August Happiness Challenge -- Day 17

Today's happiness -- An hour and 19 minutes with Henry. He got home yesterday! He sounds strong and refreshingly unwilling to rehash his time in the hospital. After the accident, he was like a broken phonograph record, stuck in a woe-is-me groove. Today he was the opposite. We actually found ourselves discussing Elvis, of all things!

We don't know for certain what caused his seizures. I suppose it doesn't matter. He is home and has a new medication regimen predicted to help prevent them going forward.

I even spoke to his husband, Reg, for a while, and it wasn't unpleasant. Reg has been a trick bag lately, so I was actually kind of afraid when he came on the line. But he was communicative and doesn't seem to hate me ... today

I have been worried about Henry every day for the last week. I feel like a weight has been lifted. He is not well, "well" might be a relative term from here on out, but he's home and he and Reg seem to be coping. So now I can finally exhale!

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.

Where You Lead

Where You Lead (1971)

Unfamiliar with this week's song. Hear it here. 


1) This is the theme of The Gilmore Girls, a TV show that ran  from 2000 to 2007. It recently enjoyed renewed popularity as a reboot. Were you a fan? Nope. But it almost feels like I watched it because my niece grew up on it, loved it and referred to it often.

2) The show is about thirtysomething Lorelai Gilmore, her teenage daughter Rory, and her parents, Richard and Emily. The four of them had dinner together every Friday night. Who did you have dinner with on Friday? What was on the menu? I had crab rangoon and pork fried rice with my old friend Kathy. It was delicious. And then, like a ninny, I forgot to put the leftovers in the refrigerator, so I had to toss it away. (Boo!)

3) Lorelai is outgoing and talkative. How about you? Are you seldom at a loss for words? Hardly ever. In this way, I'm just like Sundance.

 

4) Rory dreamed of going to an Ivy League school and then becoming a broadcast journalist. When you were in high school, what were your ambitions? I dreamed of being a journalist, too. But I wanted to write for the Chicago desk of a national magazine, like Time or Newsweek.


5) Rory's grandfather (and Lorelai's dad) went to Yale and performed with the Whiffenpoofs, Yale's famous a cappella group. Have you ever sung in front of an audience? No! No no a thousand times no! Even at church, I just move my lips.

6) Rory's grandmother (and Lorelai's mother) Emily was very active in civic organizations and worked hard on the Hartford Zoological Society's Annual Silent Auction. Have you ever attended an auction? Nope.

7) Alexis Bledel, who played Rory, went on to appear in Mad Men and The Handmaid's Tale. Of these three shows -- Gilmore Girls, Mad Men and The Handmaid's Tale -- which would you prefer to binge watch? Mad Men. It's scary how accurate it is about agency life, and how little has changed in 50 years.

8) Carole King originally wrote this week's song, "Where You Lead," for her Tapestry album. Do you have a favorite Carole King song? "Make it nice, play it clean ..." I love the sound of "Jazzman."

 

 
9) Random question: If zoo animals could talk, which animal do you imagine would be the rudest? The polar bears. I know this for a fact. Ok, I don't. But I grew up near a zoo and the stories about their diva behavior were the stuff of legend. I have heard they are picky eaters, easily bored, and -- with all apologies to Yogi -- "smarter than the average bear." So I bet if they could talk they'd be very snarky.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 16

Today's happiness -- My day in Dekalb. It's a town 65 miles from Chicago, and home to Northern Illinois University. My friend Kathy moved out there last year. We've seen each other regularly since she relocated, of course, but she usually comes up here. I wanted to show her that I continue to be supportive of her new life, so I offered to go out there for a visit.

It's a relaxing 60+ minute train ride each way, which gave me a chance to finish my book. And, thinking of books, I had a biography of Barack Obama for Kathy that I'd rescued from the recent book sale. She loves Obama, so this was a happy moment.

We went back to Thai Pavilion for a big meal, visited in her cute apartment for a while, and then I headed back. A nice way to spend a late summer Friday.

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.

3-7

Bryzzo used to be a sure thing

Of the last 10 games, the Cubs have lost 7. How can that be? How can a team that has Bryzzo, Baez, and Contreras as their Core Four be unable to score runs? Because Contreras is on the Injured List and Baez has the flu. Oh yeah, and our bullpen keeps giving games away in the 9th.

