My boyfriend and I have been separated for about 3 weeks now - and we have one more to go!
I miss him.
One of the best things about him is that he "gets" me. I hope he thinks I "get" him too.
Sometimes when we're in the mall or the park and I occasionally see a parent with a toddler on one of those "leashes" (I'm sure they must have a better name for them than that) I go into my little speech about how nobody likes them but I like them and I wish they were more popular - or even acceptable.
It seems to me that the toddler is free to run around and not hold his arm straight up in the air to reach his parent's hand - but is still safe.
My boyfriend doesn't say much about this. I wouldn't blame him, if, when I sometimes go off on my little tirades is, what he hears is blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Today I received a comic strip in the mail. It came with no explanation. (My boyfriend knows I love comic strips.)
This was the "Pooch Cafe" strip from May 21st. The dog is applying for health insurance. He answers all of the questions correctly and then the interviewer asks:
And are you currently attached to the end of a retracting retractable leash?
Of course, he knows the answer to this is going to get him denied his insurance. The last caption says:
My mother was on a retractable leash when she was pregnant and I turned out fine!!
This says so much about society, our health care system, leashes for dogs and people - and my boyfriend's sense of humor!
Not to mention the fact that he "gets" me.
***
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Ain't I a Woman?
In the posting below, titled "Powerful Women," I addressed this morning's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the supreme court.
Also this morning, as I read my devotional, it spoke of Sojourner Truth. An African American slave turned abolitionist and woman's rights pioneer, she was a powerful woman of another era.
But I'll let her speak for herself. Following is a small portion of her famous poem:
Ain't I a Woman?
Look at me!
Look at my arm!
I have ploughed,
and planted,
and gathered into barns,
and no man could head me!
And ain't I a woman?
I could work as much
and eat as much as a man--
when I could get it --
and bear de lash as well!
And ain't I a woman?
I have borne thirteen chilern,
and seen 'em mos' all sold off to slavery,
and when I cried out with my mother's grief,
none but Jesus heard me!
And ain't I a woman?
If de fust woman God ever made
was strong enough to turn de world upside down
all alone,
dese women togedder ought to be able to turn it back, and to get it right side up again!
And now dey is asking to do it,
de men better let 'em.
***
Also this morning, as I read my devotional, it spoke of Sojourner Truth. An African American slave turned abolitionist and woman's rights pioneer, she was a powerful woman of another era.
But I'll let her speak for herself. Following is a small portion of her famous poem:
Ain't I a Woman?
Look at me!
Look at my arm!
I have ploughed,
and planted,
and gathered into barns,
and no man could head me!
And ain't I a woman?
I could work as much
and eat as much as a man--
when I could get it --
and bear de lash as well!
And ain't I a woman?
I have borne thirteen chilern,
and seen 'em mos' all sold off to slavery,
and when I cried out with my mother's grief,
none but Jesus heard me!
And ain't I a woman?
If de fust woman God ever made
was strong enough to turn de world upside down
all alone,
dese women togedder ought to be able to turn it back, and to get it right side up again!
And now dey is asking to do it,
de men better let 'em.
***
Powerful Women
This morning the president announced his choice for the next supreme court justice - Judge Sonia Sotomayor. In case you never heard of her, don't worry, you will.
She'll be a household name within 48 hours. She'll be scrutinized beyond reason. She's already been accused of not being smart enough (Princeton and Yale!!,) of being too conservative and of being too liberal.
She's a former prosecutor. One of my children is a former prosecutor and it has served her well in every other endeavor she's undertaken. So I'm prejudiced for prosecutors.
Judge Sotomayor appears to be a powerful and an "empowered" woman - so I think she's up to the rigorous process that has already started.
I call my circle of close personal friends "Power Rangers" because it's my belief that we've been empowered by the Holy Spirit in various ways so that, as we get older and our bodies start to fall apart (not to mention our minds) we will still know and have that power.
It will just express itself in different ways.
Pentecost is coming up this Sunday. It's the time that Christian folks celebrate the day the disciples and others were empowered. The symbolic color for this is RED. (For FIRE.)
A lot men (and women) of my generation weren't comfortable with the concept of women being powerful. But most have had to get over it - because we are. Period!
Years ago, one of my Power Rangers, who is a retired Methodist minister, celebrated Pentecost in her church by having people at each end of the aisle wave billowing red sheets over the heads of the congregation.
A gentle reminder that we're all empowered if we choose to be.
###
She'll be a household name within 48 hours. She'll be scrutinized beyond reason. She's already been accused of not being smart enough (Princeton and Yale!!,) of being too conservative and of being too liberal.
