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 My blog was filled up. I'm too lazy to clean it out. So I started a new one. |
| Everyone remembers the "good ol' days". Mention them and people will nod their heads or go "Uh, huh". But whether we're thinking along the same lines depends on the ages to whom we are speaking. We had childhood or young adulthood in different decades, and our memories go back to whatever was a simpler time for us. The truth is our memories blur out all but the most painful memories. The good old days were never all that great. We were in better shape and had more energy. Our dreams were still alive and we were still driven to succeed at whatever was our course in life. Whether you are 25 or 75, you have pleasant memories of what seems like better days. We didn't have cell phones or "911" when I was young. Medicine has improved greatly. Just this year I had a difficult but innovative surgery that wasn't even dreamed of ten years ago. In some ways the "good days" are now. We have computers, widespread air-conditioning, life saving drugs, improved food storage, better cameras, more entertainment for kids. Agriculture techniques and tools have improved. Machinery is faster and more complicated (harder to maintain). Minimum wages have increased. Some of the old things have gone away. We don't take in family members who are down on their luck or getting sick or old. My grandmother always had someone staying with her. My own parents took in a great aunt, never married who lived alone in the country. She was a nanny to us kids while Mom cooked and cleaned. We don't have a daily newspaper any longer. Play areas are now businesses. Fishing areas are off limits today in many spots. Some things are gone and I'm glad. When I was young, there were people with outhouses inside the city limits. That was on the white streets. A black friend told me her family had indoor toilets but open sewers that ran along the streets. You had to walk in the street, no sidewalk, and balance across wooden planks to get into your own yard. It always smelled bad. Those were not part of the good old days. In my town, the Jews were a welcome part of the town. The foreigners were Italians or Greeks and ran the restaurants. Only occasionally did you encounter an Oriental, like the Filipino I worked with in high school. Now 16% of the city population are from other nations. That's neither good nor bad, just different. What makes them the "good old days" is our fading memory. We get beset by the weight of world affairs, financial difficulties, relationship troubles, and we want to go back in our minds to a time when we had fewer worries, less concern, no deadlines or bills to pay. Our perspective, negative or positive, taints our memories, too. Perhaps, any time we are still alive and free, those are the good days. |
| With so many newspapers vanishing and magazines shrinking or publishing less often, where do the columnists show their work? Here are today's Lewis Grizzard, Andy Rooney, Art Buchwald, Paul Harvey, or Dave Barry or even Erma Bombeck? For that matter, where do people go to read about other people's problems, like Ann Landers, or Dear Abby, or Miss Manners? Southern Living has Grumpy, but he doesn't appeal to the general public, only gardeners. Is the blog or a podcast the only alternative? Of course, Paul Harvey also had a radio show. Andy Rooney had a weekly spot on 60 Minutes. Rooney was full of opinions and claimed that writing made him happier than anything else. If you don't have a big name and get a major syndication, where do you express yourself and get compensated like those who have already had an audience and passed on. I worked with a guy once who had a sarcastic view of everything. We joked about running an advice column together. We would have real problems; he would respond first with a surly, caustic answer, which was typical for him. Then my softer response would follow with a more practical and realistic view. We waited too long. People go to the Internet for answers they can't trust and our state has almost no newspapers left. What's left for those of us who would like to "one up" the humorists and columnists we like? |
| I'm helping crafts at Music Camp this week. The thrust of it is to learn a musical and present it tomorrow night. But they also have snacks, recreation, and crafts. Two people have been doing props, separately, not together. Preschoolers are one group not in the musical, so they get to go home at noon. Kindergarten thru second grade are also dismissed early. They have their own music and classes. So I am working with 3rd through 6th with a few older kids doing solos. Some of the crafts we have done I thought would not go over with that age group. The easier they were, the more they liked them. They really got into making party hats of paper plates with half a Styrofoam ball hot glued on it. They chose their own lace, rickrack, pompoms and artificial flowers and used tacky glue to attach. They were so creative! One active boy made a Martian hat with the stems only from the flowers with pompoms for eyes. Only one kid balked at wearing the hat, a girl. I assured her it was for decoration only. No one would ever see her wearing it. Some are worthy of hanging on a wall. Other days, we let them draw design we had chosen for them to imitate and decorate as they chose with markers. One day we made bookworms, since there is one in the play. Those took a lot of patience and ended up with pipe cleaner antennae and googly eyes. Today we did water colors on a pre-chosen design which they had to imitate. We ran out of time. They really got into it. I was surprised, thinking they wouldn't like things so simple and maybe childish. But maybe 8-12 year olds are all that sophisticated yet. |
