Home Made Pies?

Growing up I did not know you could make pies at home since my mother only bought Sara Lee Pies. Even for bake sales at the church she would buy Sara Lee. Of course, we have homemade pie at my grandma Manning’s. But these were special already made and baked when served. It was not until I was in my teens did, I find out why my mother did not bake pies.  I still shutter in fear of offending some like my dad did.

Three weeks after my parent got married, his mother came over to visit the new bride. They had a good visit. During the visit his mother present the new bride with a homemade baked apple pie, “Just like Jimmy likes,” stated his mother.

Now, at this point I should mention something about my mother’s work history.  My mother was a year ahead of my father in high school so took a job at the local dinner until my father finish high school. She would bake all the pies served in the dinner for extra money. And her pies were well like by both the locals and truck drivers. There were many drivers who would stop just get pie and coffee from Phyllis.

Now new bride, Phyllis in the rush to get dinner on the table for ‘Jimmy’ forgot to mention his mother visit and the freshly baked apple pie.  Phyllis served the pie for dessert. Jimmy cut one quarter of the pie and place it on his plate.  Phyllis got herself a much smaller portion of the pie. Jimmy took his first bit of the pie with his fork and said waving his fork toward his new bride. “My mother uses more sugar in her pies.”

Phyllis was flabbergasted at his comment. He then took another bite and waved his fork at her and said, “My mothers pies are flaker.” Phyllis jaw drop even farther open. Jimmy then take another bite and wave his fork once again and started with, “My Mother…” Phyllis cut him off and said, “Your mother made this pie and if she cannot please you, I never will.”

So, if we had pie it came from Sar Lee.  Mother would bake everything else but pies. I was 25 years old and home on leave from the military and walked in to the kitchen to see my mother making a pie.  It seems the local church had found out about the pie story and some how tricked her in to baking one. Not my father did buy Phyllis pie at the bake sale for 100 dollars, I heard later. He ate it without comment.

Many years later I was visiting my parents with my children and my mother was baking pies for dinner. I quietly asker why she was doing so.  She told me it was self-preservation, dad has started to trying to bake pies.

Falling Rock

My father has passed from our lives and has left with us many stories about magical places and events. A cousin wanted to sharewith her grandchildren Uncle Jimmy’s story about the Yellow Warning Signs along the road. She could not recall the details of how it went.

This is the “Falling Rock” story which Uncle Jimmy told when children were riding with him.

Uncle Jimmy (my father) noticed a yellow warning sign as he drove down the winding road. Squished in the back of the station wagon were 8 to 15 children. They were bored and tired of riding. Aunt Phyllis (my mother) had fed them the last of the snacks.

He remarked in an offhand way, I see that they are still looking for those missing Indians. Uncle Jimmy pointed to the warning sign for falling rocks to the children. After passing the sign the children turned to stare at Uncle Jimmy. One of the children asked, “Uncle Jimmy, who’s looking for who?” Oh, the missing Indian braves, he continued causally.

There were pleas for Uncle Jimmy to explain, who teased the children a bit more, until all were listening before he started his tale.

Back before the pioneers there was an Indian tribe who had three young boys who were very brave but did not have names. As you know many Indian names are given because of something the person does or is like. Each name is special and means things like he lives in the woods, yellow tail wildcat, or star watcher.

The young braves had been raised as bothers and soon it became time for them to earn their adult names. But all the really good names seem to be used up. There were names like Running Horse, Eagle Feather, Black Foot, and Dancing Cat. Can you think of any? The children started naming different famous Native American chief’s and some of their friends from school.

Uncle Jimmy continued when the names slowed down, the medicine man could not figure out any names to suggest to the young braves. So he thought about it a long time even travelling to speak with other medicine men. After several months he met with the young braves. We have decided on three names which you can pick from Falling Rocks, High Waters, and Running Deer. The braves could not decide which name they wanted which worried the medicine man. So he decided to have them draw lots, so he marked 3 stones and place them in a bag.

