Simply Having

I had a wonderful Christmas. It wasn’t about stuff- you know, what presents I got. Not to say I didn’t get great presents; I did. No, this was more about being together with my family. When I was a kid Christmas was all about getting. Getting that present I longed for day after day. As time went on it became about finding the right gift for people I loved. Then children came along and Christmas was all about them. Childhood relived through a child’s joy.

This year was different. Having both of my sons home for Christmas was better than any gift. Now that they are grown and living in another state, I always think the Christmas will come when we won’t all be together. That hasn’t happen yet but I still cherish every Christmas we are together.

Times are hard for people right now. Problems? We all have them. For a couple of days it was great to put daily problems on the back burner; to enjoy being with the people I love. That’s what life is all about isn’t it?

A Special Time

This is a very important week for me. I am graduating from college. Monday night was my last class. I started college about five or so years ago from scratch. When I graduated from high school I did not go on with my education- I got married. Still am, to the same guy. No Child Left Behind pushed me to college. I worked as a teacher assistant. In order to keep my job I was either going to have pass a test or get two years of college credit. Figuring that I was already doing most of a teacher’s job, I’d go the whole way and get a degree. That way I could make more money. Nice plan but I had no idea what the future would bring as I started taking classes.

Now I have finished all the classes. Friday night I am going to a reception to celebrate obtaining my degree. Then in a few weeks, my diploma will be mailed to me. I do not have the Education degree I started out to get. My degree is in history. My concentration is Education. If I take a few more classes, I can teach. Do I want to? I’m not sure. At this stage of my life, I am trying to figure out what I want to do. At one time I had everything all planned out. That was nice but things don’t always go the way we plan.

I want to thank all the people who supported me during my college career. My husband and sons were very supportive. Going to college was the only thing I ever remember my Mom telling me she was proud of me for doing. Many of my friends and co-workers helped me out. I am being encouraged by my family to go and participate in the actual graduation ceremony next May. My oldest son was able to advise me on something he has done that I have not. He told me when he graduated from college, he found out that walking in the ceremony wasn’t something you did for yourself- you did it for your family. I had never thought of it that way. Maybe I will do it. I have a couple months to make up my mind

I will have spare time again. Nothing hanging over me that has to get done. Maybe I get back to doing some things I have neglected. Get back to writing. Is it time to write that book about Elvis I have always thought about doing? Keep this blog up, if anyone reads it. I am learning about Facebook. My kids tell me it’s a way to keep up with what they are doing. Some of my Manilow friends may be happy I can be online more but some may not. I was not a big hit over on the Network but then tolerance for anyone who thinks outside the box is unknown over there. It’ll be different and an adjustment to be out of school. My husband says I’ll miss it. I will miss parts of it. I enjoyed learning and stretching my mind. My education has changed me for the better. The rest of my life is beginning. I have no idea where I’m headed but I’m ready. One of the main things I want to do is stay in better contract with my friends. Be prepared- you all may get tired of me. I’m back!!

Mountain Views

My husband and I took a nice day trip yesterday to see the fall leaves in the mountains. It was a beautiful sunny, warm day in the North Carolina mountains. Just perfect for seeing the leaves. It's nice to have a day away now and again, isn't it? I thought I'd share a few pictures I took during our ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Hope you all enjoy them.

I Want My Money

All week the big news story has been the economy. Suddenly, it is a matter of doing something for Wall Street really fast – in a week. Hey, it did not take a week to get in this mess. Why is there such a hurry to give my money away? Yes, my money. I’m a taxpayer. An unemployed taxpayer who is not happy to even think about my tax money going to bail out companies who made tons of money giving out loans that they knew could not be repaid. Figures have been thrown around that if the bail out Bush wants passes, it would cost every taxpayer something around $7,000 each. Well, I don’t want to give Wall Street my money. I want it. I need it.

Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t want anyone to lose their home. In fact, why doesn’t the government do something to protect hard working folks who are having a rough time? Companies are out there preying on desperate people. Put some of these types of companies out of business. Take for example the company that runs a commercial on local stations in my town and I’m sure all over the country, starring Gary Coleman. It’s offering a loan for up to $2600. Of course the voice-over says to be sure you can afford the payments before applying for the loan. While Coleman is talking about selling his car and clothes (who would buy his clothes?), the fine print is saying that the interest on the loan is 99.25%. Let’s put these people out of business. What they are doing can only be illegal and unethical.

Forget the bail out. If the government wants to give money away, give it to the people that need it - people who would be looking to Gary Coleman for financial advice. Like me, they need their money. If Gary Coleman influences their decisions making, they need the money a heck of a lot more than I do. The government needs to slow down. Think things over. I have to be careful with my money; the government should have to be careful with my money too.

How Strong Are We?

Friday I had a flashback to the 1970s. People were lined up to buy gas all over my hometown. Some stations ran out of gas. Prices went up hour by the hour. I got gas at a convenient store that wasn’t very busy at all. In fact, they seemed happy to see me. One of the owners came out and asked me if I wanted to fill up. Two Asians guys ran the store. If I have to pay through the nose to fill my car up, at least I chose a place that seemed to appreciate my business. As I was pulling out, more cars were pulling in. I wonder if they got treated as well as I did? All this gas business was over the hurricane, Ike, that hadn’t even hit Texas yet.

Of course the news has been all over this story. People have complained. Subpoenas were served on gas stations owners who were gouging customers by our attorney general on Monday. News stories covered or tried to cover how much gas really cost. Come on, did they really think anyone was going to share that information? Bottom line- Americans, myself included, are going to pay the price, until we run out of the money to do so. I’m lucky. Things are tight for me because my husband is the only one working right now but we are able to get by. Some people are not so lucky.

I know there are people who have to make some hard decisions. Not only are gas prices high but so are food prices, medical cost, well, just about everything is going up. We learned yesterday no one is safe from going under. Big companies that have been in business for years are going under. I heard a financial professor at a local college tell a news reporter that things are going to change. It is going back to the way things were in the 1970s.

Oh, Lord. That was the energy crisis. High prices. People being priced out of the housing market and losing jobs. Wait a second that is what is happening now. I think we may need to look further back in history. Back to the 1930s. Think about the roaring 20s when everyone lived high and on credit. Sounds like how we live now, doesn’t it? Will the government allow another depression? Are we as strong as our great grandparents or grand parents? Let’s hope we don’t have to find out.

One is as Good as the Other

I have not been very interested in the Presidential race this year. I haven’t made up my mind who I am voting for. Neither seem a good choice to me at this point. Now my husband, well, he’s a different story. He’s all into it. That means I see and hear stuff by simply being in the house with him. Both conventions were followed closely by him. Something did happen for the first time in my life. I have become aware of who could be vice-president. That has never been an issue for me before. Come to think of it, I had never even thought about it before. Then came Sarah Palin. I don’t like her. My husband has asked me why. I can’t answer. I don’t know.

It’s a woman thing. We can look at someone and know we don’t like them. No reason is needed. When she was first announced as McCain’s running mate, my first thought, like millions of others, was the Republicans are after the women who back Hillary Clinton. All the news reporters and commenters agree with that thought. I guess with John McCain being the oldest man to ever run for President of the United States, it has to be taken into consideration that the likely hood of him not finishing a term is greater than it has been in the past. All week, every time he spoke at the convention, McCain made sure to point out that his 96 year old mother was attending the convention. She looked really good for a woman that age. But that is a point McCain overlooked when he kept referring to his mother’s age. She is a woman. Women live longer than men. Check any insurance life span chart. Where’s his dad? That would be impressive. By pointing out his mother’s age, McCain is only driving home the point that he is on borrowed time.

