Luggage Shopping

Haden and I spent this evening shopping for a refrigerator for his dorm room and for luggage for his trip to see his Dad next week. I bought him two pieces of Swiss brand luggage and he used some of his graduation money on the refrigerator. The Swiss brand luggage is apparently from the same parent company that makes those handy little pocket knives.

I'm quite impressed with this luggage. It appears to be very well-built and tough. I also like that it is Swiss Army red. The larger piece is a 25" bag and the smaller is a carry-on tote. Both are equipped with wheels and a handle. The tote has a padded compartment which will allow it to double as a notebook tote.

(Note: Mishaelle and I went shopping at Sam's on Saturday, July 1st. We picked up a Swiss brand back pack for Haden... very good price! Only $39.99!)

One of those days...

Wednesday, about 10:30am I was set to make a quick trip over to the courthouse to deliver agenda items for Commissioners Court when I found my car to be blocked in by Jimmy Belt, our local Special Ranger. His truck was blocked in by James Carson's car which should have been parked beside my car. James wasn't able to get into his parking place because Jimmy Belt was parked in the way. I stood around on the sidewalk waiting while the egos sorted out the issue. James finally moved so Jimmy could move so I could get out of my space. I believe the time spent standing around outside waiting for the car jockeying was the beginning of my real problem.

When my car was finally freed, I hurried off to the courthouse which is about five blocks away from my office and as I was about to exit my vehicle, I felt a slight twinge on my left kneecap. Being a lady of mature years, I've become used to various little twinges that come with the territory and I rubbed my kneecap and didn't think much more about it. I hurried up the outside stairs, dropped the envelope of agenda items off at the Judge's office, dropped off an envelope at the Treasurer's office and, in a short five minutes time, was back at my car. I realized then that I was having an allergic reaction to what must have been a wasp or bee sting on my knee. I had a tingling sensation in the skin of my neck and my left arm and I was feeling a little shakey.

As I sat in the car seat, whatever had gotten me on my knee to begin with got me three or four more times on the back of my thigh as I sat on it. I realized it was in my pants and I squirmed around to try to get rid of it. I drove as quickly as was safe back to my office with the intent of getting some help. As I pulled into my parking place, the insect in my pants got me again two or three times on the knee before I finally trapped it in the fold of my slacks material and squished it to death. Getting out of my car, I shook it out of my pants onto the sidewalk and found it to be a small red wasp (see photo) about 3/4 inch long. By this time, I was experiencing tingling in my neck and face and numbness in my left arm.

When I entered the building, I encountered James Carson again and told him I needed to go to the ER because I'd been stung multiple times by a wasp and I was having an allergic reaction. A co-worker who is a trained medical first responder drove me to the hospital which is about a mile from my office and I was quickly treated for the reaction.

Before the benedryl administered by ER staff had time to take effect, I experienced a headache, very high blood pressure, swelling of my left arm and itching of my neck, face, and scalp. Fortunately, the medication halted those symptoms quickly and by the time I was ready to leave the ER about an hour later, I was only very sleepy.

I have a history of bad reactions to wasp and bee stings but I haven't been stung in over thirty years. It's been a long time since I carried emergency medication with me but I believe I will again do so. I was lucky this time because I was able to get medical help quickly.

Where the Boys Are

Saturday I sat down to watch TV. I came across one of the channels that runs old movies and settled on Where The Boys Are, a movie released in December 1960. I don’t recall having seen this movie since I saw it in its original release.

Where the Boys Are starred Dolores Hart, Yvette Mimieux, Paula Prentiss, Connie Francis, George Hamilton and Frank Gorshin. It follows four Midwestern college girls who headed off to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for spring break. They were hoping to have a good time and possibly meet “nice boys”. The story follows the four as they meet a variety of guys who become the girls' dream come true and in some cases their worst nightmare. This movie is a glimpse at the beginning of change in sexual attitudes that would result in the “free love” attitudes of the late sixties.

Most interesting to me was a chance to see the actors and actresses who were in this movie. I had forgotten how young and handsome (untanned) George Hamilton was! This movie also marked the acting debut of Connie Francis who sang and made a hit of the title song… Where The Boys Are. Paula Prentiss and Jim Hutton who were matched in the movie as “Tuggle” and “TV” later went on to appear in several comedies together: The Honeymoon Machine, Bachelor in Paradise, and The Horizontal Lieutenant. Frank Gorshin played a jazz musician and later became a staple character actor with a long career in movies and TV appearances, most notably as the Riddler in the Batman TV series. Yvette Mimieux, a tiny blonde actress, had success earlier that same year with the release of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine with Rod Taylor.

By far, the most interesting of the actresses in the movie was Dolores Hart. By the time she made Where the Boys Are, she had already appeared in two movies with Elvis Presley. In fact, in Loving You, she was the first actress to receive an on-screen kiss from the handsome young singer. Several years later, she appeared in the Elvis movie King Creole. A short three years and three or four movies later, Dolores Hart left Hollywood behind and became a nun. She has resided the years since in a convent in Connecticut and is now known as Rev. Mother Dolores. She recently made an appearance before a congressional committee to support legislation that would fund research into a disease called peripheral idiopathic neuropathy. It’s a painful neurological disease that affects many Americans and Mother Dolores herself.

How remarkable it is that a young woman of that time would turn her back on a world she had reportedly fallen in love with when she was seven years old to spend her life in the quiet solitude of a convent!

