I'm right here, Sandy Darling! Right here.

I suffer a great deal with the political rough seas we are being forced, all of us, to see and feel and hear these days; but am also dead set against any of us getting into THAT as subject matter.  We never have done, and I sure don't want us to start.  Any of you who are anywhere close to my great age will have to agree with me that the 20th and the 21st centuries contain head-swimming differences, though.  We do not need politics to tell us that.  One of my daily questions, a totally, I believe, non-political one, is Whatever happened to choices in Car colors?  I swear to you, the parking lot across the street from me is FULL of all white vehicles!  And by the end of the day, when everyone is home, the only cars in sight are black or white or grey or silver.  There is the very occasional red one, but that is all.  Now it happens that green is my favorite car color.  So what do I do if I ever feel I can afford a new car?
Scheesch!

If one of you knows the answer to that one, please pass it on as quickly as possible.  I just don't get it.

What I do have in spades is a bunch of nasty dementia.  I call it my forgettery, and it is heart-breaking stuff.  I try to ignore it, but it does not go away.  Now tell me this:  was there a memo re car colors that I did not miss, but have just forgotten, along with everything else?

MaryPage, I have seen a few stand-out greenish cars lately, also a few blueish. I say "ish" because the ones I saw are more like a pale green or blue with a silver or pearl like finish. Very pretty.

Mary Page,  Good to see a message from you this morning: 
I agree with you 100% . . . take me back to the 20th Century!  I would love to spend my final days in the 1940's, when America was truly United.  No hateful screaming and yelling at one another, across that firm dividing line between political parties,  back in those days.

Yes, car colors now are drab and ugly, and so are the cars themselves. Black, white, silver,  and 50 shades of gray.  Even the design of every car is the same.  You can't tell a Ford or Chevy from a Tesla or Mercedes?  They all look alike.    Do you remember after WWII, when brand new American cars  became available again?  The colors were a joy to behold - beautiful blues and turquoise, red, yellow, green, and two tone. 
Well, they say "you can't go home again", and that's a true statement. Most of the population now are young, and I guess they are content with life as it is now. They don't know anything else, and they aren't interested in hearing  about or reading about the way life used to be.

I  have been told that a white car is cheaper than a colored one.
My car is now 25 years old. No radar, back up camera, or rear seat TV, - but it is green and runs on gasoline. Dark Green!

Rammel, if I were a tad more active these days, I'd ask you to marry me so that I could ride in your green automobile.  Lucky for you, it is not a possibility. 

But Norm would have LOVED being able to broadcast the fact that his forum sported a marriage proposal!  I can see him in his grave, wiggling his toes in delight.

So CHEAPER to paint white!  I can tell you that field of white in our parking places looks insane.

Why Americans prefer white cars

https://www.hotcars.com/why-americans-prefer-white-paint-on-their-vehicles/

Balderdash!  I don't believe a word of it!  I think the automakers decided to attempt to make cheaper cars, deed I do!  And all these writers have  decided to do pieces for payment about white and black and grey and silver being our CHOICE!  I don't buy it for a New York minute!

https://autonomousweapons.org/

I had not heard of these until today.
I don't know where I've been, but clearly not paying my previous close attention.  I started listening to the news when I was about three, and it was determined it was time for me to eat dinner with the family and learn my manners.  Daddy always listened to the news at dinner time.  I can hear the men (always and only men) in my head still: Lowell Thomas.  His signoff was always: "So Long until tomorrow."  And H.V. Kaltenbourne.  He spoke sort of in a machine gun fashion. So I've been a news addict ever since, but I seem to have missed out on this one.  Apoplectic stuff! To my sensibilities', it takes HOPE out of our emotions and realities.
  So discouraging.  What think you?

MaryPage - I have never heard the name "autonomous  weapon" either?  
I read the article, and found it to be another sad commentary on Artificial Intelligence.    This weapon alone,  can decide who it wants to kill?   I hope it decides to kill me first,  because I don't want to be here to see what happens when it's turned loose on humanity.   

I agree wholeheartedly. We already have enough trouble with AI search functions, let alone anything else. So all the Sci-Fi movies, books, etc. featuring autonomous AI driven drones, weapons, and robots are coming true. Not a happy thought being constantly monitored by spy bots and the like, or being herded or shot at for participating in any gathering. I think privacy is becoming extinct as is freedom of speech. So, what we have gotten used to already are voice and facial recognition, and cameras on every street corner among other things. What really gets me are the "assistants" we end up with when making an inquiry, phone or online, that never seem to get the information you want right no matter how many times you reword the question and confine the themselves to repeat a few sources over and over again. Well, it comes down this: More security and safety comes at the price of independence and freedom.

