Today I was at a blueberry farm in the middle of Nowhere, FL. Now I want to live on a blueberry farm. Blueberry Sal, you know. The property reminded me of my boarding school, which is old Florida, and the house where the bridal shower was held reminded me of homes in Montreat. It was really wonderful, just ask me. The ladies from my friend's Bible study hosted the shower, a really fun bunch, let me tell you. I was impressed with everything, from A to Z. Did you know you can buy colored bread from Publix? Pink, green, blue, yellow. And they will slice it horizontally and then you can spread it with filling, roll it up and PRESTO!, you have pinwheel little sandwiches?

Old KEM here has been on a whirlwind this week. Next week I am going comatose.

Since it's 12:44 AM I needs to go practice for the song I have to play for Mike in 9 hours. Uh-Oh!

Farewell,
KEM P.S. I love how dogs stand with their face to the wind, they know not wirst it cometh or goeth, and they don't care.

Tonight at the African dinner they served beef instead of goat, which I thought was very pleasant of them. They fried plantains and sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. And these corn discs, they had. The corn discs were to scoop up the food, because in Africa you eat with your fingers. Newsflash -- It's fun to eat with your fingers. It's al-naturale. But the best was the cooked cabbage. I asked Lolly, How did you make your cabbage so tasty? You wanna know what she said? Butter. She melted butter in a big frying pan (let's not mention frying pans) and added her chopped cabbage and sorta sauteed it, finishing it with a lid and letting it gently steam until soft and tender.

Boy, I am tired and I take no responsibility for the above paragraph.

Anyway, it figures I loved the cabbage. I'm such a lover of simple things. Butter and cabbage, I got a charge out of that.

Then Kristina, age 20, spoke (and gave a slide presentation) about her one month trip to Africa so she could learn how medicine is practiced over there. It was all spell-binding. Then she got to the part where she visited a family in their house. The house actually looked like a big cardboard box tipped on its side, meaning it was all open on the front of the box. And it was made of cow dung. Poor Kristina had to sit there and visit with the family while millions of cockroaches crawled all over her. Hello. And she said she was a bug person, took bug class in college and everything. But even she was going ape inside. The picture showed her smiling away on the outside, but she was hardly smiling on the inside. Cockroaches are without a doubt my least favorite thing in the whole wide world. I guess I won't be going to Africa anytime soon. Whatever Kristina's made of...I'm not.

It was a wonderful evening. Lolly and her husband have the gift of easy-going, gracious entertaining. I'm always impressed by that, since it is not my gift. My gift is frantic, stressed and leave-half-the-food-in-the-fridge entertaining, I really should hang it up. And their house is all huge and open and flowing. Loved it. Lovely, lovely people. Aaaah. This was in Venice, you know. I enjoy dashing over there from time to time.

I got a hoot out of the 16 year old girl teaching Bible Club. She told me she had a scrapbook going, outlining all her future wedding plans. I said, I would like to see that. So, today, she brought it for me to see. She says she has too much time on her hands. Which I found amusing since she is quite the talented young lady. She's African American and can rumba, sing, play piano, cook, do photography, tell a great Bible story and play fun games with the kids. She has the knack. She won't have a thing to do by the time she marries, it's done all ready.

Speaking of weddings, I'm going to a bridal shower tomorrow, 2 hours up the road. So, I'd better git. The hostess didn't consult me on the time of the bridal shower. So instead of it being at 5:00 PM, it's at 11:00 AM. Do the math.

I wrapped the shower and wedding gifts. They don't look so hot. That's not my thing, either. My hands will not take charge and subdue the roll of gift wrap, or the ribbon, no, they subdue me. CALLING CDW. WHERE ARE YOU, CDW? Presentation is her THING. But for me, ain't it nice the sole purpose of wrapping is to unwrap it and crumple it up and be done with it. Da quickah da bettah. One Christmas DTD'S Great Uncle Pete spent the whole opening the presents time gasping in horror at the extreme waste of wrapping paper. He was incredulous, all that nice paper, torn to shreds and no one even looked at it. Wicked waste. It was pretty funny, actually, he was on a roll, ha, ha.

