tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58200150910567588262024-03-19T03:46:03.971-07:00just in time rhymeI am determined to survive whatver debris life throws my way with my sense of humor intact. I'm a 52 year old woman with disabling MS and, after trying to fight it out by myself, have recently moved into a nursing home. This is the story of my effort to get through life while living here. My one talent and redeeming trait is that I enjoy writing nonsense verse, which I will share with you.
all entries © Deborah Taylor, 2010 All rights reserveddialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.comBlogger411125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-22148229057379155362011-12-07T16:37:00.000-08:002011-12-07T17:34:15.469-08:00A Christmas party at an old folk's home is quite a sight. There is a new executive director here, though, and she seems to have given it a valient try. The band was actually pretty good - two guitars, a drum set, keyboard, and clarinet. They played all the s standard Christmas tunes and some folk classics. Last year all they had was one guy screeching out solos, accompanting himself on a keyboard. <br /><br />Santa made his obligatory appearance. They need to either gert a new Santa suit and a new beard, though, or dry clean the ones they have, 'cause Santa was looking right scruffy. <br /><br />The amusing part about this attempt at Christmas glee is the way the old folks react to it - or, rather, the way they DON'T react to it. They all just sit around in their wheelchairs and look at the band. They don't smile, they don't talk, they don't sway to the music or tap their feet or hum along - nothing. They just stare at the band.dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-73036551108061231472011-12-06T14:18:00.000-08:002011-12-06T15:32:33.151-08:00Rain! What a pain!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmBwLH7KPLV7Vv9HERtiSIPgiHO5l56aPOu7Qk5ckzV3e9bJVpOpxhORohU7wZwyieNK4rj23YbLRSa7AO5Idxr_Pxh50ln4W_cN5obwUJXkfKbxM8onFHtSuJT6HgVowSCa3Xjl8iu8/s1600/thumbnail.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 160px; height: 149px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmBwLH7KPLV7Vv9HERtiSIPgiHO5l56aPOu7Qk5ckzV3e9bJVpOpxhORohU7wZwyieNK4rj23YbLRSa7AO5Idxr_Pxh50ln4W_cN5obwUJXkfKbxM8onFHtSuJT6HgVowSCa3Xjl8iu8/s400/thumbnail.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5683143507876685314" /></a><br />Most folks do not like the rain,<br />In fact, they think it sucks.<br />I think NO ONE likes the rain, <br />Except, perhaps, for ducks.<br /> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjanBCLq0CNSUmte1-eTpVbs8aqoALvduUiH3VSZhThiiplHf9UWf2RfzBv6XDUrXAAUTdVmHfkWBEXQkVGIqv0nRJybf9X0fsYo_3vaJm7c1CcxrjWhigdqDFWBWfLtG910iRHaeLmyOg/s1600/cartoon-cartoons-duck_%257Eu17576608.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 138px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjanBCLq0CNSUmte1-eTpVbs8aqoALvduUiH3VSZhThiiplHf9UWf2RfzBv6XDUrXAAUTdVmHfkWBEXQkVGIqv0nRJybf9X0fsYo_3vaJm7c1CcxrjWhigdqDFWBWfLtG910iRHaeLmyOg/s200/cartoon-cartoons-duck_%257Eu17576608.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5683146164734493682" /></a><br /><br />“Never run in the rain with your socks on.” <br />― Billie Joe Armstrong<br /><br />What did Santa Claus’s wife say during a thunderstorm? <br />Come and look at the rain, dear.<br /><br />What kind of umbrella does the Queen of England carry on a rainy day? <br />A wet one<br /><br />Why do mother kangaroos hate rainy days?<br />Because then the children have to play inside<br /><br />There was a communist named Rudolph. One day he looked out the window and said, “It looks like a storm is coming.” “No it isn t,” said his wife. “Besides, how would you know?” “Because,” he responded, “Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear.” <br /><br /><br />I think that maybe the rain has rotted my brain!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgucuDaYqOkfN_Njv8aaz3l-1WDKZ11MI3BZ1sUrqO9dFPb-TcLOTKTcXcedHMaNpWMuqI1MPmt9jemYpqtBvEf9ELbSpu5Y8h_La4gGhZL6cWDX_jnrGv2xKTb0wQpXf68t0BkvmtRqV4/s1600/th_umbrella-11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 159px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgucuDaYqOkfN_Njv8aaz3l-1WDKZ11MI3BZ1sUrqO9dFPb-TcLOTKTcXcedHMaNpWMuqI1MPmt9jemYpqtBvEf9ELbSpu5Y8h_La4gGhZL6cWDX_jnrGv2xKTb0wQpXf68t0BkvmtRqV4/s200/th_umbrella-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5683157272865109874" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiF3ZDdIZS12tF-WwDLc7mE6m4QELIN0nUTgpA76dU9BSOyPiAapV5UG7rViG_UFmiSXdrgkXYUsaxbOpQuK_ljA5C608fEbIypGeOE_fWhozRMBD8tuFN3YWxqks1nySqjvwpBQsh-SI/s1600/th_Rain.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 96px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiF3ZDdIZS12tF-WwDLc7mE6m4QELIN0nUTgpA76dU9BSOyPiAapV5UG7rViG_UFmiSXdrgkXYUsaxbOpQuK_ljA5C608fEbIypGeOE_fWhozRMBD8tuFN3YWxqks1nySqjvwpBQsh-SI/s320/th_Rain.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5683158338051872162" /></a><br /><br />Hmmmmm... I just found a reason for hope! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRopLfnqodyYJunQjCtKIMiKS9G7b3OkhodiOdbijxKXLoDatvYe9kYy9WBoQvUk0CYvKaSklMEQBxH8F8IKZLCH4X425jWbtI8gtZuNiRar2Ac6gedcrfvIlA5hjsXeizAE5xdJWmB1c/s1600/chair.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 170px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRopLfnqodyYJunQjCtKIMiKS9G7b3OkhodiOdbijxKXLoDatvYe9kYy9WBoQvUk0CYvKaSklMEQBxH8F8IKZLCH4X425jWbtI8gtZuNiRar2Ac6gedcrfvIlA5hjsXeizAE5xdJWmB1c/s200/chair.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5683161057132563682" /></a>dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-20031436947837408262011-12-05T15:17:00.000-08:002011-12-05T16:09:07.553-08:00Winchester, cont.Back to Winchester...<br /><br />Sue swears the parsonage was haunted. She was 2-6 when we lived there, and can remember sitting calmly on her bed and talking to two children with red hair that floated around outside her window. Not to put too much stock in this, but we WERE immedialely up the street from the hospital... and it WAS a really old house with lots of history...<br /><br />But, come to think of it, both of her older siblings DID make her watch <a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/dark-shadows-2005">Dark Shadows</a> every afternoon.