"Green, Green"

I didn't write this.  I wish I had!  But anyone over the age of 50-55 will remember doing some of these things.  The older set (my contemporaries and up) will remember doing most of them.  The world when I was a child was a lot simpler, but darn, we took care of a lot of things automatically, without even thinking  about it overmuch.  But there are always those who want to make things easier! Eventually those "easier" ways came along.  Sadly, it took a long time for society to realize that those "easier" ways generally required the use of more technology, more power, more time, more complexity, ended up costing more, took longer and didn't actually make much easier at  all!  And now there are those who want to blame their parents' and grandparents' generations for all the waste and harm to the environment.  

I copied....borrowed....stole this from a magazine some months ago.  Says it much more clearly than I could.

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."

The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were truly recycled.

But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, that we reused for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our schoolbooks. This was to ensure that public property, (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags.

But too bad we didn't do the green thing back then.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.

But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throwaway kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that young lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

And if you are one of the younger set who like to think that previous generations willfully and consciously screwed up the world, we did not!  You'd better keep in mind....We don't much like being old in the first place; and it really doesn't take much to piss us off.   So. Back. Off!   We were doing our version of "Green, Green" before you were ever born!

"You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"

This year, for a bunch of different reasons, Christmas prep for my family just hasn't been anywhere close to the norm.  Collectively, we just don't seem to have our usual Christmas spirit and enthusiasm.  Now here it is Christmas Eve, and we are about out of time.  The Christmas Eve festivities are set to begin around 6:00 pm this evening, which means we have about 10 hours left to make our surroundings at least, look and feel like Christmas.  This will be a challenge!

A couple of weeks ago Ratchlet, MtG, and I were out for the evening for one of our regular Christmas shopping expeditions.  We were feeling particularly uninspired and basically felt all we were doing was feeding the commercialism of Christmas that has gotten out of hand....buying "things" that cost too much, were not particularly meaningful, and wouldn't do much of anything to bring joy.  This has come about over the years to the point that we felt it was completely over the top and not worth the effort!

We decided to try to limit our extravagance and focus more on changing the way we celebrate to bring about more feelings of sharing, loving, and the happiness of being with our family.  

We have put up no outside decorations and hardly any inside decorations.  We are putting up just the small white tree and a few easily accessible Christmas favorites.  We have chosen a local charity and made a contribution of something needed.  We have reduced the number of gifts we give each other.  We have scaled back the food we share.  We are adding in some new things that might help us feel more of the Season's "good parts."

These are all good things and will hopefully, give us some Christmas memories that will make this a great Christmas.

This will be MtG's first Christmas without Santa.  Mikey and I as well as Ratchlet, TA, and MtG will be spending Christmas Day together at their house and we will try some different things.  

Despite all our efforts to cut back and focus on the things that make Christmas the special holiday it should be,  I haven't started to "feel" it yet.  At this point, with a bunch of things left to do, I'm struggling against my general feelings of Grinchdom.  So far, it still feels like a lot of work to be done.  Various frustrations abound.  There are people we love, miss and wish we could see, but we are separated by uncontrollable circumstances.  Nevertheless, their absence leaves a gaping hole in the midst of what should be a joyous celebration.

So yes, Mr. Grinch has inserted his mean little heart into our Christmas this year and I have 10 hours to kick him to the curb and find that Christmas Spirit that is sorely lacking so far.

Our Christmas shake-up might result in one huge Christmas failure or it could turn out to be the best Christmas ever.....but if nothing else, we will still be together with most of the people we love best in this world, and that is where we always find joy!

I hope that Mr. Grinch doesn't intrude on your Christmas and that each of you enjoys the happiness, celebration, and peace that we all seek at Christmas.

Merry  Christmas, my dear friends.  Thank you for visiting so faithfully over the years.  May your holiday be filled with love!

Feet

Consider the foot!  The most basic form of transportation.  Babies' toes, the cutest thing ever!

"I'm Old-Fashioned"

Okay, here's a question for you:

If you were reading the following statement aloud, would you say the same thing I do??

Price:  $35.00 plus S&H

If you are under age 45, you  probably said:   Thirty-Five Dollars plus Shipping and Handling.  Right??

However, if you are over 50, I would bet at least a few of you said:  Thirty Five Dollars plus S&H Green Stamps!!