What if McCain is elected and he expires in office. President Sarah Palin? That’s a scary thought. I know men with as much experience, or lack of experience, have been President. Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter are two that come to mind. Sarah Palin reminds me of a train wreck waiting to happen. She talks a good game but what will happen when it comes time to stop talking and get down to work? I don’t want to know that. Why? Because I don’t like her. As one guy on CNN said last week, she is not the person I want to be one breathe away from the presidency. Of course the men that picked her gave no credit to the intelligence of women. The thinking seems to goes along the lines of women are interchangeable. It doesn’t matter who the woman is running, like sheep the women voters will ignore the issues and vote for someone because it is a female. I’ve got news for them- women don’t operate like that. We research issues and stands and some of us go with our gut feelings as well. I think a lot of people- men and women are watching to see what happens in the next two months before making up their mind. Maybe Sarah Palin will prove me wrong. Even if she does, that doesn’t mean I have to like her.

Hope and Harmony

I have been away from the Manilow Network for about a week. Have I learned anything in my time away? Yes. First, I have gotten some very nice messages from people I met over there who want to stay in touch. These are the kind of people who make up the nice parts of the Network. I really and truly believe there are more of these people than the other kind. Why don’t the nice people win out? Simply because they are nice. Nice people won’t stoop as low and do the underhand stuff the crazies do. So the crazies get the upper hand.

People asked me to stay and help change the Network. While I understand what they hope to do, it goes against my personal beliefs. The crazies have rights. As much as I hate to say it, they should be allowed to express their opinions too. The problem with them is they insist that everyone share their viewpoint and they are right about everything. When they can’t back up their statements, or are disagreed with, they have only one method of rebutting; personal attacks, along the lines of saying people who don’t agree with them are not true fans. Mature discussion is out of the question. And it’s all about Barry.

That is thrown around so much – what would Barry say? I think he said it. His dream musical Harmony was about a group of musicians who were torn apart because of intolerance. Records and the career of the group were destroyed because some of the guys in the group did not go along with the popular thinking of the time and place. Harmony tells the story of talent the world was denied because of closed- mindedness. What would Barry say? Judging by the storyline of Harmony, he would be against not being able to say what you want, on the network that bears his name or anywhere. While Harmony celebrates the success of the musicians, it also gives the message of hope. Hope that this will never happen again. Yet, it is happening, on a much smaller scale, on a place with the Manilow name. That is so sad.

A New Day

If you have made your way over here to my new blog site, then you must be wondering why I left my old place. I was blogging on the Manilow Network. Yes, I am a Barry Manilow fan. Proud to be one. Sorry to say, I’m not so proud of some fellow fans. On the Manilow Network, I met a lot of wonderful folks. People I hope to be able to stay in contact with and grow our friendship. However, there are quite a few people over there that have what I consider to be delusion thinking. Now they can be as delusional as they want but the problem I have with it all is the lies and insisting that everyone be converted to their way of thinking. In order to do that converting, they must keep things stirred up all the time. Add to that, the intolerance of it all and it’s a mix I want no part of. Clear thinking, common sense, and manners go clear out the window. Life is too valuable to waste on that kind of junk. Or at least mine is.

The stuff about the Vegas shows really exposed the lack of respect and honestly shown by a group of people over on the Network. Insisting that everyone who didn’t say what they deemed “positive” things about the run of the shows last week was not a fan, or lying, or personally attacking Barry sounds like the beginnings of a cult to me. The Postivees have the right to express their opinions but so do other people. I saw nothing negative about the reviews I read. Some show goers were disappointed. The show was not what they expected. Expressing their views is as much their right as it is for the Postivees to express theirs. It went beyond that. The Postivees lied about what was written. This need to convert or vilify anyone who does not agree with them is not acceptable behavior. I chose not to join their cult or have to listen to it. A good, honest, well-rounded review is better than delusional rantings any day. If lying has to be done to prove a point, there wasn’t a point to begin with, was there?

Today is September 1^st. Summer is over. It is a very important Manilow anniversary for me. (Hint- think Beach!! As in Myrtle.) It’s a great time to start over. A new day. So here is my new blog. It will deal with more than Manilow stuff. If you want to read what I write about all sorts of things, come back over and join me. I am still setting this up but I think my email address will show up on the blog page. I hope to keep in touch with all the good friends I made on the Manilow Network. I can still drop by over there and read. I chose not to be a part of that community for the time being. Never say never. I have little hope that it’ll change but there’s always a chance. Time to move forward.

Photo by S.Chambless used by permission