What I Heard This Week! August 30, 2018
Getting old is terrible. I used to wake up feeling like a million bucks…now I feel more like a bounced check.
Bush Intercontinental airport has opened four nursing rooms equipped with AC and USB power outlets, changing tables and glider chairs. Most rooms can accommodate three mothers at a time as well as additional children and an area to put the stroller. Way to go! Wish there had been something like this when I was nursing my two kids.
A lone kangaroo caused a timeout at a soccer field during a National Premier League match in Canberra, Australia. Twice. Because of a record dry winter, there is very little food, so mobs of kangaroos are hopping into towns to munch on green lawns, sports fields and schoolyards.
This is a crazy story. Volkswagen has quit using ‘hail cannons’ outside their factory in Puebla, Mexico after local farmers blamed the cannons for a drought that lead to the loss of nearly 5,000 acres of crops by keeping away precipitation. The automaker was using cannons to emit shock waves into the sky, which is believed to prevent the chunks of ice from forming, therefore eliminating hailstorms and damage to the new cars. I don’t make the news, I just read it and then figure out what I think you will be interested in knowing.
For decades, China restricted the number of babies that a couple could have, with their one-child policy. Traditional preferences for male children resulted in selective abortion therefore, there are now fewer females to marry and bear children. Three years ago, they decided to change that number to two children per family. China now has more than 1.4-billion people, is aging quickly and has a smaller workforce left to support their growing elderly population that seems to be living longer.
The only rule is don’t be boring and dress cute wherever you go. Life is too short to blend in. Paris Hilton
Contact lens packages don’t currently tell users how to dispose of the lens, so many users either flush them down the toilet or wash them down the sink instead of putting them in the garbage. A 2015 study said that there were 93,000 to 236,000 metric tons of microplastic swirling around in the ocean. If that was 3-4 years ago, what’s it like now. Dispose of your contact lenses properly. They are medical devices so do not expect them to be biodegradable.
When I first learned to cook, there were only Red Delicious apples and Granny Smith green apples. You ate the red ones and baked pies with the green ones. That was it. Today, there are Braeburn, Fuji, McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Cortland, and my personal favorite, the Pink Lady, plus many more. Well, the Gala apple which we all love, originated in New Zealand in the 1930’s and has now risen in popularity, giving it the classification of ‘new favorite’ over the Red Delicious. I think we would all agree.
Climate change has created heat so bad in Japan (and right here in the USA in case you haven’t noticed) that their government officials are urging male citizens to use parasols or umbrellas to keep healthy in the heat. Male officials posted fun pictures of themselves on social media with their UV umbrellas, as stores immediately reported a surge in sales among men in their 50’s to 70’s.
In the past two years, Brad Pitt has given his estranged wife more than $1-million and lent her another $8-million to buy her current home. She says, “he has paid no meaningful child support.” Hmmm. I wonder if Angelina fully understands how a normal, regular, average mom in the normal, regular, average world, survives and raises kids with the amount of money they are paid for child support.
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Former FBI Director Robert Mueller is 74. Actor David Duchovny is 58. Actress Charlize Theron is 43. Actor Dustin Hoffman is 81. Actor Keith Carradine is 69. Actor Donny Most is 65. Ralph Malph on Happy Days. Britain’s Princess Beatrice is 30. Rocker the Edge is 57. U2. Singer JC Chasez is 42. ‘N Sync. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is 68. Wrestler actor Hulk Hogan is 65.
Actress Viola Davis is 53. Actor Chris Hemsworth is 35. Actor Robert DeNiro is 75. Singer Belinda Carlisle is 60. The Go-Go’s. Actor Sean Penn is 58. Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells is 77. Chef Giada DeLaurentiis is 48. Talk-show host James Corden is 40. Singer Kenny Rogers is 80. Actress Kim Cattrall is 62. Country singer Kacey Musgraves is 30. Rock singer Robert Plant is 70. Led Zeppelin.
Singer songwriter John Hiatt is 66. Actress Joan Allen is 62. Actress Vera Miles is 88. Lila Crane in Psycho. Actress Barbara Eden is 87. Actress Shelley Long is 69. Singer Rick Springfield is 69. Ex-NBA player Kobe Bryant is 40. Rock singer-actor Gene Simmons is 69. Chef Rachael Ray is 50. Michael Jackson would be 60 this week.
Everyone has either read, watched the movie or heard about Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg. She is such a wonderful story teller. (When I am in the car, I am always listening to a book on tape. Always.) Last week I finished a Fannie Flagg book-on-tape called The Whole Town’s Talking. It was a very whimsical story of Lordor Nordstrom, an immigrant, his Swedish mail-order bride, their descendants and neighbors as they live, love and died in Elmwood Springs, Missouri, from 1889 to 2021. Their final resting place comes alive in the afterlife with mystery, love, laughter as odd things happen in the cemetery. It is such a sweet story and I was reminded that life is such a gift. I’m turning in the audio tonight, so you can check it out at the LJ library tomorrow.