I was horrified when, years ago, they decided that it was not necessary to teach Civics anymore. I suppose that is is still required for college courses in Politics and Government. But for most of us? Nah, we don't need to teach the rest about what they are slowly losing. I think this is important to remember. Does anyone know if these documents are required reading for grades 9-12 (or whatever they call the equivalent these days) anymore? https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs

I have never worked in or near Education.  When my children were in school, and all but one are in their seventies now, so that's been a while ago, I paid attention to that stuff, but now have lost my memory of it all.  And only my GREAT grandchildren are in school now, and I just don't track what their curriculums consist of.

I feel guilty as all get out bringing up this new AI information.
It has had the effect of almost quite literally scaring me to death, and I figured it is out there now for all the public to know.
Just the same, I should not have introduced a news item so full of the gloom & doom aspect in this forum, and I apologize.

We have had AI weapons for some time now. Think of guided missile systems or drones. We've had them in some type since the nineteen fifties.

MaryPage,   Don't feel guilty!  Any subject that opens up our minds and takes us out of our own little world, is  good thing. Things are in such a turmoil now, all over the World, that I always hope that something or someone will come along, that will calm and unite people across our country and in other countries as well.  I'm afraid AI is going to do just the opposite.      I can only hope to see a light at the end of the tunnel before I'm gone.     

Hi everyone!!!

I listen to news a few t
times a day  until I can't stan another
second of it.   ... all the while attending to my
latest learning  to watercolor etc.   (old news I know0
BUT  it makes me happy and takes my mind off the bad news of
the day ....  so I am listening and then ignoring it ...
because it am not going to go away and I am still curious ....

As I have said, learning to watercolor takes up most of
my time days.     Someday I will paint something that is
worth showing  so beware!!    Skies are fun... trees are next...
I take a lot of classes on YouTube and do a lot of swatching so I
get to know what I am working with.   

Of course,  I AM Very forgetful also and have been since the strokes
a few years back ...  but what the heck!   Being forgetful is only bad
for me when I leave my electric fry pan on.    I think that it shuts itself off  because no bells are going off...    I need to put up a sign to remind me... here where I sit here or in the  bathroom. 
Have a good night everyone!!!   Glad to see you all..
Love you MOM!!

Sandy

Love you MORE, Sweetie.  Time rattles on, doesn't it just!  I cannot express to you strongly enough how very much I admire your choices of coping with the stresses of these times.  You GO, Gal!

Sandy, in my earlier days I liked to water color, as well as pen and ink, sometimes combining the media. I also dabbled in pastels and drawing. I kept my supplies with me, but never got around to getting back to it. Last year, I donated most of what I had that was still decent, including a large metal easel, to to the local art society.

I hope everyone is doing well. The sun is shining and it is to get into the high 60's or low 70's today and for the next day or two also. Today I go to get another assessment of my broken tooth. Another Dr. who, I hope, I can have more confidence in. tomorrow I take Sue for her Endoscopy.

Hey Sandy .. . Good to hear from you!  Glad you've been keeping busy with your watercoloring.  I wish I had some artistic talent, but so far totally lacking . . . unless I'm a late bloomer like Grandma Moses? 🤔    I hope you will soon post some of your artwork for us to enjoy?  I'll be looking forward to it.   
Mars -  How did the appointment go today with the new dentist?  Hope you felt confident that he or she, will take care of your problem ASAP?   Sorry that Sue has to have an endoscopy, but good to get reassurance that everything is okay.   Look for a message from me in Library, about the book,  "Where the Forest Meets the Stars", by Vanderah.           

Okay Marilyne, where and how do I find "Library"?  I know I've been there before, but can't remember which heading it's under. I'd like to know a bit about that book you mentioned. 

TomeReader and anyone else who wants to put their two-cents in on books and movies, go to Forum, then Leisure Activities, then down to Library Bookshelf.

Marilyne, the appointment went very well. Everything was explained and, I got a fancy 3-D X-ray which is similar to an MRI or CT, but specialized just for the face/head area. I was given options, but none of this push to get the whole thing done in one go. So, the X-ray first so the guy who attended me could take a look right up front, then he gave me options which did not the all-in-one procedure. He also told me, as I started to explain the treatment I got at the other surgery, nodded his head and said he used to work there, so he knew what I went through. As an aside, Sue, who has had implants done, was surprised that an all at the same time procedure was offered. She was under the impression you had to let the extraction and bone graft heal up for several months before going back in and doing an implant. Anyway, the X-rays are off to someone who can determine whether or not I am an implant candidate, and the insurance info checked. I have to decide whether to get an implant if I am accepted, whether I want a local or anesthesia, and then it will be the normal two-step procedure. So far, I don't show any signs of an infection that would require immediate surgery. So, I have a little time to decide.