Butter fingers KEM

My house is a dump and it's getting dumpier every day. By the minute, I'd say.

Today in the Bible club I was sitting behind a little girl and she suddenly turns to me and says,
Why are you here?

Why am I here?? I guess she wonders why I come every day and just sit there, instead of getting up front and singing, Uh-Oh Wonderful Love, shrugging my right shoulder on Uh and my left shoulder on Oh. So in her little wise eyes, she'd really like to know why I'm there, doing nothing.

Anyway, it was a good question. Why ARE we here..or there...or wherever? I was there in particular, I told her, because I drive the teenage teachers to club (which was probably very unimpressive to a 5 year old). But WHY? is a good question. I should ask it of myself for everything I do, it would surely help me refine my activity on this planet.

KEM

The kitten is not in the newspaper anymore. And the very next day after I decided I had to have a kitten and then had that confirmed by the AOL kitten eating very miniature ice cream cone and doing a step dance, and then finding Lover Boy in the newspaper, the very next day I saw (on AOL, of course) a couple of marines in Afghanistan adopting orange striped tabby kittens. It's a plot, I tell you.

I found out today I'm no good at helping suffering people. Our friend who's in the hospital, the nurse stuck a large needle in her hand and held it there, never mind it caused EXCRUCIATING (there's a word that serves its purpose) pain, and this went on for some time until I burst into tears and basically had to leave the room. Good.

On the brighter side, I still am enjoying the little kids in the club each morning. I love to sit on the side where I can see them all seated on the floor, their little faces tilted upward, an excellent view of their baby profiles. I love all the little button noses (almost without exception all little noses, maybe one or two noses in the bunch that look like someone stuck on a round bulb, like a clown's nose). And, I'd like to know what happens to those little noses and how so many of them will turn into great honkin' potato noses in, say, 12 or so years.

Today the review game involved drawing features on a face. If you answered the question correctly, you got to march to the front of the room and draw, your choice, an eye, an ear, or, speaking of, a nose, etc. The children were asked if they wanted to draw a girl face or a boy face. The vote basically broke down like this -- the girls were unanimous for girls' faces and the boys were unanimous for boys' faces. So, a little girl answered the first question and made haste to draw long girl ponytails hair on the blank circle of a face. I guess girls rule. Of course, I thought this was hysterical. The next round a girl drew a single strand of hair straight up on top of the head, well, it had a nice wave to one side. One boy drew a pig nose, so that face ended up with the name Penelope.

It's so interesting to see the personalities that know no shyness, each day it's the same little kids. The story today was Naaman the Leper. The young teacher asked the kids, How would you like it if someone built something for you that you couldn't build yourself, would you like that? (I think the idea was Naaman needed someone to heal him because he couldn't heal himself.) This one little boy thought hard and came up with, I think so (like he wasn't convinced in the least). Oh, and in the review game, when asked the name of the character in the story, the kids were shouting Amen, for Naaman.

Yesterday, when asking the kids what sin was, one little boy suggested, Even dogs sin.

During the sandwich Bible verse review, I whispered to my little friend, Say egg salad, say egg salad! -- 'cause the only sandwich these kids know is peanut butter or deli. Or, if they branch out, peanut butter and jelly. So, a couple kids around Claire heard me and a little boy raised his hand and said, Breakfast sandwich! Okay, I guess that has egg in it, not salady egg, however. And the variation on peanut butter was, Peanut butter with waffle.

Yesterday and today the sweetest 10 year old boy is helping the teens, one of the teacher teens is his big brother. So, he stood up there with the big teens and a little boy (I guess boys rule, too) pointed and asked, Who is that little boy? All in comparison, I suppose.

