News Index: Eve's Corner   <<  Page 1 of 1  >>  September 02, 2010 REMEMBER THE GOOD OLD DAYS? Yeap, they were the days when a vehicle's purpose was to get you from one place to another. Now some folks want to actually communicate with the outside world like their vehicle was a moving office, a cozy living room or lover's den. I have trouble talking on a land line and stirring spaghetti at the same time. Most times and for some folks, it's a bit of an insult that certain calls didn't warrant the priority of being made before you hit the road. Driving should be taken seriously and given all your attention. If you must use the Cell at least wait for a spot you can pull over. Oprah is on a Campaign againt Cell phones and Tweeting while driving. That's a good thing, and a way for her to makeup for the bad call she made on Obama. Long before Cell phones and Tweet, tweet, tweet my sister, Sally, said that people shouldn't eat while driving. Seems that one of her Sales people was driving and eating chicken for lunch as she whizzed off to her next appointment. The chicken stuck in her throat. She panicked, naturally. "All I could think of was that I was choking," she said. So for awhile there the moving vehicle had no Driver. I go one step further. No one should be eating in a moving vehicle. My youngest boy Danny phoned one day, full of pride while he relayed the story of the day. "Josh was in the back seat choking on one of those big, square, hard candies." Seems his wife gave the child the Heimlich Maneuver and "it popped right out." Dan was so proud. I was blazing annoyed, "Why the hell was he allowed to have it in the first place?" BTW the International Signal for choking is cross your arms and put your two hands around your neck. Love you Mike!  August 09, 2010 THE WORDS EVERY WOMAN DREADS My family physician said I should go to my gynecologist for further examination. The killer pains were somewhere below the waist, akin to labor pains knocked up a notch. They were liveable though, as they came and went, but it was getting more difficult hiding it on the job. Being of the Old School my gynecologist is a woman. Her Medical Assistant offers me a gown and says to remove all clothing. "The gown opens in the front," she reminds me. I think to myself, why don't they just have you go to room 2 naked. It sure would reduce their laundry bill. In she walks, sweet as a glazed donut. Ah, she'll probably prescribe a red or green pill and I'll be on my way. No way Jose! "We'll start at the top," she says. Then the words all women must dread are said: "You have a lump in your right breast." Tears flooded my eyes; the rest of the examination didn't matter, all I could think of was my Husband who was a Boob man and the words of my Stepmother after her breast was removed: "I feel so disfigured." The Surgeon tells me that the main thing working against me is that my Sister recently had a total mastectomy. "Usually cancerous tumors have calcium spurs, but the pathology of your xray cannot be dismissed due to the configuration of the tumor." Appointments were made, and my Husband and I went hither and yon. He was solid as a rock and never once mentioned the horrific Possibility. At pre-op I wrote across every paper I signed: Do not remove breast. Do not amputate breast. I didn't want to waken with only one breast. I would need time to think of the options. Death was on the list. It was pitch black outside that morning we left for Hospital in Ocala. Though we didn't talk, it was a time of closeness between us. Adversity does that, I guess. Someone kept calling my name as through fog in a distant place. The voice got nearer, "You're okay-- it wasn't cancerous." In my stupor it was like I was shouting: "Thank you Lord!" Honestly, I don't know where I was, but the removal of the tumor with cyst was over. Then I heard a woman sobbing and wailing. The sounds were awful, her ordeal didn't have a happy ending. How I wish it did. Some sounds you never forget. Love you Mike!  July 10, 2010 I CAME SO CLOSE... The tall, slender girl from upstairs was carrying a cooler with the lid on as she announced: "Anybody want a cat?" I asked to see them, and as my words floated on the air to her ears I knew I was in no position to take one, but how I would have enjoyed the company. Now my emotions would probably be fighting logic. "They won't last long with that lid on them," I said. She let me know Animal Control was on the way and so it was okay. Off came the lid. Evidently they weren't wild cats but ones that were discarded like trash. The apricot-colored one was the bigger kitty and should be no problem to adopt, the other one was a wee thing with the big, blue eyes peering up at me-- geez, it broke my heart. So I picked up the Mother, with a beautiful black, gray and white pattern of a coat. Mom Cat was in need of food. She let me hold her and pet her for the briefest while and then wanted back in the cooler. That made it easy on me. It would take a stronger person than me to separate this trio. Animal Control arrived. They say "Ignorance is bliss." The three of them would be fine; they were headed for a Shelter that has a "No Kill" policy. The only problem is when it gets overloaded animals are taken to the bordering county where no such Policy exists. Love you Mike!  June 05, 2010 HERE COMES THE BOOZE! June, the month of Weddings and the height of Happiness, Love and Romance. If it's a shotgun wedding though, there will be old ladies whispering at the Church ceremony and one pissed off soon-to-be mother-in-law dressed in black and a string of pearls, and a Groom feeling like he's about to be hung, and considering fleeing. He's just not sure, not as sure as he was all those evenings at the Days Inn after hot sex and a few whiskey sours. Booze can do strange things to some folks. I don't know why it's almost mandatory at our weddings. A sweet young virgin I know wanted a Garden Wedding, and definitely no liquor. The person paying the bill said, "Half the people won't come, if there's no drinking." So the young Lady caved to her Elder and had the traditional Reception at a fancy place where the liquor was always handy. Remember the booze is free, and anyone who chooses can drink until they're zonked or outright stupid-- you name it, booze will bring it out. Bad blood issues will be settled and people will be tossed like footballs across the dance floor; there will be an enormous bill for broken plates at the table where the hand-stabbing took place; drunks will dive into a buffet tray of shrimp scampi head first and konk out-- man this is living! The Bride will have the garter-retriever wanting to get down to monkey business with a roomful of Voyeurs applauding hollering "higher higher!", while sober women blush. Men whisper unheard of suggestions into their distant relative's ear. She's agreeable. All of this. and more, due to BOOZE being supplied free and in abundance. Love you Mike!  