I’ve been reading “The Late Show” lately (already 3/4 completed) and the main character takes a pop-up tent to the beach, where she sets up temporary camp, paddle boards and then sleeps some with her dog, Lola. Don’t know why, but I decided to search for a “cheap pop-up tent” online and the cheapest I found was only $15 from Five BEL°W, and the only location that had the tent was the Cary location. I decided yesterday morning to drive up to Cary and see if I could buy one of these cheap tents. *As if I actually ever would go to the beach, or somewhere else, to set up this tent. And, I haven’t checked out the quality yet, but what could I expect for only $15 plus tax?

* I ended up donating the pop-up tent to the Main Library in Laurinburg, and checked back some time later and they did use it at least once for an overnight teddy bear event.

But, the trip was very enjoyable. I stop by the new Harnett County Library on my way. They usually have a few books, for sale, and I check them out. Then there is a short-cut that takes me away from Fuquay Varina on my way to Apex (I don’t go through Holly Springs, but veer off, West.) This time, I turned onto US 1 just before entering Apex. *There was a guy that was going to cut in, at the last, just ahead of me. But, I wasn’t in the mood, and he came close to hitting me, but finally slammed on his brakes and came in behind me. We later exchanged symbolic gestures in appreciation of each other. If you know the area, he was just some mook looking to cut-in at the last moment, and he had no more right to cut in front of me, by that time, than get in “with the rest” that were behind me.

I first turned off of US 1 to visit “Mr. Mike’s Used Books.” I’ve been there several times, and have even bought at least one of the Connelly novels there. They had a bunch of the Connelly novels, but nothing new for me. *I’m just looking for hardback copies for a few of the early Bosch novels that I only have in paperback versions.

After the bookstore, I checked my route to Five BEL°W and headed up to it. It had been a few years, but I began to recognize the area which I had driven around pretty extensively back during my working years.

I found Five BEL°W easily but did need to rely on my phone navigation because this shopping area has many convoluted streets that wind around. I guess I would call it “snaking my way” through.

I had never been in a Five BEL°W before but there is one located near the Sprouts in Fayetteville that I visit often. At the other end of the strip mall. I didn’t even know what they actually sold, and had never had a reason to find out. But the cheap pop-up tent had gotten me here.

I walked in the front of the store and saw a few customers and staff milling about. It actually looked a little like a Dollar Tree, but less organized. But later would find out that they were remodeling the whole back section to become a Ten BEL°W section. I didn’t see what I was looking for so I found a staff girl and asked. She wasn’t sure, but directed me back to the store manager.

The store manager was talking to another female staffer as they were walking out from the back area. There were several workers moving stuff about. I asked the man if he was the manager and he acknowledged that he was. I then asked about a cheap pop-up tent for $15. He said, “Yes, I think we have two. What color would you like.” I asked what colors he had and he said pink and green. I asked what shade of green and he said it was lime green (I think.). I said, “I’ll take the green.” He disappeared in the back of the store and shortly came back out with a round, flat, tent in a lime green carrying case.

I don’t recall why exactly but in a very brief exchange, we talked about goat cheeses, raspberry jam, and Trader Joe’s. He was a good guy. The young male store clerk took my tent and I guess scanned it and I asked if I could use my credit card. He replied in the affirmative. I stuck my card in and got my receipt for $16. A dollar tax, exactly.

It was a hot day and I walked out to my car and put the tent in the back seat. I took a picture of the tent on the seat, and also a picture of the store front of Five BEL°W. I then drove over to park under some shade provided by a tree (several shade trees, but not a great number of them). There was a truck parked in a slightly better location, but I had some shade and I reached for my novel, “The Late Show,” and I found my place and continued reading. *The truck eventually left and another car had come up on the other side of me to park.

It had begun to dawn on me that I had actually eaten at a restaurant in this area. More than one, but one was a “Jason’s deli.” The other I will have to track down, but I think it had the name “Tomato” in it’s title. I had been there several times as they had a good salad, soup and dessert bar. As I drove through this shopping area, I began to recall having become familiar with it several years ago. I scoped out the phone navigation and figured out how simple it was to find Tryon Road.

As I came up to Wake Med (on my right) I decided to get off Tryon Road and head to my left. I knew the Harris Teeter was then on my right. I went past that turn and was thinking I could find the LaQuinta Inn, but never saw a sign. I’m thinking it might have been the first street just past the Harris Teeter (which was beside a WalMart). So, I keep going and it is obvious that this is a nice neighborhood, on both sides of the street. I eventually come to a light and turn right. It’s been a while, but I am flying “by the seat of my pants” and after mistakenly turning into a nice “senior residential living facility” and coming back out, I turn down a street that will take me back close to the Amphitheater. I recognize where I am and turn to go past the Ampitheater.

