Happy Halloween!

Halloween, when I was young, meant sacks filled with candy and maybe a few apples (never my favorite) and a few pennies. We ran from house to house getting as much candy as possible.  Some kids used paper grocery bags that often ended up with a hole in the bottom while others used pillow cases.

 My siblings and I never had a store bought costume.  I was often a nurse, because my  mom was really a nurse.  So I donned her nurse cap.   Back in the day we saw many a ghost (sheet over head) or a "bum" with nap sack and raincoats as a costume, oh football players gallore!  Of course living in Michigan, Halloween was often cool, sometimes even cold so coats had to figure into the get-ups.  

 Kids never rang the bell but instead yelled at the top of their lungs "trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat".  Yep that was crazy but common. 

For a while I thought Halloween might die out, as there was a time when evil people decided it would be fun to put razor blades in apples or pins in candies.  People started to keep kids from going door to door for treats and instead held private parties or went to the local community event.  Scanning of candies was common for a number of years and no one would dare eat any candy until it was scanned and deemed safe.

Today we have a more vibrant Halloween than ever.  People decorate outside, carve pumpkins, sit out on the porch and pass out candies to kids donned in wonderfully fun, scary or fancy costumes.

I am glad Halloween fun is alive and well.

Happy Halloween All!

Romeo and Juliet vs. Grandpa and Grandma

Mackinac Island and True Love!

While on vacation in 2009, my husband and I were on a ferry to a most wonderful island.  It is called Mackinac Island, in the northern Michigan area. 

We spent a few days here on our honeymoon way back in the day (1977).  

Mackinac Island a very romantic place. 

 In fact, part of the movie "Somewhere in Time" was filmed on Mackinac Island in 1980.

 Let me post pictures from our trip before I get to

my short and sweet love story. 

I love this place!

Island Transportation is by foot, horse or bike, no automobiles or trucks are allowed on the island, not even for servicing hotels or restaurants. 

People ride bikes everywhere.

Taxi is a horse drawn carraige.

The Grand Hotel is on this Island, although I have not included any pictures from the Grand Hotel.

The best place to stay in my opinion is

the Iroquois on the Beach

  

  

There are many cute and quaint shops on main street and flower boxes gallore!

 

 The hotels on the island are most charming,

 most with screened in porches allowing the breeze of the lake!

I just love all of the flowers and flags everywhere.

Note the ferry boat in the picture above - these boats leave from the mainland and transport people and products to the island.  Summer is a very busy season on the island with tourists by the thousands.  While I have never been to the island in Autumn, I am sure it is equally beautiful.  Fall color in Michigan is gorgeous.

If you want to plan a most romantic vacation, you should plan to head to Mackinac Island.

  

Fudge on Mackinaw Island is a big deal - it is everywhere. 

 This picture is taken through the window, thus the glare.  

NOW TO MY SHORT BUT SWEET STORY!

  

My husband and I boarded a ferry to Mackinac Island for a special anniversary trip.  We grabbed a beverage and sat down. Were we the usual bubbly upbeat vacationers, camera in hand, excited for our time together without work, stress and the usual day to day stuff.

Everyone was boarded and we were on the way to the island.

Across from us sat an elderly couple.  They had to be in their mid 80s. 

They sat there quiet, never speaking a word to each other the entire trip.

I realized that couple had been together for years.

They had no new stories to tell.

Their vacation was to a most romantic island.

Was it a return trip or their first time to the island?

I did not know and I never will.

But one thing I did know, they were surely in love.  It was easy to see.

They sat close together, shoulder to shoulder, and hand in hand.
Although their faces were wrinkled and bodies worn and likely stiff,

clearly their love was strong and alive.

They did not need to speak, the stories all told.

At first I thought it was sad,

 then I realized it was peace and contentment

and true love.

I sometimes wonder if that was a foreshadow

of a trip that my husband and I just may make one last time...

when we are in our 80s!

**********************************************************************

True Love

too rare these days!

I am blessed.

I love you James --- Always!

The end.

 

9-11 Forever Remember

Always Remember

9-11

Parent & Kids & Truth

I Love This Little Cartoon

BUT

I have to add

ASSUMING MY KID IS RIGHT!

Never just assume your kid is right but when he is and he has been wronged, bullied, etc...

ACT!

But maybe leave the gun home.

Look Back

There is always someone who has less than you, who'd love to be where you are in life.  It is a good idea to look backward sometimes at those behind you in life's place.

 Each Monday on my way to work I pass a place that provides government aid/assistance to the needy.  At 6:30 in the morning three are at least 10 people asleep on the sidewalk, lined up outside the building waiting for the the building to open. There are another 50 or more lined up amidst those asleep.

This is Houston, it is steamy here all summer long, nights rarely cool off to anything below 75 degrees and bugs are plentiful.  I feel for these people. They'd look forward hoping for better.  They'd consider themselves rich and blessed if they had a bed, a0 place to sleep that is out of the heat, the rain, the cold (yes we do get a few cold days in January and February).

It is in these moments of passing that I realize most vividly how truly blessed I am and I should want for nothing more as I have what so many do not and wish they did.

I must remind myself to take a look backward sometimes, rather than forward.  No matter who you are or where you are at in life, it is good to realize there is someone who'd love to be in your place as they are worse off.

Giving to charities is good,  but I never see the impact of the donations.  I often think I should get involved in a soup kitchen, with the Red Cross, or any charitable organization, and one of these days I will.

inspiration!