Beverly

While doing some Fall cleaning, I came across a poem that had been written exclusively for me by a talented, creative writer named Vanessa Vendola.  She and I met during one of the many networking events I've attended over the years. 

I am sharing what she wrote with you here because it was only today (6 years later) that I realized how true and powerful her words were in describing ME.  And the fact that I am still that woman!

Beverly

Her innovative energy

In her directive manner

Focused on each matter

Intense enthusiasm

Translating in the pool of

Passionate personality

Traveling in spheres of

Creative developments

Her controversy leaping.

Surrounding your logic

Wake up, relate or debate

A woman of high rated

Broadcasting power

Generating in a tower of 

Powerful Communicative Talents

By Vanessa Vendola May 2011

Boomer Road Trip to Michigan

Earlier this week, I flew to Grand Rapids, Michigan for business. It was great seeing colleagues like Corena, who I met the first time I was there, along with Audrey, Shannon, and a few others.

Although I've been to the city before, this time I got to experience a few things I have NEVER done in my 55 years of living.

I rode on a school bus for the FIRST TIME in my whole life. We took a 50-minute trip on the bus and, as you can probably imagine, it LOUD with lots of talking and laughter. It's a wonder the bus driver could pay attention to the dark road signs and if we had gotten in an accident, it certainly would've been caused by out-of-control crowd noise.

Now, my daughter always jokes about how I went to school before school buses were invented but what I tell her is I lived in a community that had a neighborhood school which meant I could walk to and from school daily. By the time I got to high school, I would catch the city bus or walk the 3 mile route.

The second thing I did in Grand Rapids, that I had never done before, was go to a restaurant on a farm in a barn---a REAL BARN and I'm guessing I ate food that was once alive on that farm. We arrived at the farm on the school bus.

The third thing I did was go to a hoedown. I can honestly say I never even watched one on TV so this was a REAL EXPERIENCE and yes, I brought my video camera so you could witness it.

Oh, and don't let me forget this: I was flown from Cincinnati to Raleigh-Durham by a black pilot on Delta Airlines. NEVER, EVER BEFORE. This was quite a Boomer Road Trip!

Now enjoy this video:

A Baby Boomer Lesson on Diversity

On Saturday, my grandson was invited to the birthday/halloween party of one of his classmates. Since I had never met Julianna's parents I wasn't sure what to expect.


What I discovered was Julianna's mother is black and her father is of Latin descent. The children who came to the party were from different racial and ethnic backgrounds and it was a beautiful sight to see.

For a three-hour period, the adults watched as their children played and shared without prejudice. For that moment in time no one saw race as an issue. Even the parents were laughing and joking with each other.

By the time children get to elementary school, they are aware of differences and some have already developed prejudices against people who are different because of the adults around them.

There are simple ways that parents and baby boomer grandparents can help their children and grandchildren understand differences in people and be tolerant of these differences:

Show that you value diversity through your friendships and business relationships. What you do is as important as what you say.

Make and enforce a firm rule that a person's ethnic background is never an acceptable reason for teasing or rejecting someone.

Provide opportunities for your children to interact with others who are racially or culturally different and with people who have disabilities. Look for opportunities in the neighborhood, school, after-school and weekend programs, church, camps, concerts, and other community events.

Respectfully listen to and answer your child's questions about people's differences. If you ignore questions, change the subject, sidestep, or scold your child for asking, you may suggest that the subject is bad or inappropriate.

Teach you child ways to think objectively about bias and discrimination and to witness against these injustices. Set an example by your own actions.

I will be having my own party on November 2 and have invited a diverse group of people to attend. I wonder if they will choose to show up or allow their own prejudices to hold them back.
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Called to Serve on Jury Duty

Recently, I received notice in the mail that I have been summoned for jury duty. This is only the second time in my adult life that I have been called. The first time I was dismissed because I worked in television news.

Being summoned for jury duty has got me to thinking. Will I really be a juror of the "alleged" suspect's peers? Suspects are always told they will be tried by a jury of their peers. So does that mean I will be listening to the case of a fellow college-educated baby boomer who has committed some horrendous crime? A college-educated baby boomer between the ages of 50 and 60 is a description of what I would consider my "peer."

Instead, I will more than likely be subjected to hearing the case of some low life, young person who has a criminal record as long as my arm. It will likely be a child who didn't come from a stable home environment and had no real male role models in his life.

No, I definitely am not a peer but it certainly is frightening to think, as a grandmother, that it will be probably be somebody's grandson.

The Chicken Polka Dots

When I picked up my grandson one day last week from daycare he asked me if he had the chicken polka dots. He sounded really serious about it so so I didn't want to burst out laughing over something that sounded ridiculous to me. I kept digging to try to get to the bottom of his inquiry. He started pointing to his face and then it hit me---he meant the CHICKEN POX.

He told me that's what Little Bill had and he wanted to know if he would get them too.

To be perfectly honest, I haven't thought of childhood diseases since my grown daughter was her son's age but now as his primary caregiver, I must be mindful of them.

If you are a baby boomer grandparent like me, it would be a good idea for you to brushen up on your knowledge of childhood diseases. Here's a site to refresh your memory: Common Childhood Diseases

Mind Your Own Business Boomer Grandma

I witnessed a theft at the Family Dollar Store today. I think I was more shocked than anything to see this pre-school age child sneak a giant-sized lollipop into one of the store bags while the store clerk was ringing up her mother's items and the mother was busy chit-chatting on her cell phone. The little girl did it so slyly that it made me believe she has done it before or at least seen someone else do it.

