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  My blog was filled up. I'm too lazy to clean it out. So I started a new one. |
| There is a TV channel carried by Dish and owned by Sony called GetTV. It runs very old shows, including Merv Griffith, and Judy Garland (I never knew she had her own variety show). Some of the shows I don't care for. Shows I used to like a lot now seem very unappealing to me, like The Equalizer. I've discovered some new shows, some that were around when I was just a baby, and some that were just lesser known. Restless Gun is a simple cowboy show, and I suppose a little bit of a formula. The good guy wins. There is little violence, despite the name. It's only a half hour, so it's difficult to build characterization. Another is Tombstone Territory which has a very catchy song, created by a New York ad man. The song has almost nothing to do with the show. It, too, is only a half hour, but I've seen it a few more times and have developed a feel for the town as they portray it. It's not at all like the real town with the O.K. Corral. It was probably more like small towns in the West without the notoriety. Restless Gun may have been made before I was born. Another one, a one season show from the early 70's, when TV was going through the "western purge", was Nichols. Nichols is a town in Arizona, built by a family of Nichols. Frank Nichols goes away to the Army for 18 years, but gets fed up when there is a new repeat action gun that kills many people faster than ever. So he goes back to his hometown in 1914, only to find out his family is long gone, and a new moneyed family has the power. He only goes by his last name, almost a man with no name (that was The Virginian). Ma Ketcham, the rich lady tricks him into being sheriff. The sheriff is played by James Garner. He's about 41 at the time. His love interest is Margot Kidder, 23. It's a 90 minute show and the stories I've seen are pretty good. Of course, Garner always plays a lovable part with a bit of subtle comedy. What's different is that he rides a Harley Davidson and never carries a gun. It makes for an interesting show with horses and automobiles sharing the roads and the parking spaces. The men still dress like cowboys and sit around saloons playing cards, but they climb into expensive cars to go out of town. It's like a little slice of life from that area before the Great War, when the Old West was gone, but not forgotten. I'm surprised that show hasn't been brought back before now. A lot of baby boomers probably saw it, or like me, they never heard of it. |
| The lousy summer of TV continues. Tonight TCM was running silent films. I thought the one with Charlie Chaplin and Marie Dressler was riveting. I couldn't take my eyes away. There was action only, no subtitles. You really can't carry on a conversation or leaf through a magazine. You have to pay attention. The movements and facial expressions were exaggerated of necessity. The first one, the only one I sat for, was made in 1915. The second one was in 1914. I was fascinated to think of people of that era going to the movies. Many had survived the Civil War. Some may have been on cattle drives or attended Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. These black and white films with the monotonous piano music would have been ultra modern to them. It was before the Great War. Some of The Wild Bunch and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were still around. Wyatt Earp was still alive. Some hadn't gotten accustomed to automobiles yet, or outhouses for that matter, but they were seeing airplanes and going to the picture shows. It's fun to look at the old stuff and figure out what was going on at that time, what life was like. A movie about that time period, made in that time period is like a time capsule. You can see the costumes, the house furnishings, the dances, hair styles, the manners: it's a little slice of culture. Think about what was going on in history, who was alive at that time, and you have a wonderful picture. |
| Happy Labor Day to you! For some of us, it's just another work day. No special pay or notice that we are "labor". I guess most factories are closed. All government offices are closed. Schools are closed. Many offices are closed. But retail workers, restaurant employees, pharmacists, hospital employees, hotel workers, transportation workers, police, security, tourist stop employees, and so forth, work as usual or even overtime. They get no recognition for being part of the labor force. So if you're out and about today, thank the nurse or housekeeper at the hospital, or the desk clerk at the hotel, or the taxi driver for doing a good job. Waiting on tables is a nasty job. They have to clean up the food we drop, cater to our whims, and kiss up just for a tip that may or may not be so great. Honest work deserves to be recognized. The people who tend to us for pay, whether it's a cashier, trash collector, waiter, or nurse's aide, are doing a decent day's work and are keeping our society going. They are not beneath us.We need them to do what they do. We want to be respected and appreciated, and so do they. A little courtesy and a thank you from us goes a long way. |
