Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

Okay… I admit it… I’m hooked on Hallmark’s The Way Home … I was so upset this past Sunday… I was reading that evening …waiting for it to come on.. and fell asleep-waking up just in time to see the last five minutes of it. ” No… No” ! I screamed to myself… what really happened to the little brother and what about dad… was it really an accident?”

But Eva Cate to the rescue… she’s hooked too but it comes on too late for her with school on Mondays so she tapes it. ( Could hardly wait to leave to go to Mt P yesterday for us to watch it together this week. ( John is on a business trip so I am helping Mandy with the grandchildren! )

Haven’t we all imagined how cool it would be to travel through time… especially since ( as a history buff and teacher) I would love to be an eyewitness to several historical encounters and incidences in the past.

But as we are all learning through this television series ( The Way Home) traveling back to the past has its own unique set of problems too. The question becomes ” Not if we can” but ” Should We?”

I have decided that music is the best time capsule… all pleasure and little risk ( except maybe running off the road- keep reading-explanation coming!)

The other day I saw a plaque that read Tonight We Are Young and thought it would be the perfect decor for a reunion or gathering of friends listening and dancing to the songs that were popular when…for just a little while…feeling young and free again!

The closest I come to this feeling is going somewhere with Brooke … like recently to Beaufort because she has all the popular songs we listened to at college-on her radio. We sing there and back… and we are ” young again”

We are not only singing along loudly but swaying too so if we ever “go” in a car accident-know it was a car accident ( not ( Thelma and Louise) and the last song we would have heard most likely would have been…

We have that song down… movements and all… singing at the top of our lungs!

Take a minute and reminisce on some of your favorite songs… when you were ( are) ” young and free.” Then please feel free to share.

I think I will go to Lowe’s and pick up some buttercup seeds … that way I can sing this summer ( while gardening) my favorite ” Oldie Goldie! ”

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

So until tomorrow…

Dear Reader:

If you plant them ( flowers) … ” they” will come… butterflies, of course! How beautiful… (purposefully posed … I think! )

There is just something about the word March, itself, that pulls images of flowers, gardens, skates ( aging myself) moths and butterflies… breezes ( sometimes strong) sun and clear blue skies. ( unless March is just adding another foot of snow to what you already have… sorry west and north coast. )

Jeff came yesterday to clean off layers of winter debris… revealing even more new green life that had been hiding under piles of pine straw, pinecones, broken twigs and big branches. The end result is like what we feel after moping floors or vacuuming carpet and/ or rugs… a deep sense of satisfaction.

I have also come to realize that March isn’t just about ” beautiful new beginnings” but stunning transitions. Take this ” Loropetalum” … it is in the process of shedding brown dead petals while simultaneously adding pretty purple petals… the combination is striking!

The last thing Jeff did was clean out the fountain… I ran and turned it on… and there was that soothing sound of running water … then I remembered yesterday’s post … just keep feeding the lake, the pond, the fountain!

So until tomorrow… Anne reflected on her recent adventure in Mexico with several family members … acknowledging now that the trip was all about water… ” in abundance, poverty -a rocking chair, porch chats sometimes…they all experienced and witnessed firsthand water from the perspective of rafts, kayaks, and boats -the glory …and the devastation from its absence.”

Today is my favorite day -Winnie the Pooh’s

Now don’t forget… today is March 1 … first thing this morning say ” Rabbit Rabbit Day!” We want to ” MARCH” into spring with a ” spring” in our steps!

Dear Reader:

In every series of detective/mystery novels I read ( my favorite genre) I have come to realize that the one important factor that draws me to them is a particular character who provides a certain kind of common sense wisdom …that makes me take time to digest the added knowledge to my own personal observations on life.

In Louise Penny’s novels… there is Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and in the Maisie Dobbs series, there is Maurice Blanche. In both cases… it is their natural instincts and superior human analytical skills that help solve cases. Both characters are morally elevated in their compassion while simultaneously gifted in their abilities to see through human smoke screens.

Seek the opportunity to swim beyond your own little pond. This is an example of the type of advice that is given to Maisie by Maurice while solving cases… new experiences expand our mental capacity for deeper understandings of human traits. We must leave our comfort zones to expand our own world. Life is short.

I am in so much gratitude to the people sent my way to keep pushing and shoving me out of my little pond, so I would understand that there was a beautiful lake waiting on me to dive in and learn my strokes along the way.

