The Cruise

I have to apologize for missing my usual posting day. I have been in bed sick for several days.

My husband Ray and I went on a 16 day cruise. It was so interesting and eye opening. We started by flying to Ft. Lauderdale Florida on December 6^th and getting on the ship on the 7^th. We sailed south past the Bahamas and then turned west. After 3 days of sailing we docked at Cartagena, Colombia. We took an excursion where we rode through town on a bus. It was so sad. So many buildings were falling down and yet that was where the people were living. There were long cement buildings with openings in them about the size of a garage door. Inside you could see folding tables with coolers on them that dispensed liquid. There was also what looked like food that appeared to have been prepared at home and brought in. These were little cafes, and there was at least one on every block.

The excursion guide was so informative and friendly. He talked about the drug exporting that goes on there and asked us not to judge his country by the drug traffic. He told us how much he loves his country, and how wonderful most of the people are. He begged us to let the world know that only a very few people in the country are involved with drugs and that most of their people are good people. He really touched my heart.

Then we sailed to Colon, Panama. There we took an excursion where we rode on a bus deep into the rain forest. We went to a little community called Gamboa. It was beautiful there. Along the way we went past what looked like an army barrack with a wire fence around it. The guide told us that it was the prison where Noriega is being held. We continued on down the road and came to a breath takingly beautiful hotel. We got on an aerial tram which took us up to the top of the rain forest where we traveled around for an hour. We traveled back to the boat and got up the next morning to the sight of us traveling through the Panama Canal. That was very interesting, and we got a certificate for it. We also got a certificate for crossing the equator.

We docked in Manta Ecuador, Lima Peru, Arica Chile, La Serena Chile, and Valparaiso Chile, taking various excursions along the way.

The ship, the Celebrity Infinity, was amazing. When we got on board they had Christmas decorations scattered around on the ship. Each night during the night they would add more decorations. By the time we left the ship on December 22, the whole ship was beautifully decorated.

While on the ship you are treated like royalty. They clean your bedroom and bathroom every morning. Around four PM they would bring a tray of canapés for you. In the evening you go to a wonderful restaurant for a five star, three course dinner. I had a different appetizer, soup or salad, entrée, and dessert every evening. You can actually have more than one of each if you would like. We saw people having two entrees and three desserts, and that is perfectly fine with the waiters. They put your napkin on your lap and replace your silverware with each course. We had a waiter named Igor. He is from Serbia. By the end of the cruise we felt like he was an old family friend. We exchanged email addresses with him and plan to keep in touch. He has a two year old and a six month old child. He has to be away from them for about nine months at a time to make a living for them. I signed one of my books and we gave it to him. He was thrilled. So were we.

There were three of us couples who went on this cruise together. When Manley and Mary, Steve and Elisa, and Ray and I would finish our dinner we would go to the big theater on ship where we would see a fantastic show each night. We saw jugglers, acrobats, singers, dancers, and the most incredible violinist I have ever heard. After the show we would go back to our rooms and find that they had cleaned the bedroom and bathroom once again. They had also turned back the covers and put chocolates on our pillows. We would get into our bathrobes and go out onto the balcony where we would sit for about an hour and listen to the waves lapping against the side of the ship. What a relaxing way to end the day.

The last day on the ship my husband came down with what we thought was a cold. The day after we got back I came down with it also. Actually I believe it turned out to be the flu. We have been in bed for days, aching from head to toe and running fevers. We are finally on the mend, thank goodness.

Even with all of the royalty treatment, it is good to be home. As beautiful as South America is, it made us appreciate what we have here in America. I imagine that no matter where you live, when you travel it is always good to come back. After all, there is no place like home.

Poem - The Fight Before Christmas

I thought you might enjoy reading a poem I wrote for Christmas last year. I hope you like it.

The Fight Before Christmas

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house

The tension was bad as I fought with my spouse.

The stockings were hung, and the presents were there.

The tree lights were shining, but I didn’t care.

 

She had said something that had made me mad,

Unless she said “I’m sorry” this fight would be bad.

The children were hiding upstairs in their beds,

While loud angry voices whirled ‘round in their heads.

 

She had been wrong and I knew that she knew it

This fight would go on until she said she blew it.

