…do you think you are. Here’s a riddle for you.

? What is greater than God and more evil than the devil? The rich need it and the poor have it. And if you eat it, you will die.

?? It was a very stormy day. The wind gusted up to seventy-five miles an hour. Joseph entered his apartment and noticed that he had left the window wide open A strong wind was blowing the curtains into the room. In front of the window was an empty table. Joseph saw some broken glass and a puddle of water on the floor near the table. Just a few inches away, Mike and Ike were lying dead on the floor. How did they die?

If you know the answers leave them in comment, I will post in comments tomorrow what they are. Amazing what I will do to amuse myself.

…one of my favorite days, as it is the day I was born.  Having it be the deadline for filing yearly taxes has worked in my favor, as people tend to remember it, just as I always remember a friend on Christmas, as that is his birthday, and another whose birthday is on St. Patrick’s Day, she is always on my mind when March 17th approaches. I’ll never forget when I was very very young, and just learning that one had a birthday and that each year on that day you became a year older. This was a delightful thought for me as I was the youngest of three girls, and did not like being the little one that couldn’t do a lot of things.  This birtday revelation now made it possible for me to get older every year and then I would be the oldest, and I would be able to do things that they couldn’t.  My bubble was burst when I was told my sisters also had birthdays.   Another thing I learned was that opening day for trout season was not a part of my birthday celebration.   The Saddle River ran behind our house and was a fantastic home of many fish, including trout.  Again when I was learning my birthday was a special day just for me, the cars were lined up and down our street.  The mood was very festive as the cars pulled up and men of all sizes pulled on what looked like rubber pants with suspenders, which I later found out were called waders, and with smiles as wide as their faces they trodded down the road to the bridge where they could fish or walk along the river and throw their lines in.  At first I thought they were coming to see me, but was told no, it is opening day for trout that is why they are so happy.  Somehow in my young mind I thought because my day was so special it meant everyone could go fishing.  How disappointed was I when I found out that my birthday had no control over opening day for trout.  Years have flown by and I have had many, many happy birthdays, but what I cherish the most, and remember the most is the kindness of friends and their well wishes.  Thanks again to all who remembered me…and filed their taxes on time too.

 …A last minute Easter celebration.  In conversation on Thursday and Friday it came to all of our attention that no one had any plans for Sunday, and that lasted just long enough for all of us to say, then let’s get together.  Everyone contributed; appetizers, salad, meat, main dishes and of course the dreaded, but much loved and enjoyed, desserts.  I think sometimes the last minute plans turn out to be the best, and this Easter was definitely one of those times.  Everyone came with their appetites and there was enough food to feed an army.  The weather was beautiful and we all had an enjoyable and relaxed day.  It just goes to prove that family are friends, and friends are family.  A great benefit when living in The Villages.

Post Script: This was my blog on April 2013. Seems like yesterday but was so long ago. We didn’t realize the luxury of sitting all together, however I think we all do now and just hope and pray we will return to the carefree days of enjoying our times together. Happy Easter to all on this 2020 Easter day.

to this

over night.

I don’t think anything in our life has ever prepared us for what we are going through right now. Well, maybe birth did but I don’t think we actually remembered it. We did cry out and some of us wiggled and kicked. We were thrust into a world we were not prepared for, but by the time we blinked open our eyes we were surrounded by smiles, we were cuddled and cooed to, the gentle hands that caressed us assured us that everything was going to be ok. However, everything else in our life took time. We had five years before we went to school, another twelve years to graduate, another four plus years to further our education, months or years to plan a wedding, nine months to be a parent, years to plan retirement, time to even get a divorce. We had time to plan, to dream, to anticipate and even time to get counseled if the change was too traumatic for us. I think all of us had heard or read about pandemics but did we actually think it would happen to us. I don’t think any of us really sat down and thought what would I do if tomorrow I could not leave my house. Period. And yet, like birth, it happened. But unlike birth we didn’t cry out loud, and there was no one there to cuddle us and assure us everything was going to be ok. But in spite of it, I think we are all doing pretty good considering the complete abruption to the life we were experiencing before. I can only hope that we will be able to go back to the life we had, where we can sit amongst friends and family and hold hands and give hugs. I have to admit though I do find myself now crying out, kicking and even screaming as I try to navigate the online grocery link to order my groceries. But then again I remind myself to be patient, as I have all day to do it, and if not today I have tomorrow and the next and the next.

