Grateful Beyond Words

I'm so grateful to God for life this week.  Two big events took my peace and kept me fearful for a bit, even though I prayed fairly unceasingly during the waiting periods.  I was not in control of either situation, and I realized how weak my faith can be.  By the grace of God, I'm still His.  He never left me alone.

Situation one:  I've had blood in my urine for a month.   Not enough to see, but enough to need a cat scan to look at my kidneys and my bladder.  I had the cat scan and waited a week before the doc called me at 7:30 in the morning and said the CT did show something abnormal, and could I come in that afternoon for a cystoscopy?  I wanted to yell, can I come in right now?!?

From 7:30 until 1:30, I worried.  I prayed and worried.  I called my husband, who came home from work to go to the doc with me.  Once he was home, we tried not to imagine the worst, but of course, we did.  I texted my best friend, my daughter, and my sister to ask for prayer.  My sister told me later that while she waited for the final word from me, she wondered if she would be able to donate to me one of her kidneys.  I cried when she told me this.

During those waiting, morning hours, I wiped up the kitchen and folded laundry and scrolled mindlessly though facebook, anything to occupy my mind.  Every time my mind would consider the fact that I might hear fatal news, I rolled that into the prayer, Be still and know that I am God.  Be still and know that I am God.  Be still, be still, be still.

We arrived at the doctor's office early, and I flipped though an old TIME magazine, reading parts of articles, comprehending nothing.   The nurse called me back, and my husband came with me.  I would be on my back in stirrups for the cystoscopy, but I wanted him in the room.  Once I was gowned and ready, we waited another fifteen minutes. It seemed like an hour.

The doc came in and explained that the CT showed my kidneys were fine, but it appeared there was a mass on my bladder.  The cystoscopy would give him a better look.  Within a minute, the scope was in and we saw my bladder on the small screen to my left.  He pointed out different aspects of my bladder - all healthy tissues.  No mass.  He smiled and said, "Your bladder is fine.  I suspect it was empty during the CT and it folded in on itself, which bladders sometimes do."

I stared at him. "The bladder is fine?  The kidneys are fine?"

"Both fine," he said.  "The urethra is a bit irritated.  We'll give you some cream for that, and I'm 99% sure the bleeding will stop.  It's nice to get good news once in a while, isn't it?"

I took a deep breath and looked at my husband.  He had tears in his eyes.

Situation two: Exactly a week after the fearful morning/good news cystoscopy, our youngest son was in a car accident.

Front of the car

 

Back of the car

He was rear-ended by a young woman who plowed into him at a stop light.  He swerved, went off the road, and hit a tree.  He was crunched from both ends. The air bag knocked him with such force, his glasses broke, and his seat was flattened into a reclining position.  With such impact from both ends, his over-six-feet frame could have been broken in many places.

He emerged with only a bloody elbow and bruises from the air bag.  Unbelievable.  (No one else was hurt.)

Our daughter-in-law called us (we are two hours away) and kept us updated.  Until he was seen in the ER and cleared from head or internal injuries, I was back in worry/prayer mode.  A few hours later, we talked to our son.  He was sore, but assured us he was OK.  The accident was not his fault, insurance would kick in, he already had an appointment to get new glasses.

I breathed deeply, and my husband and I looked at each other, again, with tears in our eyes.

People get terrible medical news every day.  People are injured or killed in car accidents every day.  I don't know why we were spared the worst of things these past two weeks.  I know God is good all the time, whether we are ill or well, safe or harmed.  Life is random and crazy.  God is not.

He's in control all the time.  He's loving all the time.  He wants the best for us all the time.

A time will come when life will not serve me the best outcome.  I pray I will remain true to whom I know God to be.  All the time.

Hobbling Around

So....here's what happened this week.

It matches the tile grout in my kitchen, don't you think?  I now try to just hang in the kitchen, so I always look coordinated. 

Apparently, I've had some small tears in my paroneal longus tendon since the summer (tendonopathy.) That's one of the tendons that runs from calf to foot and and slides back and forth under that bony protrusion on the side of your ankle. 

