Honorary Renaming

I was in the Navy when word came that President Kennedy had been assassinated, and I’ll never forget that day. Truly, the world grieved as we saw the grief endured by his wife and children. Kennedy had dreamed of “Camelot” and had became an elegant prince charming to many of us. The closest we can come to another President who has evoked the same kind of excitement recently is President Barack Obama. While the Republicans promised to make him a one-term President, he overcame that prediction and served for two terms. Whereas the name Kennedy was added to many buildings and roads, those renames were deemed appropriate as Kennedy had given up his life for this nation. Barack Hussein Obama’s name did not have the same eloquence as the Kennedy name and there were relatively few buildings and roads named for him. While doing research for this blog, I learned that there is a Barack Obama Boulevard in Pehokee, Florida, and an Obama Way in Indiana. We now may add to the list the recently dedicated Barack Obama Main Library in St. Petersburg, Florida. I’ll say amen to that.

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, I hope you will become one. Go to www.bobosbest.wordpress.com and, on the bottom of the right hand corner, you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you can receive bobosbest automatically every time it is published. At present, I have 439 followers. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.

In Love (updated)

I loved Barbara Bush’s statement that the best thing about being the first lady was not having to wonder what she was going to be when she grew up. Well, I’m now “grown up” at 82 years of age, and life continues to be a challenge. I have retired from the Pinellas school system and can look back on my working years as productive. I am left with a sufficient retirement, including my pension and Social Security. I am both in love with my life and with my wonderful partner, Dimitris. I have every ache and pain that are attributable to my age, but I handle them day by day and don’t complain or even wish that I were younger. I thrive on my faith and my belief system, which has matured over the years to the point that I no longer doubt whether or not I am loved by God. I’m totally secure in that belief. I look forward to whatever future awaits me. I pray that, when I die, I will have died of ordinary old-age things and not some serious, debilitating disease. I am not afraid of death but look forward to spending my remaining life happily married and still in love.

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, I hope you will become one. Go to www.bobosbest.wordpress.com and, on the bottom of the right hand corner, you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you can receive bobosbest automatically every time it is published. At present, I have 437 followers. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.

The Calm before the Storm

(The following writing was done one year ago when we had no idea we were facing a pandemic and life was per usual.)

February 25, 2020 – We left for the Golden Bear restaurant five minutes early in order to pick up a prescription at Walgreens. Breakfast was delicious, as always, with the fellowship with our friends Dan and Glenda great. When we got home, I finished loading my pills for the week and called Discover card to report on the cruise. I need to check my medicine bag. When we came home from breakfast, we left the car out front as we knew we had to return a DVD to the library. After our noon news shows, we headed to the credit union in order to exchange some coins for bills (I learned that I could use the coin counter free as a member) and then on to the library where we discovered that the DVD was still inside our DVD player at the house. We went on to Walgreens for Sharpie pens and back to the library with the missing DVD. We’re driving with vapors in the gas tank but won’t get gas until we return from the cruise. This afternoon, I ran off my Travel List which Dimitris used to check to see if we’re ready for the trip. I retrieved my sunglasses and cane from the car and am planning to leave the air/heat off while we’re gone. After watching more than an hour of the Democratic debate in South Carolina, I called it a day and headed to bed.

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, I hope you will become one. Go to www.bobosbest.wordpress.com and, on the bottom of the right hand corner, you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you can receive bobosbest automatically every time it is published. At present, I have 436 followers. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.

Locked Out

When I wake up every morning, I thank God for another day and look forward to what is to happen. Yesterday, I got up as usual at 5:00 a.m., turned on the computer, and put my coffee on to perk. I then proceeded to do my morning readings and writings until I felt the need to use the bathroom which is off of my bedroom. When I left the bathroom, I automatically pulled the bedroom door closed. Later, when I wanted to brush my teeth and take my shower, I headed to the bathroom again. However, when I pulled on the bedroom door, it was locked. No problem. I remembered that there is a pin hole in the doorknob and by inserting something into that hole, the lock will let go. Meanwhile, my mind was going crazy. Will I have to call a neighbor? Is it going to require a locksmith? My first insertion was a paper clip I had straightened out. It evidently missed the spot for the releasing mechanism as the door remained locked. Next, I tried a small screwdriver I use for repairing my eyeglasses. It worked! Not a catastrophe after all. I can now get back into my bedroom and bathroom. What a relief!

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, I hope you will become one. Go to www.bobosbest.wordpress.com and, on the bottom of the right hand corner, you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you can receive bobosbest automatically every time it is published. At present, I have 436 followers. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.

Winging It

I have a habit. That habit is craving chicken wings. I used to stop on the way home from church every Sunday and pick up six chicken hot wings and a senior drink. When I first started my KFC habit, the local restaurant had only soft drinks, something I try to avoid. Every time I put in my order, I would remind them how nice it would be if they had lemonade as an option. Finally, about six months ago, my wish was granted, and I thanked the manager personally. My wings habit has now continued so long that, when the waiters see me coming, they have the wings and a free senior drink ready almost the minute I come in the door. This past week, when I left church, the car automatically turned inward at the KFC restaurant. As I drove in, I saw sitting on the curb, Victor, the only KFC employee whose name I know. At first, Victor appeared to be talking to himself before I realized he was wearing a microphone on his head. When I teased him about “talking to himself,” he said, “I was putting in your order.” Sure enough, my wings and cup were waiting. Now if that isn’t service, I don’t know what is.

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, I hope you will become one. Go to www.bobosbest.wordpress.com and, on the bottom of the right hand corner, you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you can receive bobosbest automatically every time it is published. At present, I have 434 followers. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.

