Archive for the ‘Boomer Musings’ Category

Some days the weight of the world seems to be too much. I watch too much news or I debate too many negative topics and then whammo, decompression time is needed. And that means right now! I have found five things that keep me grounded.

Gardening:

I love gardening. Whenever some issue needs some sorting out I put on my garden hat, grab my gloves, clogs and tools. Out I go, there is always something to do in the garden no matter what season I am in.

A great thing about gardening is that it is just outside my door. I do not need special gym clothes or shoes to go outside. The fresh air clears my head and after a while I relax. With my dog at my feet I sit on the garden bench to survey our hard work. Mine the garden, hers……keeping the squirrels and lizards at bay. A very symbiotic relationship.

Walking:

This is right up there with gardening for clearing my head and being relaxing. I used to be satisfied just walking in the neighborhood but I need a good long walk so now I go to the local state park. I head out most days for the long walk and stop when my head is clear. My walking companion, my dog, is good for my soul too. A dog is an integral part of my decompressing. When I get home I am ready to take on the world.

Sewing:

I love to sew or do crafts. Cross-stitching is my craft of choice. Something I can do when being a couch potato. I have never been good at just sitting still so there has to be something to do while I am watching TV with my hubby and girl dog. Making clothes or quilting are fun projects too. Sewing is so relaxing. Like gardening you can see what you have produced immediately. It takes my mind of things I can not control.

Research and Writing:

I put these two together because once I start researching then it just has to be written down. It doesn’t matter the topic. It can me anything that has hit my curiosity bone from a quote I heard to full blown historical research. No matter I am out on the Information Highway, pulling out books or whatever to get the answer. I do not quit until I have the answers! I can get so absorbed that I forget time and space for days at a time. But when I process it all I am ready to face the world again.

Writing is fun. I can write for my blog, about a specific topic or as I piecing together ideas for a novella, I have one rolling around in my head right now. I have to be in a “flow” to write so it is critical I have released anything on my mind to get in that space.

All five of these decompressing tools work. The pay off is after I am done I am ready again for another run at life. I call it my internal housecleaning. I have either exercised my brain or my body. Both of which are necessary for a good night’s sleep. Sweet dreams!

“We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves, otherwise we harden”

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe~

I am reading a book by Noah Smithwick entitled “The Evolution of State or Recollections of Old Texas Days”. Don’t ask me what got me going on this because sometimes I have no idea why I pick a book up but this guy kept a diary when he was living in Texas in the 1800s. I came across a paragraph where he is describing a wedding feast that all the guests are enjoying themselves and then he writes they were enjoying themselves so much that they, “trip the light fantastic”. Well that got my attention as I have heard that recently in Rock music lore but where did that phrase originate?

It means to dance in a imaginative or fantastic way. But who first use it “This apparently obscure expression originates from the works of John Milton. In the masque Comus, 1637, he used the lines:

Come, knit hands, and beat the ground,
In a light fantastic round.”

That led me to wonder about some other sayings like, “make a beeline”. Which references to, “that a bee, having found a source of nectar, goes directly, in a straight line, back to the hive to inform the other bees.”

Have you wonder about phrases? Here are few that caught my attention.

“Bite the Bullet”: This old saying means to grin and bear a painful situation. It comes from the days before anesthetics. A soldier about to undergo an operation was given a bullet to bite.

“What the Dickens!”: This old saying does not come from the writer Charles Dickens (1812-1870). It is much older than him! It has been around since at least the 16th century. Originally ‘Dickens’ was another name for the Devil.

Or have you heard,

“Straight from the horses’s mouth”: You can tell a horse’s age by examining its teeth. A horse dealer may lie to you but you can always find out the truth ‘from the horse’s mouth’

or this one,

He is “Mad as a Hatter” : Some people say the phrase comes from the fact that in the 18th and 19th centuries hat makers used mercury nitrate in their work. Exposure to this chemical does indeed send you mad. However according to some people the origin of this phrase is much older. Hatter is a corruption of the Saxon word ‘atter’, which meant adder or viper. Furthermore ‘mad’ originally meant poisonous. So if you were mad as an atter you were as ‘poisonous’ (bad tempered or aggressive) as an atter (adder). It goes to show that often it is impossible to be certain where old sayings come from.

You probably have heard a few sayings too, we all have but it is always interesting to find their origin, is it not?