May 03, 2010 MOTHERHOOD One of the most disgusting news reports of late, was where a female had choked her baby after it was born. Last I heard, being the little one was attached to the umbilical cord it was still dependent on the giver of birth. Thus, no crime was committed. That was the last I heard of this horrible act. Was there any outcry for this little one who struggled so down the birth canal to Life? Sadly, the Cord of Life became the Cord of Death. Did any of the bystanders, who are known for "heroic measures" and "to do no harm" attempt to intervene, all the while gasping in horror? If they did, I didn't hear of it. I don't want to make this a column on abortion, that will come later. It just always plain out floors me, that we pride ourselves on the right to "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." It's nice to be able to look back and remember your Mother with Love. She was so gentle, kind, gutsy and never made you feel small or unwanted, even when I broke her treasured little antique tea cup. I was 11 when she passed, the youngest of nine. How we grieved. Gloria said it rained that day we said our final goobye on that hill among the pines, and the rain was tears from Above. Even the train Conductor, who was use to seeing Mama sitting on our second-floor open porch facing the tracks with her American flag the backdrop and some of her flourishing flowers within her view; (you hanker for beauty among poverty of sorts, I suppose) yes, the Conductor according to Sally, when he made the usual stop paid Tribute to my Mother. He saw a few Motherless kids on the porch waiting for the Train to come through and make its stop and get the usual waves and travel on to freedom, when he hopped out of his train he stood facing the Heavens with raised cap. Everything that was beautiful, good, kind, courageous-- That was my Mother. Many, many moons had passed and I became a Mother. "You look like you've been hit by a ball bat," my husband joked as they rolled me to a room. A few days later I was home and on my own and recall thinking to myself-- this is awesome! I am in charge of molding this child. I felt so incompetent at that time. It turned into joy in no time short. Every burp I got up was a victory even if it took an hour. The smiles of your Baby are priceless, of course sometimes it's gas. But they don't care they are uninhibited, innocent, and curious. It keeps you young seeing the world through the eyes of your child. I remember reading these words somewhere: "The best thing a Man can do for his children is to Love their Mother." I'll throw this in sans details from my heart on the meaning of Love: "Love is an ache in the heart that you hide. You send him off with a smile, and when he's out of sight...cry." Sometimes that's what Babies growup and put Mothers through. Of course, kids have their gripes too. It is easy to put your Mom on a pedestal, but I told mine not to, as the fall would make a loud boom! Love you Mike!  April 02, 2010 LET'S STOP THIS BULLYING IN OUR SCHOOLS! It's about time we put cameras throughout the school, school grounds and on every school bus. Recorders are needed in all classrooms, bathrooms, etc. We can't put this monumental problem in the hands of the students to be solved, the Adults should be in charge. Damn tenure! Any teacher that cannot control his/her class, or stands idly by while mental or physical bullying is going on within his/her sight or hearing should have his/her educated rear moved off the premises and into the Unemployment Line. Ideally, all children and teens would be compassionate and courageous, but this is in short supply in many homes. Constantly the Teachers complain: "We are Teachers not Parents." It isn't entirely out of your domain to teach students admirable behavior, first, of course, by example, and second by not being afraid of your Students. Some kids/teens just aren't strong enough mentally or physically, to ward off bullies. They know a snitch usually pays, and they so badly want to belong. There has to be ways to break this cycle of bullying legally, or we will continue to have young ones fighting back tears and dark thoughts that engulf them like a tidal wave. All the while, the bullies with their big egos and low self-esteem roam free. A Restraining Order requested by the victim will curtail the bully's movements, and he'll get a taste of his own medicine. Now said bully will have to deal with the Law, and geez he doesn't want to get hurt. Love you Mike!  March 04, 2010 GAY MEN IN THE MILITARY??? My thoughts are that every Service should make that call themselves. It doesn't have to be all five branches, or none. It doesn't have to be all job opportunities, or none. It doesn't have to be open to every last homosexual or none.  January 26, 2010 Some Thoughts on Love My eyes caught something a young man had written on the Internet. "I'm not looking for someone I can live with, but someone I can't live without." He has got to be one of the world's greatest optimists. I go more with that old saying "The only thing free is a Mother's love."  December 31, 2009 YOU CAN'T KICK THIS DOG OUT They make a neat couple, this short, stocky, muscular gent and his leashed rottweiler walking in unison into an International House of Pancakes. So does the platinum blond in stiletto heels with her Pekingese all done up with pink-streaks in her flowing hair to match the leash and pretty bow. Ms. Platinum and Pekie, hopefully, will soon be walking the aisles of your favorite Department Store. Another neat couple involves a pit bull whose owner, to the outside world, looks perfectly healthy, and all this handsome, ramrod-straight walking, older hunk wants is to go to your hair stylist, get the works, and be pampered a little. You have a problem with a dog in these places? You think they will be turned away?  August 11, 2009 Inexpensive Decorating Tips Wicker baskets can be used in various ways to add charm to your abode. They are inexpensive, available at thrift stores and yard sales for a song, and what's more they are washable.