Betty's Blog

To Make You Think Guy Montag is a fireman who burns books in a futuristic American city. In Montag’s world, firemen start fires rather than put them out. The people in his society do not read books, enjoy nature, spend time by themselves, think independently, or have meaningful conversations. Instead, they drive very fast, watch excessive amounts of television on wall-size sets, and listen to the radio on “Seashell Radio” sets attached to their ears. Sounding familiar yet? Ray Bradbury was prescient. He wrote "Fahrenheit 451" SIXTY years ago! He wrote it to warn us about totalitarianism... "Big Brother"-style government. Most people don't read books anymore when you look at the population as a whole. Most people don't enjoy nature or spend time by themselves. Only a very few think independently. Have you heard a meaningful conversation lately? Lots of people do drive too fast and watch way too much tv on big-screen, wall-size sets. ...

Spirits! I was on my way home just now and couldn't find anything to listen to on the radio. That is, until I found a station playing polkas. Listening to polka music on the car radio used to be an every Sunday event when you were with my dad. So lately, I've been watching "Long Island Medium" and I'm thinking to myself, I wonder if my dad knows I'm listening to polkas and thinking about him? When we first moved back home and bought our grandfather's house, I always felt that my grandmother was with me whenever I made improvements like new wallpaper or new shades or curtains. I like to think she was guiding my choices. When my sisters and I were looking through our sister Patsy's belongings after she was killed in the plane crash, we felt her presence when we found a letter she had written to her son before she left on her trip. We opened it and read it. It was a goodbye letter... she knew she wasn't coming back! When our baby was...

November 2013 Exactly!... what's the point? Holidays come. Holidays go. Yah, if I had little kids at home, I might do more, but not anymore. It's a good day if i can get a tree put up and decorated before the 24th! i'll tell you when it all started. there has been a lighting contest every year with the winners getting cash prizes. i decided that i was going to be a shoo-in for first place! so, twenty years ago, i went all out. i bought a set of those big plastic light-up nativity figures. i got a 4x8 foot sheet of plywood and some straw bales. i spent many hours figuring out wiring. i set this all up underneath our weeping mulberry which is a very remarkable looking tree. i spent many, many MORE hours festooning that tree with six dozen small red velvet bows. it was awesomely beautiful! however, they didn't let anyone know WHEN they were going to judge. so, of course, the one night that they picked to judge was a night that i didn't get home until l...

X-cited about Xmas A lot of people have complained that stores are pushing Christmas too early. I agree! I refuse to play any Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. I think people should at least have a chance to digest their turkey before hearing carols! And the old prunes who complain about the use of the word "Xmas" should just take a pill! They say that using Xmas is taking "Christ" out of "Christmas". Not so! It turns out that the “X” is actually indicating the Greek letter “Chi”, which is short for the Greek, meaning “Christ”. So “Xmas” and “Christmas” are equivalent in every way except their lettering. In fact, one time, it was a very popular practice, particularly with religious scribes, who are thought to have started the whole “Xmas” thing in the first place. Indeed, the practice of using the symbol “X” in place of Christ’s name has been going on among religious scholars for at least 1000 years. Eventually, this shorthand trick spr...

I have a long-standing problem with coffee drinkers. I have found that, as a group, they can be rather intolerant of anyone who doesn't drink coffee! My mother was a coffee hound. My dad always drank tea and he taught me how to make it and how to drink it. Many years ago I ordered hot tea in a restaurant. I was given a tiny metal pot of lukewarm water and a Lipton teabag on the side of the saucer. You can't make decent tea with lukewarm water! I never understood restaurants who offer fresh, hot coffee with free refills to the coffee drinkers and then treat us tea drinkers like second-class citizens. Do they have any idea how easy and cheap it would be for them to brew a pot of tea and then offer free refills? I believe that the cost of a pot of tea is way less than half the cost of a pot of coffee. Once, I attended a Lutefisk Supper. They offered you your choice of coffee or water to drink... nothing else! I never went to one of those again. There is no mystery a...

TEN MONTHS LATER! well, it's been ten months since i actively started dieting and eating better and i've lost a total of 68 pounds and am feeling just great! my doctor told me yesterday that she recommended that i continue to eat sensibly and to either just stay at the weight i am now or not to lose any more than ten to fifteen pounds more, maximum. my BMI is great and she said that i am now classified as "healthy" for my age and height and i am no longer obese!!! what i have taken from this experience? 1.) weighing oneself every single morning is a must. you have to know what happens when you cheat because it always shows up the next day. but at least then you can still feel in control because you see the results and can be motivated to DO something about it! 2.) eating enough protein is VERY important to feeling full and not wanting to cheat! 3.) drinking enough water is EXTREMELY important. i personally drink 3 liters or quarts every single day (whi...

October 2013 wow! that was quite a vacation i took, wasn't it! I had a family reunion in June. I had a 45th class reunion in July. I went to the Renaissance Festival near Shakopee, MN in September and had my first ever ride on an elephant AND on a camel! And here I am, about to turn 64 years old tomorrow. Those milestones are flying by. I also had a small skin cancer removed from my forehead in September. So now I have a cool badass scar. It's hard to not think about one's mortality at this point. Don't get me wrong. I'm not afraid to die. I just don't want to be a burden to anyone. I went to visit an old neighbor at her nursing home last month. She had turned 100 years old. omg! Almost all of her contemporaries are gone. Her mind is still pretty good, but she spends her days in a wheelchair and her nights in bed. I remember my mother-in-law, who died at 94, lying on her bed at the nursing home. One time I was there to visit and she rais...