| People who do volunteer work have to be some of the nicest people in the world. I have volunteered at a historic theater, and those folks were great. But the people willing to get dirty sorting clothes at the clothing center are the warmest, most generous folks around. I went there today with a couple of bags of donations. They were all smiles and had nice things to say. I quit about a year ago for health reasons, so they wanted to know how I have recovered. I feel like a different person since they saw me last. But they are as exuberant as ever, doing work no one else will do. Many of their customers are not appreciative and can be a little scary. I have been campaigning for a group I know to buy new underwear for adults before fall. I know that the men, more than women, will ask for underwear and don't mind telling their size. I have had to hand out some when no one else was in that room. We have to keep them in the closet, so they won't all disappear at once. They can see us reach into a brand new bulk package. I discourage people from donating used underwear, although some people do. Donations are not always clean, but then others are still in dry cleaning bags. This clothing center has clothes for children and teens, too. They allow anyone to "shop" there and get a paper bag full of clothes for $6, or a pair of shoes for $2. A good winter coat will run from $3 to $5. Homeless people come in with vouchers and get what they want for free. These volunteers are always friendly, helpful, and never condescending. I've seen them make job recommendations or give other guidance. They seem to genuinely enjoy seeing someone who is happy with his or her find. I have met a lot of foreigners there and have heard great tales. I only hope that someone will perceive me as one of the nice guys. |
| You'd think I would know by now to Save and Edit frequently. I had almost finished today's blog when I lost everything. I don't have it in me to try again today. I'm going to sit in front of the fan and just read. |
| I read yet another story recently involving kids and the school bleachers. It reminded me of my school bleachers which were cement built into a hillside. There were no shenanigans under them. Yesterday, I drove by the old football field, which I usually ignore. But this time I strained my neck to see without wrecking on the busy road. They are gone! Trees and shrubs fill that hillside. The football field is now a parking lot for the county employees. The school was converted to a much needed larger office space years ago. Already there are more offices further south at the city's border. Like schools that are soon overflowing, so are government offices apparently. I felt very sad. All the times gym teachers made us run up and down the steps in the aisles are a distant memory. Watching games and homecoming pomp and pageantry have faded with my youth and ability to walk, much less run, up those steps. But there are also other changes in that nearby region. New businesses have spring up. The shops where we went for sodas or treats have been replaced by upscale cafes. Without teen customers, you can't have businesses that cater to them. Even the paper recycling bin that appeared after the school closed on the far corner of the lawn has disappeared. The parking spaces have all been reserved for residents and offices just uphill from my old school. I used to walk home everyday and went right through this lovely area that's now so congested with traffic. The lack of parking makes it undesirable for many people to do business downtown which is only one block away, formerly known as Main Street, now known as the downtown mall. It's all bricked in with no side streets. Another thing we didn't have when I was in school is homeless people plopped out on the mall all day every day, no matter the weather. We have plenty of shelters in town with air conditioning, but they prefer to socialize with more people in the sun. My grandmother's house on a busy intersection, where many relatives and friends have stayed, is now a barber shop. Oh, the memories of that place. The shopping center with major department stores is almost abandoned, and the county is using some of that space and parking lot for its purposes. What was once "the country" is now a thriving hectic business community with new roundabouts being constructed each year. No, nothing stays the same. Outside a museum or in our memories, that is. |
| Today I am at the library to use the computer (and donate some books to the sale). My Internet service is so lousy that it takes hours to do a few minutes of work. So it's amazing how much I can get done on a library computer. The convenience of having one at home at any hour is wonderful, but I feel like it wastes my time. If I drop the service, I can go to the library every day but Sunday when it is closed. It will save me money, but it will get me out of the house. And it's a little exercise the way this library branch is built on a hill. If I go when I'm running other errands the extra gas may not be prohibitive. I don't really want to start a new service until I resolve the Windows 10 situation. I don't have the money for a new PC. I understand it is because of potential security problems that the new version won't have, at least for a while. Because so many scammers and cheaters are out there, it's costing honest people, especially working class and low income people, money to be connected to the world of technology. One of the drawbacks of going to the library is another security hurdle. Most things work fine. But YAHOO requires one of those picture tests, such as click all the blocks that have traffic lights. After about 5 tests, it tells me I am taking too long and it blocks me out. It probably comes up because it doesn't recognize the device I am using. At home, if I'm checking my bank deposit, for instance, I get security alerts that I have used a foreign device. It is the same device I always use. I appreciate their caution with my info, but it makes it hard for a befuddled person like myself to do business. How secure are any of us anyway, even without a computer. I had a store charge card years ago, Their account was hacked, so they sent warnings not to use the card. Our data might have been compromised. I have been reassured by a bank branch manager that they have top notch security on their online accounts. It's still scary. Proceed with caution and a resolve to lose everything if need be. |
