When it gets to be Saturday afternoon and there’s no special person waiting at home to cook dinner for you…..thoughts of loneliness mess with your mind.
My friend, John, tells me, “Go home and put on some make-up and a push-up bra and get yourself out there! There’s only so many Sa’arday nights,” he reminds me.
“Oh, so now you’re telling me my natural beauty is not enough to catch a good man, you know, one you won’t want to throw back into the deep sea?”
“No, I’m saying that’s what the lucky girls do….they enhance their inner beauty with outer
prosthetics.”
My mother reminds me, “Mr. Right or Mr. Right Now will not come knocking on your door to say ‘what’s for dinner’ tonight.”
“Thank you, Mother, are you saying I need to advertise more? Put my blackboard out on the sidewalk in SoRo listing the specials for the evening….a four course dinner awaits you, just a few feet away. p.s. I make a mean apple pie ala mode.”
My sister calls to have our weekly vent session. After she fills me in on the cuteness of being the mother of three girls under the age of six, we get into the meat of the conversation.
“How’s your love life?” she asks, her voice full of hope. “Got a date tonight?”
“Well,” I answer, “I’ve pushed all of that aside and I’m spending my time doing fun things, you know, stuff like grooming the dog, ironing, cleaning out the fridge, and playing Solitaire on the computer.”
“Oh,” she answers, her voice flat with regret for asking me such a question, especially on a Saturday night. Date night. Go out dancing the night away, night of the week.
The sweet little antique lady who lives next door comes over and sits with me for a spell on the deck. I’m quiet and I see her mind working, trying to think of some words to cheer me.
“You have real pretty legs, you should be in Hollywood….you want me to call and tell them about your real pretty legs?”
She always knows how to get me to smile. At 92 she still wants to make new friends.
“I guess they keep me walking the dog, I know he’s proud to walk beside me to the post office, Tinnell’s, around the block a few times.”
“He’s no fool.” Rachel assures me.
“You want to go for a banana split at Brewster’s?” I ask her.
“Why sure, that would be nice…..let me go get my sweater, you know I get a chill when I eat ice cream. And we can split the ‘nana split, I have to watch my girlish figure, in case there’s some cute centenarian at Brewster’s.”
“There’s only so many Sa’arday nights, you know.”

Don’t forget there’s no mail tomorrow, Joe. Unless you pay online, in which case, never mind.

Thank you, Laura, I forgot about that. I have to start paying online.

Enjoying the blog, Joe, glad you are continuing to write. I especially liked the piece from Pamela today about Saturday Nights when single girls get the blues. I need to correct one thing, it’s Bruster’s, the spelling was wrong. The ice cream, shakes, splits, etc., really tasty.

Thanks, Ella, I liked Pamela’s story today, too.
Yes, I saw the spelling mistake but I try not to be overly rigid with people. This is why I was never an editor (and why I didn’t want to be one).
Thanks for reading. I’ll keep it going as circumstances allow.

Thank you for cancelling rest day. Because I haven’t rested all weekend! But I did enjoy it, because quality time was spent with my family. Homecoming activities with High School daughter and returning alumni son Friday and Saturday. Today we drove to see my other daughter, who attends EHC, in a play. It was by one of favorite playwrites, Neil Simon. I haven’t laughed that hard for quite a while. Laughter is so good for the soul! Unfortunately, my eyes are blurry and body aches from weariness and tomorrow comes too soon! Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their Sunday!

Glad you had fun. I think that qualifies as a sort of rest. And the old-fashioned notion of visiting is what started Rest Day in the first place. Good for you.

Pamela,
you have such a sweet neighbor. One of mine which is quite elderly & alone, I never see company at her house, so I go to see her every now & then. The others..some a ‘tad nosy’ and I see them looking and probably wondering while knowing alot about me, “is she home”? Sure, they invite me over when they see me working in the yard or getting the mail. Just yesterday as I was in one of the back rooms, I heard their dog barking so I looked out to see if he was okay… only to see someone walking up by the fence, to the back of the fence and got far enough to look this way (couldn’t see thru the privacy fence on the deck facing them!) to see if my back door was open or to see if I was out there. It was PLAIN to see and I thought ‘why do you care?’

