...of Cabbages and Kings

It's been nearly a month since my last posting. I've been very busy lighting up the Internet via Facebook and Twitter, getting used to short messages. Yet today I want to say a bit more, as the Walrus said, "to talk of many things," so decided to jump on the blog.

I'm a big proponent of seniors giving up their car keys when it's apparent they are a danger to everyone around them when they get behind the wheel. That being said, it's really REALLY hard to give up driving. I did it for a month while my right foot healed from surgery to remove a bunion and hammertoe. Life was NOT great during that time of having to depend on people to schlep me to and from the office, meetings, church, supermarket, doctor's appointments, and so much more. I gave up my independence and hated it. So now I know how much it will "suck," if and when I need to give up my driving privileges forever.

Gary and I went to Anne Nelson's memorial service at CBS "TV City" in Los Angeles last week and enjoyed being with a couple hundred of Anne's friends, associates and family members. Did you know Art Linkletter is still alive? He's 97 and he was one of the best eulogists that night. Leslie Moonves, CEO of CBS, was a speaker too. So was I (never miss a chance to tell a good story), and so was the actor Robert Conrad, who was one of Anne's best friends. My cousin, Dru, and her mom, my Aunt Bettie, were delighted to pose for a photo with Donna Mills, from Knot's Landing, one of their all-time favorite shows.

We have a pumpkin patch in our backyard now. We're also growing cabbages, lettuce, tomatoes, basil, parsley, peppers and more. I love having a little herb and veggie garden. The only challenge is keeping the dogs out of it. I guess that's better than trying to keep rabbits out.

Attended an excellent WomanSage presentation about social networking by Denise Shiffman, author of "The Age of Engage." She says you simply must be on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. I'm on all three; however I wasn't really using LinkedIn or Twitter until I listened to Denise. I went from seven to 70 contacts on LinkedIn within a few days. Don't know how many I have now. And I started Tweeting too. One of my Silverado associates, Mary Poole, tweets about Alzheimer's and dementia - constantly. In fact, she has so much information that we are using it in the Silverado clinical blog.

Speaking of Silverado's blogs, we now have two. You can check them out by clicking on the button on our "landing page" - www.silveradosenior.com. The Silverado Life blog writing is being shared by me and our marketing intern, Tara, who is a welcome addition to our team this summer.

Have you ever heard of fire-hooping? Tara the intern is an MBA candidate at Cal State University, Fullerton, and she is also a professional "fire-hooper," who twirls a torch-lit hula hoop around her waist. I watched her in a video and couldn't keep my mouth closed. Gary and I are thinking of hiring her to perform at a party in our backyard later this summer.

My associate, Patty, is keeping the King of Pop alive here in our office. She has been listening to all Michael Jackson, all the time, for nearly a month. Actually, I think today is the first day since Jackson's untimely death that I haven't heard "Beat It" or "Billie Jean" coming from her office. Maybe it's time to "Heal the World" and get on with life.

Gary went on a four-day fishing trip this past weekend and returned with 8 pounds of yellowtail. I wanted to make sashimi, but instead we took it over to Kathy J's house and had a sunset grilled fish-fest overlooking the big fish's former home, the Pacific Ocean. The fish was delicious, although Gary insisted on having steak because he doesn't like fish. Ironic, yes - but more fish for me.

I'm out of the dreadfully unpleasant "bigfoot boot" now and into a little shoe for a few weeks until my foot heals enough to fit into a sneaker. At least I can drive, which is great because now I can go over and visit my mom and listen to her complain constantly about not being able to drive any more.