January 5, 2009 - Joe and Frankie - a One in a Million Shot - Retirement Jobs - Ramblings From a Retired Mind
It’s strange how things change when you play in the final quarter of the game. Back in my working years, I was always on top of things that interested me - now as I enter my eighth decade, I’m always playing catch-up - and here I go again, jumping on a bandwagon that has been filling up with fans for the last three years.
This year the C&C and I decided to fly home to join the family for Christmas and despite having to trudge through fourty inches of snow while bucking 90 MPH winds, it was the perfect Norman Rockwell family yuletide gathering highlighted by an unexpected and overwhelming gift from granddaughters Alex and Larissa and supplemented by another generous gift from grandkids Kara and Mike - tickets for the boxing day performance of the musical Jersey Boys plus a pre show multi course dinner.
Over the years we’ve been a pair of lucky foot-tapers being entertained by the best of musical Broadway starting with the Music Man back in 62 and even with the high approval ratings of productions such as Crazy for You, Phantom and Momma Mia, Jersey Boys is in a class by itself - it was an evening of high octane entertainment performed by four extremely talented young men
I have never seen anything like it - two standing ovations and one of them was in the middle of the show - I’m talking big time unabashed delight - I don’t care how young or old you are or how far you may have to travel - DO NOT MISS THE JERSEY BOYS - you can check out the tour dates at the Jersey Boys website (opens new window)
This musical story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons has some interesting sidebars one of which is that Joe Pesci - ya, that Joe Pesci of Wiseguys and My Cousin Vinny fame - when he was a young, brash kid, introduced the group to Bob Gaudio who, at fifteen years of age, co-wrote "who wears short-shorts".
Gaudio joins the group and writes their first big hit -
She - e - e-e-e-e-ry baby (Sherry baby) She - e - rry, can you come out tonight
To feel a tiny bit of the buzz - grab a coffee, sit back and watch the following video - but I have to tell you - even when they make the movie it wouldn’t have the same high degree of excitement that comes with the live performance.
Jersey Boys Tony Awards 2006
My thanks to retired buddies Kathy and Craig Olson who sent me this one in a million shot - we don’t know who took this picture but we’re sure glad someone did and that someone titled it - A Smile from God
Just prior to Xmas, I was researching material for the retirement jobs home website and discovered some "out of the box" ideas that could earn some extra retirement income.
) Doggie Dress Up - If you can sew or knit start a business creating outfits for dogs and other pets, of all sizes and appropriate for a large spectrum of occasions. Depending on the size of the outfit, you can charge anywhere between $5 and $100 per outfit. Allowing your customers to request outfits created to specific size, color, or occasion specifications would expand your repeat business as well.
Infamous Crime Stories - How well do you know the city that you live in? Tourists love to travel around large cities on walking or bus tours to learn more about it and what makes it special. Likely, because of its educational value, you might even be able to attract school groups! You could also offer tours of your city that will point out places where significant crimes occurred. This kind of ‘crime tour’ would be fun for locals and tourists alike.
Flowers and Plants Guidebook - Gardeners and plant enthusiasts everywhere are growing more and more aware of the dangers associated with most pesticides, fungicides, and modern chemical fertilizers - offer them information about more natural and environmentally friendly ways of growing flowers, vegetables, and ornamental plants. The market is ripe for a guidebook to help those environmentally conscious green thumbs in their quest for planet friendly methods of growing plants.
Thanks to retired buddy Elma Hickman for the following - Ramblings of a Retired Mind
I was thinking about how a status symbol of today is those cell phones that everyone has clipped onto their belt or purse. I can't afford one. So, I'm wearing my garage door opener.
I also made a cover for my hearing aid and now I have what they call blue teeth, I think. You know, I spent a fortune on deodorant before I realized that people didn't like me anyway. I was thinking that women should put pictures of missing husbands on beer cans!
I was thinking about old age and decided that old age is 'when you still have something on the ball, but you are just too tired to bounce it.' I thought about making a fitness movie, for folks my age, and call it 'Pumping Rust.'
I have gotten that dreaded furniture disease. That's when your chest is falling into your drawers! I know, when people see a cat's litter box, they always say, 'Oh, have you got a cat?' - Just once I want to say, 'No, it's for company!' Employment application blanks always ask who is to be notified in case of an emergency - I think you should write, 'A Good Doctor!'
Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are we supposed to do... write to these men? Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen could look for them while they deliver the mail? Or better yet, arrest them while they are taking their pictures
I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older. Then, it dawned on me, they were cramming for their finals.
As for me, I'm just hoping God grades on the curve.
Happy, prosperous and healthy New Year to all and remember - remain creatively active to grow younger instead of older.
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January 26, 2009 - A Real Deal, If You’re On Time - Web Wanderings - Great Video - Great Lecture
Do I have a deal for you - at least until 1.49 PM, Sunday Feb first.
It all started several week ago - the C&C and I were out on another expedition shooting video for a project I was working on and we stopped for lunch - while paying our bill, I asked the cashier for road directions.
Ttwo elderly ladies standing behind us overheard our conversation and as I turned to leave, one of them said - "Oh Dear, don’t you have a GPS? All retired seniors should have a GPS." The wife chuckled and wonder if, after giving me a long hard look, this dear lady had decided I would soon be joining the "am I coming or going" grey-haired crowd.
But she had a point - I do need a GPS - or as the C&C calls it - another toy - so, to eBay I go and I score a refurbished Garmin 260W complete with one year Garmin warranty - the deal is so good, I snipe a 250W for a buddy who told me some time ago he wanted a GPS.
When I phoned him with the news, he informed me he already had purchased a GPS - at twice the price I paid - he wasn't a happy camper..
Back to eBay I go and - using one of my eBay accounts, - I have three - and listed the 250W with a $9.99 starting auction bid.
Getting back to producing videos, one again I have another example of how trivial my video efforts are when compared to others - not-yet-retired-buddy Bill McKay went me the following video from the award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music" - featuring musicians around the world adding their part to a song as it travelled the globe - super stuff.
A couple of items uncovered while web wandering this past week:
I’m a snacker - a TV watching snacker who overdoses on chips-dip, popcorn-butter and other baddies when the C&C isn’t on guard duty - not that the following could ever replace these delights but a medical site I visited recently suggested that snacking on whole-grain bread dipped in olive oil can be a good thing - apparently olive oil is rich in a special appetite-controlling kind of fat - "oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat. Upon reaching the small intestine, oleic acid triggers the production of oleoylethanolamide (OEA), another fatty substance. OEA then finds its way to nerve endings that carry a hunger-curbing message to the brain. And that message is loud and clear: "Hey. Stop eating! You're full!!"
Thanks to retired buddy Linda Ardoino for sending in this picture:
This photo was taken by a soldier in Afghanistan - a helo rescue mission.
The pilot is a PA National Guard guy who flies EMS choppers in civilian life.
Now how many people on the planet you reckon could set the ass end of a
chopper down on the roof top of a shack, on a steep mountain cliff, and hold
it there while soldiers load wounded men in the rear. If this does not impress
you... nothing ever will.
