Dan Antion

Medicinal Bourbon – SoCS

You have to look closely , but the bottle of Willet Reserve is to the right of the neck of the bottle.
“Are you sure people read the stuff you’re writing? The clicks are keeping me awake.”

It’s Saturday, and I am still not receiving notifications from WordPress. I went hunting for Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, because, well, where’s the fun in the weekend without that? I need to carry that prompt to the bar and see what David and Cheryl are up to this week.

“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘a word you have to look up.’ We all have words we can never spell. Use one of yours in your post and let that word drive your stream of consciousness wherever it goes. Have fun!”

For the record, the word I always have to look up is ‘Relevant.’

“Hi Cheryl. I was hoping David would have already opened a tab.”

“I haven’t seen him yet. But I have good news, I was able to score two eighteen-packs of Corona.”

“That is good news. I can’t believe it’s still hard to get this stuff.”

“Distribution is totally random, Dan. I ordered seventy-two items on Monday. We received twenty-three yesterday – eight of which I didn’t order.”

“Good afternoon, Cheryl. Dan is buying me a glass of John Howell’s Bourbon, stat.”

“Coming right up.”

“Stat?”

“Isn’t that what doctors say when something has to happen quickly?”

“How is that remotely relevant, David? Is this a medical emergency?”

“It is, Dan, and it’s your fault.”

“My fault? What did I do?”

“You left your trailer hitch in the receiver on your car. I…”

“…Cracked you shin on it. Oh, I am sorry, David. I know exactly how much that hurts.”

“Here you go, sweetie. Bourbon, ice, a snifter of seltzer and three cherries.”

“Thanks Cheryl. Dan, why do you have that hitch in there?”

“I was mounting a spare tire to my trailer.”

“And you’re asking me why something is relevant…”

“David, do you want a little extra ice in a plastic bag, to put on your leg?”

“That might be helpful, Cheryl. Dan, if you can move down one stool, I can put my leg up on that stool.”

“I guess it’s the least I can do.”

“Here you go, David. One bag of ice.”

“Thanks Cheryl, put that on Dan’s tab.”

“Haha – ice is still free.”

“It would seem that the least you could have done, Dan, is remove the hitch from the receiver, or backed into a parking space. Those things are shin-magnets.”

“I showered and left in a hurry to get here; the job took much longer than I anticipated.”

“Please, spare me the details.”

“Well, it’s pretty easy to understand, I had to lengthen the tongue of the trailer so the spare tire wouldn’t hit my car on a sharp turn.”

“Dan, what part of ‘spare me’ did you not understand?”

“I wasn’t going to go into the details, I just thought if you knew the context, you might find it easier to forgive me.”

“Who says I want to forgive you?”

“Well, I assumed…”

“…Wrong, Dan. You assumed wrong. I’ve got a knot on my leg the size of a golf ball. The last think on my mind right now is forgiving you.”

“OK, how about some wings to take your mind off the pain?”

“Did I hear someone mention wings?”

“You did, Cheryl. Dan is buying us an order of twenty, barbecue with…”

“…I know, Blue Cheese for you and Peppercorn for him.”

“And he’s buying me another dose of John Howell’s Bourbon – for the pain.”

“Would you like another Corona, Dan?”

“That sounds good, Cheryl. It looks like I’m going to be here a while.”

“Dan, at the risk entering automotive-technical-hell, how, exactly does one ‘lengthen the tongue’ of a trailer? Don’t tell me you welded more metal onto it.”

“It’s adjustable, David. There are two positions. It’s a dump-trailer and the positions determine the angle to which you can raise the trailer.”

“Wouldn’t a shorter tongue be good for dumping?”

“In theory, but I don’t use it for dumping. I only raise the bed for running my snow blower up there when I take it for service.”

“Oh, OK.”

“Here you go boys, a fresh fruit and drinks. The wings will be right up.”

“Thanks Cheryl.”

“Dan, if I may, if you only use the dump feature of the trailer for loading your snow blower, why did you wait until now to extend the tongue?”

“It’s a pain in the butt. I had to get under the trailer, remove bolts, align…”

“Yeah, yeah. Never mind. How long have you had that trailer?”

“Nineteen years.”

“It took you nineteen years to change the setting. Wait a minute, it took you nineteen years to buy a spare tire?”

“I kept forgetting.”

“You should have written yourself a note.”

“My wife had it written on the little white board we have in the kitchen.”

“For nineteen years?”

“No, maybe seventeen.”

“No wonder you forgot to take the hitch out, you’re hopeless.”

