spring feaver???

I can't think of anything to write about this evening except the weather.  But the weather is being pretty spectacular.  I just think it's really lovely to be able to go outside, take a deep breath, and not feel like my lungs are freezing.  Happy, happy spring everybody. 

Well, here I go again...

Last year I acted in a play called "The Children's Hour." I thought that would possibly be the last play I would appear in because there just aren't that many parts out there for 73 year old women. But last weekend I auditioned for a part in a play by a local author called "My Dead Clown," a wierd comedy with an underlying positive message which will be performed at First Presbyterian Theater in July.  Surprise, surprise, I got a role.  It's not a large role but it will be a fun one and not too much of a stretch for my acting ability.  The part is described as a "sweet little old lady, a perfect grandma." Talk about type casting (except for the 'little' reference. At 5'10" I am seldom described as little.) I'm looking forward to one more time on stage.

baby leaves and blossoms

I was driving around town earlier today and realized that spring really, really is here.  Everywhere I drove I saw trees in bloom and others showing those lovely first tiny leaves. So nice. Then, as I typed the title of this blog I realized it could have two meanings depending on punctuation. Baby leaves and blossoms can refer to just what I saw today or, with a little punctuation could imply that baby has left home and is blossoming in a new home or career.  Baby leaves, and blossoms.  It reminds me of the title of a book on punctuation that was popular a few years ago, "Eats Shoots and Leaves".  It was meant to explain what pandas eat - shoots and leaves.  However, with punctuation it can imply that that pesky panda ate a meal, shot something and then left.  Eats, shoots, and leaves. Enjoy your spring and the quirks of our language.

calling bingo

On the fourth Thursday of each month I help cook and serve a meal at our church. This lunch is served to anyone in the neighborhood who wants to come in and eat.  Many of the people who attend are homeless or live in government subsidized housing across the street from the church. Most of the people are very appreciative of the food.  Today's meal featured a casserole with ground beef and six diffferent kinds of beans. Sounds a little strange but really very tasty.  Of course anything is tasty if you throw in enough bacon and brown sugar. Lots of people came back for seconds.  Over the months that I've been doing this, I've developed a bit of a speciality.  I stir hamburger. (Ground beef is the base for many of our casseroles.)  The reason I have been assigned this position is that I am one of the few women helping who is tall enough to see into and reach down into the huge pots in which we brown the meat and keep stirring the meat to keep it from scorching. Other people add ingredients from time to time and I just keep stirring.

Last month and today I added another job to my resune.  I call the Bingo game that we always have after lunch.  Winners of each round win a dollar and, believe me, those dollars are important to some of these people.  I find I can make myself heard quite well.  I just remember lessons learned as a teacher and, more recently, as an amature actor.  Ironically, as I was calling numbers today, the director of most of the plays I have been in walked by and muttered "Nice projecting."  This was high praise indeed because when I am in a play he is always telling me to speak louder.

Bird brain might not be an insult.

I watched an interesting program on Nova this evening.  It was all about how much some birds can learn.  It wasn't just tricks taught by repetition.  The program showed birds (specifically crows and geese) figuring out puzzles, learning to get to food 'trapped' in some way.  One experiment I found interesting was one that had some food inside a plastic, somewhat smashed two liter bottle.  He couldn't shake it out so the bird put the bottle into a nearby bird bath, let the bottle fill with water, and then floated the food out and ate it. In another experiment, two men wore caveman masks when they caught a crow and banded it.  The bird wasn't hurt and was released as soon as it was banded, but it always reacted with loud screeches when these men walked around the area wearing the masks; only when they wore the masks.  But what made it interesting was that they communicated their fear to all of the other birds in the area who also reacted to the masks. They also communicated the message to the next generation. The researchers also said that the birds show signs of emotion.  I found that very easy to believe.  Now that we're having some lovely spring weather, the birds in the trees along the river, and the geese in the river, are all celebrating the sunrise every morning, loudly and excitedly.  Right now it's a joy to hear them.  I'll let you know if I'm still feeling that way in July.

Sociology 101

Once or twice a year my daughter-in-law, a Frence and Sociology teacher, invites a few senior citizens such as myself to meet with her Sociology students in small groups, usually two old timers at a table with four to five students. One of the students leads the discussion which is based on a series of questions.  We talk about how life was many years ago vs. now and I find it very interesting to get their input on various aspects of life now and then.  The one subject that always comes up is technology.  I know they have a hard time understanding that we didn't grow up with personal computers, let alone tablets and smart phones, but when I told the group today that my family didn't even own a TV until I was in 6th grade they positively goggled. However did we survive???
Another question was "Did you ever participate in any deviant behavior in your youth?"  When I told them that,while I didn't really consider it deviant, I did date a black man back at a time when dating someone of another race wasn't as common as it is now.  One young lady asked me how my parents reacted to that.  I was honest and told her that I was living in New York at that time. My mother was dead and my father was living in Indiana.  It was never a serious situation and he never knew.  It always surprises me what memories these sessions stir up. It all seems soooo long ago.

It's good to be right

Not meaning to brag or anything but it's nice to have some things that I have long believed be validated.  I'm refering to two reports on this evening's news. The first one isn't really a new idea at all.  All my life I remember being told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and now studies show that this is true.  It turns out that people who regularly eat a reasonable breakfast are healthier and less likely to be overweight.  They didn't say what happens to people who regularly eat breakfast at IHOP.
Secondly, studies are showing that using artificial sweetner isn't good for you and definitely doesn't prevent weight gain.  The report particularly singled out Aspartame (the stuff in the blue packet that's used in lots of diet sodas). I discovered several years ago that that stuff gives me blazing headaches which I'm pretty sure is an indication that it's not good for me.  Actually, giving credit where it is due, it was my daughter (an infinitely wise teen at that time) who, when I complained of headaches, told me to stop drinking diet soda.  Evidently she had a friend who had the same negative response. So, bottom line, don't drink diet soda and eat your breakfast.  Wow, sounds like advice from my mom.