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Antiques & Collectibles

Just hoping to bring a smile or two

11 years ago

I normally frequent the "GW Kitchen Table" forum and for about the last two or three months I have been taking photos of this large plush toy from, which I then add captions to create cartoons.

I was looking through the files tonight and though this one is based upon nastalgia and might bring a smile to someone on this forum...If not, I appologize for the intrusion..

The Jan to whom frog is referring is my wife....

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Comments (12)

chibimimi
11 years ago
Very cute! I'm going to send it to my kids, all of whom were born in the computer age. I remember once asking my 5-year-old for advice on connecting to AOL.
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lindac
11 years ago
Love it!!
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I think I gave people the wrong impression when I said solitary and independent. My cat was not your typical cat. She wasn't the kind of cat that liked to be held (unless it was someone she knew VERY well, and even then she didn't always want to be held), cuddle with you or sit on your lap all day. That's not to say she never wanted to do it, but most of the time she preferred to just sit next to us and enjoy our company. She really did love all of us very much. She just showed it in different ways. Much of her time was spent outside. Looking back on it I'm actually REALLY happy she was an outdoor cat because it meant I didn't have to deal with a litter box most of the year (except in winter). She would come and go as she pleased. We would let her outside every day (weather permitting of course) and let her do her thing, and let her in for meals, if it started raining or if she was tired or something. She LOVED to hunt and spent a lot of time doing so. She would catch rodents and birds and would frequently bring us "presents" (sometimes she just ate them though). We NEVER had problems with mice while she was around, and a few years after she died we had mice in our kitchen over the winters. We truly took for granted the service she was doing us, and we didn't realize how much she was helping us until she was gone. I also planted some catnip for her in one of my gardens and she LOVED it. She would chew on it and rub up against it and it was HILARIOUS. I still have a few plants in my garden to remember her by. She would also wander the neighborhood sometimes, frequently visiting our neighbors. These visits got her pregnant at a very young age, and she ended up having four kittens. We actually wanted to get her fixed and prevent this from happening, but the vet insisted that we wait until after she had her first period. So it happened, and we tried to keep a close eye on her, but all it took was one night and she got pregnant. We don't know if she snuck into a neighbor's yard or if a neighbor's cat came into our yard, but either way it happened and that was that. My parents were a little annoyed when they first found out about it, but eventually we just accepted what's done is done. Even though my parents didn't really want her to have kittens, I think deep down all of us were happy they came. They weren't around for very long, but let me tell you those 6-8 weeks or so that we had them were some of the best days of my life. I loved them very much but unfortunately was not allowed to keep any of them. Thankfully though we were able to find loving homes for all 4 of them very quickly. I cried a little bit when they left, but I knew they were going to good homes, so it was a bittersweet goodbye. As she got older, she started to spend less and less time outside. In her older years she was a lot more cuddly, and I cherished every moment of those last few years. I guess my point of this story is that just like people, cats can have very different personalities, and those personalities can sometimes change as they age. My cat may not have been your typical lap cat, but she was affectionate towards me in other ways (headbutting me, rubbing up against me, and sleeping with me). I will admit that when I first got her, I wasn't expecting her to behave the way she did. The only cats I'd ever met were very cuddly indoor cats, but it just goes to show you how different they can be. I think that domesticating cats has caused them to be less independent than their wild ancestors, and that causes them to be more dependent on us. That's precisely the reason why we love them so much in the first place. But even with all the domesticating we've done some cats still have a few 'wild' genes left in them. Anyways, I think there are definitely advantages to indoor and outdoor cats. If you have an indoor cat they will probably be less independent and more cuddly when you're around, but they won't be getting as much exercise and of course you have to deal with the litter box. A lack of exercise can also lead to weight problems, and thankfully my cat never had any thanks to her active lifestyle. Anyways I've rambled on long enough. I didn't mean to bore you with her life story, but I couldn't think of a better way to explain myself.
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calliope
11 years ago
Soon they'll be asking us old geezers to translate cursive.
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anoriginal
11 years ago
Once kids get old enough that parents can no longe SPELL things they don't want them to know... all they have to do is change to perfect Palmer Method penmanship. Too bad Q and Z don't come up often, cuz kids would NEVER know what they were!
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jemdandy
11 years ago
It ain't funny. I started to write some instructions in cursive for a high school freshman of a friend of ours and he could not read it. I had to print it in caps. This came as a shock to me.