I've also developed plantar fasciitis (I swear this word has too many 'i's, but Webster says no.)  Plantar fasciitis is inflammation and micro tears in the plantar fascia, the connective tissue that runs from heel to toes on the bottom on the foot.  My left foot is aging faster than my right.  However, with my now cock-eyed gait, my right foot is acting up.  I really need a third leg.

What's bugging me this week is that I've had pain in this foot for about six weeks.  At first I thought it was part of the fibromyalgia I'm still learning about and treating with supplements.  So, I went to the beach two weeks ago for vacation and began running again.  This was absolutely the wrong thing to do.  But, I didn't yet know the results of my MRI, and I wasn't feeling any worse. 

So, I ran a bit.  And walked on the lumpy beach, and walked on the street, and walked up and down flights of stairs several times a day.  Two days after I got home, I learned about these injuries, and then began kicking myself with my good foot. 

How are we supposed to determine aging aches and pains from injury aches and pains?  That's the question.  Clearly, I'm a bad judge of that distinction.  So, now I'm in a gray boot for a month, maybe more.  If things are healing well at that point, I'll get a brace for another few months.  Yes, I said months.  Plantar fasciitis takes six months to a year to heal.  Geez-o-flip. 

The doc said tendons don't ever return to their former state, so this foot will always be a vulnerability for me.  That means no more running.  Ever.  I'm not crazy about running, but it was the best tool for me when it came to weight loss.  Nothing knocked off twenty pounds as quickly as running. 

Pooh.  I might have to befriend this twenty pounds.  ACK!

The doc said swimming is my best option from now on.  So, I closed my membership at my current gym and joined a gym that has a pool.  I can't tell you how excited I am to squeeze into a bathing suit that reveals the extra twenty pounds. 

Oh well.  Life is full of surprises and adjustments.  There are many people in worse shape than me. And I still have one good foot. 

For now.

I'm Just Too Happy!

On Facebook, my teacher daughter challenged me to share three things a day - for five days - I'm grateful for.  That is an awkward sentence.  For five days, I'm going to write three daily things for which I'm grateful.

That doesn't read any better.

Anyhoo....I'm going to change it.  I'm going to write here fifteen things for which I'm grateful. I hope my alteration to this assignment flies with the teacher.  I've had so many blessings this week, it's delightful to ruminate on all the goodies.

Here we go...

1.  Our teacher daughter did not go to China.  China cancelled the trip for various reasons that we don't fully understand, but if things are not squared away in China...I'm happy she's not going.  She was disappointed, but got over it.  She'll likely have the opportunity to go next year.

2.  Our girl is still getting PAID for going to China, even though she's not going.  How incredible is that?  She'll be paying off a credit card, getting some house upgrades, some car work done, taking a trip to SC with her favorite mom and saving some bucks.  China pays very well for work you don't do.

3.  Our girl is also getting free travel miles - as many as it takes to get to Beijing and back.  The airline tickets were non-refundable, so our teacher gets the miles on a gift card.  We were astonished.  She's already planning where to go and who to see.  I might be able to sneak in on some of that too.

4.  Our daughter surprised me this week with three tubs of dark chocolate malted milk balls!  I didn't know they made them, but she found a small company here in Melbourne that does.  I am in heaven.  And so grateful for my money-bags daughter's generosity.  

5.  In completing my manuscript, The 12 Days of Christmas Adventure, I'm seeking trademark/copyright permissions from some big businesses/manufacturers.   So far, every single company, except one, has granted permission for me to use an image of their product in my book.  This has shocked me.  I thought big businesses would not be interested in helping a first time author.

I was wrong.  Jordan Almonds will be in my book, along with Swiss Miss, Mattel, Fisher-Price, and my favorite - Harry Potter.  Scholastic books is sharing with me Harry Potter!  I am so grateful, I keep celebrating by eating dark chocolate malted milk balls.

6.  We had a Canadian visitor this week who brought REAL maple syrup and homemade strawberry jam with her to Florida.  Get a load of this syrup bottle. 

