🎂🪁 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