Thirty days has September, April, June and November. All the rest have thirty-one, except for February.
Today is September 4, 2021 and there are 118 days left in the year. Our local newspaper prints this information daily.
Can you believe it? Thanksgiving is November 25th, or 83 days away and Christmas is 113 days from now.
Yikes! Where has the time gone? To quote the lyrics from a Floor Cry song, “My mind is spinning like it’s a colorful pinwheel.
What were today’s headlines?
Covid deaths outpace 2020, “Since Jan. 1st, Volusia County has reported 609 COVID-19 deaths, a 35% increase over the 449 coronavirus deaths reported in 2020. The county had a total of 1,058 deaths as of Wednesday.”
They continued to report, “This year we are seeing younger and otherwise healthy people to be among those who are losing their life to COVID-19.”
Other headlines, Biden tells La.: “We’re going to have your back’ and US set to admit over 50,000 Afghans
We can find housing and relief for immigrants . . . but going to help citizens?
My head is spinning like a colorful pinwheel.
* * * just saying
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It is 10AM on the morning. I’ve been up since seven, read the newspaper, had breakfast, even exercised and showered. I’m dressed and headed to my office with a fresh cup of coffee to write when something gets in the way.
As I pulled my desk away from the wall, ever so slightly, to retrieve a slip of paper, the jewelry holder fell to the floor tangling the necklaces that dangled from her golden arms and stretched neck. I considered throwing the mess in the garbage, but the doll, a collectable figurine by Heriloom Edition was a gift from my mother who is now deceased.
Mercury Retrograde was at it again. I scooped her up, rested the damage on the bed and turned on my computer. I refused to be deterred. I didn’t take the detour, the roundabout way to writing.
Several days later I summoned the fortitude to untangle the numerous strands of necklaces, without yelling, screaming or cursing. There’s some real personal growth taking place here Dr. Trugillo. I remembered to count to ten, take deep breathes and do whatever else needed to behave sane. “I am an adult.” I repeated to myself again and again.
However, it was a reminder that retirement is highly over rated. You think you’re going to do what you want, go where you want, eat what you want . . . all your wants will be cared for.
But no, I wake up to new health challenges, world disasters or situations that need attention, daily.
Staying focused is a challenge. Should I wear a face mask again, get the booster vaccination before or after the flu shot? The increasing concerns make me dizzy and worn out. I wasn’t going to mention the remote situation, but will, briefly. Spectrum had to mail us four new remotes, none of which turn the bedroom TV on.
And then the guilt! I don’t have loved ones near the fires, fighting or returning from Afghanistan, in Ida’s path or battling covid,
But damn it, I’m going to have fun and be happy even if it kills me.
* * * just saying
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People are angry. They are worried, anxious, nervous, and disappointed, all in public.
New statistics show a rapid rise in plane rage incidences. In a typical year, the FAA sees anywhere from 100 to 150 cases – only a fraction of those since this February, a reported 1,300 cases.
“These incidents have stemmed both from passengers’ refusal to wear masks and from recent violence at the U.S. capitol,” said the FAA.
Gayle King quoted more alarming numbers; a jump from 300 cases to 4,000 on CBS This Morning Show and didn’t place blame, but pleaded with viewers to treat the Flight Attendant with respect.
It’s not fake news, violence has become a frequent response to discontent, regardless of the source.
In France, fans threw objects at soccer players; the situation escalated. Players and fans clashed resulting in cancellation of the game.
Factor in the debate over wearing protective face masks in schools . . . well, Chicken Little might be right. The sky appears to be falling.
They were talking about children, however, agreed the approach can be applied to all human beings.
“Children don’t have words to identify their feelings,” said Dr. Truglio.
Grover spoke about Headspace, a free app program for children and gave the following suggestions.
Deep Belly Breathes
Monster Meditation
Slow Down and Count to Four
“Well, I have big feeling, too. Dr. Truglio.
I’m having trouble finding the words to express them, and deep breathing is not helping.” I yelled at the television.
Dr. Truglio didn’t respond.
So, I screamed, “And counting to four sucks!”
“You’re the adult, try counting to ten!” she yelled back.
* * * * just saying
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“The planet Mercury rules communication in all forms—listening, writing, reading, speaking, and so on—as well as activities closely related to communication, like negotiations and contracts. It also rules travel, automobiles, shipping, and mail.” And according to my neighbor lots more; like air conditioner failure.
Three times a year, the planet Mercury appears to travel backward across the sky. It’s an illusion but nevertheless associated with confusion, delay and frustration. Hence the term Mercury Retrograde, AKA backwards, reverse or decline and might also be responsible for the nail stuck in my car tire.
Here’s what happened. After driving 600 miles, we arrived home to find our central AC shut down. My husband, Bob, tired and in crossword puzzle withdrawal, was on the brink of a melt own. So, I phoned for emergency service and spoke with another Bob who from the tone of his voice was equally fatigued, if not more. He explained he’d been on call in addition to working his regular job for the past ten day before asking, “Do you have a shop vac?”
