The truth of the matter is . . .: July 2024

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

We learn about the solar system in elementary school. It is special and something we all should appreciate.

Some of us develop a unique picture, as becomes evident in . . .

My Solar System

In my first grade class, in early May, my teacher asked, “What is the name of the planet where we live?”

I whipped my hand up in the air and yelled, “Ert,” waiting for the praise she would give.

I loved looking into the sky, hoping to see the planets floating by.

Murkier, the one closest to the sun was hard to see and I didn’t understand why.

V-neck was next in line and I believed that’s where shirts were made for you and me—in red, white, and blue,

And then Ert, my home, followed by Marsh, the “Red Planet,” covered in orange-red goo.

Juicier, the fifth planet, bigger than all the others, might be a good place to get a drink.

Bottle it and take it to Saton and relax, as you watch its rings blink.

Since I ate a large lunch and farted a lot, the seventh planet, Youranus, was the appropriate place to be.

Followed by Nextturn, as it should, I created a beautiful planet parade for all to see.

Friday, July 19, 2024

You live in a nice senior community. You feel at peace.

Then one evening, the police are called. You have no idea what this is all about, and you wonder . . .

Did I Do Something Wrong?

It was a quiet Saturday night—that time of the month again. No, it isn’t what you are thinking. It was our monthly neighborhood dominoes game.

“Jerry, let’s go. We’re going to be late,” Michelle yelled.

“Okay, I’m coming. Just got one more shoe to put on.”

“Can’t you ever be on time? It’s always one more minute. Just one more thing you have to do,” she complained.

“I’m here. So stop your nagging and let’s get going.”

The night was chilly, so I pulled my coat collar up around my neck, as we walked down the block to Sylvia and Dan’s house where we were playing. The door sign read, “Come in,” so I opened it and we entered.

Just as I was about settled in at the kitchen table to play, Michael and Ann came through the front door. Michael had a strange look on his face, as he shouted . . .

“Hey, Jerry, there’s a cop car in front of your house. I think I saw a guy in uniform at your front door.”

“Did you or did you not see an officer at my door?”

“I’m pretty sure I did. Maybe you should go check. Want me to come with you?”

“You’re so observant. You’d be a great asset. But I think I’ll go alone.”

I grabbed my coat off the bed in the guest room, zipped it up, and trudged back to my house. As I approached, I noticed a uniformed officer exiting the courtyard gate. “Officer, are you looking for me?” I asked.

“You the owner of the house?”

“Yeah, my wife and me. What can I do for you?”

“I left a note on your door. Your backyard neighbor, Tom Wellman, filed a complaint about excessive dog barking in your yard. When I approached the door I could hear a dog barking. You need to quiet him down. Mr. Wellman said this has been going on for hours.”

“That’s strange. We have two dogs, not one. We’ve only been gone twenty minutes and the dogs didn’t even bark when we left.”

“Well, I wouldn’t worry much about it. Try keeping them in the house for a while. That should do it. By the way, what kind of dogs do you have?”

“We have a schnauzer and a schnoodle.”

“Hey, I have two schnauzers.”

By this time, the dogs had discovered I was standing on the sidewalk in front of our courtyard. The barking was furious. I stared at the officer. “You know what you told me about keeping the dogs quiet? Standing here isn’t helping.”

“Can I meet the dogs?” he said with a lilt in his voice.

“Guess so. Just follow me, but stand back from the door until I introduce them to you.”

“Sounds good to me.”

So we entered the house. To my amazement Suzie and Sara took to him immediately. The next thing that happened confused me a bit. The officer, who I thought might arrest me, was rolling around on the floor with my dogs. What a world!

After fifteen minutes passed, I thought I’d better go back to my dominoes game, so I reached down and tapped the officer on the shoulder and said, “Officer, I have to go.”

His reply surprised me. “All right, just do it? I’ll stay with the dogs until you return.”

“Huh,” I responded.

“And remember to flush,” he stated, with a weird grin on his face.

Saturday, July 6, 2024

Friendships should be cherished. They should last a long time.

Unfortunately, many do not. However, there may be a time when you and that special person become . . .

Friends Forever

Sixty-six years ago, as the sun shined through the living room window of Sally’s house on a beautiful California morning, Sally and Greta lay on the carpet staring at the ceiling. Two thirteen-year-old teenagers enjoyed life and the pleasure of each other’s company.

“He’s cute.” Sally murmured.

“Who’s he?” Greta asked.

“Robert,” Sally replied with a lilt in her voice.

“Ick, Robert?” Greta groaned.

“What’s wrong with Robert?” Sally questioned.

“He’s a stick figure.”

“Stick figure?”

“Yeah. He’s so thin, a strong wind will break him in half,” Greta giggled.

“You’re just jealous he looks at me with stars in his eyes and ignores you,” Sally said, with a smirk on her face.

