Cruisin Again, Finally?

Is it time for me to cruise again?

My spouse and I have cruised the grand total of one time.   It was in 1988 and was an Alaskan cruise. 

We drove down from our home in the Southern Tier of New York to family in Yonkers (a city on the Northern border of New York City), stayed the night, and then took a flight to Seattle and a bus (provided by the cruise company, Princess) to our ship in Vancouver, British Columbia.

We made so many mistakes it was laughable, in a way.  Of course, there was no Internet and we didn't know anyone who had cruised.

I think we were the youngest people (in our middle 30's) on the ship.  We were fortunate that an older couple, Canadians, took us under their wing and taught us some of the basics. (And yes, we used a travel agent).

I still enjoyed a lot of the trip (and have many fond memories) but there was enough I did not enjoy - especially discovering I was prone to seasickness with a capital S, and spent one night hanging over the rail, disposing of the meal I had had at the Captain's table. I hadn't even brought motion sickness medicine.  The first time I used the pills, I took the recommended dose and fell asleep over dinner.  I slept through the entire night.  

Formal nights - ugh. 

Too much rich food overall.  I gained something like 15 pounds. 

I've never cruised since that one 1988 cruise.  So let's do a massive fast forward.

A couple of years ago, my manager at work started to cruise again after a many year pause.  She loves it, even with the COVID restrictions on her first couple of cruises. She took two cruises last year and has already booked her first cruise for this year.

So now, my son has joined the fun.

My son went on his first cruise in December (Carnival).   He booked his second cruise before even going on the first one.  Talk about faith in something.

So, what's holding me back?.

There is so much to love, according to my manager.  One time unpacking.  Little to plan.  Plenty of time to relax, or not relax, as you want.  Good food. And, at least right now, it can be cheaper to cruise than to take a week's vacation on land, according to her.  She's already given me some pointers.

What I really like is that I don't have to fly (long story, that) to get to the nearest cruise ports, although my cruising options would be limited. I'm willing to live with needing to embark from the New York City area or even Baltimore and end the cruise in the same place I started.

But I really, really want to research, especially as money would be a consideration. More importantly, my spouse isn't totally onboard (no pun intended) with this cruising idea. 

I suspect many of my readers have cruised.  So, could I ask any of you who have cruised, a favor?

If you have written on the topic, or know a good website or two, I'd appreciate you sharing that with me.  I know that's hard, with you not knowing exactly what I'm looking for but any cruising experience shared with me will help out.  I also need to relearn cruising. It's changed a lot since 1988.

This should be interesting.

How We Change Over the Years

My spouse and I have had a few discussions (well, more than a few) about how we have changed over the years.  I don't mean the "I have grey hair and wrinkles/bald spots" discussion.  I mean changed mentally.

It takes us longer in the morning to get started.  We have to use the restroom more often (and thinking of bathroom stops during travel has become more important.  We like to linger in stores - no more in and out shopping.  

At one time we scoffed at guided tours of houses or other historical places.  Now they appeal.

At one time we thought that camping in an RV was not a pure camping experience.  My bladder and back would now disagree, although we haven't tried RV camping yet.  My tent camping days are way over.

When I was younger, I didn't want to go back to places I had been to once.  There was a whole country out there to explore!  Now, sometimes, it seems like I am trying to put together a tour of places I haven't been to in the last 20 or even 30 years.  It really is fascinating to see how places have changed, and our planned travel is mostly of that kind.  For example, we haven't been to Iowa since 2003.  We haven't been to South Dakota since 2002.

But then, I think about how I probably (let's be realistic) won't be doing a "how has place X changed in the last 20 or 30 years" tour in another 20 or 30 years.  It's a little sad, but I try to be realistic.  My spouse and I are both in our early 70's.  Why not do it now while we still can?

The roll of toilet paper is approaching its end.

It's strange when you haven't seen people in several years, and then you see them.  You think of them "you've aged".  Of course you've aged, too.

Sometimes, though, it seems like time stood still.   At the beginning of June, spouse and I drove from our home in the Southern Tier of New York to attend a wedding in New York City.  I hadn't seen any of my family members since December of 2018 except for a handful of FaceTime calls.

I thought to myself, how have my family members changed?  How have I changed?  And how has New York City changed?

True, I only saw my family for a few hours.  We didn't take mass transit and weren't in New York City for long.

What did I find?

Well, there were all the electric signs on the highway telling us how many minutes to certain highways or interchanges.  Those were nice.  New to me...

There's the bridge between the Bronx and Queens (two NYC boroughs) that no longer has toll collectors.  You pay with an electronic pass called E-Z Pass or by mail.  In the old days, traffic sometimes backed up 15-20 minutes.  Now, we just sped on through.

