SLEEPING

I don’t think there’s anyone alive who enjoys sleeping as much as I do. At least, I never hear anybody else say so. All I know is that I love it and take pleasure in all the different phases of it, night or day.

I walk by an unmade bed and look longingly at it, just counting the hours I can get back into it and rest. The answer to that, of course, is to make it up, and I do most of the time, but that doesn’t keep me from lying back down either on it or in it later on during the day.

I love the time where I am drifting off thinking pleasant thoughts and then have them turn into dreaming about them. I love waking in the night and mulling over the good dream I just had and slowly go back into that la-la land. Then in the morning the twilight sleep that I have an hour or two before I get up is great! When I do finally rouse myself to face the day, I think about the interesting dreams I have and wonder why I would dream about the subjects I do.

Then in spite of all the interesting things I do during the day, after I eat lunch, I like to crawl back into the bed and start the process all over again. It doesn’t matter what time I eat, and often it can be as early as 10:30 or as late as 1:30, I usually creep back into the sack for a nap.

The genius says I will make a wonderful nursing home patient. Just give me a laptop, an endless supply of books, and a cell phone, all for use between times of sleep, he maintains, and I would be perfectly happy!!

HOTEL CALIFORNIA

I mentioned on my last blog how much I like the Eagles’ song “Hotel California.” Both the genius and I have liked the song for years, but he has put a twist on it and incorporated it into his classroom at school.

If you’re familiar with the lyrics of the song, you know that the singer wanders into a hotel and discovers it to be a strange place with all kinds of weird goings on going on there. When he tries to leave, he hears

“Relax!” said the night man, “We are programmed to receive.
You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave!”

It truly sounds like a picture of Hell.

So here’s what the genius did with it. He gives homework everyday and many days takes it up and grades it. He tells the students that they can get help from each other or come to see him early in the morning before school if they feel the need. He almost always has several boys come to him for help on their homework because they know that there is a possibility it will be graded.

He gives each student one chance to miss his homework and take a 0, but if he does it the second time, he automatically goes into Hotel California for the rest of the semester. What this means is that from that point on, his homework will be taken up and graded everyday.

When a student gains this “honor” a big deal is made of it. The video of the Eagles’ singing the song flashes up on the wall and the guy is “inducted” into the hotel. As you can imagine, not very many boys make it into the “club”; the ones who do must be on their toes every day to keep from getting more 0’s.

Now that’s an ingenious (or genius) idea!!

ROCKING OUT WITH THE EAGLES

What can I say?!! It was great; it was a blast; it was FANTASTIC!! We couldn’t have asked for anything more. Seeing and hearing the Eagles in person was an experience of a lifetime ranking up there (almost) with seeing Florida win the national championship in football.

First, however, there was the preparation. I had to get plenty of sleep to prepare for my late night. Then I had to buy ear plugs because I forgot to get some from Jim IV. Then came the awesome task of deciding what to wear (as if it mattered). Many outfits were chosen and discarded before I came up with just the right one. The genius, of course, wore khakis and a B² shirt, his usual uniform.

We headed downtown to the Sommet Center and began the search for a parking space. We found one two blocks away that we thought we were going to have to pay $20.00 for (apparently, the going rate), and the machine wouldn’t take our card or money. Oh, darn!!! So we headed on to the glorious night with our favorite group.

After waiting in line for about 30 minutes to get in, we found our seats and they were great!! Third row, slightly off center in the first balcony. We had a perfect view of the stage and the big screens. To top it all off, the two seats next to us remained empty, so after five minutes into the show, we scooted over and didn’t have to squash up to people we didn’t know.

Then the concert, itself -- what a time that was. They started off with four songs from their new CD and they were good, but then the man with the trumpet began to play and we all knew what was coming. It was my all time favorite --- Hotel California!!! The audience went wild, and I was right there with them. The genius, of course, just sat there and enjoyed the song, but he did clap when it was over.

The rest of the night was truly fabulous, all the old songs were sung and some new ones, too. They finished out with Take It Easy and Desperado. We scooted on out and were able to beat the crowd and be home in 15 minutes. It was 11:55, not as late as I thought it would be.

The night was truly one for us to remember and talk about for a long time.

JESSE AND RUFUS (AGAIN!)

In an effort to get ready for the Eagles tonight and what will surely be a late night for me, I decided to sleep late this morning. The genius had taken the dogs (we are keeping Jesse this week) out for their early morning constitution and had fed them (isn’t he the dream husband?). Then he left for work about 5:30 and that’s when the two angels decided to have a major squabble.

I was still in bed trying to sleep when I heard Jesse beside my bed rooting around in a stack of books under my bedside table. I turned on the light and put her on the bed with me. Meanwhile, Rufus was on the foot of the bed finishing up his Iams bone. I assumed that Jesse had already eaten hers because she had nothing in her mouth when I put her on the bed.

When Rufus finished, he sauntered up to Jesse probably bent on a playful romp, in which case I have to kick them out of bed. But instead, Jesse snapped and growled at him in a rage. Rufus disappeared and Jesse jumped from the bed and went back to the books.

I gave up any hopes of sleeping and turned on the light again and looked under the books myself. Sure enough, there was Jesse’s bone. How in the world it got there I don’t know. I tried one more time – turned off the light went back to bed and I did doze off.

Then I awoke a little while later and realized that Rufus was nowhere around which is extremely unusual. He sticks to me like glue, day or night.

So I found him on the stairs just sitting there, obviously with his nose completely out of joint. I went down and got him and brought him back to bed with Jesse already there. He almost went berserk so I had to cuddle him up next to my face before he would calm down. Finally, we all slept again and it was 9:00 before we got up for good. They are now fine with each other and back to normal. Both of them are snoozing side by side in the living room as I write this.

I think I got a good night’s sleep, but just to make sure I’m ready, I’ll take an afternoon nap, as well.

BUSY DAY

Yesterday really was a time of running around all day in between trying to keep the dogs watered and fed and exercised. Today I finally have time to sit down and reflect on the events.

I can’t remember if I mentioned that there is a woman in my Bible study who graduated with me from high school. I tried to talk her into going to our class luncheon with me but she declined. It is interesting getting to know her after all these years (51).

The luncheon was a hoot, as usual. Besides hearing all about our various physical ailments, we talked about face lifts and plastic surgeons. I found out who had and who hadn’t, and Linda and I were astonished to learn about how many had “partaken”. I can truthfully say that although I have thought about having a tuck done here and there, I have never actually done it. I did use a plastic surgeon once to repair a scar that had gotten infected, but alas, that’s all I can boast about.

Betty, who hosted the event, showed us all over her redone house. We all enjoyed looking at it, but we refrained from going swimming in her new pool because amazingly enough, it was too cool. We are having great fall weather here now.

And speaking of weather, I received a call from the realtors at the Cape in Florida and it seems that Ike damaged beyond repair our condos that we love so much. I had rented one for November, but the ocean swell from the hurricane was too much for the sea wall and foundation of the structure, so we either have to cancel or find something else. I’m disappointed, of course, but I am reconciled to whatever we decide.

So after my busy day yesterday, I am now resting up for a big night tomorrow night. Believe it or not, the genius got tickets for an Eagles concert, one of our favorite groups, so we are getting ready to kick up our heels! (Jim IV almost choked on his food last night when he heard we were going; he said, “How did you get tickets? They’re going for a 1000 bucks each!!”) Well, we didn’t pay anywhere near that much and the genius wouldn’t sell ours for twice that amount.

So, I guess we haven’t kicked the bucket yet, although after tomorrow night we might!!

THE GRAND STATE OF RETIREMENT

The first year of retirement I tutored all year, actually much more than I had planned. So the second year I did nothing except occasionally substitute in two bridge clubs. Starting last March I began traveling and that continued through the summer. I enjoyed the travels, but I am very happy to stay at home for a while. But here’s the problem: I may have begun to do more than I intended this year.

I joined one of the bridge clubs that meets once a month. Then I signed up for a Bible study that meets once a week at church. (Last week I went for the first time and forgot to bring my Bible!!) We have resumed Wednesday night dinners at church and of course, our favorite team, the Florida Gators, is back in the swing of things. I feel like my tongue is hanging out.

Today I am first going to the study (think I’ll take my Bible this time), then going to a high school class luncheon, then picking up grandson Jay from school and keeping him for the afternoon. Jim IV will pick up Annie and join us for dinner, after which the genius has parents’ night at school.

I might as well go back to work. Well, I’m not really complaining; I do enjoy it all. It’s just that I’ve had so many people tell me that it would be like this and I really didn’t want to rush around everywhere.

But if you think my schedule sounds a little harried, you should hear my sister MA’s. She wrote me what she and her husband (who is also retired) are doing and I wanted to take a nap just thinking about it.

The word retired itself is interesting. It could mean we need a makeover like getting new treads. Or it could mean we have been exhausted and are in that state again. I suppose it really means that we are supposed to stop working and take life easy, but actually all three definitions apply.

I need a makeover, I’m tired again, and I have definitely stopped working for pay as my bank account shows.

THE PRAYER OF JABEZ

I related yesterday how I had read the book about Jabez and his prayer and had begun praying it on a daily basis. The verse of Scripture is found in I Chronicles buried among a list of the Israelite people of that time. It reads as follows:

And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain." So God granted him what he requested.

And the result, as I said, was that I had an increase in classes, i. e. students for the year.

I will have to say that in looking back, that year of teaching was one of my best ever. We read a few verses from the Bible everyday and discussed them. The students for the most part really were interested in what we were studying and the discussions were involved and enlightening. One would think after talking about the same subject for six classes, that I would be more than ready to move on to the other lessons for the day. But it didn’t work that way. Every class had something unique to add to the few verses that no other class had thought of. I would be absolutely amazed at the insight they would have about something I hadn’t seen or had never thought of.

And then I had a very special young lady in the sixth and final class of the day. She was one of the most remarkable students I have ever taught. When we would get to the end of the day and once again someone would read the verses for the day, she could come up with an idea that no one else had thought of all day. But she was not intrusive about it; she always waited to hear what others had to say first and then add to it. She was very popular with all the students, so when she spoke, they listened. I will always consider myself blessed to have had her in my class for that year, which wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t added the two classes to my schedule. Her name? Mattie Jackson, daughter of Denise and Alan Jackson.

That year certainly was’t easy for me. I had a total of 109 students and essentially no free periods. But as I said, it was one of if not the most rewarding years I ever had.

But be careful about praying that prayer – God may answer in a way you didn’t expect!

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PRAY FOR

Yesterday someone mentioned to me that little book that was out a few years ago entitled The Prayer of Jabez, and I was reminded of what happened to me after I had read that little gem of a book.

The title is taken from an obscure verse hidden in one of those lists of names of begats found throughout the Old Testament. If I remember correctly it referred to a man named Jabez, which in Hebrew means “pain”. His mother had named him that because of the pain she had suffered in labor. The writer points out that Jabez prayed for God to “increase his territory” and not be “pain” to anyone anymore. And the Lord answered his prayer.

The author expanded the ideas behind this one verse into a book in which he came up with the “prayer of Jabez” and related all kinds of interesting experiences about people who prayed this prayer. So I decided to try it. I dutifully typed up the prayer in large print and taped it to my bathroom mirror and prayed it everyday for a while.

Meanwhile, I had also decided that because most of my eighth grade students had no clue what the Bible was all about, I decided to spend a few minutes sharing some verses daily with them at the beginning of each of my classes; after all, I did teach literature and this was a book about which they seemed to know little. We gradually worked through the lives of some of the OT heroes; or another time we studied a theme, such as looking at the full armor of God piece by piece as mentioned in Ephesians. All four of my classes had a part in this and many times we had lively discussions concerning the reading for that day.

