You need a catchy title!

My mom was commenting on what a smart dog Gracie is!! The curly grey haired live wire[that's the dog I'm talking about...not the mom] was stretched out on the cushion basking in the sunshine of the bay window. I related that there was a healthy aspect to a little bit of sunlight. That's how we get Vitamin D...naturally from the sun. And it reminded me of a sixth grade writing assignment that brought a smile to me kind of unexpectedly.

The students were in the middle of a writing activity, and I was stating that the title of a written piece is very important. It has to be short, to the point, yet 'catchy' in order to capture the interest of the reader. Here is an abbreviated version of one of those paragraphs:

On the topic of vitamins...

We get Vitamin D as a result of a process that goes like this. The sun shines on the earth and vitamin D is a result of this. The sun creates Vitamin D in the plants that are in the ocean. The fish eat the plants that have Vitamin D, and they get the Vitamin D, and then the people eat the fish that are rich in Vitamin D, and that is how we get Vitamin D in our diet.
And the catchy title at the top..in the center..was....


How People Get VD







Short and catchy, wouldn't you agree?

My first teaching job...baptism by fire!!

Nothing new to write about, so a little bit of reminiscing... a scenario from 1972...

My good friend Janet and I went to high school and college together, and never thought for a moment that we would get teaching jobs in the same school. But we did!! After subbing from Sept through March, I was hired to teach kindergarten: AM class of 28 live wires and a PM class of about 18 quiet, calm kids. Probably because most of them didn't speak English!!! And I didn't speak Spanish!! Oh well, thankfully, there was a little bilingual girl who was a very good translator and saved the day most of the time.

Janet had been hired to go into an existing 3rd grade whose numbers had crested over the magic number which then required two teachers, and so she was to team teach with the other teacher.

There were many interesting happenings in the short 4 months that we worked together. It was an inner city school, and the staff and children were mostly Hispanic and/or children of color. That made the two of us [the 2 newest teachers] kind of stand out a little bit. However, we could never understand why the principal couldn't tell us apart. We were beginning to think that we should wear name tags. We decided that it would make little difference after the principal called Janet to substitute teach on a day when Janet was already a hired staff member. The following year there was a first grade position, and a team- teaching 4th grade position. I was given the 4th grade team- teaching position, and twin Janet was assigned the solo first grade.

When discussing it with the principal, she said to me, " Well, I don't think that you could handle a class on your own. You had some trouble this past year in 4th grade, and that was with another teacher in the room, too."
Well, hellllloooo! I was the kindergarten teacher!!![Who orchestrated the first ever kindergarten graduation with gowns made by the Home Economics classes in the high school.] I remember 2 things about this day. The children on the left of the aisle[the AM class] and the children on the right side[ the PM class] stood up and faced the audience ready to begin their songs that they had practiced for the occasion. I gave them the signal, and watching me...they began, and then we all learned what a 'round' was ...because one side got ahead of the other side by a whole line!!!. They had never practiced together , and the good news was that the audience liked it. The fact remained that they were very entertaining, and cute, too.

The other thing I remember: The principal, in an effort to encourage the parents to keep the kids in school, and to stress how important an education was to succeed in life...said, "For some of these children, this is the only graduation that they will ever have in their lives."

{How sad. And yet, from my year's experience [both substitute teaching and having a classroom of my own], I understood it.

The following year, Janet and I were split up when every classroom in the building was relocated to any building in the [big] district that had a spare classroom as a result of...the fire that broke out in the middle of the night[ electrical fire, we were told] and burned the school down. Whew!! It was not a happy scene that morning as we arrived, and were rerouted off the main street. We saw the smoke in the distance and then turned to look at each other..."You don't suppose that the school's on fire, do you?

Each September after that year, I told my students that I took fire drills very seriously because my first school burned down. The result of that statement?

Wide eyed ...and suddenly attentive!!!!

