Monday's Missives

One of these are not like the others.

• When I was a kid my brother was a Decatur volunteer firefighter. Through him I heard a story about a guy we always saw driving an old Caprice or Impala around all the time. It was I think brown in color and was outfitted with whip antennae. He discovered and then reported a couple of fires. This was applauded (I recall money being pooled for a set of tires). The warm fuzziness did not last long though as the number of fires mounted- fires that were always oddly in proportion to his proximity...
• I have always wondered about that guy through the years.  The only other detail I seem to recall is his CB was first taken away with the idea being if he could not report the fires-  he would not start them. The fires continued. He merely drove somewhere to report them by phone ( I oddly specifically recall him starting one and reporting it from M&M  Food Mart). Subsequently, the car was then taken away from him. If alive, he would be at least into his late 70s and very likely into his 80s.
• Know that story? I have asked around. People know the story but they thought it a common enough tale they knew they could be getting facts mixed up. As in, it could have even been somewhere else they were thinking of entirely, or my story did not match theirs, so they are unsure whose recall is faulty- mine or theirs etc.
• Multiple people said to the effect of, You know- that sounds real familiar but maybe it happened somewhere else and we just heard about it?!
  
  
• If you get mosquito or chigger bites etc. try soaking a paper towel in glass cleaner containing ammonia and place that on the area.
• For some reason (and I am not complaining) I never get bitten by chiggers any more although I spend hours a week in the outdoors traipsing around. I honestly wonder if there are fewer of them around while again- not complaining or inviting kharma to assail me with a new strain of giant flesh eating chiggers.
• My spellcheck did not like chiggers and autocorrected to chargers.

  

  What kind of monster eats extra crunchy peanut butter?

• As an old girlfriend would get ready for the day I would play music for us based on requests she would make and new music I had found I thought she would like. At some point I would always have to straighten her hair for her with a flat iron. Her hair was pretty and soft and she put streaks of pink, blue and purple throughout. As we would hug goodbye she would get me to squeeze her to pop her back before she walked out. It was nice. It was nice to be nice in those ways.
• A good, simple and perfect memory and good memories are all that will keep us going some day.
• Honestly- I cannot overstate what those simple times mean to me to recall.

  

  Found this guy upside down and done- he was about to croak I think. Weird thing? I watched the scene from Blade Runner where Leon gets asked about the tortoise in the desert the same morning I found him.

  
  

  

  He will have crazy story to tell at the TVFW hall.