Talcum Powder The Playing Cards?

Like most of the folks around the world I am looking for things to keep myself busy and my mind as sharp as I can keep it. Reminiscing is one way to do it. Looking back and trying to remember names, places, activities, and dates! Forget the dates, I have never been good at that. I like to think that approximate is good enough. As many of you know I am now a caregiver once again to a lady that needs some assistance in her daily activities. One of the things that she really enjoys is playing cards. We have played hundreds of games with the same two decks. Well, with the circumstances in the world today with the Corona Virus 19 I don't like anything brought into the house that might be contaminated, so I haven't gotten new cards.

The stickiness ( is that a word?) makes for my arthritic thumbs to give me a painful jolt every evening when I deal out the cards. Last night I was telling my lady that it seemed to me when my late husband and I were really poor and played lots of cards that I put those sticky cards in a pan of flour. She looked at me with doubt. So I did my "go to" and Googled it. Sure enough, it said to put sticky cards in flour, corn starch or talcum powder in a paper sack, shake it and then wipe each card off. Well it sounded like a lot of work to me. I for sure don't remember doing that.

 I had two of the three things. I asked her what she thought I should use. She opted for talcum powder. So this morning they all fifty two cards ( no jokers) went into a paper sack with about three tablespoons of beautiful smelling baby powder. The fog of the talcum powder was frightful. Who knew? But you see this fluffing caused an unexpected development other than the fragrant fog. They no longer fit in their case. They are almost twice as big as they were. In the old days we didn't have a case, we either had a little cardboard box or a rubber band wound around them. That way they could get thrown into the junk drawer and all stay together for the next card game.

I am not doing the second deck until after I see just how slick these cards are tonight. I first have to get all this talcum powder not only off the cards, but shake out the towel and wash it. Clean the counter and the floor and put the sack inside another sack. Mercy one more thing for my great grandchildren to read about. I wonder if I should put this in a Marlee story...

Sunday Afternoon Drives : Burma Shave Signs

I don't consider myself very old, but by other's standards I'm sure that they do. Today I realized that they just might be right. Yesterday I took the lady that I care for to the beauty shop. (It's fine folks. We were two of four in the shop.) She was very quiet on the way there. I asked her what she was thinking about and she pointed out things that I had not paid any attention to. Why were the cattle all laying down? Why did some abandoned homesteads have so many daffidils blooming and others didn't?
I grinned to myself because I thought of myself as a youngster; probably about ten years old or so going for a Sunday afternoon drive. My dad always drove, mother pointed things out to  my brother and I as we traveled. I can remember roadside signs. They were called Burma Shave signs. I asked my companion if she remembered those. Oh she grinned and said, "I sure do, but I can't remember any of them. I wonder why they took them out." I said something to cover my ignorance like 'they had a big deal once about road side signs being distracting to the driveres.'. She thought that was a terrible thing to do, but it got me to thinking. Thinking for about three or four minutes then my mind was onto something else.

This afternoon I was mind reminiscing about our afternoon yesterday and happened to think about the Burma Shave signs and why they took them out. They were really fun for a little girl to read out loud and pretend to understand them. (Many of them I did not) So of course, I Googled the signs. This is what they said:
Burma Shave roadside signs were from 1929-1963. They were only enjoyable at the driving speed of 35 mph. What?? I only drive 35 mph in town.
Here is a sample of a Burma Shave sign. If you were so very old like me and enjoyed them like I did, comment and let me know if you remember any of them. Memories often make you smile you know. And in our crazy world we now live in we could sure use a few more smiles.

Will anyone say, what is Burma Shave?

This...

This is what the lady and I call this corona virus 19 that has the world at it's feet. It is the master of the supermarkets, the hospitals, the churches and of course, the schools. "This" is shutting down our way of life as we have known it all of our natural lives. Never ever, have I in my wildest dreams or imagination would I have thought that a virus would disrupt my train of thought, let alone my way of life. It's called worry. I worry about my family and the economy. I find myself worrying a lot nowadays.

I am a caregiver to a lady that is only three years older than I am, but has some health issues that calls for someone to be with her to provide assistance with most things. We eat together and watch television together. She likes political stations. I do not like that kind of thing. Give me a Notebook or a Bambi movie and I am set for the evening. However, nowadays, I am tuned in at least to the audio of the channel that she watches. "This" (she points to the television) is this going to make it so I can't go to the beauty shop? Does "this" mean that I shouldn't go to the doctor for my test?

My husband called me in the midst of some of these many questions to tell me that our little store now has toilet paper. The price is $10.00 for four rolls. What? "This" is ruling our fundemental right to care for ourselves and others.

Yesterday I watched church services via the internet. The service was from the little town where I lived with my husband and small children years ago. It was sad to see the minister sitting on the floor in an empty church visiting with us sometimes shaking his head in disbelief as he also could not believe the effect of this new master that has so many defeated and sick and terrified.

"This" has me thinking of the stories that my mother told me of the days of the Great Depression which she and my father lived through. No one hoarded then; they moved. They moved for a nickel an hour more for their pay. They lived in coal shacks, they painted with calcimine paint or whitewash. They fixed and patched and shared their food with others. They went on picnics which consisted of bread and butter sandwiches and cold water. There was a trick to keep that water cold. You wrap a burlap sack that was soaked with cold water around a glass canning jar. There were no Igloo coolers.

My mother also told me of another time. A time of whooping cough which caused so  many deaths of children. Tiny babies that were children of their friends. A baby of four months old, for one that was our neighbor. She told me that I had whooping cough, but she had me vaccinated so it wasn't deadly.
Then there was polio. Polio the killer; iron lungs which helped people breathe, but they could only see their visiters with a mirror. Now this new Master is causing visitors to have to visit with their family or friends through the windows of nursing homes. Thank goodness for cell phones so they can actually talk to each other. Of course, some folks are unable to talk....

"This", like the Great Depression, is going to have lasting effects on future generations just like the horrible things that I have just mentioned. Them being just a few I might add. I have a small inner smile when I hear folks collecting things like Depression glass, iris pitchers and glasses. I know for a fact that the iris pitcher I have of my mother's cost a dime; a dime. Will there be things for future generations to collect from "This"? I can't even imagine what it would be.

I love children and writing little stories in my daily blog. I love to see them share and be kind. "This" has caused many acts of greed and unkind deeds and words to be said. However, this morning I was reading some Facebook posts. Guess what? Familys are watching church together on their computers, the children are in the kitchen baking and cooking with their parents. And snuggle time has hit an all time high. "This" may have caused unmeasurable acts of unkindness towards others, but I am seeing a family unit once again begin to knit a closer relationship that will create memories for a lifetime.
Stay safe and be kind to one another. Don't let "This" be your master, we will overcome this as did other generations their own "This".