Fly

Four cross-country flights in five weeks--  Phew!  I'm tired, but even after all my years of flying, I learned a few things.

The "Friendly Skies" are pretty cold these days, especially if you pony up and pay extra for leg room in Coach Class seating, which, if I calculate right, is about $10 per inch!  But leg room on a nearly 5 hour flight makes a huge difference on my tired bones so I swiped my Visa for $69 (gulp!) and off I went.  Thing is, I thought I'd signed up for a ride on the Polar Express!

It seems the main Coach Class air conditioning unit is located directly over the "Priority Seats" making the premium pay passengers freezing cold compared to the cramped passengers towards the back who were boiling hot.  And I mean freezing-- even with a long sleeved tee shirt, a hoodie with the hood up and a cashmere shawl wrapped around my head and face.  It was C.O.L.D. and not fun.

One of my flights to Ohio left at 6:05AM-- a gawd awful hour, especially when you factor in getting up at 2:45AM so I could get to the airport in time and snake my way through the painfully slow security line.  I made it with 20 minutes to spare before boarding and would have traded my soul for a cup of hot tea and a bagel.  Unfortunately, airport food service doesn't open until at least 5:30AM, with many not opening until 6AM.  Translation:  No tea for me.

Another flight was extremely turbulent, as in the flight attendants were strapped into their seats for a full 2 hours!  But apparently violently bouncing around at 30,000 feet doesn't bother some people.  Fourteen passengers had to be told to SIT DOWN!  And these folks weren't even up to use the restroom.  Nope, these idiots wanted their fair share of the "free" soda pop.  Grrr.

But the travels were well worth it as each flight delivered me to family and happy occasions, like my niece and nephew's high school graduations.  Both are headed off to college in the Fall and we couldn't be prouder.

 She's my baby sister's baby.

 My brother and his oldest son.

And I got to snuggle with my just turned 3 years old great-niece too.  Talk about time flying by in the blink of an eye!  I can still close my eyes and see this little munchkin as a new born.

I plan to keep my feet on the ground for at least a few months this summer and look forward to visits from my niece K and my fave Aunt and Uncle in August.  I'll warn them about cold flights, packing a snack if they fly at dawn and hanging on for dear life on bumpy flights.  But mostly I'll be happy to see their smiling faces at the airport when I pick them up.  There's no place like home... unless home comes to you!

What are your summer plans?
Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkins
Photo Credit: © flydragon - Fotolia.com

Honor

Airports don't usually make me cry-- at least not unless my flight has been cancelled, but this past weekend, an event at the airport had me crying like a baby, and that is NOT something I usually do.

Husband and I were waiting for our slightly delayed flight from Baltimore back to Los Angeles and had an extra hour before boarding was scheduled.  I heard part of an announcement over the crackling loud speaker about "welcoming troops... static... Gate 20... static... in 10 minutes..."

I wasn't sure what was happening but we took a walk down the concourse and could easily see something "big" was about to happen.  More than 100 people were lined up with American flags and balloons in great anticipation of an arriving flight.  Since it was nearly Memorial Day, we assumed we were greeting soldiers arriving back in the States and were thrilled to be a part of it.

That was not the case.  Rather, we were greeting more than ninety World War II Veterans who were traveling to Washington DC to see their War Memorial as part of the Honor Flight Network.

As the doors to the jetway opened, people in the front got the first glimpses of aging soldiers, many of whom were in wheel chairs or using walkers.  Cheers, applause and whistling erupted and didn't stop until every single Veteran being honored had departed the plane-- more than 40 minutes later!  And I mean, the cheering never stopped, slowed, or quieted down!

Not a great photo, but you get the idea.  I was crying so hard most of the pics I took were blurry.

The crowd of on lookers grew to more than 300 enthusiastic people of all ages.   We were now 2 or 3 people deep in a line that snaked over 25 yards long--  It was a glorious welcome parade for the heroes, each one slowly making their way, shaking hands, saluting and wiping tears.  Frankly, there wasn't a dry eye in the place!

These courageous men and women, all well over the age of 80, were in awe of the reception they'd never expected.  And so was I.  It began as a small Welcome Committee from Honor Flight and, thanks to the airline's announcement, grew to literally hundreds of people thanking soldiers for their great service to America.  It made me feel so proud.

