Faith, Folklore, and Friends

Robert usually woke up perky. but today, he felt sort of jerky. Was he getting a cold? Did he breathe in bad mold? He suffers from overdose of turkey.

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. -H.U. Westermayer Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty. ~Ed...

I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. Habakkuk 3:16-19(NIV)

But there is always a November space after the leaves have fallen when she felt it was almost indecent to intrude on the woods…for their glory terrestrial had departed and their glory celestial of spirit and purity and whiteness had not yet come upon them.    ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Windy Poplars

  If you live by my decrees and obediently keep my commandments, I will send the rains in their seasons, the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. You will thresh until the grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting time; you’ll have more than enough to eat and will live safe and secure in your land.   ~Leviticus 26:3-5 The Message

  December's issue of Florence Life has a beautiful story about Kerry Gilbert and his struggle with lymphoma.  It is a well written article with lots of colored photos...check it out! 

I have just finished Lee Smith's new book Guests on Earth . It was beautiful, thought-provoking, and haunting.  But then, that's just what I expected, having read all her books.   This book is a fictional account of a mental hospital near Asheville, North Carolina, and the fire that killed several of their patients, including Zelda Fitzgerald. I can't remember the first book I read by this writer, but I have loved them all.  I think my favorite is Saving Grace , or maybe it is Oral History . Her first book, The Last Day the Dogbushes Bloomed , was published in 1968, and I found a copy of it a while back at Loaves and Fishes, the local thrift shop that I frequent way too much.  The people around me seemed quite surprised at my enthusiasm upon finding this book, but they just didn't know that now I have all of Lee Smith's books. Oh, Happy Day!

Looking around in any old cemetery, you will notice that all the graves are positioned so that the feet of the body is facing east. Fortunately, you can't see the body beneath the ground, but if you could, odds are it would be face up.   The tradition of burying bodies in this position comes from Christianity.  The star that appeared before the greatest event on  Earth was in the east.  Those that die with the hope of resurrection want to be looking eastward when Jesus splits the sky.   For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.   ~Matthew 24:27 Before the days of bulldozers and perfectly landscaped cemeteries, people sometimes encountered obstacles that made it impossible for graves to be in the typical east-west position. When this happened, the grave would be dug in a north-south position, and the body would be laid on its side, head to the north and facing east.   Rar...

No Pity, Girl by Wanda Stricklin Robertson We see you sneer as you bounce by the arthritic pool while we are stretching cellulite legs with titanium parts.   We don't need your pity, Girl. You are looking at you after you have birthed babies and scaled mountains and drunk in life.   These winged arms have hugged away hurt and served as a haven for breaking hearts. They have pushed back monsters and storms. These varicosed legs have run many miles, more uphill than down.   They have reached the summit and danced all night in celebration and light. No pity, Girl, we're doing fine. Don't use up precious time on us, just love large and live out loud and leave laughter on your road here.

  I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed. I remember it all—oh, how well I remember— the feeling of hitting the bottom. But there’s one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:   God ’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over). He’s all I’ve got left. ~Lamentations 3:19-24 The Message

They say the best fish are caught near the dam, but this is a little too close for comfort to me. I wonder if the people in the boat saw all the danger signs and thought they were for other people. Then again, maybe they never looked up.

1969 United States Postage Stamp   Hard times that's all we hear 'round this way. Odd dimes they're growing thinner each day. Good times, "Just 'round the corner," so they say.                                                 ~ W. C. Handy

Besides the autumn poets sing, A few prosaic days A little this side of the snow And that side of the haze... Grant me, O Lord, a sunny mind, Thy windy will to bear! ~Emily Dickinson, November

  From the historical marker at the site of the Old Railroad Bridge: In 1832, the Alabama legislature authorized the Florence Bridge Company to construct this bridge across the Tennessee River.  In 1840, it opened as a toll bridge.  Twice damaged by storms, it was reopened in 1858 as a double-decked bridge by the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.  Additional piers were added to support the large wooden superstructure with trains using the upper deck while the lower deck served as a toll bridge.  In April 1862, the Confederate army burned the bridge. Later in the Civil War, the piers were used to assist in ferry crossings and to anchor a pontoon bridge built by Gen. John B. Hood’s Confederate Army of Tennessee in November 1864.  After the war, both decks of the bridge were rebuilt and returned to service in 1870.  In 1892, an engine and five cars crashed through both decks into the river.  The superstructure was replaced with stee...

This is what happens when five intelligent and highly motivated women get together to discuss Sunday School business.  Yes, that is exactly what we were doing.  My turkey is on the left.  So I'm not the best turkey maker in the world---I can live with that. Move on. I knew I was in trouble when I broke an Oreo right after we got started.  The turkey just never was the same after that. Apparently, some people are natural-born turkey makers.  Not me.   Blind turkey.   Of course, we could eat the ones we messed up. Hard at work!   Just look at the concentration on Lo's face.  Pretty sure Annette is getting rid of the evidence. It looked easy on paper. Five little turkeys all in a row; Ho, Ho, Ho! No, wait!  It is Thanksgiving; no Ho, Ho, Ho yet. You be the judge.  Kathy's was perfect, except it didn't have any legs. Still mighty tasty.

 To celebrate Veteran's Day at the University of North Alabama, t his outdoor display “Remember” was created by the UNA Military and Veteran Alliance with help from the Kilby School Cub Scout Pack 297. The flags in the display represent the 6769 fallen from Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn. For perspective, the current enrollment at UNA is 6931. This flag display is eye-catching and a great reminder to remember.  Thank you, Veterans, for your sacrifice.

I, Jesus , have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.            I am the Root                     and the Offspring of David,                          and the bright Morning Star.   ~Revelation 22:16

I sat at my desk and watched the leaves rain down as the northwest wind blew through.  It reminded me of an old song by Johnny Cash called, I Still Miss Someone . The song has been recorded by numerous artists, including Emmy Lou Harris and Willie Nelson. I have to wonder why we love that song so much.  It may be the saddest song ever written; a song of loss and loneliness and hurting.  I have dealt with loneliness, even though I have never really been alone.  I left a large family to get married, and we had a son within a year, always surrounded by talk and fussing and laughter and extended family.  Many times, I have thought that I was the only person in the world like me, convinced that no one understood that.  As I have matured, I have learned that is a common theme among people: all of us so much alike as we struggle to learn to live and face down the fear that we won't be able to finish everything before our time is up. But,...

  Love your neighbor as yourself; but don't take down the fence. ~Carl Sandburg Fear is the highest fence. ~Dudley Nichols   It doesn't matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes. What matters most is getting off. You cannot make progress without making decisions. ~Jim Rohn   Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up. ~Robert Frost   Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope. ~Maya Angelou