Who left the dimensional door open? - Thread 015

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[acnielsen guy]

THREAD 015

Dregs and Flakes

Posts since 1/29/02 17,535

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[palo verde]

sheesh some vote of confidence by my fellow flakes
first I'm told I don't know how to pull up my sox
then I'm told I don't know how to put on panties
I am not retarded you know

[palo verde]

just received your email
glad to know you and habs discussed my panties problem and you concur
thank you for your concern
Love, Palo

[palo verde]

does this mean you're back
I'm still figuring out your hubby's meals
he wakes up you serve him supper
then you pack his lunch
when does he get breakfast

[andysandmikesmom]

OK...time to again hear about Uncle Oscar...I do need to make a corection tho, from those first post about Uncle Oscar...I believe I had stated that all the boys served in WW1...that is not accurate...some of the boys, the older ones, served in WW1...but Uncle Oscar was the baby of the family, and there was a least 20yrs between him and the oldest sibling...so to be correct, I should have said that all the boys, served in the military, and some of them, also served in WW1...believe in being accurate...

Now, in Uncle Oscars family, I cannot think of a single member who had a really bad temper...they were all quirky, and funny and lively in their dealings with each other, and altho conversations often grew quite loud, there was never any real anger...

But Uncle Oscar, every so often, would get really mad, usually about two different things...the first being, that he and Marion had some sort of very strong argument, and she would go off in a huff, back to the hubby, and Oscar were be on his own...

Sometimes he would just schluff the argument off, but other times he would stew, and get madder and madder...

The other thing which made Oscar really angry, was when things at work at the Chicken Factory/Hatchery, would go wrong....usually this involved one of the newer junior bosses, not thinking that Oscar was doing his job quick enough...keep in mind, Oscar had a permanent disability from his broken hip due to his drinking incident...one hip was visibly higher than the other, and he walked with a slight limp...given the level of medical technology at the time he broke the hip, I guess he got the best that could be done at the time...but he had the hip problem for the rest of his life...

Now he never considered this to be a disability...just that he could not maybe be as quick and as fast as others...he worked all of his life in that Chicken Hatchery, and did a fine job...he did not want exceptions made for him, just wanted those in charge to realize, that often he could not be as fast, as some new entry level junior boss wanted him to be...it made him very angry to be considered sub par by some and he would come home from work very unhappy and discouraged, and very angry....

So, when he was really mad or upset about either Marion or his job, he would disappear...for days...usually he would be gone 2-4 days depending on how angry he was and how long it took him to get over it...

The first time he disappeared like this, the whole family thought he was dead somewhere...they looked high and low, but could not figure out where Oscar had gone, or what had happened...I am not sure if they called in the town cop(for in this town, at the time, there was only one cop), or if they fanned out, combing the countryside, looking for Oscar...they never did find him...

Finally he reappeared, just fine and simply explained that he had to get away for while....he did not say where he had gone, and left it at that...

This became something that happened with Oscar once or twice a year...he would have had enough with things, and would disappear...never with an explanation of where he had gone...and soon the family came to accept, that Oscar was an adult, and he could do as he wished, without their having to worry about him...

There was always one of Greatgrammies daughters or daughters-in-law staying at the big house, and apparently Oscar took care to inform his job of his absence, so he knew things were taken care of...

Many years later, when we were visiting New Jersey, Uncle Oscar piled me and my little brother and my dad into his car and said he was taking us for a ride...my Mom stayed back at Greatgrammies house, yakking with the women folk...

Well, Oscar drove for a long while on the main road, and then he got off that road, and we were now on small backroads, going back into the hills...pretty soon we were on nothing but little dirt roads...

When we were almost to where Oscar was taking us, he told us that he was going to show us where he went when he disappeared for days, but that we were not to tell anyone else about this...My dad and Uncle Oscar had a very special bond....altho my dads mom was Oscars sister, and she had grown up there in New Jersey, my dads father was from Philadelphia, and that is where he worked, so when these two married, they set up housekeeping in Philly and that is where dad was born and raised...but dad spent his summers back in New Jersey, living in the big house with Greatgrammie, and Oscar...and Oscar taught dad all about fishing, hunting, boating, chewing tobacco, and well, taught him lots about life...so there was a very special bond between Oscar and my dad, and that is perhaps why Oscar trusted Dad and us kids with his secret...

Finally we turned off the dirt road, and into what looked like a very small town...there were little cabins, little stores, little bars, a few trailers, lots of kids, dogs, cats, and many people, all seemingly hidden back there...

