Have you ever thought about why you like Friday? Some will think.....why in the world is that woman asking us that because there is only one answer......P A R T Y!
Yes, when I was young that thought went through my mind several times on Friday morning. In those days, I thought, yippee tonight is beer night.....we can go out and swig a few beers and get a good feeling of release. And have a few more beers, and feel good and woozy and drive home all over the road. And oh my goodness tomorrow morning the old head would ache and the bed spun around a few times during the night.....anyone remember those days?
Now, I'm not questioning anyone's plans for Fridays......I'm just remembering what it was like for some of us many years ago. It's my firm belief that we all went/go through those periods of time when Fridays were/are really really really important to us because work was/is so hard. If I address the older folks, I firmly believe it's different. Many older persons, have spent their lifetime working their fingers to the bone to raise and educate kids, save money for retirement, and some even frugally lived and pinched pennies to assure the bank account was healthy, and gave up Friday night PARTY night many moons ago. It's just a way of life as we get older.
But when a person gets older, what the heck do you do on Friday night and Saturday ..... or I guess I should say the whole weekend. I'm sure there are some older folk clubs around which older persons could go to. My ideas about these types of places are that a person probably goes in to this type club and plays checkers or chess, or watches television with a group of cane carrying oldies. Or, maybe in the corner over there is a craft table, where a person can crochet a few potholders, or do some cross-stitch. Or maybe cut out felt pieces which can be glued on the bottom of your coffee cup so the furniture doesn't get scratched. Oh wait, there's a donation box with a little sign that says, "coffee $.25 per cup....if you empty the pot, make a new one". Wait a minute.........I see a stack of magazines six inches high with dates from 1999. Just my idea of fun! HA HA HA NOT! I guess I shouldn't say that because some of my readers really might like to go to this type of place, and for that reason, I apologize. I'm just inserting a bit of humor, because before long I probably really will be one of those cane toting (don't tell anyone right now I'm using a cane but only for a while) persons who really likes to cut out felt pieces.
Right now I'm in the present. Not long ago my daughter really asked me "When you get old, what do you do on the weekend?" At the time I was taken aback at this question. I started my answer with, it depends. Well of course it depends.....and I don't mean that I am wearing a "depends". It just depends on the year of my life and how much money I have to spend and how far I want to go and what's going on. That answer didn't satisfy her so I had to elaborate.
One of the things we do is go to the grandkids' sports games or other school activities. It makes a grandparent so proud to be able to sit and cheer on the kiddies. And it gives us bragging rights for the next week's telephone or facebook conversations. Then, there's the local casino. If you've been to a casino, older persons seem to dominate. That could be because through the years they penny-pinched and now they think, what the heck, "I'm spending my kid's inheritance". Or, older folks could be there because they are bored and not ready for one of those clubs I described.
Another activity would be an auction. Going to an auction in the older years of life seems to be a popular thing to do. But when you think of it, an older person has spent a lifetime gathering up items in each room of the house and sometimes the house is overflowing. But, these older folks still like to buy things at auctions. Is it the thrill of bidding against that old biddy down the street, and out bidding her so she doesn't win the auction prize. Sometimes the bidding wars get so bad, that the auction price goes much higher than a new in the box item of the same brand. But an auction is still a choice of some, because it's something to do on a Friday night or other weekend day or night.