As they were headed out the door, I told the clerk about the theft and the little girl was apprehended and the lollipop taken away. She started to cry. I could only think to myself, "If she were my grandchild, I'd be giving her something to cry about," and I would've done it right inside the store to make a point in front of others.

But then the unthinkable happened. When I walked out of the store, the little girls's mother starting cursing at me and told me I needed to mind my own f------ business! She told me I had no right to stick my nose in a place it didn't belong and since I didn't work there what difference should it make to me.

I just told her if she taught her child right from wrong now, the judicial system won't have to deal with her in a few years. She then told me to kiss her black ---.

I walked to my car trying to make sense of what just happened. Where was this mother's morals and values? Maybe I should've just kept my mouth shut. After all, it was only a lollipop. Or better yet, I could've just paid the clerk for it myself so they wouldn't lose money.

This baby boomer wants to know what would you have done under the same situation?

Parenting a College Student

The other day I came across an interesting article about parenting and college students. Since I am now the baby boomer mom of a college freshman, I took note of what it had to say.

The Professor from Emory University offered some tips on Parenting Your College Student.

He says “you won't be able to wait for them to come home – or leave.” Boy, was he right about that! She’s only been away from home for two weeks and she’s come home both weekends. Some people might be starting to question if she’s really in college.

• Don't change your child's room. The student's room is 'home base' – try not to change it very much during his or her first semester away. Freshmen in particular can go through some very difficult times, passing exams, establishing new friendships, surviving in a setting where they are not 'top dog,' and often fearing that admissions has made a mistake – that they do not really belong at college. Give them a 'safe haven.”

I guess that means I won’t get to have that office I was planning on!

• When a problem arises, "move like your feet are stuck in molasses." The temptation is to intervene when a child calls home with a problem. Remember that many resources exist at college to help students cope with various situations.

That's good to know because I did enough "intervening" for the first 18 years of her life!

• Don't expect the same grades in college that the students got in high school. All I have to say to that is, SHE’D BETTER NOT!!!

A Baby Boomer Birthday: Another Day Older....

Back in 1955, Tennessee Ernie Ford sang a song that would go on to be a huge hit for him. It was called Sixteen Tons.

"....Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store..."

As I read the words to the song, I couldn't help thinking how some things just NEVER seem to change. If you're a baby boomer sharing a birthday with me today, HAPPY BIRTHDAY. If you're a baby boomer deeper in debt, welcome to the club---there's plenty of us out here!

According to an AARP Sponsored study:

* The rate of bankruptcy filings among those ages 65 and older has more than doubled since 1991.

* Americans age 55 or older have experienced the sharpest increase in bankruptcy filings.

* Americans age 34 or younger have experienced the greatest decrease in bankruptcy filings.

I'm a Baby Boomer Mom Working for the Kingdom

It's one thing to toot your own horn, but it's humbling and wonderful when someone else chooses to put you in the spotlight.

When I was younger I loved having my time to shine! That's the "ego" that stems from being a TV journalist. You love for people to recognize and say good things about you. But as we age and the spotlight fades, we must live and work on our own merits and not the "image" we created in our minds.

I am fascinated with how online connections are made---especially since it wasn't that long ago that I was a clueless baby boomer computer illiterate. But I am thankful that God knows how to connect the dot.coms as He did when he connected me with a wonderful woman named Sherri Walker and her organization, Moms Working for the Kingdom.

She selected me for an interview and here it is: MomsWorkingforthekingdom

We're in a Serious Drought!

52 is the number of days officials in Durham, NC say is left before we run out of "easily accessible premium water." This was the information I read in my morning newspaper.

I knew we were having some drought issues but I didn't realize we are really down to the wire now! We've had some sporadic periods of rain but NOTHING in comparison to the torrential downpours other parts of the country has seen. As a matter of fact, I don't think we've had a decent amount of rain in over a year.

Our primary source of water comes from Lake Michie. When I drove past the lake a couple of months ago, it looked more like a dried up swamp but I guess it just didn't register with me. City officials say they have a temporary solution which is to connection 500 million gallons in the quarry to its main water supply. They estimate that would add another 25 days to the overall supply.

I guess that means I'll have to stop watering my well-kept lawn and washing my brand new car. I guess I could put laundry aside for a week instead of washing every other day and there's no reason to run the dishwater when I can wash by hand once a week. If push comes to shove, I may only "flush" twice a day instead of the current 20 flushes.

But.....giving up the 45 minute shower may cause this "baby boomer in menopause" to have to go to jail on principle.

Dancing with Towels on our Heads

The other day I was driving home after picking up my daughter from her school bus stop and all of a sudden an "oldie but goodie" came on the radio.

"Ooh, baby, baby
Where did our love go?
Ooh, don't you want me
Don't you want me no more…"

If you're a baby boomer you know the song made famous by the Supremes. Immediately the song took me back to my childhood and the days when my next door neighbors and I would imitate Diana, Mary and Flo in the middle of our street. Of course, I was always Diana because I was the oldest and just knew I could sing and Loretta and Lynetta were my background vocals.

I don't know if this is an ethnic thing or not, but when we did our thing we had to have towels on our heads. That was to simulate our long flowing hair because you had to have long flowing hair as a singer. Our hair was always in braids and we wouldn't dare take those braids loose for fear of the pain of having them re-braided and the pain we would feel on our behinds for doing something we weren't supposed to.

As I continued to drive, I turned up the radio a little louder (the very thing I tell my daughter NOT to do) and I wailed my heart out—remembering a time and place where it was so much fun to be a little girl who dreamed of being a "Supreme."

I would imagine many little girls got together and imitated The Supremes.