tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29926866628526632432024-03-13T12:54:20.354-07:00Write to Remember Your StoriesThis is a place to read and respond to life stories written by ordinary people who have learned that the act of writing stimulates the memory in surprising ways. Too many of us believe that we cannot write our stories because we cannot remember them very well. Yet the simple secret is that when we engage in the act of writing, our memories come alive. Please read, comment, follow, and subscribe. We look forward to hearing from you.Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.comBlogger170125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-84121230801399139102013-11-26T14:43:00.000-08:002013-11-26T14:43:04.430-08:00Typhoon Haiyan Hits The Philippines, by Noemi Rabina
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">November 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan
hit Leyte, the famous historical province in the Visayan Islands of the
Philippines. It was here in 1944 where Gen. Douglas McArthur landed to liberate
the country from Japan, who had ruled the country for about four years. Since
then, Leyte has been a peaceful and beautiful province with the white sandy
shore that attracted many visitors. But now, a great devastation has happened
as the strongest typhoon Haiyan pounded on the land, killing thousands of
people and reducing the once beautiful city into rubbles. The whole world has
seen and heard the cry of the people. It was so heart-breaking! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I thought I had already experienced
nature's worst typhoon when I was in Manila. It was signal #3, and I was
caught working in the hospital many miles from home. The city streets were
flooded. No more public transportation. People were wading in the dark dirty
water to get home. I had to follow the crowd in my nurse's white uniform. It
took me more than four hours to get home when it used to be less than an hour
ride on a usual day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We were often visited by typhoons,
usually in November and December, and typhoons were always named after women.
That is because women are more aggressive, and unpredictable. For typhoons
signal #1-#3, schools and public offices were closed, but they never excuse the
workers from the hospitals. If they cannot report due to lack of
transportation, the hospital ambulance will come and get them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">To the affected people of Leyte,
let us be a good neighbor, to help them the way we can. Jesus said, "<b>What
ever you have done to the least of these, my brethren, you have done it
unto me."</b> </span></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-72169483703200117112013-11-06T10:52:00.000-08:002013-11-06T10:52:01.402-08:00Veteran's Day, by Caleb J. Gomez, 12 years old
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X6x9mDV2R2I/UnqOQjFLhHI/AAAAAAAAAJY/biv5mizph4I/s1600/Papa+and+Caleb0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X6x9mDV2R2I/UnqOQjFLhHI/AAAAAAAAAJY/biv5mizph4I/s320/Papa+and+Caleb0001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My Papa, Victor Adele was a Marine. He served our country in
Vietnam. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now he is a <span id="yiv2226945524misspell-0">volunteer at
my Troop 93 meetings and outings. He has</span> taught me how I can
serve my community and my country by being the best Boy Scout of America. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My Papa says, I can be like a Marine even if I'
am only 12 years old by always doing my best, and never giving
up when I have trouble putting up my tent, tying my <span id="yiv2226945524misspell-0">knots</span>, and calling out color-guard
commands, and folding the flag correctly in a triangle shape and going on
hard hikes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to wish my Papa and
all the people who have served in the wars a happy Veterans day.</span></div>
</o:p><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br /></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-85377066943154258752013-11-01T14:40:00.000-07:002013-11-01T14:42:01.202-07:00Abandoned In the Attic, by Yolanda Adele<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As I lie in the dark corner of the cold attic,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the spider,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">slowly,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and deliberately approaches my being.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sticky, beautiful gossamer- like webs anchor my
broken body down.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thankful, I’m for the lace collar of my tattered
yellow dress,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">that covers and protects, my mouth and ears,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">from the ominous black spider’s curiosity.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is no comfort in the haunting sounds,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">of the child’s laughter,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">that once beckoned me to run in frolic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Her shrills of delight,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">echoes like a faded lullaby,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">suspended from the rafters now.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This precious little girl often wrapped her arms
around me,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">whispering her secrets and pain<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">knowing I’d never judge or blame.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My jaw frozen wide in silent scream,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I wish this were but a dream.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alas, since she abandoned me, only darkness
fills the air.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I should have known that little girls,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">all too soon, <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">grow up,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and put their dollies down.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Someday a new child may find, and mend my broken
parts,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">setting in motion the magical, imagination,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">that breaths life into dolls,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">bringing them to life again,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and again.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Until then I lie,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">cold, <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and abandoned, <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in the attic.<o:p></o:p></span>Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-50752341425217503592013-10-30T16:41:00.001-07:002013-10-30T16:41:54.560-07:00Halloween Memories, by Charlene Farnsworth<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria;">HALLOWEEN MEMORIES</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g86jJKWeQMQ/UnGYkVLtpzI/AAAAAAAAAJI/1F_MNrNQLP4/s1600/Charlene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g86jJKWeQMQ/UnGYkVLtpzI/AAAAAAAAAJI/1F_MNrNQLP4/s320/Charlene.jpg" width="229" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Over the years, I have become disenchanted with
Halloween. That is probably because my childhood memories are that of dressing
up as a pleasant personality</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">one that
made you smile rather than wince. This may have been a storybook princess, a
cartoon character or perhaps a cute animal. My early and midlife adult memories
are also of a more calming approach to Halloween. Then more frightful figures were
introduced and became quite popular. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Each year, the costumes, masks and makeup are
more gory, which adds to my discomfort at Halloween.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria;">Some vacation spots have annual shows with a Halloween
theme. Knott’s Berry Farm has “Knott’s Scary Farm,” Universal Studios has
“Horror Nights,” and the Queen Mary has “Dark Harbor.” The ghouls and goblins
are lurking here and there and jump out at their “prey” unexpectedly and are often
disfigured, dripping with blood and missing various body parts. It amazes me
that people actually pay to be subjected to such fright. This also entails
enduring heavy traffic around and long lines within these locales.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria;">Thankfully, my parents took an everlasting
photograph of me in my favorite Halloween costume. I was Little Bo Peep, and Mom
f</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">ashioned my frilly dress from some
kitchen curtains that she had replaced. Dad skillfully handcrafted the
shepherd's crook. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Another fond
childhood memory is how much my brother Jim and I enjoyed trick-or-treating at
Mr. and Mrs. Woodmansee’s house on our block. This was because they always passed
out the bigger-and-better nickel candy bars instead of the usual penny candies.</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">One would never
know that Halloween is not my favorite holiday by what I do each year. I
assemble well over 100 candy packages for the door-to-door visitors, family
