PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR VOTE!

Tomorrow is an important day.  One of our more precious rights is the freedom to vote.  There are several candidates and propositions out there so make the best choice you can.  I don't care if we all vote differently (which I know we will) just so long as you vote.  We all think differently. 

"If everyone is thinking alike, then someone isn't thinking."  G. Patton  - I love this quote.
 
Women, please remember we were just given the vote August 26, 1920.  It's hard for me to believe that up until then, my grandmothers and great aunts couldn't vote.  As a reminder, I've added some text and a few pictures to illustrate what it was like then and hopefully you'll be grateful for what these women went through for us.
 
Also, I recommend an excellent movie based on the Women's Suffrage movement called Iron Jawed Angels.  http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Iron-Jawed-Angels/60034798?strkid=525256435_0_0&strackid=4734c205cd0c93cb_0_srl&trkid=222336
 

"Iron Jawed Angels depicts highlights from Alice Paul and Lucy Burns' advocacy such as organizing thousands of suffragists marching in parades in NYC and DC (surviving harrassment) and protesting outside the White House, (they were called the "Silent Sentinels") holding signs that read, "Mr. President how long must women wait for liberty?"  Paul and Burns along with the other suffragists, endured incarceration at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia and the District of Columbia Jail.  Paul and Burns protested by instituting a hunger strike which many other women joined.  The guards retaliated by beating the women and force-feeding Paul and Burns.  Their efforts, along with continued press coverage of the suffragists' abusive treatment, put pressure on President Wilson, who in turn eventually pressued Congress to pass the 19th amendment."

http://opinionessoftheworld.com/2010/08/26/womens-equality-day-celebrates-battle-for-womens-suffrage/

 

 

Dorothy Day with her prison dress. On November 1917 Day went to prison for being one of forty women in front of the White House protesting women's exclusion from the electorate.

 

 

 

 

Sojouner Truth

 

Elizabeth S. Cady                  Susan B. Anthony             Louisa May Alcott                     Alice Paul

 

 

 

Ida B. Wells-Barnett

 

 

 

 

 

 

REMEMBER....THE ONLY WASTED

VOTE IS A VOTE NOT CAST! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you!

And thanks, Pam, for the inspiration.

 

I WANT TO BE PRESIDENT!

Psych!  Not really!  Why anyone wants to be President nowadays is beyond me.  Growing up, it was the ultimate job parents wanted for their little boys.  President of the United States was the dream job.  My mother, however, was sure my brother was going to be a Senator.  She started calling him 'The Senator' when he was a baby.    I have a recent picture of him in a suit standing in front of the Capitol and he does look very Senator-ish. 
 
I watched last night's debate and I've read lots of comments on both contestants.   I think if you like Joe Biden he did great.  If you like Paul Ryan, he did great. 

I believe all that smiling, etc. that Joe did was a debate tactic.  It's who he is and he's been described as feisty, rude and scrappy.  I think he's old school.  He reacts outwardly; too much sometimes as I sat there wincing thinking "Come on Joe, tone it down."  He tried to rattle his opponent.   I think it was deliberate to offset the President's performance from last week.  Joe knew what he was doing and how he would be received but he took one for the team.   I looked beyond the antics and saw he had good content. 
 
Paul Ryan was unflappable.  It did not appear to me that Joe rattled him.  Ryan is from a newer generation where he's schooled or taught himself not to openly react.  Ryan had a few smirks of his own though.  He held his own throughout the debate and had good content also.

I think I'll ask "The Senator" his opinion about the debate.   He's a schmart guy but I'm so glad he's not in politics!

No One's Speaking To Me

I hadn't planned on posting anything  political on this blog.  But I was thinking I have a wonderful mix of Facebook friends interested in politics.  They range from the very conservative to the very liberal and gosh are they into this election! 

I'm seeing several posts a day popping up on my wall.  Sorry folks but most of them I don't read.  There are so many, it's overwhelming.   I get information I'll need to make a decision from other sources.  After watching debates,  interviews and reading articles I've come to the conclusion that I don't seem to fit in anywhere.  Why?  Because no one is speaking to me.  Here's why:

I'm not middle class (at least according to Gov. Romney's definition)
I'm not a millionaire
I'm not a billionaire
I'm not a gazillionaire
I'm not on social security
I'm not on Medicare
I'm not married
I'm not a working mother
I'm not a single mother
I'm not a mother
I'm not African American
I'm not Hispanic American
I'm not Asian American
I'm not Muslim
I'm not an immigrant
I'm not an illegal immigrant
I'm not a student
I'm not in the military
I'm not a military wife
I'm not a government worker
I'm not an auto worker
I'm not a veteran
I'm not homeless
I'm not a celebrity

I could go on and on but then I remembered  I'M JOBLESS!  Hey, I fit in!  But is that a good thing? 

Happy Autumn!

