Who Knew The Original Ewok Was My 8th Grade Teacher

Miss Schmucker's Kindergarten Class

I went to Kenilworth grade school. I am a proud alumni of Kenilworth Elementary School. Kenilworth is now in the historic area of downtown Phoenix. Let me tell you what I THINK is awesome: my dad also went to Kenilworth. For the first couple years, we (my brothers and I) had a few of the same teachers that taught my dad. I have a lot of  stories about Kenilworth….my first experience was my kindergarten teacher, who was, well, how do I say this respectfully??- Oh... ya can’t- or I choose not to sugar coat it- SHE WAS OLD!—and her name was  Miss SCHMUCKER. That’s right….give kids their very first teacher  a name that you know they won’t be able to pronounce correctly- if ya know what I mean….rhymes with….trucker….

I was telling Boberts the other day that I remember having our towels at school (brought from home) for which we used to take naps. And a memory - of a little glimpse - into how the rest of my life would be. Miss Schmucker (rhymes with… tee hee…) had drawn an octagon shape, on it, the  word STOP. We were suppose to color it, because- well, RED MEANS STOP. What did I do? I colored my stop sign BLUE… Bob says he thinks it’s because I was a rebel at an early age.. I have no comment.

I just cracked myself up…

Miss Digney, cat eye glasses. First Grade

First grade, Miss Digney…had the cat eye glasses and wore the old 50’s type dresses that Beaver Cleaver’s mother would wear on Leave It To Beaver.  Our class window was always open because- back then- there wasn’t air conditioning. **Vivid memory**… the  smell of orange blossoms…to this day, whenever I smell orange blossoms, I am immediately transported back to Miss Digney’s class room where she’d yell at me for hanging out the window to  get a better whiff… lol… I’m not telling stories here- that lady could yell….made me cry on more than several occasions. 

Miss MacKenzie. I loved to sing, but hated  going to this class

So many great stories about/from Kenilworth.  The choir teacher always made me cry too ( No, this ISN'T a pattern- I wasn't necessarily a cry baby). I swear she was some kind of yeller in the military…Miss MacKenzie- she yelled at me and I forgot my name- evil wicked  B!  lol  AND - -I had an 8^th grade teacher whom I swear is the original ewok.  BOY  WAS SHE MEAN!!! 

Carnivals, white elephant sales, oh so very much fun. As fond as the many memories I have of Kenilworth, what I feel THE MOST thankful for are the friendships I made. TO THIS day, most of my friends  from grade school are my closest, dearest friends. Kenilworth had quite a few students that went on to be pretty prominent people  in our community and in our country. I won’t name drop, but I will share this…. The people that came from Kenilworth, are the best bunch of people I have had the pleasure to have grown up with…. great people, great friends, great memories...yes, I am truly blessed.

Spring Training & Little League---- Is There A Correlation?

Well, if you’re asking me, I have to say….I dunno. I frequently hear my hubby and BFF talking about Spring Training....so when I came across info for 'on this date' (Feb 20) that today is the birthday of +Carl Stotz - American founder of Little League Baseball... I thought.....huh? (Really, I said to myself, out loud, "HUH?").  Yep, I surprised myself that I actually gave more than a fleeting thought to three words: Little League Baseball.

I really could care less about it but what caught my attention (as seems to be the way my brain works)

is this: Little League is baseball. Baseball is boring. Boring I would be if ever I joined the hubby & BFF for Spring Training. Hey it’s the Dudes’ birthday today…..Huh?

Evidently without Mr. Stotz - the little boys that play baseball wouldn't have any clue what they're doing. That’s not entirely true. They probably wouldn’t have an organized type league, as they know it, had it not been for Carl Stotz.  

As far as Spring Training….well, my hubby, +Robert Aguilar and +Maggie Leach, my BFF & Bob’s ‘sports wife’* can go knock themselves out...they do that in baseball, right? Maybe that's football or boxing- I dunno.  Little League Baseball & Spring Training, keeps the boys & my BFF busy and out of trouble.

At any rate, Happy Birthday to Carl Stotz!

  

*Sports wife: a friend that puts up with all the sports crap so I don’t have to.

Sports – Sports- and um, Yep - - - I Suck At Sports

Let me just state that: I’m not fishing for compliments- I never do, I say that because what I have to write about will make it seem as if I am looking for reassurance. Reassurance that I don’t suck. I suck- I suck - I suck.  I know I suck - and what  I am writing about is the absolute truth. Yep, skating, skipping, running(ouch!), any field sports-swimming.... fuggetaboutit! 

Seriously.  Lemme tell ya a few stories about my life as a jock…. Wait - -

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA –

I couldn't contain myself - -using MY LIFE in the same sentence with AS A JOCK--

WAIT.. BAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Okay THAT is temporarily out of my system.

wait.. bahahahaha... NOW it's out of my system.

Okay…it started in grade school. Ya know when you’re standing with all your friends and every single one of your friends is picked for ANY sport before you??  Oh, they’d fight over me---but it was usually- “you take her- no- you take her- NO! YOU(!)  TAKE(!) her(!)”….Yep- even for a game of RED ROVER, Red Rover, send ANYONE but Lisa right over….sadly, I was always the last picked.

