FAST FOOD REMINISCING

While watching Jimmy Fallon & The Tonight Show a couple days ago, I learned there is a new movie out titled "The Founder". This is the story of how Ray Kroc acquired the McDonald brothers' burger joint in Southern California then built it into a billion dollar worldwide empire.

Those of you who know me personally are aware that I am a bit of a fast food junkie. Yeah, I know, it isn't cool any longer to admit that you love fast food. But I don't care because at almost 67 years old if I never ate another fast food meal, I doubt it would add even a day to the rest of my life. And to be honest, I don't think I'm alone since there are fast food restaurants on every corner & they are well patronized.

Anyway, I totally recall the first McDonald's opening in Hayward, California, back when I was a kid. It was a family event to drive over & try out this new hamburger place. The hamburger cost 15 cents, the fries & sodas were 10 cents each. Your meal cost a grand total of 35 cents! It was 4 cents more for the cheeseburger. Ahhhh, those were the days - less than $1.50 for our family of four!

Just a side note.....in my humble opinion, McDonald's still makes THE BEST fast food French fries ever. If you get lucky & get them right out of the fryer (supposedly they use healthier oil now) they taste incredible. On my drives back & forth to the Bay Area when my dad still lived there, I would sometimes take a bathroom break at a McDonald's. Of course, on occasion, I would get a small order of fries for a snack. Sipping a sweet tea & eating those hot, salty, crispy fries was a little taste of heaven on earth.

A few times a year I still treat myself (usually with my son or granddaughter) to a Big Mac meal. Remember the jingle from the 70s? "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun." I know that now days it is all about kale & quinoa & health but I still love me a Big Mac & fries every now & then.

Several years after McDonald's came to town a Taco Bell opened in our neighborhood. If I recall correctly they had tacos, tostadas, burritos & a Bell burger, which was taco meat on a bun. That was it, none of the fancy items they advertise now. And I'm pretty sure that initially every item cost 25 cents.

I still love Taco Bell & so does my Charley. Whenever I give her a choice where we should get lunch she exclaims, "Taco Bell!" That's my girl! Even Doctor Oz says that if you are going to eat fast food Taco Bell's bean burrito is one of the healthiest options....lots of protein, minimal fat & sugar. I remember watching that show & pumping my fist yelling, "Yes!" when he told me my favorite bean burrito was fairly good for me.

Another thing I vividly recall was the first drive through fast food restaurant in my home town. It was a Jack in the Box & it appeared shortly after I had my driver's license. The speaker that you yelled into when ordering was a giant jack in the box clown. Now, the drive throughs have a screen to check your order & the speakers are easy to understand. Back in the old days, it was a garbled, scratchy mess when the kid asked for your order. I'm guessing they didn't hear us any better than we heard them.

One time a friend & I decided to use the still relatively new drive through option. We talked to "Jack" giving him our order of two Jumbo Jack meals with our drinks of choice. There were a couple of cars in front of us so I'm sure it took more time waiting in our car than it would have if we walked inside to order. We were either 16 or 17 & when we pulled up to the window to pay for our lunch, the kid said, "The guys in front of you paid for your order."

They were long gone having driven away with their food but I still remember the awesome feeling they gave us 50 years after the fact. Those little pay it forward type things are such a nice surprise. We would all probably be well served to do a random act of kindness for a stranger once in awhile.

CONVERSATIONS WITH CHARLEY - PART II

My recently turned five granddaughter & I have lots of fun & insightful conversations. Here are a few from recent months:

Charley:  Can I wear your glasses, Gaga?

Gaga:  Okay, but they will probably make your eyes all blurry.

Charley:  (Looking cute wearing my glasses) These are weird. It looks funny.

Gaga:  Can you see the TV? Does it look blurry?

Charley:  Yeah. But, Gaga?

Gaga:  Yes, Charley?

Charley:  Why do you wear them if they make your eyes blurry?

Gaga:  What a great question! My eyes don't work right so the glasses make me see clear, not blurry. My eyes are blurry without them.

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Charley:  Gaga, I have a joke for you.

Gaga:  Okay, what is it?

Charley:  Why did the cookie go to the doctor?

Gaga:  I don't know. Why did the cookie go to the doctor?

Charley:   Because he felt crummy!

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We were in the car driving to Half Moon Bay....Darrin was driving, I was in the passenger seat & Charley was in her booster seat in the back.

Charley:  Look! There's our flag!

Gaga (looking out the right side):  Where? I don't see it.

Charley:  It's right there!

