Lemon into Lemonade (Memories)

This is a true story that I found in my journal. It happened on June 21, forty-eight years ago here in St. Petersburg. My wife and I decided that it would be nice to invite our son’s friends over to celebrate his birthday and to take everyone ice skating at a nearby public ice-skating rink. We had read in the newspaper that this rink had been frozen over for ice skating, a St. Petersburg rarity. The city was running the rink and charging only $1.00 per skater. We studied the situation and decided to have each child bring his dollar, and we would provide transportation and refreshments. So, nine of Bo’s friends showed up, and we bundled them off to the arena only to find that it was closed to the public because of a Jehovah’s Witness convention. What does one do with nine kids dressed in their warmest for ice skating on a hot June afternoon? Desperate, I called the Gay Blades roller skating rink and discovered that it was open but that their fee was $1.50 per kid. We decided to go ahead and subsidize each kid and continue with the party. The rink was not air conditioned, Bo’s little sister refused to skate, and another kid spent the entire afternoon on the floor. I had an enjoyable time supervising despite having worn wool pants which I kept rolled up to my knees. If that isn’t getting a lemon and making lemonade, I don’t know what is.

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My Gay Houseguest

Edgar Alan Poe may have had his pet raven, but I have had a pet lizard. Lately, he has taken upon himself to perch both above my computer screen and on my printer guide. Although he had been around for several weeks, I figured I was going to lose him when my pest control service came to spray the house as they do every other month. I felt sad as I had become somewhat attached to this little critter who seemed to have decided to settle down in my home. Since that day, I have walked into my computer room many times, hoping he would reappear but knowing that he had probably not survived. Not so. He next reappeared under my desk and was very much alive. However, he didn’t stay but disappeared again for days before I spotted him in my closet. In the last few days, he has made rather frequent appearances, even coming out to greet visiting friends of mine. I have every reason to believe that he is gay but is “in the closet,” as I used to be, so to speak. There is a little perch on which the closet doors swivel, and that has evidently become his “front porch” as he lies there watching my every movement. I am convinced that he has texted his friends, telling them that he loves his new three-bedroom, two-bath home.

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“Help is on its Way

Forty years ago, when I was the choir director at Lake Maggiore Baptist, we were confronted with a lady who sought membership in this Southern Baptist church. The reason for the dilemma was that elements of segregation remained, especially in Southern Baptist churches. Habiba Kroeker was a black woman married to a white man. In her home in Malawi, she was the daughter of a high chieftain. In America, she was a problem. My pastor, whom I greatly respected, anguished regarding how to present this woman for church membership in a manner that the congregation could not refuse. His solution was to introduce her as someone who had been won to Christ through our Lottie Moon charitable offerings. It worked. There was no opposition, and Habiba became an active member of our church.

She also became a celebrity of sorts among the other churches in town as she was a very highly educated woman who had a strong Christian message. Therefore, she was invited to speak in many of the local churches. Habiba told me once about having been invited to speak at the First Baptist Church. She admitted that she let the prestige of the church intimidate her so that when she arrived at the church, she sat for a while in the car praying. A policeman, spotting her staying so long in her car, tapped on the window and asked, “Are you all right?” She replied, “No, but Help is on its way.”

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Oh, How Sweet it is

Do you remember what it’s like to have a bad headache that becomes almost nauseating? Remember that sore throat that boded no good and indeed developed into a bad cough and drainage that just wouldn’t go away? Remember the toothache that occurred on the weekend when the dental office was closed, and the pain was intense? What about the times that you just couldn’t go to sleep, regardless of how you changed your sleeping position or no matter how hard you tried to fall asleep? Well, what am I getting at? Of course, we have all dealt with some degree of each of those maladies. The important thing to remember is not to dwell on the memory of those bad times but instead to remember and celebrate the good times when you are healthy, alert, and energetic. If we never had a bad cough, a toothache, insomnia, we wouldn’t realize what a joy it is to celebrate health and being pain-free. I have just endured a bout of what was diagnosed as a bad cold, and I was told by my doctor to use an inhaler. You’d better believe that, as my lungs became free once again, I took in a deep breath and said aloud, “How sweet it is!”

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, I hope you will become one. Go to http://www.bobosbest.wordpress.com and on the bottom of the right-hand corner you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you receive this blog every time it is published. At present, I have 559 followers. I’m eager to have as many readers as possible. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.

If the Filter Fits

After I have had my first, and only, cup of coffee each morning, I dump out the filter and coffee grounds, load a new filter, and put in four large scoops of coffee for tomorrow morning’s cup. As usual, I pulled out the used filter this morning and dumped it into the garbage bag. I then reached on the shelf for another filter and realized quickly that we had none. It then became the day’s goal to pick up a package of these filters. Dimitris agreed that we would head out as soon as we finished our macaroni and cheese lunch. I found that I needed to stop at Walgreens to cancel a prescription and realized that we could also pick up filters there. While I checked on the prescription, Dimitris checked for filters and found some. However, the filters he had found turned out to be too large which meant driving to Family Dollar where we found the same large filters. We then decided to go to Winn-Dixie where we knew we could find them, and we did. The only problem was that they were the same size as the filters at Walgreens and Family Dollar. My eyes had deceived me. When we got home, we found that the “large” filters fit perfectly in the filter holder.

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, I hope you will become one. Go to http://www.bobosbest.wordpress.com and on the bottom of the right-hand corner you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you receive this blog every time it is published. At present, I have 559 followers. I’m eager to have as many readers as possible. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.

