Introduction
Well, howdy, y’all!
“Hit’s” been
“ary a while”
since I “done writ”
here. “Hit’s done been”
five weeks since my article
from Sunday, 9/20/2020. How have y’all “been
a gittin’” along? Okay, I hope.
Well, let’s see here.
I’ve been working on two articles today. Since 10/11/2020, I have
worked on four draft articles from time to time. This is the first of
two articles that are being published today. This entry about “life,
such as it was,” is a chronological record of recent events.
Life, Such
As It Was
Monday, 9/21/2020:
Mrs. Appalachian Irishman still drives bravely to and from her vice
principal/teacher job every workday. Her sister, the “coward”
that she is, still teaches from home. They used to carpool.
Also on 9/21/2020, I
worked from home from 8 to 10:30 AM. Then, a trip to the dentist set
up a temporary crown (i.e., corona by word etymology). Historical
note: On Monday, 8/10/2020, while working from home, I chipped a
tooth. My dentist patched it on Thursday, 8/13/2020, after I worked
from home. My dentist doesn't set a crown the same day. I paid the
full price for the forthcoming permanent crown. Finally, on Monday,
10/19/2020, the permanent crown was in place.
After the temporary crown
was in place, I shopped for a few items at a nearby Food City, with
all the mask-wearing fun. After that, my chiropractor adjusted me
once again. It was an extra adjustment after the usual monthly
adjustment on Monday, 9/14/2020. I think that he set me back into
proper alignment finally. The work to recover muscle and soft tissue
continues. I’m getting tired of this type of “fun.”
Tuesday-Wednesday,
9/22-23/2020: Our recent deck replacement
contractor called on Tuesday. I understood, to some degree, why he
took so long to reply to me. His father, at age 80, is not doing very
well. My contractor had gone to care for his father in Pennsylvania.
His subcontractor came the next day, on Wednesday. He was leaving
just as I was returning home from working at the office. We met and
talked. He promised. He lied. We still have a few minor details that
must be done!
Monday, 9/28/2020:
In contrast to the previously mentioned mediocre service, our fine
heating and air conditioning serviceman and his son-in-law inspected
our HVAC units, as I had arranged. Jerry Roberts (owner of Robert’s
Heat & Air) knows how to do business! Our units are fine, but it
was good to have them checked.
Saturday, 10/3/2020:
“Microcrap,” as I call Microsoft, wanted to update “Winders”
(Windows) to the latest version. I let it update. After fighting the
desktop computer monitor for days, on Saturday, 10/17/2020, I ordered
a new monitor. It arrived two days later. The “Microcrap”
technician, by phone, confirmed what I had already concluded. The
“Winders” update had not been the problem. Interestingly, the
monitor started to go bad after the update.
Monday-Tuesday,
10/5-6/2020: Our deck replacement contractor
called on Monday. I have no problems with him. He had a major problem
with one of his subcontractors. His now-fired subcontractor arrived
unannounced on Tuesday. He saw that he had not done the work that he
had promised to do on 9/23/2020. I assume that he surprised himself
by seeing that he had not done his promised work. I did not talk with
him. He is done. If he comes around here again, he does not represent
my contractor, and I will get him off our property. I hope that he
takes up the Good Lord’s free gift offer. I have tried to help him
toward that end. It’s his choice now.
Thursday, 10/8/2020:
Mrs. Appalachian Irishman was exposed to a teaching assistant, who
was exposed to his daughter, who has the COVID-19 virus (i.e., a new
cold virus). The daughter of the teaching assistant had a minor case
of the snots. What shall we do? We do nothing, of course. How many
times have I been exposed to someone, who had been exposed to
someone, who had a cold? It’s been more times than I could ever
count. I have moved on from this Corona Myopia Obsession, as I call
it! I wish that this once-great nation could do so. By the way, my
wife is completely healthy! Neither one of us has been nor will be
tested for this new cold virus.