Gaga (still looking intently):  I'm sorry, Charley, but I still don't see it.

Charley (agitated & loudly):  ON THE LEFT!

Gaga:  Okay, now I see it. Thank you for telling me which way to look.

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While visiting a few of my older friends who wanted to meet Charley, I brought along several things to keep her occupied. One of those was my Kindle Fire tablet that has several games for young children downloaded on it.

My friend:  What are you doing there, Charley?

Charley:  I'm playing "Tap the Frog". (A matching game for kids.)

My friend:  That looks like fun!

Charley:  It is. And I have other games with Ballerinas & Dinosaurs.

Gaga:  They keep her interest for awhile & in this day and age kids need to learn how to work all the electronic gadgets. These games teach them how tap and drag.

Charley:  And swipe. (At five she already knows most of the terms to work a smartphone or tablet).

CALL ME MAYBE

As I was tapping & swiping away on my smart phone the other day, I came across a Facebook post that asked, "Do you remember your childhood phone number?" Of course, I immediately said to myself, "Lucerne 2-7087." It seems there were many people who also recalled their phone number from back in the days when we all had prefixes since there were tons of phone numbers entered in the comments. It also got me to thinking about other dark age telephone memories.

Did anyone else have a party line? You shared one phone line with another family. If you picked up the phone to place a call & heard talking, that meant the line was in use. You had to wait to make your call. In order to call your party line, you had to call the operator & request to be connected. Yes, we just dialed "0" & a woman magically (& quickly) came on the line to assist us.

That reminded me of Lily Tomlin's comedy bit from Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In back in the 1960s. She had a recurring character named Ernestine who was a condescending telephone operator complete with all the wires that plugged into the console. I loved her snooty, nasally lines, "One ringy-dingy. Two ringy-dingys" or "Is this the party to whom I am speaking?" If you have no idea what I'm talking about, look it up on You Tube. There are tons of clips.

In my own little world back in the day, telephones were tethered to the wall with a cord & the handset was also connected to the base unit with another cord. There was a dial with the numbers (& letters since you had to find the first two of Lucerne) that you inserted a finger into dragging the dial around to the stop then letting it rotate back before dialing the next number. You had to sit where the phone was to have a conversation with another caller.

My grandmother, Nannie, was one of the first people I knew to purchase a 50 foot cord that connected her phone to the wall. This gave her the freedom to roam the kitchen or living room while she talked to her friends. Of course, she had to carry the fairly heavy base of the phone in one hand & hold the large handset to her ear & mouth as she paced & chatted.

After hundreds of calls, the long, straight cord would begin to twist much like a yo-yo string gets tangled after a lot of use. Apparently Nannie turned, paced & stepped back over the cord as she became enthralled in her conversation. We did our best to straighten her cord but my mother had to drill into her to STOP immediately if she felt it wrapped around her legs. We certainly didn't want to find Nannie entwined in her phone cord on the kitchen floor. Since my grandfather was quite hard of hearing, she would likely have been there until his next meal!

The next innovation was the push button keypad that lit up when you picked up the handset. I'm not sure why we needed to make phone calls at night without just turning on a light but apparently we did. I think that push button method saved 30-45 seconds off the time it took to make a call - depending on how many 9s & 0s were in the phone number. The Slimline & Princess phones came in pastel colors & were the epitome of style.

I remember how exciting it was when we got our first cordless telephone! It was huge - I could barely wrap my hand around it & when it rang, you had to pull up a foot long antenna on the top of it. Looked like something straight out of a science fiction film. But, amazingly enough, you could wander around as you talked to your friend or go into the other room to find something. What will they think of next?

And that brings us to today. Do you think Alexander Graham Bell had any inkling of what his invention would become? Everyone has their own phone (a thin, small rectangle) in their purse or pocket & it works most places with no cord or antenna in sight. You can text people, look up anything on the Internet, check your Facebook or Twitter feeds, email friends, play games, take photos or videos, pay your bills, watch TV & sometimes even make a phone call on these incredible little devices. How did we ever get along without them?

WAS THIS MY SIGN???

Many of you know that my mother-in-law, Bruni, passed away a couple weeks ago. She was 89 years old with a myriad of health issues. I was never apprehensive about listening to whatever Bruni wanted to say. A couple months ago Bruni told me she was ready to die, adding she wasn't afraid. Given her amount of pain & suffering I empathized completely, gladly listening to her & never discounting her feelings.

