Ahh, The Days Gone By

Good morning everyone!  For posterity, your enjoyment, and my joy I visit the days gone by with stories.  My sincerest apologies for being absent so long.  Even though I love this, I also love the world I am now living in and making memories for the young generations to share with grandchildren.  Too often I hear, "I know you walked ten miles in the snow just to get to school."  That is all too true for many people and the wonderfulness is that they have taken the time to share those stories with us.  Many people say to me, "There is no way you lived the way you say you did as young as you are."  I kindly reply, "Yes we did, because we were poor but I did not know I was poor until I became a part of a great big world filled with people who enjoyed telling me that I was too poor."

Actually, this never bothered me because the wealth my family gave me cannot all be stored in a bank account but it can be shared generously!  My siblings accomplished a great deal in our world and all of that hard work growing up simply taught us how to be available to work, dedicated to our employer and ourselves, honest, trustworthy, and it established that pure bull dog determination to never give up.  Ups and downs come and go but what we carry in our hearts, minds, and gifts to others, never, never changes. 

Thank you for sharing your time with me and I am happy when you enjoy the stories and they bring you smiles.  I listen to everything you say to me and your opinions are like "apples of gold in pitchers of silver" (KJV).  If you are in my life, you are loved, prayed for, and cherished.  Distance means nothing when there is love and caring.  You are all my dear treasures.  While I make new memories, I will continue my stories.

Have a blessed and joyful day.

A Genuine Fish Tale

Good morning.  What a beautiful and chilly day.   The blooms in Florida may be taking a peek and staying closer to the stems today.  Detours are costly; financially, emotionally, and can be costly, physically.  You can never live in a detour even when it is difficult to turn around and return to the highway.  Usually this requires you making that decision mentally and allowing everything else that is costly to catch up.  Well, I am back on this highway even though the car is old and I feel a little batted around.  No real harm done. 

Today’s story is about a little three year old boy named Lane and a young twelve year old girl named Prissy.  They were really way out in the country.  It was a hot August day and they were hungry and thirsty.  Oh they had been served breakfast but it was at least nine in the morning. 

Lane, asked, “Can we have a pop and a moon pie?”

“You can if with money.  I don’t have any,” Prissy answered.

They talked as they walked through the field, swinging the sticks they were carrying.  They knew to ramble around outside, especially in the fields where the tall grass grew, to carry sticks just in case they happened up on a snake.  There were lots of green snakes, rat snakes, and sometimes a king snake may show up.

“I’ll race you to the apple tree,” shouted Prissy and they were off running.  Of course Prissy’s long legs gave her triple the advantage of Lane.

They climbed up into the crab apple tree and chose themselves a nice green apple to eat.  Lane rubbed his on his shorts the way he watched Prissy doing hers.  

“I guess an old green apple is better than nothing,” remarked Lane.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“I still wish I had a pop.”

“Well sometimes you have to use what you have to get what you want.”

“So, do you think we could sell these apples,” he asked?

“Nope, Mama uses these apples and she would come close to skinning us alive if we do that.”

“Prissy, what is that tree?”

“Catalpa worms, silly boy. You know that.  We fish with them. Remember?”

“Then let’s just sell those catalpa worms.”

“Well now, you may be on to something Lane.  We do have them and fishermen do need them.  A lot of fishermen come down this road to go to the river.  After lunch we can bring some cans out of the fire barrel, because Daddy didn’t burn the trash yet, so we will sell these worms and go to the store later today. Yep, we can do that.”

When lunch time arrived they ate quietly and hurried to finish.  Mama looked at them and figured they had something really important to do since there was not one complaint about eating all of their butter beans.  She smiled to herself and was happy to have Prissy spending time with Lane because she had her hands full with the baby.

“Mama can we have black colored crayon,” Prissy asked?

“Look in the junk drawer in the kitchen.”

After finding the crayon Prissy took one of the big nails also.  Going out to the fire barrel and tearing the side off one of the cereal boxes in the trash, they scrounged up a few cans and a big piece of tin that already had nail holes in it.