My wife went upstairs, brushed her teeth and her hair.

I decided I’d sleep in my reclining chair.

 

My eyelids were closed but my mind wouldn’t rest.

The anger sat there like a brick on my chest.

When all of a sudden, from somewhere outside

I heard such a wail you’d think something had died.

 

I jumped from my chair and my feet hit the floor,

I stomped through the house and threw open the door.

The moonlight reflected on new fallen snow

As my eyes became focused on objects below.

 

And there on the walk, surely up to no good,

Stood eight tiny snot nosed brats from the hood.

They were all bundled up, their eyes full of glee

As they sang Christmas carols, mostly off key.

 

Two were dressed up like Joseph and Mary,

In the girl’s arms, a wee doll she did carry.

They sang Silent Night, and Away in a Manger.

They had not a clue of my justified anger.

 

I started to scold them and send them away.

Who could have joy on this horrible day?

But just as I opened my mouth to implore

That they take their miserable singing next door.

 

 

A small voice said, “Mister, do you know the reason

That we celebrate during this Christmas season”?

My head dropped in shame, I said, “Tell me about it”.

He replied, “When you hear it, you never will doubt it.

 

Did you know that Jesus came down from above

To live among us with a heart full of love?

He left all His riches to live here on to earth

And started this life with a poor, lowly birth.

 

He came down to us because we had been bad.

He didn’t place blame, it just made Him real sad.

He died on a cross where we should have died.

The people who loved Him were sad, and they cried.

 

He rose up again and to heaven He flew

And we can all go there to live with Him too.”

He said “Merry Christmas”, as they walked away.

Their singing was precious, I wished they could stay.

 

I suddenly realized that I had been wrong,

And this fight with my family had stolen my song.

My anger had drowned out the sweet Christmas spirit.

The song was still there, but I couldn’t hear it.

 

I knew that I had to make up with my wife,

To tell her “I’m sorry” and stop all this strife.

So I climbed up the stairs and I swallowed my pride,

I gathered my wife and my kids to my side.

 

As I asked for forgiveness and started to weep,

My wife said, “I love you, now let’s get some sleep.”  

We’re all settled down for a nice winter’s rest.

I think of my family, and realize I am blessed.

 

My children are sleeping all snug in their beds,

While memories of Christmas songs float in their heads.

‘Tis the night before Christmas and everything’s good

Because of eight twinkle eyed kids from the hood.

 

Janice Austin Bates

December 2, 2011 11:26pm

Point of View

One morning as I was out for a walk I noticed the clouds that were hanging ominously in the sky. They were laden with rain, and looked very dark. I was thinking about how the clouds made the whole world seem cold and sort of heavy. The darkness of the clouds was the most noticeable part of the entire scene. All of the rain in the clouds made them so very black.

Then I remembered times when I have traveled somewhere by air. Of course the plane is so high that you are above the clouds. If you have ever flown, you know that when you look at clouds from above, they are beautiful and extremely white. It makes no difference how much rain they are holding, they are still white.

So, why would clouds that look so black from down here on Earth look white from up above? Then it dawned on me. These black clouds aren’t really black, they are just full of rain. When they have that much rain in them they block the light of the Sun. If you can’t see the Sun it changes your perspective on everything. The light from the Sun makes the world bright and warm.

Clouds don’t really have any color. They are just moisture. When you are above the clouds, on the side where the Sun is, you see that they reflect the light of the Sun. But when you are below them they hide the Sun, giving them the impression of being black. The sky is still bright, we just can’t see it because of the clouds. It is all in the point of view.

Then I felt like God showed me that our lives are like that. The Son of God is the light of this world. When we are looking at Him things look bright and warm. When problems come along they are like the clouds. The more difficult the problems, the more heavy laden with tears they are. Many times our problems loom between us and the Son. When that happens we can’t see the light. Our world seems dark, cold and lonely because we have lost sight of the Son.

So why do our problems seem so dark? It is because we are seeing them from here on Earth. If we could see them from God’s point of view we would see that our problems are rarely as dark as we think. They are simply blocking our view of the Son.  From where God is, we would see that His love is still there, and His light is still shining. God never loses sight of the fact that, like the clouds, our problems and tears are temporary and they will pass.

