MEMORIES (Week of January 24)

DID YOU KNOW-This week I discovered that stressed spelled backwards is desserts! No wonder we gain weight when we are feeling the "slings and arrows" of modern life. Sweets, carbs and chocolate decadence envelope our escape from anxious moments.  Though why don't we crave broccoli and cantaloupe when agitated?  Nope hand me the cheese puffs and beer Charlie, and wine, lots of wine....

ROOMMATE STORIES-That reminds me of when my old college roommate and I would have "pun" contests. Cantaloupe would trigger "I cantaloupe with you my love" with the "lettuce discuss this further" rejoinder and the School of Hard Knocks - "Gross Tech" followed by "Far mouth groupie".  

Which further reminds me of a dorm episode when two roomies decided to pop a joint-which is a really dumb idea in a dormitory on campus as we all know the smell is minor and undetectable, right... My joke about reading the offenders their rights almost got me tossed out the window (5th floor). Apparently "narcs" did hide under the beds in the pot paranoia of the late '60's. The OH and I felt the better part of valor would be to bogey away from the inevitable police round-up. Oddly enough we got a friendly tap on the car window by the cops as we "talked" near the beach at Lake Lansing.  The "smokers" who stayed were not detected and unbusted. How fair is that?

WEEK'S RANT -Latest stupid news is all about banning books if they mention nudity, cuss words, rape, gender preferences, the holocaust, slavery, logic, intelligence-you know the realities of life. My Mother was very open-minded about what we read, but we had to tell her and often she would read the "questionable" book, but she never forbade anything. I know she was a little shocked when I found "Andersonville" a compelling read. It was a graphic depiction of the horrendous conditions of the notorious Civil War prison. And I am sure "Portnoy's Complaint"and "Lord of the Flies" not to mention "Treasure Island" would appall these pseudo-protectors as well. Of course, the Left has problems with Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, both of which I enjoyed in my youth. Slavery was a fact of life in the 1800s. We might have to condemn the Bible as well as it encompasses all the above-mentioned topics as well.  See where book banning gets one?

The narrow-minded are spawning the children who show up at college or the workplace with no knowledge of reality but feeling perfectly capable of rendering judgement of what they do not understand-fear I suppose. I roomed with a Jewish girl at college, and I know we rocked her world quite a bit due to her conservative upbringing. But we all became friends and learned about each other, though her parents became convinced we were the proverbial den of iniquity. 

MORE ROOMIES RAP -Two of my roommates (4-person room) were pre-med.  Easy right? Lots of math and science. Well by the end of freshman year, one decided life at a major college (MSU) was a little overwhelming and went home to Community College. The other, whom I lived with for two years, switched her major to Russian Literature- yes that's a thing. She became an Attorney I believe. But at least I ended up being able to pronounce "Dostoevsky" and managed a working knowledge of "War and Peace" and "The Brothers Karamazov". I had to write the Russian names down so I could sort through the characters on these long, long epics. 

 I also got a better understanding of the Russian people and why Communism was a welcome release from the Imperial reign except for its minor problem of becoming restrictive and totalitarian. Because I am also a fan of Ayn Rand (Atlas Shrugged) I understand the lure of Capitalism, beyond its minor problem of being easily corrupted and manipulated by the rich and powerful when motives are less than pure (how naive of me). 

For my part I majored in Journalism but dropped out after sophomore year when I got married. $150 a week for the two of us didn't go far in covering books and tuition. At least when I finished my degrees later, with a full-time job and a child, the ultimate goal was clearer. Though I ended up a safety skate and Personnel Director there has always been an opportunity of continuing to practice my communication interest.  College, if you let it, opens your eyes to the world and teaches skills one can utilize in previously unimagined ways.  Now I'm writing scripts and producing podcasts - a specialty one could not even have conceived of in our pre-internet world. Any learning is good learning - good or bad I suppose. If only to "kill" at trivia contests!

MISCELLANEOUS FUN FACTS--- Several zoos have found that pair-bonding occurs with birds of the same sex, and it turns out they make very good "parents for orphaned eggs; both in hatching and caring for the chicks. Conjecture is that certain populations are becoming more extinct (less candidates for pairing) or maybe "they were just born that way".

-- Insurance companies are required to justify any premium raises for the Affordable Health Act in 2022 but are not using Covid as a contributing factor (AARP)-interesting.

