Reminiscing

Reminiscing

 

Was outside enjoying another Spring day and looking at all the flowers and wildflowers, poppies, lupine, goldenrod, black-eyed susans and violets. Suddenly I was in the third grade again on a field-walk with my teacher, Miss Georgia Brown. (yes, that was her name and I do remember it.) Miss Brown was something of a naturalist and took her third-grade class on field-walks when the weather was nice. I learned the names of birds, flowers, butterflies and anything that crawled or crept by. We collected cocoons and watched butterflies hatch in our schoolroom.  I still remember a lot of names to this day. I really believe that she was one of the Great Teachers who shaped our young lives. I always had an affinity for animals, but she taught me a lot about nature. I also liked to read and one day, Miss Brown gave me one of her Very Own Books, a Trip Down the Amazon. I was thrilled. I can’t tell you how many times I read that book and how many years I kept it but it was one of the most special gifts I ever received. I wonder how many teachers today are affecting our children like she did. I know there are some really good teachers out there and I sincerely hope they touched my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren in this way. 

Received an email the other day that is going around the internet with some very interesting facts:   Did you know … As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world’s law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view … It is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments! Did you know….as you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door and as you sit inside the courtroom, you can see on the wall, right above where the Supreme Court Judges sit, a display of the Ten Commandments?  Did you know….Every Session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.  How then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for 220 years in this Country is now suddenly wrong and unconstitutional? Let’s put it around the world and let the world see and remember what this great country was built on The Holy Bible and belief in GOD!  I don’t know who wrote this so I can give them credit but I do know I agree whole-heartedly.

A Fact I and jillions of other grandmas knew all along! Hot Cocoa is GOOD for you! I receive the WebMD newsletter and there was an article in it about cocoa. Quote “In addition to decreasing blood pressure and improving blood vessel health.. resistance to the hormone insulin, which helps regulate blood sugar, favorably dropped among people who consumed flavonoid-rich cocoa, compared to people in comparison groups… Further, consumption of flavonoid-rich cocoa did not change triglyceride levels of study participants or make them obese.” Eric L. Ding, PhD, of Harvard Medical School says the apparent health benefits come from polyphenolic flavonoids in cocoa that have the potential to prevent heart disease. Flavonoids are antioxidants that are commonly found in fruits, vegetables, tea, wine, and coffee.  Whoopee! (oh, they didn’t mention the whip cream? or cookies..)

Time to rant again. Have you seen those commercials about owing the IRS income tax? They owe $50,000 and settle for $3500? That just makes my blood boil. I started working when I was 15 and I paid my income tax for all the years I worked and that was a goodly number of years! I paid my income tax because it was the law and the right thing to do and although I griped right along with everyone else about doing it, I did it. It is just (not fair, oops, wrong words….life is not fair) wrong that people who make so much money they have huge amounts of income tax debt can ‘settle’ for less.

Ok, on a lighter note:  A young lady is terribly overweight, so her doctor puts her on a  diet.  “I want you to eat regularly for 2 days, then skip a day, and
repeat this procedure for 2 weeks. The next time I see you, you’ll have lost at least 5 pounds.” When she returned, she shocked the doctor by losing nearly 20 pounds. “Why, that’s amazing!” the doctor said, “Did you follow my instructions?”  She nodded, “I’ll tell you though, I thought I was going to drop dead that 3rd day.”  “From hunger, you mean?”, asked the doctor.”  “No, from all that skipping.”