Tuesday Thoughts

10 things I think are worth repeating

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them!'

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle.' An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's

4. Enjoy the simple things

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity

Toxic People

You know the ones, they suck the life out of you, they are negative, and they are the takers, a drama queen or king, a victim. They live in perpetual upheaval and are never ever happy. Some one is out to get them. They have an excuse for everything. They can’t get a job because blah blah. I think I recognize them because at one time or another I have been every single one. I played some of my finest hours as the victim. During and after my divorce. I was just a millisecond from giving up, but I never did I just kept harping and harping. I was also very negative, at different times in my life. I could drain the very life out of you with my negativity. I could draw you into my drama before you knew what hit you. Some how with the help of my family, good friends and Al-anon I have managed to escape that toxicity and become a more positive person. I grew up with a toxic person in my life and she continues to be toxic to this day. I am not sure she is toxic with every one but she certainly is with me. So I have learned to set boundaries and to be less judgmental toward her. I have heard she is a delightful person to be around from others. So I guess a toxic person does not have to be toxic to every one or anyone else. I am learning to not judge people. We are all products of our upbringing and our environment. I believe most people who are like this know it and try to do something about it.I might not be able to do anything about my upbringing but I can certainly make an effort to be more positive today.

Happy Birthday to my Friend

Today since its his birthday, I’m going to post about one of my favorite friends...he is always there for me.Every morning we have a ritual, we have our first cup of coffee at our computers and go over our day...we have met face to face several times and shared some one on one time...we have shared emails...text messages. Phone calls...and back in the old days chatting online. (We actually met in a chat room years ago) He came into my life just when I needed someone the most and well he's stayed no matter what has happened in the last few years, and let’s just say ALOT has happened!!! He’s kind of my "go-to" person. We have watched each other grow into better and stronger people...we have watched each other as we went through the rough times that sometimes come with life....he has watched me go thru my nasty divorce and helped me to never lose faith in myself, and has helped me pull myself together again when times have been too hard to handle. He's laughed with me and he's cried with me...he's helped me to understand a mans point a view...even though most of the time I think their view stinks!! There are many many miles between us he's in Georgia and I’m in Indiana....but nothing can come between the friendship we have built over the years and the friendship I look forward to sharing the years to come.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY James Dunning thank you for being my friend!!!

Saturday Morning

It has been one of those mornings, you know the kind. It makes you wish you had stayed in bed. I flipped on the coffee maker and soon I had a nice pot of HOT WATER?? I forgot the coffee. Not a very good start is it? I walk to the downstairs bathroom and the toilet is running. Great that sucker has been running all night and water in my town is more costly than Gold. Not a very good start. Then I remake my coffee go out my back door and look out at the river. This always makes me realize how very lucky I am, so I guess my good news today is I am alive and happy, I have roof over my head and food in my belly. I just needed a moment to whine and then time to reflect. I feel all better now. So here we go with some

Randomness...

• It's hot here.
• What a beautiful place.
• I have a crush on Charlie Sheen (I love bad boys).
• It's really hot.
• There is great iced tea here.
• I'm not a big fan of sweating.
• This is definitely a small town.
• I have a beautiful view.
• It's really hot.
• I may be too old.
• It's all good.

Guess it was time for them to Beat It.

This last week, three of our icons died: Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. I choose to remember them as they were in their youth - Farrah young beautiful and healthy (with great hair) and Michael young and innocent and still an African-American male. (Instead of the old white woman he became). And Ed with his marvelous laugh and quick wit (not his money troubles in his later years). Thanks for the Memories.

I Love Lists

10 Things I’d rather be doing

1. Sleeping
2. Getting a Pedicure
3. Taking a Bubble Bath
4. Going on Amazon or Overstock and order anything I want
5. Winning the lottery
6. Eating Cheesecake
7. Baking cupcakes
8. Sitting in a beautiful garden
9. Making good memories
10. Enjoying a Good Movie

What would you rather be doing?

