Sunday, July 12, 2009

Rummage Sale

So, I am trying to get items together for a tag sale.  "Trying" being the optimum word.  It is not easy with the kids under toe, but I will prevail.  Yes, sir, I will!  Of course, there are the distractions.  I have come across some old writer's notebooks.  Oh, the writing could use so much work, but there are some gems hiding.  Here is a sampling (I won't bore you with the full entries):

  • Tears silently crept down my cheeks as Dad, still holding the almost-transparent paper looked at me and said, "I am so very proud of you."
  • Fifth grade was the year that changed my life.
  • Disorganize Your Life - Okay, let's admit it, folks.  Too much emphasis is placed upon organizing everything including the dust bunnies under your bed.  Really, what is wrong with a bit of organized chaos?
  • Why do I carry it?  The memory of when the letter was ever so tentatively handed over to me, makes me smile.
  • I see her face, but who is she?  At once both unrecognizable and familiar...how did she come to be?
  • It seems to me that childhood is not fair.  Some people, like Ralph Fletcher, have what I would term a "normal childhood".  Others like Naomi Shihab-Nye have a time of conflict.  Perhaps the conflict is the normal piece.
  • Often times when I peruse my baby album, I wonder who it is that I am looking at in those photos.  Some memories float in and out of consciousness.  Stories I have been told get another chance to share their perceptions.  The skinny bleached blond smiles, eyes all a twinkle as if she is happy to see me.  But is she?  When I was born, she refused to hold me.  People have said they heard her say, "She was supposed to be a boy."  The funny thing about all those stories I have been told is that they can haunt you.  Memories can, too.
  • Despite the engaging discussion, my eyes wandered as I looked around the backseat of this 1986 Buick.  The dusty blue -it was literally dusty- headliner bubbled over the passenger seats.  I wondered if I pricked it with a pin, would it pop or just unceremoniously deflate.  Below the front passenger seat lay a substantial buffet of crumbs.  No wonder there was an almost moldy smell.  Turned off by the crumbs, I chose to look straight ahead.  The driver's copper hair, restrained in its black band, was so smooth, so full of amazing luminescence.  Some strands were actually auburn while others were golden.  What was her secret that made her hair behave like glass?  Absentmindedly, I reached up and gingerly fingered a curl of my own.  It was soft, but not smooth like hers.  "So how would you do it?" and I was forced to look away  from her hair and answer.  I don't remember what I said in response, but I do remember the ashtray.

There is much more, but I procrastinated long enough.  One day I will return to my writing.  Maybe I will finally write that book  that still eludes me.  You know, the best seller.  HA!  In my dreams.  Until then, back to tag sale preparation (and vacuuming, and dusting, and laundry, and....)

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Facebook

Okay, I have a confession to make...I am not really understanding this whole Facebook thing.  Perhaps I am getting old.  (Gasp!)  It really seems like a tool for high school and college kids, but then I heard that one of the largest groups on FB are women over 55.  


Okay, I get that younger people are using it as a way to invite folks to join them for events.  Other people are using it to reconnect with old friends.  Some even use it to find relatives.  In theory, it seems like a great tool that will just be embedded in all that we do (like email).  Still, I don't quite have the hang of it.


Why not call someone or send them an email?  If you just want to send a quick wondering or observation, then why not send a Tweet?  Want to share pictures?  Use a photo sharing app like Flikr or Picassa or even Kodak or your local pharmacy.  Like I said, I don't quite have the hang of it.


Then there is the other issue --friending.  How do you handle the person who wants to "friend" you, but you never really liked them when you were in school?  I tried ignoring someone, but then they kept sending requests.  Almost daily!  Then there were the messages attached to the request.  It was suggested that you friend the person and then "unfriend" them.  Umm...what is worse, ignoring someone or delisting them?  Seems to me that either way the person will be upset.  What is the proper FB etiquette in this situation?


Lastly, I wonder how secure Facebook postings are considering that nothing is ever truly safe in cyberspace.  I think that FB may make everything public soon.  Scary.  


So, while Audrey's photos are simply addicting and another friend's observations of the world crack me up, I might just quit Facebook.  But is it a mistake??