🎂🪁 2022 March FROM MY PERSPECTIVE

I stopped by Aint Daisy's to check on her.  She's getting up in years and lives alone.  I'm of the belief that the older generation needs a peek or two throughout the week to make sure they are doing all right.  "Hi, Aint' Daisy!  I just stopped by to see how you are."  She was glad to see me and invited me into her kitchen.  Oh glorious timing on my part; she'd just taken a peach pie out of the oven.  It was cooling on a rack on the table.  "Set yourself down, chile, and I'll cut us some pie.  How're ya doing today?" she chattered.  "Oh just fine.  I do have something to talk over with you and need some wisdom to share with a friend of mine, if you don't mind," I said.  "Okay, tell me what you need to say," she encouraged as she cut two generous pieces of pie and placed on some flowered antique plates.  "Well, one of my friends came to me and said, 'Sometimes I need someone to come to me, hug me, and tell me I'm not as worthless as I think I am.'  That bothered me, Aint Daisy, because I don't think she's worthless at all.  She has so many good qualities.  What can I say to her that might help her?"  Aint Daisy listened intently and squinted her right eye.  That was a signal she was going to say something profound.  "You tell your friend, feeling worthy starts with her believing in herself. No matter what others say to make her feel good, she has to believe her importance and worth, first.  I've felt what she's feeling," was her response.  "Thank you.  I'll be certain to tell her your wise words."  Aint Daisy smiled as she put a dollop of ice cream on the warm pieces of pie.  I took a bite.  Ahhh, sweetness rested on the pallet, but not as sweet as the words of wisdom resting on my ears from the Lady of the Holler.

I’ve lived a long time, come 77 years at the end of this month.  I’ve had to deal with some pretty difficult problems/times during my life.  Later on when they’d subsided, I found those difficult problems/times were disguised as opportunities; opportunities which gave me wisdom and moments to share with another who was “walking” the same path.  Smooth paths do not teach as much as rocky ones.

February 2, 2022, a day which will be remembered for the amount of snow had in the Peoria, IL area.  At my house it was over 12”.  I didn’t take the van out of the garage from Tuesday February 1 until Monday February 7.  My daughter who lives with me and works stayed at my other daughter’s house where there was access to a four-wheel drive SUV and excellent driving skills.  Not many people ventured the highways, and those who did drove slower than a caterpillar moves.  Then along came February 16-17 where another huge amount of snow was presented to us from Mother Nature, who obviously was off her meds.  There was a 50+ pile up of mostly tractor trailers on I-39 at El Paso, IL.  Thank God, no one was hurt, but what a mess.  My daughter had to sleep at work.  Thankfully, she works at a retirement home and there was a spare room.  I have one word for Feb. 2022---Phffft!!

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else. -Charles Dickens, novelist (7 Feb 1812-1870)

One week-end my Beloved went to the hospital to visit someone.  He came home telling me it was so easy to find a parking place, and that there weren’t many employees there on Saturdays and Sundays.  I told him, “Yes, I know. The morgue is even worse---it just has a skeleton crew.”  He groaned and told me to go away.  I was concerned about the salt supply in our water softening unit; the yellow light was blinking indicating the salt level was low.  I told Beloved we needed some more bags of salt to fill the unit.  He was pretty tired, but dragged himself out to the garage to go to the store to get some.  He came roaring into the house and yelled, “Dang it, Trute, there are 3 bags of salt out in the garage.  Why are you so worried about the little light blinking?  In fact, I don’t’ think YOUR light is even on!”

Unlike other 4-legged mammals, a kangaroo can’t walk backwards.  “DREAMT” is the only English word that ends in the letters “mt”.  Why is dyslexic so hard to spell?

Now hear this!!!  It is National Peanut Month.  Botanically classified as legumes, peanuts contain properties of both the bean/lentil and tree nuts.  I love honey roasted ones, dry roasted ones, and lightly salted ones.  My sister introduced me to boiled peanuts when I went to visit her in Florida.  That was an interesting eating, but I prefer the dry kind.  When my 3 kids were little, I’d buy roasted-in-the shell by the pound.  They’d sit on our 10’ couch and watch Saturday morning cartoons and eat peanuts.  They seldom took their eyes off the television to shell another morsel; and, it was amusing to see their expressions when they’d finished the 2 pound bag I’d bought.  They were amazed.  Betcha can’t eat just one!  I never could.

Brenduhh came over after going to church.  She knew fresh cinnamon rolls and tea would be waiting.  "Hi Trudy!  Today in church the minister told about Lot and his wife needing to leave a town.  The minister said, ‘God said, “Take your wife and flee.”’  It was an interesting sermon.  I have a question, though.  What happened to the flea, and why would someone want a flea for a pet?"  I heard the whistle of the tea kettle as a signal for me to leave the table before my eyes stuck in the top of my sockets.

