Leaving Legacies... Or Not

 

Today was half price day at SAVERS and I'd seen a Lucite Magazine Display piece I was hoping was still there, to use in our Showroom, but, it wasn't... curses foiled again!  But, The Daughter and I found some good T-Shirts, to keep for our Wardrobes and to Sell in our Showroom.  I also found 9 Vintage Midcentury Frosted State Tumblers that are Souvenirs from 9 different States, but match.  I looked them up and they are Midcentury Hazel Atlas State Souvenirs.  Online they can fetch around $17-$20 each and I got them for $1.25 each, so have good margins for Resale.  All Nine of mine are Midwestern or West Coast States.  Below is an Online cribbed Image of the Line by Hazel Atlas and they're made in the 1950's-1964, and I think the Line made every State.  Must have been someone's whole Collection.

It was another gorgeous day so I Plan to price some Inventory from The She Shed.  LATER:  It's been in the 80's all day so it was a little hot in there, so I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped to, but I waded thru 3 Banana Boxes full of product.   Got a Crate full priced, and Donated the rest.  I'm curating what is getting Sold now and just Donating what won't be a quick Turn and taking up Rental Space in the Antique Mall.  There isn't much Point in trying to Sell what people aren't Buying.  I'd rather Donate it to a good Cause and let it end up where it's appreciated enuf to be with someone who Needs it and Wants it... and perhaps helping a Charitable Organization simultaneously.  I'm just Over trying to slowly Downsize, I want to quicken the whole Process some now and make more expedient progress.

It actually felt better to make a large Donation than to lament that it's taking up a lot of Space here or in the Showroom for too long.  I've been paying attention enuf to know what is Selling and what the Customers are Buying.  The Industry might eventually recover enuf to be able to appreciate the Good Stuff again, but I really am not certain it will be in my Lifetime actually?   That saddens me, but, it is what it just is.  And I'm happy to be hawking what is Moving and making us extra discretionary income, so I need to just focus on that more and have my own metamorphosis about Selling and how to do it well for the times we're in NOW.

The Man's VA Nurse is coming in the Morning, it will be every other Week now instead of Weekly.  And I don't know how long he'll Qualify for the Visits, so, we'll just take advantage of them while they're being provided too.   The Daughter got an Extension on her AHCCCS Medicaid Medical Benefits, so that was great News.  She's still awaiting Approval on her Application for Nutritional Assistance.   Since she isn't employable and has no means to support herself, I don't see how or why they would deny her Approval, but, you never know.   For now 100% of her Care is on our Dime even tho' she's a Middle Aged Disabled Vulnerable Adult.  She does what she can to contribute in ways that she just can, and that is Enough, what else can she do but that.   As a Parent is concerns me that she has to be so dependent on Charitable assistance to exist.

We got a couple of Christmas Cards already, from Two Friends who are always some of the first to send them.  The one Friend had a very rough Year in 2025 Healthwise.  But, she became a Great-Grandparent again, so that was Good News.   She has a Son, Three grown Grandchildren and I think she's up to Nine Great-Grandchildren now.  She was always a Single Parent and we strongly suspected she was Gay.  Of coarse she comes from a Generation where you had to be very Careful and not Openly Out. She used to live across the Street from us when we lived Southside and we've remained Dear Friends ever since then.  

I watched a Documentary that made me think of her, called "A Secret Love".  About a Lesbian Couple in their 90's who had been together 72 Years, since the 1940's.  Both had been well known professional Female Athletes and didn't come Out to anyone, even Family, until they were in their 90's, even tho' they'd lived together all those Years.  It was very Emotional to watch their Love Story in the Documentary and all they had endured and been thru.  How Secretive they literally HAD to be back then, since you could be arrested, imprisoned and lose Employment for just being Gay.  The one who was Older has now Passed away, but her Wife was still Alive at the time the Documentary was released, they got Married in their Assisted Living Complex when they were over 90 Years Old... waiting over 70 Years for the Right to be a Legal Married Couple.

