Hello October

Temps have been in the 60’s – great gardening weather. Plants have been moved, shrubs trimmed, plastic fencing is up and anchored, daffodil bulbs planted, and 103 potted plants are in the ground for next year’s plant sale. I have maybe two more sessions of deadheading, and the list is done. Rain is forecasted for the next two days so everything gets watered by Mother Nature. Life is good.

As we head into October, the subject of flu shots rise to the surface. I’m not going to debate the pros and cons of a flu shot, but I saw this USA headline and had to laugh. They actually went back 100 years to find a headline to scare us with?

I’m so vintage I remember when I tuned in to hear and see the news. Now, we’ve seen and heard it a dozen times on line, and they need something to intimidate us with so we’ll stop. I’m to the point I just laugh and move on.

Maybe as I get older my sense of humor is warping or maybe if truth be told I’ve always had a warped sense of humor. Either way, I’m currently reading a mystery by Lisa Gardner, and the handwriting expert was analyzing a particular note that has been written in cursive.

As the expert was summarizing the characteristics that might help lead to the offender, he commented, “I mean no one learns to write this beautifully without wearing a plaid uniform and being beaten by a nun.” I almost spit my coffee out. Yes, I wore that plaid uniform skirt, was slapped once by a nun, scared too many times over twelve years to count, and to this day have good cursive handwriting.

Times have dramatically changed and everything is done on a keyboard. In most cases our grandchildren’s generation won’t be able to read a letter written in cursive unless a check is included, and then they’d figure it out by checking the numbers. But, even writing a check is outdated because we transfer money these days using our phones.

My husband and I ate lunch out last week, and to our left, a mother and her son were talking while they ate. There wasn’t a phone in sight. They were not only talking, but playing math games on a piece of paper. I know it was impolite, but I stared. I couldn’t believe it – talking, smiling, looking each other in the eye.

Down the road, some think tank will issue a report that costs tax payers $,$$$,$$$ telling us that we’d be healthier, mentally and physically, if only we put down our devices and talked and listened to each other, like in person. Imagine that. Who knew? 🙂