2nd Wind, January 2002
I am a nutritional overachiever.
Time may be a great healer. but it's a lousy beautician.
I am in great shape. Round is a shape.
Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
This was a nice relaxed Christmas, with no traffic-challenging dash out of town. Since Ed had to work the Saturday before Christmas and both he and Beth worked Christmas Eve, we stayed put. I was able to attend the Christmas Eve service for the first time in years. At the end of the service, all the lights were turned out and each person held a candle. This was fine for the congregation, but the choir still had a number to sing. The director signaled for us to remain seated, which helped, but picture holding a candle in one hand, music in the other, nose almost against the music in order to see, then faced with turning a page. God only knows how we managed....He was the only one who could see. As to watching the director, forget it. I don't know what the accompanist was doing, maybe holding the candle in her teeth.
This was a special Christmas in another way. For several years it has been difficult for me to shop. And, admittedly, I have a problem knowing what to buy for people four generations removed. So I have taken the easy road and written checks for the young'uns. It's not the same. This year, for the first time I took part in the Dear Santa program, in which children, or their mothers, who would not have Christmas otherwise (in the commercial sense), list their needs and wishes. It was touching to read the letters and see how many emphasized the needs of some other member of the family. Also, how many of the wishes were for necessities. I was able to team up with a young mother, Nancy, who could do most of the shopping, then with the help of Diana and Thelma, I found a much needed item locally. I loved the planning, the wrapping and the knowledge the gifts would be really appreciated. That was the best part of this year's Christmas.
Tracy, at our church, has been involved in this program for years, selecting letters, and making them available so families can "adopt" a child. She has a Santa hat and red costume on distribution day and personally delivers the gifts. Tracy brings sunshine with her even without a bagful of goodies. She was telling me an earlier experience. She knocked at the address given on one of the letters. When the door was opened, Tracy said, "Does Lovette live here?" Instead of one little letter writer, she saw several wide-eyed faces turned her direction. Fortunately, the experienced Tracy had extra candy, etc., "just in case." She asked, "Which one of you is Lovette?" and a little awestruck girl stepped forward. "Did you write a letter to Santa Claus?" The eyes never left Tracy's face as she solemnly nodded "Yes." Tracy explained, "Well, I'm one of Santa's helpers and he sent me to deliver these presents." Then Tracy asked the others, "Did you write a letter to Santa Claus?" All the little heads but Lovette's slowly signaled, "No." However, since there were treats to hand out, everyone was soon happy. As Santa's helper was leaving she heard the mother say, "I TOLD you to write a letter to Santa Claus."
Diana invited me to lunch to meet a lady from her writer's club. Diana thought we would be compatible. Virginia had been a press photographer, is a writer and a poet. I asked her if she had done her own developing and printing. She had, so we were off into reminiscing about the earlier years of photography. I remembered the time we went to a football game and George was taking pictures. The film ran out. Simple, nowadays...pop in a new cartridge. At that time, tho, in the 30's, film came in rolls. You had to carefully unroll the film a little way and thread it through the camera. If you didn't keep the roll tight, so as not to let light in, the whole thing would be ruined. Ideally, you would load in a semi-darkened area. However, in an outdoor stadium, on a bright sunny day, one had to be inventive. We had a blanket on our laps, as it was cold. George put the camera on his lap, under the blanket, and was awkwardly trying to load it by feel only. I shifted position, which raised the edge of the blanket a bit, and into one of those sudden silences which sometimes fall in a noisy crowd, George, still fumbling under the blanket, yipped, "Be careful. I don't want it to get lightstruck." We suddenly had an interested audience. Fortunately, George pulled out the camera, by then successfully loaded, so the vice squad wasn't summoned.
Funny how our idea of "young" changes. When I was in my early thirties, my sister died at age 52. My mom said, "It hurts more because she died so young." And I thought, "What does she mean 'young'? She was over fifty." How little I knew then. I've learned now that "young" isn't just a matter of years. You can be very young inside, no matter how battered the exterior. Why do we have to get old to get smart? And then we discover no one is interested in us sharing our bounty of knowledge.
Each year is an adventure. I hope 2002 brings all good things to you, or maybe just enough "less good" to make you appreciate the good.
Love, Darlys
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Three retirees, each with a hearing loss, were taking a walk one fine March day. One remarked to another, "Windy, ain't it?" "No," the second man replied, "It's Thursday." The third man chimed in, "Me, too, let's go get a coke."
Something to Ponder
If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following. There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south.
8 Africans
52 would be female. 48 would be male.
70 would be non-white, 30 white.
70 would be non-Christian.
30 would be Christian.
89 would be heterosexual.
11 would be homosexual.
6 would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the USA
80 would live in substandard housing.
70 would be unable to read.
50 would suffer from malnutrition.
1 would be near death, 1 near birth.
1 (Yes, only 1) would have a college education.
1 would own a computer.
When one considers our world with such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.
A little old lady went to the doctor and said, "Doctor, I have this problem with gas, but it really doesn't bother me too much. Even when some slips out, it does so silently and it doesn't smell. As a matter of fact, I've lost control several times since I've been here in your office. You weren't aware of it, because there was no odor or sound."
The Doctor said, "I see. Take these pills and make an appointment to see me in a week."
The next week the lady came back, "Doctor," she said, "I don't know what on earth you gave me, but now my gas....although still silent...smells terrible."
The Doctor said, "Good! ! Now that we've cleared your sinuses, let's work on your hearing."
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