Category: Commentary

Non-fatal Public Speaking

Last night I read my piece, “Adventures in Jet Skiing” to a small, yet dare I say, appreciative group, at 621 Gallery in Tallahassee. Oddly enough, I wasn’t terribly nervous. I’d had to edit my original piece to better suit a live reading, and I believe it worked well.

The most difficult part of the evening was waiting my turn while several gifted, published poets read their own pieces. I was entertained and enthralled and ultimately concerned that my piece would be out of place in the setting. Still, when my name was called I rose to the occasion and gamely delivered my tale of surviving my first, and hopefully last, jet ski ride.

Thankfully those in attendance laughed in most of the right places. It helped that I had three lovely friends show up to support me. Julie, Denise, and Lisa, you ladies rock.

If you’ve got a few minutes to waste, Julie filmed most of my reading. I definitely need to slow down my delivery and enunciate more precisely. I chose not to use the microphone because the speaker had an odd and distracting thrum going on, so my recorded voice is a bit too quiet. Thanks to Julie I now have a checklist of things to work on for the next time I am brave enough to step in front of an audience.

Peace, people!

https://nananoyz5forme.com/2016/08/23/riding-a-jet-ski-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

Studly Doright Gets His Own Post

Today marks Studly Doright’s 40th year with the same company. He started out on the very bottom rung in the maintenance crew and steadily climbed to the position of Area Director. We still are slightly amazed at how far he’s come with only a high school education.

The rise to AD included multiple moves, first from Texas to North Dakota, then to Kansas, followed by our first stint in Florida, an 8-year detour to Illinois and finally (we hope) back to Florida.

He shared with me the email from his Vice President announcing this anniversary and I got teary eyed reading it and all the follow up emails from the folks he’s worked with over the years. I’m married to a special guy, but I didn’t need to get that information from others. Still, it’s so nice to read all the memories others have of his time with them.

So here’s to Studly! Thanks for being the hardest working, most consistently trustworthy guy I know.

Peace, people!

Put a Ring, or Three, on It

First thing every morning I place my Apple Watch on my wrist and begin working toward the goal of closing all three fitness rings. I’ve had the watch for over a year now and had never gotten all three rings closed.

I’ve come close on multiple occasions, usually while enjoying a day at an amusement park. A couple of times the stroke of midnight coincided with ring closure and I fell short of my goal.

Yesterday, though, I made it happen by running errands around Tallahassee. First I closed the blue stand ring after 6 p.m. but then I always close it, so I didn’t get too excited. I did note, though, that both of the other rings were considerably further along than usual.

I decided to go for it. First I headed to the elliptical machine that Studly Doright bought in a fit of fitness fever a couple of years ago. I’d kind of forgotten about it. It’s probably been used for two hours total since we put it together.

After roughly half a minute on the machine I was huffing and puffing, yet I pushed on to the minute mark. I wondered briefly if I was having a heart attack, but my breathing settled down fairly quickly and my heart rate looked surprisingly good.

I walked, jumped, and danced around Doright Manor, pumping my fists into the air, scaring the cats and amusing Studly.

“Have you finally lost your mind?” he asked.

“Yep,” I huffed. There was simply no time to explain.

“Well, I hope you find it before Vikings comes on,” Studly countered. “I don’t want any distractions.”

I might’ve flipped him off. Behind his back, because in this case it really was the thought that counted.

The green exercise ring closed next. I whooped and pushed on to close the red move ring. The elliptical was put to use again along with more dancing, leaping, and erratic arm movements. I was going to do it.

Now, it would make a better story if, perhaps, a wild boar had broken into the house and devoured me, or if a wayward satellite had fallen onto Doright Manor smushing me and my Apple Watch to smithereens just before the third ring closed, but the boring, yet satisfying truth is, I closed all the rings just in time to join Studly Doright for our weekly Vikings viewing date. Finally! A couch potato victory.

Of course I tossed and turned with leg cramps all night, and the smell of Tiger Balm wafted through the house, but by golly, if I did it once I can do it again. Just probably not today.

Oh, tonight’s the night I’ll be reading one of my blog posts at Salon 621 in Tallahassee. I’m not nervous. That’s what I’m telling myself anyway: “I’m not nervous. I’m not nervous. Really, I’m not nervous.”

Peace, people!

Deep Thinking about Free Stuff

Today I pondered the good things in life that are free:

A kiss, a hug, honest conversation

A walk in the park, a turn on the swings

Saturdays doing nothing

A nap, a snuggle, a genuine smile

A song, a prayer, dancing in the dark

Warm sunshine on my face

A gentle touch, a kind word, a giggle

Shared tears, shared meals

The scent of fresh cut flowers

The songs of birds as they discuss the day

Now, all this pondering was prompted by a trip to a local office supply store. Did you know that it doesn’t cost a thing to use the hole punch at Staples? Winning!

Peace, people

Haircut Today!

It’s about time. My style is somewhere between

and

Hoping for something more along the lines of

While I’m at it, a new face would be nice, as well. Hers (above) would do nicely. After all, she’s already got the haircut I want.

Waiting on a miracle here, folks.

Peace, people.

Know-it-All

Confession time: I have know-it-all tendencies. I know that’s going to shock so many of my friends. Heh.

