Tape Tracks ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

     Tape tracks might have been a term that was totally understandable to most people at some times in the past. Early on in my years of listening to and buying recorded music I started accumulating 8-track cartridges and the cassettes.  It was all music recorded on tape that was made for the purpose of audio storage.  If you wanted to refer to a certain song on the tape then you might refer to a "track" on that tape.  Finding the track you wanted was often not all that simple.  You had to fast forward or rewind until you got to the track you wanted.  Hit or miss was the deal.  I usually didn't have to deal with that since I'm kind of obsessive about listening to an album from start to finish.  I'd read the listing of the tape tracks on the label, but rarely did I search for particular tracks.  It's just the way I've tended to listen to music.  I still do.  When I listen to music, which is not as often as I used to do.

Sad Songs ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

        Sad songs are some of my favorites.  Happy songs can be uplifting or fun or downright silly.  But the sad songs seem to stick with me the most.

Red Rover ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      Red Rover is one of those games from childhood that I remember existing but me rarely playing.  I can't say how many times I did play it when I was in elementary school--probably in second grade or earlier--but I know I played it at least once or twice.  I always wanted to play it but since you basically had to have a number of people to play, it was something we didn't do much.  Now if I played senior Red Rover I'd likely break my arms or do some kind of damage.  It's a call from the distance of childhood memory that I'll likely not hear again. Do kids play that game anymore?

Quill ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

       Quill catalogs used to come to my office regularly throughout the year.  Quill was an office supply company.  I don't think they had any retail stores, but just delivery in bulk orders.  I don't recall ordering anything from them.  If I did it wasn't very often.  I normally ordered from Staples I think, but that was over 20 years ago.  I don't need many office supplies these days.  But I still love them.

Philately: Postage Stamp Collecting ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

     Philately or postage stamp collecting used to be a very popular hobby when I was growing up.  I don't know that very many kids today collect stamps.  It's probably pretty boring to most modern kids. For me it was a great hobby. I would spend hours with my collection learning so much about the world and history.  But we didn't have so many other distractions in my youth.  It was a simpler time where patience was just what you had to have sometimes.  Peaceful, it was when I think back, but maybe not really.  Now it is all just past.

Ozempic and Other Such Things ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

     Ozempic and other such things I have considered in recent years.  I've been what is considered overweight for a number of years, but in the past couple years I've been losing pounds.  I've yet to resort to any weight loss drugs.  I'm hesitant to do so.  I have however been eating far less than I used to and consequently have been losing some weight. Good news I think.  Hopefully I won't have to resort to any drugs to lose weight. Eating less and doing more exercise is the way I prefer.  I'll walk up and down my stairs more.  That sounds like a good approach.  And less eating.  

Nice Things ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

        Nice things are nice to have.  I have a lot of nice things, but that is my subjective opinion.  My wife doesn't think a lot of my things are all that nice.  I suppose a lot of folks would not be particularly impressed with my possessions, but I like them just fine.  I've got pretty simple tastes and don't really want of all that much.  My needs are met for the most part and I'm pretty content in my life.  I guess that's a nice thing as well.

Minus the Meat, Please! ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

     "Minus the meat, please," has almost become my body's mantra as I get older.  I was never a big consumer of meat, but now it's like I'm turning into a vegetarian.  Not quite, but I seem to be trending that direction.  Oh, I still enjoy a burger now and then, but not too big.  Chili with ground beef sounds fine, but not any huge quantities.  I'm sure I'd enjoy a good steak occasionally, though I've never been a big fan of eating  steak.  

      My body is changing I guess.  Maybe soon I'll be eating even more salads and veggie platters than ever before.  I'm sure I won't totally give up on meat anytime soon, but I'll be likely saying, "Minus the meat, please" more often than ever before.  I guess that will make some animals happy.

Lost Men ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      Lost men seems like a bit of an oxymoron, doesn't it?  I mean, whoever heard of a lost man?  Okay, I'll admit that I've been  lost a few times in my life--literally and figuratively.  Now GPS helps a lot for the literal geographical way.  Years ago the GPS didn't always seem to get it right and I'd still get a bit lost, but seems like they've worked out most of the kinks.  I haven't really gotten lost in I don't know how long.  But I don't go much of anyplace either.  And if I get lost in my own house--not that it couldn't happen someday as I get older--I don't think it would be for long.  Not many places I can go in my house.  

Kansas Catastrophe ( #AtoZChallenge )

      Kansas was one of my favorite rock groups back in the seventies.  When I saw that they were coming to Evansville Indiana when I was living there for a short while in 1976, I was excited to get a ticket for the concert.  My employer at the time matched me up with her hairdresser who she thought would be a cute date for me.  I was a twenty-five year old guy that didn't really know anybody in town so happy to get connected with someone.  I invited her to the Kansas concert for a first date.

     I don't think she was much of a rock fan.  We got to the concert into the first set which was Bachman Turner Overdrive.  At the end of that set my date complained that the loud music had given her a headache and she wanted to go home.  I never got to see Kansas in concert.  I also decided that going to a concert was not the greatest thing to do for a first date with someone you don't know.  I never saw her again after that and it probably didn't matter.

June in April ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

       June seems like it's here already.  At least for me.  Since one of my daughters and her family have been visiting it seems like summer because that's when we usually see them.  And what happened to winter in California anyway?  We seemed to have a very short cold season this year and now the weather is definitely springlike if not like summer.  But in Los Angeles it doesn't matter that much.  Our weather is usually pretty nice.  

Ides of April ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

       Ides of April is drawing near!  Beware!  To those in the United States:  Have you done your taxes yet?

