THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021 LIVING IN EXILE

 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021 THE EXILE

I don’t like to be too personal in my blogs, but this week, I have written more about my “paradigm shift”.  

Today is a milestone day.  Three years ago today, I moved (or was moved) into my apartment. 

My situation at “home” was becoming difficult.  My wife (rightfully so), said: “You’re not the man I married”.  I wasn’t living as a woman, I was exploring my life.  I had been living fully as a male, but looking at websites, thinking through my options.  I was seeing a counselor (who had diagnosed me as “gender dysphoric”), and together we had seen counselors.  The marriage was slowly breaking up.

She had asked me to leave the house four times previously “so she could think”.  She was talking with a conservative Christian pastor.  While my counselor was saying “you seem to be thinking as a woman, you seem to want to explore your feminine nature more”, her counselor was saying “Get rid of him.  This is NOT of God”.  

By the way, this was all a year or so after my major surgery.

The first time she told me to leave the house that she needed to think, I took a two-hour walk in the neighborhood.  

The second time, I drove to Marble Falls (about thirty minutes away).  She texted me to say that we could work it out.  I drove home expectantly - but it wasn’t so.

The third time she suggested I fly to visit my sister in Michigan (on short notice) for a few days.  Instead, I drove to Taylor Texas, and spent one night in a cheap motel.  By then, it seemed as if I was getting serious.  I had bought a pair of shoes at a discount shoe store, and women’s jeans and a top from a thrift store.

The fourth time, she insisted that I go away longer, so I spent a week at an extended stay hotel in Round Rock.  I got food and cooked things for myself (and only ate at a fast food place once).

Now, this wasn’t enough.  I had to move out.  She helped me look for an apartment.  I wanted something cheap, and thus opted for my current location in a 582 square foot apartment in Georgetown Texas.  This has been home for the past three years and I have already signed up for another year.  I have made Georgetown Texas my home.  

And, a few additional comments.  My first holiday was Thanksgiving - but that was spent in Amsterdam.  My spouse and two of her sisters had booked a Rhine River cruise while I was in the hospital.  (I remember eating turkey lunch meat as my American Thanksgiving meal!!)

The second holiday was Christmas. This was NOT good.  I went to a very casual friend’s apartment and we played cribbage.  

My wife and daughter had been pushing me (by email) to go through a recovery program (Celebrate Recovery) that is similar to the Alcoholics Anonymous twelve-step program. For the next four months, I went weekly to this group, I followed the directions, did not dress as a male, and tried not to live as a female for these four months.  I wrote weekly notes about my progress.

*****

BUT

*****

I thought I was doing as they wanted - I was trying to please them.

*****

As Easter came, I asked my wife to have Easter dinner with me.

Her hesitant answer was “I CAN’T”.  That statement went to my core.

That rejection pushed me over the edge.  I had tried to please her (and my daughter) and I had failed.  The week after Easter, I bought a wig, saw my primary care physician, and was approved to start feminizing hormones (estrogen and testosterone blockers) 

I know I can be rash (or impulsive) but that rejection slammed the door.  I had been asked to get out of the house, I had been moved to an apartment, I had been living as a frustrated man, and got the (figurative) door slammed in my face.  “ENOUGH”.  I was pushed into a decision I had been hesitant to make, but was ready to make.  Soon, Karen White emerged from the chaos.

*****

For the past three years (actually longer), I have not seen my children or grandchildren (with one agonizing experience).  I miss them terribly.

As my growth and life changed, I adopted “LOVE WINS”.  I have forgiven my family.  I am required to love unconditionally.  I do pray daily for reconciliation and I believe that will happen.  I am no longer friends with any of my immediate family on social media.  My twin granddaughters have gone through kindergarten, first, and second grades and are in third grade since I last saw them.  My triplet grandchildren in Nebraska have gone through pre-school, kindergarten, first grade, and are in second grade.  I haven’t received any school pictures for my wall or refrigerator. I send cards for birthdays and holidays.  I am still “Papa Bruce” for them, although they probably don’t get the cards.  

