We all have people we don't like.  We're human, we all have different personalites; we're not all going to get along with each other.  On a scale of dislike people we know can rate from a 'can tolerate in small doese' all the way through to 'detest'.  I'm relatively lucky; there aren't many people on the higher end of my scale...I 'detest' very few people. How can that be?  How can it be that out of all the people I know, I detest a few of them?  I wish I could sa...

*Dictated in January 1977*   How old were you when you started work? I was twelve.  I had to start.  I lost my father before I was twelve years old, and I had to start work, and in them days there was no help from nobody.  The only thing as my mother could get was Parish Relief, and that was for one. How many were you? There was four of us, four boys, and the oldest boy went in the Army - then there was three of us.  I had to start work when I were twe...

When I was a girl, my paternal grandfather agreed to do a series of radio interviews for Radio Oxford and for the local universitys agriculture students.  He was a farm hand, you see, and he'd worked full time since he was 12 years old...and they felt like he had some valuable insight into the way things used to be. My dad sent me a transcript of the interviews a few weeks ago.  Reading them reduced me to tears a few times - I could literally hear my grampy's voice, his broad north ...

I just told a man who isn't my husband that I love him. And I do.  I DO love him.  It's not in the same way as I love my husband, but it's love nonetheless. I love a lot of people, some of whom I've never met.  It sounds incredible, doesn't it?  Loving people that you've never met.  But it's possible, and it's real.  For instance, I love more than  few JoeUsers, and I've never met them. I love Texas Wahine.  She's a wondeful person who, after ...

Coca-Cola is releasing what I think could be the perfect beverage in 12 days time. Coca-Cola Blak.   According to the website ( Link ) it's supposed to be a blend of regular Coke and - wait for it - coffee. Could it be?  Could my two favorite beverages in the entire world really be blended together successfully into one great tasting drink?!  I don't know.  I have high hopes, but I can't seem to formulate how it's going to taste.  See, I like Coke as it is.&n...

I'm not going to be able to see the VP when he comes to visit today. I'm still ill.  I still have a sore throat and a fever.  And, it's snowing. I don't think that standing around for 3+ hours waiting for Dick Cheney to arrive and 'rally the troops' (that's the official reason for this visit) in the cold and snow is a good idea.  Besides, I'd just pass on my virus to MORE people, and I don't want to do that. If it had been the President himself I would probably have gone.&nb...

I went to see my doctor last week to have him look at my shoulder. Whilst he was examining it, he started coughing.  He couldn't stop coughing, actually, and he had to excuse himself and leave the room. When he came back he was teary eyed and hoarse, and I asked him if he had a cold. "A cold?" he said "I was diagnosed with pneumonia yesterday". "and you're working?  Why??"  He just shrugged, and changed the subject. On Saturday I started to feel like I was ...

I'm a natural born crier. I cry over anything.  I cry when I'm hurt, when I'm happy, when I'm sad.  I cry when I'm excited about something and when I'm disappointed.  Any variance of emotion can reduce me to tears. I think it's okay to cry.  I think that the very act of crying is a release of sorts...the old adage 'have a good cry and get it all out' is one that rings particularly true for me.  Sometimes when I'm full of emotion over a real-life situation, I'll see...

I may have the opportunity to see me some Dick on Tuesday. Dick as in Cheney.  As in the Vice President.  He's coming here to address us military folks.  What he's going to talk about, I do not know.  But, I do know that my husband was told to notify his First Sgt before 8am Monday so that they can hang on to a ticket for me to be in the crowd that the VP will give his speech to. Security is going to be a nightmare, and there's going to be a lot of hanging around, waiti...

There is a TV commerical for Charter Communications that is slowly driving me insane. The premise of the commercial is that if you switch your telephone service provider to Charter Communications, you'll save so much money you'll laugh all the way to the bank.  It features a man who laughs all the way along his journey to his financial institution. And what an annoying laugh it is.  It sounds like Pavarotti after he's sucked down half a tank of helium; it's so completely fake and...

It's happened again. Just when I think that I've put it all behind me, I'm reminded once again of the car accident I had. The force of the impact dislocated both my shoulders.  The left one gives me trouble every so often - it likes to slide partially out and irritate the big bundle or nerves that supplies feeling to my arm and hand.  You know the pain you get when you hit your funny bone?  It's like that, except it's all the way from my armpit to my fingertips.  It...

When I was a teenager, my mother used to come into my room and look at the posters of Duran Duran, the Psychedelic Furs, Flock Of Seagulls, Simple Minds, Spandau Ballet and The Clash and make disparaging remarks: "he looks like he could use a bottle of shampoo and a comb" "is he wearing MAKEUP???!!" "what on earth's that he's wearing?  A bedsheet with holes cut in it?" "I simply do not understand why it's necessary to dye your hair those colors.  It's really most undig...

Yesterday was a glorious day here in southern Illinois. The temps were in the high 60's, it was partially sunny with a very slight breeze...just a beautiful day. So, naturally, we didn't want to sit inside; we wanted to be outdoors. We decided that we'd cook out and whilst we were waiting for the coals to be ready we (Dave and I) got our ball gloves out and played a little catch. Being British and all baseball's not really my game. We do have something like baseball in the UK, but we ...

It's been a very educational day.... First  I learned that wearing clothes that actually fit me make me look 10lbs lighter.  Squeezing myself into a M rather than an L only serves to make me look flabby and...well, like Britney Spears:  Trailer trashy and nasty. Then I learned that Levi Strauss consider my shape to be a Misses size 10 (short).  That makes me happy.  In a Junior size I'd be a 13 - an unhappy 13 I might add, not only because of the size but because t...

Sometimes when I stand naked in front of my bathroom mirror I can see the goddess inside of me trying to emerge.  I marvel at the miraculous feminine body, at what it's capable of doing - at what mine has done. My hips are wide because I've nurtured and carried children in my belly.  My pelvis created a cradle, a bony shelter for new human beings to form and grow.  The stretch marks on my hips are marks of honor, badges of womanhood.  They're a tribute to the capacity of&n...