A better world because....

Many people touch our lives every single day. Often it is in just some small way: a cashier, a teller, even people you do not meet face to face.

You see actors performing on the stage, the big screen, or even a small screen that brings them into your home.

Sometimes you hear actors names and it triggers a memory for you. Or you just fondly remember watching them perform. You may not even have watched them, but you can hear the name and think, "Oh, I remember them."

I never really followed George Carlin, who recently passed away, but he was so funny. Many people like him have touched our lives and improved them by entertaining us and bringing laughter into our lives.

It is just a tad morbid, but my husband stumbled upon a website www.deadoraliveinfo.com. It lists the deaths of many people, not just those in the entertainment industry.

I just went back to the first of the year and was able to come up with 14 names that I recognized. I am betting if you went to the site, you might recognize more.

Suzanne Pleshette whom I always watched on Newhart. Ivan Dixon, not a name you instantly recognize but…if you grew up in the 60's and 70's and watched "Hogan's Heroes" he touched your life as Kinchloe. Roy Scheider in Jaws-- who did not watch that? I sure think of it more as I now live in Florida and did see a shark one day when went to the beach. David Groh, another name you would not recognize but if you watched Mary Tyler Moore and Rhoda, he was Rhoda's husband. Richard Widmark, Cyd Charisse-- two that my husband remembers, although not to fondly as he said they always creeped him out. I think he said that about Charlton Heston, too, or at least the characters he played.

With the presidential election coming up it will be very different this year with out Tim Russert.
With George Carlin's passing, no matter what channel you tuned in-- sports networks, musical channels, entertainment networks-- they likely made some mention of his passing.

Sometimes when I hear that people who were in shows I watched growing up have passed away, I feel as though a part of my childhood slipped away as well.

It saddens me that we do not realize how many people touch our lives. You often do not realize how long it has been since they have passed away. For some reason, I recently found a website that listed graves in the cemetery that my paternal grandparents and other family members are buried in. I really remembered how old they were when they passed, or at least how old I was.

I am left with such a feeling that this blog entry is somehow incomplete, yet at this time I cannot continue as it has me feeling overwhelmingly sad. Thinking of my father, my sister, the in-laws that I never got the chance to meet.

People touch our lives in so many ways…..gone but never forgotten….and our world is all the better because of them.

Give credit where credit it due....

I have to take the time to thank someone who is a tremendous help to me with this blogging adventure.

Harry Samuel Williams.

He is the one who finds the photos you see, and often creates them. My Art Director.

He is also the one who catches my errors. If you see errors, grammatical or spelling...well...that means it hit the blog prior to his reading it. He is my editor.

Most importantly he is the blessing that God answered my prayers with.

He is the one I proud to say is my husband, the man that I love with all of my heart.

Please take a chance and check out his blog, and his web site.

http://harrysbeeftrust.blogspot.com/

https://www.msu.edu/~will1140/

He is an amazing man, and blesses many lives not just mine.

I am so proud of him and wanted to take a moment to give credit where credit is due....

Taste bud temptations....

If by chance there is anyone that I know that checks the Internet while standing up...please sit down!

I know I have mentioned before that I am getting more adventurous in trying new foods, but some may still be surprised.

Tonight I ventured into the world of Indian Cuisine, inspired by Tuesday night's episode of Andrew Zimmern's "Bizarre Food" filmed in India.

There is a local Indian restaurant called Amrit Palace. We have jokingly called it "armpit palace". Well, tonight was my first venture into the armpit and Indian food.

It is family-owned and operated with a welcoming, worldly atmosphere. You really did not feel like you were in a store front on the busiest street in Ocala.

Sam ordered "Nan" as an appetizer. It is a bread that is baked in a Tandoor, somewhat like pita bread. It came with a salsa-like chutney. Sam ordered me a Sweet Lassi, which is a homemade yogurt drink and very, very good. He ordered a "Kingfisher" beer, which made me think that my dad would have needed the bottle for his collection of beer cans and bottles.

Food was delivered to a table across from us and smelled and looked delicious. We asked the waiter what it was, and it was Chicken Tandoori.

I ordered the "Tandoori Dinner (for one): Vegetable Soup, Vegetable Samosa, Bhujia, Chooza Pakora and Papadam. Special Tandoori Chicken, Pillaw Rice, Puri, Tayta, Onion Chutney, Gulab Jamun as a Dessert". You can order it mild, medium, or hot...I ordered medium and one of the sauces with it was rather spicy. I would be afraid to try the hot!

Sam ordered the "Vegetable Dinner Served in Thali (for one): Vegetable Soup, Assorted Appetizers, Vegetable Samosa, Bhujia Aloo Pakora, Papadam, Mixed Vegetable Curry, Matar Paneer, Chapati. Served with Pillaw Rice, Rayta Onion Chutney and Sweet Lassi. Galub Jamun as a Dessert".

Ya know, when I was choosing what to order, it didn't seem like a lot of food. I suspected it was a little bit of each thing, a sampler platter. And it was. They served the soup first, then the assortment of appetizers, and then came the main dishes. For me it was the Chicken Tandoori.

I was full after the assortment of appetizers....It was great....And now I have leftovers for lunch!

