THE MILKSHAKE MISTAKE

When I was in high school, a friend (Marc) had a old 1965 GMC pick-up truck with standard transmission. It was a neat truck, and Marc had put a lot of work into it. One day, Marc was driving, I was riding shotgun, and we were running just a bit late to run by our friend Bob's house to pick him up. (This is the same Bob whom I am collecting donations for.)

When we got to Bob's, Marc honked the horn and Bob came running out of his house. As Bob came up to the truck, we noticed that he had a quart jar in his hand. When asked what was in the jar, Bob said it was his lunch -- a homemade chocolate shake. 

I got out of the way to let him in. Bob climbed in and settled in the center of the seat. I climbed back in. I barely got the door closed and we were on our way to class. As we got near the intersection, where we had to make a right turn, the police officer who was there every weekday to direct traffic was doing that.

We never really understood why they would not put in a stop light at this intersection. The police officer would stop traffic, motion for cars to make the right turn and, as always, maybe he would let three to four vehicles make the turn, then he'd stop them and let traffic go on by, then do it again. Sometimes it could take 15 minutes or so to be able to make that turn. Just about all of the vehicles were high school students trying to get to the new vocational school.

As we waited, we talked of things that high school guys talk about. Mostly girls. Bob would take a drink now and then of his homemade shake and put his two cents worth in on the conversation. We'd stop, pull forward, three cars get to make the turn. Stop, pull forward, and the officer would let three or four cars go. We kept talking, stopping, pulling forward. Finally, we were the third car in line waiting to make the turn.

All this time, Marc had his truck in first gear. We would creep forward, then stop and wait. The cop stopped oncoming traffic and started to wave the next three cars through. BUT, this time he only let two go through! There we sat, now late for class. We waited and waited and, finally, the cop stopped oncoming traffic.

He looked at us and started to wave us through. Marc gave the truck some gas and came off the clutch just as Bob lifted the milkshake to take a drink. SPLOOSH! Bob had a face fully covered by his shake.

I laughed, Marc laughed, and the police officer was about rolling on the street in laughter. Bob, on the other hand, was not laughing. There was shake covering his face like a mask. There was shake all over the back window. There was shake on the seat. There was shake in Bob's hair.

We were running late for class. Do you think Marc would stop? No! He kept driving and laughing. Bob got enough shake off of his face that he could see Marc, and he started punching him in the arm. I was still laughing. There was shake on the floor of the truck, trickling everywhere. 

We made it to the school. Marc parked his truck and we bailed out. Bob just kind of slipped out of the truck, still covered in shake. He still had the jar in his hand and threw it at Marc. Marc ducked. The jar landed in the back of the truck. The rest of the shake ended up there.

Bob was MAD, to say the least. But then he finally started to chuckle a bit. Marc found a oily rag under the seat and tossed it to Bob. Bob wiped as much shake as he could off of himself. I hurried to my class, and Marc and Bob went to their class. I was lucky: my class was in a different building. Marc and Bob were in the same class.

When their teacher saw them he told Marc to get busy. He sent Bob to the locker room to clean up. Did you know that milkshake rinsed out of your hair makes it nice and fluffy?

After school, Marc managed to get the biggest part of the shake up off of the seat and kind of off the floor.

I found another ride home! 

THE HAIR LOSS (aka the Fall shearing) and Bob Update

This is great! Thank you!

Now, I need to shear the locks of hair from my bumpy, pointed, dented noggin. I will be doing it just as soon as Bob heads back home from here after his son's wedding.

SSSSSHHHH! He still doesn't know 'cause I want to be able to give the money to him in one lump sum, so don't spill the beans.

I hope that no one blows pop or coffee through their noses!

Now, for the update: We are at $800 in donations for Bob. YAY!!!!! Keep it comin'!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: 8/27/12 AND A BOB UPDATE

"The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking."

      --A.A. Milne
      British author


I talked to my friend Bob on Saturday night. He is doing okay. He said that he has good days and a few bad days. But, for the most part, they are good days.

He and his wife were able to get out and go ride one of his Harleys for about a half hour. This is one thing that Bob really enjoys. A open road, wind in his face, and no real destination in mind. Just get on it and go. See where it takes you. To alpine forests, with the smell of pine on the air. Or a nice straight stretch of road through the desert with the sun setting in the west. As he motors along, troubles and pain forgotten, just as he keeps on moving down the road.

He has a bucket list of rides that he wants to make.

I'll try to find out what is on that list. He and his wife are coming to Denver next week. They have a wedding to attend. One of his sons is getting married. They will be here on the 30th. The wedding is on the 2nd. He says he is up to it. I can't wait to see him. And as of right now,  he has no idea what we are all doing with him in mind.

Help me to get the word out, please. Let others know of what is happening. Let's keep on ROCKING THIS THING!

