Boomer Chick Musings

Per tradition.... My blogs... Boomer-Chick-Musings and The Second Story ....go into hibernation from Thanksgiving until the first Thursday eve/night of 2019! If all goes as planned, and if I get some brilliant ideas (or not),  I'll start typing then! I hope you have wonderful holidays... whatever you may celebrate!

Smoke filled skies, bike ride along the shore. Ugh...driving my car to Berkeley for a meeting at 10am. Do I allow 30 minutes? No, that's not enough time. An hour? The 'what if's' are rolling through my mind. I tried to carpool...and asked folks to join me. But they had somewhere else to be after the meeting. Better leave early. Ugh. Which bridge do I use to get off this island? Cal Trans workers have blocked access while they're trying to improve access off and onto this island. How about using The Tube? Wait a moment, Marilyn. Stop thinking so much. Be still.  I decided to go underwater, so The Tube won! I left about 9:15. The lady in my car told me the directions. (It's a game of trust, with the lady..do I believe her, or not?) Wait! There's a parking space in front of the 6 story building! Yeah for me! Ugh. Meter is only good for 1 hour. Ok, I'll come back and feed the meter just before the hour is up. Went up the elevator and found out t

In this very divisive society in which many politicians have been saying anything to divert those who are listening to (or tolerating) what they say....I suddenly remembered what my mother used to tell me.... "Marilyn, it's not what you say...it's how you say it." Apparently, I had a rather sharp tongue and tone. (I may still have that, but nobody tells me that I do, but my late husband did bring it up.) I've replaced that with my silent gazing at people and shaking my head, wordlessly, and walking away, much like Carl did. Suddenly, I remembered Monty Python and their bit about "I've come for an argument." Gads, Carl and I used to howl over these. These days I don't want to cause arguments, I'd rather see them solved, dissolved, or resolved. Month Python's Argument Clinic The election this past week was mighty full of lies, mis-truths, disinformation, misinformation, and one way stops, with the other side peeling out and over 

PLEASE, IF YOU HAVEN'T VOTED, DO IT NOW! GET OUT AND VOTE ! THIS IS ONE OF MY  RIGHTS AS A  CITIZEN OF THE USA! IT MAY BE A SMALL PART OF A GREATER WHOLE BUT IT'S MY SMALL PART!  BEST, MARILYN

check out my real estate blog  The Second Story The second meeting of the Oakland Speaker Series was a very good one. James Comey was the speaker..and he was terrific. And tall! He says he's 5'10"! He was the main event. And he was most inspirational, to me. Then as we walked back to my car...everything seemed normal. We had parked on the street in front of the restaurant where we share Chinese dishes before we head over to the Paramount Theatre. We felt the street would be a safe space. Uh, no it was not. The vent window in the backseat on the passenger side was smashed in. We taped a plastic bag around the hole and drove home. I was almost crying. As I dropped my friend off at her house, I was wondering how I could get it fixed. Oh, and by the way...I needed to get up early because I was taking another friend to a meeting in Santa Cruz the next day. And I was picking her up at 7:30am. I prepped my bags that night  The next morning I got up at 6am, put on '

My dear daughter, Sutter, jumps on a plane and she flies up from New Zealand, usually once per year (during our spring), and per usual, I'm the airport shuttle driver. Bless her heart...she was deep cleaning my kitchen (nothing seemed as serious as she said it was), and she found a pile of Bed Bath and Beyond coupons that I keep on my counter-top, behind a small container that holds my keys and my device chargers. She wondered how many do I  need of these coupons? Not many, I thought. And she attempted to throw them away. NO! Don't do that! This week I found out why I keep them. I went shopping at BB&B and I used one of my coupons, but I had a bunch of them with me because I also keep them in my car. The lady who was next to me, was asked by the helpful employee, if she had any coupons? "No, I don't know how to get those." Immediately I gave her 3 of mine. She paused, and I said "Take them...I have lots of them!"  I had coupons for $5