I am not enjoying this. It's not that losing, in and of itself, bothers me so much. Yes, this millennium has been good in Wrigleyville -- since 2000, we've made the playoffs seven times. But before that? Everyone knows of our century-long World Series drought, and that didn't diminish my passion for the team.

I'm upset because I love these guys, and I'm afraid if they don't go deep into the post-season, baseball wunderkind Theo Epstein will back up the truck and start unloading of players. I hate that thought.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 15

Today's happiness -- Coconutty Cupcake. It was a pretty day, not too hot with low humidity. I took a walk at lunchtime.

I saw something new by the fountains at the building next door -- three food trucks! I have no idea how they got those trucks up there, but never mind. There was a pizza-by-the-slice, and a seafood place, and a cupcake truck.

At first blush, I wanted everything. On closer examination, I saw that the slices were too expensive and the seafood truck had too long a line. But A. Sweets Girl was, as Goldilocks would say, "just right." I had a vanilla cupcake with buttercream and lots of roasted coconut.

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.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 14

Today's happiness -- Connie. My girlcat is terribly sweet. She likes to cuddle and purr with me, she likes to run and play with her brother cat, Reynaldo.

On a day like today, when I'm tired from work and deflated by the Cubs lopsided loss,  her soft fur, bright eyes and rumbling purr make me happy.

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.

Apparently I'm loud and angry

Remember Hamid, The New Boy? I like him and think he shows tremendous potential. But he's still junior, and he confuses activity with accomplishment. He doesn't give the creative team time to think. He wants answers and solutions and he wants them by end of day.

Tuesday afternoon, he expected too much too fast. He wanted me to decide how to repaginate a six-page brochure about investing in annuities -- a complicated subject -- and he wanted me to do it off the top of my head. I called the art director over and involved her, because I can't/shouldn't do everything. The three of us hammered out a solution, but there was bruising.

Today, Hamid reported with some amusement that one of the work friends asked why I was so "loud and angry." He told the work friend that if I was loud and angry, the friend had best never work in Dubai, where my manner would seem subdued.

I'm glad Hamid wasn't offended by our exchange, but I admit I'm stung by being considered "loud and angry." With open seating there are no offices and I have no privacy, no place to think, and I admit it wears on me. Plus I have to fight for quality and the integrity of our creative product.

Or maybe I'm good with it. Maybe I like being badass. Must keep turning this over in my head before I come to a conclusion.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 13

Today's happiness -- My auntie. Tuesday I got a postcard from York Beach, ME and an email from Virginia Beach, VA. She thought of me because they were having lunch at the Abbey Road Restaurant and, well, me and the Lads.

It makes me happy that she's there. I disagree with her on many, MANY things (Trump, immigration, guns, Trump). But she loves me. I am not taking her love for granted. I'm going to revel in it.

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's come and gone

I don't know where Henry sleeps tonight. Is he back home in Key West? Is he still in a hospital bed in Miami?  Do we have a diagnosis on the seizures, a prognosis for recovery? I don't know.

His husband Reg posted to social media on Monday: "Here is what I need. I need people to stop calling me. Stop sending text messages. I will let you know what is going on. IN MY OWN TIME." I resent the living shit out of this. Is it really so awful to be loved, Reg? Is it such a burden to have people praying for your husband?

Bitter though I am, I respect his wishes. I reached out to Patrick just before beginning this post, hoping for news, but he hasn't heard anything either. 

So we wait. My instinct tells me that Henry will be OK. I think if the news was bad or dramatic, Reg would have posted that by now. I suspect that the test results may be difficult to articulate. Brain injuries are complicated.

I'm holding Henry in my heart tonight. Remembering how he brought flowers to my mom's hotel room when she traveled to Key West. He is such a good person. Wherever he is tonight, he deserves to sleep the sleep of the righteous.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 12

 

Today's happiness -- TCM. Busy day at the office. Worried about John and Henry. Emails to write re: the condo deconversion.

No ballgame!