I had attended a training session at a motel, near where Tryon Road and US 1 cross, and during another training session, I had stayed at a LaQuinta Inn. This training was near the Koka Booth Amphitheater (in fact the large parking lot blended together for all of these). The multi-story training facility had changed names, I think. I then came back and found the LaQuinta Inn and as I rode around the building I found that it was being remodeled and apparently there were no current customers. *I wondered if they still had the yellow acrylic table that I had really liked. I’ve looked several times online but have never found anything that looks quite like it. It was about three inches thick see-through yellow acrylic with a metal stand. Something that maybe two people could sit at. I seem to recall sitting at the table one morning, and the condensation was on the window nearby. It may have been in a Continental Breakfast nook.

After coming out of the LaQuinta, I headed past “Lucky 32” a high-end restaurant, and fought the urge to stop and go into the Harris Teeter nearby. I’ve been in this Harris Teeter, at least once, and they have an enormous selection that most Harris Teeter locations do not carry. That’s because Cary, NC is an elite neighborhood (most of it). I think I may have bought some fresh, special mushrooms there, and I think they also carried the Tiger Sauce.

Oh, now I recall that after heading down Tryon Road, back toward downtown Raleigh, I realized where I was and turned on to Avent Ferry Road. It had been a long time, but I used to love going past a lake. Yup, still there and with a long narrow pedestrian bridge that connects a parking area from the main lake-beach facility.

I then went to the State Farmer’s Market. Bought some peppers from Moore’s. They are just beginning to start but will have tons of both hot and mild peppers by the end of summer.

After the Farmer’s Market I headed down US 40 and finally stopped off of Hwy 42 at the Smithfield’s Chicken -n- Barbecue to have an Arnold Palmer (with sweet tea) and an order of French Fries. The drink and fries cost a little over $5. *They have created an intricate traffic interaction here, but it works.

I had actually begun to think about stopping at the Hwy 55 in Dunn for an order of onion rings, but finally decided against it. *Had googled for directions to Tucker Lake and found that coming from above I 95 was the easier route. That is where a 12 year old boy drowned recently.

When I got home, I came in and got the Nueske’s Smoked Liver Pate out of the fridge and cut off a 2 oz. slice. This was too much, but I eventually ate it all with some Black Sesame Rice crackers.

My meal schedule had been thrown off severely. I decided to not have calf liver for dinner but chose to make a chicken salad with some of the Harris Teeter Roasted Chicken I had bought a few days earlier. I had bought the roasted chicken from Publix for quite a while but then began to sense that the chicken meat tasted “mealy.” I tried Harris Teeter and the chicken tasted better, and I think they have kept the price down too. *I added some of the California Sun Dried Tomatoes to the salad and they have a distinct flavor.

I am a slow reader, but I only have about another 70 pages left in “The Late Show.” The hardcover copies feel better in the hand, and the print is larger which makes for easier reading, I think. I have plodded through several paperback copies but they are not as pleasurable, and the light gray paper of one paperback was horrible for reading.

I haven’t been scoping out the locations mentioned in Blood Work as I did with many of the Bosch Novels and the BOSCH TV series.

My favorite Agatha Christie story is “Ten Little Indians” or sometimes called, “And Then There Were None.” So, when I see the character name of “Noone” in Blood Work, I immediately think of the Christie character, which came to be know to the survivors as “No One.” So, every time I read the name “Noone,” I thought of No One, and just thought it was Connelly’s tribute to Agatha Christie. And, sure enough, late in the novel the play on the name is revealed, whether a Christie tribute or not.

[NOTE 06/22/24]: I’m writing today to mention an oddity that I came across in the last pages of my copy of Blood Work. Crimmins, the “bad guy” had kidnapped Graciela and Raymond, her deceased sister’s son, who she was now taking care of. Terry McCaleb has shot and killed Crimmins, on a Mexican beach, and has found and rescued Graciela and Raymond from their hell pit. And then in describing what had happened, my copy of the novel says, “Gloria and Raymond had spent thirty-six hours with Crimmins.” As I finished reading that sentence, I questioned whether this was a misprint, or if Connelly was using some allegory regarding Gloria’s heart in Terry’s chest. But, I finished the last page of Blood Work, and then did a quick Google Search on the sentence as written above. I didn’t find any exact matches, but did find the excerpt from this portion of the novel online. And there is the oddity. The online copy was written as it should have been, “Graciela and Raymond had spent thirty-six hours with Crimmins.”

So, now I wonder how my copy of Blood Work should have this glaring mistake. I looked at the book binding and it said Little Brown, which is the original publishing company. How could someone make this kind of mistake unless they were actually trying to think about what they were typing, not just transcribing? See below. I took a picture of my edition with the error, and a screencapture from the online, correct text:

[end NOTE]

Yesterday, I took a trip up to Rocky Mount, and on the way back home to Wilson. This was definitely a “spur of the moment” decision based solely on finding a library book sale at “North Carolina Wesleyan University” in Rocky Mount listed online. *I see that “Wesleyan University” is in Middletown, Connecticut.

I found the few details of the book sale on the Pearsall Library Facebook site.

There were a number of miscues, on my part, in getting to this book sale, and I was also under a time limit. You see above that the Saturday book sale ended at 11 am, and I had less than two hours to shower and drive up to Rocky Mount, NC. I looked online and saw that the trip would only take one hour and twenty-four minutes. I thought this was optimistic since I thought that it would take a couple of hours to get to Wilson. But no, I showered quickly and drove like a demon along I95. I guess having an end goal and time requirement fueled some inner race car driver. I kept up with or passed many vehicles, in the fast lane of the Interstate on this journey.

