The Stainless Trough

        This is not a totally joyous subject for me to write about.  I have been taught that wasting food was wrong and cleaning up your plate is a virtue.  I guess no one wanted food scraps in the trash or we thought it was terrible to throw away food when there were starving people in Africa. It is too bad we cannot deliver our extra food somewhere.

        Weight Watchers worked on me and helped me realize that throwing away food could be a good thing. (Of course, choosing smaller portions is the best plan.) Then, there was the strong idea that some of the food that we were not eating was not “food” any way!

        My dad used to light up when he would talk about an “all you can eat” buffet.  Many people I can recall, as far back as the 1960’s, used to consider these dining establishments the pinnacle of pleasure.  I am certain that those who grew up in the Depression would find them an expression of the affluent life.

        I tread lightly.  Now, it is November, 2013 and times have changed.  Thanksgiving is nearly upon us and we as a nation have so much for which to be thankful.  I have never been truly hungry and I just bought a 25 pound turkey for Thanksgiving.

        Last Saturday night, my husband wanted to take me out for dinner.  Now, honestly, I usually pick.  It is not that I always want my way, but that he never has an opinion. I pick the restaurant by default; unless we are with friends and can get someone else to choose.  On this particular night, however, he had a strong opinion and I, biting my tongue, agreed.

        He chose an “all you can eat” buffet of national fame.  It was recently in the papers for hiding food from food inspection.  The initials are G.C. (I have often wondered why it was considered to be “golden” and why people would want to eat at a place where horses were corralled.)   My name for it is Stainless Trough.

        I was hoping that we might have to leave, because there were not many parking spaces. We finally found one, so in we went. It was very crowded that night. 

        You get a tray, if any are available, and silverware, if the pieces you need are available.  You get a drink, if you want one, and pay before you enter.  There are few seasonal decorations, but the most overwhelming sight is people.  People of all shapes and sizes, who were clamoring for plates and getting in lines in six or seven areas for various parts and pieces of a meal, were the overriding view on this occasion. A meal of epic proportions one can eat here; yes, it is an “all you can eat” buffet.

        We were looking very hard to find seats and the only seats to be found were in the furthest corner from the food.  You actually had to walk further to get from our seats to the troughs than any other seats in the establishment. No wonder no one else wanted them.

        The salad bar, taco bar, pizza bar, dessert bar, ice cream bar and hot food bar were totally surrounded by people dipping in all that food.  There were utensils to dip food, but the children and some adults did not see the need to use such items; fingers are easier and faster. I can imagine Melvin Udall, Jack Nicholson’s OCD character in As Good As It Gets, at this place.

         The most popular area was the place for the steak. The steak was cooked to order and bore a label as to how it was prepared.  I can also imagine how some people I know would find it incredible that for $12.99 you can get all the sirloin steak you wanted and all those other meats and fish, too.

         Tread lightly…It must be terribly hard to keep a place clean with all those hungry people.  Tread lightly…I actually had to tread very lightly and watch where I was going, because of the children underfoot and plops of mashed potatoes and pieces of chicken skin on the carpet. There were stacks of used dished and utensils and plates on every table waiting to be picked up. The stainless steel rolling carts holding just washed dishes and silverware were everywhere, but you had to be careful, because some of the melamine dishes just did not look like they had made it through the dishwasher.

         I never liked to go to buffets, because I thought I ate too much and I just did not like to see all that food sitting out there for who knows how long.  I just prefer not to see it all laid out like that. Cleanliness is another issue.  When restaurant food comes out, served to you at a traditional restaurant; some how you have the illusion of cleanliness and freshness, even if not the reality.  On this night, I ate very little.

        My husband had three steaks, lots of mashed potatoes and gravy, all kinds of other items and several dishes of ice cream.  Before we walked out, he left the older woman, who fastidiously, refilled our drinks, a generous tip; then he walked to the ice cream area and got himself an ice cream cone for the road.

        On our way out, he remarked that it was pretty “bad” and “when you have that many people, it is hard to keep it clean”; but he seemed pretty content to me.  My mom used to say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.  (I will write more about that later. Not that I am an expert on men, or anything…)  Tread lightly…

        As for me, an old Danish proverb says it best, “When serving food, first put out the flowers, then putout the food."

          

                                                                                   

 

Joy Found Me!

