Sunday November 6, 2011

Things have been a little hectic lately, and I haven't been able to do my "quick" online bit.. however, I'll try to catch up... so, now you've been warned.

1.  What's going down, or on?

Like all good senior citizens, the first thing I check in the morning newspaper is the obituary section.  If I don't see my name there, I can relax for another day.   However, today, something is not right.  The paper, which normally lists several deceased Carroll County (Maryland)  people daily, most of whom are usually in their late eighties or nineties,  lists only five persons, and all of them "young"!

The ages for these deceased persons are:  69, 69, 58, 56, and 49.  All of these persons died in Carroll County.  I find this very unusual, and a bit disturbing.

I'm reminded of an interview with an elderly Carroll County resident:

Interviewer:     " How old are you?"
Senior Citizen:  "95."
Interviewer:      "Wow!  Have you lived here all of your life?"
Senior Citizen:  "Not yet."

Now, that Carroll County citizen lived in a Maryland place called Taneytown.   Taneytown, perhaps  named after ill-famed  Supreme Justice Taney, is pronounced TAWNEYTOWN.  Everybody in Carroll County knows that, but out-of-towners don't.

Once I gave my much beloved Aunt Marjorie from Massachusetts a drive through the Carroll County countryside and as we passed through Taneytown,  I told her that we were in Taneytown (tawneytown); she said, "No.  The sign says Taneytown (tayneetown)."  She didn't seem to want to believe me, so I said: "Let's stop at that business over there, and we can ask them to clarify things for you."

We walked into the business, and I asked the young clerk at the counter: "Please tell my Aunt the name of this place."  She immediately replied: "Burger King!"

2.  Andy's gone!

But an older person has passed away and will be missed by millions of Americans.  I've written about him several times in my blogs and have always admired his wit.  I'm talking of course about Andy Rooney, who just retired a month ago at the age of 92.  I was hoping he would reach the magic age of 100, just as other clever  humorists like Bob Hope and George Burns did. To pay homage to Andy, I will search out my copy of a  book he wrote and reread it and think once again about the human condition, as he saw it.

3.  Flee when flu flies!

Could those young deaths that I mentioned above be attributed to the flu?  Probably not.. I don't think that it has appeared in this area yet.  Of course, there are precautions to be taken against getting the flu.. the main one is getting a flu shot.  It amazes me that some young people do not think it is necessary to get the shot.

The Carroll County Times (Maryland) conducted an online poll to see if people plan to get a flu shot.  48% of those polled said they would get the shot;  52% of those polled said that they would not get the shot.  This is unbelievable to me. I'm assuming that the people polled were mostly young persons, because, in my experience, not many Carroll County people aged 70 or older even own a computer or a smart phone, and besides, the young think that they are going to live forever.. I guess that is why I see so many young people smoking. 

Let's hope that another epidemic like the one during World War I, that killed millions, never breaks out.  But, I, myself,  would rather be safe than sorry, so I will continue to get flu shots, and I will strongly suggest to my family members and friends to do the same, because I don't want to see their names in the obituary section when I do my daily checking.

4.  Round and round we go.

There are two musical moments when my bodily control disappears and my tear ducts start to ooze.  One is at the sound of Rodolfo's "MIMI!" at the end of La Boheme; the other is during the singing of "You'll Never Walk Alone" at the end of Carousel. 

I love my Netflix hookup and needing a good cry, I asked them to send me a disk of the movie version of the musical comedy Carousel.  They also sent me a separate disk of related information, in which I was surprised to find out that the musical was based on a work by the Hungarian  dramatist and novelist, Franz Molnar (Ferenc Neumann) 1878-1952.  On the separate disk was a copy of Liliom, a 1934 film version of the 1909 Molnar play, by the same name.  Carousel's story line adhered mainly to that of the movie, which was in French, and starred, of all people, Charles Boyer, as Liliom, the character that became Billy Bigelow.  The movie had Boyer singing a little, but it was not a musical like Carousel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liliom

I highly recommend this two disk set of Carousel and it's related material.  Or, if you don't want to cry, just find and listen to the soundtrack and the great Rodgers and Hammerstein music.  Enjoy!

