, but watching  birds anywhere gives me a lift.

Of course, I didn’t have to hang out my red panties to flag the train, or hang from  a mail hook, but the Amtrak stop at Deming is a simple kiosk. The train was almost an hour late. It made up the lost time across the vast stretches of desert and we arrived in Los Angeles on time.

On my first ever overnight on a train, I can report  the food was good, the attempt to sleep through the night was not very successful.  But, I was warm and none the worse for wear. As we were disembarking, I took a picture of Tanya, who was dressed all in fur from head to toe, tiredly clutching her guitar. She told me she is hoping to be a musician someday, she earns her living doing make up, and “I look younger than I am.” Sweet!

They say the best part of travel is  it reveals the value of home. I think the best part of travel is  the people you meet. On that subject, I’ll get back to my last days with Jim when I’m settled in.

 

JUST FIVE MINUTES

My neighbor, Jan,  is known for popping in for five minutes, always with some  ulterior m0tive.  She decided I was lacking “bling”. You can see the  bling on  my shoulder.

I had hired a homeless guy, looking for work,  to do some chores around the place. He told me he had worked as a roofer, had some carpentry skills, knew how to use a chain saw, etc.  I have a storage shed with warped doors and I asked him if he could fix them. He did and I gave him some paint to paint the shed. Unfortunately, he painted the doors shut. So, I asked my friends to help me get the doors open.    Jan is one of those people who likes to have  fun with anything she does, and she likes ceremonies. She grabbed a pot to beat on, and Karen, my housemate,  is half Cherokee and did a ceremonial dance.

While they did their work,  I used a hacksaw blade to cut through the thin coating between the two doors.

It wasn’t budging. My crowbar and nail puller both disappeared but I had a long,  strong mechanic’s screwdriver. It took some doing to pry the doors open without wrecking them.

That’s when we discovered he had nailed the doors shut. I guess he figured he wasn’t coming back anyway. Gotta take laughter where you find it.  And, what the hey, the guy needed the money.

All’s Fair In Love And Blogs…

In numerous Blog entries I have mentioned how much laughter Mary and I enjoy in our relationship. She brings a lot of laughter into my life and she tells me I do the same for her. In many of our Blog entries we also like to enjoy a laugh about the other. Here’s an example…

Mary tend to be an adventurous eater…eating all kinds of weird stuff…while I tend to be a more conventional eater.

So yesterday morning she had an unusual breakfast…to me! If you cannot tell…it’s a huge bowl of popcorn. Not exactly the Breakfast of Champions!

While I had a more traditional breakfast.

Here’s another illustration of our laughter. The below link will bring you to my Seattle PI Blog of January 23, 2009…

http://blog.seattlepi.com/ramblinman/2009/01/23/yipes-its-spike/

I’ve long believed the lots of laughter is to foundation to good mental health. If that’s true…Mary and I are in good shape…at least mental-health wise!  🙂

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

MISSED THE COMET

A neighbor, down on his luck, had the ambulance at his door three days ago. He is suffering from congestive heart failure. Home from the hospital, he invited me and another neighbor over to play RummiKub. A tile game with similarities to all rummy card games. Fun and lively if you are competitive,  and casual if you like to curse politics between moves. We all decided we’d have to hold our noses to vote and pick the least damaging person. Not exactly the way you want to decide the leadership of your country. We also wanted to check out the comet as it streaked toward the moon or earth or missed the moon and earth. Unfortunately, by the time we remembered and got outside,  the event was over. But, the moon was surrounded by a beautiful aura and some pattern of visible dust in the sky. A lovely clear night to view a gorgeous moon? The view was worth the burrs I got in my shoelaces tromping around Brian’s darkened back yard.  And, we guessed that it missed since we didn’t feel anything earth-shaking.

Brian has an oxygen bottle with a pump delivering him air wherever he is. It has a 50 foot hose and we threatened to step on it if he didn’t behave.

His sister, Anita, mimicked his nose tubes. Hey, life is short. Might as well laugh. The next comet might be “the big one.”

 

 

 

It Seems Like A Laugh A Minute…

Mary and I share a delightful relationship. It seems like all we do is laugh. Without even trying (not on purpose…that is) she keeps me constantly laughing. Here’s just one example from yesterday…

We arise early every morning…usually between 5:00 and 5:30 AM. Yesterday I morning something attracted me to Mary’s feet. I looked down and there it was…she had on one brown sock and one red sock!

She had gotten dressed in the dark without turning on a light and it just happened. This is just one small example. She’s so funny I’ve gotten to calling her Lucy Ball Matzek.

I have long-believed that lots of laughter is good for the soul and your general well-being. Thanks to Mary…I’m in really good shape in that department.

Much to my surprise…Mary says I’m also a very funny guy.

Mary and I share lots of real nice things together. I’m so very glad that laughter is is so very high upon the list!

Bring on the next laugh Lucy Ball Matzek…I can hardly wait!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://stores.lulu.com/panamaorbust

So, What Do I Do While In Banishment?

I jokingly refer to my separations from Mary as “Banishment”. In reality when we first got together in 2008, that was part of the deal. She still has a home and four rentals that require her attention, so we knew that 3-4 times a year she would have to return home to attend to business.

She claims I’m a distraction (Who, Me?) whenever I’m at her home and “can’t get much done when you’re around”, So, she has requested I stay away so she can get things done. Hence my joke about being banished!

If you have not seen it, here’s our “business card” that we hand to people as we meet them on the road.

So, what do I do while in banishment?

Well, first of all,I try to stay in decent weather conditions. Then I try to take maximum advantage of my Thousand Trails RV Resort membership, so that I have maximum comfort during my banishment. That means security and utility-generated electricity.

Since I’ve traveled my usual Western route of Washington in the summer and the desert southwest in the winter for 16 years, I’ve seen most of the attractions.

So…here’s what I do…

I think a lot about what an interesting life I’ve had and lucky guy I am. All my life I’ve enjoyed wonderfully good health. At 70 years of age, I have never had any major illnesses or pain or surgery. I’m not on any kind of prescribed medications. I still have all of my own teeth and most of my hair. Can you put a price on that?

I think about my wonderful family and my many great friends and acquaintances.

I think about how lucky I am to have traveled so extensively in my life. 26 countries while in the U.S. Navy. I started RVing in 1962, retired at age 55 and have lived on the road full-time for the last 16 years. I’ve got a lot miles on my body and oh, the people I have met, the places I have seen and the experiences I had.

In addition, I…

* do my daily blog, do research and play spider solitaire on my computer,,

* go for walks,

*read (I’ve been an avid reader all of my life.) Why are a good book and an RV much alike? Both can take you to many wonderful places,

* visit friends and meet new people,

* chat with family and friends on my cell phone,

* visit with my fraternal brothers at the VFW, American Legion, Eagles and Moose,

* watch an occasional movie,

* get lots of rest and relaxation,

* listen to lots of great music on our XM satellite radio and six-channel surround-sound system,

* do routine maintenance and repairs to the motorhome and Bronco,

* miss greatly Mary’s wonderful meals.

Finally, I think about how lucky I am to have met my life-partner Mary. She is a delight and brings much laughter, joy and happiness to my life.

But as she and I have discussed…moderation is the key to a good life. So, in reality banishment is a good thing. It gives us time apart to think and reflect about our relationship and really appreciate the times we spend together.

Kind of brings a tear to your eye, doesn’t it? 🙂

I’ll leave you with on of my favorite photos of Mary…

Did I tell you she brings lots of laughter into my life?

So, in banishment, I think and appreciate what a lucky guy I am!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://lulu.com/panamaorbust