Saturday, June 18, 2022

As old age sets in (and continues) final wishes come to mind...

 I attended a "Celebration of Life" event recently for someone that I worked with in the 1970s through the 1990s, and who was an integral part of one of my cherished organizations (me being a past president had he being a past president) and I met and visited with several other attendees with whom I both worked, and participated in with not one but several other organizations and enthusiast groups (and as you may know, I am a "joiner" and I belong to many different organizations).

I grew up in the 1950s, what I can remember, and I remember getting (at that time having to) dressed-up for church on Sunday, and especially dressed up for Easter Sunday, and even getting dressed up for the family "Sunday Ride" which was a jaunt around the neighborhood in the car for recreational purposes.  It was at first irritating to dress for any occasion however as time passed it became known (not particularly obvious but known) that depending on how I was dressed, people treated me differently.  If I were "dressed-up" I would be treated with the respect of an adult (although still a child) and if I were casual (and dirty from playing in the dirt) I would be treated as an underling and a child in need of discipline.  

Now that I'm well into my seventies (in my eighth decade on this fine blue and green planet) I have learned that how one is dressed directly (or indirectly) has an effect on how one is perceived and treated.

Gone are the days of getting dressed up to take a trip on an airline.  Shorts, flip-flops and t-shirts are easily the most common attire now (with the TSA searching, prodding and poking) however as I have learned, traveling in a suit and tie seems to affect how one is perceived and treated.  I have therefore embraced the shirt and tie (and long pants) as attire when going out.  I find that the extra few minutes putting on cuff links, tying my tie (I have probably a couple of hundred ties in my tie collection) and finding a long-sleeved shirt worthwhile in the way that I am greeted and treated while in public.   Sometimes I get "what are you dressed up for" from people and I can honestly say "for me".

So, when I die, I would like instead of shorts, tank tops, flip-flops and t-shirts as attire that those attending my service(s) wherever the are, humor me, honor me, and commemorate me by wearing (it does not have to be formal like a tuxedo) their "Sunday Best". 

This is from the Huffington Post:

I think my father owned two pairs of shoes all his life -- one black and one brown pair of Florsheims, meticulously buffed enough to blind you on a sunny day and always, always (did I say always?) stored away with shoe trees when not pressed into action.

My father was a barber, but every day he dressed like he was going to a wedding, complete with the little white pocket kerchief, perfectly squared and in its place aManhattan, he looked no worse for the wear of traveling the subways and buses to get to our Astoria apartment. And the next day he looked better than the day before.ll the time. At night when he returned from his Eighth Avenue barber in shop 

Being my father's son, it was no different for me or my brother. Going to a strict Greek parochial school meant no school day would be spent in anything but a regulation school uniform complete with tie and yes, shined shoes. My mom, a seamstress, made mostly everything we wore, so every stitch was always in place. And God help you if you weren't properly dressed for church on Sunday (the subject, by the way, of a recent story on CNN).

To this day, I carry the dress-well gene. Though I admit to wearing jeans and regular knock-around shirts to work at times (hey, it's my own business), I always feel funny doing it. On calls to potential clients, I always dress well, even though dressing well these days means dress pants, a nice shirt, blazer, but no tie. If I wore a suit complete with tie to these visits I would stand out like a piece of sod in a field of crabgrass. A small white handkerchief added to my vest pocket would complete the overdressed look.

I always welcome the opportunity to dress up, an obvious leftover from my upbringing, but I also welcome the occasional question about why I do it. It's a very simple answer -- it makes me feel good.

There is no philosophical way to explain how good you feel when you're all dressed up and somewhere -- or even nowhere -- to go. It even works when you're working out of the house. Try it. Change from your sweats or pajamas-that-look-like clothes into something nicer, and your productivity lifts. Conference calls in your pajamas always go better when you change it up.

I try to spread the word of dressing up as a way to fight the blues, but many times it's just me having a conversation with myself. This holds especially true for the future leaders of our country.

It's nice to see young people dressed nicely instead of seeing them in ripped jeans (and they pay a premium to buy them that way), jeans pulled down to expose their underwear (why wear jeans at all?) jeans that button up just below the hips (and always creep down to expose the start of Mt. Rear) T-shirts with meaningless phrases (and they pay a premium to buy them that way) and, well, shoes that would make Milton Florsheim cry.

I'd like to make one more outrageous statement, though I have no scientific backing for it. Dressing properly might make you feel healthier. And who knows, it may even work on stress.

There is, however, one exception to this practice of dressing well -- leisurely Sunday mornings, especially when the weather is nasty. What's better than reading the paper, having a cup of coffee along with an everything bagel (just a schmear please) and looking like one of those police mug shots of celebrities. I think even my father would approve, though he'd probably be shining his Florsheims.

Friday, March 18, 2022

Good-Guys All American Get Together next weekend...

