My July 1982 Brett Kavanaugh Calendar!

When I saw K’s July 1982 calendar in the news, it made me wonder whether I still have my calendar from 1982. I was doing a bit of tidying today, and voila, look what I found!

Mine is not as interesting as K’s! The numbers (9, 10, 11, 12) on Tuesdays represent (I think) the week number of summer vacation.

I have no idea what I was keeping a daily record of. I’m guessing it was something like good days vs bad days, which would mean I had 23 good days and 8 bad days.

The entry on July 24 was a picnic. Tina was my crush in middle school and high school, and she invited me to go on a picnic in Lorimer Park (which I misspelled). But it was three of us: me, Tina, and her BOYFRIEND, so not so much fun for me.

I’m not sure what I drew in the box for the 24th. It looks like a telephone handset. Maybe I had a phone call that day with my friend, Howard.

I didn’t throw this away as part of my tidying. It qualifies as something that brings me joy, as defined by the KonMari method. And besides, I might need it one day if I ever get nominated to the Supreme Court.

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Forever

Forever is a new series on Amazon Prime Video that I’ve started watching this week. Actually, “started watching” isn’t the right phrase. I’ve binge watched all of season one in the past three days.

I don’t want to say too much about it, for fear of giving too much away. So I’ll just describe a scene. If you like this scene, you’ll probably enjoy the series.

Fred Armisen’s character, Oscar, is building a boat. Maya Rudolph’s character, June, is trying to compliment him on his progress, after previously doubting him.

Oscar: I told you I could build it. I just needed to flush out the bones of what I had, and I did.

June: OK, great. Actually, you know what? Since we’re never gonna see each other again, it’s not “flush out”. It’s “flesh out”.

Oscar: What!?

June: You always say “flush out”. It’s “flesh out”. You add flesh to something to make it more full. Flush out doesn’t make sense. You just sound like an idiot.

Oscar: I’ve heard it I both ways.

June: Yeah, the way that you say it, and the correct way that everyone else in the world says it.

Any show where a character corrects another character’s diction is a possible winner in my book. If you like this, then tune in to find out what is the best usage of a spare 30 minutes (and why it isn’t sex).

I’m Fine, Thank You

I just finished reading a book called “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine”, by Gail Honeyman. It is a novel, told in the first person, by its main character, Eleanor.

Eleanor is a loner, a social misfit. She is the type of person who typically has no social contact from the time she gets home from work on Friday evening till the time she leaves for work on Monday morning. She tells the story in such a way that I could see the world and the people around her through her eyes. And it’s a fascinating world. On top of that, her writing style reminds me of my favorite blogger. The book was hard for me to put down.

In one of my favorite passages in the book, Eleanor discusses how when people ask how you are doing, the expected and socially acceptable answer is “Fine”. Even if you are not fine. Even if you are feeling especially miserable. People want a short answer, and one that makes them feel good about fact that they just made the effort to greet you. As Eleanor so eloquently and succinctly states, “FINE is what you say.”

In that passage, Eleanor tells the reader how she really feels:

“I physically ache, for human contact—I truly feel that I might tumble to the ground and pass away if someone doesn’t hold me, touch me. I don’t mean a lover—this recent madness aside, I had long since given up on any notion that another person might love me that way—but simply as a human being.”

Powerful stuff. At least powerful to me.

And how am I doing? Glad you asked! I’m fine.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0735220697

I’ll See You Tomorrow, God Willing

When a friend told me she liked Herschel Bernardi’s version of Sunrise Sunset, I decided I needed to find the whole album online. I grew up listening to this album on vinyl, and it was what I knew before the movie came out in 1971.

I found it on Amazon, and I downloaded it and started listening to it. It brought back happy old memories of my childhood. And surprisingly, I remembered all the words, including the spoken parts.

The album has two songs that were not in the movie or the Broadway show: “When Messiah Comes” and “Fiddler on the Roof’. I especially like “When Messiah Comes”.

This song begins with a spoken part that includes these lines:

Here, you never say, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” You say, “I’ll see you tomorrow, God willing.” Because, who knows, with one good pogrom, you could be driven out of town forever.

This sentiment is sadly still relevant today, even in this country. If you go to religious services, you don’t know if you will be alive tomorrow.

The song offers a ray of hope in a scary time. When Messiah comes, everything is going to be all right.

Perchance to Dream

Last night, I dreamed that my car was in for service, and the technician told me that the gas tank was leaking. That meant that the car was not drivable. He then told me that the cost to repair it would be $40,000. Since that was more than the cost of buying a new car, obviously I would not be getting the repair done.

But I thought I had a fail-safe. I also have a recurring dream that some years back, I had bought a spare car. It was a white Acura, and in the dream I’d had it parked on the street and never used it. Literally never, since the day I drove it home from the dealer. I wanted to keep it new. It wasn’t parked on the street where I live, rather it was on the street where I grew up. Whenever I had that dream, I would look for the spare car in the street, but I could never find it. In last night’s variant, I never even got to the point where I couldn’t find the car, because I couldn’t find the keys.

So at the end of the dream, I realized that I was carless.

I don’t know what this dreams means, if anything. It made me think of my very first blog post, “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Car.”

Pop-Tarts Splitz

I saw a commercial on TV last night for a new product called “Pop-Tarts Splitz”. Two flavors in one Pop-Tart. The left side is one flavor, and the right side is another flavor. The Pop-Tart I remember seeing in the commercial was Frosted Strawberry on the left side and Drizzled Cheesecake on the right side. They also have Drizzled Sugar Cookie/Frosted Brownie Batter. On the same Pop-Tart! I know, right?

This immediately got my attention! What a great idea! I have a long history of enjoying the combination of two flavors. I remember as a kid, I would snack after school with potato chips and chocolate. One potato chip. One bite of chocolate. Repeat. When I have fondue, I always order the Yin & Yang for dessert, which includes a bowl of chocolate fondue, for dipping, that is white chocolate on one side and dark chocolate on the other side. Whenever I go to The Old Spaghetti Factory, I like to order what they call “The Manager’s Favorite”. (In Canada, it’s called “The Manager’s Favourite”.) You choose two separate spaghetti toppings, and half the plate uses one topping, and the other half uses the other topping. I always choose Mizithra Cheese & Browned Butter on one side and Marinara Sauce on the other side. One time I went to The Old Spaghetti Factory with a friend, and he ordered the same thing that I ordered. Before he even took a bite, he mixed the two sides into one glob of Mizithra Cheese & Browned Butter and Marinara Sauce. All I could think was, “What’s wrong with him?”

I started to imagine how I might eat a Pop-Tart Splitz. There are many ways one could eat it. I saw myself taking one bite from the left side, one bite from the right side, and then alternating successive bites.

I decided that I needed to research the topic, and I went to my computer to learn more. Apparently, this is not a new product. Pop-Tarts Splitz came out a few years ago (where have I been?!), was removed from the market, and is now back. And it’s back only for a limited time, before it will be gone again. That reminds me, I need to go get my fix of McRib before it is gone again too!

The Ephemeral Flame

Cold cash
Cold comfort
Calm
Comfortable
Content

Dark days
Devoid desire
Dull
De-stressed
Detached

And then one day she reappeared
And there was warmth and light and love
It was as he remembered
And thought would never be again

Too hot
Ouch!
And as suddenly as she appeared
She was gone

Scorched
Saddened
Secluded
Serene
Safe