It looks like a bottle of rum.  It's the most delicious syrup on the planet.  This freezer jam is also the best on the planet.  My husband ate the entire first jar in about four days. 

Our Canadian friend is our favorite alien.

7.  I ordered new glasses last month that came in wonky.  I tried them for a week and kept hating them.  I took them back to Lens Crafters, and they discovered my pupillary distance was off.  I asked them if it had anything to do with the retina hole I had in my eye the week before.  They said no, pupils don't move, no matter what kind of holes you have in your eyes.  They made me another pair of lenses, and they are great.
 

The frames are red and bold because I decided I was going to need some color on my face as my wisdom highlights come in.  AUGH!  I have recipes dangling from the cupboards, this is why it looks like trash is sprouting from my head and right ear. 

8.  It's mango season here!  I can't touch mango sap or the inside skin because I break out with poison ivy (for that story, READ THIS.)  But, I LOVE the fruit and have no trouble eating it.  A friend of ours who has a mango tree gave us ten mangoes - half of them are gone already.  Our girl, Money-bags, purchased even more.  The area that grows them here - Merritt Island - is one of the best three mango producers in the world.  And we live 20 minutes away!  We are happy mango gluttons.

9.  My Dad has another UTI.   This is not the grateful part.  The grateful part is that we learned yesterday he can go to the walk-in clinic and get an antibiotic infusion daily for about a week rather than being admitted to the hospital for the same thing.   Because of all the meds he's on, he needs IV infusions when he develops a UTI.  In the past, he had been hospitalized for this, but that won't be needed anymore.  I can't even express what good new this is.  At 91, Dad needs to be up and around as much as possible.  Five days in the hospital never serves him well.

10.  I got a new phone, and I really like it.  I've never been able to say that about a new phone before.  Wonders never cease.

11.  My check-up with my eye surgeon today went well.  My holey retina has sealed properly.  I'm so grateful for Dr. Paul Winslow.  Anybody who can use a laser on an eyeball and not blast the eyeball apart gets a ten in my book.

12.  I'm changing general practitioners, and the doc I want to start seeing is taking new patients.  He's actually my parents' doc, and I know the man well because for five years, we've been a team when dealing with the folks.   He knows all the family quirks.

13.  I've found a supplement that is helping my fibromyalgia.  It's called Curamin, and the basis of it is turmeric.   My pain is reduced by 30-40%.  Curamin is not cheap, but I'm not griping about that today.  This is a grateful list.

14.  Dad, whom we call Pops, was going to travel to China with our daughter by way of this...

She glued this image of him eating a hot fudge sundae onto a tongue depressor.  She was going to hold this in all her photographs (like Flat Stanley), so he could say he'd been to China.  This is her Pops-sicle.  HA!  I smile every time I look at it.

15.  My girl and I are heading to South Carolina next week to visit her godson and his parents.  I'm going to help his mom re-organize her kitchen.  I love to sort and clean and donate.  I think I'll take a tub of malted milk balls with us.

God has so blessed me recently, I almost feel guilty.

I'm sure there's a challenge around the corner.

Until it gets here, I'm soaking up every minute.

From One End to the Other

As I shared on Facebook this week, I learned last Thursday I had a small hole in the retina of my right eye.  Today I had laser surgery by a very kind eye surgeon to seal the hole.

It was a procedure that gave me the willies.  I mean, a blinding (literally) heated light seared eye tissue closed to create scars so the vitreous humor doesn't leak behind the retina, causing it to pull away from the wall of the eyeball.  I shudder writing that.  Gross.

The amazing part is that this procedure doesn't really hurt.  It's uncomfortable, and warm, but not painful.  My procedure lasted only five minutes.  The dilation of my pupil took 20 minutes.  Once I disappeared into the doctor's procedure room, my daughter had just enough time to text my husband that I had just gone back, when I appeared again.  It's miraculous what a physician can do with a laser beam and a coal miner's hat.   
 

