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I hope you have good weather and a super reunion!

I will be leaving for Nags Head tomorrow with a bunch of grandchildren. We are making the eight hour trip in two cars. I will have sandwhiches and some junk food to appease the crowd.

I have a Sue Grafton Cd to listen to. I have never read her mysteries but I hear they are a good beach book. I also have the new one written by the author of Kite Runner. I can’t remember the author or title. I am almost through with Thirteen Moons. It started out interesting to me butI am having a hard time finishing the last half. I guess it just isn’t my kind of book.

I am not sure if I will be posting the next week. I think there will be computers but a lot of competetion for them.

I loved the story, and can identify with Sue about the daughter, we have three of them, but since we only had cats when the kids were little, dogs are sort of foriegn to me. We tried to have them when we lived on the farm, but were next to a highway, plus the farm machinery in the yard, so I mostly remember tears when they were run over.

Time has a way of erasing neg. memories, but I do recall a few tense moments, or longer, with our oldest daughter. But our relationship is good now, and I miss our long conversations about books, ect. She’s our English major. And still loves to read.

I really enjoyed Pink Martini’s concert. The leader is a concert pianist from Harvard, and the lead singer, China something, writes many of the lyirics, and sang in English, French, and Spanish, they also have some numbers that sound oriental. One of their songs has the wonds, “Hang on the vine, little tomato.” And the picture on their cd cover is a man holding a smiling Spanish baby boy over his head.

I have our youngest daughter, 3 children, and our son’s daughter staying with us, as our church is celebrating its 100th anniversary on Sun. I sing with a sextet, and am in a skit about what the “ladies aide” has contributed to the life and moneys of the church. So life is full, with little or no reading, but I am enjoying Max Lucado’s latest book, “Every day deserves a chance”. The theme is “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” I read a chapter in the am, and it seems to set me up for another 24.

That women writer who left her kids lived for a while in a town about 60 miles south of Oslo. I did read that Blue Water whatever book, but can’t remember it. Maybe that was by her husband?

Jacky

I had the same type of relationship with the author, when she was 17. I don’t remind her of that now though.

I can testify to the truth behind all those words. As for the mother/daughter thing, I should have adopted a dog!

Since no one has posted lately and many are dog lovers I thought you might enjoy another essay my daughter wrote Feel free—-or not.