January 24, 2022 would have been Mother's 94th birthday. Also, this week marks three years since my brother passed away. Funny how you feel the tug like it was yesterday.   PEACEFULLY OUT....

IT'S GETTING COLD MATILDA (Week of Jan 17)

ITS ALL GREEK TO ME (Delta, Omicron) As the pandemic drags on, it seems we are losing a lot of folks that psychedelically punctuate my youthful memories. In music alone, Charlie Watts (Stones), Mike Nesmith (Monkees), Meatloaf (Bat outta Hell), etc. Not to mention the number of "mature" rockers who have had to suspend or cancel concerts over the last three years. Elton John has been trying to do his farewell tour since 2018! In our advanced ages, it is both a precaution for their health as well as us rockin' seniors not to expose ourselves to the Pande. Saw an article that indicated that 70% of downloaded music is "oldies". I would think that would rattle the newer artists. We are officially the elevator music of our time. 

In the stupid news, I listened to a "lady" tell a school board very vehemently that if masks are mandated on Monday not only will my children not be wearing them, but I will bring all my guns "Loaded" to school. Over a piece of cloth? I am gobsmacked (I love that word) to say the least. How much more evidence does one need? I am not sure if it is a lack of intelligence, education or laziness that keeps people in the proverbial dark ages. Though they yell "freedom" (except for women's rights of course) they would rather be "told" what to do by their puppet masters. Sad and dangerous-double whammy.

What is especially galling is the cold and evil fingers of Omicron have hit way too close.  My own sweet little grandson got sidelined this week. Thank all the gods he is fully vaccinated and his bout consisted of a runny nose and sore leg for two days. But what if he had been one of the unfortunate who got deathly ill or died, or unwittingly exposed another vulnerable person? All in the name of freedom for somebody who can't wear a face bra or get vaccinated.

UPDATE - Joseph is officially bored, over his quarantine, and anxious to get back to school Monday. 

SHIFTING GEARS Watching a commercial for new trucks I noted the Chevy Colorado was cheaper per month than the full-sized Silverado. Odd as the Colorado is smaller. And why do they not make the old 2 door (with back seat) Silverdo anymore which is why we hang onto the 2012 model we have. Which is another rant entirely, whole chapter actually. 

Anyway, the commercial reminded me of how happy a construction employee was at MIOSHA when I snagged a baby truck for him.  At MIOSHA, consultative staff worked from home offices and "toured" several counties to solicit and service clients. At one time I oversaw the distribution of State cars for our group under the State's philosophy of "if we can get it cheaper do it". Though promoted as a safety organization the hue and cry and twisting through knotholes to try to get, I don't know, trucks for construction consultants traveling on construction sites and 4-wheel drive for the northern and UP folks traveling in massive snowstorms, was torture.

 I literally had to wait for someone to die, well retire, to get my mitts on an appropriate vehicle.  Seniority or buddies with the governor (other departments) should not have been an issue when peoples' well-being is at stake.  Though when has Government ever been particularly logical? I actually went to the power/s that be to make the case for safety, from a department literally writing tickets for "lack of" safety to deaf ears. When one of my employees died in her sleep, (I got a call from the client that she had not shown up to teach that day) and while I was working with her shocked and bereaved husband, I was forced to think about how I could snare her car and assign it before it was taken back by eager hands outside the department. Macabre as that sounds, there was always a lot of intrigue, drama and competition for people who needed cars to get them. 

BACK TO WORK Vacays over and I have to start thinking about podcasting again. Have a script in the hopper for Home Office Ergonomics and a questionnaire out to a Consumers Safety skate tentatively entitled 'Line of Fire". I also have another one on hold ready to get started. My problem is getting the MSC Board Chair and current President to work with me. Since their questionnaires went out "crickets". As the Committee wants the MSC one to be posted first before the conference it means I have to track them down, script them and force pithy quotes from them before March-sigh. Also as February is Jury month, I may have to get creative. Sure lucky I'm retired as I apparently have way too much to do! Meanwhile, several friends are already there, or in the process of, escaping to Florida. Stay warm and Peace out....

                                              

FUN WITH... (Week of January 10)

Apparently our doctor is not as open to suggestion as I had hoped. The OH mentioned we would like a prescription for Florida to help get over his naggy cough. Doc Miller was amused but not cooperative. Darn. Though I imagine the co-pay would have been hefty.

