Almost Packed

My wife and I are almost packed for our trip to Israel on Monday. Our son settled there in 1980, married five years later and his family now consists of three married daughters, three unmarried daughters and two sons. The oldest girl has two daughters, 2 years old and 10 months old and the next oldest has a 4-month-old son.

So to spare you the math we have eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren to see during our 10-day stay. And, oh yes, we will spend some time with our son and daughter-in-law.

This will be about the 17th time we've gone to Israel and before each trip we ask what we can bring. You know what happens when you ask a question like that? They tell you.

So we've traveled with a microwave oven, an iron, sheets, pillow cases, towels, cameras, Ipods, a hair iron, a remote control racing car and assorted baby clothes, games, toys and books for the younger ones. And a healthy supply of assorted batteries to make the electronics work.

Packing is always a challenge when you have potentially breakable items to cushion but so far we've been fortunate and the loot has usually arrived in one piece.

It's just over 10 hours non-stop from Newark Liberty Airport to Israel and more than 12 hours on the return. We can handle the outbound flight but it takes almost a week to recover from the return. In the end it's worth it.

Tomorrow's blog will be my last until mid-February when I'll do my best to catch you all up on our trip.

All Snowstorms Are Local

Every snowstorm brings out tales of hardship, sacrifice, good samaritans, heroics, not-so-heroics, and for the most part annoyance and discomfit. And with all the snow we've had this winter there are plenty of stories to go around.

I'd like to make an observation about something I've noticed in my own suburban New Jersey neighborhood. Believe it or not -- courteous drivers. Despite all the jokes about "Jersey Drivers," mostly canards foisted by lousy New York drivers, I had some very nice experiences recently once I got my car out of the driveway.

Thing is, all the snow plowing has actually narrowed the local streets to the point where two cars can barely pass each other. However, that hasn't stopped some people from parking on our side streets, making for a potentially interesting confrontation. Two cars approach each other to use the single available lane. Who goes first? Do we take the offensive and charge into the available lane? Or do we allow the oncoming vehicle to go first?

I have to tell you more often than not these past two days I've had the pleasure of oncoming cars allowing me to go first which, in turn, encouraged me to reciprocate when I had the opportunity to do so. I found it very rewarding to be polite.

I recommend it.

The Techie Did It!

The way new devices keep popping up all the time you'd think there would be a simpler way of transferring data from one gizmo to another. Why is it always so complicated?

For instance, recently I put a new battery in my cell phone while the phone was still on. When I glanced at the instructions later it said to turn the phone off before changing batteries in order not to lose your contacts. I guess I got lucky because all my contacts were safely stored.

New case: just recently one of my tennis partners bought a new PC and rather than risk losing the data on his old PC he brought in a technical consultant (who I also use) to make the transfer.

My friend edits a church newsletter called The Dovetail and yesterday he emailed his staff for contributions. Thing is his email also went to all his tennis partners. His explanation follows:

"My computer maven Erich apparently dovetailed my tennis group with my Holy Spirit newsletter (The Dovetale) into one big group, so you most likely got an e-mail about the Dovetale, which you can simply delete (unless you want to write an article for me) and I'll try to separate the groups, if I can figure how to do that on our new computer." 

I doubt we'll write any articles but we always pray that we'll play better.

The Curse of the Indefinite Article

I'm talking about "it," "they," "them," "this," "that," etc., etc. etc.

Can't we just identify the object or person under discussion without resorting to the indefinites. I may not always be tracking the conversation or looking in the right direction when "it" is mentioned. This, of course, forces me to ask "what?" Which evokes a frustrated sigh which, without saying as much, conveys the silent message: "why can't you pay attention?"

Ditto discussions about people. I may be reading the paper or checking email or otherwise wool-gathering when the person or persons are first identified. Second references then become "him" "her" "they" or "them."

Who are we talking about? I ask innocently, bracing myself for "aren't you listening to me?" Apparently not with complete attention.  

