Which Reminds Me

Why all of this chatter about colonels and military matters of which I know nothing? If you military brats are so interested in paying your respects to the colonel, you should be aware that he is buried NOT in Florida, NOT in California. He died in 1976 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, which is located in the state of Virginia. So you should be redirecting your commentaries to the illustrious military cemetery where perhaps they could someday also find a vault in which to lock you away, but only if you paid your military dues.

Which Reminds Me

I do not feel any personal need for military connections, beyond gratitude for the ordinary of the ordinary U.S. citizenry, so it is difficult for me to understand why my Dad's Aunt Judy went and married a retired colonel, a second marriage of old people, not productive of children, as if that would somehow "help" us. I really don't see any benefit in that, at least not for me personally. Joan from high school is obviously not the Joan in the colonel's photos. He was from Wisconsin originally. Even so, we would have gotten along fine without all of this military noise. Now I have various unknown military brats screaming at me for no apparent reason. Huh? I really don't see the need to dialogue with military brats. But of course, the military have to do what they have to do. I don't know everything, needless to say.

Which Reminds Me

As much as we respect the U.S. military and all of the tremendous things that they have done to preserve our liberty, I cannot help but think that we would have gotten along just find without the colonel and his military money. If you really want to know more about the colonel, perhaps we can find the address to the cemetery where you may wish to pay your respects at his graveside. Beyond that, I really do not see what else there is to say about him at this time. There are only some scattered photographs of various unidentifiable persons not related to us. I really do not know anything about that.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, at an Amish quilting bee, I would just be a useless fifth wheel. Another reason to never go there.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, why all this chatter about the Amish people? We are not Amish, do not know of any Amish people personally, and have no Amish attached to our family tree, do not live in Amish areas. Thus, we do not take our cues from their quaint customs of bundling and banning. Thus, the Amish opinions in that regard would not be of interest to us. Mr. Schaeffer told us some interesting and informative stories about the Amish during our high school biology class, but he was our biology teacher, not really our tribal leader. Thus your Amish commentaries should be limited to biology class and nothing more.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I really don't think that I know any Nazis. Who is a Nazi? Certainly not me. I really don't know anything about that. I wrote a term paper once about Nazis and WWII but I don't remember now what I said. I was quoting authoritative sources about that but, well, for academic purposes, (Ok, and maybe to satisfy my curiosity), needless to say. Enough said about that. I do not wish to further explore that theme at this time. Strange that you would even be aware of my writing any term paper, much less be challenging my scholastic right to write a term paper about whatever I want and tossing around the contents of it. What sort of lousy professor are you anyway?

Which Reminds Me

Yes, whatever happened to that crazy lady from Colombia who cut off... I heard that on the news but I cannot bring myself to post the related Al Yankovic song. It is just all someone else's icky weird stuff. I have no connection to Colombia.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I am vaguely reminded of Peggy who formerly attended the Oakland Park church near here, and I think that it was she who often talked about how she works at the flower shop on Federal Highway, I remember her saying some things about her flower job, although I think that it is not there anymore. When I was working at Vida publishers, I remember that her father Dick also worked there. He always sat in the same chair at lunchtime, the second chair from the front on the right hand side, where he would sit and chat with Bob. Yes, perhaps he was Bob's right-hand man, although I don't think that they live around here anymore. Peggy is married and lives in Alabama now, a place that is dear to the hearts of the Tacketts, but we are not related to the Tacketts so we really don't have anything to say about that.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, who in our family does not remember Gloria, a nice Mexican lady who was Aunt Julia's maidservant for a number of years, particularly when she was living in that house in Carlsbad and caring for great-grandmother in her latter years, which, living to 100, was a long time, all accounted for in the diaries. Grandpa Calkins often stopped in there to find some way to be helpful, and that is probably how he came to teach Gloria how to drive in his red El Camino pickup truck. Someone was reminding me about that, and yes, so typical of Grandpa Calkins to do whatever he can to be helpful for them. How lucky for Gloria to find some rich people to help her learn how to get around in the U.S., having immigrated somehow from Mexico to San Diego, I never really asked how that came about. She was even invited to attend family funerals. Of coure, in our generation, San Diego will not be able to get much more out of us. We no longer live in the area, besides which the border checkpoint north of San Diego makes it not so easy for us to go back and forth.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, well, aren't you so lucky, those guys who work in the back office of the city planning department, you who process all of those development applications and have more data on file than any of those clueless activists can possibly imagine even in their worst nightmares. But we persons of the public cannot handle such an overload of information. All of those top secret reports, we cannot process all of that data at one glance. We really don't care to know that much about every little easement and right of way issue on the planet. What is the deal with UFO sightings? Where did you hide the flying vimana? Reverse engineering the flying saucer are we? Is there anyone living who can translate the hieroglyphics in the cave? You really shouldn't take that so personal, because anyway we only want to know the context. What is important? Who cares? So we have to wait for the real information to dribble out little by little from the authoritative spokespersons who really know what they are talking about. In the meantime, we watch these strangely unsubstantial, repetitive and uninformative videos online and cannot help but wonder what really happened, because probably something did happen in a way, but it is not so easy to explain that absent a proper context. Needless to say.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I vaguely remember that during my senior year of college, shortly before my graduation, my parents were there, and I went with my mother to the business office to pay off the rest of my tuition bill, and it turned out that I did not owe anything because someone had anonymously stepped in and paid off the rest of my tuition bill, and I never really heard who did that. No one ever really came forward and said so. Which is sort of nice in a way, not having that headache remaining, and yet also very annoying because now I don't know who owns me and what they are expecting me to do about really nothing. Why don't you ask the staffers in the college back office who paid the bill? They seem to know something more about that, which they are not telling me. I really don't know anything about that.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, what is this wicked that thing that Miriam said that I never heard or saw? I just have no answer to information that is not available to me.

