The Cold Continues

 

Here I am, still trapped in my house by the unrelenting cold outside.

Oh how I would love to take a walk outside. Exercise these legs that are swelling up again from lack of activity. 

Yesterday, more of the Epstein files were released. They reveal horrible accusations that I don't want to even think about. Here's my question: Why didn't the Merrick Garland Justice Department release these files? I think I know why, the government always lies to us. Whether Democrat of Republican, they always lie. Always. Depressing isn't it? Sometimes I feel as if I can wait to get out of this world fast enough. I've had enough.

Neighbor Emergency

My frozen front walkway just now. Looks innocent and safe but it's not. All frozen solid. Dangerous.

Today, for the first time in a week I ventured out of the house.

The temperatures are still in the high teens. 

The snow and subsequent rain of the winter storm last week is still on the ground except for the roadways.

I could stay in my house for another week, I have enough food to sustain me but mentally I have to get out of this house. 

Cabin fever. 

I have to get out.

I'm telling your folks, I wouldn't do well in an assisted living facility. Living in one of those old age warehouses is like a glorified prison. 

I was taking my chances of course of slipping and falling on the frozen snow by going out. Thank goodness my local supermarket had their lot cleaned out. I didn't have to walk on any frozen snow.

While I was at Food Lion (my local supermarket of choice) I received a phone call from my eighty-six year old widower neighbor. My MAGA neighbor (we don't discuss politics, we know better). He was locked out of his house. His garage door wasn't opening and he didn't have an extra set of keys hidden outside of his house.

He was in a panic. He said "Ron, I'm in big trouble!" He wanted to know if I had a set of keys to his house (I don't). I have the code to his garage door (I walk his dog when he's on one of his frequent fishing day trips). He said he tried to break the glass next to his front door. He said it wasn't breaking. Well, that was good news because if the glass broke that easy, any criminal could easily break into our cookie cutter development Ryan homes houses. He wanted to know if I had a big hammer so he could break his glass. I told him of course Bill has all kinds of hammers. I told him I was almost finished shopping and would be home in about fifteen minutes.

When I arrived home I saw him sitting in his car in his driveway with his motor on to keep him warm in his car in this 18 degree cold.

I went into my house to get one of Bill's hammers and when I very carefully walked over to his driveway over the frozen snow (yes, here I am risking falling walking on frozen snow) he was on his phone calling a locksmith. A locksmith! Of course! Why didn't I think of that? 

I could see he was having trouble getting a live locksmith on the phone but he finally left a message. He asked if he could stay at my house until the locksmith called him back. When he got to my place I decided to call another locksmith. I did and got hold of one right away. The locksmith said he would be here in twenty minutes or so. That was more like it. WTF? You should be able to get hold of a locksmith right away not leave a message. 

While my neighbor was here I told him about how Bill sends me signs and messages of the Afterlife. My neighbor also his wife about a year before Bill died. His wife and Bill were very good friends as I was with her also. "Bob" (I'll stop calling him "my neighbor", his name is "Bob") listened to me patiently but I could tell the more I talked about the different ways Bill has been keeping in contact with me, that he thought I cuckoo beans for Cocoa Puffs. Oh well, I don't care. I know what Bill is doing. As he was leaving, following him I said "I hope I didn't spook you Bob." He said "Oh, I'm spooked Ron. I'm spooked" as he carefully walked over the frozen ice back to his driveway, getting away from me as fast as he could before I further spooked him.

He called me about a half hour later and told me he got in his house. He thanked me for my help.

Thus my little drama today.

Poor Pat, he's been stuck in the Quebec area the past two days in the cold and snow with his Go Valet job. As I type this I see on my iPhone GPS tracker he's still driving those snow covered roads in Quebec environs in cold, cold Canada.

 

Cold, Cold, Cold

 

View out of my front door yesterday, January 27, 2026

This is a view of the cul de sac from my front door.

Fortunately we here in southern coastal Delaware didn't receive a lot of snow (about three inches) but we did receive and continue to have a lot of cold.

The temperature right now as I type this blog posting is nineteen degrees. While not as cold as Alaska, Minnesota or even Quebec Canada (where Pat was working at his Go Valet job today), nineteen degrees is cold for us Delawareans. 

This cold is expected to continue for the next seven days with another winter storm watch this weekend.

I have enough food to last me a month, thanks to my unfortunate lifelong habit of over shopping and two refrigerators and one freezer chest for storage. However, I am getting cabin fever. Just another reason why I'll never put myself into an assisted living facility. 

I feel like I am in a prison now. 

I feel like I am being smothered. 

January and February of each year for me are always the worst months of the year. To me these months are the "just get through" months.

However, I have much to continue to be thankful for.

I have my independence. I have a comfortable and warm home. I have friends that I can talk to on FaceTime and Zoom. I have my social network on Threads. 

Normally, this time of year I would be getting ready for my annual trip to Palm Springs for Modernism Week. A two week celebration of the glorious days of the Fifties. Oh for those calm filled days. I remember being bored by the Eisenhower Years. Hey, I'll take that boredom of those years over the danger and chaos of the Trump Years now. 

In the future, long after I am gone, school kids will read about these years and wonder "How did they manage to survive?" One day at a time folks, one day at a time.

Truth Posting For Today

 Dress up Barbie. 

Thought For The Day

 

Duty Calls

Me, Fort Dix New Jersey, U. S. Army Basic Training January 1960

 Sixty-six years ago today (January 27, 1960), I boarded a train from Downingtown Pennsylvania to Philadelphia to catch a bus to Fort Dix New Jersey.

Yes, I joined the United States Army.

My heart was in my throat as I got on that bus with my about forty other young men like me off to the Great Unknown, Fort Dix New Jersey for U. S. Army Basic Training.

To this day, I will always remember January 27, 1960 as one if not the most significant day of my life. 

My family couldn't afford to send me to college, which is what I wanted. 

I couldn't find a job.

I didn't want to get drafted.

I didn't want to shoot anybody or get shot at.

I joined because I believe my Army recruiter that I had a choice in what I would do in the Army. 

He was right, I did have a choice and it was the best decision of my life.

I will always remember January 27, 1960 until the day I die.

Survived The Blizzard of 2026

Hey folks! I have survived The Blizzard of 2026!

Glory be to God on high!

In my neighborhood here in southern coastal Delaware just up the road (ten miles) from Rehoboth Beach, we received maybe three or four inches. That's just enough to make everything pretty and winter like. 

My neighbor across the street from me offered to snow blow my driveway out which he did. At first I turned down his offer (I hate to ask anyone to help me) but when he said he's only used his snowblower once since he got it two years ago, I accepted his offer. 

I was going to go out today at the edge of my property to dump some accumulated garbage for my compost pile but decided not to because of the frozen snow. No thank you, I don't want to take a chance of falling. I put my container of potato peels, apple peels (made fresh applesauce this morning) and green pepper and onion debris (made Swiss Steak two days ago - delicious!)

I'll just stay here, hunkered up until the snow melts and hope ICE doesn't come knocking at my door looking for undocumented immigrants.