Reaching out, shaking hands and being able to thank people who served our country so bravely is an experience I won't soon forget.  I'm still choked up just thinking about it.

God bless America and the world.
Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkins

Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America's veterans for all their sacrifices. We transport our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to the senior veterans – World War II survivors, along with those other veterans who may be terminally ill.

Of all of the wars in recent memory, it was World War II that truly threatened our very existence as a nation—and as a culturally diverse, free society. Now, with over 800 World War II veterans dying each day, our time to express our thanks to these brave men and women is running out.

Photo Credit: © grgroup - Fotolia.com

Four Hours

I spent four hours today sorting through my closet in an effort to find three days worth of cool weather clothes to pack for an upcoming trip back East where it's about 25 degrees cooler than it is in Los Angeles.  Three.  Full.  Hours.

It seemed like a simple task when I started, especially since I have a jammed packed closet of clothes, but after trying everything on for an hour and a half, I started from scratch and out on two pair of Spanx--  That helped considerably.

All I need are three daytime outfits (one jeans and two for "nicer" lunches in the city with friends) and three evening outfits (for the theater, a swank dinner and a black tie wedding).  Finding six outfits wore me down!

I realized that when it comes to cold/Fall/rainy/East Coast weather I'm pretty limited in my selection of not only clothes but shoes-- as in closed toe shoes (not sandals), especially for a lot of daytime walking in something other than sneakers.  And as far as clothes go--  Black, black and black are my color only options.

Seriously, everything I own that's remotely warm enough for the trip, other than a couple of white long sleeves tee shirts, is black.

Yawn.  I've really got to work on that.

I was at my wits end, so I Skyped my favorite fashion expert for advice.....

My Great Niece E - age 2 years 4 months.

She suggested I wear an outfit just like hers-- All day, every day.... Glowing magic wand optional.

Dress Happy!

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkins

Lemons

I've been in the "When life gives you lemons make lemonade..." mode lately.  Some days I'm better at it than others.

The next time I'm on a hideously delayed United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Cleveland to visit my family-- A flight that should have taken 5 hours but ended up taking 14 instead, I'll order lemonade from their overpriced "snack" menu and just roll with it.  Of course when you pay a (gigantic) premium price for the luxury of a non-stop flight that turns into multiple plane changes across the country-- not because of weather or mechanical difficulties, but because "oophs", someone forgot to "service" the original plane, and you don't get a refund on your high priced non-stop flight for a much cheaper multiple-flight ticket, well... that lemonade should be complimentary, don't you think?

Apparently not.  I wrote to the Chairman of United Airlines asking for a refund in the price difference between the two flights, and I spilled a little lemonade on the page for effect.  I'm guessing I'll never hear from him but I sure felt better after speaking my mind.

And then, after all those airport changes and schlepping, my souvenir was a whopping cold that turned into bronchitis and everything that goes with it, and I spent nearly 3 weeks in bed getting over it.  I'm no "sick wimp" either.  I'm a really good patient who's known to tough this stuff out.  But this time, I was down for the count.  I drank a lot of tea with lemon.

After a week in Ohio and three weeks in bed, my house was a total disaster from not being able to get much done around here-- But wait!--  as the commercial says-- There's more!   Painters started work on the exterior of our house last week.  It's a 3 week job with a ton of prep work that needs done before the painting can even start.  Did I mention it's about 100 degrees around here?  Nasty hot.  I'm giving these guys lots and lots of water and a little lemonade on the side.  I even told them to swim in the pool of they want.  It's that H.O.T.

Unfortunately, with workers sanding every window and door frame of the house, there is no where to hide and, um, "use the facilities", so each morning I'm up at 5:45 to shower and dress before the crew arrives.  And for the record, it's been about 20 years since I've seen 5:45AM more than one day in a row.  But that's the easy part.  I'm actually going to our local McDonald's to use their restrooms a few times a day-- it just feels more private.... And I'm ordering lemonade each time so I don't take advantage of the "restrooms are for patrons only" policy.