Because, in the paperwork, there was a paper to sign to give permission for them to use the X-rays and/or facial photos for teaching purposes and for promotional material, I asked whether they were affiliated with a college. No, they are independent, but they do provide internships to Central Penn College students, and they do hold some lectures and meetings in a lecture room upstairs.

Good Friday Morning!   Remember back in the long-ago,  when Friday meant TGIF?   Those were the days when we were looking forward to weekend plans and events.  Now the weekend rarely holds anything of interest, so instead,  I look forward to Monday, and the start of a fresh new week. Seems more hopeful somehow?

Mars - Glad your appointment went well with the new dentist, and you're all set to proceed with the next step.   I think I've also had that type of X-ray, at the oral surgeons office.  You stand up and place your chin on a holder thing - then the technician turns it on, and it moves slowly from one side of your jaw to the other.  The 3-D result makes it easy to see all teeth, front and back. 

Joanne - I saw your message in SS that you are suffering from Sciatica. I've been there many times over the past 10 years, so I understand how painful it is.   The good news,  is that the first bout is the worst bout!  It will go away, but will return every six months to a year.  Never as bad as before, and doesn't last as long.  Main advice from me, is to get yourself a sturdy cane, and use it while you're having the problem.

MaryPage,  Mars,  Sandy,  Jackie,  Callie,  Rick,  Jenny,  Patricia, and Joanne -  Hoping you all have a nice Spring weekend ahead!    

Well, thanks so much, Marilyne.  As if by magic (no, I prayed for relief) and bed rest worked.  I did take a Tylenol Arthritis strength, and didnt realize till later that it contained several mg of Caffiene, which means I didnt sleep, couldn't get comfortable anyway, as moving was terrible. I did use a cane for the hours I was up and hurting so bad. Next morning I could get up on the side of the bed, and actually walk without yelling.  Obviously, pinched sciatic nerve. So no doctor unless it returns.  of course, my bad knee was flaring up at the same time, so I was kind of between the rock and the hard place, as the saying goes.

Along about here, March is full of special days:  the Ides of March, Saint Patrick's Day, and my father's and son's birthdays.  Chip, my baby, is 60 today.  The rest are all in their seventies.  Chip & I went out to Panara's for bread and soup yesterday, as we do not like to even attempt to brave Saturdays.  I always get the tomato now, having long since tried them all.  Chip, like his sister Becky, is a Big Fan of the Broccoli Cheddar. We always go at one-thirty, when the place clears out like a Big Hand of Magic wafts over it.  Seriously!

Mary Page...March also was the busiest month for Birthdays in my family...My late fathers was the 12th, one of his late sisters was the 11th, another fathers sister who may still be with us is the day before mine, the 21st, then mine next Friday, 22nd...

I have no deisre to return to the past
years of my life.    40's, 50's 60's
wars wars and more wars. Back in those years,
communication was so poor.  Hard to keep up. 
Then of course....  the married, divorced, married
divorded , married, divorced years...  jobs, kids, responsiblities
etc...  oh boy,  always something.  If I  told you that
I moved more the n 50 times in my adult life, you would
presume that I was ssome kind of a nut case...  lol 

Oh well ... no more moving for me, except  the final
feet first over and done with..    (Not for a long while, hopefully!)

I think that this I don't mind having memory
problems.    Why would I want to live that all
over again...   

I would rather just pretend to be and artist and
set my mind on that activity.. 

So glad to see you all in  here again.... 
we will have to keep this up... 

Enjoy every minute that you can. 
I plan to.

(Excuse the miss spellings.  I am not motivted to
correct them... )

love Sandy

Sandy, I can identify! I was married twice, during and after the Vietnam years, and the first was Army, a staff sergeant. One military perk was that my daughter's birth was only $12.75 at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX.

The second started out in the Navy, USS Saratoga, and then finished in the Air Force. I learned a lot and moved a lot.

A couple of March birthdays in my family as well.  Our son Brad, will  be 63 on the 20th, and our Grandson Danny, turned 40, on March 7th.

Jackie -  I think you're the only member here in S&F, with a March birthday?  Hope it will be a nice day for you, and that the sun will shine and you'll be feeling well.   

MaryPage -  Good that you and Chip got out for a nice lunch at Panera, to celebrate his birthday.   We have a Panera here in town, and it's also overflowing with people for a couple of hours in the middle of the day, and then quiet and almost empty the rest of the day. I especially like to go there and buy a loaf of their freshly baked bread, and a couple of the breakfast pastries.   

