Is eight years old really ….

Is eight years old really that old? I didn’t think so, but the lady at OnStar did. She said your car is too old to reconnect it.

It all started this summer. The kids are concerned that I’m driving around without any means of getting help if something happens. I don’t think it will, but you never know.

I’ve gone through this before. Our first Malibu came with OnStar working. We used it a lot but there was one big problem. We couldn’t get the car in the house when we got home.

So the next best thing was one of those fancy Trac phones. You just buy so many minutes and hope you don’t talk yourself out of time. The first one we had I wasn’t able to hear anything on it. The second one was better and we used it on our trips to Texas and back a number of years.

Then Florence ended up in the Clark County Living Center and I’m all alone with the phone. When it came time to add more time the young fellow at WalMart told me it was too old to use and suggested I just get a new phone. Fine, but they don’t include a set of directions. I was all set, I thought. I got to the car and figured out how to call Jackie. She was still in Florida and glad to hear from me.

Next I tried calling Sue. I thought she answered but it was Jackie again. So much for the new phone. It laid in the car until the time I’d bought ran out and since then I just drive around enjoying myself.

Finally I gave in and decided to reconnect. My first call was to Domines, but I’d forgotten they are no longer a Chevrolet dealer. No problem, I thought, I’ll just run to Medford and take it to Wheelers. Fine, but the young man at the counter explained he couldn’t help, I just needed to call OnStar. Which I did and got a nice young lady who was very understanding but couldn’t help. Your car is too old.

I wasn’t done yet. I got home and went on Facebook. There was the answer. Apparently somewhere there had been a lot of trouble so they came up with a solution. It is called Crisis Assist and it is supposed to work.

Not only to call in about your problem, but advice if there are any troubles, such as a road washed out or if there is a tree in the road.

So there I am. All set and off I’ll go Sunday to meet Sue and her husband Mark at a Heilman reunion in Hatfield. So this is just like insurance, but it didn’t cost anything. Just be glad it is there, but hope you never have to use it.

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I got this goal of making 100. It is kind of a joke and it all started when we had completed Thomas Apartments. We were signing the contract for the loan. George Zuehlke was the president of the housing authority and I was the secretary so we both had to sign. George wondered about reading the contract and the lady representing the lending agency said not to worry. It is a 50-year contract and won’t be done until the year 2030. You guys won’t be around, she said. “Well, I said, I’ll only be a 100. I intend to be here.”

But now I’ve seen another goal to shoot for. I saw on television this lady was 100 and still driving a car. I might make that, but it means getting my driver’s license renewed in 2025. Keep your fingers crossed.

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When I went to Loyal the other day I decided to go a different way.

Instead of going back to pick up P and K, I went to Greenwood and drove across on the 26 Road. Just as I turned off 73, some Amish farmers were cutting grain and it looked like their binder wasn’t working and they were working on it. Then when I got to the top of the knoll I could see two more fields all cut and shocked. What memories of my childhood.

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I read in last week’s TRG that Dave Stowe hit a landmark. Fifty years at Northside Elevator. WOW! He has really seen changes take place. Hang in there Dave, go for 55.

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I went to Lublin the other day. Not for any real reason, just to drive through the community. Ron Cuddie also has the funeral home in Thorp, so when there is a funeral in Lublin he generally has it. And it is just a tiny town, 118 people I think. Yet there are three churches. An Orthodox church and two Catholic churches. Just which is which, I don’t know but I believe one is just a Catholic church and the other is a Polish Catholic church.

Last summer there was a funeral there and when I read the obit in the TRG I was really impressed with the story of this person’s life. So much so I even called Ron. He called me back and said there is more to the story and told me how to find the obituary for the other member of the family in the files.

Seems this couple both lived in Poland as youngsters at the start of World War II. Since the Germans overran Poland right at the beginning of the war, they were both taken prisoners. All through the war they were prisoners and ended up being set free when the Americans overran Germany. I don’t remember how they got together, but they did marry, and moved to America when the war was over, ending up in Lublin.

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When I came home I came by way of Thorp. I’d forgotten all about Thorp being a “cow” town. There are these cows scattered all over the city and in many different colors. Each one has a name and it is really unique. I’ll probably go back someday and just look them all up.

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Yesterday was election day and today we’ll try to figure out who won and who didn’t. The question that really stands out in my mind was why would someone spend 12 million dollars to run for an office that pays $152,000 a year?