Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Love is Spelled T.I.M.E.

UPDATE ~~ Thursday ~~ Our oldest blogging friend
Olive who is 108 years old lost her 87 rear old son
Barnie yesterday. Some of you might like to send Olive
condolences. One of the nursing home carers drove
Olive for hours to spend the last few hours of Barnie's life
with him. What a wonderful caring person Amber is to
do that, and it must have been tiring for Olive. Her "blob"
helper Mike has posted a tribute and photos.
<><><> Patty in the U.S. alerted me. Thanks Patty.

For some reason the link to Olive won't work, but she can be
found in my list of Aussie Blogs. Sorry about that. Merle.

Post 373 ~ ~ ~ Wednesday, 28th November, 2007.

Hi Everyone ~~ I hope all is well is your part of our wonderful
world. It is looking particularly good in mine, because we have
had a lovely rain ~ just over 1 and a half inches or 41 mm, so we
are all pleased about that. Everything looks fresh and nice.

I have posted another picture of my fejoa tree because my friend
Lady Di could not see it the last time. I hope it is busy making fruit
for me. My Wisteria which is just outside my back door has foliage
all over it and there has been blackbirds nesting in it. AND the other
morning when I went out, there was a cat sitting up in the foliage
right next to the nest. I poked it with my walking stick, but I don't
know if it had killed the young or the mother, but it made a hasty
retreat. The blackbirds sing so beautifully, I like them.


My story tonight was written by Mac Anderson and is a nice one. It is the introduction
for his book "To a Child, Love is Spelled T-I-M-E. Enjoy.

In the faint light of the attic, an old man, tall and stooped, bent his great
frame and made his way to a stack of boxes that sat near one of the little
half windows. Brushing aside a wist of cobwebs, he tilted the top box
toward the light and began to carefully lift out one old photograph album
after another. Eyes once bright but now dim searched longingly for the
source that had drawn him here.

It began with the fond recollection of the love of his life, long gone, and
somewhere in these albums was a photo of her he hoped to rediscover.
Silent as a mouse, he patiently opened the long buried treasures and soon
was lost in a sea of memories. Although his world had not stopped
spinning when his wife left it, the past was more alive in his heart than his
present aloneness.

Setting aside one of the dusty albums, he pulled from the box what
appeared to be a journal from his grown son's childhood. He could
not recall ever having seen it before, or that his son had ever kept a
journal. Why did Elizabeth always save the children's old junk? he
wondered, shaking his white head.

Opening the yellow pages, he glanced over a short reading, and his
lips curved into an unconscious smile. Even his eyes brightened as
he read the words that spoke clear and sweet to his soul. It was the
voice of the little boy who had grown up far too fast in this very
house, and whose voice had grown fainter and fainter over the years.
In the utter silence of the attic, the words of a guileless six year old
worked their magic and carried the old man back to a time almost
totally forgotten.

Entry after entry stirred a sentimental hunger in his heart like the
longing a gardener feels in the winter for the fragrance of spring
flowers. But it was accompanied by the painful memory that his son's
simple recollections of those days were far different from his own. But
how different ?

Reminded that he had kept a daily journal of his business activities over
the years, he closed his son's journal and turned to leave, having
forgotten the cherished photo that originally triggered his search.
Hunched over to keep from bumping his head on the rafters, the old man
stepped to the wooden stairway and made his descent, then headed down
a carpeted stairway that led to the den.

Opening a glass cabinet door, he reached in and pulled out an old business
journal. Turning, he sat down at his desk and placed the two journals
beside each other. His was leather-bound and engraved neatly with his
name in gold while his son's was tattered and the name "Jimmy" had been
nearly scuffed from its surface. He ran a long skinny finger over the letters,
as though he could restore what had been worn away with time and use.

As he opened his journal, the old man's eyes fell upon an inscription that
stood out because it was so brief in comparison to other days.
In his own neat handwriting were these words :

Wasted the whole day fishing with Jimmy. Didn't catch a thing.

