WHO WANTS TO BE NORMAL?

According to Kate Snow on NBC news, the average person spends 9 hours per day on their iPhone. That’s more than half of your waking hours, and it is the new normal. How could anyone find so many interesting things on their phone? My phone tells me I spend about half an hour a day checking e mail, Facebook, a few news reports, and messaging. Apparently, I’m a total oddball in today’s culture, but that’s fine with me. Who wants to be normal?

THE AVERAGE PERSON SPENDS MORE THAN HALF THEIR WAKING HOURS ON THEIR PHONE

Facebook is usually full of spam from people who’ve somehow gotten into my account. I enjoy updates from family and friends about what they’ve been doing, but it doesn’t take more than a few minutes to scroll through these new posts.

The fact is, I don’t always know exactly where my phone is. I carry it in my car, and when I’ walking in the park or shopping. But I’m liable to leave it in my car, or somewhere in the house, so far away that I don’t even hear when it rings. Often, I have to call from my landline to find out where my cell is buried under a pile of papers.

How do I spend those extra 8 ½ hours “off” my phone. For starters, I read two morning newspapers: The local paper for gossip, obits, road closings, and city politics. The Indy paper for better coverage of all national news, and what’s going on in the big city where my daughter lives with her family. Both papers have thinned down in the past few years, but it’s still fun to read the funnies, the bridge column, the editorials, recipes and local sales ads. There is nothing more enjoyable than morning coffee while spending an hour poring over the newspapers.

More importantly, I get to read some wonderful books. Have you read the biography of the first woman Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor? I can assure you it’s vastly more interesting than scrolling through Twitter, Snap Chat, Facebook and Instagram. Another fascinating biography is about Alexander Hamilton’s wife, Eliza.

Reading a good book is more interesting than scrolling your iPhone — READING SANDRA DAY O’CONNER’S BIOGRAPHY IS VASTLY MORE INTERESTING THAT SCROLLING YOUR PHONE

Then, there’s the old fashioned habit of “visiting” with family and friends. Yesterday, our daughter and her husband stopped by to help us plant geraniums and have lunch. After their daughter arrived, we sat around the table talking and laughing, only using our phones to share a few pictures. No one seemed more interested in their iPhone than sharing stories and talking politics.

I know, reading books, and visiting around the dining room table are outdated pastimes from another era. But they’re much more fun than scrolling through twitter. Who wants to be normal?

May 22, 2019May 26, 2019

DRUNK AND NAKED AT INDY 500

Having grown up in the hometown of Indy 500 owner Tony Hulman, I can remember when race day was considered a classy event. The rotogravure section of the Terre Haute newspaper featured pictures of country club socialites in lovely sundresses and seersucker suits with smug smiles on their faces. They were elite—friends or acquaintances of the famous Tony himself. It was quite the status symbol to attend the race with a reserved seat in the stands , even though most women found it about as exciting as watching paint dry. Let’s face it, staring at a racetrack while waiting for a race car to zoom by every so often– for three plus hours–isn’t that entertaining. A lot of alcohol was needed to get drunk and naked at the Indy 500.

Those days of exclusivity are long gone. Indy 500 is a weekend long party starting with Friday’s Carb Day Concert, where just about anything down and dirty is not only accepted but expected. People can bring their own coolers stuffed with all the alcoholic beverages they could ever consume. Nakedness among drunken males and females in the crowds barely raises an eyebrow. Peeing in public is normal behavior, as is passing out drunk under the stands. So, if you’ve always longed to defy convention, roll in the mud to cool off from 90 degree heat, drink yourself into a stupor, this is your best chance. Just don’t dress up.

This is not to say that rich people no longer attend the Indy 500. There are lots of celebrities and elegant parties thrown by the sponsors. In fact, if you’re in town race day weekend , you’ll see glamorous women in lavish ball gowns entering hotels at any time of the day or night. But it’s mostly a white trash bash.

May 20, 2019May 20, 2019

ARE YOU SMOKIN’ HOT OR COLD?

Do you love hot weather? Anyone who reads my blog knows that I don’t. Yes, it’s great to have a green lawn and pretty flowers. But I really don’t like air conditioning. A sweater is a must if you’re going from a blazing hot day into a store, movie, restaurant or just about any public place. It’s always too cold inside for me. And my own home is no exception. Summer is when the battle of the thermostat begins. Are you smokin’ hot or cold?

A MAN MAY SWEAT WHILE A WOMAN SHIVERS AT THE SAME THERMOSTAT SETTING

Your husband may turn down the thermostat when you’re out in the kitchen fixing breakfast. He’s hoping you won’t notice. And then, all of a sudden, you’re breaking out in goosebumps. My husband, being a kindly person, hates to see me shiver. At that point, he will turn the air conditioning down until my lips are no longer blue. Half an hour later, he’s breaking out in a sweat and pulling off his shirt. Now, I’m turning down the thermostat, and putting on a sweater. After all, it’s the same as winter. You can always dress for warmth, but there isn’t much you can do if you’re too hot, except maybe jump in a swimming pool.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a pool at our house. Been there, done that, many moons ago when I lived in Florida. Pool maintenance took both money and energy. At times, I felt like a janitor, and vowed I would never have a pool again.

