Good morning, everyone! I apologize for last night’s drunken post, but apparently I should do it more often (according to some people.) There was no story behind it, as some thought; after two beers a couple more sounded like a good idea, then after those some vodka seemed like a good idea. I don’t feel terribletoday, but I am quite a bit run down.
As I (drunkenly) posted last night, we had a really good time with my sister (R) and her husband (D) and younger daughter (O). Their older daughter is in the Bahamas going through a marine science internship, so we didn’t get to see her. Somehow I think she’s okay with that trade off.
I considered writing about everything, but as much as we enjoyed our time there, I’m afraid others would find the details tedious. So I’ll just write about the highlights, in no particular order.
*My brother-in-law’s weight loss* - D, my B-i-L, has always been thin, but as a dedicated, life-long body builder he’s never been skinny. He’s 6’1” and as recently as January was still the guy with huge arms and chest and the obligatory six-pack abs. In the past four months or so, he’s been dealing with a lawsuit brought on by a man he’s worked with. The lawsuit has no merit, but D will still wind up spending quite a bit of money to defend himself unless he pays the guy’s ridiculous demands. Because of this he’s lost 25 lbs. and looks gaunt!
*Working my ass off!* - I wish it were literally true that I’d worked my ass off, but I did work hard helping D over the weekend. Their land is some 7 acres (maybe more) and he generally hires on people to do the worst of the work. But with the legal things going on, and his business being so closely involved in the market, the past few years have been more of a struggle so he has to do most of it himself. He’s certainly capable, even after the weight loss (he’s still in better shape than I am!) I was glad to help out with clearing branches and cutting up the fallen white oak tree, among other things, but it was hard work! I’m not used to actually weighing (slightly) less at the end of vacation than when I went! D was very appreciative, because it would have taken him much longer, and been more dangerous, had he tried to do it himself.
*Towing a tractor with a Range Rover* - D’s John Deere tractor broke down in one of the lower fields and we couldn’t get it started. It just needed a new battery, but we couldn’t get the compartment opened because the bolts were frozen with rust. D didn’t want to leave the tractor down in the field because if he had to call someone to work on it, he wasn’t sure they’d be able to get their truck through the gates. So with his Range Rover, he drug 4200 lbs. of tractor uphill through the field and then their front yard for almost 300 yards. I didn’t think it would have enough ass to pull that much weight, especially up a soft field, but it did!
*Snuggling with my sister Friday night* - It was very comfortable snuggling with R, my sister, Friday night. We were all sitting out by the pool, drinking and laughing together and generally having the kind of good time D has needed to have for a while now. R is always affectionate, and more so since our oldest sister died, and when I sat beside her on the lounger and put my arm up, she just melted against me. And no, it was in no way sexual like it would have been with L. It was just a brother and sister who in many ways went through hell together growing up sharing a moment.
*Seeing Saturn’s rings through the telescope* - D has one of those really good telescopes with all the bells and whistles, and we pulled it out Saturday because it was the first visit we’d had up there since he got it that the night was clear! We looked at the moon and at Venus, which was all fine and well, but when D finally got Saturn in the sights it was awesome! Of course I’ve seen pictures of Saturn, and I’ve seen pictures of what people see in their telescopes when they see Saturn. But I’ve never seen it for myself, live and with my own eyes, and there’s just something different about it that way.
*The Bonfire!* - What work around the land D had been able to do led to the accumulation of a lot of brush. We added to it Friday, with limbs from a pine and huge logs from the white oak that fell a few months ago. We had to cut it into four sections that the tractor could handle dragging through the field. All that together made for a hell of a bonfire! We lit it early on Friday, then added to it as we went. D used the tractor’s bulldozer attachment to re-arrange the logs and brush to keep it burning, and when we left Monday morning it was still smoldering.
*The Bonfire! (part 2)* - Sunday night R and D started talking about the financial records from the 90s they no longer needed to keep but were taking up space in the basement. D said he would take them to the shredding company the next day, but R said (maybe jokingly) that we should just take them down to the bonfire and burn them. We put some beer in the cooler, loaded up about 200 lbs. or so of paperwork in the Range Rover, and drove down to the fire. D doused everything in charcoal lighter fluid and we threw it all on the smoldering coals, which caught quickly and we had another roaring fire. We spent the next two hours or so talking and drinking, and taking turns with the pitchfork turning over the ashes to expose the paper underneath to the fire.
*The food!* - D and R both are excellent cooks (better than I am, at any rate), and love to use as much from their own garden as they can. They even grow their own herbs, like basil, marjoram, thyme, sage, etc. I tried not to eat too much, and with some success, but everything we ate was very good!
As we were saying our goodbyes and getting last hugs in Monday, D thanked us again for helping out and for helping him put all the legal crap behind him for a little while. He said he felt better and had eaten better than he had in some time.
D is 8 years older than me, so I don’t usually feel qualified to give him advice (especially since he’s also smarter than me) but I did pull him aside to tell him this: it’s a shitty situation you’re in, but you’ve got the paper trail to prove you’re in the right. Unfortunately, being right isn’t always enough and the good guys don’t always win. But the only thing he can take from you is money and things, and your life is about more than just that. It would suck, and would be a struggle, but I can tell you that R and the kids can make do without any of these things. The only thing they can’t replace, and they can’t do without, is you.
Of course we all know that, but sometimes you just have to hear it from someone else.
As I (drunkenly) posted last night, we had a really good time with my sister (R) and her husband (D) and younger daughter (O). Their older daughter is in the Bahamas going through a marine science internship, so we didn’t get to see her. Somehow I think she’s okay with that trade off.
I considered writing about everything, but as much as we enjoyed our time there, I’m afraid others would find the details tedious. So I’ll just write about the highlights, in no particular order.
*My brother-in-law’s weight loss* - D, my B-i-L, has always been thin, but as a dedicated, life-long body builder he’s never been skinny. He’s 6’1” and as recently as January was still the guy with huge arms and chest and the obligatory six-pack abs. In the past four months or so, he’s been dealing with a lawsuit brought on by a man he’s worked with. The lawsuit has no merit, but D will still wind up spending quite a bit of money to defend himself unless he pays the guy’s ridiculous demands. Because of this he’s lost 25 lbs. and looks gaunt!
*Working my ass off!* - I wish it were literally true that I’d worked my ass off, but I did work hard helping D over the weekend. Their land is some 7 acres (maybe more) and he generally hires on people to do the worst of the work. But with the legal things going on, and his business being so closely involved in the market, the past few years have been more of a struggle so he has to do most of it himself. He’s certainly capable, even after the weight loss (he’s still in better shape than I am!) I was glad to help out with clearing branches and cutting up the fallen white oak tree, among other things, but it was hard work! I’m not used to actually weighing (slightly) less at the end of vacation than when I went! D was very appreciative, because it would have taken him much longer, and been more dangerous, had he tried to do it himself.
*Towing a tractor with a Range Rover* - D’s John Deere tractor broke down in one of the lower fields and we couldn’t get it started. It just needed a new battery, but we couldn’t get the compartment opened because the bolts were frozen with rust. D didn’t want to leave the tractor down in the field because if he had to call someone to work on it, he wasn’t sure they’d be able to get their truck through the gates. So with his Range Rover, he drug 4200 lbs. of tractor uphill through the field and then their front yard for almost 300 yards. I didn’t think it would have enough ass to pull that much weight, especially up a soft field, but it did!
*Snuggling with my sister Friday night* - It was very comfortable snuggling with R, my sister, Friday night. We were all sitting out by the pool, drinking and laughing together and generally having the kind of good time D has needed to have for a while now. R is always affectionate, and more so since our oldest sister died, and when I sat beside her on the lounger and put my arm up, she just melted against me. And no, it was in no way sexual like it would have been with L. It was just a brother and sister who in many ways went through hell together growing up sharing a moment.
*Seeing Saturn’s rings through the telescope* - D has one of those really good telescopes with all the bells and whistles, and we pulled it out Saturday because it was the first visit we’d had up there since he got it that the night was clear! We looked at the moon and at Venus, which was all fine and well, but when D finally got Saturn in the sights it was awesome! Of course I’ve seen pictures of Saturn, and I’ve seen pictures of what people see in their telescopes when they see Saturn. But I’ve never seen it for myself, live and with my own eyes, and there’s just something different about it that way.
*The Bonfire!* - What work around the land D had been able to do led to the accumulation of a lot of brush. We added to it Friday, with limbs from a pine and huge logs from the white oak that fell a few months ago. We had to cut it into four sections that the tractor could handle dragging through the field. All that together made for a hell of a bonfire! We lit it early on Friday, then added to it as we went. D used the tractor’s bulldozer attachment to re-arrange the logs and brush to keep it burning, and when we left Monday morning it was still smoldering.
*The Bonfire! (part 2)* - Sunday night R and D started talking about the financial records from the 90s they no longer needed to keep but were taking up space in the basement. D said he would take them to the shredding company the next day, but R said (maybe jokingly) that we should just take them down to the bonfire and burn them. We put some beer in the cooler, loaded up about 200 lbs. or so of paperwork in the Range Rover, and drove down to the fire. D doused everything in charcoal lighter fluid and we threw it all on the smoldering coals, which caught quickly and we had another roaring fire. We spent the next two hours or so talking and drinking, and taking turns with the pitchfork turning over the ashes to expose the paper underneath to the fire.
*The food!* - D and R both are excellent cooks (better than I am, at any rate), and love to use as much from their own garden as they can. They even grow their own herbs, like basil, marjoram, thyme, sage, etc. I tried not to eat too much, and with some success, but everything we ate was very good!
As we were saying our goodbyes and getting last hugs in Monday, D thanked us again for helping out and for helping him put all the legal crap behind him for a little while. He said he felt better and had eaten better than he had in some time.
D is 8 years older than me, so I don’t usually feel qualified to give him advice (especially since he’s also smarter than me) but I did pull him aside to tell him this: it’s a shitty situation you’re in, but you’ve got the paper trail to prove you’re in the right. Unfortunately, being right isn’t always enough and the good guys don’t always win. But the only thing he can take from you is money and things, and your life is about more than just that. It would suck, and would be a struggle, but I can tell you that R and the kids can make do without any of these things. The only thing they can’t replace, and they can’t do without, is you.
Of course we all know that, but sometimes you just have to hear it from someone else.
So glad you had a good time! Working the weight off is the easiest way to do it, I think. Glad you're back safe :)
ReplyDeleteWOW! What an awesome weekend! Rob, so glad it was so freaking good! Time with family is almost always great.
ReplyDeleteI spent a day with an awesome guy! Went to a parade! Cooked out! Really cool here, too!
Peace <3
Jay
You are really a good Brother-in-law. You gave himsome great advice.
ReplyDelete