How many years is it?

At first I thought it was 1974, so that would make this a tidy 35 years we've been meeting for coffee, but then we began tracking where our daughters were in pre-school when we met at First Community Church Harried Housewives Bible study group, so we think it's been since 1972. In either case, that's a lot of girl talk.

Hope I misunderstood

Two women were discussing something about their jobs, and the 9 or 10 year old daughter of one was sitting near-by. Work problems and physical danger during pregnancy came up, and the one commented about how she had done something dangerous (not sure what it was--didn't hear that part) during her pregnancy with her daughter, who overheard this. The daughter said, "Why did you do it?" And her mother said, "I was a xxxxx xxxxxxx and I had to go."

Hmmm. Not a good message.

Great legs

No one has ever suggested I have them. I had short, stubby legs as a kid, and still do. Fat does shift around. My waist is now larger than my right thigh, but that wasn't the case for many years. Small waists and pear shape are definitely the healthy plan, but that's not how you get attention. Here's what one of those waist to hip calculators says:

Your shape puts you at reduced risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Frequently referred to as pear shape, you tend to keep fat off your midsection and more on your hips. Your body does not convert this lower body fat as readily as midsection fat, which keeps cholesterol down.

Recently I've seen a stunning blonde at the coffee shop. Don't know her age, but if she's not 40, she's at least close (either side). She has long, long legs; high high heels; short short skirts. I'm not usually a leg watcher, but I tell you, she is something else and turns a lot of heads.

I don't know her career track, but it's somewhere at the bottom (or else she's the boss of a small company) because they send her to pick up the morning snacks. Yesterday it was bagels; today it was 8-10 cups of orange juice. I may not have great legs but I gave up being a go-fer when I was 21 and the secretary in a tool and die company.

Rachel's in Oregon, Illinois

Rachel's at 113 North 4th Street opened sometime since the last time I visited in 2007, and expanded into the former pizza shop so is now a very handsome coffee shop/lunch room spot open Monday-Saturday. Lots of yummy things on the menu, and a handsome decor. We visited Saturday morning--early, maybe 7 a.m.

Is that your cell phone?

We were all reading our papers. Music. Fire in the fireplace. I kept hearing a cell phone, but there were only the 3 of us in the store, and I don't have one. "Is that your cell phone?" I asked. She looked startled because I could tell she didn't hear anything. She reached in her coat pocket. Looked at the message, and called back.

I think it's the rock music that gives us seniors better hearing than the boomers.

Should she walk away?

Saw an old coffee buddy today. She'd moved out of town last year to take a vice president job in another state. She's back. Fired. But did really well on the severance package.* She found too many errors in their finances (she was hired for her business skills) and was apparently a threat to HR and CEO as well as CFO. Anyway, her condo is still for sale and she's thinking maybe foreclosure might be the way to go. She's done everything right all these years, but Obama's "deals" are only for those who didn't do the standard 20% down, the fixed rates, who didn't pay all their bills on time, or who supported the various bond issues. Also, she's going to be very careful about how much she earns in the future. "It won't pay to earn more than $100,000," she sighed. And maybe it will have to be less than that? She says she is horrified at how fast he's dumped us all into socialism. And this is what small business is saying, folks. This is the future of our country. Small business is what drives the economy--even Obama's teleprompter said that not long ago.

*Her compensation package is called a contract--and that's what Congress is in the process of dismantling, not just for AIG and auto makers, but for you too, especially those of us with pensions. Once we throw out valid contracts that specified AIG's pay scale, none of us are safe. I don't care if someone earns $20 million + stock + cavorting at Barney Frank's dinners. That's up to the board and shareholders to decide, not Congress. Then if Congress decides to loan that company money instead of letting them go bankrupt, it needs to honor prior agreements or get them rewritten legally, and not pass an after the fact law.