Grandchildren -- The True Treasures of a Long and Distinguished Life in and out of GeezerHood!

 

Memoirs of a Geezer

  

Reflections and Observations -- A Bright Passage from the Fantasies of Youth to Illuminations of Advanced Maturity!

This Episode:            Grandchildren -- The True Treasures of a Long and 

                           Distinguished Life in and out of GeezerHood!!

Such a handsome lad.  Love the 
Colorful Shades!

There are of course -- in the sphere of building great relationships with grandchildren -- certain imperatives:   Abundant and Unconditional Love, Frequent and Well-Deserved Praise, Support, Positive Affirmations... Many and often...   That's how and what we do, and will continue to do; that is, to shower our much-loved grandkids with the most important gifts we can give them, the aforementioned... 

We -- SweetHeart and I -- are privileged to have our first-born, a film and musical phenomenon, in the mix; a brilliant athlete and soccer star; a cross-country and track star athlete and a champion tennis player, and soccer star athlete as well.  But their far more important attributes are the human ones -- their loving and generous personalities, their remarkable senses of humor, their friendship, their kindnesses, their absolutely delightful behavioral characteristics!

 We are fortunate beyond my poor, or anyone's ability to heap praise upon them, or to offer our profound gratitude to have them in our lives!!  I mean, yeah, we're very lucky.  (I'm guessing many grandparental folk feel the same...  Yes?...  Right?!...  Are you listening out there??!) 

A Great Star on and Off 
the Pitch, and Handsome
to Boot!

Such a Talented and
Graceful Runner.  
Shown above at a 
Cross Country Event

The gifts they've given us, like discovering a cache of uncut diamonds while digging in a garden plot, include outstanding films enhanced by original music scores along with opportunities to appear in said films, hours of sometimes sun-drenched or wind-chilled pleasure witnessing soccer (Euro-football) action on the pitch, not to mention a race to score 121 points round a circuitous (preferred!) and colorful track (cribbage).  

Racing in challenging terrain or round an oval course is another delight we have enjoyed thanks to a granddaughter who loves running, does so superbly, setting personal
records with nearly every event.  Making the State Meet as a result of her abilities and her prowess!  She is poetry in a track uniform.  

We never complain of cricks in our necks, pains or anxiety watching our youngest grandchild smack a tennis ball with skill and poise, optionally lobbing it just out of an opponent's reach.  She -- an excellent singles player -- and her team of both singles and doubles made the State Tournament and emerged triumphant.  She plays soccer as well, and does so quite well!

A Star Runner, both
Cross Country and
Track -- Relay
and 
Whatever They call
the Mile, 
These Days!
(1500 Meters?  
Metric Mile...?)
(What's LuLu Lookin' at?) 

She plays tennis, she
plays soccer, and 
she crochets
superbly as one
can readily
bear witness! 
Her Turtle Loves
Her Too!

    This is, of course an obvious additive,            perhaps one that's needless to add, but I        feel I must pay tribute to our                            extraordinary children, essentially to                thank them for the great pleasure of being    an Abuelo y Abuela! 

    We offer praise and gratitude to said     children for making such titles and     transformative variations possible!  They,     the grandchildren, are life's previous     gems, like sunshine, their faces are glorious   portraits...  I mean, overall, as the title     infers...      Treasures worthy to be installed     in the Prado or the Louvre or at least our       local art center...!   Don't argue with me!!  

I think I said that correctly, or conveyed properly what I think I meant to say!  Didn't I?  (I mean, of course, the "transformative variations" phrase??!!) 

Of course there were challenges in the early or formative years of those beloved grandkids.  Hauling them in the big red coaster wagon down, but then up the steep hill from a lakeside "raceway" to the top of that mountainous incline.  I dripped, was drenched and soaked in sweat as though I had accidentally wandered stupefied into a car wash without the car.  (I think I only did that once, but I may have been inebriated, or simply stunned by an errant golf ball!...  or was it a dropped brick in a construction site??!!)....  I can't readily recall...  But refreshing, the car wash, that is!!

Oh, and didn't we have a hoot throwing them into the air and letting then land squealing and laughing crazily on a queen mattress.  Making them manic and buzzed in the process, and exhausting ourselves as well.  Our children were not always thrilled with that outcome, meaning returning to them the half-crazed and wired grandkids of course.  Lots of sugary treats didn't help much!  But SweetHeart and I sure had fun in the process!

(Special Note of Dedication:   For Coen (Coey, Co Co), Sean (Seany), Lucy (LuLu) and Sophia (PhiPhi, Phia) who give us such joy, laughter, love and happy adventures!  Thank You!!)  

