Dash #683 What Makes You Laugh?

             When Jenna and I trip over our tongues and say things incorrectly (or just when I hear things incorrectly) we will laugh.  For example, she once said, “I talked to this about dad” instead of “. . . dad about this”.  We usually catch ourselves before the laughter comes.

              I heard a country song the other day.  I don’t listen to country and my hearing has seemed a little off since May.  I was pretty certain that I had heard incorrectly and asked Jenna, who seems to have radar hearing when it comes to music and lyrics.  “Did he just sing ‘How can my cow use my cell phone’?” at which point she started laughing and that made me laugh.

             We’ve got some inside jokes that will make each other laugh.  Well, I don’t exactly laugh when she says “raw rhubarb” but rather will make a face which will make her laugh.  

She will also laugh at the words “elbow” and “sexy ears”.   I don’t know why. 

           Whenever I am feeling a little down she will start with singing The Outfield’s “Your Love” parody from the Bounce commercial (here) because the I laugh whenever I hear it.  Listening to Jenna or her brother Tony laugh puts a smile on my face.  Remembering times when I’d be watching TV in one room and my dad in another laughing in appropriate places but knowing we were watching two completely different programs also makes me smile.

           There was also that time when Daisy ran toward the TV to pounce on the computerized unreal-looking Garfield.  That was funny.  

Only Tony and I were there to witness our crazy lazy dog.  She was usually quite mellow.

                I also enjoy wit in making any situation a comedy.  I still laugh at various episodes of “The Big Bang Theory” and various gag reels from clean comedies.  I enjoy laughing.  I enjoy laughing with my pool friends.  I enjoy laughing with Jenna.

Riddle's Sawdust Jubilee

Two years ago next month, libraries across Douglas County were making attempts to reopen their doors in time for the Summer Reading Program.  We marched with our group for the Rodeo parade (here) and Jenna enjoyed herself immensely during Summer Fest when the “Friends of Myrtle Creek” set up a booth in order to raise awareness that the doors would be open again.  The team had set up two activities: knock down a paper cup pyramid or paint a rock.  Jenna believed in giving deals to those who wished to do both.  She had a real knack for recruiting people.  Those on the board were anxious to keep her on around the clock and Jenna enjoyed being there.

We’d gone back the following year to assist, but we couldn’t find a booth for Myrtle Creek.  We did find one for the Riddle Sawdust Jubilee and we volunteered to help. Jenna and I met Annie at the booth last year. Once again, Jenna helped recruit and assisted with games which Annie very much appreciated. She asked if Jenna would help out at the Sawdust Jubilee the following summer – this year – today.  Annie asked if Jenna would round up participants for a water balloon toss and a watermelon eating contest.

Riddle starts off their Jubilee with breakfast at 8:00.  We did not go that early, however.  The parade does not take place until 11:00.  Jenna and I arrived in Riddle just before 11:00.  We saw some of the parade and went in search of Annie.  I had been afraid that Jenna and I would not arrive in time due to camp, but as I collected her yesterday we were able to honor the committed time.  Though we were there for three hours, I think our pretense for one would have been sufficient.

All week it has been really cool and awesome weather – though the rain may not have been as welcome for the Jubilee. No chance of that today!  It rose back to hot again – though there have been moments of light breezes throughout the day.  I wonder if it was the wind that was interfering with my being able to get the Internet service earlier today.  Anyway, it was hot and when the watermelon contest was over I opted to go home, but Jenna stayed long enough to view some collections with the bishop’s wife (who also teaches seminary) and she brought Jenna home.

I don't know how many years the Jubilee has been going.  Annie said they used to do it on the 4th of July but because many of the volunteers had jobs in which they were required to work the next day, it became an inconvenience for many involved and so they changed it to the Saturday before the 4th.  According to NewsReview (here) the city wanted to change it in recognition of the city and not just Independence Day.  Perhaps there's a bit of truth to both.

The Jubilee ended at 6:00 – at least the concessions and demonstrations and so forth.  Tonight they will shoot off fireworks at the high school.  I will probably be in bed.

Well That Was an Interesting Drive

          I had gone to the pool on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Wednesday was colder than Tuesday had been – perhaps warmer with air but cooler with water.  I didn’t bother going yesterday and didn’t seem all that motivated.  I figured as the air felt cold (only 52 degrees) that the water would feel warm.  I never did find out.

          I did drive to the pool.  My phone went off just before I turned in to park.  I thought perhaps it was the instructor telling me that nobody showed and would ask if I was on my way.  I was all prepared to tell her to get an early start on her trip to Portland.  But the phone number was for the Young Women’s camp leader.  Oh –oh.

          She said Jenna had been throwing up and would I like to come and get her or have her weigh it out.  We have both made a commitment to help with the jubilee tomorrow afternoon.  If I went to get her and she was feeling better, I knew she would make it in time for the Jubilee whereas I wasn’t certain what time she would get home otherwise.