Ten Things I love

1. Sunny Days
2. Chocolate
3. The smell of Coffee in the Morning
4. Spring Flowers
5. Thrift Stores
6. Friends I can encourage
7. Friends that encourage me
8. My super wonderful comfy bed
9. My Kids
10. My Grandkids

What do you love?

Hirsute

hir⋅sute (hur-soot)

1. hairy, shaggy
2. covered in long stiff hair.
3. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of hair.

This morning I happened to look in the mirror just right and the light was just right and *gasp* there on my chin was a shiny hair, about ¼ inch long! All I can think is how the hell did I miss this sucker? I am pretty sure astronauts on the Space Station could see this hair. This leaves me wondering what recipe God used when he made women. But I am sure he figured I will just give them a tiny touch of hair on the upper lip and the chin. Just to help keep them warm in winter. Now I have tried everything but laser treatments; hot wax, bleaching and plucking and shaving. I still have a slight mooosetash and a wild chin hair or two. Is this part of aging? Must I accept it? Can I fight it? Does it come with a side of where are my keys, and I wet my pants when I sneeze? I actually have paranoid fantasies about being in a coma or otherwise hospitalized and unable to deal with my facial hair. In my mind, people stop visiting me, my kids won’t look at me, and nurses laugh at me when they think I can’t hear. I remember one day I was chatting with a woman I worked with and she was talking about waxing her upper lip, and I mentioned that I had to pluck my chin. She told me that she never would have known, and that I must do a good job, because she had never noticed. I was obscenely proud, until I reflected for a moment on how sad that was. I mean, I’m a pretty cool woman who has done lots of interesting stuff, and I was about to burst with pride because someone had complemented my ability to painfully rip hairs from my face. WTF?

Things that Make me Crazy

1. Rude people, you know the ones. They push in front of you at check out lanes, call then find you are a wrong number then hang up with out saying a word,
2. People, who don’t vote, but complain about everything. You know who you are.
3. Procrastinators. Nuff said.
4. Any one who refuses to change the empty toilet paper roll.
5. People, who eat the last of something and put the empty bottle, box or jar back.
6. Places like Sam’s Club that charge you money to save you money.
7. Driver’s who leave their turn signal on miles after they merge on the interstate.
8. The way the inner bag of cereal never opens easy or right and how hard it is to close and keep fresh. Why can’t they use zip lock bags?
9. How a can of coffee that used to weigh 2 pounds now only weighs 29.2 ounces.
10. Calling tech support and getting “Skippy” in India or the Philippines, and straining to understand them.
11. To Be Continued
    

A Few Thoughts on Jon & Kate

They’re splitting???? Wow! I never saw it coming!!!!! Did ANYBODY see it coming?!?!

I’m sadder than I can say. I'm no fan of Kate's, but tonight I saw a woman devastated. Jon is thoroughly checked out. I felt like I was watching a burning building with 8 children in it. This is sad. A once seemingly beautiful, happy family is now falling apart. It may be for the best, but it's still sad. It's hard enough for ONE kid to not have a dad around all the time, but 8 kids?? Sad situation. I'm not into the show very much anymore, as it has become uncomfortable to watch, with the tension between Jon and Kate coming across the screen. I wish them the best, especially the kids.Not only are they separating, but divorce papers were filed today.
Divorce is seldom a "happy" occasion, but it seems in this situation, it was a long time coming. I was disgusted how Kate played up the victim card throughout tonight's show, saying that this is not what she wanted, not something she is happy about, etc. But she is at least 50% responsible for the dissolution of her marriage (marriage being an equal partnership, for those who think it's all just fun and games). What else did she expect? She berated, belittled, insulted, assaulted, and ostracized her husband for a long time. He's had enough, and now here they are. He finally found his voice and feels it is better for him to walk away, than to stay. Who can blame him? I feel worst for the kids. Not only do they get to stay with Kate (who in my opinion, is the lesser of the two parents), but they've been exploited for some time now, and according to Kate, the show must go on. This means more exploitation of the children. Guess selling her kids out is easier than getting a real job. While divorce is never a fun thing for anyone involved, this is the best possible outcome for these two people. I will no longer be tuning into their "show;" not because of the divorce, but because of what they've become. I am not a fan of Kate Gosselin; she has emasculated her husband for years, and with her "I'm the center of the universe" attitude, she's shown the world what type of person she truly is...one that is selfish, cold, and far from the mother she portrays herself to be in her two books. I'm sure that Jon has his own faults, but The one major thing that caught my attention on tonight's show is that Kate kept referring to the children as "my" and Jon kept referring to them as "our". I think that sums up the entire marriage.
I hope they both do what’s best for their children and find a therapist ASAP!!!!!