These days… one of the hardest news stories to watch is pictures and videos of the Great Salt Lake and other large bodies of water drying up before our very eyes.

Madeleine L’ Engle quotes a poignant metaphor written by Jean Rhys-( famous British novelist) about the same importance of keeping the art of writing viable -filled with thoughts and ideas from each and everyone of us whose love and passion to this art form…contributes to the conjecture that ” All Writing is a Lake.”

Rhys describes how some literary giants have been and still are great rivers feeding into the lake while others are mere trickles but the size or amount doesn’t matter… what matters is the daily steady, on-going contribution to keep feeding the lake. Individually we don’t matter ( but our thoughts and observations do) …the lake ( the art of writing) is what matters. We all must keep feeding the lake.

I remember years ago Rene Harris introduced me to a children’s book on water that held me in complete fascination ! It was the story of how one drop of water can change into so many different forms providing magic … notwithstanding just physical survival. Water drops, soap bubbles, snowflakes, icicles, dew, prisms, etc. Amazing magical water.

I still get excited every day as I listen and look for clues about a topic I want to share with my writing and reading friends. All of you!

I have decided my contribution to the ” lake” is not a drop… but a dribble. Still I faithfully send my ” dribble” in every single day to feed the ” lake” … so at the end I can , with good conscience, say ” The lake didn’t dry up on my watch.” There was another story still left to tell.

So until tomorrow… ” Knowledge is like an ever-flowing stream of water, and where you stop to drink from it, is where you become quenched.” The post is my fountain!

Today is my favorite day. Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Some of you might have caught this three minute episode of ” On the Road” over the weekend …and if you did …you will never hold another door for someone without doing so. It will stay embedded in memory.

( Before starting this latest Steve Hartman story … have you ever wished like me that 1) I would love his job and 2) If we can clone animals, can’t we clone all the Steve Hartmans in the world… no doubt the world would be a better place for it!)

The story starts with a Cinderella ending that hides years of pain and abuse that precluded a moment of triumph. Lincoln East High School football star, Malachi Coleman announced he’ll be playing for the Nebraska Huskers… a dream come true and a catalyst to an amazing opportunity.

Twelve years earlier, Coleman’s mother left him and his younger sister, Nevaeh, by the side of the road and never returned. Coleman suffered abuse in foster care.

Eventually they were adopted together by an amazingly loving family, but there was so much damage to repair. ” He was a broken kid” says his dad, Craig Coleman and his mother, Miranda noticed that he ” only lived for today and nothing mattered in his life. ” By his own admission Malachi adds” I was a mean and selfish jerk who refused to do anything kind for anybody… after all nobody had really helped me… my trust was broken”

Everything changed when the Nebraska School Activities Association ruled that high school athletes could now profit off their name and likeness … it came as no surprise that Coleman was first in line … the real surprise was how he planned to spend it.

Coleman went to a favorite Mexican restaurant owner and offered to promote a burrito, on one condition… that a portion of the proceeds went to one cause – it had to go to the Foster Care system.

Nick Maestas, the owner, asked Hartman ” How do you not want to be on board with that? ”

Actually Coleman’s transformation had started a few years earlier after a long argument with his mother Miranda over his selfishness. She told Steve Hartman…” I threw out at least 100 ideas and finally completely exasperated, I said, ” What about holding a door … can you at least hold one door for one person? And finally he responded” I can hold a door.”

The next day at school he held a door for someone, then another and another and by Sunday he held the door for the entire congregation!

Now he says kindness has become his passion. It all began by holding one door for one person. ” Once I realized how good it makes me feel to help other people, it’s just something that I knew I wanted to continue.”

These days Malachi Coleman hopes to open many more important doors -the ones that lead to a ” forever” home for kids in foster care.

So until tomorrow… I don’t think Malachi is alone with his feelings concerning holding doors for strangers…it is that instant rush of gratification that fills us when we hold a door for someone. These days I feel like I have to fight for this privilege because with time ( and perhaps shrinkage) strangers want to hold doors for me… which is really nice but honestly… not as much as being the door holder. * Another observation from a ” maturing” point of view.

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

” Freedom is dearer than bread or joy” and when it comes to talking about the war in Ukraine … its flag colors explain it all. The blue symbolizes clear blue skies and yellow-its fields of grain. This beautiful combination has given Ukraine its nickname … the ” Bread Basket” of the world. But sadly… no longer.

