Yes, Barry, life is not fair. That phrase was said to me so many times by my old friend Barry... whose death occurred (as I drove by the town in which he died) the year I moved to California in my motor home, hoping to find him out here. All of my old friends here were long gone. Today I discovered that my friend Chuji from my SeniorNet days is gone...just a short time after the death of my darling 'big brother' Bud. Now I have just written an email to another old friend, and I am praying it doesn't come back as so many have. 'Where have all the flowers gone?'
My darling 'housekeeper' spends a great deal of time consoling me. I'm beginning to feel like my dear little mother-in-law (who was SO much nicer than ANY of her children), who loved to dance. She used to go to a ballroom in Chicago and dated younger and younger men as the old partners died off....I think she was down to one in his late 50s when she died at around 90, still dancing. They said they found her in her bed....I can't believe that -- she died dancing.....
I'm not dancing, but I have to keep moving, Jessie was a great believer in the "keep moving or they might catch up with you..." school of thought, and taught us to run along side her as she moved speedily through life. Must have really upset her to spend her last year with me sitting in one place most of the time. Just as it upsets me not to be able to find so many of the SeniorNet people. I know my friend Evan is gone. He died just as I found out that he had gone to Ashville, N.C. So I just missed him also. Seems to be the story of my life....people go as soon as I finally find out where they are. Wonder if anyone is looking for me, and I will go just as they find me.
Goodbye Grandma Joan, Evan, Chuji, Bud, Jessie, Barry and all the rest.....I miss you a LOT! ah, well.........
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
'I Get Carried.....Yes Carried Away....'
And now just musings and nonsense and politics oh my......
Amusing NYTimes headline in ‘Business’: ‘Weekend Without Bernie” (pic of Madoff)
Also interesting in article in same about healthcare:
<<< Mr. Luntz advised Republicans to show they “understand and empathize” with voters’ concerns about soaring health costs. “You simply must be vocally and passionately on the side of reform,” he wrote.
He urged Republicans to argue that the Democratic plan would “deny people treatments they need and make them wait to get the treatments they are allowed to receive.”
Mr. Luntz recommended this language: “If you have to wait weeks for tests and months for treatment, that’s a health care crisis.” >>>
(you will not find this in Canada, no matter what 'they' say....my daughter owns a home in Canada and her friend who had breast cancer at almost the same time that she did had much better care, faster service, and longer stay in hospital then she did....and paid nothing for it, while my daughter, who had "excellent healthcare" through her company, paid over $30,000 of her own money for her op and care.) This 'excellent' care failed a bit. They left a tiny bit of the cancer in, and had to operate again, shortly after her first operation. She worked all during the chemo sessions she had after the op, and during the radiation they recommended, as she had to pay off that $30,000. Oh, and she had to wait some time for the operation (probably longer than her friend in Canada).
And here are the final sentences of an article entitled: ‘Democrats Uneasy Over National Security Policy ‘:
<<< “This is going to be a problem from now, through the big bill, through the next year,” he said, adding that discontent will grow if the situation worsens in Iraq or Afghanistan or if there are further events like the killings of five American soldiers by a fellow American that underscore the severe strain on the troops.
“The public is not focused on the war at all,” Mr. Murtha said. “But they are going to be focused on it if it goes bad.” >>>
Then this, close to my feeling.....the ‘gun lobby’ scare hell out of me
“Whose Senate Is This? “ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/opinion/14thu3.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y
And do read this one: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/opinion/15Francese.html?em
About diploma Latin -- not the Latin of my or your childhood. Fun.
I have a few things to say to Garrison Keillor, Op-ed contributor, whose article is “We Are What We Are”.........
My dear mother had one thing to say about old men, when, after my father died and her friends urged her to get out and meet other men:
Jessie: “Really, I cannot stand OLD men, they cough and spit!” Somehow I cannot see Noel Coward doing that....but that’s just me. And I do prefer younger men....or those who MUST know everything....they are my favourites.
Of course, I can turn to ‘Broadway’ and all the comments on the Tony Awards. Ye gods....”Hair” has been revived. And “Mary Stuart” and “The Norman Conquests” -- and “Waiting for Godot?” Sometimes I do wish I were back in NYC....but I should have to BUY tickets, while when I was living there so many years ago, I simply had to call someone I knew who was in the cast. ("Waiting for Godot???")
I found an ancient “Best Plays” volume recently that listed plays in which at least ten of my friends were working. I guess I just miss them...Perry, you never should have quit! ah, well.
