Saturday, March 26, 2005
There and Back Again.......apologies to Bilbo

I see I have piles of blogs and things to catch up on.......haven't been able to take the time to read much of anything here since last weekend.

Got home from Philly last evening, just in time to set the VCR for "Moebius, Part Two." My first time flying gets mixed reviews. On the trip into Philly, I had an agonizing earache for the final 20 minutes of the flight. I had forgotten the gum, but I was swallowing almost constantly......didn't make a dent in it. I sat huddled into the tiny window, quietly sobbing with pain.

For the return flight, I remembered the gum, and also took a decongestant. There was no pain at all this time, so the flight was a pleasure from start to finish.

I love that bouyant feeling when the landing gear first loses touch with the runway. And I love the feel of the plane banking. What I am still puzzled about is why, when one looks down at the ground, one appears to be moving at a snail's crawl.

Got to see the Smoky Mountains on the return trip.......looked like a huge grey snadpit that someone had just gouged furrows in......and rivers, such pretty silver ribbons stretching far into the horizon.

Well, I won't bore you with my flying impressions.......most of you have probably flown many, many times.

I enjoyed Philadelphia immensely, and just wish I could have more time there to explore the cultural and historical aspects of the city. Got to drive down South Street and would love to spend some serious time exploring that neighborhood.

Well, Happy Easter and Passover to everyone.......may you and yours experience joy.

Posted by Edea Baldwin 2005-03-26 13:45:14

Thursday, March 17, 2005
The Passing of a Great Storyteller

I heard today about the death of one of Sci-fi/Fantasy's true giants, Andre Norton. I have been reading work by her since I was in high school, though I had no idea she was a lady until a few years ago, when I read posts at the Norton forum at SF-Fandom.

I know she will be sadly missed by fans from all over the globe, of all ages. The most recent work by her that I've read are her Elvenbane books, and I was rather hoping for more in that series......

Posted by Edea Baldwin 2005-03-17 17:34:15

Saturday, March 12, 2005
To Every Thing There is a Season

On another forum I am active in, two members were going through their fathers having terminal stage cancer. One lost her father a couple of weeks ago, and the other's dad died last night. It is so strange, they died so close together.

When I took my husband in this past week for his three month checkup (he had his cancerous pancreas removed a year ago this past November), everything looked good. The doc didn't even see any need for CAT scans, just said the bloodwork came back clear.

I find myself fighting twinges of guilt.......accepting my good news while others face ultimate bad news. Why have we been so blessed, so lucky? Pancreatic cancer has a bare 2% survival rate, and my hubby has beat the odds all along the way. Why must others not get good bloodwork back, why did they have to face death?

Rhetorical questions, of course.......unanswerable. I am just blue.

Posted by Edea Baldwin 2005-03-12 17:51:19

Friday, March 11, 2005
Can We Edit?

That last entry needs some serious editting.....but I can't see how to do that, so.....

That part about me redoing high school.........it came out the opposite of what I meant. My whole life as a teenager revolved around church, school, and ballet lessons. There came a time when I regretted that and wished I had done more, experienced more, had more fun.

That's what I meant.

And somewhere in there, the word "lining" was supposed to be "pining."

Is there a way to edit our Blogs?

Posted by Edea Baldwin 2005-03-11 16:05:23

Friday, March 11, 2005
Mid-Life Muddle

Someone else's Blog entry had me thinking about the concept of "mid-life crisis." I am wondering whether I have had several, or just one very lengthy one?

I never had a single, independent existence. I went straight from my parents' house to my husband's. I have never had to make it all by myself. I also have never had the experience of having a circle of friends with whom I partied, laughed, cried, etc.

Along about the age of 32, when my second child was about four, I began to want an un-named something.........had a terrible crush on one of my students. Never got past the point of lining away after him. He was the first male to attact me on an entirely physical level. I had never been drawn to anyone purely based on sexual attraction before, and I didn't know what to do with my feelings.

Thankfully, that crush passed without anything happening beyond a few lines of bad poetry on my part. And I repressed my sexual feelings tightly. I realized that, to some extent, my feelings were tied to wanting to be a teenage girl again, wanting to go through high again but this time around, having fun and having my entire life revolve around school, church, and ballet lessons.

My sexuality woke up big time again the year that the first LOTR film came out, to the great delight of my husband, who had suffered a long drought. Since then, I feel like I have been floating.....

There will have to be a part two to this entry because the bell just rang.....laters.

Posted by Edea Baldwin 2005-03-11 14:04:23