🦃 2022 November FROM MY PERSPECTIVE

         🦃🦃        2022 November FROM MY PERSPECTIVE

Aint Daisy was busy reading a story book to one of her grandchildren.  I saw it was one of my favorites---BIG PANDA AND TINY DRAGON by James Norbury.  This book is an adventure these two friends have.  It is full of companionship, courage, and gentleness.  So much can apply to our lives and how we treat each other and how we deal with what life tosses at us.  As she read, I could hear her telling me and others bits of wisdom she’d acquired through the “adventures” of her life.  In fact, she could have written this book.  She came to a little conversation Big Panda and Little Dragon were having.  It seems Little Dragon was distraught about something and said, “I can’t explain how I feel.”  Big Panda responded with, “That’s O.K.  Words are not adequate for all things.”  She stopped and asked her granddaughter, “Have you ever felt that way, little one?”  The child looked at her then hung her head saying, “Yes, I feel that way today.”  Aint Daisy gave her a little hug and said, “I truly know that feeling.  A few times, I’ve jess sat and watched the leaves on the tree move as the wind blew and listened to the birds’ calls and crickets’ chirps.  It made me feel better.  ‘Sometimes,’ as Big Panda said, ‘words just don’t take care of how we are feeling.’  But, the sounds of nature can do the job.  All we have to do is jess listen and not think.”  ‘More wisdom from the Lady of the Holler with a little help from James Norbury, Big Panda, and Tiny Dragon.

I sent a message to a dear friend:  We have been friends for so long I can’t remember which one of us is the bad influence.  She called me laughing so hard I couldn’t understand what she was saying.  It sounded like, “You are!”, but I can’t be sure.

When I was teaching, there were some students who seemed to have their mind on something else.  This caused me to want to treat them like a glow stick---slap them and shake them until the light came on.

We are into the month this whole nation has a holiday about being thankful.  I have so many things for which to be thankful.  The most important one is:  so much seems to be out of control in this nation, but there is one entity who has not relinquished His control, and I can count on and believe He never will.  Thank you, dear Lord for your persistence and promises.

I have a friend who teaches Sunday school to some young boys.  She went around the room and asked each one, “What are you thankful for?”  They gave the regular replies until she came to the one who always spoke what was in his thoughts.  It was like a greased sliding board----from the brain to the mouth and out.  He sat up straight and said, “I’m thankful for mom not making creamed okra anymore.  That stuff was more slippery than snot, and I had to swallow it; well not really, because it went down faster…..”.  My friend interrupted him before she lost her breakfast.  She was so glad he was the last one and the dismissal bell rang.

I remember when Daddy had to start taking the drug coumadin.  Being the chemist he was, coupled with his character, his sense of humor shined through.  Mother was all concerned about the correct amount he was to take.  He ran out of the pills one day; she got very concerned.  His reply to her fretting was, “Oh, Mamie, just sprinkle 1 teaspoon of DeCon on my oatmeal and that will take care of it. Make the measurement level; no heaping, that’s too much.” Mother was horrified and Daddy couldn’t stop laughing.

Brenduhh and I were riding in her car.  We saw sign at a gas station giving the prices of each type of gasoline.  Also, within the price boxes, was the price of Malboro cigarettes, which were a lot cheaper.  She turned to me and said, “I think I’ll get some Malboros and try them.”  I looked at her and said, “You don’t smoke.  Why are you going to buy some Malboros?”  She exclaimed, “Well, I can run them as fuel cheaper than I can gasoline.” Everyone has the right to be stupid. She was abusing that right.  The “stupid” part brings to mind what John Wayne and Daddy said about it---“Life is tough, but it’s tougher when you’re stupid.”

It was an early morning light breakfast.  I was only interested in having some toast, but knew I needed to have some protein, too.  I put some peanut butter on one of the slices, and placed both on a little plate.  I took it to my chair in the living room, sat it down, and went to get the cup of coffee.  Jada, our sweet cat, was close by just nonchalantly sitting all pretty close to my chair.  I returned to find tongue marks on the warm peanut butter and a cat trying to get the stuff off the roof of her mouth.  I wondered, “Can cats have arachibutyrophobia?”

I was needed quickly upstairs by one of the kids.  I rushed up the stairs only to be told, “It’s o.k., Mom.  I took care of the problem.”  Then the phone rang; I answered it huffing and puffing.  It was my friend.  She asked, “Are you all right?  You’re huffing and puffing like you’re out of breath.”  I told her, “Oh, I just rushed up the stairs faster than I usually do.”  She said all surprised, “What?!  You ran up the flight of stairs?”  My labored response was, “Well,  it was more like a sloth vs. a turtle in a race.”

My friend gave me a delicious recipe for little cinnamon rolls.  She knew how I loved the ones she makes.  I got right to the making of them and called her the next day to tell her about them.  “Oh, I’m so glad you made them.  Did you put the left-overs in a sealed container so they’d stay fresh?” she inquired.  There was a longer-than-usual pause on my part, and then I said, “Umm, what left overs;  were there supposed to be some?”

I have two special needs children.  They truly have been a gift.  They see the world through different eyes-a different interpretation.  They don't fudge on the truth very often----they tell the cold truth.  Sometimes it's difficult to accept the cold truth they tell, but you can believe what they say; it's not tainted with others' lies or misconceptions, and it gives you either a wake-up call or insight.

I don't mind my body being larger.  It gives the observer more to look at---like a seascape instead of a puddle; like a flower garden instead of a single flower; like a box of Twinkies instead of one sitting alone on a counter lonely and unappreciated, needing to be held. 

I kept telling my friend a certain fella had a lot of SWAG.  She didn't agree, but kept listening.
As he kept talking, I kept thinking, "Yep, he has a lot of SWAG."  I shared it with her, again.  She emphatically told me, "Trudy, he does NOT have swag!"  I told her, "Oh yes he does.  Just listen to him chatter on about stuff I know he has no understanding of.  SWAG, my dear friend, means Stupid Wild Ass Guessing."  She didn't argue any more.