Day One Saturday 8 2013
Right before I left the house I called Janny to make sure that I had their correct cell numbers. I'm glad that I called because I had Joe's incorrectly recorded.
Arrived at their house right at 230pm, and immediately on the road. No problems but we got lost at the same place that I got lost on the last trip. Still have no idea how to get to that parking lot, but to leave it is a snap. How can that be?
First time that I checked a bag, and it was not that big of a problem. Took off on time - 555pm- and although we hit some heavy storms, we were flying far above. Plane not close to full, and I had an entire three seat row to myself. Completed the True Crime book about the 1984 serial rapist from Florida, Christopher Wilder. Kind of an exploitive book since it was written in 1984, and the case was hardly settled. Reading the Wikipedia article was nearly as good as the book. THE BEAUTY QUEEN KILLER
Waited for a long time to for the baggage to arrive. Several planes landed around the same time and this caused a backlog. We switched from one cartel to the next, and no one in charge seemed to be aware of what was going on. Twenty to thirty minutes and it should have been about ten.
Car rental was almost forty five minutes. Janny waited on a bench, and Joe and I waited in line. One kid running the entire operation. Then downstairs, and we saw some damage to the Jeep. Reported this to the sullen chick clerk, but she agreed that it was real. Close to 830pm when we left the airport.
Janny had called Elsie's House and cancelled the visit for tonight. Checked into the Hampton Inn which is right near the intersection of Bell Road and Rt. 101. Beautiful rooms. Dropped the bags and then drove across the parking lot to Chipotle's. Nice Mexican joint where I had a big salad and a beer. Driving around confusing interlinked parking lots, and back out on Bell to a gas station for an 18 pack of Bud Light Platinum (6%!!). Expensive, but now I'm a happy camper.
I meet the team at 715am in the breakfast area tomorrow. Some talk of meeting him at 9am, but I say "we will arrive precisely when we arrive". Tomorrow the big deal is to start the vehicles and get them out of the driveway so that they can deliver the dumpster on Monday morning. Take it as it comes....
Su 6/9/13
The alarm clock in the room is impossible to set, and I got up by my watch alarm at 530am. Had a restless night, and felt pretty good, so I decided to take a run. Out on the street by 6am and did a 33" slow jog around the complex of hotels, restaurants, and parking lots. Probably 80's, but it was 'dry heat'.....
Met Joe and Janny at the breakfast bar, and I had a bowl of very watery oatmeal, orange juice, and a bagel (two back with me to the room for later).
I drove to Pineaire, and we spent an hour or so working on the master bedroom and bathroom. I took the bathroom (why?), and then we left for Elsie's House around 9am. He was eating breakfast and didn't really remember who I was. I had the laptop and showed him pictures of the remodeling of the condo and it really didn't register. Joe got the videos that he brought working on the PC's, but he really didn't understand who he was watching. Wasted several hours visiting, and back at Pineaire around 1pm.
I scoured two bathrooms, and filled half a dozen garbage bags full of useless clutter. It's all stacked and packed in the living room. Roaches crawling out of toilets...decades old toothpicks laying on the bathtub.....PeeWee Herman clothes.....Filth Dust and all that wasted money.
Lannie arrived and volunteered to help, and she ran the vacuum and kind of slowed down the operation. Janny was complacent, but all of us (except Lannie) were exhausted and shellshocked.
We cleaned both bathrooms, finished the master bedroom, and made some inroads into the bedroom with Janny's ancient furniture. Trash bags all over the Arizona Room and hallways. The dumpster arrives tomorrow, Monday. Paused for some sandwiches and (I found a beer in his fridge.....86 calories and didn't even register as Lite), and rest with Lannie. I was exhausted and I am sure that the rest of the crew was equally as devastated. This has been a long and winding journey, and we are not to day TWO....
