Now twitter is sending out emails to everyone in the world to whom they have access. It looks like everyone, must be NSA.
They are sending Donald Trump’s tweets by email to people who don’t tweet, around the world. We pay this guy to be President of the United States. All he cares about is Nordstrom and his daughter Ivanka.
This is a disaster that has happened. NSA, are you listening? Dee
Don’t Ask Me…. (think Fred Astaire)
I was confused when the nation chose the current president. And we pay him, right?
He is hired to uphold the nation and take care of the need of its’ residents.
I’m a retired citizen and lifelong resident of the US of A. Why is our president sending out tweets to Nordstrom to carry his daughter’s line of clothing in their stores? It sounds like he is serving one person, not our nation.
Carry my daughter’s clothes at Nordstrom, or else. OK let’s go deport some Mexicans. Tell NBC that SNL is a horrible program because they had Alec Baldwin make fun of you.
Our president is arrogant and thin-skinned. To tweet constantly tells us he’s not minding the store, but using Twitter to gush personal vitriol while we pay him to mind a store that is much bigger that Nordstrom and contains hundreds of millions more voters than his daughter.
Imagine Donald Trump visiting a foreign country. If he got a hangnail there, would he tweet our troops to war against said country? Where’s Dick Cheney when we need him…. someone has to rein him in to concentrate on important matters of state, other than a Mexican fence, deportations and evisceration of personal privacy. ‘Nuff said. Dee
My dear husband says women are hard-wired to care for others. Perhaps we are. But I think he’d say soft-wired. Yeah, he’s a software guy but girls are just mushy.
I never like to say that he is right, but, gulp, he may be somewhat right. I drive or fly 1,500 miles to his family every Thanksgiving and spend a few days dancing around the kitchen cooking with his mother. If I drive, I take our ancient dog. If I fly, she stays here and m-i-l does not have a dog in the house to pick up crumbs we inevitably drop. She needs to vacuum more when our Zoe’s not there.
All that time Nanny, who is hosting, is helping her daughter-in-law, grands and great-grands cook and clean the house for up to 60 guests.
It’s time. The guys show up and set up folding tables then watch football. They come in to bless their food, get it (after all the little ones) and go back to watch football.
We all clean up, then chat a bit at the kitchen table. Football. We play with the kids outside if it’s good weather. Football. Bad guys won. Time for re-heated dinner. Second round. This time plastic cups and paper plates. The women clean up. Men are playing pool, shooting skeet, watching grandkids on motorized devices. Dune buggies.
We pack a truckload of stuff to go back “home” then get to find our husbands. I think we went the extra step, 15 years now for me. Double that for my mother-in-law, triple for Nanny.
***
When I was assaulted on our school bus our neighbors, 12 total, made sure it would never happen again. I never knew what they did and never saw a bruise on the convicts. Yes, I’m sure the cruel brothers have been in jail for years on other incidents. The saviors’ sister runs the family as her dear mother died. R was a rock then and probably is now. She and her mother, brothers and cousins all took an extra step.
I knew a younger boy was being harassed, not only by school kids but by his sister and mine. I protected him and didn’t know he was gay for years. I didn’t know what the word meant. When he came out, his sister contacted me to apologize for treating him badly and to thank me for looking out for him. Now, they’re best friends. I went the extra step.
When my dog Chani died it was a miracle she had survived so long. She was abused, didn’t like men or kids. I worked with her and she was the most popular dog in the park. Kids in the tot lot would call out her name and their mothers allowed them to run to see her when we entered the park. She died, suddenly, at age 12. The entire neighborhood got together and bought a tree for the City, for our park. It was a fight because I did want it to be a leash-free area. Our local representatives negated the tree. I proved that it was a tree chosen by the city by type, size and location and it didn’t hurt that I handed in the check as VP of the non-profit that allowed the planting of the tree. We all cared and took the extra step. Now there are many of the same trees there, I can’t even find Chani’s on GoogleEarth.
I’ve an old friend, Dr. G. He was a trucker. My father found him and sent him to school. They played handball together at the college where Dad worked. When I told Dr. G. that Dad died he said he was glad Dad taught him handball. He still plays at age 89. He taught me psychology before I was eight years old. His wife taught me to appreciate art. I majored in soc/psych and art history. All of them went to heroes in my book as they changed my life forever. Dr. G has invited me to visit, his wife is gone now, but daughters are around. They all went an extra mile for Dad’s little girl.
My aunts have been sending me photos, of me, me and my little sister, a naked one of me and my now 60-year-old cousin I’ll save for blackmail someday, and my parents’ wedding. I wouldn’t be here without them. All my family and my husband’s very extended family, care and still take the extra step.
Dad went miles and miles, to make sure I learned everything I needed to make it in life and to tell me I could be anything I wanted to be. He introduced me to interesting people. I learned at a young age how to speak with adults and absorbed everything they had to teach.