| I remember using a fragrance that was primarily vanilla. It wasn't cheap, but it isn't around any longer. People always liked it. Well, today I used a vanilla scented body lotion. I smelled cookies or cake all day long. I don't know how other people felt. No one commented. Maybe my smell was making them hungry. Of course, it might have been unpleasant to them. I liked the nice clean smell every time my wrists were close to my head. My arms felt soft, too. Isn't it funny how odors attract or repel us. Of course, bad smells have warning signals, like rotting food or gas leaks. I heard on a radio show that smells remind us of nice times or places and that we might be attracted to people by the smells we experience when we meet them. Like meeting someone at the candy store or bakery is more pleasant than meeting him or her at the fish market. If that is the case, then women could start wearing barbecue sauce or fried chicken grease instead of expensive colognes to attract the man of their choice. I remember a movie decades ago where a pilot tells a bachelor friend of his that when he was single and dating, he loved picking up his date, usually a flight attendant. She'd be dolled up, with soft music playing, and a candle burning when he arrived. He'd smell the aroma of her cologne. They'd have a nice night out. He'd think to himself, "This is romantic". Now he was married. He'd come home from work and go into the door of his apartment. The kids would be screaming "Daddy". His wife was rushing about. He'd smell the aroma of onions cooking in butter. And he would sigh and think, "Now this is romance." I admit I like the aroma of onions cooking in butter, too. But I don't want to smell like them. I'll stick with my floral and vanilla scents. |
| I prided myself on not getting into those girly talks at the office. You know, like, "Oh, those shoes are so-o-o-o cute!" and "I love those earrings. I found a similar pair at . . ." You know the talk. Or the designer names or knock-offs. I was above all that. Well, I guess I still am in a way, because I can't afford to shop or purchase such things. But I'm picking up some of the talk. I've noticed that telling a complete stranger she has on a lovely blouse brings out the nicest smile. Or telling someone I just love her necklace makes her beam with pride. What does it hurt to make someone feel nice? As long as I'm sincere, that is. Here's the thing. I really am noticing such things. I have developed an eye for necklaces and bracelets. I don't like earrings, maybe because I'm allergic to everything that touches my ears, even gold, so I can't relate. And purses. I like them practical, as well as attractive. Modern diaper bags look very functional as well as fashionable for that matter. I even compliment little girls. Today I told a child about 5 or 6 what cool pants she was wearing. They were a leopard print, which is trendy for girls these days. I told her mother that kids have so many more choices these days, and she agreed, happy that she had chosen a nice outfit for her daughter. It's true. We didn't have such nice coordinated outfits with so many options. My great nieces can wear pink and lavender western boots with their frilly skirts. My generation would have felt outlandish. But personal expression seems to be more important. Apparently, I'm beginning to catch up, just a tad. |
| Okay, I did try something new this week. I went to the area Camp Young At Heart. As expected from the title, it is aimed at retirees or at least older folks, or people who don't mind hanging out with older folks. Most of my friends are a decade or two older. I dunno. Anyway. . . There's an opening devotional. You don't have to be a church member to attend, but it's advertised through the local churches, of all denominations, and it is held at a church next to the mall. (That particular church feeds the homeless in the winter and gives overnight shelter to women only. They arrange for free flu shots, etc., for those staying there.) Twenty-one area churches, including the whole county, participated. You pay $20 in advance, take your own lunch, and sign up for three classes. The drawing/painting class counts as two classes. There are people who repeat that class every year. I've never been before, and thought I'd like to try. I asked for time off from work and picked my classes. However, Dad's eye surgery ended up in the middle, so I only got to go one day, but I enjoyed it. I picked digital photography. I learned things about my cell phone I didn't know, and am really sorry I didn't get to go to the lighting and format class today. The second class was about the history of this area. The information was good, but the speaker was a true historian with the professorial look about her and a monotone low voice. Considering I had a long weekend of work, church, and overnight guests, I was tired, so her class was tough. I yawned constantly. At lunch I sat with a lady I know in a wheel chair, and we were entertained by an older gentleman on a guitar. My third class was tai chi. Yes, tai chi. It's harder than you think, but it was fun. I really hate missing the rest of it. The teacher was a young woman who got into it to manage pain. I actually think I could get into that myself, if I could work out the costs and the schedule. I didn't get all the benefits, but family comes first. I did get a taste of it. I will recommend it to others in the community next year. |