But, I have a great close friend - some churches still sing of him - “What a friend we have in Jesus”. 

So, sorry for the personal revelations this week.  I have a new life in my location - in the symphony, playing bridge and granny basketball working part-time, and being fully Karen - legally (and physically).

God is infinite, and I am not; I know the love of God, and I trust Him (her, the force, it).  

LOVE DOES WIN (and while I maybe don’t see it yet, it does win - I do believe!!)

Karen

October 28, 2021

 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2021 THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGING

I’m looking at what happened to me as I moved from being an active full professor with outstanding teaching, good enough research, and overwhelming service - to being an instructor. 

*****

At the bottom of this blog post, I have copied the synopsis of a book - called “The Shack”.  My one paragraph review:

Mack and his family took a vacation at an Oregon lake.  The youngest daughter is kidnapped and abused.  Mack goes into a depression but gets a note from “Papa” (aka “God”) to meet him at the lake.  God is a large Black woman, Jesus is an Asian man, and the Holy Spirit is a hard-to-see man.  Mack wants JUSTICE - he wants the kidnapper killed, but by the end of the story he has learned to forgive the kidnapper (and also his mean, abusive, alcoholic father).  

*********************

Many years ago a friend gave me a conservative Christian pamphlet on how to tell the cults (like Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other groups that “seem” Christian on the surface but fail the tests (at least according to the author of this pamphlet.) I (ouch), took that to heart - the various sects in the pamphlet were going to hell.  In fact, the only ones on the “straight and narrow” path were conservative, obedient Christians - who I was!!!  

I HATED those ‘false religions’.  I didn’t grab anybody by their collar and say “You are going to hell” (although I’ve had that done to me in the past six months!!!).  God was a God of holiness and the people who didn’t believe “properly” were wrong.

With “The Shack” book, the Black woman who is God the Father, gets Mac to forgive.  Humans can forgive and God is really the only one who can judge anybody.  The concept of “walk a mile in their shoes” comes through.  How can I judge anybody who is trying to lead a good and valuable life (such as Mormons or Muslims or agnostics? I can’t see into their brain - God alone will judge.  

Matthew 7:1-5 “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’, and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First, remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

And Romans 2:1 “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”

(I take these verses to be on judging somebody to go to hell.  I have to do a lot of judging on a normal basis - which check-out line in the grocery store is the fastest?  Which lane will be the best on the Interstate Highway?  Even who should I vote for in the election?  Or what should I have for dinner tonight? Those are everyday decisions.)

*****

BUT, I no longer judge whether somebody is going to hell or not.  That is God’s work (however we perceive God).  I quote Isaiah 55:8 on this:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

(Comment on my quotations:  Using a specific text to authenticate itself is circular logic.  The University of Texas materials say that the University of Texas is the best university in the world.  The Church of Karen White says that the Church of Karen White is the only true church.  Oscar Meyer meats say they are the best meats in the world.  Audi says their cars are the best cars in the world. 

But, in this case, I view God as Omnipotence; Omnipresence; Omniscience; Omnibenevolent - all-powerful, all-present, all-knowing, and all-loving!!!  To me there “has” to be something beyond limited human wisdom.  I take that as God - and so I use Biblical quotations as more of a foundation for MY intrinsic beliefs - not as proof - but as something that strikes a chord within me!!)

So, for me as a human being - a limited human - to judge others just doesn’t fit.  Who am I to say a particular person is okay or not okay?  Therefore I will NOT judge.  If I accept the concept that ALL people are made in the image and likeness of God (still a Judeo/Christian Bible reference), then Muslims, Gays, Lesbians, Mormons, Hindus, and ALL people deserve to be considered as “Children of God”.  

When my brain grasped this, my whole worldview changed.  Yes, I am still a believing Christian as I view the LOVE ONE ANOTHER / LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE of Sins concepts of what I think Jesus really taught as a basis of my living.  

