Sunday, August 26, 2018

July 2018

**************** July 2018 ****************


If I didn’t write it I take my Cassie for a walk everyday. I been really working on editing my book throughout the month of July; it’s over one hundred thousand words now :)



Sunday 01- Clear 102° | 71°
I did my stretches.
Called a few friends and family just to check in.

Monday 02- Clear 102° | 72°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a mile and a half.


Tuesday 03- Clear 102° | 75°
I did my stretches.

Wednesday 04-  102° | 70°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a mile and a half.
I could barely see the fireworks going off in the surrounding area to the south from my property. 

Thursday 05- Clear 104° | 31°
I did my stretches and jogged a mile and a half.
I went to my appointment at the Hi Desert Physical Therapy.
Game Night Every Thursday Night 6-9PM
Had lots of fun yammering away telling stories and playing pool

Friday 06- Cloudy 109° | 93°
I did my stretches.
I took Kelly to the drug store in JT. 
Me and Cassie went over to Kjtel’s to watch another episode of the documentary about New York.
Saturday 07- Thunderstorms 109° | 90°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a mile and a half.
Sunday 08- Thunderstorms 105° | 84°
I did my stretches.
I didn’t go to the Poetry reading this month because I feared the dirt roads would be washed out because of the storms.

Monday 09- Thunderstorms 107° | 84°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a mile and a half.

Tuesday 10- Cloudy 97° | 77°
I did my stretches and jogged a mile.
Cassie and I went to Katel’s for dinner and a movie... watched several episodes of Game of Thrones.

Wednesday 11- Lots of heavy rain! Thunderstorms 97° | 72°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a mile and a half.
I got back from my jog just as the rain started to fall, and fall it did all day long. Winters Road was flooded and cars were having trouble getting across the two feet of muddy water that we up here call Lake Lucille. During the height of the downpour Kjtel had to hurry outside in her pajamas with a shovel in tow to redirect the flood of water coming into her home.
I had to cancel my appointment with Hi Desert Physical Therapy because of the roads being washed out.

Thursday 12- Thunderstorms 96° | 82°
I did my stretches.
Stevie my neighbor called and we yapped for an hour catching up on stuff, and then she told me why she called; her computer was down. I got on my bike and rode on over only falling once in the slick mud at the bottom of the hill. I fixed her computer and was back home in 30 minutes.

Friday 13- Cloudy 100° | 80°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a mile.
Road maintenance came to repair our roads this afternoon...

Saturday 14- Cloudy 107° | 84°
I did my stretches.

Sunday 15- Cloudy 105° | 82°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a mile.
I went outside this evening to watch the MOON-VENUS CONJUNCTION.

Monday 16- Cloudy 102° | 71°
I did my stretches and jogged a mile.

Tuesday 17- Humid 105° | 87°
I did my stretches.

Wednesday 18- Thunderstorm 102° | 80°
I did my stretches and jogged a mile.
I drove to Twentynine to Hi Desert Physical Therapy. I stopped off at the post office and then Staters to get some supplies.

Thursday 19- Very humid 102° | 81°
I did my stretches.

Friday 20- much more humid 104° | 82°
I did my stretches.

Saturday 21- Bone sucking humid 97° | 81°
I did my stretches. Just too humid to do anything else.

Sunday 22- Still humid. Mostly sunny 105° | 80°
I did my stretches.

Monday 23- Mostly sunny 109° | 86°
I did my stretches, yoga and jogged a mile.
Cassie and me went over to Kjtel’s house to visit her and her dog Bodhi. 

Tuesday 24- Mostly sunny 114° | 88°
I did my stretches.
Cassie and me went to Kjtel’s to watch a few episodes of Game of Thrones.

Wednesday 25- Mostly sunny 113° | 89°
I did my stretches, yoga and jogged a mile.
I went to Twentynine Palms for my Hi Desert Physical Therapy session. I made a stop at Subway and Staters Bros.

Thursday 26- Mostly sunny 114° | 84°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a mile.
Smoke from the fire in Idyllwild hit our area this evening. I heard the authorities caught the idiot who set the fires. If he is found guilty I can only hope he gets life in prison for all the damage and suffering he has caused... I can only imagine what the critters went through and the folks who live up there losing everything... up here it’s folks with breathing problems who are having trouble.
I went to Game Night at our Community and yakked my dang fool head off with others doing the same. Mac won pot at the end of the poker game with a devil of a hand. Folks were playing pool and pinball. Hot dogs, popcorn, and coffee were on hand to provide us what nourishment our bodies required.