How about one of my most favorite things to do on a Friday night......going out to eat fish. Greasy old walleye or catfish or carp or buffalo fish, deep fried with all of the trimmings. Potato salad, baked beans, rye bread, sliced onion (marriage for many years waives the bad smell of onion breath), and sometimes a basket of french fried potatoes. This is called "heart attack on a plate", but boy do I love it on a Friday night. My one night to splurge on fat grams and calories. I figure that "statin" I'm taking will do its work and hold down the cholesterol for this one time a week. Now when I think about fish, I do want good tasting fish and around Greenview there aren't a whole lot of places which has what I term excellent fish. The local cafe on the hardroad has walleye, but to me it's not the best in the world, but I don't really like walleye. What is called walleye around here isn't really walleye......it's some kind of white fish which used to be termed junk fish......real walleye tastes much different. Now give me some good old buffalo which has been scored and fried right and it can't be beat. But no where around here has that really good fish. The nearest place we used to go to was Verna's cafe in Chandlerville. I heard it changed owners so don't know if it's the same. The best place around to get all-you-can-eat walleye is the Capital City Bar & Grill in Springfield, next to Big Lots in the Capital City Plaza off south Dirsken Parkway. You can get regular or cajun walleye (I think cajun tastes best). It comes with potato chips, 2 pieces of bread and a pickle spear. For a dollar more you can order a huge basket of homemade french fries which can easily be shared among two people. The fish is $6.99 for all-you-can-eat. My idea of a good Friday night thing to do.
Now that I think about it, there's not a whole lot of other things to do in Greenview or for that matter Springfield. We have been known to go to Peoria and do the riverboat ride. Or sometimes we go shopping, or sometimes on the weekend we go for a ride on our motorcycle or in our car as long as gas is at a reasonable rate. We have occasionally gone to a muni opera show, or a concert at the university. I guess in retrospect, finding things to do leaves me in a quandary. Maybe some of my readers don't have that problem, and I would love to hear about your ideas of a good Friday night or weekend endeavor!!!! Chuckling as I leave this subject......
Greenview News.
This week's Greenview Blab was certainly disappointing. I had to get out my hand held magnifying glass to find the Greenview articles. Here's a synopsis of the news.
1. Old appliance drop off at the city dump is scheduled for June 25, June 26, July 2, and July 3. It's free. No computers, no televisions, no monitors, and by all means no toilets!
2. The Greenview Food Pantry is benefiting from a grant from the Morgan Stanley Foundation. The Food Pantry is currently serving 25 to 30 families (70 persons) and it is hard to keep ahead with the high price of food and the reduced donations to the Central Illinois Food Pantry from which much of the food is purchased. Recently we unfortunately had a couple of deaths in the family and we directed memorials to the Greenview Food Pantry.....I know these donations were much appreciated. If you can find it in your heart to give a small donation to the Food Pantry, it might save someone's life.
3. Vacation Bible School at the Greenview Christian Church is June 26 - 30 at 6:15 to 8:15 pm
4. A former resident, Gail Miller, is being honored with a memorial ride sponsored by the New Salem Shriners on June 26. Sign-up begins at 11:30 at Weebles on Peoria Road in Springfield. Stops will include Chilli Bear's in Greenview (Bill Willis Bar/Cafe), T.T.'s in Easton, The Pub in Havana, Slick Penney's in Chandlerville, and the final stop at The Grainery in Pleasant Plains. Complimentary food at each stop and registered riders will receive a meal ticket for a meal at the end of the ride. All vehicles welcome but the majority I'm sure will be motorcycles.
Not a whole lot of news for our town, but it's at least something. Through next week perhaps I can tell about a few things which are going on in the area.
What's To Eat At Our House Tonight
The Cook' s night off at this house. And we haven't decided where to go.....but I'm sure it will drive up the cholesterol and fat! But if you need an idea, here's a few:
Grilled Cheese Sandwich or Grilled Hamburger or Grilled Chicken Breast.
Did You Know??
A vanilla bean is extracted from the Orchid. Proteins extracted from a T. Rex fossil most closely relate to a chicken.
The State of Illinois has a new website for lots of general information. Supposedly it's raw Illinois state government data. Here 'tis, although I really haven't had time to explore the site.
Thought For The Day
Life is like a coin.
You can spend it any way you wish,
but you can only spend it once.
--Lillian Dickson
The rest of the weekend is mine to enjoy. I will take time to thank God for everything in my life. Then I will attempt to live the life of a good person this weekend and count my blessings that the little town of Greenview has been a big part of my life. It surrounded me as I grew as a child and a young adult, it educated me, it taught me life's lessons, it provided me with wonderful friends (and maybe a few enemies too), and now it is my home. Not too bad....it could have been worse. Later......
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