FUN! FUN! FUN!

Maybe my idea of fun and pleasure is not particularly your “cup of tea.” Perhaps what I like to do for fun would not interest you at all. In today’s world, there are so many activities and things going on, that it is sometimes hard to decide what is fun and what isn’t.

There are cheap ways to have fun, as well as, expensive ways to entertain ourselves. And, have you ever noticed that so much of what we like to do for fun changes as we grow older?

A REMOTE AND A COUCH

A remote, a couch and 200 stations on TV is now the “norm” for every TV watcher in America. I know if I didn’t have a remote, I would sure hate to get out of my comfortable chair and change the station.

Flipping through the many channels is something in itself. We can watch breaking news, soap operas, movies of choice, old shows, new shows, country shows and farming shows.

We can flip over to the Food Network and enjoy the recipes of our favorite chefs, click our way over to the Home Shopping Network and go Christmas shopping or take a trip down in the south lands and watch the Swamp People. What an era we live in.

By Nancy Whitaker

JUST SAYING NO

Yes. I did it again. I am a big sucker for the items they advertise on TV that you just can’t live without. In the past, I have purchased egg peelers, microwave spaghetti cookers, shavers, car covers, ice scrapers with gloves, salad shooters, grinders, and battery operated rodent frighteners.

I have bought tanning blankets made of foil material, a fan that you stick in your car window and it was supposed to run while you weren’t in your car to cool it off.

Yes. I have tried lots of new items, but let me be the first to say that they are not all as good as what they claim to be.

By Nancy Whitaker

PRETTY AND PROUD

The old saying goes, “You can’t tell a book by it’s cover.” A book may look boring from the outside, but once you get reading the inside, it could turn out to be the best book you have ever read.

The same theory holds true for a big, red, beautiful apple. An apple could be all polished and look ready to sink your teeth into, and when you do, out comes a little slimy worm. Yuck!

I have always been a “girlie” girl, meaning I like new clothes, nail polish, makeup and shoes. I love trying new hair styles and face creams.

SMARTER THAN A FIFTH GRADER?

Have you ever watched the show “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” If you like game shows and trivia, or you just want to brush up on knowledge, they are fun to watch.

I love testing my knowledge; however, I do not consider myself a “genius.” I also like playing “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” on Facebook. Believe it or not, it is really a challenge. Most days I find that I am not smarter than a fifth grader.

I don’t know if I have forgotten all the knowledge I garnered in the fifth grade, or if fifth graders are just smarter today.

By Nancy Whitaker

JIMINY CRICKET

When the days begin to get shorter and the weather turns cooler, can you hear the crickets chirping? Now, I am definitely not fond of crickets and usually scream when I see one, but when I hear them chirping, I know winter is approaching and it is time to get ready for some winter weather.

I can hear them singing their merry song around my house now, but have not seen any in the house.

I have always been curious about these insects and I did not know this, but only the male crickets chirp. I would not have made a happy cricket, because the females just don’t sing or make any noise.

FRIGHT NIGHT

Let’s face it. Everyone is scared of something. Dogs, cats, birds, adults, babies, teens, big people and little people all fear something.

My problem with fear is that I always try and look into the future and imagine the worse case scenario. In some cases fear is good, because if you hear about a storm coming, you prepare for it.

Have you ever noticed when we hear a blizzard is on the way, how everyone heads for the grocery store to stock up? I, for one, am scared that we will get snowed in and not have anything good to eat. Is there a difference between being fearful or just being prepared?

My little Shih Tzu is scared to death of thunder or any noise even closely resembling thunder. He shakes, cries and runs and hides in a small dark area where he feels secure.

Merry Hallowgivingmas St. Easterpendence Day

I for one am glad to see the beginning of the fall and cooler temperatures. This past summer has been a “Long Hot Summer,” with hot temperatures, high humidity and destructive storms. It was just one I wouldn’t like to see repeated.

Apparently though, winter and Christmas is on the way, as I have observed Christmas decorations in various stores. Yikes! I haven’t even put away my sundresses and flip-flops yet and am in no way ready for the Christmas season.

We ask ourselves each year, “How soon should merchants put out Christmas items? How early should we start hearing Christmas music on the radio and in the malls?

R.I.P.

I don’t know about everyone else, but my dogs have always been a part of our family. On Tuesday, we lost, our 18 year old pet who we lovingly referred to as a member of our family. It was in approximately 1994, that we got a little wiener dog from some local people. He was so small you could hold him in the palm of your hand, plus he was brown, so we named him Brownie.

Like all pets, Brownie became a part of our everyday life. When he was young, he could run super fast, shake the innards out of his stuffed toys and jump close to four feet in the air. In fact one time Brownie jumped up so high at a campaigning politician that he nabbed onto the candidate’s watch.

Brownie was always a big eater and could eat at any time of day or night. He used to be able to stand on his back legs with his little paws up, begging for hours. Naturally, we thought it was cute, so we usually shared our food with him.

By Nancy Whitaker

DO YOU KNOW “THE OMAR MAN?”

Anybody who grew up in the 1950s is probably familiar with all the delivery men we had stopping at our homes.

Those were the days when you had a milk man, egg man, ice man, brush man, coal man and a bread man. Even though I was quite young, I still recall the ice man bringing the big chunk of ice that went into our ice box. It was always fun for the iceman to give us a chunk of ice to suck on.

Another delivery man we had was a milk man. He used to put bottles of milk on the porch and take the empty bottles. This service was very nice because it was difficult to get the grocery stores more than once a week. Some women did not drive and if they did there was usually just one car in the family to use.