It's Still Good To Be You

I've decided something this week, this week of fire and rain. 


It's that you don't have to be afraid of growing old.  And I'm talking to all of you.  Denying it doesn't change the fact that you're a little scared.


Growing old does have its downsides, its true.  You get infirm, you get wrinkly and sick and not quite so hot, maybe.  But that's not it.


During this week, Carl and I have shared  four hospital emergency room visits, three hospital admissions and I've had two ambulance rides.  


Carl had an obstructive 6 x 3-1/2 mm kidney stone.  It was his 4th. It was horribly painful and he was panicky for pain medicine.  Carl has drunk little carbonation,  little ice cream which he was told caused them. His doctor, Dr. Hibbert, says he's just a "producer" trying not to chuckle in the face of Carl's pain.


I had a little "chest discomfort", went to my heart doctor for some comfort and was slam-dunked into the hospital for a battery of tests, maybe six.  I was released but then had a pseudoaneurysm from one of the tests which returned me to the hospital a second time for pressure against my femoral artery which felt like a bowling ball pressed against me by a means of a gorilla for about six hours.  


All this, I think, because a small cadre of bozos insist on suing doctors for who aren't thorough to the nth degree.  But who's complaining about the system here?


I learn the results of the tests Friday.  


But back to the point!  Here it is:


You know how you like to be you most of the time?  That feeling persists at least until you are sixty-eight!  Isn't that good news?  


I went job-hunting on the day after my birthday!  (I'm sick of retirement.)  I'm not kidding.  I got out of the hospital on Wednesday night, got up bright-eyed and ready for action on Thursday and went off to the Job Corps, (or whatever it's called) and filled out an application listing my accomplishments for the past 100 years and had a blast.  I also qualified for "Mayor of The District" on Foursquare in the meantime.  I felt exhilaration like none other.  


Yes, the downside was that I popped my femoral artery a little later in the day, and I ended up in another ambulance heading from Riverton Hospital to the Hospital on 53rd, but I took great pride in the EMT guy's complimenting me on my terrific ability to keep myself oxygenated.  Remember I did have sinus surgery three weeks ago and I only had twenty-thirty per-cent ability to breathe back them.  I'm a great breather now!  


I'm pleased to note that through it all from when I first remember to now, there have been some bad patches, but it's always been good to be me.  Sure it's been sucky sometimes, but when those times have passed I always remember, I like who I am,  It's been fun.  


Trust me.  If you like you now, you'll like you later.  There'll be moments, of course.  Don't be scared.  It's a fun ride!

Wasatch Women's Social Club - Another Aspect of Me

Serendipity hit one day at Border's last year, and voila, here I was yesterday, enjoying lunch and officer installation of the Salt Lake Valley Wasatch Women's Social Club.

Actually, I mostly hang out with their Frantic Page Turner's aspect (the book club) but I've gone to Hale Theatre with them, and a dinner out with them (Carl invited as well), and let me tell you, they have a good time.
They actually started as a Welcome Wagon Group back in the '80s, then they "evolved" and I'm happy to have found them.

There were probably eighty-five good members at the luncheon yesterday, all walks of life it would appear, and ages from twenties or thirties to seventies.   They're from all over the valley, some work some don't, some life-long valley-dwellers, some new to the place and all enjoy one another.

Bunco, Canasta, weekly morning get-togethers, evening gatherings, movies, walks, bike riding, golf, skiing, its amazing.

And me?  I think I'm involved.  In part of it at least.

Win or Lose, Arizona's Where I Am

I'm in Arizona.  I'm here for a number of reasons.  I was initially coming down with my brother, Brent, to visit my Aunt and Uncle Pat and Glen Crookston, last month  but with the beginning of Spring Training and baseball, we couldn't get any room at the place we usually stay.


So we boosted ahead to this month and found that the week we chose was LDS Conference Weekend, which traditionally is miserable weather, Easter and touted the last day of Spring Training which I blogged about yesterday.  


