A Spoon, and Social Experimentation

I was looking for my lost shaker of salt today on the passenger side of my car. I still haven't found what I was looking for, but I did find a spoon. So, I went inside and washed the spoon. I was going through my utensils tonight, measuring them for uniformity, and checking for any abnormalities (I do that once a week), and I was surprised to learn that the spoon from my car was not my spoon. Mystery! Not only did I have to try and recall who had been a passenger in my car (or who had driven my car and thrown a spoon at the passenger, who most likely would have been me), but I also had to go through my friends to figure out who would be comfortable enough with me to eat in my car. (I only assume they were eating; maybe it's just someone who likes to carry a spoon around. Different strokes for different folks.) I've got a pretty good suspicion about the spoon owner.
Searching for a way to incorporate my spoon story into my blog, this is what I came up with: I consider this story to be a mystery, and my latest few posts include a funny and somewhat fictional story, a serious and reflective thought, a piece by Rufus, and some poetry, among other types of writing. I will leave my blog in peace for a few days, and see which type of writing is the most popular and gets the most feedback. Please leave your comments and contribute to the future of this fine blog and our great country. Plus, your comments will help save the economy, lower gas prices, and give you flatter abs in just 6 days!

Research Paper and Other Uber-Adventurous Things

I'm so excited!! I get to do a research paper!!! On Eudora Welty, an author with whom I am familiar because my favorite literary sister gave me Eudora's autobiography! Mrs. Welty is known for her short stories, but my paper is for my photography class. Apparently, Mrs. Welty was also paid to take public relations photos by the state of Mississippi. AND I was ecstatically surprised to find some info. on her while cleaning the bookcase of my friend's home, where her husband keeps his extensive collection of photography books! I'd tell you more, but I've got research to do!!!

Before I can focus on my research, I must get something out in the open: I really, REALLY want an air-boat . . . a hovercraft, like on Gentle Ben, the old sitcom. My husband and I were discussing over take out pizza and sodas what we would do with 100 million dollars. He would travel around the world (yawn). I would buy an acre of swampland in Louisiana or Florida, and give thrilling, guided tours. This would be the frosting on this cake of a life I lead.

Unsettling Consequences

I just experienced one of the many and varied consequences of a long-standing compulsion of mine, which my dad refers to as a "chocolate attack." After eating a substantial amount of the sweet brown candy, my right foot began to itch uncontrollably, and I had a strong, almost unrestrainable urge to drive to Providence Christian College. I could feel the urge and desire running in my veins, from the soles of my toes to the topmost hair on my head. Rufus did what he could to try and pin me down. I managed to wrestle him off me, and got to my car, where several of my neighbors had to join together to peel me off my car. I'm now locked in the house, and a neighbor has propped a bucket of water above the door so that I can't leave. I can tell I'm going to have to wear the ankle cuff tonight, so that the proper authorities are alerted if I attempt to leave the premises. I know the protocol: even if I manage to make it to my car, there will be a banana in the tailpipe, so that I will be able to go nowhere.

The Upside to Aging, The Art and Act of Aging Successfully, or Successful Ideas

Anecdotes about aging abound. The loss of independence, beauty, flexibility, memory, hearing, etc., etc. But there are significant blessings that come only with age. Experience. Knowing how to do things well as a result of having made mistakes in the past. Knowledge. Especially knowledge. The college students in my class couldn't say who Theodore Roosevelt was. They had no idea that it was possible to listen to music even before the invention of the record. Some have no personal knowledge of a roll of film, and the idea of putting film in a camera is entirely foreign. Would they be able to survive-to travel-without charging docks and power strips?

On a different and more literary note, I am reading a book on success, and the many definitions of it. What do you think of when you think of success? Is it someone in a powersuit with a breifcase? Someone who lives in a big house and drives a big car? Or do you just picture someone who is happy? Someone who has loving family and friends? Do you agree with Solomon when he writes in Proverbs that it is better to eat a bowl of vegetables with friends and family at the table than to feast on a prime cut of beef alone? Food for thought.

