From A Bird's Eye View

THE GREATEST GENERATION DIET

October 14, 2013By Sparrow/WatsonComments:5 Comments

By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

So good it has its own Facebook page

The other day I was slumped over the kitchen counter, fork in hand, eating a Costco pumpkin pie straight out of the container. It started innocently enough – I bought the pie on my weekly trip to Costco for purely scientific reasons. Thanksgiving is at our house this year so I wanted to make sure that Costco’s pumpkin pie was up to snuff. A pinch too much nutmeg or a surplus of cinnamon can throw off the whole dinner. So really, it was in everyone’s best interest that I officially test it out. Of course, I’ve been buying the pumpkin pie at Costco for about ten years and it has remained amazingly consistent. But still…you never know when some genius is going to mess with the recipe. Think “new coke”.

When I brought it home my husband’s eyes lit up – pumpkin pie is his favorite. We each had a piece that day and again the following day. Then the paragon of virtue that I’m married to says, “Well, I’ve had enough. You can throw the rest of it out.”. THROW IT OUT?? I was stuck with a dilemma that would have tested Solomon. Throw out more than half of a perfectly good pie or, on behalf of all the starving children in China that I heard so much about growing up, save it for another day – or two. Being the good Samaritan that I am, I opted for the latter. So that’s how I found myself at the kitchen counter eating pie. At first I just cut the tiniest of slivers but then the pie was uneven, so I had to cut a bit more from the other side. Which of course was not at all even so then I had to go back to the first side to even it up. Before I knew it, I had eaten a quarter of the pie. But at least it was symmetrical by the time I was finished. Don’t judge – I know you’ve all been there.

As I waddled away from the kitchen I began to feel guilty about my gluttony. I calculated how many hours I was going to have to spend on the treadmill to make a dent in my caloric intake. Apparently I would have to walk for three days. And then it struck me – why are we the generation that feels so darn guilty about food? I thought about my parents and my in-laws – all four of them lived very long lives. I don’t think any of then ever worried about eating too much. In fact I think the only time they worried about food was when they didn’t have enough. To them, the worst sin was when a hostess served “skimpy” portions. They never heard of gluten-free, cleansing, cardio workouts, sat fat, vegan diets or a gym. Truth be told, I’d venture that the only “gym” they got near was Jim Beam.

A thing of the past – the dreaded Jello mold

I think my relatives were pretty reflective of that entire generation. Maybe it was the deprivation of the Great Depression or the sacrifices they made during the war, but they didn’t seem to obsess about food and exercise the way we Boomers do. They were the Greatest Generation not only because of all they accomplished, but because they also perfected the sour cream/onion dip and knew how to make a splendid Manhattan highball. When I think about the Thanksgiving tables of my childhood there was no non-fat gravy or “skinny” mashed potatoes made with cauliflower. No, we had creamed corn, jello molds, and stuffing loaded with sausage. Our pies were topped with real whipped cream – and lots of it. In fact one of my favorite Thanksgiving memories is brother Bob and I taking the bowl of whipped cream and embarking in a food fight at the table. And no, we weren’t little kids. We were both in our 30’s . It’s possible we had consumed a bit too much wine. But back to my point – our parents lived long lives despite their love of fatty foods and arm chairs.

So what was their secret? It’s probably not practical to come up with just one hypothesis for an entire generation so I’ll stick with my own family. When I think about my dad and my mother-in-law in particular they both were just a little plump, they both loved a good party, they both loved to eat and they both enjoyed a daily cocktail. Sometimes more than one. More importantly, they were two of the most happy, fun, positive people I ever met. They were too busy enjoying life to let a few calories get in their way. And, no surprise, everyone enjoyed being around them too. And why not? They were either eating, drinking or laughing. Not a bad way to go through life.

After giving this some thought I’ve decided that just having a positive attitude is the best recipe for growing old. So this week on my trip to Costco I’m going to pick up the apple pie. Purely for testing, of course. And when my disciplined husband has had his fill, I will happily slump over the counter and eat the rest. I’m calling it “The Greatest Generation Diet”.

Posted in opinion

Correction to URL

October 7, 2013By Sparrow/WatsonComments:2 Comments

We understand that by clicking on the link to ‘read more’ takes you to a page that reads the ‘morningnewsinverse’ cannot be found. We’re attempting to fix this so will be reposting today’s blog to see if it corrects the situation. If not, I’ll get my son on it.