The last time I heard a reference the “trip the light fantastic was in the song by Procol Harem, “A Whiter Shade of Pale”, in part the lyrics are:

We skipped the light fandango
turned cartwheels ‘cross the floor
I was feeling kinda seasick
but the crowd called out for more
The room was humming harder
as the ceiling flew away
When we called out for another drink
the waiter brought a tray (words by Keith Reid)

It reminds me that what is old becomes new given enough time to pass. It was a “red letter day” for me learn that John Milton of the 1600s was the originator of “trip the light fantastic”. Love it!

John Milton, (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet

You ever have one of those moments. You feel like you can not hold it in for another second, that it feels like it will just spill out, then it does…

I need a book club!! I miss a good book club. Not a group where all the members get together like a tea party, gab about whatever but a real true blue book club.

You read a book, you review the book then you find out if there are other books you might like. You find out if there are authors you have missed or new writings to explore. And the new writings can be old writings, like I got obsessed with John Buchan who began writing in the early 1900s.

John Buchan

But when I discovered him I was simply amazed that I was missing these good books. I found him through the Kindle online book club. Then realized I had one of his books on my bookshelf! Needless to say I now have read quite a few of his books.

And who hasn’t heard of Stephen King?

Stephen King

The great thing about King is he can appeal to just about anyone. I have my eye on his latest book, “11/22/63”. Being a history buff (why I like John Buchan) I am looking forward to how he ties together when JFK was slain and what happens when LBJ became President, only as Stephen King can tell a story.

I miss the kind of explorations that come from real serious book clubs. One time I went to a book group in Salt Lake City Utah. It was great! We read several books by local Utah writers. Each book was read for about a two week period then the group met with the author who shared what they were inspired to communicate to the reader and then the reader was inspired to share too. The readers were both men and women.

Then there are the other kind. This might be a fit for you. For me it is not. A group that is only women who get together and gab about anything but the book. Plan little get togethers, outings, etc that have nothing to do with the book. If you are looking for a book club that offers this kind of thing then this is for you!

In this space of my life I am busy with so much that I do not have to play like that. But I still crave a good group discussion of a book. I joined the Kindle Book Club but can not find my niche there yet. I hope it works out. I don’t mind doing an online book club but I would like to go hear authors speak. Actually I want to be in a book store or library surrounded with the written word. There is an ambiance that feels, smells, and looks like a place that readers will go.

I love libraries and book stores. People from all walks of life are there perusing books. The one thing all the people have in common is the love of a good read. I think what got me missing a good book club is I miss talking to others about what I am reading. When a author writes to me they are inviting me into a place that will transport my mind to travel in time and space to another world, their world. I love that about books. From Stephen King to John Buchan, no matter!

It is time to actively pursue a good book club…I think I will see what I can find! Wish me luck!

I love my morning walks. I go to the same two places. Our city park and our State Park. Today it was Fort Toulouse-Jackson Park that I visited. Every once and awhile the reality of the history of the place moves me. I stopped to read the marker today.

In 1717 the confluence of the Tallapposa and Coosa Rivers have become the literal center of the Creek Nation. I thought about that today. I rounded the area where the reconstructed French fort had been built back then.

Marker, Fort Toulouse-Jackson State Park

The original was erected about 290 years ago. That was when the French were players with the U.S in North America. They came up from Mobile built the fort named for the Comte de Toulouse (son of King Louis XIV). I was reminded that this was a major trading point with the Creek Nation. The Fort was also referred to as the “Post of the Alabama” named after the Indians who lived there. I had never thought about the place being the “Post of the Alabama”.

That was in the days before there was real push by the United States to “relocate” the Creek Nation. Enter Andrew Jackson with his Tennessee Militia, his mandate to pushed out the Creeks at the battle of Horseshoe Bend. Then he came back to the fort site to sign treaties.

Reconstructed Fort Toulouse

Lots of stuff happened at this park I walk in most mornings. I keep finding something new every time I do. Today I thought about Andrew Jackson riding in on his horse and meeting with the Creek leaders. I could visualize that all these people walked here where I walked.

Of course like all my thoughts I began to think about you, where you all live and what happened there. If you want, please share.

