I skim the obituaries in the newspaper every day. Some are a few brief lines while others are lengthy tributes. It makes me think I'd like to write my own so I know exactly what it will say. I like the ones that describes their personality. You can see the love the writer had for them. Everyone will eventually die and it's especially sad to see a young person in the obits. We had one very recently, a 17 year old girl killed in a car accident days before her high school graduation. School officials had a graduation ceremony in her hospital room where they presented her with her diploma. She was on life support and died the next day. I feel bad for her parents and loved ones that now have to pick up the pieces of their lives and go on. I think of a young life gone and what she could have given the world. It makes me sad. But I didn't know her and while I grieve for a few minutes and ponder her life I move on with mine. The recent succession of celebrity deaths affects me more personally. I know that sounds odd, I've never met them or know their families but because they've been in the public eye I do to a degree feel like I know them.
Billy Mays 1958-2009
I've seen his commercials pushing products over the years and never gave him much thought except to wonder why he yells. But since April I've been watching his show Pitchmen on Discovery and have seen the person he is. Billy was a kind man who honestly wanted people's dreams to succeed and would do his best to make them happen. He never ridiculed someones idea even if it was silly. He had a great sense of humor and loved his family and friends. He seemed to be for me anyways, one of those people that lit up a room when they came in. Not because he was full of himself but because he enjoyed people. As I said, I didn't know him personally, just from television but he seemed genuine and that's rare in TV land.
What's also rather strange for me is that Michael Jackson was just 3 weeks younger than me and Billy Mays was 6 days older than me. It makes me think of my own mortality. Hubby assures me that since I'm not addicted to several different pain killers and I haven't been bonked on the head recently that I'm not going anywhere soon. It's not really that. I think these deaths are reminding me that life is short and can end at any time. Maybe this is what elderly people feel like when their friends and contemporaries start to pass.
On another note, remember this post? Last week we made our reservations for the 4th of July fireworks boat cruise in NYC. I'm glad we did and if we hadn't I sure as hell would have been doing it today.
A sad day today for the entertainment world with the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. They were both staples of the 70's, a decade from my youth.
Farrah Fawcett had the beautiful all American looks that girls and women wanted to copy and was the fantasy of boys and men everywhere. I remember an incident begging my father to come up and kill a spider in my room but I had to wait until the commercial break so he wouldn't miss a moment of Farrah on Charlie's Angels. She was sexy and classy and if I couldn't have Ryan O'Neil I was glad she had him. I watched her on Farrah's Story and admired her tenacity and bravery. I feel sad, just sad. And while the public knew that Farrah close to death we didn't know that Michael Jackson was. When I heard that Elvis had died I was in the hospital with my soon to be first and eventually ex-husband, he'd crushed his hand trying to catch a truck transmission at work. I wasn't a big Elvis fan and didn't get the enormity of his death. I was in the basement doing laundry and heard about Jackson. I was shocked and wasn't sure I heard it right. I get it now.
Despite how odd he became in later years he was a still a superstar. I loved his music from his very young innocent days with the Jackson 5. In my mind The Osmonds just couldn't compete with them. We were the same age within 3 weeks of each other so I feel as I grew up with him. MJ had many issues in his adult life but his formative years were no where near normal. He never had an opportunity to be a child and I feel that's mainly the reason for his foibles. I will always think of him as a little boy who grew into a young man and became a music icon. May he rest in peace and be remembered for the singer he was.
I had another post written about how I would bet my next pay check that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford was involved with a woman who wasn't his wife. Going off on a clandestine get-a-way as well as being incommunicado is a huge hint. Even his wife didn't know where he was. God forbid, what if something had happened to one of his children while he was off "finding himself"? I'd be pissed if I was Jenny Sanford.
So it turns out that I didn't have to speculate, there is another woman. Gov. Sanford goes missing for SEVEN days, for five of those days there was no contact at all between him and his staffers or his wife. When he finally did check in he was surprised by the attention given to his surreptitious vacation.
Sanford preceded to tell his office that he was hiking along the Appalachian Trail, meanwhile a TV station had his car staked out at the airport. Apparently it's not unusual for the Gov. to take off like this for a little "alone" time. Now we know why. Sanford has admitted to an affair with an Argentine woman referred to as a "dear, dear friend". He's known her for the last eight years but he didn't become an adulterer until a little over a year ago. Supposedly his wife found out about it 5 months ago. No wonder she didn't seem too concerned about his magical mystery tour. She didn't know where he was either but offered up this nugget; "He was writing something and wanted some space to get away from the kids." Say what?!! Don't bring your children into this and be using them as an excuse. As a mother she should know better.
