Who are John and Katie?! I kept hearing their names on ET the other night while not watching. I do a lot of TV listening. I finally gathered that they're a couple on a reality show that I never watch or heard of. Oh well. I'm only one person, I can't be expected to know every "celebrity" out there. It's bad enough that there are thousands of celebrities, now we must contend with real-ebrities, those reality TV people. Give us a break!
On the other hand--if nothing else, I'm a queen of perspective--why shouldn't "ordinary" people be considered celebrities. Why should only actors or musicians or models or athletes or political figures or TV newspeople or authors or doctors or lawyers or or or....get to be rich and famous anyway? Honestly! There are a lot of wonderful people out there who are more deserving.
On this Memorial Day (ok, I'm a day late...see blog below for "Procrastinah, crastinah...")--of course I remember my Dad, but I remember him EVERY day--for some reason I remembered Mr. Tanga. He was one of my bosses at my first job when I was 17. Obviously being a lowly office clerk I had several bosses, but Richard Tanga was the "bossiest." I must acknowledge my granduncle (or is it great uncle?), Tadashi Kato, who got me the job (the first and last time I ever benefited from nepotism) and looking back, it was a terrific job to have as a first (invoice clerk at Davenroy Drycleaners). Uncle Kato was the accountant/office manager and a benevolent, competent boss who supervised me from two doors down and taught me my various tasks, but it was Mr. Tanga, a real "character", who supervised the department for which I made invoices and taught me more memorable lessons.
At first I was a bit taken aback by his gruff manner, but I quickly became used to his forthright style and sometimes unconventional antics. He would grab a metal wastebasket and straddle it as his chair, light a cigarette and start crooning a tune. He'd give me advice while making observations about the many laundry deliverymen such as "You have to watch out for the quiet ones, Colleen." Sure enough, one day out of the blue, the quietest one shocked me by asking me for a date. There were other bits of advice that stayed with me for the past 40 years such as "you don't need an alarm clock, just tell yourself to wake up at a certain time," or "Every morning when I wake up, I drink a glass of warm water, that's why I don't get sick." "Finish the job, finish the job!" he'd scold me if I did something "half-assed". I have mimicked Mr. T. to my hub on occasion, I admit.
Looking back, I see now that he was my first mentor and the first adult to speak frankly to me on an adult level and I wish I could've thanked him for that. I can't remember everything he told me over those 2-3 years, but yet his whole attitude influenced me in a positive way, most of all his sense of humor and his no-BS frankness. Although we never crossed paths after I quit Davenroy almost 40 years ago, I have always regarded him as a memorable character and an important influence in my life.
We should all hope that we, who are not even real-ebrities, can somehow make a positive and lasting impression on a young person and are remembered fondly for the rest of his or her life. Who knows, they might even blog about you 40 years from now.
Showing posts with label midlife. Show all posts
Showing posts with label midlife. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Music Break
I should be looking through cookbooks for something to serve tomorrow at our "ladies' luncheon". Being a procrastinator, I'm instead writing on my blog. I'm in a happy mood because last week it finally occurred to me (about time!) that I can connect my PDA--which is filled with my favorite music--to the stereo amplifier. No more messing with changing CD's! Ah the small pleasures in my life.
For 5-6 hours I'm able to annoy the neighbors with my eclectic selection of favorites in crazy random order. Leona Lewis singing "Better With Time," followed by a Bollywood song or Cheb Mami, then Smokey Robinson's "Moody's Mood for Love," followed by the crazy wild UK bhangra hit "Baddest Ruffest", then some obscure old British 1960's pop like "Tell Him" by Billie Davis, "Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto, then Bobby Caldwell, of course, and Keane, Coldplay, and John Ondrasik.
I'm not trying to annoy the neighbors, of course, but if they're like me, they'd probably not care to listen to other people's music. Music is best when you're sitting in the middle of it and you've chosen every song. The farther you get from the source, the less its appeal. It almost ceases to be "music" when it's across the street...and if it's in a foreign language that probably doubles the annoyance (with the exception of, perhaps, Hawaiian, which technically is NOT a foreign language). In the year following 9-11, I wondered if the neighbors would turn me in to the FBI when I played Middle Eastern music. Would they even know Arabic if they heard it? I had an explanation ready: the Taliban would never sanction such music and in fact has been known to execute musicians. So there.