I’ll leave my first miscue until later, but my second being: I did an “OK Google” search on my phone for directions to Pearsall Library in Rocky Mount, NC, and got a map and Start button on my phone. I pressed it and I was on my way. As I said, I was exceptionally speedy for most of my time on I95 and arrived at my library destination about 10:24 am. This would give me plenty of time to peruse the books on sale, if they were categorized by author, or at least as “crime fiction.

As I pulled into the library parking lot I saw a couple of black persons sitting beside an outside wall. I thought they might be students, or just members of the local community. But I wasn’t satisfied that I was at the library entrance, so I backed out of the parking lot and drove around the building. This wasn’t an easy task since there were “one way” streets that offered minor obstacles. I did a circuitous route as close to the library as I could noting that everyone that I saw were African American, or at least black. And the thought came to me that I didn’t know that Wesleyan University was a black institution (like FSU). Still having worked at FSU for 24 years, and then retiring, I had no problem with entering a black or mostly black institution.

After driving around the neighborhood I ended up on the same side of the library as I had originally been, but in a separate parking lot, adjacent to the first, but I don’t think they were connected. The two persons were still sitting beside the outside wall but I now saw the library entrance/exit. I walked through the doors, past another black person, a woman who did not appear to be of student age or ilk, and through a separate inside door. I was now in the library and saw a young black student sitting behind a counter.

I walked up to the library staffer and asked if the library was having a book sale today. He quickly responded that it wasn’t. I then made a comment that I must have the wrong date. I asked if the sale was scheduled for the next week. He responded negatively again. I asked when the next book sale was scheduled and he said he didn’t know but it would probably be at least a couple of months. *I said I knew I had seen the dates (or at least June 15th, a Saturday) in an online advertisement. The day matching the exact date seemed for me to be proof that the year was correct, 2024, Saturday, June 15th.

I then began to question if I was in the right library. I’m not sure if I recalled the library name as “Pearsall” but the student focused on his computer monitor and was looking for another library that might have a similar or same name. After about a minute, I tapped the counter and said, “I’ll search for myself,” as I turned and headed out of the library.

This first library I visited is apparently the main library in Rocky Mount. I thought this was on a campus, but it is not, and it is Braswell Memorial Library. I thought I had seen a sign near this library that said it was named for a woman with Pearsall in her name, but I do not see that from anything online now.

In the car, I checked for the library name and now saw there was another Pearsall Library at Wesleyan University and it was several miles across town. Still doable, but getting into that last 15 minutes of perusal time before my 11 am deadline. And, once again “one way” streets added to my minor obstacles. Finally, I was on a straightaway and heading down long blocks through green traffic lights.

I had found the online Facebook advertisement and had put the specific street address, “3400 N. Wesleyan Boulevard,” into my phone for directions. I turned at a light and saw athletic fields on my right. Nothing on my left, undeveloped real estate. I turned to my right again, as directed by my phone. And then another right and I saw a small building beside the athletic field. As I drove up to the building I realized it was an administrative building for the athletic department, not the library I was looking for. I cursed, or more than likely cursed, and looked at the phone again. I then thought, “how difficult could it be to find a library on a small college campus,” so I dropped the phone and started through the rest of campus. The buildings were labeled, but I finally stopped and called out to a couple of women, both black women, and one heard me. I asked if there was a library on campus, and she quickly pointed across to a nearby building stating that was the library. I thanked her and whipped the car over through the parking area.

And this is where I parked. It looks like a library entrance, but if it was the entrance, it wasn’t the entrance this morning. I walked to one door and it said, go to the next one, and that said go to the next one and I think there was one more door before I turned the corner (a Bistro) which had two doors, and neither of those were “the door.” But finally my door options had dwindled and I found the right entrance.

I walked in the library and saw two persons, a man and a woman, both white behind a counter. I think my first words were, “I know there is only about 15 minutes left, but is there a book sale today.” The man replied in the affirmative and started walking away from the counter and around to where the books were. And then it happened. There were plenty of books, but this wasn’t just any books sale. This sale was mostly of old tomes specifically written about political science or economics. No current fiction or popular novels here. No Connelly, or Coben, or any other popular New York Times Best Sellers. What a sense of disappointment, but still I walked up and down looking at titles on a table and then “in the stacks.” Nothing, but I did find an old, large cook book and I did buy that. I think it cost $1.

I walked back to my car with my purchase. Later I looked at the online ad (see above) and it didn’t reveal the nature of this book sale. I’m thinking I had see the wording about “popular titles” and “categorized by author” from the ad or ads for other book sales, and had just transposed that onto what I wanted this book sale to be. I then got on my phone and looked for a used book store and found one that was a few miles away, “Pequod Used Books.” It was only after purchasing several books at Pequod, and coming back to my car that I asked myself if “Pequod” didn’t have something to do with Moby Dick. I think I just did a verbal search (OK Google) and sure enough the Pequod was the whaling vessel of Capt. Ahab.

