Dancing with the elderly

Edna:  You know, in my day, I could really turn heads out on the dance floor but I'm just not that flexible any more.  I don't know how this lady in Ohio does it, but she's still doing splits at 94 years old!  Gosh, I hope she takes Boniva or something, you could really break a hip that way.

Margie: You turned heads for sure because your partners always yelled when you smashed their toes!

Boniva? She'd best have a few stiff drinks before she dances. I'm no fool so I'll just sit here and watch TV dancing.

Edna:  At least she's brave enough to get out there and dance at her age.  When was the last time you did something unexpected for your age, Margie?  Oh wait, you act like a floozy all the time so I guess I have my answer.

Egads, it's a blimp!

Edna:  Margie, what would you do if I told you a blimp crashed in the back yard last night?

Margie: Edna, it's a crying shame how you try to get your picture in the paper! I suppose you used your old "I was abducted by aliens" too. Mama, I hope you're not awake to see this fool.

Edna:  There you go again, running off at the mouth before you get the whole story!  I didn't say it happened in our back yard, you idiot.  I was just asking a hypothetical question based something I saw in the news.

If I were that lady with the blimp in her yard, I'd have held on to it until the company that owned it up ponied up something good for its return.  Possession is 9/10ths of the law, and the company it belongs to makes vodka.  You don't have to be a genius to do that math.

Margie: Good Lord, sister, look up the number of that company. I'm going to call them and let them know that a blimp of theirs knocked me down last night. I need some of that vodka for my mental upset!

May 4, 1970: Innocence Lost

May 4 Memorial, Kent State University

The May 4 Memorial is surrounded by 58,175 daffodils
to symbolize those U.S. servicemen and servicewomen
who lost their lives in the Vietnam War.

Edna: Margie, today is the 40-year anniversary of those awful shootings at Kent State University in Ohio. Do you remember when that happened?

Margie: Edna, it seems like only yesterday that this happened. I wasn't alone in feeling shock, sadness, and a shift in the world as we'd known it. Many illusions were shattered that day and this country felt connected by the purest form of grief.

Edna: You're so right. You know, a news story the other day related to the May 4th protests caught my attention. It talked about how so many of the 1970 senior classes at Ohio universities were denied a commencement ceremony because the campuses were shut down after the demonstrations and the shootings. But there is something nice coming out of it: to mark the 40-year anniversary, many of them are being invited to walk with the 2010 graduating classes, to make up for the graduation they missed. Isn't that lovely? I think it helps to bring those events full circle; from something horrible to something good.

Margie: That's wonderful, Edna. I hope that will bring some good feelings to shine on that sad time. I'm sure it hasn't been easy for the families of those National Guardsmen either.

Edna: I imagine not. It would be good if today folks could reflect on everyone who lost their innocence that day, on what was sacrificed, and on what we could still learn about peace and understanding.

Margie: I agree, Edna. We're all brothers and sisters beneath it all.