Holidays include trips
By MARCELLA BRUCE
Contributing writer
Wow! The weather prognosticators really hit it on the head this week when they promised we'd have a cold spell. Anytime they predict temperatures of 20 degrees or less, my body knows it has no business outside even with 10 layers of clothes! Remember. It's January.
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My long five-week holiday with family in Georgia and Florida was a special treat, and the five-day cruise it included was also a winner except for the last night when we experienced a really rough sea. Even my daughter and husband, who love cruises and have had considerable experience with them, said it was the roughest they had been through.
I gave up trying to finish my packing for the next morning's disembarking and fell into bed. Luckily the morning saw a very calm sea, and all went well.
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The aftermath of my return home was a week's stay in our hospital with a flu-pneumonia-type bug. How fortunate to have such fine care and have it so close at hand. Hillsboro is blessed with a great facility.
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The combination of the extended trip and the hospital stay caused a few other changes in my usual Christmas routine. The little Christmas tree, its lights, ornaments and pretty red skirt stayed in boxes and not a single Christmas card was sent.
I did manage my two red reindeer, a red candle and wreath on my dining table and a small wreath on a door. Maybe next year will be better.
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I still had a wonderful Christmas at Pratt with son Skip and wife Lois, Buddy, Bandit and Mr. Cat, the family pets. Bandit furnished entertainment as he dug under all the paper wrappings and occasionally peeked out to surprise us.
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While in Florida, I was rummaging around looking for something to read. I found the book "Death Be Not Proud" by John Gunther. It is a heart-touching memoir of the Gunther's son, John Jr, who died at 17 in 1947 after a long battle with a malignant brain tumor.
His brilliant mind had an insatiable thirst for knowledge that included his early initiation of a correspondence with no less an imposing figure than Albert Einstein that continued until boy's death.
His mother satisfied his quest for knowledge in the realm of religions of the world, and one day he surprised both her and his father by reciting the following prayer he had written and memorized:
"Almighty God forgive me for my agnosticism; for I shall try to keep it gentle, not cynical. And O! if thou art truly in the heavens, accept my gratitude for all Thy gifts and I shall try to fight the good fight. Amen."
John, Jr. also became fascinated with the Old Testament Book of Job and often asked his mother to read to him from it.
"It will teach me patience," he said.
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It seems to me there is a lot of humor directed at we who qualify as elderly and somewhat "addlepated." For example: Three retirees, each with a hearing loss, were playing golf. One remarked to the other "Windy isn't it?" "No," the second man replied "It's Thursday." The third man chimed in "So am I, let's find something to drink."
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Hope you can stand another? Two elderly ladies had been friends for many decades. Over the years they had shared a variety of activities. Lately they had been limited to meeting a few times a week to play cards.
One day they were playing cards when one looked at the other and said, "Now don't get mad at me. I know we've been friends for a long time, but I just can't think of your name. I've thought and thought but can't remember it. Please tell me what your name is."
Her friend glared at her. For at least three minutes she just stared and glared at her. Finally she said, "How soon do you have to know?"