Special mention goes to RM for being there on that bench whenever I had an issue with a mean high school girl. And his wife L who made the best Tex Mex in el Norte and treated me like a grand-daughter.
There are so many more….. teachers, mentors, colleagues. Sorry to have left you out… this time. Cheers and thanks to you for taking the extra step and caring for others. Dee
My father hated “room picnics” but my aunts devised them for inexpensive lunches between swims at a place “halfway” between our cousins, grandfather, and us.
They’re retired English teachers so brought a dictionary. We did not have Monopoly or Scrabble, we had the Dictionary Game.
Open a dictionary to any random page. Find a word you’ve never seen. Then spell it, define it and use it in a sentence. Write it down on a scrap of paper. Give it to the person who is not playing to read to the group. The vote goes to the person who gave the best answer, right or not.
I always went for funny so always lost. Tibia, one of the sirens near Scylla and Charybdis on the Greek Isles. The name means “between a rock and a hard place.” I was left between Scylla and Charybdis when I visited Greece and had to choose a cigar, with a language barrier, to bring home to Dad.
We did sail by and say farewell to Odysseus one year. The tibia is a bone in your lower leg (calf) next to the fibula. I told you I always lost the game. There was fun in swimming all day, eating lunch in and dinner out, and playing games. I just let my imagination go, and loved losing to my cousins and siblings. Here’s to happy times! Dee
Yes, I do. I learned to knit and purl with minimal instruction. I got to the point that I could make my father and brother golf club covers because they were essentially mittens without a thumb and I didn’t learn to make a thumb. This post is for my one and only brother.
Petit point was easy but not very relaxing. I recently found a complicated one I started years ago but with arthritis, it’s not comforting either.
Mom didn’t really want me in her kitchen, underfoot, so I learned to cook through books and Gourmet magazine. After college I got a job, a big step up, and hated it. I quit the job and spent my life savings on cooking school, the best time at school I ever had. No, I’m not a chef, I’m a good cook.
Owning a pet. Been there 27 years and still going. Learned about cats from a book. My sister sent my brother east from CA with a five week-old cat, a Burmese mix, who never let me get a word in edgewise for 13 years. Dogs, I thought I knew. My first was abused by a deputy sheriff and in a shelter where I visited her for a year. When euthanasia was mentioned as she was becoming a danger to men and children (kids used to throw rocks over the fence at her) I took her home, rehabilitated her and she was so loved in our neighborhood they took up a collection and donated a tree to the city for our park, in her memory.
Our current dog was another rescue. We adopted her at six weeks and she turns 13 years old this weekend. We’re having a party for her and her human and canine friends.
Today is our 14th wedding anniversary. My husband is away on business but I’ll make his favorite stew this weekend. He got me a multi-purpose slow cooker I need to try. I bought flowers that will remind us of the places we’ve been together. Yes, he’s still the “human tornado” that makes a mess everywhere he goes and never puts anything away. After over 15 years I’m happy he puts down the toilet seat, even though changing a roll of toilet paper is beyond the realm of capability.
Utah, 30 years ago. Snowbird, 12,000 feet and air so thin one cannot get enough of it. My little brother says, “no, you don’t need lessons. I’ll teach you!” He did come and save me.
Four times down the bunny slope, two on the bottom half of Big Emma. Then he brought me up to the top and left me in a big bowl. I didn’t know how to turn (schuss) to reduce my speed so I just snowplowed at 100 mph then sat down and cried. I did that a few times and he took the lift back up and came and got me. My legs hurt from snowplowing for a week! He just told me tonight that my father sat down and cried as well. So much for brotherly “lessons.” God rest you, Dad.
My dear husband decided to create a blog for me a number of years ago. I was terrified. What if I couldn’t write or find anything to write about. The first blog I wrote was the most popular of all time, How to Eat a Concord Grape. I’ve thousands of visitors to this niche blog and have met some good friends through it. Thank you, dear! This was a “seat of the pants” thing I just had to do on my own. It has helped my writing and storytelling skills. Thanks to AL&J, retired English teachers, as well.
I remembered what I used to do when first confronted with a computer. I wrote down the 4-5 themes I had to hit in a white paper or speech, or legislation, wrote them down on a piece of paper, and got to work. Once a blank page or screen was not an issue, the words flowed.
The lesson here is sometimes one needs a lesson, like hurtling down a mountain faster than your car can drive. With a proper education, others are just a natural extension of current abilities. Older and wiser, I try to learn something new every day as each day offers new possibilities. Right now I’m into art, framing and flower arranging. The arthritis brings limitations but they’re only physical. Courage, ambition to be the best “me,” selflessness, kindness to others all help. Carpe diem, Dee
Posted in Editorial, editorial pets, Utah
He looks at me every day. He has a placard around his neck that commemorates our wedding day 14 years ago today.
We got to see him two weeks before his demise but I’ve photos of him younger and stronger and remember him balancing a treat on his nose and then tossing it up in the air and swallowing it.
I remember that his mom taught him to be able to take care of folks at the VA, and that when he started to fail she took him to swim.
