It's September 15!  There are only 101 days until Christmas and the Swiss Colony Gift baskets have already been in the warehouses since July.  You see, advances in medicine are not what is keeping us alive, it's all the preservatives in holiday gift basket items.  On this day in 1620, 102 pilgrims left Plymouth England on the Mayflower; in 1830, in England, William Huskisson is the first person to be run-over by a train and in 1965, "Lost in Space" premiers on TV..  It is the birthday of William Howard Taft, Agatha Christie and Danny Nucci.  Also, be sure to wish all your Mexican friends a Happy Independence Day and remember that In Japan it is Respect for the Aged Day.

About 6 months ago, I was unceremoniously let go from my job.  I won't go into the reasoning because it was mostly BS anyway.  My reason for mentioning it was simply to use it as an excuse for some of my behavior since then.  We had our grandsons up for a sleepover and my wife, the lovely Elaine, thought maybe we could take them to Friendly's.  I thought that was a good idea and told her I would call to see if they were a BYOB restaurant.  She gave me that look that I have come to know so well over the past 6 months - the one that says "I need to get him a job or into therapy or both."

I always like to do things differently.  For example, I was filling out a pre-admission form for a hospital.  Yes, everything went well, thank you for asking.  Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to change things a little.  I wanted to put my height at 4 feet 21 inches.  I wanted to give my weight in ounces and my age in months.  I thought it would be amusing and that the hospital people would enjoy the challenge.  My wife gave me that look, again.

Last month was the anniversary of my mother's passing and it got me thinking.  She was not one to wear a great deal of makeup.  When she was laid out she had on a rather fancy dress and, for her, a lot of makeup.  I told my wife that when I died, I wanted to have on one of my Hawaiian shirts and jeans.  I also thought that maybe I will go around to some of the local funeral homes and have them make me up, now, so I can see how I will look and who will do the best job.  I don't want to go into eternity looking like a harlot.  Yes, I got the look.

Well, that's all for now.  I have to get to the store to buy preservatives so I can start my Christmas baking.  Thank you for the look.