Being that it was going to be a late arrival and I'm not particularly fond of driving at night anymore. I don't know, something about cataracts. Eye doctor says to let him know when I stop being stubborn. He says he can fix the problem. I'm worried about him FIXING the problem.
Sorry, digression in progress. I guess that has something to do with the title to today's post. Now where was I?
Oh yeah. Late arrival.
So preferring not to drive both ways in the dark, Deer among other things. (Stay on target, juvat, stay on target!)
Target, Aye, Sarge!
So rather than drive both ways in the dark, we decided to leave early and meet up with MBD and FSIL (12 days and counting til dropping the F) (No Beans, not what you're thinking. F is for "future") for dinner.
Went to a very nice restaurant in West Lake Hills, called "The Grove", where we met up with the lovely couple and his parents and sister.
I think I'm really gonna like this family. We had a great time, the food was excellent and I enjoyed a flight of Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley. (2 oz pours, for those who are interested)
Conversation ensued and the stories began to flow. Essentially the group was divided into 4 subsections, the parental generation of both families and the child generation of both. A given story was told, with numerous interjections of clarifying questions from the other family. The conclusion was usually good for a round of laughs or "oh, my's".
Then it was turned over to the other generation for rebuttal...or augmentation.
Memories have always amazed me. Nowadays, I can reconstruct my last fight in the Eagle with astonishing clarity. I can feel myself tensing up to counter the G's. I remember the elation on that last swooping dive into guns range. I can still taste the post flight debrief beer, as well as the overwhelming prescience that this was my last flight ever.
What I had for lunch today? Not a chance!
So, anyway, we're talking about things and DIL was asked about her and Little Juvat's plans for this visit. They intend to visit the Big Island (the other side) right after the 4th and return a couple of days prior to the wedding. When asked where they were staying, they responded with the Hilton Waikaloa.
Now when we were stationed in Hawaii, we'd taken the kids there. We'd had a blast touring the island, visiting the volcano, touring the Hamakaua Falls and swimming in the lagoon. MBD was maybe 4.
When DIL mentioned the resort, MBD chimes in with "I remember Dad pulling me around the lagoon on a raft with a clear screen it it, so I could see the fish." Well, I remember that also, because she was all giggly and excited, shrieking with laughter at seeing the fishies. A great memory.
At a later point, FSIL relates a story of a family visit to France and having their rental car break down in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere. He relates that the only way they got help was him calling a friend in the States via cell who was familiar with the region and knew folks who could help and that's how they finally were rescued.
Of course, as Paul Harvey would say, "now for the REST of the story!"
FSIL's Father offers rebuttal. After making contact with his friend, they're sitting outside the closed gas station waiting, when a police car stops and asks them if they're ok. FSIL responds with "We're fine!"
At which point the police car drives off. Did I mention that they were outside the gas station? and that it was cold?
After that comment was offered, FSIL sits there for a moment thinking, and finally you see the "memory" light come on. He comes back with "I wondered why everyone seemed upset at that point." Which brought some laughs. So...It's all good.
Memories are a funny thing.
There are going to be quite a few built in the next couple of weeks.
I think I'm going to take a nap.
Cataracts? You mean Navy beds for felines?
ReplyDeleteI mention the time when my father demonstrated how to use centrifugal (I think I got it right) force via a rotating arm motion to move the sunscreen from the bottom of the bottle to the top.
He neglected to make sure the top was closed, and demonstrated not only centrifugal force, but also demonstrated how to make a ring of sunscreen appear magically on the walls, ceiling and floor.
Good post.
I had a buddy do that with ketchup at the kitchen table. His mom walked in and said deadpan, "We don't usually let him feed himself." He was one of the sharpest guys I knew in high school, really took him down a notch.... fun times.
DeleteI did the same with 57 sauce.
DeletePaul L. Quandt
I can neither confirm nor deny that I have demonstrated the efficacy of centrifugal force in the distribution of liquid from an open container. Nor the beauty of the resultant display.
DeleteI did that... last week. :( You could see where it tracked up my body, up my face and then made a delightfully messy arc from one side of the kitchen to the other.
DeleteOkay, NEXT time when shaking the ketchup bottle, make sure the top is firmly on it. (And it was a brand new bottle, too, darndit!)
