Yes, as with her birthday, she got cheeseburgers from “McDonald’s”.
Tieschan, whose dog she THINKS it is, calls this Rowen’s ‘adoption day’. Not sure if that is the right word. It, however, sure was the day she came into our lives and changed it, profoundly, for the better.
Teischan decided she wanted a Newfie & she found her on the Web — in Iowa, 1,350-miles from here. We drove, during the height of COVID, in mid-winter, to go get her — in a rented SUV. Proved to be an amazing road trip. Lucked out with the weather in what was a 6-day trip. We were either ahead or behind a snowstorm. It turned out to be a 2,700-mile trip with a slight detour to Niagara Falls.
So, that is where we are. THIRD ANNIVERSARY of the dog that changed my life. Not the first I have had. Probably the fifteenth or so, & my first Newfie. I was into Goldens and had had 7 goldens in a row.
I am NOT sentimental. While I celebrate the birthdays of my closest, closest family, I do NOT celebrate my own. {Smile} That I am NOT 100% sure as to my birthday might have something to do with it. I know I was born in September 1953, but I cannot be sure, 100% as to on what day it was. {Smile} It transpires I was a hospital mix-up. They gave my parents the wrong (bloody) baby. I am so sorry for them. They sure deserved better. Hence why I refer to them now as my ‘adoptive parents’. As far as I can tell that is the BEST I can do. There is no word or phrase, as far as I can see, for parents of mix-ups. NO. I do NOT know who my biological parents are other than that my biological father was a ‘GAMBLER’! Now, doesn’t that explain it all.
IF you know me (& to be fair a very, very, very few do) you will see that I had to be the son of a gambler. How else could you explain me, this reprobate.
Anywho. My adoptive parents were married on August 27, 1952. That was a Wednesday. Don’t ask me why. It was most likely a date set my an astrologer. The right auspices time. Well, even then they were duped. Looked what happened just 13-14 months down the road. They got me — the SON of a GAMBLER. LoL.
So, that was the initial significance of August 27. My adoptive parents’ anniversary.
My adoptive father liked grand gestures. So, when we were to leave Ceylon in 1967 (for what I now realize was a self-imposed EXILE by my adoptive father) he chose August 27.
As such, I left Ceylon on August 27, 1976 — 55-years ago.
I did NOT want to leave. I had no choice. I wish I had never left. But, you can’t change time.
August 27, 1974, was indeed a pivotal day in my (rather sorry) life. My 1st day at IBM (Hursley). My very first day of working. Prior to that I had not worked a day — for pay.
But, nearly 18-months earlier, IBM had given me, unsolicited, an unconditional job offer — open-ended (i.e., no end date). I was given a name. Mrs. McKraken. She was in H.R. I just had to contact her if & when I wanted to come & work for IBM.
I wanted to be a game warden in Africa!
I spent 9-months trying to get a job in Africa as a game warden.
Then, in the Summer of 1974, while we were in Bangkok, Thailand, my then girlfriend said that I really should get a proper job so that we could get married. She reminded me that I had an open job offer from that FILTHY, U.S. CAPITALIST COMPANY IBM. I didn’t want to work for IBM. I wanted to be a game warden. But, she convinced me. So, I sent a telegram to Mrs. McKraken. I gave her the last Monday in August 1967 as my start day. I was in Bangkok. I did not realize that it was a Bank Holiday in the U.K.
IBM was COOL. I went onto ADORE IBM. I loved working for IBM. I went onto be known as ‘Mr. IBM’. My entire professional life, for the next 40-years, revolved around IBM. I would not be here, writing this, if not for IBM.
Mrs. McKraken telegrammed me back. Said August 26, 1974 would INDEED be my official start date at IBM, BUT since it was a holiday, they will see me, in Hursley, on the next day, August 27, 1974. That was the start of my WORKING LIFE. I got paid for my 1st day of work — though I never worked it. It was a holiday.
Click to ENLARGE. Link to this the inaugural post.
Click to ENLARGE. The calendar display on WordPress showing when posts were posted.Click to ENLARGE.
There are 962 posts on the blog! That comes to 2.6 posts a day. I am cool with that. Makes sense. I aim to do at least one and ideally three a day.
The blog has had 28,128 views. That is 77 views a day. That is NOT great but better than 0. Much better than zero. My old blog was averaging 300 a day BUT it had been up for over 12 years and got stellar ranking by Google.
I am OK with the current hit rate. Yes, I would like more, BUT that is purely for ego. This blog is NOT monetized! Truth be told it is mainly for I. It is my journal. I can look back at any day & have a fair idea as to what I was up to — & of course the daily ‘Picture of the Day + 6 Others‘ is a huge help. I have been doing those posts, without even a single miss, since about 2016. That is a lot of pictures.
Well, here, with luck, is to the next 12 months. Wish me luck.
Please come & visit. Leave a comment or two. Thank YOU.
