The other day I got a flyer in the mail about bundling my phone together with my TV and my cell and my computer. All I can say is that AT&T must be the most inefficient corporation on the block because it took me one and one-half hours on the phone. Mostly on hold. Jeez, I could kill the guy that invented that! Anyhow I ended up with Choice Extra for my TV with 210 channels and I find that the same thing happens now as it did whenever we stayed in a motel with that many channels. I just keep flipping the dang channels and never get to watch anything! But tonight I did watch something that was worth it---Paul McCartney at the White House and I heard “Hey Jude” and “Yesterday” and it was lovely. A local station, of course.
Four goldfinches did a lovely aerial ballet for me around the feeder this afternoon. I have never seen them sort of pedal in midair and then swoop around like that before in and out amongst each other.
Jim’s gladiolas are coming into bloom. He has planted over 100 of them and so I have a constant bouquet in my house. They are just starting so I hope they keep staggering their bloom so I can have them for a long time and not too many at once. They make good gifts.
My granddaddy of a willow is monstrous with all the rain and hot weather it has filled out and its canopy covers almost the whole back yard. It meets the sugar maple and my counterpart, the sugar maple and so the back yard is completely like walking in a vault of tree branches. I love it.
Dodger is the funniest dog. He plays by himself with his balls (his rubber balls) and makes them go into tight spots in the patio door, for instance, and then digs them out only to do it again and again. Then he tosses them in the air and chases them. Self entertainment.
One of the benefits of growing older is that I put myself in the other person’s shoes more often than I did. If a motorcyclist revs his motor up beside me at a stop sign I don’t mind. I would do it too if I had one. And if someone cuts in front of me or seems angry about something, I think that maybe he has a good reason like maybe he just lost his job, or his girlfriend or maybe he doesn’t feel well or someone he loves is ill or worse.
I feel more of a kinship with my fellowmen. When I was young I thought only I could feel such pain when things happened, or only I felt some things like no one else. We are all in the same boat and when they ask " for whom the bell tolls-it tolls for thee", I get it now.
So these are just some of my random thoughts today. I will end by saying, “Never, never ask a man for directions! They are never specific enough. A woman will give you great directions every time.”
Four goldfinches did a lovely aerial ballet for me around the feeder this afternoon. I have never seen them sort of pedal in midair and then swoop around like that before in and out amongst each other.
Jim’s gladiolas are coming into bloom. He has planted over 100 of them and so I have a constant bouquet in my house. They are just starting so I hope they keep staggering their bloom so I can have them for a long time and not too many at once. They make good gifts.My granddaddy of a willow is monstrous with all the rain and hot weather it has filled out and its canopy covers almost the whole back yard. It meets the sugar maple and my counterpart, the sugar maple and so the back yard is completely like walking in a vault of tree branches. I love it.
Dodger is the funniest dog. He plays by himself with his balls (his rubber balls) and makes them go into tight spots in the patio door, for instance, and then digs them out only to do it again and again. Then he tosses them in the air and chases them. Self entertainment.
One of the benefits of growing older is that I put myself in the other person’s shoes more often than I did. If a motorcyclist revs his motor up beside me at a stop sign I don’t mind. I would do it too if I had one. And if someone cuts in front of me or seems angry about something, I think that maybe he has a good reason like maybe he just lost his job, or his girlfriend or maybe he doesn’t feel well or someone he loves is ill or worse.
I feel more of a kinship with my fellowmen. When I was young I thought only I could feel such pain when things happened, or only I felt some things like no one else. We are all in the same boat and when they ask " for whom the bell tolls-it tolls for thee", I get it now.
So these are just some of my random thoughts today. I will end by saying, “Never, never ask a man for directions! They are never specific enough. A woman will give you great directions every time.”
13 comments:
Love your randomness today :) You have such a gift of compassion...allowing yourself to put yourself in their shoes is something others should take time to do! Thinking of yourself seems to be the norm anymore and it just makes me sad!
Praying for you and love love love those flowers! Such a beautiful gift of Gods Creation!
bless you Bernie!
Hello my friend, you sound so much happier in this post and much like Julie (or perhaps Julie sounds like you) Anyway I love knowing you are at peace and content with life.
I agree as we get older we are able to see, feel and understand another's pain or actions.....and the bell tolls for all of us.
