A hamster on a wheel

Last Friday, I got a big project at 3:45 PM. It covered three of our client's lesser lines of business. I worked Friday night, all day Sunday, and late into Monday. I resented having the project dumped on me so late -- our new management team had the projects for weeks before including me -- but I was also enthusiastic. Since the project emphasized the lesser lines of business, I felt it offered me an opportunity to really make a difference. I could help the client turn a greater profit in 2020 in three areas where they'd been struggling.

The presentation was Tuesday. Rumor had it that the client was pleased.

This afternoon, my boss and I were farting around on a website devoted to gossip about our client. Mostly it was just snark, but I saw a rumor that piqued my interest. Something about a merger with a Minnesota-based company. I guessed who it was and googled them, keystroking my client's name with theirs. I got the news as it was breaking.

My client is selling two of those three lines of business. And I just so happened to learn about it as it was happening, before our new management team even heard it.

So we're not going to win the business that was pitched Tuesday because the client's not going to be selling those products anymore. So I worked under pressure Friday night, Sunday and Monday for nothing.


Making me a hamster on a wheel, racing around, going nowhere.

It gets better. The client contacts who were my biggest fans are likely being laid off tomorrow. Making them hamsters, too.

I can't imagine that I'll have a job much longer. I may not have an advertising career anymore.But right now, I don't give a fuck. I'm emotionally exhausted.

An object in motion stays in motion

Worked out at lunchtime Wednesday! Pretty much had the place to myself,* so I took the opportunity to do floor exercises for my back, the hip adductor/abductor machine (also for my back) and 20 minutes on the bike for my ticker. It felt so gooooood!

When I got home from work, I didn't even have the urge to nap. Instead I did some paper work -- inputting my 2/29 finances into Quicken. Then I took out the garbage and collected quarters from the washers/dryers.

That's the value of MORE. I don't have to everything, just a little more. And I'll find myself moving toward my goals.

*Coronavirus fears, I guess. I wipe down the equipment before and after I use it and am sure to cough into a tissue. Beyond that, I'm trying not to make myself crazy with worry.

Oh, Dear God, SHUT UP!

My friend Chuck just posted this on Facebook. Chuck is nice but full of shit.


"The Establishment" didn't boost Biden. The Black voters of South Carolina did. They showed that with their support, Biden could win big, and "The Establishment" responded.

Oh yeah, and Susan Rice endorsed Biden. Susan Rice is one of Barack Obama's closest surrogates. That's the nearest to a thumbs up from Barack Obama that anyone is going to get before the convention.

So when people like Chuck -- who is a Warren supporter -- post stuff like this they are acting like Bernie Bros did in 2016. Remember how Sanders supporters insisted Hillary only became the candidate because of her "oligarchs" and all that fossil fuel funding -- thereby completely discounting the decades long relationship Bill Clinton had with the Black community? Remember that appalling display -- in prime time and on national TV -- when Sanders supporters literally fucking booed the African American speakers who supported Hillary at the convention? Yes, they booed the late Elijah Cummings, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Cory Booker, just because they supported HRC.

Remember how many Black voters responded by feeling that there's no place for them in the party and so they stayed home -- and Donald Trump was elected?

It hurts when your candidate loses. I know. I worked crazy hard for John Kerry in 2004. I still carry the scars.

But maybe, instead of lashing out and looking for conspiracies, left wing progressives ought to look at themselves. Maybe the problem is their messengers and not oligarchs or The Establishment. Their message isn't resonating with Blacks (and suburban voters of all colors). Sanders has had great success with Latino voters this time around. Similar efforts need to be made with Blacks.

And acting like Black voters don't even exist, like Chuck did in that Facebook post, will not help.

Let me rephrase: it will not help their cause or the country.  

It will help re-elect Donald Trump.

Tuesday 4

Food Glorious Food!

 

1. How often do you find yourself shopping for groceries? Weather permitting – I don’t drive so I'm walking to the store – I usually bring home as much as I can carry on Saturday, and pick up what I still need on Sunday.

2. Do you have a favorite night time snack? It changes. It used to be crackers (graham if I want something sweet, Ritz if I want something salty) but now it’s breakfast cereal.