I love being in wonderful weather when the weather back home is miserable, but somehow, people back home resent the heck out of us.  It is gorgeous here however.  But that notwithstanding, there are some drawbacks:

1)  We missed Easter with the girls.  We did, however, receive the photos which you see with the girls on their new bikes and their helmets properly affixed and a promise that they can ride to our house if Julia watches them ride down Lake Bridge Road and we then watch them ride the rest of the way down Oquirrh Lake Road.  We then got to have Easter Dinner with Ben which is something we've not been able to do in a long time and got a promise from him to come to Thanksgiving Dinner next year and a semi promise from his friend, Susie, that she'll come as well.  That's great progress and a good trade-off.  

2.  I miss Conference on TV but we'll have that recorded when we get home and I'll have that then and on Saturday and Sunday morning and afternoons, I enjoyed conference via the Tweet World or Tweeternacle (#ldsconf) where everyone tunes in to Tweetie and write what they find to be significant comments from the current talks and what they have to say about it.  It's really fun and quite an experience.  I loved it and made some new Twitter friends.  I really lost nothing and gained in that.  


So what happened in the net gain/loss world?  I gained!  I am warm for the first time in a long time, a few people are a little miffed that I've escaped the cold but they'll get over it.  I enjoyed Conference doubly, I've seen Ben, met Susie, and not crying uncontrollably as I likely would be if I were home in the cold and snow.  And tomorrow I go see Pat and Glen for lunch.  


Thanks, Az, for being next door.

Yesterday's Project, Today's Job Well-Done

Finished putting my CDs on my IPhone and my report is 887 songs, 109 albums, 22 compilations (meaning what?)  361 composers,  and 13 genres.

I also attended a class on essential oils which surprised me by softening the stiffness in my shoulders and horrible pain therein caused by all the downloading of songs and albums to my IPhone, went to lunch with Loraine and did little else.

I did launch myself into Foursquare and was humiliated on Facebook for that by my son and a former student, but was much too busy doing other things to stay on top of that.

Busy, busy busy.  When will life get back to normal?  Oh wait.  I did say I finished up my music project, didn't I.  Well, I guess that happens tomorrow.

I hope you sense the sarcasm.

Madness and Compulsive Projects

I always thought that I wasn't smacked at all with the mighty family OCD brush until one day when I was talking with brother Scott and he asked "Do you count?"

"Of course I count."

But I knew what he meant.  He meant do you count the steps you take?  The times the shower cleaner machine beeps?  The times you scratch an itch?  Shut up Scott.

I got a little compulsive tonight.  I put my old CDs on my IPhone knowing that I'd not missed them much.  Yet I went through them all, not missing a one, not missing a song since I was unable to eliminate any.  I got through about half and neatly marked the perfect spot to stop and begin again the next time I begin again.

I couldn't bring myself to forget any either so I go from "Alley Oop" to "24 Hours of Loneliness" so far.  No one will be able to stand to listen to my music with me.  Who can stand to listen to a CD straight through without skipping.  No one CD has a complete selection of gems.  Not even "Pet Sounds".

I've got Simon and Garfunkle, The White Album, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel, Janis Joplin, Eric Clapton, John Coltrane, and more.  Plenty of good ones, and I'm less than half way through.

When will I finish up?  Who knows?  Maybe tomorrow, maybe never.  When will I listen to any of it?  Maybe tomorrow maybe never.  But at least I've devoted (wasted) three (or more) hours (that I'll never get back) doing something that is important (to no one) in the course of human events.

The Dynamic Duo

Carl and I are highly sympatico if you know what I mean.  We get along famously.

The only real difference between us, and this one is huge, is that Carl can amuse himself and I must be amused.

Carl could stay home all day, every day, enjoying puttering around the house, playing on the computer, gardening, camera stuff, watch sports and other things on TV.

Whereas I need, and it is a need, to do something every day.  Stuff away from home.  Lunch somewhere is high on the list.  It can be a cheap lunch, I'm not fussy, I'll go to the dentist, get my blood checked, go the the library, pick up a few things at the grocery store, get a flue shot, who cares?

