New

And so we begin a new administration.  I saw on Facebook that one of Biden's top aides said that the Trump administration left a bigger mess than they anticipated.  I think the translation to that is that the Democrats will need more than 4 years to fix everything.  

I'm not sure how I feel about that.   In 2016, I was one of the people who were saying we didn't need another politician in office--we needed a business person who would move away from status quo and lean toward monetary equality through Wall Street.  Well, that didn't seem to work out.   But, I don't think it's the political party who makes the country "great again."  I think it's how the administration inspires the people of America to be great.  

We can't let Covid be our "new normal."  We have to fix it.  We can't work in silo's--we have to work together.  We can't ask for someone's voter registration card before we decide to be friendly or not.  We have to have faith that we will have more in common with people than ideas that will keep us apart.  

That won't be easy.  I, for one, can hold a grudge until hell freezes over, but that has not translated to good things in my life for me.  If anything, it has made me have to work harder to maintain and grow relationships.  

I have faith in this administration, in part, because of the diversity in cabinet selections.  Some people equate the word, "diversity," to mean, "different from me."  And, they translate that into reasons why they are being shorted, financially or in terms of opportunity.  But I think it could mean that different people will bring different experiences and will have a voice to say, "hey, wait....you're not making things fair for all."   At least, I hope so.

I give credit to all political parties who have people willing to put themselves out there to get a job done.  My life could not take the scrutiny of examination required for these jobs.  

I hope that the days ahead bring peace to all and help us find our way through disease,  unrest and division.  I hope the new administration is strong on many fronts and peaceful when it needs to be. 

Riots

 

I have been reading about the Capitol riots for days now.  It happened, it was covered on the news, people were shocked, rioters went home and now people are being arrested.  

I have seen on Facebook that people on both sides are outraged and each are pointing fingers at the other.  

I have seen people comparing the riots to the BLM marches and insisting that the marches were worse than the riots.  

The latest is that the guy I call, "Horned Guy," has been arrested but won't eat jail food because he has certain food restrictions.  His mother appealed to the judge that heard his case that he needs to be fed the type of foods he eats.  This is not medical stuff, this is preference.  

I have read all of this stuff and I still feel that those who died in this mess have been lost in the media frenzy.  A policeman was beaten to death with a fire extinguisher.  A demonstrator was shot.  What will it take to make people stop?  To make people say, this is not worth it?  What will it take to make people pause and say, "really, this is how I was raised by my mother?"  

And now there is talk of assassinations at the inauguration.   Why?  Do the people who are rioting think that if President elect Biden is killed as well as the Democratic Vice President,  that Trump will be put back in office?  You can't kill democracy.  Maybe they have tried, but you can't.

Grow up.  Stand down.  Be proud in another way.  Stop the madness. 

I feel like things are getting back to some level of normalcy.  We are getting requests from people who want to come down visit us (Covid permitting) and so our calendar preparations begin.   

Donna and Bob arrive tomorrow for their 2 month stay so we will kick off the activities with the Brown/Steelers game.  Can't wait.  Go Baker!!

The past few days have been mild, but rainy.     We took down the Christmas decorations yesterday and finished up today.  It was a good opportunity to go through my desk and toss away lots of old stuff. I used to pride myself on begin organized, but now I'm finding that I'm saving silly things that I won't ever use but have a nice memory attached to it.  I guess it's one of the downfalls of being retired. 

Dixie's birthday is coming up next week.  No party plans so far, but I'm guessing she'll be getting plenty of extra treats.  New Years Day, I found her laying half in and half out of her bed.  It looked like she had one of her paws across her eyes, shielding them from the light.  I know we didn't give her any Asti, but I wondered if she was out partying after we went to bed. 

Dixie continues to be a source of joy for us.  I heard through Facebook that one of my friends just lost her dog.  It took me back to when we lost Jack.  The house was so empty when he died.  I hope my friend finds peace in the memories that her dog, Shelly, gave her. 

It's time to sit on the lanai and go over the events of the day with Tony so I will close this blog until another day. 

Happy New Year to all. 

 Here's Tony opening up the Asti!~

And Here It Is, Christmas Again!

            

                Wow, will I  be glad to see this year end.  I know, stand in line!

And now, it's Christmas time again.  Well, I'm good.  I got the gift I wait for every year--the Purdum calendar!!!  12 pictures of my beautiful and big grand babies.  It's the best gift I ever get. 

Like last year, it will be a quiet holiday for us.  Just Tony, Dixie and me.  We are go to Charlotte for a day trip.  It will be fun to see the kids again.  Personally, I wonder if Tony is going just to see the golf trophy!!

