Argg! I am not yet ready! I am working in my classroom today. Moving every computer, cleaning the screens, the mice, digging dust bunnies and other crud out of keyboards and then turning them on to make sure they actually still turn on.

My principal got me a dozen headphones with mics so I just bought a bunch of baskets and plastic bags to attempt to keep them untangled. That’s another little job, getting them out of those horrid plastic molded forms that cut you when you attempt this job.

Oh yeah, my book case collapsed and dumped about 20 or so books onto the floor. I have to find a place for them, too. I hope I am out of here by dinner time!

When the family is in an “uproar” state, I cannot blog. It’s mostly because I have a hard time seeing past my own issues, I guess. Anyhow, we are definitely in the dog days of summer here. I am perspiring as I type. My fingers are sticking to the keys. But I am looking out over the salt marsh and thinking how incredibly gorgeous it is today.

I went out for coffee with my friend Heidi and her 4 year old. We went to KB’s Bagels which is a nice relaxing spot one street down from the beach. Their coffee was soo good. Anyhow, now I am home for a bit before I head out for some errands.

John has a nasty heavy sticky cast on his right foot from twisting it in the back yard on his first day of vacation, July 12th or so. That started the longest vacation he has ever had, actually. What was supposed to be a week at Mi-Te-Jo turned into the summer on crutches and not moving much. Or at all. He went from a fancy boot to a plaster cast. If this doesn’t work, it’s surgery for him. We do not want surgery for him, so let’s hope for the best, please!

It’s been a busy summer, for sure. My friends Ella and Lucy came for the week of the 4th which is always a treat. Then I started my Kiddy Lit class which meant doing nothing but reading and analyzing and writing for two straight weeks. It was tough. Then I went back to camp for a week or so. That was nice. I have been busy working on updating the computer teacher credential for NH along with about 5 or 6 other people. We are not quite done yet.

We have also been getting to  know our newest family member. My daughter and her husband are adopting a young man named Joseph. My grandson has always wanted a big brother and now he is getting one! They have adventures every day. I like hearing the synopsis after they are in bed for the night. I just wish they actually fell asleep earlier because we used to play scrabble every night! LOL

My granddaughter is sprouting up like a weed. She has been going to rec camp this summer and loves it. She has just experienced a huge loss in her life, her 90 year old great grandfather died on his birthday. She knew he had been very sick and is taking it fairly well. Like my grandson who lost his great grammy this past year, it is so very sad to go through but I think they have been so blessed to have such wonderful sage people in their lives.

My birds are chirping away. I wonder if they need seed. I wonder if the heat bothers them? How would I know? The dogs let me know when they are uncomfortable but the birds-well, I guess they have to suffer and just tell their cagemates!

I know I had many reasons to hate the Yankees prior to last Friday. I believe that it is part of my DNA which is why right at this moment I can’t remember why. But I can tell you this. Looking just now on the web to see when we play next and finding out that this evening we play the Yankees reminded me of why I am currently hating the pinstripes.

Last Friday, I was standing in DeMoulas buying my food for a weekend of camping. I eat simply because I am usually by myself. I remember that I was exhausted from a particularly difficult week but it was a payday so it cancelled out the bad stuff, in a way.

The couple in front of me was finishing up their order, waiting for the bagger to take care of the last few items. The guy says loudly to the bagger, “Pretty awful about the accident today near Fenway, huh? Pedroia and Youk getting hurt like that. It’s gonna really affect the game tonight.” The bagger apparently spends his weekends fishing or something and had no idea what the man was talking about. I, however, did, and said, in a scared voice, “What?” He repeated the information and then, seeing my concern, said, “HAHA I AM A YANKEES FAN!”

Then I had a new, real, personal reason to hate the Yankees.

Today I was rushing around getting ready to go to work and I noticed a wooden hanger lying on the floor of my bedroom. It said on it “McDormand’s Mens Wear.” Wow, I thought…this is one old, and still goin’ strong, hanger!

I thought of how nice the McDormands were and how trusting the store was of its patrons. You could take something home  by just saying you were going to see if it fit properly and bring it back to either pay for it or to return it.

You could also order flowers from House of Flowers in those days over the phone and without a credit card. You would get a bill in the mail. How quaint these practices seem today.

Now what I see in doctors offices, dentists, anywhere you are getting service, there is a sign that says Payment is expected when services are rendered. Of course, I get that. Times have changed. Used to be that Hampton was a dry town, too, and it wouldn’t get in anyone who wasn’t WASP.

