5 people killed and 25 injured-

And now Colorado Springs -The fatal rampage inside Club Q-

“That certain night , the night we met, there was magic abroad in the air. There were angels dining at the Ritz- “And a Nightingale Sang in Barclay Square.” Words by Eric Maschwitz, music by Manning Sherwin. The song was written in 1939 in a French fishing village Le Lavandou right before the outbreak of the Second World War. Fast forward— On a steamy week-end eve you get dressed, put on your lipstick, turn off your music and walk out the door. You look forward to debriefing the week with a friend and meeting some new friends. You’re all set to chill in a high energy, safe haven club, on your local Barclay Square- the nightingales were singing. Dry martinis, familiar faces and music you listen to at home and know every word to. A perfect design for a five-star time. One would think. And then the World According to Garp doesn’t happen. No Lin Manuel, THESE senseless acts of tragedy are what is “promised.” Our promised land nearly 70 years after World War Two- on the the doorstep of World War Three. “Praising Isis, Gunman attacks Gay Nightclub, leaving 50 dead in worst shooting on U.S.Soil. Yes, on U.S.soil again and again. We scream in horror, we cry in disbelief as one more lunatic walks into one more gun shop and puts down one more stolen credit card. We then pay dearly for the laws that govern the strongest nation on earth. We pray for the insane and fund them in jail after they take away our freedom of choice, as to which place to dance the night away–that takes our Life away. In concentration camp like fashion we become prisoners of the loose cannon, suicide bombers who live to die. The adage of ” do guns kill people or do people kill people” is center stage again today.. One avenue for slaughter is 18 year olds being allowed to buy murder weapons. How long is congress on sabbatical from revising laws on buying over the counter rifles in a store that houses beef jerky too? Dear G-d please look in our direction. We need our backs covered and we are willing to double down for this.

Front and Center- through the years-

The Answer is Yes!

Can we have a play date?

Can you tie my sneakers?

I love cornichons- please just two more. 

Can we do an art project while we watch Sponge Bob?

Can we put on make-up and wear your high heels?

I think I will have pizza the kind that is square.

Can we go to the craft store and get chocolate croissants next door?

May I have some pretzels, the kind that is dark?

How much more time can I stay? 

Please call mom and ask for more time here-can I stay longer?

Please some more hummus to dip my carrots in.

It’s my sisters B-day, can We make her a card?

When we plant the terrace, can I plant watermelon seeds?😎

Next time get the yogurt with cookie crumbs on top. 

I think I will have french toast for dinner, I love it so much.

Can you make the water in the shower warmer? Please.

Ok, guys get ready it’s time to go home. 

Just five more minutes, it feels like we 

just got here.

I made this in school for Grandpa and you.

Look I got braces, they are purple and red. 

Can you come to hockey and watch me play?

I have ballet on Wednesday will you come to watch?

Can we build a lego, and we’ll leave it by you?—-

17 years and counting with 8 kids so close-to heart-Let’s do it “71″–We wish this on everyone. Bh

Botox and nose drops and needles for knitting,

Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,

Bundles of magazines tied up in string,

These are a few of our favorite things.

Cadillacs and cataracts, hearing aids and glasses,

Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,

Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,

These are a few of our favorite things.

When the pipes leak,

When the bones creak,

When the knees go bad,

We simply remember our favorite things,

And then we don’t feel so bad.

Hot tea and muffins and corn pads for bunions,

No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,

Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,

These are a few of our favorite things.

Back pain, confused brains and no need for sinnin’,

Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin’,

And we won’t mention how much we forget,

While living in the moment, we’ve less to regret.

When the joints ache,

When the hips break,

When the eyes grow dim,

Then we remember the great things we’ve had,

And then we don’t feel so bad.”

Make it a fun Saturday!

Disneyland, Disney World add dolls in wheelchairs to ‘It’s a Small World’ attraction

They had no more raisin bran muffins left at our local deli so we went to corn, Plan B. The restaurant only had a 6:00 or 9:30 time slot available to dine. So yes, we went to Plan B. The bus was really overcrowded so we waited for the next one- Another Plan B decision. One and done meager alternative are you kidding me choices .

 Up early, in a time to make the donuts moment we watched the news as Christina Applegate, (Married with Children! Etc.) received her Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was barefoot and being held by her co-star Katey Segal. She was grateful and weepy as she explained her latest diagnosis of MS. 

In 2008 she had a prophylactic double mastectomy after finding an early stage tumor and receiving a BRCA1 Genetic Mutation diagnosis.

We binged watched her performance in the Dead to Me, tv series. What is touted as her best and funniest work, Anchorman, with Will Ferrell there were laugh out loud moments. 