The tongue has been moved to the forward location, I just have to put the bolts back in.
Ready to roll.
For the first time in 19 years
That’s the weather station on our garage at the bottom. That’s a C-130 cargo plane up above. That plane returned a few minutes later due to smoke in the cockpit. It was the 2nd C-130 that had to return to base this week. The other one was having engine trouble.
They look good enough to eat.
Our hodgepodge autumn is right on track. A little green, a little orange, a little yellow. Seems to be how it goes this year.
It’s been well over a year, but they are still working on the railroad bridge. I’m looking forward to a picture without a toolbox.
It’s still foggy over the river, but that’s what’s behind those trees.
Maddie is off sniffing something.
We had over 2″(5cm) of rain on Tuesday. This was leftover on Wednesday morning.
After the rain, we got off to a foggy start.
It might be early for Christmas lights, but the tree is pretty.
Birch trees aren’t the most stable, but they are among the prettiest.
Show offs :)
Pretty soon, there won’t be any leaves on the trees along the entrance road.
So far, we seem to be prepared for the weather.

98 comments

  2. Boy! Putting a spare tire on the trailer takes “procrastination” to a new level! Hope you never have to use it!

    Trees are the same here. Hit and miss with color. Like the lone leaf with rain drops, and the shot of the park and the tobacco barn in the fog.

    Of course, any photo of Maddie is a treat! Have a great weekend. Sunshine replacing rain, but cool temperatures. We can live with that.
    Ginger

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    • I’ll take the cool temps, Ginger. The sun is out. The world is wet, but we walked through puddles, so it’s a good day. I tried to get some interesting photos, but the sun is so bright it was point, shoot and hope for the best.

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  3. Don’t feel badly, 19 years is about how long it takes my husband to get around to doing something as well.
    Still no notifications? Better contact the happiness engineers and tell them you’re not happy.

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    • I started getting notifications this morning. It looked like email had been constipated.

      At least I never got stranded on the side of the road with that trailer. That would have been hard to come home to.

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    • Haha, no, I just bought the tire. We’re lucky I didn’t put it in the garage for another 10 years.

      I don’t cover the trailer. It is 100% galvanized. That’s why I bought it. I had a friend who bought the non-galvanized version ($200 less) and it was a rust bucket within five years.

      I hope the rain has ended up there. It’s been a wet week here but the sun is out now.

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  6. Super photos, Dan. The trailer looks great. I cannot imagine you would let a project go 19 years but glad it is done now. I could see a trailer filled with a snowblower and having a flat tire. There would be enough bad words to fill a book. Have a great weekend. 😁

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  7. Owww…hitting your shin on something is never funny…much like hitting the funny bone is never funny. I feel for David!

    I have to chuckle at the 17 year note on the white board. You are an excellent procrastinator, Dan. I have a lot to learn from you as my procrastination lasts a year at the most. Or I inadvertently throw my reminder note away and then you know the saying – out of sight, out of mind.

    Anyhow, I’m glad you finally got your spare tire and the hitch adjusted. What’s the new project for today? Or is it rest and relaxation day?

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  8. Great photos, Dan. I will have some interesting fog photos to share later today, too. Those wings look fantastic! Are they sweet or savory? I have been known to procrastinate, too. Reminds me I have a long overdue photo to hand-color.

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  9. Medicinal Bourbon. I like that. Though vitamin B, W, S, and I works for me. As in Bourbon, Whiskey, Scotch, and Irish. I like those sun streaks coming off the leaf. The sun had to be near the horizon for that one. One suggestion. Change the cherries to carrots for improved eye sight. Those small immovable objects aka trailer hitches are more than a match for any shin. Happy Saturday

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  10. Ouch! Poor David. I do know what that feels like. 19 years? 😳🤨What’s up with that one Toolman? You are normally chomping at the proverbial project bit. Lol. Those wings got my mouth watering. The one frivolous thing I miss since this virus hit has been our weekend trip to a bar for beer and wings or beer and burgers or beer and pizza or beer and bourbon…you know, OUT somewhere. But we have these things at home and frankly half the time the food is iffy; but just to have someone else bring it to me and relax with my stuff knowing I don’t to jump up and clean it up.
    Wow. All my favorite things in those images-sunlight, fog, Maddie, shadows, dewdrops, colored leaves…
    As for notifications, mine has been so hit and miss for so long I couldn’t say how it works. The one thing I do know is that some time ago, when they first began ‘fiddling’ with the system, they changed the follow procedure from instant notifications to ‘posts from this site will now be visible in your reader’. Anyone who wants instant notifications would have to subscribe to them via email notification. Now and then I have to go in and cull out those sites that just add to my email load and we aren’t closely connected. As far as the new Block Editor, I can navigate it but it is definitely convoluted compared to the old one. I don’t like having to use so many drop down tabs to find the three things I normally use. What is it with IT and all the drop down menus? In medical it is just another avenue for the lazy person to hit the wrong choice and then it becomes a permanent part of someone’s medical history. Nothing in an EMR chart can be changed once it is signed off by the (unobservant) doctor (‘s scribe). 🤦‍♀️Happy Weekend Dan.

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  13. Trials and travails with trailer and tiers, huh? I have faith in you. ;) What a treat for me to see all the beautiful leaves! I love the railroad bridge, toolbox or not. The pic “Maddie off sniffing” is really beautiful with that reflection… it’s just unique. Happy weekend. Hugs on the wing.

