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02/08/2014

Sometimes Baby Boomers Bomb

When it come to new technology and social networking, Baby Boomers, I have found, generally bomb! Ka-boom! There’s an old saying that I learned when I was going to Al-Anon, for my ex-husband, many years ago, Keep It Simple, Stupid!  My advice for the day.

Why does everything you touch, when it comes to technology have to be so fracking confusing. For example, I was asked by a thirty-something publishing agent, “What is your social platform?”  Like in have I received any gold medals??? Well, uh, no.  Had no clue what he meant.  Just ask,” Are you connected with any social media sites?”  Oh, you mean like FB? Okay, I can answer that.  And then the “blog” word came up.  “Oh, yes,”she said (what the frack is a “blog”).  Thank goodness for the wonderful, ever patient, loving thirty-somethings at “Write by the Rails.” They set me up!  Solved.

Next, the switching, updating of OS.  Hey, I’m impressed that I, at 63 even know what that is! Please, I’m a good girl, I do everything they tell me to, so why, oh, why, doesn’t it work!!!  Helllllp me! And so, someone wrote a book…”Everything you Need to Know…”  and this 900+ page book explains everything that is not in a device manual.  SO why bother having a manual???  Just get the book!!!

God bless technology, (I wonder if He uses a Mac or a PC,) and the people who develop it.  Next stop, for me (help me, Nick) it’s Instagram!! And a gracious good evening to all.

02/03/2014

Happy Birthday, Ma!

Today is my Mom’s (Ma’s) 98th birthday. Hard to believe. I don’t see her as being any older than when I was in my twenties.  She would have been in her 50s then.  She was one of those women who never aged.  While her body was ravaged with cancer, three times, acute asthma and emphysema, COPD, osteoporosis, colitis, PAD, and congestive heart failure, her mind stayed young and alive.

There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t miss her.  Not a day, that I don’t talk to her, about her.  She is with me always, in mind and spirit.  Sometimes I hear her laugh or telling me something like “Belinda, don’t burn the garlic.” My mother was larger than life, so to expect that pulsating ball of energy to just disappear would be ludicrous. She just keeps on rolling.

She was Linda, and I, Belinda.  Appropriate. All I ever wanted to do was “be Linda.” Be that beautiful person, who would light up a room as soon as she walked in.  Be that person, whose warmth and love would still be in the room, when she departed.  Be that person, whose overwhelming love of life would carry her through heartache and illness with an upright stance and smile on her face, even when she was bent over, almost crippled with osteoporosis. And all she ever wanted to be, was me.

I was all, am all, she could not be.  I used to drive her nuts, scare her to death and completely adore her. Because of her, I was educated scholastically and worldly, I was completely independent and I was a successful business woman. All those things she could not be, but did not need. She was just so much more, she was Linda.

I’ve heard, so many times, women say, “Oy, you’re becoming your mother,” like that’s a bad thing.  I can only hope to be half of what she was.  She had an “open door” policy.  The door was open, c’mon in.  I swear, people came to the house, just to be in her presence.  They used to call it the “Health Farm.”  If you felt like crap when you walked in, you felt rejuvenated when you walked out.  There was always a sandwich, or bread and cheese, or her magnificent home made cookies, a cup of coffee (brown or black), tea or glass of wine. There was always a loving ear to bend and the advice of nothing less than the sage of times.

I’m told that I sound just like her.  Off to a good start, but since I’m only half of her, half is what I’ll have to settle for. And, I’ll have to work a little harder to get there. So, Happy Birthday, Ma! I love you.

02/02/2014

The Art of the Three Point Turn

Often I hear, “Did ya see that, she made a perfect three point turn!”  Not so easy with a big, three wheel, candy apple red, mobility scooter. (No, not a ‘handicapped” scooter, nothing handicapped about it.)  Listen, this is the scooter that my husband brilliantly equipped with Harley mirrors, and a license plate. So, one asks, how do I do in an elevator?  There is nothing handicapped accessible in an elevator.  They forget that once you pull in, the electronic controls are behind you.  So, if you’re in there by yourself and you’ve forgotten to back in, you just ride up and down a few times until someone else gets in and presses your floor, or you luck out and the elevator happens to stop.  UNLESS, you can make the three point turn.  Practice, grasshopper, practice.  

One must always remember to pull in on a diagonal…never straight in.  If not all the way around, you can then, at least get sideways and control the electronics.  Once that door closes, and your straight in, it takes an inch-inch-maneuver, but you can do it.

And, as far as I’m concerned, the controls are never low enough.  I have used my cane (not pretty), a pen, my eyeglass stem, my scooter key, or anything straight, long and hard…watch out guys! One learns to get creative.

Then, if I’m sideways and it’s time to get off, as long as the elevator is long enough, I back up, turn my tiller and off I go!  Now, if I have to do the “Inch-by Inch” thing, then I simply stop the elevator, take my time, until I’m straight forward, flip the elevator back on and leave.  Where there’s a will, there’s a way.  Thanks, Otis.

Don’t let’s get started on bathrooms.

02/01/2014

But Wait!

My husband writes great emails to his sister and brothers. He is also famous for his “Gary-isms.” I thought this one was worth publishing!

Subject: Torpedo deicer ( de icer )

Ummm guys, hello, just the mentioning of using a torpedo space heater to deice a car called Dream Boat followed by a comment stating it was “fortunate that the paint didn’t melt off” can only end with these well known TV words: BUT WAIT -THERE’S MORE! But real trouble starts when you are too trusting. A person could read your e-mail, reinterpret its innocence then run amok. Not to worry Sis, I won’t Veer from the facts as I SEE THEM.

All the videos of the shows called Worlds Dumbest, Americas Funniest Videos, Famous Last Words, What Were They Thinking, Etc., all have the same paths= innocent looking lead in, a few clues of doom only the home viewer sees, passing thru stage where any HALF SANE person would see this obviously ain’t gonna work, onward to the universal last words of HEY WATCH THIS ! Then the oh no oh no x¥%#{>€^*¥£€!!!!!

Soooo, which show are you two and Dream Boat going to be on?

Its too late now but I’m curious as to which of these News At 11:00 lead ins should we have looked for: Paint endures heat but burning tires ruin car, melting ice puts out car fire, neighbors say “they are a bit strange, from up north ya know, cup is a mason jar, falls off driveway, Mr brilliant frequently mutters Jane lets go, brother in a barrel, rumor of family zoo,”

As I said. Facts as I see them.

Any thoughts of getting thoughts from other brothers? I bet the true/full meaning of running amok would be oh so evident.

Later,
Gary

01/31/2014

The Week That Was!

What a great week!  Besides the freezing cold and snow that surrounded most of the Eastern seaboard, except Florida which, as everyone knows, is really another country, it was an exciting week. (Trust me, it doesn’t take much!)  The wonderful writers/bloggers in Write by the Rails, started their blog tour. The reading has been excellent…some anecdotal, some about their books, all good!  I learned how to get up and running with my blog and web page.  Thank you Katherine Gotthardt!  I’m always excited to meet new people, especially those that are willing to teach.  So, that’s my first bit of excitement.

I live in a condominium and am President of the association.  It’s been seven years of hard labor, but has been worthwhile.  We still struggle, however, with the drug element brought in by some tenants.  Fortunately, I’ve built a pretty good rapport with our local Police Department and have come to know some of the officers, personally.  They really are a great group and I appreciate all they do to help our little community out.  This week, our security cameras picked up a real life COPS episode!  Talk about exciting!!!  You go guys and dog.

Have had friends in and out, all week.  God bless them! They know that when the weather is bad, I’m in. I love that our friends feel so comfortable in our home.  They are all family.  It’s a good thing.

Last but not least, getting an “A” grade from my cardiologist and presenting him with a signed copy of PQ. It wasn’t so long ago that I was in terrible pain and he sat with me when I was so miserable that I didn’t know what to do. He was so happy with getting the book and being able to share it with his girls, 9 and 11, after he read it first!  Phillip, you did good!

And last but not least, the thing that bella Napoli is known for and part of my life’s blood, pizza!  Thick or thin?  Chicago or New York? Sausage or pepperoni? A topic for another blog but, it’s all good!

Told you…it doesn’t take much.

01/27/2014

You just never know…(la deuxieme partie aka part two!)

Before I begin another blog on how one never knows where life, and blogging will take them, I want to thank ALL of you for viewing, reading and/or commenting on my blogs.  It’s exciting to me, especially because these days, during the “polar vortex,” I remain homebound.  So, i’m thrilled to be able to connect to people all over the world!  Too cool! So, this ol’ girl thanks you for making my life a little more interesting!  Please feel free to comment and/or ask questions regarding “Phillip,” my jewelry, or just moi!

So, to continue…One of my biggest thrills was reuniting with my other Brooklyn cousins.  This time, on my Dad’s side.  Don’t talk to much about the “Old Man.” because, well, to put it bluntly, he was not quite right.  In fact, most of that side of the family were not quite right.  That, is the Sicilian side.  

I reunited with the Rolanti side in 2004, via the internet and through my “dead” cousin, Tommy.  God rest his soul.  Unfortunately, now, he really has passed, but for more than twenty years, the Old Man had told me was dead because he was gay! I’ve let go of a lot of things in my life, but that.  

Tommy was the youngest in the family.  About five,  (I think?) years younger.  When we were growing up, my Mom and I used to go to see my Uncle Victor and Aunt Vera in the Bensonhurst/Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn.  My Uncle used to sometimes drive all the way to Queens, pick us up and drive to their house.  I loved going there because there, I wasn’t the youngest; Tommy was. My cousin Lorraine, who is only nine months older than I were  two of a kind.  We loved the same things.  We still do.  She is the L’Ora of my jewelry line through Bella L’Ora Jewelry and Design. I digress.

