After the tornado...

                              You never know...

         At a meeting the night before the tornado hit the Cannon Falls area, I was discussing a situation with a friend.  He didn’t see my point of viewl.  No problem with this except I was feeling “squirrely” and couldn’t let the topic drop!  He had every right to his opinion, I told myself. But I still fussed.  

The next day I was home alone when the storm hit. Afterwards I went out to count animals but in the dark I couldn’t see all the damage until the next morning. 

Then I started sawing through branches and vines to get to the trunks of all the trees that were smothering my fence lines.  Hour after hour I kept on.

I was bushed.

All of a sudden I received a call that a group of adults and teenagers would come out if I needed help.

And later that day I looked up and saw that the first man to arrive was the very one I had been fussing with! 

That’s the best part of a small town!

 ***

Share your notes of thanks 

to the helpers you’ve seen working relentlessly 

during this devastation in next week’s 
Ripples column. 

  

Drop them off, call them in, email, 
use pigeons, etc.!  

Thanks so much!

Along the way... with Rosie

Hideout needed!

A place to hide.  It’s not just for law breakers or bandits you know.  

Good ordinary folks may need a place to get away.  Maybe their family asks them to solve every little problem.  Or they just need a change of scenery for a break.

But I have decided it could help me too.

You see, I’ve been hearing snatches of conversations that my family would like to celebrate my coming birthday.  It’s kind of a landmark occasion…at my age of 80… at least to them! 

Kind of a surprise to me too.  (And it’s the “new 60” now, you know!)

It’s kind of cool actually because many years ago I had health issues that made me dread the thought of living on.  

But back to the present time… now I’m concerned that since I said I didn’t have any plans to celebrate, and didn’t want to… these folks might decide to have a surprise party for me.

Been there… done that.

My husband tried that once.

It was my fortieth birthday.

Somehow I caught on to the plans and wouldn’t leave the farm when everyone was trying to get it decorated.

Finally, one friend took me aside and explained the situation and got me out of there.

But I was steaming mad!

The roles are reversed.

Keep in mind that I love planning surprise parties for others!  But I don’t know why I thought they would like it any better than I did!

I had better remember that.

But being sneaky and doing something nice is really so much fun!

History shows…

Oh well.

I remember how much fun it was to celebrate birthdays when I was a youngster.

As a child you had occasions to look forward to - like the first day of school - because your friends were there and you were a big kid now.  Then you looked forward to graduating.  Then you looked forward to a new job.  Then maybe a family.  And then you retired and could have time for yourself.

But…

What is there to look forward to after that?

Seems like we should have something else to think about besides your funeral!

Well… right now I’ve got work to do, problems to solve and roses to smell.

Like this one…

OK - back to my first dilemma… my birthday.

What can I say to folks who ask me how I’m celebrating my birthday?

That I’m taking a trip?

But one where I can get home in time to feed horses?

So - I’m back to my first question: 

Do you know a good place for a “hideout”?