I was in the Mickey D's parking lot today when an older woman, so tiny she could barely see over the steering wheel of her circa 1980 Cadillac, made a 100 point turn into the drive thru lane.  Seriously, it took her about ten minutes to maneuver through the crowded parking lot around to the order intercom.  Once that task was complete she had to get her faded yellow monstrosity around another sharp curve to arrive at the window to pay and pick up her food.

Standing by my car, unable to move through the snarled parking lot, I watched all of her efforts. Other drivers started blowing their horns to hurry her up but that only made things worse.  Finally she rolled down her window and asked me to help her.  It was one of those moments when you look over your shoulder hoping she's waving at someone behind you.  No such luck.

By the time I'd arrived at her car, she was out on the pavement and wanted me to actually DRIVE her car as she hobbled around to the passenger side and got in!

Huh?!?

With this increased delay you can imagine horns were honking like crazy now, people were cursing loudly-- even the McDonald's manager came outside for a look because the entire drive thru was totally blocked.

With the McDonald's manager helping direct traffic, I got behind the wheel and squeezed that massively long yellow Cadillac thru the entire drive thus process. The older woman smiled and chatted the whole time about her impending Big Mac sandwich.

Once the transaction was complete and the car smelled of classic McDonald's greasy deliciousness, I pulled the Caddy over to a spot that would be extremely easy for my new friend to make her way out of the parking lot and onto the boulevard.

She reached over and gave my hand a squeeze of thanks and place $1.00 in it so I could get myself a "little something from the restaurant".  Although the money was absolutely not necessary she insisted and we said our good-byes.

Now, finally, I headed directly to the restroom then returned to order a lemonade with my crumpled one dollar bill.  It was on of those "When life gives you lemons" kind of moments that actually made me smile.

Hope life is treating you all well.

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkins
Photo Credit - Lemons - © Taffi - Fotolia.com

Fly Away

Continental Airlines sent me a lovely gift in the mail today. It arrived in a big fancy envelope and even included luggage tags! It was a Silver Elite card that qualifies me for free upgrades, bonus mileage and other nice perks for frequent fliers who spend way to much time on their cramped, stuffy airplanes flying cross-country.

I was all over those fabulous upgrades until I read that the card-- received December 15th-- was for the year 2011 with a January 31, 2012 expiration date. So yeah! I qualified for a 2011 upgrade card but I didn't get it until 45 days prior to expiration.

Huh?

I could have used those upgrades on the eight flights I made back home to Ohio this past year but alas, my card arrived with only a few weeks to actually use it.... And since Cleveland is colder than a you know what this time of year, that big fancy promo package and Silver Card they sent me is pretty much useless.

But, not wanting to give up the dream of Business Class air travel with big cushy seats, I called Continental's Elite Desk and got a guy that said....

"Um, well, hmm, ahh, wow, um... I'm pretty sure you can maybe perhaps use it longer... yeah, um... probably... huh... yeah... could you, um... maybe call back tomorrow... if you want... and maybe speak to a supervisor because... um... our office is closing for the evening."

Will I maybe, um, sorta, probably, um... call back and try to get a full year of benefits? You betcha! Cleveland to Los Angeles is close to a 5 hour flight!

But it does give me pause as to the quality of my hard-earned frequent flyer points, not to mention the IQ of their customer service people. But oh well, you get what you pay for.

#####

And.... Have you noticed the new Google Profile Page-- The one that distorts 95% of our profile photos so we look like our picture was taken in the reflection of the crazy mirror at the carnival? That stinks, but that's not my problem....

My Blogger problem is when I click on your comment on my blog I link to this new page (the one with the crazy looking profile pic). Then, when I click on the link to your blog, about 25% of the time I'm getting this message...

Profile Not Available

The Blogger Profile you requested cannot be displayed. Many Blogger users have not yet elected to publicly share their Profile.

So unless a lot of you have suddenly gone underground, there's a problem because I'm trying to read your posts and can't leave comments. Are you having this problem too?

Hope your holidays are great so far.

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Photo Credit: © jaddingt - Fotolia.com

Next Time I'll Be Sure To Ask...

Now firmly in my 50-something years, I'd like to think I've learned a thing or two-- important things-- life lesson kind of things, but at age 53, apparently I am still learning.

