Friday, August 9, 2013

Mayor Alvin Brown answered my letter about the library. He didn't promise to keep the branch open, of course, but did write a substantial answer to my comments. I just hope they don't close that library branch, because it's on a bus line that goes straight down Pearl St. past the library and I can get to it even if I no longer have the car.

Richard has decided, at least tentatively, that though he can't buy it he can afford to rent my car on a monthly basis for a number of trips to the beach to sing and to Walmart and Publix. If he pays me $70.00 a month rent it will cover my insurance costs and allow me to keep the car, and still give me the use of the car into the foreseeable future for trips around town. At some point the car will simply wear out, but Hondas are long-lasting, so I expect to keep it another three or more years. I have the savings account to cover car repair costs, if they aren't too expensive.

I just found a long Wallace and Maness family tree on the Internet and emailed it to Gwen and Hilda. I was looking under Lucy Maness and found my great, great aunt Lucinda. I don't know who originated the family tree, but it includes lots of Wallaces, Manesses and Deatons and is quite a few pages long.

I'm just reading again today. This Auel book is 700 pages long, so I will be reading for quite a while. I don't have any pressing errands to do, although I need to go to Publix for yogurt and canned milk, plus some more canned beans and cheddar cheese and dried plums. It doesn't have to be done today, though.

I just realized today that I forgot Gwen's birthday because I didn't have it written down on the calendar. I have almost no sense of time, at least beyond the span of a day. That is one reason why writing a diary like this helps me. It keeps me from going too far off into daydream land. I also find that I can read it again after some time passes and it's almost like someone else wrote it. It's a surprise to read it, since I don't remember the words.

I'll end now, and go back to reading my book.


Saturday, August 10, 2013

Good morning. It's 8:13 AM, and it's a sunny mild day. It probably won't go over 93 today. That's about what we've been having for the last three or four weeks. I hope it doesn't, because I turned the knob on my air conditioner to the off position and found that it is stuck and won't move in either direction now. I need to call the office downstairs and get somebody to come up and fix it, but today is Saturday and they aren't there, so I may be very hot today.

News – a high end shop in Switzerland refused to show Oprah Winfrey a $38,000 handbag, saying it was too expensive, according to Oprah. The shop owner said there were language problems, and that the store clerk wanted to show her a similar bag made of other materials. Oprah said it was racism, the clerk assuming that since she was black she couldn't pay for it. Apparently the clerk didn't recognize her face. Too bad that it still goes on.

It has occurred to me that adding Richard to my insurance policy and the trips to the beach that he wants to make will very likely make my insurance bill go up to a point that he can't pay enough rental to cover it. I'll have to call the insurance company and find out, and then mention it to him. I may have to sell the car outright and start walking to the grocery store. I dread that, although it would be good for my physical condition. I don't take enough exercise.

According to the weather man, we are going to have beautiful sunsets due to Saharan dust coming all the way from Africa. Amazing.

I have two red to purple spots on my left hand just under the skin. Mother used to get these. I googled it, and discovered Bateman's Purpura, which is sometimes caused by sun damage, but use of blood thinners like aspirin was also mentioned. I think the aspirin is the most likely cause in my case. Purpura is considered to be harmless, and I need the aspirin to prevent blood clots and to work toward preventing alzheimers. I read that on the Internet. I just take one aspirin a day. All in all, I guess I won't worry about the red spots, other than the fact that they aren't attractive.

I need to gather the clothes and go downstairs to do laundry, but I can't bring myself to do it yet. Soon, though. Still reading for now.

12:44 PM I'm taking a break from reading. Fox Channel 30 is showing Brideshead Revisited. I've seen it before, because I remember the opening, but I can't remember the story, except I can see that it is about a young man flirting with the gay lifestyle. I'm curious to see how it turns out.

1:31 PM I'm not enjoying this movie. Though I am tolerant of gay people, both male and female, and have known several fairly well, I am more likely to sympathize with lesbians than men. I think women have had to put up with more problems having to do with their gender than men have, and I cut them more slack when they don't conform to the norms. Men have fewer legitimate complaints, I think, since the world bows to them in business relationships and family structure still in this day and time. It does, however, demand that they be strong rather than weak, since they are the leaders and strength is needed to overcome problems. Strong men who are gentle are the ideal. I prefer strength in women, too, though. I think it is a basic part of beauty and grace, whether in a man or a woman, and I have more respect for emotionally strong people. I think weak people have a problem being honest and straightforward in their dealings and are more likely to be manipulative. All this sounds like I don't think gay men can be strong, but I do know that some of them do play a dominant role – not all gay men are effeminate. I knew the most gay men within my experience when I lived in Washington, DC and was in A.A. There were some predominantly gay groups there, and a fair number of gay people in the other groups as well. They often added depth to the group discussions. Wendy and Karen were both friends with several gay men, and I was friends to some degree with some lesbian women. I prefer to keep some distance from them, however, as I don't want to join in with any gay relationships. They are often very interesting people, though, intelligent and complex. Having problems to work through makes people more interesting to me. People who happily follow the crowd no matter where it leads and don't think things through for themselves get on my nerves.

5:50 PM Richard and I went to Publix and I got about a weeks worth of groceries. It was cloudy like it would rain for sure, but it didn't and the clouds have moved off now. Goodbye for now. It's almost supper time.