Old So What

  That whatever tastes good (such as taco chips) is bad for you, whereas whatever tastes bad (such as Wheatena [hot] cereal) is good for you but tastes like eating a woolen blanket. I don’t think they make Wheatena anymore, but the child in me (who was forced to eat it) would say: No Loss!

  What is the voice of reason? It’s that little voice inside our heads and those of others, that speaks to us with logic, fairness, good judgment, using evidence…to convince ourselves to act in a sensible, civilized way. We seem to have lost this little voice of hope along the way of today’s not-so-nice, not-so-safe world. (In other words:   a world out of control, and often malignant.) If we could reinstate “kindness” it would greatly aid the little voice of reason.

  I can’t say enough in praise of the new Netflix program, “Captivating the King.” An historical drama, set in Joseon times, that is simply incredible.   And it gets even more incredible as it goes on, especially when the love story begins. It may well be one of the best features to appear on any television anywhere…anytime. (Coming from someone who has watched TV since 1950). The cast is impeccable with Jo Jung-suk and Shin Se-kyung taking the two top leads.   But the cast and director have played this story so well, with ALL leads.   There are very few minor roles.   Everyone is at the top of their game. Bravo to writers, directors, producers, actors, musicians, set designers, and anyone else, happily for us, to be participating in this production! This lovely series captures your heart.   It truly does.

  Every spring I’m confronted with the same problem: Bugs.   Relatively easily solved by the annual, sometimes biannual, calling of the exterminator (who sprays only in the basement and around the outside of the house). Now picture a Warner Bros. cartoon of an ant.   This would have the mandatory huge anthropomorphic (having human characteristics), cartoon eyeballs of exaggerated size. And a large head, wearing a big smile. With the beginning of the spring season comes the scout ants. They burst upon the scene to literally scout the scene.   What’s happening, any predators around, is this safe, any food? I envision one specific ant who I actually saw appear on my kitchen counter in a ceremony of great expectation on its part.   It was heaped in the enthusiasm of the very young. As it actually was. How did I respond to this appearance? I crushed the little twerp! Right there and then. But not without any regret. Here was a tiny being whom I always r...

  Maybe I’m taking a proprietary view here in that this successful series, which ran on HBO, from June 1998 to February 2004, should remain part of its time, without an appearance in 2021. Talk about a fish out of water! This is not good. Leave Sex and the City alone.   You have tortured and abused the original enough. It was in, its time, for the viewers of that time, a very enjoyable show. As one of those viewers, now I can no longer look at it. It has been distorted beyond all meaning...beyond all redemption. What are you trying to achieve here? I think what you have created is an unrecognizable Frankenstein.   And an unlikeable one at that.  

  My husband once said: “You are the only one I know who could get chocolate on their underwear!"

  What to do with all that money and time? I’m talking about those who can afford to stay at luxury, high-end hotels on view now on YouTube. So, you’ve checked in with your Louis Vuitton luggage. Right after you’ve checked the luggage to see if it’s all there, then what? Have a complimentary bottle of Perrier…or something stronger and…? What do you do in such a hotel? Shop? Explore? Swim in the many inside/outside pools? Take a tour of the town? Read a book; take a nap? Well, all of the above. In this economy most of us would really love to have these sorts of questions as our primary worries.   Bring them on!

  Sometimes, called leaf cabbage, kale is primarily grown for its edible leaves, and is also used for decorative purposes. (It’s that stuff that the supermarket sticks around vegetables in display cases in the hope of adding an appetizing touch, which kale almost never does.) This is a cabbage-like vegetable, part of the mustard family, related to broccoli and Brussels sprouts. It contains vitamins A, K, C, folate and minerals such as potassium, calcium and magnesium. One of those leafy greens whose sugars help to fuel intestinal health. Kale can help with weight loss, heart health and protecting against diseases. Consumption of kale in excess can, however, lead to problems, such as stomach irritation and constipation.   And kale can increase the chance of getting kidney stones, and the risk of iodine deficiency. This is not a definitive list about kale, so please don’t quote me. You might not want to eat kale every day, if at all, because, in my personal opinion, ka...

  On dry foods, such as tuna or chicken, always have a glass of water nearby to supply moisture. (This simple rule has helped me many times.)

  An Internet personality for our times. Cash is in real estate:   leasing apartments in New York City.   He likes some questionable properties if you ask me, but maybe it’s because he is the most optimistic person on the planet. Not that there is anything wrong with that. He also dissects the neighborhoods that the properties are in. He speaks of relevant issues such as:   the safety of the location, available transportation, and local places he can personally recommend. Cash also takes trips outside the boroughs of New York.   He takes his wife (Japanese born) and his two very sweet children to Japan occasionally.   Whether this is business or pleasure I don’t know, maybe a little of both. Wherever he goes for his videos, people seem to know and like him.   Why not?   Cash is a likeable guy, and sometimes his comments are really funny, but his thoughts are always original.

  I’m tired of hearing all the accolades, and seeing all the awards for superior performance and talent beyond compare. To incredible insights and going where no one has gone before, I say phooey! Where would you all be without: Average, Commonplace, or just Acceptable?   All comparisons would cease to exist. Here’s to all of those who cannot attain first prize, cannot be lauded as the best at something. Who’s to say that the average didn’t try their best, yearn the most but succeed the least. Life is a fickle fiend, spreading gifts of intelligence, creativity, and beauty to a few, and leaving in its wake the battered dreams of the many.

  Your family usually starting with the eldest members begin to disappear. One by one they leave.   At first, because you’re young, you don’t notice all that much, but eventually it all catches up with you, until you are forced to notice. This usually happens around the time you realize that you are now getting old. You lose a spouse or a parent, in other words a significantly essential person. Where’d they go? Unfortunately, we know…so start now having a few extra caring people around you.   You can never have enough of those. Having a loving pet is good, too.   And don’t forget to provide a caretaker for that pet for when you, yourself, disappear.