 Next weekend my 1959 Edsel Ranger 2D Sedan will be on display at the Good-Guys All American Get Together (AAGT) at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds.  I will be there enjoying the weather, and all of the great automobile enthusiasts who gather for this "one-of-four" Good-Guys events held in Pleasanton (the original home of the Good-Guys) California.  

Stop by to see thousands of great American automobiles of all years, styles, both very custom, mildly custom and "bone stock" like my Edsel.

Purchased from Edsel Henry Ford, the founder of the Edsel Owners' Club twelve years ago, my 1959 Edsel has provided hours, days, weeks, months and years of enjoyment.  Parked in front of my 1950s house it is the perfect "Driveway Art".

This Monday, April 21st, 2022 is the first day of Spring (Vernal Equinox) so the event in Pleasanton is expected to have wonderful Springtime weather.  Enjoy every day and be safe out there...












Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Beware the Ides of March... March 15, 2022

 The Ides of March is the 74th day in the Roman calendar, which corresponds to March 15 on our calendar.

Romans used the day as the deadline for settling debts, and the day was also marked by several religious observances.

Each month has an Ides, relating to a full moon as the Roman calendar was lunar based.

The Ides of each month were marked by a sheep sacrifice to Jupiter, the Romans’ top god.

On the Ides of March, they held the Feast of Anna Perenna, a goddess whose festival marked the end of the ceremonies for the new year.

Towards the end of the Roman period the Ides also marked the start of a week-long period marking various festivals celebrating Cybele and Attis, two mythical gods.

The Ides of March is just a day in the Roman calendar but it took on much more significance when it became the day Julius Caesar was murdered in 44BC.

Such an infamous event solidified the day in history and became a turning point in Roman culture.

Where does 'Beware the Ides of March' quote come from?

While the Ides existed long before the Elizabethan era, the phrase "Beware the Ides of March" was not famous until William Shakespeare.

Renowned poet and playwright, Shakespeare, wrote The Tragedy of Julius Caesar which was first performed in 1599.

Shakespeare's plays were first published in Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories and Tragedies, now known as the First Folio.

Julius Caesar is classed as a tragedy play in the First Folio, which was published in 1623 after his death.

"Beware the Ides of March" is uttered by a soothsayer telling Julius Caesar that his life is in danger in the play.

The soothsayer tells Caesar to stay at home on March 15 and be careful what he does.

The Roman emperor was assassinated on the day in 44BC.

Since being used as a warning to Caesar in Shakespeare’s play, the phrase has been used to foreshadow something bad happening.

Why is the Ides of March on March 15?

Instead of numbering the days of each month sequentially the Romans used three fixed points in the month and counted back from those fixed points.

The Nones were either on the 5th or 7th, the Ides on the 13th or 15th and the Kalends on the first of the following month.

The Ides were meant to be determined by the full moon and Romans based their calendar on the lunar cycles.

The Ides of March would have marked the first full moon of the year, according to their calendar.

In March, May, July, and October, the Ides fell on the 15th day.

What happened on the Ides of March?

Caesar was stabbed to death during a meeting of the Senate on the Ides of March in 44BC which may have involved as many as 60 conspirators and led by Brutus and Cassius.

According to the Greek biographer Plutarch, a seer had warned that harm would come to Caesar no later than the Ides of March.

On his way to the Senate, Caesar is said to have passed the seer and joked: "The Ides of March are come", implying that the prophecy had not been fulfilled, to which the seer replied "Aye, Caesar; but not gone".

Shakespeare dramatized the assassination and its aftermath, with the words used as a warning to Caesar in the play.

Since then the phrase has been used as a warning in other situations and hence became superstitious.

The phrase "Et tu, Brute?" was popularized by Shakespeare in the same play, although he was not the first to use it.










Monday, March 14, 2022

Pi Day 2022

 Today is "Pi Day" 2022.  It's been an incredible year dealing with Covid-19 for the past two years and coming to grips with several (many) of my contemporaries who have died in the last eighteen months.  Some younger than me, some older than me, and some right where I am right now.  It makes one ponder and think.

A buddy of mine describes it as "The Fourth Quarter" which is a football reference and he says that the whistle has blown and the ball is in the air and the referee and umpire are ready to blow the whistle.  I'm just hoping that the two-minute-warning is later rather than sooner.

I have been trying to "downsize" however it is difficult and I've likened the process to "Sophie's Choice" as I really am having difficulty choosing what to divest.  I have been collecting an eclectic mix of possessions over the many decades that I have been here (on this planet) and now that I am well-within the eighth decade on this earth it becomes more and more difficult to choose what to "give up" or "give away".  

I've lived in the same house since 1953.  I have memories of seven decades within these walls and memories of countless people here.  I can spend hours reminiscing and that has become somewhat of a hobby (spending time).  

I hope to return on May 4th, 2022 (if I remember) "May the Fourth be with you".  

Be safe out there.  It's a wonderful world and a dangerous world.  Pick your choices wisely.