Signs of the Times?

            I was driving along the other day when a sign caught my attention.

            It was a relatively small sign on a pole and it looked to be hand-lettered.

            The only word on the white background was “Divorce.”  Under the word, though, was “$149.00.”

            Talk about “false advertising” or deception, that would be it.  I don’t know any divorced person - or even relative or friend of a divorced person - who would agree that the cost of a divorce is only $149.00. 

            Come to think about it, there aren’t many of those things we call “major life events” that don’t end up costing a fortune or so.

            Just look at marriage.  Sometimes young adults are encouraged to wait until they can afford marriage before taking the step.  They might as well remain single.

            Likewise, many times young couples are advised not to have children until they can afford them.  They just as well remain childless.

            All of the words of advice and encouragement are meaningful; yes, it does help to get one’s feet on the ground financially – at least somewhat – before taking on certain major responsibilities. 

            But, just like divorces cost a whole lot more than $149.00, marriage and child-rearing are expensive propositions.

            In fact, just living is pretty doggoned expensive. 

            That’s not all, though.  Have you looked at the cost of dying recently?

            If there were a way for people to wait until we could afford dying to die, we’d all be living to the age of Methuselah.

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The Trouble With Marriage, Divorce and Carrying On, or Who Am I?

Who am I?

Well, it looks like the answer depends on where I am.

And that, my friends, is one of the problems with marriage, divorce and carrying on – at least for those of us who comprise the “fairer” sex.

Yes, I know.  In church the answer to the Who-am-I-question is “Child of God.”

And there’s nothing better than being a child of God.

Just don’t try that answer with the government. Try it, and you just might get hauled off to a place you’d rather not go.

There are lots of answers I could give other than “child of God.” For examples, I’m the daughter of Ryan and Elsie; wife of Karl; mother of Tiffany, Tree and Mandy; sister of Rod, Christy, Shawn and Lorri; grandmother of Harrison – not to mention nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, in-laws and such.

Regardless, none of these answers work with the government either.

So, that brings me to the name game. The name I go by is “Sherry Shealy Martschink.” I’m also “Mrs. Karl J. Duppstadt.” And, of course, I’m called “Mom” but can’t even get “Grandma” from my grandson; he calls me “Puff.”

None of those work at most places for me either. My checks show “Sherry Shealy Martschink” but the bank has a different name.

My passport, voter registration card and Social Security card all have Sherry Shealy Martschink but that’s not what’s on my driver’s license.

The bank and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) won’t change their records without a court order, although a bank representative indicated it could be changed at the bank after it’s changed on the driver’s license.

Do you really think a government agency would accept "Child of God" or "Puff" to solve this problem???

So, it’s off to court I go.

I hope I get my choice of names. I certainly don’t want the judge to decide I’m “Anna Banana” or some other odd name.

Until then, I’ll just continue with my identity crisis.

Have You Seen Elvis???

Sunday will be the anniversary of Elvis' death.

And that reminded me of an incident from the past.

Years ago, after the ex and I split up, I was bedless for a while. He got the bedroom set because his parents had given it to us.

I could do without a bed but not without a refrigerator, for example. I slept on a pallet on the floor, and this actually helped my back. (I’ve had two back surgeries.)

This was fine, no real problems.
Until one night.
My son, Tree, came to the bedroom and asked, “Mom, have you seen Elvis?”

What had he just asked me? Did he really say Elvis???
“Tree, Elvis has been dead for years!”

Somewhat frantic, he said, “No, Mom, I’m talking about Jon’s Elvis.”
I had absolutely no idea what or who he was in such a dither about. I knew who Jon was; I thought I knew who Elvis was – with an emphasis on “was.”

As it turns out, Tree was babysitting Jon’s pet hamster while Jon and his family were vacationing. Elvis was the hamster and he had gotten out of his cage and out of Tree’s grasp as well.

There was a critter loose in our house and I had been sleeping on the floor! That isn’t the kind of thing that gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling. Fuzzy? Well, maybe so. Warm? No way!

After that, I slept on the sofa. To this day, I’m convinced that the children kept other critters in the house from time to time without my knowledge and, thank goodness, without incident.




Flickr photo by violinsoldier.

Sarah Palin and Joe Biden: Real People????

This isn’t a political discussion, and yet it is. It’s just not a partisan political discussion.

I’m sorta (for non-Southerners, that’s “sort of”) glad Sarah Palin and Joe Biden are the candidates for vice president. (At least we know the next vice president will have a two-syllable last name that ends with an "n.")

That’s because I sometimes wonder if elected officials, especially those in the highest offices, experience life like the rest of us do. I wonder if they have to make the tough decisions that the rest of us have to make. Sarah Palin and Joe Biden have some real life experiences.

Just after Joe Biden was first elected to Congress, his wife and daughter were killed in an automobile accident. His sons were injured in the wreck. He experienced tragedy and loss. Then, all of a sudden, he was a single parent. Later, he remarried, so he knows what it’s like to deal with “step” issues. His sons had a step-mom with his remarriage.

Biden was stopped in his bid for the presidency in 1988 because of issues related to plagiarism in a speech.

Sarah Palin has a special needs child, although since the child is just a few months old right now, she hasn’t yet had to deal with the problems to the extent she will have to over the next few decades. She has a pregnant teen-aged daughter, and we’ve learned that the teenager and her boyfriend will marry and keep the baby.

Sarah Palin is a working mom (and, yes, Joe Biden is a working dad, although his children are now grown); she has five children, one of whom is being deployed overseas later this month. Palin’s sister is divorced from someone who threatened violence and abuse against family.


In no way do I rejoice that these two candidates have had personal problems. However, even when we as the general public seem to want our politicians held to extremely high standards, we also want to know they understand the rest of us and the choices we sometimes have to make, don’t we? What do you think?