Why Nana Won't Be Joining the Paparazzo Any Time Soon

After facing a blizzard, cancelled flights, and hoards of holiday travellers with screaming children, the spouse and I arrived in Austin, Texas to spend Thanksgiving with our daughter and her family.  Today we headed home.  When we arrived at the Austin airport there was security staff clustered around two dark sedans and an SUV parked in front of the entrance door.  The security staff were dressed in dark suits and had ear pieces with those squiggly cords running down their necks into their collars.  Obviously someone important was arriving.

We checked in at Delta and discovered that our flight was delayed.  So I decided to hang around the entrance and find out who the important person was.  I asked one of the members of the protection detail who was arriving.  He told me that he wasn't allowed to say.  I asked him if it was worth waiting to get a picture for my blog.  He said he thought so.  So....I hung around and a few minutes later several of the protection detail came out the door with a tiny, white haired, elderly woman.  She looked familiar.  I'd seen her before, but I didn't have a clue who it was.

She walked by me and was ushered into the car...and then I remembered to take a picture.

I went and joined the spouse in the TSA screening line.  After having my water bottle confiscated because I had a half an inch of liquid left in the bottom, we made it through security.  I asked one of the airport security cops who the woman with all the security was.  He said that since she had left the airport he could tell me.  OMG...Sandra Day O'Conner, the first female Supreme Court Justice!!!

And that is why I will never be a paparazzi; I don't recognize a celebrity when she is two feet from me and it's a terrible photo!  I promise I'll do better if I ever run into George Clooney or Brad Pitt!

Nana Comes to Terms With Never Owning a Barbie

When I was a kid I remember really wanting a Barbie. My budget minded mother bought me a cheaper knock off.  It was a "Jan" doll.  Yeah, my name is Jann, but I still lusted after a real Barbie like my friends had.  With my Jan doll I had a little pink metal trunk, complete with tiny plastic hangers, to keep her clothes in. It even had a drawer to hold those miniature plastic shoes and accessories.

I don't think I ever owned a real Barbie. I've made up for it by over-indulging my granddaughters.  Much to their father’s dismay, they have naked Barbies all over their house. For some reason Barbie just can't seem to keep her clothes on. Occasionally we find her unclothed in a compromising position with one of the princesses: Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or Tiana, to name just a few of her conquests.  That Barbie gets around. 

In my last Bag of Crap from Woot! I got a Brother in Arms figure.
For Thanksgiving we're going to visit the granddaughters and I’m taking the Brother in Arms. I think it's time that Barbie had a manly influence in the house!

WTF Wednesday: If You Can See the White Pieces, You're Following Too Closely

WTF Wednesday is a semi-regular feature of this blog. It documents the things that have made me pause, slap my forehead and say "What the f**k!" Well, that and I just like saying WTF. I'm retired. I don't have to watch what I say anymore. I'm not any one's role model.

Have you seen the commercial for Charmin where the bears claim to be bothered by specks of  toilet paper left behind after a wipe.  I saw the commercial and thought "What the f**k?" 


With all the problems in the world, why did Charmin feel the need to solve a "problem" that doesn't exist. Were consumers protesting in front of corporate headquarters demanding a solution to an age-old problem?  Who, besides gynocologists and porn stars is looking that closely?

Nana Faces Reality

I got into one of those stupid war of words with a youngster on a blogger forum.  She was complaining about not getting a check for her junior college financial aid and having to fill out a form to receive it on a debit card, and after clicking a button to "complete later" the money still wasn't there and it's just so unfair!  I told her to get a grip and jump through the hoops to get her free government money.  Okay, I also said that anyone who couldn't figure out how to fill out the forms might not be college material.   

There was a time that college kids were grateful for scholarships and financial aid but now they treat it as an entitlement.  She wrote back that I was OLD and college has changed and adults just don't understand how hard it is now.  Like I said, it was a stupid little exchange.  But, it did make me stop and question...Am I that OLD?

I don't feel old.  The reality is that I have an AARP card in my wallet and I qualify for the senior discount at many stores.  I have grandchildren and I collect a pension, but not social security.  I'm still learning new things every day.

It has been less than 10 years since I last took a graduate level college course.   Have things changed that much?   I think that you get out of college what you put into it.  So much of the value of a college education depends on how much the participant invests in the experience.  I've known some  uneducated people who went to college...and four years later they were just as dense as when they started.  On the other hand, college can be a life altering experience if the student is open to new ideas and experiences.  I've also know some highly intelligent and wise people who had little formal schooling.

