I'm Just Sayin'

I've officially joined the group. You know. The group that has senior parents. Let me say I love my father, and I am blessed to still have him with us. I've mentioned it before, but will repeat it here. Mother passed away four years ago this month.

So, yes. I'm glad Dad is still here. But I'm just sayin' people of his generation and just a little younger should not have electronic devices. Now if it was my mother, there would have been no problems. She was just as handy with computers and cell phones as me and my son. But some (men) should not own a computer or cell phone.

Why men? My husband comes to mind, but we're not talking about him today. It's my dad who worries and calmly panics over these things. Yes, he stay's calm, no hurry, but if you knew him you'd know that when it comes to electronic devices that calm is a false front and any problem with them calls for quiet panic.

First let me give you some information on my dad. He's handy with tools. He can do electrical work, he's great at plumbing, and can fix an air conditioner, refrigerator and ceiling fans. He works on the pump motor for his pool and the salt water filter as well. He can repair many problems on his car, well he could before computers were installed.

See where I'm going with this. Dad is a handy guy. Mr. Fix it if you want to give him a title. He's the one we call when we need work done on most problems around the house. My husband, the carpenter, who builds houses for a living won't even tackle things my dad does for us.

But give dad a cell phone or a computer; and don't even get me started on the Kindle problems I've encountered this past year, dad just cannot figure out how to find and fix the problems. The simplest thing and he's on the phone with me or my son telling us the device isn't working. He's also that way with the remote control to his TV, stereo or satellite dish, but we'll save that for another day.

So when my son gave his grandfather a new cell phone for Christmas a lot of thought went into it. I take the blame here and now. I called my son after I'd received 10 dropped calls from my father early in December. Dad was in a well populated area where his old cell phone should not have had problems. But that day (not the first time this has happened) the phone would not keep a call. I must say his cell phone was over 10 years old and needed to be retired.

We knew the new phone had to be similar to the old one. You know the flip type with just the number keys and the few function bars above them. Dad does not text, take pictures or browse the internet with his phone. He calls people and talks to them. What a novel idea using a phone for its purpose. Sorry I got carried away for a minute. Not harping at dad, but the need for people to text one another instead of, oh let's say call them or talk to them face to face. Texting in my opinion is a waste of time.

Anyway, I'll get back to my dad's story now. It took my son weeks to find just the right phone. He had to pay a fortune for it because dad already had his own contract and there was no need to purchase one, just the phone. It was similar to the old phone, but it is a lot more advanced in technology and is military grade. That means he can stomp on it, drop it from a plane or in the water and it will still work. Not sure why dad needed those features, but one never knows these day.

On Christmas day, dad opened his gift and was excited. He then promptly handed it to my son who spent the morning putting the old SIM card into the new phone and making sure his number and contacts transferred. They transferred without any problem. He's had the phone for three weeks now and suddenly it's acting up. Now acting up to him is nothing to us.

For example one of his problems is that he has to hit the phone, you know the green phone button twice to actually make a call. Well for us, or me anyway I'd either ignore this minor problem or go into the phone, complete a search and see where to change settings. I suspect that when he opens it, the phone is ready to dial and then hit the green button. I believe by pushing the green button he's deactivating it. Dad doesn't know this nor would he understand the first time I explained it. To dad, this is a major deal and the entire phone needs to be reprogrammed.

Next his contact list with tons of numbers on it disappeared. You would not believe how many people he talks to on a daily basis on that cell phone. There are neighbors that just call. He has old friends from work that just want to see how he's doing. He has women friends, not that kind; they're women friends who are married to his old buddies from work who call just to make sure he's doing okay living alone. Not like he hasn't been living by himself for the past 4 years, but then maybe at their age they're really calling to make sure he's not ill or still living. I'm just sayin'.

Back to my story. So he said his phone contact list was gone. In fact it was just hidden in phone land when he tried to make a call that he couldn't remember the number for. While he didn't say it; when he was on the phone with me asking me to look at the contraption and fix it for him, I could hear his thoughts loud and clear. "I have the numbers programmed into the phone, so I don't have to remember them in my head."

I calmly told him I'd fix it so he could call his buddies, or my sister or my son when he needed. He told me he'd be by in a few hours and I went back to my writing. When the time came for him to get here. I waited. Now mind you, I'd already closed my Word document, so he couldn't see what I was writing. Yes, I keep it a secret that I write erotica, smut, sex. That's just between me, my husband and my readers. Well my son knows, but he doesn't read my work. Thank goodness. That would mean years of therapy for both of us, but that's another story.

So I'm waiting for dad to come by. After about fifteen minutes of me waiting I'm beginning to wonder where he is. He's never late. In fact he's usually fifteen minutes early. When I'm thinking he's gotten into a mess with the new fridge, he had to buy one. He couldn't fix the dead compressor. He calls.

His earlier panicking was all for nothing. He turned the phone off and back on and his list magically appeared. . . . You can't see me now, or the other day when this happened, but it goes something like this.

