GRANDMA DUTIES

I promise you, I love them

SOUTHERN CHARM

I've been in the south a bit too long. It took a few minutes to figure out how to pronounce this flavor. New Yorkers know my struggle. I blame some of my country neighbors.

PUZZLES

Growing up we girls used to spend a lot time in the winter months putting together  puzzles. Different types of arts and crafts to occupy our brains so would not die from boredom.
A few years ago I taught one of my grands about the agony of pursuing completion with only a picture with broken pieces to put back together. For me, it was fun. Him not so much 😙

Vote 2016

Today will be the 10^th time I vote for our POTUS. It is a historical time in this nation’s existence again. The fact that America’s president is supposed to be the leader of the free world and just now getting around to excepting a woman being qualified to hold the position tells the world just how much the USA is behind. Ignorance will have one missing out on progress to say the least.

I have voted since 1975, this year is the worst to date of the ‘smut’ that has been across my television in recent years. I thought the Romney/Obama was bad, this one guy has insulted every type of American, yet he still has a huge following. This is telling the world America is going to hell in a hand basket! If ‘we cannot fix our ‘issues’, how can we ‘police’ the middle east or any part of the world? Who should listen to any of our Ambassadors from the USA?

It’s not like you can hide that relative in the back room until company leaves. There is a represent vie running for office who is supposed to be speaking for the masses, who to some of us sounds crazy. “building a wall!”, not even specifying for which border, but the USA automatically assumes the southern border. Let me remind you that most of this nation’s land comes from the ‘First People’ ‘Mexican’ Coyote! America stole it in the first place.!!

What about the Northern border? Oh, wait you like them, they come from Europe as well, commandeering land from the ‘First Nations as well?!?

America’s dirty big secret is being exposed to the world. More skeletons to fall out of the closet in the near future. Our young population was raised in the cyber world where they can check and verify everything. Unlike we ‘baby-boomer’ had to listen to our parents, for better or worse, what they had to say until you could make your own decisions.   

I digress, GET OUT AND CAST YOUR BALLOT. I don’t really care who you vote for, just not that dude.

…Pandora

Where I come from

I grew up in The Bronx during the 1960’s and 1970’s. There were the “Jews” Italians, and Puerto Ricans in the neighborhood to start, [as my memory goes]. We gave respect to each family’s culture while they celebrated their holidays.

Today I want to speak about the different foods that were available during my childhood. Around the corner there was the pizza parlor [palor] and the Delicatessen [Deli], later came the Bodegas. After school you had a chose of a knish, slice or pastelillo.  The Spanish spot had rice balls with meat deep fried, plantains, empanadas. The neighbor was friends with my dad and “he” could get some Coquito! My ‘Kosher’ neighbor was friends with my mom. They stood with their door opened and talked for hours about what ever. My mom would save chicken fat during their high holy days and give to her. My mom used to work for Jews on Long Island and spoke a little Yiddish. [oy vey] Who knew we understood as much Yiddish as we did. Some Saturdays my family would end up at Katz Deli and get treated to one of the massive pastrami or corned beef sandwiches.

Later years as I started traveling to school alone, I would venture into other cuisines, eg. Russian Borscht served with sour cream or a hardboiled egg. [their pastries are to die for]. When I was engaged, we used to travel to ‘China-Town’ [the A-train ] to eat authentic Chinese food, nothing like the ‘rip-off’ in the local neighborhoods and catch a Shaolin movie. I missed those ‘findings’.

My point, I grew up around different cultures, New York City, and the ‘norm’ was always something different. We tried your foods, your fashions, etc. so I feel I am not afraid of you nor you of me. My children brought kids home who called me ‘mom’ were from different countries by the time the 1980’s rolled in. This was no big deal, keep it 100% [NYers know what this is] If by chance you get to know your neighbors you may get to understand them and possibly realize there is more of the same things in common than different.

Here in the south, not so much. ‘Old-Timey’ ways are losing steam and going out of the norm. The ‘Good-ole-party’ had its run. It is time for reality to step up and in. I do not want to take over, move in or be anywhere I am not wanted. I want to have the right to live in peace [Period] Yes we are different, no so much, hell we may even be cousins. Shake a few of those family trees.

…Pandora

THE YAWN [ELECTION] IN AMERICA

With less than a week away from getting away from these annoying facts less commercials I have watched the back teeth of some politicians come out along with my neighbors who smile and greet me daily. I must say I have more respect for those who choose not to disclose their political preference than the folks who remind me of the mice in ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin’ [ Robert Browning] follow blindly off a cliff.

Hatred is a strong emotion that will have you following irrational behavior ordinarily deemed foolish and in one’s right mind considered insane.

The one candidate who started insulting immigrants, then a list of groups of people until he insulted white women, now the commercials with “he is not fit to lead this nation start! Where were you during the past 11 months when the insults were spewed? These are the some of the same “cheerleaders” who want to repeal The Affordable Care Act after 60 plus attempts.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried to create universal healthcare when then POTUS William Jefferson Clinton was in office but was relegated to child healthcare because the was no cooperation in Congress for this cause. [I am old enough to remember]. I also remember Sec. Clinton not wanting any part of the Oval office in 2009, after the loss to then Sen. Obama.  I am sceptic of anyone who did not want the job, was begged, now is running, I hope will do their best. After all this is the best, highest position in the USA, leader of the ‘free world’, who by the way are watching. Watching how we treat our own people, how we us our democracy sticking our nose in other countries who only sin is protecting themselves from the USA bullying tactics. Did someone say emails? Mine are annoying and full of junk, it takes up my day fishing through the junk for important or useful stuff while avoiding phishing scams. If I had 30,000 emails with a staff under me, there would be several balls dropped. [nuff said on this subject] ‘Move along people, nothing to see here anymore’

November 10, back to your regularly scheduled program.

…Pandora