When we were kids on Strong Street, life was so simple. In the winter we filled the water buckest and set them close to the wood cook stove in the kitchen so they would not freeze. When it snowed it snowed and if the snow was deep Mother sent Jim Davis to the school to walk home in front of us so he could break a path for us. Dad couldn't do it because he was busy playing Dominoes at the "Recreation Hall ( which was another word for "Beer Joint") in town. Back in those days cars only had rear wheel drive which was the precursor to front wheel drive or all wheel drive. Let's think about that concept a moment.
Rear wheel drive meant that all the power was in the back axle and the steering was in the front axle. So basically, a car was propelled from the back and steered by the front. Only time you actually had control of where you went, was when you went backwards. OMG! Isn't that how life is lived? It sure is! How many time have I looked back and thought " I should have done that differently!"
Which calls to mind several things my momma used to say and I could not understand them back then, but as I gain in age and wisdom, I am actually getting pretty damn smart. There are 2 that spring to mind today for some reason. The first one is "As you sow, so shall you reap." And the second is "Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind." I was naïve back when she would tell me this. She explained it to a nine year old girl in simple terms, "If you want to eat a tomato, you have to plant a tomato. You can not plant a turnip seed and get a tomato." That was simple enough back then when eating was the most important thing in my young life. And later when I was married to the "love of my life" I could not make the correlation. That saying had no meaning in my life through the next 4 husbands either, but now that I am on the down hill slide, I can see it all very clearly. Whether it has been the roughly 45 years of learning that has been drilled into my head or just the culmination of life that woke me up, I do not know, but here I am dispensing wisdom to anyone who will listen!
So let me explain the "sowing of the wind and reaping of the whirlwind" as I understand it today. During the Vietnam War years, I waved my flag and demanded they "bring the boys home". You see how that worked out for me. When the powers that be decided to end it, it ended. Gay rights came and I waved my flag. AIDS hit the scene and I demanded care. Martin Luther King, Trayvon Martin, Civil Rights; it was always something. Now it is immigration and ripping babies away from mothers that has me stirred up. Always demanding. Always thinking my voice matters. But does it? Probably not. I am on facebook, but I do not appear too often, because when I do I piss somebody off. Mostly I defend as a "Libitard", but occasionally I get personal.
My last marriage taught me all I need to know about living a peaceful existence. He respected and trusted me, and I returned the faith and trust. He was my friend. Sometimes he would need to remind me that I could not save the world and that Don Quixote tilted at a lot of windmills in vain. I no longer have Kenneth as my rudder, but I do have my faith. Social Justice is my thing and I pretty well stay away from people and their personal problems. I adhere to that "Do not judge me until you have walked a mile in my shoes."
Trouble with the husband? That is between the 2 of you and as long as it remains only the 2 of you, you have a chance. I guess you could put it on facebook and let people vote on it, but when it is all said and done, it is between 2 people. I equate facebook to the whirlwind and the poster as the sower and reaper. I guess life could be simple if both parties were to post the saga as they perceive it in their mind.
"Geraldine does not fix meals I like. She is always on the phone. She is lazy. I have to clean house. She loves the dog more than she loves me."
"George doesn't like the same food I do. He is always wanting to talk when I am on the phone. He is lazy and does not clean up after himself."
These are little things in themselves, but they become bigger than the whole. George and Geraldine have planted little seeds. Each one is harmless in itself, but as they lay in the ground festering, they become all consuming. They do not discuss them, just water them with words and watch them grow. And then comes the day of harvest. The gentle breeze of yesterday is now the whirlwind of today.
Mother said other things also.
"Clean up your own house before finding fault with the neighbors house." (Am I blameless in this or did I do something selfish?}
"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." (Ever watch a cow standing in knee high grass and straining at the fence that separates the 2 fields?)
"Try to get that toothpaste back in the tube." (When hateful words are hurled there is no getting them unsaid.")
