The Nose Knows

     Blogging has gotten easier since my husband and my friends have begun sending me ideas.  Hubby Mike emailed some information this week about the pay scale for sommeliers or wine stewards.  I began thinking about the sense of smell and the closely related sense of taste. Who's got the keenest senses of taste and smell?  Kids, of course.
     "What stinks?" seems to come out of their mouths daily.  Whatever is "stinking" could be a pile of dirty socks, the corned beef and cabbage simmering on the stove, or mom's new after bath spray.  Any new odor is labeled as stink.  The same goes for tastes.  Advice to "just try it" is usually followed by the child reluctantly placing a miniscule morsel into his piehole, chewing accompanied by exaggerated facial puckering, and forceful ejection of the new foodstuff.

Yummers!

     Little super tasters and smellers rarely retain their skills.  Those who do can turn it into a pretty good living.
     Sommeliers, those who who pass the stringent three day exam and become members of the American Chapter of the Court of Master Sommeliers, can earn about $140,000 annually at fine restaurants or luxury resorts.  The American Chapter has 118 members with about 5 new members entering each year.
     So what if you are more of a smeller than a taster?  There is always the perfume industry.  The Nose or Le Nez is responsible for developing new fragrances.  In the past, people usually got into this line of work through family contacts.  These days, perfume companies run training programs open to company employees.  The University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom offers a Bachelor's Degree in Business and Perfumery.
     There other jobs that revolve around smelling and tasting.  Did you see the 60 Minutes piece about the Swiss company Givaudan?  Some people view Givaudan as masters of addiction for the tastes and smells they develop and market as food additives.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7389748n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBox
I'm pretty sure there's a little dose of Givaudan in Wawa soft pretzels.  I can't resist them.
     Mike Rowe, the hottest thing in denim since Norm Abram, created boot flavored jelly beans at the Jelly Belly factory.
http://www.dirtyjobsmikerowe.com/2011/02/07/mike-rowe-creates-boot-flavor-jelly-belly-jellybean/
An Easter basket full of those would be the equivalent of a Christmas stocking full of coal, I suppose.  You know, I would love to see a kid wrinkle up his face and spit out candy.

Nothing New Under the Sun

     Yesterday, I lamented the fact that I can't come up with an original idea.  Today, I'm reminded that there isn't anything new under the sun.  A Yahoo news article touts bartering as a smart, penny pinching tactic in today's tough economy.  They say the "age-old way to save money is making a big comeback."  http://news.yahoo.com/bartering--an-age-old-way-to-save-money.html  Come on, guys.  Bartering, like coupon clipping and hand-me-downs, has always around.  It's a new concept only to the twenty-somethings (or thirty-somethings), who have finally moved out of their parents' house, and have to figure out how to make ends meet.
     I first learned about bartering from my mother and Mount Holly's radio station WJJZ (1460 AM).  The station hosted an afternoon show called Buy, Trade, and Sell.  Listeners called in to explain what they wanted to purchase, swap, or unload and they left a phone number.  My mother divested herself of the crib used by her three babies and the chickens that were my science project with the help of WJJZ.
     The women of my generation, the ones who thought we could have it all, put our own special twist on bartering.  Working woman are swappping babysitting services, car pooling the kids to activities, and even dinner preparation.  I have a tough time imagining that meal swaps work with picky eaters, those with allergies, vegans, and gluten frees popping up everywhere.
     My first experience with the barter system occurred in college.  "Juicy Brucie," a friend from Rutgers, claimed stupidity when it came to doing his laundry.  Each week, he dropped off his clothes, a box of Tide , and a pile of quarters.  Figuring that hot water and detergent would kill the Bruce germs (just like they killed the Dad germs at home), I threw our stuff together, getting my wash done for free.
     The challenging thing about bartering is that it has to be a win-win.  Everybody has to be happy with the arrangement.  And then there are the tax implications.  Bartering can be taxable.  Check out this info from the IRS.  http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc420.html  That being said, I won't tell if you won't.

