Marlene McKay

I am always amazed when I hear news of uncontacted native tribes being “discovered.”  There is a story that I saw from the Yahoo pages about a tribe in Brazil that includes pictures from a recent “flyover.”  The natives are photographed aiming flaming arrows at the aircraft that is taking the pictures.  Can you imagine the horror and dread these natives are feeling as they see this “monster” flying overhead?

I have to stop and think whether it really is in the tribes best interest, as human beings, to be left undeveloped or is it in their best interest to be contacted and taught “modern ways.”  That is a moral and ethical decision I know I’ll never have to make, and I’m glad I don’t have to make it!  I know for sure that I am glad that I don’t have to live in such primitive conditions!

If you want to see the story I’m talking about, click here.

My family lives in a fairly rural area, which I really like.  We are close enough to the city to go into the city for special occasion shopping trips and special occasion meals, but I would not want to live in such a congested area.

Living in such a rural area, however, can get kind of lonely, and we’ve found ourselves thinking about how to meet new people beyond our neighbors and work on finding friends on our local area. We’ve heard that there is a community center supper next weekend, trying to raise money for the Community Center. I think we should go to it!

Today my DH asked me to go with him to Home Depot to help him bring some sheets of plywood home.  I thought this was going to be a quick trip into town and back again, so I said yes.  Much to my chagrin, the trip was not just to Home Depot, it was also to Auto Advance.  “I’ll only be a couple of minutes, honey, I just need to buy some oil and a filter.”  So I waited in the car, reading the Sunday paper, for forty-five minutes!  Finally I decided I’d better go inside and find him and drag him out of there.  I found him standing in line at the check-out counter, with much more than some oil and a filter in his hands!

The cashier was incredibly slow in processing the order, and I was getting tired and cranky, anxious to get home before even getting to Home Depot!  We headed off to Home Depot, where once inside he met an old friend that he hadn’t seen in months and so he had to chat with him for a half hour before even getting through the door!  So I went into Home Depot and started shopping from the list we had made up, to get things going.

Lesson learned, next time DH says “would you come with me to…….” if I want to get home within the same four hour period of time, the answer should be NO!

I’ve been going through the closets and storage chests the past couple of weekends, getting out my winter clothes and packing up my summer clothes. As much as I dislike the thought that summer has passed, autumn is almost here, and the cooler temperatures have me wearing my thermal underwear already!

So I have been going through my winter clothes, trying them on to see what fits and what doesn’t, and seeing if anything needs to be mended. What I do like about this chore is bringing out old “favorites” that I haven’t worn in months – my favorite flannel jammies, my favorite chamois shirt, my favorite sweaters. One of the good things about having four “real seasons” is that by the time you get tired of wearing something, it is time to pack it away until the next year!

Janice and I were walking through the mall yesterday, shopping for a birthday gift for my mother.  I noticed a quarter rolling on its side down the walk-way, and I paused and watched with interest to see where it would go.  Maybe by the time I got to it, it would have stopped rolling and I could pick it up!  I’m not ashamed to admit that I pick up coins from the ground!  Before I got to the coin, however, a teenager kicked it away!  I asked the teenager why he didn’t pick it up, and kicked it away instead.  Would you believe his response was “A lousy quarter isn’t worth bending over for!”  Well, if THAT is the attitude of today’s youth, I think we are in sorry shape!