Easin' Along | Easin' Along

Mother’s Day Gift to a Great-Great-Granddaughter

Posted on May 15, 2020May 15, 2020 by Easin' Along

On Sunday, Helen and I joined my brother and his family outside a window of the retirement home where our Mother lives. Mother loves Taco Bell, and we treated her to lunch. Although the time we shared was delightful, the experience was limited to peering through a window while talking over our cell phones. Nevertheless, I’m grateful for the time we have. At 92, Mom remains as blessed as ever with a lively and spirited outlook on life. Every week she gives us an update on her success at Bingo, and, after three months in her new home, she is up by $9.25 in bingo winnings. I love it. She will find a good cause and give the money away eventually.

Mother’s good nature and giving ways are traits she obtained from her Mother—our lovely and sweet Grandmother. Her name was Annette, and her overwhelming capacity to love and share that love with her children is as great as anyone I have ever known. I miss her and her infectious laughter tremendously.

A few posts back, I told readers that I send a letter to one of my grandchildren every week. Sometimes I make up a story for them where that week’s recipient takes on the character of a Spider Monkey and becomes involved in an adventure in the Banana Jungle. In honor of my Mom and my Grandmother, I wanted to share a story that they would tell my brother, my sister, and me at bedtime. My Grandmother would recite it to us as many times as we asked. Her stories were a great gift to us, and I wanted to make sure that the gift lived on. This week the letter goes to my youngest granddaughter–Annette’s great-great-granddaughter.

May 11, 2020

Dear Carly (not her real name),

BeBe had a delightful Mother’s Day. Any day that she gets flowers from Big Daddy and talks to her children and grandchildren is a beautiful day for her. It was so good to see you on Sunday afternoon even though you looked exhausted after the camping trip. If you were tired, I hope that means you had a great time. The pictures that your Daddy sent us were beautiful, and it looked like a nice place to camp. I know that Lucy would love to visit there.

Speaking of camping trips, I heard about a camping trip to the Banana Jungle that turned out to be a lot of fun for Carly Spider Monkey and all of the Monkey Buddies. I thought you would want to hear about it, so I’m sending it along to you.

The weather in the Banana Jungle is gorgeous right now, and all of the Monkey Buddies are ready to go camping after a long, cold winter. Carly Spider Monkey said she knew just the perfect spot to camp next to a lovely pond of water. She told all of the Monkey Buddies to get their tents and camping gear loaded onto the Zebras, who would carry them to the campsite. Everyone did that, and all the Spider Monkeys hiked to the campsite early the next morning. They got set up before noon, then played coconut ball, went swimming, went kayaking, and ate S’Mores and bananas cooked over the big campfire.

Soon it was time for everyone to crawl into their tents and go to sleep for the night, but all the Monkey Buddies were still jumping around and not ready for bedtime. Well, Carly Spider Monkey was very tired and wanted to go to sleep right then. She knew that she had to do something, or all of the Spider Monkeys would keep her awake until very late. She called all of the Monkey Buddies over to the campfire and had them sit on the mats of Palm tree leaves she had gathered.

When all of the Monkey Buddies calmed down, Carly Spider Monkey said, “I want to tell everybody a story my great-great-grandmother shared about what can happen to little monkeys who go out after dark. This story is about a little kitty, not monkeys, but you will get the idea, so listen up.”

Carly Spider Monkey began:

Once upon a time, there was a little kitty cat who lived in a big house with his Mommy. One afternoon, he wanted to go outside and play so, he asked his Mommy if he could.

“Yes,” she said, “but you must come in the house before dark.”

The wind was blowing when little kitty cat ran outside. He was having the most delightful time chasing leaves and butterflies in the wind and didn’t notice that it was getting dark out. It was also beginning to rain.

Little Kitty looked around and didn’t know where he was. He had chased leaves from his house, and now, he was LOST!

“Oh, my,” Little Kitty began to cry. Off in a field, he saw the light coming from a barn so, Kitty scampered over to it and knocked on the door. Mr. Pig opened the door and said,

“Kitty cat, what are you doing out here after dark in the rain?”

Oh, Mr. Pig, I’m lost, and I’m so cold and hungry. Can you give me something to eat?”

“Why yes,” said Mr. Pig, “I can give you some corn.”

“Mr. Pig, little kitty cats can’t eat corn!”

Mr. Pig said he was sorry and then said, “You go next door and knock on Mr. Horse’s door. Maybe he can give you something to eat.”

“Thank you, Mr. Pig,” Little Kitty said politely.

Little Kitty walked next door and knocked at Mr. Horse’s house.

Mr. Horse opened the door. He took one look at Little Kitty and said, “Why, little kitty, what are you doing out here after dark in the rain?”