At this time, I was department head of English and literature for 5-8 grades and cheerleading sponsor, so I had my hands very full. A couple of weeks into the year we had some sort of a crisis in scheduling (I forget now what the problem was) but the administration called me in and asked me if I would be willing to add two more classes to my already very full day. Of course, they offered me more money. Immediately, I was reminded by that little voice inside me that the chance to “increase my territory” had arrived and I would be remiss to turn down this opportunity to have additional students listening to and discussing the Bible everyday. So I agreed.

Tomorrow I will continue this little tale.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE 69?

This birthday has definitely been messing with my mind. When I think about being 69, my main emotion is surprise: surprised that I lived this long, surprised that it went so fast, but most of all surprised that I’m this old. The reality of that just can’t seem to sink in.

Last week I was in the doctor’s office and I noticed an older couple. I didn’t pay much attention to them until the attendant called his name and then asked him his birth date. He was two years younger than I am!! And this happens to me all the time --- all the time!! I will see pictures of people in the obituaries (or somewhere else) and I will automatically think they look ancient and they are either my age or younger.

And how about this one? I’ll read the headline, “Elderly Couple Robbed on Church Street” or “Elderly Woman Scares off Intruder” and right away I’m thinking the couple or woman is in their eighties or nineties. And instead they might be as young as their fifties!! I may as well face it, to the rest of the world I am tagged by that hateful word, “elderly”.

It mollifies me somewhat when people are surprised to learn my age. And it happens so much that I guess I really must not look this old. One person told me last week after hearing about my birthday that I could pass for fifty. Well, that’s stretching it, but I think I will quit telling because inevitably here’s what happens: People (especially women) began to look surreptitiously at me to see if perhaps they missed something on first glance, a hidden wrinkle, or a saggy place they didn’t catch the first time.

So what I need now is to come up with some catchy phrase to answer people who ask me my age. I’m sure my faithful readers will come up with some good suggestions!

MUSING ON A SPECIAL DAY

Today is my birthday --- how and where did all the years go? (And if I feel like this, how does my 107 year old aunt feel?) Sixty-nine years ago today my mother gave birth to me at Vanderbilt Hospital here in Nashville at approximately 5:00 in the afternoon. Looking back over the years I realize how much has happened in our country and world.

There are some things I wish that were still here. I really would like to board a passenger train and go almost anywhere in the country instead of fighting the traffic on the interstates or putting up with all the confusion in airports. One could just sit there and read or watch the scenery without having to worry about the driving. And you could go to the dining car when you got hungry or, if you were resourceful enough, you could bring your own food along. I never had the experience of sleeping in a berth, but I’ll bet that was exciting. I did a few years ago get a roomette on a train from Phoenix to New Orleans and that would have been really great if I hadn’t been sick from some disease I caught in Mexico. All this to say that I really miss that mode of transportation.

I also wish that relative feeling of safety I felt whenever I went anywhere was still with me. Nowadays, when I go out in the car, the first thing I do is to lock my doors. I’m always on the lookout for suspicious characters who are close to my car when I’m stopped at a light; I’m ready to take off if I feel threatened. And I don’t like that feeling; I can’t help but compare it to the forties and fifties when we never thought about things like that. The crime rate was nothing compared to what it is now.

But then I think about all the conveniences we have that have changed our lives. Of course, the computer immediately comes to mind and the cell phone, also. TV and Ipods, and on the home front, dishwashers, ice makers, filtered water on the fridge door, microwaves, remote vacuum cleaners, alarm systems, and on and on. So many medical miracles have occurred in my lifetime, too.

I guess I could look at the dark side and moan and groan about all the evils in the world, but I choose, especially on this day, to think about and appreciate all the good instead

HURRICANES

I have been watching with interest the storms that have been brewing and/or hitting the U. S. this season. One reason is that we visited New Orleans in June and witnessed firsthand the destruction of Katrina and the reconstruction that is taking place there. We saw the canals, levees, and pumping houses that were so much in the news a few years ago. We, like everyone else in the country were very relieved that they were spared the worst scenario this year.

Another reason I have been so interested is because I have again booked a condo for November at our favorite beach, Cape San Blas, Florida, where they are rebuilding the beaches that were so devastated by the Hurricane Opal a few years ago. According to the blog about the progress of the reconstruction, so far the new beaches have held up well and work is continuing.