With a deep sigh and a shaking hand, he took Jimmy's journal and found
the boy's entry for the same day, June 4. Large scrawling letters, pressed
deeply into the paper, read :

Went fishing with my dad. Best day of my life.
<><><>

My friend Connie aka Meow sent me the first two. Thanks Connie.

Good Housekeeping Tip.
Always keep several Get Well cards on the mantle, so if any unexpected
guests arrive, they will think you have been sick and unable to clean.
<><>

Next Time You Have an "I Hate my Job" day . . . .

Stop at your pharmacy and go to the thermometer section and purchase
a rectal thermometer made by Johnson & Johnson. Be sure you get this
brand. When you get home lock your doors, draw the curtains and
disconnect the phone so you will not be disturbed. Change into very
comfortable clothing and sit in your favorite chair.

Open the package and remove the thermometer. Now carefully place
it on a table or a surface that it will not become chipped or broken.
Now the fun part begins : Take out the literature from the box and read
it carefully. You will notice that in small print there is a statement :
Every Rectal Thermometer made by Johnson & Johnson - -
is personally tested and then sanitized."

Now close your eyes and repeat out loud five times "I am so glad I do
not work in the thermometer quality control department at Johnson &
Johnson." Have a nice day and remember "There is always someone
with a job that is worse than yours."
<><>

My granddaughter Kate sent me these thoughts on age by George Carlin.
Thank you Kate.

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is
when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about
aging that you think in fractions.

"How old are you ?" "I'm four and a half, going on five ! That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the
next number, or even a few ahead.

"How old are you ?" "I'm gonna be 16." You could be 13, but hey, you're
gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life. You become 21.YESSS !!!

But then you turn 30. Ooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like
bad milk ! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now,
you're just a sour dumpling. What's wrong? What changed?

But wait !!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would.

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70 ! After that it's a day-by-day
thing; you HIT Wednesday !!

You get into your 80 s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch;
you TURN 4:30; You REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the
90 s you start going backwards; "I was just 92."

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little
kid again. "I'm 100 and a half."
May you all make it to 100 and a half !!!
<><><>

This woman walks into a chemist shop and tells the pharmacist she wants
to buy some arsenic. He says, "What do you want with arsenic?"

She says, "I want to kill my husband because he cheats on me by having
sex with another woman."

The pharmacist says, "I can't sell you arsenic so you can kill your husband
even if he is having sex with another woman."

So she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a picture of her husband
having sex with the pharmacist's wife.
The pharmacist says, "Oh, I didn't realize you had a prescription."
<><>

"Well Bill," said God, "I'm really confused on this one, I'm not sure
whether to send you to Heaven or Hell. After all, you helped society
enormously by putting a computer in nearly every home in the world,
and yet you created that ghastly Windows, I'm going to do something
I've never done before, I'm going to let you decide where you want to go."

Mr Gates replied, "Well, thanks God. What's the difference between
the two?"God said, "You can take a peak at both places briefly, if it will
help you decide. Shall we look at Hell first?" "Sure," said Bill, "Let's go."

Bill was amazed. He saw a clean white sandy beach with clear waters.
There were thousands of beautiful men and women running around,
playing in the water, laughing and frolicking about. The sun was shining
and the temperature was perfect.
"This is great." said Bill. "If this is Hell, I can't wait to see Heaven.
God replied, "Let's go." so off they went to Heaven.

Bill saw puffy white clouds in a beautiful blue sky with angels drifting
about playing harps and singing. It was nice, but surely not as enticing
as Hell. Mr Gates thought for a brief moment and then rendered his
decision. "God, I believe I would like to go to Hell."
:As you desire." siad God.

Two weeks later, God decided to check up on the late billionaire to see
how things were going. He found Bill shackled to a wall, screaming
amongst the hot flames in a dark cave. He was being burned and
tortured by demons. "How ya doing Bill?" asked God.

Bill responded with anguish and despair, "This is awful ! This is not
what I expected at all. What happened to the beach and the beautiful
women playing in the water ?"