I also watched a Movie I have seen before and Love called "As Good As It Gets" {1997}, with Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear.  That Movie is Funny and a Tear Jerker, it was good to see it again.  I enjoy almost anything those Three Stars have ever been in, they're just so good consistently in their Roles.   Cuba Gooding, Jr. was also in the Movie, I used to listen to his Dad's Music when he was in the Group "The Main Ingredient" as their Lead Singer in the 1970's.  He looks a lot like his Dad and the Son has been in some good Movies too.   Our Cox Cable has done something Weird to their Programming, so all day there was only a way for me to watch our NetFlix.  I Hate when these Cable Companies do enhancements to their Programming and force a change, the Internet too, especially when you aren't given any Choice in the matter as a Customer and sometimes no advance warning. 

 

It's like when TV's all changed to where you were then forced to go out and Buy a Flatscreen when they went Digital from Analog in 2009, mandated by the Government... and then HGTV in the 2000's... and now the conversion slowly to NextGen TV with a full transition by 2030.  I'm thinking this is what is happening with our Cable Channels, where you will need something called a "Rescan"... whatever the Hell that is?  And tho' I Googled how to do it, I'm not sure I understand how to, so may have to call Cox.  If they can't or won't help me I'll discontinue using them as my Cable Provider, tho' if they're all doing this shit, I don't know that will be helpful?   They're still my Internet and Landline Provider, so I'm reluctant to find new Providers for all Three.   All the same I HATE these involuntary Changes we're forced to make and don't want and didn't ask for.  It's like all the pushing to use AI, I don't want or need to use it, so I resist doing so, I don't Trust it or like it at all.

It's interesting to see my Blog Chart Stats and see what times most people are Reading Blogs, seems most of us are a bunch of Vampires and Insomniacs?  *LOL*  I confess I'm mostly on here either late at Night or after I drop The Grandchild off at Work, it's usually too busy during the day to freefall down a Bloggy Rabbit Hole.  *Smiles*  I'm either Writing my Posts or Reading yours, sometimes a little of both.  And it's nice to peek into everyone's Holidays and get a glimpse of them.  Some of my Older Posts were still getting a lot of Reads so I haven't been purging the Post Archives as harshly as I usually do.  Tho' I still dump them regularly and try to keep a tidy amount I can feel aren't taking up too much Space.  I wish I could Edit, Purge and Curate my Possessions as easily as I do my Blog Posts.  I guess I'm a Minimalist only in how many Posts I retain.  *LOL*

I've been asked if I shouldn't have left more of a Blog Legacy behind when I'm gone?  Nope.  I never intended for this Blog to be any kind of Legacies I'm leaving behind, it's serving a Daily Living Purpose is all.  So, it's fulfilled what it was meant to do for me on the Day I Write it and by the next Day it no longer Serves any Purpose for me.  So, zero attachments to any of it and I only keep any Posts Archives for the sake of Dear Readers to have a chance to Read some of them after I've Moved On from that Day's Entry.  I found that I kind of Live my Life that way too actually, in the Moment, and what Moments are behind me aren't as relevant as what's Life is experiencing Right Now.  I don't Look Forward a lot either, tho' I do set Goals, and sometimes meet them.  But, if I don't, I just adjust them, perhaps more Realistically than I did before, when they weren't attained.  

 

The Present Moment is usually about what I can manage and handle, with enuf going on in it to fill up that Day's Blog Post entry.  *Winks*  I don't think I'd run out of things to say, Life hands you plenty to have some content of.  *Bwahahahaha*  In the beginning of my Blog Journey, which began when The Young Prince was Nine Years Old and he's 25 now, I did formed an unnatural Attachment to my Blog.  And I didn't think it was Healthy to, so I Detached and feel better about having zero Attachments to it.  Knowing it was Temporary, what is Kept here, felt better than Hoarding Posts did.  Lord knows I have enuf trouble Hoarding good Stuff, and Detaching from it, so, I didn't need to have yet another think cluttering up Space.  This Space feels cleaner and better Maintained, which shows me I can do it, if I set my Mind to it.  You can analyze that if you want to.  *LOL and Winks*

I like to spend Time here a bit every day, it's like a good Therapy for me, and an inexpensive one to maintain and indulge in.  It became a Social Outlet to connect to those who want to connect here, tho' I know the vast majority of Blog Readers prefer to remain Anonymous and we fondly nicknamed Lurkers.  And we don't mean that in a Bad way, I'm often a notorious Lurker myself.  I visit many Blogs and often choose to be a Ghost Reader and don't become interactive. *Winks*  Sometimes I connect regularly, but like Real Life, I can only Maintain a certain amount of Connections before it would overwhelm me to have more than the ones I can Manage.  The Son described it best when he said that we both tend to be "All Friended Up" and just can't and don't want to initiate another one sometimes.  *Bwahahaha*  And, it's not even Personal if I'm All Friended Up, it's more about what I can Manage right now.

