Which Reminds Me

Yes, I vaguely remember that youth camp was on a remote beach way out at the southeast end of the country, and to get there the bus dropped us off at the town of El Cuco, and then we had to walk a few miles along the beach, carrying our bags and hammock to sleep on, and then get on a canoe to cross the river, and then walk another mile or two along the beach to the place where the campground was, large huts in which to hang our hammocks. The camp lasted three or four days, and on the way back, while walking several miles along the beach back to the place where the bus is, we were almost there, just reaching the town of mostly straw huts and not much else, out in the middle of nowhere, someone pointed out that I have blood on my clothing. Oh, my period just started. Thus the sudden scramble to find a place to somehow fix this problem and people holding up a sheet or towel or soemthing while I change my clothes. Shut up, Bobby. Talk to your counselor, I do not want to hear your silly whining. You did not have to make such a fuss about basic biology facts. Embarrassing enough without their demonic shrieking.  

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I do think that if you wanted to make a movie of the life of Sokobin, and his consul work in China, that I probably would buy a ticket to go see that, or at least stream it on Youtube eventually, no rush, but I do think that would be interesting. After all, it was Sokobin who signed my great-grandfather's passport in 1917. Interesting coincidence, but we were not that close. We were not there for the same reasons. Our story is not their story. Needless to say. Obviously. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I tend to think that the Baptists have every right to disparage the disorderly mess that was made of that whole thing. But, anyway, it could be helpful to have actual facts at hand with which to better analyze the situation, not just to fall into a bitter rage. Where is the fruit of the Spirit in railing and ranting senselessly? A Fall-Well would be a useless exercise in futility, given that a fall is a fall, whether well done or NOT. And where is the benefit in falling? Then it takes much longer to get back to the point where we might have advanced our knowledge, so that why all this blah blah blah about Fall-Well. It is no secret by now that the Liberty Bell is cracked from an early age.   

Which Reminds Me

Yes, oh, you thought that I was dirty because I only wash my hair once a week, while you wash your hair every day. I cannot imagine having to wash my heair every day,. That was the original conversation that I can remember. There are some things we learn about people during camp. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, it never was my ambition to hobnob with the obnoxious "uppity-ups," not my clique. I really don't care that much. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, one can easily wonder why people would need to read, when the Bible is full of such messy stuff.  Horrible things happened in Bible times, so why do we need to read about all of these errors and mistakes? 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I vaguely remember during MK school in El Salvador, that our school was next to the AG Bible school, on the very same property/compound, and the Baptists had their radio station adjacent to that, and also our school was at the back of the property, and one day we could hear the students in the Bible  Institute praying quite loudly, and Mrs. Richardson, our Canadian teacher, who is of the Grace Brethren group, was telling us that what they were saying was demonic, and so that was her opinion, we already know quite well how these non-Pentecostal people think, but I would not call that any sort of authoritative pronouncement, given that we can read the Bible and think for ourselves. I suppose that our Baptist teachers are entitled to their uninformed opinions not backed by Scripture or any other source worth mentioning, well, they may have some good points also, as long as they stick to basics and not go throwing temper tantrums and whatnot, so let's not get ahead of ourselves, but anyway, I am just saying. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, that really was quite rude of you to shove this horrible Chilean book down.my throat, as if I had ever heard of this book until a few months ago when, in the fullness of time, about fifty years later, I finally hit upon a book that actually seems to work for this point, your point not my point, during these my literary peregrination.  So utterly rude.  

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I am confident that I will easily shake off your copyright charges, as if water off a duck's back, now that I have boned up on the lore of public domain, thank you very much. Plagiarism? Ha! Anyone can easily tread the same quotable paths if they would only take the time to learn how to read.    

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I vaguely remember that you were saying that Mr. B Spoke, but you never really explained what did Mr. B. Say. And who is this irrelevant Mr. B.? And why should I care about whether Mr. B Spoke or what Mr. B Said? All of this chatter makes no sense to me. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, wouldn't that be nice if the oil rights actually were worth actual money. Ha ha ha! And then if I had a larger income, I would need to pay my tithe of 10 percent of my larger income, which would mean a larger tithe, which would mean that I would have more money to give to various charities and causes that I care about or that care about me, so I should probably have a list of those in mind in case I ever needed to think about that. Whether or not Heidi would be included on my list has yet to be determined. I will have to think about that long and hard before I decide whether or not I want to put Heidi on my list of charitable donations. Of course, the eradication of ebola fever is also an important cause, but I don't know. I have not yet decided what I would do if I won the lottery or something. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, it is somewhat mystifying to learn why is this Heidi pretending to be an acquaintance of mine from college? Actually, we were not that close, not at all. So where does she get the idea that I am going to give her oil money? She did not get that idea from me. I never discussed that even with her possible decoys, so obviously she gets her oil information from some other source than myself. 