So thank God TCM was there to comfort me. It's August, so the programming is devoted to Summer Under the Stars, with a different star featured every day. Monday was Ann Sothern. I admit I'm not a massive fan, but there is a movie of hers that I recently discovered and completely adored: A Letter to Three Wives. I fell asleep watching it. That's OK. I know which husband leaves with Addie. And this ca 1949 b/w suburb was a nice place to fall asleep. (Better than my messy, musty apartment. What's that stale smell, anyway? I worry that there's a problem of some sort with my air conditioner ...)

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.

As night falls, Henry is in Miami

My dear Henry is still in the hospital. He may be there until Tuesday.
 
I can't talk to him directly -- he's sedated to prevent further seizures -- but Patrick has been in touch with Henry's husband, Reg, and reports that Henry is being a far more cooperative patient than he was last fall. That is good news. Right after his accident, Henry fought everyone, every step of the way. It sounds like he's participating in his own treatment. This is viewed as an improvement.

At the hospital, the staff noted bruises on Henry's chest and arms, indicating that he's fallen more often than he's admitted. So the seizures we know about on Tuesday and then Saturday are probably just the tip of the iceberg of his suffering. This breaks my heart. He's also been hallucinating -- asking his coworkers to turn down the music when he knows there's no music playing.

While this sounds very bad, it could just be part and parcel of recovering from a traumatic brain injury. His brain is teaching itself to work again, perhaps forging new paths through areas as they heal. The seizures and hallucinations could just be the result of a "system overload."

Today is Sunday. Tomorrow is Monday and then there's Tuesday. Hopefully I can at least text him on Tuesday. I don't want to upset or overtax him. On the other hand, I want him to know how much he is loved.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 11

Today's happiness -- Patrick. A good friend to Henry's husband, Reg, since the 1980s, he's become an ally and comfort to me, too.

He called Reg today to find out how Henry is doing. Then he took the time to update me. Patrick and I commiserated about how difficult those two are to deal with. It was such a relief to talk to someone who gets it -- who understands that I can have compassion for everything Reg is going through and yet still not want to be his "punching bag" ... who realizes that, dear as Henry is, talking to him can be exhausting.

 

I found myself reflexively saying, "I'm sorry" quite often during our hour conversation. "You're a good person, Gal, no reason to be sorry," he replied more than once. Hearing that, from someone who knows the situation even better than I do, meant the world to me.

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

Questions from taken from the Friday Five.

1. Have you ever had a great conversation with a complete stranger? Yes! I once flew from ORD to RIC beside a woman who worked as a court-appointed elder care custodian. She explained her work to me, and I was grateful that I met her when I did, for unbeknownst to me, my uncle was going to be taken to court within the year and appointed a guardian. Much of what she said came back to me.

 
2. Where did you go on the very first vacation of your life? "Duck Lake." I don't know where it was (Illinois? Wisconsin?). My parents and my grandparents got a cottage there. It had a grassy front yard (the beach was, as my mom would say, "a ways away"). There was only a shower, which I was too young to use, so at night, my mom gave me a bath in a Rubbermaid tub in the kitchen. I was 4 or 5. I caught my first and only fish that summer. That's all I remember about it.

3. Open the door of your refrigerator. What is the first thing you see? My Coca-Cola

can/water bottle. I bought it to encourage me to drink more water. I keep it cool in the frig and then take it with me to the bedroom at night (if I remember).
4. What is your favorite place in your home. My dining room table.

5. If you had wings to fly about the universe, where is the first place you’d land? I'd fly to my friend Henry's side. He's going through a frightening time with his health.
 
6. What is the first thing you do when you get in your car? I don't have a car.
 
7. What is special about the town you live in? Our architecture. We have an impressive collection of prairie style buildings, including many Frank Lloyd Wrights.

8. What is the last thing you heard about your first love? His mom died in 2015. I sent flowers to the funeral home. I haven't seen him for decades, but his mom and my mom remained friends and she would have wanted me to.

9. If you had created the world in seven days yourself, what would you have created on the First Day? I'm not going to second guess The Lord in this one!
 
10. How do you beat the summer heat? I whine and look for air conditioning.

11. Did you enjoy your Senior Year in high school? No.
 
12. Who is your favorite First Lady of all time? As was stated during the C-Span series on The First Ladies, she was sui generis.