Yes, this picture was taken in New York City

The traffic on the Long Island Expressway hasn't changed, though (I don't think).  Maybe people I know who live on Long Island would disagree and I bow to their observations.

My family?  It was like time stood still, except for the younger people who were teens last time.  Now they are grown up and working in the real world.

One thing I do know is that returning to the city of my childhood has reignited a wanting to explore new places.  I did, in February, visiting a city in South Carolina (Greenville) we had never been to.  But all the roads we traveled were ones we had traveled before.

Perhaps it's time to explore once again instead of sticking to the tried and true.

After all, when I think to myself, my inner voice is unchanged from my younger years.

How do you feel you've changed over the years?

Blogging from A to Z Theme Reveal #AtoZChallenge #AtoZReveal

I talked myself into it.  I am going to do the Blogging from A to Z Challenge once again.

For those new to this challenge, (and it's one I highly recommend, especially if you are new to blogging) on April 1 your topic for blogging begins with "A", then on April 2, "B", and so forth.  Sundays are off days (except, this year, April 30), so we get 26 letters in 30 days. 

Does this interest you?  If so, the link to the challenge is above.  You don't have to sign up just yet, but there are deadlines.

Before I reveal my theme, a bit about my blog and what I've done for past challenges. 

I started to blog in 2009, and started to blog daily in 2011.  I blog about music on Mondays, a Wordless Wednesday on Wednesday, Skywatch Friday on Fridays, and, on the 15th of the month, Garden Bloggers Bloom Day (although I am not a garden blogger, I love flower gardening).  I will keep up this schedule as much as possible in April.

I've taken the A to Z Challenge every year since 2015. 

Most all my previous themes have been related to travel.  I am a confirmed photo hoarder - right now there are approximately 12,000 photos on my phone.  That's about 41 GB worth. 

Wherever I go, I take pictures.  Pictures of things.  Quirky things.  Historic things.  Plants.  Flowers.  Sunsets.  Graves of famous people.  I weave some of these into my daily posts and will this April, too.

Here are my past themes, and you can see a pattern here:

2015:  America the Beautiful

2016:  Days of our Lives (no not the soap opera)

2017 - Traveling Through Time and Space

2018 -  Florida Outside the Theme Parks (this may have been my favorite one)

2019 -  Finding America Through Photos

2020 - America the Beautiful (I never realized I repeated my 2015 theme!)

2021:  New York State

2022:  From Florida to Vermont with Stops Inbetween 

For 2023, I am going to pick (surprise!) another theme involving domestic travel.

Back in February, spouse and I spent six days in Greenville, South Carolina in an effort to escape the New York blahs of winter.  I've been to the Carolinas (our American states of North and South Carolina) several times in the past, although my last time was in August of 2017 for a total eclipse of the sun.

The things I found in the Greenville area are what sparked the possibility that I might join this Challenge again this year.  It's an interesting area.  Since I'm starting on this late (again....) my last minute writing skills will be tested once again.

I didn't want to chain myself to this theme, though. You may find an occasional post not connected to the Carolinas. 

So here's my reveal:  Exploring South Carolina and the Eastern United States.

I hope you'll join me for the journey.

Rhapsody in Blue (and Some Recipes)

Tomorrow is Super Bowl.  I should be posting recipes we use but I will, instead, post links to some past posts.

Guacamole and tomato salsa. 

And Emily Bites with her Thai Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce. 

But now to the topic of today's post.

Today would have been Abraham Lincoln's birthday.  I plan to blog more about that tomorrow.

I started out angry today morning at some developments in the news.  I could explode.  Or splatter my thoughts over this blog draft area which I might regret later.

Or, I could turn to music.

I subscribe to a free Substack written by newsperson Dan Rather, and to my joy this morning, his post was a post about a wonderful musical composition called Rhapsody in Blue..

We have a bit of history, Rhapsody in Blue and me.

I fell in love with Rhapsody in Blue when United Airlines used it as music in their commercials back in the 1980's; so much so that I bought a cassette tape so I could listen to it whenever I wanted.  This was before streaming, or You Tube, after all.

This is a blend of jazz and classical music with a beginning clarinet glissando that is instantly recognizable by millions worldwide.  It was composed by George Gershwin, a young musical genius

It premiered on February 12, 1924.  Sadly, George Gershwin would only live to the age of 38, passing away in 1937 from brain cancer.

When I became pregnant in the late 80's, my hormones were all over the place, and I couldn't listen to the commercials without sobbing uncontrollably.

Later, in choosing music I would have while in labor, Rhapsody in Blue was one I chose.