So he spent "the last five days of my life crying in Argentina" are we supposed to feel sorry for him? Boo Hoo. Not gonna happen. If it seems like men cheat more than women you'd be right but the percentage is closer than you think. Click here for some interesting info. Maybe we just hear about more men than women getting busted.
Citizens of S.C. I have this to say, your governor will be the center of attention and the butt of jokes for a while but it will fade away. How do I know this you ask? I live in New York and our illustrious governor was Elliot Spitzer.
What an extremely dreary day yesterday. It was cool and rained all day. My poor flowers are drenched after many a deluge. It was the kind of day that makes you either stay in your jammies all day with a good book or go out and spend money. I felt like spending. Rather than going to the mall which could've been dangerous we decided on dinner and a movie.
We started at Five Guys for burgers.
They make their own fries from fresh potatoes.
mmmm, mmmm, good
Next stop, the cinema for a film. That sounds so artsy fartsy but the movies we saw were far from it. Yes I said movies, we saw two and my buttocks are numb. (Ssshhhhh, we only paid for one flick) Movie number one was Year One with Jack Black and Michael Cera. I'm not crazy about J.B. but have liked Michael Cera since Arrested Development, a very quirky and funny TV show and Juno. Year One was funny but not as funny as the second movie, The Hangover. I wasn't sure if this was one of those teenage/college male movies but there were people of all ages in the theater and it was good. If you can only see one of these movies, see The Hangover especially the end with the photos.
Their snouts are so cute... Mmmm, chocolate pigs...
I love their ears...
BUT...
There are 15 students at our school that are home sick, each with the same symptoms that happen to be symptoms of that pesky little bug making it's way around the world. They've been told that they have to stay home the rest of the year even if they're feeling better. Luckily we have just 2 days left. Two of those students are in my kindergarten class. One I work closely with every day. He was in school at the beginning of last week. According to the CDC the incubation period of the H1N1 flu can be as short as 1 to 4 days or 1 to 7 days. Now these are not confirmed cases of it or even being officially called suspected cases but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the little ones and me.
There is something about fireworks I absolutely love. The sound, the rumble, the echoing off of buildings but the beautiful colors are the best. I'm one of those that clap for good ones and ohh and ahhh. Someone once said to me, "once you see 'em, you've seen 'em. Why go every year?" Say What??!! I've loved fireworks since the first time I saw them. I was little and knew our town celebrated with them. I wanted to go very badly but I had (and still do) two little sisters (ages 3 and 6) and I understand now that it would've been crazy to take all three of us to a dark park crammed full of people not to mention trying to amuse us while waiting for them to start. While my mom stayed in the house with the sleeping little ones my dad took me up on the roof of the house to watch. They were maybe three miles away but we could see them over the trees while on that roof. That's where I learned that the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound.
When my son was little he absolutely hated them. He would cover his ears and scream. After that we left him with my sister while we walked to the park to see them. I like to get close enough to lay on the ground while they explode over me. One year hubby had a migraine on the 4th...
So long honey, hope you feel better,
we're out the door to the fireworks.
I bring up my love of fireworks and you already know of my love of New York City because...
Hubby, Cam and I are going there over the 4th of July to visit our oldest. For me what could be better than fireworks and Manhattan?? I found a 4th of July evening cruise that's 4 1/2 hours long and gets you to the Statue of Liberty, along the Manhattan skyline and in the river to see the fireworks. Doesn't that sound wonderful? Here's the thing, it costs $74.99 per person. There would be five of us. We would pay for the three of us and I would like to treat for Kevin and his girlfriend to go. That would cost us $374.99 plus tax. Ouch. Is it worth it? To me it is. It's a once in a lifetime event. We're driving to NYC rather than flying and staying with our son in Queens rather than a hotel in Manhattan so we're doing it somewhat cheaply. I'd also like to do this. I haven't spoken with hubs about this yet. I'm pretty sure about what he's going to say after he questions my sanity. But it's only money right? Stay tuned to see how this pans out.
While I like music, I'm more of a peace and quiet person. I'd rather listen to the birds sing or be alone in my own thoughts. I do like music and do my listening while driving. I enjoy most types but what I love are songs from different years of my life, it may be from the 60's and 70's, The Who, Janis Joplin, Mamas and the Papas to name a few, disco; KC and the Sunshine Band, love songs, southern rock, Motown, not so much new stuff. I'm not really a concert person. It always seemed to me that the band wasn't that great. They would change their songs around or sing them differently or maybe they weren't that great to begin with and the studio recording worked miracles. Not a fan of live music. But...