If I still had my Mom here on this earth (which I wish I did), she’d be calling &coming over, not to get me to get out on a date, but to just go out with her to dinner, anywhere to have a good time. My Mom was the “Queen of happiness & laughter” and she actually acted younger than I did at times. We would go to the grocery store together sometimes & she’d get dolled up & the perfume..oh wow, I had to roll the windows down.
I’d say “MOM… we’re just going to the grocery store!” We lived close by when she & my Dad divorced. She tried so many times to get me to get those “glamour pics” made. Of course, she did it with about 6 diff. outfits etc.. I kept saying “no way mom!” Kinda wished I’d have done it now.. just for her. I miss that amazing woman!

Pamela - - AWESOME writing.

Joe, this blog of yours was a wonderful idea. Commentary, sharing of opinions, positive and negative feedback, encouragement, soul searching, praise, socialization, personal interest, inquiry, humor, sadness and grief, guidance, a comfortable “atmosphere”, sports talk, and beer. Where else could you go to get all of this?

Md. Mama - physical rest can be sacrificed in lieu of a more meaningful “rest”. Think about the way your heart and soul were rejuvinated - and the smile you’ll have on your face as you drift off to sleep. Think about the positive energy you’ll carry into the week after such a wonderful weekend :-) BTW - Are we gathering at Coda on the 24th or at the Irish pub?

Ya’ll - - pray for cooler weather.

Mary,
No one answered me on one of these topics here (gee, I can’t remember which one) when I asked.. Where is Coda ?

No prayers comin from me for cooler weather.. I love the warm weather (even if it’s records in Oct) and will not complain one bit.

Hi Katherine! Coda is across the street from the Grandin Theater just up from the grocery store…not quite to the corner.

Mary-thank you for your kind words. As tired as I was last night and still feel this morning, it was so much fun being with my children and joining them in their activities. I did think of all of them as I went to sleep last night. It amazes me how grown up they have all become. I especially miss my 2 college kids and cherish the time I have with them.

I would enjoy meeting you, and whoever else wants to join us, at Coda on the 24th.

Wow-Pamela, great writing. My writing and spelling is terrible. Joe, can you fix it where we can have spell check on this site. Yesterday was a good rest day. Eat breakfast at Anthony’s, read the paper, watch the race and nap nap

On the hot weather. I am so ready for the cooler weather. A reminder that at my age, hot flashes do not go well with 90 degree weather.

(finally)
Thank you Mary as I kinda had a feeling.
I seem to be a “southwest alein”, though
I did learn an awful lot of shortcuts long
ago attending PH, as when some of my friends
& I just thought.. ‘oh it’s a nice day to ride
around abit or go to the park instead’.. especially after my first & fav period “English”
was over with but stil as I come here… I have to look at some of these words and I feel a little out..”what does that mean”? I had to look itrovert up in the dictionary! ha

oops, see? I mean iNtrovert.

Where’s that spell check? but then again we couldn’t say things like yea, yall, ets, etc.. OH and especially ‘um’. lol
Meant to mention also Mary, yes, Joe’s blog was a wonderful idea. Okay, my paper’s been in about 3 hours now.. maybe it’s time I at least looked at the headlines (and see if Jeff’s pic is in there anywhere in the sports sec.)

Very interesting Pam and Kat.

Too bad we don’t have the option of sharing an Email address or private comment here.

Just a thought Joe. No offense. Your blog.

Use Word, then paste it in Kat.

No pic of Jeffy. LOL.

So I noticed, :(
I meant to make it clear I wasn’t talking about Gordon either, but Jimmie still have a smaller one there.