Lately, we've compromised.  We walk at the mall.  I know it puts us right in the middle of the really old people, but it works.  We ARE old anyway.  We don't feel old, but we are, and we know it.  You tell us about it.

We've become mall walkers.  So sue us.  What it'll do, is extend our lives and make us even a bigger drudge on the market.  We'll use up goods and services, insurance, government services, air, traffic lanes and everything else.  So sue us.

Actually, it won't.  God knows the number of our days.  We'll live just as long as ever.  We'll just be healthier so it'll be win/win for everyone.  We'll be good, contributing members of society longer.

And besides that, when we're at the mall, we sometimes pick up a few things, so don't consider us a pain.  Look at us as a little stimulus package.

A Find to the South

I know you think that since I've retired I've been sitting around with my finger in my nose, but not entirely.

I lap up culture every now and then, and yesterday, my friend, Karren Ashley and I went to Provo and checked out the Art Museum on the BYU Campus and were more than a little startled here and there.

There was ther expected stuff, Minerva Teichert and other Mormon stuff, but also some rather interesting other things,  goofy things like photos of beach notes like "thanks for making the outhouse a little less visible from the sky", and other better pop art, like Andy Warhol and the like

Then lo,  a Rembrandt!  Yipes.  More than a little stunned was I.  An oil on panel from the 17th century entitled "Head of Christ".  More than a little impressive, I thought.

Who knew?  Not I.  More later on this day.  Can't squander.  I'm no longer the grandmotherly babysitter you thought I was.  I'm a screaming mass of crazy doing.  Aha!!

While I'm Listening To "It's The End Of The World As We Know It"

The Following came from a site called Wonder Club http://www.wonderclub.com/ on the Internet that has some pretty nifty stuff on it.  If you've got the time, spend it here.  I can't believe how much fun retirement can be if your behind can stand it.  (Get it?  If your behind can stand it?)  Yuck, yuck, yuck.

Incidentally, to the right is the Colossus of Rhodes if you weren't all ready aware.

Complete Listing of World Wonders


The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

• The Great Pyramid of Giza

• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

• The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

• The Statue of Zeus at Olympia

• The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

• The Colossus of Rhodes

• The Pharos of Alexandria

The Seven Wonders of the Medieval Mind

• Stonehenge

• The Colosseum

• The Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa

• The Great Wall of China

• The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing

• The Hagia Sophia

• The Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Seven Natural Wonders of the World

• Mount Everest

• The Great Barrier Reef

• The Grand Canyon

• Victoria Falls

• The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro

• Paricutin Volcano

• The Northern Lights

The Seven Underwater Wonders of the World

• Palau

• The Belize Barrier Reef

• The Galapagos Islands

• The Northern Red Sea

• Lake Baikal

• The Great Barrier Reef

• The Deep Sea Vents

The Seven Wonders of the Modern World

• The Empire State Building

• The Itaipú Dam

• The CN Tower

• The Panama Canal

• The Channel Tunnel

• The North Sea Protection Works

• The Golden Gate Bridge

The Seven Forgotten Natural Wonders of the World

• Angel Falls

• The Bay of Fundy

• Iguaçú Falls

• Krakatoa Island

• Mount Fuji

• Mount Kilimanjaro

• Niagara Falls

The Seven Forgotten Modern Wonders of the World

• The Clock Tower (Big Ben)

• Eiffel Tower

• The Gateway Arch

• The Aswan High Dam

• Hoover Dam

• Mount Rushmore National Memorial

• The Petronas Towers

The Seven Forgotten Wonders of the Medeival Mind

• Abu Simbel Temple

• Angkor Wat

• Taj Mahal

• Mont Saint-Michel

• The Moai Statues

• The Parthenon

• The Shwedagon Pagoda

The Forgotten Wonders

• The Aztec Temple

• The Banaue Rice Terraces

• The Borobudur Temple

• The Inca City

• The Statue of Liberty

• The Mayan Temples

• The Temple of the Inscriptions

• The Throne Hall of Persepolis

• Petra

• The Suez Canal

• The Sydney Opera House

• The Red Fort in India

Read our World Wonder FAQ by clicking here

Maps of the World Wonders

• Ancient Wonders Map

• Modern Wonders Map

• Natural Wonders Map

• Forgotten Wonders Map

Remembrance of Things Past

I miss teaching. I literally dream about teaching in some form almost every night. Last night it involved a talk I gave recently about purses and personality to the Relief Society and knitting and my son, Brad in his pajamas. But I was teaching. I was at home in the classroom.