She is a versatile actress. Funny, clever, engaging and relatable.

Her BRCA1 diagnosis makes her most relatable as our family is riddled with this deleterious mutation. Familiar indeed to surgeries and the aftermath.

In the everyone got something category we work with what we got and do all we can. Praying all the way to the new bra dept. 

Fast Forward- as we drank our early morning coffee and read the newspaper we came upon the story about Dolls in Wheelchairs at Disney. 

This newly added diversity representing a population of children, who in the everyone got something category live with the physical limitation of getting up and walking to the next exhibit.

In 2019 Ali Stoker (first caught our attention on Glee) was the first person on Broadway to perform from her wheelchair. She was paralyzed since youth from a spinal cord injury as a result of a car accident. She never begrudged her fate, studied performance art and went the distance, sitting down. If anything her disability served as a motivator and helped propel her all the way to her Tony winning performance in Oklahoma.

Ali Stoker has since become part of the #AerieREAL Role Model Campaign. It is a body positive and inclusivity initiative led by the underwear retailer Aerie. The campaign highlights a diverse group of women from varied industries and backgrounds and uses their unretouched photos in ads. 

So just for today let’s embrace our individuality, mix in our limitations and remember when it comes down to it- “It’s a small world after all.” 

How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Dale Carnegie won friends and influenced people he never met. His basic principle to aim for cheerful friendliness and approach things with zero ambiguity. Pushy tactics are not necessary when you carry your own concept of yourself. “Don’t criticize, condemn or complain.” His book has gone the distance on the daily, like our morning coffee, Al Rokers weather report and scrolling through Instagram. Eliminating gossip and judgements leaves time for forwarding junk emails to 10 people as an opportunity to win the lottery. Lol.

 His suggestions served as the prototype for all The Chicken Soup for the Soul publications. Helen Gurley Brown in her Cosmopolitan style, told it like it was as career and love life merged, through red lipstick and panty hose and we paid close attention. We watched, we must confess, early on when Phil Donahue met “That Girl” and interviewed Jean Nidetch (founder of Weight Watchers.) We learned the value of zero point foods and loosing some lbs.

Back to -Oh Dale, how your words resonated loud and clear upon first read and today when we need a reminder or two. That unpleasant look from so and so the other day had everything to do with them and very little to do with us. People project their feelings and own bias when their defending the one side of the story they didn’t hear.

We long for the long ago days when we walked into the candy store and put the new Betty and Veronica, Little Dot and Archie comics on the counter next to our bazooka and twizzler treats. How bout the primordial smells of the gum in the pack of baseball cards that one of the kids on your block shared with you? The very familiar smell of a brand new spalding ball lingers on in our bag of childhood memories. We believe our first art lesson was on Etch a Sketch, and early writing lessons happened through creating stories of where Barbie and Ken will go on their honeymoon. We thought Bermuda would be nice. 

One guilty pleasure we recall was chewing double bubble, piece after piece (not knowing we were helping our dentist enjoy his summer home with each bubble that landed smack across our faces.) Oh the 60’s where art thou now? Our world is bleeding out of control. Shootings on college campuses, in our local grocery stores and our grade schools are coming with rapid fire speed.

Fear when we walk down the block and into our CVS to find shampoo locked up is our new normal. PTSD, insomnia and binge eating a deleterious trifecta too common in our everyday. So Dale- just for today we will “Get busy, keep busy. it’s the cheapest kind of medicine there is on earth- and one of the best.” Thanks, Mr. Carnegie we’re in.

Dear Jamesy Gom,
We watch your strides so long.
Your hair “flows” out of its helmet,
Your “A” game far and long.
Your “cycling” of the “biscuit” as you “Bar Down” into the net.
A cause for a “celly” we are busting from the get.
You got the rink covered,
The opponents can surely tell.
While your friends were playing checkers in theory,
Your chess game very strong.
You are such a talented hockey dude.
Center rink is where you belong.

Senate Majority Blue all the way.

Freedom to choose, fingers crossed here to stay.

Truth in the numbers proved we came out on top.

The era of terror will hopefully stop.

Our tables while dining have no room for discussion.

We’ll hold on to Democracy, add an element of percussion.

The Wizard of “Oz” take the man made of straw.

A victorious outcome as they tallied the score.

We all came together, our voice strong and loud.

Your maga made creeps can no longer claim proud.

Our bodies, our selves we fought for our rights.

Threatening tactics added energy not strife.

We truly believe as United we’ll claim.

Forever as one our independent domain.

