Month: August 2005

BIG SISTER

TODAY’S THOUGHTS

I have noticed that I have been starting a lot of entries with, “When I was a little girl.” I am thinking that this is what people do when they have a lot of past behind them. I really plan on having lots of future too, but that being said…

When I was a little girl (less than 5), there were lots of important people in my life – my mom and dad, aunts and uncle, and grandparents. But one of the people with whom I interacted and looked up to the most, was my big sister, Peggy. My older sister is a little over three years older than I. I vacillated between thinking she was the best, smartest, nicest sister ever to the meanest one. She could do all sorts of things that I couldn’t. She could ride a two-wheeler, win at all our games, and roller skate standing up. What, you say, doesn’t everyone roller skate standing up? Our front sidewalk had an almost imperceptible slope towards the street. Peggy would tighten up her skates on the front steps, stand up and off she would go, rolling down the front walk and gracefully around the corner. I just could not bring myself to stand up. I was afraid that I would go careening into the street. So I skated on my “little feet,” my term for crouching on the sidewalk and using my hands as propellers and brakes.

At Halloween, my mother would always make Peggy take me with her to go trick or treating. What fun for her! I would be so excited to go along. Unfortunately, this usually meant that I would throw up because I was so keyed up. Then my mother wouldn’t let me go out. I missed a lot of Halloweens because of that.

Because I was afraid to sleep alone at night (and still am), Peggy would always let me crawl into her bed in the middle of the night. If I was being naughty, she would practice baby toe control on me. This is where she would grab my little toe, twist it and make me hop around after her. This was an excellent control device.

I wanted to be just like her for lots of my formative years. I wanted to ride the same bike, play a musical instrument, learn how to dance, take the same classes in high school. But you know, we were never really alike. Peggy is outgoing, I’m not. Peggy became a nurse, I can’t even put a bandaid on a bleeding cut. Peggy is right coast and I am left.

For all these reasons or despite them, last year when Peggy said, “I want to celebrate my 60th birthday by taking a cruise to Alaska. Will you come?” I said yes. Didn’t even have to think about it. So this Saturday we are off for an adventure. It’s going to be great even if she gets a hold of my little toe.

Happy Birthday in advance, Peggy!

PLUMBING DISASTER UPDATE

It looks like everything is under control although the damage is extensive. Apparently the blockage was in the connection where the house pipe meets the town pipe. The water damage people have their fans going and the carpet has been removed. The plumber has located the block and will photograph it later this week with one of those little cameras on the end of a long snake.

PLUMBING DISASTER

I had just started to write an entry for Monday when my computer froze wiping out all my work and then the phone rang. Ryan and Jon had a blockage in one of their pipes. That’s one bad thing. But on top of that their toilet flap didn’t shut all the way and the water kept running so there was water everywhere. Hopefully their homeowners insurance will take care of the plumbing disaster specialists and new carpet. John and I drove over to help out and now it’s after midnight. I think Monday’s entry will be written on Tuesday.

TOMATOES

TODAY’S MEMORY AND A RECIPE

What are the most perfect foods of summer? Which ones, in the dead of winter, do you long for? And I am not talking about their pale counterparts that you can find in the grocery store in the middle of January. Since I grew up in New Jersey, they have to be tomatoes and corn. You know, New Jersey is the garden state. It must be true, it says so on the license plates. Too many people only think of NJ as the Turnpike, the smelly corridor between Philadelphia and New York City. However, lots of small farmers still grow produce. Lots of people still grow tomatoes in their backyards.

When I was growing up, my father was an electrician and, later, head of a savings and loan. (I’ll write about this someday.) We had a backyard that I thought was enormous when I was a kid but in a visit during my adulthood realize was fairly small. Every spring it was always a fight to see how much of my mother’s gardens would become part of the vegetable patch. Most years my father won a little more space. He grew pole beans which I think were some kind of lima bean. He grew green beans and cucumbers. But his great pride was his tomatoes. He set up 6 foot cages for them and planted the little seedlings in the middle. By the end of the summer, we had a veritable tomato forest. Giant tomato plants brimming with tomatoes. There were more than we could ever eat. We gave them away by the bagful. They were the most delicious tomatoes ever – good acidity and some sugar. While they were growing, my dad paid way more attention to those tomatoes than he did to us. He would come home for lunch everyday either in his overalls or in his suit and commune among the tomatoes. Even lay in the dirt to carefully fertilize them.