I especially enjoy playing lesser-known (in Hawaii) and under-appreciated songs/artists. I have this vision of someone knocking on my door. I warily crack open the jalousies to peek out and it's a vaguely familiar looking man/woman saying, "I was just passing by and wanted to thank you for playing my song! Would you like my autograph?" *LOOOOOOL*
Well I did get some indirect appreciation a while ago. I put one of my crazy mixes on a CD for Jordan and she took it to PACE (now Fun Fitness), her exercise club. Bonnie, her aide, reported later that there's a lady they often see exercising there and she always looks very solemn. It was a rare occasion that Jordan was allowed to play her CD and suddenly the lady broke into a big smile and on her way out, told Bonnie that she was from Egypt and was so happy and surprised to hear Hisham Abbas singing "Nari Nareen." She should be my neighbor.
Uh oh, I was humming "Womanizer" and somehow I could hear Britney singing "Procrastinatah, 'crastinatah, you're a procrastinatah...Who you tryin to fool, I know exactly what you are, are are are..." Time to get back to work/cleaning/looking for recipes.
For 5-6 hours I'm able to annoy the neighbors with my eclectic selection of favorites in crazy random order. Leona Lewis singing "Better With Time," followed by a Bollywood song or Cheb Mami, then Smokey Robinson's "Moody's Mood for Love," followed by the crazy wild UK bhangra hit "Baddest Ruffest", then some obscure old British 1960's pop like "Tell Him" by Billie Davis, "Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto, then Bobby Caldwell, of course, and Keane, Coldplay, and John Ondrasik.
I'm not trying to annoy the neighbors, of course, but if they're like me, they'd probably not care to listen to other people's music. Music is best when you're sitting in the middle of it and you've chosen every song. The farther you get from the source, the less its appeal. It almost ceases to be "music" when it's across the street...and if it's in a foreign language that probably doubles the annoyance (with the exception of, perhaps, Hawaiian, which technically is NOT a foreign language). In the year following 9-11, I wondered if the neighbors would turn me in to the FBI when I played Middle Eastern music. Would they even know Arabic if they heard it? I had an explanation ready: the Taliban would never sanction such music and in fact has been known to execute musicians. So there.
I especially enjoy playing lesser-known (in Hawaii) and under-appreciated songs/artists. I have this vision of someone knocking on my door. I warily crack open the jalousies to peek out and it's a vaguely familiar looking man/woman saying, "I was just passing by and wanted to thank you for playing my song! Would you like my autograph?" *LOOOOOOL*
Well I did get some indirect appreciation a while ago. I put one of my crazy mixes on a CD for Jordan and she took it to PACE (now Fun Fitness), her exercise club. Bonnie, her aide, reported later that there's a lady they often see exercising there and she always looks very solemn. It was a rare occasion that Jordan was allowed to play her CD and suddenly the lady broke into a big smile and on her way out, told Bonnie that she was from Egypt and was so happy and surprised to hear Hisham Abbas singing "Nari Nareen." She should be my neighbor.
Uh oh, I was humming "Womanizer" and somehow I could hear Britney singing "Procrastinatah, 'crastinatah, you're a procrastinatah...Who you tryin to fool, I know exactly what you are, are are are..." Time to get back to work/cleaning/looking for recipes.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Nostalgic Kauai Sis
This is "last minute", I know, but if you're on Oahu and "midlife" and you're nostalgic for those good times doing the Bump to "Brick House", the annual "70's Nighclub Reunion" dance will be happening on Saturday night at the Ala Moana Hotel. Check out their website: http://www.70snightclubreunion.com/ I went last year and it was fun!! The reserved seats are sold out, but no problem, we didn't have reserved seats last year and were able to enjoy ourselves. I wouldn't say it was like going back in time because...uhhh...the bands were no longer a bunch of "cute guys". Nevertheless, it was a kick to see "Glass Candle" again and maybe if you close your eyes, you WILL go back in time *LOL*
I actually met my husband for the first time at Duke's in the International Marketplace where Glass Candle played. I didn't get to talk to him, but he knew my friend and sat at our table talking to her. I thought to myself, "she always knows the cute guys!" Months later we met again and ever since then, it was ME with the cute guy. *LOL*
It's hard to believe that was 33 years ago. Don't you wish you could travel back in time and do it again...the good parts anyway. As they say, "youth is wasted on the young." Imagine having the physical benefits of youth and the mental/emotional benefits of midlife. Zoweeeee! We'd be superpeople!! Less drama, more enjoyment and appreciation for sure. I wasn't into drama like some of my peers, but even so, we are all more cognizant in midlife of what matters and doesn't.
