Author: madamtruefire1

OK you found me out. I'm a semi retired microbiologist and author. This somewhat unholy alliance has led to many articles, four novels and one bio thriller about to be hatched. I have no earthly excuse not to write volumes except that I have this belief system that I must be in some dangerous place to be inspired. Hence, I exercise every ounce of frequent flyers I possess. My travels worldwide have inspired much of my writing and, of course, been involved in my bio work as well. It is now time that I pay attention to the calendar and get cracking. Riding two horses of two parallel careers can be a bit uncomfortable and hard on the hips. One last confession, I love all animals to bits. I pet sit anyone from dogs and pussycats, to kangaroos and the occasional emu. They help and inspire my writings and often write their own journals. Another career? Perhaps. let me saddle up my third horse.

A Fond Fair Thee Well to Lingering

by madamtruefire1, posted in Humor Insights

A Fond Fair Thee Well to Lingering….

To linger in the past is a well known recipe for illness. Holding on with white knuckles to what might have beens and if I’d onlys and exacting some sort of invisible list of regrets should be obvious enough; but let’s ponder some other faulty Lingerings……

Identifying oneself via career and refusing to change even when the economy throws a cog into the ever turning wheel can insure not only stress, tsunami sized stress, but equally large sized disappointment. It’s also important not to linger in a job that no longer suits who you are.

Growing up and beyond anything is a guaranteed road to freedom. Most people don’t give themselves true freedom. It’s far safer to lock the doors of what ifs and hunker down in the good ole status quos of life. This, by the way, cements the linger phenomenon. Buses, trains and planes are missed on the road to holding on tightly to an identification that no longer fits.

I suggest buying that tic ket on the bus, train or plane to Somewhere, and with wide eyed wonder, showing up at a stop and leaping perkily into a new adventure. OK, That sounds too scary for most. The What ifs of fear, lack and potential failure are a mighty Trinity. But if, for one moment, one shining moment, we could turn off all the buzz, the wifis, the dings of texts, you know, the every day fast lane and ponder a Plan B, it might be fun and frankly life saving.

Seniors are a fabulous example of this fork in the road option. Have you ever wondered why some septa and octagenarians are distinctly following the path of extinction while a few others are trotting the light fantastic, having fabulous love lives, and making their own kids wonder if they are ever going to get serious and be the parents and grand parents that they were promised.

Does the secret lie in good genes? Maybe sometimes; but mostly it’s attitude.

Don’t get me wrong. Illness of any kind is the quickest road to aging I know of; but infectious disease aside, lifestyle illness is truly the red light zone.

Retirement is another factor that may take too long to discuss today, but it’s prudent to have a Plan B for any life change whether it is employment downsizing, economic debacle or a broken hip.

It is pretty clear that the word PUNT could be important.

Sitting down again without electronics and examining one’s life might be helpful. Actually, how about asking the question: What do I really want to do with the rest of my life? It’s important and it may take more than five minutes with a smart phone in stun mode.

So let’s get back to the elders who don’t appear to be accepting status quo. One of the leading causes is their ability to surf change. Another is their dedication to ditch that very Status Quo. AND, that, my dears, is where Plan BE kicks in.

Geri Lennon (Madam Truefire) copyrighted June 28, 2013

How to Hold the Heart of a Woman

by madamtruefire1, posted in Heart

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It’s really very simple.  After all that’s said and done.

After all the bellowing of liberation and believe me suits

and attache cases, we still appreciate:

  1. Flowers that arrive for no reason whatsoever.
  2. Gifts of thoroughly and irrevocably impractical “girl things”.
  3. Being shown how to clean our battery terminals.
  4. Helping to snow shovel the driveway.
  5. Saying “Yahoo, go get em!” when we do something wildly courageous.
  6. Holding hands in public or at least brushing a shoulder quickly.
  7. Finding things that have disappeared on our Hard drive.
  8. Dancing slowly and silkily to an old tune.
  9. Calling on a Thursday afternoon to say, “I love you”.

 

Geri Lennon  1994

Rear View Mirror

by madamtruefire1, posted in Uncategorized

Now, firmly entrenched in my “semi” retirement years,

the moldy oldy strains of “What’s it all about Alfy? play

on a poorly tuned concertina. Could I have done more?

Did I do enough? Should I have taken a different path?

As I sit on a cold winter morning under a fluffy electric

throw on my sacred chez lounge and tightly shut my eyes,

I hear: Enough! Good Enough! No one died. All are fed

and the sun will still rise.

One daughter wanted me to be Indira Gandhi. The other

expected Betty Crocker. While trying to satisfy both

orders, I had to settle for divorced mom, no soccer, three

jobs, night school and still be the Betty Indira hybrid.

In the end, the score was 0-0. I gave up both images

and took the middle road: a mix of Irma Bombeck

and Mother Teresa.

It’s laughable looking back and gauging all the muddling

and striving to be a better parent, balancing a career,

and somewhat languishing sex life and suddenly, they

were out of the nest and I was 50 with an octagenarian

mom on board. Caregiving became 24/7 as I saddled

up to do High Noon with greedy relatives racing

toward an imagined legacy.