Just yesterday?

Was that just "yesterday"?

How old were you "yesterday"?

Today with the fascination of the country on youth, 

I wondered about the benefits of age.  

In a recent conversation… 

without getting specific… 

my friend was in her 70’s… 

and she added, “But yesterday I was 17.”

We chuckled... and agreed... that was true.

Just nuts?

Now you could say that it sounds like the inmates are running the asylum here and that’s why they thought this concept sounded right.

But the group of women considering the idea of aging consisted of various ages.

And we hadn’t been declared incompetent yet… 

legally at least.

And we knew what was meant by the observation.

Make sure you change now!

Many years ago, the head nurse of a retirement/nursing home facility told me to “take control of your habits when you’re young... because when you’re old you won’t have the determination to do so.”  
In other words, sweet little old ladies were probably sweet to begin with.  And my crabbiness probably wouldn’t get better just because I got older.   

Don’t know if I’ve tackled this idea very well.   Guess part of me likes the idea of having an excuse for being crochety.  

Past years appear…

But it’s fascinating to picture this idea... and I think my friend was right.  

At whatever age I might be... all the previous years seem to be on one photo sheet of paper instead of watching them on a rolling film.

And folks I know all agree that we don’t want the “mind set” we had as teenagers.

Because of all the insights we have learned throughout the years... all the treasured values we have gained... all the wisdom that comes through surviving and knowledge.

Your present age…

Yes, the years may be adding up… 

but really, just yesterday I was young… 

and I remember… 

and can become better because of the understanding and love I have received… 

and that I hope to give.

How “cool” is this?

So when you wonder how old someone is…

 remember that "just yesterday”...

they were your age.

.

A better way to foil “car hijackers”!

A better way to foil “car hijackers”!

It only took me two weeks to come up with a better crime scene scenario than I had dealt with in real life.

It came when I was waking up one morning.  (Now how much of our creative work is really done while sleeping?  And how do you convince your boss that you were really working and not just ‘resting your eyes” when sitting at your desk?)

Anyway...  in a recent column I told about the concern I had when my husband Paul and a relative met a stranger in a distant town who was selling a car they had advertised on the internet.  Cash was required.

We’ve heard about the dangerous results that can occur.

But Paul had grinned when we discussed this plan and he figured out that I was considering all sorts of possible criminal behavior.  He asked if I would take a gun along?  I said I’m only comfortable carrying a camera.

But I was too tired to go along anyway and he took off by himself.

Later that night Paul called me from the mall where they were meeting the man with the car.  Paul was sitting in our car with the cash while the others took a test drive.

But he didn’t call back again.

And after another hour or so I was worried and checked the “app” on our iPhone to find out where he - or his phone - was located.

To my surprise, our car was headed south to the Iowa border - not north to Cannon Falls.

Well, I ran the possibilities over in my mind:  if I call and the phone rings, then the kidnappers will know about it and they’ll throw it away and I won’t be able to track him.

If Paul left the phone in the car, the person stealing it will know it’s there and throw it away and I won’t be able to track the car.

Because I couldn’t think of anything else to do... I called Paul.  This could have had bad results. But he answered and explained he had just turned the wrong way on the freeway and couldn’t find the next turn to get home.  And he had stopped to get a bite to eat!

Now it’s a couple of weeks later.   When I woke up I thought of another plan that I think would have been better!

Instead of alerting the criminal stealing the car (or worse) by the ringing on Paul’s cell phone, I could have hit 911 and called the State Patrol.  I could have explained the scenario and asked them to look for Paul’s car on the highway.

Because I was tracking our car on my cell phone “app”, I could have told them right where to look for him.

Then perhaps they could have turned on their flashing lights and pulled Paul’s car over and checked it out!

I guess it’s a reminder to me that it’s better that I don’t try to do everything myself.

And besides... they carry a gun.

Your own TV crime show!

Your own TV crime show!

I don’t need to turn on the TV for a crime show.

I can make up my own way too easy!

The other night my husband Paul was going along with a relative to meet a guy who had advertised his car for sale on the internet.

Because it was going to be at night - in a distant town - they planned to meet at a parking lot at a mall.

Lot of lights there and people.

For safety.

When you are buying a car from a stranger and dealing in cash you had better be careful.  Or if you’re selling one too.

I was too tired to go along but since I was worried I showed Paul how to use his cell phone camera and told him that while he waited in the car as the transaction unfolded he could take lots of pictures through the windshield.

(I didn’t tell him that if I were there I would then hide the camera under the seat if they started shooting.  So they wouldn’t find it in the excitement.  Haven’t seen that on a TV show anyway.)

Also, I didn’t want pictures of the car being sold as much as I wanted pictures of the person or persons selling the car.

You see I had read about people getting killed when they met up with guys who had advertised a car for sale.

Paul grinned as he knew I was thinking about the crime angle and wondered if I would I bring a gun?  But I told him the only weapon I could use would be a camera.

Anyway, it was with some concern that I stayed home and waited to hear what went on.

Over an hour later I was jolted to alert status when my cell phone rang.

It was Paul.  He was sitting in our car safeguarding the cash while the seller and buyer took a test drive.

Just had to wait now.

That’s when it got interesting.

After another hour or so I still hadn’t heard anything back.  Because we have the ability on our iPhones to track them, I clicked on the “app” to find Paul’s phone.

It was heading south toward the Iowa border!

What?

He was supposed to go north to get back home!

Now I had to decide if Paul’s car had been stolen and he was knocked out or worse... or if he had been kidnapped in it!  

So should I call his phone and see if he answers?

If I call and it rings then the kidnappers will know about it and they’ll throw it away and I won’t be able to track him.

If he left it in the car, the person stealing it will know it’s there and throw it away and I won’t be able to track the car.

But while I was still thinking through this scenario I hit the call button and heard it ringing... 

Finally Paul answered and explained that after the car had been bought and the buyer and seller exchanged papers, etc., he had left them.  But he made the wrong turn onto the freeway and had gone south instead of north.  And couldn’t change his route for quite a distance.  Then he had stopped and gotten some food at a Quik Trip.   

The next time I checked his progress on the phone "app" - going on towards midnight - he had stopped at Econo Foods a couple miles from home.  (It was a Wednesday - special discount for seniors!)

The ending to this “crime story” was a lot better than some of the TV crime shows.