Mother had her hearing aid cleaned and her ears checked this morning and then Dick an I took her to lunch. We went to Perkins. None of us had been there since they rebuilt after the fire. They have probably been reopened for at least a year, maybe two. It was good but I was hungry for tuna and they don't have tuna. Dick and I both had turkey clubs which were really delicious.

Tomorrow, we go grocery shopping in the morning and then I will be going to Sam Allison's funeral at 11:00AM. I did go to the viewing for a few minutes this evening. I felt I should. The funeral parlor now does a video collage of pictures provided by the family and then backed with music. The Allison Family had a series of pictures of Sam's life set to Danny Boy. Very nice.

I made macaroni salad and bars to take for the funeral lunch.

This came to me through e mail and impressed me. I hope you like it too.

Running Through The Rain…
A CHILDS PERSPECTIVE

A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6-years-old, this beautiful red-haired, freckle-faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout.

We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Wal-Mart. We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day.

I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child come pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in.

"Mom, let’s run through the rain," she said.

"What?" Mom asked.

"Let‘s run through the rain!" She repeated gleefully.

"No, honey. We’ll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied. This young child waited about another minute and repeated

"Mom, let’s run through the rain,"

"We’ll get soaked if we do," Her mother replied.

"No, we won’t, Mom. That’s not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom’s arm.

"This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?"

"Don’t you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, ‘If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!"

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I promise you, you couldn’t hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child’s’ life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.

"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let’s run through the rain. If GOD let’s us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.


We all can use a little washing sometimes.

I made a new kind of bar today too - Banana Chocolate Chip

They were really easy.

3/4 cup margerine
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 smashed bananas
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips

Cream margerine and sugars. Add vanilla and eggs. Then stir in the flour mixture and the banana. Blend in the chips and bake in a greased 9x9x3 pan at 350 for 25 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.

enjoy

Mary
1/2 tsp sale