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Today would have been my friend's 64th birthday had he lived, but he was taken from us when still in his youth at age 33 years. We miss you still, Fred. I miss your Texas cowboy hat and your western boots, but most of all I miss your sense of humor and your genuine friendship. Today is also the birthday of Fred's daughter, Vanessa. He didn't live to see her grow into a beautiful woman, but he was proud of her and would have been even more proud of his grandchildren. To top it all, September 19 was Fred's and Alice's wedding anniversary. Always acknowledging that he was a bit lazy, he felt it was best to get as much as possible of the important stuff done in one day. Happy Birthday my friends Fred and Nessa, and Happy Anniversary Fred and Alice. Alice is another of my friends who reads this blog each day, but we hardly hear from her.
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As promised, we drove to the market on 107 and down the river road between the Nolichucky and huge fields of freshly picked tomato plants. There are still many tomatoes left on the vines, mostly green, but first hard frost will kill the plants and the tomatoes will freeze and rot on the ground. I am talking thousands of lbs. of usable fruit. It is a huge waste in my estimation, but is how the U.S. agri-business woks these days.
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We drove into JC and decided to torture our arteries with fast-food burgers, wonderful salt-encrusted and fat-saturated french fries, frozen apple pie things that were nuked to piping hot, and deliciously sweet but very weak tea.
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The daytime temps here are once again reaching toward the 90°F mark, and thought the sun is producing long shadows as autumn nears; it will still cook unprotected human hide in just a few minutes. Four days until equinox and then I can begin my countdown to the solstice of winter 2010-2011.
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Have a good Sunday!
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As promised, we drove to the market on 107 and down the river road between the Nolichucky and huge fields of freshly picked tomato plants. There are still many tomatoes left on the vines, mostly green, but first hard frost will kill the plants and the tomatoes will freeze and rot on the ground. I am talking thousands of lbs. of usable fruit. It is a huge waste in my estimation, but is how the U.S. agri-business woks these days.
----
We drove into JC and decided to torture our arteries with fast-food burgers, wonderful salt-encrusted and fat-saturated french fries, frozen apple pie things that were nuked to piping hot, and deliciously sweet but very weak tea.
----
The daytime temps here are once again reaching toward the 90°F mark, and thought the sun is producing long shadows as autumn nears; it will still cook unprotected human hide in just a few minutes. Four days until equinox and then I can begin my countdown to the solstice of winter 2010-2011.
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Have a good Sunday!
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10 comments:
Alice ... where are you? Beautiful flowers and sweet words are waiting for you.
Ken, I really love your photo. Perfect composition and exposure. Only a man who loves nature could make such photo. My congrats on it. And, please, post it on Flickr.
xo
Alice is quiet but she is always here.
Thanks Jola, for the kind words about the photo. I will post it to Flickr. :-)
Ken,
Thanks for all the wonderful remarks about Fred and Vanessa. I got someone to teach my Sunday School class today and went to church with Vanessa and her family.
My grandson Nic's Birthday is Friday. He will 18. I am here most of the time. Was gone to Myrtle Beach last week with friends, just got back yesterday. Thanks for your friendship all these years. I read your blog everyday, just don't always comment.
Alice
Hard to comprehend Nic being 18. When is Allie's birthday. I probably misspelled her name.
I would've taught Sunday school for you, but you'd probably have to have found a new church to attend afterward.
I know you have been my blog reader longer than anyone; ever since I began it in 2006. You and your friendship are much appreciated.
Thanks, Alice.
Hi Ken
Allie's Birthday is December 28. She will 16. She says she gets cheated since her Birthday is so close to Christmas.
Fred and I would have been married 46 years today.
Tell Carolyn Happy Birthday tomorrow for me!
Alice
Thanks for Allie's birth date. I used to have them but my last computer change ate some of my files.
Keegan says the same thing; his birthday is Dec. 9. He will be 21 and was getting a new tattoo yesterday. We tsk-tsk at him but it does no good.
I think Carolyn has been married 46 years, but my marriage seems much longer.
I sure will tell Carolyn and she will certainly be reminding me of it all day tomorrow.
Ken
My parents just had their 48th annivesary last week. Hard for me to comprehend since I am not married.
The unpicked veggies are a shame. They should offer them for free to churches or food pantries if they would come out and pick what was left.
Daylight is much shorter and temps still high.
I read about the unpicked veggies, etc. heartbreaking. I caught the produce man in my local grocery store removing a huge cart of bananas from the shelf and asked him what he was doing with them. He said "throwing them away." unfortunately for him and his manager I was in a "mood" and gave them right act about how sinful the waste was and could we get them over to the elementary school to hand them out to children to go along with their sugar-laden cereals or at the very least pig farmers, or me for compost. They didn't have much to say about it and at least they didn't have me arrested. Mike ushered me away from the "scene" and helped me wipe the froth from the corners of my mouth. Sigh.
I don't think one ever gets over the loss of a dear friend or loved one. The memory lives in your very being. Sorry for your losses.
I think a key secret to happiness in a marriage is frequent sex and knowing when to keep your mouth shut. Happy week to all.
Oh and if it makes you feel any better Ken, Cody is thinking about his 2nd tattoo. I can't give him too much grief as I have 6. As long as he doesn't get one across his face......
Considering that the average American marriage lasts only 8 yrs. 48 seems like a lot. People from that era seem to stay married longer, it seems.
The rotting tomatoes are a bad trick to play on hungry people. They are the small canning variety, but they are probably as nutritious as our garden types. Many are still green, and I love fried green maters.
Thanks, Mark.
I can just hear you having a go at the produce man. It should be a misdemeanor to destroy that much usable food.
Your keys to a successful marriage are probably true but if so, I would have been divorced before the eight years average.
All my kids have tatts except for my youngest son, and the irony of that is, his best friend and business partner moonlights as a tattoo artist. If I was one generation younger, I would most likely have my share of them.
Thanks, Tammy.
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