Every one Can NOT sing.

"I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain; What a wonderful feeling, I'm happy again." ~Arthur Freed


"My singing wasn't horrible, but my dancing really made it look silly. It's not like I'm a horrible singer that can't sing. But I don't have the consistency or the presentation skills that a good performer has." ~ William Hung



"Singing involves giving pleasure - you can't. You also look like you've been dragged through a bush." ~ Simon Cowell


Last night I got an invite to tag along with my friend Sheri to a new spot in town. She and her family do the out for supper thing every Thursday so although I expected her call I was a little surprised that we were going to eat at the new Karaoke club. I'm always game for a new experience so I was ready and waiting when they arrived to pick me up. In all fairness to the club, they served us wonderful food. The owner himself asking us over and over if everything was alright. The place was spotlessly clean even the restrooms and I personally saw the owner mopping up in the kitchen after he served our meals. I thought they had it decorated very nicely and as they don't serve alcohol in their club, the decorations will last and last. So the club itself was very nice.. almost perfect in fact.

~~ and then I saw the sign...


KARAOKE ~ FREE ~EVERYONE CAN SING!
free Karaoke every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night.
Come on out and sing.
Bring your own music.


If y'all don't already know it.. I want to tell y'all that NO everyone cannot sing. The first man who was on the stage when we got there.. He was doing a pretty good job. He sung some old country songs and he honestly did very well. Of course I would have liked him any way because I had already seen his beautiful Harley parked outside and had asked a young man whom the bike belonged to. They had nodded to the stage so I~ being me~ would have been biased on his account to start off with. I mean if you're old as dirt and ride a Harley and own the Karaoke equipment too.. wow.. I like you.. I would almost let you date my mama. So we all sit down dragging up another table since there is a crowd of us that always meet up on Thursday nights.
Sheri bustles all around getting together chairs and counting seats.. I am too busy. Something else has caught my eye. Something Tiny and shimmery and Black.

Behind where we are setting up for our rowdy friends is a table where two white haired ladies and one younger woman are playing some kind of card game surrounded by chicken strip plates and french fries. They are clapping for every song with these loud clapper things that you hold in one hand. I notice that they eat and play cards with one hand but never put the clapper down. It was as if the clapper were the most important thing at their table. Standing along side of them with a wrinkled old trash bag over her arm was a Woman with lots of make up and her hair pulled into the tightest Pony tail I myself have ever seen. It looked painfully tight to me. Just as I turned to look at them I heard her say to her friends ~
~" Tonight I'm gonna give everyone a treat besides my sanging! Tonight I done went and brung my Little Black Dress!" ~
I want everyone to know that I genuinely love people. I really do.. But just like everyone can't sing.. Everyone can't wear a little black dress either.

The Woman pulled her prize out of the wrinkled old trash bag and though a beautiful dress~ Tiny and black and all shimmery~ I was standing there thinking that there wasn't an Icicles chance in hell that that woman was gonna fit into that dress. "And dear God".. I added as an afterthought.. please let her take down her hair. Sheri got my attention and we all gathered around our table. Me leaning over to whisper in Sheri's ear about the black dress. Thankfully one of the card players convinced the woman to try the dress on a and let them see it first because she didn't think it was gonna look right.. "too Fancy" she said.. "Too little" I murmured under my breath at Sheri... "Out of style and Ugly as hell" she muttered back. Soon we saw the woman steeping out of the dressing room.. She had on tube socks up to the knee, a hole in the left toe and the heel gone out of the right sock. She had kicked off her shoes somewhere back there and was prancing out to the old lady table in the "Little black dress". I thank God for little old Card playing in the Karaoke bar Ladies!! They told her very quickly that "No Mam" she would not be going up on stage in that.. "we'll leave if you do" one of them added.. "you can sang" the other said." But that there dress don't do you no Justice." I almost felt sorry for the woman as she hurried away to put back on her black jeans and top.


