At Seventeen-Janis Ian's song

I bought this album from Circulation in Hillcrest.
It's one I wanted when I was younger but never bought it.

Remembering the pressures of youth via this beautiful song in 1975-1976 brought back a lot of memories.  Girls are so impressionable at this age and this song was wriiten and sung beautifully for our girls who aren't "perfect" but are WONDERFUL, TALENTED AND BEAUTIFUL:   

Janis Ian at 1976 Grammy's performing "At Seventeen".

AT SEVENTEEN           By Janis Ian            

I learned the truth at seventeen
That love was meant for beauty queens
And high school girls with clear skinned smiles-married young and then retired

The valentines I never knew
The Friday night charades of youth
Were spent on one more beautiful
At seventeen I learned the truth…

And those of us with ravaged faces
Lacking in the social graces
Desperately remained at home
Inventing lovers on the phone
Who called to say "come dance with me"
And murmured vague obscenities
It isn't all it seems at seventeen…

A brown-eyed girl in hand-me-downs
Whose name I never could pronounce
Said: "Pity please the ones who serve
They only get what they deserve"

The rich-relationed hometown queen
Marries into what she needs
With a guarantee of company
And haven for the elderly… 

Remember those who win the game
Lose the love they sought to gain
In debitures of quality and dubious integrity
Their small-town eyes will gape at you
In dull surprise when payment due
Exceeds accounts received at seventeen…

To those of us who knew the pain
Of valentines that never came
And those whose names were never called
When choosing sides for basketball

It was long ago and far away
the world was younger than today
when dreams were all they gave for free
to ugly duckling girls like me…

We all play the game, and when we dare
We cheat ourselves at solitaire
Inventing lovers on the phone
Repenting other lives unknown
That call and say: "Come on, dance with me"
And murmur vague obscenities

At ugly girls like me, at seventeen...

Okay, so this past week I posted pictures of strawberries that I got from the Stater Brothers grocery store.  The berries were large, fragrant and sweet so, naturally, my family ate them all.   I was very impressed by the quality of the berry.  The color was a deep red/maroon. The berries got me thinking about a story I had received from a colleague, Valerie Orozco, who taught Spanish at the high school, where I worked.  She gave me an English and Spanish copy that she used in her classroom.  I thought it was beautiful!  I recently looked for her story but couldn't find her original, but I found something similar.   I hope you like it!

"Strawberries- A Cherokee tale-Author unknown

Long ago, in the first days of the world, there lived 1st Man and 1st Woman. They lived together as husband and wife in happiness and harmony. They loved each other very much.


One day they quarreled. Although neither later could remember what the quarrel was about, the pain grew stronger with every word that was spoken, until finally, in anger and grief, the woman left their home and began walking east, toward the rising sun.



1st Man sat alone in his house. As minutes became hours he grew lonelier and lonelier. The anger left him and all that remained was a terrible grief and despair, and he began to cry.
 
A spirit heard 1st Man crying and took pity on him. “Why do you cry?”

1st Man said, “My wife has left me.”

 Spirit said, “Why did your woman leave?”

1st Man just hung his head and said nothing. “Did you quarrel with her?” asked the spirit.

1st Man nodded.  “Would you quarrel with her again?” asked the spirit.  “No, I only want to live with her as before, in peace, happiness, harmony and love.”
 “I have seen your woman,” said the spirit. “She is walking east toward the rising sun.”

1st Man began walking east but could not catch up with her. Everyone knows how fast an angry woman walks. The spirit said, “I will go on ahead and see if I can slow her steps.”

The spirit found the woman walking fast, her footsteps angry and her gaze fixed straight ahead. She looked neither to the right or left, and pain and anger were in her heart. The spirit saw some huckleberry bushes along the trail, and with a wave of the hand made the bushes burst into bloom and ripen with fruit. But the woman looked neither to the right nor to the left, and her footsteps didn’t slow.  The spirit saw other berry bushes along the trail, and, with a wave of the hand, caused them to burst into bloom and then into ripe fruit. But still 1st Woman looked neither to the right nor to the left and there was anger and pain in her heart.