Today the unprovoked war in Ukraine …initiated by the sheer greed of another ” mislead” dictator … has destroyed the bread basket for Ukraine and the world. The flag no longer depicts peaceful blue skies and bountiful grain but dark smoking clouds and destitute fields. Starvation can be found in every nook and corner

Friday night I kept the kids while John and Mandy got out together since John is going to be gone for about a week at a business meeting coming soon- When they got back they said they had a good time… except for parking. Many streets had been blocked with no parking signs.

I told them immediately what was going on… ( local news) Charleston was holding a vigil for the first anniversary of the commencement of the brutal attack on Ukraine. Mayor John Tecklenburg and several Holy City Faith Leaders were reassuring Ukraine and the crowd gathered in front of Charleston City Hall, that they have not forgotten this desperate fight for freedom and democracy. Charleston non-profits have donated more than 13 tons of supplies from the Lowcountry to date.

As a preamble to the ceremony, St Michael’s bells tolled for 72 seconds … symbolizing 7,200 Ukrainian civilian deaths since Russia’s invasion. Unbelievably sad.

Last Thursday nine Ukrainian soldiers gave the mayor an Ukrainian Flag signed by each soldier.

So until tomorrow… as Mayor Tecklenburg said,” 365 days of defending freedom”… who knows how many more …but in the end the price of freedom is priceless.

Today is my favorite day -Winnie the Pooh

Drop off Pepsi day for Ben as I watched his secret putting course… hitting golf balls with a wedge! Close to a real golf course!

Dear Reader:

It dawned on me the other day, while watching a celebrity interview (on a talk show) that I hear the expression… ” Feeling comfortable in my own skin” quite frequently.

The celebrity will be saying something along the lines of ” I tried several different careers along the way until I realized one day I didn’t need to try to impress this director or producer anymore by imitating other acting styles… I just had to be me. It was only when I felt comfortable in my own skin” that my career and life fell into place. ” So true!

It is, also, only when we realize that everyone’s journey through life is unique and not to be compared against others… that we finally understand we are only competing against ourselves… pushing ourselves to be our best selves. We only need to seek our own approval… to think, be, and demonstrate to others… what makes us who we are.

One article I read called this the ” beautiful mess affect” … appropriately named. We must learn to love all our positive qualities and accept our weaknesses too by letting our vulnerability show. It is the vulnerability in the human race that attracts us to a deeper understanding of each other.

As I read this thought ( above) I decided to take a moment and reflect back on the time I remembered having a good laugh at myself. The day I grew up.

It was the summer before my senior year in high school. Senior pictures were being taken before school started officially …over a week period …to have them ready to be submitted to the yearbook.

For once in my life I was excited because secretly I had gone to Greenville to get my braces off right before my photo date. No one had seen me without my braces.

So some of my classmates’ parents planned a gathering at a popular ” Rec” Center to kick off our final year… we were bringing our ” proofs” from the pictures to share with friends and laugh and giggle over.

Even upon arrival… with us meeting and greeting at the end of the summer ..no one initially mentioned my teeth. I was crestfallen… there we were all hugging and laughing but no one had noticed my braces were off.

The parents had put our senior proofs on a bulletin board and then suddenly I heard a fellow classmate say ” Like your picture Becky… is something different?” – and then finally a close friend who had been talking to me stopped and looked at the picture again and then at me… ” You got your braces off!”

For the rest of the evening an occasional classmate might mention my braces being gone… but what I had considered a momentous, life-altering moment in my life was lost in the realization that my classmates had only known me with braces when we moved to Laurens and had accepted me (over three years) for who I was and not my braces.

That night I pulled out my three earlier yearbooks …where I was always lip smiling… and started smiling to myself. I had learned an important lesson… ” Braces do not make the person… nor any other physical apparatus- you have to go deeper than that. It is the total essence of ourselves that others feel that matters. I took a big step in growing up that night.

So until tomorrow… It is a nice feeling getting to a point in life when we can see past a mirror reflection and accept ourselves… just as we are.

Today is my favorite day -Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

It took a little red cardinal named Sammy to teach me about signs …probably a decade ago. Some of you faithful readers remember my extreme agitation when I discovered that ( just not one but both of my front door rear-view mirrors) had been pecked so badly by the bird that they were off-kilter and scratched.

