Tuesday Ramble

 We often hear of bad weather, but in reality, no weather is bad. It is all delightful, though in different ways. Some weather may be bad for farmers or crops, but for man all kinds are good. Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating. As Ruskin says, "There is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather." 

John Lubbock

Good morning, everyone.  My goodness, it was sure was chilly outdoors yesterday...and quite windy as well.  The sky was gray all day, and by late afternoon the first drops of rain began to fall.  I'm grateful that I was home for the day by then. This morning it is quite wet outdoors, and I have decided that it calls for a day inside.  I have my sofrito to make, and that takes some time to do so that will be my morning chore.

This is my newest plant.  Walked by the store and fell in love with it when I saw it.

My herbs are growing taller each day.

Sorry to be overwhelming everyone with photos of my plants, but after 15 years in the other place which only had two bedroom windows (one held the AC) and two in my boys' room (one held the AC) it is such a joy to have windows wherever I look, and now I am fulfilling the dream of having an indoor herb garden.

Well, yesterday I found out that my friend has been sent to an Assisted Living Center.  He was actually the first person I met when I began attending the senior center, and after a slightly rocky start, we quickly  became great friends. After informing me rather gruffly that I was 'sitting in his seat', we began chatting, and I leaned so much about him.  He lived in a basement apartment at his daughter's house on Staten Island and traveled a long distance to get to the Center. He said that mostly his family was at work, the young ones had their own lives,  and he was pretty much on his own. There were other centers in his neighborhood, but he liked it here since Brooklyn had been his home until recently. 

His wife had died about a year ago, and he missing her, and he was also in a lot of pain, both physically and emotionally. 'I am looking forward to being able to let go.  I don't have anything here anymore.'   I realized then that he was so terribly lonely. So, I reached out and became his friend. And, it wasn't hard.  He is actually a very likeable person.  I always carry hard candies around with me, and  each day I would search him out and give him one. It became a daily tradition. I loved the way his eyes lit up, and he smiled because someone cared.  

Then, I guess it must have been early December that he disappeared. It was when the weather first turned bad.  Each day I would go to bingo, and there was his empty seat.  I asked around, and one woman who k new him told me that he doesn't come when the weather gets cold and icy because he had such a distance to travel.  Totally understandable.  I live only a few blocks away, but I stayed in more often than not because of the weather.  But, as the months wore on and Spring arrived,  I grew more and more concerned that something had happened to him.  Yesterday I found out that because his health is deteriorating, his daughter felt it would be safer for him to be  in an Assisted Living Center.  I am so relieved that he is okay, but I am sorry I did not get to say good bye. And even though I have made other friends, I sure do miss that man.  Sometimes the people we meet reach out and touch us in ways we never expect. 

Yesterday I was furious on the bus, but I kept my cool.  Can't afford to have my blood pressure rise any more than it already is. In the front of the bus, there six seats in front reserved for the elderly and handicapped.  My friend and I each got a seat, and the others were already taken--there were two elderly women, one very pregnant woman, and the last by a young woman who looked barely out of her teens.  She was seated on the very first seat. At the next stop a group of people got on, and one just happened to be a woman who must have been very close to 80.  Some of these bus drivers either just don't care or don't pay attention, but they will take off before an elderly or handicapped person has a chance to sit. Very dangerous.  I've found myself that I am very unsteady on my feet when the bus is rolling, so I couldn't blame the woman for not moving on. 

But, if  the young woman seated in the front had relinquished her seat and moved towards to an open seat in the middle of the bus, the poor woman wouldn't have to stand there hanging on for dear life.  We all turned to look at the young lady, and do you know what she had the NERVE to say?  She pointed to that empty seat in the middle of the bus and said, "There's a seat.  She can sit there."  Oh my goodness. What, was she stupid? You are going to make an old woman hang onto poles rather than you getting up and offering your seat? I wanted to reach out and slap that smug look off her face. But, I know I wouldn't have gotten any place arguing with her. She was just too into herself to realize how dumb she really appeared to others.  I was only two stops from my home so I got up, with my cane, and gave the lady my seat.  I may be a disabled senior myself, but I still have respect for those who are older than me.

Before I end this please do remind me to follow up on news before I go passing it on to others.  On Facebook yesterday a friend posted an IAU announcement that Pluto was being considered a planet again.  (It always was in my book.  It's far too powerful to be anything else). So, I shared it to all my pals on Facebook, including a couple of my astrology buddies.  Later, when I got home I wanted to read more so I pressed the URL to read the press release and all it said was 'April Fools'. It was then that I saw the date...April 1.  Thought I'd actually gotten away with not having any tricks played on me this year, but they really got me.

So, time to jump in the shower.  Have a great day.