Left: Dolores Hart c.1960 Right: Rev. Mother Dolores today.

Class of 1965, Humble High School

L-R: Charles Hardage, Patty Lou Herron Sheffield, Kay Nealy Kempken, Cynthia Marsh Fletcher, Joy Norris Vyoral, Margie Tullos Parker, Seated: Naomi Henderson Curry, Roy Threlkeld, Forrest Steagall

L-R: Ellen Young, Kay Nealy Kempken, Charles Hardage, Patty Lou Herron Sheffield, Joy Norris Vyoral, Carl Panzarella, Naomi Henderson Curry

I graduated from Humble High School maaaaaaaaaaaany long years ago. Humble High School boasts the longest continuously held high school reunion for all alumni of the schools in the state and possibly in the nation. It is traditionally the second Saturday of June and is held in the Humble Civic Center. This year the Alumni Association celebrated the 75th annual banquet. I'd say that's quite an accomplishment.

The Class of 1965 is my class. We traditionally have had a very close group even considering there were 80 of us. We mark our five year incrimental anniversaries with a large group gathering but also manage to have eight to ten folks show up for the banquet each year. The girls of the class have been getting together for lunch at noon that Saturday for a few years and we opened it up to the guys who might want to attend this year. Several could make it at noon but couldn't make it that night. The photos I've posted with this blog show the Lunch Group and the Banquet group.

We had a great time at both events and hope to pursuade more of our classmates to make this event a "must" on their social calendars.

Hell-for-stout....

A few years ago, we had problems with a neighborhood kid running over our mailboxes. Not only did he run them over, he backed up and run over them again to make sure they were good and dead. My husband did what any self-respecting, pissed-off, good-with-his-hands guy would do... he built a stand for the mailboxes that would stand up to an army tank. Well, maybe not an army tank, but a 3/4 ton Ford pick-up, for sure. Today, he proved it.

Husband, affectionately dubbed for blog purposes, "Bear", has been working on our daughter's house with the help of my dad and grandson Haden. Today, he was backing the flat-bed trailer down the driveway. It's a long driveway and the mailboxes are off to one side. One thing led to another and he zigged when he should have zagged. The right front fender collided with the mailboxes and, wa-la, the truck was the big loser. The mailbox atop the hell-for-stout mailbox stand will have to be replaced at a cost of about $40. Lord only knows what it will cost to replace and paint the truck quarter-panel. Our $250 insurance deductible appears to be a bargain once again.

Interruptions to my exercise program

I was able to exercise only one evening this past week. My dad had to be rushed to the ER for attention due to a bad reaction to a wasp sting. That killed Monday exercise. Tuesday is my regular night for my writing group. I exercised Wednesday but could not Thursday because of Haden's Senior Awards program. Friday is always out because they close at 5:00... too late for me to go after work.

Next week I will have only Wednesday and Thursday available because A New U is closed on Monday for the holiday.

I am still doing only two rounds of the three rounds of machine exercise. The trainer recommends working up to the three rounds. I am pretty tired after the two rounds and I dread getting up to three rounds but I must. I am not getting my heart rate up to the 85% range where I am supposed to be. I'm only in about the 75% range. At this point, I don't seem to go any faster which, I assume would get my heart rate up. Hopefully that will come in time. I am happy enough that I'm exercising. Even short of the trainer's expectations, I'm much better off doing this.

Haden

Haden is the oldest of my three grandchildren. He's graduating from high school this year. Tonight was his Senior Awards Program. There was a reception for honor graduates before the program. Husband and I attended with Haden and his mom, Mishaelle. Mishaelle is the oldest of our two children.

Haden is an honor graduate in as much as his GPA is above 4.5. He is graduating sixteenth in his class of about 280 students. He's a member of National Honor Society and will be wearing that "collar" along with the gold ropes for being an honor graduate. He will also wear the ropes signifying he is a Gifted and Talented graduate. This evening he received, in addition to being named a UIL Scholar, the Marine Corp. Academic Excellence Award which came out of the blue. It's really just a plaque of sorts engraved with the image of the Iwo Jima statue. He also received an award as the only Senior in his class to have perfect attendance for all four years of high school.

It's very difficult to believe that his high school career is coming to a close. It seems only yesterday we were taking him to the first day of kindergarten. We are all very proud of him.

Arrrgh.... Yau-Man Was Robbed!

Tonight was the final for Survivor: Fiji and Dreamz went back on his word with Yau-Man in the truck deal. As a result, Yau-Man was voted off and became the last member of the jury. I am so disappointed for Yau-Man. He played the game the best of any of the players. I guess Yau learned a lesson about how much value some people place in "I swear to God" and "I want to be a good example to my son." Sheesh....

Exercise Soreness... Not So Bad!

Amazingly, I'm not very sore today. The only soreness I have is in the muscles on the top of my thighs. When I first got up this morning, I had a little soreness in my lower back, but that went away quickly while I showered and got ready to leave the house. I'm quite encouraged!

The First Day of My "Exercise" Life

Today was THE day. I finally got off my butt to start exercising. I took half a day off from work to go to A New U and be taught how to use their facility. It's very much like Curves but it seems a little more professional. The guy who showed me the ropes is named Rick and he really seems to know his stuff. I did two rounds and I would have given up after the first round if I wouldn't have looked like a real wuss. I wish this place had better hours. As it is, I will only be able to go there after work on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The hours don't work with my schedule otherwise. I'm trying this for three months to see how it goes.