Love In The Lunchroom and beyond!

 I miss creative writing.  I don't know if I was ever really good at it, but I so enjoyed doing it.  Growing up, anytime there was a creative writing assignment in school, I just gravitated to it with so much enthusiasm. I need to find that enthusiasm again.  

The first thing I really remember writing creatively about was gnomes.  In our AG class (academically gifted...I'm not sure it's PC to use that term today), Mrs. Goebel introduced us to the world of gnomes.  There was a very large coffee table book that had come out around that time concerning gnomes and, of course, Tom Clark gnomes were starting to really take off.  We had to do a project on gnomes.  We had to create a society of gnomes and detail their every day lives.  I did mine on Hawaiian gnomes.  Like many kids that age, I did not do as well as I could have, but I did pretty good. And I thoroughly enjoyed creating this world.  This project also started my lifelong collection of gnomes...but that's for another blog.

Later that year, I started writing my own serial/soap opera.  Back in the day, passing notes was a big thing.  And one day I thought to myself, what if this person passed a note to that person...what would they say?  "Love In The Lunchroom" was born from that.  I took that first story to my AG teacher and she ended up reading to the class.  Everyone loved it.  I knew the art of the cliffhanger, so making my fellow students want to hear the next episode was not that hard for me.  Of course, being 10 years old, my knowledge of the facts of life were limited and people got pregnant very quickly...and gave birth even quicker LOL  Still, it was fun.  I wrote that for 2 years.  

I loved most of my creative writing assignments in school.  Poetry, not so much.  Not because I dislike poetry, but because I was not very good at it.  I remember in 10th grade that we had to write a poem and the art class was going to create a piece of artwork based on the poem.  Now, this is a wonderful idea but I was not confident in my poetry skills at the time and asked that mine not be used.  I have always kind of regretted that.  Ah, well.  I also wrote a radio drama in 12th grade.  Our honors English class was studying Oedipus and we were to give a presentation on it.  I wrote a radio show called "As The Greek Urns" to tell the story.  We turned out the lights, stood at the microphones and presented the radio drama.  We even had old fashioned sound effects.  I got an A on that one.

I would often write stories as a teenager that sometimes I let people read and sometimes not.  Being a gay kid in a small town, there were many things that I could not out right express.  But, I could put it into writing.  I could disguise it.  Sometimes it was a story based on someone I had a crush on.  I just put them in a different situation, but I was in control.  Sometimes it was a story based on what I wish I had been able to do if I weren't gay.  Disguised as someone else, but still in control.  Honestly, it really did help me cope with a lot of things at that time.  

I do not have many of these writings anymore.  Some I just threw out.  Some just disappeared over time.  I still have "LITL"...all 2 seasons, somewhere in a box.  I need to find them and read them again.  No, they're not good unless you're 10 years old.  Still, I would enjoy revisiting them.  Maybe it will inspire me to write more.  Only time will tell.

That is all

Marching Band

 One of the things that the end of summer and the beginning of the school year brings to mind is marching band.  I enjoyed playing in the pit during marching band.  I was always afraid that I was not coordinated enough to actually march, so when Mr. Sturdivant asked me if I wanted to play in the pit because of my keyboard experience, I agreed.  And I did enjoy that.  

I didn't always enjoy band camp, though.  It was hot.  It was always hot.  Of course, being in the percussion section, we had already had one week of camp just to ourselves.  One of the drawbacks of being in the pit was that you're not moving, which ironically is why I joined the pit.  Standing there in the heat was almost unbearable at times.  But I still enjoyed watching the shows come to life out on the field.

Admittedly, once I came into marching band, we weren't great.  The year before I joined was Mr. Sturdivant's first year and that halftime show was quite entertaining.  He did things that our marching band had not done before. The color guard got new uniforms and performed with different types of flags.  The show's ending brought the opening number full circle in an unexpected way.  It was one of the most enjoyable shows the band had ever performed, so I was quite anxious to be a part of it.  

