On my eighth birthday, in 1932, my grandparents bought me a ride in the Goodyear Blimp, Volunteer. It was one of four in those days. It had a landing field at LaCieniga and Wilshire in Los Angeles. I have no idea what it cost. We lifted off and flew west to Beverly Hills. By craning and straining we could see on west and could even make out our house in Westwood.
At age forty I learned to fly a plane, and was reminded of my first adventure in the air, in the Blimp.
One of the residents of the “old folks home” I live in wandered off yesterday. I went on my “scooter” and searched the parking lots for her. Meanwhile, a concerned neighbor found her wandering and drove her home. That made me look into the future.
I see a future in which we all wear GPS locators. Global Positioning Systems are already so sophisticated that they can pin-point our location on the face of the earth within a few feet. Imagine a world with no more lost children or senior citizens. No more getting lost on the way to a friend’s new house. No more abductions, kidnappings, or escapes. A huge computer would track each and every one of us.
When Big Brother is always watching us, we will want him to be like an actual brother, looking after our welfare, not secret police or a political leader seeing that we behave. I think I’d like my GPS to have an optional “off” switch, so I could be lost if I wanted to.
Man, I am proud. Daughter Kate has a website. Take a peek. Click on that link or enter http://hometown.aol.com/kateh2ocolorart/index.html
Ten facts about myself
(Well, thirteen, if you’re keeping score.,)
1. Most of my reading is done on the internet. I get my news and features that way. The first thing I read daily on the internet is By The Way by John Scalzi. In fact it was he who suggested putting Ten
Facts about Myself in this journal..
2. I would like to be a nudist. I resent putting on clothes in the morning. I am happiest reading, writing, lounging around naked. I once went to a nudist colony. I was not happy there. The nudists emphasized the healthful aspects of nudism, and down-played the sensual aspects. My interest is just the opposite.
3. I am a Democrat, a LIBERAL Democrat. My first presidential vote was for Truman, I am happy to remember. I did vote for a Republican once, Eisenhower for a first term. By the time he ran for reelection I had wised up. I once voted for Perot, though I forget what his party was.
4. I once rode in the Goodyear blimp. The ride was a present for my eighth birthday. I think my interest in flying may have started then.
5. I owned, maintained, and flew my own airplane, a 1946 Ercouipe. I once made an off field landing on a country road, just for the fun of it. I hit a fence in taking off, and although I flew home safely, I had ruined the prop. I never did that again.
6. I am afraid of heights, except when I am flying my own plane.
7. I hate to travel.
8. I am divorced. The separation was my fault, and if I could do it over, I would avoid those actions that caused our estrangement.
9. As a youth I wanted to be a news photographer. After I was wounded in WWII, I decided a one- legged school teacher would get along better than a one-legged news photographer.
10.. I am an atheist. I find that hard to say: perhaps some part of me still feels that it will make God angry if I say I don’t believe in Him. I studied hard to understand the Biblical God, and could not, so I reluctantly acknowledged that I am that lost individual, an atheist.
11. I live in a retirement home. You can read that as “Old Folks Home”. I feel limited and constrained here, and generally misunderstood among my fellow residents, few of whom even know what the internet is.
12. I like to listen to music, but I hate background music when I am doing something else. I would never have music playing while I am writing.
13. I have a home page, and I keep this Blog, Dribble, but I don‘t know why it is called a Blog.
Went to see Cabaret. Weird and interesting play. Went because grandson Adam was in orchestra. Because I was in wheel chair, I had a seat on stage, at a cabaret table. Charming to be so close you could touch dancers and actors. They perform, and try to avoid making eye contact with you, so they can stay in character. The play is set in Germany in 1939 and during the course of the play, the Nazis take over the Cabaret. Poignant.
Thanks for comments.
Ordered a new scooter...a Pride. Will zip me to Sav Mart and the Mall and Wal*Mart. Replace an old pace saver which I seem not to be able to fix and a tippy City Bug, which is more toy than walking aid. Glad I can still drive, but the fifteen foot walk from the back, where I story my wheelchair, to the driver's seat, is getting longer and longer.
("Hi" to Shelly a journaler who writes a charming blog)http://journals.aol.com/dazeychic/DayinthelifeofShelliP/entries/556/AddComment?from=0
Wish I knew how to properly insert links.
Yesterday, I escaped the humdrum existence here twice. Once to Starbucks for a latte. I don't like latte much, but it was a chance to get out. Later for a solo lunch at Carl's Jr. Had a baked potato with sour cream and a sprite. I bought a fancy burrito to bring home. Potato very good, and the fancy burrito was so-so. I ate it at about 9 pm. I plan my next escape to the bagel store a block away. The little "city bug" runs fine. I ride it right into the cafes, to the counter and to the table.
Day before yesterday I went on "city bug" to Pizza Hut with Anita and Wilma, friends from the residence. Rode right in there too.