members and friends. Before Halloween, I personally deliver some of the treats
to favorite children in my neighborhood. Have you ever heard of home delivery
to the trick-or-treaters? It is also tradition for me to take these treats to my
friend Steve's home some distance away because he has many more
trick-or-treaters from his neighborhood and church than I do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In my senior
years, the Halloween season seems to be too long and way too commercial. For my
preservation, I always avoid the store aisles with the gruesome masks and various
body parts. I think I’ll stick to my more calming homemade treats and cheery "Casper
the Friendly Ghost" for my Halloween entertainment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-80503148635804608732013-10-24T08:48:00.000-07:002013-10-24T08:48:29.612-07:00One more Gift, by Karen Borrell<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">A strange
plant in our yard,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My husband
said, “It’s a weed!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It smelled
to me like tomato<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I said, “The
wind blew us a seed.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Afraid to
pull another plant,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">He let the
green leaves grow<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">In friendly
soil it grew quite tall<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Small blooms
began to show.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">He began to
daily check the plant,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Give it
water and tie support.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Soon green
fruit began to appear<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Although the
time seemed short.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Now full,
bright red and ripe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Juicy warm
from the sun,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I wonder how
such a miracle<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Came so
sweetly to my tongue!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2rPFv3PgqNg/UmlAndsVl5I/AAAAAAAAAIw/5Anm9w1zS3Q/s1600/tomato+plant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2rPFv3PgqNg/UmlAndsVl5I/AAAAAAAAAIw/5Anm9w1zS3Q/s320/tomato+plant.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
<br />Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-63924138665120009382013-09-09T14:14:00.000-07:002013-09-09T14:14:20.187-07:00K is for “Kindness." by Shirley Mark
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<span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-themecolor: accent1;">Our class was saddened by the news last week that one
of our own had passed away. Shirley</span><span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-themecolor: accent1;"> wrote so many good stories of her travels, her
family, and her passions (like opera!). Here is a story she wrote about the class several years ago. It was one story in an ABC anthology of class stories. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-themecolor: accent1;"></span> </div>
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<span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-themecolor: accent1;"> If you have a favorite memory of
Shirley, can you post it here in the comment section? I would love for us to
pay honorable tribute to this special friend. ~ Bonnie</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-themecolor: accent1;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Kindness
– "the quality or state of being kind; good will; graciousness; kindhearted."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>All of the above reflect the kindness I
have felt in the <st1:city w:st="on">Downey</st1:city> writing class and in
this one in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norwalk</st1:place></st1:city>.
How fortunate I was – how fortunate I am.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Last week I went into my son’s old room,
which is now used for anything and everything, looking for a photo. Going
through papers, scrap book pages, etc., I found a letter from a <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Downey</st1:place></st1:city> student expressing
how much she enjoyed hearing about my travels. Next to it was a photo of the
class which had been given to me, “in friendship.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">That was
and is typical of the kindness that begins with the instructor and filters
through the excellent and kind students. Am I lucky to be a part of the warmth,
friendliness and kindness of that class? You bet!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-66681113573666870752013-08-31T10:50:00.001-07:002013-08-31T10:50:47.940-07:00My Daughter Sarah and the Sand Dunes, by Annie Freewriter<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-themecolor: text2;">Here is a story I think you will enjoy . . . especially
if you have ever become impatient waiting for a baby to be born!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was watching the news a couple of years ago in August
about a week before my youngest daughter Sarah’s birthday. A park in Manhattan
Beach, called Sand Dune Park, had just been reopened after being closed for a
year. The 300 ft. dunes had been damaged by years of people tramping up its
sandy sides. The streets had been congested by excess traffic and parking
problems, and constant noise well into the evening from all the people who came
just because it was a cool place to hang out. The city finally had to come up
with a solution to please everyone; or at least some. There is now a three
dollar fee and a reservation required to use the dune. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Flashback to 36 years ago (now 38) on August 12, 1974, I was
attending church, at a small hall our church was renting next to Sand Dune
Park. I was miserable because I was more than a week overdue, and it had been a
hot summer. I believe my daughter preferred the warmth and security of the
womb, and refused to come out. She still prefers to curl up in the warmth and
security of her bed, snuggling with her kitty, more than thirty years later. My
son was born a year and one month before, on July 5, 1973. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I told my friend, Nancy, who was standing outside with me,
that I was wondering if climbing the sand dune would help me go into labor. We
decided it was worth a try if she went along to help me. We climbed about half
way up the steep, leg-tightening dune, and then descended into ankle-plunging
depth. Still no labor pains, so we turned around and tried again; this time – a
labor pain. We were experienced mothers and knew how to time the pains to make
sure it was real. It was. Away I went to the hospital, and delivered a beautiful
baby girl, after several hours of labor. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Right after she was born, a nurse overheard us trying to
come up with a middle name to put on the birth certificate. She peeked around
the curtain and said, “Did I hear you say Monique?” We had already picked out
Sarah as the first name and they sounded good together, so I said, “Yes, that’s
it.” Her friends and I have teased her over the years saying she was very
unique, that Sarah Monique. She truly is!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Just think: if I had climbed that dune to induce labor
today, instead of 36 years ago (now 38), I would have had to pay a three dollar
fee and on top of that; make a reservation. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0TQRD9qBbrY/UiIrqkwMS6I/AAAAAAAAAIc/QwgPXM4iiH4/s1600/Sand+dunes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0TQRD9qBbrY/UiIrqkwMS6I/AAAAAAAAAIc/QwgPXM4iiH4/s320/Sand+dunes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
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Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-90662521726076770722013-07-30T15:38:00.000-07:002013-07-30T15:38:06.720-07:00One Is Never Too Old To Learn, by Maria Zeeman
<br />
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<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitating this community of memoir
writers has been a joy from the beginning. When I try to tell people just how
special this group is, I suspect they must think I am exaggerating. Maria’s
story represents what happens when people take time to listen to one another.
Walls of fear and prejudice come tumbling down. And we are sometimes blessed
with the privilege of being there to witness it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I was in a concentration camp under the
Japanese regime.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span> </div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">During the time that has passed since
then, and that sure has been many years, I learned to forget and to go on. I
had several friends that were Japanese. But I would never buy anything that was
made there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I even chose not to accept a
better job when I found out that my supervisor was Japanese. It made me think
of long past sad times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I must say that
almost all my life I was too busy having a good time. I always worked hard and
studied hard, wanted to be the best mom I could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I really never took time out for just
me. My inner self. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then I retired, earlier than I wanted.
