My son, Matthew, noticed a photo of a friend on Facebook. “How do you know Aunt Angela?,” he questioned. “I went to school with her,” I answered. Quite surprised, he responded, “Really?” “Yes, why?,” I asked. He wanted to know, “Does she take Botox?” Starting to get annoyed with his line of questioning, “I said no, why do you ask?” He said, “Because she’s not all wrinkly, how old is she?” I told him she’s my age give or take a year. Yeah, ok, she’s one year younger than me but I’m not “all wrinkly,” at least not the last time I checked. When he found out her age, he said, “She looks like she’s 32.” I wish it hadn’t been so late or I would have run to the phone to relay the compliment to my girlfriend. Instead, I called her the next day and gave her the good news. Needless to say, she was thrilled. Wow, Matthew, working over the ladies already!
It’s not fair that 8 years have passed. On 9/11, our country was knocked to its knees in grief. We were humbled. Let’s be that way all the time…well without the grief. As Michael Franti would sing, “Don’t let your love be so confidential.”
As I studied Shideawords tonight, I was able to clearly see the true definition of infinity. I invite you to visit the Shide A Words website to take in the artwork, search for words and order a pair of custom made jeans. I can’t wait to see mine. I selected 3 personal words and I gave them a pair of maroon colored high heels that I want them to match. I will definitely post a picture of them when I receive them. So stay tuned!
I was standing in line at Starbucks when I overheard one of the Harley dudes talking to a young woman behind me. The Starbucks near my house has patio tables outside where customers can smoke and get their Chai on. Every day without fail a group of elderly, Harley riders gather ‘round to talk, smoke and look at the pretty girls go by. I always thought that was a cool concept, having a meeting place “where everybody knows your name.” Maybe what’s even cooler is the fact that these guys don’t seem stressed out about getting to the office on time. I figure they’re retired, enjoying life.
Today I learned that my good friend was going for a tattoo consultation. She told me recently what she wanted to get inked on her bikini area and the reasons why. She is honoring her fit, lean body with a symbol that is near and dear to her heart. After knowing her for 30 years, I’m not surprised by this decision. What’s surprising to me though is the hesitation. She’s the type of woman who may wake up in the morning and decide, “I want a new car today,” and by sunset she’s riding off the lot with a brand new vehicle. She’s decisive and strong; the kind of woman that’s not afraid of risks. I don’t think she’s afraid of much, so I wonder what the hesitation is about. Beside the fact that getting a tattoo is a big commitment, I wonder if she maybe apprehensive about the pain. After all the pain you feel when getting a new car is only felt in your pocketbook and not actually in your body. Interesting and not so surprising is that her tattoo artist told her that women have a much higher tolerance for pain. He told her that through their discomfort they’ll carry on conversations and ignore the torture as much as possible. Continue Reading »
I was born on May 5th in the suburbs of Philadelphia far, far away from any Cinco de Mayo celebrations. And even though Californians and Mexicans have been celebrating it since 1863, the year after the Mexican army defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla, I’d never heard of it until I moved to California in 1979. And even after 30 years of living in Southern California, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a “display” set up in a grocery store like the one I saw in Gelson’s in Westlake Village. It was set up where they have other holiday displays. They do the pumpkin pie cans with other baking stuff starting in October, turkey pans and boxes of stuffing for Thanksgiving, stocking stuffers and candy canes for Christmas, noisemakers and champagne for New Year’s Eve, you get the idea right? Well, I’m sure I’ve seen displays for Cinco de Mayo before, where the chips, salsa, margarita mixers and tequila are set out to entice shoppers to get “loco,” in the San Fernando Valley or maybe even at Jon’s in Simi Valley. But I was quite surprised to find such a huge display in Whitelake Village, I mean Westlake Village and of all places, a Gelson’s. But then again, Cinco de Mayo is a drinking holiday and we do live in the United States where Super Bowl Sunday has become as big of a holiday as Mother’s Day. But I digress, I was actually excited to see the big “Cinco de Mayo” sign hanging down from the ceiling and recalled a time where I’d want to own that sign. It would have gone rather nicely with the life-sized, cardboard, Mariachi player I used to own and hang up at my annual Cinco de Mayo parties. Continue Reading »
