Writing

SOME FOOTBALL NOVEMBER 25, 2013

You know, I think I’ve gotten a little — or maybe I should say a lot —

mixed up in this old age scene. It just occurred to me that there I was writing all

about Softball in Palm Springs when it really wasn’t the season for softball at all.

It was the beginning of football season, and what did I do? — I spent 3 or 4

weeks with that story of softball; and you, my Dear Readers must’ve been

moaning in your beer — “Is she ever gonna get off this kick? Enough already!”

So, let’s do a little Football this week — which is supposed to be out on

“Mondays with Melitas,” but you never know until it’s actually there. I will try to

make up for my loss of recalling what season, or even what year it is. To top it

off, I’ve nearly missed football season. They are presently talking about who’s

going to win the Pac12, and who might go to the Rose Bowl, and by the way, it

would be the celebration of the One Hundreth game played there on New Year’s

Day. Right now Basketball has started its season, and with such a vengeance!

Everybody wants to beat up on the Lakers (my favorite basketball team) before

Kobe comes back.

Another reason for me not paying too much attention to football, was when

I did an alley-oop and spent 7 weeks in a full leg brace guarding my fractured

patella (“knee cap” in layman’s language, or “laywoman’s” in this case) then icing

it, elevating it, while I was flat on my back. I am still not out of the woods. After

3 weeks out of the brace, another brace went on, and this one doesn’t let the

knee bend. I wasn’t very interested in the outside world. I tried to talk the

Warden into somehow strapping me onto the outside of our Empire’s back wall so

that the leg would be elevated — this meant I would have to be upside down. I

figured I could at least watch the cars go by on Miles Ave, even if I was upside

down because when I was a little kid I used to sit on the front steps of Aunt Mae’s

house, and not seeing, just hearing engines pass by — because of the wall of

hedges cutting off the noise, etc. of the State Highway which was on the other

side of the hedge, I could identify the make of each car going by. (I think that is

a very long sentence — I cannot follow it myself, but come hell or highwater, I

am not about to change it.) By the way, do any of you recall the Marmon, a very

nice auto in the old days? My Uncle Frank had one.

All this mish-mosh I have been writing just goes to show you that my brain

matter really got terribly mixed up, and it cannot follow along on one subject more

than a few seconds. I am trying to tell the noggin that this story is about

FOOTBALL!

‘Way back in September, when the season started, my niece, Roberta drove

over just for the day from San Juan to watch the UCLA Bruins football game with

me. She didn’t want me to be alone. The Warden is not into football, but she

loves tennis, enjoys golf, and does watch the Lakers. Another niece, Marcie, was

here in her position of Vice Warden when the real one has to go do something,

and we were watching some game, but I can’t remember if it was UCLA football or

Lakers basketball. My Memoir Coach, Tammy, has not been over to watch any

UCLA games this season. She was over several times last season.

So now my viewing is in aloneness. Just one Me is there. The picture

appearing with this story (??) will show you the aloneness.

My leg makes me tired. Besides, at this present time, the Bruins just lost

their game to Arizona State — which just added to my tiredness. Now they won’t

be in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day, so now NO MORE FOOTBALL FOR ME.

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

RE: The accompanying photograph, entitled “Aloneness.”

This was taken when the knee was out of the first brace for a couple of weeks.

I am adoringly decked out as a UCLA Bruin fan in a UCLA white t-shirt, a blue

Bruin cap with golden hair sprouting from the top, then there is ice pack on left

knee, then a cane on other side. My right hand is writing a story, and there’s the

left hand holding the glass of agave juice, so it must be 5 o’clock somewhere —

Probably 4 o’clock Pacific time.

MELITAS FORSTER MONDAYS WITH MELITAS