How Times Have Changed…

In 2014, the 3oth Anniversary of Live Aid will be celebrated, I’m sure.  1984 was a self-defining Christmas for me and for a lot of my generation because we were forced for the first time in our hedonistic generation’s existence to think about someone else in another part of the globe. The artists had the guts to put this in our faces and to this day I still respect them for it.

In recent years we’ve seen so much focus on the self among our own youth that somewhere along the road, they didn’t find that same sense of purpose–yet. It appears to me that we are so focused on ourselves and pissed about what our government is doing in this country that we’ve lost sight of ONE fact.  WE CAN CHANGE THINGS–ONE PERSON AT A TIME.  However we must start with ourselves. We can and must  lead the way for a younger generation.  We cannot leave this up to others because it is not their job to do our job. It is up to us to impart a sense of what is good and what is right into our children, our grandchildren and in a few more years–maybe our great-grandchildren.

Have a great weekend, and enjoy the video. I hope it renews the fire in your soul that we had back when were younger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjQzJAKxTrE

 

They started it all…

 

Just to Make Things Clear…

As writers we cannot wear our hearts on our  sleeves even though we must write from them.  That is one thing that is great about “free-thinking” We address what we need to and do it in such a way that no matter how we put it,  we are gonna get flamed…Has anyone prepared their swimming pool for me yet? You know, those “special instructions” involve putting a thin layer of flammable liquid over the surface?

Here is what I am ranting about…Why is it that the media seems to think it is entitled to tell us how we should think for feel about an issue? That is not reporting–and it isn’t worthy of being called journalism.  I remember when the news used to be THE NEWS and not a lot of  reporters sharing their  opinion. They start with about 20 seconds of story–the rest is an editorial. This really gets old. I hate it when people editorialize instead of wanting me to reach my conclusion.

I remember some years back some were saying, “You should not wear white after Labor Day.” I don’t know what sparked it or what the point of that would be but IF I refused to wear white to either of my weddings, why in the blue blazing hell would I wear white after Labor Day or on any other day for that matter?  Look, I don’t care what other people do, but don’t tell me what to wear on any day of the week, even if I do detest wearing white.

I really figure as long as I don’t run the streets stark naked, no one will be traumatized or drop dead from a heart attack. Goodnight!

 

Nana and Easter…

It’s funny how at this time of year, I think of my Grannie Ainsworth a lot.  She would start cooking deserts the night before at the latest…I remember those huge tin tubs filled with dyed eggs–and believe me we needed that many eggs!  Sometimes more than 30 people who show up and we ate in shifts!  Sometimes Grannie invited neighbors in too and there was always enough food to feed a small army!

My favorite was porcupine meatballs!  Still is! When I look at my grandson right now, I wonder what he’ll remember when he’s older.  The girls will get to hunt too! I’m going to be coming back from vacation and will spend Easter Sunday at my mother’s and I’m hoping everyone shows up.

Grannie always went to church and then went right back to the kitchen! I remember those wooden pews in the Fundamental Baptist Church and those old oscillating fans–with the red blades and such.  I also remember times I sat with her on the back of the truck, eating eggs until I thought I’d explode!  I also remember when I was really small that Grandpa Ainsworth helped me get the ones out of the trees because I was too short to reach!

I also remember the Saturday prior.  We’d sit around the TV and watch all kinds of music shows.  This included Hee-Haw and a lot of Gospel music.  For those not born yet, prime time TV usually had little to pick from. It was football, baseball, music, etc…I remember black and white TV‘s as well as when we got our first color TV.  Here’s an example of what we saw too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=7tsvaAIcMnc&NR=1

But this was my particular program to keep still for!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqbDZjC5bdE

And I always got a kick out of his lady too! She sang about topics nobody would touch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgylOni0JSI

I remember how Mom made dresses for me back in those days too, and I loved them. She’d buy me one for Easter, but the ones she made were pretty cool!  I never had the knack for sewing that she did or the knack for cooking she and my Grannie had. I thought it interesting that Grannie could make such perfect things and never use a measuring cup.  I never saw her with one until I was older.

Once we got through at Grannie Ainsworth’s house–we went for round 2 at Grannie O’Neill’s too!

