Saturday December 10, 2011

Saturday morning and it was 22⁰ at 0700. This morning the roads are too icy to ride my bike so I decided to take a walk. I walked around Reeds Lake and on my way home stopped at the Kava House. I bought my coffee and then a scone. They have great scones. I read the WSJ and DFP. I get so mad at both political parties. I really think the President is very divisive. The proposed extension of the holiday on paying the SS tax is really bad. If SS is suppose to be in bad shape, why deprive it of needed funds.
There are better ways to get the economy moving. I see some Senators in both parties are beginning to say : is this smart? Speaking of money the hubris of the ex Governor of NJ who drove MF Global into the ground is deplorable. After getting worked up reading the papers I took a relaxing walk home. My walk covered 7 miles.

Our washing machine has been acting up. At first we thought that it got out of level and we have re-leveled the machine. Today I moved the machine out and spent some time getting the level just right. It worked ok for several loads but I think we must call the Maytag repair man. Nancy found the original bill for the washer. We bought the machine in 1987. I think at 24 years the machine might have reached the end of its useful life. I called the store where we bought the machine and they said that they still can get parts for the machine. Stay tuned.

I spent several hour going through some family records that I keep downstairs. I found that my great grandparents on the Hughes side were born in Wexford, Ireland. My great grandmother Scott whose maiden name was Rayborn had roots in Edinburgh, Scotland. My great grandfather McTavish was born in Campbeltown, Scotland came to Canada, Wallaceburg, Ont, in 1840. He attended the Cincinnati Eclectic Medical Institute and graduated in 1866. After graduation he moved to Alpena.

At 1730 Nancy and I got in the Taurus and headed to Marco's. We met the Namey's for dinner. The place was jammed. Even though we had reservations we had to sit in the bar area. After dinner we drove to the Namey's for dessert. We had a very enjoyable evening.

December 10, 1944, Lawson YMCA, Chicago: My Dad was drafted as a civilian to work for the Army in the Chicago area. The military needed civil engineers to maintain all the bases. My dad was too old for the military but he could work as a civilian. It was a Sunday and dad said he was sorry he did not write yesterday because before he could start a letter he fell asleep and did not wake up until 0430 Sunday. Dad was working six days a week. He got off work Saturday and walked around downtown Chicago. The stores were all closed but the window displays were all filled with Christmas stuff. Dad wanted to come home between Christmas and New Years but could only get Christmas and the week before off. He said that his boss was being difficult but he thinks it is because his son, a pilot, was shot down over Germany. They do not know if a got his chute open in time.


Apparently the phone system is very limited. Dad has his reservation in to make a call to Alpena on Wednesday evening. Dad mentioned that he will try to fix the furnace when he gets home. He thinks it is a damper problem. He signed off saying he could not wait for next Sunday when he would be home. Dad wrote every day and my mother saved all his letters.