GOOD MORNING, FRIENDS

A REMEMBERAMBLE FOR OCTOBER 02, 2025

I do believe we have successfully stumbled into the beginning of dang Thursday. I should not label Thursday as being "danged," although they are a stumbling block in the path to Friday, but if we did not have Thursdays, we would get sidetracked trying to find a place for Friday, and paychecks galore would be walking the roads and byways looking for their owners. It could be a big old mess, some would get lost, and a wild rubberstamp could prey on them by stamping them in blood red dye with the words, "insufficient funds," for grins and giggles. A few things are jumping around in my head, demanding to be let out.

I will get to them momentarily, but first I will tell you of my day, yesterday. Some of you may be aware, if you pay attention to my whining close enough, that I had to stop working until I have my eye surgery. As I have been getting Medicare for a while now, but wanted to wait until I was sixty-seven to draw my Social Security benefits. I will be sixty-seven on the last day of this month, Halloween. When I applied, they informed me that someone had been using my identity for several years, so that held up the process.

So, they sent me forms to fill out declaring that I had not worked at the businesses the other person had worked, in 2023, 2024, nor presently. I went to Statesboro last week for my two o'clock appointment to get that straightened out. As I was passing the Statesboro Mall, I got a telephone call from an agent at the Social security office asking if I wanted to just do it over the phone. I pulled over into the mall parking lot and answered his questions, he and the others I have dealt with there, have been nice and helpful. He sent me two pages of forms on my phone, to fill out and return, and I was glad to get that done.

I filled them out printed them out and signed them, and went over there today to hand them to them, in order to expedite matters. On the way to Statesboro I was talking to my friend Lee Webster, and when I told him I was headed to the Social Security office, he said they might not be open. I said why not, it was no federal holiday. He said because of the government shutdown. The government shutdown was news to me, as I have stopped watching the news. Well, they were open, and I was glad they were, so I could give them the forms and supposedly, after that, I would have no other impediments to receiving my benefits.

The nice lady told me that they could take my forms and file them but they could not process anything until the government shutdown ended. When it does end and they can begin processing claims, there will be a backlog, so I might not get approved for another month or two. That is just my luck, this has been a series of mild calamities indeed. I can't work until I have my eye surgery, and I can't draw my Social Security benefits at the present time. Out of work with no income. Ya gotta laugh, it sure beats squalling. A light topic I wanted to mention this morning was a custom that seems to have completely faded into oblivion.

It was how folks once almost all reacted to thunderstorms. They would have the entire family, especially the children, sit in one room and caution them to sit still, and be quiet, no talking, nor doing activities at all. They believed that being loud, active, and boisterous, would attract lightning or other storm damage. Moreso, they felt that it was disrespectful to the Lord, to not treat the display of his mighty power with respect. Another thing that came to mind was back in the day, many people rode Greyhound or Trailways, young and old alike. One thing I learned as a kid, when planning a day trip on the bus, was to find out if it was an express bus, or what folks used to call a "milk run," or "milk route."

Once, when I was coming home, as a small boy, alone from Columbus, on Greyhound, I got booked on a milk run route from hades. We stopped at every podunk village, crossroads store, flag pole, trash dumpster, bait and tackle store, pig feeder, wide spot, and manure pile between Muscogee County and Swainsboro. I do believe the driver got paid by the stop. Almost as soon as he got into high gear, he stopped, opened the door, and looked around to see if anyone was waiting to come aboard. If not, he would wait a few minutes in case anyone fell out from a da-- tree like an overripe pear and had money for a ticket.

That one hundred and seventy mile ride, took all day. We departed Columbus at seven am, and got to Swainsboro at seven thirty in the evening. No one had sympathy when you told of the horror of the day, they would almost all laugh and say, yeah, I made that mistake once myself one time and laugh. Not once, in the entire history of mankind, has anyone having had the experience, warned another soul about booking a bus ride on a milk run. That would be no fun. Okay, time to make the donuts. Later my friends.

..... NUMBERS 6:24-26 KJV

..... we boyz three, babee conway, lil merle, & me