Rainey Blogs on Some Days

I am spending my birthday this year getting an oil change. I do not need a TV in the waiting room at the Chrysler dealership while I am waiting for my car to be serviced. I would prefer silence with all of us just sitting here looking at each other every now and then, imagining what the other person's life is like. For example, a woman is sitting across from me who looks like a young Woody Allen and I'm just thinking to myself, “What are the chances on my birthday of seeing a woman who looks like Woody Allen?” Just when I was having doubts about getting an oil change and tire rotation on my birthday, this unexpected gift comes to me. I also do not need the psycho reality TV shows yelling and screaming in the background. I can sit and read a book or write a few paragraphs on my steno pad while I wait. Same thing for the airport. I don't need a TV or laptop or iPad to babysit for me while my flight is delayed. I can use the time to think, to ponder the meaning of li...

I called my Grandmother to wish her a happy Mother's Day. "He's not feeling too good. He's turning 90 on his birthday. July 18," she said. "Does he stay active?" I said. "Well, he hires the lawn out, but he does little stuff around here," she said. "At least he does not clean the gutters himself anymore," I said. I hope they are not buying twelve-month certificates of deposit or extended warranties. They do not need a deep freezer for frozen strawberries. They should only buy fresh. They should not wish for the Cardinals to try to build a team from their farm system. They need them to win now. He's turning 90 on his birthday. He was my age in late December back in '63, the year his son and my mother got together, just as the song says. Maybe they were still mourning Kennedy’s assassination and thought they should steal a moment in the back of a ’60 Ford Falcon. But the moment turned into a baby boy and a life together. Then th...