SOURCE

                            
How did I get a hole in my retina, you ask?  Apparently I have thin retinas, a condition called lattice degeneration.  It sounded pretty with the lattice part, then I heard the degeneration part and thought, of course, another aging issue.  As I wrote on Facebook, at least I have one body part that is THIN.

I'll just have to give up those weekend boxing matches.

In other news this week, I heard from the editor who had requested to see my manuscript, The 12 Days of Christmas Adventure.  After having it for six weeks, she decided it was not for her publishing house at this time.  To my surprise, that email of rejection was not too painful.  It was disappointing, but not excruciating.  It was kind of like eye surgery - uncomfortable, but not unbearable.

I don't know what I'll do next.  I might blog the book here.  Part of me finds this very appealing.  Part of me thinks I'm tired because a laser burned my eye this morning.

I'll think about it tomorrow.  Tomorrow's another day.  Another uncomfortable day, because I can't eat anything but Jello and Popsicles.  I'm having a colonoscopy on Friday (it's been such a fun week.)  Tomorrow night, the real fun begins because I get to drink that tasty fluid that precedes hours in the bathroom.

I'm so grateful there are doctors who like to poke around eyeballs and colons.  You could not pay me enough to do either one.  

SOURCE

                                

A VERY Silly Thing in the Freezer

I save beef / chicken broth after I've roasted an animal, or part of an animal, for my carnivore husband.  Then I freeze the juice in a zippered baggie for future use. Recently, I made the mistake of tossing a broth bag in the freezer before it was cool. It wrapped itself around the grid shelf and froze in place.  I had to practically disassemble the freezer to get the thing loose.  

You don't see the problem here...

But, on the flip side...

Good grief.  All I could think was - a broth bag wearing a thong.  And I couldn't separate the two.  The bag was frozen solid to the grid and to itself.  

So I laughed hysterically and took a picture.  It seemed like the thing to do. 

My husband suggested I run hot water over the bag to free it from its misery.  Which I did.  But, oh my, what a sight.  :-) 

Don't try this at home.

I Thought Debt Was a Negative - Silly Me

We live in a nutty world.  Nuttier than a squirrel's stash in the winter.

I had a conversation with my bank two hours ago that still has me shaking my head.

My husband and I have a joint checking/savings account.  In addition, I have a separate checking/savings account.  Not because we divide the money, or I want more chocolate than he thinks is reasonable.  I simply stash funds in the second savings account until the water heater springs a leak, or the car needs new brakes, or some catastrophe occurs as life rolls along.  This savings account is simply a holding cell until the unexpected happens.

I never use the checking part of this account, never have.  For ten years, it's had all of $3.50 in it.  I don't even think about it, forget I have it.

Yesterday, I got a letter from our bank stating that for three months, I've been over drawn on this checking account.  My balance is now -$2.50.  What?    

I called the bank.  A very nice woman named Nicole looked into it and then asked me, "Do you have a daughter?"

"Yes," I said warily.  Had our girl been swiping a dollar a month from this forgotten account of mine? 

"Did she have a car loan with us?" Nicole inquired.

"Yes."  I wondered where this was going.

"It looks like that's been paid off," Nicole informed me.

"Uh-huh."  I think we co-signed for the loan, which was paid off this past summer.  "Okay...."

"Oh, I see," Nicole said.  "You've been moved from a platinum account to a gold account."

I'm still trying to put things together.  "We got demoted because our daughter paid off her loan?"

"Well, you're now in a different status.  You have to maintain a certain balance in this checking account, or there is a fee."

I'm still thinking.  "Are you telling me we're being penalized because we have less debt?"

"It's not a penalty," Nicole said.  "You're simply in a different status."  She then said something about how we used to be at the platinum level, which was $2700, now we're at the gold level, which is $750.

"Let me understand this," I said.  "Because our daughter no longer owes you money, we have to keep a minimum amount of funds in this checking account, which we don't use, or we will be fined."

"Correct.  You're at a different level now."

"Yeah, I get that," I said.  "We've been bumped down a notch.  So instead of getting our daughter's money, you require more of ours.  It looks like the bank benefits from our family being in debt." 

Nicole kind of chuckled.  "Yeah, that's how it works.  Paying off the car loan is what changed things."

Am I really hearing this?  This is insane!   "Well, you know, Nicole, I'm not going to use this checking account.  I've never used it.  Can I get rid of it?"

"You can close the account," she said.

"Can I keep the savings without the checking?"

"Yes.  But you can't go online to pay any bills if you don't have both."

"I don't do online banking from this account," I said. "I move the savings money over to our joint checking when we need it.  Can I still do that?"

"Oh, yes," Nicole assured me.

"Close the checking account," I said.  Before it costs me one more penny.  Before I have to take out a loan to save money.  I can't believe I just typed that.

Nicole tapped away and removed the checking account.  I'm surprised she didn't charge me anything to do it. 

I admit I don't have a high finance mind; I don't understand Wall Street and interest rates, but shouldn't you be rewarded for paying your bills?  Shouldn't you get a higher status for being responsible?  Like I said, NUTTY. 

I have no idea how being only a gold member at my bank will change my life.  I didn't know I was previously a platinum member, so I'll now be paying attention to how my life degrades.  Gosh, once we pay off the last of our son's college loan in April, we'll probably tumble to the tin can level.

There's a lesson here somewhere, but darned if I know what it is. 
  

 

Accidental Blessings

An event happened a week ago yesterday that is just now beginning to recede a bit in my mind. 

Our daughter was in a car accident in Virginia.  We live in Florida.  We were sixteen hours away from her.

My husband got the tearful call about 8:30 in the morning.  Our daughter was OK enough to call her dad and then text a close-by relative.  Upon rounding a highway curve, she found traffic stopped and hit the car in front of her.  She swerved to minimize the punch, but then spun around across the road and hit the guard rail on the other side.

I did not see a picture of the her car until the next day, and maybe it was better I didn't, because I know I would have been more scared and tearful than I already was. 

The totaled Nissan

I didn't talk to our daughter for a few hours after the accident, because she had to deal with the police, and then the ER.  My sister-in-law and her husband rushed to the crash site and filled in for us, hugging her and helping her and insisting she take the drugs the ER doc gave her.   She had no broken bones, just bruises and a seat belt mark on her neck.  When I look at the car pictures, I am still amazed and so grateful she did not have more injuries.

Front View

By the grace of God, I keep thinking.  Our daughter credits the Nissan Versa for saving her life.  She also credits her guardian angel, whom she calls Patient Steve.   

I finally talked to our girl, who assured me she was fine, just sore, but so "proud" of her car.  She was thankful there was no other traffic on the road.  So grateful she did not hurt anyone (the woman in the car she did hit was fine, and her car did not have nearly the damage the Nissan sustained.)

Our daughter was grateful there was a policeman just a few cars behind her.  She was so grateful her accident occurred in VA near family and not in Canada, or Pennsylvania, from where she had just traveled.  She was grateful she has insurance, grateful for the Vicodin that helped her through the next three days, grateful for her wonderful aunt and uncle who hovered over her with love and concern.

We are grateful for all of that too.

When my brother (the ex-clown who lives in Maryland) heard of the accident, he called to offer to drive to Virginia to get our girl.  I assured him she was with family, but we did need to get her home somehow.  He offered to bring her to South Carolina - we would each drive halfway.  I was so touched by this offer, tears welled in my eyes.  He happened to be on vacation last week and assured me he didn't mind the trip.  This was pure gift.

Forty-eight hours later, we got to hug our daughter at a Baymont Inn and see that she truly was in once piece.

I had that "you're never leaving my sight again" feeling, but luckily for her, it didn't last too long.  I know my children are just on loan to me for awhile...they ultimately belong to God, and He's in charge.

But, man, did I squeeze her.

Since we've been home, the blessings in this trauma have continued to pile up.  She found another car - a Nissan Versa - within three days.  She did not want another brand.  "The Versa saved my life," she reminded us more than once.   Her car insurance actually went down a bit, because this Versa is a few years newer than the old one.   Her car payment is similar, and it fits in the carport of new (for her) house.

Yesterday, she was checked out by and released from the follow-up doctor, and she's ready to move on.  School starts in a few weeks, and already she's tutoring a student in Chemistry.

What a difference a week makes.  A day.  An hour.  Life can change in a minute.  When my mind drifts to what could have been...my heart snaps back to what is.  There are no words to express the gratitude I have for my Virginia sister-in-law and her husband, for my brother, for safe travel to S.C., for no lasting injuries, for GEICO, for Nissan, for good doctors and kind policemen, for every positive detail of this incident.

When bad things happen, some people wonder why God didn't prevent the tragedy, why He "allowed" it.  I'm grateful I know God is good all the time, regardless of circumstances.  Heartache and suffering are part of this life, because people are fallible and insecure and sometimes very foolish.  It's the human condition.  God does promise He will never leave us, and if we trust Him, He will bring good from everything.  Everything.  He also promises that suffering is not the end of the story.

Our daughter said it best when she posted this on facebook a few days ago.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new.” Then he said, 
"Write this down, for these words are 
trustworthy and true."         Rev. 21:5










                                                         New Versa

No Place Like Home

Our daughter purchased her first house last week.   It was a three-month adventure.

Her closing date was moved twice.  She needed a thousand dollars more than she was originally told.  She was told she couldn't get home insurance until the shoddy roof over the back patio was repaired or torn down.  She discovered the day of her walk-through the refrigerator that came with the house didn't work.  At the time of closing, the realtors didn't have the keys to the house.

It was a bit anti-climactic when she left the closing with no way to get in to the 35-year old house that has issues, but was still hers.   She had a lot of paperwork and a bottle of wine from the realtor, but no place to go.

So we went and had lunch while the realtor found the key.  Turns out only one of the three locks to the house was re-keyed.  What kind of sense does that make?  My husband immediately went to Home Depot and bought three new doorknobs with deadbolts and installed them.  We were able to lock ourselves in while we started cleaning and painting.

In the process of rinsing rags, we discovered all three sinks in the house leaked.  Back to Home Depot for plumbing pipes and caps and whatever else keeps water contained.  Buy more paint, will you, honey, while you're there, and bring some food on your way back, because we're going to be working on this house for a year.

We put on Motown and swept cobwebs from corners and inhaled paint fumes and got dirty and silly.  My husband installed fire alarms and re-installed some closet shelving that was propped up with 2x4s.  We bleached and caulked and Swiffered.  That night, we slept like stones.  Then we got up and did some of it all over again.

Every homeowner knows that buying a house is an adventure.  You don't know that going in the first time, but that's what you learn.   It's a crazy, often aggravating process.   Our daughter was shocked at how many people had to know her SSN, see her pay stubs and bank statements.   Too many people "are in my business," she declared.  Yep, when you're dealing with thousands of dollars, everybody wants their piece of the pie.    

But, in the end, she has her own plot of land.  That's why foreigners came to this country 200 years ago.  To own something, build something, establish something, and spend decades paying for it.  It's the American dream.

Our girl is excited to have a home full of light (we're painting all the rooms Steam White or Ivory Mist.  It's all Eggshell to me) and hospitality and brownies.  She's planning a Noah's Ark-themed room to welcome youngsters, and she's inviting friends to come teach her how to prepare their favorite meal.  She has a shower curtain with the periodic table on it.   She's a chemistry teacher, so imagine her delight when she found that at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  She might use a beaker for a toothbrush holder. 

We're very excited for her and all the adventures she will create on her own little patch of earth: a vegetable garden, fighting weeds and spiders; eating rice with friends and family because, for awhile, the larder might be lightly stocked; having mail delivered at the end of the driveway; and dancing naked in the living room, if she wants to.

There really is no place like HOME.

 

Life at Both Ends

It's been over a week since I visited the dugout here at the Ballpark.  I wanted to check in all week, but life just kept happening.  During the past month, I've experienced opposite poles on the emotion spectrum.

Two weeks ago, I thought my dad was passing from this life.  As I sat with him, tears dripping, I tried to envision what was he was seeing.  I prayed it was wispy angels, a soothing lullaby, Jesus whispering, "Welcome home."

To my surprise, Dad rallied and by the next morning, he was looking brighter.  Yesterday, he celebrated his 90th birthday, and is currently in rehab.

He likes to surprise us, my dad.  I have never known another soul with such enthusiasm for life.  The Superman shirt was a gift to Dad from my brother, the ex-clown.  No matter how debilitated Dad becomes, in his heart, he can still fly.   

A few days after that grief-filled night, a fresh baby arrived at the Ballpark.  Her parents were in town for the 90th birthday bash.  A great-grandfather and his great-grandchild - 90 years apart.  To see the wrinkled, Parkinsonian hand reach for tiny, chubby toes....so beautiful.   

There is nothing more popular than a fresh-from-heaven baby. 

Holding this child was a balm to my weary heart.  She was as warm as fresh bread from the oven.  I loved curling her fingers around mine and sniffing her soft little head.  She was so new and untarnished by life.  So willing to just be held and smooched on.  It's refreshing and soothing and healing to hold new life.

The company has returned home now, and my focus is back on my super hero dad, who has chronic health issues, but is currently stable.

Author T.D. Jakes said that life is the great equalizer.  We all start out with supple skin, toothless grins, and great potential.   We grow to be strong, independent, and productive (hopefully.)  Eventually, we become weathered and disabled and forgetful.  Unless we die young, we will progress though every phase.  It's the human journey.

I will probably never again see two lives, 90 years apart, in the same room.  Hug them both, kiss them both, pray over them and with them.  It was wonderful to be standing in the middle and savor the experience.

We took hundreds of pictures, so we will never forget.

Both subjects are a bit blurry because they never stop moving. 

What You Need to Know About MANGOES

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REWIND

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Walmart

Walmart gets a bad rap sometimes.  There are online videos of people shopping in their underwear and curlers.  Ripped Spandex and pink hair.  Kids whining and generally out of control.  I resist going to Walmart because our Super store is too big.  I wander around and get lost and forget what I came in for.  I always end up buying more than I'd planned.  I lose track of time.  I have to be wide awake and on a mission.

The other day, however, something very nice happened there.

After standing in line awhile, I paid for my River Rocks, which were about ten bucks.  The debit receipt rang up eighty bucks.  I looked at the cashier and said, "I thought the River Rocks were only ten dollars.  My receipt says eighty."

The cashier looked genuinely confused.  The customer behind me spoke to the cashier.  "Did you ring up my purchases with hers?"

I addressed him.  "Did you buy seventy bucks worth of stuff?"

He nodded.  He was tall and wore a Howard University t-shirt.  "That sounds about right."

We both looked at the cashier.  She said, "I'm sorry.  I'm going to have to get a manager.  I'll have to void this and then re-ring both of you."

Neither me nor Mr. Howard U. wanted to wait any longer.  He pulled his wallet from his pocket and addressed me.  "Tell you what.  How about I give you seventy dollars.  Make it seventy-one for tax, and we call it even."  He extended the cash to me.

I was a bit stunned.  One, because I didn't think people carried cash anymore.  Two, a stranger was giving me money.  Stuff like this doesn't happen to me.  I spoke to the cashier, "Don't you have to straighten this out in the register?"

She shook her head.  "If you two can work it out, it's fine with me."

I thought fast.  The guy's money looked legit.  I'd just never been offered cash in Walmart before.

I took the money.  "OK.  Thanks."

He smiled.  "No problem."  He surveyed the bags for his purchases, pulled a bag of rocks from one of his sacks and handed it to me.  "Enjoy your rocks."  He hurried out while I stood there, still wondering what just happened.

With all the red tape businesses have to create to solve problems these days, this friendly customer-to-customer transaction seemed almost illegal.  But, it was a smart solution to a mistake probably every cashier has made at some point.  

We need people like Mr. Howard U. in Washington, don't you think?