Odds 'n' Ends
Take a look around you.
Look to your left, look to your right, look up, and look down.
Have you ever wondered, "How the heck did I get here?"
The physical reality of where one ends up is sometimes baffling. The reality of who you're with, what you do during your days, what you eat, where you sleep, who you know and who you don't know — all those things are even more baffling.
Was it all by chance? Or did you have it all planned out this way?
Look to your left, look to your right, look up, and look down.
Have you ever wondered, "How the heck did I get here?"
The physical reality of where one ends up is sometimes baffling. The reality of who you're with, what you do during your days, what you eat, where you sleep, who you know and who you don't know — all those things are even more baffling.
Was it all by chance? Or did you have it all planned out this way?
Millions of kids in Canada are getting ready to go back to school next Tuesday.
Since retiring from teaching, I'm not usually around for this little ritual.
Normally, I would be on the road somewhere, doing something with someone. This year, I am here, and I have this strange compulsion to go out and buy back-to-school items, like a new backpack, a three-ring binder complemented by a bushel of Hilroy loose-leaf paper, a lunch bag with maybe a nifty thermos in it, a pencil case and some pens and pencils, and maybe even one of those compass sets that every kid totes around, but rarely, if ever, uses. You know, the set with the protractor, whatever that might be, and that sharp little stick-em-in-the-eye thing for the bully at the back of the class ...
My granddaughter is entering Grade 2 this year, and she is beside herself with excitement. She's a bright one, that girl, and she does very well in school.
Me? Yeah, I don't recall ever being excited about going back to school. For me, it meant that most of my time would be controlled by yet another adult character in the comedy of life. I was never happy under the hand of anyone, and by the age of eight, I knew most adults were faking it.
Since retiring from teaching, I'm not usually around for this little ritual.
Normally, I would be on the road somewhere, doing something with someone. This year, I am here, and I have this strange compulsion to go out and buy back-to-school items, like a new backpack, a three-ring binder complemented by a bushel of Hilroy loose-leaf paper, a lunch bag with maybe a nifty thermos in it, a pencil case and some pens and pencils, and maybe even one of those compass sets that every kid totes around, but rarely, if ever, uses. You know, the set with the protractor, whatever that might be, and that sharp little stick-em-in-the-eye thing for the bully at the back of the class ...My granddaughter is entering Grade 2 this year, and she is beside herself with excitement. She's a bright one, that girl, and she does very well in school.
Me? Yeah, I don't recall ever being excited about going back to school. For me, it meant that most of my time would be controlled by yet another adult character in the comedy of life. I was never happy under the hand of anyone, and by the age of eight, I knew most adults were faking it.
So, is there ever an age when you can stop dieting?
Did you happen to see Miley Cyrus, aka "Hannah Montana," shaking her booty at the MVA awards? The reaction to her performance has been generally one of shock. I'm not sure why.
We sexualize everything in our world today, from cantaloupe to paper clips, so why would anyone be surprised to see a nubile young woman become a little liquid in front of the television cameras. Yes, it was an "in-your-face moment," but I'm not sure that it corrupted the minds of young boys across America.
Most young boys with a computer are already addicted to porn, thanks to the Internet. What Ms Cyrus offered was pretty tame by comparison.
I must confess that, after the Ms Cyrus performance, I was struck with a moment of nostalgia for the celebrities that made my head swim when I was just a lad.
For some reason, Hayley Mills, who once starred in a somewhat silly movie entitled The Parent Trap, managed to send my eleven-year-old libido into overdrive. Hayley never had a Miley moment, except in my dreams, but then things were a little different back in the dark ages. Young girls were just that — young girls — and their public and pubic reputations seemed ostensibly more chaste, or at least, more well-hidden from the today's ever-present media eye.
We sexualize everything in our world today, from cantaloupe to paper clips, so why would anyone be surprised to see a nubile young woman become a little liquid in front of the television cameras. Yes, it was an "in-your-face moment," but I'm not sure that it corrupted the minds of young boys across America.
Most young boys with a computer are already addicted to porn, thanks to the Internet. What Ms Cyrus offered was pretty tame by comparison.
I must confess that, after the Ms Cyrus performance, I was struck with a moment of nostalgia for the celebrities that made my head swim when I was just a lad.
For some reason, Hayley Mills, who once starred in a somewhat silly movie entitled The Parent Trap, managed to send my eleven-year-old libido into overdrive. Hayley never had a Miley moment, except in my dreams, but then things were a little different back in the dark ages. Young girls were just that — young girls — and their public and pubic reputations seemed ostensibly more chaste, or at least, more well-hidden from the today's ever-present media eye. Do you remember a television show called, Bonanza ? Remember Surfside 6 ? Or 77 Sunset Strip ? How about Magnum, PI ? Columbo ?
