I SAW That! Quarters Quarters Everywhere ~~~

I have to laugh.  Today, I saw a headline that said, "A win for people who park too long: Tire marking thrown out".
  
Ohhh, I remember the days so well.  In my city, where a major university resides and more than one building used to be downtown and covered any number of blocks, there were signs posted all over saying, 2 Hr parking or be towed.  Hey, it was college, and so we all came up with smart ways to work it...not saying the occasional ticket wasn't had. But here's what we did:  So there we were, parked in every square inch of the street surrounding the university.  We'd be so careful to note the time we dropped our quarters into the parking meter and we knew our tires would be marked by the ever-vigilant police in the area. It was almost like a club inside the buildings and we coordinated so fast it was amazing. At an appointed time, a group with a handful of keys would run out the door and move each car to the space in front of where they'd been.  Yes, every car moved up one space and then safe again for another 2 hours.  Great idea and it worked for years, but holy smoke, it wasn't easy to run out every 2 hours to make the change for probably 100 cars.  Money saved? Yes.  Tickets saved?  Yes.  Legs crumbling under the strain?  A double yes.  We often wondered why this 'no parking' applied to our school, I mean, for heaven's sake!  But the law was the law and it never, ever changed.  A decade later, that group of buildings left the area and moved back to the suburbs and so the locals of the area had to deal with the problem from then on.  Can you even imagine living on those blocks and running outside in all weather, all seasons, and having to move your car? Insane. 

And so today, I saw that headline and I couldn't help but remember the old days and got a good laugh. Funny thing was, the 3 states that dropped the 'tire marking' did not include mine. Ahh, the good old South, always a couple of steps behind in changes.  Keep your quarters ready and a good pair of running shoes.

                             

I Wonder ~~

We talk about the opioid addiction in this country and yes, painkillers are prescribed for every little thing and that's dead wrong (do not pardon the pun), but I can't help but wonder about another addiction and it's world-wide: The Creeping Facebook Addiction. It gets you before you even realize it. I don't go there anymore but I still get notifications and it amazes me how absolutely everyone posts every few minutes of every single day. They are SO comfortable and so blinded by it all that they even post where they are, where they're going, how long they'll be gone and everything else pertinent for any robber. What's the matter with these FB folks? Do you really think that anyone cares what TV show you're watching or what you're having for lunch and where? Crossing the line has become a 'so what'. Cursing out others' beliefs are commonplace and photos to show every little thing about families are rampant on the world-wide-web, always to be available to anyone and some of those 'anyones' could be up to no good. If you must post these personal photos or information about where you are, etc, then make your page completely private EXCEPT to your own family --- not friends or others you don't even know, just immediate family.  As for the rest, if you want to keep in contact, then call them with your own voice. And if you want to have an open forum on your thoughts, such as this, then start a blog. At least it's a true form or conveying feelings and ideas and not just a place to post a cartoon or yell at your neighbor. A blog; wow, what a novel idea!
                             
                           (I am on such a rant right now and happy to let it all out)

I miss the days of true human contact. NO texts, just pick up the darn phone and call or answer yours. Here's an example from just a few days ago: I PHONED my neighbor to ask how her husband was as he'd been in ICU for 2 weeks. I also was going to ask if she'd like to share my dinner with me so she'd have a break from all the stress. I got her voice mail. I left the message and asked for her to call me back or meet me at our adjoining fence. I got a TEXT. A longgggggggg text. Must have taken her 5 min to type it all. No phone call. She never even acknowledged the dinner invitation. Craziest of all is her ending of the text: "You are such a loving and caring, helpful neighbor. I am so lucky." Ask me if I was overjoyed to see the typing instead of hearing it in person. For God's sake, put down the smartphone, go offline, go outside. We all talk about how great the 'good old days' were, so what's holding anyone back from RE-doing them?  I'll tell you what it is. It's smartphones and FB.  You know it's true, it's just a hard habit to break. Make the move. Carry that phone in the car for emergencies, not to chit chat. Do that in person.  Sit down together, have coffee, have tea, have wine, have anything, just make sure you have each other and not empty typed words.  Do it.

