Susan's Scribblings the Blog

Monthly Archives: March 2025

• Cause and Effect

  Posted at 8:59 pm by kayewer, on March 29, 2025

  When my primary care doctor recommended I see a foot specialist, I felt no urge to protest. I hadn’t had any major issues with my feet for a long time, so I was likely overdue for a check-up. The appointment was set, I went and met my new best friend who would help my feet carry me into my golden years in good health.

  She examined my tootsies and prescribed a cream to help with dry skin, and I immediately began using it. Over the time I’ve been applying it, my feet have never looked better, and for that I’m grateful.

  However, any time you use something to get rid of one problem, other problems can take their place.

  Anybody who watches prescription drug commercials here in the US and New Zealand (the only two places in the world where they are allowed to air on public TV networks) knows that the most common side effects of most prescriptions are headache, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Other side effects we often hear about are pain at the site where a medicated injection is given, tiredness, or even thoughts of taking oneself out of the picture permanently (usually grouped under “thoughts or actions,” as if one who is past the ready and aim stage and are ready to “fire” whatever end means they plan to employ are going to interrupt it to think “Gee, it might be that new medication”).

  My side effect is that my feet are so devoid of the protection from that dry skin, that today I managed to kill my heels. My better shoes, used for trips to the theatre and more mature activities which call for leaving the sneakers at home, betrayed me by not only leaving color residue on my nylons, but chafing both heels to the point of blisters. I needed to walk around like that this afternoon, then come home and apply the giant-sized adhesive bandages to my poor aching peds. It will be days before they are healed.

  My heels are healing.

  Which leaves me with an interesting quandary. Do I enjoy soft feet, or do I allow for the protection of calluses? How will my new doctor take the news, I wonder. I certainly don’t want to give up nice shoes, but considering years of the awkward growth of my wide feet (which makes shoes expensive), damage from pointe ballet in my youth and weight gain in old age which can put a burden on those important transport body parts, maybe I need to compromise.

  Fortunately I got enough walking done that I won’t be at a deficit on my weekly step count, but boy are my feet sore. No marathons in my future.

  Oh, and as part of my day’s routine, I picked up two new pairs of shoes.

  And the circle in the life of my feet comes around once again.

  Share this:

  • Facebook

  Like Loading...
  Posted in Commentary | 0 Comments | Tagged fitness, health, hiking, lifestyle, shoes

• Swedish Duck

  Posted at 3:52 pm by kayewer, on March 22, 2025

  Sometimes the best and most enjoyable stories are also the most strange. I recently came across an article about Sweden and their obsession with Donald Duck. The Disney rendition of a sputtering aquatic bird and comic counterpart–wearing no trousers, either–is more popular than Mickey Mouse in that country.

  Maybe it’s because Swedes prefer ducks in pleasant little ponds in any of their thirty national parks, than a mouse in any location. Eek!

  Donald is referred to as Kalle Anka (kallay ahn-kah) in Swedish, Kalle means “free man” or simply “man,” and Anka is the word for duck. So Donald Duck is a man/duck by virtue of his anthropomorphic persona and qualities. Not to be confused with Paul Anka, who sang hits like “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” and “Diana.”

  I wonder if anybody ever called Paul Anka, Paul Duck? If they did, they should’ve ducked to avoid having an object launched at their head. If said object hits the mark, put your head on my shoulder.

  But I’m getting silly. Not sillier, though, than what those wonderful folks over in Scandinavia do every Christmas Eve. At approximately three o’clock, a good half (or more) of Sweden sits in front of their big screen televisions and watches a 1958 Disney special, “From All of Us to All of You,” which we know as a Christmas compilation show hosted by Jiminy Cricket. It contains a popular Donald Duck segment entitled “Clown of the Jungle,” in which our hapless hero is driven bonkers by the antics of an Aracuan (air-a-kwan) bird while on expedition.