During the tribe’s festival for the young braves he had each draw a stone from a bag. The first young brave drew the stone marked with rocks falling down a cliff. The medicine man spoke loudly, to prove your name ‘Falling Rock’ you must cause an avalanche on a mountain and bring back two rocks from the avalanche. Next the 2nd young brave came and picked out the stone which had a jumping deer on it. Again the medicine man spoke you will need to chase down a deer until you are able to puck the tail off the deer and bring us the tail. Then the last brave took the final stone which had a river drawn on it. Young brave you have the hardest task of all. You must go to a river and make it overflow then bring us some of the water.

The three braves set off to earn their names to become braves of the tribe. The medicine man waited for their return. Days passed, weeks became many moons, and then years as the tribe waited for their return. From time to time rocks would fall from cliffs, deer would come running, and there would be flooding waters, but no sign of the young braves.

Soon friendly pioneers came by and the tribe told them about the missing braves. The pioneers promised to keep their eyes open for the three braves. Not long after the trains came and finally roads were built. The pioneers never forgot their promise to watch for the missing young braves. And that is why your see yellow warning signs on the road for Falling Rocks, High Waters, and Running Deer. Now children keep your eyes open for those young braves so we can make sure they get home.

With that Uncle Jimmy fell silent and all the children watched the road for any sign of the missing braves. The children talked quietly with each other for the next hour. And as they passed yellow warning signs the children tried to spot the missing braves.

Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Phyllis exchanged quiet smiles as peace descended on the remainder of the car trip.

Thanksgiving Prayer

Our Heavenly Father,

Life continues around us as you have created the world and set in motion. We pause to give thanks for your blessing this year on this American holiday.

We have experienced the bane of ill health, sting of homeless, and the hopeless of being destitute this past year. We give special give thanks for a place to call home and protection from the storms of life; let us not forget those around us who lack even these things.

We thank you for the faith you have provided us through your son Jesus. It was only through our faith that enabled us not give up hope and give in to depression.  We know that every works toward your plans and we must join you in taking action. We thank you for those people we were able to help and those that have moved in to belief in you. We also ask that your continue to protect those people called by your name as you have done so many times in the past.

We thank you for providing and pray that you continue provide in the future our the freedom of our future and apply to worship as we choose. We ask that you protect this country as you have done so three times in the pass, 1776, 1812, and 1861.   We ask that our leaders remember it just as our founding fathers penned: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

As we set down to our American holiday family dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries, and green beans we thank you for the bounty and traditions handed down to us on this day.

In celebration of this life you have granted me and my kin, I raise my glass and say “ləḥayyīm” to all my family, friends, and fellow American’s.

Amen

Paul Eugene Manning
Nov 26, 2015

———-

Hebrew words: ləḥayyīm: literally, to life. & Amen: verily truly; it is so; so be it

 

Do you have a light?

As I’ve mention before my mother had five brothers and they were all welcome to visit. However, she wouldn’t let them pull jokes on us children. I ever quite understood this until my 2^nd oldest uncle proved her point with my youngest uncle who was still in high school at the time.

We were at out camping and gather for the evening around the camp fire. One of my uncles farted very loudly. He decide to show off and  did it again but had place a lighter between his legs and the 2^nd fart create a quote wonderful flame which sho
t almost across the fire pit in to my mother lap. Not to be out done my youngest uncle what to do it as well and they started farting and bursting flame. Even at my young age I want to try it too. But, Mother forbade any of us children from trying to doing it. So, I was force to simply watch.

Well, this continued for the better part of an hour. Until, my oldest uncle said watch this and went to light another fart but did not get the lighter to work and he let out a very loud fart which made it to the actual fire pit. How do I know that he made it you ask? Because the flame came not from him but the fire pit and lit his crotch on fire.

Boy were his screams loud as they tried to put out his pants with him still in them. My mother comment later after they left to my father, I told they didn’t have any common sense. We did learn later that he had burn all the hair off the lower part of his privates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fart_lighting

A Little Milk with Your Coffee?