  This is the time of year when the locals have claimed their land back....as in  no tourists (well, very few tourists) . Most every day I would take my bike and ride along the beach, from the Wedge to Balboa Pier, to Newport Pier and/or to Huntington Beach Pier. It was heavenly even when there were lingering clouds. On my last day in Newport Beach, I had lunch with an artist. We went to junior high school and high school way back in the day. Eve and I met up on Balboa Island and we each brought a bike sitting on a rack on the back of our cars. It was a perfect day: warm with a bit of a breeze. We took our bikes on the ferry and then we rode over to the Wedge. The Wedge was breaking (very intermittently) several days before when I first arrived in Corona del Mar. The lifeguards were trying to keep the tourists away from the water.  Not much action while Eve and I were there. (photo is from an online collection). As I was riding and driving around, I saw signs that were pr

I sent this to a good friend a couple of days ago.  Change is coming fast & furiously.  I find it sometimes difficult but  I don’t want to be left behind  in the cloud of dust and debris  where I can’t even see the path.  Onward.  link to lenticular clouds These clouds indicate that: 1. it's smokin' windy aloft 2. that there's a mountain range upwind 3. that other lennies may show up downwind of the first cloud. And pilots of gliders/sailplanes are licking their lips, wanting to be towed aloft through the turbulence  Then you hit the lift which is silky smooth...you know that you are in the wave. I went to 23,000 - 26,000 feet over Lake Tahoe, getting some type soaring badge for that flight. To stay legal under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) you need to see the ground. In between the lennies it can be really rough...both you and the plane getting totally beaten up...wings bending, you're trying to wrestle with the stick, keeping the nose down to g

This past Tuesday evening was the first night of the 2018 The Oakland Speakers Series. The venue is the Oakland Paramount Theatre. Every speaker raves about the ornateness of the theatre. The theatre seats 3040. This year only 40 seats (tickets) became available. I'm not sure how/who got us started attending these. Sure there's been some dud speakers, but yes...there have been some really  great speakers! (Carl's now been gone for 16 years and we may have attended it for 3-5 years before he passed on?) Each year I think about not purchasing those tix...but each year I do. And last night was a great event, opening with Annie Griffiths, a National Geographic Magazine photographer. I had tears in my eyes as she described each photo...giving insight to what she's trying to do. And she has traveled the world with her 2 kids! What a life she's shown them! After the presentation, my friend, Betty, and I worked our way back to my car. The open lot was nearly emp

I found this in my idea box and it goes back to 2006. But I couldn't help laughing at it and I hope you will get a few chuckles, too. written by:  Specialty Classes for Men, from MIStupid.com REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED BY TUESDAY, JAN. 31, 2006 NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM. Class 1 How To Fill Up The Ice Cube Trays --- Step by Step, with Slide Presentation. Meets 4 weeks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM. Class 2 The Toilet Paper Roll --- Does It Change Itself? Round Table Discussion . Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours. Class 3 Is It Possible To Urinate Using The Technique Of Lifting The Seat and Avoid ing The Floor, Walls and Nearby Bathtub? --- Group Practice. Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours. Class 4 Fundamental Differences Between The Laundry Hamper and The Floor --- Pictures and Explanatory Graphics. Meets Sat

My previous experience with an Uber driver was not good. (I wrote about it in one of these blog posts: the first Uber driver picked me up at home and took me to the DMV so I could get a replacement license that I thought I had lost. The second Uber driver picked me up from the DMV and he picked up another passenger. The driver started talking about all of his guns. Then I realized that they both now knew where I lived and holy s__t.)  Today I dropped off my car @ the Toyota dealership to see if my car was affected by a recall. Good news. It wasn't. But the CADEAU was there for about 4 hours. And I had things I needed to do. I didn't want to hang around at the dealership for hours. Toyota used to offer a van and a driver to take folks home and pick them up, while their car was being serviced. Not anymore. Now they've made arrangements with Lyft to be the drivers. It makes great sense. They pay the Lyft drivers, and I'm able to get to and from the site more effic

....when typing was taught to students in high school?  These days I think the little kids teach themselves, and who really cares about technique? Plus, there's auto-correct if mistakes are made. It's just like riding a bike..and just this past year, my 3-year-old grandson was riding a bike but using his feet (the bike had no pedals)! Today, that kid is now 4 years old and is pedaling like crazy, and balancing perfectly. Back in the day, some companies had these typist jobs...(like the one I had) as Clerk-Typist 2, for the state of CA. I was talking to one of my fly-boys this week.  (These are the males who I had great patience with while I learned to fly: gliders, single engine land planes, multi-engine planes, plus I had the opportunity to fly a blimp, and fly a hot-air balloon.) These days we don't always call or email each other...and that's fine by me. We each have lives of our own. But yesterday, George suddenly said to me "Do you remember when I