Just like the warmth of the Sun dissolves the clouds, the warmth of the Son of God will melt away our heartaches. How long that takes depends a lot on us. The more we trust in Him and lean on Him, the quicker He can rid our hearts of heavy black clouds. Trusting God isn’t always easy. The Bible teaches us that even though we believe in God, there is also some unbelief in us. That is part of being human and God understands that. He is there to help us with our doubts if we ask Him.

So, if we give our hearts to God and serve Him, some day we will be in Heaven and can look back on our clouds of heartache. When we see them from God’s point of view we will understand that the Son’s light is and was always shining. Whether or not we can see it is all in the point of view.

Susie

In 2005 my sister Diane, her husband Harold and I took a trip to the United Kingdom. Wow! What a trip that was.

On the flight over, we all had video screens that were on the backs of the seats in front of us. There was one screen we could go to that was a map of the part of the world we were traveling in. It showed a little airplane that was in the exact place on the map where we actually were. It was sort of like watching ourselves flying.

When we landed in London we very quickly fell in love with it and everything about it. Even though it is a huge city, it was very quaint. A lot of the streets were extremely narrow. They only had three lanes. The two outside lanes were used for parking, which only left one lane for driving. Believe it or not, it was two-way traffic. As two cars would meet face to face, one would pull over into an empty parking space in one of the outside lanes. The other car would pass and then the parked car would pull back into the center lane and both cars would continue on their way. It worked very well for the Londoners. They knew exactly what they were doing, and no one got excited about it.

We stayed in London for two days before heading to Scotland on the third day. While walking around town on the second day, we found ourselves in front of Buckingham Palace. It is very impressive, although it doesn’t have any lawn in front. There is just a large expanse of blacktop behind a magnificent fence and gates. Just across the street from the front of the palace is a beautiful park that goes downhill to a pond. After walking around in the park for a while we came back to a hotdog stand that was just at the bottom of the hill from the palace.

While sitting on the lawn eating our hotdogs and drinking sodas, we heard bagpipes start playing. We decided that there was a concert in front of the palace and when we finished our lunch we would walk back up the hill and watch it. As we finished our food we heard the bagpipes start moving away. We rushed to the top of the hill just in time to see the bagpipe band marching down the street away from the palace. When we asked people about it, we found out that what we had heard was the changing of the guard ceremony, and we had missed it while eating hotdogs. We inquired as to when the next ceremony would be and were told that there was a schedule in front of the palace gates. Checking the schedule, we were sad to find out that they only have the changing of the guard every other day and we would be in Scotland by next time. Sure would have loved to have gotten pictures.

While walking through the park we came across two old men sitting on one of the park benches. They were quite the characters. We started talking to them and quickly knew that sitting in the park and entertaining the tourists was a big part of their daily life. One of the old men named Mike told us that he used to have three girlfriends and no bank account. Then he said that now he has no girlfriend and three bank accounts.

Then he pointed across the park a ways where there was a squirrel under a bench. He told us that was Susie. He started calling, “Susie, Susie, come here girl”.  Susie’s head popped up and she turned to look at old Mike. Suddenly she came running across the grass as fast as she could go. She jumped up on the arm of the park bench. Then she leapt up onto his shoulder and then onto a hat he was wearing. He put a peanut in his teeth. Little Susie scooted forward on the hat until she was leaning out over his face. She put her front feet on his cheeks and gingerly pulled the peanut from his teeth. They repeated this little ritual several times. When Mike stopped putting peanuts in his teeth, Susie jumped down and scampered away. That was one of the cutest things I have seen. As you can tell, I still think of it often.

There are a lot of grand and magnificent things I have seen in my life, but it is funny how it is the little things that life is really made of. They are also the times we usually remember the most. Spectacular moments are impressive, but the little moments are what make life what it is.

Hold on to the little moments. They are what make you who you are, and what you will cherish when you grow old.

I will tell you more about the UK trip in future posts. It was a wonderful trip. I recommend it to everyone.

The Unusual Little Book

My mother-in-law was a sweet little lady, but she was a bit of a hoarder. She entertained herself by crocheting doilies while she bought things on the Home Shopping Network. She also bought everything that any store put on sale. The rest of the time she was picking up all kinds of things at garage sales.

