Linda L. Oestreich

Tonight, as I was doing a little catch-up reading in the salle de bain, I saw an article in AARP Magazine on how important it is to have a virtual presence in today’s world of work. Along with the tips about how to get us “aging boomers” into the 21st Century, they spoke about a tool called an Online ID Calculator. You can find it at http://www.onlineidcalculator.com . Surprisingly, after I did the steps they recommended, I turned out to be “digitally distinct”!  Who woulda thunk it?

Are you?

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Thank you to MaryRWise for this wonderful list of firsts! It was fun remembering.

First Job:  Fruit seller. At a road-side stand!

First Favorite Politician:  George McGovern — the first presidential candidate that I voted for back in 1972 (same as MaryRWise!)
First Car:  1955 Chevy, blue and white. It had been family car and I bought it from my Dad for $50 in 1966. Then, when I was “kicked out” of home, he wouldn’t let me take the car! So, my REAL first car was a 1952 Buick…It was a HUGE.
First Record/CD:  Roy Orbison’s Crying. I was such a sap, I loved anything by Roy. His songs were SO plaintive.
First Sport Played:  Boys. They were my first and favorite sport for many years. Actually played on a co-ed 3-pitch softball team (the Misfits) for many years, but that wasn’t until I was in my 30s!

First Concert: Neil Diamond or Gordon Lightfoot or maybe, Jesse Colin Young. Things back then are pretty fuzzy.

First Foreign Country Visited: Morocco. My family moved there when I was 5 and we stayed until I was 8.

First Favorite TV Show: Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, on Sunday nights at 8:00. Also LOVED Rawhide, on Friday nights! Still think Clint Eastwood is mighty fine!

First Favorite Actor:  Clint Eastwood…see above.

First Favorite Actress: Natalie Wood and Julie Andrews…the naughty and the nice.

First Girlfriend/Boyfriend: Danny Garcia. Red-headed, lived in the neighborhood, and was a year older than me. I think I still love him a little.

First Encounter with a Famous Person: All my famous-person encounters happened because of STC. I think the first was Edwin Newman, then Stephen Jay Gould. Both made huge impressions on me.

First Brush With Death: None really, but not because I didn’t take chances. I was horribly reckless as a young adult…it’s a wonder I lived through it. Fast driving and lots of drama!

First House/Condo Owned: 606 Woodlake Circle, Sugar Land, TX., and not until 1991. Never could afford one when I was younger and in California.

First Film Seen:  First one I remember was going into New York City on the bus with my mom to see A Hole in the Head with Frank Sinatra…he sang “High Hopes.”

First Favorite Recording Artist: Roy Orbison, the Everly Brothers, & Elvis!

First Favorite Radio Station:  K-RTH (K-Earth), a radio station from Los Angeles that we could get on our AM radios!

First Book I Remember Reading: Andersen’s Fairy Tales. My favorite was “The Angel.” It was sad and hopeful all at the same time.

First Meme You Answered on Your Blog: this one?

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Peace comes from many places

An old friend stopped by this site and asked me how I have found inner peace, and my response to him produced this entry.

First, don’t let me fool you…I’m not always filled with inner peace…but I am seldom angry and I don’t think I’ve felt anything approaching rage in years.  I don’t meditate every day, but I do pray most days…even though I don’t think of myself as religious, I do feel a connection with some universal being or entity that ties everything together.  I think it’s more of an energy field that I have been tapped into for several years.  Sometimes I lose it and get depressed or sad or cranky, but for the most part, those times are short-lived.

No one had ever asked me how I find contentment…and I had to really think on it to answer the question…maybe it’s not one major thing but a string of little things, that taken together, is powerful.

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Tags: A New Earth, contentment, Eckhart Tolle, gratitude, inner peace, love, mindfulness, patience, prayer
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My Cosmo...(well, a reasonable facsimile, anyway!)

I own and drive a 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid named Cosmo. Cosmo has 53K miles on him and he’s in tip-top shape! He went in for his 50K checkup today and came out with flying colors. Tires rotated, oil changed, wipers replaced, hybrid-battery filter changed, and a bazillion other checks all checked and good.  I still take him to the place I bought him, Witt Lincoln (they were Witt Lincoln Mercury when I bought him, about a year before Ford quit making Mercurys (Mercuries?)), even tho he’s long out of warranty. So far, their customer service has been seamless and their prices are even good. The buying experience was as easy as it gets and I’ve been thrilled with all that’s gone on since.  Today, they brought me to work and picked me up when the car was ready (in a Bee-U-Tee-Full Lincoln Navigator), and the whole darned experience was perfect.  Heck, Cosmo even got a bath! I do love my little car and I just couldn’t help but put the experience in writing! Life is good and I’m a happy camper. And, since so many dealers are less than perfect, I thought I’d give Witt a nice testimonial.  So, if you’re in the San Diego area and are interested in a new car, check out Witt.  You won’t be disappointed.

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I feel a great urge to populate this site with lots of stuff. Not sure how to upload individual letters and/or presentations yet, but I’ll figure it out. In the meantime, I thought it would be fast and easy and maybe even a little interesting to list a few random facts about me. 

My 4-legged daughters

1. I was born in Brooklyn, New York.
2. I lived in Port Lyautey, Morocco for 2.5 years (city now named Kenitra).
3. I collect ostriches because so many folks mispronounce my last name that way.
4. I have a dog named Karma and a cat named Charley (see picture).
5. I went to 8 or 9 different grammar schools.
6. I was a “Navy brat” (see #5), but my parents finally settled down when I was in 6th grade.
7. I had 2 brothers and 1 sister.
8. The older of my brothers died in 1996–a month before my nephew was born.
9. My brother Bob lives in Desert Hot Springs with his son and my sister, who is disabled, lives in a rest home of sorts.
10. I love public speaking (how many of you can say that?).

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Tags: critters, family, friends, Morocco, ostriches
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