"...One gets so bored with good wine." (Disraeli)

…..I”’m having a helluva time adjusting to this desultory life.  I get up every morning (thankfully) use a gripping device to help me dress, another device to get a sock on my right foot. The left foot has a sore so I cannot put a sock on it; well, I’ll spare you all of the details.  I get hold of my walker, go into the kitchen, take my morning medication, then read the sports page.  Right now, nothing but football; boring.  My breakfast usually consists of coffee and three Oreo cookies, or an Eggo with some syrup on it.. Finished with that chore, I idle into the den and turn on the computer.  I go to read my e-mail, but there isn’t any, except some notice from a bank about a CD maturing.  I keep my financial matters on the internet, and I wonder if Rhoda will ever be able to get all that’s coming to her if she can’t find the information on my computer.  I keep showing her, but she doesn’t appear too interested to write it down.  Then, I have the inclination, I will write a post to my blog.  I don’t want to write too many, because then I”ll have to publish them in another book which no one will ever read. That blog has five year’s worth of reading.  I think that one who has never read the blog would find it quite interesting in book form.

.....I think I had better see if I am able to drive my car; it would solve a lot of problems, not the least of which Rhoda would not have to drive me to the VA for a doctor’s appointment..  “The world is too much with us, late and soon. We lay waste our powers.”  Man I wish I could also stand upon a  pleasant lea like Mr. Wordsworth and have Proteus rise from the sea and hear old Triton blow his wreathed horm.  What a relief it would be from this world to live like the Pagans, at least for a couple of days, in order to be introduced to all the Gods and Goddesses and Heroes.  That would certainly relieve the boredom of these days of illness.

"O God of battles! Steel my soldiers' hearts" (Henry V)

.....The fonts I’ve been using are getting boring so I’m being adventuress and  now for this posting I’m using Verdana and it looks very nice.  I’ve been very bored in another way; I am housebound and I cannot go anywhere by myself. Haven’t yet tried out the car.  I will, though; as soon as I can get down there.  I’ve been asked to describe my events in WWII and since VJ Day is coming on September 2, I’ll describe one of many leading to my DFC award.  I do have a log book, but we were forbidden to put them there; only facts about the mission such as the number of hours involved and possibly our destination.  I did fly 60 combat missions and for that I received 11 Air Medals & perhaps one DFC; I don’t know if that qualified for one of my two DFCs; I’d like to think so.

…..On one disastrous mission our plane was loaded with a full tank of fuel and armaments such as depth charges and sleeves of 50 caliber machine gun bullets.  We were halfway down the runway before taking flight when a right front tire blew and the plane skidded and careened about a 100 yards before stopping with the right side of the aircraft tilted on its side.  We all quickly abandoned it before it blew up with the exception of Gordon who was stuck in the nose turret.  I could not leave him there to die alone, and so I rushed back into the plane, and forced open the door to his turret.  And since the plane had not blown up as yet, we decided that we, too, had better leave, and so we did.  Luckily the plane never blew up, and our crew was given a week’s leave to London.  I am fairly certain that I left two or three ladies to carry my offspring, and so now there may be some 60 year olds who are carrying around the Ross genes.

However, I am sure that this was not one of the events for which I received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

OK OK I'll tell a story!

.....Number one son sent the following email to me today.

"Got this note from a guy I work with who saw your medal ceremony on Utube some time ago." Some time in the distant past Joel means. And I will share that guy's note with any reader who has an interest in history.

These are fascinating.  He’s a true national hero.  If he is ever interested in recounting war stories, I hope he lets you record them for archiving purposes.  Rarely, do we encounter men that put boots on the ground in so many different lands,  that serve their country as noble patriots, and that give of themselves as much as your father has given.  We may meet teachers that have taught for decades.  We may meet veterans of various wars.  But it is the combination of the two -- think of all the people he has helped mold into citizens because of his influence -- that is what’s truly extraordinary about him.  And the selfless manner with which he has done it all is most remarkable.  I’d pop a crisp salute to him if I ever get the opportunity to meet him.  You should be proud.  


.....Joel did not include the man's name, but I do appreciate his comment and if I ever meet him, I'd return the salute. But I don't know if Joel is recording, for "archiving purposes" my stories. Speaking of teaching and wars, right now I am returning to my acting class for the first time in five or six months. Not that I'll be doing any acting--just commentary of others' monologues in the manner of Piers Morgan on "America has talent." For me, it would be very difficult to act on the stage with a walker--unless of course there's a role for a man with a walker.

"Time and the hour runs through the roughest day" (Macbeth)

.....There was a time when I could tell anyone what day it was.  There was a time when I was able to drive my car.  There was a time when every day was unique.  There was a time when I was motivated to write.   If I don't write something, I get depressed.  I'm depressed anyway.  I want to burn my walker. My ears are all stuffed up from the time I went to the Hyperbaric's.  I don't go there anymore, and I don't plan to do so in the future, although I do miss the silent, peaceful time I spent inside the tube.  The only pain I have to deal with now is the sore on my heal.  I have an appointment with the Wound Care Center doctor.  We'll see what he has to say.  If he tells me I should hyperbaric it, I'll demur.  The wound has gotten a lot smaller I will admit.  Now it's about the size of a dime--actually a little smaller.  I have come back a long way battling the issues from my hip surgery.  And during this time, I have written many posts on my blog and turned them into published books...eight of them. The latest is titled "Condo Capers" for no good reason.  One of the "capers" I suppose is the early bird.  As far as sex is concerned, as a caper, this is Huntington Lakes; no one has sex here.

