Theme Week Two..

Wow..the state basketball tournament is such a high for this little corner of the county, it almost makes us forget about the nightly news… for just a minute. I take the letter off the sweater, and fold up my cheering uniform for the last time while listening to Walter Cronkite tell us about the latest battle in Khe Sanh. The politics aren’t real to my 17 yr old brain, but the pictures of flag draped coffins will never leave my head. I regularly write to friends in the Army and Navy, and pray nightly that they don’t have to go to Nam. I love the biting humor of the Smother’s Brothers, and the silliness of Laugh In. My white sneakers with nylons are absolutely The thing to wear to school…no pants allowed, and skirts must fit the “kneel on the floor” rule..so of course I wait until I get out of sight, and roll the waistband so my knees will show….Cher, the original, is our hero..our fashion maven..I try every cure I read about for my cursed curly hair…Ironing it, using soda cans for rollers, taping it down while it drys…nothing works. At this time in my history, I’ve never heard of Farrah Fawcett, and have no idea that in 10 years, my hair could be the envy of those around me….alas…I won’t be a teenager then, so what does it matter?
The summer brings more California sounds. We all want to be part of the surfer crowd... quite a feat for kids in central Maine, but out comes the “Summer Blonde” for our hair, and huarache sandals too. (they were, after all, in the song) The summer spent at the camp on the lake, drive in movies, roller skating, and dances. Listening to Janis Joplin, and the Mamas and the Papas at the submarine races. Summer ends too soon. My boyfriend leaves for basic training. Two months later, a quick trip to North Carolina for a wedding..not your Bride Magazine , maids in frilly dresses wedding, but one in the judges chambers..the groom’s best friend, also in uniform, standing beside him. The brides older sister, with her. Niece and nephew in the back of the room being fed crackers lest they disrupt the ceremony. Months later, we are so thankful that hubby is sent to Korea, instead of Viet Nam…but he lands there the day the Pueblo is seized by the North Koreans. My closet is showing more flowers, more flowing fabrics. Caught between the idealistic, ‘flower-child-wannabe’, and the wife of an MP. A cap and gown is traded for smocks and a diaper bag. My hospital stay coincides with the funeral of Bobby Kennedy. Later that summer, we watch the news again to learn the fate of Dr. King’s killer. We move to Maryland during their hottest summer in 50 years. Short shorts and flip flops..Who can believe men are walking on the moon? Going back to Maine, getting caught in a traffic jam on the N.Y. Throughway…what’s with all these hippies in long dresses and dirty hair? The only “Woodstock” I know is in Canada..How confusing! New closet…new clothes… a fringed vest and hip hugger pants…Kent State on the news …A divided country…
I go to work in a shoe factory for the longest 9 months of my life. My clothes always look dirty with shoe cement…always smelling like leather.. For years after, the smell of leather jackets in a store, will turn my stomach. When the July vacation bonus comes, I walk out. Call this my notice. I won’t be back after vacation. I spend the week working on a roadside cleanup of cans and bottles..hot into the environmental movement..
New suit, job interview, no time for vacation..I’m a bank teller. Shorter skirts and higher stacked heels. I can’t imagine now how it must have looked, leaning over the counter of the drive up window. The little old ladies must have clucked their tongues and shook their heads. Saturday nights spent listening to Waylon and Willie..dances at the Red Barn. The end of the 70s brought me the same fashion as the end of the 60s. I had survived a decade of polyester, and was once again pushing a stroller, and watching Sesame Street..Slightly older, wiser and far more settled. Definitely better the second time around.

Journal Day 6

Ahh..Friday..a great time to sit by the pool with a frosty beverage and read...since the pool is buried in snow, in spite of the recent rain,and it's only 34 degrees out, I'll settle for the frosty beverage and a good book. This week it's a Nelson DeMille, one of my favorite authors. I love the John Corey character and can picture him played by Mel Gibson in a movie..(even though movies are never as good as the books..) Nothing big planned for the week end..our youngest son will probably come up for a visit and bring our beloved grand-dog.. The minute he comes in the door, he makes a bee line (dog line?) to my husband's recliner in the living room, knowing that that's more than likely where David will be! Then awake or asleep, Hubby will have a lap full of lab/boxer/whatever else mix.. I seem to get second billing here, but that's ok..it's the week end, and life is good..

Journal Day 5

Still obsessing about finding all the nooks and crannies that I'm supposed to read and/or respond to.. I haven't quite figured out what I'm missing when I try to edit..the bad spelling doesn't seem to go away! Other than that, it seems to be going well. It was great to see the sun shining today, and certainly made late bus duty more pleasant. Some of those poor kids have to wait around for 45 minutes after dismissal before the bus picks them up. Seems way too long for the little ones. (and with some of the older ones, it's way too long for the ed tech..)
Tomorrow is Friday!

