An Angel Story

I have a number of 'Angel Stories' but for today my focus is on a point that needs to be made about one of them in particular. The whole story will come in another post; for now the abbreviated version will make the point.

A recent topic of conversation was about angels; it reminded me of the reluctant angel I met when my vehicle overheated on I-25 between Pueblo and Colorado Springs, the one who drove a red corvette convertible. 

I needed help and he helped me, confused as all get-out because, as he told me, he just didn’t do stuff like help people because all people are inherently bad, hateful, and generally mean. Nevertheless he helped me in more ways than one and was on the receiving end of a blessing of his own.

He drove into the Springs to get the part my poor little beat-up S10 Blazer needed, leaving me with my vehicle because otherwise it probably wouldn't be there when we got back, and I was to stay IN the vehicle (doors locked and windows up). 

While he was gone, people pulled off of I-25 from both directions to check on me. I’m not even kidding you a little bit here. I started writing down plate numbers on the back of an envelope but stopped when I ran out of room and lost count. More than FORTY vehicles pulled into that little area, some of the folk choosing to stick around until my ‘angel’ got back with the part, which took better than an hour.

The point I want to make here is not so much that there are indeed an abundance of ‘angels among us’ (although that’s most certainly true and I’m here to tell you so) but ... 

Those angels showed up from all socio-economic backgrounds (going by their vehicles and clothes) and from all the ethnic-cultural backgrounds that the Front Range is home to, they were of all ages and both genders – and not a one of them gave any of the others so much as a sideways look, I’ll have you know. 

Each and all of them had pulled off of that highway urged by the exact same impulse, to help someone, and they all knew it. Grins and waves from each to the other and they were back on their own paths for the day. 

Few of them would have known how MANY they were a part of on that day, but I knew and so did a couple of the early stoppers who stayed to ‘stand guard’.

So it wasn’t just me who was blessed on that day, nor just my reluctant angel (who was shocked enough to find a group of folks waiting with me when he got back, let alone when we told him how MANY more had stopped), but also all those folk who took the time out of their days and made the effort to check on the well-being of a total stranger.

Do not ask me to explain because I flat out cannot do it. 

Such a thing may never have happened before and may not have happened since and may never happen again – but on that day it did I tell you true.

In today’s world we could have and would likely have recorded the whole thing and it would have gone viral on line. As it is, the memory makes me smile and having had the experience makes me believe very strongly in just the opposite of what my reluctant angel told me about people on that day.

Score one for the good folk!

From all walks of life, from all ages, from all ethnicities, from all cultures, male and female they stepped up to the plate and offered aid, support, good wishes, protection, and many a smile and/or hug as well. 

That I am still so impacted by that one short time speaks on behalf of everyone who was there on that day. 

I couldn’t tell you the name of a single one of them except that I remember Ric was the name of the reluctant angel. 

But I will never ever in my life forget the message they brought with them, each and all independently of everyone else. 

‘I care,’ they said. ‘I am here.’

*sentimental sigh*

I totally love remembering times like that.

To See Ourselves As Others See Us

Oh wad some Power the giftie gie us

To see oursels as ithers see us!

It wad frae mony a blunder free us 

An' foolish notion ...

- Robert Burns

Click HERE for the whole poem.

There are times we can be pretty sure that there are among us people who really do not know that they have a louse crawling around on their oh-so-lovely bonnet, the bonnet they're so proud of that they wear it like a medal of honor.

In plain-speak they've got an attitude that others see as having a lot in common with the person sporting a louse on their bonnet,  - and really don't find it all that appealing. 

If they'd keep their attitudes and such-like to themselves we could and would probably just ignore them. 

When they dress themselves up in sanctimony and proceed to try to impose and enforce their ideas of what is proper and what is not, it's hard to ignore; especially if you're one of the ones who is supposed to comply without a murmur but just happen to have your own ideas about what is proper for you, ideas that don't conflict in any way with your ability to do what you're supposed to be doing. 

At the moment I have a specific situation in mind, but the general idea applies to plenty of stuff in all kinds of situations.

One image came into my mind and made me shudder. You'll see what I mean. One man's ideas, imposed and enforced, created what's in this image.

I was going to post a photo of the man himself but can't bring myself to do it. Cope as best you can. You know who he was.

