I hope you all survived the first storm of the winter. We had two
more trees just sort of lay down quietly in the yard. We have been talking
about taking them out, because they were mostly dead, but Mother Nature
beat us to it. The Mountain Man said they went down exactly where he
wanted them. Wasn’t that nice of Mother Nature? And I see the first snow is
on Mount Si and the peaks up toward the Pass. Winter is definitely on the way.
PPP
Did you all get out and vote this week? We vote absentee ballot
because it is more convenient. It is also nice to be able to hang up on all
those annoying people who call the last couple of days before every
election to remind you that their candidate
is the best. I don’t mind the real callers so much; it is the recorded or
electronic ones that bug me.
PPP
I spent an interesting two hours on Sunday as Clara the
Clairvoyant Chicken at the library Halloween Carnival. It is great fun telling the
kids’ fortunes. And if I do say so myself, I am a very good clucker. They
don’t always recognize you and are very wide-eyed when you know
their name! But Clara knows all and tells true. Of course, they are all going
to have wonderful lives, with many adventures.
I would especially like to thank all the volunteers, adults and kids,
who give of their time to make these programs possible. Without their help,
the library would not be able to do these fun projects. So thanks to Erin,
Holly, Thomas, Cody, Lauren, Lisa, Kelsey, Carol, Sandy, Amy and Faith
(the Tooth Fairies), Andy, Ann, Roseanne, Travis and his mom. I hope I
got everyone’s name right and that I didn’t forget anyone. If I did, please
forgive me and consider yourself warmly thanked. We couldn’t do it
without you.
PPP
I have discovered a great Web site that I wanted to pass on to you. It
is www.hungersite.com. Once each day, you can log on and donate free
food to a hungry person. Sponsors who pay to advertise on the site donate the
food. This is a legitimate enterprise. Up to nine sponsors will donate ¼ cup
of rice, maize or other staple food each for each person who logs on.
Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger in the world, and three-fourths
are children under the age of 5. The site has a map of the world, and every
3.6 seconds, a country goes black. This signifies a death from hunger in
that country. I have never seen the USA go black.
Log on and donate, please. It costs you nothing but a few seconds of
your time. And if you can, do business with the sponsors. Encourage them to
keep on donating. There is a lot of information on the site that tells all
about the program.
PPP
The Mountain Man and I just celebrated our 24th wedding
anniversary. I was asked recently what the secret was to our long association. I gave
the standard answer of being too old to break in a new set of bad habits, but
it made me think. Why have we stayed together? I love the man,
obviously, even when he drives me crazy. But there must be more to it than that.
I finally came to the conclusion that it was because we took our
marriage vows literally. We have “loved, respected and cherished.” (I wouldn’t
let them use “obey.”) “In sickness and
in health” (seven operations, 12 hospitalizations and all the usual colds,
flu’s, and general maladies). “For richer,
for poorer.” (We tried poor, didn’t like it much, but we survived. I am still
waiting for rich.) “As long as we both shall live” is still being negotiated.
And most of all, we are friends as well as husband and wife. I still
prefer his company to anyone else’s. He tells me it is “more fun” if I
come along. We have our private jokes. We know what subjects to avoid,
unless we want to have a real good rip-roaring fight. And then we know
which buttons to push. We have adjusted to what the other one likes to do. (He
lets me read books on the boat, if the fishing is slow. I allow him deep
resigned sighs when I want to look at old cemeteries.) And he has never let me
down. He has been there for me in bad times; he has encouraged me in good. He
is my biggest fan. I hope that he could say the same about me.
His parents celebrated 55 years just before his dad died. My
parents will be celebrating 59 next month. And I discovered something about my
parents. When my dad looks at my mom, he doesn’t see the woman her
illness has reduced her to, he still sees the 16-year-old girl in typing class that he
fell in love with so long ago. And when my mother describes their
wedding, one of her clearest memories, she glows like the beautiful bride that
she was. That’s what I want for us, and I think we have a good start.
Please submit items for
North Bend Nuggets to
Pat Simpson at P.O. Box 857,
North Bend, WA 98045,
or by e-mail to patsimps@hotmail.com,
or drop them by the library.