I had a pleasant experience in Pequod, talking to the owner at length.

*I am rushing off to breakfast and hopefully will get back in the writing mode to finish this as there is much more with a visit to City Lake, and driving about downtown Rocky Mount taking a myriad of digital pictures and then on to Wilson, NC and the “Wayback Burger” and a trip around the old Wilson Mall (partially abandoned, J.C. Penny, etc.).

After Pequod Used Books, I headed toward downtown Rocky Mount, but got sidetracked as I went past “the old Power Plant” and next door, the City Lake and park.

I parked in the shade and read some of “The Poet” and slept a little. I then had to find my way around the “One Way” drive around the Lake, but finally did. I then went for a ride in a “posh” nearby neighborhood. The homes seemed to be “old money” from probably the 1960s and I wondered what jobs these families did in order to afford these nice homes.

I had been downtown a couple of years before, and had even taken a short video of a train coming past this building. I misplaced this video, but not too long ago came across it, but don’t recall where I found it.

After I was through driving around downtown and taking a bunch of pictures, I headed toward Wilson, NC on Hwy. 301. But I caught the following out of the corner of my eye, and turned around to go through this narrow tunnel (actually two narrow tunnels). And from the pictures I took, one of the tunnels goes under a railroad track and the other is a street (where a truck was going overhead).

When I got to Wilson, I was hungry and went looking for What-a-Burger, but the actual name was “Wayback Burger.” I had been here once before maybe while I was still working at FSU. I knew they had a delicious hamburger. I had even driven up a year or more later, after my first visit on a Monday (I think.) and they had a “Closed” sign on their door. Some special training or event that day, so I came away without having a second good hamburger. *They were open yesterday, and I ordered a classic hamburger with a fry combo, which includes a drink, and I think the total price was a little over $12.

The only customers at first, besides myself were a family, a little boy and his parents. Later an older couple came in, ordered and sat next to my table to eat. A few more customers came in and had “take out” orders. The burger, and the fries were delicious again. I used a lot of ketchup and even most of a small cup of Ranch dressing.

Unlike my first visit, the sun continued to shine from the time I entered and after I left. The first visit, the sun was shining when I first went in, but it had started to storm and rain hard before I left, and finally when I walked to my car, my whole clothing was drenched. I was so wet that I took my shirt off to drive home.

After I finished eating, I drove over to the Wilson Mall. The Mall was vibrant at one time, but for quite a few years most of the original stores were no longer in business. There are signs of water damage and many of what were probably large glass windows have been boarded up. This is a depressing place that makes me melancholy. The movie theater still is open, and I think Roses may have opened near the theater. Not sure if Roses was there originally, or if they took over an empty space. Still the other end, where J. C. Penney’s was is boarded up.

If you compare the aerial view of this area with the new football stadium, there have been major changes.

I may have driven around the football stadium at Barton College before I went to eat, but after eating I also went back to downtown Wilson and tried to drive around the Whirly Gig Park. But, several of the roads had been closed and appeared to have been dug up. Not sure if they are going to re-route traffic around here, or what. One street appeared to be temporarily closed, with a yellow tape running across, taped to several orange pylons. I think they may have had some event planned for later in the day.

The football stadium looks great! I noted some additional features that had been added. I think it is now Truist Stadium.

Several years ago the bank building demolition was televised and was very entertaining. Seems like I may have driven down there, but don’t recall exactly. One of the center structures, perhaps an elevator well/tower did not fall at first was was brought down with some traditional wrecking ball work. I do recall driving by this street, so I don’t know if I watched the demolition online and then drove there the next day. Hmmm, possible?

I think they have built a new library YMCA and a nice multi-story apartment complex at the old bank location.

Okay, I’m aware that my memory has almost completely gone regarding where I have purchased my “cheap” books recently. Oh, and now it comes to me. I went to Jacksonville, NC last week and while there stopped by the Onslow County Public Library on Doris Avenue. They have a small wall (against the men’s bathroom) where they display books and magazines for sale (any donation). I have bought some items from this area previously.

I think I bought a couple of Harlan Coben hardbacks, including “The Boy from the Woods.” I may have gotten a copy of “Where the Crawdads Sing,” although without looking, I think crawdads are equivalent to our crayfish, and crayfish don’t sing. They are not like some insects that can drive you nuts with their repetitive, high pitched sounds. Oh, and a crayfish isn’t an insect. *I had watched the “Where the Crawdads Sing,” TV movie sometime in the last year or so, and enjoyed it, although at the end of the movie the heroine reveals that she had slipped back into “town” and killed her nemesis.

