Who are he bad guys and who are the good guys?

In my past I could probably tell you who was a "good guy" and who was a "bad guy".   Today I couldn't even guess at times.   People hide their true selves under all sorts of facades.  You don't know who you're talking to any more. 

This past election season was proof positive of that.  I listened to all sorts of speeches, debates and tirades from both sides of the realm.   I tried to stay neutral to listen to all of the ideas and notions before I took a strong stance for myself.

I was on a forum panel of sorts with some men I didn' know.  These men were intelligent and well spoken (written?).  I liked reading their thoughts and ideas but after a while I thought about some oft the things they were spouting and I started to wonder about it.  The things that were being quoted, ranted and raved about were things I thought had been discussed years ago and everyone had come to the realization that life as we knew it was gone and we would have to adapt to a new...everything. 

Of course none of us like change in our life.  The reality is, you don't have a choice in the matter.  Things change every minute of every day.... We don't have the ability to make things stay the same. It isn't going to happen no matter how much you fight for it.  Give it a rest and make the best of what you have, is what I say.  But then I'm just a lowly logical person. 

It was hard to tell which hat some of these politicians were wearing this time.  In the past you could tell in an instant who was who and what they stood for.  This time it was a bit hazy to me.   I would listen to everyone then decide how much of what was been said was to get my attention to vote for the candidate....Never mind that it was probably lip service and the speech was written for a particular audience to garner votes.  I saw this happen over and over again, from both sides...I guess that's why I'm not in politics. I don't usually hone my statements to fit a particular audience.  I am what I am, like Popeye.

Some people never give up. They can't believe that everything they believed in was not accepted with open arms by everyone.  Again, it doesn't matter which side you may be on, it's seems the same for all the politicians.

It's time we all evaluate who we are and what we want for ourselves and our country.  This is the holiday season now and it's time to "make nice".  Let's all try to put on one hat and try to get along.  Let's see the other side for what they really are, Americans.  That's all....

Kids today

When My kids were little we lived in a housing development with 2.5 kids per house...At least that's what the statistics said. With that many kids in the neighborhood there was always some kid here or my kids were at some other neighbors house.  We didn't have a need to "socialize" the kids.  If they weren't at a house on the street then they were in the street playing some kind of group game.

When my grand kids were born I didn't think how different today's world was going to be.  I honestly didn't give it much thought at all.  My granddaughter was born and all of a sudden things changed. My daughter had a full time job, I had a full time job so the baby was going to have to be cared for by someone other than a family member.  My heart went into my throat at that thought.  I don't know why it never occurred to me  before that, but it didn't. 

My daughter and son-in-law interviewed daycare centers. They wanted to be sure the center would provide the best environment for their new baby. They wanted a school and not just a baby sitting service.  I thought they were nuts, the kid was only 6 weeks old. She didn't know how to be a kid yet, why did she need a school?  But I kept my comments and thoughts to myself...

The fateful day came when baby Kelly had to go to the Daycare center.  I was working down the street.  I decided to check it out that day and several days after, making sure she was being cared for in the way I thought she should be.  The teachers were wonderful.  The one who mainly cared for Kelly was a loving and caring woman who had experience with babies and children that far surpassed my experience.  I felt my fears fall away...

Kelly was in the Daycare from the time she was 6 weeks old and is still apart of their system as one of the after school kids, who comes to the "Clubhouse" after school and does her homework and plays with the friends she's had since babyhood.  She's never known anything else so she's very well adjusted.  Her brother Keith is as well. 

Keith started with daycare when he was 10 weeks old.  They didn't have room for him at the center when he was 6 wks old so I took him to work with  me for those 4 weeks.  That was interesting. He had a special swing and he slept most of the time. If my clients thought it was strange, they hid it well by cooing and playing with Keith while I helped them with their problems.

Both of my older grand kids have adjusted well to the Daycare.  They have many friends and seemed to have had a great time in the center. They love their teachers and know they must follow rules. It's been a very positive influence in their young lives.

My youngest grandson is 2, almost 3.   He has been cared for by his grandparents both sides.  I have had him once a week while his other grandmother has cared for him the other 4 days a week.  I am still working so I have to juggle the schedule at times, and we travel at times so things have to be juggled for that as well.  

I thought it was a great thing to have the grandparents care for the kid and I felt as though I had done the first two a disservice by not caring full time for them, however I'm not so sure about that anymore.