I had both eyes done for cataracts (Laser) about a year ago--added astigmatism correction. Total cost 2K (Medicare paid most of it). Absolutely painless, in and out in roughly 30 minutes, eye drops for a couple of weeks is all. I am now 20/20 and can really see more clearly than I ever have. Do it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, probably superb advice. However, the cash flow for the immediate future is somewhat consumed in its entirety. Good Gravy, the wedding industry is a RACKET, the mob could take lessons.
DeleteMiami, Oklahoma.
DeleteElope. Blood test, 30 minutes later, wedding chapel, 30 minutes later, honeymoon. Cheap.
Lord help us, if they decide that now! Unfortunately, the Mob, I mean the Wedding planners (et al) have already received most of the loot.
DeleteWe were going to elope to spare her parents the expense. They weren't going to escape the festivities (at their expense). We somehow suffered through them, and we're glad (overall) that we did, but we were so exhausted that we went straight to sleep on our wedding night. Suffering social phobia, the reception was painful, to say the least. Now there's medication, and I know I'd have done better.
DeleteI'm saving up for cataract surgery. I'm lucky, in a sense, even though near-sightedness destroyed my chances at becoming a naval aviator. While my left eye crapped out at 15 and was 20/200, there was no astigmatism. 20 years later, I was 20/400 left, and 20/200 right, and still no astigmatism, and no changes for 8 years. Except for cataracts progressing. Dammit.
But I know 4 people who've had cataract surgery and none have regretted it. One regrets not having it sooner...
Yeah, I'll probably discuss it with the Eye Doc on my next visit.
DeleteA friend had cataracts removed and a detached retina fixed. Said the only side effect was the county put up several new stop signs.
ReplyDeletePrior to the removal?
DeleteAfter.
DeleteOh my!
DeleteI'm with you, juvat, on the cataract thing.
ReplyDeleteBTW: Went to the Evergreen Aviation Museum yesterday with my brother and son. Very much worth the trip.
Thanks for the post.
Paul L. Quandt
That museum is very much on my "to do" list. When, though, is TBD.
DeleteMemories that can be shared over and over are grand. The ones where we can get in a little dig are even better.
ReplyDeleteI’m going in a week from Thursday for cataract surgery on the left eye. I won’t say how bad the vision is because I want to continue driving. They won’t do my right eye yet because it isn’t bad enough.
I have friends who live in Waikoloa. They’ convinced it’s paradise.
Yeah, my family reassures me that my telling of the stories gets better and funnier with each retelling. I'm not sure what that means. I just keep remembering better details.
DeleteThe Big Island was our second favorite. Kauai being the first. Oahu was too crowded. Maui too touristy. Didn't make it to Molokai or Lanai, so don't know about them. The leeward side of Oahu was where we tended to go on weekends, but the windward side of both Big Island and Kauai were our favorites for short vacations.
Late to the party. I feel like PLQ. ;)
ReplyDeleteLUSH and her kids flew in last night. Having a blast, blogging might be spotty.
Oh, almost forgot, great post Juvat. Memories are funny like that.
My Brother, believe me I get the "flew in last night" thing. While that was actually Saturday, my lower posterior anatomy is still dragging this morning.
ReplyDeleteI so get that.
DeleteJuvat,... What did I say, what did I SAY?
ReplyDeleteI swear, that is going to be the last thing I say when someone plugs me, maybe even the most wonderful Mrs. Andrew.
So, I take it that Little Juvat and the (F)DIL are doing their honeymoon before the wedding? Kids are weird these days.
And stories can be dangerous around family members who remember all the parts you dropped out of your latest Epic, especially the epic portions that detail exactly how epically you got egg on your face.
(I remember those floats with the plastic view in them. Wow, that was weird, sudden flash of images, could actually feel the water rocking and smell the ocean. Oh... no... I'm...getting.... ooooooold. (Runs around, arms flailing like Kermit the Frog...))
Ah, now I am awake and realize that LJ and DIL are going on a trip to the Big Island and the MBD and (F)SIL are going to be married.
DeleteDon't comment when you're not awake. I knew I was going to have trouble when I couldn't figure out why Big Time was named Little Juvat. Yeah, that foggy brain thingy. Where you wake up with both feet firmly in your mouth and all you can do is wonder why?
Okay. Recheck. So LJ and DIL are taking a vaca before the wedding. LJ just coming back from some place in Middle East and will spend said vaca reacquainting himself with herself. Okay. Got it.
