No, the fence is not up yet Don. The picture is of the one I like and hope to put up as soon as possible.
Storms this morning, but nothing real bad here. Hot and sunny rest of the day. Went to grocery store..to which I loate and complain about . I am gratefull we can buy food, but after today I will try not to complain. A woman who appeared to be my age picking out cans of soup. She had that homeless look...very long stringy hair..clothes mis matched and way too big. Even hers socks seemed much too big. Any way it just pains me to think she's living off of soup. As I sat at dinner eating my fat jucy hamburger I made...I kept thinking about her...home eating soup. Just wish I had thought to toss something healthy and tasty her way. This turned out to be my Pit for the day.
@Gloria Mitchell - we have a large box in store to put food in for the poor I am amazed and happy to see this box full when I go there, maybe, if you have the box - put a couple of items in there I see a wonderful ol gal, her legs are a mess and she can't cover them, when she has finished shopping, there's not much, she takes her cart to the car, then walks (laboured) back to store to return the cart. Many able people, just leave the cart wherever, not bothering mostly
You're right Patsy the box is for the poor but it's not for poor people to come and help themselves, it's for the food bank's to take and distribute.. I often wonder if someone who genuinely had no food came and helped themselves out of the box if they would be arrested for theft? @Gloria Mitchell , I understand how you're feeling. On occasion when I see something like that, I it haunts me, and having worked with a homeless charity for some years until recently, I know very well that ''look'' that you describe.
In many ways, the last three or so posts may well be the pit and the peak of my day. The peak being the knowledge that others here on this forum definitely do have a heart for the homeless and hungry. The pit is the roller coaster ride of emotions that I remember from all the years working in the rescue mission ministry. The endless faces of people and the knowledge of what they were going through and how just one good meal a day ( let alone 2 or 3) made such a big difference. If a person is missing an arm or a leg but has a home and good food, he or she is only handicapped, but even a whole person is totally incapacitated when the need for food and shelter is the all encompassing strive for life. It isn't, "what am I going to wear to the church social", or " I need to lose a few pounds", it is instead, "where do I sleep tonight and where can I get some food?" Nothing else matters. Nonetheless, it is a good start for the day. Some good thoughts, some not so good....................
Good post Bobby , and so true.. I've been there in the past..starving..deliberately kept hungry by my father after my mother died , padlocks on food cupboards..no access to food or any money to buy food..and a severe beating if I managed to somehow get to the food.... I'll never ever forget the feeling of despair ...seeing everyone else around me seemingly normal....and me secretly prowling the streets late at night in our very upmarket neighbourhood and scrumping for apples in a neighbours tree at midnight just for something to eat .
It's so sad to hear how some of us grew up. Even growing up in a family with 8 siblings and just my dad working outside the home I never felt hungry. We didn't have a lot of money but my Mom could stretch a buck further than anyone I've ever known since. And everything she cooked tasted wonderful. One of my favorite dishes she made for us was hot dog stew. She would make a roux like you make for a gumbo and then add cut up hot dogs and potatoes in it. We ate that over rice and it was yummy. We'd come home from school and snack on cinnamon and sugar toast....I can still remember my dad going to the day old bakery store and buying many loaves of bread to put in the freezer. My Mom made egg salad for our sandwiches or we would have bologna. We did not have a lot of choices in our menu but we always had 3 nourishing meals a day. I'm truly saddened for those who did and do experience real hunger.
I used to be asked to go to the women and children's mission in Seattle to offer a few words of encouragement prior to lunch. I only imagined what those ladies and kids had gone through to have them wind up in such a situation because a man (even in my position) actually sitting and talking with any of them was a no-no. But I did know this: a child never forgets and I prayed and hoped that there were some better memories on the horizon for each of them. Then, there's the other side of that coin. Watching the elderly women and men go through the food lines and from their demeanor, knowing that at one time they had families, a good table to sit at and the security of a good home. Memories of a life that for whatever reason, is gone. I spent a year on the streets of Atlanta and believe it or not, it was of my choosing. I needed to know what being truly homeless was like and know what "they" knew. I came away with my eyes wide open and hopefully (one never knows the future) I will never ever be faced with the streets again.
Anyway to brighten up this thread again... The peak... Going white water rafting as a spectator over at the leisure park in North London which was built a few years ago for the Olympics.. It's a holiday weekend here, so today will have been the quietest day before the next 3 days where thousands of people will descend on it , so as it was a lovely sunny day I went over with 2 friends, and got some nice pictures , everyone was having a lot of fun in the rafts and on the canoes ( all adults no kids) ...but that will all change tomorrow when there will be lots of families... I took a lot of photos... Pit..: The drive home from London.. acccch..friday is always horrible on the roads anyway. So many people leaving London for the weekend to come out here to the country... but because it's the start of a the long holiday weekend, it was worse than usual. Took me an hour to drive just 10 miles.. which I can usually do in 10 minutes..
The peak of my day was receiving this wonderful picture showing the love and affection my youngest grandkids are developing for each other.
It's so precious to me because for so long she did not want to have anything to do with her brother...and capturing the love you can see and feel now just makes my heart sing with joy.
I don’t remember posting in this thread before, but today, I have definitely had both a pit and a peak, so here I am to tell you all about it..... Today, Bobby and I went to the fitness center, and then I went to get my friend Evelyn (@Joyce Mcgregor ) and take her to Kroger to do some grocery shopping. When I pulled into the driveway for her apartments, the car (which always steams a little bit ) suddenly started sending out a huge white plume from under the hood. I wasn’t sure if it was steam or smoke, but since it always steams, I thought it might have another busted hose; so I turned the engine off, grabbed all of my stuff (just in case it was smoke and the engine caught on fire) and then popped the lever for the hood, and jumped out. When I opened the hood, I could see that steam was billowing out from behind the engine block, and it was hissing and snapping; but nothing was catching on fire, so that was good. I tried (about 10 times) to call Bobby for help, but he had forgotten his phone in the car, so that didn’t get me anywhere, and I ended up calling his friend , Hosa, whose house they have been working on. By the time they arrived, I could see the puddle of water under the car, and I knew that it was not going to be able to be driven home. For some reason, I had taken out my insurance cards, so even though I have free towing as part of the insurance package, I couldn’t call them to come and tow me home. I ended up calling my daughter, Robin, and she called her AAA and they came and brought the car home for me. That was the pit part of the day; so now for the peak part. Robin is going to be out of town for the next few weeks and she was concerned about me not having a vehicle to drive, so she loaned me her GMC Sonoma (4x4) pickup to drive while Bobby is fixing up the car and getting the orange Ranger running again. So, if the Ranger runs fine, I can drive that, and if it doesn’t then I have Robin’s truck to drive. It is REALLY nice driving a vehicle that doesn’t sputter and steam all the time when I am driving it somewhere ! ! This is definitely a happier ending to a frustrating day.
Yes definitely a happier end to your day @Yvonne Smith , hope Bobby can fix your old car good enough..he sounds like my husband who can pretyy much turn his hand to anything.