Squinky in the Morning

 So...right now I have quite a bit going on. Nothing bad, but also nothing I've talked about yet. And it's something that keeps me up at night, but not in a bad way.

Brie also has a couple of things going on. Something she wants to talk about all the time. That's the difference between her and I: I keep it internal, while she lets it all out.

Anyhoo, her situation has her a little tense. I try to help, but there's only so much I can do. And then she gets squinky and frustrated and then we might have words or stop speaking altogether because she's mad at me. Squinky!.

This morning was a squinky time. We were getting ready for work, and I didn't have any fruit. Then I remembered I had  a few frozen grapes in the freezer. I would take them! So I got a Ziploc bag, opened the freezer, took out the bowl only to discover there were only six grapes in there. Oh well: better than nothing and I'd go to the store later.

Then I heard Brie from the dining room. "I don't have anything for snack today. Hey, what are you doing?" She came into the kitchen. "I'm packing up the last of the grapes." "But I didn't have any!" "Brie, these grapes have been here for four days, you knew they were here and there are only six." "Oh great: now I have nothing!" (even though I had told her last night that we had apple slices. But I digress...)

Inside, I knew the issue wasn't the grapes. But I stupidly said, "Then you take them." "No you already have them. I'll just have nothing." "Brie, there are only six but please take them." "No!" and she headed out of the kitchen.

I went after her, Ziploc bag in hand. "Just take them!" "No!" We got to the living room and I threw them into her workbag. "Just take them!" She took them out. "No just forget it!"  She put the bag back in my hand, and I was well over it by now. "Fine!" I mustered up my dignity, turned and went to step smartly away.

However, in my midst of righteous indignation, I failed to notice the Puffs tissue box on the floor. I smartly stepped on it, went to walk, didn't realize it was stuck to my foot, the slippery box slid on the floor, I did a turn, started to fall, reached for the small gray chair by my couch, only got part of it, did another pirouette and landed sideways on part of the chair.

How Brie kept from howling with laughter at this, I have no idea. "Are you okay?" she asked. As I got up and felt the pain in my left knee I said, "Yes I'm fine." "Enjoy your grapes." And she left after saying a half-hearted "love you".

So as I hobbled around, gathering up my purse, work bag and Rocky Mountain tumbler, I decided two things. 1) Brie is a hater when she's squinky; and 2) the next time she wants frozen grapes she can make them herself!

By the way: here's what we do with the grapes to make them fight-over worthy:

Wash the grapes. Pat them dry. Put them in a bowl. Sprinkle your favorite flavor of dry Jello over them. Roll them around so they're covered. Throw them in the freezer for an hour or two. Delicious!! Enjoy!

Behind the Video - Addictive

 I'm sure that most of you have never heard of this song by a beautiful black woman called Truth Hurts.  I had never heard of her until I saw this video on MTV one day. The song was released in 2002 as the lead single from her debut album entitled Truthfully Speaking. She's singing about her gangster boyfriend and how good their connection/sex life is and how she understands when she has to wait for him to show up due to the nature of his "work" (you know, drug dealing and what not) but it's worth it. Here are a few of the lyrics, and I get no money for this, I own no rights, but it lets you know what you need to:

"He breaks me down, he builds me up, He fills my cup, I like it rough. We fuss, we brawl, we rise, we fall. He comes in late, but it's ok. He do, I do, he knows the rules. He takes care of home, though he's not alone. I'm on his knee, he keeps me clean; and gives me things, he makes me scream."

I really liked the song, even though I'm naive and don't understand all of that kind of talk, haha. But it was the video itself that had me absolutely riveted. The song has a nice R&B / hip hop rhythm with some middle Eastern tones, so it already wasn't  your typical dance song. The video opens with her laying in a bed, and then quickly moves to lovely women with henna tattoos, belly-dancing.

Let's stop here for a minute. If you know me at all, you know that the minute I saw this I had to immediately get up and try to belly-dance. And I'm sure we all know what happened: or if you don't just ask Brie. I'm sure she's still laughing. But I digress...

So it turns out that the ladies aren't dancing in her bedroom, but in what turns out to be a club. A club with a bedroom for her and her man, apparently. So she's singing and belly-dancing with her friends, and then the camera pans to this man coming down a set of stairs but you don't see his face yet. And then I hear Brie gasp. "Mom, it's dad!"

