Now That’s Just Freaky!

For the last five weeks my hubby and I have been unemployed because we are seasonal workers.  We have been spending our time reading, going to the library in town a couple of times a week.  He started out reading Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, and Howard Zinn.  I read Naomi Wolf’s “End Of America” and Al Franken’s “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them”, before I moved on to several cookbooks.

One day we were watching Iconoclasts on TV. The particular episode we were watching featured Deepak Chopra and Mike Myers.  I had heard a little bit about Chopra in the past, but Jim had never heard of him. In the show, they were discussing a little bit about his philosophy and talked about one of his books, “Ageless Body, Timeless Mind”.  So, the next time we went to the library we checked it out.

Jim is very impressed with the concept of everything being connected that Chopra  stresses in his book. He is especially interested in learning more about Aryuveda, and in the aryuvedic way of eating practised in India.

The freaky thing that happened is that because I had checked out a cookbook on Indian cooking, I had a list in my head of new herbs and spices I wanted to get the next time we had a little money to spend on such things. We were given several Wal-Mart gift cards for Christmas and went grocery shopping with them. While we were there, Jim came over to me in the spice aisle, and said, “I want to get some ginger, some curry powder, and some Chinese Five Spice Powder.”  Those are the exact same three that I had on my list!!! Freaky!!

Written by...Babe Karen -- @ Guest Blogging Babe of the Month, Love & Marriage, Seriously Now, Shopping | Comments (2)

The Sign

Yesterday when Jim and I went out to go to the grocery store, we came upon a young man standing in the island in the middle of a busy road. He was holding a handmade poster, which we assumed before we were close enough to read it that it was a plea for a handout, as in “Will work for food” as you see so often these days. But as we got closer, we could see that it said “Angela and Alexis, please come home, I love you.”  He had also drawn a bunch of hearts. 

This was a cold day, not so much like in Kansas or Minnesota where the temperatures were below freezing, but for Georgia it was pretty cool and the wind was blowing. It went right through my jacket, and I can tell you, it would take a lot for ME to be standing out there, love or no love. 

Anyway, back to the subject at hand. At first, my heart went out to this young man. I thought, awww, he must really want her back real bad to be standing out there in the cold like that. But then the cynic in me took over. I thought about all the possibilities of WHY Angela would have left that guy. It is, after all, less than two weeks until Christmas. It would take something pretty drastic for a girl to leave a guy, and take her baby (I am assuming that Alexis is a baby, because the guy was so young looking) that close to Christmas. I started thinking to myself, “Hmmm, why is he out here standing in the cold, when he should be at work.” 

It was Monday, around 12 noon, and anyone who had a job should be at that job. Maybe she left him because he wouldn’t work. Maybe she left him because he couldn’t  hold a job.  Maybe he did have a job but he spent all the money playing poker so she had none left to buy Christmas presents for Alexis. Or maybe he spent the paycheck on drugs. I was not liking this guy more and more as time went on. 

While I was walking around the grocery store, I continued to think about Angela, that anonymous young woman whose pain was made so blatantly public on the side of the road.  Maybe Sign Boy spent all the money he made on other stuff and Angela had no money to buy groceries or diapers or formula for Alexis.  Since it was the day after a weekend, maybe he stayed out all night on Friday night with “the boys” and left her sitting by herself with the baby. Or worse yet, maybe he was out with another woman, maybe the other woman was a so called friend of hers. Maybe she asked him where he had been and he beat her up, or threatened her in some way.  

While I was making dinner, I was wondering if Angela was at her mother’s house, being comforted by her family. I wondered if she would take Sign Boy back, if she would give him another chance. I wanted to be able to tell her that she was probably making the right decision to leave him. How could he be so stupid.  But then, who knows? Maybe she was at fault. Maybe not. 

What I do know, is that I have been Angela. I had all those things happen to me when I was young and had more love than brains. The only thing my ex didn’t do was stand outside with a dumb sign, begging me publicly to come back. It took me seven long years to figure out that I would be better off without him. By that time, I had two more children. It was hard being a single mother, but it was easier than being a neglected, abused wife. I hope Angela makes the right decision. Leaving is the hardest step. If she goes back, leaving again will be even harder.

Written by...Babe Karen -- @ Family & Friends, Guest Blogging Babe of the Month, Love & Marriage | Comment (1)

A Tribute To My Mother

Back in April, my sister Linda was over at our mother’s house.