And I'll give you an Example that might be Helpful understanding how I internally Process Connecting, or choosing NOT to.  I was at SAVERS biding Time until the Grandchild got off her Shift.  I've become such a Regular due to her Working there, that I often see a lot of their other Regular Customers who frequent it often.  I know almost all of the Employees she Works with now and have established a Connection with most of them, and that's manageable for me and I enjoy it.  They're a great bunch of Young People and I enjoy the Casual Bond we've formed, I can Manage THAT.  But, when I was there Yesterday Two Ladies of about my Age had begun Connecting with each other, obviously Strangers until that Moment, and now they were eagerly exchanging Phone Numbers and striking up what they Hoped would be a New Friendship.  I hurried past.

You wanna know Why?  Becoz, if that happened to me I don't know how I'd receive it?  Yes, often if I see someone in the same place often enuf, I get to know them and even strike up Casual Friendships that are Situational to that Space we regularly find ourselves.  BUT, now here's the important part for me personally, I rarely, if ever, want to Connect deeper than that.  I have a very small, very tight, very insulated Inner Circle that I tend to be protective of Maintaining and keeping Manageable.  And, the REALLY important part for me is... sometimes People don't Work Out to become that Close to... and then it gets awkward and uncomfortable for me.  Once someone has Friended you and feels you have become a Friend, Feelings get involved, almost always, and I never want to hurt someone unintentionally, or even intentionally, if I happen to Need more Space with them not a part of it.

I like my Private Life and Private Time too much to have anyone Newer taking up too much of it.  There... in a Nutshell... if why I kinda prefer Acquaintance level interactions over closer Friendships which you do have to Cultivate and Nurture.  I got a lot going on and if someone was Calling me often, or stopping by too often, I wouldn't know how best to convey that I don't want or like that?   Perhaps some of you can Manage a lot of Calls or Visits, I cannot and easily find it to be too intrusive to me.  Whereas in the Land of Blog, you can Visit all you want to and not become a Nuisance at all, and Connect at whatever levels feels best for you and not have to worry about whose on the other end of it.  The Man often Laughs about me being so Social and knowing so many People that I thoroughly Enjoy tremendously and Like, and yet, also be almost as Reclusive as he is in many ways.  *Smiles*

He would rather be invisible in Public and have nobody talk to him ever or try to interact or know who he is or anything about him.  It's only after a very long Connection to me that he's more Sociable than he's probably ever been and a lot of people now Know him, connect to him, and recognize him.  Mebbe his Sniper Training set him up to Be that way, I dunno?  He is rather like a Ghost and blends in without being Noticed, I've never been able to do that.  *Ha ha ha*  He is a Man of few Words, he can literally go all Day without Talking, if I go a few Hours without Talking people are asking me if something is Wrong and am I Okay?  *Bwahahahaha*   And I can go lengthy amounts of Time in complete Silence and nothing is Wrong.  I just don't WANT to Talk and usually if I'm in that Mood, I would rather be totally Alone in my Solitude, that's all, it's not Personal.

People often Personalize what isn't Personal, and can't see that it's not all about them all of the time.  If I'm avoiding you it's more about my Need to not Connect, than about you in any way at all.  To take that Personally and too easily or often, means we just can't be Friends.  *LOL*  Your Feelings are perhaps too Fragile to be Friends with me and it's just best then that we're not.  But, we can be good Casual Friends or Acquaintance Level to one another, that would Work Out best I think.  A little bit of anyone can often go a long way with me.  And that's ME, it's not anything Negative about YOU actually.  A little bit of anything can go a long way with me too, I don't need maximum exposure to enjoy something or someone.   And leaving Legacies just isn't important to me either.  Becoz at the end of the Day, most of us when and once we're gone, few will think, remember or talk about us again.  Just those we had the Strongest Connections to in Life.

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Merry Christmas from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian