SPRING, BIRDS, & MORE ON OATMEAL

By Olivene Godfrey

After seeming to wait an eternity this year for spring to arrive in northwest Georgia, it is finally here, I think. Despite some cold weather this week, my spirits have been lifted by the bright yellow Forsythia bushes in our yard now in full bloom, showing off their beauty.

And then son Barry has been cleaning the house with gusto.
He has been fascinated with machinery since he was a toddler. (He works as a machinist now.) He recently bought a new Shop Vac which he has been using to clean house up a storm.
He has things looking neat and clean, even in my home office, and has several more major cleaning projects to do. I hope he continues to be enthusiastic about the new Shop Vac until all the jobs are finished.

Barry gave me a pretty basket of impatiens for Easter which is one of my favorite plants. I have always had good luck with them and mine grow like huge balls of flowers which I keep on the patio. The new ones are red and are healthy looking and very pretty. When all danger of frost here is past, we will take the plants that spent the winter inside out to the patio and they will grow nicely out there.

Barry had success growing tomato plants in a large patio container last year. He has bought new soil and has the container ready for new tomato plants which he will purchase and plant soon. I will look forward to eating the delicious home grown tomatoes this summer.

ABOUT THE BIRDS-- We had to move the bird feeder off the patio and put it in the yard. Since we have a free all you can eat buffet for birds, they have been flocking in droves to the yard and feeder. They are messy little critters though while feeding and they were making the patio messy too. Barry said, " No wonder the birds are such messy eaters since they have no hands and have to pick up their food with their beaks to eat it."
Makes sense. We've had to chase the squirrels away as I sure don't want to feed them and have them hanging around the house again like they were when they got in the attic.
Barry sealed the opening where they were entering the attic and it was a trauma to them and we don't see many of the squirrels anymore, thank goodness!

OATMEAL HARPING AGAIN--A while back, my sister, Jeanette's husband, Charles, was worried about his high cholesterol and he decided to use the oatmeal plan I am always talking about as I have had such good luck with it. Charles tried eating the oatmeal and recently had his cholesterol checked and it had come down, proving once again that the plan really works. See? I have been telling you that eating a bowl of oatmeal every day will lower your cholesterol.

See you next time.

STRING TEACHES HABITS LESSON

By Olivene Godfrey

The other day I came across a column I wrote about 30 years ago. In the column, I told a story by an unknown author that I had read in an article and had saved. I'd like to share the timeless message with you, even though you may have already read or heard it.

The story goes that a preacher was talking to a large group of boys and girls about bad habits and that the time to get rid of them is before they take a firm hold. He held up a thin thread and said, "See how weak it is. With just one jerk I can break it." Then, calling a big boy to the platform, the preacher showed him the thread and asked the boy to break it.

The boy laughed and easily broke the thread.

Turning to the children, the preacher said, " You have seen how easy it is to break the thread. Yet, I assure you I can wind it around this big husky boy so that he will be powerless."

The boy scoffed and said, " I'll show you that I can break the thread no matter how often you wind it around me. Go ahead."

While the children watched attentively, the preacher wound thread around the boy once and then again. He continued to wind the thread until he had wound it 50 times. Then he asked the boy, " Do you think you can get free?"

The boy said, "Sure". But it wasn't easy. He tried his best. He jerked and moved in all possible directions. But, he couldn't move his arms or legs. The only result of his attempts was that the thread went deeper into his flesh and began to hurt him.

The preacher freed the boy. Then he said, "Children, I have tried to teach you a lesson. The thread I have used represented bad habits. You do a certain thing once, and you know it is wrong. Do not think you can do it again without harming yourself."

He continued, " Maybe you are tempted to do it just one more time. If you yield to that temptation, you will find it a little harder the next time to resist it. Your habit is like the thread I used. The oftener you use it, the harder it will be to break with it. After awhile the habit has such a hold on you that it will be almost impossible to resist the temptation.

Remember what happened to the strong boy when thread was wound around him many times. Remember that he was unable to help himself any more."

This story reminded me of another article which compares bad habits to plaster of Paris. Once formed and rigidly set, it requires a strong person, that is strong of character, to break bad habits. And within a few moments after plaster of Paris is moistened, it sets into a rocklike substance and requires considerable strength to break it.

See you next time.

ROLLING WITH THE PUNCHES

By Olivene Godfrey

For many years I wrote a daily newspaper column plus working as a news reporter and writing feature articles for newspapers and magazines. Occasionally, word would get to me that some readers thought they could write a better column than mine and could fill it with more profound thoughts.

And I agreed that they were probably right, at least some of them. I'm convinced that almost every person has several ideas, pet peeves, etc... that they would like to get off their chests in print. But, I wonder if some of them could continue coming up with columns after they finish the ones they have had inside them so long.

There are some people who do come up with interesting daily columns year after year. But many readers who are the most critical would run out of steam pretty soon. Believe me, after a few weeks of writing daily columns you find that you have written about almost every experience and ideas you've ever had.