13. Post a link to your first blog post. No. I believe if you're that interested, you know how to do that.

14. When was the last time you needed First Aid? I wore a Band Aid a few months ago when I got a paper cut. 

15. Can you explain what a first down is in football? The first time the offense gains 10 yards.
   

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 10

Today's happiness -- "Till There Was You." Today has not been a great day. Henry is suffering, the Cubs are losing ... I'm distracted and restless.

Then I looked at my August happy picture and remembered how happy I was to sing along with Sir Paul in the shower this morning. (No! He wasn't there!) The song was "Till There Was You," It was never a single, it was a cut from Meet the Beatles. It's not broadcast very often. It surprised me and made me happy when I was shampooing and conditioning.

(In this live version, he muffs the lyric a bit.)

 

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.

I know the right thing to do. I just don't feel like doing it.

My dear Henry is back in the hospital. More seizures. There isn't a hospital Key West equipped to handle this, so he was airlifted back to Miami.

I think this means that he is now, indeed, an epileptic. Epilepsy is a not uncommon side effect of traumatic brain injury. I worry about the impact Henry's drinking has on his condition. From what I've been able to glean from the Internet, the only thing worse than alcohol is alcohol withdrawal. All I can do is first throw my hands up, and then fold them in prayer.

If this is hard for me, I can only imagine what tonight is like for Henry's husband, Reg. I know I should call him, but I'm not going to. Reg has been so mercurial himself lately. His Facebook posts have all been about himself, not about Henry, and I just don't feel like dealing with it. I just can't bring myself to put my head into the lion's mouth.

I am monitoring Facebook and have sent a message to Stephen's good friend, Patrick. I hope I'll hear something soon. And I definitely want to hear from Henry when he finally comes back home.

Saturday 9

Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs (1993)

Unfamiliar with this week's song. Hear it here.

1) This is the theme from Frasier, a TV show that ran  from 1993 to 2004. Were you a fan? Not really. I've seen it a few times in reruns and it's fine, but I don't go out of my way to catch it.

2) The show is about a radio advice show host, Dr. Frasier Krane. When you listen to the radio, do you tune in for talk or music? Music. I like hearing the Cubs score and the weather, but I tune in for the music.

3) The theme's composer explained that tossed salad and scrambled eggs are both "mixed up," like the people who called Frasier's radio show. Which did you eat more recently, tossed salad or scrambled eggs? I had tossed salad with my late lunch on Friday. Thousand Island dressing. I'm reminded how much I like Thousand Island.

4) Peri Gilpin played Roz, Frasier's coworker at the radio station. The actress originally cast was Lisa Kudrow, but the show's producers didn't feel she was "right." Being released from Frasier gave her the opportunity to accept a bigger and better part: Phoebe on Friends. Can you think of a time when a setback was really a blessing in disguise? I had a prejudice toward women doctors. I was convinced they were more empathetic to women's issues. Then, when I was about 45, I got Dr. Lisa. She was a stone bitch. I found myself in terrible pain, 24/7, during my period. This was a new and excruciating wrinkle and she gave me opiates and told me to suck it up. She said she knew all about "cramps." She wasn't hearing me that these weren't "cramps."

I immediately switched to a different doctor, chosen using insurance and geography as my guide. I ended up with Dr. Chuck, right around the corner. He could not have been more responsive. He discovered that I had four golf ball-sized uterine fibroids and sent me to a radiologist for an embolization. 

If Dr. Lisa had been any nicer, had spent more time with me, and still told me to just take pain killers, I might have gone along with her lame ass treatment regimen. And I would have suffered. So in retrospect, I'm glad she was officious and dismissive.
 
5) Dr. Krane shared his home with Martin, his retired dad. Martin's favorite chair was well-worn recliner, held together in parts with tape. Frasier tried to replace it by giving his father a brand-new, expensive leather chair as a gift. Martin wanted his old recliner back. Tell us about a present you either gave or received that wasn't a hit. The phone! When my friend Mindy was mom to a toddler, I gave her a big phone with  speed dial, as well as a notepad with a leather cover to go beside it. She was going back to work and I wanted her to be able to program the doctor's number, her work number, her husband's work number, etc., for the daycare worker.

I hadn't counted on how torn she was about returning to work. She hated the phone. She said she would never let anyone take care of her son who couldn't dial a phone. And, when she was insulting the phone, her son was tearing the leather cover off the notepad. I was shattered.

