More happy days: Lunchtime at school

This was the time in high school when I would get together with my little group of friends.  There was Debra, Kathleen, Bernadette, and Lyn.

There we were, seated on the floor outside of the chemistry lab with our lunch boxes.  Each of us had different things to share but for the most part it was Debra and I who shared.  She loved the lunches that Mom made for me: yummy potato salad and baked chicken, macaroni pie, and those fat, juicy sandwiches. I loved the Chinese food that her parents used to pack in her lunch kit.

We were a tight little group of five and even after Lyn left we continued to eat lunch together.  Then we graduated from sitting on the floor to sitting on benches with tables at the back of the school.  This was a sort of courtyard that faced the boys college and my friends never tired of describing the boys to me as they walked by our school.

Of course the boys would also take the opportunity to peek into our yard as they walked by and I am very sure that they, too, made comments among themselves.  Oh, yes!  Those were the good old days, forever gone but never to be forgotten!

We ate lunch together for three marvelous years!  We chatted, discussed, and my friends would often read to me! Then we would finish our lunches and return to sit at our desks and wait for afternoon classes to begin.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day. 

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit
http://www.donnajodhan.com

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.takeanother5.com
And available for download from iTunes and Google music play

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
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Happy times: Soap operas on the radio

Oh, how I remember listening to these on our radio.  I must have started when I was about six years old and along with Mom and Granny it was the time of day when we three got to sit together.  There was no TV so we had to depend on the radio. Even after TV came to our neighborhood, we continued our rituals.

Soap operas seemed to play all day long on the various radio stations, starting from around 10 am and ending at around 4 pm and then again it resumed at supper time and ended at bedtime.

I sure remember sneaking my small transistor radio in my school bag and trying to listen to the soap operas during break time and again at lunch. Then when I went home I would race to find Mom and Granny to ask what went on during the day with the ones that I had missed.

They were always so ready to tell me everything and I was such an avid listener.  The voices in the soap operas were so clear and easy to understand and the descriptions were unquestionably the best.  We had no difficulty following along.

As I think about it now, these soap operas dealt mainly with human conflict and descriptions of crime and sex were kept to a very minimum.  This definitely did not prevent listeners from deriving lots of enjoyment. Blind or sighted, listeners used to flock to their radios to tune in.

Would it be possible to bring back those wonderful soap operas?

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day. 

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit
http://www.donnajodhan.com

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.takeanother5.com
And available for download from iTunes and Google music play

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Looking back: Playing with Jeffrey's toys

I can easily say that as a child I certainly had the best of two worlds. That is, I was able to play with my girl's toys, either on my own or with my girl cousins, and then, on the other hand, with my brother Jeffrey's toys.

I looked upon this as having been able to enjoy two different worlds. Jeffrey is my twin brother so there was no age barrier.  I played with his toy cars and toy soldiers.   I simply loved to drive them around on the carpet, and then there were his little trucks, vans, and buses.

One of my favorites was his space ship and another was his Mix Master cement mixer.  He always used to let me play with them for hours on end.

Then he would help me tie bits of string around his larger cars and pull them around our home.  There was his police car, the patrol car, the large bus, and the old-timer car!  And oh, yes!  The Ferrari race car, which was one of my favorites.

Sometimes I tried out his pop guns but I was always afraid of the noise that they made.  The one thing that I stayed away from, however, was his model planes because I knew how much he treasured them. I was always afraid that I would break them if I touched them too hard.  However, my parents would let me touch them once in a while so that I could get an idea of their shape.

Oh, yes!  How much I enjoyed playing with Jeffrey's toys!  Those tiny cars and toy soldiers will forever be in my mind, and yes!  Playing with the sailboats in our large, plastic swimming pool.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day. 

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit
http://www.donnajodhan.com

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.takeanother5.com
And available for download from iTunes and Google music play

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Another childhood memory: Remembering my childhood bathtub

Oh yes!  It was huge and it was filled with all kinds of things as I passed through my childhood years.  With balls of all sizes.  With boats and ships. With all kinds of everything.

This tub was not your ordinary one!  It was custom made with lots of space for me to slide around.  There were high walls and a step to climb down into the tub.  There was a shower and an additional tap for us kids to shower under.

I always remember using the bar of soap to make the floor of the tub slippery and then I would sit and slide around in it all.  My brother, Jeffrey, did the same thing and as kids we would have mini races in our bath tub.

Ah, yes!  Those wonderful memories!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day. 

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit
http://www.donnajodhan.com

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.takeanother5.com
And available for download from iTunes and Google music play

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

A childhood memory: My special sea game

I can still remember my special little sea game and I do not think that anyone really knew about it. At least I hope that no one knew.

It was all about me and those wonderful waves.  The big ones and the small ones.  I floated over the small ones and jumped over the big ones.  Then there was good old Dad who was always there to tell me when to jump.

It was amazing how much he was involved but I still do not know if he knew about my games.

He would tell me when to jump and sometimes I got it and sometimes I missed it completely.  Then there were the times when I really missed and the wave would get the better of me and send me sprawling towards the beach where I would land face down at the edge of the water.

Strange, but I was never embarrassed. Just more determined than ever to try again and then Dad would be there to play along.  Ah, yes!  my sea games forever.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day. 

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit
http://www.donnajodhan.com

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.takeanother5.com
And available for download from iTunes and Google music play

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

One of my favorite memories: Granny's special signal

I can still remember her signal as clear as day and truth be told it was nothing more than Granny knocking her ring against the pipe of our banister as she ascended the stairs to our home.

I can't begin to tell you how excited I would become whenever I heard the sound of her ring echoing upwards as she ascended the stairs. It meant that Granny was home once more after having been away for a wee bit and now she and I could enjoy each others' company.

Talk about someone who taught me so much and that was my beloved Granny! She was patient, gentle, but firm.  She taught, guided, and more often than not she pushed me to be a better person.

I was not always the best of students but Lord only knows how hard I tried. I know that Granny was very proud of me because of her wonderful graduation card that she sent me when I graduated from university, and when Mom found a graduation photo of me among her papers after she had passed on!

I am awfully proud to have had you for my granny and I thank you for all that you gave to me.  Until we meet again!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day. 

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit
http://www.donnajodhan.com

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.takeanother5.com
And available for download from iTunes and Google music play

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan