Posted on April 20, 2012
On April 19, 2012 at approximately 5 PM in the afternoon my computer crashed. It reminded me of the final moments of the Titanic. The lights on my screen flickered, attempted to regain equilibrium, and then plunged into darkness. I felt adrift.
If I had been on the actual Titanic, I probably would have occupied a steerage berth and gone to a steerage passenger’s grave. But with my computer, it’s fair to say I was in first class. With that in mind, and also the fact that this is a land operation, I called a local computer repair store with which I’ve had previous experience. For a premium fee, I could be seen immediately.
Since I use my computer in business, this was a premium fee situation. I took my computer to the company’s offices, regaled the receptionist with my story, and headed home. I’ve been disconnected ever since.
It seems strange. I can’t answer emails as they come over the email transom. I can’t initiate any on my own. And I can’t send files anywhere. Even though my husband is most generous with allowing me to use his computer, none of my files resides there.
I’ll learn tomorrow if my computer is salvageable; and, frankly, I don’t care either way. If it’s still in working condition, I’ll be skeptical that this crash won’t happen again. If it’s not in working condition, then the search begins for a replacement. Wish me luck!
See more 10 Minutes in category Technology
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Posted on April 18, 2012
The media say it was a heart attack that felled Dick Clark in the end. And already tributes far and near are pouring in. He deserves them.
Everyone my age has his or her own Dick Clark remembrance or two. Me? I remember watching “American Bandstand” as an early teenager and learning about modern pop music in the deal. Clark must have been in his twenties then, but he seemed like a wise old music sage to me.
Over the years, he and I morphed into senior citizens. He eventually left “American Bandstand” and invented “Rockin’ New Year’s Eve.” In recent years, Earl and I spent New Year’s Eve with close friends; and we always watched Dick Clark count down the seconds to the New Year.
This past December 31, we watched and commented on how Clark seemed to have reached a plateau in terms of his physical health. We all knew he’d had a stroke a few years back, but he still wanted to recover enough to be on the New Year’s Eve show he created. This time he was in the studio commenting as the ball dropped on Times Square while his sidekick, Ryan Seacrest, was live in the streets.
Who knew it would be his last rockin’ New Year’s Eve? Certainly not me. And yet, as I mourn the passing of an icon from my youth, I am consoled by the fact that Dick Clark is remembered as a pioneer in the music world. He never made a record; he never won a music award; he never sold a million copies.
Still, he shaped music as we know it today. RIP.
See more 10 Minutes in category Things to Ponder
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Posted on April 14, 2012
Only recently did I learn that Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska died earlier this year. She was eighty-eight. She was indomitable. Described as the “Mozart of poetry,” Symborska won the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature in 1996. I have read her acceptance speech, and it is magical.
Granted, most Americans probably don’t know Szymborska. But then most Americans are not interested in poetry. My son, the college professor, is the exception. And it is through him that I knew Szymborska. For Christmas, 2006, he gave me a collection of her poems with the inscription that “the world needs more poetry.”
Truthfully, I hadn’t spent a lot of time with the Szymborska book until I learned of her death. But then I reread my son’s inscription about the world needing more poetry. I also spent time reading her poems. They are as magical as her Nobel acceptance speech.
I plan to continue reading them. I also plan to revisit my favorite poets: Frost and Sandburg. And especially A. E. Housman. And someday I hope to read that my son, Kevin, who is a poet not only at heart but in reality wins a Nobel Peace Prize too. Because the world, indeed, needs more poetry.
See more 10 Minutes in category Things to Ponder, Writing
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Posted on April 13, 2012
It will be one hundred years tomorrow that the unsinkable Titanic hit an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage. Since then, the disaster has captured our collective memory, engraving the story indelibly in film, biography, public television, and newscasts.
I first remembered seeing the film “A Night to Remember” in college. It was a semi-documentary of the event, filmed in black and white in the mid-sixties. It was primitive by today’s standards but ever so haunting. For the record, I’ve seen the Leonardo de Caprio/Kate Winslett version too. Romantic, yes. Haunting, no.
I’ve followed the survivors over the years as various PBS programs featured them and their heirs. The last survivor, Millvina Dean, passed away in 2009 at the age of ninety-seven. However, she was only nine weeks old when the liner sank and remembers nothing of that evening.
This is not to suggest it didn’t impact her life. She and her parents were on their way to America to start a new life. When the Titanic sank, her mother, brother, and herself were saved. The father went down with the ship. So the survivors returned to England where Ms. Dean spent the rest of her life. Who knows what would have happened had she reached our country’s shores?
For the record, the second to the last survivor was Barbara Joyce West Dainton. She too was an infant at the time of the disaster; and, like Millvina Dean, her father did not survive. Her family also returned to England.
It’s interesting that the last two survivors of Titanic’s only voyage both lived into their nineties and died within the past five years. Neither was particularly interested in the spotlight of being a Titanic survivor, so in a way I’m glad they didn’t live to see the interest that has been sparked about tomorrow.
See more 10 Minutes in category Nostalgia, Things to Ponder
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Posted on April 12, 2012
A friend and I met for lunch today at The Library. Before you think the local library is now offering food, let me mention that this Library is a tavern formerly named “Pauly’s.” But for some reason, Pauly sold out and the new owners have attempted to create a different ambience in the establishment.
They’ve added portraits of famous writers to some of the walls. They’ve increased seating by adding old fashioned library tables and chairs. The menu looks like a notebook. And the servers, especially the females, dress in what I can only describe as Catholic school uniform garb right down to the drab tie.
I’m not sure this works for a tavern, but I will say the food is good. My friend and I both ordered the half pound hamburger and found it tasty. As we ate, I saw many hamburgers coming from the kitchen to other guests. So perhaps this is a specialty. I was also pleased to see that Pauly’s specialty – Buffalo wings – is still on the menu. But I couldn’t eat both in one sitting; so I’ll return for the wings.
I will say that for a tavern the place was quiet. But then for a library, that’s probably what you’d expect. Shhhhh!
See more 10 Minutes in category Dining/Food
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Posted on April 11, 2012
“You haven’t blogged in a while,” said a friend recently. “You went to Talbot’s and bought clothing to visit New York, and nobody’s heard from you since.” She’s right.
So, in a nutshell, here is what’s happened in my life in the past three and a half weeks.
I visited my son and his partner. They offered me my old job back for a variety of reasons I won’t explain here. I accepted, although it’s not forever. Regardless, it means some adjustments in my personal life. Like participating less in the Friends of the Sodus Public Library. And squeezing in daily piano practice. And swimming.
While I was gone, the health club where I swim created new rules. Now you have to sign up for a certain lane when you want to swim laps, instead of just coming to the pool and taking pot luck. I didn’t think I’d like it, but actually I do.
Michigan weather surprised all with a summer-like spring thaw. Gas prices rose. And Earl made our bed as a surprise on my return from the Big Apple. Honestly, you can’t get any better than that.
See more 10 Minutes in category Changing Scene
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Posted on March 17, 2012
I went to Talbot’s in South Bend yesterday to find some clothes that would make me fit in with the New York City crowd. You know, contemporary fashion as opposed to classic fit. Trendy and hip, as opposed comfortable and easy. Fashion jeans vs. sweat pants.
Personally, I’m a comfy sweat pant kind of gal. At the same time, I realize my clothing needs updating from time to time. So, because I’m going to New York City in five days, it was the perfect excuse to eliminate some frumpiness from my wardrobe.
I found Jennifer, a sales associate or whatever the politically correct title is these days, who was wonderful. We roamed the store together as I showed her things that I might like. Then she gathered various items, seeming to know my size intuitively, while I headed to the dressing room.
An hour and a half later, I had a new wardrobe that really didn’t put too much of a dent in my wallet. Turns out that I was a preferred customer with a credit card to prove it, so I got twenty-five percent off on my purchases. It was a most enjoyable experience.