The pony tail Lady and the Elvis looking man and the young ~ I wanna be Garth~ Man. They all sang. Another Woman, who I went to school with was there and she sang a good bit too. She teaches dancing, so I knew she was talented, But her singing was pretty good too.The man who was there when we got there he sang a lot. He did very well. He and my school mate even did a few duets. I asked about a song and they decided they did have it and would practice it together. Even Sheri's Daughter sang and even though she was scared and didn't do too good the first try, She came back in a little while and really did a great Job up on the stage.. She tossed in all the hand movements and little twists that make a good singer great to watch. But I have got to tell y'all that Everyone can NOT sing.

My Daddy used to say that even if you can't sing you can make a joyful noise. I'm gonna go way out on a limb here and say that all of the people who sang there last night, were making a joyful noise. We clapped for everyone.. we felt like we weren't quiet loud enough being that we didn't have those clapping things like the white haired ladies... But we clapped anyway. Some of them weren't that good. Some were just plain bad. But they all had fun. We had fun. We enjoyed our food. We laughed. I even did a line dance myself. I'm thinking I might talk my Mama into going out there one night.. She swears she can line dance too.. I kept thinking about when we were all young and we would gather round the piano and sing. Me and my sisters and sometimes a brother or two . I thought about how we sounded better than some of what was singing there last night. And I thought of Daddy and how he would sit with his eyes closed and listen to us.. and I remember him saying.. "If you can't sing~ Make a joyful noise anyway!"

Today try to make a joyful noise. Sing if you can. Sing along with the radio or sing in the shower.
Maybe your joyful noise can be talking to someone who needs a friend. Maybe it can be listening to someone who really can't sing that good and clapping for them Just because they had the courage to make a joyful noise! But never ever fool yourself that just because the sign says that they can.... NOT everyone can sing. Have a wonderful day!
Patsy

A Thursday Tale.

“God made man because he loves stories.”
~Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlev

“Stories tell us of what we already knew and forgot, and remind us of what we haven’t yet imagined.”
~Anne Watson



Rosco's Surprise

Once upon a time in a land we have long forgotten~

Rosco was chasing dragonflies in the meadow, near his home in the twisted old stump.
He went hopping along with his ears flopping and his pink nose twitching.
He was trying very hard to behave for a change. It seemed he was always
in some kind of trouble. Suddenly his nosed twitched up, then down. His long
ears sprang up, then flopped back down. He smelled carrot pie! Rosco loved carrot pie!


In the cottage across the meadow, Mrs. Rabbit was very excited. Tomorrow was the county fair
and she was entering the cooking contests. Her pies were sure to win a prize. All morning she had been busy grating carrots, measuring spices and rolling dough. Three pies for the fair. Three carrot pies cooling on the window sill.


Mrs. Rabbit was finally ready to wrap her pies for the fair, but just as she reached out for one, It MOVED! "Oh MY!" she exclaimed, clutching her apron and hopping back. Suddenly two long floppy ears peeked out and across the meadow ran Roscoe. He ran away with Mrs. Rabbit close behind. Getting a little ahead and Hopping into the twisted stump he was gone. "Oh me ! Oh My!" said Mrs. Rabbit to herself, " Now I will have to bake another pie for the fair. She walked slowly home trying to figure out a way to make Rosco behave, surely there must be a way.


As she walked along she was joined by some of her family and friends. She sadly told them about the missing pie. "I Like Rosco," she said' " but he must be taught not to take things that don't belong to him."
"Are you going to twist His fine floppy ears?" asked Father Rabbit.
"Or maybe," added Mr. Bird, "you could wrinkle up his fur!"
"And then," Laughed Mrs Mouse," you could crease his handsome whiskers. He would hate that!"
"Oh Me! Oh MY! exclaimed Mrs Rabbit, I couldn't do any of those things to Rosco, but I am going to teach him a lesson and I will need your help."


As the sun rose and the meadow awoke the next morning everyone was busy at the Rabbit cottage. Father and Bunny grated carrots. Mrs. Mouse and Mr. Bird measured spices and Mrs rabbit rolled dough. Soon they had baked another pie for the fair, and a surprise for Rosco.
They slipped across the meadow and left the surprise beside the twisted old stump and then away they all went, happily, to the fair.


