2025 Life Logs, Day 80: Happy 13th Birthday to Oliver Preston Goldstone
Date: Friday March 21, 2025
Weather: Rain Early, Then Cloudy; High Temp 47, Low 42 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Happy 13th birthday to my grandson Ollie. Today he became a teenager, and in July my granddaughter Coco turns 13. When that happens, my ‘Fabulous Five’ will all be teenagers, with one headed to college. How wonderful it is to be able to watch your grandchildren growing up.
Ollie and his friend Simon, who was born on the same day in 2012, planned a combined birthday party. They invited four shared friends to spend a couple of hours bouncing on trampolines, climbing a rock wall, attacking a ninja warrior course, and more at Nova Trampoline Park in Plymouth. The two dads went along as chaperones, while the moms stayed home to make birthday cakes. Heather made a chocolate cake for Ollie. Simon’s mom made an ice cream cake for Simon.
And when the boys got home, everyone had a bit of both. Tonight, Heather and Jed are hosting an overnight for the six boys. The wonderful thing about being a grandparent is that you can say goodnight and go home for a quiet night’s sleep!
After three months of not taking Shadow to the groomer, I caved and took him today. It is so expensive, but for a dog who has hair that grows, versus fur, you really have no choice. He was a matted mess, but when I picked him up, he was his handsome self. I’ll be taking him to be groomed regularly once again.
After dropping Shadow off, I went to a PT session for my neck, and then I spent the remainder of my day searching for an intro class to welding as a birthday present for Ollie. The place that seemed the best fit for the best price was in Plympton, near Plymouth. Their website gives only an email address. I emailed a week ago but had heard nothing back. So, I drove to Plympton with only a street name, no detailed address and no phone number. I put the name of the welding shop in Google Maps, but when I got there, I did not find a welding shop. I went to the Town Hall. Closed on Fridays. I went to the Fire Department next door and couldn’t find anyone around. I thought that surely someone would know where I could find the shop. I finally went to the Police Department and no one there had ever heard of the place. But the receptionist and two officers did everything they could to search for me. They finally found a phone number which they called, but no one answered. Finally, they found an address. Success! I was able to arrange for a private 4-hour intro to welding class for Ollie and Jed.
While driving around today, I listened to NPR. How depressing it is to listen to the news these days. But tonight, when I got home, I hopped on my exercise bike while watching The Rachel Maddow Show. Watching the replay from today of our Secretary of Commerce Lutnick was not just depressing, it actually brought tears. It really hurt to watch him saying that if Social Security didn’t send our their checks this month only fraudsters would complain. Fraudsters? I live on a fixed income. My teacher retirement and Social Security are my only sources of income. I paid into both of those for the 30 years that I was an educator. I have a few thousand dollars in savings, but literally just a few. Lutnick’s exact words were, “Anybody who’s been in the payment system and the processes, knows the easiest way to find the fraudster is to stop payments and listen, because whoever screams is the one stealing,” If I don’t get my Social Security check, I will have to use my meager savings to pay the rent. But there are thousands of people who worked hard at even lower paying jobs than a teacher that have no savings. Those of us in this situation are going to ‘scream’ and we are not stealing. We would only be asking for what we have earned. Hearing Lutnick’s words was just a step too far for me. “Let’s say Social Security didn’t send out their check this month. My mother-in-law is 94. She wouldn’t call and complain. She just wouldn’t. She would think something got messed up and she’ll just get it next month. A fraudster always makes the loudest noise screaming, yelling, and complaining.” Obviously Lutnick’s mother doesn’t depend on her Social Security to pay her rent!
