My late friend Old Horsetail Snake always wanted to spend his eternity as a dung beetle so I imagine he's well on his way by now. I am, as my friend Sue says "on the back nine" so I often think about things I would do if money were no object and dreams came true. Since I never got to go to Disneyworld I don't think that's an unreasonable habit. And Disneyworld definitely ain't on the list.
At one time I dreamed of owning a nursery (the plant kind, silly.) My inspiration came from this funky little place about a mile from my house where the guy planted his own landscape and sold annuals and perennials from small outdoor greenhouses. There was even an inside "tropical" room where the babies thrived in that warm moist environment. His uncle bought the place when he went back to college to pursue a career in art, and it closed shortly thereafter. Gawdddd...I miss that place. It was like walking around in heaven on a warm spring day. I actually did the research on what it would take to build my own greenhouse but we all know how that went in the mad race of raising kids, working and generally trying to keep the boat floating. Maybe next year things will calm down enough for me to garden again. I seriously get therapy out of that, even if it's just pulling weeds.
If you ask anybody around these parts who is the best cook is in this town, many of them will name my mama. As a newspaper reporter she published weekly recipes from around the 'burg and eventually published a cookbook with the readers' favorites. All of the proceeds went to fund one of the new buildings at the county fair. For ten years now I have tossed around the idea of getting that book back into print and life has gotten in the way. If I don't do it now, with a few of my own favorites, I'll never forgive myself for not sharing. Sounds like a winter project that the roommates can help with.
I fell in love with the hospice philosophy many years ago and have actually practiced those beliefs in my daily life when chatting with friends and family. The principles of hospice care are rarely given a priority in today's society because, frankly, they don't make money. The whole thing revolves around a team of caregivers including a nurse, physician, social worker and spiritual adviser to help a dying person do what needs to be before the inevitable. Sometimes there is guilt or past issues that need to be resolved. Many times there is pain, but usually not because the drugs are carefully administered to relieve symptoms of distress while allowing the patient to remain at home with family. Our failure to accept death as a reality results in a tremendous overload on our healthcare industry and the powers that be have no real interest in doing things any other way than the one that...you guessed it..makes money. Oncologists give people hope by offering treatments that make 'em sick as dogs and hopefully kill the cancer. But not always. And they make a boatload of money. I love the healing professions, but wish that compassion was more a part of the picture these days.
I continue to take every opportunity to explore a shot with my new old camera. It's been like totally hot or flooded and every other form of extreme natural disaster around here. That's not my day job so I just do it for fun when I have the free time. Old photographs amaze me...the black and white stern attitude of families gathered together and old buildings. There's this one of my great grandmother at around age 18 sitting on a stool at the Halls TN phone exchange with a corset on. I looked just like she did back in the day, except without the 18 inch waist. I need a vacation bad. Maybe next year.
It's all good. Ya'll don't ever forget that, umkay?
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