Three bus trips in three days--I just want to make a couple observations

I've been a busy guy this week--not only have I left my place every day this week, I left it three times in a row to take 3 bus trips in a row.  

Here's my first observation--the bus sign across the street from my apartment building.  I MISS THE OLD BUS SIGN WITH BUS NUMBERS ON IT.  God forbid you don't have a smartphone to scan this sign to see what buses stop here!   Are we just assuming everyone owns a smartphone now?   I feel like I'm being dragged against my will into the future.

Second observation--I caught this bus (and a transfer downtown) to UPMC Presby in Oakland to meet with my neurologist and get 2 new CT scans done of my head.  The bad news is, I'm still dealing with cranial inflammation from post-covid.  The good news is, compared to my last scans, the affected areas have reduced by 70%.   

Here's what I really wanted to share--I had a headache the whole time I was there because my brain kept trying to decide if my nurse was a male or female.  He/she was white with shoulder length hair, a sort of masculine face but with makeup, a sort of masculine body but with a bosom.  

When I asked nurse their name, they said "Thomya".  I said "Oh okay.. Tonya."  Nurse said "No, not Tonya.  Thomya."  I said "Tommy."   Nurse said "No.  T-H-O-M-Y-A."   I said "I'm so sorry, is that a male or female name?"  Thomya said "Hehe!  Neither, I hope!  I was born with male parts but I don't identify as male."  I said "Oh okay, sorry about that Miss Thomya."  Thomya said "Hehe!  I'm not a miss!"

THEN WHAT ARE YOU.   Jiminy Cricket!

The next day (yesterday) I took the bus downtown To PennDOT to renew my driver's license.  Actually, I renewed it online 3 months ago, but they didn't send me my new license in the mail.  I got a camera card that required me to go downtown to their office.  When I called and asked why they sent a camera card instead of a new license, I was told "If your last photo-ID was considered unsatisfactory, we require you to come in and have a new photo taken."   Darn it.

So after getting up early, going downtown and waiting a half hour for my turn, was called up to one of the windows.  The woman asked me several questions in a very tired voice, then told me to stare at the blue dot while she took my photo.  When I saw it and frowned, she asked me if I wanted another photo.  I said yes.  When I saw it and frowned again, she said "Do you just want to use the photo from your last license?"

I THOUGHT IT WAS CONSIDERED "UNSATISFACTORY"!  I said no, as long as I was required to make the trip downtown I want a new picture!  

And finally, earlier today I took the bus up the street to Lincoln Barbershop for a long overdue haircut.  The shop is only 1/2 mile from my apartment, but I'm still dealing with plantar fasciitis and it's too long a walk for me.  I knew with two barbers there'd be at least 3 people beside myself, so I took a handful of Mike's 5th Avenue candy bars with me.

I said "Remember the old days when new dads would hand out cigars in the waiting room after their kid was born?  Well. my social security starts in 2 months so I thought I'd hand these out instead."

They were all very thankful and I got a great haircut I'm very happy with--The End!

I need a haircut--I sure wish I could go to Henderson's Barbershop again

Me, 8th grade

I'm a couple weeks behind schedule with my monthly haircut and starting to get pretty shaggy on top.  I go to Lincoln Barbershop up the street from me, where I've been a regular for 25 years or so.  It costs $20.00 for a cut, and I give Rose (the only person I trust with my scalp) a $5.00 tip.  

But growing up, I went to Ralph Henderson's Barbershop in my hometown of Waynesburg Pa.  He was 2 doors up from McCracken's Pharmacy, and for years my dad would drop me off with $2.00.  The haircut was $1.50, with a 50 cent tip.  Always on a Saturday morning, you'd open that door, walk in and be greeted with the smell of Bay Rum aftershave, the faint tinny sound of an AM news station from Ralph's radio, and the disapproving stares of 3-4 boys ahead of you.  

They'd give you the once-over before returning to their comic books, and you'd go over to the rack and hope to find Batman or Fantastic Four, anything besides Little Lulu.  I never wasted my allowance on Archie comics, but got my fill of them (and Lulu, Casper the Friendly Ghost & Richie Rich) at the barbershop.

Ralph Henderson was Norman Rockwell's idea of a barber.  He had salt & pepper hair and silver glasses, and wore a white barbers tunic.  He would ask you about your folks and how short did you want to go, but didn't do much talking after that.  If you happened to be there at noon, he would say "Half hour lunch break fellas" and sit at the small wooden desk behind his barbers chair with his bag lunch and quietly read his newspaper.

On the upper right, up the street from McCracken's Pharmacy--that was Ralph's Barbershop

In the top drawer of his desk was a stack of Playboy magazines.  Sometimes, not often, a man would come in for a haircut and head straight back to Ralph's desk until it was his turn.  We knew there was girlie magazines back there, but never tried to sneak a peek.

When it was your turn, Ralph would come around the chest-high partition that separated the front of his shop from his barber chair, and ask who's next.  There was never an argument on who's turn it was, we all knew.  One time a tall, skinny young man came into the shop, he didn't look familiar.  When Ralph called for the next one to come back, the young man stood up and headed back.  We all sat there wide-eyed, in shock.  It's not his turn!  It's Chuck's turn, then George!  Then mine!

Ralph said "Go back and wait your turn."  The young man said we told him he could go ahead of us.  Ralph said "Leave my shop and don't come back for two weeks."  We loved it!

I remember one time walking in, and a kid I knew from Scouts named Doug Tenney was there with a little girl.  I asked who she was and Doug said she was his little sister, he had to watch her while their mom was at the doctor's office, she had a weird thing on her foot.  Another kid asked "Does your mom know any sailors?  I bet she has scurvy" and we laughed so hard!  When it was Doug's turn, he stood up and his sister followed him back.  Ralph said "No girls are allowed past the partition, you fellas keep her busy out there.  

We sat with her and read a Casper comic to her in goofy voices.  It's funny, the stuff you don't forget.

Born in 1923, Ralph Henderson retired in the 1980s and died in 2001.  It's sad to see that Google image of his long closed shop, I'll always remember the front window having Henderson's Barber Shop painted in big blue cursive.  I remember the week before my senior year of high school, sitting down in his barber chair and telling him to go ahead and cut it short around the ears.  (I'd kept my hair long and over my ears since 9th grade.)  He was delighted and told me I was growing up.   Miss you, Ralph.

One minute you're 40, the next you're applying for Social Security

The other morning when my brother Steve texted to let me know my nephew (his son Stevie) was getting married, and I asked how old is Stevie now and Steve said he turned 40 in September... weren't we all 40 just a few years ago?

Thinking back to 2001 when I turned 40, I headed into my kitchen and looked through the junk drawer and there it was--the pin I bought for the lapel of my coat, after the events of 9-11-01.  I remember that day like it was only a couple years ago, I'm sure many of you can say the same.  I was sent home early from work that day, as downtown Pittsburgh was ordered evacuated.  I got a ride with my ex's mother (who saw me standing at my bus stop and honked at me to get in, then yelled all the way home about our military, President Bush and trash tv).  

I spent that entire day glued to my tv, watching the same events play out over & over.  I can even remember what I had for dinner, leftover spareribs from Sunday.  A day or two later I was headed to work and saw these flag pins at a newsstand I passed on my way to the office, and bought one for my jacket.  

I don't know why I'm sharing all of this, I just can't believe how quickly the years have passed since I was 40.  I want to tell my nephew "you're going to be 64 before you know it".

Speaking of 64, last Saturday (November 1, the day after my 64th birthday) I was sitting here watching an awful documentary about Bigfoot, and thought "Well it's as good a time as any to apply for Social Security" so I went online to my SSA account.

On my recent statement it said "At age 64 years your monthly payment is estimated to be $1913.00."  Sounded good to me, so I began the application.  There were a LOT of questions, but nothing too difficult or complicated.

After I gulped and hit submit, I received an auto-generated email that said I should be hearing back from them after 30 days.  It added my reviewer would reach out by telephone or mail with additional questions, and they often do this on weekends or after business hours.  

Curious, I jumped on earlyretirement.org and a social security reddit board, and was dismayed at what I was finding.  A lot of people complaining their applications were on hold for months (for faulty or mismatched information) or outright denied.  

One man neglected to report his first marriage as a teen, people failed to report children they hadn't seen since childbirth, some people attempted to file too early or mistakenly filed for disability, etc.

A retired social security administrator said it took on average 90 days to review an application, not 30.  And this was before the recent government shutdown, so I figured I had a wait.

So imagine my surprise when I got an email from the SSA a week later.  Nothing written, just this image at the right, saying my attention was needed.

Assuming they were requesting additional documents (like my drivers license or birth certificate) I went to the SSA site, signed in and saw "Your application is approved."  And below that:

This only took a week, I guess you can't believe everything you read.  As I requested my payments begin in January, they start one month after your request date.

The amount will drop some when I turn 65 and Medicare kicks in, but that's not for 10-11 months.

I still can't believe this is really happening.  I know I earned it but still... I'm waiting for a follow-up that says they grossly overestimated my monthly amount, or I've been declared an anti-Trumpist and being deported instead.  We'll see!

Things of a Personal, Sweet & Family Nature

In a few days it will be two months since my infamous 3 hour dental appointment that reawakened the long covid in my head & face.  It brought new meaning to the date September 11 for me.

I'm sorry for going on about it for the umpteenth time, I know what a tired subject it is.  But I went over 3 months this summer with little symptoms before that much needed dental appointment.  This has been an ongoing thing for close to 2 years now.  

I just want it to lessen up to the point of being manageable again--where I can go back outside and spend time with friends & family again.

 Alright, enough.  I've got better things to share.

This morning my brother Steve texted me and told me my oldest nephew (his son Stevie) is getting married to his long-time girlfriend Jacie.  I haven't seen Stevie since a family dinner we had a couple years ago, but I've always felt a closeness to him.  He's a big bear, but a gentle one too and has never hesitated giving me a hug when we meet.  What really surprised me though is his age, he turned 40 in September.  Unreal. 

