The Story of Matilda, the Christmas Hippopotamus

(This is for ol' E.R. Taken from a story I wrote in December 2000)


Visions of sugar plums weren't dancing through the heads of Oklahoma children in 1953.

No, what marched through their heads -- what they longed for -- was a hippopotamus for Christmas.

A hippo?

Yes, a hippo.
No crocodiles. No rhinoceroses. Only a hippopotamus would do.

And that's how Matilda the hippopotamus found herself at home at the Oklahoma City Zoo on Christmas Eve that year.


Santa is in the business of granting special wishes. But a hippo? Surely Santa slipped the reindeer a few extra vitamins for this special delivery.

The song "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," featuring the voice of a 10-year-old Gayla Peevey, sold more than 300,000 copies on the Columbia Records label by mid-December 1953.

The song inspired a campaign by WKY-TV and The Oklahoma City Times to raise enough to buy a hippo named Matilda.

And it took a lot of coins to buy the three-year-old hippo. Nearly $4,000 was raised, most of that in nickles and dimes sent in by children.

What child could dream that singing a song would really bring them a hippopotamus for Christmas? Or imagine that people would still cherish the song nearly 50 years later?

The little girl is now Gayla Peevey Henderson, living in California.

"It's true. Every Christmas people start contacting me," she said with a laugh.

"I was just 10, so it was all just kind of exciting and unexpected and fun. It was kind of a bonus to the whole thing to have the hippo actually be bought and donated to the zoo. Who would have ever dreamed that such a thing would ever happen?

"It was really a very fun experience. I got to meet so many other people, and the connection with other kids with them sending in their dimes and nickles was just really nice."

As much as Henderson enjoyed her singing career and seeing her song inspire children to buy Matilda, the fame that came along also took a toll.

"I know that people find this really hard to believe, but it's true. All that show business stuff was just too hard for our family to handle. It was very disruptive," Henderson said.

"My dad transferred to San Diego just so I could go to school and be normal. I was going into junior high. I was about 12. It was kind of nice. I was able to go to school, and we re-established ourselves here. I went on to college and met a nice guy and got marrie -- pretty normal stuff. I've had a wonderful life totally away from show business. I do still sing, but it's primarily at church.

"I still do some songwriting, but basically it's a pretty normal life. Every Christmas, somebody tracks me down to talk about the hippo song," she said.

Henderson has been married 37 years (in 2000).

"It's wonderful and unusual in this day and age to be married that long. I attribute that to being pretty grounded in our church and Christian faith. He's a teacher," she said.

She said her husband doesn't remember the hippopotamus song from his childhood, but he smiles when he hears it. The song has been played on "Ally McBeal" and "America's Funniest Home Videos."

Henderson's daughter, Sydney Forest, is a professional singer and songwriter.

"She writes songs that are in movies and animated films. She just completed writing a musical with her husband. ... She claims the music was passed through the genes."

The flip side of the record was "Are My Ears on Straight?" which is used a lot in dance studios for children, Henderson said.

Henderson was born in Oklahoma City and moved to Ponca City before she entered first grade. She and her family lived there for five years.

She sang on WKY-TV on "Sooner Shindig" and "The Chuckwagon Gang" programs. The president of WKY sent a demo tape to Columbia which led to Peevey's record contract.

"I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" was recorded with the Mitch Miller Orchestra. She performed the song on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Matilda the Hippo lived with her mate, Norman, at the Oklahoma City Zoo until March 1998. She had eight babies. She died in 1998 when she was being moved to Disney World in Florida where she would have retired with Norman.

"I was so very sad when Matilda died and was so happy I got to see her when I visited the Oklahoma City Zoo about 10 years ago," Henderson said.

Here are the lyrics. If you want to hear it on your computer, click here.

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
Don't want a doll, no dinky Tinker Toy
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
I don't think Santa Claus will mind, do you?
He won't have to use our dirty chimney flue
Just bring him through the front door,
that's the easy thing to do

I can see me now on Christmas morning,
creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise
when I open up my eyes
to see a hippo hero standing there

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles, no rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too

Mom says the hippo would eat me up, but then
Teacher says a hippo is a vegeterian

There's lots of room for him in our two-car garage
I'd feed him there and wash him there and give him his massage

I can see me now on Christmas morning,
creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise
when I open up my eyes
to see a hippo hero standing there

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles or rhinoceroseses
I only like hippopotamuseses
And hippopotamuses like me too!

The Story of Hoppin' John

This goes along with the season as well as the desire to live well while living frugally. It also meshes with Erudite Redneck's post about chow and how folk food around the world has a lot more in common than not.