Countless times, literally hundreds in fact, I've flown on commercial airlines both domestic and internationally. Over the years, when given the opportunity to either sit squashed in a center seat or in an aisle seat anywhere else on the plane-- Aisles always win. I am not a fan of being squashed on airplanes.

But, the last time I flew back to Ohio to visit family, I learned a new lesson, and it's one I won't soon forget. Where that aisle seat is located should be of utmost importance when making an airplane seating decision.

Take my word for it, you never-- ever-- want an aisle seat in the back of the plane near the lavatories.

Simply put, an aisle seat in this area means you are either looking at butts or crotches throughout the entire flight as passengers wait in line to use the "facilities". And for some reason, it seems the vast majority of adult passengers all need to use the lavatory the moment the "fasten seat belt" sign is turned off making the parade of potty passengers seemingly endless.

And, if it's not an adult's body parts facing you while waiting in line, it's the angelic face of a small child with an oblivious parent. Said children are usually looking the aisle seat passenger directly in the eyes as they pick their nose and wipe it on your shirt sleeve.

But nose pickers aren't even the worst part.

People-- adults, actually-- in line for the Lav, seem to think it's perfectly okay to put their foot on your arm rest to tie their shoe, or worse, they put their foot on the arm rest of the person directly across from you thereby placing their unpleasant booty right up in your face. Given the choice, I'd prefer the nose pickers, thank you very much.

Yes, by age 53 I should have learned the "center seat always trumps an aisle seat by the bathrooms" rule. It's a lesson I won't soon forget. I just wish other passengers wouldn't forget simple common courtesies when traveling.

Sheesh.

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Good News + GIVEAWAY

Remember my niece and her boyfriend who were going wilderness hiking in Yosemite? If you do, then you can only imagine the huge sigh of relief I felt when they pulled back into my driveway yesterday safe and sound.

The trip was amazing and fun for them but I'm pretty sure this will be the last wilderness anything this couple does together. My niece said it was a once in a lifetime experience but "OMGosh hiking nearly straight up the side of a mountain is way harder than it looks".

I think it cured them, or at least her, of attempting this type of extreme adventure ever again-- "Extreme" being defined as anything that does not have a wood floor, a roof over her head, running water, and preferably an elevator.

But, they lived to tell the story, didn't see one bear along the way, and saw some spectacular sights. Speaking of sights, this is the sight I saw as they unloaded their gear from the rental car.....

Is this all the gear they took? Oh no, no, no. They were loaded with stuff. THIS is the gear that smelled too bad to bring into our house!

*******

Don't forget to enter my BFF Julia Roberts GIVEAWAY to win a $25 Fandango Movie Ticket Gift Certificate and a Larry Crowne Prize Package-- Two sets of prizes are up for grabs. Giveaway ends Monday, June 27th at midnight PT. CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Boots-- His and Hers

When my just college graduated niece and her boyfriend arrived here from Ohio earlier this week, I thought their plans to wilderness hike in Yosemite National Park was a fun and amazing opportunity.

But as I watched them pack their gear, including a humongous knife they laughingly referred to as "the bear knife", I realized they weren't kidding about driving north into the "wilderness"-- As in they are not staying in campsites-- with other people-- and Forest Rangers-- and lights or running water! Instead they'll hike the trails and "find a nice spot in the middle of nowhere to pitch a tent".

This caused my eyes to nearly pop out of my head, my heart to skip about a thousand beats and a deep concern that my niece had not shared this bit information with her mother, my baby sister-- Because I'm sure if she had, Baby Sister would have never, ever, driven her cherished daughter to the airport to visit me.

I immediately started asking questions about cell phone reception (probably none), "wilderness" experience (to which the boyfriend responded "seven times" meaning seven nights TOTAL in his entire 22 year lifetime, not seven trips) and if they'd like me to gift them a hotel room instead (no thank you).

Upon learning this news, my response was to write my niece's name and emergency phone numbers in permanent marker on her back and stomach before they pulled out of my driveway on their adventure. And I'm not kidding about that either.

So for the past three nights I've laid awake, secure in my warm bed, praying and wondering how that "wilderness" thing was working out for them.... And counting the minutes until they call and check back in with civilization again.

Tick, tick, tick.....

