When the world is simply too much… what’s on your plate?
For me, it’s homemade macaroni and cheese with a buttery crumb topping. The ooey, gooey packed with fat and carbs, no such thing as too much cheese kind. I may not be able to fit into my jeans after I eat it… but I’ll be smiling when I reach for my stretchy pants.
Even though air travel isn’t half as much fun as it used to be.
.
.
It’s odd how much I miss those rubber chicken dinners now that all you get is a packet of dry as toast cookies.
.
.
But while the views out the window can be spectacular, I do prefer driving when it comes to setting your own schedule and stopping at will for local points of interest. Some of the best things we’ve found and seen have been well off the beaten path.
Cruise ships? Never. Floating germ factories crammed full of people with whom I don’t want to converse no less vacation.
Trains? Like them for day trips but no cramped overnight bunks and minuscule bathrooms for this chicka.
While I’m not a huge tv watcher, I do like a variety of series HBO has developed over the years. Every once in a while I can even get my husband interested… which is what happened with Carnivale.
.
.
It was a dark and wonderfully bizarre show that immediately garnered a rabid fan base.
It’s the mid-1930s, and we’re in the middle of the Dust Bowl, a time when sandstorms and disease were running rampant across the Great Plains. After his mother’s death, teenage fugitive Ben Hawkins is picked up by a mysterious traveling carnival run by an unseen force known only as “Management.” Surrounded by magic, Ben reconnects with his long-dormant supernatural powers. Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, an evangelical preacher is plagued with apocalyptic visions. What the two of them don’t know is that they’re set to become players in the great (and heretofore hidden) battle between Darkness and Light.
We loved it and though it was immensely popular with its followers and slated for six seasons, it was cancelled after just two leaving viewers with an awful cliffhanger and no resolution. When asked, HBO said the reason was falling ratings but I read the religious right took an instant dislike to it and pushed for it’s removal. Funny when you think about all the other shows that are filled with blood, gore and rampant sex.
I was born in Jersey and lived there until I was 15. I don’t look like Carmela Soprano or a blinged out housewife, no leopard print leggings or teased shellacked hair … but I did retain a bit of New Jersey twang in my speech (think dawg and cawfee) and I’m most definitely a fast talker.
Jersey people have places to go and people to dump in the Meadowlands swamp, we don’t like wasting time with slow conversation .
First… read a book. The old fashioned bound paper variety. As much as I love my tech, I despise Kindles and their ilk. I’m a tactile reader and love nothing more than opening a newly printed book.
Second… I pay my bills by check, through the mail. No automatic withdrawals linked to my bank account, no monthly debits on my card. We’ve been hacked too many times for me to voluntarily give my info to every company we pay for services. It may be slower, but it also helps the struggling USPS… because when that goes under we’re all in trouble
The Good Humor truck song. Music to the ears of every hungry child in the 60’s and 70’s.
I grew up in suburban New Jersey and every summer we had a special bowl filled with change by the back door. When you heard the first far away strains of that distinctive little ditty? You grabbed a handful and ran outside.
My preferred treat?
.
.
The toasted almond bar.
To this day, I crave them… which is a tragedy.
.
.
Sometimes life just isn’t fair. No more toasted almond goodness. Though I discovered I could buy this on eBay….
.
.
But if my favorite treat isn’t available, why bother?
How about you…
What sound from your childhood don’t you hear anymore?