          I asked Roland if he wanted to go with me.  He is a better driver than I, but actually did not sleep all that well last night and was up early this morning.  My right leg has been bothering me and the drive did not help matters.  I stopped at every rest stop between my house and the camp.  I picked up some Ben Gay at a Dollar General in Criswell.  2.50 for a generous sized box – I thought.  I guess I was looking at the wrong price as the total was almost twice the amount. 

I asked if there was a public restroom in which I could apply the contents before I got back on the road.  As I said, the box was a generous size – the tube was not.  It was the smallest tube of Ben Gay that I have ever purchased!  It looked like a “trial-sized” tube.  I reapplied it to myself each time I stopped.  It’s a wonder there is anything left.

I looked at where the camp was on the map and thought I could figure it out and figured I would set the GPS as I got closer to my destination.   Unfortunately, I had missed my turn after I decided to set it.  No harm was done, but I probably did go about 40 miles or so out of my way, though the drive was pretty.  And had actually enjoyed it more than the actual route.

          I listened to two Contemporary Christian mix CDs on the way up and ended with Suessical.  On the way home Jenna and I listened to a couple of CDs that we had not listened to since her early childhood.  It was fun watching her sing along and act out the words.  I think she enjoyed them more today than she had when we had listened to them when we lived in Kearns.

          We hit all the rest stops on the way home and stopped in Sutherlin's Dairy Queen to get an expensive bite (mine was not so bad, but the item she selected was a bit pricy) She told me about camp and we made it back home in record time. 

Word: What’s an Ebenezer?

The only association I remember having with the name “Ebenezer” was the character Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol”.  Thus when I saw that word in “Come Thy Fount” (here) I questioned its meaning.

I have looked up the word and have done some research as to why the Hebrew word Ebenezer translates into “stone of help”.  Evidently, it has something to do with the ark of the covenant and the gratitude of the Israelites who had lost but gained back into custody.  Samuel evidently raised a stone as a symbolic gesture.  This was done in recognition of receiving assistance from God.

Then I questioned what might have possessed Charles Dickens to give his character that same name.  Was it because Scrooge had the feeling of a stone?  He didn’t appear to be at all helpful to anyone in the beginning of the story. 

According to the Mierriam-Webster the word Ebenezer (which generally is capitalized) has two meanings.  The first is a commemoration of divine assistance.  The second is Anger and Temper.  That would describe Ebenezer Scrooge in the beginning. 

Interesting . . .

Why was That Song Stuck in My Head

          My mom told me that Flamingos’ hit “I Only Have Eyes for You” had been playing the first time she kissed dad. Therefore she had dubbed it “their song”.

          Roland and I had an appointment in Medford on Saturday morning. The entire time we were driving he was listening to a book on tape and I was hearing the Flamingos singing, “Are the stars out tonight?  I don’t know if it’s cloudy or bright.  I only have eyes for you dear” 

          Once in a while, I would hear, “. . . they all disappear from view” which I don’t believe comes until the end of the song.  And I’m wondering, “Where did this song even come from that it would be trapped in my head?” and “Why can’t I shake this off?”  I mean 90 plus minutes is a long time for the same set of lyrics to be playing in one’s head over and over again.

This video was posted to YouTube a month before my mom passed away

Dash #191 My Favorite Martian

I recall a time when Grandma Helen had taken Michelle and I to a downtown department store.  She had given us each a dollar to spend on whatever we like.  I fell in love with a plastic bank that resembled a Martian caught in a bag of Money.  It was 2.00.  Michelle wanted a Skipper doll which she said she’d be getting from her other grandmother and she would lend me her dollar in which to purchase my beloved bank (whom I named Michael).

I don’t know where my grandma had gone as we were ready to make our purchase.  The issue of leaving children alone in the department store did not seem to be a huge safety concern as it is today.  I took the bank up to the counter.  The cashier rang me up.  The total came to $2.06.  I was eight or nine and had not considered a tax fee.  Why would I?  I didn’t have six cents to spare! 

A kindly man took a nickel out of his pocket and placed it on the counter.  One cent more to go. The cashier decided to spot me a penny.  I was so excited.

I don’t have an actual picture of Michael and so created this from memory.  I had Michael until two years before Jenna was born.  Our house had been broken into when we lived in Kearns and Michael was stolen. 

Love is a Wrench

She became aware of boy/girl relationships during middle school.  She thought they were stupid.  All the emotions.  All of the game playing.  All of the drama.  The entire idea of relationships was stupid.  They did not appeal to her and she was fine and secure on her own.  She remained that way throughout middle school and her freshman year.

Then came summer.

They were friends.  There were generally four of them who hung around one another during lunch.  Not necessarily to eat, but to play games and enjoy one another’s company.

