loumercerwordsofwisdom.blogspot.com

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

You never really know a person...

Once upon a time I was visiting with  a very wise man.  We were discussing a friend we had in common.  OK, it happened to be an ex husband of mine who had done something exceptionally stupid and I said, "Why I thought I knew him better than that!"  To which he replied, "You never know anyone.  You only know of them.  You only know what they let you see."  Good point!

I recall standing at the grave of my mothers last husband and her saying, "Who was that man?"  He had presented himself as a lonely widower with a son and a daughter and no other relation in the world.  The funeral had been well attended by brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles and a former parole officer. She never knew him.

So this morning at 4:15 AM when the eyelids opened for the day, I thought of this and I wondered, "Who do I have in this world that I really know? "  I came up with nobody.   So I took this thought to the next level and asked myself, "Who am I?  Does anyone really know me?'  Once more I came up with a negative answer.

I know some of you out there think you know me, but do you?  I may not be who you think I am.  I present a face to the public and a face to my friends that may not reveal the depths of my soul.  I appear to be very well adjusted, compassionate, caring, honest, giving, kind and so many other things, but you know little about the person who lives in this body.  I have lots of friends, but do I?  What is a friend?  When I am lonely, who do I turn to for companionship?  Who do I trust with  my deepest secrets?  When the dark abyss of the deepest recesses of my mind cry out for comfort, who do I reach for?  When I am sinking in despair at the long road ahead, who reaches to lift me up?

When your phone rings and I am on the other end and I ask, "Whatcha' doing?"  Is this really what I mean or am I saying "I am so lonely I can not think straight.  I am sinking in depression.  Save me!"   The sad part of life is that no matter how transparent people seem to be, they are not.

I have learned that depression is depression.  It comes.  It stays.  It lifts and it leaves, but it comes back.  How is depression lived with every day?  I do not know, but I do know it is fairly common in this day and age.  I read one article that said, "Depression is like a big black dog that is always there and when he lays on you, you can not get him off and you can not move."  I guess that sort of explained it for me.

I guess the point I am trying to make here is that we should always make the effort to be kind to each other because we never know what is going on in another person's life and mind.  Watching a baby at play may make someone happy, but it may make someone sad.  A cheery, "Good morning!" may make one person feel special, and make the next one think you are nuts.  So what is the answer?  I do not have it, for all my years of experience.

My advice?  Keep plugging away.  All that glitters is not gold.  Everything that goes up, must come down.  Let a smile be your umbrella.  And most importantly,

You cannot sprinkle showers of happiness on other people without getting a few drops on yourself!

Sunday, August 28, 2016

The good old days are alive and well in Florence, Colorado.

When we went fishing the other day in Florence at the Founders Park, we happened to stumble upon this little artifact.  For those of you who have grown up with tiled floors and enameled fixtures in your bathroom, you are in for a rude awakening.  This is what is known as an outhouse.  The out house is a little house behind the big house where you lived.  We have come a long ways since these days and I did not even dream there were still such things around.  Here is living proof.
This is the floor of said outhouse.  Now be aware that beneath this floor is a very messy pit where human waste is/was collected.  I do not know if this is a working outhouse and I did not step inside and peer down the hole so I can not even venture a guess.  No, I am curious, but not that curious!

The wood looks old and weathered enough to make me think this is the authentic outhouse, but since there was no sign of a homestead any where near here, I think it was placed here more as a piece of history.
And there you nave the bench upon which one perched to do one's business.  I myself would be scared to assume that position since I am deathly afraid of spiders and I am pretty sure this would be a perfect place for one to lurk.  Probably a very large family of the arachnids could be located under that bench.

So, kiddies, what do you think?  I do know that visiting this little building the other day sort of knocked my longing for the good old days right in the keester.  I long for the tranquility that came with the life we lived back then such as no ringing phone, no blaring television,  no interstate outside my door, but I have become quite accustomed to running water, both hot and cold, and the gentle swish of water when I flip the chrome handle of my pretty white commode.   I can stand for hours under the hot shower and never miss that aluminum tub on Saturday nights.
Yep, I have become a slave to modern conveniences.  And so it goes.






Thursday, August 25, 2016

I thought I was the adult here!! My mistake.