I Don't Speak Flicker

In the summer of 2009, I lost a very good friend to bone cancer.  Nancey had battled cancer for 6 years and had two bone marrow transplants.  We met in 1973 as new employees at a mortgage company.  I started in April and she started in May.    We worked in the collection department with two other women.  Our hours were 10:15 to 7:30 PM.  Management felt we would find more people at home during those hours.  But this has nothing to do with today’s post.

Over the years, Nancey and I were work friends and then out-of-the-office friends.  As each of us moved on to different jobs in and out of the company, we kept in touch.  There were a couple of periods in time when we drifted apart but always managed to reconnect.

Nancey had a mind of her own which got her into trouble with management on occasion.  She was never afraid to speak her mind.  She also had a huge interest in the afterlife.  She believed in spirits and their ability to connect to the living.  She loved ghost stories and spooky movies in general.  I remember once we went to a double feature of Alien and one other movie but I can’t remember the name.  She sat there, eyes wide open and thoroughly enjoying the movies while I cringed or hid my eyes.

One time we went to Disneyland and Universal Studios.  We had a blast riding all the rides.  At some point in the ride, they always take your picture and you can buy them.  We bought several pictures from different rides.  In each picture, there she is; eyes wide open, leaning forward with a smile on her face.  She loved the excitement.  (and there I am cringing; wondering if I’m going to live through the ride!)

 

Towards the end of Nancey’s illness, we talked about a lot of things including her upcoming end of life.  One day, we went to lunch at the Olive Garden; one of her favorite places.  I knew her appetite had waned over the months but I watched my friend order soup, salad, breadsticks, eggplant parmigana and a luscious desert.  She enjoyed and ate every bite. 

During our lunch, we talked again about things.   I suggested we come up with a ‘signal’ for her to contact me after she passed; just like Houdini did with his wife.  She really liked that idea.  We decided to think about it and then talk again.  Unfortunately, that was the last meal we shared and the last time I saw her.

Over the years since her passing, nothing out of the ordinary has happened.   I do think about her occasionally and especially whenever I wore a butterfly pin (one of 3 pieces of jewelry she gave me).  Two weeks ago, I was sitting in my living room and my light began to flicker.   I’m thinking the light bulb is loose so I check and it’s on tight.  I keep watching the light and I think, is that Nancey?  I laughed and said out loud, “Nancey is that you?  You’ll have to do better than this.  I don’t speak flicker!” 

The light has never flickered again since that night but I do wonder about the cause.  Was it Nancey?  Or do I just need a new lamp?

Flea Markets and what you find there...

I think it's the lady in the Goofy hat that keeps me coming back to flea markets.  Not goofy as in silly, but Goofy as in the Disney character.  She pulls a shopping cart behind her loaded, and I mean LOADED, with treasures from Star Wars, kitchens and garages.  She shows me her last purchase of the day.  She spent 45 cents for a pottery goblet with a bearded face etched on the side.  It's definitely a bargain in her eyes.  As she walks away trailing the shopping cart behind her, I realize yes, this woman is a regular of the flea market set and I know I'll see her next year.

Once a year my friend and I would clean out our garages and closets and cart our junk down to the flea market at the local fairgrounds, rent a space for $8.00 and make a little extra money by selling odds & ends no longer wanted or needed.  Our junk is treasure to other people.  Perhaps treasure is over doing it a bit but when I see someone eagerly buying up all of the shrimp cocktail glasses for their collection or a teapot who's lid is stuck and cannot be removed, I wonder.

We see the regular people every year.  Charlie, who is 70 years old, sells wicker pet baskets and bicycles that he's dug out of junk yards and repaired & painted.  His space is always next to ours.  Then there's Marion who works at a school cafeteria and brings her wooden produce crates, baking powder tins and discarded utensils to sell.  Always there is Uncle Georgie, an elderly Italian gentleman who brings anything and everything to sell.  A 'you name it, I got it' kind of guy.  There are always regular vendors but there are always regular buyers too.

There's the smiling antiques/junk dealer with the pencil thin mustache who buys portable TVs that don't work and belt buckles that say FRED on the front.  We see him the first thing in the morning and at the end of the day when we're packing up.  He waves to us as he whizzes by toward his car for the 40th time that day to stash another find.  Then there's the middle aged couple who always manage to pick up something 'darling' for their country home.

Once I had a small sun ornament ala stained glass style, that I was selling for a quarter.  A woman picked it up, looked it over for about 5 minutes and asked if I would take a dime for it.  For some reason that irked me and so I said "No, it's 25 cents."  She put it down and walked away and I just shook my head in wonder.

Another time I had a shoebox full of costume jewelry to sell.  We watched two little girls go through all of it and for a couple of dollars, bought lots of jewels for dress-up.  We could tell they were enjoying themselves and as they left our table with their mother, we heard them say, "That was a fun stop, huh Mom?"

 

There are always people who consider themselves professional collectors and know it all.  One woman told me my balsa wood box (which I had bought at a dollar store and stenciled myself) was really very old and valuable and recommend I not sell it.  Later on I did sell it.....for 50 cents.

I firmly believe husbands and wives should not shop together at a flea market.  They can arrive together and they can leave together but they should not shop together!  Invariably one always talks the other out of buying something at my table.  When I've just about convinced a man why he should buy some paint brushes from me, his wife waves her hand and says "Oh you don't need any of those."  She moves on and he shrugs his shoulders and follows her.  A woman was interested in a bag of old corsages made of artificial flowers (don't ask).  He makes her feel silly and she drops the bag and keeps going.  It never fails!  One always talks the other out of spending a dollar or two at my table.

I've found that people are basically honest and trusting at flea markets.  Many times people will pay cash for something and ask to leave it at our table until they finish their rounds.  No name is left, no receipt is written.  It is understood that the buyer will return and the seller will keep that item aside for them.

 

Vendors watch out for each other.  Many times our neighbors will ask us to watch their table while they make a run to the refreshment stand or rest room.  I actually pray that everything on their table is priced and no on wants to haggle.  Of course, everyone haggles but fortunately, I've never had a problem at my neighbor's table.  

One year we saw a young man walking from booth to booth taking pictures of people, usually vendors.  As he points his camera at my friend she says to him very sweetly, "Take my picture and you die!"  We are not exactly dressed in our very best finery if you know what I mean.  Anyway, he gets the idea right away from her and turns his camera towards me.  I don't care if he takes my picture.  Heck, maybe I'll end up in a coffee table book about flea markets!  

I've often thought that the flea market would be a great place to bring a camera and get some pictures of real characters.  That's probably what this guy thought.  Hey.....wait a minute.  He took my picture.  Did he consider ME a character just because I'm wearing a pith helmet, sunglasses and a yellow t-shirt that says "How's your Aspen" in red?  Surely I"m not 'character' material.  I just clean out my garage once a year.  The pith helmet keeps me cool in the hot sun.  Well, it does.

 

 

 

A couple of hours later, a man walks up and hands me a small plastic cylinder with a key chain attached.  "Wanna see something?" he asks.  I immediately think it's something obscene but look through the hole anyway thinking this place sure has its share of weirdoes.  As I look through this cylinder, I see a picture of myself in my pith helmet.  Suddenly, I realize this is the same young man who took my picture earlier.  Then he offers to sell it to me for $4.00.  Is he kidding??  I've been here for 7 hours and made $24.00.  I should spend $4.00 of it to keep him in business?  As I hand him the cash, its then I realize my friend and I are part of the regular crowd, and yes, maybe even flea market characters ourselves.  What fun!

 

An Old Leather Rocker

I recently brought home from my aunt's house a vintage leather rocker.  It's a dark yellow color with dark brown arms.   I placed it in a cozy corner of my family room and bought a small dark brown hassock to go with it.  This is my new reading nook.  This chair had been in my grandparents' house since the 1940s. 

When I set up the blog, I was sitting in the chair musing over it's history.  I looked down at the hand rests and saw how they had been worn over time.  My dad's family had 11 brothers and sisters and I can guarantee you, at one time or another over the last 60 years,  every single one of them sat in this chair as well as their spouses, their children and grandchildren., nieces and nephews and family friends.

If I ever decide to have the chair recovered, I will leave the wood exactly as it looks.  This chair is just one of countless other family momentos now spread out among all of us cousins (there are 13 of us).  We all treasure what we've recieved over the years from our grandparents' home.  Oh, there were never any grand items such as sterling silver or fine china but we cherish the pieces of their life; a chair, the bed in which my grandmother gave birth to 11 children, photographs, a candy dish, a deck of cards & an old set of poker chips, my grandfather's blacksmithing tools, my grandmother's favorite scriptures written very neatly on a folded up piece of paper and tucked into a small ledger of household expenses.

Ok, back to the reading nook!

Welcome to my Blog

Hi there!  Just what our world needs....another blogger!  Well, I thought I'd give this a try and see how it works.  I don't plan on being too serious or too personal on this blog.  My thought is to use this forum as a outlet to write.  

Don't expect perfect English grammar, spelling or punctuation though!  (Hmmm, I wonder if this application has a spell check).   I'm a little fussy about using double negatives in a sentence or ending a sentence with a preposition but that's about it.  (Oops, I think 'it' is a preposition)  Oh wait, no it's not.   Oh brother, I'm going to drive myself crazy (and you) if I obsess on this.  Shoot, I did it again.  The good news is I found this site:  http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/prepositions-list.htm  That should take care of this issue.  Good grief, I think I wrote too much about this topic.  Fast foward!

I'm going to try and stay away from hot topics because you can get that on any site.  Although, if something truly strikes a chord with me, I may have to share my opinion.

I'm not sure about the title or background template yet.  I'll probably be fooling around with that for awhile. 

Below is a place for readers' comments.  I would prefer only positive comments, please!  Encouragement is so much better than discouragement.

Thanks for reading!

P.S.  I found the spell check!