3.  Do you buy in bulk and what kinds of tips do you have to save money on grocery shopping? I don’t have room for bulk. I do look for sales. 

4. Let's have a picnic in the park. What foods are we packing and will we cook anything there or is it all prepared ahead of time? Isn't it nice to think picnic on such a chilly day? I’ll bring the potato salad and chips. It’s just not a picnic without potato salad and chips. I’ll leave the grilling and beer to others. I know people who take grilling and beer very seriously.

Sunday Stealing

Bicycle Sidewalk

1. Do you think animals dream? I know they do. I've seen my cats twitch and wiggle and then wake up with a start.

2. Have you ever been to a fortune teller or psychic? Yes.

3. How important is it to have a low stress job? HA! This is not the day to ask me that! (See post below.)

4. Do you always lock your house? Yes. It's a reflex.

5. What do you do if you feel lonely? Pick up the phone and call somebody.

6. Have you ever driven a sports car? No.

7. Have you ever fallen down the stairs? Yes.

8. What do you think about the death penalty? It's an abomination. My friend, John, was on a death penalty-qualified jury that unanimously found a man guilty of double homicide. Having been raised Catholic, this was trying for John, but he felt that serving was his duty as an American.

Imagine how he felt when, in 2003, the man he helped convict was exonerated by DNA and set free. More than 15 years later, thoughts of that man's wrongful conviction and possible execution still make him sick.

If, as a society, we feel that the death penalty is necessary, then let judges mete it out. Juries can decide guilty or innocence, the judge can decide the penalty. Jurors who are just trying to their civic duty should not be saddled with this.

9. What do you think about animal testing? By and large, it's not necessary. This isn't an opinion. I used to work for a health/beauty manufacturer. I can't speak to the pharmaceutical industry, but I know that hair and skincare products can effectively be tested in a petri dish and not on an animals.

10. What are your neighbors like? On my left, the apartment is empty. On the right, they are happily married medical students. Even though she's not a "cat person," she likes my Reynaldo, and he adores her.

Reynaldo has won my neighbor's heart

11. Do you turn off the water when you brush your teeth? Yes

12, Are there any foods that you wouldn’t eat as a child that you now like? Spinach.

13. Is it important to always tell the truth? No

14. What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten? Shark. Shark veracruz, to be exact. I don't remember how it tasted. I just recall being very proud of myself for being brave enough to eat shark.

15. Do computers really help us save time? Yes. But they also help us waste more time doing stupid things, too.

16. Do you have any tattoos? Nope

17. Do you pray every day? I talk to God every day, but I don't have set prayers I recite.

18. Are you in favor of cloning? No, but to be honest, I don't think about it much.

19. How do you feel about changing your nationality? How could I even do that? Isn't my ethnicity in my DNA? Or are you asking my citizenship? I can't see changing that. I love America, and want to stay here and fight for it.

20. Would you ever buy a used car? No, because I can't drive.

21. Should you spank a child when they do something wrong? As a rule, no. But there are exceptions. When my niece was a toddler in mid-tantrum, she slugged me. I took her by the wrist and hit her hand. I wanted to show her that no one likes being hit.

22. Has science made a negative impact on society? Well, we have discovered how to shoot people up with drugs and kill them. (See #8.) That's really not a feel good, is it?

23. Have you ever gone on a blind date? Yes.

24. Do you believe there is life after death? More than I believe in anything else.

 

Why I oughta ...

There's a big presentation on Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM. If it goes well, we could regain some lost luster with my client. Or it could cause the client to give even more work to our competitor.

We've known about this for weeks. I thought I just wasn't going to be included in the presentation. That was OK. I don't know everything about everything, after all, and our new (as of January 2) and high-priced management team must know what they're doing.

Yeah, right.

I was briefed on the project at (wait for it) 3:45 on Friday. Management wants to see my efforts "first thing Monday morning."

Bastards!

There was a time -- in my long ago 30s -- that I would have been thrilled to be the go-to girl. The one they turn to when things aren't going well. The heroine who saves the day.

Now I just feel used.

Decades of agita and unnecessary drama leading to unrealistic deadlines have worn me down.

I'm going to do the best I can on Sunday. I'm going to email my efforts to my boss (also a victim of this) by dinnertime. Then I'm going to move on.

