Yes, I like quizzes and hope you do, too.

I pass all the good ones along and so far have received no violent threats because of them.   This one is tricky, however, and so when you try them on your kids, or for yourself, don’t answer too quickly. Take your time.

1. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776.
2, Cleopatra was a pure-blooded Egyptian.
3. Frankenstein was a fictional monster created by a mad doctor.

4. The 21st century started on January the first, 2000.
5. Where ever you may be, you only need to locate the North Star to find your direction.
6. Cream is heavier than milk.

7. It is illegal to deface coins.
8. In 1927 Charles Lindbergh made the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
9. The liner Lusitania was torpedoed in 1915 on her maiden voyage.

10. The kilt originated in Scotland.
11. The porcupine has the ability to shoot its quills to fight off enemies.
12. Diamonds will not burn.
13. A pound of feathers and a pound of gold are the same weight.

So, how simple could questions be? On first reading they all seemed stupidly simple to me, but here are the answers. Ho, ho, ho.

1. The Declaration was voted on July 2, 1776. ordered printed on the Fourth, and signed, for the most part, on August 2nd.
2. Cleopatra was of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which was Macedonian.
3, Frankenstein was the name of the medical student who created the Monster. “It” had no name.

4. The 21st century started Jan. 1, 2001. The 20th Century was from 1901 to and including the year 2000.
5, The North Star works wonderfully well in the Northern Hemisphere, but can’t even be seen south of the equator. Their constellation to observe for directional orientation is the Southern Cross.
6. Cream is lighter. Remember how it rose to the top of the old milk bottles?

7. Only if badly enough to cheat the recipient. Using it for jewelry is not considered defacement.
8. Others had flown non-stop. Lindbergh was the first to do it solo.
9. The Lusitania first sailed in 1907, and had made many voyages before being sunk.

10. The kilt was worn by both Roman and Greek soldiers in ancient times. Remember the  sketches in our history books?
11. The quills fall out easily, but only on contact. They can’t be ‘ shot’  at anything.
12. Being Carbon, diamonds will burn, but only in temperatures over 1,400
Fahrenheit.

13. Technically, a pound of feathers is heavier than a pound of gold. Surprised??? Me, too, but feathers are weighed by avoirdupois system (7,000 grains to a pound) and gold is weighed by the Troy system (only 5,700 grains to a pound).

See what I mean by tricks??? Oh well, quizzes wouldn’t be fun if there weren’t a bit of trickery involved. But, anyway, now you have been humbled, try   this stuff on your spouse and let them grovel. Okay?

Depends on how high the office . . .

I was once asked to ‘run’ for a political office here in Murray City, and the request was so unexpected and also beyond my realm of experience, that in shock,  I asked for time to think it over. To begin with I had no training for such a position, and secondly if I did ‘run’ and then win (??) how would it affect me, my life, family and job?

I told no one, but just the same, somehow others knew, for within the next three days, I received four phone calls from CEO’s of businesses I recognized, and, surprise, each one told me how much money they would donate, AND also that they had qualified people to assist and advise me.

Well, I told them the same thing, that I hadn’t made up my mind if I would go that Course, but I also quickly knew that some ‘group’ had decided they wanted someone in the City government, with qualifications they felt would be amenable to their needs, and I must have come close to what they needed.

Of course, I knew that first of all, and most important, they knew that I worked at the Murray Eagle, the great ole local Green Sheet newspapers, and that I had a good personal readership.   I’d also been there long enough to see a bit of how politicians work. People in the local government, coming and going and behind closed doors, talk to Jim Cornwell, our Owner and/or Don Robinson, our  Editor.

So I knew that those who were reaching out to me, were the ‘silent brains’ behind some group which had decided that Ethel, and her job with the newspaper,  would be a good one to sponsor.

Anyway, within a day or to, I called the one who had asked me, and sincerely thanked him for his invitation and offers made, but No, Ethel wasn’t the one they needed, but their offer had been a wonderful compliment. And thanks, again.

I suppose the owners of the Green Sheets, James M. Cornwell, and his wife, Bette Vogeltanz Cornwell, could have known of the plan, and perhaps I should have spoken to them, but I didn’t. It had to be my decision for it would also be me, Ethel, who would be the group’s ‘voice’. I didn’t want to have to ask, or wait to be told which issues to support. Just wasn’t then, and still isn’t, my style.

