Giving something new (old?) a try

I enjoyed two new or almost new experiences today. A friend and I went to the Venice restaurant for supper this evening because it had received a good review in Sunday's paper.  I think I have only been there once before and that was many years ago, but I will be back.  I had the best manicotti I've had in years.  Second almost new experience, I was flipping through the channels later this evening and got hooked watching "To Tell the Truth". I remember this TV show from many years ago.  I think Gary Moore was the host. Does anyone but me remember him?  I'm happy to report that this new version of an old theme is still very entertaining.

fascinating statistics

Two interessting comments heard on news shows over the last two days. First comment, "When more people move into areas where bears live, there are more likely to be attacks on people by bears." After that comment, the person being interviewed did seem to realize what he had said and admitted that was logical. Second comment, "More people suffer from fireworks related injuries around the 4th of July than at any other time of year." Really?  I wonder why that is?  These are almost as good as one of my all time faorite comments "Anyone who has ever eaten white bread is likely to die."

Is this how to keep a secret?

Heard on "Inside Edition" this evening - In case of  a nuclear disaster, the US has top secret bunkers located deep under ground in several locations around the country. The report explained who would get to hide out in these bunkers and showed scenes of what some areas look like inside.  Ok, I found that mildly interesting. Since it doesn't appear that I'm on the list of very important people to be saved I'm not too concerned. What did confuse, amuse me was that, during this report the reporter went on to name all of the locations of these bunkers. So what I want to know is, if these are TOP SECRET bunkers how come everyone seems to know where they are and even what they look like inside? Perhaps top secret means something different than it used to? I know that pot, gay and text don't mean waht they did in my youth but secret????

Scrabble anyone???

Which one of these words doesn't belong?  NASACORT, TRESIBA, LYRICA, VIBERZI, PREVDGEM, XARALTO, TRIVAGO, GLUCERNA, TRULICITY.  If you guessed Trivago you guessed correctly. Trivago is a hotel search site.  All of the others are medicines. I have a theory about how they come up with names for newly invented medications. I suspect they toss a bunch of Scrabble tiles out on a table, making sure there are plenty of Xs and Zs, and just see what falls together.  I actually think I could have been pretty good at making up names.  Too bad this wasn't a career option when I started my work life. How about ZAMBARQU or PLAPYMOBUS?

I like BBC productions

One of the joys of NetFlix is that I can watch British series (serieses?). I'm particularly fond of one called "Midsommer Murders" Each episode runs about one hour and 40 minutes and they are always good twisty mysteries. Last year, when I was in Scotland, I happened to catch an episode on a TV station there - with commercials. It seemed very strange to be watching a show with which I was very familiar interspersed with commercials for products and providers I had never heard of. Onn of the reasons I enjoy British shows, dramas and comedies, is that the actors look like ordinary people. The heroines aren't all super glamerous with 'Barbie' figures. As I'm writing this I realize that on American series it really seems to be only the women who have to be super glamerous. I know I'm generalizing here but it seems to be true. The only recent US show I can think of with fairly ordinary looking people is the drama :This is Us". Maybe that;s why that show also appeals to me.

Taking the plunge

Well, now I've done it. Three friends and I have been planning to go with a tour group to the British Isles in September. Due to recent terrorist activity in London I admit to having second thoughts about the trip, but we talked it over and decided, not that we're super brave or anything, that we will go anyway. As my son pointed out I'm more likely to be injured or killed in a traffic accident here at home thatn to be involved in a terrorist attack. I'm not sure if I find that rationale very reassuring. It reminds me a little of my dear mother-in-law's attitude toward death. "When it's your time, it's your time," she would say, "and there's nothing you can do about it."  This sentiment was always followed by this advice "Be sure to lock your doors and drive carefully." Well, anyway, I mailed in my final payment today so London, here I come.

Scary times..

