2017 October "FROM MY PERSPECTIVE"

                                        2017 October FROM MY PERSPECTIVE

I met Brenduhh’s brother, Duhhlan.  He’s a lot like her, looks a lot like her, and OMG he even thinks like her.  I asked him what he liked to do best.  He told me, “I like to go fishin’ with my buddy, Charlie.  We was a-fishin’ on Big Quarry Lake and dock a spell back.  Lordy, we caught so many fish the bucket was about to run over with them.  It was gettin’ dark so we had to go.  Charlie told me to remember where we were so we could go out the next day.  We returned the boat and headed home.  He asked me if I’d remembered the spot where we were.  I told him, “Yeppers, I sure did.  I put an X in the bottom of the boat with the duct tape we had while you were rowin’ it to the dock.”  “He told me, ‘Good, buddy.  I hope we get the same boat tomorrow.’”  My eyeballs could not go far enough up and roll in my head.  I turned around so he couldn’t see my expression.

What a child doesn't receive he can seldom later give. -P.D. James, novelist (3 Aug 1920-2014)

A friend of mine was pretty upset with someone.  She told me, “I didn’t mince words with them.  I just told them, ‘I'm not saying I hate you, I'm just saying that you're literally the Monday of my life!’”  This was the best “tell-you-off” I’ve heard for a long time.  Thanks, Becca, for the laughs.

A friend of my daughter’s was confused about my adult son’s age for his birthday.  She and he celebrate a birthday on the same day.  He turned 43 and she turned 45.  I was telling her my daughter, her friend, would be 46 in September.  She said, “I’m 45 today.  I just thought your son was 40.  My math memory has been gone for a long time.”  I replied, “We're here to help!! Math was sort of a good subject for me....that is the simple, basic math. Forget the Algebra, Geometry, Trig, and Calculus. Mixing letters and numbers is from the Devil, and I'm a Godly girl.”

“Silence isn’t empty, it’s full of answers.”  (unknown)  Yes, it is. It can be the most formidable, or thought provoking, or uneasy feeling producing, or dangerous response.  It can be deafening.

I have a daily devotional, thought encouraging book I read.  It was given to me by a blessing….a dear friend.  The passage I read one day was, “A Number-Ten Friend”.  It talked about being a friend and gave a list of 12 actions to drive friends away and 12 actions to keep friends and make more.  The 12 positive actions are:  “Believe the best.; Respect and set boundaries.; Express humor to release joy.; Applaud successes.; Maintain good manners.; Draw a generous friendship circle.; Give without expectations.; Praise genuinely, but don’t gush.; Support her frailty, but don’t indulge.; Protect private information.; Pray fervently.; Love Jesus passionately.”  (Patsy Clairmont)  At the beginning of the reading was a Bible verse to think about…”A friend loves at all times.”  Proverbs 17:17  I believe a friend is a gift of love you give yourself.

Instead of cursing the fall down the steps or a TAFL (trip and floor landing), be grateful you’re still alive.  I’ve had a tumble and hit the floor a few times.  It was then I thought of all the things I could do while down there and the memories of what I’d done (by choice) on the floor when I was a kid…..jacks, put a puzzle together, played with pets, cut out material for something, read a book or comic book, or just lay there and dreamed about the future.  I don’t get on the floor anymore----unless it is by accident.  The adventures aren’t what they used to be when I was a kid.

I saw this sign and truly believe it.  “Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy cows.  Cows make milk and cream, and milk and cream make ice cream, and ice cream makes you happy.”  So, y’all, money can buy happiness.  Here are other things which money can buy which will make you happy:  cars, houses, jewels, furs, chocolate, coffee, and a swimming pool with a cover over it so you don’t get burned.

A piece written by a columnist I read often, told of a child who had written to him about being afraid of the first day of school.  He was going into kindergarten.  The kind columnist replied telling of his experiences of being “a ‘fraidy cat” on his first day of school and other “firsts” fears he’d experienced.  The composition and reply got me to thinking.  We all have fears, ‘fraidy cat moments.  Then, later in hours, days, or years we look back and smile or laugh.  Sometimes another tells us, “You were so brave.  Where did you get the courage?”  My Daddy told me, “Courage is when only you know you’re a scared, ‘fraidy cat.”

 Cap'n Crunch's full name is Horatio Magellan Crunch and the number of stripes on his uniform indicate a rank of Commander, not Captain.

I live with grief every day of my life….about my parents’ passing (’97 and ’01) and my husband’s whom I refer to as “my Beloved” (’11).  All three enjoyed lemon pie. I didn’t care that much for lemon pie; cherry had always been my favorite. On their birthdays I eat a piece of lemon pie to celebrate their living. Each of their deaths threw a bitter lemon into my life. As the saying goes, “When life throws you lemons, make lemonade”---in my case, it’s lemon pie.

Without someone believing in us, we won’t be as good as we can be; we won’t have the strong drive and hope of becoming better or the best. Sometimes that someone believing in you is yourself.   I have met many people in my life… people from all walks of life, from all economic levels, and from all educational levels. Each one has given me another jewel in my crown of life. Each one has given me riches which I can’t hold in my hand, but held in the best place……my heart and memory. You give this to others when you interact with others in a positive way. You are a treasure, a precious jewel in others’ crowns of life.

I know people who are suffering from various maladies/diseases which are hidden.  I ache for them and keep them in my prayers.  My Daddy had COPD and had to have a handicapped tag on his rear view mirror to park in a handicapped place.  A man accused him of not being handicapped.  Daddy, the gentleman he was, told the man to call his doctor to verify his right to park where he did.  He gave the man his doctor’s phone number and walked into the store.  To some people, if they can't see the malady, it isn't important or really exists. Stupidity can't be seen, but the results of that condition can be. Just remember that.

British accents are social class signifiers evidently.  I read that  the Birmingham accent (like Ozzie Osbourne has) is perceived as the least intelligent British accent—it's ranked lower than being silent. 

"Be kind to others; you never know what demons they are fighting.  The true character of a person is measured by the way they treat another knowing there is nothing in it for them.  Do not judge another until you have walked a mile in their shoes."  These are all platitudes which, in essence, represent a statement from the Bible, "Treat others the way you'd like to be treated."  My sweet and wise mother used to tell me, "In thought, word, and deed it is your conscience you will feed."  I find myself telling that to my children, too.

“Don’t be impressed by money, followers, degrees, and titles.  Be impressed by kindness, integrity, humility, and generosity.”  The first four come from money or influencing another.  The last four come from the heart and soul.

I taught English. I refused to teach diagramming sentences because it is not necessary to know in life after high school or at any time, for that matter. I have yet to balance my checkbook, cook a nutritious meal, do laundry, clean the house, transport kids to and from activities, take care of physical and emotional wounds, or help with their homework........UNTIL one brought home diagramming sentences. I wrote the teacher a note in French asking her where diagramming sentences was necessary to learn to live. She wrote back she didn't understand the language I'd written. I returned the note telling her it was more important to know French than to know how to diagram a sentence, and that I was a high school English teacher and had been the captain of the debate team in high school and college.  No rebuttal; I guess she learned it was futile to argue.