“Perfect,” said Prissy

The two rushed out to the catalpa tree.  The tree sat between two apple trees, about sixty yards apart; one had tons of apples and the other had already been picked clean by Mama.  Filling six cans with catalpa worms was not hard at all.  They wrote on the inside of the cereal box with the crayon,

WORMS TO FISH WITH   3 PENNIES OR A CAN FOR ONE DIME

They went to the road and found a tree facing the right direction. They propped up the tin and using the nail to hold their sign by pushing the big nail through the sign and into the tin, they found a comfortable place to sit and wait.

Without saying a word, Lane jumped up and ran back to the apple tree that still had lots of apples.  He returned carrying as many apples as his little arms could hold secure against his chest. Now they would eat apples and wait for the fishermen to drive by.  The road to the river was after the curve so they knew Mama would think the trucks were slowing down for the curve and she couldn’t see them for the bushes growing in front of the windows on the side of the house.

An hour passed while they kept putting the worms back into the cans and eating apples.  Finally they had a customer.  He only had six cents so he bought six worms.  The next customer bought a whole can full and then they sold five and after about three hours they had sold them all!

Prissy told Lane to sit on the front door step and she tip-toed into the house and to Mama’s bedroom.  She whispered to her mama, “Can we walk to the store?  I have pennies.”

Mama gestured by shaking her head up and down and holding up five fingers.  Prissy knew that meant to hurry back in five minutes.

The dirt road was not an obstacle for those two.  They even picked up a few rocks and threw them up into the trees to watch birds fly away and squirrels scamper to higher limbs.  They finally arrived at the little store with a gas pump in front and a pop box on the front porch.  They put a nickel in and took out an orange pop then they went into the store.  They bought a handful of penny candy and asked for nickels in exchange for their pennies.  Two moon pies later they went to the porch and bought two more pops, one each this time.  Finally they were filled up and placed the pop bottles in a crate by the door, told the store owner bye and walked back to the road and headed home. 

Lane grumbled first and soon Prissy was hurting in her stomach too so they went straight to the couch when they arrived home.  Mama felt them and they did not have fever so she asked them what they had been doing to make their stomach hurt so badly.  They told her what they ate at the store and then Lane told her about eating two apples.  She smiled and went to the kitchen coming back with a large spoon and a bottle of black syrup.   They moaned and took the Syrup of Black Draught.  Prissy was the first to run to the outdoor john and soon Lane made the trek.  The kitchen door was a swinging door for the rest of the afternoon and finally supper was finished.

“Please do I have to eat,” Prissy whined and Lane looked at Mama with big pleading eyes agreeing with Prissy’s question. 

Mama filled the wash tub on the back porch behind the wood bin and they took turns to take a bath, put on pajamas and go to bed. 

When morning came they neither wanted to play outside but decided to stay inside while Prissy read stories from Mama’s big story book. 

“Prissy is yesterday a fishing tale,” Lane asked.

“Yep; it was a genuine fishing tale.”  

 

 

 

 

Sunshine and Blue Skies

Good morning.  What a beautiful day in paradise.  Sunshine and blue skies.  The rain is gone and the sunshine is tempting everyone to come outside and see a new world!  Today is a remembrance of an old lesson I learn over and over and it always seems new, each time.

Don’t you just love a brand, spanking, new opportunity?  I do, even when I am sad or disgusted with the reason I had to seek the opportunity to begin with.  Sometimes we don’t need to be reminded of the old lesson we are learning new again.  My father borrowed a phrase somewhere, and I always give him credit for it since he imparted it to me. 

“Life would be easy if it was a straight highway from birth to heaven, but it isn’t.  There are always detours.”

Some of them are forced detours and the only thing we can do is take the detour and make the absolute best of it.  Others we bring on ourselves, knowing that they could end very badly, we still choose the detour.  If we can think of these as presentations on a stage of life that present a brand, spanking, new  opportunity, then we can accept the challenge and pray and think, seek advice, even cry, well complain, yeah-complain, and we work it all out.  Look at all of the things that brought us to a solution for getting us back on the highway, since that is the object.