Amusing NYTimes headline in ‘Business’: ‘Weekend Without Bernie” (pic of Madoff)
Also interesting in article in same about healthcare:
<<
He urged Republicans to argue that the Democratic plan would “deny people treatments they need and make them wait to get the treatments they are allowed to receive.”
Mr. Luntz recommended this language: “If you have to wait weeks for tests and months for treatment, that’s a health care crisis.” >>>
(you will not find this in Canada, no matter what 'they' say....my daughter owns a home in Canada and her friend who had breast cancer at almost the same time that she did had much better care, faster service, and longer stay in hospital then she did....and paid nothing for it, while my daughter, who had "excellent healthcare" through her company, paid over $30,000 of her own money for her op and care.) This 'excellent' care failed a bit. They left a tiny bit of the cancer in, and had to operate again, shortly after her first operation. She worked all during the chemo sessions she had after the op, and during the radiation they recommended, as she had to pay off that $30,000. Oh, and she had to wait some time for the operation (probably longer than her friend in Canada).
And here are the final sentences of an article entitled: ‘Democrats Uneasy Over National Security Policy ‘:
<<< “This is going to be a problem from now, through the big bill, through the next year,” he said, adding that discontent will grow if the situation worsens in Iraq or Afghanistan or if there are further events like the killings of five American soldiers by a fellow American that underscore the severe strain on the troops.
“The public is not focused on the war at all,” Mr. Murtha said. “But they are going to be focused on it if it goes bad.” >>>
Then this, close to my feeling.....the ‘gun lobby’ scare hell out of me
“Whose Senate Is This? “ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/opinion/14thu3.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y
And do read this one: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/opinion/15Francese.html?em
About diploma Latin -- not the Latin of my or your childhood. Fun.
I have a few things to say to Garrison Keillor, Op-ed contributor, whose article is “We Are What We Are”.........
My dear mother had one thing to say about old men, when, after my father died and her friends urged her to get out and meet other men:
Jessie: “Really, I cannot stand OLD men, they cough and spit!” Somehow I cannot see Noel Coward doing that....but that’s just me. And I do prefer younger men....or those who MUST know everything....they are my favourites.
Of course, I can turn to ‘Broadway’ and all the comments on the Tony Awards. Ye gods....”Hair” has been revived. And “Mary Stuart” and “The Norman Conquests” -- and “Waiting for Godot?” Sometimes I do wish I were back in NYC....but I should have to BUY tickets, while when I was living there so many years ago, I simply had to call someone I knew who was in the cast. ("Waiting for Godot???")
I found an ancient “Best Plays” volume recently that listed plays in which at least ten of my friends were working. I guess I just miss them...Perry, you never should have quit! ah, well.
Same Day, My Later Look
A good cry is good for me, but in the end, I am the eternal optimist. Things have to look up, they can't go much lower than at the end of the worst administration this country has ever had. Granted, cheney seems to wish that, but old uncle dick is out of power now, thank god.
I listened to Andy Stern, union leader, on Charlie Rose's show the other night. Sensible man, and I agree with him. Why can't we do it the Japanese way and pay the CEO (who often is not doing the company any good) the way they do, by indexing pay...so that he can only make so much more percentage- wise than the employee with the least pay in the company. Of course the percentage will be in hundreds or thousands.....but not the billions it is now. Not like the more and more billions each year that the WalMart heirs make, while the people who toil in the stores are still on minimum wage. I guess I am basically a pure Socalist and believe in evening out the pay scales. As I doubt that many people will read this, I don't worry about being attacked. Remember, I said PURE, not greedy, or communist, etc., etc. Look it up...go ahead!
At any rate I, the optimist, wrote the following in December of 2008:
MY Turn?
There it was...coming fast,
The Turn of the Century. The 21st Century
Weren't we all doing well? Everyone,
Working, buying homes, living it up,
Let the good times roll --Le bon temps roulez,
As though the good times would never end.
Then came the sharp turn into 2000.
Right into the meanest and cruelest
Eight years of slowly going downhill,
Swamped in times of misery:
Technically, politically, we were being bled dry.
We suffered, wondering if this new century
Could break hearts, minds and lives.
Our once great nation was beseiged,
Broken by a needless, unholy war,
The silent, secret greed of our 'leaders,'
We were locked in a miasma of ignorance
That saw the laws of our Founding Fathers,
The wisdom of the Constitution,
Thrown aside and trampled,
While those who loved our Republic
Despaired.
Now I feel a rise of hope, the spirit of "Yes We Can."
On January 20, 2009, we shall have a new chance,
A new turn for our New Century.
Now a chance to leave the old, bad years behind
Together to revive our besiged country,
To rebuild our tired nation in a real New Century.