You know the old adage, “The least said, the quickest mended”, and within a week the whole thing was over and nothing more ever said about it. By anyone.

But, I learned a lot from that incident. If, so far in advance of an election, that a middle-size City such as mine, was so organized, then how organized large Cities and States, and Federal offices must be?   I shivered to even contemplate the plans and maneuvering that must occur so far ahead in their ‘games’.

And I still shiver. Deciding who might be a good candidate, before any names are publicly mentioned, and the money involved. Yeah, the money offered me, shook me. Fortunes? No, no, but the dollar figures surprised me, for they were far more than I would have ever considered for my City.

‘Twas no slim pickings. And, of course the offered money was not for Ethel, personally, but I suppose for publicity, handbills, radio and  TV time, as well as someone to help me present the ‘right’ image. Yes, all that was mentioned. There was a lot to it. and makes me quell when I think of someone running for President of the United States and the offers made and the pressures that must occur.

Why do they want to choose the candidate? Their purpose? How much money is spent? Who gets that money?? Who makes up and writes the posters?  takes the pix? creates the image? Staggering, and I think I have touched only the far edges of what happens in creating the image the ‘backers’ needed.  Wanted.   First to get YOU to the  polls and then for YOU to vote for THEIR candidate.  And the pressure put upon the Candidate if elected???

My eyes were really ‘opened’ during those days, and widen more and more with every election. I cross my fingers and think of our 52 United States which make up the wishes, hopes, and dreams of people the world over.  And someone is paying the price to try to control those wishes, those hopes, those life-changing dreams.  Where does the money come from?

There are no boundaries I know of,  to stop money secretly moving from country to country. Who is paying the unbelievable billions to Buy and Control, the President of the United States of America? Not me. You? I think not, but I also think that billions of dollars change hands trying to get that control.  Hopes, wishes and dreams are powerful weapons to control.

Worth thinking about and perhaps changing some of our election laws. If it’s not already too late.

And This is a good one. Different, too.

Anyone who has read my Newspaper Column or this Blog for any length of time knows my penchant for Brain Twisters, and so this can be no surprise.

But trust me, it’s a good one, and also, it’s not a brain-breaker. Just fun.

Following are ten groups of words. The three answers of each group are made up from the very same four letters. Find the correct answer to one of the three and then twist the letters around to find the answers to the other two.

Six correct is said to be good, and finding eight or more correct is said you must be a genius. I wasn’t a genius. Here goes.

1. (a). A benediction ______________________
(b), An appellation ________________________
(c). Long hair of a horse ___________________

2. (a). Small Body of water ________________
(b). A game _____________________________
(c). Doubling a Rope ______________________

3, (a). A cock, hen or chicken _______________
(b). Glide, as a stream _____________________
(c), An animal ____________________________

4. (a). To challenge ________________________
(b). Beloved ______________________________
(c). To pursue ____________________________

5. (a). Crippled ___________________________
(b). One of the sexes ______________________
(c). A repast _____________________________

6. (a). To spring over ______________________
(b). Sound, as a bell _______________________
(c). Wan, colorless ________________________

7. (a). A fruit ____________________________
(b). To cut covering off ____________________
(c). To Harvest ___________________________

8. (a).  A measure of land __________________
(b). Contest of speed ______________________
(c). To be fond of _________________________

9, (a). Chair or bench ______________________
(b). Point on Compass _____________________
(c). Satisfy the appetite _____________________

10. (a). Domesticated ______________________
(b). Set of Players _________________________
(c). Flesh of animals _______________________

This is a fun quizz and one you might want to share with your children. In fact, if they get it first, they will try it out on you.

Print this out and work on it, because I am not giving the answers out quite yet, and feel free to post your answers.

Oh, and I hope you had more fun solving these, than I had typing them. Almost gave up and deleted the whole dang thing.   Have fun and we’ll meet again next week, AND NOT WITH A QUIZ SUCH AS THIS.

Be aware, and don’t settle for less . . .

Now that the ‘baby boomers’ are retiring in full force, it’s said that over half of all Americans are in that ‘over 60’ group and while it puts our population out of balance, it’s not bad at all  for members of that Group.

