7 Biddies' Street

[7 Biddies]

Welcome to my street where you're free to discuss what's on your mind, especially if it's about chickens and other topics that apply to country living. It's all about the simple lifestyle and making friends. Hope to see you, soon.

 

[7 Biddies]

Got my 8 new little ones in the outdoor run a few days ago, and they're having a blast! Now that they have lots of room, one of the EEs is jockeying for position of Head Hen. Right now, though, she's still just a Pesky Pullet.

 

[7 Biddies]

Hiiiii!!!! Okay- so questions for you.

You mentioned the airline that you flew for years ago- were you a flight attendant or a pilot? Either way, im sure you have amazing stories. Pleaaaase tell them

That was back during the *glamorous* days of airline travel, when people dressed up to fly, and flight attendants were called stewdardesses. Jets were coming into use, but there were still plenty of props. I flew on one that was built before I was born!! No female pilots in those days! That didn't start until long after I'd left. They said only 1 out of every 35 girls that applied were accepted. Plus, the requirements were already very restrictive: 19-27 years of age, 5'2" - 5'7", 105-135 lbs in proportion to your height, and single, as in never married, widowed or divorced. It goes without saying that kids were out of the question. They wouldn't even hire anyone with an engagement ring because she'd be soon gone. I wanted the job so badly that, even though I was only 18, I managed to get myself hired. I'm persistent, if I'm nothing else.

This was in late 1964, when the Beatles were brand new and the term "women's lib" hadn't been coined yet. So, back in the day, or the olden days to you young folks.

Can't think of any stories off the top of my head, but when one pops up, I'll post it. All I remember right now are the Saturday night flights from Philly to Miami, when the newly wed couples arrived in their best traveling suits leaving a trail of rice everywhere they went. Bright eyed and smiling, and wearing a corsage or boutonnière pinned to their lapel, we'd congratulate them as they came through the door. "Oh! How'd you know?" -face palm- These were night flights and they were on their way to Miami for their honeymoon. One June evening, SEVEN couples were on board. Flying wasn't as common as it is, now, with only 5-10% of the public having flown. These night flights were generally fairly empty so, while they were boarding, I'd ask if they wanted drink service, or would they be sleeping. (We didn't use the big trolleys that fill up the aisles, in those days. We carried everything on small trays). Pillows and blankets were handed out to the sleepers and as soon as we were airborne, they'd take an empty row, fold up the arm rests, and lie down. I'd come by and turn off the overhead lights for them. Many times, the honeymooners would get a jump start on their wedding night. This particular night with the 7 couples, one of the other girls told me to stroll down the aisle and check out the feet hanging over the seats. Sure enough, the newly weds would have 10 toes up and 10 toes down sticking out from the blankets. The windows were fogging up and the sounds disturbing, so I had to go up to the flight deck and ask them to turn up the heat so the passengers would throw the covers off. As all the lights came back up, and just as I had left the cockpit and was midway down the cabin with no where to hide, the captain made an announcement saying the honeymooners would have to wait until they got to their hotel room because the stewardesses were jealous! I wanted to ride out on the wing for the rest of the trip because I was so embarrassed.

 

[Kyanite]

I ventured over and really liked it at first glance (because of all the other critter info)... then the complaining began. Ugh. Some of them were really not thrilled to have chicken talk and increased traffic even if temporary. I'm not sure I'll go back there. I like it here! I hope we didn't lose 7 Biddies to the format change here.

 

[7 Biddies]

I hope so too, since I believed they had all been (accurately) sexed and were females when I got them. (Let's see, 2 of those and 2 of those, and OH! Gotta have a few of those!) I've never had a desire for roosters, ever since I found out they don't lay eggs.

In the meantime, I discovered that getting 8 chicks with 4 adults already, was overkill. I thought I'd get the extra just in case a few didn't make it. But, they're all very healthy and thriving! So, now I have an even dozen chickens. God help me when the babies start to lay ... I live alone and don't eat eggs every day. Plus, as I get older, I find it harder to move them to larger quarters as they outgrow the smaller ones. I've got to limit myself to no more than 4 babies at a time, in the future. But, I think if I get them every other year, rather than every third, it'll work out well.

