Sunday, November 30, 2008

None of them have been around as long as I have, but . . .

Did you know that you could purchase Energizer Bunny slippers? Did you even imagine that they had a website just for the bunny or that Mr. Clean had a website just for him?

And if you had to guess who was the oldest - and my favorite - advertising icon or mascot when I was growing up, you'd probably have no problem winning that contest. It was Farfel, the Nestle dog, a puppet who used to sing: N-E-S-T-L-E-S, Nestles makes the very best . . . cha-aaaaw-clit! Jimmy Nelson was the ventriloquist who worked Farfel and his pal Danny in Nestle's commercials from 1955 to 1965. For anyone who remembers Farfel and the loud clap of his mouth at the end of the jingle, that was actually a mistake made during Nelson's audition. Because he was so nervous, his hand was sweaty and it slipped; but the company liked it, so it stayed. He thought he had blown it for sure, so it's one of those little mistakes in life that can lead to something good that you didn't expect. :-)

Now the Energizer bunny is starting his 20th year in advertising, having made his debut in October 1989. He was conceived by a man watching his son swim in a floatation device shaped like a pink rabbit on which his wife had placed her sunglasses to make him laugh. He's now so popular he has a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

But, Mr. Clean has - unfortunately, in my opinion - been around the longest (since he's still here). He made his debut in 1958, when I was 11. I'm surprised I was that old because I still remember having at least one nightmare about him, and I would have guessed I was more around 8. Well, I always have been a scaredy-cat. No one had shaved heads or big muscles in those days and he looked kind of mean. He was supposed to be "tough" on cleaning; hence the image that evidently sunk into my psyche.

In September 2008, the European Parliament deemed Mr. Clean potentially offensive, because his build might imply that cleaning can only be accomplished by a muscular man (I'm not making this up - ref.Wikipedia). We all know that ain't true - cleaning can't be accomplished by most men, muscular or not, with apologies to all you men who do a good job at your chores, Bill included. I'm terrible. But, that's because I was permanently scarred early in life by Mr. Clean and now I'm "soft" on dirt.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Happy Belated Thanksgiving - Merry Pre-Christmas

Turkey and Titans (football) and two dogs pretty much describe our Thanksgiving at Dave and Erin's along with Erin's parents, Roger and Muriel Pfaff. Since the Titans' game began at 11:30, that's when we arrived, eating around 1:00. Everything tasted wonderful; the dogs even managed to get a few nibbles of turkey from Muriel. Easy for her - she doesn't have to go home with one of them! We cooked our own turkey breast on Friday and Mojo has been shunning his dog food ever since unless it has a few morsels - and I mean morsels - in the bowl.
News events for the Friday after Thanksgiving, the biggest shopping day of the Christmas season, included a Walmart employee being trampled to death when the doors opened at the store on Long Island and two men who shot each other to death in a Toys 'R Us in Palm Desert, Calif. Maybe some people are taking these Early Bird specials a little too seriously. I avoid this nastiness and shop online. Merry Pre-Christmas.
P.S. Grant and Keri went to Cincinnati and Mentor for Thanksgiving. They took their Welsh Corgi Magi and stayed with my parents for 2 nights. Early reports are they had a great time and are going back in the summer.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

I think I'm the only one that got this letter, so I'm sharing it . . .

Dear Ms. VandeWater, The victory we achieved on November 4 means so much to so many -- but to all of us, it is a stirring affirmation of our country's most fundamental promise: America is a place where anything -- anything we choose to dream together, anything for which we choose to work together -- is possible. Ours was never the likeliest campaign for the presidency. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington -- it was built by working men and women, students and retirees who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from the Earth. Nina, this is your victory. But even as we celebrate, we know the challenges are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. And we will be asking you to join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand. What began 21 months ago in the depth of winter must not end on a night in autumn. This victory alone is not the change we seek -- it is only the chance for us to make that change. Nina, this is our moment. This is our time -- to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth -- that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can. For now, please accept our deepest thanks. We will never forget you. Sincerely, Barack Obama Michelle Obama (I might add that when reading this I happily noticed that the Obamas seem to love the dash, my favorite piece of punctuation as well. I think it's for people who really hate to see a sentence end. And I noticed they started a sentence with "and" as well. I like that too. It shows blatant disregard for what one was taught in 7th grade. In fact, I can't say that the last large paragraph has much punctual integrity at all - and I know that doesn't make sense to some, if not all. But it's late. Good night. Deepest thanks for reading, if anyone did. Nina :)

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Life in the fast lane

My Mazda RX-8 finally got to go zoom zoom on Saturday, November 15, as Bill and David joined a group of fellows for a Road Rally. That's Grant 2nd from the left with his friend Shep who organized the event, saying he had wanted to do this since he was a child. Bill and David are on either side of my car which is 5th from the left. And, yes, that is a 1969 Corvette on the far right. I was proud of myself for identifying the Mini Cooper, 3rd from the left. The other 4 are (from the left) BMW M3, Lexus IS250, Mustang Roush, Nissan 350Z. And, by the way, for historical purposes, in the midst of this bitter recession, yesterday Ford Motor stock was trading at $1.25/share and General Motors at $2.79 although they are trading at $2.20 this very minute. They say that we baby boomers aren't going to be able to retire when we thought we would. That's pretty scary considering we already did.
Meanwhile, back to the topic at hand, the first stop was outside the Tennessee State Prison, the impressive building in the background. Currently closed to all but movie and TV sets (The Green Mile and The Last Castle were filmed here), this state prison was opened in 1898 and closed in 1992. Built with 800 cells meant to house 1 prisoner each, 1400 walked through the gates on day 1, insuring overcrowding conditions from the start. No heat or ventilation in the cells either. Ouch! Several interesting batches of escapees and prison riots.
The guys then went to the square in downtown Franklin, out onto the curvy Natchez Trace and on to Lynchburg, ending with a tour of the Jack Daniels factory located there. Finally back to Nashville. Winning the Rally had to do with getting cards at each stop and having the best poker hand at the finish. Bonus cards could be obtained by getting things like speeding tickets, etc., so I'm happy that Team Vandy didn't win. My rules had included the stipulation that REX come back in one piece for it ever to zoom zoom on another Road Rally.
Mojo missed Bill so much that he took 2 naps in his cage (something he has never done before - he doesn't dislike the cage, but I've never seen him just go in there). I managed to take my nap on the sofa as usual.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