Sandy -  It looks to me like you have lived a very interesting and exciting life!  Moving more than 50 times has to be some kind of a record?  I would like to know more about your life and your marriages?   Have you ever considered writing a memoir about those years?

Patricia -  My husband was drafted into the Army about six month after we were married. He was transferred  around to different Army posts, and I followed.  Fortunately he ended up at Fort MacArthur in Southern California, where he served his second and final year.   During that time, our daughter was born, in a civilian hospital in Long Beach.   Fort Mac didn't have a hospital - only an emergency clinic, so the Army paid for non-military doctors and hospitals for maternity care and pediatricians.   

If someone had told me when I was in High School that I would be married 3 TIMES, I would have been HORRIFIED!
Well, all three were decent men, and I loved their families.  They all knew one another.  I was married to the 1st for 12 years and 3 little girls.  The 2nd for 34 years and 1 little boy.  The third was the Love of My Life, and I had known him for over 50 years!  I gained my 4 step children from him, and they played with and know my biological children well.  All get along.  Two of the steps were born while I lived next door to them.  Their mother was one of my dearest friends.  I thought of her husband sort of as an extra utility she had in her home.  One thing we both remembered after we were married for that oh, so short a time:  and it sort of freaked us out later.  Whenever we got together with them and one other couple who were our dear friends, if there was a Big News Event, Bob Two and I would drift over to one another and discuss it thoroughly.   So you might say, we had a mutual mind recognition thing going.  And that was all. After Sue died, he dated a lot.  I told him he was nuts; he should enjoy his single life.  He added me to his family email whip around list, so I began to once again keep up with them all.  No one commented on my being there, but they addressed me by name and totally included me in.  My 1st husband died, and then the 2nd.  Then Bob II got kind of pushy and we moved in together.  After his 3rd proposal, I began to think it would be a good idea, and so we got married.  He was in Intelligence.  Deputy Director of the NSA.  We never spoke of those things; I had been raised by a West Pointer who was also in Intelligence, so I knew better.  Life was perfect until he suddenly up and died.  That's been twenty-one years ago, now.  My eight children are wonderful to me.

MaryPage, that's a lovely story.  Both families knew each other and were friends for many years, before you and Bob II got together.   Things in our lives turn out the way they were meant to be.

Hoping you all had a nice St. Patrick's Day?  Now Easter is almost here, so we'll start preparing for  another special day.  Does anyone besides me,  still dye Easter eggs?   

Thanks to AMY, in the Soda Shoppe, I am finally able to get in.  I tried so many times and it was like I had been banned....no way could I get in‼️
I am of course WAY behind on reading what all has been going on with you all😢 Oh how happy I am to be back in the fold.

Not a whole lot different around here....still having PT twice a week and doing a once a week balance class.  I did get my hearing aids and that is a whole new ball game.  I am happy with them overall however one was making my ear very sore, so got in and the gal was able to move something a different direction and so far so good.  I've had a terrible sinus issue for a couple of weeks, but finally starting to feel much better😩

We have been grand doggies sitting all week.  They are so much fun but it is a lot of time required to do walks several times a day for Bob and he has been suffering with heel pain.  If it it not 0ne thing it is another these days it seems.  I have not been able to get in at all to see any posts....seemed like I had been blocked or something....but AMY saved me today thank goodness.

I wish you all well and hopefully I can go back and read the posts now to see what you have been up to.

Happy Palm Sunday.

Another new week rolls around again.   I'm looking forward to Easter weekend coming up.  I hope to attend the Good Friday service this week, and watch the school children do the Stations of the Cross.  Saturday I plan to color some Easter eggs - just enough for some pretty decorations with flowers.  Then Easter Sunday our two daughters and one granddaughter will be coming for dinner.  They will do the cooking, and I'll just sit around and supervise. 
One more day of celebration on Monday, April, 1.  Younger daughter's birthday.  She'll come over after work, and we'll take her out to dinner to a local restaurant we all like. 

Jackie - Looks like your birthday came on the 22nd, and I forgot t wish you a nice day.     Since we have the new theme/set-up, here in S&F I haven't noticed a place where birthdays are highlighted, like they have always been in the past?   Sorry you were forgotten this year, but here's wishing you a belated Happy Birthday! 

Jenny - Good to see your message yesterday!  Glad you're feeling better, and keeping up with the PT.  Hope all of your family members are doing well.  Let us know about how the two little grandsons are doing?  All of Dave's kids as well?