Happy & Glorious ~ That
was the inscription on one of the 6 cakes at the Open House celebrating my
advanced years. It also describes every
aspect of the day, which is still too fresh and alive in my mind to set it
down.
I'll
tell you about a card that arrived today from my niece, Peggy, in Odessa,
MO. Peggy is my brother Alpha's (or
"Al" as everyone called him) one & only chick and very dear to my
heart. She referred to me in the card as
"Oh, Best Beloved" and went on to explain that it came from Kipling's Just So Stories which is a favorite read of her family's.
Of ours, too!
Her mention of it set me off on a tear of memories. Over dinner, Elsa & I had a lot of fun
recalling favorites - How the Elephant Got Its Trunk, How the Camel Got Its
Hump, How the Leopard Got Its Spots, The Cat That Walked Alone, Riki Tiki
Tavi. Oh, it was a fine time!
Once
again, I told Elsa & John (for the ump-teenth time) a story I'll never tire
of, when Ian was around 8 and clued to
the television set.
"How about if we turn off the tv and I
will read to you a story."
You
can imagine the response that got - "Ah, Mom - a story? I don't want to hear any story."
Well,
somehow I managed to get the tv turned off and settled down on the couch with
Ian - a very begrudging Ian - to read from "Just So Stories." As I recall, I read How the Elephant Got Its Trunk. Yes, I am sure that
was what it was. I read about the baby
Elephant going to the great grey green greasy Limpopo River and what transpires
on its banks.
As I got to the end and
put the final period to the final sentence, I looked down at my son, who looked
up at me with great shining eyes and said, "Read it again!"
Oh, Best Beloveds, may you be blessed with
sweet slumbers and the very best of dreams ~ GK
and Mom rec'd a dear-to-her-heart response from a granddaughter of the heart - -
From: Jessie
Subject: Re: Happy & Glorious
Happy Birthday to Our Best Beloved on Her 21st (again)
Birthday!!
Love You, One
Baby Elephant on the Limpopo Banks
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