Category Archives: #libraries

What are you reading?

Posted on by

6

Jackie and Maria

Recently, my husband and I flew on Allegiant Airline from Florida to Albany, New York. The plane was on time, a direct flight, and the staff accommodating and friendly.

However, I hope I never have to fly this airline again.  

Why? There are caveats, aka; Allegiant’s nickel and dime approach to flying.

Ordering the tickets on-line was a nightmare. I’d purchased two round-trip tickets, I thought. The total cost was $659.50, and included two seats, (neither one of us wanted to stand on the trip), the fee to carry-on our bags and the cancellation option. The constant pop-ups through-out the process made me dizzy. I even signed up for their credit card, because I thought I had to.

Twenty-four hours before, I checked myself-in. But couldn’t check-in my husband.

Come to find out, after hanging on hold for one plus hours, and listening to a constant reminder to resolve your flight concerns on-line, I spoke to a human. They convinced me I’d purchased only one ticket. I argued. . . that can’t be. . . I paid for two seats.

So, I bought an additional ticket, last minute, paid again for the seat next to me, that I’d already paid for, and checked luggage for a cost of $ 461.50.

When everything was said and done, the cost for two round trip tickets was $1,121.00!

I was in tears and my husband standing behind me said, “Pay them whatever they want, you can’t go alone.” I felt like a hostage and he was paying ransom.

ONE THOUSAND AND ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-ONE DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS, to fly from Florida to New York, on Allegiant, the cheap airline.

Now do the math. The flight was full, 180 seats. If every passenger paid $461.50, the airline took in $90,000. If they paid $659.50, the take would be $118.710.

So, Allegiant collected between 90 and 119 thousand dollars for a two hour and fifteen-minute direct flight.

 But. . . money was made elsewhere. Snacks and beverages; and you pay for water. The only thing free was use of the toilet. Rumor has it toilet paper will be an add on soon.

Last, but not least, (don’t get you panties in a twist) you must have the Allegiant app on your phone, or print your boarding pass at home, otherwise it will cost you $5 to have it printed at the airport.

Whew! Talk about stress. I thought I would lose my mind.

BUT! We landed early!

                                                               * * *

The sun was out the first day of our vacation and the next, for our family gathering. It was wonderful.

However, it rained everyday thereafter.

 Fortunately, my sister, Mel, gave me a book.  Jackie and Maria, by Gill Paul (historical-fiction) and I couldn’t put it down.

I often quote Jackie Kennedy Onassis’s response to the interview question, “Mrs. Kennedy, what is your greatest accomplishment? Jackie said, “I didn’t lose my mind.” I guess she never flew Allegiant.

After reading Jackie and Maria, it was a miracle she didn’t. Evidently though, she was a compulsive shopper.  I totally enjoyed this read.

You’ll find more reviews on goodreads.    

                                                                                         . . . just saying

You don’t need a WordPress account to comment. Write your comment in the box below or click on the caption icon to the right of the title above. Ignore requests for a name/ username and press post or save. Your comment will be posted anonymously. Please follow me to receive notification of new posts

A Victory Garden

Posted on by

11

Smithsonian Library Cultivating America’s Garden

Last week’s discussion explored the silliness of buying and discarding plastic, and how to STOP. Reader’s comments that they reuse glass jars instead, does make more sense and I’ve adopted the practice.

My friend, Pat, suggested buying laundry detergent sheets on line. She’s mentioned this before, and now I’m ready to listen. Those huge plastic containers are difficult to lift, store, and estimates say; take 450 years to decompose in a landfill. Carol, my Wordle consort, said fabric softener sheets are the way to go.

Clean People offers both laundry and softener sheets at reasonable prices on line.

But when Johanna quoted a daughter-in-law’s plea “TO SAVE THE PLANET,” I conjured numerous images in my head. Eleanor Roosevelt was among them, and although she crusaded for many causes her Victory Garden stands out for me.

“Victory gardens (originally called war gardens or liberty gardens) made their first appearance during World War I (1914–1918). President Woodrow Wilson called on Americans to plant vegetable gardens to ward off the possible threat of food shortages. Americans took up the challenge as a civic and patriotic duty.”

The idea wasn’t new, but Eleanor gave it momentum because people began one by one to plant a garden. And nosy neighbors, not wanting to be unpatriotic planted one too.

“In 1943, with World War II underway, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt had a victory garden planted on the front lawn of the White House—just one of the millions of victory gardens planted that year. Staged photographs in seed catalogs and instructional manuals often showed women and children tending victory gardens. The message: abundant yields were possible for any aspiring gardener. Today, the Smithsonian’s Victory Garden flourishes on the 12th Street side of the National Museum of American History. In the summer, the garden showcases heirloom varieties of flowers and vegetables that were available to gardeners during World War II.”

There are numerous Save the Planet organizations. All of them do good work, but none have resulted in a grass roots effort to get us to STOP USING PLASTIC. Perhaps. . .you and me can spread the word.

                                                                               . . . just saying

P.S. Don’t look to me for a Victory Garden, in Florida our soil is sand, and if the deer don’t eat it, a rabbit or bug will.

You don’t need a WordPress account to comment. Write your comment in the box below or click on the caption icon to the right of the title above. Ignore requests for a name/ username and press post or save. Your comment will be posted anonymously. Please follow me to receive notification of new posts

Today is Thursday

Posted on by

1

How did it get to be Thursday?

It was just Sunday!

It’s hard to believe five days have passed since I watched Jane Pauley on Sunday Morning and planned to blog about what is happening with Libraries when. . .  there was a knock on our door.

As Amazon promised our new television was delivered. Yes, we fell victim to their Tech Sale and Janine’s power of persuasion. Although I never wanted a TV smarter than me, the price was right.

We luckily were able to slide the very large box inside.

Still committed to writing every day, I was on the way to my office when the phone rang. My brother wanted an update on Bob’s recovery. Victor was pleased to hear Bob was doing well; that he had resumed his morning chore of emptying the dishwasher, but not that he won’t be able to move his arm until an x-ray says so.

Now I’m was at least an hour behind of schedule, so instead of my office, I headed to the kitchen and dinner preparation; cutting up onions and peppers, dicing and marinating the chicken and making a spinach quiche. Things took longer than anticipated because I did a wash and set the table in between while seriously thinking . . I’d write, later.

But everyone arrived early, and before I blinked; Marcela was cooking rice and beans, Marie was sautéing the peppers and onions, Janine was mixing drinks and helping Dominic set up the new television.

Bob? He hid in the guest TV room.

I won’t bore you with how Monday and Tuesday got away; but you need to know I have a legitimate excuse for Wednesday because I baked zucchini bread.

Now, what’s of interest regarding libraries? Well, those library cards with the metal clips and card catalogs are obsolete. Wall murals, tech centers, game rooms and coffee lounges are in.

. . . just saying

You don’t need a WordPress account to comment. Write your comment in the box below or click on the caption icon to the right of the title above. Ignore requests for a name/ username and press post or save. Your comment will be posted anonymously. Please follow me to receive notification of new posts.