Thursday, July 28, 2011
Planting An Egg
(Published on iSurf News on July 28, 2011)
I once heard a lady in a grocery store talking about an eggplant and then heard her small child, who looked approximately five or six years old ask her, “Mommy, why would you plant an egg?” We all know that you do not plant an egg but how did the eggplant get it's name when it does not look like an egg or taste like an egg?
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Coming Out Of Your Ears
(Published on iSurf News on July 21, 2011)
This is the time of year when everyone's garden is producing so many goodies, they are literally “coming out of their ears”.
I always seem to perk up when I hear someone say this phrase because I know there is a 90% chance that they are talking about their garden.
I always seem to perk up when I hear someone say this phrase because I know there is a 90% chance that they are talking about their garden.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Jamaica Mon!
(Published on iSurf News on July 14, 2011)
I have been so blessed to have opportunities to do all the things that I've wanted to do. I went to college, then did the things that 20-Something's do. I landed a good job, got an apartment and was living it up.
Then came the years of settling down and getting serious about life. The 30-Something's brought me a marriage, a baby and the process of making a house a home. I thought I had it all. I thought I had done it all. But I had forgotten about going through the big “D”. After going through a divorce and trying my hand at being a single parent, I then decided that, now....I have done it all. Now, I'm 40-something and I'm thinking about making the last laps of life and heading across the finish line. My thoughts are filled with pushing my baby bird out of the nest (yeah, right), grandchildren (but not too soon), and retirement from my job so I can do all the fun things that I want to do.
This is where my “Before I Kick The Bucket” list comes into play. I am very concerned that my bucket list is not very long and I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. In a way it could be good because, like I said earlier, I have been blessed to do many things in my life. There was never a question of if I could do them, I just did them. But, in a way, it could be a bad thing. This short list could tell me that I am in for a boring last few years.
One of the things on my bucket list is to go on a cruise. I would love to go to Jamaica, see the famous Dunn's River Falls and shop in Ocho Rios. I want to eat real Jamaican food while being serenaded by locals playing Reggae music. The closest I have ever been to my trip to Jamaica was when I was in college. I discovered a restaurant in Nashville called Rainbow Key. I fell in love with Caribbean cuisine while enjoying my conch fritters amongst the fake palm trees, stuffed parrots and Jimmy Buffet music being piped through the speakers. Rainbow Key has long since closed it's doors, but I can still remember the wonderful times my roommates and I had there.
Jerk Chicken. Jerk Pork. Conch Fritters. Coconut Shrimp. Hey.....it's five o'clock somewhere. Put on some Jimmy Buffett music and enjoy these Jamaican recipes.
Then came the years of settling down and getting serious about life. The 30-Something's brought me a marriage, a baby and the process of making a house a home. I thought I had it all. I thought I had done it all. But I had forgotten about going through the big “D”. After going through a divorce and trying my hand at being a single parent, I then decided that, now....I have done it all. Now, I'm 40-something and I'm thinking about making the last laps of life and heading across the finish line. My thoughts are filled with pushing my baby bird out of the nest (yeah, right), grandchildren (but not too soon), and retirement from my job so I can do all the fun things that I want to do.
This is where my “Before I Kick The Bucket” list comes into play. I am very concerned that my bucket list is not very long and I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. In a way it could be good because, like I said earlier, I have been blessed to do many things in my life. There was never a question of if I could do them, I just did them. But, in a way, it could be a bad thing. This short list could tell me that I am in for a boring last few years.
One of the things on my bucket list is to go on a cruise. I would love to go to Jamaica, see the famous Dunn's River Falls and shop in Ocho Rios. I want to eat real Jamaican food while being serenaded by locals playing Reggae music. The closest I have ever been to my trip to Jamaica was when I was in college. I discovered a restaurant in Nashville called Rainbow Key. I fell in love with Caribbean cuisine while enjoying my conch fritters amongst the fake palm trees, stuffed parrots and Jimmy Buffet music being piped through the speakers. Rainbow Key has long since closed it's doors, but I can still remember the wonderful times my roommates and I had there.
Jerk Chicken. Jerk Pork. Conch Fritters. Coconut Shrimp. Hey.....it's five o'clock somewhere. Put on some Jimmy Buffett music and enjoy these Jamaican recipes.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
I'm Bored
(Published on iSurf News on July 7, 2011)
July is “Anti-Boredom” Month. I do not have to worry about this affecting me because I do not have time to be bored. I would not want to be bored even if I had time to be bored.
There was a time, many, many years ago, when I was bored. I remember not caring who knew it. When I was a teenager my favorite saying was, “I'm bored.” Until the day came that I said it to the wrong person.
On one of our regular visits with her, I was in my usual, teen-aged, bored and mouthy mood. Betty had held her tongue for as long as she could and when I said “I'm bored” for the ump-teenth time, she spoke these words that I will never forget. “People who say they are bored are just too stupid to find something to do.” For the first time that day, or maybe in my life, I was totally speechless. From that day on, when I would get ready to say “I'm bored”, I would stop myself and find something to do.
As the years went by, I removed that phrase from my vocabulary. Any time I would visit Betty, she would always laugh and ask me if I was bored. I would always respond, “Not now!”
It broke my heart when Betty passed away but I have such wonderful memories of an amazing lady that taught me such simple words of wisdom. Very few times in the past 30-plus years have I found myself bored. And if I was bored, I would never admit it.
So, do not let me hear you say that you are bored. I just might tell you what Betty told me.
There was a time, many, many years ago, when I was bored. I remember not caring who knew it. When I was a teenager my favorite saying was, “I'm bored.” Until the day came that I said it to the wrong person.
On one of our regular visits with her, I was in my usual, teen-aged, bored and mouthy mood. Betty had held her tongue for as long as she could and when I said “I'm bored” for the ump-teenth time, she spoke these words that I will never forget. “People who say they are bored are just too stupid to find something to do.” For the first time that day, or maybe in my life, I was totally speechless. From that day on, when I would get ready to say “I'm bored”, I would stop myself and find something to do.
As the years went by, I removed that phrase from my vocabulary. Any time I would visit Betty, she would always laugh and ask me if I was bored. I would always respond, “Not now!”
It broke my heart when Betty passed away but I have such wonderful memories of an amazing lady that taught me such simple words of wisdom. Very few times in the past 30-plus years have I found myself bored. And if I was bored, I would never admit it.
So, do not let me hear you say that you are bored. I just might tell you what Betty told me.
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