Wednesday, August 10, 2022

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 10

Today's happiness -- My baby's back! (Pun intended) 

My friend John teases me that I love Anthony Rizzo as intensely as if I'd birthed him. Guilty as charged.

I only get to luxuriate in my favorite ballplayer six months a year, so I  felt it keenly when he was out for five games with lower back tightness.* First of all, I missed him. Secondly, it felt so unfair that he was out on his birthday. No one should feel crappy on his birthday, least of all Rizz!

But today he was back in the lineup. He went 0-4. His timing is off, but he'll rebound.

Also, while I was concentrating on the Yankees, the real team of my heart, the Cubs, beat the Nationals. I love baseball!

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

 


 *In 2019-20, he and I shared a chiropractor. I touched his framed jersey every time I went back for my treatment, much to the amusement of the office staff.

Thursday Thirteen #270

Thirteen items for a back-to-school shopping list. It's been a long, long time since I was a student. But that doesn't stop me from noticing that the back-to-school aisles at Target and Walgreen's are starting to buzz. So here are the things parents are shopping for:

1. Backpacks

2. Face masks. (Yes, still. Want to be prepared if/when that next variant hits.)

3. Folders

4. #2 Pencils

5. Colored pencils

6. Blue or black ballpoint pens

7. Crayons

8. Glue or glue stick

9. Highlighters

10. Markers

11. Spiral or composition books

12. Calculator (yes, there's an app for that, but teachers aren't always crazy about kids having phones in-hand during class)

13. Scissors

Every year, my mom sent me to the first day of school with  a new protractor. To this day I'm not sure what it was for, but I used it as a straight edge for art class. Therefore I'm not surprised to see protractor is not on the list, but I did expect to see "ruler."

Did this list take you back? What do you remember buying for back-to-school?


Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.


August Happiness Challenge -- Day 9

Today's happiness -- Feeling Heard. Upper management does not understand my client. They are a Fortune 50 company, a position they achieved by being the tortoise, not the hare. They are the epitome of slow and steady. So as much as I enjoyed last week's brainstorm, I couldn't help thinking it was a waste of time. It was just another innovative idea the client didn't ask for and won't ever implement (and therefore won't pay for).

I have ideas the client would go for. They are not exciting. They will not win my agency awards or get us written up in Ad Age. But my client would appreciate them, even if the late-and-not-lamented Alex dismissed them as "small ball."

So I have been suffering chronic frustration every day. Until Tuesday.

It was my team's day to work onsite. James, a VP, grabbed me by the elbow and sat me down in a secluded part of the office. He thinks I'm an asset and asked me how I felt  things were going. I told him. He was very receptive -- and I found out he's as frustrated as I am. It seems he's been working 60-hour weeks on projects like last week's brainstorm, and missing summer weekends with his wife and daughter to work on initiatives that won't go anywhere.

In Tuesday afternoon's team meeting, he shared my idea! Giving me a nod, he said, explained that the client has a branded information portion of their website.* Much of our digital communications -- emails, banners, etc. -- drives consumers to this area. And it sucks. Hundreds of the articles are old, or repetitive, or send consumers to broken links (webpages that no longer exist). Why don't we audit the site for them? We could report to our client what's there, what should come down and what should be added. We could actually add value and give them something they need, not something we want to do.

By the way, this "small ball" idea of mine would result in literally 100 hours of billing for our agency. No industry buzz, but revenue.

It's now on "the list." It's the third item on "the list," but it's there. 

James listened to me. James acted. I was heard.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.


*How could our upper management not know this portion of the website exists? It's indicative of what's wrong with how we handle this account.

Tuesday, August 09, 2022

WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here 

1. What are you currently reading? Play Dead by David Rosenfelt. Defense attorney Andy Carpenter only takes cases that appeal to him, and this case touches him deeply. A dog named Yogi is going to be put to sleep for biting his owner. Andy believes it's self defense, that the owner had it coming, and he goes to court to save the dog's life.

The story is considered human interest (canine interest?) and is snapped up the media. This exposure leads Andy to discover that Yogi had an even more complicated past than he ever suspected, and it leads to murder.

I am loving this book! It has Andy where Andy is best: in court and at the dog park. It's funny, well-plotted, and reminds me why I enjoy this series so much.