Which Reminds Me

So how is that not enough rope to hang yourself? You weren't really expecting me to walk into that trap, now were you?

Which Reminds Me

When we were small children living in San Bernardino, California, I remember that my parents took us to the local YWCA/YMCA for swimming lessons. Later, when my aunt came to visit us she went on a date with one of the swimming instructors there, but I don't remember him. That apparently amounted to nothing much because I cannot remember what his name was or anything about him. He must have disappeared from the scene very quickly because no one has yet again heard of anything about him.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, what inhuman person does not feel sorry, is not moved with compassion at the sight of these poor people, hungry and half naked, tummies extended, hands outstretched to grasp and take whatever they can get? The lowly ice cream vendor is just a poor guy trying to make a living, just like everyone else. So why all this ridiculous ranting from those Democratic party activists who only care about stuffing the ballot box in their own party favors? Yes, there is good question to ask, although I do not have the answers. Don't ask me. I don't know anything about that.

Which Reminds Me

I do not recall myself ever asking for the "top shelf" job. However, all of these people having abdicated their responsibility to explain that I don't want that, and didn't ask for that, I must of necessity fill in the blanks for those who forgot to do their homework and don't seem to understand about the avoidance of temptation as being the preferred route, in other words, to walk the extra mile rather than pick a fight. Needless to say. So please allow me to make my preferred choice to walk silently away and thus to avoid a war of words with you because I really only care about myself getting to heaven eventually. I really don't care that much about visiting the City of Dis with you, thanks anyway.

Which Reminds Me

I never was involved in any presidential campaign, so it is hard for me to understand all this chatter about presidential campaigns. The one time that I called to volunteer my services, the party did not want me. Ok, so, fine, I can take a clue. I am a registered Independent now. Parties are not my friend. Parties are political machineries that have their job to do, but apparently I don't fit in their schemata. There is no place for my in the Party Animal zoo. Ok, fine. I can take a hint. So why all this beating on a dead horse? I really don't see the point.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I vaguely remember that during high school one day, maybe in a class or a study hall, Kathy gave a speech about how when she gets home from school she shuts herself in her room to be alone for some time and to get away from all the noise of her large and busy family of numerous siblings.

Yes, and who doesn't need to spend some time alone, thus to shut out the siblings? There was nothing unusual or special about that. Everybody probably has the same idea. We all need to spend time alone sometimes, although maybe not always.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, sometimes I think that I hear in the distance Heather's various cats and dogs making a loud ruckus: Arf! arf! arf! They never really talk to me. They are performing in a show for the benefit of someone else, obviously not me, and they really do love having this opportunity to vent their utter contempt of me. Oh, they work for the U.S. government? What a lovely thought, my own country despises me that much.

Which Reminds Me

Probably many people know by now that my grandmother's name was Esther.

