“Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~
"You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world. " ~Tom Brokaw~
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. " ~Aristotle~
My Youngest child, Emily, graduates from High School this year. Just a matter of days now. This week in keeping with the Graduating time of year I have chosen this poem for my blog this week. Please take this time as our young folks begin their adult lives to reflect on your own time as a young adult. You might be surprised at how much you have changed. You might even understand your young adults more if you strive to remember how it was to be their age. We all did things we shouldn't have. Well except for me, of course, I was never a foolish young person.. HAHahahahahaha!! Be proud of your young adults. Encourage them daily even when you would like for them to be doing something or going somewhere different. Every one has to find their own path in life. I hope your path is as smooth as possible today as you follow destiny's trail. Destiny sometimes surprises us even after we are adults. May all your days on life's journey be filled with wonder!
Have a great day!
Patsy
My Baby Girl
Barrettes and ribbons
Baby dolls and lace
Ah my baby girl
such a sweet face
Tea parties and Teddy bears
Tree climbing, Let’s race
she might be the smallest
but she demands her own space
Schoolwork and Boyfriends
a Friday night date
Hey mama don’t worry
I just might be out late
Ruffles on prom gowns
a mind of her own
I’m not sure I like this
My baby girl is grown!
written by: Patricia Sawyer
2-21-2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Penny Day!?!
"Pennies do not come from heaven. They have to be earned here on earth." ~Margaret Thatcher~
“ A Penny wise is often A pound foolish.”
~ French Proverb~
"I would roll up pennies to take the subway to work in Times Square. I was broke, but I was happy." ~Jennifer Garner~
Friday, May 23rd was Penny Day! I was thinking that Morning that a Penny wasn't worth very much any More. That hasn't always been the case. When I was a small child we were tickled to death when Daddy would put a reward on something. You see there were eight of us and somehow, even though we knew better, we would sometimes get a tool of Daddy's or scissors of Mama's and forget to replace them. Daddy would have all of us looking and after a while he would declare the item to have a reward attached. His rewards were usually a nickle or dime in the beginning. A nickel was worth a sack slam full of candy if you shopped carefully.
My Floyd opened the little Country store down the road from our house. He had everything a country family needed from cold drinks to fresh cuts of meat. But best of all he had a well stocked candy county. Sometimes the whole family would take a short walk down there and get a cold drink. Daddy would usually give each of us a dime or a quarter on those days. But at other times if you had a nickel or dime Mama might let you walk down there and shop on your own. I never got past the penny candy section. There were rows and rows of penny candy. I would always look at those first. My Favorite Chick-o-sticks were a penny for a long stick. Mary Janes and Bit-oh-honey were a penny each. There were packs of five Bubble gum balls for a penny as well as many other sweet treats. They had candy Money in long packs for two pennies and sometimes I would get one of those. They were long packs of candy in thin wafers about as big around as a nickle . You could let them melt on your tongue. That way you got a lot of candy for your two pennies. He also had Bubble gum machines that had a wad of gum as big as a golf ball for a penny.
My favorite though was the big tub of two for a penny candy. They were BB bats and caramels and chocolate footballs. My youngest Brother Reuben loved the chocolate footballs. Being that Reuben almost always ran and got the items as son as the reward reached a nickle, He ate lots and lots of those. There were Bubble gums with Comics inside and wax bottles that had a sweet liquid inside. We called those candy cokes. They also had packs that were tiny chocolate balls in long sleeves. A nickles worth of them eaten slow would last a long time.
If you had a penny left over or if you ever got lucky enough to find a penny, you saved it. You wouldn't have to save long to buy a cold drink for a nickle or later for a dime. We would save drink bottles and sell them back to the store owner for a few pennies each. Even after I was a grown up woman and needed some quick cash, I walked along the road and picked up drink bottles to sell. At that time they were a Nickle each. Now we sometimes see people picking up aluminum cans the same way. They aren't making a lot of money at once on those cans but each penny builds up over time. Each penny counts.
I have a can over my washing machine to collect the unwanted penny's that somehow gets left in pockets. I always smile when I find a few pennies in the bottom of the washer. It's a reminder of the times when I stood in awe at Mr. Floyd's; and later after Mr. Floyd died; at My Uncle Oneal's store and jiggle the few penny's in my pocket as I tried to decide how I would spend my few pennies.
