The house where I was born on Huggletts Lane, Sussex, England. All of those 87 years ago.

Happy Birthday to me. Today, I am 87 years old and very grateful for it. Born on this day in 1936 all those years ago in the house above located on a little country road named Huggletts Lane, situated in Old Heathfield in the County of Sussex in England. World War Two had not yet started but would in 1939 and England would be pulled into it. My house was almost on the coast, just 8 miles inland and when the war started, we were right in the German airplanes flightpath.as they made their way to bomb London during the Battle of Britain. I watched dog fights, damaged planes limping in both directions, Doodlebugs and even an American flier who parachuted out of his damaged plane to land at the top of my street. The whole neighborhood turned out to greet him.

Surviving the war and a couple of marriages later, I ended up over here in the Unted States in 1967, following my mother over. She had left England in 1946 to marry a GI she met during that same war. Ten years later, I became an American Citizen, 

I have lived in this great country ever since, not once revisiting the old country as much as I wanted to. Another marriage followed and eventually failed and for the past 29 years, have lived the life of the proverbial confirmed unmarried person along with many and various canine friends, the latest of whom are Milkey and Sandy, and if you follow this blog are the ones you read about on a daily basis. 

For me, the time has long gone for wild parties with lots of booze to celebrate birthdays, or come to that, anything else. Just being alive and in good health is reason for celebration. So, we harnessed up and went out walking the Park saying “Good Morning” to all and sundry and petting whatever dogs we came across. As usual, we covered about a half mile before returning to the RV for breakfast, followed by the time spent in front of the computer. 

The dogs started barking at something from their vantage point in the big front window and it was Daniel returning a full bottle of Propane that I had set out yesterday. He helped to put it in place and connect it up and we chatted for a bit. He had previously wished me a “Happy Birthday” and then suggested we go to the break room and grab a cup of coffee as the wind had a nip to it. We sat and chatted for a bit and then Malinda joined us along with a large cake that she had gone into town especially, to buy. She also wished me a “Happy Birthday” and cut the cake with a piece each. It was a real surprise and a very nice gesture on their part.  

We sat and chatted about a lot of different things for the next hour or so before business called them away but not before, giving me the rest of the cake to consume at my leisure. From our conversation, they have led a very interesting life together. 

I returned to the RV, carrying the rest of my birthday cake with me to be greeted by the dogs who were especially interested in what I had in my hands. Unluckily for them, the cake went into the refrigerator, but I did harness them up and we went out walking. It had turned much colder, and I had to put a real jacket on to stay warm as we wandered around the park and out onto Henly Loop. We stopped to make a fuss of the little bull mastiff puppy, who, unfortunately for her, had just been spayed a couple of days before and then moved on to Taho who was, as usual, lazing around outside of his RV. 

Back in Quatro, I sat and caught up on the day’s blog thinking that Daniel and Melinda are not just Park Managers but also friends as shown by their action today and previously when they helped fix the coach from the freeze damage. This is a very nice park, and we had discussed my residing here permanently after one more trip later this year. As a matter of fact, we talked a lot about permanent RV’s during our conversation as although Quatro is a very nice coach for travelling, it is not really designed to be permanently parked and is way to expensive for that anyway. 

The rest of the evening was spent in the usual fashion except that once more, I finished another series of the latest program I was watching and will now have to find something else to entertain me. 

Written 01/20/2023 Read my other poems at https://ponblog2011.com

The Diary of an Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, Dripping Springs, TX Day 52, Saturday 01/21/2023

Some of the deer that are in the Wildlife Park across the road from us. I saw a Zebra in the distance but it was too far off to take a picture with the phone.

It was a grey, overcast day when we stepped outside for that first walk of the day. I was not feeling any older despite having a birthday, yesterday.  

There was a hint of rain in the air so maybe, we will get lucky, and it will. Except for Taho, who was in his usual spot, lying outside of his RV, there were no other dogs for us to visit and make a fuss of. It was Saturday and those not having to work were making the most of their time off. We wandered around and then returned to the RV for breakfast. I noticed that another RV had pulled out from one of the “permanent” spots. 

The next move, following that all important cup of coffee and that not-so-important breakfast, was to check the world news in case something great and positive may have happened. Needless to say, nothing had, so I turned to emails, answering a couple that needed them and trashing the rest. I loaded out the latest blog after adding a few pictures and we are all caught up. I wonder if I were to write how I want the day to turn out, would it? Probably not as we have extraordinarily little control over the future, or come to that, even the present. 

I was scrolling through Facebook and for some reason, the entire stream of blogs was about dogs and cats. A lot of them were from people that had just lost a pet and while reading the many words and sympathizing with their losses, having been there many times myself, I suddenly choked up and before I knew it, was bawling my heart out. It took a while for me to calm down, helped by my two little friends who seemed to understand that I was sad. 

After a bit, I managed to get myself back under control, chastising myself for being such a softie and at the same time, marveling that an old fart like me could still have any emotions. I thought they were all long gone and buried except for my feelings towards my pets, which is never in question. Oh yes, and a couple of special friends. 

I decided to go walking at Reimers Ranch Park and loaded up the gear and the dogs and we set off. On the earlier visit and when we were coming home, I remember passing Bell Springs Road at what I termed, “the top end” as it was by Reimers Park. I knew there was Bell Springs Road off Hwy 290 (the bottom end) and when I came to it, I made the turn. I followed it for 15 miles or so, and it took us out onto another road that I recognized from earlier trips but not on the road that I wanted to lead to the park. 

Bell Springs did not continue straight across, and I guessed which way to go, left or right, and chose wrong as we wound around all over the place covering a lot of miles but mainly in a big circle, unknown to me. I never did find the extension to Bell Springs Road that would have brought me out to Reimers Park 

We drove around following this country road and then that one before, somehow, we came back out onto Hwy 290 where we started. I bet we covered 20 or more miles just circling around. Not once, did we cover the same road twice in all that time, except for coming out at Bell Springs on Hwy 290. 

I did not mind as we were after all, out for a drive although the plan originally had been to take a short hike. Instead, we took a long drive to nowhere and back. It is amazing what you find in the Texas countryside when you get off the main roads. Incidentally, wherever we went, there were lots of houses and ranches, so it was not just bare countryside. 

We drove back to the RV after a quick stop at Starbucks in Dripping Springs and then I took the dogs out walking as they had been cooped up in the car all the time we were out. We still got our exercise but not as much as we had planned. 

The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way of binge watching 3 different English Premier League matches as we ate our evening meals. 

Written 01/21/2023 Read my other poems at https://ponblog2011.com