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  15. I had to laugh at the 19 years comment. After 4 weeks, the city finally picked up the trees/limbs on the street from Hurricane Sally. But there were still leaves and small branches in front of the house. I asked my husband to please rake those up and dispose of them while I worked in the back yard. He just needed to ‘finish his coffee.’ An hour later, he comes out back and says, “What did you want me to do in the front yard?” That leaf with the rain drops is beautiful, Dan. As is sweet Maddie. She looks so content on her cot. Have a great weekend, Dan.

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  19. A big OUCH to that! Sounds like something that could happen if my husband left his bike rack attached to the hitch in the back of his car. :-( Your title made me laugh and sounds just the ticket. As for Corona, it doesn’t seem to be in short supply here. Maybe it’s being smuggled over the border? :-)

    Some lovely photos today.

    janet

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  21. I’m glad to know our household isn’t the only one with way old stuff on the to do list. Funny how those white boards blend into the scenery. Speaking of scenery, I love your autumn foliage photos, especially the water drops on the leaf.

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  26. Oh did I get a laugh out of you forgetting, Dan. Your mind very much works like hubby’s mind and if I don’t remind him of stuff he’ll forget. I feel as if I think for TWO sometimes. And then I forget what I have to do like just now I thought OH I was supposed to throw a load of laundry in this morning and I have still yet to do it. Well, I get caught up with hubby’s stuff and the rest is history.
    Spelling …. once upon a time you used to be able to turn spell check off. I did it deliberately so I would NOT forget how to spell. I’ve gotten lazy with spellcheck and it irks me. I want to spell right! I can see why you could get mixed up on relevant. It’s usually the “easier” words that stump you.
    Really enjoyed your story today. Looks to me like you are practicing for a book or two. Could be?
    Awesome gallery. By the time you have full color our trees will be bare. I can still enjoy those Fall colors through your eyes. Good!!

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    • I’m not sure we will ever get to full color this year, Amy. I think we will have green-orange-yellow-red and bare trees all season long. That’s what we’re seeing now.

      I started these posts (if having a beer) as a writing exercise. It’s the only place I dabble in fiction and work at developing characters. I have to see hos far I can take those skills. I appreciate the comment.

      Good luck finding the bits of glorious color, and keeping your list and hubby’s straight.

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      • It’s been a weird Fall here as well, Dan. I’ve had to work hard to find the color that I’ve been presenting over at my blog. Truthfully I feel just like putting my head down on my arms and saying, “I just cannot run this hard anymore.” Chasing colors this year has been tough!
        I just threw a load of laundry in the washer. LOL At least I got that far. Our BIG project this past week was getting a new furnace and ductwork. That as you can well imagine turned into a freaking stress pod. Much went wrong and much had to be redone by hubby. If you had stood in his shoes and saw the mess that was called “professionally done” you would have done the exact same thing. IF I have time, story will be going up on my blog. Don’t hold your breath however. I am overloaded.

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        • I feel bad for you and your hubs. “Professional” doesn’t mean what it used to. I had a roofer ask me why I was adding roof cement to the shingles on the lower portion of our gambrel roof. I said, “because the manufacturer recommends that due to the sharp angle.” He said, “I wouldn’t do it – they’ll outlast my warranty.”

          By the way, no surprise, my wife had looked up the mfg’s site and discovered that recommendation.

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  27. Nineteen years… better late than never (smile). This was fun to read, Dan. Your photo gallery is beautiful. Our fall has been spectacular with color, which I never expected after such a dry summer.

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  28. Good title for this post. I have been having medicinal wine and beer lately, not at the same time, because I am working hard on clearing out a lot of stuff from my house and garage. I have to log in below? Does that prevent spam?

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  29. Hi Dan,

    This post has acted as a reminder for me – I must attach the spare wheel to my own trailer again. It was removed some years ago to fix another problem on the trailer, and then I was running late to collect firewood so I left it off, and now 4 or 5 years have passed, and the spare wheel is still sitting patiently waiting to be re-attached.
    The craziest part of this is I moved house in the meantime and brought the spare wheel without re-attaching it, there are always more jobs to do than time to do them!

    Les

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    • That’s funny, Les. Once I got the wheel, I figured I better put it on right away, or it would be sitting in the garage while I was dragging the trailer around. I’m gld my procrastination might help you avoid the same fate.

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  30. OUCH!! Poor David! That image from the tarmac of the park while Maddie was happily sniffing has some gorgeous light and view. I don’t mind the toolbox on the railroad bridge in that image because the perspective and colors are just wonderful. I love the curved road and the fall trees leading me into and out of the frame. Just lovely!!

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    • That’s “North Water Street.” It winds along the river from the highway bridge to the railroad trestle. It’s my favorite shortcut, but it almost always takes longer because I stop for photos.

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