When she passed away five years ago my husband Ray and I inherited a house full of everything under the sun. There were over two hundred shoulder pads (she had told us one time, “you never know when you might need one”), at least one hundred purses (most of them brand new), hundreds of hand crocheted doilies, and a dozen comforter sets. Three rooms had clothes hanging from racks covering the entire rooms. Half of the clothes still had the tags on them. There were boxes of vitamins stacked all the way down the stairs into the basement. We didn’t have to buy toilet paper for two years, and there are still lots of bottles of shampoo and conditioner waiting to be used. I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture by now.

One day, as my sister Diane and I were walking through the basement being amazed by what we were seeing, I noticed a little clear plastic box that measured about 6” X 8”.  It caught my attention and I decided to see what was in it. There was something wrapped in white tissue paper sitting inside the box. When I took out the item and unwrapped it, I was looking at a small book.

This little book measures about 5” tall, 4” wide and 1” thick. It has a blue hard cover and binding with gold flowers and print on it. It has the publisher’s name at the bottom of the binding. It says, “T Y Crowell & Co, New York”. Inside it says “Poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Selected and Arranged by Robert Browning”, and it was copyrighted in 1895. The edges of the pages are gilded in gold.

What really makes the book unique is that attached to the front cover is what looks like a yellow sheet of Bakelite.  It has a raised wreath of flowers that look like they are bursting out of the cover. In the center of the wreath it says “Mrs. Browning’s Poems”, hand painted in decorative writing.

One of these days I am going to have it appraised. It probably isn’t worth a whole lot, but it is very special and cool.

We found a lot of really neat things in her basement, but this is my favorite.

No matter where you go or what you do, always keep your eyes open. You never know what you will find or where you will find it. Who knows? One of these days you might be telling me about something special that you found in a most unexpected place.

Who knows, the special thing that someone finds could be something you did. Maybe it will be a book you wrote, a picture you painted, a statue you sculpted or whatever it is that you do. One thing is sure, you will never create that special thing if you give up. Good things come to those who try.

Good luck.

Adam's Rib

When my sister Diane was in grade school my father walked into the living room one day and found her sitting on the couch with one of the encyclopedia books in her lap. She was almost in tears.

When he asked her what was wrong, she told him that her science teacher, Mr. Hamilton, had been talking in class that day about creation and evolution. Mr. Hamilton didn’t believe in creation and he had told all of the kids to go home and get out their encyclopedias. They were to look up and see why men have one less rib than women. Of course she found out that men and women have the same number of ribs. Diane, being a child with a child’s mind, thought that disproved creation, since the Bible says that God took one of Adam’s ribs to create Eve. Diane was devastated. Of course that was the exact effect Mr. Hamilton was going for.

My father was a minister all of our lives. As a Christian he knew that he absolutely believed in creation. As an adult who had studied the Bible for many years, he knew exactly why he believed.

My father told my sister to go back to class the next day and ask Mr. Hamilton a question.

The next day in class, when Mr. Hamilton asked the children if they checked on the issue about the ribs they started saying that they found out that men didn’t have one less rib. Then Diane raised her hand and asked Mr. Hamilton if he had his appendix taken out would his sons be born without one. Mr. Hamilton got very angry and loudly snapped at my sister, “That’s not the point.”

Of course that was the point. The teacher was using logic that didn’t even make sense, but when you are dealing with children they can be easily fooled.

Thinking back on this incident is part of what inspired me to write my book, The Adventures of Little Chrisamee – Creation.

When we were young we had books that told the stories of the Bible. However, they didn’t answer any questions we might have about the stories.

In my book I tell the story of creation and also answer a lot of questions that people might throw at children trying to confuse them into believing in evolution. When you really understand creation, it makes total sense but you have to understand how God did it and why.

In my book, when Little Chrisamee, a little angel in Heaven watches creation as it happens, she asks God about things she doesn’t understand and He answers all of her questions. Adam’s rib being removed is one of the things she has a question about.

It used to be that in school you could hear about both creation and evolution. Children were allowed to make up their own minds. Now, creation is not allowed in school. The children aren’t given a choice as to what to believe. I am trying to give that choice back to them.