     After a little more than a year of blogging, I just stopped.  Thinking that I had nothing more to say about finding joy in life, being too busy or being distracted; my motivation ended.  I did not want to stop: I just did.  "A Small Patch of Flowers" is  a blog about finding joy in life. Finding joy is not something that can be manufactured. It has to come from the heart. It is a terribly important subject in my mind and I did not want my posts to be trivial.  Today joy found me.
     Six and a half years ago, I was in a terrible accident when I fell off of a ladder trying to pull some vines off of my mother's old house.  It was a stupid thing to do.  My tugging and pulling caused the electrical wires to break, a transformer popped and I fell to avoid electrocution.  Six pins, a steel plate and a bone graft later, I had to learn to walk all over again.  A walker, wheel chair, crutches, cane, raised toilet seat, shower seat and wooden ramp became a part of my life. 
     Recovery was slow, but eventually I could walk normally.  It still takes a lot of mental concentration to go up and down steps, if I want to look natural.  That skill is definitely not easy even now.
     Exercise, especially walking, has been very important to me for weight control  and overall good health.   I have been very sporadic about it this past year, however.  Running is something I would repeatedly try, but could never do at all without tremendous stress to my injured leg. 
     I often visualize running.  Remembering what it was like to move quickly through space with arms and legs in a rhythmic movement.  The feeling of running and taking in the fresh air on a beautiful day were experiences  I wondered if I would ever enjoy again in this life time. (Who else dreams of running?)
     When I went to the basement this morning for a little walking exercise, I tried running as I usually do.  I was not expecting anything other than the usual awkward "hop-step".  I did not earn it, train for it or even deserve it, but today it happened.  I could run!   The feeling was absolutely amazing even though I was not outside.  I ran smoothly.  Yes, I did!
     "Okay", I asked myself, "Am I dreaming?"  I raced upstairs, woke up my sleeping husband and asked him to watch me run. I asked him if I looked normal and if I limped when I ran.  When my witness said that it looked normal and without a limp, I could not contain the joy. (Of course normal is a relative term.)
      I am so thankful.   (I remind you, too, don't give up on your dreams!)  Joy found me!

Christian Nation

      Christian Nation…the political ad stated that Barack Obama said in the Middle East that we are not a Christian nation.  The statement was considered offensive by the ad makers and to hear it spoken sounded very harsh and ugly. I thought:"How could he say this boldly in a foreign land?"  Then, I asked myself: "Is it true?  Are we a Christian nation?"

      A Christian is a follower of Christ or “one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ” (Merriam-Webster).  Would there be any doubt in a Christian nation whether the Ten Commandments could be posted?  Would there be any doubt in a Christian nation whether there could be prayer in any public school, building or venue?  Would there be any doubt whether the Bible could be freely taught or discussed?  Would there be any doubt whether abortion was acceptable? Would there be any doubt whether we could say “In God We Trust”?  I could go on and on.  Barack Obama is right. We are not a Christian nation. We do have many Christians who live here and have a glorious hope.

       Our hope is that someday we will be a Christian nation and all other nations will be Christian nations.  Until then, those who are Christian should let their lights shine in this very dark world. “.. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. ...”Matthew 5:16

 Quotes by Barak Obama                            

"One of the great strengths of the United States is... we have a very large Christian population - we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values."  
 "Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation – at least, not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers."

 

Black Swallow Butterfly

Black Swallow Butterfly

       Willow sent me this story.  It is certainly about joy.  “I thought this would be nice for your blog. While we were in Ohio, 6 caterpillars ate all the parsley in our garden. Lee was ready to squish them, but I said, ‘Let's wait & see what they turn into.’ We saw 6 butterflies come out of their chrysalises.”

Working Together

    Today we held an event to mulch the pathways of our school garden.  We finally had our 16 large garden boxes built and filled this spring. The children planted all of the boxes with seeds.  A few families and teachers kept the boxes weeded and the pathways between the boxes mowed and trimmed this summer.  In  a year when it rained constantly for most of June and July, we did not have to worry about watering as much.  (Our resident groundhog and his family have been enjoying a lot of very wonderful eating and we are so glad that they do not seem to like cucumbers. Thus is the life of gardeners.)
    Today was the big day, a week before the school start date.  At last, we were going to groom this garden and make those pathways really finished looking by adding the mulch.  Putting down landscape fabric, newspaper and shoveling mulch did not sound like fun, but it had to be done.  Volunteers have not exactly been knocking down doors to help us out.  Three current teachers ; the 9 year old son of a teacher, who is on crutches: a recently retired teacher; and a young family with four children under seven made up the mulching crew. Please note that the children were every bit a part of this team! The 8 month old baby did his part by being so quiet and good while his parents worked. It was amazing that all of that truckload of mulch could be moved by this somewhat motley and, at times during the day, very sparse crew! 
     Working together toward a very specific and defined goal was the very satisfying part and seeing the beauty when we were done was the inspiring part. Some people could not stay until the job was complete, but that did not matter: they gave what they could.  From  7 AM to 1:30 PM,  the project lasted and it was really fun in spite of our preconceived ideas.  Being stiff was my badge of courage and feeling that special camaraderie that only working together can give was my joy!