I’ve been a member for sometime and kinda like it. Only a generation or two ago being a ‘senior’ was not an age to look forward to, but times have changed. Really changed, so grab your partner’s hand, if you’re lucky enough to still have him/her. And if not, you won’t be the only one.

First, pregnancy is no longer a concern, for while we liked that process, we’re now celebrating our grandkids, and can’t wait to have them come for an evening, or more. We also rejoice when their parents, (our grownup kids), come and get them, and we’re all happy with our unique, but changing place in the line.

One of the first gifts of seniority is that we can forget about schedules. We get up when we want, go to bed ditto, and if we want leftover pizza or pie for breakfast, well, we eat pizza or pie for breakfast. If we want to take a tray and eat out under a tree, or in bed with the TV, well, again, that’s what and where we will eat, and no explanations needed.

And now I narrow this down to myself. My partner died quite a few years ago, and what with a job I loved, and busy with friends, I chose to not marry again, and so, if I spend a whole day just reading and making meals from a well stocked freezer, augmented by the Micro, I have no guilt. And in the same vein, after years of trying to keep my yard up to Gram’s standard, I rid myself of all flower beds, let someone else mow the lawn, and . . . I . . . love . . . it.

Another bonus for we ‘over 60’s’ is never needing to justify to anyone what we buy or don’t buy. Of course we pay attention to the pocket book, but can you imagine freedom of not having to explain??? And, if I want to clean house, I clean. And if my home gets a trifle rumpled, well, it’s my house and I can grin and say, “It’s OK, Ethel,” knowing that in a day or two, Crystal will come and make sense of it all.

I like music and if it’s 24 hours of Beethoven or the same of good ole country songs, it’s my choice, and if you haven’t yet found Music Choice, go for it. Right there on TV is any kind of music you could want, with no commercials , or membership fees or joining some ‘club’. Click on Station 950, then keep going down through 949, etc. and you can make your Music Choice, and for free.

Then . . . we find ourselves changing former bedrooms into guest rooms,  office, studio, sewing room, grandkid’s playrooms, or a sun room, It’s fun. The feel of the entire house changes as we claim it for ours, and not for 3, 4, or 5 others, because those beloved ‘others’ are now grown and planning their own homes and rooms. And most of my ‘old’ furniture is welcomed by those who, not too long ago, used it all as children, and are glad to get it for their kids. Real re-cycling..

When I was a teenager, I loved being a teenager, had a ball during my 20’s, and never would I give up the years of having and helping my kids grow up. But now, we are different people, a different age, and whether   it’s you and a partner, or just you, everyone over 60 that I know is finding it good.

You’ll find so much that is unexpected and wonderful. Hair salons cater to us, restaurants put out ‘red carpets’ to lure us in. We are one of the biggest buying groups in all States, and retailers seek our favor.

Things and people, change. For us, every stage of life has been full of surprises and if you’re lucky and still have your partner, just know that is mainly the surprise gift of Health Care, almost solely the basis of all the changes I speak of. Yeah, life over 60 is good.

Your senior years will never be like your mother’s or grandmother’s and they would not recognize the opportunities now open to you. Take it all and make your over 60’s into the crowning glory of your years of work, planning, and maturing. Don’t settle for less. You earned it.

Pure God Stuff . . .

I’ve long been active with Utah’s metaphysical organizations, teaching or speaking at such groups and last week was pleasantly surprised when someone emailed me to comment upon a ‘talk’ I had given a decade or two ago, and as I read his words, I knew I had this week’s blog right there in my hands.

I had called my talk ‘The Golden Ring’, and my first words were to ask everyone to remove any Gold Ring they might be wearing, and to place that ring in one hand, and put the Gold in the other hand. Which of course is impossible to do, for after all, the Gold was the basic material used and the ring just the form given that Gold.

And I went on to explain that no matter how soiled that ring might be, or even if somehow it becomes crushed out of shape, until it no longer even looks like a ring, the inherent material will remain constant. Pure Gold.

And that, I continued, is what we are. You, me, everyone we look upon, our core is Golden. And, I went on, that core is glorious golden Spirit. and I call it God Stuff. That’s what we are.

And no matter how soiled, or ‘bent out of shape’ we may become in form, what nationality we are, what color our skin, or shape of our eyes, doesn’t matter, for our core, our very Being, is golden, pure ‘God Stuff.’

I taught for a few years at the State Prison, and yes, I often repeat some ‘talk’ that has had acceptance and appeal to other groups, and there, behind those steel and concrete walls, I spoke of the Golden Ring, and saw more than one man wipe away a tear or two, as they heard me repeat that no matter how twisted or bent out of shape we seem to be, or what we have done, or not done, the core of us remains pure. Like an old dirty, twisted ring , we too are Pure Gold, and nothing, absolutely nothing can change that Gold. That Pure God Stuff.

It takes a discerning eye to hold a dirty, bent-up ring in our hand, and be able to see past   the tarnished ‘facade’ and know there is uncontaminated Gold within. And many a piece of jewelry, or Person, is tossed aside as worthless while Real Gold, Pure God Stuff, lies therein.

And we must never think it too late, for it never is. The outer form constantly changes during our lifetime, but the ‘Gold’, unchanging, is always there. It is us, even from life after life. You. Me. The pure, Golden God Stuff remains ever the same.

Our skin and outer form, may be female, male, brown, white, yellow, black, or some mixture, just as Gold can be formed into a ring, pin, necklace, bracelet, and so forth, for the outer forms matter not, for they are endless, but the Gold is constant. We see only the ever-changing form, while the basic material, is changeless. Pure Gold, God in Spirit.

There are no baby Spirits; But Spirits in baby bodies.
No old worn-out Spirits; But Spirits in old worn-out bodies.
No African Spirits; But Spirits in African bodies.
No Far Eastern Spirits; But Spirits in Far Eastern Bodies.
No Criminal Spirits, But Spirits in Criminal forms.
No Handicapped Spirits, But Spirits in Handicapped bodies.
No Gay Spirits, But Spirits in Gay bodies.

Our many languages have given us so many different names, The Source, Allah, I Am, The Light, God, Spirit, so call it what we will, we know what we mean, and, no matter what  we have allowed to happen to our Human Machine, it’s only the form, and when we step from this Human body, and enter another of God’s Rooms where, with guidance, the soil and false images we’ve thought were us, will be erased and we’ll know what we are, and ever have been. Serene, unchanging, golden Spirit. Pure God Stuff.

And, the next time we glance at a Gold Ring on our finger, know that it represents You, Me, everyone else, and stand in awe to know there is no alloy or impurity in the gold or the Real Us. Just unsullied, Golden, God Stuff.

Fun in the winter sun, a man, his dog, and wild geese . . .

A man, or boy playing with his dog is a familiar sight and good to see. You can feel their joy as the dog leaps to the shoulders of the other and you know they both are having fun.

But last week I saw a man, his dog, and two separate flocks of geese, each of 40 or more birds, playing a game and having ‘the time of their lives’. I stopped spellbound at what I was seeing and didn’t move from my window until the game was over.

It began with a man I often see down on the Golf Course, taking a walk with his dog, who,  with no golfers on the snow-covered Course, can run free. With no one there but his Master, he runs across the field, then goes back to be reunited for a moment, and then off again. Both man and beast enjoying it all.

The snow-covered field was beautiful and I watched from a window as a flock of geese swooped in, and I didn’t think it odd at the time, but now I realize, and wonder, that the presence of the man and running dog made no difference to the geese. I often see the man and his dog, and also see the geese settling down for a rest, but never at the same time. This time it was different.

The dog started it when he ran, no, he almost danced, with tail flying high, toward the geese, NOT barking or any ‘attack’ mode, but in a ‘let’s play together’ way, and the geese, with no flurry or fear, took to the air, but didn’t go in fear, for I watched and they kept, believe it or not, just out of the dog’s reach, and would actually dip down, toward the playful dog, then up, circle, and the dog followed their lead, and the man just kept casually walking along the path. No yelling, no whistling, no calling, or flapping of arms. Just minding his own business and knowing both his dog and the geese were enjoying each other.

And then, and I repeat myself, but it is hard to believe, but another flock of geese came, settled not too far away from all the activity. And it surprised me to see the dog whirl and prance off toward them. And they, too, did not fly away. It was a game if I ever saw one and man, dog and two good-sized flocks of geese knew the game, and kept all the rules, too. No loud honking or barking. It was just like a bunch of kids playing their own game of TAG.

