’10 December “From My Perspective”

[Trudy in Illinois]

wreath.jpg’10 December “From My Perspective”

“More than just a decorative touch for your wall or door, wreaths have existed in various forms since the time of the ancient Romans. Whether the wreath you hang is a crafter's masterpiece or a homemade hand-me down, it has a long tradition of meaning behind it. Wreaths are an eternal part of the festive season. The tradition of the wreath extends further back than the beginnings of Christian tradition. Pagan rituals of mid-winter often featured a wreath of evergreen with 4 candles. The candles were placed in each of the four directions, representing the elements of earth, wind, water and fire. Rituals were preformed to ensure the continuance of the circle of life.

Much symbolism can be attributed to the Christmas wreath. The shape of a circle has no beginning and no ending. This may represent the eternal nature of a god's love, or the circle of life. Evergreens are used to represent immortality and the victory of life through darkness and challenge. The fact that evergreens live through winter signifies the strength of life. Today wreaths are a wonderful decorative touch, both year round and at Christmas time. It is a sign of faith in humanity and life and of victory over life's challenges. Whether you hang a wreath on the door to welcome visitors or on the wall to complete a room's decor the splash of color on a cold winter's day is sure to add a feeling of warmth, building excitement for the coming season.”Patricia Bhatia

You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts.-Khalil Gibran, mystic, poet, and artist (1883-1931) Daddy was a man of few words. Oh it wasn’t that he didn’t like to talk nor shy---he was a terrific entertainer at conventions, family gatherings, and groups. He just listened more than talked, but logged-away what he heard. He emulated this saying of the investment company E.F. Hutton----“When E.F. Hutton speaks everyone listens.”

Did you know that the hardest nut to crack is the macadamia? It takes approximately 300 pounds per square inch of pressure to crack the shell. That is more than 300 times the pressure of an average man’s grip. Hawaii’s MAUNA LOA nut company has been growing and processing this delicious delight for about 60 years. Most people think this nut is native to Hawaii; however, it is really from the tropical rainforests of Australia. So the next time you hear someone referred to as “A tough nut to crack”, think of the macadamia.

AARP magazine had a piece on six word memories. There were various topics, one of which was “The best advice you’ve given or been given.” Here is my entry: Apologies cost nothing; without them, plenty. My son had had a verbal tiff with his best friend. We talked about it, and I mentioned it might be a good idea for him to initiate an apology. He said, "Nope, I'm not going to. He started it." I looked at him and said, "Whenever you think you're too good to apologize, you're not good enough. Apologies cost you nothing; without them, they cost you plenty."

Definitions of LOVE:
What Love means to a 4-8 year old…. Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is so worth it. ‘Touching words from the mouth of babes. A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined See what you think:
'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.' Rebecca- age 8
'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.' Billy - age 4
'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.' Karl - age 5
'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.' Terri - age 4
'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.' Danny - age 7
'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.' Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,' Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on his planet)
'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.' Tommy - age 6
'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.' Cindy - age 8
'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image) Karen - age 7
‘You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.' Jessica - age 8
‘Love is when someone says that person’s name and it makes you smile or have a twinkle in your eye.’ Trudy - age 64
And the final one: The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry'.

Guy and I were married 2 times within 18 days. June 2 was for a business deal of getting the house we wanted which could only happen if we combined out salaries and be married to each other. June 20 is the date we had originally set not knowing what we had to do to get our home. Guy's mother never liked me and didn't know about the June 2 marriage; my parents did. On June 20 all was running rather smoothly. Guy and his mother sat talking about 20 minutes before the ceremony. She said, "You know you don't have to go through with marrying "That woman" (this was her name for me); there is still time to cancel." Guy looked at her, grinned (he didn't really like her due to her treatment of him for years and how she treated me), and said, "No, there is no time to cancel. Trudy and I have been married for 18 days already. I loved her so much I'm marrying her twice in the same month and year." His mother about fell off her chair and was speechless. Guy says it was the most wonderful silence he'd ever heard.

Guy told me the other day he thought I had awful parking skills. I noticed he’d placed his vehicle so that there was a problem for him to move it. I brought this to his attention and offered to fix it for him. He was grateful and gave me the keys. I took this picture to show him where I parked his vehicle. This was after his critical moment with me.
parked_car.jpg

As my 16 year old son was eating, I gave him some advice, warnings, suggestions, and helpful hints about life and his behavior, all the while his melt-your-heart blue eyes rolled and squinted. When I finished, I asked him if he had anything to say. He pointed to his mouth indicating he had food in there. I got a little irritated and strongly encouraged him to answer me. He swallowed then said, “Mom, I was chewing my food, and you’ve always told me not to talk with food in my mouth.” “Yeesh, Stephen,” I groaned, “You don’t have to CHEW pudding!!”

