Musing

Sharing My World – 4.1.25

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Di at pensitivity101 is asking us
to ‘Share Your World’ by answering
a few questions. I can do that!

● Can you remember your first camera?

Yes, both my sister and I were given Kodak Instamatic cameras for Christmas, probably around 1960. They were pretty basic and looked like this:

  • Can you remember when you had your first mobile phone?

The year was 2000 and I had a no frills Motorola flip phone. The following year immediately after the September 11th attacks and during the next couple of days, I was very thankful for that phone. For too many of us in New York, our cell phone was our only lifeline.

  •  Can you remember your first car?

Sure! I was a late bloomer as far as driving was concerned; it seemed there was always someone around to take me wherever I wanted to go. I rode the bus to school and my mother would drive me to every other place where I couldn’t ride the bus, take my bike or walk with my friends. When Bill and I started dating, he already had his driver’s license and a car; he started picking me up from school and driving me wherever I had to go. In 1975, we bought our first house in the suburbs. Bill was busy with his job at Goldman Sachs in Manhattan; the time had come for me to be self-sufficient and independent. I took some driving lessons, passed the road test and bought my first car …. a used orange Dodge Aspen station wagon. It was hideous but I didn’t care! Ever since then, I have loved driving. I’ll drive anywhere, I don’t get rattled on the road and I’m a good driver. And I’m the one who does almost all the driving now.

  •  What was your first job as an adult?
    My first job as an adult was as secretary to one of the Vice Presidents of Dun & Bradstreet in Manhattan. His name was Guyon Knight …. a Cajun from Louisiana; he spoke fast and it was virtually impossible to understand him. Mr. Knight hated dictation machines and refused to use them. The first time I had to take dictation from him was a complete disaster; I botched the entire letter so badly, we had to start all over. I was too embarrassed to ask him to slow down so I acted as though I was getting the whole thing when I actually had nothing legible on my steno pad. When Joe Saner, one of the other bosses in our department, saw me in tears, I explained my dilemma and he assured me that that sort of thing happened all the time with Guyon Knight; no one understood a word he said! I just happened to be the first secretary to break down! Well, everyone took pity on me and I started over at Dun and Bradstreet as secretary to Joe Saner. I was there for almost 5 years and left because Bill and I wanted to start a family. Not only was that my first job, it was my only job until 2002 when I started a part-time gig as a church organist/choir director. I’ve been retired since 2009 when our first grandchild was born.

Gratitude: I was floundering for a while regarding my physical health which in turn impacted my emotional health. They go hand in hand, don’t they? I allowed myself to become ‘lazy’ in my exercise routine and my writing. Maybe complacent is a better word in terms of writing, particularly poetry. My muscles were becoming weak and the pain from arthritis in my neck reached an all-time high. I reached out to my former physical therapist (I call him Dr. Wonder!) and learned he had started making house calls a couple of weeks before! Unreal! I immediately scheduled him for twice weekly appointments, which are ongoing. My son, the librarian, told me about a poetry lecture series/mini writing course sponsored by the library, which I attended. I was never truly comfortable with writing poems and I believe I’ve improved. Walking regularly is still part of the plan and it will happen, especially now that Spring is springing! For these people in my life, their help and the resources available to me, I have a truly grateful heart.

NAR©2025

This is “Thank You” by Sly and the Family Stone

Sharing my World 31st March 2025

All text and graphics are copyright for Nancy’s Notes 🖊️🎶, The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, The Rhythm Section, et al., and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

25 thoughts on “Sharing My World – 4.1.25”

  4. What a lovely recalling of the past, my friend. That camera reminds me a lot of my childhood. Taking a shot in front of our house was always a great event. The cameraman would pass once a week. Imagine, once a week. Time really flies.

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  6. As well as reminding me of my Kodak Brownie 127 camera, you took me back to my first mobile phone – it actually belonged to my employer and I had to take it with me when I was out and about selling our wares (my first job!) It sat on an enormous battery which I carried with a shoulder strap, and I would place it on the pavement when making calls. Because they were someone rare back then I used to get a lot of funny looks!

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  9. Thanks for joining in Nancy and sharing your world.
    Health first. Too often we let things slip for ourselves when we’re busy looking after someone else. My arthritis consultation has been put back until June so I’m glad of the exercise class each week and also being able to walk Maya, even if only short distances.

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