2. What did you just finish reading? Beatles in 1966: The Revolutionary Year by Steve Turner. This book takes us month by month through 1966, one of the most consequential years in the lives of the Beatles, as individuals and as a group.

When our story begins, the Lads from Liverpool had a hit album with Rubber Soul and a world tour planned that would take them to the US, Germany, Japan and the Philippines. The tour was successful financially but a disaster for them as artists. First of all, the songs they were doing in the studio -- like "Michelle" and "In My Life" -- were difficult to replicate onstage with just three guitars and a drum. Besides, no one could hear them over the screaming girls anyway. Then there was the bad press. This was the tour when John was asked (ad nauseum) about his comment that "we're more popular than Jesus." There were threats of violence against him in our Bible Belt (we'd just buried our President in 1963, no wonder Europeans thought we were savages). This was the tour when, through a scheduling snafu, the Beatles ran afoul of The First Lady of the Philippines and were attacked at the airport. Not surprisingly, this was the tour when the Beatles decided to stop touring.

1966 gave us "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields." George married Pattie and John met Yoko. Paul couldn't get enough theater, film, art, or philosophy. Ringo worried about what would happen to him now that the band had quit touring. So did manager Brian Epstein, who attempted suicide. Everybody did drugs, lots of drugs.

1966 is the year the Beatles became Paul's band more than John's. It's the year they completed Revolver -- "Eleanor Rigby," "Good Day Sunshine," "Got to Get You Into My Life," and "Yellow Submarine" -- and recorded "When I'm 64" for their 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper.

I loved the chronological telling. I realize that while Sir Paul is forever my favorite Beatle, I am more like John in that I am lazy. (He even wrote "I'm Only Sleeping" this year.) Paul was like the Energizer Bunny, his output was exhausting to read about. Ringo is sweet and grounded. I didn't like George very much, perhaps because he was so contrary and independent, the least Beatle-y of the Beatles.

If you're a fan, you'll love this book. If not? Well, maybe it will encourage you to listen to Revolver and help you understand what all the fuss is about.

3. What will you read next? I don't have anything selected yet.




Monday, August 08, 2022

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 8

Today's happiness -- Touring the Amalfi Coast. No, not me. My chiropractor and her husband, who handles her front desk.

I went in for my regularly scheduled adjustment and they were so excited. Their trip is coming up at the end of the month and they cannot wait. Their joy was infectious. Since they are such nice people, I was happy for them.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

 

Sunday, August 07, 2022

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 7

Today's happiness -- Using my words. On Sundays, I try to do good. Today I did.

First, I sent Postcards to Voters, supporting veteran and West Pointer Pat Ryan for Congress. Then I wrote a letter to a senior in residence at Illini Restorative Care through Letters Against Isolation.

I can't sing or dance. I don't cook, paint or knit. But I can write. Words come easily to me and I have pretty handwriting. It makes me happy and I feel closer to God when I use my one God given talent for good on a Sunday.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

Sunday Stealing

PERSONAL HISTORY

1.  What would you like people to know about your mother? I got my love and affinity for animals from her. She liked to watch baseball, but only when the Cubs were at bat. Made my father nuts.

2.  What would you like people to know about your father? He liked to sing with the radio and had a nice voice. Not much made him happy.

3.  What was your childhood bedroom like? A mess. Like my adult bedroom.

4.  What was your favorite activity as a child? Playing with Barbie or riding my bike.

5.  What was high school like for you? Awful.

6.  Write about your cousins. My cool cousin is a Renaissance man. He taught music at the community college, played trombone in the pit for Broadway productions like The Lion King when they came through town, and now he paints. He's gotten up to $3,000 for his abstract acrylics. He's also been happily married since his long-ago college days to a girl he met on campus. He is completely awesome.

7.  What was your favorite food as a child? Fish sticks. I still like fish sticks.

8.  What was your most memorable birthday? I had my first legal drink at a Tiki bar called Pago Pago.

9.  What world events were significant to you as a child? The assassinations: JFK, Bobby and Dr. King. To this day, when there's "breaking news," I assume someone shot the President. I remember watching Neil Armstrong step foot on the moon. It was after my bedtime but I stayed up for it. The Beatles on Ed Sullivan was huge for me, too.