A college education is not just about what is presented in a classroom.  It is the exchange of ideas with other students from diverse backgrounds.  It is living on your own and accepting responsibility for your own learning.  For many students, college is adulthood with training wheels.  And one of the things you learn how to do is jump through the hoops to get what you want. 

So, yes, I guess I am old and I have a wealth of experience that isn't much valued these days.  But, I do have a graduate degree and my student loans were paid off long ago...and I'm smart enough not to get into anymore of these online pissing matches with kids.   I didn't learn that in college.  I try to learn from my mistakes.

Nana Has Facebook Friends

I’m a fairly recent participant in Facebook. I joined to keep track of my grandchildren. My daughter posts the funny little things that they say and do, and I feel more a part of their daily life. I’ve also enjoyed keeping in touch with friends and co-workers from my pre-retirement life. I have reconnected with old friends and even “friended” a fellow blogger who I only “know” through the internet.



Sometimes I will see a friend out in the real world and will wonder how they knew about something that is going on in my life…and then I will remember that I wrote about it in the blog and the blog posts to Facebook. The world is becoming a much smaller place.


I’m not one to post the minutia of my life on Facebook, but I may be in the minority. I continue to be surprised by some of the content that others post, but, on the other hand, there are probably people surprised about some of what I’ve written about on the blog. Several of my Facebook friends post a daily “message from God.” So far God has not asked to friend me. That’s probably just as well because I find the “On this day God wants you to know…” messages a little creepy.


Bristol Palin was back in the news this afternoon apologizing for racist and homophobic slurs she and her sister, Willow, made on Facebook. I found it interesting that the news media labeled her statement as an apology. What she really said was that she and her sister "shouldn't have reacted to negative comments about our family. We apologize." She wasn’t really sorry for using the homophobic slurs, just sorry that she posted them on Facebook.


I don’t have a relative who is a potential presidential candidate, but I won’t be making any racist or homophobic comments.  And, I guess I won't be apologising for anything either.

WTF Wednesday: Didn't We Burn Our Bras in the Last Century?

WTF Wednesday is a semi-regular feature of this blog. It documents the things that have made me pause, slap my forehead and say "What the f**k!" Well, that and I just like saying WTF. I'm retired. I don't have to watch what I say anymore. I'm not any one's role model.

...and while the men and equipment are working the little women are all at home eating bonbons.

I passed this sign and the workers on my way to the freeway this morning.

In 2010 shouldn't these sexist signs be a thing of the past? 

Nana Finds Common Ground With The Tea Party

On November 3rd the San Francisco board of supervisors passed legislation forbidding giving away toys in children’s meals unless the meals met strict dietary criteria. Today San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom vetoed this ban. I do not closely follow San Francisco politics, but Mayor Newsom has been in the news before. He was the official who authorized issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples.



I’m a believer in a healthy diet for children, but I don’t think an occasional Happy Meal will kill them. Like most things in life, it’s all about moderation. In the interest of full disclosure I should let you know that my grandchildren had never crossed the threshold of McDonald’s until Nana took them there. They loved it, and every time I visit they want to go out to lunch. They also ate very little of their meal. They had a few sips of the chocolate milk and went right for the toy. Nana ate their french fries and most of their chicken nuggets while they climbed the structure in the playground.


In vetoing the ban on the sale of toys with Happy Meals Mayor Newsom said, "Parents, not politicians, should decide what their children eat, especially when it comes to spending their own money."


I have to admit that I’m developing some respect for this Mayor Newsom. In the recent elections many candidates campaigned on a platform of limited government, especially the Tea Party candidates, but too often these same politicians are the first to sponsor legislation to address some perceived flaw in society. Our first response should not be to create new laws. It is not the role of government to save us from ourselves.


There’s not much about the Tea Party that I agree with, but I do believe that government officials need to use better judgment in creating new regulations. I want a government that trusts me to make my own decisions about what is good for me and for my family. Protect me from the real evils of the modern world, not the ones made up for political hay.


Happy Meal toys are still in danger; the board of supervisors may vote to override the veto. Gavin Newsom, Democrat, is moving on to a new job. He won the election for lieutenant governor of California on November 2nd.


I’m going to visit my granddaughters next week. I’ll probably take them out to lunch…the toy is still their favorite part of the meal.