It will take hard work from all of us,
Our leaders and all our citizens.
I can only hope we are all as ready as I
To work, perhaps to suffer, for our country.
For now it is MY turn, Your turn...Our turn
To rebuild Our country in our New Century.
©2009 Peggy Cartwright
I listened to Andy Stern, union leader, on Charlie Rose's show the other night. Sensible man, and I agree with him. Why can't we do it the Japanese way and pay the CEO (who often is not doing the company any good) the way they do, by indexing pay...so that he can only make so much more percentage- wise than the employee with the least pay in the company. Of course the percentage will be in hundreds or thousands.....but not the billions it is now. Not like the more and more billions each year that the WalMart heirs make, while the people who toil in the stores are still on minimum wage. I guess I am basically a pure Socalist and believe in evening out the pay scales. As I doubt that many people will read this, I don't worry about being attacked. Remember, I said PURE, not greedy, or communist, etc., etc. Look it up...go ahead!
At any rate I, the optimist, wrote the following in December of 2008:
MY Turn?
There it was...coming fast,
The Turn of the Century. The 21st Century
Weren't we all doing well? Everyone,
Working, buying homes, living it up,
Let the good times roll --Le bon temps roulez,
As though the good times would never end.
Then came the sharp turn into 2000.
Right into the meanest and cruelest
Eight years of slowly going downhill,
Swamped in times of misery:
Technically, politically, we were being bled dry.
We suffered, wondering if this new century
Could break hearts, minds and lives.
Our once great nation was beseiged,
Broken by a needless, unholy war,
The silent, secret greed of our 'leaders,'
We were locked in a miasma of ignorance
That saw the laws of our Founding Fathers,
The wisdom of the Constitution,
Thrown aside and trampled,
While those who loved our Republic
Despaired.
Now I feel a rise of hope, the spirit of "Yes We Can."
On January 20, 2009, we shall have a new chance,
A new turn for our New Century.
Now a chance to leave the old, bad years behind
Together to revive our besiged country,
To rebuild our tired nation in a real New Century.
It will take hard work from all of us,
Our leaders and all our citizens.
I can only hope we are all as ready as I
To work, perhaps to suffer, for our country.
For now it is MY turn, Your turn...Our turn
To rebuild Our country in our New Century.
©2009 Peggy Cartwright
Anti-war Better Than Mine...
I never particularly liked Bob Dylan...always felt he was just imitating Woodie Guthrie (they all copied Woodie) whom I adore (love Arlo also), but this song is one I wish I had written:
With God On Our Side
Oh my name it is nothin'
My age it means less
the country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I's taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And the land that I live in
Has God on its side.
Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side.
The Spanish-American
War had its day
And the Civil War too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
I's made to memorize
With guns in their hands
And God on their side.
The First World War, boys
It came and it went
The reason for fighting
I never did get
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side.
When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And then we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side.
I've learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war comes
It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side.
But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side.
In a many dark hour
I've been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you
You'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.
So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as hell
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If god's on our side
he'll stop the next war.
© Bob Dylan
So I leave you in tears of rage, with no one to blame for we are all to blame, I fear, for who is so perfect as not to be at some time? Not I.
With God On Our Side
Oh my name it is nothin'
My age it means less
the country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I's taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And the land that I live in
Has God on its side.
Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side.
The Spanish-American
War had its day
And the Civil War too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
I's made to memorize
With guns in their hands
And God on their side.
The First World War, boys
It came and it went
The reason for fighting
I never did get
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side.
When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And then we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side.
I've learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war comes
It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side.
But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side.
In a many dark hour
I've been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you
You'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.
So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as hell
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If god's on our side
he'll stop the next war.
© Bob Dylan
So I leave you in tears of rage, with no one to blame for we are all to blame, I fear, for who is so perfect as not to be at some time? Not I.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Spring, Ah Spring
Good heavens, here it is May already. Oh to be in England sped right by...I must have missed it. Yep, I made the mistake of signing up for certain political articles from the New York Times -- here I sit, reading the articles, then looking over at the OpEd, follow that to the original they are writing about....and on and on, as more articles pop up every time I go back to the mailbox. Why can't the writers at the NYTimes just write a bit slower. I cannot keep up. I have now fallen in love with several of them. Why? I suppose because they always agree with me. And I thought I was getting even more radical than Jessie...or has the whole world fiinally begun to 'get it.'
But why are our children not back from Iraq? Another CA boy died yesterday. It is not right...well, yes it is because of the 'right.' Those nasty old members of PNAC who planned this horrible war way before they put their little patsy into the White House,, using the far right wing, the religious right and the right-wing talk shows. They are all weak now -- why can't we just end their war and bring home the children, so that a whole generation of poor unfortunates are not wiped out.