Anyway, aren't these terrific photos?  Someone in the restaurant overheard Steve proposing and took these pictures.  I sure am happy for these two!

And Steve & Ann (my brother and his wife of 75 years--well, it seems that long) congratulations to you too, I love you guys.  Yes Ann, you too! 😉  

Finally,  I wanted to share this "little surprise" I got in the mail yesterday--a belated birthday present, a big box of candy from my sister Shawn.  When I texted Shawn to thank her, she said "Doug I swear I had every intention of doing this before your friend Mike sent you that box of 5th Avenue candy bars and beat me to the punch!  That's the one candy bar I was looking for before I changed my mind and sent this to you!"

I told Shawn thank you and of course I believed her, and no one can have too much candy.  But I have a feeling my weekly weight chart is going to be headed in the opposite direction this month.

Swamp in a pot? Well, there's a first time for everything

The other day I was in the store reaching for a can of breadcrumbs, and a woman (black if you want to get specific, she had the tallest hair I'd ever seen) was standing directly behind me, talking on her phone.  She said "They got your sausage on sale, I'll make swamp potatoes."

After she walked away, I turned around and saw the sausage she was talking about--Eckrich Smoked Cheddar.  Can't say I ever bought this, and I had NO idea what 'swamp potatoes' were.  But it was only $2.99, so I tossed a pack into my cart.  When I got home, I looked up swamp potatoes and saw a hundred versions of this recipe that included extras like oil, butter, salt, garlic, Cajun seasoning, chicken broth, water, smoked paprika, chopped onions, onion soup mix.  

But they all boiled down to the same few ingredients in a crockpot:  green beans, onion, Yukon gold potatoes, smoked sausage.  I had the veggies, garlic powder & Cajun seasoning in my cupboard, and a mini-crockpot.  So why not give it a go.

I dumped the chopped onion in first, followed by one can of green beans (and didn't drain them--I figured that would be my water/broth).  Added 3 pats of butter.  Chopped 10 little yellow potatoes in half, tossed them in, sprinkled garlic powder over them and a couple shakes of that Old Bay.

Finally, I sliced ONE of those sausage links in 1/2" inch slices, put them on top.  Wonder how it will all turn out?

Well, it seems I did everything right.  I didn't add extra liquid (aside from the green beans) and it didn't need any, the pot made plenty.  No oil or soup mix either, just a few pats of butter and I went very easy on the spices.  A little of that Old Bay goes a long way.   

I let it cook on low for 2 hours, then high for 90 minutes.  I put a dollop of sour cream with some smoked paprika on the side, and it was absolutely delicious.  I can't wait to make this again.

Thinking out loud, sharing a few words and an apology if needed

This was taken in my little kitchen on Monday November 3, at 2:31 pm.  You can't tell by looking, but the one side of my face is swollen & hurts (the side closer to my words).  My chin & left eye sting, with some aching in my jaw.

It's not horrible, but is still uncomfortable enough to keep me from wanting to go out and do normal things.  I'm convinced it's going to fade eventually, just don't know when.

As I've shared before, this all returned in mid-September (after a 3 hour trip to the dentist) and it's not as bad as it was the first couple weeks, at least.

Anyway, one of the reasons for this post is because I know I've been blogging more than usual, and if I'm making you tired of me, I'm sorry.  It's just that this blog is pretty much my contact with the outside world until I can make a complete recovery and get back out there again.

I also didn't know how much easier it was to create new posts until my older laptop died (along with my 20 year old editor) and I had to start using Blogger's nifty online version.  It's so much simpler, I just wish I had more things to write about now!

I took down a recent post I wrote late Saturday night (I was watching a dreadful documentary about Bigfoot while working on my application for Social Security).  It was pretty boring stuff, but really opened my eyes what a lengthy process this can be.  It could take months to get that first check.

Speak of the Devil (heh) I just got this email from them.

I never thought I'd see the day I'd be applying for social security.  I can still remember getting my very first paycheck in August 1977, I was a dishwasher at the Olde Southern Pancake House.  I made $2.10 an hour and worked my butt off.  To this day the thought of boysenberry syrup still gags me.

Okay that's all I have for now--thanks as always for listening, I should be back tomorrow or the day after with a tasty food post.  :^)  

Where's my lifetime supply of candy bars? Right here!

I don't know what to say.  I was sitting here watching tv, my downstairs buzzer sounded.  "Delivery from FedEx."   What the--I didn't order anything..

I run downstairs, and this package was waiting for me in the lobby--a case of 5th Avenue candy bars!  And no return address!  This sure was sweet, whoever did this!  I'm in shock, there's over 2 pounds of candy bars here--for someone like me, this really IS a lifetime of candy bars!

Whoever did this awesome & generous thing--really, thank you.  Could you come forward?  What a thoughtful present!

UPDATE:  This gift was courtesy of Mike, a very nice guy who reads my blog.  Thanks Mike, you made this birthday a special one.