Friday through Sunday,
10/9-11/2020: I hope that the Rogersville
Heritage Days weekend in the rainy weather was enjoyable to whoever
attended. I hear that Heritage Days isn’t what it used to be. I
remember when the occasion was enjoyable. The rain, the “Corona
Myopia,” and the festival’s decline did not inspire us to make
the trip this year. Will we next year? We shall see.
Saturday, 10/10/2020:
I have to toss this one in for fun! In late September, Nielsen, the
radio listening survey folks, “hammered” our landline by calling
and never leaving messages. I grew tired of it. I made the mistake of
calling Nielsen to see what they wanted. Well, I agreed that my wife
and I would fill out their survey forms and return them, postage
paid. We received the survey forms by mail. For one week, we filled
out their survey forms about radio stations, to which we were
listening. Nielsen, in two postal letters, sent us a total of three
crisp and new dollar bills! That’s the way to get rich! On
10/10/2020, I mailed, postage paid, our improved and computerized
survey forms, along with a pithy letter to their “he ain’t from
around here” executive. I don’t think Nielsen will ever bother us
again.
Monday through Friday,
10/12-16/2020: I was supposed to work from
home on Monday and Tuesday and then at the office on Wednesday
through Friday. On Monday, my colleague, with whom I share the same
insane home-office rotation, became ill (a cold, not the “new cold
virus”). I, therefore, “enjoyed” working from home on Monday,
but I had to work at the office on Tuesday through Friday. This
insanity needs to stop! I can always find a work-from-home job before
I retire from this state job.
Mrs. Appalachian Irishman,
still driving alone bravely to and from work daily, had a long
weekend. It was her fall break. She was off on Friday and Monday. The
time off from work “inspired” her to take up hammer, chisel, and
blowtorch to clean out the kitchen oven. Recently, I had opened the
oven door to hear it growl at me.
My workweek from Monday
through Friday, 10/19-23/2020: To make up for
last week, I worked from home on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and
Friday and at the office on Wednesday. The rationale for doing the
same job at home or at the office exists only in the minds of the
state bureaucrats! I would rather not drive the 16.4-mile, one-way
route to the office and back. I have to drive through the crossroad
where I almost died on Tuesday, 3/29/2016.
On 10/19/2020, as I stated
previously, my dentist installed my new crown with no extra charge. I
told him that, apparently, I need a crown about every 40 years. He
knows, if he’s still doing dental work, that I’ll be back at age
100 for my next crown. Afterward, Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I
visited our chiropractor. The appointment had been set for 10/5/2020,
but our chiropractor's daughter had come down with the “new cold
virus.” She recovered quickly. Out of “an abundance of caution,”
as the media folks turn the phrase, our chiropractor had closed his
office for two weeks. Neither his wife nor he was sick. At least my
adjustment was the usual “tune-up.” My bones are holding
alignment well. I’ve about had it with the Corona Myopia Obsession,
as I call it, in this once-great nation. Almost everyone with whom I
discuss this agrees. Why can’t the politicians understand?
Today, Saturday,
10/24/2020: I should have been born 200 years
before I was. I understand modern technology. I don’t like it much.
I had wanted a VGA computer-to-monitor cable. Our desktop computer
needed to connect to the new monitor that I had received. My
father-in-law bailed me out! Yesterday, I ordered online a VGA
male-to-male cable. Afterward, I called my father-in-law, since my
wife had forgotten to ask him, to see if he had an extra cable. He
and I had a fine 45-minute conversation. (My wife needs to create her
own website journal for her side of family history.) Well, today, my
father-in-law called to say that he had an extra cable that I needed!
I canceled my online order. The cable works! Once again, with help
from my father-in-law, I defeated modern technology! Eventually, the
desktop and laptop computers will need upgrades, but not today!
Conclusion
Well, that’s the latest
“life, such as it was,” update, from Monday, 9/21/2020, to today,
Saturday, 10/24/2020. Please read on, dear reader!
I have a few more articles
to publish. I’m getting there! I’ll also publish today the
article about my 171st hike on House Mountain on 10/4/2020. I plan to
publish two others later, as the Good Lord wills.