Dot Hatfield

First Person Limited

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Are We Really What We Eat?

Are We Really What We Eat?

March 12, 2018 2 Comments

I grew up in Texas during WWII, when everyone I knew had a garden. It was considered the patriotic thing to do.  So, if a person should want to eat greens, we had spinach, turnip greens, mustard greens, a leafy kind of lettuce, and poke sallet.

Missing from the line up was kale. I never heard of it.  Later I remember it being used as a garnish to bring color to the plate — never to eat.  I guess it’s a matter of geography because in England, kale was the go-to greens grown in their victory gardens during the Great War.

But when my youngest son, who makes his home in health-conscious Oregon, ordered an Island Green (spinach, kale, mango, banana) from our favorite smoothie place … well.  I like greens okay, but not in my dessert!

So if you are interested in healthy eating: kale is in, gluten is out. It has something to do with Celiac Disease, which forces many people to stick to a gluten-free diet.

For those in the food service industry this has presented a real challenge.

And since necessity is the mother of invention … voila! … gluten-free pizza! The crust is made of chicken. It’s also no-carb so it satisfies the Keto-diet users. A downside might be that it’s always thin crust — no stuffing there.

So, at the end of the day, if we are what we eat, I want to be a chicken fried steak. Cooked Texas style, dropped in the frylator and covered with white gravy.

With a kale garnish, of course.

 

Super Bowl Sunday: Review from a Less-than-avid Fan

Super Bowl Sunday: Review from a Less-than-avid Fan

February 7, 2018 1 Comment

Let me say up front that in my opinion the best part of Super Bowl Sunday was THE GAME!

When this day rolls around each year I seldom get involved unless (1) I have guests, (2) a team I like is playing, (3) I’m invited to a party.

And then I watch … until/ unless someone I don’t want to win is winning, or it’s a blow-out, even if my team is the blower. In either of those events I just might leave and rent a movie.

That’s what I planned to do last Sunday.  These two teams are a little too far north for me to be very interested in them one way or another. There are perfectly good NFL teams in the south for me to follow.

But I’ll admit I was hooked by the hype and actually felt a little sorry for the Eagles. Everyone seemed to be declaring them losers before the game even started. So I decided to view the opening activities, maybe stick around until the first score, then mosey on about my business.

And what do you know, the Eagles scored first.  Only 3 points, but still.

I decided to stay a bit longer and ended up seeing the whole game. Can’t remember the last time I stuck it out for the long haul.

I have seen many critiques of different aspects of Sunday’s event but as I said the most interesting was the GAME. It moved quickly with very few reviews, (#ruiningcollegefootball). I muted the announcers so I can’t speak to how inane their comments might have been.

One of the NBC camera persons seemed enamored of Tom Brady. After every play or significant event, we were treated to a glance at Brady, even if only the back of his head.

The commercials were well placed and long enough for me to get to the bathroom to wash my hands or to the kitchen for something to eat. I can’t evaluate the content or entertainment value because I didn’t watch them closely enough to see if the lengthy scenario would eventually advertise soap, a truck, or a bottle of beer.

I also can’t score the half-time show. I heard it (no matter where I went in the house) and other than being aware they were repeating the same phrase, I could not decipher what it was. They might win an award for mumbling the most redundancies within a certain time period.

I think it’s safe to say that half-time show was not directed at my demographic.

I love to see the underdog win. I am pleased when the pundits are mistaken. I savor the moment right along with the loyal fans who have supported their team through thick and thin.

Long story short, I enjoyed Super Bowl LII.

I Literally Laughed out Loud

I Literally Laughed out Loud

February 4, 2018 1 Comment

I made reservations while the temperature outside was below freezing. Did I really want to bundle up, drive 20 miles, and see a show I knew nothing about? Never seen before? I hear it won a Tony but still . . .

I’m referring to The Drowsy Chaperone, the production currently running at Center on the Square in Searcy, Arkansas.

Is it a musical? I enjoyed several delightful songs.

Is is a comedy? In Facebook speak you might say I LOL’d.

I learned that some of my favorite actors and a talented director are doing this show. My decision to go was a no-brainer.

Last Friday: opening night with an elegant reception before curtain. That was just the first treat the audience was in for.

What a great cast was assembled for this not-very-familiar play!

Cassie Bennett and Josh Strickland showed the range of their talent moving from an irate Juror (Twelve Angry Women) and stern Dr. Cravens (The Secret Garden) to a flitty Kitty and an awesome Aldolpho.