The man kept his steady calm, pace and ever so often the dog would run back to him, jump up to his shoulders, tail wagging, get petted, and then on his way back to the geese.   I swear if those geese could also have swooped to the man for approval, they would have too.

The geese, from both flocks, played their part by swooping to the dog as he danced among them, almost with a ‘Hey, I almost touched you’ manner. If those geese had been in fear they could and would have flown away in an instant. But both flocks, stayed and played with a happy dog. And I think the man was enjoying it, too. I watched them for easily ten to 15 minutes.

It was so apparently a game that I knew there was some sort of communication between those animals (and I include the man). A way of communication that we know not of, and seldom see. The two flocks of geese never mingled with each other, but one playful dog went back and forth between them, and one calm, UN-interfering man, were all enjoying themselves. And each other.

The man continued his calm pace and soon entered into another part of the Course. The geese and dog continued their play, but as the distance grew, with the man further away, I saw him stop, turn, put his hand to his mouth and I think he whistled. because his dog, abruptly stopped his play, turned and giving the geese one good last whirl, he obeyed the signal and joined the man,

Both flocks of geese, watched him go, and I swear flicked their wings in a ‘let’s do this again some time’ manner , and then as the man and dog went their way, the geese settled in their different parts of the field, and so did I.

The game was over. But what a game. for right in my own ‘backyard’, I saw a man, birds, and an animal, and with no fear, play together. People, with all our differences, could take a lesson from them.

Rooms, rooms . . . rooms, rooms, rooms.
In rooms we laugh, in rooms we cry,
In rooms we’re born and in rooms we die.

But that’s just part of the story, for even children are aware of the ‘feel’ of rooms. The ‘feel’ that affects us, for with nothing said, children know if it’s part of a ‘home’ or just a ‘house’ and if the people there are up-tight, or relaxed, and open.

The rooms we grew up in, and those we now live in, silently but surely shaped and continue to shape our lives, for we fit inside them like a hand in a glove. If the glove is soft and comfortable, or stiff and unbending as steel, the lives lived there become the same. We mentally ‘freeze’ in rooms that are furnished in the stark manner of a hotel room, or by being so precisely planned and decorated that they belong on a magazine cover. surely not for real people.

So impersonal that if I try to picture a tousle-headed child running in from play, wanting to share something stupendous with his mother, I wonder if that child would be welcomed or chastized for bringing ‘all that dirt into the house’.

I scan such rooms, to see if there is some corner where you could curl up with a child, book, cuppa tea, some knitting, or, instead, if people would drift off to a den or bedroom that might have a more friendly atmosphere.

I like rooms with furniture and decorations that people and time have touched. I lovingly use many of Gram’s things, items that knew Brad’s hands, a wall of bookshelves my Dad made, handwork of Mom’s and gifts from friends. No decorator planned my rooms, they just grew as people, time, and deaths left their treasured marks.

I have a fireplace, rockers, pillows, knick knacks, books in every room, and the sun is free to splash over my floors and carpets. Crazy Cat, sits on the window seat and children can mingle with adults in a friendly give and take .

My Dad and Gram, whose partners had stepped into one of God’s Next Rooms. will always be part of my kitchen. I see them with tea, coffee, leftover pie or cookies, while talking of the days when they were young. All while I would be doing my stuff, and two young boys played with their toys as the warm winter sun shown upon them there at our feet.

A room where there were uncountable koffee klatches with the artist, Beverly Wheeler Mastrim, who lived next door, and who will remain forever a part of my rooms.

We remember the rooms we grew up in, those of our own first home, and the sweet smelling rooms of our grandparent’s homes. Our heart can break in some room, and then in perhaps the very same room, where we took a deep breath, pulled ourselves together and decided that after all, life was still worth living.

And finally when our years are finished, we die in a room, and go on to some other of God’s Rooms. They’re all ‘living’ rooms, so be loving as you furnish yours because they will shape those who will dwell there.

