Kathy’s Column for April 21, 2011


APRIL IS SUCH A LOVELY MONTH FOR SO MANY REASONS … one of them being the month many dear ones in my life celebrate their birthdays. Therefore in honor of their special days I would like to share some familiar quotations pertaining to age and what it does and should mean in our individual lives. I must admit that I still am older, and will remain so, then all of those celebrating except for one sister-in-law who is one year older than I. (for a short while she will now be two years older, but that fact is no longer as exciting as it used to be when we were oh so young and I made a huge deal out of it) We are aware that once we finally mature we also know that the number of our age is completely irrelevant. “Live your life and forget your age.” This one is a real favorite, “Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.” “The three ages of man or woman: youth, middle age and “You’re looking wonderful.” One more lovely and happy piece of advice as we age gracefully. “You can only perceive real beauty in a person as they get older.” All of these fantastic words are credited to Anonymous, but I thank him or her just the same.

THE NEWS LATELY HAS LEFT US ALL WITH ANGST AND CONCERN ABOUT WHAT IS NOT ONLY HAPPENING BUT WITH WHAT MIGHT TRANSPIRE … in our world. However, if you truly think about it we all have many more happy things going on than things that frighten or disillusion us. If you don’t believe me, make two lists one being the good things in your life and in the lives of those you love and the other pertaining to those things that one can’t possibly be grateful for. Thomas Jefferson said this when talking about the greater part of life and our friendships, “But friendship is precious, not only in the shades, but in the sunshine of life; and thanks to a benevolent arrangement of things, the greater part of life is sunshine.” The overwhelming answer for our happiness is definitely having friends and being friendly, really quite simple. “Even with the best of maps and instruments, we can never fully chart our journeys.”- Gail Pool

THE FOLLOWING MAY JUST BE THE MOST GENEROUS TIP STORY YOU HAVE EVER HEARD … I know it was for me. It happened in Cornwall, England in a seaside resort named Newquay. Mary Watson left her entire estate to the cab driver who served her well for many years. Don Pratt and his wife Gill are the owners of Don’s Cabs and were stunned when they heard that Ms. Watson bequeathed to them her home and her savings which were worth almost $385,000 in U.S. money. She had told Don that she would look after him after she died but he says he just took that with a grain of salt, and that he still can’t believe she really did leave he and his wife everything. It most likely will remain as one of the biggest tips any taxi driver ever got, don’t you agree?

WE’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE BLESSINGS IN OUR LIVES … and things that most definitely are not, like tornadoes for example. Once again Halifax County has experienced the wrath of one of these horrendous storms along with many other areas in Virginia and also the unbelievable amount of damage and lives lost in neighboring North Carolina. Words can’t express what we want to say to those who have been highly impacted by last weekend’s storms. Suffice it to say we need to each contact someone in charge of getting help to the individuals affected and see what we can do to help make a positive difference in their unsettled lives. I know we each have some sort of story on how we were individually affected, but I know mine sure pales in comparison. High winds and rain did no damage at our home, and even though the electricity was off a good while, we were able to take care of what needed to be done. For a while I wondered what I would do for water, we have a well and when the electricity is off so is our water. However, I did have one gallon of water on hand but I wasn’t sure was enough for me to use to rinse the color off my hair when the timer indicated that time was up. Okay, now everyone knows I color my hair myself and up until that afternoon I thought it was one of the smarter things that I do. For a short time on Saturday though I wasn’t so sure as I contemplated calling someone to invite myself over to use their water supply, or the thought of running out into the rain to take advantage of lovely soft rain water to rinse my hair was another idea. The tremendous amount of lightning and thunder got rid of the latter idea almost immediately however. Anyway, I went with what I had on hand and it proved to be more than enough which usually happens if we think through our options rather carefully. We are so spoiled when it comes to our every ready water supply in this country as opposed to most of the world aren’t we? I remember when we lived in South America four of us could take a complete shower using only one five gallon bucket of water. It was very doable and I sometimes wonder how much I use now that I have such easy access to it. This past Monday there was a news report that so far this season we have had 589 tornadoes in the U.S., the average for the entire season is usually around 370 which indicates that we are over by more than 200 at the present time.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE NOW, SOMETHING THAT CAN AT LEAST MAKE US SMILE … a bit don’t you think? The following is from a magazine article, entitled having more picturesque speech. Boasting: patter of little feats. Smile: mirth mark. Pessimist: one who no’s too much, and Courage: fear extinguisher. Words, they truly can make one’s day, and we must always be aware to use them in the best and most reliable way that we can. Here are two beautiful word pictures when describing nighttime, “The sky pulled a dark sheet over us and pinned it with stars.” “Street lights scooping holes out of the dark.”- from The Wall Street Journal article also.

SOMETHING ELSE I WASN’T AWARE OF, … according to a book I was reading that takes place in Hawaii, the word “aloha” can have three different meanings, hello, good-by and love. It makes me wonder if that is indeed so as it sounds very confusing to me to use words we normally think of as opposites.

THE UNEXPECTED PLEASURE OF RECEIVING A HANDWRITTEN NOTE JUST HAPPENED … to me once again. As usual I first gathered up all the junk mail to recycle, then put the bills where they belong and then and only then did I sit down to enjoy what I knew would make an ordinary day extraordinary in every way. There really is nothing to compare with such a gift as it signifies something special. Someone in your life has taken the time to write, really write with a pen and actual paper and everything else it entails. No matter what length it may be, it touches us and chances are we will hold onto it for a good while as it would be so difficult to throw such love away. Keepers, that’s what a friend of mine calls a handwritten note, and she is oh so correct, as it can be savored over and over again for a very long time.

SUMMER IS COMING AND WITH IT COMES SOME GOOD COMMON SENSE ADVICE … pertaining to how important it is to take good care of your skin when being out in the sun. Last week I told you about the wonderful movie, “Soul Surfer”, and most likely like me we were once again reminded of that horror movie from days gone by entitled “Jaws”. Current statistics claim that one’s chances of ever being attacked by a shark are only 1 in 65,000,000. That is the good news, now for the bad as the same study concluded that our odds of developing Skin Cancer are 1 in 5. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever not to do all we can to protect ourselves from the sun, and with the huge number of options available I suggest we all read and become knowledgeable and then do what is best for ourselves and our families.

PASS IT ON AND GOD BLESS YOU

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *