Reflecting on a southern boy's life

I have had two friends (both 69 yrs young) tell me about their insurance today. One was cancelled by Blue Cross for all his doctors in our area. Had to go to Humana. My other friend sees a NP in her very small town but it is connected to UF Health out of Gainesville Fla. She has excellent care there. She only gets SS. Her company says no more will they support it. When a country says we must suck as much profit from healing sick and disease and accidents we have a problem. Real problem.

My Medicare works very well for me and I have supplemental too. All of my care is from UF Health. Except my dermatology. Twice a year I go there and they ask for a copay. I finally said my supplemental picks up what Medicare doesn't and suddenly there is no copay. I feel badly for my friend just living on SS. My other friend is wealthy enough to survive anything that comes.

My friend from Tallahassee is coming today. He taught music at my old school. Very talented and has all kinds of gigs to live on. Nursing homes, students , playing at bars. His son is having surgery in Gainesville so Im letting him stay here a few days. He gets up and does Tai chi in my backyard. It looks like a great sort of slow standing yoga. Steve is Jewish and is now single because his wife passed a few years ago. Smart man. He got my daughter to sing a solo in elem. school because he didn't know she would never do it. Just said "Stephanie, you are going to sing this" And she did. I am forever grateful for that.

The snow missed us by about 30 miles. My daughter was disappointed. I like cold weather having grown up in Fla when we had no AC for many years and then I taught outside in it. So not a fan now of the heat, especially with my incontinence. The last great book I finished recently was on Charles Schulz. His life was as amazing as his wisdom in that little comic he turned into am empire of books, TV and all things Peanuts. I recommend it if you like his characters. He was a very complex man who was never real happy it seemed.
 

I saw and tasted a miracle today. My grandfather bought dozens of Texas red grapefruit trees back in the 1940s to plant in his grove. By the time I was picking them in the mid 60s they had grown and matured in size. I grew up picking them for him to sell and eat. They were the finest citrus I ever had. They were not red on the inside but pink. When I was an adult I used to bring many home to eat and squeeze for juice. And I would throw the pulp and seeds beside my house in Gainesville. Well, this year I noticed a grapefruit tree had grown up beside this house with fruit on it. One grapefruit was hanging over the house but I could not quite reach it.

But knowing it came from a seed I figured the fruit was yellow (we called it white grapefruit) and full of seeds. But still good to eat. Well today I went over to see Spencer and he had gotten that one picked for me. I brought it home and it was PINK inside. I was shocked. Most seedling trees revert back to a root stock. I tasted it and reminded me of all that wonderful fruit I had picked and eaten as child and young man. I rescued two seeds from it. I'm gonna try and grow another tree like my grandfather had grown all those years. After my grandparents died they sold that grove and house and bulldozed all that wonderful citrus into oblivion.

I was visiting my son because he was recently fired from his job is in bad place. Panic attacks keep him from driving. So he and sat and discussed that among other things. He does stand up comedy and worked at Lowes (no more). He missed some work when his mom had emergency surgery. They are close and it affected him badly. But we had a great time talking and I think I he is getting better. His half brother is going to stay with him this week. They are very close. Kevin is 20 and Spencer is 35. They speak the same language. Kevin has Aspbergers.

Well today has been a good one. My incontinence seems better so I worked out and took a walk. Most I have done in awhile since it reversed on me and got worse. I'm making some brownies for my kid(s) and tuna salad to add to my romaine based salad. If someone would make me a salad each day I would eat it. For some reason a salad made by ex wives always tasted better than my creations......or even by a friend.
 
It is graduation time and I actually have an 18 yr old graduating from Fla Virtual High School. I wrote this about three years ago regarding HS graduations. I have taught so many children these events are a little more special to me.

The BHS graduation.
Recently my pomposity has been pointed out to me. A pompous a@@ I appear to be. I guess guilty as charged but I try to do it in private. As I was walking from the library to the stadium last night for the 2022 graduation I observed complete families arriving for the event. I smugly thought "why are 12 people coming to an event like this.) Woody Allen once said that 95% of life was just showing up. That seemed like my high school years. I was there for the social and team sports. School work was just a distraction.

Thank God I loved to read so that got me through college. But I digress, (poorly). My son had to stay late to help clean up so I saw, what turned out to be, the best part of graduation. And along with that an epiphany for me. It started when a former student came up and we talked for a long time about our lives and her kids. It was , like always, wonderful catching up. Then a good friend I made teaching a dozen years ago came up and sat in front of me. His middle son was graduating and he had some family with him. I love the guy. I kept txting my son about leaving because usually they hold the JROTC sabres up and then he can go.

But tonite other forces were at work. I must have stayed another hour after the last student name was called and then I saw the magic. People stayed and stayed and stayed. I saw hundreds of big hugs, smiles and joy in faces of all those extra family members. Black and white. Young and old. Well dressed and casual like me. I saw aunts uncles, grandmas, baby sisters and every relative and friend you can imagine. And they were all either happy or proud or both. I had moved down to the last row and was by myself just watching the good will among friends families and students. One lady as she passed remarked "you have the best seat in the house" And it turned out she was exactly right.
 

Watered the dying petunias this morning and moved my bird bath near my feeders so I can see more bird activity. The ex's birthday is Fri so we (our kids) are taking her out to eat and then home for cake and presents. Tuesday is huge next week. My daughter is graduating from FVHS, Florida Virtual High School but we have to go to Orlando for the ceremony. Center of the state for many of the kids. Not looking forward to that drive in that city.

Too many days in the 90s now with hardly any rain at all the last 2 months.......I learned that coffee is an irritant to the bladder today so gonna try going without coffee to improve my incontinence......AND I had to finally give up my two political forums and many FB groups from the toxicity of the interactions. Self preservation I guess.
 
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