Every once in a while I empty that can into a large pickle jar and watch as my pennies grow and grow. Dave and I took our honeymoon on rolled change. Most of it pennies. We had a wonderful time. A few years ago we took all but one of our Children and one Grandson to the beach for a week-end on rolled change. Again most of it pennies. We didn't spend a lot but we had a great time. In Fact that is one of my best beach memories. Paid for mostly with pennies.
I went to the grocery store Friday and asked the cashier if, being that it was Penny day, they had anything for a penny. I had to laugh when she looked at me as if I was for certain retarded if not actually a crazy person. She simply asked with the stricken look on her face... " Mam, Are you OK?" I smiled and told her her believed I was. I was walking out with my purchases when the young man who had bagged my items came running along besides me and said.. " Mam, I think they still sell one cent stamps here... you know because they just went up and you might have had some of the old ones.." I tipped him a whole dollar for that information as I hurried over to the customer service counter to ask for something that I could pay for with a single solitary penny!
Pennies are not worth much alone but still I save them. They allow me to save a tiny bit here and there. I always toss all pennies into a jar. People used to say a Penny saved is a penny earned and I say NO.. A penny saved is just a penny saved. A penny earned takes work and time. Now a found penny saved is even better because you didn't work for it it was a gift. Tiny but a gift none the less. If You find a penny pick it up. If you don't want it drop them into a jar for a needy person somewhere. Even a penny counts in their lives. I don't think there will be many more days when we can Buy anything for a penny. There have been discussions of getting rid of the penny altogether. But I will always remember the wonderful things a penny has bought for me.. From a Mary -Jane when I was a tiny girl to the Honeymoon week-end in the Fancy Hotel years later.
I haven't really been looking but since Friday I have found eleven pennies. I have felt blessed eleven times.Not because I can buy anything with a penny but simply because I feel that they are very tiny gifts. Very tiny blessings can grow into large blessings. I know it can take a long, long time for pennies to amount to much but if you pick up every one you see you just might be surprised. I actually could have bought a piece of my favorite candy; a chick-o-stick; with those eleven, at a store here in town. I tossed them in my jar. Who knows what Dave and I will do with the next batch we roll.
Enjoy life. Remember that Sometimes even small things like a penny can build into something larger.. something richer.. Appreciate the small things in life.
As they used to say "A Penny for your thoughts!" ; May all your thoughts be worth at least a penny!
Have a great day!
Patsy
“ A Penny wise is often A pound foolish.”
~ French Proverb~
"I would roll up pennies to take the subway to work in Times Square. I was broke, but I was happy." ~Jennifer Garner~
Friday, May 23rd was Penny Day! I was thinking that Morning that a Penny wasn't worth very much any More. That hasn't always been the case. When I was a small child we were tickled to death when Daddy would put a reward on something. You see there were eight of us and somehow, even though we knew better, we would sometimes get a tool of Daddy's or scissors of Mama's and forget to replace them. Daddy would have all of us looking and after a while he would declare the item to have a reward attached. His rewards were usually a nickle or dime in the beginning. A nickel was worth a sack slam full of candy if you shopped carefully.
My Floyd opened the little Country store down the road from our house. He had everything a country family needed from cold drinks to fresh cuts of meat. But best of all he had a well stocked candy county. Sometimes the whole family would take a short walk down there and get a cold drink. Daddy would usually give each of us a dime or a quarter on those days. But at other times if you had a nickel or dime Mama might let you walk down there and shop on your own. I never got past the penny candy section. There were rows and rows of penny candy. I would always look at those first. My Favorite Chick-o-sticks were a penny for a long stick. Mary Janes and Bit-oh-honey were a penny each. There were packs of five Bubble gum balls for a penny as well as many other sweet treats. They had candy Money in long packs for two pennies and sometimes I would get one of those. They were long packs of candy in thin wafers about as big around as a nickle . You could let them melt on your tongue. That way you got a lot of candy for your two pennies. He also had Bubble gum machines that had a wad of gum as big as a golf ball for a penny.
My favorite though was the big tub of two for a penny candy. They were BB bats and caramels and chocolate footballs. My youngest Brother Reuben loved the chocolate footballs. Being that Reuben almost always ran and got the items as son as the reward reached a nickle, He ate lots and lots of those. There were Bubble gums with Comics inside and wax bottles that had a sweet liquid inside. We called those candy cokes. They also had packs that were tiny chocolate balls in long sleeves. A nickles worth of them eaten slow would last a long time.