The book isn’t available right now, but will be available again in January 2014. I will let you know as soon as it is back.

If you enjoy my blog please share it.

Let It Go

When I had been on my last job for over eleven years, the lady who was the office manager decided to take another position within the company. While she was in her job she had given birth to a baby boy. She figured out how to take three and a half months of maternity leave. Later she got very sick and was on sick leave for a month. Then when she got back she had four weeks of vacation coming to her. Every time she was off, I did her entire job for her. Consequently, I knew her job very well.

When the position came open everyone said that I was a shoe in for it. I already knew the job and had done it for almost six months.

The branch manager, Rick, told me that the job should automatically be mine, but they had to post it anyway, in case anyone else wanted to apply. As it turned out, besides me there were two other people within the company, and six people from outside the company who applied

One of the ladies within the company who applied, (I will call her Susie) was very young and very pretty. She told me that she had no experience supervising people, she didn’t know anything about the job, and she didn’t even want it. She was only applying for it so she could get some experience interviewing.

Two ladies from the human resources department plus Rick interviewed all of us on a Thursday. When I came to work at 10:00am on Friday, Rick told me how well I had done and that he was pulling for me.

Over the next few weeks Rick kept telling me that I was in the top three and he was pulling for me.

Finally, several people in the office told me they thought I had a right to know that on the Friday after the interviews, before I came in at 10:00am, Rick had called Susie into his office and offered her the job. She had refused it. They also told me that he had been pulling for someone else the entire time. I felt so deceived.

After about another week the present office manager told me that she knew she shouldn’t tell me, but she was too excited. She said that Rick had told her that I had gotten the job and he was getting ready to tell me.

About an hour later Rick called me into his office. I had butterflies in my stomach knowing that he was offering me the job. To my shock, he very coldly told me that a lady from outside the company, named Ginger had been given the job. She would be in on Monday to pick up her paperwork and he didn’t want it to catch me off guard, and did I have any questions. I was too stunned to say anything, so I just said “No”. He asked if I was okay. I told him “Yes”. He said, “Okay”, and went back to work. I walked out of his office. That was the cold, uncaring way that I found out that I had been overlooked for an outsider who didn’t even know anything about the company, much less about the job.

Everyone was very angry about how everything had happened. The drivers told me that they were going to be mean to Ginger because she took my job. I told them not to do that because she hadn’t done anything wrong. All she did was apply for the job. Secretly, inside, I was happy that they felt that way.

We all knew that the person who was going to train Ginger was a very bad trainer, and Ginger wouldn’t learn much at all from her. I told everyone that they better not expect me to train her because it wasn’t going to happen. They gave her the job, and they could train her. They all said they agreed with me.

One week later I started my vacation on the same day that Ginger started her job. Of course, I was angry during my whole vacation.

When I came back to work, there sat Ginger in the office that should have been mine. She was very friendly but the best I could do was to be cordial. Warm and friendly was more than I could manage to do.

That day at noon, I stopped at Ginger’s door to tell her that I was going to take my lunch. She looked up and smiled and said, “That will be fine”. I turned and walked down the hall to the break room, mumbling under my breath about how I didn’t need her permission to take my lunch. Poor Ginger couldn’t do anything right in my eyes.

On Thursday, the person training Ginger said that she had done all of the training she was going to do, and Ginger was now on her own. I knew that she had actually taught her almost nothing, but that was Ginger’s problem, not mine.

On Friday I stepped into Ginger’s office to tell her something. She was sitting at her computer with tears in her eyes, trying to do a job that I knew backwards and forwards. She looked up at me and said, “How can they expect me to do the job when they won’t even teach me?”

My heart broke and I felt so ashamed. I was treating Ginger badly because I was angry at Rick. As a Christian, this was not acceptable behavior.

I asked her if she would like me to show her how to do it. She said, “Oh, would you please?” I said, “Sure”, sat down next to her and started teaching her the job. By the end of the day we had become friends.

Over the next three and a half years Ginger and I worked so closely together and became such close friends that we could almost read each other’s mind. She had turned out to be one of the best friends, and best bosses I ever had.

Even though Ginger knew that I was going to retire at the end of 2012, the day I put my letter of resignation on her desk, she cried her eyes out. I cried too.