Along the trail grew peach trees, pear trees, apple trees, and cherry trees. With a wave of the hand, the spirit caused the trees to bloom and then fruit to ripen on all the trees. Still,

1st Woman looked neither to the right nor to the left. She saw nothing but her pain and her steps didn’t slow.


And then the spirit had an idea. “I will create a new fruit, one that grows very close to the ground so that when the woman bends down to pick the fruit all the anger and pain will pour out of her heart onto the ground. With a wave of the hand the forest floor was covered with a thick green carpet of leaves. Then another wave and the carpet became starred with tiny white flowers, and each flower ripened into a berry that was the color and shape of the human heart.



As 1st Woman walked, she crushed some of the berries, and the delicious aroma came up to her nose. She stopped and smelled, and smelled again, and then she looked down and saw the berries that were the color and the shape of the human heart. She bent down and picked one and all the anger and pain flowed out of her heart. She picked another and another, and the taste was as sweet as love itself.

As she picked she leaned down and she saw her husband coming behind her. In her heart the anger was gone and all that remained was the love she had always felt for him. 
And so, she picked more berries and fed them to him as he arrived. Together they picked this new fruit, fed it to each other, and gathered some to take home. They returned to their home where they lived out their days in peace, happiness, harmony and love.

 And that is how the world’s first strawberries brought peace between men and women, and that is why to this very day they are called “the berries of love.” "

MY OFFICE is a MESS!!! Shredding all day today!

The FAMOUS family Shredder

Shredding the crap  

Okay, so today I have to shred a bunch of office documents.  What am I shredding?  I am shredding those credit card offers that have our names on every BIT of clear space possible.  They put our names and address on:

• the outer envelope 
• the inner envelope's return address space, 
• the actual credit card offer -twice
• the fake card
• the letter

What a waste of trees! space! and time!  Why don't I just stop all the offers?
The problem is that my hubbie "card hops".  He does.  He doesn't believe that we should be charged twice on our own money: first to have a bank's credit card in our wallet, and then second, being charged a fee after the purchase.  So, he card hops! And, to card hop, we have to accept ALL of the mail!

The messy office

RALPH LIVES IN CALIFORNIA

I AGREE with my consumer-driven hubbie, who happens to be a lot like Ralph Nader.   Hubby, AKA Ralphie, keeps track of all of the cards and looks for the best 0% credit offer for the longest term and the best deal.  All of this time spent researching has actually been productive.  One CC company offered us a 0% balance plus 50K miles after the first purchase and a free hotel stay.  So my hubbie, AKA Ralph, purchased something for around $25. Paid it immediately, then received 50K miles-way later- and we got a free hotel stay for a night.  Works for me!

BUT. . . . . . .

poof, please disappear!

We have to deal with the paperwork that comes in the mail.  What a mess!  We can't shred EVERYDAY until after we've read through the offers, but every single day, we get junk mail.  Guess who ends up shredding it?  The shredding fairies, silly!!!  Yep those fairies come in the form of wives who get tired of the piles of mail and, in between doing laundry, dishes, making beds, planning meals, grocery shopping at Costco, chauffering teens to sports events, putting new patches on boy scout uniforms, fixing the dripping faucet, consoling and encouraging teens after their sports events, and popping leftover graduation balloons, WE FAIRIES GET TO SHRED!!! YAY, like I don't have a million other things to do!!!!!   WHAT A MESS!  I need to get this done!  What did you say, child number one??? What?????  Yes today is JUNE 20!
Oh shoot, the kids have doctors appointments today!    I gotta go!   My schedule just hit the skids today!  Not a whole lotta shredding to get done, this bites!!!!

Father's Day

Today we honor our fathers and husbands who are great fathers, so I just want to apologize to my husband and my Daddy for not really giving you the gifts you deserve.
My Daddy is in heaven, wearing his favorite white t-shirt written in fluorescent pink stating:
HAPPY TEXAN:
All I need is

• a 6-pack of beer
• Road-kill armadillo
• and a Good woman by my side.  

He wore that shirt OUT and tried, as often as possible to wear it at the VA.  Everyone knew him as the Happy Texan!

Today, my husband wore his 'Dad's Loan Department' Shirt today.  It says, "When it comes to loaning money, Dad's answer is always the same:  NO!"  His "Good OLE DAD" shirt was in the wash today.  We have always purchased these shirts at Crazy Shirts, so if you want yours, find a Crazy Shirts location near you.

So the moral of the story is that we've given our male role-models a lot of useless but interesting things: light-up ties, socks, handkerchiefs, battery-powered ice cream scoops, when all they really want is a comfortable t-shirt with some crazy sayings.

I'll see if I can get a picture of my hubbie's shirt to post here.  HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

The DEL MAR FAIR

Picture of the Del Mar Fair down the Fairway by Pooja

Del Mar Fair

So, in San Diego we have always called it the "Del Mar Fair" because it IS in Del Mar, and it was historically known as the "Del Mar fair" to introduce the racing season in Del Mar.  Calling it the San Diego County Fair, I guess, works on paper.   Only the newbies to San Diego call it the SD County Fair.  Those of us locals say:  Are you going to the "delmarfair" this year?  Who are the headliners this year at the "fair"?  I'll get the corn on the cob and the tasty chips at the "delmarfair".  We need to get the "delmarFair" cinnamon rolls.  To paraphrase Shakespeare:  What's in a name, right?

 Well, whatever, we'll still go and pay a fortune in food and kids' activities.  We'll go to see the baby animals and the huge bulls.  We like reading what the "heart attack cafe" is selling.  I like going to the art displays, the carnival games, woodworking, Bing Crosby's Hall, Gingerbread cookie house's strawberry lemonade, and looking at the schools' senior yearbooks.

TANGENT:  visiting the yearbooks-

[Just pass by the Mt. Carmel HS yearbook; it is really embarrassing.  I'm REALLY sorry to do this to you MC, because I have "nothin but love for you", but the yearbook writing was really bad!  It's really sad because the Class of 2012 was SPECTACULAR in their achievements and awards!  You SUNDEVILS had an awesome year but, seriously, YEARBOOK STAFF did you run out of time?

What's wrong with it you ask?  For the most part the photos are good but  . . . .  .The written portions, however, are/were not proofed.  The spelling is atrocious!  the word "COMPETITION" is spelled just as I've spelled it, not "compition".  (See girls tennis page).  The font used is unreadable and requires a magnifying glass.  I think this is what happened: they developed a theme, and uploaded a bunch of "cool" pictures, and the writing just went by the wayside because: someone had to type all of the information into the program.  Kids being kids, it wasn't proofed (in this day of TEXTING).  NEWSFLASH:  spellcheckers don't really work!  (The word "apart" indicates "divided", it does not mean "in addition to").  The yearbook staff omitted names and titles under the captions, and, those names that were/are listed are probably in a 2 or 3 font (10 and 12 are typically normal).   At 40, when all of those kids are wearing reading glasses, those captions will be a smeared blur when they try to read them at their reunions.  Sorry SUNDEVILS, I really love your school, but you will not be winning any yearbook awards at the "delmarfair" this year.  Try again next year.]

Back to the fair:

I used to think that I could just go by one of the food stands and pick up a quick bite and find a piece of wall to sit under.  Nope, can't do that anymore, my OLD butt can't handle that.  I have to sit and enjoy my meal; besides, where are the kids (teens and up) going to return to in order to beg for more money?  YEP you guessed it, to Mom and Dad!  They return to where my hubbie and I are eating, dutifully holding their bags of junk, 40 lb. stuffed animals and bowls of goldfish, to say that they've run out of money!  Dad always wears his green Crazy Shirt that says he's the Good OLE BANK OF DAD.  24/7 ATM. 

Another fish, yippeee. . . . . . .  .NOT!