And finally, for all you preschool workers out there, if you don't play this game, try it. It's called Radio. What child is the radio and sticks his arm straight out to the side. The other child gets to turn the volume dial by raising or lowering the radio's arm. The verse is recited with all sorts of fluctuating dynamics this way, high decibel with the arm raised high and barely audible with the arm down to the side. One little girl thought it was great to move the arm up and down like a metronome ticking at 160. It works much better if they manage to gradually lower and raise the arm or keep it high for one phrase and then low for the next. Anyway, it was a hoot all the way 'round.

The preschoolers are connecting more with the teens each day and seem more engaged in the singing, listening, etc. I think I need to become a preschool teacher, if an old dog can be taught new tricks. Little kids sure seem to bond with bigger kids. The teens are doing a fantastic job and CEF is to be commended for doing such a wonderful job training these kids to serve God. CEF doesn't mess around, they have strict rules and even require the kids to write thank you notes and stuff. Anyone who writes a thank you note in this day and age, as in ink and paper, deserves to go to the head of the class in my book.

Until we meet again,
KEM
PS Too pooped to read over what I just wrote, know the feeling?

Assisting a young woman from out of town in the ER all night does not leave one much in the way of time for blogging. She works for Mike's company and is visiting for business followed by vacation. It was a pretty bad scene and, boy, please say a prayer for her.

But before I forget, I visited my friend today and we went to observe her 8.5 year old daughter at horse camp. What a sight to behold, Belle in a tie-dyed bikini, a bike helmet and purple plastic printed boots, on top of a horse. Priceless.

BYE,
KEM

Middle of July? We all do realize, don't we, that Christmas is nigh unto 5 months away?

So today I pick up four marvelous teenagers and drive them to a church to teach a Good News Bible Club to pre-school children, ages 3-5. It's a church in my old stomping grounds, even attended there when I was ages 3-5. I know that the cutest little girl ever goes there for day care, the daughter of, you know, the little girl I grew up with who scratched her name on the side of my dad's car with a rock. That little girl's little girl.

I mention to the teen girl in the group, Oh, I wonder if I'll see my little friend here today. Meanwhile, the activities lady is figuring how best to do the classes. She decides that two groups of about 25 children will come together and be taught first, followed by another combined group.

I'm having fun watching the action and settle in a seat to chill and observe. When the first class arrives, who should march through the door first, smiley head of the line, other than my little friend. I have to tell you, this was a God gift and served to merely crack me up for the rest of the day.

I ran over and asked, Do you remember me? Because I don't get to see her often and she just turned 5 years old. She nodded yes. And then we talked about how she and her mother visited my sister over night last month during a vacation. She was a hoot at my sister's. Her name is the same as my niece's and since my niece is 18, Little C was in awe. They were all gathered at the kitchen table and my sister was looking at the bowl of fake fruit on the table. She said, Little C, do you like pears? Little C turns her head to look at Big C, Do you like pears? Big C says, Yes. Little C turns her head back to my sister, Yes. Next question, Little C, do you like grapes? Little C turns to look at Big C, Do you like grapes? Yes. Turns head back, Yes.

You should just see how adorably cute this child is. She looks like Ramona from the Beverly Cleary books, a short dark brown pixie and the huge dark brown eyes just like her mother's. She is petite and delicate...and BRAINY.

Later Big C played her violin for everyone. She chose to play some dreary slow piece, for some unknown reason. It went on for a while and Little C is listening intently, completely absorbed. Then. She turns her head to look at her mother and my sister and announces with conviction, THAT SOUNDS AWFUL! My sister agreed and suggested Big C pick something with a little pep. I wish you could see this turn of the head. It's like a punctuation mark.

When it was bedtime Little C didn't want to wear her Pull-Ups (she wears them at night due to a little condition where the mechanism to get up to use the bathroom doesn't click on -- no problem, Little C, once when I was a teenager I got up in the night to use the bathroom but somehow I wound up in the closet and tinkled in a shoebox, where were my Pull Ups when I needed them?).