At the fair they played a few games and rode the rides. Finally it was time for the judging of the pies. The judges tasted all different kinds of pies. They all agreed that the carrot pies were the very best. They gave Mrs. Rabbit a big Red ribbon and small trophy. It was time for the weary bunch to head for the meadow and home.


As they neared the Rabbit cottage they were surprised to see an untidy bundle on the front steps. Then it raised up. It was Rosco! His long floppy ears were twisted and he had smudges all around his tiny punk nose. Something orange was all over his little feet and his fur was wrinkled and stained. He even had creases in his handsome whiskers.

"My goodness." said Bunny. What in the world happened to you Roscoe?" He sadly explained that he had taken the pie from their kitchen window and that it had tasted so good that he had wished for one as big as him. "when I woke up this morning there it was. So I ate, and ate, and ate. I ate it all up!" He cried.
"Oh NO! " exclaimed Mr. Bird. "Dear me! " added Mrs Mouse. "Are you angry with me for taking your pie, Mrs Rabbit " asked Rosco.
"Oh no" said Mrs Rabbit, "and now to show everyone how happy I am, I'm inviting everyone inside for a nice warm slice of Carrot pie!"

"Oh NO! Oh NO! No carrot pie for me!" yelled Rosco as he bounded across the meadow to his twisted stump and hopped away inside. They were all sure that tomorrow the rumpled little rabbit would be into trouble again. And because they also knew that he would love carrot pie again in the morning, they made sure to save him one teeny, tiny slice!

~ The End~

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
July 1, 1986


Today being a Thursday I decided to share with everyone a tall tale. It is really a story for children and please read it to yours if you think they might enjoy it. I don't often write stories for children so this one is rare. My Grandson, Mason, loves this story because we have all the animals living here on our property. I have watched him chase a rabbit across the field and heard him call it Rosco. He knows how quickly they can hop into a tangle of brambles or a hollow stump and be gone. Maybe Thursdays will become tall tale days.. You can never tell with me.
Today if you have a chance share a story with a child or maybe just with the child with-in you.
Relax and let your self believe in the wonder of Tall tales. Let imagination soar through you.
Have a great day!
Patsy

Poetic Wednesday!

"Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self." ~May Sarton



"I love people. I love my family, my children . . . but inside myself is a place where I live all alone and that's where you renew your springs that never dry up." ~ Pearl S. Buck




"It is in deep solitude that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brothers. The more solitary I am the more affection I have for them…. Solitude and silence teach me to love my brothers for what they are, not for what they say." ~ Thomas Merton





" It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great person is one who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude." ~ Ralph Emerson Waldo





Solitude



Self awareness ~ reflection

One living by ones own pace ~ comfortable

Learning to love self ~ Listening to Music at three a.m.

Independence~ Internal rest~ refreshing

Tranquilty ~ Peacefulness~ renewal

Understand of self and others~ empowering

Daring to dream~ Realizing hope ~ finding Faith

Enlightenment of the spirit ~ Happiness beginning till end!

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
9-17-2008


solitude-
1. the state of being or living alone; seclusion: to enjoy one's solitude.
2. remoteness from habitations, as of a place; absence of human activity: the solitude of the mountains.

~Today my poem is called solitude. I am often sent words by people who like to see just what I might do with the word in the form of a poem. This word was e-mailed to me by a person I never met. They just happened upon my My Space page. I normally start by actually looking the word up in a dictionary. The word Solitude was surprising for me to work with. I had always felt that the word meant lonely and alone.. I have spent a lot of time on this word because it doesn't in fact mean those things. I guess if it was a forced solitude it might mean something different But solitude is actually a good thing for many people. Some artists live in solitude for years. They enjoy their solitary life. They find that they work better this way.