  Swedes apparently take this annual tradition seriously for, as one person aptly put it, “you can’t do anything else, because Sweden is closed.” Families will sit quietly and watch the program, occasionally lip-synching favorite lines and laughing, but it’s an event calling for one hundred percent attention to the screen by the entire family. No meals are prepared. Don’t bother calling friends or relatives. Everybody is watching Kalle Anka.

  This sacrosanct special is so entrenched in tradition that the viewers will not tolerate alterations or shortcuts. The show’s longest host, Arne Weise, was required by his viewing public to appear live for the program. He was forbidden to try taping the show to spend Christmas Eve with his family. He tried it. No way, Ar-nay, the viewers said. He had three divorces to show for his troubles. Also, when one time the segment on “Ferdinand” the matador-phobic bull was pulled and replaced with “The Ugly Duckling,” the outcry prevailed and the bull returned to the program at once.

  The new generation of Swedes may allow this tradition to die out, as they do not seem as attached to what could be interpreted as hokey old-school animation. The fact that Swedes first began obtaining televisions in 1959 when the program first aired on their only television network (they gained a second channel in 1969), is part of the charm of this tradition. Now that the country has a page full of networks and choices, there are plenty of other shows to watch. The programming staff are continuing to see a good turnout every December 24 and will continue to air what is affectionately called Kalle Anka for short, until they are told otherwise.

  Now, if I could write in Swedish, I would tell those folks about our annual tradition of watching a movie called A Christmas Story at least once during the holiday (if not continuously) on our Turner broadcast networks. No ducks, mice or bulls, but there are the Bumpuses’ hound dogs. We sit and lip-synch favorite lines and laugh, just like the people in Sweden. It is a small world, indeed.

  Share this:

  • Facebook

  Like Loading...
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged christmas traditions, disney, disney specials, donald duck, kalle anka

• Dingbats and Wombats

  Posted at 3:27 pm by kayewer, on March 15, 2025

  Some people take on a variety of responsibility, or a lack of it, when they decide to become “influencers.” There are countless people boasting that title on social media, and not all of them are anywhere near as popular as our celebrities or politicians.

  For those not in the loop, an influencer is somebody who posts content on public forums in an effort to draw a particular audience and/or steer those viewers toward a particular trend or behavior, or follow them as they exhibit those same ideals. The influencer stands in front of their cell phone in Selfie mode and uses the world around them as their stage or soapbox through which they tout their agenda.

  Recently an influencer named Sam (possibly short for Samantha) Jones filmed an interaction she initiated between a mother wombat with its young and herself. She picked up the infant joey and ran with it, exclaiming, “I caught a baby wombat!” The distressed mother, naturally, gave chase, and Sam’s camera person (we’re unsure if she merited the extra person or it’s a friend or relative) is heard saying, “. . . .the mother (is) chasing after her.” Sam then returned across the road and released the joey to reunite with the mother.

  She has since issued a statement saying that she was actually rescuing the joey and mother from the road to avoid being hit by passing cars, none of which is corroborated in the way she was acting in the video. No words or actions from her captured on camera indicated she was on any type of rescue mission other than that of her popularity numbers. She quickly left Australia after overwhelming backlash and negative publicity from people around the world.

  It sounds like she was more of an influencer for bad than good.

  Her misbehavior has added another checkmark in the negative column in the eyes of the world, as the reputation of Americans in general has been in decline. Our snootiness and entitlement agenda, as well as our lack of common courtesy, is making our appearance in many countries akin to an invasion of locusts.

  Our freedoms, so flippantly taken for granted, are often well beyond what other countries tolerate, which is why tourists from America are so easily recognized in the wilds of travelers’ meccas everywhere. We don’t understand courtesy, dress codes, pedestrian rules, restaurant etiquette, or even how to treat employees at service facilities like actual human beings. We choose instead to be blissfully ignorant and pay no attention to what is happening around us when we are in a different place. We don’t know how to read a room, let alone how to appreciate another country’s scenery.

  Also, other countries have residents. People have daily jobs to go to. Children go to school. And yes, animals are in their natural habitat, and you are a visitor. If you respect the space you are in, don’t interfere with daily activities, leave the wildlife alone and put your trash where it belongs, you can take a major step in being appreciated by the locals. This matters, from the people sharing the corner waiting for the light to change to the hotel staff and public servants at the buildings and transit hubs. Be courteous.

  We don’t try other languages, either. Many countries have a go at English, but would they hold their own in our country? Probably not, but they will make the effort. We should do the same when we go elsewhere. Find out what words are taboo in the place you’ll visit, and make sure that if you use those, be conscious of that flaw and try not to embarrass yourself. Learn some basics such as “Thank You” in your host country’s language.

  Another way to make yourself out as a fool is to disrespect monuments and memorials. Some tourist destinations are somber places, so don’t treat it as a photo op for a selfie of you making faces where people sacrificed their lives. Show respect. And I can’t stress enough; take your trash to the proper place.

  Be quiet when people around you are quiet. Public transit may have quiet cars on trains, or talking loudly may be frowned upon on busses. Keep your music to yourself as well.

  As you use your device to record things around you, have common sense. Avoid situations which may be dangerous or draw negative attention. Most of us are just normal people with cell phones. Don’t be a bad influence. Or a worse influencer.

  Share this:

  • Facebook

  Like Loading...
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged australia, fiction, tourists

• (Re)Union Dues?

  Posted at 3:40 pm by kayewer, on March 8, 2025

  I have never been to any of my high school reunions, and in my opinion it may be a tradition best left to end its time and go peacefully into the annals of nostalgia. Especially with social media and live chat options, there is no need for folks of any age to travel unnecessarily for an event requiring stays in hotels of uncertain quality (if not camping out in your old bedroom at your parents’ place). Also, do you want to spend days eating at joints which sprang up well after your favorite hangouts in town went belly up? And what about the expense of carting your personal human circle along with you (especially if they did not attend your alma mater and won’t know a soul).

  The five-year reunion, overall, seems to be an opportunity to brag about graduating college, or marrying the love of your life and/or delivering the two kids you said you would in the yearbook. At ten and twenty years, most people have set up their lives and mingle with a tightly controlled group of friends, and they may attend just to sit around and grab a drink or two while reminiscing about old flames, older scandals, the ignorance of youth and the disaster that is approaching three or four decades of existence.

  At the thirty, forty and fifty year marks, people are starting to experience the added pains of age, loss and empty nests. Yes, we go through with it, and yes we all share talking about it. Why pay airfare and hotel fees to do that when you can get together in Zoom for pennies on the already-strained dollar?

  And then there are reunions from Hell like the one a writer referred to as “Really Invisible in Minnesota” experienced in Dear Abby’s March 6, 2025 column. She attended her fiftieth with her husband, both of whom went to the same school. They share this tradition every time, and at every reunion she has the same problem: everybody in her graduating class acts cordially to the husband, but they treat her like a leper. “I’ll be the first to admit I’m nothing to look at,” Really Invisible felt compelled to add, and we soon find out why: her classmates would glare and walk away whenever she attempted to be sociable. She even overheard one approach another group and say, “The dog tried to talk to me.”

  The husband is also, according to her letter, a real humdinger of a supportive spouse, one for whom social media women’s advocate Robbie Harvey would have a few choice words. When she confronted him about her mistreatment and wanted to know why he even married her, he gaslit her, saying, “It’s all in your head.”

  These are all supposedly mature adults in their 60s! What on God’s green Earth is wrong with them?

  I have been too hardened by this sort of thing to outwardly cry, but inside of me, while reading this, my heart broke for this unfortunate lady. She said nothing of whether her marriage is loving or even affirming of her self-worth, but the evidence says otherwise. Why would everybody be (and over fifty years, have been) so vicious to this individual?

  What is the husband gaining from being married to her? Why do the classmates feel it’s acceptable to continue to call a human being a “dog” because of what is obviously a combination of genetic outliers beyond her control? And what sort of horrific conspiracy is going on that nobody feels compelled to say one kind word about this poor woman?

