Dear Reader:

Yesterday I caught only a small portion of one of my favorite shows during the week, CBS Sunday Morning, and later I felt like I was supposed to see this special segment. The power of one hug.

If Steve Hartman, CBS News reporter, is doing a human interest story…I can almost count on having to jump up and find the tissue box before the story is over. This played out exactly the same way yesterday morning. The segment was simply called “The Hug” and it could not have been more appropriately labeled.

Human contact. Until we go a long time without any…we forget how fundamentally basic the need of a physical embrace is to our human nature. We are social creatures and as such need human contact on a regular basis. Absence brings depression.

In other words…we need each other! A hug can not be received without giving one back in return. It is the perfect physical contact between humans. It is what defines us as human.

Enter Dan Peterson into our story….he is an 82 year-old widower from Augusta, Georgia (having recently lost his beloved wife, Mary, of many years) who experiences a chance meeting with a four year-old little girl name Norah Wood. This encounter, in the vegetable aisle in a Publix grocery store, will change both their lives…

Steve Hartman Interview with Dan Peterson/CBS Morning Show

Not long ago, in a cemetery outside Augusta, Georgia, a loving couple was buried – the wife, buried below a white bouquet and the husband, buried above in a mound of grief.

“Took me totally by surprise,” Dan Peterson said. 

The 82-year-old said after Mary died, he fell into a deep depression, and he spent days just staring out at the squirrels.

“What were you living for?” Hartman asked.

“I was trying to figure that out, frankly,” Peterson said.

“You had no purpose?” Hartman asked.

“No,” Dan replied.

 “Were you just waiting to die?” Hartman asked.

“Yeah,” Dan said.

For six months, it was just that bad.

Then it all changed after a visit to a Publix grocery store. Dan was nearing the end of the canned vegetable aisle. He hates grocery shopping and, by all accounts, the expression on his face confirmed his aggravation. 

But that’s when this unapproachable man was approached by a four-year-old girl named Norah Wood. 

In the security footage you can see Norah randomly reaching out to him waving her arms. Her mom, Tara, said it was quite embarrassing.

“She stood up and said, ‘Hi Old Person, it’s my birthday today,’” Tara said.

“Old person?” Hartman asked.

“Old person,” Tara said.

“Hi Old Person,” Dan recalled.

“She says this to this cranky old man…you?” Hartman asked incredulously.

“Yeah,” Dan said.

The girl then had the audacity to demand a hug.

“I said, ‘A hug?’ I said, ‘Absolutely!’” Dan said. 

Norah got her hug and then asked her mom to take a picture of her with her new friend. 

“She zeroed in on him like a missile. And she didn’t want anything from him,” Tara recalled. “She just wanted to make him feel loved and give him a hug. And his lip quivered, he  teared up and it was just sweet.”

“And I said, ‘You don’t know. This is the first time, for quite a while, that I’ve been this happy,’” Dan said.

That all happened a couple months ago, and his grin has only gotten wider since.  

Today Norah visits at least once a week. And every time, it’s the grocery store scene all over again. *

*She even brought him  balloons and a cake to help him celebrate his 82nd birthday. 

“Totally unbelievable,” Dan said.

Dan does have grandkids of his own, but they’re grown and gone. And Norah does have grandparents, but her mom said this is a completely different kind of bond that almost defies explanation. 

“She falls asleep holding a picture of them. And I’m like, what!” Tara said, laughing.

To Dan, it’s equally miraculous but far less mysterious. He believes Norah is, quite literally, an angel. “My special angel!”

“She opened me to a love that I didn’t know existed,” Dan said.

“Dan, let me ask you – When your wife died, you felt like you didn’t have any purpose anymore. Do you feel like you have a purpose now?” Hartman asked.

“Of course – Norah… watching her grow up,” Dan said. “I know I made room in my heart for a lot more.”

It never ceases to astound me how people can say that they have never heard or witnessed a daily miracle…when we are surrounded by them constantly. Our eyes have to be open to recognize what is going on right in front of us.

So until tomorrow…In this world of conflict, distrust, thinly veiled racism and intolerance…let’s make a promise for 2017…that we will venture out of our own comfort zones and comfort others we see in need…with a hug!

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Actually TODAY is the first blank page of a 365  page book…Write a good one! (Just added a little more stress to your calendar year!)

At the end of our lives… we realize we are all simply…stories. If that is the case, then, shouldn’t we be writing a good one? A best-seller…at least for ourselves?

Haven’t we all been in situations in life that were so stressful we were hardly able to function for worrying about it? And then one day, a solution comes along that takes that ‘albatross’ right off our backs… as if it had never been there. Perhaps we receive forgiveness from someone we wronged or a better job opens up than the one that previously fired us.

We are deliriously happy! We say things to our family and friends along the lines of ” I feel like I have been given a clean slate after my mess-up and a chance at a better beginning with no hang-ups attached from the past!” 

That same feeling should be experienced today…the first of January 2017. It is time to let past regrets and baggage stay behind at the old train depot and get on the new 2017 train… with nothing but a smile on our faces. No baggage allowed!

For me…I think the first page of my book of life this year might start with a letter:

Dear Universe:

Let me take a moment and introduce myself. My name is Becky Barbour Dingle. I am not as young as I used to be, but not as old as I hope to be.

Does anyone hear my small, tiny voice questioning my existence out there in the vastness of space and the vacuum of silence among the ethereal beauty of the stars?

I once heard that we are all made of star dust. I hope so…because to me that makes us all magical… like pixie dust from fairies. I am quite imaginative so I have no problem believing in things I can’t see.