Ah, yes, and I could go on and remark about how the bittersweet and blueberry bushes used to grow where the new development is now. Progress.

Just really different than the old days, I’d say.

Imagine if you had to choose your top 632 friends to invite to a gala affair to announce the opening of your new movie like Dan Brown did? Who would you invite?

I was mentioned in the acknowledgments of Angels and Demons, the book. We were quite close in those days. Somehow, we got dropped off the A list and all I have to show for it is a bunch of signed Dan Brown books. LOL I need to sell them on ebay!

I think Dan would approve of that!

But seriously, when someone becomes rich and famous, what makes them change? I remember when we’d go out to dinner and to the movies. Some weeks we were broke, some week they were broke, but we always worked it out. We always had fun. We went to NY together when he was signing book deals. It was so much fun. We had to stay at the Edison Hotel because it was like $94 a night. We went to the Starlight Cafe and just goofed around the city.

When he finished his book, he called at like 7pm and said lets go celebrate at the truck stop. We dropped everything and met them there. He was so happy. So were we!

It was around this time that he said since he had to cancel our vacation to Acapulco that we needn’t worry, when his books were made into movies he’d be taking us all to Tahiti.

Man, I sure hope they sell soon!

This weekend is our beloved grandson’s 6th birthday. We will be celebrating by going to the local bowling spot and, using bumpers, we will attempt to get some pins down. It should be fun, even if the guest list has ballooned to two or three times the original intended size!

It’s pretty special to have a birthday this time of year. It’s only a couple of days after Halloween so everyone is already in a heightened sense of party. Then we will just slip into harvest time and Thanksgiving. Before you know it, we will be humming Silent Night. This time of year is truly magical. From getting candy from a previously unknown neighbor to the fat guy dressed in red coming down the chimney, it is a child’s delight.

Last year we didn’t get one trick or treater. This year I won’t buy any candy and I will probably have a hundred kids! There is no way to figure out some of these things in advance!

This year, we will be going to a new family’s Thanksgiving table. We usually go to my sister’s and my daughter and others all meet there but this year will be different. I think I will be sad that day but I need to realize that people change and I need to just buck up. I am happy that we have been invited to a new place. I hope they cook well!! Even if they don’t, it will be nice to be with them for the holiday. I hope they like my sweet potato pie!

We are truly honestly cutting back on material aspects of Christmas. It is not only unnecessary, but who can afford it? I will get some small gifts for people-like my son said, it’s so cheesy to not give at least a pair of socks!…so I will do something, just not sure what.

I hadn’t written here in a long time. There are two reasons for this. One, I have been sick for quite a few weeks with a stomach thing. No idea what it was but it sure made me tired and grumpy. The other reason is that everything is politics, politics, politics…and most of my family thinks I am a damn fool to be associated with the democratic party. I just am not up for a big hassle about it.

Let’s hope for a great fall with good weather and happy people!

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Paul Newman is dead. I knew it was coming and I was very sad when I thought about it. Mr. Newman has been with us for 83 years. He has seen a lot of life. I loved his movies, I love his products. His dressings are great. I have tried to support his projects because he donated proceeds to worthy causes. You know me, altruistic to the bone.

But that’s not why I have been thinking about this for the last hour or so. It’s because people like Paul Newman connect my generation to my parent’s. Movies that Newman appeared in could be enjoyed by Mom and Dad and me and we would have a similar appreciation.

When you grow up sitting and watching the Smothers Brothers and Ed Sullivan, you have that shared experience that cannot be relived. When we lose someone like Newman, that is also a thread that goes through the generations and the loss is felt by all of us.

I am thinking that when Elvis died, I had only a minimal connection. His glory days were just before I became of the age that music becomes all important. Not that I don’t like Elvis, but when John Lennon died, I was really a mess. It didn’t really matter that Elvis killed himself and Lennon was murdered as much as that meant that the music ended. Just now I am realizing that when Bobby Darin died, my parents noted it. When Ricky Nelson died in the plane crash, I was devastated. My husband had loved his music but I loved the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. In fact, I still am interested when I hear about his twins.

I equate the death of a beloved church member in the same way. When John MacInnis died this past spring, the youngest kids in church to the oldest felt the loss. The thread of John’s life wove through all of our beings and is missed by us all.

Death. It’s so final. It ends that whole relationship thing. It stops the movies he might be acting in, stops books or musical compositions being written cold.

RIP, Paul Newman.

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