Have you ever wondered where NIKE got the idea to name their running shoes “Nike”?  It seems that records of outlawed magic spells for runners were found on fragments of papyrus, such as “Hermes’s wondrous victory charm,” which attempted to invoke the help of this god of speed, Nike, the goddess of victory.  There were tiny sheets of gold with her name written on them inside the sandals.  There is still the Nike logo on athletic shoes and clothing nearly 2,800 years later.  Now you know.

“Jeoparty-trot a word which means:  A quick motion, between running and walking when one, on account of fear or weakness, is not able to run at full-speed.  The term seems to have had its origin from the flights of those who were often obliged to escape from their enemies.”  John Jamieson’s Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language, 1808.  I found this on a daily calendar I have.

Did you know there is actually a phobia for the number 13?  It is called---triskaidekaphobia.  It seems that a long time ago, about the early 1700s, thirteen people were seated at a table.  One got up to leave, became very ill, and died.  So, the fear of having 13 seated at a table is a bad omen and created a fear of the number 13.

Please observe March 14 with a piece (or the entire) of pie.  This is because it is official----3.14 is pi (pie) day.  I will be celebrating with cherry and probably lemon meringue.  OHHHH, it will be a Monday, so Perkins Family Restaurant has a free piece of pie with your order.  Lunch will be delicious!!!!

Some things to think about:  Easter Island:  “Why the long face?”  San Juan, Puerto Rico’s gambling boat:  “Come enjoy our pair of dice and a vacation too.”  Psychology department:  “Find out about Pavlov---the name that rings a bell.”  Archeology department:  “Take your career to ruins.”  Geography department:  “Learn where in the world you are before someone tells you where to go.”

I saw where there is a retirement community comprised mostly of arrogant college professors.  It is in Whys, AZ.  There is an Anaconda, Montana, but it’s no where near the Snake River.  Shit Creek, AK is south of Snafu Lake, Yukon.  I can hear the travel plans now, “Well, I think I’ll go up Shit Creek, without my paddles, to Snafu Lake and do a little fishing from the docks.  Don’t think I’ll tell the wife.”  I found Hornytown, NC.  ‘Don’t think I’ll even go there with this.

Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law. -Douglas Hofstadter, professor of cognitive science (b. 15 Feb 1945) Murphy’s First Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Murphy's Second Law: Nothing is as easy as it looks. Murphy's Third Law: Everything takes longer than you think it will.  Murphy’s Fourth Law:  If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.  Murphy's Fifth Law: If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.

 

Peace and smiles--------------Trudy

 

           💕💖💗💝 2022  February FROM MY PERSPECTIVE

Aint Daisy was shaking some rugs off her porch as I walked up the side walk to her house.  “Well, looky here!  There you are coming to visit.  Let me put these back in the house, and we’ll have some time to talk.  Come on in the house.  It’s chilly out here; I’ll fix some tea.  Oh, do you want a piece of cherry pie to go with it, chile?” she asked chuckling to herself.  I thought, “What a silly question.  I could be full to my gills and still have room for a piece of her pie, especially my favorite cherry,” but I didn’t say it out loud.  “Yes, thank you.  You make the best pie in the county,” I said trying not to choke on my droll of expectation.  The kitchen was bright and cheery as we sat at the table covered with a flowered tablecloth.  “What brings you here, chile?” she questioned.  “Oh not much.  ‘Just wanted to stop by, chat, and make sure you’re all right.  I have a question for you, though,” I slowly said.  “I know a fella who told me recently, ‘I want to break down so badly, but I keep repeating to myself, “you got this”, when I know I really don’t.’  I feel so badly for him, Aint Daisy.  What can I say to him which may help him?”  She listened, took a bite of her pie and a sip of her tea.  There was a longer bit of silence, and then she spoke, “If you have just a small amount of “I got this/that”, then you will eventually have all you need of the situation.  Believe it, because if you doubt it, you will fail and you won’t “have this”.”  More words of wisdom to think about, not only for him, but for me from the Lady of the Holler. 

What greeting do Italians say to a fluffy, Chinese breed of dog’s lunch meal?  “Ciao, Chow-chow chow.”

I always tried to fix a hot breakfast in the winter for my kids when they were going to school.  I overheard one talking to a friend.  The friend asked, "What is your favorite breakfast your mom fixes?"  My child replied, "Oh, she fixes hot lava with butter and two blind lookers."  "What is THAT?" inquired the friend.  "Well, the hot lava is hot grits with lots of butter, and the two blind lookers are cooked eggs with the yolks runny and turned over.  It's delicious!!!" my child said proudly.  There was:  “monkey meal” which is oatmeal with bananas; “jungle meal” which is oatmeal with bananas and peanut butter; and “trees” which is broccoli.  Beets were “blood balls/slices”;  “red hair Hawaiian salad” which is finely shredded carrots with pineapple; and the famous “stink cheese” for Parmesan cheese.  We had names for things which the kids made up.  Not many knew what they meant, but the names were totally logical to us.