FUN WITH ECONOMICS Listening to a couple of economists talking about inflation one statement stuck with me "I'd much rather be in an inflationary setting with full employment than one without".  And that is the crux of the matter. Part of inflation (outside of supply bottlenecks, mass resignations/retirements, reliance on foreign suppliers, a never-ending pandemic, etc.) is wages have also increased. That we are spending that raise on higher prices at least gives folks a fighting chance. Fixed income folk, not so much.  

FUN WITH TRASH It's all about placement around potential hazards and "what ifs". The water pipe bursting at a ski resort bathing and injuring people in the ski lifts passing above in high pressure liquid reminded me of an accident I investigated. The employee was continually running a trash compactor due to a neighborhood clean-up (lotta garbage goin'on). The hot oil blew out the pipe connection which, unfortunately, was positioned right at face level. Though suffering burns to his face, my campaign on safety glasses/goggles had apparently found fertile ground so his eyesight was saved. Upon research with the manufacturer, who claimed no responsibility of course, they did agree that it was an unfortunate position for the coupling. Also one hopes they decided to anticipate higher temps and possibly thicker material on future models. I believe they did, at least agree, to turn the hose around to face the truck rather than the operator

Those trash trucks were fascinating machines. I worked with the City Council media person to create an entire video (yes video) for training new refuse employers. Crawling through the truck; climbing mountains of trash at the dump; shooting and reshooting scenes with our amateur cast; even the painstaking editing was a blast. Although I wrote the entire script which was fact-checked by the department, the supervisor insisted on being the one to read the technical chapters. Thus my "masterpiece" had my introduction of each chapter with enthusiasm and energy followed by his "head down" non-expressive recitation. It was torture to listen to. But we had a lot of pictures and action parts.

Another "solid" (will make sense later) I performed was to convince management to provide a powered air-purifying respirator hood for the garage mechanic. He was asthmatic so I could make the accommodation argument, but the real reason was do you know what hangs off the bottom of refuse packers? Big fat white maggots - Ugh. Which "solidifies" my admiration for workers who toil under challenging conditions but still do the job, unless someone advocates for them. That was one of the  rewards for being a safety skate. 

FUN WITH CHURCH  The OH and I got a last minute call to cover for our friends in cooking and serving hot dogs at the bi-weekly free church dinner. They like them cajun style (blackened) so I was chastising Burt for not grilling in 16 degree weather LOL.  Any way we broiled them in the oven to the desired color and raced to church with 15 minutes to spare. Of course a car was already pulled up to the trough.. er er door so we had to hustle our heavy containers past them to get inside only to find the door locked. After much banging, we finally gained entry and set up.  Though the dinner is advertised 6 to 7, after 3 cars took half the offerings, we were done by 6:15/wiped out/all gone. What would you do for a Klondike bar? Not as much as for free hotdogs, potato salad and beans apparently.

A friend had to make a visit to Emergency due to a medical issue (not covid) this week. I believe some people think the media is over-dramatizing the overflow at hospitals due to covid patients, but they need to talk to someone who has had to endure it. I agree the media does overdo a lot of issues "if it bleeds it leads" ignoring other more important issues, however this one is fact. Fortunately?? As she was transported by ambulance she was ushered past the "disease-ridden" to a private area of Emergency while waiting to be admitted to a regular room. After two days and a final discharge, she never made it to a regular room. Just hope you don't have a heart attack or traffic accident before this crisis abates. And, of course, it is the unvaccinated causing the bottle neck.  

FUN WITH GRANDSON Any parent/grandparent is not doing their job if they don't embarrass the children. With Adventure Club cancelled this week due to staffing, the daughter was using different strategies for drop-off and pick-up at school. When it was our turn Joe directed us on where we had to go, where to park and tsked tsked us for not going all the way around the parking lot to join the drop-off line. I asked him if he wanted me to walk him to the door and give him a big hug and kiss. He was horrified! I dutifully sent a picture to his Mom with the message "Package Delivered"  

Since no one answered the quiz last week I am offering an easier scenario. Do you see a problem and unfortunately, this has already happened (fatally) in Michigan this year.   P i e c e s   Out.....

