Jingle versus Joy

We all like to have 'jingle' in our pocket.  We continuously strive to make the 'almighty buck.'  We think the more we have, the happier we will be.  For some folks, this is their life...all work and no play, as the saying goes.  I've been there, done that.  Now I am trying to live the simple life, and not by choice.  I was forced into giving up all of my 'things,' and doing without.


The only thing I am not without (and never will be) is my relationship with a friend who continues to stand by me no matter what the circumstance, no matter my mood, and no matter how productive I may or may not be.  That friend is Joy.  I can have Joy with me all the time, wherever I may be, night or day.  Joy is never judgmental, and is ever-understanding.  If you know Joy, then you understand what I am talking about.  If you don't know Joy, then you are only able to enjoy your jingle; let me know how that works for you.


Until next time..."A joy that is shared is a joy made double."  -- John Roy

My Christmas Wish

I wished for snow on Christmas Day

So I could watch the children play

The gently-falling flakes upon the roof,

Were as quiet as a reindeer hoof.

The sleigh made tracks around the chimney

As I looked out from the window dimly,

I saw the tail of Santa's coat

"Merry Christmas to all.."

Was what he wrote

in the snow that had drifted quite high

His laughter filled the dark starry sky.

The twinkle of the stars was oh so bright

As I heard him say, "Merry Christmas to all,

and to all a good night."

The lines of the poem then crowded my head

As the snow gave way to the green grass instead.

Until next time..."As long as we know in our hearts what Christmas ought to be, Christmas is."  -- Eric Sevareid

Birthdays and Nutcrackers

I just had a birthday, and, while it was memorable in its own right, it lacked the luster of birthdays past.  My expectations were not too high, I hope, but, in a sense, it was truly 'just another day.'  That phrase was coined by my husband many years ago, and I've never believed it, until this year.  So many things have changed, and, along with my usual birthday gift to myself (a ticket to The Nutcracker), most have fallen by the wayside due mostly to the lack of dinero in everyone's pocket.  Bah, humbug.

Family is missing...logistically...mentally...physically.  I don't want to join their ranks.  Holidays are going to be quiet because the symbols of any joyous celebration will be shelved due to the humdrums, possibly.  Everyone is in need, and for some reason we feel we cannot express ourselves without the means to shop/drop, decorate/just because, and/or rally around the tree with the 'nog.  We shouldn't give up trying to instill what we all enjoyed as children into the hearts of remaining family.  

'Silver bells,' 'deck the halls,' 'grandma got run over by a reindeer,' decorated tree, cheese ball (if you are so inclined), and The Nativity are all very important parts of our society's celebration.  Don't let your circumstances dictate the mood or festivities.  Enjoy the JOY!

Until next time... "It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air." -- W. T. Ellis 

Economy Size

Yesterday I ate SOS.  How many of you know what that is?  Creamed beef on toast was originally an Army favorite, served up during the war years.  My folks lived during those years, and probably were glad to be able to eat SOS, among other things.  Ranks right up there with beans and cornbread...which, in the south, is in addition to the meal... NOT a meal in itself.  It's a good thing my husband likes SOS...don't know many men who would eat it.

The economy has hit the fan.  Yes, the economy is in the toilet.  There are more unemployed in my family now, and I don't like it.  Some who have more than one educational degree are searching for a job.  I thought it was bad for my high school diploma self.  I'll stop whining about my age being a factor in being unemployed.

The new wave of hiring practices still has me baffled.  I feel sorry for folks who don't have access to a computer, because that's where it's at, folks.  You send off a resume via e-mail with the appropriate 'key words,' and if you're lucky ...and I mean REALLY lucky, you might get a face-to-face interview.  Of course, if you know someone, you stand a good chance of getting a job.  All the state resources are overwhelmed...they don't even answer their phones or return voice mails.  Newspaper job ads have been reduced and combined with internet-based job sites.  

It's too bad our communities do not operate on the principles of doing for each other...community gardens, more food pantries, shelters, mass transit. and the like.  If you live outside a large metro area, you're SOL...same noun as above.  I may not have lived during the first real depression like some of my family, but I'm learning how to live in this one.  And, yes, I am thankful...don't even go there.  This is my blog.

Until next time..."Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor."  -- James A. Baldwin

Encompassing Hope

Form a circle, everyone.  Hope in the middle.

November is Epilepsy Awareness Month.  Approximately 50 million people worldwide are affected by this condition.  Yes.  It is a condition, not a disease.  However mysterious, it represents a change in lifestyle for all of these people.

I am an Epilepsy Advocate.  Did you know that every one of us has a seizure threshhold?  An estimated 1 out of 10 people will have a single seizure at some time during their life.  However, more than half of the cases of epilepsy are idiopathic or have no identifiable origin.  Many are believed to be genetic.

Be aware!  Even if you do not know anyone with this condition, you might witness or be called upon to administer first aid to someone having a seizure.  Learn seizure first aid.  It's easy...

PLEASE... do not put anything in the person's mouth 

                  (they CANNOT swallow their tongue ...a myth);

                  do not give the person anything to drink

                  do not restrain or hold the person down

DO...                   

• If the person has a warning, it is best to get him or her to a safe place like sitting in a chair or lying on the floor.
• Once the seizure starts, turn the person to one side.
• If you can't turn the person, try to turn the head to one side or turn the person as soon as the seizure is over.
• Look for medical identification jewelry.
• Loosen tight clothing around the neck. Remove eyewear.
• Move hard objects, like chairs, out of the way.
• If you can, put something soft - a pillow, your hand, etc. under the person's head.
• Stay with the person until the seizure is over, and he or she is fully recovered.

For more information:   www.epilepsyfoundation.org

Family Famine

The holidays loom just around the corner...Thanksgiving (which a lot of people think is just for football and food), and Christmas (which a lot of people think is for presents and food).  Where in both of these holiday celebrations do family fit in?  If you are from a big family, you can bet everyone will gather at Grandma's for a celebration.  If you don't have a grandma...well...

I was born into a big family.  That is, to say, I had five siblings.  We didn't gather at holidays because everyone left home when they graduated high school...moved far away and never looked back (except for one of my sisters).  Then the excuse of "it's too far," and "I can't get the time off from work" became the standard around holidays.

I used to get pretty weepy when I couldn't get my children together in one place for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  After they married, they spent more time over at the "other" spouse's family celebration.  I forged ahead and cooked big dinners, wrapped a lot of presents, and then waited.  The day was always short-lived and me and the hubby were left once again to ourselves.  I think last year was my last attempt at cooking Thanksgiving dinner.  Everyone is too wrapped up in whatever to try to continue any family get-togethers.

Now I know how my mother felt.

Until next time..."There are three types of  people in this world:  those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened."  Guess.

Technology Test

I am now not only among the ranks of the unemployed, I am among the ranks of being disconnected.  The hard drive on my laptop has died, and I am forced to suffer 'withdrawal' from the internet world.  It's a sad day, folks, when an oldie like me has to give up pretty much her last connection to 'what's happenin' '.  I wasn't totally addicted, and, because I have no other choice at the moment, I must deal with it.
Seems like my whole life I have been on 'the outside lookin' in,' and this scenario proves no different.  A lot of people always seem to 'know someone,' or have a 'friend of a friend' who can come to their rescue.  I have neither.  I also have no cash flow to repair the laptop, or replace it.  Goes without saying, I have no generous benefactors either.  As many folks that have set aside their old computers for the latest bells and whistles, or have made an upgrade...surely there is some 'ole laptop just laying around for this 'ole granny to borrow or just plain have?  O-k-a-a-y.

It's okay.  I probably needed to find something else to do with my spare time <all the time, not spare>.  I can up my gas budget to make two trips a week to the local library and use their wifi and their computers.  Been there, done that.  Not the same though.

Enough whining, I guess.  Dare I hope to get a comment on this post?  Unlikely...that would merit someone actually reading it.

Until next time..."In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life...it goes on."
--Robert Frost

A Spot of Sports

I've started another significance-laden journey, or quest, if you will.  A few years ago, I told myself I needed to try to read a 'classic' novel every so often, just to enlighten myself and if nothing else, so I could say, 'been there, done that.'  Once I learned to read, I've never stopped, and have voraciously read many books since.  Fortunately, 'classic' novels never go 'out of style,' and obviously nor has our seemingly never-ending obsession over sports.


Many times under duress, I've endured many years of listening  to football on television.  That, my friend, is my latest quest...to learn and/or understand the game of football.  I tolerated the game when I was in our high school pep club, because I really didn't have to watch it.  I was there 'to be seen' in my short-skirted uniform, knee socks and black and white saddle oxford shoes.  I had no interest in the game nor in its players...especially the players.  Now that I'm married to a former high-school football player, I may have changed my mind about that!


I've decided I favor college football more than professional football.  I think anyone who plays a game for their 'job,' deserves no pat on the back.  They get paid whether they lose the game or not.  Of course, there is that fancy ring.  I prefer college football because it's still a game, a rival between collegiate underdogs.  To wear the colors and the team name means something to these players.  They can talk about it after the game...on until the next one.


I know absolutely nothing about how the game is played.  I've had a few people try to 'splain it to me, but I'm just not gettin' it.  I obviously get excited when MY team makes a touchdown...that I know.  It looks like a lot of pushing and falling down.  I wonder why there aren't any women that wanna get in the game?  Why is football an all-male sport?  Well, I didn't mean to get off on that.  It doesn't matter to me.


There are definitely more important things in life that watching 'my team' play against 'your team.'  Just because you choose to sit in front of the television, or tailgate at the stadium, OR if you have lots of money, actually go to a football game...doesn't mean I have the inclination to join you.  I would instead choose to sit quietly and read a good book or a bad book, it doesn't matter.  Sports are overrated...if I choose, I can 'read' about football, and to attest to the name of my blog, drink a cuppa coffee while I read.  Guess my quest has already run its course. 


Until next time...as Vince Lombardi said, "If it doesn't matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?"

An Apple A Day

So, Mr. Jobs.  Being mindful of the fact that you had a serious technological mind, I'm afraid I might be one of the few dinosaurs that did not avail themselves of anything you created.  That's not to say that I don't 'know' how to use certain electronic devices, but they were never part of my day-to-day existence, as they were with so many others.  I'm sorry for your family, indeed.


This time of year takes me back to the 'old' days, when apple-eating was a certain thing in the fall of the year.  It seemed as though they tasted better back then too.  Probably not so many chemicals were applied, and LOOK...I'm still kickin'!  Mom and apple pie.  Yes, she did make a mean pie.  I still love apple pie, and when I can afford to buy them (at almost $1.50/pound), I will make myself one.  So, do you like yours a la mode or not?  Either way is fine, but the pie has to be warm out of the oven.  Thankfully, too, I still like to just eat an apple, and I'm blessed to still have all of my own teeth, so this is a fairly easy task.  Whew!  I feel for you denture-wearers!


Unfortunately, the crisp fall days of my youth do not exist in the climate in which I make my home.  I just turned on the air conditioner because the temps are climbing this mid morning.  If I recall, when walking to the bus stop at the end of Wire Street, my breath would appear as I trudged the half block HA!  I always had some kind of ratty jacket to wear...my folks were still of the mindset that you only needed one coat and two pair of shoes each year.  Even though it was my siblings that grew up in the WWII days, my folks were still 'tight as bark on a tree.'  Oh well...I survived, and pretty much still only have one coat and two pair of shoes.


Those of you who make your way to my blog will undoubtedly think you have passed through a time warp of some kind.  Yes, I do have a lot of fond memories of when I was young.  These are what keep me entertained today.  Sorry if they seem boring or just plain stupid.  You had to have been there.


Until next time..."when in doubt...don't."  

Testing the Waters

Hey folks,
I'm getting bored with 'the' social site that consistently forces its members to change, so I decided to try another venue.  I know someone else who 'blogs,' and maybe it will prove to be different.  We'll see.


The older I get, the fewer social skills I have.  But, then, I've always considered myself to be a 'no face.'  A 'no face', you say?  Yep.  That is someone who is pretty much invisible and kinda fades into the background unless specifically picked on or perhaps noticed for whatever reason.  Now, I must say, my spouse and a few family members have brought me to a level whereby I can pretty much fit in socially, but I really have to work at it.  That's why I find the Web and its offerings to be so acceptable for someone like me.


I've spent the last three years 'on the road.'  After losing pretty much everything to the economy, the spouse and I have started over and are holding on by the 'skin of our teeth,' as my mother used to say.  Most days I'm overly frustrated by not being able to obtain employment (after shooting myself in the foot about 10 years ago).  But, then, I do have loads of time to spend reflecting and gaining wisdom concerning society and its trash.  There is absolutely no one left to hear me, however.  I've used up all my 'free chances' with family members who have tired of my rantings.  Now they can choose to read them, if so inclined.


Countdown begins to my husband's retirement.  He deserves it, after having worked for the last 50 years.  Thankfully, he had put in just enough to the Social Security pot that we can maintain our frugal lifestyle.  Yay.  There are emotions involved, however, because we are leaving our somewhat comfort zone and plan to 'test the waters' in another locale.  Wish us luck.  Until next time...don't take any wooden nickles.