The dispose-all turned out okay. Ed just hadn’t re-set it although he said he had. We figured it out with Nadine as referee (yes we needed one). She is good at solving things.

N and I had a 2-hour chat on her porch yesterday. We get along really well and she is my go-to person for practically everything. She is also a very good handwriting analyst, still trains on line with her long-time teacher and will eventually do court work. We decided to set up another girls’ lunch in a couple of weeks. Nadine (from Egypt via Canada), Sonia (from France), Toni (from Germany), and Fatima (Portuguese via New Bedford, Mass.), an ex airline stewardess and loaded with style, and me, loaded with attitude. They are great fun. We might try a new Greek place (where I will be the expert).

Nadine also said everyone should re-group at my house after lunch so that I could play for them. I said not if I am having wine so I guess if it is going to happen, I can’t drink.

Greg, whose pool service company we were using, has fired us – his crews weren’t doing much and if vacuuming wasn’t on “the schedule” that week, they wouldn’t do it even if there was a problem. The pool was full of grit from the paving work and they came and left without doing anything about it and Ed complained. Greg had a tantrum. I think there is something wrong with him. I’m hearing similar stories from other people. Now we have Kevin, who is cheaper. He doesn’t vacuum at all but he will assemble and run our robot and that’s good enough. He does all the work himself. I am not sorry to have a knowledgeable, experienced guy doing this work as the teeny boppers who worked for the first guy weren’t that impressive. So it all worked out. I was thinking of writing him a thank-you note but decided to let things be.

A day ago, a Randolph Scott movie was on (he was Bat Masterson) and Gabby Hayes was in it. After an hour of listening as I puttered around the kitchen, I began to walk with a rolling gait and muttering “I’ll be hornswoggled,” and “Land o’goshen,” “What in tarnation!!??” and “Why, you ol' coyote.” I slapped myself once or twice to get out of it.

Ed is a literacy volunteer and has been driving into Fort Myers to teach one of his students English at the library. She has one more lesson to go and she and her husband are moving to Miami where he has a job waiting. He has two more students waiting for his help. I think he is enjoying this effort.

Ed's cousins scattered around (one in Naples, two in Massachusetts, more in Arizona and California (their grandfathers were brothers) are tilting at each other about who gets to dictate the cancer treatment of another cousin. “They’re control freaks,” he told me. “Do tell,” I murmured.

Another volunteer effort seemed successful as Ed, an ombudsman for the eldery, managed to get the INS to look into the marriage of a 101-year-od man to an illegal alien, arranged by his ex daughter-in-law. The illegal, from Brazil, can’t speak English and the old man can’t speak Portuguese. The old fellow, however, didn’t mind having someone around because he was lonely. On the other hand, witnesses said she was abusive.

My mom was pretty sharp when she died at 92 from complications of diabetes. I am hoping that I will be as alert to the end. I fear that I might be too out of it to protect myself and be at the mercy of whoever decides they want what I have. Close family is not always the answer (I have no one I can count on). Sometimes family members can be the most grabby and the most abusive.

On that cheery note,

xx, Teal