Blog anniversary

It's my blog anniversary today. No, not this blog--the other, spied upon one that I had to discontinue. A year ago I timidly started writing my journal online instead of in a notebook. And quickly found that writing a blog was NOT the same as keeping a (private) journal and resumed my notebook and ink journaling. I've been doing both and they complement each other, one very private and the other social and revealing.

I have been trying to get more exercise and succeeded yesterday. I walked up the hill to my parked car twice last night! Here’s the sad story:

I had a busy day at day, doing battle with the consultant company that it’s my responsibility to manage—and they have been a handful. I was tired, and a bit sad too, no Vegetable Man visitation tonight. I missed him already! So walked up the hill to my car, opened the door, climbed in, and put the key into the ignition. I tried to turn the key and it wouldn’t budge! The car was hot from sitting out in the sun all day long. I was parked in a rather bad downtown neighborhood and sleezy-looking guys were staring at me from doorways. I started sweating both from the heat of the car and from panic. The key wouldn’t turn, the steering wheel seemed locked. I racked my brain, having heard something about how to release it, and tried several things. Nothing worked.

Windows still up and doors locked, I flipped through the car’s owner’s manual from the glove box trying to figure out how to unlock the steering wheel. I couldn’t find anything and remembered that the little service station a block away from work might still be open, if I hurried.

I walked back down the hill to the service station. The owners, a man and his wife were still at their desk finishing up paperwork. I asked them about it and they told me that I had to yank hard on the steering wheel in the direction the wheels were turned while trying to turn the key. I thanked them and headed back up the hill. It worked like a charm when I tried it and I felt a bit foolish for having to ask, but how would I have known? I had tried yanking on the wheel and then turning the key and various other things with no success. It was the simultaneous actions that did the trick. Then I drove home and made dinner with some of the new potatoes from Vegetable Man, played with the animals and caught up (a bit) with my negligent blog reading.

from my E-mail
Children’s Vision
HONESTY My son Zachary, 4, came screaming out of the bathroom to tell me he'd dropped his toothbrush in the toilet. So I fished it out and threw it in the garbage. Zachary stood there thinking for a moment, then ran to my bathroom and came out with my toothbrush. He held it up and said with a charming little smile, "We better throw this one out too then, 'cause it fell in the toilet a few days ago.

KETCHUP A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup to come out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. "It's the minister, Mommy," the child said to her mother. Then she added, "Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now. She's hitting the bottle."

NUDITY I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from the back seat, "Mom! That lady isn't wearing a seat belt! MORE

NUDITY A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women's locker room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, "What's the matter haven't you ever seen a little boy before?"

ELDERLY While working for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. The various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs, unfailingly intrigued her. One day I found her staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered, "The tooth fairy will never believe this!"

DRESS-UP A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, "Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit." "And why not, darling?" "You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning."

SCHOOL A little girl had just finished her first week of school. "I'm just wasting my time," she said to her mother. "I can't read, I can't write and they won't let me talk!"

BIBLE A little boy opened the big family bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages. "Mama, look what I found", the boy called out." What have you got there, dear?" With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, "I think it's Adam's underwear