Life is streaming along, and I generally go with the flow.  Some things boggle my mind, like Venmo, 3-D printers, and Zoom, which brings back memories of the television show The Jetsons. It seems I am always trying to learn some new type of technology in order to keep up.  Things were much easier 50 years ago.  To make a phone call, I would use the golden harvest colored rotary phone hanging on the wall and dial.  First, I would have to check to see if a neighbor was using it, as we had what was called a “party line.”  If there was an alternate conversation, I would simply hang up quietly and try the call again later. Phones were not the be all and end all that they are today. 

I miss Ann & Hope.  Every Friday night, my girlfriend and I would go out to eat at Chelo’s, (where I would get the “Jim Dandy” and a piece of strawberry cheesecake.)  We had our patterned route to take around the store, picking and choosing bargains along the way.  Ann & Hope is gone but Chelo’s is still around, minus the “Jim Dandy”. It just does not feel right to eat there without being paired with a routine shopping trip.

I miss watching television shows at the time they are broadcast.  During a season of “Survivor”, Wednesday nights at 8:00 would find me on the couch with buttered popcorn and Diet Coke, glued to Channel 12.  I would not make any other plans…Lions Club meetings would have to wait, church council meetings would have to wait, PTA meetings would have to wait. Children needing bedtime stories would have to wait when “Survivor” was on. Wednesdays at 8:00 was MINE! With new technology, I can watch “Survivor” at any time.  In fact, I could watch a whole season of the show if I had the time. The problem now is that there are SO MANY things we can watch that I get overwhelmed and end up watching something nonsensical.  For instance, Hubby and I just finished the series “Jade Fever” about a jade mining company in Canada. Who cares about where Jade comes?  Or, the other reality show “Pawn Stars”, where I learned that the Jetson’s lunchbox I used to take to Oakland Beach School would be worth a lot of money if I had kept it. With 21 seasons of this show to watch, I am bound to find other treasures which were thrown away when they were old rather than saved for future riches.

I miss holding babies. Doing foster care was an act of love, and there was tremendous satisfaction in holding and cuddling the infants. Snuggling with a tiny nose that smelled of baby powder was an empowering treat.  I may not have been able to save the world, but I could save one baby at a time. Alas, the babies are now grown, and raising children, who eventually became TEENAGERS, was not quite as rewarding and problem-free. Although I do have grand babies now that can be held, they must be given back and the only powder I smell now is the type Hubby puts in his shoes and on his feet.

The thing I miss most about the past is Rocky Point when it was an amusement park. The Warwick Lions Club would provide funding for “Handicapped Children’s Day at Rocky Point”, the one day of the year that having a sibling with a disability was an advantage. I would unselfishly (ahem) bring my brother, Curtis, for a day where we would eat clam cakes and chowder at the Shore Dinner Hall, and then ride the rides to our hearts’ content.  Fortunately, Curtis was easy going and would go on any ride on which I dragged him, although his favorite ride was the train. When my son was born with a visual disability, it led to many more summers attending this fun, monumental day where we would bring all of our children and foster children with us.  For anyone in the Lions Club involved in sponsoring this day right up until the park closed, I sincerely thank you for providing me with a summer respite that was also enjoyed by thousands of others. It is my favorite memory, and a smile is across my face in remembrance.