Ever do the mental comparison exercise "What were my parents/relatives/famous person whose biography I was just reading doing when I was age X?" I have. Follow me below the swirly fog signifying to tv show viewers a walk down memory lane after a word from our sponsor...
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I celebrated my 50th birthday this year, the one that K1 informs me means "you have to round up into the second half century now." I don't feel old, what with one high schooler and one elementary schooler. I listen to current music, do all sorts of fun things, and... I'm NOT like my parents were at this age!!!
OK, so let's take a closer look. My Mom was born in late December 1939, my Dad in June 1932. So she was 50 in 1990, my Dad in 1983.
Dad first, as he was older than Mom. I was home from my freshman year in college the year my Dad turned 50. Eleven years earlier his car had been hit by a drunk driver and spent 3.5 months in the hospital and a year at home recovering; his legs had been broken in so many places he never walked normally again, and he was unable to crouch down. That aged him a great deal, and my memories of him all involve sitting on the couch with both legs up or in a recliner, because it was easier for him to sit. I remember when I graduated in 1986 and he seemed so old; I didn't realize then how young 50-something was. He was diagnosed with melanoma at 54 and died three years later, in 1990. I knew at the time that he'd died decades too soon, but damn, 57 is just around the corner for me, fates be willing.
It's Mom whose age comparison really hits me hard when I think about it. She and my Dad had divorced in 1983, and she remarried sometime in the late 80s to a friend of my father's. When my Dad's cancer metastisized and he was in his final days, they moved him into their home for his final weeks. It was our family home for all but three years of my early childhood, and a place my Dad was comfortable in. The future Mr. Brillig and I were a new couple then, just realizing maybe we were a Thing, and I wanted him to meet my parents while he still could, so we went and visited. She was the same age I am now. Only a bit over a year later, her second husband died, 6 months before my wedding. How can she be only that little bit older than I am now and have lost two husbands? She passed away from lung cancer in August 2001 at 61. It doesn't seem so far away now...
All this is my way of saying the combination of my realization that for better or worse I am my parents as they were at my adulthood, the midterms, impending news from Ferguson, marriage equality in the age of Helter Skelter marriages, and the slow descending of the cold grey dark days of winter have me a bit too emotionally serious for my own good. In recognition of this, I bring you the one and only holiday-related video I will watch before Santa closes out the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and it's imho permissable to shift into (speaking as a cultural, if not actual, Christian) Christmas mode. Because Straight No Chaser can brighten anyone's mood:
OK, give me your best mood-lifters. Music videos (although if you post "Winter Holiday" ones I will NOT click them until after the said Thanksgiving Day Event), good jokes, pointers to good recipes, whatevver you've got in your happy place arsenal. There are cute cats in the Quilt, so I'm good on pooties :).
You know what else makes me happy? Seeing the wonderful comment nominations, mojo and quilt images, and more importantly, getting to collaborate with one of the most positive people I have ever known, BeninSC:
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down.
From rktect:
This comment by Jensequitur shows how appropriate the name is, with this fine bit of cleverness!
From Eileen B:
Tip-topmost comment, I swear, from Dallasdoc, on the value of community, supporting, in this case, TiaRachel, in Joanmar's fine diary of support.
From raboof:
This comment by quill brings a bit of much needed self-examination and introspection to Democrats, on the subject of the economy and its relative health.
From lotac:
In R o o k's diary "Kirk Cameron blasts Sarah Palin for not loving Christmas hard enough", boran2 nails it, succinctly, with this comment.
From Avilyn:
In Jen Hayden's diary, "Tiny home village for homeless opens in Wisconsin", this question by merrywidow and this answer by The Lone Apple perfectly demonstrates the difference between the left & the right when it comes to the effects on people's lives.
From Yours Truly, brillig:
A fantastic reminiscence of times gone by in this thread begun by Greyhound. From tlcpro's Remember When TV Was Free?.
From today's Midday Open Thread comes TLS66's assessment of the happy couple, and Gooserock's reply.
Top Mojo for yesterday, November 17th, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you
mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary
FAQing Top Mojo.
1) Nonsense. They have tried voting in three diffe... by SouthernLiberalinMD — 130
2) We must rid our schools of $3 "drug kingpins" by Dirk McQuigley — 127
3) People who voluntarily choose not to vote do so... by SouthernLiberalinMD — 122
4) Do protesters get to hire a paramilitary force ... by Bob Love — 112
5) And that doesn't even count the crud bubbling by ontheleftcoast — 110
6) get the man by jfromga — 103
7) Sounds like intent to escalate. nt by ozoozol — 94
8) theyre not kidding by Lady Libertine — 94
9) Excellent diary! However, by corvo — 90
10) actually, by corvo — 88
11) And this is the new meme: by SouthernLiberalinMD — 86
12) Where is the ACLU on this? This is totally by nocynicism — 85
13) Let me be the first to say... by TheOrchid — 84
14) It provides DC Neolibs an excuse by Betty Pinson — 81
15) Exactly. by Eileen B — 81
16) You may be right. by Doctor Jazz — 78
17) I hope she can prove it! by elenacarlena — 76
18) The problem is that they prey not only on by coquiero — 75
19) but "divided republicans" by Laurence Lewis — 73
20) Stay tuned. n/t by dsnodgrass — 72
21) If you haven't done so, you should read Matt by 420 forever — 72
22) Nice rant. by martydd — 71
23) Snort! Yeah...that IS going to happen. I was by Gwennedd — 71
24) Men's Rights Association. by detroitmechworks — 71
25) Just was tired of the only voices... by detroitmechworks — 71
26) Thank you! by cjtjc — 68
27) Indian tribes are sovereign nations . . . by FogCityJohn — 68
28) Technically speaking, the KXL would not... by Meteor Blades — 68
29) What's with the off-topic tweets? by Catte Nappe — 67
30) Single dads are an anomoly by gonzo1979 — 64
31) Keep trash talking the Dem base by Betty Pinson — 64
32) more by Lady Libertine — 64
2014-11-18 Top Comments with Pictures, courtesy of
jotter!