Monday, May 30, 2011

Memorial Day 2011

I am so thankful for all the military and their sacrifices.  My husband was in the Navy for 20 years.  He was on the Lexington and the Enterprise when they were sunk.  Fortunately, he survived both. He still died young at 56. 

My son and I went about ten miles out to the cemetery and decorated my husband and my mother's graves.  There were flags, crosses and fields of beautiful flowers.  It led me to thinking about this day when I was a child.

It was called Decoration Day when I was little.  All the headstones stood up instead of being flat on the ground.  Every year my mother picked snowballs to decorate the graves with.  I was checking out what kind of flower it was considered and was amazed to find out it is one form of the Hydrangea.  The flowers were shaped like a perfect white ball, hence the name.  I doubt that my mom knew it was a hydrangea.

After we decorated the graves of people I didn't know, (they were all dead before I was born) we had a picnic right there in the cemetery.  Mama always had fried chicken, potato salad, with her homemade dressing, and pork and beans.  A big pitcher of lemonade and her famous Chocolate Potato Cake.  Yum!  As I look back I can't imagine why we didn't go to a park or someplace else, but it was always in front of the graves. 

I hope everyone remembers all those who have died in the wars, and respect and honor the men and women who are protecting our country.  It seems  to me that for too long, the military were considered second class citizens.  I think more people are thankful for them now and appreciate all they sacrifice for us.

God Bless America
Until next time,
Be kind to one another

Sunday, May 29, 2011

The Pot of Gold

I discovered the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and I wasn't even looking for it.  I was going through a bunch of old VCR's that I taped ten or eleven years ago to see if I could find a few to get rid of.  Instead I found one I will keep forever.  Bill Moyer had taped a show untitled Fooling With Words.  It was about the largest poetry festival in the United States, located in Waterloo, New Jersey.  Over 12,000 people were in attendance listing to music, reading poetry and just visiting with the many famous poets.  What a special time, wish I had been there,.

I enjoyed most of the poets reading their poetry, but when they announced that the next reader was a ninety year old man, I thought, what could an old guy lik that write anything I would like (after all I am only 85.)  Surprise----- this frail looking cutie had a fantastic personality, read better than all the other poets put together, and his poetry was soooooooo good.  At least, I though so.l  He puts irony, pathos and humor into his poetry and really makes you feel and think.  I would like to share one of the poems he read and see if you like it.

     Haley's Comet

Miss Murphy in first grade
wrote its name in chalk
across the board and told us
it was roaring down the stormtracks
of the Milky Way at frightful speed
and if it wandered off its course
and smashed into the earth
there'd be no school tomorrow.

A red-bearded preacher from the hills
with a wild look in his eyes
stood in the public square
at the playground's edge
proclaiming he was sent by God
to save every one of us,
even the little children.
"Repent, ye sinners," he shouted,
waving his hand-lettered sign.

At supper I felt sad to think
that it was probably
the last meal I'd share
with my mother and my sisters;
but I felt excited too
and scarcely touched my plate.
So mother scolded me
and sent me early to my room.
The whole family's asleep
except for me.  They never heard me steal
into the stairwell hall and climb
the ladder to the fresh night air.

Look for me, Father, on the roof
of the red brick building
at  the foot of Green Street-----
that's where we live, you know , on the top floor,
I'm the boy in the white flannel gown
sprawled on this course gravel bed
searching the starry sky,
waiting for the world to end.

The poet is Stanley Kunitz.  In 2000 he was  named Poet Laureate of the United States.  He was 95 at the time and was considered the most distinguished living American poet.  He kept writing and reading his poetry until his death at 100 years old. (Wow, what a man.)

I will be searching the library for some of his books. Most of the reviews I have read say his later works were much better than his earlier books, so I think I will start with the latter.  Hope you enjoy him if you are a poetry lover.

Until we meet again,
Be kind to one another.


 

Friday, May 27, 2011

Oprah''s Love Letter

                    OPRAH'S LOVE LETTER

A pretty white chair was the only object on the empty stage as Opera Winfrey, beautiful in a simple peach colored dress, walked on the stage and greeted her fans.  With a  statement, something  like this she said,  "Today there are no guests, no gifts or surprises.  Today I want to send a love letter to all the fams who have supported me over the years.  They have taught me many lessons, and I hope I have taught them many lessons also."

Oprah is a great speaker and I felt that she  gave a great summation of all the things she felt people needed to know to live a great life. Following is a list of some of the things I took away from her speech.

                    THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

#  Every body has a calling.

#  A calling lights you up

#  Each of you has a platform, letting your life speak for you.

#  You have the power to change someone's life.

#  Use your life to save the world.

#  There is a common connection in human experience.

#  Nobody but you is responsible for your life.

#  All life is energy, the energy you create for yourself and the energy you
    create for others.

                    WHAT WE ALL WANT

Oprah stressed that a common thread running through all of us is unworthiness.  She said, "You are worthy  because you are here."
and Validation is what we all want.  We want to know, Do you see me?, Do you hear me?, Do you understand what I say?

                    WHAT MADE THE SHOW A SUCCESS?