If you had a penny left over or if you ever got lucky enough to find a penny, you saved it. You wouldn't have to save long to buy a cold drink for a nickle or later for a dime. We would save drink bottles and sell them back to the store owner for a few pennies each. Even after I was a grown up woman and needed some quick cash, I walked along the road and picked up drink bottles to sell. At that time they were a Nickle each. Now we sometimes see people picking up aluminum cans the same way. They aren't making a lot of money at once on those cans but each penny builds up over time. Each penny counts.
I have a can over my washing machine to collect the unwanted penny's that somehow gets left in pockets. I always smile when I find a few pennies in the bottom of the washer. It's a reminder of the times when I stood in awe at Mr. Floyd's; and later after Mr. Floyd died; at My Uncle Oneal's store and jiggle the few penny's in my pocket as I tried to decide how I would spend my few pennies.
Every once in a while I empty that can into a large pickle jar and watch as my pennies grow and grow. Dave and I took our honeymoon on rolled change. Most of it pennies. We had a wonderful time. A few years ago we took all but one of our Children and one Grandson to the beach for a week-end on rolled change. Again most of it pennies. We didn't spend a lot but we had a great time. In Fact that is one of my best beach memories. Paid for mostly with pennies.
I went to the grocery store Friday and asked the cashier if, being that it was Penny day, they had anything for a penny. I had to laugh when she looked at me as if I was for certain retarded if not actually a crazy person. She simply asked with the stricken look on her face... " Mam, Are you OK?" I smiled and told her her believed I was. I was walking out with my purchases when the young man who had bagged my items came running along besides me and said.. " Mam, I think they still sell one cent stamps here... you know because they just went up and you might have had some of the old ones.." I tipped him a whole dollar for that information as I hurried over to the customer service counter to ask for something that I could pay for with a single solitary penny!
Pennies are not worth much alone but still I save them. They allow me to save a tiny bit here and there. I always toss all pennies into a jar. People used to say a Penny saved is a penny earned and I say NO.. A penny saved is just a penny saved. A penny earned takes work and time. Now a found penny saved is even better because you didn't work for it it was a gift. Tiny but a gift none the less. If You find a penny pick it up. If you don't want it drop them into a jar for a needy person somewhere. Even a penny counts in their lives. I don't think there will be many more days when we can Buy anything for a penny. There have been discussions of getting rid of the penny altogether. But I will always remember the wonderful things a penny has bought for me.. From a Mary -Jane when I was a tiny girl to the Honeymoon week-end in the Fancy Hotel years later.
I haven't really been looking but since Friday I have found eleven pennies. I have felt blessed eleven times.Not because I can buy anything with a penny but simply because I feel that they are very tiny gifts. Very tiny blessings can grow into large blessings. I know it can take a long, long time for pennies to amount to much but if you pick up every one you see you just might be surprised. I actually could have bought a piece of my favorite candy; a chick-o-stick; with those eleven, at a store here in town. I tossed them in my jar. Who knows what Dave and I will do with the next batch we roll.
Enjoy life. Remember that Sometimes even small things like a penny can build into something larger.. something richer.. Appreciate the small things in life.
As they used to say "A Penny for your thoughts!" ; May all your thoughts be worth at least a penny!
Have a great day!
Patsy
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Wednesday's Poetry!
Hi to all who have been visiting me. I thank you for stopping by. I am working on a new plan for my Blog. I have a lot going on right now But I am trying to get organized a little better than I was. From now on Wednesday is going to be Poetry day. I will have a new Poem here every Wednesday for you to enjoy. I'm sure that I have one reader who will have already seen some of the poems.. But You will see new ones too. Please enjoy and forgive me as I re-organize.
Thanks!
Patsy
“I consider skateboarding an art form, a lifestyle and a sport.” ~ Tony Hawk~
"Beware the old man in young guy's clothes. If he's over 35 and comes to pick you up looking as though he's headed for a skateboarding competition while you are dressed to go to a nice restaurant, this is not a good sign."
~ Merrill Markoe~
When I write poems I often write them for or about one of my Children or another loved one. This Poem about Skateboarding was written for My youngest Son; Cooper.
Skateboarding
Sidewalks and skate parks;
Old swimming pools drained.
Kickflips and split lips;
young ankles sprained.
Aerials and Varials
and being called a punk.
Tail taps and grip tape;
and tricks that take spunk.