She's a former prosecutor. One of my children is a former prosecutor and it has served her well in every other endeavor she's undertaken. So I'm prejudiced for prosecutors.
Judge Sotomayor appears to be a powerful and an "empowered" woman - so I think she's up to the rigorous process that has already started.
I call my circle of close personal friends "Power Rangers" because it's my belief that we've been empowered by the Holy Spirit in various ways so that, as we get older and our bodies start to fall apart (not to mention our minds) we will still know and have that power.
It will just express itself in different ways.
Pentecost is coming up this Sunday. It's the time that Christian folks celebrate the day the disciples and others were empowered. The symbolic color for this is RED. (For FIRE.)
A lot men (and women) of my generation weren't comfortable with the concept of women being powerful. But most have had to get over it - because we are. Period!
Years ago, one of my Power Rangers, who is a retired Methodist minister, celebrated Pentecost in her church by having people at each end of the aisle wave billowing red sheets over the heads of the congregation.
A gentle reminder that we're all empowered if we choose to be.
###
Monday, May 25, 2009
Oldies and Squirrels
My Oldies keep me constantly entertained. For a while now Mr. Oldie has fed the squirrels in his condo garage. His neighbors aren't happy. I think that's part of the thrill.
Things got so that when we ate out he would wrap up the bread and other goodies to take to the squirrels.
When I visited them in their luxury condo, big jars of nuts from Costco lined the kitchen counter.
And then several weeks ago a squirrel nipped his finger. He immediately drove to his doctor's office where his doctor's nurse applied a band aid.
I don't know if this was the beginning of the end but he eventually lost his need to serve up scrumptious meals for the squirrels.
So he explained to them that the gravy train was over. Eventually most of them quit hanging around but one wouldn't leave and besides that he was caught chewing things on the underside of my Oldie's car.
What to do! My Oldie bought a cage and trapped the squirrel. His plan was to drive the squirrel a long way to a wooded area (OK, he lives in a wooded area with about a billion squirrels but that's beside the point) and release him.
But first he went inside to rest.
Three days later he remembered the squirrel in the cage. No food or water, not to mention gourmet nuts. He knew he'd done something terrible to one of God's creatures.
But when he got to the garage the squirrel was fine. Frisky even. So my Oldie gave him a stern lecture, raised the door to the cage and the squirrel scurried away.
Another time I'll entertain you with the story of my Oldie and the pigeons.
***
Sunday, May 24, 2009
GPS Crisis
Apparently the GPS signals are deteriorating because the satellite has gone kafluey. Without an upgrade we may all have to stay home for the unforeseeable future.
What a minute! My 2000 Camry didn't come with a Global Positioning System. When I'm trying to find a new address I have to resort to asking directions or use the dreaded Map Quest which doesn't always know what it's talking about.
Of course I understand that there's a little more going on here than my personal needs.
A couple of years ago I took a car service from the home I was visiting to the Atlanta Airport. The middle eastern driver had been in this country only seven months. How could he drive for a car service in Atlanta - one of the craziest driving cities in the world?
He bought himself a GPS for $700 and was hired. And he got me to the airport just fine.
But, as for me, even if they get the satellite fixed, which they will, I doubt that I'll have a GPS anytime soon.
I'll just continue to allow a little time to get lost.
***
What a minute! My 2000 Camry didn't come with a Global Positioning System. When I'm trying to find a new address I have to resort to asking directions or use the dreaded Map Quest which doesn't always know what it's talking about.
Of course I understand that there's a little more going on here than my personal needs.
A couple of years ago I took a car service from the home I was visiting to the Atlanta Airport. The middle eastern driver had been in this country only seven months. How could he drive for a car service in Atlanta - one of the craziest driving cities in the world?
He bought himself a GPS for $700 and was hired. And he got me to the airport just fine.
But, as for me, even if they get the satellite fixed, which they will, I doubt that I'll have a GPS anytime soon.
I'll just continue to allow a little time to get lost.
***
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Graduation Day
I attended my grandson's high school graduation this morning. (Three down and seven to go!) It was a blessing and a privilege for me to be there along with his parents, his sister and his other grandparents.
Over the years I've attended scores of high school and college graduations. They all have one thing in common. They're LONG.
At least the main speaker stayed for the entire time. It has seemed to me that the more prestigious the speaker the more likely he or she is to skip out after the speech. The one big exception to this was several years ago when Bill Cosby spoke at a black college. I watched him not only stay to the end, but hug each and every graduate as they received their diplomas. (Yeah, that took a while.)
