“If your prudence stops you every time from taking an action, then you are no more prudent, you are frightened.” ― Amit Kalantri

Quote from Indian Leader, Jawaharlal Nehru.

It's Tuesday and I have come to my laptop today to share some of this, that, and the other on this September 16, 2019. I was remembering the other day about how us kids used to stay outside playing and messing around even into the night. Especially, if we weren't in school. We never even thought about any type of danger. It just didn't cross my mind. I can remember laying on the ground looking up at the sky at the brilliant stars. (That was before Al Gore and you could actually see the stars.) The grass could be deep and damp. No problem. We would run at full speed in the pitch dark, occasionally, only to be stopped by an unseen clothesline. No problem. Today, I laugh at myself sometimes at how cautious I have become. It's getting dark. I better go in because I sure wouldn't want to get bitten by one of those West Nile carrying mosquitoes. They really do a number on older people. The nesting owls are back. I carry Mr. Bentley out for the last time around 9:30 p.m. and I hear the owls talking to each other. I think to myself, "Those owls are big. One of them could swoop down and grab Mr. Bentley and take him away." I double up on his leash and keep an eye out. It could be because of that time in the wee hours of the morning as I was unlocking my truck, one of those owls swooped down and nearly touched me as it went by me on its way to catch some prey. Becoming knowledgeable and informed can put a damper on things. We used to let our boys run and go. Now we worry about our grands and great grands if we hear of them doing the same kinds of things. This growing old business can be tough to handle.

I was talking with my sister JoAnn the other day. It was in the early hours of the morning and as I sat there I saw a fellow who came up to our corner and he ran right through the stop sign. He didn't even slow down. This is the corner where all the kids catch the bus every day. I told my sister that Granny Mac would have a word for them. She would say, "They don't have a lick of gumption." As kids, we didn't know what that word meant but we were very clear on it not being a compliment. Paw Paw Mac had his own way of showing disdain, he would say, "They are as sorry as white dog poop." As it turns out Granny was right because the word gumption has to do with initiative connected to common sense or horse sense. I can remember hearing, "Lands Sakes Alive!" quite often from older people and I never really knew what it meant. It typically was said when someone was surprised by something. Granny used it quite often. However, she most likely did not know that it became a way of swearing a mild oath, saying it instead of exclaiming:  “My Goodness”, “Good Lord”, “Oh my God” or the most closely related "For God's Sake." Had Granny known that she would have washed her own mouth out with soap.

Looking back, some would say we were raised up in mostly a backward way. Unsophisticated. Isolated. Old school all the way. Really? We certainly didn't know that growing up. And, I, for one, do not know that now. We were brought up by salt-of-the-earth, God-fearing, America-loving people who did life the best they knew how, one day at a time, with God's help. There are a handful of folks that grew up in my circle that have a completely different view of their experience. They continue to lambast the backwardness and they say they couldn't get out of that hell-hole fast enough. I feel sorry for them because I think I was privileged to have a loving upbringing in a community that cared. Were there problems? Sure! Plenty. On balance, I am nothing but thankful that God arranged it so I could be influenced by the people and the values that continue to resonate in my life today. I will admit if someone thought hearing a concerto in D minor was critical to our upbringing versus us seeing a traveling donkey show where the donkey knew how to count and do other tricks, well, on that basis, we may have left some to be desired. Thinking back, that donkey seemed to be a wee bit smarter than some who tend to continue to hold a grudge against our little piece of Americana. And, after all is said and done, God provided as only He knows how. Amen. ....More later.