<br /><br />It was a pretty, nice, moderate sized house on a good street. The house had a great front porch, on which we played "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_in_Space">Lost in Space</a>"<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGH7zdZsYrgreBf7BYtDb20SE1tDSEqOs1p7fiwfyle56Pfdu_98C2GzcDYVhZNEt_eLd6fLso1SxpOXROGCgy5nx2v98GWcBUqxYVlUvFs36wI9jBtyN3uyMv0WX8hyphenhyphenCmQOcvjaonlUs/s1600/200px-Lost_In_Space.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGH7zdZsYrgreBf7BYtDb20SE1tDSEqOs1p7fiwfyle56Pfdu_98C2GzcDYVhZNEt_eLd6fLso1SxpOXROGCgy5nx2v98GWcBUqxYVlUvFs36wI9jBtyN3uyMv0WX8hyphenhyphenCmQOcvjaonlUs/s400/200px-Lost_In_Space.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682798545850343618" /></a><br /><br />I was always Dad or Don, because I was oldest. Ed was Will Robinson. Jennifer Costello was all the women. Sue, being youngest, was the robot.dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-13931633008132314842011-12-02T15:17:00.000-08:002011-12-03T16:26:10.890-08:00WinchesterBack to parsonages-<br /><br />After Roanoke, we moved to <a href="http://www.marketstreetumc.org/">Market Street Church</a> in Winchester. Market Street Church had been through the Civil War. Church ownership changed from North to South dozens of times - often even several times a day. There were bloodstains on the wooden steps up to the balcony, because the balcony was used as a hospital. The walls of one of basement Sunday School rooms wouldn't hold paint. Freshly applied paint immediately peeled off, because, during the war, blocks of salt were stored in the room.<br /><br />The house was old. We had two stories containing 4 bedrooms and an unfinished basement. <br /><br />The basement had two rooms. One was a big room with a tile floor. It was fairly dark and dingy. The other room had a dirt floor, and, according to my parents, had once been a root cellar. Considering the civil war history of the church, however, we children preferred to believe that it was a secret confederate cemetery. We dug for bones on many occasions, but never found any.<br /><br />The house was fair sized. It had both a full formal dining room and an eat-in kitchen. There was room in the living room for my piano, which we bought with Dad's <a href="http://justintimerhyme.blogspot.com/2010/05/weddings.html">wedding money</a>.<br /><br />It was a nice old house. You could tell it was nice because it had cut glass doorknobs. It had 4 bedrooms, so we each had our own room. (Granny didn't live with us then.) Methodist parsonages are furnished. My room had a great big, antique double bed with a huge headboard and a huge old chest of drawers and a large bureau with an attached mirror. Having been totally self-absorbed at that age, I have no idea what kind of furniture my siblings or parents had.dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-62765576989817550082011-11-30T16:08:00.000-08:002011-11-30T17:09:49.074-08:00Never again! I promise!!If you don't believe-- in God, in the Nature Spirit, in Kismit, in Buddha,<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzG0fqcjxQWbFfPEcjITbnRO0v3th8GRcoecae8B-zRNGT-A8dNABow1HnSGGMNvVyb9hJZGnbx9IIOvA7l2vArWLI_RM2-deBfkj_mrg-Ud5DLr_o93_93uVES-iUMgtvfW5-wNMbc3Q/s1600/buddha3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 220px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzG0fqcjxQWbFfPEcjITbnRO0v3th8GRcoecae8B-zRNGT-A8dNABow1HnSGGMNvVyb9hJZGnbx9IIOvA7l2vArWLI_RM2-deBfkj_mrg-Ud5DLr_o93_93uVES-iUMgtvfW5-wNMbc3Q/s400/buddha3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680947543555872706" /></a> in Tao, in Allah, in Krishna... if you believe there is no power out there to judge you or to keep you on the straight and narrow, then have I ever got a story that's going to make you quake in your booties!<br /><br />I wrote a fairly mean blog post last time, detailing an unfortunate, embarrassing incident which will never, ever be mentioned again, but which happened to my saintlike mother. Immediately after I'd published the mean post, I browsed, went to an infected site, caught a horrible virus, couldn't use the computer, and paid <a href="">Geeks Mobile USA </a>$150.00 to fix it. (Ron had said he'd look at it when he got back in town, but I was impatient...<br /><br />So, if you know what is good for you, respect your mother.dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-90487843459592373562011-11-28T12:47:00.000-08:002011-11-28T12:54:10.688-08:00New house RoanokeI think I'll go back to writing about the avarious parsonages we lived in while I was growing up. I was writing that series a couple months ago, and it seemed to be slightly amusing (as parsonages usually are!). Apparently, however, I had not gotten very far into the series, because I seem to have ended it in "old house <a href="http://www.roanokeva.gov/WebMgmt/ywbase61b.nsf/DocName/$home">Roanoke</a>", which is a place in which I lived from ages 6 to 8.<br /><br />"New house <a href="http://www.roanokeva.gov/WebMgmt/ywbase61b.nsf/DocName/$home">Roanoke</a>" was a lot larger and more suitable for our growing family. Ed had his own room, and Granny always had her own room, so I guess we had 4 bedrooms... unless, that is, they perhaps turned some small room that wasn't supposed to be a bedroom into Granny's room. They did that sometimes.<br /><br />All I know for sure is that I HAD TO SHARE MY ROOM WITH THE DRATTED BABY!! Can you believe it???!!! How could my parents have forced someone as special and as adorable as I was to share a living space with an annoying little baby?<br /><br />We had an outdoor patio attached to the house. It was a concrete slab with a steel grate that surrounded it and no roof. I firmly believed that, if my parents really loved me, they would enclose that area and make it into a bedroom for me. When I played on it, I would deccide where to put all my furniture.<br /><br />The house was located on a steep hill in what was known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundhill,_Roanoke,_Virginia">Round Hill neighborhood.