Again my time went for extra work to make money for the care of my children and
grandchildren. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then one day a lady from the
Netherlands came. She was looking for any survivors of the Tjidang camp in
Djakarta, Indonesia during World War II. And I am one of them. She talked to me
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for a long time. Then she offered me a
visit with a psychiatrist and he referred me to a counselor. I still see her.
This Dutch organization gives me some money for the rest of my life.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I still carried a grudge that I was
hurt not only by the Japanese, but also by the Dutch people. Because when we
came to Holland, nobody was nice to us. I know that they went through a war
too, but they weren’t skinny and hungry. A Dutch organization gave us double
coupons to obtain food. Others were envious of that. And, of course, we spoke
Dutch, but with no dialect. They thought we had our noses in the air. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In school they laughed and teased us
because we were far behind in every subject. I was 9 years and had to do grades
1, 2, and 3 in one year. No wonder I was still undereducated for my age. I made
up for it for many years to come. The older we get the more we learn and
understand. This counselor helped me a lot.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now I’m a senior and am in this writing
class. When I listen to the other people in the class, I learn and take time to
understand other people and how different they are. When I listen to Kay (she’s
Japanese) she makes me think of her and other people from a very wise and
humble standpoint. I finally felt that I could love her for what she is,
Japanese or not. And I felt such a burden of relieve fall off me that I was
quiet and thankful. When we left and I saw her outside, I called her and hugged
her, thanking her for being Kay, wise and understanding.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes, even at 78 years one can still
learn a lot in life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri Light","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jxp4r_QMY5w/Ufg9R6DEQvI/AAAAAAAAAIM/roGuQtpgVBk/s1600/TrueFriendship1024x768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jxp4r_QMY5w/Ufg9R6DEQvI/AAAAAAAAAIM/roGuQtpgVBk/s320/TrueFriendship1024x768.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-36397031300869685912013-07-24T15:10:00.000-07:002013-07-24T15:10:50.477-07:00Daily Routine, By Charlotte Davis Boquist
<br />
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<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">Our daily routines may change gradually,
but they change dramatically. Enjoy Charlotte’s perspective on one aspect of
this change. There are certain things that it’s best to keep a sense of humor
about. Aging is one of them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The words, “of an age” sound genteel and sweet, but, truth be known,
the so-called golden years are spent in an entirely new circle of friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They reside at our doctor’s office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other patients; the receptionists, the nurses
and the doctors themselves are all known by their first names.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The workers at the pharmacies know us by the
prescriptions we refill on a regular basis.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Each day is a whirlwind of pills—and more importantly when
to ingest each one, how often-of course, the timing is crucial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One with water first thing; you can’t eat for
an hour no matter how late you start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then two others, one small round pill and one triangular shaped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To be taken with breakfast, one with a little
food and the other when my tummy is full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Oh don’t forget the teaspoon of syrup. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Lunch brings on a pile of vitamins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Capsules and pills all recommended by our
M.D. or grandson and especially Dr. Oz, who daily has something new that is
important to swallow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Afternoon calls for some elixir, a tea perhaps, or a
smoothie made from many healthy ingredients.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Six o’clock comes quickly and it’s time for the pill that
will anchor my blood clot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pay attention
now, is this the day for a whole one or a half?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Oh my!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have I had enough water to
drink today?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably not, but if I try
to make it up now I’ll be up several times in the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tomorrow I’ll do better.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Bedtime and three teaspoons of that stuff that keeps my air
passages open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now what did I forget?
I’m sure there is something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I’m too
tired to care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good night ZZZZZZZZZZZ.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eGtq-33yYuU/UfBPvh1jEuI/AAAAAAAAAH8/L72dHvWcuec/s1600/pills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eGtq-33yYuU/UfBPvh1jEuI/AAAAAAAAAH8/L72dHvWcuec/s1600/pills.jpg" /></a></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-51221367807115544472013-07-14T20:50:00.000-07:002013-07-14T20:50:58.677-07:00Grandma's Pan, by Karen Borrell
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<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt; mso-themecolor: text2;">Do you have an every-day utensil in one of
your cupboards that has served you and your family for generations? Have you
ever thought about how that ordinary item has added to your family’s memories? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;">Old black iron pan<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;">What history you have served.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;">Nordic lamb and cabbage,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;">Proud tradition you preserved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;">Adjusted next to melting pot stews<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;">And the tight economy of war,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;">You now offered us filling foods<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;">We might not have considered before<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;">Another journey, this time South<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;">And the aroma was totally new<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;">As you brewed us many spicy feasts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;">Our Children enjoyed them too<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dfcKBzE5pys/UeNv-lltz2I/AAAAAAAAAHs/DNaAslTh1ac/s1600/cast+iron+skillet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dfcKBzE5pys/UeNv-lltz2I/AAAAAAAAAHs/DNaAslTh1ac/s200/cast+iron+skillet.jpg" width="193" /></a><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;">So, old pot. You are almost sacred<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;">Having journeyed far with four generations<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;">What will happen when I am gone?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;">What will you serve at your next destination?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-58079804220315614192013-07-11T10:49:00.001-07:002013-07-11T10:49:05.544-07:00Sometimes it is good to Forget, by Yolanda Adele<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: 'Lucida Calligraphy';">Here is a different perspective on memory from Yolanda.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: 'Lucida Calligraphy';"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I have come to the conclusion that
a great memory is a bit over-rated. When I was much younger I had extraordinary
recall. My mind never seemed to run out of inventory. I remembered every unkind
word, broken promise, betrayed confidence, my failures, others failures. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Being overly sentimental is like a
web that can entangle and choke a person with memories, whether they are good,
sad, or ugly. Memories can be disruptive; they come back when you don’t want
them, in daydreams, nightmares or flashbacks, usually accompanied by painful
emotions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
In this age of pharmaceutical
wonders there are pills for anxiety; depression, improved memory, libido; the
morning after pill; why not have pills for forgetting? Sure, one could argue
that our memories are part of what makes us who we are. Yet, if we didn’t
recall the negativisms with which some of us grew up, the naysayers, we’d have
greater confidence and potential to be the best we can be. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Still I’m reminded that life, like
art, has light and shadow. Mosaics illustrate wholeness with intricate complex,
interrelated elements of parts, or factors. In essence, I’m a piece of
unfinished work, and in the end, discernment is the key.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I must be poised to remember that
sometimes it is good to forget.<o:p></o:p></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-32878546893645366022013-07-04T12:37:00.002-07:002013-07-04T12:41:45.703-07:004th of July Memories, by Bonnie Mansell<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: 'Lucida Calligraphy'; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;">It
has been quite awhile since we have published any stories on this blog. Here is
an early memory of my family’s celebration of Independence Day. Do you have one
to share?</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
When I was young,
mom and dad took us to Grandma and Grandpa’s hillside home in Monterey Park. All
the aunts, uncles, and cousins were there as we celebrated America’s Freedom. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
In the afternoon,
while it was too light for “real” fireworks, Grandpa would take the kids into
the garage, near his workbench and get out some small black tablets. He’d put
them on the garage floor, and light them with a “punk,” a sort of slow-burning
lighter. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Sometimes it was a
little hard to get them going, but once they ignited, the tablets would begin
to glow and grow, producing long “snakes” of ashes with a peculiar pungent
odor. Sometimes he’d let us do the honors of lighting these mild “fireworks”
and I suppose we were more excited than these little glow worms deserved, but
it was all part of the day’s energy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
All day we waited
in anticipation for the sun to go down so we could begin the “real” fireworks.