I'm sure I broke the sound barrier getting to the TV where the camera zoomed in on this good looking black gentleman who started rapping: 

"Thinking of a master plan, you know anything you need baby ask your man. You was there from a  half a gram, now it's kilos to c-notes and high fashion brands. We ball like we own the world, your only concern is you my only girl. And when we're speaking in tongues, breathin' hard when I'm squeezin' your lungs; keep it strong, but I gotta hit the streets with I'm done..."

It was my was-band Raymond! And he was a famous rapper now? My head immediately started spinning with the thoughts of how fast I was going to get my 20 years' worth of child support! The dollar signs were lighting up in my eyes...

But then I took a closer look. Oh crap: it wasn't the was-band at all: it was Rakim, who is an actual rapper! So it must be true that everyone has a twin because I honestly thought it was my ex. Ugh!

"It's (effed) up but you never complain, you just pray I don't get killed when I hit the hood. Just another hundred mill and I'm a quit for good. Just me and you high off sex I'm twisted: you OG'd and you OD addicted." 

Well he sounded and looked like Raymond. Only clean and healthy and rich. Brie said, "Wow, I really thought that was dad. He looks just like him!"

"Yeah but sadly it isn't your father so no back child support, as usual!" I thought to myself that if Rakim was single, maybe our paths would cross someday. And I wouldn't even compare him to the was-band! 

Anyhoo, I haven't met Rakim yet. I still really like the video because Rakim is easy on the eyes and the dancing is mesmerizing, even though I quickly learned that belly-dancing isn't my forte. But it was fun to entertain Brie while I tried! And just for the record: she was no expert either! 😄

Sweet Dreams Are Made of This

 I had a dream last night that really resonated with me yet was bittersweet. It might have been a “visit”, but regardless I wanted to share it with you while it’s still fresh.

In this dream my good friend Tom Finch came to visit me at Marie’s house. I was so glad to see him! Judging by his hair, it should have been the 70’s, but based on circumstances I know the timeframe was between late 2004 and Fall of 2015. We spent time catching up, and then he took a seat at the piano.

Tom, even in high school, was a very accomplished pianist. In the dream I sat on the piano bench next to him and he said, “Let’s play a duet.” “Oh no,” I demurred, “you know I only took lessons for a couple of years.” “Coward!” he teased. “Then let’s get a book out and play.” At this point, Marie, Clancy, Robin and a couple of relatives were sitting in the living room watching us.

Tom and I looked in the piano bench where the music books were kept: but there weren’t any. I rummaged around on top of the piano but was only able to find a music book entitled “The Star-Spangled Banner” which was full of patriotic songs. We took a pass on that. Another couple of books were old and tattered so they were no good to us. I finally said to him, “Play something from memory.” “Like what?”  I didn’t even have to think about it. “Play ‘Morning Has Broken’.”

Clancy had his radio going so I told him to turn it off while Tom played; and he did.

When we were in high school, one day Tom really did stop by to visit. He met Marie, who loved the piano, and he sat down and played ‘Morning Has Broken’ for her. As a teen girl I was already a little in love with him, but that sealed the deal for me. But alas: we were never more than good friends…

Getting back to the dream: as he played Marie was watching and smiling, the other relatives were enjoying the performance and Robin was smiling. Then I realized that Tom was playing my old piano, which Marie and Robin had traded in years ago for Robin’s new piano. My father wasn’t there as he had died in 2004. And if there were no piano books anywhere: Robin was gone too because she always had the piano bench stuffed with music books, the top of the piano held books and there were always 2 or 3 on the music stand. She passed away in 2015 yet she showed up smiling in my dream.

So there you have it. I woke up with that bittersweet feeling in my heart because of the people I miss, but it’s always good to “see” Robin! When I saw Tom at a reunion a few years ago, I asked him if he still played. Sadly, he has arthritis and doesn’t play anymore. What a shame because he was concert-good. But at least he can still play in my dreams, and I’m grateful for that.

Thanks Burtie!

 I have a co-worker that I have nicknamed Burtie. I only call her that in emails, and no one else calls her that. But it seemed like a fitting nickname to me, so I'm going with it!

Anyhoo, the other day Burtie and I were chatting for a few minutes about our mothers, and how saintly they thought they were. "One time when I was maybe five," I began, "my parents took us to the store with them. When we got back to the car, I showed Marie a package of life savers." "Where did you get that?" she asked me. "From the store," Of course this did not sit well with her at all since it wasn't paid for. "That is stealing," she admonished, "and we don't do that." "I'm sorry," I said, feeling terrible. "That's okay," Marie said. "Just don't do it again. Give those to me." I did, and she proceeded to eat them in front of us kids. "Let that be a lesson to you," she concluded. Um...what was the lesson? Wait until your parent isn't around and then eat your stolen goods?

