Author Archives: Humor Happens
Today?
The first cat asks the second cat a question. What is the response as these two girls lounge about in their home on their own?
Old Lessons
With the passing of Jean Stapleton, some television networks have been running episodes of “All in the Family”. It’s a show from the 1970’s, and Jean Stapleton played the part of Edith. Edith was a character most people could appreciate and enjoy. I never read it, but my mom had a book entitled Edith the Good, so I always think of her that way in my head.
I had recorded a few episodes, and my mom and I watched three tonight. Before tonight, I mostly recall Archie’s gruffness and couldn’t wait for an episode with their daughter Gloria. She seemed to add more fun and activity to the show, instead of the Archie and Edit just sitting in their chairs. This evening, watching these few episodes, I learned just how amazing Edith’s character was!
The last of the episodes we watched included a lesbian couple. In all her years, Edith had not realized her cousin was a lesbian with a partner of many decades. When she learned the truth, her first words were, “I wish you hadn’t told me.” At seeing how hurt her cousin’s partner was, she explained that she was so very sorry to know how much the woman was now suffering at the loss of her partner.
Of course Archie found out, he was his usual negative self. Yet Edith used an argument that has been made for decades (probably centuries), “You’re not God.” You see, Archie said that he needed to judge as God would judge. But Edith reminded him that he was not God. Only God can judge as God judges.
Morale of the Story: In some areas, we haven’t made much progress since the 1970’s.
Dear Lord, please forgive us. Amen.
Who is Beautiful?
This weekend I was with friends. It came up that some of these gorgeous women don’t even consider themselves beautiful. They even go to far as to find themselves repulsive. The only thing repulsive is that they don’t know they are beautiful.
All of the people I know are beautiful. All of the people I don’t know are beautiful. God created them, and all God touches is beautiful. Therefore, they are beautiful. (Okay, that’s a little over-zealous. There are people I don’t find beautiful, for example, mean people. But right now, I don’t have any mean people in my life. I hope it stays that way!)
I wonder how much of their feelings about beauty come from television, magazines, and glamour shots? That’s not human beauty, that’s technology: photo editing software, clothes that highlight certain aspects, make-up, and more. It is NOT what makes a person beautiful. That is merely technology.
Real beauty radiates from the inside. All of the beautiful people I know have something that shines from the inside out. Therefore, no matter what these people wear, make-up they select, or hair style they opt for, their beauty glows through to the outside. Just like the image below. It’s not perfectly clear, but I can see the beauty in it.
These women I was with are mostly of a healthy weight. Yet, one thought she was fat. Trust me, I know fat! And she’s not it. Another thought her bone structure did not allow her to wear a bikini. A bikini body is one that is in a bikini. Another thinks her chest is too small, so she’s not beautiful. But her personality is so feminine, a larger bosom would deter from her elegance.
If we’re talking physical beauty, falling into a certain weight category, having delicate feet, and the in hairstyle, then I would be the least beautiful in the room. But I have learned that is NOT beauty. Yes, I’m overweight – that is a health issue, not a beauty issue. No, I don’t wear make-up – it makes my face itch. I also have fat and wide feet, gapey teeth, and man bones (no skinny fingers even when I was skinny).
Yet this I know: I am beautiful. Perhaps it’s because I know that God made me in love, by love, and for love (as our pastor reminds us continually – or is that nagging – no matter, because he’s right). Or maybe it’s because I blame my weight on medications and not the over-eating that I sometimes do (never-you-mind my love of carbs). Perhaps it’s because my dad had gapey teeth, and I loved my dad. The reason isn’t important (or is it?), I know in my heart of hearts that I am beautiful. I also know that you are beautiful, and you are beautiful, and you, hiding in the dark corner, you are beautiful!
Morale of the Story: Please! Learn to know what beauty is. Look. In. The. Mirror! If that isn’t beautiful, then there is none.
In Love, By Love, and For Love
Our pastor at church says, “God created us in love, by love, and for love.” This is so much easier said than done.
And yet, I am blessed with the knowledge of those who did all they could in life to live that out. One woman at church was Opal.
Opal was a divorced mother, a Registered Nurse, and on our church Missions Committee. She was always a part of my church, and even though she’s passed on, she remains integral. This is a woman who so loved her lord that a peace pole and labyrinth were built at our church in her memory.
She believed in peace. She believed in love. She believed in tough love. She believed that no woman should depend on a husband for her life. She believed that there is a place for everyone. She believed that music heals. She believed in the work of her church. She knew, instinctively, that we were created in love, by love, and for love.
When I hear those words by our pastor, I think of Opal and many others like her.
Morale of the Story: Like it or not, you are loved, you were created in love, and you are to use your life for love. Love is good, and, if implemented as the Lord intended, it will never be used against you.
To Watch and Protect
Parents. Guardians. Caretakers. Foster Family. Adoptive Family.
These are just some of the people in our lives who have the greatest responsibility to watch and protect the world’s future: our youth.
Somedays, I can’t believe anyone makes it from infancy to adulthood. There are so many issues that could overtake and end our lives, such as illness or accidents, nevermind abuse. Tonight, I was watching Chime for Change on NBC. It was a musical fundraiser for women’s rights worldwide. It reminded me of all the people who made it possible for me to become an adult.
I don’t give my mom enough credit. I don’t necessarily always agree with her methods, but the fact remains that all she’s ever done is for the good of her children. She wanted us to know that life is not easy, there are challenges, and although she might not have agreed with our decisions, she has always been here for us. Who do we call when the chips are down? Mom. Who is always ready with a meal? Mom. Who keeps the memory of our father alive and well? Mom. Who bails us out when we make boo-boos? Mom.
Thank you, mom, for guiding me on the steps of life.
You Call That What?
For my job, I travel quite a bit (for me). Sometimes I’ve been gone two solid weeks. In one case, I was alone in the Washington, DC area for a week on my own and then a week at a conference with colleagues. The first week, each time I ordered a cherry cola, the waiter or waitress would say something that I could not understand. I asked a few times, and I still didn’t get it.
The following week my colleagues joined me (I passed that class, by the way). At dinner the first night, I ordered a cherry cola. I didn’t understand what the waitress said, and my colleague asked her to write it down. Turned out, it was Rob Roy. In the Washington, DC area, a cherry cola is known as a Rob Roy. She said that this was the male version of a female drink: Shirley Temple. A Shirley Temple is a lemon/lime soda pop mixed with cherry flavor.
Years before this, a former supervisor enjoyed iced tea with lemonade. No matter what restaurant we went to (and he treated all of the office out to lunch at least once-a-month) he ordered a drink: half lemonade and half iced tea. One day near Boss’s Day while I was shopping in the local grocery store, in the tea isle I saw a can with the name Arnold Palmer. It was the drink he enjoyed for lunch. I bought it for him. He was delighted to find it in a can. I can’t remember if he didn’t know it was called an Arnold Palmer or if he was surprised to see it in a can … or both. No matter, it’s yet another drink named after a famous character.
There are many drinks with interesting names that have alcohol in them, but I can’t have alcohol due to migraines. (I choose not to suffer that way on purpose, so I avoid the stuff.) What other drinks are named after famous characters (yes, people are characters too)? I know of these three:
Cherry Cola (I don’t say Coca Cola or Pepsi, because I don’t care which): Rob Roy
Cherry favored Lemon/Lime Soda Pop: Shirley Temple
1/2 Lemonade and 1/2 Iced Tea: Arnold Palmer
I look forward to any others you know of! Please share here…
Humor Happens 