One would like to say “Happy” Valentine’s Day to all, but then I have to consider something that my son Tom just pointed out to me. This morning he was listening to a favorite radio station while he worked, and they were playing a Valentine’s Day program. What struck him was that most of the love songs were about broken hearts. Could that be so…are our songs about love mostly about the unrequited sort? Not being up on pop music, I cannot say otherwise. And then I turned on my favorite station, WRTI in Philadelphia, and they were playing their Valentine’s Day program which at the time was Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet”. Well, even though the music is glorious, you cannot find a more heart-breaking love story than that one.
So I’ve thought back to my own Valentine’s Days, and most of them–although happy occasions at the time–blend in with life’s many forgotten days. One that does come to mind was probably the first time I realized what this holiday was about. I was about 5, a pre-schooler, anyway. My mother kept an album of the Valentines cards she had received, mostly from my father. I loved looking at those lacy, flowery, velvety cards and didn’t quite understand that they had been delivered over many years. On Valentine’s day I greatly anticipated the arrival of my own treasure trove of Valentines, signaled by the sound of the mailman putting our mail in the door slot. When I finally heard it, I ran to gather up the many envelopes that would be addressed to me…and… there was one…from my grandparents. My mother was perplexed when she saw my disappointment and asked from whom had I expected to get cards? I couldn’t think of an answer to the question–perhaps our family doctor who always made me feel better when I was sick and whom I thought of as my first boyfriend? Perhaps the neighbors and family friends whom I had thought loved me and would want to show it with a beautiful card like the ones in my mother’s album? Ah, yes, it was my first broken heart, but it was a small one and quite resilient. This is the first time I have written about it at all, and please notice that I haven’t done it in song.
May your day be of the forgettable, lovely sort.
SHOO to the rescue!
Happy Thursday everyone! Can you believe it’s been almost two weeks since we aired our first show? Time flies! If you missed it, fret not. BCTV is replaying it this Saturday, February 11th at 4pm. You can also go to bctv.org and search the archives or look for us on YouTube. We’re EVERYWHERE! Ha! If you enjoyed watching us as much as we enjoyed being on air, please make sure to email the powers that be at BCTV and let them know how much you loved us. The more positive feedback we get, the better our chances are of being featured regularly. We had such a blast doing it, so it would be a shame if we didn’t get to do it again. We have so much more to discuss! So please write!! All of you!!!
I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to Victoria at SHOO in West Reading. I’ve spent the last week desperately trying to find an Alice in Wonderland type dress with no luck. I thought I had found one because a friend of mine said his wife had one, but it turned out to be a Dorothy dress. Close, but no cigar. So I started texting everyone I knew to see if anyone had an Alice dress and no one did, but another friend of mine directed me to SHOO, and voila! She just happened to have one single Alice dress in the exact size I needed! Not only that, but when she found out that I needed it for a school function, she chopped the price in half! Now THAT’S customer service! So Victoria and SHOO, I thank you so much and the Reading High Color Guard thanks you too! 🙂
Now I must try to talk myself into falling asleep. I have a long day tomorrow and 6am looms closer and closer. Ugh… early mornings are so vicious! G’nite everyone! See you next Thursday!
Is It Really Wednesday Already? Ah, BOOTS!
About ten years ago I bought a pair of winter hiking boots from Eddie Bauer. They’re hightops, brown, sturdy, and very comfortable. For ten years they’ve been the boots I wear in snow, ice, winter dog walking, and whenever I need a good hiking boot. They’re my “WINTER BOOTS.” Last spring as I put away my winter clothes, I made a point of putting my boots somewhere that I knew I’d remember! Well, you know how that goes! I pride myself at having a really good memory, but in fall when I put summer clothes away and retrieved my winter apparel, I couldn’t find my boots. Looked in all the likely places! No boots. After much searching, I gave up and started checking the Eddie Bauer catalogs (which we seem to get weekly) for new boots. Seemed they are no longer making ones like I had, and the ones they’re making are much more expensive and don’t seem nearly as all-pupose as my old ones.
That October snow storm found me without boots! I was not happy! Then I decided to think of places my boots might have been had I not, as I’d thought, put them away in a place I would remember. (That meant I’d have to admit that my memory might not be quite a good as i’d thought! Hmmmm!)
Where did I put them after I wore them during the winter? Often I took them off in the guest bedroom where the closet was with my especially heavy winter clothes. Could I have takent off those boots the last time and just left them on the floor? (Sadly, that was a distinct possibility. Housekeeping is not my forte, which I believe I’ve mentioned in the past – or on my bio.) I went to the guest room and looked, but the boots were not on the floor. Then i got down on my stomach and looked under the bed, and voila! There they were! Way under the bed! Probably I’d shoved them under there when I vacuumed the guest room carpet. (Hate to vacuum, and I tend to shove things out of the way when I’m doing that task. Dear Barry has taken over the vacuuming, mostly, I think, because I was very hard on vacuum cleaners!)