Happy Harbingers ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

        Harbingers of spring is a term I've heard most of my life.   They seem more obvious back in the Eastern United States than here in California.  I'm sure they're here, but mostly not noticeable to me.  Weather is probably the biggest indicator, but that is not always a reliable way to look at the seasons.  We had some very warm winter days.  Come to think of it, we didn't have much of a winter at all this past few months.  I guess the warm weather was maybe a harbinger of spring?  Seems kind of silly to me, but that's L.A.   La La Land as they sometimes say.  La la la.  I can't hear you...

God Is Good ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

        "God is good," is reportedly what one of the flyers shot down in Iran said in his initial radio contact with his soon to be rescuers.  This has always been true in my life.  Even when my life seemed to be going down the tubes, it was because I was bad and not God.  God is always good.

          I can't see it any other way.  Without the goodness of God then hope seems out of reach to me.  I'll hang on to that mantra.  "God is good!"  Hallelujah and amen.

Facing the Future ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      Facing the future is a forever state of mind.  No matter how much we dwell in the past or live for today, the future is always the next thing coming.  Everything else is memory or what becomes memory.  The future is always ahead of us, waiting to become our next immediate concern or the contemplation of what once was.   It's all going too fast, even when it seems like it's going slow.  The question for me now is the future.  But the future always seems to be the question for all of us whether we ask it or not.

        The future will be here soon enough.  Now what should I do?

Easter Evening ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      Easter evening has arrived after a very nice peaceful restful day.  My wife and I started our day with church during which I played my violin with the church youth band.  We played two songs and everyone seemed to enjoy it.  I thought it was a bit rough, but we're just a bunch of kids after all.  I guess at seventy-five I have the right to claim being a kid,  Right?  And the actual church youth group is rather small so every musician helps.

     It had been many years since I had played my violin to any real extent and it's felt good of late to be playing again. Someone pointed out that our small church has an unusually large number of violin players.  Well, there's three of us, but that is half the size of our band.  Looks like we're on our way to becoming an orchestra.

       After church I was craving some ham as was my family's tradition to have such a dinner when I was growing up.  So we stopped at Subway and I got a ham sandwich for my Easter dinner.  Then I took a nap after which my wife and I watched a few things on TV.  We closed our evening of television viewing watching the bio movie about Leonard Cohen and his song "Hallelujah" which seemed appropriate for Easter evening.  

       Life is good because right now it is peaceful.  Hope you are experiencing the same.

Doing What I'm Doing ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

        Doing things--lots of various things--is what I've been doing of late.  Things piled up all of a sudden once February arrived.   And I had thought I'd be getting A to Z posts out with no problem.  I even started laying the posts out.  And then things happened. And then more things.  That's how it usually seems to go for me.  How about you?

        I've been engaged in a lot of spring cleaning the past few days.  Needed to be done, but I didn't expect the doing to become such a pressing issue.  And then there's...

       Done for today.  I'm at least managing so far--the household stuff and the blog posts.  We'll see how this upcoming week goes.  

Catalina California ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

        California really is a great state once you get past the bad government, some wacky people, and other stuff we shouldn't have to deal with but we do.  Otherwise, the state has a lot to offer.  There's so much I haven't seen yet though I have seen a lot of things I've missed in movies or TV shows.  Catalina is one example.  It's an island about 26 miles or so off the coast near Los Angeles.  On a good day you can see it from various places like the Getty Museum.  

       I'll be going there soon for an overnight visit. I'm not sure about the boat trip but I've enjoyed things like the ferry from Maryland (or wherever it is) to Cape May NJ.  That was a pretty big boat and I felt very secure.  The ferry to Catalina doesn't carry vehicles so I'm sure it's smaller.  I'm not that fond of being on the water.  I'd make a lousy sailor.

        And count me out of any plans for a cruise. I'm quite content at home thank you.

Bags of Bottles and Cans ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

 

       Breakfast was the first order of today--like most any morning--and then I loaded up my van with about 3 months accumulation of recyclables as I typically do quarterly during each year.   For those who don't live in California I should explain we pay a fee for most plastic, aluminum, and glass drink containers that we can get back if we bring them to a recycle center.  It's no big deal, but it all adds up.  It's a minor inconvenience to keep all of the recyclables, but I have space in my garage so it's no big problem.  And the recycle center is just a few blocks from my house.  So I went down first thing after breakfast.  I guess I help the environment or something and more importantly I walked away with $25. No big deal, but it's better than throwing it all away.

      After that I was cleaning outside our house and other chores.  Spring cleaning you know.  And company's coming next week.  So we're getting things ready for my daughter and her husband and three of our grandkids.  It will likely be a short fast-paced week of fun.  We only usually see them once a year since we live so far apart.

         Bed time now calls me.  Like yesterday I'm tired.  I've at least managed another A to Z post.  Now I'll see if I can keep up.  It might be difficult.  Hopefully I'll be back with another installment tomorrow.  Or sometime.

And Then This Happened and Then This.... ( #AtoZChallenge & #IWSG )

 

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 
     The co-hosts for the April 1 posting of the IWSG are Melissa Maygrove, Cathrina Constantine, Kate Larkinsdale, and Rebecca Douglass!

       Well, just wanted to check in.  I had every intention of starting A to Z posts and getting a timely post for Insecure Writer's Support Group and wouldn't you know.  I don't want to bore you with details and I'm worn out.  It's late and I just got my internet back after having been almost a week without. I have been overwhelmed of late and haven't had much time for online activities.  And the next few weeks seem like they are going to be more of the same.

      Let me see where I am tomorrow and where I'm going next.  For now I'm going to bed.