I'm a "Quinquagenarian"!

Fifty of anything is alot--
fifty pennies
fifty jellybeans
fifty states
fifty friends
fifty of anything, except maybe rice,
is alot of something.


Fifty years is half of a century.
Regarding a person who is fifty,
you could be a
quinquagenarian.

Yeah, I had to look that up.
And yeah, I'd never heard that word before--
so there's my word for the day.
"Quinquagenarian"--
sounds alot like
"equestrian" mixed with "quinoa", yeah?

It's better than alot of other things I could be called,
so I'll take it.

Fifty years.
If there was ever an appropriate time to reflect back on my life,
this has to be it,
because the way my memory is going,
if I wait too much longer,
the ol' memory rolodex might pull stuff outta nowhere
and I'll end up thinking I'm the Queen of England.

So here begins a random memory dump:

Television/Technology:
We had 3 channels when I was a kid--
and if the sun and wind were acting up,
my dad would wrap tinfoil around rabbit ears
and have me stand right next to the tv for better reception--
or just hold onto the antenna until the next commercial.
And the TV was not for children.
I know, right?
No, the television was for adults--
if we were "granted" permission to touch the channel-changer,
we had to go S L O W L Y
click
click
clicking
around the dial
until we got back around to Channel Two News.
Or Combat Zone.

When I was in 2nd grade,
my father won a color TV from his work.
TV in full-blown Technicolor!
My favorite shows were
"Lassie"
"I Dream of Jeannie"
and "Bewitched"...
I really wanted to be magic when I was a kid.
Heck, I still do.

When I was about 9,
Saturday Morning Cartoons
was a big deal in our house.
It was like three whole hours of nothing but cartoons
and we loved it:
The Road Runner Show, Bugs Bunny, Josie and The Pussycats, Archie,
Underdog, and HR PufNStuff!
We even liked the commercials--
Blow Pops, Tootsie Roll Pops, School House Rock--
we loved 'em.

What's kinda sad is that although we had just 3 channels,
there was better stuff on them
than on the 500+ channels we have today.
Noone cussed on TV.
Violence was censored--
there was an announcement on the evening news
when reports were going to be shared about the
Vietnam War--
to give viewers a chance to scoot children out of the room
before it was broadcast.
Parents were alot more sensitive to what they wanted their children
to be exposed to back then.
And TV stations listened to the people--
it was the general population that decided
what was shown on television,
not the other way around
like it seems to be these days.

Microwaves, hair blowers, cell phones,
remote controls, fast food, videos, dvds, cassettes, eight-tracks,
and central air and heat,
were all invented since I arrived on this planet.
I can do without most of them,
I know this,
but life is sweeter with them.

MUSIC:
My mother was a singer
and loved music--
so I was exposed to nearly every kind of music out there--
Jim Reeves, Ray Connif Singers, The Beatles and the Rolling Stones,
Patsy Cline, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, The Supremes,
Elvis Presley, Cream, Glen Campbell, Bobby Goldsboro, Three Dog Night
and even Lawrence Welk!
My mom cleaned house while the stereo was blasting thru the house
singing her lungs out with every record that
dropped on the turntable
and the little tiny needle lay gently
on the vinyl record.

That's how I learned to actually enjoy cleaning my bedroom
as a child;
how I still clean today
and how I've taught my children to get in the mood to clean--
turn on some music!
Music back then was written more clean than it is today,
but there are still some wonderfully talented singers around
and I have my favorites these days too--
Carrie Underwood, Charlotte Church, Michael Buble, Rascal Flatts--
just to name a few.
Oh can't forget James Taylor--he's timeless.
 I just got a new CD for my birthday last week--
Michael Buble's Christmas one.
I love Christmas music--
The Carpenters is always on the top of my list
but Mr W hates that one--
I put it on anyway.

CLOTHES
Trends I've seen go around more than once:
Bell Bottoms
Tie-dye
Hemp shirts/pants/necklaces
Peasant tops/dresses (remember Jessica McClintock prom dresses?)
Neon: shirts, socks, shoes
Pleats: pants, skirts, dresses
Straight-leg jeans
Hip-huggers
High-waisted pants
Boots--go in and out and in and out all the time.

It's true what they say that if you hold onto something long enough
it'll be back in style before you know it--
the only problem with that is your old size isn't your new size
so there's that.

Patriotism:

I love saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
Ever since I was a little girl in First Grade.
I wanted to learn every single word--
there was a big deal going on when I was in about the 3rd grade--
about the time when Madelyn O'hair, an outspoken atheist
put up a big fuss about having to saying the words
"under God" in the Pledge.
There was a boy in my class that was allowed to
sit and be silent during the morning pledge--
and as I recall back,
that made him so uncomfortable
and gave him a stigma no child should have to endure.
It isolated him from the rest of us--
even my teachers treated him differently because of that.
I felt sorry for him.
How could he not want to put his hand on his heart
while looking at the white stars on the American flag
and felt so much pride he might bust open?!
That's how I felt, anyway.

I remember President Nixon's "I AM NOT A CROOK" speech on primetime TV.
I was ashamed for him.
I once saw his motorcade in Key Biscayne Florida when I was about ten years old...
flags on the Presidential car and several secret service cars/ men all around too--
it was pulling up to a fancy restaurant.  I did not see Nixon though.

I've written to only one President of the United States and that was
President Ronald Reagan.
I wrote right after he was sworn in and told him how much I love America
and prayed for him to be wise for our country.
I got a very nice letter back and he signed it on White House paper.

I used to trust politicians more when I was younger than I do now--
which is both smart and sad.
It's hard to tell the good guys from the bad ones these days
and I don't know how a country as great as ours really is,
has gotten to the point it's at now.
There's none to blame but ourselves,
but that's a whole 'nother blog, isn't it?

I still, to this day, get emotional saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Fourth of July fireworks and the sentiments of the day are not lost on me.
I am proud of our countrymen and women,
and I feel safer here than anywhere else I have had the privilege of travelling
around the globe.
I've seen a few wars in these 50 years--
some were shorter than others,
all of them heart-wrenching.
On the first day of the Kuwait war,(also called Operation Desert Storm) in 1991,
I wrote the name of the first US airman shot out of the sky,
Michael S.
in the front of my journal.
I wanted to remember him always.

I've always thought that the leaders of nations who declare war
upon one another--
those leaders
should stand at the front lines with our young soldiers
on the very first day of fighting.
If that were the standard practice of war,
I feel that there would be alot less wars in the world.
Sending young men to fight old men's battles just isn't right or fair
In My Opinion.

Family

Family is all I have in this world that is worth anything.
To be a Good Mother is my one goal.
It has required more effort than any other goal or pursuit
I may have selfishly taken on
but has provided more growth and genuine happiness
than any other experience this life has offered me.
Being part of a family is God's plan for His Children--
I know this and am so entirely grateful for mine.

Faith:
I know for myself that faith is its own reward--
whether you have been born into a particular faith
or found one on your own--
it should bring you peace
inspire you to be a better person
and lift you when life smacks you down.
Faith only has the power that you allow it to have--
great or small.
Religion is a vehicle to express that faith.
No matter what faith you ascribe to,
be mindful of it,
live it,
and if you're going to discard it for something else,
leave in peace.
For every person who leaves a faith,
there is another who has just found it that day
with gratitude.

LOVE:

IN abundance.


That's one thing I can recall clearly,
that I have learned what it means to be
Good And Loved
on this earth.
That's the best thing of all about being a
"Quinquagenarian".