Friday 27- Very bad smoke from the fires. Mostly sunny 111° | 87°
I did my stretches and exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells.

Saturday 28- Smoke 109° | 81°
I got up at the ungodly hour of 7:00AM and did my stretches.
I went down to take a CERT test to get my certification card: Introduction to ICS and NIMMS (IS100/IS700) DSW Certification class. I had a wonderful time. The instructor was magnificent and knowledgeable in her presentation. Seeing my friends Carl and Steve there brought back a flood of memories of the Lake Fire; manning Station 38, all the wonderful Firefighters, Cert personnel, and towns people who brought tons of food and other supplies. To me the memories of those 11 days I will cherish. What little part I played I am honored I was given the opportunity to have served together with other CERT members to make a difference.
After I successfully finished the test I drove to our community center for PotLuck!!!
We had a delightful potluck last Saturday. During the summer months we usually don’t get the big crowds of the other months. Folks are off on vacation or just staying home out of the heat. But a few diehards show up like family at Christmas. Pretty Patti baked a peanut butter pie that stuck to the roof of your mouth. Mack tossed up a salad. Kip slid in with chips and guacamole. Kim from China spooned out her sweet potato soup. Cal Mayers offered up his fruit plate. Jeff simmered a casserole. Chris created a barbecue beef with beans dish. Dyan Carroll was mighty happy to share with us her ham and cheese rollups and Coca Cola cake and I was mighty happy to eat it all!

Sunday 29- Smoke 105° | 82°
Dang, too much some to exercise, but I did my stretches.
I’ve been staying in the house most of the time messing around with my computers, cleaning or working on my book. This month has been very hard on my exercise routine because of the heat and humidity, and now the smoke from the fires in Idyllwild.

Monday 30- Smoke 108° | 86°
I did my stretches and lifted weights.
Me and Cassie went to Kjtel’s to watch more of Game of Thrones.

Tuesday 31- Smoke  and thunderstorms 107° | 86°
I did my stretches.
I drove to Yucca Valley for my appointment with Dr. Salhotra. I got gas, stopped at LabCorp to drop off a sample, I went to Subway and Staters, and then to see the Doc.
I found out I lost two of my childhood friends this month. I guess we lose more as we get older.

**************** Stuff I wrote this month ****************

I see lightning in skies, I see the stars riding the Moon above, I can see forever at a glance, and I stand here pondering how majestic and magical it all is to be alive
~RD

A photo of a young girl, an image from my past, a flood of memories awakens a distant time, from a different era. Falling like pitter patter of gentle rain to sprinkle patterns upon my brain. Friends appear from long ago, a reminisce of restless youth, casting rays of sunshine on my soul. I dwell, I ponder, and try to capture, the essence of what once was and finally meant to be, before these flee my aging memory.
Rest easy now lovely lass, pass your days in fields of rolling grass, high on yonder hill blowing dandelion seeds into the wind, free now to fly, set fire the lofty sky, with brilliant hues of blues, reds and greens.
This photo is how I will always remember you; young, vibrant with a whole future of possibilities ahead.
Be at peace my friend.
~RD

Yeah I know... I live in my imagination sometimes :)
Time ticks-tocks away second by second day by day and who's to say where it goes or why it doesn’t stay. Living in the moment, not living in the past, think about the future, all these things will pass. To seek a higher order, to lie upon the grass; smell the flowers, hear the birds sing with joy as we try to ponder with understanding a new reality yet to be revealed. We will come to the end of this journey and rest in peace we shall. But before we leave this Earth of ours and travel into the unknown, may we leave a little bit of ourselves behind, to say to those who follow, Hey I was here and stayed a while and left without any trouble.
~RD


I have friends who are either staunch Democrats or Republicans. Both argue about petty and trivial matters feeling only their way is right and no other missing the grander scope of the world.
I have devout religious friends of different faiths who bicker over dogma and which religion or God gets them into heaven while missing what faith is really all about.
These two groups I have mentioned have trouble finding common ground... some even hate each other with a passion I find very disturbing.
But I love each and every one of them. I believe many of you feel the same as I.
Someday I hope there will arise an understanding, a consciousness, an awaking that we are all one, entangled together on this tiny beautiful planet along with other living creatures and that life is the most precious of all in this immense vacant universe.

~RD

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