Spicy Hoppin' John has been a tradition in my household every New Year's Day since probably 1977 when it was introduced to me by my then-boyfriend's mother. Before that, I had never in my life eaten a black-eyed pea.

And that's what Hoppin' John is -- a traditional southern dish made primarily of black-eyed peas, some form of pork (depending on the household tradition and what's available), rice and tomatoes. A pot will feed 20 people more or less (I tested the theory last year for a New Year's party and 12 of us ate well with plenty of leftovers). It will also sustain smaller parties for a month or so.

So, how did this dish get its name? One story attributes the name to the custom of inviting guests to eat with, "Hop in, John." Another suggestion is that it is derived from an old ritual on New Year's Day in which the children of the house hopped once around the table before eating the dish.

The reason this is considered a "southern" dish is because black-eyed peas are a legume common to North Africa. And of course it came to this country through the slave trade. Couple this with the rice economy of the Carolinas and you have a merging of folk cuisines, combining the black-eyed peas with rice. Such food mixing is a common occurrence in our culture's history -- look at Cajun combinations of French legacies with the swamp food available in Louisiana as another example.

In any event, eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is supposed to bring good luck. Eating greens is supposed to ensure wealth in the new year. Sounds like a prescription for dinner to me! Add the cornbread too, just because it's mmm mm good. I particulary like Crescent Dragonwagon's Sizzlin' Skillet Cornbread for the occasion (I'll have to post it later, company is on the way right now.)

Anyway, Hoppin' John, being a folk dish, does not require a fancy recipe. Modern conveniences such as canned vegetables makes it very easy. I don't do the dried bean routine nearly as often any more since I can simply grab 3 cans for $1 and be that much farther ahead of the game. Fill a large pot with black-eyed peas and add pork. That can be leftover ham, a hambone, salt pork, jowls, whatever is cheap and handy. The cheaper the better. Cover with a good amount of water. Chop up an onion and throw it in. Cover and simmer for a long time. (Usually measured in football games. Don't let the pot go dry.) Before eating, throw in a couple of cans of tomatoes (I used juicy stewed ones) and another can of water with a can of rice. Let it simmer til the rice swells up and the tomatoes are hot. Have the cornbread and greens ready too. Then eat. And eat and eat.

Yummmmmm.

Home Economics and Life Lessons

I think we all have a pretty basic idea of what it takes to manage money correctly. If we fail to do so, we will get slapped up the side of the head by reality sooner rather than later.

So, once in a while we need a refresher on handling money wisely. Here's some tips:

1. Jimmy Carter was right. If you're cold, put on a sweater. I have a programmable thermostat on my furnace. Most of the time, I have the heat set at 69 degrees. But since I've been working from home the past two years, I sometimes give in to the temptation to go punch it up a few degrees when I get chilled. Duh. Why was I surprised to find that my gas bill went up from $41 last month to $101 this month? Yeah, we've had some cooler days. But it's my own dang fault that I upped the gas use. I would have been more comfortable and saved some money if I'd followed Jimmy's advice to put on a sweater. Socks help too, and I have scores of socks. Pretty cheap warmth if you ask me.

2. Cook at home. Fast food has little going for it. It's fast. You get full. You get fat. And your car gets full of litter. Buy groceries and use them. It would not be hard to spend $10 a day on fast food. Spend that at a grocery store and you can eat well for three or four days. You'll eat better, be healthier and your house will smell good because you cooked.

3. Shop well. I've been without my grocery store (well, it's not really mine, it's just the one closest to my house) for months. So I've really cut down on my shopping trips because it's 4 miles to the next store. Good news! My local store reopened under different ownership on Friday! I had to go check it out. Apparently thousands of my closest friends also had the same need. I got the last parking place on the last row of the lot. Inside, it was elbow to elbow. I started having a panic attack when I was trapped in the meat department with no room to move any direction. Somehow, things loosened up enough for us to get out of the gridlock, but I learned a lesson: shop at off-peak times, once the new-store rush is over. On opening day, they handed out maps of the store. Now I can plot my purchases ahead of time and not spend a lot of time browsing.

4. Shop around the perimeter and ignore the center of the store. You'll find fresh fruits, vegetables, bread and meats around the perimeter of almost every store in the country. Junk food and non-grocery items are found in the aisles in the center of the store. Know your store layout and plan your shopping trip to take advantage of whole foods and avoid the body clutter.

5. Use what you have. My pantry is well stocked. So is my freezer. The plan is to use what I have before I go shopping again. I have plenty of frozen slices of turkey and ham stored since Thanksgiving. I can thaw a packet at a time to make soup or add to a casserole.

