We had some friends over for dinner last night. Great discussions about all kinds of things. It's not that we agree on everything but we all care for and respect each other so we can enjoy sharing our thoughts.
We talked about movies. "The Bucket List" was mentioned. This movie, staring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, is about two old guys who are terminally ill, i.e., ready to kick the bucket, so they go out and do all of the things they've always wanted to do.
I haven't seen the movie so don't know how it plays out for them.
Last night we spent some time sharing what's on our Bucket Lists. To my surprise, I finally had to say that I'm pretty content. Oh, I'd like to see more of the world and buy a few things but basically I feel very blessed right now in my personal life.
I'm always missing my many children and grandchildren and sometimes fantasize that we could live together on a big compound. Sort of like South Fork on "Dallas." But then I remember that those people spent a lot of time trying to kill each other and had serious drinking problems - including Miss Ellie.
At this point my Bucket List would mostly consist of things for other people.
What would you like to get done before you kick the bucket?
***
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
Sparta Vs. Athens
In my "Intellectual Devotional" I recently read about "Sparta vs. Athens: The Battle for the Ancient World."
Sparta had the scariest military in the ancient world. They started training at birth. Babies unlikely to become strong soldiers were tossed into a gorge. Sparta won all of its wars.
Sparta was the Brawn.
Athens, on the other hand, was the birthplace of democracy and home to some of the most extraordinary accomplishments of philosophy, art and science. Aristotle, Plato and Socrates were all from Athens. For all we know, these guys may have had nice abs but they weren't trying to pick a fight all the time.
Athens was the Brain.
The contest is still waging. When I was in high school I "went steady" with a guy who was huge, and excelled in basketball, football and he knew how to put the shot. I'm not sure that we ever had an actual conversation but I felt safe with him.
That was before I realized that I was really turned on by big brains.
Sumner Redstone is Sparta.
Bill Gates is Athens.
I think for the last few years the rest of the world has seen the U.S. as Sparta. I'm hoping the future will bring us back to an Athens image.
***
Sparta had the scariest military in the ancient world. They started training at birth. Babies unlikely to become strong soldiers were tossed into a gorge. Sparta won all of its wars.
Sparta was the Brawn.
Athens, on the other hand, was the birthplace of democracy and home to some of the most extraordinary accomplishments of philosophy, art and science. Aristotle, Plato and Socrates were all from Athens. For all we know, these guys may have had nice abs but they weren't trying to pick a fight all the time.
Athens was the Brain.
The contest is still waging. When I was in high school I "went steady" with a guy who was huge, and excelled in basketball, football and he knew how to put the shot. I'm not sure that we ever had an actual conversation but I felt safe with him.
That was before I realized that I was really turned on by big brains.
Sumner Redstone is Sparta.
Bill Gates is Athens.
I think for the last few years the rest of the world has seen the U.S. as Sparta. I'm hoping the future will bring us back to an Athens image.
***
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Life's a Crap Shoot
Yesterday I met with my Power Rangers. They always make me feel empowered. That's why I call them my Power Rangers.
We're all pretty much into staying healthy so we got into talking about how "Everything's a Crap Shoot."
Somebody had read that too much calcium causes some kinds of cancer. (I consume mass quantities of calcium.)
Somebody else had read that taking flu shots five years in a row can cause Alzheimer's. (A couple of us decided that we'd rather take our chances with Alzheimer's than the flu.)
And so on.
And, besides that, most of us have family crises going all the time.
What to do?
We work hard to stay spiritually, emotionally and mentally strong. We have a sense of humor. We know who's in charge - and it isn't us.
***
We're all pretty much into staying healthy so we got into talking about how "Everything's a Crap Shoot."
Somebody had read that too much calcium causes some kinds of cancer. (I consume mass quantities of calcium.)
Somebody else had read that taking flu shots five years in a row can cause Alzheimer's. (A couple of us decided that we'd rather take our chances with Alzheimer's than the flu.)
And so on.
And, besides that, most of us have family crises going all the time.
What to do?
We work hard to stay spiritually, emotionally and mentally strong. We have a sense of humor. We know who's in charge - and it isn't us.
***
The Art of Conversation
My Boyfriend can start a conversation with anybody. Well, almost. What's the secret? It's not because he's a big talker It's because he asks questions and listens to the answers.
We're all suckers for this. We all want to be heard.
This morning we were having breakfast at Steak 'n Shake, a place we'd never been before. A man across the way was busy with a pencil and paper. My Boyfriend said, "Oh, are you doing a crossword?"
This precipitated a half hour conversation. By the way, it wasn't a crossword, it was Sudoku.
We know a lot of stuff about this man, especially where he likes to eat.
The down side is that he knows nothing about us. He didn't ask us any questions or listen to the answers.
Too bad. It's the secret of relationship success.
We're all suckers for this. We all want to be heard.
This morning we were having breakfast at Steak 'n Shake, a place we'd never been before. A man across the way was busy with a pencil and paper. My Boyfriend said, "Oh, are you doing a crossword?"
This precipitated a half hour conversation. By the way, it wasn't a crossword, it was Sudoku.
We know a lot of stuff about this man, especially where he likes to eat.
The down side is that he knows nothing about us. He didn't ask us any questions or listen to the answers.