My fondest memory is my Mom giving us a quarter($.25) to go get a “slice.” If you have to ask what that means, you’re not a New Yorker or you’ve never been to the City. I can remember, as we were walking down the street, I think 71st Street, to Mario’s, the aroma of the best pizza you ever ate! And, we, Lorraine, Tommy and I had a whole twenty-five cents.  Back then, pizza was ten-cents a slice! Enough for Lorraine, me and well, not for Tom.  Talk about a dejected look, which he perfected, in his later years, it was enough to make you melt!  And melt we did…splitting our pieces so that he got some.  Actually, I think he made out better!

I totally lost contact with all of the Rolanti cousins until 2004 when I was, for whatever reason, Google-ing, our sur name, my maiden name.  I had looked a hundred times before with no results.  It’s an odd Sicilian name and not quite right…seriously.  It had been changed from the actual Sicilian spelling of “RULLANTI,” (did I get that right, Lorraine?) to “ROLANTI,” when my grandfather Francesco, came to America in 1898.  Then, somewhere along the line, it was again incorrectly transcribed: ROLANDO.  So, some of the brothers were ROLANTI and some ROLANDO.  All, not quite right.  Lorraine’s dad, Victor, being the most sane of them.

One morning, for giggles, I once again typed in ROLANTI.  Low and behold, I see:Thomas Rolanti, with the band “Rubberlegs” yada, yada…and there was a website. I originally thought, this must be an obit, but it wasn’t!  So I sent an email and I thought, this is nuts.  A few days later, the phone rang and there was Tommy.  We cried for a long time. I just wanted to hug him.

I got to see Tom, Lorraine, her husband Takeo and my older cousin Vic, in the Summer of 2005. A gift from the Angels. My cousin, Tom passed in 2006, he was honored at PFLAG, that year. My cousin Lorraine was the Maid of Honor at my wedding in 2007.  We speak very, very often. Really, we have never been apart.

01/24/2014

Chicken Soup for the Soul?

     It is below freezing in sunny, Manassas, Virginia and what could be better than a pot of freshly made chicken soup.  Before I was relegated to the wheels, I was an avid cook.  My mother was an avid cook.  My aunts were avid cooks.  My grandmother…anyways, you get the point. We’re Italian! I, as the rest of the second generation, were brought up in Queens or Brooklyn in the 50’s and 60’s. The neighborhoods in Queens were as much of a melting schmaltz pot as they came. Brooklyn?  That’s Italian. I say “schmaltz” because my Queens neighborhood, off of Linden Boulevard in Cambria Heights, was a great mixture of Jews, mostly Polish and German, and Italian, mostly Southern.  “Schmaltz,” is chicken fat, which is often rendered down to fry chicken livers and other wonderful Jewish foods.  By the time I was 10, I didn’t care what I was…Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, it didn’t matter.  Besides being a melting pot of religions and nationalities, there was also a melting pot of chicken soup.  

     On cold days, throughout the neighborhood, 217th Street, one could smell the incredible aroma of chicken soup cooking. I lived mid-block, so I could smell the soup cooking from the Riley’s, to the Karps, to the Rolantis. The big to do was always how the soup was made.  My Jewish Mother, Marcia, concurred with my Italian Mother, Linda, that one had to add garlic.  Mrs. Riley…not so much.  But this discussion often went on during every coffee clatch in the neighborhood.  Regardless, the soup was exquisite and yes, it warmed your body and your soul.

    Come on over, I’ve got a pot on!

01/24/2014

On a Frozen Tundra…or Living With Wheels (Boomer Edition)

     I was 22 when I was diagnosed with MD and, at the time, no one knew what life would bring.  At the time, I had lost a baby and was told, “It’s probably just a well, you won’t live to be 30!” How wrong they were.  But, after many years of living with the dread of not being long for this world, I said “Screw it, it’s time to live on!” and live on, I did. I was shocked, for more than one reason, when I made it to 50!  Now, at 63, I have fully adapted to my physical situation and pretty much live on wheels.

  My very inventive husband, Gary, has made sure that my wheels are fully customized.  Yep, that thar Harley is mine!  For my birthday, the year after I got my scooter, he went to the Harley Davidson store, and bought accessories to fit the beast.  He will not, however let me have an air horn…or cattle prod, for moving large objects in front of me. (Even if I promise to be nice.  Hmmm.) Still, I can get through some crowds. But, like me, the old boy, my scooter, is getting old.  It doesn’t have the “oomph” it used to have and it doesn’t like the cold, the snow, and definitely not the ice!  Am trying to get Gary to devise a scooter sled. Anyone have any ideas?

01/23/2014

Snow and my cancelled 15 minutes of fame!

Yup! Here I sit, in my warm, cozy condo thinking how my name might have been in lights! I jest, of course. Instead, I am learning more about blogging, websites and marvelous other stuff like kuzu! I just love the sound if that. My mother, as a child, learned the kazoo and, I guess that reminds me of her. In fact, she used to play it while I played the piano. What a pair. If only there were iPhones then.