.....Today, RH-- and I went to the Festival Flea Market to sell the sterling silver flatware she's been saving for no good reason. Silver was $40 an ounce today.  The newspaper has ads all over the place  asking to buy gold, silver, and a bunch of other things.  I often wonder whether or not these vendors know something.  Anway, I imagined that her silverware would garnish about $150.  I didn't know how much silver was in sterling.  It's pure.  She got $1880 for it.  I was stunned!  When I first got engaged to my ex, I ought to have asked people to give something in silver to us.  Who knew? 

"La plus grande chose du monde, c'est de savoir etre a soi" (Montaigne)

.....I just realized that my car is about as old as I am--that's in car years of course.  It's 12 years old and next year you'll all be invited to the carmitzvah.  Right now it has 86 thousand miles and I will try my best to get it to 100,000.  I never have driven a car for that many miles.  It also has a lift on the back which gets my scooter up and down--or more accurately, on and off.  I only use it now in the house cause it gets me where I need to go more quickly.  Can't dawdle with a walker.  Incidentally, I hate both methods of transportation; I want to be the only 100 year old man to run a marathon.  Think I can't do it?  Don't bet on it.  Save your money if you have any left in this economy.  

.....Speaking of money, gold is now up nearly to $9000 an ounce!  It's really amazing.  Unfortunately, I sold a few of my gold one ounce coins when gold was $1640 an ounce. I did not believe gold would go any higher.  Shows you what kind of financier I am.  Yesterday, the cleaning crew arrived here at 12:30 so we and the Strumlaufs  took off on a drive to The Isle, our favorite casino to visit our money.  On the way we had a rainstorm that came down in buckets, and with Lou driving, it was a very scary situation.  Neither Rhoda nor he has the best of eye sights.  I took my walker and strolled around until I saw a slot that beckoned me to play.  Well, at 4pm (our meeting time) I was ahead $25, so I took a gamble and played one for $20 and lost it.  Anyway, I was still ahead five bucks.  

.....I have to stay in the house by myself most days now when Rhoda has errands to run.  We pay for a "guardian alarm" now which if I fall, I can call 911 with a button on a chain I need to wear when she leaves.  I don't like it, but Rhoda says she feels better when I wear it.  Well, right now she forgot to put it around my neck, probably because she can't find it.  I just happened to hang it in my closet which I must go to get it now.  So, I'll see you all again sometime.  Bobby and Michelle, of course, on Labor Day.

"The miserable have no other medicine but only hope." (Measure for Measure)

.....Hello again friends of The Baron.  I want you to know that I now have a new good-looking bookshop...and here's the link http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/norrho1.....I don't know if you can get there by clicking the link on this post; if not, then copy it into your browser address bar atop the page.  After 30 days, the shop I have now will disappear into cyberspace. (I tried clicking on the link and it works)..I don't expect anyone to buy a book, but you just might be curious enough to check out the new shop.  If any two books look alike, one is paperbound, the other hard cover.  My books are being sold at many internet bookstores such as Amazon.  The down side of all of this is that if too many books are sold, I'll have to pay tax on the royalties, so be careful.

.....Like all other days, there's not much for me to do or what I able to do.  I'm not very happy about that.  I'm not now in a condition to drive my car, so Rhoda has to drive me to Drs. and/or the VA.  However, the upside of this is that I don't have too many appointments anymore.  I do have one this Friday at the Wound Care Center for the doctor to examine the sore on my left foot.  I don't expect that he'll have much to do there, except to say that I should continue with the hyperbaric treatments--which I'm not going to do while my ears are all stuffed up.  I haven't been there in a week now and my ears have not improved.  Even so, Val would not be driving me there every day; she drives a school bus, and I won't allow Rhoda to do it.  I'm not thrilled about spending an hour and a half in that tube every day. I don't have much pain in my hip anymore; all the pain I have is on my heel--and if anyone touches it, the pain shoots up past a value of 10.  Right now I have the walker to use when we go out and the scooter in the house.  I guess I can live with that.

.....On more or less mundane goings on, my cousin Gary from Chicago sent me a DVD of the 25th Anniversary of "Les Miz".  I truly love that show, and I find it amazing beyond belief how two guys could come up with a masterpiece like that??   One to write the music and the other to put lyrics to it?? I cannot imagine how they can do that, and I'm rather miffed that no one has offered to write the music to my blog.  So, right now I'm only a famous unknown author.  ........The most exciting thing today will be the delivery of a chair with a remote that will allow my to get it in any position, and even get me to the point where I can almost just step out of it. 

What next in this world?

WWII Ends

Today, 66 year's ago (probably too long for people to remember), the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and WWII ended for me.  (People probably forgot alot about the Civil War 66 years later in 1930+).  Anyway, forget about that; it only means something for me today.  Now about Uncle Phil and Cousin Ruth.  They have been adopted into the family pro bono (Just sounds official) and I've been thinking that there ought to be some kind of documents or ceremony that would make their titles legit.  I would like that; I love those two.  Phil was brilliant scholar, athlete, coach, teacher and winner on Jeopardy.  Ruth is a famous poet in the UK and she has a brain in the top 10.  She should be a legit cousin, especially if she can show that she has not participated in the late riots or looted any of the stores during that unrest.
Any ideas? (I realize, of course that this could be written as a blog, but...).  Right now I am thankful that I can get around in my walker without pain and without the need for an aide.  By the way, today I published a paperbound copy of "Condo Capers"--and I have a new shop where any of my books may be purchased.  Here''s the link in case you missed it:  http://lulu.com/spotlight/norrho1... I don't mean that you guys need buy a book; I'm referring to other customers.  I gave you the link so you could see that it's "cool".  After all, I don't have an album of pictures of Costa Rica so all I have is a stinkin link!  (Here it is 
 By the way, the photos from Costa Rica are very pretty.  Now what?  (Damn; this could have been a blog post.  I think I'll put it up there.  What can I lose that I haven't already lost?)