Forever Young: 05/18/12

Blog Manifesto

This blog is dedicated, as the title would suggest, to the qualities of being young. We are young writers. We are playful and sensitive, fluid and changing. We are unashamed with our art. We wonder at the world, puzzle over the meanings of things and twirl in delight at images and ideas that float by, grabbing at them as they pass. We are curious and constantly inquiring and prying concepts open and taking assumptions apart. We are on the ground, close to the earth. We have bare feet and wiggle our toes into nature. We carry our blankies still and wrap up cozy and comfy with each other and tell ghost stories and shiver at creepy things. We laugh and we cry and we take a lot of naps, drained from our outings and exertions.

We write as gifts to each other, tying them up in ribbon and leaving them around for each other to find, hiding and waiting for the person to wake up and read. Surprise! We weave our stories together to create a bond. One writes, then the other. then another again. We have a shared reality that we have crafted, bit by piece by patch, by string. We write simple, honest authentic things, with our unique voices. You can tell each one of us from the other, without knowing who wrote what. Our voices are clear and gentle and original. We whisper and our personalities roar! Like children, our feelings are strong, our passion for what we write shakes us. We are moved and sometimes left breathless, by our own words or the words of each other. We cannonball into each others spaces. We fall backward into each others writing, like into a pile of leaves or a soft bed. We gobble and grin and ask for more. (footnote kudos to JC)

Then we go to bed, wake up to a new day and do it all over again!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Hey! imma star…

Every Wednesday I attend bingo with BJ. We have our own special table which is the first one as you enter into the clubhouse. I sit at the end, BJ sits to the right of me and Gib who is a very close friend sits at my left side. We have 3 seats reserved for us by my friends mom Irene. She and her husband open the doors about 3:45 p.m. Bingo starts at 7:00 p.m. sharp! When we arrive, BJ saves the seat next to her for her bingo friend Chuck and next to Gib I save a spot for Chuck’s grandma who is 90 and drives 24 miles each way just to play bingo. She is in marvelous shape, although she has slowed down a tad since her tumble down her porch steps a few months back. Didn’t break a bone in her body!!! Next to her, I would seat my oldest daughter.

The jackpot has been building and is now worth well over 3500. I wanted to get there extra early so I could save extra seats for our little groupie. BJ and I arrive about 5:10 p.m. Plenty of time since bingo doesn’t start for almost 2 more hours.

Walking through the wooden doors, my eyes immediately popped when I seen 4 elderly women at my table. My table!!!! Everyone knows that’s my table….except for people who only come when they hear the jackpot is high!!!

What!!! Now what can I do??? BJ tries moving a saved sheet next to her, but one woman snapped back at her “that spot is reserved for someone”. This is allowed so there isn’t much I can do…first come, first serve sorta speak! I don’t have a STAR like I do in OMG so I can’t kick em…lol…3 out of 4 are at least 80, wait, maybe 90. I love aged people. There are 2 on the right side, 2 on the left side and I am at the head of the table. I just glare and when I get a look back at me, I smile. One lady smells popcorn…mmmm, she says, that popcorn smells good…do they sell it here? I replied, yes they do, it costs a buck and you go back to the bar and order it and they make it and bring it out to you when it is ready. She smiles and gets her buck out. She waits, I listen to my I-pod, she waits, I still listen….then I asked “did you want some popcorn” and she said “yes, but I don’t see anyone coming out with it”. I said “you have to go back and order it first” … then I politely asked if she would like me to order it for her…yes she said, could you please. So I did…with a smile!

I donated my money that evening, and so did BJ, Gib, Chuck and grandma, but my oldest daughter won 65.00. She almost walked away with the jackpot…she needed only 1 number…BUT in bingo, if you only need 1 number, you might as well need 10...close does not count. It only gets your heart racing!

Progressive Jackpot was won by 2 players…one a regular and the other came from miles away after hearing how high the jackpot had grown.

Now, we regulars start all over again…build build build!!! in hopes of someday winning that jackpot and being a star!