I’m sure you also have some treasures but here’s one I just received and deleted of course.
***Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it. Look advanced to more added agreeable from you! By the way, how could we communicate?***
Let’s just say, we’ll not be communicating even in the distant future, Dee
Posted in Editorial
I always caution my husband on that, especially when a job is at stake.
When I turned 50 we moved out here and didn’t know anyone so when I sent in our taxes and knew there was a refund coming I impulsively bought a guitar. Low-end learner, way too big for me.
I also started private lessons, learned chords I taught myself decades before and did a lot of Johnny Cash and Peter, Paul and Mary. Then I brought Dylan into it and figured out the chords on my own for Sarah.
Then I put the cart before the horse, yes, a horse with no name. B7 came in with Em7 and my fingers were shredded. And that teacher dumped me and left me with a drummer who didn’t care that I didn’t know the guitar or chords, just keep the beat. So I quit, effectively firing the drummer.
What is similar here is that while my husband and I are vastly different, math vs social sciences, methodical nature vs spontaneous actions, hard knowledge vs soft (in his eyes) we are both at least two steps ahead in whatever we’re doing.
By being two steps ahead we are both optimists who know the world will be right and if not, we can help change it.
I need to thank my friends in the leash-free debate for bringing out Dee, the leadership and other qualities I hid or didn’t know I had. It has been a joy working with and encouraging volunteers for 20 years.
Here’s to optimists! And my Dad, his optimism was always contagious. Dee
Over the years, several posts have resonated and consistently get hits, like how to eat a Concord grape, or cooking capon.
This is about a woman eating alone in a restaurant. My adopted grandmother told me today she would never go to a restaurant alone. In business, one must, and in a safe environment when I’m not cooking, I go out.
Yesterday, I went to a local eatery that knows us and has for years but no-one on duty was familiar. As it filled up, I immediately got a table, ordered and was tended to. When the bill came I thanked the waitress for treating me so well, and mentioned that the first time we visited my husband and I sat at the bar and shared the bruschetta I had alone for dinner. Jim was out of town.
She came back and took a locals discount off the bill (I didn’t have my locals card with me and never mentioned I had one).
Women are afraid to go out to eat alone. I go. I’ll go to the movies alone. Being alone is not a problem for me. When restaurants see a table of women they think they’re all going to argue over the bill, figure out who has to pay $,15 for the blue cheese dressing and they’ll leave no tip.
Alone, they think what a sad creature, no man wants her. She’s just going to order an appetizer and a glass of wine and tie up a table for an hour. I stayed less than an hour, did just that and tipped 25%, cash.
I not only go to restaurants, I review them. No-one knows that. When a restaurant treats me well on a first visit, alone, that is a blessing to their mother, wife and all women. Treat us well, we’ll order well and leave you a nice tip.
They used to put me in the smoking section, or right by the kitchen’s swinging doors. No more. If they try to do that, I leave. I’m too old to deal with their crappy attitudes.
Women in cliques, we’ll talk about that later. Right now it’s a woman dining alone who just wants to feel safe, have a nice meal, and be taken care of by restaurant staff from kitchen to front of house, manager and waiter.
It’s scary being sent to a new city and having to negotiate business. The last thing a woman alone should be thinking about is how her per diem is being used and how badly she’ll be treated if she eats at a restaurant instead of getting pizza delivery or overpriced room service food.
Treat us better, people! We represent over 50% of the population but are treated as underlings. Restaurants who get this will shake things up and make a difference for us women and for their bottom lines. I offered this story to a site that posts many of my reviews and they didn’t get back to me so… sorry!
Go out to eat! Don’t stay in your home or hotel room. Get known by the local proprietors. Don’t bring a book. Just be you. GO! Dee
My husband is a Southern gentleman. The title words are suitable for another post. Coming Soon to Blogs Near You.
He was raised with cows, dairy cows. The first time I flew in from California to the farm I got up at 6:00 a.m. to go to the bathroom, turned on the light and there were nine pairs of huge eyes staring at me. They thought I was Jim’s father, waking up to feed the bulls in the near pasture. Scared me to death! All those eyes. Very creepy.
Now they have a cattle ranch and we’ve been together over ten years. First date he opened his car door, took my hand and has never let go. If I let him, he’d still be opening the door for me everywhere. But, truth be told, he opens doors nonetheless, figuratively if not literally.
I’m so glad that he doesn’t have a four-hour layover today and will be home three hours earlier than expected. Shhhh don’t tell the dog, she won’t understand. Ten-plus years and I’m excited that my husband will be home early. Imagine that.
Oh, and there’s nothing in the frig! Perhaps I’ll consult my pantry list, but I’ve shopped there too. My cookbook compendium may provide more fodder.
What the heck, I’ll put on real clothes and we’ll go out to dinner. It’s only money. Cheers, Dee
makes me stronger. Nietzsche, 1888.
Just as there is no crying in baseball, there is no loyalty with employment. We’ve had up and down times and make it through because we have each other, and our families and friends.
We deal with divorces, deaths, layoffs and become stronger and closer.
When it comes to work, it comes down to education, persistence and a continued need for personal and professional growth. I know kids aren’t reading this, so tell your kids to stay in school.
Study math and science and do sports and get to know people. Be smart. Study the hard stuff and the world is your oyster. My husband says I got by on “soft skills,” social science. Hey, I married a geek but he’s a gem. And he knows I’m smart in many other ways as writer, editor and counselor, and we complement each other. E=mc2, that didn’t work, Dee
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