Month: April 2013

Traveling. We do.

Tonight, I went to a softball game.  A lot of things happen at a game of ball.  Players playing.  People batting, throwing, catching and running, and such.  Umpires umpiring.  Spectators spectating.

But in the midst of all of it, in the wrapped-up-ed-ness of the things that are happening in that one little place…… in that moment, on the earth.  There we are.

Each of us in our own thoughts, and our own happiness, or worries, or joys.

I sat there tonight, thinking about all those people, all together, and yet singular.  But still all together. Alone.

Janie is hoping for a base hit.  “Ohhhh please… let me get a hit.”  Carrie wonders if those shorts make her butt look big.  Tonya is worrying about her car payment, and rent.  Missy’s dog is sick, at home, and she wonders if little Buttons is doing okay.  And on. And on.

Sometimes in this world, it seems to us that our world is the only one.  Yet, the truth of the matter is, what happens to each one of us, in each of our days, in our months, in our years… is a very small part of the bigger scheme of things.  Our little world seems like it might be the ONLY one ….. yet everything we do has a rippling effect.  Yes.  Our world affects the world of others, whether we mean to or not.

I glanced up at the sky, and saw a plane flying high, high, high overhead.  And on that plane were about 200 people, coming from somewhere, and going someplace else.  And each one of them, in their own space and time…. all together on that piece of tin flying through the sky.  Each, with their own world of existence.

And it all continues. It intersects and connects … and then disconnects again.  Over and over again.

Today, I am hoping that somehow, my little world… my intersection….  will make someone else’s little world…. just a little bit better.  Somehow.  Over and over again.

And a story…

A man is walking down a street.  There is much poverty, and despair.  Hungry children, and starving dogs…. everywhere.  The man sees a young boy giving half of his bread to one of the starving dogs.  The man says to him… “Why child?  Why do you give your food to this starving dog, when there are so many starving dogs everywhere?  This will never make a difference in the world.”

And the little boy looks back at the man and says …  “Sir.  To this dog, it makes ALL the difference in the world.”

Around we go.

One Year.

What that means, in human time….. is that the big ball we are ALL standing on… circles the sun…. ONCE.

Yep.  We go all the way around the sun… one time per year.  All of us.

If we are lucky.

I enjoy traveling around the sun with everybody.  I do.

And I am thankful for all the people in my life… the ones that are near and dear to me…. who let me dwell especially close to them.  And share days.

Oh, days.  Days.  Did I mention this ball were on…….  is spinning around?  One rotation per day.

And that is how the ball bounces.  And time passes.

Thanks friends, for a happy birthday.  And.  For being a good part of every day.

 

“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” – John Wooden

“Time changes everything except something within us which is always surprised by change.” – Thomas Hardy

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” – Marcel Proust

Dog world. It shows.

I went to a Dog Show Today.

Have I ever mentioned that I love dogs?

Well.   There were dogs THERE, of course.  Lots of dogs.
All shapes and sizes.  Some looked nervous.  Others seemed confident.  A few looked bored.  Some just seemed happy to be there.  Yep.  So many different breeds.

Lots of owners and handlers there too… of all shapes and sizes.  It is a completely different world, this dog show thing.  Those folks are quite serious about their dogs.  And well they should be. You see.  There is a lot riding on these contests.   The dogs were ALL ABOUT IT too.

I mean, the Grand Prize was $250,000.  (Okay.  Not really.  But the dogs were getting a boat-load of treats.  And the people…. were getting ribbons.)

Someone asked me if I could have any breed of dog I wanted, what would it be?

I thought long and hard on that one.  Since my life has been so blessed with rescue dogs… I would have to say that the next breed I want would be another dog…. of the wayward type.  Like Max.  Or France.  Or Oll.  I can’t image that there would be anything better.

However, if a Norwich Terrier showed up on my front door step… I wouldn’t turn her away.  No way.  No how.

Yes.  Those Show Dogs…. AND ALL our animal friends are big champions one and all.  Perhaps because their greatest talent is the ability to love us… unconditionally.

We could all learn a little something from our dogs.

“It is by chance that we met, by choice that we became friends.” – Unknown

 

Udderly Ruffled.

A bird and a cow are sitting in a barn yard.

The cow, turns to the bird and says…. “Why do you keep stealing pieces of hay from my food bin?”
The bird, turns back to the cow and says….”Why do YOU keep stealing big chomps of hay from my nest building supplies?”

The cow looks back at the bird….”Egg Layer.”
And the bird returns…. “Cheeseburger.”

And that my friends, is how the Epic Barnyard War of 1984 began.

“You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

We are we.

We.

We humans have so much in common, but these three things I know to be true.

~ We all start out as babies.
~ Somehow or another, we all need love.
~ If we keep love in our hearts, there isn’t as much room for other things.  Other things, which aren’t as good and true… as is love.

“Love is not only something you feel, it is something you do.” – David Wilkerson

Stop and smell the horses.

…. and at the end of the day… when it is all said and done.

When you are heading home after long hours filled with all the “stuff” that your day may be filled with.  The comings, and goings, the appointments, and meetings, duties, responsibilities, tasks and functions….

I think it might be a good thing…  to stop and see the horses.  At sunset.  Yes.  Stop.   Take a deep breath, and take it all in.

 

Look at  ’em….  but don’t smell ’em… for crying out loud.  They aren’t roses.

…and check your shoes before you get back in the car.

“Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going to fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.” – Eddie Cantor

Hip. Hip.

Larry had spent his entire life inside the canister with the rest of the Wet Wipes. What a miserable existence.  It was cramped, dark, damp, and smelled of Mr. Clean’s Lemon Tree.

But then the day came.  Salvation Day.

Larry looked up and saw the light.