Submitted 11-13-2025 -- by Joel K  

   

 

    

 

Strange but True Wild Encounters!

 

Memoirs of a Geezer

  

Reflections and Observations -- A Bright Passage from the Fantasies of Youth to Illuminations of Advanced Maturity!

This Episode:           Strange but True Wild Encounters!   

What a Nasty Looking Beast...  Those Huge Tusks!  

What is it about memory?  Do we strange humans seek to embellish our own stories, our real or imagined lives, our mythology?  Are memory and recollection simply fabricated scenarios, created by writers and film crews for viewing on a big screen, the hero a masked paladin battling miscreants, villains, outlaws and murderers?  

Is all of that the heritage, mere artifice, the inheritance of a long life, of GeezerHood?  We tell ourselves tales of triumph, of what we'd actually like to have become, how we'd prefer others, our peers to perceive us, our self-created and self-aggrandized legends?

Maybe it's all a load of crap.  I don't know...  As a professorial friend suggests, we really don't know who the hell we truly are; we're in a constant state of flux, different personas emerging in different states of existence and personal evolution!  Perpetual mysteries?!  

What the hell's the difference?  Truth?  Pretence?  I'll tell stories in any case, of what may or may not be believable.  In any event, it's true.  Memory demands it must be!  

During my time in military service, in the nation of Turkiye, adventure called, like a beckoning nymph, like a great challenge proffered to a knight errant!  A quest, a need to be brave, heroic.  Or merely curious...

There were beautiful hills, almost small mountains behind the base on which we were stationed.  A friend and I -- we'll call him Webster -- chose a glorious sunny day, and began our trek up those daunting inclines, hoping to find a wild boar, perhaps some wild native inhabitants, living free but undiscovered.  In time, we found both.

The boar did indeed have great and fearsome-looking tusks, fang-like weapon-tools, conjuring alarming images of being eaten alive.  He -- we somehow knew it was a male --
looked at us greedily, menacingly but after a long while, during which we stared fixedly at one another, it hungry, we scared witless, the boar turned and trotted slowly away.  Then another giant shock!...   We hadn't become aware of the dark-skinned man who so quietly, stealthily appeared like a specter behind us, frightening the stuffing out of us in the process.

The man was dressed in a kind of robe, suggesting the guise of an Arab tribes-person.  I knew a smattering of Turkish.  My companion knew not a word.  The man smiled, crooked a finger and insisted we follow.  We did -- sort of hypnotically, cautiously -- eventually arriving at his home, a well-concealed cave-like dwelling.  Wide-eyed, we looked about, both of us in a state of fear and wonder, and then entered...

  Inside it was illuminated by a fire.  Beside the fire was a handsome woman and two dark and beautiful children.  Introductions followed, haltingly, each using signs and language to the best ability of each of the six of us.  Some Turkish, but mostly signs and smiles, facial expressions

and gestures.  It was a magical encounter, delightful, warm and remarkably kind, filled with wonder and curiosity, ultimately quite human, a kind of bonding the likes of which neither my American friend nor I had ever before encountered.  How could we have?  This was entirely new, entirely alien in a way!

       We greatly enjoyed the food and drink we were offered.  (Wild boar, maybe?).  Raki to sip, or maybe not something alcoholic (Muslims!), causing Webster and me to weave a bit as we left the family...  I think it was Raki...  maybe not!  Perhaps a heady reaction, an illusory effect, owing to the strange and wonderful encounter!  

We did not meet another wild boar, but swore we heard snorting and shrieking and eerie cries in wooded environs we passed as we began our descent back to the air base, that place a cluster of nondescript buildings that lay at the bottom of the large green hills we had just traversed and explored, both up and back.

**********************************************

Webster and I did not encounter one another for at least a couple of months after the boar and native cave-dwelling Turks adventure.

When we again did, it happened in Istanbul, along the Galata Bridge.  He was wandering aimlessly; I was climbing out of a taxi cab after visiting Turkish friends.  Though traveling in opposite directions, I asked if he was heading somewhere in particular.

"Just seeing the sights..." Webster answered cryptically.  He seemed confused, uncertain, lost...  He sort of mumbled, possibly in a kind of daze or daydream.  

"I'm going to go down to the Galata Port area on the Bosphorus, where big ships dock.  If you have no specific plans, join me if you like," I said.  Webster did so.

At the port, a gigantic and very modern looking cruise ship was docked.  Its stairway or "gangplank" was invitingly down, daring us to board. 

