St. Patricks Day Reflection
March 17th, 2008 by Karen
Thirty one years ago today, I was baptized. I was all of 14 days old, so I don’t remember it, but I know it was March 17th because of my Aunt Marge.
Aunt Marge was perpetually old…she seemed ancient to my girlish eyes when I was little and was always a constant in my life. Every year, without exception, she sent me a card on my baptismal birthday. It was every bit as important as my regular birthday to her and I came to find its importance as well as comfort and wisdom in her brusque manners. As the world spun faster and faster, she shared small bits of advice in her slow manner with me while I was growing up. I distinctly remember sitting at my parent’s dining room table with a tiny notebook she always carried while she taught me how to spell so many of the words my dyslexia caused me to stumble over. We sat there for hours as she dictated words to me and I must have wrote the word “cinnamon” fifty times, but I did it. She was extremely proper, and I don’t know how many thousands of times she told me not to slouch and how to do things ‘just so’, but despite her demeanor she meant well and did it with love.
I never really knew too much about the person that was Margaret Plancich and this I will forever regret. I do know that she worked for many, many years for Kelly-Clarke and she had many important business people as friends, although she never mentioned them. She never married although a cousin told me she once had a sweetheart who was killed and so she never married. Romantic…yes. Truthful? I have no idea. Regardless, it simply added to her mystique.
Three years ago, my baptismal birthday cards stopped. My Aunt Marge had passed away the previous Decemember at 96. As the day got closer, I grew sad knowing that nothing important would be in the mail. When St. Patrick’s Day finally arrived, I was surprised by a card from my parents…and I sat on the front steps of our house and cried.
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Happy Birthday Tony Constantine
March 13th, 2008 by Karen
Happy 31st birthday my old friend, wherever you may be. I still have your fruitcake…
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Military Coupon Clipping
March 11th, 2008 by Karen
I just came across a really wonderful article about Seniors helping overseas military families by clipping coupons. What a phenominal idea! I’ve known for a few years that military families were able to use expired coupons overseas, but never knew there was an organized effort. Also, I was never really certain where to send them.
Here’s the low down: military families overseas can use expired coupons at their base PX and Commissary for up to SIX MONTHS past the expiration date. This helps the families of our brave servicemen and women make ends meet. There’s even a non-profit organization called the Overseas Coupon Program that encourages you to “adopt” a military base to send your expired coupons. If you figure that the average Sunday newspaper contains $125 worth of coupons, even if you take out $25 for your own family use, that adds up to $5,200 of unused coupons every year! That’s just from the Sunday paper too, not the rest of the week or the ones that come in the mail.
Here’s the steps to get involved:
- Clip the coupons - send only manufacturer coupons that are expired by 2 months or less and clipping them will save on postage.
- Sort the coupons - sort into two piles; one for food coupons that can be used at the commissary and one for everything else for the PX. Food coupons should only be for “people” food. Pet food coupons belong in the PX pile. Place each pile in Ziploc baggies as other bundling methods aren’t reliable.
- Total the coupons - if you want to participate in OCP’s tallys, add up the value of your coupons and email the amount to OCP. This helps them determine which bases may need additional assistance and they keep a running total of the coupon value people have contributed.
- Mail the coupons - follow the simple directions available on the OCP website for mailing the coupons to a base in need. Be sure to follow all the directions to ensure they get received at the base you select.
That’s it! Pretty simple! While our family no longer receives the paper, we do have family members that do and we also get coupons every week in the insert in the regular mail. I’ve always hated tossing good coupons for products we don’t personally need or use, but now I know where to send them!
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Harvey Milk movie
March 10th, 2008 by Karen
I’m so excited to see this movie! Not because the topic enchants me or because I like pseudo-documentarys at all, but because my little sister is an extra! She’s been sending us text messages all day about how close she is standing to Sean Penn. Who’d have thought my sis would be in movies?! Go Karey!
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