MOVIE ANYTIME: HIDDEN FIGURES

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

I'm avoiding the work on my taxes in such a constructive way: blogging!

This will probably be hard for you to believe, but I went to a movie theater last week because Carol and I couldn't wait to see Hidden Figures (2016, PG, Still In Theaters).

Hidden Figures, based on the book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly, tells the true story of black women who worked as mathematicians at the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia. The movie focuses on three of these highly skilled women: Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae), and Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson).

The three deal with segregation, such as a long run to get to the "Colored Girls" restroom and having a separate "colored" coffeepot (and I don't mean the pot was red or blue), yet do their part to help the U.S. reach outer space. Katherine Johnson's analytical geometry skills were particularly important for John Glenn's historic flight.

Carol and I thought this movie was the best we'd seen in a long time. We were thrilled when it won Best Cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night. This movie is one you should definitely see with your children, perhaps age ten and older. Hurry before it leaves theaters and you have to wait for the DVD release.

Octavia Spencer is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and Hidden Figures is nominated for Best Picture. When Carol and I left the theater, I told her that my only complaint is that Taraji P. Henson isn't nominated for Best Actress.

Hidden Figures earns the Janie Junebug and Her Pal Carol Seal Of Highest Reach-For-The-Stars Approval.

We're reading the book now, so I'll let you know how it is when I'm done. Reading makes a great distraction from those darn taxes, which I must force myself to face.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

P.S. Katherine Johnson is still alive. At ninety-eight, she is said to be sharp as a tack. She saw the movie and loved it.

STARS IN THE NIGHT SKY

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Last night I joined Franklin and Penelope outside. While they concentrated on the Earth, I looked to the stars. I turned to look at more and more until I was dizzy. They were so beautiful. Here, in the middle of this big city, in the middle of my backyard, I was at the base of the universe and I could see the soul of infinity.

I know I haven't blogged much lately, and I probably won't blog much for a while because I have everything I need to do my taxes. It takes me a while. I have to make sure I find every deduction. Although I've already made a substantial payment to the IRS, every year I wonder, will they owe me money or will I owe them money? I shouldn't owe them money. I'm not supposed to owe them money.

Yet I worry that I've made a mistake and will somehow end up needing to send them a check.

Too bad I'm not "smart" like the president so I don't have to pay taxes.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

I don't think I know any disabled elderly pregnant children, do you?
Thanks, fishducky!

TIP TUESDAY: WHAT'S A PHYSIC?

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

When I first started working at the nursing home, I loved going into Mr. A's room. He was a favorite of mine among the patients. Anytime I took something to him, he tapped his cheek and said, Give me a kiss right here, baby doll.

I was glad to oblige.

But one day he said, I need a physic.

I left the room puzzled. Physic? I asked the nearest nurse. What's a physic?

She said, It's an old-fashioned way of saying laxative.

I tell you this anecdote because it's important for your characters to use dialog appropriate for their time period. Word choice can also indicate a character's age.

F. Scott Fitzgerald referred to his alcoholism as "dipsomania." Writer Rose Wilder Lane (daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, who wrote the Little House book series) once asked her father about sayings used when he was young, which would have been in the 1880s. One of his responses was that if they thought someone was a good fellow, they would say that man was "all wool and a yard wide."

My parents called margarine "oleo." My children wore cloth diapers and my mother called the plastic pants they wore over the diaper "rubber pants." When disposable diapers were new, I often heard them called "paper diapers."

This Web site has a dictionary of words commonly used in the 1920s and '30s: http://www.1929anupperclassaffair.com/Flapperspeak.pdf

Do you remember some words and phrases that you used to hear regularly that have fallen out of fashion but would be indicative of a time period?


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

THE HEART OF A DOG

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Our little family has suffered a loss. Stella died peacefully on Friday afternoon.

Stella was not my dog. She was Favorite Young Man's faithful friend.

But I knew Stella for many years. She first visited me about ten years ago when I lived in Illinois. She and FYM came to see us for a holiday.