And is Heidi going to dictate what I have to eat for breakfast every day? Where I have to shop for clothes? Where I have to spend my summer vacations? etc. etc. I would decide later how to spend any oil money, but there is nothing to talk about at the moment. Shut up!  

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I suppose that I ought to be asking, for what do I need this yappy Jane Turner screeching in my ear, I am in no way related to those those Italian chatterboxes., but I am not going to actually say that, it would not be convenient for me to put on some artificial persona in order to articulate all of this ridiculous verbiage, I am just going to ignore their nonsensical yakkety-yak. 

Coincidentally, I was probably the last to learn that Kathy actually works for the CIA, probably everyone knew that before I ever did, which is somewhat shocking given that her chatter completely makes no sense whatever, but anyway, I suppose that is part of their bag of tricks, whatever that meant. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I vaguely remember that recently my mother was laughing about how she does not need the Jungle Cookbook now. But of course there was a time, back in the old days, when the Jungle Cookbook seemed to my mom a very handy reference when cooking dinner with what was available, rather than what ingredients you wished you had to fill out the recipe. But of course, here in the United States we have everything on the grocery store shelves and there is no problem with trying to cook dinner. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, that was sort of interesting how Eugenia, who was our maid, stopped in to visit us years later in El Salvador, on her way home from Panama. What she was doing in Panama I have no idea. I used to think it would be impolite to ask personal questions if the information is not forthcoming in a voluntary way. 

But of course Panama has the Canal Zone, so those people think they are so special. They have special housing and special shopping privileges. Panama is almost not like living overseas. Panama was almost like living in the U.S. by extension. We never had that sort of "special" privilege. We could not ever go shopping at the American Embassy where you can get special foods — cereals and chocolate bars and whatnot — that otherwise are not available there. We have to sort of rough it in comparison to the pampered haughty arrogant Embassy staffers. But that is OK, God takes care of us in our own way.   

You would think that the embassy would be there to help the various U.S. citizens who are living there for various reasons, not make us feel like garbage because we are not running with the cool kids clique.  

Which Reminds Me

Yes, what was the name of that guy? I met him briefly at the bookstore, but I forget now what his name was. All I said later was that, No, I did not want to work with him. For what? Words do not suffice to explain why not. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I vaguely remember that my mother worked 40 years for Vida Publishers, and during that time, Vida was bought by Zondervan, and later Zondervan was bought by Thomas Nelson, which was bought and owned by Harper Collins, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, the Australian who also owns Fox News. At that time he was online talking about his preference for Asian women, although since then he has gone through two other wives, so I do not understand how all of these things congealed into a blob of interests. 

I did some freelance translation work for my mother's company some years ago, but then things got Messy, so, OK, fine, I am not very savvy about soccer trivia, but anyway, for what do I need the Faulkland Islands? It is just a little rock in the middle of nowhere, so what about that?   

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I never had the slightest connection to the Tuttles, even though I heard them yapping online about me and claiming to own my money, or was that really Helen Calkins' money? And Helen being my 4th or 5th cousin, 3 times removed, what would I know about those people when I had no idea of their existence, so what would I ever think of to say about that, how to turn off that idiotic switch. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, it is sort of weird, why is this unknown Brett person always fuming in the most idiotic way, as if I ever card about his opinion. In fact, he probably ought to be made aware that some people do not want his African disease. They have some very dangerous diseases, progressive diseases, over there.. But I digress.   

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I hear them talking about their system, but I really am fortunate to NOT belong to their sort of half-baked system. Besides which, it is really NOT their place to tell me where I have to go later. I will figure that out later without any help from them. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I vaguely remember hearing that Tim was working at Microsoft at some time or another, and also at other software companies, I forget which ones, but I do not remember hearing any insider gossip about that. When he was here visiting his parents, who were friends of my parents, he was talking about his cruise to the South Pole. That is one of the few things that I can remember about him now, And also his kayaking adventures. 

So just because I was not working there, that does not make me related to Bill, any more than to quite a few thousand people on the globe who I never met. 

Just because that 3-year-old brat Ronnie spilled stuff all over himself, that does not make it my job to clean up his mess. That is why their maid Chavelita is stationed there to put the foot in his mouth, so I am really not needed for anything there.  

