New Jacket

The school buses rumbling by my house each week day remind me that something is different this year. I am no longer using the arrival or departure of buses to determine my work day, rather I am wearing the new jacket of retirement. I confess that my new jacket feels very strange and sometimes I feel like Ferris Bueller without an excuse. I certainly miss my friends at school but I am grateful I had a career and colleagues that I cherish.

My days have a different rhythm to them now. Instead of being driven by the clock, I am driven by opportunities as they unfold. Certainly there are the usual demands of life such as exercising (yuck), cleaning (super yuck) and life's paperwork (yuck on steroids). But, the sweet moments are easier to capture when one is not tethered to a job. This past week I was able to enjoy lunch with my sister, have coffee with a dear friend and celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday at a new Ethiopian restaurant (I'm a sucker for injera). Another fun event happened with my mother at her assisted living facility.

Recently, a small town in our state suffered a devastating tornado which did considerable damage to the school in the town. My mother's assisted living has a resident who was a former volunteer fireman from that town so the staff decided to host a fundraiser for the damaged school. The fireman had a collection of firemen's memorabilia set up for a display and a few local firemen brought a firetruck to the assisted living so residents could get a tour of the truck and ask the firemen questions. My mom was excited that we could attend this event together and on a week day, no less. She ran a comb through her fluffy white hair and we slowly made our way outdoors. The sun kissed us with pleasantness as mom's walker scraped across the parking lot toward the firetruck. A sweet fireman patiently showed us all the moving parts of the firetruck and I could see the love of learning ignite in my mom's eyes. After the truck tour, we made our way to the tables of memorabilia. The first thing she said was, "Oh, wouldn't a little boy just love this stuff!"  Neither of us knows a lot about firemen's artifacts but we enjoyed perusing the display tables. And, of course, all good events have food, too. We each selected a doughnut and settled into the chairs on the sidewalk. We enjoyed visiting with others at the event while we soaked up a little sun and finished our snack.

Soon enough, it was time to make our way back to mom's room. On the way in, I remarked how the event was a win-win. We got a little fresh air and sunshine and we were able to donate to a good cause. My mom looked at me and said, "And we you were here. That's another win."

Win-win-win.

Peace

Fifty years ago, a mass of humanity gathered on the fields of a farmer in upstate New York. It was an area not meant for more than 50,000, much less the estimated half a million plus who did attend. Due to a plethora of snags along the way, the venue organizers (all in their twenties) were woefully unprepared for the hordes of people who made their way to a 3-day music festival of "peace and love." There were no organized gates ready for collecting ticket sales so an announcement had to be made by the organizers, "This will be a free concert." The masses stood on their feet and resoundingly clapped with joy. And the rest is history.

I am old enough to remember bits and pieces of the event. The 60's were turbulent times and political unrest was rampant. The Vietnam War and the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and two Kennedys added fuel to the fire. I guess the time was right for a music concert with a lineup of powerhouse bands with a counterculture message. And the flower children were ready to load up their psychedelic vans and VW bugs to make it happen. I suspect many of them didn't have jobs so no worries there.

It is hard to imagine such an event happening today. Many elements have stayed the same such as political unrest, counterculture messages and people's love of music. But a few key components are very different. Today, our cellphones make it almost impossible for folks to attend concerts without the distractions of looking down at their devices, looking up for selfie poses, posting to social media, downloading fun apps and using Google maps for directions to the nearest port-a-potty. Venue ticket sales are primarily completed electronically. Concerts are one means of enjoying music but there is no end of "free" music available to the masses at any given time today. Venue producers and hosts also need to "lawyer up" in preparation for the inevitable lawsuits at the tamest of events. The hippie commune culture essentially failed so we have a few less caftans currently, and eventually, some of the flower children had to get jobs so taxes could be paid to the government that was feeding them. Adults frolicking naked at the nearest river may not be decade specific but an event such as Woodstock certainly was ripe for such activity.

One thing I know for sure, Woodstock was never on my radar. I am not an avid music buff to begin with and the very thought of attending a loose-ended concert in the middle of a field with anti-deodorant folks who love to smoke pot is far beyond my comfort zone. I am also not comfortable in the midst of a teeming sea of people and don't even get me started about dealing with a limited number of port-a-potties. And last, but not least, I do best when I am fed and hydrated at regular intervals. I am not against granola for three days but I prefer a little variety in my diet. I also find dehydration disconcerting at best.

Woodstock was one for the history books and maybe it is good if it stays that way. So, Happy Birthday, Woodstock. May you rest in peace and love.

Tripping

"You Betcha" Stick Sculpture at Minnesota Arboretum. Amazing!

My husband and I recently returned from a quick trip to Minneapolis with our daughter and her husband from Oregon. We had a grand time. The weather was exceptionally calm for the month of July with moderate temperatures, low humidity and nary a storm cloud in the sky. Our itinerary was action packed and we made the most of every minute. Here are a few insights I learned from our trip.

1) I am not a share-a-family's-home Airbnb person. In an attempt to find a non-hotel place for our little family to hang out, I dipped my toe into this world. Unfortunately, my selection was a disaster. The messages I started receiving from the host 48 hours before arriving should have sent me running but it was too late to make changes, so I hoped for the best. The psycho cat yowling behind a random door, the daughter's boyfriend making non-stop noise on the floor above us, the host's boyfriend clomping around at 4:00 a.m., a non-existent second bedroom and kitty cat #2 invading our space resulted in a restless night for all. We packed our bags and checked into a hotel. Lesson learned. I prefer staying at places where hosts have at least an hour or two of training in hospitality.

2) If you were bad at bowling a decade ago, you will still be bad at bowling ten years later. Our daughter selected a cute little retro-pub/bowling alley for our entertainment one evening. I knew that my role was to make everyone else feel successful. Mission accomplished. My score was abysmal. My dear husband ( a league bowler for many years) attempted to give me tips for improvement. Keep your eyes on the little dots on the lane floor. Keep your thumb pointed upwards. Don't lob the ball. Relax, Etc. Etc. All this was good advice, but my skill level makes me a rather hopeless participant. I had a good support team as they cheered me through all my gutter balls and wobbly single pins refusing to fall. Despite my ineptness, I am looking forward to my next round of bowling. Ten years from now.

3) Food plans must stay flexible. Due to the Airbnb debacle and a tight entertainment schedule we had no time to pick up ice for the cooler, therefore, our cache of fruits, vegetables and hummus had to be sacrificed to the trash gods. No complaints as we noshed our way through food truck cheese curds, pulled pork sandwiches, fish and chips, brats, nachos, popcorn and chocolate chip cookies. Tasty and not a green leaf in sight. Vacation cuisine, for sure.

4) It's always a good day when the Minnesota Twins beat the New York Yankees. We ended our whirlwind trip with a night at Target Field. The seats were good, the weather was great and the game was spectacular. I know just enough about baseball to cheer when I am supposed to and groan when necessary. When the game ended, we almost needed a tether to keep my husband from floating away as we left the stadium. Good had triumphed over evil and we were there to witness it.

Much too soon, it was time to say good-bye and head homeward. Lawns needed mowing, gardens needed tending and real life needed attention. Our trip was not about hotels with perfect photo ops, or stunning local excursions or trendy cuisine scenes (unless you count the cheese curds). We were content with our happy memories with the people we love.

Final Score: Twins-8  Yankees-6