Merry holidays, fa-la-la-la

O Holy Night.....

The Sacred Festival of Lights....

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays.....

The media frenzy as we approach primaries.....

More bizarre weather events around the globe.....

So much to attend to in the world as we move through the winter solstice....

All of it critical to our survival as a country, as a conglomeration of nations, as a planet.

Our attention should be focused on all of these momentous events, each of us adding our voices to those of our neighbors, both next door and across the globe.  Right?

How long have you been reading this column, anyway? You should know better than that....

I DO want to focus on what's concerning me, the matter that keeps me awake at night, distressed and full of angst. It's these tiny bumps that have appeared all over my shins. Kind of like barnacles on the underside of a boat, but these have affixed themselves to the front of my legs, where everyone can see them. Now, THAT'S concerning me.

Plus, now I find out that other people experience the same thing as the aging process sneaks up on them and smacks them right between the eyes, laughing and pointing as we all look on in horror to our bodies morph and slide and....well, those of you who have been through this know what I'm talking about, don't  you? The least some of you could have done, though, was TELL the rest of us that this was going to happen. 


At first I thought I'd just have to live with these pesky adhesions, but then I Googled the situation. And do you know what I found out? You can scrape them off with a rough sponge, just like those little boat freeloaders can be scraped from the hull of a boat. Sweet.....I would never have thought of trying that.


Bet you didn't know that, either, did you? That's because people who have already gone down the road of birthday cakes burning to a crisp are hiding all of this information for some reason, holding it close to their drooping chests or bent backs, chuckling and whispering with glee, "Just wait.....!" until the next catastrophe strikes, the one that plays even more havoc on our bodies or our minds. 

So, go ahead and argue about whether to say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, or which Republican is going to come out on top when the tear gas clears and the blood stops flowing. For me, I'm going to get out my little loofah and start scrubbing.

Merry holidays, ya'll.

Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.

Douglas MacArthur 

 



























  

For sale: Mountain property in Florida.....MUST SEE!

Getting older allows us to act younger, maybe even childish. And we can do it knowing that we will be given tacit permission by the world: "Well, you know she's a senior citizen, after all," tsk, tsk, rolled eyes and slightly raised eyebrows. Maybe they even reach over and pat my hand.

All the while, we are acting out what they all wish they  could. We have experienced the swing of the pendulum from one extreme to the other dozens of time, with the result that we know if we wait long enough, all the things that are bad for us will eventually regain their solid footing and be good for us again. So, we begin to ignore the latest studies, the most current edicts "they" engineer for the public. We learn to carry on, vowing that no university or research facility can ever dupe us again. Like chilren we ignore those in "authority."

We have also seen the arc of that same pendulum get stuck, a result of society's brokenness at times. Those who follow this column know how I feel about the upcoming elections in my city. (http://agedtoperfectiondeborahhansen.blogspot.com/2011/03/beast-breathes.html) Over the decades I have moved from being an impassioned participant in the democratic process to being a jaded nonbeliever in that same process. I believe that the political machine, fueled by huge amounts of money, consumes anyone "lucky" enough to run for and win elected office. Candidates routinely lie, evade, deceive, and engage in vicious politicking, all of them desperate to win the keys to the kingdom of power and greed. If you actually believe either party holds the answers to our many ills, I have some mountain property in Florida to sell you. Come on over and take a look.

I value our freedom to vote, though. So I signed in the other day at one of the early voting sites, and was pointed toward a voting booth. Instead I made straight for the ballot box. The nice poll worker there thought I had misunderstood.

"No," I said. "No one on this ballot deserves my vote." And I slid the ballot into the box. "But I showed up."

Illegal political signs outside polling place, Jacksonville, Florida

You may call that foolish....maybe even childish. I call it acting on years of experience and really not having to care what anybody thinks any longer.