Now, today, on the anniversary of the premiere of Rhapsody in Blue, I'm posting the performance posted on his Substack by Dan Rather. On piano is a Georgian pianist, Khatia Beniatishvili, playing with the Orchestre National de Lyon, conducted by Leonard Slatkin.

If you listen to the end (and I hope you will, although it is nearly 18 minutes) you'll see how Khatia Beniatishvili congratulates the conductor and orchestra before taking her well deserved bows.

Bravo!

Now, as we return to the ground after soaring with music:  May our skies be friendly again one day.

Postcard from Iceland

I got a wonderful Valentine's Day gift  in the mail last week- a postcard from "new friends in Iceland".

I don't have an official bucket list, but if I did, visiting Iceland would be on the list.  I have discovered, too, that my spouse and my adult son and even a good friend (my "guest photographer") would love to go one year, too.

It wouldn't have been easy for me prior to COVID-19.  I have had a fear of flying for many years and haven't been on an airplane in nearly 30 years.  But, that's the only way I can get to many places.  A travel agent, right before COVID-19, told me that more people than I might think take anti anxiety medication prior to flights, and that might be an option to consider.

In February, I read an online article in Forbes magazine written by Lois Alter Mark about a luxury hotel in Iceland that was offering to send postcards out to 700 people.  That was my Valentine's Day gift to myself.  My guest photographer also signed up.

Here's the site for the Hotel Rangá announcement. Their employees wanted to brighten the day of people all over the world.  They sure brightened mine.  (They did get requests for all the postcards, in case you were wondering.)

The front said "14 Feb 2021 With love, waiting for the day we can travel once again. (my name and a heart) Hope to see you soon with love from Iceland."  The stamp also was fascinating, with a "utan Evrópu" designation, meaning it was meant for postage outside Europe.  It got even more interesting when I read that Iceland stopped issuing stamps in October of last year.  It's a fascinating thing that should be of interest to anyone watching the woes of our post office system in the United States, but I digress.

The back of the postcard is a picture of the property during a visit of the Northern Lights. (And yes, I thanked them on their Facebook page.)

Before I get too excited, I have to realize that right now, Americans are banned from Iceland.  But there is always "one day".

I looked at their website and quickly realized this hotel is a bit outside my budget, (and their restaurant even more outside my budget) but you know what they say about dreams coming true? (Should I start buying lottery tickets now?) You do get a lot for your money, including access (during the dark part of the year) to an observatory, weather permitting, and a hot tub. 

I had such a good time exploring their website. It has a wealth (and I do mean a wealth) of information.

Here's a recipe for salmon, along with a dining playlist.

Lois Alter Mark, thank you for reopening this dream for me and inspiring me to learn about this country.  Just going through their website from my couch was a vacation.

To my postcard writer from Iceland, with love from the United States.

AM

Journeys #AtoZChallenge

My original topic for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge was "America the Beautiful". I've heard so many true stories these past few days and weeks, though. "America the Beautiful" has taken on a whole new meaning.

All of us have been sent on journeys we never could have imagined.  They are journeys through fear, journeys through faith, journeys confronting our mortality.  They are journeys through unemployment, journeys through trying to ensure the survival of the businesses we may grown and have devoted our lives to. Journeys through learning how to homeschool, and journeys through explaining to children too young to understand what is happening.  Journeys for teens having what appears to be their entire lives disrupted, with no end in sight.

We who are working are  taking journeys of working from home, or journeys of being classed as essential and learning what it is like to have to go to work each day in a pandemic.

Some fields of work that were not valued by our society have proved to be some of the most vital, and getting these people what they deserve will be another journey.

Health care is still another journey.

All our journeys are hard.  I have family in New York City and every one of them knows one or more people who have died.   Each story is tragic.  It is also happening elsewhere.

And I know that to be true, because we have a close relative battling coronavirus in the hospital right now where we live in upstate New York. 

But journeys can and do lead us to unexpected places. 

We all do the best we can.

I will leave you with a jonquil, a yellow bright hope for today and tomorrow.

"J" day on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

When Will We Stop The Time Switch Madness?

It's so ingrained in us that we can't stop, even if some states have passed bills to ditch the switch, or lock the clock.

October, please come back!

I find myself writing these posts twice a year.  Tomorrow, I will wake up, and my spouse will reset our clocks, gaining back an hour we lost in March of this year.  And then, the sun will set just before 5pm to my delight (not).  Monday, when I go to work, I will not see full daylight at my house again until next Saturday.

Twice a year, our country goes through this agony (spring ahead, fall back, stumble around disoriented for a couple of days, then forget about the whole thing) as we discuss:

Why are we doing this?
Is it really necessary?

Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the United States Virgin Islands don't do it.  Why should we?

Why must we?

                             Leonid and Friends cover of Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?)

It does make for some interesting quirks in travel.

I remember, back in the early 1980's, traveling through Indiana several times.  Indiana has a time zone line go through the state. Part of the state is on Eastern time and part on Central time.  Back then, there were counties on year round standard time and counties that observed daylight saving time.  As you drove through the state you gained and lost and gained and lost and could easily find yourselves two hours behind where you thought you should be.

There is the "daylight time doughnut" in Arizona.  The state is on standard time year round, but the Navajo Nation observes daylight time. But then, the Hopi Nation, whose territory is completely surrounded by the Navajo's territory, observes year round standard time like Arizona in general.   The Navajo's decision to not follow the State of Arizona (which they have the right to do) was made because portions of their territory extends into neighboring states that do have daylight time, and the Navajos wanted to be internally consistent within their nation.

Seven out of ten Americans support not changing our clocks during the year but most of us disagree on how to do it.  Even my spouse and I disagree.  He supports year round standard time, for the sake of children getting to class in the light, which about four in ten Americans agree with.  Another three in ten want year round daylight time.  I would rather we "split the difference" - advance 1/2 hour next spring and stay there with no more changes.

Although, truly, I wish October would return.  

What do you think about the time changes, if you live where Daylight Saving Time exists?

Amish RV's

Earlier this month, I went to a hot air balloon rally and festival here in Binghamton, New York.  Among the various booths was a company selling travel trailers.

Neither my spouse nor I ever owned a travel trailer but we are thinking about getting one now that I am approaching retirement (he is already retired).

We looked at various models, but one intrigued me because of what I saw in a corner - dolls representing an Amish couple.  Turns out this trailer was Amish built.

That intrigued me.  It turns out that quite a number of travel trailers (and motor homes are built using Amish labor.

This one sounds so attractive but I'm sure it is way beyond my price range.

But one can dream.

And it intrigues me that those who could never drive or tow one of these can build them.

Are any of my readers RV owners?  I'd love some advice on the best way to learn about them online.

Faster than a Racecar

It was the mid 1990's, and I was sitting with my five year old son on a runway in Syracuse, New York, waiting for our flight to O'Hare Airport near Chicago to take off.  We were en route, my spouse, my son and I, to a family wedding in the Midwest.

My son had never flown before.  I wanted to make it as exciting as possible for my restless little boy, who would be cooped up in this metal tube full of people.  This was the age before smart phones, before the Internet had grabbed hold, before there was instant entertainment in the palm of your hand.

Now it was time to explain what would happen next.

"The plane is going to drive to a point on the runway and then stop.  Then it is going to accelerate really quick and take us up into the sky!" I exclaimed.  "At takeoff, we'll be going faster than a racecar!"

I tried my best to keep fear out of my voice.  There was one thing he didn't know as we sat there on the runway.  I'm scared of flying.

It wasn't always like this.  The first time I flew, in 1966 (I was 13) I loved it.  But several incidents over the years had made me, first, into a reluctant flyer, and later, someone who really didn't want to be up in the sky and managed not to be.  Fortunately, my job didn't require me to travel and we used a car for the majority of our vacation trips.  This time, though, time was at a premium and we had to fly.

We made the trip safely.  My son even got to visit the cockpit and got a pair of wings as a souvenir.

We flew one more trip, the following year, from Syracuse to California.  After that, neither he nor I had been on a plane since.  I had forgotten all about us ever traveling faster than a racecar.

Until the Sunday before last.

My son, now in his late 20's, was sent out to Chicago by his employer for training. The Sunday before last, he flew from Binghamton to Chicago by way of Detroit.

Obviously, since the mid 1990's, many things have changed.  One of those things is the ease in which you can track flights online.  Knowing an airline and flight number, you can find out the type of plane (his was an Airbus), the flight's status (on time? delayed? cancelled?), when they are boarding, when they are taxiing and the exact moment the flight takes off.  You can track the flight on a map, or read statistics giving the plane's speed and altitude.

So when my son texted me (good son!) to tell me he had arrived in Detroit, I decided to turn to the Internet and track him on the Detroit to Chicago leg on my laptop.  He had about a one hour layover.

That hour sped by.  The tracking website told me the hour and minute it was scheduled to take off.  I intended to track his plane's stats during the flight.  I was, as the saying goes, "geeking out". But then I remembered one more thing I needed to do.

Taken by my son

When the clock showed that it was time for takeoff, I remembered.

I whispered, just loud enough for my spouse to hear, "Faster than a racecar!"

