The Drop in Centre

[mollyhousemouse]

@Mikiesboy & @Wayne Gray i look forward to reading the story by @kbois 

but tonight it's WAY past this girl's bedtime.

 

[Wayne Gray]

Good morning/afternoon/evening!

I'm working from home, and looking out of my kitchen window, I see little, barely-fledged sparrows inexpertly flying around, and flopping about in the yard. They're hilarious. Their tail feathers are oversized for their bodies, and they are just having a time of it. Super cute and entertaining to watch.

Have a great day, all!

[rickproehl]

Excuse me Good Sirs and DiC friends.

Just wanted to stop in and say ‘Good Afternoon’

Have a wonderful day.

[kbois]

I think my favorite part of my day is when I come home after work and am greeted by one rapid-fire tail wagging and another major furry butt wiggle and the sound of their nails tap dancing on the tile floor. They make me smile. 🐶🐕

[Ryan Jones]

On 6/20/2021 at 9:35 AM, Kitt said:

My two bits say let it ride. Had Patty and family wanted to tell you they would not have moved without saying anything. Granted at 12 Patty didn't have much to say in the matter, but she has long since grown up and not contacted you. The child could have been put up for adoption or been raised as Patty's sibling. If s/he wants to find you they will, but don't rock the apple cart. The child may be in their 50's now but may have no clue about the circumstances of their birth.

 

On 6/20/2021 at 1:00 PM, spyke said:

I'm going to echo what @Kitt said and add a bit more to it. I think you should leave it alone. I know this is a condensed version, but all you know is that she became pregnant and her family moved. Other than that, a lot of the story is conjecture. Just because she was pregnant, doesn't mean she had a live birth. Also, Patty might have been experimenting with other boys at the time. Kids did that then and they do it now. You may not have even been the father. I believe that the child (if a child even exists) should be the one who initiates the search and makes contact if they want to make contact. I'm not saying this to upset you, but in reality, you've lived your life not knowing this until a couple of years ago. If there is a child involved, they've lived their entire life without you or your presence and you really have to ask if it is fair to totally upset and destroy the world as they have known it. As a father and grandfather, I'm sure that you always put kids first, and your own needs last. Don't change that now. 

Thanks for the comments. I guess the real problem is that I feel cheated out of the joy of being a father. My son was born in 1974 and that was as accidental as the Patty one. I would never have known had I not gone back to visit the woman 2 years later and the total joy of being his father is the best thing. I feel like I had the right to know. If it was my child and I'm 99.99% it was, we did it so much that she didn't have time to be with anyone else, they shouldn't have kept it secret.

Interesting that @Kitt mentioned the child could have been raised as a sibling. It was always rumored that my grandfather was really one of his older sister's children. The 1900 census lists him as a grandson in the household, not as a son. By 1910 though he's listed as a son.

I'll use my government contacts to find out, then I'll decide. Now that it's so stuck in my head I have to know whether or not I ever make contact. I did decide to go ahead and do the DNA test kit just in case they are looking for blood relations.

[Sherye Story Reader]

Just thought I would drop in and say hi! Hope you all are doing great!

[headtransplant]

Hi, it’s so nice to have a spot to drop in and hear about people’s lives.

After a year of teaching first grade on Zoom, I’m looking forward to regaining some of my sanity (knock on wood 🤞). I’ve been on summer break for a couple of weeks now and I’m starting to feel somewhat human again 🙃. Zoom seems innocent at first glance but I’m telling you it’s evil. I’ve never been so relieved for a school year to end.

[Reader1810]

18 minutes ago, headtransplant said:

After a year of teaching first grade on Zoom, I’m looking forward to regaining some of my sanity (knock on wood 🤞). I’ve been on summer break for a couple of weeks now and I’m starting to feel somewhat human again 🙃. Zoom seems innocent at first glance but I’m telling you it’s evil. I’ve never been so relieved for a school year to end.

*waves hello*

I watched my niece’s piano recital on Zoom. No idea how it works. I just clicked on the link my brother sent via email. Didn’t utter a sound while watching because I had no clue how the audio on Zoom worked. Also, I put my tablet down because I could see my face in the corner of the screen, and I was roughing it in my jammies, so I wanted to hide. I mean, we’ve all heard about those unfortunate Zoom stories, haven’t we? 

