greenpondmike
Flashlight Enthusiast
I decided to delete this one. What was I thinking?
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So... Once Upon a Time...
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greenpondmike
Flashlight Enthusiast
When I was younger I was placed in a foster home. While there a teenage girl told me and the others present a ghost story. The teenage imagination is quite creative and I was gullable and just ate that story up. I scared me real good back then and I decided that I never wanted to go near the Bayview lake bridge. Years later my first wife and I went legend tripping there. I wound up fishing under the new bridge that was built in the 70s, but was still supposed to be haunted as told by some people. The old original bridge was a steel structure with a wooden roadway and before they replaced it they had let the vegetation grow up real bad around there--super creepy and worthy of a good story even if it wasn't true. Back then was when I was told the story, but wound up fishing there in the early 90s. My wife and I were under the bridge with just an old rayovac flashlight--the black kind with the white on/off switch. We had caught a few fish--well I did anyhow while she watched. We had 2 rods, but she was content just setting there, so I used the long rod and left the short one laying. It was around 9pm and a black snake swam up with it's mouth wide open. It bit one of my fish I had on the stringer and then came towards us. My wife was like boogity boogity on up the hill--I don't see how she didn't step on anything because I had a lot of stuff laid out. That was very entertaining watching her go up that embankment lol.....uh yeah, the snake, so I had to do something and I couldn't run as fast as she could. I got the short rod and went toward the snake a little--enough to slide it under and lift up. While balancing the snake I slung it back into the lake. I stayed there 20 more minutes because I was a fishing, but I WAS kinda paranoid and kept shining the light from side to side and it was kind of bushy, but not too bad. Snake never came back, but after enough "LET'S GO'S" from my wife I packed up and went. Got pulled over by the Hueytown police for no tail lights, but they let me off. Went to the parts store just before they closed to get what I needed. I was under the truck fixing it when a guy in a mustang gt manual shift got angry because the store was closed. He was beside me, but after dumping the clutch and spinning backwards he stopped a foot behind my truck with me under there. It was like he was doing a backwards "u" turn with an attitude. By the time the night was over I had wished I had seen a ghost, and ONLY a ghost. What a night
Edit: I'm not saying that I'm a brave fellow or anything because I wasn't afraid of that snake--maybe I was just stupid enough that it worked out alright and I didn't lose my head.
Edit: I'm not saying that I'm a brave fellow or anything because I wasn't afraid of that snake--maybe I was just stupid enough that it worked out alright and I didn't lose my head.
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greenpondmike
Flashlight Enthusiast
One time my granparents on my dad's side of the family moved into a old house on the outskirts of Birmingham. My dad, whom I lost lost at 83 in 2010 was probably just a todler back then, so that was a while back. Anyhow, as they were moving in the neighbor called my grandmother over and told her that people don't stay in that house too long because it had a haint in it. My grandmother replied that she didn't believe in such things. Well, as time went on something would jump on her bed at the foot and work its way up as it went side by side real fast. You know, it went across the bed while getting closer and closer to her head. The light was directly above the bed with a string on it, so it was easy to reach. As soon as it was turned on each time- nothing...not even the feeling of it on the bed anymore. She told my grandad to stay in there and see if he could catch that ol "rat". Same thing happened to him until he tackled something on the floor and called grandma in to turn on the light. He said "I GOT IT!", but when the light was turned on all he had ahold of was the coffee table. He said you can't catch what you can't see. They moved out not long after that.
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greenpondmike
Flashlight Enthusiast
Back in the old days a lot of folks didn't have the luxery of a flashlight and most people only had outhouses and some even without doors on them. Not wise to go out there in the dark lest you find a critter in there. My grandad did that and thought he was bitten on his backside by a snake until he heard the rooster cooing after it done pecked him lol.
greenpondmike
Flashlight Enthusiast
My spot across the road has been replaced by a subdivision and the deep woods by a trailer park, so I have to hunt in the Talladega national forest. There are many sections of it- the two I hunted was the one just below Centreville and the Oakmulgee division near Duncanville. The one near Duncanville was interesting indeed. I saw a deer jump/float over the dirt road--no noise before or after at all...weird. One time on up on a hill I parked my truck, got out with my rifle and proceeded on down to a spot I spied another time that I was there. On the way I hit my side to hear the jingle of my keys...only no jingle. Uh oh, wheres my keys? I looked and looked as I walked back to the truck. Please Lord, don't let them be locked up in the truck. Yup, they were locked up in the truck. No problem, just keep your head Mike and pray...lots of prayer. While I was messing around trying to figure it out I all of a sudden got motivated. Tree knocks...3 in one spot...stop, three in another...stop, and three in another..stop. It just kept going on like that and if that was a woodpecker he must have had a axe handle a hitting them trees and he must have been flying mighty fast to go from spot to spot like that lol. I had an ideal what that was because I encountered the same noises at night when I worked out at the Mercedes plant near the construction trailers, but across the road in the woods. I read up on this and guess what...a certain cryptid does tree knocks, yup. Well, I kicked it into overdrive and thought that I could bust my window out, or maybe shoot it out, or... maybe those are final options and just maybe I could find a twig that I could get in there and pull up on the lock. I was a looking and trying and talking to the unseen, but well heard things. Hold your tater I'm trying to get out of here... I'm going...I'm leaving...I promise I won't be back lol, yeah, I was a little panicky at the time...I mean, you know, 3 of em. Maybe they were hungry--who knows, and I didn't wanna find out. I FINALLY found a twig that was strong enough to get into the crack of the door and limber enough not to break while talking soothingly to the Duncanville welcoming comittee and soon enough I was back into my truck and I got out of there and haven't been back. Game warden says it was a woodpecker.....:shrug:
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greenpondmike
Flashlight Enthusiast
Back in 1996 when my first wife died I used to hang out at the cemetary even at nightime. One night I was at her grave and it was around 9pm. The nearest house had a street light, but it was over an 1/8th of a mile away, so it was kind of dark there. I heard chains a rattling and I thought...ghost chains lol. I said out loud that my wife is buried here and no one was gonna run me out of there because I had a right to be there. I got up to confront what was making the noise while the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up. I went on up the hill and discovered that it was only the rope that raised the flag on the flagpole. It was hitting the side of the flagpole. Man, was I relieved, but come to think of it....I don't remember the wind blowing that night.