Bitter or Better?

Old and mean. Grumpy old man, crabby old lady? Ever know one? For me it was Old Man Pingle. We would play baseball in the vacant lot and if our ball would go in his yard, he would keep it. Now it did not go in his garden simply his yard. For the life of me I have no idea why he was so crabby and mean. So I got to wondering what drives a person to get both old and mean. It is inevitable that we will become older if we keep breathing year after year. But mean? What on earth causes such pain that makes a person so angry, bitter and mean? Life is a journey on which it is impossible to go with out some hard times, you will have them. You can not move through life with out hitting a few rough spots. These times will leave you bitter or better. When I was younger I spent a lot of time making fun of old man Pingle, now I feel sorry for him. He must have had a lot of pain to deal with. I don’t think any one wants to grow older and/or grow meaner. I hope I soften with age and not harden, I hope I grow more gracious and better, rather than grow bitter. I hope I love more than I hate.

Why does my hair hate me?

Why does my hair hate me? Other women have shiny beautiful bouncy hair. Hair that gets songs written about it. Hair that gets stared at. I have tried to take care of my hair. I have washed it, conditioned it, styled it, and brushed it. I have used all natural shampoo, beer and even overnight protein packs. And there you sit looking stupid AGAIN. Another day of me looking like I slept in the park. First of all, you’re blond at the ends, and gray at the roots. What happened? Why are there not blonde hairs left? How can something that can leave a permanent stain on my clothes, leave no mark on my head? Now about the cut, I have no extra money to blow so I have a stupid short haircut. I think about letting it grow long so I would have options. Riiiiiiight. Now I have seen women with beautiful hair so I know they exist. Rapunzel, Lady Godiva and even the Breck Girl. They have glorious fabulous tresses. Oh how I wish I could have them for just one day. But nooooooo you perch atop my head like a fuzzy lopsided stringy nasty dead chipmunk. You are the cockroach in the hot fudge sundae that is my life. So screw you, I’m buying a hat.

Confessions

I have a few dirty little secrets so I thought I would get them off my chest on my blog. Because we know no one reads it anyhow. They are mostly embarrassing but what the heck.

1. I can’t spell. No I really can’t spell. I will write a word and the more I look at it the more unsure I am that it is the correct word and spelled correctly. I have spell check but that don’t always work.

2. I once stole something. I was a kid and it was a cheap plastic whistle. I had to return it to the store and confess to Mr. Baker the store owner. Mr. Baker was a scary looking man as he had a port wine birth mark all over one side of his face. He was very nice and forgave me gave me a “talk” about being honest. I was never comfortable in that store again.

3. I can’t do math. Calculators were invented for me. and to be honest I am not good at using them either. I am a functioning math illiterate.

4. I never pump my own gas. It is not that I am lazy, but that the odor of the gas really causes me breathing problems. So I am one of Marv’s old ladies. And when I go down I am one of the lucky ones that they pump gas for. As a bonus my grandson works there and I get to visit with him.

5. I cuss like a sailor sometimes. I am not proud of that and I am working on it.

6. Any time I get a new camera, coffee maker, computer, TV etc. I NEVER read the book. It drives some people crazy (you know who you are).

