Lest we forget

Did you know that American observes an official moment of silence at 3 PM on Memorial Day in tribute to the men and women who have given their lives in service to our county?

Well, you do now.

Memorial Day 2010

In memory of those who have gone before us.


Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. ~From a headstone in Ireland

Don't you wish you had a picture?

About a year ago I got a Wii video game. I used it for a while then life (and my living room) got a little crowded so I haven't used it much the past several months (like 10 - 12).

But a couple of weeks ago I dusted it off and pushed back the ottoman and stuck in Dancing with The Stars again. I'm getting better. Unfortunately, it doesn't teach you to really dance - but considering my level of rhythm and coordination it's probably just as well.

I got 2 new games this week: Walk It Out and Wii Fit Plus. I tried Walk It Out yesterday and got stuck in the stadium. I just walked around and around and around. So today I Googled for some hints and was able to get out onto the island and I walked 0.6 miles or so the Wii said. My feet feel like I went 6 miles or maybe not. I've probably never walked 6 miles before at one time so how would I know?

I checked out Wii Fit Plus yesterday too. First I did the Body Test - it had a new peripheral vision test and apparently I have no peripeheral vision at all. It calculated my age at 71 but Wii Fit always says I'm younger than my real age. (That makes Wii Fit my favorite.)

Then I tried the games that looked fun. I couldn't figure out how to steer the Segway - I ran it into the ocean (more than once), I ran it into a rock wall. I ran it everywhere but where I was supposed to. I kept wishing I had a little kid around to show me how to do it, but he/she probably wouldn't let me play.

I can't snowboard. But we already knew that.

I can ride a bike, and I learned how to steer it. Not well, but fast. All that abrupt weaving back and forth made me dizzy.

Made me go Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I got my care package

My Aunt Betty sent me this poem Wednesday in response to an email that I sent her in response to an email that she sent me. I think we just invented Relative Appreciation Week.

It`s not the things that can be bought that are life`s richest treaure,
It`s just the little `heart gifts` that money cannot measure---
A cheerful smile, a friendly word, a sympathetic nod
Are priceless little treasures from the storehouse of our God---
They are the things that can`t be bought with silver or with gold,
For thoughtfulness and kindness and love are never sold-
They are the priceless things in life for which no one can pay,
And the giver finds rich recompense in giving them away.

I need a care package.

This job is sucking the life out of me.

I try to remember that there are people with jobs that are much worse than this one, but sometimes when I'm banging my head against the desk for the third time in one morning, it's really hard to care that your job sucks too.

I know there are people with no jobs who are worried sick about losing everything because the paychecks stopped weeks, even months, ago, and I should be thankful I have a job at all, but sometimes it's hard to muster enough empathy to care.

I know there are other people with unfullfilled dreams, and wasted talents, but at the moment I just don't care.

Usually when I don't have enough care to go around, I buy or bake something for someone else and I get a kind of boomerang effect that lightens my heart. But today I think I'm just going to be a grouchy old lady, so SEND ME A CARE PACKAGE now or stay out of my way.

I've been thinking

It occurred to me this afternoon that I'm not quite old enough to be a sweet little old lady, but I'm way too old to be that sweet young thing.

And then it occured to me. Age probably has very little to do with it.

What I Learned

You know I like to learn new things. Constantly searching, absorbing learning, drinking in knowledge.

Just this month (and it's only the 10th), I've learned:

James Arness (Matt Dillion) was 6 feet 7 inches tall and was badly wounded in the leg at Anzio during WWII. Which is probably why he had trouble running on Gunsmoke.

Buck Taylor (Gunsmoke's Newly O'Brien) was the son of Dub Taylor. (If you don't know who Dub Taylor is, go watch a western - he's probably in there somewhere.) I also learned that Buck Taylor is a world famous water color artist, specializing in western art.

Tonto was the smart one. The Lone Ranger/ was dumber than a box of rocks. On The Lone Ranger Show, I mean. Maybe the writers just had it in for him because he wouldn't tell them his name.

I learned some other stuff too, but these are the high-lights.

I'm waiting

I'm at work waiting for the computer to do something. I could be doing something work-related while I'm waiting, but I'm ticked off at the stupid people who work at this stupid job so I'm not.

I'm just sitting here thinking I'm too old to put up with this much crap.

I saw a mug at the local card shop yesterday that said, "If life hands you crap, don't make anything." and that's what I'm doing. I've seen things that say, "If life hands you crap, make fertilizer".

But when one is in a crappy mood, one just doesn't give a crap.