The scariest things I ever encountered in the woods as a kid was hippies and hobos. They were usually harmless drunk people but watching 70's crime shows with our parents had us kids thinking they were crazed murderers who ate people.
Hell we were more scared of hippies and hobos than snakes, other other varmints. We lived near a mainline railroad so it wasn't unusual that drifters slept in a soft bed of pine needles in those mostly pine tree woods. Of course those woods are long gone thanks to a strip mall.
Hell we were more scared of hippies and hobos than snakes, other other varmints. We lived near a mainline railroad so it wasn't unusual that drifters slept in a soft bed of pine needles in those mostly pine tree woods. Of course those woods are long gone thanks to a strip mall.
bigburly912
Flashlight Enthusiast
You are not alone in this brother. Black mountain in Kentucky was full of people running drugs and liquor but I was always more afraid of the hippies. The drug/liquor runners went about their business and didn't pay anybody any mind. Most of the hobos and hippies that came on the mountain were always wayyyy too friendly and always wanted to catch a ride to the plaque saying they were on the highest point in Kentucky.
greenpondmike
Flashlight Enthusiast
I don't personally know any true hippies myself, but I guess I'm kinda leary of hobos...I've met one or two since I live near the tracks. The people I hung out with didn't have the hippy mindset (thank GOD), but they were a bad influence on me and I trusted them way too much. The only other option was to stay around the house and probably pick up on my parent's mindset--they thought everyone around was working against them and I didn't want to think like that. Because of them I had my label and the better class of people looked down on me, so I had to accociate with the social outcasts. My dad was a whistle blower and probably responsible for the downfall of a major U.S. corporation--at least the section of it around here. He had many enemies and 2 attempts was made on his life. A lot of folks from this area worked there and that made it worse. I believe from early 80s on up there wasn't any major harrassments, but the damage was already done to my dad's mind and I didn't want to be poisoned by his bitterness and paranoia, so I tried to get away a lot and associate with the best "normal" folks I could, but my choices were very limited. Don't get me wrong, I loved my parents and they taught me a lot of good things. I just didn't want to be a carbon copy of them and blame everything that went wrong in my life on their enemies doing micro management harrassment. Nowadays, I give what I can't help to GOD and try not to worry about it. It works for me.
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Small world:
The other day at work the subject of skateboarding came up and I was telling a coworker who is about 20 years my senior of the day I met Tony Hawk. (see post 101 in this thread.) He asked me if I knew Nick Hargrave. My reply was "uh, probably not". He starts telling me stuff about this Nick character that apparently he worked with in the 90's. Turns out it was Nicky Cosgrove who I mentioned in post 101. Apparently Nicky went to college, got his degree and became a devil worshiper and somewhere along the way got his name changed. He was sponsored by World Industries for a time so apparently Steve Rocco and Rodney Mullin had lured him to the dark side. It'll suck to be him in the after life I suppose.
That morning on my commute it took me through a project that had just finished. Rush All the World's a Stage (from about 1978) was playing as I rode along and "holey crap" it dawned on me I was on the very route we used to take to the skate park. Things had changed so much that until the song Lakeside Park was playing I failed to recognize the place. It was about the time that album came out that we used to take that road. Talk about old ghosts.…… that same day was the day homie was telling me about ole Nicky. Coincidently I had never mentioned my morning memory resurection and it was him that had brought up skateboarding in the late 1970's.
We were discussing body parts we had destroyedin our youth. His was auto racing crashes. Namely drag racing down pencil lead wide roads and ending up in a corn field upside down etc. Mine was skateboarding. He says "you ever meet any famous skateboarders back then?" I said "yeah I met the Bones Brigade when Tony Hawk was a little kid".
Another irony that day was a package from my friend in Delaware arrived with a bandana autographedby Steve Cabolerro who was also on the Bones Brigade. He had attended one of the Vans Warp Tour shows recently and had gotten Steve's autograph on a 25th anniverssary bandana.
It was just one of those unique days where 3 seemingly completely unrelated things were all related to a degree. I like days like that. My perma-limp was replaced by a slight swagger that evening.
The other day at work the subject of skateboarding came up and I was telling a coworker who is about 20 years my senior of the day I met Tony Hawk. (see post 101 in this thread.) He asked me if I knew Nick Hargrave. My reply was "uh, probably not". He starts telling me stuff about this Nick character that apparently he worked with in the 90's. Turns out it was Nicky Cosgrove who I mentioned in post 101. Apparently Nicky went to college, got his degree and became a devil worshiper and somewhere along the way got his name changed. He was sponsored by World Industries for a time so apparently Steve Rocco and Rodney Mullin had lured him to the dark side. It'll suck to be him in the after life I suppose.
That morning on my commute it took me through a project that had just finished. Rush All the World's a Stage (from about 1978) was playing as I rode along and "holey crap" it dawned on me I was on the very route we used to take to the skate park. Things had changed so much that until the song Lakeside Park was playing I failed to recognize the place. It was about the time that album came out that we used to take that road. Talk about old ghosts.…… that same day was the day homie was telling me about ole Nicky. Coincidently I had never mentioned my morning memory resurection and it was him that had brought up skateboarding in the late 1970's.
We were discussing body parts we had destroyedin our youth. His was auto racing crashes. Namely drag racing down pencil lead wide roads and ending up in a corn field upside down etc. Mine was skateboarding. He says "you ever meet any famous skateboarders back then?" I said "yeah I met the Bones Brigade when Tony Hawk was a little kid".
Another irony that day was a package from my friend in Delaware arrived with a bandana autographedby Steve Cabolerro who was also on the Bones Brigade. He had attended one of the Vans Warp Tour shows recently and had gotten Steve's autograph on a 25th anniverssary bandana.
