Happy Birthday Jessica!

Happy Birthday, Jessica!  I'm posting this a day early, and even though you *swear* you read the blog, I know you really don't.  It doesn't matter, although I'm going to harangue you about it especially after this post, because you're going to be dissapointed that I haven't sent a card or acknowledged your birthday aside from a call. 
Suprise, this is your gift from me.  It's not much, but it'll last longer than a card or any other gift I could send, and it's from the heart.
I want you to know just how much you mean to me - something I've probably hinted at, and you might have an idea of, but never fully realized.
As you know, I don't have any human children and won't. That's why you're so special to me.  When your father and I met and I found out that he had a daughter, you weren't as much a part of my life as you've become over the years since - it's been over 16 years since we first met, and I've honestly never been happier to have you in my life.  (Even though at that first meeting, you were far more interested in your gaming system than you were in dealing with me)
I know I've only been a peripheral fixture to the events of your life, however I know you've come to realize that my love for you is as real as your father's - you've accepted me as a psuedo Uncle, and allowed me the privileged indulgence of "adopting" your daughter as my grandchild. 
That in and of itself means more to me than you will ever know, however that's not what this is about.  This is about what you mean to me.  
I've always thought of you as more than just a niece, you've always been something of a daughter to me too, although I haven't had to shoulder the responsibilities of parenthood that Don, Lisa and Joe have.  I guess missing out on those responsibilities was for the best, as my tendency has always been to simply spoil you (and now Andrea) and the only thing my interference in any crisis would have done would have further screwed up whatever was happening, and probably not for the better.  
Case in point, trying to get you down here to Atlanta.  I'll be honest, that's still my selfish goal.  I'd love to have you and Andrea and Chris down here so I could have more time with all of you.
But that's something that will remain my selfish wish, not something that I honestly forsee happening - however I can always hope, and will continue to wish for it, despite what in reality is best for you.  (But let me hit the lottery and you're not going to have a choice in the matter!)
Anyway, I just want you to know that I love you and I miss you and Andrea, and Chris, and you forever have a place in my heart. 
So, before I get even *more* maudlin, let me close by saying that I hope you have the best birthday ever, and that each subsequent one improves on the previous by light years. 
I love you.
Uncle Aldy
(to Andrea - I'm still Grandpa Merlin to you)

Observation

As you know, Andrea, I have 3 cats right now. B'sidhe, Polgara, and Cleopatra.
Well, in preparing for the roadtrip to see you, I had to figure out how to keep the cats fed and watered for about 4 days.
This shouldn't have been a problem, except that I needed to get what's known as a gravity feeder. Located one, and it held approximately 10 cups of food.
Which, properly rationed, is 10 days worth of food.
Please note, properly rationed.
I filled the thing before I left the house on Tuesday. I got home early Sunday morning, and found crumbs.
4 days. And honestly, I do believe I know who the culprit is. It's Cleopatra.
Her favorite position is a face plant on the food bowl.
Well, just wanted to rant.

Road trip pictures Mission, Kansas 2009

Well, I'm currently trying to upload the road trip pictures - and not having much success unfortunately.
I do have an album set up on Facebook, here's a link: Kansas Road Trip.
It'll have to do until Blogger gets its shit together.

KC Road Trip Day 2 The day I cooked

'kay, Grandpa Don's bitching because he's trying to sleep and I want to get this down. So I'm going to make it quick.

Your biological father is a dickhead.

There. I said it. And I stand behind that statement. Despite the spin you're going to have applied to the situation by your mom, your dad, your biological father... don't care who.

Just check the police records for domestics during this time, October 2009.

Love you, darlin... but you need the unvarnished truth.

And this is it. Your biological father is unfortunately, one world class dickhead. While I have a lot to say about this situation, for once, I'm going to be relatively good and not say shit aside from what I already have.

Addendum: I'm back in Atlanta now and have reread what I posted. I still stand behind it.
Your biological father is a world class dickhead.

Kansas road trip October 2009

Well, we're here. Your reaction when I introduced you to Theodore was everything and more I wanted.
And yes, of course I took pictures - however, like an idiot the one accessory I didn't bring was the camera to the laptop connection. So, as of right now, I have over a hundred pictures of you and can't upload a single one of them.
I also took pictures during the road trip which are in the same situation.
Can't upload the damn things. So this will have to serve as an interim solution to this conundrum.
You're napping right now, so I'm taking this quiet moment to post this.
As soon as I get a connection to the laptop, the pictures are getting uploaded and then I'll post them, I promise.
I'm probably also going to be sending them to Facebook, so they'll be in more than one place.
Anyway, Grandpa Don is currently sitting in front of your Mom's desktop trying to get it cleaned down so it'll run better. I'm going to sign off and watch. It should be entertaining.

