like many people, i have a built in barometer in some of my (body) joints. two days before it happens, i can tell the weather is ready to change just by the way my left knee and right shoulder feel. UGH! more humid weather is on the way - both ache. and whaddaya know, the meteorologists are saying that it is going to snow and be windy tomorrah. you mean you needed to watch the tube for that? you coulda just asked my magic knee and eight ball shoulder.
so, where is your weather barometer located? my sister, Susie, has her barometers in her neck and big right toe, both which have had surgery in the last six years. we're the local doppler on our block HEH Doppler radar can only tell you where the tornado and rain are. our Doppler joints can tell you what's gonna happen; we give new meaning to weather prognostication. 'that tornado? yeah, it's gonna roar through here...flattening yer house into toothpicks...better look for another place to live. and the snowstorm? yep, you're gonna sma-ash yer car and careen into five others that are parked on your street...is your insurance up to date?' is it me or can people just not handle the truth? i mean, every time we tell them the forecast, they either run away crying or threaten us with bodily harm...
too bad about the change in weather though, yesterday was so nice. we went to pick up our mom and a distant uncle at the airport. they were in Phoenix for a couple days for a funeral. it was great to have the sun and warmth, after a week of snow and cold.
we had some funny conversations in the car with our 'Uncle' Jimmy. he's a real nice man who likes his Cadillacs and beer. just a short little guy who tended to forget my name for years (i always wondered if it was an act though). it was almost like he had to go through the names of my four brothers before he'd realize that it was me. and people, i look NOTHING like my brothers - they're ugly...i'm uglier. jeez, get it right!
while i drove past the old Lowry AFB, he was in the back seat, reminiscing about how he and our father worked at the PX in the early 40's...earning $2/day...and trudging through the snow to get there (a tough thing for men raised in the warm climes of southern China).
anyway, i caught him calling me 'dear' a couple times. i know that he's usually charming women in conversation - don't most 82 year-old men - so i just shrugged it off. you just had to smile and chuckle.
the conversation got a bit odd later when he started talking about his daughter and her family, who have relocated to the Pacific coast of Costa Rica for their retirement. well, Uncle Jimmy mentioned that he was going to visit them in March. I replied, 'That's cool...you should go. Costa Rica is a really fun country. I'd kill to go back and visit again (I went in '92 and had a GREAT time).' when he heard that i had been there before, he suggested that i go with him and his wife so i could serve as a translator.
his statement about utilizing me as their translator didn't affect me at all. i know it's just small talk and he's just complimenting me. no, i just about hooted and nearly crashed the car because maybe Uncle Jimmy forgot that he has been married for 60 years...to Isabel...a native Spanish speaker from Mexico. the man is just too amusing sometimes. i hope i'm as funny as my father and uncle when i reach my octogenarian years. heck, i'd be happy to make it to forty...who needs funny?
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