May 29, 2015 · 0:00
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Do I Hear Five?

On May 29, 2011, I was fifty-four and a half years old.  And I was seriously irritated at the GOP in Congress.  You see, they had announced that they were going to take away Medicare from those then under 55 years old.  And that meant me.  I spouted off about it to anyone who would listen.

They’re gonna take Medicare from ME!  I’m 54-1/2!  That’s where they’re gonna start!

After the first 528 times I mentioned this fact to each and every person I could corner, I still felt unsated.  I wanted to tell more people of my irritation.  Whether or not I knew them.

And so I heard a voice inside my head (something I rarely admit to):

Go forth, it said,  and start a blog.

Oh and give it a stupid name to keep yourself humble.

And so I did.  Both of those things.  FiftyFourAndAHalf was born with this post.

Blogging has been a completely different experience than I expected.

My original plan was to do a political/humor blog.  But in spite of a never-ending source of fodder, I found that I wanted to write about other things, too.  That part didn’t really surprise me.

What surprised me was that blogging, and Word Press, became a place where I met new friends, discussed topics important to me.  Where I laughed and cried along with folks I will probably never meet.

Thanks, everybody.  And while I’ve been writing less than usual and reading less than usual, I love the special place that is the ‘sphere.  So, yeah, thanks for being out there, for reading, and for giving me stuff to read too.

From Daily Kos.com

From Daily Kos.com

 

53 Comments

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53 responses to “Do I Hear Five?”

  1. John
    June 26, 2015 at 0:00

    Happy five! I know I’ve been around for a couple of the years at least, and it has been a pleasure visiting your blog. For some reason, I always seem to land on your blog posts on days when I really need a good smile or laugh. You are right – blogging is not the experience expected. Like you, I’ve made a lot of friends I’ll probably never know outside, in the real world, but, in many ways blogging friends have some distinct advantages: they rarely ask you for money, they offer appropriate words of advice/encouragement/support, and the ‘distance’ of the internet keeps us from getting dragged into any drama — we can share, advise, support, but we don’t get put into the middle. (Of course, knowing people in real life has its own set of advantages.)

    Thank you for letting me be a part of your blogosphere world … and for being a part of mine. Here’s to the next 5!

    Like

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  2. cortney
    May 30, 2015 at 0:00

    Happy anniversary, Elyse! I found you thanks to the Geneva connection, but stayed for your wit, your writing, your insights. Looking forward to the next year and more!

    Liked by 1 person

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  3. pouringmyartout
    May 30, 2015 at 0:00

    We do form sort an odd family, don’t we… glad you came to the party.

    Like

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  4. aFrankAngle
    May 30, 2015 at 0:00

    Happy Birthday to the blog … and cheers to you for you discovering what Ponce de Leon couldn’t find … after all, you are still 54 and a half. … and I’m glad we’ve gotten together! Heck, I’ll drink to that.

    Liked by 1 person

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  5. Life With The Top Down
    May 30, 2015 at 0:00

    Ponder on this …. what if every person pissed off by the GOP was motivated to do something about it like you did? We would be living in a very wonderful place right about now! Thanks for putting your anger into to blog to spread smiles across the blogushere! The photo is priceless!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

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  6. valentinelogar
    May 30, 2015 at 0:00

    I hope you explore your other creative sides, I think you would do fabulously well at whatever you choose to do. Happy anniversary.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Elyse
      May 30, 2015 at 0:00

      Thanks, Val. What a nice thing to say! Unfortunately, I’ve been just working 😉 The creative stuff will be back on line (I hope) before too much longer.

      You’re one of my oldest blogging buddies. Thanks for sticking it out with me all this time!

      Like

      Reply
  7. Retirementallychallenged.com
    May 29, 2015 at 0:00

    Good to see you back and happy anniversary! I remember once being on the losing side (age-wise) of a proposed law and being really upset. I eventually realized that, as usual, the law wouldn’t get passed anytime soon (if ever) and soon I’d age into the winning group. One bright spot of getting older, I guess.

    Liked by 1 person

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  8. silentlyheardonce
    May 29, 2015 at 0:00

    I’m glad I met you. Nice to know the history to your blog name.

    Liked by 1 person

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  9. Gibber
    May 29, 2015 at 0:00

    I’m so glad to have met you through this crazy blogging world! Happy Blogaversary!

