How old are you?

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from wikimedia commons/author rich007

So I'm proving a point AND writing my blog.  I can blog and watch TV at the same time.  I can watch TV and blog at the same time.  Cool.

So I'm watching this special on PBS; Paul McCartney, 'scuse me, SIR Paul McCartney is receiving the Gershwin Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting.  I didn't know what the special was about; I'll admit I was channel-surfing looking for anything when I spotted Sir McCartney being interviewed about the upcoming performances.  I thought he was doing all the singing, but it turns out he opened the performances and then relinquished the stage.

I started thinking about age because Sir McCartney sounds darn good for his age!  I mean, the man is in his 60's and, though his voice roughens on the upper notes, he sounds like the Paul McCartney I listened to in high school.  I watched the Obamas and realized they were 15-20 years younger than Sir McCartney.  (I looked it up:  McCartney was born in 1942 and Obama in 1961.)  Holy cow!  Barack and Michelle  probably didn't even listen to Wings when they were in high school!  President Obama is just a year older than my sister; I wonder if he was a fan of Shaun Cassidy, too.  (smirk)  The smirk is for my sister; she doesn't like being reminded of her high school crush.  

So first Sir McCartney sang "Got to Get You Into My Life".  Then Stevie Wonder sang - and Stevie sounds great and looks great, too.  Then the announcer introduced the Jonas Brothers.  Who?  The cameras panned to the two Obama girls; they were lit up like Christmas trees!  Oh yea, the Jonas Brothers.  They came out and sang a Beatles hit (They were singing it when I started typing and I've forgotten the song  I'm going on memory here, folks.)  and they were GREAT!  They could have been the young Beatles; their voices were pitch perfect and their accompaniment was spot on.  The Obama girls were experiencing the Beatles almost as I experienced them.  Young, good-looking guys singing and having a great time.

(Elvis Costello is singing Penny Lane right now.  Not so pitch-perfect, but hey!  it's Elvis Costello!)

The whole age thing blows me away at times.  Last week I was taking my morning vitamins and our summer intern Jenn was watching me.

"Fish oil," I explained.

"Oh," she nodded.  "My grandfather takes that."

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9-9-09 Surgery for Dogs

I have a cousin who signs her emails "9".  Her name is Nina (prounouced Ni' nah) and she is named after my mother.  I wonder if she is enjoying this very special day - September 9, 2009.  Although it's not as cool as September 9, 1999 must have been.  "Mike from work" pointed out to me that next year we would have 10-10-10.  Cool.

Carolyn from work reported today that she and her husband paid more than $3,000 for her 3-year-old Labrador Retriever to have surgery on his leg.  I forget what was wrong with his leg; Carolyn rattled off the medical terminology but all I could hear was THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS.  I'm skipping my colonoscopy this year because my not-so-fabulous health insurance deductible is $3,000.  I'm hoping by next year this time I'll have more money in the bank and be able to pay for the wonderful thrill of having a camera stuffed up by butt without leaving me short of cash.  As for paying $3,000 for surgery on my pet....I told Harley he better STAY HEALTHY.

If I was watching TV I would be channel-surfing to avoid watching President Obama's speech.  I'm not being political here; it's just that when the President is giving a speech all the networks shuffle up their nightly lineups to fit not only the speech, but the talking heads' BS afterwards.  I used to be political but I got tired of all the polarization.  "Why can't we all just get along?" Rodney King asked.  I agree.  If we could set aside the RightWing and LeftWing BS and channeled all that energy into solving problems like health care, the problems would get solved instead of just made worse.  

Since I'm not watching TV I'm reading The Oasis Project by Art Adkins, the author I met last Friday night.  I'm enjoying the stories and the characters.  His style is very masculine - strong men and supportive women - but also very 21st Century.  Maybe I just think that because I've been reading women authors for the past few months and have been immersed in vampires.  I know that the story is well thought out and rings true.  And I enjoy the setting of Cedar Key, FL.  It's now on my list of Places To Visit.