Just One Original Idea

     Eugene Polley, the inventor of the television remote control, died Sunday, May 20, 2012.  Mr. Polley, a Zenith engineer, invented the remote in 1955.  The device was called the Flash-Matic.  http://news.yahoo.com/eugene-polley-inventor-tv-remote-dies-96-160944363--finance.html
     We didn't have a remote control in our house until long after 1955.  My father, the Lord of the TV, scoffed at those too lazy to get up and change a channel.  In reality, he was too cheap to pay extra for the luxury device.  When the remote was included as a standard item with all television sets, Dad never got out of the Stratolounger again.
     Besides wanting to get my writing published, I've often wondered if I could come up with an idea that would be a commercial success.  I'll never invent something like a remote control, but I'm clever enough to come up with an idea like the Pet Rock or the Chia Pet.  If an eight year old could conceive of a new way to microwave bacon, why can't I have just one original (and lucrative) idea?  http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/fleck.html
     Maybe inventiveness requires a childish frame of mind.  If you don't know what isn't possible, then anything is possible.  One little genius was only two when she used a suction cup on an extension to reach out of a confined area and open a forbidden cabinet door.  Her parents realized that they could use this idea to make a tool that allowed wheel chair bound people to extend their reach.  The two year old had a patent by age four.  This link will show you sixteen things invented by kids.  http://www.cnbc.com/id/42497934/Inventions_By_Kids?slide=15  I was amazed to learn that popsicles, the trampoline, and the braille system were invented by youngsters.  My favorite was Man Cans, candles inside recycled soup cans that have manly scents like coffee, leather mitts, and sawdust.  Why didn't I think of that?
     The Pet Rock and Chia pets are novelties.  There are lots of things "invented" to make you smile, but other than, that have limited usefulness.

You'll get some double takes from passers-by

Great idea if you want to walk your fish

You'll never again have to worry that the guy you asked to take your picture will run off with your camera 

     Sometimes it's not a brand new idea, but an improvement on an old idea that changes the world.  Teflon had military uses before it coated the insides of pots and pans.  NASA used temper foam to cushion astronauts and fighter pilots before anyone realized it would make a comfortable mattress.  Maybe I could invent something useful for dog owners since I love dogs.  The retractable leash has already been done.  Forget mobile groomers.  The Three Stooges dog wash concept could use some tweeking.  Yep, I could run with that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfyrMaMCIgE

Heroes

     Did you watch the TV show "Heroes"?  Have you seen the X-Men movies?  As A kid I loved Superman, the Lone Ranger, and most of all, Mighty Mouse.  Yeah, I know, Mighty Mouse was a cartoon.  But he always kissed the girl mouse at the the end.  Mighty Mouse was a chick cartoon.
     Television and movie superheroes are champions of truth, justice, and the American way first, and they masquerade as regular people for their cover.  Regular people don't think about being heroes.  They just rise to the occasion, if the occasion presents itself.  When these regular folks are questioned about their acts of heroism, they usually say that the hero role feels like the masquerade.
     Lately, it seems I encounter stories of heroes everywhere.  I just read the obituary of Ed Ray, the Chowchilla, California bus driver, who, in 1976, led twenty-six children to safety after their bus was high jacked by kidnappers and buried in a rock quarry.    
          http://news.yahoo.com/driver-hero-76-calif-bus-kidnap-dies-163635323.html
     I also read about Leslie Sabo, Jr. who just received the Medal of Honor.  Sabo died 42 years ago saving his patrol in Viet Nam.
          http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/power-players-abc-news/highest-honor-ultimate-sacrifice-102211016.html
     Every now and then, someone falls on the subway tracks in New York, and a fellow New Yorker comes to the rescue.  It happened in 2007 when Cameron Hellopeter had a seizure and Wesley Autry shielded Cameron's body with his own, holding him still while the train passed overhead.  It happened again in 2010 when Carlos Flores pulled Thomas Grant to safety after Grant had a seizure and fell on the tracks.
     When I got my first dog in 1990, I commented to my mother that my Yorkie Spike was a little on the stupid side.  Mom chastised me saying that the "dumb dog" might save my life some day.  I saved the dog's skin a couple of times when she got sick, but she never returned the favor.  She did, however, locate three dead mice that were causing a stink inside a bedroom wall.  I'm sure there are dozens of stories out there about Lassie-esque canine heroes, but I prefer the tale about Lulu, the pot-bellied pig.  Lulu saved her owner when the lady had a heart attack.  The porker squeezed through the doggie door and flopped down in the road trying to catch the attention of passers-by, and she didn't give up until someone followed her back to the house.
          http://old.post-gazette.com/neigh_west/20020409lulu0409p1.asp
     When I was a kid, my neighbor, Lillian Stanley gave her kidney to her son, Fred Stanley.  That was in 1968 or 1969.  A transplanted kidney can last twenty-five years when the donor and recipient are related.  Fred used his mother's kidney for over 40 years.  Sadly, he died in 2010.  Lillian Stanley was a hero.  And you know what else?  She also drove the Hainesport school bus.
     Only a few of us are going to march off to war and give life or limb for our comrades and our country.  Fewer still will have to jump in front of a train to save an epileptic.  If you are a big chicken like me when it comes to needles and pain, you won't volunteer to be a bone marrow donor.  You can, however, still be a hero.  Register as an organ donor through the New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicles.  http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Licenses/organ_donor.htm  Like the bumper sticker says, "Don't take your organs to heaven.  Heaven knows, we need them here."   

