Pen

May 28, 2018May 28, 2018 / legaciesletloose / 6 Comments

When Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote, “The pen is mightier than the sword,” in 1839, he knew the power the pen had to write words as dangerous as a weapon or as healing as a hug. I pray my pen’s power will always side with the latter. Pen B

For me, the individual pen itself holds an interesting power. Ask my husband about my love affair with pens. He discovered early in his job for an office products company that bringing me a new pen gets him bigger kisses than a whole bouquet of roses! And he does it often—from pens promoting businesses for which he services copiers to a whole pack he somehow gets Santa to leave in my stocking every year. Black ones, green ones, red ones. Fine tips, ball points, gels. Even a whole box of green Sharpie markers to use when making posters or correcting papers.

My favorite pens always write in fine point, black ink. I love the feel of its flow across a blank journal page. It glides with the precision and artistry of a figure skater on a Zamboni-smoothed ice rink. I keep a stock of the refills for these pens handy so I never have to lose the beauty I find in their tips.

A few years ago, our youngest daughter, Faith, bought a very special pen as a gift for me. The barrel hewn from cherry wood has a cross etched into it. This pen rises above others because of the words engraved on it: “Gotta have FAITH!” This phrase hits a sensitive chord in my h Pen A eart, speaking of my faith in Jesus as well as spelling my daughter’s name.

Last year, I discovered a new use for my pens, one I enjoyed long ago through years of writing to my pen pal, and now love a new twist on it—letter writing! The idea sprang from the movie The Letter Writer, released in 2012, in which one of the main characters writes notes to people he doesn’t know, letters to lift their spirits, given randomly as he feels led. He tells his young protégé, “Within every human being, there’s a God-given ability that, if you find it and nurture it, you’ll be able to bless the lives of others.”

Mine lets me use the power of my pen to heal, to help, to “bless” those He leads me to. A handwritten note left on a windshield in a store parking lot; another given to an unsuspecting person putting groceries in her car. What a powerful tool my pen can be!

This is for you, Aunt Connie! With love.

*** Do you use a special pen to write journal entries or grocery lists? Do you still handwrite letters, with today’s media-driven messages so quick to send and receive? Tell us about the pens in your past and/or present! To leave your story, click on the words beside the date under the title of this post. Then, scroll to the bottom of the comment section to find the box with the heading, “Leave a reply.” Thank you for sharing!

***Join me next week for a story about a special anniversary, since our 39^th anniversary will come at the end of that week!

Butter

May 21, 2018May 20, 2018 / legaciesletloose / 5 Comments

Mmm … butter! Anyone who says he enjoys using margarine or any of the other spreads on his fresh-baked biscuits speaks a falsehood. No substitute complements food as butter does.

Butter B (2) Over the summers while my husband went to college in Columbus, we went to the Ohio State Fair. One vendor offered corn-on-the-cob, still in its husk, roasted over coals. After paying him what we’d have paid for a whole dozen at a roadside produce stand, one of the workers grabbed two blistering hot ears off the grill-work and yanked the husks down to form handles. Grasping the husk-handles, he turned back to the pit and plunged the naked ears into a large kettle. As he removed them, the yellow kernels glistened. Rivulets of butter ran down the ears, dripping onto the husks.

Holding both in one hand, the man seized a stack of napkins and thrust both hands Butter A (2) toward us. He nodded his head at a small stand holding several shakers of salt and pepper. Eyes wide at what we’d just seen, we hurried to season our corn and dig in, not wanting to miss a single droplet of the melted butter.

It only took one bite of the golden delicacy to know we’d never tasted anything as fine as those ears of corn-on-the-cob. Though taking care as we did, we ended up wearing butter smeared on our lips. With our slippery fingers working to hold onto our prizes, even the tips of our noses sported a drop or two.

Though the hot kernels singed our tongues, we gobbled away, typewriter-style. Licking the rows above and below, licking our slick fingers, licking our dripping wrists where droplets trickled toward our elbows. We didn’t stop in gratitude for our sleeveless arms, nor for my ponytail keeping my hair from disaster. We only munched across our ears, slid the make-believe return bar across, and went on to the next section, until at last, we stood slurping the remnants of the glorious butter from the emptied cob.

Somehow, that memory would not bring the sigh of satisfaction it does if those roasted ears of sweet corn had been plunged into a bucket of melted spread or sprayed with a bottle of liquified flax seed. Wouldn’t you agree?

God made cows. He made the milk we get from them. And He showed us how to skim the cream which separates from the milk. Then He gave us the know-how to churn it into butter—glorious butter! Mmm!

*** What food do you think of first when butter is mentioned? Corn-on-the-cob, as we had? Fresh bread just pulled from the oven? Tell us about your favorite way to use butter! (And if you’re one of those who only uses the “other stuff,” I guess you can share about it, too!) To leave your story, click on the words beside the date under the title of this post. Then, scroll to the bottom of the comment section to find the box with the heading, “Leave a reply.” Thank you for sharing!

** Did you guess “Butter” as the “B” word for this week? What letter would you like to see next week’s word begin with? Help me choose!

Walking – Part 2

May 14, 2018May 14, 2018 / legaciesletloose / 10 Comments

By the 1990s, we had returned to mountains of PA, begun our family, and started our homeschool journey. Walking added much to our phys. ed. class.

A 5-day program built muscles in our bodies and brains. Mondays held long leisurely strolls along our road; Tuesdays, a brisk heart-pumping walk (not a favorite of mom or kids). Wednesdays, we identified wildflowers and Thursdays, we picked up trash. Fridays, we walked with friends or family wherever we were.

These walks became our Walk-Across-America program! Each time we walked, we noted the mileage with different colors on a chart. We’d marked the distances to places we wanted to visit, such as the Statue of Liberty. We never made it to most of those goals, but we enjoyed trying.

5-14-18 A The next walk starts with a question: have you ever been on a bear hunt? One day during our unit on bears, we read Blueberries for Sal, made a trail mix bears would eat, and created toilet-paper tube flashlights. After supper, we gathered our supplies and courage and went into the woods to hunt for bears.

Daddy led the way in the lessening light. The girls got gooey from bits of chewy fruit while I brought up the rear watching for a bear. Sure enough, around a bend, I spied one in a tree! The girls gasped and pointed their flashlights. It was a brown bear, and across the path in another tree, his white twin sat snug on a branch. Within moments, girlish giggles filled the air. Unknown to them, Daddy had snuck their teddy bears out of the house and hid them in the trees. That walk made history for the Mayfields!

With the new century, a seizure disorder often kept me housebound. Walks became fewer and shorter, although sometimes the best things are right down the road. Less than a quarter mile from our house, my husband and I enjoyed watching a barred owl baby learning to hunt. From a tree about ten feet away, the fluffy owlet peered at us. We held our breath. When his parents whistled, he turned towards their warning, then his dark eyes found us again. An amazing twenty-minutes later, he flew off. Not much exercise on that walk! From 5-2016

Finally, with the seizures gone and the owl grown, the current decade brought a new dog and grandchildren! Walking became a joy once more. Of course, pushing a stroller again doesn’t come as easy as a couple decades ago! Still, I need to strengthen more than my walking legs to keep up with these kids!

*** Have you ever seen amazing animals or interesting places on your walks? Tell us about one or two! To leave your story, click on the words beside the date under the title of this post. Then, scroll to the bottom of the comment section to find the box with the heading, “Leave a reply.” Thank you for sharing!

*** Next Monday, our story word begins with a “B.” Any guesses? It’s not balloon or badger, nor banana or blue. What could it be?

Walking – Part 1

May 7, 2018May 7, 2018 / legaciesletloose / 7 Comments

To someone who thinks horses should come equipped with seatbelts and to whom a bicycle still needs training wheels, walking is a joy. Peace and fitness, solitude and companionship, moonlight and cool breezes. Let’s walk through almost six decades together and see where it takes us!

We’ll start in the 1960s, most of which I spent walking the brick sidewalks of Harrisburg, PA. We often visited one set of grandparents a street away. This took us past a corner store, where my brothers and I pressed our noses against the cool glass of the candy case. We placed our nickels on the wooden counter and made our choices. So many scrumptious candies tempted us: marshmallow-topped ice cream cones, colored liquid-filled wax bottles, candy necklaces. We clutched our tiny bags full of delectables and trotted the rest of the way, with a promise of one piece when we got there. That part of the walk always seemed so long; I wonder why ….

During the 1970s, we spent summer vacations in the mountains of Potter County, PA. Ah, long walks along forest trails … crawling over falle 5-7-18 n bug-encrusted trees, slipping on moss-covered rocks, brushing spider webs off our faces. But oh, the vistas we reached overlooking valleys and glistening brooks. And my favorite reason to walk the woods–the wildlife: deer flicking their white tails and racing through the hemlocks and grouse taking flight when we startled them. My heart thrills whenever a forest path shows up, even in photos.

For two years in the 1980s, my husband and I lived in a development on the border of Columbus, OH. Evening strolls around our neighborhood or one of the metro parks became our lifeline to sanity. We walked our cares away, holding hands, straining to ignore the hustle, focusing on the moment … or was that holding our dog’s leash in both hands, straining to keep her from chasing the numerous squirrels teasing her, fo 5-7-18 B cusing on keeping her from dropping “presents” in anyone’s yard?

The trail in our favorite metro park bordered Ripple Rock Creek. While walking these parks built within the city limits, we could forget we lived so near downtown. We couldn’t hear the noise of the highway. The creek, named for its rippled rocks, filled our country-loving souls with a sense of home. We even brought one of the rocks back with us as a reminder of this little place of peace.

***We’ll have to continue our journeys next week, but for now, where have your walks taken you? Please take us along on one … or more! To leave your story, click on the words beside the date under the title of this post. Then, scroll to the bottom of the comment section to find the box with the heading, “Leave a reply.” Thank you for sharing!

*** Next Monday we’ll see how the onset of serious health issues almost destroyed my joys of walking. Join me and see what we found on another walk—a bear hunt!