WHAT? MONDAY

Gentle Readers . . .  and Maxwell,

Pearl Harbor Day is this week: "December Seventh, 1941, a day which will live in infamy."

Folks who are old enough to remember that day know where they were when they heard that Pearl Harbor had been attacked by the Japanese. D., one of my marvelous men 
at the nursing home, couldn't remember what he said the second after he said it. But he knew exactly what street he was on in Baltimore and what he was doing when he heard about Pearl Harbor.

So today's What? Monday question is

What days of historical or personal significance do you remember?

The first one in my life would be Friday, November 22nd, 1963 -- if I actually remembered it. It was the day President Kennedy was assassinated. I was four years old. Strangely, I remember the funeral. The procession went by over and over again on our black and white TV with the poor, snowy reception. I specifically remember my dad explaining the significance of the riderless horse.

However, I don't remember learning that the president had been killed.

Some other important dates for me:

February 9th, 1963: First time Beatles were on Ed Sullivan show (I don't actually remember this date; I remember the event.)
August 9th, 1974: President Nixon resigned.
February 14th, 1977: Lost my virginity in the back seat of my Mustang.
August 16th, 1977: Elvis died
December 9th, 1980: John Lennon murdered.
November 9th, 1989: Berlin Wall started to come down.

I know exactly where I was when each of these events occurred, and I could go and on with important dates, but I guess I'll skip to September 11th, 2001.

It was Someone I Love's first day of her sophomore year in high school. I took her to school and got home and turned on The Today Show. The first plane had hit and as the country watched, the second plane hit. It was a day that seemed never ending.

So, tell us please:

What days of historical or personal significance do you remember?

Infinities of love,

Lola

P.S. This is the final week that I'll collect funds for the blogger in need. Please donate if you can. The PayPal button is to your right.

IF I WORE A BATHING SUIT

Gentle Readers,

If I wore a bathing suit, I fear some good Samaritans would think I'm a whale and try to shove me into the ocean.

Because of course we have lots of oceans here in the Dakotas.

The thing is, though, I am never going to have a bod like that of Sandra at Absolutely Narcissism.

That fucking bitch is fucking hot very nice lady works very hard to maintain a lovely figure.

I used to be skinny, but not so skinny that I had no boobs. I had very nice boobs, according to a number of young men who attended my high school. I was even named Best Body in the school newspaper. I hope schools don't do shit like that anymore. It's really pretty cruel. I remained thin until everything went nuts in my marriage and I took an anti-depressant and gained a ginormous amount of weight, leaving me feeling that I am no longer me.

Off the anti-depressant, I did not lose an ounce. Well, occasionally I could tell I dropped a couple of pounds, but I would also gain them back immediately plus add at least one for good measure.

Then recently I decided to try NutriSystem. They were having a 50% off sale on your first shipment. My health insurance also knocks some money off the price.

The nice thing about NutriSystem is that you don't have to worry about portion control or weighing how much you're eating. The food is all pre-packaged.

The bad thing about NutriSystem is that quite a bit of the food tastes like the cardboard container it comes in, and I never get enough to eat.

Always
always
always

HUNGRY.

At first, I had dreams about cinnamon rolls and other yummy foods. I felt pretty miserable.

Then I realized I could not eat NutriSystem 24/7 or I would go crazy and run to the nearest bakery, buy a large cake (the kind intended for a party where you'll serve 50 people), and eat the entire thing.

So now I take little NutriSystem breaks and have something like one of those little packets of cookies that has 100 calories or a Special K bar, which has 90 calories.

During the first three weeks I lost 11 pounds and that was about three weeks ago. I haven't weighed myself since then. I don't have a scale. But some pants that were too tight last summer now fit just fine.

However, no matter how much NutriSysteming or Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers I do, I am never going to look like Sandra.

But I admire her for her commitment to preparing for a fitness competition. Sandra, you inspire me. I'll try not to give up.

Infinities of love and pounds,

Lola

SLOVENIA

Gentle Readers,

In between chasing, shushing, and bathing dogs, I want to take a moment to mention that I just saw a woman from Slovenia on TV.

You might not get as excited about Slovenians as I do, but I adore Slovenians because they are my most faithful readers except for Americans.

God Bless You Slovenians! You rule!

Infinities of love,

Lola

SOME SO LONGS AND FAREWELLS

Gentle Readers,

I already wrote to you last week about how much I enjoyed the season finale of Raising Hope. Since then I've watched the season endings of my other favorite shows, and I even watched the farewell of a show that didn't interest me for 24 3/4 years.

First, second season ending of Glee: Glee is not as good as it was in season one. It lost its edge. It's not as funny. I'm not sure if the creators and writers used up their best ideas during the first season, like Quinn telling Finn she got pregnant in the hot tub and Terri Shuester's fake pregnancy, or if it was so over the top hilarious that some people didn't get it and the producers decided to go a little more mainstream for the second season. Because of that loss, there wasn't as much for Sue Sylvester to sink her fangs into. But I still love, love, love the music, and the show is fun. I found the season finale a huge letdown, but I'll be back for season three.

House has finished its seventh season. House lost its edge a long time ago when House had the competition to replace his team and hired Thirteen and Taub and Kutner, who ended up committing suicide because he knew the show was going downhill because he worked on President Obama's campaign and took a post in the administration. I used to love the chemistry between Cameron and Chase, which certainly could not be replaced by House and Cuddy's fauxmance (I think I just invented a new word). Why do I keep watching? House still has its moments, and I adore a good, gross medical mystery.

Then there's The Office. As far as I'm concerned, this show pretty much ended when Steve Carell left. I enjoyed the way Michael Scott's character developed over the years. He wasn't nearly as obnoxious at the end as he was at the beginning, yet he was still funny. Static characters are a bore, just as stasis is in general. I'll watch next fall because I want to know who the new manager will be.

You may sense a pattern here: Once I commit to a show, I usually continue to watch until it ends for good.

Now, a show I avoided like the plague for 24 3/4 years. Obviously, it's Oprah. I watched her final show, and it actually made me wish I had watched a long time ago because I think I learned something. For the most part, Oprah spent her final show talking about why she did the show and what she learned and hoped her viewers had learned. She said, and I paraphrase here, that we all make bad decisions in life and then we go around blaming everyone except ourselves instead of making changes. Lawdy, Lawdy, Miss Oprah, I do believe you hit my nail right on the head. It's taken almost two years of living alone for me to realize that I made bad decisions in my marriage and then thought I was just as trapped as I was as a child in my parents' home. I should have made changes long, long ago. Both my husband and I blamed each other for our unhappiness. I am lonely, but I was lonely when I was married. I'm definitely better off now, but I don't like the thought of growing old alone.

Oprah also said we all have a calling, and we need to go after it. I thought teaching was my calling, but I'm questioning it because of the loss of my teaching job. Did I lose the job because I'm not a good teacher or did I lose the job because it would be a learning experience? I'm confused and not sure what the answer is. I have to think and ponder and pray and decide if teaching really is my calling; if it is, then I'm not going to let one bad principal get in my way.

I'm not sure where I'm going, but I'm definitely headed somewhere. For now, though, I must stop writing because one of the dogs has such terrible gas that I simply must get out of this room and get some fresh air. Dog gas is the worst.

But I loves me my doggie men.

Infinities of love,

Lola