The Writing on the Wall

(Taken from the Picture Bible, David C. Cook, Publisher.)

I consider myself fortunate, as I was introduced to Bible stories early in my clergy home.  It was a simple way of presenting them, through cartoons.

But I find a sort of comfort in reviewing them, because the idea of either mad or incompetent "King" is honestly reported. No excuses.  

So, we can refer to them, now and again, to find out where certain expressions come from.  

The King was upset, due to "the Writing on the Wall" and asked 
 Daniel to interpret.

The Cheeks of a Blue Fish

Why share this? It reminded me of when I was a naive kid just out of Luther College, my brother's former father-in-law told me a tall tale, at a restaurant, about filet mignon. He said, it was "the cheeks of a blue fish", and I believed it. 
He asked me how it tasted.
I said, "It tastes like beef". 
He replied, "well, sometimes the cheeks are so thick, they taste like beef."
"Really?"
"Yes, and sometimes, they've been known to go on land and carry a walking stick." 
At this point, my cousin, at the table, involuntarily spit out his drink.

Close "Call"

After Yoga, 🧘‍♀️attempted Christmas shopping at my favorite book shop, and it was like a magical fairy land for kids' stuff👧...
But then, after consulting with my other 1/2 🧔on my cell, drove intently toward home, 🚗and attempted getting chicken on Sr. discount. This involved getting there before 9 p.m. 
One car was in front of me, as the clock ⏰was ticking: "Yeah, I'd like Famous", 8:54, "What do you have in Famous?" 8:55, "Sides?" "Yeah, I'd like beans."🍲8:56, "No, I changed my mind; make that Mac 'n Cheese."🧀 8:57...sweat, sweat...😢 "Will that be it?" "What did you say you had in Famous?" (unintelligible) "Is that it?" 8:58, sweating buckets, now.🥵 "That will be $19.95."
 "Hello?" "Yes, may I take your order?" Whew, and for 1/2 the price, too!😜

New Neighborhood Grocery bellies up

Well, Fresh Market is closing out, had to get a few items, and they deducted half my purchase. 🥰 Of course, I had to leave a token of my esteem...my hat, 💂‍♀️ (which was placed on a post outside, never to be seen again, by me).
 But I did run into a friend from childhood,👧 and we agreed the design and atmosphere wasn't like the old Plumbs, the open and friendly neighborhood market. 
Bill said they must have hired a consultant.👨‍🏫

Life's a Bowl of Cherries?

Since retiring, I've had the benefit of sleeping deeply.😴 A couple times, though, while sleeping, I've been aware enough to know I'd like to get out of the situation I'm in, be it working too hard or being chased by something,🏃‍♀️ and I'd like to wake up. So, what if when we go to sleep at night, we are actually in the Spirit world? ☁️🌤️ That could mean that when we wake up, we're only acting 🎭 as if we're alive. The moral of this is we shouldn't take "life" seriously. 🍒

Sounds like a Plan

  (Picture from Preview of a book by David Joachim)

My Co-Grandma, Marilyn, rounded up some Sloppy Joes to take home to my husband, who was recovering from a bug.  This made it possible for me to throw some easy things together.  

Bill got a can of peas, a can of baked beans, (I already had cut-up onions for the beans) and of course, the Sloppy Joe Sauce, and a couple of buns she'd sent. 

I laughed when I recalled to Bill that this reminded me of our book, A Man, A Can, A Plan, which our daughter was considering buying us before we actually did...as a Joke.

So, I picked the book up again from the cookbook shelf, just to look through it and thought..."Hey, this isn't so bad!"

It also brought back memories of going to the then, Plumbs, with the book, so I could get the recommended items.  This was a neighborhood store, now replaced by Fresh Market.  People, seeing me look through the book with its kids' early reader cardboard pages, got curious.  I started explaining the book to the customers, and soon, developed a line of people following me around the store aisles.

The book uses words like, "dump, nuke, slop, spackle, manhandle, hack off, drizzle, squirt, drop, and plop", because it's especially for men.  And you don't have to measure too much, because you're dumping already measured cans of things together. 

Near the end of the book , too, is the manliest of man's deepest desires, a section on...Beer.

Annie Again

My daughter took me to see another "Annie" production, along with my grandaughters, at the Grand Haven Community Center.  And this time, I didn't have to review or know the names of the players, except that Annie was one of the girls' babysitters, and her faux mother was "Annie's" actual mother, who often picked the girls up from school.  They and all the players were spectacular!

Writers often say they write to find out what they think.  