     And for those of you who love Mighty Mouse, here he comes to save the day:
          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws_qtS_2YbM&feature=related

Senior Moments

     Yes, I have senior envy.  You can read about that in my blog entry from April 17, 2012.  The one thing I don't envy, and wish I didn't have, is those senior moments that have plagued me for the last couple of years.  How many times have I walked into a room and been unable the remember why I went there in the first place?  How many times have I run into the grocery store to pick up three things, but could only remember two of them?  There are piles of notes on my desk.  I write down every passing thought because nothing sticks in the old memory net any more.
     This guy sums it up it nicely:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv1tMioGgXI

Diversity

     Yesterday, I mentioned my twenty-five years working in social services.  There is endless variety in the human condition.  One thing is for sure: when you think you've seen it all, something new will come down the pike.
     Sometimes our clientele included the mentally ill.  Several encounters were the inspiration for this bit of creative writing:

     I call out a name out to the sea of faces before me.  A man slowly rises from a chair in the waiting room.  He is overweight and moves at a snail’s pace toward the door where I wait.  Finally, he reaches me, and I say, “Follow me, please.”  I go to my desk, sit down, and seat him in front of me.

     I think, as I study him for a few seconds, he looks like an ice cream cone.  The four chair legs are the cone.  His huge body spills all around the chair seat, but tapers up toward narrow shoulders and a small, shiny, bald head.

     “How may I help you,” I ask.  The floodgates open.

     “I’m a very sick man, very sick.  I have hepatitis-C and bi-polar disorder.  I get these crying spells.  It’s all because I was falsely accused of first-degree murder and kidnapping.  I was a successful businessman before that happened.  Also, you need to know, I fell and hit my head.  I spent twenty-seven days at the University of Medicine and Dentistry when that happened, but I really don’t remember it.  Also, I just returned from several foreign countries.  I need a place to stay, because I can’t go back to the University of Medicine and Dentistry.”

     He looks like he’s on the verge of a crying spell.  I give him an application and a few simple instructions.  I watch his back as he gradually returns to the waiting room.  He’s a big tutti-frutti cone, and I’m watching him melt.

It's hard to convince a person with mental illness to seek treatment. It's hard to convince them to stay on their programs. Families of people with mental illness need support.  There is an organization called NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness.  The local NAMI affiliate is located in Moorestown, NJ.  You can call Lucille Klein at (609)280-9254 or Ruth Stotsenberg at (856)220-1602.  
http://www.nami.org/  Estimates can be as high as 1 in 5 people suffering from some sort of mental disorder at some point in their lives.  NAMI is an organization that can provide help for all concerned.

Paper Roses

     Martha Stewart is a bit overbearing, but you have to admit, the girl is crafty.  Her tutorial for making paper roses from double thickness crepe paper made our wedding unique (and saved about $1000 on the flower budget).  The tutorial demonstrates how to construct giant roses.  I just scaled it back to normal sizes.  http://www.marthastewart.com/269341/crepe-paper-roses

Paper Roses Bouquet

Mike's Boutonniere

Centerpiece

The double thick crepe paper that makes the roses look so real seems to be available only online.  Martha's tutorial mentioned that Michael's carries it, but I found this is not the case, at least locally.  I was very happy dealing with the other company she mentions, Castle in the Air https://www.castleintheair.biz/shoppe/?b=10&k=10&c=143.
     After the roses, I went a little nuts with paper products.  I made placemats out of single face corrugated paper.  I found a company in Illinois that has a great line of products and doesn't mind processing small orders for individuals.  http://www.singlefacesupply.com/single-face-corrugated.html
     I also got into dollar bill origami.  http://www.origami-resource-center.com/dollar-bill.html  The recipient of this gift had to do a little work if they wanted to spend their birthday present.

 
I'm no expert on kids, but I think the younger ones would like getting their birthday cash folded into shapes.  It's also a fun  way to leave a tip.