When I was still a boy, and living with my mom on the corner of Hwy. 24 and Queens Creek Road I would spend most of my summer days (out of school) playing inside or out in the yard. In our back yard, just off from the kitchen, a deep drainage ditch ran from underneath Queens Creek Road and the entire width of our corner property toward our next door neighbor (on Hwy. 24). Actually, the run of the water in the ditch came from the Hwy. 24 neighbor (Heath?), past our kitchen and beneath Queens Creek Road and over to our family farm. My mom paid taxes on the farm for all her life. She paid for 71 acres of land, but when it was surveyed, shortly before I got rid of it, the survey said there were actually 79 acres. The New River Baptist Association became the beneficiary of the Farm but after a few years they sold it and used those funds to purchase the old Onslow Academy in Jacksonville, NC. The New River Baptist Association Center was named in honor of the long-time associational directory, E. J. Hines.

Recently, while attending the Red Branch Baptist Church for their 102nd Homecoming, where Rev. Jeff Mitchell is pastor, I got to talk with Ann Gibson “Hines” Graham (married to Billy Graham, another one). I hadn’t seen Ann for several years. Her maiden name was Gibson, no relation. She was married to E. J. for many years until his death. It was good seeing her and talking with her. E. J. and Ann had adopted a son, Steven (sp?) who as a young adult had gone scuba diving off the North Carolina coast, and suffered a terminal (hereditary) malady while underwater, and drowned. She is older, but still of sharp mind and wit. And Billy Graham although different from E. J. Hines makes Ann a good husband, companion and partner.

I also bought a couple of “Our State” magazines and I think a “Home & Gardens”. But, getting the Our State magazines into the magazine basket that I keep near my toilet, I looked at the cover and realized the purchase price was $7.99 per issue. WOW! I find that hard to believe. *I also find it hard to believe that I only gave the Library $5 total for three hardbacks and two or three magazines.

Actually I started this posting to talk about all the books I’ve recently gotten rid of by adding them to the various Little Lending Libraries in my area. Oh, I also gave Mary Ann and Jacquelin a few of my remaining cookbooks. I’m currently reading another Michael Connelly novel, “The Poet,” and am just a hair over half through it. The main character, Jack McEvoy, is dealing with his twin brother’s death. Jack first finds that his brother didn’t commit suicide, but was murdered… and now that Jack has convinced the FBI to enter the fray, the serial cop killer has been labeled, “the Poet.” The Poet has left phrases from several Edgar Allen Poe works at the scene of the suicides, now revealed to be homicides.

I wanted to read “The Poet” and then “Blood Work” and finally “The Late Show.” I’ve already read two Bosch novels that included Renee Ballard, but “The Late Show” is her first. I’ve read “The Narrows,” in which Terry McCaleb is already dead and Harry Bosch is trying to determine if “the Poet” killed him. So, reading “Blood Work” will help me with the Terry McCaleb story.

I am enjoying The Poet and find it a relief from dealing with all the crap that Harry Bosch can foist upon both friend and foe, and me, the reader. I doubt that Harry actually has any “real” friends. And, as I have said elsewhere, I’ve learned to despise Detective Harry Bosch from reading all the Connelly novels. I didn’t get these feelings from watching Titus Welliver in the Amazon BOSCH seasons, but I definitely began to file away all the CRAP that Bosch delivered. A lying sack of shit that shouldn’t be trusted. A master manipulator that is willing to mislead all, when he thinks necessary to accomplish his purposes, to solve the current case, as quickly as possible. After all how trustworthy could a cop or detective be that carries around a lock pick kit? Oh, and when Harry does something so egregious to get results, and that any lawyer, not just “the Lincoln Lawyer” could easily get the case thrown out of court because of Harry’s “shit,” what happens? Michael Connelly kills off “the bad guy” and Harry comes away with another win. Of course, I don’t expect the author to disparage his hero creation, even if the hero is far from being any type of hero.

I had bought four of the “Salt & Pepper” sausage links at the Organic Butcher Shop in Dunn, NC a few days ago. I thought they would be spicy, but they weren’t. I cooked two links to try them out, and then thought that I probably wouldn’t cook the remaining two links, but just let them sit in the refrigerator.

But, today I was online, and I don’t recall why or how I came across a chip dip recipe for sausage, rotel and cream cheese.

I cooked the sausage in a small frying pan, and there was no grease to pour off. I then added the Rotel and a half block of cream cheese and used a fork to help the cheese melt. I had bought some tortilla chips today, and this dip had a good flavor.

3-INGREDIENT CREAM CHEESE SAUSAGE DIP {FOOTBALL FRIDAY}

[NOTE]: I eyeballed the amount of the ingredients. I used a half block of cream cheese, and a couple of long narrow sausages (mild). I would rarely use Rotel, but I like tomatoes and peppers. *I was surprised, after having eaten the whole thing that this morning I had actually lost a little over half a pound in weight. [end NOTE].

A previous chip dip that I first tried ages ago:

And toward repeating myself, I successfully made another old-time (60s or 70s style) cheese ball chip dip. It is made with sour cream & cream cheese, Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing (non-Buttermilk version) some diced red bell pepper, diced water chestnuts, drained spinach, chopped sweet onion. Don’t recall if this suggests a little hot sauce or not. But, the items mixed produce a very pleasant overall flavor. Pass a few more chips please.

