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By Neil, January 9, 2008 11:48 PM

Marj and I went shopping yesterday. She has discovered a service called The Grocery Game that is supposed to help people save money when buying groceries. We found that it did, indeed, help us find great bargains. There were errors, but I think it will help us to shop smarter over time.

I wanted to get a copy of the current ad for the store we were visiting first because we had been shopping for an hour and we were noticing that The Grocery Game was not reflecting any of the prices on display. However, I decided a quick restroom visit was in order before doing so.

Men’s underwear usually includes an opening in the front for easy access when relief is needed from a full bladder and a urinal is utilized. Honestly, I don’t know what the proper name is for this feature, so I’ll just call it “The Escape Hatch.” It is nice to utilize this feature when using a urinal because it enables you to do your business without having to resort to more drastic measures, like unbuckling your belt and unfastening your pants and run the risk of “dropping trou” and potentially causing a mess that no one will want to clean up.

I was standing there, and I was ready to go. I’ve done this many times. Unzip, open “The Escape Hatch,” etc., you get the picture. Only this time, there was a problem. “The Escape Hatch” was missing. Not believing this was true; I started looking for it for a few minutes. Then, it occurred to me that I may be rather embarrassed if someone where to walk in and find me struggling so badly with my front side. So, I resolved to unbuckling and unfastening.

After my troublesome visit, I began to wonder if I had somehow put my briefs on backwards, and I found this thought quite revolting. No one would ever want to utilize this feature from this side. That would be absolutely gross. So, I put the thought out of my head and moved on.

We reviewed the current ad and decided that we were a day early to the store, and that our information was for the ad that was released today; therefore we abandoned our shopping at this store. After finishing our shopping at two other stores, we went home. Marj and I put the groceries away, and then decided it was time to get ready for bed. The time had come to find out if I was losing my mind.

Thankfully, I was not. This particular pair of briefs was made without “The Escape Hatch” feature.

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By Neil, January 5, 2008 12:14 AM

We have been dog sitting for a little over three weeks now. That does not mean that it has been the same dog the whole time. No. There have been three dogs on the list so far, and we are adding a fourth one tonight. Also, we have not been watching all of these dogs at the same time either.

First, there were the neighbors girls. They stayed at home, and we took turns visiting them three or more times a day. Generally, they are well behaved, and they survived Kels giving them almost four full boxes of treats in less than five days. There’s just something about giving a dog a treat and watching it get extremely excited about receiving the tasty morsel.

Next, we have Benzie. She has stayed with us several times, and Marj really likes having her around. She is a good dog, and pretty easy to entertain. She does like to pick up anything she can off of the floor, which can be unfortunate for Noah as most of his toys live on the floor. There is not an hour that goes by that you don’t hear someone say, “Drop it Benzie!”

Our cats don’t care for Benzie too much. They have gone as far as to retreat to the second floor of the house; refusing to venture out unless we carry them to their food dishes and litter box while Benzie is outside. We’ve missed a few times, and Peaches has left us a few surprises. Kat got the worst of it, unfortunately.

Now, we add Bentley to the mix. Marj took Benzie down to Bentley’s house for a visit, and they got along famously. So, we will continue to take Benzie down while we are caring for Bentley. We’ll see how it goes on my first visit tomorrow morning.

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By Neil, June 21, 2007 10:48 PM

Sometimes, this life we’re in throws us curve balls. I have always heard that you have to be strong to make it through this thing, and I believe that is true. Neither side of the fence is easy, growing up or growing old. Growing up is about learning how to fit in while fitting in your own skin. Growing old seems to be about learning how to be comfortable in that skin and learning that fitting in is less about what you do or have, but more about what you do with what you have.

One thing I find interesting about getting older is how my perspective on life is different than it used to be. A perspective fueled by loss has made me reevaluate a few things in my life. Some values I used to hold onto tightly I’ve let fall completely away, and now I cling steadfast to a life with a stronger foundation than I could ever manage to put under my feet on my own. Yet, loss still hurts when it’s so close to home. The hurt is stronger when the life seems to be taken too soon.

Landon lost his grandma earlier this month. Cory’s mother, Tammy, had not been feeling well for a few weeks. Severe headaches and frequent fainting spells start the end story of another life completely derailed by cancer. Like my own sister’s fight back in December 2004, the end was quick and relentless. Tammy was gone within weeks of learning she had this terrible disease.

Marj was given a calling to be sure that Tammy heard the Word before her time had come. Pastor Dan and Marj made several visits with Tammy to be sure that she heard. Tammy was shown a tremendous amount of love from friends and family during this time.

Last year, when we were celebrating Landon’s one year birthday, I would never have guessed that Tammy would not make it to his second year. Rarely are there warnings. “It’s never long enough. No matter how much time you spend.”

The following was taken from IndyStar.com:

Norton, Tammy L.
June 8, 2007

Tammy Lynn Wooton Norton 41, Beech Grove, died June 6, 2007. She was the wife of Richard J. Norton. Tammy worked for Amcomp Inc. as an Operations Supervisor for the past 6 years. She is survived by her Husband: Richard, Children: Richard J. Norton (April Crain), Cory L. Norton (Melanie Jackson) and Tia R. Norton (Tory Foster), Brother: Tony Wooton (Mary Brown), grandchildren: Darrian Norton, Landon and Ava Grace. Funeral services will be Saturday, June 9th at 11:00am at Little and Sons, Funeral Home Beech Grove Chapel. Visitation will be Friday, June 8th from 2-8 pm at the Mortuary. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Tammy L. Norton Memorial Fund.