We complain about the drudgery of the highway until we have to detour!  Wow!  I am singing blue skies by the time I am back on that highway!  The washing was good for us and we stand a little taller,  show a little more gratitude, see more good around us, and thank God and all of those ears, eyes, and hearts involved in our detour.

Today I am on detour but I refuse to take it lying down and I refuse to see it as a negative.  I know some of you call me the ultimate optimist, and I may be, but life is too good to look at the pain for very long.  Embrace it and then cry, complain, or whatever it takes to get back to that highway.  Before you realize you were gone you will be back up there.  Sunshine and blue skies!

Have a beautiful day!

 

Animal Neighborhood

Good morning.  The animal neighborhood is quiet this morning and Mr. Cat has found a place in the den beside the window to welcome the morning sun.  Shane is asleep on the front porch and Eli has gone to visit somewhere in the neighborhood.

The telephone was ringing about eight this morning and I answered it using the phone in the kitchen.

“Hello.”

“Good morning Ms. Ina.  How is Mr. Cat today,” inquired Mr. Logo.

“Good morning Mr. Logo.  Thank you for inquiring of his well-being.  Mr. Cat is resting.  Actually appeased with his situation and taking advantage of the sunshine.  How is the Monkey today?”

“He is not happy to be kept in the house all day but I think he needs a change and I want him to have a name, so I have called my cousin to come and pick him up and keep him for two months.  My cousin can teach him to become a show monkey and he will earn a very fine Greek name.”

“The animal neighborhood will be boring without monkey but I know you are correct.  He will be happy once he is given the opportunity to be all he can be.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Well this is the Animal Neighborhood and there are many lessons we can learn from our animal friends.  When you read them again they will be in their own book.  There.  Now I have told you.  The Animal Neighborhood will become its own world.

Tomorrow I will resume with some of my happy family stories.  Thank you for reading each day.

A Celebrity Among Us

Well, hello.  How is your day?  The animal neighborhood began too quiet this morning and I had not seen the Spider monkey.  He usually paid everyone a visit early in the morning to extract his share of each food bowl and create a stir in the process.    I decided to go and check the food bowls in my yard only to find Mr. Cat lying across the walkway.

“Oh Mr. Cat.  Your foot is bleeding.  Whatever have you done to yourself?  Ok, be still and I will bring a towel and your carrier because we will have to go to the Veterinarian’s office and have the doctor look at your paw.”

“Okay Shane.  You will be in charge while I am away so keep a sharp eye out for that monkey.  We will be back soon.”

Mr. Cat would remain with the doctor until after they bandaged his paw, administered vaccines, shampooed his coat, trimmed the tufts of fur from around his ears and evened his nails.  At least he would not have to worry about that monkey, because his doctor visit would take most of the day.  Well everything was quiet and Shane was sleeping on the porch while Eli played across the street with the newest member of the animal neighborhood; a Chihuahua puppy.  I truly hoped he didn’t decide the puppy was a water fowl and throw him across the yard with his big jaws only so he could go and retrieve him.  Dear me; something new for the monkey to torture so I hoped Eli did not join the monkeys ranks.

A cup of coffee and my laptop were in order for my day along with this peace and quiet.

Momentarily!  Of course!  That monkey had the dogs riled up again.  The barking began with dogs that were two streets over but were moving closer and closer to my house.   Oh yes.  Eli first, then Shane! Shane barking meant that something or someone was coming into my yard.  That monkey must be up to something if Shane is calling for quiet.

“Hello.  Is there anybody home?  I need to speak to you please,” a man called from the front yard.

I made my way to the front door and discovered the man calling out to me was the spider monkey’s owner.

“Hello,” I replied back to him. “I am Ms Ina.  How may I help you?”

He removed his hat and said, “I am Mr. Logo and I have come for my monkey.  He seems to be missing today and I am sure he is here.”

“I am quite sure he could be anywhere in this neighborhood.”

“Oh no!  He will be where your big, yellow cat is. There were sprinkles of blood on my stoop and I think maybe your cat has injured my monkey.”