On this first day of 2017 I want to make a promise to myself and you that I will strive to turn more mundane problems over to the Creator of this awesome, mind-boggling universe and live my life as if I were dancing and hopping from star to star.

Bring on those God Winks, bring on dandelions, wishes, rainbows, magic and continue to bring me signs that I am an important “speck” of dust floating within a soul in this thing we call life.

Reassure me that my life does exist for a purpose, though it may seem inconsequential in mankind’s pecking order of what defines greatness. Don’t let society deter me…but keep my vision upward, along with my extended hand so, at any time, I can be ready to touch the Face of God.

Universe…I wish you a Happy New Year-2017 and just in case nobody has told you this in awhile….“I love you.”

…………………………………

So until tomorrow….start writing and if not writing…then living.… your book of life. Happy New Year 2017!

Don’t forget! Say “Rabbit” today and eat those hoppin’ johns! 

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday, around mid-afternoon, I emailed Walsh and Mollie and Mandy and John to see if the grandchildren could wish everyone a Happy New Year…Boo Boo isn’t happy without starting the year with her four little munchkins! Lots going on last evening!

Princess Eva Cate (as the eldest grandchild family representative) has sent out a royal decree wishing  the blog a very Happy New Year from Boo Boo’s family! 2017!!!!!!!!!

Clemson…I am so proud of you! What a ballgame, what a performance…what a way to give your fans and supporters a most wonderful way to start 2017!!!!! We love you!

Dear Reader:

The other night when I went to Anne’s for supper this attractive bowl with the beautifully vibrant “greens,” overflowing from its sides, caught my attention and I snapped this photo. I told her it looked like a holiday floral decoration with the bright red and green colors.

Anne laughed and said that the collards (for the hoppin’ johns) were looking a little “puny” so she had decided to soak them in some water and that big bowl was the only container large enough to hold them. Beauty has a way of emerging from man’s random actions, doesn’t it?

I love hoppin’ johns….I really do…I just don’t like collards. Now pile on the cabbage and I am one happy eater….black-eyed peas with rice, cabbage, and cornbread (a few beets on the side) and my stomach smiles with happiness!

Cindy Ashley found this article on the  Civil War history behind hoppin’ johns and how eating it and having good luck came to be. (Again thanks Cindy for sharing…I loved this article.)

“Lucky New Year’s Foods”

If you’re a born-and-raised U.S. southerner, as I am, you might not dream of passing New Year’s Day without eating at least a few black-eyed peas. At some point, it occurred to me to

wonder why this food – plus greens and cornbread – are considered lucky for New Year’s. I found out that this deep tradition of the U.S. South dates back to the Civil War, when William Tecumseh Sherman made his “March to the Sea” in the fall of 1864.

Sherman’s soldiers lived off the land. They stripped the countryside of crops, robbed food stores and killed or carried away livestock. But they apparently passed over the “field peas” – black-eyed peas to us – a food whose first domestication probably occurred in West Africa and came to the U.S. during the slave trade of the early U.S. colonial period. The soldiers must have thought these legumes were useful only for animal feed.

Southerners, left with black-eyed peas to eat, were said to have felt lucky and it was this “accident” that helped many southern civilians survive that first winter following the devastation of the South.

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Pork. Pigs are considered a lucky New Year’s food because they root in the ground while moving forward. They’re fat, a worldwide symbol of prosperity. Collards are green and represent money and rice is the symbol of abundant stability…if there is nothing left to eat…rice is there for you.

When I was in Copenhagen for a  teacher exchange program several years ago, Benedikte Christensen’s mother-in-law baked and made a traditional New Year dessert (that I found written up in this article) for me…even though it was the spring of the year. It made me feel very special and even more so after reading the following excerpt. ***Kaitlyn and Tommy…I thought of both of you when I saw the picture and story.

Denmark is the place to go for New Year’s Eve, where marzipan is the key ingredient in a dramatically tall, ringed cake called Kransekage. The cone-shaped pastry is constructed of ever smaller concentric circles and is the classic dessert for weddings, birthdays and New Years. It represents the circle of love within the circle of life. 

Here is the link to the entire article….really interesting!

Lucky New Year’s foods

So until tomorrow….Happy New Year Everyone and don’t forget in all the celebrating to say “Rabbit” tomorrow! (But eat pork!)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

TONIGHT is the NIGHT! GO CLEMSON TIGERS! Maybe I should put orange food dye in with the cabbage….ugh…or maybe not! I am personally wishing Clemson the very best of luck….I hope Coach Dabo is giving those boys their hoppin’ johns early…before the game for good luck!!!!!

*2016 will be the year that Eva Cate can say a sea lion fell in love with her. John and Mandy took Eva Cate and Jake to the Columbia Zoo last Monday and when they went in the sea lions exhibit…almost immediately one sea lion swam over to Eva Cate and started nodding at her and rubbing its head again the glass.

If Eva Cate walked in a certain direction the sea lion swam in that direction following her…soon the crowd began to realize what was happening and started reacting to it. When they finally had to leave the sea lion was shaking its head sadly trying to entreat her to stay.

Dear Reader:

As 2016 winds down and I take some time to reflect back on it…the year can probably be best summed up in one word: CHANGE. And since life is constantly changing…I could just as easily substitute the word LIFE for CHANGE. In 2016 I experienced life…crazy, unpredictable, unstable, surprising life.

I have had the privilege of being alive to experience all the up’s and down’s that life brings us on a daily platter. We can plan and plan the menu of life… (what we think will be served on the platter but the “Maitre’d” can change the menu at a moment’s notice.) …Without our permission.

The most important lesson, in this scenario, stems from the fact that it is not what life “dishes” out to us that will ultimately define the quality of our lives; it is how we react to the changed plans, the changed menu, that shows others our real selves lying deep within us.