Last night was the opening night of the 9 day long Rochester International Jazz Festival and we went to the Eastman Theater to see Smokey Robinson. It was wonderful.
This was the best pic I could get before the usher told me she'd take my camera away if she saw it again and I can't have that. He's got on a baby blue silk suit and looks like he's glowing.
Smokey sang some hits from his Miracle days, songs he wrote for the Temptations, songs celebrating 50 years of Motown and just so much more. Smokey has a beautiful voice and at age 68 hasn't lost a bit of it. He is so smooth, not one bad note and sounds better than he did all those years ago if that's possible.
The show stopper for me? Tracks of my Tears. I truly wish you could have heard it, it brought me to tears. The raw emotion and anguish he put into it was astounding.
If you ever have an oportunity to see Smokey Robinson don't hesitate, you won't be disappointed.
I had a Falling Down moment at the DMV today. As of June 1, 2009 in order to get into Canada you need a passport or enhanced drivers license (EDL). Since New York is a border state they're one of the few that offer enhanced licenses. We go to Canada every summer and decided to get EDL's. You must provide the appropriate identification; birth certificate, 2 proofs of residency and social security card.
After waiting in the information line for 20 minutes we finally got up to the counter, presented our documentation and had our new photos snapped. Then the clerk hands us our ticket slip, we were number A195 and the wait time printed on it is 55 minutes.They were on number A174. Ok, why didn't I bring a book?
Fifty five minutes slowly crept by, I amused myself by listening to all the different cell phone ring tones. It seemed like everyone was getting phone calls. So after an hour our number was up. Up to the window we go where she tells us that she has to scan our documents, ok. She comes back and says things are backed up at the scanner, three people ahead of us, it'll be a few minutes she'll call us when they're ready. Ok.
After we leave the window a young kid comes up to it,yet she hadn't called another number. Ten minutes tick off the clock, he's still there, 20 minutes, still there, 40 minutes, still there. They're calling number A235. Now my blood pressure is rising, my chest is getting tight and I'm so frustrated I feel like I'm going jump out of my seat or burst into tears.
Finally he's starting to walk away from the window and we go up not waiting for her to call our name or worse yet another number. I said to the woman, who knows what her name was, no name tag or name plate in sight, "I could never do this job", I don't remember what she said but long story short we started arguing. I said we'd been here over 2 hours,we should have waited at the window for the scans, her response in a nut shell was, too bad. My point was if this guy had an issue that was taking so long, give our paperwork to someone else because we've been waiting. Very poor customer service skills. Here she has a customer that is clearly going over the edge and rather than use a calm voice acknowledging that we have indeed been waiting an extraordinary long time, she's arguing. Hubby is getting tense and tells us both to stop. I then say, "I'm done speaking" her next words, "I sure hope so". I wanted to climb over the counter.
She enters hubby's info into the computer, no problem. She gets to mine and I have a funky birth certificate. The state of Ohio where I was born put the wrong name on it and the wrong sex! My parents actually had to file an affidavit and have my name and sex legally changed. Hence whenever I have to use my B.C. I have additional paperwork with it. She questions it and hubby tells her about the affidavit because I'm done with her. Bad news, she didn't have that scanned so back to the scanning que. I think I must have looked like I was going to have an
apoplecticepisode and stroke out so hubs says we'll wait right here at this window while you go and express scan it. She didn't like that but the words didn't come from my lips. I swear if she had said one more antagonist word I was going to tell her "thank God I don't have your shitty job."
It wasn't my proudest moment but dayum I'm going to Canada even if I don't want to just to use that drivers license.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
I've never responded to a comment left on my blog actually on the blog but there's a first time for everything. Regarding my last post about Adam Lambert and his "coming out". To bring you up to speed read the comments left.
Ok, all done?
I'm not a religious person. I don't go to church. I'm certainly not a scholar of the bible. I live my life as a kind, giving woman who knows right from wrong and how to treat people regardless of their ethnicity or sexuality. I don't judge people based on that criteria.
Religion does have a place in people's lives, I don't deny that. It gives them comfort and something to believe in. If my plane is spiraling down to the ground maybe then I'll find God but that plays no part in my life at the moment. Should you think any different of me? You can if you want but don't preach to me about it. It's my choice.
So countless wars have been and still are being fought over religion because one side or another thinks that everyone should believe in their perception of God. If you don't then you should be terrorized. That isn't right or very religious. I highly doubt your God, whomever it may be wants you to kill in his name. That goes for people that kill doctors that perform abortions. But these issues are a whole 'nother story.