My youngest grandson is timid around other kids he doesn't know.  He hasn't had the socialization the other two have had and I think it's going to be a bit more dicey for him when he does go to daycare or if his parents wait for him to go the school. Luckily he's going to Sunday School so he is being exposed to other kids but generally he's by himself or with old folks.

He will be starting daycare very soon and I think it will be a little bit different for him at first and he's not going to like it, but comparing the kids and their adaptability, I think daycare is a good thing.  Would I have said that 10 years ago when I didn't have grandkids?  Not a chance...I thought daycare was the worst thing parents could do for thier kids, but I've turned my opinion completely around on that after the exeriences I've witnessed with my own grandchildren.   

With two parents working for what ever the reason, daycare is necessary. I used to say a necessary evil, but that's not the right thing to say.  Daycare has proven itself to be a stepping stone into the culture we live in today.

Time Marches on-whether we want it to or not

I'm at an age now where I look at the calendar and think, "How the Hell did it get to be this month...Whatever happened to the months before?" Time has a way of flying at warp speed now.  I remember when I was younger I would wish the days would hurry up and get over.....I always wanted something that was scheduled for later in the week/month/year.  Now, I wish time would slow so I could figure out what to do with the next thing that's presented itself to me. 

Things are so damned complicated today.  Gone are the simpler times. Now we have all sorts of "things" grabbing at our time and energy.  Even if you try to slow things down, you can't....there's always something that pops it's head up and stops you from doing what you want to do. It's nuts...

I went to the phone store....(When did we ever have a "phone store" in the past)....I needed a new phone and it was time to get into the 21st century. I spoke to all sorts of folks about what kind of phone to get before I entered the hallowed halls of the "phone store".  I was advised to buy some kind of smart phone that would allow me to do anything I wanted electronically, you know, stay in touch with everyone (but I don't want to stay in touch with everyone), I can get all my e-mails at all times, (who cares about that?) people would always be able to get hold of me at all times with this hotsy-totsy new phone (do I really need to have people get hold of me at all times, I ask you? I think not). there were apps to do all kinds of things....Why?  For what reason did I need all this stuff?  I did need one thing and it was a normal part of the phone, nothing hotsy-totsy about texting ability. 

The folks in the store wanted me to buy the newest and best of the phones they sold.  They tried in vain to sell me what they thought I wanted....I wanted something user friendly and easy, not complicated and up to the minute newest and greatest.  After an hour and a half they gave in... I got a simple, regular basic phone.  But why did I have to go through the fires of Hell to get what I wanted?

Everywhere I go, I find things are not all that easy to complete these days. There's always more to do than you anticipate.  You plan to do something and without a doubt something or someone stands in your way and you can't do what you planned on doing.

Oh well that may just be the way life is now and I have to learn to adapt...but I don't have to like it.....

Exercise a.k.a. Torture to the masses

A couple of posts ago I wrote about my foray into the hallowed halls of the YMCA. This has nothing against the Y, let me get that disclaimer out there right at the start.  No, this is more about the real life things that happen to an old broad who decides to enter those hallowed halls to become more flexible and flowing (that's a laugh).

I've been at the Y for several months now, and I will admit, I am able to maneuver better than before I joined.  Since that first day I've learned a lot about the "protocols" of today's "Exercise Routines".  In every room at the Y there is some sort of assistant/teacher/facilitator/guru/ whatever.  They have the very best of intentions for all the participants in said class.  However, being a place filled with humans you get these little splinter groups within the classes.  In high school we used to call them, "cliques", but we're all pretty old so I don't think that's the correct terminology...I might be wrong.

Because I'm an observer I've taken to watch some of the actions of these folks. It's pretty interesting.  We're all out of shape. Some are too fat. Some are too skinny. Some have no teeth (no lie). Some bring their assistants with them. Some bring their service dogs with them (I like the service dogs the best).  All of these woman (and I have to talk about the women because it seems to me they are the worst offenders of this, for want of a better word, "clique-ness") can get their "nickers in a twist" in less than a second.  If one of them thinks they're in any way being slighted you can actually see claws forming on the ends of the fingers...I've learned to keep my mouth shut and step away. It's incredible.  These are grown Mothers, Grandmothers and Great-Grandmothers and they still act as though they were in high school...I don't get it.