The Eagles’ greatest hits album, released in 1976, has passed Michael Jackson’s Thriller to become history’s best-selling album of all time. Hotel California, released in 1977, is now the third best-selling album of all time. The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and received the Kennedy Center Honor in 2016.
Viktor Nekrasov – “August was nearly over – the month of apples and falling stars, the last care-free month for the school children. The days were not hot, but sunny and limpidly clear – the first sign of advancing autumn.” (Obviously, this person was not from South Texas.)
On September 17th, the new service animal policy (i.e., trained service animals, psychological support animals and emotional support animals) from Southwest Airlines goes into effect. It says, “Southwest will only accept the following species of animals in our cabin as trained service animals – dogs, cats and miniature horses.” Hmmm. Cats. I have cats and I promise you that if I asked one of my cats to help me cross the street, they are going to give me the, “you, my friend, are only good for food,” look as they turn and walk away. Miniature horses. Well, that’s a different story. If you research, miniature horses are not uncommon for service roles since they can do everything a dog can plus pull a wheelchair and they’re tall enough to support people that need an additional way to balance themselves. So, listen up. If anybody tries to stop you from bringing your miniature horse that performs specific tasks for your health, safety, or accessibility on a flight, they’re breaking the law.
I just talked to my son who told me that he hadn’t showered because they haven’t had hot water at his dorm since yesterday. I told him that it didn’t matter since it’s pouring rain today. He then assured me that it was ok because he had an airplane bath…a swipe under each wing and the tail. I’m still laughing.
It has now officially been one year since Harvey visited our area. I found the little piece of paper where I wrote down the events of each day, the rain amounts, the water levels and such. When I read it, it made me feel physically ill. It’s been a tough year for so many and for some, it’s not over until they get to live in their homes again. I read that there were 150,000 homes flooded and damage was estimated at around $125-billion. Sigh.
Our largest grocery store chain has begun the process of phasing out the one-time-use plastic bags as more and more people begin to understand the impact on the environment. Kroger Co. says that the goal is to be plastic-free at its nearly 2,800 stores by 2025. They order about 6-billion bags each year. Why wait until 2025. Do it this year or charge for the bags if you don’t bring your own. Do it now.
I’m going bagless. I have been bringing my own bags to stores for years, but sometimes I forget when it’s a trip for just a few items. I decided two weeks ago that unless I need a one-time use bag for trash in my car or if I have too many items to carry, I am asking store clerks to let me carry out my purchases either in my purse, in my hands or in a small, lightweight bag that I’m now carrying in my purse. So far, the response is all positive. Go bagless. See above.
You know you’re getting old when: I walked back in to sit at my desk after spraying the weeds in front of my office. It was a really clear day and I always want the front of my office to look pretty when you visit. (As you have read in this column, I always use vinegar, salt and Dawn dishwashing soap because it’s so much better for the environment than weed killer. The soap causes the vinegar to stick to the weed and the salt drips down and makes the soil less desirable for the weed to return. You should use it too.) It was so hot out that morning and I was dripping wet with sweat, so I thought I would pull my hair up. No hair clips in my desk drawer, just a box of black binder clips, so the hair went up as I said to myself, “What do I care, I won’t see anyone today, anyway.” Yep. It held my hair up. And the Fed-Ex guy didn’t say anything insulting as I signed for a package five minutes later. And then the UPS guy appeared with more school supplies for my daughter and was very courteous, not laughing either. Then, about 30-minutes later some dark black clouds appeared and before I knew it, there were massive amounts of rain. Now, I will have to re-spray the weeds again because I bet it all washed off, but I don’t have the guilt that I would have if I had sprayed with Roundup and it had washed into Oyster Creek.
Hey, those binder clips also work great for attaching a bed sheet to cover and protect your favorite plants this next winter if-and-when it freezes. The clips also make a great keychain for extra keys since the handles pop-off when you squeeze them together.
A federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration endangered public health by keeping a widely used pesticide on the market despite extensive scientific evidence that even tiny levels of exposure can harm babies’ brains and has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to remove ‘chlorpyrifos’ from sale in the US within 60 days. This pesticide is used to spray apples, citrus and other crops.
My mother moved very quickly back to Waco in May, leaving me with tons of her stuff, so I have spent the past few months cleaning out her house and wondering what I could have done differently to help her to ‘like living here.’ I had entertained her, cooked for her, worked in her yard, taken her to concerts and community functions, all so she would feel like she was a part of it all. Well, her 83rd birthday was last weekend and guess what, I got to meet her new boyfriend when I arrived in Waco. They graduated together. Their reunion was in the spring. It all fits into place now. Hmmm.
Thanks for reading this. I appreciate it. Lisa