Are you way too hot or too cold?

The battle of the thermostat started in Indiana last week, when the temperatures got up into the 80’s. I’m bracing myself, because I know it will go on all summer. Every place I go— supermarket, restaurant, hotel—it’s going to be too cold. Last July, ,I sat an hour in a frigid doctor’s office and came down with a miserable summer cold. Why do doctors think it’s healthy to make their patients sit in a freezer?

MANY WOMEN FEEL COLD IN THE WORKPLACE, AND NEED A COVER UP.

One solution we’ve come up with at home is an auxiliary air conditioner in one upstairs bedroom. The sweaty person can sleep in the cool room, on dry sheets, and the cold blooded one can enjoy the warmth and humidity they crave. It’s not very romantic, but it sure beats the battle of the thermostat.

May 17, 2019June 17, 2019

ARE SUNTANS STILL SEXY?

As I recall, the popularity of having a a suntan coincided with Hollywood’s production of more technicolor movies. The Wizard of Oz was made in color in 1939 . But it wasn’t until the 1950’s that the process was cheap enough for studios to make fewer black and whites. As a teenage girl at the time, I desperately wanted to have the beautiful, even colored skin tones of stars like Jane Russell and Elizabeth Taylor. After seeing a technicolor movie, I would go home, look in the mirror, and realize that my splotchy, pink and white skin just didn’t measure up. The only remedy was to acquire a suntan. After a few hours lying on a blanket in my backyard, I thought I looked more alluring. But are suntans still sexy?

Technicolor movies in the 50’s started the suntan craze.

Most of my teenage girlfriends didn’t have to work part time jobs for spending money. While I was slaving away as a salesclerk or stenographer in the summer, my friends were basking in the sunlight. They slathered on baby oil with iodine to acquire enviable dark suntans. I tried catching up on my days off, but I was too fair skinned to begin with. Now, many of those girls I envied are getting treated for melanoma and other skin cancers.

Suntans have acquired a bad reputation in the past few years, due to warnings from the American Cancer Society. And yet, suntan parlors continue to thrive, and people going South for the Winter still come back sporting a tan. The truth is this: most people look younger and more attractive with a light suntan. Unfortunately , those fake, parlor suntans don’t work so well. They may produce a ghastly, greenish yellow suntan that makes a person look like someone out of a horror movie. And they still carry the danger of skin cancer.

The American Cancer Society urges people to use strong sunscreens when out in the sun . That advice has helped with the skin cancer problem but now there are scads of people with Vitamin D deficiencies because they don’t get enough natural sunlight. https://health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/2018-07-18/how-much-time-in-the-sun-do-you-need-for-vitamin-d

Surprisingly, the medical profession now tells us to get 15 minutes a per day of natural sunlight, without using a sunscreen. By following their advice this season, you can probably acquire a light, healthy tan while getting enough Vitamin D to make your bones stronger. So yes, it’s still okay to have a light suntan. Just acquire it slowly and don’t overdo it.

Suntans are still sexy!

May 15, 2019May 16, 2019

NO MORE CHEAP CLOTHES FROM CHINA?

Have you looked through your closet lately? If you take the time to look at the labels, you will see that 90% of recent purchases have a Made In China label. Wow. Are the Chinese the only ones who know how to sew? I’m not sure, but I’m thinking these new tariffs may signal the end. No more cheap clothes from China.

When I was a child, “store bought” clothes were for people of means. Most lower and middle class people made their own clothes. Now, sewing your own clothes is a choice, not a necessity.

I still made my clothes until I was about 30. That’s when store clothes got so cheap that it was more actually more expensive to buy the pattern and materials to construct your own garments. A lot of those first cheap clothes came from places like Bangladesh and the Philippines. But now, almost all imported clothes are from China.

No More Cheap Clothes From China — IF WE CAN’T BUY CHEAP CLOTHES FROM CHINA, MAYBE WE CAN SEW OUR OWN

Sewing was actually fun. First, you sat down at the pattern table and looked through the books to find exactly the dress or outfit that you wanted. Once you decided on a pattern, it was sheer pleasure to look through all the fabrics and pick out something that would give you a one -of- a- kind dress. You never had to worry about running into someone with a dress exactly like yours, and no one had the slightest idea what you paid for it. We even made pretty dresses out of feed sacks!

Young girls were taught to sew before they were teenagers. My best friend’s mother worked at Singer Sewing shop—a busy store with many customers who paid the salary of this single Mom supporting three kids. She loved her work, even gave sewing lessons. My own mom was kind of a slap dash seamstress, but this lady taught me the importance of following patterns exactly—a skill that has helped me follow directions for all kinds of self-assembled products.

Women used to make their own clothes before they were so cheap from China — SEWING YOUR OWN CLOTHES USED TO BE COST EFFECTIVE

Store bought clothing was expensive in the old days because it was made in America. Garment workers didn’t make much but it was a lot more than people in China, where the average wage per month is $270 in terms of US Dollars. A factory worker in China may work over sixteen hours, sometimes six days a week. The pay for all of this overtime is sometimes as low as 55 cents per hour.

