No Backsies

When I was growing up, all us kids had a 'No Backsies' rule. No backsies was just that - if you gave or traded something, you couldn't get it back no matter what, and if you got something, you hung onto it until you were ready to part with it. No backsies was a very convenient rule to live by, mostly because it gave us a way to get rid of unwanted stuff, with no threat of it returning to us unasked for. No backsies was almost as convenient as the 'Do Over'. The Do Over was invoked when you messed something up and needed another shot at it to get it right. It was particularly useful in stick ball or jump rope or other street sports. The bad thing about the Do Over, though, is that it doesn't have as much of a place in the grown up world. For example...Yelling "Do Over" when pulled by the traffic police does not have any impact on the size of the speeding ticket you get. In fact, doing so might cause the officer to invoke the 'No Backsies' rule with the driver's license you handed over to them. Another time the Do Over rule is never useful is when parenting children. If you have foolishly said in the hearing of children how obnoxious Aunt Jane is, or that Sue really should not be wearing shorts with that skin issue she has...the children will never honor the Do Over. They will not let you live it down and will in fact, share your outspoken thoughts with anyone and everyone sufficient to cause maximum embarrassment and shame. Then of course, when you voice the ultimate Do Over threat to them - "I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it", they smugly reply "No Backsies".

Boot Tale

So, despite the fact that I don't have a lot of them anymore, I really love shoes and boots. It's a woman thing, I think, that I share with most of my girlfriends. I recently was reminded about how far my obsession with shoes and boots used to go (used to...hah!) when reminiscing with a school chum whom I traveled to Europe with. We went to Paris and London - it was a trip entrenched with cultural activities designed to bore even the most avid historian or anglophile. And, while I remember the Eiffel Tower (yes, I really did take that photograph), Notre Dame cathedral, Buckingham Palace and all the other landmarks which are required tourist viewing, what I remember most, with eyes that glisten with the delight of my memory, was the BOOTS. Yes. The boots. THE boots. THE MOST AMAZING BOOTS I HAD EVER SEEN AND THEREFORE HAD TO POSSESS! They were in a small, out of the way shop in the heart of Chelsea - a shop that catered to rockers and mods as only London did back in those days. They were soft black lambskin leather, with four inch stiletto heels, toes so pointy I could use them as a dibbler to plant tulip bulbs with, and they went up to THERE! Oh, they were the most fabulous boots I had ever seen...I bought them, of course, even though it took all the money I had, plus some loans from my fellow travelers. As a result, for the last three days of my European vacation I drank only water and ate the inevitably stale 'biscuits' the British were so fond of serving along with meals, that my travel companions kindly left for me on the table. When I arrived back in the States, noticeably thinner, I strutted with pride across the airport terminal in my beautiful new boots. It was a GREAT trip!

Shark Tales

So, the fishing hasn't been so good where I live lately. Maybe the excruciatingly cold winter took it's toll on the bass and trout populations, or maybe I am just a really poor fisherman, but I can't seem to catch ANYTHING these days! In the very middle of the summer, things slow down, but by now I should be stocking my freezer for those days when I am just too lazy to go on the river. Last week, I thought my luck was changing - I had a nice hit; I let the fish really take it's time with the shrimp I had on the line, and when I was pretty sure I was good to go, I reeled in...only to find a bonnet head shark swimming alongside my line, trying to get the rest of the shrimp off of the hook! The fish are definitely getting smarter.