~ I spend a lot of time alone. I enjoy my solitude. I can read or write without being disturbed by others. I am rarely lonely. I enjoy my own company and am able to relax and think while I am alone. I am able to rest and do nothing other than imagine. And yet because I am alone I can also do anything I want without bothering another person.

~ I would never want to be alone for the rest of my life. I think solitude has it's own time and place in all lives... Very few people I think would choose loneliness.. for loneliness brings with it a certain kind of despair. That despair is not a part of solitude.
Solitude is quiet and peaceful time spent by one's self by choice.

~ If you have a moment alone today try to understand the concept of solitude. Don't feel lonely just because you find yourself alone. Use your imagination. Reflect upon all that life has given you. Dare to dream of something you hope to accomplish. Read a good book. Or maybe write a short poem. But enjoy your time of solitude for in this crowded busy world we live in ~ solitude is hard to find! Have a great day!
Patsy

Make a Hat Day!

"Life is like a new hat. You don't know if it suits you if you keep trying it on in front of your own mirror." ~ Shirley McLaine

"I myself have 12 hats, and each one represents a different personality. Why just be yourself?" ~Margaret Atwood

~Milliner~ Hat Maker~

Milliners design and make hats and other headgear such as caps, berets, bonnets, fascinators and bridal headpieces, using materials such as felt, fabric, fur, leather, straw and artificial flowers.

~Today is National Make a hat day. When I was a little girl, My Daddy got the State Paper every day. Now on most days we cared very little about the news paper. I wasn't old enough to read and I cared little about anything beyond the scope of our country home. But On Sundays we patiently waited for him to read his paper. Because hidden away inside of those wonderful Sunday papers were the colorful comics. After everyone had looked at the funny papers ~ as we called them~ Mary would set right down and fold us all hats out of the funny papers. Frank could make them too and I'm not really sure rather he taught Mary or rather she taught him. But Mary would always fold one for you if you asked her nicely. Frank might if he wasn't yoyoing or about to ramble off with Jimmy somewhere. But Mary liked making hats. She would fold the paper this way and that and get the basic hat and then Mary's artistic side would come through and she might fold one side up or one side down and over.. But something would be done to make each hat different. I loved those funny paper hats. I made them with my own children when I got grown But Mine never looked as good as the ones Mary~ (Or sometimes Frank)~ would make.

~Hats can be made from many things and in many ways. We made hats from newspaper back then. My grandma's both made hats too. Grandma Morris often knitted a little bowler type hat to match a sweater she had made. She wore bought hats too. I remember a pretty black one that she wore to Church sometimes. Grandma Black made and wore Bonnets. She made all of us girls and all the cousin girls Bonnets of our Own. Grandma wore her Bonnet for practical reasons.. it kept the sun off of her head and neck. She was outside a lot. She wore her "Hat" everyday. My sister Martha liked hats. She always looked good in a hat. My Mama if called on to Make a hat could sew one or crochet one or even Knit one. I have seen Mama in a bonnet for different occasions But I can't really ever recall mama wearing a hat. Maybe she's not a hat person!

~ Daddy wore hats. Daddy wore Knitted by mama stocking hats as he left before daylight to go to work in the winter factory. He wore hard hats at work sometimes and always had a baseball type cap nearby. He had a be bop hat that he wore a lot. He collected hats and had many many hats when he died. He didn't wear a hat to Church though many of the older men did. I use to try and get permission to slip out to the restroom just so I could see all the hats hung in rows across the vestibule of the old Church. I thought they were beautiful hanging there. So many different men's hats each just a little different than the one next to it. I also liked to get to the vestibule quickly after Church so I could watch the men put their hats back on with their heads tilted just so.. ~~Yea I know I'm weird but thanks for reminding me!~ But Most Churches don't even have the hat racks now. Most men don't wear the old time dress up hats for men. Some women still wear hats to special functions like weddings and Funerals. But most hats now
~ if one is worn at all ~ are quiet plain compared to the elaborate Ladies hats of the past.

