Substituting

Thinking about my teaching experience at the lieberry, and Huntington, I think substituting will be good for me; at least in some situations.

I remember as a student I thought substituting would be terrible.  And I was bad at day care, but of course I wasn't grown.  There is so much difference between how I feel inside- the same as then- and what people see on the outside.

The other day I pulled up a chair in between two guys.

Each of them scooted their chair away immediately; giving me extra room.  It took me a second to keep from responding.  I wanted to laugh and/or make a joke, but I didn't do either one.


I remember Grandma at 80 saying that she still felt much younger and when hearing someone was elderly she immediately thought how old they were, before coming back to realize she was usually older.

I wonder if nearly everyone feels this way.

I do.

First Baptist of Hypoluxo

Another great service with a good sermon by Dr. Griffin.

He's not actually a doctor yet but I expect that to happen November 8.

Hospice

Meeting with hospice yesterday.  Everyone is pretending like people either have brains or bodies.  It's weird because I don't know anybody with just one.

Apparently hospice is for bodies?

Who knew?



Who takes care of the soul?

She Always Knew How: Mae West by Charlotte Chandler

I just finished 2009's "Personal Biography" and it was really good; but weird.

The dust jacket quotes Jack Nicholson as saying "Charlotte Chandler has a tape recorder in her head."

Well, I hope Jack wasn't looking too closely and that she actually had a tape recorder with her because there are pages and pages of what appear to be direct quotes.

I feel like I've met Mae West.


Myra Breckinridge continues to fascinate me; having been introduced before it would be accepted- like now for instance in which LBTQXYZ is a badge of honor.

The name sounds like a Thomas Hardy novel to me and I was familiar with it- the name- long before I had any idea what it is about.  To me, it's part of that Rosemary's Baby, Exorcist crap- trying to get the bad stuff and make it mainstream.

And I notice how The Forces were present throughout Mae's life.


I also note that no one had a bad thing to say about her.  I wonder if that's the case with all of Charlotte Chandler's work.  I can't imagine the Bette Davis and Joan Crawford books being like this.



Mae seems to have had a thought process clear of anxiety and depression and it seems like she did this for herself intentionally, as if she understood cognitive therapy (David Burns- Feeling Good, N V Peale- Power of Positive Thinking, The Secret, etc.) long before anybody wrote about these things.

She was just practical- downright determined and made it happen- unless of course the Forces wanted to use her and took advantage of the poor soul.

Frog Voice

I'm sitting by the entrance but not as close as the other day.  Then, I kept hearing the sliding door open and then an indecipherable growl/grumble that wasn't loud but an odd timbre and it kept happening every time the door opened.  Sometimes I heard a person speak after this sound, and other times nothing.

Well, I can understand why some people say nothing.

This unremarkably looking woman sits at the door and says "Hi" as each person enters but her word sounds like some other noise and I think to myself:

1) Do we really need a greeter?

2) Is this greeting welcoming or alarming?

3) Did she start doing this when she had a voice or did she say to herself, "Self, I really need to do something to gain more confidence with the way I speak."  Hmmm?

The Guys with Tourettes Are Bugging Each Other

At the library this one guy is laughing and laughing- wearing headphones sitting at a computer, while the guy next to him is silent, but standing up and glancing back and forth at nothing.

I Finally Understand the Trump Presidency!!! - PocketsOfTheFuture

15 Things Poor People Do That The Rich Don’t by Alux.com

Physiology, Perception and Eyeglasses

Yesterday, the eye doctor came to the Assisted Living to give eye exams.  Most of the people had insurance but if they didn't there was a $75 fee.

And guess what two people wanted eye exams?


Dr. Rogers talked about the physiological response in the eye that tells him which strength of lens is needed.  I always thought this was subjective.  The few times I've had my eyes checked, I've not been sure which lens is better.  Often they seem the same.

This doctor talked about the difference between better vision and bolder vision, and explained my type of eyesight issue and explained that with training it might get better.  He said if I was unbelievably wealthy it might be worth to try it but it wasn't practical.


I was watching all the people in the Assisted Living with brains calcified and neuron pathways so strong that they can't learn much and thought about the value of physiological development.  The eyes are so close to the brain; wouldn't training them be of help in warding off mental decay?

I know learning a language is good for that.  And actually doing anything is good for getting anything done.  It's learning that is growing, expanding, enjoying and living.  And learning is always based on what one already knows (familiarity, confidence) and adding to it.  The people asleep are just re-confirming what they already know.