The very yummy best dinner we could have was lots of corn on the cob from the local farm stand and fried tomatoes – not green, but fully ripe. The fried tomatoes were a mess to make. Dipped in flour, egg and seasoned breadcrumbs, topped with a little sugar and fried in butter. When I make them now, maybe I use a little parmesan too but I don’t think it was in the original recipe. They are heaven to eat.

Another standard during the tomato season was ham, lettuce and tomato with mayonnaise on a hard roll (this may be known as a Kaiser roll or bulkie to you.) Every Saturday, there was always a trip to the deli to get the ham and rolls.

These days when I feel guilty about eating anything but reduced calorie bread and lite mayo, skinny little pieces of some turkeyish deli meat and never frying anything, I like to think about all the delicious pleasures of those home grown tomatoes.

E-Z CREDIT

TODAY’S WORRY

Need money? Call 1-800-u-r-so-dum now! In bankruptcy? Have a bad credit rating? Behind on your bills? Not a problem! Need some cash? Loan sharks at your door? Call 1-800-I-m-desperate now! All you need is equity in your home. We can address your problem while making a little cash for ourselves.

It’s handy that all these loaners have real estate licenses, just in case you can’t make your payments. Then, instead of being behind on your payments but living in your house, you could be free of your payments and living on the street!

There are a lot of people living on the edge, living from paycheck to paycheck. They need everything to go right in their lives just to juggle the bills. What happens to these people when they hear the commercials on the radio offering them an easy way out of debt? One ad even says, ka-ching, after their phone number so that borrowing money feels like you are winning at the slots. Are people so desperate or so gullible that they jump at the chance to get some “easy” money?

Part of the homeless problem brought to you by E-Z credit.

EXTREMISM

TODAY’S WORRY

This past week the Bush administration has changed its rhetoric from fighting a “war against terror” to a “struggle against extremism.” This change recognizes that our fight is with an ideology that employs terror. The ideology has economic, political, and cultural components. It also takes the focus of the execution of the policy from the military exclusively and includes the American people and global community.

I find the use of the term “extremism” confusing. One man’s extremism is another’s orthodoxy. It seems to me that many types of fundamentalism are pretty extreme, be they Moslem, Jewish, or Christian. I think fundamental Mormonism with its polygamy extreme. Or how about Jews who are currently crossing into Gaza to try to disrupt the Israeli pull out because God gave them that land? Or the radical Christian right in the US who are trying to legislate their own brand of morality for the rest of us? There is way too much religious extremism going on in the world right now. It doesn’t seem to be a force for good.

At least let’s alter our new slogan to read that we are struggling against “violent” extremism. Then we can debate what we consider “violence.”

Monterey, California

Last night we went to a new venue for live music called “Monterey Live.” It’s in downtown Monterey and has live music of different genres every night. It’s an intimate setting with tables where you are served drinks and small bites of your choosing. If you are planning on being on the Monterey peninsula you might consider checking out their website to see what’s being offered.

Right next store to Monterey Live is the refurbished Monterey Hotel. Originally built in 1904, the interior has been redone in its original Victorian style. Our room at $150 was reasonable for being right downtown in Monterey. You are within walking distance of the old part of Monterey and there are lots of restaurants and shops nearby. A couple of caveats, though. Our room was on the 4th floor and there is no elevator. That’s a lot of steps. The king size bed with its ornate headboard took up almost all of the room, really, there was hardly any room to walk around it to the bathroom. Our window which opened onto the fire escape and the street had no screen. There’s also no air conditioning but that’s not really a problem in Monterey. It is very noisy. Between gulls screeching, trucks going by, road repair, garbage emptying and the other people in the hotel just talking at a normal pitch, sleeping was intermittent. The water in the shower tended to vacillate between hot and less hot.

So you’re thinking, why would I stay there? It’s got a great location. It’s not outlandishly expensive. The breakfast room and continental breakfast are nice. It’s kind of cool staying in an old refurbished hotel. If you are considering staying in this hotel, make sure that you ask for a room facing away from the street and on no higher than the second floor unless you are in really good shape.