10. What did a typical day look like as a child? It started with a bowl of cereal and a sliced banana. A glass of milk except on the coldest days, then I got hot chocolate.

11. Write about your grandparents. I prefer thinking about my nice grandparents. My grandpa loved his garden, especially the marigolds, and he built things in his workshop. He made the swing in the backyard. My grandma was very involved with the Girl Scouts and church. Her favorite Cub was Ryne Sandberg. ("That smile!") I have her Ryne Sandberg jersey. 

12. Did you move as a child? No.

13. Who taught you to drive? The high school driver's ed teacher. I was not a success story.

 14. Which job has been your favorite? I worked in new product development for a haircare company. I did the copy for the bottles and boxes. Loved it! That's where I won my Clio.

 15. What was the best part of your 30s? That was the decade when I started taking myself seriously. I wasted my 20s on a very high maintenance relationship. It didn't feel like there was much room for me in there. In my 30s, I went from having a job to having a career.


 

Saturday, August 06, 2022

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 6

Today's happiness -- It's back! A major event in my neighborhood, the library book sale is a three-day affair that happens every August. Except, of course, for 2020 and 2021 when it was just another thing covid spoiled.

In 2022, the show went on! Not exactly as it has in years gone by. Instead of used books consuming the high school cafeteria and spilling out into the halls, it was in three of the library's meeting rooms (fiction, non-fiction and children's). No cookbooks this year. Also, I didn't volunteer. In the recent past I helped sort and display books. This year, because the venue was the library, the volunteer hours were weekdays only and I just couldn't make it work with my job.

But still, I was happy to be back. Sure it was more smaller and more subdued, but it was another sign that we're inching back to pre-covid normal. I bought two books -- a cozy mystery called Gone with the Twins (A League of Literary Ladies Mystery) and a memoir by Lauren Bacall -- for $3.

And, once again, I can bestow a dubious honor on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Every year there's a book donated in bigger numbers than any other. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is continuing its streak and picking up where it left off before the pandemic. Why do so many of my neighbors buy this book, year after year, and then decide not to keep it? I suspect book clubs keep choosing it as a selection.

For those of you keeping score ...

2022, 2019, 2018 and 2017: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2016: The Help

2015: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

2014: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2013: The DaVinci Code

2012: Sixkill (a Spenser Mystery)

2011: The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

2010: Scarlett, the Sequel to Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind

2009: My Life by Bill Clinton

2008: The DaVinci Code

2007: The Nanny Diaries

2006: The Corrections

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

 

 

O Captain! My Captain!

Look who's modeling the latest Alpha Bomber jacket. Now that Anthony Rizzo is a New York Yankee, he's getting endorsements. I'm happy for him. New York fans have really taken to him, which is glorious. Yankee fans can be brutal. (Look how they treated Joey Gallo, acquired the same day as Rizz.) I know he was heartbroken to leave Chicago, and I'm glad his story has a happy ending. As Bud counseled me last year when the trade happened, Yankee Stadium is a good place for him at this stage in his career.

But I had a fantasy that he would come home somehow and make his last out within The Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field. That's just not going to happen, no matter how much I want it to.




Saturday 9

 Big, Bad John (1961)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1)
This song tells the story of a stern, enigmatic miner. None of the other miners knew much about him. When people first meet you, do you think they see you more as mysterious or straightforward? I think I'm as transparent as a glass of tap water.
 
2) During a serious accident, many of the miners panicked. But not John. Think of your family, friends and acquaintances. Who would be the most dependable in a crisis? Joanna. She is smart and cool (in every sense of the word). This reminds me: I owe her an email.

3) His heroism allowed 20 miners to escape, but cost John his life. According to the lyrics, there's a marble slab on site of mine that honors him. Is there a memorial to a local hero in your town? I read the pavers in front of our branch of the public library. I think people who support libraries and reading are local heroes.
 
4) This song was written and performed by Jimmy Dean. He began composing it on a flight from New York to Nashville. How do you amuse yourself while traveling? I try to sleep on flights. I'm terrified of flying and dose myself with Xanax before I board.