Alligators and Crab Shacks - FlavoursomeTuesdays

In 2006, my spouse and I rode the Auto Train for the first time. (The Auto Train is a train that runs from Northern Virginia to Central Florida, and vice-versa, not making any passenger stops.  To ride it, you must have a car, which travels on the same train.  It's the only such train in the United States).

I've never slept well on the Auto Train, and something happened on that first trip that has become a tradition.

I woke up from a fitful sleep to realize we were traveling through a city.  We were passing under an Interstate, and some large billboards were visible.  One billboard, lit up, advertised "The Crab Shack. Tybee Island."

I didn't have Internet access on that trip and had never heard of Tybee Island. But I researched it as soon as I could and found it was an island close to Savannah, Georgia.

In March of 2009 spouse and I traveled on the Auto Train again.  I woke up from a fitful sleep, and as my spouse softly snored next to me, I peeked out of the window and saw the very same sign.

It was a sign, that sign!  I was being told to eat at the Crab Shack.

We were supposed to drive through Savannah on the way home but had car trouble, and had to take the Auto Train home.  We swore we would visit Savannah and we subsequently did, but didn't eat at the Crab Shack.

In March of 2013 we rode the Auto Train still again.  This time, we both woke up as we were traveling through Savannah, and my spouse spotted the sign even before I did.  Marveling at this huge (to our sleep-bleary eyes) sign, we decided that yes, we would go to the Crab Shack.  We would fill in this hole in our travels.

And so we did.

From the outside, it looks like a "tourist trap".  But the food (noting I do not get compensated for this or any other review) was good.  My spouse still remembers their soup.

Inside, I noticed the restaurant had open walls to the outside - with only a screen between diners and the great outdoors.  If only I could live in a place like that, said my winter-starved inner voice.

Not so fast, said reality, as I saw movement outside the screened in wall.  Can you see what I saw?

After lunch we went outside, to see some of the 78 alligators the Crab Shack owned. These are all domestic, as in "born in captivity".  The Shack does not tolerate any abuse of the gators by customers, but they were easily accessible (if someone dared) and I hope they have good lives.

Up close, they almost look fake - but they certainly were not fake.

Here's their menu.

So, guess what.  This month we are hopefully riding the Auto Train for the first time since 2013.

 I wonder if we will see the sign again?


Join Bellybytes at Mumbai on a High and Shilpa Gupte at Metanoia for #FlavoursomeTuesdays. If you want to share a food related memory, why not join us?

Mother and Son Journey

I rarely blog about my son (his request), but today I want to make an exception.

My spouse and I took our first vacation with our grown son in 10 years.  We traveled from upstate New York to Columbia South Carolina (in two cars because he had to get back before we did) to see the total eclipse of the sun. 

It was a voyage of  discovery.

Pride, in seeing the young man my son has become. 

Happiness, in listening to his experiences.  Taking back roads in Virginia due to extensive traffic jams on the Interstate, he experienced kindness when he was flagged down to be told his gas cap wasn't on right. 


Total joy, in watching the eclipse together, and watching his reactions.

The contentment of knowing that our roles are changed, and that we can be adult friends.

And, in a way, sadness, in seeing the coming reversal of our roles.  I compare the ways he thinks and I think, and I see how set in my thoughts I can be.  His nimbleness helped us complete the trip in a way I never expected.

And there was even a dash of getting on each other's nerves, as we found ourselves together in a small motel room in Columbia, a bit overwhelmed by the unusual (for us) heat.  But we worked through it.

I don't know if we will ever take a joint trip again, but a part of me hopes the answer is "yes".

I won't post our picture, as my son values his privacy (as do I) but I want to thank him for an amazing journey.

The Tropicana Train - Music Monday #AtoZChallenge

It's been a while since I've blogged about my love of trains.

I grew up in New York City, and rode the New York subways many times.  Later in life, I was able to take a passenger train occasionally, such as the Autotrain, which runs nonstop between Lorton, Virginia and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando), a distance of approximately 900 miles (about 1450 km).

Auto Train poster in Sanford, Florida, 2013

To ride the Auto Train, you must have a vehicle with you.  The vehicles ride in special transit cars while you ride in comfort for (hopefully) the 16 hour trip.

On my trips on the Auto Train, there is one beautiful small town that I fell in love with from the first time I passed through on the train - Ashland, Virginia. 

The train tracks run down the center of town and you get a wonderful view of Railroad Avenue as you pass through the border of a college, a commercial district, and then residential homes.

But I had never seen the town, except from the train.  So, recently, I traveled to Ashland, VA to change that.

A downtown mural, Ashland, Virginia

Ashland calls itself "The Center of the Universe". I don't know about that, but it is an interesting small college town and what is called a "train town".  Yes, the trains run down the middle of the street several times a day.  Some stop.  Some don't. 