Those kids under 45 wouldn't even have a clue what I was talking about!

When it comes to speech patterns, I freely admit it.  "I'm Old-Fashioned!"  I am forever spouting dated phrases, anachronistic references, and passe slang!  I get the oddest looks from people sometimes.  And the younger the person, the odder the look!!

Here are a few of my regulars.  How many of them do you say and conversely, how many of them have you never heard and have no idea what they mean??  Or am I the only one still stuck in days gone by?

*  A bunch of songs recorded by a single artist included on one device??   That's an ALBUM, right?  Even if it's on a CD, it's still an ALBUM, isn't it?

*  When I make a phone call, I still DIAL the number.....even though I haven't   in years!!   Do you??

*  Also when I'm finished I still HANG UP, even though nothing is hung any where and the process of disconnecting usually involves pushing a button DOWN.

*  Is your world populated by FIREMEN, POLICEMEN, and MAILMEN?   Mine is!  At least until I remember to be gender neutral!

*  Occasionally, when I am talking about leg coverings I still say, STOCKINGS!  Even though I do not own one single pair, and haven't for years!!  Panty hose just doesn't have the same panache.

*  When talking about someone who endlessly repeats their wishes or desires or whatever, in my world they sound like a BROKEN RECORD!  No, not like a record high-jump or record time for a mile....a record like the round black disc full of  recorded music that's in an ALBUM!  (And around and around I go!)

*  If I learn something new or surprising, it is not totally unusual to hear me say, "FAR OUT" or even occasionally "GROOVY".  For this one though I have an easy explanation.  When faced with that blank look, I can just say, "It means COOL!"  Luckily that one seems to have survived into this generation!


How COOL is that?

"Bits and Pieces"

Just a few bits of this and pieces of that.....

1.   Maddie-the-Great is having a great time at her new school.  Things are going well for her academically (mostly A's and a couple of  B's), she is making friends, likes her teachers (except one....there's always one!),

"Spot On"

As we all know, life is a journey, a progression through multiple stages from infancy to childhood, teens, adulthood, middle age, to aging, old age, and ultimately to the final destination that comes to us all....(except for me, of course, as I have decided that  the old 1960s slogan is my new motto...."Hell No, I Won't Go!")


Anyway, back to the matter at hand, each of those stages brings adventure, experience, and change.  It's all part of that Circle of Life thing.  I'm okay with that mostly.  I'm not the same person I was 50 years ago and that is as it should be.  I simply don't have the energy to be 16 years old!  I don't even want the same things I wanted at 16 (well, except maybe for Danny A. who was the great unrequited love of my life before I met Mikey!)


I have suffered the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune...." just like everyone has.  You can't get through living without experiencing some of those.  Some were good, some were bad, and some were painful, some were heavenly and some were just a hoot!  But what I never realized until recently is that all those times that life (or whatever) throws an arrow our way, it leaves a mark!  Really, it does!  Some sort of visible, permanent outward sign that you have taken another bullet!  ( Hmmm, Mrs. Proctor always told us not to mix our metaphors, but I think you know what I mean!)


That is the only explanation for the latest phenomenon to befall me.  I've gotten used to the grey hair.  My knees feel ten years older than the rest of me.  I've learned to compensate.  Gravity keeps pulling me down (trying to get me into that grave before my time??!!) and my skin continues to be overwhelmed by the downward pressure.  Things droop, sag, wiggle, fade, dry out, wrinkle, and no longer hold their shape.  Somethings seem to just up and disappear (like lips); other things just suddenly look different (like eyelids); and still other things pop up or out or sink into the abyss of "maturity!"  My whole body looks like a comfortable old pair of sweat pants!  No color, no shape, no crispness.


But lately  I am noticing an exponential increase in souveniers from those "slings and arrows!" that just adds insult to injury!  


I have SPOTS.  Lots and lots of spots.  More spots every day!  Big spots, little spots, sort of like paint spatters.  They are called wens, or tags, or moles, or euphemistically, freckles, but what they are, are SPOTS and they are making me crazy!!   


And they are all over!  Arms have the most because of sun exposure, but I have them on my legs, my back, my neck, there are even a couple on my forehead!  Nothing says "old" as clearly and obviously as SPOTS!

I've always had pretty good skin and this is just NOT FAIR!  (Yeah, yeah, whoever said life was fair??)  

