Monday, May 04, 2009

The Red Marbles.

Post 595 ~ ~ ~ Monday, 4th May, 2009.

Hello Everyone ~~ I hope all is well with you all. I am OK in spite of having a fall inside
my home, I tripped on a little step going from the lounge to the kitchen. I was not hurt
from the fal l~~ But OH, it was so hard to get up. It took me about 10 minutes to get
back on my feet. A few extra aches and pains from the struggle to get up but all's well
that ends well. I trust you are all watching how you are walking.

Tomorrow is the birthday of my good friend June. so a very Happy Birthday June and
many more to come. I hope you have a wonderful day of celebratio
n.




A pretty flower, I forget its name. It is like an Impations but its stem is more erect.


This one is a Tibouchina nowadays, but used to be called a Lasiandra.

I have posted this story before, but it was sent to me by my dear friend, Nancy. It is
called "The Red Marbles." Thank you Nancy, and I hope you enjoy it.

I was at the corner grocery store buying some early potatos. I noticed a small boy,
delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily apprizing a basket of freshly
picked green peas. I paid for my potatos, but was aso drawn to the fresh green peas.

I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatos. Pondering the peas, I couldn't
help overhearing the conversation between Mr Miller (the store owner) and the ragged
boy next to me. "Hello, Barry, how are you today?"
"H'lo Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Just admiring them peas. They sure look good."

"They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?"
"Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time." "Good, anything I can help you with?"
"No sir, just admiring them peas." "Would you like to take some home?" asked Mr. Miller.
"No sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with."
"Well what do you have to trade me for some of those peas?"
"All I got's my prize marble here."
"Is that right? Let me see it." said Mr Miller. "Here it is. She's a dandy."

"I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you
have a red one like this at home?" the store owner asked.
"Not zackley, but almost." "Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble," Mr. Miller told the boy.
"Sure will, Thanks Mr. Miller.

Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said,
"There are two other boys like him in our community, all three in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatos or whatever.
When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't
like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble, or an orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store."

I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man.
A short time later I moved to Colorado, but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys
and their bartering for marbles.
Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one.

Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died. They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them.

Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased
and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.

Ahead of us in line were three young men,

One was in Army uniform, and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts. . . all very professional looking.
They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket.
Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and
moved on to the casket.

Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped and
briefly placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket.
Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.

Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and reminded her of the story
from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband bartering for marbles.

With her eyes glistening she took my hand and led me to the casket. "Those three
young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they
appreciated the things Jim 'traded' them.

Now, at last when Jim could not change his mind about color and size ... they came to
pay their debt."
"We've never had a great deal of wealth of this world." she confided, "But right now,
Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idoaho."

With loving gentleness, she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined Red Marbles.

The Moral : We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds.
Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath.
<><>

Joe wanted to buy a motorcycle. He doesn't have much luck until one day, he comes
across a Harley with a "For Sale" sign on it. The bike seems even better than a new
one, although it is 10 years old. It is shiny and in absolute mint condition.

He immediately buys it, and asks the seller how he kept it in such great condition for
10 years. "Well, it's quite simple really"say the seller, whenever the bike is outside
and it's going to rain, rub Vaseline on the chrome. It protects it from the rain.
And he hands Joe a jar of Vaseline.

That night, his girlfriend Sandra invites him over to meet her parents. Naturally, they
take the bike there. But just before they enter the house, Sandra stops him and says,
"I have to tell you something about my family, before we go in. When we eat dinner,
we don't talk. In fact the first person who says anything, during dinner, has to do
the dishes."

"No problem, " says Joe, and in they go. Joe is shocked. Right smack in the middle
of the living room is a huge stack of dishes. In the kitchen is another stack of dishes.
Piled up on the stairs, in the corridor, everywhere he looks -- dirty dishes.

They sit down for dinner and sure enough , no one says a word. As dinner progresses
Joe decides to take advantage of the situation. So he leans over and kisses Sandra.

No one says a word so he leans over and fondles her breasts. Still, nobody says a
word, so he stands up rips off her clothes, throws her on the table and has his way
with her, right there in front of her parents. His girlfriend is a little flustered, her Dad obviously livid, and her Mom horrified, when he sits back down, but no one says a word.

He looks at her Mom, "She's got a great body," he thinks. So he grabs the mom and has his way with her right on the dinner table. Now his girlfriend is furious and her Dad boiling
but still total silence.

All of a sudden, there is a loud clap of thunder, and it starts to rain. Joe remembers his bike, so he pulls out his jar of Vaseline from his pocket.
Suddenly the father backs away from the table and shouts.
"All right, that's enough. I'll do the damn dishes."
<><>

An old man, a boy and a donkey were going to town. The boy rode on the donkey
and the old man walked. As they went along, they passed some people who remarked,
it was a shame the boy rode and the old man walked. The man and boy thought they may be right, so they changed places.

Then a little later they passed some people who remarked, "What a shame he makes the little boy walk." So then they decided they both would walk.

Soon they passed more people who thought they were stupid to walk when they had
a decent donkey to ride. So they both rode the donkey.