I am still knee deep working on the paper and Covid 19 book.  It's fun, but as I have said before, I end up sitting in front of the computer all day packing on tonage!   I am working on the National section of the Covid 19  book now and meeting several new people.  

I am also working on the Cape Fear voices website.  Check it out at:  www.capefearvoices.allforyou.biz/wp.com.  If that doesn't work, type in:  www.capefearvoices.com and look for the entry that says Cape Fear Voices Board of Directors.  That's the sloppy way of doing it.  You will go to our Board of Directors page and you can click back to the home page from there.  It will be going live on January 1, 2021.  

I am going into my third year of retirement and I finally feel like I am doing something with myself.  It's a good feeling.  

Tony and I hope that everyone has a  nice, safe Christmas.  Raise a glass to 2021!!

Here are most of our beautiful family.  I have to work on getting a Jenna and Jon photo!

Zach and Sam, black belts

Brenda, Alex and David on their 2020 Xmas card  

(Oh, baby Swegle, due in March is in the photo too!!)

The Charlotte Swegle's!  In the back, Marie and Tony,

in front, from left Anthony, Owen and Coleton!

Our first grandbaby--Ben with sister, Ellie.

  Ben is growing like a weed!!

   

Winding Down and Gearing Up

 

There's lots of little things going on with us as we come to the end of the year and start 2021.  Tony Jr., and David will be in next week to play golf with Tony.  That's always a fun time to see them banter back and forth and joke around with each other.  Hopefully, the trophy will stay with us again this time. 

I'm afraid I won't get to spend much time with them, however, as our efforts getting the Covid 19 book published are in high gear.  Cape Fear Voices received two grants this week, one for $3,000 and one for $3,100 from educational outlets.  We hope to publish in January, but some of the authors are having trouble with their sections.  I have been invited to participate in a Zoom call today regarding assisting with the National section.  As you may recall, I was the researcher on the International section.  

I'm also helping to roll out the website, Capefearvoices.com, in January and I'm the Quality Control person for both the website and the paper.   I'm getting a little concerned that my writing is getting pushed back because of all of the other things I'm doing for the paper.  But, so far,  I am enjoying my various roles and love assisting and learning.  

Our newest grandbaby from David and Brenda will be born in late March or early April.  I've been shopping and having a good time finding cute clothes.  Ellie will be 10 in December. I still have the calendar that Jenna makes every year, showing Ellie's arrival in the family.  She was small, round and had the cutest hair and eyes.  Her eyes were big and questioning, like she was trying to decide how we fit into her world.  We are getting her a balance beam so she can continue with her gymnastics.

Donna and Bob will be down in January for 2 months again.  Can't wait to massage the economy with Donna.  We are definitely ladies who "do" lunch!!!    Dixie will be 8 in January.  No big party, just a new toy for her to bring to us to throw.  Tony will be 74 in February and he's still going strong.  He still works at the golf course one day a week and joined the Veteran's Club.  Last week, he replaced all of my white and blue twinkle lights on the lanai and it looks great.  

We try to spend a few hours a day on the lanai, just to talk.  I love it out there.  We have learned a great deal about each other, and we have listened to our music (although, being 5 years older than I, his music is sometimes different from mine!)  We share appetizers, wine and sometimes even dinner out there. 

We are hoping to get to the driving range on Friday.  I really want to get back to golfing and Compass Pointe has a short course that I can probably do.  I just need to take it one step at a time.  

My health is stable.  I am still short of breath, my skin is still a mess and I am still on medication, but I can deal with all of this and more doctor's appointments are not an option.  I can't go and have tests and find out nothing again. 

Dixie's spa day was yesterday.  Here she is with her Christmas bandana and Daddy.  Tony's sister said they looked like twins...hmmm, must be the goatee!  

The Ghost Pooper

 

As expected, we had a very quiet Thanksgiving.  I say very quiet because the Saturday after we went to Charlotte to see Tony Jr., Marie and the boys.  Talk about direct opposite!  The house is busy, active, happy and loud.  There were  boys everywhere!!

Coleton and Anthony go to school two days a week and learn online the rest of the week.  Owen goes to daycare.  Owen is talking so much better than the last time we were there.  He doesn't say, "I" or "me," he says "Owen,"  as in, "Owen want more."   He plays outside with the boys and goes down the sliding board all by himself.  Yesterday, he was kicking the soccer ball into a net and swinging at baseballs.   They are so cute.  

Coleton is getting straight A's and Anthony is reading at the first grade level.  They are a blast to be around.   But, I know why old people don't have babies.  I don't know how Tony and Marie handle it all.  They are both working from home, helping the kids with school work, taking care of the house, taking the kids to various sports activities and not sleeping much. 