Exercise that is ramped up;
balance in a curve.
Backflips and Bearings
now don't loose your nerve!
Ollies and wallplants
it's no passing fad.
Acid drops and nosestalls
Not just boys being bad!
Ramps under carports
and falling and pain.
Daring and doing tricks
again and again
Inclines; expression
and Five Oh grinds
Nollies and ledges
and friendship that Binds.
Go away Mr. Policemen:
Just let us be.
Skateboarding is not a crime!
So let us Skate free!
written By:
Patricia Sawyer
3-2-2008
If you have never watched skaters skate I would suggest that you go to a nearby skate park and watch before you judge them all to be punks. I am always amazed by the shear beauty of their movements and the grace with which they perform tricks. I think you might be amazed as well. Have a great Day!
Patsy
Thanks!
Patsy
“I consider skateboarding an art form, a lifestyle and a sport.” ~ Tony Hawk~
"Beware the old man in young guy's clothes. If he's over 35 and comes to pick you up looking as though he's headed for a skateboarding competition while you are dressed to go to a nice restaurant, this is not a good sign."
~ Merrill Markoe~
When I write poems I often write them for or about one of my Children or another loved one. This Poem about Skateboarding was written for My youngest Son; Cooper.
Skateboarding
Sidewalks and skate parks;
Old swimming pools drained.
Kickflips and split lips;
young ankles sprained.
Aerials and Varials
and being called a punk.
Tail taps and grip tape;
and tricks that take spunk.
Exercise that is ramped up;
balance in a curve.
Backflips and Bearings
now don't loose your nerve!
Ollies and wallplants
it's no passing fad.
Acid drops and nosestalls
Not just boys being bad!
Ramps under carports
and falling and pain.
Daring and doing tricks
again and again
Inclines; expression
and Five Oh grinds
Nollies and ledges
and friendship that Binds.
Go away Mr. Policemen:
Just let us be.
Skateboarding is not a crime!
So let us Skate free!
written By:
Patricia Sawyer
3-2-2008
If you have never watched skaters skate I would suggest that you go to a nearby skate park and watch before you judge them all to be punks. I am always amazed by the shear beauty of their movements and the grace with which they perform tricks. I think you might be amazed as well. Have a great Day!
Patsy
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Daddy's Crooked- Legged Hen
Do not count your chickens before they are hatched. ~Aesop~
“The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.”~Arnold H. Glasgow~
I was six when we first got the chickens. We loved to go to the chicken yard and stick long pieces of grass through the wire to see them snatch it and run away. Daddy would come out every afternoon and scatter corn and scratch feed around on the ground for the hens to eat. He'd always fill the troughs with fresh water and laying mash every single day. Daddy took very good care of his chickens.
He would gather their eggs while they scratched and pecked at the food he had scattered.One Friday afternoon daddy was running a little late getting to his chores. He had had a bad day at work and then it seemed like everything that could go wrong did that day. He sent me and Jimmy to the chicken yard and told us to just scatter some scratch feed and gather the eggs. I reckon that he planned to see to everything else early Saturday morning before he went to work.
Jimmy scattered the feed and told me to get all the eggs from the nests. I checked high and low in all of the baskets until I got to the very last nest. Sitting there in the last basket was an ornery old hen we all called big red. Big red never missed a chance to peck you. She would peck at you through the fence if you got too close. I told Jimmy I wasn't bothering big red even for eggs.
Jimmy and I were standing there trying to decide what to do about this mean old hen when Daddy came out to see what was keeping us. He told me to bump the bottom of the basket and scare her down. When that didn't work he tossed a handful of feed right in front of her. She still sat there looking at me with her beady little eye. Finally Daddy went into the pen himself and I backed away under the shed because I knew he was mad. He was mad with everything right then and he was especially mad with big red.
Daddy reached under that mean old hen and grabbed her by both feet. Just as Daddy closed his hand on her feet she pecked him hard about ten times in a row. My Daddy was a kind man and as gentle as any person I ever knew but right then he lost his temper with that mean old chicken and tossed her to the ground. I watched in amazement as she squawked and limped across the chicken yard. Clucking and falling over and over. Daddy yelled at me and Jimmy to get inside and get washed up for supper. We ran for the house; Glad to be away from daddy and his rare anger.