Little Kitty said, “Oh, Mr. Horse, I’m lost, I’m wet and cold, and hungry. Can you give me something to eat?”

Mr. Horse said, “Of course! I can give you some hay.”

“But, Mr. Horse, kitty cats can’t eat hay,” said Little Kitty Cat.

So, Mr. Horse said, “I’ll tell you what, go next door and see Mrs. Moo Cow. I’m sure she will give you something to eat.”

Little Kitty went next door and knocked. Mrs. Moo Cow opened the door and said, “Oh, my little kitty, what are you doing out here after dark in the rain?”

“Oh, Mrs. Moo Cow, I’m lost, and I’m cold and wet and very hungry. Can you give me something to eat?”

“Why, yes,” said Mrs. Moo Cow. “I can give you some milk.”

“Oh, goody, goody, goody,” said Little Kitty. “Kitty cats just love milk!”

Mrs. Moo Cow gave him all the warm milk he could drink. Then, she told him to climb up in the barn loft and snuggle down in the hay and go to sleep. She said, “Little Kitty when your mother comes down to the barn in the morning to catch mice, I’ll tell her that you’re up there.”

Sure enough—the next morning, Little Kitty woke up and someone was licking and licking his face. He opened his eyes, and there was his Mommy!

Little Kitty and Mommy walked back home very happily. Little Kitty learned a perfect lesson and never again stayed outside after dark.

When Carly Spider Monkey finished the story, she looked around the campfire. Two Monkey Buddies had their eyes almost closed. Two more stood up slowly and gave Carly Spider Monkey a big thumbs up. They walked over to their tents.

Carly Spider Monkey shook the two sleepy Monkey Buddies and pointed them to their tents. They crawled in and zipped the doors closed. Carly Spider Monkey enjoyed one more S’More and then poured some water on the fire and watched it go out. She went to her tent and very quickly went to sleep. Tomorrow would be another big day.

Have a great week, Carly. I love you very much! Give your Mommy a big hug!

Big Daddy

Please visit Sunday Stills for other shared gifts from the Mothers and Grandmothers we honor this time of the year.

Fundamentals

The Blues – An Awakening

Posted on May 5, 2020May 6, 2020 by Easin' Along

*Blues singer – Juke Joint Festival, Clarksdale, MS*

On Sunday, Terri Webster Schrandt (Second Wind Leisure) asked if the last few weeks of staying at home have awakened us to either an interest in something new or revitalized an old one. I had to think about that one because I have managed to avoid boredom by doing more of the same things I do regularly.

I exercise every day now instead of just a few days a week and have pulled out the bicycle after more than a year of letting it sit idle. I’ve had the opportunity to spend more time with my camera and learning to use some of the editing software I purchased years ago. Cooking has always been an interest of mine, but I’m doing more of it now that I have discovered some excellent one-skillet meals. I go to Sunday School on Zoom. There’s nothing new about any of the above, just more of most items on the list.

However, there is one rekindled interest that I can add to the list…listening to music. I find that before bedtime and after Helen and I have binge-watched another season of Bosch on Amazon Prime Video, I can’t bear to turn on the late newscast for another session of all-COVID, all-the-time. So, I turn to the music listings on my Dish Network service and search for Lucille, the Blues channel and use the music to accompany the remnants of a good Cabernet in the bottom of my wineglass and a square of dark chocolate in my hand. I love Blues and Blues musicians. Something in the music speaks to the soul, and especially so in the times we’re facing.

I don’t have any current pictures to illustrate the art. Still, a few years back, Helen and I attended the Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi, a Blues celebration held every year, which honors the late W.C. Handy, the “Father of the Blues” composer who lived there. I have a picture (top of page) that I love from one session we attended in a smoke-filled Juke Joint. I think of this place in my late-night listening sessions.

A few years later, I attended a Sunday afternoon Blues concert and wrote a post about it. I have a link to the post here and have shared a few of the pictures from that post. There is a link to the Easin’ Along YouTube page in that post that will give readers a feel for the flavor of this fun-filled afternoon.

I won’t linger on this short post, but in response to Terri’s question, this is one awakening that I hope to continue when the COVID cloud lifts. Maybe I’ll learn to play the harmonica while I’m Easin’ Along.

Fun

Pets From Our Past

Posted on April 30, 2020April 30, 2020 by Easin' Along

*A photo sampling (click on any picture below to enlarge)*

Last week, I told readers about my Covid-19 project of converting all of our slides to digital files. I completed the project (applause here) and uncovered a few jewels among the images. I want to focus on a few of those this week. In order to post something timely, I will share some pictures of the pets that have been a part of our household through the years. My apologies for the grainy pictures–I was going for subject matter over quality.