Some of the homes you will see if you ride the train through Ashland.

The train station, which doubles as the Ashland visitor center.

A train went through minutes after we arrived at the station.  Part of what the train was hauling was empty Tropicana orange juice train cars.  They fill up in Florida, and return, in what is called the "Tropicana Train".

Another view of the train.

I took this short video of the train coming.

You might say it was a Long Train Runnin'.(Thank you, Doobie Brothers.)

"T" on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge as I "travel through time and space".

Falling Friday - The Dreaded Bathtub

Today, on day 6 of the #Ultimate Blog Challenge,  I want to talk about something truly scary for some of us.

I am in my early 60's, and have fallen several times.  Last year, I took a falls prevention class.  But nothing prepared me for....

How can I be afraid of this?

... the motel bathtub.

I didn't always fear the bathtubs in motels.  But one day, and I don't remember just when it was, I started to have troubles getting out of motel bathtubs.  At first, I blamed the "newfangled bathtubs" that motels (those still with bath tubs, that is, because some newer ones seem to be only featuring showers) were installing.  Some didn't even have ledges to boost yourself out of the tub with.

But now I have to face facts.  I've crossed some kind of invisible line - the one between "middle aged" and "young senior".

I've had to travel several times in the past six weeks. Twice, I had to stay in motels.

I like to take baths.  It relaxes me and relaxes my back.

On my last trip, I had a nice soak in a motel bathtub.  But when it was time to get out, I couldn't.

As in "I couldn't get out".

 I rolled from my back to my knees, something that usually enables me to get in to a position where I can boost myself out.  But this time, the position didn't work.  The tub was slippery (it didn't have a rough surface, like many bathtubs do).  Some motels provide bathmats.  This one didn't.  I had thought nothing of it when I had drawn the bath.  But now I was afraid of slipping, and I was trapped in the bathtub.

Here, I also need to explain that  I know someone who died from a bathtub fall last year.  She fell and hit her head.  It was a terrible, lingering death.  So I was thinking of that, and knew I had to be careful.

I grabbed the towel I had placed on the floor, and put it on the tub floor.  It wasn't enough.

I called for my husband. He got more towels, and I was able to get myself out.  There was a grab bar, but it was not positioned in any way that would have done me any good.

What if I had been alone?  Perhaps a business woman, traveling on business.  It's a scary thought.

And I'm only 63.

I spoke to the desk clerk.  She said that others had complained.  They had no bathmats, but could bring me something for the next night to help.

But they never did.

Ironically, that same motel was asking me to hang up my towels so that the housekeeping staff would not have to wash them so they could help save the environment.  Well, they all ended up in the bathtub, soaking wet, and I wasn't about to hang them up.  I told the desk clerk about that, too.  I asked her to tell the owners these tubs were a problem, and I told her that someone I knew died last year from a bathtub fall.

It turns out I'm not the only one with this problem.

At one time, I had a Friday "Falling Friday" feature on my blog.  I will continue to feature it sporadically.

Local Saturday - Goodbye Norma Jean

On a typical day, I would say welcome, new readers and established readers, to day 1 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  31 posts in 31 days is our goal.

But today is not an ordinary day.

A Japanese anemone blooming - my little tribute

Miss Norma has left us.  On the Facebook page set up to celebrate the last year of her life, the post was simple:

Norma Jean Bauerschmidt
March 31, 1925 - September 30, 2016

They say we live our life in the "dash" - the dash that separates our birth date from our date of departure.  For Norma Jean Bauerschmidt , she showed us a way to live our final days surrounded by love, aging with grace, and leaving this world with dignity.

At age 90, two days after the death of her husband in hospice, "Miss Norma" was told she had stage four uterine cancer.  Her doctors told her "start treatment". But this World War II vet, once a member of the first Navy Nurses Corp, had other ideas.

Her son and daughter in law were in the position of being able to drive Miss Norma (and her white poodle, Ringo) in an RV.  So, Miss Norma declined the recommended treatment of surgery, radiation, chemo.   With her family, she traveled the United States, gathering fans as she traveled.  Her family chronicled their journey.

In the above article, Miss Norma was quoted as saying:  “Living life to the fullest is important.Do what you want because the doctors aren’t always right.”

Over one year and a road trip that started in Michigan and ended, a month or so ago, in Washington State, Miss Norma showed us how to live, before finally joining her husband and daughter.

Rest in peace, Miss Norma.

Willie the Sparrow

Through the imagination of a child, a Hungarian story teller has found a wonderful way to allow us to experience another culture.  Children are children, no matter where they live.