7. I am a semi-reformed whiner. No other comment necessary.

8. I immediately leave any website that has automatic music. Your taste is not my taste.

9. I snore, not a gentle tiny cute snore but a loud honkin wake up the dead snore.. No wimpy snore for me.

10. I have been homeless.

Classic

TV

Growing up my dad was part owner in an appliance store in Winamac. Many times I heard him tell how he and his business partner sold the very first TV in town. Then they had to rig up an antenna so it would work. It was written about in the local newspaper and I still have the clipping. The tower was made of wood and was quite ingenious. I am sort of vague on a lot of it but I do remember we had one of the first TV’s in town. I remember there was not much on during the day and at night there was wrestling. The reception was very snowy. And there were only a couple channels from I think Chicago. We had an outside antenna and dad would go out and turn and twist it and we would holler when it was, well you know, as good as it was gonna get. I remember hurrying home from school to watch Howdy Doody and Buffalo Bob. Very primitive by today’s standards. Howdy was a marionette and he had exactly 48 freckles. One for each state. The show was done live as were most shows, and the audience sat in the Peanut Gallery. Oh how I wanted to be on that show. I have no idea where it was located but I did not have a snowballs chance of being on that or any other show. Some of the shows I remember are Arthur Godfrey. Texaco Star Theater, Ed Sullivan show, Colgate Comedy Hour, The Red Skelton Show, You bet your life, I love Lucy. There were many more good shows and they were nothing like today’s show all, tell all TV shows. Now listen up here folks, to change the channel you had to actually get up out of your chair and walk across the room over to the TV and physically turn a knob. For Real. The shows were all in marvelous Black and White. It had a very tiny little screen and the reception ranged from snowy to very snowy to impossible. Oh I said that before, well today with our HD TVs and cable and vios and satellite reception we now demand perfect reception and pay big money to have it. Today all those great shows are called Classic TV.. Guess that makes me a Classic too!

5 Rules

May you live all the days of your life.
Jonathan Swift

I have been thinking lately about when I started making an effort to be positive no matter what. I went thru a very ugly divorce; yeah I know they all are, it really got me down. For years, and in all honestly my whole life, I have been verbally abused and physically abused a few times. So I sort of had the mind set that I was pretty worthless and never expected much. I felt I did not deserve to be happy. But I think going thru those difficult times gave me a whole new perspective. My glass could be half empty or my glass could be half full. My choice. Since I have more days behind me than in front of me I picked half full. I now make an effort to be positive and enjoy what life I have left. So I make my choice to live a life full joy and happiness instead of stress and unhappiness. I still have bad days; I still get grumpy and lazy. (I have seen me do it.) But now I know and I believe I was made to be happy and joyful and so it only lasts a short time. No matter what you are looking for in this lifetime I am sure you are not looking for so you can be miserable. So I would say that anything you are working toward whether it is more money, a better marriage, or success in your job it is for happiness. I often wonder why it is so hard for us to be happy. We are sick, in debt or maybe in an unhappy marriage, I don’t think that you can ADD happiness to your life. I think happiness is what you are and how you feel. A lot of my life was spent mindlessly doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. So I have started using these rules. It definitely takes a lot of effort, and unless I wanted to remain in a miserable, unhappy depressed state I could continue on my way as I had for years. Now I try and I stress TRY to follow the following 5 easy rules to improve my outlook on life and thus find some happiness in my life.

5 Rules for Happiness

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

Honesty

I love honesty, I appreciate honesty. The truth hurts but hey at least it is the truth. A lot of times I bite my tongue when ask for my opinion. I don’t want to offend some one or push my opinion on them. So is honesty a good thing? Or is it overrated?

Do I really want to know what people think of me? And do they actually want to know what I think of them? I know I still care about them faults and all. But how do they feel? So I censor myself most of the time. Some relationships can’t survive honesty. One of the downfalls of honesty is sometimes some one gets hurt. When someone asks for my thoughts and opinions I would never ever say something to hurt that person. Sometimes I spend too much time obsessing how honest I should be. I can usually find a way to answer and not hurt someone. But the fact is I do not want to hurt the people I care about, especially if they are already upset. What do you do when the truth is something that person is not prepared to hear? When it is something that would hurt them? They say Honest is the best Policy or is it? So sometimes I just tell a white lie.