Okay, so I only mention this because when her mother asked her why she didn't want the Pull Ups, Little C said, Big C might know. Her mom said, Big C won't be able to see them. Little C, always a step ahead, said, She will hear them.

I tell you, a delightful child through and through. She tickles my sister and me to pieces.

So, back to Good News Club. I kept glancing across the room at Little C, who kept busy glancing at me, too, always with a shy grin. I simply can't wait to see her every morning (did I say morning?) for the next few days. I really need to get my little act together and go see Little C when her Grandma, my friend, watches her a couple afternoons a week. I asked her today, What do you call your Grandma? Grandma, she answered, with a big grin.

While we were chatting waiting for class to start, two other little girls scooted up to us (we were on the floor). Little C and I were talking about her vacation to the Carolinas. One little girl said, I went to Tennessee on my vacation. I asked the third girl, Where did you go on vacation? To a hotel, she replied sincerely.

During the actual club one of the teen boys taught the Bible verse. Then they played a game in order to keep repeating the verse. They made pretend sandwiches. One hand was the top bread for the reference, John 3:16, the verse was the filling, For God so loved the world, and the other hand was the bottom bread, reference again. For the filling the kids took their free hand and spread ingredients on the bottom bread hand. When all was said and done, they got to "eat" their sandwiches. Sometimes they made teensy sandwiches and nibbled them, whatever, it was very cute.

Anyway, they asked the kids, What kind of sandwich should we make? Peanut butter and jelly reigned. But one little boy kept shouting, Deli meat! And another little boy yelled, SUBWAY! So the Subway kid was asked, What kind of meat? He said, Turkey with white American cheese and mayonnaise. Okay, a kid who knows his mind.

When the lesson talked about Heaven the teacher told about the streets of gold. She asked, Are there any streets of gold down here on the earth? One little boy offered, Yes, in New York City. A little girl piped up, On an ant farm. Okay.

Then the teacher discussed how our hearts are very dark with sin. A little girl blurted out, How dark? Of course, the children had been advised to raise their hands before speaking, ha, ha.

At the end of the second class a little girl volunteered, in that precious little pipsqueak voice children 5 and under have, Thank you for the class. These children were darling, every which way. I'm thrilled DTD is going to be an early education teacher. She will be great at it. And her reward? A joy-filled career. When I taught 3 and 4 year olds for a couple of years at AWANA, I had a ball, it was the highlight of my week. I actually came home after the class each week and wrote all the cute things they said and shot them off for CDW. CDW and I are going to write a book off of our emails someday, we find them so highly entertaining, LOL, such modesty. Just you wait and see. Everyone else in the world writes a book, practically, so why not, you know, CDW and KEM? Early plug here :)

BTW, Earline is a banana tree. A little one, but a banana tree nonetheless. Earline and Buddy Raye, The Giant Fern, I think there's a book in there somewhere, too. But my friend, their mother, will have to write that one :)

Children make my world go round,
KEM

Hampden DuBose Academy reunion today. SO GREAT to see Miss Tulsa, she's an angel. Also lovely to get better acquainted, just a speck, with some of the other great alum. It's odd to think that there is a limited number of people who attended HDA. It is a dwindling group and one day will be extinct. Not to sully my good memories here, but I think like this sometimes. As a kid I remember sitting at holiday dinners, there were just 7 of us, including my grandparents. I would sit there and realize, One year there may only be 6 of us.

Which reminds me, in the Bible study in which I'm participating, Beth Moore pointed out a verse that says God has set eternity in our hearts. This is why we hate good-byes, they don't seem natural, we are craving forever relationships. Really, I don't like change, especially the kind that involves losing someone. Life just never seems the same after that, and no matter how we long for things as they once were, there is no way to make it happen. BUT, it's a comfort to realize that we can have eternal life, and resisting death or lesser departures is our way of propelling us into that eternity that all ready exists in our hearts.

It was a very blessed day.

KEM