BUT SOMETIMES, EVERYTHING JUST FALLS APART

MONDAY NIGHT'S SUNSET WAS  ALL ABOUT THE CLOUD FORMATIONS AND HERE YOU SEE THE LARGE PROFILE OF A MOUSE'S HEAD LOOKING LEFT AT A BOY SITTING WITH A DOG ON HIS LAP...ON THE THE MOUSE 'S BACK RIDES A LITTLE CHERUB OF A BOY

Monday evening, it was touch-and-go as to whether the day's end would result in another beautiful sunset or not.  Gazing skyward from my rear deck in the early evening hours, it looked to me like a solid cloud cover, but looks can be deceiving here in the pine forest our Park resides in.  Debated with myself whether to head out for a country road spin or not.  Finally, I gave in, and away I went.  As soon as I cleared our forest of trees, I could see the big, familiar-looking orange ball low in the western sky.  Heading north on Why's line, I was able to crack off a few photos before the sun slunk into a heavy haze of clouds.  Turning east on Telephone Road, I noticed a distant flashing red light slightly above a forest far off to the northeast and I knew it wasn't the Eastlink communication tower on Tower Line Road.  Not wanting to head home on such a beautiful summer's night, my curious self decided to head off in search of where that distant communication tower was located.  Ambling along in a northeast direction, that flashing red light became ever harder to locate and in the end, I never did find it.  

 SOMETIMES WHEN THE SUN DIPS BELOW THE CLOUDS AND TOUCHES THE COLD WATERS OF LAKE HURON, GREAT CLOUDS OF STEAM CAN BE SEEN RISING INTO THE AIR:))

I was northbound on Fish & Game Line approaching Highway 8 when a sobering thought made its way into my mind.  I suddenly realized that I was very close to a place nearby that had brought me and others to a point of great sadness early last December.  Reaching highway eight, I turned right and headed east for about half a mile.  And then, in the darkness, I saw the lighted sign on the south side of the road.  Huron Hospice.  This is where Kelly spent her last few days, hours, and moments over seven months ago.  I turned in and drove slowly up the long driveway, remembering the last time I had driven up that driveway.  It was the morning of December 10th, 2024.  I already knew that Kelly had only a few hours to live.  And, Kelly knew it too.  I slowly pulled into the large vacant parking lot and parked where I had parked on that very morning.  I sat quietly, with only the sounds of crickets on the night's warm air outside my open windows.  I sat looking at the building and the big wooden front door.  I looked over to the right of the building, knowing Kelly's room had been just around the corner and down a bit.  I remembered her final moments, and tears welled up in my eyes.  I remembered the hearse parked near that big wooden door, and I remembered Neil Young's song Harvest Moon playing that morning as Kelly was brought from her room, along a hallway into a lobby, and then through the wooden doors out to the waiting hearse.  I stood there with others when the hearse pulled away, waving my last goodbye to her.  But, as I sat there last night, I also remembered all the great times we had shared together for our 32 years together.  And it was our adventuress RV travels that brought back so many of those stirring memories.  It was like I had lived a dream, and now the dream was gone.  Did it all really even happen......Overwhelmed with sadness and tears still in my eyes, I didn't remain long in the parking lot and soon made my way slowly back down the long driveway to the highway, turned left, and turned left again out of the traffic at the first country sideroad.  I just wanted to be alone with my memories. It was a slow drive home as I savoured the night air, the big dark burgundy Moon rising in the east, and the patches of stars I could see overhead. Nights like this are always so special for me.  For the most part, I seem to do okay at keeping my feelings intact, but sometimes, everything just falls apart...............

 ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT WOODEN DOOR IS THE LOBBY, WHILE THE TWO ORANGE WINDOW TO THE LEFT IS THE KITCHEN...AROUND THE BUILDING TO THE RIGHT AND DOWN A BIT WAS KELLY'S ROOM

 SHINING BRIGHTLY IN THE SUMMER NIGHT'S WARM AIR IS THIS SIGN NEAR THE HIGHWAY

It was off to Goderich I went this morning with a list of things to pick up at Walmart and the Canadian Tire Store.  Coffee to go at McD's and then my usual customary cruise down around the harbor area and out to Rotary Cove.  After dropping over a hundred dollars at Walmart for a small shopping cart of groceries, I figured I had better get home quick while I still had a few dollars left in my pocket. 

PEOPLE ENJOYING THEMSELVES OUT AT GODERICH'S ROTARY COVE ON A HOT AND HUMID DAY

Al's Music Box:))  Suzanne by Leonard Cohen.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Joe, a college student, was taking a course in ornithology, the study of birds. The night before the biggest test of the semester, Joe spent all night studying. He had the textbook nearly memorized. He knew his class notes backward and forward. Joe was ready. The morning of the test, Joe entered the auditorium and took a seat in the front row. On the table in the front was a row of ten stuffed birds. Each bird had a sack covering its body, and only the legs were showing. When class started, the professor announced that the students were to identify each bird by looking at its legs and give its common name, species, habitat, mating habits, etc.  Joe looked at each of the birds' legs. They all looked the same to him. He started to get angry. He had stayed up all night studying for this test and now he had to identify birds by their LEGS? The more he thought about the situation, the angrier he got. Finally he reached his boiling point. He stood up, marched up to the professor's desk, crumpled up his exam paper and threw it on the desk. "What a ridiculous test!" he told the prof. "How could anyone tell the difference between these birds by looking at their legs? This exam is the biggest rip-off I've ever seen!" With that, Joe turned and stormed toward the exit. The professor was a bit shocked, and it took him a moment to regain his composure. Then, just as Joe was about to walk out the door, the prof shouted out, "Wait a minute, young man, what's your name?" Joe turned around, pulled up his pant legs, and hollered, "You tell me, professor! You tell me!"

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A Christian farmer spent the day in the city. In a restaurant for his noon meal, he sat near a group of young men. After he bowed his head to give thanks for his food, one of the young men thought he would embarrass the old gentleman. "Hey, farmer, does everyone do that out where you live?" The old man calmly replied, "No, son, the pigs don't!"

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- My wife isn’t very good in the kitchen. Last time she cooked, she burned the salad.

- I need a break from my own thoughts.

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A man and his wife attended a dinner party at the home of their friends. Near the end of the meal, the wife reprimanded her husband. "That's the third time you've gone for dessert," she scolded. "The hostess must think you're selfish and an absolute pig."
"I don't think so," he said. "I've been telling her it's for you."

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