When someone has a degree of power, big or small, and uses it to impose their will on others, questionable results might be in the making.

What if we were told we had to, each and all, conform to something that's a variation of the photo above? Maybe not to the same degree but with the same sort of louse-on-the-bonnet mentality behind it?

What if individuality wasn't allowed to be expressed? 

If you find yourself in a situation that seems to be heading in that direction, here's an idea about how to deal with it.

Please note that this photo is not intended as anything except to illustrate a point. I could have used nun-wear or storm-trooper-wear or standardized suits of armor or astronaut outfits or uniforms and masks or Casper the Friendly Ghost costumes or burlap bags or anything else that effectively obscures a person's own unique individuality/identity.  

You can hide all sorts of things under a burka, yep. You can have any color hair you want, a whole rainbow if that's what you desire. It can be as long or as short as you choose. You can go ahead and get as many tattoos as you want, cover your whole body with them, even all over your face. You can wear whatever clothes you find most comfortable (or none at all I reckon) under those things. You can have as many body piercings as you like, wherever you like, and wear your bling to your heart's content. These things are kind of like the old nun-wear only more effective because they cover everything except your eyes. 

See, the thing is that the people who think (and honestly believe) that their way is the only right way for people to be ... they don't have any idea in this whole wide world that there might be anything wrong with their thought processes. All they want is uniformity/conformity among every last person over whom they either have or want control. They don't realize that the rest of the congregation sees the louse on that bonnet they're so proud of.

So if you're confronted by someone who has a louse on their bonnet ... counter their list of restrictions and requirements with a compromise, a suggestion of your own    :    recommend that everyone (including them) wear burkas. Just to eliminate any possibility that people might be able to tell anyone apart from everyone else, you know, while respecting people's individual rights to make their own choices about whatever might be under that burka. 

Then hand them a copy of Burns' poem and see if they make the connection. My guess is that no they will not make any such connection, at least not in relation to themselves. They're far more likely to start looking for lice on your bonnet (or burka).

They might not be cognizant of the fact that a person really can still get straight A's in school even if they have a rainbow head and ninety bits of metal all over their body. If they're of that mindset, they aren't going to be all that concerned about your GPA anyhow. All they're going to be noticing is your appearance because that's their number one (maybe only) priority - not how smart you are, or how well you perform on a team, or how creative you might be, or how insightful, or how strong a leader, or whether or not you excel at your job, or anything else along those lines.

When things become all about appearances and conformity there's likely 'something that smells not so great in Denmark' (that's a paraphrase from Shakespeare, not a comment about today's Denmark, for those who didn't recognize the allusion - 'Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.' Hamlet (1.4), Marcellus to Horatio - it has to do with corruption, top to bottom).

You and everyone else might be perfectly well able to see and appreciate things that really matter (and those that do not) while the person who is in a position to either 1) recognize, reinforce, and encourage what matters or 2) make every attempt to enforce complete conformity - will be the one walking around with a louse on their bonnet.

Sometimes I'm kind of glad to be old. Nobody expects old people to be able to goose-step.

note: this does not apply to things like wearing helmets and pads and such for football or hockey; those are not optional. That goes for all safety-related things. Things that don't compromise your own or anyone else's safety ... those are what this is about   ;)  

*laughing*

What if everyone in the world, men and women and children, started wearing identical burkas so as not to distract anyone or offend anyone?

Equipment operators and such would have to wear modified ones, of course, so as to ensure safety, but only on the job. Off-duty they'd be wearing the whole nine yards just like everyone else.

Ye gods and little people, what boring photos Facebook and the media would have.

And under all those burkas would be all the beautifully unique, creative, and fascinating diversity of the people of our world, who would only get to show their true selves in the sanctuary of their own homes. We would be known to the whole of the outside world only by our voices and our eyes.

What the heck.

I vote 'No' on the whole-world-wearing-burkas thing. We wouldn't know who was who and every doorway would have to have a retina scan device. Either that or we'd all have to be chipped and the world filled with chip-sensors. Huh. We wouldn't know who anyone was but we would sure as heck be able to track where everyone was.

God help us.

