Wedding Song - God Knew That I Needed You

Saturday, March 21, 2020

KENNY ~ R.I.P.

Before I slipped under the sheets last night, I saw in the phone's news feed that Kenny Rogers had died earlier in the day.

5 decades immediately passed before my eyes; Kenny had been a part of my life even before Bob.

The following Youtube music video is my favorite Kenny Rogers song - he sang it with his band, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition. Media sources keep saying Kenny was a country singer … and he was LATER IN HIS CAREER – but he was a rock and roll singer before he crossed over to country.

And much has been made of him singing with Dolly Parton too; BUT he also sang with Dottie West, and when they sang together it was pure magic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqLWIiuwu8U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K59sCjyv38

As a youth, and later a teen, I walked all over the Skamokawa valleys ... and later to Graysriver, Altoona, Pillar Rock, & Eden Valley: even into Naselle when Apello's Store relocated (I'd always buy a coke for my return trip back home in Skamokawa). I saved every cent I made babysitting, chopping/bundling kindling, picking blackberries-strawberries-cucumbers; I used that money to buy undercover cigarettes (though I think my mother figured out I was smoking), cokes for my weekend walkabouts, and even a little brown leather cased transistor radio & a pocket camera I used well into the 1980's when it was later replaced by a very spendy top-notch camera outfit, thank you, Babe!

And always - ALWAYS - Kenny was there. In the background; with his gravelly voice.



At one time, Bob even resembled Kenny with his long, wavy, should-length hair; and aviator shades. Bob would eventually grow a mustache & a beard too.

This song too:
LOTS of memories with Bob when love was buring – lying together heart to heart; listening to lover’s whispers & the radio belt this song out while summer breezes made the open window curtains dance on the river breeze. And - now I am crying ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO1CqLpadAM

There was a time in our marriage when Bob worked away from home all week, coming home on weekends – and one December he got so sick with walking pneumonia that he didn’t get home for 2 weeks … and when he staggered through the door at home, I was scared: he looked like walking death. The kids were scared too – they cried to let him open their homemade Christmas gifts to him the next day; Stacey and Sara sat at his feet crying while his long fingers fumbled at the wrapping, and he smiled weakly, praising the kids when he saw their gifts – Bob loved kids, and he was a good dad. I took him to Dr. Avalon’s Office as soon as it opened Monday morning, and refused to let him go back to work until his lungs were clear. Bob had a good Boss that loved us like his own kids – Jimmy Durrah knew Bob’s family from waaaay back ‘when’; and didn’t want to lose Bob as his main employee: Bob was home for two weeks.


During those times of Bob’s absence from home, Cathlamet being the gossiping and cheating small town that it is, had a lot of rumors flying about Bob and me: and I think, based on what our children say, they believed those rumors. But BOB AND I KNEW what the truth was. We were not ‘separated, on the verge of divorce’: Bob was logging away from home. While working up the Toutle, he was camped in the back yard of our friends, Bill and Punkie Shelton; he was borrowing his parent’s pickup-bed-camper and living in that all week, coming home Friday nights after work – and leaving again Sunday morning. Another year, Bob worked in Glenoma, WA, and we bought a small Taurus travel trailer with that year’s Income Tax Return – he parked that in an RV spot until that job played out; again, coming home Fridays and leaving again Sundays. This went on for years – I eventually got my driver’s license so the kids and I could go see him once in a while. There was no separation … there was w.o.r.k. happening.

There was that one winter Bob was gone so long because travel had been hampered by the snowy weather in Glenoma: he’d let his har grow to keep his neck warm, and he’d grown a full beard too, to keep his face warm; and  when he was finally able to came home that Friday evening, I wasn’t home: Stacey and I were visiting Sharon and her kids, and when Bob showed up looking for me, Sharon answered her door and turned saying, “Val … there’s a strange man here asking for you.” I was mystified, but I went to see who it was – AND DID NOT RECOGNIZE BOB. I asked, “Yes? I’m Val. Why are you asking for me?” Bob laughed, and said, “It’s me, Val. I’ll be home for a while before going back.” We both had a good laugh, and agreed he needed a shave and a cut ;-)

But there was love. Always love. We trusted each other.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO5pKJWavv8

People who didn’t know us were always surprised to find out how long we’d been married. Even after 4 decades we looked into each other’s eyes when we spoke – we spoke as 1. We leaned into each other when we stood, walked, sat together; we held hands – Bob would drape his arm across my shoulders, and I’d lay my hand on his thigh. Even the ER teams, and his surgical team would smile and say. “You 2 are too cute together."

And we'd look into each other's eyes, smile - and say, "We love each other."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtPh-c-qh00

I love you, Babe.

Always ~ OX

Memories.

Of Bob.

Of Kenny.


Both men both left their impressions on my life; both are missed. A LOT.

