The Rock Wall

I have no doubt that summer heat is here. I got to enjoy it last Friday and Saturday working in the boathouse on a birthday present for Kimball. Monday evening after work the heat was even higher. I almost cooked. I was coveting every little breeze. I had to pace myself to keep from having a heat stroke.

Finally, I remembered that Kimball had told me to take a fan out there. I went to the house, got the fan and solved my problem.

What I am doing is refurbishing a glider that we gave Kimball several years ago. The summer and winter weather has done a number on the wood but left the metal frame intact.

Kimball is on a cleaning snit at the office and at home. She asked if Davis and I could take the glider off the patio to the burn pile. Instead, Davis and I took it to the shed. I couldn’t stand to trash the good frame. Besides, there isn’t really that much wood on it – until you start replacing the seven 1 3/8 inch and seven 2 1/5 seat boards plus the arm rests.

I’m trying something that Dad told me about. He said that the old sawmillers treated their lumber for the sawmill with kerosene and it lasted forever. I painted the glider boards with kerosene instead of Thompson Water Seal. The boards did not soak up the kerosene like I thought (hoped) they would, so I’ll treat them again in place before I set it out in the weather.

Kimball, who always wants to change things (makes you wonder why I’m still here, doesn’t it?) wants to take all the boards off the glider and stain or paint them with something weather resistant. I don’t think she realizes how much work that will be for her. Notice I said “for her.”

– You might get a call from Finley Keen. She’s working here now selling ads for some of our special issues coming up and learning to back up our typesetter and circulation manager, Gwen.

– Kimball’s day lilies at our house have exploded overnight. Gosh, they are pretty.

If you want to see a beautiful bank of flowers, it will be worth your time to drive by the house at Broadway and Park Street.

– Mary wants to know why women aren’t born with three arms. She said she will be holding something in both arms when Brad will say, “Here, take this.”

– I’ve had some delightful conversations with John Hoagland, the elder. He told me Monday that he was the rural mail carrier for 30 years in the Taberville area north of the Osage River. He said was his habit, after he finished his route, to take advantage of the outdoor thinking room at Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church. He said when anybody went by and saw his car there, they knew who and what was going on. So much so that one day, someone snuck up and locked the door from the outside. Like the good ol’ country boy that he is, John looked around and found a piece of baling wire inside the facility, reached through and lifted the latch. He still thinks it is funny. The church has indoor plumbing now.

And John told me something that his granddaughter came up with. They were discussing attendance at church and she told him there are CEO Christians.

Christmas and Easter Only. KL