BY SUE SOMMER SPECIAL TO THE KENOSHA NEWS

MyTurn appears on the Commentary page on Mondays
• Wednesdays and Fri

When my daughter Linda turned 17, our relationship was not pretty. For all of those mothers, daughters, fathers and innocent bystanders of a motherdaughter coming of age, no further explanation is necessary. For those of you lucky enough to be ignorant of the tension, fireworks and angst of this particular rite of passage, I have no description of just how awful this phase of life can be. I do have some advice, however: consider adopting a dog.
Dogs bring out the warm, furry side of humans. Every year, the news headlines report this aspect of humanity. Dogs act as heroes as they save people’s lives; alerting their owners to fires, burglars and other dangers. They serve as assistance dogs—and not just for visually disabled anymore. A quick scan of the world of nonprofit assistance dog organizations show that our friends serve in many capacities: helping both mentally and physically disabled; working as drug- and bomb-detecting agents; acting as certified therapy dogs and of course, the role we are most familiar with; the family pet.
I have enormous respect for the dogs in our world. As a boarding kennel and grooming shop owner, Labrador retriever breeder and exhibitor, and longtime dog aficionado, my livelihood depends on the bond between owners and their pets. So naturally I embrace the mutual love between dogs and their humans. Roger Caras said, “Dogs are not our whole lives; but they make our lives whole.” I see examples every day of the ways in which dogs make people more whole. It is hard to be materialistic or selfish when you own a pet. Every day in my grooming shop I see retired folks who may be pinching pennies, yet they unfailingly provide the best of care for their canine friend. Sometimes, after settling in a new guest at our boarding kennel, I’ll find a note written by a child, explaining the dog’s habits and fears. For example, recently a Tibetan Terrier arrived with his own bag of toys, treats, a cushy bed and video with instructions for nightly viewing taped to the box.
So the fact that dogs are important to the social fabric of society is not new to me. But when my family reached the rocky terrain of adolescence, I developed a new, deeper respect for dogs. My story involves a diminutive black Labrador. When she was born, Linda stayed home from school to help me whelp the litter. The ritual of puppy birth involves several careful steps. I keep a running tally of the mother’s labor: who, what and when, just in case I (or the vet) need to refer to it later. My record from that day is all business: 9:15, black male, 9:45, yellow female. Linda’s record is more descriptive— black puppy — cute, shiny, wiggly, wild, very cute (that’s just the first puppy!) We kept a female out of that litter, and named her Beechnut.
Both child and dog pursued their education. When Linda was 9, she competed in an AKC hunt test competition with year-old Beechie. I sat on the sidelines in a lawn chair watching the small girl and the slightly smaller retriever execute test after test; each time the dog making the child look good. I have a photo of them squinting at the camera at the end of that day, holding the winning ribbons and looking quite pleased, both of them.
But those were happier times. A few years later, Beechnut retired to a life of snoozing on the couch. Linda turned into a teenager. Our life became less blissful. Here is the point: In all of our ugliness, in every tense moment and heated exchange, no one in my family has ever had a mean impulse toward a dog. There were weeks that Linda and I did not have a single civil word. But every day she rubbed Beechie’s tummy, filled her water bowl, and played chase-the-Kong with her. I was also able to conjure up friendly acts, regarding Beechie. Looking back, it is embarrassing to recall that our behavior toward our pet was the only truly civilized, kind interaction that happened.
Linda is in college now, and I’m happy to note that things between us are very good. Beechie is quite grey, and spends her days fast asleep on Linda’s vacant bed. Linda calls me now and then. “How are your studies?” I ask. “How’s Beechie?” she asks me

Amazing is right Candace. A lot of companies need to work at changing their image!

Waiting for a service person is so maddening. You really can’t do anything, as you said, anything that would not let you hear the phone or get run a quick errand. This story in two phases is 180 degrees from that:

This morning at my volunteer job one man (Don) had been out of town for two weeks and returned with a report on two trips during that time. When he and his wife got to the airport in Mineapolis to come home he said they checked their bags and went to get something to eat. He said he’s always one of those people who allows plenty of time to catch a plane. When they went back to the boarding area well ahead of the schedule time they found the door was closed and they weren’t taking any more passengers. It was Northwest Airlines. They told him that unfortunately the total weight for that flight had been reached and they couldn’t accommodate all those who had reservations. Cut to the chase, they told him it was their fault, they cut him a check for $700 on the spot! (not a voucher or credit) put them on a flight leaving in 5 hours and gave him $50 for dinner. When they got back to Houston he couldn’t find his car keys so took a taxi home. His wife discovered she had left her book bag in the taxi. He didn’t know which taxi–only that it wasn’t a yellow cab. The next day he went back to the airport and talked to the attendant and described the taxi. The attendant identified the cab company and dialed the number for him. The company checked and said they had the bag and the driver would deliver it to his home. The airport dispatcher later called to be sure they had delivered it. When the company said the driver would deliver the bag at no charge, Don said he’d be happy to pay the driver $20 for his trouble. The company said absolutely not–it was the driver’s fault–he should have checked to be sure nothing was left in the cab! That so much concern and attention to making the customer happy evidenced by two different entities struck everyone as amazing is both wonderful and sad–that it was so unusual. Obviously Northwest is trying to rehabilitate their image after so many problems.

Candace

I agree with your sentiments on waiting around for a repairman. Raise holy you-know-what with the company and let them know exactly what you think. Sometimes these so-called service companies forget that without the customer, they have no business. A customer who was standing in the line wrote in to Readers Digest about another customer’s response to a rude clerk, “You have our roles reversed. YOU are overhead, “I” am profit.” It’s high time they relearned that lesson. The telephone companies may be late but they do show up. They don’t just leave you hanging at the end of the day. At least that has been my experience.

Go get ‘em, Darlyne.