It was just one of those unique days where 3 seemingly completely unrelated things were all related to a degree. I like days like that. My perma-limp was replaced by a slight swagger that evening.
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greenpondmike
Flashlight Enthusiast
Sounds like your day was synchronized in a positive way bykfixer. I like it when I have a real good day and murphy's law doesn't work against me. My ol leg feels better when I take about 10 aspirins and get some caffeine in me. It has been hurt since I was 2 or 3. It just gets worse as I get older--I just thank GOD I can walk at all--if you can call what I do walking. I'm sorry to hear about your friend Nicky. Maybe he'll come out of that later on if he's prayed for. Sometimes we may feel like someone has crossed the line, but only GOD can determine when we've crossed the point of no return, so maybe there is hope for him. I keep praying for my friends- even the one that has been stealing gas from me. I did fill my gas jug with half water on top of some old gas and some of it went missing again somehow....and his car somehow quit running at about that same time.
Hate it when discovering the klepto was a trusted associate. Ugh!!
All I can pray for my enemies is His will be done. It aint up to me to decide who joins and who don't. But I can forgive my enemy and pray that person receive divine intervention like I did a while ago. After reading the scriptures and seeing how praying for the enemy is like pouring hot coals on them I fear my prayer might be out of a sense of wanting revenge. So instead I pray for wisdom to forgive that person. Then let God sort it out according to His plan, not my will.
Just yesterday a homeless person asked me for money. A fairly sober looking person who had probably fell on hard times. I gave her a $10 bill. Her response was "you got five more I can have?". "What?!?, no thank you or nothing?" I replied. Sure did **** me off. But again who am I to say how she should have reacted when I had more money in my pocket? Later in the day I saw it as a test and I failed. I gladly gave up extra cash. But there was no sacrifice in that. The reaction I had was also a failure. The world would say my reaction was normal and I could easily find 20 people who agree. But did I feed my enemy? Well, kinda but not really.
The place I work has bums all over the place. Bums. Not people down on their luck, but bums. And I wrastle with that often when passing by them on corners with their little cardboard signs and I'm munching on Cheerios. Once upon a time I gave a guy my last $50 and soon after saw he had used that money to buy work boots and was working on a construction site where I worked. Yesterday was my last day working in that town with all those bums and I hope the gal who was weak enough to ask a perfect stranger for money has found from someone else, enough to provide whatever that other five she asked me for would be used for. Perhaps I'll never know. This morning I prayed that she find solice and is able to get past whatever got her to the point to ask a stranger for money.
Hopefully your klepto associate greenpond will become part of the flock someday and be a positive influence in someone elses life who feels taking stuff that doesn't belong to them is uncool.
All I can pray for my enemies is His will be done. It aint up to me to decide who joins and who don't. But I can forgive my enemy and pray that person receive divine intervention like I did a while ago. After reading the scriptures and seeing how praying for the enemy is like pouring hot coals on them I fear my prayer might be out of a sense of wanting revenge. So instead I pray for wisdom to forgive that person. Then let God sort it out according to His plan, not my will.
Just yesterday a homeless person asked me for money. A fairly sober looking person who had probably fell on hard times. I gave her a $10 bill. Her response was "you got five more I can have?". "What?!?, no thank you or nothing?" I replied. Sure did **** me off. But again who am I to say how she should have reacted when I had more money in my pocket? Later in the day I saw it as a test and I failed. I gladly gave up extra cash. But there was no sacrifice in that. The reaction I had was also a failure. The world would say my reaction was normal and I could easily find 20 people who agree. But did I feed my enemy? Well, kinda but not really.
The place I work has bums all over the place. Bums. Not people down on their luck, but bums. And I wrastle with that often when passing by them on corners with their little cardboard signs and I'm munching on Cheerios. Once upon a time I gave a guy my last $50 and soon after saw he had used that money to buy work boots and was working on a construction site where I worked. Yesterday was my last day working in that town with all those bums and I hope the gal who was weak enough to ask a perfect stranger for money has found from someone else, enough to provide whatever that other five she asked me for would be used for. Perhaps I'll never know. This morning I prayed that she find solice and is able to get past whatever got her to the point to ask a stranger for money.
Hopefully your klepto associate greenpond will become part of the flock someday and be a positive influence in someone elses life who feels taking stuff that doesn't belong to them is uncool.
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I doubt if I'll look good in anyone's eyes by saying this but there comes a point where you get simply fed-up with being tested. I mean, how often can you be tested? Especially if much of the time you pass. Only to be tested again, and again, and again.... I'm not complaining that it's not fair. I am saying, what's the point of constantly being tested? To keep going until you start failing again and again? Or until you no longer care?
People often wonder what they would ask God if given the opportunity. I don't have to wonder. I'd ask HIM why he put so many disgusting, absolutely worthless, selfish, uncaring examples of human garbage on his beautiful planet. I don't understand. All I'm able to come up with is to test the tiny minority of good people (both religious and not) whom HE has placed on this planet as well. And I can't help but wonder that THAT cannot be the sole reason. It just can't be. And it truly bothers me that I simply cannot come up with literally any other reason except that one, as to why HE does that.
That first time I realized that Humanity is not a noble species, not even remotely close to it in general.... it still bothers me to this day.
Okay, I'll stop before a moderator decides this discussion has veered too far into Religion. I just honestly feel that at this point in history where even certain genuine forms of evil and horrific immorality are promoted as being acceptable, any good person who spends several decades on this plain of existence without being corrupted into committing horrific and extreme physical violence against those who absolutely deserve it (in a non self-defense/defending the life of another situation); should get a free pass into Heaven just for that. As long as you don't fail that ultimate test in Life, then you've succeeded.
People often wonder what they would ask God if given the opportunity. I don't have to wonder. I'd ask HIM why he put so many disgusting, absolutely worthless, selfish, uncaring examples of human garbage on his beautiful planet. I don't understand. All I'm able to come up with is to test the tiny minority of good people (both religious and not) whom HE has placed on this planet as well. And I can't help but wonder that THAT cannot be the sole reason. It just can't be. And it truly bothers me that I simply cannot come up with literally any other reason except that one, as to why HE does that.