In my family I have five sisters and two bothers so there are 8 children including me. Mother is the oldest of 10 children and Father is the youngest of 5 children. So growing up we had lots of family who pop in and out to visit us. Once an uncle who was a constable stop by to get a cup of coffee during a patrol for the local sheriff from his big sister. She waved him in to the house as he came to the door and he told her he want some coffee. She fold him the coffee was over in the kitchen.  He fetched himself a cup and sat down across the room from her as he sipped his coffee.

Mother was nursing my youngest bother who was only a few months old. My uncle remark how good his coffee was with the milk in it. Mother ask him were he got the milk as us children had used the last of the it for breakfast that day. Oh, it was in the small creamer bottle in the kitchen he remarked off offhandedly.  Mother thought a moment and said, the only milk in the the kitchen is breast milk for the baby.

My uncle was taking a sip of coffee and managed to spit it clear across the room as he revitalize what he was drinking. Now, this story has been told over and over to everyone and we laugh a lot. However this was not the only time this happen.

Another, uncle stop by and got a cup of coffee as well and use the special milk in the “creamer bottle,” however this uncle on hearing he was drinking breast milk in his coffee. Just stared at the cup for a minute and then continued to drink his coffee normally. No reason to waste it he said, the baby likes it so it must be OK.

No, I don’t want to work there.

Early in the beginning stages of the DEC software services I was recruited to work as one of their lead contract workers. As a result I was given a DEC ID badge and acted as an onsite DEC expert having the same resources as a full-time employee of DEC. After 2 years in the program I became one of the top five consultants they offered contracts to.

I had just finished up a project at the Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital where the Pharmacy was unable to print out labels for dispensing medication to children in their wards. I was there for eight weeks and had resolved the issue and then aided them in selection and updating their software so the issue was fixed. My wife and I had decide it was time to return to the Northwest and see family after two years on the road and show off our third baby who was about to be 8 weeks old.

I received a call from a private contracting firm who had connections with the DEC Contract Division about a troublesome client. The firm had offered over 50 people and all had been rejected by the client. They basically begged me to find out what the client wanted in the way of services. I was not looking for work at the time as I was setting up to return home after being on the road for several years and visit with family for several months.  I finally agreed to talk with the client over the phone.

The next day I did a phone interview with their client.  During the conversation I figured out the issue they were having and explained how to provide a resolution to a piece of it. And for some reason when asked what I thought about the shop my reply was less than candid that day, I suggested that what they had was a sweat-shop environment because of the issue and until it was fixed they would spend a lot of time and money keeping things working.

Well, if you have not figured it out I really did not want the job at the time. I had first quoted them a higher fee than normal for the contract and as well as a fixed starting date.  So just to upset the apple cart even more I even add some hand written lines to the contract with some special benefits. Three stick out in my memory, a month off in six months to return home, it would be an extra $5 an hour to carry a cell phone and $5 for a pager. Finally, if they should actually page or call they would be charged a minimal of 2 hours of overtime.

Now, I figured I had priced myself out of the market and would get turned down. But, no the manager insisted that he take no-one but me. Apparently, I so impressed the manager he picked up my resume and called all my former clients and got very glowing reports on my skills. So, I figure at worst I end up delaying our visit for several months so I could solve the client’s issues.

The client’s primary problem was with printing. All the users at this international company could print anything from anywhere and from any computer type. But, the computers would stop queuing to the printers and report errors. A repair tech would be dispatched and reset the printer. Then the systems manager would reset the queue and it would print for a while until the next freeze up. The in house help-desk was spending over 80% of their time on printer calls. They were having over 800 printer related calls a month.

I started by visiting with two of the repair staff and reviewing the help-desk logs. I went on several service calls and saw how they repaired and reset the printers. I sat with the system managers of the two primary systems to figure out how they were fixing the queues. What I found were multiple issues; the number of queues, types of queues, the network settings, and the type of printer language sent. These would change from time to time based on which sending computer and the receiving printer.

So I develop a plan based on my findings, review my findings with the manager and given approval to move forward. The first phase was to collect all the settings used by the computers and printers. The first step was to create a monitor program for the queues on the primary computer systems. Next came several data collection programs for each computer system which was used to create a database. The monitor programs would reset them if they were out of sync with the database. In phase two a network printer data collection program was needed to talk directly to the printers to verify their settings. Finally a daily report to report when any of the printers or queues was out of sync and it could not be reset by the data collection or monitor programs.

After the first month I was able to reduce the number of calls from 800 to 300, then a month later I had them down to 50 and 98% of these were actual hardware failures. Some people hearing this story may think that I fixed their issues with the software I developed but that’s not the case.

Yes, the software fixed the technical issues but I was dealing with an international company, multiple departments, and multiple locations both in the US and Internationally. Since I was making changes to how many of these departments worked it required a major amount of tact and clear understanding of both the people and their cultural background.

There were several times I was able to keep the project on track by understanding a person’s cultural background. I fostered this by listening to what and how things were said. Which allow myself and the staff I was working to deal with others by understanding what their needs were.

An example was we had gained verbal agreement with our counter parts in Japan for a phase of the project. During debriefing from the call I turn to my manager and told him they were never going to do what we asked. He was startled by my statement and just like I told him a month passed and the changes were not done.

The issue was they would “lose face” or to become less respectable to their local management. We simply reworked the how we worded the project so they would be able accept the changes and not “lose face” within their cultural setting.  He asked me later how I knew they would not do what we asked. I explained there are three ways to say “Yes” in Japan all based on the tone of voice, I had simply heard the “Never going to happen” tone in their “Yes” that they were simply being polite as their culture required.

The contract continued for over 7 years, I develop several other projects for them and served on several review boards for them for selecting new technologies.   During this time I develop web interfaces to each computer platform which would allow staff to reset the queues, created procedures and software to install software for multiple computers to assign printer network connections.

I think my fondest memory of that time was in a hardware sales meeting when my manager was asked how we were saving the company 8 million dollars a year with a staff of 8 by the sales person.  He smiled and said, “Well, I have this fellow by the name of Paul Manning…”

Experiencing History

It is sometimes a little weird when I realize just how long I been working with computers and the changes I seen. I took my first programming class in my freshman year of high school. I was working on a computer program for one of my teachers to figure out the grade points of all his classes. As I struggle with the code my computer teach came up and told me I could get paid to do what I was doing. I just stared at him in total wonder, I was speechless, that someone would actual pay me to do this. Programming was so much fun for me. Well he was just talking about a school work which would pay me for working for teacher at the school.

Back then it was coding sheets, punch cards, card decks, and batch runs. We had a 3 day turn around on our computer runs. You had two decks you program and your data deck.  Well as time roll on computers got better and card decks became a thing of the pass. Computers became connected with terminals, disk drives, and mag tape. I continued to learn more about computers. We move in to the world of main frame with timeshare terminals.

After leaving the service I continued with newer more powerful main frames and created computer interfaces for keypunch staff to do data entry directly in to the main frame computers. I develop data base revival program which research over 30 data bases to collect the data necessary to create a reports.

Later when I started at EDS and I was waiting on my security background check to be completed. I simply used card decks to update my programs. I was commended for being able to do my work without actually working on a terminal. They had never heard of using card decks to fix on line programs. I even punch my own cards. (The keypunch staff was empress that I even knew how to code my own keypunch control card program to allow me to control the keypunch.) Well, I moved on to mini computers and fell in love with Digital Equipment Computers. I like these computers so much I became an expert in their software for over 20 years. I also became one of the company PC experts when the IBM PC came out in 82. We were now in the world of personal computers and diskettes.

Several years later I was updating my computer skills yet again at a local community college. I was reading the course text book at home; I gap something from my computer desk at home, placed it in the book to mark my place, and drove to class.  I walked in to the classroom and set down. Pull out the IBM Punch Card I had used to mark my place in the text book and set in on the desk.