And dream of retirement.

"Why would I be mad?"

I got an email from Henry, telling me that he was upset about doing battle with the county over his health benefits. "I had an accident!" he wrote. "I didn't ask for this!" He said he looked forward to talking to this weekend.

I wrote back that I simply couldn't talk this weekend. Saturday I was celebrating my friend Nancy's birthday. Sunday I have to work. I opened and closed the email with, "Don't be mad."

He immediately wrote back that it was OK, that he understood. And then he closed with the real head scratcher: Why would I be mad?

Because two weeks ago, he tore a strip out of my hide when I didn't pick up his call during the Oscars, that's why!

Does he not remember how hurt he was, and how eager he was to lash out and hurt me? Maybe not.

Or is his moodswing on the rise, and his demons aren't as loud this week as they were two weeks ago? Perhaps.

The man is recovering from a traumatic brain injury. I have to keep reminding myself of that. And it means that I have to accept that, for us, every day can be Anything Can Happen Day.

I know He's a fan

Yesterday, the cloudless sky was my favorite color: Cubbie blue. 

This confirms my hypothesis that the Lord is a Cub fan.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: On the Radio (1979)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
 
1) The action begins when a letter falls out of the pocket of a brown overcoat. What color is your coat? Olive green, with brown trim.


2) The lyrics ask if it "kinda strikes you sad when you hear our song." We don't want to be sad this Saturday, so we're asking what song makes you happy. Just heard this on the radio and got all swoony. I love Smokey! His voice is so romantic.


 
3) Right before this song hit the charts, Donna Summer hit the cover of Newsweek. Are there any magazines in your home now? If yes, who is on the cover? Meghan and Harry. I read a lot about those two. I worry about Diana's youngest.

4) Donna wrote the lyrics to this song, while producer Giorgio Moroder wrote the tune. Moroder is known as "the father of disco." Is disco a genre you enjoy? Nope

5) This song got additional airplay throughout the 1980s because the game show The Price Is Right played it every time a contestant won a stereo. Today, the most popular audio equipment sold at Best Buy is a sound bar to improve the quality of TV audio. Have you added a sound bar or sound system to your TV? Nope. I still have a 19 year old Sylvania TV. It still works fine, and I don't want to add it to a landfill if there's no need. Though I can tell its time is coming. (Well done, good and faithful servant.)

6) Moroder has won two Academy Awards for Best Song. The first was for "Flashdance ... What a Feeling" from Flashdance and the second was for "Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun. Do you  have a favorite movie soundtrack? 

The track list is here

7) He grew up in Ortsei, Italy. Located in Northern Italy, the Ortsei

economy is fueled by tourists who ski in winter, hike in summer and shop for woodcarvings all year around. Do out-of-towners find their way to your hometown more often in summer or winter? More in summer, but they're in Chicago all year around. Just this week, I was at CVS in line behind a trio of Asian tourists who were so happy to find rubbing alcohol scented with wintergreen. The stuff we take for granted! That's why I love eavesdropping on tourists.


8) Kourtney Kardashian was born in 1979, the year this record was a hit. Keeping Up with the Kardashians has been on since 2007. Have you ever seen it? Yes. One night, when I was battling a particularly vicious migraine, I stumbled upon an overnight Kardashian marathon. I gotta give it to those girls, they came through for me when it felt like my head was in a vice. They were just interesting enough to distract me from the pain, but not interesting enough to keep me watching when the meds kicked in and sleep blissfully beckoned.

I know Kourtney is the one with the straight hair on the right.

9) Random question -- When getting dressed in the morning, what's the second item of clothing you put on? Bra.

WWW.WEDNESDAY

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

1. What are you currently reading? The Other Windsor Girl by George Blalock. Everyone seems to think that "Megxit" -- The Sussex's departure for a new life in Canada -- was instigated by Meghan. I'm not so sure. I've been reading about Prince Harry since (literally) before he was born and he's always seemed to struggle with his role as "spare" while Brother William gets to be heir. I wonder if stepping away from royal duties wasn't Harry's idea, and he found a willing partner in Meghan.

It was with Harry in mind that I reached for this historical novel about Princess Margaret. Like Harry, she grew up stuck a few steps behind her sibling, the future queen. Like Harry, she had looks and charisma, but lost out because of birth order. And like Harry, she struggled.

Set in the late 1940s, when Margaret was in her late teens, this book is told from the point-of-view of one of her ladies in waiting. Our narrator is a title-rich but cash-poor aristocrat with a secret life (she writes racy romance novels under a pseudonym) and this appeals to Margaret's naughty side. Both women have been unlucky in love, another bond. Margaret is bored, rebellious and imperious -- isolated because of her power but injudicious in wielding it. So far, it's a good read. 

2. What did you recently finish reading? No Judgments by Meg Cabot. Sabrina suffered a bad break up and wants to start a new life. So she changes her name (call her "Bree"), her hair (from blonde to pink), her job (she's waiting tables) and addresses (she's now in a tiny apartment in the Keys). Everything is going well, until a hurricane sets its sights on South Florida. Like many conchs, she decides not to evacuate but instead ride it out.

This book is chick-lit through and through, with a handsome man and lots of adorable pets to occupy our heroine during the storm. I thought, if I took it on those terms, I'd enjoy it. I was wrong.

There's too much unnecessary detail about our heroine. In addition to the bad breakup that's the catalyst for her move from New York to the Florida Keys, there are some complicated family dynamics that are introduced and derail the story. I see that No Judgments is the first in a series. I don't know why Ms. Cabot couldn't have explored Bree and her parents in a later book.

3.  What will you read next? I've got a couple baseball biographies here -- one about Gehrig, the other about Ruth. I don't know which one I'll choose to take me into spring training.

Have I cracked the code?

I've been at my wit's end when it comes to my dear friend, Henry. How can we continue to be close if lashes out at me all the time? How do I communicate with someone whose traumatic brain injury has left him by turns frightened, paranoid and aggressive?

I experimented this week with making this about me, not him. By talking to him about my problems, I reasoned, I was taking the focus off his. At least this week, it worked!

It began with an email. He invited me to watch a video of him singing a solo at church last Sunday. I told him it made me happy to see him go from nervous to confident and happy as the music moved him. (This was a diplomatic answer, as the video was clumsy and for some reason the microphone didn't really pick up his voice.) He thanked me with an over-the-top message about how much he loves me. So I get it. I know he's sorry we haven't been getting along and he understands he hurt me.

But now what?

I sent Henry an email about my prospective prison pen pal, Darius. I told Henry the truth -- that I'm feeling more than a little ambivalent about corresponding with a man found guilty of murder. I asked Henry for his thoughts.

Voila! He called me Monday night and told me I'm good and strong and he's sure my heart will lead me to the right thing. It was a very sweet message.

I'm glad I wasn't home Monday night to mess it up. Our give-and-take can't get overheated if there's no real time give-and-take.

And I think my asking him for advice not only distracted him from his own problems, it helped even the power differential between us, at least for a moment.

Tuesday 4

Odds and Ends Tuesday 4 # 8

1.  You're having a lovely dinner party for friends and family.  What will you serve for appetizers, main course and dessert? I'm never having a "lovely dinner party." I'm simply not that girl. But last time I had people over for dinner, I served green salad, two different types of pizza (plain cheese or sausage), and yellow cake with vanilla frosting.

 2. Snow storm!  You've got house guests and you're all stuck inside for the night. What do you prepare for dinner.  Will you watch a movie? Which? The menu would be soup (one that sticks to your ribs, like beef barley or New England clam chowder) and salad. Rather than a movie, I think I'd take this opportunity to play Monopoly or Scrabble.

3. We are going into New York City for the weekend. Where do you want to go? I'd take my own personal Jackie tour. My all-time idol spent most of her adult life in New York, and I'd love to visit her haunts.
•  1040 Fifth Avenue (her home for decades)
•  The Russian Tea Room (her favorite lunch spot)
•  Grand Central Station (which she saved from the wrecking ball)
•  The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park (where she jogged)
•  A Broadway show and a late dinner at P. J. Clarke's (her regular night out)

Read about her Grand Central Station preservation efforts here

4. You are going to night school.  They offer courses in writing short stories, painting,  piano  or guitar lessons, simple home repairs, baking, and gardening. Which do you pick (or make up one of your own) and why? Short story writing. I write for a living, but I deliver on assignments and it's never fiction. It would be fun to use different muscles.

Sunday Stealing

Getting to Know You

1. What is your favorite color? Cubbie blue.

2. If you could get on a plane tomorrow and travel anywhere, where would you go? Hollywood! The TCM Film Festival is coming up and this year, I can't afford to go. But I want to. Desperately.

3. Were you closer to your mother or to your father? My mom.

4. What is your favorite meal (savory and dessert)? Friday I had the best burger -- with bacon, cheese and a fried egg. It was freaking HEAVEN! So I want that again. Fries. Cole slaw. Coke or a beer. And a Dove Bar for dessert.

5. Can you wink with each eye?  (How about curl your tongue)? Yes to all.

6. Beach or forest? Forest.

7. City or farm? City!

8. Would you rather be blind from birth or turn blind as a teenager? No, thank you. OK, I'll be a good sport and answer the question: blind from birth.

9. Would you rather always be overdressed or underdressed? Need more definition here. Do you mean overdressed as in too elegant for the situation? Or overdressed as in a down coat on an 80º day?

10. If you could pass alone one of your attributes to your children, which would it be? My conscience.

11. What are you most insecure about? My financial future.

12. What are you afraid people see when they look at you? Nothing. The older I get, the more invisible I feel.

13. What is the saddest you’ve ever felt? After John Kerry lost to George W. Bush. I put everything I had into that campaign and it literally broke my heart. John Kerry is smart and decent and dedicated. He deserved better, and our country deserved him.

14. Would you rather have your own private island, or your own private jet? Island. I will name it Galtopia.

15. How do you think you will die? I have a strong feeling that it will be fast. I don't know if it'll be a fatal stroke or heart attack or a cataclysmic accident. I don't dwell on it much.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Buttons & Bows (1948)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
 
1) The lyrics extol the beauty of "rings and things and buttons and bows." When you're getting dressed, do you give much thought to accessorizing? I'm not much for scarves and belts, but I do enjoy jewelry. I always wear earrings when I go out. Usually a necklace. Never bracelets but often a watch. I enjoy watches. That's one thing I don't like about advancements in technology; there's not a lot of style or originality in a FitBit!

2) Dinah Shore sings that she doesn't want to live where the cactus hurts her toes. Sam can sympathize, as she has a blister on one of her toes from where her winter boots rub. Do you have any aches and pains to report this morning? Nope. I feel pretty good this morning.

3) Dinah was such a popular entertainer that people were surprised to learn she earned a degree in sociology from Vanderbilt University. What is something we'd be surprised to know about you? I can be pretty macabre. One of my favorite shows is Autopsy: The Last Hours of ... . My oldest friend is even worse; she's never seen a vampire movie or mob story she doesn't like. We've been friends since Kindergarten. I wonder if it's something in the water in the town where we grew up.

4) Dinah's was the best selling version of this song, which was introduced by Bob Hope in the movie The Paleface. Hope had success early in his career as a song-and-dance man on Broadway. Are you better at telling jokes, singing or dancing? I laugh easily and I like jokes. Here's the first one that comes to mind. (It's been credited to Paul Lynde on The Hollywood Squares.)

How many balls on a regulation billiard table?

Depends on how many men are sitting on it.

5) Both Bob and Dinah donated their time to entertaining the troops in WWII. It was during a USO tour that Dinah met and fell in love with actor George Montgomery, who was serving in the Air Force. They were married for 20 years and had two children. Their daughter followed her parents into show business and became an actress. If a young person asked you for career advice, what would you tell them? Consider geography when you choose a career. I've had friends who left Chicago for their dream locations only to find it wasn't so easy to get jobs in their professions.

•  A friend with experience in financial marketing moved to Denver, a city where few banks have headquarters. He was unemployed for a long, long time.
•  My oldest friend, a hospital administrator specializing in cardiology, longed to live near her family in Hesperia, California. The nearest job she could get was in Topanga, almost two hours away. 
•  My friend Henry, a college professor, moved to Key West, which has just one institute of higher learning. When things didn't work out at the community college, he ended up in lower paid jobs at the newspaper and the public library.