I wrote something on New Years Day 2024 that was looking forward to my 70th birthday. I did reach it, and now it is June 1st, 2024. I had a call a few days ago regarding a reunion of the IT crew from Fayetteville State University. The meeting was going to be at the Mi Casita next to Ollies on Ramsey Street, at 1 pm.

I am so glad I attended today. It was good seeing all the old faces, and so many of them. The three surprising things were that Tommy Williams (a tech) had died of a massive heart attack a little over a year ago. Suzanne H. was no longer ambulatory and her husband was having to attend to her daily needs. And, Marge B. had married to someone who had once worked in the IT department.

I wore my two new hearing aids, but it was still difficult to hear what was being said.

What is interesting to me is how I am viewing my eventual, and much nearer death. Not so much with dread, but with a comforting resignation. After all, there is nothing anyone can do to avoid their own death. And, I think on various things I have done, or experienced or weathered. Twenty-four years of work at Fayetteville State University in their IT department and most or all of it really does not mean much.

Not always, but sometimes just before I am thinking about going to bed, I ask myself if this might not be the last time I lay down to go to sleep. I recall how several years ago, maybe 2019, when I was home on a Monday on a holiday day, planning to spend the rest of the week on one of my short vacations. I had just finished eating some ice cream (perhaps pistachio) and had just gotten up from my easy chair (about 10 am) and had put the tub of ice cream back into my freezer. And I was just sitting back down to watch a new episode of the new Outer Limits (which episode I have just seen again recently). The episode had to do with a small town, somewhere maybe in Alaska, but near a military base which was one of the points of protection for America. Oh, and it was at Christmas time, and the story centered around the local sheriff’s/police station. There was an outsider, oriental, who was dressed in a suit, white shirt & tie, and hat who had come to town. I don’t remember why he was put in jail, but he was, and the rest of the town were up front celebrating Christmas. Seems that each year a prisoner (if they had one) was pardoned for the night. I guess like the President of the United States does for Thanksgiving, and the turkey or turkeys.

But, as they bring this outsider up front and pardon him, he seems to have “more information than he should” about the various towns people. In the end, the visitor turns out to be an alien (not from Mexico or further south) and the aliens are attacking the information grid of the military complex. The aliens have used the local sheriff, or his deputy, to find out where the military data center is located, and the show ends with the realization that the aliens have at least won this battle.

Now, I never got to the end of this episode the first time I was watching it. I got to the point where the “oriental” alien was sitting alone in the dark, back in one of the jail cells. And then, I realized that I was viewing the TV scene with a reddish filter. Not sure if the reddish filter carried over to everything I was seeing. I’m thinking it would have had to. And, I also realized that I wasn’t in control. My body was vibrating, I guess as a result of a mild seizure, and at some point I realized that I had urinated on myself. I’m not sure if I ever actually lost consciousness and within a relatively short period of time, I was back to my normal, but recently peed on self.

I wasn’t quite sure what to do, and I called Jeff Mitchell to let him know what had happened to me. He may have come up with the idea that I should go to the nearest emergency clinic, which I have one just about a quarter mile from me, across from the small strip mall that contains a Food Lion grocery. *I would later also go to this Cape Fear Valley emergency clinic for my series of COVID shots. So I took a shower to was the pee off myself, got dressed and drove myself to the emergency clinic.

It took about 30 minutes before I was sitting in front of a nurse who was taking my personal info, and yes, telling me that I shouldn’t have driven myself to the clinic. At some point I was given a small plastic cup to take to the bathroom to give a urine sample. And as I had almost filled the cup, I saw this reddish light appear in the upper corner of my eye. I knew this was a precursor to me passing out (or at least being out of control of my body) and I quickly looked for some place to sit the filled urine cup down. I did see a handicap railing on the wall. Not sure if I actually placed the cup successfully on the railing, before I passed out. But I woke up, I guess a short time later, laying on the pleasantly cool bathroom floor. My head was located close to the bathroom door. *Normally, when something unexpected happens, I usually try to compose myself and then think of what to do, but this time I immediately started yelling for help. And help arrived quickly and I was moved to a gurney on wheels. They called the hospital and an ambulance was sent over to pick me up and take me to the actual hospital. It was one of the first hot days, and that is probably why the bathroom floor felt so good, being so cold.

They got me to the hospital on Owen Drive in Fayetteville. I stayed there until Friday, when they “let me go.” And after a bank of tests, including the quite uncomfortable & claustrophobic MRI (or is that CAT Scan?) and a stint of using a CPAP device while trying to sleep, I was back home without a clear reason why I had passed out. May cardiologist had an idea, and eventually he would have me in to “shock my heart” to try and get rid of my afib. Now, I have know I had afib, an irregular heart beat, since I was in my teens, and it has never caused a problem. In fact, I don’t think it was usually mentioned, all the years that I visited various doctors. I didn’t feel weak, or dizzy, through out the years. And, in my twenties, I played a lot of tennis until when at almost 40 years old, I “blew out the ligaments” in my right knee, during a city league tennis match, and had to have major surgery (a 4 hours ordeal during which I was pleasantly knocked out) to correct the problem.

