You’ll have to wait for the book to come out.

"I Believe in Miracles" by The Ramones

 "I believe in a better world for me and you".

Now I can say "I told you so!"  to the people who argued that my old biker jacket would never, ever be in style again & I had to purge it from the back of the closet it’s been lurking in.

I’ve been going through closets, drawers, etc. to get rid of stuff.  I see I have to rescue some old big-bead necklaces from the tzedakah boxes.

I loved that movie!  Peggy Ann Garner was terrific.

"Stuck in the Tunnel"  (subtitled: "No Where Near the Light at the End of It".

Tovah Feldshuh would play me.  She’s fantastic!

I, too,  saw Christine Lahti & thought she looked familiar but couldn’t quite pin her identity down.  What a great change over the nicey-nicey ADAs L&O has had so far.  I see fireworks & much head-butting in future episodes.

After Capt. "Sully" landed his crippled plane in the Hudson & ferries were steered over to provide assistance to the passengers, Rachel Maddow said that she had to honor New Yorkers; they always run towards trouble to help out.

I was in NYC as a child, my family "did" the Statue of Liberty & the Empire State Building, then fled back to the safety of our campground in Pennsylvania. Sadly, I’m another who had the idea that NYC isn’t at all safe, especially for women alone.  This from someone who’s wandered London at all hours of the day & night, & during a trip to Poland, spent several days roaming Gdansk, my chest bristling with every union button I could beg, borrow, or steal from coworkers, looking for a Solidornosz demonstration to participate in (rolls eyes).  Thanks much to New Yorker & Marilyn Buchanan; you’ve eased my fears about a future stay in NYC to study Yiddish at NYU.

I, too, took offense at Cindy Marek’s opinion.  20 years ago, my brother married a woman with a child, & he has always considered that child his daughter.  These days he’s the beloved "Papa" to his daughter’s kids.  My family has always treated her as our own; one of the happiest days of my life was the first time she called me "Auntie".

I have, & I don’t recommend it.  If it doesn’t work out (especially if it ends badly), you have to go to work & see the momzer every day.

In the spring/early summer, before the weather gets hot, I haul out my divided meal "keepers" (the Rubbermaid/Tupperware ones with three compartments).  I steam fresh veggies (or use frozen), roast a chicken, bake some fish, & make some whole wheat pasta/brown rice.  I make my own "TV dinners" & freeze them.

When the weather gets hot & I don’t want another salad/sandwich but it’s too hot to cook (& for whatever reason, I don’t want to go out to eat), I have a nice meal of the kind of food I want.  I don’t care for store-bought TV dinners; most have too much salt, & rarely have enough veggies.

I am in the process of downsizing.  I want to retire soon, & aim to minimize my expenses.  My house is~ & always has been~ too big for me.  I have three bedrooms; I sleep in one & the others are full of stuff I’ve kept simply because I have a place to put it.

I am on a medical leave of absense to recover from knee replacement surgery, so I’m limited as to the amount of physical work I can do.  But it easy to sit around, sorting through stuff.  My current goal is to jettison at least a third of my thousands of books, & half my extensive wardrobe.  As I sort, I lecture myself about how much fatter my savings account would be if I hadn’t bought ‘catch me, catch me’ shoes for "just in case", an expensive astrology book when I haven’t cast a chart in over a decade, etc.

 I don’t need all this stuff; there is no reason for me to keep it.

I’m another "raised Catholic" who left the Church.  Years ago, I decided that Catholicism wasn’t for me & started to explore other religions. 

The first time I walked into a synagogue, I felt as if I’d gone home.  When I told my mother that I was going to become Jewish was easier because both my parents were converts to Catholicism & mum’s parents went back & forth between Roman & Polish National Catholicism, depending on distances to travel & gas rationing during WWII.  My grandparents were appalled that I bought a house on my own rather than marry & get a husband to buy it for me, but never said a word about my conversion.

IMO, voting is a duty as well as a right & a priveledge.  When somebody whines about politics, politicians, or the state of the city, state, or nation but refuses to vote "because my vote doesn’t count", I stop the conversation right there.  As the singer Steve Earle said "If you don’t vote, don’t bitch".  As far as I’m concerned, anyone who doesn’t exercise the right to vote has no right to exercise their mouth about what’s wrong.

I spent two weeks touring Poland before the Iron Curtain fell.  I went alone, armed with a train pass, a bunch of hotel vouchers, & minimal Polish.  Basically, I could be polite; I could say "please", "thank you" & so on.  I couldn’t even ask where the bathroom was.  However, thanks to a helpful co-worker, I could properly pronounce "Please take off your clothes & lay down".

Twenty years ago my brother married a woman with a six-year old daughter.  She’s my niece, & I’m "Auntie Donna" to her, her fiance, & their two adorable kids.  I LOVE being an auntie!  My brother is the adored "Papa" to her two kids; he loves being a grandpa.

I know a woman who started dating a widower not long after his wife died, & their relationaship lasted until he died.  She was chosen as the man’s companion by his wife; she was terminally ill & guessed that her husband wouldn’t do well alone.

 

It’s been nearly ten years since my mother died, & honestly, I’d rather have my dad find a nice woman of his age than carry on as he does, trumpeting his widower-hood & being alone as if it’s the key to sainthood.

I eat out waaaaaaaaaay too often.  I’d have to say restaurants where I’m a regular.

Cafe LuLu, which is right around the corner.  They have a nice selection of sandwiches & salads, & three specials (two sandwiches & a salad) that change from week to week. Their home-made potato chips with Bleu sauce is great, & they serve a really good colcannon & lamb stew on St. Patrick’s.   Southwoods, in a former church.  They’re justifiably famous for their beef; the prime rib is outstanding.  A revolving cast of my family members eat here so often that we’ve been invited to staff member’s baby showers, & recently, my teen-aged nephew snagged a job as a dishwasher there.  The best bartender in the world works there Wednesday through Sunday.  I love telling her "Flo, surprise me" just to see what she stirs up (I love her pineapple martinis).  Red Lobster.  A chain, I know, but the food is good & consistant in quality.  I take my dad here once or twice a month; we got a sympathy card from some of the staff when my mother died.

In London, Ponti’s in Covent Garden.  Good, inexpensive food & I love watching the shoppers, tourists, & entertainers in the Market as I eat.