Front Porch: A smorgasborg of thoughts to chew on

Sometimes there are random thoughts that don’t quite expand enough to make for a full Front Porch column, but they continue to rattle around in my brain nevertheless. And so today, I’m going to discharge a few in some short bursts.

First, the panoply of TV offerings and the complexity (not to mention the cost) of accessing it all. Gone are the days of my early childhood, when TV viewing was on the tiniest of black-and-white screens, when programming went off air before midnight with “The Star-Spangled Banner” playing, followed by the frozen-screen test pattern (which we stared at anyhow). Options were minimal.

There is so much content available now that it makes the head spin – and the wallet flatten. We have cable TV and have purchased a package that includes HBO and Showtime. Since we also like programming on Netflix, we pay extra for that. And we’ve gotten Amazon Prime.

We could pay even more to add Starz or Paramount+ or HBO Max or any number of other things, but we’ve gotten used to eating on a regular basis and would hate to give that up. Maybe we already have access to some of this stuff if we press the right combination of buttons, but I have no idea.

We could just stream. We could get an Apple TV gizmo add-on to access Hulu and Disney+ and other things. And, frankly, there are all sorts of ways to get what we want, most of which include opening the portal to things we don’t want. Even if financial resources were endless, who has the know-how to do all this stuff to the TV without some tech training (or a cooperative 10-year-old neighbor kid), multiple remote controllers and a more nimble mind than this particular senior citizen has?

And, god help us, as I’m the go-to tech person in our household, which means, as was stated by a character on TV’s “The Big Bang Theory,” we are clearly attached to another object by an inclined plane, wrapped helically around an axis.

Surely there has to be a simpler and less expensive way than this to watch TV.

On another note, may I please request of all drivers that if they are turning left from the left lane of a four-lane road, that they enter (and stay in for a comfortable while) the left lane of the road they’ve turned into? Don’t swing wide into the right-hand lane because that’s your ultimate goal. You will likely run into or scare the bejesus out of the person (likely me) approaching you in the right-hand lane and turning right into that very same right-hand lane you’ve busted into. Left lane to left lane; right lane to right lane. Then move over when spacing allows for it.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

As I do every November, last month I attended the annual Spokane Chapter DD of PEO (Philanthropic Educational Organization) Make It-Bake It-Fake It-Take it fundraiser. The nonprofit, made up largely of women educators in the U.S. and Canada, this year distributed $2.1 million to their global projects focusing on the advancement of women and their ability to gain an education. Chapter DD also provides two scholarships each year to women so they can attend the Community Colleges of Spokane.

PEO is among the many unheralded organizations that work quietly to improve lives, and I’ve wanted to give them a shoutout for some time now. Not only do they do good things, but they do it with such a spirit of joy and camaraderie.

I have been a perpetual guest at the annual auction for so many years now that I’m considered a part of the furniture, and several years ago began bringing my friend Marie along, as a guest of the guest.

This fundraiser is such a positive and uplifting think-global-act-local event that helps women trying to make better lives for themselves through education. It warms my heart and gives me hope in these times when division and ugliness often rule the day.

Thank you, PEO. I love what you do.

And finally, I did a brave, brave thing last week. Two days before Thanksgiving, I ventured into Costco. As I always do whenever I think it might be a crowded day, I go before the store opens so I can park within sight of the building and just wait until the doors open. This time, I got there more than a half hour early – which, as it turns out – wasn’t nearly enough lead time. I definitely had to park in the back-40 and trek across the parking lot on my likely-to-give-out knees, which are awaiting surgery dates for replacement.

A surprise to no one, it was jammed – piles upon piles of pecan, apple and pumpkin pies overflowed tables at the back of the store. The lines of carts going to and fro reminded me of going-home-traffic on the freeway, but more orderly and definitely much more polite. Everybody was happy, but everybody was mission-driven.

My husband and I were not planning on doing anything at Thanksgiving, as he is recovering from hip replacement surgery. Dinner was likely going to be French toast. And then – eureka – in the meat/deli department, I came across a surprise.

There, assembled together in two lasagna-sized containers were a fresh turkey breast (with skin still on) laid over stuffing, and another with mashed potatoes and fresh green beans. There was a large plastic bag with already-made gravy and two containers of cranberry sauce included. And best of all – instructions for at what temperatures and how long to cook each item in their respective trays.

A gold mine! I snatched one up and brought it home. And, I must say, it was most delicious. We had a reasonably priced unexpected Thanksgiving dinner after all. Clever people, those Costco folks, who just had them available for the plucking, no advance ordering needed.

Best of all, the fixings were too much for two people – so, leftovers! Yay. There’s nothing better.

With the first phase of the holiday season now just behind us, and more coming this month, I hope everyone stumbles across such delicious and unexpected surprises along the way, in whatever form they might take.

Voices correspondent Stefanie Pettit can be reached by email at upwindsailor@comcast.net