Sometimes my dreams have me teaching adults, sometimes high school kids and other times it's at LDS Business College where I taught for eight years, but usually they are lucid and do make some sense. I could sometimes regive the lessons I give in my dreams to Carl, though he would hardly appreciate it. They would be short, but they would make have some coherence. I could write a lesson plan from some of them.

I try to console myself by telling myself that it was a good run and that few people find a career they love like I loved mine. Usually, though, they just remind me how much I miss everything about teaching. I miss the students, the involvement in my lessons, my association with colleagues and with the school itself. I miss the order, the routine, the sense of duty and work to be done.

The only thing I don't miss is setting my alarm every day of my life.

Live By the Sword, Die By the Disapproval of Others

We Empty-Nesters (a euphemism for us elderly types) are meeting at our house in August. Though the program has evolved since its inception several years ago, having something of an activity or at least a theme should be considered. The problem is that not much is seemly for us anymore.

Our youngers (as opposed to elders) are vaguely amused, or even disgusted when we take to hollering, giggling, telling jokes, maybe singing vociferously and/or even getting into elevators it would seem. So what is there left to do? Bingo, perhaps, though the Mormons kind of think that that is a little too Catholic for them. We could have a speaker come and tell us at length about various things, but some of us snore too loudly to make it easy enough for some of our hearing aids to work efficiently. We considered writing our various ailments down then having participants match them to the proper sufferer. We decided, though, that perhaps the health of some individuals might not be up to the excitement.

We then thought that wearing our bathing suits might be in order for a hot August evening and that we could run through the hose and maybe even find a Slip-N-Slide that wasn't being used that evening. We were all aglow with eager anticipation until we remembered who we are and that what's good for the gosling might not be good for the geezers.

"Why's that", we ask?

"Because it was put up for a vote and the youngers decided that the elders had just better behave in a seemly manner and resist having fun of any sort."

"When was that vote taken," we ask?

"Just after Adam's children first started reaching puberty."

"Were we there," we wonder?

"No, but you consented to it when you came along."

"Rats", we complain. "But I guess we did it to ourselves."

A Hearty Report of Heart-Healthy Activity

I rode my bicycle today and felt quite rejuvenated afterward. I think it has to do with increased blood-flow to the brain, re-oxygenation of the tissues, a release of dormant endorphans, the needed time spent in personal reflection, with the bonus of the observation of nature at its finest. It was a lovely ride during which I also visited the beautiful Julia and my two lovely granddaughters.

Let no one misunderstand, however. This is not something that will again be spoken of without my direct permission gotten in writing. You see, I know, as you do as well, that tomorrow things will return to being as they were yesterday which was when I took a dim view of anything that smacked of physical exertion let alone something as out of character as exercise. I need not be reminded of this, anyway, because I know, at least intellectually, that exercise is good for me and that getting the blood warmed up and flowing feels right and good. I also know that my life will be all the richer and brighter and more productive if only the rust was forced out of the pipes once in a while. I know all that.

What is less obvious is why I took to the streets atop my bike in the first place. It wasn't to protect my heart. Nor was it to add mileage to my shamefully-low numbers on my bike gauge. It was to protect my computer. If I hadn't gotten away from that fiendish machine, it was going out the second-story window onto the sidewalk. Now, we will not discuss this again. Understood?

Taking Care of Business in Retirement

We spent a couple of hours chatting with phone geeks down at the Apple store today but it was well-worth the time. I now hold in my hand my brand-new IPhone 3GS. Unfortunately I still have mo service because though Sprint cancelled my service to my Treo 755P almost instantly, AT&T is taking a leisurely approach to activating my account. Maybe six to eight hours without service. No phone, no games downloaded, no contacts to sort through, no calendar to check, no nothing. What can I do without being connected? I have needs. I guess just test-drive my "notes" and do a little blogging. Gotta love technology.