Too bad. It's the secret of relationship success.
Monday, January 14, 2008
I STILL Have a Crush on Him
Yesterday in my class we discussed "Capitol Punishment." Yes, we can actually talk about things of this nature and not provoke fist fights.
The discussion reminded me of a dinner my Boyfriend and I attended last year. The keynote speaker was Jack Murphy - or as some of you may remember him,
Murph the Surf
He got his nickname in the 50s because he was a national surfing champ. He was also a:
The discussion reminded me of a dinner my Boyfriend and I attended last year. The keynote speaker was Jack Murphy - or as some of you may remember him,
Murph the Surf
He got his nickname in the 50s because he was a national surfing champ. He was also a:
- concert violinist
- tennis pro
- stunt man
- astoundingly good looking dude with a magnetic personality and genius I.Q.
And then he and a friend pulled off the greatest jewel heist in U.S. history.
If you think Paris Hilton used to be in the news a lot (before she ticked off the paparazzi) she was nothing compared to Murph the Surf. Every young woman in the country was in love with him. Every young man wanted to be him.
He was a media darling and he knew how to work it.
After serving a short sentence (after all, nobody was hurt) he moved to Florida. He then started his real crime career that ended in a murder conviction - two life sentences, plus 20 years.
The crimes he committed in Florida weren't pretty or victimless. He was a bad dude.
But after 20 years and a religious conversion, he was released. He's spent the last 20 years speaking in prisons from Chicago to Moscow.
At first I didn't believe him. I thought maybe he was the same charming, smart, diabolical con man he'd always been. But I'll have to give it to him. He's using his gifts for good rather than evil.
Last year when I saw him wondering around in a crowd of community leaders, I knew him immediately. The blond wavy hair was lighter - but still there. He was tanned and those baby-blues were still twinkling.
He still stands out in a crowd like the Star of India.
At one time he was an argument for capitol punishment. Now he's an argument against.
***
Saturday, January 12, 2008
You Can't Make Some People Happy
I'm still dealing with the hypertension. Things are moving along and I should be happy but I'm still having side effects from the meds. Side effects that closely resemble the spiking B/P symptoms.
For my whole life I've had skinny ankles. When I was pregnant (all four times) I gained an enormous amount of weight but my arms and legs still resembled sticks. I looked like a balloon animal. Never any swelling other than my torso.
My hands and feet are ridiculously small. They resemble Blondie Bumstead's.
Or used to.
Now at about 3 PM the swelling begins. By six I can forget about anything resembling an attractive shoe if I plan to walk at all.
Last night I wore my clown shoes to the movies hoping no one would notice.
I should be counting my good health blessings but instead I'm lamenting the loss of my ankles.
***
For my whole life I've had skinny ankles. When I was pregnant (all four times) I gained an enormous amount of weight but my arms and legs still resembled sticks. I looked like a balloon animal. Never any swelling other than my torso.
My hands and feet are ridiculously small. They resemble Blondie Bumstead's.
Or used to.
Now at about 3 PM the swelling begins. By six I can forget about anything resembling an attractive shoe if I plan to walk at all.
Last night I wore my clown shoes to the movies hoping no one would notice.
I should be counting my good health blessings but instead I'm lamenting the loss of my ankles.
***
Friday, January 11, 2008
Hospice
My Boyfriend's little sister is going to hospice. He's grateful that he got to have a good visit with her while we were on our road trip.
As you may know hospice is a wonderful concept. When the time comes for us to stop struggling with trying to stay alive we can let hospice gently help us go in the other direction. This doesn't necessarily mean that we'll die soon. It does mean that all of the painful treatments, chemo, radiation, dialysis, traveling across the country for one last procedure, etc. STOPS. And we are encouraged to rest and let nature take its course - pain free.
Several years ago I was on a terrible committee. I lived in a county where hospice was overcrowded. It was essentially our job to kick people out of the program. Why? Because to be in hospice you must have a diagnosis of being terminal within six months.
Hospice was so wonderful that people were living longer than six months - especially children. Should we throw them out so that others could get in?
My Boyfriend's Real Wife went to hospice. My Real Husband was with hospice but stayed at home. My Boyfriend's sister making this decision has brought up those memories. Not all of them are bad.
Right now he's writing her a letter. Should he e-mail it or is there time to send it through the regular mail? What should it say?
As you may know hospice is a wonderful concept. When the time comes for us to stop struggling with trying to stay alive we can let hospice gently help us go in the other direction. This doesn't necessarily mean that we'll die soon. It does mean that all of the painful treatments, chemo, radiation, dialysis, traveling across the country for one last procedure, etc. STOPS. And we are encouraged to rest and let nature take its course - pain free.
Several years ago I was on a terrible committee. I lived in a county where hospice was overcrowded. It was essentially our job to kick people out of the program. Why? Because to be in hospice you must have a diagnosis of being terminal within six months.
Hospice was so wonderful that people were living longer than six months - especially children. Should we throw them out so that others could get in?
My Boyfriend's Real Wife went to hospice. My Real Husband was with hospice but stayed at home. My Boyfriend's sister making this decision has brought up those memories. Not all of them are bad.
Right now he's writing her a letter. Should he e-mail it or is there time to send it through the regular mail? What should it say?
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