[headtransplant]

33 minutes ago, Reader1810 said:

I mean, we’ve all heard about those unfortunate Zoom stories, haven’t we? 

So true. I have witnessed enough to fill a book. Mostly from the kids’ family members who don’t think (or care, in some cases) that they can be heard or seen in the background. 😰

[kbois]

Good morning all!

You know those lists you see on social media "Give yourself one point for each thing you've done?"

Well, as of yesterday I can check "been subpoenaed" off my list. (My son's old baseball coach was the Sheriff's officer who served me 😄)

It looks like our shotgun toting dude might be fighting his eviction which is funny because he stopped in while I was on vacation and told my supervisor he was cleaning out the home and selling it. 🤔

As for the rest of the list.... I'm still on the fence when it comes to "jumped out of an airplane".🤭

Hope y'all have a good day!

[spyke]

9 hours ago, Story Reader said:

Just thought I would drop in and say hi! Hope you all are doing great!

Good to see you. Hope you're going well. 

[spyke]

9 hours ago, headtransplant said:

Zoom seems innocent at first glance but I’m telling you it’s evil.

LOL!  I can't imagine having to to do Zoom day in and day out, but I do like Zoom for taking CE classes. We were allowed to do our mandatory update course on Zoom where in years past it was mandatory "seat time" and you had to be there at 8:30 a.m. I'm hoping they will allow it to continue. 

Edited June 23, 2021 by spyke

[spyke]

1 hour ago, kbois said:

Good morning all!

You know those lists you see on social media "Give yourself one point for each thing you've done?"

Well, as of yesterday I can check "been subpoenaed" off my list. (My son's old baseball coach was the Sheriff's officer who served me 😄)

It looks like our shotgun toting dude might be fighting his eviction which is funny because he stopped in while I was on vacation and told my supervisor he was cleaning out the home and selling it. 🤔

As for the rest of the list.... I'm still on the fence when it comes to "jumped out of an airplane".🤭

Hope y'all have a good day!

Shotgun toting dude is going to work the court system. He's got a different end game plan and I'm betting he's looking for a pay day. Fighting the eviction is just a red herring. 

There's no "on the fence" for me about jumping out of an airplane. NOT HAPPENING, NOT EVER!  The only thing I'm jumping out of is my reclining chair. 🤣

Have a terrific day everyone!

[kbois]

20 minutes ago, spyke said:

Shotgun toting dude is going to work the court system. He's got a different end game plan and I'm betting he's looking for a pay day. Fighting the eviction is just a red herring. 

There's no "on the fence" for me about jumping out of an airplane. NOT HAPPENING, NOT EVER!  The only thing I'm jumping out of is my reclining chair. 🤣

Have a terrific day everyone!

Mentally I can picture myself jumping out of an airplane. Right now, physically, I'd be afraid of blowing one or both my knees out or popping open like a can of Pillsbury Biscuits on impact. 

[Mikiesboy]

13 hours ago, Story Reader said:

Just thought I would drop in and say hi! Hope you all are doing great!

hope you are too!🌻

[Mikiesboy]

13 hours ago, headtransplant said:

Hi, it’s so nice to have a spot to drop in and hear about people’s lives.

After a year of teaching first grade on Zoom, I’m looking forward to regaining some of my sanity (knock on wood 🤞). I’ve been on summer break for a couple of weeks now and I’m starting to feel somewhat human again 🙃. Zoom seems innocent at first glance but I’m telling you it’s evil. I’ve never been so relieved for a school year to end.

First grade! Wow. Glad you have some time off. Welcome to the Drop In Centre !!

[rickproehl]

 

Excuse me Good Sirs and DiC friends.

Just wanted to stop in and say ‘Good Afternoon’

We need a joke today -

Why was the room so hot during the college graduation?

Spoiler

There were thousands of degrees packed in there

Have a wonderful day.

 

[Kitt]

10 hours ago, kbois said:

As for the rest of the list.... I'm still on the fence when it comes to "jumped out of an airplane".

 

8 hours ago, spyke said:

There's no "on the fence" for me about jumping out of an airplane. NOT HAPPENING, NOT EVER!  The only thing I'm jumping out of is my reclining chair. 

I'm with Spyke on this one! There is absolutely no reason on gods green earth to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.  Ranks up there with jumping off a bridge with nothing between me and an impact but a rubber band with a hormone problem!

[Starrynight22]

9 hours ago, kbois said:

 I'd be afraid of blowing one or both my knees out or popping open like a can of Pillsbury Biscuits on impact. 

Omg the visual. Lol. I laughed like a loon. 

 

 

[kbois]

1 hour ago, Kitt said:

 

I'm with Spyke on this one! There is absolutely no reason on gods green earth to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.  Ranks up there with jumping off a bridge with nothing between me and an impact but a rubber band with a hormone problem!

Yeah....I don't think I could do the bridge thing. But a plane.... maybe. 

 

[Ryan Jones]

22 hours ago, kbois said:

Mentally I can picture myself jumping out of an airplane. Right now, physically, I'd be afraid of blowing one or both my knees out or popping open like a can of Pillsbury Biscuits on impact. 

 

23 hours ago, spyke said:

There's no "on the fence" for me about jumping out of an airplane. NOT HAPPENING, NOT EVER!  The only thing I'm jumping out of is my reclining chair. 🤣

I did the jumping out of airplane on my 50th birthday. Had to do tandem of course, I was just along for the ride. The falling part was fun, the drifting down with the parachute? Not so much. I was very glad to get back on the ground and, unlike Bush the older, will not be doing it again on my 90th birthday!

[Kitt]

Warning - Rant ahead. If you are not in the mood, please skip this post!

 

So, you all know I had been a barn manager for the better part of 15 years, but in the last 2 years the barn hands we had would not listen to anything I had to say. Frustration drove me to tender my resignation last fall, and I have been much better off for it.

One of the main issues we went around the circles about was feed and water. I repeatedly told them buckets and troughs had to be scrubbed at the minimum of every other day, especially in the summer.  Horses need to drink upwards of 15 gallons a day, and most will not drink out of a scummy trough or bucket. Not drinking enough will lead to colic

Another was how much water was put into a meal that needed to be soaked. They frequently put too small an amount in because if they made it "too wet" it would stick in the bucket and they then needed to scrape it into the dinner dish.  Older horses get wet feed to improve their gut function. Too dry will slow motility and can lead to colic.

Feed that needs to be soaked should be wet an hour or so before meal time. Too far in advance leads to bacterial growth that leads to - you guessed it - colic.

 

It is important to note here that colic CAN BE FATAL.

Well, it was time for my regular "scrub buckets better, scrub troughs more" bitchfest. Both the buckets in Jacks stall and his outside trough was scummy. I bitched, but was again ignored.

Was there at meal time and found his dinner too dry. I bitched again and was ignored again

Found out that even though I said no, they were still soaking breakfast before going home the night before, allowing it to sit over night to save them time in the morning. In the 90* heat. Can we say "Bacterial incubator"?

 

Over the weekend I bitched loud and long to the stable owner. 

 

Monday a horse turned up with colic.  He had become dehydrated, then when he rolled in the dust to alleviate the sweat, things had more room inside because of the dehydration, and a portion of his intestine became trapped between the spleen and kidney, requiring hospitalization. He also showed high bacterial counts in his gut. Vet at the clinic didn't understand why that didn't give him very loose stool. Because the owner vaccinated against botulism, knowing the feed sitting overnight was unhealthy. 

Yes, MY HORSE Jack just spent 4 days in an equine clinic because the asshats cant listen to common sense.  I don't even want to see what that bill will come to. I had to give a $1500 deposit before he even got off the trailer.

I want to bill the barn owner. Hubby says I can't do that. IMO it was negligence on their part, that they had been told over and over they could not do what they were doing, that sooner or later issues would occur.  But then - WTF do I know? I have only been in the horse business for 40 years, and that doesn't count the time I spent at the barn as a young teen. Just from when they started paying me. The 20 something that just started riding last year and asked to work to pay her lessons knows so much more than me. The dude who barely speaks English and works 2 other jobs besides knows that the easier he can make his day is better right? What's wrong with wetting feed in 90* heat then letting it sit for 14 or 15 hours?

 

Ok - rant over. Thanks for listening and if you skipped the body of the rant, no hard feelings. Sometimes just ranting helps even if no one listens.

