COMMON COLD MAKES A COMEBACK

Every since the Covid-19 pandemic began, I didn’t have a single cold or bout with the flu. Thanks to all the masking, social isolation, and hand sanitizer, my body was shielded from those nasty cold viruses for a year and a half. In fact, the last cold I experienced was in February of 2020—right before we found out we were facing a pandemic. It was a really bad cold that went on for a month (might have even been the virus). But then the world got turned upside down, and I forgot what it was like to be sick. Now, the common cold makes a comeback.

In case you’ve forgotten, a cold creeps up on you gradually. You’re unusually tired for a couple of days. Then you feel a sneeze coming on. Next day, you’re feeling achy and just plain awful. It’s scary. Are you coming down with the virus? No temperature yet, or other symptoms like a cough, fever, diarrhea, etc. However, you make up your mind if it gets any worse, you’ll get tested. Lose a good night’s sleep with worry.. And then, you wake up, sit out in the sun, (yes it’s back to 80 degrees) and start feeling better. And that’s when realize you just had a plain, ordinary cold. On top of allergic rhinitis, maybe., because this is ragweed season. It all feels the same.

They say a change in weather makes you more susceptible to sinus problems. Last week, the weather went from 90 degrees, to an overnight 46. Cold rain thrown in to the mix. Being a fresh air nut, I’d left the windows open. Apparently, abrupt changes in temperature lower the immune system. It didn’t help the next day when I went grocery shopping during a cold, windy downpour. Only half the people at the supermarket were wearing masks. No one was social distancing in the long lines at the checkout.

Our defenses have gone down this past month, even though Covid cases have increased. People have stopped using hand sanitizer and started going to restaurants and shops. Most have quit wearing masks. The weather is often cold and rainy. And even though we’ve been vaccinated, we’re being exposed to germs that cause the common cold and the flu. The scary return of the common cold is a reality. Be careful. Mask up. Use hand sanitizer. Don’t catch a cold if you can help it. .

September 27, 2021September 26, 2021

HELP! WE’RE ADDICTED TO CATALOGS.

Believe it or not, I had never purchased anything from a picture in a catalog until I was over 50. Strangely enough, my first job out of college was as a catalog copywriter for Montgomery Ward in Chicago. It was the first step into the glamourous world of advertising. But there’s no way I would have ordered so much as a pair of socks. Not when there was Michigan Avenue, with Carson’s, Marshall Field’s and all of the wonderful stores within walking distance. But later on, I married a man who had been born and raised on a farm in Nebraska. Catalog shopping was a way of life for him. Even before Covid, I had succumbed to the lure of all the shiny catalogs he received. And during the pandemic, it was the only way to go. Now, we receive at least one package every week. Help! We’re addicted to catalogs.

By catalogs, I include shopping websites like Amazon. Buying from a picture on online is no different than a catalog purchase. You like what you see, read the product description, click on “buy now,” and wait for the package to show up at your doorstep or in your mailbox. Sometimes, you’re disappointed. The shoe doesn’t fit, or the beige dress turns out to be yellow. And returns are somewhat of a bother. But I’ve always gotten my money back, and I didn’t have to stand in line at a customer service counter.

I still miss retail therapy. Smelling the perfume as you walk in a department store; seeing all the bright new fashions, geegaws and gimcracks on display. You could spend hours going from one department to the other. But there’s the problem for seniors. A trip to the mall leaves us exhausted.

Online shopping, or e-commerce, as they call it, has increased by 34% since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic. Some small shops are beginning to open up again, and a few larger stores have kept their doors open. But now, we’ve grown fond of ordering from the comfort of our homes.. There’s much more to choose from, and it’s so easy. I’m afraid we’ll never see the return of the big department stores we loved in the 20^th century

The trouble is, we’re buying a lot more stuff than we used to. Help! We’re addicted to catalogs.

September 24, 2021September 24, 2021

SENIORS MUST TEXT OR BECOME EXTINCT

I don’t know about you, but I resisted texting for a long time. It seemed to me that a phone call– carrying on a conversation with a real person– was preferable. I remember hours spent on the phone with boy friends and girlfriends during high school. In college, we wrote each other long letters to express our feelings during summer vacations. Nothing was more exciting than to receive a handwritten letter from a special boyfriend or girlfriend. But now, no one likes to talk on the telephone or write letters, unless they’re over eighty. Seniors must text or become extinct.

What happened to e mail? It was so much easier than texting, and you could easily provide more detailed information. But here’s what’s happened. E mail has become a garbage bin for spam. I probably get 100 a day. To “unsubscribe” is a hassle, and doesn’t always work. Consequently, If someone sends me an important personal email, I’m liable to miss it altogether because it gets lost in a sea of unwanted emails.