…crafts. Now that I have spent guilt free endless hours bingeing on movies, binge reading along with binge eating, I can’t help but think what’s next? I have done a little painting, but not much, I could do that. However when I was straightening some drawers I came across all sorts of costumed jewelry that I have had since I was a teenager. Jewelry I will never ever wear again. It reminded me of a framed picture I had seen where someone had made a Christmas tree out of costume jewelry and it was fascinating and beautiful. That art also reminded me of the Christmas tree my sister had made several years ago using some of her books. When I was looking for the Jewelry art I came across Button art, which was also interesting to see. I think I actually have a grandson’s preschool button and popsicle stick picture, which would probably not count as art as much as it counts as a fond memory. To see what people have created with jewelry, books, buttons and the like a good site to go to is www.pintrest.com and search either costume-jewelry-art, or Christmas tree out of books, or button art. I believe this type of art is also call repurposed items, and I believe you can repurpose anything. I think you could say we are repurposing ourselves all the time.

…stories. My daughter-in-law Michele wrote me a very sweet email after reading my last blog, regarding my recollections of childhood memories. She wrote as long as I have known you, you’ve always been a mother figure, so it is really enjoyable to learn about your childhood and teenage years, those years before you were a Mom. I got thinking about that and it’s true that I have just a few stories my Mother told me about her youth and I really enjoy them. I think sometimes we hear about the hard times our parents or grandparents might have had, but never what they were feeling their first day of school, or their first boyfriend. We tend to share with our friends stories of our youth, but only when something comes up that reminds us. I have a friend who tells the story of how every Saturday she and her brother went to the movies, she remembers right down to the cost of the movie, popcorn and ice cream. One Saturday they decided to take their dog with them, so they put him in a paper bag and off they went. They paid their money to get in and I think they had bought their popcorn and ice cream and then management discovered they had their dog with them and were kicked out of the theater. I probably don’t have all the details exactly right but when she recounts this story she is still upset that they paid for everything and then were asked to leave. This is a story that perhaps her children have heard but how enjoyable would it be for her grandchildren and their children. I think now that we have a lot of time on our hands, it would be a great time to write down our memories of growing up. One memory a day would make a really nice gift to leave for future generations. I am reminded of a memory that one of my favorite mentors told me. I call Daisy my mentor because she was well into her 90’s and was one of the most interesting people I have known. She read every page of the New York Times every day and could speak on any topic; books, world happenings, fashion, you name it and she knew it. This one day she was recalling memories and she said that as a little girl she was invited to a friends house for dinner. On the table was something she had never seen. It was a loaf of bread that had been sliced. You could buy bread at the store, but it was never sliced. She was so impressed with this that when she got home she excitedly told her mother about this sliced bread. To her disappointment her mother said, “how lazy do you get”. I’m hoping her grandchildren and their children will know Daisy through stories such as this one. She was a great mentor, by her example you could live well into your 90’s and still be involved in learning and life. Daisy, along with keeping up on all that was happening also had a Manhattan every day and played poker on Sundays up until a week or so before she died.