Blog commenting was definitely IFR there for a while, now it's cleared to VFR with some cautionary notices out there.
So... How's MBD doing?
As to Hawaii, I remember the Ambassador Hotel was the big hotel in Maui for service members and their families, some special rate thingy going on. But that was in the early 70's, so that hotel probably gone... (checks internet) Holy carp, it's still there, fond memories of dropping superballs from the 12th floor and watching them bounce and bounce and bounce...
Nah, Beans Little Juvat and DIL (aka Daughter in Law) have been married for 9 years. They're doing a little reacquainting on the Big Island. MBD (aka My Beautiful Daughter) and soon to be Son in Law are getting married on July 14th. They picked that date solely on the advice of their Seer (AKA Old AF Sarge), it being Bastille Day. That's a good omen evidently.
DeleteAs to your initial post about the flash backs, you got my point of the post. Thanks
OldAFSarge,
ReplyDeleteSay hello to LUSH for us, and feel free to give her lots of nudges and threaten her with the dreaded FNG label... I mean, just one story, it's wuhafer theen... (it makes more sense if you say that last part in a cheesy French accent, and then you'll get it.)
Your wife must be in heaven with the kid and grandkids there. But the critical question, are the House Lions?
Had another Kamikaze dive bomb attack last night, unfortunately the target was the USS Mrs. J. There's an old adage that was proven true. "When Mama ain't happy, ain't no one happy!" Tis true!
DeleteThe house lions are tolerating the clan from California.
DeleteI told her yesterday that she would be writing a post. Not a request, directive in nature. The look she gave me is one I recognize from her mother. Odd that.
Can only second (or third, fourth, etc) the cataract fix. Had mine done three years ago, IOL's are great!
ReplyDeleteGlad that Little Juvat is home safe.
Thanks for the info. I figured there might be a few folks out there that "been there, done that", and got the vision to prove it.
DeleteThanks, so am I.
ABIA is a pain in the you know what... just slightly better than the old Mueller.
ReplyDeleteToo bad they shut down the old Bergstrom, used to love watching the RF-4c's flying out there, not to mention the Aero-Fest airshow they ran in conjunction with AquaFest.
.. Welcome back to the great country of Texas, now get the heck out of Austin, as fast as possible. I recommend Fredericksburg, LLano, Wimberly or my old hometown of Dripping Springs as great places to run to.
Well, Mrs J and I live just outside FBG, and Austin is rapidly expanding westward. Apparently due to a large influx of refugees from a large western state that borders the Pacific and begins with the letter C. With the exception of Llano, the others have the same problem.
DeleteABIA used to be much more problematic getting in and out of. With the completion of the freeway and the approaching completion of the parking garage, it should be much easier. Course at ~Midnight, virtually all airports are easier to navigate.
Having spent a couple of years going in and out of Austin wile on the staff of a reserve flag all I can say is that the influx from a state I shall not name is sad news. Austin has become a liberal cesspool and the Californication gets worse every day.
ReplyDeleteMBD loves Austin. Mrs J and I view it as the price of visiting her. Not quite as bad as San Fran, but rapidly approaching. More's the pity.
DeleteWe had a destination wedding there for my beautiful daughter and the boy she sleeps with. Now we have Jack and Ava so all is well. I even love the boy she sleeps with. Get the cataract thing ASAP as an amateur watercolorist,t it made all the difference in the colors that I saw! Plus the green freeway signs appeared out of nowhere.
ReplyDeleteProbably soon on the cataracts, thanks for the advice.
DeleteYes, get the cataracts done ASAP...well, now I would wait til after the wedding as long as someone else is taking the pictures.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad insisted his vision was fine, and the doctor had told him they weren't ready yet...I asked him if the doc had gone for a drive with him recently, and that I would not until after he had them done. My sister thought I was a tad bit rough, and went for a ride with him...she made it a quarter mile down the road before she had him pull over...I made it the entire 30 mile round trip into and back home from town. Course, the fingerprints are probably still in the arm rests...
He had them done, and then was amazed how clear things were...he could actually see the road signs more than 50 feet down the road. Mom did say that riding with him was less stressful after he had them removed.
You do know you will have to post a picture or two as an AAR to the July 14th event...please :)
Yes, Ma'am I will. (to both the 1st and 3rd para's)
DeleteGreat story, and glad y'all all get along! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, and so am I!
Delete