~Many different professions wear a certain hat. Clowns wear funny hats. Firemen and policeman wear hats that identify them to their Job. In the case of firemen their hat is also protection for them. Many jobs require Hard Hats as protection on the job. Welders wear a hat that covers both his head and his eyes. Some also wear a skull type rag hat under the Welding hood. Again welders wear a hat to protect them. Motorcycle riders wear helmets as do football players. Some dancers wear very elaborate hats. Even thieves wear a certain type hat as he does his "Job"~I mean you wouldn't expect to see a robber in a hard hat nor a construction worker On a high rise Building sight in a ski mask.

~What type of hats do you wear? I have only had one job that required a hat and it was just for looks although it did keep my long hair away from the french fries. But still I have worn many hats. I was a clown and a cook. I am a Mother and Grand-mother. I am a daughter and a sister. I am a crafter, a knitter, a writer and a friend. Yes I have worn a few different hats~ But I have never enjoyed a hat like I did the perky paper hats Mary and Frank used to make me from My Daddy's Sunday Paper.

~ Today if there is a child in your life sit down and make a hat with them. Share a little time to fold a newspaper into a basic hat or roll one into a cone shaped hat. Decorate them with pens or stickers if you want. Talk to them about hats and why some hats are important. Spend a little time enjoying them. Enjoy Life every time you can. Enjoy the little things. Have a great day what ever hat you wear!
Patsy

Another Poetic Wednesday!

"Let your tears come. Let them water your soul. " ~Eileen Mayhew

"The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears." ~John Vance Cheney

"I heard the teardrop hit my pillow before I even knew I was crying." ~Amborella Oltre


Many years ago I used to write every day. I even took writing classes through the mail. I was published in several magazines and really thought I would someday be a "real" writer. Which was my school girls dream. Then My life took some drastic turns and twists and in 1990 I laid aside my pen to deal with life! I never regretted my life. I enjoyed some of it! What I didn't enjoy I am still thankful for because it has made me who I am.. Then Last year Dave and I took a trip to the beach and on the way home I felt tears for no reason. I cried all the way home. Him constantly asking if I was OK.. By the time I got home a poem had already written itself in my mind. My first writing in a lot of years. Today I am including two poems. The last one that I wrote in 1990~ ( I can't believe I found this after all this time. I need to have a serious throwing out around here!) and the first one I wrote when I decided one fine day to take back my dream!


Trucker Husband

Many miles away
you sit in a truck stop
filled with women.
~ And I worry!

They feed you steak
and smell like french perfume
they refill your cup.
~ And I worry!

You look down from your window
at their mini-skirted thighs
zooming along the interstate.
~ And I worry!

The phone rings
late at night
and you're away~ somewhere.
~ And I worry!

But you need not worry!
Cause when the last load is delivered
and your eighteen wheels roll toward home.
I'll be there waiting.
For the love of my Trucker Husband!
written By: Patricia Sawyer

(Patricia Black Holder)
1-10-1990
~before the storm~


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


A Tear

A tear dropped from eye today.
Why it fell I can not say!
Was it what I heard,
that you had said?
Was it the thoughts of friends long dead?
Was it a warn of things to come?
Was it because of things I'd done?
He rolled away across my cheek:
He made me feel both small and meek.
I never did decide you see
just why that tear jumped out at me.
But as he dripped down from my chin
I felt the smile begin again.
For tears aren't always for the weak!
Each tear that falls will feed our strength.
And as I brushed that tear away,
I thanked my God for one more day!
For as that tear swept across my face,
He touched my heart and added space!
for Us to grow and change each day,
Sometimes a tear must pass our way.

written by:Patricia Black Sawyer
1-20-2008



We all have trials and troubles. My Daddy used to say
"The sun don't shine on the same dogs back all the time. Either the dog or
the sun one will move!" I thought for many years that Daddy was wrong.
I even kicked my dogs a few times. Hoping the sun would again shine on me.
Today I write something every day.. Not all of it is good.. I am taking several
writing classes on-line.. I never knew there were so many forms of poetry!
I am thankful for the hard times.. they give me emotions to draw on when I am
writing. Be thankful for every day.. for even days with tears are important.
Have a great day today if you can.. and if today brings you tears.. allow them to
build a rainbow with-in your soul!
Patsy

Happy Grandparents Day!

"Grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for growing old." ~Mary H. Waldrip

"Grandparents are there to help the child get into mischief they haven't thought of yet."
~Gene Perret

"You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of your grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mothers. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves." ~Seattle, Chief of the Duwamish, Suquamish and allied Indian tribes

Grandparents day is a modern holiday. It's another of those holidays made up to sell cards and gifts. I always forget about it unless some one reminds me or as in this year the inter-net reminds me. But in honor of the day I will talk about my own Grand-ma's a little bit. I'm sure I had Grand-pa's too.. I have even heard tales of them.. But they both died before I was born. I sadly missed out on those guys.

My Mama's Mother was Miss Janie Morris. Morris being the name of her third and last husband. Grandma was very particular about things. She was born a planters daughter and his favorite daughter at that. She was sent to a ladies school (Winthrop) to be educated as a teacher. Back then very few young women were educated. She came on the train to teach in a one room school house. It was there that she met My Grandfather and her first husband. He died very young leaving her to raise four children. She married twice after that but never lost her strong minded ways. I used to hate to go visit her because I knew with-out a doubt where I was going to be.. I was going to be sitting on the front step. She wouldn't get a switch or strike you with her hand....She firmly believed in the sitting on the step thinking about what you had done. My Uncle Robert told me that he never could figure that one out.. He said " Damn! she walloped hell out of me and Roberta : and she treats y'all like y'all's ass is glass." He then added that she didn't whip Aunt Dot nor Uncle JC either so maybe their "asses were glasses" too.. I can only assume that he got both his language and his sense of humor from My Grand-father. I assure you she wouldn't have laughed like we did.

She could sew like no one else though.. Making us special dresses for special occasions. She sewed for the public is what she called it. I remember sitting on the steps and looking through the window into her bedroom where she sewed.. she would be bent over the machine working away and humming Hymns to herself. I asked her once if she could make doll clothes and she laughed at me.. saying I was foolish.. "Go sit on the step till you can think of something smart to say!" Needless to say I sat there till time to go home.

But the following month was my 6th Birthday and she brought me a beautiful handmade rag doll in a bright red dress and a perky little hat. . Handing it to me she said " I can do anything I set my mind to and so can you... Take care of this doll to remind you of that." Janie Jane the doll sits right here where I work.. Just in case I need reminding. Grandma did so many things she went to college and taught school. She raised a family and sewed for the public. Her second Husband owed a store and she ran that too. In her older years she worked for the town as a clerk and ran the water office and still she sewed. If she wanted to go somewhere she got in her car and went. She spoke her mind. She even danced a jig that she made up herself.. her own happy dance. She also made the best pound cake and divinity fudge there ever was.. I learned from her that you can indeed do anything you set your mind too.

My Daddy's Mama was Grandma Black. Her real Name was Mozelle. They say I am very much like her. I think I look like her. Grandma Black was a very earthy person. She loved the outside. She too could sew but mostly she sewed quilts for everyone. When she lived in the big house we kids would lay under the quilting frames and listen as the grown ups talked to each other. She kept a quilt in the frames all the time ~ when she wasn't sewing on it she would pull it up to the ceiling on Pulley's and tie it off. Grandma kept chickens in a pen outside. She loved cats but they were outside too.

When her youngest son Married a Lady with three girls, Grandma gave them her house and moved to a little cottage in the woods. She carried her Iron bed; quilting frames and her chickens with her.Once me and Jimmy were at Grandma's house. I'm pretty sure Mama and Daddy had gone to get school supplies for the rest of the crew. Sheron came up the dirt road and told me and Jimmy that she knew where a snake was. Jimmy was excited about that and grabbed a big rock as they ran away to kill it. I followed along and got there just as Jimmy bashed him on the head.. I tried to tell that to Grandma as she was coming out of the woods ~with a switch already in her hand~ But it didn't matter to her. She switched us all a few times on our skinny little legs.. Running Sheron back through the woods to her house and me and Jimmy back up the dirt road to her cottage.

