Senior Discount ? . . .

" You Don't Look Old . . .

(Drop head: " Ain't it a treat to get a compliment?)

Lately I've been wondering how some people judge other people's ages.

Thinking back over a number of incidents and conversations, I have determined that looks, the sound of one's voice, what he or she wears (or maybe doesn't) mannerisms and what he or she uses or drives has a lot to do with age judging.

Lady B and I often eat at Furr's here in our city and payment is rendered at a cashier's booth after we eat. Without fail and no matter who the cashier is or whether he or she knows us, we get an automatic senior citizen discount. We just look old.

Sometimes I get a great compliment. Take for instance the time I stopped at Ma Brown's in town for a couple takeout hamburgers. When it came time to pay, I questioned a seemingly high cost, glancing at a counter sign that says "ten per cent discount to seniors."

I think I was about 85 at the time. The elderly lady who'd filled my order and saw me glance at the sign questioned "oh, are you eligible?" Don't you think THAT made my day?

Geezerguy, who's Yarntangler's mate, tooled around for a couple of years a while back in my old 1979 Datsun which I had provided him for their interim transportation at times when they unhitched it from behind behind their motorhome in which they toured the western states.

He has a long white beard. My Datsun had a army veteran's number plate on the tail end. When it was parked in a rest stop or a campground, that plate often had just the opposite of my encounter at Ma Brown's.

Someone once shuffled up to him and said " I guess you were in World War Two," then asking "were you in combat?" No wonder the youngster now feels like an old man!

By the way, that 1979 Datsun has ended its days, towed away last year to the crusher after valiantly serving for over a half-million miles.

It had a final confrontation, BTW, with the New Mexico motor vehicle department. In the last year of registration, the MVD objected to my rendition of "current odometer" reading of 13,586 miles. I explained the gauge had turned over from its previous mileage during the prior registration year.

"What was the mileage before it turned over?" was the question and my answer of 499,999 miles was not believed but another clerk, who in past years remembered that old Datsun, verified the mileage from prior records. My insurance company also had questioned the mileage.

OTHER STUFF

Would you believe that President Obama makes less each year than the chief adinistrator of a small town in California?

Well, it's so and two other top officials in Bell are / were getting big bucks as well. But no more.

The people have spoken, lots of them, calling for the firing of the three and the recall of most of the city council members!

The top man was getting $787,837 a year and the next two $378,288 and $457,000. Under pressure from a populace figuring this was downright outrageous the three resigned. Now the people are aiming at the yearly retirement pensions of the three, $640,000, $411,000 and $250,000.

With the resignations accepted, the townspeole turned their eyes on the council, with hundreds yelling "recall, recall." Four of the council are paid nearly $100,000 for part time work. I'd love to have a part time job in Bell!

Most of you know I have eye problems, glaucoma as well as macular degeneration. Treatment is eyedrops three times a day but there's a problem with that as well.

I can't see the spouts of the tiny bottles of stuff ($142 every month) well enough to aim into my eyes (I miss three out of five times) so I lay on my bed and Lady B administers the drops.

At this point, Lady B has supervison, not from a doctor or nurse but from Pinky, our fair-haired Chihuahua. When it appears time, Pinky hops on the bed and onto my chest to watch the eyedrop procedure.

Someime back Firefighter Mike from Tennessee, visiting here, noted that the boughs from a number of tall pines were laying on or near the roof of the house and in proper fire safety advice, noted they should be cut back.

Last week the Eight Clouds from San Antonio visited us. Big Cloudy, daddy in the group, climbed atop the house and with a black bow saw, trimmed all the offending limbs and hauled them into the back alley for the trash man to collect.

I intended to saw the limbs later to fit in the dumpster but the next morning Eddie arrived with Goliath,the monster collection truck. Eddie, seeing the piles, shook his head as he told us "I don't know about all this," not knowing I intended to saw all the limbs.

However, Eddie is a nice Joe to all the old folks. He loaded all the limbs into Goliath and they were summarily crushed . Big Cloudy, referring to something I'd earlier told him about Eddie, commented "Guess a cuppa hot coffee or a can of soda whenever he comes along, never hurts, does it."

Sometimes when Goliath and Eddie arrive early in the morning and I haven't heard him, Goliath seems to make a lot of extra noise banging the dumpster until I turn up with the coffee.

Back up a day to the limb cutting. The four Cloud girls in the family, just had to know their dad had done a good job so up the ladder they went, one by one, to the rooftop to inspect and approve the work that Big Cloudy accomplished.

Back to wondering - I've just read in the newspaper that up in Marysville, Montana, where in the 1880s the Drumlummon Mine produced millions in gold and silver, a re-opening is planned because a new vein has been discoverd which may be even richer than the yield way back then. I am wondering - should I head up thataway? The new find is called the CHARLIE vein.

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