Oh, and I had the surgery and I think it was just a few days later that I had to start teaching an introduction to computers (PCs) at the local community college, Coastal Carolina Community College. Fortunately, someone loaned me their station wagon, and I was able to drive myself to and from the college, and get the wheel chair in and out to be mobile. And Jim Kelly and his family went out of their way to take care of me, in their home, for an extended period of time. *Sorry I ate a “left over” fast food hamburger, that was yours, and in the refrigerator, Ben.

So, all of the above to say that as much as I don’t want it to happen, and the alternative is a quick death, at some point in my “relative” near future (maybe today, or a month from now, but probably by the time I am 82 years old — if I should live so long) something catastrophic will happen to me. I don’t know if it will be painful, or quick, or if I will even be aware of it, but it will happen. *And if I survive, it will drastically change my life… for the worse. Afterwards, I might not be able to cook for myself, or bathe myself, go to the bathroom on my own, go shopping for groceries, or drive myself for fun or necessity. I might have to leave my apartment to survive in a nursing home.

I never expected to live to be 70 years old, which I am, but if you live long enough it happens, and just like peeing on yourself when you are young, you may come full circle and have to provide yourself with that warm, but unwanted feeling once again as an adult.

The mother shown above, won a $3 Millions law suit as the result of her daughter being killed in an automobile accident caused by a drunk driver.

[NOTE 06/11/24]: As I re-read this blog posting title, “I Did Reach My 70th Birthday…,” I laughed a little, to myself. There are plenty of people that never reach their 70th birthday, and quite a few that go on to 80, 90 and even older. But, through my life, especially in my 20’s and 30’s I never thought that I would actually live to be 70 years old.

I’m in relatively good health, and don’t feel bad in any major way. No, I’m not going out to play several sets of tennis. That is gone, long ago. I don’t walk very much, and when I start to, I soon start to ache in my calves, and my joints and bones begin to ache some. And, from standing briefly in line, waiting for the last “Friends of Cumberland County Book Sale” doors to open, I became uncomfortable and wanted to sit down after only about 10 minutes. Although I do think I actually stood for about 25 minutes, and read through my daily Bible reading, on my phone, as I waited.

No, what is fantastic is that my mind is still relatively sharp and perhaps I am fooling myself into thinking that I am no different from when I was 20, 30, 40, 50 or so on.

I play multiple games of online chess against the computer, and every so often, even win. However, I do see that I am nowhere near as diligent as to my opponents possible moves, as I was most of my life. However, there were many years from about my mid-twenties until about 65 that I rarely played. Now I have become complacent and often move a piece, without thinking of all or even the most obvious consequences… and then my opponent moves a piece, to take mine.

So, I see the skin discoloration on my lower legs and feet. It’s not painful, but does look bad. I feel the partial numbness in my feet and toes, and sometimes there is a deep burning. I have found that rubbing some rubbing alcohol on the burning, actually causes the pain to go away, at least temporarily and for a good period of time.

I think about my nearing death as inevitable. It may not be today, or even next month, but I would doubt seriously that I will make it past the age of 82 years old, and that is only eleven years from now. And, I know that eleven years will zip by as almost nothing. [end NOTE]

Angel’s Flight from Hill Street

The Bradbury Building and Million Dollar Theater (lower Grand Central Market)

The Anthony Quinn mural on a building across from the Bradbury Building:

Harry has just sacrificed Chastain to the murderous LA mob, but manages to drive away, back to the police barricades and safety. After being attended to, he walks over and into a looted liquor store, Fortune Liquors, where he finds the owner cowering behind a counter. Harry is looking for a cigarette and the old man gives Harry his last one. The matchbook says, “Fortune Liquors” on one side and “Fortune Matches” on the other and there is a fortune printed on the matchbook.

I have not read the Bosch novels in the order in which they were published. Angel’s Flight was the 6th novel and Nine Dragons was the 14th novel. The looted liquor store with the old oriental owner struck a chord, much like when I read about “the Hightower Apartments.” I had recalled the Hightower Apartments from the 1973 movie, “The Long Goodbye,” with Elliott Gould playing the part of private detective Philip Marlowe. Now, I didn’t remember that they were called the Hightower Apartments, but the mental image of the several stories tall castle-like elevator tower was iconic.

So, I didn’t actually recall the liquor store name, “Fortune Liquors,” but I did recall the story about an old liquor store owner who wouldn’t leave a depressed neighborhood (although he had a more profitable other location, in a better neighborhood). So the first time Harry meets the old man, the old man’s store has been ransacked. And years later, Harry is called in to find the old man has been murdered. And eventually we find that the old man’s daughter has killed her father.

Since I’ve not read many of these novels in order, this was sort of a “flashback.” I already knew Harry had a history, but now I got to live the beginning.