*****

I have a GIVEAWAY coming next week so stay tuned!!

*****

Happy weekend everybody.

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Sundays In My City #54 - Billboards

I'm a proud Sundays In My City participant.

Join the fun HERE.

Having spent the better part of my professional career in the advertising business, my eyes always perk up when I see a cleaver creative campaign-- Something that catches my attention and leaves an impression.

Last month hubby and I were in NYC and spotted a few campaigns I liked....

Parking the car is a big relief when I'm driving in Manhattan. There are just too many cars for me to navigate around safely.....

This one for a Self-Storage facility cracked me up....

As for my Sunday in Los Angeles, I'm counting the days til Thanksgiving!

How's your Sunday?

www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

For more Sundays In My City click HERE.

And Then She Said... & GIVEAWAY

There I was in the airport security line with my carry on suitcase in one hand and my snow boots in the other-- The boots I bought in Cleveland on vacation visiting my family-- Because it rained, snowed and was slushy the whole time I was there.

In front of me was a very fancy, 60-something woman (translation: obviously very rich judging by her chic Louis Vuitton bag, full length fur coat, excessive diamonds and exceptionally good facelift). She clearly had lots of money and knew how to spend it.

Behind me was none other than "The Chief" (James Pickens Jr.) from my favorite TV show Grey's Anatomy. I tried not to let him see my jaw drop as I did a double-take looking at him over my shoulder. For the record, The Chief is wildly sexy, which, at the moment, sounds a little weird, but please trust me on this. They dress the guy kinda frumpy and fatherly on the show but in real life-- Whoa! I was swooning.

So there we were all trying to get through the first ID inspection of the security process so we could go through the x-ray machine, but Ms Lotof$$ was holding us up. Apparently her driver's license name did not match her ticketed name and security was checking her out.

She was giving them a very nonchalant story about how she changed her name and the paperwork hadn't caught up with her yet. She said her driver's license name was her "real" name, then she vaguely mention it was her husband's last name on the ticket, but now she was back to using her driver's license name again. It was all "quick, quick, quick with nothing for anyone to worry about", she said. But security was worrying and continued questioning her... While The Chief and I waited, and waited, and waited right behind her.

Apparently the security crew was also taken with The Chief's good looks so instead of checking our IDs and waving us through, they kept us waiting so everybody and his brother could get a good look at him too.

After a few minutes, Ms Lotsof$$ was starting to get exasperated... and so, apparently, was the yip yappy dog she had in the Louis Vuitton bag. (Who knew!?!) Between the barking, the now four security people questioning her, and The Chief clearing his throat loudly behind me to help move things along, Ms Lotsof$$ finally said...

"The tickets is in my married-but-almost-divorced name and my driver's license is in my real name. My marriage was very fast--very fast, she repeated in a deeper voice-- It was so fast it was like the drive through at In-N-Out Burger...."

**Blink**

At which point, everyone immediately tried not to laugh.

By the way, The Chief has a very nice choke-back-a-laugh-chuckle... and it gave me another excuse to check in out.

Security finally let the now long line behind Ms Lotsof$$ pass while they continued to question her.

More on my vacation later. But first--

I'm having a Giveaway and it's easy to enter!

CSNStores.com has given me a $100 Gift Certificate to pass on to one lucky blogger. Their usual terms and conditions apply (one time use, you pay the freight, US and Canada shipping only-- Full details will come with the Gift Card.) I'm sure you've heard CSNStores.com has more than 200 online stores to shop until your heart's content.

All you have to do is--

1) Leave a comment here and on all my new posts between now and midnight PT Saturday, November 20, 2010. The more you read new posts and comment, the more chances you have to win the $100 Gift Card.

2) For extra entries blog about the giveaway linking to THIS POST then come back to THIS POST and LEAVE ME TWO MORE COMMENTS with your giveaway URL. These are how your extra entries will be counted so don't forget this part.

3) You must have a blog to enter. Be sure I can reach you via email if you win. I'll randomly draw the winner. Results are final.

So there you have it. Come on! Leave a comment to enter.

Have you ever had an unexpected airport experience?

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Photo Credit: Suitcase- © chris-m - Fotolia.com

Photo Credit for James Pickens Jr.

