An Unexpected Visitor

Interesting?  I don't think so!

Scratch, scratch, scratch – Lee heard at his bedroom window about 3:30 a.m. He listened for a minute, then started to drift off again, but the scratch, scratch, scratching continued. 

“Those darn birds!” he said aloud. This wasn’t the first time they’d scratched at his window during the night. He had several trees close to the house but his feathered friends had taken a liking to the outside window ledge and apparently enjoyed scratching at the window.

When it happened a third time, he raised up on his elbow and looked toward the window. That’s when he saw that the noisemaker was not on the outside of the window, but was inside with him. At first, he wondered how a bird had gotten into the house, but then it took a little flight across the room and he realized it was not a bird, but a BAT!

“Oh, my gosh!” I said when he told me. “Did you have heart failure right then and there?”

“No.” Lee said. “Bats are quite interesting really. I watched it fly all around the house and it never once ran into anything or did any damage. They have remarkable radar.”

“What did you do?” I asked.

“Well, I knew I had to get it out of the house so I just opened the door and it took only a few seconds for it to fly right out of the opening. No harm done!”

Just then, his cat, Bitz, meandered into the room all sleepy-eyed, looking at him as if to say, “What’s happenin’?” She’d slept through the whole thing.

“A lot of help you are!” He said.

~~~

As you can see, my son takes everything in stride. Unlike his mom, he doesn’t get upset easily. Had I been in the same situation, I probably would have run out of the house and called someone to come and get the bat out before I went back. And that’s not the worst of it.

I’d probably never sleep again! At least not in darkness.

www.amazon.com/author/peggytoneyhorton    

 

Catching Up

 Haven’t been blogging for a while.

Too many things happening in my life:

We went to North Carolina in mid-May for a very special occasion... to watch proudly as our granddaughter graduated from The University of North Carolina, Charlotte. The university is quite impressive! It has 17 campuses that extend from the state’s mountains to the coast. Each year, they graduate more than 30,000 students from over 200 academic degree programs.

These days, we tend to think our children aren’t as interested in getting an education as former generations were, but this proves that, at least in one state, many are still going to college and earning degrees that prepare them to be good leaders, creators, and researchers – thus enabling them to give something back to the communities from whence they came.

This is encouraging, especially since many people have no faith in our youth today.

~~~

Mr. H. and I were sick for two weeks or more. Actually, it started before the trip, but we were committed and there was no getting out of going. The strength comes from somewhere when faced with things you must do.

At any rate, we saw our doctor when we returned and it turns out it was allergies – a really bad case! You see, Mr. H. raked moldy leaves and grass a few days before the trip and somehow managed to carry the allergens inside to share with me. Wasn’t that nice of him? 

The doctor loaded us up with prescription strength Allegra, antibiotics, and strict orders about drinking lots of water, etc.  But it was still another week before we started feeling close to normal again. It was a toss-up as to which of us coughed and sneezed and moaned and complained the most!

Nasty stuff!

We’re better now, but I did hear Mr. H. having a series of about ten sneezes in succession this morning before I got up. He thinks it’s the ink in the newspaper. I think it’s the air we breathe!

Just like we had no idea what was in our water back in January, we have no idea what we’re breathing either. We’re sitting ducks and perhaps lab rats for the area chemical companies.

Oh, well. I’ll save all that for another day. Right now, I have to visit a cemetery and pay my respects to some who dealt with these issues long before I was even aware of them.

Have a nice weekend!
 

www.amazon.com/author/peggytoneyhorton

 

The Fifth Month

A new month.

May holds nothing spectacular for me except that my mother was born on May 20th and my granddaughter, Izzy, was born on the 13th.  

But here are some facts about the fifth month of our calendar year that may interest you:

1.    In the United States, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. This year, it is on May 11th.

2.   The birthstone for May is the emerald which represents success or love.

3.   The zodiac sign for May are Taurus (April 20 - May 20) and Gemini (May 21 - June 20)

4.   The birth flower for May is the Crataegus monogyna and the Lily of the Valley.

5.   On May 1, 1931, the Empire State Building was officially opened.

6.   Armed Forces Day - celebrated the third Saturday of May.

7.   Memorial Day - celebrated on the last Monday in May.

8.   May 5 - Cinco De Mayo.

9.   On the first Saturday in May, the Kentucky Derby takes place.

10. On May 11, 1858, Minnesota was admitted to the Union.

11. On May 14, 1804, Lewis and Clark, the great explorers began their trip up the Missouri River.

12. On May 14, 1948, the last British troops left Palestine which led to Israel becoming an independent country.

13. On May 15, 1918, the first regular airmail service began in the United States.

14. On May 20, 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act.

15. On May 20, 1932, the first solo flight by a woman across the Atlantic Ocean was made by Amelia Earhart.

16. On May 23, 1788, South Carolina became the eighth state.

17. On May 24, 1607, the first permanent English settlement in America was established in Jamestown, VA.

18. On May 27, 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge was opened in San Francisco.

19. On May 29, 1790, Rhode Island became the 13th state.

20. On May 29, 1848, Wisconsin became the 30th state.   www.amazon.com/author/peggytoneyhorton

 

It's Here!

The box came yesterday!