It takes quite a bit more digging to figure out that her mother, our great-grandmother Mary, had a stepsister also named Esther, of whom nothing is known, just a name on a genealogy chart, or is that a research mistake, how did those unrelated people get attached to our family tree, not someone that we ever had any contact with. I really would not know anything about that. I didn't do anything. Who on the planet has ever heard of "Trust" magazine?

Which Reminds Me

Yes, how odd, I am suddenly reminded that my grandmother's name was Esther. Yes, I seem to remember that she had a record that was a dramatized narration of the Bible book of Esther, which she played for us. She also had an autoharp which she played on occasion, singing songs for the children in her Sunday School class.

How odd that you would be asking about that.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, whatever happened to Vickie Canfield, who was with the Open Bible church? There is so much conflicting information out there, I might be afraid to ask these people's opinions about that, especially those who were on the hiking trip. Maybe they are just as confused as I am, or maybe they all bought Bob's line hook and sinker. Either way, I don't know what to think about that.

Which Reminds Me

I seem to remember hearing that someone was trying to exchange my mother, whose name is Betty, for that other Bettie Davis, who was married to George Davis. They were missionaries in Peru for many years where they adopted a little Peruvian girl as their daughter, before becoming aviation missionaries. George had a little airplane that he flew all over South America.

Which Reminds Me

To be broadcasting today from Lower Slobovia might be a reference to that silly tape which my sister and I made with David and Timmy many long years ago. I am thinking that the "Slobovia" reference was actually David's idea. He explained something about the personal meaning for him. What else was on the tape I have no idea. I cannot remember anythign about that. I hope that you didn't share that with those insect peoples who have no sense of humor. What a waste.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, it does make you wonder, why are these people so incredibly paranoid about my possibly hearing something about them and then maybe repeating it unthinkingly, parrot-like to everyone on the planet. I know we all want to control our own publicity machine, but somehow these basic human rights are denied to me. Only they get whatever they want and I get nothing.

Which Reminds Me

Why all of this chatter about Amalekites? The Amalekites were utterly destroyed in ancient Bible times, so there is nothing more to say about them. They disappeared from history and no trace of them remains that we know of. Gamesters looking for Amalekites to kill, be aware that we are not them. There is also the superstitious idea of butchers somehow being Amalekites. Coincidentally, one of my great-grandfathers was a butcher by trade. Even so, there is no Amalekite tradition here. Where is your DNA evidence of Amalekite heritage? You only wish you could find Amalekites somewhere on the planet to fulfill your gamester game plan, but we cannot help you with that. Dig around some more and maybe you will find your own Edomite or Moabite or Girgashire or Perizzite or Hivite issues. Who knows what might be revealed by DNA historical research.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, it is true that I have no cannery work experience in my portfolio/resume. A can opener is a necessary fixture of any modern American kitchen, I grant you that much. However, I have consistently refused these various attempts to recruit me into a labor union. Labor unions have gone too far in terms of trying to govern every detail of our personal lives. Working conditions for the most part are very good in today's American industries, at least far better than if you go to certain places overseas where the wages are cheap and there are no legal restraints on child labor, no holidays, no vacations, etc. Here in the U.S. I feel no compelling necessity to enlist in any labor union at this time.

Of course, there are some jobs that require labor union membership. Fortunately for me, I have not chosen any career that required labor union membership.

It is true that my grandparents, who died in the 1970s, may have worked at canneries at some time or another during their lifetimes and thus might have also had some experience with labor unions. My mother told me about her cannery experience and how they had to slow her down from working too hard because then everybody has to work too hard to catch up with her.

Maybe someday I will get around to finally reading that dreary book, "The Grapes of Wrath," of which I never got past the first few pages in Oklahoma. You are so stupid you probably thought that John Steinbeck was a historian. No, he was a fiction writer and said probably just as much about his own twisted version of reality as about the reality itself, although I really can't say much about that. I never read that book.

We really don't care to be reminded that Cannery Row, a very nice shopping center and tourist attraction, originally had a very different purpose. I really wouldn't know anything about that. I am not old enough to remember that. Obviously. You won't get very much information out of me. I only know what I read in books.

I only know what I hear in songs, such as Woody Guthrie's famous, "This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land." He also wrote something about a machine that kills fascists, which I recently found on Youtube, but, yes, I really am not a huge fan of that type of folk music, although there are some good songs there, if you can stand to sift through all of the not-so-good songs. Life is short. So many songs, so little time.