The locker rooms are a riot.  You see everything there, as you should, it's a locker room. It's also the place where you hear the most outlandish tales and stories.  There's enough things discussed there on a daily basis to write a short book everyday.  The information I've garnered in the last few months has been amazing.  I think I could probably heal all ailments sent my way.  Everyone of the women in that locker room knows some kind of healing for something or other.  That's no joke and I'm thinking about bringing a notebook starting tomorrow to keep some of these little tidbits of information for future reference.

Although, I have to tell you, the women I'm taking about are all of a "certain" age.  They've lived their lives and can do whatever the Hell they want, they've earned the right.  Some of the other women haven't earned their stripes yet but they think they have.  I see the older bunch looking, listening and nodding their heads with a tiny smile hovering on their lips. They know, they know, the younger ones have to go through the Hell fires a bit longer until they've earned their stripes in the army of the "Women of a Certain Age".  If the young ones are lucky they'll get there.

It's a very interesting place "The YMCA"...

to be continued...

OK All Right, I get it, I'm old....

One of my posts regarding the employees of today reminded me of the old folks who used to tell me they walked to school in the snow up hill both ways. At that time I thought they were old and decripit and what the Hell did they know about anything. Now, I find I'm in the same boat as they were so many years ago. I'm the old fool who's complaining about "the kids of today".

I read that post and laughed, for a very short time before realizing most of us as we age come to an understanding about new and different things we see on a daily basis. We don't like change much as we age, but I wonder if that's going to be the case of these younger folks of today. Will the be more adaptable than we were? They've had to do things at warp speed with technology and gadgets we never had to deal with at all.

I understand how difficult it is to accept change, but I also know it must be accepted if we are to live life in this different world than the one we came from. It's difficult at best when we must navigate through all sorts of pages of internet spew and telephone menues only to have a foreign voice on the other end try to understand what we're trying to ask when we don't know quite how to ask whatever it is we want to know.

All of that being said, there is still a void in the marketplace for intelligent life as we know it. People are accepted if they're warm bodies. If they can do some of the work that's a bonus. You rarely find folks these days who are able to do something from start to finish (correctly) without having to make several phone or computer follow-ups to be sure the work is done correctly. It's a challenge at best.

It's too bad they can't all be perfect like me.....

What's with all the changes??

I know it's been an while since I sat down to note the things happening around me, so I have to expect changes, but honestly, I don't get it... Whatever happened to, "If it ain't broken don't fix it"?  It seems that everything, everywhere is in some sort of flux because of changes to systems, navigation, phones, jobs, clothing styles, likes or dislikes of different architecture, you name it I can't keep up.  To tell the truth I'm at the point where I'm going to sit back and watch it all come tumbling down, because that's what happens to all the "new and improved" stuff. It all becomes junk, old and redundant over time.

Nothing becomes ancient as quickly as technology.  I've really given up the chase on technology.  By the time I want to own something that's on the market and I've done my research the item is no longer the state of the art, for that matter, the first time I saw the item it was obsolete already.  The good thing about that is, by the time I finally decide to spring to buy it, it's cheap.  It's old technology.

My desktop computer finally died...I called tech service to ask if they could diagnose the problem, after exhausting all my ideas at a fix.  The young man on the other end of the phone was not from this country (big surprise!).  He was a very nice young man and he and I got along very well. I am quite adept at understanding men speaking with marbles in their mouth.  It was a trial at first, then I remembered to listen as though I was underwater. I'm convinced I have some extra hairs in my ears that perk up to assist me at times like these. I must have developed them after living with Larry for the last 45 years. It's an evolution thing, I'm guessing.

So the computer... Nice little Indian man tries to explain what he thinks is wrong with the computer.  He's telling me all this jargon about USB's, Ethernet cables, junction boxes, routers, modems, you name it in computer-ease and he's spouted it to me... I knew what he was talking about but unfortunately what he was talking about was in a computer that is a "slightly" newer version than mine.

After several minutes where he didn't let me get a word in edgewise, I stopped him and explained what I had.  I distinctly heard...nothing...absolute silence... He must have regained his composure because about 3 minutes later he said to me, "Would you mind repeating your system's specifications again? I don't think I've ever known anyone who is still using that kind on machine.  I must check some very old manuals to check on some things.  Hmm...perhaps I'll need to call my Father for some help...hmm...Please hold ma'am. I'll be right back".  I know I heard him guffaw as he went away from the phone....and I'm sure I heard others in that office laughing like Hell.