My oldest grandchlld turned 16 today. Until now he really hasn't shown much interest in driving but suddenly I hear that his mom, my daughter, has taken him out to practice driving. A week ago he told me that his dad has also taken him out dirving. My daughter tells me she has a video to show me. That's something I'm glad I didn't have to contend with when I was a beginning driver.  I remember very clearly being taken out for driving practice by each of my parents. They were both very good drivers themselves but their teaching techniques were very different. When I was driving with my mom she talked me through the whole process, told me every move to make.  My dad, on the other hand simply glowered silently, never uttering a word until I did something wrong. Things were not helped by the fact that our car had 3-speed standard transmission and no power steering. The truth is I never did get my license until, after numerous training sessions with friends and driving instructors, throughout my college years, I bought my first car the summer before I started my first teaching job and knew I absolutely had to be able to drive.  My first car was a used Corvair ( you remember, the Unsafe at Any Speed car). It's true what they said, it did roll over very easily. But I will not fret.  I'm sure my grandson will be a much better beginning driver than I was. I will not fret, but I will pray a lot.

lost in a good book

One of the joys of retirement, I've discovered, is flexibility in how I spend the hours of each day. Now obviously there are things I need to do, places to go, volunteer activities, but I am still able to take tme to read a good book. Reading has always been one of my great joys.  I can remember discovering wonderful books as a pre-teen and teen. The "Little House" series comes to mind. One book I read in high school, "A Town Like Alice" by Nevil Shute inspired my life long desire to go to Australia. A dream I will finally realize next year. I remember, when I was lost in a good book, hearing my mother say "You can't read your life away." Not to worry,I've lead a full life but I still love getting lost in a good book. I was recently talking with a friend about reading late into the night sometimes and she said she has never had that experience. That seems so sad to me.  In case you're wondering what on earth reading has to do with Fathers' Day, I know I inherited my love of reading from my father. The librarian at our little town library when I was growing up remembered my father as having "read every book in the library." Even though he had to quit school at age 16 to go to work as a carpenter with his father, he never quit reading. Thanks for the legacy Dad.

festivals and fireworks

Not only is this the season of festivals in Fort Wayne, but it's also the beginning of the fireworks season. I sat on my balcony this evening and watched a really good 15 minute show put on by Rib Fest. When I moved here one thing I thought I wouldn't be able to see from my apartment was fireworks. I knew that on the 4th of July the fireworks are visible from the south side of the building and my apartment is on the north side.  However I was amazed last year by how many fireworks displays I could see from my balcony, some realy close like tonight's display and some in the far distance. I saw a few go off in the Leo area this evening. I know that;s where they were because my brother texted me that they were scaring his dogs. I really do like fireworks but sometimes I feel like we are almost over doing it. In the good old days (when I was a child) fireworks were a once a year fabulous display after it got dark on the 4th of July. Now we have them at festivals, ball games, the 4th of course, and any old time in people's back yards. I do like them and I'm really not complaining but it does seem to take away a litle of the special celebration of Independence Day.

Another week, another festival

Let's hear it for Rib Fest. This is the 20th year for this event and the ribs are as good as ever. A friend and I walked over this evening, walked all around and ended up buying our ribs from the "Acme Bar & Grill" booth.  With all the exotic choices from far away places like Texas and Tennessee we ended up eating ribs from a good old local restaurant on State Street. They were very good indeed. From now on though I might just go to their restaurant which has air conditioning. Leave it to Fort Wayne to come up with a festival that's all about eating - with a little music thrown in.

this should be interesting

I'm interested in the new tunnel they are going to start building in Fort Wayne. According to comments I heard on the news today once this new tunnel is completed it will improve the water quality in our rivers so much that we will be able to swim in them. That sounds good, not for me (I have always preferred pool swimming.) but I would like to think that the ducks and geese will have a cleaner space to swim in. This project will, they say, take seven years to complete. The tunnel will be 5 miles long and will consist of a 16 foot in diameter pipe, buried 200 feet (can that be right, sounds awfully deep) below street level to carry sewer water to the water filtration plant. They say the tunnle will run along the St. Joe and St. Mary's rivers which means that I should be able to see wome of the work while I'm out walking around the area. I really am excited to see how this unfolds and I'm also curious about wha will become of all the displaced dirt. Perhaps they'll build a ski slope in Fort Wayne.

Think before you speak.

Believe me I do not mean to make light of the shooting that happened at the ball park in Alexandria,
Virginia this morning. It was frightening to hear about and I'm sure it was traumatic for everyone involved. However, I don't think the Govenor of Virginia did his cause any good during an interview with the press after the shooting this morning. Mind you he wasn;t any where near the incident when it happened but he used his press conference to say that we must have better gun control laws. In trying to make his case he said "We lose 93 million American individauls a day to gun violence." Really? According to Google the 2016 census population of the US is 324,118,787. I did the math out of curiosity and discovered that at the rate of 93 million a day, the entire population of the US will be gone in 3.5 days.  Luckily a reporter challenged him on that number and the govenor said he meant to say 93 lives a day. Well, I'm glad we got that cleared up. A wise person once told me that "50 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot." (Think about it.) I think this was a pretty good example.