Photo Credit for In-N-Out Burger

Sundays In My City #51 - Clack-a-clack...

I've missed a few Sundays due to vacation and traveling so it's nice to be back with Unknown Mami and the Sundays In My City community.

I was in and around Manhattan for a week and made two fun stops-- One that has always been a "must see" and one that will forever more be on my "I gotta go now!" list.

First up was the brand new Eataly-- My idea of the "Happiest Food Place On Earth". It's a 50,000 square foot Italian food paradise brought to you by Mario Batali, Lidia Matticcho and Joe Bastianich. And let me tell you-- They did themselves proud!

Eataly is a gorgeous, high end, grocery store, wine store, book store, housewares store, with multiple glorious restaurants and oh so much more-- All under one roof. I was in heaven, so much so that I only took one picture before I entered the store because once inside I was drooling too much for picture taking.

The only bad part was that since I don't live in NYC, I couldn't bring home most of the amazing foods they sold (homemade pasta, olive oils, balsamic vinegars...) Now my hope is that Eataly is so wildly successful they open one in Los Angeles. And if they do, I swear I'll apply for a job just to spend more time in the store! I wonder if they'd have a taste-tester position.

My other "must see" stop is Macy's in Herald Square. I've been going there for the past 40+ years-- Not for shopping, for it's original 1902 escalator....

Every visit I wind my way around the way too big, and a little confusing to navigate store, to step onto their vintage escalator for a clack-a-clack-a-clack step back in time. It's beautiful.

I take my hat off to Macy's for keeping the original escalators leading to their top floors. I'm sure parts are very hard to come by and it's expensive to maintain, but the escalators are a piece of history that has been in action for well over 100 years. It feels different, smells different, and sounds different from any other escalator I've ever been on and I love that Macy's has preserved it.

And the best part at the top of the escalator was that Macy's had this-- Cuz you know Santa rides into town after their Thanksgiving Day Parade....

But their Christmas department and decorations were still under cover... Not like the Macy's in Los Angeles who's been hocking Christmas for nearly a month already. Yeah!

How's your Sunday?

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Click HERE for more Sundays In My City participants.

It Was One Of Those Vacations...

Beloved Husband and I just returned from the East coast after meeting up for a wonderful family reunion that brought 15 of his relatives together all under the same roof. From two countries, speaking three languages, and with a whole lot of jet lag thrown in, we had a fantastic time catching up with each other, sharing family stories, sorting through old black and white photos and laughing til our bellies ached. In short, it was a perfect get together albeit it too short.

But....

It was the kind of vacation that had me rummaging through my purse for my camera time and time again only to remember I left it in the hotel room that day....

The kind of vacation that had me reaching for my laptop only to remind myself I left it at home because this was a "real vacation"....

The kind of vacation with one great blog topic after another floating through my head as I reached for my iPhone to email myself the idea.... Only to totally forget the idea because my mind was just blown by a 90 year old granny wearing a gold sequined and chartreuse halter dress and 6 inch red platform heels in Time Square....

Yep, it was one of those vacation-- loaded with great blog fodder, but as I sit back a home, laptop at hand, I have no memory of what I was going to write about. Except for this photo I snapped quickly with my iPhone as we crossed a busy Manhattan street....

Mama with her Victoria Secret shopping bag in one hand, cell phone in the other, and the sweetest, most angelic looking sleeping baby strapped on her back wearing a colorful hoodie. I followed them for three blocks to get this photo because it was so, so, so-- New York and urban and in a strange way comforting to see the blissful baby amongst the hubbub of a big city.

I will be making the rounds on blogs to catch up on nearly two weeks of your posts. As I told one dear blog friend yesterday, 20 months ago I didn't even know what a blog was, now it's part of my daily routine and when I'm away I miss you, blogging, and everything that goes with it.

So while I try to piece together more stories from our vacation, I'll be by as soon as I can. Until them, happy October one and all.

How have you been?

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Pink Pop-Tarts?

Three things, in two articles, on a recent front page of the Los Angeles Times newspaper, scared the living daylights out of me. The articles appeared above the fold-- the top half of the paper, meaning their placement implied the information was really important. I took notice.

