Older and Better with Shelly

I thought by the time women started designing fashions for other women the cruelty would be gone. When they first came out I realized pantyhose had to be designed by a man. I was so thrilled when people stopped wearing those disgusting things. I never could get a pair of pantyhose to fit my long legs. If they were long enough they were baggy. If you were lucky enough to get a pair that actually fit they would get a run the first time you would wear them. I would rather freeze to death in a pair of heels then wear those things. Enough said about that. I won’t talk about bygone days. Remember when those poor women had to wear the lace up girdles? In the movies they show their servants pulling them so tight the woman would lose about 4 inches or more in their waist. Studies show that those women suffered from lots of internal issues later in life. I had worn little panty girdles back in the day to hold my then thin tummy in. That seemed to work well. Then...

Have you noticed how much the medical field has changed in the last 50 years? I know all the surgical techniques and cancer treatments have improved, but the quality of our care? Not so much. Do you know a doctor that makes house calls? When my kids were little we only had one car. My husband took our car out of town on a business trip and one of our kids got sick.   Our pediatrician said “no problem I’ll just swing by on my way home from work”. Do you know a pediatrician today that’s going to swing by on his way home from work to see you? Even in an emergency, care isn’t what it once was. You’re lucky if you can get a doctor to see you at all. And that’s after you call and punch 1000 buttons. You may be dead before you get a live person. Like having your calls screened, now every doctor has to run you through a process before you get an office visit. You damn well better have a serious illness for the doctor to see you the same day you call. O...

Selfie. Rhymes with Alfie. It reminds me of a movie and the song back in the day. When I was growing up we never heard of a “selfie”. I remember getting my picture taken with Phil Donahue, Dick Clark, Patrick Duffy, then a real hunk. Now those pictures are something to show your grandkids. Of course I don’t know where the photos are now and my grandkids wouldn’t know who they were. In fact I can’t think of one thing I’ve ever done that they would be impressed about. So I digress. I’m not sure where the word selfie came from. I guess with the wonderful smartphones with cameras they have now, people started taking photos on the spot with their friends. It’s a great idea. It is lots of fun. They even have selfie sticks. I don’t have one yet. I can’t take a good selfie, my arms aren’t long enough. Maybe I can use a collapsible selfie stick, hopefully one that would fit in my purse. I like selfies but I do think taking one on the edge of the mountain ...

A dog named Sully. That name reminds me of Sully Sullenberger, the hero of flight 1549 who was able to save dozens of lives by landing a plane on the Hudson River in New York. Alas another Sully has emerged to save the day as President George H.W. Bush’s favorite companion. Not since Rin Tin Tin and Lassie has a dog received so much attention, praise, and love. Sully’s sad looking face is enough to make a grown person cry. And many have. Most people are interested in what’s going to happen to Sully.   They worry about how much he’s going to miss 41 and the Bush family, and wonder if the family should keep him as one of their pets. There’s even been long conversations on this on social media. Many are debating whether Sully is actually depressed, or whether he even knows his former owner is gone. Hundreds of people want to adopt him. They think he should have a home, forever. I know these service type dogs are trained and I guess they get used to havi...

With the passing of George H. W. Bush, fondly called 41, certain things come to mind. Back when 41 was president, the world was gentler, more peaceful, and more considerate. Today some of the things that go on are downright shocking. I’m trying to figure out, as a senior citizen myself, when exactly our country became so embroiled in the battle within the homeland. Certainly we’ve always had political parties but they managed to work within their boundaries to get work done. I’m not sure when a re-election campaign became more important than getting along and doing things for the people. Now days it seems like whatever party dominates Congress they are the ones that will keep anything from getting done. It’s about arguing back-and-forth and satisfying the contributors to your reelection campaign, not to mention favors to grant that we don’t even know about. Payback if you will. Every president says that they are going to do something about campaign finance r...

So here’s the deal. I have never once gone shopping on Black Friday. Not that I don’t like a good deal or a sale but the aggravation of fighting grown women acting like two-year-old's doesn’t appeal to me. Especially over a piece of merchandise that you’re probably not saving that much money on anyway. Plus who wants to get up at the crack of dawn, or not sleep at all, just to get into a battle royale on “discounted” merchandise? I would rather pay the best price I can find, or do without, before submitting my body and mental health to that type of anguish. When my kids were little, they had most of the popular toys. In most cases, we always managed to get them what they wanted without all the hassle. Yes we had friends that got up early or went to stand in line on Thanksgiving evening so they could get the good deals. But that’s just not my cup of tea. There is so much competition on just about everything now you really never know if you’re ge...

Has everyone had enough of election politics yet? Tired of watching the back-to-back-to-back commercials running endlessly on television? The only one profiting from all of this are the TV networks and stations. I guess I’m living in a dream world but wouldn’t it be nice if all the millions of dollars spent on TV propaganda was actually used to help feed poor kids, or fix our streets, our bridges and aging infrastructure? If they don’t reach you through the media they will get you by phone. Our phones have been ringing from pollsters and the election machine constantly all day and all night. I have to turn my cell and house phones off just to get some work done. I don’t know about you but I’d love to be able to turn on the news and hear actual news. All this election hype does is rile up the crazies out there, of which we have plenty! What happened to all the presidents that said we were going to have election reform? It has gone by the wayside with ...