Burtie laughed. "That's a good one! But I bet I can top that;" She then told her story:

"When I was around three or four, my saintly mother took us to the store with her. She expected all of her children to be pious and saintly like she was but we were kids. So we went through the store and she got the items we needed and then went back to the car. Unbeknownst to us, my brother had taken some candy from the store and was eating it like there was no tomorrow. But my mother noticed and said, "What are you doing?" When my brother didn't say anything she made us all get out of the car and she marched us back into the store. She explained to the manager what had happened and he said, "Oh it's okay, it's kids being kids." "Oh?" my mother said. "When he comes back here in 15 years and steals from you, are you still going to say that?" The manager was nonplussed at that. "I want  you to punish him so he never steals again." The manager said, "What do you want me to do?" And my mother said in a low, menacing voice, "I want you to call the police."

"Well you wouldn't think something like that would happen, but by now the manager was afraid of my mother, and rightfully so! So believe it or not: the police were called in to scare my brother straight. And at the end of it all the store actually posted my brother's picture on the wall and it said, "If you see this person keep an eye on him. He's a thief."

I was aghast. "Are you kidding me??"

"Nope! My mother meant business! And it scared me so much: I've never to this day EVER stolen anything. We went into that Barber's Market almost every day and there was my little brother's picture. It was so embarrassing!"

I laughed and laughed. "That is awesome! Your mother is a gangster!"

"Yes she is!"

I just loved that story. Thanks Burtie for letting me tell it!

My Friend Argus

 

My very good friend Argus came up for a visit this week, and we got to go out Saturday night and catch up. He lives in PA and I hadn’t seen him in over a year (thanks Covid!). As we reminisced over potato skins and chocolate chip lava cake (which had NO lava, by the way) I remembered when we first met.

Theoretically, we shouldn’t be friends. My original job moved to Atlanta, GA 3 years ago and I wasn’t mobile. Luckily, I had taken a couple of Civil Service tests and was number one on the lists, so I got to interview for my current job and they loved me! So, I was in.

My first day I pulled into the parking lot and parked. I was early so I sat there for a few minutes. Presently, I saw this young man heading for the building. What was notable was he had a backpack, and even though it was August he was wearing a jaunty hat. Not a fedora, but something smaller and kind of similar. I immediately thought he was crazy and forgot about him as I got out of my car to go to Human Resources.

Afterwards I was escorted to my new office. Imagine my surprise when I entered, and the first person I saw was the guy in the hat! I was introduced to those I hadn’t met during the interview, and discovered his name was Argus. And based on the hat: the name fit. They had a nice welcome to Financial Aid continental breakfast spread for me, and everyone was very nice.

The brunt of the training fell on Argus, as I’d be doing that kind of work. It was a little awkward with both of us sitting at the same desk, but we made it work. He wasn’t the cuddliest person I’d ever worked with but I figured it was because we were strangers.

WRONG!! I asked one of my friendlier coworkers where I’d be sitting after my training. She said, “At Argus’s desk.” “Um – then where is Argus going to sit?” “Well, you’re replacing him so he will have to find another job.” I guess that explained the frostiness! Apparently, he had gotten that job through a temp agency and he knew in order to keep it and be hired as a permanent employee, he had to pass the civil service test and score in the top three. Unfortunately, he did not do so; so after almost two years they couldn’t put it off any longer. Some people just don’t do well with testing; whereas I used to do it as a hobby (yep: more proof I’m a nerd).

So now I was faced with a quandary: how was I going to get him to like me, when I was taking his job?  The simple answer: charm him with my usual friendly, funny, twinkly self! I knew this might be a challenge but I was up for it!

Well you know the rest: he couldn’t hold out when my charm is on full blast! It took a little work but eventually he thawed out enough to be friends. We would sometimes have lunch together, and I really have no idea how the other people in the room could stand us. We always ended up laughing uproariously at something, and they would just look at us and roll their eyes. Don’t be jealous of our good time! And occasionally we would meet out for a bite to eat or a coffee just to chat. He is quirky and funny and has the best laugh. I’m glad I got to find that out!

But alas: all good things must come to an end. His time in our office ended and he was going to see where his next work adventure would take him. Little did we know that it would be to an office 2 buildings down! So he got to come back for a while. Just when the 2 ladies in the break room thought it was safe to have lunch!