First was the fact, and I can't stress the word "fact" enough-- that WalMart shipped huge quantities of strawberry Pop-Tarts to Florida-- during a hurricane-- Because apparently, when Mother Nature smacks people upside the head, Pop-Tarts are the food of choice.

The second alarming "fact" was that WalMart had statistical and historical data to prove the wildly insane increase in sales of strawberry Pop-Tarts to justify driving 18-wheelers full of the stuff into the eye of the storm! I'm sure this says something about the "people of WalMart", the American public in general and Pop-Tarts' marketing strategy, but seriously-- The pink ones? Not the chocolate or the brown sugar cinnamon ones? And why Pop-Tarts of all things?

The third and final alarming above the fold "fact" in the LA Times that day was a headline screaming-- in all capital letters to drive the point home even further-- GET READY TO RUMBLE, about new data strongly suggesting a major Southern California earthquake-- in the 8.1 magnitude range, is coming our way.

Egad!

Regular readers of this space will know information of this nature sends chills down my spine and reminds me yet again, why I do not like living on the West Coast, especially Los Angeles, which would be hugely impacted by the next "big one" discussed in this news story. In short, I hate earthquakes and this article, with descriptions like "grim", "dangerous" and my favorite-- "sleeping giant" makes me want to head for the hills-- on the East Coast.

The separate and unrelated articles gave me serious enough pause that I saved them to reread upon return from my recent vacation-- When I was more rested and relaxed. Problem was, I thought of this information several times while I was away and wondered if the editors at the Times deliberately intended for the alarming facts to be positioned together, on the same front page, leaving me to conclude...

I will be eating pink Pop-Tarts after a massive earthquake in the very near future.

Not Cheez Wiz. Not canned Spam. Not Cocoa Puffs cereal. Not baked beans with little wieners in it. No, I will be eating strawberry Pop-Tarts in my time of crisis, which, according to WalMart data, is the breakfast, lunch, and dinner of champions when the chips are down. How depressing is that!

Don't get me wrong, the fear of a ginormous earthquake does not go unnoticed. I take it and earthquake preparedness very seriously, but I can assure you that, as far as food is concerned, my emergency nourishment stash does not include a single Pop-Tart, let alone pink ones, no matter what WalMart's computerized data says. In fact, they never even crossed my mind.

I do have tons of bottled water, apple juice, powdered milk and instant coffee. Boxes of mac and cheese, canned soups, pasta and sauce, dried fruits, nuts and the likes are all on hand too, rotated every six months for freshness. And granted, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is only a slight notch above Pop-Tarts but at least I've seen it served on the Kid's Menu in restaurants.

Ideally, if I could keep a supply of comfort food on hand for a crisis, it would include all the makings of a Thanksgiving dinner, gourmet pizza, endless quantities of chocolate cake and my Mom's meatloaf, but obviously that's not going to happen. So I'll stick with the above mentioned "instant foods" and pray I don't see a convoy of Pop-Tart trucks pulling into my nearest FEMA or Red Cross rescue station when the "big one" hits.

Then again, maybe I should buy a couple boxes of the chocolate Pop-Tarts just to be on the safe side.

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

PS I'm just back from vacation and will be making the rounds to catch up with all of you over the next week.

Sundays In My City #45 - Angels Flight

I'm a happy participant of Sundays In My City hosted by Unknown Mami.

They call it the smallest railway in the world and they might be right! Los Angeles' Angels Flight is a funicular, or inclined railway, that connects the Bunker Hill District to Downtown Los Angeles. It was first built in 1901.

Recently Beloved Husband and I hopped on at the bottom of the hill and took the short ride up.

And up.....

And up.....

This cute ticket office, and where the lone employee works running the train remotely, is what we saw when we got to the top....

These are the current prices-- And it's a good thing too. Parking our car cost $8.00!

You know what they say-- What goes up, must come down....

It took all of 5 minutes to ride up, get off, walk around, buy our tickets and ride back down but it was a piece of Los Angeles history that neither of us had ever experienced. And frankly, after reading the history and the spotty safety record of the railroad, I doubt we'll be doing it again. But I glad we did. For more info on Angels Flight, click HERE.

How's your Sunday?

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

For more Sundays In My City click HERE.