WHO ARE YOUR FRIENDS

Take a minute and think about your close friends. Are they all within ten years of your age? If so, do you think that's by choice or by happenstance? Does age make a difference in our choice of friends? We tend to develop friendships with people who share our hobbies, our line of work, our religion, etc, etc. Of course we tend to feel most comfortable with and gravitate toward those people who also share our world view. Last night I met a woman who is in her early nineties. It turned out we had a lot in common and we chatted for quite awhile. I think we could become good friends. Today I was introduced to a young mother who is in her early twenties. Interestingly enough, we also had a long conversation and elected to continue our conversation over lunch next week. I think sometimes we dismiss people as potential friends because we assume they are too old fashioned or too modern for our tastes. Unfortunately, if we never start the conversation we may never discover what might be a golden fit.

IT'S ALL RELATIVE

I traveled from Michigan to spend the Thanksgiving holidays in Los Angeles. My son's mother-in-law, Linda, hosted Thanksgiving dinner. Linda decided to purchase plastic patio chairs for extra seating as about thirty people were expected. So, in addition to last minute food purchases we shopped for plastic patio chairs. No chairs were found at Costco, Home Depot, or two supermarkets. When we arrived home, I called Target and Walmart. No one had the chairs and can you guess why! "Plastic patio chairs are seasonal"...they were no longer on the sales floors but stored until spring. What! In Michigan seasonal changes are drastic and obvious. Are those subtle temperature fluctuations in Los Angeles actually called seasons? Do retailers realize their customers actually use their patios year-round? Isn't that the point of living in Southern California!