"You don't kill things" she said as she switched our legs.. "You only kill what you need to eat. If everyone killed anything they wanted to the world would be out of whack!" She didn't send us to sit on the steps.. she just said that next time she would tell our Daddy. When we all got back to her house and she washed our faces clear of tears~ she talked to us about nature being balanced and that we had killed a rat snake. I was afraid for a long time that the rats would take over....

Grandma wore a Bonnet and an apron always. The apron was magical. It had a special pocket that held an endless supply of chewing gum and mints. Whatever anyone needed would magically appear from her tiny apron pocket. Tissues for dirty faces and running noses or crying eyes~ a button and sewing needle to fix a shirt~ a few coins for a cold coke. I wanted that apron for myself. When she died they gave me her bonnet~ I really wanted that apron!

A few years before she died Uncle Emmett moved Grandma into a small Trailer almost in his Back yard. They brought along her chickens but she had long since passed the quilt frames on to my Mama. Grandma loved it there except that she was no longer surrounded by the woods. So she grew her own. Grandma could be found most days chopping around in her yard with a hoe. Planting something to feed the Belly or to feed the soul. She grew flowers and tomatoes and cucumbers all there together. Crowded in where ever something would fit. I reckon that's where I get my gardening style. I learned so many things from her. I learned from her that understanding is the hard part.. "Just accept" she said "it's a whole lot easier." I think she meant that for most things in life~ She also taught me how to Bake the very best lemon pies!

Both of My grandma's endured many hardships. They lived through things we can only imagine.
They were very different from each other and yet I believe they respected each other. I never saw them quarrel. One watched Lawrence Welk and one didn't really understand the concept of TV. ... One highly educated and one Barely educated and yet they both were very smart women. They raised my parents. They helped raise us.. They did a great Job! I hope to be as good of a grandmother to my own grandchildren.

If you have a Grandma ~ call her up and say Hi. It will mean more than you know to her.
If you are a grandmother~ Plan a special walk or talk with your grandchildren. Talk them about things that were part of your world but will not be a part of theirs. Tell them about life when your Grandma was young. Share with them of yourself. Have a great day!
Patsy

Wednesday Again!?!

"To have great poets there must be great audiences too." ~Walt Whitman~

"Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history." ~Plato~

"A poem begins with a lump in the throat." ~Robert Frost~

"Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance. " ~Carl Sandburg~



I hope you enjoy today's poem. Please feel free to comment on my blog.
I promise I don't bite! (Much!)



Shadow Dance

Did you ever see a shadow
walking on your heels?

Did you ever turn around
and try to chase him down?

Did you offer him your hand
ask him to dance?

Share with him your heart..
are you scared to take the chance?

Did you hide inside your head
all the things you wished to say?

Did you ask the Lord in Prayer
can I have another day?

If you had another day
would you let your body sway?

Would you open up your heart
to let others see a part.

Would you share with him a smile
as you walk another mile?

Would you freely take a chance?
would you let your shadow dance?

Would you laugh.. would you share..
would you cry.. would you dare?

To live.. to love..
to soar.. to cry..
just try!

Let it fly!
Love; Live
Take the chance!
Let your shadow dance!


By: Patricia Sawyer
written:2-23-1999


When I was a little girl I used to love to see my shadow on the ground. I would make it dance and jump and run. For some reason it always brought me great pleasure to let my shadow dance.It was like I was happy inside and out. The next time you see your shadow~ on the ground or on another surface ~ hop or skip or jump.. do something to let the child inside know you are aware of them.. Let your shadow dance and enjoy a few steps with them.. Hopefully it will leave you feeling refreshed and happy~ But, if nothing else it will give any watchers a smile.. Have a wonderful Day!
Patsy