But my mind wont let well enough alone, and more thoughts come to me and this time my mind goes to my unknown ‘before’ and ‘after’ rooms.   All babies are born, in pretty much the same way, but where did I, the Spirit come from?     ‘Tis said, “God created Heaven and Earth”, and I think that speaks of Rooms, and not only Eden, but far away rooms. like our continents, as well as distant ‘planet rooms’ that make our solar system look minuscule.

So, this just-born Ethel entered this Human Room, fine, fine, fine, but where did that Spirit come from, and with absolute perfect timing, slip into that Machine called Ethel, and shock it to cry out, and give it Life with its first wondrous deep breath of air? And when that joining doesn’t take place? Did someone make an error of timing? Or what?

I don’t know, but then when I leave this body? Well, of course, the Ethel part of me will be buried or cremated, but what happens to the Real Me? I think I, and you too, will be guided to some yet unknown Room. A different Room where I can learn more of what God wants me to know, or to ‘fix’ spots where I’ve erred in this Human Room.  So many trillions of Spirits have lived here as humans and we’re all so different in experiences and reactions that surely we all are not destined for the same next Room.

God must have created many more Rooms awaiting each of us. Rooms that have compassionate and loving learning to give.  I think so, for, you see, I know I’m far from being a ‘finished’ person, and yet have no idea of what it is I need. But God does, and I think there must be the right Room awaiting me. And the right one, also, for you, and you and you.   Hope we see each other there.

Depression is a common malady at any time of the year, and during the Holiday Season, it can almost become an epidemic.

 And, as a result, we wonder if we are merely feeling the ‘push’ of a crowded schedule, worry of gift-giving expenses, wondering if ‘we’re doing enough’, or if we should resort to the medication that TV ads tell us is the answer to all our maladies.

Happens to everyone, and a month or so ago, feeling what used to be called ‘down in the dumps’ , I found a pamphlet giving the words I’m using today. They made sense to me and if you say you’ve never had feelings of depression? Well, lucky you, lucky you.

The article gave the following Questions and Answers, in order to check on ourselves. I did and decided I was just having ‘one of those days’, and that all was well with me. Anyway, here are your Questions.

Have a pen handy and make your answers:
1. None or little of the time.
2. Some of the time.
3. Good part of the time.
4. Most or all of the time.

No one is looking over your shoulder, so answer honestly and those answers, if you’ve been worrying, will probably relieve your mind. or give you the push to get a doctor’s help. Just, as the article said, as if you had a bad cold. Here we go.

1. I feel downhearted, blue and sad.
2. Morning is when I feel the best.
3. I have crying spells or I feel like it.
4. I have trouble sleeping through the night.
5. I eat as much as I used to.
6. I enjoy looking at, talking to, and being with attractive men and or women.
7. I am losing weight.
8. I have trouble with constipation.
9. My heart beats faster than usual
10. I get tired for no reason.
11. My mind is as clear and sharp as ever.
12. I find it easy to do the things I used to do.
13. I am restless and can’t sit or stand still.
14. I feel hopeful about the future.
15. I am more irritable than usual.
16. I find it easy to make decisions.
17. I feel that I am useful and needed.
18. My life is pretty full.
19. I feel that others would be better off if I were dead.
20. I enjoy the things I used to do.

Well, that’s it, except there is a special blank which asks if you have recently or currently thought of suicide. We are perfectly normal if, occasionally, there are days when we feel life just isn’t fair to us, and all that stuff.   So relax and go read a book.   In other words, quit worrying.

Truly, there are those who absolutely dread the time from Thanksgiving on through New Years, and would like to close the door, take the phone off the hook, and pretend they’ve left town. And, the experts say, most of that, is normal along with the ups and downs of our family life and how circumstances change. And this is why many older couples take a vacation trip at this time of the year.

If any of these is just once in a while thing, you are NOT clinically depressed, but probably merely reacting to the changes life brings to us all, and a doctor, therapist or some Pill are not needed and might even make things worse.

But look at your answers, make allowances for your age, what’s going on in your life, and then, if you feel you do need help, it’s available for the asking and to be asked for with no more guilt , the article stressed, than you would feel for getting help with any ailment. We all, at times,  feel like we need that help.

And if you think not, call some good friend, and once you get started, let them talk, too, and you’ll find you have good company in your feelings, and that we all have times of being down in the dumps. Life changes and sometimes we don’t like those changes, but changes are not depression.  We’ve been constantly changing since the time of our conception.  And will continue to do so, too.