If that's our alternative, I have to say go on ahead and wear your pants around your knees boyo, just so you don't fall over onto somebody's granny and mash her. Go ahead and wear your rainbows in joy and delight. Pierce every other inch of your body. Wear what brings you comfort and peace so long as it doesn't interfere with your brain function, health, or ability to do what you're supposed to be doing. 

I personally would rather see our diversity celebrated and each of our unique qualities and talents respected and developed for the good of all than a world full of people in burkas trying to goose-step our way through life.

People who object, please check your bonnets for lice, your persons for rot, and be sure to sit down very carefully.

Our Little Place is Growing!

Our very own Small Town USA is having itself some fun, let me tell you!

At least I was having fun today ... *big smile* ...

                 

If you haven't heard, there's a good-sized two story brick building named the Viking on a corner of our Main Street that, back in the olden days, was a home furnishings and supply store called the Quarve Building (after the owners), using the main floor and lower level (basement) while the second floor was apartments. 

The building has been put to use in a few ways between then and now ... and recently became available again. Except the second floor has been closed for a very long time and the basement could stand some TLC, so it's now just the main floor - which is plenty ... for the time being ... 

The renovations of said main floor over the course of time have come in handy for our little community.

The big front display windows aren't so very different, and the front doors and steps are the same ... but inside ... the big entry area is flanked by the Couchs' Coffee Shop that has all kinds of things besides coffee (mm-mm good!) and a sort of Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe called The Melding Pot that has all kinds of things that you might not want to eat or drink but which you will most assuredly love looking at and taking home. Shelly Weigelt makes darned sure you'll find plenty of new things every time you stop by. AND she's got helium balloons on behalf of Perry and Laurie Anderson. Also up front and in the hallway are custom-made wreaths designed and handmade by Wendy Wagner of Wendy's Wreaths, in conjunction with the Coffee Shop.

As you walk down the wide hallway you'll find men's and women's rooms to your right.

To your left, along the side street length of the building, are what were offices and meeting rooms. They are now homes to a bunch of small shops. First in line you'll see Close to Home Gifts - all personally created by our local artists, spear-headed by Deronda designs, whose creative metalwork jewelry and lampwork beads are likely to make you ask, 'How does she do that?!?' West End Creations adds the bright colors of crocheted items plus earrings and rings that will catch your fancy and hold it. Shiela Branson (yep, that would be me) contributes artwork and the books she writes and illustrates, including the whole lineup of the 'They Are My Song' series. Add soaps and lotions using buffalo tallow (including a men's line) made by another type of artist, Mrs. Robert Fehr, and some pottery designed and handmade by yet another local artist, Kathy Tebelius, and an assortment of era items ... Close to Home is liable to become your 'go-to' place for some almighty special gifts. Fay Fandrich often adds plants and flowers for special occasions.

Next stop is Anne West of Bowdon's West N More for some exceptional clothing and accessory options. 

Then comes Eldredge Publishing's Fessenden facility. For your printing needs, whether a quick copy of a school paper or invitations to anything you can think of to leaflets or ... well, the list just doesn't really stop.

Moving on down the row you'll come to another 'extension', this time of the business-next-door The Computer Loft. For your computer needs, this is the place for you.

Last in line but certainly not last in interest is The Stuff-o-torium - looking for era pieces and/or antiques to pique your curiosity? This guy's got one heck of a lot of stuff, believe you me. Every time I walk in there, he's got all kinds of new (well, old, but you know what I mean) and fascinating stuff. It's downright dangerous and I'm intensely relieved to be totally broke - otherwise I'd be carting a lot of his inventory to my house ... and I'm supposed to be clearing my own stuff out, not adding to it!

So that's the line-up along the side street. 

On the other side, once  you're past the ladies' room and the men's room, you come to a bit of a division. First there's a one-step-up sort of platform room with a half wall that looks into a great big wide open space. Right now there's a desk and chair in that step-up room and that's about it. Michelle uses it at times for her publicity stuff. Kids play in it at times, and they can play in the big open space too (unless somebody else is using it).

The big open space is for general purposes. Every other afternoon a group uses it for sweat-producing workouts, for example. 

It also has a line of cubicles along the far wall that are for general use. Kids use them for doing homework, people can use them for on-line projects (The Computer Loft donates internet access), you can sit at them and read, work on your own craft projects ... whatever you might need a temporary desk for. 

