Ruminations of a Retired Reprobate

My mother's sister Ellen never married.  She moved to California and was the head of the Central Stenographic Bureau at UCLA. She lived on Inglewood Blvd. in Santa Monica.  Her home was on a high hill and you could sit in her back yard and look

a long way and see the lights come on as it got darker.  It was a beautiful view.  Google gave me their new version of Google Maps so I thought it would be fun to see if her house was still there.  Hers was but Carolyn's (next door) was gone and there is a vacant lot there now. I screen captured both places so you could see a little bit of what I meant about being able to see a long way.  When Ellen lived there the fence was not there but she had beautiful roses growing all around.  I spent the summer there once and it was wonderful  I would take Ellen and Cathy (housemate) to work at UCLA and then I had the car to go around and see things and do what I wanted to do. One time I went down to the La Brea Tar Pits.  I also took Cathy out to visit her father who was in Cedars- Siani Hospital.

I would sit in the waiting room and watch people and listen to them while I waited for Cathy.  One time there was a Rolls Royce parked in the lot.  I was told that it belonged to Tony Curtis.  I went over to look at it closer and saw a red cardigan sweater in the front seat. I could see the label.  It was from Sears.  Who knew?

My aunt had a Puli which I believe was a runaway that found its way to her place or else someone rescued it.  She told me that it had belonged to Curtis who had always kept it in a kennel and it never learned to go to the bathroom outside so he lifted his leg on her furniture. She called him PEEEdro.  I really liked him.  She also had Shelties.

We had a lot of fun that summer and it is one of my favorite memories.  Later when Ellen moved back to Ames I flew out and we packed up her car and I drove her home.  We had the car so loaded that I could only use the side mirrors. It was hard for Ellen to leave. She was glad to be coming back to Ames but she really loved her place in California.

Then I checked and found the house my nephew lives in in Arizona.  It is a nice house and there is no lawn to mow but there are also no trees surrounding it or bushes with flowers like the one outside the McFarland Eye Clinic where I went today to have my 6 month eye check-up. I snapped a picture of it with my phone.  It was raining again so I did not "stop to smell the flowers (which is advice that Ellen always gave me but I did catch a whiff and I think it was a French lilac.
I really like Dr. Hamouche and his assistant Jane.  I am very comfortable with them. I had to wait a bit longer than usual this time but it was all right.  I had my Kindle with me.

My eyes checked out OK.  I have glaucoma and "significant" cataracts but they aren't far enough along for me to have surgery on them yet.  My field of vision test was good. Pressure in the eyes was 11 for each eye and vision came in at 20/30 (whatever that means)  I guess I am doing as well as can be expected.  As long as I can read and watch TV and see pretty pictures I am doing fine.  Speaking of pretty pictures, my friend Bob Kelly came over and brought me a picture he took of Windsor Castle which he had printed on canvas.  It looks like it was painted.

I hung it in my living room so I can see it every day. If I ever win the lottery I am going to England and Scotland and maybe even France.  I suppose I will have to purchase a ticket.  Thanks for listening.  HUGZ