Last month, I participated in a blogging challenge that encouraged participants to publish reflections posts.  One blogger (Angels Bark) posted a list of blogs she had enjoyed during the challenge, including one called MopDog.  MopDog's theme for the challenge was a person from Hungary who blogged about various Hungarian cartoons.

One was a cartoon called Vil (Willie)the Sparrow.  You can see an animated version, with English subtitles, on You Tube, below.

I love birds.  I enjoy learning about other cultures.  This, for me, was a natural to watch.

It seems strange for the first few minutes (the English subtitles are not in the best English) but stick with it, and an amazing thing happens.

You enter the world of a 10 year old boy living in Budapest.  His sister torments the family cat.  The boy  imagines himself quite the hunter but, from his apartment building window, he fires his BB gun at innocent feeding sparrows.  An old woman witnesses the incident.

That woman is actually The Sparrow Fairy, who comes to his room to teach him a lesson.  They argue and he dares her to turn him into an animal. She turns him into a crocodile and then a mouse.  Finally, she turns him into a sparrow.  She tries to undo her spell but her magic spray bottle malfunctions.  Willie, who is now stuck as a sparrow, is at the mercy of that tormented cat and....

You'll just have to see the cartoon, as Willie enters the streets of his native city as a wild sparrow as the Sparrow Fairy leaves to get her spray bottle fixed.  I've read that if you are familiar with Budapest, you will recognize parts of this cartoon.  I've not watched the entire cartoon yet, but I look forward to it.  Vili is a most intriguing boy.

Will he survive his new, sparrow life? (I still have to watch it all the way through, so I don't know, either.)

Are any of you familiar with the Vili stories?

Do you have a favorite cartoon of another culture?

Journey #AtoZChallenge

She was feeling every one of her almost 90 years.

She was taking a journey, a journey back to the area where she had lived all of her life, except for the last eight months.  She was going down to see friends and relatives she hadn't seen in months or years.

At one time the journey would have been easy.  Now, it hurt.  She couldn't even get in or out of the car without the help of her oldest son.

He helped her with a smile and with patience, but it wasn't the same as doing it without help.

Her son drove her through the Catskills, as a late snowstorm colored the ground white.  She remembered how, once, there were thriving resorts everywhere.  Jewish comedians would come and entertain the crowds.  She was part of that crowd several times.   Those days were long gone.

The winds chilled her at the diner where they ate lunch.  Afterwards, snow crusted the mountains in the distance.   The journey was not yet half completed.

Her son took her past the house she had lived in for 52 years.  Now, strangers lived there.  They had painted it.  Flags she never would have used to decorate it flew in the front yard.  For months, she had not thought of her new home, near her two sons, as home.  But obviously, this was not home any more.  Other people would live the journey of their lives there.  She had moved on.  She could no longer cope with the large property, the stairs.  She was living in senior housing now, about three hours away by car.

She was down in her home area for a birthday party - her 104 year old sister in law. 

The journey home was hard and tiring.

Finally, her son helped her into her apartment.  He turned on the light.

She was home.

"J" day on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  Tomorrow, another post on the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York.

Would You Use a Self Driving Car?

My mother in law formally gave up driving yesterday.

Yesterday, she turned her leased car back in.  She no longer has a car to drive, although she still has her license.  She does not intend to drive again.

For her and many other seniors, giving up driving is a milestone, and not a good one.

For many seniors, no longer being able to drive, either because of health issues or physical issues, also means giving up their independence.


My brother in law, who is developmentally disabled, has never driven, either.

So wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if we had self driving cars?   The elderly, those with conditions that don't permit motor vehicle operation even with technological assistance, the developmentally disabled and even those too young to operate a motor vehicle safely but old enough to be transported without their parents could all enjoy a degree of independence.  It would change a lot about the way we live.

We know that some, including Google, are working on true self-driving cars.  But how long will it be? 

It's all about...wait for it....autonomy.

How about a little thought experiment?

Let's say a self-driving car was announced tomorrow.  Or even next week, or next year.

Would we, those of us who are used to controlling their own cars, ever be comfortable riding in such a car?

Would hackers and terrorists be able to take over these cars and cause massive destruction on the highway?  It's already been done, in test situations, with cars not truly self driving.

It would certainly involve a transition period. 

I can see a long period where, even if an actual self driving car hit the market, a person would still need to sit behind the wheel, and pay attention.  But how many of us would just fall into our smartphones out of boredom and not be paying attention when the computer suddenly wanted to give control back to us?

I think, though, the time will come for self driving cars to be accepted, and it will be sooner than we think.  And, in a matter of years, it will seem so natural to the generation growing up during the transition period that driving yourself, with all the imperfections in driving our human nature creates, would even become repugnant.