</a> We were about halfway up the hill. One of my earliest memories is of poor Mom getting out of the car on an icy, snowy day, and slipping, and sliding on her rear end through several streets worth of yards and pavement. dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-27812121447870684972011-11-26T15:07:00.000-08:002011-11-26T16:12:20.471-08:00Hairspray<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0uajSyT47JJyTMjRfx2QqrgDzZ-hb-C9obPXuaGInvNhkgnfJN5lk3AvJpZVYChXGdbWY5qj1bjniOGDZgIzCQqXBG_sHfbd72A1BRDaP5G47OVU-C1vum7jhfICcAAYDaNxsg94gqM/s1600/85625a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 148px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0uajSyT47JJyTMjRfx2QqrgDzZ-hb-C9obPXuaGInvNhkgnfJN5lk3AvJpZVYChXGdbWY5qj1bjniOGDZgIzCQqXBG_sHfbd72A1BRDaP5G47OVU-C1vum7jhfICcAAYDaNxsg94gqM/s200/85625a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679451908591324194" /></a><br />I went and saw <a href="http://www.signature-theatre.org/shows/hairspray">Hairspray</a> at the <a href="http://www.signature-theatre.org/">Signature Theater</a> this afternoon. It was fantastic. The music, dancing, singing, and acting were all great. It was a whole lot of fun.<br /><br />If you've what "Hairspray" is, it's a musical about a plump teenage girl, Tracy, who dreams of dancing on a local TV dance show. When Tracy dances on the show, she becomes an overnight celebrity. She then manages to integrate the show. (This takes place in the early '60's.)<br /><br />In the movie, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000237/">John Travolta</a> played Tracy's mother.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.signature-theatre.org/">Signature</a> is where I went and saw "<a href="http://www.signature-theatre.org/shows/the-hollow">The Hollow</a>" back in October. I did not like that show much, but I think it was more that I actually didn't like the show itself, as written, rather than not liking the production.dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-73884565259741267512011-11-25T16:13:00.000-08:002011-11-25T17:02:08.965-08:00I just re-read yesterday's entry, and it consists entirely of an extravaganza of superlatives! I guess that is what happens when I vent my enthusiasm enthusiastically.<br /><br />Today I braved the mobs and went to Ballston Mall.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jAPTXMGC5omts4jqx6TohHKgo9-ybIxfLeB_QGnN48PTv2IT6H7S0ZOp1FJL4TeyeOAIDcjG584YeEHT6xrhnTEwad_58kzVIl0hi70pm6unzdG1B3j7f0q40Thzy1KSA_hfi6pMnXw/s1600/thumbnailCA7012IQ.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 187px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jAPTXMGC5omts4jqx6TohHKgo9-ybIxfLeB_QGnN48PTv2IT6H7S0ZOp1FJL4TeyeOAIDcjG584YeEHT6xrhnTEwad_58kzVIl0hi70pm6unzdG1B3j7f0q40Thzy1KSA_hfi6pMnXw/s200/thumbnailCA7012IQ.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679094997616058290" /></a><br /><br />No, contrary to the picture, I didn't go to buy stuff. I went to the movies. Massive droves of other people had come to the mall, though, and my assumption is that they had come to shop. The aisles between stores were "plum full" of people. There were even a lot more people in the movie than there usually are.<br /><br />The movie I saw was "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Descendants(film)">The Descendants</a>. It was excellent, but rather depressing. George Clooney is so adorable, however, that looking at him always cheers me right up!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1XdWKz7GjSQUmGsbQTI8ScMMDc-hf7R7_BiMbYgFDt9llZ_ROVmz91SYkrxxPtNPGn5ji7W3E_hMiByncuyZ1kIuoEggYYORe-371e7qqQaaoVDOilgPGp-dxr6j3TxwnowNLDRYg-vc/s1600/images.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1XdWKz7GjSQUmGsbQTI8ScMMDc-hf7R7_BiMbYgFDt9llZ_ROVmz91SYkrxxPtNPGn5ji7W3E_hMiByncuyZ1kIuoEggYYORe-371e7qqQaaoVDOilgPGp-dxr6j3TxwnowNLDRYg-vc/s200/images.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679102888269213762" /></a>dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-90302183972366219562011-11-24T15:16:00.000-08:002011-11-24T15:56:33.990-08:00Thanksgiving dinner<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3-f6NbdOsR_T3km2MxYcavOJpD5S_FhmnRYs2GNWb_JYOE78Ud5d40V1iy18o_dZF0iF92GLQabcI5-up_1OpfGioSkuMLktJttK7sUAFVwFiJHj7V2INg3ahqxdzCaJA5lxF3U0YVs/s1600/arg-pilgrim-w-turkey-url.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 112px; height: 124px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3-f6NbdOsR_T3km2MxYcavOJpD5S_FhmnRYs2GNWb_JYOE78Ud5d40V1iy18o_dZF0iF92GLQabcI5-up_1OpfGioSkuMLktJttK7sUAFVwFiJHj7V2INg3ahqxdzCaJA5lxF3U0YVs/s320/arg-pilgrim-w-turkey-url.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678705238358368018" /></a><br />We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It was an old time family Thanksgiving, just like we've had my whole life. Ron had it at his house, and it was absolutely lovely. Mom and Dad and Sue and I came, as did our dear friend Martha. <br /><br />Ron's house was beautiful - very tastefully decorated. I haven't been in there since David passed way, but Ron has done wonders cleaning out and simplifying, making the space very livable, comfortable, and attractive.<br /><br />Dinner was wonderful - turkey, gravy, dressing, rolls, green bean casserole, squash, pumpkin and apple pies, Whipped cream.<br /><br />Dinner was great, but mainly it was great to have all of us gathered around a big dining room table! We could have all eaten at the <a href="http://www.hermitage-nova.com/">Hermitage</a>, but it isn't even close to the same. Ron, thanksgiving was wonderful. <br /><br />Ron set a beautiful table, too, with the good china and<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charger_(table_setting)"> plate chargers</a> and fresh flowers.dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-56449137692011125662011-11-23T14:53:00.000-08:002011-11-23T15:26:08.859-08:00ThanksgivingIt's Thanksgiving eve, so I think I'll do a carol.<br /><br />TO: Hark, the Herald <br />Angels Sing<br /><br />Serve the bird with hot dressing,<br />Gravy covers everything,<br />Candied yams adorn the plate.<br />All this food will sure taste great.<br />Then we nap quite leisurely<br />While the game plays on TV.<br />Pilgrims, did you have a clue<br />What we would do to honor you?