Interesting Ways to Recycle

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

By Diane Forrest

Several years ago I learned the President Clinton would be traveling to a small town in the Mississippi Delta, a town where I grew up.  It was a good 5-hour trip from my home, but I loaded up my husband and son and started out bright and early heading for the Delta.

We stood by the side of the road in front of the school I attended when I was younger, and watched as the motorcade went by.  After it passed, we quickly drove to the small airport to watch him take off and to hopefully see him in person.  It was a dreadfully scorching Mississippi summer day, and seconds before Clinton arrived at the site, my 12 year old son insisted he was about to die from heat stroke, so we left to seek a cooler climate, and grab some lunch.  I was terribly disappointed having missed this once in a lifetime opportunity, and my son questioned why I cared.

Not being a democrat, and particularly not a fan of Clinton's, he was confused about the whole pilgrimage of rushing for hours of driving and hours spent suffering in the heat just to see a man we didn’t agree with.

I explained to him that we didn’t go there to see Bill Clinton; we went to see The President of the United States!  No matter what my opinion was regarding his political or persona views, he still held the highest office in the country and that deserved our respect.

The same can be said for President Obama.  I may not agree with his programs, his views, his politics, but he is our elected official.   I have a friend who greatly supported him, but even he has waned on his opinion of our Chief Official.

I would imagine that President Obama is only trying to do what he thinks is good for America, I would hope so at least.  I imagine that debating his governing is like a Monday morning quarterback.  Its easy to say what you would do when you are not involved in the action, but whether you agree or not, he is our current Commander and Chief, and if you don't care for him then make sure you VOTE and participate in the election process.

Peculiar People Day

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By Diane Forrest

When I was younger, I worked at a grocery store.  Every morning, a woman, very tiny and with a thick German accent would come into the store, asking for bad produce.  She would collect bags of spoiled fruits and vegetables, and take them outside and load them on her bike.  We all found this very odd and never really even spoke to her about her requests.

Years later, I learned that this woman had been a holocaust survivor.  She came to collect the produce for the farm animals she raised, and rode the bicycle, because she never learned to drive, and was fiercely independent.  I learned this after she was struck by a car coming home from one of her trips to the grocers, and was killed.

What one may think of as peculiar may be perfectly normal.

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I’m sure everyone knows someone or has a family member that doesn’t seem quite normal, but then again, what is normal?  Today is Peculiar People Day.  Today is not the day to poke fun. On this day we are encouraged to honor peculiar people in our life!  If you look at yourself, you may even notice peculiar traits in you too.  So, today, if you are peculiar, this is your day to be honored and appreciated. Chances are, you will find something peculiar about yourself, if you look hard enough. If you can't find anything peculiar about yourself, then give some recognition and appreciation to your quirky friends and family. 

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Accept everyone in your life for who they are, take the weird along with the normal you will be surprised at the benefits you will get.

National Tie Month – Update 2012

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By Terry Orr

Those two hundred or so kind soles who read last year’s article are fully aware of my disdain for ties in general. Yet I do agree with Cindy, if women must wear pantyhose, then I guess us fella should wear ties. I say that today – as we know being retired has little to no dress code (but certainly not Wal-Mart style).

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One of the nice things about ties over the past decade or two have been the ever widening selection of ties to choose from.  So the last few years that I was working, my collection of unusual, funny, strange, etc. of ties grew – now taking up space in my closet.  In January, the month to get our act organized for the New Year, believe most of my ties will be donated.

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