Today is NATIONAL AVOCADO DAY. I relish avocados and enjoy them in guacamole and especially on top of ceviche. At our favorite local Mexican restaurant, ceviche is served that way, except one time it came without the avocado, and I asked the waiter for the avocado and he said that they had run out; I said that I did not want the ceviche without it. Other people from my "Wild Lunch Bunch" thought I was being unreasonable.
I visited their other restaurant in another city and ordered ceviche and it arrived without the sliced avocado. I asked for avocado and the waiter said that it didn't come with avocado and showed the menu to me. I asked for the Manager and he recognized me from being a patron of the restaurant in Washington C.H. and he immediately instructed the waiter to bring avocado. When I saw him again at the Washington C.H. location, he asked if I'd been causing trouble lately. I said, "I always demand my avocados!"
Avocados target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female; they resemble these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it helps to balance hormones, helps to shed unwanted birth weight, and helps to prevent cervical cancer.
And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each avocado.
My friend told me, "You need a fourteen-year-old grandson." Whenever I have computer issues.
Now, whenever I am having computer problems, I call my friend Char's grandson Cory to help with the problem. He came one time and it took him 5 minutes to fix a problem. I was having problems recently and it was after 10:00 at night. I didn't think it was appropriate to call Cory as I know he works during the day. Instead, I called his mother Dai who is computer savvy. I knew that she stayed up late as we have had conversations late at night. As I was trying to understand her instructions she said, "I'll just come over there." Within moments, she arrived but she also had the dilemma and she said she would just call Cory. I asked, "Won't he be in bed?" She said, "Nah, he'll be up." After a circuitous route of getting to Cory including calling, texting, FB messaging him and his fiancee, and finally his grandmother going to the house, he was found wearing headphones and not hearing the phone. When he called, I had to allow him to see my computer and he had the problem fixed within minutes. Thanks to Cory, Dai, and Char, my late-night saviors for their above and beyond service and friendship!
Everyone will find it amusing that I was the "go-to" person when we first began using computers at work. My fellow-management people--all men--were very resistant to the change.
The men could not stand the "techies"--our company's computer guys--because they were, to a man, condescending, patronizing, and supercilious. As the "techies" were also young, their haughty attitudes did not sit well with men old enough to be their fathers.
When the "techies" came to instruct or fix problems, I actually listened, documented, and was able to apply those lessons. Other management people would call me to ask, "What program do we use for...?" "How do I get in to...?" It wasn't that I knew about computers, but only that I remembered and applied the information which I needed for work.
When I saw Jimmy Fallon on Saturday Night Live portray Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy I laughed at how accurate it was and when Nick Burns yelled "Move!" in exasperation of the ignorance of the people, I yelled, "Eric, help!", because Eric was the most arrogant of all the "techies" I dealt with at work.
Even after I retired, guys would call to ask questions and I would answer, "Look in the black notebook I left in my desk, or call Eric!"
My brother Duke knows all the words of Big Boots from Elvis' movie G. I. Blues. I am teary-eyed whenever I hear either sing it. I have some big boots to fill. Some family reflections on footwear and other bits of trivia: My brother Bode had a good line: "Do you know what they say about a guy with big hands and big feet?"
"He also has big gloves and big shoes!" I always use this quip when I hear the recent musings about the meaning of the size of a certain politician's hands.
My brother Norman worked with a guy who always wore shoes which were too big for his feet and the shoes turned up on the ends, making them look like shoes for elves. One day Norman told him, "Just so you know, there's no truth to that rumor you've heard!"
From my brother Les: "Don't criticize a man until you walk a mile in his shoes; that way you can be a mile away from him and you've also got his shoes!" When my brother Kenny came home after completing his duty at Lackland Air Force Base, he was wearing a pair of cowboy boots with metal tips on the toes; he called them "Shit-kickin' roach killers". "If the shoe fits--buy it!"--Imelda Marcos What kind of shoes do frogs wear? Open-TOAD! Lee Hazlewood wrote Nancy Sinatra's These Boots Are Made For Walkin'; I was surprised at the spelling of his surname. I was pleased to learn that Kinky Boots was based on a true story. My friend Mona Lisa refers to the current resident of the White House as Puss In Boots; when I asked the reason, she said, "The moral of that story is about the benefits of lying, trickery, and wealth."
