Miscellaneous Meanderings

Gone From My Sight

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side
spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and
starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty
and strength. I stand and watch her until at length
she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where
the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says: "There, she is gone!"
"Gone where?"
Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in
mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and
she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her
destined port.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her. And just at the
moment when someone at my side says: "There, she is gone!"
there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices
ready to take up the glad shout: "Here she comes!"
And that is dying.

Henry Van Dyke

When I was a kid everyone told me if a snapping turtle bit you, you would have to wait for it to thunder for him to turn you
loose. I never fully believed it, but then I never dismissed the possibility either. When we swam (and we swam in all kinds of
mud, lakes, creeks and all), I looked close for turtles and snakes.

We went to the houseboat one weekend and took Ralph Aycock and Erbert Rodgers with us to fish, ski, and just have some
good ole time fun. When we arrived, Daddy noticed a shutter down and no nail to hang it on. I should have been alerted that
something was going to happen; this was out of the ordinary. The shutters were wood and on hinges to cover the screened
windows. A country type air conditioner, you raised them like an awning, then a wire hung on a nail held them open. Let them
down closed to keep the rain out.

As I said, when we arrived and went to open the windows, one was missing “the” nail. It was ok; Daddy kept all sorts of
spares. Most of the time they were kept under the bed, just inside the door. The houseboat was one big room with beds,
cabinets, and tables all set up in a room-saving manner, with a porch all around.

As Daddy reached under the bed, we realized he had a bad look on his face. When he whispered, “SNAKE,” Erbert left. As
much as he could leave anyway. First he ran through the houseboat, and then around the houseboat, hair and face turned
white with fear. See, there is not much on this God’s green Earth Erbert is more scared of than a snake, and this one was a
big ole rusty, fat, foul smelling cottonmouth.

The snake started to slide out as Daddy held very still. He slid down Daddy’s arm and on down his back. Erbert couldn’t
stand it. He was petrified with fear. He wanted to get as far away as he could from that snake. So he ran out across the porch
and onto the fishing boat tied to the porch of the houseboat. He teetered on top of the outboard motor, holding on to a willow
tree branch as far and as high as he could get without walking on water. Standing there in the dark, I knew he was just a few
heartbeats from dying of pure fright. Eyes so wide open they were almost like headlights on an old car. He looked like one of
those ole troll dolls, all eyes and no head.

Inside Ralph got his gun and was going to shoot the snake. Daddy calmly reminded him of the fact that we’d sink if he shot
holes in the bottom of the boat. Daddy said to get a paddle and hit the snake with the edge to break his neck. Sure as
shooting he did, then he scooped the snake up on the paddle and ran to the door and flung him out as far as he could.
Guess where it went! It wrapped right around Erbert’s neck! This time when Erbert came through the houseboat, he was
screaming like a little girl and breathing like a woman in labor.

It took a while to get Erbert calmed down that night. We all sure had a good laugh at his expense.

Life isn't fair, but it's still good. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
Pay off your credit cards every month if possible.
You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
It's OK to let your children see you cry.
Don't compare your life to others' lives. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
Life is too short for long pity parties.
Get busy living, or get busy dying. Living is the best choice.
You can get through anything if your staying power lasts through today.
A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
Burn the candles, use the nice sheets -don't save it for a special occasions.
If you are alive, today is special.
Over-prepare, then go with the flow.
Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
Forgive everyone everything.
What other people think of you is none of your business.
Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
However good or bad a situation is, it will always change.
Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
Believe in miracles.
God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
Whatever doesn't kill you really can make you stronger.
Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
Envy is a waste of time.
You already have all you need. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
If you don't ask, you don't get.
Yield.
Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.
The best is yet to come.