I'm still mad at the writers of "Benjamin Button" for making young-looking old Benjamin SENILE. Grrrrrr!! But HA! to them because they didn't win the Oscars for either writing or Best Picture. They might have won had they not been so lazy as to abandon aged Benjamin! Nevertheless, I'm very glad that "Slumdog Millionaire" won instead. Hurray for Bollywood (even if technically it wasn't a Bollywood movie).
I actually met my husband for the first time at Duke's in the International Marketplace where Glass Candle played. I didn't get to talk to him, but he knew my friend and sat at our table talking to her. I thought to myself, "she always knows the cute guys!" Months later we met again and ever since then, it was ME with the cute guy. *LOL*
It's hard to believe that was 33 years ago. Don't you wish you could travel back in time and do it again...the good parts anyway. As they say, "youth is wasted on the young." Imagine having the physical benefits of youth and the mental/emotional benefits of midlife. Zoweeeee! We'd be superpeople!! Less drama, more enjoyment and appreciation for sure. I wasn't into drama like some of my peers, but even so, we are all more cognizant in midlife of what matters and doesn't.
I'm still mad at the writers of "Benjamin Button" for making young-looking old Benjamin SENILE. Grrrrrr!! But HA! to them because they didn't win the Oscars for either writing or Best Picture. They might have won had they not been so lazy as to abandon aged Benjamin! Nevertheless, I'm very glad that "Slumdog Millionaire" won instead. Hurray for Bollywood (even if technically it wasn't a Bollywood movie).
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Don't Worry, Be Happy Now
You know what's fun? When someone leaves you voicemail and while they're doing so, someone in their house picks up an extension. The names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent:
Julie: "Colleen, this is Julie, I'm on Kauai and we should get together so can you call me, I'm staying at Gregg's house---"
Gregg: "Julie? Oh, you're using the phone?"
Julie: "Gregg, yeh, I'm calling Colleen."
Gregg: "HI COLLEEN!!"
Julie: "Nooo, she's not home, I'm leaving her a message."
Gregg: "Ohhhh..."
Julie: "Hey, you came home late huh? You'd better take it easy, you're working too hard!"
Gregg: "Well I had to finish the job. Oh, by the way I saw Grace and she said her mom had surgery."
Julie: "Nah? I hope she's ok."
Gregg: "It was her knee...or was it hip, I forget."
Julie: "Lip?"
Gregg: "HIP!"
Julie: "Oh hip, haha!"
Gregg: "Did you eat dinner already? Geri said she made stew."
Julie: "Yes...I ate. So should we go visit Grace's mom? How long will she be in the hospital?"
Gregg: "Ah, I dunno. Nowadays they don't stay long."
Julie: "Yeh, hmmm...oh, did you pick up the part from Home Depot to fix the sink?"
Gregg: "They didn't have the 2 inch elbow, I have to go Ace tomorrow."
Julie: "Oh ok.....uh oh..."
Gregg: "What?"
Julie: "I was leaving a message for Colleen...."
*LMAO* ohhhh my god, it's really funny to listen to, even if the conversation itself isn't funny. Just the idea that they got carried away and forgot why they were on the phone in the first place. I'm not the only one going through Age-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder, I guess! And I'm not making fun at all, but these days you've got to find fun where you can!
