Clinton Township Newsletter

1 O c t O b e r 2 0 1 5 CLINTON TOWNSHIP Newsletter ® –Julie Fl�nn I find most of the articles in women's magazines to be totally useless when navigating through my life. I'm not a bit interested in what shade of mascara goes with what shade of cocktail dress. My before dinner cocktail dress could be a sweatshirt or tee shirt, depending on the season. And the last time I wore eye makeup was to a wedding in 1987, at which time someone accused me of looking oddly like a raccoon. I know there are readers who sit on the edge of their seats devouring the latest trends in hair coloring options or shoes with heels the height of yard sticks. Being blessed with almost nine decades of living, I can truthfully say I just don't care! A recent article on "what to wear for all occasions" gave me pause to ponder and pity the gullible young women who take this stuff seriously. For a baptism or bar mitzvah: "Avoid anything low cut or clingy if you're striving for a demure look." I have one outfit reserved for funerals (or any other church occasion) and it's a navy blue blouse with dark slacks. If I were to wear black, there's a good chance I'd be mistaken for the deceased. For an interview: I wore a rather snug sweater to my last interview at Bell Labs in 1968. It worked for me. They now advise wearing a tailored suit. Lots of luck. For a family get together: They suggest stylish sneakers or ballet flats. "Make it look as if you put in some effort." Just getting there is more than enough effort and my New Balance/orthotic encased sneakers are perfection. Get real! I'm happy to learn that for most occasions "An evening bag is optional". I thought an evening bag was what you packed for a sleepovers at your daughter's house. "Avoid open toe shoes". My toes haven't seen daylight in 50 decades. For an outdoor wedding "Be colorful." My primary concern is being amply covered with Smooth & Dry Off and remembering to limit my Scotch/ rocks to two big ones and have a driver for the trip home. There is a product called Hanky Panky thongs. I try not to envision the appropriate occasion for this one. Wearing Spanx might contain my midriff and my profile, but I would turn blue from lack of oxygen... and blue just doesn't go with everything in my closet. I"ll never make the Fashion Hall of Fame, but I do have some favorites. My Uggs compliment every outfit i n m y c l o s e t f r o m sweatsuits to sleepwear. A yellow cotton hoodie (which often matches my complexion) is a "must have" for chilly morning w a l k - a - b o u t s . L a s t l y , anything from Land's End or LL Bean enhances my wardrobe 12 months a year. As for women's magazines' advice… not so much anymore. Maybe I'll switch to a year's subscription to Field and Stream! On most normal days, I (like you) grapple with petty frustrations. Were I writing an autobiography, some of the chapters might be titled, "I said grilled chicken, please.(!)" and "Dog hair... everywhere!" and also "Am I the only one in this family who knows how to keep this kitchen (somewhat) clean?!!! (Dangit!)" I grit my teeth and get on with it, like my puritan ancestors, grace-ing under pressure, keeping a stiff upper lip, not complaining, perhaps thinking, "woe is me." And then, I curl up at the end of the day with a national newspaper – the paper version – my preference. (And, how is it that my kids – decent students all – don't know how to or, rather, choose not to make sense of an actual, real newspaper?!) And yet... Some of the most pressing current events make all of my trivial concerns dissipate like the parents at the end of back-to-school night (sooo hot this year, right?!!!) I'm constantly brought back to the realization that my grievances are, truly, first-world complaints. I visualize the mother from Syria who has escaped the horrors going on in her own country, traveled far with her starving children, risked all manner of physical danger, only to make it to the border of Hungary, facing down the armed Hungarian police and begging them to find her oldest child who has, with several others, made a run for freedom. Then I visualize myself trying to explain to this woman how horrible my wait was at the DMV, how frustrated that first PAARC test made everyone last year and how the landscapers failed to show up this week, again. Today's complaint-frivolosity (I just made that up) started with: sour milk, dogs underfoot and low air-pressure in one of my car tires. And then I noticed the date: 9/11. Really?! I thought, figuratively kicking myself. We lost thousands of people on that day in 2001. Here in NJ we all know people who lost loved ones – perhaps you, dear reader, lost a loved one. I think, how many of those who were lost started out that day with small frustrations? How many of them, if they could, would tell us now to appreciate each moment we're blessed to live on this earth? I'm guessing the answer would be: all of them. When I get to the office, here too I'm reminded, through the many non-profits that utilize our publication, of the hardships which befall those around us. Cancer. Homelessness. Joblessness. Parkinson's Disease. Addiction. Divorce. Grief. Mental Illness. The list goes on and on. Though we live in one of the most bucolic, wealthiest areas of the country, some of the people all around us are still suffering. Perhaps you yourself are. If so, my thoughts are with you. One of our readers, Char Milbauer, once sent us a clipping (United Church Herald, 1962) which reads: "Just a normal day... A normal day! It is a jewel! In time of war, in peril of death, people have dug their hands and faces into the earth and remembered this. In time of sickness and pain, people have buried their faces in pillows and wept for this. In time of hunger, homelessness and want, people have raised bony hands to the skies and stayed alive for this... Normal Day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it will not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return." For you all, my greatest wish is a "normal" day – many of them, in fact. Jie Fly, Edit Jie Fly, Edit O EDITOR'S COLUMN b y J u l i e F ly n n "Cosmopolitan? Not so much!" b y R u t h K e e s i n g October 2015 October 2015 "When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers, 'tis near Halloween!" ~Author Unknown Since 1982

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