People in this country have rights and I hardly think that they should be discriminated against by religious groups. Who gives them the right or authority or audacity to do so.Our first settlers came here to escape religious persecution. Since the beginning of time there have been homosexuals, this isn't a new thing, it's just becoming more main stream. Because you don't agree with it that makes it wrong? In case you're wondering I believe that people are hard wired to be gay, it's something in the brain. I do not think that 99% of the people choose to be gay. Being gay isn't something contagious, no one can force you.
Of course people don't want to live in Sodom and Gomorrah but to me S & G means drugs, murder, riots etc. not the fact that you may love a person of the same sex. I see more straight people making a spectacle of themselves with their PDAs than gay and lesbian. In NYS there is complete separation between church and the public school system. They certainly don't teach about homosexuality. I'm not sure what they teach out in California that would cause one to pull their children out of public schools but prove it to me if it's the teaching of homosexuality.
And per the usual, everyone is entitled to their opinions, the difference being when it's carried to the extreme or when it envolves discrimination.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
OMG, Adam Lambert is gay!!
I didn't see that coming I say while rolling my eyes. Does anyone really care? Does it matter? I don't hear other Idol contestants being questioned about their sexuality. What I'm interested in is his voice and being gay doesn't change that.
Sure there are people out there that will say his career is over before it gets started because he's gay. Off the top of my head I think of Elton John, Freddie Mercury, George Micheal, Neil Patrick Harris, Ellen, all who have a successful career while being gay. I don't think Adam has to worry about his choice of partners affecting his record sales. The people that have a problem with it most likely don't listen to his type of music and wouldn't listen if he was straight either.
If you're gay it should be your choice if and when you come out of the closet. Should gay activists like Perez Hilton force you to come out or berate you if you don't? I don't think so, straight or gay, it's not any of our business. It's too bad in this day and age people make judgments based on this rather than on their merits.
Can I call you Ron? You know I love your breakfast. My favorite is the sausage biscuit. The fluffy biscuit and sausage, not too spicy and tender, mmmm. Today I splurged and went with a sausage biscuit with egg and cheese. It was okay but I like just plain sausage better. But that's not what this is about. Hubby went through the drive through this morning and when he got home this is what was in the bag...
Can these hash browns be any more crispy and gross and ineatable. There's not even any potato left in them. You'd break your teeth if you tried to eat them. I've long suspected that when you go through the drive through you get food that's been sitting around. How often will people return to ask for a replacement? How could your employees serve these?? The hash browns just confirm my drive through theory.
Summer
In other weekend events we hit the garden stores looking for a replacement for our monstrous 15 foot burning bush that was taking over the front of our house. Of course I had to look at the flowers even though I have absolutely no room to plant anything else. I love marigolds. There's something about the warm yellow, orange and red colors plus the fact that they're a very rugged flower, you can't kill these things. I even like the smell of them.
The edge of the leaves of this coleus make me think of a costume from Dancing with the Stars.
Lily of the Nile. I wish I had room for this.
As the weekend came to a close we walked over to the pond by our house to look for some tadpoles for my kindergarten class. There were plenty of them there but this Canadian goose family kept swimming over to us and stirring up the tadpoles. I think they thought we had something for them to eat. These things are big and I didn't want to get too close since sometimes they can be mean. What ever you did this weekend I hope you had fun doing it :)
Off to watch Gene Simmons Family Jewels now. See ya
Several weeks ago hubby and I were driving along on the expressway when we came along side two bikers decked out in full biker regalia. We were in the left lane, bikers in the right. When we passed them the lead biker turned his head very slowly and looked at me...
and this is what he was wearing under his helmet. I have to tell you it was very cool. I smiled, he nodded. I told my son about it and he said he had to show me something.
This.
Who needs a skull face mask when you can tattoo your face with a skull. I don't really shock very easy but when I saw this looking at me I was speechless. He looks so young under all that ink and has beautiful eyes. What would posses someone to do this to themselves?
Here he is again after even more tattoo work done. There's someone out there for everyone so I don't doubt he'll find a woman that will find him attractive but how will he ever get a job except in a freak show? I tried to find some information about this young man and all I found out is that he's from Montreal.
But back to motorcycles. When I was a teenager I thought I'd like a motorcycle but then I was on the back of my former brother-in-law's Harley and that cured me. It was the scariest ride ever because of course he had to show off. I think I almost peed my pants. But that ride didn't stop me from admiring a good Harley. Forget those foreign ones and racing bikes. As for riding a motorcycle now, well in Florida I fell off of my mother's bicycle and my knee still is giving trouble. I'll stick to riding in a car.
Not only did it hurt, it was down right embarrassing!