Sleep took a loooooong time to kick in last night ... and this morning is a little soggy.

R.I.P. Kenny - thanks for the memories.

**********

I gotta stop tripping down Memory Lane now, or I’m gonna float away.

FIRST DAY OF SPRING ~ Shabbat Sunset

The first day of Spring 2020, started out nippy this morning with a 37-degree wake-up … and amped up to 67-degrees by the twilight hour.

The first thing this morning while I was tending to household chores, and preparing the castle to become my Shabbat Island of Rest, I saw on my phone’s newsfeed that Larry the Cable Guy had blasted celebrities for posting themselves singing john lennon’s imagine song – and I have to agree with him; it in bad taste considering that most of America, as well as 95% of the world, cannot hole up behind security walls and have curbside groceries delivered to them: calimexarabia alone – of ALL the States in America – has the largest homeless population: with tent cities everywhere and human feces piling up in the streets … and narcissist celebrities are posting pictures of themselves making fools of themselves singing a song of hopelessness (and doing it very badly! NONE of them could carry a tune), IN A TIME when most are feeling hopelessness. Grabbing for attention while people are actually dying for lack of real help (medical, physiological, spiritual), malnutrition, and unsanitary living conditions. Those rich morons, living their fantasy characters on screen/off screen … bitching about ‘the rich’ they claim to hate while amassing riches themselves; and ignoring the hopelessly poor amongst them, while baying about hopelessness in a song that amplifies hopelessness: they are clueless to ANY realities in real time.

Their hypocritical, ridiculous, and TRULY AWFUL ‘contribution’ is proof there is hell on earth. MPO (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sFLqGfSnVQ)

I also saw that Mitch McConnel was pushing for a final vote on the coronavirus aid spending Bill by tonight (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfAHqAJJbdE).

The politicians left the Capitol late in the evening, saying that progress had been made, but there are a several issues yet unresolved – planning to meet again tomorrow to hammer out the finer details: schumer is the fly in the ointment; as usual: he pushed for far too much, and holds everything up far too long.

“We need to deliver relief now,” McConnell said on the Senate floor, “We need to go big – and we need to move swiftly.” But it looks like the demoncrat bullies of the block are going to try to ram their pet projects through on the coattails of this proposed coronavirus driven stimulus Bill, and will continue to make life hard for everyone if their demands are not met … which will result in missing the deadline for the ‘largest economic rescue in American History. Moving swiftly will come to a screeching halt.

And President Trump told Americans that their Income Tax filings deadline has been rescheduled from April 15th, 2020; to July 15th, 2020:


Throughout the day, today, I did a couple loads of laundry, baked Challah loaves-dinner rolls-cinnamon rolls; and hopped in the car to watch the sunset – riverside.


Around 6 PM, I saw I was low on refrigerated butter, so I went out to the shed to grab some more out of the chest freezer … and found that the overhead florescent light has gone out. Permanently. At first, I was a little concerned, thinking maybe a breaker had been blown … but the compact chest freezer works fine, and the house electricity was okay; so, I knew it was only the florescent light fixture.  I gave my youngest BIL, Kerry, a shout, and he has agreed to switch it out for me when life gets back to normal (I am thankful! It’s 9 feet in the air, and I can’t afford to have an electrician do it) – we’ll take this one out and exchange it for an LED type of light fixture: he recently did that at his place. I was going to ask him if there was that kind of possibility, but he told me it was before I could even voice my question ;-) And the LED fixture is not that expensive either, so it’s totally doable. Kerry’s a good guy. I am blessed.

Elohim is faithful – He has provided willing helpers for me: willing to do for me what I cannot do for myself … and willing to patiently teach me what I can do on my own, once I am shown how to do it. I am a quick study ;-)

For now, I can use the flashlight when I have to retrieve something from the shed – even in broad daylight the shed is kinda dark because of the way it’s situated.

That snafu settled, I finished laundry and bread baking; and went for a sunset walk out at Willow Grove Park …

Plan on walking Willow grove trail and viewing river sunset.
A ‘Dumbo head’ cloud :-D
Something to do around the house while waiting this pandemic out.
Sun starting to slide over the horizon; 6:57 PM
Wondering about the stories this pumice could tell if I could hear it speak.
The setting sun looks like it is passing through the hill, rather than slipping down behind it ...

While watching the sun slide over the horizon, I found out that Willow Grove Park currently closes the Park gates at 7:30 PM (will close at 10 PM Summertime); but I did get to see the sunset – I’m happy about that:

Mt. St. Helens swathed in pink twilight.
A cargo ship sailing towards a topaz sunset lighting up the horizon.
An hour after arriving, I am leaving: entrance locked up. Same sky - different background.

All in all, the first day of Spring 2020 was off to a good start ;-)

L’Chiam!

I love you, Yeshua.

I love you, Bob.

Always ~ OX