Occupy South Florida

Grassroots public protests like the Occupy South Florida effort (stolen from Occupy Wall Street) fascinate me.  From the protests of my generation against the VietNam war to Tienanmen Square to the Tea Party to Arab Spring and now these folks, I see the expression of frustration and desire for change. 

I'd like to think my generation "invented" this form of protest but of course I know it isn't true.  Our own American Revolution and especially the French Revolution were definitely role models.  Special kudos to the brave suffragettes who gave us ladies the right to vote.

Guess what?  In some cases these "rabble rousers" have actually righted wrongs and changed the course of history.

Tropical Acres Update

I know there is a lesson in the latest Tropical Acres Update.  It seems that the recent fire, which caused some of the venerable old restaurant to have to be torn down  and rebuilt, revealed a hidden gem - old tongue in groove planking that will soon be restored to its former glory. 

OK so what's the lesson?  Silver lining in every cloud? Hidden treasures just waiting for us to find them? Old stuff is good stuff?  They don't make them like they used to?

;-)

Career Choice

I graduated from college in 1970 but I didn't really start my "career" until 1980 after deciding to go back to school and take computer programming classes.

I visualized myself in dead-end jobs forever and didn't want to be (gasp!) 40 without a career I could be proud of. And I was surely very tired of riding around the country and sleeping in a Mayflower tractor-trailer.

I asked my BFF's husband if he thought I could be a computer programmer. He said "absolutely", that I was organized and logical and smart and it would be a good fit. He was right - as soon as I took my first class I knew I was on the right path.

A few tiny words of encouragement from an off-hand source - it made a big difference in my life.

Steve Jobs

When someone does something truly remarkable with their life, you just have to stop and take notice. 

Steve Jobs shook things up so much that his impact will be felt for decades, maybe forever.  And then there is the "ripple" effect - how he stirred competition, created jobs, and made things like FaceTime with friends big fun.

He changed other people's lives in both small and profound ways...

Don't we all do that, maybe a little, maybe a lot, with our own lives? 

RIP in iHeaven Steve Jobs

Political Season

I love political season, when the presidential election frenzy kicks into high gear. 

I think it started in 1960, the year I first saw a party convention on TV.  So exciting, especially the states' doing their roll call thing, casting their votes for their nominee or splitting the votes between candidates.  I remember hearing Florida's late governor Smathers speak.  I remember a newbie, John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon who I already knew as the Vice-President.

I was only 10 but I could recognize great theater even at that early age! 

I'm Rich!

I already know that I'm rich in many, many ways but now our President has confirmed it.  If he didn't quite say "rich" he did propose that taxes be raised on "the most fortunate among us".

I am most definitely in that category.  I have been fortunate to be able to work for over 40 years.  I saved money whenever possible (without feeling deprived), always paid the credit card bills in full and lived on whatever amount came in each month. 

I sincerely do not mind paying my "fair share" and helping to support those who for no fault of their own cannot make it without society's assistance.  I know there are real people behind the stories of how easy it is to slip into poverty and despair.

I just hope my "fair share" is being spent wisely...

Happy Birthday Blog!

It has been two months since I started "Dear Diary" on August 3rd. I love writing my blog. It has truly been fun and given me a window into myself too.

I feel I've kind of picked up steam over the months.  From struggling a bit in the beginning to think of things to write about I now usually have ideas for several days ahead. 
 
This could be because I have developed the small but pleasant habit of noticing things around me that could be used as fodder for my blog.  Something I ate, what I watched on TV or read in the newspaper, something someone said to me, a fleeting memory that made me smile. 

Life is made up of those little things...

Happiness

Coffee and the Sunday morning paper.

An article caught my eye and I immediately sat down to write about it.  It seems the government wants to make measuring the "psychological well being" of its citizens (that would be, uh, us) a "major government priority".  This "easy-to-understand well being indicator" would measure our "quality of life" as a nation over such dry and mundane numbers such as the unemployment rate and number of people living in poverty. The biggest hurdle seems to be how to measure "happiness".  Good luck with that!

Apparently the geniuses have correctly figured out that money doesn't buy happiness, and even such "sure things" like children, marriage and health are not guarantees.

As for myself, I don't need the government to tell me I'm happy. I am! 

 

Bucket List

I have a very small bucket list but topping the list is a return trip to Israel after almost 40 years.  And In 4 weeks my dream will come true! 

With the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki yesterday, there is an even more stringent warning to would-be world travelers to be careful.  I would be crazy if I said I was not a little fearful. 

I'm excited, happy, but a bit nervous.  Isn't that how everyone feels when embarking on any new adventure? 

Horror Show

There are certain movies and TV shows I will NOT watch.  Tops on the list is anything depicting the suffering of Holocaust victims followed immediately by anything showing any person or animal being tortured.  I could not even watch the latest incarnation of "True Grit" when the horse died of exhaustion in an attempt to save the life of a young girl.  I had to leave the room. 

It seems easier to watch something like the whole planet being wiped out by a meteor or alien invaders than to watch a single human being suffer. 

But nothing ever caused my blood to run as cold as did the real life experience of thinking a loved one might leave this world...