Ted Cate
A Personal Journal Reflecting On Aging
June 6 | June 8

	Reflections of Ted Cate June 6: A Weekly Retirees Meeting June 8: Weeds, Weather, and Reading June 9: Build For the Future June 10: Flight Breakfast June 11: Broadband for the Computer June 12: Philosophy of Mowing June 13: Facing Extended Care June 14: Storm Damage June 15: Dishwashers June 16: Happy Birthday June 17: Adventures in Baking June 18: Wash Day

While we were all working, locked to the 8 to 5 treadmill, such a gathering would have been impossible. The conversations vary according to the local, international, and world news. Some times there is repetition inasmuch as hearing aids aren’t worn or their batteries have given out. I doubt if the hearing public realizes how often hearing-aid batteries have to be changed. I’m sure if a vote were taken that the group would all agree that hearing aids pick up everything you don’t want to hear and nothing that you do want to hear.

The makeup of the group is varied. A school superintendent, a school principal, an architect, an optometrist, a contractor, a retailer, an accountant, and a civil engineer. With this kind of lineup we can address any subject and render questionable solutions. I say this because the entire group is opinionated. I readily admit to this character flaw in that I was paid to have an opinion when working. I’m not sure about the others. We go about our daily tasks better informed as a result of sharing our thoughts regardless of how bias they might be. On occasion we even go so far as to assign a topic to a person acquainted with the subject matter and expect a report by the next meeting.

The religious leanings of the group are as varied as their professions. Religion usually creeps into the weekly discussions, but always with tongue in cheek. Nothing beats a good religious joke. It is surprising how often the religious joke passed on to us is one told by a preacher or priest. Not too much time is spent on national politics in that we are pretty much in agreement that we need some morality in our government and that most of the world’s problems are a result of ethnic and/or religious differences.

The real reason for my attending this Thursday meeting is that my wife has a cleaning lady come in once a week to help with cleaning the house, a service provided by our oldest daughter as a Mother’s Day gift. For some unknown reason the cleaning lady was never advised that the service was for only three months. I thought I was qualified to run a vacuum cleaner and wash windows, but I overheard my wife inform the cleaning lady that I didn’t know how to operate a vacuum cleaner properly. I’ve learned other things while not eavesdropping. For example: it is the dog’s hair that they are vacuuming up, not the carpet fibers. If the dog lost that much hair it would have been bald years ago. I have the feeling that new carpet will be on the "honey-do" list before too long.

After lunch I’ll be off to the local utility company to pick up a cable for connecting my computers to the utility’s new high-speed Internet service. This, of course, will mean drilling holes in a wall, floor, and ceiling and the fishing of said cable through said holes. I’m sure there will be some obscenities used before the day is done. It is amusing to reminisce as to how fast we thought personal computers were when they first came on the market and how we now won’t settle for anything less than a 1500 MHz machine with all of the bells and whistles. It is easy to justify. We senior citizens are running out of time.

June 8: Weather, Weeds, and Reading
The day stared out with breakfast at a local café where I was brought up to speed by a table full of locals. The excavation for a new basement was discussed as well as a situation dealing with denied health insurance. The local newspaper was checked to make sure none of us were listed in the obituaries. We all agreed that the day was going to be a good one with the temperature getting up where it should be for this time of the year.

Following breakfast I returned home to finish fooling around with my computer cable project that I started yesterday. This was followed with the elimination of three rabbits that returned to our backyard flower garden for lunch. Their reproduction cycle is really something. How they manage to survive in the city limits is really something. It wasn’t much of a problem when the cats and dogs were allowed to run at large.

In spite of an overabundance of mosquitoes and other obnoxious flying insects I pulled a bunch of weeds and unwanted grass from around a new tree and shrub in the backyard and applied cypress mulch. I had the feeling that I must have lost at least a pint of blood during the operation. I abandoned the lovely weather and returned to air-conditioned bliss in the house and a book by Nelson DeMille.

I, like many other senior citizens, have contracted glaucoma. Over the years I have pretty much lost the sight in one eye and have difficulty reading for any lengthy period of time. For years I have listened to taped books while on long drives and assume that I will eventually resort to doing this full time when my eyesight reaches a state where I can no longer read. Eye surgery and glaucoma medications can be expensive. I recently took advantage of the Veteran Administration program whereby I can purchase eyedrops and other medications for a pittance. I strongly recommend that veterans check into the programs available to them.

At 4:00 my dog Elizabeth Ann informed me it was time for her daily walk. She is a German shorthair pointer and demands a daily walk. She wears a shock collar on these walks and responds to my every command without hesitation. Once we are home and the collar is removed she can stand in the yard and absolutely ignore any and all commands. She knows exactly where our lot lines are and her goal in life seems to be one of depositing as many droppings as possible on the neighbor’s lots. Neighbors that don’t have dogs and don’t want dogs.

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