My youth was pretty darn fantastic, in spite of my lack of athletic ability. 

In spite of my inability to play ANY type of sport well, we still managed to have a softball team. Back then, it wasn't an official school district approved thing to have girls play sports ( it was only a few years prior to that  the school FINALLY allowed girls where pants to school- but that’s another story), anyhoo- I believe this was at a time when my daddy wanted to be more involved in the life of his only daughter, he agreed to be the coach of the girls softball team….it was THE ONLY WAY I would ever get a chance to play.  We had to make our own uniforms…denim cutoffs and white t-shirts we SPRAY PAINTED our names on the back of each shirt…pretty high tech stuff for back then. **GRIN** I remember having the shirts flat on the cement in our back yard using stencils and spray paint **

We practiced in the evenings and got a list of other teams (to play) from other schools in the district. My dad would drive us all IN THE BACK OF HIS TRUCK and we’d play- poorly. Never won except for one time when my Aunt Carrie (my dad’s sister) promised everyone  ice cream sundaes if we won. We did win,  and my aunt was nowhere to be found. My parents - and I think with the  help of some other parents - were able to allow us to enjoy sundaes.

Any way, my dad, always one to be fair, put me in right field. THE BALL NEVER GOES OUT TO RIGHT FIELD…except for when Lisa is out there. The ball comes towards me and I put my hand in front of my face so I wouldn’t get hit and it lands IN MY GLOVE. Scared the hell out of me! I was so incredibly shocked that I had no idea what to do with the ball. I don’t remember anything else. That was the end of my softball career.

SWIMMING- HA! I thought I found something I could excel at. Winning ribbon - after ribbon- after ribbon. Yep, I was part of the elite, yes(!) a full fledged member of the TERRACE CLUB swimming team. I LOVED the Terrace Club. (Had so much fun and a budding relationship with Jerry Bowlin- whatever happened to him-) I digress. Where was I?? Oh yeah - SWIMMING. I had a huge head- I was, after all a really great swimmer. It wasn’t until, really - - not too long ago when my mother gave me all the ribbons she had been saving for me  for when I was old enough to appreciate all the awards I won as a child. BOY did I have a rude awakening. ALL THESE years I thought I was a hot SH!T swimmer. After all, I swam at the Terrace Club. So sad…  I open up the  box my mom had saved all these years…you know, Blue for first place, red for second…etc… somewhere along the way, I was grossly misinformed. They were all- ALL  “PARTICIPANT” ribbons. OH- how very sad.  You know the ribbons they give you so you don’t feel badly about not placing…..oh!

Skateboarding? Oh you know….very first time on a skateboard and I dislocate my shoulder. That would be the first of 15 shoulder dislocations.

Roller skating? OH- why bother going into detail… lol

Yes, indeed- I suck at all sports…

So, please share with me…At what do you excel? Do you have stories of your youth? Doesn't have to be sports....after all we all exceed at SOMETHING - - right???

I hope so...soon I will find my talent - - I am sure of it!!!

Hard To Be Kind When I Am So Very, Very Angry At Rex Reed

 

I may have some strong words to say here - and it has to do with people that think THEY are perfect. People that think because someone is overweight it is okay to call them horrible names. 

I am speaking of the film critic Rex Reed. Mr. Reed –I ONLY call him “Mr.” because the name that comes to MY mind isn’t printable -- has been described as ‘one of the most prolific movie critics in the country’.  WHY? I don’t know as I am not a movie critic, but, I guess it takes a lot of talent to watch a film and give an opinion (she writes ever so sarcastically). Mr. Reed has written entertainment columns for The New York Observer.

(A side note: The New York Observer should OBSERVE the fact that their film critic is an ass!)

Reed had the nerve to call Melissa McCarthy horrible names because she may be a few pounds overweight. Reed’s description: a tractor-sized, a humongous creep, and a hippo had nothing to do with Melissa's acting.

Rex Reed may have all the qualifications to be a film critic…. he should then critique THE FILM not give his opinion on the personal appearance of- by all accounts- a wonderfully kind, and extremely talented actress.

I don’t know a heck of a lot about Mr. Reed, I gather by everything I read about him he is a gay man. I have no problem with that…but if he is, I would think that he has experienced hate from other people for his sexual orientation. Have you, Mr. Reed not experienced hate from people who don’t understand being gay is not a choice?  What do you call them?

Maybe because he has been around for decades, he feels it’s okay to call talented actresses names. Maybe, just maybe he is jealous of her talent…. I don’t really give a rats ass what his reasons are, I feel he is rude, incredibly insensitive and quite frankly a big dumb jerk~!

I am writing because I get so majorly ticked off when someone - who is way too big for their britches -dumps on someone that has done nothing to them. Melissa has shown nothing but class and Mr. Reed has shown nothing but his ass!