Conveniently, last Sunday was National Pet Parents Day, something I learned by reading Terri Webster Schrandt’s blog, Second Wind Leisure Perspectives. After converting my pet pictures, I decided to share them in Terri’s Sunday Stills Challenge. Once readers complete this week’s Easin’ Along, I encourage everyone to use this link to visit Terri’s very well-written and very entertaining website.

First, I should let everyone know that Helen and I are no longer pet parents. At the time we downsized, we had two dogs and one cat in our household that you will meet in a few paragraphs. The dogs were primarily outside pets and had complete freedom to roam the eleven acres we owned at the time. We had not yet retired when we moved into our neighborhood, and I just couldn’t bear the thought of keeping them cooped up in a garage. We found good homes for them on a large farm where they could continue to roam at will. The cat, no longer with us, was perfectly content to watch over the new house.

I miss having a pet around, but pets are not a perfect fit for us and our RV lifestyle of moving around every few days. Nevertheless, as soon as we change our pace and remain in destinations for more extended periods, I’m eager to “re-dog.” First, I have to convince Helen it’s a good idea.

Now…back to the pictures.

Our first pet was a Long-Haired Dachshund that we named Bruno. We lived in Wurzburg, Germany at the time, and some friends told us about a breeder, living out in the Bavarian countryside, who raised champions of the breed. Helen had grown up with dachshunds and wanted one badly. We visited the breeder, and it was love at first sight. The picture above is the moment we met.

Sadly, Bruno was killed by a car about a year and a half later. We were devastated and immediately adopted another dachshund we named Hansi. He was not as even-tempered as Bruno and not at all good with children.

Our second dog was a beautiful Golden Retriever we adopted when she was about a year old. Maggie was sweet, unbelievably good with young children, and loved Helen. Maggie gave birth to two litters. We kept the pick of the second litter, a male named Grits.

The only picture I can find of Grits is this one. I don’t know which one he is, but he’s in there somewhere. Grits was a very handsome dog, with slightly more reddish coloring than Maggie. Both only lived to be about seven years old, and both died from pancreas failure. I suppose it was a genetic thing.

After the Retrievers, we had a cat named Percy (no picture), who went to live with my Mom, a cat lover.

Next was a tiny teacup Poodle we named Pogo. He never weighed more than four pounds, probably because he expended so much energy barking at me…constantly. Pogo was Helen’s dog exclusively, and he was very protective. Pogo lived with us for fourteen very…long…years.

About the time we moved into our lake home, Buddy, one of the masons on my brick crew, told me he was feeding about fifty cats in the trailer park where he lived. I said to Buddy that if he had an orange and white one (Tennessee colors) that might grow into a big cat, I would lighten his feed load by one cat. The next Sunday, Helen and I came home from church to find a pet crate with one orange and white cat inside. A note, taped to the container, said, “My name is Tom, and I’m yours!”

Tom, renamed Wilbur, moved in…slowly. Wilbur weighed somewhere around ten pounds, had mange and something dreadful oozing from his nose. He needed neutering. Wilbur had six toes on his front paws so, after a $400 vet bill, I instructed Wilbur to rid our newly built home of all the mice that moved in during construction. It took him one day to find the first rodent. It was my turn to fall in love.

Wilbur soon ballooned up to twenty-six pounds and became a delightful, people-loving pet. He followed me around like a love-sick puppy dog. Wilbur lived with us for seventeen years. I cried when he crossed the rainbow bridge, and I miss him every day.

Soon after Wilbur arrived, we adopted Chuck, an Australian Shepherd/Golden Retriever mix that could run like the wind and loved exploring our property. Chuck had a lovely disposition and would chase a ball for as long as I would throw it to him.

Almost simultaneously with Chuck’s arrival, we rescued Max, a Shih Tzu, and Bootsie, a petite Calico cat. I was building a house in a rural area and learned from a nearby property owner that both animals recently appeared on the scene, probably abandoned. Bootsie was a skittish, sickly little thing, and did not live long.

Max was more than likely severely abused. He would not let anyone put their hands near his face, or they would pay. Our vet would sedate Max to shave him and we let him live with Chuck outdoors. They were constant companions and got along splendidly. I said that Max was probably the world’s only outdoor Shih Tzu. Max was a voracious eater. I feel confident that he had faced long periods without food and, every time I placed a food bowl in front of him, I could see the gratitude in his eyes.

Thanks to Terri, I had the opportunity to spend some with our pets again, if only digitally. So glad I got to introduce them to you. I dearly miss every one of these creatures…including Pogo.

With blurry eyes, it’s time I was Easin’ Along.