Childbirth, Kidney Stones and Amsterdam

by Bob Sparrow

Sometimes my travels take me to exotic places; sometimes my travels take me on introspective journeys, but last Friday morning at around 2:00 a.m. my travels took me to the emergency room at St. Joseph’s Hospital with the on-set of a kidney stone. It was my third, so I’ve become quite knowledgeable about them and familiar with the associated pain, which has become the subject of some debate.

It has been said that the pain of a kidney stone is similar to the pain of childbirth. Having never given birth, I wouldn’t know and my personal experience has told me that some stones are more painful than others. Obviously women would be the only ones who would be able to give us an objective perspective on this subject, but do they? Surely some do, but it’s easy to see how they might stretch the truth a bit when they’re in there pushing and breathing and sweating and yelling while the father-to-be is out in the waiting room waiting to hand out cigars.

So to settle the question once and for all of which is more painful child birth or kidney stones, an extensive survey of both men and women was conducted. OK, it wasn’t really that ‘extensive’, it was really just a simple question to each gender. Because many of the male survey participants had never had a kidney stone the survey equated the pain of a stone to the pain of being kicked in the balls. Survey participants were asked the following questions:

To the women: Knowing the pain of childbirth, would you have another child? Only 3% answered ‘No’.

To the men: Knowing the pain of being kicked in the balls, would you like to be kicked in the balls again? 100% answered ‘No’.

There you have it – statistics don’t lie.

So how does this all tie into my up-coming river cruise down the Rhine? It doesn’t, but hey cut me a little slack here; I’ve just been kicked in the balls.

Prior to boarding the Viking Jarl, we’ll be spending three days in Amsterdam and I understand, according to our itinerary, we will be:

– Touring Ann’s House of Franks (I love hot dogs)

– Goghing in a van to see a starry night (I hope it has a moon roof)

– Drinking Heineken cheese beer (Leave it to the Dutch to combine beer and Cheetos)

I’m just excited to sees the famous Wind Tunnels and a field filled with Two Lips.

OK my medication is starting to wear off – I’ll be fine.

Posted in travel

Childbirth, Kidney Stones and Amsterdam

October 7, 2013By Sparrow/WatsonComments:

by Bob Sparrow

To the women: Knowing the pain of childbirth, would you have another child? Only 3% answered ‘No’.

To the men: Knowing the pain of being kicked in the balls, would you like to be kicked in the balls again? 100% answered ‘No’.

There you have it – statistics don’t lie.

So how does this all tie into my up-coming river cruise down the Rhine? It doesn’t, but hey cut me a little slack here; I’ve just been kicked in the balls.

Prior to boarding the Viking Jarl, we’ll be spending three days in Amsterdam and I understand, according to our itinerary, we will be:

– Touring Ann’s House of Franks (I love hot dogs)

– Goghing in a van to see a starry night (I hope it has a moon roof)

– Drinking Heineken cheese beer (Leave it to the Dutch to combine beer and Cheetos)

I’m just excited to sees the famous Wind Tunnels and a field filled with Two Lips.

OK my medication is starting to wear off – I’ll be fine.

Posted in travel

Steins on the Rhein – Rollin’ On The River

October 3, 2013By Sparrow/WatsonComments:

by Bob Sparrow

Next Tuesday I will be on the road again, this time to Amsterdam for a Viking River Cruise down the Rhein River to Basal, Switzerland. Just like prior to leaving for Africa earlier this year, I’m noting here some pre-trip anxiety . Prior to Africa I was concerned about everything from getting malaria (we didn’t see a bug the whole time) to being murdered (our guide killed us, in a humorous way), so all my fears were eventually allayed. But now on the eve of our river cruise, several events have given me pause.

Two couple friends of ours have taken river cruises this year in Europe, the river flooded one couple out and changed their itinerary, and a river lock damaged the aft of the other couple’s boat and they had to stay ashore for three days. That’s 2-for-2, so it would seem that we could be in for a few surprises. Here are three of my concerns:

My wife thinks she knows German (she took two years in high school) and I fear that she is going to misspeak and get us in the middle of a Neo-Nazi head-shaving ceremony.

While we thought that October would be a great time to go to Germany to enjoy Oktoberfest, we’ve come to find out that it is mostly in September and will be over two days before we get there, so I fear we’ll get to see the Hungoverfest.

And finally, there is free wine and beer on board for the entire 8 days we’re on the cruise, so someone will probably fall overboard . . . just hope it isn’t me . . . again.

