Starstruck

Ever have one of those days when you feel like a total loser?  When you figure you might as well beat everyone else to the punch and laugh at yourself first?  I’ve had plenty and I’ve written about most of them.  Still, one of the best stories I’ve ever heard came from a Unitarian Universalist minister, Martha Munson. 

Martha was vacationing in Westport, Connecticut one summer and happened to stop in at an ice cream parlor. Who should be sitting there at the counter, drinking a cup of coffee, but Paul Newman.  (Yes, that one...  the late, great actor.)

Not wanting to be branded a gawking tourist, Martha casually ordered her ice cream to go, paid, got her change from the cashier and turned toward the door, giving a quick smile to Mr. Newman who actually smiled back with those incredible blue eyes!  She was the epitome of cool.

Or so she thought. 

As she stood out on the sidewalk, she realized she was still holding the change the cashier had given her but was without the ice cream cone.  What to do?  Should she just walk away?  Should she go back in and admit she was too star-struck to pick up her cone?

What the hell… she might as well go back for the ice cream.  So what if he thought she was silly?

Martha stepped up to the counter waiting for the server to notice her, all the while hoping Paul Newman wouldn’t notice her.  No such luck.

Without missing a beat and without even turning toward her, Mr. Newman addressed her with four short words that would forever haunt her…

“It’s in your purse.”

Gaaagh!

Some days you wish you'd just stayed in bed!

Homemade is still best!

No matter how you cut it, homemade cards from your child are still the best...

Thanks, Vlad!

Love you!

Beautiful Stories: A Magpie Tale

From the time she was a little girl, she loved books.  There weren't many books written specifically for children back then.  The first book she ever owned, that was hers alone, she won in a contest at school.  She pored over the pages of Edith Nesbit's Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare, savoring each word, each illustration.  It introduced her to the intriguing world of the bard and it was her most treasured possession.

From that point on, she was never without a book.  When she established her own home, she found five feet of shelf space to accommodate the Harvard Classics.  She became a "regular" at the local library, carrying home stacks of books each week.  When children came along, she read them A.A. Milne at bedtime until they could recite "James James Morrison Morrison..." by heart.  That one small volume created a safe haven for banishing bad dreams.  She taught her children that books could take them anywhere and teach them anything.

The more she read, the more she dreamed of seeing the world.  She finally realized that dream in her middle years, bringing back mementos that would trigger a memory here, a story to be told there.  It always came back to the stories.
 
In the end, books became her last refuge.  Her world became smaller as her hearing faded.  When she could no longer follow conversations, she was left with her books.  They never failed her.  Through them her life remained rich and as always, full of beautiful stories.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Willow over at Life at Willow Manor  has been providing inspiration for bloggers with her photo prompts on a site called Magpie Tales.  Be sure to check out the other fabulous writers participating in Magpie Tales this week.  You'll be glad you did! 

Save Bacon's bacon!

Yes, I'm afraid it's true.  Someone has taken Bacon hostage and refuses to release him until a ransom is paid.  Won't you please help?

Think about it.  What would your life be like without Bacon?  An LT sandwich just doesn't cut the mustard.  Eggs will die of loneliness.  Social Security will be bankrupted by all the extra seniors living past their expiration date. 

Even the smallest donation... just a mere dollar... can help save Bacon's bacon.  Can't you find a dollar for a friend? 

A Polaroid of Bacon arrived at the Tribal Blogs office just today.  I warn you... it's not a pretty sight.  But I feel I must show it to you to point out the urgency of Bacon's situation.

Horrible, just horrible!  I had to look away the first time I saw it.  Osama Bin Laden's death mask is nothing compared to this!

So I ask you again, won't you help?  Please give generously and give often.   Thank you on behalf of Bacon lovers everywhere!

The Queen and I (a short history of my television viewing)

Last week there seemed to be a lot of hoopla about a royal wedding.  I usually start my day with coffee and the Today Show, so I caught the last bit of the ceremony during my morning ablutions.  I suppose to commemorate this historic event I should have had my morning coffee out of the cup my sister sent me to commemorate my birth.

My first outing as a baby was to go to my grandparents' house on June 2, 1953 so my parents could watch the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on television.  I was 8 days old.

Televisions were in shorter supply in those days and my parents couldn't afford one.  My grandparent's black and white set sported a whopping 9 inch screen.  You had to sit up pretty close to be able to distinguish the images on that television.  TVs just weren't as fancy back then but not for wont of trying as evidenced in this cartoon from 1953:

Back then watching a show was a one shot deal.  No pausing the DVR or rewinding to catch something you missed.  Watching the coronation of the Queen on television was considered THE event in 1953.

Odds are I missed the entire thing since I spent my time back then sleeping, crying, eating and eliminating what I ate.  This time around I missed most of the royal event again for the same reasons.  (Minus the crying.)

Guess when it comes right down to it, things don't really change all that much after all...