It's The Little Things

Little Bit walked around the corner of the building with the other first graders; their line orderly and quiet. I leaned against a concrete pillar a few yards ahead and waited. Little Bit walked with her head down as if counting the cracks in the sidewalk. Finally, she noticed me.

I'll never forget her reaction. She broke from the line at a dead run, arms extended, and she screamed, "Papa, Papa."  Little Bit jumped into my arms and I lifted and wrapped my arms around her little body. She was warm and smelled good and I planted at least a hundred kisses on her face and neck and I was happy for the first time in over a month.

As I held her she screamed, "Papa I love you, Papa I love you," over and over. The line of children had stopped and stood quietly as we were reunited. The teacher smiled. I almost, almost, lost it.

After what seemed hours she whispered in my ear, "Papa, you can let me down now." She then walked over to Birth Mother and gave her a hug. They kissed. I smiled.

We sat on an outside bench and talked. I told her Papa and Nana and her mother had not forgotten her and still loved her. I explained we were hard at work on visitation and a means to normalize her life. Little Bit said, "I know, Papa."

Then, "Papa, am I still the light of your life?"

Her mother broke. I took Little Bit back into my arms and said, "You'll always and shall ever be the light of my life. I love you, little girl. Papa will always love you."

"I know, Papa."

She's lost weight. Her hair was a mess. I asked her several times if she was well, okay, was she in pain or hurt. "I'm okay, Papa. When can I go home with you and Nana and mommy?" I felt like a knife had been driven into my heart. But, I smiled and said, "Very soon, Honey, very soon."

I asked if she understood why she had to stay with her father. She said, "Yes, he's mad, Papa." I then asked a few other questions. Our time was brief. I took a picture. She asked, "Please, Papa, don't put it on your blog. I'm not pretty enough." I promised, and I will not.

With one last kiss and hug she was gone.

It was a long walk back to my truck.

Stephen

Two Days of Rain

And still it pours. We have heavy rain, solid and unrelenting. I didn't have a chance to check my rain gauge, but I bet we've had at least three inches in the last twenty-four hours.

Here's the thing - we need it. Florida has been in a drought for years. Lakes and small ponds have disappeared, salt water intrusion has the local government drilling new deeper wells into the aquifer. Bad stuff.

As I write it's dark out, comforting. A little Green Tree frog sings to me and my coffee is hot. The sound of the rain has almost lulled me to sleep....but, I've work and errands to run today.

One of those errands, I've decided, is to visit, if for only a few minutes, my Little Bit. This is her last full day of school.  I shall take Birth Mother with me. Little Bit needs to know her mother hasn't left, again. She needs to know we still love her and haven't forgotten her. She needs to know - Papa, has fight left in him and I'm locked and loaded for battle. Mine enemies are within sight, and I'm pissed.

Change of subject.....yesterday my friend, DFW, dropped by the shop for a visit and she bore a gift of shrimp...fresh and tasty little morsels from Heaven. We had a fine visit. I'm ashamed to report I did not have a pot of coffee in wait, business don't 'ya know. (Hangs head.) Tell 'ya what guys, she's cute as a button. I asked her back into the lair, office, and we talked for at least half an hour. We have much in common. Her husband owns a business just down the street. They're good people.

She hadn't been gone long when Duke walked in and demanded I wash his coffee cup. By the time he left I was laughing my butt off. He always lifts my spirits.

Friends. What would we do without them.

Yesterday a customer came in and asked if I'd like to purchase his little Detonics Pocket 9 pistol. Said, "Sure, bring it inside."

"Oh, I wanted to ask first. It's at home."

 
Anyway, these are fairly rare handguns. They were manufactured for only one year back in 1985. Some folks, for odd reasons, collect them. His Detonics belonged to a long departed uncle. The seller is not a gunny. Said it's only been fired a couple of times. I'll let you know if he returns with the pocket popper.

Jerry Ahern smiles.

Later.

Stephen

One Dirty Glock

People ask why I like Glock handguns. See for yourself.

Any questions.

