Sunday, February 4, 2024

Twenty years ago today Facebook was launched, and today it is the largest social network in the world.  My presence on FB is only to send birthday wishes, make an occasional post of my own, and to send private messages.  Those of us who grew up licking stamps, taking a letter to the mailbox or post office, are the ones who can truly appreciate the luxury of pressing the 'send' button.  In that regard, our generation has been blessed with more comforts and ease.

My retirement recliner is one fine example.  Its position is regulated by buttons.  I appreciate every luxury that has been invented by the mind of a brilliant stranger(s).  It's that business of each one of us adding our ingredient to the stew, making it tastier with every addition.  Like in a play production, the stage doesn't show all that's going on behind the scenes.  While we are sitting in our homes, there are scientists, doctors, researchers, assistants and a myriad of others who are adding their thoughts and ideas to life in the 21st century.  

When we think things can't get easier, well, they do.  I remember having to get out of the car to open the garage door, winter and summer, rain or shine.  Then we installed a garage door opener.  Today we drive our car up to the lower entrance, press a button and the door opens, and we drive inside.  It's good to think about this, cuz it helps heighten our gratitude level.

I sit here in my recliner, look up into the sky, only to see a jet and its white tail behind.  Back in 2017, FlightAware calculated there were, on average, 9,728 commercial airplanes in the sky at any given time.  Due to the pandemic, this average has dropped 10% to 20%, so that means there'd be between 7,782 and 8755 commercial planes in the air at any time.  

Cannot imagine the behind-the-scenes action to keep that many planes safely taking off, following a flight pattern, and then landing at a destination on the other side of the world.  The communication system is way beyond the laymen's understanding.  But, it's all good food for thought.  Ways for us to elevate our appreciation.

Last evening while the boyfriend watched a basketball game on the telly, I watched the movie, "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days."  It's a really good movie.  There again, I remember when I was a little girl and what a treat it was for our family of four to go to the movie theater and pay to see a movie.  Here I am all these years later, and I can sit in my recliner, with a laptop, and watch free movies on YT.  Believe me, I'm sincerely grateful for that luxury. 

It's good to allow ourselves to be amazed.  The simplest of things lends itself to our exploration and helps appease our desires.  From my perspective, I'm able to marvel at a can opener.  Without the gadget, how would I open a can of soup?  Without a match or lighter, how would I start a fire?  It's that business of not forgetting about the basics.  The satellites have changed our world, but it was the simplest of things that made the rest possible.  

The sun catchers in the east window are sparkling and colorful.  They stir my desire to work with beads again.  For this month's newsletter, I've committed myself to making something out of toilet paper rolls, a/k/a merferators.  That's for another day.  Sundays are for kicking back and the boyfriend watching sports and I fiddle-faddling my way around the world on one website or another. 

The good news is that little Buffy Boo will be spending a week with us in February.  My heart skips a beat when I think about it.  It's good to have something fun to look forward to.   Have you noticed that the definition of 'fun' changes as we mature?

That's all for today.  My cuppa needs to be topped off.  Ta-ta.

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