Confessions of a Grandma

When I fly between Florida and Vermont I look for the cheapest option available within reason. I could get a cheap flight from Plattsburgh, NY, to Tampa, FL, but then the cost of ground transportation to my final destination would cancel any savings. I suppose the airlines are not happy about those cheap tickets and I typically don't take luggage back and forth and my legs are not so long that I need to spring for extra leg room. So I am "punished" along with other cheap ticket holders by being in the last group to board the plane. (Well, jokes on you, airlines, because extra time on a cramped plane does not strike me as a major perk.) Priority passengers get to board first, AND (this kills me!) they get to use the priority lane as they scan their tickets and enter the runway to the plane entrance. There is a cordoned off lane you get to walk. It's right next to the commoner lane and you end up walking the exact same path to the plane so I really don't get the...

I have owned my place in Florida (a 55 and over community) since 2011. I spend at least five months of the year here. Yet every time I attend some community function or go to the pool someone invariably asks me if I am new here. It's true that I don't go to the pool all that often. It's true that I avoid community events like pot luck dinners, pancake breakfasts, and euchre (whatever that is) and bingo nights. I am not a hermit. I have a group of friends both in and out of the park and I am active with volunteer, social, physical activities, fun classes, and writing groups. Fun classes -- it is important to me to keep learning new things. And it is important to me to get regular exercise. So this year I decided I would get myself to the community center for line dancing. This is a challenge for me and my two left feet. It's fun, though, and really good exercise both for body and mind. I just wonder how long it will be before someone doesn't ask me ...

I flew to Venice, Florida this morning -- up at 4 a.m. and in the sunshine by noon. two of my friends were there to pick me up and we went out for lunch. I was concerned about how the airport time would go. I have to say that going through the TSA checks was unusually pleasant. Those men and women who are currently working without pay were polite, cheerful and sociable. They were not taking any frustration out on passengers. By the same token, passengers seemed on unusually good behavior as well.

Mending Wall BY ROBERT FROST Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun; And makes gaps even two can pass abreast. . . .

I no longer have cable TV, at least not in Vermont. Basic cable is included in the association fee I pay on my place in Florida. I find things to watch on Netflix and recently I signed up for an Amazon prime video trial. I wanted to watch The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel since I watched the first two episodes when I was at my friend Diane's house. There were 16 more episodes to watch and I managed to binge my way through. I can get some of what is on regular TV on YouTube or other sites on my Roku. I get news on my computer. It beats paying over $200 to Comcast for hundreds of programs I would never watch. Comcast did try to convince me that paying just for WiFi was a bad deal over bundling. Hmm. Paying for a landline I don't use and programs I don't watch did not seem like all that much of a bargain to me. BTW, dealing with Comcast when I am in Florida is a pain for the long lines if I have to go in, but the people are always polite and lovely and take care of whatever busine...

I am not categorically opposed to advertising. Why else would I even be tempted to watch the Super Bowl? It seems like an interesting business and it did bring us the series Mad Men and I enjoyed five of those seasons. It helps pay for news and entertainment. If one is careful in consumption, ads can be somewhat informative about certain trends. But those ads that pop up alongside something I want to read and then proceed to flash -- a tunic blouse, a red dress, and purple sweater . . . Whose idea was that? Don't tell me because I am not sure I could stop myself from inflicting bodily harm on that genius.