After you've written daily columns for several years there are few new subjects that you haven't covered. So, you try to think of some of the same subjects from different angles and you read everything that you can find for new ideas and you listen to everything people say to you, hoping for a column idea. There is no finishing the job as there are always next week's deadlines.

So why do writers do it? There are probably several reasons for each columnist. For instance, for me it was always the challenge to see if I could meet each week's deadlines and no matter what happened to me I never missed a deadline. Then you
become somewhat of a habit for some readers. They, your loyal readers, stick with you during your dull days. And you feel an obligation not to let them down.

But, to be honest, basically it's sheer egoism. I realize it's not "nice" to say one writes to become well known, to enjoy recognition of one's work, but what writer becomes bored with seeing his work in print and especially the byline. We really don't care if you agree with what we say or not as long as you read what we have written. In fact, often the most hostile readers are the most devoted and they never miss a word you write so they can rip you apart. We know you are there if no one else is and you can also keep us on our toes.

Criticism is a part of the job and you have to learn to roll with the punches as the worst punishment for a writer is to be ignored.
See you next time.

OLD KNEE INJURY CAUSES PAIN & GOOD NEWS ABOUT LAB WORK & MORE....

By Olivene Godfrey

The day I took a nasty tumble on my bike when I was a kid, little did I realize that it would cause me pain later in life. I saw my doctor last week regarding recent lab work and I told her my arthritis in my legs, especially my knees, was causing me awful pain. The doctor examined my legs, especially my knees, where the pain is most intense. Her diagnosis was "Old disruption of knee", where my childhood injury was most serious. The doctor, knowing how sensitive my gut is, has never prescribed arthritis medicines for me. and, she advised me to take the supplement, Glucosamine HCL with MSM which I am doing now. Also, my "fragrance" these days is most often the pungent odor of Ben Gay which gives me some relief from the pain.

LAB NEWS-- My cholesterol was great and, remember I told you last year that oatmeal would bring it down, which it continues to do for me. My diabetes is still being controlled by my no sugar and no potato diet and I go back for more tests in three months. I have lost 22 pounds on this diet but losing the weight now is slow going. I need to lose at least ten more pounds and I stay on my diet most of the time as I fear the consequences of diabetes if I don't, as well as wanting to lose weight.

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I've written several times this winter about how the damp coldness we've had here in northwest Georgia seems to penetrate to my bones. My sister, Jeanette, and her daughter, Charlene, have also complained of the cold weather. I mentioned this to my doctor who agreed with us that despite temps not being too cold it has seemed much more frigid.

This past weekend we had a nice hint of spring with sunshine and balmy weather. When son Barry and I drove to town Sunday to eat lunch, we saw a little boy pushing his bike across a lawn, wearing shorts and going barefoot. Barry said he was reminded of when he was a kid and would go barefoot the first warm day in the spring while playing outside. Already, the days are longer which is nice and gives us hope that spring in all of its green glory will be here soon.

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My sister, Jeanette, and her husband, Charles, are sick with the flu and Jeanette has especially been hit hard by it. She has had to stay in bed most of the time for over two weeks now. They both had flu shots but this seems to be a new kind of flu going around now in northwest Georgia. I am hoping and praying that I don't get this flu as with my frail health, I am afraid I might not survive it. I also hope and pray that Barry won't come down with the flu and that Jeanette and Charles recover soon.

See you next time.

WANT TO REMEMBER? TRY FORGETING

By Olivene Godfrey

Years ago I read that a psychologist had said if you want to improve your memory, just practice forgetting. I remember after reading that bit of information, I thought I should have a great memory the way I'm able to forget things.

The psychologist believed that efficient remembering is clearly
related to efficient forgetting. The process is usually automatic, the psychologist said, and he believed a person could train himself to initially forget just as he can train himself intentionally to remember. This theory isn't new as I had read many years ago that cluttering up the mind with unnecessary information, such as trying to remember old telephone numbers of no value.
Since I've been practicing this theory for years, I don't understand why I have such a poor memory. I haven't an idea what my Social Security number is. I don't even know the number of my car tag. I don't make an effort to learn such numbers as I can always look them up if I need them. Quite often these days I don't remember the name of a person whom I know well. Or, sometimes I can't remember something that was on the tip of my tongue.

I'm often embarrassed when I see people I once knew who recognize me but I can't recall their names, and sometimes I can't recall even where they live. I'll never b a memory expert but I think I could qualify as an expert forgetter.

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We have put out another bird feeder after the pesky squirrels destroyed the old ones. So far, only one squirrel visited it but he must not have been interested as he hasn't returned.
We have also been scattering birdseed on the patio floor and birds are flocking to our patio and yard. One recent cold day, we had snow showers and I was amused by the birds as they attempted to eat the snowflakes as they fell to the ground.

The weather people say we are in for some bad weather this week with more snow showers expected and cold temps. WE have trees budded out and the pear tree is in bloom so I guess old Jack Frost will get them. I will be so glad when this winter is over for good and spring arrives with warm weather.

See you next time.