Gypsum Weed (upgraded)

Have you ever found yourself singing something but the words did not make any sense? I remember as a child, coming home from Sunday School and telling Mother about a strange song we had sung that didn’t quite match up with “Jesus Loves Me” and “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam.” Instead it was about a bear named “Gladly.” We had actually sung “Gladly the Cross I’d Bear,” but I had heard it as “Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear.” Well, I was a child then, and anyone can explain it away at that age. The wife of a friend of mine confessed to me that her husband, when singing a gospel song entitled “Safe Am I,” would routinely sing the words “Shut the door” when the actual words were “Sheltered o’er.” One morning recently, I got an old cowboy song on my mind, one Gene Autry used to sing. I just could not get it off my mind, and I walked around the house singing “Don’t Fence Me In,” sometimes aloud and other times to myself. Then I realized that I was singing a line that made no sense: “….where the longhorn cattle feed on the lowly gents to me.” What? That made no sense yet I’d been singing it with those words for years. I therefore went to my friend, “Mr. YouTube,” and searched for the lyrics for this song. There I found the actual words which I had never before in my life understood: “….where the longhorn cattle feed on the lowly gypsum weed.” What in the world is gypsum weed? Oh well, at least I am still teachable at age 82.

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, I hope you will become one. Go to www.bobosbest.wordpress.com and, on the bottom of the right hand corner, you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you can receive bobosbest automatically every time it is published. At present, I have 434 followers. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.

Parting is such Sweet Sorrow

If I remember correctly, that is a line from Romeo and Juliet. The two lovers have just met and have learned that they are from competing families. I thought of this line today as I took my wonderful partner to the airport. It is “sweet” in that I’m glad he can visit his family in Athens, Greece. It is “sorrow” in that I will be without him for three weeks. When we met online, I was very disappointed that Dimitris lived so far away. I had already had a relationship with someone in Amsterdam and had vowed never to have another long-distance relationship. However, love doesn’t operate that way and, despite the physical distance, we met and eventually married. Together, we are a good example of two gay men who find happiness daily being together. However, I have known since we met that he would want to visit his mom and sister and those times would be challenging as I found that I could not make the long-distance trips with him. This time, I have taken steps to hire someone from a senior care agency who will check on me four times each week while he is gone. On March 12^th, I will again head to the airport and will bring my sweetheart home again.

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, I hope you will become one. Go to www.bobosbest.wordpress.com and, on the bottom of the right hand corner, you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you can receive bobosbest automatically every time it is published. At present, I have 429 followers. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.

Old Fears and New Fears (updated)

The times seem so challenging–terrorism, catastrophic storms, ISIS, coronavirus. I would like to suggest that, as scary as things appear today, the “old days” were certainly not fearless but presented us with different fears. Have you thought about pre-automobile days when horses pulled wagons and left their waste everywhere? The smell frequently was unbearable. People had to deal with the death of young family members because life expectancy was shorter. The access to medications was limited. Hot water was not readily available. Yes, we live at a time when everyone is warning us to be afraid. I, for one, think I will not buy into that idea as I can remember in my early years before air conditioning when I dreaded sitting through the heat during church services in South Carolina in summer. Yes, today’s fears are different but not so different from the fears in the past, many of which were life or death fears. My goal is to live without fearing the things that I cannot control. Life is too precious to spend time fearing the unknown.

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 can receive bobosbest automatically every time it is published. At present, I have 429 followers. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.

Shot Anxiety

Last Saturday, I had my first coronavirus shot. I had not requested either of the vaccines but was pleased that my shot was the Moderne vaccine. I got the slot for the shot after the diligent efforts of friends who went online for me during the Publix COVID-19 lottery. I was very excited about getting the shot but certainly not apprehensive. The morning seemed to drag toward 11:36 when I was scheduled for the shot. I had double-checked to insure that I had the appointment papers with me as well as my driver’s license and Medicare card. Earlier we had had some fairly heavy rain, but there was a break about the time we left home. On the way out the door, Dimitris was checked with me to insure that I had forgotten nothing. When he said “driver’s license,” I realized that I had put my driver’s license in an easy-to-remove spot in my wallet, but I had forgotten the wallet. When I pulled my feet into the car, I looked down and found that I was wearing my bedroom shoes. Oh, well, an 82-year old can do something like that and get away with it The vaccination was anti-climactic and has produced no adverse symptoms. I will return for my 2nd shot on March 13th.

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 can receive bobosbest automatically every time it is published. At present, I have 427 followers. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.

The State of Sunshine

When I moved to Florida in 1965, I knew I was moving to the Sunshine State. I had always dreamed of living near the beach. Of course, I was also excited about having a job teaching in a Middle School. What I learned very quickly was that people who live in St. Petersburg don’t live on the beach unless they have a home there. Something else that I learned was that St. Petersburg not only embraced the Sunshine State title but called itself the Sunshine City. In order to claim the name, they backed it up nicely. On the St. Petersburg Times building downtown, there was a machine that indicated when and if the sun shone during any 24-hour period. If there was no sunshine, the afternoon paper was free and those staying at the beach were given a free day. While the only benefit I enjoyed was the free paper, I learned that the paper was free only rarely. When the Evening Independent shut down, the “sunshine clause” stopped being observed. Now that it is 2021, I can’t help but notice that the “sunshine clause” would not be an option nearly as often as it was in 1965. Is this an indication of climate change?

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, I hope you will become one. Go to www.bobosbest.wordpress.com and, on the bottom of the right hand corner, you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you can receive bobosbest automatically every time it is published. At present, I have 425 followers. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.