prepping for the walk

About six months ago a friend and I signed up to do the Fort for Fitness four mile walk (walk not run, we're not being crazy here). It seemed like a good idea at the time. We promise ourselves that we would walk regularly and really be ready to go. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.  You know the old saying about best laid plans. Life got in the way. So the walk is tomorrow morning. We picked up our spiffy tee-shirts, timers and number bibs this afternoon and we are ready to go.  I have no doubt, well little doubt, that we will actually finish the walk.  After all, four miles isn't really that far.  However, timing may be another matter.  I'm told that if you're the last one in a police car is coming right behind you, lights flashing. Hummm, I guess that's one way to get noticed. Stay tuned.

a surprising twist

Some of my friends know that I've been back at work for the last two months after almost two years of blissful retirement. I only agreed to go back to help out while the woman who had taken over my job, and was doing it very well, recuperated from a concussion after a nasty car accident. I thought she would be back at work by the end of September. So did she. However I was told this week that she has decided to quit the job. No one has suggested that I come back full time, they know that's not going to happen, but I was asked to continue part time as I'm doing now until they can hire someone else.  So it looks like I'll be working for another month at least.  My granddaughter asked me if the church staff would give me another retirement party. I explained that no,.you don't get re-retirement parties. The upside is this little bit of work is making me really appreciate retirement.

a memorable proposal

There's been a story on TV for the last couple of days about a young man who planned to propose to his girlfriend at a baseball game. Unhappily he dropped the ring. After some searching by the couple and many people around them, the ring was discovered caught in the cuff of her jeans. Talk about a lucky catch.  This made me think about the many extreme proposals you hear about these days.  It seems to be the goal of romantic young men to make the proposal as public as possible which sounds nice but what if she says no?  What if she says "I'll think about it." or "This ring is too small." Then I got to thinking about my own proposal (yes I can remember that long ago). As I remember it was very private.  We were sitting on the sofa in a friend's house in Teaneck, New Jersey, after everyone else had gone to bed. He definitely did not get down on one knee.  What he did was pull out his billfold and show me that he had $500 tucked away to buy an engagement ring for me. That was a lot of money back then, at least to us. Then he pulled out a brochure from a jeweler and showed me the design he liked. I liked it too. That was during Thanksgiving weekend in 1967. On December 23 he gave me the finished ring. He gave it to me on the 23rd because he didn't want it to be considered a Christmas gift. I'm pretty sure it was that evening that we set our wedding date.  The funny thing is I don't really remember him ever saying "Will you..." or me saying "Yes." I think, as in so many situations in our marriage we just sort of comfortably settled into the situation. Not too romantic maybe (although it seemed so to me) but he never lost the ring.

truly alarming

Amber alerts are serious business and I'm not making light of them here, especially because of what happened yesterday.  However I got a real scare of my own today from an Amber alert.  I was walking down the hall from my apartment to the elevator this afternoon when all of a sudden my cell phone gave off the loudest, shrillest most alarming noise I have ever heard from it.  I checked to see what was wrong and saw that an Amber alert had been sent to my phone. I don't know why or how.  I know I'm signed up to get school closing alerts so maybe it comes though the same system.  Anyway, the same message came through twice more, once while I was driving, once while I was parked waiting to pick up a granddaughter from school.  I'm really glad I wasn't driving when the alarm went off the first time. I probably would have driven off the road.  Probably not the intended result of those alerts.

the great debate

I'm watching the presidential debate, and I think I knew before it started that whatever either candidate said I probably wouldn't change my mind on who I plan to vote for. So far that's holding true but it has been rather entertaining (like this whole campaign) with zingers flying back and forth. I did think it started out on a high note, talking about ideas and policies but in the last five minutes they have started slinging mud. Promises, promises.
It's over but they just mentioned that there will be a vice-presidential debate next month. That may be interesting.

National Comic Book Day

Today is National Comic Book Day.  When I heard that I gave a quiet little cheer.  What a great thing to celebrate.  My son enjoys National Talk Like a Pirate Day, arrrgg, but I think this is better. First because I don't have to walk around ,making weird noises and second because I have very fond memories of comic books. When I was a child my brothers and I were given a quarter a week as allowance. The best place to spend this bounty was at our small town drugstore.  The biggest decision I usually faced was did I spend the whole 25 cents on one super size comic or buy a 10 cent comic and spend the rest on bubble gum that came in a package with trading cards. Decisions, decisions.  Happily, the big comics only came out once a month so I got my share of bubble gum too. What bliss, blowing bubbles and reading the latest exploits of Archie, Betty and Veronica.

Will I make it to 200?

I just saw a news piece on TV congratulating St. Joseph's Catholic Church of Hessen Cassel on their 175th anniversary.  They were founded in 1841.  That got me thinking, our church celebrated its 175th 10 years ago; it was founded in 1831.  We had a really big celebration, actually several events over the months of that year. Now I'm wondering - will I still be here for our 200th anniversary? That's 15 years from now.  Assuming I'm still here, I'll be 86.  I should be able to hang around that long.  A lot may have happen in those 15 years.  In the usual order of things all four of my grandchildren will have graduated from college, married and I might even have some great-grandchildren. Wouldn't that be fun? When my son was four years old he asked me if there were dinosaurs when I was little. Maybe in 15 years a little great grand will ask if I was here when the church was founded. This time I'll probably look the part.