Litva

"What the hell," I said.  "What d'ya say we take a tour?"  Webster smiled and willingly agreed.  We boarded, seeing no one as we arrived at the ship's level reached via the walkway.  We entered a doorway and descended a stairway, reaching a a kind of common room or perhaps a lounge.  On the wall was a huge poster depicting a pastoral scene, another showing a fine-looking town or street scene.  At the bottom of each poster were the words, "Visit the USSR."

Webster, a quizzical look clouding his long face, asked, "Why would a Greek ship wish to promote tourism in the USSR."  I laughed and searched his face, still a grimaced and contorted mask of curiosity.  He had to be joking!    

We walked along the ship's passageways, up sets of stairs and eventually reaching the captain's or pilot's bridge or wheelhouse.  The bridge, the ship's control center, the most

Leander's Tower...
(I think)...  approaching
the Istanbul harbor!

fascinating part of our quest, our "tour."  Still we encountered no one.  Both of us, foolishly and carelessly, began to fiddle with buttons and controls.  As we depressed a few of them, we felt the ship begin an almost imperceptible movement, a listing.   Wait!  Yes, we did experience a movement, a tilting.  Water-tight doors?  Oh no...  

So, too, did a number of crew members.  As if in a chorus of angry barking, we heard men shouting, and they were not friendly. 

"We'd better get the hell out of here," I cautioned.  

Webster said, "Ach...  a Greek ship.  What can they do but order us to leave."

With great haste we ran onto and off of that
gangplank...  Running for fear of our lives!
... A blur!!  We couldn't even see ourselves!!

I shot him a stern look.  "This is a Russian ship, a Soviet ship.  I thought you were joking!  I know some Russian.  I recognize and can read the Cyrillic alphabet.  We gotta get the hell out of here," I repeated.  "We're American GIs.  We have sensitive information in our heads," I shouted as we ran like Olympic sprinters toward and then down the gangplank.

Webster looked stricken.  We ran like hell, panting, gasping...  "Where?," he asked in a muffled, if panicked voice.  "Should we jump off the ship...  into the Bosphorus?"

I had the same thought, but figured we needn't do anything so dramatic, so foolhardy,  so potentially cold and wet and demanding of an arduous swim to shore.  No guarantee of escape.  I could see us getting yanked out of the soup by our hair, burly commie deckhands ready to put us in chains!  Torture and interrogation our certain fate!!    

"Keep running.  Those commies are after us...  damn commies!"  We raced off the ship, down the gangway, then up an incline, round a turn, ducking low, into a throng of Turks, some carrying huge loads on their backs, some with heavy-looking sacks on their heads.  Finally, finally we felt somewhat safe, having been absorbed, having sort of disappeared into the mass of humanity.  

We kept going at a brisk pace, onto the Galata Bridge.  Only then did we dare look back toward the moored ship, toward the Litva!  I spotted a group of agitated-looking men, searching the wharf area.  They spied left and right, but happily not toward the bridge.  They continued to look angry.  I could almost hear them in my pulsing brain, muttering and cursing!    

"Phew," I ventured.  "I think we're safe...  Hope we're safe," I said, reassuring Webster and myself.  Sort of...  He continued to look a bit ghostly pale and stunned.  I thought he would punch me at any moment for getting him into a potentially dangerous pickle!

In time, we made our way back to the quay and the ferry landing.  A pleasant return voyage on the Sea of Marmara, past beautiful islands, eventually docking at the Port of Yalova.  From there by bus back to the base.

On the ferry, I drank a couple of vodka-lemons (pronounced Le-Moans, accent on the

"Moans"!).  Munched on pistachios too, usually served along with the booze.  I exchanged my concerns with Webster.  Our sensitive knowledge.  Soviets.  Commies.  Possible danger to ourselves.  Stupid actions aboard the Litva.  My stupidity, his too, perhaps.  I apologized to him for my own foolish behavior, putting both of us at risk, or seemingly so!  Webster's bravado probably came from the "Greek"...  his confusion!   

"Who uses that ship?" Webster asks, perhaps rhetorically.

"Hmmm...  Possibly wealthy Soviets.  Maybe Politburo members.  Rich commies cruising on the Black Sea.  I don't know..."   

I never saw him again, or perhaps I did, fleetingly, in a common neighborhood.  A brief glance, possible recognition, maybe a mirage?!  I made no attempt to hail him or to meet, nor to effect a rendezvous.  It was enough, what we had experienced together.  It was enough!   

 Humbly Submitted 10-09-2025 -- by Joel K.

 

 

  

 

     

 

         

   

Dining with the "He's Just Too Marvelous" GourMario!

 

Memoirs of a Geezer

  

Reflections and Observations -- A Bright Passage from the Fantasies of Youth to Illuminations of Advanced Maturity!

