Happy birthday, Dad! PAul William Liles would have been 120 years old today, but alas, God took him away 56 years ago. He was an amazing person who was born and raised in the backwaters of Arkansas at the beginning of the 20th Century and, with little education but a lot of true grit, came to California and became the General Manager of a medium-sized dime store chain that grew into “The 99 Cent Store”.
We were kind and generous and had an amazing sense of humor (you can blame him for my actions). He left this world much too early, and I often imagine how he would have taken to both Sue and Mary.
I always heard that an apple a day keeps the doctor away! Did you know?
The saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” comes from a 19th-century Welsh proverb.
One of the earliest recorded versions appeared in 1866 in Notes and Queries, a British periodical. It was reported as a Pembrokeshire saying:
“Eat an apple on going to bed,
And you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread.”Over time, the wording became shorter and catchier. By the early 1900s, it had evolved into:
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
The idea behind it is that apples were seen as a simple, healthy food, and eating fruit regularly was associated with good health. It’s not literally true that apples prevent all doctor visits, of course, but the phrase became popular as a general reminder that good diet helps maintain health.
Well, it is not entirely true because we have been eating apples like there is no tomorrow. Today Mary and I have doctor’s appointments across town at the same time due to scheduling conflicts! I offered to take a crash course on YouTube and save a lot of money butt Mary turned me down!
Mary is going to a colonoscopy in Yorba Linda while I am getting my lungs checked in Orange. Dianne is taking Mary to the procedure, and if I get out early enough, I will come pick her up afterward and likely feed her!
Mary was ready to go!
She looked pretty brave in advance, but then there was recovery!
Dianne, Mary,y and I met at Benji’s and relived the moments. We laughed and giggled and told ghost stories (we were in the dark bar).
From Benji’s, we headed to the men’s store to get my Zoot Suit Shirt altered. Mexicans with 19 1/2″ necks tend to be rotund. A size 46 body still has a 19 1/2″ neck, so the tailor will remove the excess, and I will make a car cover for the neighbor’s VW.
Then it happened! I was shanghaied by Dr. Mary. She has wanted me to get some new clothes for years now, and I gave in (after all, she spent the morning in extreme pain!).
Two new suits, a new tuxedo, five new dress shirts (my size), and I have no idea what else; later, we walked out! Then Mary thought about how I looked, and she asked for a refund!
The owner of the store is Lebonese and got to jabbering about food and he suggest a Lebonese market close by!. So, what did we do? We shen shopping a.
