Focused at Fifty

During one of our "on the road" conversations the other morning, my sister Sheryl and I remarked to each other about how not many people take the time to write out a thank you card anymore. Now I am not talking about the verbal expression, although that has fallen into disuse as well these days. A verbal thank you is better of course than nothing. I am talking about the written expression of thank you. In our increasingly instant messaging society, written thank yous are a dying breed. They are going the way of birthday cards, holiday cards, and telephone landlines. People have stopped sending cards and instead Twitter or Facebook “Happy Birthday” or “Merry Christmas."  When it comes to the Facebook "Happy Birthday," I admit it; I am guilty as charged. We, as a society, have become so wrapped up in our own lives, that the quick electronic greeting is now becoming acceptable! Also, people no longer call each other for Sunday evening calls to find out how the ext...

I have only ever been summoned for jury duty once while living in Pennsylvania. Everyone can now let out their collective groans and say "Ugh!" I know that’s just what I did. For years, I had avoided jury duty by not being in the right place at the right time. My number just didn’t “come up.” I was moving every other year from apartment to apartment in different neighborhoods in Philly. I moved from Society Hill to Graduate Hospital to Rittenhouse Square to Olde City to the Art Museum neighborhood. And I am  thankful that the wonderfully "slow on jury duty paperwork" City of Philadelphia just never pegged me down for the time honored tradition of jury duty. It was June of 1998 when I moved out to Media, PA in Delware County and I loved it. I was living there happily for a couple years in suburban bliss when one day I received that letter marked JURY DUTY that everyone hates to get! I was to report to the court house in one month's time and take my me...