stranger than fiction

Bubba receives all of the grands' forwarded mail at his house and divides it up into bills, which are his, and healthcare and personal which he brings to me.  The other day he dropped off a card from none other than Lois Griffin of the great states of California and Tennessee.  Her husband John and my Daddy went to basic AF training together in California as young men and since he and Lois were already married and Mom was in Dyersburg he spent leave weekends on their couch.  I remember them as a constant during the lives of my parents, always visiting once a year and sending Christmas cards from wherever they were living at the time.

Here's the strange part:  In her note, Ms Griffin told  Billy and family how sorry she was to hear about Janice's death and shared with him that John had died at the end of January and a celebration of his life is planned for April in Forked Deer.  I think there's maybe a school or something.  We're talking TINY y'all.  When she wrote this note on 2/7 she had no idea that Daddy had died first way back in August.  Her beloved John died 7 days after Mom in CA.  I was flat on a mission to get in touch and catch her up on the Stafford family.

I "googled" her and immediately found his obituary but still had no way to reach her.  Forked Deer?  Hmmm...that's close to Gates and propane guy.  So I called him ( not begging for credit this time )  and he gave me the brother and son's numbers.  I got VM with brother but when I called son's house guess who answered!  There she sat 20 miles down the road chatting like a magpie about our lives.  Following her husband's death she came here to stay with her son at the family home with plans to sell the CA place and end up here.  We learned a lot about each other in that hour long conversation and shared lots of parental memories.  It was comforting in a way that I can't describe.

So, from what I read today on the innerwebs, corporations are on the way out as a business model, or at least them employing the entire workforce.  More and more folks are becoming consultants of some sort and contracting with companies who recognize their skill and knowledge.  The days of a ginormous Wall Street deal on trade are over, even if it may take awhile.  Just check out your local big box store or Dolla' gentral and their empty parking lots.  That's one of the things that I've noticed at the sawmill, by the way. Consumers are using their dollars much more wisely and comparing brands for purchases and services.   The failure to expand Medicaid in the redneck southern states has impacted care on many levels, mostly with the elderly and chronically ill.  My parents were fortunate enough to have full ride Medicare and insurance because of Daddy's federal employment.  Those days are gone, as well.

On a happier note, the beach is a few weeks closer but I may miss out on meeting a FB friend from MO who picks up tires out of muddy water for fun.  We shall see if the stars align for that to happen.  It's a sad day when the top story is some Egyptian pissed at his wife carrying a gun onto a plane.  I figure Trump is behind it.

Forward ~