That first time I realized that Humanity is not a noble species, not even remotely close to it in general.... it still bothers me to this day.
Okay, I'll stop before a moderator decides this discussion has veered too far into Religion. I just honestly feel that at this point in history where even certain genuine forms of evil and horrific immorality are promoted as being acceptable, any good person who spends several decades on this plain of existence without being corrupted into committing horrific and extreme physical violence against those who absolutely deserve it (in a non self-defense/defending the life of another situation); should get a free pass into Heaven just for that. As long as you don't fail that ultimate test in Life, then you've succeeded.
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The human is corrupt, no doubt.
Long long ago the planet only had two brothers. The bad one killed the good one. It's been downhill since.
Meanwhile this thread is a place to tell stories with happy endings. Or at least a groovy time along the path of life. Religion plays a large part in my inner peace, which allows positive thoughts in a negative world. But I don't want this to turn into a religious thread either. At 55 years old there's a lot more life behind me than in front of me. A baby section of a shopping cart can hold enough bottles of shampoo to last the rest of my life. Aint much hair left to shampoo for one thing so a bottle lasts a lot longer.
Once upon a time when Mrs Fixer and I were dating she trusted everybody and paid a heavy price. One time I bought her a pair of red tinted sunglasses and said "here's your official rose colored glasses". She responded "all you see are weeds and thorns". I said "stick with me honey and I'll show you how to smell the roses without getting pricked by a single thorn". She don't trust ANYBODY these days and tells her one friend "you need to take off those rose colored glasses and you'll see how come life's thorns keep pricking you in the nose when you try to smell the roses". We both have taught each other to see the good and bad in life, learn from our mistakes and treat each new day as the best day yet. We look for solutions to problems as they pop up and try to bring a smile to faces wherever we go. Yet when the mean in the world gets in our 3 foot circle we don't cower in fear either. Even if it's family.
I live by the creed "if all my friends die tomorrow I still have one left, me". Mrs Fixer has also learned to accept who she is warts and all. Our favorite story is the day we had the dogs pull us on bicycles and a cat caused her to crash. On the day she found out her arm needed screws be put in it we laughed and discussed when she was healed the dogs could pull us on skateboards while we sat on them. Our house began to tremble. No kidding. We looked up at the ceiling and said "nuff said God". Turns out as we were having that conversation an earthquake struck my state. They say it was felt from Georgia to Jersey. Well we never did do the skateboard thing with the dogs pulling us.
I'll tell the whole story another time 'cause right now Mrs Fixer is giving me the stink eye for eating the last ice cream bar. Gotta go make a store run.
Long long ago the planet only had two brothers. The bad one killed the good one. It's been downhill since.
Meanwhile this thread is a place to tell stories with happy endings. Or at least a groovy time along the path of life. Religion plays a large part in my inner peace, which allows positive thoughts in a negative world. But I don't want this to turn into a religious thread either. At 55 years old there's a lot more life behind me than in front of me. A baby section of a shopping cart can hold enough bottles of shampoo to last the rest of my life. Aint much hair left to shampoo for one thing so a bottle lasts a lot longer.
Once upon a time when Mrs Fixer and I were dating she trusted everybody and paid a heavy price. One time I bought her a pair of red tinted sunglasses and said "here's your official rose colored glasses". She responded "all you see are weeds and thorns". I said "stick with me honey and I'll show you how to smell the roses without getting pricked by a single thorn". She don't trust ANYBODY these days and tells her one friend "you need to take off those rose colored glasses and you'll see how come life's thorns keep pricking you in the nose when you try to smell the roses". We both have taught each other to see the good and bad in life, learn from our mistakes and treat each new day as the best day yet. We look for solutions to problems as they pop up and try to bring a smile to faces wherever we go. Yet when the mean in the world gets in our 3 foot circle we don't cower in fear either. Even if it's family.
I live by the creed "if all my friends die tomorrow I still have one left, me". Mrs Fixer has also learned to accept who she is warts and all. Our favorite story is the day we had the dogs pull us on bicycles and a cat caused her to crash. On the day she found out her arm needed screws be put in it we laughed and discussed when she was healed the dogs could pull us on skateboards while we sat on them. Our house began to tremble. No kidding. We looked up at the ceiling and said "nuff said God". Turns out as we were having that conversation an earthquake struck my state. They say it was felt from Georgia to Jersey. Well we never did do the skateboard thing with the dogs pulling us.
I'll tell the whole story another time 'cause right now Mrs Fixer is giving me the stink eye for eating the last ice cream bar. Gotta go make a store run.
greenpondmike
Flashlight Enthusiast
Before we get off the subject of religion I want to say that I WAS one of those worthless pieces of garbage before I gave myself over to the LORD. I'm not what I should be, but I'm not what I used to be. I believe we test GOD every day whether we know it or not. I don't like being tested, but who am I?-nothing special I'll tell you. If GOD puts up with me then shouldn't I put up with others? I know people that call people all kinds of names which all mean the same thing--worthless, hopeless fool. I don't agree with doing that and I know that the worse of a sinner a person is, the better a Christian they make. They love much because they have been forgiven much. I forgot about this story--it should have been the first one I wrote...I had to walk to work one morning because I temporary put my truck out of commission while doing some customizing. It was the crack of dawn and I heard a car coming so I got on the opposite side of the road to try to hitch a ride. The man driving knew me so he stopped to give me a ride. As soon as we started moving we met a mack truck with a load of logs. When he got almost to us we heard a noise like the blast from a shotgun. The truck had a blowout and it caused the truck to turn on its side and slide on up into the bushes. We stopped to see if the driver was alright--he was and didn't need any help, so we went on. That happened in 1984 and it was many years later that it dawned on me that if that fellow didn't come along when he did and if I hadn't crossed the road when I did, but instead just kept on walking...I would have not only been hit by a mack truck, but I would have been squashed and smeared by one. I also wasn't right with the LORD back then, but HE allowed me to live to get right with HIM later on because HE knows the future.