I don't want to get all preachy, but I've always been acutely aware of the inequities of life. Since going through a lot of different "stuff" in my life, especially between 1982 to 1992 (two hurricanes, car accidents, the birth of Jordan, etc.), I've learned how fortunate we are and to appreciate everything I have, even when I see others who seem to have more. In this time of economic uncertainty, I'm glad I was never caught up in the "fast track" of wasting money on brand name everything, nice cars, designer bags, etc. There are a lot of people who are having to get off that train right now. (Ok, I'm no saint with my love of Las Vegas and gold jewelry *LOL*).
Which brings me to this: The other day a friend forwarded me an email titled, "Voted the Best Email of the Year." Now I have no idea who voted and where this vote took place (I guess it was overshadowed a bit by Barack Obama's election), but I have to agree that this was an appropriate title for this email. For one thing, it intrigued me enough to OPEN the email. The message I'm forwarding to YOU right here is very valuable and I wish every single person in the U.S. could see it (If you'd like me to forward the actual email to you so you can send it to your spoiled brat niece, leave me a comment):
So you think your life sucks?
Julie: "Colleen, this is Julie, I'm on Kauai and we should get together so can you call me, I'm staying at Gregg's house---"
Gregg: "Julie? Oh, you're using the phone?"
Julie: "Gregg, yeh, I'm calling Colleen."
Gregg: "HI COLLEEN!!"
Julie: "Nooo, she's not home, I'm leaving her a message."
Gregg: "Ohhhh..."
Julie: "Hey, you came home late huh? You'd better take it easy, you're working too hard!"
Gregg: "Well I had to finish the job. Oh, by the way I saw Grace and she said her mom had surgery."
Julie: "Nah? I hope she's ok."
Gregg: "It was her knee...or was it hip, I forget."
Julie: "Lip?"
Gregg: "HIP!"
Julie: "Oh hip, haha!"
Gregg: "Did you eat dinner already? Geri said she made stew."
Julie: "Yes...I ate. So should we go visit Grace's mom? How long will she be in the hospital?"
Gregg: "Ah, I dunno. Nowadays they don't stay long."
Julie: "Yeh, hmmm...oh, did you pick up the part from Home Depot to fix the sink?"
Gregg: "They didn't have the 2 inch elbow, I have to go Ace tomorrow."
Julie: "Oh ok.....uh oh..."
Gregg: "What?"
Julie: "I was leaving a message for Colleen...."
*LMAO* ohhhh my god, it's really funny to listen to, even if the conversation itself isn't funny. Just the idea that they got carried away and forgot why they were on the phone in the first place. I'm not the only one going through Age-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder, I guess! And I'm not making fun at all, but these days you've got to find fun where you can!
I don't want to get all preachy, but I've always been acutely aware of the inequities of life. Since going through a lot of different "stuff" in my life, especially between 1982 to 1992 (two hurricanes, car accidents, the birth of Jordan, etc.), I've learned how fortunate we are and to appreciate everything I have, even when I see others who seem to have more. In this time of economic uncertainty, I'm glad I was never caught up in the "fast track" of wasting money on brand name everything, nice cars, designer bags, etc. There are a lot of people who are having to get off that train right now. (Ok, I'm no saint with my love of Las Vegas and gold jewelry *LOL*).
Which brings me to this: The other day a friend forwarded me an email titled, "Voted the Best Email of the Year." Now I have no idea who voted and where this vote took place (I guess it was overshadowed a bit by Barack Obama's election), but I have to agree that this was an appropriate title for this email. For one thing, it intrigued me enough to OPEN the email. The message I'm forwarding to YOU right here is very valuable and I wish every single person in the U.S. could see it (If you'd like me to forward the actual email to you so you can send it to your spoiled brat niece, leave me a comment):
So you think your life sucks?
Funny how some things can lift you up and bring you down (to earth) at the same time.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Midlife on Kauai Watching TV
Wow I can't believe how quickly a week goes by! Since I have nothing pressing to address, do you know why time flies by faster the older you get? The explanation I remember (and I forgot the source, sorry!) was that as you get older, each day/week/month/year represents a smaller and smaller percentage of your life so it seems shorter and shorter. For example, to two-year olds, one year is half (50%)of their lives! To 50 year olds, it's just 2%, a very small fraction in comparison to what they've experienced. That makes good sense to me. Have you noticed that when you go on vacation, if you go to a place you've visited often the days pass by faster? If you go to a new place, however, time there is more memorable and seems to pass a bit slower. So it makes sense to me that time passes more slowly for kids since for them, almost everything is "new".