Hillary

Today I got back in the car and went to a different library after dropping off a prescription for my Mom and I heard it:  that intelligent voice of a failed presidential candidate.

I'm sorry lady but you lost.

It wasn't the Russians.

It wasn't the FBI doing its job.

It wasn't misogyny. 

Half the country doesn't like you.

And half the country doesn't like him.


Both of you blame everyone else.  You just do it intelligently; yet he got what he wanted so who's actually intelligent?


People would rather be a rich guy who happens to be a success than a woman who worked her whole life to accomplish a goal.

Sorry.

It's sad.


People chose a President the way they choose a movie star.  Or shall we say half of them did.  The other half stood in line and did what was expected.  I'm not proud of either half.

Too Much

I'm in the Lantana library right next to the book display- one book missing- that says "I can't remember the title, but the book was blue."

Oh, if Alba could see this.

Oh, if only there was a device and a mechanism to share information from here with anyone in the world who wanted to see it.

Oh, if only there were this thing, not unlike a computer- on which to find anything and share it.



It is so nice in the library when it first opens.

I was just in CVS.  That was nice too, mostly empty except for workers who were pleasant.  Here and there the workers are probably glad to be back to a routine after the hurricane (Irma) and especially if they have no air conditioning at home.

On the way here, in between CVS and the lieberry I was listening to Click and Clack- a great radio show on NPR.  They were talking about bad travel hair days and creme rinse; what people used to call conditioner- and perfectly willing to expound upon a subject of which they know nothing about.

I just love those guys.

I could google what they look like but I will abstain. 

There's nothing wrong with that show and I won't try to fix it.

Marilyn's connection to Masonic and the first trans-women by Hudna1

Where Can I Find This Book?

One of the jokes we shared at the lieberry where I worked, a year ago, was people wanting a particular book but not knowing how to find it.

People often look confused when asked whether a book is fiction or non.  As far as I know, there was one book that walked the line; and that was on purpose- The Celestine Prophecy.  So it isn't a very difficult question and even if someone doesn't know those terms, it's still mostly easy to figure out which half of the lieberry a book would be in.

I don't understand why people buy books at a bookstore but don't check them out here; it's free.  And if you don't like it, you don't have to read it- just bring it back.  And for all the people who have a problem throwing things away- recyclers and hoarders- you don't have to own it.  For me it's great.  It's like the best place.

Last week a patron was really mad because the girl at the counter wouldn't jump up to help her find a particular book; "You know, it's an author, and she writes stories."  Instead, the girl asked for the name of the book or the author.  The old lady didn't like that response.  She said, loudly "Last time the girl helped me find a book" and she left.

In Orlando we would joke, coming up to the counter to a co-worker and saying "I know this book has a red cover.  Can you help me find it?"  And here in Lantana I see a display of all blue books- no subject- just books with blue covers.

I wonder if that helps anyone.

We Are All Trained to Be Actors and Liars - PocketsOfTheFuture

Thoughts on Edith Wharton's Bunner Sisters

Working-class people as seen by Edith Wharton, seem real, but different to me than people of today.  (Or is that to-day?)

Less impulsive and with so many less things- it seems to me every house has too much stuff in it, and poverty today is not evidenced by a lack of things- only one shirt, no gloves- having to sell a cashmere scarf- but the quality of the things one has.

The poorest person I see- one or another person walking along with a shopping cart- has bags full of stuff.

Was this a time, in Wharton's world, where people really had nothing, when they had nothing?


I'm cleaning out my Mom's house as I've done with mine- a little.  And that means getting rid of 40 books, and keeping that many.  When did people in the US get used to having so much stuff and why do we think people with food, and shelter, and tv can be poor?



I notice she hyphenated lemon-pie.  She named many types of flowers; and I wonder if the first audience tended to know most of those names. 

The Introduction, by Hermione Lee, calls the work an example of "compassionate realism" and I think that's a great way to put it.  Bunner Sisters was originally in a work called Xingu- a collection of stories.


I wonder what would have happened if Ann Eliza had given in.  I can picture happy days for them; but it's doubtful.

Once again, I am left wondering about the characters- why did they do that?  What would have happened if something else had taken place? - rather than what I think many times- Why did the writer write it that way.  That's stupid.

It's the suspension of disbelief, and the "not looking behind the curtain" that makes me continue to want to read everything Edith Wharton wrote.