In the fifteen years that I worked for the company I saw lots of people retire. The company would provide a lunch for the people who were in the office, but not for everyone, or do a small dinner for a few employees. Nothing big.

When I retired, Ginger started asking, and wouldn’t give up until the company okay her to do a huge retirement party for me. She invited all sixty employees at our branch, plus a guest. Not everyone came, of course, but we ended up with about fifty people there. She even had a few employees from a branch 135 miles away, and some from a branch 210 miles away.

The party was held at one of the nicer restaurants in town. There was an abundance of delicious food, a dozen long stemmed roses, and a beautiful card signed by all. Then I found out that she had collected donations from my co-workers and presented me with a beautiful diamond tennis bracelet.

I instantly burst into tears, as did my husband Ray, Ginger, and most of the other employees.

When the party was over, we all went outside and let balloons loose into the night sky. It was by far the best retirement party I have ever seen.

Was this incredible tribute to my retirement a result of me being such a wonderful person? No. It was the result of the love in the heart of this wonderful person I call my friend.

I think often of all that I would have missed out on if I had not let go of all the anger and let Ginger into my heart.

If you are holding onto some anger, even if you feel it is justified, I suggest that you let it go. You might find that you are amazed at what will come from the change. I guaranty you will find peace.

The Surrealistic Adventure

About twelve years ago I was in an office supply store when I saw a computer game on the shelf that caught my eye. The name of the game was Myst. It had a picture of an island on the box, and said, “The Surrealistic Adventure That Will Become Your World”. I smiled and said, “Yeah, right”. I left the store without it. About a week later I was back at the store and saw it again. After about five or six times of seeing this game and always having the same reaction to it, I saw it one day and decided that I wanted to check it out and see what it was like. I took it home and began the surrealistic adventure.

It turned out to be a story about a man who had written lots of books about very unique lands that he created in his mind. This man had learned a special way of writing the stories which caused them to actually come into existence. He was able to travel through the books and visit the lands he had created. These lands had their own population of people with their own culture and way of life. However, someone had destroyed many of his lands and he needed my help to find out who it was and stop them.

Suddenly I found myself on his team and I really needed to help him rescue his beloved lands. I had to search the entire island and find clues. There were switches to turn on, levers to pull and elevators to ride in. It was very intriguing and challenging to try to figure out all of the clues. It took a lot of time to solve all of the mysteries and figure out who the culprit was, but it was worth every minute.

After I finished it I discovered that the story continued in a second game called Riven. I didn’t even hesitate to buy the second game. It turned out to be even more involved and harder to solve. The graphics were incredibly beautiful and life like. While playing these games you really do find that you get to really know your way around the lands and feel like you are part of the story. It was very sad when the game was done. But, guess what, there was a third chapter to the story. The third one was called Exile.

When I got part way through Exile, my mother became ill and needed help so I moved in with her. After that I didn’t have time to play the game anymore. A couple of years later my mother passed away. Then I met and started dating my husband. We got married so I had another distraction. I was working about ten hours a day and then coming home and spending the evening with him.

In January of this year I retired. Now I have more time and I am really getting in the mood to start playing the game again. I am even thinking about reloading the first game and starting the whole adventure all over again. That way I can share it with my husband.

Oh, and guess what. After I finish with Exile, I can continue on with Uru, and End of Ages. Yes, they have come out with two more games in the series.

These games are unlike any others I have ever seen. Figuring out the clues and solving the mysteries is very challenging. I highly recommend the whole Myst series if you enjoy that sort of thing. They can be found online, on Amazon and on Ebay. There are also books to help you if you get stuck. Be prepared to write down the clues you find and where you found them. It will really help you. Also, remember to turn around and look behind you as you go down the paths, and so on. Sometimes you will see things looking backwards that you don’t see looking forward.

If you do take the challenge, you will never look at your computer the same way again.

Have fun.

Little Souvenirs

When my mother was still alive she and I decided to take a trip to Yellowstone Park. If you have never been there, I highly recommend it. What a fascinating place to visit.

