The Musical Chairs of Life

Talking with my husband about someone who used to be someone, he said, "Well, she just got caught up in the musical chairs of life and ended that round without a chair." How perfect. Another example of his knack for coming up with the perfect phrase now and then. We've all ended up without a chair now and then. The trick is to get back into the music and grab another seat. I've done that many times during my working career, when someone decided they didn't like the cut of my jib -- usually a woman -- or when a regime changed and the office dominos collapsed. The main reason I didn't get along with female managers was that they always thought they had to be smarter and know more than everyone who reported to them. Otherwise, why have the job?! I had one or two male superiors who were under that delusion, but it was mostly women. When I retired, I wanted to thank everyone who had mentored me in my 40 years of working life. I wanted to name them in a group e-mail, but try as I might, I could not name one woman who had helped me. Not one. How sad. But as I have said before, enough about envy in the workplace.



Speaking of delusional, Mike Fisher said he would love Carrie Underwood, "even if she weighed 800 pounds." Please. That is so pathetic. Have you ever noticed that all hockey wives look exactly alike? I guess that goes for all wives of sports pros. They all have that Barbie-doll look. Every single one of them. It must relate to the arrested development of all professional athletes. They are stuck in adolescence and their teenage years and never get past the cheerleader phase. Well, at least they have money.



Watched a movie the other day called, That Hagen Girl. Shirley Temple played a teenager who was picked on by everyone because she was adopted. One scene had her being called before the school disciplinary committee after a boy at a school dance cornered and kissed her. Naturally, she was at fault for "leading him on". Next she was actually expelled because she was found guilty of dating the wrong boy and entrapping him. When a friend tried to console her at the local soda fountain, she said to Shirley..."Cheer up. You've got great teeth and two years of french. You'll find a new man right away." Other than the french part, she could have been talking about horse flesh.

Remember, this was the era when girls who were raped "asked for it". Not long ago, the mantra for the charmers in the engineering faculty at Queen's was..."No means more beer!" Ah well, that's engineers for you. Everything and everyone is a machine with parts and date rape is the norm.

More about adoption later. As an adoptee myself, I have lots to say. I will also blog about my Dad, one of the greatest people I have ever known.