At the age I am now…there are no illusions left in me. I might, earlier in my life, have gone a different direction from what I would have chosen personally… to please others….but that is long past. No…the only deterrent left between me and the best life I can be living is…me.

I still “mind game” far too much. I let the fear of losing what security I feel I have in my life control too much of my decision-making… the reality is…there is no such thing as security in life…the animals already know this and have gotten over it…but we poor humans spend way too much wasted time trying to “secure” our homes, jobs, loved ones, environment, etc. It is a fruitless lesson in futility.

My resolution for myself in 2017 is to stop worrying about security issues, and instead hand that facet of life over to God so I can free up more time to be around my loved ones…the focal point of my life and continue finding adventures and excitement in life. It is the risks that make life worth living…that make life memorable and send our hearts pulsing to another beat…that only each of us can hear.

So until tomorrow…”Get out of the way Becky”! and let the good times roll! Life means nothing if you sacrificed everything for a balanced budget at the expense of doing nothing. 2017 is going to be for living!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

• As I was writing the blog yesterday afternoon…it happened! What I had been waiting for all week…the sun! The rays shot straight down on my ginger plant outside my computer room and I was filled with joy! I have needed that sun….so I closed up shop early and left to go lie out on the deck and soak up some Vitamin D…my blood count will thank me.

*What made my blood count thank me even more was an invitation from Anne inviting me for dinner last evening. Turkey croquettes, red potato casserole, sweet potato casserole, string beans….delicious. I could just feel my blood count climbing higher and higher with each bite. I told Anne I felt like Super Woman after that meal….ready to take on the world!

Before we ate Anne was showing me some fascinating photos using an app called Waterlogue .  It takes our photos and changes them into works of art. Fascinating! To show me an example of how you do it…Anne took a photo of me and then chose  two selections from Waterlogue . See the differences for yourself.

As I was leaving Anne’s I asked her where she had gotten that decorative Christmas horn on her front door. It reminded me of one Mother used to decorate our house every Christmas for years while we were growing up.

Anne said it was in her family, too, for a long time, then recently she found it stored away, spray-painted it gold….she remembered it was time to turn the horn up instead of down (after Christmas Day) to let the “Good News” out Jesus Christ is born! (which she did) Does anybody else recognize this decoration growing up? Lots of horns in our baby boomer Christmas memories.

Dear Reader:

Sometimes when we are at our wit’s end…I think God looks down and decides we have had enough…time for a little divine intervention. This was what happened yesterday morning…as a result of a very upsetting Tuesday evening. I do believe that God sets situations into motion by putting people in place for us…at the right time in the right place.

Ever since Christmas has been over, I have been in a somewhat comatose state…where I have lived off soups between sleeping jabs. The only thing of conscious accomplishment I have done during the days is the blog.

Monday I told myself I had just ‘hit the wall’ following all the holiday excitement and my body was craving  a long rest. Tuesday I told myself it was just the gloomy weather- so conducive for sleeping- that kept me in this strange zoned-out zombie state.

*The only thing that kept nagging at me was the fact that each time I woke up I felt more tired than before I slept…what was wrong with me? I should be perky and ready to go get’em!

Then late Tuesday afternoon a panicky thought ran through my sleep-muddled mind. It had me grabbing my robe and running from my bedroom towards my desk (title photo) where my bills for each month are kept. Property taxes! I had to get my check in the mail, pronto, so it would count on this year’s W2 tax form…I needed all the breaks I could get…to get my books balanced again after getting hit with a new (heating unit) motor… three weeks before Christmas. Bah Humbug!

I ran to the cubby and frantically flew through the bills…no property tax bill. Trying to stay calm…I grabbed my monthly bill ledger and figured I had left it on this month’s account page. No…nothing.

I started going through desk drawers, any kind of drawers, even the garbage bin….searching to no avail. Somehow the property taxes bill must have been put in the wrong pile labeled “junk.” (Freudian slip) It was gone!

I was still lying on the sofa with my mind (swirling) trying to figure out a solution to the problem… with so little time left. Then suddenly I noticed an Iphone message Jackson had forwarded to all the Ya’s (and we had all been dreading about a mutual college friend.) Carole had died and everyone was sad.

All the tax papers, from previous years, slipped out of my hands and fell on the floor by the sofa…where I lay half-buried. My eyes ‘teared’ up…Carole wanted so badly to live long enough to see her first grandchild expected in spring.  I remember praying for this wish too…in every stage of life there is always something and someone we feel needs us and we want to be there for them. It makes letting go so hard.

Our last time together at Edisto was in this photo two falls ago…last year Carole was too sick to come to the reunion and, instead, she spent the summer and fall in and out of the hospital.

Her amazing husband, Steve, sent Libby his favorite photo of them together…He was one of those special husbands that made others (who knew them) mention things like “Never did a man love a woman as much as Steve loved Carole. He worshiped and doted on her throughout their marriage and time together on Earth.”

A marriage made in heaven and it is there where it will continue.

I turned off all the lights after getting the news of Carole’s passing and just prayed for a faith that surpassed all understanding because these kinds of deaths are almost impossible for us to fathom, much less understand.

“Death and taxes.” The two certainties of life, according to Ben Franklin, and I had just experienced them simultaneously. Suddenly my distraught over a piece of paper with a number on it seemed, not only silly, but ludicrous , within the context of a friend’s death, who had, heroically, been battling cancer for a chance at an opportunity to see the next generation of family arrive on earth.

I fell asleep on the sofa, exhausted by the turn of events…an emotional roller coaster ride. When I woke up yesterday I remembered I had my oncologist appointment to see how the new medication was working and I knew I had to calmly address the property tax situation in an “adult” manner.

I looked up the county auditor’s office and asked for Mr. J.J. Messervy. It was a little before nine but I figured this time of year, it must be quite busy in a county auditor’s office. The nice receptionist asked me if she could help or did I need to talk to Mr. Messervy personally. I told her I would like to talk personally, if possible, or leave a voice mail (which I ended up doing.) *Hated admitting what an idiot I was (to a stranger) for throwing away the property taxes notification

J.J. was a couple of years’ older than my son Tommy in school, but they both played on the Summerville High School Golf Team together. J. J. would often drop by the house looking for Tommy and then (if he was gone) just sit and chat with me…he always made me laugh. Maybe J.J. could help me out of this fix.

Within 10 minutes he had called me back, told me that this situation happened a lot, the office did have a copy, he would give me my total and then if I would go ahead and make out the check, put it in an envelope with his name on it on the bench on the porch,  he would swing by my house at some point later in the day, pick it up, take care of it, and get me a receipt. Problem solved.

I felt like weeping on the phone…a rush of relief filled my body. My emotional state was sketchy, anyway, between the sadness over Carole’s death and the frustration over a human error…mine.

When I got to my, late morning, oncologist’s appointment, I soon learned why I was feeling like someone needed to pick me up and shoot some energy back into me. A new nurse was working and she said she was going to clean my port (hadn’t been done in a long time- and take some blood for them to check.) Her name was Candace and she was wonderful-never felt a thing…but then suddenly when it was over I became “Old Faithful”… blood started shooting out and down my blouse…Candace and Jackie were both running around trying to get bandages and ointment to stop it and clean my shirt so it wouldn’t stain….

By the time Dr. Silgals came in…after reviewing the blood work…he said I must be feeling pretty depleted in the energy department. One of the negative side effects of this new drug is the quite plausible possibility of a  low blood count and this was something we needed to stay on top of…so I return in a week to see if things have picked up or if we will need to adjust the medication accordingly.

(J.J. had told me (on the phone) that there was a long line at the auditor’s office, and knowing about my on-going battle with breast cancer, he made the decision to come by my house to help me out in this situation. * To tell you the truth I doubt I could have stood in that line for very long the way I was feeling.)

I am here to tell you folks…God uses all of us as guardian angels/messengers throughout our lives …even tax auditors! (:

***Seriously, J.J. thank you for going over and beyond what was expected in this situation…this is a random act of kindness that will never…never be forgotten!

So until tomorrow…The world is full of so many surprises that some times I think life is one big surprise party. God places the right people around us to be there when we need them. And one day it will be Carole surprising me with her newly acquired understanding of life that surpasses ours in the wisdom of eternity.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*There are many types of departures we go through while on Earth and then our final one in transition to Heaven…they are all difficult, sometimes for the one traveling, sometimes for the one left behind, and most times to both. Jackson took her son Matthew to the airport yesterday to tell him good-bye for 18 months. We all know it will go fast but it is still hard to give that last wave. We love you Jackson and are here for you…. We will be together real soon. Call whenever you want to talk! We all have BIG ears and I think mine are starting to look a little “DUMBO’ISH” actually!

*Happy Birthday to my Baby Boy Tommy! 1982 was a very good year! And every year after…

This year Tommy will marry and a whole new life begins. So happy for you and Kaitlyn …for finding each other! So glad the stars aligned!

Dear Reader:

One of the most poignant remarks made about the family Christmas Eve gathering this year was made by Stephanie when she dropped off (unknowingly to me) Christmas presents. When I went on her FACEBOOK site to thank her she later responded with this sweet observation as she parked the car, watched the grandchildren running back and forth across the porch, squealing while throwing snowballs and chasing each other…

“It warmed my heart to see your home filled with the laughter of your grandchildren.”

I had done it…Christmas was a success if someone coming to the house picked up on the love within. The remark just made my Christmas “warming my heart too.”

Haven’t we all experienced that same happy feeling and observation (for someone else) like sweet Stephanie did. I remember experiencing this when I would walk in the neighborhood (New Year’s resolution to get back on it) and get glimpses (perhaps) a family cook-out gathering going on and catch snippets of conversations between maybe a child and grandfather…and it warmed my heart too….it was reassuring that with love like that the world is not lost…it is just fine. There is something so enticing about hearing peals of laughter from children playing.

When Anne and I went to Ireland three summers ago…the tourist guidebooks would list “sacred places” we could visit. We soon realized that different location spots in Ireland spoke to us together and/or separately. Finding one’s own special sacred ground is extremely individualized and has nothing to do (necessarily) with historical landmarks.  It has everything to do with our heightened perceptions.

This devotional message addresses why designated “sacred places” or “Holy Ground” doesn’t affect everyone the same way. *Thanks Anne for sharing this devotional with us.

“Thin Places” (Still/Speaking Daily Devotional) Richard L. Floyd

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Richard L. Floyd is Pastor Emeritus of First Church of Christ (UCC) in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. A writer and author, his most recent publications are Romans, Parts 1 and 2 (with Michael S. Bennett), new titles in the “Listen Up!” Bible Study Series. He blogs at richardlfloyd.com. Suddenly it came to me that the little Christmas Wreath bench that called me over to it to come, sit, and inhale the peace of Christmas morning before returning to all the festivities was my “Holy Place” and my eyes were open and drawn to it. God is so amazing…giving us what we need when we need it.   So until tomorrow…Help us Father be visually conscious of Your Presence calling us to stop, chat, pray and listen for You to show us the Way! “Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

After telling everyone (on the blog yesterday) that on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, it would be a nice thing to follow the English tradition of doing something kind for someone…it turned out I was the one surprised by a wonderful act of kindness.

