Thoughts

Last week at our most recent CK Alumni lunch a couple of people pointed out to me that it had been awhile since I'd made a post.  True enough and it was nice to have people notice and hanker for something new.

The truth is that I haven't been thinking about anything much, or at least nothing I wanted to expound on.  Random thoughts about random events, is all.  So, in order to post something, here are the random thoughts:

Jessica Simpson:  I think you all know how I feel about the media, pop-culture emphasis on body image, more pointedly the image of a skinny body.  And here we have Jessica Simpson, talentless perhaps, but beautiful in that blond long-legged way that America loves, apparently putting on a few pounds.  And we have the media jumping on her with both skinny feet, putting up a picture of her in jeans and a wide belt that shows nothing except that she is still as beautiful as ever, claiming she has let herself go!  I think she has said something to the affect that she's going to do whatever she wants to do and eat whatever she wants to eat and that she feels healthy.  Good for her!

Octuplet Mom:  Here is another example of the media telling us what is our business and doggone it, isn't everything our business these days?! The media seems to think so and they have managed to find many "experts" to agree that this young woman has no business having six embryos implanted in her very own uterus resulting in 8 new babies.  Am I the only one who thinks we should just let her be, let her figure out how she is going to raise all her children and let this all fade away?  I feel like we are peeping toms, for crying out loud.  When did we get to decide how many children people wanted?  Let her be.

Peanut Butter:  Boy, am I glad that first, I'm not allergic to peanut butter, and second, that I have a great big 5 pound jar of Adams Chunky that's still half full!  My peanut butter is very important to me and my toast and I'm bummed that we maybe can't trust it anymore....

87-year old Mom:  We helped my Mom celebrate her 87th birthday on February 12th.  She and her cousin used to call each other Abe, because they shared Lincoln's birthday and this year we are hearing lots about Abe and the 200th year since his birth.  As for me, I'm pretty impressed that my Mom is a healthy 87 year old.  I made her a roast chicken dinner and a cherry pie and after dinner we watched Meet Me In St. Louis, with Judy Garland, and we sang all the songs and then we sent her home with half the pie.

The Economy:  The more I hear about the Great Recession the scarier it gets.  The more I try to understand what happened the more confused I become.  The mortgage meltdown, the bank closures, the bailout, the TARP, the stimulus package, my Roth IRA worth 1/2 of what is was worth just a year ago, the layoffs, Bernie Madoff.  Good grief!

American Idol:  We have been watching American Idol since the beginning, missing only one season (the one where Rubin Stoddard won and Clay Aiken got the fame).  It's a guilty pleasure. I always feel squirmy listening to the judges give their non-constructive comments, Paula makes me cringe and I cover my face in reaction to people who think they can sing and most assuredly cannot.  There is always one singer that catches my fancy by the time we have come to the Final Twelve.  Once or twice we even voted.  I liked that silver-haired young many from season before last and what became of him?  It's the only reality show we watch so I guess it's not so bad to enjoy it.  This week will start the real fun--36 finalists vying for those last 12 spots.  The thing is, Idol seems to actually make a difference--many of these kids have achieved something since their wins, or almost wins.  It's a definite leg up in a very difficult business. 

Alumni Lunches:  We had another CK Alumni lunch last Wednesday.  I like this trend of getting together often.  We are forming a group of people that  are learning about each other in a more important way then just as people we "used to know".  We are finding out that we are fragile and need support.  We are learning that we have much in common by virtue of the fact that we are all the same age.  We are losing friends, we are caring for aging parents, we are dealing with grown children and siblings.  I like knowing that if something goes well or badly in my life I have a big group of old friends that care.  I like caring about them, too.

So, there you have it, my thoughts for right now.  The sun is shining, my youngest granddaughter, Zuzu, just started walking today and tomorrow I am having coffee with one of my rediscovered classmates.  It'll be a good week.  Hope yours is, too.