We saw lots of buffalo and elk. When we came around one corner we found ourselves face to face with a whole herd of them. The herd started in a meadow on one side of the road, and extended all the way across the road and into the meadow on the other side of the road. These magnificent animals do not care whether you ever get on down the road or not. They are in no hurry.  We found ourselves surrounded by bulls, cows and calves on each side and in front of the car. It was a little scary since they are extremely hot tempered.

There are pools all over the park that are bright pink, yellow or green. This is caused by algae growing in the water.

The geysers are amazing. Old Faithful used to go off every hour, but now it is every hour and a half.

While there, I was looking for souvenirs for the girls in the office where I worked. Everything I found was too expensive to buy a whole bunch of them. Finally on the last day, when I was just about to give up, there they were. Cute little thimbles with a picture of a geyser, and it said “Yellowstone” on them. They were perfect, and they only cost about $1.50. I could afford to buy one for every person on my list. Hurray, the search was over.

The next day when mom and I were about half way home, I got to thinking about the thimbles. All of a sudden they seemed so small. I realized that the girls would think I had been really stingy, getting them such a tiny souvenir. My heart sank. Why hadn’t I gotten them something bigger and more impressive? It was too late; I couldn’t do anything about it now.

On Monday, when I went back to work I had the thimbles with me. I swallowed my pride and walked around the office, putting a thimble on each girl’s desk. As I waited for the disappointed looks and comments, suddenly I was hearing squeals of delight. Everyone was talking about how cute they were, and how much they loved them. In a few minutes, what I thought had been a big mistake had turned into a big hit.

About two months later, one of the girls in the office went on a trip to Seattle, Washington. On Monday, when she came back to work, we all walked in to find a bright yellow thimble with the word Seattle on it sitting on each of our desks. When I saw the thimbles I realized that we had started a tradition.

Thimbles, as it turns out, make great souvenirs. They don’t cost much and they are small so you can get a little display case or shelf and put lots of them on it. When you start getting a collection of them, suddenly everybody wants to bring you one.

I now have beautiful or cute thimbles from Yellowstone, Seattle, Florida, Disneyland, Universal Studios, London, Paris, Edinburgh Scotland, Wales, Jamaica, Hawaii, Colorado, New Mexico, Panama, Columbia, and many other places.

I also started a collection of unique thimbles that I have found on Ebay. They each have to be very different and unusual. One of them even has moving parts. Everyone who sees them falls in love with them. I probably have at least 100 of them. And yet, they still take up a very small space. To me, they are the perfect thing to collect.

So, when you go someplace and you want to bring something back for the people you love, remember that it isn’t how much you spend on them or how big it is. Your friends and family just love to know that you thought of them. Besides, if you keep it small and inexpensive, you can bring them something from every interesting place you go.

Whatever souvenirs you bring home, just make it something you love. Have fun.

The Magic of the Pen

One of my favorite shows on television right now is Reign. If you are not familiar with it, it is about Mary Queen of Scots, the royals of England, France and Portugal. It gives insight into how and why marriages between the royals of different countries took place.

Another favorite show is Elementary, which is all about Sherlock Holmes solving crimes.

So, what do these shows have in common? They both are extremely well written, with plots and subplots weaving throughout the story. The mind is a very complicated thing with an insatiable desire to be entertained. The more twists and turns a story takes, and the more subplots involved, the more the story draws us in.

While the casting crew chooses actors and actresses to bring the characters to life and cause us to love or hate them, the director and the rest of the crew do their magic. They have all kinds of tricks to make a scene beautiful, scary, sad or infuriating. We are constantly manipulated into whatever emotion they want.

No matter how good the acting, how beautiful or authentic the scenery, or how wonderful the camera work, if the script isn’t interesting enough the show will fall flat. We all have seen movies that have some of the best actors around, and yet we are bored to death because the writing is so poorly done.

As writers we are the foundation for so much in the world. Okay, I know, you think that your writing will never make it to the silver screen, or become a series on television. You are probably right. However, how many people are going to read your book? Each one of those reader’s mind is capable of taking them places that no movie or TV show ever could. You paint a picture with your words and the readers take it from there. Each person who reads your story pictures a slightly different countryside, house, man, woman, cat or dog, etc.

What this means is that even though you wrote one story and published it, it became a slightly different story for each person who read it. Therefore, the one story you wrote transformed into thousands of stories, each one similar, but not quite the same.