5) Jimmy Dean hosted a long-running variety show on CBS, which is best-remembered today for introducing Jim Henson's puppets -- especially Rowlf, a dog who sang and told jokes. While Rowlf didn't make it to Sesame Street, he was a recurring character on the Muppet Show. Are you a Muppet fan? I don't seek them out, but when I come upon them I always smile.

6) Jimmy found success in business with The Jimmy Dean Sausage Company. He sold the company to Sara Lee in 1984 for $80 million. Today Jimmy Dean breakfast products are still popular in grocery stores all over the country. What's your favorite breakfast? The usual coffee shop breakfast: eggs, toast, bacon, OJ.

7) In 1961, when this song was popular, Vogue asked if fashion sense is inborn or if could a woman could learn to be chic. What do you think? Do you think style is either something you have, or you don't? Yes. I think some people are born with style. Alas, I'm not one of those people.

8) Also in 1961, Ernest Hemingway took his own life. Did you read Hemingway in English class? Can you recall any other novels you read for school? We did a compare/contrast of A Farewell to Arms and The Great Gatsby. I also remember The Bridge of San Luis Rey. (I should reread that one.) I HATED Moby Dick as much as I loved To Kill a Mockingbird.
 
9) Random question: Think about the last "white lie" you told. Was it to make your own day easier or spare someone's feelings? Trying to remember my last white lie and I can't. I'm sure I told one -- likely more than one -- this week, but nothing to springs to mind.
 

 

August Happines Challenge -- Day 5

Today's happiness -- Expanding my circle. It's true that the older we get, the harder it is to make friends. That's why what happened Friday made me happy.

Karen is from my movie group. We've been meeting online since covid, so for more than two years we have only zoomed. I don't recall ever having met her in person and wasn't aware she paid any particular attention to me until the TCM Classic Film Festival approached. She was among those of us attending and seemed pleased we were staying at the same hotel. 

Since the festival, we have become Facebook friends, IM-ing, etc. She's begun sharing her life away from the group -- divorced, retired, proud mother of a newly-minted Kindergarten teacher -- and Friday she sent me information about Noir City Chicago, expressing hope that we see one another in person there.

I like Karen. I respect her smarts about film. It pleases me that she thinks I'm funny. I'm glad that I'm slowly making a friend here. I'm happy with how this is unfolding and comfortable with the pace.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

 

Friday, August 05, 2022

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 4

Today's happiness -- I was wrong. Tuesday we got word of a big new project. Insanely tight turnaround. No one was assigned to it because everyone was assigned to it. Literally 14 of us were asked to come up with ideas during a big 3-hour brainstorm Thursday afternoon.

When I first heard of it, I was all, "Oh, kill me now." Last time I was in one of these meetings, it was silly. Pretentious. A waste of time. 

By 5:00 Thursday, I was happy! The meeting was fun! The new head of our creative department, Meg, knows how to manage people, how to make us feel safe and not competitive. 

Sometimes it's delicious to be wrong.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

Wednesday, August 03, 2022

Thursday Thirteen #269

Thirteen top reasons patients go to the ER. 

  1. Chest Pains
  2. Cuts, Bruises and Wounds
  3. Skin Rashes and Infections
  4. Concussion
  5. Traumas
  6. Difficulty Breathing and Asthma Attacks
  7. Burns
  8. Toothaches
  9. Stomach Aches
  10. Diarrhea and Vomiting
  11. Back Pain
  12. Migraines and Headaches
  13. Abdominal Pain

Last time I went to the ER, it was a hybrid. I had sudden, stabbing pains in my leg (not on the list). Turn out the root cause was back pain (spinal stenosis). 

I don't think it would occur to me to go to the ER for a tooth ache. Not even if it hit at 2:00 AM. I'd get my dentist out of bed and make him prescribe painkillers, but I can't see myself contacting a hospital for that.

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.


 

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 3

Today's happiness -- I done good. About two weeks ago, I wrote out a ton of post cards encouraging Kansans to vote down an amendment that would deny abortion rights to women of that state. I went to bed last night knowing that the amendment was defeated. YAY! But this morning, I saw the numbers.

59% against to 41% for. That's substantial. Even better was voter turnout. It was up 60% from the last off-year election (2018).

I'm a Kennedy girl. I grew up believing that we should ask not what our country can do for us, but what we can do for our country. I try, I do. But it's hard. With so many election deniers and MAGA supporters winning, it's easy to get discouraged.

