You, yes, you
sitting there
reading your
book, washing
the dishes,
or working
on your tan.
Do you love
yourself?
If not, then
it’s way past
time you began
learning how.
We have to first
love ourselves
before we can
truly, honestly
love others.
Fear, mistrust,
anger, might all
become dead
emotions,
ancient texts to
be buried and
never resurrected.
List yourself
first among those
you love, and
love will expand
to encompass the
whole world.
Peace (and love) people!
Most Saturday mornings I spend at least an hour wandering around the weekly farmers’ market in downtown Tallahassee. The Downtown Market boasts much more than just local produce. There are usually Tallahassee area artisans with their wares for sale as well as informational booths.
A couple of weeks ago a display at one of the booths caught my eye and I spent a bit of time visiting with the volunteers manning the exhibit. The display was an enlarged copy of a hotel’s registry. On it were the signatures of several famous African Americans: singer Ray Charles, author James Baldwin, and Academy Award winning actress Hattie McDaniel of Gone with the Wind fame, among others. They had all stayed, at various times, at the Tookes Hotel in Tallahassee.
The Tookes Hotel began in the late 1940’s as Tookes Rooming House, when Dorothy Nash Tookes added three rooms and a bathroom to her home to provide a place for African Americans to stay when visiting the state’s capital. At that time segregation prevented people of color from staying in other Tallahassee hotels.
Ms. Tookes’s grandson, Ronald McCoy is currently planning to operate the former hotel as a museum, bed and breakfast, and luxury function facility, preserving as much of the original furniture as possible. Even the original Tookes Hotel sign, one of the first functional neon signs in Tallahassee, will be refurbished and put to good use.
I can imagine what a welcoming place the Tookes Hotel must have been to weary travelers during the days of segregation. We all just want to be welcomed, after all.
The restoration of the Tookes is an exciting project with great historical significance, and I am eager to see the finished project.
Want to know more? Go to Tookeshotel.org.
Dorothy Tookes earned degrees in both education and nursing and was Leon County’s first certified teacher. She also founded and served as principal of Bond School.
Peace, people!
I ran over a snake this morning.
Ewwwwwwww!
It made me think about other things that bring an ewwwwww to my lips and face and mind:
Things That Make Me Say “Ew!”
(To the tune of My Favorite Things)
Spiders in thick webs and
Baby poop in diapers,
Roaches in corners and
Squished bugs under wipers
Moldy foods in Tupperware
And stinky gym shoes
These are the things that
Can make me say ewwww!
Snakes underneath tires
And hair in my salads
Stepping in dog poo
and John Tesch’s ballads
Splattering sneezes with
Snot infused goo
These are the things that
Can make me say ewwwww!
When the kid pukes
When the farts smell
And I hold my nose
I simply reflect on these
Grossest of things and
All I can say is Ewwwwww!
Peace, people!
Dogs are among my favorite people, but a couple of evenings ago as I was taking my evening walk an unknown dog made a charge at me.
Doright Manor sits at the bottom of a loop and many evenings when Studly and I have been out and about in the car I’ll have him drop me off at the top of our loop so I can get a walk in before darkness sets in. On the occasion of the charging dog, the weather was so nice that I decided to walk the entire loop, bypassing the manor and trekking up the backside.
It’s a nice walk and great exercise as the loop has a long steady change in elevation. About halfway up the back side of the loop I caught a flash of brown out of the corner of my eye. I knew there was a dog waiting to ambush me, if not to attack, just to assert its authority over its territory.
I continued walking, grateful that I’d seen the dog and wouldn’t be taken by surprise. Then he rushed me, a large apparently angry dog barking a deep growly baritone that caused me to stop dead in my tracks. I commanded him to stop, and he did, while continuing to bark.
The driveway he came running out of belongs to a home that’s set way back on its property and there is no house directly across from it. I raised my voice in a “hello!” hoping the dog’s owner would come and corral him.
No response. I had my phone and dialed Studly. No response. I tried again. Nothing, and I figured he was in the shower. All this time the dog continued to bark. I took a tentative step forward and he came closer and growled more loudly. I knew better than to turn my back, so I began walking slowly backwards. He took another step towards me. Again I sternly commanded him to stop and he did. Finally I heard a female voice as his owner came out to the road. The dog was still barking furiously.
“He won’t hurt you,” she said, sounding miffed.
“I don’t care!” I responded. “I don’t know your dog, and he scares me.”
It took her several minutes to get the dog back up to the house. He kept turning back to bark at me and I’m sure my fear was encouraging that behavior.
She never apologized, just herded the dog back to her home. I continued my walk and at the top of the loop Studly returned my call. He offered to come get me, but the crisis was over by then.
Now I’m reluctant to walk my loop. I have a walking stick that would provide some defense, (I didn’t have it that evening) but I’m really nervous. Not long ago a Texas friend was attacked by two large dogs while on a walk, and is still dealing with a nasty bite from that incident.
No punch line in this post. I hate being afraid.
Peace, people.
Tallahassee has an untrumpeted treasure in an unlikely spot on Tennessee street just across from Panera Bread. For the past year I’ve driven past Mission San Luis thinking that one day I’d visit. On Tuesday I did just that. All I have to say now is what took me so long?
