Just a few years ago

I finally bought a scanner for transparencies. I'm having fun scanning slides from my days in Haiti and Europe. I lived down in the south of Haiti where travel was very difficult. There were not many paved roads...mainly dirt or rock. To have a car was prohibitive by cost for me, and frankly to own one was just not practical. Motorbikes were just the thing. When I arrived in Haiti in 1969, our mission was able to buy three H*nda 90 bikes for a thousand dollars. Many of the missionaries had them and also the pastors of the churches got them whenever they could buy one. They were definitely time savers and allowed one to go places where there was just a path.

This particular photo was taken on the main highway from Cavaillon to Les Cayes, the town where I lived. I especially enjoyed the freedom that the bike afforded. Notice I'm wearing a dress. Pants were taboo during those days for missionary women.

One day one of my housemates and I got on my bike and rode out to the airport (cow pasture) to greet some folks who were coming out from Port-au-Pr*nce for a visit. The road to the airport was a dirt road which was heavily rutted by the trucks who traveled through after heavy rains. We were riding along when we passed a lady who was going to market with her donkey loaded with baskets of goods for market. Since I was in the rut, it was hard to move over, and my side mirror caught on the handle of one of the baskets.

Down we went, and up we got, none the worse for the wear. The lady walking with her donkey was fine too. I was sharing this story about our sideswiping the donkey once with some missionaries who had lived over in southeast Asia. The gentleman said to me, "Oh, that's nothing. We had a lady who hit a water buffalo broadsided." I guess we weren't too bad off. But what must have the poor lady have thought whose basket we got hung up on.

For all the beautiful people in your life

THE BEAUTIFUL YOU

We place great emphasis on a narrow idea of physical beauty. In an American history discussion group, the professor was trying to explain how, throughout history, the concept of "beauty" changes with time. "For example," he said, "take the 1921 Miss America. She stood five-foot-one inch tall, weighed 108 pounds and sported a 30-inch bust, a 25-inch waist and 32-inch hips. How do you think she'd do in today's version of the contest?"

The class fell silent for a moment. Then one student piped up, "Not very well.""Why is that?" asked the professor.

"For one thing," the student pointed out, "she'd be way too old."Good point -- she'd be way too old.

But beauty is a peculiar thing,for it means something a little different to each of us. And it isn't always about appearance. Sometimes beauty is a quality that softly shines from inner depths. And you may actually radiate more inner beauty than you realize.

An elderly woman noticed that her granddaughter felt embarrassed by her freckles. "I love your freckles," she said, kneeling beside the girl and admiring her face.

"Not me," the child replied.

"Well, when I was a little girl I always wanted freckles," the grandmother said, tracing her finger across the child's cheek."Freckles are beautiful."

The girl looked up. "Really?"

"Of course," said her grandmother. "Why just name one thing that's prettier than freckles."

The little girl peered into the old woman's smiling face, aglow with kindness and love. "Wrinkles," she answered softly.

The physical beauty of youth will fade. But the beauty of a spirit,when nurtured, can grow forever.-- Steve Goodier

Carmi's theme - Kitchen

How would you like to work in this kitchen? This dear lady did our laundry every Monday at our house in Haiti. With five women living in the house, we had quite a pile. We had a wringer washer that she used, and we were so grateful for the time that she put in helping us.

When my husband and I visited Haiti the year after we were married, one of my housemates took us out into the countryside to visit some of the Haitian families. At every home that we entered, the first order of things, after the warm greetings, was to have coffee.

My husband was not a coffee drinker, but he graciously swallowed it with a smile.Do you think you would be gracious enough to offer coffee to someone if this is the way you had to make it...roast the beans, grind the beans, heat the water, pour it through the bag, finally serve it, smiling all the time.

When we arrived at the fourth home, and the lady of the house excused herself to make coffee, we said, "Oh, madame, we have had three cups already at other houses. You really don't have to make us coffee."

Her response? "Amen, amen." She was so relieved.

The next time you scoop out the coffee, put it in your coffeemaker, pour in the water that has come from your faucet, and push the button, think about what it could be like.

Visit Carmi's site to see other links to "kitchens," his photographic theme for this week.

Carmi's Photographic theme - Kitchen

On property near my cousin's house in north Florida stands a log cabin. It had sat on property owned by my cousin's husband's employer and was to be torn down. M. asked to move it to his property, and indeed, he did. A fully functioning house, I am delighted each time I see it. It has been a work in progress for several years. A back porch has been added, an outhouse (not functional) has been built, and fish pond has been dug. Everything is there that one could ever need.

I believe my favorite room in the cabin is the kitchen. When Carmi announced his theme, I realized I didn't have to look far for a photo.

Final Four

In 1997 (I originally put 1979...that the year David made his appearance on earth, LOL. Sarah caught my error. Thanks, Sarah.) my son was a member of the first basketball team from his high school to gain a berth in the Final Four in its division here in Florida. Most of the boys had played together since junior high, and they worked well together as a team. A school holiday was declared, and parents, grandparents, students, and friends all traveled to Lakeland to experience the thrill of it all. The boys won the semi-final game, but in the final game, they fell to a team that had highly recruited (so they say,) and even though, we had some boys of real size, some of theirs were even taller.

I think the thing that impressed me most that day about the team was that while the other team was revelling in its win, our team stood like gentlemen. They were probably crying on the inside, but they held their heads high...a job well done. The girls' team did go on to win the state championship.

This past Wednesday, the team traveled to the Final Four again. Once again, there was a school holiday, and one of the teachers asked if I'd like to ride along and go to the game. I had thought of driving over, but I was very happy to ride along with someone else. By the time the game was ready to start, the stands were filled with fans, cheering the team on.

This time the team was much smaller, but very quick. The tallest player was about 6'2" and many were what one would call short, especially for a basketball player. But speed was their friend. The first half ended in a tie, and then the boys fell behind in the second half and were not able to catch up.

Being there again was just a lot of fun, seeing once again the school come together as a family, cheering the boys on. Pictured above is the shirt that I wore, the mom's shirt that I wore back in 1979 whenever David was playing.

Some of you remember the young man I wrote about three or four years ago...a young man with Fanconi's Anemia. He was in need of a bone marrow transplant at the time. He had that, and then he needed another, and even now there is some cancer in his body. His twin brothers are key players on this team. Anthony was there, even though he was in an area isolated from everyone, cheering his brothers on. And everyone is still cheering for Anthony.