Games

Which reminds me that during the summer after 11th grade we drove to the U.S. through Mexico and stopped in Houston and visited the Wright family whose son Mickey is married to Becky Stewart, Susie's older sister. They had a huge pool table there inside their front door and we got some lessons on how to play that game. The Stewarts are big game players. I might have played pool a couple of other times in my life although I don't remember when. I am really not that good at it so I really don't care if I never play pool again. It really doesn't matter to me. Nothing will ever come of me playing a game of pool one or another. Now ping pong, I used to be fairly good at ping pong but then we had a ping pong table in our backyard so I had better experience at ping pong. Still, games are just not that important. I vaguely remember one time at SCC a bunch of people informally were getting together to play volleyball in the gym but one guy was just making everyone miserable if we missed the ball or something because he had to win. Well, I was just there for recreation purposes, not competition, so I did not appreciate his making what was supposed to be a fun game into a miserable time of being berated by him. Some guys just take winning too seriously. There is a time for serious competition but that really wasn't the time given the obviously hopeless composition of our team which is why I don't want to hear another word about that. It just wasn't that important.

Refund Issues

Yes, I read in the Sun-Sentinel about Larry Lashbrook being sued for various reasons. I suppose that I could have sued in small claims court to get my $250 back on false advertising charges but anyway it was not that important to me. Clearly some people should stick to playing guitars and stop trying to be all things to all people because most people can only do one or two things well most of the time and social marketing is obviously not one of his fortes.

We Don't Know Ecuador

The truth is that there are many countries in South America and Ecuador is not a particularly important one or of any interest to us. My parents at one time had thought about sending me to the MK boarding school there but that never happened. I would not be interested in trying to answer any questions about Ecuador. Life is complicated enough without borrowing someone else's problems. There are many countries outside of the U.S. and living overseas always is going to complicated enough. Thus there is no need for me to read the boring blitherings of wicked witch Lois Roberts. Ecuador is nothing to me. Is she the mother of wicked witch Lenore Johnson? I really could not care less about either one of them. Obviously we cannot have those wicked witches running our lives by remote control. Just because there is some tangential in-law connection to the Hibberts that does not mean that they would have anything intelligent to say to us, obviously. They would probably soon have confused with wicked witch Carol Gonzalez, I doubt not. I honestly have nothing nice to say about Carol so I would rather not add fuel to the fire by saying anything else about that at all to tell the truth. But if you insist perhaps we could drop Arizona off the map. Perhaps the Arizonans would have better luck running for president of Mexico. Just a thought.

Who was Ben?

I don't know that anyone really knows where my Dad's Uncle Ben was born. The approval card lists him as being born offshore of Yokohama and the 1930 census has him born in Japan. Other sources list Indonesia or the South China Sea as his birthplace. This to me is not a problem that needs to be hashed over. Obviously the earliest references are probably the most accurate. Perhaps someone got confused later but I am sure that the truth is known even if the knowers of it are no longer living to explain the discrepancy. Thus, there is no reason for me to be troubled regarding this insignificant point.

Ecuadoran Connections

Which reminds me that when I was in college in California my classmates included Sandra and Cindy Santiago whose parents were missionaries in Ecuador. We might have talked a few times but not really about Ecuador or El Salvador, where is the country where I lived from age 9 to 18 because my parents were missionaries there, and I don't think I every really met their brother, whatever his name is. In studying up on these things we see that both of those countries have one of those cute little 19th century railroads but I can only speak for myself in saying that we have no ownership in the railroad. I can only say that one summer day when the Stewarts were in town a group of us MKs took a ride on El Salvador's railroad all the way to Amapulapa where we went swimming and then rode the train back to town, which provides some picturesque views of certain back parts of the country one would probably never see from the highway. I probably have the photos somewhere.

Also, here in Florida we are acquainted with the Niles, Byron who died and his wife Ann, she of the serious attitude problem who remarried in Ohio. 

Missing Pages

Which reminds me that in 12th grade the Tripletts had arrived. I remember that Vickie Triplett gave me a copy of "Seventeen" magazine but with some pages missing. A little research in the school library which has a complete set of "Seventeen" magazine reveals that the missing pages were an article about the actress Blair who played the witch in the movie "The Exorcist," a movie that I never saw so I can't really comment. Why would I want to see that movie anyway? But it was strange that Vickie was being so coy about omitting information. It is not like my parents were ever shy about revealing pretty much everything to whoever. I always thought they should be not so free with information.

Cruel History

Which reminds me that in high school one of our teachers, I am thinking that it was Miss Marken in 10th grade but I could be wrong, explained to us what it means to be "drawn and quartered." This was to explain something in a book we were studying possibly. It means that your arms and legs will be tied each to a different horse and the four horses will be sent galloping each in a different direction. The result is that your body is torn into four pieces. Ew! A gruesome way to die but history is cruel sometimes. I for one seem to remember her saying that.