                          

RAMBLINGS IN THE NEW YEAR (Week of Jan. 3 2022)

FRUSTRATION TIME: Gosh I miss having IT people available for my normal and abby-normal screwups, technology speaking. I tried to save appointments to my google calendar from my AOL account and totally screwed up the path to my blog.  By trial and error, I'm back on, but who knows whether I can traverse the convoluted path again.  I have been lax on saving my weekly musings, so I better get back in the habit. I expect a book out of this eventually; especially if the Restrooms of Traverse City Wineries doesn't get published....Or I should just say the heck with it and get rid of the "old people, obsolete" AOL account and avoid these kind of mess-ups in the future.  

CONSTERNATION IN THE CHICKEN COOP! As I receive previews of my "soon to be delivered" mail in an email each morning imagine my trepidation when I saw a letter with a return address of the U.S. District Court, Grand Rapids. Ruh-roh.  Did I get one of those bogus parking tickets from Detroit? Did I inadvertently commit a crime I should have known about? Where have I been, who did I do it with and who did I offend? I always smile at State Cops; maybe that was the wrong course of action. Amazing how your life flashes before your eyes as you frantically try to figure out what you may or may not have done. The one thing that did not occur to me was JURY DUTY! In District Court no less where the juicy trials are held. 

This is only my second call to duty in my 50+ years as a voting member of the public. The first time was local county court and though many are called, and spend the day reading or knitting (today we play with our phones), few are chosen. One of the trials was a farmer suing an energy company for more money for the placement of a pole/transformer (Eminent domain and all that). As I had worked for a utility I was obviously not "court bait" for the farmer as I may have some knowledge. In fact if you know a judge, lawyer, police officer or went to college you are usually eliminated. Jury of your peers they say. 

Upon filling out the questionnaire this time around I was wise to their tactics. "What television shows do you watch?" Some dramas and sitcoms. "What books do you read?" Both non fiction and fiction. I decided not to offer my blog and political leanings. Who knows-maybe I'll get the Governor kidnap boys. However through my many years as a safety skate buried in multiple investigations and labor negotiations, I do honestly believe I can examine testimony as it is given and be impartial.  I had to work for both sides to find the truth back in the day. Also did you know being 70 or older gives you a free "Get out of Jury Duty" card if you want. Heck no-we got more time than the whipper-snappers and OPINIONS!

POLITICAL: I heard an interesting story on "CBS Sunday Morning". A group of historians from leading universities organized by Jeffrey Engel of Southern Methodist University (Texas) reviewed the former president's tenure. A couple of points stood out. Positives such as his holding China accountable (which Biden is continuing); at least pushing the manufacture/though not supporting the use of, the vaccine (the rest of the pandemic actions were dismal). What struck me was "all presidents lie to a certain extent" the difference was he took it to a new level by only surrounding himself with those who had to support the lies or be ousted. The little lie of his inauguration numbers led to the big lie of not upholding the will of the people culminating in the hell of January 6. Engel put it this way:

"Donald Trump has a unique distinction-it's the only president who refused to honor democracy. Stop and think about that sentence. It makes my mouth say: How can you say those words! And yet I don't think they're wrong".

CHANGE OF PACE:  Those who know me also know I walk a lot for exercise. If I keep moving all is well in the mobility region of my body. However if I sit for any length of time I do a drunken little dance upon rising as I try to unkink the right side of my body. Hip and knee become non-cooperative for a period of time so my great fear is someone yelling "Fire" in a theater and meaning it. I will never make it out. At any rate, I was doing laundry which requires several trips to the basement after a prolonged session at the laptop.  I remember thinking I need to unkink before I tackle the stairs, but instead stopped to pick up a box of wine glasses adding a second element of danger to my trip (literal) down the stairs.  No major injuries and I managed to fast clip it down before losing my balance. Sigh the challenges of growing older. 

This is getting long so I will save a work story for next time. I did want to point out however that my baby sister has the same problem I do. We don't really have hobbies so ceasing the daily work routine (retirement) creates a feeling of angst and guilt. I filled the gap with remodeling half the house;
trips to Great Britain, Arizona, Texas; researching and buying a lake house and throwing myself into volunteer projects for the Safety Conference culminating with my podcast currently. Lolo however made it a mere nine months (3 months if you count her serious toe-dipping into being a mail person this summer) before she hooked up with a national company coordinating marketing and training. She said it's about the big paycheck, but I just think she's bored- considering the flirtation with the post office.  She's too young to retire anyway.  Her OH says now he can buy the expensive vodka again. 