And so for several months my beloved Eddie Bauer boots have been waiting for me to put them on, but no snow! Today, however, when I go to campus I’m going to wear them! It’s supposed to snow this afternoon, and I’ll be on campus until mid-evening. Will probably have a distance to walk to get to my parking spot, so I’ll be wearing my great boots to keep me sure-footed! (OK. They aren’t going to look very professional, but safety first! Right?) I’m looking forward to a bit of snow…wearing my longlost boots. As I’ve been writing this, the sky has gotten quite gray and threatening-looking. Snow! I’m ready!
Should Be a Good Day
The first sign that this should be a good day is that it did not start with an alarm clock.
Second– I actually woke up. In others words I had slept, which is not always the case. If younger readers do not relate to either of these signs of a good day, just wait. They will come.
Third–the sun is shining (another sign of advanced years–I don’t have to get up before the sun). But I hear that we may have light snow tomorrow AM, and I’ll think that a good sign, too. We need some snow in our winters…providing Chirstmas-card-like scenery and something to bemoan and complain about.
Fourth–there were no stink bugs in the sink.
Fifth–my hair was standing on end but it was workable. Not exactly a good hair day, but not a bad one either.
Sixth–the barn cats are sunning next to the stone barnyard wall. They are content, all is right with the world.
Seventh–there is an abundance of woodpeckers at the bird feeder, both Downy and Red-bellied (which looks more Red-headed to me, but what do I know since we are not on intimate terms?)
Seventh–from the emails I’ve gotten today it looks as though we have a good team for Quizzo tonight. We’re still looking for our first night in the money.
Eighth–I got an email from my sister with a subject line of “it was a good day”.
Ninth–No horrid crimes on page 1 of the Reading Eagle, unless you live in Reading and think the mayor asking for $115,600 for aides is a crime.
Tenth–my bag is packed with all of my math-teaching stuff (protractor, compass, ruler, lots of scratch paper–funny name–should I scratch and sniff or scratch that answer?)and I am ready for tutoring this afternoon.
First sign that it might not be a day to measure up to last week’s Tuesday–we will not be doing That’s What She Said this week. Hopefully soon.
Ellen
Anticipation
Well darlings, the premier of That’s What She Said! was a delightful success! I couldn’t have been happier. Nor could I have been prouder of our work; Ellen, Christina, Martha, Sheila, and indeed, I, too, rose to the occasion with bells on.
And now, we wait for word from BCTV of our fate. It is in the hands of the program committee, which will meet *sigh* at the end of the month. This schedule, alas, means that, when we are picked up, which I can’t imagine not happening, we will not have another episode until March. It seems so long a wait to sit and gab with my favorite ladies again.
By the way, if you saw the show, let us know what you thought! We’d love to hear your comments. Also, if you liked the show, please let the good folks at BCTV know; every little bit helps in the effort to get back into your living rooms!
On a more universal note, I was listening to Talk of the Nation on NPR today. They were featuring a writer, Rodger Jones from the Dallas Morning Star, who had written an Op-Ed piece on the Komen/Planned Parenthood controversy. Something he said got my dander up. Well, many things he said did that, but the insidious manipulation of one of his statements took the cake. He said – in the interview – that he didn’t understand why PP “needs to tether the abortion part of its business so closely as it does, to everything else it does considering the explosiveness of the issue for so many people.”
Abortion is merely a small part of the vast scope of services that Planned Parenthood Parenthood offers. Women’s general health is a far more expansive part of their services. Many low-income women, in our land of prohibitively expensive health care, would be in bad shape, indeed, if PP was not there to fill in that health care gap.
I would say, and indeed, do say, that if anyone is focusing on, tethering to, PP’s abortion services, it is Rodger Jones and his judgemental ilk. It is like someone who doesn’t like chocolate ice cream saying, “Why does Bryers promote their disgusting chocolate flavor more strongly than the other, good, flavors?” Well, darling, they don’t; you’re just obsessing.
I am not here to say whether abortion is wrong or right. That is a choice I can only make for myself. But that is the point, I should be free to make it and to act on it; it is my body, my life. When society and government start controlling choice in the name of virtue, my dears, we are in for a very bad time of it.
But moving on, what about those Giants? While I would rather look at Mr. Brady over Mr. Manning…well not over him, compared to him, I mean…I am a New York girl at heart! May the Mets be the next NY team to prevail! (Well, what’s life without a dream?)