I am a product of the times. I have an smartphone, I am a member of the Iphone clique. I use my smartphone for just about anything under the sun. I check my business accounts, read the daily news, check the weather, play games and surf the Web. I keep my notes for errands, business or other ideas that pop in my head. I use Facetime to “see” the grandkids. And rarely do I use my phone for phone calls. There is that occasional call that needs to be made. For example, yesterday I hopped on the phone because it was important to talk to my grandson.

My number one pet peeve with cellular phones is driving while talking or texting on the phone. When did we get so busy that we are glued to our phone in traffic? And who do we need to talk with such urgency? Is driving to and from wherever we are going that boring?

I don’t like talking on the phone. I rarely do. There was a time I would talk for a couple of hours with my sister on the phone. But I would plug in ear phones and be doing something else while we talked. I cannot imagine stopping and sitting to talk on the phone for more than 10 minutes which, seems like forever to me. And reception is an issue with smartphones. Every once and awhile you just drop a call. So then I have to wonder how far did I get talking before the call got dropped, only to I start all over!

But you may say, what about the kids or family or friends? Well the kids are on Facebook so I talk to them there. And grandchildren I make appointments with to talk on Facetime from time to time. Or email them. And even while talking business I just get it done and get off the call, if I can make contact by email I will do that over making a call.

I do not know what to say on the phone, I can’t see the person, I can’t get a feel for them on the phone. So I sit stalling out while the conversation usually dies out, I feel like I should be doing something. Anything. So if you are waiting for me get on the phone it usually isn’t going to happen.

I wondered where my dislike for phone calls come from. I think it is the ability to do Facetime, email, Instant Messaging or other social media exchanges. I think phone calls are passe, well at least for me.

I use my smartphone ever single day. I carry it around faithfully. But not for calls. For the news, weather, Itunes or games. I check my email, Facebook, take pictures, or notes. I check the bank, the Internet or go to Amazon. I even explore the universe on the App named “Star Walk”. All in a day’s adventure on my phone but rarely do I make a call or get a call.

Am I the only one who is not into phone calling?

He was the leader of the free world through one of the most momentous times of history. America will remember him as a legendary President who did great things. His wife would have another picture of him. He chose his wife carefully. They both had a long and stable family background and yet, for 30 years he betrayed her.

When looking at pictures of Eleanor Roosevelt you see a woman determined, she did not age well by our modern standard of beauty but she left a legacy few of us can measure up to. Married to the famous Franklin Delano Roosevelt she spent four terms as First Lady in the White House. She visited many countries, her husband relied on her for his eyes and ears to foreign and domestic problems. And yet….he betrayed her most sacred trust. 

Now I understand the determination of her look when she is working hard. She was burying herself in work to deal with her personal life. Eleanor Roosevelt did much to give us the popular image that her husband gained. And yet Roosevelt’s almost thirty-year affair with Lucy Page Mercer (his wife’s personal secretary, how convenient right?) began around 1916. When Mrs. Roosevelt discovered love letters she confronted her husband and offered him a divorce. Roosevelt promised to stop seeing Lucy Mercer. History tells us he did not stop seeing her.

I do not know the personal reasons why they did not divorce but I do know that it had a profound affect on Eleanor. How could it not? She became extremely active in social programs setting a precedent for First Ladies, she developed deep and abiding friendship with other women. And she changed her relationship with her husband to a working relationship.

I remember Roosevelt for his social programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps that operated from 1933 to 1942. Also for the Social Security Act that he signed into law on August 14, 1935. There were the fireside chats, around thirty radio addresses given from 1933 to 1942. However, few people realized it was Roosevelt that authorized the internment of Japanese Americans with Executive Order 9066 that was issued February 19, 1942 or that he denied the German Jews to enter America because of the Great Depression. The U.S. Congress had instilled tough immigration quotas and the German Jews, he felt, were not considered an endangered minority (guess we learned differently).

But the one thing about that period of history that stands out is the life long betrayal in his marriage. Again, I do not know what went on between the Roosevelts but I know how that kind of betrayal affects people. I do know it affected Eleanor Roosevelt. And the absolute betrayal that Lucy Mercer was with her husband when he died. Most people equate betrayal as that caused from a sexual relationship but I believe that the act of dying is the most intimate experience two people share. To share that with the “other woman” was the absolute act of betrayal.

Betrayal, the absolute breach of confidence and duplicity is the one thing that I remember most about the White House years of the Roosevelts.

~Betrayal is the only truth that sticks~

Arthur Miller