with his sister and me. He couldn't stay very long so we packed as much
quality time as we could into our time together. The last time he and I
were together was last November. It had been much longer for him and his
sister. I returned him to the Norfolk airport late Tuesday afternoon and
he flew off to that faraway place in he calls home. My daughter and I
were sad to see him leave so soon, but he left promising we would see him
again before too long. Personally, I'm holding him to that promise.
I received a lot of feedback on my report of our Amish adventure last week.
A lot of you told me you have either, visited the Amish Country, or lived
amongst them for awhile. All of your stories were interesting and I was
amazed at the details in your recollections. The simplicity of the Amish
life, I believe, is what garners our attention. With all the gadgets and
hustle & bustle in our lives, we admire a culture that refuses to believe
that the winners in life are those that die with the most toys.
Occasionally, I write something in this missive that generates feedback. To
date, the biggest feedback by far has been the Amish thing. I appreciate
the time you take to read my ramblings. In return, I hope that I write
something of interest to you and, hopefully, give you a different
perspective on some things.
As most of you know, last Sunday was Grandparents day. Jerilyn has two
grandsons by a previous marriage and I have three granddaughters and two
great granddaughters by a previous marriage. Her grandsons live locally and
my granddaughters live in faraway places in Tennessee. Jerilyn's oldest
grandson, Christopher, came over to see his Grandmother on Sunday and
brought her a gift and a card (his younger brother, Brandon, was sick).
And, to my surprise, I was included in their celebration of Grandparents
Day. I was included in their card and presented with a gift. I was
honored that they chose to include me. I hope Christopher left knowing the
inclusion was appreciated. Sometimes, when families are united because a
divorced parent remarries, special occasions can be a little tense.
Christopher and Brandon solved that problem so easily. We older folks
should be so wise.
My next door neighbor, John, is a fellow retiree and really nice guy.
Occasionally, during the course of a week, we have the opportunity to meet
on that small strip of grass separating our homes. Many years ago, women
were often shown gossiping over the clothesline. Well, John and I are able
to resolve personal and world problems standing on that little grassy knoll.
Jerilyn and I spend a lot of time together, but, there are times when it is
good to have a man to man conversation. Men like to talk about fixing
things, cars, tools, sports, finance and such. Women, in my humble opinion,
strongly dislike those subjects and avoid them like the plague. John
definitely fills a vacuum in my daily existence. Sometimes, he and his
wife leave on vacation for several weeks. When they return, the
conversations on the grassy knoll get longer for a week or so.
I have a very special uncle back home (Claude) that leaves his house each
morning, goes to the local restaurant for breakfast with his buddies, then
leaves there and walks over to the barbershop to read the newspaper and
converse with the barber and his customers. Uncle Claude knows the value
of having a network of friends in his daily life. I wonder how many of us
spend the day watching TV, listening to the radio, or doing chores, and fail
to create a network of friends to spend time with. In my opinion, a good
conversation with a friend is better than any TV show. Many times we feel
alone, missing out on the joys of life. I believe some variation of Uncle
Claude's daily schedule is a good template for all of us. Unfortunately,
my barber is female. I just blew the heck out of that theory!
I hope you're enjoying your summer, or whatever season it is in
your part of the world
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