Mindy is one of the sweetest people on earth, and she didn't mean to hurt my feelings. She was just that miserable about leaving him and going back to work and my gift celebrated it. I understand that now. But at the time, I was pretty miserable myself. (PS Now that kid is 29, so she and I are well past this.)

6) Kelsey Grammer played Dr. Krane on three different series (Cheers, Wings and Frasier) over 20 years. What job have you held the longest? This one. I started at this agency on St. Patrick's Day, 2004.

7) Before he found success on Cheers, Grammer played bit parts on the daytime dramas Ryan's World and Another World. Have you ever followed a soap opera? 

My two faves. My mom was a big soap fan herself, so she encouraged me in my passion. My kid sister inherited the soapy gene, too.

8) In addition to work in front of the camera, Grammer has done voice over work on commercials for Dr. Pepper and Cheerios. Are either of those products in your kitchen right now? No. But I do have Coke and Honey Bunches of Oats.
 
9) Random question: You're invited to a party where dinner is served buffet style. There's spaghetti with tomato sauce, barbecue spare ribs and buffalo wings. When the evening is over, how likely are you to have a food stain on your clothes? Highly likely. OK, a certainty. I'm such a klutz and a slob.

Better than the book

You've heard this cliche: "The book is always better than the movie." And, generally, I suppose, it's true.* Except when you compare Mario Puzo's The Godfather with Francis Ford Coppola's film. Or today, when I saw The Art of Racing in the Rain after reading Garth Stein's book.

Both are narrated by Enzo, a highly evolved and loving dog and a very good boy. As a puppy he is adopted by Denny, which be believes is his destiny, a critical step on his path to being reincarnated as a human. Denny is his hero, his friend, his teacher. He lives his life in service of Denny and, when Denny gets married and starts a family, includes wife Eve and daughter Zoe in his heart.

So far, the book and the movie track.

What happens to Denny in the movie is the stuff of life. I don't want to give any spoilers away, but what Denny's family endures is something that has touched someone you know.

All this happens to Denny in the book, too. Only it's exacerbated by a plot twist that felt unnecessary and, worse, misogynistic. I'm happy to report the producers seemingly came to the same conclusion, because Annika** never made it to the screen. The movie is better for it.

It's not a perfect movie. There's a sequence with a stuffed zebra that worked better on the page than it does on the screen and I wish it had been handled differently. But let's not quibble.

If you love animals, if you have a heart and a pulse, this movie will touch you.

*Though since books and movies are different media, it's not really an apt comparison.

** If you read the book, you know who she is.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 9

Today's happiness -- The sky. This summer has been too hot and too humid, so good days are especially glorious.

Like today. High 83º. No precip, low humidity. And the sky! Puffy white clouds against a sky of Cubbie blue!

 

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.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 8

Today's happiness -- The new boy. Hamid is here on a working visa, so I don't know how long he can stay with us, but I hope he ends up having a long career in Chicago.

He is so very enthusiastic! He wants to know why I make each creative decision. He's filled with suggestions. He is always doing research. I'm accustomed to jaded account executives, and Hamid is anything but.

And he's genuinely nice. Whether he's texting to make sure I got home safe from the client meeting (Tuesday evening) or bringing me potato chips for sustenance (this afternoon), he seems eager for us to feel like teammates.

 

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.

Look who's 30!

My all-time favorite Cub. And when you consider the All-Stars who have worn Cubbie blue over my lifetime (Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, my beloved Greg Maddux, Fergie Jenkins, Lee Smith ...), that's saying something.

It's not just his play. Though his career has been stellar.

It's who Anthony Rizzo is. Here's his biography from the Anthony Rizzo Foundation page. He's not only a cancer survivor who gives tirelessly to the community, he's a good role model for the tens of thousands of kids who see him play every game.

And it's the joie de vivre that just emanates from this kid. Here he is, playing Beer Money. It's a local sports quiz show. Rizz has never been allowed to compete because he and Beer Money are both employees of the Chicago Cubs. Instead of money, he wins "special prizes." Watch him at 1:35 where he wins a single dolphin slipper. Have you ever loved anything as much as he loves that footie?