herbiehancock

   Last Friday, the students and teachers from our local high school hosted an event called the Soup-er Bowl.  Yes, that is the way I meant to spell that.  This is the second year they have had this event.  Over 200 soup bowls were made by hand by the high school art classes as they studied pottery-making.  These bowls were donated and brought to the kitchen of my church.  Members of the community made and donated gallons of homemade soup which were also brought to the church.    Volunteer teachers and high school students then used these bowls to sell and serve delicious meals of hot, homemade soup to the members of our community in the fellowship hall at the church.  The meals, sold for $10 each, included your choice of all-you-could-eat chicken noodle, chicken tortilla, chicken rice, potato, chili, or vegetable beef soup, bread or crackers and butter, beverage, and your choice of numerous donated desserts.  When my husband and I ...

I haven't written a "grateful" post for a while.  I think I'm overdue.   First of all, last weekend, the tornado siren went off in my town.  My husband was out of town, but the rest of us that were here (me, my two sons, two of their friends, and Max the dog) all made the dash for the basement.  When the siren goes off, that means a tornado has been sighted.   It is not something to ignore or make light of.  Fortunately for us, the tornado didn't touch down in our area, skirting around us to the east.  Unfortunately for others, it did touch down elsewhere.  As a matter of fact, according to the news the next day, five tornadoes touched down in our little corner of the state of Ohio and in Michigan that night, and five people lost their lives.   Much damage was left behind as well. One of the tornadoes tore a path through a high school .  Graduation ceremonies for seniors were to have been held there the next day.  My younger son h...

The Roxbury Latin Latonics, or more simply called, The Latonics, performed a magnificent concert at my church last night.  The Latonics is a group of high school boys from the private all boys school, the  Roxbury Latin School , located in the southwestern part of the city of Boston in West Roxbury.  They perform sophisticated and challenging a cappella music.  Their concerts feature folk songs, spirituals, show tunes, and popular favorites.   The boys are on tour right now during their spring break from school.  Our town was very fortunate to be included as a stop on their tour because of family ties between the Glee Club's director and a member of our church. My son, his girlfriend, and I thoroughly enjoyed the concert they gave at our church.  Following the concert, the boys were housed overnight by various church members.  We were fortunate enough to be one of the families who were hosting the boys.  Two of these polite, well-mannered, ta...

I frequently wonder about how decisions are made when it comes to running a local newspaper.  I am often puzzled as to why some stories are told and some are not.  Why are certain bits of news deemed important enough to go on the front page while others are relegated to pages further back?  I really have to question the thought process involved with these decisions sometimes. This seems to be especially true of the small town newspaper that is published here.   As an example, when the huge earthquake struck Haiti this week, that news was on page nine of our local newspaper.  On the front page was an article full of tips on how college students can use their time wisely. (!!?)  I have nothing against college students using their time wisely.  In fact, I think it is a very good idea for them to do that.  I have a son who is a college student, and I certainly want him to use his time wisely.  However, doesn't it seem like the news from Haiti sho...

  The photo above is from a post I did last year .  We have snow on the square for Christmas this year, but I haven't had a chance to take a new picture.  The decorations are pretty much the same though.  The traditions of Christmas in a small town that remain the same every year are part of what make it so wonderful. *   *   *   *   *   My sons have both been off from school this week and will be off again next week.  My husband, who works in the education field, is off from work too.  I, on the other hand, have had to work.  In fact I worked extra hours this week and will be working even more extra hours next week filling in for others who will be gone.  I didn't get any Christmas cookies baked this year, but I am glad that I still have my job.  There are so many who do not. I am off today and tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to a little family time.  We will be going out to visit with my mother a little late...

1.  When your son's picture is in the local newspaper, someone at one of the local banks cuts the clipping out of the paper, laminates it, and sends it to you in the mail.  This keepsake arrives just two days after the paper came out--sometimes before you have even had time to read the paper yourself! Oh, and you don't even have an account with that bank!!   Members of your church and the people that you work with also take the time to clip these kinds of photos and articles out and save them for you. 2. You have three potlucks to attend in one week--one a fundraiser at the local school for the high school orchestra, one with a church  fellowship group, and one at your work place as part of a Christmas celebration.   These are the pineapple carrot cake cupcakes* I made for the orchestra event we attended tonight. 3. It takes you over an hour to get back from buying a gallon of milk at a grocery store that is five minutes away from your home because the town...

I thought the view of the sunset from my back door was pretty last night... and then I saw the sunrise out my front door this morning, and I couldn't decide which one I liked better. I am glad I was up early enough today to see the sunrise. I wouldn't have wanted to miss it. Lord, for the beauty in the rising and the setting sun, let me be truly grateful.