Sometimes the big open area is filled with vendors for special occasions. It can also be used for birthday/anniversary parties and bridal/baby showers (non-alcoholic types of things I'm presuming, but don't quote me on that), meetings ... if you need a big space but not an auditorium, this comes in right handy.

The Coffee Shop is open 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and closes at three on Saturdays. The rest of us are mainly open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from ten-ish until maybe five-ish ... because, well, because we have creating to do and families to spend time with. On the other hand, this is Small Town USA - none of us are all that hard to find if need be.

So ... it's not been but maybe three months and already this Small Town USA is turning a historic building into something that's creating a new history of its own. 

It's called The Q.

UNITED States of America : A Call to Unity : Fifty Voices Are Needed

Here's a comment from one of my Facebook posts; it's my own:

Patrick Henry issued a Call to Arms. We could sure use somebody ready, willing, and able to issue not a literal Call to Arms but a Call to Unite, to set aside personal issues for once and prove to ourselves and the rest of the world that we know what the words UNITED States of America are supposed to mean.

And yeah I realize the photo shows the North American Continent. That's because the United States of America is not alone in this world and the UNITY is aimed not just at us but expands to include all. It only seems impossible.

Because you know what?

The United States of America seemed impossible to many at one time too.  

I'm not advocating a world-wide universal culture, mind you, nor even a nation-wide United States culture - our diversity is one of our greatest strengths if we could only bring ourselves to 'get' that concept.

But a unity of purpose, a united effort to make our nation and our world the best it can be, without constantly bickering and fighting all over the place - THAT'S a worthwhile goal, isn't it? Something to work toward?

You think our 'Founding Fathers (and Mothers)' didn't have differences of opinion? 

They did. 

Serious ones.

Somehow they managed to work those differences out - not without a struggle, and not without hot words going back and forth - and those Colonies became the States of a new Nation, one whose bottom line strength rests in her people ... that would be us. 

Each and all of us, equally. 

Just sayin' ... 

If they could do it, so can we. We don't even have to start from scratch the way they did. Those guys gave us some damned powerful tools, if we could only bring ourselves to use them the way they were designed to be used. 

What if we just started small?

What if even just one person from each State was ready, willing, and able to say flat out, and mean it, 'I am an American.'

What if even just one Voice from each State left out the rest of it, the politics, the religions, the age, the color, the gender, the divisive adjectives of all kinds, and simply focused on what it means, bottom line, to be an American? 

Can we find even ONE VOICE from each of the fifty States willing to set it all aside enough to Speak in Unity with 49 other Voices and say, 'I am an American.'?

And leave it at that.

No adding 'I'm a woman. I'm a Democrat. I'm rich. I'm a businessman. I'm a stay at home mom. I'm gay. I'm Lutheran. I'm from Texas. I'm eighty years old. I'm this or that or the other thing yada yada yada.'

Just for once to take hold of the concept of what it means to be an American ...  and to be ready, willing, and able to accept 49 others, no matter who they are, absolutely and without reservations, just because they too are ready, willing, and able to say right alongside of you, 'I am an American.'

Not in an attempt to negate our individuality and differences but to celebrate our diversity within the framework of our Nation.

Can we do this?

I am from North Dakota.

I will accept my own challenge and Speak, alone if no other Voices can be found from any of the other States.

And so North Dakota Speaks:

'I am an American.'

Who will add their Voice?

Think carefully what it means to add your Voice to this list. It means you are ready, willing, and able to stand shoulder to shoulder with 49 total strangers whose individual choices and affiliations may be radically different from your own. 

For our purposes, the ONLY thing that matters is that they too are ready, willing, and able to stand shoulder to shoulder with 49 total strangers whose individual choices and affiliations may be radically different from theirs.

Because, my friend, that is what we are supposed to be all about here in the USA, isn't it? 

Can we do it?

Can even ONE from each State, just fifty of us, accept 49 others as Americans no matter what our individual choices and affiliations are? With none of us trying to change one another's minds, with none of us turning aside from what we have agreed to do, with none of us saying to another you don't belong here among us? 

Can we do it?

Frankly, I have my doubts.

Please prove me wrong.

After all, the only thing we have to agree on is four little words:

'I am an American.'