People who have never had a weight problem don’t understand the pain an overweight person endures EVERY SINGLE DAY. It’s not as if it’s news to them that they are overweight. Most people that have weight problems beat themselves up daily, they don’t need a pompous jerk to remind them they are seen by some self-righteous a-hole as less than human.   If it were easy to lose the weight, they would!  We would all be the same size. Sometimes there are extreme medical problems, sometimes it’s genetics, sometimes people are just predisposed to being just the way they are. We are still human - with feelings - and we don’t need some idiot to call us names. It’s childish, ridiculous, uncalled for and just mean!

Mr. Reed looks as if he has never had a weight problem…that’s a good thing for him, because if he had a weight problem, if he were gay, if he was showing his negative side (as he has with his rude comments) boy, what kind a hate magnet for people that need no reason to hate would he be?

THINK ABOUT THAT Mr. Reed. Film Critic you may be…..decent? Nope, not by a long shot!

SHAME ON YOU!

Chatting With My Mom

I noticed the other day when I was chatting with me dear old mom that my parents are, well crazy – but in a good way.

My mom: friendly, chatty & lately chats  a lot about her life growing up. Her parents, my grandparents, passed away at an early age. I vaguely remember them…but I can remember the day they passed away like it was yesterday. Well, I remember when my grandma died. My grandpa – in order to save us from having memories of him leaving this earth requested we not be there. I remember very few things about them. Although I am told that I resemble my grandma quite a bit…..seems besides some physical features, we have a bit of spunk  in our personalities in common as well. I’m good with that.   - BUT back to my parents….

My mom has been going through boxes that belonged to her mom…boxes of memories & mementos. Mom gave me a letter that her mother wrote to her in 1966. In the letter written half in English & half in Spanish tells my mom about some recipes she thinks she should make. A letter from a mom to her daughter passing on tips on how to cook.  Mom gave me the letter &  recipes…not gonna lie- it as pretty tasty. I noticed that the way these dishes were made is similar to how my mom has cooked all these years.

My Dad….LOVE my daddy!! I remember growing up and because he was always working in his workshop, he had pencils everywhere. Old pencils, before mechanical pencils were even invented, he had the old, old pencils. They were always sharpened, but never did I see a pencil sharpener. Oh no, my dad would whittle the pencil sharpened. I remember him standing near a trash can with his carpet knife sharpening his pencil. Well after the time it was affordable to have a pencil sharpener at home (remember the kind you hung on the wall- had them in school- LONNNG before individual pencil sharpeners were available) he’d still use his trusty  carpet knife. I bring this up because when I was chatting with my mom, I was sitting at the table where my dad usually sits. I picked up a pencil (I am smiling thinking of this) and it is sharpened to a nice sharp point with wood  or shave marks on it. Yep, my dad, still whittles his pencils sharpened.

I notice the older I get, the more I notice that old habits die hard – or maybe it’s just that I find the little things my parents do just so darn adorable.

My mom will be 79 in a few weeks…my dad will be 82 a few weeks after that. Where has the time gone? I know I am blessed to have both of my parents… I only hope that I can bring them as much joy in their –as my mother calls it- “sunset years” as they have given me my whole life. My parents… I love them so very much.

Tell me, please, what things do you remember about your parents? Things they’d say? Dishes they’d cook? Things they’d wear? Favorite line or curse word? (ya don’t have to spell the whole word)…

Been A While, Sometimes My Words Take A Different Path

Well, It’s been a heck of a lo-n-n-g time since I’ve ‘blogged’. I own the fact that I really wasn’t in a ‘happy place’.  Somewhere along the line I allowed my sadness to get the best of me -AND not to bemoan that I felt my life was crappy…..but- - -well, IT WAS. Well, actually my career (or lack of) was, quite frankly, a crapfest!

Well, let me see….I actually started writing about something else, but I have to go with what is in my head AT THIS MOMENT. Which is- (heh-heh-heh) something that makes me giggle. I am watching THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA. It’s the movie with Meryl Streep – who btw is an excellent actress – and Anne Hathaway (I love her too). It’s about a power hungry, narcissistic (capital) B. without a heart.  I’m not gonna lie…it made me think of someone.

I actually started writing a screenplay about my life as a morning radio show producer and ALL that happens behind the scenes. Yep- smacks  of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA-ish… It was great therapy for me.

I learned that kind (& good) should win and sometimes the devil gets her way but only for a while and sometimes it takes time to see Karma work. I’d be remiss if I didn’t state that most of the people I worked with aren’t included -in any way- in my ‘words to share’… I loved my colleagues…and I miss them dearly….there is only, as in the movie, one devil - - and it is only the devil that should get all it deserves.

I am almost to the point where I can forgive…NEVER FORGET… but forgive. I have a great new job. I am working with two wonderfully kind, decent, funny, caring people with no egos. It’s a brand new position and I am the first to hold this special position. I intend to grow and make it something really special.

Is there a lesson?  YES….Our job does not define us as a person. The people who really matter are the ones that KNOW you, listen to you, care about you and will be part of your life when you have nothing to offer them- other than what REALLY matters; love, kindness, friendship & laughter ( I am very, very fortunate that all the peeps in my life love me for who I am, which admittedly, is just painfully goofy).

OH..if ya wanna know what the title of my screenplay is- message me….I’m ALWAYS happy to share.

Blessings,

Lisa