Recall that when I read “City of Bones” shortly after reading “The Black Ice,” it solidified my belief that Harry Bosch was a sack of lying dog shit, that shouldn’t be trusted. I hope you think that description is a little worse than calling someone a “shitbird.” But as I have written elsewhere my justification: Harry was having intimate relations with the interim medical examiner (female), and she had mentioned finding a discrepancy during the autopsy. She didn’t want to reveal to Harry what she had found, but he cajoled her, telling her he wouldn’t reveal what she told him about her findings. *Her findings brought into sever question whether the suggested suicide wasn’t actually a homicide. So, she tells Harry what she has found and doesn’t want this revealed because she is currently an “interim” medical examiner and she wants that to become a permanent position. They have sex and shortly thereafter she asks if she can take a shower. So, no sooner than she is washing Harry’s stink off of her in his shower, he picks up his phone and calls a journalist friend of his pointing the journalist to questioning whether the cop’s death was either a suicide or murder. Harry then quickly goes off to Mexico. *But, when I read this little vignette, I immediately thought that if I was one of Harry’s co-workers, and he had made a promise not to reveal info, that only could have come from me, and very quickly thereafter had revealed that info to a professional “public crier,” then I would never trust Harry Bosch again.

And because I read “City of Bones” directly after “The Black Ice,” Harry’s betrayal was fresh in my mind. He gets his “no longer friend” who did become the “permanent” medical examiner to examine a bone to determine if it was indeed human. She treats Harry rudely, keeping him at her front door as she makes the examination. Well rudely, unless you recall what a sack of lying dog shit Harry Bosch actually is, and that he shouldn’t be trusted, nor does he deserve any special immediate attention, or preferential treatment.

Funny how actually reading the Connelly Bosch novels lead me to despise the fictional character of Harry Bosch. I didn’t have that seething hatred after watching six seasons of Bosch from Amazon. The character played by Titus Welliver was flawed, but likeable.

“The THING from another world” 1951 BW Horror, SciFi
This is the Casablanca of SciFi.

“THEM” 1954 BW SciFi
The film has James Arness.

“Forbidden Planet” 1956 C SciFi

“The Invasion of the Body Snatchers” 1956 BW SciFi
I like Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter. They portray a quintessential 1950’s couple.

“The Fly” 1958 BW SciFi

I thought it unusual for a first film to be filmed in color, and the sequels to be filmed in Black & White. I then noted that they are wearing dark Bubble Goggles to view the tele-transportation.

“The Bat” 1959 BW Mystery, Thriller
This movie has Agnes Morehead and Vincent Price.

“The House on Haunted Hill” 1959 BW Horror, Mystery
Another haunting film with Vincent Price and others.

“The Time Machine” 1960 C SciFi
I like Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux.

“Quatermass and the Pit” 1967 C SciFi
This is a “creepy” good movie, with a neat story line regarding weird poltergeist-like appearances, and an underlying alien source.

“The Long Goodbye” 1973 Noir, Crime
Elliott Gould as iconic private detective Philip Marlowe, and we have a very young Arnold Schwarzeneger in his yellow underwear and good tan.

And once again I find myself watching “The Long Goodbye.” Having read the Connelly’ BOSCH novels, I became more familiar with the Los Angeles area, including Catalina Island. I just noticed a tribute to Dan Blocker in the closing credits, and then found that he was to have played the role that Sterling Hayden performed.

The High Tower, has it’s small garages at the base of the Tower. And, watching the movie, Marlowe is living in an apartment at the top of the Tower and he uses the elevator in the Tower. But Marlowe also drives out to the Malibu Colony, which is still visible from Google Maps Street View.

I love the “cat feeding” vignette.

This is something that I have been asking about this cargo vessel since the end of November 2022, after I first became aware of this vessel, as she was coming into the Port of Morehead City (NC).

I have followed this cargo ship as she has travelled around the world, in both directions. In one year she literally circumnavigated the Earth in both directions. Shanghai, Singapore, the Kiel, Panama & Suez Canals, South America, Europe & the UK. And later, she travelled completely down the west coast of South America, and then back up the east coast of South America. From South America she went across to the west coast of Africa, and then to South Africa and up the east coast of Africa. Then on to Qatar & Kuwait, and now she is heading to Trieste, IT.

I had become aware of Trieste from a film about a train travelling to Trieste. Perhaps it was the Orient Express.

[NOTE 06/02/24]: I have been getting what I considered “conflicting” signals as to the whereabouts of the Volga. The current maps were showing that she was traveling east of Madagascar, and I took this to be heading away from her next suggested Port of Trieste, IT. But, that was based upon my premise that the Volga would travel through the Suez Canal (the shortest route) to get to Trieste. However, the other question was that the suggested ETA at Trieste was supposed to be 06/22/24 and I didn’t see why that would take so much time.

Now, I have finally reconciled the apparent conflicting info. The Volga was east of Madagascar, and is apparently heading down around South Africa. She will then come back up the west coast of Africa and head through the Straits of Gibraltar and through the Mediterranean and up to Trieste. And, that will take until about June 22nd. That is almost 3 weeks from today, instead of about 7 days through the Suez Canal. [end NOTE]

NOTE [06/29/24]: The Volga is scheduled to reach the Port of Trieste on July 1st. Taking the long route around Africa, instead of the more direct route through the Suez Canal has taken almost a month. Not sure how much it costs to go through the Suez Canal. [end NOTE]