Addictions

When on earth did I get so dependant on my cell phone? Since I have lived the bulk of my life without one I am surprised at myself. It is the way I keep in touch with my family, I love texting with my grand kids and I love keeping up with modern technology. But sadly some where I have grown addicted to it. And so the other day I left the house to run to Fort Wayne. I forgot my cell phone. OMGosh! I actually felt naked with out it. Here I am in my old rattletrap car (fondly known as POS) and no phone. I went Thru all the what ifs, what if my car breaks down, what if I run out of oxygen. A couple times I was sure I heard my phone beeping and I reached for it only to remember I left it at home. I always have my phone right with me. All I could think of is how many many people were trying to call or text me. And that maybe I had let them down by leaving my phone at home. I was so stressed out thinking about how I would explain to all my people why I was not available all afternoon. I just knew my kids would be worried about me. I got home hurried into my house. Grabbed my phone. Ahhh sweet relief! And there were NO missed calls, No missed Text messages.

Then I was just sad.

Flag Day

Have a Safe and Peaceful Weekend

The Wabash River

Pizza and Movies

When my kids were home we usually had pizza on Thursday nights. Now there had been a pizza shop in my small town when we moved in but they had closed. A couple of others had half heartedly tried to run one. Eventually they gave up and shut the doors. So now having pizza included driving into a near by town to pick it up. After a bit I had an Ah Ha moment. I would open a small pizza shop here in Hooterville. I did all the things you must do. I found out how much the equipment costs would be. I found a tiny room in a building for rent. I went to the bank for a loan. Talked to the bank president, don’t you just love a small town? He assured me that I would have no problems borrowing the money. I made an appointment, took my loan application forms and went home to fill them out. I showed up for my appointment all papers in hand, I sat down and he asked me, “Where is your husband? Doesn’t he approve of this?” I replied that I wanted to do this on my own and he said sorry you husband must co-sign your loan. I was shocked! I told him I thought I had made it plain that I was doing this. But he would not budge. I made the call and my husband came down and, with a smirk, co-signed for me. Something he loved to throw in my face. I did all the work, I arranged for the utilities to be turned on, the equipment delivered and for the supplier to come and show me how to make a pizza. I had flyers printed, menus printed, cleaned and soon I was ready for business. I planned my opening to be the same weekend as the local festival. I was so nervous and I did so well! I made over $200.00 that opening night. At first I was open till midnight and after I had been there for some time I moved my closing time up. I kept adjusting my hours till I got them where they needed to be. After a few months, I got a VCR for the boys. Now this was a big deal. Who would have ever thought you could record TV and watch movies when ever you wanted to. Well, again to rent movies, I would have to drive to neighboring towns to a rental store. So I had another Ah Ha moment. I found out how I could buy the movies wholesale and rent them myself. I can’t believe how dumb I was. I went to Indianapolis with a handful of cash and got around 35 movies. FYI at that time they were about $60.00 each. I put up some shelves and figured out a system and soon I was also in the movie rental business. I worked hard and paid off my loan. Soon I out grew my little space and moved my businesses across the street, to a much larger building. Along the way I had people working for me. I always enjoyed working, talking to people and it was funny when a family first ordered they would get a small pizza, as their family grew the pizza size grew. Then, as the kids left home, the pizza would grow smaller. I can to this day tell you exactly what pizza most folks in this town would order. I loved my job. I did it for over 20 years. Then I got sick. I thought I could shake it. I could not. When I finally went to the ER. I was in bad shape. Near death they said. I had cracked ribs from coughing; they said it was Asthmatic Bronchitis. When all was said and done, I ended up on oxygen and will for the rest of my days. I wish I had gone sooner but I did not. No do overs in this life. Right Bob G? Life was pretty tough for me till my Social Security Disability came through. I went from having a very good income to low income in the blink of an eye. Since I did not have insurance I made payments on my hospital bill and it took me a couple years to pay it off but pay it off I did. I was so sick that I chose to just close down my business and not try to sell it. I sold some videos and most of the equipment and I ended up with a room full of videos. ( Which I ended up selling on ebay, but that's another story.) There is not a day that goes by that I don’t wish I had taken better care of myself. There is not a day goes by that I don’t miss working. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t miss interacting with people. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t appreciate what I have. Because, you see, I know just how quickly you can lose it.

