Musings of a Shore Life
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I Decide on Foreign Flavor for a Winter Escape
What is it like to spend a month away from home? Steve and I escaped one of the worst winters in years on the east coast, probably decades; final statistics are not yet in. The past few winters have been relatively mild. I have a puffy warm winter coat that for years did not see…
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Escape to Calmness?
A six hour flight from home left me tired but excited to begin my new adventure. I missed travel. I missed meeting new people, viewing new sites, tasting different foods, and simply walking around a different environment. I missed the variety. I missed the change. And I needed the diversion. Travel is escapism. I am…
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A Mexican Carnaval Cavalcade
I have temporarily escaped the wintry weather at home to enjoy a warmer climate in the mountains of Mexico. The groups of Mexicans milling about puzzled me. Were they waiting for a bus? But there were too many, and as I maneuvered jam-packed sidewalks, I figured out this was more than a casual Sunday afternoon…
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A One-Ply Guy and His Two-Ply Wife
My husband Steve grew up in a one-ply household. Satisfied with the product, he did not realize better-quality alternatives existed until later in life. My upbringing taught me to bargain hunt and, if possible, avoid paying retail. Mom purchased products based on her weekly coupon stash. My sister and I knew not to pick up…
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The Most Exotic Marigold Hotel: The Movie
A look back at a favorite movie recently viewed again on a streaming site. I am not an avid movie theater patron, but one movie I willingly spent a few precious dollars for was The Most Exotic Marigold Hotel. My Mom, sister, and a girlfriend liked it. My brother-in-law hated it, but he and I do not…
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Pomp and Pageantry Past 60
A friend passed recently. One memorable story about her recalls participation in the following event. I had never viewed a live beauty contest until a friend participated in the Ms New Jersey Senior America Pageant. I watched numerous Miss America broadcasts over the years, but could not relate. I am not now, and never was,…
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The Bleak Winter of 2026
It is winter and, in my part of the world, aside from a fleeting landscape of white following a snowfall, browns and grays dominate day after day, with long hours of darkness and only occasional sunny days. A pink rose dangles on a bush behind my family room, refusing to succumb to earth’s demand to…
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Bridging the Times from Generation to Generation
I was ten years old when Uncle Ed died. His wife, my Aunt Jean, was Grandma Rose’s sister. My grandfather helped Aunt Jean sort out her life and move on after Uncle Ed passed. Grandpa sat at his dining room table, papers strewn everywhere, working on Aunt Jean’s stuff. Aunt Jean had never written a…
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A Baby Boomer’s Musings on Her Life
Many baby boomers who grew up during the 1960s have exciting stories to tell about their sex life, their drug escapades, their Woodstock experience, their protest days. Not me. I can tell you what I did not do: I did not experiment with drugs. Drugs do not like my body. In my early 20s I…
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Hanging Out With Old Friends
It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them. – Ralph Waldo Emerson One evening four couples reunited at a restaurant to revel in friendships, relish a temporary respite from grandkids, and celebrate birthdays. Because of busy calendars and homes geographically dispersed, time between get-togethers sometimes…
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