Older and Better with Shelly

Judy bites bird! You’ve heard the old journalist’s story that when a dog bites a man it’s not news, but when a man bites a dog…well you have a story. My friend Judy has some pesky robins flying around her house. They are trying to build a nest inside the siding. She wants no part of it and does everything to the birds but bite them. In fact, she’s has a war raging with the robins when they come back to roost. This goes on every spring. For whatever reason, they love the outside of her home. You can count on it, as the first sign of spring, the robins start circling her house looking for a place to build their hood. They are very creative and never build it in the same spot. Of course she won’t let them. They have found spots she didn’t even know existed. Animals, and I guess birds, have a sense of who does not like them. And they gravitate to those people. We have had several cat haters come to our house. Well, those are the people the cats run up to. My m...

Some kitchen appliance expert made a big mistake when they decided stainless steel was going to be the wave of the future. Sure it looks beautiful, shiny, and very impressive. But you cannot put magnets on a stainless steel refrigerator. What's with that? I have all stainless steel appliances but not a stainless steel refrigerator, at least not yet. My whole life is on the refrigerator. Sure my iPhone has a lot but my refrigerator has more. All of my doctor cards, class schedules, doctors’ appointments, and, don't forget the most important thing of all, recent pictures of the grandkids are all there. Probably the most important business card of all, our handyman, is there too. We would be lost without him. Funny but we don't want to share our favorite handyman with just anybody. People are more guarded about giving out their handyman’s phone number than their beauticians and cleaning people if they have them. Nothing worse than needing your...

Running scared. That phrase has a whole new meaning now. This group of Generation Zers that we thought were glued to their boxes (iphones) actually know how to think. Our country will be great again. I was afraid that these pill popping, pot smoking kids would run our country into the ground. Work ethic? Not sure if they had one. But when push came to bullets and their lives, and that of their friends were at stake, they grew up fast. This was their awakening and they did a 180 degree turnaround and fooled us. For my generation it was the murder of John Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. For this one it was the murder of their friends and teachers. Amazing what they have been able to do in a few short weeks, including putting “the gun” to the heads of the all too powerful NRA. Something no one has been able to do. How dare an organization have so much power. All to the tune of the Second Amendment? Really? I am so proud to have grandkids ...

Based on current events, this is more a commentary than a comedy… Is it me or are people just getting more critical? Has this wonderful thing that we have called the Internet enabled people to complain about anything and everything? I saw nastiness in people during this last election that rocked to me to the core. I think people should be able to voice their opinion without others getting nasty and hostile. I was shocked at the names people called each other. Where did this anger come from? Has it always been in society? Or, are we so frustrated with the fast-paced, competitive society will we live in that the tension and pressure have has caused us to be that way. Perhaps it is because people can't see us, so we don't know who’s saying what. It’s easy to make a damning remark and move on without any repercussions. Now I can curse with the best of them but going online and using words that I've never heard before, against people that I ...

I always knew that my generation was special. Even before the word “Boomer” was in my vocabulary. I remember seeing my little old grandmother, who probably wasn't that old but looked ancient to me, walking around in those old lady dresses. She also had those high top black lace shoes. I made up my mind right then and there that when I got old, I would walk barefooted before I wore those shoes. Funny how those born in the ‘40s and ‘50s all wanted to be a little bit different. Looking back, what really defined our generation was the music. It broke the mold of the old fashion ballads of yesteryear. With our music came dance and plenty of it. It seems like there was a new dance almost monthly. And new music to go with it. In my teen mind it was very important to keep up with the dance trends and learn how to do them all. Besides the Jitterbug, which was our staple, we had the Twist, the Stroll and many others. Life was so much simpler back then. On...

Where did you go to high school? I did not realize that question was a coined phrase seemingly originating and owned by St. Louisans. Growing up we all pretty much stayed in our neighborhoods, shopped in our neighborhoods and had friends in our neighborhood. Transportation wasn't easy back then and not everyone had a car. You wanted to live in the area where both your family and your school were close by. Back in the day St. Louis had its own geographic divisions separated by wealth and religion. Certain religions, and certain races, were not allowed to live in some areas. Was it fair, no, could we do anything about it at the time, not much. The area was separated by those that went to private school, the very wealthy, or were Catholic. That was that. So when you met somebody from St. Louis and you asked where they went to high school that immediately told you the financial status of their family and maybe their religion. I never looked on...

I'm not a big shopper, never have been. When I was a kid my Mom used to run to the store and buy stuff. Then, the next day, she would return it. I made a promise at a young age that I would not follow in her footsteps. When I bought something it wasn't getting returned unless there was a very good reason. Fast forward years later and along comes the mall. It was a wonderful place for people to meet, take walks, eat out and go to the movies. In cold-weather states it was great. You would park and go in, and you could be entertained for the day. Or, in the heat of summer, you could stay cool. You might just get a cup of coffee, wander around, and meet your friends. I went to my neighborhood mall today. I hadn't been in a few months. The big major department store that has been there for maybe 30 years, or more, was empty. I never thought that I would be so sad. I walked around and all of these sales people were running after me trying to help me. I'm ...