He really liked her.  First as a friend.  Then maybe something more.  Not too much more.  He had been in a relationship before.  He did not need another.  And yet he found her to be adorable.  He liked holding her hand and leaning on her.  What’s more, he enjoyed it when she leaned on him.

He told her that he would not date her.  Or at least he would not be the one to ask her out.  But he might say yes if she asked him.

Awkward!

With the ball in her court, she did not know what to do.  She liked him as a friend.  Perhaps something more.  She enjoyed holding hands. She liked having his arm around her.  But they were just friends.  She did not wish to become involved in a relationship that would cause emotions and possible drama.  Yet she knew that she too had already developed feelings beyond friendship.  

She did not particularly wish to date him.  But she did wish to continue hanging out.  Why do relationships and emotions have to be so complicated?  It was barely the beginning of summer.  It was not as if they were an item or anything.  But perhaps they could be.

He thought that she was indecisive.  She was.  She had never been involved in a relationship beyond friends.  Nor did she particularly want to be.  She enjoyed being friends.  She also enjoyed holding hands.  She had also found that she somehow enjoyed the idea that he liked her more than just a friend because she had too. But she looked at the new emotions as a wrench being cast into the relationship.  Why complicate things?

Thus they started their summer together . . . as friends . . . perhaps a little bit more.  But not too much more.  Oh, why these stupid emotions?

            I like how Nancy Drew said: “Can you tell when a girl looks at you and is thinking how much she likes you and is wondering if you like her and thinking how important it is for you to say how you feel before she says anything more about how she feels about you or anyone else they might be jealous of because she's already said how she feels how she's said in her own way?”(2007 Movie) 

           I remember when Biff was hanging out with Paula.  They may have held hands at one time or another.  They may have kissed during the first five years but for the most part, their friendship was platonic.  They were friends.  She came to his wedding when Biff and Jeanie were married.  She also attended Jeanie’s funeral.  They keep in touch through facebook.  Still friends but definitely not intimate.  Right now he is with Claire.

“Love is the feeling you feel when you are feeling the feeling that you have never felt before” – unknown

It is great when both parties involved feel the same way about one another.  At the same time, it is nerve racking when feelings develop beyond friendship.  Love is stronger than like.  Love means more than “really really like”.  Love involves commitment.  Who needs that?

Stupid emotions.  Complicated relationships.  Blech!

Yard Sailing

                Today is the 4^th annual city-wide yard sale.  It’s cooler than it has been in prior years but hotter than it has been all week.  A lot of baby stuff up and down the city drive.  I didn’t realize there were so many babies in the city as this seems to be more of a senior populated town.

          Roland and I ended up leaving our own city and making an excursion between Winston and Roseburg.  We ended up with an entire dinette set (though we had initially only wanted a table) and he spotted these adorable dishes that was a reminder of the first dishes that we had ever purchased together – but a more complete and bigger set.  That would mean getting rid of ALL the dishes that are currently in our house to make room for more dishes that we really don’t need, but it was a beautiful thought.

          Roland does not wish to move again.  At the same time, I think he does.  I am kind of the same way but would like to see Jenna finish high school where she is currently at.  She says she would prefer finishing high school there.  The biggest draw for her would be to move to somewhere smaller – but I think her academics are limited as it is.  I think somewhere smaller would make it even more limited.

We Have a Pill for That

          Several years ago my friend Peggy had gone to several doctors with odd symptoms that no one could seem to figure out.  Out of frustration, she did her own research.  She checked out books from the library (because this took place long before Google existed) and spent countless hours at the library until she thought she had figured it out and reported back to her doctor and said, “This is what I have.”

          Fibromyalgia wasn’t a word associated with the 20^th century as it is today. Commercials now are exploding with drugs and advice to “ask your doctor” – not that the pills will cure you.  They will assist with whatever ails you while we sit back and collect cash.  Hey, and if it doesn’t work out to all expectations, there are also ads inviting us to join whatever bandwagon the attorneys may have set up so that we can sue whatever company for making us sick.

          It blows my mind that the FDA has approved all these “miracle” medications that help our heart, diabetes, chronic breathing, both physical and emotional pain, depression, bladder issues, stomach cramps, birth control, and anything else you can think of.  This century (thus far) has conditioned us to take drugs, sue companies, and stay home and glue ourselves to the internet.

          Jenna will borrow my phone and show it to her friends.  “Do you guys want to see a dinosaur?” she’ll ask.  The very idea of a flip phone is quite laughable to them.  I remember a time before flip phones.  I remember a time before cordless.  I remember being charged more for other area codes as they were long distance.  I remember cigarette commercials.  I remember the glamour that marketing tried to convince went with the tobacco products.  I remember reading an article about 5 different spokesmen for different brands of cigarettes.  When the article was published all had passed away from distorted breathing or heart failure except for the Marlboro man who at that point was existing in an iron lung and death was hovering over him (and had been for some time; See examples here and here).

