Life's Loving Memories

  VISITING BILL "Poise is that perfect balance that maintains everything in its proper place, without effort".                                                               --Ernest Holmes I remember when I was about thirty-two, visiting my brother Bill and his wife, and my nephew , Matthew. I think he was about three, and very bright for his age.   As we left to go out for dinner one night, my brother remarked that we needed to get gas on the way home.   We went out, had a nice dinner, and as we were turning on the street to go home, my nephew asked, “Are we going right home?” and my brother replied in the affirmative. Matt then said, “Oh, then I guess we’re going to get gas tomorrow." One evening, as he was going to bed, Bill asked him, which pajamas do you want to wear, the blue or the red?   Do you want a story or a song?   He was given a choice about what to do as he was going to bed, instead of if he wanted to go to bed. Wouldn't it be a wonderful benefit

  VISITING MARY "So much in life has to do with just letting go and letting God. Someone cut out and pasted on my door a little cartoon that reads, "Good morning! This is God! I will be handling all your problems today. I will not  need your help. So have a good day!" Part of Divine wisdom comes when we remember to turn to God for inspiration and help with challenges." Sandra Lindsey Smith Lief's Garden of Weekly Wisdom My oldest sister is ten years older than I am.   When I was 12, she got married and moved to Northern California. During the next few summers, I would visit her during the summer.   She and her husband would go to work, and there I was, alone in her house.   I read books, ate sunflower seeds, and walked to the grocery store most every day to bring back my treats for the day.   I discovered pennies in my brother-in-law’s desk, and each day I would take a few out to help me with my purchases.   I would write, on a small piece of paper, “I owe you

 AUNT MURIEL "Look at the focus of your life for a moment. Is appearing perfect the most important thing in your life or is it what you do for others. Will your friends and family years from now remember what you          gave  them for Christmas in 1993, or will they remember how you made them feel                                            when you were around them"? Life's Garden of Weekly Wisdom             -- Sandra Lindsey Smith All through my life I remember my Aunt Muriel coming to live with us.   She was my mother’s youngest sister, and very often, she was down and out, and those were the times she lived with us, usually sharing my bedroom. I realize now that I was jealous of the attention she always got from my mother.   Aunt Muriel had two tattoos on her arms, one on her wrist, that had M.F.W. (the initials of her third husband) and an anchor with the word mother written on   her arm.   When we moved from Michigan to California, she hopped boxcars to come out a

  SPEECH AND DRAMA "Everything in the whole world, from the hat on your head to the boots on your feet, has its beginning in mind and comes into existence in exactly the same manner. All are projected thoughts solidified." Genevieve Behrend -- Your Invisible Power Most of my life up until I was twenty-five, had something to do with being involved in speech or drama. In high school I always seemed to enjoy drama more than speech, because in drama you can become the character you are playing without seeing the audience.   In speech you needed to have eye contact with the audience, and that scared me. When I entered college, I took a speech class that filmed every speech I made, and that finally relieved my fear. I gave a speech about conditioned response, and I brought a baby chicken into class as part of a demonstration.   It was in a paper bag behind me as I began the class. For the entire speech there was a peep, peep, peep, peep as an undercurrent to my speech.   I ago