I have decided to Blog some, as I feel I need to capture some of the feelings, events, episodes, activities, reactions, and associations in my Senior years - 77 years old now.
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This month of July has really had an emotional up and down for me. On Thursday, 30th of June I went to a Mass of Intentions at 8:00am for my deceased sister Addie Elizabeth Hardison - Piazza who died in November of 2015. It was of course sad that she had passed away, but pleasant thoughts, as our last visit with her was a very happy one. In May of 2015, my wife Helen and I went down to visit her and my youngest sister Rachel in Pharr, TX. Elizabeth had lost her husband Gene Piazza the year before and had moved into Heritage Place retirement home and had a very nice two-bedroom unit there. We had a great visit with Elizabeth and Rachel, it was especially so with Elizabeth, as we spent most of our time with her, as she arranged for us to rent a unit at her complex for less than motel costs and we were just a short walk from her apartment. We visited daily, talked, and laughed about our good times and no-so-good times growing up, me as the youngest and only boy and she the oldest of us four. It was an interaction that I shall always cherish, as it was out last. We attended her funeral in December 2015 in Pharr, Texas.

On the 1st of July I went to my dentist - Dr. Olmstead, to have one of my front teeth repaired, as the filling had partially come out. That set me back $270 for about 40 minutes at his office. 

On Sunday 3rd, I was a Eucharistic Minister at the 9:30 Mass providing the host - wafer - the Body of Christ. I feel very good doing this, yet sometimes I wonder if I am worthy to do this. Am I a good Christian? Should I be dispensing the Host? Bread or Wine? Why did I train to be a Eucharistic Minister? Was it for what? Recognition by my fellow parishioners? Wanting to Minister? Why?

July 4th - Independence Day. I went to the James White Fort in Knoxville, TN for the ceremony there to celebrate our Independence Day. The DAR and C.A.R. were there with us of the SAR - Sons of the American Revolution, TN State Society. The event is hosted each year by the Stephen Holston Chapter of Knoxville. This year 6 of us from the Col. Benjamin Cleveland Chapter attended and in Continental Dress or Period Frontiersman Dress. As TNSAR National Trustee, I was the senior Officer at the ceremony and I carried the U.S. Flag and participated in most of the Colors at the start of the ceremony and also the retrieval of the Colors at the end of the ceremony. The Fort was in fact the first Capitol of the State of TN and Knoxville was named after the Secretary of War Henry Knox, who resided at the Fort for a while. I attended the event simply because it was a National Event and I earned 20 points for attending and also mileage points. I am now attending National Color Guard events for the most part, as I have already earned my Bronze and Silver Color Guard medals, and 5 years from the time you earn your Silver medal and have earned 500 points, one can obtain the Von Steuben Gold Color Guard Medal, the highest medal of the SAR Color Guard Medals. I have about 2 years to go yet and about 200 points to earn - an easy goal for me over the next two years. 

On the 5th of July I was set to go to the Costco store in Rossville, GA just south of Chattanooga, TN and take a hearing test and have the lug nuts on my wheels of the Camry torqued, as I recently had all four tires replaced. As I got out on Interstate 75 heading south toward Chattanooga, there was a traffic backup and it took me more than a half hour to get to the last exit at Cleveland. By then it was 3:45pm and my appointment for the test was 4:00pm. I took the last Cleveland exit, exited, and came back home. I then called and changed my appointment. My hearing I believe is getting worse than it was a couple of years ago. About 5 years ago I go a hearing aid in my left ear, the kind that you insert in the ear. I could not stand the dam thing, as I could hear myself chew, etc. A year or so later I got a set, one for each year at Sam's Club paid a pretty penny for them. They had three levels of programming, as you could move a button on the back side of each unit. That was the technology then. I was a bit disappointed in not being able to keep my appointment.

On Wednesday 6th, I attended the SAR Col. Benjamin Cleveland Chapter's Executive Meeting at the local history library. All the past Presidents and current Officers are invited to attend these planning meetings. I attend as I am a Chapter Past President and also as TN State National Trustee. In the meetings as such, we basically plan our goals and objectives and the programs with the Chapter President, and our next Chapter Meetings. The meetings usually last about an hour. I enjoy attending to see how things are going and now and then throw in a few words of guidance or advice. 

Friday 8th, I went to my MOST meeting/breakfast. MOST stands for "Men of St. Therese." There are usually at least 6 or 7 of us who attend this meeting every Friday morning at 7:00am at the local Denny's restaurant. We usually read a passage from our Living Faith book and then discuss the content of the reading. 