Joe, it’s too hot to work outside today but I think I still will. I can’t find that whachmagigger that attaches to the extention cord so I can use that whachamacallit, it’s similar to a chainsaw but not as big.
Did you get an animal and has the cat got your tongue today? (and will do next time Ron)

This weather is ridiculous. The weather has become similar to Florida and Georgia. I lived in both places for 5 years. That’s a total of 10 years in the heat and sweltering humidity. When we had the opportunity to move to Roanoke, my husband & I RAN as fast we could! I’m orginally from Maryland and my husband is from Delaware and we missed the seasons so much. In FL and GA, there really isn’t any Fall & Spring to speak of. Fall & Spring are my favorite times of year, and I feel like we really haven’t had either in the last year. Did I hear someone say there is NO global warming?

Global Warming = Mother Nature’s Menopause

Ok, here’s a news flash, it isn’t global warming that’s causing the warmer tempertures, it’s La Nina. Is she related to El Nino? Sounds like propaganda to me.

When I was a kid, we wore hats and gloves and long underwear and fur lined boots and everybody zipped up their coat. We’d ice skate for weeks on the Duck Pond over by the Virginia Tech campus. I have photos of snow like we haven’t seen in 20 years in this area!!! Last winter I wore gloves twice and zipped my coat up once…. never had my boots on. I’m afraid to get rid of my 4-wheel drive vehicle for fear that old El Nino send us weather like we had in the early/mid 90’s. In the winter of 95/96 we had over 90 inches of snow if memory serves me correctly. Between menopausal power surges and this weather I have no desire to go to the mall and try on all the new sweaters and long sleeved attire that is showing up on the racks.

Joe, tell your daughter spit-don’t swallow and no straws.

Yes, we had a blizzard in Jan. 1996. We had just moved here from GA. We were waiting to close on our house and were living in a one bedroom apt. that my husband had lived in prior to the rest of us moving to Roanoke. That’s a one bedroom apt. with 2 adults, 4 kids, 1 golden retriever, 2 cats, and 2 ft. of snow! The kids were out of school for almost 2 weeks. I could write a book on how to survive cabin fever. As soon as they cleared 419 and 581, I found out the directions to Valley View Mall! My kids had never seen snow before and my son, who was 6 yrs.old at the time, got all bundled up and went outside. About 5 minutes later he came in and announced, “Man, that stuff is cold!”

I remember very well the snow in 1996. We’d just bought this house in late fall of 95. Being so busy, I never met any of my neighbors until that snow. I ‘do’ love the snow (but not the cold) The mailbox is across the street and up abit in front of another house. I was out there shoveling at night for the mailman.. (our mailboxes were side by side). I just wanted to be outside too. The neighbor beside me called the neighbor (her daughter) and told her what I was doing. (ya think they’re nosy??) I didn’t mind when she opened her door and said hi to me and that I didn’t have to do that (which was actually on her property too). We introduced ourselves and I just plainly told her I wanted to do it! I had already done the sidewalks.. the more it snows, the harder it is later.

I’ve never understood why some people just let it snow & snow (when it does) when they are able to get out and at least clean their cars off a little so they won’t have that huge job in the freezing morning after it’s frozen over!
Say we had a little sleet or freezing rain late afternoon & early evening and it quits. And you know it’s not doing anything.. why don’t people make it a little easier on themselves for the morning to come when you’re rushed? I do have a garage now but I used to do it all the time and the sidewalk was shoveled on the way to the garage before I went to work. I’m talking too much, I know I’m getting carried away but one more thing… you’re also on your way to work or anywhere behind someone who’s only scraped a little bitty hole in the back of their windshield, same with the front.. and you think they touched the top? Then it gets blown right smack in your face and scares the $%#! out of you when it fly back on you!

Anyway, the humidity’s not bad right now and I absolutely love it!

I remember the blizzard of ‘96! That was our first winter in Roanoke, and we were living in a decrepit old duplex 2 blocks from the Grandin Theater. My son had recently turned 2, and I have photos of him standing next to a snowbank that was twice his height. Thank goodness the pipes didn’t freeze and our heat didn’t give out, but there was not a loaf of bread (or much of anything else — the shelves at the Mick-or-Mack had been picked clean) to be found anywhere within walking distance.