    Like

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  10. Nurse Kelly
    May 29, 2015 at 0:00

    Would love to read whatever additional things you would want to write about, in any genre. I hope you will take that step 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. pegoleg
    May 29, 2015 at 0:00

    Happy blogaversary! The interwebz is a much better place with you in it, Elyse. Here’s to many more.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  12. Glazed
    May 29, 2015 at 0:00

    For once I have something to thank the GOP for. I’m glad you’ve stuck with your blog these four years. Thanks for all the humor, including the picture of the truck, above.

    Like

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  13. susielindau
    May 29, 2015 at 0:00

    Happy blogiversary! It has evolved for me too…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  14. artsifrtsy
    May 29, 2015 at 0:00

    Congrats on the Blogiversary – yours was one of the first blogs I started reading regularly – I enjoy your wit and insight and even your frustration – as well as your love of your pups. Here’s to many more years!

    Liked by 1 person

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  15. garym6059
    May 29, 2015 at 0:00

    Happy blogversary, keep up the good work. Hoping for another four years for you!

    Liked by 1 person

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  16. Cathy Ulrich
    May 29, 2015 at 0:00

    Happy bloggy anniversary, Elyse. I love your writing and certainly agree with your political viewpoint. And while I don’t voice my political opinions much, I admire those who have the hutzpah to do so. Glad you’re here in blogosphere!

    Liked by 1 person

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  17. Carrie Rubin
    May 29, 2015 at 0:00

    Four years of blogging–that’s impressive. Congrats! Here’s to four more. After all, the GOP will continue to give you no shortage of fodder…

    Liked by 1 person

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  18. Exile on Pain Street
    May 29, 2015 at 0:00

    Happy anniversary. Here’s to five more. This post is politics/humor. Just like when it all began. It’s all just a big circle.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  19. pensitivity101
    May 29, 2015 at 0:00

    Feel the same about state pensions retirement age here in the UK.
    It affects both of us, and about eighteen months before we qualify on the current age (66), there are rumours about it going up to 67 and then 70, which oh yeah, will also affect us and our generation!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  20. Paul
    May 29, 2015 at 0:00

    Love the last picture Ha! You know what the driver said when approached by the cops? I didn’t hit the bridge officer, I was transporting it when I ran out of fuel.

    I’ve come very close a few times when i was trucking – the funniest was a route set out by the dept of highways. I don’t know if you know downtown Montreal at all, but there is a major 4 lane A-20 (Autoroute) that bisects the downtown. The busiest commercial street in Montreal – Sherbrooke – parallels the north side of A-20 and between the two is the main rail line. Soooo, we had a shipment of escalators from Otis Elevator in Germany that had come into Halifax and had to be trucked to Montreal. They were escalators that were two stories high so they could go from the first to the third floor of a new large department store. as such they were about 80 feet long (each story was about 20 feet high) so we laid them on special extended trailers, giving us about 105 feet overall length. This requires permits and escorts and such. So we applied to the Quebec Govt for an overlength transport permit. We were a licensed overdimensional carrier, so that was not an issue. So the Quebec Surete (provincial police)met us at the border (there were three of us) to give us an escort. We had a permit and a route given by the Ministry of transport – and we had to follow that route. As a back-up we also had a pole car ahead of the convoy – this is a small truck with a fibreglass pole tipped with steel that was mounted on the front bumper. They could set the height of the pole and if it touched a bridge ut rang an alarm, we would all stop and find a way around. Anyway, the ministry gave us a route that took us off A-20 down under a subway under the railroad tracks , then onto Sherbrooke then to our delivery. At the delivery they had torn out the side of three stories of the building to crane the escalators in- but had to shut down the street to unload us and they could only do that at 5 pm. So, we were scheduled to arrive at exactly 4:30 pm so we could have our straps off and be ready as soon as the street was shut down. So we exited A-20, following a police escort and a pole car – and followed by a rear escort. The subway was right at the end of the ramp on a four lane with a concrete median wall. The cop went under the subway, the pole car went under the subway and the first truck got the tractor through but then as the tractor started to rise up the far side (no relation to Gary Larson – although I wondered), the long trailer was still headed down, so, of course, the center of the trailer began to rise. Thank God the escalator was crated and we were going slow. It jammed under the subway. With an embarrassed cop and an embarrassed pole car driver we assessed the situation and realized we had no choice but to back onto A-20 (one of the busiest thoroughfares in Quebec) at 4:15 pm on a summer Friday afternoon. Dear God. It took us an hour to move the traffic,which was piled up behind us, then get the Autoroute blocked by police, then back up with guides before we could continue.Then we had to find another way around. We arrived at the site at 7:00 pm, but we had contacted the customer and explained that we were following ministry directions. They understood.

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Play nice, please.