So, in adopting a very open and very inclusive view, and in adopting a feminine viewpoint, I have transitioned to being a female.  At times I can not believe this, and at most times, I have said “Thy will be done”.  

What is my purpose as a female?  To love my neighbor as me. To show love, to forgive 70 times 7.  To be humble, and merciful.  

In this regard, if somebody can’t accept that Bruce White is now legally and physically Karen White, that’s okay.  I am to love them.  If my friend LW tells me that I’m out of the will of God and unless I change my gender back to being male, I am going to hell, is okay - he has his views and I can’t judge him.  If a former friend says “Bruce has gone off the deep end” or “Bruce is mentally ill”, he is welcome to his opinion.  (And, maybe I have gone off the deep end and maybe I am mentally ill!!!) 

But, I must live my life as I perceive God wants me to be.  I must be authentic to what I think my calling is  - and again using a Biblical reference “What does God expect of me - but to love justice, show mercy, and to walk humbly with God”; and I am to feed the hungry, give a drink to the thirsty, visit the sick and those in jail, and love all people.  

*****

More tomorrow!!!

LOVE WINS!!

Karen

*****************************************************************

The Shack Summary

In The Shack, Willie tells the story of his friend Mack's experience meeting God face to face.

Mack has had a troubled childhood; due to his father's alcoholism and aggression, Mack left home at 13. This experience leaves him with little faith in God. However, in his twenties, he settles down in Oregon with a woman named Nan, who has such devout and personal faith in God that she calls him Papa. Mack and Nan have five children: Jon, Tyler, Josh, Kate, and Missy. One summer, Mack decides to take Josh, Kate, and Missy on a camping trip. They stay at a campground for a few days and meet another family and a couple who are camping in the same area. On the last morning of their trip, Josh and Kate go out canoeing and flip their canoe. While Mack swims out to save Josh, Missy is abducted. When Mack cannot find Missy after rescuing Josh, the police are called and an investigation is launched. The recovery of a ladybug-shaped pin with five dots at the campsite ties Missy's abduction to a serial killer called the Little Ladykiller, and the dress she was wearing on the day of her abduction is found at a shack hidden in the woods nearby. After weeks of searching, no body is recovered.

Mack's family goes on with their lives, though Mack experiences what he calls The Great Sadness, and his daughter Kate becomes more closed off and sullen. One snowy day while Nan, Josh, and Kate are at Nan's sister's house, Mack receives a letter inviting him back to the shack. The letter is signed with the name Papa and has no stamp or return address. Mack decides that it must be either a prank or from Missy's killer, so he decides not to tell Nan. However, he becomes more curious over the next week and decides to go to the shack to confront whatever is there, be it God or a prankster of some kind.

When Mack gets to the shack, there is nobody else there. When Mack sees the faded bloodstain where Missy's dress was found, he starts to cry and smash furniture. He falls asleep on the floor. When he wakes up, he decides to go back home, but after walking a few steps away from the shack, his surroundings suddenly change from snowy winter to a warm, sweet-smelling spring. The shack is replaced by a beautiful cabin on the edge of a lake. Inside the shack, he meets a black woman named Papa, an Asian woman named Sarayu, and a Middle Eastern man, Jesus. Together, they are God. Mack spends the weekend at the shack having conversations with the three of them, and in the process, he learns to love and trust God. He also works through his guilt and anger at his father and Missy's killer.

At the end of the weekend, he decides to return to his family. While he is driving home, he gets in a car crash. He is unconscious for a few days, and he acknowledges that people may not believe his story about what happened at the shack because of the accident. However, Willie and Nan tell him that they believe him, and the knowledge that Mack gained during his time at the shack allows the police to recover Missy's body and catch the Little Ladykiller.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2021 EGO AND IMPOSTOR

 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2021 EGO CONTINUED

So, I was pretty good - an honored professor, generally beloved, a little kooky, trying to be fun - and pretty good allowed me to be an active professor.  I had been a high school math teacher for seven years - who made the transition to college instructor (which I did for 38 years)

(quiet - but down inside was the little boy who wasn’t a good student, who got C grades in his college composition classes, who was scared of flunking out of college as a freshman. Or, the high school math teacher pretending to be a college professor)

I had bought into Romans 12:3b “Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves.” - but I was willing to suspend that evaluation!!!

*****

But, now at the University of Texas as an instructor - life in the academic world was changed.  Where “teaching, research, and service” were the mandates, now I was only expected to do one thing - teach!!!  In my first semester at UT (the common local term for the University of Texas), I had four classes - three classes of Introduction to IT - each closed at 72 students; and a senior capstone at 45 students.  So, basically, 261 students trying to get a degree, to get a better life.  ‘

BUT, I was still that active professor.  I walked into each and every class period and gave a “WOOOOO”.  That was my sign that class was beginning.  And, it tied to my expression from Ralph Waldo Emerson “Nothing great was ever achieved without Enthusiasm!!”.  I bounced around the room, tried to know everybody’s name by the third week, call them by name.  That was different from the average 70 plus class where instructors barely recognized their students.  I had corny jokes (from 35 years in the classroom).  My students laughed!!  (Learning doesn’t have to be boring, or always serious).  

Along the way, my judgment had become strong.  But, no longer the ‘big deal” on campus, I found that I liked all students.  I found that some of the minority students were actually cool.  I hadn’t had many Hispanics in Connecticut or South Dakota, but the Hispanic group in the School of Business adopted me.  I was invited to some of their events.  I became a faculty mentor for a nearby high-rise dormitory (aka “residence hall”).  (I also became “Faculty Mentor of the Year” because of this service.

*****

I suppose it is common - but rarely discussed - is impostor syndrome!!

“Impostor syndrome is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud". Despite external evidence of their competence, those experiencing this phenomenon remain convinced that they are frauds and do not deserve all they have achieved. Individuals with impostorism incorrectly attribute their success to luck or interpret it as a result of deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent than they perceive themselves to be. Impostor syndrome also occurs in normal human-to-human relationships. Based on this syndrome, continuing doubts about people and individual defense mechanisms are considered difficult to achieve healthy relationships. While early research focused on the prevalence among high-achieving women, impostor syndrome has been recognized to affect both men and women equally.”

I wasn’t an impostor but allowed myself to think that way at times - especially in those last three years at UT.  I was a recognized (at least in my mind) professor, now functioning as an instructor.  I had consulted at other universities on curriculum, I had reviewed programs to help strengthen them.  

In some respects, I was a retired professor by them.  Quinnipiac University had made me a “Professor Emeritus”.  I was just doing some extra teaching.  But that affected me.  I was “crippled” - no longer doing the extra things that I did (like Pep Band or Fraternity faculty advisor).  It had become a job.  Catch my bus in the morning, ride to campus, teach my classes, go to the bus stop and catch the bus for home.  

That coupled with my understanding that I had been judgmental worked a real paradigm change in my brain.  Hmmm - who was I to judge Muslims - even the ones who were terrorists on 9/11/2001.  In their own way (those few terrorists) were defending their way of life and their beliefs.  Who was I to say that Mormons were going to hell?  Or that gays, lesbians, and transgender people were going to hell.  

My theology - still based on Judeo/Christianity - really found that God is infinite and mankind is finite.  We live - we die.  Humans do have histories - but not many will be remembered after 50 years.  In the year 2100 will people go to Graceland (Elvis Presley’s home)?  The John Wayne museum has downsized into a part of the Madison County Tourism building.  

***** 

As I look back, there were times when I questioned myself.  There were times when I listened to others - and where I compared myself to others.  But, you and I are each very unique.  For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. 

Was I okay?  

I think I was - and I am not going to compare myself to others.  I am me.  

Was I an impostor?  Not really.  At times I was an opportunist - taking advantage of the situation.  

And, am I now a person who tries to avoid judging others?  Am I now a person who tries to love everybody?  I hope so!!

*****

LOVE WINS!!!  And, we win - when we love everybody!!!

Karen

MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2021 - EGO

 MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2021 - UNCHECKED EGO

“ Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” (Romans 12:3b)

“Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.” (Proverbs 3:7)

*****

I think I grew up pretty humble.  I wasn’t the best student in my high school.  I didn’t make it into the “National Honor Society”, I was inducted into the Thespian (theater society) in my senior year after the last play - barely), I was the president and founder of the Chess Club.  Yes - I was a nerd.  I was in the band, choir, chess club, and theater - not the captain of the football team, not the leading scorer on the basketball team,  not selected for the Homecoming court, didn’t date.

My parents were (I suppose) middle class (although my dad had worked his way up from being a truck driver to being a salesman).  My mother had a job in the “discount” basement of the local nice retail store.  I didn’t know I was missing anything (and, to be honest, I wasn’t).  I had a very loving family, I had grandparents within walking distance, I went to church and Sunday School every Sunday.  I didn’t smoke or drink.  

*****

When I went to college I was terribly afraid that I was going to flunk out.  In my first semester, I did one activity (band), and in all my spare time I studied.  I took the advice of studying three hours outside of class for each hour of class time.  So, with 16 class hours, and thus 48 study hours, I was busy 64 hours a week.  Social life?  No way.  Fun?  Not a part of my life.

(I had my first alcoholic drink in the November of that first semester - and nursed it for an hour-and-one-half).   

Fortunately, I did quite well with grades the first semester.  Thus in the second semester (mostly at the insistence of my sister), I pledged a fraternity and got involved with campus.

By the time I was a senior, I was (honesty) a BMOC - Big Man on Campus.  I was on the Student Senate, on the Academic Affairs Committee (as the student representative with the academic dean, department chairs, and administrators).  And, I graduated with high honors!!!

*****

Then I graduated and taught at one of the smaller high schools in Wisconsin.

*****

Years passed, and I became a college instructor, then an assistant professor, Dean of the College of Business and Information Systems, associate professor, full professor, holder of a doctorate degree (doctor of philosophy) in Management Information Systems, and a BPOC again - but this time as a “Big Professor on Campus”.  

I somehow got involved with some professional groups, chaired an academic conference four times, was on three national boards, did accreditation visits, consulted in my academic field, and in that field, was named the Information Systems Educator of the Year.  

I kidded myself that they were going to need to widen the door frame so my swelled head would fit.  I grew an ego that was REALLY LARGE.  I was (at least in my own mind) a BIG DEAL!!!

*****

Then one of the greatest things EVER happened to me!!!  I became a grandpa!!!  I cried such happy tears when I held those two tiny precious granddaughters in my arms (one in each arm).  God had blessed me.  

I retired and moved to Texas for the nicest title a man can have “Grandpa” (or Papa).  

But, I wasn’t ready to retire fully, so I taught at the University of Texas for three years.

*****

OUCH. I wasn’t a professor anymore.  I didn’t get to go to conferences and I taught large classes.  

[Aside.  Bigger institutions have stellar professors that maybe teach one or two graduate classes and/or supervise Ph.D. students working on their dissertations.  Those stellar professors are expected to publish in the top journals, get research grants, and make the institution proud.  I had kind of been that at my other two institutions, but now I was a peon - teaching the freshmen courses to very full (about 75 students a class) classes - because that ‘pays the bills” and allows those stellar professors to teach small classes and do research.]

My ego took a hit.  I wasn’t a big deal anymore.  

*****

That started my change in life.  I had been proud and now I was being humbled.  I (again, in my own mind) had been a big deal - and was nobody.  

And (gasp) I learned some deep secrets about myself.  I learned I was judgmental.  I wanted to play “God”,

I judged students by their skin, their lifestyles, and their religious background.  Note, this was years after 9/11 and ALL (at least to my judgmental brain) Muslims were terrorists.  Liberals were losers.  

*****

It’s taken several years - many of which have been in the desert - to lose that ego, to learn to LOVE ALL PEOPLE (gulp) - and that means - ALL (including gays, lesbians, and those transgender weirdos).  Quite the mental battle.

So what does God expect of you oh man, but to love justice, show mercy and walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8)

I can only love God as much as the person I love the least (Dorothy Day)

Love your neighbor as yourself - (Matthew 22:39)

LOVE WINS!!!

Karen

SUNDAY FUNDAY - OCTOBER 24, 2021

 

                                                        SUNDAY FUNDAY

    OCTOBER 24, 2021

DO YOU KNOW WHAT NEXT SUNDAY IS?  (Hint - it is Halloween!!!)

Yes, I am a Halloween fan.  When I taught, I always had a costume for Halloween - Zorro was maybe my favorite, but the bottle of ketchup, pirate, clown, and even the Great Pumpkin (where I made a paper mache pumpkin head)!!  And, some of my colleagues joined in as well!!!  I remember a presentation about having fun at work and that stuck with me!!!

Do you have memories of Halloween?  Did you go Trick or Treating?  Did your children dress up?  And how about your grandchildren?  Do you decorate your house?  Do you have candy ready to hand out?  (Did you buy candy early and you have eaten it up???)

I have some biases about costumes.  I don’t do scary or evil.  I like homemade kid costumes.  (A few years back with the Disney movie “Frozen” was big, we must have had a dozen little girls in Elsa costumes).  I do understand that not all moms (or dads) have time (or interest) to make costumes; and that the kids are clamoring for the store-bought costumes.  

I remember a Halloween in South Dakota where there was early snow (about an inch) and our kids went out wearing parkas!!!  I do like the idea of going to a church or a school for Trick or Treating - instead of going house to house.  Senior homes like to give out candy as the residents like to see the kids.  When they were younger, our daughter took her girls to a senior housing facility every fall and the residents loved it.

And, one last bias.  Children in junior high (or even older) shouldn’t go out for candy.

**********

FUN PROBLEMS (maybe)

How can you write COW in thirteen letters?

Answer: SEE O DOUBLE U

Two in a corner

One in a room

Zero in a house

But one in a shelter

What am I

Answer: the letter “R”

A farmer wanted to plant five rows with four trees in each row.  He did it by buying only TEN trees.  How did he do it?

Answer - plant a tree at each intersection of a five-pointed star.

What English word has three consecutive sets of double letters:

Answer - bookkeeper

FIVE FRIENDS ARE BUSY

Avis is Reading

Nancy is cooking

Shirley is playing chess

Carol is doing laundry

What is Vickie doing?

Answer - playing chess (Shirley can’t play alone)

**********

MOVIES

Top movies of 1954

1. Rear Window (who played the male lead, and who was the female lead?)

2. Sabrina (who played Sabrina)

3. On the Waterfront (who starred and what was his later big role?)

4. Dial M for Murder (who played the female lead - who later became a Princess)

5. Brigadoon (do you know any of the songs?)

Which two of these had the same director?  Which two had the same female lead?)

Top movies of 1959

1. Some like it hot

2. North by Northwest (note director and final location)

3. Ben Hur

4. Rio Bravo (who was a star in this one)

5. Pillow talk (Rock Hudson and Doris Day)

Matching for the 1959 movies - match the description with the movie

1. After a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.

2. A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.

3. A New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.

4. An interior decorator and a playboy songwriter share a telephone party line and size each other up.

5. After two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.

TOP MOVIES OF 1964

1. My Fair Lady (who played Eliza)

2. Mary Poppins (who played Bert the chimney sweep?)

3. Dr. Strangelove Or How I Stopped Worrying And Love The Bomb

4. Zorba the Greek (who played Zorba)

5. A Hard Day’s Night (who were the stars)

6. Goldfinger (easy question - who played James Bond?)

**********

NATIONAL DAYS 

United Nations Day 2019 — What It Is and Related Holidays (nationaltoday.com)

On October 24, United Nations Day, we celebrate the anniversary of the UN Charter of 1945. 

NATIONAL MOTHER-IN-LAW DAY - October 25, 2021 - National Today

We’ve all had “mother-in-laws” and frequently they get maligned. Bringing two families together isn’t easy. On National Mother-in-Law Day, take some time to appreciate the mothers-in-law in your life, whether you have one of your own or know some women who are mothers-in-law themselves. If you have married kids of your own, take this special day to treat yourself!

NATIONAL MINCEMEAT DAY - October 26, 2021 - National Today

“National Mincemeat Day is on October 26. The original mincemeat recipe is more than 500 years old, and it used a mixture of diced fruit, meat, and distilled alcohol. It was used as a pie filling. I actually like mincemeat pies!!

National American Beer Day — History and Related Holidays (nationaltoday.com)

October 27. This is a day for American beers.  There are so many beers - just walk down the beer aisle at your local grocery store and try to pick something different!!!  (I bought a six-pack and nine months later finished the last one - so you can tell a little of my drinking tendencies)

National Chocolate Day — How To Celebrate and Survey Results (nationaltoday.com)

October 28, 2021, is National Chocolate Day!!  Yes, I am a chocolate lover.  (But, maybe I’m really a sugar lover in disguise).  The suggestions are to eat more dark chocolate as it has less sugar.  And, I tend to like milk chocolate mixed with something - like KitKat bars or M&M peanut butter or Reeces Peanut Butter cups.  (And, I do like “white chocolate” (I’m sure that is really chocolate).  I got some white chocolate cookies and cream a while back and they disappeared quickly!!!

National Oatmeal Day — History and Why We Celebrate (nationaltoday.com)

October 29th is National Oatmeal Day.  A couple of weeks back, I was writing about fiber and went back to daily oatmeal (with raisins).  And in addition, I added lentils, popcorn, nuts, and other high fiber items to my diet.  (And, yes, it has delivered the desired effect in the bathroom) 

NATIONAL CANDY CORN DAY - October 30, 2021 - National Today

Ah yes, Candy Corn - a Halloween staple.  I’m not big on candy corn (no chocolate!!), but it does have sugar.  If a bowl is out at a friend’s house with candy corn, I will take a handful.

**********

WRAP-UP

One more musical activity for me - playing for Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 30.  I will have a costume.  (Stay tuned for next Sunday Funday to see the costume!!!)

I will write about some miscellaneous things about me this coming week.

LOVE WINS!!!

Karen

MOVIE ANSWERS

Top movies of 1954

1. Rear Window (who played the male lead, and who was the female lead?)

2. Sabrina (who played Sabrina)

3. On the Waterfront (who starred and what was his later big role?)

4. Dial M for Murder (who played the female lead - who later became a Princess)

5. Brigadoon (do you know any of the songs?)

Rear Window and Dial M for Murder were both Alfred Hitchcock movies and had Grace Kelly (who later became Princess Grace of Monaco), 

Sabrina was played by Audrey Hepburn 

On the Waterfront starred Marlon Brando - later to be in The Godfather

Brigadoon - I’ll go home with Bonnie Jean, Come to Me, Bend to me; Almost like being in love.

****************************

Top movies of 1959

1. Some like it hot - matches with E

2. North by Northwest (note director and final location) - matches with E and ends up on Mount Rushmore)

3. Ben Hur - matches with A

4. Rio Bravo (who was a star in this one) - matches with B - John Wayne

5. Pillow talk - matches with D

Matching for the 1959 movies - match the description with the movie

1. After a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.

2. A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.

3. A New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.

4. An interior decorator and a playboy songwriter share a telephone party line and size each other up.

5. After two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.

********************************

TOP MOVIES OF 1964

1. My Fair Lady (who played Eliza) - Audrey Hepburn

2. Mary Poppins (who played Bert the chimney sweep - Dick Van Dyke

3. Dr. Strangelove Or How I Stopped Worrying And Love The Bomb

4. Zorba the Greek (who played Zorba - Anthony Quinn

5. A Hard Day’s Night (who were the stars - the Beatles

6. Goldfinger (easy question - who played James Bond - Sean Connery)