Here's the scoop!http://granddadscorner.chipin.com/bobs-chemotherapy-and-medical-expenses

I'M READY TO ROCK THIS THING!

Okay, everybody. Let's rock this thing for Bob!

Please use the ChipIn widget to your right to donate. Here's a link to my ChipIn details page: http://granddadscorner.chipin.com/bobs-chemotherapy-and-medical-expenses
This link takes you to the ChipIn page that details the goals and actions that go with levels of donations.

I'm ready to become hairless to help a friend with a bill or two. No donation is too small. I'm still looking for a purple G-string or butt floss (thong). But, we will find one or two. Someone said I should wear a pink one. So, I will try to do as asked.

All of you who follow my blog, please pass the word to others to help Bob. He is an Air Force veteran, which may interest some.

As we go along, I will be posting updates. So keep coming back to see if I'm naked yet!

It has been a while since I have done anything crazy like this. I'm looking forward to it. Especially since it will help a friend. It will be fun and I hope it will put a smile or two on everyone's faces.

Thank you all for your support and your donations.

I wonder how much all the hair on a human body weighs. Plus, if the hair on my head is long enough it will be donated to Locks of Love (I guess it depends on how long before I reach $500 in donations.)

This is a win-win for everyone:

• I get a fall shearing
• Bob gets some money to pay a medical bill or two
• Someone else will possibly get hair for a wig
• and you all get to see me get sheared, so there's a show! With me in a thong (or two.) I hope that I don't burn anybody's retnas out.

So, lets get this thing going. ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, GO!! I hope it's not to drafty.

HERE'S THE DEAL

Been super busy and working on making a few dollars for my friend Bob. Bob thought he had a sinus infection. He went to the doctor. They discovered a brain tumor instead. He has been through chemo and radiation, and we won't know for a few more months what his prognosis is. In the meantime, his medicine and treatment bills are sky high.

So, here is what I thinking of doing. We have seen in the past how people have shaved their heads for family and friends who have had cancer.

I'm going to go further. I'll start with collecting an amount of money as pledges to get my head shaved. If I raise a certain amount more, I'll get my chest, back, and belly waxed. For a certain amount about that, I'll have my legs waxed. To finish off, I will wear a purple thong or G string and pose in it.  I will have the whole thing videotaped and posted on my blog, YouTube, and on my wife's Facebook page.

I'm not going to do this just for a few bucks. I'd like the word put out and to make some money for him and his wife to be able to pay a bill or two.

My friend Bob is not one of those friends that I can just say, "Sorry to hear of your troubles," or ,"Sorry you have cancer." I know I don't  have a cure for him.

I have known Bob since grade school. We have stood by one another through good and bad. We have had each other's backs since fourth grade, putting up with bullies, getting our butts kicked, and we kicked some butt also. He is family to me. We have camped, fished, hunted, and white water rafted. We have drank together, bled for one another.

I protected him and his family when a stepfather became abusive. His stepfather went as far as to take a few gunshots at Bob and his little sister. I took Bob and his family to a safe place to get away from that crazy person. Bob and I went back to the house later and, finding that the stepdad was not there, took every firearm out of the house.

When we got to my house, we took every firearm, disassembled them, put all of the small parts in a paper bag and shook them up. Then we went back to his house and put all the parts back in the gun cases that we took the firearms from. I found out later that the stepfather had worked for the Secret Service for some years. He didn't stick around after taking those shots at Bob and his sister: he left the state and, after several months, Bob heard that the man had died.

Bob is the kind of fellow who would give you a hand up. He would not talk down to anyone. He has had his share of heartache and trials, as we all have. He is a kind and loving man. He is a Vietnam-era vet. He is a family man with grandkids and a stepson who is about to get married.

I'd do just about anything for Bob. Even be a little on the crazy side to do this for him and his family. To help ease the burden some so they can pay a medical bill or two. I only hope that Bob gets better and beats the crap out of this cancer.

And me. Well, I needed to get a hair cut any way. As for the body waxing? I'll be stream lined and as smooth as a baby's butt. Okay, a fat bald baby. And as for the purple G string thing? Well it can't be much worse than in my younger days at PT's strip club. (Hide your shock!) It's just that I'm older, and fatter, and a little wiser.

Besides, I'm doing it for my best friend.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: 8/13/12

"Actions are the seed of fate. Deeds grow into destiny."

Harry S. Truman, 33rd. U.S. President

THIS AND THAT

After jacking up my back a week or so ago, I'm finally feeling better. I am able to set at the computer for a short amount of time. Now if we could just do something about the heat here in Colorado, I'd be a happy camper! I made the mistake of telling Kathi that I was ready for some fall like weather. She fell off the couch.