A cab driver told me a very sad story today. He said that his brother-in-law bought something in a convenience store for $6.50. Needing some change, he gave the kid a $20 bill, a dollar and fifty cents. The kid looked confused, so the man said, "Just give me $15 in change." To which the kid replied, "I don't have any fifteen dollar bills." That story and Jay Leno's "Jay Walking" when he interviews kids on the street, asking them questions anyone in my generation would laugh at if we were asked...and they don't ever know the answers. They can't identify a photo of Bill Clinton, or any of the Senators...yet they can sing any of the current 'cute' advertising jungles. Oh lordy, how I hope Obama can fix our educational system. Anybody out there know a kid with a high school education who can name all the states in the U.S.? I used to make up special homework for my son....and he could! His teacher let him get away with naming five--not me.
I take cabs quite often and am impressed with the use of the English language by all of the guys from all over the world who drive the cabs. Yet our children can barely speak their own language as well as these immigrants. Many of them speak several languages. I love sitting on a bus in SF and listening to all the different languages, and hope that the children are learning the language of their parents. I remember years ago talking to Kaye Ballard (whose parents came from Italy). She told me that when she was a kid she was ashamed of their speaking Italian and constantly told her mother to speak English. Sadly, when she grew up and had the money to travel, she had to go to a school to learn to speak Italian. "I coulda learned at home," she wailed.
I did rather badly in my years of French classes in school, primarily because I didn't like the teachers. I was one of those kids who made a C or below when I didn't like the teacher, and straight As when I did. But, when I did finally get to Europe and went to Paris, the Frnech found my dreadful attempts to speak to them quite charming, and usually simply switched to English to speak with me -- after all, they had all had English lessons in school. I lived in the Netherlands for six months, where I found Fielding's (travel book) comment about the Dutch very true: "Every man, woman, child, dog and cat speaks and understands English." And not just English, they also speak French, German, Spanish and often many more languages.
Finally, yesterday was Pete Seeger's 90th birthday. Happy Birthday, Pete. I was in tears often as I listened to a radio tribute to him on KALW, our local Public Radio station. Here's my take:
"When Will They Ever Learn"
I have wondered the same, Pete,
As the tears trickle down my cheek,
Caught by the tenth damp tissue,
Listening to you and many others
Sing and lecture and sing, sing, sing
Even I, who technically cannot sing,
Find a tiny voice inside of me
That joins in, becoming louder
As always when I hear you and
Arlo, Bruce and so many others
Sing out in protest, the protest
We have sung and talked about
Since both you and I were young.
Tomorrow is your 90th birthday
And maybe, just maybe, we have
A man in the White House, someone
Who finally must have listened to us
Well Pete, Happy Birthday at 90
We can only hope, can’t we?
But why are our children not back from Iraq? Another CA boy died yesterday. It is not right...well, yes it is because of the 'right.' Those nasty old members of PNAC who planned this horrible war way before they put their little patsy into the White House,, using the far right wing, the religious right and the right-wing talk shows. They are all weak now -- why can't we just end their war and bring home the children, so that a whole generation of poor unfortunates are not wiped out.
A cab driver told me a very sad story today. He said that his brother-in-law bought something in a convenience store for $6.50. Needing some change, he gave the kid a $20 bill, a dollar and fifty cents. The kid looked confused, so the man said, "Just give me $15 in change." To which the kid replied, "I don't have any fifteen dollar bills." That story and Jay Leno's "Jay Walking" when he interviews kids on the street, asking them questions anyone in my generation would laugh at if we were asked...and they don't ever know the answers. They can't identify a photo of Bill Clinton, or any of the Senators...yet they can sing any of the current 'cute' advertising jungles. Oh lordy, how I hope Obama can fix our educational system. Anybody out there know a kid with a high school education who can name all the states in the U.S.? I used to make up special homework for my son....and he could! His teacher let him get away with naming five--not me.
I take cabs quite often and am impressed with the use of the English language by all of the guys from all over the world who drive the cabs. Yet our children can barely speak their own language as well as these immigrants. Many of them speak several languages. I love sitting on a bus in SF and listening to all the different languages, and hope that the children are learning the language of their parents. I remember years ago talking to Kaye Ballard (whose parents came from Italy). She told me that when she was a kid she was ashamed of their speaking Italian and constantly told her mother to speak English. Sadly, when she grew up and had the money to travel, she had to go to a school to learn to speak Italian. "I coulda learned at home," she wailed.
