Passing This On

OK, this made me cry and I know a lot of you have seen this but I want to keep this handy and refer to it or send it to others.

Christine

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value.
Later, when the nurses were going through his meagre possessions, They found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.

One nurse took her copy to Melbourne. The old man’s sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas editions of magazines around the country and appearing in mags for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.

And this old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this ‘anonymous’ poem winging across the Internet.

Cranky Old Man

What do you see nurses? ……What do you see?
What are you thinking .. . when you’re looking at me?
A cranky old man, … …not very wise,
Uncertain of habit .… … . .. with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food .. . … . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . .’I do wish you’d try!’
Who seems not to notice …the things that you do.
And forever is losing … …… A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not … … lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding … .The long day to fill?
Is that what you’re thinking?. .Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse .you’re not looking at me.
I’ll tell you who I am … . .. As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, .… . as I eat at your will.
I’m a small child of Ten . .with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters .… .. . who love one another
A young boy of Sixteen … .. with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now …… a lover he’ll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty … ..my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows .. .. .that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now … . .I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide … And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . .… . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other …. With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons .. .have grown and are gone,
But my woman is beside me . . to see I don’t mourn.
At Fifty, once more, .. …Babies play ‘round my knee,
Again, we know children … . My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me … . My wife is now dead.
I look at the future … … . I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing .… young of their own.
And I think of the years … And the love that I’ve known.
I’m now an old man … … .. and nature is cruel.
It’s jest to make old age … … . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles .. .. . grace and vigour, depart.
There is now a stone … where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . A young man still dwells,
And now and again … . . my battered heart swells
I remember the joys … . .. . I remember the pain.
And I’m loving and living … … . life over again.
I think of the years, all too few …. gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact … that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people .… . .… open and see.
Not a cranky old man .
Look closer … . see .. .…. …. . ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within. We will all, one day, be there, too!

PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM!
The best and most beautiful things of this world can’t be seen or touched. They must be felt by the heart!

Kitchen Window

Roses from the yard.

Love my little cottage kitchen.

Pedi Time!

Oh Betsy,

 ( of My Five Men, blog )

you are doing it again!

A Pedicure Party

Be sure to click on the words above for more info

I have a whole drawer full of polish, all kinds of nail files, clippers,

 and  thingies for my nails.

BUT...

 this time it's not me getting the Pedicure.

It's my dog, Lucy!

 Now, what color should she wear?

First, let's cut her long nails.





I also did my own!

Both Lucy and I are now ready for Summer.
Thanks Betsy for the party!

Orange Juice

What would you do with a large box of oranges from 

Costco that are full of seeds and tough skins?

I make fresh, squeezed orange juice!

Ummm.... good.

Say...What?

 I've been doing a lot of driving lately.

But I have never come across this before!

I was a bit freaked out at first!

It turned out to be a truck towing another truck, 

that was backwards.

I didn't get the whole picture of both trucks because I was 

still a bit disturbed,

 (hands on the wheel...10 and 2!!).

Welcome Summer

Summer in Seattle....

View from our widow yesterday

it usually doesn't start until

July 5th.

Funny But True

I couldn't resist!

(A friend of mine had this on her facebook page.)

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days." The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment f or future generations."

She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were truly recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, that we reused for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our schoolbooks. This was to ensure that public property, (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribbling's. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags. But too bad we didn't do the green thing back then.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throwaway kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.

In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart-ass young person.

Around Our Town

Our town is a very pedestrian, friendly town.

People walk or ride their bikes everywhere.

When I was out walking,

 I came across this. Instructions on how to cross the street.

It must be for those who are new to town or 

don't know how to cross the street.

Seems pretty basic.

 United Parcel Service or better know as UPS,

 has their Hub near our cottage.

Every morning they line up at stop lights all around town.

It's a green light and they are off!

 Our state bird comes and visits us regularly, these days.
Along with the Chickadees and Sparrows.