Yesterday I drove myself to Florence to go fishing with Bret, Amanda and the baby.  As you can see Bret and I were busy with the fine art of casting and Amanda was documenting our outing.  Now you all know what happened here!  This innocent little baby of 6 tender months, is the worlds youngest photobomber!!  And he looks so harmless!  I can see what he is thinking.  "Oh, they are busy catching my dinner and mommy wants a picture!  Pick me, mommy!  Pick me."
Course about as soon as he jacked up the picture of mother and son in a bonding adventure, he went to sleep!
The scenery was fantastic.  Here is a picture of the fish Bret caught.  Now that is one big fish!

Here is mine that I did not catch!
The restrooms we used and the one we did not!


Amanda is in charge of packing and unpacking the car loaded with things to make the little Jiraiya's life most comfortable.  Bret and my job was to eat chicken apparently.
Kind of a water fall here.  We were at the Florence Water Park.

  I got home about 3:00 and the miles per gallon on the dash reported in at 49.7.  Can't get much better than that!
Life is Good!



Wednesday, August 17, 2016

I have been farther then I have left to go!

I woke up this morning thinking about how many family members, friends, and just acquaintances I have attended funerals or memorial services for.  Do not ask me for a number, because the figure would make both our minds reel   And this is not to discount the services I did not attend for one reason or another.  I guess this all started forming in my little mind last week when I was up on the mountain with a friend and he wanted me to see a water fall higher up the trail.  Little cars like mine only go so high on rocky roads so we had to walk a ways.  So off we started.


Pretty soon I was huffing and puffing like "the little engine that could" did in that book I used to read to the kids.  I thought we were probably almost to the top and turned around to look back at where the car was.  Hell!  I could still read the small print on my bumper sticker!  We were 7 minutes into our hike and I was pretty sure it was going to be a long day, but with him cheering me on and by sheer determination on my part I made it a few more yards.  I looked back at the car and back up at the mountain.  I knew who was going to win this one and it was not me!  I muttered something about being a little out of shape and the dear soul took pity on me.  He was not going to make me march all the way to the top of Mount Princeton or wherever we were. ( I think he knew who would be carrying my lifeless body back down and he was not really up to that task.)

He left me setting on a rock and came back very soon to tell me that there was a beautiful view right around the bend in the road.  Thank the Lord for small favors.  So we spent a little time enjoying the babbling brook and just communing with nature.  The glory of the mountains is the serenity and the closeness of God.  There is no need for conversation with the majesty of the beautiful Rocky Mountains surrounding you.  It is something I wish everyone in the world could enjoy for just a little while.  It is a peace that stays with me for a very long time when I come home.

So once more, with my feet firmly planted on the terra firma of my flatland home, I can access the situation that brought me to the realizations I face this morning. 
#1.  I am fat and out of shape.
#2.  I am, while I hate to use the term "old", definitely over the hill and picking up speed.
#3.  The beautiful vistas of my home state of Colorado may best be viewed from the passenger seat of an air conditioned car parked on one of the scenic overlooks the National Forest Service built for my enjoyment.
#4.  The rod and reel I bought when I got my fishing license (which is also another story) may just stay over there in the corner because I may not be agile enough to climb up and down the banks of any river where said fish may be located!

But once more I have digressed, but would you really expect anything less of me?  No!  And therein lies the beauty of why you continue to read these blogs!  You think I may actually someday say something worth repeating.

Peace to all of you and may the road that lies before you be one you are eager to travel!

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Saturday afternoon activity at my house.

 Yesterday I decided I was hungry for Molasses Cookies.  So I proceeded to make a batch of cookie dough.  Having a lovely Kitchen Aid stand mixer sure makes my life easier.  Thank you, Cindy Kerr Darrow!  Molasses cookies have to set in the refrigerator for at least an hour so the flavors meld.

Now while I was making the dough, Elvira and Icarus were sleeping soundly in my chair.  They like to do that, you know.
Daisy much prefers to stretch out on her foam mattress .
You can see activity at my house has reached a brand new low.  

 Which did not last very long since the smoke detector decided to start beeping and I am really not sure which one of the 6 it was that was beeping at me.  As you know, life is never easy in my world.  The first challenge in this little chore was to find the ladder.  I have 9 foot ceilings which always helps.  After a trip to the tin shed and no luck, I made a trip to the garage with no luck.  So into the closet I went with no luck.  Second trip to all the usual places and there it was where it belonged in the tin shed.