You know, the one I tell you about every April when it arrives a few days before my birthday; the one from my daughter that always has an assortment of the most interesting things inside – the one I can hardly wait to open – and sometimes don’t.

My daughter complains if I open it early. But it's hard! Birthdays only come once a year!

This year, the box is square.

“Couldn’t be clothes in that box,” said Mr. H.

“I wouldn’t say that,” I said. “Remember, Toney travels a lot; she has that packing down-pat. I can just imagine her rolling up an article of clothing and making it fit in a box that size just to fool me.”

Mr. H. smiled and shook his head in agreement.

Two days early, it was. And I still have one to go. Now what?

I can’t look at that square box for another 24 hours, wondering what’s in it and not open it.

Can I?

Maybe if I put it out of sight and stay too busy to think about it. I managed it last year. Will I be able to do it again?

We’ll see.

 
(I wonder what's in that little square box.)



 

Mission Accomplished!

 Wow, what a great morning this was to stop the world and get off for a few hours! When I got up, earlier than usual, it was cloudy and huge snowflakes were drifting down from the Heavens! It was beautiful! I know everyone is tired of wintry weather. I am, too, but it seemed, somehow, relaxing this morning – just what I needed after several days of busyness. With me, it’s not just something I like to do occasionally, but it’s a must! I have to have a little “down time.”

After a particularly stressful time like the holidays, entertaining visitors for a few days or just a busy week, if I don’t have a day to STWAGO, I’m not a very pleasant person. I guess you could say I get a little cranky! After many years of marriage, Mr. H. knows when it’s time to let me have my time. And he does.

Without interruption, it takes only a few hours. Alone. Preferably morning. I stay in my pajamas, consume large amounts of hot tea and coffee, sit by the fire and read or listen to music. And if I’m lucky, the phone doesn’t ring and no one pays us an unexpected visit. I was lucky today!

And now... as I sip my last cup of coffee, I feel more relaxed than if I’d slept ten hours! I’m ready to face the world again with a smile.

Mission accomplished!

Have a great day!   

 

www.amazon.com/author/peggytoneyhorton 

 

The Sands of Time

 

L

ately, I’m starting to think of life as a game of Russian Roulette with everyone waiting to see whose number comes up next. Almost every day, I hear of someone else I know having a terminal illness and I can’t help but wonder when the hand of fate will tap me – or someone I love.

 

One shouldn’t dwell on such things, I know, but how can you not think about death when it’s happening all around you so often?

 

I’m not alone. I have a friend whose first act every morning is looking at the obituary. She says she checks the ages of the deceased to see how many are her age or younger and how many are older.

“Why does it matter?” I asked.

“It doesn’t,” she said, “but it makes me feel a little better if there are more older ones than there are the same age or younger. Some days I win. Others, I lose. It’s just a game I play.”

“I don’t even look at the obituary unless I’ve already heard about a friend or acquaintance dying,”  I told her. “Why look for something depressing?”

Life is short, to be sure! We go from infanthood to childhood, the teen-age years, young adulthood, adulthood and middle-age. And then one day, almost without noticing, we slip into the autumn of our lives. It’s about now we begin to question whether we ran a good race – enjoyed life to the fullest. It’s when we realize how little time we have left and either feel regrets or take a bow for a life well-lived.

And we wait for the inevitable winter to set in.
 

Photo - The Sands of Time 6 by Forestina-Fotos 

www.amazon.com/author/peggytoneyhorton 
 

Play Ball!

 

My dad was an avid baseball fan.

He would have been overjoyed to see this report in the newspaper a few days ago:

“It was 40 years ago today that Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron did what most thought was impossible. On April  8, 1974, the Atlanta Brave hit home run number 715.

It broke Babe Ruth's all-time home run record.

Aaron finished his career with a record 755 homers, a stat so impressive it has been bested by only one player, Barry Bonds, who finished his career with 762.”

After my dad died, I found a little notebook containing many more baseball stats written in his familiar handwriting.

Along with the news about Hank Aaron’s achievement, he had written many others. Here are just a few:

Oct. 8, 1956... Don Larsen pitched a perfect game in the World Series! He pitched the game against the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Dodgers pitcher was Sal Maglie.

October 13, 1971... the first World Series night game was played at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa. – between Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles. Pittsburgh won the game 4 – 3. Attendance – 51,378.

       1971 World Series

1. Baltimore – 5 to 3
2. Baltimore – 11 to 3
3. Pittsburgh – 5 to 1
4. Pittsburgh – 4 to 3
5. Pittsburgh – 4 to 0
6. Baltimore – 3 to 2  
7. Pittsburgh – 2 to 1

June 16, 1978... Tom Seaver pitched the first no-hit game of his baseball career. It was also the first no-hit game to be played at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. He beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4 – 0.

July 24, 1978... Pete Rose tied Tommy Holmes batting record for the most consecutive hits at 37. On July 25, he broke his own record with 38 hits and on July 26, he hit number 39.

I guess you could say my dad loved statistics, especially about baseball.

He also liked to brag that he, himself, once played “under the lights” at Watt Powell Park in Charleston, WV.

He passed away in January, 1979... six months after his last entry.

 

www.amazon.com/author/peggytoneyhorton