After a meal of hamburgers, picnic style salads, beans, and watermelon, we
brought blankets, chairs, and popcorn onto the front lawn as Dad and the uncles
got the show ready to begin. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
They took turns
lighting the fireworks, dashing out of the way once the sparks began to fly. A
pinwheel on the peach tree, a piccolo Pete piercing the night, fountains, roman
candles – all these filled the night with excitement, laughter and wonder. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
But the best part
always came at the end, when the sparklers came out, turning us into magicians
with our wands. We wrote our names in fire on the dark night, trying
desperately to get the last letter written before the first one faded. Impossible,
of course, but we never stopped trying.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Grandma and
Grandpa moved from that house when I was quite young. The scene was recreated
in other places over the years, but the house in Monterey Park is where my
memory is most vivid, most filled with magic.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
When Steve and I
had children of our own, we took them to my mom and dad’s home, where we ate
hamburgers on the patio and watched fireworks in the front yard after dark.
Later, the party moved to our house and began to include the neighbors. For
many years we had an annual 4<sup>th</sup> of July block party, everyone
bringing something to share. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
The tradition faded
and died for many years, and we have been celebrating the 4<sup>th</sup> with a
swim party/barbeque at Pam and Joan’s house, ending the day with chairs on the
lawn at Downey High Football Stadium, enjoying the community fireworks display.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
But today we are
returning to the neighborhood barbeque. It’s a whole new set of neighbors and
we have passed the baton of hosting the event to the younger families. I look
forward to getting to know some of the people I pass every day. And I hope the
children enjoy the sparklers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-29252205676343556602013-03-25T14:07:00.001-07:002013-03-25T14:07:21.347-07:00The Track Team, by Carol Kearns
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">In
class a few weeks ago I asked the class to do a ten-minute writing on something
they had noticed that day. Carol continued to notice things
around her. Later that day she observed the Downey High School track team
running through our community and she paid attention to their workout. This
is the perceptive result of her observations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
School is out<br />
But the jagged line of students pushes onward <br />
Down the boulevard<br />
Ignoring the exhaust<br />
Leaderless <br />
They know the route and have the desire<br />
<br />
The track team is large <br />
Democratic, self-selected, with no tryouts<br />
You don’t have to be fast, just willing to train <br />
<br />
A mile from school <br />
There is little energy for laughter and chatter<br />
Some advance solo <br />
Syncing their pace to music on an iPod<br />
<br />
Experienced runners pump their arms<br />
In smooth coordination with their legs<br />
Not too hard<br />
Just enough to be efficient<br />
Gracefully they advance up the line<br />
<br />
Novice runners haven’t learned yet<br />
What is required for success on the track<br />
Rigidly held hands conflict with<br />
The motion of their legs<br />
<br />
Bouncing ponytails betray<br />
The side-to-side swing of shoulders and elbows<br />
By girls wondering is
track compatible with femininity<br />
<br />
But two miles is still two miles<br />
And from daily effort<br />
The novice runners will find their stride<br />
<br />
At last the line turns left on to a tree-lined street<br />
Confident boys shed tee shirts <br />
Even the shade is not cool enough<br />
<br />
Brave girls strip down to sports bras<br />
And enjoy the breeze <br />
On their glistening midrifts<br />
<br />
Two more blocks and the line turns left again<br />
Just in time for the grammar school dismissal<br />
Less fit runners welcome the order by a crossing guard<br />
To jog in place at an intersection <br />
<br />
Small children escorted by parents look in awe <br />
At these fleet creatures<br />
Do you know my brother<br />
A little one asks a shaggy-haired Adonis<br />
His only answer is a smile<br />
From an adolescent breathing deeply<br />
<br />
The whistle sounds<br />
And the sweaty herd surges onward<br />
More stretched out than ever at this half-way point<br />
Saturday will be their first meet of the season<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-73063115939460058152013-01-23T11:47:00.000-08:002013-01-23T11:47:09.952-08:00MISS FLORA’S GARDEN, by Charlene Farnsworth
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-themecolor: text2;">This is a story that reminds us that some people have a gift for
creating beauty in the most ordinary of places. It also reminds us to take time
to notice someone else’s beautiful creation. By taking time to stop and linger,
Charlene and her mom prompted a life-long memory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">One day, Mom and I met a charming, very able octogenarian whose name I
do not recall. For purposes of this writing, I think the name <i>Miss Flora</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> befits this lovely lady</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Mom and I were wearily returning from a shopping excursion when we
spotted a well-kept, two-story, Victorian home. What particularly caught our
eye was the magnificent rose garden on the south side of the house. We stopped curbside
to enjoy the spectacular display. Although we were parked on a very busy thoroughfare,
we felt we were alone, together, in paradise. The neighboring storefronts and
noticeably less-charming housing that had encroached upon this “gingerbread”
house over the years seemingly disappeared.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We wondered if we dared to knock on the decorative front door and,
hopefully, meet the owner. We were anxious to learn about the history of this
Victorian beauty. Knock, knock, knock </span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-no-proof: yes; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">¼</span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Peppy, petite <i>Miss Flora</i> warmly welcomed us and asked if we would
like a tour of her rose garden. Of course, we immediately accepted her kind invitation.