<br />Now that Thanksgiving is done<br />The Christmas season has begun.dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-80358199931198554942011-11-21T14:22:00.000-08:002011-11-21T16:41:52.249-08:00bedI got my new <a href="http://www.midwesternmedicalsupply.com/adjustable-homestyle-beds-c-21_44.htosCsid=divut7ugjip43u9hh58236qta5">bed</a> today! Doesn't it look comfortable?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsFRw8vfHZ6c3nvLfhgDbNUYX3qcVPSv7UGcR-TnVlXvOFA85CXySvV0doVQe_-8KgP38HLMpDBltQ9fWSBdFm0VPbI5xv61ARPYbFGZUxk1dlMlurqeIw5X3R8MXJD3usSvKml2VeCTk/s1600/phpThumb_generated_thumbnail.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 130px; height: 130px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsFRw8vfHZ6c3nvLfhgDbNUYX3qcVPSv7UGcR-TnVlXvOFA85CXySvV0doVQe_-8KgP38HLMpDBltQ9fWSBdFm0VPbI5xv61ARPYbFGZUxk1dlMlurqeIw5X3R8MXJD3usSvKml2VeCTk/s200/phpThumb_generated_thumbnail.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5677612909979955730" /></a><br /> <br /><br />I'd been sleeping on an old hospital bed. It was not a good hospital bed, either. It was just a 3" thick foam mattress covered with plastic that lay on a hard metal frame. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtlcJHl0ptBgU-Ix-1tFRcML1vzk6Eem1tk_8KNb3m0JVZ4nluQxhO8910pvdSDHhgu4IT6xXnOwmmDyNLZfKDzbkvRQ2uUM45E-V9sb4g6yRk1Tbn_0TEVHcnQoijLaHINj9G7Br4ZQo/s1600/is.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtlcJHl0ptBgU-Ix-1tFRcML1vzk6Eem1tk_8KNb3m0JVZ4nluQxhO8910pvdSDHhgu4IT6xXnOwmmDyNLZfKDzbkvRQ2uUM45E-V9sb4g6yRk1Tbn_0TEVHcnQoijLaHINj9G7Br4ZQo/s200/is.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5677610822841071970" /></a><br />I got the junk man to haul the old bed away. They took the old bed away before the new one came. It felt really strange to send my only bed out the door! <br /><br />Mom initiated this and purchased the bed. That was really nice of her.<br /><br />Although I'd "fall asleep" on that old bed, I never got a deep. restfull night's sleep. In fact, I think I've been going through life exhausted, because I fall asleep every time I sit in one place for long. Now if I'm in church or at the movies, that's fine. At least I guess it is. I don't think I snore when I just snooxe. But when I'm on Metro Access? It certainly proves how tired I've been, that I can fall asleep in the bumping and jostle and noise of metro acces.dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-15163427788460369162011-11-17T14:57:00.000-08:002011-11-17T16:21:01.666-08:00late October lament<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbz8z4NVM3y_tSNIm-ogSS76-RiGZJ7dvcpX1Poqijs5zl_16JxuNobI_E6cwwCNCVJ8873S-9LPG7Z435QKdBRxTh8a5qVl1kNqE843pz2J_QDxvSuAZ0vb1tCUkn-bUxC61LfdcaVc/s1600/cold.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 172px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbz8z4NVM3y_tSNIm-ogSS76-RiGZJ7dvcpX1Poqijs5zl_16JxuNobI_E6cwwCNCVJ8873S-9LPG7Z435QKdBRxTh8a5qVl1kNqE843pz2J_QDxvSuAZ0vb1tCUkn-bUxC61LfdcaVc/s200/cold.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676121064289710626" /></a><br />Wow, it sure is cold out. What a bummer. Time to dust off the scarves and mittens.<br />I bought a new winter coat this year. I really did need it... I have heavy, bulky coats that would be fine in a blizzard, but I didn't have a nice, ligtweight coat I could wear all day. I think last year I wore my leather jacket, but the jacket isn't all that warm.<br /><br />You know what? Come to think of it, I used to have a full length leather coat. I wonder what ever happened to it? In all the moving and breaking up the <a href="http://parktowersfallschurch.com/">apartment</a> and all, I just kinda lost track of stuff.<br /><br />It will be interesting to be <a href="http://www.emeritus.com/virginia/arlington/emeritus-arlington">here</a> on a busy city street and see what happens in the snow. At <a href="http://www.sunriseseniorliving.com/communities/sunrise-of-falls-church/Overview.aspx">Sunrise</a>, I looked out on a big field and park, which was pretty, but not much fun. Here there is heavy traffic, and people walking up and down the sidewalk all the time. <br /><br />There is a great place for chili, <a href="http://www.hardtimes.com/">Hard Times Cafe</a>, down in Clarendon, which is just one metro stop from here. That will be fun in the snow.<br /><br />I think I'll call this essay "winter is here, so grow up and make the best of it."dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-85749929167502683762011-11-16T15:27:00.000-08:002011-11-16T16:58:19.886-08:00dinnerI usually don't eat<a href="http://emeritus7.reachlocal.net/greater-washington-dc-assisted-living-communities?track=ASSISTEDLIVINGSERVICES"> <href="http: track="'ASSISTEDLIVINGSERVICES">here</a>, except for breakfast. Breakfast is fine. One can always get eggs or cereal, and toast, and danish, etc.<br /><br />Lunch is supposed to be the big meal of the day. Since lunch comes in the middle of the day, I find that I am usually out doing something else at noon, and therefore do not eat <a href="http://emeritus7.reachlocal.net/greater-washington-dc-assisted-living-communities?track=ASSISTEDLIVINGSERVICES">here</a>.<br /><br />By the end of the day, at dinner, I am just so fed up (<em>ha, ha - get it? "Dinner" and "fed-up"?) </em>with <a href="http://local.yahoo.com/info-56118625-emeritus-at-arlington-arlington;_ylt=AoRVba5saUCFeYePXSzsO4.HNcIF;_ylv=3?csz=Arlington%2C+VA">this place</a> that I'd rather go anyplace else in the world to eat. There is a great place that serves "choose your own" ingredients salads called <a href="http://sweetgreen.com/">Sweet Green</a> that I love. There is also a pizza place right down the street.<br /><br />But tonight, alas, it was rainy and cold. I spent the day getting to, seeing, and returning from the <a href="http://www.healthgrades.com/physician/dr-suneetha-manem-ypyjt/">doctor</a>. So I decided just to eat here. Alas. The main course was a fish paddy (like a square fish stick), 0n a dry bun, with a piece of American cheese and a small handfull of limp French fries. I asked for catsup to go with the fries, and was told they don't have any.