My neighbor Luke got the mirrors secured better… and cleaned the mirrors so the scratches weren’t so visually limiting … though still scratched.

My heart took a turn for Sammy when Patty Knight told me that when cardinals look in the mirror… they think it is another cardinal and males are territorial so they fight it-thus the scratches. But her cardinal ended up killing itself in the fight… it made her so sad when she found it by the car.

So I started parking in my second driveway and apparently a truce developed… over time Sammy would perch on the porch light fixtures and just watch me watering the plants. I purchased a bird feeder for him when I realized he and Mrs Sammy had a family in one of my large thick bushes by the side driveway.

When I added the side garden, years back, a red cardinal would fly over frequently and even as late as last year come to perch on the ledge by the window in my computer room … I have been typing and practically fallen out of my chair by a pecking noise on my screen right next to me.

And then from my first Christmas after meeting Sammy… oh… the red cardinal ” Sammy” gifts you readers have given me …they have multiplied like the fish and the loaves. I didn’t have time to pull out all my Christmas Tree Sammies but here is a couple of pictures.

Sammy indirectly helped the police catch the thief who stole my old green Saturn Vue… the car Sammy fought the rear-view mirrors in.

When a policeman called me late one Saturday night near midnight to go identify my car… they had caught the culprit. The teenager had already been handcuffed and taken in by the time we arrived-apparently there had been a chase through a subdivision ( very dangerous) … the car was running on habit because it was barely drive-able and the scent of drugs had me driving with my head outside the window. Insurance-wise it was totaled.

But there was some humor… the policeman told me the ” kid” kept bragging that he would have gotten away but he couldn’t see well enough outside the rear-view mirrors!

So until tomorrow… “God works in mysterious ways”… especially with little red cardinals! Thanks Sammy!

As the title car magnet ( that I have ordered ) says… ” Kindness Matters” … with all God’s creatures!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Atticus bravely returned to the vet surgeon for removal of cancer cells around his cute little snout… skin cancer… all went well-Tommy said he was very brave on the way over… so they stopped and treated him to a McDonald hamburger after the procedure! Boo loves you Atticus!

Dear Reader:

The Lowcountry was breaking records on Washington’s birthday… climbing into the proximity of the mid –80’s! Yes… you heard me… 80’s!!!!!

And the azaleas, are frantically trying to catch up… thinking ” What happened? Did spring come and go without us getting the word? ”

My azalea bushes look like popcorn popping. While working in the yard I counted one bush and it had about 10 azaleas starting to burst open… a couple hours later they had all opened and eight more buds had formed. Crazy!!! And the rest of the week continues the same pattern and next week-the low is ” 70″ -yikes and it is February?

I keep reminding myself to enjoy the moment because ( with even the Formosa’s -usually the last azaleas to bloom) popping out… will anything be left in five weeks?

… and it is not just flowers… the Charleston Bridge Run is the same weekend…Saturday April 1. ( I think both events realize they help each other that weekend by offering a diversity of activities for everyone! )

Even though we will probably have a few ” cool snaps” … there is no denying that weather patterns are changing… and comparing our weather pattern to so many other regions of the country with incomparable droughts, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, snow, ice storms… we have been overwhelmingly blessed!

We have gotten by mainly with just a few instances of extreme cold or heat…but all temporary… yet…still watching our country and other countries experiencing so many weather-related hardships … we can no longer deny man’s contributions to this dilemma pervading our beautiful planet we call home. We are reaping what we sow.

But I have faith in man… it’s not too late but we must pull together… at the rate we are going here … the Charleston race and Summerville festival might soon be run and attended in February… the new spring month.

So until tomorrow…Maybe at a certain age everyone should be asked to make one commitment-Leave the earth a better place for those who follow.

Dear Reader:

I have mentioned before that I am a fast reader, in the sense of moving through chapters pretty quickly. However, I am also a ” pause primer” …stopping at the end of each chapter and re-reading my favorite lines from the author’s mindful musings on life.

I can sit and just contemplate lines as I write them in my big black notebook Ben gave me years ago that collected dust …until I retired and started using it to copy my favorite quotes and author “thought” lines in.

I had just started traveling around doing storytelling for schools and civic centers when Ben gave me this notebook. At the time I was meeting myself coming and going with little time to write stories …but when I recently found the notebook while cleaning out a closet… the timing was perfect… nowadays I fill it with lines that touch me … lines I want to remember.

And at this point I want to pause, take time to thank so many of YOU dear readers who seem to know when a line of encouragement is most needed and/or a a reassurance I am still on the right path in reaching you.

Like authors’ lines… I save many of your lines under ” Favorites” on my computer so I can occasionally go back and re-read them… an oasis to a thirsty traveler.

This line reminds me of the Princeton Book Review quote you just read… ” Maybe we are not here to see each other, but to see each other through.”

Last week I got this message from Michele Jones, who took time out of her everyday life ( and a quite challenging one as of late) to send this message to me that did see me through a hectic day)

Michele is such an anchor at Dorchester Presbyterian Church-always helping!

” Good morning Sunshine! After reading your blog today, one of the things you touched on reminded me of a little saying I heard recently” ( from her boss)

” Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes” ( Michele says this cute saying was absolutely true… time does fly!)

” Thank you for your daily laughs, inspiring tales, hope for the future, and most of all your unconditional love and acceptance for all. We love you right back. May God’s Grace shower you with every ray of sun and drop of rain.”

So until tomorrow… According to a recent police survey, the most oversights discovered in re-opened cold cases, has been when some piece of evidence seemed too obvious-too much of a coincidence.. thus disregarded from the investigation …placing coincidences under headings like ” too obvious” rather than regarding them as potential gifts of truth -this outlook can prove a costly mistake.

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

+++ Now you know me…I am not ending today’s post on George Washington’s Birthday ( February 22) without a couple of interesting tidbits.

Parson Weems, a popular storyteller-known mostly for his tall tales, waited until after Washington’s death to let loose some whoppers …including the hatchet story where a young George supposedly chopped down his father’s favorite cherry tree and admitted he did it because he could not tell a lie to his father.

Pardon Weems wanted to make sure his tales inspired future generations to respect the highest office and hold all who reside there… accountable for setting a good example!

But also… it is the reason why cherry pie is the baker’s choice on Washington’s Birthday!!! Enjoy!!!

Dear Reader:

You might remember a couple of weeks ago I was talking about re-acquainting myself with Mark Twain …having missed his witticisms and stories… especially The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. This time, as I scrolled back through the chapters… I remembered Mark Twain ‘s reflections on the story decades after writing it …suggesting that one of life’s best lessons is found in the whitewashing fence episode.

And isn’t it true… just hearing the title of the book and Tom Sawyer’s name, our memory immediately pulls up one scene , above all the others, when Tom uses his ” Brer Rabbit” cleverness to persuade others to do something he, himself, doesn’t want to do.

Today we might call it ” reverse psychology ” … it worked then and still works today.”

Aunt Polly told Tom he had to paint the whole fence -a long one… Tom was miserable and trying to figure out an escape from this daunting tedious chore when Ben came along poking fun at him… so Tom began to make grandeur strokes and talk about how fun it was but he was the only one Aunt Polly trusted… because he was an exceptional painter. Just not “anyone”could do this job. Only him!

Soon Ben is begging to get a chance to paint the fence and even offers Tom fruit-apples-in exchange for his turn. As more neighborhood boys gather… both Ben and Tom ( now watching) continue with the fun talk describing the high expertise they have -after all one must be an exceptional painter for this job.

Tom’s “fishing” skills come into play as he expertly catches more help to paint the fence. Soon the boys run home and return with toys ( kites , marbles, etc. …) to exchange with him- if they can please have a turn at painting Aunt Polly’s fence!

By the end of the episode … Aunt Polly has ended up with a freshly painted white fence… covered with three coats of paint… while Tom eats apples and shoots marbles.

Mart Twain explained the psychology behind the funny episode… ” Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.”

How true this is! Think of the people ( in your life) you know who work in difficult situations and jobs but you never hear them complain. Instead they find ways to lighten their loads with humor and camaraderie. Turning work into play… serious ” play” but commendable work ethics that affect their colleagues positively!

So until tomorrow…

Yesterday I put my sign up on the porch that said ” I’m in the Garden”. … and I was!

This photo yesterday made me tear up… but happy tears. It was hashtag-love my dog -day… and seeing this senior citizen dog find his forever home screamed Hope and Love collectively!