I did rather badly in my years of French classes in school, primarily because I didn't like the teachers. I was one of those kids who made a C or below when I didn't like the teacher, and straight As when I did. But, when I did finally get to Europe and went to Paris, the Frnech found my dreadful attempts to speak to them quite charming, and usually simply switched to English to speak with me -- after all, they had all had English lessons in school. I lived in the Netherlands for six months, where I found Fielding's (travel book) comment about the Dutch very true: "Every man, woman, child, dog and cat speaks and understands English." And not just English, they also speak French, German, Spanish and often many more languages.
Finally, yesterday was Pete Seeger's 90th birthday. Happy Birthday, Pete. I was in tears often as I listened to a radio tribute to him on KALW, our local Public Radio station. Here's my take:
"When Will They Ever Learn"
I have wondered the same, Pete,
As the tears trickle down my cheek,
Caught by the tenth damp tissue,
Listening to you and many others
Sing and lecture and sing, sing, sing
Even I, who technically cannot sing,
Find a tiny voice inside of me
That joins in, becoming louder
As always when I hear you and
Arlo, Bruce and so many others
Sing out in protest, the protest
We have sung and talked about
Since both you and I were young.
Tomorrow is your 90th birthday
And maybe, just maybe, we have
A man in the White House, someone
Who finally must have listened to us
Well Pete, Happy Birthday at 90
We can only hope, can’t we?
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
LOST really lost.....
I was a big fan of LOST on ABC-TV since the beginning. But now I am furious with them. For the last couple of weeks they have been advertising an "All NEW episode of LOST on Earth Day, April 22! Yipee! At last. After watching show after show full of patches of new once in awhile, but a lot of stuff I'd seen over and over...finally, a new show. So what was it.....simply a COMPLETE RE-RUN of old stuff I had seen at least once and some more than once. If they have no writers or no new ideas, perhaps they should simply ask the listeners/watchers for some ideas. Or HIRE NEW WRITERS! I am considering giving up completely.....if I could find the island, I'd just blow it up. Who cares -- hey, maybe that's what they will do on their last show this year, coming soon. But I suppose we will have to watch a complete recap first, so I may just miss it entirely.
No sense trying to tell ABC-TV about my feelings. They have a cute little line that says 'contact us' but when you hit it, it tells you to go to ABC-TV.com, which then goes back to ABC-TV 'contact us.' I have never been taken around in so many circles as I have at ABCTV.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Is Everyone My Age Dead?
I was listening to Terry Gross a couple of days ago, and she was talking to and about Margaret Whiting...and I wondered if she is alive still. She and her manager used to come into my restaurant in Old Town, Chicago and drink coffee and eat ice cream.. I did make great ice cream things.... I had New York style hot fudge, so I got all the New Yorkers....dark, dark chocolate. The midwestern people like milk chocolate...yuck! Everyone also loved my chocolate-mint sodas...no wonder I am a rather large person now....dark chocolate and mint ice cream....ummmmm. Have another of those 'Bliss' chocolates....don't mind if I do. No wonder Margaret W. loved singing "Too Marvelous For Words"....anyone can sing it....even I can sing it...and I can't sing. Never could sing poor Whitney to sleep.....she used to say, "Don't sing mummy....please don't sing, it hurts my ears." And I know the words to every song from WWI to date...no, I wasn't around during WWI, but Aunt Nellie and Uncle George had an old wind-up Victrola with dozens of records and I played them over and over all the time I was visiting there. Used to go up to the 'ballroom' on the top floor and slide around the lovely smooth wood floor.
All the rest of them.....all gone.....Langston Hughes, who put up with all the questions from a silly little girl; Ned Travis, who didn't, but wound up my friend later; Max Showalter who hung out at our house when he was in "My Sister Eileen"...and the adorable Greek kid who was one of the 'Brazilian Navy;' all the artists (whose names I have to search in dusty corners of my mind to remember....who encouraged me to keep drawing and painting...after all, I presented a lovely drawing of a penguin to Admiral Byrd when I was five; Gladys Schmitt, who encouraged me in my writing, while I typed "David the King" for her; all the crazy people from the Pittsburgh Playhouse...strike parties with Gene and Fred Kelly teaching us dance steps...Mr. Burleigh barking out orders and me throwing up before going on......and they are all gone now, leaving me alone, like the last person alive...even Barry and Jan gone, both a year younger than I.
Well, I guess that's what happens when you get dropped. even if it's not on your head....all the people from your past go marching by saying, 'Well, what did you expect....got yourself into it didn't you.....nobody's fault but your own..........' am I blue...you'd be too..... Ah, well...........
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