rest well, Sanyo

So, I can either clean the house for guests tonight, or write a blog. Of course I choose blog. Sure, I could have written it last night (or the night before..) when it was quiet and raining, but I chose to wander around the house instead. I got so bummed out about what was on the Sylvania (the small TV in the office..the Sanyo is done..over..out..flatlined literally..when you turn it on..it is just a blackish screen with a line. You can still hear the sound, but no picture. Honestly, I would almost rather have it the other way..all picture and no sound. Then you could add all of the dialogue yourself. Kind of like an old Japanese monster movie. I knew a guy in the 80's who would dub voice overs for bachelor parties. He would get old, bad porn and dub the groom's name in choice places..but on to better things..)

So yeah, our TV is broken. We have been hitting it to go on for a good 3 months now, so I am not surprised. I mean how much could one bigass TV take? We thought that Luke had the magic touch..but it didn't work this time. The big ol' thing just gave up. We have had several offers to come and pick up big old TV's from friends and family, but are choosing not to go that route..knowing that in a few months, we would be back to smacking it too. It is hard to watch TV at night when ya got to hit it loudly. So I opted for the little one in the office. I like the multi media blast when I am writing. Not the sound but the picture. Just to see if I am missing anything. Nothing of importance, like news, but you know..weather..Ace of Cakes..HGTV..baseball. Walt loves watching the news while he is working, sleeping and relaxing. He has cut back considerably, but still..it's way too much for me. He has a bullshit filter. I believe I do not. See, last night the news bothered me so much that I could not write. I could not read. I could not sleep. I could eat. But that's no surprise. I couldn't go out for a walk, because Luke was asleep and frankly, I was scared to open my door.

Why are we bombarded with such crap? We don't spend enough time outside anyway..and lately it seems even worse. No wonder people move to places where the communities are gated.

I was born in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We had very few fences between yards. It was a regular sweet suburban neighborhood. It felt like all the lawns flowed into each other, like one big playground. It was weird to not to see clothes hanging on the line in the neighbor's back yard 4 houses down. I loved to watch the Dagermenjian sisters garden with their big dog, Cindy, in their yard. I could see lawns and garden gnomes all the way down the block when I rode my pink banana seat bike. It smelled like fresh mowed grass and peonies. In the winter, it smelled like snow and exhaust. (from warming up the engines).

We moved to California in 1975. We lived where you could smell oranges and jasmine, but could not see your neighbors. We picked fresh avocados from the tree in our back yard, but did not know the people behind us. It was divided fence upon fence upon fence. With smaller homes and even smalled yards. It was culture shock for my family, but mostly my mom. She felt isolated...and rightly so. She told me a story about moving to Southern California one time. She was at a gathering with some new friends and she, in her Wisconsin accent said.."Oh, you are from the Midwest too?..Why did you move here?" The lady said.."So I wouldn't have to answer questions from people like you"...

My mom still hasn't recovered from that one.

Ultimately it was a good move, but truly hard to get used to. We had family stop by in Wisconsin. We knew every one's business..and they knew ours. I know that is sometimes not good, but for some reason we missed it. My folks would have huge horseshoe parties in the summer (in Wisconsin) and it seemed like the world was there. Cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents. Southern California was closed for business. It was beautiful and Disneyland was close, but people were not that open.

Perhaps it was a good lesson in balance for us. My dad wanted a better quality of life. He missed his brother and wanted to be close. He was really tired of the cold too. He loved to jog and loved to swim in our back yard. We all got used to it, eventually.

Why the flashback here on a Friday 20 minutes before I have to pick up my son from school? Because I feel this great need for community today. We need to take care of each other. We need to know if our neighbor is OK.. We don't have to be in their business, but we need to know if they have a tent in the back of their f ing yard where a girl has been living for 18 years. Jesus. I am soooo glad I am not God, right now. Wish my other TV would have been on the blink too.

We need to take care of each other. So let's do that. Take care of each other today, tomorrow the next. Maybe it'll catch on and we won't have to call our kids in at 7:30pm when it's getting dark. Maybe they can wait until they catch the first firefly.

Friday 2:20 pm

Comments

  1. That news story really bothered me too, Tina. I couldn't stop thinking about it last night. Also, my two oldest sons have been arguing horribly for the past two days, and I'm thinking they really hate each other. I told my husband, I thought families were supposed to love and support each other...they are fighting like some of those brothers in the Bible. ha! It's kind of the same thing. I want cohesion and community, in my community and in my family too. Thanks for your blog. You're right. Love wins. Just wish everyone understood that.
    Sandy

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  2. Nostalgia wow...Time past. Neighbors helping each other, and caring about each other. NOT FOR WHAT THEY COULD GET!! Only because it was the right thing to do. YEP has to start some place some time and now is as good as any.. AMEN
    SMILE ON YOUR BROTHER !!

    As for that TV it's gone.. gone to where ever TV's go when they die.. Mine left me last year I think I also whacked it just one to many times.

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  3. Thanks for taking me back to my growing up years in Panama, Canal Zone. We didn't have fences either! Everyone's yard ran together, it was great for outdoor play! The most favorite game we played was a "team" hide & seek game called Ring-a-Lievo. We played it all over the neighborhood. It was best when played at night! Kids just don't get outside anymore for "free time" and it's all because of the freaks out there. One other memory, was "stealing" flour from my Mom's pantry to mark off the base lines for an afternoon neighborhood baseball game! The good "ol days!

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