Sunday Morning - Comin' Down

Years ago - back in the "married days" that is, Sunday mornings were usually a fairly pleasant time in the house the kids and I shared then with the ex. He would generally be the first up, make coffee, raid the refrigerator to see if we had the makings for a great omelet and then, he'd set to work to putting omelets together for anyone who wanted one - or if the kids preferred just eggs, he'd cook them to order for them.

All the while he was doing this kitchen puttering thing, he had the big stereo going with an array of albums, generally Tom T. Hall, Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash. My older daughter gets a far-off look in her eyes today when she talks about those mornings. They were probably the only real "family" time we had during the "married years."

After breakfast was done, the kids were ready to leave for Sunday School - which Dad would drive them out to the church for that and immediately after dropping them off, he would head down to the local Moose (L.O.O.M) here in town so he could attend what he referred to as "Mass at the Moose with Father Paul officiating." (Father Paul was a local guy - obviously not a priest -who would kind of "hold court" you could say every Sunday morning from about 9 a.m. until around noonish with whichever of the other locals preferred to start their drinking process early. They would delve into all types of discussions there - everything from soup to nuts. In retrospect, knowing which locals generally showed up for this impromptu meeting, I can understand why the ex enjoyed it so much - a lot of fun discussions held there back in those days.

Meanwhile, I would usually be at home, clearing up the breakfast mess and trying most Sundays to get ready to go to church myself. If I was planning to attend services, the ex could figure on spending the bulk of the morning with his cronies because I would gather the kids then and take them to church with me. But, if it was a day I wasn't figuring on going to church, he'd have to excuse himself after about an hour and drive out to pick the kids up, bring them home, drop them off and then, return to his "Sunday morning comin' down" affair.

I'm happy to report MY TEAM - those wonderful Penn State Nittany Lions - led by the one and only Joe Paterno, had their third straight victory yesterday. Go Lions! Yay, yay!

And, if you'll recall yesterday I was also bemoaning the fact I didn't know if the game would be broadcast in this area due to a conflict between the Big Ten Network and the local cable companies, none of which are carrying the "Big Ten Network" for those who are truly dyed-in-the-wool Penn State Fans. My blogger buddy, Tomcat, up in Oregon sent me a nifty little gadget showing tv listings for just about every cable channel there might be, which covers each day, on an hourly basis! Pretty cool, it is really. Ok, a few things missing on it that our cable company carries but overall, it's a better way to figure out what's on the old boob tube throughout the day than it is to try to decipher the listings in the local newspapers - which don't even show most of the channels we get here on our cable. Check it out sometime and see how it operates in your neck of the woods:

http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/ And a big thank you to Tomcat for sending me that!



To bring all up to date on my lovely head cold/cough issues, things are definitely getting better! Mandy got me a package of Mucinex DM cold tablets last night - these are the 12-hour variety and work pretty darned good. She couldn't find any of the Mucinex DM cough syrup though but we have a bottle of it in the cupboard of the children's variety so I have been using that now - just taking double doses of what is prescribed for kids (up to 12 years of age.) This seems to be calming the cough a good bit so I don't feel like every 5-10 minutes I'm going to hack a lung up or something.

And, to answer a question posed in the comments yesterday by my Canadian friend, Latte Girl, unfortunately, my cough is made worse because, yes, I do indulge in that particular substance - nicotine. I know, I know - I should quit. I did quit as a matter of fact about 9 years ago for all of three months. But then, temptation took control again and I returned to the habit. Back in the early 90's - when we still had a post office here in the village - the postmaster was getting on my case one morning when I waltzed in to pick up my mail, telling me in his authoritarian manner how he had quit smoking, easy as pie, so good for one to do that and that I really should pick up the mantle and follow his lead. Yeah, yeah! I turned to him and told him "Tom, we all have to go sometime, ya know and since I've long since determined I'm not going to die of an overdose of sex, it bloody may as well be from something I enjoy!" And with that said, I turned and walked out leaving him to pick his chin up off the window ledge from which he did his postal business. He never said another word to me again about quitting! Wonder why, huh?

Now, with all that said and done, I'm going to take the time to post the Bushisms for the coming week here. Get that done early so you all have something to refer to during the week of wonderful quotes from our Fearless Fosdick Leader!

Monday - September 17 , 2007

"There's no such thing as legacies. At least, there is a legacy, but I'll never see it." - To Catholic leaders at the White House; January 31, 2001

Tuesday - September 18, 2007

"It's very interesting when you think about it, the slaves who left here to go to America, because of their steadfast and their religion and their belief in freedom, helped change America." - Dakar, Senegal; July 8, 2003

Wednesday - September 19, 2007

"[A]s you know, these are open forums, you're able to come and listen to what I have to say." - Washington, D. C.; October 28, 2003

Thursday, September 20, 2007

"We're spending money on clean coal technology. Do you realize we've got 250 million years of coal?" - Washington, D.C.; June 8, 2005

Friday, September 21, 2007

"So on behalf of a well-oiled unit of people who came together to serve something greater than themselves, congratulations." - Remarks to the University of Nebraska women's volleyball team, the 2001 national champions; Washington, D.C.; May 31, 2001

Saturday/Sunday - September 22/23, 2007

"I'm also honored to be here with the Speaker of the House - just happens to be from the state of Illinois. I'd like to describe the Speaker as a trustworthy man. He's the kind of fellow who says when he gives you his word he means it. Sometimes that doesn't happen all the time in the political process." - Chicago, Illinois; March 6, 2001

Now there's some good food for thought for ya'll. I especially LOVED his remarks for Tuesday, September 18, 2007 - wonder how many descendants of former slaves in this country had any idea of what wonderful direction their ancestors had as they were brought here kicking, screaming, in chains and being sold. Or did I study a different American History course somewhere along the way?

Anyway, I leave you now to mull over all the above "words of wisdom" and start the week out, hopefully, on a good foot forward.

Peace!