We’re having a par-tee.
We’ll call in your fans.
No one can catch you,
Through your 40th day stance.
J is for Jeopardy with buzzer in hand.
E is for everything you just understand.
O the opportunity you championed indeed.
P for how purposeful with the board you succeed.
A as your answers come with quick rapid speed.
R your resilience which puts you in the lead.
D so determined you run thru the topics.
Y we’re in awe cause you’re hardly myopic.
Holding the round number with another strong win,
We will happily tune in to watch once again.
You dazzle with your knowledge,
Your charm, your allure.
Entertaining your fans,
As you’re simply adored.

Repost- so needed!

A -my name is Alice and my husband’s name is Al, we come from Alabama and we sell Apples. As I open the cupboard on memories, bouncing a Spaulding as we sang the A my name is Alice rhyme, lifting our leg over the ball with each bounce, was an all time great walk around the corner and under a tree. A veritable, primordial work out and creative singing lesson all in one. My sister Bettie Ann and I grew up together and hung with the “girls on the block.” We stopped playing and walked home for our tuna sandwich or the treat of salami on rye, only made better with the delicious taste of deli mustard. After lunch we would stroll to the all purpose grocery store. I can vividly see the barrel of pickles prominently sitting next to the left of the front door. We would use part of our allowance to buy candy. Our first go to was a striped pixy stick, a straw filled with lik-m-aid. For those in the know it’s a tasty sugary retrospective in time. The original version of Fun Dip. We would then mosey over to the red licorice and marshmallow peeps. At Halloween the chicks turned into orange faced pumpkins. Fast forward 60 years. It’s 6:00 A.M. daylight savings time. Time to put up the coffee, my turn to “make the donuts.”
I woke up salivating for a piece of my past, inside that grocery store. My sister and I would bring our bag of goodies up to the counter. The familiar face of the man, (whose name we never knew)
would take the pencil he harbored behind his ear and tally up our treats.

With our visual bounty in hand we would skip our way home and unveil the contents, perhaps trade a piece or two.

Our afternoons were often consumed through adventures with Dick and Jane, The Bobbsey Twins or figuring out if Nancy Drew was ever going to hook up with one of the Hardy Boys.
As we felt the heat of the oven cooking sweet potatoes we knew they would soon be sitting next to the very well done baby lamb chops and canned peas Sophie was making for dinner. A welcomed pre-dinner activity was watching Patty Duke and her identical cousin navigate their way through high school. We often tried to distinguish between the subtleties in their looks. Hmmm! I long for those days of innocence when the doctor appointments took place as we sat upon the kitchen table. Ah! the local store that sold glass bottles of milk and farmer cheese and had a pickle barrel made no room on the shelf for ammunition. Dwight D. Eisenhower was President.

Everybody in Grovers Corners looked into the grocery store and the drugstore once a day in “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder. It is with older eyes and wiser hearts that we live our lives. So, just for today reach for the red licorice after a very sour pickle and use the extra hour to make it a great Sunday.

Richard Burton called Elizabeth Taylor his “eternal one night stand.” I croon at the tenor of the mere idea of that. An emotional reverence of prodigious proportions hardly containable in thought. Conversely as reality stands still for no one he played George to her Martha in Edward Albee’s- Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe? They were married and divorced twice, although their fascination for one another lingered on. The intermix of hindsight and reality defines “the serpent in envy paradise theory.”

We all have an emotional fingerprint that comes to full expression when it is stamped and recognized by the people we love. The state of limerence (infatuated love) is fleeting. It serves as the gestation period waiting to convert impassioned into permanence. If Jack is in love with Jill he is no judge of her beauty. With a fortuitous, askewed eye we hope that our veneration for our beloved evolves into a ” happily ever after” place. Loving children, grandchildren and our dogs helps to make our hearts sing. 

Calvin Trillin wrote a terrific short read called “About Alice.” He eulogized his wife in beautiful detail. He tried his best to make her feel real in spite of its hyperbolic style. My take away was reminiscent of “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.” Michel Legrand wrote the music under the direction of Jacques Demy. The movie plays out in song. The music adds breathless enchantment to the characters dialogue. I am always left wondering how this would have played out outside of song. I imagine this is one reason we can’t get enough of any media that has a dream with a tune. Tickets to coveted Broadway Musicals – at $400 a clip. Nothing like a good American Songbook excerpt to get the hoof beating and the heart racing. The fantasy and sighs as we sway back and forth helps to complete the experience of wonder. Yes, Calvin Trillin loved Alice, his muse, he is quoted as saying “all his writing was for her.” She was described by friends as “someone who managed to navigate the tricky waters between living a life you could be proud of and still delighting in the many things there are to take pleasure in.” Waxing poetic, indeed.

So “hello young lovers wherever you are.” Getting it close to center in the quadrants of your life is the journey. Let’s do it one day at a time.