I remember reading a science fiction story as a teen (I am 63) about a man pulled over for driving - driving himself - and sentenced to the death penalty because he had taken control over from the self driving mechanism, and made a mistake in his driving.

I only wish I could remember the title, or the author.

What do you think about self driving cars? 

Going Home Again

These past few weeks, I have been dividing my time between my home in upstate New York and my mother in law's house in a suburb of New York City, over 150 miles away.  This has become wearing, especially for my spouse, as you can imagine.

But don't feel sorry for us.

Today, I had time to read the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) publication of the first chapter of "Go Set a Watchman" by Harper Lee. I had previously read it online but the WSJ had various pictures of Ms. Lee, past and present, and pictures from the movie.

In one picture Ms. Lee wore stockings with seams down the back, just as my mother did.  I remember her struggles to find those stockings as they went out of style, in the early 60's, for the last time.

It made me think about going home again.  This is what my spouse is doing - returning to his boyhood home, time and again, before his mother moves to be closer to us.  He had grown up in the house we are now packing up.  He had moved there when he was 10, and moved out when we got married in 1974.

I can't go home again.  I think I blogged about why, years ago, and perhaps I should publish that post again.  Maybe.

I thought about going home again after we exercised walked on his middle school track, and saw this sign.

We were walking on "Richard Oakley Blvd."  I turned to my spouse, knowing that when you see things named after people on a school track, many times there is an unhappy reason for it.

"He was in my graduating class", spouse said.

Later, I went online and found that, sadly, I was right.  Richard Oakley passed away in 1999.

I know, as we age, more and more of our classmates will be leaving this world.  Eventually, we will also travel down that path.

But, for now, we are still here. And, my spouse can still go home again, at least until sometime next month, when the house closing occur and someone else owns his boyhood home.

It's bittersweet.

Departures

It was a spring morning Thursday in Mt. Airy,  North Carolina, the boyhood home of the late actor Andy Griffith (and the inspiration for the fictional town of Mayberry the "Andy Griffith Show" took place in).  The birds had started to sing around 4:30 am and one finally woke me up.

Purple Bush flowering in Mt. Airy, North Carolina

We had to get up early to depart for home, as our vacation was over.  I knew early on that this morning departure would be the topic of my D post for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  (Tomorrow is an off day, and I will continue my Civil War Sunday feature.  Monday I will be back with a post starting with the letter E.)

The Southern air reluctantly gave up its sweet smell of spring to my Northern nostrils.  In the 5:30 am dark, I could not see the line of blooming Bradford pears or the flowering purple bush that had gladdened my heart the evening before.

The birds sang even more strongly as sunrise approached, some of their tunes unfamiliar to me.  Was their song a promise that spring would finally come to New York?  I don't speak Bird, so I don't know.

We headed out after a quick breakfast.

Mt. Airy is close to the North Carolina/Virginia border, near an area called Fancy Gap.  It is scenic, but early morning fogs can be deadly - over the years there have been several deadly pileups.  The most recent ones I know of were in March and May of 2013 - three dead in a 75 car pileup in the March incident.

The Interstate (I-77 heading north into Virginia) is heavily lined with reflectors and signs warning of fog.  On the edges of each exit, we saw lines of tractor trailers which had parked there for the night, glowing in the reflected light.  Their lights were on and they were getting ready to head out, too.  There was to be no fog this morning.

Not long after, the eastern horizon started to redden.  The display went on for what seemed to be forever, as the rolling hills lined with farms slowly became visible.

The sun finally rose.

It was time to head home to upstate New York.

The Great Reveal

Today, many participants in the Blogging from A to Z blogging challenge are revealing their blog themes for the month of April.

If I was honest, my theme would be "I'm scared, even though I am sort of a seasoned blogger."

But that wouldn't be exciting, would it?

Why would anyone want a blogging theme, when you are being required to create a blog post based on  each letter in the English alphabet? A on April 1, B on April 2, and so forth (Sundays excepted).

So - my theme is:  America the Beautiful

Although, I can tell you that my theme on April 1 will be autism - because of its impact on my family.

But, I have traveled in 46 states of the United States, and several provinces in Canada.  I haven't been in all of them recently, or recently enough to have electronic photos.  But, with a few exceptions, each of my posts in April will be about a place I have visited, such as (not guaranteeing, of course):

Charleston, South Carolina and its surrounding area
Savannah, Georgia
Macon, Georgia
Prince Edward Island, Canada (yes, Canada.  It is part of the Americas, after all!)
Arkansas (where Wal-Mart started)
New York State

This is going to be fun - scary fun, perhaps, but fun nevertheless.

I hope you will join me on my April journey!