Road Trip!

Yay! I'm sitting here waiting on Enterprise to call and say they're on their way to pick me up so I can get the car for the road trip.
Which means that in just a matter of hours, your Grandpa Don and I will be there - tired, stinky from the trip, but there to see you and your mom.
The plan is to leave early Wednesday morning from Grandpa Don's house and drive straight through til we get there.
I'm bringing my laptop, so I might blog from the road, or at least from your house.
I can't wait to see your face when I introduce you to Theodore... (that's the big bear) - he's about as big as you are!
I'm also bringing you a dragon ... since every Princess should have a dragon around. But don't worry, he's friendly.
I'm so excited! I hope you remember this in a couple of years - if not, this will serve as your memory jog. (Grin)
Okay, got to run - last minute details to deal with here.
I'll be seeing you soon, darling!

Road trip pre-diary October 2009

Well, it's taken a few tries, but I've managed to secure the car for the trip. I started by using the various travel websites, and actually found what I thought was going to be a deal and reserved it. The only issue I had was that the pickup location was in Downtown Atlanta - and when I went to change it, I found that the car would be even cheaper out at the airport.
So, I cancelled the original and set it up for an airport pickup, which would have been easier because I could and would have taken the train to the airport instead of driving.
Well, because I don't use credit cards, I only use what's known (or was known) as a "debit card", I had to call the car company to find out what rules were in place for using it instead of a credit card. There wasn't an issue there, however the person at the car company and I got to talking, and I mentioned that I had set my reservation to pick the car up at the airport - when she asked me what time my flight got in, I said I wasn't flying in, I was picking the car up to do a road trip - at which point she said that to rent out of the airport and get the rate I was seeing, I was going to have to show my round trip ticket at the counter.
So that killed that reservation. We got to talking further, and she did some further checking, and found a relatively comparable rate at a location around a mile to a mile and a half away from here - which in and of itself is a win win.
Then it turns out that the location is closed on Sundays (our expected return date) and I'll have to drop the car off on Monday instead. For no additional cost.
Anyway, the car is now secured. I talked your Grandpa Don into going with a full size car rather than an economy for a couple of reasons - first and foremost, I don't want to drive or ride with my knees in my chest - and that, unfortunately tends to be the case with 99.9% of "economy" cars.
Second, I wanted room in the car to bring you some friends.
Before you were born, I made a promise to your mother that I wouldn't send up any big bears until you were walking, and at that point, all bets were off regarding you and stuffed animals.
Well, you're walking now.
Just you wait until you see what Grandpa Merlin is bringing for you.
Your mother is gonna wanna kill me.
But I don't care - you're my sunshine and I have every intention of spoiling you rotten and having the time of my life doing it.

Road Trip October 2009 The Diary

Andrea - this is going to be the first trans dimensional occurrence for us... in that I'm going to be referencing something that will occur involving the two of us, and it'll also be a shared memory - because it happened to you and you'll remember it when you read this.
For example, this is the first time that we will meet.
(You'll also be meeting your Grandpa Don at the same time, but this is my blog so the focus is on you and me.)
I cannot wait. Your Grandpa Don is going to be a stick in the mud when he finds out how many bears I want to bring you, though. So I might be stuck bringing up just one big one (or two if I sacrifice a suitcase)
What I'm getting at is that Grandpa Don and I are planning on renting a car in Atlanta and driving up to see you and your mom. At last!
You've met your Great Gramma Susan, and your Uncle Tommy, now you get to meet Grandpas Don and Merlin.
I have a number of special bears that are waiting to come live with you, Andrea. If they can't come all at once then they'll just have to wait their turn. I hope you're still friends with Pinky - he's the most special of them all. Your mother's going to hate me, I know it - oh well, what are grandparents for except to spoil the grandkids?