Still, spots?? Seriously? What's next???  Polka dots??  Stripes?!? 

I'm beginning to look like a freakin' Dalmation!!   If you see me chasing a fire truck, call for help!

PLEASE NOTE:  Of course, I am exaggerating. Don't worry Ratchlet and LS, my doctor is keeping a close eye on the things and they are NOT  the dangerous kind.  Basically, all they are, are....spots!

"Get Me to the Church On Time"

My mother used to say that it took me 24 hours to get born, and I've been late ever since!  It  appears I do not have the same understanding of time as everyone else.  The sad truth is that I am late more often than not....all my life!  We were late to my best friend's wedding.  We were late to my daughter's wedding (but they couldn't start without us....we had the bride!!)  I was late for work about 75% of the time for my entire career!!!  It drives a lot of friends, bosses, and family absolutely crazy!

But I am NOT always late.  In fact, on the one day when one might be expected to be delayed by over-the-top primping and such, I was on time.  In fact, we were even a little bit early (not a lot, you understand, but a little.) 

Just like Alfie Doolittle ("My Fair Lady"), "Get Me to the Church on Time" was my mantra that day!  What day??  Well, my wedding day, of course!

Forty-six years ago today.  46!  Years.  Ago.   Holy shoes and rice, Batman!!  46 years!

It was a very bright and sunny day in Chicago on April 2, 1966 but it was really cold!  It looked like Spring but it still felt like Winter.  We had to drive from the north side down to the south side, because we were being married in Mikey's home parish (I can't remember why exactly), so we had at least a 45 minute drive to get to the church. 

I don't remember whose car we were in.  I don't remember who drove.  I don't remember who was in the car.  I have a vague recollection of sitting alone in the back seat, but I don't think I was really.....maybe it just felt like I was alone.  Its a big thing to get married (duh!), but when you are only 19, its monumental. 

What was ahead?  Was this really a good idea?  Would it work out?  Would we be happy?  Would it last??   Did I really want to be a wife??  Maybe I should just jump out of the car and run away!  Very far away!!  These kinds of thoughts jumbled around inside my head throughout that long drive.  I suppose that is not much different from any other bride (or groom for that matter.) 

There I was, little 19 year old me, only weighing about 100 lbs. soaking wet, wearing a borrowed dress, a borrowed veil, wrapped up in a borrowed mink stole (it wasn't as politically incorrect, all those years ago).  It felt a little bit like playing dress up. 

But it wasn't make believe, it was very real.  And it turned out to be the right thing to do, because here we are 46 years later and we are still together.  It was was a good idea.  And it sure has lasted!  We have had a life filled with much happiness, a lot of laughter, a reasonable number of tears, love, caring, a fair amount of worry and sadness, lots of joy, some disappointments.....highs and lows....day after day....for 46 years. 


I think they call that a marriage!


Happy Anniversary, Big Guy!

If it ain't broke.....

They are at it again!  This time its two of them, at the same time!  Google and Facebook, switching things around, changing what works, making changes for no apparent reason!!  Arrrggghhhh!!!

First, Google has posted this:
"Blogger is getting a new look in April. Upgrade Now."



And Facebook has posted this:

"This is how your timeline looks to you...

Use this tool to see how your timeline appears to a specific friend or the public. Remember: you can always change who can see any post that appears on your timeline."

Google, I do not want to Upgrade!!  What's wrong with the old look?    And Facebook?  I hate to tell you, but I don't even understand what this means!!

Oh how I hate when they "update" things!!! It has been a problem with computers since the very beginning of their entry into everyday life.  I cannot recall any new "release", update, revision, or software or hardware installation that did not create chaos!  It is bad enough when that chaos took place in the workplace, but at least, I worked for companies large enough to have an IT staff that I could call on to come and fix it!  But now when they diddle around with stuff, it affects not only the workplace, but the homeplace too. 

Enough!  Let us alone.  Let us keep our blogs up and running in the way we understand, please!  The same for Facebook.  Every new update and change, throws many of us all the way back to square one and we have to stumble around on our own for days (weeks, years??) to re-learn how to use what we already were using just fine! 

And the worst of it??  We are given no choice!!  It is imposed upon us with no recourse.  That just sucks swamp water!!