It was a sad day today also, in that Helen and I attended the Funeral Visitation and Funeral Services for our friend John "Ed" Carlson at St. Therese Church where we all attend. We had been friends with Elizabeth and John for many years and they usually sat at our table at the Tuesday, once-a-month Friendship Luncheons at Church. Elizabeth Carlson also convinced me to buy into Wyndham Club, which in reflection, maybe wasn't the best thing to do for taking vacations!! John will be buried at the Chattanooga National Cemetery in Chattanooga, TN. I shall make a special effort this coming December during the Wreaths Across America event, to place a wreath on his gravesite, take a picture of it and give it to Elizabeth. The SAR participates in the WAA program at the cemetery and usually is in the presentation of the Colors. The year I was State President, I was one of the main speakers at the ceremony. It is also a National Color Guard event. After the visitation, which was in the Church, and after the funeral Mass, most of those attending went over to our Trinity Room for a Wake meal. John will be buried on Saturday.

On Saturday, I forced myself to go out in the relatively warm morning and clean up all the weeds and undergrowth at the Grape Vine in the backyard. It was hot, about 94 degrees by the time I finished and I was exhausted, but I felt good that I had got the task done and did an excellent job of it. Some of the grapes were ripe and sweet, well as lovely as Muscadine can get!! I also picked some peaches from our peach tree, most of which were very small unfortunately, the worms got to them before I did and it was not even worth the effort of picking through them, so I dumped them on the ground for the Deer, raccoons, skunks, etc to chew on!!

On Sunday the 10th, Helen and I went to the 9:30am Mass and then out for Breakfast at City Cafe - one of our favorite eateries. We returned home and read the Sunday paper, swam in the pool at about 6:00pm, and enjoyed a relaxing day. Stress-free day.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I went to Work Out Anytime and did my exercise. Friday was the hardest day for me to go, I just didn't feel like going, but by noon time I had persuaded myself to get it done! Monday 11th, in the evening I went to my Knights of Columbus 1st Degree Ceremony and Social Meeting. We had the Degree ceremony first and I was the sponsor for my friend James (Jim) Peters. I had been trying for over a year to get him to join the K of C. I think his wife Terry finally talked him into joining. Jim is a Vietnam Veteran and has some issues from the war, but came home and became a local post office manager and worked to his retirement a few years ago he is only in his late 50s. I was very pleased I could be his sponsor and I think that he will be a great Knight of Columbus. For our Social,  Bertin Kurtz, our in-house Louisiana Chef, had thrown together a meal of leftover hamburgers and hot dogs from our June Church picnic and also some rice from God knows when. We had a large turnout with about 40 members present.

On Tuesday the 12th I finally made it to Costco at 2:30pm and took my hearing test, of course, it indicated that I needed hearing aids in both ears and my left ear was the worst. I think my hearing and sight both were impaired somewhat as a result of my trying to open a copper blasting tube used to make dynamite explode. This happen when I was about 12 years of age. Fortunately, I had the tube in a vise and was trying to split it open with a screwdriver and hammer. The dam thing exploded upward from the vise, my good fortune, blew me to the back of the barn, ears ringing, bleeding, eyes bleeding and hands bleeding. Luckily it didn't blow my eyes out, or a handoff. Experimentation can kill you!! 

This time I got the Costco Kirkland units for $1,800 for a set. They are manufactured by one of the top three hearing aid companies in the world - I think they are Swiss-made. Anyway, with these units, one can use their iPhone to program and hear your phone conversation via Bluetooth right in the hearing aids, also if one has a TV with WiFi, one can have the sound sent directly to the hearing aids! Amazing technology. I went ahead and purchased the set, as I know I really need them, and as Helen would say, "Why do you keep saying - Huh!!" I will pick them up this coming Saturday at noon time. 
On Thursday the 14th Helen and I attended the Col. Benjamin Cleveland Chapter's meeting at the Elks Lodge. The SAR Chapter meetings every month on the 2nd Thursday. The program this week was presented by a State Forrest Ranger from Gee State Park, TN. It was an interesting presentation. I, in my last duty as TN State National Trustee, presented Past Chapter President, Bob George his George Washington Endowment Fund pin and certificate. He donated the required $1,000 to the Fund and became a "George Washington Fellow." After the National Congress in Boston, Mass. the 7th to the 14th of July, I was replaced as National Trustee, by the TN State Past President, Dr. Darryl Addington, which is the normal protocol of Officer movement. I will continue to serve on the national committees, chapter, and state activities and services with the TN State Color Guard. In addition for two more years, I will be on the State Officer Nominations Committee. By then I will have received my Von Steuben Color Guard Medal and concluded my National activities, which then I shall retire only to attending and supporting my Chapter's events and activities.