But then I saw that the post cards I sent -- purchased and stamped at my own expense, written on my own time -- may have played a part in getting people out to the polls. To helping preserve the separation between Church and State. To ensuring that women are safe and babies are born wanted.  

Right now, I am happy and proud.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

Tuesday, August 02, 2022

WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click
 here
 

1. What are you currently reading? Beatles in 1966: The Revolutionary Year by Steve Turner. I'm getting my Beatle nerd on with this look at 1966, the year the lads stopped being a boy band and became artists.

So far this is what I've learned about the band I've known for all these years ...

25-year-old JOHN was far more spiritual than we knew. He was, in his parlance, "a fan of Jesus." John just doubted the miracles and, even more, found organized religion hypocritical and obsessed with sin and guilt.

24-year-old PAUL was worried about the future, his own and the world's. He sought out philosopher Bertrand Russell, then over 90, to discuss the arms race and Vietnam. Paul was so nervous in the presence of the great man that he gestured widely with his hand and knocked over a table lamp.

23-year-old GEORGE was more willful than I'd suspected. First wife Pattie had always fantasized about a big church wedding with a white dress. At George's insistence, it was a small ceremony in a judge's chambers, and she wore a striped Mary Quant mini dress.

25-year-old RINGO didn't have a drum kit at home and never rehearsed away from the studio. He needed other musicians and an audience to gauge how he was doing. 

2. What did you just finish reading? Every 15 Minutes by Lisa Scottoline. Dr. Eric Parrish thought he had it all. He was married to his best friend. He adores their 7-year-old daughter. He runs a highly-rated hospital psych unit. His papers have been published by respected journals. His private practice is profitable. 

Then, bit by bit, his life begins to unravel. His wife divorces him and puts their home up for sale. He only gets to see his little girl a couple times a week. His newest patient, a teenager with OCD who must complete a ritual every 15 minutes, becomes a suspect in a murder and Eric is enmeshed in profound moral and ethical dilemmas about confidentiality. And ... and ... and ... One thing after another. Soon his perfect life is a nightmare.

We know something Eric doesn't know: someone in his life is a manipulative sociopath. At the very least, this person is enjoying Eric's downfall. It's very possible they are methodically orchestrating his destruction. Who? Why?

This was chilling and it really captured my imagination. I thought I'd guess the villain, changed my mind, and found I was right the first time. I love these guessing games! When I was forced to put it down, I couldn't wait to get back to it. It's not perfect: in retrospect there are plot points that just don't make sense. But while I was reading it, I was completely engaged.

3. What will you read next? Play Dead by David Rosenfelt.




  

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 2

Today's happiness -- Freedom and flexibility. I admit that sometimes I am just done with this job, and with working altogether. Last week I was frustrated by all kinds of things ... a boss who hinders as much as she helps, another generation of novice coworkers that I get to train, OKTA verify and VPN issues, etc.

But today I'm experiencing the good side of it all. Today is Tuesday, the day I'm supposed to show up and work onsite at the office. There are meetings planned as well as a farewell party for the interns. Anyway, I woke up feeling kind of shitty. Literally. My gut hasn't been healthy since I took antibiotics last month for my tooth extraction and this morning it was most definitely making itself felt in unpredictable ways.

So I sent an email to my coworkers and went back to bed for an hour. I woke up to all manner of "Get well's" and "We'll miss you's." But no one really cares that today is another day I'll be working from home.

The boss I had three years ago on this date leaned very heavily on me and would have made me feel guilty about taking care of myself. Annoying as Marilyn can be, she gives me the freedom and flexibility I need today. 

I'm also happy for the very VPN and OKTA verify that bedeviled me last week, because this connectivity enables me to work from home.

And I'm happy that even on a day that begins with bathroom distress, I can find happiness. That's a gift I'm truly grateful for.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

Monday, August 01, 2022

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 1

Happiness icon 2022
 
Each day in August,  post something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

Leave your link in the comments and I'll check out your happiness post. It helps if your August Happiness Challenge posts are marked with an icon. Just something that means "happy" to you. 
 