The amount of information provided on how things have changed and how to get up to speed on the new stuff is either incomprehensible or non-existent.   Why cannot these companies understand that many of us were not born computer mavens.  Many of us struggle and have been struggling for the last 30 years, trying to keep up with all the changes that just keep coming!  Stop!  Don't Do This Anymore!!  We are your customers (sort of), you are supposed to want to keep your customers happy....and this just ain't doing it!

I'm tired of having to re-discover the wheel every time computer designers decide to play fruit basket upset with commonly used programs, software, hardware, and what have you.   I'm tired, I tell you!  Tired to the core!!!

Can't they please go and play somewhere else?   Like maybe in quicksand or  in  a lightening storm??

"Going, Going, Gone"

We have been hearing from all kinds of sources that Google Friend Connect is going away as of March 1 for non-Blogspot bloggers.  It irritates me to no end when makers of computer stuff just make unilateral decisions to upset everybody's apple cart for no discernible or logical reason.  For those of us who know only just enough about computers (and by this I also include software, hardware, the Internet, and all such things) and their use to make the darn things work and not one pixel more, change usually leads to great difficulty in getting the new stuff to work right.  It is never an easy fix.  It is never as good as the "old" stuff.  Its more complicated, more complex, and more convoluted. 

I wish that computers were more like cars.  I can drive a car.  I don't know how to fix a car. If a car is broken there is someone to take it to for repair.  If a car is changed it is NOT changed so that it is unrecognizable.  They don't put the steering wheel in the back seat or print all the directions in Swahili!  I can still pretty much still get in and drive it away.  And if I encounter some change I don't understand, there are wonderful people called mechanics who can usually explain it to me, in English and everything!  No one needs to be a mechanical engineer to operate a car.   The computer industry could have learned a lot about making their products user-friendly from the auto industry. 

Oh, sorry, I got off on a tangent there.  It's a rant I've ranted before....and it obviously still rankles! 

What I really wanted to write about was the loss of Google Friend Connect might mean to us run of the mill bloggers.  Even in a best case scenario, it appears that following other blogs will become more limited and we will have to reconstruct the connections to the blogs we want to follow. 

I spent some time this evening trying to set up followers and following through Linky Followers, and as was absolutely no surprise to me, I couldn't get it to work for me.  It's that same old problem, explanations of new stuff make assumptions about the level of knowledge and expertise that a blogger would have .  Well, I don't have that knowledge and expertise.  I know just enough to make it work.

The new stuff will take time for me to figure out and learn and in the meanwhile, I fear that I will lose followers as well as those I follow.  If that happens, I will be very sad.  I love the blogs I follow and I feel like those folks are at least, "almost" friends!

So if at some point, I am no longer showing up in your comments or stats, it will not be for lack of interest, but only that Google doesn't want us to play together anymore!  I will try to find my way back, but I don't know how long that will take.  If I am never able to reconnect for whatever reason, I just wanted to tell everyone how much I have enjoyed the glimpses into your lives, your interests, your families, and your accomplishments.  And I wanted to thank you for your reciprocal interest in what I share.

I'm not leaving willingly, so don't ever take it personally.  I did want to tell you all at least a tentative goodbye and farewell before Google carries out its plan to sever our connection!  As it is now officially March 1, we'll soon see if it is "Going, Going, Gone!"

Au revoir, mes amis.  Vous me manquerez!

  [Goodbye, my friends.  I will miss you!]

"A Taste of Honey"

For many years when I was growing up, my dad managed a Howard Johnson's Restaurant.  Anybody remember them??   Well, if you do remember, you might recall, they had 28 Flavors of Ice Cream.  This was before the days of Baskin-Robbins, so 28 flavors was downright amazing.   I don't remember many of the flavors because the only kinds I ever had were vanilla or infrequently, butter pecan.  It used to drive my dad crazy! 

We only had one car (ever), so if my mom needed to do anything other than sit in the house all day, she would have to drive Daddy to work and then go and pick him up at the end of the day.  Dad was usually ready to come home somewhere around 9:00 pm, so I would usually stay at home with Lil' Sis, while Mom went off to get him.  Occasionally, however, we would all go off to the restaurant to pick him up.  On some of those times, we would go in and have a dish of ice cream while we waited for him to finish up.  Mom would get chocolate or butter pecan or sherbet or  black cherry or maybe even peppermint.  Lil' Sis (being only 3 or so at the time) would share whatever mom was having.  And I would have, you guessed it, vanilla.