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">She </span>told us that she lived in
the home until she got married. Upon the breakup of her marriage, she returned
to the home and cared for her aging parents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Remembering the information from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Rose</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Hills</st1:placename></st1:place>
on the proper care of roses, I asked <i>Miss Flora</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, “D</span>o you water underneath your roses and never overhead?” She
replied, “I just stand with the hose and spray them!” I posed my next two-part question:
“Do you fertilize your roses? By what method?” <i>Miss Flora</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> answered,</span> “I just stand and throw
the fertilizer at them!” So much for following the books for abundant, healthy
roses!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Miss Flora</span></i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> then
invited us on an extended tour of her yard. All along the north side of her
“dollhouse” were camellias that reached the second story rooftop. Again, thinking
how I always followed the garden books when pruning our own camellias, I asked,
“Do you cut your camellias back after they have finished blooming?” <i>Miss
Flora</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> responded,</span> “No, I cut
them back when I can’t drive my car by them!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Miss Flora</span></i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> then
walked us to the attached back porch which was adorned with hanging baskets of brilliant
fuchsias. No more questions from me—just pleasant quiet among profuse color of
every hue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We then followed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Miss </i>Flora’s darling
figure into her home where we enjoyed another feast for the eyes: a huge
collection of elegant Venetian glassware—goblets, candy dishes, vases, etc.</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">While
inside, <i>Miss Flora</i> shared a little more about her life and the interesting
history of her charming home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We then thanked <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Miss Flora</i> abundantly
for brightening our day and, reluctantly, returned to reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in 0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7piJtFjIvhQ/UQA81d_H_dI/AAAAAAAAAGk/CanCjAzBIZg/s1600/cottage+rose+garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7piJtFjIvhQ/UQA81d_H_dI/AAAAAAAAAGk/CanCjAzBIZg/s1600/cottage+rose+garden.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Over the years, Mom and I reflected upon the little side excursion we
took one sunny day, enjoying <i>Miss Flora’s</i> Victorian home and well-manicured
gardens. Although quite small in stature, <i>Miss Flora</i> added a significant
memory to both of our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-21348499996757967392013-01-16T09:39:00.002-08:002013-01-16T09:39:52.822-08:00I Am From, by Dora Silvers<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent1;">Do you remember the “I am from”
poems that we were publishing last year? Here is another one from Dora. It is a
multi-layered memory, all caught in a few short stanzas. Read it slowly and
savor the essence of another era.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I am from the depression era.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">From New Jersey (the garden state)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Cold winters and hot summers.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Sled riding after dinner, </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">then a hot
sweet potato with lots of butter<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">From the Horse & Wagon for 1 cent.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Chicken and chicken soup on Friday,
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">when mama would light the Shabbat candles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Papa said the blessing over a small
glass of homemade wine.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Saturday mornings, we read from
the old testament.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Movies were 10 cents, </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">with cartoons and
a serial continued every week.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Sunday, my aunt and uncle came from New
York.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Mama made salami with scrambled eggs
and knishes -<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Pastry dough wrapped over mashed
potatoes,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Fried and drained on brown paper bags, <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-peuLupyCA8g/UPblZZU28uI/AAAAAAAAAGU/V_fbyJb4VqQ/s1600/ShabbatChallah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-peuLupyCA8g/UPblZZU28uI/AAAAAAAAAGU/V_fbyJb4VqQ/s320/ShabbatChallah.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">before paper towels.<o:p></o:p></span>Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-70105699711746386992013-01-03T11:32:00.000-08:002013-01-03T16:05:57.737-08:00Things That I will carry into the New Year, by Yolanda Adele<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-themecolor: accent1;">This piece was originally published on this blog two
years ago in January of 2011. The lessons learned are just as valid now as they
were then.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I have
learned that friendships can fill the void when family brings disappointments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I have
learned that grandchildren are God’s gift of a second chance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I have
learned from myself that change is necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I have
learned from the events of September eleventh that tomorrow is not a given.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I have
learned from my husband that love brings comfort.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I have
learned from my cat to nap when the tasks at hand are too trying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I have
learned from my homemaking that I don’t have excuses to be bored.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I have
learned from my addiction to chocolate that some things are out of my control.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I have
learned through my writing that I have something to say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">These
are the life lessons that I hope to keep present in my mind as the New Year
comes in with its new adventures and challenges. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I wish
all my dear friends in my Memoir Group, Live Wires, and Writer’s West Workshop
a New Year full of rewarding discoveries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-77104582767078274492012-12-31T16:24:00.001-08:002012-12-31T16:24:13.366-08:00My Christmas Tamale Gift, by Annette Skarin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-themecolor: text2;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Steve and I put away most of our Christmas decorations today (though we
still have plenty of work to do tomorrow to finish this task). “Putting away
Christmas” is always a tiring job and involves so much after-Christmas
clean-up. Yet it is a sweet time, in its own way. We listen to Christmas music
for the last time of the season, and we remember the sweet and quirky moments
from the last couple of weeks. We also give thanks for the gift of loved ones
who have shared Christmases with us in the past – and some who have joined our
family circle in recent years. So as we close out this season
it is appropriate to post one more Christmas story. This one is a very special memory of someone
who had a profound effect on Annette, an effect that continues to bless her
many years later.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-laHZGazXyhc/UOInUSx0zTI/AAAAAAAAAGE/HiXF-EmlHgE/s1600/tamales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-laHZGazXyhc/UOInUSx0zTI/AAAAAAAAAGE/HiXF-EmlHgE/s200/tamales.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter">
<v:formulas>
<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0">
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0">
<v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1">
<v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2">
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth">
</v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A few months before Christmas in 1996, I became
close friends with a lady named Laurie. When I first met Laurie, she was
wearing a halo, a metal one that held her neck together. She had two young
sons, eight and eleven years old. Doctors discovered that she was in acute
kidney failure from an inherited kidney disease. Laurie’s sister and mother had
both died several years before. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Laurie smiled all the time. She expressed deep
heart-felt thanks to God for her life, the eternal kind. She was thankful for
her sons, thankful that she was on the waiting list for a kidney transplant,
and thankful for our friendship. Eventually Laurie was completely wheelchair
bound but that didn’t stop her from coming over to visit. She could push the
wheels on her chair at first until she became too weak and then her son took
over. We would laugh together and talk for hours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">As the Christmas season began slipping down the
slope of the post -Thanksgiving hill, Laurie’s health began slipping into a
painful slope of 4x weekly dialysis. I didn’t understand Laurie as she smiled
and said, “I love you.” I would sit with her to help her make the process
somewhat bearable. I went as often as I could.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">On Christmas Day, Laurie was in the hospital.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A few days before Christmas, some Central American
neighbors invited me to make tamales with them. Making tamales was a time of
fun and laughter, steamy kitchens, sticky masa hands, and passing around
bottles of vino, and cervaza. Multiple families and neighbors would crowd into
the small spaces, dancing around one another, playfully elbowing each other –
throwing back their heads in laughter and singing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I had found a tamale recipe in a cookbook that
involved making the ingredients from scratch. After placing a spoonful of the
red or green sauce and chicken in the middle of the masa, Mexican cheese was
placed on top. They were then enclosed in masa, blanketed with corn husks and
finally steamed until all the flavors melded. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Laurie called me and said she would be
hospitalized for a while. I took her some of the tamales. She hadn’t eaten real
food for days. She was dying. Laurie’s mouth creased into a big shining smile.
“I love you,” she said. I placed the tamales on her lap, and a fork in her
hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Mmm…mmm…mmm…mmm…mmm.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I smiled. We talked and we laughed and she ate
tamales.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A few days into the New Year, the hospital called
to tell me she had just a few days left. I was the only visitor she ever had.
She saw me coming and her face glowed with a heavenly smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“I love you. Don’t be sad. Thank you for the
tamales, they were a heavenly gift.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“I love you,” I said. I smiled an earthly smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Laurie now wears a different halo. I imagine it’s
made of gold and she’s wiping tamale off her face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-51114378092329487202012-12-28T20:14:00.000-08:002012-12-28T20:14:07.803-08:00
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-themecolor: text2;">At the end of the day, even the most wonderful Christmas sometimes
leaves us feeling exhausted! Here is Gloria’s rendition of a mom’s experience
when the Christmas festivities are over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">THE END OF A PERFECT CHRISTMAS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">OR<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">HELP ME SANTA !<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">By Gloria Hannigan<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">It
is the night of Christmas, and the house is a mess<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Where
to start cleaning, is anyone’s guess<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
flop down in my new reclining chair<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A
snore from the bedroom signals, no help from there<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
children are sound asleep in their beds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">With
cookies and candy canes alive in their heads<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
mistletoe hangs by one wilted leaf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Having
done its duty to encourage belief<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
pine needles from the tree continue to drop<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Where
is the star that once shone at the top?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
eggnog is gone, not even a cherry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A
sign that someone’s Christmas was merry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
stockings that once were hung with great care<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Are
scattered everywhere, the mantle is bare<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I sit
here alone feeling sorry for myself<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I wish
I’d asked Santa to lend me an elf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">When
in the back of my mind an image appears<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Michael’s
beaming face at his bike with 10 gears<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
hear the squeal when Jenney unwraps her new doll<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
kisses, the hugs, the excitement of it all!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">You’ll
hear me exclaim as the vacuum kicks in<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Yes,
I will be doing this again and again <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">MERRY
CHRISTMAS AND AMEN<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tIsU-wxlBlc/UN5s_ZQXsDI/AAAAAAAAAF0/nADqo07LOdw/s1600/Spier+Christmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tIsU-wxlBlc/UN5s_ZQXsDI/AAAAAAAAAF0/nADqo07LOdw/s320/Spier+Christmas.jpg" width="304" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustration from Peter Spier's <em>Christmas!</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-66510149730192868362012-12-26T10:52:00.001-08:002012-12-26T10:52:37.888-08:00A Christmas to Remember, by Evelyn Watson<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-themecolor: accent1;">I hope you had a
very special Christmas with your loved ones yesterday. Now that the celebration
has passed, take a few minutes to relax and read about another Christmas from
many years ago. Here is a story about a day that changed the lives of Evelyn
and her husband Dwight forever. Those of us who are parents understand that
having a child transforms your life like nothing else can. Evelyn’s experience
is especially memorable because it happened on Christmas Eve. </span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
<o:p></o:p></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Papyrus;">Children are a heritage of the
Lord</span><span style="font-family: Papyrus;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Papyrus;"><span style="font-size: large;">Psalms 127:3</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Papyrus;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The tree was decorated and presents
wrapped; I had done all to be ready. We were all waiting for that moment to
happen when we would become parents and our parents would become grandparents.
It was the time when no one knew the sex of their baby before being born, but
somehow I knew the tiny life within me was a girl and chose only one name.</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dbu83igVXYo/UNtHBRESnuI/AAAAAAAAAFk/HqpQI8VQ8Yo/s1600/foggy-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dbu83igVXYo/UNtHBRESnuI/AAAAAAAAAFk/HqpQI8VQ8Yo/s200/foggy-road.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">When the time came to go, a thick
blanket of wet fog covered us in eerie silence as we inched our way to the
hospital at 2:00 a.m. Dwight drove slowly with his door open to follow the
street’s center line. We were on our way to parenthood, a challenge our young
lives had not yet encountered, and we had no idea of life’s journey beyond that
night. I was convinced we were ready when Tracy entered our lives the previous
Christmas, yet she was not chosen in God’s plan to be part of our family. </span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">St. Frances Hospital in Lynwood was an
excellent one. I was secure in their care; not afraid of labor or delivery. I
had been healthy the entire nine months and was able to work at the phone
company seven of those months. I did not realize Dwight’s nervousness. When he
left the labor room after appearing briefly and never coming back I had no idea
what he was going through, involved in my own experience. For me time passed
quickly and the pangs of a birth about to happen never raged as expected. </span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Arriving at 6:38a.m., on the moon
change following her due date of December 14, Lori Lynnett, was born on
December 21, weighing 8lb. 9oz. (“If a baby does not arrive on its due date, it
will on the next moon change”, I was told, and she did) I was allowed to watch
her entrance into the world coming through me but not from me. Her tiny body
was perfect. My prayer during pregnancy was for my baby to have hair. She had
more hair than I ever imagined. Giving birth was the most thrilling experience
of my entire life and it started the first time I felt a movement of life
within. </span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">After three days Lori and I came home
from the hospital. It was Christmas Eve morning. She was our gift to share with
friends and family. She led the way into our parenthood. Our lives were forever
changed. It truly was a Christmas to remember. </span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-82038377059826488842012-12-23T14:52:00.000-08:002012-12-23T14:54:08.088-08:00A Christmas Memory, by Noemi Rabina<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">Christmas is a time for making memories.
Sometimes the memories we make for someone else turn out to be our own best
memories. Read Noemi’s story of a very special Christmas memory created by a
very special group of nurses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"<strong><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Unto us a Child is born</span></strong>!"
