Thanksgiving, 70 years old, A Few Things I Am Thankful For

 

The Mayflower probably was 90 feet long (about the size of two large Class A Motorhomes put back-to-back), and around 25 wide, though we all know boats are less wide at the front and rear (bow and stern).  It carried 102 passengers and about 30 crew members...the first winter killed off 1/2 of the passengers.  Embarked from Plymouth, England, on September 16, 1620, it made landfall on Cape Cod at what is now Provincetown, Massachusetts, on November 21, 1620.  An exploring party arrived at the nearby site of Plymouth (in present-day Massachusetts) on December 21, and, according to tradition, the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock on December 26, 1620.

My confirmed Mayflower ancestors are William Brewster and his wife Mary, Stephen Hopkins and his wife Elizabeth,  John Howland. Edward Tilley and his wife Ann.  I learned about this connection back in the late 1980's...I was in my early 30's.  Ever since, Thanksgiving has been more meaningful to me.  Especially when it falls on my birthday, which won't happen again for another 3 or 4 years.  

 

Yes, I did just have my birthday a few days ago, and YES, I hit the BIG 7-0 !!!!  Enjoyed a big (BIG) Cowboy Ribeye Steak, about 3 1/2 inches thick.  It was so big, we have had leftovers twice, and still have a bit more for a roll-up or two.  Use to be able to buy these at Sams for like $40-$45...now days, it was $65!  When I turn 80, if I make it that long, it will certainly be over $100.  

 

 

Being it is Thanksgiving, I will mention a few things I am thankful for.

. . . Family and Friends, of course.  Grateful that my mom is still with us, and when I talked to her on my Birthday, she knew exactly who I was.  Thankful for my new Grandson, and of course, my Granddaughter, both of whom I saw live via the Internet on Google Meet, again on my Birthday.  And I am thankful for ALL of my family and ALL my friends

. . . Today, we paid off our new Camper Van !!!  Nice to not be in debt again.  We planned to pay it off within 18 months from when we bought it in July of 2024...we paid it off in 16 months.

. . . No Hurricanes!  Yes, if you listen to the radical Meteorologist, you will hear about the "Terrible Class 5" Hurricane Mellisa that hit Jamaica.  They seem to ignore the Tropical Cyclones that hit on the other side of the world, which together killed over 1,300 people, and did enormous damage.  Sure didn't see The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore standing out in any of those storms!  Hurricanes that the states equate to higher ratings, which is more $$$$ to the various stations that cover it.

. . . Our temperatures have been so mild these past eight weeks or so.  Today's high was around 82.  It is just past 7 pm, and it is 75 degrees.  But tomorrow's high is 70, Friday is 60, but we rebound back to 75 on Saturday.  Friday and Saturday night will require some heater time...but the cost of that is no different than the A/C we have run periodically during the day these past few weeks since we have a heat pump.  

. . . Gas is under $3 per gallon. 18 eggs under $5, sometime under $4. Car & RV insurance dropped about 5%.  Could have bought a Turkey for under $1 per pound, 49 cents if you buy $20 or more of other foods...but a full Turkey is a bit much for two people so I got a bone-in turkey breat for $1.99 per pound. Other food prices, outside of beef, have seen slight drops...but the increases have stopped for the most part.

. . . Family and Friends ... OH, I ALREADY SAID THAT, WELL, THAT IS WHAT I AM MOST GRATEFUL FOR!!!

 

 

New Grandbaby -- It's a Boy, a BIG BOY

 

My oldest son Michael and his wife Anna, who are the parents of my lovely Granddaughter Addie, are now the parents of their second child, a boy.  Meet....Otis Boaz, born this morning at 3:35 am California time.  He came into this world weighing in at 9 lbs 9 oz ... but still shy of my record of 11 lbs, 11 oz ... but he is healthy, I was not.  

I was an RH Factor Baby before they had the medical knowledge on how to control that situation.  I am positive, mom is negative, so her antibodies attacked my Red Blood Cells.  Bottom line, the good Doctor cut me out, removed mom's Uterus, and that was that.  Except she was able to go home, I had to stay in the hospital for over a month, but made it home for Christmas. 

In this case, mother Anna and Baby Otis are both doing very well.  And despite the size of this child compared to Addie who came in around 7 lbs, the delivery was much easier this time...Anna had a very hard delivery with Addie.

I had the privilege of telling my mom about her new Great Grandchild.  In a text with my sisters I commented that when they go over to see her, she may not remember that I talked with her and that the new baby was born.  My sister Sandy said, "Good news is we can tell her over and over and over again and it will be as if it was the first time!"  That girl can sure come up with some funny, and in this case true, lines now and then...

On a VERY SAD note, my Aunt Florence (In the above picture, she is seated to the far left, next to Marcia, and then my Mother) died last Friday, October 10th.  She was 80 years old.  Her and LeRoy, "Uncle Red" to all of us (my father's brother), were married for 42 years before he died...which is how old Uncle Red was when they got married...she was 22, he was 42.  He had four kids when Aunt Myrtle died of Cancer, Flo had three kids from a not so healthy marriage.  Couple years after they were married, Baby Lee came along, and the rest was history.  Aunt Flo became a school teacher...not just any school teacher, but one who taught the special ed students...the hardcore students in many cases.  She was a wonderful Mother, Teacher, and Aunt..she will be dearly missed.  

I was surprised this morning that the NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER and
CENTRAL PACIFIC HURRICANE CENTER showed absolutely no weather situations as of this morning.  October is Florida's busy time for bad weather...but not this year.  This evening they show possible, very low risk storms which might form in the next 7 days, but even these don't seem to be a threat to Florida or anywhere else in the nation.  The poor Weather Casters are besides themselves...nothing to report on.  Most the storms that came off of Africa ended up turning north into the open ocean...but on the radio I would hear this:

A tropical disturbance has formed off the coast of Africa and it has a 50% chance of becoming a Tropical Storm and perhaps a Hurricane.  If it develops into a tropical storm as we think it will, it will be called [insert name...the last one was Tropical Storm Lorenzo, which developed on the 13th, and was dead by the end of the 15th].   Then comes their disclaimer...Meteorologist say that this storm will turn north into the Atlantic and won't be threat to U.S. or any Islands.

Soon, Hurricane Season will be over...and so far, no Hurricane has hit the U.S., which is good news for all.