Sometimes the speaker is such a distraction that it takes away from the graduates being the rightful focus. At one of my kid's graduation from college Ted Turner spoke. He was good - but his wife at that time, Jane Fonda, was the focal point for the morning.
I'm not sure that graduations should be much shorter. The graduates need to be encouraged and feel important. But a few corners could be cut.
For instance, the speakers could cut it short. The kids aren't listening anyway. But I don't have my hopes up. Politicians and religious leaders never met a pulpit they didn't like.
In my grandson's ceremony this morning the kids were allowed to write out for themselves what was to be said of their accomplishments as they walked. That got a little out of hand. For instance, I don't believe "Self Taught Ninja" is necessary for me to know nor "Tried Out for the Basketball Team." We all could "try out" for the basketball team!
But, all in all it was a beautiful experience. I'm proud to be related to one more high school graduate.
And I don't think many people were suffering from the length of the program because at any given time half of the audience was playing with their phones.
***
Over the years I've attended scores of high school and college graduations. They all have one thing in common. They're LONG.
At least the main speaker stayed for the entire time. It has seemed to me that the more prestigious the speaker the more likely he or she is to skip out after the speech. The one big exception to this was several years ago when Bill Cosby spoke at a black college. I watched him not only stay to the end, but hug each and every graduate as they received their diplomas. (Yeah, that took a while.)
Sometimes the speaker is such a distraction that it takes away from the graduates being the rightful focus. At one of my kid's graduation from college Ted Turner spoke. He was good - but his wife at that time, Jane Fonda, was the focal point for the morning.
I'm not sure that graduations should be much shorter. The graduates need to be encouraged and feel important. But a few corners could be cut.
For instance, the speakers could cut it short. The kids aren't listening anyway. But I don't have my hopes up. Politicians and religious leaders never met a pulpit they didn't like.
In my grandson's ceremony this morning the kids were allowed to write out for themselves what was to be said of their accomplishments as they walked. That got a little out of hand. For instance, I don't believe "Self Taught Ninja" is necessary for me to know nor "Tried Out for the Basketball Team." We all could "try out" for the basketball team!
But, all in all it was a beautiful experience. I'm proud to be related to one more high school graduate.
And I don't think many people were suffering from the length of the program because at any given time half of the audience was playing with their phones.
***
Friday, May 22, 2009
Angels and Demons
Yesterday, along with five good women friends, I saw this movie. I really liked it. I was a bit afraid that they'd prefer to see a romantic comedy (chick flick.) I would have gone because I love being with them but my eyes usually glaze over after about 20 minutes when I watch those things. So I was happy with the choice we made.
I did not like "The Da Vinci Code." Way too confusing. This could be because I am one of only about three humans in the Western Hemisphere who didn't read the book.
Didn't read "Angels and Demons" either but it didn't matter.
Here's what I liked:
1. The breathtaking photography. Now I really, really want to go to Rome. This movie captures the city in the way no other movie I've seen - including one of my very favorites "Roman Holiday." Even though I understand it was filmed in Canada. I don't get it. Movie magic I guess.
2. The fast moving but very understandable plot. Unlike "The Da Vinci Code" mish mash, we knew exactly what Harvard symbologist (does Harvard really have a symbology department?) Robert Langdon was doing at all times.
3. Tom Hanks.
Being caught up as I am with theology and religious history and church politics and such, you might ask me "Is 'Angels and Demons' an important movie?"
NO.
It's a fictitious murder mystery with a twisted ending. Fun!
It goes over my two-hour limit by 18 minutes but I didn't mind much. I was entertained the whole time.
***
I did not like "The Da Vinci Code." Way too confusing. This could be because I am one of only about three humans in the Western Hemisphere who didn't read the book.
Didn't read "Angels and Demons" either but it didn't matter.
Here's what I liked:
1. The breathtaking photography. Now I really, really want to go to Rome. This movie captures the city in the way no other movie I've seen - including one of my very favorites "Roman Holiday." Even though I understand it was filmed in Canada. I don't get it. Movie magic I guess.
2. The fast moving but very understandable plot. Unlike "The Da Vinci Code" mish mash, we knew exactly what Harvard symbologist (does Harvard really have a symbology department?) Robert Langdon was doing at all times.
3. Tom Hanks.
Being caught up as I am with theology and religious history and church politics and such, you might ask me "Is 'Angels and Demons' an important movie?"
NO.
It's a fictitious murder mystery with a twisted ending. Fun!
It goes over my two-hour limit by 18 minutes but I didn't mind much. I was entertained the whole time.
***
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