What I thought I'd write about today has to do with television. Big surprise. Who watched David Blaine last night? Not me..well I watched a total of maybe ten minutes off and on. I don't like to see anything that makes me uncomfortable or sad or mad. That leaves a lot of programming out, but my blood pressure is healthy. I enjoy David's street magic, though. I'm also a curious person who has to know how things end, so I got online to google David to see what happened. Everyone seems annoyed at him. Maybe because he didn't die? I think it's shameful the way people were insulting him online, and I hope those comment posters were stupid kids and not stupid adults. Kids, to me, are not necessarily under 18...many 20somethings are still kids (as I was until perhaps age 25). I had to leave a comment that although I don't care for his strange feats, I did admire him earlier in his career and that was enough for me. After all, how many people impress me? Relatively few, so if you impress me once that's pretty good. I wouldn't scorn him for putting on a two-hour program that ends in what apparently was a screwed-up trick (his "death fall").
I do scorn, however, the network and sponsors that produced the program. They only did it, however, because they know that viewers would watch. Online, people were grumbling about wasting two hours watching, about David taking 5 minute upright breaks, about him falling 40 feet but being attached to a wire (uh, duh!), etc. Oh my god, they confuse human being David with cartoon character BatMan, it seems. How sad is that? Why do people criticize people that they are not obligated to watch and who do extraordinary things (albeit not necessarily valuable)?
Do you hear me publicly criticizing Cloris Leachman for still being on "Dancing With the Stars"?? I just switch the channel in annoyance instead and silently berate the viewers that voted for her. I don't really blame her for her mediocre dancing and hamming it up with the judges, I blame people who vote for her because now I'll have to channel surf when she appears again. Her antics got old for us the second night. Upon seeing her voted through last night, I promptly protested by watching the Travel Channel's Hotdog show and Dog the Bounty Hunter. Haha, I always said I'm a dog person.
My hub and I enjoyed watching people scarf hotdogs all over the U.S. It reminded me of my current favorite fictional heroine, Stephanie Plum, the bounty hunter. Steph is a notorious junk food junky from New Junky..I mean Jersey. She exists on take-out food, Tasty Kakes, and doughnuts. Yummm!
Steph is fictional,so she can eat all the chili dogs and Tasty Kakes she wants, but don't do it! Take this Chinese milk situation. It's a particularly tragic example of what technology and greed can do. The same thing is happening to us in the U.S., only less noticeably. I know of too many people under 60 who have passed away or have serious health issues. My mom's generation seems healthier than ours because they haven't been eating junk food all their lives. The majority of us are existing on pesticide-sprayed, genetically altered, overprocessed food with unpronounceable food additives.
America is so proud of democracy, capitalism, and free enterprise, but there may come a day when some historian says "guess it wasn't such a great system after all!" The idea is great, it's the human element that I worry about.
To end on a lighter note, my mom's friend claims she lowered her blood pressure by eating dark chocolate every day. Time to experiment!
What I thought I'd write about today has to do with television. Big surprise. Who watched David Blaine last night? Not me..well I watched a total of maybe ten minutes off and on. I don't like to see anything that makes me uncomfortable or sad or mad. That leaves a lot of programming out, but my blood pressure is healthy. I enjoy David's street magic, though. I'm also a curious person who has to know how things end, so I got online to google David to see what happened. Everyone seems annoyed at him. Maybe because he didn't die? I think it's shameful the way people were insulting him online, and I hope those comment posters were stupid kids and not stupid adults. Kids, to me, are not necessarily under 18...many 20somethings are still kids (as I was until perhaps age 25). I had to leave a comment that although I don't care for his strange feats, I did admire him earlier in his career and that was enough for me. After all, how many people impress me? Relatively few, so if you impress me once that's pretty good. I wouldn't scorn him for putting on a two-hour program that ends in what apparently was a screwed-up trick (his "death fall").