To this day, I have no idea what that was all about, who those people were, and what they were doing there...it seemed to me over the years, that these folk were either felons on the run, or people who considered themselves to be on the fringes of society...they obviously had some sort of contact with the outside world, as they had food, and liquor and pop in the little bars, but they just seemed to me to be a group of people who wanted to live on the fringe of society...they even had a little church and a little schoolhouse...

We stayed there for a few hours...dad and Oscar went into the bar for a while...me and my brother played with some of the children and their pets, under the supervision of several women...

And it was to this little place, that Oscar would go, when he disappeared from great grammies big house...he would stay there for a few days, and then return home...where he met these people originally and how they came to accept him up there a few times a year, is still a mystery, as Oscar showed us this place, but was not forthcoming with any details...

This little place had no name that I know of, it was not on any map, yet it did exist...its one of the mysteries from the life of Uncle Oscar...

The next installment, will tell of how, since the family accepted these disappearances, how one time it actually backfired for poor Uncle Oscar...

[habs4ever]

Sounds like Westy's routine...get up at 6pm to have breakfast ;-)

[andysandmikesmom]

The husbands meals are very confusing arent they? Thats because he works such odd hours, 4pm-3:30am...so here is how it goes...

He wakes up between 12-12:30pm...he then has yogurt and oj, followed by a few cups of coffee..we talk and discuss things..depending on what else he has to do, he usually wants his meal at 1;30-2:00pm...that is when he wants his dinner...so I cook a big full meal for that time...

Then he relaxes, and starts getting ready for work...and leaves at 3pm...while he is getting ready, I pack his lunch(Which he usually takes at around 11pm at work)...then he leaves work at 3;30am...

Sometimes on his way home from work, he stops off at a local place and has some breakfast burritos...other times he wants me to leave him a bowl of his 'Oat Bran' hot cereal, made and gussied up with butter, brown sugar, walnuts and raisins...then he goes to sleep around 4:30am and we start all over again....

Its topsy-turvy indeed, as far as meals go...his work schedule is the opposite of most peoples...when he is going to work, many people are getting ready to leave theirs, and when he leave work, most people have only a short while before they need to be getting up...

I remember this odd schedule as a kid also, because my dad always worked graveyard shift, at the Sunbeam factory...he liked it becaus it meant more money, and no bosses or supervisors at night...

I always remember we used to eat dinner at 4pm..which was too early for most people...and mom always packed dad his 'lunch' and thermos of coffee, for his lunchtime break in the middle of the night...

Its an odd schedule indeed...

[westmex]

Fossetts Position
......Westy...

[lodwick]

Goodness. You must go back and find Oscar's get away village.
I want to move there!

Thanks so much for the rememberances. We love them!

Props to you Ocsar. RIP

[lodwick]

I did the graveyard shift in college.
Wicky wacky, as Palo would say.
But the pay was double time, and we
only had to be there 6.5 hours and
credited for 8!
Props to Al. Hang in there. You do the same Mom.
The motor home is just around the corner. ;-)

[lodwick]

The Seven Dwars and the Pope

The 7 dwarfs go to the Vatican, and because they are THE dwarfs, they are ushered in to see the Pope.

Dopey leads the pack. "Son," says the Pope, "What can I do for you?"

Dopey replies, "Excuse me, your Excellency, but are there any dwarf nuns in Rome?"

The Pope wrinkles his brow at the odd question, thinks for a moment and answers, "No, Dopey, there are no dwarf nuns in Rome."

In the background, a few of the dwarfs start giggling. Dopey turns around and gives them a glare, silencing them. Dopey turns back, "Your Worship, are there any dwarf nuns in all of Europe?"

The Pope, puzzled now, again thinks for a moment and then answers, "No, Dopey, there are no dwarf nuns in Europe."

This time, all the other dwarfs burst into laughter. Once again, Dopey turns around and silences them with an angry glare.

Dopey turns back to the Pope and says, "Mr. Pope, are there ANY dwarf nuns anywhere in the world?"

"I'm sorry, my son, there are no dwarf nuns anywhere in the world."

The other dwarfs collapse into a heap, rolling and laughing, pounding the floor, tears rolling down their cheeks as they begin chanting...





"Dopey screwed a penguin!


Dopey screwed a penguin!"


234 posted on 6/24/02 6:42 PM Central by Rowdee

[andysandmikesmom]

Glad you enjoy Oscars life..he was quite a grand guy...I have often wondered about that getaway village...and I guess I will have to wonder all my life, because Oscar did only the 'show' but would not do the 'tell'

When my husband got his job working as a mail handler at the Tacoma post office, they always hire you, under a category, which indicates you have not yet been permanently slotted...as slots become available, your position on the list determines when and what slot you get...that first time around you cannot refuse the slot you are given...