Doctor’s offices are busy in December with people who are struggling with what they think is Depression. And the answer for 99.% boils down to the fact that we are no longer  children, and yet, unknowingly, we struggle to duplicate the decorations, excitement, whispered secrets, we experienced in childhood.

All that fantasy is a lovely myth formed for the child we all once were, and as adults, strive and wonder why, no matter how much money we spend, how many gifts we give or receive, or parties we give or attend, that remembered joy is beyond our reach.

We are no longer children, so why don’t we, as adults, stop trying to be a child again, and instead, remember Christmas is a Spiritual Holiday, and not allow Store Sales, TV commercials and hoopla, to twist our minds into thinking that the answer is in how much money we spend.

Let’s give The Day back to children, and Special thoughts upon that Special Child who was born long years ago in Bethlehem. Let us stop acting and thinking like the children we no longer are, and instead of depression, our hearts and minds will soon be overflowing with  peace of joy, contentment, laughter, and love. After all, that’s what Christmas is. 

This Time the Golden Goose will be kept alive . . .

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, our elected Leader for Four Terms,  was crippled with Polio and lived most of his adult life in a wheel chair.

The Press never showed that view of him, but he never ‘walked’ without wearing unseen, heavy braces, and a son, or some strong man at his side. It’s said that if he were alone in his private rooms, and wanted to get around, he crawled. Of course he could have had help, or used a walker, but FDR purposely chose that discipline for he feared a fire, and that no one might know and not come to help him. So he exercised and his upper body became very powerful.

Polio is no longer the crippling disease it once was, because the March of Dimes, was organized in his honor, and year after year we donated our ‘dimes’ to fight Polio, and sure enough Jonas Salk, in the early 1950’s ‘found’ the Vaccine that finally prevented that disease. And the world rejoiced.

But, there had been an awfully lot of people, organizations, hospitals, researchers and such behind that triumph and when the Salk Vaccine was made, suddenly, there was no need for any of those people, their jobs or organizations.

Yes,  the dreaded Polio was gone, a thing of the past, but as a result, thousands of people became unemployed, because scientists, doctors, and others in Research organizations, were no longer needed. The battle had been fought, conquered, and almost overnight, there were no new Polio patients, and only caretakers for those suffering with the disease were needed.

It wasn’t long before there were long  news stories telling of the stunned men and women who, over night were suddenly unemployed because the reason for their  work had been solved, and an entire industry had been made absolutely unneeded.  Polio was a thing of the past and is now only a Shot your children are casually given along with other childhood Shots for  medication.

It was then bitterly stated, and has been re-stated over and over since then, that there would never be cures ‘found’ for Cancer, Aids, HIV, and other dread diseases because too many people are earning too much money from that ‘battle’, to ever allow such a cure to be developed. Search for their cures has grown into World Wide Businesses, and they have   no plans of going out of business, either.

But I’d be willing to bet that securely, secretly and locked in deep Safes are more than one cure, shot, or method of controlling any of those dread diseases we now fear. A cure for any of those diseases would create a world wide tsunami destructive wave of people, soon unemployed in hospitals, researchers, (see above) if a cure for cancer were suddenly found.

Think about it. A world wide wave, with a domino effect upon jobs, and research groups no longer needed would arrive. Take but a quick glance at what happened with Polio, and know why there are people over the world w ho do not want that to happen again. With whatever disease.

The method is to control what is being produced. So every new method of how to control diseases is examined and automatically deemed ‘Not worth further investigation’. The idea is then purchased, and silently shelved. as ‘unusable’, locked up, and never again to see the light of day, much less on your pharmacy’s shelves.

Institutions to care for those with the disease? Yes, yes, yes.   Insurance for their care?  Yes, yes, yes. Care for their families?  Yes, yes, yes. But to get to the core of it all???? No, no, no and no.

We know that money is Power and all one need do is look back on what happened to the many medical people and research groups that once were built around Polio, and how suddenly they were dissolved into nothingness, and the answer is clear.

Succinctly, too many people are earning too much money to ever again allow cures for such wide spread diseases to appear. The world applauded Salk for developing Polio Serum . But it was a bitter/sweet triumph for the industry to take, for little by little they knew they themselves had perpetrated the entire sequence, and had no one but themselves to thank or blame for what happened. .

