I was outta here at 9:45 heading to Barnes and Noble to get two gifts, one I really needed cus it is for my grandson Brent's 12th birthday.
I had read reviews of the book I wanted to get him. All raves. The author is a nine year old boy and the book title is " How To Talk To Girls." Rather than roam around the store,in the crowds ( and it was very crowded!) and dragging my oxygen, I went up to the customer service desk and asked where I could find the book. They sent a runner to get it for me, which I thought was really a nice p.r. gesture. Nice gesture but they were sold out of the book. They suggested I go to Santa Barbara and see if I could get it there. Well, I wasn't about to do that. I got the other book I wanted ,stood in the long line at checkout and felt very discouraged.
I didn't do any roaming in the store at all. Would be a economic pity. So many books I would want to buy and who can afford a lot of books now? I've always thought that we buy people the books we wish to read ourselves. My old beau, Chuck and I, figured that out years ago when we kept giving each other the new great bios that had just come out.... would read and then switch so we could read both.
A few weeks ago, as I was gift wrapping a gift for a friend out of state, I sat down with the book I had bought him and wondered if it was going to be something he would really like. Well, my look at the book jacket went to the first page, just to get the feel for the book, and three hours later -- yeah , after I had finished reading the book -- I finished wrapping it!
Meanwhile, today, I came home and went online to Amazon, surely they would have the book I wanted for my grand son. The message on my screen said, " no delivery on this book until after Christmas." Crap.
What about trying Barnes and Noble online? They had the book, put it in my "cart" and proceeded to checkout where my password would not work. Tried over and over and finally clicked on that link that says " forgot my password." Am I having a senior moment, have been shopping at B& N online for years. B& N said, " We have just emailed you a link to create a new password." Well, bull. I waited 20 minutes and no link.
Back on again to B&N, ordered the book and got a message it would be shipped in 24 hours . A password? Forget it, I went through the process as a "guest."
Blogs, Webs, Space Pages...
Yesterday at lunch a couple who always sit with me, and both of whom have internet accounts and claim to be on the internet all the time asked me what a blog was. "Well, why not just send an email instead?" the man asked. I went through the what I thought was simple explanation saying the blog was public, the email private. He still didn't get it and asked, " how is that different from a web page?" Then I explained a web page. Thinking I was done playing teacher I began to take a bite out of my sandwich when he asked, " So what is a myspace page and what is this tube thing that people watch and how do I get to those?" And this from a man who claims to have been using his computer since they were invented. My kids would be horrified at his being so stupid, and gotta tell you, so was I.
Gosh, hope he hasn't figured out this all enough to be sitting at his computer right now reading this blog!
Well , the end of the conversation was when I asked if he had googled something. " What does that mean?" It meant he had never heard of google or done a search. Yeah, I explained that, too. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
At dinner... I sat next to the cute 95 year old lady I always sit near. I'm starting to worry about her and if she can take her meds as directed. She told me the same story 4 times, asked her same questions over and over... she's really suffering from short term memory loss. She doesn't have any children, just a niece in North Carolina.
Made me think of the time my Mom overdosed on her blood pressure meds and passed out at the airport in Maui and we went by ambulance to the hospital with me afraid she had died or was dying.. had her in my arms waiting for the 911 response and feeling very afraid and alone. People were standing around and staring at us.. and I kept asking people to call 911.. no one moved. Finally, at the top of my lungs, I screamed out " 911 please!" and someone at a ticket counter called. I had rememberd reading somewhere that when people pass out on the street or in a store and drop their parcels or worse yet, their purse, others will steal it. I leaned down and grabbed Mom's purse which had also fallen on the ground and put it over my shoulder along with mine.
It had all be a pretty harrowing experience and we missed our flight ,had already returned our rental car, and had no hotel room or condo now. The doctor at the hospital suggested we sleep in a vacant surgical suite. What a hoot that was. Mom and I must have laughed all night. The lights were so bright, but we had these long comfy beds! Mom kept making cracks about the wonderful makeup lights and then I would giggle all over again. We ended up getting on a red eye flight the next day back to Seattle, hoping our luggage would be waiting for us in Seattle... .It was.
Christmas Cards... Back in the days when I was writing my newspaper column I would send out 200 greeting cards.It was a big job. I'd have a picture card made at the drug store on Madison in Seattle and then spend hours in the month of September going through my big binder writing cards to individuals, friends, p. r. firms, charity groups, etc. Mom would sit in a chair next to me and stuff the envelopes or put the stamps on them. Then, when we were finished we would put the cards in a carton and mail them to my Palm Springs address and then all I had to do in December was mail them. Was a fun thing we did every year and when we were finished we would go down Madison Avenue to a pub she liked and have a steak. Ah, what great times those were with mom. How lucky I was to have all those years and times with her. Sure miss her a lot. My daughter Karen tells me she thinks about my Mom every day, too.
I finished off my 2008 cards last night -- all 10 of them! With the internet I will send internet greetings. It's just not the same, is it?
All my Christmas and Chanukah decor is either in storage or I farmed it out to my kids, so if you walk in here there is no clue a holiday is coming up other than the fact I have my ironing board up and covered with gifts and wrapping paper. No, not going to iron the gifts -- I don't have a dining table anymore, so that is going to be my work table.
This is enough ramble for one day, don't you think and I want you to go over to son Lee's blog ( leegoldberg.com) and see the cover for son Tod's ( todgoldberg.com) new book.... and don't forget to go read my girls at visualchronicles.com, too.
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