Ellen Jones and Lauren Lawson had opportunities to exhibit their  exceptional voices.

And no one plays a spacey lady like Sally Paine.

Archie-winning director, Carla Fuller, has the ability to take a myriad of pieces and weave them into a fabulous production.

Add the multi-talented Jon Bucher as The Man in the Chair (Narrator) and you have magic.   Jon Bucher — Magic. Get it?

You have only 5 more chances to see this show! Don’ miss having your heart lifted out of the winter doldrums by this delightful play.

The Drowsy Chaperone

For dates, times, tickets, visit http://www.centeronthesquare.org.

You won’t be sorry.

Thanks to Carla Fuller for the above picture.
Choosing One Word

Choosing One Word

January 9, 2018 4 Comments

Since reading my friend Talya Boerner’s blog (Grace Grits and Gardening), I have thought: Rather than writing resolutions or goals for the new year, I might try choosing only one word for 2018.

According to Talya, the One Little Word concept is the brainchild of blogger Ali Edwards. The idea is to choose a single word to focus on throughout the year.

Choosing one word is in no way easier than writing resolutions. It turned out rather difficult for me, but finally I decided my one word should be EXERCISE.

• I certainly need to exercise my aging body. After battling sciatica and Piriformis Syndrome for most of 2017, I realize I must stretch and work out the stiffness each day if I am to maintain strength and balance.

• I must exercise focus to complete my novel-in-progress. For various reasons there are still gaps in the arc.

• I pledge to exercise tact, think before I speak and count ten before hitting ‘send.’

• I will exercise compassion for those who are less fortunate than I.

• I know I should exercise courage to stand up and speak up for what is right.

• I should exercise discretion about what I ‘like’ on facebook and what links I’m tricked into following.

• I’ll try to exercise patience with those who offend me, or who do not agree with my opinion.

Okay, that last one was facetious. But if I am able to incorporate all this exercise into my life in 2018, next December surely I will find myself more fit — physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

A single word for my dear readers: Blessings.

A New Day for “New Day”

A New Day for “New Day”

November 20, 2017 4 Comments

Every Day a New Day by Dot HatfieldWhen we’re together, my BFF Pat and I love to visit flea markets and seldom leave one empty-handed. On each of these visits, in a semi-joking manner, we peruse the book shelves to see if either of us has a title there. Could one of our inspired, gripping, nurtured, tweaked-to-death labors of love possibly end up in a used book sale?

I didn’t know what I would do if I ever found a book of mine. I knew it would be a new step in my writing career — whether up or down, I wasn’t sure.

Should I be downcast that someone was so over my book they included it in their castaways? Or should I be glad that, rather than molding in a box in an attic, my writing would now have a chance to find a new audience?

Last Saturday, it happened. The United Methodist Women of my home church, held their annual flea market/bake sale/soup luncheon/bazaar.

I was looking though the more than 50 books that were donated to the rummage sale (of course I was!).

And there it was. Every Day a New Day and other short stories by Dot Hatfield. A collection of award-winning submissions published in 2006.

I decided to feel good about it. It meant that new eyes would be reading these stories written 15-20 years ago. I’m satisfied with this new step in my writing career.

“I’d like to know that what I’ve done will last;
A child reads a book great-great-grandma wrote
And journals inspire stories yet untold.”
(from “79th Birthday”)

The Raid of the Grammar Police

The Raid of the Grammar Police

November 12, 2017 Leave a Comment

Seen scrolling across the screen of a local television news program: “Two men attack woman wearing clown masks.”

I was intrigued by that headline. I wanted to know exactly how many masks the woman was wearing when she was attacked and why.

Yes, I catch dangling participles when I see them in print. My English teacher back in the Fifties used the example: “Hanging on the line, I saw my father’s shirt.” The modifying phrase (hanging on the line) contains a participle (hanging). It is said to be dangling because the subject of the sentence (I) is not what the phrase is modifying. “I” am not hanging on the line. That would be the shirt.

Dangling participles are not the worst grammar gaffe, just the funniest.

I have a good grasp of grammar, for which I can credit my mother, Anna Alderson. When she became an orphan at the age of sixteen, her formal schooling was over. Yet Anna had excellent language skills both speaking and writing. Her six children were raised in an environment of correct English. (By the way, you can read Anna’s story in An Ordinary Day.)