A Message From Rufus

Now that my headmaster, Mr. M, is back from his business trip, things are almost back to normal around here. Mr. M is not nearly so lenient with me as Mrs. M, so no more staying out with my friends 'til 10 at night, being hoodlums and making a ruckus in the neighborhood. Also, no more sleeping on Mr. M's pillow; it's back to wedging myself between the Mr. and Mrs. in bed. A big upside to the bedtime routine is that now that her husband is home, Mrs. M doesn't sleep with her big head on my little body. My master is so tired and jet-lagged! He keeps promising to show us all his pictures from his trip, but by the time he puts the pictures in the computer and sits down on the couch to show us, he falls right asleep! Poor guy.

Practicing for the Big Day

Avast, me faithful mateys! As I'm sure you know this Friday is Talk Like A Pirate Day, so I'm just going through some of me old pirate slang dictionaries to prepare. At church this Sunday, a big bowl was returned to me after having been missing for months. The bowl was in a bag (zippered).
That is why I was so surprised to see a dead bilge rat just a'layin' there in the bottom of the bung hole. I was shocked, surprised, and grossed out, as any land lubber like me would be, but I smartly came to me senses and had a pint o' grog before dealing with the offending bilge rat.

I Love Cell Phone Laws!

I like knowing that it is now somewhat less likely that a distracted driver will pull out in front of me, or cut me off. To complete the picture, I think it should also be illegal to eat, shave, brush your teeth (yes, I've seen it!), or read a newspaper while driving. I also think any button-pushing or CD changing while driving should be made illegal. You don't need a new CD midway through a 10-minute drive!! Either just be content for 5 more minutes with the CD that's playing, or free your earspace of noise altogether. It is very possible to go 5 minutes-and even longer!-without having a phone on your ear, or music in your ear. Try it-you'll like it. You might even find out you're smarter than you thought, and you might think thoughts you've never thought before. (As for me, I'm still going to drive as little as possible, so that I will have fewer opportunities of losing my life.)

Questioning Myself

What is blogging, and why do I do it? What about books? Where do they fit in to this new medium? The other day, I skimmed through a book on blogging. Ironic, isn't it? Why can't I write a book? Because I don't have that much to say on any one topic. So why do I keep a blog? Because I do have a little to say on a wide variety of topics. To what would I compare a blog? To a newspaper column. What are the similarities? The writing is of a personal nature, giving insight to the life of the writer. What are the differences? A newspaper columnist is paid. In money. My only reward is the knowledge that people are reading what I write, and thinking about it. (I really like comments.) Unlike a columnist, I can personally interact with my readers and get their feedback. Maybe my words just make someone laugh, or let someone know they have a friend. That is enough for me. I do enjoy writing . . . very much. I always said I wanted to be a journalist when I grew up. Well, I've grown up and I'm not a journalist, but I am a blogger! Does that inspire the same awe and respect as a journalist? No, but I'm content to be able to write down my thoughts, to inspire others, to make them laugh, and just to let people know there is a real, live person at the other end of their computer connection.

Today (written on Tue. Sep 2) The Blessing of Unanswered Prayer

This morning was like many other mornings. I took Rufus for a walk, did some laundry, ate some breakfast, prayed earnestly for a friend in physical and emotional distress, got lots and lots of junk mail. Then I turned on my computer (again) to see that my friend can lay aside her worries for today. I was so relieved for her, and I recalled how nice it feels to be able to enjoy one more worry-free day. I remembered some very hard days, and wanting it all just to go away. I remember thinking that it couldn't get any worse. And then, weeks or months after I thought I had reached my surviveable threshold of pain, I was blessed with sweet, sweet relief, and I was so happy to be alive and to be able to enjoy that day. I've had many, many days now that have been so great, and made me so grateful that my God is so wise and so loving as to have not "just made it all go away" on the days when I had asked for that.

Political leaders

On the topic of ending sentences with prepositions, Winston Churchill said, "That is a mistake up with which I will not put."