Interesting Facts:

UPS:
"In 1907 there was a great need in America for private messenger and delivery services. To help meet this need an enterprising 19-year old, James E. ("Jim") Casey, borrowed $100 from a friend and established the American Messenger Company in Seattle, Washington. According to accounts given by Jim there were quite a few messenger services already in the Seattle area, some of which he had worked for in the past."

source: http://www.ups.com/content/corp/about/history/1929.html?WT.svl=SubNav

Goldfinch:
In 1928 school children selected the meadowlark as Washington for the state bird, the same choice made by
seven other states at the time. The Washington Federation of Women's Clubs picked the goldfinch as the state symbol in 1931 over the Tanager, Song Sparrow, Junco and Pileated Woodpecker. Two decades late, legislators allowed school children to decide between the two birds and the goldfinch was chosen.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Washington_state_symbols#Unofficial_symbols_and_unsuccessful_proposals

Crossing the Street :
This video claims that you can use this code to cross the street when you want to by using the code. I haven't tried it because I have a hard time remembering my phone number!
source: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-traffic-lights-change?sourcelink=playlist#playlist-urlname=how-to-make-traffic-lights-change

Happy Father's Day

I couldn't resist posting this picture today!

Trey and Papa (Grandpa)

Happy Father's Day

to all those who are fathers, especially the ones in my life.

Bath time and Sunbathing

Our dog Lucy 

received a bath.

(All three pounds of her)

With the sun out, she decided to

dry off on the bench, while sunbathing.

She LOVES to sunbathe.

Don't let her cuteness fool ya.

She's really a Pit Bull in disguise.

First Meeting

Grandpa Tom,

 meet your newest grandson,

Silas

Tom got to hold Silas for the first time.

 Silas is now, a little over five weeks old.

I went over for Silas' birth.

We (mostly me) held him as much as we (I ) could.

This trip was like a vacation.

We did so many fun things.

We even went to the Boise Zoo.

We danced, ate out, and played as much as we could.

We took day trips to visit the communities 

of Hyde Park and Hidden Springs.

We even went to the Saturday Market in Eagle.

On Sunday, we all went to church.

(We took up the whole row)

Thank you Kimmy and Mark 

for a great time!

Check out Kimmy's blog , click HERE

Lucy went with us 

and was so happy to be home.

Here she is making sure that our bags get unpacked

 by guarding the door.

A Sense of Humor

I love looking around and finding things to giggle about.

Today, I celebrate The Funny,
with two funnies for you.

While going for a walk with my grandson, Trey,

I came across this backyard.
We can upon this while going down a back ally.

 Garden Humor at it's finest!!

I have been collecting signs that show 

a sense of humor.

This church has a new sign almost every week.

I'll probably be showing you more in a later post, I'm sure.

(Tom loves to shop at Costco)

 I spotted this sign, the last time I visited Boise.

So until later...

enjoy a giggle or two.

Fun Facts About Laughter:

Laughter is also a pain reliever, as it triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural 

The physical benefits of laughter are phenomenal. It stimulates the brain, the nervous system, the respiratory system, the hormonal system, and the body's muscles.

In addition, it lowers blood pressure, lightens depression, strengthens the immune system and reduces stress.

For us to stay healthy, we need to release built-up tensions. Many people release their tensions by doing exercise, Yoga, Tai Chi, or meditation. There is however a simpler way, and that is laughter.pain killers, which provide a temporary distraction from the pain.

Medical professionals have recognized the powers of laughter and are starting to use humor and laughter in the treatment of patients.

Laughing is totally natural. It's organic; naturally sweet, 100% wholesome; has no chemicals; no preservatives; no artificial additives; you don't require batteries; it's low in energy consumption and high in body energy gain; it's non-fattening; it's non-polluting; free of cholesterol, trans-fat and saturated fat; you don't have to join an expensive health club, wear ridiculous spandex outfits; you can practice it 24 hours a day; and there is absolutely no cost.

source:http://www.humor-laughter.com/importanceoflaughter.html