It's frustrating, yet it's understandable. Rolling out the vaccine was always going to be a serious challenge.
BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Our mom is 93-years-old but don't let that number fool you, she's probably more "with it" than most people you'll ever meet. She also likes to ask lots of questions (Black obviously inherited that trait from her) and definitely takes her time making decisions, which often frustrates people around her. Especially when it's about unimportant decisions. But it was totally understandable in terms of whether to get the COIVD-19 vaccine.
Unfortunately, by the time she decided that she was willing to be vaccinated, all the local registration systems were already closed until further doses became available. So, Red (who lives near our mom) went out on her electronic neighborhood bulletin board and asked if anyone had suggestions on how to get our mom vaccinated. The replies soon came flooding in, which was not only amazing and extremely helpful, but also showed the genuine goodness of people and the desire to help other each, including a total stranger.
As a result, Red soon realized that finding the vaccine providers and locations, as well as reviewing the procedures for signing up, yet alone actually getting an appointment (or even getting on a waiting list) was a major project. How could anyone, yet alone a 93-year-old woman who didn't have a computer or a smart phone, navigate this maze?
Red shared all this information with Black, mostly to keep her updated, but also in case she might have some additional suggestions or thoughts. Black knew of various people who had already been vaccinated, but their health providers had reached out to them given existing medical conditions that put them at high risk, and each had jumped at the chance to get vaccinated. Yet, at the same time, Black knew of people who somehow just seemed to have gotten "very lucky" and been vaccinated very early and easily.
At the time of this post, our mom has had her first vaccine shot, and although relieved, Red thinks it's a scavenger hunt for most people.Even for those who have priority. Black thinks it's more like a treasure hunt, a "serious" treasure hunt …
This is no game.Unlike the search for toilet paper, for some people, this could be life or death.
Red started to write warm and fuzzy Christmas and holiday greetings, but Black said some things are worth repeating … like our simple Christmas post from 2023 (check out the movie clip) …
No matter what holiday you may celebrate, Red can’t help but quote a line from one of her favorite Christmas songs, “Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light. From now on, your troubles will be out of sight.”
And Black can’t help but point out that the song wasn’t introduced in a Christmas movie but in the movie "Meet Me In St. Louis."
Wishing you a merry everything and a happy always!
Sadie Hawkins Day … some may find it sexist. Some may find it inspirational. Others just nostalgic. Our take on it hasn’t changed since we first issued this post. But if you asked Black for a car analogy (she always has one), she’d tell you it’s about taking the wheel and leading the way …
Comic strip or reality show: A group of bachelors participates in a foot race, and whoever's caught by the single woman in the race will become her husband.
BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: We may be sisters, but except for growing up with the same parents in the same house in New York, that may be where the similarities end; especially in terms of dating "protocol" as Black never thought twice about asking boys (and later men) out on a date, while Red never gave it any thought, accepting the convention that boys did the asking. (She did make an exception for her senior prom but was shocked when he accepted.)
When it comes to Sadie Hawkins Day, we both agree it's a quirky holiday that makes it "acceptable" for girls to ask out boys, but of course, we have very different perspectives. For Red, it conjures up images of Sadie Hawkins Day dances, although she never went to one and doesn't even remember how she knows about them. While Black's fascinated by how it all began with the cartoonist Al Capp and his popular "Lil' Abner" comic strip and quickly became a pop culture phenomenon.
Now, over 80 years later, if you were to analyze Sadie Hawkins Day, you would probably find it outdated and sexist. But why not just laugh at its silly beginnings and enjoy the day. The funny thing is Red still thinks men should ask out women, while Black always believed that every day's Sadie Hawkins Day.“A Dictator & His Mistress” might have been a catchier title, but that doesn’t change the fact that the combination of history and food makes this one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites. While Black loves the leadership lessons (from a dictator?!). Curious? If so, read on …
Quick! If someone says "Julius Caesar," what comes to mind?
BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Almost everyone has heard of Julius Caesar, but how many of us really know much about him, or at least that's what Red starts to wonder when she receives the usual flippant, but still accurate, reply from her sister, after feeling very proud that she knew that July was named after the famous Roman.
Which is what got Red to realize, much to her surprise (shock, if truth be told), that even as a straight-A student with a love of history, that when it came to Julius Caesar, a famous historical figure and possibly one of the greatest generals and statesmen of all time, she couldn't tell you dates or battles or anything "historical" associated with him.
Even as a theater major in college, she never read Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," although she knew just enough about the play to know that it was where the fortune teller warned Caesar to "Beware the Ides of March." Instead, her knowledge of Caesar came from her love of movies.
My first, and probably my most enduring, memory is of a brilliant general who not only commanded armies as he conquered lands far from home but was a great statesman who was also involved with one of the world's most beautiful women. And while he was Julius Caesar and the woman was Cleopatra, to me, they'll always be Rex Harrison and Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, a movie almost as controversial as the general himself.
And Black? Besides knowing that Caesar Salad was invented by a different Caesar, she appreciates Julius Caesar's leadership skills and way with words,
There is much we can learn about leadership from Julius Caesar, whether on the battlefield, in politics, or in business (start small, take risks, communicate well), including what ultimately led to his death (always consider worst-case scenarios, never get complacent or arrogant). Many of his quotes speak (pun intended) to his powerful way with words, and the ability to not only deliver a message but to inspire (and story tell), with my favorite being, "I came, I saw, I conquered."