Friday the Thirtieth

NYT front page on my birthday in 1943, BRITISH BATTLE RAGES AT SALERNO, lower on the page, Chiang Made President of China But Will Remain Head of Army. That would be Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, who later fled the Red Chinese to take control of Formosa, Taiwan, call Taiwan "China" and be leader in Taipei, where, standing on the curb as close to him as I am to you right now, I watched him ride by in a black 1949 Cadillac limousine as part of the parade welcoming South Korean President Park Chung-hee. That would have been 1965 or 1966; I was in Taiwan on a two-month TDY assignment and everyone in both governments, U S Forces and Kuomintang (pronounced "gwa-min-dang) was summoned out to the sidewalks to wave little Republic of China and South Korea flags.

It was a warm day, and the limousine's windows were down. As I say, I was as close to them as I am to you sitting there.

That isn't my only claim to fame. Years later, after my Navy retirement, on a flight from Washington National Airport to Atlanta, President Jimmy Carter walked back through the plane shaking hands. I asked him how his mother was, Miss Lillian, as everyone knew her. He thanked me for asking, paused to visit a moment, telling me she was fine. I didn't tell him that I didn't vote for him but should have voted for him.

But back to that TDY in Taipei. When was it? My recollection is listening to the funeral of Winston Churchill on radio while I was there, which closer fixes the Time as January 1965. I was 29, a Navy lieutenant. Linda, Malinda and Joe were home in Yokohama.

Learning, I'm still learning, including not to be so stupid. Something more than a year ago I ordered a refurbished laptop computer, condition classified as Excellent, and it arrived looking brand new. But after warranty, the battery stopped working for some months, then worked again, then quit again. Ten to twenty years ago, I used to repair and sometimes major rebuild my desktop computers, so figured I could open this laptop and change the battery. Wrong. I ordered a battery change kit, which arrived yesterday. Opening the computer, I found nothing that remotely resembled the inside of an old Dell desktop computer; but I figured What The Hell, Here Goes, removed the old battery, installed the new one, and closed everything back up tight. OMG, the tiny screws that hold the case together. I then took the thing outside on 7H porch lest it explode when I plugged it in to charge up. Well, it charged up fine, and I thought YES! But when I turned it on, the keyboard no longer works. So, I totally goofed up, ruined it. I like having two computers that work, just in case I'm computer-left as has happened from Time to Time; that was my backup computer. Damn. Damn it all. Damn it all to Hell.

Dizziness, increasing dizziness that, sources tell me, comes naturally with age, so demands extreme caution in moving about, especially when getting out of bed. My special prescription eyeglasses are two types, one type for reading, the other type for computer, pulpit, altar; but neither for driving (don't need glasses for) or walking around because instantly I go dizzy if I stand up wearing them. Which is one reason I wear a cord on them, to hang them down when not using to read.

Anyway, experiencing the dizziness increasing, I googled and read that deafness contributes to dizziness, something about the ears' role in balance. So now I'm trying keeping one set of ears, hearing aids, on my bedside table to put in as part of my early morning rise, why? Well, we've rearranged our bedroom and I no longer have a chair back to grab, so put ears in and wait to accommodate before standing up. Also, ordered a folding walker without wheels, which I'll try keeping beside the bed to grabaholt-to and steady myself before heading for - - - never mind - - - wherever.

What else? I think today is Britany's birthday and we are on calendar to have lunch (noon dinner) out with Ray and them. Don't know where yet. Linda has made a scrumptious squash casserole for them to take home after. Linda's squash casserole is a blue ribbon winner topmost favorite dish for holiday feasts here.

No longer do I try to remember birthdays. I remember mine, Linda's, Malinda's, Joe's, Tass's, Kristen's, Nick's (I was in a high hotel room in Mobile, looking out at the battleship USS ALABAMA when Joe rang), and Caroline's (ten years and one week after Kristen's, our new Interim Rector Fr Arnold had supper at our house that night, then we raced to Tallahassee just in Time to sit outside in the waiting room several more hours. Caroline is named for me, Carroll). Other than those my mind collapses like an imploding volcano.

Ian, Hurricane Ian.

Watched the Bay drain yesterday as water was drawn out by H.Ian. Had it not been for the cold front moving down and pressing Ian toward east and north, that Act of God would have come straight up into us, with a couple more days to strengthen into a major category 5 hurricane, and here we'd be again. What if? Can't face that again: my promise to myself is that if it happens here again, I'm gone for good. Where? Somewhere safe. Somewhere safe?

Thirty days hath Septober, April, June, and No Wonder; all the rest have peanut butter. Except chifforobe: it's a tall thing, with big drawers.

RSF&PTL