Journal Day 4

Snow Day! I wish it had been real snow instead of this icy stuff. I spent most of the day trying to find the source of Grampy's poetry line about the dingbat. I did find some definitions from a dictionary of Railroad slang. (Grampy moved to Brownville Jct from NB with the Canadian Pacific RR around 1915 just after Dad was born) Dad thought the poem might have been "Hoghead's Last Request" which was one that Gramp used to recite. I found it and it wasn't the right one. I spent the rest of the day looking for the words to "Gila Monster Route". I found some references to it, and they suggested key words, hobo, travel, prison, and drink, which gives you some idea of the lullabies Grampy used to sing to us. One of my favorites was "Halleluja I'm a Bum". I guess he couldn't really sing, but I didn't know that, nor did it matter. It's incredible the amount of useless but interesting information available on the web...

Dingbat (1) - An old hobo who mooches off of other hoboes.Ding bat (2) - A person who has no sense, often a railroad worker.Ding bat (3) - A down-and-out hobo.

Journal Day 3

Back to work! It's great to have a 3 day week end, but you work twice as hard catching up when Monday comes on a Tuesday. The forcast sounds like we might be home tomorrow too.. it will be nice for the moment, even though we'll regret it in June. Had a great meeting after school to plan for our 2 day health and wellness fair in April. Hubby just shook his head when I said "Guess who gets to lead the parade around town, dressed as a tomato?" My tall friend gets to be a carrot.. Stopped at Dad's to give him a good eraser..he's just discovered SuDoKu and thought he might need one. He does the crossword in pen. Maybe by the time I'm 90, I'll be able to do that.

Me in Three Persons

bitsnpieces

You In Three Persons

My first published book, Fido in the Case of the Missing Food, is quite a page turner...all 6 of them...published is the same as stapled in the middle, right? Mum and Daddy both like it a lot..not sure why they keep laughing though..don't they know it's a mystery, not a funny book? Little LuLu is a funny book. I'll have to ask my teacher when I go to school tomorrow. First grade is fun.

You didn't mind being home sick. It was a little embarassing to have measles in 7th grade, but at least you had lots of time to work on your Tall Tale for English Class. Grampy Jeff used to tell great yarns about life on the railroad, and you always loved the line from his favorite poem when he said,"...the dingbat sat on a rotten tie."
He explained that it was another word for a hobo---Eureka! What a great idea for a story. You really put a lot into that tale about cutting across the tracks ( strictly forbidden) and stumbling into the ring of hobos at their campfire. You were so excited when you went back to school and the teacher read it out loud! Then she said, "I don't think a student really wrote this."
You couldn't breathe. You had to hold your breath to keep from crying. Cheating? No Way! After 40 years, it's time to Let-It-Go!

She was determined to do well in her first college class. She thought it was hilarious that the light from her 40 candles kept the flash from going off during the picture. That summer, she learned to golf ( very badly, but with a good looking swing) and for the first time, she volunteered to play the piano in public and didn't throw up first. Now she sat in a small room with an intimidating professor who told the class if they got a "c" from him, they should be glad. Oh no..He just picked up her paper to read. He didn't ask if it was o.k. like he had with others. He hasn't done that before. Now a girl with a whiny voice is criticizing from the back row. Some nonsense saying the writer used "men" instead of "men/women". Yeah, well miss whiny voice is what..like 15? What does she know? Wait a minute..Mr. W. likes the piece.. He's saying good things about it. She can relax a minute, and enjoy this class..she thinks it might be fun after all!

Theme Wk 1. Know Thyself.. Journal Day 2..

Monday, Jan. 16..MLK Day. We went to visit son # 2 and his girlfriend in Bangor. Such a sweet pair and so much fun to talk to. Picked up essentials like olive oil for Dad and cashews at Sam's club...Hubby assured me that nuts are good for him...then wanted to go to the golden arches for a lunch..what's wrong with this picture?? When I delivered the olive oil, Dad wanted to "play a tune, so I accompanied him on the piano. One of the joys that I'll miss the most someday. When the dog had had enough and started singing too, we quit for the day.
A phone call from my good friend "M" helped me realize that I'm not the only one feeling stressed and confused about our assignments, and we will get it all done eventually!

Theme Week One: Know thyself

Sunday, Jan 15...Here it is...know thyself..Do I? I've lived with myself for a very long time, and hope that I've grown and changed for the better. Some constants in my life are comforting..breakfast at the restaurant with my girlfriends on Sunday morning , continues to be a source of grounding for me. We check in on each others' lives, and share both the highs and lows of the week. The mom in a nursing home, the grandchild's birthday party, or the widowed dad's new friend...all reasons to laugh, cry or commiserate. It's a safe place to crab about husbands, because we realize that we don't really mean it...mostly... and we're thankful that we haven't yet had to cope with the pressures faced by our widowed friend. The rest of the day will be spent visiting with my 90 year old dad, if I can catch him at home, and puttering around the house....still trying to put away all the stuff from Christmas...can't believe I'm still finding decorations and dishes with holly and trees! Sunday..a day of rest.. not such a bad thing...