<br />Here are some places to eat that might be better:<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 243px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675761104840984578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LMygKRqkZCfHmAe_X4aCwVoqSRtaex8nJcazKL45Rrarubnf3EbSLK4FVjyBLJuMYW_EtmWe49Pz8EdY-fsr87ez2tHJ1SHyd6Mjw0MMFaUUaBvJV-Pk_-rhCpq8rNXXMqYCg07hd9E/s400/bad-restaurant-name-19.jpg" /><br /><br /><div><u><span style="color:#0000ff;"></span></u></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivRZwThYViT65Mref-Fo_QCNWUHDl_Bp-XcINfAk6fC4VQdjn4e4ASfpfQ2BEnPghhtxH8oaFJ5pGANlrdvbvKrR72QhmHp9eRrG8ESqdsDRJydLz5hpiaGLqDU7hfQMzBg6GBMZN37LI/s1600/bad-restaurant-name-1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 327px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 258px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675759406434753730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivRZwThYViT65Mref-Fo_QCNWUHDl_Bp-XcINfAk6fC4VQdjn4e4ASfpfQ2BEnPghhtxH8oaFJ5pGANlrdvbvKrR72QhmHp9eRrG8ESqdsDRJydLz5hpiaGLqDU7hfQMzBg6GBMZN37LI/s400/bad-restaurant-name-1.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><p></p><br /><p></p>dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-78022440839138373762011-11-15T14:16:00.000-08:002011-11-15T16:47:14.520-08:00VernaPersonality Profile - <br />Verna<br />Verna is one of my aides. She works the 11PM-7AM shift. I work with her alot, because she is among the crew that puts me to bed at night and is also amember of the crew that gets me up in the AM.<br /><br />An older, thin woman, Verna is good-hearted and honest and tries her hardest - which is sort of what makes her so gently funny. Because, in a way, Verna is sort of really out of it. Her conciousness is usually out looping around the universe somewhere. She's has a laid-back, cool personality, but cares adamently about the well-being of her charges. It's just that, a lot of the time, she has no idea what it is that they actually need.<br /><br />One of the unique things about her is the way she communicates. She is from <a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/jamaica">Jamaica</a>, and speaks an "island" English which is difficult to understand. As a matter of fact, though she may talk and talk, no one ever has the slightest idea what she is saying. Which she seems to just take calmly in stride...!<br /><br />Once she gets a correct phrase in her head, though, she uses it over and over, with appropriate variations. For instance, the crew uses a lift machine to lift me out of the wheelchair and put me in bed. Once they lower me to the bed, Verna always says, "good landing!" One day they let me loose too early, though, and I fell to the bed from about two feet up. As I lay there, shocked and suprised, Verna looked down at me, and "crash landing", she calmly said.<br /><br />Although Verna doesn't look or act old, Joey, a fellow on her shift tells me that she is in her 60's. She has an afro wig with long rings of black curls. Joey says he has seen her without her wig, and she has short, gray hair.dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-71843366889709593282011-11-13T15:19:00.000-08:002011-11-13T17:16:27.245-08:00commitment<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2PCGzze8Xw9O3W6c0QiZLKrVM1sFdK_ooAzzKGXrmYJnTo1732C6qjE14aDwD674XXRZ_mtRvtuVXiyiXmulDKjLtoiW0YanLwRuwTrxE8L7GJIlS0bsJnIq-is2WWlphMaWwcT28D4/s1600/01-large-cartoon-cash.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 254px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2PCGzze8Xw9O3W6c0QiZLKrVM1sFdK_ooAzzKGXrmYJnTo1732C6qjE14aDwD674XXRZ_mtRvtuVXiyiXmulDKjLtoiW0YanLwRuwTrxE8L7GJIlS0bsJnIq-is2WWlphMaWwcT28D4/s400/01-large-cartoon-cash.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674651090427491474" /></a><br />It was commitment Sunday at <a href="http://www.christserves.org/site/">church</a> today. Commitment Sunday is the Sunday when the congregants tell the church the amount of money they promise to give over te coming year. Being a preacher's kid, I know this estimate of giving is very important to operate the church effectively. If they never knew how much money they planned to have, they couldn't hire people or plan programs or incur debt. So when people say they don't pledge because they just "give as the spirit moves them", then they are just closing their eyes to reality.<br /><br />I, however, plan to give money when I can, but did not pledge. So shoot me.<br /><br />Dad's sermons on Commitment Sunday were always so intense that they blew the roof off the sanctuary. I remember one Sunday dinner, I think when we were at Dulin, when Mom told Dad, "Your sermon was so good that I put down $5.00 a week more than we had said." Dad went totally ballistic. He was furious, and said, "Honey, why did you do that? We talked about this! We decided how much we could afford!", and she said, "It was just such a convincing sermon.". <br /><br />Dad was always an incredibly good preacher. He had a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Sunday">Palm Sunday</a> sermon that was so good that congregants from a church he'd served in the past once traveled to his current church to hear it again. He had an illustration for his "suffering love" sermon that was so gut-wrenching that he had to warn us kids each time he used it, or else he knew we'd be in tears. (He repeated sermons we'd heard before after we would move to a new church.)<br /><br />The gut-wrenching illustration is:<br />A little boy moved to a new town, and was given a little tiny puppy by his parents. The boy and the puppy loved each other. They played together for hours at a time, they cuddled together in bed at night, and the puppy followed the boy everywhere. <br /><br />Then one day the boy had a horrible day. The other kids teased him. The school teachers yelled at him. His mom slapped his cheek for misbehaving.<br /><br />When the boy got home that night, he slammed angrily into the house. The happy little puppy came leaping to greet him and jumped up on his leg. "Get out of here!" the boy shouted, kicking the puppy across the room.