Yessir, that's my baby! (and his baby)

Where is your safe place?

A few years ago I saw a therapist to help me cope with some issues in life. One day we were discussing a particularly intense topic. I was scared - no, I was terrified. And the therapist said to me, "Barb, you need a safe place where you can't be hurt. Where is a place where you can feel safe?"

I couldn't think of anything. At that moment there was nowhere I could imagine being safe from the danger I was feeling. Where could I feel safe? Maybe in the arms of a big, protecting tree. You know, in that place where the trunk splits out into branches. The place where I could sit - hide - and be protected by the strong branch-arms, hidden by the blanket of leaves. In my mind I put myself in that tree...but it was not safe.

My panic grew. "There is no safe place!" I pleaded. "Nothing can keep me safe!"

As I struggled to calm myself an image came to me: A young child. Me. Sitting in my grandfather's lap. Grampa lived with us from the time I was about 6 and we kids used to fight over who got to sit on his lap. When I sat in his lap - in his arms, it felt as if nothing in the world could ever be bad. My grandpa's lap was the safest, warmest, most comforting place I knew.

Where is your safe place?

Must See TV

Life On Mars
Episode 7: The Man Who Sold The World
ABC-TV http://abc.go.com/primetime/lifeonmars)

The last thing you remember is rushing to answer the phone in your car across the street. The year is 2008. But here you are, lying in the street and it isn’t 2008 any more, it’s 1973. Suddenly you’ve been thrust back 25 years to a New York City you haven’t see since you were 4 years old. And you have no idea how or why. Are you dead? Insane? Is this a dream? Or is this reality and 2008 is the dream?

That’s where Detective Sam Tyler finds himself at the beginning of the series, Life on Mars. Based on a popular British series by the same name, Life on Mars puts a 21st century cop in the hippie era, anti-war, racially charged culture of 1970s New York. There are no computers, no DNA testing, no cell phones. Sam’s new coworkers at the 125th precinct are tough, no-nonsense cops who don’t let ethics – and sometimes justice – get in their way.

Sam can’t reconcile his 2008 memories with his 1973 presence. He feels as if he has been sent back 25 years for a reason. He receives “messages” from 2008 by way of radio, television, phone calls, and occasional interaction with the 70s version of a person in his 2008 life. The only person he confides in is Annie. Referred to by her co-workers as No-Nuts Norris, Annie is the token female on the force. With a previous degree in psychology she is a sympathetic ear for Sam, often encouraging him to seek psychological help for what she imagines can only be delusions.

This week’s episode finds Sam face-to-face with his father, Vic, who disappeared in the middle of Sam’s fourth birthday party, which happens to be taking place on the upcoming Saturday in Sam’s 1973 world. Vic has been arrested for kidnapping infant Andrew Kreshpane, but claims he is only a messenger for the up-and-coming Pignato family mob. Eager to vindicate his father, Sam convinces Vic to help the police rescue the baby. What follows is the interaction between an adult Sam and his father, with Sam trying to unravel the mystery of his father’s disappearance and discover the meaning behind a recurring vision of a woman in a red dress whom Sam believes is his mother, Rose, being attacked in the woods beyond the park where Sam’s birthday party takes place.

Episode 7 is the mid-season cliff-hanger so you won’t be surprised to know that the ending leaves us in suspense when Sam finds himself in an empty house, answering the phone and hearing an unknown voice direct him to the basement. Is this the way back to 2008? Is it a Pignato family trap? You’ll have to wait until January 28th when the show moves to Wednesdays after Lost to find out. In the meantime you can catch up on previous episodes online. You won’t regret it.

If I don't come back alive...

When you were a kid (can you remember that long ago?) what was your favorite pasttime with your sibs? Ours was playing on the swing. It hung in a giant sugar maple tree in our front yard. We lived in the boonies and our front yard was pretty big. The "swing tree" was at the edge of the yard, next to an old, no longer in use, cow pasture. My sisters and I played in that swing daily and our favorite game was pretending that the swing was a rocket ship that would take us to a far off world. One of us would man the "cockpit" while another provided the rocket "thrust" by pushing the swing higher and higher. This was before real outer space travel and after the days of the Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon movies so our imaginations were free to roam.

Apparently we traveled light for these excursions to unknown places. The only thing we carried was crackers. Don't ask me why - I simply don't remember. To let the crackers go stale or soft was the worst thing that could happen on our trek. Without those crackers to sustain us we would surely perish in the astronomical unknown. And as we swung higher and higher, we recited these words: "If I don't come back alive, you'll know why. S-o-o-o-g-g-y crackers!"

Autumn's Last Gasp

A short trip down Lakeshore Road today to see what was moving on the lake. Nothing but geese and gulls on this crisp and sunny day. Got a couple of interesting photos but it seems as if most of the usual inhabitants have flown off in search of warmer climes.