My busy life doesn’t allow for many opportunities to spend time with friends, so I cherish every opportunity I get. A few of my very dear friends have moved away or have fallen off the face of the Earth (Where are you Eddy?). Jeremy and I went to Chicago to see Roger Waters perform at the United Center after Tammy’s funeral on the 9th. It was a great break from reality, a great road trip, an awesome concert and an all around great time. The concert was exactly how I imagine Pink Floyd would perform if they were out on tour together. Roger does it very well by himself.

Jeremy drove us back to his house after the concert because I’m practically worthless on the road at night. As expected, I slept the majority of the trek back to Lafayette. The next morning, Tabi and Jeremy took me out to breakfast at Reilly Bros, and then I left to meet Marj in Kokomo for the Forker family reunion. We try to attend every year, but there have been a few that we’ve missed.

My brother, Stan, called and spoke to Marj in May to tell her that his favorite (and only) sister-in-law had better attend the reunion. After speaking to Marj, he called my cell phone as I was out on a supply run at the worst Wal-mart on Earth (but that is another story for another time). As soon as I answered, he proclaimed that I must hold the line for an important message from our Aunt Wanda, who he called Queen Wanda or something like that. My memory is a bit hazy on that detail. I added the date to my calendar, and we made it. Thank God we did.

This trip, we took Kelsie, Noah, Landon and Ava Grace. My family would enjoy seeing all the young ones, and I thought Cory and Melanie might like the break from the kids since they were still dealing with the loss of Tammy. Noah was a bit grumpy from missing his nap, but played with Landon and the other kids around. Kelsie was busy in the swimming pool with her cousin Courtney. Everyone was there except George, but she doesn’t always come to the reunion. Stan played with Noah and Landon a bit, and seemed pleased to be around family and good food. It was the same as it always had been. Who would have guessed that a little over a week later I would lose my big brother?

The following was taken from the Pharos Tribune website:

Published: June 21, 2007 10:59
Stanley Owen Forker

Services for Stanley Owen Forker, 56, Logansport, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in Marocco Funeral Chapel.

He died at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 20, 2007, in Logansport Memorial Hospital.

Born March 29, 1951, in Logansport, he was the son of Clifford Owen and Stella Mae Shaffer Forker. He was married Dec. 22, 1984, in Logansport, to Susan Gail Lenon, who survives.

Mr. Forker attended school at Lewis Cass and Logansport and graduated from a school in Homburg, Germany. He was an assembler at Carlisle Industrial Brake & Friction in Logansport.

He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served as a staff sergeant in during the Vietnam War.

He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3790, Cass County React, Cass County Sheriff’s Association, and president of the U.S. Steelworkers Union Local. He also was a member of Main Street United Methodist Church.

He enjoyed watching NASCAR and spending time with his family.

Also surviving are one daughter, Diana Braun and her husband, Brent, Winamac; three sons, Steven Forker and his wife, Shanon, Galveston, Jeffrey Forker and his wife, Brenda, Lucerne, and Brian Forker, Wabash; one brother, Neil Owen Forker and his wife, Marjorie, Carmel; three sisters, Lynn Corcoran and her husband, Randy, and Georgette Beatty and her husband, Jarel, all of Logansport, and Anna Marie Hildebrand and her husband, Ron, Tallahasee, Fla.; mother-in-law, Joan Weimer, Logansport; father-in-law, Bill Lenon and his friend, Marilyn Parker, Logansport; nine grandchildren, Jason Malchow, Trinity Eckelbarger, Jacob Forker, Elijah Eckelbarger, Brittney Braun, Matthew Eckelbarger, Kamien Forker, Jael Forker and Brady Braun; and several nieces and nephews.

His father-in-law, Al Weimer, preceded in death.

Pastor Keith R. Schreffler will officiate at the services. Burial, with full military rites, will be in Ever-Rest Memorial Park.

Friends may call from 2 to 7 p.m. Friday in the funeral chapel.

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By Neil, May 4, 2006 10:13 AM

Our time with Milo started last November. Melanie moved back home with Landon and brought Milo with her. Unfortunately, our family was not able to care for him the way he needed. Marj and I divide our attention between a new teenager, an eight year old, an eight month old, three cats and each other. Mel has Landon and herself, and during the day, she also watches Noah. Effectively, that would leave G-Pa to watch over Milo, but G-Pa doesn’t like dogs.

So, thanks to MySpace, Mel has found a home for Milo. His new masters came to our house and picked him up last night. He will now be living with 13 college age guys and three other dogs and living a sweet life! Good luck and goodbye Milo Puppy! We’ll miss you, and we are sorry we couldn’t take better care of you!

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By Neil, November 4, 2005 3:58 PM

I originally wanted to write a few weeks ago. However, time is precious and incredibly full. The title was supposed to be a few less, but life cannot always be controlled. I mentioned to Nate that he would be part of the next post, so here it is! ;)

Marj is well on her way down recovery road. She still tires quickly, but is able to do more day by day. Noah is growing and growing and growing.