LATEBREAKING UPDATE: My phone is working. I'm phoning Carl like crazy. I did phone my son in Phoenix, too, but now I'm busy doing other things like updating apps, calendar, notes, hoorah.

We now have two Treos and two ITouches to get onto KSL Classifieds.

From the Sublime to the Sublime

Yesterday while in line at Costco, I asked the man behind me to save my spot while I dashed for bandaids. When I returned, slightly breathless, he told me he was ninety years old last week. He was amazing. He looked much younger than I thought a ninety-year-old man should look, and his face was beautiful -- bright, smiling, intelligent -- I don't know what I expected but definitely something more decrepit. It was great to see him. He did me a world of good. He made me very happy just with his robust, charming good nature.

Then within an hour I was holding little McKenna Haacke, two-week-old daughter of Liesl and Corey Haacke and sister to CJ. She's tiny and beautiful. She also did me a world of good with her gentle smallness, her sleepy, trusting nature and her pliable little body adapting to my chest. Her head was warm like babies head's are, her little hands and arms were curled in and her legs were so skinny and small, they were barely noticeable. I was overwhelmed by her helplessness and by how protective of her I felt.

Sometimes when I get tired of not having the energy and strength that I used to have and seeming to some to be a little past useful, I need days like today. I love life in all its manifestations and I'm not going to forget these two people. They meant a lot to me.

Book Report -- A Debut of Sorts

Well, I really made a great impression, I'm sure, on my brand-new book club when I panned the book we read.

The book was Jodi Picoult's Vanishing Acts. The truth be known, I didn't like one of the characters in the whole book -- well maybe the four-year-old, but her part wasn't that big. I'd elaborate, but I'd spoil it for those who plan to read the book (unless I've all ready done that), and those who don't have such plans would be simply bored.

The word used by the group leader for me was "enthusiastic". Perhaps this is good, but maybe it's really a word that actually means, "You talked too much for a newbie at Book Club." I'll let you know later.

Our next book is Isaac Bashevis Singer's "Enemies, A Love Story." No doubt a much better book. I can say this without even opening the first page. If you have to ask me how I know this, don't even ask. Just Google the author's name. I'm just saying.

I is for Insomnia, Ipods and Idiocy

Insomnia is a beast. It's what makes me lay awake nights, looking at the ceiling, thinking about nonsense. I'm not worrying, but just letting a Rolodex of junk run through my head. It's what's driving this writing right now. I look at my clock and it says 3:51 AM.

It usually begins around 3:30AM and goes until about 6. Sometimes I get up and sometimes I just lie there, checking the time light on the ceiling, bleary and wrecked until I finally go to sleep again, hours later. Even after mother started into her dementia, she told me she would wake up and listen to Art Bell's "Coast to Coast" on KSL on a little plug-in radio earpiece she'd place under her pillow so she wouldn't disturb Dad. I wonder now what she thought about telepathy, astral projection and the extra-terrestrials Art would love to talk about. Too bad she's not here to ask about it. That was the last Mother's Day gift I gave her: a replacement earpiece because her other one broke.

If I'm smart, I grab my Ipod and listen to books on tape. I can tell when they've worked when I start losing the story and know I'm drifting back off to sleep. I turn off the book and usually fall asleep. That's really what I ought to be doing right now, but, oh well. Who's thinking clearly at this point.

Wasting Time

I can waste more time than the average contestant. I get addicted to games like Spiderette and, back in the day, Tetris. I have learned to watch out for addicting games, but sometimes they find me and bite. It's incomprehensible for most sane adults to understand that unbalanced/lazy/procrastinating adults can spend hours just playing games. Sudoku is my game of choice currently. It's on my Ipod Touch and I generally blow through two or three games (or more) in one sitting. My rationale is that I'm forstalling Alzheimer's, but I know I'm kidding myself. A game or two might do that, but many is simply mind-numbing.