So all of the IRC's have seasonal tickets to the fair.  Goodrich has the season pass for $13 through employees.  Northrop Grumman has the season ticket for $14 (fundraiser); for that price, you are admitted to the fair, any and every day, during the season.  If you plan on going to the fair a lot, especially the concerts, it's worth the money.  If your IRC doesn't have the seasonal pass, you can purchase a 1-day ticket packet at Costco for $57.  It includes a meal and drinks and parking pass for 4.  We did that last year and found out that you basically get admission and parking.  The "meal" depends on which vendor you select and they have a "special" for those ticket holders.  (In other words, it's what they pick and size for you).  GOTTA LOVE THE DEL MAR FAIR!!  I'll have another cinnamon roll please!

HOLD ME NOW

I hate when this happens:  So I've had this song stuck in my head all day, not because of the words, but because of the music. I like all of the percussion instruments used.  I don't think the lyrics used here, fit these great sounds.  Then I really looked at the lyrics and thought, what kind of messed up relationship is this?  The yin and the yang?  Who thinks this stuff up?

So it starts off well enough:
"I have a picture, pinned to my wall; 
an image of you and of me and we're laughing and loving it all."  
So then it goes on and says:  
"Look at our life now, tattered and torn, 
we fuss and we fight and delight in the tears that we cry until dawn"  


I don't know about you but I really don't like crying sad tears; I went through that too much with another relationship and it was awful!

And after these lines, the writer says okay now that we've fought and cried all night:

HOLD ME NOW,
OH!  WARM MY HEART,
STAY WITH ME
LET LOVING START, LET LOVING START.

Where did they lose their original love???
so this has been stuck in my head all day.

HOW ANNOYING!!!!!
I love the music but don't really know what to do with the lyrics?

99 cent store

HOW TO BE A PATIENT CHEAPSKATE!!  NOT!

Today I went to the 99 cents Store in Poway to look for some toys for my patients.  I try to get prizes that don't cost me a whole lot of money because money is tight and my hubbie reminds me that we now have  TWO children in college.  So with spirited determination, I head to the land of the cheapskate, myself included!  I'm sorry but some of "these people is WEIRD!"  Some are "eccentric" and some are just plain CHEAP!

• I found a cheerful windsock that had "bee" decorations in bright colors.  As soon as I picked one up, I created a line!  All the people around me suddenly wanted to look at the wind socks.  Wha' happen!!! (ala Ricky Ricardo!)  Why you push me out the way?

• Around the corner from that area, were the graduation decorations.  I guess I musta been really animated because all of a sudden, I generated a crowd!  Everyone wanted a 2012 sign!  (Wha' happen????? ala Desi Arnaz)

• Meanwhile back at the ranch, my daughter had also entered the store and saw an older man with a half-blown lifeless helium balloon.  The man finds a young male employee and says, "Will you hold my balloon?"  The young man seems to be shocked, doesn't respond, but ends up holding the balloon until another employee tells him to tie it down to something.  SERIOUSLY, it wasn't going anywhere.

• As we're checking out, a woman (#1) who had already purchased her items, sticks herself behind us and asks the woman (#2) behind us to purchase kleenex boxes for her.  In other words: let me ask a total stranger, who is next in line, to buy these things for me because I don't want to wait in line again and I need to impose on someone else.  SERIOUSLY? WHO Does THAT???

• At a previous visit, the woman in front of me (about late 50's?) purchases one food item.  The woman hands the clerk a dollar and waits.  The clerk bags the item, then turns to begin my order.  The woman in front of me asks for her CHANGE!  The clerk, flushed with embarrassment, says, "The price is .99.9 cents or $1.00, there is no change".   So, the lady says "I want my change".   The clerk calls the manager, and we all have to wait; she can't open the register to get out the penny.  Then I say in a very loud voice:  "If you want a penny, I'll give you a penny."  The lady has daggers for eyes and says, "This store owes me 1 cent".   CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP. This woman has to inconvenience everyone in line because "she wants her change".  

People, life is more than counting your pennies!  Count your blessings!