Yesterday I waited all afternoon for a plumber who was supposed to show up after 1:00pm. After 6 I gave up and tried to call them and they were closed. I left a message for them to cancel and I would call a more dependable one. It was something that can wait. They called this am and said they would be here by 9 or 9:30. At 9:45 when they hadn’t showed up I called and cancelled them and have another one for Friday. It is something I want done before I leave Saturday. I have much to do and didn’t appreciate waiting around all day. (You expect them to call so don’t dare vacuum or leave the house or even talk on the phone.) Sigh! Oh well, I guess there are worse problems in this world.

I am off to play bridge this afternoon and will play again Thursday, that shortens the time to get ready for overnight guests and the reunion. I listened to a new Alice Munro book on tape and it isn’t worth discussing.
I almost think I need a cat to calm me down.

Maggie Jo has requested she be taken off the GGOBIT list. Too bad, but there it is.

I have never heard of them, which is not unusual. I haven’t heard of a lot of things, but I might like to drink one.

Jacky, I thinkyou’ll really love Pink Martini. I caught it some time ago on one of PBS’s fund raisers and loved it. I really surprised my Portland granddaughter by saying how much I liked it, too. I don’t think she expected a grandma to have heard about it. I’ll be interested to know how you like it.

Susan

Joy, are you signing out of GGOBIT when you leave? Are you clicking on the white “X” in the red square at the top right corner of this window? If you are signing out, don’t. You won’t have to sign in every time then.

The only thing I sign out of is my banking website. The rest of the websites I got to I jsut click on that white “X”. I do write all that stuff down, but the others I don’t worry about.

Jo

Of course I meant Blog—-not Blob
JOY

I am a loss to account for the request to re-enter my user-name and password each time I write a new post?????
Lucky for me I had it saved. I have been a member of the GGOBIT since it was started and find it strange that I have to log in again. I sincererly hope that the GGOBIT will not die out now that we are e-mailing the “group”. I kinda like the Blob.
JOY

I love hearing from so many folks. wish I had something wonderful to contribute. I think of all of you often. Georgianna

You’re surely right, Jacky. Your nephew did have a tough time in college but his story ends well. I’m so glad he is happier now; college days can be hard.

Such good news about your sight! What a relief! And your trip summery was great, Jo. Its nice to go and also to get home again. I’m sending my nephew’s published short story to the group, but, of course, read it as time and desire allows. I used to always read the Best Am. Short Stories, but they got so depressing, I quit several years ago. I might check them out again. My nephew went through some troubling times in college, and his story reflects this, but he’s married to a sweet young lady now, and is so much happier.

We’ll see him this weekend in the cities as my sister, middle daughter and I are joining them at a concert, Pink Martini. My sister likes their music, I’ll let you know if I do.

Jacky Jones

I hit publish too soon as I only wanted to add how selfish I thought she was and probably is. Wonder how many children she/they had and how close in age were they? That may have contributed to her abandoning the family, but good grief! How many women have wanted to do that but let their common sense take over; you can’t leave a family just because you’re going to add one more to the mix.

Good grief, anyhow.

Yes indeed it was … Thanks to both of you. I’m glad SOMEbody can remember stuff.

it was Louise Erdrich. Not being able to remember an author ( or, like, almost everyone’s name when I want it) drives me nutty. So I went back to Amazon and found it was The Blue Jay’s Dance, 1996

Was Louise Erdrich the one?

I have glanced through my library catalog and Amazon..and can’t find a title for the book about the author who went to a cabin for most of her pregnancy and left her husband at the house to tend the older children. So I am thinking it wasn’t Kingsolver but the other author who wrote about her Native American ancestors. I think she was married to Miahael Dorris (who committed suicide). It suddenly dawns on me that they wrote Blue Water/yellow ?.. and if so, that is one way to find her name. I do agree, Jo, that the escape from the house to have th new baby was ridiculos– and I think I remember that the older children wer emotionally damaged. And then… I could be wrong about all of it. Best, Phyllis

How nice to see you in here today! I have missed seeing you. I don’t post very often but lurk everyday. Please share w/us some good books.
JOY