So here I set on Sunday morning.  Some of them take AA and some take D and it seems that I bought a big supply of AAA which fit absolutely nothing.  So I shall give this up until after church when I will go to Sam's and buy battery's , hot dogs and buns, and whatever else I need. 

For the record I want to say my life is good!  The cookies were good!  It is just the batteries that are dead around here.

Peace!

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Sad, Sad little dog!

It is apparent that my house is a flop house for all the animals.  Here you see Elvira who is on top of 2 pillows with her head down on the floor.  She appears to be defromed, but she is not.  She is just very damned lazy.
This shows Icarus up on the buffet and the visiting Woody on the bed down below.
Here is Icarus at her finest!
And Icarus and Daisy so tired they are sleeping on a bare, hard floor.  Where did I go wrong? 
I see people with animals all alert and protecting thier masters.  Not so around here.  The geese do occasionally honk, but even they can not be depended upon to rouse me in case of a crazed killer charging my property.  

Well, I guess they do hold the kids down!
And Daisy is good for a laugh!
Life is good.







Monday, August 1, 2016

Sure been hot here lately.

To be real honest, it has been hotter then hell!  My central air keeps the house just the right temperature, which started me to wondering what we did back in the days before air conditioning was an everyday necessity.  I do not remember us even having the luxury of a fan.  When we went to church there were little card board fans in the music racks.  Remember them?  Usually they had some sort of advertising printed on them.  Most often it was from the local mortuary. School started in September usually right after the Kansas State Fair left Hutchinson, Kansas headed for Oklahoma.  By then the summer had lost its grip and fall was near.  School let out in May when it was just starting to get hot, so we did not suffer much in school.

But what about at home?  There were windows on all sides of the house and they were open as far as the could open to get a cross ventilation.  It must have worked because I do no remember being overly hot, ever.  We played under the trees and we could always  sneak off and find a creek some where and dangle our feet in the water and hope an old snapping turtle did not come along.

I can remember momma having a scarf tied around her head to keep the sweat out of her eyes.  What I am neglecting to tell you is that back then we cooked on a wood stove in the kitchen, so we had the added heat of a fire in the stove when it was already hot enough to choke us.  Course I do not remember a lot of cooking going on except on Sundays.  I am not sure what we ate through the week, but we must have eaten something and I am sure mother cooked something.  You can not feed 8 people and not cook.  I do remember mother used to give us a "sugar teet" when we had sugar.  That was our idea of a real treat.  She took a small piece of fabric and put a spoonful of sugar in the center and then pulled up the edges and tied a cord around it.  We chewed on that and thought we really had something. It is amazing that back then I did not even know we were poor, but I look back now in sheer horror.  How did we survive?  Why did we even want to?  My mother had to be the strongest woman in the world to eke an existence for her family out of absolutely nothing.

What amazes me more than anything is that I set here in my air conditioned house with the television playing in the background and my car outside waiting to take me some where.  I have 2 freezers downstairs full of food, money in the bank, clothes in the closet and I think back to Nickerson, Kansas, as the good old days and thank God for giving me those memories.  I only remember being happy.  I do not remember being hot, or cold, or hungry, or lonely.  I have a very happy memory of a coat my mother made out of something she took apart.  It was a bedspread or something and it was a light aqua color.  Dolly Partin had her coat of many colors, but I had my coat of corduroy.  I do not remember much about any other clothes I had, but I am sure I had them.  We wore little dresses back then.  Even when we worked in the fields, we wore dresses.

Yep.  I do not care what anyone thinks, those were my good old days. They were the days when I did not have to worry about anything of anyone.   I have always deluded myself into thinking that it did not matter that we were poor, because everyone was poor, but  that is not true.  People were poor, yes, but we were dirt poor. Facing the reality of that has just taken place in the last few years.  Some times it makes me sad.  I wish I had told my mother what a wonderful job she did when she was here to tell, but I did not.  If I had been just half the woman my mother was I could have changed the world.

Life would be best lived in reverse.


Another year down the tubes!

Counting today, there are only 5 days left in this year.    Momma nailed it when she said "When you are over the hill you pick up speed...