Little Miss Perfect

So I am sitting here flipping thru the channels and I come across WE TV. A show called Little Miss Perfect. It is about little girls and beauty pageants. Would you consider it a sport much like football is for boys? That is how one mother described it. She explained that dressing her 7 year old daughter like a hooker is just a different sort of sport and compared it to dressing your son for football with helmets and pads. This show has pushy mothers spending hundreds of dollars to enter their child in this pageant. Hundreds of dollars more in seductive clothing for this child. They then apply heavy make up and hair pieces. One little girl even has fake teeth. The child ends up looking like a mini 21 year old hooker. IMHO. I am surprised that the girls can even recognize themselves in the mirror. I suppose you can argue that this provides mother daughter bonding time, poise and confidence, I think it must have a negative effect on the child.

While other kids the same age are out playing baseball, riding bikes and having fun these girls are spending time learning new routines, attending dance classes, and photo sessions. And don’t forget the practicing for hours on end in what looks like very uncomfortable shoes and clothes. One little girl whined that the high heels she was wearing made her feet all sweaty. I think it creates a stressful environment with all the emphasis is on beauty and winning. And they coach the girls to act “sexy”. I am amazed at parents that would press their girls to do beauty pageants, there is something perverted in wanting to see a little girl sexualized with makeup and provocative clothing. There is a parental perversion in teaching a child how to moisten their lips, flirt with judges and convey sexuality that would cause alarm bells to go off in most “normal” parents.

These beauty pageants enforce the idea that to succeed you must be beautiful and don’t forget to be skinny. All the mothers say “she loves it; I am not forcing her to do anything she does not want to do.” And maybe a few of them do enjoy it. But why not teach them to enjoy some thing that does not focus on looks so much. Looks will only get you so far in life. These girls are so sweet and innocent they have years to learn to apply make up, wear high heels. Why rush their child hood for a few cheesy trophies?

Bad Days

We all have bad days from time to time. You know the way a day starts out bad and just keeps getting worse and worse. It seems to snowball into a really bad day. Usually it starts with one negative event and then one leads to another. In this case, an early negative event put me in a bad frame of mind and I was so busy thinking about the negative events that I missed all the good and positive things that happened to me that day. I think it is a triggered stress response for me.

There are several things I do to drag myself out of these stressful times.

1. I talk to a good friend who is an excellent listener and who can always help me see the positive and he always makes me smile.

2. I try to look at it as a challenge, not a threat. And when I do that my feeling of being overwhelmed seems to vanish.

3. I Count my blessings. I try to name at least 5 things that I am grateful for.

4. I eat chocolate.

5. Lastly, I take a mini break go out in back of my house drink my coffee and watch the river flow by. It is so peaceful and quiet it always calms me down.

Hmmmm......perhaps I should take a closer look at these five things. First, I actually have a 'good friend'. How lucky is that!? Actually, on closer examination, I find that I have several very good, dependable friends. Not to mention my wonderful kids and grandkids.

Secondly, Lord knows that I have constantly faced challenges in my daily life. And, I usually come out OK in that area too. Certainly, this is not unique to my situation; however, it does seem to help me face them if I make a concerted effort to meet them head-on and not 'sweep them under the rug'.

Next, I realize that I have many 'blessings' to count. One reason that I have temporally given up watching the news is that I was constantly bombarded with a seemingly endless stream of stories of hopelessness. Wow! that can certainly ruin your day!. On closer inspection, and comparing my daily life with some others that I could go on and on about, I am doing great!