September 22, 2011

(If you are looking for "Chicken Little", you need to see my blog entry for September 21, 2011.)

Today, which I think is the first day of Autumn, I woke up to Good News and Bad News.

Good News First:

1.  Hi!

I woke up!

2.  Thank you, President Kennedy

Today is the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, an Organization that shows how great we are as a Nation.. 

3.  No Chubby Checkers

Operation  TWIST has been initiated.  Maybe the financial outlook will improve.

4.  Publication

A book called Time for Outrage has been published in the U.S.  It is an English translation of Indignez-vous, a European best-seller written by Stephane Hessel, a 93 year old diplomat, French Resistance fighter in WWII, and a concentration camp survivor.

Mr. Hessel challenges young people to fight the outrageous things that are going on.  He wants them to stand up to what is wrong in the world, and like Lou Piel indicated in a recent column.. get off of one's butt and take action.

5.  Get lost!

Corn mazes are suddenly appearing around the area.  There is a remarkable one being unveiled at the Ag Center in Westminster, Maryland.   That MAZE is really AMAZING!  Bring the kids and get lost in the maze for a while. It's a lot of fun.

And now for the BAD NEWS!

6.  I'm Going Broke again!

The Stock Market is way way way down again and banks are paying almost nothing for the use of your money.  But I'm told that is OK because inflation is low.  I'd rather have a little inflation.. perhaps that would cause us to have some job creation.

7.  Ah Choo!

Once again, the 5 (count 'em) Carroll County (Maryland) Commissioners, in their wisdom, have cut funding for the Department of Health, and FLU shots are no longer going to be given by that organization.    People will have to get their shots out in the open  at Rite Aid or WalMart or Giant.  Some Medical Offices will be giving shots, at least to people over 65.. I guess that is because Medicare may subsidize them.

(These same  Commissioners have; however, found the money to hire a hot-shot Conservative advertising expert... as well as to contribute to a hot-shot lobbyist for the Maryland General Assembly.)

Another thing  that bugs me about these Commissioners...they like to have their planning sessions in private.. at least they used to before people complained.. when I was Chair of the Carroll County Commission on Aging, I had to make sure that all of our meetings were publicised and open to the general population.

8. "They look alike.."

Twenty six year old twins have been charged with burglary and other crimes in Counties surrounding our relatively crime free Carroll County Maryland.  The madula oblongata apparently has yet to mature in these two guys.  Its a shame we still don't have a Draft.. maybe that would have gotten them off the streets and into a program to learn a more useful skill than thievery.

9.  Did he or didn't he?

The Supreme Court opted not to hear the appeal information for convicted cop-killer, Troy Davis.  Apparently, most of the people who testified that they saw Troy do the crime, recanted their testimony. I would think that this would cause a reasonable doubt in the minds of most people.  But Mr. Davis was executed anyway... he maintained his innocence to the end.

Finally.. Hope?

10.  In an editorial in The Nation magazine dated September 26, 2011, four actions are outlined that President Obama can take, on his own, to relieve the jobs situation.  These are actions that do not allow for immediate obstruction by an obstructionist Congress.

a.  Forgive the mortgage debt for the millions of homeowners facing foreclosure.

Supposed result:  Put 71 billion dollars a year into the economy and create one million jobs.

b.  Enact trade and tax reforms and penalize the offshoring of jobs.

Supposed result:  Stop the accumulation of trillions of dollars in debt and keep jobs in the U.S.

c.  Let Government create pilot programs and public jobs.

Supposed result:  The generation of 2.2 million jobs.

d.  Let the Federal Reserve lend direct financial support to producers and workers, as they did to the financial sector.

Supposed result:  The end of this damned depression.

Do you think that the President will do any of these?

............................
Well, I think that I got  quite a lot into this day's hour.  At least, I got my juices flowing.  See ya.
...........................