About 7pm we finished, and headed back to Elsie's House for a visit. We all finally met Lannie's husband. He was dropping by because Sadie had eaten a neighbor's chicken. We have decided to donate the Taurus to Elsie's House. Met his new 'angel' and the other one that he was with when he blew up at the nursing home.
8am tomorrow the dumpster arrives (give or take an hour or two), we begin work on the licensing of the van, and more intense DE-Clutterings at Pineaire.
Back in the Hampton Inn by 9pm and drinking the Bud Platinum and will make a salad and bagel later. Tired and .......
Monday, 6/10/13
I forgot the alarm clock, but the wrist alarm worked fine, and I was on the run at 545am. Down the street and then around the motel complex three times- 35". Met the Brandenburgs for breakfast at 7am, and this morning we also picked up some 'breakfast to-go bags' that we planned to have for lunch. They got put in the fridge at Pineaire, and we forgot all about them. After breakfast we left for Pineaire and started hauling junk by 8am. The dumpster arrived at 820am, and we started filling it up, and left for the Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles to get the 'drive-away' permit for the van, and also a duplicate title. We got there about 9am and stood outside, and the temperature was already hovering in the 90's, but we were standing under an awning with mist spray, and it was quite comfortable. Got to the head of that line, and then we got to stand in another line on the inside. We we finally got to the clerk, Joe found that he needed a signature from Ken Sr. to make the deal got down, and it had to be notarized. We drove to Elsie's House hoping that Lannie could arrange to have a notary to come to the house and authorize the documents. No Dice. We ended up taking Krystal's car because the Jeep was to high off the ground to get Ken Sr. inside. Joe and I took the Jeep, and Krystal and Ken Sr. followed us to The Bank of America where there was a notary, and she did the deed without charge. It was a 'Klown Time' performance. He tried to steal the woman's pen, but managed to sign his name three times without a problem. He had absolutely No Idea what was going on, and it was ridiculous to have to transport a 99 year old man in the heat to sign documents. We spent another thirty minutes back at the house 're-meeting' Marilyn and playing with Sadie, and then it was back to the DMV. This is located down Bell Road near Surprise, AZ.
We got to go to the front of the line, because we were a 'return customer', but really didn't save any time. When it finally went down, we got the drive-away permit, another Handicap Placard that Lannie requested, and new titles for his golf cart and the van. To celebrate we had lunch (it was 2pm and the temp had climbed to 110 degrees. Major heat wave is sweeping through the area, and breaking all kinds of records). The Olive Garden was just down the street, and it was Soup And Salad for all of us. We left for Pineair, and the deal was to clear the back bedroom and begin the little computer room by 7pm. I cleaned out the closet in the back bedroom, and Joe worked on the darkroom, and Janny filled in removing pictures from frames, and dragging junk to the dumpster. Then I moved to the little computer room and started dragging books and junk to the dumpster. I cleaned out one of the desks, and most of two book cases.
------Late in the afternoon I found a nice attache case that was filled with computer related junk, and I was going to through the contents into the dumpster and then donate the case to Goodwill. Just as I tossed the junk inside, I noticed some inside pockets, and inside one of them was $665 dollars in cash. I came so close to setting the case in the pile for Goodwill without noticing the money! I didn't even take a 'finders fee'.
--------Just before the 'Money Find', I had dropped a bag with something sharp on my toe in the dumpster and it started to bleed like crazy. We finally got the bleeding stopped, and wrapped the toe in some kind of medical tape that we found in the ruins. Worked ok, but the injury was not as bad as it seemed, but lots of blood.
We finished the back bedroom and the darkroom, and about ten percent of the little computer room and we stopped work about 730pm. They put the permit on the back window of the van, and I took off for a drug store to get something for the bleeding toe. I went to Target and bought a box of bandaids, and used to Isopropyl alcohol that I found in the house. Rinsed the toe and looks ok.
Might do a six of Platinum tonight, but I earned it!!! I will chow down on the rest of the salad and the bagels that I've lifted from the free breakfast. Another Dawn Run for tomorrow and then back to work filling that dumpster.
