Sunday, June 11, 2006

Country Gal by Vanita Blundell 6-13-06

Country Gal by Vanita Blundell 6-13-06
On Sunday, June 11, I have hit another mile stone. I had my 47th birthday. It depends on where you are in life. If you are over 47 it is no big deal if you are a child, you might think that I am ancient. I never thought that I would survive my teenage years let alone my forties. But I can tell that I am not a spring chicken anymore. This had been a bitter pill to swallow. I always thought that I could do whatever Jim needed me to do- until- This past weekend we were moving twenty-five large poles that were at least 30 feet in length. They were stacked in a nice and tidy pile and in order to haul them we needed to cut them in half. This meant that we had to get them off the pile. Jim thought that we could man-handle them.( key word MAN- handle) This is where I explained to him that he should have married Olga the Magnificent. He sort of picked up his half and told me to pick up my half. Well, that was not going to happen - ever. Then he said that maybe we should get the tractor with the front-end loader on it. Gee, I didn’t I think about that? What a relief. Not only did it work great but it was very hot last Friday and it made quick work of it. I am not sure but think that the tractor might have saved my life.
Jim and I went to Woodward on Sunday. We noticed that the power company was doing some work on the power lines. They were replacing the wooden poles with metal poles. I have never seen them before. They are a lot taller than the ones they were replacing. I first thought that they were wooden poles covered with metal, but they are hollow inside. I find them very interesting. We discussed how the metal poles compared to the wooden poles. I have been told that the wood peckers cost the power companies an enormous amount of money each year. So the metal poles will an improvement- from our point of view- don’t think the wood peckers would agree.
We have certainly have seen changes along our roadsides. I know that my parents have seen different changes than I have. I my lifetime we always had telephone poles one side of the road and power poles on the other side. Now the telephone lines are buried along the road side. I am not sure what our electric company has in mind but if it is in our best interest to have metal poles I am sure we will get them.
Another change along the roadways is a roadside park with potties. Even though they were not too grand they were nice to have if you felt the need. Those are pretty much a thing of the past. I understand why they were removed but they did serve a purpose. When I came home from Ruidoso a while back I traveled from Ruidoso to Roswell to Portales. From about 20 miles out of Ruidoso there are NO restrooms till you get about 100 miles to a little town of Elida. It is a looonnng way to go especially if you take your time saying your good-byes and drink about a pot of coffee before you leave. I would have given a million dollars for a roadside park with facilities or a quick stop or a large tree (and I do mean a very large tree) or anything.
My kids have been giving me a hard time on aging. Anything that I do not do just right they remind me I am not getting any younger. I don’t care what my temperature is- It is never the same as anyone else. Jennifer tells me that it is to be expected. Well, it is not expected by me. Then she says, “There you go getting all emotional.” I guess I deserve it since I tease my mom about dropping food on her blouse when she eats. When Jim took me out for my birthday I somehow got my lunch all over my blouse. Jim just chuckled and said, “Welcome to 47 - this is just the beginning”. Isn’t he the sweetest thing?

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