So now you answer the question:  What's more addictive, Opioids or FaceBook?  They sure seem to be running neck and neck. Do you agree?  Then click "Like".

                                               NOOOOOOOO!!!

My FIRST Smartphone!

I broke down and finally bought one, yessirree, I did. My old cell was a little flip phone and it was fine for me for years but now the sound was awful and I had to keep it on speaker phone all the time and STILL hold it up to my head to hear. I thought it was just me but it wasn’t. No one else could hear with that old thing, either. That was my first wake up call to buy a new phone. Then there were the tornado warnings that we seem to get a lot more than in the old days. I’d see the warnings show on TV, snatch up the cats and we’d all head to the basement….and sit, and sit, and sit. There was no way to know if it was over or if we should stay down there. Yes, another reason for a decent cell phone where I could have a “Live” weather app. Consumer Cellular to the rescue! I love that company and if you don’t know about them, you really should bone up on their site. Best prices and services that you could ever imagine and I’ve been using their plans for 5 years now (and wish I’d started years and years ago). Well, they also sell all types of cell phones and so that’s where I went. I had no intention of buying the newest as you’d have to have a gun to my head to fork over mega hundreds or even into a thousand bucks for a phone. A phone! Geezy peezy. I just want it to have great sound and the ability to call and receive and text and email and go online when I need to. Wow. What I found was that it not only does all that but holy smoke, I can hold it out at a store that takes Apple pay and bingo, it does all the work! I absolutely LOVE this thing. I bought the older (not ancient) Apple iPhone SE. That one came out after the 5’s and with the 6’s and has iOS 11 which is the latest operating system out there.. Reviews post that it’s been the best of all of them other than it’s physically smaller. Men love the smallness because it fits in a pocket. I’m getting used to squinting. No worries, I just adore this new gadget, and the price was terrific, $160. Brand new, not used; and my monthly billing with CC is still incredibly low, as in $19.95 per month and that’s with unlimited text, I chose a lower amount of talk minutes because I’m always on wifi and my data is next to nothing because I don’t download a bunch of apps. The phone came loaded with all the apps I’d ever need. Yay! I feel like I stepped into the world, haha. I even took this photo of my Lucy this evening with the cell camera and I have to say, that camera does a really nice job! I sent it to myself in email and here it is (click to enlarge):

Ok, that was the good news. Now for the ick. I have an abscessed tooth and it hurts! I am on a good antibiotic but it’s taking its sweet time working. Tomorrow is the last day of pills. Luckily, my dentist wrote the Rx for a refill, so I’ll be trotting back to the store to pick up another round. In the meantime, I’m being very quiet because my face hurts from the abscess and I’ve had a roaring headache on that side for a whole week. I’ll be back around to visit in not too long, but until then, be good, have fun, and BLOG! XOXOXO

Throw WAYYY Back Thursday ~~

It was Christmas. I was 4 yrs old and can still remember this day. First 2-wheel bike, but with training wheels, of course. The tall case beside me opened and housed my favorite doll with her clothes on miniature hangers. And way over on the right was a pink stuffed animal that I had up until my last move. The curtains were the real thing of the day – big red and pink and green cabbage roses, haha. Much ado was made over “placing” the tinsel so that each piece hung straight and wasn’t just thrown on. Didn’t matter, my dog and cat made mincemeat out of it all before the day was up. My most loved present was the book on my lap. I was an early reader and would curl up anywhere I could find, have Winnie (dog) and Bootsie (cat) right beside me, and read all day long. That particular book was a geography book and I thought it was glorious with all the pictures so huge and the colors so bright. I actually thought I was seeing the whole world. Good days, yes indeed.