Tuesday, 6/11/13
Up 530am thanks to the wrist alarm, and tonight I have an electric alarm clock from Pineaire back in the motel room. Did a 33" run around the Hampton Inn area, and had breakfast with the Brandenburgs at 7am. The run was a bit slow today. Temps in the low 80's by 8am, and topped out at 107 by late afternoon. Dry heat...yeah....Today the first order of business was that we load both vehicles for a trip to Goodwill out on the 6200 Block of Bell Road (toward Elsie's House), and we were able to get all of the stuff that we had lugged into the Arizona Room for donations. After the drop off, we went to see The Man. He was watching the TV, and covered in a blanket. He wasn't really cold, but he liked the feeling of the blanket. "Re-met" Marilyn, and checked out the house's computer system. This is the fastest internet connection that I have ever used!! I checked it out on the Speed Test website, and it was ten times faster than my internet speed and the Upload was faster than the Download. Back to Pineaire around 11am, and we attacked the computer room bedroom. By the time we finished with that room the dumpster was almost half full. All of the junk, magazines, computers, and assorted worthless debris was removed, and Joe hit the closet (which really constituted another room), and by late afternoon the area looked fairly reasonable. I lobbied to keep the stereo equipment and shelves for the estate sale. I found a collection of 78 rpms that I think are worth more than the ancient computer programs that we are going to cart to the computer guy tomorrow For Free.
Sometime mid-morning the woman who lives next door and her mentally challenged daughter, Tomasina, gave us a visit, and Tomasina was helping us for most of the rest of the day. They are nice people, but they have loud and strident voices, and the never shut up, but kind of comical. And, Tomasina put in a full day's work! We only took a short lunch break when we ate the food from yesterday's Hampton Inn carry out breakfast, and some of the Brandenburgs cold cuts and bread, and the ancient colas that were in the fridge.
Then we attacked the livingroom primarily to get the PC's out, but we made a major dent in the dusty clutter. By the end of this heroic effort the dumpster was nearly 3/4 full, and at the end of the day the back doors were closed. Tomorrow all junk will have to be tossed over the sides of the container.
Around 6pm we decided that we should shut down the cleanup operation, and load both vehicles for one more trip to Goodwill. I loaded most of the record albums, and a bunch of other junk and arrived at the center about 630pm. A kid who drove in for some donations asked me what year was the Jeep. He was driving one, and was interesting in how I liked the car. "It's a rental and I'm from Illinois, and I don't even know the year".
I went down Bell Road toward Elsie's House to turn around, and hit a Wal-Mart for another 18 Pack of Budweiser product, but this time it was Bud Ice, more 'bags of salad', a big bag of cheese popcorn, and mouthwash. Back to the motel for a shower and drinking some beers and listening in to Pandora by 7pm. A six tonight, and back for more action tomorrow. The computers should be donated and Joe will be meeting with the heating and AC guys. We have agreed to donate the Ford in the driveway to Elsie's House, but Lannie hasn't really reacted, and the mailman on Pineaire Drive is interested int the vehicle, and he will be the second choice if Lannie doesn't take the bait. I'm back in the room, listening to Pandora, and sipping the suds, and tonight was a seven beer night......But it's a dry heat....
Wednesday, 6/12/13
Up at 510am without the use of the new alarm, but that baby is easy as pie to set! On the run by 530am, and 'out and back' and then around the Hampton complex three times- 32". Met the Brandenburgs for breakfast, and then back to Pineaire to do more work on the living room, and drag the console TV into the dumpster, and to fill both vehicles with all of the computer stuff to be donated. Wednesdays is the only time that this organization accepts donated computer stuff. The dumpster is just about filled, and Joe ordered another one to be delivered later today (it arrived after we got back). And, then it was over to the local service station to arrange an appointment to have the van checked out for the trip back to Springfield. We will bring it back tomorrow, and it should require about an hour to determine what will be required.