Whoops!

If you have been reading my blogs, you know that I am having dental problems. Having been urged to have dental implants, I contacted the dental surgeon and learned that he does not accept my health insurance, I have therefore opted instead to have my present partial restructured. The complicating element is that my dentist is on a week’s vacation. The restructuring must be delayed one week. In the meantime, I am inserting the bottom partial only when I am getting ready to eat. When I went out to breakfast a few days ago, I used dental adhesive and inserted the partial before we left for the restaurant. During the meal (sausage gravy over biscuits), the partial felt uncomfortable for some reason so, when I finished the meal, I took out the partial and was holding it as Dimitris drove us home. When we arrived at the house, I reached with my right hand to unhook the seatbelt. When I did, the partial, which was in my left hand, dropped into the narrow slot between the seat and the storage bin. As I reached, hoping to easily retrieve the partial, I panicked. Thank goodness, Dimitris remained calm, pushed the button which controls moving the seat forward which exposed the missing partial. Now you know the rest of the story.

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, I hope you will become one. Go to http://www.bobosbest.wordpress.com and on the bottom of the right-hand corner you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you receive this blog every time it is published. At present, I have 558 followers. I’m eager to have as many readers as possible. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.

To Clap or Not to Clap

I was raised in a traditional Southern Baptist Church and taught to act with decorum in church. When the choir sang and sang well, they had to sense the positive response from the congregation as no oral commendation was allowed. It just wasn’t. Later, the Baptists became a little more oral in their expressions of appreciation and admiration, and there were some amens, not overdone but appropriate. When I decided to allow myself to attend some other Protestant churches, I saw that there were several ways that congregations showed their appreciation for good church music. While the amens continued, there was also applause, something I rejected as being too close to what we do for good entertainment. I therefore continued to amen good performances, thinking I would never go beyond that way of expressing my approval. However, in my present Metropolitan Community Church, I clap as loud as anyone when either the choir or a soloist thrills me by singing well and causing me to enjoy a worship experience. How dare that I keep to myself the joy that can come from a thrilling song of worship done well.

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, I hope you will become one. Go to http://www.bobosbest.wordpress.com and on the bottom of the right-hand corner you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you receive this blog every time it is published. At present, I have 557 followers. I’m eager to have as many readers as possible. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.

Slide Over, Slip Off (Memory)

While I was teaching “on the hill” at Northeast High School, I looked forward every day to eating lunch with fellow teachers. Because we were in a remote part of the campus which made going to the lunchroom impossible because of time, whatever lunches we ordered were brought up to us, and we ate at a large picnic table and relaxed between classes. Sitting across from Patti, a young English teacher, I glanced under the table and noticed that she had shed her shoes during the comfort of lunch. Carefully, I shed my size 12′s, pulled her shoes away from her side and replaced them with mine, carefully positioning them where hers had been. Meanwhile, she continued chatting, unaware of my under the table scheme. When the bell rang to return to class, without looking down, she put her feet into my shoes. The expression of surprise was priceless as her feet went “miles” further than usual into the replacement shoes. What a joy it was watching her try on a pair of shoes that didn’t fit.

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, I hope you will become one. Go to http://www.bobosbest.wordpress.com and on the bottom of the right-hand corner you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you receive this blog every time it is published. At present, I have 557 followers. I’m eager to have as many readers as possible. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.

Guess What I Forgot

I have been dealing with dental problems since I was a young kid. It was not until I joined the Navy that a dentist got serious about working out a plan to improve my teeth. Although I had both normal two front teeth, the four teeth on either side were baby teeth. The challenge was to remove those baby teeth and build a permanent bridge around the teeth I had left. Over the years, I have spent much time in dental chairs. Now, at age 84, I have a full set of false teeth on top and a partial on the bottom which has begun to cause me problems. The answer, according to my dentist, is implants. Because I trust him, I made an appointment with a dental surgeon who does implants. In the meantime, I have been wearing the partial which is the only way I can chew meat. Recently, Dimitris and I decided to eat dinner at Po Folks. We had just sat down when I realized that I had forgotten my partial. Dimitris right away suggested he go ahead and order before jumping into the car and driving back home for my bottom teeth. Believe it or not, he returned just before they served our meals, probably breaking all of the speeding rules between our home and Po Folks.

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, I hope you will become one. Go to http://www.bobosbest.wordpress.com and on the bottom of the right-hand corner you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you receive this blog every time it is published. At present, I have 557 followers. I’m eager to have as many readers as possible. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.

Safety and Balance

This week, I will attend the last in a series of physical therapy sessions to help me with my equilibrium. The most successful part of the training has been building my self-confidence so that I can remain more balanced. I have been shown where and how I tend to lose my balance, and I have learned how to correct some of the causes. My confidence in the shower has definitely improved. I have learned how to shield my eyes more, to turn confidently, and to exit from the shower safely. I have learned to sit down and get up safely. I have been taught to check my balance when I stand up and delay a few seconds before launching forth. My best security comes from my mentally practicing safe balancing. My alternate safety comes from Dimitris who turns off his radio so he can hear me should I fall in the shower. For him, turning off the radio is a sacrifice as his radio plays from morning to night, except during shower time. I appreciate his willingness to turn off the radio and am grateful that he is here to listen in case I should fall.

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, I hope you will become one. Go to http://www.bobosbest.wordpress.com and on the bottom of the right-hand corner you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you receive this blog every time it is published. At present, I have 557 followers. I’m eager to have as many readers as possible. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.