Reunions again

God love Facebook - unbelievably, (at least for me) I've recently been able to reconnect with family from my past. Gaelen and Joyce Gilbert. We haven't been in touch for over 15 years.
Andrea, you're my grand-niece, however Gaelen is my nephew - exactly what that's going to make him to you only time will tell. He's a great kid, although I'm basing that on what I know of his mother, and how she raised him. And of course, my experiences with him from the time he was a gleam in his father's eye.
His father was Gene Gilbert, also known to me as Lord Adrian, a 2nd degree High Priest at Ravenwood. And his wife was the Lady Helena. Both were dear friends of mine, and for a long time indeed they were the family structure I depended on.
I grew to know her mother, Hattie, and Gene's mother, Sarah - and when Hattie was dying, I moved in with them so that Joyce could spend as much time at the hospital as she needed.
I got the kids off to school in the morning and I got Gene home from work at night, with money in his pocket to boot. (He was working as a waiter at Limerick Junction, an "Irish" pub in Virginia Highlands)
That's another story - I'll have to cover it later.
And then, a month after Jo's mother died, Sam died.
Anyway, Joyce has always been like a sister to me - we fell apart shortly after the last time she and Gene broke up... and she moved from Lake Lanier back down to Griffin.
Shortly after this, Grandpa Don and I broke up ... and things kinda went to hell and I lost touch with her, and didn't persue contact.
But thanks to Facebook, I found them again.

Not to mention finding Camille - (Muffy) - I've known her since the days before Internet - back when you had to dial into a common server to chat or interact with a limited number of people...as a matter of fact, from the same BBS that I met your Grandpa Don on.

Ain't it grand?

"Bewitched" the series started out in black and white

Andrea, this is one of my pet gripes about entertainment.
Colorization.
This is the process whereby they take a video (meaning visual) presentation that was recorded in black and white and proceed to use a computer to redo the video, this time in "full" computer generated color. (Damn you Ted Turner)
Anyway, I spent some time recently acquiring season 1 of "Bewitched"; when I sat down to watch it, I discovered to my horror that it had been colorized.
I told your mother about it, and her reaction was to call me an old fart. Told your Grandpa Don about it and he couldn't understand what the fuss was about, but he hates old movies anyway so I really wasn't looking for much vindication there, just an ear to listen to me vent about the whole mess.
My point is that before color came into every day use, all television and movies were done in black and white . As a result of that, the cameramen and lighting techs and the actors all had to really put forth more and do more to get things across.
And it shows in some of the later TV shows, where you had studio cameramen who had worked in the movies during their Noir period who were now working as TV cameramen. The techniques they learned doing the movies were applied to TV.
That's why some TV shows are classic, and others are drivel.
Best example of this is the 3 camera technique. Who developed it? Desi Arnaz.
Mr. Lucille Ball.
He developed it for use on "I Love Lucy", and he also pioneered the use of preserving a show on film rather than doing it live.
That's why "I Love Lucy" was the first in syndication.
Enough of a rant for now.

Thursday August 20th

Not much to report yet, sitting here getting ready for work.
I've just discovered I have over 2 weeks of vacation time to use before the end of the year - I can't afford to take it all at once, however use it I must, or I'll lose it.
I'm wondering if I can talk your Grandpa Don into a road trip to see you, hopefully before the snow comes. Don't know if that will work out because his schedule is so flaky.
I love you dearly little darling, but we've had this discussion before.
Grandpa Merlin doesn't do snow. Period.
I deal with it only when it happens in Atlanta, and by deal with it I mean I stay in my house if at all possible, and I'm certainly not going somewhere to experience it willingly.

Still more rambling

It's Sunday the 16th - I have today off, so Grandpa Don and I are going to do some shopping and then play computer games and do dinner.
That's something that I hope I'll see - the technology today is so radically different from when I was growing up - once upon a time, we used to hit a square ball across a TV screen in a simulation of ping pong and thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Currently, they're up to the PS3, the XBox 360 and the Game Cube...(all are licensed trademarks of their respective companies, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo) - all of which play (for the moment) amazing games.
And the PC games are even better. But I hope I'm around to see what you get to play with.
Anyway, I'm off to shower, I'll write later.

Late night ramblings

Don't know what I'm going to say, I'm just going to go with a free form kind of post for a little while.
Jessica, if you're reading this, then I harangued your father and he worked on your laptop tonight. What that means in the grand scheme of things I have no earthly idea. But he did reformat the thing.
This will tell me whether or not you really do read the blog by the way.
I don't think I'll mention it to you other than this post.
Yeah, I'm evil. But you know that. Andrea, please remember to ask your mother how long it took to get her laptop. She'll regale you for hours about your Grandpa Don.
Anyway, the knee still hurts. I have problems for a few minutes after sitting down then standing, the knee doesn't want to go with the program.
Dr's appt is Monday the 17th, (this is Friday the 14th) so I think I'll wait to see him rather than making an earlier appointment.
As of now, surgery is off the table.
I went through hell with my feet, I'm not about to repeat something like that with my knee.
Anyway, enough rambling, I'll catch you up on more later.