From the brochure: “Mission San Luis functioned as the capital of the western missions in La Florida from 1656 to 1704. Populated by more than 1500 residents, including one of the most important Apalachee chiefs and the Spanish deputy governor, San Luis was one of early Florida’s larger colonial outposts.”
The members of the Apalachee tribe actually invited the Spanish Friars to build a mission in their midst, thinking it would increase their status.
The Friars gained a lush environment where crops could be grown and shipped to the larger outpost of St. Augustine.
When various threats emerged to the Spanish holdings, a fort was built on the site; although, it never housed enough soldiers to properly protect the Spaniards or the Apalachee from other Europeans–namely the French and then the English.
Mission San Luis is an ongoing archaeological site and includes remnants of the Apalachee council house along with examples of the stockade and church.
If you’re ever in the Tallahassee area, I recommend you stop for a visit. Let me know you’re in town and we’ll tour it together!
Peace, people!
My favorite night of the month is here: Trivia night at David’s golf club! Our team has yet to win, but we have placed third on two occasions.
I’ve always been fairly good at trivia. This rather ordinary looking brain holds quite a bit of completely useless information. But lately I’ve found that I’ve lost some of my sharpness. That, and there are so many current events in pop culture that I just don’t know.
Even things I once knew I no longer know, such as the atomic numbers of common elements and the various offspring of Greek and Roman deities. I’m still the go to girl on all things Star Wars, though. Now if I could just bribe our emcee, Josh. I wonder if he’d like a nice personalized poem?
Josh
my gosh
your trivia
questions
are boss,
Josh.
I have a feeling that wont cut it. Wish us luck.
Setting: Family room; TV turned to World’s Dumbest Criminals
Wife: It seems that you might be upset about something. I can’t imagine what it might be, and I’ve been wracking my brain all day and just want to say, whatever I’ve done I’m sorry and I will do my best to never do it again.
If it’s about the lack of sex, I realize I haven’t been all that amorous lately. It’s purely hormonal and I’d do something about that if I could. Honestly, don’t take it personally.
Our lives are so entertwined. I don’t know where I end and you begin, so please help me understand your feelings.
Just know that I never take any of this life we’ve built for granted. You’ve worked so hard, and I’ve always been your cheerleader. You’re my man and I love you fiercely.
So maybe we’ve both gone a little deaf, and we aren’t as thin as we once were. Let’s not fight. Just talk and then cuddle. What do you say? Surely we can work this out.
Husband: Did you say something?
THE END
She passed away
on a sunny
summer Sunday,
not a single cloud
in the sky.
No time for
regrets, tears,
or laments;
only just enough
time to die.
After all these years
And all those tears
With all her scars
And baseless fears
She always thought
Or hoped I guess that
Death might give some
notice, some alarm
at the last.
Instead she smelled
honeysuckle on the
wind and for some
reason heard
the dull roar of
thunder on this
cloudless day.
I had my first two hour stint as a volunteer at Tallahassee Animal Services this afternoon. I had first date jitters, I was so excited.
First, I have to give props to the extraordinarily organized and thorough volunteer coordinator at Tallahassee Animal Services, Grayson Walters. Ms. Walters conducted a top notch volunteer orientation and followed up today with a great tour of the facility and suggestions on how to best help out during my two hours onsite.
Of course once I saw the kittens I pretty much forgot everything Grayson said. It was like, “Oooooooohhhhhh kitties!” I did manage to fold and put away a load of laundry and sweep under the kitty dorms before I allowed myself to take a few of the cats out for some interaction.
There’s a pair of kitten siblings, mostly black, with beautiful white chests and socks, named Frito and Dorito, that I fell in love with. Holy cow! They are so cute. I honestly couldn’t tell them apart, but one was on the shy side, but loved being cuddled and the other was full of curiosity.
I’d show photos, but I left my phone in Grayson’s office so no pics this week. I promise I’ll do better next time. Instead, I found this message on Pinterest. I think it’s appropriate.
In college I took enough psychology classes to make me annoying (ok, more annoying) to my friends and family. I loved reading about experiments and studies into animal and human behavior.
One that has stuck in my mind is an experiment that I believe B.F. Skinner, known as the father of operant conditioning, constructed. Now I tried to google the experiment, but never hit on the exact study I was looking for, so maybe I made it up. Please, if you know of the study correct my errors.
As I recall, in the study some rats were given a treat every time they pressed a lever, while other rats never received a treat, and still others received treats at random. Understandably, the rats receiving no rewards soon gave up pressing the lever, and the rats who always received a treat became complacent. The rats that received treats only now and again, though, were the most eager to press the lever.
Hmmm. I get this dynamic now; whereas, in college I did not. Let me illustrate:
Once, many years ago, I arrived home from a business trip to find Studly Doright standing outside our home in Melbourne, Florida, with our motorcycles loaded for a trip. He told me to get ready for a weekend ride and to grab anything I might need for a weekend of fun. He refused to tell me where we were headed, just that I might need my swimsuit.
Unbeknownst to me he’d booked us the attic room at the Seven Sisters Inn (A Historical Bed and Breakfast) in Ocala, Florida. It was wonderful and romantic, and ever since that time I’ve fantasized about another such surprise. Had he never treated me to that trip I’d never even entertain the thought, but he did and now, no matter how often I push the button I receive no reward. Well, at least not THAT reward.
Sigh. Better to be the rat that never got the treat? You decide.
Peace, people!
Praying for Eyebrowz 