DOWNTON MADNESS.

Against all my better instincts, I drove up to Avery to pick up my friend Paul for lunch since we missed an earlier Christmas lunch date because of the snow. He told me it was clear. On the high sunny ridge where he lives, it was. But, getting there on the uphill curves with shaded areas and heavy ice and snow, made me nervous.  But all turned out well and I brought him back safely. He ordered ribs at Alchemy, and if you like them, everyone says they are delicious.


Since it was Sunday, and I suffer from Downton Madness, I wore my Downton Abbey shirt.  Two people took notice enough to mention it.

I tell everyone,  "Don't Call Me" during Downton Abbey.  Is that madness?
Ordinarily, not much of a television watcher,  I've become addicted to the most popular program on PBS in their history, so I'm not alone. I bought a set of the disks for my sister and got her addicted.


And she bought me the T-shirt with a picture of the three sisters on the back.


And, I'm A Mary, on the front.

Virginia and Cedric don't own a television set, but I got Virginia addicted as well. My daughter Kristanne owns a television set, but no programming. They use Redbox if they want to watch a movie. She said, "No, I don't want to become addicted. I have enough to take care of with a blind dog, and my  own pack and an active kid."  Where did I go wrong?

The last season is #7 and will start in January. They've decided to end the series and not let it run on and on for years like a soap opera. I'll be glued to the set for the first time in my life where everything stops for a television program.  Oh, it is madness.

NATIONAL DAY OF UNPLUGGING?

Whoo boy. I was planning on blogging about the high pay our teachers get when I discovered it was National Day Of Unplugging?

I kind of did a double take and thought we need a National Day Of Unplugging? What is it?
I went to their website and found pictures of people giving up their electronic devices to do such things as:  play, listen to the birds,cuddle, salsa and so on. It never occurred to me there is such a need out there that we should have a national recognition day. I look around and see people leashed to their phones or have devices permanently sticking out of their ears.

I can see where that could be a problem.  John Tesh says 4 out of 5 people take their phones to the bathroom with them. And,  people check their phones on average twice an hour. Hmm. (I heard his comments some time back, and I hope I have those numbers right.)

We older people are thankfully less addictable  and less in need of immediate sensory satisfaction, me thinks.
The challenge is, can you give up, starting at sundown tonight, anything that buzzes, rings, clinks, vibrates, beeps, chirps, etc. until Saturday night at sundown?

http://nationaldayofunplugging.com/.

I'll concentrate on the high pay our teachers get tomorrow. Gotta go answer my email. Hmm, I think I am addicted to my email and blog. But, not in the bathroom.

I think I'll read Thoreau:

Men say they know many things;
But lo! they have taken wings, —
The arts and sciences,
And a thousand appliances;
The wind that blows
Is all that any body knows.


He was a master of defining independence and nature. There is a lot to be said for that.

MAGAZINE MANIA

I have ever attended "Magazine University". Most editors insist their writers research a subject and know of what they speak. Shoot, I learned the ABC's of writing, and how to flush a boyfriend down the toilet when I was younger.I learned how to decorate my bathroom, train the dog, to deal with car salesmen, produce a video, buy the best washing machine...the list is endless.  I've thrown thousands of them away, everybody has.  Some I can't part with. Its unreasonable at my age to still be enamored of any story about the tragic Diana, or those velvety movie stars of yesteryear. I like to look back and remember old Olympic triumphs, the wonderful golfer, Ashley who died too young, or the heady times when Corazon Aquino took over in the Philippines.  And remember Michael Jackson when he was beautiful, brown and healthy rather than that pasty-white phony with a silly thin nose? Yes, I've saved hundreds of old magazines. I'm fessing up because I had my son, Doug build me another rack. This is number five. Its mounted from floor to ceiling and made of solid oak. Magazines are heavy.

He installed it yesterday, and I started filling it this morning. Now, I save magazines about a world  in chaos, and how to protect myself in case of Nuclear Winter. I know the Sicilians are fighting the Mafia and winning.The Shriners and other Fraternal Organizations are dwindling as the young find other pursuits. Who will fill their shoes? Traditional management techniques are out, and wikileaks are helpful. Optimists look at dirt and alarm us to a new resource literally going down the drain. In a struggling economy, thrift store shopping is for everybody. And, Oprah is Quitting?  Oh, no! I save mags about  political slug fests with the hope that the next crop of mags has better news for the people in this insane political climate. To keep my sanity I can always read about the best hikes in our National Forests and continually learn from the panoply of human experience which is all on paper. I keep as much as I can close by so I can take a cruise through the past once in awhile.