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The bike crash incident:
This one starts with a time when Mrs Fixer and I were adapting to life without pop. We had been his caretaker for a few years and that was our life outside of work and kids as his health failed for a number of reasons. He was becoming a dimensia induced prankster who was growing weaker by the day so we did what we could to keep things in good order. My oldest son was a huge help too. One Sunday he was called home to be with my mom so my wife and I were facing a new challenge… boredom.
So one Sunday I decided to trim our dogs toenails but they did not like their nails clipped or dremeled. [emoji362] idea! Lets let them pull us on bicycles. At first I was going to do it solo with one dog at a time scraping the toenails on asphalt while pulling me on a bicycle. Tires all pumped up and ready to go Mrs Fixer says "can I go too?" Sure. She took the little dog and I took the big one. Her 9 pound bike and her 110 pound physique would be less taxing to the little dog.
Right out of the back gate the dogs were all for it and launched into motion. I soon realized keeping the leash tought while holding the handle bar was out. Gotta keep the arm free of gripping the handle bar to avoid calamity. I noticed keeping the leash tight caused my puller to fear the front wheel. He pulled as fast as he could in a straight line going nowhere near the front wheel.
A quick trip around a short block showed us the dogs were able to pull us pretty fast. "Wanna keep going?" I asked. "Sure" she said. So we did. Now the little dog is the alpha and did not like the bigger dog being out front. She tugged Mrs Fixer faster and faster as my dog was oblivious to anything but that front wheel. He is called Comet because he can run pretty fast. I told my wife to be sure and keep the leash short to keep her dog beside the front wheel and do not hold the handlebar with her leash hand. Well she don't hear so sporty and after about 3 miles her arm began to grow tired.
As we entered the home stretch, front porch in sight I knew we were also approaching a neighbors house who had an outdoor cat. The little dog haaaaaaates cats. I reminded her about the short leash thing. She told me her arm was getting tired. Next thing you know her dog is 5 feet in front of the wheel.
About the time I spotted the cat it was too late. So had her dog. The dog crossed in front of Mrs Fixer who was holding the handle bar with her leash hand. Uh oh. About the time I was going to advise Mrs Fixer where the cat was I look over at her and see her back wheel up next to my head. The front wheel had done an instant X at 20mph. She launched forward with a splat to the asphalt as her dog runs after the cat. Ruh ruh ruh ruh ruh we hear from her escaping dog who wanted to kill the offending feline.
Mrs Fixer stands up and holy crap there's this big buldge on her hip. Shocked, I'm thinking broken hip. She says "no thatz my cigarettes but my arm don't work right. Luckily we were near home because I had two bicycles, two dogs and a busted wife to get home.
By the time we reached home we were laughing like a couple of drunk teenagers because it was just so exhilerating to be pulled by dogs on a bicycle. The dogs nails were trimmed as well. I put everything away and take Mrs Fixer to the ER
The staff there thought we were on drugs because we were still laughing so much. "Sober as a judge mam, but still buzzing from being pulled on bicycles by dogs". They were not impressed. We went home with her arm all bandaged up. A couple days later we were still laughing while filling out the paperwork at the ortho doctor. "How'd it happen? " part had us rolling on the floor. It was that fun (to us anyway). Doc looks at her arm and he's all laughing at the 2 middle aged kids as we told the story. X-rays showed she needed sugery to get bone fragments out of gaps between bones so her arm could rotate correctly. Fair enough.
She had just started a new job so we stop by there and tell her new boss she'd be out of work a few weeks and why. He realized at that point his new employee was vastly different than anybody he'd hired to that day. We get home and begin to discuss how to relieve boredom while she heals.
The subject of 'whatz next' had her rekindling the day we and her sister rode down big hills setting on skateboards. "Lets get the dogs to pull us" she says. The house trembled slightly and we just figured a big tree had fallen nearby or something. "what was that?"…… I say "heck yeah the dogs are going to needs their nails trimmed again in a few weeks, lets do it". We were both grinning from ear to ear at the prospect. The house really shook…and shook…and shook some more. We both looked at the ceiling in unison and said "ok God we hear you". lol.
The house continued to shake for what seemed like 14 minutes but it was more like 14 seconds. I opened the back door and look out to see fhe world quivering as I heard stuff crashing to the floor in my shed. Little kids are running out of neighbors houses all screaming. We were like 'heavens to mergatroid, a real earthquake, here in Central VA.
I live not far from a place where a chunk of the African continent broke away and floated to the edge of VA a billion years ago. So every so often we get trimmers as the two big chunks of granite rub up against each other. But no earhquakes as a rule.
Ok, another quick story. Knowing the edge of my state has a piece of Africa hooked to it I took my wife's youngest boy to a rock quarry on the segment of Africa. All kinds of cool river rocks litter the ground there. He had a ball making up items his 8 year old mind thought they resembled. We also saw a really pretty sunset there. He returns to school a time later and when teacher asked where kids had gone that summer he said "Africa". Teacher said "did you fly or take a ship? "
A recant of what he told me;:
He said "neither". Perplexed the teacher asked "well how did you get there?" He said "we drove in my step dads Ford Ranger". She replied "you can't drive to Africa from here". He replied "sure you can, you leave the school, make a left on Temple Ave and drive a few miles to Puddledock Rd, make a left and drive 2 more miles and you're in Africa". He stands up and points out the window and says "it's right over those trees".
Mrs Fixer got a note from fhe teacher saying how vivid her sons imagination is and that he had told the class about his fantasy of driving to the coast of Africa. My wife sent back a note saying "look it up, you'll see he's right".
The northbound side of I 95 used to be a portion of coast of Africa and the southbound side was the coast of VA at one time. Sand and soil washed from mountains during the ice age melt and covered up the joint under several feet of soil and sand. It spread out enough to create what is now Prince George County all the way to Norfolk and Va Beach.
This one starts with a time when Mrs Fixer and I were adapting to life without pop. We had been his caretaker for a few years and that was our life outside of work and kids as his health failed for a number of reasons. He was becoming a dimensia induced prankster who was growing weaker by the day so we did what we could to keep things in good order. My oldest son was a huge help too. One Sunday he was called home to be with my mom so my wife and I were facing a new challenge… boredom.