…by Julia Cameron. A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. Artists come in many sizes, shapes and forms. They are painters and musicians, actors, composers and oh so many more. However, the artist I want to talk about is the writer. I am extremely fortunate to have had a Great, Great, Great Grandmother who journaled. Her journaling wound up a book entitled “Connecticut Yankee in Early Alabama” by Juliet Bestor Coleman 1833-1850. I also have a sister, Jane B. Brooks that has written The Process of Parenting, which some editions have almost 700 pages. There have been nine updated editions published, so it has been quite in demand over many years. I have always loved to write, although my writing can not be compared to three weeks traveling by wagon, boat and foot. or years of study and research to produce any type of process. Instead my writing was mostly what I was passionate about or what phase of my life I was experiencing.. a PTA newsletter, a neighborhood column in our local newspaper, a plea for volunteers for a neurologically impaired child or the innocence of a death row prisoner. I was actually writing before I could write. My Mother told me that when I was around three and old enough to go into the bathroom myself, but still needed outside monitoring, that she realized I had locked the door. She kept knocking on the door and I kept telling her that I was OK and I’ll be right out. When I didn’t come out she became extremely upset and especially so when I told her I couldn’t come out because I was busy. Busy doing what??? I told her I was writing. Because at my age I did not write, but I did scribble, she thought I had found a pen or a crayon and now had all the walls covered. I was a pretty obedient child, so when she said unlock the door now, I did. When she entered there was no pen, no crayon, just me. Puzzled she asked where were you writing. My answer was I’m writing things down on my head. I’m assuming that is how a 3 year old explains thinking, but I have to believe I was really writing. That brings me to The Artist’s Way, a fascinating book for anyone who wants to open up and clear their mind. She has many tools to do this but the main one is writing your Morning Pages. For 12 weeks religiously you sit down in the morning and write three pages of everything that comes to your mind. In the beginning I moaned and groaned about all my misfortunes and worries. I kept this up day after day and after three weeks or so I realized my morning pages were more upbeat. It was as if I got rid of all the unnecessary clutter in my brain. It changed my outlook in many ways and made me a much happier person. Julia Cameron has written many books, in fact I have seven of them. She even wrote The Artist’s Way for Parents-Raising Creative Children. For fun google Morning Pages, or www.juliacameronlive.com or check her background on Wikipedia. Her background is fascinating, so many talents, and you may be very surprised who her husband was for a short period of time. I will admit that there is one book I tend to put on the bottom shelf and that is The Writing Diet. Somehow writing has not replaced snacks yet.

…I don’t know where my love of speed came from but it set in when I was a pretty young youngster. My first recollection was running. I loved to run, alone or being chased or chasing someone. If someone raced me I would try to win but the fun was always the running. Next came riding my bike down a hill, belly flopping on a sled and flying down a hill or off a ramp, even better. Loved when on ice skates being the tail end of a whip and flying across the ice. Better yet in high school my boyfriend and his father built and ice boat. A boat with runners and a sail. I have no idea how fast that boat went but with a good wind you would fly. A problem, that didn’t seem to bother us, was it had no brakes. That did not deter the fun as it would always stop when we ran out of ice into walls, rocks, trees and luckily sometimes weeds and grass. As I entered my senior year in high school and with many more friends driving, we discovered Palisades Amusement Park and the roller coaster. I loved the roller coaster and everyone knew it. Whenever anyone got bored they knew they could call me to see if I wanted to go to Palisades Park and ride it, and I never said no. Coney Island and Playland in Rye NY had roller coasters but I never got to go to either park. If you can imagine Palisades Park Amusement Park was opened in 1898. Located in Fort Lee and Cliffside Park, NJ on 38 acres overlooking the New York City skyline. It started as a picnic grove and was advertised as an attraction by a local trolley company to increase ridership on the weekends. It had tables and benches, concession stands and a breathtaking view of NYC. In 1908 a carousel was added and in 1913 the largest outdoor salt water pool was built. Their rival was Coney Island on the Long Island Sound, so the pool was added. It had an open air theater where top entertainers performed. Over the next 50 years more rides and attractions were added. It was inevitable that 38 acres, high on the Palisade cliffs overlooking the city became the perfect piece of real estate for developers to build condominiums, and build they did. In 1971 the park was sold. I have to wonder if, at that time, did the general public become more aware of safety issues with the rides. I couldn’t help but notice when watching the roller coaster in the 50’s there were no seat belts or anything to hold you in. When I was looking for things to amuse myself I thought I used to love roller coasters, why not a virtual ride. On you tube I recommend “10 Craziest Roller Coasters in the World” and scroll down to “Palisade Park, Freddie Boom Boom Cannon”. I might mention that the roller coaster at Busch Garden’s in Tampa is one of the 10 craziest ones and it has a small spot in my heart. It is not because I rode on it, but I sat on a bench underneath it for quite a long time as my 13 year old grandson rode it, and rode it and rode it again and again and again. I don’t run anymore and you could not get me on a roller coaster but for awhile that day at Busch Gardens, sitting on that bench I understood his passion as I relived my own.