The plan was that we would take both vehicles to the computer drop, and leave Janny at Elsie's House. I arrived first and talked to Gale and the gang. Joe and Janny arrived shortly, and then Joe and I drove to Bell and 35th, and then down to Greenway. The computer drop was behind a Dollar Store, and the guys took all of the stuff, and I insisted that we asked about the brand new computer that had never been opened. Joe needs a computer and so is Janny, but it didn't seem that this old (seven years) E Machine was worth it. Back to Elsie's and then we left to meet Crystal at Pineaire just after 12pm. She arrived about 30" later and we attacked the living room, and the new dumpster was in the drive. Frank stumbled in and helped us get the living room looking ship shape. The room hasn't looked this good in forty years!
About 2pm I wanted to get rid of all the books that had been piled in the dining room, and Joe said that I should take them to the local Sun City library on 99th, but we decided that I would go over and make sure if the would accept them before loading the Jeep. I drove over and the librarian thought it would be a great idea. "Lots of novels set during WWII, I know a couple of guys who would really like that!" The librarian gave me a bunch of boxes and I went back and we all filled plastic garbage bags and boxes and filled the Jeep. Crystal and I went back two times, and got all of the donatable books taken care of. The parking lot was quite distance from the door to the library, but they had a shopping cart that made it pretty easy.
Done with the library stuff by 315pm, and then we concentrated on the garage and filled up the new and bigger dumpster about a quarter full. The patio furniture I threw in the front of the dumpster, and Janny and Crystal were tossing the scrap wood in. The plan is to create enough space for the tools hanging on the garage divider into other areas of the garage so that we can knock down this partition, and the 'new' owners will want to view a real two and a half car garage.
Joe and I had been adding items to the Jeep to be donated to Goodwill, and at 5pm I hit the streets to the center, and headed back to the Hampton for a swim and some R'R. Janny and Joe were heading to Elsie's House for another visit, and I couldn't tolerate any more nonsense for today. I was back to the room by 6pm, and had a 'two can' visit to the pool in temps that were just about 110 degrees. Back to the room for a shower, and looking forward to some Bravo TV and salads, popcorn, and more beer for tonight.
Thursday, June 13.2013
Up 515am and on the run by 530am. 84 degrees, but still tolerable (It hit 108 by late afternoon!). Out and back, and then three times around the perimeter. Breakfast with Joe and Jan, and then out to the Walmart North on Rt 101 and Union Hills. Miles closer than the one on Bell, and we picked up some boxes for packing and trashing. Got a huge two buck back of cheese popcorn. Then, to the gas station at Boswell and Bell to drop off the van to make sure that it is ready for the trip back to Springfield. Then we all went to Pineaire and concentrated on the garage. CrystaL arrived from Wickenburg around 830am, and Frank was there and he worked his ass off all day. Ripped out the idiotic partition, and transferred all the tools to empty shelves along the walls. The new dumpster, which was much bigger than the original, was over half full by late morning. Around 1030am Crystal, Joe, Jan, and I headed to his bank on Boswell to do some power of attorney stuff, and then we went to Elsie's House. Marilyn was in a snit because her 'power of attorney' guy was going to come out to the house to take pictures of her, and I think she resented all of the attention that her roommate was getting. We brought a bunch of record albums of the 1940's and he was listening to them, but I really don't think that they registered, but he was happy.
We spent about an hour talking, and then it was back to 'the scene of the crime'. I was tired already. When we got back, we had lunch, and I took some pictures of 'the new Pineaire', and then we finished (pretty much) with the garage. Hazardous chemicals (paint-acids) are in the center of the floor, and all of the racks are on the sides of the garage. By late afternoon, it didn't look bad. But, the dumpster is almost to capacity. A friend and neighbor of Lannie's showed up, with his wife, and they bought a couple hundred bucks worth of tools. He seemed to be very interested to attend the estate sale. When he and his wife showed up the garage was not as clean as later, and most of what he might have been interested in was covered up with layers of junk.