So one Sunday I decided to trim our dogs toenails but they did not like their nails clipped or dremeled. [emoji362] idea! Lets let them pull us on bicycles. At first I was going to do it solo with one dog at a time scraping the toenails on asphalt while pulling me on a bicycle. Tires all pumped up and ready to go Mrs Fixer says "can I go too?" Sure. She took the little dog and I took the big one. Her 9 pound bike and her 110 pound physique would be less taxing to the little dog.
Right out of the back gate the dogs were all for it and launched into motion. I soon realized keeping the leash tought while holding the handle bar was out. Gotta keep the arm free of gripping the handle bar to avoid calamity. I noticed keeping the leash tight caused my puller to fear the front wheel. He pulled as fast as he could in a straight line going nowhere near the front wheel.
A quick trip around a short block showed us the dogs were able to pull us pretty fast. "Wanna keep going?" I asked. "Sure" she said. So we did. Now the little dog is the alpha and did not like the bigger dog being out front. She tugged Mrs Fixer faster and faster as my dog was oblivious to anything but that front wheel. He is called Comet because he can run pretty fast. I told my wife to be sure and keep the leash short to keep her dog beside the front wheel and do not hold the handlebar with her leash hand. Well she don't hear so sporty and after about 3 miles her arm began to grow tired.
As we entered the home stretch, front porch in sight I knew we were also approaching a neighbors house who had an outdoor cat. The little dog haaaaaaates cats. I reminded her about the short leash thing. She told me her arm was getting tired. Next thing you know her dog is 5 feet in front of the wheel.
About the time I spotted the cat it was too late. So had her dog. The dog crossed in front of Mrs Fixer who was holding the handle bar with her leash hand. Uh oh. About the time I was going to advise Mrs Fixer where the cat was I look over at her and see her back wheel up next to my head. The front wheel had done an instant X at 20mph. She launched forward with a splat to the asphalt as her dog runs after the cat. Ruh ruh ruh ruh ruh we hear from her escaping dog who wanted to kill the offending feline.
Mrs Fixer stands up and holy crap there's this big buldge on her hip. Shocked, I'm thinking broken hip. She says "no thatz my cigarettes but my arm don't work right. Luckily we were near home because I had two bicycles, two dogs and a busted wife to get home.
By the time we reached home we were laughing like a couple of drunk teenagers because it was just so exhilerating to be pulled by dogs on a bicycle. The dogs nails were trimmed as well. I put everything away and take Mrs Fixer to the ER
The staff there thought we were on drugs because we were still laughing so much. "Sober as a judge mam, but still buzzing from being pulled on bicycles by dogs". They were not impressed. We went home with her arm all bandaged up. A couple days later we were still laughing while filling out the paperwork at the ortho doctor. "How'd it happen? " part had us rolling on the floor. It was that fun (to us anyway). Doc looks at her arm and he's all laughing at the 2 middle aged kids as we told the story. X-rays showed she needed sugery to get bone fragments out of gaps between bones so her arm could rotate correctly. Fair enough.
She had just started a new job so we stop by there and tell her new boss she'd be out of work a few weeks and why. He realized at that point his new employee was vastly different than anybody he'd hired to that day. We get home and begin to discuss how to relieve boredom while she heals.
The subject of 'whatz next' had her rekindling the day we and her sister rode down big hills setting on skateboards. "Lets get the dogs to pull us" she says. The house trembled slightly and we just figured a big tree had fallen nearby or something. "what was that?"…… I say "heck yeah the dogs are going to needs their nails trimmed again in a few weeks, lets do it". We were both grinning from ear to ear at the prospect. The house really shook…and shook…and shook some more. We both looked at the ceiling in unison and said "ok God we hear you". lol.
The house continued to shake for what seemed like 14 minutes but it was more like 14 seconds. I opened the back door and look out to see fhe world quivering as I heard stuff crashing to the floor in my shed. Little kids are running out of neighbors houses all screaming. We were like 'heavens to mergatroid, a real earthquake, here in Central VA.
I live not far from a place where a chunk of the African continent broke away and floated to the edge of VA a billion years ago. So every so often we get trimmers as the two big chunks of granite rub up against each other. But no earhquakes as a rule.
Ok, another quick story. Knowing the edge of my state has a piece of Africa hooked to it I took my wife's youngest boy to a rock quarry on the segment of Africa. All kinds of cool river rocks litter the ground there. He had a ball making up items his 8 year old mind thought they resembled. We also saw a really pretty sunset there. He returns to school a time later and when teacher asked where kids had gone that summer he said "Africa". Teacher said "did you fly or take a ship? "
A recant of what he told me;:
He said "neither". Perplexed the teacher asked "well how did you get there?" He said "we drove in my step dads Ford Ranger". She replied "you can't drive to Africa from here". He replied "sure you can, you leave the school, make a left on Temple Ave and drive a few miles to Puddledock Rd, make a left and drive 2 more miles and you're in Africa". He stands up and points out the window and says "it's right over those trees".
Mrs Fixer got a note from fhe teacher saying how vivid her sons imagination is and that he had told the class about his fantasy of driving to the coast of Africa. My wife sent back a note saying "look it up, you'll see he's right".
The northbound side of I 95 used to be a portion of coast of Africa and the southbound side was the coast of VA at one time. Sand and soil washed from mountains during the ice age melt and covered up the joint under several feet of soil and sand. It spread out enough to create what is now Prince George County all the way to Norfolk and Va Beach.
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greenpondmike
Flashlight Enthusiast
Sounds like you and Mrs. Fixer had a good time with those dogs pulling yall. It is good to look back and laugh. I can do that. Yeah bykfixer, you told me something I didn't know about Virginia's coastline.
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My first date with Mrs Fixer was a fishing trip on a lake in a rented boat. It was spring and things were changing from winter to summer. Living 50 miles from the gin clear lake I wondered where the fish were right now. Has the water turned over Yet? Not knowing local water temps my nearby brown streams were still in winter mode.