"We have 28 different flavors!  How can you always get vanilla?  Don't you want to try the featured flavor??  Dad always made some remark to try to get me to branch out, but it never worked.  I would stick to plain vanilla almost all the time.  What I don't recall him asking me is "Why?" 

I'm rather glad he never asked me why I wouldn't try other flavors because it would have been hard for me to answer it honestly.  The truth of the matter is that I really didn't like ice cream all that much, even the vanilla!  I didn't want to hurt his feelings, after all this was supposed to be a treat!  Most of the kids I knew would have turned somersaults for having a dad who gave them ice cream!  But not me! 


You see, not only did I not  like ice cream, I didn't like any sweets!   Oh, I'd occasionally have a plain Hershey Bar or a skinny slice of peach pie, or a piece of birthday cake, but have something sweet every day?  No, no, no!  Dessert was never my thing.  I didn't even like anything candied (yams, carrots, onions, etc.)  No apricot glazes or raspberry dressings for me.   No thank you!   Many things were just too sweet for my tastes, so I would eat as little of it as I could get away with.  Now, Mom, being of the "you have to at least try some of everything being served" school of parenting, would be satisfied as long as I ate some of everything.  So I would, but I didn't like anything sweet!


I don't think either Mom or Dad realized how little I cared for sweet things until I was much older and not so hesitant to say I didn't like it!  There were only two things I could safely refuse to eat:  liver or fish.  Mom didn't like fish and Dad wasn't big on liver, so we rarely had either one at home and if we did have one or the other and I refused to eat it, they could understand.  But not eating sweets?  That was just outside the realm of their belief system!  lol!


When I had my tonsils out at age 6, I totally shocked the nurses when I refused ice cream and asked for cold milk instead!  It just wasn't what kids did!!


Once I was married, I was in charge of meals (sort of) so I could avoid whatever was too sweet for me.  The trouble was Mikey was exactly the opposite.  A day without dessert wasn't worth living in his world!  He accepted the fact that sweets were very low on my list of priorities.   That doesn't mean he understood it, but he did accept it.   But deep down he just didn't get it.  Still doesn't!


For example, I remember one time (not all that long ago either), Mikey made something (I think it was chili or spaghetti sauce) for dinner.  When I took the first bite, I made a face and said,  "Ick, it's sweet!!  It's not supposed to be sweet, it's chili (or spaghetti sauce)!  What did you do?"  He swore up and down he hadn't added anything sweet and it took us a little while to figure out it was the onions!   They were Vidalia onions which as you probably know,  are sweet.  They completely wrecked the flavor for me.  Mikey couldn't even taste the sweetness!  Like I said, I really don't like sweets, especially in things that aren't supposed to be sweet!

Now before you start thinking that I am completely and totally weird, let me assure you that I did get sweet in my diet very regularly. Growing up I would drink milk with my meals, but once I was married,  I discovered I loved sweet drinks....Pepsi became my beverage of choice for decades!  I liked sweet iced tea, I would put sugar in orange juice, lemonade had to have a ton of sugar in it before I would drink it.  It's a conundrum that I do not understand to this day!

I stayed fairly thin through most of my life and that I am sure is largely due to the lack of a lot of sweet stuff (except for the drink part).  I have a somewhat addictive personality (may I remind you that I am not allowed to go to a casino by myself!!).  So I am grateful that sweets were not my vice of choice!  I would have weighed a ton....maybe two!

So, all that being said, by all that's holy, would someone please explain to me why, after all these years, have I recently begun craving sweet things???    Pie, cookies, candy, cobblers, fudge, and absolutely worst of all, Hot Fudge sundaes???  I'm afraid to get on a scale!  My teeth are going to rot and fall right out of my head.  So far, it doesn't take much to satisfy that craving --  a piece or two of candy, 3  cookies, a spoonful of cobbler, a small sundae from Sonic without whipped cream...but still.  This is just flat out wrong.  Perhaps I have been invaded by an alien with a sweet tooth!

All I know is that it's got to STOP!  It used to be that I was happy with "A Taste of Honey."  Now I want the whole damn jar...all over everything!!   Arrggh!

I Will Survive!"

Just some memories for pondering.....and a break from Christmas for a little bit...Not my creation, and there was no indication who the author was.  Whoever it was, the author nailed it, dead center!  

