Stop the World! I Want To Get Off!

Stop the World! I Want To Get Off!

by MichelleMcHatton

So here we are in the midst of surviving the coronavirus. COVID-19.  The virus of all viruses.

Life as we know it has changed, at least temporarily.  Because this too shall pass.  In the meantime we need to get through it.  And I’m certain the majority of us will.  But along the way, we are going to experience some new “norms”.

School now takes place outside of school.  Work now takes place outside of work.  There aren’t any sports to watch, but you can binge watch “Cheers” on Netflix.  Finally we have the opportunity to catch up on our reading, or anything else we may have not had time to do.  More time with the fam, which may, or may not be, a good thing.

Along with so many others I have experienced the empty store shelves, emptier than I have ever seen them during major blizzards.  With a pending blizzard I have always been able to find cleaning supplies, pasta, soup, bread and toilet paper.  Not so with this thing.  Remarkably, there was plenty of milk when I hit Walmart on Friday night.

Earlier in the day I was having a conversation with two of my sisters about the craziness of not being able to find this, that or the other thing at the store.  Both of my sisters said they were down to only a few rolls of toilet paper.  I told them we had a 12-pack and could spare some.  That would give us all four rolls.  To get us through until who-knows-when.  I figured I would try to obtain some more at Big Y that night, as they have it on sale.  And I have a coupon.  Even better deal.

It had been a week since I’d been in a store.  I only shop once a week.  Last week there was toilet paper  I had heard the stories from many about how there is not a single roll to be found anywhere.  Because, as you know, COVID-19 makes you shit yourself into oblivion and hey, when you run out of food, you can eat it.  I digress…

I left Big Y disheartened because there was no toilet paper.  There weren’t any tissues, paper towels or napkins either.  I knew I shouldn’t have been surprised.  I wasn’t.  I was shocked.  Family Dollar:  nothing.  CVS:  nothing.

I arrived at Walmart and resolved by then that we didn’t need the toilet paper that bad.  Four rolls could probably get my family through at least a week, maybe two if we didn’t piss or shit too much.  But the fact that no stores have it and that it’s disappearing faster than it can be stocked, was scaring me.  Not knowing when I’d be able to get more toilet paper was scarier than there not actually being any available.  I have the same feeling with the missing food.

I’m walking down the aisle adjacent to the paper goods aisle when I hear a loud “clang” that made me jump.  I looked over to see a stock boy throwing a 30-pack of toilet paper on the metal shelf.  I casually went over and grabbed it, feeling joyous for the first time that night.  That was the only pack of toilet paper I saw him put down.  I don’t know where it came from.  I don’t know if he had any more to put down.  I didn’t care.  I  guarded that 30-pack with my life and made my way out of there.

Suddenly I had toilet paper not just for myself and my family, but also my two sisters and their families.  Ten rolls for each of  us.  I felt like I had been blessed by the Toilet Paper Gods.

I also think it’s great that now most of the world is finally washing their hands and cleaning their respective places.  Because I know for a fact so many were not doing this before COVID-19.  I’m sure people who have never touched a disinfecting wipe in their life have now learned how to use them.  Because I can’t find those anywhere either.

I know this situation we’re all in right now isn’t going to last forever.  And it sucks not knowing when it’s going to end.  But until it does the majority of us will trudge on, scrapping to get the last can of soup, the last loaf of bread or if we’re really lucky, the last roll of toilet paper.

 

The Life in Your Time

The Life in Your Time

by MichelleMcHatton

Say what you want about the New England Patriots.

I’ve read and heard all the stuff tonight, everything from saying it was the end of “an evil empire” to “good riddance”.

But if the shoe were on the other foot, these people would feel differently. What if it were THEIR team who had won 6 Super Bowls, had played in nine, had never had a losing season, won 16 division titles, 11 straight AFC east titles, all with the SAME quarterback and coach for 20 YEARS and everyone hated THEIR team? How would THEY feel to have THEIR team called derogatory names and be told that it was the end? I understand Jets and Browns fans probably wouldn’t give a shit.  But guess what? Every team has a beginning and every team has an end. Even the Jets.

New England fans know the end is near. We don’t know when it’s going to end or how. But that end will just be the start of a new beginning. We’ve been at the bottom of the barrel before (for many, many years). And we now know the bottom doesn’t last forever.

Jealousy is ugly and it’s quite clear when these comments are made that it is jealousy that it stems from. But we can’t help that your team has not accomplished what our team has. Your team COULD, if your team wanted to. Any team could. Even the Jets or the Browns. Notice nobody ever gets jealous of those teams. I wonder why?

Say what you want.  It may make you feel better. But it will not change the New England Patriots and the level they have reached or how their fans feel about them.

Remember the first Super Bowl the Patriots won?  The Patriots were introduced before the game as a TEAM.  No other team before them had even THOUGHT of doing that.  Why is that?  What does THAT say about any other NFL team out there?  As the old saying goes:  There is no “I” in the word “TEAM”.  Think about it. Even an “island” needed an entire team to win.

Nothing anyone says about the Patriots will ever change what they have accomplished or how their fans feel about them. Until your team achieves even half of what the Patriots have, or even just a minuscule of what Tom Brady has, keep your comments to yourself.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

by MichelleMcHatton

Ten things I’m reflecting on as we roll into 2020 and the next decade:

10. We all got a year older

9. Tom Hanks rocks. I knew this already.  I just wanted to say it.

8. You can learn so much from staring at an Abbey Road poster for a half-hour once a week

7. I never knew I could cry so hard in reading a book or seeing a movie trailer, but I did.

6. People on the Autism spectrum truly amaze me every day. Again, I already knew this.  Just wanted to repeat it.

5.  What we carry defines who we are.  Going to make a T-shirt that says this.

4.  Children care more about the planet than adults do.  Yeah, Greta!

3.  Shitty people also die.

2. Mr. Rogers wasn’t perfect, but he was pretty damn close

1. Guns suck and the assholes who use them to kill innocent people suck even more

On that note, I bid you a (hopefully) peaceful, blessed new year.

Looking Back: the end of a decade

Looking Back: the end of a decade

by MichelleMcHatton

In going through some of my archived posts I recalled how many celebrities have passed within the decade:  Whitney Houston, Dick Clark, Mary Tyler Moore, Casey Kasem, Tom Petty, to name a few.  it seemed in 2016 celebrities were dying left and right.  Everyone was so worried about Betty White.  Three years later she’s still with us.

We lost two huge parts of the music world in 2016 when Prince and George Michael passed.  For me August 11, 2014 was difficult because one of my all-time favorite actors, Robin Williams passed away.  That day I blogged:

Carpe Diem

Like so many others around the globe tonight I too am still feeling the sting from the loss of the great comedic actor Robin Williams.

Not enough words can express how I feel.  Never in my life did I think I’d cry over the death of an actor.  But I did.  I cried not only because he was one of my all-time favorite actors, but I cried for my childhood.  I was about eight years old when I was first exposed to Robin Williams, first on “Happy Days” and then on “Mork & Mindy”.  Then as I got older and the movies kept coming, I watched those too.

I remember the first time I saw the poster in the movie theater advertising “Good Will Hunting”.  I noticed it was starring Matt Damon and Robin Williams.  Well, at the time I had no clue who Matt Damon was; but I sure knew who Robin Williams was and I knew I was going to see the movie, simply based on the fact that he was in it.

Looking over the long list of films he made, I’m reminded of how many I’ve seen.  Just about all of them.  Even the not-so-great ones.  Anyone remember “Popeye”?  How about “Jack”?  “Death To Smoochy?”.  “RV”?  Even the shitty ones were funny.

The man I dated before my husband was a big Robin Williams fan.  Our first date was to see  the movie “Hook” at a tiny movie theater in Ware.  Luckily I would eventually marry another man who is also a Robin Williams fan.

The Julliard student who became a stand-up comedian, alien and then many other memorable characters will live on in our hearts, our minds and our living rooms forever.  Robin was a funny guy and you could tell he enjoyed making people laugh.  But his soul also lived with a lot of demons and he could never let go.

Now, like the Genie from “Aladdin”, Robin Williams is finally free.

I will re-live that day, and what I was doing when I learned the news, every August 11, for the rest of my life.

I blogged about hurricanes:  Irene, Sandy, Matthew

In 2013 I blogged almost every day in February about constant snow in my area.  That must’ve been the year we had snow on the ground until May and the kids went to school until the end of June.

In 2012 we had an election, including a candidate who had “binders full of women”.  In 2016 we had an election, including someone who wasn’t really a candidate but instead was a shithole, and still is a shithole.  That’s how far we’ve come in ten years.

We had ice bucket challenges, disappearing planes, marathon bombings, and countless, unnecessary mass shootings at schools, synagogues, concert venues, stores, bars, work places, you name it, there was a shooting.  We had a miraculous rescue of 33 Chilean miners.  Batkid. Two royal weddings and four kids later and here we are.

We thankfully proved that the whole vaccinations cause autism thing was a fraud and that the current thing in the White House is an even bigger fraud.

In the past ten years the Bruins have won one championship, the Red Sox have won two and the Patriots have won three, including one where they were dead to rights.  And for the past ten years the Patriots have been the AFC East Division Champions.  So never underestimate Boston sports teams.  Especially the Patriots.

So that’s it for me, folks.  A little mini trip through parts of my blog from the past ten years.

Where do I go from here?  Hopefully through another ten years.  For now we’ll see what 2020 brings.

 

Looking Back: And The Winner Is: LOVE

Looking Back: And The Winner Is: LOVE

by MichelleMcHatton

Here is one of my favorite posts from the past ten years, written on June 27, 2015: 

When I think about Friday’s historical Supreme Court ruling that same-sex marriage is to be recognized and accepted nationwide, I think about how great it is to be alive at this moment.  This is like my generation’s Walk on the Moon or Roe v. Wade, only better.

It’s better because now EVERYONE can get married.  NOBODY has to live a lie any longer.  EVERYONE can benefit from LOVE.

I think the statement that Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote sums it up best:

“No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family.  In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than they once were.”

Congratulations to all the happy couples out there and congratulations to the Supreme Court of the United States of America for getting it right.

Love really does win.

GAYFLAG