I studied local fishing reports from the lake area and discovered what seemed to be the fish were still coming out of the winter mode and hanging out in the shallows on the sunny side.
The day came and armed with info I placed the boat over a potentially great spot and in a position for my date to have the best casting spot. She put a worm on her hook and casted to deep water. I chunked my fake lure to the best spot and caught a bass first cast.
I knew my date was not a fishing guru in the first ten seconds but we were having a good time anyway. I told her I don't like torturing a creature to trick a fish into biting that will poke a hole in the fish's face that I'll throw back anyway. She indicated that she was used to keeping fish her family caught at the bay. I learned she'd catch a fish and give it to her dad who took it from there.
Three casts later I'm moving to a better spot. She got out her camera and began taking pictures of local wildlife and scenery. That set the tone for the rest of the date. I cast a few more times and gave her my rig and showed her where the fish were based on nibbles I got while reeling in at warp speed. She caught a fish first cast. I showed her how to remove the hook and placed a wet rag over the fish to minimize removing the slime that protects the fish's skin and placed it gentely back in the water. "Be free little fishey" she said.
We chatted a while and switched baits. No luck after a few casts but the scenery was great. I got out my camera and took a few photos too. Soon we were moving but this time for better photos. A chilly day was becoming a warm day. Driving into open water we were easing along and chatting about things we had in common. By sundown we had gotten to know each others likes and dislikes in a general sense.
We put the boat away and I took her to a spot where I knew a full moon would rise over a giant field and the sky would be loaded with stars. We both had also discussed how we had gotten to where we were in life. We had both found inner peace and were not about to allow anybody to change that, so a friendship was ok, but a relationship was out. I took her out to a restaraunt of her choosing.
She was used to wine-n-dine from fellows with drama soon to follow. I had a full belly and dropped her off at her place and that was that. Or so I thought.
My phone rang at 1am and it was her calling to say thank you. We chatted on the phone until the sun came up. We had become instant friends. We both worked the night shift so staying up all night was easy.
I told her of an old fashioned candy store inside of a WalMart 5 hours away and agreed to visit the place together some day. We set out for the place one afternoon and stopped off at a lake on the way and chatted beside the water watching a beautiful sunset while hot air balloon races were finishing up. Eventually we made it to the WalMart but there was no old fashioned candy store there. No employees in the place even knew what I was talking about. My date was beginning to wonder if it had ever been there and now this so-called gentleman has me in the middle of nowhere? I found an employee who remembered there was one but it was replaced by an expanded sporting goods section 2 years ago. Phew!! I was begininng to doubt me too.
After a few dates it was time to decide relationship or not. I took her to the beach to watch the sunrise from a lifeguard stand. Would turning this thing into boyfriend/ girlfriend ruin the friendship? Soon after that "L" word popped up. We dated about a year and got married.
What we both learned about each other early on was that we agreed on a lot of basic principles of right and wrong, so there never have been many 'agree to disagree' situations. We respect each others differences and do not try to impose ones will on the other. By being single a number of years we both had learned being alone at times has its virtues too. She learned if she wanted to be alone all she has to do is pop a chick flick in the movie player and I'm outta there. If I wanna be alone I just go find a project she doesn't dig on like sharpening a lawn mower blade or posting about flashlights at CPF. She does her thing while I do mine.
We share some hobbies like photography where we've both gotten some pretty cool photos of the same thing from different perspectives but we also have hobbies the other finds no interest in. I bought her a real nice dremel kit and some tools to fashion crafts she enjoys. I get to modify small things with those same tools. I fix up old bicycles and such while she crochets a cigarette lighter case from left over WalMart bags. If I pop in a WW2 flick I have the den all to myself.
My dad took my mom fishing. She was better at her luck than he was. Eventually he sold his gear and boat but she still liked to shore fish. She enjoyed being outdoors after working in an office all week. He enjoyed climate control after suffering in a non climate controlled factory all week. I work outdoors, my wife indoors. So she understands that even though my work is 12 minutes from the ocean I have no desire to go to the beach. I understand she likes the sun after working indoors all week. We compromise. I flop around the surf pretending to body surf while she gets a tan.
Win-win.
I studied local fishing reports from the lake area and discovered what seemed to be the fish were still coming out of the winter mode and hanging out in the shallows on the sunny side.
The day came and armed with info I placed the boat over a potentially great spot and in a position for my date to have the best casting spot. She put a worm on her hook and casted to deep water. I chunked my fake lure to the best spot and caught a bass first cast.
I knew my date was not a fishing guru in the first ten seconds but we were having a good time anyway. I told her I don't like torturing a creature to trick a fish into biting that will poke a hole in the fish's face that I'll throw back anyway. She indicated that she was used to keeping fish her family caught at the bay. I learned she'd catch a fish and give it to her dad who took it from there.
Three casts later I'm moving to a better spot. She got out her camera and began taking pictures of local wildlife and scenery. That set the tone for the rest of the date. I cast a few more times and gave her my rig and showed her where the fish were based on nibbles I got while reeling in at warp speed. She caught a fish first cast. I showed her how to remove the hook and placed a wet rag over the fish to minimize removing the slime that protects the fish's skin and placed it gentely back in the water. "Be free little fishey" she said.
We chatted a while and switched baits. No luck after a few casts but the scenery was great. I got out my camera and took a few photos too. Soon we were moving but this time for better photos. A chilly day was becoming a warm day. Driving into open water we were easing along and chatting about things we had in common. By sundown we had gotten to know each others likes and dislikes in a general sense.
We put the boat away and I took her to a spot where I knew a full moon would rise over a giant field and the sky would be loaded with stars. We both had also discussed how we had gotten to where we were in life. We had both found inner peace and were not about to allow anybody to change that, so a friendship was ok, but a relationship was out. I took her out to a restaraunt of her choosing.
She was used to wine-n-dine from fellows with drama soon to follow. I had a full belly and dropped her off at her place and that was that. Or so I thought.
