January 27, 2020
The funniest thing ever . . . I stayed in a hotel most of the nights in LaJunta except Sunday night when Sue and I stayed with Donna. On one of the nights before the funeral I was carrying stuff into the side door of the hotel when a large figure was coming along the sidewalk by the building moving very fast. He was going to reach the door about the same time as me. I tried to go faster but when I did he would also run faster. Needless to say I was scared to death and my heart was pounding way too fast; it was all happening so quickly that I couldn't even say a prayer🙏😲🙏. After I reached the door and was fumbling with my card key, I looked over and the person was gone. Relieved, I hurried and went back to my car to get a second load. When I turned around the same person was coming towards me. Finally I just stopped, figuring if I was going down I'd at least make a run in the opposite direction or stand my ground and figure out what he wanted.
I was sorely relieved 😂😂😅!
The Monday after the funeral I was going to caravan to Oklahoma with Sue but I went to the Insta-care instead. I had had laryngitis all day Friday and Saturday and by Sunday afternoon my throat started hurting; when I woke up Monday morning it was burning and I could barely swallow. My ear was having some pain, too. The Nurse was amazing (LDS) but the doctor (PA) was a bit of a pill; very arrogant and he did seem to know just about everything there is to know about everything 😏. He came in alone and checked my throat, ears, chest, lungs and temperature. He did ask about any travels to China (which I was clueless about the Corona Virus at this point); I did mentioned that I still had my China Visa that didn't expire for another 7 years. He assured me that I didn't have the Corona Virus 😌😏😓. Then he told me my throat ache was just a virus infection, "What?" I asked sweetly, ("I beg to differ", went off in my head). He said it was not strep or bacteria. I asked innocently, "How do you know it's not bacteria?". He gave me all the statistics and the lecture on how people are over using antibiotics, "blah, blah, blah". I tried to explain that:
1. My throat was literally killing me,
2. I never get fevers even when I have a bacteria infection,
3. I am more than careful with my use of antibiotics and
4. He should look at the individual patient and not just go off statistics.
He would not budge and said he knew better than me. At that point I asked him if he was the only doctor available to see me. He stopped talking, wrote me out a prescription for amoxicillin (3000mg a day < a bit too high) and sent me on my way BUT before he left he told me that it wasn't his fault or he won't be blamed if I get 'bacterial resistance' (like I was a druggie trying to get my next hit). Needless to say by the next evening my throat was cleared up, completely. Sometimes, when you are as old as I am 😜, you know your own body and sicknesses better than many doctors and it's amazing how you will stick up for yourself and not back down.
I rested all day Monday and took off for Oklahoma early the next morning. My rental car did not have a radio (that I could figure out) so for the next 7 hours I took turns listening to the 2 CD's I found in Dad's room: I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, Delta Dawn, etc. and a Polka collection! I will not complain because it made the time go faster and now I'm ready for the next Karaoke contest!
The next stop was to see my (Uncle) Jimmy ( when we were young he was my best friend and playmate at the ranch). This is a picture of my Papaw's (and Grand-Mom's) Cattle Ranch; 800 acres in Stigler, Oklahoma where they bought, raised and sold cattle. It was beautiful and astounding. When I would visit, Jimmy would get up at the crack of dawn and do all his morning chores. I'd roll out of bed, eat breakfast, grab some snacks and head down to the horses (I know, the 'lazy' life of luxury). Usually Jimmy would have our horses all saddled up and ready to go; we'd hop on the horses and I'd yell out, "Get on your marks, get set . . ." and off I would go. I'm sure if he hadn't been such a gentleman (age 10-16) he would not have let me begin the starting command (but on the other hand I am sure I didn't give him the chance, being the competitive person that I am [cheating?])! I only thought this was fair since it was obvious that he had been herding cattle since he was 3 years old and could handle a little competition! We would ride forever. There was a beautiful pond/creek up in the hills and it was breathtaking. Jimmy was more of a brother to me (us being only a year apart) and he was my bestest friend and the reason I enjoyed going with my Dad to my Papaws and Grand~Mom's.
After my Mom and Dad got married there was a cattle scandal that my Papaw was involved in and my Dad ended up taking the blame; consequently my Dad could never sale or do business in Oklahoma again. This is what took them to Meade, KS (where I was born) and 2 months later to Colorado. My Mom was thrilled to leave the Ranch; needless to say she couldn't stand my Papaw even before this happened (and I'm thinking for good reason).
I have pictures of my Dad's plane in a crash when he totaled it
and other pics but they are at home in Alpine in my album.
I did love flying to Stigler, OK with my Dad in his little 4 passenger Cessna airplane. I didn't see my Dad very often but when I did I would see him as this nice man who had money (or at least more than my Mom and us kids 😉), had a plane, had horses and would take us kids to the Denver National Western Stock Show and Rodeo every couple years. I can remember Jill and I getting all dressed up in our cowboy shirts, classy jeans, cowboy hats and cowboy boots; it was my Disneyland! My brother didn't go on many activity's with my Dad and most people at the funeral didn't even know Dad had a son (which was very sad to me). Us kids would also get to go to Farr's Cafeteria with my Dad on some occasions (which I loved). He would say, "Take all you want but you better eat all you take". This was like a toddler going to a candy store and saying, "one piece only". The cafeterias back then were like the hospital cafeterias today where you pay for each item. Since we never got to go out to dinner it was so exciting I could hardly stand it. Everything there looked so scrumptious. I had never seen such a beautiful food displayed in such an array of color. I thought I had died and gone to food Heaven. Well, you can well imagine that my eyes were always bigger than my tummy and I could never eat it all; I'd have to walk the path of shame to the car (and they didn't even have doggie bags to save it for later). Don't get me wrong. I had a very happy childhood and wouldn't trade it for anything. But like I said before everyone's perspective of someone is almost always different. Child support wouldn't quite pay our rent for our apartment and my Mom worked from 7am to 5pm all my life. She did the very best she could and I admire her for her endurance while trying to raise 3 children by herself. Again, all I can say is I hope our kids don't judge us too harshly for all the mistakes we've made raising them (although we do think they are all pretty awesome) but I know there are things I did as a parent that I wish I had done differently! Anyhooo, love your family; warts and all!