And of course there is the Golden Rule! "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." and let me end this with what my oldest daughter says: "What doesn't kill you, will make you strong."
Death is final. There is not compromise after that. The dead one inevitably wins because they got in the last word.
Just some things I am throwing out there today. Take it or leave it.
Rear wheel drive meant that all the power was in the back axle and the steering was in the front axle. So basically, a car was propelled from the back and steered by the front. Only time you actually had control of where you went, was when you went backwards. OMG! Isn't that how life is lived? It sure is! How many time have I looked back and thought " I should have done that differently!"
Which calls to mind several things my momma used to say and I could not understand them back then, but as I gain in age and wisdom, I am actually getting pretty damn smart. There are 2 that spring to mind today for some reason. The first one is "As you sow, so shall you reap." And the second is "Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind." I was naïve back when she would tell me this. She explained it to a nine year old girl in simple terms, "If you want to eat a tomato, you have to plant a tomato. You can not plant a turnip seed and get a tomato." That was simple enough back then when eating was the most important thing in my young life. And later when I was married to the "love of my life" I could not make the correlation. That saying had no meaning in my life through the next 4 husbands either, but now that I am on the down hill slide, I can see it all very clearly. Whether it has been the roughly 45 years of learning that has been drilled into my head or just the culmination of life that woke me up, I do not know, but here I am dispensing wisdom to anyone who will listen!
So let me explain the "sowing of the wind and reaping of the whirlwind" as I understand it today. During the Vietnam War years, I waved my flag and demanded they "bring the boys home". You see how that worked out for me. When the powers that be decided to end it, it ended. Gay rights came and I waved my flag. AIDS hit the scene and I demanded care. Martin Luther King, Trayvon Martin, Civil Rights; it was always something. Now it is immigration and ripping babies away from mothers that has me stirred up. Always demanding. Always thinking my voice matters. But does it? Probably not. I am on facebook, but I do not appear too often, because when I do I piss somebody off. Mostly I defend as a "Libitard", but occasionally I get personal.
My last marriage taught me all I need to know about living a peaceful existence. He respected and trusted me, and I returned the faith and trust. He was my friend. Sometimes he would need to remind me that I could not save the world and that Don Quixote tilted at a lot of windmills in vain. I no longer have Kenneth as my rudder, but I do have my faith. Social Justice is my thing and I pretty well stay away from people and their personal problems. I adhere to that "Do not judge me until you have walked a mile in my shoes."
Trouble with the husband? That is between the 2 of you and as long as it remains only the 2 of you, you have a chance. I guess you could put it on facebook and let people vote on it, but when it is all said and done, it is between 2 people. I equate facebook to the whirlwind and the poster as the sower and reaper. I guess life could be simple if both parties were to post the saga as they perceive it in their mind.
"Geraldine does not fix meals I like. She is always on the phone. She is lazy. I have to clean house. She loves the dog more than she loves me."
"George doesn't like the same food I do. He is always wanting to talk when I am on the phone. He is lazy and does not clean up after himself."
These are little things in themselves, but they become bigger than the whole. George and Geraldine have planted little seeds. Each one is harmless in itself, but as they lay in the ground festering, they become all consuming. They do not discuss them, just water them with words and watch them grow. And then comes the day of harvest. The gentle breeze of yesterday is now the whirlwind of today.
Mother said other things also.
"Clean up your own house before finding fault with the neighbors house." (Am I blameless in this or did I do something selfish?}
"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." (Ever watch a cow standing in knee high grass and straining at the fence that separates the 2 fields?)
"Try to get that toothpaste back in the tube." (When hateful words are hurled there is no getting them unsaid.")
And of course there is the Golden Rule! "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." and let me end this with what my oldest daughter says: "What doesn't kill you, will make you strong."
Death is final. There is not compromise after that. The dead one inevitably wins because they got in the last word.
Just some things I am throwing out there today. Take it or leave it.
1 comment:
Yes, you're one of the smartest women I know.
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