A day or two after her lung cancer diagnosis & a little over a week before she died, I had a conversation with Bruni about Heaven & the afterlife. She said she was raised Lutheran, attended church with her mother but didn't know if she really believed. I shared with her my belief that God gives everyone (good or bad, faithful in life or not) one last chance to believe & accept eternal life when they pass on.

We both discussed the stories we've heard of people who have "died" & come back to this life. How they said it was beautiful & there was a bright, white light beckoning them. Many didn't want to come back. Finally Bruni grinned & said, "You've convinced me!" I smiled back saying, "Okay, your job is to somehow let me know that I am right after you get there."

Back in the 80s, my sister, Karen, saw our Grandpa Frank hours later on the night he was shot & killed. I wrote about his murder here in a December 2015 post. Here is Karen's account: "I awoke startled but not scared & he was sitting in the chair next to my bed. I was definitely NOT dreaming. He was smiling as if to say "it's ok". I was calm, no words spoken, but I felt a sort of relief because my biggest horror of the whole thing that night was thinking about Nannie having to see him very much wounded, and when he was sitting there he looked just like he always did, so I think that's what was behind him telling me he was ok."

In 1991 on what would have been my mother's birthday a few months after her death, my then 15 year old son told me he "saw" her that night. He was quick to point out that it was like a dream but it was not a dream. He literally SAW her. She was at his model train club & told him that everything was alright but they didn't converse. She & Darrin were close, spending lots of time with his model trains. I totally believe both of their experiences.

I was on high alert looking for my sign from Bruni at her funeral & burial service but nothing happened. The next day we started cleaning out her clothes, shoes & personal things at the house. Again, no sign, nothing unusual.

Well, after dinner tonight Lou was doing the dishes & I was clearing the table when I heard a loud crash that sounded like things falling & breaking. It went on for several seconds, a lot of racket. I thought what in the world did he drop & walked into the kitchen saying, "That didn't sound good. What happened?"

Lou was still at the sink & I saw that by the fridge (6 or 8 feet from him) there were three glass Corning Ware lids on the floor. Lou said, "The cupboard just opened & the lids fell out then it closed again. Be careful, something broke." I looked but none of the lids were broken. Then we noticed that my wine glass was broken. I had set it on the counter below the cupboard to finish after dinner. The wine glass had broken in several pieces but it didn't fall over. One of the lids must have hit it on the way down. 

Lou commented that it was really weird since they fell from the top shelf of the cupboard way in the back. I agreed, it was really weird. Neither of us have touched anything up on that shelf in months, maybe years. I didn't even remember that we had those small Corning Ware dishes. Lou wondered if we had a small earthquake but nothing was shaking & we didn't feel anything. That's when I said, "Hmmmm, I wonder? Is that my sign from Bruni?"

At the risk of sounding like a whacko, before writing this post I contacted several people for their thoughts. My friend, Darlene, said, "Well, you don't have to convince me!" She related that her partner of many years contacted her a few times after her death. Another friend, Judi, explained how she & her ex-husband had agreed to contact each other in a specific way after one died. However, she figured that was null & void after they divorced & both remarried. When he died a few years ago, she was never contacted but completely believes it happens.

My sister believes it was definitely Bruni & she broke my wine glass to make sure she got my attention. I took it a step further saying that her kitchen was her domain - it was important to Bruni. When she was in the Board & Care five years ago & we were all in her kitchen putting things in the wrong places for months, she insisted on putting everything in its correct place immediately upon her return home.

Since no one has come out (so far) & told me that I am indeed a nut case I decided to share this story with all of you. So, what do you think? Have you had a similar experience? Was this my sign from Bruni that I was right?

BRUNI.....MY "MOTHER-IN-LOVE"

I lost someone very special to me last week, my mother-in-law equivalent, Bruni, who passed away on December 2, 2016. I miss her dearly.

Brunhilde Gabriela Padgug had been married to Lou’s dad for almost 35 years. Over the 15+ years that Lou & I have been together, Bruni & I developed a close, loving friendship. Many, many years ago we started referring to each other as “daughter-in-law” & “mother-in-law” even though Lou & I never legally married. Since I often say that Lou & I are “married in our hearts”, it dawned on me one day to suggest to Bruni that she could be my “mother-in-love”. She smiled broadly & said, “I like that!”

Bruni was 89 years old. She had a myriad of health issues & was a two time breast cancer survivor. The past few months she had been in terrible pain which was ultimately diagnosed as lung cancer. The transport company was scheduled to bring her home to begin hospice care last Friday at 4 PM. At 1:40 PM, I got the call from Lou that Bruni had died at the nursing home. I had just said good-bye to Charley & was driving back from the Bay Area to be there when Bruni arrived home.

