Facts About Life: 101

I  have not been on a lot but if you think your life is going bad, you need to remember that there is someone out there somewhere who is having a worse go of it than you are. We have to find our own solutions to these dilemmas we go through.

Right or wrong, life is about learning. Once you become unteachable–than you are going to find that you are not only a little fish in a huge pond, but you will find yourself standing alone, stuck at the starting line instead of moving forward in this race called life. You can learn much from anyone around you, but you have to be willing to adapt and accept some changes along the way. If you cannot do this, you will not get very far down the track…

Think about it the next time someone tries to show you something you could do differently. Offering solutions is not designed to hold you back, it’s to help you toward your goal in the end. Change is something anyone has to consider from time to time. In fact we should embrace it, and not fear it, but to learn to adapt to it. If it is something that absolutely cannot work, then we should work together to change THAT, face the problems head-on and not run away. Don’t be closed to the idea of it. You are only hurting yourself if you do. This is lesson 101 in “Facts About Life”.

 

So the question is, how far are you willing to go? This is a new year–a new beginning. Do not let yourself get trapped inside the “box” thinking. Thinking outside of the box will actually help you–not hurt you.  It all goes back to a question I posed a few years ago to a colleague: “What kind of leader do you want to be?”  A good leader is always “teachable and willing to learn”.

A Passage From the Haunted Pen…

Here is a reality people do not seem to understand. When writing from one perspective,  one only reaches THAT targeted audience. Whether the subject be the universe, money, politics, whatever…People have their own reality and that is what they will base their judgments of any writing on. It’s the same way when it comes to life, politics, etc…People base their judgments on their own life experiences and it is not fair to condemn them based on those experiences. Everything in life is about perspective and people need to get it through their heads that not everyone will agree with what their perception of the world around them is. It is like viewing the same car accident from 2 different angles. People will see it happening slightly differently every time.

While perspective has to do with art, and how the artist sees it, and perception is about how one interprets something, both fall hand in hand when it comes to writing and/or life experiences. The writer puts the pen to paper and shares his/her interpretation of what is being discussed. It is the audience perception that determines the effectiveness of a writer’s words–and audience members will perceive the same lines differently each time!

Writers will be often misinterpreted, misunderstood and even at times maligned for the words they choose to put to paper. It comes with the territory.  They will also be maligned and such for their own personal views regardless of what they are. That is why I said in an earlier post, there is no need for anyone to have to justify what their opinions are or why they have them  to anyone else.  They are what they are. No writer, artist, actor or whatever is obligated to say, “I feel this way because I…” to anyone, be it a reporter or an armchair expert.  It is not like anyone would be able to change the mind of the author anyway.

My number one rule is as a writer, I will never try to justify what characters represent, why plot lines are written as they are and/or why I do not concern myself with being politically or socially correct when it comes to them.   That does not matter. What matters is being that they represent something from my own life’s perspective, the real question should be “Why reveal them in the way I chose to?”  That is something I have yet to see asked of any writer.  Much of the time they have been asked to justify why they have their characters say or do certain things.  That is the part the reader gets to figure out. I use them to point the direction in solving the entire puzzle. I certainly won’t divulge it in my notes either. It is easy to get lost in the real purpose if one gets hung up on the attitudes/actions of one or two characters.

Why read a book and then ask such a question about it anyway? All characters can be used to drive home several points within the same plot, I believe–as long as a writer does not write a long, drawn out work that is as confusing as Cubist art can be…Yes, it’s about PERCEPTION and Cubist art confounds me and amazes me at the same time.

 

Now you KNOW why it confuses me.

What I will say is that the characters, to me are real. They have a life of their own and they haunt me, and when they do, they come out through the pen.  They can fend for themselves once out there on the page. All I do is play God and bring them to life and/or kill them off when they’ve finally incurred my eternal wrath.

 

The Shame and Scourge of West Texas–Nana is MAD!

I have posted before on the growing problem of homeless families in the Midland/Odessa Texas area. I find it appalling that the number of homeless families with working members is on the rise in West Texas. I am writing a proposal of my own to send to Washington D.C. that will allow the federal government to collect the extra profits from such gouging/profiteering  and remove the incentive to raise rents to the point that it is discriminatory against women, elderly and the minority populations. If it doesn’t stop now, the cancer of the working poor living in the streets will only increase. If the states won’t put rent controls in on their own, then it is the duty of the Federal Government to step in and put a stop to this greed.  Whether this takes place during a natural disaster (which IS illegal) or a boom, it is an outrage and Texas should be ashamed for not stepping up to the plate to prevent further displacement of its elderly and its families.