That is the unique thing about writing. Rather than dictating to the viewer’s mind, as with a movie, you are leading the reader’s mind. Your readers have the fun of becoming part of the story.

Did you ever think about how much power you have as a writer?

So, pick up those pens and start weaving your own magic. You will enrich a lot of minds. What are you waiting for?

Writer's Block

All day today I have been trying to decide what to write about on my blog. I have thought about everything from my cat to my kidney stone, the seventy five needles they stuck in me today testing me for allergies, or yesterday’s solar eclipse. Nothing inspired me. I hate it when every subject hits a brick wall. Writer’s block is really frustrating.

So, here I sat, unable to think of anything that anyone might be interested in reading about. Even worse, I couldn’t think of anything that I would want to read about. Now that is really writer’s block.

Writer’s block, AARGH! Why couldn’t I get past it? Then it hit me. That was what I needed to write about. Every writer has it at times. It doesn’t mean you are not talented, or that you don’t have a gift for writing. It simply means you are human.

So what do you do when your creative mind is a blank?

Praying is good. There has been many a time that I prayed for God to help me write and suddenly everything started falling into place.

Another thing I do is to just start writing, even if it is boring and uninspired. I write a little bit and then I stop and read it out loud. When I actually hear what I have written it seems to come alive. First thing I know I hear something that catches my attention. Before long, the creative juices start flowing and I find myself back on track. When that happens I go back and delete all of the boring stuff and keep what I like. That is one of the nice things about computers. They are very forgiving and will delete anything you ask them to.  

Remember that every writer has a voice inside of them that wants to get out. Sometimes it just seems to have laryngitis. When you physically lose your voice you don’t give up. You still keep talking, even if it is just a whisper. It always comes back.

When your creativity seems to lose its voice, just keep writing anyway. It will come back. It always does.

Please feel free to leave a comment. Also, if you have a blog of your own, please include your blog address in your comment. I would love to visit your blog too.

Poem - The Sailboat John Ross

One of my all-time favorite jobs was working in a fine jewelry store for twelve years. One day, while on the job, I started writing this poem that I am sharing with you today. Every time I didn’t have anyone to wait on I would write a little more of the poem. My co-workers enjoyed watching the poem come together.

The sailboat can represent anyone you want. I hope you like it. Please let me know.

The Sailboat John Ross

He drifted in from sea one day, the sailboat John Ross.

No one knew from whence he came, no one reported loss.

He floated up and beached himself, with carefree graceful air.

She saw him and he knew he had a reason to be there.

 

He whispered to her through the wind, she learned to love him so.

He said he would return some day, but now he had to go.

He tacked his way back out to sea, into the setting sun.

He would be back, but first there was a race he had to run.

 

She watched him go, and in her heart, she knew where she should be,

Riding on his deck between the heavens and the sea.

The sun came up and set again. John Ross was not in sight.

What was a warm and lovely day became a cold dark night.

 

The winter brought sou’westers, that kept most sailors home.

No matter what the weather brought, he did not cease to roam.

The town’s folk saw her laugh and smile, she looked so good to them.

But, life’s storms tore her heart in two, alone she cried for him.

 

Sometimes in the morning light, she’d find him sitting there

Upon the blue horizon, but her heart would soon despair.

For though he’d sail toward her, he would never quite reach shore.

He’d set the sails into the wind, and go to sea once more.

 

The weight of life distressed her, the sparkle left her eye.

The loneliness she felt for him, made her want to die.

The springtime and the summer came, she saw him not again.

She shed her tears alone at night, and in the summer rain.

 

And when she felt that she could stand the pain of heart no more

The morning sun found the John Ross resting on the shore.

The mainsail beckoned to her and she knew that she must go.

Her life would now be good again, they loved each other so.’

 

Then, with her standing on his deck, he took to sea once more.

They sailed the oceans of the world, not ever touching shore.

And still upon a summer’s eve, if you are out to sea

The John Ross might go calmly by, his sails to the lea.

 

You’ll sense an aura as they pass, of the lasting love they share.

You’ll feel you want to climb aboard, but you cannot go there.

They sail the seas together now, for they were meant to be.

Their love will cover all the world, and last eternally.

 

Janice Austin Bates