They were reading the local newspaper and there was a story in it about a woman who had celebrated her 80^th birthday with a big party. The newspaper had sent a reporter out to interview the woman about her life. My mother, who has always been a very quiet, shy, reserved and above all a very private person, said to my sister “I think it is ridiculous to have a story about that. She’s only 80! I don’t want any fuss over my 80^th birthday. It’s just another day to me.” So, my sister immediately started planning for Mama’s party.

Mama was born on 11/26/1927 in Detroit, Michigan. Her parents, Mary Havaschak and William Brouch, were immigrants to this country, having come by ship, through Ellis Island, from Austria and the Ukraine. They met in Philadelphia when Mary was a nanny and William was a gardener for the same family. They married and moved to the Scranton area, where my grandfather worked in a coal mine. Several years later, they packed up and moved to Detroit, where he went to work for the Ford Motor Company.

Mama worked in the billing office of Roadway Motor Lines in Detroit. My father, a lanky farm boy from Austell, Georgia, drove a truck for the same company. His charm and good looks won my mother’s heart. She rode to Georgia with him in his truck, where they married the next weekend with friends of his as witnesses. She never went back to Michigan.

Mama’s party started with her arriving in a limousine at the community center. There were almost a hundred guests assembled there to honor her on her day. Of course, there were her children, all five of us, many of her 16 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. There were friends, neighbors, former co-workers, and some of my cousins from Indiana and Illinois. On the gift table were many, many cards from people who could not attend in person. One of the commissioners from the county arrived and read a document proclaiming Saturday, December 1, 2007 as “Vera Stroud Day” in Douglas County, Georgia.

Mama’s first words upon stepping out of the limo were “I can’t believe ALL of my children lied to me! I never expected to be treated like a movie star!” (She IS famous, for her Stuffed Cabbage) Well, for the day, she was a movie star. My sister had a video slide show of pictures from Mama’s life, with music by Frank Sinatra and Glen Miller. It started with Mary and William’s wedding portrait, and ended with a picture of her that was taken a couple of months ago at a baby shower for her newest great grandchild, whom she calls “Number 15”.

For a while, we didn’t think she would make it this day. Two years ago she had a ruptured diverticuli and almost died. She came out of that surgery with a colostomy, which she hated, but made jokes about frequently. Last year, she endured another surgery to reverse the colostomy. This week, on her actual birthday, I called and asked if she was having a good day. “No, I’m not.” was the reply. When I asked why not, she said, “I can’t get up.” “What do you mean, you can’t get up?” “I feel dizzy, and I can’t get out of bed.” An ambulance ride to the ER later, the doctor discovered a urinary tract infection. And even though she was not feeling her best, she came out yesterday for the surprise of her life.

While I was at the party, I was reading all the memory cards Mama had received. One was from her older sister, Annie. It read in part: “Vera, don’t fret over being 80. I’ve been there, done that. Do you remember the one and only time we skipped school when we were teenagers? We went downtown to the theater to see Frank Sinatra in person!” I wonder if she saw him get out of a limousine? And did she feel like as much a star as he was? .

Written by...Babe Karen -- @ Blogging Babe of the Month, Family & Friends, Guest Blogging Babe of the Month | Comments (8)

Who will be the next Babe? Vote Now

I don’t want to mess up the great post Deb has put together for the Guest Blogging Babe Poll - but I wanted to make sure you all had the opportunity to check out each of the ladies who are hoping to become The December Babe.

Laurie from Quirky Cupcake

Angelique from Recess for Writers

Stacy from Another Mommy Moment

Julie F. from Family Resource

Heather Cook from the Writing Mother

Karen from Fab Grandma

Anna from Anna’s Attic

Amanda from I Could be Ordinary

Mary Jo from Fly Away Cafe

Once you’ve had a chance to check out all the contestants, please take a moment and cast your vote in our Guest Blogging Babe Poll

The poll will officially close on Thursday December 29 at 6 PM est - winner announced on the 30th and the 7th Babe will make her inaugural post on December 1.

Have fun!

Written by...Babe Gayla -- @ Guest Blogging Babe of the Month | Comment (1)

Vote for December’s Guest Blogging Babe

Normally this poll would go in the sidebar, but I almost broke the blog. Since I share this blog with several others, I didn’t think it was a good place for experimentation.

For now, this is the place to vote for December’s Guest Blogging Babe. Please stop by all of their blogs and read their posts. It’s a difficult decision for sure, but I want to assure everyone you can enter as often you like. If your not this months Babe, please keep trying. We want to feature you all!

Written by...Babe Deborah -- @ Guest Blogging Babe of the Month | Comments (16)