I doubt if this "problem" is mine alone. I suspect others of my generation face similar situations with or without their hearing aids tuned in. (Disclosure: no hearing aids here but sometimes suggested.)

Truth is we know several people who wear those devices and we still have to repeat ourselves when talking with them. Yes, I used two indefinites in the previous sentence (underlined) but I believe they are readily understandable.

Yours for clearer communication.

Responses Anyone?

The President barely completed his State of the Union Address tonight and the responses are already pouring in. Our Senior response correspondent, Edward Rrr Mutterer is keeping score:

 

"Well, Muddler, naturally the Republicans are the first to say "Yeah, we heard that call for bi-partisanship and that's OK as long as we get to be the partisans and the Democrats take the bi."

"Then there's that weirdo congresswoman from Minnesota who wants to do away with goverment altogether. Of course if she succeeds she'll join the ranks of the jobless. And maybe that's a good thing.

"Then there's the sitting responses and the standing responses. Members in the audience applauded while sitting and applauded on their feet. All that upping and downing took up a lot of extra time. They may have inspired a new party, the "Just Sit There and Listen Party."

"And I see the President is taking questions from real people on You Tube. If they're busy talking to the President how are they going to pay attention to the other responders?

"Aha, what a strategy!

"Back to you, Muddler."

Edward Rrr. Mutterer reporting from the capitol.

Dropping Things

I drop things a lot. Mostly plastic items which are so light that most of the time I'm not even aware I'm touching them. The next thing I know they're toppling over and, worse, knocking other items over as well.

Sometimes they land on the floor, other times just on the kitchen counter. Did I say most of the dropping occurs in the kitchen? The flying items are mostly plastic drinking glasses, bottled water bottles, soft soap dispensers and the like. Because they're plastic they don't break but they do make a lot of noise and it can be startling when the dominoes start falling.

It got so worrisome I thought maybe I had lost some feeling at the ends of my fingers. So I went to a neurologist for an examination. He said I was fine.

One thing I've learned from all this: when the falling begins step back and wait until it's over. Trying to catch a falling object can only add to the mess or make it worse. Then, of course, I'm grateful I can pick it all up and, if necessary, clean up.

I blame it all on design. For instance, I find some silverware so oddly balanced it takes total concentration to keep it on a plate, no less on the table. I find plastic soap dispensers so narrow at the bottom it's a wonder they stay upright in the first place. An empty water bottle is just waiting to be knocked over, it's so light. And when it goes, it's sure to knock into something else and send that toppling too.

To avoid dropping things or knocking them over I try to remember to slow down and concentrate on what I'm doing. Sometimes I forget and you know what happens then.

Oops!

Nostalgia Weekend

This was a good weekend for nostalgia buffs.

Willie Mays was in New York and there was a picture of him playing stickball in Harlem. I used to play stickball in The Bronx.

There was a retrospective about the old Polo Grounds where the New York Giants used to play baseball before they moved to the West Coast. I used to go to Giant games there as a kid. During WWII you could get in the game free if you brought scrap iron for the war effort. I did that. But the really big deal were holiday double-headers against the Brooklyn Dodgers; two games for the price of one.

On one holiday, either Memorial Day or July 4, my friends and I packed lunches and got there early to grab seats in the upper deck right behind home plate. As the stadium began to fill, we started getting offers for our seats. We held out till just before game time and made more than the $1.10 we had paid for them. Then we sat down on the steps right beside the seats we just sold to watch the games.

If memory serves, the Giants walloped the Dodgers in both games by ridiculous scores.

Then there were today's football games: Bears-Packers and Jets-Steelers. I kind of liked the Chicago-Green Bay game because it matched old rivals who last played each other in a championship game in 1941. Packers won today, too.

Although the Jets made a mighty effort in the second half of their game against Pittsburgh, they still fell five points short at the end. This sets up a Super Bowl game between to teams that were original members of the National Football League. I like that.

Let the nostalgia reign.