My across-the-street neighbors, Suzanne and Mack and their children Nick and Cheyenne are moving. Suzanne had moved in when Nick was a tiny little baby and now he is a big football player and graduating from high school. It will be quite an adjustment, after almost two decades… not to have them across the street.

Apparently sometime Christmas Eve (during the family gathering) one of the family must have handed Walsh a gift from them to me on the porch (maybe during the crazy snowball fight) and I put it under the tree to wait until everything had calmed down to open it and see who it was from.

But before I could do that Santa Claus arrived with all Ady’s gifts and the package got buried under her presents. It wasn’t until yesterday morning when I was throwing out bags and bags of boxes, wrapping paper, etc. that I saw the lone package and went to check it. It was from Mack, Suzanne and family… When I opened it up and saw the wooden plaque: “You Will Never Regret Being Kind” I felt nothing but kindness…from them.

Since I have a whole other side of the house…if plumbing problems developed or any other dilemma I told them to come on over and use the shower and toilet facilities, kitchen, whatever…that was why I have my “B and B”…to help out in emergency situations.  And now looking at the plaque I was so glad I had been able to help in some way throughout the years.

So “Boxing Day” is alive and well…no money in the form of bonuses…just gratitude instead of a gratuities with memories planted of a time when we were all neighbors and shared friendship among us.

My cousin Dean, who grew up with my brother Ben, sent us a story he knew we would both relate to….the true story behind the actor Jimmy Stewart and his fight through PTSD while making the Christmas Classic: “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  I had never heard this story and now I will always view this wonderful film even more appreciatively and poignantly.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

How Jimmy Stewart Became George Bailey

The star of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ struggled with his wartime memories

Every year around Christmas, Americans stop to pay homage to what is perhaps our most beloved motion picture, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The 1946 film may flicker in black and white, but it still manages to feel fresh in affirming the human spirit as we head into each new year.

Fans of the movie might assume that making such an uplifting tale was a joy for cast and crew. In truth, this story of redeeming angels was born in the devastating wake of World War II, and it starred an actor swatting away his own demons.

The first time that Jimmy Stewart appears on screen as George Bailey, the image freezes in close-up as two angelic figures discuss the character in voice-over. One says to the other, “I want you to take a good look at that face.” It’s something that all of us should do as we watch the film.

Stewart is supposed to be playing a young man in his early 20s, but the once-boyish 38-year-old had just returned the year before from fighting in Europe, and only makeup and careful lighting could give him a semblance of youth. More seriously, as we know from the testimony of those who worked with him in the military and in Hollywood in those years, Stewart was suffering from what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder.

After two years of subsisting largely on ice cream and peanut butter, he had only just begun to eat real food and keep it down. He had the shakes and at times flew into rages, and his sleep was interrupted by images of bombers burning in the sky and men tumbling to earth.

“It’s a Wonderful Life” was Stewart’s first picture after almost five years away, including 20 months on the front lines. As a squadron commander of B-24 heavy bombers, he flew his first combat mission to Germany on Dec. 13, 1943. He commanded 12 missions in his first two months and was almost shot down twice. The experience unnerved him enough that he spent time at the “flak farm,” where fliers went to decompress after seeing too much combat.

It wasn’t fear of losing his own life that had gotten to Stewart. It was his deeply ingrained perfectionism, which made him fear making the wrong split-second decision in German airspace while leading dozens of planes and hundreds of men in combat.

Filming “It’s a Wonderful Life” found him back in Hollywood after surviving too many crash landings and close calls. In sunny Southern California, the land of make-believe, this suddenly middle-aged man faced other problems. A new crop of youthful leading men had emerged in his absence. he also faced a crisis of conscience, 

wondering if acting was a worthwhile profession after the gravity of his daily life in the military.

This back story may help to explain the remarkable emotional energy of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Stewart’s bordering-on-frantic performance was not just virtuoso acting. Co-star Donna Reed reported that both Stewart and the picture’s director, Frank Capra, made the production difficult at times as they second-guessed how scenes were done.

And why not? Both men were desperate to re-establish themselves in a Hollywood that, they feared, had passed them by while they served in the military. “It’s a Wonderful Life” is considered the picture that relaunched Stewart as a more serious, seasoned actor. But for him, making it was just one more trial by combat.

It was the veteran actor Lionel Barrymore—the movie’s villain, Old Man Potter—who helped Stewart to claw his way back. When Stewart wondered aloud during production if acting was worth his time, Barrymore looked him in the eye and asked: Isn’t entertaining people better than dropping bombs on them?

Stewart seems to have gotten the message. He was able to convey great joy and passion in the movie’s closing scenes, shouting “Merry Christmas, Bedford Falls!” as he runs through the streets and saying with a wink to his guardian angel, as he turns heavenward, “Atta boy, Clarence.”

Jimmy Stewart returned to Hollywood unsure if he would be able to continue his career as an actor. “It’s a Wonderful Life” showed that he could. It arrives every December like a holiday card from a dear friend, a man who came home from war and found the beauty in peace.

…………………………….

Isn’t life, filled with so many ironies, also filled with them in this production…it isn’t Clarence, the guardian angel who saves the real Jimmy Stewart from himself,  but the villain, the bank owner Old Man Potter (Lionel Barrymore) who talks to Stewart and helps him get his real perspective on life back on track. Stewart would go on to have a wonderful movie career…and it all started with “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

So until tomorrow…Let us give thanks for time spent with neighbors and friends who pass in and out of our lives…leaving behind memories forever.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Another elf who sneaked in on Christmas Eve evening during all the craziness was Stephanie Ballard Trzeciakiewicz (my former babysitter when my children were little.) I opened the gift yesterday ( a damp, rainy day) and it was a comfy big overshirt to lounge in at home on such a day. Perfect timing and the best smelling candle –Garden in the Snow. How do Yankee Candles come up with so many naturally wonderful smells from life? Excuse me while I go catnap some more. Hope all of you are getting a chance to rest and dream of Christmas 2016.