“Quite the opposite, I am sure.  I took the cat to the Vet this morning because his paw was bleeding.”

Mr. Logo looked so sad, so being a good neighbor I volunteered to assist him in his search.

The troupe followed us as we traveled around the neighborhood, but no monkey.  We finally arrived in Mr. Logo’s yard and he invited me to see the stoop where the blood was.

“My monkey has no name,” he remarked, rather out of the blue.

“You just call him monkey?  Why?”

“If you would not be offended, I would like to show you something.”

“Of course I am not offended.  Lead the way.”

Inside Mr. Logo’s house were posters and photos of Spider Monkeys in costumes and hats on every wall.

“When my father became ill, I moved here to his house.  His monkey, Hero, had died and I did not know he had ordered another one.  One week before my father died a friend of his delivered the monkey you know and I could never get rid of the monkey.  It would be going against what my father asked me to do.  Do you understand?  The monkey comes from a line of show animals from the mid 1800’s.  My grandfather brought his monkey to America as a stow-away.  When they arrived there was no work and so he dressed him up and the monkey danced while my grand-father played music.  Those were sad times for our family but the next generation, my father and a new monkey, Hero, found work with the circus and they were a huge success.  My father sent me to college and I cannot bring myself to go to the circus.  I work from home as a computer analyst.  My monkey does not know how to put on a show.  I am disgracing my family because I have not taught him to perform. If he could perform, I could give him a name.”

“Nonsense!  That monkey is the most entertaining animal in this neighborhood. I promise you that he can perform, and how.”

“Oh we must find him.”

The phone rang and Mr. Logos went to the kitchen to answer it.  When he returned he was smiling but his eyes were not happy looking.

“The monkey is at the Vet’s office and he is causing problems.  Would you please like to go with me to bring him home?”

“Oh yes!”

We went outside and got into Mr. Logo’s truck.  He had a camper shell on the back with windows and screens in the sides of the camper shell.

  Arriving at the Vet’s office we walked in gingerly and hopefully.   Hopefully the monkey had not destroyed the office.  But we could hear that he was creating a racket and had several animals joining in.  The ladies at the front desk were laughing and told us to go to the right and then to the end of the hallway.  The doctor was sitting on the corner of his desk feeding the monkey a banana and the monkey was throwing pieces of banana across the room to Mr. Cat who lay inside a crate just giving that monkey a dirty look.

“Well come in,” Dr. Adams cheerfully addressed us. “We have had quite a show today and this monkey is a born entertainer.  He loves to aggravate Mr. Cat.  They appear to be inseparable friends and my guess is that they always try to get one up on one another.  Quite a pair!  The monkey came here looking for Mr. Cat and danced on the porch until a patient finally opened the door wide enough for him to get inside.  He went straight to the back and found his Mr. Cat. "

Mr. Logo, the monkey, Mr. Cat and I were happy to return to our respective homes.  Mr. Cat would have to stay inside until his paw healed so we will see how well that monkey handles this problem tomorrow. 

 

The Wind Party

Writing has always been my passion and finding a quiet place to observe my surroundings and write is the reason I chose my little house.  Tranquility!

Today was especially windy.  Leaves clung to their trees and the blooms of spring were hesitant to open to a new day.  Eli, the lab pup, was barking wildly and running about chasing the wind’s flying debris.   The peace was temporary.  Yep.  Eli was just being a normal pup and the spider monkey could not help but be his normal self as well. That is how the rumpus began.

The spider monkey was in the small stand of long leaf pine trees extracting their blooms and tossing them into the wind.  The squirrels had entered the arena and up and down and up and down they went on those pine trees.  The monkey began to shriek and within minutes the entire neighborhood of pets and wild life that lived here were in my yard and each of them was contributing to the conversation! 

Shane came off the porch and tried his best to calm them but only a few dogs sat down and quietly observed.  There were at least eight cats perched on my lawn furniture hoping to catch that monkey off guard.  The wind would sway the young pine tree the monkey was sitting on and he would jump to another limb or another tree. 

