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13699. judithathome - 2/4/2005 10:11:00 PM I wore read today but it was purel;y by accident.
Mags or Robert, if you are around, could you go into my newpaper site and check to see if my letter is in there today? I didn't get a paper today, even after I called at 8am and bitched about not getting one...they said they would send one right out and here it is 2pm and no paper.
And NOW the damned site won't come up, either.
13700. judithathome - 2/4/2005 10:25:56 PM Jeez....I wore RED. 13701. wabbit - 2/4/2005 11:49:13 PM The RC won't take my blood anymore, but I am wearing red. 13702. Magoseph - 2/5/2005 12:35:02 AM Judith, it's not here today--I'll check it tomorrow, though. 13703. arkymalarky - 2/5/2005 12:57:54 AM Dadgum, Jen. That's unreal.
What I do in the next two or three years depends on 1) whether my district stays, which looks pretty good right now and 2) how much time this rural advocacy sideline takes up after next year.
Mags, I don't know how long you've taught or what retirement policies are in your state, but in mine I can retire with full benefits in four years and with 90% of them after next year. Then I could go back to teaching four classes AND continue to draw retirement. I talked to a friend last night who's doing that after 35 years of teaching (I have 24) and she loves it.
13704. Magoseph - 2/5/2005 1:33:54 AM Teaching was a late career for me, Arky, so I am unlikely ever to meet the requirements in Wisconsin. As a result, I am not absolutely certain what the requirements here are. As for the five years I taught in Oklahoma City, I withdrew and invested in my IRA account when I moved back up here. I'll do the same thing eventually for Wisconsin since I am home to stay, it appears.
13705. arkymalarky - 2/5/2005 3:47:26 AM That's too bad, but it might not be an option there to retire then go back part time and still draw retirement like it is here. I was amazed it was an option. Everyone I know who teaches part time loves it--full time has gotten to be such a lot of work with all the state paperwork requirements and NCLB, but teaching is still a lot of fun. Unless I go to full time advocacy work down the road it's what I intend to do when I'm eligible. 13706. Magoseph - 2/5/2005 4:04:12 PM That's too bad...
Arky, no, not for me--I have other sources of retirement income. Teaching was fun for me when I worked for Michelin with executives who needed the language, so I thought it would be a cinch with teens and it was, overall. I’ll find out if retired teachers can work part-time in this state. I know the state is changing the rules for health benefits now, but if I were still teaching, it would not affect me either--I never used their health benefits.
13707. Magoseph - 2/5/2005 5:50:18 PM -- and don't you wish you could be one of us?''
Yes, I guess, but I don't want to wear a purple dress and a red hat.
Middle Age? Bring It On
By ROB WALKER
The Red Hat Society
A great deal of attention and study have been devoted to individuals who, as a result of feeling marginalized by mainstream culture, adopt a recognizable visual look and form a new social group. Take the 1979 book ''Subculture: The Meaning of Style,'' in which Dick Hebdige deconstructed punks, mods, teddy boys and others. Hebdige called them ''spectacular subcultures,'' and his observations apply to any number of groups, from goths to skateboarders to b-boys. Communicating ''significant difference,'' as well as group identity, Hebdige wrote, ''is the 'point' behind the style of all spectacular subcultures.'' It almost goes without saying that nearly all of these groups were and are made up of young people, and that these days much of the studying is done by marketers, professional trend-spotters and a huge chunk of the entertainment industry.
Which raises an obvious point: youth culture hardly seems marginalized from mainstream society lately; the mainstream is obsessed with youth. If you want to see a marginalized class that has formed a modern ''spectacular subculture,'' then look at the Red Hat Society, notable for bright costumes, exuberant group behavior and the fact that it is made up of women age 50 and older. Here the subculture motive is to challenge the way that society expects older women to behave. ''It's a very genuine feeling -- 'You need to get off the stage now and go sit somewhere in the back,' '' says Sue Ellen Cooper, the 60-year-old ''founder and exalted queen mother'' of the society. ''Well, no, I'll tell you when I'm ready to do that.'' Founded in 1998, the society now has about 850,000 members worldwide. It also operates a 3,000-square-foot retail shop, has 26 licensing deals and sells hundreds of products through department and specialty stores as well as through its Web site, including at least 30 varieties of actual red hats.