In short, if you long to teach surfing, don't move to the desert.

6) Dinah was an avid golfer and even sponsored an LPGA tournament. She was also an excellent cook who hosted TV cooking segments. Which would you find more relaxing -- an afternoon on the golf course or in the kitchen? Ew, this is hard because neither one sounds attractive to me. I suppose golf, if I'm with people who don't take it too seriously because, except for putt-putt, I've never tried it.

7) In 1948, the year this record was a hit, Scrabble was introduced. Do you prefer word games, card games, board games or jigsaw puzzles? Card games, especially Canasta.

8) Also in 1948, LPs (33 1/3 rpm records) were introduced. Do you have any vinyl records in your home? Lots. I don't know why, since I have nothing to play them on.

9) Random question -- Which of these would you consider the greatest insult: to be called boring, untrustworthy or stupid? Untrustworthy. I know I'm neither boring nor stupid.

What is time?

I got home Thursday night and was just beat. No reason, really. Not a busy day at work -- not by the longest shot -- and I'm coughing less as I recover from my bronchitis. But still, I wanted a nap. And if I want a nap, maybe I should listen to my body and take one.

On the other hand, I also want to live up to my OneWord and do MORE each day. Move more, be more productive, save more, etc.

So when I woke up from nap at about 10:00 PM, I thought, there's really no reason why I can't do something. After all, that's why I chose MORE. I don't have to do everything, I just want to do MORE.

And so I scrubbed my bathroom floor. Not just wiped it down, scrubbed it with Mr. Clean and rinsed it down.

One of the benefits of living alone is that flurry of activity disturbed no one. And I feel good about having done MORE before Thursday ended.

If I'm more flexible about how I approach my out-of-office hours, I can get MORE done.

My grandma's fudge

While tooling around on eBay, looking for something else entirely, I stumbled upon a seller in Elizabeth City, NC, who was parting with her collection of vintage cookbooks. One of them just so happened to be a compilation of recipes put together in 1987 to raise money for the Lutheran church my family attended. Sight unseen, I bought it for $12.00.

On pages 48 and 104, my grandmother is represented. I knew she would be. Grandma was all about that church.

The first was for pork chops. I remember her pork roast, but not her pork chops. The second is for fantasy fudge. That I remember! Whoever owned this book circled the recipes she used. Grandma would be pleased to see both of hers were circled.

So this spiral bound, musty little volume feels like a rare treasure. I'm giving it to my Aunt Joanne (Grandma's surviving child) for Mother's Day. I know she will love it.

I'm enchanted that it just so happened to fall into my life now, from 33 years ago and 941 miles away. I wish it could tell me its journey to my hands.

I close with Grandma's fudge.

FANTASY FUDGE

3 c sugar
3/4 c margarine
6 oz evaporated milk
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 c marshmallow cream
1 c chopped nuts
1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, margarine and milk. Bring to a roiling boil, stirring constantly 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add chocolate pieces; stir until melted. Add marshmallow cream, nuts and vanilla, Beat until blended. Pour into 8x8 buttered pan.

Anthony Rizzo and dogs

Two things to brighten any day: The Cubs' Anthony Rizzo and fur babies.

Rizz with the service dog he provided for the Joe Dimaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood, FL

His own puppy, Kevin, dressed as Sheriff Woody

Kevin brings his chew toy to Dad's workout session

My favorite! Kevin modeling his shark fin float coat

Tuesday 4

Toiletries and Cosmetics 

 

1. What brand of shampoo do you think works best for you and what does it do for you? Four days/week I use Nizoral. At my dermatologist's recommendation. The bottle says it's a dandruff shampoo, and I wish I had dandruff, because there are far cheaper alternatives out there! Nizoral is the only OTC shampoo that contains ketoconazole, which helps control my scalp oil and irritation.

 

2. Do you have a favorite brand and shade of lipstick and blush? Nope. I don't wear them anymore. I think they age me. But when I was younger, I never left the house without wearing blusher.

3. Is soap your favorite for face washing or do you use other products? I use Aveeno Face Wash.


4. Do you have an all time favorite perfume or scent that you wear? If you don't wear perfumes, is there a scent that you love in general? I'm with Liz. Black Pearls, to be exact. It's been discontinued, but I have a secret stash. 