This Episode:         

Dining with the "He's Just Too Marvelous" GourMario!  

Why must they pile stuff on top of stuff so that you can't see what's under there?

My faithful devotees may likely have heard about or read my CV...  To wit, regarding my reputation as a gourmet and a gourmand, with widespread renown for my taste in and knowledge of fine cuisine.   NONE OF IT IS TRUE!  (I don't know what the hell they've been hearing or reading!  False information and rumors do circulate, after all!)

However, as a person neck- or follicles-deep in the morass of GeezerHood, I have had some experience with restaurant choices and fine dining; ...none of which has had any lasting effect on my appreciation or awareness of fine cuisine and the many fine restaurants known for serving said fine cuisine!........  (Possibly some of my senses have gone afoul!)  

Here comes the "However Part":   I do have some favorite dining establishments, and I'm certain my loyal readers and followers are eager, even anxious, to have them shared

Benji is Yummy and very
Affordable!  Highly Desirable!

via this writing!  Right?  Aint it so?  

Used to be a lot of these in our fine
community!  What happened,
fer Pity sake!

I don't know what ever happened to the "Ham n' Eggers," for example.  (I think I had unlimited credit in at least two of them!  Or was it Jack R. I'm thinking of...!)  I thoroughly enjoy Benji's!  Oh, and thank goodness Colectivo has come to its culinary senses and resurrected Baked Oatmeal and its fruity accompaniments!  My favorite edible dish at that establishment!  I normally request Steamed Skim on the side...  I like to dip my spoon it its foam prior to scooping a glob of oatmeal!...

  (This is just a probably unwanted aside:)  My    dear old mother used to make me eat certain portions of wilted and gloopy slop...  like canned spinach, soggy cereal with hot cocoa, and the aforementioned would form a most unpalatable skim on top.  Oh yes, and soggy potato chip casseroles!  I gagged a lot in my distant youth, still do of course...

Tell your Mom to avoid
canned spinach at
all costs!  Horrible stuff!
You could gag a lot!!

My children and grandchildren have urged the family -- all of us -- on occasion to sample certain trendy purveyors of fine food...  E.g.   Room Service; Lebnani House (shouldn't there be an "r" in that word?!); Naf Naf; I do like the various Shawarma House locations; Stella's; Zarletti; The
Capital Grille (Why must they put an "e" at the end?); Bartolotta's (various...  Had a free lunch at one of them...  That was satisfactory!); Mason Street Grill...  (Nothing wrong with any of them!  The better, more highly regarded ones are just kind of wasted on my undistinguished palate!)

I do fancy The Knick, and have enjoyed its fare on a few occasions.  Same with the Cafe at the Pfister, also Tre Rivali.  I've never dined at Bacchus, possibly (possibly??!!  Great Plumpy Aubergines!  Very little doubt!...) a bit beyond my / our financial wherewithal.  (Perhaps you'd care to verify with SweetHeart!!??)

Interior Photo of Old Town
Serbian Gourmet House!
Very Yummy Fare!

Oh yeah!  I should mention Old Town Serbian Gourmet       House, and Three Brothers.  SweetHeart, Joan, our daughters, certain friends and relations fancy both, and they have been our default locations on holidays and other festive occasions.  Wonderful stuff...  Some like the stuffed courgettes and some prefer the stuffed peppers! 

I really enjoy breakfast foods, anytime.  There's a number of fine breakfast houses in Milwaukee and vicinity.  (I mean...  How far does "Vicinity" actually travel?  I mean, Union Grove, Sturdevant, Caledonia, Cleghorn, Foothill...??)

Consider, for example, Toast, North Avenue Grill, Uncle Wolfie's, Blue's Egg, Melrose, Benny's, Comet Cafe, Honey Pie, Sweet
Diner, National Cafe, Anodyne Coffee...  I tend, lately, to prefer Scrambled Eggs with Onion, raw or cooked...  doesn't matter!  In
Turkey, I always used to order an Onion Omelette!  You know, in the "Chow Line." The cooks got to know me well!  They even became quite fond of me...  Oh...  until I started requesting a Three-Minute egg!

(Special Note of Dedication:    To SweetHeart, Bethie (who whenever I mention a restaurant or cafe I'd never heard of announces she's been there six or seven times!), Alie (she's only been there once or twice!), our Beloved Grandchildren, all of whom are far more gourmand, gourmet-ish or "Foodie" than ever I am or shall be!  Love to all, and may all of your / their dining experiences be delectable, delicious and memorable...  Mostly!!  Oh...  And hardly anyone experiences a blotchy tunic...  hardly!!)