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I think that all of us are happy to subscribe to Microsoft Office, well worth the cost. Beyond that, I really do not see what I would need to discuss with this irrelevant Bill. Do I dare hope to pry this horrible Bill off of my back side? 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I suppose that I should be asking, why are these irrelevant persons imagining themselves related to me, when actually, well, there is the theory of six degrees of separation, that every person is about six steps removed from every other person on the planet, so it is a small world after all. But I could not understand who was saying those things about how they have fled to Russia, as if there were some reason to run away from who you are, out there to hobnob with the Cossacks on the Volga, so whatever that meant. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, that was weird, someone was complaining to me about the mess of Tibet and I forget what they were saying or even who said that or why I think that I was hearing that online. I don't understand. I can't say anything about that one way or another. I just have no idea. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I vaguely get the impression that Joan might be chained to her kidney dialysis machine, because otherwise why can't speak for herself? I have no idea what was in her head at that time. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I vaguely remember that Tom Wagner once said hello to me, and that is all there is to that story. He might be a prop, they prop a picture of him in a chair and you may project onto that picture whatever fanciful notions may occur to your vivid imagination, but it really does not matter much now. Is that what you are asking for? 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, there I was at age 15 thinking that I was being nice to the maid, taking the time to answer that questions that she was asking me, and her questions were quite native, because she was recently come to the big city from some little village out in the middle of nowhere, and everything was new to her, she seemed to know almost nothing at all. I do not really have time to fix all of her many problems, but I did answer a few questions about civilization, as far as I could at the time. I am no expert, but I was trying to be nice, so I will probably never try to do that again. Sometimes trying to be nice just isn't worth it.  

Her name was Maria. She had a lot of problems, two children and still not married to her "husband." But she probably got a better paying job in another part of town, because she was gone from us after 10th grade. I never really heard where she went later, but someone online was talking about her, maybe you could explain where she went better than I could, although I cannot imagine how that could happen or why I would need to look for her later. My Mom probably helped her to improve her cooking skills, so that is nice of her to be grateful for the help that we might have been to her at some time in the past, but anyway we are gone now.   

I only see a few pieces of the Maria puzzle, but it does not make much sense to me.  

How did she turn into such a disgusting repulsive creature online? I do not quite understand what you are saying. Huh?  

 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I am so hacked that sometimes I do not even understand who you think that you are talking to? I can only assume that you are not the crazy lady in the attic, I am not even thinking about that, so I have no idea who said that. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I really do not have any insights to offer on the mysteries of the relationship or union of Ronit and Alfredo. Sorry, but I cannot help with that. I can only hope that they will not bother me later, because I really don't care that much. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, that is weird how they are so intent on making my life a complete misery. Well, at least things are not that bad. Only partly miserable. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, oh, is that Elaine Foley I see draping herself alluringly all over Rusty's grand piano? But when did I ever have a conversation with that thing, whatever that was? I just have no idea what was their private arrangement with Kathy Murray and her brother. I can only hope they don't bother me later because they just were not that important to me. I do not want to have to say anything about them anyway, so shut up already. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I vaguely remember that you were threatening to go to my publisher and have me fired if I do not follow in lockstep with your political views. That was weird. Have they no democracy in your Armenidan homeland? Weird. 

Which Reminds Me

 Yes, I vaguely remember when I was working in Boca, in the 1990s, that I was talking on the phone to someone who was telling me that Mark Foley was the great hope for the Republican future in Florida. That might have been true at the time, but it sounds sort of stale being reviewed by phone hackers who cannot seem to correctly label who was saying what. Of course, it goes without saying that Mark was later shown to be more of a political liability than a "help," according to whatever can be read in the media or Internet sources, so enough said about that. Obviously it is probably not good to put too much faith in these various hotshot stars. Next.  

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I vaguely remember that on more than one occasion they were claiming me as their "sister," which later makes me sort of wonder when did I claim him as a "brother in the Lord"? However, I might have said that about some fictitious personage while performing in some imaginary scenario, at a past stage in my early junior high history and emotional development, but anyway I was not actually talking to him, I forget now who I was talking to or why. But forget about the imaginary scenarios, if he wants to take it that way, fine, go ahead and do the knee-jerk opposite of whatever I say and see if I cared that much about the imaginary guy that I was sending away from me anyway. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, those were some strange mutterings from that guy who, anyway, everybody knows he likes to pull your leg, so obviously that is just another lousy joke. Needless to say. Obviously. But I am growing weary of these leg-pulling tall tales that are getting scarier and scarier, not my cup of tea, but I am no craven coward, so there obviously are many other shops out there, so I should probably shop around before I make any firm commitment to anything.   

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I have to confess, that at work, when Betty Nelander asked if I had registered yet, I was not quite sure what she meant by that. Have I registered to vote? Well, yes, I have my voter registration card in hand should I need to use that occasionally, if that is what you are saying. Beyond that, I forget. It did not mean that much to me origionally.  

Which Reminds Me

Yes, i vaguely remember meeting them at some eatery enar Hollywood area. I forget how the subject of Indians came up, but since we were so close it was a short drive over there to drive the loop of two or three blocks in Hollywood that is basically sort of a separate country from the U.S., because it is an Indian reservation. I might have driven through there a few times, usually on the way to somewhere else. I dn not smoke so there is no reason for me to shop there. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, here we go again, referring to the story of which I know very little, almost nothing, about how my Mom's Cousin Gradin Newsom came to serve as the model for a statue of a native American tribal person. I just have no idea how that happened. I cannot speak for the Newsoms, I only know that as for the family of his mother, my Mom's Aunt Audrey, we used to think that we had some Indian heritage, but actually the recent DNA tests show nothing at all, only English, Scottish and Irish, no clue yet for the Indian theory. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I vaguely remember that there was a time when our youth pastor Dan Duval was paying too much attention to me, to the point that it became sort of uncomfortable to be around them, and I began to want to leave and not have to deal with them again. And then later, was that in person or online, I forget, but later Jeanie was saying that she was expecting me to run away with her husband, that I had ruined their relationship by merely existing. Oh, I'm sorry. Weird that she would want to get ride of him so easily, but no, I will not be available later to go to her house to do her laundry and sweep her floors and do whatever she wants. No. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, that was nice of Rick to hire me. 

I vaguely remember one day at work he was saying that I should find a cause on which I could focus my energies, and thus become a crusader type of journalsim. I know that he meant to be encouragung when he said that. And of course, that is one theory about journalism that some people are attached to. However, I somehow think that only one cause would make me some sort of one-hit wonder, and wouldn't I eventually get bored of hammering on the same cause over and over again, when actually there are some causes I might prefer to avoid, and other cause that do not inspire me personally, although if assigned to do the work maybe I could think of some way to present that without having to make it a personal thing about me.  

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I vaguely remember years ago, after I started working for newspapers, the first time that there was a correction issued in the paper due to some mistake that I had made, and that was so very embarrassing, but anyway, it was more important to not mislead people and to have no intent to deceive, so sometimes we just have to bite the bullet. But as my boss was saying, if I am about 95% accurate I am doing OK, so that made me feel better because anyway it really is almost impossible to be perfectly accurate all of the time. 

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I seem to occasionally remember that I have agreed to evacuate the planet and to leave no further issue, so I really see no reason to continue this discussion about whatever that was. However, you are not helping me very much with my plan to leave no further issues behind if you try to provoke another argument. If I had a job, I would probably write about whatever issues were relevant to that particular job, so that's fine, that is work. But, given that my blood type just doesn't matter in the current scheme of things, I might as well make this as simple as possible for everyone concerned, thus the plan for me to evacuate the planet and leave no further issue behind. Enough said about that.   

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I vaguely remember that while we were living in El Salvador, we sometimes hired a seamstress to make clothes for us, because it was not that easy back then to find good clothing in stores, and it was quite affordable to hire a seamstress or dressmaker. You could pick a picture, buy the fabric and associated notions, and take this to the seamstress, who would from the picture whip up a dress or blouse and pantsuit to fit your body exactly from your measurements. Our seamstress' name was Leticia and she did a very good job for us, I always thought. But while we were there, Leticia was our seamstress. I think the Stewarts and maybe other missionaries also hired her. 

Years later, I was getting online messages from some people, I was not sure how they were related to our seamstress Leticia, saying things about how she has moved up in the world of the garment industry and is no longer available to work for us. Ok, fine! So the clothing industry there has changed their systemand I do not want to sound like I would begrudge someone else's success in hitting the big-time of the fashion industry with their sewi g talents. But also, I am long gone from there anyway, so why am I hearing all of this stuff? Anyway, it was not me who did that sewing. 

I can only guess from some things I heard, that the U.S.-based garment industries went down there big time and hired many of the good seamstresses who are no longer available to work for white people because they have moved up in the fashion world. Now they make really big money working for everybody, and expensive clothing sold in U.S. stores is now often found to be made in El Salvador. Wel, isn't that nice/ My, how things change. 

Coincidentally, I noticed from the high school alumni news that our classmate Joan was working for The Gap. I don't remember if I ever shopped there or not,  maybe a pair of jeans or something, I forget. 

 I really never have much thought of Joan. I was not paying that much attention to what she was doing later. I am a person who shops now and then, but I have no insider connection to the garment industry.  

Which Reminds Me

Yes, I am about up to hear listening to the online complaints of John talking about his whacky witch mother, as if that resembled me. And I cannot even say anything because I really do not remember her. They were not really that important except in their own minds.