[kbois]

17 minutes ago, Kitt said:

Warning - Rant ahead. If you are not in the mood, please skip this post!

 

So, you all know I had been a barn manager for the better part of 15 years, but in the last 2 years the barn hands we had would not listen to anything I had to say. Frustration drove me to tender my resignation last fall, and I have been much better off for it.

One of the main issues we went around the circles about was feed and water. I repeatedly told them buckets and troughs had to be scrubbed at the minimum of every other day, especially in the summer.  Horses need to drink upwards of 15 gallons a day, and most will not drink out of a scummy trough or bucket. Not drinking enough will lead to colic

Another was how much water was put into a meal that needed to be soaked. They frequently put too small an amount in because if they made it "too wet" it would stick in the bucket and they then needed to scrape it into the dinner dish.  Older horses get wet feed to improve their gut function. Too dry will slow motility and can lead to colic.

Feed that needs to be soaked should be wet an hour or so before meal time. Too far in advance leads to bacterial growth that leads to - you guessed it - colic.

 

It is important to note here that colic CAN BE FATAL.

Well, it was time for my regular "scrub buckets better, scrub troughs more" bitchfest. Both the buckets in Jacks stall and his outside trough was scummy. I bitched, but was again ignored.

Was there at meal time and found his dinner too dry. I bitched again and was ignored again

Found out that even though I said no, they were still soaking breakfast before going home the night before, allowing it to sit over night to save them time in the morning. In the 90* heat. Can we say "Bacterial incubator"?

 

Over the weekend I bitched loud and long to the stable owner. 

 

Monday a horse turned up with colic.  He had become dehydrated, then when he rolled in the dust to alleviate the sweat, things had more room inside because of the dehydration, and a portion of his intestine became trapped between the spleen and kidney, requiring hospitalization. He also showed high bacterial counts in his gut. Vet at the clinic didn't understand why that didn't give him very loose stool. Because the owner vaccinated against botulism, knowing the feed sitting overnight was unhealthy. 

Yes, MY HORSE Jack just spent 4 days in an equine clinic because the asshats cant listen to common sense.  I don't even want to see what that bill will come to. I had to give a $1500 deposit before he even got off the trailer.

I want to bill the barn owner. Hubby says I can't do that. IMO it was negligence on their part, that they had been told over and over they could not do what they were doing, that sooner or later issues would occur.  But then - WTF do I know? I have only been in the horse business for 40 years, and that doesn't count the time I spent at the barn as a young teen. Just from when they started paying me. The 20 something that just started riding last year and asked to work to pay her lessons knows so much more than me. The dude who barely speaks English and works 2 other jobs besides knows that the easier he can make his day is better right? What's wrong with wetting feed in 90* heat then letting it sit for 14 or 15 hours?

 

Ok - rant over. Thanks for listening and if you skipped the body of the rant, no hard feelings. Sometimes just ranting helps even if no one listens.

Oh Kitt! There is so much wrong with how that barn manages things. 

I think you should try to bill the owner. Worst case, they say no.

If there's one thing I've learned in my current job, it's that documentation is key. Going forward, if you go back to that barn you should (and have every right) to demand that every person who prepares/handles/feeds your horse sign or initial what they did/how much/feed type (whatever you feel necessary)and what time it was done. 

Ranting is allowed and perfectly acceptable here. And you sure as hell have a damn good reason!

[Reader1810]

45 minutes ago, Kitt said:

Ok - rant over. Thanks for listening and if you skipped the body of the rant, no hard feelings. Sometimes just ranting helps even if no one listens.

What I’m thinking is not fit to print. I hope Jack will be okay, Kitt. 

[Solus Magus]

On 6/23/2021 at 8:57 PM, kbois said:

Mentally I can picture myself jumping out of an airplane. Right now, physically, I'd be afraid of blowing one or both my knees out or popping open like a can of Pillsbury Biscuits on impact. 

Probably me too! LOL!

12 hours ago, Ryan Jones said:

 

I did the jumping out of airplane on my 50th birthday. Had to do tandem of course, I was just along for the ride. The falling part was fun, the drifting down with the parachute? Not so much. I was very glad to get back on the ground and, unlike Bush the older, will not be doing it again on my 90th birthday!

I wanna experience that too! But not that available here. Maybe somewhere in the far future.