Team Building

                                                             Team Building

        Our school staff went to an outdoor corporate team building event last week.  Everyone was dressed in outdoor clothes and prepared for an adventure.  We started indoors by getting to know each other by moving around the room and finding people we had something in common with.  Then, using a rope, we handcuffed ourselves together with a partner. We had to figure out how to get out of that and teach others the trick when we figured it out.  Finally, we did a little arm wrestling.  After each activity there was debriefing and figuring out what this had to do with the collaborative work we would need to be doing to build school success.

     After those activities, we went to the woods where we were divided into two groups.  Each group was given a different task with props and challenges.  Our first task was a gigantic teeter-totter, in which we all had to balance and move around on in specified ways.  For 13 people, that was not easy.  When our group completed that task, we moved to an area where the other group met us and we explained our task to them and they explained their task to us.  This, too, was difficult, because we could not see each other’s props.  Our second task was to beat the other team’s time completing a relay task, then tapping numbered circles with foam noodles in a specific order.

     The next task was to get everyone in our group through various sized panes made of bungee cord without touching the cord. Some panes were low and some were high.  When we switched with the other group this time, our final task was to stand on 2 foot long railroad ties and keep moving them forward without getting on the ground.

     There was always a consequence, if someone fell off or touched the ground in all of activities.  Usually, you had to start the entire activity over.  Obviously, these activities helped us to support each other physically and emotionally.  There were a lot of lessons we extracted from this fun day.  It was impressive that we felt such camaraderie in such a short time.  Everyone was needed and everyone supported and helped each other.  Lessons about leadership and working together abounded.  It was inspiring!

      Here’s an idea for our next team building event!  Put everyone in groups of four or five in a car with a map, written directions, a GPS system and access to Siri on an I phone.  Tell the group to take a trip about six hours away at a specified location.  See if they can cooperate enough to get there and get home without any irreparable damage to the relationship!  It is a risk!

     A trip on the highway with four friends and Siri was exactly what we did a few weeks ago. It was a road trip to Lake Michigan with the dearest of friends. We had all the equipment listed above and we still managed to get turned around a number of times.  Siri is not perfect, but she is entertaining!  None of us got our way all of the time (not even Siri), but we all got our way some of the time. 

     The best thing about cooperation is that we all get to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. We work toward the mutual good and discover that it is often better than our own way. If anyone says to you, “It’s my way or the highway”, pick the highway!  It is a lot more fun; especially, if you love adventure, challenges and team building! 

     

Learn Something!

           Driving to and from the elementary school in an economically disadvantaged urban community, where I teach, gives me a lot to think about. The boarded windows and the trash everywhere is sad. The bright spots are definitely the clean, well-maintained homes, though they are few. The innovative little businesses that pop up along the way are noticeable with their colorful, inexpensive signs, but these too are few and far between.  The churches offer rays of hope, but their influence is sometimes minimal. As one looks around, an older adult sweeping the sidewalk or planting flowers might be seen. These are signs that a few adults do care. Why would some even vandalize their own neighborhood or permit others to do so? Our beautiful school garden was vandalized last night for the second year in a row. It was not theft of the produce.  It was deliberate destruction. Why?

            The brightly scrubbed children with their hair neatly braided or combed stand with parents tightly holding their hands waiting for a bus.  There are others walking to school with loving parents guiding them and chatting on the way. There is something exciting and hopeful about going to school for the children wearing backpacks on their backs and carrying anticipation in their countenance.  The skipping, hopping, running and chatting show that many of these children do want to go to school. Their movement shows excitement. They are full of hope. It is rare to see a child under ten who is not bouncing on his or her way to school. School is about hope and opportunity.  Learning and discovery are fun and they know it. 

            What are we doing that robs these children of their hope?  What is it that turns the many children who care to only few adults who do?

            One of my favorite of all sights on my drive is the teenage student waiting at the school bus stop so oblivious to the world around him, because he is totally engrossed in a book. A book that can take him to a different time and place if he so chooses.  The desire to read that book can make a difference to the young person and the community, because it is within those pages that dreams are created and become real.  Why do some teens care so much and others not at all?

            Are we as a society too demanding or not demanding enough?  The passion and motivation for learning seem to slip away as the years go by for many of our students. Do we fail to encourage and discover strengths, because we are focusing on the wrong things?  We know that we are doing something that is not working, but we cannot see what it is. Are we learning how to solve our problems?

            One of my all-time favorite quotes is from T.H. White in The Once and Future King.   “The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you…”

            Will we as a society, as communities, and as human beings learn the lessons of cause and effect?  Will we learn as fellow sojourners how to improve our world and our individual lot in life? Can we keep hope and joy alive?  The only way to make something positive out of a bad situation is to learn something.  Will we?