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Monthly Archives: May 2013

Poke Bag of Pearls

28 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by rajalary in Rose's Writings

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Julie Lary, rajalary, rose ridnor

This evening, while shuffling through my grandmother’s papers, I came across several pages torn out of a diary from 1956. Being frugal, my grandmother must have saved the pages, which she hadn’t written on, and 37 years later used them to jot down what she called “pearls of wisdom,” from her poke bag.

She started writing the pearls on March 17, 1993, adding new observations, and putting to paper ones from years early… no doubt written on scraps of paper. The short observations “Loot” and “Forethought” were taken from two snips of paper, tucked in the diary. The latter written on the back side of a promotion for flooring, roofs, insulation, and other household services.

Enjoy the start of my grandmother’s pearls:

March 17, 1993

They say that even fools know enough to gather up the little pearls of wisdom their senses encounter as they trod along life’s pathways. Let’s open up my poke bag and see what I’ve gathered up or concocted.

Finding the use of the word “poke” with “bag” unusual, I looked it up. The noun poke, meaning a bag or sack, dates from the 14th century. The idiom, “a pig in a poke,” refers to concealing something in a sack. It can also infer a buyer was duped by buying a low-quality pig because they didn’t carefully check what was in the bag before making the purchase.

December 18, 1969

Envy, smoldering in the eye, sets the whole brain afire

The club hostess’ lament: Many hands are willing to slice the pie; few are willing to bake them. Rose_cropped

Knowledge is where you find it. Finders keepers.

Loot

Talking about statistics: If you have one foot in the oven, and one foot in the refrigerator, one the average, you’re comfortable.

March 23, 1986, 5:00 a.m.

Stepping out the front door to get the newspaper, I was almost overcome by the fragrance that filled the air. A sweet hardy perfume.

Orange blossoms? Lemon? Lilac?

I took a deep breathe, but couldn’t tell which. The perfumer could outdo Mother Nature in creating fragrances.

Then I hear it. The absolute quiet. Not a car was rolling down the street or zipping around the corner.

A rare moment in time and I was privileged to experience it.

September 24, 1992

When the sound of laugher is stilled, the silence reverberates forcibly with the threat of despair to come.

March 16, 1993

Try as I might, I still cannot find anything good to say about illness and pain. Except perhaps they service to remind us that our bodies are not made of iron or steel. And even they break under pressure.

Can anyone go through a reasonable spin of life without ever experiencing pain or sickness? How lucky for them. Or unlucky?

Forethought

By the time I figure out what I’m doing wrong, I’ve done it.

Rose Ridnor

Invocation #23: December

12 Sunday May 2013

Posted by rajalary in Invocations, Rose's Writings

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invocation, Julie Lary, rajalary, rose ridnor

We are now in December, the final month of the year 1984.

The year sped by all too quickly marked by days that were good, and days not so good, by times of serenity, and times of turmoil.

But we have survived. And so has the world.

When we turn the page to the New Year, it will be as a new beginning. A fresh start. A fresh new leaf to be writ upon.

All we ask O Lord is that the hand that write be firm and steady; and the ink that flows from the pen be bright with faith and vitality.

That we be given your blessing of good health so we may be able to maintain our lives on our own.

And that the world be blessed with good feelings towards all its people, and between all its nations.

At first thought, I had nothing profound to supplement this invocation written by my grandmother nearly 30 years ago. But, thinking about, when I was a child, I wanted time to speed up, but my grandmother said the older I got, the faster the years will click by.

She was correct.

As a child, the days seemed to drag. Graduating from elementary school seemed like an eternity. Going from junior high to senior was scary, but the three years flew by. And before I knew it, I was walking on stage to accept a college degree.

Time goes quickly, and unless you put on the brake and occasionally do something memorable and enjoyable, you can find yourself decades later only able to remember the work, challenges, and tedium of day-to-day life.

While vitality and faith are essential for a worthwhile life, it’s equally important to have the curiosity and courage to take on new challenges, breaking free from the familiar to explore new opportunities: Even for a day. Hike a forested trail, rent a foreign flick, eat at an ethnic restaurant, read a daring book… shop at a thrift store… doing something, anything that makes the days, the week, or maybe the month memorable.

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