| I used to buy a national brand of peanut butter only when it was on sale at 99 cents. That doesn't happen any more. Even on sale, it's over $2.50. But the nutritionist told me I have to get the organic, all natural stuff, no salt or sugar added, and no hydrogenated oils added. You know the kind you have to stir and keep refrigerated. I lucked out the first few times and got some crunchy that tasted fair that was on a closeout special. Now I can't find it for less than $8 a jar. I was only using it as a substitute snack for sugar salty things. I guess I need some other substitute. I don't buy cookies or crackers any more. But my yen for them hasn't evaporated. I like carrots but they just don't fill in for graham crackers and milk. I couldn't believe the price on store brand graham crackers. That made them easier to pass by. I'm so old I remember when you could buy plain bread for less than a dollar. In fact, one year I drove by myself to Florida on gas that cost $.59 a gallon. (I bought the most memorable strawberries I've ever had in the Everglades from an Indian. Can't remember what I paid.) Fruit just doesn't seem worth it, as much as the experts preach to us to eat more fruit. Avocados are hard as a rock; leave in the refrigerator a few days and they turn brown and mushy. Strawberries look and smell good, cost plenty, but when you open the package, they're moldy in the middle where you can't see outside the package. You can't tell if a melon or a pineapple are ready to eat until you cut one open. I confess that pineapples have been reasonably priced considering they don't grow locally. The farmer's market may have fresh food that hasn't been trucked across several states, but you have to watch for worms and bugs hidden in the bunch or under the leaves. You still pay plenty. There are a lot of orchards in my region, and they charge the same as the grocery store. Chances are they were recently picked but who wants to drive further and go up steep curvy roads if you pay the same at the local store only blocks from home. At first I tried to do what the nutritionist said. Only grass fed butter and dairy products, nothing highly processed. (Isn't almond milk highly processed?) I have had to go back to the cheaper varieties of necessity. Old people on fixed incomes can't indulge in healthy, good for you stuff. |
| I have tried following package instructions, but either the directions are badly written, or the packages are badly designed, or I am extremely dense. I try ripping off the top above the red line on a resealable package, but it still won't open. I have used scissors to cut a straight line, but it still doesn't work. I frequently have to cut below the plastic zipper to get it open. There are household cleaners and medicines that require you push down while turning or squeeze while turning to get the top off. You end up spilling and possibly using language you don't want the children to hear. I can seldom open a child's toys without retrieving tools from the garage to cut or untwist wires and plastic straps. To prevent shoplifting, companies pack almost everything in vacuum sealed plastic, from ink pens to scissors, to batteries. And if your package comes by mail, it's inside other packaging, then wrapped or boxed again. You can see why shipping and handling cost so much. It's all the wrapping and boxing and sealing. Why have prices gone up so much? The food content in a bag or box may cost $1.00, labor and materials, but the packaging will cost another $1.00. They still want to pay overhead and make a profit. Then the distributor wants his share for handling it. Did I forget to mention they have to fill the bag or box (cereal for instance) with air to give a cushion while shipping? The air may be a precaution, but it also makes it look like you're getting more than you really are buying. Packaging is important to keep products safe, to aid in shipping, and to allow inventory to be kept as accurately as possible. But sometimes you wonder if the people who design these packages ever have to open them themselves. Does the guy trying to cut costs in the factory ever have to open a bottle of his company, or assemble a toy on a birthday or make a sandwich in a hurry? I think it should be a requirement of his or her job. |
| At one time. it appears, movie directors and actors thought smoking was sophisticated and sexy. Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis and glamour girls all smoked cigarettes. The men always had a light for them and would fight to see could get get the flame to her first. Even poor people were portrayed as smokers. Cool, level headed Andy Taylor smoked in bed. Jackie Gleason smoked cigars. I am appalled at how frequently we see famous people light up in old movies and TV shows. Today we would think they're throwing money away and endangering their health. I haven't kept track of more modern shows to see if characters were asked not to smoke or to take it outside. In real life tobacco products still sell by the truck loads. Employees take smoke breaks in between lunch breaks and official breaks. Non-smokers go out with them just to have equal time away from the desk or assembly line. Nobody in my family or circle of friends smoke. It would turn me off if a date lit one. My ex smoked heavily and was very annoying about it. I would find ashes inside the refrigerator door where he held one idly in his hand while searching through the shelves with the other hand. He thought he was doing me a favor when he rolled the car window down so he could smoke. The car still stank. It is just hard to imagine that a whole generation thought it was glamorous to light a cigarette in a romantic moment on screen. |
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