Stay tuned for the reality of The Rhein River Cruise – or at least reality as I see it, which may be a bubble off plum.

We’re looking to grow our ‘followers’ list, so please help us by ‘subscribing’ in the white box at the top right side of this page. You then must go to your email and ‘confirm’ your subscription. Then a new blog will come directly to your email address each Monday. It’s easy and free! Thank you!!

Posted in travel

Voting or Vegas

September 30, 2013By Sparrow/WatsonComments:

by Bob Sparrow

Well of course you knew with Monday being the last day for voting, that this week’s blog from me just might mention ‘The Best Job Around the World’ competition being offered by travel company, Jauntaroo. I’m actually sending this from the road as I’m on a ‘Boy’s Birthday Bash’ for a friend, which includes Las Vegas (I’ve been reminded several times about that ‘What goes on in Vegas . . .’ thing, so I’ve probably already said too much) and playing golf at two classic golf courses, Wolf Creek in Mesquite, NV and Sand Hallow in Hurricane, UT.

On Monday, I’ll be an easy golfer to identify, I’ll be the one with my laptop in my golf cart and running off the green after each putt to see where the ‘Like’ count is. For those who have been asking, and for those who haven’t, here’s what will happen with the Jauntaroo job thing after Monday . . .

A. Jauntaroo will select the Top 50 candidates based on (not necessarily in this order):

1) Qualification of the candidate

2. Quality of their video

3. Number of video ‘Likes’

B. The Top 50 candidates will be asked to make another video. It has not been disclosed what the subject matter of the second video will be or whether it will be something that the public votes on again.

C. From the Top 50, a ‘Top 5’ will be selected and flown to a ‘secret’ location for face-to-face interviews

Although I don’t know the timeframes for these last two phases, I do know that it will progress rather quickly as Jauntaroo wants to make the announcement of the one person selected as their Chief World Explorer on or around October 26^th – just 3 weeks away.

So if you’re reading this on Monday, Sept. 30 you can still vote, so please click on the link below and vote and then pass it along to a contact or two . . . or 5.

http://www.bestjobaroundtheworld.com/submissions/view/4459

I’m not sure when the Top 50 will be announced, I suspect by the end of the week, so you’ll soon be hearing from me one way other the other either about moving on to the next phase of this competition or a blurred recollection of my adventures at the Boy’s Birthday Bash, if I can remember any of it.

Thank you again to all those who have so faithfully supported me in this endeavor.

Posted in Blog Info / Up-dates • travel

SEEING STARS IN SUN VALLEY

September 23, 2013By Sparrow/WatsonComments:2 Comments

Igrid Bergman, Gary Cooper and Clark Gable skiing in Sun Valley

Ingrid Bergman, Gary Cooper and Clark Gable skiing in Sun Valley

By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

Well, if it’s September, we must be going to Sun Valley. Yep, like lemmings to the sea, each September we migrate to Idaho in search of great hiking, spectacular golf, and cooler air. That last part becomes very important this time of year – our lows in Scottsdale last week averaged 84. The 10 day forecast for Sun Valley has the lows in the 30’s. I may just sit outside in the mornings with a cup of coffee until ice forms on either it or me.

Friends often wonder why we return to Idaho every year. People who haven’t been there usually ask something along the lines of, “Oh, do you have to go see family”? Like it is some obligatory trip that we take to an ugly part of the country to see people we don’t much like who require that we sleep on a hide-a-bed in their basement. But people who have been lucky enough to visit Sun Valley ask us if they can climb into our suitcase. Since its inception it has been the playground for many celebrities – Ernest Hemingway lived (and died) there and Gary Cooper and Clark Gable made regular visits to ski and hunt. Since we’ve been going there for 26 years we’ve also seen our share of modern-day movie stars, although they don’t seem quite as big as Cooper or Gable. Maybe some version of that line from “Sunset Boulevard” applies here – the scenery is the same, it’s the stars who have gotten smaller. My husband spent 30 minutes talking to Arnold Schwarzenegger once about tax policies in California, but even though he’s big, I’m not sure he counts as a “star”. We’ve seen Candice Bergen, Muriel Hemingway and I once ran across Jamie Lee Curtis in a store. I was tempted to tell her that the Activia really wasn’t working for me but then my better angels prevailed.