On my end, silence. My eyes blink a few times and I wait for the explanation.
Dad: Not sure what happened, but after I turned the phone off and back on the list's back.
Me: silence and more blinking. I clear my throat and say something lame like, "It just reprogrammed itself."
Dad: Well I guess I'll go now. If it happens again I'll let you know.
Me: blinking, blinking and more blinking, another pause. "Okay dad, luv ya."

I'm just sayin

Deviating from the Norm

Okay, I know this blog is about writing, my writing in fact; and to be honest all about me and what I'm doing,  giving updates and going off the deep end about things in general. However, today I've taken that left turn at Albuquerque and guess what Bug bunny? I found The Alabama Crimson Tide!  

Let me explain. I am a college football nut. Every October; yes I know college football begins in September, but I don't watch anything new until after I've returned from my last beach vacation in October. So every Saturday and Thursday and the occasional Friday or Monday beginning in October my eyes are glued to ESPN, CBS, ABC and NBC watching college football.

I think it may have something to do with seeing guys in skin tight knee pants, but I am certain it is all that muscle, stamina and skill showing who can take the most beating and still come out a winner.

Let me say here and now I don't wish anyone to ever get hurt. But let's face it, football depends on taking down the guy with the ball; and I love watching a three hundred pound defensive player (of the team I'm rooting for, of course) take out the passer or receiver. I believe it is the beast in me that I keep hidden from society that enjoys the *choreographed violence of the sport. (*by choreographed I don't mean staged, but following the set of rules of the game).

So today, I celebrate with all other BAMA and SEC fans throughout the U.S.

Congratulations to the players, coaches and University of Alabama; their students, alumni and fans on another great season and victory.

ROLL TIDE!!!!

New Year, New You?

Happy New Year everyone. Now that the rush of holiday parties, gifts, family and tons of food has settled in the pit of your gut is over we can all get back to doing what we love best, WRITING!

If you're like me the holidays with family goes overboard. It was bad when my mother was alive. (Please don't take that the wrong way. I would be happy if she was still alive only if she was cancer free, so I am certainly not saying I am glad she's gone). But when she was alive, we began planning Christmas at Thanksgiving. An entire month was dedicated to planning the menu for Christmas dinner. Now that she's gone and I'm in charge, well somewhat. My father holds on to all the things my mother used to do with an iron fist. But I refuse to think of Christmas dinner until the week before the day arrives.

Anyway, as I was saying we still go overboard, and with my husband's family and then Christmas after Christmas with his daughters and their 8 children; yes my husband has 8 grandchildren. (Truly, I'm not old enough yet to be a grandmother). So Christmas usually isn't over until the 30th of December and just in time for New Year's Eve and New Year's day.

Yes, we have 2 family get together's. 1 on New Year's Eve where we all converge at my uncle's with his 6 children, their spouses, children and grandchildren plus my aunt and us, which makes a grand total of 65 in one large room, laughing, loving and eating.

Our festivities will culminate this evening with dinner at my dad's house, along with his sister and brother eating Hoppin' John, Mexican cornbread, sweet potatoes, ham and cole slaw.

I hope you see the pattern here, and I'm sure your holidays also are centered around food and family. Yes, food is the operative word here. My holidays remind me of Mickey's Christmas Carol; the ghost of Christmas present surrounded by so much food it would feed a small country. And, I've gained a few pounds back, (I do not look like the ghost of Christmas present I assure you); no more than 5 pounds have returned and all on my hips.

But am I going to make that silly New Year's resolution to slim down. (I lost fifty pounds last year, all between May and September, and didn't need a resolution to do it). The answer is no. I don't need some diet guru telling me how to change myself to become a new me.

Frankly, I like who I am. I finally have a published book. Thanks for those who've purchased it, and please note I am revising it. As an independent author I write and edit my own work. I don't have a network of friends who help me edit my book. Mainly because no one knows I write erotica. And I like it that way. Please know I am striving in the latest version to remove all errors. Thanks in advance for your patience.

Sorry, I digressed. Let me get back on track. If you believe a new you is needed in your life in this New Year then go for it, but let me just say that for all my venting about spending every waking hour with my family since Thanksgiving, I am blessed to still have them. Do I want them around all the time, NO.

But my family, the things we share are what shapes me. So to think about shedding that part of my life to become a new person is out of the question. With that being said, I guess I am going to make a resolution after all.

My New Year's resolution is to continue being me; to stay focused on my writing using life experiences, my network of friends and family to continue to shape me and my writing. If I lose the last fifty pounds I want to this year, then great. If not, I'll press on to be the woman I've been working towards all my life. I don't plan to give that up just because outside forces think I can be better, or the best I've ever been by changing this and that in my life.

They don't know me, so some expert does not get to decide what's right for me. Keep in mind they don't know you when you're trying to do it their way.

My New Year thought to you is be true to yourself, whatever that may be. Go for your dreams your way.

God Bless.