I Am Who – and What – I Am

I remember when I was a young adult I had drinks bought for me and was “eye-balled” when I walked into a room. Sometimes it’s hard to realize that, basically, those days are behind me. It doesn’t matter how much weight I’ve lost or how many exercises I do; the fact is that no matter how much weight I lose I won’t ever again look the way that I did when I was 19 (by 21 I already was pregnant with son No. 1).

Pondering this, I think back to those days gone by. If you wanted money on the weekend, for example, you went to Alpha Beta and hoped they’d cash a $25 check for you. Rather than streaming music, you waited for a record to drop – an LP album (by the way, LP stands for “long play”) and not a CD or something else.

In high school I was the only girl in my auto mechanic class. We didn’t deal with computers in cars; it was simple to learn how to change oil or gap a spark plug.

I remember the days when you couldn’t wait for the week’s TV guide to arrive so you could plan your viewing.

VCRs? Who would have guessed that those are now pretty much obsolete when you consider that they came onto the scene in the late ’70s then not much later dominated the home entertainment scene. But the DVD overtook them in popularity and today streaming services are supreme.

Yes, those days are long gone and perhaps that is good for some things. But for a girl who still sees herself with tight body parts, but never loose morals, it’s a hard pill to swallow.

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Today, Thursday, Feb. 16 is the big day. Steve and I are heading to the Panama Canal via a Princess Cruise. For the last few weeks I’ve been poring over travel brochures and excursion options, checking the temperatures in the ports we’ll be visiting (in a word – hot) and considering what clothes I should bring.

When we went to Australia a couple of years ago (PC – pre-COVID), I don’t think I was as nervous. But I also had Montrose Travel on my side, planning out everything. I am so thankful that I have a new “travel agent” by my side: our office manager Rachelle Miller.

When it became apparent that I was starting to panic, Rachelle took the reins to ask the questions of Princess Cruises that I needed answered then figured out the technology employed by the cruise line that overwhelmed me.

Today, I confidently head out knowing that the people of CV Weekly will hardly miss me – hardly, not entirely.

I hope to have WiFi capability and will send my columns over to keep you abreast of our travels.