Several years ago I always shopped at Talbot’s. But then I digressed. Went to Kohl’s, the Gap, Macy’s, even quirky boutiques. Yesterday, I wondered why I ever went elsewhere. Talbot’s clothing fits me well; the staff is most knowledgeable; and frumpiness isn’t in anyone’s vocabulary.
See more 10 Minutes in category Me/Family
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Posted on March 16, 2012
Normally when I visit South Bend, Indiana, it’s for a doctor’s appointment to make sure cancer hasn’t returned to stalk me. But not this time. I’m off to become stylish. Or at least try.
And, when I attempt to become stylish, I always ask Earl’s daughter, Adaire, to help. She is quite a fashion maven. She comes with me, sends me off to the dressing room, and gathers clothing that might work. It’s a great system, since I don’t have to dress, undress, redress, and undress again to try on multiple clothes. It’s like having one’s own personal fashion assistant.
However, today I’m on my own, since Adaire is in Las Vegas and I’m not. And I’m going to New York City next week and don’t want to look too frumpy. Cancer isn’t even a consideration.
I called Adaire a couple days ago for help. In brief, these are the tips that will define my shopping foray. Skinny jeans are still in, but not so skinny that they show “everything.” Colored jeans are in too. So are trench coats and cap toed shoes. A really good white T-shirt is a must.
With these simple guidelines, I plan to visit Talbot’s and search the petite racks. Wish me luck, because nobody wants to be frumpy in New York City.
See more 10 Minutes in category Things to Ponder
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Posted on March 15, 2012
Today I attended the second annual stuff swap at the home of a friend. Based on its success, I am sure there will be third and a fourth, etc.
The concept is simple. Each attendee brings three things that she (So far it’s all women, but that could change next year.) doesn’t need or want anymore but doesn’t just want to send to Goodwill. There’s nothing wrong with Goodwill, but sometimes a certain item comes with an emotional attachment and knowing that some other acquaintance might want it helps ease the pain of parting.
Adding a little history to the event, each guest tells how she originally came by the object. Was it a gift? A souvenir of a trip? Something found in emptying a parent’s basement? A frivolous purchase?
After everyone finishes, attendees have a certain amount of time to review the items on display and claim them by putting their initials on a sticker affixed to them. What isn’t reclaimed goes to a garage sale, when someone is having one soon, or to Goodwill.
Last year I took home a planter for African violets that belonged to Gail; I must say my one African violet is extremely happy these days. And I took a vase that belonged to Sue. It graces our entry. This year, I found a pair of gloves and a hat that are perfect for Earl. They came from Pat’s husband.
Sondra claimed a teapot to add to her already impressive collection. She also grabbed some beautiful yarn that previously belonged to Alice. Sue settled on a charming bird house, and Cheryl took a handmade stool that will double as a little table or planter stand.
Of course, there were things that didn’t find new homes. The bread maker, the Eggies®, the hot pink flamingoes. So they will seek new lives elsewhere, and I hope they bring pleasure to whoever ends up with them.
See more 10 Minutes in category Small Town Life, Special Events
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Posted on March 10, 2012
There’s a flip side to all the things we learned on our trip, and that is all the things that changed in some way in our absence. We arrived home last night to begin discovering them.
The saddest is that the little school across from where we live is closing due to budget cuts. Evidently, the students will be sent to another school, starting in September. But this means local residents won’t be going to the school to give candy to the children for Halloween or the children won’t come next year and serenade us with their Christmas music. It’s a loss for everyone.
The health club where I swim has instituted new “rules” for lap swimming. Previously, when other swimmers were waiting, you were supposed to limit your swim to half an hour. You were also supposed to put your name on a waiting list. However, many people never followed these rules. So now you must sign up for a certain time and day in advance. I’m not making a judgment yet on whether this works; however, I do think it’s a sign of what bureaucracy does when people can’t regulate themselves.
My tulips have begun to come up. I didn’t miss out their beauty; that’s at least a month away. But they are a sign that spring is on its way. In addition, we had some work done in our condo; and it was wonderful to return and find it completed without having to live in the mess as the work was done.
See more 10 Minutes in category Changing Scene
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