I wished for one fleeting second I had an air gun because I would have shot the limb that monkey had begun to dance on.  My next idea; however was best because I began to throw small sticks up in the tree hoping to deter him and eventually force him to go back across the fence and disappear.   I soon ran out of sticks and the yard yielded nothing of consequence for ammunition. 

“Well that does it,” I pronounced rather loudly, as I went back into the house allowing the door to slam behind me.  Upon my return the ammunition had changed drastically and the small apples I brought with me did the trick.  I almost hit that monkey by accident and he stopped and looked at me.  I wasn’t sure what he was planning but I was ready to go to war.  Quiet settled over the yard preceding the monkey’s exit across the small bridge bordering the fish pond and finally over the fence and out of sight.

The animals turned and starred at me as if I had committed a crime in their kingdom.  Even Shane lowered his head and returned to the porch prompting all of them to find their way back home.

Now there is a very good lesson here.  Never break up a party that you are not invited to.  If you do, the party animals will shun you and the next time they gather for over the fence gossip, you will be the subject of their conversation.

That Spider Monkey

Our neighborhood had a yellow dog named Shane, a black lab pup named Eli, a big yellow tabby cat named Mr. Cat and this you will not believe, a spider monkey.   Yes indeed. An elderly man the same size around as he was up and down, with total absence of hair on his head, and a cigar in his mouth during waking hours, was in possession of a spider monkey. 

The monkey knew nothing at all about keeping the peace, obeying the rules, distinguishing between night and day, and minding his own business.  Nope.  That monkey just lived like he was the only creature on the earth that should be cared for at all times.  When he was ignored he produced screeching noises that he considered verbal communication, and these noises   kept every animal within ten miles in a stir when he proceeded to exercise this communique.

My small house with a large yard was very comfortable with only local traffic on the street where it was located.  The major streets were several blocks away and all of the animals roamed freely except when they were a problem.  The city wanted them all to be fenced but we were not used locking our pets away and they were careful about where they roamed.  Well, all of them except, you guessed it, the spider monkey.

That dog Shane loved to nap on the front porch and he preferred napping without being disturbed.  You see he was the eldest and all of the neighborhood pets respected his highness, the Golden Retriever.  All animals, except one, that is. You guessed it!  That spider monkey.

I brewed a fresh cup of coffee and decided to take my morning break in the den today where the coolness of the back door gave me fresh air as well as the sweet fragrance of the honey suckles.  I chose a notebook and pen for writing today rather than a laptop.  It just seemed like a great time to write while the neighborhood was quiet.

I could see Mr. Cat as he slithered and crept through the lawn grass believing he was being hidden.  He moved from one side of his defined circle to the other around a small bush housing a family of rats.  He had worked his way to the edge of the bush and was preparing to pounce when the spider monkey came from out of nowhere and pounced on the bush, coming up with a medium sized rat.  That monkey was screeching and jumping from bush to bush and across the lawn furniture holding the rat by the tail.  Mr. Cat was right behind him with a determination to claim his prey.  I was on the patio by this time and wanted to go and pick up Mr. Cat but he was not to be detained. The look in his eye gave me reason to think he was more interested in catching the monkey than retrieving his prey.

The spider monkey decided to climb higher so up into a tree he went but holding on to the rat was not part of his success. Mr. Cat did not slow down and up the tree he carefully made his way, ignoring the falling rat.  Eli the lab pup was at the base of the tree by this time and barking and jumping wildly.  When Shane reached the fracus the monkey was at the top of the tree and Mr. Cat was right behind him.  Shane rose up and barked.  He barked again. The fray ceased and they all stopped right where they were.  Well, all except that spider monkey.  He jumped and missed the tree in the yard next door so his landing was a long way down.  The fence between the yards hid the result of the landing.

I called them all to me and Shane and Eli came gingerly to receive my petting but Mr. Cat took his time cooling his anger as he made his way down the tree and across the lawn to where I had taken a seat beneath an apple tree.  He rubbed my legs and decided that was sufficient finding his quiet spot under an azalea bush. 

Things were quiet once again and we all managed to return to our original tasks.