Mumbles … Fanatic

According to Merriam Webster a fanatic person is “a person who is extremely enthusiastic about and devoted to some interest or activity.”  Going from that definition, I would have to say at least in my teens and into early twenties I was a fanatic about music, going to concerts and most especially the Oak Ridge Boys.

I could tell you the names of the singers, band members and a large portion of the crew that toured with them.  I was a member of their fan club and in total have seen them over fifteen times easily.  Used to be I could recite all the shows and most of the dates they happened… I am getting old though and memory is a problem with fibro too so I can’t recall all of them so easily now.

What I was just talking to my boyfriend about is how a lot of the musicians of our youth are far from their youth now and that scares me.  No, it will not have the impact John Lennon or Elvis Presley’s deaths had on a generation but with all four singers in the ORB being 75 or more now I dread the day I hear that one has left this world.  I have already said my personal goodbyes to three men who used to be in the band… still miss them.

In the meantime, I will listen to their music, hope they come close enough for a concert (I don’t drive long distances like I used to due to anxiety issues on the road) and keep up to date with social media posts.  Is there someone you were (or still are) a fanatic about? 

(Here’s a video from back in the day… back when Skip, Steve and Don were still with us. May they all rest in peace.)

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Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – fanatic

Mumbles … Sporadic

Life is fun.  Writing is fun.  The two have been clashing lately though.  But that is not necessarily a bad thing.  To say my posting and reading has been sporadic lately is an understatement, but for good reasons.

I have spent a month out of state and am now having the pleasure of my boyfriend’s company here in Iowa for a few weeks before he heads back home.  We have accomplished many tasks we have wanted to do and are still working on some sorting and organizing here… it is a daunting task to have basically three generations worth of stuff in one house and have to sort through it all.

Once again, I ask for your patience as I try to navigate through the posts I am behind on.  Little by little I will get there.  It may be nearly July before I catch up, but I will.  In the meantime, I will pop in as time allows and be in awe of the words and pictures you all share and try to sneak in a post or two as well.  I hope everyone is having a wonderful Spring and getting out to enjoy a bit of this wonderful season. 

The beautiful tree at my boyfriend’s house.

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Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – sporadic

Mumbles … Vicinity

My mom and I used to have a running joke anytime I came close to a craft store I would say, “I smell rubber.”  I know I have mentioned before that I make my own greeting cards with rubber stamps and other paper craft supplies.  There is a smell to rubber stamps, so I was not lying, just stretching the truth a bit.  Yesterday I smelled a lot of rubber and missed Mom two days before Mother’s Day.

While I was visiting my boyfriend in Michigan there was a scrapbooking “Mega Meet” in Novi.  My boyfriend was nice enough to take me there and put up with my wandering, drooling over new products and freaking out over discoveries for nearly four and a half hours.  (He is a keeper!)  He did find places to sit and did more walking around while I stood in one place staring and all the shiny pretty things.  But at times it was a melancholy day.

I had only been to one other show and that was about 30 years ago with my mom.  She has been gone almost 13 years now and so many times I wanted to show her products and sample displays, but she is no longer my partner in crime in the sniffing out of rubber.  And this close to Mother’s Day that just made me a little sad.

It was certainly nice being in the vicinity of another show, to smell a little rubber and to dream of all the projects I can make with my new goodies.  As Mother’s Day draws near, hold tight to your mom, if you are lucky enough to still have her (or any mother figure in your life) and if not, find as many good memories as you can to bring a smile to your face.  I hope everyone had a good weekend!

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Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – vicinity

Mumbles … Supplement

Photo by Bruno Salvadori on Pexels.com

Old age can change things.  One of the joys of aging in my family for the women is hair loss.  Mind you I have been blessed with my mom’s hair – fine and stick straight.  But there is more.  Almost 20 years ago I lost my hair due to chemo for breast cancer.  It, to my dismay, did not grow back curly but thinner and a touch greyer.

Now I am a fibro fighter.  I finally got my diagnosis around 2014 and I have seen that (you guessed it) thinning hair or hair loss can be a thing.  Then I am sure the laundry list of side effects from my numerous meds can likely cause the issue too.  So, I am stuck looking very weak in the hair department.

But a friend of mine says she swears by the supplement Coral Calcium to thicken her hair.  Anyone out there ever use it?  I tried looking at my local store for it with no luck but picked up some collagen and biotin to try.  Been through one and a half bottles and so far, see no real difference.

I will now venture into the health food store soon to see if they carry it, and I am sure they will.  It will just be a challenge to get in and out of there with only the coral calcium as the employees are always eager to add things to my cart.

Hopefully I can regain a little hair growth.  I too am thinking about a perm for added volume and faux fullness.  So, with any luck in another month or two I may have a fuller head of hair thanks to supplements, or else it is back to the drawing board for ideas.  Any tried-and-true methods you have that you want to share?  Please do so in the comments.