That was the message written on a lantern that adorned the lobby of the Mary
Johnston Hospital in Manila one Christmas season. Everyone knows that the child
is the Lord Jesus, born in a manger more than 2000. years ago who brought peace
and goodwill towards all men.. It is His birthday that we now celebrate
with great rejoicing.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
happened to be a part in this place many years ago. The institution was started
by an American missionary who have seen the need for a health care facility for
families living in poverty. It started as a small clinic and later expanded to
be a general hospital, treating the patients' body, mind and spirit, following
the ideals of the Great Physician. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On
Christmas morn, at 5:00 AM, all students and graduate nurses in full uniforms,
went through all the hospital wards in long procession, holding candles and
singing Christmas carols. The patients waking up to the beautiful songs while
their nurses greeting them a Merry Christmas. Pain were alleviated,
sorrow turned to joy and hope. Nobody would like to be in a hospital at this
time of the year, but this was something that they will always remember and
cherish. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">During
the day, the gate of the school was opened to let the children from the slum
district come in for a Christmas celebration. They were seated and led in
singing Christmas songs. Soon two trucks from the Clark Air Base came rolling
in. American service men with their families and children added more joy and
excitement. They brought some goodies for the children. Some men dressed as
clowns entertained every one with magic. After the children have eaten to the fullest,
they were given apples, oranges and candies. Then Santa Claus came down the
fire escape with a loud "Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas !" carrying a big
bag full of toys. Every one clapping their hands and screaming with joy to see
a real Santa Claus. After every child was given a toy, they went home very
happy this Christmas day. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That is the spirit of giving on
Christmas day, a living tradition of the school and hospital for years. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For
"<strong><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Unto us a
Child is born</span></strong>", the greatest gift of God to
men. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Merry
Christmas !</span></strong></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-6699884877218743952012-12-21T12:17:00.000-08:002012-12-21T12:26:05.499-08:00A CHRISTMAS STORY, by Gloria Hannigan<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-themecolor: text2;">Although I already published this piece on the blog a
couple of years ago, it is SO worth repeating. If you have never read it, you
will be delighted. And if you’ve read it before? Well, you will be delighted
again. It shows off Gloria’s wonderful wit and writing style and gives a great
glimpse into our class. And this time, it does something else. It is a sweet and poignant
reminder of some precious souls who are no longer with us. Please take time to
read and comment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">T’was the week
before Christmas<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and all through Memoir
class<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Not a person was
missing, nary a lass.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">The seniors were
nestled snug in their seat<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Waiting for the
teacher, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bonnie to greet.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">When all through
the classroom murmurs did sound.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Through the open
doorway Bonnie did bound.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">She opened her
briefcase with a practiced ease<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Turned to us all
and said,”Quiet, Please.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">We went right to
work our stories to read<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">We laughed and we
cried whatever the need<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Then promptly at
the hour of three<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">A festive
Christmas feast we did see<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">We arose from our
chairs to eat our fill<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Secretly hoarding
that antacid pill<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">On Mina, On Judy,
Randy, Kasey and all<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Come Evelyn,
Margaret, Dora don’t stall</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Its time for this
tale to come to a close</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">So from her chair,
Bonnie arose</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">We heard her
exclaim as she drove out of sight<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Merry Christmas to
all, and remember to write!"</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wp89Pq2S5aE/UNTC6dKAIII/AAAAAAAAAFU/lB8n7iV5caM/s1600/Merry+Christmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wp89Pq2S5aE/UNTC6dKAIII/AAAAAAAAAFU/lB8n7iV5caM/s200/Merry+Christmas.jpg" width="199" /></a></div>
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<br />Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-91266974707315881492012-12-19T08:51:00.000-08:002012-12-19T09:01:19.846-08:00My 1st Christmas Celebration in Holland, by Maria Zeeman<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-themecolor: text2;">Here
is a tiny glimpse into Maria’s early life. Makes you want to know more, doesn’t
it?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 1em 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">In
1949 my whole family was in Holland. We all lived in Amsterdam. At that time my
mother got a place on a canal. It was very small, with Just 2 bedrooms, a small
kitchen, living room, and a toilet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">There
wasn’t a shower or bath room. My mother put a BIG pot on the stove and we all
used it to wash ourselves. We went to the bath house to take a good shower once
a week. Back then this was normal. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
slept in one bedroom with my three sisters. Let and Trix had a double bed which
had to be pulled out from the wall, and Claar and I had a single bed by the
window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">My
parents slept in the living room and my brother Jan in the other bedroom with a
partition to separate the bed from where my grandmother slept. It all was such
a big difference from where we had come from.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">In
Surabaya, Indonesia, we had a big house, big rooms and big bathrooms. We took a
shower every day and often twice a day. The food was made by our baboe (servant)
and it was Indonesian food - delicious, with much fruit etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now we ate potatoes and vegetables and very
little meat or fish. </span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 1em 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">On
December 5 we see St. Nicolas and his helpers coming on a boat through
Amsterdam’s harbor. He looks very impressive with his stately hat and staff.
The helpers are always full of soot because they have to go thru the chimneys
to bring the presents. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 1em 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">St Nick gives the gifts to one of helpers and they
deliver the gifts to the children. Each gift has to have a poem - sometimes
sweet, sometime funny and sometimes not so nice if the child was not so good.