Sometimes I catch myself in the middle of a recitation of my knowledge (on damned near any subject barring nuclear physics or microbiology or microeconomics or anything actually demanding years of study and education), and I’m momentarily self-chastened. That is, until the next time I feel the need to hold forth on one of my areas of expertise.

Other times I don’t realize I’ve been a complete and utter boor until around midnight when I awaken from a deep sleep to replay every asinine comment I’d made during the day. It matters not that I was correct in my assertions (well, at least I believed I was correct), but that I’d managed to hijack a conversation and made it about me.

I didn’t make any resolutions at the beginning of this new year, but if it isn’t too late I’m going to do so right now. Any time I open my mouth to insert my unsolicited opinion I’m going to take a deep breath and smile instead. If I forget to exhale, someone might want to check my pulse.

Peace, people.

Exciting Life

Studly Doright and I are spending our Sunday afternoon watching the National Collegiate Cornhole Championship on ESPN. We laughed when we first came upon the broadcast, but an hour later, Studly’s glued to the set. We are certainly easily entertained.

Need a cornhole tutorial? Here’s a tongue-in-cheek video explaining the rules. I tried it once, but a lack of eye hand coordination and a dearth of beanbag throwing skills left me well short of the hole.

https://youtu.be/Sip1Hgyz0K0

Finding Love at the Piggly Wiggly (reblog)

Who’d have thought a lifelong adventure in love and laughter could have begun at a Piggly Wiggly store? I guess Studly Doright and I had a pig as a matchmaker.

https://nananoyz5forme.com/2014/07/30/finding-love-at-the-piggly-wiggly/

I first posted this piece in 2014 and had forgotten about it until a long time friend tagged me on a facebook post that mentioned Piggly Wiggly. I commented on the Facebook post and the author “friended” me. It looks like the pig is still bringing folks together.

Idiocy, Bravery, or Neither

I’m suffering from a case of performance anxiety. A few days ago I did something that was either extremely stupid or rather courageous. There’s a fine line between the two extremes where I’m concerned, and I’m sure I won’t know which end of the spectrum my action was on until I can gauge the outcome. Let’s see what precipitated my angst, shall we?

There was this notice on Facebook:

I read it once. Then a second time. “Huh!” I thought cavalierly. “I can do this.”

So without even an ounce of hesitation I sent an email with a link to one of my blog posts. Then I promptly forgot all about it. Until today when I got this email:

Hi Leslie!

Thank you for your interest in reading at our January Literary Salon! We are happy to host an inclusive and open space for writers and artists at all levels of engagement and topic. I would be happy to add you to our reading list for the 17th. It’s encouraged to read for around ten to fifteen minutes, but you’re welcome to adjust that time to better suit your style, content, or comfort.

There was more to the email, but you get the drift. I’ve gotten the okay to share something I’ve written with a group of strangers. Kind of like I do here every day, except they’re going to expect me to read it aloud. Holy cow. Let the performance anxiety kick in.

I know what I’ll read. It’s one of my favorite pieces, but it’ll need to be reworked for a live audience. I’d welcome editing suggestions. Please read the link and then give this girl some ideas!

Loose Ends

I enjoyed (🤪) another of my sleepless nights last night, so my brain is devoid of any meaningful content. Who am I? Where am I? Both questions for another day when I’m better rested. Fortunately I have some loose ends that I’ll try to tie together for a blog post.

The first loose end is fittingly about threads. Namely, what’s up with the construction of this garment?

The top photo shows it with the facing tucked in as it should be when worn. Guess who wore it with the abnormally long facing hanging down over my collar not once, but twice? If you guessed me, and who didn’t, you’re absolutely right.

Until a pajama clad woman in Walmart called it to my attention I had no idea this flap was just hanging around back there. And that was the second time I wore it that way. Go figure.

What kind of sadistic ass makes a garment in this manner? What is this excess fabric’s purpose? It’s difficult to position the facing correctly even when I remember to do so. Was it meant as a means of humiliation? A test of flexibility? I may never know. On the other hand, the garment is soft as butter, so I’ll continue to wear the blouse. Would it be permissible for me to cut out the excess?

The next loose end is a cartoon I came across on Facebook. I added the comment, “And this is why we live in a single story home.”

My daughter thought that was way too much information. She’ll be more sympathetic when she’s 62. At least I hope she has reason to be.

The third, and perhaps final, loose end is going to be controversial: I saw the new Mary Poppins and was a bit underwhelmed.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I thought the acting was very good. Emily Blunt was fantastic as Mary Poppins. Lin-Manuel Miranda was handsome and lovable as a London lamplighter, and all of the other actors were spot on.

So, what’s my problem? I found the music lacking a certain spiffiness. There’s nothing in the new film to match the wittiness of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” or the sweet sorrow of “Feed the Birds.” There’s no equivalent to the bouncy “Spoonful of Sugar” or to the hilarious “I Love to Laugh.”

I could tell they were trying to bring about the same vibe, but I think that might’ve been part of my dissatisfaction. Maybe if I’d never seen the original (9,999 times) I’d be more enthralled by the music in the sequel. It’s still a wonderful movie, and maybe I’ll change my mind. Peer pressure might work in this case. Put your arguments forward.

Thanks for sticking around to the end.

Peace, people.