Simply 60

Hen feathers

"We're off in a gale of hen feathers!" This was my mother's mantra whenever we - or she - or they (my parents) embarked on some travel adventure. This could be as exciting as a long awaited trip to Nantucket or Maine or it could be to the grocery store. The gale of hen feathers always conjures a wonderful image for me - of a flivver roaring away from the house scattering chickens from the road and from their feathers all at once before bursting onto (probably an unpaved) road out of Dodge.

Today is a travel day for us - a peerless blue sky, not a cloud to be seen, anywhere from Concord to the Manchester, NH airport where we got on a plane, without incident, to Michigan - and my sister and her family. It was so smooth today it was uncanny - we blew through the long-term parking action onto the shuttle bus to the terminal, checked in and went through security in under one hour. Last year we tried for three days to fly to Michigan and still never made it. True, on Christmas Eve Northworst - oops, of course I mean Northwest - slip o' the keyboard, dontcha know - offered to get us to Kalamazoo via...are you ready for this??? ...via Salt Lake City. Even the geographically challenged know going via the Mormon Citadel is not exactly direct.

So here I am. In Michigan. With my sister who goes by Yammy or Cici, if she's in her clown mode, or Sistah if it's just with me. And two of her three children, so far, and their broods - eleven in all. And we are planning movies. Because that is what I do with the kids. Take them to the movies, their choice, my wallet. So tomorrow, it's been decided by the small fries to see Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel (oh horror) followed by Old Dogs for the middle set. A double feature. Could anything be better? Well, yes. Large buttered popcorn, enormous drinks and maybe some rubber nachos and cheese as an encore. If I write tomorrow, I have survived the cholesterol overdose.

Truffle: Holly imitating her Uncle Andy. "Heh dude."

Quote of the day: I never believed in Santa Claus because I knew no white dude would come into my neighborhood after dark (Dick Gregory)

60 and grateful

1. NYC - 11.12.09 - with Pete,  Liza, Katharine, Peter, Beverly, Nancy, Brian, Stella, Peter, Jan, Merlin, Judy, David, Dave and Bob

2. Lifetime shellfishing license - it used to cost me $25/year

3. Having the courage (finally) to have my nails painted - crimson coral to be exact

4. The Royal Shakespeare Company's new theater in Stratford-Upon-Avon will have a brick bearing my name when it reopens

5. Going back to school — and Harvard, no less

6. Twelve days on private safari in Tanzania with, and thanks to, Pete — his 60th birthday present to me

7. $3.99 breakfast at Friendly's for those select few 60 or older

8. Discounts at the movies in Kalamazoo

9. Discounts at Hardings in Kalamazoo

10. Discounts on Wednesdays at Crosby's Market in Concord

11. Building my dream house

12. Getting my Living More discount card from Rite Aid. OK, so I qualified for this at 55. Who knew?

13. Discounted tickets at the Burlington AMC 

14. Getting an AARP discount on our hotel room in Washington, D.C.

15. To get my 2010 blood work results back and learn my cholesterol has dropped 50 point without encouragement.

16. The February 19th belly laugh. One should live so long to laugh so hard.

17. Reduced admission to the New England Quilt Museum

18. Setting out on a two-week bonding adventure in England with my sister - we've never had this kind of time together, ever.

19. Walking 44.5 miles in 3.5 days in the Cotwolds; longest day: 14.5 miles

20. Going to Ascot and being in the Royal Enclosure, no less

21. Renting a hat, with feathers no less, for the occasion

22. Multiple OAP 'concessions' while in England

23. Getting hits from every continent except Antarctica on my blog

24. Picking courses for Harvard — Moral Dilemmas in a Just Society; and, Antony and Cleopatra

25. Ordering textbooks — first time since 1982

26. Introducing a young person to marvels of the undersea world through scuba diving

27. Getting to dive again myself

28. Visiting the Stratford (Ontario) Shakespeare Festival — 4 plays in 3 days. Yes!

29. Seeing Lake Erie from the Canadian side, after two childhood summers at camp on the Pennsylvania side

30. Learning our house design (this incarnation at least) has been approved — we will build!

31. Catching an 18-inch land-locked salmon. Now I know why fly fishermen are, well, hooked.

32. First day of school — 55 years after the very first one

33. Getting 'ordained' online for $30

34. Performing the marriage of my godchild Lauren to Handsome Sam

34. Missing opening day of scalloping on Nantucket in order to do it (#33)

Milestone or millstone? Which will it be?

November 12, 2009

The goal of this enterprise is to make turning 60, which I did in my sleep this morning, a most rewarding milestone. Why would anyone care? Because if I can do it, so can you.

I am of the Dylan Thomas school of thought, promising since first verbalization not to go gently into that good night. So I could be in a millstone frame of mind today. But I am not — in part because I am in New York City overdosing on four-days of camaraderie and theatre — Stomp, Memphis, God of Carnage, Hamlet and whatever I can get into with some white-haired supplication at the box office on Saturday — with a contingent of my nearest and dearest, 18 of us in all. 

Further, this blog idea charges my batteries. Every day for one year, beginning now, I will send out my inner sow to root around for the truffle of the day - what some might call the WOW factor. Imagine! Finding something wonder-filled about every single day of my 60th year as well as 60 reasons to be glad I turned 6-OH (see sidebar category) well, let's just call it a diversionary mission. 

With the Big Stop Sign looming ever closer down my personal highway, I will use this blog to think not about the WD40 I wish someone would invent for achy joints or the body I'd like to turn in for a new model — how 'bout Cash for Carcass Clunkers? Instead, at least here and with luck once a day (but no promises), I will share my truffles as well as the odd rumination and occasionally some slop. Which may well have to do with WD 40.

If you know someone approaching the Big 6-OH! or someone already there who might like some company, pass this on...

P.S. Thanks to Jocelyn Urban for taking such a nifty photo of our kids