PNewL PNewS
Volume 22 No. 4 “All the pnews that phits.” December
2014-January 2015
How’d
it happen?
I have been having a hard time coming up
with a theme for this issue. Plenty to say but nothing to tie it to. I’ve done
train of thought versions before but I try not to overuse that. So I went back
and re-read saved emails from some of you and Bingo! It started with Mean Jean
announcing she is a grandmother (Grandma Mean). There seems to be a lot of that
going around. Betsy became a grand-mother and she has declared herself the
World’s First Grandmama and her granddaughter the WORLD’S FIRST GRANDDAUGHTER
(her caps not mine). She has been pretty surprised by how taken she is with the
little munchkin!
I am really confused
about this—how did it happen? So many friends are or are becoming grandparents!
In my experience, grandparents are OLD. Wrinkly, grey (or white), a little
unsteady, kinda serious—maybe even a little scary, but mostly just old. My
friends are fun and active and still ready to rumble. It’s a bit disconcerting.
This aging thing has caught up with me…again.
[I had to take a few moments to check the PNewS archive to make sure I am not
repeating myself, as I know that is part of being older. Then after a few
moments I thought—who cares? This is what I am thinking about and what I find
interesting. I remember Dad saying—in his 80s—that he felt in his mind like he
was still 30 or so, and I looked at him like he was cracked. Dude, yer falling
apart! But now I totally get it. I am still a kid at heart. I’m not sure that’s
totally appropriate all the time, but I’ve gotten pretty good at it. I need to
get out of these parentheses--they are making me nervous.]
Phew. That’s better. So on top of this
grandparent thing, I spent Christmas on Sanibel. It has been a good visit in a
lot of ways—seeing old stomping grounds and friends, having good visits, sun
and sand (and humidity but we’re not going to get stuck in the parentheses
again…). And then there’s the aging thing popping up again. Some of these old
friends are getting older. Many
mentions of upcoming 70th birthdays! I know several readers passed
the 70th threshold long ago, but it’s a little freaky. Heck, I had
visits with two favorite friends who are in their mid-90s. I know, I know, it’s
just a number but these are BIG numbers. I grew up in the “Don’t trust anyone
over 30” era. This is so far from that; it makes me anxious…just a little.
There is no conclusion to this essay. It’s
just going to end. Like all of us. Ha!
Things I am Learning
& Miscellaneous Observations
• My friend Brenda has been
ringing bells at sunrise and sunset for years (like 6+). I thought it was a
cool idea at first. Now I am in awe of her stick-to-it-ness. Because of this
practice, she keeps a close eye on the times. Here’s one of her recent emails.
I love this kind of stuff. “November 30
was the earliest that the sun will set this year (for this latitude [San
Francisco], at least). It will continue to set at 4:51 PM for the next 12
days before it once again opens up the day and begins to set later. All of this
before the
Winter Solstice. How can this be, you may ask. Ah, well. The daylight
continues to shrink because the sun is still rising later each day, eventually
culminating on the shortest day a few weeks from now. I love this graceful and
uneven approach to the Solstice and hope you enjoy this little factoid as much
as I do.”
• Michael had a good point.
He’s on the road a lot so his reaction to my comment about not being able to
get online struck a chord: “I hate the cloud. I often work in
locations where internet connections are sketchy at best. (There’s
history here…weren’t computers once all just terminals? The great
progress was we could have a small self-contained computer that was
independent. Now it seems that computers are, once again, becoming terminals.)
Interesting…hadn’t thought of it that way. And Michael’s first computer looked
very much like a terminal. With a cassette drive!
• Kitchen sponges were a hot topic from last
time. Lisa said, “I used to wash my kitchen sponge in the dishwasher until the
health inspector at a friend’s B&B made her stop because it spreads the
germs over all the dishes! Now I wash them in the washing machine in a lingerie
bag so the scrubby side doesn’t rough up my clothes. I also use/prefer a dish
cloth because I wash them much more often.” Not sure I could do that.
Meanwhile, Marta puts hers in the microwave daily.
• The dentist had to send me a reminder of
my upcoming cleaning on Christmas? Is there no getting away from the harsh
realities of life? (The library also reminded me I have a book due that is
going to be late…)
• I was going to write something about the
number of lists where Asheville has been showing up. The tourist bureau listed
a bunch in an article in the paper recently. I threw it out because as much as
I love y’all, it frightens me about the number of people who might wanna move
here. According to these lists, we are literary (southern), quirky, friendly,
foodies (because of all the restaurants), and good for dogs, newlyweds, weekend
trippers, beer drinkers with a mountain biking problem, and did I say enough
about how the restaurants rate? Then, National Geographic listed it as an up
and coming city in its new book, The World’s Best Cities. Dang. (And since I
started writing this, it’s been announced Frommer’s is listing Asheville as a
top destination for 2015!)
And
then up comes an article saying that the 18th brewery is opening in
town. I did some googling and math. That means a brewery per 4800+folks of the
87,000+ who live in Asheville. ‘Course that led me to look at what is
considered the Metropolitan area which includes my little “holler,” and three
other counties (Madison, Henderson, and Haywood) that I probably wouldn’t
include, but then again, no one asked me. And at ~427,000 in 2010 increased by
somebody who knows better than me at an estimated 4.6% would be 446,642—not all
of whom drink beer. Yes that was what I was talking about before I went off on
this pretending I remember how to multiply percentages. Anyway, 446,000+ means
there is a brewery per 24,777 people and that makes me a wee bit nervous. Are
18 breweries enough? Oh but wait—there are more breweries outside
Asheville—Sierra Nevada, to name just one, has opened its eastern distribution
center. Ok, I think we are safe…for now.
P.S.
I found the article with the lists of Best ofs where Asheville appears—I hadn’t
thrown it away! It was buried on my desk and I was clearing the deck. I don’t
get to that often because I am spinning my wheels trying to figure how many
people drink beer and other such black holes of time. (Pinterest anyone?) But
it is a wonderful feeling to feel like I know, for a brief moment what is on
and around my desk. My dining room table is a whole other beast, which I never
got to. There’s always next year.
• I am on a mailing list of an American nun
named Nancy who lives in Haiti. She writes thought provoking, thoughtful emails
every month or so. This past letter started, “One of the things I'm
grateful for this year is the mistakes I've made. I used to regret them but one
day I realized that if I never made mistakes, I wouldn't learn much.”
Things I am thankful for…2014
• Dogs at play
• Rediscovering bike riding (thanks Betsy!)
• That a few folks are still reading this
• Flowers blooming in winter
• Carolyn’s patience in attempting to teach me crochet!
• The Double-wide
• A couple of other things I have forgotten.
The Hall of Famers that repeat every year but don’t get
stale:
* Friends and fabulous neighbors
* Family (some of them)
* Knowing so many who do such amazingly good work
* Knowing so many who are so generous with money, time,
talents
* Opportunity (still and again)
* The luck of the draw
* My Mayberry life
------
New Year's Resolutions
(Again, some are
repeats but good reminders)
* Continue search
for Joy (the emotion, not the person)
(I took a few moments to look up Joy to find out what it
is—I first wrote the concept of Joy but Wikipedia says it’s an emotion. Maybe
that’s why I have a problem! I don’t even know what it is!)
* Hang out in coffee shops
* Dance more
* Laugh more
* Close them doors and let the windows open
* Learn to say no....diplomatically
* Have more fun
* Improve relationship with batteries (weak link in the
chain IMHO)