6. Make do. Growing up, I had to learn to be self-sufficient and make do with little. When I turned 12, I got a used sewing machine for Christmas. From then on, I had to make all of my clothes and my mom's. That carried me well past college. I also taught myself to knit when I was 10, and I've made a bunch of afghans which are great for keeping warm. Self reliance can also include growing a veggie garden and using the produce. Seeds cost next to nothing.

7. Turn off the lights. And the TV. Especially if you've gone to another room. I hate to admit that I have 4 televisions in my house. Too often I catch myself wandering to another room, turning on the tube and settling in for a while. The problem? I forgot to shut off the TV in the room I just left. Duh.

Well, life's changed a bit since I got that first sewing machine, but there are still plenty of ways to keep from wasting money.

My goal this year is to keep this motto in mind: "Live within your means and within your seams."

Don't think about it

Q.: What weighs 2,000 pounds and wears glass slippers?

A.: Cinderelephant, of course!

I told E.R. this silly little joke yesterday and warned him not to think about it during his graduation. Can't wait to hear how it went.

See, my dad told me this one when I was 9 and told me not to think about it. Um.... that was 40 years ago. HAR! Does that mean I have a memory like an elephant or is there just some sick psychological game involved when you tell someone not to think about something?

Anyway, I still like the joke. Here's another one. It's a little longer:

Q: How many elephants can you get in a Volkswagen?

A: Four.

Q: How do you know when an elephant has been in the refrigerator?

A: Footprints in the butter.

Q: How do you know when two elephants have been in the butter?

A: Two sets of footprints in the butter.

Q: How do you know when there are three elephants in the refrigerator?

A: You can't shut the door.

Q: How do you know when there are four elephants in the refrigerator?

A: You hear their VW going "Beep! Beep! Beep!"

Well, I'm off to a cleaning challenge. I have a couple of hours to work before calling my friend to check in and compare notes. We haven't done challenges for a while but today is a good day for it. I've got some intense cleaning to do today and the time to do it.

Later, I hope to write about a matter of home economics. See ya!

Whoo hoo! I'm FREE!

I may not have a degree to show for it, but I just finished my last writing assignment for the year. Next week is ALL MINE! Even better, there are no meetings, no rehearsals, not even any parties. Nothing until Christmas Eve Communion service (not counting Sunday morning church, of course.)

I feel just like a kid, or an E.R., who just ended the semester! No more homework, no more books. No more teachers' dirty looks!

Why am I so giddy? Well, because I realize, just like a kid out of school, that time is perhaps the greatest gift of all! I can do whatever I want to with it. It's the right color and the right size, and it doesn't add any unwanted calories. (That's not to say that I'll necessarily choose to avoid added calories during this week.)

It's even better than money, because I can spend it as richly as I like. I can read until I get sick of reading. I can go for nice, long, leisurely walks. Boy, my body will like that! I can get my house clean, maybe. If I want to, I can take a long, hot bubble bath.

Hmmm, what to do first? I know! Get out of this skirt and sweater and get into my comfy sweats! Ahhhhhh!

I'm FREE!

I love Jimmy Carter

I'm watching an interview -- the second I've seen this week. First was with Tim Russert; this one is with Jay Leno.

He's such a delight -- speaking honestly about his career, particularly about why he's become such a prolific writer since leaving the White House. He's just published his 19th book and says he had to write to pay off his debt. He was deeply in debt after being "involuntarily retired," as he put it.

He also speaks sweetly and with all good humor about his wife, Roselyn, to whom he has been married 58 years (can you believe that! He just recently celebrated his 80th birthday).

The new book is called "Sharing Good Times." I look forward to reading it. Maybe I'll get it for myself for Christmas.

And I've put Mr. Carter on my list of people I'd most like to meet in this lifetime.

Goodnight, Moon

The moon is incredible tonight. It's low in the southwest sky and it must be close to the Earth because it is huge and golden. It's a crescent tonight, the perfect "lullaby" moon. You can almost imagine a baby nestled in its curve, sweetly dreaming the dreams of infants. Don't you wonder what they dream of?

I just came home from the church choir party -- the moon was so fascinating I very nearly drove past my house (and yes, I've lived here since 1996, so I should know where it is).

The choir party was wonderful, but that's because the people are so much like family. I don't know what I'd do without these folks. Tonight we enjoyed great quantities of food and music, singing just about every Christmas song 30 or so people could think of.

Even so, with such a warm group to love, I can't help but be sad this time of year. It just washes over me, usually triggered by one or two particular songs. Silent Night can do it. So can "O Holy Night." I can't even listen to sad country Christmas songs -- it's just torture.

My mom died on Christmas Eve five years ago, and there are times when it seems like it just happened. The end of her life was a holy time and I was blessed to spend the last several weeks with her. Everything between us was resolved. She gave me her blessings and we spent hours and hours talking about life. I was able to get my aunt to come visit her just a couple of days before she died, and that was the greatest visit ever.

Days before, Mom and I both knew she would be gone before Christmas came. We told the doctor -- he had his "doctorly doubts" but we knew. He couldn't even speak to me when it turned out we were right. He expected more time. But Mom and I have always just known things like that.

I barely had signed the papers for hospice care the night of Dec. 23. I kissed Mom good night, told her I loved her and asked her if she needed anything. She had been shaking violently all evening -- her hands and arms just couldn't rest quietly.

She looked up at me and told me she loved me and that I should go home and rest. So I patted her arms and hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. I was so sad to say good night -- my heart knew.

It was about 8 p.m. when I left her to go home. I couldn't rest, so I sat in my den, near the phone, just waiting. The phone rang at 1 a.m. Dec. 24 with word that she "had expired five minutes ago." I told them I would be right there.

It took me about two minutes -- the nursing home was just a couple of blocks from my house. I caught the staff by surprise -- they were all gathered in her room, crying and saying their goodbyes. It turns out that they had all come to her room to find out why she wasn't singing dirty songs. Huh? I didn't know she did that, but apparently every night it was her habit to start singing, loudly, all the bawdy songs she remembered from her time in nursing school. This night, she was quiet, so everyone dropped by to find out why she was being so quiet.

When she had her friends all around her, she smiled at them, they told me, and said she was so happy to see them all so she could say goodbye.

They gave me all the time I needed and wanted to be with her before I called the funeral home to make the arrangements for her to be picked up. In that regard, everything was handled well, as smoothly and kindly as it possibly could have been. My hometown funeral home had an arrangement with a local funeral home, and I was able to handle all the legal documents and business paperwork at the office the next day, by fax.

The hard part was knowing what to do after I cleaned out her room. It was Christmas Eve. What was I supposed to do? I was alone, devastated.

That night I went to Christmas Eve service at church. I sat on the back row and cried like a baby while the soloist sang "O Holy Night." As always, the service concluded with "Silent Night" as we lit candles to light the sanctuary. That's why I can barely listen to these songs now. As beautiful as they are, they've taken on a painful memory.

Since then, I've come to terms with making new holiday memories and trying to create new traditions. Even so, it's difficult. I have no close family left -- aunts, uncles and cousins, mostly in Missouri. So I have to make my own way. I've created new family ties with friends, but as dear as they are, it's not the same.

I don't wallow in self pity -- it's just a period of some sadness that I acknowledge and endure. I feel the pain, a little less each year, but it will always be there.

It does make the reason for Christmas more personal, though. After all, it was for that moment in each of our lives that the Christ child came to be our Emmanuel. His coming brought redemption to our deaths, and through Him we shall spend eternity in His glory. And that's something we can all celebrate, no matter what sorrows we carry.

May you each feel His peace this season.

Happy Holiday Houses!

Here's wishing all of you a joyous holiday season! I wanted to share a couple of photos of gingerbread houses made by Michele Foster of Choctaw. She's won a couple of first place awards in the gingerbread division of the Oklahoma Sugar Art Show, held annually the last weekend of the Tulsa State Fair.

The first house she entered in the competition included a fence, car, doghouse and sandbox. Everything on the property was edible.

"I used candy canes for fence posts and the posts that hold up the carport," Foster said. "Then there was royal icing for the roof and the grass. The fence is gingerbread. The sand is ground-up gingerbread. The dog house even has a little dog in it, named Sugar, for our dog."

Foster even used gingerbread with red royal icing to make the car, which features a tag with her husband's initials.

"There's a tree in the front with a tire swing made of gingerbread. I get a little crazy with it," she admitted.


A second prize-winning house was made of chocolate ginger-bread.

Michele's houses have been featured as part of a special program on The Food Network about the Sugar Arts Show.

One of the things that fascinates me about Michele, besides her culinary skills, is her personal story. She's another "epiphany" person.

"I used to work for Xerox repairing copiers," she told me. "After the bombing I couldn’t stand the thought of my kids being blown up by a madman. And I had always wanted to be a bakery chef."

She decided she could run a bakery and be more involved with her children and feel better about both her career and her family life.

"Ten years ago I could not decorate a thing. Now I am amazed at what I can do," she said. "I never thought I would be able to do the things I’m able to do. It blows me away."

How did she learn her craft?

"I got a book. That’s how I learn to do most of the things I do. That and playing. Mostly people do things the hard way. I try to find easier ways to do things," she said.

"A lot of times it depends on what I have on hand. This was not a cheap hobby. I make some of my own tools and make what I can. I cut my own boards, make my own tools. I cut unusually shaped boards."

She operated her bakery, named "The Sugar Fix" for a few months before she became ill and was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. She wasn't able to maintain a full-time business, so she now works as a wedding consultant and makes special occasion cakes and sugar art for family and friends.

Michele also has written a cookbook, "The Sugar Fix, the Recipes and Rantings of an Obsessive-Compulsive Cook," which is available at Author House.

You can see more of Michele's work and read more about her at her web site, The Sugar Fix.

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to RJW! And many more!

Today was also my brother's birthday, which makes it easy to remember RJW's. It's also my traditional decorating day, if I do any decorating.

We sang our Christmas cantata at church this morning. I'll have to have a nap before I make any decisions about decorating. Does lighting a candle count? That might be it unless I get a second wind later this afternoon.

Just part of Oklahoma life

It's Saturday. And it's noon.

Those of you who live in Oklahoma know what's happening right now, don't you? Yep, the tornado sirens are being tested.

Every week. Saturday at noon. WhooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOO they go for a couple of minutes.

We live with it, barely noticing it. It's like a whistle in a factory town, just marking the time. The state clock, if you will.

We live with it, because we know there are a lot of times each year we have to rely on that sound -- unless of course, we have televisions turned on with the world's best meteorologists letting us know what intersection a tornado is hanging out at.

If you've ever been a child growing up in Oklahoma, you learn how to read the weather for yourself at an early age. It's almost instinctive. You can read the clouds, feel the air pressure and recognize the color of the sky long before there's a hint of that "It sounded like a freight train" sound. If you hear that sound, it's too late.

Even so, we listen for those whistles too, because we don't go outside as much as we did 40 years ago, and too often these critters of destruction sneak up on us when Gary England isn't on our TV sets. The sirens aren't as specific as Doppler 2000 radar or whatever version they use now, that shows the street maps. They are intended to warn a huge populated area, just in case someone is out in the back yard hoeing the veggie patch.

Well, it's December, not much chance of a tornado today, but we never take such things for granted. There was a tornado in the area a month ago today, which is pretty unusual.

Whoops, it's nearly a quarter past tornado whistle, and I need to run. I've got to get to a Christmas ornament exchange at 1. See you all later.

How do you think that makes me feel? Hmmm?

I've spent the past 7 hours in a skirt, panty hose and heels, first for a business meeting and then because I had a couple of errands to run before getting home. The shoes were the first thing off when I walked in the door. Ahhhhhh!!!

Then I get settled in and sit down at the computer, thinking maybe SOME visitor may have stopped in to post a hello in the visitor's thread.

NOPE.

Not one stinkin' person bothered to say hello. For that matter, I only got one reply to the miracle post. Seems to me that was big enough news that people would have had SOMETHING to say, along the lines of Wow, what great news! or something.


Nothing.

Fine. Just fine.

How do you think that makes me feel? Hmmm?

Isn't it bad enough I had to dress up? I even put on LIP STICK for Pete's sake.

Grab the closest book!

Time for another episode of "Read That Book"! E.R. started this challenge on his blog tonight, so I'm passing it along. (Check out his blog at Erudite Redneck. )

The idea is to take the closest book, and write the second (full) sentence on page 23. Cite the book, publication date and author as well. Then repeat this on your own blog. The notion is that we'll get a snapshot of what each of us is currently reading (or what's handy in the closest bookcase.)



Here's mine:

"Against the background of the two Indian criminals secured in the St. Louis jail, Lieutenant Governor Cruzat sent a surgeon to conduct an inquest."
--Slavery and Crime in Missouri, 1773-1865 (2001) by Harriet C. Frazier.

Be glad. Last time we had this challenge, I embarrassed E.R. and other guys with a citation from a book on menopause. I've moved them away from the computer so I won't do that again by accident.

Welcome visitors! Say HI here!

Hello to all of you who come by to read and leave without posting a comment! And JTB, thanks for your comment! It's good to see you around here and I welcome you to post any time!

Same with you other lurkers -- RJW, I know you're out there.

BC, I see you too.

And I know there are others of you -- now and then you let me know you've read something here.

So this thread is just for the lurkers. Feel free to come on in and just say hi -- no commitment to comment on content needed! (I tried to use all the "c" words I could think of.) It's good to know you're out there, somewhere, in the dark... looking at your little blue screen...

Miracles DO Happen!

I have some spectacular news! My aunt called me tonight to catch me up on this week's family news. There's so much going on at present that the bi-weekly report takes a while. But buried deep in tonight's phone call was a miracle that was almost skipped over amid all the other reports.

I have a male cousin, now in his early 50s, who has been HIV positive since the early 1980s, shortly after AIDS/HIV was discovered. Before long, he had full-blown AIDS.

Fortunately, M. was part of a pioneering group of patients in San Francisco who were chosen early on to be treated with some of the greatest drug cocktails used against HIV. He works hard at keeping himself fit and eats very healthfully. To look at him, you'd think he was just a really buff, beautiful man. And he is. (I've always had a crush on him, since we were kids. He's a cutie!)

He's also got a very strong immune system working in his favor. Doctors have studied his physiology to try to learn more about this virus and what it does to its victims.

For more than 20 years -- closer to 25 years now -- M. has been fighting this virus. He's lost one life partner and many, many, many friends. He's a fighter and an activist and a fine human being.

And now, he is also HIV-free, according to his latest tests. He has told the family now that there is NO indication that the virus is present in his body.

Praise God! Miracles DO happen, every single day.

I hope to talk to M. soon directly to learn more about his miracle. For now, I'll be content to thank God.

Can you believe it? We humans have managed to conquer the virus before we've conquered the prejudice that came along with it. One miracle at a time, I guess.

Entertaining Angels Unaware

I've just experienced one of those moments that makes you stop dead in your tracks for a minute or two.

It came in the form of a simple Christmas card. I didn't recognize the address and there was no name on the envelope. My first thought was that it was a charity soliciting donations, since there were several of those in the mail today too. So I put it to the back of my bundle, going through the cards from old college roommates first, glancing at the bank statement.

Finally, I opened the mystery card, which contained a photo of a baby I didn't recognize -- at least not until I read the note in the card:

"Hello
My name is J... I remembered your name from when you told the pharmacist how to spell it and lookd you up to wish you a merry Christmas. I met you in Walgreen's and you were so sweet to my baby, 9 mos., N... So I hope your holidays are bright and thank you for being the doll that you are. You made my day that evening & I'll tell N... how beautiful you said she was when she grows up. Thank you! God bless!"

I remember the night well, last spring. I was having trouble because my pharmacist was telling me my benefits card wasn't showing my pharmacy benefits (this was a COBRA screw-up). Anyway, I was having a hard time, but there was a woman in excruciating pain with a fractured tooth who came in seeking any help she could get. I tried to talk to her but I knew that she was hurting too bad to take in what I was saying to her -- I wanted her to go to St. Anthony Hospital which had, at least at one time, an emergency dentist on staff. My own dentist had told me that's where he sends all his patients who have trauma injuries for initial treatment.

Her baby was scared with mom being so upset and was crying. She paused for just a second when I looked in her eyes and spoke to her and touched her cheek. Just enough to stop her crying and get a little smile from her. It helped mom calm down too. The pharmacist helped her find an over-the-counter product to help ease the pain until she could see someone that could help her.

I never knew who she was -- just someone in the pharmacy hurting about as bad as she could at the time. But look what she did -- she remembered, and more than that, she acted on that. She's blessed me beyond my ability to say it.

Here's a link I want you to check out. This is a good song. But don't jump to leave it behind when it sounds like the song ends. There's a very quiet part that comes back in after the "end." Wait until you hear the little girl's voice singing.

Angels Unaware

Ugh! Pass a book!

On the glowing recommendation of E.R., I decided to try a new adventure today and had lunch at Ron's at Mayfair Village. I got a chili cheeseburger and man, what a treat it was! Basically, it's a regular cheeseburger (with mustard, onions, pickles) put on a plate and then drowned in chili. You have to use a knife and fork to eat it, and you soon understand why there's a roll of paper towels on each table.

It was great, about 5 or 6 hours ago. Not so much now.

I think reading a lot of history books must give one a cast-iron stomach. Obviously, I haven't been reading enough lately. I can only say how glad I am that I've been taking my Lipitor, or I might be in the emergency room tonight having an angioplasty.

Ooooohhhhhhh, someone pass me that copy of "Slavery and Crime in Missouri 1773-1867" on the top shelf. I can't seem to reach it right now. Otherwise, I'll have to veg out and finish watching the Charlie Brown Christmas story. Hmmm. Not a bad choice.

Whoops! Saved by the bell! The UPS man just delivered a box! Oh boy!

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

The book by Mitch Albom has been made into a TV movie which shows on ABC tonight (in just a few minutes, actually.) I really enjoyed the book -- it was very different. I'm looking forward to seeing it as a movie, just to see how certain parts are handled. There was a great deal of dream-type action which was hard to follow in parts of the book. This might be one time where the movie has the potential to be better than the book (sorry, that sounds like heresy to me, but it could be true.) It might be easier to follow what parts are dreams if it's visual.

Anyway, we shall see.

Feeling lost

It's 2:45 Saturday afternoon. Nobody in my blogging circle (edited to add: EXCEPT FOR TECH!) has posted anything for days. Heck, neither have I, not since Wednesday. I'm missing everyone's posts.

I must say thank you to all of you who posted on my last entry. Your support has lifted my spirits and helped me shake off a lot of my insecurity about what I'm doing. Especially Teditor, I appreciate your comment very much because you are probably the one person who best understood the situation in my old place. Others know too, but you know to a greater degree about some of the worst of it.

Anyway, it's kind of a strange day. I slept very late -- some kind of an electrical anomaly shut my clock off about 9 a.m., and I was aware enough to get it reset. But then I thought "Hey, it's Saturday." And then I let my face smash back into my pillow for a while longer.

I'm really worried about my cousin, whom I referenced in the previous post. I think she is at a critical point. She needs to be in rehab, should have been in rehab before now. But she's not capable of making that decision for herself. The rest of her family is embarrassed, and I am afraid she may die of embarrassment if we can't get over it and get her the help she needs. I'm on the outside of the circle of people who should rightly make that decision for her, so I don't know how I should proceed. I wish Dr. Phil would swoop down and get her someplace where she can get these drugs out of her system. It is at the point now where she may very well lose her job of 17 years because she didn't return to work when she was supposed to. The doctor refuses to see her, and she's gone as far as to alter the doctor's statement about when she was cleared to return to work. If she loses the job, I think that will certainly seal her fate and she will lose her life as well.

Her son will turn 21 years old on Tuesday. When I was 21, I lost my father. But I still had my mother and brother. He will not. His father is in prison (at least as far as I know) for life for drug-related charges. He was raised, for most of his life, by his grandparents who live about a mile from his mother. He's chosen to live with her for the past few years. In no way is he prepared to deal with losing his mother.

My fear and sadness is that this sickness has gone on so long without resolution that the momentum to do nothing is too great to overcome. I hope not. I'm not so sure why it is we continue to listen to the patient when she refuses our offers of help. If she had appendicitis, we would take her to the emergency room no matter how much she said she didn't want to go. If she broke her leg, we'd make sure it was set. Why, then, do we allow her clouded judgment to keep us from getting the help she needs to get away from substance abuse? Of all times, this is the critical time for us NOT to listen to someone with such impaired decision-making skills.

As I said, I am afraid that her parents' embarrassment, and anger, will keep them from making the right choice. I think they are hoping that some friend will talk to her and suddenly she'll just decide to stop what she's doing because it isn't cool. Well, that won't happen. It hasn't happened in more than 21 years and there's no indication that any friend's comments will be able to overcome her addictions.

I'm going to go out into the sunshine for a while and think about this some more. There's so much going on with family. And I feel like the planet Pluto -- out on the periphery, caught up orbiting the sun but so far removed from it that I can barely see its light. Ah, yet another painful part of being without my own nuclear family.

When I come back, I'll have some good stories to tell. More stories about epiphanal living that just blow me away. It's amazing what you can learn about people in a short conversation.

A Kick in the Pants

This week Dr. Phil has dealt with a couple of topics that hit home with me -- one concerning the "black sheep" of the family and the other being "Real Talent? Or Get Real!"

I see a connection between the two, a junction where, it seems, I may have set up a lounge chair and planted myself the past couple of years. I think it's a pretty good thing I had the chance to see these two shows this week.

I don't really consider myself the black sheep of the family. I have a cousin, just a little older than me, who has clinched the title fair and square. Said cousin has been the sacrificial lamb for all the family's dysfunction, a role she's embraced with great gusto. In the previous generation, it was an uncle, and before him, a great uncle.

The problem with a shrinking family is that there's only a couple of kids in the following generation (one clearly will be the black sheep of that generation). And so far, there's only one newborn baby in the generation after that (hard to say this: it would be the generation of my grandchildren, if I had any!)

Though the "black sheep" title seems to have been assigned, I have kind of stepped out of my expected role, probably causing plenty of eye-rolling and tongue-wagging behind my back.

You see, I had the audacity to leave my straight-and-narrow road. I quit a very good job, not to take another one, but "to pursue other interests."

My plan -- my dream -- was to write a book and do volunteer work that I could not do while working. But like so many people who plan to write The Great American Novel, I scared myself, very badly.

I started out, convinced that this was just a new job I was taking on. I would create my own structure, set my own schedule and go about the work of writing like any business.

Um, yeah...

You see, I was well prepared and equipped to do my former, regular job. I knew what to do and how to do it. I'd had years of training and education and decades of experience. I could claim my expertise, rightly.

Even though it was a semi-related field (writing and editing), it was completely different from the discipline of writing a book. Arrogance and ego ran smack into inexperience and ignorance. Ouch.

This is hard to confess, friends. I have written a lot during this period. But it's been a mish-mash. I've done regular freelancing on a weekly basis (sorry, I would be exposing other people's work personae if I explained what I do more specifically). It's hard and interesting work, but at least it doesn't pay well.

Other than that, I've written personal essays which could be chapters for a book. But there is no structure. I've done it willy-nilly rather than with a plan. I might be able to salvage big chunks and put them together, but I need to start again and do it right.

So here comes the part from the second show, about real talent or get real...

Dr. Phil had invited several people who had big dreams to be actors, singers or some other "star". They were all certain they could succeed in the dream job if they could only get the chance to prove it.

Nevermind that they hadn't trained for the work, or seriously explored what it takes to succeed. They were just "sure" that their native talent would overcome any and all obstacles, if only their loved ones would pay attention for a minute and SEE how great they are.

Well, it was embarrassing for them to get truthful criticism and evaluation on the show. They were hurt, angry, humiliated.

So the realization hits me that I needed that kick in the pants. I've been fooling myself (almost). And that's about all.

I've had to come to terms with the fact that I've been squandering my time, which is a sin, I believe. You see, in 1990 I nearly died and had to have an emergency surgery. It was a very bad time for me. Yep, I had a near-death experience, complete with seeing the light and hearing God's voice. Thanks be to Him that what he said was "Not yet." I was sent back to this world with the message "Redeem Your Time."

I woke up this morning with that message repeating in my mind. And so today I started over, started anew to accept the gifts that I've been given. It means getting serious -- either get this book written or get my tail back to work in some productive manner. Start earning my keep again, so to speak. Stop squandering my time.

I'm working on sharpening my ax, so to speak. I spent a chunk of time at the library seeking inspiration and information. I'm refocusing my attention and intentions to do this.

And now, I've exposed this secret to you guys. Wish me luck and determination, OK? Thanks.

Let's Go Shopping!

I have a rule: Never pass up shopping at an authen-tically quaint country store, if you can help it.


Vaughn's Orchard in Weston, Mo., is one of those places. My Aunt Dot introduced me to Vaughn's last year, I believe (maybe the year before.)

It is real -- not a characature of a "country store" kind of place. It's a real orchard, with rolling hills filled with apple trees pruned to produce the best fruit on strong branches. You can pay a small fee and pick your own or buy a bag or box inside. All they ask is that you not waste food if you do go picking.

Inside there's a separate area for the apple sorting machinery. With supervision, they give tours during the working season, which kids love to watch.

The apples are off-loaded on the conveyor belt and then the machine sorts by size as employees pick out bad ones. At Thanksgiving, the season is over and the orchard is doing its maintenance work to shut down for the winter.


Back inside the store, you'll find all manner of treasures from cured hams hanging from the ceiling to gourmet delicacies in the freezers.


Shelves are stocked with jams, jellies, butters, relishes, sauces and dressings. All the good things of life! Some special treats: genuine Vermont maple syrup bottled in tiny, delicate art bottles made in Italy. They are works of art that satisfy the eye as well as the taste buds.


Margaret may be there to help box up your goodies, but don't forget to look upstairs.





They also sell some decorative items and antiques upstairs. This time of year, they've got a Christmas tree set up in one corner, decorated with apple ornaments.


The apples may be gone for this year, but they will be back! Count on it. Meanwhile, 'tis the season to turn our attentions to home and hearth. Pick up some goodies to make it more fun. I did! (Don't go telling, but I did my Christmas shopping while I was at Vaughn's.)

Oh, one more thing: Vaughn's has a glass jar on the counter that holds miniature Cherry Mash candy bars. Mmmmm good. I've always loved Cherry Mash but the small ones are every bit as satisfying as the bigger ones. And they are made just down the road in St. Joseph, Mo. Someday we may do a tour of St. Joseph -- but not today.