  Really Invisible will remain anonymous, as will her tormentors, all of whom I feel should be utterly ashamed of their behavior, lack of basic human kindness and hypocritical demeanor (Abby agreed). I would enjoy getting answers from the perpetrators as to why their treatment of Really Invisible is warranted (it would make a great research story), and I would like to hear from the husband on why he doesn’t tend to the emotional and spiritual needs of the wife he chose to marry, and why he need not hold up to his responsibility to her. Unfortunately that sort of thing doesn’t happen in real life very often.

  So I will close with this to those reunion dolts and that pathetic excuse of a spouse. As we go through our later years, we often find ourselves in turmoil and experiencing pain and suffering through events happening around us that directly affect our lives. Occasionally we ask ourselves, “What have I done to deserve this?” The answer is right here in this column. What you do with that knowledge is up to you.

  Really Invisible is owed a huge apology by every one of you. She has a good soul. Yours needs fixing.

  Share this:

  • Facebook

  Like Loading...
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged dear-abby, high-school-reunions, marriage, ugly-ducklings

• Opinion Page

  Posted at 5:55 pm by kayewer, on March 1, 2025

  Wouldn’t it be a strange world if the only opinion that mattered was your own? It may seem perfect to you, because you would no longer become upset by a different point of view.

  Imagine, though, how difficult it would be to find one person who was exactly like you in every idea, concept, and span of knowledge. It’s impossible to do, because every human being has a different story and, therefore, different opinions on everything.

  Often we want to destroy or alter opinions which are not our own. From the earliest days of man, when people dared to call the world round and germs visible only with enlarging technology an important part of our lives, to today’s polarizing protests and fearmongering about defining what we are, believe, say, or do, there has always been room for two opposing ideas. It took a lot of growing and compromising to get there, however.

  In her school days, my mother, a National Honor Society member, presented a report with a brown and turquoise book cover. She received points off. Nobody uses brown and turquoise together, the teacher said. The rule must have been written in stone somewhere.

  I, too, have been blasted for having opinions all my life, and so has everybody else. Sometimes, however, the things we’re criticized for have little overall effect and can be rather silly. When I was a kid, for example, one of my favorite breakfast leftovers was hamburger and gravy on a soft slice of white bread; when I presented that idea for a theme on what we ate in the morning, my teacher acted as if I had said strychnine. Just because she never had dinner leftovers for breakfast, nobody else could have them, either. So said she, so it was, at least back then, written in stone. I got points off.

  Remember that beer commercial in which the two sides argued, “Tastes great,” and “Less filling?” Until they came out with an ad that clarified it had both attributes, it was a pop culture argument with no true winner, and that can be frustrating. Perhaps there are no “winners,” but simply “compromises.”

  Nobody has the exact same opinion on everything, which is what gives us individuality of character. Often our differences are meaningless, such as people from South Jersey calling a certain spicy meat product Taylor’s Pork Roll, while in North Jersey it’s called Taylor Ham (true story). A hoagie is a sub in some places. Soda is pop or tonic. These are small things which do not have an effect on daily life. Both camps live harmoniously.

  When we delve into politics or social issues, however, the arguments become chaotic or even violent when opinions differ. When it comes to human life in particular, sometimes people are in favor of everybody suffering collectively. They don’t offer good reasons or even compassion or financial help: everybody simply must get in the pool of misery and keep quiet about it.

  Politics is a slippery course to wade through, because those in favor of one party often act as if those on the other side are all evildoers deserving of annihilation. Remember, the only people who belong are those who are exactly the same as you.

  So today I was hoisted up for a shaming session because my opinion wasn’t the same as a celebrity’s. Shame on me. At least the argument was not over pork roll or ham. Also, I didn’t say the person was wrong; just that my experience was different. We can all get along and still not agree.

  Share this:

  • Facebook

  Like Loading...
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged life, love, mental-health, philosophy, politics

• Feedback

  	Eden on Getting the Message
  	Eden on The Unasked Questions
  	Eden on And Her Shoes Were #9
  	Eden on The Poison Field
  	Eden on Final Tally