TRUE STORY.

My friend Anne Williams who is 87 years, told me about her two aunts who decided to raise their own turkey for Thanksgiving. The well fed turkey got good and fat. On the day before, they were sorry, but committed. So, one held the bird, the other bashed it in the head with a hammer. They set to plucking it and the turkey suddenly tried to scramble away from them. Oh, what a revolting development!

They ended up eating chicken and let the turkey live. It was cold outside, even in California. So, they knitted it a sweater. Then the feathers began to grow through the sweater and presented a new problem. It was pretty laughable. They eventually had to cut the sweater off in pieces, only the turkey didn’t want to go near them. They had a tough time catching it that educated bird.

I’m thankful my bird comes shrink wrapped from the store, among other things too numerous to mention.

My cup runneth over!  Share!  Be happy. Be thankful.

 

 

STARTING A NEW LIFE

My cousin, Gary,  is visiting me for a few days. A widower, he is trying to come to terms with a splintered life, making this Christmas different from any other. I spent time last night demonstrating the wonders of the computer. I think I convinced him to buy one and get involved in the on-line community.

I had him laughing at some animated jokes and reality segments that found  their way into my mailbox, one of a cowboy being given a drunk test, probably still out there on Youtube  under the title Best_DUI-Stop Ever. And another of cops stopping people in their underwear. Both  hilarious.

I then had him pick a subject and went to my search engine and found all he needed to know about surplus airplane parts. (His former business.)

We looked at nuggets of wisdom that come through the mail as well as marketing lies and blatant promotions to pick up $30,0000 from a poor immigrant that just needs your signature to get it from the bank.

I enjoyed the cruise through my picture files as well since we share a lot of childhood memories. It dawned on me how much I depend on the internet, for news, information, fact checking of rumors, jokes, beautiful pictures from the greatest photographers in the world. Such a deal in a box. It boggles my brain at how  many people I know who don’t get on the internet highway.

My neighbor popped over with a plate of Christmas cookies and we enjoyed a treat before bed.  Life will move swiftly away from you unless you make an effort to catch it by the tail and fly.

 

 

 

 

 

GENERATIONS, MARRIAGE, RITUALS OF LIFE.

Marge and Gary Rowe celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with friends and family Saturday night. Gary’s older sister celebrated her 50th a couple years back and his youngest sister will celebrate her 50th next year. Not only admirable but quite unique for a single family where every sibling is still with their original spouse.
Reminds me of a story when my oldest son was dating. He brought a girl home to meet we parents and Ken explained that she was quite nervous about meeting us because among her friends and acquaintances, (this was high school age) she didn’t know anyone whose parents were still married to each other.

At the celebration, I also took a five generations photo. My cousin, stands next to his 94 year old mother, his son to his left, and his grand-daughter and her new baby complete the five generations. What a wonderful message of stalwart peoples, who have learned to take on life and play the hand they are dealt without caving in along the way.

Another sign of the test of time is Marge with her oldest friend-from kindergarten.

The DJ changed the music from hits of the fifties to more current tunes and the young people taught us some new, wild and crazy dance steps, kind of like line dancing.

With some serious moves on the dance floor, it was time to remove the spikes and get into it.

Like an Italian wedding, even the baby got a chance to dance, with Mom’s help Sisters, and nieces…

Son-in-laws and brothers..

First cousins and second cousins..

and sons and daugthers,  all gather to honor their relative or friend in common, but also to share fond memories, and re-aquaint. and catch up with each other’s families.

These rituals of life are an important element of family and thank goodness we had such a wonderful occasion to bring us all together.  Congratulations Marge and Gary.

COUSINS AND MEAT PIE

We all face that time when we become the older generation and we only have cousins left. The memories must be kept alive and passed down or who would know that Aunt Rose wore a Dolly Parton wig? You mean that wasn’t here real hair? (That’s Mike.)

I remember she came into the restaurant where I worked and none of the waitresses would wait on her because she was so demanding. (Ricky & Sue.)

Do you remember the year Camello and Jeanette put on the movie of us as kids meeting Santa while we were playing Santa with our kids?

Oh yeah!  The year I played Santa Claus, I had to wear extra pillows. (Lucy)

Holy Cow! You traveled 7,000 miles in your motor home this year and that’s only half way? (Terri.)

Cousins are fun. They welcomed me like a long lost sister even as I struggled to keep new names straight with new faces. (Danny.)

Camello and Jeanette were celebrating their 57th anniversary. When asked how they met, Camello told us serious stories about his difficult life in Italy during the war, his parents killed, bombings, hunger. And then,  his transition to America and a new life. So much history and great memories in one family.

I met almost all of Jim’s (matriarchal) cousins and identified with the fun of slogging down memory lane, telling stories on each other and laughing a lot.

Earlier in the day, Jim’s cousins Jackie and Ray stopped by the motor home and brought pictures and spent a couple hours reminiscing. Jackie has two grown biological children, and 9 adopted kids. Talk about a powerful accomplishment. She is the keeper of the genealogy and gave Jim some paperwork to help him keep track of everyone. (Men are often not good about that kind of stuff.)

Later that night, we had another great feast with Bob and Donna, entertainers extraordinaire. We ate the two “different” meat pies, French and Portuguese. Both delicious but we gave the Dave Souza meat pie the edge.

The difference between a meal and a feast is the company you keep.

Recipe later.

NEIGHBORS LIKE MINE

From Mary’s desk:

My neighborhood has the best people. A friend from Sonora once plaintively told me, “I want to live in YOUR neighborhood.” Another long time friend sold his lovely house within walking distance of the school where he taught and moved to another “friendlier” neighborhood. The quality of the neighbors can make the difference.

Ron Hayes is one of those kind of guys who will lend a hand whenever asked. I’ve asked him to drill holes in the bottoms of pots, clean my chimney and grade my driveway. He always offers help when he sees me struggle with anything.  One time I asked him to accompany me when I showed a rental quite late at night to a strange guy and I was feeling unsure about this guy. He never hesitates to say yes. He’s a champ in my book. I offered to marry him, but, he reminded me he is already married.

Jan and Karen, are always there for me. Karen literally covers my place, my mail, my yard, my cat, when I’m on the road. I couldn’t do it without her. Plus she is a good cook and is forever fixing me dinner when I’m rushed or offering to do errands for me when I’m busy.
Jan is an artist and neighborhood icon. She knows everyone, visits everyone, fields her grand kids through their problems and runs a book club, drum circle and other volunteer endeavors. We call her the “Heart of Gold.”  Her hobby is panning for gold. She’ll do anything within her power for you.

Suzy Hayes is the same way. Generous, helpful. We discovered Suzy had recently celebrated her 60th birthday so we put candles on the cake and thanked our lucky stars for our entertainment. Suzy is 3/4 ers comedienne. She and Ron kept us in stitches all evening. If laughter is healing, we are all healed.

Yes, neighbors really can make a difference in the quality of your life and I thank them.