When we had our "Barbara Stanwyck Film Festival", where we viewed--and reviewed-- all of Stanwyck's movies, we were dreading watching The Bride Wore Boots, simply because of the title and not wanting our shining star to be tarnished, we were thrilled to be able to appreciate her last comedy. Also in that movie was Diana Lynn; I have also watched all of Diana Lynn's movies, simply because I was ALMOST named for her. After having five boys, my mother assumed the sixth would also be a boy. She had told my oldest brother Bode that he could name the baby if it were a girl. Diana Lynn was a cute ingenue on whom he had a crush. Fortunately for me, Mother declined to give the name to me. Whenever I have met women of my generation named Diana, I always ask their middle name, and every one was a "Lynn" also! In They Died With Their Boots On, Errol Flynn could ALMOST make me like Custer!
Das Boot, an epic war movie, had an especially moving scene when they sang It's A Long Way To Tipperary. "Das Boot" is also the name for a large, German beer-drinking vessel.
For Christmas Gerald gave me an Elvis desk calendar. Each day there is a different, gorgeous picture of Elvis to greet me. Sometimes the pages will have bits of trivia. On April 10, the caption read:
"Q: Technically, Elvis' first radio broadcast came at 10 years old, singing in a youth talent show. What song did he perform?"
"A: Old Shep."
The song always brings a lump to my throat. My first memory of hearing Old Shep was listening to my father's recording by Red Foley, who was also the composer of the song.. Our friend Carl Wilt would perform it oftentimes at our get-togethers at The Fish And Game Lodge.
Yesterday, while shopping at Aldi's, I noticed that dog food items are named "SHEP"; naturally (for me, at least), I began singing Old Shep, in a low voice, using Elvis' arrangement. Listen below:
A woman, bagging her groceries, asked, "What were you singing?" When I told her the song was Old Shep, she told me that her father used to sing it and he was a local musician. When I asked his name she said, "Ralph Streitenberger." and I asked, "So, you are Red and Vanilla's daughter?" She was delighted that I knew her parents and I told her my maiden name, that my family was from Bloomingburg, that her father was a classmate of my oldest brother, that her father was my youngest brother's barber, that he had come to the funerals of my brothers and my parents, and that I had enjoyed hearing her father perform numerous times, and that he had sung Old Shep at the Fish And Game Lodge. As I shared several other fond memories about her father, she said that it was wonderful to hear how well he was remembered.
My friend Billie Bower is an avid Elvis fan and she shared her special memory blog item with me:
ELVIS MEMORY SHARED
I was traveling with my parents in February 1956 through Tennessee on our way to Florida. The radio was playing when a local DJ introduced a new record called Heartbreak Hotel by a local singer. I was in the back seat of the car with a girlfriend and when we heard the first notes of the song, we both looked at each other incredulously....such a different sound. I had my dad pull off the road and wait to hear what the artist's name was so that I could write it down. When he said "Elvis Presley", I wondered how to spell such an unusual name. Two weeks later, when we returned to Columbus, Ohio, I went to several record shops to find the record and was told that they didn't have it and had never heard of someone by the name of Elvis Presley. Needless to say, it wasn't long until everybody had heard of Elvis...so I felt I had discovered him in my own way. I was 17 and he was 20 and I was hooked forever with his talent, his charm, his charisma.
I was fortunate enough to be able to see him in person when he came to Columbus, Ohio, in the spring of 1956 at Veterans Memorial. I was not a screaming sort of fan...more of a bookworm/quiet type of fan...so when all the girls were screaming, I was irritated because I couldn't hear him. BUT when he was getting ready to close his performance, he lowered the stand-type microphone between his legs and held out his arm pointing to the audience and saying..."If you can't come back to see me when I come to town the next time, 'You Ain't Nothing But A Hound Dog'!" followed by the song which had not been released yet. So the bookworm/quiet fan actually swooned in my seat!
I remember always buying his records at a local Kresge's store every chance I could. I got married in 1957 and my first baby arrived in 1958, and my first Mother's Day gift was Elvis' 2nd album. Always a fan but never able to afford going to his concerts with a young family, I still had my records. I eventually had 4 children (2 girls and 2 boys) and when I had my first son on January 8, 1965, I was unaware at the time that it was Elvis' birthday. So Bobby always had to share his birthday with Elvis and the anthologies I would always listen to. After he graduated from OSU and had to leave for ROTC military duty, I danced with my son in the kitchen to Elvis singing I Can't Help Falling In Love With You, a very special memory.
I always got teased by my family and friends and co-workers about my love for Elvis, but it didn't bother me. When I only had 2 children in 1963, I had made plans to go to Graceland to finally see his home but alas, my daughters both came down with chicken pox and the trip was cancelled. I remember finally being able to buy 5 tickets to see Elvis to share him with my family in 1974, at University of Dayton. Our tickets were so bad that you could hardly see him, but my family didn't watch him....they were watching me!