This word was sent to me by a website I subscribe to. It presents a new word, usually not used often or at all, each day. Here it is: nihilarian (nih-i-LAR-ee-uhn) noun --- One who does useless work. [From Latin nihil (nothing).] It has a direct relation-ship to one of my favorite words---floccinaucinihilipilification (flossy-naucy-nillie-hillie-pillie-fah-cay-shun) which means: the categorizing of something as worthless or trivial. Dust mites, mosquitoes, wasps, hornets, and boiled okra come into that category, in my opinion. Boiled okra, only if you’re from the South can you understand the extreme aversion I have to that stuff. That slime goes down faster than one can swallow. I’d eat fried SPAM before I’d eat boiled okra. Now fried okra or dill pickled okra is another story. Those two “fixin’s” are very good, in my opinion.

'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence... 'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'

Brenduhh came over all out of sorts. I fixed her a cup of tea, sat down and asked her why she was so unhappy. She told me she’d not been successful at anything she tried to do. I continued to listen. “Trudy,” she asked with dismay in her voice, “Do you think the reason I’ve not been very successful is because I was born and raised in Cape Disappointment, WA?” I asked her, “Do you want some lemon with that tea, Honey?” She also told me she still had some of those Asian “ladybugs” in her house. “I talk real nice to them to get them closer to my vacuum. Then, I put the nozzle on them and turn it on. I feel like such a suck-up.” She slurped her tea and poured a bit more into her cup.

I’ve been wondering: Does a person get IN a bus or ON one? Do you get IN the bed or On it? Do you try to open a jar’s tight lid or take it to the muscle-bound hunk down the street? Why does the capital letter “I” look like the lower case “L” on a keyboard; how do you know the difference? Why do men put on their pants/trousers, thread the belt through the loops, buckle and zip; then, put on their dress shirt and undo all that which was done before? Why do we say, “Put on your shoes and socks” when the socks come first? I know you’ll think of this one the next time you say it.

NINE WORDS WOMEN USE
(1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up. (2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.(3) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with “nothing” usually end in “fine”. (4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It! (5) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing there and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.) (6) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake. (7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome', that will bring on a 'whatever') (8) Whatever: Is a woman's way of saying GO TO HELL (9) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3. I have used every one of these and sometimes in the same verbal paragraph! I'm sure you can identify.

I remember when I taught at a Catholic school for 1 year. The head nun, who was principal, was oblivious to what candy does to children, a heated gymnasium, and a very action-packed movie. She gave all the kids a GIANT Snicker's candy bar and large boxes of Milk Duds, heated the gym so 125 children wouldn't get cold, and showed the action-packed movie in there. They were wild!!! to say the least, and we who knew about children, because we had BIRTHED some, weren't just saying Hail Mary. I had some choice statements of my own, and not being Catholic uttered them under my breath with no fear of going to purgatory. To me, Purgatory, was just a flight pattern over the other two places until the landing strip cleared off.

I was sent a list of things one needs to be grateful for. It talked about finances, education, food, and comforts a lot of the people of the world don’t have. I sent it to my daughter with this addendum:
“if you call your daughter just to hear her voice and laugh, you are blessed. If you think of your child as one of your best friends, you are doubly blessed. If when you think of your child and you smile, you are all blessed.”

There comes a point in your life when you realize: Who matters, who never did, who won't anymore...And who always will. So, don't worry about people from your past, there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. -Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948)

BLESSINGS------TRUDY J

[mspete]

Question: How many nihilarians are employed in government jobs?

[MadClikr]

Trudy, I read the "nine words women use" list to DH - I think it's something which should be posted on many a man's bathroom mirror for easy reference!

Did you know that there is no 'J' street in DC, because in the 18th century 'I' and 'J' were used relatively interchangeably (Some dictionaries at the time had a single section containing both 'I' and 'J', and Thomas Jefferson is even reported to have written his initials as 'TI')? The original architects were trying to prevent confusion, despite what a present day tourist might tell you!

I love the quotes which you selected to use throughout your column, and have featured many of them in today's Twitter postings.

[Trudy in Illinois]

Question: How many nihilarians are employed in government jobs?

Actually more than we'd like to count. I think the Secretary of the Interior is probably the most inane of a postition. "Secretary" means secret keeper; "Interior" means the opposite of "Exterior". Perhaps they're keeping a secret about the interior of most of what is really there......proctologists' work areas.