I don’t want this post to be about the details of her death but rather about celebrating her life & our relationship. She was always loving & caring toward me BUT Bruni was never afraid to speak her mind which I admired greatly about her. Bruni grew up in Germany during World War II before immigrating to America as a young adult. Here is a link to the Obituary & Guestbook that Lou & his family wrote which explains more about this amazing woman. (Please disregard the ads for sending flowers.)

Five years ago Bruni suffered a terrible fall that shattered her elbow & broke her hip. It took eight months in the ICU, hospital, nursing home & a board & care to get Bruni well enough to come home. Her accident occurred less than a week after the birth of my Charley Ellen. During her time in the board & care home, I made a point of visiting her weekly – just the two of us. That is where our relationship really bloomed, moving to an even deeper level. Bruni & I shared hours & hours of “girl talk” that will remain strictly between us. As awful as that time was for Bruni & all of us something beautiful came out of it – I gained a true friend & a genuine mother-in-law. I know that Bruni felt the same way about me.

We continued our private chats these past years when “my Lou” took “her Lou” to doctor appointments. Both Lou & his dad share the same name but my Lou is not a junior since they have different middle names. Lou’s family calls him “Louis” but I’ve always preferred calling him Lou like all of his friends & acquaintances. Bruni & I came up with the “my Lou” & “your Lou” to differentiate between our two guys.

Bruni didn’t have any biological children but loved her adult stepchildren as her own. She always asked me about my Charley & took great delight in hearing my stories or seeing the latest photos of a proud grandma. When Bruni was in the board & care, Charley’s mother & I brought four month old Charley to meet Bruni. Upon seeing her, Bruni exclaimed, "What a tiny baby! Can I hold her?” Bruni’s face lit up as she smiled down at our little sweetheart in her arms.

We shared many meaningful discussions regarding end of life among other things over the past month. The last time I talked to Bruni was in the nursing home less than 48 hours before she died. The entire family met in her room with a hospice nurse to gather information & learn about the program. When I took her hand & bent down to kiss her good-bye she squeezed my hand tightly & pulled me to her. She whispered something in my ear that was typical Bruni & brought a huge smile to my face. In a room full of people Bruni shared something intimate & personal with me – which will remain just between us. We both smiled broadly & I said, “I love you” to which she replied “I love you, too.” Those were the last words we spoke to each other. 

LITTLE BITS OF CHARLEY

Today I found a small hairclip in the recessed handle of my upstairs dresser as I went to open a drawer. My Charley put it there on her last visit. For the past year when Darrin & Charley stay with us, we find all sorts of pleasant little reminders in various places around the house.

I have tons of old costume jewelry in a big box on my dresser. The huge majority of it I never wear so it has become Charley's "treasure" chest. For years she has known she can play with all of it. Necklaces & Mardi Gras beads are hung over every doorknob, every handle & every place that something can be hung. My straw hat that rests on a small table upstairs is adorned with a beaded necklace & an earring hung through the brim.

The most fun are the surprises. A few weeks ago, I was dusting the top of our huge king size headboard upstairs. It has a mirror behind it & cupboards on the sides. In order to dust the top I have to stand on the bed. To my delight, I discovered a bright pink feather from her boa & a bracelet perched on top of the headboard!

Following a previous visit, I noticed my old watch laying on the edge of the stand that holds our world globe. The globe resides on the landing halfway down the stairs where they change direction. Every time I walked down the stairs I noticed the watch & smiled. After several days Lou asked, "Did you know Charley put your watch on the globe?" I grinned & replied, "Yep, makes me feel all warm & fuzzy every time I see it." I didn't move it until a few days before her next visit.

Our downstairs bathroom has a jungle type theme. On top of the toilet tank I have three small animal print votive candles. I normally arrange them in a single level triangle. Every time Charley is here she stacks them on top of each other. They stay that way for days or sometimes weeks - again, always bringing a smile to my face each time I see them.

There is also a small leopard print decorative box on top of the toilet. The lid flips open & inside I have a couple of plastic bugs. The story behind the bugs is that many years ago, Lou & I stayed in a castle hotel in Wales. There was a huge tower with turrets & a tall spiral staircase that guests could explore. A few tiny bedrooms were passed on the way up. Finally there was another small room with a bed, table & lamp at the very top. The bed was made but turned back as if it was ready for someone to climb in. Being nosey, I pulled the covers back a little & squealed when it revealed a giant plastic spider!

