Response to “Nature Chills Challenge”

Posting this response to A Momma’s View Challenge “Nature Chills”

 

My whole life, I have hungered for the outdoors. It has always calmed and fulfilled me.  My earliest memories were of Mother telling me I couldn’t go out till the dew dried.  Many, many times, she caught me outdoors barefoot with a muddy-tailed nightgown before breakfast.  Inclement weather was no impediment.  We simply played in the barn, slipping out the instant the downpour was over.  More likely than not, we’d end up wet anyway then stay out till our clothes dried enough it wasn’t immediately obvious.  So much of the time I worked as a nurse, I’d go to work before daylight and come home long after dark, working on a windowless unit that shut out all hope of a glimmer of sunshine.  One of life’s greatest blessings is that after retirement, I am free again.  My husband and I camp a great deal, seeing a lot of the beach and the mountains.  While he fly fishes, I spend my time walking with Buzzy, dabbling in the water, or just being.  I can’t claim to be a fly fisher person, but I never met a fly fisherman I didn’t like.  I usually cook outdoors in my Dutch Ovens over an open fire.  My posts have come to you from the hills and riversides of Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and from the beaches along the Gulf of Mexico.  Next summer we plan to spend time with friends in Canada and the Northwest.  I am grateful to be “Chilling” at this time in my life.

This picture was from one of life’s finest moments.  Someone called to see if I could come in and work a shift for them a few days after I retired.  Sent the picture with the explanation,  “Sorry.  I’m busy!”

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“Don’t She Look Natural!”

This is an excerpt from Kathleen’s Memoirs of the 1930’s, my book in  progress.  Kathleen grew up in rural East Texas in the 1930’s  during the height of The Great Depression.

The events surrounding Aunt Ellie’s death were a thrilling event for me since we hadn’t invested too much affection in each other.  The wake was unforgettable with all its glorious food:  fried chicken, peach cobbler, deviled eggs, bread ‘n butter pickles, dainties not seen outside “dinner on the grounds.”   Sprinkled with carbolic acid, Aunt Ellie lay in a pine box

Things I Wish I’d Known in My Teens

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if a person had the benefit of experience in their teens, but there’s only one way to have that view. I wish I really could have known these things  when I was struggling:

1.  Pimples don’t last forever.

2.  Don’t waste time trying to get in with the “cool” kids.  Real friends are accepting, not exclusionary.

3.  It’s okay not to have a boyfriend or girlfriend.  There’s plenty of time for that.  It’s not a contest.

4.  If you have a bad feeling about something, avoid it.  You have instincts for a reason.

5.  No need to make excuses for meanness.   Every person is responsible for himself.

5.  Don’t excuse cruelty.  People don’t hurt you because they love you.  They hurt you because they want to.

6.  People mean what they say in anger.  Anger is like alcohol.  It loosens inhibitions.

7.  My parents weren’t malicious.  They were just human with a houseful of kids and  many demands on their time and resources.  They were looking at the big picture.

8.  Work a little harder in school.

2014 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,100 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Desperate and Cold

My flight from Philadelphia was snowed out last winter.  The roads were closed, no cabs or shuttles running.  I had to catch the train to get back to New Jersey, a new and worrisome experience for me.  The trains were on a reduced scheduled,making my wait long and cold.  I had to walk a few blocks between train connections.  The entrance to the train station appeared to be locked.  It late, the snow was deep, and the streets were nearly deserted.  I was approached by a desperate young man.  He was waving at me and near tears.  Calling out , he addressed me, “Please help me.  Please don’t be mean to me.  I need help.  I just got out of jail.  I don’t have train fare to get home and have nowhere to turn.”

I knew just how he felt. “I need help,too.  Get me to an ATM at the train station and I’ll get us both home.”  He was overjoyed to help.  He carried my bag.  We walked together to the ATM in the station.  I found out he didn’t have any food at home, either.  I got twenty dollars. He got us both a ticket. I told him to keep the change and be safe.  We hugged and parted, both grateful for the help, both happy!  We needed each other that night.

My head

Reblogged from Scarredandscared. Welcome to newblogger

scarredandscared

What do you do when you are scared and your head tells you all this bad stuff?
I say to myself these people are here because they love me, they show me they love me with their actions, they don’t leave me –  but my head says they are they’re because they’re doing a good deed, or they feel guilty for leaving me with him or because I have potential to be something. I tell my head no, your wrong, then my head says you’re just being nieve and stupid.

They tell me I can get better, don’t listen to the voices and that my head talks Bullshit but do you know how hard it is to drown it out when it’s constant and so loud and sounds exactly like the same things i was told my whole childhood, your not good enough, your not worth it, you’re a waste…

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This is my blog…

New blogger. Welcome!

Stories for Jennimen

…and this is a test post, which I’ll make more interesting later…

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Welcome to Scarred and Scared

I stumbled onto your first post yesterday.  I was moved by your struggle dealing with sexual abuse and bipolar disorder.  I congratulate on having the courage to open your heart to a caring community of people who will support you in your struggles and joy.  You have found friends who will come to depend on you as you will depend on them.  

Joke

Joe walked into a bar and saw a tiny little man sitting on the end of the bar playing his heart out on a perfectly scaled miniature grand  piano.  “Barkeeper, where did he come from?”

The barkeeper pointed toward a lamp sitting on the bar.  ” I rubbed this lamp.  A genii came out and gave him to me.”

“Let me give it a try!”  Joe rubbed the lamp and a genii appeared before him.

“What is your desire? You get one and only one wish”

Without hesitation, Joe asked for a million bucks.  The genii disappeared back into the lamp as the room filled with ducks.  They overflowed out into the street as far as the eye could see.

Horrified, Joe said, “What the Hell?  I said I wanted a million BUCKS, not a million ducks.  Is that genii deaf?”

“Yep,” replied the bartender.  “How else do you think I would have gotten stuck with this 12 inch pianist?”