Being a safety skate was never boring.  What's wrong with this picture??  Peace Out....

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OLD YEARS/NEW YEAR (Week of Dec. 27)

 

We volunteered to corral the grandson for the three days Mom was working this week. We made two days...  But fortunately on the third day he had an invite from the neighbor grandkids to hang out taking a wagon ride, building a snowman and eating red snow (which honest to God he thought would taste like cherries) made from food coloring. We did have the discussion on the perils of yellow snow of course. 

Although he enjoyed it when he and Grandpa went bowling one afternoon, he was less than enthusiastic when the truck died and he had to accompany us to the repair shop. Being Joe he, of course, engaged the owner in a car discussion and also scored an 89 cent sucker from Grandpa as Nana said that was too much for a little lollipop. On the second shop he was thrilled to check out the classic cars in the showroom which included a Porsche and a couple of corvettes. Though he knows cars, he had to ask the salesperson what model of Porsche it was. Expensive engineering and all that, but I thought it was ugly. I like stream-lined cars and my favorite was my Buick Riviera. Though I did like my baby blue 8 cylinder Mercury Comet which cruised at 35-40 mph without touching the acceletator. I needed to put it in neutral to stop on slippery roads.  Sold that one to a teenager and I always wondered if he wrapped it around a tree because we all know what responsible drivers teenagers are...with a hot car.

 Of course hanging with the boy leads to"Joeisms". When his Mother dropped him off she reminded him to be a good boy. He looked up at me and asked "am I a good boy?" Of course I said. He then reassured his Mother by saying "See, no worries Mom". Shortly after the sucker treat he moaned that he was more than ready for lunch. For some reason lunchtime is 11 or 11:30 for him-must be a school thing. Anyway I said you just had a sucker! He responded with "some food is for sucking and lunch is for chewing".  End of discussion. This analogy also applies to candy canes.

Joe did finally cart out his Christmas beanbag chair, wearing it like a crown or a Sherpa guide on Mt Everest.           

In anticipation of another rowdy New Year's evening of struggling to stay awake until midnight we first enjoyed pizza with Kristen and Joe before they headed for home. Though it was early I told her what my Mother would say to us "anybody out on New Year's Eve after midnight is under the influence; drive accordingly". That was especially hazardous when we were doing the Free Press paper route in Grand Rapids during my high school years. As our "run time" was about 1 am to 4 am, we had scant vehicle company besides cops, robbers and drunks. We learned to drive accordingly as each group has its own unique hazards. 

As we covered downtown one would think I know my way around GR. I knew the turns and stops for the route, but I never really knew where I was-at least not enough to give anyone directions. I hated fighting the newspaper racks to force them to give up their treasure. Just turning the key never worked. I think people, and cars, took out their frustrations on the lowly yellow rack in times of emotional distress. Why we never got robbed in my nightly rack battles is a mystery. I certainly wasn't paying attention, but I imagine Mother would have run over anyone who tried. She was a hell of a "wheelman" when you realize she could maneuver a car so well when we got stuck in snow, a soaking wet 100 pound paper pusher could push the station wagon enough to get it rolling. Good thing as I don't think we could afford AAA.

We've never been big New Year's Eve partiers unless we're invited somewhere but I remember my first opportunity was January 1, 1972 when the Michigan drinking age was lowered to 18. Just married in September of 1971, but I had only passed my 20th birthday in November. So I eagerly tried to talk my new husband into taking me to a local establishment for my first legal drink. Being newly married I had not yet learned "happy wife, happy life" so I didn't insist or demand. We were at the in-laws that year so maybe he was not thrilled with the choice of bars in Rogers City. Heck I was all set to go to the notorious sailor's hangout downtown (Rogers City is a port town for US Steel). Ah well. I had a few  adventures illegally in Rogers City before we were married. There's probably still some booze buried somewhere near the lake from one of the beach parties. 

As one friend posted "Our expectations were so low for the new year we are just happy that an asteroid didn't hit earth".  To which the OH opined "I'm happy an asteroid didn't hit the house". Low expectations indeed.   Peace, good will and out....