Dear Reader:

I think I might end up as one of those “crazy little old ladies” who do strange things at strange times in strange places. Going into Wakendaw Lakes yesterday to watch the grandchildren open their presents I drove past this bench, stopped, backed up, took a photo, and then parked my car on a side street.

I, then, strolled over to the bench, sat down, stared at the beautiful water and felt a sense of peace engulf me. I think there should be a time designated on Christmas Day  to pause and reflect on Christmas before continuing on with it. Stop the wrapping paper, the snowball fights, the laughter, the food, the drinks, the music, and on-going pine needle sweep-ups. Just stop and reflect that on Christmas Day 2016 we are alive, surrounded by caring, loving people.

* The only thing that would have made it more perfect would have been to hear bells ring out the song “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” I felt such a rush of good feeling towards everyone of us who share air on this planet, called Earth…and who share the same time and space as I do.

I took a deep breath and proceeded onto Mandy’s where the grandchildren excitedly waited for the rest of the family for Round 2 of Christmas….the family exchanges after Santa….topped off by Christmas dinner at Doodles. Blessings everywhere. Doesn’t Christmas Day, sometimes, seem to take on a life of its own…and we are just along for the ride. “I’ve learned the best thing is to “go with the flow” and let the joyous chaos ensue!

When I got home yesterday afternoon I wondered if there was a name for the day after Christmas….and I found one…from the British Isles- Boxing Day. This was the day that ‘everyday working people’ who performed services might expect a box with a bonus or gratuity in it for their favors or services throughout the prior year.

This custom is linked to an older English tradition: since servants would have to wait on their masters on Christmas Day, the servants of the upper class and wealthy were allowed the next day to visit their families. The employers would give each servant a box to take home containing gifts, bonuses and sometimes leftover food. 

The more I thought about this idea…the more I liked it. Wouldn’t it be special to receive a bonus or gratuity the day after Christmas? What unexpected pleasure it would bring?

So until tomorrow…Think of a small act of kindness you can do today…the day after Christmas?

“Today is my favorite day”  Here is a type of collage of family memories from Christmas Eve through Christmas Day 2016 of the family? Santa tracked Ady down to my house and did old Santa ever do good by Ady Grace…dolls, toys, wolf caps, art supplies…the list went on and on.

After Lachlan received his Paw Patrol uniform he was thrilled and Rutledge was sad…but then Rutledge got his commission to Police Captain and worked fervently all Christmas Day…making numerous arrests!

Captain Dingle was commissioned yesterday and spent it arresting people…even on Christmas Day….he’s a tough policeman! He could outrace you on his Captain America bike (always remembering to wear his helmet or chase you down…either way…he always got his man or girl or aunt.)

Jakie and Lahlan just had fun and were adorable…. On our walk Jakie went and plopped right down in a wooden manager scene and patted Baby Jesus on the head…saying”Little Baby!”

John and Mini-Me Jake

Catherine sent me this photo…it was Aunt Carrie’s turn to get arrested at Doodles. (Doodle, fabulous food and fellowship…as always thanks for for your generosity!) *Catherine and Carrie sang with Harvey at the Christmas Eve Service…just beautiful having only guitars to sing the carols by….so much more feeling.

Abraham Lincoln once commented that “You can’t please all the people all the time.” Murphy’s Law says you can’t get everyone turned the same direction and smiling in a family photo. *Policemen are under such stress today…it causes unexpected “melt-downs.”

• We all missed you Tommy and Kaitlyn….but I know you had wonderful Christmas! See you when you get back. Merry Christmas!

The girls stop for a pose…a memorable snaggle-tooth smile from Eva Cate.

Christmas has ended, pj time, dreams of

a wonderful day…the special day of magic that comes but once a year. Night Night and Merry Christmas!

Dear Reader:

Christmas is here! This is definitely the day that the Lord has made and we must all REJOICE in it!

*(Rutledge was the closest to the podium so Bekah couldn’t get him in this photo…hoping John maybe had a better angle…but he was there and right on mark.)

My three assistant magicians (Rutledge, Ady, and Eva Cate) each tapped the magic coloring book with the magic candy canes and the book came alive…from blank pages to outline pages to brilliant color. Metaphorically it is the same process that our old world went through on Christmas Day 2000 years ago…from dull blankness to outlines and shadows of hope to a world filled with color and life…eternal life.

The book cover you see ..is the book that Elizabeth Peterson loaned me to use for the MS luncheon presentation. I certainly took a few liberties with some personal adaptations but the story basically remains the same.

God is so creative…He can take a candy man, a little girl,  a candy cane and use all three as tools to spread the Christmas Story…the Good News.

Being the history teacher…I took a few minutes (before the story started) and gave the historical facts behind the creation of the modern-day candy cane…and then began the story of Christmas from a whole new perspective.

Here is the story…Hope you enjoy it this Christmas Day!

CHRISTMAS MAGIC AND CANDY CANES

Becky Dingle

2016

The History Behind the Legend…Did you know?

