Newness

It has been said, and justifiably I readily admit, that I will not try new things. Indeed, it is not unfair to say that I am downright obstinate in refusing to do or try things I have not before tried or did. I like what I like and have never seen the sense of doing different simply to do so. 

Yet that doesn't mean I absolutely will not try the new. Why, just a few weeks ago I went to a Banana Ball game and found it very entertaining, enough so that I have already entered the ticket lottery for when they play in Detroit again next season. And this morning I am drinking a coffee called White Heather. It has the flavor of toffee and brown sugar with a hint of butter and salt. And it's good. I would buy it again.

So there, all you Marty naysayers. I will try something new. 

But after experiencing two new things in the last few weeks I say, whew! That anything new stuff is off my calendar for a year or better now. 

What Doesn't Kill You

Me Mom and me Pops were out on a road trip one day. They found a nice little diner in a tiny little town and decided to have breakfast. Mom for some reason asked for decaf coffee. Pops wanted the full strength stuff.

About half way through their meal the waitress came around with a coffee pot, as waitresses often will. But all she had with her was a pot of decaf. "You had decaf, right, honey?" she asked Mom. When mom nodded yes, she got her mug filled.

Turning to look at me Pops the waitress said, "But you had regular coffee?"

"That's right," Dad confirmed.

The waitress stared at him for a moment, then responded, "Well, it won't kill ya," and filled his cup with decaf. 

Small town diners. Even Pops got a laugh at that. 

A Buck Ten

Remember when I said that I no longer pay my work electric bill online? Well, if not, look here. Electric Company wanted a $9-dollar monthly fee to pay that way. I decided, forget that stuff (me Grandpa Joe used to say stuff rather than the obvious, cruder word), I'll send a check and make you process it. I further would kill every electric appliance or light whenever not absolutely needed, in order to deprive Electric Company of more than my nine bucks.

I suppose you don't actually have to click that link, now that I've summarized the tale after all.

Be that as it may, I decided to see how much my electric bill has dropped since my hissy fit. Lo and behold, in looking over the bills of the last three months, I've saved about two dollars each month since getting out the checkbook. As payments by mail cost me about 90 cents per month, I'm around a buck-ten ahead every time I pay by mail. I figured it would be a wash, but how about that, as my old friend Mel Allen would say.

Yeah, I know Electric Company doesn't care. Yet I'll still call it a win.

It's in the Air

Really wasn't sure what to expect going in, but this turned out to be one of the most unique and atmospheric sci-fi stories I've read in a while. The plot unfolds with impressive precision. The author takes time to develop complex, relatable characters whose personal struggles feel deeply grounded even as larger, more menacing forces begin to shift around them. I enjoyed following the main character’s journey as he begins to discover more about himself and his purpose.

So says Nicole about my book A Subtle Armageddon. I was striving, I really had no choice, but to build a world from the ground up, one where learning was possible without overt guidance. I'm quite happy she found it 'unique and atmospheric' with a plot of 'impressive precision'.

Might you feel the same? Look here and see.

Right At Home

Those who know me know that the check engine light means nothing to me. It simply doesn't tell us anything worth worry. When it comes on in one of my vehicles, I look on it as little more than the aging process. The car is getting old.

Imagine my delight, then, with the cargo van I rented last week. As I was about an hour into my trip, I noticed that the check engine light in the dashboard was on. 

I chuckled. Do they know me that well? "Hey boss, the check engine light is on on unit 1234," a tech might have said.

"We're stuck for vehicles today. Give it to Marty. He won't care, and we can deal with it later," the boss would have replied.

And I indeed had no problem. No problem at all.

A sledgehammer and an ax

You can have fun with tools. You can have a lot of fun with heavy tools, such as a sledgehammer and an ax. Me and me Grandpa Joe proved that one day in dismantling a stove.

Joe had bought this house to fix up and either sell or use as a rental property. It had this monstrous iron stove in the kitchen; I believe the place used to be a social club of some sort which offered meals. Whatever the reason it was there, it was the biggest stove I'd ever seen outside of a restaurant. 

What was pretty clear was that it wasn't carried into that kitchen but assembled there. We had no idea how to dismantle it, so we approached the problem the Cosgriff way. We got a twenty pound sledge and a large ax and began hammering and hacking away at the behemoth.

It wasn't long before chunks and slivers of iron were flying all over the place. I was a teenager, a kid who didn't even consider basic safety equipment such as goggles, and God knows the thought never entered Joe's mind. We just had at it, striking at the dragon's maw until there were small enough bits and pieces to carry out of the house and to the scrap yard. Within about a half hour of attacking the thing it was vanquished. It was no more.

Damn, that was fun. One of me best times with me Grandpa Joe.

Better Than Nothing

Getting old means Medicare. Medicare A is what we've paid for all our working lives. Medicare B covers things A doesn't. Then there's, well in my case, anyway, Medicare G, which covers stuff A and B blow off. It costs me $173 a month.

But it's $173 dollars well spent. Yes, it is. Why, I just received a letter from the Medicare G agents informing me that they happily covered my 52-cent co-pay on a recent medical test. Yessir, 52 Lincolns which ain't coming out of my pocket. And all the privilege set me back was $173. A month. That's $2,076 a year.

All right, full disclosure, they've paid for more than that in the year and a half I've been on Medicare, although still far under the yearly sticker price. I just got a kick out of them taking the time to send me a note for their generosity in covering that particular 52 cents for me.  They have my back.