My phone rang at 1am and it was her calling to say thank you. We chatted on the phone until the sun came up. We had become instant friends. We both worked the night shift so staying up all night was easy.
I told her of an old fashioned candy store inside of a WalMart 5 hours away and agreed to visit the place together some day. We set out for the place one afternoon and stopped off at a lake on the way and chatted beside the water watching a beautiful sunset while hot air balloon races were finishing up. Eventually we made it to the WalMart but there was no old fashioned candy store there. No employees in the place even knew what I was talking about. My date was beginning to wonder if it had ever been there and now this so-called gentleman has me in the middle of nowhere? I found an employee who remembered there was one but it was replaced by an expanded sporting goods section 2 years ago. Phew!! I was begininng to doubt me too.
After a few dates it was time to decide relationship or not. I took her to the beach to watch the sunrise from a lifeguard stand. Would turning this thing into boyfriend/ girlfriend ruin the friendship? Soon after that "L" word popped up. We dated about a year and got married.
What we both learned about each other early on was that we agreed on a lot of basic principles of right and wrong, so there never have been many 'agree to disagree' situations. We respect each others differences and do not try to impose ones will on the other. By being single a number of years we both had learned being alone at times has its virtues too. She learned if she wanted to be alone all she has to do is pop a chick flick in the movie player and I'm outta there. If I wanna be alone I just go find a project she doesn't dig on like sharpening a lawn mower blade or posting about flashlights at CPF. She does her thing while I do mine.
We share some hobbies like photography where we've both gotten some pretty cool photos of the same thing from different perspectives but we also have hobbies the other finds no interest in. I bought her a real nice dremel kit and some tools to fashion crafts she enjoys. I get to modify small things with those same tools. I fix up old bicycles and such while she crochets a cigarette lighter case from left over WalMart bags. If I pop in a WW2 flick I have the den all to myself.
My dad took my mom fishing. She was better at her luck than he was. Eventually he sold his gear and boat but she still liked to shore fish. She enjoyed being outdoors after working in an office all week. He enjoyed climate control after suffering in a non climate controlled factory all week. I work outdoors, my wife indoors. So she understands that even though my work is 12 minutes from the ocean I have no desire to go to the beach. I understand she likes the sun after working indoors all week. We compromise. I flop around the surf pretending to body surf while she gets a tan.
Win-win.
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greenpondmike
Flashlight Enthusiast
Sounds like you and your wife have a beautiful relationship in your marriage.
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Sorry guys.... Just really felt like I had to take a break from this particular thread and walk away for awhile after making my last post. It really hit me harder than expected having posted all of that. Don't get me wrong, it's 100% true. And normally I don't have an issue with blatant honesty. Still don't. But that's one aspect of my mentality I haven't shared with others before. Not even my best friend. Though coming awfully close to being best friends going on 30 years, some things just don't need to be said in great detail. Especially among two guys. I know he feels the same way I do. And vice-versa.
It's odd. I normally don't get bothered when something BIG goes wrong. Or I find out something that would shock most people. Those are things that can't be helped. It's when people do the little things that cause stuff to go wrong.... That's what really bothers me. About a week from coming back from my vacation in April, I got into a car accident. Collided with an over-turned traffic cone on the parkway at about 60mph. Multi-lane. Cars on both sides of me. No one in front. Had to go through it. Ironically, no damage to the bumper. But the plastic grill was smashed out and lost a fog light. No clue what happened to the cone. It seemed to literally vanish. Not even traces of it in the grill work.
Good news is, I know a great auto-body shop, and the owner and I are good friends. Got a sweet deal on fixing everything up. Thing is, that accident didn't need to happen had the construction worker in charge of gathering up all the traffic cones had done his job properly when stacking them on the sides of the truck. That's an example of something that could be helped. Spilling boiling hot water on your boots because the latch on your very old vintage canteen cup failed after all these decades, that's something that couldn't be helped. (Unless you count buying a military canteen cup with the butterfly folding handles, instead.)
So I don't get too upset at things that can't be helped nor realistically prevented. Even if we're talking serious accidents. Stuff that can be helped, but no one could be bothered to put in a bit of effort in doing so. That's another story. And I realize that with most folks, their mentality is the exact opposite from how mine works. Then again I recently found out that my personality is literally shared with less than 1% of the world's population. So, no wonder I'm different. Heck of a thing to find out, but it explains a lot!
Your replies definitely gave me some things to think about. Thanks guys.
Also.... Yeah, if you have a significant other; always leave the last single serving of ice-cream for her.
It's odd. I normally don't get bothered when something BIG goes wrong. Or I find out something that would shock most people. Those are things that can't be helped. It's when people do the little things that cause stuff to go wrong.... That's what really bothers me. About a week from coming back from my vacation in April, I got into a car accident. Collided with an over-turned traffic cone on the parkway at about 60mph. Multi-lane. Cars on both sides of me. No one in front. Had to go through it. Ironically, no damage to the bumper. But the plastic grill was smashed out and lost a fog light. No clue what happened to the cone. It seemed to literally vanish. Not even traces of it in the grill work.
Good news is, I know a great auto-body shop, and the owner and I are good friends. Got a sweet deal on fixing everything up. Thing is, that accident didn't need to happen had the construction worker in charge of gathering up all the traffic cones had done his job properly when stacking them on the sides of the truck. That's an example of something that could be helped. Spilling boiling hot water on your boots because the latch on your very old vintage canteen cup failed after all these decades, that's something that couldn't be helped. (Unless you count buying a military canteen cup with the butterfly folding handles, instead.)
So I don't get too upset at things that can't be helped nor realistically prevented. Even if we're talking serious accidents. Stuff that can be helped, but no one could be bothered to put in a bit of effort in doing so. That's another story. And I realize that with most folks, their mentality is the exact opposite from how mine works. Then again I recently found out that my personality is literally shared with less than 1% of the world's population. So, no wonder I'm different. Heck of a thing to find out, but it explains a lot!
Your replies definitely gave me some things to think about. Thanks guys.
Also.... Yeah, if you have a significant other; always leave the last single serving of ice-cream for her.
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