Lannie joined the party about 3pm, and Joe gave her the title of the Ford that is parked in the driveway. This car will be donated to Elsie's House. We shifted stuff from one side of the garage to the other, however it will make it much easier to see what is sellable, and around 415pm Joe and I drove back to the garage to pick up his van. I split because my Jeep was full of clutter for the Goodwill place at 62nd and Bell.
I dropped the junk and then hit the Walmart at 57th and bought beer for tomorrow (my last night at the Hampton!) and a bag of salad to take to the Father's Day party that will happen tomorrow afternoon at 4pm. I dread this foolishness with a passion, but atleast I will be able to fill up with salad, and my bowels won't be in an uproar for the long, long flight home on Saturday.
In the room by 5pm, and down to the hot-tub and pool for a dip. Two Cans of Fun. Strange to be in a hot tub when the ambiant temperature is 107. Back to the room for more beer, cheese popcorn, and Bravo TV.....
Friday, June 14,2013 LAST DAY OF THE VISIT.
Up 510am, and out on the run by 530am. It was to the mid 80's already, but not too bad. Breakfast with the Brandenburgs and then over to Pineaire. Today I was the designated driver to go back and forth to the Goodwill on 62nd and Bell. I did the trip four times, and cleaned out the arizona room, and all of the ancient dishes and pots in the kitchen. Lannie dropped in and with her husband's large pickup, and got rid of all the chemicals, oils, and paints. Her church runs a 'chem pickup' once every six months, and she said she would store them until the next one. This was a big improvement, and now the garage is clutter free (at least in the middle). She also took away most of the garden tools which will be used at Elsie's House. And, she bought the wrought iron loveseat, table, and two chairs that sat on the front stoop. She paid $150.
Around noon we broke for lunch, and snacked on bread and cold cuts that they had bought several days ago. And, ancient 'Circle K' diet colas that tasted like Dr. Pepper made in a third world nation. A couple of men that Lannie knew dropped in to check out the tools, and we made a couple of hundred dollars. It seems that nobody is interested in the bolts and nuts in the cases, but the cases themselves seem to be interesting.
I got back from my last run to Goodwill around 2pm, and I sat with Janny in the dining room reading a bunch of letters that I had written my parents in 1968-1969 when I was at NIU. Felt very creepy. And, also saw a bunch of pictures of me that were forty, fifty,or sixty years old. And, lots of shots of 'the parents' and Dora.
Today was supposed to be the big Father's Day celebration at Elsie's House, and it was to begin at 4pm. We knocked off at Pineaire around 3pm, and headed back to The Hampton Inn for a showers, and were at the front door of Elsie's precisely at 4pm. Lannie was supposed to be there, but she was a 'no show'. A big, big ham in the oven since late morning, and all kinds of salads, potato salad, and and apple pie (with ice cream, off course!) for dessert. Crystal was chopping salad and preparing the meal when we arrived, and Janny joined in to help her. Marilyn seemed to have a good time helping serving and adding comments about how things used to be on Long Island. I had brought a bag of salad from Walmart, and this was what I mostly ate, but I did have a sliver of pie. I was out of there by 6pm.
Stopped at the 'Big K' gas station right near the motel for a fillup of $54. Earlier in the day when I printed the boarding passes, I tried to call the car rental agency to see if I could pay for the 'deliver empty' option, but this couldn't be done over the phone. However, when I talked to Joe later, I found the I was calling the original company, Dollar, and we ended up with Fox, so I might have been able to do it with them.
Before the first trip to Goodwill, I loaded the Jeep Liberty, and then got back to the motel right before 845am to print the boarding pass. Tried in the computer room, but didn't go far enough, and the guy at the main desk printed it out. I went back to my room and tried to contact the rental car agency, but could not operate the fucking phone. Maybe it's broken, but it's probably me. Used the phone in the lobby.