cell phone etiquette revisited

You've all heard the polite, and someimes not so polite requests to turn off your phone during a theater performance or movie or concert, and it seems logical to me that I should turn off my phone during a church service or any kind of meeting. You would think so, right?  This evening the situation came up again with a slightly different twist. Granted, I was at a rather casual church meeting but I was trying to pay attention to the information being shared by our guest speaker. About 10 minutes into his presentation someone's phone went off with a very melodious tune. After a lot of blank looks around the table the speaker realized that it was his phone, took it out and layed it on the table. After three more interuptions by the ringing phone, he looked at it with a bemused expression and said "I guess I could turn it off."  Really? What a concept.

Advice to the newly weds

Four weeks ago my nephew was married in Seattle.  At the rehearsal luncheon the day before the wedding my brother (the father of the groom) gave the soon to be married couple some words of warning about sleeping together - not sex, actually sleeping together.  He first noted that the lovely warm blanket that used to reach all the way to the floor on both sides of the bed only ever covers one person after you're married.  He also mentioned that it's a mystery to all men why their wives soak their feet in icewater for 10 minutes before they come to bed. I'm not sure how well these words of wisdom went over with the bride and groom but every person at the luncheon who had ever been married understood exactly what he was talking about.

Dead Presbyterians are spinning in their urns....

 We had an Installation service for our new Associate Pastor at First Pres this afternoon. It was the full formal service with choir and six pastors participating and all the proscribed parts of the service but somehow it felt delightfully non-traditional. The "Frozen Chosen" - we Presbyterians who typically do everything "properly and in order" were laughing, clapping, singing loudly and acrually dancing in the aisles. It was the most fun installation service I have ever attended, and it was topped off by a reception featuring an ice cream sundae bar.  All of this reflects and reinforces the excitement and joy our new Associate Pastor for Children, Youth and Families is bringing to our church. Welcome, Pastor Bill.

cultue clashes of the fun kind

I live in a 10th floor apartment that overlooks the St. Mary's River and is also very close to Headwaters Park and the Old Fort. Today happened to be one of those days whe I was able to enjoy a wide range of entertainment from my balcony.  While watching some very coloful, sleek modern looking kayaks being paddled down the river, I heard the repeated boom of old cannons being shot off during a reenactment at the fort. Meanwhile, in the background, I could hear lively fun music coming from the park where GermanFest was going on. By the way, the German music is still going on. Life is busy in downtown Fort Wayne.

a new twist on an old scam

Over the last few years I've had a few phone scams tried on me. I've been warned several times taht i owe back taxes (I don't!)  The most notable was probably the "Hello, Grandma?" ploy. I received four calls within a week, using three differen't accents. This one was easy for me to hang up on. Actually they are all easy to hang up on. . Lately I don't even answer my phone unless I recognize the name of the caller. Recently, i've been hearing the warning to never answer 'yes' when some stranger asks you a question. OK, that's easy to avoid, but yesterday I heard a new twist on that one I think.  I saw that I had a message on my phone and when I listened to it, it was an obviously mechanical voice saying "Is this Lucinda? Please answer yes or no." That's all there was to the message. Obviously, since I was listening to voice mail I didn't answer anything. My first thought was that scammers are really getting lazy, not even making their own phone calls.  Then I realized that by doing it with an automatic calling system they can probably make many, many more calls than they could manually, upping their odds considerably of getting someone to say yes. I hate to sound negative but never say yes unless you want to end up being charged for something you never wanted to buy.

geese on a mission

I saw the strangest thing today. As I was looking out at the river this morning I saw 20 geese swimming by. Now I'm used to seeing geese fly in formation, making their perfect V but I've never seen them do synchronized swimming before. In fact I hardly ever see more than two or three on the river at a time. 16 of the geese were swimming along in a perfectly straight line, one behind the other, very slowly and sedately while 3 swam along side at a little distance and one (the 20th) came swimmng along a little bit behind the rest. If it had been cars on a road I would have guessed a funeral procession. Being curious, I googled 'geese swimming in a line' and, to my amazement, several pictutes popped up, showing, you guessed it, geese swimming in a line. The only difference I saw was that all of the photographs showed an adult goose leading several goslings, while what I saw was a whole long line of same size geese. They swam the whole length of the river that I can see, east to west, and eventually went under the bridge and out of sight. I didn't see them come back so they may be swimming still, off on their mysterious mission.