Talking on the phone has pretty much gone out of style, except maybe with close relatives. And even my kids are often too busy to answer a phone call. On the other hand, some people ignore their texts. My problem is not that I ignore them, I simply don’t always realize I’ve received one. Why? Because my smartphone isn’t always in my back pocket. It might be upstairs, or left out in my car.

The best thing about texting is the ability to send instant pictures. But even those put an onus on the recipient. You’re expected to reply instantly to a picture of a cat or kid or rose bush. Sometimes it’s hard to think of an appropriate response. Expressions like cute, great, awesome, funny, etc. are fairly trite. But at least the person has the satisfaction of knowing that you received their photo.

Texting has even invaded social events like fund raisers. I attended a benefit the other day, and you didn’t physically bid on the silent auction items. In fact, you didn’t even have to see them. We were asked to take a seat, turn to a link on our phones, and then see pictures of the items for sale. Then, there was some mechanism where you put in your bid over the phone. Way too High Tech for me. And truthfully, the auction items didn’t look all that appealing when you couldn’t see the real thing.

A lot of people think seniors don’t know how to text. However, according to the people who track that kind of thing, 85% of us can. We just don’t necessarily like it, especially if we have arthritic fingers or poor eyesight. But if we refuse to text, we’ll soon be out of the loop. Seniors must text or become extinct.

September 22, 2021September 22, 2021

BUY NOW TO BEAT INFLATION

According to reports from financial institutions, many Americans now have bulging bank accounts. They’re the ones who were lucky enough to keep their jobs during the pandemic. And if their household income was under $150,000, they also got thousands of dollars in stimulus money. Problem was, there was no place to spend it. Couldn’t travel or eat out. No place to go, so why buy any new clothes? The savings kept increasing, but with zero interest rates, the money is not doing much of anything while sitting in the bank. Nevertheless, prices for everything are shooting up. The Feds tell us that inflation is only 5%, but anyone who shops know it’s way more than that. As a result, you may as well buy now to beat inflation.

The carpeting we bought for one room last year doubled in price this year when we decided to upgrade another room. Double. Yes. The cost of anything to do with home improvement is sky rocketing. So my advice would be, don’t wait until next year, or the year after. Get that new roof, build a deck, screen in your porch. Maybe even buy a hot tub, if that fits your life style. Do you remember when a luxury hot tub cost about $5,000? I do. Now they’re selling for about $16,000,. Don’t even blink an eye when writing a check for thousands of dollars to fix up your home. Next year, the price of all those goods and services will increase by at least 5 or 10 percent.

Buy now to beat inflation. The inflation rate is at a 13 year high. — Buy now to beat inflation… The prices on some items will have doubled by next year.

Let’s move on to the supermarket. When shopping for favorite items, have you noticed how many shelves have “holes.” That is, empty spaces where the product you want is sold out. And when it’s finally back on the shelf, the prices have gone way up. As a result, the instinct is to hoard. Instead of buying a couple cans of certain soups, we load up on maybe 6. We’re buying anything ahead that will “keep.” Detergent, trash bags, canned goods. Our cupboards are stocked to the brim.

The feds keep telling us that this inflation is temporary. Doesn’t look that way to us. When the price of gasoline increases, transportation costs have to be added to the price of anything shipped from point A to point B. And wage increases in a tight labor market have to be passed on to the consumer.

There’s only one way to beat inflation: buy now.

September 20, 2021September 20, 2021

USA CAME CLOSE TO A COUP D’ETAT

When was the last time a United States presidency faced a military takeover? I think it was talked about back in 1861, after Lincoln was elected president. Southern politicians who supported slavery attempted a military takeover to prevent Lincoln’s inauguration. They even planned an assassination before he was able to reach Washington DC by rail. The coup d’etat didn’t succeed, but Civil War soon broke out. After that, there has never been such an attempt—until now. Last year, the USA came close to a coup d’etat.

Republican Donald Trump was probably one of the most divisive presidents we’ve ever had in the United States. Nevertheless, he won the election, defeating Hillary Clinton in 2016. Like it or not, he was the president until January of 2021.. Now, along comes General MIlley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who, with Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, decides Trump is going crazy after losing the 2020 election. . No medical diagnosis, just a gut feeling.. They fear that he will attempt a coup to stay in power, and might even start a war with China. .With the encouragement of Pelosi, Milley calls China and offers to give them a heads up if Trump launches an attack.

To me, when one political party tries to undermine the powers of an elected president with the help of the military, that constitutes an attempted coup d’etat.

Coup d’etats were pretty common in Latin American countries. In fact, our government actually supported the 1955 military takeover of Argentina when Peron was the elected president. (Remember “Don’t Cry for me Argentina?) However, for the past 160 years, our country has always had a peaceful transfer of power, even in hotly contested elections like Bush vs Gore in the year 2000.

But now, a military commander planned to usurp the presidency with permission of the opposing party. This tells me the country is as close to a civil war as it’s ever been. When one political party colludes with the military to take over the powers of the president, that’s a coup d’eat. If we were that close to such a possibility in the year 2021, what will happen next in this deeply divided country?

September 18, 2021September 18, 2021

MONICA GETS THE BEST REVENGE.

Monica Lewinsky is finally getting back at Bill Clinton. She wasn’t his first youthful conquest, but she may have ended up being his last. Yes, their relationship was consensual. But he was the president of the United States and she was a lowly, 23 year old, unpaid intern. Balance of power was heavily weighted, and he should have known better. But now, she’s produced “Impeachment.” a television show about what really happened, and it isn’t pretty. Finally, Monica gets the best revenge

The entire episode got me thinking about the incredible charm of sex offenders. So many successful, talented men have been outed as abusers, that it makes you wonder if it goes with the territory. According to psychologists, many CEO’s of large companies are narcissists. That’s because they don’t have much regard for anyone but themselves. Since they happen to be brilliant, they’ve figured out how to charm a crowd. They know exactly how to manipulate people in order to get their own way. And because they’re so cocksure of themselves, they don’t have performance anxiety. . And in the end, they become super stars.

Woody Allen is the next person who comes to mind. I truly believe his daughter’s accusations of sexual abuse. But, on the other hand, I have watched every single one of his movies, and enjoyed them thoroughly. His creativity and talent are a fact. Does that excuse his behavior? Not at all.

Next comes Matt Lauer. I don’t think I’ve watched the Today show more than once or twice since he got kicked out for his blatant sexual abuse of young female staffers. What he did is deplorable, but yet, he was a great host and the show has never been the same since he left. Do I wish him well? Of course not. It just makes me mad that someone that gifted would have such a dark side.

It goes on and on. We never missed an episode of the Bill Cosby show. And he was a great comedian. He was also accused of assaulting numerous women.

Harvey Weinstein was a convicted sex abuser, but he produced great movies. Remember when Meryl Street declared him a God during her famous Oscar acceptance speech? He could be the most charming man in the world—except when he wasn’t.

But in the end, all of these men got their just desserts. Their talent and ability couldn’t save them. Finally, like Monica, their victims got the best revenge.

September 15, 2021September 15, 2021

SHOULD VOTERS TRUST MACHINES?

The latest glitch in the California recall election is enough to alarm any voter. People who came to the polls in San Fernando Valley were informed that they had already voted, and therefore couldn’t vote again. Turned out they actually hadn’t voted—it was just a malfunction of a voting machine. Consequently, they were given provisional ballets. Oh, this is so scary. Anything could happen to provisional ballets. They might be disqualified, or even thrown in the waste basket. As a result of this debacle, everyone is wondering: Should voters trust machines?

The integrity of our voting process has always been fragile. My first year out of college, I had a roommate who was a volunteer at a voting site on the South Side of Chicago. I think her father was a big wheel in the Republican party in downstate Illinois. Therefore, she was more involved with politics than anyone I had ever known at that age.

This was the year that Kennedy was elected in a very narrow victory over Nixon. That evening, Carol came home from her stint in a snit. Seems bottles of whiskey were being passed out to folks who voted they way they were told. The story of Joe Kennedy stealing the election in Illinois is pretty much accepted as history nowadays. But at the time, the public was too naïve to think anyone could get away with such blatant bribery and election rigging. Supposedly, you can’t give food and drink to people waiting in line to vote. But apparently they did this year in certain cities.

People shouldn’t have to stand in long line lines to vote. I wouldn’t vote at all, if that were the case. Because I’m retired, I can go to the polls at a convenient time, but not everyone can. I’m pretty much okay with mail in ballots, as long as they’re verified with a voter ID. Signature matching? I dunno. A lot of young people don’t sign their name in cursive. They just scribble a few lines to represent their signature. Cursive isn’t even taught in some schools.

Should Voters Trust Machines? Probably not. — Should Voters Trust Machines? Hand counting votes would restore trust in the process.

As a matter of fact, I believe we’re way too reliant on computers to do the counting. As the saying goes, there’s many a slip between the cup and the lip. My pc messes up a lot. Push the wrong button, and the results are totally skewed. And since they have to do hand recounts on close elections, it seems to me they may as well do hand counts to begin with. Should voters trust machines? Let’s take the time to get it right, and restore faith in the voting system