I hope this Wednesday meme isn’t growing stale and uninteresting. Writing it every Wednesday gives me structure; it gets me to stop and contemplate what’s happening in my world. I will continue doing it so long as the Spo-fans like them and The Board of Directors Here at Spo-reflections doesn’t chop off a toe. Spo.
What’s top of my mind: Money. Mind! I am not worried about the stuff. It’s just I’ve become more educated about finances, where ours things is. I watch the savings accounts and where we are spend our pennies. These are interesting times. I watch Fidelity (work), Charles Schwab (my inheritance money), and Merrill Lynch (our savings). I catch myself following things too closely, which is a time-suck and detrimental to the goal of staying the course through good times and bad.
Where I’ve been: Illinois. It was pleasant being back in Chicago and even more so in Elgin. The weekend was bright and sunny, a lovely spring day – just perfect for the outdoors memorial service. Nice.
Where I’m going: Michigan. Tomorrow I fly to Michigan, Land of Perpetual Snow and Ice, to attend another memorial service, my late father’s. Mother died in 2020 during COVID times so she had no service. Father is getting a gathering of friends and relations for a proper ceremony. He asked “Hail to the Victors” be played at his funeral. Oh the pain.
What I’m watching: The Overlord Barons. The Overlords have are more layers of echelons than a torte cake. Thems on top are playing musical chairs or reenacting The War of the Roses. They send out a lot of group emails announcing who is stepping down or up. These emails are filled with flowery words of honor, regrets etc. always with how wonderful it is to work here and you the employees are the best, ala young Mr. Grace at Grace Brothers telling the staff (whom he doesn’t know) ‘you are all doing wonderful”.
What I’m reading: Shirley Jackson. While in Chicago we went to The Unabridged Bookstore, a small independently owned store that was there when I lived in the neighborhood in the early 90s, can you imagine? I do not go in and out of a bookshop without buying a book. They didn’t have any books on my list of wants (I carry that list around in my iPhone) but I stumbled across others. I found Shirley Jackson’s “We have always lived in the castle”. For thems unfamiliar with her, Ms. Jackson wrote the famous short story “The lottery” and the best haunted house book that ever was “The Haunting of Hill House ( do not dare to question this).
The ‘castle’ book has one of the best opening paragraphs in all literature:
My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister Constance. I have often thought that with any luck at all I could have been born a werewolf, because the two middle fingers on both my hands are the same length, but I have had to be content with what I had. I dislike washing myself, and dogs, and noise. I like my sister Constance, and Richard Plantagenet, and Amanita phalloides, the death-cup mushroom. Everyone else in my family is dead.
Have you read any Shirley Jackson?
What I’m listening to: An orchestra of scorched cats consisting of patients who took their medications not as prescribed. One of the challenges in my job is thems with anxiety taking tranquilizers. They have a tendency to take more than prescribed, despite being told not to. If this happens the Rx are not filled sooner – in theory. I recently got some calls from a couple of patients announcing in an anxious swivet they have consumed a month’s worth of Klonopin or Xanax or Ativan in 25 days and they are freaking out as they don’t have any left and they will go into withdrawal and have a seizure and die or something. Oh the horror. I tell thems who do this sort of shenanigan they get one break and if it happens again there are no more early refills. Take meds accordingly.
What I’m eating: Root beer barrels. The last time I was online begging Mr. Bezos, I asked for a bag of Dad’s root beer barrels. Someone questioned the purchase. I explained it is for the two sweets bowls at the receptionist counters at work. From time to time I make a contribution. It looks like the choice of sweeties was well-received for by day’s end both bowls were half-empty.
I kept a few for myself for reasonable attorneys fees.
Who needs a good slap: So many people that it makes my eyes cross. This particular W is losing its luster as thems who need a good slap are the usual ones and no amount of slapping is going to change them, worse luck. I need to come up with a new W. I ask you, gentle reader, to provide suggestions. The winner(s) will get not a slap but a love-pat on the cheek.
Who gets a fist-bump: John at OptumRx. It was time to renew one of my meds. This is always a painful thing as one of them costs $1,300 for a three month supply. Rather than do this online I called and got ‘John’ whom I heard hesitate when he pulled up the prescription and saw the cost. He started looking up things that could help and lo! he came up with some some sort of assistance to get the co-pay down to zero! Hot puppies! Bless you, John!
What I’m planning: A speech. Father’s memorial service is apt to be a noisy one as it will be filled with Spos all wound up and excited to see each other and few if any on Adderall. To provide some solemnity to the event, the brothers decided I should say something. Why me? Well, I am the oldest and the one with the most ‘style’. My eulogy needs to be eloquent, touching, and just the right length – like my men. Since I will be addressing mostly family, chances are no one will be paying much attention.
What’s making me smile: Seeing the relations. Spos like each other and enjoy each other’s company. Many of the cousins are coming, many well over four feet, and not seen in awhile. There will be plenty of jokes and laughter and Facetime with the ones who couldn’t attend. It will be one noisy happy ho-down. Brother #4 is planning a king-size-titanic-unsinkable-molly-brown BBQ party (all the neighbors are invited). Jolly good fun!
Spo-Reflections 
