Blyth Times

Diamonds Are For Sharing

Read a terrific story in Reader’s Digest that is a condensation of a book called The Necklace by Cheryl Jarvis published by Ballentine.  It is about a woman called Jonell McLain who saw a simple but gorgeous diamond necklace in a jewelry store window in Ventura, Calfornia.  She tried it on.  She loved it.   She knew she could never afford it.   But it got her wondering why are  personal luxuries so plentiful yet accessible to so few? What if we found a way to share them?
And that is exactly what she did.   She managed to find other women to join with her to purchase the necklace—and at a bargain price.  The jewelry store owner agreed as long as his wife could also be part of the sisterhood of the traveling  jewels.   The women shared the cost of insurance and each got to keep and wear the necklace for a month.   But the necklace was more than a fabulous accessory.  It became a catalyst for each of them to change.  For although diamonds may be some girls’  best friend, for these women their shared necklace  encouraged them to work together on a variety of causes, encouraged them to have more  fun, and rewarded them with several very special friendships.  Yes, a shared diamond necklace and new friends really did add great sparkle to their lives.    

Heavy Medal: Stories of Our Heroes

Are the kids feeling patriotic after yesterday’s historic election?  Well, build on their love of country by watching “Medal of Honor,” a PBS program (check your local listings) which tells the inspiring stories of 13 recipients of America’s highest award for valor. 

The program is full of interesting facts about the Medal, which only one woman has ever received.  She was Mary Edwards Walker, a doctor in the Civil War. Only 3,473 medals have been awarded and since the Vietnam War just seven have been given, all posthumously.   Among the heroes featured are Sgt. Paul Smith, the first soldier to be awarded this great honor in the Iraq War and Tibor Rubin, a Korean War vet who had to wait fifty years for his Medal.

Watch it with the whole family and feel proud once again during this election week of America and Americans.  

Take Your Kids 2 Vote

Check out this TV show on which Myrna appears to encourages parents to take their kids to vote on Election Day.  http://www.aarp.org/aarp/broadcast/Take_Your_Kids_To_Vote/

The Autumn Leaves

Drift by my window.  In fact, they have been flying past with a vengeance because a fierce Northwest wind is blowing.   It is entirely too cold too early.   I like living in a temperate zone where there are seasons.  There used to be four but it seems to me that spring has more or less disappeared the last few years.  Nowadays it seems it is cold  in May and then it is hot in June with a few blooming azaleas thrown in between.   There is still definitely summer and winter and autumn.  I'll give you that. Though, this year autumn is passing through very quickly with that cold Northwest wind at its back. 

I used to play a game with myself about never wearing a winter coat until Thanksgiving.   But the last couple of days have had me hunting in my closet for my almost-winter coat and wishing I had taken it to the cleaners last spring when I should have.   I have noticed that everyone on the subway looks pretty bundled up already.  And everyone has reverted back to wearing black.  The cute colorful little summer dresses and sandals are as if they never existed.    There is  nothing but black pants, black boots, black jackets and black raincoats.   Cold weather takes away individuality and it makes everyone look tired.  Even the babies in the strollers on the street are wearing hats with ear flaps and screwing up their faces against the wind.   

Wth my black pants suit I have been wearing a bright turquoise and blue scarf.  I bought it in Thailand in a village in Chiang Rai province which is in the Golden Triangle on the border of Laos and Burma.   It was in a tiny village where refugees from Burma live.   The women, including some wearing rings to elongate their necks,   make these bright scarves to sell to tourists and only cost a couple of dollars.  You buy them to help them out.   

As the weather cools I find myself picking out one of the two scarves I bought to wear every day. The other one, just as bright, is tuquoise and green.   They remind me of a hot, sunny,very foreign place---a dash of exotic color to cheer me up on a day that seems  to me to be too cold too early.      

Simple Pleasures

In the early 1990's when there was yet another economic slowdown , though not as enormous as the one with which we are now coping, I wanted to start a magazine called "Simple Pleasures."   After the excesses of the '80's---which now seem sort of small potatoes compared to the excesses of the past seven or eight years--- I used to say that people had gone  from thinking about how much they needed to make them happy to deciding how little they needed to make them happy.

Certainly this is another "Simple Pleasures" time.   It may take some effort to focus on such pleasures but it is worth trying.  In fact, I think we will need to keep trying as we all go through some challenging times.    I know this week my simlple pleasures have been just taking long walks and enjoying the fabulous leaves.  Having one good night's sleep after a couple of nights battling middle-of-the-night insominia.  And having coffee with a friend, who I don't see often , but whom I like and respect.

But my best simple pleasure of all was baby sitting with my adorable nearly four-year-old granddaughter.   Her mother was at work, her dad had to go to a class, so I had the chance to  play with her for a while,  give her a bedtime snack, watch two episodes of Dora The Explorer, read her two bedtime stories and sit with her until she fell asleep.

Let me boast--she ls tall, beautiful, with amazing curly red hair.   Her nanny told me that a motherof one of her little friends said to her, "You are so tall and gorgeous."   And it is true.  She has already learned to modestly murmur "Thank you," as the compliments, especially about that hair, pour in. 

She sat curled in my arms as we watched Dora.   She corrected me a couple of times when I missed a word in "Madeline" and "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom."  Yes, she is that smart.    We painted an autumn scene together, an apple tree, pumpkin, dog with black spots , and she traced her name.  Yes, she is really that smart.   

Maybe we adore our grandchildren so much because we have given up some of our illusions about own children and so we transfer our expectations to the next generation.   Or maybe because playing with them, sharing a hug and a kiss, we are enjoying the distillation of a simple pleasure, knowing there is nothing else or nothing more that we could want than to have this moment of utter contentment and joy.