Now they passed some people who shamed them by saying how awful to put such a
load on the poor donkey.

The man and boy figured they were probably right, so they decided to carry the donkey.
As they crossed the bridge, they lost their grip on the donkey and he fell in the river
and drowned.

The Moral of this story? If you try to please everyone, you might as well
Kiss your ass goodbye.
<><>

A man and his dog walk into a bar. The owner asks if he can get a free beer if he can get his dog to talk.The barman says OK The owner asks the dog what sandpaper feels like,
and the dog says in a dog voice "ROUGH, ROUGH"
"The barman says "That's ridiculous, let me ask a question. The owner agreed.

"Who do you think is the greatest baseball player ever, Ruth or DiMaggio?"
"RUTH RUTH (dog voice) The barman kicks them out. The dog and his owner were
walking back down the street and the dog turns to him and says, 'Do you think
it might have been DiMaggio?"
<><>

The old priest lay dying in the hospital. For years he had faithfully served the people of
the nation's capital. He motioned for his nurse to come closer.
"Yes, Father?" said the nurse.
"I would really like to see John Howard and Peter Costello before I die. whispered
the priest. "I'll see what I can do Father," said the nurse.

The nurse sent the request to Parliament House and waited for a responce. Soon after
the word arrived. Howard and Costello would be delighted to visit the priest.
As they went to the hospital, Costello commented to Howard. "I don't know why the
old priest wants to see us, but it will certainly help our images. Howard agreed.

When they arrived at the priest's room, the priest took Howard's hand in his right hand
and Costello's hand in his left. There was silence and a look of serenity on the priest's
face.
Finally, Howard spoke, "Father,of all the people you could have chosen, why did you
choose us to be with you near the end?"

The old priest slowly replied, "I have always tried to pattern my life, after, Our Lord,
and Saviour Jesus Christ."
"Amen," says Howard. "Amen," says Costello.

The old priest continued.."He died between two lying thieves. I would like to do the same."

<><>

I had laryngitis and finally went to the doctor. After the nuse called my name, she asked for my age. "Forty-nine " I whispered.

"Don't worry," she whispered back. "I won't tell anyone."
<><>

Well it is time to say Goodnight for this post. I will be back in a few days. A cousin just
rang and 4 cousins are coming here on Thursday for tea. So I have to do some straightening up. Phyllis is bringing a meal for us all.

Take good care of yourselves and each other. My love and best wishes to you all.
I will get round to my replies soon.

Post 595 ~ ~ ~ Monday, 4th May, 2009.
<><><>

23 comments:

Gigi Ann said...

G'day Merle,

I certainly hope you are alright after yet another fall.

First you brought a tear to my eyes, and then came the chuckles.

Family visits are always fun and I'm sure you and your family will have a fun time during their visit.

Have a safe and fun week!

Hootin Anni said...

Oh my goodness...that's not good to read. I sure hope you're okay from the fall. You take care my friend.

linda may said...

Goodness me Merlie girl what are we going to do with you? Do please get yourself some hip protectors from the Dr or hospital physio people if you do not already use them.(that is who you got them off at Junee anyway,don't know if Shep is the same)You don't want a broken hip!
The flower at the top of this post is a vinca. Good tough little guys for our climate.
Loved the joke in your last Thursday's post, Pete and I both had a good chuckle at them.

Dave said...

Made me cry again with the Marble story Merle... *S*

Sorry you fell... I do hope you're really ok!

Patty said...

So sorry to hear that you fell. I don't know about you, but the last time I fell down here in the house was about four years ago. Son and daughter-in-law where here, we had all been sitting at the breakfast table, when something came up and to settle the argument, I went to the office to check it on my computer. When getting back up to go back to the breakfast table, I swiveled my chair around stood up, took one step when I realized the dog was laying behind me, tried to miss the dog and fell flat on my face. They heard me uttering my favorite word of oh S**t, and they all came running. Well son thinks he can get under my arms and lift me, and I say, what you want a hernia? Slide a chair over here to me, of course he slides one on wheels, and I tell him to hold it steady, so I hoist my self up over the chair seat, then get my one foot under me and start to stand and then pull the other foot under and finally I'm standing. I haven't been able to get up from the floor for some time, unless I have a furniture item to throw myself over. LOL I've even had to crawl to a furniture item or scoot across the floor to reach something. But thank the lord, once there I'm able to hoist myself up. It's hell growing old isn't it.

By the way loved the dog and man wanting a beer and also the priest and the two lying thieves.

I won't be on the computer much this week, son is arriving on Wed. Have one bed I need to strip and a few things to get ready. Want to have a cook out on Sat. for all the girls to come see their brother and on Friday my Mother is having a heart cath. So it's going to be a hectic week.

I may not be back around until next Monday the 11th. So have a good visit with your cousins and please be careful you don't fall.

Beth E. said...

I'm so sorry to hear of your fall! Hope you are feeling much better today.

Blessings,
Beth

raccoonlover1963/Lisa Myers said...

Hello dear Merle
I do hope you are doing better since your fall.
Love the jokes, especially the silent meal joke!
Take care and have a great week.
Lisa

Janice Seagraves said...