The Lodge at Sun Valley – made of concrete poured to look like wood

From the outset, the Sun Valley resort was marketed as a haven for the rich and famous. It was developed by Averell Harriman, who was chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad in the 30’s. He was an avid skier and after the success of the Lake Placid Olympics in 1932 he correctly assumed that Americans would develop a keen interest in winter sports. Harriman had the idea of building the first destination ski resort in the U.S. in a place so remote that – what a coincidence – the only way to get there was via the Union Pacific Railroad. In 1935 Harriman hired an Austrian count, Felix Schaffgotsch, to travel across the western United States to find the perfect setting for a ski area. When Schaffgotsch visited Ketchum, Idaho he decided that the combination of good snowfall, sunshine and the perfect ski mountain was where Harriman should build. Harriman started construction immediately and then hired a marketing genius to spread the word. Harriman was afraid that people would not be attracted to the cold climes of Idaho, so he named the resort “Sun Valley” to conjure up images of warmth and coziness. He installed the world’s first round swimming pools to garner more attention and they did. Sun Valley took off as a locale synonymous with great skiing, fine dining and first-class entertainment.

But the really interesting history of Sun Valley lies in the story of the ski school. Count Schaffgotsch helped Harriman attract the top ski instructors in the world, including Friedl Pfeifer. Pfeifer was Austrian and not only the most famous downhiller in the world, he also managed to carve out time to teach between racing circuits. His pupils ranged from the famous (Claudette Colbert) to the infamous (Rudolph Hess). In 1937 he fled Austria weeks after Hitler’s invasion and was lured to Sun Valley, just in time for the opening of the ski school. As it turns out, Schaffgotsch was a huge admirer of Hitler and among the Austrian instructors he recruited to Sun Valley were several avowed Nazis. From 1937 to the outbreak of the war, they put Sun Valley’s ski school on the map and, despite the instructors’ political leanings, people flocked there by the thousands to learn from the very best.

Friedl Pfeifer as a dashing ski instructor

But the shadow of World War II loomed large. Once the war broke out, Schaffgotsch and several other instructors returned to the “Fatherland” to enlist in Hitler’s army. Schaffgotsch joined the SS and while he was in Italy he received a letter from Harriman letting him know that his duties were complete at Sun Valley but that he was welcome as a guest at any time. The day after Pearl Harbor was bombed FBI agents from Salt Lake City descended on Sun Valley to investigate reports of Nazi sympathizers among the ski school staff. Three of the most prominent instructors were arrested, including Pfeifer. Pfeifer and several other Austrian instructors enlisted in the U.S. Army and had distinguished war records as part of the 10th Mountain Division.

In 1942, Harriman offered up the Sun Valley Lodge to the Navy to serve as a hospital for both officers and enlisted men. He thought the quiet and solitude of this remote mountain village would sooth their war sufferings. Most of the men enjoyed the peacefulness of the Wood River Valley, but some found the isolation difficult. No matter, the resort remained in service to the Navy until war’s end and did not re-open until the spring of 1946. Most of the instructors came back to Sun Valley after the war and were instrumental in advancing the burgeoning ski industry. Pfeifer returned to the U.S. and settled in Colorado where he helped found the Aspen ski resort. Ironically, Schaffgotsch was killed in Russia during Harriman’s stint as our ambassador to that country.

In 1995 we were lucky enough to be in Sun Valley when a memorial to the 10th Mountain Division was erected on the Sun Valley grounds. We watched as several elderly men, some in uniform, paid tribute to their fallen comrades. They were a spry and inspiring group, unbowed by the years with their physical prowess still much in evidence. As far as I’m concerned, they were the biggest stars we’ve ever seen in Sun Valley.

And speaking of stars, let me pass along a friendly reminder to ‘Like’ my brother’s video (every 24 hours) at the link below:

http://www.bestjobaroundtheworld.com/submissions/view/4459

Posted in travel

Senior Social Media Moments

September 16, 2013By Sparrow/WatsonComments:4 Comments

by Bob Sparrow

First, I want to thank those who follow us here by subscribing to our blog and especially those who take the time to comment on the subject of the week. Second, I’d like to sincerely thank those who have been following my quest to become Jauntaroo’s first Chief World Explorer, which you know by now has consumed me. It has been an awesome experience, one that has helped me understand what I really want to do when I grow up. OK, I’m never growing up, just growing older.

But I must say, in many cases, it’s been a real challenge to get my peers to ‘Like’ my video. Not that they wouldn’t like it if they saw it, it’s just that they’re . . . how can I put this delicately, social media challenged. Following is a sample of what I mean.

