Yay for Aviation History

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November is Aviation History Month. Hooray!

WHAT?

Well, Aviation History Month may not be a big deal for most folks, but to me it's a reason to celebrate ... or at least a reason to send Bubby something in recognition of yet another oddball monthly designation.

I sent him maracas for Happiness Happens Month, a rockin' squawkin' chicken for National Chicken Month and a really stupid and poor choice charming book for Squirrel Awareness Month. (The squirrel book was such a disappointment to me -- and probably to Bubby -- that I refuse to document the experience with a photo.)

So with November being Aviation History Month, Bubby gets, naturally, an airplane! Yep, I've purchased an airplane for my precious little grandbaby. It's how Grandma and Grandpa travel to visit him, so why not invest in one just for him. Jim and I have the big bucks to fork out for a plane for our favorite grandson.

At least when it's a Fisher Price plane.

I think the Aviation History Month goodie has gone over the best of all the monthly gifts so far. What do you think?

 

Clearly a "Smile for Grandma!" moment!

(Megan: love-love for sharing the pictures!)

Of carp and kids' books

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I often say in my postings that I'm unemployed. That's incorrect. I'm not really unemployed. As of this past August, I'm simply underemployed. I have a job -- a part-time job working for the local Children's Literacy Center as a site coordinator at a local elementary school. I just don't really think of it as a job; partially because it came about as an off-shoot of volunteer work I'd been doing since my layoff, partially because it's only 10 hours a week, and partially because I enjoy it so much that it just doesn't seem like a job.

One of the things I enjoy about the job -- in addition to the wonderful women who volunteer to tutor some really great kids -- is that I get to read kids' books, including picture books. I love picture books. I write picture books! None I've written have been published yet, but I have had a few close calls: personal letters from editors and agents, an honorable mention in the Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition. I know that one day I will be published. It's just that I'm still in the phase of accumulating rejections, tweaking as each editor or agent suggests, only to be rejected again.

It's this continual rejection that makes me wonder how the hell one of the books among those in the small "library" I have for my tutors and students to choose from was ever published ... and mine aren't.

The book, "The Carp in the Bathtub" by Barbara Cohen, is one of the oddest stories for kids that I've ever read. It's Ms. Cohen's first book (written in 1972), so I'll forgive her a little, but I simply don't understand how she -- or a publisher -- could have seen this story line as something kids would enjoy.

Here's a bit of back story, then I'll share the parts that really floor me. The story is a first-person account from a young girl's point of view, telling about how her mom makes the best gefilte fish for Passover of anyone in town. The carp she uses for her fantastic recipe each year is housed in the family bathtub. The young girl and her brother, Harry, get attached to the fish -- and are devastated when Mom beats the poor carp to death and puts it in the meat grinder!

Here, take a look:

The kids loved the little carp. Now read what Mom does to their beloved pet (first page):

One year the kids kidnap the fish and hide it in the neighbor's bathtub. They get busted by Dad, they have to return the carp to Mom, who then clubs it to death, just like all the others. This is the conversation when the young girl asks Harry what happened:

That last sentence just floors me. This was traumatic! So traumatic that the writer, who obviously went through this as a child, was so deeply affected that she wrote a darn book about it!

But hey, Dad feels bad for his traumatized kiddos, so he brings home a stray cat for them:

A stray cat who CHASES THE RATS OUT OF THE KITCHEN! What kind of life were these children living? Sounds more like "The Glass Castle" than something kids should be reading!

I truly don't understand how "The Carp in the Bathtub" has made it into the hands of unsuspecting children ... and my "Hot Chocolate and Javelinas" still awaits acceptance.

'Tis the season -- for spending!

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This post has absolutely nothing to do with Bubby. But because he's so darn adorable -- and because he's the reason for Grandma's Briefs! -- I'm opening this post by sharing a photo of him with you. Seeing his happy face is a great way to start any day, any post, don't ya think?

And here's what else I'd like to share with you (the actual post of this post):

I did a little Christmas shopping over the weekend. And I mean a little ... online ... which put such a miniscule dent in the Christmas list that it's not really even worth mentioning. But hey, I got a start, and I guess that is worth mentioning. I've officially begun the work required of the season.

And work it is. And big business it is!

I regularly get press releases for use on my other website, the one that actually makes me a little money, and one of the recent goodies making its way to my inbox was the annual Holiday Season "Facts for Features" release from the U.S. Census Bureau, which shows what a huge business the holiday season is.

Because my brain is a tad mushy this morning -- yes, the Monday blahs hit even the unemployed! -- I'm passing along some of the tidbits from that Holiday Season release. It's pretty incredible how much money we fork out for family, friends and festivities. And with my minimal purchases over the weekend, I've officially become part of the statistics.

Take a look (do note that these are 2008 figures; it's a pretty safe bet that with the crappy economy, the numbers won't be as high for 2009):

$28.2 billion 

Retail sales by the nation's department stores (including leased departments) in December 2008. This represented a 40 percent jump from the previous month (when retail sales, many holiday-related, registered $20.2 billion). No other month-to-month increase in department store sales last year was as large. Other U.S. retailers with sizable jumps in sales between November and December 2008 were book stores (95 percent); clothing stores (32 percent); jewelry stores (125 percent); radio, TV and other electronics stores (38 percent); and sporting goods stores (62 percent).

14 percent

The proportion of total 2008 sales for department stores (including leased departments) in December. For jewelry stores, the percentage was 18 percent.

23 percent

The growth in inventories by our nation's department stores (excluding leased departments) from Aug. 31 to Nov. 30, 2008. Thanks to the holiday crowds, inventories plummeted by 25 percent in December.

$24 billion

Value of retail sales by electronic shopping and mail-order houses in December 2008 -- the highest total for any month last year.

19 billion

Number of cards, letters and packages the U.S. Postal Service expected to deliver between Thanksgiving and Christmas last year. The busiest delivery day was expected to be Dec. 17. On Dec. 15, the Postal Service expected to cancel the largest volume of mail of the season, with 960 million cards and letters processed.

$410 million

Sales by U.S. Christmas tree farmers in 2007.

$470.3 million

The value of U.S. imports of Christmas tree ornaments from China between January and August 2009. China was the leading country of origin for such items. Similarly, China was the leading foreign source of artificial Christmas trees shipped to the United States ($28.6 million worth) during the same period.

And now, after thinking about all those dollars unnecessarily spent (because we do know what the reason for the season really is, right?), the Census Bureau leaves us with a little trivia that may come in handy when making small talk at those holiday gatherings:

Place names associated with the holiday season include North Pole, Alaska; Santa Claus, Ind.; Santa Claus, Ga.; Noel, Mo.; and -- if you know about reindeer -- the village of Rudolph, Wis. and Dasher, Ga. There is Snowflake, Ariz. and a dozen places named Holly, including Holly Springs, Miss., and Mount Holly, N.C.