When I think about it Gus’s dad took me down the “aisle” at our elopement in a grove of trees overlooking the ocean. It should have been Gus. Then the Best Man would have had only one job.
I loved that dog and know that he sees me and looks over me every day. Happy anniversary, Gus! Dee
There are things one does for family and other loved ones. We love hearing stories, even those of ones we’ve lost.
We pay attention, take care of the living and the dead. We take care of our families and our friends even though it may be difficult at times.
I was forced to say a pledge of allegiance as a child and never knew what it meant back then. I said with “liver tea and just us” for all because my parents and teachers just made us say it by rote and didn’t tell us what it meant.
It meant a lot. I swear allegiance to my dead parents, my siblings, my in-laws, Nanny and Steve, and their huge family that has adopted me. I have always sworn allegiance to my country. Dad, who just died last month, was the son of immigrants who left before Hitler and his brown shirts became too powerful and decided to kill people. As immigrants they spoke only German at home.
He rose to be a powerful personality that made change. My brother and I make change, now, in his name. I believe it is in our blood. It is a tough road, with enemies afoot, but worth the fights we choose to wage.
Dad taught me how to fight, verbally; shy, I did not unleash it until my 30’s. We had a fifty cent weekly allowance as kids so whenever I called my sister dumb I was fined a nickel. Ouch, that hurt!
He also taught me how to play well with others. Being smart and well-schooled didn’t hurt. Now I miss his face, voice, phone calls, counsel, and trinkets from wherever he traveled to remind me of him. He and now my and my brother’s and husband’s families will help protect his legacy. I miss him. Dee
My phone has been texted by Facebook several times per day. I am on Facebook. I do not use Facebook. It is now more intrusive than ever.
I wanted to send a nice post but am so angry now I may not be able to do so.
A Facebook request was made from a cashier at Wal-Mart. I cannot remember the last time I went to a Wal-Mart or that I knew a cashier there.
The next friend request came from my father. He died last month.
Think about what you’re doing here, Facebook. It is intrusive, annoying and I’ll see if it’s against the law. LEAVE ME ALONE!!! Stop sending me texts and emails. It is harassment and I will have it stopped. Dee
ps My office-mate’s wife had a miscarriage one day, I took over his meetings and went home and made them a stew to deliver, 15 miles out of town. They made me stay to share it. A phone call came in and I answered, it was a baby magazine trying to get her to subscribe. As far away from the dining room I could go on the old phone cord, I did, and said quietly to leave her alone, and they did. They now have two beautiful adults. I wish current companies would abide by that code.
was the word on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The first federal holiday I headed out with lawyers and legislative buddies and drove to D.C. where we went to the AME church and heard Coretta Scott King speak. We did other King-related activities but this was the epitome of King-dom. When we visited Memphis the Lorraine Motel was closed for renovation.
This Monday we stopped for lunch at a place that isn’t usually open on Sundays. We walked in not knowing what was going on. Police were all over the place and at the front desk all the signs were blocked by people.
It was a free lunch of a pulled pork sandwich, fries, applesauce and a soda. Ordered to cops, delivered by cops. Every nickel goes to Special Olympics. We were seated by a young woman with half an arm. She was special in every way, very kind.
In the end you run your card to “tip a cop” and ours was not in uniform so he’s high up on the food chain, cop-wise. We thanked the area police for this activity state-wide, as we were en route home though an ice storm our officer gave us his personal weather report and directed us to the highway without using local, unsalted roads.
Needless to say, we gave a very generous tip. I love that Eunice Kennedy Shriver created Special Olympics. Years ago I was a day volunteer for a Special Olympics bowling tournament out in California. My job was “cheerleader.” I was overwhelmed at the diligence and heart that went into the bowlers’ job.
Thank you, local police for doing this five years in a row on MLK Day, and thanks to the Texas Roadhouse for hosting. The food was good and the service, exceptional! Cheers, Dee
By everything, everyone. All the time. It’s exhausting. My husband just challenged me to go to another city in 12 hours with no notice, no time to pack, just let the dog off and go. No information on transit or where we would stay.
Why? It’s not a romantic getaway, it’s a way for him to chill out by seeing a science museum. I’ll take art, any day.
Our dog will be 13 this month. An Asian man touched her this evening on her “last chance” time outside and said she has a problem with her right shoulder. He was correct, it is very warm. Zoe already has no hips, so if she was to have cancer in the front and have a limb excised we would have to think of her future with us and what we can do for her. Dad died last month so I’m hoping it’s not serious. Don’t worry, I can deal with the decision and holding my family member at the last stage. I don’t know that my husband can or would join me in that endeavor.
I am weighing this against a trip my husband created without my input an hour ago so he can see a science museum. My husband is my best friend and the most important person in my life. Our dog is very special to us and I will have her see the vet and perhaps lose a day of our weekend. He always sleeps the first day, anyway! Cheers, Dee
Cooking with Dee 