1. The traditional candy cane was born over 350 years ago when mothers used white sugar sticks as pacifiers for their babies
2. 1670- Choirmaster of Cologne Cathedral in Germany bent the sticks into the shapes of canes to represent a shepherd’s staff. He then used these white candy canes to keep the attention of small children during the long Nativity service.
3. Using candy canes during the Christmas service spread throughout Europe. In northern Europe, sugar canes decorated with sugar roses were used to decorate homes at Christmas time.
4. It wasn’t until the mid 1800’s that the candy cane arrived in the U.S. when a German-Swedish immigrant decorated his spruce tree with paper ornaments and white sugar canes.
5. The red stripe was added at the turn of the century when peppermint was invented and became the traditional flavor for the candy cane
6. *Some sources say that a candy maker in Indiana developed the candy cane as a witness of Christ’s love. Today it symbolizes the truth of Christ’s birth and the gift of his love.

THE STORY OF THE CHRISTMAS CANDY CANE

It was a dark, cold, dreary November evening when a stranger came to a small prairie town in the Midwest. A man stopped his horse in front of a dilapidated storefront building…some windows were boarded over, some broken out. But the man looked at it and smiled. “It will do”… he said out loud.

The next morning he set to work to make all the necessary repairs needed to open his shop. Passers-by could hear the hammer banging and the saw going, they could smell the sweet, clean scent of fresh lumber and the deep oily smell of new paint.

But no one knew who the man was or what he was doing.

Quickly gossip spread throughout the little town…Everybody seemed to have a different wish as to what the building should turn into and what job the owner should hold.

The mayor was hoping the stranger was setting up a medical office and he, himself, was a doctor. (The mayor always suffered from what he called his “lumbago” and would tell anyone (who got stuck listening) how badly he was “down in his back.” (The nearest town with a doctor was 30 miles away.)

The young women hoped he was a tailor and had brought yards and yards of the finest materials to make dresses for them so they could be beautiful.

The farmers hoped he was a trader so they could exchange their grain for whatever goods or services he offered…bartering was very important to them.

But deep down inside the children…came up with the strongest wish…one they wouldn’t even tell their parents.

Strangely, however, no one introduced themselves or even asked the stranger… who he was and what the store was about, or even if he needed help…they simply waited, watched, wondered, and wished.

 But one little girl grew tired of waiting, watching, wondering, and wishing… so one cold morning she bravely knocked on the front door, introduced herself as Lucy, and then asked if he could use some help.

 The man smiled warmly and welcomed her in. Inside the store was filled with bare shelves that filled all the walls…in the back room there were many crates and barrels waiting to be opened.

 “Actually I could use some help unpacking” the stranger said. Lucy almost regretted offering help as she stared in dismay at all the barrels, boxes and crates waiting to be opened and put up…what if all the crates and barrels just had boring things… like flour or nails in them?

 Sighing she opened the first crate and pulled out a large glass jar, and then another, and another, and another…in all sizes…short and stout, tall and thin, some with lids and some without. After she pulled them all out and placed them on the shelves…the stranger opened a box that said “Confections”…what was that she wondered.

Lucy had never heard of that word…but it sounded like medicine to her…she sighed quietly to herself.

 Instead out came candy…her favorite candy…gumdrops! “Try some,” said the man and she popped three in her mouth at one time. Quickly she started opening more crates of “Confections”- taffy, lollipops, chewing licorice.

 With her eyes wide-open she sputtered…all the children wished for this…we wished so hard.

“Yes I know” said the man quietly “So here I am.” I know of the children’s wants but I also know of their needs and I think I can give them both with one special candy!” Welcome to Sonnemen’s Candy Store. I am John Sonneman.

 It wasn’t until late that afternoon that they unpacked the last candy…it was something Lucy had never seen before…a red and white-striped candy stick with a crook on the end. “What is it?” asked Lucy

 “This is a candy cane…it is a very special Christmas candy…the most special candy of all.

 “Why” asked Lucy.

“Tell me,” Mr. Sonneman said, what letter of the alphabet does the candy cane look like?” “J”…said Lucy proudly! “That’s right, said Mr. Sonneman”…“J” is for Jesus who was born on Christmas day.”

“Now turn it over…what does it remind you of?”

“I know… Lucy exclaimed… It looks like a shepherd’s staff” “Like what the shepherds in the fields held, Lucy replied, while they watched over their flocks by night.”

“Mr. Sonneman…what are the stripes for?” asked Lucy.

The man’s eyes grew sad. “The prophet Isaiah said, ‘By his stripes we are healed’…Before Jesus died on the cross he was whipped and bled terribly. The red reminds us of his suffering and blood shed for us.”

He continued…”But the candy is also white…When we give our lives to Jesus, his blood washes away our sins, making us white and pure as snow…that is the story of the candy cane.”

“Is it a secret?” whispered Lucy. “NO!” replied Mr. Sonneman…”It is a story that needs to be told to everyone…will you help me share it?” Lucy nodded her head up and down vigorously.

So every morning in December Mr. Sonneman and Lucy ventured out into the snow and cold… going to every house in town and farm in the country. They knocked on each door and they told their story…then they left a candy cane with each person and also an invitation to the store’s opening event.

It was Christmas Eve when crowds of people gathered to officially welcome Mr. Sonneman to the town and his candy store officially opened.

Now, however, something was different among the village people. The mayor said he was feeling better than he had in a long time…was it the candy cane…had Mr. Sonneman put something magic in it?

The young women all arrived and were wearing the most beautiful thing of all…smiles on their face. The farmers came eager to trade grain for Christmas gifts for their family. Mr. Sonneman said that no one would go home Christmas Eve without a candy cane wrapped within the paper story of it.

And the children…ran around in circles of delight…a candy store…a wish come true. Everyone now felt it…there was a different feel in the air…hope and happiness. They all shared something more, something bigger,something better than before Mr. Sonneman and his candy canes arrived.