On a lighter note, in thinking about these storms, I have wondered about the names given to them. Who in the world comes up with them? Gustav? What kind of name is that? So I did a little research. (Don’t you just love the internet?)

In the first place, they used to always have a woman’s name. I guess the people (surely all of them men) who did the naming finally got wind of the fact that women resented it that there were no male monikers, so in 1979 they began to include men’s names. David and Frederic occurred that year and were placed on the “retired” list because they were destructive. (Hurricane names are retired when they are “deadly or costly”.)

But back to the selection of names. Some of them seem so bizarre. I mean Beulah, Agnes, Cesar, Flora, Hortense, Ione, and Roxanne are not your basic American names. Nor is Opal, Klaus, Lenny, Ivan, or even Katrina, probably the most famous of all, in recent years anyway. I would be willing to bet that that name quickly became unpopular for girls born in the U.S.

But finally I read in my research that because there are other countries besides the U. S. that are affected by these storms, there are three languages that the names are selected from, English, Spanish, and French. So if some of these names sound foreign to us, they are!

So there’s your little mini history lesson on hurricane naming; some old, retired teachers just don’t know when to quit!!

“TICKED OFF”

For years I have enjoyed receiving and reading a weekly newspaper entitled Green Hills News. I believe there is a similar one named West Meade News that circulates in the West Meade area and there may be others I’m not aware of. But the one I get is the Green Hills one, which carries political and society items of interest to people living in this part of Nashville.

A few months ago they began carrying a column entitled “Ticked Off,” which is nothing more than a forum for people to send in their complaints about any subject they desire. The kicker is that it is anonymous, so a person can say almost anything they want.

When I first heard about it, my reaction was, “Oh, my gosh! People will use this as a platform to say outrageous comments.” I was right, and some of them are hilarious to read. Others, of course, can at times be hateful and racist to an extreme. In fact, I sometimes suspect that the authors are just writing to goad others into reacting.

It’s amazing what can upset people. Of course, abortion, homosexuality, politics, and religion are regularly discussed, but some people get huffy over street signs, neighborhood cats, and a sparrow drowning in the downtown fountain.

Many of the complaints are legitimate: bumpy streets, speed bumps in unnecessary places, stop lights instead of four way stops, etc. After many people protested the condition of the street that runs in front of the Post Office and the Library, it was repaved. And speed bumps were removed in at least one instance that I know of.

One woman became so incensed at reading the column that she wrote a scathing letter, strongly suggesting that “Ticked Off” be removed from the paper. Subsequently, there was such an outcry that the editor had to write a note assuring the readers that the column was here to stay.

I’m very glad because the entertainment value of this weekly forum is second only to the obituaries!

NOISE INDUCED SLEEP

I’ve been trying to remember when I first started sleeping with the aid of some sort of constant humming sound; I believe it started when we lived in our first little house after we moved back to Nashville in the mid-sixties. We had purchased a humidifier and set it in the hall just outside our bedroom and since that time I have been dependent on some sort of a noise machine to get a good night’s sleep.

When we moved to the “big house” where we lived for 23 years we took the humidifier with us, but somewhere along the way I acquired what was billed as a “clean air machine” to help me sleep. That trusty little number lasted until we moved into this house but broke one day when I fell on it in an effort to answer a phone call (a salesperson, wouldn’t you know it!). Not only did it stop working, I also had a huge bruise on my leg.

But by then, I had a back up – a bonafide sleep machine that I bought at Brookstone. This little device even runs on batteries, a ploy I have used several times when the electricity has gone off, or when the plugs didn’t match (in Europe, for instance). Since 9/11 I have been asked about it several times going through security at airports.

This little "addiction" of mine has been passed on down to the next two generations. All of my children as well as several of the grandchildren use the same type of machines or fans to sleep by.

I brought all this up because I left mine in Brenda’s car yesterday after a weekend at a lake with the family. I nearly panicked last night when I realized it, but then I remembered the two little fans that I keep on hand especially for Ashley and her family when they visit.

The day (or night) was saved!!