Which Reminds Me

I confess only that I am not entirely deaf to the voices around me, and thus if my behavior can be adjusted slightly by the receipt of new information, how is that wrong? How does that make me a spy? Only later do we learn that actually Kathy was the spy.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, you would think that all of these people would come crawling on hands and knees begging forgiveness for all of their slanderous lies attacking me, and yet who knows if that would ever happen. In the meantime, I must be Christlike. I must turn the other cheek and walk the extra mile. Even so, that said, you bully-brats certainly have no place to try to represent me. You simply understand nothing, obviously. Needless to say.

And even if I did someday decide to hire a lawyer to represent me, all I can say for sure is: NOT YOU! Needless to say. 

Which Reminds Me

What a weird question. I do not recall discussing the contents of my report card with anyone on the dorm floor, sometimes the mind just goes blank with all of these self-derogatory comments not meant for public consumption. You could always ask someone, maybe the Hurd sisters, Cynthia and Rhonda, why they were snooping around and going through my personal papers. At the time I was rooming with Jan Green, who has nothing so very interesting to say about anything. I really don't care if I never see those people again. What a mess!

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I can easily see that you have mistaken me for one of those vicious nasty Swedish Nordic witches whose weapons are a mystery to me. If those Nordic Nasties are going to be running the AG in future, then perhaps I will need to find some other pew on which to park myself on Sunday mornings. Eventually. Needless to say.

Which Reminds Me

Well, I may not be rich, but at least I am free of that worthless green scum. Needless to say.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I can easily see that you have mistaken me for someone else. If I say more than I know, bit off more than I can chew, I will just get my self into very deep waters, deeper than I can imagine on my own without someone to explain to me more about that. Obviously. Needless to say.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I notice that the song "Fantasy" by the band Earth, Wind & Fire tells us that "Every man has a space." Women are not expressly included in that category, it might seem to the casual observer, thus some people are assuming that women have no space, based on some R&B tune. Well, you say, the game worked for Dante's "Inferno," so why not for Earth, Wind & Fire? To substitute the word "mankind" for "man," thus to include "women" under this definition, might obtrude into the lyrical rhythm of the song, thus belying the purpose for which the song was originally intended. So is this a problem for womankind? Does EWF have the last word on this point? But wait, you say, where is the water? Earth Wind & Fire is lacking in Water to constitute the four elements. Without Water in the mix, Earth Wind & Fire will end by turning the entire planet into a sizzling inferno. We cannot live without water. Our bodies are full of water. We need water to drink, to bathe, to swim, to navigate. Where is the Water? You want Water. Yes, of course, the elements will not function without Water.

Which Reminds Me

Oh, and who are you to demand from me a pledge of loyalty to the King of Norway? King Harald V is no relation to me, for one thing. Besides which, if we were going to be returning to a monarchical system, which is doubtful in the current political climate, although a few hundred years from now who can say what might happen, Norway would not be my first choice of monarchical country destination. I feel more affinity to England than to Scandinavia, although I really can't say that I will ever be able to afford a short vacation anywhere in Europe. It is very expensive to visit or live there, or at least I have heard. I really don't appreciate being pressured on these points.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, there really ought to be some way that I can throw this hateful nasty Carol Mintel of Brazil off my back. It really blurs the picture to have all this nonsense about Carol and her brother David being persons of any significance, that I should care to reconnect, especially after all of that nonsense that I was hearing online from her a few years ago. I have other more important things on my mind than to bother with nitpicking all about whatever their mental problems were.

Which Reminds Me

Yes, how well I remember hearing all those testimonies, or maybe I read about them in books, telling their Teen Challenge testimonies of drugs and crime and bad behavior. The only grass of which I can truly verify its existence is that which grows in the backyard. How can I ever have a testimony when I can never repent of something that never happened? However, we must have pity and compassion in our toleration of this misguided Teen Challenge references. Needless to say.

Which Reminds Me

Someone was talking about the Galloping Gourmet but I really did not understand what that meant until more recently, maybe. Even so, I am not a huge fan of TV cooking shows. They have their own thing going on over there that we cannot quite understand. We really don't know what Galloping Gourmet recipes they might have on file that we have never heard of. We don't have any guns here either, but even so, I can't really tell people what to do with their guns. There is no reason to be screaming at us about guns. There are laws and gun permit approvals for that purpose.