#sol24 November 5 Our Voices and Our Votes Matter

The parking lot was full, a rarity, and so I drove around thinking about the power of news and social media hype to bring people to the library even before the real Election Day! After finally parking, I noticed two ladies, with walkers, slooowwwly making their way towards the door.  

I thought, for a moment, about passing them and securing a place in the line ahead of them. Instead, I asked if they were coming to vote and held the door as they sloooowwwly entered.  Then, we both stopped in awe of the line of voters wrapped around first the local memorabilia and then all the way around the circulation desk! 

Their collective sigh morphed my own sigh and displaced my thoughts of leaving. I thought of the energy it had taken for them to come out to vote. I thought of the nearly impossible challenge of standing in what was clearly going to be a long and winding line.  

"How about your folks sit here and I will get in line.  When it gets close, you can join the line," I suggested. 

"Thank you," they said quietly and slooowwwly they made their way to the bench while I slooowwwly waded through the sea of voters to secure a spot at the end of the line of people clearly on their lunch break and others clearly frustrated by the long line.. 

I had lots of time to think of past elections of voting at 6AM  before a long commute and at10PM as the doors were about to close.  I really did not remember ever having lines like this before! 

I really did have plans to circle by the grocery store, but instead, after voting, I walked slooowwwly towards their car, surface talk about the incredible line and the equally incredulous weather.

"You know, I used to just cancel out my husband's vote most years, but this time, while I miss him terribly, my vote counts even more," she sighed.

As I headed to my car, I was hoping I would remember to vote (by mail) when my turn to move slooowwwly came in the not-too-distant-future, because, our voices and our votes matter. 

#sol24 October 29 I Love You, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

 

It was many, many years after I eagerly sang along with them, in my pajamas, as they crooned on the Ed Sullivan show; yet, when that music began....we overlooked the converted gym, fake sideburns, sloppy wigs, and bad dad jokes!  We sang along at full tilt.

There were a few among the "silver sneaker" crowd who had actually seen them, long ago, at Yankee Stadium and one person even stood outside the Ed Sullivan theater to catch a glimpse! Yet, for most of us, it was a "first"!

Their starting number, of course, brought most of us to our feet as the words emerged from the recesses of our minds. "I love you, yeah, yeah, yeah," was certainly audible to the young-uns on the treadmills or in the nearby pool!  

During intermission, they donned longer wigs and St Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band inspired outfits to embrace the '70s, and we chugged flavored waters and shared memories of albums and songs that had shaped our identities, even if we do not think about it every day. 

It was over, at nine because the fake Beatles had to travel to another gig the next day and because, well, the "silver sneaker" crowd had a morning stretch and flex class early the next morning!

As we headed outside, we laughed and reminisced about how fast time passes!  Then, someone joked about how a future "silver sneaker" crowd (filled with our grandchildren) would be filling a future multipurpose room somewhere talking about their version of I Love You, Yeah, Yeah Yeah...

And in the parking lot, we ended the evening with the currently popular but far less familiar  to us......."Marry me Juliet, you'll never be alone, It's a love story, just say yes, oh, oh oh..." 

#sol24 Everyday Images in the Sky

At the beginning of October, I went outside to try to see the "Ring of Fire" eclipse.  It was too cloudy.

A few days later, I tried to catch a meteor shower that was supposed to be visible in the early evening but I must have been too early, missed it or I was looking in the wrong place. 

Next,  then tried to catch Jupiter that was supposedly going to be visible, but still no go.

Then, I meant to catch the Hunter's Moon, that final super moon of 2024, but I forgot!

But, during the clear skies of this October, there have been many, many nights when the skies have been filled with the colorful reflections of sunlight on the horizon.  

These images may not earn notoriety for their rarity, but they sure do offer few moments of sustained happiness in spite of withering plants, shedding trees, and clearly shorter days! 

With clear skies again today, we are most likely going to have another light show! There is something to be said for those everyday images in our sky.

 

#sol24 October 15 Grand Dogs For Me

"We've always had dogs," he said as his dog pulled desperately on the leash. "They sure are good company," he added with a smile that suggested the benefit of a dog for those of us who live alone, without acknowledging my quiet house.

There were many busy days (years in fact) when being alone was a goal rather than a problem for me; however, these days, my home is mighty quiet and alone is the new normal.

 

"I do think about it, sometimes," I offered, "and the thought of a pal sharing my porch on summer evening sounds inviting.  But, the thought of having to make plans with a dog walker if I go out for the day and the idea of bundling up for a walk late on a cold winter night have been deterrents. Plus," I added with a smile, "pets are like kids, you never know what you are going to get!"

"And," he laughed as he was pulled down the street, "most of the dogs on this street do have minds of their own." 

"I'll settle for strong-willed, visiting grand-dogs," I offered, but he was long gone on his walk/run after his beloved and strong-willed pet. Yet, my heart was remembering that long ago downy soft drowsy puppy snuggled next to me. "Grand dogs for me," I reminded myself, sternly!

 

 

#sol24 October8 Slice of Cake with Frosting

In a world where divisiveness, disagreements, and destruction headline the daily news, I am sharing a  happy slice of life about a small group of children who spent a couple of hours focused on decorating mini-cakes with mountains of frosting, layers of tiny cakes, and heaps of sprinkles!

The sugar laden picture (below) will not take away the assured pain of a huge-o hurricane nor will it restore peace in our world; yet, there is something peaceful and even hopeful about squishy pastel colored frosting oozing out of a gigantic tube filled with more sugar than any parent would allow any child to consume in a week! 

In reality, a cake decorating party is a messy event that is best held outside! 

To be honest, there was a lot of frosting wasted!

In retrospect, more sprinkles landed on the ground than on cupcakes! 

Yet, the sensory rewards from surrounding oneself with self-created sugary treasures are profound as evidenced by the smiles and laughter (not pictured)!        

This is a not-just-for-kids party idea!

 

#sol24 October 1 Good Bye, Neighborhood

I have written about the lawn jockey my neighbors

dressed for every holiday and Giants game.

He was a beloved fixture my grandchildren referred to as

the Little Man. Here is his story of his last adventure.

"I realized the end was near when he took off my Giants shirt and began to dig out my feet. I'd been a feature on the street for decades and I really wondered how many people would miss my costume changes to mark the seasons, holidays, and every sporting event.

While I was a little excited about the potential of a new adventure, I saw tears well up in his eyes and realized this was a new, and different chapter. Yet, he continued as if he was on a mission. His son finally showed up late in the afternoon and they lifted me onto the trailer with a fire pit and a mini fridge. I saw the little girl across the street watching the action from her porch."

"Can I go over to say good-bye she begged her grandma with tears streaming down her face.  I can't believe they are really taking him away!"

"Moments later, they were snapping a picture of me and the man was walking away while the tears poured down his face. I tried to be brave and smile for that picture, but to be quite honest, I was afraid.

There were some uncomfortable good-byes among the other humans, but the man stood by himself facing his old house. I realized at that moment, that life for each of us would never be the quite the same.

We pulled away moments later and I tried to bravely wave good bye to the house I had guarded and the neighborhood I had cheered for so many years.  

We had not gone very fall when I leaned over a wee bit while he was making a turn.  Without my feet being firmly planted on Earth, I leaned over and fractured my arm, the one I need to wave to my fans.  I am pretty sure it is a stress fracture as I sure was stressed!

Now, sadly, I sit in a storage unit where the sun does not shine and there are no cars going past.  I am waiting patiently, however, because that man with the tears in his eyes talked about something called retirement. He said it would be different, like a new season, and I think I saw a wee bit of a smile on his face as he told me to rest up for the next chapter. 

Right now, I'm a bit unsure about what will happen in this retirement stage, but I'll rest up for a bit and hope his smile is a sign of a new beginning, with new cars, and new human fans."

#sol24 September 17 Tree, Table, Book Club

 We gathered in a basement,

Are all book clubs in basements?

With grapes and cookies,

From 8 to 88 to discuss

Challenges of each stage of life,

Including cognitive decline.

Tree, Table, Book

We shared stories,

Our writing,

 Dreams of being published,

Compared thoughts about the characters,

Made bookmarks

To remember

To share our stories.

It was a first, for all,

An Intergenerational Book Club.

The book was uniquely suited

As if Lois Lowry had planned it!

We are all awaiting the sequel!

#sol24September10 Shopping for Santa?

 

When I heard James Earl Jones passed, 

I smiled and I remembered...  

Long ago, in the days before cell phones with cameras, 

I left school on December 23 with a huge list of 

what needed to be done for the looming holiday 

replacing lesson plans and curriculum concerns. 

The snow had already begun to fall, and the forecast called for 

lots of white stuff before the impending holiday.

 Part of me knew I really should head to the babysitter's to pick up my kids, 

but the other part of me hoped I had enough time to 

stop at the local Grand Union to pick up a few things.  

Like almost everyone else in town, I grabbed a cart and threw in the snowy day essentials like bread, milk, and eggs. I impulsively grabbed flour and sugar thinking I might just bake cookies while stuck inside. The lines were growing, so I pulled into the nearest one and impulsively grabbed a slew of the in-reach items.  A scored a couple of Swedish Fish, Twizzlers, M & M s, Hershey Kisses, Jolley Ranchers, Altoids, bubble gum, gummy. worms, pens, travel sized games and travel size toothbrushes for good measure. I was pretty sure this would be my last shopping before the big holiday and so I took full advantage of that impulse aisle! I suspect I was thinking about the excessive amount of sugar destined for those stockings or perhaps I was bemoaning the lack of weather appropriate footwear, but the voice behind me was comforting and familiar. 

"Helping the big man out?" he asked with a laugh as I threw the haul onto the conveyor belt. "Did you see these Santa candy dispensers?" he asked reaching for Santa Pez dispensers in the nearby aisle.  He carried only a handbasket, but was dressed for the snowy afternoon in an oversized coat. 

I surely smiled as I responded to the bigger than life local hero who popped 2 Pez dispensers onto my belt.  

"You needed them," he chuckled. 

Let's be honest. The novelty dispensers were 

a bigger hit than all the junk I purchased! 

I've long wondered how he retold the story

of his Grand Union encounter 

with a snow-holiday-stressed local teacher!

 snowfall outside 

#sol24 September 3 Wherever You Find Yourself

 

Schools have opened, pools have closed and the air has a certain chill; therefore, no matter what the calendar says, "summer" is over, and we must abandon slip-on sandals and lazy afternoons. In these waning days of summer, life moves slowly for most people, even though the days go way too fast for teachers and students! 

For some, the summer slow down has reached the ultimate in slow-motion events, The Annual End of Summer Tractor Parade! There really is something special about this parade that my cousin and #1 reader told me about even though this slow moving event could  make local kids excited about school!

                                                                    (Montgomery, NY)

For many of us (teachers and students probably fit in here), the summer slow down has led to abandoning damp swim suits for Scrabble. Life, or Jenga blocks!  We hit the stores for backpacks and shies and now find ourselves teetering on the edge of excitement and trepidation! Fall is like that! 

For some. today is just a new day or working and transitioning to sweater and jeans.

All of these are good options,

Wherever you find yourself today, I wish you a fall season that "falls in a good way for you."

#sol24 August 27 Power of Stories

The request was simple enough. "Want to do a book club?" she asked. I read a lot more than usual this summer as I took the summer "off" from my teaching tasks. Kristen Hannah and others had filled my summer evenings with stories of people who interfaced, ever so briefly, with my "real" life. I often thought about how this chapter of my life mirrored those middle years when books and their characters filled the crevices of my mind that had been filled with teaching, family, and life demands for so many years.

"Sure," I responded and ordered the book (back ordered) from Libby, my free online library. Worse come to worse, I could always order a Kindle version if it took too long.

Then, one day, I noticed the e-book had arrived. I "knew" Lois Lowry from many books shared with students and teachers over the years of my professional life as a literacy specialist.  

From the first words, I recognized the familiar "memory" assessment that is part of nearly every doctor visit after a certain age.  Often, we joke about that 3-word assessment; however, we also dread and respect the potential of 3 words to a life's path.

The themes, mostly heavy duty, included those nearest and dearest to my heart: aging, friendship, and the power of stories.  

I read deep in the night and finished early in the morning while my eyes were still encrusted with sleepers.  The "inter-generational" reading-inspired-book-club was weeks away and there I sat, deep in thought, early on a late summer morning, rocking gently.  

It was a feeling similar to how I felt as I finished The Women earlier this summer and wondered why I had never talked about the impact of the Vietnam War on my generation.  Families and friends had been divided by differences.   These days, it's more likely political and lifestyle choices that divide and separate people

Yet, there are some aspects of life that cut through all the "red tape" of life and Lowry answered the question about what is most important exquisitely: the perils of aging, demands of friendship, and the power of stories.   Consider it a must read. 

Tree, Table, Story

By Lois Lowry