I eat chocolate. Now, what can be said about this? Eating chocolate is an art form. There is nothing simple about it. One must, and I have made a comprehensive and thorough study of this over a lifetime of trials, one must take the eating of chocolate seriously. Chocolate is always 'nibbled', never 'chewed' and every effort must be taken to allow the taste buds to awaken slowly and savor the intimate, yet delicate taste that is chocolate. I could write paragraphs about this experience. Opps! I just did!

Lastly, what's not to love about watching the river flow by? Or watching the critters go about their daily chores with their existence. I would actually miss my ongoing war with the chipmunks stealing all the sunflower seeds out of the bird feeder if I didn't have it to 'worry about'. And, I find it very calming to watch the mother geese leading their goslings in circles around the river. Never mind that they revel in using my backyard as their own private outhouse! Watch where you step!

Does any of this help me to get rid of my daily blues? You bet it does! I'm in a better mood already! And I bet that we all have a 'river' to go out and watch. We only have to look for it.

Random Things about Me

1. I’m not as tough as everyone thinks I am.
2. I’m tougher than I think I am.
3. I still struggle with issues my parents insanity caused while growing up.
4. I watch too much TV.
5. I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.
6. I love people with a sense of humor.
7. My kids and grandkids answered any questions I ever had about my purpose in this world.
8. I’m afraid of flying I have done it but don’t want to do it again.
9. #3 still pisses me off.
10. I can’t pass “Steele Magnolias” “Fried Green Tomatoes” or “Gone with the Wind on tv with out watching them to the end.
11. I tell everyone I am 5’8” but I am actually only 5’6” or so now. I am shrinking.
12. I haven’t had a pet in probably 10 or so years.
13. I have a permit to carry a gun.
14. I have never changed the oil in my car.
15. I have never gotten a ticket.

Little White Truck

My grandson Aaron just bought his first truck. He is so proud and announced to me, “It is a 5 speed!" Then proceeded to tell me that I probably didn’t know how drive it. How do you tell a teenager that when you learned to drive, all cars were straight sticks? He laughed and did not believe me. I drove when there were lots of things that have fallen by the wayside. Fender Skirts, of which there were several kinds, and they all made your car look cool. They were a must have just like continental kits, which were rear bumper extenders and spare tire covers that were supposed to make any car as cool as a Lincoln Continental. There were curb feelers and steering knobs and Portawalls for your tires, which are actually inexpensive fake white walls. Yes, there was such a thing as white wall tires. The dimmer switch was on the floor and there were no turn signals. We had emergency brakes, now they are called parking brakes. The accelerator was called the foot feed and there was usually a knob you had to pull in cold weather to 'choke' the engine. There were little wing windows on our cars that could be turn to direct the airflow as there was NO air conditioner built in. We had bench seats front and back, full sized spare tires, AM radios, glass pack mufflers, and whip antennas. Power steering, power brakes and tubeless tires didn't exist. Back to those fender skirts — it just occurred to me that perhaps I assumed too much, thinking everyone was familiar with them. By way of explanation, they are pieces of bodywork that cover the upper portions of the rear tires of an automobile. I always thought they were strictly for aesthetic purposes, but after a little research, I find there were also aerodynamic reasons. Rather than air flowing into and being trapped in the rear wheel well, it flows smoothly over the bodywork. Fender skirts were most popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Cars had chrome, lots of chrome. The bumpers were beautiful, shiny chrome. We had spinners and baby moon hubcaps and two toned paint on cars. And, when you went for gas, which was around 35¢a gallon, they asked “Regular or Ethyl?” They checked all the fluids and washed all your windows. There were so many “filling” stations a lot of the brands have fallen by the wayside, either out of business or gobbled up by a larger company. I always went to the Sinclair station. They had a huge green dinosaur as a corporate 'logo'. His name was Dino. You could go to ESSO and put a tiger in your tank. Every fill up you would get a drinking glass; you could collect a set and buy the matching pitcher. Most gave you green stamps. Ah the good old days. One of these days I will go out and drive that little white truck I may be old but I still remember.