Stephen

One Year

Today, one year ago, I wrote my first words on this humble blog. Hard to believe. This blog was and is intended as a chronicle for my grandchild. It's been a fair success.

As of today the blog has one hundred and seventy-six followers and over one hundred sixty-five thousand hits. Not bad for a one year.

And, its all because of you, my kind and generous readers.

Thank you.

Stephen

Good Morning

The coffee is strong and hot and the jazz is smooth and the day is beautiful and bright. What more could a fella ask of the world.

Our meeting with the attorney was long, and I must confess, confusing. As soon as we were seated she made it clear our objectives might not work as planned. She didn't want to paint a pretty picture when the outcome of the case was so uncertain. Family law is complicated. The attorney did say in most cases the State prefers 'co-parenting,' but the complication of Birth Mother's absence of four years isn't good. She files today. Tell you one thing for sure and two for certain, she isn't cheap.

I expect a visit from my lovely friend, DFW, this morning. She's stalked and found my shop, which isn't hard since her nice husband owns a business just down the road from mine. I look forward to her visit and have taken the precaution of washing a coffee cup for her. I make Duke wash his own coffee mug. By the way you guys should head over to both their blogs and tell 'em I said hello.

Business calls. See you guys down the road.

Stephen

Cast Iron

If you like cast iron skillets, as I do, try this site. When you arrive at the site you'll notice a side bar on the left, hit the 'links' button and enjoy.

I do like my old cast iron. When it's filled with fried bacon I love it....

Stephen

Bits & Pieces

Yesterday was none stop for me. I had a scheduled blood test and doctor visit. Spent hours, and I mean hours, on the road. Drove from one side of this city to the other, much of it in blistering heat.

Took two trips to the lab to finally get my blood work completed. I think every democrat in the city was in attendance; the waiting room was packed in a sea of liberals. Thank God I own a Kindle.

My blood work requires me to fast. My first meal came, yesterday, around 1300 - it consisted of a cup of coffee. Sixteen hours of fasting to face the end with a good dose of caffeine.

At the doctor's office I waited too. Not long, but it was a worried wait. This appointment was to find the end result of my nuke stress test. The nice nurse took me back to the exam room, performed her test, and said, "Good luck," and left.

I sat there with my Kindle. My left leg did a steady bounce. Guess I was a bit nervous. My cardiologist is a tall slim dude. Not very muscular, nice. He walks in and takes a seat and said, "It's the birthday man."  I smiled. Kept thinking, come on....out with it. The birthday reference was due to the fact I'd had my heart attack on my birthday. Nice of him to remember.

"How do you feel?"

I said, "Fine."

Then he gets down to business. "Excellent," then he smiled.

"Excellent, what?" He adjusted his chair, tapped on the keyboard, turned and pointed his finger at my heart. "Your stress test. You passed with flying colors. No other blockages can be found. If there was any heart damage its too slight for us to find. Whatever you're doing, keep it up."

Whew. I wanted to scream with joy. But, that's not a manly reaction. I just grinned. He asked me to take a place on the exam table, pushed me back, and that's when my cover shirt slipped and my carry piece was exposed. Pin drop...

Then, "Oh, you wear a gun." Not a question. I just nodded my head, and replied, "Yep. Never know when I'll need to shoot a surgeon."

He just laughed. Guess he'll make a good cardiologist. I return in seven months. Your prayers worked. Thank you.

We have an appointment with our new attorney today at 1400...and so it begins. I'll let you know of the outcome. Supposedly this new lawyer is known as the Barracuda of family law. I shall gently probe and push and demand some kind of unsupervised visitation for Birth Mother of our Little Bit. Standby.

Yesterday when I arrived home from my heavy morning of appointments I hit the yard at a dead run. I must have picked up two tons of Spanish Moss. I filled six old trash cans with pine cones and  broken limbs and moss.  By the time I was finished I was soaked in sweat. Felt good to hit the shower. All this to say, more storms are headed our way today. The weather critter said we're to have a stormy week. Seventy percent chance of rain and thunderstorms now through Friday. Fine with me. Should be fun.

Gotta run.

Stephen