Breeder????

My hearing is not the best, well actually, it's pretty lousy.

So, situations occur...like the other day, I was being introduced to a woman. She said, "Oh, I've heard about you, you're quite the breeder". I thought it was an odd thing to say but that is what I heard so I responded, with a bit of a laugh, "Well, we do have four children, but I'm not sure I qualify as much of a breeder." My husband and the friend making the introductions were saying "No, reader, reader--not breeder" while the lady was looking at me like I was nuts. And my daughter, who is ever so sensitive to social miscues, just walked away shaking her head.

Sometimes I have whole conversations with people and haven't heard anything they said. This can be construed as laziness on my part but you can only say, "what" or "I can't hear you" so many times. In some situations, I do get lazy about trying to listen. This especially happens if I'm at a public event and I can't hear the speaker. I just quit trying and go off into my own thoughts. I find I also do this when I'm in a group of people and there are a lot of cross conversations.

One of my concerns is that when that as hearing becomes more difficult, I retreat more into my own world because its easier. I don't ask people to speak up, I don't fight to be "heard", I tire of trying to hear.

None of this is written to elicit any pity---I don't feel bad about it except that it precludes working as a private investigator or spy--both of which I've thought would be fun. Its hard to get good intel when you can't hear what the bad guys are saying.

The Grammy's of 2017

The outfits were too skimpy, too sparkly, too revealing, too oddly colorful, too outlandish--
what happened to just looking nice, wearing your good dress up clothes and not simply going for the outrageous look.

I can't really comment on the music as that, for the most part, left me behind two decades ago. Certainly many of the performers are talented but I can't listen to the music they make without cringing. That even goes for the new country stars--it all sounds so whiny to me. And this from someone who likes country music.

Some of the songs went on and on and on and I couldn't decipher a single word being said. Apparently several were political in tone but you couldn't prove it by me. Beyonce's thing was overblown and heavy on theatrics, less on music but the critics apparently loved it. I didn't get it.

Sometimes I feel more like an old fuddy dud than usual. And truly, while watching the Grammy Awards, I exhibited every caricature of a stuffed shirt. I tsk'd, I harrumphed, I snorted my derision, and I crowed repeatedly to my son how much better music was in "my day". I lifted my ear horn and squinted at the screen for almost two of the four hours of the show and then had had enough. Off I went to put on my nightcap and soothe myself with a little Johnny Cash. How did I get so old?