Friday, June 30, 2023
TREE TUNNEL
I met a man the other day, as I was driving through a tree tunnel. I have seen him there several times before as I have wandered along this path. He was standing in the middle of the road as I came along the bend. My windows were down, so I could hear the birds as I slowly meandered through the woods. As I drove forward, he stepped to the side and I came to a stop. I told him how much I enjoy this view and how beautiful I find it there. He reconfirmed that his house is the little white one nestled in the woods before the path turns, I assumed that. He told me he had let this part of the path grow up because he thought it looked lovely, and I agreed. He told me how he was planning to litter the area with more wild flower seeds so next year there would be more color. It made me think that this sweet man was working in tandem with God, to bring calming beauty to this little slice of heaven. We chatted for a bit, I thanked him for sharing his vision and the beauty of the land he owns.
I saw him again yesterday. as I was on the path toward the tree tunnel. Our paths crossed as we headed opposite directions, but we waved, and I thanked God for others who see the world like I do and for tree tunnels.
SYZYGY
“ Syzygy”
is the astronomical term for when three or more celestial bodies (such as the Sun, the Moon, and Earth) line up. When the Sun, Earth, and Moon form a syzygy, we experience a full or new moon, depending on whether the Moon is between the Sun and Earth or Earth is between the Sun and the Moon.
Thursday, June 29, 2023
DELISH
I tried something new for dinner tonight. If you love Buffalo Chicken Dip as much as I do, you will like this one too. I made the same recipe, but I used shredded pork rather than chicken. Yummy!!!! New favorite way to use left over shredded pork!
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
SHOPPING
Today we went to a big box electronics store. You know, the one that has smart phones, video games, huge screen tv, and appliances.
We went to replace a screen protector. And although there were several employees working, there was no one to assist.
So I wondered into the appliance department. I looked at the stoves. Gas and electric, smooth top and traditional. I then wondered into the refrigerator department. I think I may have opened every one of them. I think I found the one I want. It’s not the biggest or the fanciest, but I like it. I showed it off and explained my reasoning.
Then we got the screen replaced and we left.
Tuesday, June 27, 2023
Monday, June 26, 2023
Sunday, June 25, 2023
1984
https://youtu.be/YW0sxgYAmLM
I heard this song today and it took me back to my junior year! I didn’t know who Chaka Khan was, but man that song rocked my world. Thank heavens for cassette tapes and boom boxes! The 80’s sure were awesome!
Thank KZ
Saturday, June 24, 2023
DAY TRIP
I took a day trip with my work besties today. We stopped at Trader Joe’s and World Market, love it there. Then walked bare footed in the grass at Forest Park. Unbelievable numbers of people enjoying the first weekend of summer. But we saw so much beauty there, so so pretty! We got to explore the City Museum, so amazing!!!
We drove around looking at architecture… truly a favorite travel love of mine for sure.
I also got to see the St Louis Pride event. It was interesting for sure.
GOOD MORNING
This morning I was blessed to see the sunrise and it’s reflection over the Ohio River as I crossed the little blue bridge. The mist covered the glassy water and made it look so picturesque. As I drove through the morning the cool morning mist rolled out of the woods and over the vibrant green feels. The horses and cows looked so perfect in the morning sunlight, with the ponds and trees and hills all around.
I am so grateful to get to see these things just minutes from the little red brick house. Good Morning!!!
Friday, June 23, 2023
THE SWEETEST THINGS
Today I saw the sweetest thing ever! I wasn’t sure what the tiny furry littles were at first. In a patch of grass near a stream, three tiny baby beavers were playing! Each one could have fit in my hand. I have never seen such a sweet scene. I fell in love!
Thursday, June 22, 2023
Wednesday, June 21, 2023
SUMMER
Today is the longest day of the year.
The solstice on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, happens at the same instant for all of us, everywhere on Earth; only our clocks are different. In the eastern United States, the solstice occurs at 10:58 AM EDT.
On this day, the Sun rises farthest left on the horizon and sets at its rightmost possible spot. Sunlight strikes places in your home that get illuminated at no other time.
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Sunday, June 18, 2023
WHAT YOU GET
I drove four hours to meet the editor of a big-city newspaper. I walked into a large office wearing my nicest necktie. I was young. Wide-eyed.
She told me I had five minutes. I handed her a pathetic resume so tiny it needed a magnifying glass.
“You’re not even a journalism major?” she remarked.
“No ma’am.”
“You’re still in community college?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You’re wasting my time. I’ve got journalists lining up around the block. Find me a good story, and maybe we’ll talk.”
A good story.
The next day, I stopped at a nursing home. I walked inside and asked if there were any storytellers in the bunch.
The woman at the desk gave me a look. “They’re ALL storytellers, sweetie.”
She introduced me to a ninety-four-year-old man. We sat in the cafeteria. I asked to hear about his life. He said, “You with the IRS or something?”
He talked, and he was eighteen again. A rural boy who’d never set foot in a schoolhouse. His father used a wheelchair. His mother was dead.
Then, he met her. She’d moved to town to teach school. When he saw her at church, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. He approached her with an idea.
“I played on her sympathy,” he said. “Was my only hope, she was too pretty to be seen with me.”
He asked her to teach him to read. She agreed. He made fast progress—which was no surprise. He would’ve rather died than disappoint a pretty girl.
They married. She taught, he farmed. During those years, he remembers how they sat together in the evenings, watching evening take hold of the world. Love can be simple.
She died before age forty.
It was crippling. He gave up living. His fields went to weed. He lost his farm. He lost himself. He checked into a room at the motor-inn.
“I had nothing left,” he said. “I sat on the bed with a thirty-eight caliber in my hand…”
There sat a cardboard-bound, bestselling book on the motel nightstand.
He opened it. He read a passage. Then another. And another. He stayed awake all night, reading the red words. That’s when he claimed everything changed.
He remarried. He had three kids, a career working for an auto-part distributor. He paid three tuition fees, and watched five grandchildren grow.
“If Loretta wouldn’t have taught me to read,” he said, “I coulda never read the first word, and I wouldn’t be here, talking into your little tape recorder. She saved me.”
That night, I typed seven hundred words about him. It was the first thing I ever wrote that felt important. It took me a week to edit. I brought it to the newspaper.
The lady at the newspaper showed me the door.
“Sorry,” she said. “This isn’t journalism, we don’t print this kinda thing. We have an expression in the news business, son. If it bleeds, it leads. People don’t want feel-good crap.”
Like I said, I was young.
The old man died not long after. They buried him in a suit. Necktie. A ratty book in his hands. He wore a Gideon lapel pin and held a framed copy of an unpublished story some kid once wrote about him.
I’m writing this because once I wanted to be a journalist. And because I’m grateful we don’t always get everything we want.
SEAN DIETRICH
Saturday, June 17, 2023
Friday, June 16, 2023
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)