PNewL PNewS
Volume 15 No 4 “All the pnews that phits.” February 2008
To?...or…From?Volume 15 No 4 “All the pnews that phits.” February 2008
Cousin John sent an email asking whether my upcoming move (Summer 2008) was away from here or to there. Interesting question. It's a little of both...
Let me give you a brief description of the events that transpired, in somewhat chrono-logical order, to get me to where I am today.
☛ I was born…ok, ok—I’ll skip ahead.
☛Last spring, I got some nice things from my parents’ home.
☛ In May, I went to a quilt symposium in Mars Hill NC and stayed in Weaverville with Patsy and Ernie.
☛ In June, I got stuck overnight in the Chicago airport and I noticed that there were people of all ages in the world.
☛ I returned home to find it hot and the hot continued and then more hot. (It was hot in December. By then, people were pleased–it's cold and dark everywhere else. And it's hot here! Cool! Not to me. I am sick of it.)
☛ I returned to my expensive home on a barrier island containing nice things from my parents’ home, two feet (sometimes less) above sea level, in hurricane country (and with the specter of global warming loom-ing). How's that for tempting fate!
☛ So I went back to NC and I drove and I drove and I drove. I went into every nook and cranny I could find. I was drawn to some parts and not to others. And I went back a couple more times and then I drove down a driveway and I thought, this looks like home. And hopefully it is.
Gini tells me I should tell people it's time…to go…for a change…finish this sentence as you will. I have a list of 17 reasons why I’m moving and I could list them here but I find people then like to argue about why they aren’t legitimate reasons. And some of them are big and are included in the above timeline and some are small (e.g., my silver jewelry tarnishes within moments of putting it on).
So I guess that’s it—it’s time to enter the next phase. I figure at the rate I am going, I have three good moves left in me, this being the first. Sara and Bob are talking about the golden years in the northwest so I may meet up with them then/there. There are a few options for the second one.
I could stay happily where I am for a bit longer—and frankly this all happened a lot faster than I expected—but if I will move on soon, why not now? Don’t get me wrong. I love Sanibel. It is gorgeous and much of the year, quiet and comfortable. I have made several great friends—many I consider world-class. It will be hard to go…and exciting!
Meanwhile, I am writing this from my makeshift dining table in the mostly empty place I will soon call home. Schools are closed because of freezing rain (or some are opening at 10— that seems like a logistical nightmare for parents but I spose that isn’t my problem). ) My new neighbor Chris says you just stay home when weather is like this. Ok, I can do that. Yesterday it was cold but sunny and I met up with Chris and five other neighbors for lunch at the Camaraderie Café. It felt like the right name and place for the occasion. Here were my soon-to-be people and they looked pretty friendly. Plus the food was delicious.
I don’t know if I answered your question, John. I guess I am moving from and to at the same time. And Gini says I have to come to Sanibel for at least a month each year to stay her friend. That is a win-win in my book, which is ok by me.
-----------------
Life Goes On…though sometimes it doesn’t
If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world Life Goes On…though sometimes it doesn’t
2008 started out a little rough though it’s since calmed considerably. Three deaths, several illnesses of frightening strength for friends who are too young to be facing such things (or are we that old?). In light of these monumental events, I thought it would be an interesting exercise to write my obituary. Here is a first draft.
Margaret Hale Newell, known for better or worse as Peggy, died. She was born on April 30th 1957 in Cleveland Ohio. She died at a comfortably advanced age of a brief pain-free illness.
Highlights of her life included being the daughter of Sterling and Frannie Newell, and sister to Evie, Peter, David, and Martha, and human to Rocket, Dusty, Sally, Beandip and Bear. She marveled at her great fortune in making friends in high school and college who remained close throughout her life. She was passionate about quilting, travel, and philanthropy, in no particular order. She believed in the importance of humor, friendship and napping.
While she experienced only moderate success in her work, it only bothered her occasionally because she always seemed to find more fun things to focus on. She did feel successful in other ways—in unpaid positions with a variety of organizations, in her friends and in the legacy she left behind.
Her greatest regret was that she didn’t take up tap dancing earlier.
Margaret Hale Newell, known for better or worse as Peggy, died. She was born on April 30th 1957 in Cleveland Ohio. She died at a comfortably advanced age of a brief pain-free illness.
Highlights of her life included being the daughter of Sterling and Frannie Newell, and sister to Evie, Peter, David, and Martha, and human to Rocket, Dusty, Sally, Beandip and Bear. She marveled at her great fortune in making friends in high school and college who remained close throughout her life. She was passionate about quilting, travel, and philanthropy, in no particular order. She believed in the importance of humor, friendship and napping.
While she experienced only moderate success in her work, it only bothered her occasionally because she always seemed to find more fun things to focus on. She did feel successful in other ways—in unpaid positions with a variety of organizations, in her friends and in the legacy she left behind.