THE BIG NEWS OF THE DAY
Around 1pm Joe found an ancient gym bag in the garage setting on a shelf. Inside were several envelopes containing several thousand dollars. Including the $665 that I found, we are now up to about $8,500 in cash that we have found. How much did we throw out? And the kicker is that in that gym bag he had enclosed a newspaper clipping about somebody who had found a bunch of money in a hideaway. The roofing guy was over this morning and said that the roof had been 'resurfaced in rubber and tar several times', and in order to sell the place a new roof is in order. This stash of cash will probably help pay for most of it.
Back to the room from Elsie's by 615pm, and charting the course to the car rental return. The alarm is set for 430am, and I plan to do a run, and then hit the car drop off, and board the plane with not one fucking problem. And then a three hour wait in Kansas City..hope the internet connection is free. over and out.
Saturday, June 15,13
TRAVEL DAY
Up 415am, and on the run by 435am. Same run as usual, and this time it was just getting light outside. About 32". Stopped at the breakfast bar for a small omelet, and picked up two bagels. Exited the parking lot at 605am. I really don't understand why the Google map page tells you to go North on 101 to Rt 17 if you are leaving the motel, but if you leave from Sky Harbor, you take Rt. 10 West to 101 North. I took 101 South to 10 east, and then 17 to the rental returns. It was no problem and I dropped off the car in about forty minutes from the motel. It was so dark in the return area I don't know how she was able to check for dents and damage. I will get my $100 deposit in a few days. No need to check bags, and there was a long line. Found the Gate (C), and I waited about fifteen minutes to go through security. And I had the laptop up and running at the gate by 732am. The flight leaves at 845am, and I'm about an hour to early.
Just checked the Internet and the Kansas City airport has Free WiFi, and I'll be on the computer during my three hour wait. To Be Continued......
We boarded the flight to Kansas City a little late, and were seated and taking off by 915am. Flight was supposed to take off at 945am. I got an aisle seat three quarters of the way back. Hot before takeoff, then frigid and cramped. Read THE DISTANCE by Eddie Muller. Set in San Francisco during the late forties and about sportswriting and boxing with a kind of noirish tone.
Touched down at 127pm (Kansas Time). Just about two hours and fifteen minutes in the air. The airport is small and poorly arranged. It was not very easy to determine the arrangement of the gates, and I was not the only one who was confused. I hit the restroom, and then immediately went through security and will wait in the departure area until liftoff at 420pm. Two bagels and some sliced cheese should get me by.
905pm back on Durking, here's the wrap-up
I sat in the departure area at Gate 39 for the full three hours, and mostly read THE DISTANCE. Although the Kansas airport provides Free wifi, they have chosen to block sites that stream videos such as HULU or NETFLIX.
It never rained during the three hours, yet the sky looked ominous, and, of course, right as we boarded the sky to the east turned a shade of dark black, and we waited on the plane for about 30" for the storm to clear. However, the actual airtime was only about forty minutes so we didn't lose that much on the arrival to St. Louis.
Touched down in St. Louis right at 6pm, and didn't really have to wait for the shuttle to SKY PARK. Paid about fifty bucks for the week, got my free bottle of water, and I stopped for gas in the area. I paid $3.57, and this was a savings of about twenty cents when I got back to Springfield. At the station the woman had no idea how to get back on 270 East, and it was right in front of her station, but I found it, and didn't lose any time. And found 270 and then 55 north.
Stopped at the gas station around the corner from Durkin and bought a 24 oz. container of FOUR LOKO 12% alcohol by volume and pulled into the drive about 830pm.
I ran a Defender scan on the PC and it took almost twenty five minutes while I unpacked. I realized that had I been able to workout, I had forgotten the cord that would allow me to charge the mp3 player.
I ran into small storm squalls but not much rain thirty miles south of Springfield, and it seems that this stormy weather will continue. I am not used to the intense humidity compared to the arid conditions of Phoenix. Will watch SPLIT SECOND tonight. 5 in the mail.
Ken Worden
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