 

[Kyanite]

That's not a novel KDOGG! lol Never feel bad about taking care of your mental health. I have PTSD, terriby anxiety with panic attacks and depression. Thanks Army and family disposition to it! I tried for many years to ignore or cover it up and the hard times that resulted for that are time I'll never get back and a tough lesson learned.

 

[7 Biddies]

Sorry! School, technically. But there was an over the top concert. And my dad was mixing it. And we brought my mom and my sister. A bunch of hippies or something that obviously didn't even go there were rocking out to it too. Electronic violin or something? It was weird.

Well, small school districts are weird.

Tell me about it. It's interesting when you graduate about 50 kids per year. The parents used to wander through the buildings at all hours and became distraught when the school put in security measures. They could no longer come in through the back door, seeking free medical treatment from the school nurse. And, the kids whose parents drop them off at 6:30 -7:00 a.m. now have to wait on the front steps until the secretary comes in to unlock the doors. When I first got here, they would load all the kids on the buses and take them to the funerals of the locals ... during school hours ... like it was a field trip ... because everyone was usually related to the dearly departed. I had quite a case of culture shock for a while.

 

[7 Biddies]

That's not a novel KDOGG! lol Never feel bad about taking care of your mental health. I have PTSD, terriby anxiety with panic attacks and depression. Thanks Army and family disposition to it! I tried for many years to ignore or cover it up and the hard times that resulted for that are time I'll never get back and a tough lesson learned.

As long as you're doing ok now. You are, aren't you?

Yeah, first time I slipped on the side of a wet mountainside. Second time I slipped at the top of the stairs and went a@@ over tea kettle, as the Brits say, all the way down, landing in a heap at the bottom. I refused to consider that I may have broken my second ankle, so walked on it for 7 hours before calling the ambulance. Once, I fell off a raised garden bed on the side of the mountain, landing on some rocks. All I was concerned about was that my cell phone was ok. When I came back on the line, my BFF on the other end said, "I just heard the weirdest sound". Meanwhile, ten days later, my side still hurt, so I went to the local ER. X-rays showed 2-3 broken ribs. The doctor yelled, "Ten days!!! Didn't it hurt???". "Yes, it hurt", said I, "That's why I finally came in". He called me a "tough old bird", so I told him to watch who he's calling "old". Turns out statin drugs weaken your quads, resulting in falls. Prilosec causes brittle bones. Statins + Prilosec = hospital stays. Lesson = Avoid those drugs.

 

[allosaurusrock]

We have a transgender man who substitute teaches in our school district. It took the students a very long time to figure it out, but none of the adults had a clue. He's out and open about it now. Most are completely cool with it, the judgmental ones hide behind a keyboard.

We seem to have two sides to our school. You either are uncomfortable about trans people, or you are queer and ready to commit murder to protect them. Honestly I am so tired of all this squabbling. We just end up hurting each other emotionally.

 

[Bantambird]

You know, I asked my grandpa, a blue collar guy and a former army guy during Korea, about his opinion on transgendered people. You would be surprised to learn that, even back in the day, most people didn't care that much, as long as you weren't hurting anyone. Montana typically is a culture of dignity, and has been for a long time. He said the only time there was ever a problem was when a transgender woman would pick up a guy (date, at the bar, whatever) and not tell him beforehand that she wasn't fully female. I think that is still mostly the case today, honestly. Most women are more flexible than men are in that respect, it's biological. I am straight, but I'll still appreciate beautiful women. You find that women dress up more for other women than for men. But men tend to be more straightforward about gender preferences, from my experience. My cousin is one of those very very rare XXY males. He struggles still with it. He is a rather effeminate male, but we all knew he was gay. And that it wasn't his fault. He went through self exile out at our family ranch for 5-7 years, finding himself and reflecting. Now he's an architect in San Francisco. We are very proud of him.