Cockeyed optimism…

April 21, 2021 by 6 Comments

Gaynor

And…here we all are, more than one year after this virus insanity began.  At least most of us, and I’m not waxing sarcastically here.  My heart hurts still for those lost from COVID-19’s rampage, and for their families and friends.

In March of 2020, as the panic set-in, well, make that started sinking-in, people valiantly started adjusting to being at home, wrapping themselves in a cocoon of safety, and living with a fair amount of fear.  There was still so much unknown about this virus last year and, frankly, as far as I’m concerned, it’s still a ludicrous crap shoot with each news release and conflicting opinions shared by the medical field and media.

Looking back over my posts, almost to this same date a year later, I’m once again doing what I did last April, cleaning, re-organizing and purging.  But what’s different this time is that it’s for happier reasons, other than just passing my “virus-avoidance incarceration” time.  Family is coming, and not soon enough!  My Florida family, to be exact.  After not seeing them for two years, I’m pulling out all the stops, still proceeding with recommended caution, and plan to enjoy as much normalcy as possible.

Wow, that’s a loaded word…normalcy.  We have the old normal, temporary normal and, of course, new normal.  That last one sucks lemons, let me tell you.  I can’t wait for one year from today to write about what I was doing this year and how things have changed. 

Will we still be hiding behind masks? 

Was the vaccination process successful in controlling the virus? 

Will we be lining-up for booster shots to reinforce the biological preparations that were unceremoniously jammed into our arms? 

Did Joe Biden stop reading from Etch A Sketch when he gave speeches? 

Did Maxine Waters get shown the door in Congress? 

Oops, sorry, politics just slipped out.  My bad.  I feel that we’re moving past this damn virus blockade, slowly but surely.  Call me a cockeyed optimist. Sure, there will be setbacks ahead but none comparable to what this world suffered in 2020.  I have to believe that.  We all do.

 

workshop-button-1From Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop…Throwback Thursday: Choose a photo or blog post from a previous April…how have things changed?

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More…taxes!

April 7, 2021 by 2 Comments

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Taxes.

At times, a necessary evil.

Necessary with respect that both the filing and subsequent payment of local, state and government taxes is mandatory.  Especially the government.  Never, ever, eff with the IRS.  And, here in New York, the DOS is renowned for processing errors which often end up in a battle of wits vs. a computer glitch from the state financial offices.  No matter how perfectly taxpayers cross their t’s and dot their i’s…inevitably, the transmission of tax paperwork will be confirmed on the taxpayer’s end…but not on the state’s rear end.

Yes, a healthy, sarcastic attitude is a must when dealing with the bureaucracy in New York.

So, in short, this is what I’ve been working on this week, last week, and will be, for a few weeks to come.  Personal returns, corporate returns, bottle returns.

Oh wait.  That last one is a story for another day.  Once taxes are done.

 

workshop-button-1From Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop…Share something you worked on this week.

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A haunted timepiece…

March 23, 2021 by Leave a Comment

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Suddenly, it has started to chime.

For years now, the piece has kept perfect time.  Except when the battery needed changing.  But, the chiming, another story.

I found it sitting on a shelf in a vintage shop, around 22 years ago, looking neglected and quite dusty. Still, it had some charm and I had the perfect spot for it in my home.  And the price was perfect.

Once cleaned, the personality of this old timepiece started to emerge.  I waited for each hour to turn and with that the musical sound from inside the clock.  Nothing.  Oddly enough, the clock did chime, not on the hour, and only once or twice in its years in our home.  I passed it off to the crankiness of an old piece, verified by a lot of research on vintage clocks. 

Last week, I heard chimes coming from our living room and thought it was one more random pealing.  Realizing that I had neglected to turn the time ahead for Daylight Savings Time, I did so, and walked away.  From that point on, the clock has been chiming, every hour on the hour.

Some new research was now called for to help determine if this is just a wonky clock…or something more, and what I’ve found has been interesting. 

A simple web search about chiming clocks brought up page after page of somewhat paranormal experiences, most involving the passing of someone in the home where the clock lived.  People have reported owning clocks which had stopped working, suddenly chiming at the time a loved one died.  Or, chiming just before a call comes in when a family member was in some type of accident. 

Okay, I’m a realist.  Kind of.  Clocks do what they want and stop working, no matter who owns them.  And, most repair shops will tell you it’s about cleaning them and how dust and atmospherics affect them.  Yes, yes.  Abnormal, paranormal, or someone looking down from the heavens and saying hello.  That’s what I choose to believe.

It’s 10:00 a.m. at this moment.  And our clock is chiming once again.

 

 

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