Me: “Were you able to see my video and ‘Like’ it?”

Senior: “Didn’t see it so can’t tell you if I liked it. Where was it?”

Me: “You can pick up the URL on my Facebook page that will take you to the video link”

Senior: “Say what? I don’t have Faceplant”

Me: “That’s Facebook”

Senior: “Whatever”

Me: “I also tweeted it on Twitter”

Senior: “You did what?”

Me: “Never mind. What about LinkedIn?”

Senior: “What about him? I thought he was one of our greatest presidents”

Me: “Not Lincoln, LinkedIn. Did you see the blog?”

Senior: “The Blob, wasn’t that a ‘50s science fiction movie?”

Me: No, do you have an iPhone, iPad?”

Senior: “iRefuse”

Me: “Hey, I need your help here, I’m trying to get this thing to go viral”

Senior: “Sorry, don’t they have shots for that now?”

Me: “Yeah, thanks. What about Instagram?”

Senior: “Is that Billy Graham’s sister?”

Me: “Pinterest?”

Senior: “No, I’ve lost interest, mind if I go back to reading my newspaper?”

OK, it’s not quite that bad, but it’s based on true stories. To be fair, there are many of my peers who are very tech savvy, but risking their indignation, I’ve asked those over fifty to pass my ‘voting messages’ on to their children, and in some cases their grandchildren.

Here’s the paradoxical thing about all this – the demographic that is now in their peak earning years or retiring, the Baby Boomers, have the time, interest and wealth to travel, yet it is the group that seems antidotally at least, the hardest to reach electronically. The percentage of those 50 and older who get most of their news from the Internet drops significantly from the younger-than-50 group and the numbers for the 65+ group drop even more dramatically. So, how does a relatively new travel company like Jauntaroo get the attention of this critical demographic? I have some ideas, but they’re going to have to hire me in order to hear them.

If you’re reading this, you’re clearly not the people I’m talking about above, so as Jack Kennedy’s presidential campaign manager in Chicago said, “Vote early and vote often”.

At: http://www.bestjobaroundtheworld.com/submissions/view/4459

Thank you

Posted in blog updates • opinion

BEWARE THE FIGHTING ARTICHOKE

September 9, 2013By Sparrow/WatsonComments:4 Comments

By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

College Football in Simpler Times

September means only one thing around our household – college football season starts. We await the beginning of each season as a child might await Christmas. In July my husband buys the college football preview magazines and begins to plot out our weekends for the fall. He is a life-long USC fan (it’s going to be a long season) so every year he gives me their schedule to mark on our calendar with instructions not to plan anything silly when a game is on. “Silly” is defined as dinner with good friends, going to a play, or God forbid, a trip to the emergency room.

So every Saturday, from September through the bowl games in January, our day unfolds with military-like precision: we wake up and don our “Saturday pants” (which is anything with an elastic waistband), we cut out the sports schedule from the paper and circle all the games we want to catch, we watch ESPN “Game Day“, and then plunk ourselves down for a Bacchanalia of football. We finally rouse from our chairs around midnight, at which point we take our stupefied selves to bed. Some might suggest that the whole day has been stupefied, but we love our college football.

Our own Artie the Artichoke

One aspect of the game that is getting more attention these days is the team mascot. It used to be that some poor sap put a paper mache head on and ran along the sidelines like an idiot. But like all else with college sports, the team mascot has become more sophisticated. They have races with the opposing mascot, they do push-ups after every touchdown, and their outfits often look like something out of a Tim Burton movie. There are, however, a few exceptions to this sophistication. The first one is right here in my own backyard: The Scottsdale Community College Fighting Artichoke. That’s right – our mascot is a vegetable. I don’t recall an artichoke being particularly fearsome, unless you count being stuck by those little prickly things at the end of the leaf. A couple of years ago Artie (as he is familiarly known) was #1 in the Top Ten Most Weird College Mascot contest. He beat out the Delta State Fighting Okra. We don’t even grow artichokes in Scottsdale but the story goes that a few years ago some computer science students were upset about the amount of money the school spent on the football team. So they managed to get a campaign going to find a new mascot for the team, plotting to suggest the artichoke since they thought it would be so embarrassing to the team. They drove a hard (and probably rigged) campaign and Artie won the day. Ironically, the students, including the football team, soon embraced the cute little vegetable and today Artie is a beloved member of the campus.