Today's events

Because of the slip and fall I need physical therapy, however can't afford the co-pay necessary to get it... so I'm doing what I call "dog therapy" - I have a neighbor who needs her dog walked at around noon daily, and that's how I've been exercising the knee.
Why is that important? Because that's the lead in to today's issues.
I left the house by the back door to go get Armand, and heard what sounded like an open faucet running. Given that I don't have a working faucet out back, I made sure I found what was causing the sound.
I found it.
It was like someone had turned on a spigot and let it run - my back yard and a lot of the common area is a swampy mess right now. So I reported it to the HOA, who got a plumber out here, and initially, he said it was my water heater, and that I was going to be responsible for the repair.
I'm on the verge of panic, trying to figure out how I'm going to pay for a new water heater, install and everything else, when he suggests trying turning off the hot water at the source.
I was all for it, and when he did, the water outside kept going - which told him that it wasn't my unit causing the problem, it's the vacant unit next door.
I'm sorry to wish this on someone else, however for once there's a water issue at this place and it's not mine.

Reunions

Unusual title, I know... however let me explain - the other day, when I was headed to Grandpa Don's house I got pulled over and got a ticket.

In the process of getting the ticket, the officer informed me that there was an outstanding warrant for my arrest out of Miami/Dade in Florida.
Given that the last time I was there was about 5 years ago for the Tut exhibit with Grandpa Don, and before that my last visit was some 20 years prior, this completely floored me.

Unfortunately, the only information the officer would give me was that it was a warrant out of Miami/Dade and suggested that I call down there to get details.

Since I was seeing Blake in a couple of days, I waited to talk to him prior to calling the Miami/Dade police department - however Blake's only suggestion was that I contact our cousin Darryl, since he was also a lawyer and licenced to practice in Florida.

I called down to the Miami/Dade PD, and was informed that short of coming in person to verify my identity, I could go to a local police department, prove my identity and have them tell me what the deal was - of course, this wasn't an option, since with an outstanding warrant, I'd end up being arrested and possibly held for extradition down to Florida. This wasn't going to happen.

I did manage to find out that a lawyer could get this information for me, and so that's what I'm trying to do - get Darryl to find out what the hell this is all about, and I'll deal with it if it's valid.
So, in the space of a couple of days, I'm attempting to reestablish contact with relatives I haven't spoken to in decades.

I'm back

Andrea, please forgive your Uncle Merlin for being lazy, depressed, too busy to write and all the other excuses I'll spout for not blogging.
To fill you in, it's been a crazy crazy couple of months, details of which I'll write later - right now, I'm going to relay the incident that's driven me back to the blog.

Recently, I had a slip and fall accident that neccessitated the hiring of a lawyer. So, I went to Blake (to reference, see the family tree posted earlier...he's a cousin, the son of Pattye and Harry) - and after we got our business taken care of, we got to gossipping about family like two old Jewish men tend to do.

Come to find out that our Uncle Gerry had died some months back - Blake and I had the same reaction to his relaying that news, ie "did you make sure they put a stake in the heart, cut off the head and filled the mouth with garlic, and put chains on the coffin?" - As you might be able to tell, Gerry wasn't exactly a favored relative.

Normally, this wouldn't be material for a post - however Blake's next statement proved how wrong I was.

Seems that he and Rodney (that's Babe's middle son) were talking to Gerry's secretary/receptionist, and she dropped a bombshell. Turns out that Gerry was ... how to put this delicately...was getting some action on the side and had been for years.

You might be inclined to think he was shtupping the secretary - that wasn't the case.
There was someone who'd been hanging out at his office for years, and that who Gerry was shtupping - Harvey.
Harvey was introduced to us years earlier as Uncle Gerry's "friend" ... (the quotes are mine, btw) - a travelling salesman who never was on the road, instead spending time at Gerry's office, which is where we almost always ran into him.
The "we" I refer to would be myself, Faye, Sam and Jolene, on our infrequent expeditions downtown.
This really does make a bunch of stuff go "CLICK" for me - for example, why Gerry hated me so especially after I came out. I was living the life he couldn't for all his money.