Oh do I know what you mean about calling a company, those voice mail robots are something else aren't they. I have had the same credit card and number for 25 years and every 4 years they send me a new one, the only thing that changes is the expiry date. Well it took me 17 minutes to activate it the other day....I just kept following what they said and had to enter my number twice then when I finally get through I had to give it to the agent who only wanted to sell me insurance. All this to activiate a card, just think if one wanted a loan...eeeeks
Jim's glads are beautiful, I have always loved them.
Have a great weekend Bernie, sending big hugs from Canada...:-)
I am so busy watching Netflix movies, I hardly watch tv anymore. I love it because I can see so many foreign films which I love ( I can pause the subtitles if I miss anything because I can't just sit and watch a movie, I have to be working on the computer at the same time! I should only do that when I'm watching an English film...then I don't miss subtitles.
Your flowers are just gorgeous. I love having flowers in the house.
I seem to be more tolerant and patient as the years go by. I do miss working...I miss forensic nursing and I desperately miss the income and the travel it afforded me.
Aging does give us a greater appreciation of life and love for our fellow man.
I loved your description of the goldfinch's aerial ballet, their swooping in and out amongst each other. I have flocks of them here. The morning my mother passed, I watched a Hawk swoop in and take a finch that was fluttering against the wind in midair. It was done with graceful movements and very quick and peaceful, just like she passed.
Your posts always say so much to me, Bernie. Love them and love that Dodger entertains himself and you as well!
Those glads! Bright and beautiful and cheerful!
Goldfinches seem like fairytale birds to me...little pieces of gold swooping around.
And, yes...isn't it a relief to get an age/a stage where we see ourselves as part of the whole instead of so painfully special???
Hi Bernie! The flowers are beautiful and it reminds me of the farmer's market where usually someone is selling them..so pretty! I like you thoughts about aging..yes, things don't make me so angry(except automated phone calls!)...but I find that things sure make me sadder..people's cruelty to man and beast, children who feel they need to grow up so darn fast..well, today your post made me smile so thanks and have a great weekend!
Random, indeed! Enjoy hearing about your doggie, yard and birds, and agree about the ridiculously complicated ritual we go thru for our 'luxuries' like cell phone, cable, high speed internet, etc. It boggles the mind. I was just commenting to myself the other day, one of those conversations you have in your head, that my reactions to other people lean more towards the empathetic side of human nature now, or putting myself in their shoes. I also told my seven year old grandson recently, when he asked why I know so much about stuff, that I've 'been there, done that', and that there's very little in life that he'll go thru that his parents and grandparents haven't already experienced. I think it's a concept that he's only just now truly understanding, as opposed to the four year old who really doesn't and who talks, for example,about how he went to summer camp with his daddy when daddy was a boy, and he still remembers it!
Well, that was a rather random comment to your random post, wasn't it!
Hello! I am a new follower. I enjoy the way you write, how you describe things, and how you look at life. What a wonderful attitude you have!
I love Artful Dodger - he sounds so cute and has a great personality!
Hello Bernie,
I enjoyed your random thoughts. I too have that problem.... if I am living somewhere where there is cable, I often just keep clicking through the channels... never finding much of anything. Glad you found Paul McCartney! I grew up on the Beatles, and many more of my parents favorites.
How lovely to have a constant bouquet of flowers, and glad Dodger is bringing so much joy to your life!
:) have a nice weekend!
So much fun to read your stories. Your glads are breathtaking - what a blessing to have them. I'm laughing at Dodger's games. Our Golden Retriever, Toby, spends his days chasing bird shadows in the back yard.
Love your "walk a mile in their shoes" attitude. You inspire.
Funny that you mentioned not letting things get to you... I was riding with my 19 year old daughter and she got upset several times at people driving. I kept quiet until she was pulling into a parking place and a woman was taking something out of her car and Sydney got upset. I looked at her and said, "What would you do instead? Run over her?"
I can feel you watching and "feeling" the moments of the day; capturing these memories.
God bless you, Bernie.
I agree, men give lousy directions.
Ugh, I just adore you. I admire your perspective and sense of empathy towards others, and hope to be able to encapsulate that someday, too. Thank you.
I love it Bernie!
When you started off with the cable/phone situation, I knew it couldn't be good...even before I got beyond the first few words.
The dog and his balls. lol
I often hear people saying that they don't want to live into their eighties or nineties. I know there are lots of issues to deal with as older people, but I'm always excited when I see someone "up in age" still living their lives.
Thank you for showing me that life beyond 75 is worth living.
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