But unfortunately, I already forgot one of them! So, I better tell you about the other one quick! Loquacious .  It calls to mind all sorts of wonderful possibilities. But all it means is: “tending to talk a lot; that is, full of excessive talk.” (Which can be a positive or negative thing.) Some synonyms are: chatty and talkative. This word is pronounced as:  LUH+KWAY+SHUHS (A guide just in case.)   That’s it! But somehow, I expected more. 

  I feel that the world is in such crisis right now, that you and I (with our rational conversation) are just arranging   deck chairs on the Titanic, don’t you think?

  If you watch some ads you may get a taste of what not to do, as for instance in the bathroom redo commercial,  complete with a sing-song delivery as the speaker’s voice goes up at the end of each and every sentence (to drive the listeners truly nuts!). Also, speak clearly and enunciate each word. Unlike the commercial done by a faux children’s band where (I must admit that this was quite an achievement), the little lead actor did the entire recording without moving his lips or jaws! And, this is important, if the audience cannot remember the name of the product or service right after viewing the commercial, then technically that ad is a dud, a failure.  An award-winning professional in the industry told me that.  He should have called it "Commercial-Making 101." ) 

  Delivery services always deliver what you want most… last.

  You know you’re old when you trip over your own cane.  Something which is not that funny when you actually do it, so go to YouTube’s video on how to properly use a cane. It’s well worth knowing if only for your own survival!

  I am an American. I have always been proud to be one. But new things are happening now. And I fear that my country, my America, has been invaded by chaos…to say the least.

  I am using a cane more often these days.   Fact is that I spent so much time looking for the cane that I resurrected another one, which is a big klutzy, ugly thing. Now I spend my time looking for two canes. I am going to put some flashing lights on them, or cow bells, or something.

  For starters, the house itself was unusual. It was haunted. No really.   It was. I don’t normally believe in phenomena like this but I experienced it myself. I know what I know. The reconverted barn had reconverted ghosts. You became the victim of its wrath if you fell asleep in its room. Usually it struck (if that’s the right term for it) at 1 in the morning.   Then sharpened bony fingers would grip your shoulder and hold on tight until you woke up in a fright.   (I always thought of it as a he, but it could very well have been a she .   I mean why not?) This “thing” whatever, was not friendly.   Its physical language was aggressive, clearly saying, “get out, you’re in my territory!” Besides me, it appeared to both my brothers, and a friend of ours who knew nothing about what happened in that room, but slept there as a guest one unfortunate night for him. Because it was now a house and no longer a barn, it took on the hybrid effects o...

On a February day in 2024, in Athens, Georgia, Laken Reilly was brutally struck down for no reason by a monster.  Laken was a nursing student. We will never know now how many patients she would have helped had she been allowed simply to live her life. She has left us too soon at 22 years of age. She has left us with just a glimpse of her promising future. She has left us with her middle name:  Hope. Laken Hope Reilly.

  In case I didn’t mention it in Part 1, and I didn’t, the film, “Bridge of spies” was based on the Berlin Wall, (built by Communist East Germany in 1961), and how various world powers swapped two famous prisoners trapped on either side of it.   Rudolf Abel was the convicted Russian spy and Francis Gary Powers was the convicted spy from the US. The hero in real life who should be mentioned in capital letters, was the American attorney, James Donovan, who actually achieved this difficult feat…in real life!

  You will enjoy this 2015 film I’m very sure. It has everything:   good script, good director (Steven Spielberg) good producers, (one of whom is Steven Spielberg)   good actors. Based on a good story. A true story.   It grabs your attention and holds on in no small measure to the acting ability of its star, Tom Hanks.   He should be called:   Mr. Believable. You find yourself so caught up, so captured by the story and actors that you end up rooting for everyone, even a communist villain. Warning:   This is a feel-good film!

  Those sneaky little things that are supposed to help you, but are really there for pure sabotage. You think you’re putting your glass on something protective, when at the very last moment the coaster segues to the right or left, and there you are with another spilled mess on your hands!

  You can see just what it’s like to live in another land; practice another religion; eat different food without having to literally do it. Treat yourself to an adventure (or have you already been there, done that?)

  You know that you’re old when… o   you start having difficulty cutting toast. o   people who are older than you…are now dead. o   you keep misplacing your cane.

  When I run the water in the shower for too long, the cat comes looking for me. (She’s afraid of water.)   When I’m late with her meal, the cat comes looking for me. (Just a friendly reminder as she passes by.)   When someone knocks too loudly on the front door, the cat comes looking for me. (Irritated at the intrusive noise.)   When she hasn’t seen me for a while, the cat comes looking for me… just to see that all is well.

  We used to learn this stuff in school. So here goes… George Washington was the first president of the United States of America. The most important fact about him to me has always been that at the beginning, the founding of this country, he was offered the title and role of “king,” but declined.   He didn’t view this title as appropriate for the American soul, mind or spirit. Bravo to him. The world had had enough kings and queens.   This was a new chapter and it deserved a new beginning, a new title. President Washington was a hero! Period! He served as President from 1789 to 1797. He is known as the Father of Our Country.   Born on February 22, 1732 in Virginia (One of the original 13 Colonies.), President Washington commanded the Continental Army, which fought for independence from England during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Because he was so trusted, he was asked to preside over the  Constitutional Convention,   which was responsible...

  For all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these, ‘It might have been.’                     John Greenleaf Whittier

  Is that you can never have enough chocolate! As soon as you start to eat it, it’s gone, so always buy a little extra.