Playing Catch-Up

I guess it is time I did a little catching up on this blog because I’m getting private e-mails from friends wondering if I’m OK. I am doing just fine, although I have been very busy. Maybe after the holidays I’ll be a little more conscientious about keeping up with posts.

The busy-ness of the holidays and my ongoing library work doesn’t include the computer catastrophe that has taken a toll on my available time, not to mention my disposition, over the past few weeks. I’ve been having a hankering for a desktop computer with a big screen, so I bought one. Instead of being smart and moving my data from the old computer to the new one on my own, I purchased the service as an “add-on”. In my case, this move proved to be a big mistake. Don’t ever leave your computer in the hands of someone you don’t know. Computer sales people and technicians come and go from all the stores that sell computers, and it would be undeniably impossible for a store to know if all the people they hire are honest. The individual who was to do my data transfer called me and said that my old laptop computer crashed before the move was complete. When I went to pick up the old laptop and the new desktop, this young man told me that my old laptop was junk, worthless, crashed, and would never be of any value except for scrap. I was in Memphis, it was late afternoon, and I was totally worn out and wanting to come home, so I swallowed his story about how I should be a good steward of the environment and allow him to send the “scrap heap” back to the factory for recycling. When I got home and started trying to set up the new computer, I immediately had big problems with the portion of data that did get loaded onto the new computer so I called the customer service number listed on the website of the manufacturer. As the customer service person on the other end of the line began to hear my story, he broke the news to me that this recycling business was not at all in line with the company’s policies. He advised me that I should never have left my computer behind. So..... I made MH (who can be quite scary) go with me the next day to reclaim the old computer. When I got back home with the old computer I discovered that it had not crashed at all. It booted right up. My name was still on it. The newest operating system had been installed, as well as a copy of Microsoft Works, which I had never had on my computer before. Well, all of this begged a whole new set of worries. Everything about me was on that old computer - my address, my social security number, my credit card info, and on and on. Sadly, most of my library documents did not make the move and had been deleted. I don’t know what the would-be thief’s intentions were, but I’m guessing he was about to pocket a little cash on the sale of a used laptop. Besides losing a lot of valuable data, I was forced to assume that my identity was compromised. The damage control for possible identity theft just goes on and on. So, folks - I’ve been a very busy and inconvenienced woman.

On the bright side of things..... we had a near perfect Thanksgiving and I am having a good time getting ready for Christmas. I like Christmas trees and since I am not a spring chicken, I have accumulated many ornaments over the years. I’ve got 3 decorated trees. My favorite is the one that is decorated with miniature toy ornaments and strands of colored lights.




































I was honored to be asked to serve as the Grand Marshal for Dyersburg’s 60th Annual Christmas parade. I thought it quite the coincidence that Dyersburg’s parade tradition began the year I was born. I was never a beauty queen so this was my first ride on the back of a convertible, but being a beauty queen in adolescence could never have competed with the joy of having my grandchildren share this experience. This is a link to the photo that appeared in the local newspaper: http://www.stategazette.com/story/1684590/photo/1412906.html
It was mighty cold that night, but the grandchildren had a wonderful time. MH nearly froze as he had not anticipated riding with us and was not warmly dressed. He only relented because the grandchildren begged him to go along. He said it was the middle of the night before his feet thawed out. My talented and creative friend, Dianne, made an adorable float to represent our library and our fundraising campaign. It was a huge pig wearing a headband of antlers decorated with bright multicolored lights. The library float won 2nd place this year. I guess they hated to give us 1st place again since we won 1st place last year. Dianne is a lady of strength, courage, determination, and fortitude. She was undergoing chemo for ovarian cancer while she made that float. She worked alone because her blood count was very low and her susceptibility to infection was very high. Her chemo is finally over, her scans are clear, and we are all celebrating. Since I was busy riding in the parade, I did not get a photo of the library float. If I can find someone who took a picture of it, I’ll share in a later post. It was adorable.