Snake Alert

Beware. We have a new species of snake here in Oklahoma. It was discovered by my middle grandchild as she and her siblings explored near the pond by their home. Miss M stayed with me this weekend and we had much territory to catch up on as it has been awhile since the last visit. Excitedly she tells that she was almost bitten by a coppermouth snake down by the pond. I'm thinking to myself, that almost sounds right, and then it hit me that it was a confusion of two snakes. Unless it really was a coppermouth. Miss M just might make it into the science books for her discovery.

Hey! That's MY Garden Hose!

I don't know about where you live but garage sales, estate sales and tag sales are the most popular form of entertainment here. It's not uncommon to run into the same people over and over again and you eventually become friends. Sometimes there will be 'foreigners' as in someone from out of town and that's where the problem begins. You see, there are certain curtesies extended to one's shopping friends. If you spot an item you're interested in but don't quite get there before someone picks it up you can approach that person and say something like "I saw that first". Usually the startled person will hand the item over and all is well. I had pretty well viewed everything offered in the tag sale earlier but had gone back by in case I had missed something. Just as I entered the front door a 'foreigner' walked up to the cashier and suddenly my eyes were riveted on the object in his hand. I must have missed it when I sashayed through the garage but there it was. One of those really neat garden hoses, green, that flattens out to fit snugly on it's own storage carrier. I knew in an instant that IT WAS MINE! So, I approached the 'foreigner'standing in the cashier's line and said "you know, you have my hose". He didn't say anything. I paused and then I said "it's unfortunate that you got to that hose first but it really needs to go home with me". And still he stares straight ahead, stoic. I step closer, raise my face in his direction and with my most earnest expression gesture with my hand toward my face and said "this is my face trying to look happy while you take my garden hose". The 'foreigner' bursts into laughter, turns and walks out the door....with my garden hose. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to be nice to people.

My Friend

She was working in her yard when I stopped to view the vacant house next door. We visited briefly and I asked her a few questions about the neighborhood. I also wanted to know if she could tell me anything about the house. Encouraged by her answers I called my realtor, viewed the property and wrote a contract. While moving in, my new neighbor would come over with sandwiches, cold drinks and a helpful hand. We became friends, good friends, and we shared each others victories and comiserated over our defeats. I enjoyed tinkering so she jokingly bought me a tool belt loaded with various tools. She would call me when she had a leak in her dishwasher or when the filters in the attic needed changing. I even changed the flat tire on her car parked on the side of the tollway. She nicknamed me Josephine after the independent fix-it lady in the sit-com 'Archie Bunker'. She had a gift, a way of telling a story that would leave me howling with gut-grabbing laughter.

I remember the day she came to my door, sobbing and babbling incoherently. My arms wrapped around her we sat on the kitchen floor. As she calmed down my friend shared that her mother had just died. She, an only child, was inconsolable. And the realization that hers was the next generation left her in shock. I don't know how long we were there. It doesn't matter. I'm just glad I could be there for her. I know if the opposite were true she would have done the same for me.

Oh by the way, did I tell you? My friend is black.

Dancing The Sidestep with Sarah Palin

No, Palin's not in this video but she could well be because her actions are the very same. See what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mNDHTfdn1A

The Happy Tarantula

Most of us suffer from arachnaphobia or the fear of spiders. I can easily confess that I also fall into that category. Size, shape, color or intent makes no difference to me. Spiders give me the heebie-jeebies. And those tree spiders that spin their webs across walkways about face high. They're frightening and I always brush my hair and hope that the spider wasn't planning a dive down the back of my shirt.

Then there came a day recently when I was on the backswing of my evening walk and I
encountered a full sized tarantula. This tarantula must have been out for a stroll as well. As I neared her and then pulled even, I noticed she was so intent on her walk that she really didn't care that I was close. So we walked side by side down the rest of the block until I peeled off to head home. I discussed the weather with her, asked if she had many children and was she living here in town or just visiting. Although she didn't answer I still felt a certain comraderie with her. A surprising and most delightful walking companion. But not necessarily one that I would invite home.