Subj: what a wonderful world (long and a little
meandering)
To start, the following was written by a
young friend yesterday and it so beautifully describes that day's weather -
following a couple of mean, raw and miserable days - I had to share it...
"Today the sun is shining in brisk,
clear blue-sky air, the flowers are still blooming as though winter weren't
just around the corner, and we are basking in the scents of late roses and
marigolds, mingled. One's woolens feel
like new clothes, as they haven't been out much since the last of last year's
late winter, and the world in general looks crisp and freshly made after its
soaking bath of the last few days. Amazing
what a difference a day makes."
The last few weeks have been shiny bright
to this Gramster. I've talked to Michael
and to Scott, who called the other day.
Scott sounds so different, so grown up, it
makes me homesick for the little boy and wistful to see the full grown
man.
I have received several e-mail messages
from Karen, a lovely note from Leanne Mahy (the Australian lass touring the
USA), and I've had the profound happiness of hearing
"Advance, Australia Fair" several times during the Olympics.
Last Sunday was the BA Theta Alpha tea,
which was so special to this Gramster.
Moments I especially remember include Mira presenting a box to her
daughter. Thoughts of Ruth, her mother
and my dear friend, came to mind and I thought of Mira and her brothers and
sisters as the children they were.
As you grow older, life becomes an
interesting time warp and the past can be as vivid - sometimes more vivid -
than the present. There were mothers
whose mothers I knew as babies. Of
course, being in Cairnwood, where I spent so many happy times and where Gay
always seems just around the corner, is always dear to me.
If I have already mentioned the following,
forgive me repeating myself. Last Sunday
morning, Elsa had "prep" duty for Contemporary Service. That means she helps get what she calls
"nibbles and sips" ready for the social time after the church
service. I heard her head out around
8:20 a.m., then a few minutes later
heard a car come up the drive, someone get out, the front door open, and Elsa's
voice ring out upstairs to a sleeping John, "Get dressed as if it was an
emergency, but it's not." A few
seconds later, "Slippers will do."
A moment later, he was headed down the stairs and she was telling him to
trust her.
I was intrigued - who would not be? About 5 minutes later, a car pulled up, a
door opened and a door closed, and the car backed out and was gone. When John padded his way upstairs, I could
not resist asking what it was all about.
Background
- John loves spiders and spider's
webs. He's given Elsa "Miss
Spider's Wedding" for an anniversary present, she's given him a stuffed
Miss Spider for Christmas. As she drove
down Sandpiper, she saw way high over the street, hanging from a telephone wire
stretched across the street, an exquisitely executed spider's web hanging free,
like a piece of fairy cloth, clearly outlined by the morning dew, and had run home
so John could see. There are very few
things I have known John to rouse himself from his slumbers to see, but
watching him describe it to me, I knew seeing it was a treasure to him. I liked that, I liked it a lot.
I did not know that mentioning homemade
cocoa and bread would strike such a deep cord in so many people. My goodness, I got some lovely notes talking
about similar experiences and delight in the scent and taste of hot cocoa and
toasted bread. I have them printed out
to read in my quiet times.
So many of my treasures arrive via the
Internet. I received a wonderful posting
from Lois Furry that has me talking to myself about another trip down to visit
her and Bob. I have read it at least
twice. When I read it, I am down in
their wonderful Florida home, having a cup of coffee and checking out the back
yard to see if any 'gators meander out of the high grass. Bob and Lois are hosts without peer and she
can write a truly tantalizing letter.
Perhaps the most wondrous thing of all is
that it was just a year ago today that I went crashing down on the bathroom
tile at 3:00 a.m. I remember heading
into the bathroom, facing the window, then having the sensation that I was
falling and thinking, "Oh no, my goodness!
What is..." I was not aware of
Elsa and John pounding down the steps from the "Tower Bower" to my
bathroom, of them trying to open a door that I was bang up against. I do remember Elsa coming in and John staying
behind me. I remember not knowing what
the problem was but knowing that whatever it was hurt. I remember the sensation of relief when the
ambulance crew arrived and did such a great job getting me out and how
courteous they were, not using the siren until after they got out of our residential area.
Interesting story - Elsa, like Pete before
her, is notorious for letting her gas gauge get too low. She might have paid the price that night -
how many gas stations are opened at 3:45 a.m. - if it had not been for the
kindness of Gretchen and Andrew Glover.
Answering an intuitive voice that said, "Now you're in for
it!", as she headed down Buck Road, she parked the car outside the Glovers
and nipped in to see if she could borrow their car. Imagine what thoughts went through Gretchen
and Andrew's minds hearing someone at their door in the wee small hours of the
morning. Staunch and loyal friends that
they are, they handed over the keys and Elsa and John were off.
I overheard the ER staff telling a story
they heard from the ambulance crew of a couple who started off the hospital in
one car and arrived in another!
My thanks and love to Gretchen and Andrew.
Paraphrasing a quote from Marlene Dietrich, it is the friends you can
rouse from a sound sleep at almost 4:00 a.m. to borrow their car that matter.
It is a wonderful world. A year later, there were no ill effects of my
stroke. My inability to get out of bed
is related to my arthritis, not the "episode" as the doctors called
it. My speech is fine, I can walk about
as well as most 90 year olds, with the help of "Barb" (my walker), and
my appetite is back in fine fettle. I
have more contact with more loved ones that I could have imagined possible a
year ago.
It is iffy that I could have made the
recovery I did if I had not started my spiritual questing the year or so
before. I was spiritually and emotionally tougher and
that helped get me through a lot.
My thanks and love to all of you. Being somewhere out there gives me a
cosmic strength. That sounds terribly New Age, but this
Gocky/Nan/Mum/Mom/Grammie/ Kay/Grandma L'/Cybergram/Aunt Kay/TechnoGram/Katharine Reynolds Lockhart/
Mrs. Raymond Lewis Lockhart, ADPO really and truly does feel blessed with a
new age, a new awareness, a new lightness and love of being.
You have helped make it possible, my
"higher power" has made it possible, and it all starts and ends with
the Lord, who makes all things possible.
Love and hugs (and, to quote a cat-loving
friend, licks and purrs) - GK
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