These are the thoughts and observations of me — a woman of a certain age. (Oh, my, God, I'm 65!) I'm single. I'm successful enough (independent, self supporting). I live just outside Chicago, the best city in the world. I'm an aunt and a friend. I feel that voices like mine are rather underrepresented online or in print. So here I am. If my musings resonate with you, please visit my blog again sometime.
First, go to this nifty online random-letter generator.
Set the “number of random letter sequences to generate” to 1. Set the
“length of each random letter sequence” to 1. Leave the “letters to
choose from” how it is and click the button. You’ll get a rather
non-dramatic one letter. Use this letter to begin all your answers to
the 5 questions below. If you’d like to avoid difficult letters, feel
free to change the “letters to choose from” list.
Alternately,
if you find this boring, you could set the “length of each random
letter sequence” to 5, thereby giving you five letters, a different one
for each question.
ABKLT was my sequence.
What geographical feature should be renamed in your honor? Arie Crown Forest Preserve. We went there with Girl Scouts.
Who should play you in a movie about your life? Bette Midler. We can both be bawdy.
What are you chasing? Karma. You know, the good old Golden Rule.
What’s getting in your way? Limerence. I'm thinking of the hero for a piece of fiction I'm plotting, and I think I'm falling in love with him. Since he doesn't exist, it's a problem.
What are you especially grateful for this week? Time alone
Last night marked the first anniversary of Anthony Rizzo's appearance in a Yankee uniform. He marked the occasion with a home run.
His trade last year broke my heart. He was my favorite Cub. He made the final out in the 2016 World Series, ending our 108-year drought. He has four Gold Gloves for his fielding. Three All-Star game appearances. No one plays with greater heart or joy.
He is also an inspiring philanthropist. I've written many times about his work with pediatric cancer patients. But there's this, too. During the pandemic, he made sure that 4,500 health care workers got lunch. He bought the lunches through independent Chicago restaurants struggling through the Covid lockdown. It's no accident baseball bestowed the Robert Clemente Award on him.
So naturally the heartless Ricketts family (owners of the Cubs) chose not to pay the man and instead traded him.
I won't lie. I cried real tears when he was traded.
But he's doing well in New York. It's still only July, and he's already racked up 24 home runs and 59 RBIs. (For contrast, in the entirety of 2021 he hit 22 homers and 61 RBIs.)
Bud was right. Mr. Wiser is a wise man. At the time Bud told me the Bronx is the place for Rizz at this point in his career. (He is 32.) If there's any justice in the world, the shit way the Cubs treated Anthony Rizzo will bring him his second World Series ring.
1) Frank Sinatra sings, "If I knew then what I know now." If you were giving advice to a recent high school grad, based on that phrase, what would you say? Take a moment to enjoy your youth. I'm thinking of my post below about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. As a teen, she was she was very critical of her own appearance, even though she was very pretty. I look at pictures of myself when I was at my best and recall only concentrating on my flaws. Nora Ephron said it best (of course, Nora Ephron said most things best).
2) This song is about a man looking back on his marriage, which has ended. While he is sad, he is not sorry he loved her. Do you believe that it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all? Not always. Looking back, I truly believe my life today would be happier if I had spent my 20s alone instead of with the man I wasted them on.
3) Sinatra married four times. He met his first wife, Nancy, when he was 19. He saw a pretty girl sitting on her front porch, giving herself a pedicure, and he rushed home for his ukulele so he could serenade her. Have you ever sung to anyone? Has anyone ever sung to you? I sing to my cat Connie all the time. Usually to "Swanee." (Connie! How I loves 'ya, how I loves 'ya, my dear old Connie ...) It must be said that I am a terrible singer and that Connie is a good sport about it.
4) According to Barbara, his final wife, they met when they were neighbors in Rancho Mirage, California. Sinatra had his own tennis court, needed a fourth for doubles with his houseguests, and invited the lady next door to play. Tell us about your neighbors. Mark is on my left. He's tall, perhaps 6'3, with white hair and glasses. We're on the condo board, and I appreciate his conciliatory style. Zoraida is across the hall. She is a bank teller who always -- always! -- wears her false eyelashes. Her fiance is there most of the time and he is as shy as she is outgoing. I've met my neighbor to the right a handful of times and, while he is very pleasant, he makes little impression on me.
5) When not performing before an audience or cameras, Sinatra often wore hats and caps because his hair was thin and his toupee annoyed him. Is there anything you wear for "dress up" that you're happy to ditch when you go casual? I prefer going without makeup.
6) Frank had a sweet tooth and to the end of his life, he enjoyed chocolate-covered apricots, ordered from Lepore's in his hometown of Hoboken, NJ. If you could have any sweet treat right now, what would you request? It changes. Right now, I'd like a dish of Neapolitan ice cream.
7) This song was written specifically for Sinatra by Bob Gaudio, best known as a member of The Four Seasons. That 1960s quartet is now legendary. In addition to 25 Top Ten Hits, they are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and inspired the Broadway play and movie musical, Jersey Boys. Do you have a favorite Four Seasons song? Sing along! You know you want to.
8) In 1970, the year this record was released, The Mary Tyler Moore Show premiered. Were you a fan? I think I've seen every episode.
9) Random question: Have you ever named your car or truck? Nope.