I do scorn, however, the network and sponsors that produced the program. They only did it, however, because they know that viewers would watch. Online, people were grumbling about wasting two hours watching, about David taking 5 minute upright breaks, about him falling 40 feet but being attached to a wire (uh, duh!), etc. Oh my god, they confuse human being David with cartoon character BatMan, it seems. How sad is that? Why do people criticize people that they are not obligated to watch and who do extraordinary things (albeit not necessarily valuable)?
Do you hear me publicly criticizing Cloris Leachman for still being on "Dancing With the Stars"?? I just switch the channel in annoyance instead and silently berate the viewers that voted for her. I don't really blame her for her mediocre dancing and hamming it up with the judges, I blame people who vote for her because now I'll have to channel surf when she appears again. Her antics got old for us the second night. Upon seeing her voted through last night, I promptly protested by watching the Travel Channel's Hotdog show and Dog the Bounty Hunter. Haha, I always said I'm a dog person.
My hub and I enjoyed watching people scarf hotdogs all over the U.S. It reminded me of my current favorite fictional heroine, Stephanie Plum, the bounty hunter. Steph is a notorious junk food junky from New Junky..I mean Jersey. She exists on take-out food, Tasty Kakes, and doughnuts. Yummm!
Steph is fictional,so she can eat all the chili dogs and Tasty Kakes she wants, but don't do it! Take this Chinese milk situation. It's a particularly tragic example of what technology and greed can do. The same thing is happening to us in the U.S., only less noticeably. I know of too many people under 60 who have passed away or have serious health issues. My mom's generation seems healthier than ours because they haven't been eating junk food all their lives. The majority of us are existing on pesticide-sprayed, genetically altered, overprocessed food with unpronounceable food additives.
America is so proud of democracy, capitalism, and free enterprise, but there may come a day when some historian says "guess it wasn't such a great system after all!" The idea is great, it's the human element that I worry about.
To end on a lighter note, my mom's friend claims she lowered her blood pressure by eating dark chocolate every day. Time to experiment!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Dear Abby
Carolyn, fellow crafter and friend, called me today and asked if I wrote to Dear Abby. I said, "Uh yeeees, but several months ago, why?" She said a letter signed "CT in Hawaii" appeared the other day. I was puzzled because I read the paper every morning and hadn't seen my letter.
A few months ago I wrote to Dear Abby via the internet (of course) regarding my thoughts about Jordan's loneliness. How, because on Kauai we're somewhat isolated from our families, she doesn't get to socialize much outside of school or Special Olympics. The only people (beyond the Special Needs circle)that ever showed any sensitivity to her feelings were two of my cousins on Oahu who would take her with their daughters (younger than she) to various "girl" activities. This occurred maybe a half dozen times and were very appreciated by Jordan. (Thanks Pat and Iris!)
It's not that it's anyone's duty to empathize with Jordan's situation. If anyone's to blame perhaps it's me because I'm a happy hermit, not the most social person. We don't attend church or belong to clubs so that also limits our social circle. We were, however, conscientious about involving Jordan in various activities (piano, karate, bon dance, etc.) so she's a very well-rounded and interesting young lady, but in retrospect I wish I had involved her in something more social like the Girl Scouts.
My letter expressed the hope that if any teen or pre-teen girl or boy wanted to do a kind deed, they should try to reach out to a special needs student. I understand that young people are very egocentric and not empathetic, but many are kindhearted and perhaps only need a nudge. If so, and if my letter resulted in just one lonely handicapped girl getting invited to a birthday party, then great!
So that was the letter I had in mind as I looked through the past two weeks' newspapers in search of every Dear Abby column. Nope, not there. Finally after looking through them the third time, I found my letter and it was NOT "that" letter after all! The reason I had a difficult time finding it was because it was a short letter I had forgotten about (SEE "Age-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder" BLOG POST BELOW!!) in which I replied to someone else's letter which bemoaned the fact that she did not have grandkids.