Walkin'...yes indeed...I'm walkin"

On Saturday, the physical therapist came to my house to begin my 3X a week therapy schedule. With the help of my walker, I put one foot in front of the other and brought the other foot forward to meet it. We call that, WALKING!!!! Wahoo! Yippee! I stepped my way from the living room to the dining room and back again. Sat down to rest, got up to do it again, and my recovering knee had already had enough!! So we stopped because I don't want to lose any ground. She returns today for the 2nd time and I am hoping for the best!!

Yesterday as I channel surfed by QVC, I happened upon an outdoor/patio presentation. I am now the proud owner of a bench that is easily transformed into a picnic table with attached benches. Perfect for my deck. I can use it as a bench until a situation calls for a picnic table...and Voila!! it's a picnic table!! Pretty clever. No storage required when it's not in use. I also managed to order a couple of shrubs. I cannot help it. They're unique!!

From the chorus of, "Hair! "

Yesterday, Flo and I were able to go to the 'hairdresser's place of magic and wizardry' thanks to a cancellation and help from our good friends. I was able to get the gray washed away followed by a haircut, while Mom got a perm and a haircut. I thought this sign from clip-art said it perfectly. We have been going to the same hairdresser for a long time. We used to kid Flo about visiting NY not to see her daughter or grandkid, but really it was to get a perm from Kathy! When you added in the airfare[ back when Flo flew}, we joked about how expensive her curly hair was in reality. Watching her face is proof enough that she's in heaven's vestibule when she is sitting with her eyes closed under the heat of the warm hairdryer. Her words were, "This is better than going to Europe, or anywhere else in the world!"

Thumbs up!!

Wahoo!! At last!! Finally!!
Now please hum the tune from the movie, "Rocky" as you read the news:

The doctor's office took x-rays again[60 days after the dreaded fall], and there is positive evidence of good bone growth. And so, I can begin some weight bearing physical therapy, and start to resume my former life which included 'WALKING'!!

Slow and steady...I'm ready!!

Random thoughts in random order.

Another holiday is history.

I finished The Twilight Saga.

My orthopedic doctor appointment is tomorrow and I'm hoping for a green light to start walking again.

Many of my friends are on vacation; Most are traveling toward warmer weather.

I am close to 50 per cent stats on my computer hearts game.

No one loves you like your dog.

I know better than to ever say, "What else can happen?"

I haven't been to a movie in 2 years.

My deck furniture is out there [on the deck] in hopes of warmer weather.

My birdhouses have been cleaned out.

The cookie lady has dropped off baked goodies. Always a pleasant surprise.

Easter!!

HAppy Easter Everyone!!

What shall we call this variation of Murphy's law?

Murphy's Law is along the lines of...anything that could possibly go wrong...will go wrong.
Last night's strange happening has trumped the one before it, and leaves me wondering...what the hell???
First let me say that it is not uncommon for things to fly out of my hands! Lately though, there has been a poltergeist -type force that launches things into unbelievable tight spots. My living room sofa is a dual recliner similar to this picture except mine is brown. I have contacted the Guinness Book of World Records with my story because I believe that my record is unbeatable. Not only have the TV remotes and portable phones taken the 'Nestea Plunge' into the never-neverland of recliner hidey holes, but now the playoffs for 'unbelievable shots' is in progress. A couple of nights ago as I crawled into bed, there was a loud clunk as I pealed the covers back. I immediately recognized the sound as my IPOD hitting the radiator, and then the floor[ I assumed]. My bed is in a corner of the room with two walls as my headboard and side rail, and a baseboard radiator on each of those sides. I'm thinking, "Oh come on! Ease up a little, will ya?"
As I dig my hand between the wall and the bed to retrieve the IPOD, I can't seem to find it. What the ???
I get up, turn on the light, pull my mattress away from the wall, [flamingo style-one leg off the floor to protect my broken leg]and resume my search. The IPOD is nowhere to be seen..wait a minute...into the radiator I look...and there it is!! It must have slid horizontally into that one inch slot like a pole vaulter sailing over the bar with absolutely no room for error!!What are the odds?

