February 6, 2008
Dear Everyone:
A few weeks ago, “Jeannie” decided that she needed
a new cordless phone, the reason being that the one she had would no
longer hold a charge for very long.
Now, the logical thing would have been to visit a nearby
electronics store, phone in hand, and have the people there help figure
out what kind of replacement battery to buy and put into the phone.
But that wouldn’t be fun.
Instead, we went to the Big Blue Electronics
Warehouse Store and looked at both phones and
vacuum cleaners.
Ever since she replaced her carpeting with tile and hardwood,
“Jeannie” has also needed a new vacuum.
She had done all the research, going to the Big Orange Hardware
Warehouse Store from which she had acquired both the tile and hardwood
and they assured her that This Model was perfect for her floors, only
they didn’t sell it.
So while “Jeannie” grilled a sales representative
on vacuum cleaners, I checked out cordless phones.
I was inclined toward the same make that I’ve had for years.
It records messages and tells you the number that is calling,
literally intoning, “1-877-555-1234”.
And it let’s you enter dozens of numbers into its handset.
It even plays different ring tones for different callers.
This is how I know when “Jeannie” is calling from either her home
or cell phone.
Of course, that model is way out of date now, so I
picked one that was not only expandable, but even included three extra
handsets, complete with their own chargers.
“Jeannie’s” take was:
“You mean I can lose up to three handsets and still be able to use the
phone?”
This makes absolute sense.
When “Marshal” was staying at “Jeannie’s” over the Holidays, he
wondered why a load of laundry was making so much noise.
“Are you washing sneakers?”
No. “Jeannie”
investigated and found the remote control to the
VCR/DVD player in the
washing machine. Remarkably,
the remote works just fine.
So losing a handset to the laundry is a very real possibility.
And, since I had two $50 gift cards to the Big Blue
Electronics Warehouse Store, the whole thing cost “Jeannie” only the
sales tax. Naturally the
phone system stayed with me.
I plugged everything in and let the four handsets get charged.
Then I input all the family phone numbers that I had.
The following weekend, I brought it all up to
“Jeannie’s” place and set everything up.
The message center and main handset are in the office.
One handset in the bedroom, one in the bathroom/vanity area.
And one downstairs in the dining room.
We tested it and it worked great.
Then I started thinking about my own phone system.
Sure, it tells you the number that’s calling, but you can only
hear it if you’re downstairs.
Half the time I’m upstairs and have to listen carefully to hear
if anyone I want to talk to is leaving a message, then try to get to the
one upstairs phone before they stop talking.
If I had a system like “Jeannie’s” I could have a handset in each
upstairs bedroom and one in the living room downstairs as well.
Then I’d only be a few feet from a handset that would display who
was calling.
So last Sunday, “Jeannie” and I went to another Big
Blue Electronics Warehouse Store where she bought a very expensive (but
only 17 pounds “light”) vacuum cleaner and I got a phone system just
like hers. Last night,
instead of going to the polls to vote (see last week’s Letter), I input
names and phone numbers into all four handsets.
Just a few minutes ago, the phones rang and I
grabbed the one on the nightstand and saw immediately that it was a
charity that calls and leaves a computer message asking for donations.
No need for me to pick up the call.
I like it.
Also last Sunday, our niece, “Liza”, came to visit,
so we went to a movie together.
When I read the review of
Juno last December, it sounded like a lovely film, but it wasn’t
playing anywhere. When it
did arrive at our local art house, “Jeannie” wasn’t particularly
interested. But when “Liza”
and I both voted to see it, “Jeannie” decided to come along, especially
since it was my turn to pay.
Juno is
an absolute gem of a coming-of-age story about a sixteen-year-old girl
who gets pregnant.
Ellen
Page plays Juno MacGuff, a teenager who decides to have her baby and
give it up for adoption. She
has already made this decision when she tells her father and stepmother
the situation.
J.K. Simmons
and Allison Janney play the parents and their honest reaction, after
Juno drops her bombshell, sets off a marvelous chuckle through the
theater. There are many
mirthful moments.
Such as how Juno finds the prospective adopters,
Valerie and Mark Loring, played by
Jennifer Garner and
Jason Bateman.
As the film progresses, and Juno’s pregnancy advances, she comes
to realize that she’s not quite as grown up as she thinks she is and,
frankly, neither are they.
But everyone has the opportunity to grow and that’s the point.
Not surprisingly, the film has been nominated for:
Best Actress,
Best (Original) Screenplay,
Best Director and
Best
Picture. If you do go to see
it, make sure that you have a clear view of the screen.
Almost at the end, the camera focuses on something hanging on the
wall. A woman leaving the
theater stopped to ask us what it was because she couldn’t quite see it.
It’s important.
Love, as always,
Pete
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