“We used to.”
“The line is more than likely clogged and needs to be suctioned. It will take me at least one hour to get where you are and cost you at least $200 dollars.”
“Are you talking about this white pipe sticking out of the ground?” I asked.
He agreed to come, I hung up and immediately phoned my Mercury Retrograde neighbor and shared what was going on.
“I have a shop vac! I’ll be right over,” she said.
Wearing a designer skort and sequined flip-flops, she arrived within minutes carrying the shop vac.
“My AC line got clogged and I had to pay big bucks for it to be repaired. So, I purchased this on Amazon,” she said kneeling on the wet grass.
My Bob came outside and I had the other Bob on the telephone explaining he didn’t have to come after all. Everyone wore smiles. Well, I couldn’t see the other Bob smiling, but I knew he was.
“Thank you, Johanna!”
Next morning, I figured new day, no problems and went about unpacking, doing the laundry, opening-up the mail, oblivious to Mercury Retrograde who was secretly hanging around.
Later in the day I was driving on route 95 when yellow alerts appear in the dashboard, the print too small for me to see, but soon discovered my right front tire was losing pressure quickly. Normal pressure is 33 to 35 this tire had 20 pounds of pressure, YIKES!
Turns out I had picked up a nail in my travels.
I didn’t have to consult my neighbor to know, “when Mercury is retrograde, try to remain flexible, patient, and understanding, allow extra time for travel, and avoid signing onto any new contracts that you’re unsure of. Double check your email responses and check in with reservations before you take that trip.”
* * * * just saying
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We’ve returned to Florida after spending four weeks at Sunrise Lake in Milford, Pa., and an additional week in Delmar, New York, visiting family. We’d considered a trip to Yellowstone National Park to celebrate our 50th Anniversary, but due to health issues, upcoming medical procedures, and what not, put the trip on hold. Twelve years ago, we retired to Florida and in retrospect would have made better snow birds. We wanted to escape the heat.
It rained frequently at the lake. The temperatures so cool, we jumped in the lake only once. But, our grand kids, daughter and old friends; well let me restate that, people who we’ve been friends with for a long time, visited. Although, they are truly old friends; we met when I was thirteen and been friends for sixty years.
Smoking cigarettes at Puffy’s Creek, (behind Martin’s house in Hensonville, N.Y) nobody thought we would be old, or still be friends. It rained cats and dogs when they visited, and we huddled on a covered screen porch laughing our heads off, trying not to get wet.
Our favorite restaurant in the area is the Walpack Inn. It’s hidden deep in the woods, In order to get there we crossed Dingman’s Ferry Bridge, one of three privately owned bridges in the United States. Twenty-four hours a day someone stands in the middle of the road collecting the one dollar toll (cash only) and says repeatedly, “Thank you. Have a nice day,” to motorists crossing the Delaware River into or from Sussex County, New Jersey, via Old Mine Road. It’s a narrow bumpy bridge and kind of like threading a needle.
It was great to visit with everyone and I had mixed emotions and quite grumpy leaving Delmar at 6AM on a Monday for the 584-mile drive to Roanoke, VA. I’d not slept well the night before. However we made good time and got in bed early.
The next day we were on the road by 7AM., traveling Route 81, a scenic parkway through the Blue Ridge Mountains. Around 9:30 AM we stopped in Hillsville, Virginia for gas; to use the restrooms, and buy the newspaper. Bob reads the paper and does crossword the puzzle while I drive. We are not back on the road five minutes when he announced there is no crossword puzzle in The Carroll News which he paid one dollar for and the paper was dated August 4th, several days ago. It’s a weekly publication.
But there was news of interest.
The 85th Old Fiddlers’ Convention, held at Felts Park for six nights was expected to draw 50,000 to 60,000 people from all fifty states and several foreign countries. The paper reported the big controversy over face masks in schools, but there was no debate at the convention; no one wore a mask.
New material at the Carroll County Public Library was another headline. The list of new books, videos and CDs was extensive, diverse and took up several pages. There are six branches however, who was getting what book was left out.
The paper, more than likely, reflected what was important in the community
It was a the poignant story highlighting the Golden Girls return to work at Blue Ridge Designs that enthralled me.
Blue Ridge Design’s Golden Girls, Rubye Edwards, Cathie Grimes, Carol Montgomery, Sue Worrell
Look at the smiles! These women in their eighties, work part time at Blue Ridge Designs. Rubye retired at 87 and returned to work at 88 saying, “It’s an easy job and better than sitting at home.”They re-sticker UPC hang tags for garments. Sue Worrell believes in the “Move it or lose it,” health approach and after work went home to make 10 pints of blackberry jelly. Cathie Grimes does it for “The money!” Carol Montgomery said, “I’m still working because I don’t like staying home.”
We arrived home early and thought our re-entry would be easy. However, we were not in the door an hour when the air conditioner stopped working.
* * * * just saying
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Podcasts are my new favorite thing, well not that new. I started listening to the Serial Podcast several years ago. Serial, hosted by Sarah Koenig, is nonfiction stories told in multiple episodes. Season one investigated the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, an 18-year-old high school student in Baltimore.
Wikipedia defines a podcast “as an episodic series of spoken word digital audio files that a user can downloaded to a personal device for easy listening. Streaming applications and podcasting services provide a convenient and integrated way to manage a personal consumption queue across many podcast sources and playback devices.”
That is a mouth full.
A podcast, for me, is like turning on the radio and always getting good reception. I download podcasts to my cell phone and listen usually when walking. It makes the time fly bye and podcasts are free! I’ve never paid for a podcast, although when asked to subscribe question if it is really free?
Yes, so let’s clarify the free aspect. Spotify offers a free service but also a premium service that is promoted as free for a month. Read carefully, the basic service is free. If you have a iphone, the Apple podcast is free, however you can also download any podcast free to an iphone.
Speaking of free, CCleaner a service/download to clean trackers, cookies and the junk that slows your computer down, similarly is free but also offers a premium service free for a month. I have used the basic free service for years.
According to Podcast Insight “There are over 43 million podcasts as of January 2021.”
The industry is growing rapidly. I could have a podcast attached to my blog with WordPress, but don’t (not yet anyway).
Currently in my podcast library
Florida Writers Podcast hosted by Alison Nissin
CBS The Morning Show
Lori & Julia
Clear & Vivid with Alan Alda
My Brain is on Pause by Michael J. Fox
This morning I listened to Alan Alda interview with Goldie Hawn She’s Got Your Brain on Her Mind. “The celebrated and beloved actress on her successful mission to help schoolkids use their brains better.” It was extremely interesting and I’ll talk about it next time.
. . . just saying
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My joints are stiff, my muscles suffer from atrophy and my brain is rusty. There is no doubt about it. It is called growing old, and the decline goes hand and hand with aging.
But is this true?
What if physical decline is not as heavily tied to aging as we think?
What if our brain is like a muscle that suffers when not used?
The expression grow old suggests a condition we developed. However, many ninety-year old’s have more energy and are less forgetful than peers in their seventies. Some of us become decrepit, some don’t and some maintain a quality of life well beyond their physical ailments. Why?
I thought of Christopher Columbus, not because he was old but because he disputed the belief that the world was flat and travelers would fall off. Yes! I know he didn’t set out to prove the world was round; the hope of profit from the spice trade made him set sail, but his frequent voyages proved the point. The world was round. People had been limiting their behavior based on a false belief.
Growing Bolder, a movement to rebrand aging, thinks it doesn’t have to be so. There is a PBS television show, podcast and magazine and numerous resources to support the idea.
“To change the way we age, we have to change the narrative around aging. Growing Bolder is doing just that. Learn how to stop growing older and start Growing Bolder.”
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There is nothing like a good book. One you look for every spare minute you have. Especially in the pandemic. I haven’t had a really good read in a long time and read The Flight of Gemma Hardy in three days, lying leisurely on a couch in the afternoon and staying up past my bedtime to finish a chapter. The author, Margot Livesey, was born in Scotland but now lives in Boston.
What I especially liked about the novel was it was set in the 1950’s and early 1960’s.
The accolades from several other well know authors are numerous and Livesey is the recipient of grants and winner of awards.
It was a great read and I’m currently reading her latest book, Boy In The Field.
What are you reading?
. . . just saying
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A recent interview on CBS Morning News with Susan and Tony Bennett revealed his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and the challenges of aging. The discussion highlighted how helpful the disclosure was for the general public. His wife said, “Tony Bennett is battling Alzheimer’s disease, but singing is saving him.”
Well, singing is an option. Remember the songs Get Happysung by Judy Garland or Happy; written, produced and performed by Pharrell Williams? Both are uplifting and yes after humming a few bars people feel happier.
The correlation between attitude and quality of life has never been clearer. Books, lectures, magazine and newspaper articles go on and on describing the benefits. We frequently celebrate one- hundred-year-olds who may need help blowing out the candles but nevertheless are recognized for their positive attitude, activity and ability to socialize. Captain Tom Moore published his book, TomorrowWill Be A Good Day at age one hundred.
Having the right attitude matters.
There are more indicators that quality of life can be maintained as we age and questions about the inevitability of dementia in seniors.
Attitude can be a challenge and I used to coil at the phrase happiness is a choice.
But now think; happiness may be a choice. . . some days, although maybe not every day . . . even if the sun is shining.
Well, just hum a few bars of your favorite song.
. . . just saying
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claudiajustsaying 