Best advice ever...

Long time dear friends, knowing that I've been stressing a little lately about age ( having just dealt with the reality of my 55 year highschool reunion) gave me a surprise preasent today filled with good advice.  First the card, it's a Maxine card which will give you an idea of the art work. On the front it says "There's a new ELIXIR that makes WRINKLES a lot less obvious." This statement grabbed my immediate attention.  Inside the message continued "It's called a DOUBLE MARTINI." Luckily for me, I know of a nearby establishment, Main Street Bistro, that makes truly excellent martinis so I have a place to test this theory. But wait, there's more. With the card came a fancy little box with a message boldly printed on the front that says "I SEE NO GOOD REASON TO ACT MY AGE." What an excellent message.  I have put it in a place where I will read it every day. To start putting this idea into practice we strolled over to GermanFest to enjoy brats, beer and polka music. In case you're wondering, it would appear that good German beer works just about as well as martinis.

Board games are still alive

Today I gave my grandson the only gift he had requested for his birthday, a boxed Monopoly game, but not just any old Monopoly game.  This was the Zelda version. Happily, even though the board was printed with exotic properties and the money (still pink, blue, green, yellow, etc.) looked like foreign currency the game is still played like it always was. The corner squares still offer 200 (rupees?) for passing GO, direct you to jail (still in the opposite corner) and that wonderful Free Parking square where, if you land, you can pick up all of the money accumulated in the middle of the board. We spent a happy hour playing the one hour, speeded up version of the game. Playing Monopoly, any version, sends my thoughts back in time to Christmas days at my Aunt Dora's house. After the big Christmas dinner the adults would sit down at the kitchen table to play Eucre and we cousins would gather around the dining room table for a marathon gme of Monopoly. Those games always went on for huurs. It's fun to see some traditions carry on, even if it is in a version based on an electronic game, an unheard of possibility way back then.

Wonder Woman

I saw the new Wonder Woman movie today. I thought it was a great adventure story, lots of action, an interesting back story, and a woman hero who saves the world.  What's not to like?  But I understand that some people gave the movie bad reviews because Wonder Woman isn't American enough in this version. Really people?  It's a fiction about a mythical Amazon from a mysterious island who gets involved in WWI in France. How American can she be? The male lead is an American pilot/spy working for the English. I suspect that the critics are upset because she wasn't wearing a red, white and blue costumes with those high heeled red boots. By the way, did you know that in the classic TV series sometimes Wonder Woman is wearing high heeled red boots and in some scenes she's wearing flat boots. My husband, who was a real fan of that show was the first to point it out to me. She could have used some "Kinky Boots" but that's a different story.

Post Reunion Reflection

Well, the 55 year reunion of the 1962 graduating class of Woodlan High School is now behind me. It was, as everyone kept telling me, a great success. It certainly was the easiest one I ever organized. We gathered at Hall's Gas House, everyone ordered what they wanted off a fixed menu, and the food was delicious - as it always is at Hall's. People talked and laughed and reminisced and told each other that they hadn't changed a bit since high school. Some of them even managed to say that with a straight face. Many, many people told me what a good job I had done.  While I appreciated the compliments, I have a sneaking suspicion that the underlying message was "You can organize the next one also." Ah well, five years is a long way away. Actually, for the 60th, I'm thinking we should make it a destination reunion to Florida, since half of our class seems to live there now anyway.

another movie review

Saw Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Men Tell No Tales with a couple of girlfriends this afternoon. It was so totally rediculous that it was very entertaining. You have never seen a bank robbery like the one pulled off in this movie, not to mention the guillotine/hanging scene. The special effects were pretty awesome.  All in all a movie worth seeing but not to be taken seriously. Which, i guess, pretty much sums up this entire series.

Talk, talk, talk, talk....

Pre-reunion reunion:  Some of us, classmates and a few spouses, gathered for brunch this morning because a couple of them can't make it to the reunion - silly excuses like a granddaughter getti ng married - I mean, where are her proirities?  Anyway, we spent a pleasant 3 hours talking and eating and talking some more.  It was fun and I realize now that I really don't need to worry at all about how I look or what I wear to the actual reunion on Saturday evening. Everyone will be too busy talking to everyone else to even care what anyone looks like, and based on today's group we're all pretty much in the same boat, that slowly sinking ship called "55 Years Later".