<br /><br />The puppy yelped as it flew through the air. It hit the opposite wall and slid to the ground. The boy collapsed on the ground in tears. His tears were soon dried by the tongue of the puppy, who had limped over to him and was licking his face dry.dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-33304885854944311632011-11-12T15:40:00.000-08:002011-11-12T16:42:46.823-08:00brrrrrIt's real cold outside now, although it was temperate weather all day. I guess that is what one should expect in November in VA. No one ever knows what to wear. There are folks outside in hats and gloves, and there are young guys with shorts and no socks. Although that seems to be the fashion, now. <a href="http://www.polyvore.com/how_to_wear_your_shorts/set?.embedder=2113218&.mid=embed&id=25979075">Young men go out in raging snowstorms wearing running shorts and no coats. </a>That seems crazy to me. Do I sound like an old fogey? <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEk8eOfGDCiZuFDfkLzr3VlvjYwk75KXB7KjxZe89k3rxRazL3sFX3iEHzR-3yyNReB8_HTk4GQ5sIlSMU7h9AxeJBdMM9I4JLKmqzY-7Vu2V0HQnxKNz5jH-3SxSFSMe5n-T0TdpyslY/s1600/winter-30.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 362px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEk8eOfGDCiZuFDfkLzr3VlvjYwk75KXB7KjxZe89k3rxRazL3sFX3iEHzR-3yyNReB8_HTk4GQ5sIlSMU7h9AxeJBdMM9I4JLKmqzY-7Vu2V0HQnxKNz5jH-3SxSFSMe5n-T0TdpyslY/s400/winter-30.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674273806609837794" /></a>dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-39807971085128603932011-11-11T14:46:00.000-08:002011-11-11T16:47:27.749-08:00Rip-off<a href="http://www.emeritus.com/virginia/arlington/emeritus-arlington">Emeritis</a> is screwing me over. They have raised my "care level" rating to "6", which is the highest level and which is absurd. Level 6 also costs tons of money. <br /><br />I do not get, or need. Level 6 quality care. I receive help from their care managers basically only when I get up, shower, dress, and go to bed. There are people here who need help to eat, and need help all day throughout the day. That is the type attention that deserves Level 6. <br /><br />In addition, <a href="http://www.emeritus.com/virginia/arlington/emeritus-arlington">Emeritis</a> is requiring that I hire a private aide to get me up, shower, and get dressed. Emeritis is not pleased that I get 5 showers a week. The standard <a href="http://www.emeritus.com/virginia/arlington/emeritus-arlington">here</a> is only 1(or 2?)showers a week, but the salesman who got me to move here from <a href="http://www.sunriseseniorliving.com/communities/sunrise-of-falls-church/Overview.aspx">Sunrise</a> promised 5 showers. That is what convinced me to move. Now the Director says, "That was before my time, so I'm not responsible for that."<br /><br />I feel that <a href="http://www.emeritus.com/virginia/arlington/emeritus-arlington">Emeritis</a> really gets a free ride from me. It is quite rare that I'm even here during the daytime. I try to stay awway as much as possible. The Care Manager Supervisor even admitted as much, saying, "We would have required a private duty aide during the daytime, too, but we realized that you usually aren't here in the daytime, and we couldn't have the aide just sitting around."<br /><br />Seems to me that, if I'm off on my own all day every day, I obviously don't require level 6 assistance!<br /><br />In my opinion, they are ripping me off big time. My advice to anyone with assisted living needs is to STAY AWAY FROM <a href="http://www.emeritus.com/virginia/arlington/emeritus-arlington">EMERITIS</a>!!!<br /><br />Because or this, I complained to Sue that I have a limited amount of money and that this will make me run out sooner. "What will I do when I run out of money?!", I lamented. <br /><br />"We'll just shoot you," she said.dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-61242222538546467612011-11-08T14:21:00.000-08:002011-11-10T15:58:58.447-08:00ElectionLast Tuesday was Election Day! Wow! It sure is strange to participate as a regular voter. I found my polling place with no problem. It is the <a href="https://www.arlingtonartscenter.org/">Arlington County Art Museum</a> across the street. All the politicos were lined up along the street, handing out literature. One of the political volunteers led me to the wheelchair accessible door, showed me the elevator, put me on it, and then pushed the button for the wrong floor, thereby sending me on a merry tour of the museum!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkK7GgwIt5EJz8LFHlBvse6CKhqPp8AIzyvE4nF83uaVEUT8u_Z23SXlih7fp36GDK4G8m5qIYWyAyWDR3UHArVqOq7MXLCWT190UWRwynifo70MpEbjvOrapSSBbnks_Iy2zPVJmLsOA/s1600/flag_usa.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 30px; height: 23px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkK7GgwIt5EJz8LFHlBvse6CKhqPp8AIzyvE4nF83uaVEUT8u_Z23SXlih7fp36GDK4G8m5qIYWyAyWDR3UHArVqOq7MXLCWT190UWRwynifo70MpEbjvOrapSSBbnks_Iy2zPVJmLsOA/s200/flag_usa.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672763593373439970" /></a><br />She must have been a Republican!<br /><br />All was just as it should have been in the little, tiny polling place. Arlington uses the <a href="http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6657">Winvote</a>, machine whereas we in Falls Church had chosen the <a href="http://www.premierelections.com/secure_solutions/voting_equipment.html">Accuvote</a>.dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-17447472207959884642011-11-06T15:38:00.000-08:002011-11-06T16:49:00.355-08:00Scarbourgh Fair<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguSGie7CmJvxrWijuz4pyjB5IFjeNL5D-OFg2SEhWyeQZ0NbgocxTwyFaYESu96JC3W9Q1xzdcZ4mxXLzgyL5NtfXgOETpKySZRDPv2gk8arRzTQLsAfo468684L7AbzFoZMzfIobOBtA/s1600/5118GeO-LBL__SL500_AA300_.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguSGie7CmJvxrWijuz4pyjB5IFjeNL5D-OFg2SEhWyeQZ0NbgocxTwyFaYESu96JC3W9Q1xzdcZ4mxXLzgyL5NtfXgOETpKySZRDPv2gk8arRzTQLsAfo468684L7AbzFoZMzfIobOBtA/s200/5118GeO-LBL__SL500_AA300_.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672036149974010642" /></a><br />I turned on "Scarbourgh Fair" (Simon and Garfunkle), and, boy, does that ever bring back memories. The album was already old back when I was in <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5820015091056758826">college</a>. The poetry ofthe songs just seemed to speak to me me. (Unlike later Paul Simon work. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H997IZkkO4Y">Me and Julio</a> says nothing to me.) <br /><br />There was this guy, Jeff Freehof, who traveled around to the various bars on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Corner_(Charlottesville,_Virginia)">Corner</a> and played guitar and sang Simon and Garfunkle songs. I knew Jeff from the drama department, and often went to see him. Sometimes Bobby Tyler, my soulmate at the time, and I went together.<br /><br />I'll do a seperate entry about Bobby some day. I could do a 7 part mini-series about my adventures with Bobby. Huh, Lloyd??<br /><br />My last Simon and Garfunkle story is that David knew that I loved them. Not too long before David got sick, Simon and Garfunkle came to<a href="http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-191501943-baltimore_vacations-i"> Baltimore</a> on a concert tour, and David and Ron and Sue and I got to go see them. Like, wow....dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-7543512580259608232011-11-04T04:56:00.000-07:002011-11-04T15:43:43.224-07:00bison meatSusan Craft and I went to <a href="http://www.tedsmontanagrill.com/">Teds Montana Grill </a> fot dinner last night. It is the restaurant stared by <a href="http://www.tedturner.com/home.asp">Ted Turner</a>. They have lots of dishes featuring bison meat. They also have a great big, dirty, hairy buffalo head hanging on the wall. That really grossed me out. Seafood restaurants often have big, dead fish hanging on the wall, but they don't have dead cows that watch you while you eat hanging on the wall in steak places' Yeech! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJTXzOCaEIULbf-SEySr63qVz_ISflrO4Ix4wVC8AauN9DByonwnec3HBhwoY9psUlEqe9RFPWd-Ej2IjXsSKDDU4bYIkwheWp6UhPp89T_ZVB5ELHtdbCqSIk3Ei0Y53HVaF2Ius7yg/s1600/images.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 157px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJTXzOCaEIULbf-SEySr63qVz_ISflrO4Ix4wVC8AauN9DByonwnec3HBhwoY9psUlEqe9RFPWd-Ej2IjXsSKDDU4bYIkwheWp6UhPp89T_ZVB5ELHtdbCqSIk3Ei0Y53HVaF2Ius7yg/s200/images.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671274722535163698" /></a>dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-83867207844554582962011-11-01T13:11:00.000-07:002011-11-01T14:27:26.681-07:00Gertrude Stein<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJTvjtQbZKPFJBXLkWN2RHM6Fsn2-WkGxs1rCErLK_LMtP0hdQhAtKkWjVRZw8sODjk5JDsK_aVnHFo0laHiJwr8uToZTyBeO_AR3nEysCV2Dc5-ciwqlCC1HFAB1wZir7Nu4HlZW40w/s1600/untitled.bmp"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 163px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJTvjtQbZKPFJBXLkWN2RHM6Fsn2-WkGxs1rCErLK_LMtP0hdQhAtKkWjVRZw8sODjk5JDsK_aVnHFo0laHiJwr8uToZTyBeO_AR3nEysCV2Dc5-ciwqlCC1HFAB1wZir7Nu4HlZW40w/s200/untitled.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670136575215719522" /></a><br />I went to the <a href="http://www.npg.si.edu/">National Portrait Gallery</a> today to see the <a href="http://www.npg.si.edu/steinsymposium.html">Gertrude Stein exhibit</a>. I dunno... I kinda don't see the point of a museum exhibit about a writer. It seems like the definitave word bout an author stands in the work the author shares. <br /><br />Probably the assumption behind such an exhibit is that the atttendee is already quite familiar with the author's written work. Like, I can see attending a<a href="http://www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/"> Mark Twain</a> exhibit. But, in my case, this was sort of my introduction to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Stein">Gertrude Stein</a>, so I just didn't get it. I see from the <a href="http://www.npg.si.edu/">Portrait Gallery web page</a> that there is a symposium about Stein all day on Friday. Maybe I'll read more of her work by then and decide to go.<br /><br />A FRIGHTFUL RELEASE<br /><br />by: Gertrude Stein (1874-1946)<br /><br /> BAG which was left and not only taken but turned away was not found. The place was shown to be very like the last time. A piece was not exchanged, not a bit of it, a piece was left over. The rest was mismanaged. <br /><br />"A Frightful Release" is reprinted from Tender Buttons: Objects Food Rooms. Gertrude Stein. New York: Claire Marie, 1914. <br /><br /><br />One quotation from her they were selling on all kinds of paraphanelia in the gift shop is "There is no there there". I think I'm going to find out that I like her!dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-45770845468591508122011-10-31T14:13:00.000-07:002011-10-31T16:09:26.257-07:00Trick Or Treat?It's Halloween. <a href="http://www.fg-a.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://content.screencast.com/users/fg-a/folders/halloween/media/6ce81748-4e0c-43e0-9d7e-82d82ca942d2/skull_tr6.gif" width="50" height="90"
<br /></a>As a child, Halloween meant candy and excitement. I remember selecting a costume with care, and putting it together with appropriate wings or wand or whatever, donning a mask, and feeling enormously proud of myself. Then I would grab my bag, eager to get outside, and WHAM!! Mom caught me and made me put a sweater on over my charming or spooky outfit.
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<br />Trick or treating used to be lots of fun for kids. Considering the danger nowadays, I bet nobody lets kids go out alone anymore.
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<br />They had a costume contest here at the <a href="http://www.emeritus.com/virginia/arlington/emeritus-arlington">old folks home</a>. The lady I eat breakfast with won. She wore all yellow, with a <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=peanuts+characters&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7_____en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=pSWvTtzgA4Lq0gGus4nbAQ&ved=0CD0QsAQ&biw=913&bih=533">Peanuts characters</a> print on her pants. My favorite care manager is dressed as a Raggety Ann doll.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw14h_jK3OcNv8xXL6dut5TkakV_4KIvkIVj-wcLbsAWMJCClbuzPJFcBpFCc5Cd1_n82IuX5pUvuW9WcchabFVdAEjvSUU0yPgOhmYZXtdbbAn6wA1LFBtUzyA3Naj6-8tAUt5Yf2xu8/s1600/1000896_9013_A_400.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw14h_jK3OcNv8xXL6dut5TkakV_4KIvkIVj-wcLbsAWMJCClbuzPJFcBpFCc5Cd1_n82IuX5pUvuW9WcchabFVdAEjvSUU0yPgOhmYZXtdbbAn6wA1LFBtUzyA3Naj6-8tAUt5Yf2xu8/s200/1000896_9013_A_400.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669794893715127138" /></a> This isn't really her.