The story goes on to say that Mr. Sonneman lived to be an old man…and as the west expanded and more covered wagons came through the town…(stopping for supplies) on their way to homestead in California and the free land farther out west…Mr. Sonneman would greet each wagon and their family with candy canes and tell them the story behind them.

“Spread the Good News” he always said as the wagon trains departed. And don’t forget…when you reach the Rocky Mountains…”Go tell it on the mountains, over the hills and everywhere.”

Isn’t it wonderful to know that God, our Creator, can create a situation where a candy man, a little girl, and a piece of red and white striped candy can spread His Word from shining sea to shining sea…

So on this magical night…God proudly reminds us,  His Children, of His Son Jesus, Who was born on Christmas Day, to save us from our sins and give us eternal life. The best gift of all! Merry Christmas!

……………………………….

So until tomorrow…I wish each of you wonderful readers a day filled with love…because Christmas is love.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Guess who popped in yesterday?…My Mery, the neighborhood’s  (once) mail carrier. I had dropped off a poinsettia and card Friday and she showed up to thank me. I discovered her name is spelled “Mery” with just one “r” though she lives like it has two “r’s”…always happy and we had the best time catching up.

This year the family crowd was smaller with Tommy and Kaitlyn gone and Lee, Vikki, and family gone. But what we lacked in size we made up for in volume…at the church service…and back at the house…but it was happy noise at the house. Marcia (Mollie’s mom) had sent some ‘northern weather’ down south in the form of the cutest (sponge-like material) snowballs. A snowball fight was on…we all tried to take photos but the snowballs were coming too fast and I had to defend myself instead of take a photo…any pictures I tried were a true blur! Here’s one, however, during a food armistice.

Eva Cate and Ady Grace bond instantly each Christmas Eve now…as if they see each other every day…so sweet!

Mandy brought cute Christmas cut-outs that added to the fun too!

More to share tomorrow…we celebrated Ben’s birthday and much more but I couldn’t find my Iphone so several different people were snapping pictures….will round them up and get a post-date photo album out….

So until tomorrow…Merry Christmas! God Bless us one and all!”

Dear Reader:

Christmas Eve 2016 has arrived…the family will be coming and meeting at the church for the 5:00 Christmas Eve Service. This year Ady, Rutledge and Eva Cate will help me perform some magic tricks before my story begins….entitled: Christmas Candy Magic…the legend and story behind the power of the Candy Cane… changing lives at Christmas through the Christmas story and the Good News.

It was the story I told at the MS luncheon based on a sweet little story that Elizabeth Peterson gave me to use for their candy cane theme this year. Of course I always tweak and adapt the story to varying situations…but the main focus always stays in place. Tomorrow I will give you the link to the story and hope you enjoy it.

As much as, sometimes, I would like to forget that there is cancer still inside me, these past few months has brought this reality check back to to front burner. “Little c” is still part of me..and my hope is that the new drugs can help it go dormant again for the winter, like many animals, but unlike animals, I hope it will stabilize for all the other seasons too…spring, summer, and fall. Only time will tell.

It is this reality I live with that makes holidays and special family gatherings even more special. Life is not taken for granted and the community of medical staff (doctors, surgeons, nurses) my pastor, friends and family are not taken for granted either. The choice I make in living with cancer is simply not allowing it to define me.

I am not a cancer victim…I just happen to be someone who has this disease and is living her life as fully as possible …Like Grandma Moses (artist) explained quite simply: 

 It is your web of hope and encouragement…that is completely responsible for me celebrating this eighth holiday since my initial diagnosis. And who says there are no Christmas miracles? All I have to do is go look in the mirror to find one.

Here are some excerpts from an article called A Christmas Cancer Story. The main focal point is encouraging  all of us to focus more on community during the holidays and not ourselves and just our families. Here are a couple of excerpts from the article that I liked.

THIS CHRISTMAS WILL BE disheartening for many of us. Our unstable economy, dwindling financial security, home foreclosures, and job losses will not pause for the holiday season. Add health issues to that equation and the result is few, if any, gifts beneath the Christmas Tree. However, there is a bright star in our dark night: community support.

We are bigger than the sum of our problems.

We belong to the community of mankind. Fellowship and help networks filled with resources and hope are available to everyone. So are sympathetic shoulders on which to cry.

…

I overheard an interesting conversation while standing in a grocery store check-out line one day.

One lady with a cart full of groceries complained about her financial problems to a second woman who responded with, “If you want to change the way your problems appear, change the way you peer at them.” What a remarkable answer! It reminded me of the movie Dead Poets Society, in which the late Robin Williams played an English Professor who encouraged his students to stand on top of their desks to gain a different perspective on life.

Another helpful way to achieve this change is by not looking at your problems alone.

Like the students in the movie, sometimes we need a guide to help us process challenges differently. A second set of eyes may not be distracted by the smoldering smoke of crisis.

Christmas is a message of hope, joy, love and survival against all odds, in the form of a new beginning based on faith; a homeless infant born in a barn during an extreme life threatening crisis who has only a manager for a crib and barn animals for physical warmth. His parents have little more than the clothes on their back. However, they are all blessed with the cloak of faith that hides them in plain sight, keeps them toasty on cold nights, and embraces them with credence. Their needs are met.

Christ did not receive piles of expensive gifts like X-box or the latest I-phone. He received a roof over his head, and one small heartfelt gift from each of three wise men. No one kept count of the number of presents…just the number of blessings received from the ‘heavenly hosts’ announcing the Prince of Peace. 

Source: Breast Cancer Authority   ………………………………………..

So until tomorrow…Enjoy each moment this Christmas Eve and Day…spreading good cheer to one and all…a smile of encouragement can take a stranger a long way.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh