Dad's apple, Jackson Browne

It's hard to break old habits. I was brought up in a house where my father commented on looks and bodies. It was his business after all - he sold lady's underwear! "Hmm...that fanny looks like a size 5" I can just picture thoughts like this going through his head. When he was older, he had no filter - a woman would walk by and he'd blurt out - "her rear-end is wider than two axe handles!" A bit too loudly! Or, "that chick is sure tall like her daddy!"

He came by it naturally. His father, my grandpa Wally (we called him Bubba) used to keep watch over my weight while I was in college. "How much you weigh now, honey?" he'd ask while I was on break from ISU. Yep, I get it Bubba, I'm eating a too much pizza and drinking lots of beer.

So I've had a tenancy to notice bodies. I'm the apple that didn't fall too far. I hope I'm better at not blurting out comments than the men in my family. Our fam isn't alone. People in our country are body obsessed. The craziest thing to me is how openly folks feel they can comment about other people's bodies.

I thought of this today when I went through the check out line at the supermarket. The young woman bagging the groceries was tiny! She was so petite that I watched to make sure she could load the heavy cloth bags into the cart. Then I thought - I bet she gets all sorts of comments on her size throughout the day. Old guys (like my dad) saying, "You're a pip of a girl, aren't you?" I'm sure it gets old! I told her "good job!" and left it at that.

Let's stop bugging people about how they look (in person and the coward's method - online) and concentrate on what is inside. I need to do better at this - and want to constantly remind myself to compliment others more. I'm not good at it. I often think compliments and then don't verbalize them. Dumb, I know. Maybe I should put a string on my finger as a reminder...

Okay, rant over.

Paul and I had fun last night - we tried out a new restaurant (Eatery A) and attended the Jackson Browne concert. The restaurant is owned by the folks who operate Alba - a fave of ours in the East Village. This one is on 29th and Ingersoll. Paul wasn't ready to try Pork Cheeks, so we went with oven fired pizza - chorizo, pineapple and jelly. We also had a baked endive salad. It was loud in there - cool place though.

We headed over to Hoyt Sherman for the concert and ran into some former workmates of Paul's. Sometimes DSM seems like a small town. Jackson Brown was really good and his music is so timeless! The last time I saw him was 1977 or '78 at Hilton Coliseum. He's put out a lot of music since then. The man is quite an environmentalist and is an advocate for those less fortunate than himself. His music reflects as much. My favorites were from the past though - reminiscent of that first concert I saw all those years ago in the '70s - "Runnin' On Empty". The place started rocking when they played that song.

I had a great birthday week and feel so thankful to be 58. Last year wasn't my best - I felt awful, was diagnosed with Graves Disease, had a very painful frozen shoulder and later broke my other shoulder. Ugh. I'm looking for better things this year. All of your greetings, cards and flowers from my cherubs and beloved help!

It's starting out well. My doc's office called to report that my most recent blood work shows me to be in remission. That means I don't have to take the thyroid blocking medication for Graves right now. Do I feel perfect? Nope, but I'm doing just fine. Woohoo!