A HODGE PODGE OF THOUGHTS

By OLIVENE GODFREY

I haven't been out of the house in several weeks. So, son Barry and I had tentative plans for last Sunday. Alas, the weather and my health problems caused us to postpone our outing. We hope this next weekend will be better and we can at least eat out in a restaurant. Over the weekend, the rains came and they were much needed. It was cold with rain Saturday and our mountains had some April snow. The temps are supposed to be warmer the rest of this week and today we're having plenty of sunshine but strong winds which worry me as I am afraid a tree might fall on the house.

This past Friday, the 13th, caused me to think of the superstitions about that day. Over the years, I have written articles on the subject and did extensive research and even spoke about it to several local clubs. I also interviewed some of our mountain people on their feelings about the date. Some take it seriously and others think it is a fun day a view which I share. But, Barry is superstitious about Friday 13 and believes something bad could happen to you then. Last fall, when we went to the doctor for flu shots, he found out the date and refused to have one. He did have one a few days later though.
This past Friday 13th, he had an appointment to see the doctor about recent lab work he had. He rushed around and didn't look at the calendar and I didn't tell him the date. He seemed relieved and in a good mood when he returned home but after checking the date when he filled out a bank deposit slip,
said he would have to be cautious while he did his errands the rest of the day.

I thought a few days ago that it takes such a little whiff of memory to carry us all the way back. For instance, while I was dusting my office last week, I looked at a picture of myself that was made when I was about five. I am sitting astride my tricycle and holding a large baby doll. And I suddenly remembered that at that age, I found a small piece of wood which I promptly called my doll, Mary. I didn't paint a face or anything on the wood, just carried Mary around with me. And then one morning, I couldn't find the wood. I asked my parents about it and Daddy who hadn't known about Mary asked some questions. Then, in a gentle voice, he told me he had used my Mary for kindling that morning when he started a fire. He was sorry and I soon recovered from my grief.

I had a stimulating phone conversation last Sunday, with Annie, my South Florida friend and the wife of my nephew. She was born in England and grew up in an English cottage and her descriptions of her early years reads like the English novels I had always loved to read. She is a fascinating person and has had an interesting life. When she was young, she signed on as a member of a crew of a large sail boat and spent the next two years sailing around the world. On Sunday, we discussed the benefits of deep breathing and meditating. I told her about when I was a kid I would meditate in the middle of a sage field behind my house. She said, "That's amazing. I did the same thing when I was a child." It is amazing to me that a child in the American South and years later, a little girl in England would have had the identical experience.

QUOTES--"I never hated a man enough to give him his diamonds back."--Zsa Zsa Gabor

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if all children behaved the way you think you acted when you were a kid." -Earl Wilson column.

"The trouble with good advice is it usually interferes with our plans." Dr Herb True.

See you next time.