So, I got the backscratcher out, and used it to push the IPOD to the edge of the heater, and onto the floor. Problem solved! Still in a state of shock that this could happen...but, whatever!!

Last night, after everything and everyone was in place for the night, I reached under my pillow for the remote control to the TV, and 'BANG!" a sound that I recognize as the remote hitting the
radiator and then the floor at the head of the bed, I'm thinking," Damn!" There was a slight sense of security though in knowing that there was no way that the remote could have fit through the small opening of the radiator. Right?? I reach between the wall and the bed in the floor/radiator area...and...what the??? On goes the light. I reach again. I pull the mattress away from the wall. A couple of swear words fly out of my mouth because...
There was no TV remote in sight...anywhere! No where!!! No how!! No way!!!ARRRHH-HH!
I was, at that point, thinking about the cowardly lion in The Wizard of Oz when he was repeating over and over again ..."I DO believe in spooks...I do...I do...I do believe in spooks!!" Where did the flipping remote go? And how did it happen?
Believing that I was not going to be able to solve the problem without injury, and Lord knows, I was not willing to chance the slightest injury to my mending broken leg, I got into the wheelchair and rolled over to the TV and shut it off. Manually!! [Remember when that was the only way to do that?] And back into bed, with visions of St Nic in my head...retrieving the remote for me in the morning. Another lesson in patience, and in the great big scheme of things, this is small stuff. It's just so mystifying! I'm left just shaking my head trying to think of a proper label for this phenomenon, 'cause it certainly surpasses Murphy's Law!! Any suggestions/help in coining this phrase?

Update: Nic was able to locate the TV remote in the plastic storage bin that was under the bed, but had 1-2 inches of the 36 inches sticking out at the head of the bed on the floor. So, the remote must have done a bank shot[like in billiards] off of the radiator and into the storage bin.
Can you believe it?

Over the river and through the woods...

Today, Nic drove us around the lake to shake off the boredom of our ‘cabin fever syndrome’. Neither Mom nor I are in a walking mode, and since I broke my right leg which is the car's ‘gas and brake’ pedal leg, I have also been removed from driving, too. As a result, it really puts the kibosh on getting out. Some sunshine...a bit of ice cream...wahoo!!
The lake was beautiful, the ice cream cone was delicious, and the change in scenery was soo-oo uplifting. Nic drove us to a state park where there was a waterfall that could be seen from the car. And it prompted a memory that is forever etched in my head. I began retelling it, ‘cause Flo was a part of it, and she said, “Oh yeah…I remember that!!”
I was a transplant [from NJ} to the Central NY area back in the early 70’s.
Flo [ a widow up to that point] had recently married Ray and they journeyed with another couple to visit for a weekend. To pass some time, I took them to a State Park where I had been many times to enjoy Mother Nature’s wonders. There was a large waterfall, and trails through the woods, picnic facilities, swimming areas, etc. We were there to walk over the stone bridge and marvel at the beautiful waterfall. At which point, Sylvia asked,
“What are up at the top of those steps?”
“There are trails that you can follow leading to a bigger waterfall where the water is controlled by a dam.” [I had been there before].
Sylvia’s husband, George, said, “Well, wanna go for a walk? Let’s give it a try!! See how far we get!!”
I remember thinking that we most likely wouldn’t be venturing very far…
So, I in my mid-twenties, and the three of them in their mid- sixties, began the ascent of.... ‘The Stairway to Heaven’ and a bit of adventure.
Ray, who had rheumatoid arthritis , found a perfect walking stick, and George with his compelling sense of humor kept us laughing along the path.
The path…the path…did the path just end? A dead end? That’s weird.
We retraced our steps and took a different fork in the trail.
We never crossed paths with any other people.
We never found the waterfall by the dam.
Round and round in the never ending maze of the forest, I was the guide who was praying for help to anyone in the great beyond, while for two hours, we went for a walk[!!] in the woods. It was not a good time. Thank goodness it was daylight.
But it was an eternity! Not to mention the many, varied, and unusual possibilities surging through my head that could have ended up as our ‘fate.
My Tarzan/Jane, “Hell-ooo-oooo!” brought no response. Probably scared some forest dwellers.
Somehow, I believe that in repressing the whole rotten experience, I can’t remember how we found our way out. I do recall Ray kissing the hood of the car upon our return to it. Perhaps he wondered if he would ever see it again. I know that it crossed my mind.
In retrospect, it was a funny story that we laughed about. NOT!!!
And I will tell you I am a huge believer in “Perspective is Everything”.
So, it goes without saying , that little walk in the woods certainly gave new meaning to:
“Want to go for a walk?”