This photo says it all as we move from summer into fall.  Live richly, marilyn

I don't subscribe to any local newspaper. I get all of my news from NPR/KQED. I will say that the local  Alameda Sun is a close 2nd for very local news. And the Alameda Journal ...is NOT about anything that is A-town related. What a waste of newsprint.  I do get the CA online edition of the New York Times. Not sure who/how I got it (maybe one of my kids?), but it's good. But what I really love is my subscription to The Christian Science Monitor . I've been getting a weekly, printed edition, but I also get it online with the daily edition, for the most recent news. It's balanced, well-written, and full of facts and context. As I was driving to Pleasanton, late this afternoon for a meeting, I had my own MONversation with one of the KQED hosts. I call it a MONversation, because it's one-sided, and I can't really talk to the other person. So it goes out of my mouth...to nowhere. I can't remember what the conversation was about. And I responded out loud

Earlier this year, I was once again dumping/trashing out 'stuff' that I had no need for. Those high cabinets on top of built-in closets in my office, hide the most boring stuff, until it's not.  Daughter Sutter, response was "Don't do that!" Well, I'm here and she lives in New Zealand with her Kiwi husband, Sean. Uh, yes I will! Some of those 'items' were old photography equipment: movie cameras, a slide viewer, actual movies (on reels) that Carl's dad made when racing in Transpac events from LA to Honolulu. Sure, they're the real deal, but I don't know anybody who's on those boats. And based on my experience with the Soaring Museum in New York...the Transpac folks don't want any more stuff to stuff into their coffers. Actually, I never had the privilege of meeting Carl's dad, Dick, who was a Western Air Line's pilot. He was fondly known as Schuey. He and four others were killed in a Western Air Line crash, which w

Neighborhood Night Out! I never know how many will show up. Good news, it's been quite calm in the 'hood. Bad news...what if nobody shows up? argh! Way back in the day, my son, Evan, and his best friend, who were in 4th? grade and were riding their bikes home from school (and believe me, he will correct me when I'm wrong, or else my daughter Sutter will), and they were held up at gunpoint (nobody knows if the gun was real or not, but that didn't even matter) by some 'kids.' When I got home, there were 3(?) police cars outside of our house...and the cops were interviewing the kids in the living room. Bottom line...they didn't catch the hoodlums and I think they found their bikes, somewhere. Maybe not. I couldn't stand around and do nothing! I typed up what happened and hand-delivered the letter to all the neighbors within 2 blocks, the next day. Did they see anything unusual? Did something seem not right? That's not the way I would prefer to m

I went out to dinner with a couple of friends earlier this week. I rode my bike there, and they walked.  At one point, somebody said.. "Look around! Most every person in this restaurant has their eyes focused on their phones!" And it wasn't just solo folk who were doing it!  I'm quite amazed by those who ask to join my Linked In group/sphere/world.  I glance at their profile and I think why do they want to know me? Or better yet, why do I want to know them? Actually, I think it's a number's game, kind of like having a bunch of 'friends' that you don't even know.  And from what I've figured out...a lot of these folks are paid to 'dial for dollars', or in today's lingo 'punch the keys for profits.'  And while I'm at it (bitching and complaining about social media), I don't tweet, have never tweeted and don't plan on tweeting - ever. But, in fairness, I must say this about tweeting. If your cell phon

I woke up this morning and went into the kitchen. I'm always worried about the dishwasher leaking on to the floor. Kinda like I worry about the base of a toilet leaking. (Marilyn, you have a warped mind, I told myself.) Hhmm...where did that water come from? Normally, I start saying 'no no no no NO NO NOOO! But I didn't this time. I opened the cabinets under the kitchen sink, and the water was dripping at a pretty good clip. I pulled out the cleaning stuff in the cabinet. I tried to turn it off and sure enough....I found myself holding pieces of the fixture in my hands. Bucket...no. Tupperware was closer. I put that under the steady drip. I continued to get the cleaning stuff Then I realized a pile of dish towels was within arm's length in another cabinet.  I grabbed them and threw them near the sink and started mopping up the wet floors with my dish-towel lined feet.  For decades we've had a piece of vinyl flooring laying on the bottom of the sink-cabi