There are other examples of dumb mascots, most notably the Stanford tree. Or maybe I’m just not smart enough to “get it”. There is the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs and the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels. My brother, Bob, attended Westminster College at a time when their mascot was the “Parson”. It will not surprise you to know that Bob wrote the sports column for the school newspaper. He often suggested that “Parson” didn’t really strike fear in their opponents, but to no avail. They since have changed it to the “Griffin” which at least gives them a fighting chance.

Uga in his official football uniform

On the other side of the ledger, perhaps the BEST mascot in college football is Uga, the Bulldog from the University of Georgia. It pains me to say that because I hate the SEC and everything about it. Except Uga. How can you not fall in love with that face? An English Bulldog has been the mascot for the university since 1956, all of them owned by the same family. To date, 9 dogs have carried the name “Uga”, each descended from the original Uga, and frequently the son of the predecessor. Talk about nepotism! The current Uga attends every home football game, many away games, and other University-related functions and sports events, and usually wears a spiked collar and red jersey with varsity letter. The red jersey is Uga’s typical “uniform,” though he wears a green jersey on St. Patrick’s Day. Other special appearances include 1982, when Uga IV attended the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York City wearing a tuxedo, and 2007, when Uga VI wore a black jersey for the “blackout” game against Auburn. Shoot, this dog has more change of outfits than I do. He even has an official student identification card. He has a custom-built air-conditioned dog house and typically sits on or near bags of ice at games.

What does a guy have to do to cool off around here?

Here he is – trying to cool off after the half time show – overheated and prostate. I can so relate to his dilemma. Oftentimes as I’m running around in the midst of summer I’ve also felt like heaving myself onto a bag of ice. Granted, I’d need a considerably bigger bag than Uga, but I think he’s on to something.

So this season, pay special attention to the mascots. You never know when you might run into an Artichoke or a petrel. Or if you’re really lucky, a cute English Bulldog named Uga.

Posted in travel

Jauntaroo Who?

September 3, 2013By Sparrow/WatsonComments:4 Comments

by Bob Sparrow

No, Jauntaroo Who is not the bon vivant brother of Cindy Lou Who, the wee tot in The Grinch That Stole Christmas, who espied the Grinch on Christmas Eve stuffing the family Christmas tree up the chimney. Rather it is a relatively new travel agency that has caught my eye and the eyes of several thousand other people recently with a unique employment opportunity.

They are offering a $100,000 salary to a person who will travel to some 50 destinations during the course of 2014, mingling with various cultures, helping those less fortunate and using social media to keep the rest of the world abreast of all the adventures that ensue.

How do I know about this? I was working in my office, which is a loft in our bedroom while my wife, Linda was getting ready for work in the bathroom, watching the Today show, where Jauntaroo was getting air time from Al Roker and Mel B about their ‘Best Job Around the World’ employment offer. Linda called my attention to the ad and said, “This job has your name all over it!” My uneasiness over my wife’s enthusiasm for me applying for a job that would put me on the road through most of 2014 should I win, was tempered by my excitement over the prospects of doing just that.

So, yes of course I’m applying! I am currently in the process of filling out the application, part of which requires a one-minute video on why I should be Jauntaroo’s first Chief World Explorer. That video is in the making as I write this and should be ‘in the can’ (that’s Hollywood talk for finished, not in the garbage can) by September 6^th, as the deadline for applications is September 15^th.

Once the video is posted, I will be bugging every person I know to go on line and ‘Like’ it – EVERYDAY, as you can ‘vote’ every 24 hours according to the Jauntaroo rules. As part of the ‘interview’ process, Jauntaroo is looking to see how much social media attention job candidates can generate – so I’ll need help from all of you to show these young wiper-snappers that there is still plenty of tread left on these tires.

If you like travel, their website at jauntaroo.com has some interesting features, like their unique ‘Vacation Finder’, ‘Travel With A Cause’ and their daily ‘Travel Tip’. They take a very personal approach to matching travelers with the right destinations. You can also click on ‘THE CANDIDATES’ and you’ll be able to see all the videos that have been submitted thus far for the ‘dream job’. Well, you won’t want to see ALL 1,000+ videos, but hopefully you’ll see one, mine.

I’m apologizing in advance for the ‘reminders’ to vote that I’ll be sending out to all of you and asking you to send them on to all your contacts. The video is short and you’ll hopefully be entertained . . . for 60 seconds.