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Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – supplement

Speak Up #3

“Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.” – Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

“You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old.” – George Burns

“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” – Samuel Ullman

“Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.” – Mark Twain

“Age is not important unless you’re a cheese.” – Helen Hayes

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.com

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For Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – age

Mumbles … The Month of April

Let me take a minute to mumble a bit.  I have done it again, but I expected to.  Yes, I am behind on posts.  I have a legitimate reason; my boyfriend is in town from Michigan, and we are spending as much time together as we can.  I will be having an extended visit with him and going to see his home too for a while so I suspect I will be pretty absent a lot in April.  I should have posted about this sooner, but honestly, I saw one of Fandango’s prompts was “mumble” and I wanted to wait until that came up.  It just took me longer for it to show up in my feeds than I was hoping it would.

We have plans to do things both here and there that will better our properties.  A little help for each of us to motivate and get some jobs around the house done.  We both are in need of some basic organizing that could make day to day easier and with another’s help and input we can hopefully get something accomplished.  And then there are some “honey do” items that are specific to each other.  Some muscle projects he can power through that I can’t do, and some decorating ideas he is lost on.

Then there are a few touristy things we want to do and definitely both places we want to get outside in the nicer weather and walk a little.  Plus, we have local gardens we want to share with each other… I hope to end up with some nice pictures from those two places as spring has sprung.

So, once again bear with me.  I am still making progress, but it will be slow going.  And the stories and such I will have to share with you when it is all done… well at least I will have more experiences to draw upon for writing.

Off to do a little more reading while he is working on his computer as well. 

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Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – mumble

Mumbles … Salvage

If you all haven’t noticed, I am back at it. Got in a flare this past week and got about a week behind (I was already a couple of days behind just because of life). With a flare it is SUPER hard to concentrate, at least with this flare it was. I am finally coming out of it today and almost feel human again. The pain has let up (never gone), I am more focused and not napping every hour. It was a pretty intense one.

Up and onward to better things though! I will devote as much time as I can to WP and try to regain some of the week before the month is up. If I can just salvage a little free time in between doctor appointments, pool therapy and errands, maybe I can get this done soon.

I am off now to read some wonderful posts from some of my favorite writers – YOU! Here’s hoping everyone is having a good week and ready for hump day!

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Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – salvage

Mumbles … Toothbrush

Depression does things to you… like makes your toothbrush the enemy.  Why bother?  No one will be smelling my breath today as I hide out at home afraid of my own shadow not to mention the entire world outside of the door.

No, I am no longer at that point.  I worked very hard to get here where I wanted to brush my teeth again.  And more importantly I wanted to brush them for ME.  Surprisingly after my last bout of depression I went to the dentist and had no new cavities, just a loose old filling.  Makes me glad I have been making a strong effort this year to improve things.  All one step at a time, or one tooth brushed at a time.

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Bonus!  Even though it hurts to admit that it was nearly 45 years ago as I kid I went to the theater several times to see this move, (45 years?  Can’t be, can it?) I have to say this is one scene I memorized fast.  Even at the movies I picked up on ad jingles. 

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Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – toothbrush

Mumbles … Arena

Photo by Thibault Trillet on Pexels.com

A magical night

Relieved for weeks in her mind

Embracing the experience

Never to forget

A meet and greet behind the arena door

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Back when I was a teenager, a friend and I got the rush of a lifetime meeting some of our idols before a concert.  I will never forget how much I was shaking and how much I felt on cloud nine afterwards.  Of course the most memorable show was the one in the front row… but that story is for another time.

Now I have heard of at least a half dozen groups who do “meet and greets” for a price.  You get to have your picture taken, maybe ask a question and then you’re out the door and they get ready for the show.  I have seen price tags starting at $150 on up (beyond the ticket price)… it all depends on the group and how popular they are.  I know the costs of touring have really gone up and musicians were hurt when covid hit without being able to do what made them the most money – tour.  I would really like to see these events more attainable to the everyday person though, those who have to scrape together ticket money just to see the show.  I just don’t know how to make that happen.  Meeting someone like that can really be a moment to last forever in your mind.

A concert by a favorite act can always make me smile.  But there are some memories that will never leave me (like the band member walking barefoot through the bar looking for his shoes after one show).  An arena was a favorite place of mine in my past… I guess at 56 I am too old to holler and scream at a concert? Ah, hell no!  Bring on the bands!

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Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – arena

Mumbles … Yield

I will not yield

I have come so close

You will not stop me

I am determined

Slowing down now

Would be like defeat

So instead let me finish

With a final hour’s push

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I have read like five days’ worth of posts each the last couple of days and for the first time in MONTHS I see the days distinction in when the post was published instead of a date.  I see the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak and in my push to start fresh for February I just need this last day.  Then the month will begin my goal of keeping up with each day and posting more poems in the coming days and weeks.  I have really missed sharing my writing and challenging myself to write “off topic” of what I usually do with some of the more interesting word prompts I find.

So, by the time I fall asleep tonight I will be once again caught up, have posted for the first and will be ready to read a little more at my leisure tomorrow.  Thanks for sticking with me during my crazy long time I was behind and less visual.  Now, off to read my last five days.

(((HUGS)))

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Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – yield