Cute

I have a male friend whose looks are a cross between James Woods and Tommy Lee Jones.  Rugged, weathered. He intensely dislikes being called adorable or cute.  To him, those words are reserved for something that looks very young or beautiful.  To me, those words also describe personality characteristics and behaviors.  So when he acts particularly adorable, I have to be on guard not to tell him so.  He doesn’t take it with the meaning I said it.  I also have girlfriends who are beautiful looking, who intensely dislike being called cute.  Continue reading →

Today I watched a segment of Mary Knows Best on Syfy Brighthouse channel 69, a show about psychic medium Mary Occhino.   You can watch full episodes here.  Mary seems like the average, gregarious Long Island mom, she’s attractive, well spoken, no nonsense.  She likes to shop and give on the spot crossover readings to store owners and shoppers, and she seems to be good at it.  Mary is also host of her own call-in radio show “Angels on Call” on Sirius/XM’s Stars 102, which airs Monday-Friday from 7 a.m.-10 a.m. EST.  Mary Knows Best airs Thursdays on Syfy at 9 p.m. Eastern. Continue reading →

We can have all sorts of good plans about “what we’ll do when…” but then we don’t recognize when “when” is “now.”  It makes me think when I was 16 and thought I knew everything.  I certainly knew more than my 6th grade education father, who’d worked himself to the bone to provide for us ungrateful kids.  We repaid him by acting up and smarting off and disrespecting him at every turn.  I mis-took schoolbook memorization as knowledge, and according to that measure, I was the smart one.  Mmmm.  Of course I realize as time goes on that I knew nothing back then and not a whole lot more right now.  I’m always surprising myself by what I think I know. Continue reading →

Army Discharges Lt. Dan Choi ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Critic Who Told One of the most prominent voices against the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, who came out on national TV last year and was arrested in March for handcuffing himself to the White House fence, has now been discharged from the Army because he is gay.   Lt. Dan Choi received a phone call from his New York Army National Guard commander this week, informing him he has been honorably discharged from the military.  Choi, 29, revealed his sexual orientation publicly for the first time last year, prompting the Army to begin proceedings to discharge him.  “Being in the closet is a poison.” Choi said. “‘Of course we expected it. You don’t go into battle like this… without fully knowing what lays ahead.”  I salute Lt. Choi for his courage. Any aspect of yourself that you keep hidden is a poison that slowly eats you alive. He’s helping many accept who they are, and to be prepared for consequences.

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Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will someday be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs. Make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains; they are increasing and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others’ pains, but help me to endure them with patience.

I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessing cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a Saint — some of them are so hard to live with — and a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people: And, give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so. Amen

Yesterday was one of my busy days.  The August issue of Horizons Magazine was delivered, so I spent the morning getting it in the mail.  Tropical Storm Bonnie was off the coast, so it was a really windy day.  At the loading dock in the downtown Melbourne, FL main post office, carts were rolling and stuff was flying.  Even my hair; my hair band broke about 10:00am and I didn’t have a spare with me.  By the time I left the post office, I just wanted to go home and relax. Continue reading →

Does everyone know you can read entire books online at http://books.google.com?  I like holding a book in my hand to read it since I read so much material online for work.  I can’t imagine ever wanting a Kindle or one of those type things, but it’s nice to know I can find entire books online here if I am looking for something.

Bobby and Andrea 9-9-75

I wrote yesterday in Weeding out to create room for what I want that I noticed my laundry room and pantry area needed decluttering, so I spent the morning cleaning and organizing.  I ran across about 24″ of cookbooks, some of them I’ve never opened, some 30 and 40 years old.  I see I have eleven volumes I don’t need of the Better Homes and Gardens series Great Cooking Made Easy.  There are half a dozen cookbooks I’ll keep, as well as my own collection of recipes, but I’ll give the rest away.  Continue reading →