Cooper says that this is not what she expected to happen. The story goes that she bought a red fedora in a Tucson, Ariz., thrift store in 1997, on a whim. Then she gave red hats to a few friends as birthday gifts, rounded up a group to wear the hats, along with purple dresses, to a tearoom. Subsequent gatherings followed, and a handful of articles sparked the formation of more chapters, which led to more media stories and more chapters; there are more than 36,000 now. What these women do when they meet is, basically, goof off. Fred Cohen, of the film-production company Creative Presentations, has been working on a Red Hat documentary, recording Red Hatters engaged in everything from drum circles to fashion shows to dance parties to huge conventions at which they gather in the thousands. He has also interviewed health care experts on the benefits of all this open-ended fun and belonging. ''Something about being in a purple dress and red hat makes them free,'' he says. ''It's a badge.''
Early on, Cooper recalls, members wanted T-shirts and sweatshirts, as well as suitable hats. When third-party companies started to pop up to meet those needs, Cooper figured it was time for the Red Hat Society to start making official products. It may seem odd that a social group would acquire a commodity element. But as Hebdige pointed out, back in the 1970's, even the most rebellious subcultures were on some level consumption-based. Each ''communicates through commodities even if the meanings attached to those commodities are purposefully distorted or overthrown,'' he wrote. The ''most mundane objects'' can be subverted and ''take on a symbolic dimension'' -- like a safety pin. Or a red hat. And thus the extensive line of Red Hat stuff, from shoes made by Keds to pricey jewelry to a best-selling book and even a lifestyle magazine.
One difference is that the Red Hat Society is based on humor and camaraderie, without stridency and anger. It's also inclusive, with none of the usual subculture hierarchies based on who is authentic and who is a poseur. Women who are not yet 50 can become Pink Hatters -- getting in on the scene as they wait to cross the threshold to full membership. This may be the most subversive aspect of the Red Hat Society -- it's a subculture that does not lose power or meaning as its membership grows, but rather gains even more. ''The whole idea,'' Cooper says, ''is, O.K, so it's a little silly, but it's for us, and we're not hurting anybody -- and don't you wish you could be one of us?'' 13708. Magoseph - 2/5/2005 5:54:34 PM Hello, Wonkers, Wabbit, and everyone.
47 is predicted today. If it happens, it will be an all-time record for this date. 13709. Magoseph - 2/5/2005 5:55:03 PM Toys 13710. arkymalarky - 2/5/2005 5:55:59 PM I meant it's too bad because it would make going back to teaching part time worth the take-home money (what you'd make+what you'd draw in retirement that you receive while you teach) rather than having to weigh whether full time (especially with such a long commute) would be worth all the time it would take up. And if you really miss teaching you could still be home a lot. If I was to retire and couldn't draw retirement and teach, I would likely either go into another field entirely or just not work, but it makes a good option to stay in the profession and lighten the load without taking too much of a pay cut to make it worth it.
Our health benefits here are outrageous either way, unfortunately, but I guess it's better than nothing, so that's another plus--I'd still be eligible. Bob's is the same as mine, of course, but to quit and go on his is expensive. For people who stay in full time there's also something called a T-drop that lets you make extra money off your retirement for every year past eligibility that you teach. So if I worked full time (I don't know about part time) from age 51 until 66 I would make a lot of retirement money in that time in addition to my salary, but of course I couldn't draw it out until I retired, whereas if I dropped to part time I don't think I could T-drop but I could draw retirement.
It's time for me to start thinking about all that stuff after 24 years of teaching and Mose about to be on her own health insurance-wise in the next three or four years. I can't believe it, really. 13711. arkymalarky - 2/5/2005 5:56:21 PM Oops. 13712. Magoseph - 2/5/2005 5:56:29 PM Does it work finally? 13713. thoughtful - 2/5/2005 10:46:05 PM Don't remember if I mentioned to you guys or not about our jeep. Well, finally got digital pictures of it.
 13714. thoughtful - 2/5/2005 10:46:06 PM Don't remember if I mentioned to you guys or not about our jeep. Well, finally got digital pictures of it.
13715. wonkers2 - 2/5/2005 10:48:45 PM Cool wheels! 13716. thoughtful - 2/5/2005 10:49:10 PM oops. no idea how that happened...i only clicked once!
Any way it's a 1948 cj-2a that my dad bought new. It has about 20,000 miles on it. Body and all is original. We had it restored a couple of years ago. Restoration consisted of largely replacing any thing rubber, fixing the dents and such my brother put in it when he used to drive it through the woods, and fixing up some rust.
 13717. PelleNilsson - 2/5/2005 10:49:58 PM Is that an optional six-wheel drive you have there? 13718. thoughtful - 2/5/2005 10:51:49 PM We had it painted in the original luzone red with the cream accents. We have the bows for the old canvas top, but never had that part restored. Now we use it just for fun. Local dairy queen has a cruise night with antique cars and 50s music and such so we'll head down there on a summer night for some sweet treats and good conversation with other old car buffs.
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