by Susan Mattern | Sep 28, 2018 | Life
When I was about five years old, I took a beautiful blue crystal rosary from a classmate and told my mom I had “just found it.” I got in big trouble for taking it – and for lying about it. I learned then that lying is bad. When I met my husband, years...
by Susan Mattern | Sep 20, 2018 | Airplane Window, Flying, View, Window Seat
We left Frankfurt at 10:00 am on a beautiful clear day. Our flight was scheduled to land at JFK in 10 hours and then on to Los Angeles. Because we had booked the flight at the last minute, Don and I had gotten seats in the middle of the airplane. They were all we...
by Susan Mattern | Sep 8, 2018 | Atheist, Hell, Hell for an Atheist, Travel
I, a confirmed atheist, have found the definitive definition of hell. Now, hear me out, please. If there really were a hell, and who knows, maybe there is, I discovered what it would be. We had to cancel our five-week vacation in Europe after one week because of my...
by Susan Mattern | Aug 30, 2018 | Food
Do you ever feel you get too much information about food? I might not be an expert on food, but I’ve had a long relationship with it. And I thought I knew a few things about what to eat and what not to eat. That is, until I find something on the Internet that...
by Susan Mattern | Aug 13, 2018 | Doors, The Front Door
When I taught in a California high school for four years, one of the privileges given to seniors was the permission to use the front entrance to the high school. Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors hated the rule, and complained about it constantly. And they were right....
by Susan Mattern | Aug 6, 2018 | 70th Birthday, Aging, Cats, Dogs, Dogs and Cats, Golden Retriever, Pets, Sunny, Turning Seventy, Walter and Ralph
(“Ralph and the Lemon Meringue Pie” • Illustration by Heather Small, my daughter-in-law) I’ve heard that two of the saddest and most depressing things about aging are boredom and lack of companionship. I turned 70 last month, but I’ve never...
by Susan Mattern | Aug 2, 2018 | Atheist, Catholic, Convent, Lack of faith, Religion, Virgins and Martyrs
When I was in the convent a long time ago, we had a lot of instruction periods about virgins and martyrs. I don’t know why the women who were martyred were mostly virgins – I guess mothers didn’t have much time to defend their faith. They were busy...
by Susan Mattern | Jul 30, 2018 | 70th Birthday, Advantages of Turning 70, Aging, Birthdays, Old-Life Crisis, Turning Seventy
So much has been written about getting old – most of it is either trying to be funny, or it’s just plain sad. Since I’m turning 70 in a few days, I thought I’d try my hand at it. I’ve found that there are some real advantages to getting old, as opposed to...
by Susan Mattern | Jul 27, 2018 | 70th Birthday, Aging, Birthdays, Finding Purpose in Life, Life, Old-Life Crisis, Turning Seventy
I’m very ambivalent about turning seventy this month. On the one hand, I’m glad I’m still around for my 70th birthday. On the other hand, seventy is really OLD! I managed to pretend I was still middle-aged for a long time. I ignored my first AARP...
by Susan Mattern | Jul 20, 2018 | 1020s Candy Bar, Chicken Dinner, Chicken Dinner Candy Bar, Father, German, German-American, Immigrant, Starting Over
My dad left Germany in 1927 to come to the United States. His father had already arrived here, and was working as a bricklayer. He told my dad there were many jobs for carpenters and that he really should come to America. So my dad left Hamburg. He was lucky to leave...