Daddy stayed outside for a good while that evening. Mama had already fed us kids by the time he came inside with the eggs. He didn't say what had happened to that mean old hen and we didn't dare ask him. I thought for sure he had buried her behind the pen where I had seen him bury other chickens that had died.Saturday Morning I woke up early and decided to go and see where daddy had buried that mean old hen. I just knew daddy had killed her for pecking him and making him mad. I hurried out to the pen and ran around behind. No where could I see any turned over dirt. No where could I see where he had dug a hole for a mean and nasty hen. Suddenly with a cluck and a squawk I saw the mean old thing coming for the wire. Striding along on her leg taped up with two Popsicle sticks was big red. My gentle daddy had fixed her broken leg rather than wringing her mean neck.
Big red always did have a crooked leg after that day and Daddy and her seemed to have an understanding between them. I never saw daddy snatch her off the nest again and I never saw her peck him again either. Big red set her nest whenever she wanted to and would hatch at least a dozen bitties every year. Daddy always had a soft spot for her after that and I would sometimes catch him tossing a worm from the garden right to her in the late evening time.
My Daddy lost his temper and then regretted it. That crooked legged hen lived a long long time to remind him and us that he was human. I had never thought so before that day. To loose your temper is human; to be sorry for it should be human also. Have a great day!
Patsy
“The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.”~Arnold H. Glasgow~
I was six when we first got the chickens. We loved to go to the chicken yard and stick long pieces of grass through the wire to see them snatch it and run away. Daddy would come out every afternoon and scatter corn and scratch feed around on the ground for the hens to eat. He'd always fill the troughs with fresh water and laying mash every single day. Daddy took very good care of his chickens.
He would gather their eggs while they scratched and pecked at the food he had scattered.One Friday afternoon daddy was running a little late getting to his chores. He had had a bad day at work and then it seemed like everything that could go wrong did that day. He sent me and Jimmy to the chicken yard and told us to just scatter some scratch feed and gather the eggs. I reckon that he planned to see to everything else early Saturday morning before he went to work.
Jimmy scattered the feed and told me to get all the eggs from the nests. I checked high and low in all of the baskets until I got to the very last nest. Sitting there in the last basket was an ornery old hen we all called big red. Big red never missed a chance to peck you. She would peck at you through the fence if you got too close. I told Jimmy I wasn't bothering big red even for eggs.
Jimmy and I were standing there trying to decide what to do about this mean old hen when Daddy came out to see what was keeping us. He told me to bump the bottom of the basket and scare her down. When that didn't work he tossed a handful of feed right in front of her. She still sat there looking at me with her beady little eye. Finally Daddy went into the pen himself and I backed away under the shed because I knew he was mad. He was mad with everything right then and he was especially mad with big red.
Daddy reached under that mean old hen and grabbed her by both feet. Just as Daddy closed his hand on her feet she pecked him hard about ten times in a row. My Daddy was a kind man and as gentle as any person I ever knew but right then he lost his temper with that mean old chicken and tossed her to the ground. I watched in amazement as she squawked and limped across the chicken yard. Clucking and falling over and over. Daddy yelled at me and Jimmy to get inside and get washed up for supper. We ran for the house; Glad to be away from daddy and his rare anger.
Daddy stayed outside for a good while that evening. Mama had already fed us kids by the time he came inside with the eggs. He didn't say what had happened to that mean old hen and we didn't dare ask him. I thought for sure he had buried her behind the pen where I had seen him bury other chickens that had died.Saturday Morning I woke up early and decided to go and see where daddy had buried that mean old hen. I just knew daddy had killed her for pecking him and making him mad. I hurried out to the pen and ran around behind. No where could I see any turned over dirt. No where could I see where he had dug a hole for a mean and nasty hen. Suddenly with a cluck and a squawk I saw the mean old thing coming for the wire. Striding along on her leg taped up with two Popsicle sticks was big red. My gentle daddy had fixed her broken leg rather than wringing her mean neck.
Big red always did have a crooked leg after that day and Daddy and her seemed to have an understanding between them. I never saw daddy snatch her off the nest again and I never saw her peck him again either. Big red set her nest whenever she wanted to and would hatch at least a dozen bitties every year. Daddy always had a soft spot for her after that and I would sometimes catch him tossing a worm from the garden right to her in the late evening time.
My Daddy lost his temper and then regretted it. That crooked legged hen lived a long long time to remind him and us that he was human. I had never thought so before that day. To loose your temper is human; to be sorry for it should be human also. Have a great day!
Patsy
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