Introducing Darius. Or maybe not.

My OneWord for this year is MORE. I chose MORE to remind myself that's all I need to do. Not "everything," not "all," just MORE. Save more, be more productive around the house, move more ...

I fell off the bandwagon in mid-January when I got sick.  Instead of doing MORE, I was happy to do ANYTHING. But now in mid-February, I'm breathing without coughing, going hours without napping and ready to for MORE.

Inspired by my niece, I RSVP'd "yes" when my church asked for volunteers to be prison pen pals. My congregation is very involved with prison reform. And how hard could it be? After all, I write for a living.

What I didn't take into account is that prison is full of very not-nice people.

I was matched with Darius. He is serving a life sentence for a double homicide. GULP! He has already been in prison for 25 years.

I know we shouldn't judge a person's entire life by his worst moments.

I know that when we help the least among us, it's as if we are helping the Lord.

And so I wrote to Darius. I didn't use my last name and am using the church as my return address.

I am hopeful that he answers and that we begin a correspondence that enriches us both. Megan, a fellow congregant, has experience writing to inmates and will help me if I feel uncomfortable. And this is only a six-month commitment.

I am hopeful, but skeptical. We'll see how this unfolds.

"This is what I'm meant to do with my life"

So said my niece as she explained her foster parent training to me.  She and her fiance are beginning by becoming respite caregivers. If foster parents need a break, for a day or an evening or overnight, they can leave the kid in a safe place, with people who have been checked out by the authorities and are trained in CPR, etc. 

Then, after doing this for a year (and after their wedding and honeymoon) my niece and her new husband will become foster parents themselves.

They want to be parents, but they don't want to have a baby. They want to open their hearts and their home to a child who needs them. 

I am enormously proud of her.

Bad days down south

Henry's weekend got off to bad start. Patrick -- a lifelong friend of Reg's who stays with them each winter -- came home Saturday to find him sitting naked in the living room, talking to himself, and impervious to Patrick's being in the room. A seizure? A hallucination? Who knows?

Sunday, while shopping with Reg for tires at Sears, Henry had a full-on seizure. He lost consciousness, bit his tongue, the full 9 yards. He was taken away in an ambulance.

In the ER, Henry was stabilized with intravenous medication and sent home to rest.

I've heard all this from Patrick and Reg. I don't know why I haven't heard from Henry. Maybe he's still mad at me, maybe he's embarrassed, maybe he's still disoriented.

This all serves to remind me that Henry cannot help his condition. There are thing he can do to mitigate the damage, things he's not doing, but that's a quibble in the scheme of things. He rode his bike into a van. He has a traumatic brain injury.

So now I'm back to where I was, when my weekend began. I have to learn how to integrate his injury into our relationship. I'm still tossing counseling around in my head.

Sunday Stealing

Happy Birthday, Bev!

Have you ever ...

1. Broken a bone? Yes. My clavicle when I was a pre-schooler.
2. Broken a window? Yes. In the den.
3. Been on TV? Yes. The Congress Hotel, 1992. I was on the local ABC affiliate as a cheering Clinton campaign worker the night we won. My mom was so proud!
4. Had a friend who shared the same birthday as you? Yes. Nancy H. We went K-12 together.
5. Locked your keys in the car? No, no car.
6. Accidentally sent a text or email to the wrong person? Yes. Embarrassing.
7. Sat in the back of a police car? Yes. I witnessed a crime and called 911. The police thought the suspect might still be in the neighborhood so they put me in the backseat as we rode around looking for him.
8. Fallen asleep at work? No
9. Made a snow angel? Yes
10. Ridden in an ambulance No

What is the  ...

11. Worst household chore Vacuuming
12 .Worst color Can't think of one
13. Worst pizza topping Anchovies
14. Worst weather Chilly/gray/rainy
15. Worst self-care job (e.g. dressing, washing, shaving, teeth, toe nails) Tweezing errant hairs
16. Worst game Football
17. Worst school subject Math
18. Worst animal Can't think of one
19. Worst season Spring, because it has the most chilly/gray/rainy days
20. Worst TV show Trump TV