Posted in opinion

EXTREME MAKEOVER: DRIVER’S LICENSE EDITION

August 26, 2013By Sparrow/WatsonComments:

By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

Trivia games on the screen at the MVD. Just like the movies – annoying.

I have a rather uneasy relationship with the Arizona Motor Vehicle Department. So when I got a letter from them last month I opened it with all the enthusiasm I usually reserve for the IRS. Turns out they wanted me to come in to their delightful establishment to have a new picture taken for my driver’s license. Again. This will be the fourth picture I have had on my license. It’s complicated.

Back in 1998 when we moved here from California I took one week off of work to get settled and attend to important things, like finding the closest donut shop and, naturally, getting an Arizona driver’s license. So on a very harried day, when the temperature was 108, I took my moist self and went to the MVD to pick up a driver’s handbook so I could study for the test. Well, much to my surprise, the clerk told me there was no test. All I had to do is hand over my California license, fill out a form, take a picture and – VOILA! – I would be issued an Arizona license. Valid, by the way, until 2015. Yep – no matter what age you are when you move to AZ, your license is good until you’re 65. This goes a very long way in explaining why there are so many horrible drivers here. No one knows what the rules are so we drive by the rules we learned in our former state with the fervent hope that “STOP” is a universal sign.

This looks better than my picture.

The “picture” part of this venture was the sticking point – I was harried and sweaty. Did I mention it was 108 that day? Anyway, pressed for time, I went ahead and had my picture taken and received my new license on the spot. The picture, to be kind, made me look like a deranged psychopath. I want to be clear: I understand that this was the MVD, not Annie Leibovitz’s studio. I didn’t expect air brushing and subtle lighting. But I also didn’t expect to end up looking like Nick Nolte’s mug shot. My eyes were bugged out, my hair looked like a goat ate it, and one half of my collar was up. How bad was the picture? Sales clerks who requested to look at my license when I cashed a check would squint down at the picture, look up at me, peruse the picture once more, and then say something akin to, “You must have been having a bad day.” And these were people who wanted my business. Finally, I could take it no more. I decided to lie to the MVD and tell them I had lost my license and needed a new one. I hoped that they didn’t have any sort of fancy technology that would allow them to simply re-issue it with the very same picture. I was in luck, I was asked to have a new photo taken – HUZZAH!! I made sure my hair was slicked down, eyes appropriately positioned and assumed a casual, carefree, I’m-on-vacation smile. Unfortunately, I forgot to take into account that I had just returned from a business trip to Charlotte the night before. So while my hair and smile looked okay, I pretty much looked like someone who was jet-lagged and had returned from Charlotte the night before. I lived with that picture for another two years, strategically placing my thumb over my picture whenever I had to present it to anyone.

I’m thinking she lost her license that night. Not by choice.

Finally, when I retired (and thus was well-rested), I decided to try one more time. I was 51 years old and figured that I would have to live with this license for another 14 years. It was well worth my time to get a new picture. Besides, I was retired, what else did I have to do? So I trudged into the MVD and, once again, told them that I had lost my purse and everything in it. I fully expected them to grill me. TWO licenses lost in three years? Lindsay Lohan was a paragon of dependability compared to me. But instead, the very nice clerk commiserated with me, agreeing that it was such a hassle to get everything replaced or re-issued. I felt just a little bit bad. But not that bad. And my efforts were rewarded. The picture turned out okay – no hair askew, no “crazy eyes”, no puffy face. I was satisfied, although I admit that my standards had gotten quite low by this point.

So, fast forward to last month when I got the letter that they wanted, yet again, a new picture of me. I find it fascinating that they still don’t care if I know the rules of the road but God forbid my picture is more than 12 years old. Anyway, I braced myself and went down there last Tuesday. I was told to show up right at 8 am or the wait could be over an hour. Which meant that at 7 a.m. I was flat-ironing my hair, curling my eyelashes, and telling myself that it was ridiculous to care this much about my driver’s license picture. After filling out forms and waiting a paltry 45 minutes, I stood before the camera as I might stand before an execution squad. The clerk snapped the picture and said, “Oh, that’s great” so my hopes were high. After all, he did this for a living. His judgement must be finely tuned for this sort of thing. Alas, it was not. But I think I’ve used up the “dog ate my homework” lost license excuse so I’m stuck with this license for now. Unlike everyone else in the Western World, I’m excited that I get to visit the MVD in just two years. I’m starting my picture prep now.