I still remember what a #2 can is and such too. Who else does?  Better yet, who remembers those big boxes of commodity cheese or the chicken that the USDA gave out?  Now that was some good stuff! My dad made a great batch of chicken and dressing with that chicken!  Below is a pic of my Grannie and Grandpa Ainsworth…I miss them both.

Nana Learned a Lesson on Thanksgiving…

Sometimes misunderstandings can lead to a lot of grief this time of year. I totally misunderstood something one of my boys said–well actually, I misinterpreted what he said, but let me start at the beginning.  I got off work and got home late on 11/21…Spent 2.5 hours cleaning up the kitchen that one of the boys messed up…No one EVER confesses to such messiness but I did clean it up.  About 30 minutes later one of the boys comes in and puts some food in the refrigerator which I felt was food for Thanksgiving Day.  So much for that.

I then heard one say they were spending Thanksgiving with the ex…Knowing my boys, that translates into they are cooking T-Day dinner at MY HOUSE.  I had to be at work at 2 p.m. and nothing was done by 11. In fact, nothing was cooked.  Nobody wanted to get up to go to our local truck stop, which had turkey dinner and all the trimmings either…I went alone.  I worked my fanny off thinking my ex was in my house enjoying the day, with me not getting anything.

I came into the house and found out that the ex never showed up and nothing was ever cooked.  The boys decided to can the idea. The part I misunderstood was the part about the ex eating with them in MY HOUSE.  THAT complicates things since the man tends to go through all the food in the house if I am not there–OR he leaves some of  his stuff there which irritates the hell out of  me and I’ve told him NOT to do that.

Anyway, while I was feeling sorry for myself at work, a man who had come to my defense once thinking someone was disrespecting me as a lady entered the store. I wasn’t being disrespected, so that was cleared up quickly.  He didn’t understand what Thanksgiving was about and hadn’t eaten in a day.  He said, “America sucks!”  I knew something was up so I followed him outside and asked him what was going on.  He didn’t know how to get to the Salvation Army so that he could eat a hot meal, and I didn’t know how to get there from where I was, but I remembered how he tried to “stand up for me” when he thought I was being yelled at.

I knew he wasn’t acting normally because he is usually very friendly.  I asked him what happened and he told me.  To make a long story short, this man is from Australia and he’s writing a book–traveling on foot across the U.S.  I explained to him what Thanksgiving means to various cultures  and that those who judge one another in an  unkind way have not learned that many people in this country have not learned that we all bleed red yet.  He felt a little better after that and my co-worker and I bought him something to eat.  It was the least that we could do.  Isn’t this what Thanksgiving is about? Sharing?

He smiled before leaving and was telling another man, “Now I know what Thanksgiving is!,” then he turned to us and said, “Thank you for giving me something to be Thankful for!”

Then it made the pain of the misunderstanding go away, and that got resolved later.

The moral of this is that things are never as they seem and someone ALWAYS has it worse off than you do…It is my fervent hope that the injustices to the homeless in the area gets taken care of soon.   As I said in an earlier post, winter is coming.  Too many people in Midland, TX have lost their homes (even though they make a decent salary)  due to the price-gouging on the rent and the hotel fees there.  Somewhere along the way some of these people who run the hotels, apartments and rent houses have lost sight of the fact that the boom will one day bust  They had better hope that Midland has a  kinder spirit toward them should they ever fall upon hard times.

 

From me to you…

I hope that you all have a wonderful, Merry Christmas and a Happy and Joyous New Year!  It was with humility and grace that I got through 2011…It is probably how I will get through 2012, with another year of going to my mountain, changes coming along the way, and the blessing of becoming a grandparent. 

I know that for some of my friends there will be change and that good things are going to come to many of them…It’s just a gut feeling I have! 

Take care and enjoy your time with your friends and your families!  They are precious!

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...

Memorial Day 2011–For My Father…

‎”…From the breezes behind me, blowing in the memory of a not so distant past, I can hear my father’s voice at times saying, “I am here with you”. And on this day, that is all that matters, for I remember him and his goodness, rather than for his mistakes–like I think many daughters before me have so done. Therein lies the unbreakable bond and true love with no condition for blood is always thicker than any substance–or the divide of time and space…”–Kadja 2011

Kenneth B. O’Neill  4-9-1929 to 2-5-1995        This is my father, who I still miss very much.