Brenduhh came over for a chat with cinnamon rolls and tea I’d just made.  I decided I’d “play” with her.  I asked her, “Kiddo, you’re standing in a barnyard.  There are 2 cows, 2 horses, 3 chickens, and a worm.  How many legs do you have?”  She looked quizzical at me and replied, “Trudy, you know worms don’t have legs!”  I told her, “Good; now how many legs do you have?”  “Give me a piece of paper so I can write down how many legs I have,” she grumbled.  She did her math and came up with 22.  I told her, “That’s the wrong answer.  The correct answer is 2.”  “I don’t know how that can be since two cows have a total of 8, two horses have a total of 8, and three chickens have a total of 6 and all that equals 22,” she announced with some frustration.  “Sweetie, I asked you, how many legs do YOU have?  The answer is 2.  YOU have 2 legs,” I gently said.  She still was a bit confused, so I told her to think about it, and let’s have some tea and cinnamon rolls. 

I saw this and agreed with it.  Now I’m sharing it with you.  When I was a kid I fell from the monkey bars, brushed myself off saying, “I’m o.k.”  Now, I tried to scoop some very frozen ice cream and dislocated my shoulder.  Turned in place to get a towel to dry my hands-----wrenched my back!!! Blew my nose-----farted on the cat and wet my pants! Stretched my arms out-----got a cramp in my solar plexus.  Getting old is NOT for sissies, y’all!!!

For the record, I can run with the best of the winded.; I don’t run with scissors (eliminate the last two words).;  It snowed a lot here in February.  I decided to make some snow angels.  I only got one made; the rest were massacres of the areas around the ONE I made as I tried to get up.;  I wrote a grocery list for my young daughter.  She couldn’t figure out what I’d written.  Ahhhh, script is now a mystery to the young of today.;  Another word for THESAURUS…..book.

ELEPHANTS:  The country with the most: Zaire, 195,000; the country with the fewest:  Vatican City.  (Stop laughing, it’s true!)  Vatican City has .16 (that’s POINT one six) square miles, which is about 108.8 acres.  100 strides (they only shuffle real fast; they don’t run; their stride is 6.6’ apart) and the animal is out of the country.  I researched this, folks!

April will mark the 162^th anniversary of the pony express.  It was started April 3, 1860 lasting only 1½ years.  The Pony Express began traveling between Sacramento, California, and St. Joseph, Missouri.  An unprofitable postal enterprise, the Pony Express helped to win federal support in funding a more economical way to carry mail over land. On October 24, 1861, the Pony Express was officially discontinued.  HA!!!  Thinking about some of the delayed mail I’ve gotten, it never stopped.

“Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.” -Immanuel Kant, philosopher (1724-1804)

Have you ever or do you remember the laboratories you were in either in high school, college, or a job?  I do. Daddy was chemistry major at VPI taking all that knowledge to DuPont, before WWII, and to ALCOA when he returned in 1946.  He had a typical scientific mind and way of doing things---everything had a place and there was a logical sequence of doing something.  I, on the other hand, being an impulsive teenager, did things out of sequence and had places for some of my things.  Of course, we somewhat clashed due to our way of thinking.  In fact, he couldn’t bear to look into my room; it was “too unorganized,” he said.  I remember one time after I was an adult, that he needed something from the basement.  He had an old, solid oak classroom shelving unit that had doors on it. It was filled with all sorts of tools and hardware.  He told me what he needed and exactly where it was.  Then, when I went to get it, he said, “And don’t disturb anything else around it.”  There was that “everything has a place” thought process---the scientific, organized knowledge.  I found it, but lingered looking at as much as I could before he called out, “Did you find it?”  Returning to his side with the said tool, I asked, “Daddy, why do you have so much “stuff”?  Some of that is still in the unopened package.”  He said, “Well, if I need it, I’ll have it and won’t have to stop to go to the hardware store to get it.  If I don’t need it, I may in the future.”  There is the wisdom and the organized life.  Daddy didn’t say much, but when he did, you listened and thought---sort of like E.F. Hutton.

Kangaroos can’t walk, elephants can’t jump, cheetahs can’t retract their claws, lions can’t purr, and some people can’t rub their tummy and pat their head simultaneously.  Monkeys can’t recognize themselves in a mirror, but chimpanzees can.  Owls can’t move their eyeballs; they are tubular in shape.

Peace, hugs, and kind thoughts to you.  Trudy