Now, I’ll admit to using colloquialisms that are not grammatically correct. “I ain’t got no …” (Texas-speak for “I do not possess any of those items,”) is one I might admit to reluctantly and only on occasion.  There are times when I will end a sentence with a preposition, if to rewrite will sound too stuffy, like something “up with which I will not put.”

Recently, I thought I had caught a gaffe when I saw this headline: “Man Shot in (small town) for Third Time This Year.” But when I read the story I found that the same man was actually shot three separate times this year (in a small town in Arkansas).

All I can say to that is, Bless his Heart.

 

A Visit From Phillip

A Visit From Phillip

October 14, 2017 4 Comments

Last week was delightful, some days speeding past quickly, others blissfully slow, allowing me to savor the moments.

Phillip (#2 son) came home for his first vacation in over a year.

I expected him to drop his luggage and reappear only to change clothes or sleep a little. But that was not the case. He actually hung out with me. One evening as we sat in the living room, him playing a game with someone on the internet and me working on a puzzle book, I got a little teary. We spent many evenings like this before his job moved him 2,000 miles away.

I took a day off and we went to a movie. We carefully (eenie, meenie, miney, mo) chose from the 8 titles available at Cabot Silver Screen. Our only stipulations: no Legos or weird stuff (me), and no chick movies (him). So, “Flatliners” (which actually turned out to be a little weird).

At 4:30 p.m. we had the theater to ourselves. This movie, a remake of the 1990 film, will not be on the list of AARP’s Movies for Grownups. In fact, halfway through Phillip leaned over and whispered, “This is a teen-ager movie,” (he’s 28). It had all the startle-effects … kinda like watching the spider on facebook jump out at you for two hours. If you like that sort of thing.

Suddenly it was Sunday afternoon and we were on our way to the airport. It had been a good week. He visited his 6th grade Sunday School teacher, had Sunday lunch with his Aunt Betty a couple of times, and spent time with his high school buddies. He replaced my windshield wipers. We ate out at all his favorite places: Kandela’s, the Grill, Roper’s, and Tropical Smoothie. He introduced me to “Luther” on Netflix.

Some things we didn’t get done . . . I hadn’t cooked much. I didn’t make his favorite sausage and egg casserole . . . or macaroni and cheese.

At the gate for Southwest Airlines we hugged and kissed goodbye.

Until next time.

It’s a Puzzlement

It’s a Puzzlement

October 2, 2017 3 Comments

I haven’t talked about Customer Service in a while — and don’t plan to say much today — except: Have you noticed how people avoid calling Customer Service until all else has failed? Do you think that was the plan?

Folks don’t really want to deal with a C.S. representative who, A. seldom has the knowledge or authority to solve your problem and, B. lives in another country where English is not even the second language. Many people would rather have an instruction book, figure it out themselves with trial and error, or look on You tube.

This is a bit of a problem because most merchandise bought nowadays comes with no instruction book.  No help at all except maybe a web address on the packing slip.

And it seems to me that the larger and more expensive the item is, the fewer instructions you receive on how to make it work.

A copy machine for your office, a new computer, the smartest phone in the world? No instruction book. You must log into howdoesthisthingwork.com.  Or call customer service.

All this is true. Yet my $10 curling iron came with a little pamphlet telling how to wind my hair around the wand. Actually that was rather helpful.

My two-cup coffee maker from Wal*mart came with instructions on how to make coffee. Pour water in here, place coffee in basket there. And, then, “If you want more coffee, repeat steps 1 – 4.”

The printing on the bottle of hand soap I bought at Dollar Tree: 1. Wet hands 2. Put small amount of soap in palm. 3.  Lather thoroughly and rinse.

There you go. Instructions on how to wash my hands. But if I want the copy machine to collate and staple, I’m on my own.

To quote the King of Siam, “It’s a puzzlement!”

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My Books

  • Worth the Candle
  • Did Anyone Read My Story?
  • An Ordinary Day
  • R.I.P. Emma Lou Briggs
  • To Find a Home
  • The Last To Know
  • Every Day a New Day

POST Topics

  • Living my Life
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  • Somewhat Current Events
  • Television
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  • Writing

Pages of Interest

  • Reflections from Dorothy’s Ridge
  • Charles Prier
  • Pat Laster
  • Freeda Nichols
  • White County Creative Writers
  • The Looking Glass
  • Talya Tate Boerner

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© 2017 Dot Hatfield.