Month: June 2010

  • It Only Takes a Minute…

    Today I delivered Meals on Wheels on a route that I hadn’t run for several years. Most of the people I used to know on that route aren’t on it anymore, but one old gentleman still is. This old guy has an extraordinary collection of shells that he’s picked up over the years. I had a young man, 17 years old, with me. Beth and I have been friends of his grandparents for 35 years or more, and I actually taught this kid’s father when he was in high school. It was delightful getting to know this boy, and he and I spent about ten minutes with the shell-man as he showed us his stuff. The shell-man had a stroke a few years ago, and his speech was badly affected by it. Asking him to show us his shells clearly made his day (maybe even his week), and the kid uhhed and ahhed appropriately. I doubt that the boy was really all that impressed, but the old guy REALLY seemed to enjoy himself. I told the boy that the motto of Meals on Wheels is, “We deliver smiles,” and I think he and I lived that motto to the fullest today.

    ED

  • Pooping It Out, Part Two

    I’m pleased to report that the quarter Liza swallowed is now gone from her digestive system. She had an x-ray last Friday, and they could clearly see it. The doctor prescribed Milk of Magnesia, and at some point over the weekend Liza pooped it out. Through the whole ordeal, Liza remained a brave little pooper–er, trooper–uttering such lines as, “Mama, my poo-poo turned to chocolate syrup.” Yuck! I know. But you can’t make these things up. A follow-up x-ray Monday morning revealed a colon as empty as her grandmother’s purse after a trip to the casions in Biloxi.

    The best line came from Uncle Sean, though. When he learned that the quarter had been liberated, he said, “I bet her parents are furious about Liza’s free-spending ways. She’s literally throwing money down the toilet.” Sean–Susan’s husband–is pretty much our family wit, and he teases Liza’s parents about not wanting to waste money–unlike the rest of us.

    I wish we had been able to retrieve the quarter so Liza could keep it as “a lucky money.” Alas, such was not to be. Maybe next time.

    ED

  • Pooping It Out

    Liza greeted us Saturday morning with the news that she had swallowed “a money” and that she would have to poop it out in a few days. It seems she downed a quarter last Friday night. Catherine panicked a little, but she looked up the problem on the internet. She learned that a lot of kids (including Liza’s daddy) do that and that Liza would just have to poop it out. Cat took her to the doctor today for a routine check-up, and the doctor said the same thing: she’ll have to poop it out. The doctor also said that if she doesn’t pass it in a few days, she’ll take an x-ray to make sure it isn’t lodged somewhere it shouldn’t be lodged. Upon hearing the story, a friend of ours asked if she would poop out a quarter or 25 pennies. I allowed as how we’ll know she’s in trouble if she only poops out 20 cents. I’ll keep you posted as events unfold. I’ll try my best to resist the urge to post a picture of the missing money when it reappears. I suggested that they only let Liza play with dollar bills henceforth.

    ED

  • No Video Posting

    I have wanted to post video from YouTube about the oil spill in the Gulf, but Xanga has changed the process of how to do this. Until they improve this feature, or until I learn how to do it, there won’t be any embedded videos from YouTube. Here’s a link (I hope) to a clip from Rachael Maddow that I found very frightening. Click here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cg3qtT7_Ts

    Well, this link obviously didn’t work, either. I’m sorry for the inconvenience. If you want to see the video (and, believe me, it’s worth the effort), you’ll have to copy and paste the link into your browser.

    ED