Story Library

Christmas After Katrina And Sandy

After the tragedy of Katrina, we sent a gift to friends who lost everything and wound up living in a 16-foot FEMA trailer. Among the gifts was a garland of tiny wooden Santas for them to hang around the trailer door. There was no room for any other festive stuff.

Turns out the garland was an exact replica of one they had…one that got washed away with the flood waters. It became a tiny reminder that Christmas stuff may get washed away, but happy Christmas memories are with us forever.

Then came Super Storm Sandy, again washing away homes and memories and leaving locals at the mercy of strangers’ generosity for the holidays. Again, Americans from all over the country opened their hearts and their pocket books to help.

Those friends wiped out by Katrina? They finally left the trailer – after getting to know each other REALLY well in those tight quarters. They rebuilt their lives and are doing OK. They are together, they’re happy and they wrote that they hung the Santa garland again this year to remind each other that things could be worse and they do get better.

The folks devastated by Sandy will do the same thing. Life will go on, and before they know it, Christmas will be here, yet again.

Maybe this time, they’ll have the chance to help someone else in need.

It’s what we Americans do.

Show #464

Can Girls Win?

I grew up in a time when women had a different place in life. We were expected to be the wife, home maker and mother. And when it came to competitions with boys, it was not wise to win if you were a girl. The boys . . . and later, the men . . . didn’t like the girls who won.

But there were women who disagreed. They said we should have the same options as men. We should be able to work if we want and also be a home body. We should be allowed to use our gifts and our talents.

Even as we were liberated to join in games and sports, it was somehow expected that when you played with other girls, you could do your best. But when you played with boys, it was so much wiser to let them win, with eyelash batting innocence when they topped us – yet again.

Today the very idea makes me laugh. Somewhere along the way, we figured out that it was OK to win.

With that allowance, we learned the thrill of victory, and never looked back. We can be the top analyst, the team leader as well as the soccer mom – or the soccer player.

I hope we show enough appreciation to those who led the way to this delicious freedom. It was not easy to buck the tide. But they did and they won for us, this freedom – The freedom to WIN, even when you are a girl.

Show #300

Photo credit: Co-ed Soccer by Michael Ireland via DollarPhotoClub

Bring Back Yesterday

Henry Herman is quoted as saying, back in the 1800s – “Oh God, put back the universe and give me yesterday.” Those who have traveled half a dozen decades or more do seem to value their yesterdays more than their tomorrows.

Their yesterdays, it would seem, were better, sweeter, simpler, less demanding. It was a time of sitting on the dock, watching the clouds go by.

Of walking down the lane hand-in-hand. A time without troubles or concerns.

Or perhaps those yesterdays are just the result of selective memory.

They also have tales of having to walk five miles to school, uphill both ways!

Of course TODAY is the yesterday that our kids will remember. How will this time be reflected in their memory? Will they remember too many toys, too many demands, time disappearing into a texting telephone?

What can we do to make today a joyful memory for them? They probably won’t remember who had the biggest toy or the designer book bag. My guess is that they’ll remember who made them feel good, and why.

Make sure you are part of those happy memories for the youngsters in your life.

Show #321

Because She Loves Him

They were leaving that day for a few weeks in Florida. The wife had made her lists, put her stuff together, had check marks on just about everything on the list and was ready to go.

The husband – well, he was still deciding which fishing poles to take. The car had not gotten washed as he planned and not everyone was informed of what was expected of them while the couple was away.

She could find it maddening. Why hadn’t he spent his time doing his share? She could yell, bang around, scold him, and put him down. Instead, she went and read a book, ignoring the sounds of his hustling.

You see, she loves him. And she found out years ago that he is who he is. And not being ready on time is one of his traits. She could hate it and fight it, or she could find a way to cope.

So she stretches the truth a bit, telling him they have to leave at noon, when the actual ETD is 2 p.m. She knows that with a few extra hours, he’ll almost be ready. She’ll then gently remind him of those things he was most likely to forget, and they’ll be on their way – perhaps a little late, but happy.

Sounds like a 1950s sitcom strategy. But it works, because she loves him enough to accept him as he is and to be a managing partner, when necessary. What a wise woman. A master at turning lemons into lemonade. This is the essence of love.

[Show #265]

Comfort Food

Fried green tomatoes – What an odd treat. Have you had them? They are the specialty featured at some southern restaurants. Green tomatoes, sliced thick, dipped in batter and fried to a golden brown. Wonderful ethnic comfort food, so cherished today, was actually based on what was grown and cultivated in a geographic area – usually in back yards.

Rice in China . . . tomatoes in Italy . . . cabbage, potatoes and pigs in Poland. I think of the mouth-watering stuffed cabbage my grandmother made. And the sauerkraut aged in crocks in the basement. And the potatoes stored in the coal bin all winter.

When we grew up on those foods, we really look forward to enjoying them today. Sometimes they’re just not available – or are far too difficult to fix. Some ethnic comfort food is found commercially, but it’s never quite the same.

I appreciate restaurants and chains that are returning comfort food to their menus. Have you seen KFC and its liver and gizzard Tuesday? Revolting to some; manna to others.

Watch for ethnic comfort foods on menus. You may be pleasantly surprised. And be sure to give fried green tomatoes a turn too. Just delicious, y’all!

[Show #382]

Those Niggling Things

I read this HeartQuote of the Day on the Heartspoken.com website:

Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things.

It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out – it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.

The author is Robert Service.

Good ole Bob has such a heartspoken-worthy sentiment. Think about the last half dozen things that really ticked you off. I’ll bet most of them were silly, insignificant niggling things. Yet they can take away so much of our energy, trying to make them change.

From putting down the toilet seat…to slamming the car door…to feeding the dog…to remembering where you put the keys; whether these annoyances are caused by others in your life, or by yourself, they sure can take up space in your heart and mind.

Well, there is another side to the story. You have a choice. You can allow the niggling behavior to get to you – or not.

How important is it, in the big picture? Will it still be important, a year from now? Would it be a show of love, for you to do it, instead of the person you expect to do it?

React differently, next time you’re annoyed. Decide in what category of importance it belongs. Move it over to a place where you can have more peace and give yourself better quality time to address the things that really matter.

[Show #520]

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