Today's post is a continuation of yesterday's letter describing our fifth trip to Knott's Berry Farm that occurred on Saturday, September 30. Today we make our third trip to Busch Gardens.
"Sunday we went back to Busch Gardens again. Dave said to take pictures - ha! He didn't fool me. It was crowded, but not as hot as the day we took you. We got some good pictures of the birds and waterfalls. In one part of the garden a man had some tame macaws and he was letting the children pose for pictures with a parrot on each arm. David Wayne's picture turned out really cute."
[Since I know you can't wait, I'll break into the middle of this paragraph to show you the picture of me with the birds.]
[Awwww . . . that really is cute. Look at that big grin.]
"In another part of the garden some parrots had gotten down from their tree and were walking across a bridge. We were going to get another picture of David Wayne with the birds, but unfortunately, these birds were not tame and little David Wayne got a plug bit out of his arm!"
[It's me breaking into this paragraph again. I do remember that incident. One minute I'm happily standing with some birds on my outstretched arms as you can see in the picture, and then not long after that I'm posing with some more birds and I get bit. All I remember is it hurt like crazy and I'm sure I cried over that. (Macaws can supposedly exert over 500 psi when they bite. A human bite is about 150 psi.) Here's a picture of two of the rogue birds tearing up plants and generally destroying the landscaping. One of these birds is the one that bit me according to Mom's caption in the photo album.]
[I didn't pose for another picture with a bird for 25 years, when the opportunity arose while we were on our honeymoon in Hawaii. I remember being a little hesitant due to the memory of the horrific incident at Busch Gardens, but I did it anyway.]
[I was not bitten in 1992, but the bird on my shoulder did poop on me. And no, I don't think I should pose for another picture with a bird now just because another 25 years have passed.]
"I wonder what his first grade teacher will think of us next year when he describes the difference in llama bites and parrot bites. And won't show and tell hour be wonderful when David Wayne repeats from memory the guide's talk on how beer is made! I probably will never have to worry about teaching school again."
[What an incredibly prescient series of questions Mom asked there. As some of you have already seen on Facebook, I did write about my adventures this weekend for a school assignment, presumably the next year when I was in first grade. Mom felt like that was a keeper. Here it is:]
[Fortunately my spelling and punctuation improved considerably after first grade. My handwriting, on the other hand, declined considerably.]
"Also Sunday we took Dave up to the Observatory. We didn't see the show, but David Wayne pushed every button in the building. I noticed several people looking funny at us as David Wayne told his daddy just what everything was and how it worked. Usually, the parents were telling the children."
[It sounds like somebody was a little show-off at the Observatory.]
[So Dad weighed 163 pounds then. According to his last drivers license his height was 5' 6". That's a BMI of 26.3 which is overweight but not obese. So yeah, shedding a few pounds wouldn't be a bad idea. 154 would have put him just within the normal range.]
"Next weekend we are going to Disneyland again. We are taking three or four rolls of film with us, so maybe we'll get more than two pictures this time."
[I guess the two Disneyland pictures she's talking about were the two of me with my grandmother. All the other Disneyland pictures were taken either during this upcoming trip or maybe a later one.]
"I told you about us taking flu shots. Well, I had a reaction from mine - sinus, ear infection, sore throat, etc. - and I had to take another shot to cure that! Dr. Danno will be able to retire with "healthy-as-a-horse" me as a patient. Other than that I am fine - not much sickness, but I sleep all the time."
[I bet Dr. Danno loved it when the TV show "Hawaii Five-O" started airing in 1968.]
"We had quite a scare last week about Dave's work. They are having trouble getting some of their company records, so this company asked the state to postpone the examination for a year. This would have meant coming back to Texas immediately - with a loss of $600 per month. Frankly, we just can't afford to come home until we get some more saved. Baloney sandwiches would be ok for me and Dave, but not very healthy for the children. Anyway the state said no and we are breathing again and Dave stopped talking about getting a midwife for me in April! Now, it looks like the job will last much longer than first expected - so probably no Christmas in Texas for us. Dave has already informed his boss that he is leaving in March anyway because he doesn't want to have a "foreign-born" child. They have really been giving him a hard time at work about that rash statement. No wonder we were welcomed to the U. S. at Knott's."
[First of all, that sounds mighty suspicious that an insurance company knew they were going to be examined (audited), yet determines two months into the examination that they can't locate some of their records and would like to postpone the examination for a year. Kudos to the Texas State Board of Insurance for not letting that happen. That makes you wonder just what they were trying to hide.]
[That's interesting that Dad thought going into this that we might be back in Texas by Christmas. I never knew that. But I did know about Dad's desire to have this baby born in Texas instead of California. Keep that in mind for later.]
"Write when you have time. I know work is keeping you busy right now. I feel pretty droopy after the busy weekend so I think I'll go see Gary at the beauty shop."
"Love, Linda"
"P. S. - I may not go to the beauty shop after all. I just asked David Wayne about it and he told me to comb my own hair!"
[Always the practical one. Some things never change.]
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