Even rents on a lot of  HUD assisted housing have also  increased in these areas.  This also needs to be addressed as the owners of such properties are merely making money off of the backs of the poor with this garbage. I am formulating my proposal as I type and will post some provisions I am putting into it  in a later post, but there will be some that I would like your comments on.  Get ready…Nana is about to go on the warpath against the greed and corruption that is coming with this boom.

The property management companies and landlords who are doing this are a scourge and a disgrace to Texas and to the entire nation. It is the duty of America to expose them and this practice and do what we can to put a stop to this outrage! It is affecting our entire state and the children–and when it comes to our children we have a duty to protect them from this scourge! That is my opinion.  To those thinking of moving here–you will be lucky to find a place to put an RV in West Texas right now. Good luck! You’ll need it as the prices of rental spaces in the campgrounds are getting out of control too.

Nana and her “Pen”…

There are many untold stories out there. Many unmade westerns, many moving true stories that should be on film but aren’t…I want this to change. It s time to bring quality writing and such back to the table. Lately, we’ve seen a lot of great action stories and such, but it is time tread into areas that people fear again. It is also time to use the one tool as a writer we have and that is our “pen” to make that happen.

Many use word processors and such, but nothing beats a pen on great paper as far as I am concerned.  The pen turns us into a God, Goddess or Wizard–enabling us to manipulate entire worlds and lives without ever hurting a soul.  It enables us to share our joy and our pain in ways that no one else (besides those who have been in the trenches with us) can relate to.

It also draws readers into tragic worlds of reality, knowing that time cannot be turned back, but lessons learned can help to prevent such events from happening again.  I am referring to events such as 9/11, the Manson Murders, the Bath Michigan School Bombing of 1927 (which SOMEONE NEEDS TO MAKE A MOVIE ABOUT~!) Arnie Bernstein wrote a great book about it which one can get at the link below.  Then there is  the explosion at the school in New London, Texas that killed many–and resulted in odor producing additives being put into natural gas so an odor is produced to let people know that there is a leak.

http://www.amazon.com/Bath-Massacre-Americas-School-Bombing/dp/0472033468/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363918353&sr=1-1&keywords=bath+massacre

http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Girls-Are-There-Explosion/dp/160344761X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363918409&sr=1-1&keywords=new+london+school+explosion

With our pens, our pains and our joys, we create mystical worlds of dragons and knights, vampires and werewolves, faeries and witches.  However we also need to write the stories that are true and in danger of being lost.  Many of these stories took place prior to when we were born. Others happen before us and seem to get swept from our Historical floor by a society that only wants us to forget them.  Well we don’t forget them and we won’t let our children and grandchildren forget them.  We will not forget the wrongs done to my ancestors–the Native Americans or the Irish.  We will not forget the cruelties endured by “Indentured Servants” and African slaves.  We will certainly not forget the Holocaust–which could one day happen again on a different scale.

Whatever a writer decides to do with that pen is important. The pen can change lives, inspire and destroy (depending on how it is used). It is for that reason we must write in such a way that the reader will feel good again and/or have HOPE after closing the book or turning off the e-reader and why screenwriters and such should try to enable their intended audience to experience the same thing when watching the small screen or the big one.

There are writers of this caliber out there. It is time to awaken the beast or the angel within–depending on their specialty! Food for thought.  I was raised as a Baptist and the preachers always talked about how the tongue can kill…Well, perhaps it’s a good thing the pen wasn’t invented yet and that the quill was never mentioned!

 

I Simply DO NOT Get It…Nana’s Practical Joke!

Many of my friends who know me know that I am anything BUT a prude.  I don’t believe in changing the proper name of something to make it more appealing to the subjugated masses of America.  That being said I am putting something on my blog never done to the best of my knowledge. I am putting a pair of TIT pictures on here. That is right! A Pair of Tits!  To make it easier–two pictures of two kinds of tits!  Now anyone can use my link for a practical joke and say, “For a nice looking pair of tits–check this link!”   That will teach those with a dirty mind to come here, won’t it? At least I am good for a laugh or two…

Here are the blue tits!

I think it is the part of the responsibility of EVERY writer to elicit laughter from the audience once in a while… ***Grins sheepishly here***! If you were sent here by a friend and cannot take a joke, then I’ll say to you in my best TEXSPEAREAN manner: “Don’t blame me so harshly for I didn’t name the critters! However if it should offend ‘ye then ’tis you that hath a burr in yer craw! And jus’ so ye know, them Brits have two species: Great Tits and Blue Tits and notwithstanding my dig forthwith ‘ye know I believe they love those tits!”

Well you can’t blame me! After all, I didn’t name ’em did I?

Empty Hollows

The Diamond Fleece (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Oh my God! She’s at it again! Call her sister quick!”  the woman said to her husband as he came to look out of their window.

There she was…Amy Holloway, firing up the barbecue grill.  It was sprinkling outside. The man shook his head and told his wife, “Just leave that girl be. She has suffered enough with that ex husband to be of hers screwing around two days after her kid’s funeral. I don’t blame her for acting out a bit!”

“You aren’t the least bit concerned that she’s lighting a grill during what is about to be a severe storm?” she snapped.

“Absolutely not.  She did stranger things when she was younger. So did you as I recall.” he countered.

“But–”

“I said LEAVE her alone!” and with that he went into the den to watch television.

What Amy did next caused Mrs. Madsen to  be even more concerned, although she fully understood why this was going on…

She came out with a long white box that held the wedding gown she wore…The same gown that she had hoped to see her now dead daughter Hailey wear.  She put the veil in first then tore the dress to shreds.  She also put it in there.  After that she took the unframed wedding portrait and tore it into five pieces and put it on top.

After that she doused her miniature pyre with lighter fluid and waited for it to soak in a couple of minutes…She then struck a long match and tossed it on top of the contents of the grill as her eyes welled up.

“It is finished. Goodbye Hailey.” she whispered as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Once the task was complete and the last bit of smoke came up from the grill, she closed it and went inside. She then laid the keys down on the kitchen counter and sat in her recliner.  She looked out the window as the rain began to fall.

“Maybe I should give this house to the church.  That way something can actually LIVE in this place.” she mused as she  reached for the remote control.  Just as she was getting into a movie called “The Diamond Fleece” the telephone rang…

“Hello.” she said…Paused…”Oh it’s you.”…”Yes that’s right! You got the cars so you got the f**king bills now leave me be–” Paused…

“Share the house? You heard the judge. I worked two jobs to pay for this house and bought it well before I met you. Screw you and your girlfriend!” Paused…”How many times are you going to lie and say there is nothing between you now that we–Hold it! I wouldn’t take you back after knowing you’d been with her. I thought divorcing you proved that!”…Paused…”Look, you got one shot. Screwing her after Hailey’s funeral is rather unforgivable so stop calling me up drunk! Your tears aren’t for her or for me. They are for the fact that you got caught and f***ed yourself!” Paused…”Oh…That…I burned the dress. I guess your sister has to buy her own…” Paused…”IF you don’t effin’ believe me then come to the back and check the grill, A**hole!”  she yelled as she slammed down the phone.

“You are far too angry.” the voice inside the front bedroom said to her.  She just sighed and mixed herself a drink.

“You know you shouldn’t have dumped him like that. He’s hurting too.” the voice said.

“He doesn’t feel half of the pain I do.  Now please leave me be for a while.” she said as she went back to the blue recliner with her drink in hand.

“Honey, I think divorcing him without trying counseling is a mistake. He does love you–”

“And you hate divorce, Mother. However if he loved me he wouldn’t have looked at her twice. It made our vows a lie! I would never trust him again after that anyway. We must not have had much of a marriage to begin with for him to do that with her 2 days after the funeral and God only knows how many times prior.  It’s over.” Amy said as she tightly clutched the glass.

“You are wrong. In time you will see that. I know it.” her mother told her.

“Whatever Mom.  Call Tish if you like because that’s all that ever happens when I get angry anymore.  No one can let me vent it and get it over-with! I’m supposed to be the little silent church mouse like the two of you–”

“That is so untrue!  It may be what you feel, but I never wanted you to be anything less than what you want to be. I am proud of you for getting a career and moving up in the world.  I couldn’t give much but I did  give you that.” she said.

Amy turned to face the older grey haired woman.   A tear rolled down her cheek.  “You never told me you were proud  of me before. Especially when Dad was around.”

“Well I am and he would be too–”

“He wanted me to go to a freaking convent!” she said.

“No he didn’t.  He only wanted for  you to learn to control yourself more.  I know you have  a short fuse like  he did, but he always bragged to the boys at the pub  when you succeeded in anything. I only wish you heard it then. All that stuff he said when you were younger–he was just being an ass.  Read his journal and it will prove  that.” her mother told her.

“I honestly think he wanted a boy.” she said.

“Well he certainly didn’t do you any favors taking you to the docks did he?” her mother asked.

Amy smiled, “No he didn’t.  But I’m glad he did. I liked the boats and the guys showed me how to prepare the fish properly.”

“As you got older he made you stay here because the dock hands kept eyeballing you and it pissed him off.” her mother grinned.

“Yeah…Tish told me he hated that!” she laughed.

“Well he was glad when the counselor told him you could be in advanced classes. He signed the papers.” she said.

“Wha-”

“That’s right. He signed them.  He said if it keeps you out of the bars and off the docks, he’s happy.  I know he’d be proud now, Amy.” she said.

“Wish he said it to me.” Amy said.

“He did in a way, Amy.  He gave you the business. That and with your law practice, you’ve done well and I know he’d love that.” her mother said as she walked over to her and hugged her.

“Well, he’s with Hailey now and I’m sure he’s showing her constellations and how the ships know where to go and such.” she mused.

“Amy–”

“But it’s a good thing he didn’t live to see this because he would have killed Michael and we both know it.” she said.

“Amy,  this is all killing Michael. He loves you. He did not want the divorce.” her mother said.

“Doesn’t matter now.”Amy said as the rain began to pour against the windows. She glanced at the remnants of smoke from the grill and the empty swing Hailey so loved.

“And I don’t think you wanted one either. I’m going to lie down.  If you want Michael to be a knight in shining armor, then you had better give him a reason to come out of the bottom of that bottle before he kills himself. He thinks he lost you long before Hailey died. He told Tish that. He’s been lost ever since she fell ill the last time. ”  her mother warned.

“Well Mother,” Amy began, “Maybe if he came to me instead of his whore secretary we might have had a chance in hell of actually making it work.   He should have thought of it. I won’t forgive him and nobody has any right to expect me to.”

“All I am saying is that you are probably going to always wonder what may have been if you don’t at least talk to him. Try talking about Hailey. You’re both grieving–”

“He’s only grieving the fact that I caught him and he couldn’t get the house.” Amy hissed.

“You are wrong. It takes two to make a marriage work and two to break it. I’ll talk to you later dear.” her mother said as she went back into her room.

“And I’ll get over it.” Amy said to herself as she continued to take in the blurred view through the window while the rain fell and her eyes once again blurred as they became misty at the site of the swing…

The monument to her lost child…

How to Make the World a Better Place

Yes…Another new one for me.  Everything actually begins from within though.  How will I make this world a better place? Here’s a few things I work on…Eventually I’ll do more:

1.  Never live a lie. In other words, don’t commit to something or someone you cannot give your all to. Doing that hurts the cause you’re representing or the person who needs someone who is committed to them 100%. It’s like  a one-way reflection.  Not fair to the cause–or to the person–whichever the case may be. Honesty is always the way to go.

2.  I do my best to make people laugh, even if I’m the butt of the joking regarding my self-depreciating sense of humor.

3.  If I don’t need it, I’ll give it to someone who does.

Simple and short, right?  It’s a start.  Been doing this for a while now, but the first one is coming much easier to me than the 3rd one!

What will you do to make this world a better place?

I want to see this place so badly!  Have a great weekend!

Fallen…Forgotten…

I was called Fallen.  I am the one you don’t see or hear.  I stood by you when you cried, and told you all would be well.  Yet you chose to simply let me fall.  I was crushed and broken, but you were no longer there. You built your own Utopia while I faithfully stood and waited.  Silently…Hoping for some sign that my fears had not come to pass.  Then the rain fell.  As each drop penetrated my being, I longed to be part of Mother Earth once again–to have that oneness with something again, for walking on this red road has become increasingly difficult.

At least if I am part of Mother Earth, at some point we will cross paths again and I will feel your warm presence–though you will not know mine for I will be supporting your footsteps as I always have. However, the Great Spirit has other plans for me.  I will one day leave this place behind, and the grief I have with it.  As the rain washes the tears from my fading tracks, you will come to look for me but I will be gone–as well as my tracks.  And when you seek the Great Spirit to return me to you, you will find that he has sent me to where I am truly needed…

And at that point I will no longer be fallen or forgotten. I will be appreciated, needed and loved.  I have a purpose yet to fulfill in this life and will not let you drive me to such depths of despair again–let alone distract me from what I must do ever again.  Farewell, for soon you will be fallen and forgotten as my purpose on this road unfolds before me.  Even now you seek me, but I am not to be found…Please do not ask  about me or for me again. I will no longer answer for the ship I am going to leave on is waiting. I shall not look back because I have now risen.  Of the two of us, I shall now fly to my new sanctuary. Peace.

My Sanctuary

I Cannot Hold This Inside Any Longer

What I am about to say is probably going to upset people closest to me and at this point it does not matter.  I do not believe in living a lie and refuse to be pressured into going along with a mob mentality that is prevalent in the churches and in the streets.  I am an angry woman. I am angry because nobody in this country is taking care of their families and their own affairs before they put their nose into someone else’s business.

While I agree that the Constitution should be upheld, and the SOPA and RDAA rulings are nothing but a design to help enslave Americans, it is the public that is doing the job better than our government is.  America is becoming enslaved by the divisions within itself and it’s time to give BOTH major parties the boot… You have races hating each other for the color of their skin.  Neither party works to help Americans fix that. You have groups hating each other because they believe differently and you have groups hating women for having the courage to point these things out.   Yet nobody in our body of leaders wants to work to address the issues of the divisions that are destroying this nation. When I say “you” I am speaking of America as a people but if you are a bigoted individual,  you will know who you are by the end of this post.

You have Christians hating Atheists and Atheists hating Christians…Just to note:  A Christian who hates ANYONE is not a Christian and that goes for Rev. Wright, The Westboro Baptist Church and any other nut fringed and nut led religious group we hear about. Why not drop the labels and unite as Americans long enough to deal with the more important issues at hand, like keeping our basic rights to assembly, free speech and such in tact?  As long as those rights are kept in tact, this nation will remain strong but when those rights are removed, then this nation becomes in danger of being governed by those who crave absolute power and they will use the division of the American people to get it–and believe it or not, they are doing a damned good job at this point.

If people would mind their own business, believe what they want to and QUIT TRYING to force different belief systems on each other, we’d all be better off.  I am sick and tired of religion being pushed in school under the guise of “cultural education programs”.  IF you are going to teach foreign languages, they should be electives–not requirements. Most people will never live beyond US borders by their own choice so why force them to learn Arabic, Spanish or any other language they don’t want to learn? We certainly do not force anyone else to learn our language.  Make this all elective and save some tax dollars. But wait! That might make sense.

By the same token, I am tired of those who are in the extreme atheist fringe who sue to keep those of any faith out of political life. Yes, they are out there.  If there is to be true separation of church and state, then the Atheists cannot be allowed to force agendas either because of the free exercise clause.  The Constitution never gave anyone the right to not be offended whether they are of a faith or not. Solution: Stop the lawsuits and tell people to mind their own business because both groups pay taxes, therefore they can gripe and moan about whatever they want in public, and if they want to pray in public, it’s their business. Their taxes pay for their right to do so…

Now let’s discuss the thorn in every conservative’s side…Gay marriage.  No marriages are gay. In fact many married couples I know in the conservative world do nothing but argue and gripe about everyone else and are so miserable, I tell them they should get divorced.  They get pissed off because they say it’s “a sacred vow”–but I tell them if they don’t love each other, there is no more “vow” to break because they already broke the main one–you know–to the one where they said they would  “love, honor and cherish” each other? They really hate it when I point it out, but it’s messing up their kids to stay together in a situation like that.

If a same-sex couple wants to marry and such–let them.  IF the god of the bible is true, judgment will begin with the “House of God” and that means the Christians will get theirs long before anyone else.  Why bother?  It is not your job to tell anyone how to live. God (and yes I do believe in God) gave man a free will to choose his own path.  He also did not make you judge and the sole arbiter of one’s fate.  It’s certainly not my job to do his job.  That being said, I am closing with this clip from the “Ellen DeGeneres Show”.  She hit the nail on the head.  People really need to get over all this hatred because it is destroying this country, or as I should point out, what is left of it.

http://www.etonline.com/tv/118806_Ellen_DeGeneres_Slams_One_Million_Moms/index.html

People  will love this post or they’ll want to burn me at the stake for it and I do not care.  It is our children and grandchildren who will pay the price for this stupidity if people don’t knock it off in this country.  I see little appreciation from people for what our country’s founders created, and even less for those that sacrifice themselves to support it, but that’s a WHOLE new topic…Later…

Note:  I have many friends who are atheists, gays, etc…and they have no problem with my stand which is this: IF everyone is minding their OWN business and letting people be who they are, then we won’t end up putting our nose in another country’s affairs and telling them how to live because we’ll be too busy cleaning our own nation up first!  I hope it makes sense, but if  not, I’m used to it…

Gratitude for All Things Remembered this Thanksgiving…

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Keep on dancing while you're at it!