I had a fun conversation with Anthony yesterday.  It was all about the "Ghost Pooper!"  I heard a small "toot" when Anthony was drawing.  He asked me if I smelled anything because he smelled "poop."  

We started talking about who might have pooped when he told me it was the "Ghost Pooper," who drops in from time to time.   You never see him, you just smell him!  Leave it to Anthony to come up with a great story.  

We watched a really sloppy Browns Game and then came home.  Dixie was glad--there's only so much tail grabbing she can take.  

David and Tony Jr., will be visiting in three weeks to have another Swegle Golf Tournament.  Tony Sr., shot a 94 last week, so the boys better bring their "A" game.  That trophy isn't going anywhere. 

So, Christmas is coming up.   Marie asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I told her a granddaughter.   From the look she gave me, I'm guessing that's not on the Christmas list.  

That's OK, we have the boys!

This is from last year, so they are all one year cuter!

The Covid Book

 

I feel like I have been underground for the past few months.   Cape Fear Voices is publishing a book about 2020, specifically, how Covid affected the world.  I have been glued to the computer researching the international impact,  Very recently, I meet with one of the owners/editors to put picture collages together and gather additional information about the year in general.  I found a lot of material in the way of political cartoons that I think will add a great deal to the content. 

Today, the press release about the book came out:

PRESS RELEASE

 The Great Lockdown of 2020: “How I Survived” - published by Cape Fear Voices

Someone on Facebook recently stated that they didn’t want to set their clock back one hour this Fall, as we do every year, because they didn’t want to give 2020 another hour. Another wanted to know if that offer from Momma to knock me into next year was still on the table. It’s been that kind of year for everyone.

From local earthquakes (that’s right, we had one of those in the Cape Fear region in 2020), to a record number of hurricanes, to uncontrollable forest fires out West, locust swarms in Africa, a massive bomb blast in Beirut, political discord and division on a grand scale, to the type of pandemic we haven’t seen in over 100 years – it’s been a year for the record books. Whew! And there’s more to come.  No one today wants to remember 2020. But one day, your grandchildren will want to know, “What did you do during the Great Lockdown of 2020?” (To steal a famous, rhetorical, question from the movie, “Patton.”) Well, you won’t be able to tell them you went out to eat or to a movie. You won’t have a story to tell about that great vacation you took. Maybe you could tell them how clean the house, garage, and yard look these days.

Gerald Decker and Eric Mens, co-owners of  Teen Scene Inc, which publishes a free monthly publication in the Cape Fear region called Cape Fear Voices, have collected individual stories from around the world, across the nation, and possibly even your neighborhood.  They have also garnered the support of local writers such as Bev Haedrich and Lon Anderson. Several North Carolina writers have joined the effort, including Artie Kamiya, Don Lucas, and Bruce Manicelli. Additionally, the National VFW and nationally known writer, Andrew Carroll (“War Letters” and “Behind the Lines”) have granted permission to include some of their articles about life during the pandemic. Helping with research, writing, and editing are Ken Formalarie and Jan Morgan-Swegle. 

The book will attempt to capture, for posterity, the year in glimpses from individuals. It is not our story to tell. It is the story of the nearly 100 people from around the world who submitted personal stories for this publication. Eric Mens commented that the book is “our attempt to document history for the next generation.” He also stated that while the book is still in production, we have already started getting book pre-orders from our writers and loyal readers of Cape Fear Voices.  

We are a nonprofit 501 (c) (3).  All operating funds come from donations or ad sales. Book sale proceeds will cover the cost to continue publishing Cape Fear Voices and our teen publication, The Teen Scene. If you would like to order a copy of “The Great Lockdown,” please email editorcfv@gmail.com or editorteenscene@gmail.com. 

I was very surprised and pleased to see my name in the release.  I certainly did not expect that.  

This has been such a good experience for me.  I have worked with very talented people and I have learned a great deal.  I continue to write for the paper (I missed the November issue due to the research work) and I hope that one of my articles, "The Distance Between Us," will be published in the book.  The story is about Tony and I going to Cleveland to see Jenna's children and how we had to keep our distance and not hug or have any type of contact.  That's the visit where I cried so hard I didn't think I had any tears left in me.  

I am also working the the Advisory Board on ways to generate revenue for the paper.  The Plain Dealer used to publish personal events under the heading of "Celebrations."  I pitched the idea to the Board and they thought it was a good idea so I will be working with the web designer to get it up and running.  

In other news, we are on our way to Charlotte the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  We missed Anthony's birthday in October, so we are taking his gift and having a very small party.  It will be good to see everyone and get out of the house.  

It has been an odd and difficult year.  The high's and low's were incredible.  I so hope that 2021 is better for  us all. 

From our home to  yours, Happy Thanksgiving.   🦃