If we can’t get cheap clothes from China because of new tariffs, will that be such a bad thing? Maybe young girls will get off their cell phones and start making their own clothes . Or garment workers in the USA will have more job opportunities. And we won’t have to feel guilty about that “bargain” coat from China made by women who are forced to work in sweat shops for low wages.

May 13, 2019May 23, 2019

CITY BASHES SENIOR TRASH CANS

Managing trash can be difficult for seniors who want to stay in their own homes. Those big, ugly heavy trash containers must be hidden from the street except on trash collection days. When it got too hard to drag the big cans along our driveway, we prevailed upon the city garbage collectors to give us two smaller cans, which made the entire task doable. They grudgingly agreed to bring us two of the smaller containers. That went on for a few years. But then, last week, the city bashed our senior trash cans.

dRAGGING LARGE TRASH CAN MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR SENIORS TO STAY IN THEIR OWN HOMESS IT — DRAGGING HEAVY TRASH CANS IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR ELDERLY

Here how it happened.: When I went to get the morning newspaper, I saw that the cans hadn’t yet been emptied. While I walked upstairs, my husband heard the rumble of the garbage truck. By the time we had our coffee and read the newspaper, we saw that the blue cans had disappeared!

Our city has a contract with a waste management company, and believe me, there are big bucks involved. Once upon a time, they provided the handicapped and elderly with smaller, lightweight containers. Then, they decided it was too much bother picking them up with their automated trucks. They made it clear they weren’t happy when we demanded the smaller cans. Grudgingly, they went along with the deal, but finally, they put an end to it all this week by throwing our cans into their shredder.

When I called to complain, I was informed by both the company and the mayor’s office that they couldn’t locate any more of the little containers. They could only provide us with another, large container. It had to be done their way, or no way.

Many seniors have children living nearby who can help out. Unfortunately, our children are scattered across the country. These are the kinds of problems that force seniors into retirement homes before they really want to give up their independence.

After I voiced my unhappiness with their blatant disregard for the needs of the elderly/ handicapped , the mayor’s office called my husband. They said that if we would leave our trash can out where it was in plain view from the street, a trash collector would perform the difficult??? task of walking a few feet to manually pick up the can and feed the contents into the truck. It remains to be seen how long they are willing to do this. Or, will they pull another vanishing act?

We have paid our taxes in this community for over 50 years. Is it too much to ask for a little consideration for citizens over the age of 80? Maybe so.

Follow Up: Trash can was not picked up when promised and as of today, May 19, it is still full, despite repeated e mails from mayor’s office saying that Republic will pick it up.

May 24: A miracle just happened. This afternoon, Republic brought us two of the smaller cans for handicapped people. They are exactly like the ones they shredded last week. I guess they decided that would be easier than putting up with our constant complaints. As my husband said, ‘the squeaky wheel gets the grease.”

May 12, 2019May 26, 2019

LAST CHANCE FOR FREE BOOK

This is the last chance for you to download a free copy of my husband’s memoir. A PREACHER CALLED SINN will be FREE Sunday, May 12 @

This book tells the story of the way my husband and I overcame the difficulties of divorce in the eighties, and defied convention to meet each other before internet dating sites even existed. When we finally married over the objections of family and friends, we thought our troubles were over, Little did we know that the worst was yet to come.

. Here is a brief synopsis:

“The seeds of my undoing as a Protestant minister may have begun with my name.”

In 1995, Duane Sinn endured a brutal media attack that nearly destroyed him. How could this have happened to a young man who left the farm, served his country, and struggled twelve long years to get through seminary while working full time, and raising a family?

Duane bares his soul in this raw, honest memoir, writing about the heartbreak of his first marriage, the highs and lows of his troubled ministry, and his unlikely entrance into the rough and tumble world of politics.

A PREACHER CALLED SINN is a coming of age story that transitions into Duane’s life as a Protestant minister who falls in and out of love, starts over more than once, yet always remains true to himself.

About the Author:

Rev. M. Duane Sinn was raised on a farm in Nebraska, and attended the University of Nebraska for one year before joining the Army Air Corps during the Korean War.

Upon discharge from Hickham Air Force Base in Hawaii, Duane returned to Nebraska with his wife and twin sons to attend college and work various jobs: insurance salesman, radio announcer, window dresser, ladies lingerie clerk, and part time minister, just to name a few. It would take twelve years to earn his bachelor’s degree from Hastings College and finally, his Master of Divinity Degree from Iliff School of Theology in Denver.

In 1968, he came to Terre Haute, Indiana as the Methodist campus minister for Indiana State University and Rose Hulman Institute of Technology. Twelve years later, he joined LBJ’s War on Poverty as Executive Director of the Western Indiana Community Action Agency.

Fiercely independent, Duane has always followed his own moral compass when faced with difficult choices. He has been married to author Lucia Sinn for thirty two years, and they have six grown children.

LIVING WELL AFTER 80

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