imkittymyers at hotmail dot com
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
ACCIDENTAL TOURIST IN MY OWN LIFE
This is a picture my father, JFG, took at Bresee's Department Store in 1947. It's a cropped version of this picture.
The store has since closed, permanently. When I googled to find some info on its closing, I came across this ad:
Looking for information about MARY ELIZABETH "BETTY" SHANNON (died Mar 12 1993, Oneonta). Betty was known as Mrs. Santa Claus. She and her second husband, Clark Robert Chaplayne, portrayed Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus at Bresee's Department Store during the period 1946-1959.
Although the ad was placed 3 years ago, I e-mailed "Glenn" telling him that my father had taken a photo of Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus and that I would send him a copy if he'd like. Lo and behold, he answered two days later saying they would love one. I drove to the Post Office yesterday to mail the picture to Glenn and found the parking lot nearly full. I pulled into the one empty space, and as I was about to turn off the engine, the truck next to me scraped my car's back side panel. There's a dent and the paint is scratched, but nothing too bad. I felt badly for him ... but that's just me. I called the police, and while we waited we chatted. As in most small towns, if you don't know a person you'll probably find a mutual connection somewhere. Turns out his uncle was the princpal of the middle school which Zappa and Nurse G attended. The policeman arrived, we told him what happened, he took down the info and left. We were about to go our separate ways when I realized that I had forgotten the picture for Glenn. I turned to the Nice Man and said, "You'll probably hate me for this, but I forgot the envelope I originally came here to mail." I believe things happen for a reason, but damned if I know what yesterday's incident has to do with the greater scheme of things.
I feel like a tourist in my own life these days, ever since my mother had her heart attack. My brother P and his wife Nurse M say she looks really good, which belies the fact that she has 3 blocked arteries in her heart (and another to her kidneys) and a silver dollar sized lesion in her right lung (she's not a smoker). She's on nitro drip and can't tolerate any stress without bringing on a "spell" (angina). Because she's almost 88, she's not a good candidate for surgery. Now what? No one knows, not even the doctors.
I'm relieved that Rush is back from vacation. I've been a dittohead since April of '92, and listening to his show gives me a sense of badly needed stability. Yet I have little stamina for reading about politics right now.
I'm focusing on the trivial and mundane, instead ...
8 Grumpy Old Bookman has some Delayed holiday fun(?) for you.
8 The Literary Deaths Quiz I guessed at almost every single one and got 6 correct!
8 Mr. Snitch has the answer: Why do Pixar's animated features become must-haves, while competitors such as Dreamworks produce also-rans? Lean in close, here's the secret of Pixar's magic.
8 What Is The Sonoma Diet? It's, like, totally about enjoyment.
8 No more kiss-and-make-it-all-better; the boo-boo center is closed. BLOODY PURGE: THEY'RE cutting back on TLC at the New York Times. To cut costs, the Times has closed its nurse's office. "No more free Band-Aids and Tylenol," a Times staffer griped to PAGE SIX. "It was like going to the nurse's office in high school. They always took your blood pressure, and you could sleep off a big night there." Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis confirmed the staff nurse is gone and, "we will work with a vendor for select medical services."
8 Don't let the door hit you on the ass as you leave. Reflections and Ruminations: T-Minus 3 Days: I'm not exactly a patriot. Those of you who know me well are already chortling. I would not say that I love my country, and it certainly deserves a lot of the negative press it gets throughout the rest of the world. The U.S. needs to stop molesting the earth and its people and operating as though it's the only country whose interests matter. However, when it comes down to it, the United States is a nice place to live, provided certain conditions are met …
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