Suddenly he felt a swirl of motion…. and out he popped.  Through the top of the plastic X.

And now…. NOW… he was on the outside.

Things were absolutely chaotic…. completely frantic outside.  It was calamity, tribulation, hysteria, and frenzy.  Yes… it looked as if someone had spilled their milk.

But now it was HIS TURN.  Larry got right to it… and saved the day.  Yes.  He came to the rescue… swooping down and cleaning up the whole, big, blessed mess.

Hoorrrrrray for Larry.  Hip. Hip.   Hooray.

“When I was born I was so surprised I didn’t talk for a year and a half.” – Gracie Allen

“Ain’t no man can avoid being born average, but there ain’t no man got to be common.” – Satchel Paige

Pilgrims, Teddy, and Dumbo.

Tonight, I could write about the year 1941.  OR… I could write about a new toxic-lethal-fast-spreading bacteria which scientists have just discovered in Taiwan.

I’ll go with 1941.

I’m not sure why… but this year is coming around to me today.  I picked up a Wheat Penny from 1941 today.

And….. .   I have this “Easter-Bunny”, “Tooth Fairy”, “Leprechaun” belief… that the Universe is a connected network of energy.  Yes… it is a big working of energy, and light, and flowing.. from here to there and back again.  It looks a lot like your central nervous system, times a billion.  Energy.  Flow.  And it is all connected.  I also think that if we are intuitive enough, and open, and perceptive, we can “see” these connections from time to time.

So. Every once in a while… because of these random events….  I like explore the criss-cross-phenomena when they happen to me.  Today… it is 1941.

As years go, it seems much like many others of its time. WWII was on the brink of going into full-blown mode.  The war in Europe continued to dominate world affairs. A new threat was growing which would soon involve America.  Yep, the U.S. would officially declare war on Japan this year.

On a brighter note in America, our old buddy Gutzon Borglum completed the massive sculpture of Mt. Rushmore.  Smile Teddy. Smile.

And, a bill in U.S. Legislature created the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day.  Welllll….  It had to be some time.  Heaven only knows when those little black-patent-leather-shoes with the big shiny buckles… REALLY set foot on Plymouth Rock.

Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane debuted.  As did Dumbo.

Glen Miller produced the song… The Chattanooga Choo Choo.    Uhhhhh…. Pardon me boys.

It cost 12 cents for a gallon of gasoline.  You could get a pair of flannel trousers for $1.16.  And you were likely to pay about $32 per month in rent.

Both Simon and Garfunkel were born this year.  So was Martha Stewart.  She wore striped PJs in the nursery.

And pictured in this photo  …. this guy, Alfred William Goodell, made this round thing… in Rockford, Illinois.
I have no idea what it is… but I bought it on ebay… because it intrigued me.

I happen upon these coincidences every once in a while.  I wonder what their meanings are… or even IF they HAVE meanings.  They bump into me though…. and I notice.

But. Most of the time it is a blank.

That’s all I know about 1941.  I wish I had more.  But I don’t.   So there you have it.  Another mystery of the universe… or nothing at all.

But it beat the heck out of the story from Taiwan.

“Without mysteries, life would be very dull indeed. What would be left to strive for if everything were known?” – Charles de Lint

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.” – Albert Einstein

“It is completely unimportant. That is why it is so interesting!” – Agatha Christie

 

 

What do you do?

I have never met…. a …

Matador.
Honeydew Farmer.
Namer of Cars.
Snake Charmer.
Test Pilot.
Soap Maker.
Astronomer.

There are a lot of professional this and thats, I’ve never met.

When people meet, they often say… “Oh, what do you do?”
And the other person answers… “I work at a Nail Factory.”  or such and such.

It seems that people put a lot of weight in this.  I’ve heard other folks say… “Now that guy there.  He’s important.  He is the Divisional Manager of Blahhh, Blahhhh, Blahhh, Inc.”

I’m not sure why this is.

I think a person’s importance is more about WHO they are… rather than what they get paid for.  Like helping your kids with their homework.  Delivering meals to the home bound.   Or finding a person who is down on their luck… a bed to sleep in at night.

Yep.   I say we start a movement to tell people what we really do… when we are asked.

Hello.  I am Polly, seeker of truth, pursuer of humor, believer in peace.  Friend to the Sock Monkey.

Not necessarily in that order.

“It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor him for what he is.” – Herman Hesse

Photo. Words. Words.

No secret.  I love photography.

And I have said it before, but I’ll say it again.  When I look at a photograph, especially one from a long time ago, it is like finding a hidden treasure.

It is like cracking opening a Piñata, even.

When I see it, and explore the treasure inside… I have the opportunity to go somewhere I have never gone before.  My mind fills with the stories that might be possible about that image.  I can see the scene unfolding.

It is a little like reading a book, or see in a movie… but better.

This photograph here… well….   this is my grandma.  She is second from the right…. looking down at the kitten.

This is a much different grandma from the one I knew.  I love to look back at the early part of her life.  She seemed happy then, and sweet, and filled with wonder.  She loved kittens for crying out loud.  She seemed affectionate with her siblings, and her mother.  She looked joyous.

Later in life, she didn’t seem this way to me at all.  She rarely spoke, and appeared to be sad, or down-trodden all the time.  I wonder what happened.  The “why” of it.

I doubt that I will ever know.

Yet.  I love to see the side of her that I never knew as a child.  I like to see the woman my grandpa fell in love with, and the mother of my mother…. beautiful and sweet. As it turns out, I am in the photo too.  Yep.  I’m’ in one of the eggs, in one of her eggs.  Really.

All in a photograph.

And.

That picture.  As they say…. is worth a thousand words.

 

“Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.” – Albert Einstein
“Just do what you do best.” – Red Auerbach