Oulook

Hello, hello, here I am again on a kind of dreary Monday morning.  I don’t know what the weather is supposed to do today; but, I brought along an umbrella on my way down to the Richland Beacon News office.  I do try to stay prepared for whatever a day may bring.  And, I don’t claim to always be successful in my preparations; but, I manage fairly well.

As I have said earlier this month, April just has to be my most favorite one of the whole year since I came here in that month to live many years ago.  And, you do know of the old saying about time flying when you are having fun.  Well, I can’t say that I am always having fun; but, I do think that our quality of life depends largely on our ability and willingness to see the “overall” picture and perhaps compare it to that of other folks whom we know pretty well.

Looking just now at a calendar, I noticed that we are almost into the month of May.  I think of that month as a kind of “go-between” spring and summer.  So, I know we will soon be turning on air-conditioning and I am also thankful to have that convenience in my home.  Oh, yes indeed......It does make our hot summers easier to get through.  And, that’s something else I didn’t have in my growing-up years on that farm in SE Årkansas.  We had several trees in our yard and they gave us plenty of shade during the day and that helped a great deal.

CHUCKLE #1 - Little Johnny refused to take his medicine and his father was getting provoked.  “Come, come, Johnny,” said father, “it’s just a matter of a little will power.  I don’t like medicine any better than you do, but I just make up my mind to take it and I do.”

“Well, when I’ve got medicine to take,” retorted Johnny, “I just make up my mind that I won’t take it and I don’t.”

There is still a lot of schoolbus activity going on Monday through Friday across the street from my home; but, I know school will be out for the summer in a few weeks .  And, don’t you know the children are looking forward to that.  Many of them will be taking summer vacations with their parents.  I still have fond memories of those years when our family would travel up to the northern part of  Arkansas to spend a couple of weeks at a nice resort where we could swim in a large  lake that was fed by natural springs and the water was almost too cold to swim in.  I usually found me a fishing pole and tried to catch some fish; but, I never had much luck on that effort.  But, it was fun to try........

In bygone years, my late husband and I would go fishing once in a while in some of the lakes in this area and that was always so enjoyable.  But, those days are gone and I don’t worry  about such things.  I am just thankful to have my sweet memories.

CHUCKLE #2 - “Oh, Mommy,”  cried the small girl gleefully, “when I was at Grandma’s yesterday, she let me have two pieces of pie.”

“She should not have done that,” commented mother. “One piece would have been plenty.  Some day you will find that the older you get, the wiser you will become.”

The child considered this statement briefly and then pointed out, “Well, don’t forget, Mommy that Grandma is a great deal older than you.”  ????

As I have said before, I don’t get out much in the late afternoons, except to walk my pooch, “Cookie” and we both enjoy those outings.

I did join a group of older adults who are members of “Saints Alive” club here as they traveled  down to the Baptist Encampment grounds last week for a late afternoon fish-fry and some entertainment afterward by a singing group; but, I didn’t get their name which may be “Four by Grace” or something close to that.  The food was delicious and most plentiful with some good desserts after the fish and hush-puppies.

And, I remembered my growing-up years when I would go fishing with my parents and we would camp out overnight near the water.  My dad would set out baited lines some distance from the shoreline and those large catfish would swallow the bait and go down to the bottom of the stream where they would sometimes get hung up on the tree roots.  That’s when my dad would shuck off his overalls and go down to harvest his catch.  And, my mother would be wringing her hands and waiting to see if and when he would come up with one of those big catfish that would weigh several pounds.

I can still recall how tasty those meals were out on the riverbanks.  Mom would usually have brought along some Irish potatoes which she would peel and slice before frying them in the same skillet after the fish.  Yum, yum, I wish I had a meal like that.  Our home-grown tomatoes were also good when they were sliced and

added to the meal.  Oh, yes, those were the days.......

Folks are still having birthdays and I have a few to list for this week and they are as follows:  Jonathon Coleman on 4/30; Stacey Finley and Raye Dry on 5/3; Carmen Gonzales on 5/4; Ruth Salsbury and Matthew Pickel on 5/5 and for Danielle Ogden on 5/6.  May all of these birthday folks have a most enjoyable celebration of their special natal day and we wish them many, many more in the days to come.  Oh, yes, indeed........

So, that will just about wind up another Outlook effort for one more week and I will hope to meet all of you dear and special readers next week through this column in the same way, same time, etc.  Oh, yes!!

PARTING THOUGHT:  Friendship is fun.  In fact, it can be really hilarious at times.  Funny happenings are twice as funny when they are shared with friends.  And, sad times are only half as sad.  (I do agree with that.......)