“Those aren’t stars. They’re question marks.”

“Question marks?”

“Yup. And he doesn’t have any answers to the questions.”

“So what do you want to do today?” Sally inquired, trying to change the subject.

“I don’t have a clue. What do you want to do?” Greta asked.

“Become rich and famous—someone people look up to. A goddess, I think.”

“Well, my heavenly lady, then what would you expect from me?”

“Bow down and kiss my feet, my little peasant,” Sally stated.

“That’d make me sick to my stomach. You haven’t changed your socks in weeks. They smell like garbage.”

The beauty of this special relationship continued for over twenty years, with each young woman being the maid of honor at the other’s wedding and then the godmother for the two beautiful children that came from both marriages.

But then skies darkened and their lives changed in ways no one could have imagined. The two friends, with a cherished bond, drifted apart, as they traveled the sometimes-circuitous highway of life. Distanced from one another, their worlds separated. Would they ever cross paths again? As time marched on, this seemed to be more and more unlikely. However, both of them did become successful.

An advertising guru, Greta worked from her California home, helping clients sell their products. She loved her husband and her family and lived in a large house in a prestigious community.

Sally and her family moved to the East Coast. A beloved teacher, she was very respected in her community. People admired her accomplishments and the lovely family she and her husband were raising.

The two women envisioned a wonderful life ahead of them. Their kids were their main focus. They believed they were destined for great futures. A positive attitude was the umbrella that protected the families from a sometimes-unpredictable world.

This wasn’t an unbelievable dream. They felt it was meant to happen, but . . .

One morning, Greta awakened to her children’s screeching voices. She raced toward the screaming and what she saw scared the living daylights out of her.

Her two young children, ages six and eight, were being taken by ghostly beings. Fetched like prey, they disappeared into the heavens above, as she shook in horror and crumbled to the floor.

“My God! This can’t be happening,” she yelled, but there was nobody around to hear her.

Three thousand miles away, on the East Coast, Sally’s head filled with a thunderous cry for help. She dropped the book she was reading, jumped up off the couch, and ran into the backyard where her two children, ages seven and nine, were playing tag. What she witnessed shook her to the core. Her kids were being lifted toward the sky by ghostly creatures. Seeing them swallowed up by the clouds, she fell to the ground.

Greta almost choked on her saliva. What she observed was beyond belief. Who could she call for help? Nobody would understand.

Sally lay in dismay on the grass. “Help me!” she screamed. “Help me!”

Coming out of nowhere, a voice echoed, “I will. I will. Close your eyes and open your heart. I am your forever.”

She had no idea what this meant or where the voice was coming from. Yet she felt as if she’d heard these same words a long time ago. Her heart warmed to the thought of that special someone she’d befriended as a child coming back into her life. “Greta, I hear you,” she whimpered, tears flowing from her eyes.

Greta’s heart pounded out of control, as this response ran through her mind. “You can hear me? she asked. You really can?”

Both women were beside themselves, in a world of the unknown. Had their relationship been rekindled? And what about the children?

Sally tried to push herself up from the grass, but she couldn’t move. She lay frozen, staring up into a sea of both white and dark clouds. And then a message appeared from above, “Your Time Will Come.” She had no clue what this meant.

Greta was overcome with hope from the mysterious communications she’d been receiving from Sally. Then the clouds parted and the words, “Your Time Will Come,” appeared before her. She, too, had no clue what this meant, but in her heart, she felt everything would work out, as heaven’s light shined brightly upon her.

A slight breeze blew cool air into Sally’s face. She twitched and she could now move her limbs. She propped herself up and looked around. Something seemed strange. She wasn’t in her backyard. She was in a beautiful garden, with bright colored flowers all around her—one much like Eden.

Greta picked her tired body up from the hallway floor. But she wasn’t in her home. Now, in a garden of her dreams, she smelled and saw life as it should be—perfect.

Then serene music flowed around them—music of love, peace, and hope. A voice resonated from above, “You are my chosen ones. Lead your children down the garden path to a tomorrow of success and happiness.”

Both women screamed, “Our children?”

And there they were, running and jumping—enjoying the wonderful feeling of freedom and bliss. Alive and well, they were the future of a better world.

Sally smiled and Greta breathed a sigh of relief. They looked at each other, with tears of joy in their eyes, as they sat on the floor of the Golden Age Retirement Home going through items that brought back memories of a wonderful past. Both now seventy-nine and widowed, their four grown children had made them proud. All were prominent leaders of a country better for who they’d become—a state governor, a president of a major university, a famous surgeon, and a district court judge.

They laughed and chattered, as if they still were thirteen.

“He’s cute.” Sally murmured.

“Who’s he?” Greta asked.

“Jason,” Sally replied with a lilt in her voice.

“Ick, Jason?” Greta groaned.

“What’s wrong with Jason?” Sally questioned.