It must be human nature to look into or under things so I bought the bugs to good-naturedly startle people who might peek into the little box. Charley knows they are in there but rarely plays with them. A couple hours after they left, I observed the two plastic bugs relaxing on top of the box. They will likely remain there for several more weeks.

My dad still has necklaces, beads & rubber bands hanging off of his exercise bike & has no plans to move them anytime soon. He has an old small straw broom which now has multi-colored pipe cleaners sticking out all over it. That, too, will stay put. It really is an interesting piece of "Charley art". He has the same feeling as I do - that they make it seem just a little bit more like our Charley is close by.

We put up my dad's four foot artificial Christmas tree & decorations with Charley last week. She really wanted to do the decorating so we let her put the ornaments & candy canes on the tree all by herself. I showed her how to stand back to see where she needed to put another ornament. She was thrilled to be completely in charge of the decorating pointing out that she had never decorated a Christmas tree all by herself.

Sure, the ornaments aren't spaced evenly & there aren't any at all on the back - the candy canes seem to be lumped together near the bottom within easy reach. But it is the most beautifully decorated tree I have every seen! We were all in agreement that we wouldn't change a single thing since our Charley was the sole designer. She will be back on December 29th & we are having what her daddy has dubbed "Second Christmas" with all our presents under her perfectly decorated Christmas tree!

ELECTION AFTERMATH

I have purposely avoided commenting on the numerous doom & gloom Facebook posts these past few days. Amazingly enough, the world has not ended & the sun has risen each day since Donald Trump was declared our President Elect. Social media has been filled with threats to move from the United States. Countless people are protesting & rioting in the streets. Many fear that the country as we know it is coming to an end. Pessimism & hate are rampant.

When I began this blog I decided on just a few rules one of which was no politics! It has been my experience in the past & present that no amount of arguing has EVER changed anyone else's mind regarding their political views. That has been especially evident during this nasty, vindictive campaign & the resulting election.

I am not a Republican. I am not a Democrat. I don't vote for a candidate because of their party affiliation. I align with Democratic views on some issues & Republicans on others. I vote for the person because of their convictions & their qualifications. Many years ago I changed my voter registration to "Decline to State" as my protest of the blatant partisanship that I believe is far more insidious to the well being of our government than any one candidate ever will be.

That being said I was completely shocked & utterly stunned that Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in this presidential race. I was deeply disappointed & a little unnerved that I am so totally out of touch with "Middle America". Apparently it doesn't matter to half of the voters that Donald Trump is a bully, gropes women, is obnoxious on so many levels & has made unfounded accusations toward many citizens including Hillary Clinton. They still went to the polls & elected him president. Unbelievable!

Although technically they didn't elect him since Clinton received more of the popular votes than Trump, but he received more electoral votes. The electoral college has the opportunity to correct that on December 19th when they actually cast their votes. These supposed safeguards were put into place by our founding fathers to combat just such a situation as we have currently.

In fact, Alexander Hamilton is quoted as saying, "The electors would make sure the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.” If there was ever a time that a man without requisite qualifications was elected this is it. For the record I signed the petition (along with 3-1/2 million other Americans) asking the electors to fix the error.

But the facts are that Donald Trump is our President Elect barring any long shot change by the electors. I will choose to follow the gracious lead of our current President Barrack Obama & our first woman candidate, Hillary Clinton. Both of them asked each of us to "give Donald Trump a chance to lead our great country". I will NOT resort to hate mongering & accusations. I will give him a chance - but with a wary eye on his every move.

I still believe that we live in the greatest country in the world & thank God everyday that I was born here. Our system of government is set up so that no one person can do things on their own. Donald Trump cannot just decide to singlehandedly abolish Obama care or throw Hillary in jail or build a wall along our Mexican border or deport every Muslim.

It saddens me that so many of my Facebook "friends" are spouting such hateful vitriol. This is a time to come together as citizens of this great nation. I certainly don't like Donald Trump but I don't want him to fail because that means this country I love will fail as well. If those of us who voted for Hillary Clinton resort to the abominable behavior that President Obama was subjected to by mean-spirited detractors after his election 8 years ago that makes us just as repulsive & hateful as them. I will choose to take the high road & give the man a chance.

Lou & I don't let the terrorists stop us from traveling & I certainly don't intend to let an obnoxious celebrity businessman who managed to get himself elected president stop me from loving & supporting this amazing country of ours. We will survive & ultimately thrive once again. Worst case, we'll vote him out of office in 4 years & move on. One thing that heartens me tremendously is that the young people of our country have it right. The 18-25 year old voters overwhelmingly voted for Hillary Clinton!