I really like summer and all of the things that go with it: fishing, camping, eating BBQ, lounging in the hammock, eating watermelon, walks around the lake, BBQ, road trips, skinny dipping, picnics, homemade ice cream, corn on the cob. . . you get the idea.

Out of all those things, I've managed to do four of them. And, I'm not telling which four. Since my back has been whacked out, my waistline has whacked out some also. In fact, I think we need to get a new scale. Either the floor is moaning or the scale is. I'm not sure which yet.

Last night, I grilled some burgers and deep fried us some french fries in one of my dutch ovens. (Maybe that is why the scale makes noises.) The fries were really good. Crisp on the outside, and kind of soft on the inside. I also had a Jack and Coke, for my back (of course), and it really hit the spot. I did it all outside so the house wouldn't be so hot.

Now that I'm feeling a bit better, I need to think about beginning to commence to work in the man cave (aka, garage.) Plus, I need to mow again. Since it has been so damn hot, I think I have mowed the yard maybe six times. Really. We have watered, but it has not really grown. But if it rains just a bit, the grass takes off and in a week it looks like it hasn't been mowed in a month. Go figure.

A friend of ours just recently got his concealed carry. He is all excited. (Who wouldn't be!) Now he just needs to figure what he will carry. He has several. I told him to pick one, shoot it at the range, and get really comfortable with it. And to try several types of holsters until he finds one that works for him. He will also be taking extra training as he goes along. Good for him.

Also, another friend of mine had a tumor removed from his head in June. He has finished all of his treatments of chemo and radiation. He has lost all of his hair, and now has some peach fuzz on top of his noggin. Now it is a waiting game for several more months to see if the treatments did their jobs. Money is tight for them with all of the medical bills and such.

SO, I'm thinking I might do something to help raise some cash for them, to help out. And what I have in my mind is a little wacky. I've been known to do some crazy things when I was younger and, okay even as I have aged some. So, I'll work out some of the details and see if I can set things up.

You all will just have to be patient and wait a few days. I'm sure it will be fun for those who follow this blog. And you will have to pass the word. I'll have video, or pictures, or both.

In the meantime, I'll try to knock number five of my summer things off the list.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: 8/6/12

"Don't be afraid of opposition. Remember, a kite rises against, not with, the wind."

Hamilton Wright Mabie, American writer

Dried Apricots (a Kathi post)

Once upon a time I had a really good job with a library group. One of the things that made it really good was some of the people I got to work with (even if they are mostly liberals). I have been away from that job for a couple years now, but I stay in touch with the best ones through Facebook and occasional in-person gatherings.


One of those spiffy ladies now owns a house with an apricot tree that produced a bunch of fruit this year (probably because SHE owns it now -- she's special like that).

 She shared with me about 20 pounds of those little fruits. She brought them by my office one day last week. 


At first I thought I would make jam. That's kinda my standard response to a bunch of ripe fruit. But Jim suggested that we dry them instead. Yes! What a great idea. I can use them at Christmas-time for fruit breads or fruitcake (ahem. yes -- I LIKE it!) or I can make a compote or jam later, I would think.

 So, when I got home from work the next day, we prepared them for drying.


The first thing we did was sort them and discarded the very few brown and mushy fruits. Seriously -- it was less than a handful. But it's a good thing we didn't wait until I got home TWO days later.

Then we peeled them. Doesn't that sound like it was a lot of work? But all we did was to dump them into a kettle of lightly boiling water, then turned the burner off. We waited 90 seconds, then plunged them into a bowl of ice water, let them sit a moment, then drained the water off by pouring them into a big-assed colander. (Sorry, Mom, that I said "ass.") When prepared this way, the skins just pull or fall off, which makes it very quick and easy. Jim trotted all those skins out and put them in the compost bin.

We then cut them in half, and placed them in a bowl of lemon water to keep them from browning.


Once they were all halved and in the juice, we drained the liquid off again, sprinkled them very lightly with white granulated sugar, and placed them on the fruit-leather sheets that came with our dehydrator. I don't know what they are really called. If you have a small, non-industrial dehydrator, you can just place them on the racks and they won't fall through. (Oh, that reminds me -- I need to tell Jim that London Broil is on sale at our King Soopers this week so he can make some tasty jerky.)


Then Jim loaded the racks into our dehydrator and set the timer and temperature according to the booklet that came with our dehydrator (which was 16 hours at 135 degrees).


The next morning when I got up, they were done! 


Then, we just put them into a plastic container and now they are ready for us to use anytime we are ready for them. 

Our dog, Nugget, helped (of course).

Oops

Jim hurt his back by doing absolutely nothing. He's done that before and it usually takes about four days before he can do anything again.


So! He wanted to let you know that he has not forgotten you, and he's asked if I can do a post for Thursday (which, of course, I will).


See you then! Kathi