Last night I played Maj with good friends. I actually won one of the two games that had winners. On the way home, my friend confided that on their first night in The Villages, as she and her husband lay on their bed, she asked him "Have we died? Are we in Heaven?" I told her I understood completely and that I feel my life now is my reward for a lifetime of hard work.
In a few minutes I'm going to leave to volunteer at the Temple. I'll be selling gift cards to the Hadassah members who are meeting this morning. Later this afternoon a gal pal and I will be seeing that new chick flick at the movies. I guess I can take that one because on Saturday we'll be seeing the new action flick "No Way Out" with still other good friends. I will always opt for action flicks over chick flicks hahaha.
Harvey and Vi arrive Sunday for a great week of house hunting (it will be great to have them here in TV during winters and away from the Chicago cold) and shmoozing. The guest rooms are ready!
Next month, after the Holidays, a local contractor will be building a pantry in the kitchen (we have the perfect set-up for one) with the frosted pantry door I've always coveted. He's also going to put in a pocket door that will separate our "guest suite" from the hallway. The original plans for the house called for one; I guess the original owners actually had to opt out of putting it in.
OK I know the market has been down lately and hubby's 401K/IRA has suffered a setback. I, of course, with my great investment acumen, have only invested in fixed return CDs and after 45 plus years of investing, hubby's more aggressive investments have fared just about the same as my more conservative choices. Not to worry, I am completely confident in our future.
Yes, I do believe my friend was right. This IS Heaven! (poo poo poo)
;-)
My new and exciting (at least to me) goal is to be a Bat Mitzvah. Every since the idea (preposterous!!) first entered my brain it has grown and grown and now it is firmly entrenched. Failure is not an option.
To assist my efforts, I have enlisted (coerced) the help of the Temple Bat Mitzvah coach, Larry, who although desperately wanting and needing to take a few years (maybe forever) off after coaching 14 B'nei Mitzvah wanna-be's at one time, agreed to help me. Our second lesson is today.
Larry provided me with a white notebook of the entire Saturday morning service which I am supposed to read and chant in Hebrew. Later will come the Torah and Haftorah portions. I have asked for the portions that I would have read at my "normal" Bat Mitzvah age.
Also forced to help me is hubby. I read from the notebook and he corrects me. If I had to do it on my own I'm sure I would be reinforcing incorrect pronunciations.
My third helper is my study buddy, Mirelle. I admire her because in the same timeframe I had to learn the Hebrew vowels (I already knew the alphabet) she has mastered both the letters AND the vowels. I of course use the term "mastered" liberally as we are both at about the same level.
Our other study buddy is unfortunately battling some health setbacks. It is her goal to be Bat Mitzvah'd along with her two granddaughters who are studying (remotely) with her. I hope she makes it.
Having a goal like this at my (advanced) age is challenging to say the least. I am praying I'll get by with a little help from my friends!
;-)
I'm reading a new book called The New Neighbor. The main character is a 90 year old woman. Very unusual.
The author has done a good job portraying her. She still has her wits about her and rallies against her failing abilities, her need for her cane and her aches and pains. Her eyesight is obviously still good as she is a voracious reader, consuming five mystery novels a week from the local library, and she can spot her new neighbor across her lakefront property. Although she has lived alone all her adult life and is fiercely independent, loneliness is her secret, seldom admitted, pain. Most interesting is that although she can see herself doing it, she cannot help but be a bit cantankerous, guilt inducing, and stereotypically o-l-d.
The book is OK, but not all that consuming. Yet it got me thinking about what I'll be like at 90. I certainly doubt that I'll be living alone on a secluded mountaintop in Tennessee like our heroine. I'm guessing I will opt for a genteel, gracious retirement home with high tea and Sunday brunches and movie nights. The lady that sold us our house just wrote that she has chosen exactly such a place, The Historic Chamberlain, for her last years. I looked it up and it seems to fit her style and personality perfectly.
As long as my future home has an ample selection of mysteries I'll be OK...
;-)
A former staffer wrote me yesterday and brought me up to date on the state of my former place of employment, specifically the IT Department. Since I retired 3 1/2 years ago, my employer has made a $775,000. purchase to replace what I consider the crowning achievement of my 30 plus year career in application development: an integrated system to support some of the organization's most vital functions.. Apparently the newly purchased system is a humongous disaster.
I searched my memory bank for the specifics of what such a system would have to replace and the tremendous amount of organization and leadership its implementation would entail. I remembered how carefully I planned for my extremely lower cost version (about $100,000) of the same applications.
I could not help but feel a little proud that I did such a good job on my own system. Perhaps my system was not perfect but I definitely did a thorough job of researching the requirements and it certainly met or exceeded the needs of its users.
I did so ____ the challenges of my former life. I can't seem to find the right word. "Enjoy" is not quite right, neither is "hate" or "fear". I would not go back to work for any amount of money. But somewhere deep inside of me lurks the desire to jump in and fix whatever is wrong.
I know I could. Wink Wink.
;-)
The Temple's biggest fundraiser is Bingo. And today Bingo starts again after a brief summer hiatus. I am back volunteering in the kitchen, an active job I find infinitely preferable to sitting at a table or walking the floor selling cards and other paraphernalia. Today I'll be helping my friend Mrs.Goldberg slice veggies and make sandwiches and boil giant hot dogs and maybe make taco salad or mac & cheese. I am great at taking direction and also washing pots and pans.
Tonight our neighbors the Johnsons have suggested we all play, so after my stint at volunteering, we'll be participating, Last time we played together hubby won $500! The Temple is known throughout the area by the Bingo aficionados for giving out the best and biggest prizes. Folks come from pretty far away to play at the Temple and they remember the dates of our Jewish holidays (no Bingo) better than I do.
It's the best way to spend one's day, or even one's whole life: a little work, a little play, some friends and socializing, a little bit of a good deed, and perhaps a chance to be a winner or at least have fun trying.
BINGO!
Justice, Justice, Shall You Pursue (Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9)
It's a central tenet of Judaism and the centerpiece of next week's Parsha. The phrase is proudly displayed on many a Jewish lawyer's office walls. Its meaning includes the principles of impartiality, not taking bribes, balance and equality.
It is also often interpreted as "charity" or tzedakah. But tzedakah goes beyond a simple, spontaneous act of goodwill. Tzedakah is an attempt to even up one's own blessings with those less fortunate, in other words, to make the world a little more fair, more just.
Now we all know, life is not fair. Some folks are happily married for 50 plus years; some know multiple divorces and heartbreak. Some of us live long, productive lives; some are struck down in mid-stride. One person flounders in business while another flourishes in just the right position.
We cannot make the whole world right, but we must try. It is an obligation, not a choice, in Judaism.
Someone once asked me why so many Jews are Democrats. Surely our collective desire for upward mobility and business success, our interest in economics (think Greenspan and Yellen), the legal profession (think Dershowitz and Shapiro) and Wall Street would make us lean right, no? I believe our long time status as the world's oppressed, the underdogs, the scrappy come-from-behind pluggers, along with our deep-seated commitment to Heal The World, makes us identify more with the party that at least claims to represent the downtrodden best.
Justice, Justice, Shall You Pursue...
Enough is enough. I've seen enough of you, Donald Trump.
Whoever you are, you cannot get my attention (much less my vote) by insulting war heroes, journalists, other public figures, people you don't like, or even Rosie O'Donnell.
Like I do for all candidates that peak my interest, I took out your latest book Time To Get Tough (2011) and kept an open mind. So don't say I did not give you a fair chance.
I wish it were different and we could have an honest, independent candidate to get stuff done. But hopefully we will and it won't be you.
More policy and less aggrandizing and people bashing and I may reconsider. Meanwhile, You're Fired!
I'm hooked on this show. It has no sex, no murders, no aliens and definitely no culinary masterpieces. What it does have is a ton of heart.
A large, self reliant family that actually like each other and want to live together away from the rest of the world. Folks who need little, take little from the world, keep their promises, help each other succeed and work harder than I have ever worked at any 9 to 5 job.
The most interesting thing about the Browns - other than how they manage without cell phones, electricity, TV, computers, appliances, the public school system and WalMart - is the family dynamic. Each member of the family seems to have an amazing individual skill that completes a whole, functioning unit. Noah is the family engineer and tinkerer who can make a meat smoker, hot tub, generator, shower and clothes dryer out of scrap parts from the junkyard. Gabe is the go-to guy for brute strength. Snowbird is the best shot and best chance for bagging a deer. Bam is the stable, steady voice of reason. Matt is the funster. Bear is the one best in tune with nature and is able to smell out water sources. Ami is the mother, the nurturer and home schooler. Billy is the father and Alpha Male, the leader of the pack and the Chief Decider.
I love the Browns and I love joining their 'Wolf Pack" for each new episode.
Howl On!
We are just back from a wonderful cruise around the Caribbean. This trip included a new-to-us Port of Call, Roatan, Honduras. The shopping area outside the port was beautiful, inviting - and cheap! - so we decided to hire a taxi and an English speaking driver to give us a three hour tour of the island.
We saw incredible beaches, the funky-fun West End hippie/tourist area, multi-multi-million dollar homes, one room shacks where whole families live, the mall (suited for American tastes - there are 15,000 Americans and Canadians living on Roatan), the "downtown" commercial districts, and plenty of local attractions. The best part? The driver's story...
Our driver's English was good because he lived in the USA for nine years. From the Honduras mainland he tried three times between the ages of 14 and 18 to enter America illegally from Mexico. His third attempt was successful because he spent seven months in Mexico learning how. He rode the underside of a train, covered in oil and finally entered from Nuevo Laredo. From there he made it to San Antonio, then to Georgia where he had friends. He eventually met an American girl (she spoke no Spanish and he spoke no English at first), married, had two children - a boy and a girl - and worked as a house painter. One day ICE came and he was deported back to Honduras. The money he had sent his mother and sister over the years was gone (on bad things). That was five years ago.
In spite of having an attorney and American citizens for a wife and children, having been an illegal in the country has prevented him from returning legally. He is still hopeful he will be able to return legally soon. He sees his wife on her rare visits to Roatan and when he can, Skypes with his children. He said his wife and her family have been very supportive. Meanwhile, back on the Honduras mainland (I'm never going there!), his sister and two nieces were murdered (they were up to no good I think) and his mother passed away.
There is a lot of talk about illegal immigration these days. Hearing a real story from a real person made me stop and think a little more about it.
I will not forget Roatan any time soon...
Here in The Villages we have Snowbirds - folks who come here for a few months every year to escape the harsh winters Up North. We also have Snowflakes who come and visit for a few days or a week and disappear for a long stretch. But I am a Frog - I plan to be here until I croak!
Frogs are characterized by those of us who feel each day in TV is a vacation and each sunrise and sunset marks the start and end of a beautiful day in a perfect place. I think of this time and this place as my reward for a lifetime of hard work and worry and not screwing up too badly hahaha.
So I will sit here on my beloved lily pad and happily cackle joyful noises along with my other Frog friends.
Until I croak...
;-)
