Wednesday Hodgepodge - 19 October 2016

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1.     What would you say is your strongest sense? 

This is difficult to figure.  It isn’t sight because I am legally blind.  It isn’t hearing because, due to having constant static in my ear from an automatic dialer when I worked for a collection agency, I have trouble hearing out of my right ear.  I am not affected by strong smells as much as others, so that isn’t it.  I am a diabetic with neuropathy, so touch isn’t it either.  I guess it would have to be taste because that is all that is left.

I guess that explains why I am about 100 pounds overweight.

2. Do you believe in the idea of a 'sixth sense'? Why or why not?

I very definitely do.  Suzanne has a very strong sense of intuition and/or discernment.  Years ago, she knew when friends of ours were pregnant.  She would tell them they were pregnant the first time she saw them after the conception.  They would tell her it was not possible, they had none of the symptoms, or lack thereof (if you know what I mean), it was not time yet for that.

Low and behold, she would be right.  It got to a point that when Suzanne went to church, the other women of childbearing age would avoid her.

3. When do you most feel like a slave to time? Explain.

I feel like this when we have some place, any place, we have to be at a particular time.  Normally, we do not have that problem.  As empty nesters who are both retired, we normally do not have to be anywhere at any given time, and then people happen.

We have to go to the doctor, or the hospital, or whatever. Then, we are no longer in control.  As it stands now, for the most part, we are night people.  We eat when we want, we sleep when we want.  We write on blogs when we want and record videos when it is not too hot.  We have to turn off the air conditioning to record because it is too loud. It gets to about 112 degrees in the room very quickly when we turn it off.

4. Have you ever worked in a restaurant? How would you rate the experience? If you could own a restaurant what kind would it be?

I am Irish, so, I cannot make a long story short.  I can make a short story long.

My family had a Western Auto store.  My sister and I were tired of everyone thinking that the only reason we had such good paying jobs was that "Mommy and Daddy gave you your job.” We both went out and found other jobs.  At 16, I worked at Shoney’s. My sister worked at Pizza Hut.

The word, “hell” would not be exaggerating at all.  My big boss was the store manager and a nice man.  He was not there at night most times.  Years later, we both held the same position at another job.  Anyway, at night the night manager, Roger, was in charge.  Roger was a jerk.

I was employed as a bus boy/dishwasher.  My job was to wash dishes, bus tables, mop the floors, clean the restrooms, take out the trash, and do anything else Roger told me to do.

There were not enough dishwashers/bus boys to keep up with the crowd.  I remember the smell of the spaghetti sauce.  Shoney’s was famous for its spaghetti and we sold a lot of it.  They were also famous for their hot fudge cake.  Cleaning the hot fudge cake plates was a nightmare.

I was supposed to mop the bathrooms.  I was to use the same mop I mopped the floor with to scrub the toilets.  I thought this was gross.

One day, I was bussing the counter when the wife of my father’s best friend was sitting at the counter.  She is/was Carol from the Hamburger Minimum Wage video.  She was actually mad at me because I did not come to them to get a job.  She said, “Junior, you know you can work for us anytime you want a job.” I told her I knew that, but that would be like my father getting a job for me.

Anyway, one night, at about two in the morning, I just had finished sweeping and mopping the entire restaurant.  The night manager and his assistant went outside and intentionally tracked in mud on my freshly mopped floor.  I was told to mop it up.  I did, but I never went back.

If we owned a restaurant, it would be something like the Swamp Guinea in Hartwell, Georgia. If you have not been there, you should go soon.  We have not been in over 12 years, so it may have changed.

Back then, it was a “Fish Camp”.  You could order regular entrees or, like most people, you would order “Family Style.  Family style was all you could eat.  You would get catfish, perch, fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, fried chicken, country ham, Brunswick stew, cole slaw, hushpuppies, and French fries. They would bring it out to the table on platters and leave the platter on the table.  When you ran out, you would ask for more and they would bring it.

If we were to do this, we would have a serving bar instead of bringing it out to the table.  Customers would go up to a serving bar and servers would give them a plate with a serving of whatever food they requested.  When the customer is ready for more, they go to the bar and ask for more.

Too often in the all-you-can-eat buffets, you have someone who has very poor hygiene go through the line and contaminate the food.  This is a waste.  By serving it on platters straight to the table there is often a waste there, too.  But, by having the person go to a serving bar where they are served a new, clean plate each time they want more, there is less waste.

The customer can go as often as they like.  They can only get one serving of each item at a time.

Desert and coffee or tea would be included in the price.  There would be a slight upcharge for other beverages.  There would be no alcohol allowed.  Also, there would be no television blaring all over the place. This would be a place where families could go to enjoy one another.  We would ask that customers put their phones on silent and keep them put away.  Of course, they would be free to do what they choose, but the idea would be family time, not screen time.

5. Ever traced your family tree? Share something interesting you learned there.

I haven’t.  My Grandpa Roberts was really keen on tracing the family back.  Suzanne loves it.  She is as happy as a pig in the sunshine since she got Newspapers.com. 

My maternal great-grandpa rode with the Dalton gang.  He was not with them on that fateful day in Coffeyville, Kansas.  One of the gang died on his porch after a holdup.  My uncle has a picture of Grandpa B and Frank James sitting on Grandpa’s front porch.  This grandpa was a real piece of work.  He divorced my Grandma B to marry another woman that he had gotten pregnant. 

Later, without divorcing the second wife, he remarried Grandma B.  This was a business arrangement.  The deal was she got a very fine house in town.  For his part, he had a covered area he could pull his buggy into and enter through his own private entrance straight into his bedroom. He was usually accompanied by a girlfriend or two.  Legend has it that most of these “girlfriends” were very young teenagers (I heard as young as 12, but usually 13-15 years old).

He was 72 when he died in 1948.  Grandma B lived to be 103 and died in 1983.

 
6. What did your childhood bedroom look like?

It had twin beds and a dresser.  We were not allowed to put posters on our walls, but we could put them up in our closets. 

For Christmas and birthdays, I would get models.  Model cars, model planes, model rockets, etc.  Usually my mother would put the models together before I would get a chance to.  I would come home from school and my new model would be put together and be displayed on my dresser.

I was able to complete three models.  One was the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides).  One was a '57 Chevrolet.

When my father worked for National Cash Register, he and my mother were constantly entertaining.  We had to keep our rooms clean and neat, beds always made.  My dad had been a TI in the Air Force, which is like a Drill Instructor in the Army.  We had to keep our rooms military clean and neat, nothing out of place.

When my brother came along and got his own room, it looked like Oscar the Grouch moved in.  He was not required to keep his room clean.  By then, my father no longer worked for National Cash Register (NCR).

7. Anyone who knows me knows I love my child-bride Suzanne.

I also love me some bacon, tomato sandwiches, and deviled eggs.  I also love a good egg custard pie. 

When we lived in Spartanburg, South Carolina, my father often ate at Lil’s Diner.  He told Lil how to make what we called egg sandwiches.  It was two slices of toast with Duke’s Mayonnaise, scrambled egg, lettuce, tomato, and bacon.  She named this Bruce’s Special.  It was a popular menu item until the diner went out of business.  I love me some Bruce’s Specials, too. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Another stroke-free week. We are almost to the five month mark.  In just a little while (November 3^rd), we will roll out our How to Manage Your Monkey Course.  It is in a soft opening now.  If you would like to get a glimpse of it, check out the blog.

Have another great week.

Please Visit My Child Bride Suzanne's Blog
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