Long ago and far away,
In a land that time forgot,
Before the days of Dylan
or the dawn of Camelot,
There lived a race of innocents,
and they were you and me,
Long ago and far away
In the Land of Sandra Dee.
Oh, there was truth and goodness
In that land where we were born,
Where navels were for oranges,
and Peyton Place was porn.
For Ike was in the White House,
And Hoss was on TV,
And God was in his heaven,
In The Land of Sandra Dee.
We learned to gut a muffler,
We washed our hair at dawn,
We spread our crinolines to dry
In circles on the lawn.
And they could hear us coming
All the way from Tennessee,
All starched and sprayed and rumbling
In the Land of Sandra Dee.
We longed for love and romance,
And waited for the prince,
And Eddie Fisher married Liz,
and no one's seen him since.
We danced to "Little Darlin'",
and sang to "Stagger Lee"
and cried for Buddy Holly
In the Land of Sandra Dee.
Only girls wore earrings then,
And three was one too many,
And only boys wore flat-top cuts,
Except for Jean McKinney.
And only in our wildest dreams
Did we expect to see
A boy named George with lipstick
In the Land of Sandra Dee.
We fell for Frankie Avalon,
Annette was oh, so nice,
And when they made a movie,
They never made it twice.
We didn't have Star Trek Five,
Or Psycho Two and Three,
Or Rockie-Rambo Twenty
In the Land of Sandra Dee.
Miss Kitty had a heart of gold,
And Chester had a limp,
And Reagan was a Democrat
Whose co-star was a chimp.
We had a Mr. Wizard,
But not a Mr. T,
And Oprah couldn't talk yet
In the Land of Sandra Dee.
We had our share of heroes,
We never thought they'd go,
At least not Bobby Darin,
Or Marilyn Monroe.
For youth was still eternal,
And life was yet to be,
And Elvis was forever,
In the Land of Sandra Dee.
We'd never seen the rock band
That was Grateful to be Dead,
And Airplanes weren't named Jefferson,
And Zeppelins weren't Led.
And Beatles lived in gardens then,
And Monkees in a tree,
Madonna was a virgin
In the Land of Sandra Dee.
We'd never heard of Microwaves,
Or telephones in cars,
And babies might be bottle-fed,
And they weren't grown in jars.
And pumping iron got wrinkles out,
and "gay" meant fancy-free,
And dorms were never coed
In the Land of Sandra Dee.
We hadn't seen enough of jets
To talk about the lag,
And microchips were what was left,
At the bottom of the bag.
Buicks came with portholes,
And side shows came with freaks,
And bathing suits came big enough
To cover both your cheeks.
And Coke came just in bottles,
And skirts came to the knee,
And Castro came to power
In The Land of Sandra Dee.
We had no Crest with flouride,
We had no Hill Street Blues,
We all wore superstructure bras
Designed by Howard Hughes.
We had no patterned pantyhose
Or Lipton herbal tea
Or prime-time ads for condoms
In The Land of Sandra Dee.
There were no golden arches,
No Perriere to chill,
And fish were not called Wanda
And cats were not called Bill.
And middle aged was thirty five,
And old was forty three,
And ancient was our parents,
In The Land of Sandra Dee.
But all things have a season,
Or so we've heard them say,
And now instead of Maybelline
We swear by Retin-A.
And they send us invitations
to join AARP,
We've come a long way baby,
From The Land of Sandra Dee.
So now we face a brave new world
In slightly larger jeans,
And wonder why they're using
Smaller print in magazines.
And we tell our children's children
Of the way it used to be
Long ago and far way
In The Land of Sandra Dee.
*I don't know the author, but this brings back so many wonderful memories!
Each one of us has our own definite, unique blueprint of who we are, what we have to give to ourselves, our family, our people and to the world. A canopy, if you will, of our strengths and weaknesses surrounds us all, at any given time. Many of us have talents, assets that make them truly a wonderful human being. Actually, it may be a truism to say that each one of us, in some small way or other, is able to make a difference to ourselves and others.
I am considered a very strong woman by the people I know but at any given moment, I could easily fall to my knees when it comes to concern for my children and my grandchildren. I would literally give my life for them. They are my highest priority. I used to worry myself sick about their welfare, their upbringing, their health, their values, that is until I learned to turn it over to God. God and I have done a very good job with these children, if I do say so myself. No, I have over the years learned to not worry. Worrying to me, anyway, shows that I have no faith in my God. Let go and let God. I have banished worry from my life and I am a much better person for it. It is wasted energy on the part of we human beings. Worry causes fear, lack of trust in your savior, and interferes with our own ability to be independent human beings. So in my eternal self-evaluation, I have banished worry to a higher being. This has become a trait that I admire in myself, this banishment of worry..
One other thing that I like about myself is my extreme sense of loyalty to friends and others. If I care about someone, sincerely, I would be there for them no matter what. I treat my friends with a good heart and let them know how much I love and care about them.
I must now work on my extreme lack of patience with everything. I admit it, I am the most impatient person I know, have been most of my life, being a type A personality. I do things myself, rather than waiting for other people to do them, not because I am kind, but because I am impatient. I just spent a night in the hospital with what my doctor thought could possibly be a heart attack. I went to the Emergency Room with all the bells and whistles of an ambulance, a call to 911. I was released after much testing and blood taking, as well as upsetting my children. It wasn't a heart attack, but it very well could have been. Now I must reconsider my priorities once again. I have attacked and banished the worry monster and now I have to work on the impatient one.
So here is the question posed to my blog readers: What do you like least and best about yourself?
I guess I must stop watching or listening to the news, because every day I hear and see statistics that keep me awake at night and make me fearful of America's future.
I heard that this year, America is facing the largest deficit in the entire history of our nation. The entire history, I find this amazing that we could be so much in debt, the richest country in the world? We certainly have greatly over-extended ourselves in Iraq, no only monetarily but in the loss of lives, both American and citizens of Iraq. The devastation from Katrina plagues our country to this day. When you couple this with rising gas prices, the dependence on oil from other countries, and now the threat of nuclear weapons being developed in both Iran and North Korea, we are in very difficult times. I think that the current Foley scandal is minimal in comparison, but it is certainly an issue that must be dealt with as well. I believe, truly, that all of these issues speak to a greater conclusion that currently exists in this country: America has a failure of leadership. This is, of course, my opinion, but when I look at the overall picture of where we have gone, the fact that we continue to fight a war that is not really ours, and have a Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld, who refuses to budge, and a President that continues to back him, it is a reality.
I worry about the future of our country and feel that we are headed down a river of no return.
As I was watching CNN last night, I had to shake my head in disgust at the current tactics that are evolving out of Washington.
It is no secret by now that the Republican, Mark Foley, of Florida has resigned from Congress. Apparently he was sending some suggestive emails to house pages over the course of his tenure in the House of Representatives. Some emails were extremely suggestive, at best. Among rumors about his sexual proclivities, was the possible misuse of his power to lure young men towards him forcing Mr. Foley to resign his position.
Personally, I could care less what his sexual preferences are, this not need to be used to approve or disapprove of who he is as a person. The larger issue, for me anyway, is whether or not he did, in fact, misuse his position and power to have access to young gentlemen? Also, who knew what about this, and when? It has been suggested that Speaker of the House, Mr. Haster actually had knowledge of Mr. Foley's actions as much as a year ago; but that this information was not made known. I would also bet that it was covered up by the Republican party. Knowing that some one is guilty of what is essentially, pedophilia, and doing nothing about it makes the person who knows just as guilty, in my opinion. This does constitute a problem for the Republican party and anyone who knew of Mr. Foley's 'problem' and failed to report it.
Moreover, I learned last night as well that Mr. Foley had checked himself into a center for alcoholic rehabilitation. His attorney even announced that Mr. Foley is indeed, an alcoholic. This piece of information came as a surprise to many people that are close to the congressman, who conclude that alcohol did not seem to be a problem for him.
Alcoholism and drug addiction are considered a disease. They are conditions which become obsessions of the mind and disorders of the body. Millions of people suffer from it, and those who are addicted, wreck much havoc to their families and the people around them. One remembers the recent 'rehabilitation' of Rush Limbaugh from his addiction to pain pills, right? I also remember one of the Kennedy's going into rehab after running into another car, which he didn't remember doing. What I have a problem with is anyone claiming addiction for the sole purpose of justifying an undesirable behavior. I find that very disturbing.
I wonder if there isn't a cover-up in Washington as to whether or not the Speaker of the House, Mr. Haster, or any other Republicans, for that matter, who knew about Mr. Foley's misuse of power? Is the claim of being an alcoholic now being used as a tactical advantage to justify bad behavior for the rich and powerful in Washington? What a shame......................
Do not count how many years you have spent,
Just count the good things you have done;
The time you have lent a helping hand, and
The friends that you have won.
Count your deeds of kindness,
The smiles, not the tears;
Count all of the pleasures that you have had
But never count the years....................
Today, as I was changing my fragrance wardrobe, putting away my summer fragrances and adding my rich, beautiful fall fragrances, I began to think of October:
October is a gypsy queen
In dress of red and gold
She sleeps beneath the silver moon
When nights are crisp and cold.
The meadows flame with color now
which once were cool and green
Wild asters and the goldenrod
Bow low to greet their queen.
When she is tripping through the wood
with song so clear and sweet,
The autumn leaves come sifting down
and rustle beneath her feet
They say........
A woman of my age should not let her hair
Fall below the marks of her shoulder.
It will bring her face down
And make her look older
Further more, a woman of my age
Should not wear blouses without sleeves
Because the upper arms
Are not what they used to be
A woman of my age
Should keep her skirts hem line at the knee
Because as you age
There are some things that folk's should not see
A woman of my age
Should wear sensible shoes
Because of corns and bunions
It is the best thing to do.
But I say.....
A woman of my age
Should let her hair grow.
When it gets too long
I think that she will know
A woman of my age
Should wear tank tops when it is hot
Whether she can lift fifty pounds.
Or not.
A woman of my age
Knows personally best
The length at which
Her hem lines need rest.
A woman of my age
How I hate the way it sounds.
We listen to the media
And in it's images we drown.
A woman of my age
Is secure and finally sure of herself.
She doesn't long to be nineteen
But she is not ready to be put on the shelf.
A woman of my age
Should not wear tube tobs
On that point, I agree
But that is where it all stops........
I have the courage to:
*Embrace my strengths
*Get excited about life
*Enjoy giving and receiving love
*Face and transform my fears
*Ask for help and support when I need it
*Spring free of the superwoman trap
*Trust myself
*Make my own decisions and choices
*Befriend myself
*Complete unfinished business
*Realize that I have emotional and practical rights
*Talk as nicely to myself as I do to my cats
*Communicate lovingly with understanding as my goal
*Honor and respect my own needs
*Give myself credit for my accomplishments
*Still love the little girl within me
*Overcome my lifelong addiction to approval
*Grant myself permission to relax and to play
*Quit being the all-time responsibility sponge
*Feel all of my feelings and act on them appropriately
*Nurture and care for others because I want to, not because I have to
*Insist on being paid fairly for what I do
*Set limits and boundaries and stick by them
*Say "yes" only when I really mean it
*Have realistic expectations of myself and others
*Take risks and accept change
*Be totally honest with myself
*Correct erroneous beliefs and assumptions
*Respect my vulnerabilities and accept them
*Heal old and current wounds
*Wave goodbye to guilt
*Plant 'flower' not 'weed' thoughts in my mind
*Treat myself with total respect and teach others to do the same
*Fill my own cup first, then nourish others from the overflow
*Own my own excellence
*Plan for the future, but live in the present
*Value my intuition and my wisdom
*Know that I am lovable
*Celebrate the differences between men and women
*Develop healthy, supportive relationships finally
*Make forgiveness a priority
*Accept myself just as I am now
