JMP #2 Childhood On The Farm

A continuation of my mother's history written by her in 1992.

My earliest recollection of family life on the farm is of a hayride on a flatbed wagon to a neighbors home for a party. Our ornate pump organ had been hoisted to the center of the wagon and was surrounded by family members and a few friends picked up along the way. My mother carried my new baby brother (Jim) in her arms so I must have been about three years of age (approx. 1920). The organ, relocated in the neighbor's house, provided music for dancing and singing. I remember "Billy Boy," "Tipperary," and "Blowing Bubbles" were sung with gusto. I doubt that there were any happier times after the automobile replaced the wagon.

Two miles south of Price, Utah, a small, unpainted farm home sheltered the family of William and Zelma McIntire. A new member was added to the family every two or three years and eventually the house bulged with the activity of six girls and four boys - ten gregarious and sometimes aggressive children. Deniece was the oldest, followed by three boys, Leon, Grant and Bert. I was next, born October 7, 1917. Then came Jim, Bonnie, LaVaun, Margie and Barbara. Number eleven, Brigham, was not added until we moved from the farm into town. Since the house was small, the boys bedroom was a large room attached to an oversize log garage which was heated to cozy in the winter by a "monkey" stove. It had a hard packed dirt floor, pioneer style, two double beds and rows of large nails along the wall to serve as a closet.

"I Didn't Know You People Eat!"

Occasionally I reminisce about the past and a few days ago I was thinking about one of my favorite eating spots in LA called Baja Fresh. Great burritos and great salsa. So I decided to see if there are any Baja Fresh restaurants near Louisville. Google told me there was one on campus at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, a couple of hours north of here. So Cathy and I drove up there Monday and had lunch. It was great!

It reminded me of a time back on the job at LAPD when my partner, Bill Rugh, and I walked into a Baja Fresh in LA wearing our glorious LAPD motorcycle cop outfits. As we got in line to order our burritos, an older woman walked up and said, "I didn't know you people eat." Without missing a beat, my partner said, "We really don't have to but the mayor thinks we should so people will think we are human. So we do eat sometimes." That poor woman looked very puzzled but walked away believing she knew more than she did when she approached us.

Partridge Twins

We have twin grandsons now, Fredrick and Alexander Partridge, sons of Meredith and Jake. They came into the world on September 13, 2017, same date but not same year as their grandma (Cathy).

34M30 Rides Again

I was puttering around with my new Kindle 10 HD that Cathy gave me for Christmas, when I came across this old blog. I think i would like to reactivate this blog as a part of my attempts to record my life. I think my "journal" is going to include recordings/writings like these. I'll see how this goes and maybe this will be a fun project again. I'm going to try to add a picture. This is a picture of a wintry tree that depicts how cold and unfriendly winter feels.

2018 January 17

 We took out my catheter yesterday and so far everything is working pretty well. I'm cautiously optimistic. We have had very cold and snowy weather here for awhile now. I think it is the worst since we moved here nearly ten years ago. But with the hurricanes and rain that hit Houston, Texas last year, the hurricane that hit Florida and the Caribbean and the fires that have burned huge segments of the west - especially California followed by the mudslides there this past week, I'll take our cold weather. I think we are closing in on the Second Coming but I know not. Just want to be as ready as possible.

2018 January 15

 I have been afflicted with faulty plumbing - me personally - not any building. Several weeks ago I went to a urologist because I was unable to completely drain my bladder when I went to the bathroom. His staff determined that I was not getting half the job done and this was leading to urinary tract infections and that could get serious as the years go by. I had a procedure called a "Rezum" that was supposed to ease the problem. As a part of that I was catheterized meaning I had to have a bag strapped to my leg that I emptied as needed. After four days, the catheter came out but my problem was worse. Plus I now had blood in my urine. So the catheter went back in for eight days. Today is day seven of eight. I have had occasional blood in my urine and some minor bleeding from, well, where the catheter is. I've been using some inserts made by Depends to keep everything more or less contained.

I now have almost no bleeding and no blood in my urine and the catheter comes out tomorrow. I hope everything is back to normal or at least closer than it's been for awhile now. I'm 72 years old and otherwise feel pretty good. This thing could really be a wet blanket (so to speak) for me if it isn't fixed.