"Nobody's Grandma" was disappointed because both of her adult children told her they do not intend to have children. Many readers responded to her letter, including myself. My short letter said in effect that I can understand her feelings because it is highly unlikely that I will ever be a grandparent either since Jordan is my only child and is developmentally disabled. I went on to say I do feel bitter at times, but learned to appreciate what I have and what I can't change. I'm still wondering if that was an edited version, because I find it hard to believe that I would be that short-winded *LOL* I most likely included this little story:
One day while shopping at Long's, I met up with a former coworker whom I hadn't seen in years (Kauai is bigger than you think!). She asked if I wasn't a grandma yet (she didn't know Jordan). Of course I said quickly, "Oh no, we'll probably never have grandkids," feeling that familiar sadness. "Jordan is like our grandchild," I joked. At that moment, though, I had an epiphany. Although I had been joking, Jordan really IS as good as having a grandchild. She is twenty now and maturing still, but yet is so delightful, funny, sweet, and affectionate that certainly she can play the dual role of daughter and granddaughter. Not to mention that just based on her looks, many people mistake her for 12 years old. Since that day, I don't feel like I'm missing out as much as I did before!
Ok, maybe I WILL be missing that wonderful "baby smell". On the other hand, I won't have to deal with OTHER baby smell, crayoned walls, torn up books, or spilled milk. *LOL*
A few months ago I wrote to Dear Abby via the internet (of course) regarding my thoughts about Jordan's loneliness. How, because on Kauai we're somewhat isolated from our families, she doesn't get to socialize much outside of school or Special Olympics. The only people (beyond the Special Needs circle)that ever showed any sensitivity to her feelings were two of my cousins on Oahu who would take her with their daughters (younger than she) to various "girl" activities. This occurred maybe a half dozen times and were very appreciated by Jordan. (Thanks Pat and Iris!)
It's not that it's anyone's duty to empathize with Jordan's situation. If anyone's to blame perhaps it's me because I'm a happy hermit, not the most social person. We don't attend church or belong to clubs so that also limits our social circle. We were, however, conscientious about involving Jordan in various activities (piano, karate, bon dance, etc.) so she's a very well-rounded and interesting young lady, but in retrospect I wish I had involved her in something more social like the Girl Scouts.
My letter expressed the hope that if any teen or pre-teen girl or boy wanted to do a kind deed, they should try to reach out to a special needs student. I understand that young people are very egocentric and not empathetic, but many are kindhearted and perhaps only need a nudge. If so, and if my letter resulted in just one lonely handicapped girl getting invited to a birthday party, then great!
So that was the letter I had in mind as I looked through the past two weeks' newspapers in search of every Dear Abby column. Nope, not there. Finally after looking through them the third time, I found my letter and it was NOT "that" letter after all! The reason I had a difficult time finding it was because it was a short letter I had forgotten about (SEE "Age-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder" BLOG POST BELOW!!) in which I replied to someone else's letter which bemoaned the fact that she did not have grandkids.
"Nobody's Grandma" was disappointed because both of her adult children told her they do not intend to have children. Many readers responded to her letter, including myself. My short letter said in effect that I can understand her feelings because it is highly unlikely that I will ever be a grandparent either since Jordan is my only child and is developmentally disabled. I went on to say I do feel bitter at times, but learned to appreciate what I have and what I can't change. I'm still wondering if that was an edited version, because I find it hard to believe that I would be that short-winded *LOL* I most likely included this little story:
One day while shopping at Long's, I met up with a former coworker whom I hadn't seen in years (Kauai is bigger than you think!). She asked if I wasn't a grandma yet (she didn't know Jordan). Of course I said quickly, "Oh no, we'll probably never have grandkids," feeling that familiar sadness. "Jordan is like our grandchild," I joked. At that moment, though, I had an epiphany. Although I had been joking, Jordan really IS as good as having a grandchild. She is twenty now and maturing still, but yet is so delightful, funny, sweet, and affectionate that certainly she can play the dual role of daughter and granddaughter. Not to mention that just based on her looks, many people mistake her for 12 years old. Since that day, I don't feel like I'm missing out as much as I did before!