He came back shortly and gave me some directions to check some other things on the computer. Don't ask me what I did. I was a robot doing whatever was asked of me...He spoke I did the work...
It was determined that my system had bit the dust...It could be used for some things, but not to get into the Internet without some serious bucks being added to the unit.  The old thing was tossed aside and my newer laptop became the primary information gatherer.  This laptop is over four years old and you know it's old as can be, but to me it's just a baby.

Why must everything be so disposable?  I know the economy needs people to buy, buy, buy, but what about the folks who put themselves in debt because they thing they have to have the newest, best, better things?  How about me, the old fart, who is on a limited income and can't afford to drop thousands on new junk (and you know it's junk)?

Even when you do get new stuff, within a few weeks you're yelled at to buy enhancing stuff for what you bought that you thought was the "newest, best, better".  It's a vicious cycle, a never ending cycle.  It's time to put the brakes on for me.  I'm making some changes in my outlook.  I'm not buying into all this crap. I've had enough of it.

I'll continue to limp along with the technological stuff I have and maybe, if something really does literally break apart, I'll buy a replacement, but it better be cheap, that's all I can say...

Mature Exercisers...

Gees, I hate to exercise...Oh yeah, I know it's good for you and you'll feel better after doing it.  But the truth is, exercise is a pain in the ass.   All you exercise nut cases out there will bemoan the fact that I'm berating your exercise, but to tell the truth, I don't care what you think.  Go ahead, beat yourselves up, work up that sweat, maneuver those joints and muscle...you do that...I'll watch.

OK, so the truth is, I have to exercise to keep the old joints lubed and also so I can continue to move my arms and legs.  I've fought it for a long time, but I finally caved and joined my neighborhood YMCA. I felt very pleased with myself when I took the plunge and joined after procrastinating for about....10 years.

I walked into the reception area and met with sweet young things...Yeah, you guessed it, all perky and cute.  They're lucky I was in a good mood that morning, that or the fact they offered me coffee as I did the tour around the torture chambers they refer to as the gym. It was cool.  I found things very interesting, clean and not too shabby.  I signed up.

The perky kids gave me an arm load of paperwork with all the schedules and rules and regulations about the gym.  I went home and read through everything as though I was studying for a test.  I knew the next day I was going to partake in a new and different way of life just by walking through those doors into the hallowed halls of exercise Nirvana...yeah..right...

The next day dawned bright and cheery until I remembered I made this promise to myself to jump into this exercise thing with gusto.  At the gym I was greeted by some computer voice welcoming me into the caverns of pain and ...more pain...

I figured since I was so out of shape I should start really easy, so off I went to he huge room full of machines.  Machines that sculpted blobs of fat into smooth silky sensuous bodies. Machines that could make a grown man cry. Machines that could cause cardiac arrest, I was sure.  

There were ten of machines empty, so I jumped onto one and started playing with the buttons.  Little screens with weird looking silhouettes of people showed up on the screen. Some of them I'm sure were trying to run from my constant pushing of the buttons to make them do things. I have no idea what I was doing, nor did I really care...

After a couple of minutes an Adonis with long hair came over to the machine I was on and asked, "Did you sign in for that machine?"  I thought, "What? Sign in for what?" There was no one on any of the 10 machines around me.  I looked at him and said, "I'm terribly sorry but I have no clue what you're talking about nor do I know anything about signing up for a machine". He looked at me and just sighed, then said, "We all must sign up for any machine we'd like to use.  We allow 30 minutes on a machine and there is a sort of protocol for our machines...".  Protocol?  What the Hell?? So there I am first day, breaking "protocol".  Who knew? I sure didn't....When Perky little thing was doing her little tour with me she neglected to explain the "protocol" of the Machine room....Oh well. That was just the beginning of life at the Y.

In the masses of paperwork I received on sign up day, there were schedules and change of schedules as well as changes to the change of schedules.  I was confused.  I figured out most of the schedules but I was a bit intimidated by all the potential "protocol" things I could screw up.  I chose some classes to take which I thought would be pretty easy to do and I figured there couldn't be too much "protocol" to mess up..

Man, was I wrong.....to be continued...