"Oh THAT !" said God. That was a screen saver."
<><>
A few quotes to finish with ~ ~ ~

Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration.
~ ~ ~ Thomas A. Edison.

This is the final test of a gentleman : the respect he shows to those who
can be of no possible service to him. ~ ~ William Lyon Phelps.

Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time
we fall. ~ ~ ~ Oliver Goldsmith.

Glory paid to our ashes comes too late. ~ ~ ~ Martial.

One should eat to live, not live to eat. ~ ~ ~ Benjamin Franklin.
<><>

Enough for tonight folks. Enjoy the rest of your week and be kind to each other.
Spread some of your smiles aroung. Love and best wishes to you all.
Cheers, Merle.
Post 373 ~ ~ ~ Wednesday, 28th November, 2007.
<><><>

12 comments:

Hootin Anni said...

I love wysteria. It's just so darned pretty!!! And the photo you've shared with us is just beautiful. Ahhhhhhhhh, yes, that ever-loving life giving rain! I bet it was a joy to have come down.

Hope all's well with you my dear Merle.

Jim said...

Very nice today, Merle.

If I had T-I-M-E then I would read that book. It sounds good.
I liked your thermometer joke, I won't buy a thermometer like that just to check it out for truth.

Cheers, Jim
..

Patty said...

Beautiful flowers. I was just over to see Olives blog, apparently her only son Barnie passed away at 87. Didn't know if you knew this or not.
Love your stories and jokes today. Have a great evening, sleep well.

Mountain Mama said...

Hi Merle. I love your stories. Especially the one about the thermometer and the old man one too.
The last time you posted a picture of your Fejoa tree, I looked it up on the internet. I had never heard of it before. I sure has pretty flowers. I can't imagine what the fruit is like. I have had Cherimoya and liked it.
I love learning about trees, fruits and nuts of other countries.
I hope your week is blessing you.
Love,
MM

Lady Di Tn said...

Merle
How sweet of you to put the tree up for me to see. It is beautiful and when it makes fruit be sure to eat one for me as I have not tasted that one.
Glad you got rain.
Peace

Bob said...

Ha ha - I bet that cat got a shock! Glad to hear you're still fighting fit Merle.

Renie Burghardt said...

Dear Merle,

Oh, I am sorry to hear about Olive losing her son.

The fejoa tree looks beautiful. What does the fejoa fruit look and taste like?

The story of "To a Child Love is Spelled T-I-M-E" is sad but so true.

The job testing thermometers is funny! The jokes are always funny as well. And the quote about eating to live is right on!

A visit with you, dear Merle, is always fun and uplifting. Have a wonderful Friday!

Warmest regards,

Renie

Trucker Bob said...

I finally made it Merle. A long trip, but well worth it, what a great post!

Leann said...

LOL.your blog always blesses me.the heaven or hell one cracked me up.
I been off the blog for a while.justdidnt feel like posting.
missed reading your blog so figured I better get on the ball and do some catch ups or everyone would think I forgot them.
((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))
have a great weekend my dear.and God bless you.

Gledwood said...

Hi Merle!
I have to be quick here
Olive's url is
http://www.allaboutolive.com.au
I think you put a / between com and au instead of a .
because it wouldn't let me on when I clicked it...

hope all's well with you.

usual chaos my end but I'm ok was really ill yesterday morning. fine now!!

Jeanette said...

Hi dear Merle, You gave me a good dose of laughter tonight.
I laughed so hard the tears ran down face, and my imagination ran wild with you giving the cat a poke with your walking stick it must have got the fright of its life and scampered off, then still laughing when i read thermometer joke Hahaha. Hope you get plenty of fruit of your Fejoa tree.
Oh Dear Merle where has the year gone 25 days to Christmas,,
Love Jan

audrey` said...

Dearest Merle

Love is spelt T.I.M.E. is so touching.
I must eat to live and not live to eat.
HeHe!