Ok, maybe I WILL be missing that wonderful "baby smell". On the other hand, I won't have to deal with OTHER baby smell, crayoned walls, torn up books, or spilled milk. *LOL*
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Waaaaaaall E
We went to see Wall-E tonight. First of all there was a nice surprise from the very beginning because Jordan and I just love "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" from "Hello Dolly"! And then a few minutes later they played "La Vie En Rose"....of course not Edith Piaf's version, but pretty cool also since Jordan loves EP.
The movie was fun and cute, but of course I had my usual questions afterwards to which my hubby replied, "It's a cartoon." Yeh but....
What were those fat people eating for 700 years?!?!
Why must they land in the CITY!?!?
How did Eva get separated from the plant in the first place!!?!
Where were the kids and teenagers?!?!
Why didn't I see any fat Asian people!!?!
Hmm, I would love to see a PREQUEL to Wall-E.
If you like to read murder mysteries, and want to laugh out loud, read the Monk books by Lee Goldberg. I haven't been able to watch "Monk" on TV regularly, but still, it's one of my favorite programs. I love just about every detective/lawyer program, especially the ones that don't waste time visiting the personal lives of the detectives and lawyers. If I cared about their personal lives I'd watch soap operas. Just solve the damned murder! Stop worrying about your beautiful hair and cleavage too (CSI Miami). Oh and please TURN ON THE LIGHTS (CSI Las Vegas). I love to watch the process and I want to be able to SEE it. What's funny is that on Law & Order, they don't seem to need CSI's to solve their cases, and on CSI, they don't need police to solve theirs. Gee whiz, don't they watch each others' shows?
Before I go to bed, I would like to say Aloha to our Mayor Bryan Baptiste. I really trusted and liked this man. I often marveled at how he seemed to be such a quiet and almost shy person for a mayor. He got elected without being a "politician" that campaigned aggressively and verbosely, but just worked hard and quietly. That's what it seemed like to me, anyway. I'd see him at every big craft fair I participated in on Kauai. He'd walk through the tent quietly and nod and say hi with such a humble air. I feel very sad and can't help feeling that the stresses our island put upon him was unhealthy for him: the homeless problem, Superferry fiasco, bike path issue, overdevelopment, slowing economy, on and on. Thank you, Bryan Baptiste, I don't doubt that you gave your life for our island.
The movie was fun and cute, but of course I had my usual questions afterwards to which my hubby replied, "It's a cartoon." Yeh but....
What were those fat people eating for 700 years?!?!
Why must they land in the CITY!?!?
How did Eva get separated from the plant in the first place!!?!
Where were the kids and teenagers?!?!
Why didn't I see any fat Asian people!!?!
Hmm, I would love to see a PREQUEL to Wall-E.
If you like to read murder mysteries, and want to laugh out loud, read the Monk books by Lee Goldberg. I haven't been able to watch "Monk" on TV regularly, but still, it's one of my favorite programs. I love just about every detective/lawyer program, especially the ones that don't waste time visiting the personal lives of the detectives and lawyers. If I cared about their personal lives I'd watch soap operas. Just solve the damned murder! Stop worrying about your beautiful hair and cleavage too (CSI Miami). Oh and please TURN ON THE LIGHTS (CSI Las Vegas). I love to watch the process and I want to be able to SEE it. What's funny is that on Law & Order, they don't seem to need CSI's to solve their cases, and on CSI, they don't need police to solve theirs. Gee whiz, don't they watch each others' shows?
Before I go to bed, I would like to say Aloha to our Mayor Bryan Baptiste. I really trusted and liked this man. I often marveled at how he seemed to be such a quiet and almost shy person for a mayor. He got elected without being a "politician" that campaigned aggressively and verbosely, but just worked hard and quietly. That's what it seemed like to me, anyway. I'd see him at every big craft fair I participated in on Kauai. He'd walk through the tent quietly and nod and say hi with such a humble air. I feel very sad and can't help feeling that the stresses our island put upon him was unhealthy for him: the homeless problem, Superferry fiasco, bike path issue, overdevelopment, slowing economy, on and on. Thank you, Bryan Baptiste, I don't doubt that you gave your life for our island.
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