To All Who Survived the 1930s, '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s!!

First, we survived

Being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank

While they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing,

tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then, after that trauma, we were put to sleep

On our tummies in baby cribs

Covered with bright colored

Lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles,

locks on doors or cabinets,

And, when we rode our bikes,

We had baseball caps, not helmets, on our heads.

As infants and children,

We would ride in cars with no car seats,

no booster seats, no seat belts,

No air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes..

Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day

was always a special treat.

We drank water

From the garden hose and not from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends,

from one bottle,

and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes,

White bread, real butter, and bacon.

We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar.

And we weren't overweight.

WHY?

Because we were

Always outside playing...that's why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day,

as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day.

-- And, we were OKAY.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps

And then ride them down the hill,

Only to find out we forgot the brakes.

After running into the bushes a few times,

we learned to solve the problem..

We did not have Play Stations, Nintendos and X-boxes.

There were no video games,

No 150 channels on cable,

No video movies

Or DVDs,

No surround-sound or CDs,

No cell phones,

No personal computers,

No Internet and no chat rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS

And we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth,

And there were no lawsuits from those accidents.

We would get spankings with wooden spoons,

Switches, ping-pong paddles, or just a bare hand,

And no one would call child services to report abuse.

We ate worms, and mud pies made from dirt,

And the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays,

22 rifles for our 12th,

rode horses,made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and

- although we were told it would happen -

we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes

Or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell

Or just walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts

And not everyone made the team.

Those who didn't had to learn to

Deal with disappointment.

Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out

If we broke the law was unheard of.

They actually sided with the law!

These generations have

Produced some of the best risk-takers,

Problem solvers, and inventors ever.

The past 50 to 85 years have seen an explosion

of innovation and new ideas..

We had freedom,

Failure, success and responsibility,

and we learned how to deal with it all.

If YOU are one of those born

Between 1925-1970

CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others

Who have had the luck to grow up as kids

Before the lawyers and the government

Regulated so much of our lives

For our own good.

While you are at it, forward it to your kids,

So they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house

with scissors, doesn't it ?

-- Author Unknown

"Tell Me Why"

I have a question to direct to Google (and Facebook, Microsoft, HP, Creators of any Software programs, etc., etc., and so forth)

"Tell Me Why."  Just, why?  I really need to know why!!  Why do you keep changing things, willy-nilly, for no discernible reason other than to drive us all crazy??  I have heard that Google's latest fruit basket upset is to eliminate Google Friend Connect.  I think that means that the collection of lovely little thumbnails representing all the people who have signed up as a follower for a blog will disappear!   Pffftttt, Gone!  Why????   They aren't hurting anybody!  They don't take up much space.  It is just a nice visual showing all the people who like a blog well enough to become a follower.  But Google says "No more".  Suddenly my very respectable 54 followers will disappear and that probably means the number of followers will disappear too.  It took 2 1/2 years to rack up 54 followers!  They're MINE, leave them alone, darn it!

 

Members (54)

 

Aren't they cute??

Now look here, I've worked hard on this blog, trying to make it attractive, interesting, funny sometimes, informative other times.....all for the express purpose of making this site a place people would like to visit regularly.  And now Google just says, "No more".  Well, that just sucks!  I'm proud to call those followers, friends and I don't want them to disappear.  Leave them alone! 

Oh I know there will be some new something to replace Google Friend Connect, but it will undoubtedly be a pain in the neck (or lower) to figure out the new thing and it will be different enough to make it not as useful to me.  So why can't you just leave well enough alone?  I understand that progress requires change, but do we have to have change ALL THE TIME?

As for Facebook, Microsoft, and all the rest....you all do the same darn thing.  I spend two years getting really proficient at using something you have created for OUR use when some bozo will get a bee in his bonnet that it's time to change everything around.  It is as if, without warning or alternative, I suddenly rearranged every single piece of furniture in my house when everyone was out and then kept the rooms completely dark so no one can see anything familiar and they keep falling over things that aren't where they used to be and they can't even see!

Most of the time any improvements brought about by these gratuitous changes are totally overshadowed by the frustration, aggravation, and downright anger that we have to go through to be able to use a replacement for something that wasn't broken. 

Why do you keep doing this kind of thing to your loyal (but not for much longer) customers?   So, can you "Tell Me Why??"   And you'd better make it good!