Tuesday, February 17, 2015

February 17, 2015 - Tuesday
-11/clear/calm
Pentoga Road

I've got the energy of a slug, possibly a rock. Lying in my recliner with the sun shining through the windows and covered in my grandpa blankie, a battle is waging with my eyelids. They want to close... and I'm about to let them.

It's cold outside with no relief in sight. With lows close to -30 in the forecast, I think my body is subconsciously protesting the fact that this global warming is about to freeze us to death.

Mississippi Brother Garry is having the same problem down in his neck of the woods. He said it went from the 70's to the 40's on Monday and he's having difficulty getting motivated to do any work. I think this laziness and want to take a nap is a continental epidemic infecting old retired grandpas.

I talked with Yooper Brother Mark last night. He's at their plant in Kentucky, right where yesterday's winter storm dumped a foot of wet, heavy, snow. Poor guy, can't escape the snow and cold, even several hundred miles south of here. Being a fairly new grandpa, he has yet to perfect the fine art of taking a morning nap when the weather is nasty on the outside. He will. It takes a bit of practice and assuming one wants to keep his job, being retired certainly helps.

A week ago today, Sargie, Sheri, Mark, and I, were gallivanting around Freemont Street in Las Vegas clad in shorts and t-shirts. I felt young and alive, not unlike Forrest Gump, who began running and never felt the need to stop. I wanted to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, ride the Ferris wheel and roller coaster on the Las Vegas strip, and plug pennies into slot machines.

Back to reality...

I took the Blazer to the mechanic's yesterday. He gave me a loaner to drive back home.

The rest of the day was spent grading papers. Thankfully, the Chromebook has a large screen which made reading much easier. The computer doesn't read to me like the old Mac, but with half inch sized font, I have no problem reading due assignments.

In the good news department, I learned that I'll be teaching the summer session of Alaska Studies beginning in June. With all the gloom and doom coming out of the university due to the crash in oil prices, I wasn't overly optimistic. I'll take it a semester at a time and be thankful for whatever work they throw my way. UAS has certainly treated me well over the years; a real class institution.

After closing and arriving home late last evening, Sargie had to work early today. She'll be a tired girl tonight. There's some drywall in the bathroom that I need to fix, one of my least favorite jobs in the world. I guess I ought to get to it while the weather is cold. I certainly don't want to be doing interior tasks once spring arrives.

But first, for just a little while, I think I'll remain covered from neck to toe with my grandpa blankie and close my eyes for just a bit. You know, think about that drywall job and possibly dream of warmer days ahead. After all. a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...


No comments:

Post a Comment

October 27, 2021 – Wednesday afternoon Iron River Hospital So I've been lying here in bed thinking... just thinking. Other than cough a...