Huh? What's Up With That?

gotta be up to date...                                                             I have used an antiquated word, phrase or saying and realized only after it was met with a blank look or shake of the head that my uttering was from yesteryear.   There has also been a time or two when a wide open gaping stare has come my way because of a perceived verbal faux pas.   HUH ?  What's up with that ?    Teenagers can make an older person feel as though he or she is part of a vast criminal enterprise.  They will laugh if you ask how a friend is doing and you use the wrong name to identify that person.     Be careful when dredging up a shared memory because every minute detail had better be accurately reconstructed.     It is the same with words, phrases, and sayings.  If a teen ...

  we  say the darndest things...                     The late radio and television host, Art Linkletter, created and hosted a radio program in 1945 called, House Party.  A portion or segment of House Party was named,  Kids Say the Darndest Things.  A television adaption of  Kids... .aired from 1952 to 1969.     The television version of Kids Say the Darndest Things highlighted young children on stage sitting in chairs, side by side.  Mr. Linkletter would interview his guests individually and most times get comical, off beat, off the wall, or, philosophical answers to mundane as well as pointed questions.    Choose any day of the week, any time, any place, and it is not just kids who say the darndest things.     In a previous blog titled, anytime you deal with the...,  I highlighted several conversations with customers which took place during my partt...

job$ somebody's gotta do...                                                                             job$ somebody's gotta do is a tribute to the late Indianapolis broadcaster, Jim Gerard, and his 1960s radio feature,  Sounds of the City,  heard weekly on WFBM-AM.  The host interviewed people with jobs that not many other people held, such as a jackhammer or crane operator, or, a language interpreter.    As a teenager, I was intrigued.  The concept, the questions, the answers, it was all great stuff to me.      In today's world, Sounds of the City would be found on   a podcast.   Just like its model from over 60 years ago,  job$ somebody's gotta do,  highlights men and women with unusual or unique jobs or careers.  ...

  oddities, observations & ?s #7                            Last spring, we took a day trip to Frankfort, Kentucky, a city with a rich and colorful history, lots of ongoing political intrigue, and surrounded geographically by a hill-and-valley type landscape.    Speaking of landscape, we came upon a plant and flower nursery while in the state capitol that we thought was unique.    Wilson Nursery is located on a state road called the East-West Connector Highway  and  is situated on a hillside about two blocks long and a block and a half wide. A full service restaurant is at the crest of the hill and the rest of the nursery slopes downward from the eatery.  The layout was like a water slide.      I seated myself on the back deck of the restaurant at a table for four under a huge canopy that shielded diners from the sun.  A glass of iced tea was all I needed...

  put 'em in a salad, put 'em in a stew...                                   guy clark, 1981                                                                       I am hard pressed to come up with any person I admire more than those who can grow homegrown tomatoes in the summer.     Part of the reason for this outright adulation is because after many, many, futile warm seasons, I finally gave up all gardening pretenses.  Acknowledging there are those who are superior in the skills of gardening allowed me to move on to other pursuits.     HUH ?  What's up with that ?    It is such a delight to eat a slice of a homegrown tomato on a fried egg sandwich, or, when placed on top of b...

pos(people over 60)memories #3...                     Some people like to think about their favorite memory or two on a regular basis.  Two ladies said they think of great family memories as a recurring theme.     Others may dwell in the past way too much.  One man told me he thinks the 1970s were the greatest decade in his history and he would like to go back to that time.   Still others claim not to have a fun memory they occasionally bring up just to reminisce. Two people, independent of each other, told me they stay in the moment and don't look back.  I find that almost impossible to do, but, it must be real to some.   Richard DeHart, 85, started his adult life in the Armed Forces.   I was in Vietnam in 1969 and left in early 1970, he recalled .  Then, I turned right around and went back in late 1970 and stayed a year and a half.   Okay.  It's now 1972 and you left the serv...

oddities, observations & ?s...#6                                                             There are many objects or concepts we don't observe, see, or, hear of today, because of scientific advancements, cultural change, or evolution.    It is as if they had never existed.   Except for professional photographers, I can't remember the last time I saw someone holding a camera up to their face, squinting through one eye, looking into a lens, and, snapping a camera shutter that captures the moment.   It has been many years since I've seen a Bell Telephone truck on the road.   Cd’s, floppy discs and thumb-drive backups are in the past.  We are in the Age of the Cloud .     I remember thinking a Garmin GPS was like having a magical box with some mysterious knowledge unknown to me. Now, it is all ab...