What's the message here?

 

Aren't we enough?

 

Helicopter parenting, anyone?

 

On Economic Disparity

It’s the first day of the new year and a typical CEO has already earned the combined annual income of two ordinary working parents. Where did equality and equity go? Kindness and compassion? Is this all about profit and greed? Children are left home alone as parents work multiple jobs and barely scrape by. What are world leaders doing? MLJ/01/01/2025/DoesAnybodyCare? 

North of North

 North of North

"The gift of doing something I love" DM

Demi Moore wins best female actor.

Joan Baez

 Glad to know Joan Baez through A Complete Unknown.

Joan Baez

Sweet!

A dear friend gave you ice wine.
What to do?
Get a corkscrew,
A new addition to your utensil drawer
You’ve been trying to empty
As you prep for retirement.

You got tomatoes on sale.
What to do?
Turn them into spaghetti sauce.
You got garlic and bacon on sale.
What to do?
Garnish your sauce.

So what’s for new year’s eve?
Whole wheat spaghetti, ice wine
Reminiscent of your once expat life
When friends came with flowers,
Moldovan chocolates and wines.
Retirement is sweet!
MLJ/30/12/2024/LifeIsSweet

Thank You, Jimmy Carter

 

What's on your reading list?

Andy Weir & Stacey Lee

I had forgotten the Martian's story except for his planting of potatoes on Mars, so I read it again and enjoyed astronaut Mark Watney’s humorous comments on forms of entertainment left behind by his colleagues. Honestly, I wouldn't mind getting stuck with a single dictionary in the bellies of NYC like Vincent in Beauty and the Beast (1987-1990 TV series) or in a basement like Jo Kuan in Lee’s The Downstairs Girl. But what would the scrolling generation do in this situation when they probably don’t even know what an encyclopedia is? What about the Alpha generation?

Hilarious Stacey Lee didn’t disappoint with her historical fiction The Downstairs Girl, reminding me of Filipino-American writers like Carlos Bulosan and Bienvenido Santos whose themes remain relevant in the 21^st century. What has become of mankind? The social ills of the 19^th century have persisted with such intensity as the summer wildfires, fall hurricanes, and Kilauea’s unrest. MLJ/28/12/2024/BreakOfABabyBoomer 

What’s on sale?

A financial guru once said that shoppers should only get what’s on sale if they’re budget-conscious or on a tight budget, so now that I’m practicing how to shop smarter in preparation for retirement, I keep my eye out for good deals. At FreshCo last weekend, I chanced upon frozen marinated milkfish on sale, so I grabbed a pack and put in my tiny freezer.

Today, I trudged through knee-deep snow and brushed about 10 inches of snow off my car before I could get to the nearest Walmart Superstore early enough to avoid the long lines. Surprise! Surprise! There were $2 bags of good potatoes, apples, carrots and limes as well as near-expired pecan and strawberry pies – to expire in 24 hours, that is. Good blueberries were on sale, too, so two packs went into my cart. Why on sale? Oversupply, introductory price from a new supplier or brand, or jobbed? Okras on sale may look good but too woody to be edible. Opo squashes on sale may have flawless skin and may be firm to the touch but rotten inside. Once they just went to the compost bin. What about blueberries on sale? Yikes! Really sour! Into the freezer they went for future shakes and smoothies, along with chopped carrots and squeezed lime. Rice, bread and eggs were not on sale, so they were skipped as my pantry still had sticky rice, tuna, and instant noodles.

Years from now if I’m still around, that is, I might not be scraping ice off a windshield and driving on slippery roads. Maybe I’m riding the HandiBus or walking to the nearest store with my shopping trolley. For now, it’s good practice to scout for deals and see what meals they can bring. Today, it’s a feast with French fries with mayo and ketchup dip, arroz caldo or sticky rice porridge with leftover roast chicken, fried milkfish, Silk milk and carrot and apple shake, and pecan pie for dessert. Not bad! Wouldn’t you agree? Should retirement be scary? MLJ/24/11/2024

All I Want for Christmas

When you’ve reached that age reminiscing
When as a child you had the latest blonde doll
Whose blue eyes closed when you laid it down
And giggled when you pressed its bellybutton.

Later there were tea sets, kitchen sets,
A chalkboard, coloring books, Jigsaw puzzles,
So you’d play tea time with your best friend Carol
After playing school all weekend long.

When your dear Aunt gave you books to devour
To read about children from around the world
And dream of distant places you thought
You’d never reach even if you got to 100 years old.

When your dear Mom gave you photo albums
As you wouldn’t stop taking mundane pictures
And new shirts as you were growing like a tomboy
Wearing nothing but shirts, jeans and running shoes.

When your dear Grandma gave you cash,
Thanks to her salt-making business,
So you had more in your piggy bank
You made with cardboard and an empty can
And finally broke and rebuilt before Christmas
To shop for everyone just like your Mom.

Now that you’re almost done with life
Grateful for living fit and long
For doing what you love to do
For having a roof over your head,
Warm meals and a comfy bed,
And for being free and seemingly content,
You wish for nothing but love and peace
In every heart, on every street corner.

You wonder how sumptuous dinners,
How lavish parties and luxurious presents,
How extravagance and overindulgence
Ever exist when neighbors are terrorized,
Left stateless, starved, and dehumanized.

Not a modern question as you’d realize
But a state of affairs as old as time,
And that there’s little you could do
Because you’re neither Musk nor Bezos.
MLJ/14/12/2024/AsTheYearCloses

We Are The World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=bs2CG6zhpDA&t=14s

The Never Ending Story

 Understanding the Ending of The Never Ending Story

Slip, Slip, Slidin’ Away

Treacherous crystalline, thin ice coats the ground today
Sticking, clinging like Saran wrap on a turkey for Thanksgiving
Tires squeaking, squealing, and lunging like unbridled horses
Taking me to Walmart for my usual Sunday search for sale.

Parking lot like skating rink tells of a battle far from over
We do penguin walk so as not broken hips we’ll soon suffer
Moving with canes or wheels as we seniors finally slip away.
MLJ/08/12/2024SlipSlidin’

"None of you have ever lost." DH

 Dustin Hoffman

Another Music Legend Goes

 Thank you for the music, Coritha.

The Ruined Cake

 HAPPIEST BDAY to my once little brother and sister that I doted on. Imagine Mama delivering my sister in hospital while Papa and I tried to celebrate my brother's 2nd bday at home? Our helper polished the floor so well for the little party that lo and behold, Papa slipped while carrying the cake and I saw it flip in the air and land (icing first, of course) on our super shiny red floor! Hence, our photos of a ruined cake... Our ever decent and gentleman father must've uttered a four-letter word, but we didn't hear anything. Just the silence of everyone in shock. LOL... But all has been well and we're always thankful.

MLJ/26/11/2020

On Wildfires and Precipitation

Wildfires raged on
Close to hibernation
Heavens showed mercy
Poured precipitation
Knee-deep snow to trudge
Inches and inches to brush
Flooding in some areas
Sweeping away homes and cars
Truly, the fires were scared off
But snow and rain were punitive
Mother Earth utterly vindictive.

MLJ/25/11/2024/NovBigDump

The Great Canadian Baking Show

 Ann Pornel

Thanks to Ann Pornel for wearing Filipiniana outfits while hosting. 

vintagallery.com