When I moved to Florida, FYM and Stella lived with me for almost a year. She chewed on some of my furniture, for which I promptly forgave her.

She often stayed with me when my son had to go out of town.

I teased her about her smooshed-in face and told her she looked like she'd been chasing parked cars. I loved to kiss her right in the middle of the top of her head because that's where her fur was the softest. I let her sleep in my bed even though she was a bed hog. She had a thing about peeing on my rugs. I didn't like that, but how could I not clean it up and get over it?

Several months ago Stella moved in with me because she needed more care for health issues than my son could provide. Stella and I visited the vet together many times. She had a problem with a disk in her back. It caused her to drag her back legs. She often slipped and fell. The medicine she took for her legs damaged her liver, so she took medicine for her liver.

I knew the end was approaching on Thursday when her back legs stopped functioning almost completely. Then Friday morning, she began to vomit.

Friday afternoon, she sat in the chair next to me that she could no longer hop into on her own. I had boosted her up. When I realized she had stopped breathing, I kissed my favorite Stella spot on the top of her head one last time.

We are sad. We are so sad. Franklin and Penelope search for Stella.

I know it's saddest of all for Favorite Young Man. Stella was his beloved companion. He was her daddy.

She always gazed at him with her sweet brown eyes that showed exactly what was in her heart. She was absolutely and completely devoted to him.

Stella, you are loved forever.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

DO I FOLLOW YOUR BLOG?

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

If you follow my blog and I don't follow yours, then it's probably because--for whatever reason--I haven't been able to find your blog.

Please leave the address of your blog in a comment, or email the address to me at dumpedfirstwife@gmail.com.

I like to stay in touch with as many of my followers as I can.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

If you need an editor, I'm here for you!

Thanks, fishducky!

THANKS, JIMMY FALLON, WE REALLY ARE HAVING A WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME

No matter how old Paul McCartney is, my heart still goes pitter-pat when I see him.

Merry Christmas!

MY SHOCKING DISCOVERY WHEN I SIGNED UP FOR HEALTH INSURANCE

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

I purposely wrote the title of this post as if it's a fake news story that you might find online, but I really was surprised––and pleasantly so––when I signed up for my 2017 health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

Premiums were lower.

I swear to you it's true. It might not be the same for everyone else, but if it's true for me, then it must be true for some other people, too.

After hearing all that bombast during the election about the cost of "Obamacare" going up, I went to healthcare.gov with trepidation, only to find that the plans most similar to the one I've had throughout 2016 were about $200/month less in cost.

BUT (there's always a butt) they didn't allow me to keep my doctor. So I used the filter on the site that would show me which plans would keep me seeing my beloved Dr. Lacroix and his loyal assistant Holly (I LOVE HER; SHE GOES THE EXTRA MILE FOR ME AND SAYS SHE'S JUST DOING HER JOB).

I found a plan that costs about $20/month less than I've been paying, and it has a much lower deductible. My insurance cost wouldn't have gone up unless my income had gone up significantly, or I'd ordered a super fancy plan.

If you're not familiar with Affordable Care Act plans, they are marked as Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

Platinum costs more that $1,000 a month and has features I don't need. I've been in a silver plan every year, but in 2017, I move up to Gold.

Until Donald Trump takes my insurance away from me and I join the ranks of can't afford to go to the doctor and I can't get no prescription medications satisfaction.

Bah, humbug!

Thank you, President Obama.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

Thanks, fishducky!

And while I have your attention, here's a book recommendation:

I admit I haven't read Mommy Tried To Kill Me yet, but it's waiting for me on my Kindle. I know I'll love it because Suzy Soro is hilarious. I loved her first book, Celebrity sTalker. 

It's not too late to hop over to Amazon to order a book by Suzy Soro (the actress who got the last chocolate babka on Seinfeld) as a Christmas gift for yourself and to give to someone else who enjoys a good laugh.

A sarcastic laugh, kinda like the way I'll laugh on Inauguration Day.

With my friend Jim Beam in my hand.