Celebrating Sixty in New York City

New York City

On my 60th birthday we traveled to the Big Apple. We have been before, but there is always something new and different going on in New York. My friend from high school, who happened to marry one of Jim's fraternity brothers, was turning 60 three days after me, so they joined us for a long weekend. We have gone on vacation with them several times before, so we knew that we would have a good time.

Air travel is always an adventure these days. We arrived at the airport in a timely fashion only to find out when checking the bags that our American Airlines flight was delayed. They kindly called me with news of the delay when I was standing in the security line. Thanks for nothing! Of course the line was short since time was of not of the essence. Not wanting to start the trip on a negative note, we headed to a restaurant at the airport for lunch and beverages. Happy birthday to me!

Cheers!

The airline, of course, blamed the delay on LaGuardia Airport traffic. Really? You didn't know about the air traffic there when you selected the flight time for your plane? Any way, we finally boarded the sardine can - my name for the planes with one seat on one side, two seats on the other. After another small delay, we pulled out onto the Tarmac. Things were looking up! Nope - false alarm. There we sat. But it was all good because the flight attendant brought us each a mint. Then we all got a cup of water. But I knew we were in trouble when she announced that due to the "length of the flight" (2.5 hours), she was offering us each a snack. You know, the ones where you pay $2 for five potato chips? I knew we were not going anywhere soon.

We finally took off and ran into some pretty bad weather for the last part of the trip. There was a lot of turbulence, and the view outside my window was that of the proverbial pea soup. When the pilot announced that we were sixteen minutes away from landing, we both sighed in relief. But then sixteen became thirty, which became forty-five, all with no further updates from the cockpit. That is when I became nervous, which frayed Jim's nerves because I never get nervous on planes. Just as we were beginning to wonder if the 10:00 news was going to be carrying our story, I saw lights down below. Whew! Once on the ground, things moved quickly and we were in a cab on our way to midtown. After a harrowing cab ride, we arrived at our hotel several hours later than planned.

The Court Hotel

We were delighted to find that we had been assigned a corner room on the 9th floor, which gave us a nice view of the Chrysler Building. It was playing peek-a-boo through the fog the first night. The down side of this room was that it faces a busy street that was teeming with traffic 20 hours of each day. And the horn honking! Oh my! All hours of the day and night. What in the world bothered drivers so much that they had to lay on the horn at 4:00 in the morning? They were awake, so we should be awake? New Yorkers are very impatient. Waiting in your car for fifty pedestrians to cross the street when they have the Walk sign? The cars behind you won't like that. Honk, honk, honk! Cars standing still on the road because there is nowhere to go? Hooooonk! There - that will get them to move! Unbelievable...

Our friends had arrived early in the day, and shared their stories of schlepping around New York in the rain. The hairdryer in their room got a workout as they attempted to dry clothes and shoes for later use. They had waited for us to eat, so we grabbed a nice dinner at the Italian restaurant across the street from the hotel. It was a good time to catch up and make our plans for Thursday. More on that in the next post...

Sixty is NOT the New Fifty

me in 1956

Today I turn sixty. News media have bandied about that sixty is the new fifty (or forty or even thirty, in some extremely optimistic articles)! I think they have it all wrong. There are some things I could do in my younger years that don't work out so well for me now. For the most part, they are insignificant: trying to stay awake after two alcoholic beverages (or after 10:30, with or without alcohol), stepping off a curb incorrectly and feeling it in my back the next day, or being able to sleep all the way through the night. On the other hand, I didn't have certain life experiences back then - the ones that enable me today to deal with difficult people and tough situations, and help me treasure all the good things that have come my way. I have enjoyed each decade of my life so far - some more than others - and can truly say I wouldn't want to go back to my thirties or forties even if it was possible to do so. I love my life right now, and am more than grateful for the man who has shared it with me for the past thirty-seven plus years.

Sixty is just a number. Do I think it is a different sixty than my mother or grandmothers experienced? Of course. In many ways my life is much easier than it ever was for my ancestors. Modern conveniences have made it so that much less time is spent on mundane chores like laundry, cooking and cleaning. Changes in transportation and technology make it possible to connect much more easily and quickly with our family and friends. I certainly have more leisure time than my grandmothers ever had.

registering students to vote 1974

Why do we make so much out of certain birthdays? Thirteen seemed magical to me because I was finally a teenager. At sixteen I could drive a car, though in our one-car family that didn't happen very often. It was also when I got my first job (outside of baby-sitting for $.50 an hour) as a waitress at the long-forgotten Kings Food Host. Receiving the minimum wage of $1.60 an hour seemed huge at the time. When I turned eighteen I registered to vote, and due to my early birthday became a registrar so that I could sign up my fellow senior class members at the high school. I could also legally drink because that was the law in Iowa at the time. I guess that took away some of the excitement of turning twenty-one.

But what about the birthdays after the much touted "21"? They all seemed to pass in a blur. College graduation, marriage, moves, graduate school, jobs, raising children and starting new businesses mark the passage of time. Like pages from those little flip books we used to make as kids, images fly through my mind. From a newly-made family of two who became a family of four, we returned to a family of two when our children followed in our footsteps, going to college and then taking jobs far from home. Life happens.

As I continue to travel down life's highway at my new speed limit of 60, here are my takeaways from the first 59 years of living:

• You have to love yourself before you can truly love others.
• Life can be difficult, but if it was easy we would never appreciate the good things that come along.
• Most things we worry about never come to fruition.
• Take the dream trip. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.
• Ditch the negative people. They will only bring you down. You can rarely raise them up.
• Try new things. They keep your brain sharp and expose you to new people.
• Most importantly, find (and keep) your sense of humor.

Age is an attitude, not a number that defines us. Sixty is just sixty - and that is fine with me.

Shooting the Dead

Bellefontaine Cemetery

The Women in Focus group that I belong to met at the Bellefontaine Cemetery Sunday afternoon to take some photos. The cemetery was established in 1849 on what was then 138 acres in rural St. Louis County, fortuitously right before the great cholera epidemic that hit the city in June of that same year. It became the first rural cemetery west of the Mississippi River. Today the cemetery sits on 314 acres and is the final resting place for over 87,000 people, including many of the Who's Who of St. Louis history.

With its park-like setting, the cemetery hosts many events throughout the year, such as the Beer Baron Tour, where you can view the tombs and graves of the men who made St. Louis famous for its beer. You can sample some wares as well. On this particular Sunday there was a yoga class as well as a walking tour taking place on the grounds.

Seven of us showed up for this event, which isn't too bad for a busy fall weekend. The leaf colors have not been too dramatic so far this season, and since this is my favorite time of year I have been somewhat disappointed. But the cemetery quickly lifted my spirits. Ha! There was beautiful color on the trees, as well as some summer flowers that are taking advantage of our mild fall. We certainly enjoyed the nice weather as we walked around the cemetery taking photos and talking about the different stones we came upon. It is so nice to be affiliated with a group of like-minded women sharing our passion for photography.

Bellefontaine Cemetery

Bellefontaine Cemetery