Uhh-hh...I don't think so!!

Can you see the irony?

When I was a freshman in college, I pretty much went to most of my classes. But there was a spring day in May that Janet and I decided to seek adventure other than the 8 AM astronomy class. We were even in the parking lot at school, and while chatting about 'stuff', she asked about my brother's success at a game show the day before. I had called Paul the night before to ask him how he and Nan had done in New York City at an audition for the TV show "Dreamhouse".

"We won six rooms of furniture and we go back tomorrow morning for the seventh game, which is the grand prize...the house!"

"Okay, now tell me what really happened." said the disbelieving sister.

"It's the truth. We taped 3 shows and each show had 2 games. So, we won 6 games, and we go back tomorrow for the last game...which will be 'the house'!"

So, back to the college parking lot at 8AM .[And the astronomy class that we really weren't totally motivated to attend...I, personally, would have rather watched paint dry!!] .I relayed to Janet that my brother and sister-in-law were on their way back to NYC to tape the final show.

Now, truthfully, I can't remember whose idea it was to cut class and go and watch the taping, but the next thing I knew: We were driving out of the parking lot on our way to NYC. We had enough gas to get there and $7.00 between us, and we also had to find out where the 'Dreamhouse' studio was located. These were the days before cell phones, GPS systems, laptops, etc.

We encountered 2 phone booths that didn't work[ now there are only a few of them], and then were finally able to get directions to the studio. We parked the car in a parking garage that you paid on the way out, and found our way there just in the nick of time. We were seated in the balcony, and the taping began. I'm thinking that the host acknowledged that my brother's family was in the balcony, and then..."Here we go!"

All I can remember from that point on was that the game ended in a TIE and there was going to be one tie-breaker question that would decide it all.

"Name one of the three planets that has no moons."

Buzzzz...Paul..."Venus"

"You're right! You win!! Congratulations"

Followed by dancing and hooplah in the balcony!!

Thankfully, Janet and I were able to borrow enough money to get the car out, and buy gas to get back to NJ.

The 'ironic part' was detailed in a follow up article in the local newspaper that quoted my brother saying, "I heard the question, and gazed up in the balcony where my sister was sitting, and in a split second guessed 'Venus'!!"

Yes, I had cut an astronomy class to attend the taping.

And it was a good thing he wasn't counting on me for the answer. Because college astronomy was the only class that I have ever failed!!! And had to retake it!

I find it kind of ironic that the tie-breaker turned out to be an astronomy question. And how happy was I that it wasn't me that had to give an answer??

'Out of this world' happy!!

My brother and sister-in-law became aware of just how much money it was going to cost to pay the taxes on the 7 rooms of furniture. So they donated two rooms [a nursery and ??I forget the second] and opted for the cash award [I'm thinking it was like $20,000...remember that it was the 60's!!]instead of the house. Many features were extra...like a piece of land to build it on, as well as many other extras like landscaping and things beyond the basics of plumbing , elec, etc.They did have a great experience and came away with some furniture and some cash, too.