What the heck has happened to television?
Jeez ... how old am I?
What the heck has happened to television?
Jeez ... how old am I?
Yesterday, when I went down to the gym, there was a big ol' possum sitting on the walkway, out in the back garden.
Now, I know nothing about possums, but I was struck with the idea of going out and having a chat with the fellow.
I didn't because he seemed a tad cranky. Are possums vicious critters?
Now, I know nothing about possums, but I was struck with the idea of going out and having a chat with the fellow.
I didn't because he seemed a tad cranky. Are possums vicious critters?
Yesterday was a day to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous "I Have A Dream" speech.
The civil rights movement has come a long ways in this country and in the USA, and Mr King's speech is often seen as a watershed moment in the history of racial equality.
Now if only someone would step forward and champion the cause of financial equality, because oppressed is oppressed, poverty is pretty much colour-blind, and the rich have little if any interest in helping the poor and disenfranchised find their way out of despair.
Sounds too much like communism, I guess.
The civil rights movement has come a long ways in this country and in the USA, and Mr King's speech is often seen as a watershed moment in the history of racial equality.
Now if only someone would step forward and champion the cause of financial equality, because oppressed is oppressed, poverty is pretty much colour-blind, and the rich have little if any interest in helping the poor and disenfranchised find their way out of despair.
Sounds too much like communism, I guess.
OK, that's it for today.
Enjoy a cup of good coffee on me.
Huh?
Oh sure, send me the bill ... I think I can cover a round for the Blogger crowd ...
Enjoy a cup of good coffee on me.
Huh?
Oh sure, send me the bill ... I think I can cover a round for the Blogger crowd ...
1. I wake up each morning and say "thank you." Each day is a blessing and the people in my life are gifts. It was never planned this way but I'm not complaining.
ReplyDelete2. The first day of school meant new shoes and a new dress. We didn't have elaborate school supplies until junior high school. My elementary school was within walking distance, and most of the students came from the neighborhood. (1950s)
3. We don't "diet," we eat healthy ... sometimes. I refuse to beat myself up for indulging in something that most "diets" would consider "illegal."
4. Watched the Miley Cyrus video and was amused more than anything. She is the size of a toothpick with an attitude. Maybe one day she will grow up and be a legitimate performer.
5. I watch reruns of "Bonanza" and Magnum, PI" all the time. Tom Selleck (currently starring in "Blue Bloods") is my Hollywood crush. Yes to the other shows but they are not on the local retro station.
6. Can you play possum? A small Florida town has a Possum Festival each year. I would rather watch pain dry.
7. When will there ever be equality? Women have put up with it since the beginning of time.
Coffee?
Haha ... well, even I had a bro-crush on Tom Selleck when he starred in Magnum, PI. Not so much any more ... I don't watch Blue Bloods.
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Loved hearing your thoughts, here, but a lot of points to consider:
ReplyDeleteI believe that there is no such thing as an accidental or fateful reason for wherever we are, in life. Our decisions dictate almost everything we do, and every situation we find ourselves immersed in.
I used to enjoy the routine of going to school, and was a better than average student, but I do feel that the teachers had a lot to do with how much interest I had in a subject.
I've only been on one diet--the Stillman high-protein 8-glass of water-a-day diet, but I've never had much of a problem with weight. I work and walk most of it off, these days.
I've seen bits and pieces of this Miley controversy, and I liken it to the mini skirt/drug culture of the 60s. That may have been less in your face, but the outrage was probably just as fierce.
There isn't much on TV that I consider worth watching, these days. I love Duck Dynasty and re-runs of M.A.S.H. and Roseanne.
As for your comments about the rich, I don't feel that the rich have any obligation to support the poor. We are all responsible for our own destinies, and I have found that the decisions we make, largely, determine our financial futures.
Yes, I'm now enjoying my third cup of coffee. Hope your day is going well.
Yes, decisions, decisions ... some right and some wrong ... now imagine a world in which there were no decisions to be made ... I wonder where we'd all be under those circumstances ...
DeleteThanks for all the comments ...
Omigosh, how can she think that's entertaining? I'm embarrassed for her...
ReplyDeleteLots of odds and a few ends too.... ha, clearing out the mental cupboards? How did I get here?..I asked my mum once, she told me she found me in a cabbage patch.