Hi Merle,

I sorry you fell, that's scary isn't it? I still have a sore should from when I fell in front of my house. I hope your doing alright?

The red marble story always brings tears to my eyes. We would surely be blessed if we could touch someone like that man did.

Janice~

Joy Des Jardins said...

First of all....I'm very relieved to hear that you're okay after your fall Merle. It certainly could have been worse...thank God it wasn't. Please do be careful my friend. I know I'm especially careful being alone in this house most of the time when I'm on the stairs...just in case.

Your flowers are beautiful and cheery...and I hope your week is going well Merle. Much love to you my sweet friend... ~Joy

Fred said...

Sorry to ear about your fall, Merle. I hope you're on the mend and everything is okay at this point.

So many morals to digest today. I loved reading them!

The flowers are great. We have a flower garden, and every so often, a perennial will pop up and I have no idea what it is. They sure do add color, though.

LZ Blogger said...

Merle ~ Sorry to hear about the fall! I forgot to mention last time I was here how nice your new icon looks! Nice picture! ~ jb///

Rosezilla (Tracie Walker) said...

Yikes, so sorry you fell! Hope you're all mended now. I hate falling! I loved the story about the marbles, that was wonderful and very inspiring. i've known people like that, generous in a way that made people feel good. I wish they could be at their own funerals to hear how much everyone loved them. But I guess God will clue them in once they get to Heaven, eh?

Christina said...

Sorry to hear that you fell, but I'm glad you are not hurt. Please be careful! i love the story about the red marbles, and good jokes as usual.

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Hi Merle:)

Greetings:)

I am very relieved to note that you are perfectly alright after the fall.

As we grow older we have to be careful of every little steps. I look at children and wonder at their agility and speed. Now that I am old my self, I have become slow and have to be very careful. A fall could have serious consequences. Take care Merle:)

I read the gripping story of the three little boys. It touched my heart.

Many times we are unnecessarily rude to people without any reason just to satisfy our ego and earn their ill will. What is the use? No purpose is served. Any good thing that we do will be remembered. Even if people are not grateful, we have to do good. It enriches our soul and make us feel happy that we are useful to some one in need.

I hope you have read the story book Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. The way the pastor treats Jean val Jean after he was caught by the police for robbing the pastor's silver candle sticks. I just cannot forget the kindness and compassion the pastor showed the robber.

Your jokes are excellent and I had a good laugh. What is life with a little laughter!

May God bless you and keep you in good health and happiness. I tremendously enjoy reading your post.
Joseph

Puss-in-Boots said...

Merle, I'm sorry to hear of your fall and that it took you a while to get to your feet again. Do you have some sort of emergency system installed? It may pay to think about that. Ken, Jane's father, who is coming up to 81, has one in his place after he had a bad fall a couple of years ago and ended up in hospital. Please do take care.

Hugs.

Margaret Cloud said...

I hope this finds you okay from your fall. You sound like me I can't get up unless I have a piece of furniture to pull myself up, old age, baa. Love the purple flower. What a lovely story about the marbles, gave me a tear. The stories were very good and you take care not to trip again. Have a nice week my friend, take care and be safe.

Peter said...

Ya gotta start taking more water with it Sis, say g'day to the Flint mob for me.

audrey` said...

Please take very good care of yourself, Merle (((HUGS)))

Daguodasun said...

Hi Merle, I too am very sorry about your fall. I hope you didn't do too much in the house for getting ready for the cousins. You might hurt worse what you hurt in your fall.
We are scheduled to be home by tomorrow night, tonight we are in Paris at an airport hotel.

Today we saw the Monet Garden, it was beautiful. You would have like to have been with us.
Cheers, stay well,
..

Lady Di Tn said...

Oh, I hate that you fell and now you have a few more aches. Please take care of yourself as we need your cheery post to get us through the days. You have wonderful cousins to come for tea and bring food. Yeah for the cousins. Peace be with you.

Marian Dean said...

I'm a bit late visiting this week Merle. It has just flown by!
As usual an interesting and amusing post.

I do hope your aches and pains have left you now. I slipped on the stairs recently and jarred my coccyx, it was so uncomfortable I couldn't ride in a car for days. Yes, we ought to take more care around the place, but the accidents happen so quickly, and you wonder how.
Bye for now.
Love Granny

Jack K. said...

A lovely story that is so true. We should all be alert to the meaningful things that happen in our lives. A newborn grandson is just such an occasion.

Loved the jokes too. Had they done the dishes after each meal the story would have been quite dull. snerx.

Hope you are navigating better. I hate it when I catch my to on nothing and trip up. It's even worse when I fall and put a tiny rip in new jeans. Arrrgh.

Take care.

Gina E. said...

Just catching up Merle - glad you didn't injure yourself seriously when you fell. Ken's Mum only fractured a tiny bone in the back of her hand when she fell at our home - we thought at first she would have at least broken a hip at her age!
I think you had the wrong names in the joke about the priest..the lying thieves are Rudd and Swan..and Gillard..and so on. What a mess they are making of our country.