(Humbly Submitted 09-09-2025 by Joel K!)

  

 

 

 

  

 

Coffee or Tea, Anyone? Both?......

 

Memoirs of a Geezer

  

Reflections and Observations -- A Bright Passage from the Fantasies of Youth to Illuminations of Advanced Maturity!

This Episode:          Coffee or Tea, Anyone?  Both?......

For the record, I once participated in an "International BORE OFF" with a chap who was reputed to be the most tedious and boring of humans anywhere on the planet.  However, I won, and walked off with the trophy held high!!  What an accomplishment!

I think the contest may have been rigged!  

In any case, as a Geezer in Full command of my faculties, sort of,  and in the full flight of GeezerHood generally, I'd like to present to my beloved and faithful readers a new presentation about the wonders and glories of COFFEE and TEA consumption, and the marvelous venues that serve the finest of those concoctions (or are they confections?) 

Some people, we're told, do not care for coffee, and some prefer "mud" over tea, we're told...  reliably, sometimes!  (I have a friend who prefers hot tea to coffee.  Very strange!)

(Both coffee and tea, by the by, contain nutrients and antioxidants!  Both help protect the body against cell damage.  Do we need more reasons to drink the stuff??!!  One should think not!!  Oh yeah, and Vitamin B2...!)

SweetHeart and I do not start our day without a trip to a favored coffee house.  Wait!!!  Don't leave yet...  I'm not finished!  She prefers decaffeinated coffee with a modicum of hot water at its base.  I, on the other had, prefer a puddle or a quarter slurp of caffeinated, dark roast coffee with the balance filled with the purveyor's finest decaffeinated blend!  Oh, and did I mention the superb aroma of fine coffee??!!

Whilst positioned at said coffee house -- lately, Stone Creek's Harwood Avenue location; sometimes Downer Avenue -- we tend to haul out our electronic telecommunications devices, explore certain puzzling challenges and commence attempting to solve said puzzles!  E.g.   Wordle, Connections, Mini-Crossword challenges.  We generally succeed in conquering said challenges!  I mean, what fun, what joyful pastimes for those of us still in control of our brainwaves and sentient powers!  (Before they fade?...)

This morning, I'd like to add, in case anyone is wondering, or curious or perhaps already stupefied, we repaired both to Stone Creek and to Colectivo, the Oakland Avenue location.  (We enjoy interacting commercially and personally with Frank at the latter locale...)  Sometimes a second cup of mud is necessary, or at least greatly desired and

appreciated.  Sometimes iced coffee is a nice treat, particularly in the warm and sunny days, or, put another way, the blazing moments of summer!  Wouldn't you agree??

In the afternoon, we tend to prefer, not hot tea, but ICED SPORT TEA -- light ice and a slice of fresh lemon, if you please...   A large of cup of ice to take away with us, also please, as often the light ice is insufficient, 

Could be an image of a fabled coffee house
on Capitol Hill in Seattle, Washington!
Once thought to be the American
birth place of popular coffee houses!

 (not sufficient), and we prefer more tea than ice, you see....  One needs to re-ice the tea lest it warms too quickly!  We are nothing if not astute, possibly even quite brilliant,  about maximizing our quantities of tea.  If one does not specify "Light Ice," one might enjoy a few brief sips and nothing accosts one's nose but large and uncomfortable cubes of ice destined to freeze the proboscis!  Resulting in very little actual TEA!

There are highly important lessons to be learned here!!

But let us now return to the crux of this writing, or posting, if you prefer.  Coffee in the AM, Sport Tea in the PM!  Pay Attention!!  

Could be the Foundry...  Our 
favorite among certain
of them!  

   When during my wandering         days, I landed in the Seattle-    Tacoma region of the western     states, and discovered Capitol Hill  (high atop Seattle) and the many     fine coffee houses situated

 thereupon; thus I fell a bit     mesmerized and thus found myself amorously captivated by     and enthralled with the glories of truly good coffee.  A discovery most delightful and profoundly delicious!
Thus my eternal fondness for fine coffee began in earnest!!  

I don't think I have anything more to report...  The aim, here, is merely to extoll the virtues of great potables such as coffee and iced sport tea (Maybe hot tea as well...  Black, Green, etc.).  And to share with all and sundry the pleasures of both beverages, just in case some of my devotees might be seeking pastimes and potables yet undiscovered.  Thank you, and happy imbibing...  Oh, this has nothing to do with and is in no way intended to steer my beloved devotees to spirited or intoxicating beverages.  Thank you!  (Did I say that already?)

Humbly Submitted in August of 2025 -- by Joel K.