Yesterday as I was returning home from a girlie doctor appointment I was travelling through the park right near my house where this incident occurred. There was a car pulled over to the side of the road with two kids looking at something. As I got closer I saw that it was a massive, gargantuan, humongous, leviathan of a snapping turtle. Dang, I didn't have my camera with me so I sped up the hill to my house, ran in, peed, grabbed my camera and went back down. Before I continue my story enjoy some pics from my garden...
Coral bells, one of my earliest bloomers.
A rhododendron we just put in this spring. I honestly don't know how people can not have flowers in their yard. Well, I do actually. They're a lot of work but so worth it. Now back to the turtle story....
I jumped into my car and headed back down to the park, total elapsed time, less than five minutes. I got down there and the freaking turtle was GONE! How fast can a gigantic turtle move??
Sadness. Some people hate it and stay as far away from it as they can get and yet some don't mind it. Of course I don't think anyone likes to feel sad but there's something about reading a sad book or seeing a sad movie that makes me feel something. Certainly not happiness. I just can't explain it. I'm a very empathetic, intuitive and compassionate person. I feel my emotions and the emotions of others deeply. Sometimes to a fault.
The other night "Driving Miss Daisy" was on TV, it's one of my favorites and I always cry at the end. There is something so touching when Hoke visits Daisy in the nursing home at the end and is feeding her. To me it's just so intimate and not in a sexual way but in a loving way. He understood that in her own way she loved him and he loves her.
Isn't this most beautiful picture? She's 84 years old here. Click the photo to read what her husband says about her. I'm a sucker for little kids, old people and dogs.
Sometimes my husband asks me "why do you watch things that you know will make you cry?" I don't really have a reason for him, it's not like I want to be sad. He's asked me that question several times lately because I've found a new blog a few months ago that I read. I don't recall how I stumbled upon it. It's like I find a lot of things on the Internet, I follow links and end up new places. The blog I'm writing about is called The Sporh's Are Multiplying. It's a blog about a family, a mom, dad and little girl named Maddie. I've read back into her archives and have learned about the birth of Maddie. She was premature and had to fight for her life.
Isn't she a ray of sunshine? By reading Heather's words you could see how happy she was to be a mother and how proud she was of Maddie. The joy shined through in her blog. But their precious little daughter passed away suddenly in April. Her blog entries have changed dramatically as you would expect. Her writing is now so poignant and painful. Instead of joy the pain of their loss radiates through my computer and into my heart. I'm sad when I read it yet I can't stop reading it every day. As a mother I feel I need to experience this horrible event with her. I don't know her and can't imagine what her and her husband are going through. Yet by reading it and being touched by it I like to think that maybe I'm helping her. That I feel I'm getting to know Maddie and that's what her mother wants. For her child to be known and have an impact on people even though her life was cut short. Heather did a post this week about how she was at her parents house and was walking around outside. She looked at the sun shining on one of the windows and there was one of Maddie's hand prints. It was like Maddie was saying hello.
he's been hanging around in the front garden but he's now taken up new residence in my tomato garden next to my back sliding door. It's southern exposure so he likes to sun himself. I'm okay with that unless I see him peeking in. Then he's history.
My father was in the Army when he was a lad. He served his country during peacetime between the Korean conflict and the Vietnam War. As a child my parents taught us the meaning of Memorial Day. We actually took a moment out our day to reflect on the lives that were given for our country. A deep appreciation of our country was instilled in us. When hubby and I bought our house 26 years ago the first thing I did have a big fiberglass flagpole installed. Today we fly the American flag as well as the POW flag which are light at night.
It must be the month of May because all over the country parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles are going to dance recitals. I've been going to my 13 year old niece's for the last nine years. She does tap and hip hop and gets better every year. We call her long tall Sally as she's 5' 9" with long legs. Her dance school teaches students ages 4 - 18. The little ones are always the most popular and the older girls are always the best dancers. It's that awkward ages of 8 - 12 where watching can sometimes be painful. There's not a lot of grace and movements are often herky jerky. You can see the concentration on their faces.
Tonight was recital night and it was a grueling 2 1/2 hours long with 36 dance numbers (all group dances) and lest I forget, the packed auditorium was about 90 degrees. I don't know about you but when watching a group of dancers my eyes seem to automatically pick out one girl and focus on her. There was one girl tonight that stood out in the 5 dances she danced in. She's about 11 years old and each time was the best dancer on stage. She was graceful, her steps were sharp, she knew the routine well and it looked effortless. She was just glowing with joy and confidence. The best part; she was the chubby girl. I wish I could have told her how wonderful she did.
Farrah 