With this Thanksgiving Holiday rapidly approaching I have had to sit down and reflect on all the things which I have been thankful for.  I go up to my mountain when I can to express this to God (and you can call that force what you like–that is what I know it to be because it’s easier for everyone to comprehend) and take in whatever lessons that entity decides to impart to me at that time.  I have been truly blessed with mild weather this week and will go up  there again in a few hours.

The Universe is so infinite, yet people constantly try to say that one day all of that will end as will all life forms on this planet. I do not believe that for a minute.  I believe life will continue in cycles.  I believe it will be shaken, altered, stirred, beaten down, pressed into a new shape, or simply allowed to continue to slowly evolve into something none of us could have ever imagined in over 500-1000 years time.  Whether we witness it or not is anyone’s guess.

Sometimes during this time of year, I truly miss my father, my Grannie Ainsworth and other relatives who have passed.  I am grateful for them having been in my path because I know that somewhere in the back of my brain lies that wisdom and with that they all imparted to me.  It is this time of year I also remember some things that made me chuckle a time or two as a child.

Today I want to talk about my Grandpa, Elton J. O’Neill.  He passed away in 1987 while I was living in King  City, CA.  I will never forget how mad someone got when they found out that he showed me how to play 5 card stud and I was beating most at it.  I haven’t played in years, so I’ve forgotten much of what he taught me, but this is a man who had an  interesting  history of his own.

At one time he was a caddy for some of the best golfers and ran pool halls and domino halls, which were big business in those days.  He enjoyed playing dominoes and such until he could no longer do so.

There were times during the Great Depression that he and my grandmother (Mary) would pick potatoes (or cotton) and such to get by.  Grandpa told me more than once that he stole chickens to feed the family once in a while and would take a little money to buy vanilla extract.  Why?  IF there wasn’t a still around, that is how many people would get drunk in those days.

I also remember a story my father told me about how when he was 9 years old he got caught smoking in the boys bathroom and got his fanny worn out by the principal.

I have one interesting memory of my own.  Please bear in mind that my Grandpa O’Neill could not see very well.  It was around 1976 or 77 and one day, my father decided to go to Abilene to see if he could find some yard sales to find stuff in.  We all loaded up in Dad‘s new “Minnie Winnie”–which was a small Winnebago and headed out.  To this day, I also remember Uncle Jackie (my dad’s older brother) being there also.  I believe it was either right before or right after Thanksgiving–not sure of the exact date.

We had just passed Cisco, TX and there was a hill up to the right which had a nativity scene on it.  It looked real–especially at a distance and with snow on the ground (as there was on this day).  My grandpa took a look out the window and squinted at it very hard.  Suddenly he said rather loudly, “Look at those hippies up there! Those fools are gonna freeze to death!”  We got a kick out of it.

Then of course I miss my Grannie Ainsworth who sometimes danced a jig and played harmonica.  I remember eating in “shifts” as what I call “the herd” came over! There were often 30+ people over there during the holidays and when we got finished eating at one grandparent’s house, we’d let it settle and then go to the other ones!  I truly miss the porcupine meatballs and the chocolate pies as my sister reminded me of one day. Disclaimer:  For those who never heard of those meatballs, they are made from beef–not porcupine meat!  I got a laugh out of being asked about that once!

I also have fond memories of Young School.  Despite being bullied there are two things that I do not think any former student will disagree with me about and that is the fact that they had the best home-made rolls and fresh vegetables and fruit there was!   And we always bought extra chocolate milk (well most of us did anyway).  I also remember that there were bats, but I loved going into the auditorium.  To this day I remember the swamp coolers, the wood flooring, and the smell of the rolls as they were cooking every morning.

For having all the wonderful people in my life I did have I was truly blessed, and even those who cause adversity in my life blessed me in the end.  Without their existence I would not be who I am or where I am today.  For those in my life now, I am also truly thankful!  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with  your families, and may you all have more wonderful experiences to come your way in the years ahead!

Just adding this because it is beautiful...