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boxes the best toy 12-3-23
As I inspected some toys in a shop, an older gentleman turned to me and said, “Have you found any bargains you like?” “Not today.” “You can give lots of toys, but what they will play with is the box. Once I got a big box for the grandchildren. It had thick cardboard. I cut…
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Under police’s watchful eye
With hours of late night driving ahead of them to go from Gatlinburg, Tenn. to Union County, the tourists stopped near West Memphis for snacks and soda. From there the road quickly became a construction zone with asphalt so new it fell inches to the old shoulder. They readily obeyed the road signs stating,…
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the night police watched and stopped them 11 With hours of late night driving ahead of them to go from Gatlinburg, Tenn. to Union County, the tourists stopped near West Memphis for snacks and soda. From there the road quickly became a construction zone with asphalt so new it fell inches to the old shoulder. They readily obeyed the road signs stating, “Fines double in construction zone. Speed limit 45 MPH.” At that speed, with no passing lane, first one and then two cars caught up and followed them. The short convoy ended when the last car began flashing blue lights. The officer did not want the middle car to pull over, he wanted the tourists to stop. To avoid the steep asphalt drop off, the driver drove to a safe spot to stop. “I wonder what that’s all about,” the driver said as she gathered her driver’s license, car registration and proof of insurance. The officer leaned down and looked in the window, “Ma’am you were driving too slow. You had two cars behind you.” “Well the signs said 45 mph in the construction zone. I was going 45.” (No sign said to speed up late at night.) “Ma’am you need to be aware of when you have two cars behind you and pull over,” he said as he shone his flashlight around the interior of the van, tapped her door and said, “Be careful. Take it easy and watch the cars behind you.” He returned to the squad car. The travelers looked at each other, mouthing, “two cars behind us?” They shrugged and proceeded down the road An hour or so later another set of flashing blue lights interrupted their late night conversation. As the policeman exited his squad car, the driver again pulled out license, registration and proof of insurance. She rolled down the window, “Yes?” “Evening ma’am. Where are you going? Where have you been?” “Well we went to Gatlinburg for a few days and now we are headed back home.” An official flashlight beam roamed through the interior of the van before the officer said, “Be safe.” “We will.” The driver rolled up her window, gave her companion a puzzled look and started the car. After crossing another county line, a third set of blue lights pierced the night. Bemused they shook their heads in disbelief, pulled over, took out the papers, rolled down the window and waited. “Evening ma’am. I noticed you were drinking. What are you drinking?” “A diet coke,” she said politely, “Would you like to have some? We have a six pack in the cooler.” “No ma’am.” But he did look inside the cooler and traced the flashlight beam around the interior of the vehicle before saying, “Take it easy.” “After that we just left the papers on the seat,” she said. As the clock moved toward 12, just as each reached for another diet Coke, a fourth set of blue lights flashed them to stop. Same questions, same paperwork only this time the officer brought a leashed dog from his vehicle. He led the dog around their van. The officer glanced at the papers, returned them and said, “Drive safely.” Dog and officer returned to their vehicle. They drove safely. They drove the speed limit. They kept track of the number of cars behind them. They arrived home around 2 a.m. After relating the night’s events to an acquaintance in the sheriff’s department, he told them, “You were profiled. It’s not supposed to be done, but you were older people, in a van traveling the highway in the middle of the night. They thought you might be running drugs.” No drugs found. No arrests made. No tickets written. But they did arrive home with a story that has entertained friends and family for many years. 26-23
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to grandmother’s house we go 11-23-23
Each November our grade school music teacher had us sing, “Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go,” probably in reference to Thanksgiving with the grandmother. As I consider it today, it reminds me of both my town and country grandmothers. I am thankful for both although neither fit today’s mythical,…
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Bob Moore-radio ministry to China
A recent conversation with Bob Moore of Goshen, Ind. lead to a discussion about his job as an engineer and avid interest in setting up radio stations around the country and the world.Moore spoke passionately about the ways that the word of God and the Good News about Jesus Christ has spread even in the…
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Grow up, already!
“My parents will help me. They don’t have any other way to spend their money,” said our exchange student, a high school senior. I rolled my eyes. I knew that gravy train would end eventually. Unfortunately, for some, the train runs three, four, even five decades longer than it should. For some reason the last…
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Skating
Nate marched in after school resolutely. He marched straight to the toy box and shoved aside trucks and balls until he triumphantly held up his roller skates, He sat down, strapped them onto his shoes and went out to the cement driveway. For the next week, he strapped on the skates and skated every…
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To Grandma’s House
Each November our grade school music teacher had us sing, “Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go,” probably in reference to Thanksgiving with the grandmother. As I consider it today, it reminds me of both my town and country grandmothers. I am thankful for both although neither fit today’s mythical,…
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Keeping up
For more than half of my life, I managed just fine without computers and their upgrades. That all began to change the spring I took an introductory computer class at South Arkansas Community College. After the final exam I told Hubby, “We need to buy a computer.” Hubby bought a portable computer. It matched the…
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Jack-o-lantern
Jack-o-Lantern time The smell of fresh pumpkin pulp filled the hallway. My nose followed it to an empty classroom where a traditional toothy, triangle eyed jack-o-lantern greeted me. That class had indulged in the holiday fun of cutting open a pumpkin, scooping out the pulp and seeds and cutting a face. The perfection of the…
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Education and 8 Great Smarts
Public, private and home school learning environments all must answer one question: what is the best way to engage students to learn? The answer varies with each person, according to Dr. Kathy Koch. She covers eight different learning styles in her book “8 Great Smarts.” She presented an overview of those concepts at a recent…
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To have a friend …
Folks recently mused about acquaintances who say, “I have no friends. No one invites me over. No one helps me. I never am included.” And yet quite often the complainer has people reaching out with invitations, offers to help or to simply sit and listen to their misery. What the complainers do not do is…
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How’s your arithmetic skills?
To date I have never pre-ordered a grocery order. I enjoy looking for clearance items to stretch the family budget. Recently, I checked the meat counter for ground beef. I did not find any. I only found three packages with two thick steaks in each package. I glanced at the price remembering the time I…
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H2O2 HYDROGEN PEROXIDE
In retirement, I have purchased way more sewing machines than I need. Too many need repairs – by my hubby. He trolls the Internet for hours looking for ways to solve mechanical problems. We may have white hair and hands with brown spots, but we still enjoy the challenge of fixing one more sewing machine,…
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Left or Right
Growing up is so hard to do. Yet, somehow we figure it all out: crawling, walking, talking, everything – including the difference between left and right. As pre-schoolers, my big brother, younger sister and I studied the flexibility of right and left and the inflexibility of north and south. Brother stood in the center of…
Got any book recommendations?