A Friend's Thoughts on his Birthday

My dear friend wrote this letter to his children on his 60th birthday. He gave me permission to share with you on this blog I will point out that he is way older than me.

28 June, 2000

I took a few minutes today to reflect back over the years. This being the occasion of my sixtieth birthday, it seems like a good time. I made some notes about the changes that I have seen and thought that I would pass them along to you, my children.

These are not mine alone, as I have seen most of them put down on paper before in one fashion or another, but they are inclusive in my lifetime and so I can claim them all with equal legitimacy.

I claim to pre-date things like polio vaccine, penicillin, frozen food and pizza. Television was a faint glow in a tiny tube in a remote lab somewhere and credit cards wouldn't be thought of for twenty-five years.

There were still ink-wells in the school-room desks and blackboards were actual slate. You had to refill your ink pen as the ballpoint wasn't even a thought yet. There were no Frisbees, Hula-hoops, radar, computers, calculators, or modems; no contact lenses, laser beams or pacemakers.

Air conditioners hadn't been invented yet nor had dishwashers and pantyhose. Contact lenses were way in the future somewhere along with tampons. Power steering, power brakes and tubeless tires didn't exist and gasoline was 12 cents a gallon.

I grew up calling anyone over twenty "Sir" or "Mam" and holding a chair or opening doors for ladies was considered 'good manners' not a slight on their standing in the ubiquitous world of Feminism.

Most families had a Mother and a Father. It was expected. And, they usually got married and then had children. That was expected too.

Most every boy I knew had a rifle or shotgun of his own by the age of 14 and knew how to use it, take care of it, and respect it. There were no day care centers or old age homes. Families took care of their-own.

We had no group therapy or consciousness raising, and I seriously doubt if you could make a living anywhere as a psychologist. Our lives revolved around and were guided by the Ten Commandments, our own good judgement, common sense and help from our Parents. We were taught the difference between right and wrong and were expected to accept the responsibility for our own actions.

Twenty-five cents bought admission to a Saturday afternoon movie, popcorn and a Coke. If you were really lucky, you got to sit in the front two rows with your friends. Acid was something found in car batteries and

Chemistry sets. Pot was something you cooked in and a 'trip' was usually to visit friends and family out of town. Coke came in a bottle and you mowed grass.

We listened to the 'Big Bands' and The Lone Ranger, Jack Benny and The Creaking Door on the radio. We played 78 RPM records of Peter and the Wolf, and Scheherazade right along with Roy Rogers and Mario Lanza and we never once had to shout at each other to be heard over the music.

McDonald's and instant tea didn't exist and there were actually 5 & 10 cents stores with things you could buy for a nickel or a dime. "Making Out" referred to how you were getting along. An ice cream cone cost a nickel and a stamp was only 2 cents.

There weren't things like CDs, tape players, Walk-mans, DVDs, or even stereos. FM radio wasn't around either. And "Aids" were usually helping out the Principle or Librarian. Anything "Made in Japan" was usually Junk.

Serving your Country in the military or any other capacity was an honor and a duty. Being an American was the greatest pride of all. Presidents didn't lie that we were aware of and certainly would have had the decency to resign in disgrace if they had been caught at it. No one would have ever thought of spitting on or burning the American Flag.

I was before Gay-Rights, Women's-Rights, Animal-Rights and you came out of the closet when you got your clothes. Hardware you got in a hardware store and software wasn't even a word. We knew a lot about sex, but not a lot about Billy having two Mommies, single parent adoptions, abortions and sex change operations. God wasn't dead.

And, I guess, we were the last generation to feel like it's not so dumb a thing to think that Fathers were more than sperm donors.

I hear tell there is a Generation Gap. Maybe I'm just getting old and have outdated values. It’s no wonder.

I love you both. "Live long and prosper".

Dad