They painted the roses red or had fake ones planted

OK - so Obama did win, and Bill and I had a fabulous time - for a change - watching CNN "project" the states red or blue until Obama had enough electoral votes to call the win for him at approx. 11 p.m. McCain then gave a good concession speech and Obama an even better, sober acceptance speech. With the world economy in an extreme recession, it's going to be a tough row to hoe come January.

This past Monday, Nov. 10, then, George and Laura Bush, had the Obamas over to the White House "to measure the drapes" and discuss the transfer of power as the press releases went. I was particularly enchanted with the picture of the lovely red roses in the White House rose garden (late bloomers I guess). Almost made me want the job of First Lady so I could stroll the grounds each day while someone else did the work. But I doubt if Bill or I would have gleaned even one write-in vote (not even our children are that foolish) in a last-minute ballot endeavor.

Someone's - and I truly forget whose - favorite photo was of the black man with tears running down his face at one of the many Obama celebrations on election night. It was truly an evening of triumph for African Americans across the country. While Obama never made an issue of race, so many blacks said "I never thought I'd live to see the day . . . " and "Now I can truly tell my children that they can grow up to be anything they want to be." And when Barack used the words:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. Its the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference. Its the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America. Its the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

Well, it made me proud that on this night, it was my moment to be happy that my candidate finally won. Not that I envy him the job. We'll see if it turns his hair as gray as it did George's. But at least, in November, on any cold day in the White House garden, chances are good that the roses will still be red.

Meet the parents: Martha and David

Meet the parents:  Martha and David
Aren't they cute?

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Christmas 2007

Christmas 2007
In Atlanta with the Pfaff's

Bill and I had a wonderful time with Dave and Erin at Erin's parents, Roger and Muriel Pfaff, in Marietta, GA. We drove down on Sunday and spent 2 nights at a Drury Inns & Suites, but ate all our meals (except the free breakfast at the motel) with the Pfaff's. Erin has one sister, Alison, and her boyfriend, Mike, were also in attendance. Mike is a med student at MCV, where Bill's brother Jim went (a few year's ago!).

We got hooked on dominoes, which we played when we weren't eating one of Murierl's wonderful meals. Of course, when we played we ate homemade cookies and candy, made by Erin and her mom. Dinner Sunday night was a wonderful chicken dish over pasta; Christmas Eve was 2 kinds of hearty homemade soups and homemade rolls; and Christmas dinner was prime rib. Wow! Were we impressed. Best thing to me: sticky pecan rolls at Christmas breakfast. Super yum.

On Christmas Eve we went to a candlelight service at 11:00 p.m. at the Pfaff's Lutheran church. It felt very similar to our Methodist candlelight service. I think the big Christmas present was something called a Wee, an interactive games thingy played on your TV. Like all playstation things, it's beyond me.


March 2008 Snowfall

March 2008 Snowfall
Our only snow this year which was with us for one evening and the following half day.


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Bill

Bill
Bridgestone Racing Academy



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Favorite Quotes

Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life . . . Picasso

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind . . . . . . . Dr. Seuss

The truth knocks on the door and you say, 'Go away, I'm looking for the truth,' and so it goes away . . . Robert M. Pirsig "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"

The man who insists upon seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides. Accept life, and you must accept regret . . . Henri-Fredric Amiel

What worries you, masters you . . . . Haddon W. Robinson

When we are young, the words are scattered all around us. As they are assembled by experience , so also are we, sentence by sentence, until the story takes shape . . . Louise Erdrich in The Plague of Doves

Queen Lucy . . . RIP

Queen Lucy . . .                  RIP
The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too. ~Samuel Butler, Notebooks, 1912

Princess Gracie . . . RIP

Princess Gracie . . .  RIP
black dogs aren't as photogenic

The girls

The girls

Sharing VandysView

Sharing VandysView
Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really. ~Agnes Sligh Turnbull

Lucky

Lucky
Dave and Erin's lucky stray that walked into their front yard and got adopted - he's a very joyful dog

Magi when she was a puppy

Magi when she was a puppy
There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. ~Ben Williams

Family

Family
The VandeWater boys - Bob, Bill and Jim

Bob Bill and Dr. Jim

Bill's mom Ann (DeLanghe) VandeWater

Bill's mom Ann (DeLanghe) VandeWater
birthdate: 6/3/1915

Jim and Bev

Jim and Bev
Bill's brother

The Women in my Life

The Women in my Life
Mom, Patti, and Cheryl

Dad's 83rd birthday

Dad's 83rd birthday
Our Christmas baby

Where is that other brother?

Where is that other brother?
Nina, Mike, my handsome older brother, and Bruce, my handsome youngest brother

There he is!

There he is!
Patti and Steve, my handsome younger brother

Sean and Mike - Lake Tahoe

Sean and Mike - Lake Tahoe

My nephew and his girlfriend

My nephew and his girlfriend
They're cute too

The whole Motley Crue

The whole Motley Crue
Aren't we cute?