Our show my freshman year didn't really capture that same energy and spirit, although it tried.  Our opening number was pretty good and it popped visually.  We added a drill team that year.  Sadly, they only twirled their rifles for about 30 seconds at the beginning of the show, never to pick them up again.  And the flags kind of got left behind because so much attention went to the drill team.  And, honestly, our trumpet soloist was not very good.  He was a great musician but didn't have the chops for the solos.  I can say that because I am not a soloist either, even though I spent years being first clarinet.  I simply wasn't soloist caliber.  Our ending didn't work either.  Unlike the year before, there was a musical bridge transitioning back into the opening number.  We just simply stopped playing the last song and started playing the opening march again.  It was very abrupt.  Not to mention that the big push in our closing number, Can't Help Falling In Love, was supposed to be shaped like a big heart.  That poor heart never held its shape LOL

Still, I enjoyed it.  I loved going to competitions, even though we almost never won LOL  There's just something fun about those.  The weather is nice and cool and crisp.  It's fun to see what other bands are doing.  There is just an energy being at that kind of event and I crave.  I would love to find some competitions to go to this year....if there any even being held this fall.  I should look into that.

Still, memories of being in marching band, mostly, are enjoyable.  I miss the people.  I miss the music.  I miss the pageantry of it.  It was a good thing.

BTW, pictures are just random from the internet, not of MHS Marching Band.  Would love to see pics and vids of us if anyone has them to share!

That is all.

The Continuing Adventures of Just a Waiter - A Good Reminder

I've spoken on several occasions about all of the different things that I do at Heritage Greens.  I work very hard to keep my residents' lives as close to normal as possible through all of these daily changes in the world.  And I'm not the only one at work doing this.  You will see people crossing over departmental lines in order to help out and that's a wonderful thing to see.

Days can get long and tough.  You take on additional responsibilities because you want to help your fellow associates and help to even out the burden we are all facing.  It really is essential, for me, to take time to take care of myself.  I did not do it as much during the first wave of the pandemic because I was in worker mode.  It definitely took its toll on me and I learned not to do that again.  We have changed some of our policies at work in order to protect our residents.  Some people may look at it as taking a step back, but that's not really the case.  It's doing what needs to be done so that we can all move forward.  

And with those precautions comes paying closer attention to the residents so that they do not get worried about why we're doing what we're doing.  And making sure that they do not close themselves off.  That's really an unhealthy aspect of this pandemic that I have witnessed.  It's exhausting for all of us...both mentally and physically.

But then I hear something that makes it all worth it.  Last week, I emailed a family member about some long term care insurance information concerning her dad.  I also told her about taking her mom to lunch with some friends and having a wonderful time.  And she wrote me back to talk about the insurance but she also took the time to thank me.  She thanked me for "being a bright spot in so many lives.  That is a true blessing."  Needless to say, that made me feel good.  I take pride in knowing that families know that I care.  It gives them comfort and I am proud to be able to provide that...especially now.

That is all

Recipe of the day - Mandarin Orange Nut Loaf

 This month's cookbook is one that belonged to Grandmother.  "Home Cooking Secrets of Monroe".  It was put out, as a fundraiser I imagine, by the Monroe Junior Woman's Club.  There's no date on it, but I'm thinking it's late 60's or early 70's.  While reading it, I recognized lots of names in there. Some are people I know and some are names I just remember hearing at one time or another.  

There are lots of fun recipes in here.  I made this one a few weeks ago and did enjoy it.  It smelled divine baking in the oven.  I will try it again and probably tweak it just a tad.  Enjoy!

Mandarin Orange Nut Loaf

1 11oz can mandarin oranges, drain and save juices

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

3 cups Bisquick

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Measure reserved juice and add water to make 1 cup.  Mix with sugar, egg and milk.  Add Bisquick and beat 1/2 minute.  Stir in nuts and oranges.  Bake in greased floured loaf pan at 350 for 50 minutes.

*The next time I make this, I think I am going to roughly chop the oranges so that they are more even distributed throughout the loaf.

Down To The River To Pray - Alison Krauss

 Just happened upon this song while looking for music on Youtube.  I'd not heard it before, but I always enjoy Alison Krauss.  A good song for a Sunday.  Enjoy!

Jeremiah 29:11

 

Today, like every day, I am doing my best to stay hopeful about life.  I was searching the internet for some Bible verses about hope and came upon this one and it really spoke to me today.  I have to keep my faith going in the Lord, that He has plans not only for me but for us all.  Even at my age, I anticipate a fulfilling future that is guided by God.  I know that He will use me in the best way possible.  I must trust that.  That does not mean that I should stand by and let the Lord do all of the work, but I should take into account that any trials and obstacles in my path are set there by Him for a reason.  He has hope for me and my future.  I accept that.  I believe that.  I trust in that.  And that's a good feeling.

Quote of the day

 The beginning of each month always fills me with such hope.  Hope that I will make some changes for the better.  Hope that the world will quiet down and listen to the sounds of the earth calling.  Hope that new endings will bring new beginnings. That is all.