Most of us who call ourselves Baby Boomers have been through our share of changes. I have passed through some of the most common ones, including the painful experience of losing a dear parent; raising two children to adulthood and realizing that the “mommy” role that I took so seriously and poured my life into is no longer what it was; watching my husband experience the physical challenges of diabetes and a heart attack; looking in the mirror and watching the the face that looks back at me change; supporting my husband as he went through the painful experience of realizing that after thirty years devoted to one company, surprise, he is dispensable, and now of at an age where there’s a tendency to go from one job to the other without settling, and what about retirement? Is it possible?
That brings us to our newest change, which could be looked at as a negative, or embraced as a new and exciting adventure, it’s up to us what we decide to do with it. It may mean a move from our home of 25 years, the home where I raised my babies, and how can I be the “New Jersey Baby Boomer” if we leave NJ? It may mean leaving behind friends of many years, and being further away from my now-grown babies than I want to be. It may not happen at all!
I want to take you along on this personal journey and intertwine it with the usual New Jersey info on this blog, and let you get to know me a bit better. More later this week!
I haven’t spent much time introducing you to some of the finer places to spend time in New Jersey.
One of these places is the 30+ year old New Philharmonic of New Jersey, the picture is borrowed from their website. Their 2008-2009 season began last month at the fully accessible Dolan Performance Hall on the campus of the College of Saint Elizabeth close to the center of Morristown, NJ.
Along with the concerts scheduled this year, the New Philharmonic of New Jersey “is proud to honor two local champions of the arts. At [their] November 23 concert, [they] will honor Judith Wharton for her support of fine music and her work to foster a love of music in people of all ages. At [the] March 15 concert, [NPNJ] will honor the late Jerry Ben-Asher for his lifelong devotion to classical music”.
If you love classical music, and are local to, or will be visiting, the New Jersey area over the next several months, visit New Philharmonic of New Jersey’s website for schedules, cost and directions. Read the interesting link to their history.
What sad news to hear that Paul Newman has passed away today after his battle with cancer, lung cancer, I believe? To me he is forever young in my memory, so I’m not including a picture. I don’t see him any other way, and when I heard that he was 83 years old, was so surprised…that would make him a year younger that my father, who passed a few years ago next month.
You have to respect a guy who lives outside the Hollywood circle, and has lived a life devoted to one woman for 50+ years. I read in one source that when asked about being tempted by other woman, he said, in classic Newman style, “I have steak at home, why should I go for hamburger”.
He leaves behind 3 daughters that he parented with Joanne Woodward, and 2 by a previous short-lived marriage. He lived in Connecticut and was treated in New York City’s Sloan Kettering Hospital, and after his last chemotherapy treatments at the end of the summer, August, I believe, he was given weeks to live. He went home, telling his family he wanted to die at home. He died surrounded by family and friends.
He has left his a tremendous sum of money from his Newman’s Own business to charity, not as a last minute decision when dying, this was in the plans before he was diagnosed.
My husband and I have watched “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” often, but for Boomers, his movies go back to when we were very young. What was your favorite Newman movie?
How are my readers doing with all the news we’re hearing on the economy lately? As I type this we have just finished hearing that there was quite a lot of controversy during the meetings in Washington DC today, and no agreement on what to do about the situation has been reached…in fact right now my husband is listening to the talking heads yell at each other about the situation on the news.
I was just talking to my neighbor who is a real estate agent here in NJ today, and she was telling me that the prices on houses are great for first time buyers, and interest rates low, but they are having trouble getting mortgages now.
For us, we don’t have a lot saved, so there won’t be a “run on the bank”, and we have a pretty good credit rating, but there are many people that are sincerely struggling and don’t know where to turn. I feel for these people. We have had two homes on our street go into foreclosure, one just sold for a fraction of it’s worth in an auction sale. Multiplying that my many MANY homes across the country, one can get a feel for how critical the real estate situation has become.
I don’t know a lot about the economy, or how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together, so if you are interested in more information about the issues we are facing, want to view lists of auctions, and much more, be sure to visit the U.S. Department of Treasury.
There is also a site called CareOne that can help you if you are considering debt consolidation loans, and need counseling help to get out of debt. They will connect you with agencies that have high standards of customer care, and provide you with 24 hour access to your account information, 7 days a week. So far, we’re doing okay, but if you’re not, maybe careonecredit.com can help.
Today I received an email from someone who is sponsoring a race for Breast Cancer in the South Jersey area at Six Flags Great Adventure I checked out the links, and went to the main site for the organization, and it appears to be a great cause, here’s the information…you may want to contact Robin before donating if you have any questions:
One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime and I am making a difference. I recently accepted the challenge to participate in the Race for the Cure at Six Flags Great Adventure on Sunday October 5, 2008. I hope you will join me in the in the fight against breast cancer. The more the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Central and South Jersey Affiliate can give back to fund vital breast cancer education and screening programs in our own community and support the national search for a cure.
Please join me in the fight by pledging in support of my participation in the Race or contributing generously to the New Jersey Race for the Cure Your tax-deductible contribution will fund innovative outreach and awareness programs for medically under-served communities in Central and South Jersey and national breast cancer research. It is faster and easier than ever to support this great cause - you can make a donation online by simply clicking on the link at the bottom of this message. If you would prefer, you can also send your tax-deductible contribution to the address listed below.
Whatever you can give will help! I truly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress. Thank you so much for your time and support in the fight against breast cancer! Every step counts!
Click here to visit my personal page.
If the text above does not appear as a click-able link, you can visit the web address:
http://events.komencsnj.org/site/TR/Events/General?px=1199875&pg=personal&fr_id=1020&et=0l88HOY1yJIA-LBExRP65w..&s_tafId=4002
My husband spent the weekend working around the house, including building a new enclosed area for our trash cans. We haven’t had any trouble with bears in our trash all summer, but wouldn’t you know, last evening after supper, only a day after his finishing this project, we had a visitor. I guess he likes the new design :-) My pictures are a little blurry because I was SO excited, but here’s a few shots off the side of my deck, he/she dragged a bag of trash from the can he knocked over and carried it into our neighbors yard. I quietly called my husband as I snapped these, and the bear ran, leaving a nice mess for us to clean up.
(Blurry zoom-in, shaky hands, just too excited :-))
New Jersey can be somewhat expensive compared to living in other states around the country. Our taxes are relatively high, and perhaps higher because we chose to live in a rural part of the State where there are no big businesses to help with local taxes. And with “retirement” years ahead, if there will be such a thing for us, one is naturally concerned.
I just did an online quiz at Bills IQ to help me decide whether or not we are handling our finances well, and whether we need help with Debt consolidation, as we have a few bills and debts due to various life circumstances that seem to be common these days for many, including a period of time that my husband was unemployed…and another spell of that that will start in November if he doesn’t find a new job soon. Our grade after doing the quiz was a “B”, which isn’t terrible, but I know we could use some improvement, and BillsIQ seemed to provide some helpful solutions, including Debt help and resources for Debt relief. Maybe you’ll want to take the simple quiz they provide, it’s easy to do, and you’re provided with some options to decide what help might be best for you. You can chose one of these opportunities, or skip on to see your score. If you need the help, then check out the services they offer.
For now, I think we’re okay, but our wonderful Lord knows what the future holds, and we know He’ll show the way through the valleys.
Here’s an attempt at a little Haiku, which is a form of Japanese “poetry”, 3 lines - 1 with 5 syllables, the next with 7, then the third, 5 again. It often speaks of nature, seasons, etc. 
Fall of life is here,
Know not what the future holds,
Bills IQ is near.
