Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Back to the Hodgepodge

It's Wednesday Hodgepodge time, and I'm finally getting a post up. It is still Wednesday, isn't it? Seems like life moves at an alarmingly fast rate, and it's hard to keep up. And speaking of life moving quickly, we're talking about time travel today, specifically Back to the Future. This date (October 21, 2015) was the day they landed on in the 'future' in the movie. So hop in the DeLorean and join me as we go Back to the Hodgepodge
Here we go!

1. October 21, 2015 is Back to the Future Day. Did you see the movie? The sequels? In the second film, Doc takes Marty into the future to prevent Marty's future son from making a mistake. They leave 1985 and land on a 'skyway' on October 21st, 2015. So tell us, what were you doing in the fall of 1985?


I saw the first movie, and liked it. Michael J. Fox is always good. I probably saw the sequels, but as is often the case, my memory is foggy.

On this day in 1985, I was 15 days away from giving birth to this little one. Our baby girl. Seven pounds, 15 ounces of pinkness. Jim always says that the boys came out blue and she came out pink. Jennifer Ann.
She was born less than an hour (seems like it was about 20 minutes) after we got to the hospital. She was in a hurry then (thankfully), and has been a girl on the move ever since.  


To me, her hospital photo looks like a little girl who will be able to hold her own with 2 big (and later, 2 little) brothers, without losing her sweet spirit.
She was welcomed home by Andrew (1 1/2) and David (almost 3). So in the fall of 1985? I was busy.

2.  If time travel were possible, would you want to go to the future? The past?

As a child, when I visited places like Conner Prairie, or Old Sturbridge Village, I thought it would be great to live life as a pioneer. As an adult? Not so much. I appreciate electricity and indoor plumbing. It would be interesting to visit the past to get to know and hear stories from my ancestors, and it would also be interesting to hop to the future to visit my great-great-greats. I am happy, though, living right here in the present. It's a gift.

3. We're not flying cars, but some of the technology imagined in the 80's film has indeed come to pass in real life 2015-flat screen TVs on the wall, tablets, fingerprint recognition, video conferencing, online banking, 3-D movies, motion controlled video games, drone cameras, and smart glasses (Google glass).  Do you worry technology is growing at a rate so fast we'll soon be unable to keep up with it's demands? Do you think the Internet does more harm than good?

It is interesting to me how the Internet changes everyday conversations. We no longer sit around and debate who was the Super Bowl MVP in 2010 (Drew Brees, of course), how many miles it is from point a to point b, or which states are the leading producers of corn. We just use the computer/phone/camera in our pocket to look it up. I enjoy new technology, and think the Internet is, for the most part, for good. 

4. Your favorite dish prepared in a slow-cooker? Your favorite fast food?

One of our favorite slow-cooker meals is 'crock-pot beef.' A chuck roast, a packet of dry ranch dressing, a little water, and that's it! So tender, it falls apart. Best way to cook a roast.

Fast food? I don't know… does pizza count?

5. No time like the present, down time, face time, pressed for time, in the nick of time, make time, mark time, or just in time...which timely saying most relates to your life right now? 

Fall is always busy, and we have several things planned in the next few weeks, which sometimes makes me feel pressed for time. I do try to remember, that in all the coming and going, it's important to make time to enjoy the ride.

6. Tell us about a place you went as a child or younger person that's no longer there or is now something else. How does that make you feel?

I had to think a bit for this one, and what came to mind, interestingly, is the day camp I attended when I was a child visiting my grandparents in Indianapolis. My brothers and I loved it when we each had our own turn for a visit, and I have many memories of special things we did during that time. My grandma, 'Mamaw', arranged for me to attend Acorn Farm Day Camp during one such visit (maybe 2 or 3 different years?), and it was so much fun. My brother, Ted, had gotten his turn first, and I couldn't wait for my chance to go. I was picked up by an old school bus, with my swimsuit and towel in a red knapsack, and transported to the camp for the day. There was a pool, and crafts, and games, and ponies, and all sorts of outdoor fun. I, of course, loved the ponies the best, and still remember their names: Stuffy, Sonny, and Charlie Brown. (I always tried to get Sonny, because, if you tried really hard, and squeezed and kicked and clucked enough, he might, maybe, almost, get to a trot.) I also remember games of capture the flag, when the 'flag' was actually a watermelon, and when it was found, it was sliced and shared all around.

I think I had a t-shirt… just more like 1969 instead of 1959.

I know where the camp used to be, and when I looked it up this morning, I learned that the family who owned the camp still owns the land, and a daughter of the founding couple has an antique shop on the property. The camp was in operation from 1933 until 1977, and served over 15,000 kids. It was the first day camp of its kind in the United States. The area around the camp has been built upon and developed, so I was glad to hear that the camp property itself still exists, much like it did back in the day. I will need to make a trip to the antique shop sometime soon.

7. Describe your comfort zone.

I don't know… my couch? with my dog? and a good book?


8. Insert your own random thought here.

Little Cayden John, our sixth grandchild, is six weeks old. He was in the 'burg a couple of weeks ago, and we got some 4 generation photos. Here is little Cayden John with grandpa Jim, great-grandpa John, and daddy David John.

On the maternal side, Cayden John is posing with granny Susan, great-grandpa Jim, daddy David, and great-grandma (Nana) Jere'. He is one blessed baby! He even has more great-grandparents on his mama's side!
Just for fun, we took some photos of Cayden in a couple of his daddy's outfits. The blue outfit in the photo above is the one David wore home from the hospital. The red outfit below was a favorite of mine, and David wore it for his first Christmas photos.

That's daddy David John on the left, baby Cayden John on the right. Sweet babies both.


3 comments:

Terri D said...

Cayden is indeed a blessed baby!! I love reading your answers. Joyce always comes through with great questions. I need to try the ranch dressing recipe for roast beef in the crock pot. Yum!!

Joyce said...

You have so many littles to love! And I guess you weren't sitting home eating bonbons and watching the soaps back in 1985 : ) Enjoy the rest of your week!

Cathy said...

Sweet pictures