Anyhoo, getting back to his last day: he walked me to my car so we could say so long, not goodbye. We stood there and talked for a good 40 minutes, neither one wanting to leave. But we both had things to do so finally we wished each other well. And then he opened his arms. Yep: like a homing pigeon I went right into them. It was the best hug I’d ever received, and coming from Argus it meant a lot. It was a good, strong, full-body full-of- meaning hug: the kind you want to just go on forever. But we finally separated and I told him he was one of my favorite people in the world; and he dittoed that sentiment. Thankfully, before it got mushy, I said to him, “I’m really going to miss your hat.” That brought on the laughter.

Since then, he has moved to Pennsylvania but we still keep in touch. When he visits family members up north he lets me know when he’s coming so we can get together. I will text him and say, “I miss your hat. And your face.”  So when we get together we laugh. And hug. If he could bottle those, he’d be a millionaire.

We just got together this past Saturday night. We enjoy spending time together, and he has admitted that no one makes him laugh more than me. I say, “As long as you’re laughing with me and not at me!” to which he replies, “No guarantees!”

So that’s my story of Argus, the best hugger in the world. Yes, we hugged before we parted Saturday night. And that was even better than the lava cookie. 😊 I wish I could have one of those every day. Maybe someday from some lucky man! And in case you're wondering: the hat is called a Trilby. See: you do learn something new every day!

Aww...no hat!

Friday Flash

 

I’m at work and listening to my cool tunes on the Victrola (my phone). The song “The Big Payback” by James Brown comes on, and suddenly I have a flashback…

I’m back in high school at a Friday night dance. My best friends are with me, and the deejay is actually pretty good.  We were chitchatting, but all of us had our eyes on one of the chaperones. It was a student teacher named John Kahn.

In my mind’s eye I can still see him: taller than me, slender, slightly wavy dark hair, dark brown eyes and glasses and a mustache. Being a student teacher, he wasn’t all that much older than we were; and every girl I knew had a crush on him. Of course, I didn’t let anyone know that I had a crush, because I didn’t want to seem like everyone else. And you know how I like to stand out in a crowd!

Anyhoo, when a group of girls would dance he would join them and they would be jostling for position next to him. But being me: that wasn’t good enough. So during a lull I actually went up to him and said, “Do you think we could dance to the next one?” “Yeah sure!” he responded. Now I wasn’t sure if he actually meant it, if he said it to be nice, or if he was stoned and didn’t know what he was saying. (Oh please: we all knew he’d snuck outside to smoke weed with whoever was holding!)

Imagine my inner surprise and delight when he came to claim me for “The Big Payback”, which was one of my favorite songs! I couldn't believe the deejay had that song! And although his rhythm was a little off: who cared??? I was the only one he was dancing with and everyone was watching and all of my friends were totally jealous! And at the end of the day: isn’t that what it’s all about? I was the only one he solo danced with, probably because no one else knew how to catch that rhythm. (including him but again: who cared? He was hot.)

Ah, memories! And this was a good one for me. I sometimes wonder what ever happened to him, and if he really became a teacher. Regardless: I hope Mr. Kahn  led a good life and kept on dancing. You know I did!

A Little Bible Lesson

I feel like a little sermon today...

 Once upon a time I knew a man who swore up and down that he didn't believe in God. Yet in the next breath he would say, "I know my mother has her angel wings now that she's in Heaven."

Really? Who is she in Heaven with, if you don't believe in God? How did she get there? How would there be a Heaven without God? It just sprang from swamp water after the "big bang" happened?

And while he didn't "believe" in God, he would say, "My name is taken from the death angel." Wrong again! With no God, there would be no angels. And check the Bible: Michael is the angel of war, not death. "And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Revelation 12:7-9. There was no name for the death angel in the Christian Bible, (just in other religions and paganism), whom God sent to kill the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. God told Moses to tell the Israelites to put lamb's blood on their doors so the death angel would pass over their houses. "For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle." Exodus 12:12-13, 29.

By the way, just for the record: people don't "turn" into angels when they die, nor do they get wings. Angels are created beings, created to serve and worship God, often referred to as the Heavenly host. “You are the Lord, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host . . . and the host of heaven worships you.” Nehemiah 9:6. God formed man from the earth, and breathed the breath of life into him. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Genesis 2:7.

Even though I know this particular man won't see this post, I feel good having rebutted his supposed beliefs. 😏 

So there you have it. All scripture references are from the King James Bible, which is my favorite. If you want to discuss or have questions, feel free to contact me! Or better yet: come to church with me sometime. I guarantee you won't regret it!