Marilyn's Musings

I was an only child for 5 years. Then something happened. My mom gave birth to a baby girl a month too soon. Oh, my, that was the end of having undivided attention. But--it gave me the opportunity to run all over the neighborhood and make friends with the older kids and the elderly neighbors who were always happy to give me cookies and a glass of milk. Mom was too busy with my baby sister to even wonder where I might be. My sister was adorable--but she wasn't always so good. I remember once I was called into the kindergarten class because Margie wasn't behaving. Exactly what she was doing, or what they thought I could do, I have no idea. During World War II families in England were sending their children to other places to keep them safe from the bombing. I told everyone that my sister was a princess who had been sent to us to take of her for the duration of the war. Not sure who all believed me except one--my sister Margie, and for a long, long time she was sure she was

As a kid, I was such a liar, telling such tall tales, complete with description and dialogue, that looking back, I remember some of those lies vividly like a true memory. Sometimes the lie was to talk myself out of punishment. Back in those days, we could pretty much wander all over the neighborhood as long as we were home by dinner. My father wanted me and my sister at the dinner table, no matter what. There were limits though, my mom really didn't like for us to go visiting beyond the grammar school which was about three long blocks away. On this particular day, I went way, way past the school. First I visited a school friend named Marilyn Benedict (see how well I remember this?) and it was the first time I'd ever been there. Having gone that far, I though I'd visit a girl who was a year older than me who lived in a house that looked like a castle--much, much farther than I was allowed to venture. She wasn't home. But by this time is was getting very late and I knew I

Yesterday hubby and I took the day off and headed to Visalia so we could use some movie tickets we received at Christmas time. Hubby's turn to choose the movie and he picked Valkyrie, the story about one of many attempts to assassinate Hitler near the end of WWII. It's strange to watch a movie that you know how it will end--far surpasses the predictable ending because that one you only think you know how it will end while it's progressing. I can remember back when we heard about the attempt. Because I was a young teenager, I doubt that it had much affect on me at the time. Though, thanks to newsreels at the movies, I know how awful Hitler was and all the bad things he was doing. Though at that time, I don't believe the world really knew how many Jews and others he'd killed in his concentration camps. I'm sure plenty of people were wishing someone would be able to assassinate Hitler. The movie is well-done, showing how the plan could have worked, and why it faile