I never joined his fan club or collected teddy bears, lipstick, etc., but eventually got hooked on his bubble gum cards, Christmas ornaments, velvet paintings, beach towels, t-shirts, in addition to many special books and album collections. Then on June 25, 1977, I was able to get 4 tickets in the 16th row at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati to see him perform. I was so excited, but my husband was at summer camp in Michigan, my children were at band camp or unavailable, so I called my girlfriend that had been with me in 1956 when we heard him for the first time on the trip to Florida. She and her daughter were available and so I recruited my mother to go too. She said she didn't want to go as she was not an Elvis fan, but I convinced her I needed her company. So the 4 of us were off to Cincinnati for a wonderful concert. He wore his sunburst outfit and I remember that he played the piano to Unchained Melody and complained about having novocaine from a dental appointment and couldn't curl his upper lip. Again, I was the quiet and shy fan who would not go up to get his scarf (I regret to say), but I did buy a rolled-up picture of him for $5 to take home to my dad. I felt bad that we left Daddy alone as it was his 63rd birthday! So 6 weeks later when I was driving home from work (North American Rockwell), I heard on my car radio that Elvis had died. I didn't think I would be able to drive home as I was so distraught. But I remembered when I gave Dad the rolled up picture of Elvis, he said, "Now what am I supposed to do with that?" I called my Dad and said you can frame it and give it back to me. So when I went to my parents home in December of 1977, I was alone in their house when I went to turn on the lamp in the living room only to find the framed picture of Elvis looking at me and almost had a heart attack. It was so life-like! I was asked by everyone...now where are you going to hang that picture? Well, it was so big and heavy, it needed to definitely be on a stud...how appropriate...a stud on a stud! I hung it in the entryway of our home for several years, but now that we live in a small condo, it is behind the door to our computer room and when the door is closed and I'm on the computer, he is there looking at me.
I still had not gotten to Graceland. Again, we planned a trip in 1982...packed and ready to leave when we received a phone call that my husband's mother had passed away in Michigan. But finally in 1988, we did an unplanned visit to Graceland. We went to Florida to visit our son, Bob Jr. and while I was reading the map on our way back to Ohio, I noticed we were near a route that went to Tupelo, MS, and asked my husband could we take a little detour home? I'll never forget the highway leading to Tupelo...I nicknamed it the Honeysuckle Highway...as wild honeysuckle were blooming along the roadside all the way. When we arrived at his birthplace and home, it was closed, but I was able to sit in the swing on the front porch, look in the windows, and reflect. We stayed overnight in Memphis and at long last, I was able to see Graceland. I'm still hoping to go back again as more is open to the public now.
After his passing, I couldn't listen to his music...it hurt too much. And several months later, trying to explain my feelings to my children, I thought I was ready to listen to some of his more upbeat songs like Poke Salad Annie and Trouble. Wrong! My favorite upbeat song is Trouble and when I played it, I realized I still wasn't ready as the tears flowed. It was from King Creole, one of his better movies. I did enjoy his movies, if for no other reason than watching him perform and sing...like the music videos of today. But I did want him to have the opportunity to star with Barbara Streisand in A Star Is Born" as he so wanted to be a serious actor.
And last but not least, Sue, is my memory of you doing your Elvis impersonation! It was so great to have a friend with the same excitement for Elvis that I felt. I remember you were the one I wanted to share my Elvis rose with so when I ordered one for me, I ordered one for you. Now they are not available.
I have wonderful memories of Elvis and will always enjoy listening to his music. When I leave this world, he will be singing How Great Thou Art for me.
As I was decorating for Christmas, I was rearranging books in the library to make room for my "Elvis Shrine". Tucked inside my Latin II book, I found something I'd written when I was 15 years old. It was a rough draft for a contest I had entered. Obviously I worked on other interests while I was supposed to be doing schoolwork.
As a teenager, I listened to a local radio program and there would be contests with one of those "Be the third caller, have the answer, and you'll win the prize." gambits.
I hadn't been able to win any of those, but several times, when one had to write about a topic, and not be just the third caller, I won several times. The prizes were always the same: 2 tickets for a movie at the Fayette Theater.
Elvis' fourth movie King Creole had been released and several of my classmates had gone to Columbus to see it. Imagine--being able to go to the big city--to the Lowe's Theater to see THE KING. Full of envy, I listened to every word as they described the movie. We--the less fortunate--would have to wait for what seemed like forever for the movie to be shown in Washington Court House, and even then, I wondered how could I get the money--or a way--to go? Previously, my brother Gary and his wife had lived in town and I would go there and stay overnight and my sister-in-law and I would go to see the movies with the tickets I had won. By the time King Creole was released they'd already moved to the country.
The contest to win tickets for King Creole was announced and the contest required that one write a letter entitled "Dear Elvis" using the titles of Elvis' songs in the text. I won the contest and my submission was read on the air and afterwards I was teased mercilessly by my brothers and classmates about my silliness. My cousin's wife took me to see the movie and she bought the popcorn and drinks.
All these years later, as I was looking at the rough draft for a contest, I noticed that I had the songs numbered; I didn't recall all the contest rules but it must have required a certain number of songs or number of words to be used. I cringed at what my 15-year-old self had written, but I showed it to my brother. He is usually caustic and sarcastic but he said, sincerely, "Aww, it's sweet; I never knew you were sweet." I answered, "I think it shows what a naif I was." He said, "It was probably every girl's fantasy to think she was Elvis' girlfriend." I am nine years older than my brother, and although he knows me better than nearly anyone else, of course he did not remember that naive 15-year-old as he was only 6 at the time. He said, "You were so competitive that you had to be the one who knew every damn song; so you haven't changed THAT much; paragraph five is pretty good."
The following was written by my 15-year-old self--it's even signed "Phyllis"--as I was known in school (Elvis' songs are capitalized):
Dear Elvis:
In my imagination, I have YOUNG DREAMS that TOMORROW NIGHT you can put on your BLUE SUEDE SHOES and I can take the MYSTERY TRAIN down to NEW ORLEANS and we can go to the KING CREOLE night club, where we can have a HOT DOG, some TUTTI FRUTTI, and CRAWFISH to eat, so LET'S HAVE A PARTY with MAYBELLINE, DANNY, and LONG TALL SALLY.
HAVE I TOLD YOU LATELY if I had ONE NIGHT with you, I would be ALL SHOOK UP, but JUST BECAUSE I gave you a TEDDY BEAR, it doesn't mean I am ALMOST IN LOVE. There might be some TROUBLE because YOU'RE A HEARTBREAKER, but THAT'S ALL RIGHT because I'm PLAYING FOR KEEPS.
Elvis, please DON'T BE CRUEL, because it will be THE END OF THE ROAD you FOOL, FOOL, FOOL, if I FORGOT TO REMEMBER TO FORGET. I JUST CAN'T MAKE IT BY MYSELF, but if we were at HEARTBREAK HOTEL on BLUEBERRY HILL, I wouldn't be a HARD HEADED WOMAN, because I'M BEGINNING TO FORGET YOU!
DONCHA THINK IT'S TIME for you to TREAT ME NICE because I'm LOVING YOU? It's NOW OR NEVER; after all, THAT'S MY DESIRE! TELL ME WHY that IT IS SO STRANGE , but IT IS NO SECRET that IT WOULDN'T BE THE SAME WITHOUT YOU so LET ME be your LOVER DOLL and that will be MY HAPPINESS!
If you're worried about being a POOR BOY, I don't need any MONEY HONEY, I just want TRUE LOVE! You know, IT'S BEEN SO LONG, DARLING; this seems like a ONE-SIDED LOVE AFFAIR unless you LOVE ME TENDER. If you said WON'T YOU WEAR MY RING AROUND YOUR NECK, that's when MY WISH CAME TRUE. I said THAT'S ALL RIGHT because I WANT YOU, I NEED YOU, I LOVE YOU!
This might be TOO MUCH, but THIS TIME I'll be THE FIRST IN LINE, but DON'T have a HEART OF STONE because you are the KEEPER OF THE KEY and I'M COUNTING ON YOU.
If THERE'S NO TOMORROW, put your CRAZY ARMS around me, you BROWN-EYED HANDSOME MAN, because I JUST CAN'T MAKE IT BY MYSELF and I've GOT A LOT OF LIVIN' TO DO! I DON'T CARE IF THE SUN DON'T SHINE because I BELIEVE that you know that I will always be STEADFAST, LOYAL, AND TRUE and I'LL NEVER STAND IN YOUR WAY.
I'M GONNA SIT RIGHT DOWN AND CRY OVER YOU if you say BABY, I DON'T CARE and I WANT TO BE FREE and I'VE GOT A WOMAN and WE'RE GONNA MOVE.
Although I'm a HARD-HEADED WOMAN, I do UNDERSTAND, but HOW DO YOU THINK I FEEL; am I OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND?
I'M BEGINNING TO FORGET YOU because I'm looking at that BLUE MOON OF KENTUCKY and knowing THAT'S WHEN YOUR HEARTACHES BEGIN.