These days, I use a mixed bag of fonts and am lazy with format. However, when the occasion calls for it, I can concentate on style and hand write a presentable from. As I age, my writing is not as smooth as it once was- that's a factor of aging and fine motor control. I was taught the Palmer method of cursive and also learned to print in standard lowerand upper case. Later, I learned a very strict font for engineering drawings. I took pride in handwriting, but in the latter part of my career, that became less important. While in college in 1957, I was offered a job by one of my professors due to my printing and dimensioning skills. Today, a student would need to be proficient in a software package such as Pro-E to recieve the same job offer. The scene has changed, but I hope that good penmanship does not go the way of the buggy whip.
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lazypup
Original Author
11 years ago
Sorry to be the one to have to tell you Jemdandy,,,but good penmanship is already on its way out..

I livein Chicopee, Massachusetts, which is immediately adjacent to Springfield & Holyoke, Mass. Two of the largest cities in the state, and off the top of my head I can list another 15 cities and towns within a 20 mile radius of where I live.

Just yesterday they announced on the news that the Chicopee School district will no longer be teaching cursive writing, because we are the only school within 20 miles to have taught it in the last 5 years.
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antiquesilver
11 years ago
If you don't know cursive, how would you sign anything?

It used to be that not being able to sign one's name was a sign of illiteracy but I guess printing or a computer generated electronic signature is somehow different & acceptable? Sad. Very sad that the 3 'R's most of us learned in early grade school are no longer considered basic education.
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lindac
11 years ago
I went to college in South Hadley. Lazy, I am sure you know where that is.
I'll bet I can take notes faster in cursive than anyone can print.
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lazypup
Original Author
11 years ago
Wow Lindac,,, You have finally fullfilled one of my lifelong dreams..

When I was in the Air Force and stationed at Westover AFB in Chicopee a couple friends and I used to go over to S.Hadley and sit on the patio at the Odysee book store, sipping coffee and hoping, praying, sometimes even pleadig for an opportunity to talk to one of the college girls, but sadly they could see from a distance that we were well below their station in life...LOL

Correct me if I am wrong, but Mt.Holyoke in S.Hadley, Smith College in Amhearst and Vasser in upstate N.Y. are three of the top girls finishing schools in the world.

I don't know this to be a fact, but the last I heard the tuition at Mt.Holyoke is over $50k/semester

Now in regards to cursive..there was a time when I had an elegant hand, but sadly that has been lost over the years. My printing is good, but if you really want to see me print, let me put my earphones on and tune in come CW (morse code) on the radio,,that is how we texted before they invented computers and cell phones..and I still enjoy doing it...LOL
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lindac
11 years ago
Not "girls finishing schools"....very competitive Ivy League Women's colleges.
And the tuition and room and board is over $50K per year....not per semester
Smith is in Northampton....
I married a fly-boy from Westover. The 2nd Louies hung out at The CI....and I married one. His handwriting was better than mine.
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lazypup
Original Author
11 years ago
Lindac,

Please do not feel offended at my comment about Mt.Holyoke being a girls finishing school. In this area it is regarded as a finishing school in the sense that not only does the school provide a world class Ivy League Education, the school goes above and beyond the academics and teaches the girls how to conduct themselves as true "Ladies of Polite Society", whereas at most campuses today they are lucky if they can even maintain the fundamentals of basic manners.
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lindac
11 years ago
Those things certainly were not "taught" but acquired through association. I also learned to smoke, drink,swear and play bridge....all by association with ladies of polite society!

Finishing school connotes a place where there are classes in pouring tea properly, writing a proper thank you note and sitting gracefully. I assure you there are no classes like that at Mt Holyoke.
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