Also, today at 9:45am I went back to the Dentist's office and had them smooth off the back of the filling on my front tooth and also round off a little glitch at the top inside that the floss string keeps getting hung up on. It took about 20 minutes in the chair.

On Friday 15th, I went to my MOST meeting and only Chuck, Woody, myself, and John Coleman attended. John and his wife Jessica are new to our Church and neighborhood and also our friends. John just went through the 4th Degree in the K of C. John read in place of Phil Brown who is in Virginia attending a Civitan congress there and also visiting relatives. After doing my exercise today and then coming home for lunch of tuna fish and crackers, I experienced my newly filled front tooth cracking and the filling falling out. I called but the Dental office was closed for lunch, but I left a message. I took a nap, but I never got a call, so at 3:00pm I called them and told them I really needed to have this huge gap in my front tooth refilled today, as I will be the 2nd reader at Church Sunday!! Well by 3:30pm I was in the dental chair and Dr. Olmstead refilled my tooth and didn't charge me any more money than the original $270 I paid in the first instance. I then returned home and Helen was out shopping and at Panera, so she brought me a cup of coffee home. Later in the evening, Jessica Coleman came over and she and Helen swam in the pool. I was just relaxing, watching TV, and letting the painkiller work off from my top lip and nose.

Saturday 16th, today at 11:00am I went to Costco to have my hearing aids fitted and adjusted. I am as very excited about getting my hearing aids. I think I will certainly need them for Mass on Sunday when I do the second reading and also on Monday 18th at the Directors & Officers K of C Meeting at Church.

Sunday 17th - Helen and I went to the 9:30am Mass and I did the 2nd Reading. I have done the 2nd reading twice now since I had my Eucharistic training. I wore my new hearing aids most of the day and experimented with having my phone sound (calls) go directly to my hearing aids and also experimenting with setting the hearing aids up to listen to live broadcasts for almost all TV stations. It will not work for recorded programs! I took some time today to prepare for my 3rd Degree K of C Directors & Officers meeting to be held on Monday @ 7pm. For dinner, Helen and I went to Capt. D's and we both had fish. I tried a new menu item of fish (4 fish sticks, fried in a light spicey batter, coleslaw, and green beans). It was very good. We returned home and I got the garbage out for Monday's pickup, an every-week routine.

Monday 18th - I went to WOA and did my exercise. We had a couple of thundershowers today, which is rain we really need. I set up my 3rd-degree agenda and book for the meeting tonight. In the evening I went to my first K of C, D & O meeting which I chaired as the Council's Grand Knight. It was a rather casual meeting and I was very patient in letting people talk, sometimes to length! I asked Dale Foust to report on the By-Laws he and John Lucchesi, Council Comptroller, and Dale started talking about the Council's budget. I let him continue as he may have not heard my question clearly. He stated that he, John L., and Woody Blackwell, Council's Treasure would be working up the Budget for the coming year - both the Charity and Fraternal budget. When Don Meagher stated he thought the Trustees should be involved, Dale stated that they could review it after they completed the preliminary Budgets. I thought to myself, and who appoint Dale the Chair of the Budget Committee?? I will dive into that later this week. I will establish an Ad Hoc budget committee and name a Chairman.  When I returned home I checked my FB, e-mails, and investments which is also a daily routine. My investments over this month and last, have done rather well.

Tuesday 19th - McDowell, the yard man came today and cut the grass and his help did the edging and blowing of the trimmings. He came later in the day to day, as usual, he comes about 8 - 9 am. Since the K of C Council will be holding its BBQ butt roast just before Labor Day, we needed to get the flyers out, so I was asked to send a picture of roasted butts to John Melvin. The butts pictured on the flyers from last year look like burnt butts!! I sent John Melvin, who is redoing the flyer. I will write up an article for the Cleveland Daily Banner and send it in to get some free advertising on the BBQ butt sales. Kenny McAmis came this morning and replaced my Sprinkler system control box, a siloed switch in the box underground, and also #2 sprinkle