And so, we wait…for the baseball season to begin, for a less judgmental mindset in our country, but most importantly, we wait eagerly for a green light to proceed from our friends at BCTV. Stay tuned…
Love, Jane
So much fun…..
The first episode taping was a hit. So much fun I could have chatted for hours on set!! Cannot wait for our next taping! Did you tune in? What did you think????
Happy weekend!
Happy Friday everyone! I know I was supposed to blog yesterday, but better late than never, right? I hope everyone watched our show on Tuesday. We had so much fun doing it! I really hope BCTV decides to keep us. For that, we need YOUR help. If you liked the show (or even if you didn’t!), please email BCTV and tell them you loved it! The more emails they get on our behalf, the more likely we are to be picked up. So write!!! Blow up their emails!! Trust me, you will want to see us on air again!! 🙂
Tonight I’m going to see The Woman in Black. I’m so excited! I love to be scared! I just read the book last week, so let’s hope the movie doesn’t disappoint. My review will be on next week’s blog!
Now I must go. I’m meeting Christina for lunch in a little while. Actually breakfast for those of us on third shift time. Off to Good Eatz for grilled raspberry and brie sandwiches!
Have a wonderful weekend everyone! See you next Thursday! And don’t forget to email BCTV so you can see us again! 🙂
@*#&@^( Or What I’m Thinking about Technology at the Moment!
On the one morning that I’m truly pressed for time, I logged on to write my blog, and as I got to the first sentence, my computer decided to update itself and then shut down! REALLY! This morning!?
But I’m back for the moment! Just wanted to share how wonderful I felt driving home last evening after our “premier” show. (Coutd BCTV REALLY decide NOT to make us a regular featuire?!) Actually seeing something I dreamed about doing over ten years ago actually happen! Wow!!! What a high! Thank you, all of you wonderful friends who made that happen! Jamie! Kirk! Jane! Ellen! Christina! Sheila! Thank you! Thank you so very much!
I’m not sure what reviews BCTV will get, but I think we “did good.” It was fun! Jamie and Kirk, you did such a wonderful job of the graphics, video, credits, it was fantastic! Ellen, Christina, Sheila – I simply love you all! Love sitting there and chatting with you! There’s a bit of magic there, I think.
Now I really must get ready for a very long day on campus that won’t end until after 7 this evening. The high from last night’s success will get me through the day! Thank you!!!!!
Countdown!
Well, my darlings, the countdown is on! In a little over twenty-four hours, the gals and I will be coming into your home live!
I am very proud of our little group: Ellen, Sheila, Martha, Christina, me, and the boy in the background, our Producer, Jamie. Together, we are going to shake up this little burg, and revitalize the airwaves!
Speaking of Jamie, he has prepared a special video road trip featuring yours truly. Where’d we go? You’ll have to tune in to find out.
And where, oh, where does one tune in? Why BCTV of course. And if your cable operator doesn’t carry that channel – or if you have no cable operator – you can stream the show live at BCTV.org. It will also be available in the BCTV archives for viewing several days after the broadcast.
So darlings, tune in to BCTV tomorrow night, Tuesday, 1/31 at 7pm for our premier episode of That’s What She Said!
As an old friend once said, “Who’d miss that?”
Love, Jane
My apologies
Forgive me, peeps. I’ve been a bad kitty. I know I failed to blog last week. Last Thursday was exceptionally insane, but no excuses. I promise it shall never happen again! I’m having a bit of a rough day today. I have a cold that’s kicking the crap out of me, the rain is also kicking the crap out of me, and my hands are beat up from spinning flags and other assorted weapons. I’m in pretty sad shape. However, there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel. We start our live show next Tuesday! I’m so excited, and it’s right around the corner! Watch out… we’re going to bowl you over!
Moving on…
I own a Kindle, and I love it, but sometimes there’s just nothing like reading an actual book. So tomorrow I will be taking a trip to The Wise Owl Bookstore in West Reading (which is owned by my friend Kira Apple) to purchase The Woman in Black. I’ve been seeing commercials for the movie and I can’t wait to read the book first. I’ve already got my copy on hold! If you haven’t yet visited The Wise Owl, you totally should. It’s such a cute store with a great selection and awesome prices, and the best thing about it is that if they don’t have what you’re looking for, they will gladly get it for you. If you love books, that’s the place for you. And I love books!!!
That’s all I have for now. It’s time for me to ice my hands and try to shake this stupid cold. Next time you hear from me, we will already have our first show under our belts. Put this date in your calendars: January 31st, 7pm on BCTV. Don’t forget to watch!! 🙂