Okay, I confess...though I was full, I still ate my dessert: Gulab Jamun. It was deliciously moist, kind of like a small round pancake soaked in a lightly sweet and somewhat citrus flavored syrup.

There was so much flavor. Our taste buds certainly were not disappointed!

Sixty seconds of fame...

Okay, I confess….I am rather new to following sports. Likely two and a half years ago, if you had asked me what ESPN was I would have guessed "extra sensory perception now".

Now, I not only know what it is, I watch it every night after work with my family. Pretty much every weeknight we watch Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption. Admittedly there are a many things that still fly over my head.

"Go Eagles!"

Until I got married, I did not understand football to save my life. It seemed so stupid: "First down, second down, third down….line up and run….push each other"…It made no sense to me. I still have a lot to learn, but I finally know that a quarterback is not just what you get when you pay a dollar for a pop that cost seventy five cents.

"Go Phillies!"

Baseball.... Oh there are so many different aspects, details, and rules. Who knew there was a "Strike Zone"? It sounds like a great name for a sports bar! I'm not quite sure how to put it, but, I finally know there is much more to it than "Three strikes, you're out!" or "Swing batter, swing!"

"Go Flyers!"

Hockey... Well, I think that might take longer. I think you have to be able to follow the puck with your eyes before you can start to understand the game….

"Go Sixers!"

Basketball seems much less complicated, they run up and down the court, shoes squeaking, balls being thrown through a hoop. Where sports were concerned I liked basketball better simply because I understood it more.

Or so I thought, because Sam has been watching it for thirty years and still doesn't get it. And I can't answer any of the questions he asks about it!

However…now…even watching The Finals® is too much, and I did not even stay up to watch the ends of the games. I am always happy for the team that wins "The Big Dance". I am happy to see the players proudly waving to fans in their parades….

But….please...Memo to Boston Celtics forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis: PUT YOUR SHIRT ON!

I'm sorry, he sure took any respect I had for his team's victory down several notches by taking his shirt off during the parade. If I were a Bostonian, I would be very disappointed. Heck, I am not, and I am still disappointed.

Sadly, there are sports figures who only think of what they can do to make a lead story on ESPN, and this was Big Baby's way to do so: His 'sixty seconds of fame'.

You wear the costume, you play the part….

Okay, it might be an age thing, but I just do not get wearing your pants so big that they are nearly falling off.

What is the strong desire to have your boxers or briefs show 8 to 10 inches above the waist line of your pants?

What is the strong desire to walk with your legs apart so that your pants do not fall down.

I JUST DO NOT GET IT! How is this fashion?

I have heard that it stems from people who have been in prison and are not provided with properly fitted pants. Yet…I still do not get it. How can it be possible to be comfortable? I remember when I lost weight, and as my pants got bigger they certainly were less comfortable to me.

What is it-- are all these guys running around with their boxers/briefs hanging out getting discounts on their pants from the BVD companies?

I work in a probation office, and one of the officers has said that it just makes it easier for law enforcement to catch them if they try to run. They have to grab their package and hold it so their pants stay up and are only running with one arm pumping which then slows them down.

So…again…I just do not get it...

I sadly recall one day my husband and I were leaving a store in a local shopping center, and as we passed a family that had just gotten out of a car there was a small boy, not even school age, walking with his little 'gansta' pants on, holding them at the waist so he did not lose them. How sad is that?

Boy, that is teaching them young, and if I am still working in the probation office 15 years from now, I would be willing to bet that same young boy comes through these doors as a broken young man.

I realize that clothing does not always make the man, but, often when you wear the costume, you play the part….

What's in a name?

I may have already written about how I could 'go long' about some of the names that you hear as you watch sports on TV. Many a "Huh?" comes out of me as I have heard a name. My husband often watches me to see my reactions to names.

However, I am starting to feel bad for ripping on peoples names, especially since they are often names from another nationality.

But…sometimes I just cannot help myself!

Fredi Gonzalez, the manager of the Florida Marlins, is a guy I like, but….What is up with "Fredi with an I"? That sounds like a preppy girl who would be shopping in the Valley with Buffy and Bambi.

Yunel Escobar is one we all went long on the other night….he could open the "Escobar & Grille".... the special of the day could be "Escargot"….

Endy Chavez, Lastings Milledge, Renyel Pinto (Don't smack him on the rear end!), Jair Jurrjens…..just to name a few that have jumped out at me. Oh, there are many more, many more….and….okay….I confess….often when my husband pronounces the name correctly for me, and sometimes tells me the meaning, I concede and admit it is a good name.

It is funny, and sad, that I do not really recall many conversations with my father. There is one that comes to mind often as I think of some of the names, or even some of the nicknames. One day I asked my father why they named me and my sisters such plain and simple names: Sally, Judy and Janet. He told me, "We named you what you were going to be called".

My father was one of nine siblings. He was named after his father, and he was most often called Jack, rather than John.

I really only think there was one of his siblings, my Uncle Lowell, that was actually called by his given first name, and not a nickname or a middle name. It made sense to me, and although I have often thought my name was plain and boring, I appreciated it more after hearing that.

So, thank you Dad, and of course Mom, for giving me my name….