          Where is our focus?  What are our priorities?

This is the Way it Should BE

Currently, the temperature is 56 degrees.  

Alexa says the high will be 73.  

This is why we moved to Oregon. 

 This is how the temperature should be EVERY day.

Finances in Retirement

       I don’t recall where the email was sent from or why I accepted it.  I registered both Roland and me for a seminar on social security.  He had been asking me questions when I had taken my Sociology of Ageism class.  I thought we could attend this together, have questions answered, and have a free lunch.  I enjoyed the lunch part but had found my Ageism class much more informative than the seminar. Except for a few facts that apply specifically to Oregon, there isn't really much that I learned.

       During my school course, I had completed four assignments.  The subjects were as follows:  “Websites for the Aged”, “Financial Options for Elderly Care”, “Age of Retirement” and “Life After Retirement”. I started off my first paper by defining “Baby Boomers” which is/was an unusually high amount of births that took place between 1946 and 1965.

       I used a quote by Lena Horne to start off another.
 “It is not the load that breaks you down.  It’s the way you carry it.”  
       In my report I talked about how individuals may choose to save into a retirement plan but that there are situations that may come up that cannot be controlled – such as paying for the expenses of a loved one, economical situations or perhaps being scammed.

       I talked about social security in at least two of my assignments and how it was introduced in 1935 as part of the New Deal. Social Security was designed to benefit the elderly after they retired. President Roosevelt wanted it to work more like an insurance investment while others wanted to benefit through welfare.    I used the example of Ida May Fuller (here) 

       The community in which I currently reside is made up mostly of retirees.  Seniors are the backbone of our community.  We all need to feel useful no matter what age.  I think there are many seniors who are naturally hard workers. I enjoy working with them and spending time with them.  I suppose I always have.

       I mentioned a few entrepreneurs who did not start their businesses until after 50 or 60 years old.  One example I used was Harland Sanders who was 62 when he and Pete Harmon made an agreement to create the first Kentucky Fried Chicken.

       I talked about situations that may prevent one from their dreams – such as my dad, who had been forced to take a medical retirement.  I also mentioned the hardships of finding a retirement home.  Medicare does not pay for long term and finding an assisted living, particularly with memory care, is not an easy task on a limited budget.

       And then there are my own personal resources with Social Security of people I associate with.  The thing is, SS started out with more than 50 people contributing their tax money to one welfare check.  Today it's more like 2.5 for everyone.  We left before the business segment of the seminar (which I hadn't even known about) which I'm certain would have interested Roland more than did the SS, but we were both tired and he seemed anxious to get back to work.  

       We returned to Roseburg this morning for the Senior movie Wednesday.  It wasn't well attended.  I noticed eight different seniors leave not even halfway through "Men in Black".  Some seemed to like it but I think most were disappointed and would have rather seen  "A Dog's Journey".  I know I would have.

Dash #44 Three Values

 

          There are definitely many values that our parents instilled in us, but the three I would pick to answer this question would be prayer, family and service.

Prayer

          From an early age, we learned that we could communicate to our Heavenly Father through prayer.  We were taught not only to ask for things but to thank God as well for the many blessings that we had.  And there truly were many.  Mom and dad were able to help us understand what the blessings were.  Especially dad.  He had tremendous faith and find the blessings where we could not such as in car failure or his swelled foot (here)and in his final years could see the blessings with his deteriorating health.          

          I remember on several occasions seeing my dad kneeling in front of the green chair which I dubbed “the prayer chair”.  After mom passed, the green chair went to live in Kayla’s home and remained there until recently from what I understand.

Family

          Each of us was important and our parents made certain that we knew we added value. It was important for us to respect one another and treat each other kindly.  They did not show favoritism.  They taught us to work together and took an interest in everything we did.  They would support our dreams and include us with big decisions – like where to go and what to do on vacation or the décor of the newly finished basement.  I don’t know that I appreciated that so much at the time, but I certainly do right now.  I wish I had been able to pass that on to Jenna’s brothers.

Service

To the best of my knowledge, neither of my parents ever turned down a church calling.  Both were diligent in their callings – even when they were discouraged or really did not care for the calling.  For example, my mom taught a primary class in which one youth, in particular, would act up and had made her calling difficult.  She had made an appointment with the bishop to ask if she could be released.  Another child in her class had called my mom from another state (back in the days before cell phones, and often calling another county was long distance, let alone another state) to thank my mom for a lesson she had learned.  It convinced my mom to stay with her calling despite the temperamental youth.
 Mom cared for dad’s family as they became her own (here).  Both of my parents served others until they started losing functions in their brains.  I learned a lot from each of my parents and am grateful for their examples in my life.