So, with good memories, there were those who silently swore to not let it happen again. Yeah, they killed their own Golden Goose once, and as it’s been stated, over and over again, “It will never happen again”, and so far they’ve managed to do just that.

Let’s revisit those first times again . . .

Our lives are full of ‘firsts’, from our primal yell until our last sigh. Which will actually be a both a mighty ‘first-and-last’. But don’t get me mixed up. You know what I mean, and so I go on. There’s the first tooth, first step, first day of school, and all that stuff, But some of our ‘firsts’ go deep.

How about the first time you traveled alone? Planned the trip, bought the tickets, and then, in a strange city, with no help from anyone, you made your train or plane connections. Even called a cab and arrived at your hotel . . . all by yourself.

Remember the first time you applied for a job?   Ho, ho, ho, that was a big first, and then, for heaven’s sake, don’t forget about the first time you were fired. And if it never happened to you, well, I hope it never does, but I remember once being flatly told I was hired to work not to goof off, and so I began to work. Some of our firsts are also great teachers.

Branching out, I’ll always remember my first time in a really nice restaurant. I was stunned, though I tried desperately to look unimpressed. It seemed like the room shone. Lovely chandeliers made the silver and crystal glitter on the white linen, and there were tall plants around the room, large pictures on the walls, draperies at the windows, and a waiter with a napkin over his arm. Just to help me. And I felt as if I should not speak above a whisper.  Almost like in church.  Oh, my I remember.

We don’t soon forget the first time death, that ole hypocrite, came into our life, either, and when we stood at the edge of that deep earthen hole, and knew that any remains of our loved one, who was talking and laughing just days ago, has now been hidden deep in God’s earth. And knew that death does not happen just to others, but to you, too. And the second or third times come no easier.

And as I spoke of the ‘end’ of life,  I now take us to the beginning, the first time we made love. Yes, we women remember, and whether it was a time of wonder and bliss, or sadly, if far from all romantic words we’ve read, we still remember. I don’t know about men and how their memories work, but for the rest of our lives, women never forget.

And in this day and age, it’s perfectly correct to ask, if you remember your first marriage? And if there’s been only one, you are either outstandingly lucky or are maybe living in a marriage you really ought to change. And, once more, I write of the other side of the coin, how about your first divorce?  Oh, me, oh me, oh me. What I don’t think of, but that seems to be such an ordinary part of today’s life, and not to be ignored.

Then, do you remember that lovely first moment when you held a newborn child in your arms and knew that between you and God, you had made this bundle of life. Oh yes, some man had a momentary part in the wonder of wonders, but you, within your own body,  carried that child for nine long months and then gave it birth. And this is one of the times when the emotion that fills you is really ‘Love beyond words’.

And there was the day you moved into your first home. Might have been no more than a rental of only one or two rooms , but it was yours. All yours, and the thrill of later ones, no doubt far more sumptuous, would never be recalled like that first one.

And ultimately we all have startling firsts, like when, for the first time, we realized we were moving up in the generations. First you were the youngest, and then, to your dismay, you saw younger children born and then for a long, long time you were in that comfortable middle zone.

But relentlessly you saw yourself not only taking care of a younger generation, but at the same time realizing your parents might one day also need help. Happens to us all.

Yes, ultimately, your parents die, and that is a first you never forget for with it comes the realization that you are now the oldest generation. By chance it happened to me when I was fairly young, but, do I remember. It was a shock for it seemed such a short time since I had been the youngest of the family, and then, there I was of the oldest.

Oh, and then the glory of the first time you dropped into really deep meditation, into another time and space, and you knew that the stories told by those ancient seers and sages are true and you were blessed to find them and their Teachings.   And forever afterwards, the phrase of Thank You, God, became a constant part of your thoughts.

Do you remember your first emergency? Perhaps when one of your own children was hurt or in an accident and there was no one else to take charge? Remember how you chose not to panic, straightened your shoulders, did what needed to be done, and if you fainted it was not until the child had been cared for, and all was well again.

Firsts, firsts, firsts. Our entire life is made of them. You have yours. I have mine and I hope most of yours were wonderful, just as most of mine have been, too.