Her greatest regret was that she didn’t take up tap dancing earlier.
-----------------
Things I am Learning
& Other Miscellaneous Observations
& Other Miscellaneous Observations
• On New Year’s Day, I found myself catching up on my reading on…garbage. I learned the average American purchases 200 plastic bottles each annually, 80% (3.2 billion lbs. ) of which end up in landfills. Check out the Co-op America archives at http://www.coop america.org/pubs/caq/articles/ for the Fall’07 issue. The most impor-tant thing I learned was that some towns recycle all plastics (#1-7) even though only #1 and #2 are the only ones really re-used by anyone (and they are recycled into things that cannot be recycled so it’s kind of a dead end though the “things” are fleece jackets, railroad ties and other…stuff). And the towns do this theoretically because they think more people will recycle if they don’t have to look for the number on the container. Speaking of STUFF, please watch this video—it’s so good. And it will make you think! http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.html
• I started volunteering at the local library this past summer and it quickly became my favorite part of the week. I have tried to analyze the parts I like the best—at first it was wandering the aisles, re-shelving books and coming upon authors I have never read. I never left with less than a combination of 12 books, magazines, books on tape, DVDs and “playaways.” Soon, I gained an appreciation for all the intricacies of the behind-the-scenes organization that allows the “front of the store”—the part y’all hang out in—to run so smoothly. It’s complex! Now, with season in full swing, it’s running as fast as you can (metaphorically) to keep up with the volume of people and books etc coming and going. It feels like an essential service we volunteers are providing. I’ve looked into Library Science programs—there are several “distance learning” possibilities—and am considering going back to school. I have visited four of the libraries in Western North Carolina. Being afraid of exams, I will probably remain a volunteer but I just might surprise myself.
• According to USA Today, 48% of people online regularly check 2 or 3 different email addresses. 42% have only one (and 5% have 4-5, and another 5% have 6 or more!).
• My brother Peter gets Merriam-Webster words of the day via email. The word for November 30 2007 was “snowbird—1 : any of several birds (as a junco or fieldfare) seen chiefly in winter. 2 : one who travels to warm climes for the winter.” I am quite familiar with the latter. They are here now. But I didn’t know it was “first used [in the early 1900s] to describe men who enlisted in the armed forces to get food and clothing during the winter months and then deserted as the warm spring weather approached. Not long after, the term was applied to the northern laborers who would flock down south to work as the cold, harsh winter set in up north.” Who knew?
• I clipped an article by Andrew Weill which listed Ten tips for a Great Old Age, and the final was to “Keep an ongoing list of the lessons you have learned, the wisdom you gain and the values you hold…read this over, add to it, revise it, and share it with people you care about it.” I am just finishing my fifteenth year of doing that with you. I guess I am ahead of the curve…for once!
-----------------• I started volunteering at the local library this past summer and it quickly became my favorite part of the week. I have tried to analyze the parts I like the best—at first it was wandering the aisles, re-shelving books and coming upon authors I have never read. I never left with less than a combination of 12 books, magazines, books on tape, DVDs and “playaways.” Soon, I gained an appreciation for all the intricacies of the behind-the-scenes organization that allows the “front of the store”—the part y’all hang out in—to run so smoothly. It’s complex! Now, with season in full swing, it’s running as fast as you can (metaphorically) to keep up with the volume of people and books etc coming and going. It feels like an essential service we volunteers are providing. I’ve looked into Library Science programs—there are several “distance learning” possibilities—and am considering going back to school. I have visited four of the libraries in Western North Carolina. Being afraid of exams, I will probably remain a volunteer but I just might surprise myself.
• According to USA Today, 48% of people online regularly check 2 or 3 different email addresses. 42% have only one (and 5% have 4-5, and another 5% have 6 or more!).
• My brother Peter gets Merriam-Webster words of the day via email. The word for November 30 2007 was “snowbird—1 : any of several birds (as a junco or fieldfare) seen chiefly in winter. 2 : one who travels to warm climes for the winter.” I am quite familiar with the latter. They are here now. But I didn’t know it was “first used [in the early 1900s] to describe men who enlisted in the armed forces to get food and clothing during the winter months and then deserted as the warm spring weather approached. Not long after, the term was applied to the northern laborers who would flock down south to work as the cold, harsh winter set in up north.” Who knew?
• I clipped an article by Andrew Weill which listed Ten tips for a Great Old Age, and the final was to “Keep an ongoing list of the lessons you have learned, the wisdom you gain and the values you hold…read this over, add to it, revise it, and share it with people you care about it.” I am just finishing my fifteenth year of doing that with you. I guess I am ahead of the curve…for once!
and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” EB White