Yes, it was in the cabbage patch, but they found you over by the radishes ...
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....have you been drinking?...i swear your nose is getting bigger.... :o)
DeleteDamn ... it would have to be my nose ... go figure ... :O{
DeleteBoth my parents were teachers and I have tons of cousins who are teachers. The only reason I liked going back to school was the social aspect...I was however on the honor roll most of the time...I sometimes give my grandson five dollars for every A...he usually gets straight A's. He goes to a charter school so I already had to give him 45 bucks (he got one B this time) I told him I may not be able to it again until the end of the year report card...times are tough for his parents and I am on a really tight budget right now.
ReplyDeleteI heard on the news that obese women should focus more on not gaining weight rather than losing weight (maintain the chub). A few months ago I heard they finally found a fat gene, maybe that's why?...I would love to lose weight AGAIN but every time I do, I creep back up to chubby. I am OK with it as long as I know I am eating healthy and getting some exercise.
TV really sucks...Thank goodness for PBS and Netflix.
possums creep me out...what was that guy doing awake? aren't they nocturnal?
I hope your granddaughter has a most excellent school year.
Thanks for the coffee, it was delicious as always :)
Those yo-yo diets are disheartening. I like the idea of simply staying where you are, sort of like being comfortable in your own skin.
DeleteHaha ... well, possums are not the only animal around here that seems to be nocturnal. He was actually chewing on what looked like lettuce ...
My granddaughter thanks you for your good wishes. Here's hoping your grandson has another straight-A year.
Kennedy, coming here now'n'again is like visiting an old friend I haven't seen in ages - which, of course, you are....
ReplyDeleteWhere to start? Oh, yes! School!
They're getting ready to start here in the Northwestern part of the Lower 48 anytime soon now - and while I thought I might teach at one point in my life, I never did, because (hey!) they don't pay teachers enough down here to retire when they're older - so my hat is off to you (and the Canadian system which actually still values education).
Possums? We have 'em by the carload-lot here, and while the bleeding-hearts in the city think it's a cruel practice, those of us who live out in the country trap and shoot the damn things every time we turn around, because if we didn't they'd overrun the whole place, consuming farms and gardens, getting into trash cans (they're sometimes better at than than 'coons), and Raising Hell, Generally. Yeah, they can be cranky critters, and quite territorial, also.
Thing is, hereabouts we almost don't have what you'd call Winter - it almost never even drops to freezing, which means that everything born in these parts survives - winter is nature's population control; killing off everything from yellowjackets to 'possums. It's left to us to do the job. The pre-hominid era in the Pacific Northwest must have been (literally!) crawling with critters....
I had a huge thing for Hayley Mills. I was six when that movie came out, but she did it for me, too. "Pollyanna" was another that got my pre-pubescent hormones going. It was a treat to see her in "Flame Trees of Thika" about thirty years ago - but by then, hey - I'd moved on. Felt almost like cheating.
Miley? There are a lot of other things to worry about - but if we thought about those as we should, we'd go crazy. Escapism and pseudoscandal is always good for the plebs, n'est pas?
(That poor girl has no backside. Little else, either. Her Daddy needs to turn her out to pasture to fatten up a bit. Just sayin'. Moo....)
Surfside 6? Oh, dang! Hadn't thought about that one in years. 77 Sunset Strip? Yep -- Hawai'ian Eye was another one I was addicted to when I was that young - and I wanted to be Patrick McGoohan in "Danger Man/Secret Agent" back in the day. One of my all-time-faves was "Highway Patrol"; hearing Broderick Crawford grumble 'Twenty-One-Fifty to headquarters!" meant that 'action' (or what passed for it was imminent (at least to an eight-year-old).
I, too, would love to see someone champion the causes of equality and economic fairness - but we're too busy getting ready to saddle up like Ronnie Reagan and head out to the Great Desert to kick some more furrin ass - no time for those things here in the Land of the (not so) Free.
Maybe later.
(Hey. Good to see you're still putting your two-cents in the writing-jar.)
-Will
Good to see you again, Will. Thanks for the great comments. You and I seem to have travelled similar or maybe parallel universes.
DeleteKeep on keepin' on ...
~ KJ
" 'Take a look around you.
ReplyDeleteLook to your left, look to your right, look up, and look down.
Have you ever wondered, "How the heck did I get here?' "
"Was it all by chance? Or did you have it all planned out this way?"
I think about it on nearly a daily basis. I have for years and still haven't figured it out.
~Manfred
Well, Manfred, maybe it's one of those mysteries we're not supposed to think about, which makes it all the more perplexing ...
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