All of a sudden all the other people in the classroom had gather around my desk and they were staring at the punch card. One finally spoke up in awe, “I never actual seen one of those outside of the history books.” I realized that I’m living history that people are reading about.

Now, today I have a tablet which has more memory and processing power than any of the computers I work on in the first 15 years of my journey with computers. I just finished another 21 courses and have learned to program in another 5 computer languages for tablets. I wonder what the next 15 years will bring?

Would You like anything else?

When dinning out you often asked by your waitress/waiter if you are enjoying your food and do you wanted anything else.

And normally your mouth if full of food at the time, so you try and mumble something nice about the food. This use to really bug me so much, that I thought the staff was trained in waiting to ask you until your mouth was full. Then I realize that eating is what you do when your served the food. (Was one of the duh moment’s for me.)

I decide to turn it in to a small joke to pull on servers.

Well, I would pause and act like I was thinking about it for a moment then I would say,  “Yes, a hug and kiss, please.” And from time to time I got a hug and kiss.

But, after I got divorced it became a habit, even when I started dating again it just naturally came out. My cute young girlfriend wanted me to stop it because she did not like it. I tried but found I had done it so long that it was a habit.

The next time we dinned out the waiter ask if we need anything else?  She quickly said, “Yes, a hug and kiss,” and got them from the cute waiter. So, she cured me and I have never asked for a hug and kiss again.

(By the way in this past June the girlfriend
has been my wife for 31 years.)

Hold the green peppers

As a child Green Peppers would make me ill so I have never developed a like for them even though I out grew not being able to eat them around 13. We were at my fathers sisters and were eating leftovers. There was some meatloaf which I carefully sliced two pieces to fit the bread. I very carefully butter and spread mayo, pickles, ketchup, etc…

My dad had watched me work so carefully. Now, the rule was not to waste food. Dad watched me carefully pick up the crafted sandwich that had been made so lovingly. I took a large bite then flavor of the meatloaf hit my taste buds. The flavor of green peppers was strong in the meatloaf, my face fell and dad explained she only made meatloaf with peppers. I was going to have eat every bite of it with the taste of green peppers in every bite.

Dad finally stop laughing and had me give my carefully made sandwich to my brother who enjoy it a lot. I made a jelly sandwich and watched brother enjoy my sandwich.

The Blue Jay and the Pancake.

   Blue Jay adult    -Wikipedia-

 

My family would go camping several times a year. There were always blue Jays around and they come in to camp when we left to search for food us kids would drop on the ground. Or raid the dog bowl and generally to get in to anything they could find. We hear them call out all day long from dawn to dusk.

Once we were getting up and dad was make breakfast. He decided to show off to us kids by flipping pancakes up in the air and catching them in the pan or on a plate. As he made them the flip would get higher and higher. My dad flipped on up in the air at least 10 feet and a Blue Jay swoop down and snatched the pancake and tried to fly away with it.  But the poor blue jay did not know how hot that pancake was. It got maybe 20 feet before it open it mouth and screeched in pain. Even I will not pick up a pancake off a griddle with my bare hand. Imaging how hot it was to put it directly in to your mouth. It swoops down again to pick it back up and tried again to take off with the pancake; dropping it twice.

Then Maggie, our dog, decided that we did not need the camp robber and ran after it. The blue jay decides than to head for the trees. Well that blue jay did not think any of this was very funny and told my dad just that. I swear that blue jay was giving my dad a piece of its mind with all the screeching and squeaking that it was doing. We were just falling all over laughing about the jay trying to get the pancake.

Mother did not agree about the jay was complaining about dad. However, dad went fishing and the blue jay sound quit. Whenever dad walked back in to camp the screeching and squeaking would start up again. Dad took us for a hike and swimming down at the river. We came back the screeching and squeaking start up. As normal the calls stop at dusk. The next morning we heard the normal sounds of camp and the birds.

Dad steps out of the tent and there was a burst of the screeching and squeaking again. The remaining time we spent camping that week anytime dad would be in the camp there was the screeching and squeaking of that poor blue jay with the burn tongue.