So the hubby got this slot, 7pm-3:30am, Monday through Friday...he worked that for a few years, and altho it was difficult to adjust to it in the beginning, he got used to it...as other slots became available to him, either because of some retiring, or some taking other slots, he found that he like his slot...primarily because it gave him both Sat. and Sun off...and he likes his weekend, primarily because of the sports on televison on the weekend...

And when he would look at other slots, alth the times were better, the days were not...very few actual slots on the docks of the post office, allow for anyone having both Sat. and Sun off...the post office docks never shut down, and they are always busy...so the hubby is just lucky that he has always had his Sat and Sun off...

Since his slotted work beginning time is 7pm, and also that he is on the ODL(Overtime Desired List), he usually is requested to come in at either 4pm or 5pm...so that overtime money is really grand, when you know retirement is near...

Heres a really odd thing tho...the fella who lives across the street from us, also works for the post office..tho he works in the local Olympia office, and he is a carrier...but both the hubby and he work for the same employer...the USPS...

Now when the hubby returns from work at 4:30-5:00am, the fella across the street is walking his dogs, and soon thereafter he pulls out for work...he returns from work at 2:30pm at the point where the hubby is getting ready for his shower, and getting ready for work...

We laugh...both guys working for the post office, but have almost exactly opposite schedules...they are like two ships passing in the night...

[lodwick]

Hubby's work is tough. Those docks, if they're like the ones in north Texas, can be brutal, depending on the weather.

Back in the day, the trucks would back up to these unprotected docks, open the doors and wait for all we mullets to get all the sacks of mail and packages unloaded. Rain, sleet, hail, whatever - the trucks never varied their schedule.

This helped me decide that Rain, nor Snow, nor Dead of night, nor Whatever would keep me from NOT staying with the USPS. ;-)

[westmex]

Mom, you might want to take a look at this site. See if you can use it from where you are. I use it sometimes. Other times I use msn..Gives you a backup ISP at no cost..
NoCharge ISP
......Westy....

[andysandmikesmom]

Thanks Westy...apparently I can get this, as it has included phone numbers from our area code...I will wait until the son comes over and have him help me install it...I am really a computer dunce, and always afraid that I will do something wrong...but its nice to have a backup....thanks...

[andysandmikesmom]

I think those docks are much like you remember them...of course our weather here is not exteme...still in the winter, the hubby needs his warm jackets, and woolen caps, as he is outside and in the weather for much of his time at work...

And hes quite tricky...he goes through several jackets a wear, just from the wear and tear moving all that mail...so once a year, he just goes to Goodwill, and purchases several shirt jackets...says there no sense on buying brand new jackets, just to ruin them on the post office docks...

[grannie9]

Hi Loddy, Hi Mom.. Just catching up on the thread...

[grannie9]

Oh.. Hi Westy..;)

[westmex]

The end of the good old days...lol
Click
......Westy....

[andysandmikesmom]

Well, shoot...that grand institution of the outhouse, slowly going the way of extinction...that is sad...

How many camping trips did I make as a child, and remembering our trips to the stinky 'woody-woods' as we called it...especially going there at night, wondering what was lurking in there...

Or my dads small triumphs, posting his little signs on the outhouse walls...

Back there in Frenchtown, where the Uncle Oscar saga takes place, for as long as I can remember, they always had indoor plumbing, and a few bathrooms, with such a large family...

But they also always had the outhouse out back...and often, depending on how many folks were up at greatgrammies house, that outhouse was in full operation...

And I remember walking down the back lanes in Frenchtown, all the homes did have indoor plumbing, but nearly every house, still had its outhouse out back...

You know, today, Frenchtown has almost become a Yuppie Haven, full of Board and Breakfast, and Inns, and Antique shops and the like...it not really that far from NYC, and many New Yorkers, have actually made the move to Frenchtown, to be away from the city...

All those old victorian homes that my family owned and lived in, and where I spent many sleep overs with my cousins, are now all worth about a zillion dollars, because of this...

And what I wonder is, have they torn down all those wonderful outhouses? I bet they have...yet they are an icon from the past, if you ask me, full of character of a bygone time...

Oh well, I still have my outhouse paintings, that my dad did...they hang, of course, in my bathroom...

[westmex]

FYAOC for Palo..lol..

...Westy....