It’s a fun and exciting time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 1em 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Then
on Dec. 24, Christmas eve we all go to the special night mass. The next morning
we visit our aunts & uncles and other family members. It’s customary for
the younger generation to go out and visit the elders. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 1em 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Everywhere we prayed and
gave thanks for our life and they had special Dutch treats & drinks. My
parents stayed home to cook our special Christmas meal. Most people make
something like what we eat here. Turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetables and
pumpkin pie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 1em 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Today,
in the USA, we celebrate Christmas with a jolly happy Santa Claus and gifts for
everybody. And in our family a unanimously chosen fantastic Indonesian meal,
which still gives us a touch of Indonesia. We go to church or just pray at
home. It’s also a very nice and happy time.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-32283023349124707682012-12-11T12:03:00.000-08:002012-12-11T12:03:15.374-08:00Ghosts of Christmas Past, by Charlotte Boquist<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2;">Enjoy
a family’s Christmas through the years. Charlotte concisely captures a sense of
tradition and change, meeting together in her memories of a growing, changing
family, remembering the past and celebrating the present.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">December 2012</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Snowflakes
big and white, falling softly in the night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Programs
are presented at Church and school,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Stumbling
recitations; partly forgotten as a rule.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Carols
sung with children’s voices<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Silent
Night and Jingle Bells are favorite choices.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">About
the first week of December<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dad
would let loose tiny reindeer one at a time<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mamma,
busy sewing gifts, they loved Christmas and its secrets sublime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Christmas
Eve in Basin, Santa coming by;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DZHKSbFJb6I/UMePuZ72oQI/AAAAAAAAAFA/oq2cIjooX8Y/s1600/Santa+through+the+window.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DZHKSbFJb6I/UMePuZ72oQI/AAAAAAAAAFA/oq2cIjooX8Y/s200/Santa+through+the+window.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lovingly
played by nephew Terry-what a guy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brother
Bill reciting “Twas the Night” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With
such feeling the young ones knew it was right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Christmas
has been celebrated in other places<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With
many new experiences and special faces<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Phoenix,
Long Beach, Basin, Colorado and North Dakota;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our
family has been growing way past our quota.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now we
decorate our little tree with a sock containing coal<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A joke
for Julie one year, and a crocheted angel brings a tear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 75%; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rocky’s
two pound box of Sees, always finds its way under our trees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Oh wait,
can I remember how to play “White Christmas” without dismay?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 75%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Celebrating
Christmas past is the fabric of our Christmas Day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-32901390425197962442012-12-07T14:51:00.000-08:002012-12-07T16:08:39.453-08:00Treasures of Darkness, by Evelyn Watson<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-themecolor: text2;">Here is our first
Christmas story for December 2012. It is powerful story of spiritual strength
during a difficult time. Read, reflect, respond. Do you have a Christmas memory
to share? A reflection? A poem? A pondering?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We would love to hear from you!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WxI9TsohQFs/UMJxuuZ2rlI/AAAAAAAAAEw/tBKtZQWp5eQ/s1600/Christmas-tree-star-edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WxI9TsohQFs/UMJxuuZ2rlI/AAAAAAAAAEw/tBKtZQWp5eQ/s200/Christmas-tree-star-edited.jpg" width="167" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<em><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">“I will give you the treasures of darkness”
Isaiah 45:3</span></span></em></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">It was Christmas 1973. My
parents had both died that year during the summer, in June and July. This was
my first Christmas without them. Plans were that we would spend that Christmas
in Connecticut for the holiday. I wasn’t looking forward to it; in fact my
heart was heavy with the idea. To be with Christian friends who had known my
parents and who would support me during this devastating time of my life was
what I longed for. Without my parents and friends, the approaching holiday loomed
with magnifying sorrow. Dwight had no knowledge of the Lord’s involvement in our
lives at that time so he was unable to offer me comfort.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Lost in a world of my own, days
before the trip I found myself weighed down in sadness. The Lord had given me
strength to be more than a conqueror at the time of my parents’ deaths, but now
grief was waging war with strength, and I couldn’t fight. As each day
approached closer to our departure, my spirit was declining, spiraling
downward. I sensed darkness approaching, and relayed my concern to friends and to
the Lord. I barely knew Dwight’s relatives but I knew their beliefs were with
little or no knowledge of a personal relationship with Jesus. Without Jesus
they were in darkness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">On the morning of December 13,
I was pouring out my heart to the Lord in the shower. His voice interrupted me:
“Read Streams in the Desert.” In my despair I had failed to read my
devotional, “Streams in The Desert” for several days. It was a powerful message
that sent a surging strength into my weakened spirit. The scripture, “I will
give you the treasures of darkness,” with a beautiful story of how God works in
the dark immediately lifted my spirit. The message’s last sentence, “God is
watching, and He will bring good and beauty out of all your pain and tears,”
was answer to my prayer, comforting words in a scripture I had never heard
before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">As our plane rolled down the
runway for takeoff, the song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” played in my
head. It still seemed as though I was leaving my heart behind but that thought no
longer weighed down. I had courage to go through the holiday knowing God heard
me, was with me, and would bring good from this trip.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2992686662852663243.post-45477358327490131552012-12-04T11:50:00.001-08:002012-12-04T11:50:45.957-08:00A Life of Gratitude, by Barbara Sparks<br />
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<span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; mso-themecolor: accent1;">Although we are now officially in the Christmas season,
here is one more story of thanksgiving. Appropriately, as the title suggests,
it is not about giving thanks one day of the year, but about living a “life of
gratitude.” This tribute to Barbara’s mother helps us understand why Barbara is
the woman she is today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“God
has blessed me with 80 years of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There’s a time to live and a time to die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m ready to die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t want to be in pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to die in my sleep.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Mother, God has blessed me with fifty-five
years of having you in my life.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two
weeks later my mother died peacefully in her sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t ever remember my mother
complaining.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If she experienced rough
spots or roadblocks in her life, she always found a way to bring humor into her
discussion of the experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">My
mother had many sad events in her life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Her mother died when she was a sixteen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was left to raise Betty, her two-year-old sister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because she was so young, Mother had to
defend her right<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to raise Betty. In
court, the judge asked Betty where she wanted to live. Betty, immediately
exclaimed,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“With my sister!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Well young lady you can.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the judge said with a smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mother expressed then and throughout her
life how grateful she was to be able to raise her sister.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mother was grateful for the ability and
opportunity to achieve things that she could only dream of since so many
obstacles stood in her way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She repeated
two quotes throughout her life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>”Nothing beats a failure but a try. “<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“For all things give thanks.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
echoes of those quotes are a constant reminder of my mother’s life philosophy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">In
1960, at forty-two years old, she completed the two units she needed to
graduate from high school and marched proudly across the stage to receive her
high school diploma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She went on to
college and earned her Bachelor of Science Degree and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Masters of Science Degree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Her
lifetime dream of becoming a teacher was fulfilled when she was fifty years
old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She retired at seventy-four. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">She
took nothing for granted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She expressed
gratitude for the purchase of her first car, first home, and her ability to
take road trips across the United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She reveled at the beauty of the sky at sunset, the forest and the power
of the rapids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was grateful for all
God’s creations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
final trip of her dreams was to Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Though she was loosing her sight and couldn’t walk with the energy she
had had in the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>past, she was still
grateful that she could go. She experienced all that the tour provided which
included a ride<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on a camel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">My
mother<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="GoBack"></a> lived her life with zest and zeal and was always
ready to experience each adventure and gift that God provided while happily
expressing how grateful she was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
taught me by example how wonderful it is to live a life of gratitude.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Today,
Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 2012, on the anniversary of my mother’s death,
November 22, 1998, I am grateful for all I learned about gratitude from my
mother and the blessing of having her in my life for fifty-five years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: #0400;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647302413116525795noreply@blogger.com5