<br />dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-7022304567998170422011-10-28T16:24:00.000-07:002011-10-30T13:50:19.662-07:00WOW!WILD! This is a totally awesome story that's kind of paranormal!! About a year ago, while living at <a href="http://http://www.seniorsforliving.com/community/Sunrise-of-Falls-Church/">Sunrise</a>, I woke up one morning and looked at the wall beside my head and was startled to see a centipede crawling along. It was just inches from my face. As I watched, the centipede crawled higher and higher, eventually ensconcing itself in a corner. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgawdD-EyrRC1hC5OYMtpI8AgyzWVtyTwXqeDE1B3QmRHZmNsIsUbrxWhbIcDrwGjtb83yfnylTejmwqVJ-hS5FrE19ICNqGSdvnvVtzM5SycjiAYjRV4l2aKedE3U8CAwI9vOQF6X5JNA/s1600/Gigantea-Centipede-2820.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgawdD-EyrRC1hC5OYMtpI8AgyzWVtyTwXqeDE1B3QmRHZmNsIsUbrxWhbIcDrwGjtb83yfnylTejmwqVJ-hS5FrE19ICNqGSdvnvVtzM5SycjiAYjRV4l2aKedE3U8CAwI9vOQF6X5JNA/s200/Gigantea-Centipede-2820.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668995379841924498" /></a><br />I lay in bed and watched it diligently until a care manager, Melita, arrived, on time to get me up.<br /><br />"Melita!", I said, pointing at the long bug, "Kill it! Kill it!!"<br /><br />Melita is one of the nicest care managers I've ever known. She comes from the <a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2794.htm">Philippines</a>.<br /><br />"Oh,no," Melita said. "That's a centipede. Back home, everyone knows a centipede brings money and is good luck."<br /><br />"Money?!" I asked.<br /><br />"Yes," she said. "If you see a centipede, maybe you will get rich." If she had been telling me that cockroaches were good luck, I probably wouldn't have bought it, but centipedes were negotiable. <br /><br />"OK," I said, diverting my attention from the insect. I paid no more attention to it, and assumed it went on to enjoy a long life with it's many legged family (who, I hope, were not also residing somewhere in my room.<br /><br />When the mail came that afternoon, I had a check from my long term care insurance for a significant amount of money.<br /><br />Along time went past. No more centipedes appeared.<br /><br />Until yesterday morning, that is. I woke yesterday morning to see a centipede scurrying, it's many tiny little legs carrying it rapidly up my wall.<br /><br />When the mail arrived, I had a check from my long term care insurance for a significant amount of money.<br /><br />WOW,dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-3160333950033773142011-10-26T09:33:00.000-07:002011-10-26T12:29:57.974-07:00SmithsonianI went to the <a href="http://www.si.edu/Museums">Smithsonian</a> the other day and had an amazingly wonderful time. But, alas, the Smithsonian was not at all where I intended to go! I had asked<a href="http://www.wmata.com/accessibility/metroaccess_service/"> Metro Access</a> to take me to the <a href="http://www.npg.si.edu/">National Portrait Gallery</a>. I wanted to to see the<a href="http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/exhstein.html"> Gertude Stein exhibit</a>. The reservationist screwed up, apparently, and put in the address for the <a href="http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/">American History Museum</a>. So, instead off Gertrude Stein, I got to see an exhibit about Phyllis Diller. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7PeoNFhs7C4SDpKBirNScKAN_DOnxhreFuN4FvdBi3NSm7ezkApgwxIlwrfIyUfOLkpCrppUV2gvtec7GXglhiDz7PKoGeyTKtJ4Fd1PFHilxHb-vtsPrU7VftTZ3Gg5KFllOJBrwOQ/s1600/images.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 160px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7PeoNFhs7C4SDpKBirNScKAN_DOnxhreFuN4FvdBi3NSm7ezkApgwxIlwrfIyUfOLkpCrppUV2gvtec7GXglhiDz7PKoGeyTKtJ4Fd1PFHilxHb-vtsPrU7VftTZ3Gg5KFllOJBrwOQ/s200/images.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667862401039680370" /></a> As Phyllis Diller herself would say, HA!! Do you think that maybe my guardian angel decided that Phyllis Diller was more appropriate than Gertrude Stein?<br /><br />At the American History museum, though, I got to see an exhibition that is only here through the end of the month, "<a href="http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibition.cfm?key=38&exkey=1642">For All The World To See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights</a>". It was fascinating, covered the ways in which the civil rights struggle in America was implemented through the use of visual images in the media. <br /><br />After that, I went across the sidewalk to the <a href="http://www.mnh.si.edu/">Natural History Museum</a>. They have a really fascinating exhibit called "The Evolving Universe", which studies the beginnings of the universe and the ways it is always changing, with stars being born and dying...... Hmmmm..... Stars dying?? Which me wonder... Is Phyllis Diller still alive?dialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820015091056758826.post-22751918553947955352011-10-23T14:12:00.000-07:002011-10-23T17:20:42.443-07:00sightseeing<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-warns-iran-not-to-miscalculate-us-resolve-as-troops-leave-iraq/2011/10/23/gIQA5zDDAM_story.html?hpid=z2">The Iranians</a> and the "<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-wire/post/occupy-dc-focus-of--sensitivediscussions/2011/10/22/gIQABUgX7L_blog.html">Take Back Washington</a>" screwed up my Saturday. It was a lovely day to be downtown aightseeing, but my Metro Access driver <a href="http://www.wmata.com/accessibility/metroaccess_service/"></a>, when hearrived, said that he thought it would be a mistake to go down to the <a href="http://www.si.edu/">Smithsonian</a> because, "The Iranians are protesting, and traffic is all tied up, and it will take hours!! Also, the<a href="http://www.teapartypatriots.org/"> Tea Party</a>. And <a href="http://occupywallst.org/article/greetings-occupied-wall-street/">Occupy Wall Street</a> is marching, too. It's a mess!!"<br /><br />So I didn't go. Bummer. What I was planning to seem, the Phyllis Diller exhibit at the American Historydialawriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17371091410261307456noreply@blogger.com0