A MAN ON THE MOON
It was in the 50's, when a fellow wanted to impress a girl he would invite her to the Statler Hotel, Terrace Room.. It was a beautiful hotel in the heart of Boston. Not only did they serve a fine dinner, people came from all over to indulge in their famous and luscious dessert, Baked Alaska.

In addition to the beautiful surroundings and fine food they featured big bands for dancing. You couldn't ask for a better place to enjoy an evening.

Well, it was my good fortune to be asked by my "first time date" to join him for an evening at the Statler Hotel. We had drinks, dinner and that wonderful dessert and danced to the music of a great band.



All in all it was a very enjoyable evening - and then the bill came!! My date did not have enough money to pay the bill and I only had "some mad money." This took place in the 50's, that was long before credit cards were available. I could just see the two of us doing dishes in the kitchen!! What a way to wind up such a nice evening. And my poor date, he was so embarrassed.

My date told the manager that he lived near by and asked could he leave and return with the additional money. Fortunately he agreed and let the two of us leave. When I think of it now, that manager had to be the most understanding person -- he realized what an uncomfortable situation it was for us and just trusted that we would be back.

There are two things that I remember about that fellow: First, the fact that he took me on such a nice date and then couldn't pay the bill.

The second thing I remember about him is expressing his strong feelings about someday the United States would land a man on the moon. Well, I could not imagine that, remember that was in the 50's.

He was unprepared to pay the bill at the Statler but he knew what he was talking about when he spoke about space. Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in 1969. - about 15 years after our conversation.

posted by millie garfield @ 4:50 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 12 comments

 
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
I was going through some papers today and found this article that I had tucked away to use as a post one day.
Here it is:


1. Throw out nonessential numbers. These include age, weight and height. Let the doctor worry about them. That is why you pay him/her.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." The devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things. When the childred are young, that is all that you can afford. When they are in college, that is all that you can afford. When you are on retirement, that is all that you can afford!

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. Laugh so much that you can be tracked in the store by your distinctive laughter.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be alive while you are alive, don't put out a mailbox on the highway of death and just wait in your residence for your mail.

7. Surround yourself with what you love whether it is family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health. If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, try to improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips, Go to the mall, the next county, a foreign country, but not to guilt country.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them at every opportunity.

LIFE IS NOT MEASURED BY THE NUMBER OF BREATHS WE TAKE, BUT BY THE MOMENTS THAT TAKE OUR BREATH AWAY!

posted by millie garfield @ 6:04 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 20 comments

 
FINALLY - A GREAT MOVIE
My friends and I usually go to the movies once a week but for the longest time now, the pickings have been very lean, until this weekend.

We had the pleasure of seeing "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" starring Joan Plowright and Rupert Friend. As soon as the movie started I got my kleenex ready. I immediately saw that this was going to be a heartfelt tearjerker. At times it brought tears to my eyes and at other times there were things to laugh about.

Mrs Palfrey comes to the Claremont, a retirement hotel in London, to start a new life. When she arrives at the hotel and steps out of the cab I noticed her shoes, I immediately identified with her low heel walking shoes, just like what I wear.

The chubby bellman has difficulty handling her luggage, he's really to old for the job. He shows her to her room, oh my goodness there is barely room to walk around, it's so small, there are lumpy twin beds, one chair and when she pulls up the shade, it's not a room with a view. That scene reminded me of some situations that I have been in but that's another story!

For her first night at the Claremont she decides to "get dressed up for dinner", goes to the elevator and what do you know, it doesn't work. She pulls herself together and walks down the stairs. When she finally makes it to the dining room she is greeted by one of the houseguests who says, "We dress down for dinner." After dinner the residents adjourn to the telly room to watch "Sex and the City." That's the only excitement they have in their lives.

And that's just the beginning of a great movie with an outstanding actress and a great supporting cast. I have seen Joan Plowright in other movies but never in a leading roll. She's going to be 78 this October and from what I read I understand she had to limit her time on the set. She was perfect for the part, regal, sensitive and charming!

Unfortunately they don't make enough movies like this anymore.

posted by millie garfield @ 4:21 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 12 comments

 
LIVE AND LEARN
When Susan Berliner, one of the coordinators for NORC (Naturally Aging Occurring Retirement Community) asked me to make an hours presentation about blogging at the Summit Estates I didn't give it a second thought and said, "yes, I would be happy to do it."

After I made the commitment, I thought, "how am I going to fill up the hour?" ----- On a few occasions I have spoken for maybe 10 minutes or so but a whole hour!!

Once I put my mind to it I had more than two hours of material ---- then I had to whittle down some of it, after all I didn't want to bore the audience.

A few days before the event my friend Nanci was saying, "tell the office that you will need twenty five chairs." Well, knowing how the attendance for other programs has been in the past, I figured I would be lucky to have 10 people participate.

On the day of the session I had arranged with Susan to meet one hour before-hand and go through the agenda. Well it took her a while to set up and people started to arrive early so there was no time to run through the program.

We were running out of chairs and had to call the office several times for MORE CHAIRS. More than thirty people showed up!! That was one of the biggest turnouts ever, even when food is served!!

They listened, laughed and learned.

Susan was at the computer and walked the group through, "how to set up a blog." Not only that, she made a post on "Summittimes.blogspot.com" Now we are talking about making that a community blog. I'll have to find out how to get that going.

I showed some of the "I Can't Open It" series, which they enjoyed very much, when I looked out at the audience I saw a lot of smiling faces!!

There was quite a reaction from the audience when I told them about one of the reasons I enjoy blogging, " I'm not interrupted, I can complete my thought." I guess that happens to a lot of us.

I went on to tell them about the blogging friends that I have made from all over the world, how I have met one from Florida, will be meeting one from Paris and another friend from Maine.

The most important part of my presentation was when I spoke about how important blogging can be for older people who have lost friends and family or who find getting out and about more difficult and less frequent.

There were about a half dozen people in the group who have computers, some use it to pay bills, some for e-mail and some to play games. My friend Nanci reads a few blogs, (my influence).

Those who attended walked away learning some of the things the computer can do for them and maybe it will wet their appetites to learn more and TRY IT!!

posted by millie garfield @ 9:11 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 29 comments