…short one. I was made aware of more classes. If you have Comcast as your cable provider, go to demand, scroll down to Day of The Week in the left menu, scroll across to Free Preview, scroll down to The Great Courses. There are 219 courses that you can take free from March 20 to April 19th. Not sure how to get to it with other providers, but because Great Courses is a national program, if not world wide, they are probably offered to all. Happy searching and happy learning, or meditating, or exercising, or being mindfulness, or healthier, or becoming an artist, and so forth and so on. They are there for you to enjoy.

PS…Great Courses is only one of 100 or more programs you can get free.

…and checking it twice, to see what I might want to do today. One of the most talked about list is not your grocery list, or things to do today and the like, but I think the most talked about and interesting list is the bucket list. I got thinking of the meaning of the phrase, and thought it means to make a list of all the things we want to do before we die or to use the expression, kick the bucket. Now where did that come from? You may want to skip the next sentence as it is quite graphic. The words kick the bucket were used when the law was ready to hang someone. Those were probably the last words the cattle rustler heard. Fortunately, over the years the use of the bucket has become invaluable. It has brought fun, such as the 1915 T-Bucket or the Bucket T, which was a hot rod based on the Model T. It is filled with many things both enjoyable and also useful, such as a bucket of chicken, an ice bucket, a water bucket, a bucket of lard, a paint bucket and a children’s sand bucket. The buckets come in all sizes and shapes. There is the 3 or 5 gallon bucket, and buckets that are wooden, or rusty, collapsible and even a bottomless bucket. Have not figured out what that would be used for. In the medical field you have the bucket handle meniscus tear, that sounds painful. Construction has bucket loaders and crusher buckets. Hopefully many of us have had a 401K bucket. This is a system that is used when planning retirement. It recommends we should have three buckets. Musicians have the bucket drummers also known as street drummers. The bucket has contributed so much to our lives. Take for example the ice bucket challenge which successfully raised money for ALS research, the rubble bucket challenge has helped clean up the environment, and the rice bucket challenge has also been very successful feeding the hungry. They do not pour the rice over their heads as they did with the ice bucket, but instead fill their buckets with rice and give to a family in need. There are websites like 267 pages of dirty buckets and even a Texas bucket list at www.thetexasbucketlist.com. When is a bucket not a bucket? It is when it is used as a seat, or a tool caddie, a street drum, a livestock feeder, a hydroponic garden, and even used for long term food storage for the survivalists. That sounds a little like us. To survive we could still make up a bucket list and put all the things we want to do or see on it. www.youtube.com can satisfy all your wishes. Tours of Presidential Libraries, National Parks, Museums around the world. You can snorkel in the Bahamas, Hawaii, you can hike the Appalachian trails, skydive, go up in a hot air balloon. Google earth also has tours of the National Parks which I have not seen but understand they are wonderful. I was touring Presidential Libraries when I happened upon a tour of Margaret Mitchell’s home. I recommend it as it also includes the premier opening of Gone With The Wind and I think it is time for me to be gone like the wind too.