Today's happiness -- Turning the page. The new month begins on a Monday! Doesn't that feel new and hopeful? Since I do my laundry on Sunday evening, it means I started the first day of the new week/new month by drying off after my morning shower with with fresh, clean towels. August 1 kicks off TCM's Summer Under the Stars, where a different actor is spotlighted each day, and today it's ELVIS! (Elvis on Tour is on as I write this.) Plus, I got to literally turn the page on my kitchen calendar and now I'll be gazed upon by Jelly, a rescue kitty adopted with his brother cat, Jiminy, through the PAWS animal shelter.


 

There is no bottom

 The two latest stories I heard about Donald Trump.

1) He thinks it's a veritable laff riot that Joe Biden remains sick, and is using this as an opportunity to reinforce racist stereotypes and reiterate The Big Lie.

2) His dog whistle comments about Britney Griner are stomach churning. The woman won two Olympic Gold medals and had cannabis oil.  If she weren't a member of two MAGA punching bag communities (black and LGBTQ) would he dismiss her as "potentially spoiled" and "loaded up with drugs?" Of course not. This is the President who stood behind the seal of his office and wished Ghislane Maxwell luck when she was in jail. Of course, Ms. Maxwell is rich, white, conventionally pretty, and partied with Donald and Melania. And this gives him a chance to side with Putin. Again. I think when he sleeps, he dreams that Putin is Butch Cassidy and he's The Sundance Kid. 

What a dark, ugly man this is. So proud of his darkness and ugliness that he doesn't even try to hide it.

Does he lead half the country, or reflect it?

The very fact of Donald Trump makes me sad, and I wish he would just do us all a favor and go away. I think that's the only way we will heal.


 


Sunday, July 31, 2022

SUNDAY STEALING

STOLEN FROM FRIDAY 5

1) What one event from your lifetime would you change if you could, and why? I would have followed my head not my heart, or perhaps have been less stubborn, and walked away from a toxic relationship far sooner than I did.

Sorry, Babs, but this right here is bullshit


2) If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be and how old would your younger self be when they got it? Do you think your younger self would listen? I would have advised myself to be less self-critical, especially about my looks and body image. I don't know if I would have listened.

3) Would you be any good on Survivor? I've never seen Survivor, so I may be wrong about this, but it looks like there's a lot of running around in the woods and eating food cooked over a campfire, so I would suck at it.

4) What's a safety rule that's very important to you? I always stand behind the yellow line when I wait for the train, and get nervous when I see commuters who don't.

5) What would you like to say to people in the future? "I never supported Donald Trump." Though I would wager that, come 2027, many people who did vote for him will say the same. I lived through this with Nixon. He got 60% of the popular vote in 72 (Trump got 46% in 2016) and within a decade, you had a hard time finding anyone who would admit being a Nixon supporter.

6) What's your favorite dish to bring to a summer cookout? Last time I was called upon to do this, I brought a fruit bowl.

7) How much time have you spent outdoors this week? Precious little.

8) Where do you set your thermostat? On the wall. (Sorry. I was possessed by the spirit of Bud there for a moment.)

9) How did you learn to swim? When I was in grammar school, I took a week of lessons every summer at the local high school.

10) How do you avoid overheating? I stay indoors.

11). What are you going to do this weekend? This weekend is just about over. I haven't done a lot. I've been tired and kinda moody. Some of my friends are facing health challenges, and I don't like embracing our mortality.

12) What’s your favorite way to spend time? Baseball, movies, books. Cuddling my cats.

13) What’s the most useless thing you own that you would never get rid of? Oh, I have tons of shit around here and I have no idea why I retain it.

14) Have you started planning your next vacation? Yes. Hotel and flights are booked for Key West Christmas, 2022.

15) Are you very active, or do you prefer to just relax in your free time or is it one and the same to you? I am a slug.


 

Saturday, July 30, 2022

Stolen from Kwizgiver

You'll find her answers here.

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.
  1. What geographical feature should be renamed in your honor? Arie Crown Forest Preserve. We went there with Girl Scouts.
  2. Who should play you in a movie about your life? Bette Midler. We can both be bawdy.
  3. What are you chasing? Karma. You know, the good old Golden Rule.
  4. 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.
  5. What are you especially grateful for this week? Time alone

Happy Yankee

In the dugout last night

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.


Saturday 9

 I Would Be in Love (Anyway) 1970

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

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.