| There was a time, and not so long ago, that I wanted to learn new languages. I really tried to teach myself Spanish. I knew some people who spoke Arabic, so I tried to learn a few words; I could count to ten! Then I tried to learn some Nepali because I worked with so many people from Bhutan. They laughed at me when I said "Namaste" (Na-ma-stay). At this point I'm content to rely on translators. I don't want to take any cooking classes or classes on pairing wine and cheese to the meal. I don't care to learn about management or getting along with difficult personalities in the work place. I don't want to learn to paint. I guess I wouldn't mind horse riding lessons, if I could afford them. I am going to take a mini class in digital photography next week. But I no longer want to know how to raise my own honey or make quilts or throw pottery. I have wanted to do a lot of things in the past but didn't have the time or money. Now I just don't have the interest. Am I jaded or just worn out? I do belong to a book club, through the radio station. But I have become inactive because I didn't like the selections after a while. And I don't disagree with people very well. I want them to agree with me, because I'm right, you know. I just don't want to do new things while I have so many unfinished projects going on. I want to accomplish some old ones. That will take a while. |
| I'm reading a book called No, I Do Not Want To Join A Book Club. It's the fictional diary of an English woman who is turning 60. She is divorced with a grown son, and is going to be a granny very soon. In it she lists several things she has never mastered, men being one of the "things". It rang a bell with me. I never mastered the men thing either. Relationships are like a foreign language. That's another item. I studied French from the fourth grade through my freshman year in college. You'd think I'd be able to hold a conversation with a Frenchman, but no. I never mastered driving a stick shift. I never mastered financial planning or investing or budgeting. I can't swim across a pool; I only float despite lessons. I imagine I have a lot of company on some of these. I never mastered the art of baking or interior decorating. I never mastered the guitar, although I spent many hours and years trying. I never mastered fashion or make-up or those girly things. I never mastered gardening, even in flower pots on the porch. I certainly never mastered dieting. I can go almost all day doing the right thing, making the right choices, then duplicate all my day's calories in one swoop in the evening. I'd have to stay up hours on the bicycle to try to even them out to a maintenance level. I never mastered maintaining a spotless or nearly spotless home. Add ironing and canning vegetables to the never list. Of course, there are lots of things I haven't mastered that I don't want to do, like hang-gliding, or riding the rapids, or other dare devil things. I don't want to perform surgery, or learn about guns, or solve crimes or do politics. Other people can master those things. I just want to sulk about the simple things I didn't master. |
| Just finished a book by William Shatner. Yes, the actor. He did 9 novels in a future setting of humans and androids. Not my usual stuff. But I couldn't turn down a bargain book by Shatner. It turns out that TekNet is number four in the series. So I walked into an ongoing character's story. It's about a detective named Gomez with a lot of ex-wives. There are skyvans, palmphones, vidphones, and a lot of slang I had to grasp to carry on with the story. A lot of Spanish words were thrown in, too. Most were easy ones, but not all. There's lots of action, a lot of characters to keep straight. I found myself going back trying to figure out who was who in this fairly short book. It has a lot of humor, some violence, lots of crime. Tek, I finally deciphered, is a technological device that has a drug like effect, is addicting, sold like illegal drugs, and tends to destroy lives. But their is hope and recovery for the ones who want it in the dreary world they live in. I probably would have enjoyed it more, starting with book one. It's a light read. It would be fun to laugh about it with the author. |
| We went to the Book Fair today. It opens every six weeks and runs for two. That gives them time to set up the displays, make deals, and regroup. The cashiers get some time off. We usually only go once in a while. But we went to two back to back. We enjoyed the last batch so much that we wanted more. There's something very exciting about being in a huge complex with almost nothing but books! I usually linger over cookbooks, but I have come to realize I don't enjoy cooking that much any more, and I can find most recipes I want on the Internet. So I resisted browsing that section. I did look at Sci Fi in the children's section. We actually got quite a few for children's Christmas presents. My biggest weakness is in current fiction and history. I browsed but resisted the urge to pick up "coffee table books". My dad likes books on antique guns, history, and westerns. I noticed the Spanish section has grown in size, including a large section of Spanish Bibles. I couldn't wait to get home and read! I had some laundry to do and supper to fix. But after doing the dishes, I got into a book. Ah. So sweet. |
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. Isn't it funny how we take things like electricity and plumbing for granted... until we don't have them. Happy for you!
