Thoughts at Large

It’s that late winter time again when I have too much on my mind to distill into one column, so here are some totally unrelated thoughts at large:

•I thought the only good deal at the movies these days was the purchase of a child’s meal for $5.50. Turns out that with the AARP card there are better ones. Just ask the person scooping the popcorn. Oh, and do get the Regal club card. It’s no cost and you can earn free movie passes and goodies.

•Speaking of movies, tonight is my Superbowl – the Oscars! I’m rooting big time for Matthew McConaughey for best actor and Jared Leto for supporting actor from Dallas Buyers Club. It was a great movie, but my favorite this year was Blue Jasmine. Oh, and I’m also rooting for Cate Blanchett for best actress. These three were roles of a lifetime.

•I think many women boomers were/are Sex and the City fans. Most women I hang out with know most every episode by heart. So, I ask you, how can Sarah Jessica Parker roll out her new shoe line showing nothing but 4-5 inch heels? I don’t want to take my life in my hands in a pair of those do you?

•It feels as though I woke up one morning and all the newswomen (both local and national) looked like high fashion models and were dressed like cocktail waitresses. Somehow I can’t take a newscaster with dangling earrings seriously.

•Speaking of the news, a couple of years back the cameras at press conferences began making constant clacking noises – almost drowning out the speaker. Hard to imagine that our technology can’t come up with something quieter.

•Major events that I was glued to recently were the Beatles 50 year anniversary show and of course the Olympics. In retrospect, the segments I will remember and liked the best were the personal background vignettes. Loved seeing the Beatles when they were The Quarrymen in Liverpool.

•Have you, like me, been counting your blessings that you live in the only state that has no snow accumulation? Seeing those car pileups on slippery roads, causes me to complain less about our seasonal traffic jams.

•As a lifelong consumer of Triscuits, I bemoan how small the boxes keep getting. Do they think they’re fooling us? Oh, and now there are 10 or 12 flavors. Who needs this? Just give me the original family sized box.

•I just finished  the book “I’m Over All That” by Shirley MacLaine. She cites a phenomenon that she says is happening called ‘time shifting’ in which we are fooled by the sequence of time. This is very encouraging, because she claims that this is why we set out to do a task and then realize we’ve already done it. According to her, this is happening to people of all ages. Do you feel as redeemed as I do?

•Billy Fucillo our local Kia dealer is finally pronouncing our state name correctly in most (not all) of his commercials. Okay, so Billy’s not from here, but how do we forgive the Fox News voice over talent for constantly saying Southwest FlArida?

•Why can't our city get the big clock at the Cape Coral Parkway entrance to have the correct time? Nice greeting to potential residents.

•I have found one gas station that has pumps that don't require me to stand there and hold it for 18 gallons. Why don't most stations have these slots on the handles that keep the fuel flowing? Many of us boomers have a touch of soreness in our hands don't we?

•And finally, if only I could comprehend why my cat loves his wet food one day, and ignores it the next. The waste could feed all the feral cats in Lee County.

If you can’t identify with any of these, and have your own. Please share them with me via e-mail. I’ll publish the good ones.

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