"Nothing but the hand of God made this show a success.  The presence of God is always here.  Listen, God is Love, God is Life.
What are the whispers in your life?  Are you listening to them?
She pointed out that we all have whispers of God if we just listen Finally Oprah said, "I won't say good bye, I will just say, 'Til we meet again."

Good bye Oprah, I will miss all of your sage advice.  I may not always agree with you, but in the long run, you have more sense in your little finger that most of us have.  I wish you all the best. 
Until we meet again,
Be kind to one another,.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Depression

I have always been a very positive person.  I always see the glass half full and can't remember the last time I was depressed.  Well, today is not one of those days.  I don't know why, but I have been down in the dumps, weepy and just plain feeling sorry for myself. 

Why, I don't know.  Perhaps it was the article in the paper this morning about respecting and honoring our military.  It brought back memories of my husband.  He was in the Navy for twenty years, was on two ships that sunk during world war two, and survived it all.  He died, however, at age 56 of an aneurysm.  That was thirty two years ago and I have learned to live with being alone.  Maybe I just need someone to talk to.  If you don't want to listen you can delete me.

I also think part of my problem is the pain I am in.  All the discs in my back are deteriorated, I have rheumatism, I have fallen 5 times on my knees and my back and legs are in great pain.  Then I think of the boy who lives on the corner.  He is paralyzed from his neck down,  He    can't use his arms or legs.  And I'm complaining?  I thank the Lord I can use my arms and legs, pain or no pain.  I am the lucky one.

And then there are my eyes.  I have Macular degeneration and I am having trouble seeing the fine lines when I am painting.Then I look at my friend Susan who has an eye disease that only allows her to see as through a key hole.  Yet she does adorable  paintings, has won awards for her painting and also sells her work.  I can still look around and see the whole world, only not as well as when I was young.  I am the lucky one. 

Because of my pain there are many places I can't go, because it is too uncomfortable for me, but I can still drive and go some places.  I can still paint and write and socialize with friends.  I think it all comes down to the old cliche, "I cried when I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet." 
Well, now that I got all my pity me problems off my chest I feel much better, and I also realize what a blessed person I am to be able to do all the things that I still can do at age eighty-five. 

Until next time,
Be kind to one another

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Phrases

Do you ever think about strange phrases your parents used when you were a child?  All my life when I said I might do something, my mother always said, "There are a lot of mites in a pound of cheese"  I always thought she was just a little strange and when I asked her what it meant she said, "I don't know, grandma always said it."  I asked grandma and she didn't know what it meant either, probably just something she had heard also.

All my life I have commented about this and finally one day I looked it up on the   Internet.    Guess what, my mother wasn't as odd as I thought she was.  The phrase referred to the fact that,  "the mites excrete an enzyme that ripens the cheese."  So somebody down the line knew what they were talking about.

I found this information on The Phrase Finder which is a fantastic source to find anything you want to know about American ,  Shakespeare,   Nautical, Biblical and Latin phrases.  It also has a Discussion forum.  This info. is free.  They also have a Phrase Thesaurus which has a fee.  You can sign up for their mailing list where they send a phrase a week.If this subject interests you I would highly recommend it.

A friend of mine made the comment on her blog that she was doing something "by the seat of her pants."  She said some time she would have to check it out.  I couldn't stand not knowing myself, so back to the Phrase Finder.  I found that the term emerged in 1930's and was widely used in reports of Douglas Corrigins flight from USA to Ireland.  The old flying expression of "flies by the seat of his trousers," was explained by Larry Conner who said it means going aloft without instruments, radios or other such luxuries."

Hope you enjoy phrases, until next time,
Be kind to one another

Friday, May 13, 2011

Animal Love

Sitting here staring out my window I noticed a little squirrel jumping from one branch to another on a tree next door How interesting animals are in general, and how precious they are when they are our  own special pets.   

It amazes me how emotional we can become too.  My friend, Susan has a seeing-eye dog, Mirage, who became ill the other day.  Suzy took a picture and put it on face book.  The photo brought tears to my eyes because the poor dog looked so sad and depressed.

And then there are some of the dogs in my life.  At present I have Annie, who as an orphan.  She is a Pekingese and I swore I never wanted one of those ugly dogs with a squashed nose and bulging eyes.  I talked to the people at the Humane Society and told them it was difficult for me to handle a large dog and I wondered if they ever got small dogs.  They said they very seldom did, but if they did they would call me.  I also said I did not want a puppy (I knew the problems there).  So, when they called and said they had a Pekingese puppy I said, "Oh no."  Then I asked if I could come and see it.  Guess you know what comes next.  When this sweet little ball of fur came into my arms there was no way I was going to leave it.

Annie has been a blessing in my life.  When you live alone, it is nice to have someone to talk to, someone who loves and adores you.  Someone who makes you laugh every day.

For a child there is nothing better than to have a pet, not only for the above reasons, but to teach them how to care for it.and to be responsible for something.

I have happy memories of many of my "angel pets" who will live in my memory for ever.  Barney, Molly and D.J  I could write a book about all their  shenanigans , all the sorrow I went through when they died, and all the love they gave.

Hope you all have a pet or two in your lives to bring you the joy I have found.

By the way, Annie chewed the rungs on every chair in my dining room, peed on the carpet, chewed up anything I might drop and in general was just a normal puppy. Thank heavens that period is over.

Until we meet again,
Be kind to one another

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The Sound of Music

In the past two days there have been nine music videos posted on my facebook.  I got up this morning and took Annie out and the birds were singing like they had just learned a new tune.  It made mr think how much music means in our lives and how we need it from the day we are born until the day that we die.

The first music we hear are lullabys to put us to sleep, to sooth us when we cry, or just to let us know how happy our mother's are that they have a little one to sing to.

I don't think there is a kindergartener on earth that didn't have to learn ABCDEFG   HIJK   LMNOP etc.It is here here many kids are taught how to count, how to have good manners and how to play games with one another.

By the time we reach high school we not only kinow all the words to our school song, but we know all the crazy songs that are the hit of the day.  When I hear someone complain about the popular music today I think back to my high school years.  I am not sure how bright such words as "Boop boop dittem dattem wattem choo etc. would sound to todays kids either.

Love songs become our favorites as we have crushes on boys who don't even know we existed, or when we actually meet Mr. right.  Then, of course, we have "Our" song.  I can still hear my husband singing songs to me, and he didn't have the greatest voice in the world, but it sounded like heaven to me.

We then repeat all the above when we have children, only it is their life repeating ours in many ways.  We are at the stage where we love to hear the "old" songs, the ones from our early years, and the kids say, "Mom, where on earth did you ever hear that song?"    I remember how shocked I was when they took a song I loved when I was young, (Ramona) and jazzed it up in another generation until I barely recognized it.

And then, there is the music at funerals. Even in death, music plays a role.  Quite often Amazing Grace is sung.  I want Taps sung at my funeral.  I know that sounds strange, but I found three verses to that tune that are absolutely perfect.  Also, when my husband and I lived on Military Bases, we heard taps played every evening. 

I think I will go sing a song or two,
Until we meet again,
Be kind to one another.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Remembering

It has been rather a strange day today.  32 years ago today my husband Dick died.  We had just celebrated our 31 wedding anniversary one month before.  As I look back I can't believe I have been alone longer than we were married.

He was such a special man, but very few of my current friends knew him.  So It was very special to me that so many of the kids I had in high school forty years ago put comments on my face book about their memories of him.  I think it is important to remember all the great things he did for people and I am glad there are still people alive who remember him.

I hope you all create wonderful memories while you can so that you will have no regrets when you lose someone.  I have memories of picnics, just the two of us riding up the river after work and enjoying nature.  Or the times we went out to dinner and sat over a final glass of wine and talked into the night. (My friends always said, "gosh, you have been married so long, what do you find to talk about?"  I don't know, it always seemed like we were young and dating and just couldn't quit talking. There were days when he had flowers sent to my shop for no special reason, just because he loved me.  There were little spats we had when he would go into his "man den" until we cooled down.  I don't think we ever had a really big argument in all those years.  And I think we told each other how much we loved each other fifty times a day. 

It is these little things that are so important now and I hope you never go to bed angry.  Always say I Love you.  Life is short so enjoy it.

Until next time,
Be kind to one another

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Words

A week or two ago I posted a video about words and I have had it on my mind ever since.  For those of you who didn't see it, it showed a blind man sitting in a square with a sign, "I'm blind, please help."  Many people passed and a few dropped a coin, but most avoided him.  Finally a lady came by, walked on and then returned.  She took his sign and wrote something else on it.  He felt her shoes while she wrote.  All of a sudden almost everyone that passed dropped a coin.  Finally the lady came back.  He felt her shoes in recognition and asked, what did you put on the sign?"  Her reply was that she said about the same thing he did, just used different words.  Then the sign became visible.  On it were written the words, "It's a beautiful day and I can't see it."

It made me think of the impact our words have on everyone we come in contact with.  I remember the old saw, "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me."  This is so not true.  Psychologists in today's society have found that children who have constantly been told they were dumb or stupid usually end up believing that about themselves.  Or the child who is taunted on the playground as fat, or ugly or a wimp is really hurt by such words.  The sad thing is that sometime just one cruel word may effect some one's whole life. Even if it is said in jest, it may hurt.  Perhaps we should choose our words more carefully.

And then there is the big "F" word.  I have noticed that  more and more people seem to be using it, particularly younger folks.  I think it is so sad that something God made beautiful and sacred should be brought down to the level of filth and nastiness.  What a shame that one has such a limited vocabulary that they have to reach down in the gutter to find a word. 

Enough said.  If you are interested in words there are dozens of articles on the Internet.  One very interesting one is an article by Richard F. Taflinger on how words are used in Advertising to take advantage of us.  Stephanie Resenbloom writes some interesting facts on the power of words in the real estate market.

We need to be aware that people can use words to make us believe just what they want us to, so pay attention when you are encouraged to buy a product, vote for a certain person, or even, heaven forbid, to marry them (perhaps all for the wrong reason.)  After that statement, I  think it is time for me to close.

Until next time,
Be Kind to One Another