I couldn't help but notice that, though set in the time of the Depression, the play mirrored a lot of what we're going through now.  The homeless in Hooverville, for example, complained that the then President Hoover had made them what they had become today.  President Roosevelt needed to jump start the factories, and of course, Annie herself gave Roosevelt and his team (including Mrs. Perkins who advised Social Security) hope. Fraud, in the form of myriad Annie's parents coming forward for money, was rampant.

And so, just week's before the election, singing about "Tomorrow", filled the theater with hope.

Going with the Flow

Started the day placing myself in the flow, then, doing an errand, and I thought I saw a driver cussing at me and going into the same parking lot I was headed for. 🚗Thought, uh oh... Instead of being angry, he waved, then, he came out with some friendly explanation, and I was nice back.🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️ 

I got ready to go to Yoga, and Bill wanted to know why I was headed there an hour ahead of time. I didn't really know how that happened. ⏳ So, I used the time to take books and a poster for Tellabration to a local bookstore. She told me that the former manager is now retired; they're under new management, no book donations, no posters, and I quietly, in my age and experience, thought to myself, well, you'll be closed soon. We saw that happen when Disney's Buena Vista 🐭 was taken over by the rude Windham people.🧛‍♂️ Somehow, though, after starting out an hour early, I still managed to get to Yoga 5 minutes late.🧘‍♀️ Can't seem to break a consistent record. 

Shopping went smoothly, and so did getting Lee's chicken, senior style.🍗 

Bill's reported to me that Fox thinks we are evil, and they're willing to do anything to fight us.🤺 Does that include rigging the votes? So, since O'Donnell wasn't on O'Donnell, I found out why Fox really dislikes Don Lemon. One of his guests from a very high interrogation position, for example, said D.T. should get off his fat A... (won't insert emoji here) and ask specific questions. LOL!

Befuddled at What I Posted a Year Ago

Introduction:  I'll have to do some detective work to find out what I actually did that day, which was actually about the day before.  For example, I don't know how Jonah triggered an idea for a play, unless it was another story, like Paul in Prison, or the parable about the laborers, who got the same pay? That was part of my detective work, to find out what we actually studied.  Wish I'd remembered what the idea was.  I should have written that down, as I do most everything.

Interesting day: Bible study I attended⛪ gave me an idea for a play; there should be no copyright problems, since said Book is in the public domain.

 Got expensive, corrective shoes, but getting there was a problem. Pretty sure I was going down the wrong way🚗on a one way; then, it just... ended. Who knows where I drove then? But then, when I got back on the same, disconnected road again, it still told me not to drive the wrong way, so I had to sneak down the alleys. 🚗 By the time I got to the shoe store, I forgot what size I was.

 Bill insisted I get him a Coke (named Gabrielle), and a Snickers. The only Snickers I could find said, "Befuddled",😨 and the clerk and I talked about what it meant as I handed her $10 more than she asked for. She said, that "befuddled" her for awhile there.

 Back to Yoga,🧘‍♀️and Bill still wanted more stuff. 

Don't worry about those guys who work at Meijer. They're not being replaced by scanners. There has to be someone on duty to coach people like me over, and over, and over again. 

Then, choir,🎶 dinner, and O'Donnell.

Went through many costume changes👘 throughout all these travels and stops. Theater🎭 and substituting 👩‍🏫proved to be good training on how to be a chameleon.🦎

Off the Grid

Interesting evening. A senior on the cover of Women's World! 👵Then, heading for home, find myself in a Chinese intersection,🎎 and a busy one at that. Found out, it's survivable. The chicken place is closed,🐔 due to the power outage. It took me awhile to focus on the explanation from a distance. Put 2 and 2 together, the previous intersection with no lights🚫 was just on the corner. This town is like off the grid; the grid breaks down, and sometimes even the waterline, 🚣‍♀️but that's yet another story. Now, I understand, fierce winds🌩️are coming across the Atlantic, well, Lake Michigan. Brace yourselves!

Boom, Crash, Feast, and Boom.

Experience was mixed tonight. Was trying to get around the ottoman on which Leela sat, and went down...BOOM on my knee and broke my full length mirror. Dr. Leela 👩‍🔬 immediately suggested I put ice on it and ran out to report to Grandpa. I thought the ice was a good idea, so I got the one from the freezer that said, "Wisconsin Cheese"🧀 and placed it on my knee. 
The cool thing was going to Dickey's for the first time, for the girls, the second time. Had to run to the restroom that said, "Men/Women and the Rest of Us". I thought that was pretty up-to-date. 
Food was delish, and everybody seemed happy. 😊 I felt like I was in another town, so pretended I was on vacation. 🛳️ When I got my ice cream cone,🍦prepared by Naia, I felt like a kid again. With the kids, that's lots of laughs. 😂 
Afterwards, a glorious storm ⛈️ witnessed from our porch deck.

50th Anniversary of 2 Soldiers

                                                              

                                                                                                                                       

                                                         After reading my brother's memoirs,  I'm                                                                 reminded of that fateful year, and my only way to share it                                                           was to transfer my poem from the old blog.                                                                       now, there's been another decade passed...                                     

                                     

                                              But now, I'm recommitted, since I have grandchildren, to find a way or ways                                         to help co-create a much better future scenario for them and others' children and                                         grandchildren.

                                  

                                   

                                    Thursday, May 22, 2008

                       40th Anniversary of 2 Soldiers

                                         There were no guarantees,
                                         When I sat on my mother’s lap,
                                         As we rode to Stony Lake;
                                         Her hands fidgeted
                                         For reasons I could not understand.

                                         Dad drove down roads of love,
                                         Big…grandiose…powerful,
                                         I couldn’t have much more,
                                         But there were no guarantees.

                                         Three older brothers,
                                         Who found creative ways
                                         To exclude me,
                                         And one wonderful, fluffy,
                                         Big English setter.

                                         It seemed as though the scenario
                                         Would always be there.

                                         And when we camped,
                                         I watched my parents talk upside down
                                         In the camper
                                         As my brothers tented elsewhere.

All this, and there were
No guarantees.

I had a grandmother
Who told me I missed
the best part of the potato
by not eating the skin,
And I showed her my “writing.”
She said, “That’s nice,” and
Tossed it into the wastebasket.

It was then I knew
There were no guarantees
That anyone would like my “writing”.
I made the loops, the dots, and crosses.
I thought my writing was just as real
As anyone’s who knew how.

We had a girl in kindergarten,
Who had tap shoes and tap-danced;
So I told everyone I could dance, too,
Because I’d tested my natural rhythm.

But there were no guarantees,
Because the children laughed,
And the teacher laughed,
(I never liked her.)
When I danced…
There were no guarantees
That anyone would like my “dancing”.

I thought my rhythms, my moves,
The sound of my feet,
And above all, the sheer joy
I felt while dancing
Were just as real as anyone
Who knew how.

When Dad got sick and felt
He couldn’t preach anymore,
Though he did better on
His way down from the pulpit
Than ever before,
There were no guarantees
He’d even have a job.

When he got frantic, my mom
Said, “Be not anxious.”
Her prayers lead him to the job.

I’m her age now, but
There was no guarantee for her.
She landed in the hospital
And nearly died….

And Dad got frantic again
When I came home too late
(I hadn’t wanted to –
I’d kept telling my friend
I had to go.)
And told me how Mom
Almost didn’t make it,
No guarantees I’d keep my mother.
Visited her in the hospital
--No glasses on – I thought,
“She’s kind of pretty,”
The first I’d ever noticed.

Which made my oldest brother
Come home from the seminary for good,
Because there were no guarantees
He’d become the minister
My parents expected him to be,
Nor that he’ d (nor my other brothers) agree.

Even the big English setter
Had a heart attack
At my friends’ farm,
And there was no guarantee
I’d get to keep her.

Even Dad was upset,
As she died in my mother’s arms
In the basement.
Mom grew from that,
Learned animals had souls,
And Lucky was in “Dog Heaven,”
No matter what Mom was taught before.

And when my youngest brother
Got assigned to Viet Nam,
I was told I cried, but I couldn’t remember;
There was no guarantee
He’d come back,
…And he didn’t. *
And when my father grieved,
There was no guarantee
He’d be able, with poor health,
To stand the grief,
…And he didn’t.

And finally, Mom, who’d flirted earlier with death
Got older and older and weaker;
There was no guarantee
Thirty years later,
I could keep her.

Now, the three of us are left
And our families, we have born.
And we know
No guarantees for any of us.

We disagree and banter,
But we know we’d better
Treasure one another,
Because we’re going
Where there is a guarantee
We’ll be together
In the Spirit World;
And like vaporous clouds, raining,
Perhaps returning
To the earth plane
Every once in awhile…

Forever…


*taken from a quote from Kubler-Ross and Buscaglia,
a girl writing a letter about Viet Nam: "If I had only..."

There is a Man come into Egypt

I've learned to interpret the Bible metaphysically, or metaphorically, which isn't hard for an English Lit major.

So, swimming in my head, was the idea of interpreting the country's situation from thestandpoint of comparing it to the Hebrew Bible's story of the Exodus. Moses had already preceded the present day Pharaoh in Barack Obama's genuine leadership, representing both a person of color and Caucasian.  Moses' brother Aaron was represented well in Joe Biden.  
                      (from free-for-kids.com)

Been wondering why this injustice has gone on so long, so I did some review.  Looks like D.T. could be a modern-day Pharaoh. 
                    (from thinkstockphotos.com)
Plague upon plague has come upon the present, suspiciously appointed Pharaoh, in the form of indictments of people under him, even to threats of the first born sons being indicted and such indictments getting uncomfortably close to his own offspring.
Still, the lying Pharaoh digs in his heels, as he tries to push back against the ideals of the former chiefs.  For the goals and ideals are  the same, and people still remember them.
It looks like the people need to ban together, and elect a new Joshua.
It took the Israelites forty years, but forty years, updated metaphorically, could simply mean, a critical period of time, which again means, until we get the job done.
According to the Bible, it took a good long time, so keeping the faith is hard, unwavering, diligent work.

Anniversary Hike

 The terrain, partially blocked by trees, but way up on the ridge, which we call, "the two dogs and a man trail" (inside joke), Bill close to the patio on the Big Lake; we had passed through campground of college kids, and we thought they probably hadn't seen many our age hiking there, and finally, having arrived at the overview, it was down the stairs and downhill all the way after that. Grateful for our health.

Surprise Visit

A most surprising day, having lunch with my cousin, Laurel, and her family, (which was my breakfast). To get here, I told her to head down Whitehall Road, and she'd see my dad's long ago project, which was an ELCA church,💒 (i.e. 1st Lutheran) that she wouldn't miss it as there's a big picture of Jesus waving,👋 "All are Welcome...Even You". Well, I tagged that last part on. So she did and had her picture taken there. We had fun catching up, showing pictures, Then, her husband took a picture of us, 📷and I didn't think to have him do the same with my camera. I looked more like someone who'd just tidied up the house, instead of herself, anyway. 🧙‍♀️She's got the pictures, and is not really into face book as I am. So, you'll just have to take my word for it; they were here. The way we both feel about the state of the country's present "administrator",🕌 I do hope that someday soon, the chaos wil be over, and the two of us will once again sing a song, we sang together as kids:🎶 "It's a FREE OUR OWN FREE country🗽...America." 🇺🇲️

So, in Conclusion

Either I fixed a kick-ass roast and stew, or just about anything tops Dinty Moore and waffles.

What Else Goes Together?

I'll have to add to my blog on the things Bill says "go together". Tonight, it was Dinty Moore,🥩🥚🥕
Waffles, and Cantaloupe. Not complaining. It was easy. The part I don't understand is, "go together". I guess it's something to do with the lumberjacks coming home from a hard day's work.🧔

What Goes Together?

I kept offering options, like what do you want for dinner? I kept saying, no, we're out of that and out of that. So finally, he said, "Okay, do we have bacon and eggs?" "Yup." "And hot dogs?" "Yup." "Ok," he said, "bacon and eggs, and hot dogs go together." Well, I never heard of those things "going together", but okay. Then, I added sides of rabbit food and fruit. 

After this, I was grateful for the new option of going to Fresh Market, to get what we lacked, for the weekend. They kept yelling out, "Customer(s), get your final purchases", just like Barnes & Noble. Pretty sure I was the only one. After, ALWAYS having to go to Meijer (which used to be called Thrifty Acres, which indeed, acres, it was and still is), it took just 1/2 hour, and I'm outta there!

Anita Linnéa Fortney-Harms

🍳🥓🌭

Picking Stuff Up Day

LaMaze breathing isn't just for childbirth. It extends to picking up grandchildren in another county.

Later in the day, Bill decides the last 20 minutes before the Chinese place closes, he wants chop suey, so he calls, and the girl anxiously says, we close at 9....so,10 minute, okay?🎎 Because Chinese food doesn't like me, I stop at Subway, and there's a long line of folks, getting to know each other and telling each other they're glad they met,🗣️ and a kid 👦 is instructed on how to pay the cashier...very...slowly, while a guy is making my sandwich, whom I tell NO Jalapenos. 🌶️ I'm trying to be polite as I pay, and they wish me I nice evening, when I drive in the rain Behind a Slow Moving.....TRUCK (expletives deleted)🚛to the Chinese place, and make it in one minute, to get Bill's order. When I get back, Bill has his Chop Suey, and I have my sandwich with...what's that I taste? Jalapenos. 🌶️ Yup.