No matter what kind of day I am having, no matter what is going on, if I stop and think for even just a few minutes, I can always think of things for which I am grateful. During the day, throughout the day, I try to make a mental note to myself when I happen upon something that makes me feel gratitude. I wanted to share just a few small moments of gratitude from my day today. * * * * * One of the best moments was when Dan gave me a smile, a nice big broad one. All I did was tell him to have a good afternoon as I was leaving, when I went to visit my Mom at the nursing home today. He gave me a big smile and said very simply, "Thank you." That is the first time I've ever seen him smile. * * * * * Poor Charley the Lizard is shedding his skin again. I am grateful that humans don't shed their skins the way lizards do. This just looks very uncomfortable and itchy to me. Additionally, after these lizards shed their skins, they eat them. That strikes m...

I was working at the circulation desk at the library, as usual, this week when a little boy, who was perhaps three years old, came to the desk with his mother. From where he was standing, he could not see me behind the desk because of his small stature. I could just see the top of his brown hair over the counter. One of my coworkers was checking out books to his mother at the computer terminal on the left in the photo below. (The computer terminals are behind those white box-like things on the top of the desk.) I was at the computer terminal on the right. The boy was fascinated by the slot in the desk for the book return, as many children are. (You can see the slot in the desk in the picture above. It is right over Charlie the Chicken's head.) The slot was pretty much at eye level for the toddler. It fascinated him because it seemed like a secret passage of sorts with some sort of mystical quality. Who would put a hole there and what was on the other side? What would yo...

My fifteen year old son had the index card pictured above pinned to the bulletin board in his bedroom. I don't know where it came from. It is not written in his hand writing. I don't know if it is something he got from school or church or youth group or from one of his friends or even something he just found somewhere. The fact that it is pinned to his bulletin board, though, means that it is something important to him. It made me smile to see it there. His bulletin board is where he keeps little reminders to himself. Things like important dates for his music and sports events and other things he wants to remember are stuck there with little pushpins. I've made a lot of mistakes in my lifetime, and it is guaranteed that I will make many more. I've made poor choices that I have lived to regret. I have made a mess of more things than I care to remember or count. When I see something like that little index card stuck to my son's bulletin board, though, it make...

I went walking later than usual a couple of nights this week. So late, in fact, that it was already getting dark. It was nice to just walk along in the moonlight and enjoy the quiet. The moon was framed by some of the treetops at the park so I took a picture. It was a small moment of peaceful joy. One of the nights I walked, I came up to the street that runs alongside of the park and noticed flashing lights over to my left. I took a look and could see a fire truck, an ambulance, and four police cars all parked together there just a short distance away. I'll tell you more about that in a moment, but first I have to give you a little background information. Back in May, my younger son went to Chicago for a couple of days on a class trip. He took our camera along with him. Unfortunately, the camera did not make the trip back home again. He realized after his return that he had left it behind in his hotel room. Although we called the hotel to see if it might have been tur...

I've been working on hoeing the weeds out of the flower beds. I don't have a garden where I live now-- just a couple of flower beds. My parents kept a garden all during my growing up years though, and I have had gardens of my own at other homes where I have lived. My poor flower beds have been neglected of late, and the weeds are flourishing much better than the few flowers I have planted. It felt good to go after those weeds with a hoe. It felt good to do some work, release some stress, and make the flower beds look neater all at the same time. It struck me that I was actually feeling grateful for those weeds growing there. I know most people are probably not grateful for weeds, but having weeds to hoe is more than just a chore to me. Having weeds to hoe means that those weeds are growing in a flower bed that I take care of because it belongs to me. That flower bed is part of the yard that I own and in that yard is the house where I live. So having weeds to hoe reminds...

These are just a few of the reasons I've had to smile lately. If you look around today, perhaps you will find some reasons to smile too. * * * * * A Coworker With a Sense of Humor There is a young man who visits the library where I work who always wears his pants sagging down and droopy so that the top of his underwear shows. I'm sure you've seen someone like this. T his habit drives me crazy. I have never understood this fad. My coworker knows how I feel about this fashion "statement," and she feels the same way. She decided to have a bit of fun with me. She could see our saggy pants patron coming to the desk for me to wait on him. She was in our supervisor's office and was visible to me, but she was not visible to Mr. Droopy Drawers. She immediately pulled her pants down so that they were drooping just like the patron's. She then swung her backside around in a little swagger dance to make sure that I could see her. Of course, I laughed. ...

The library where I work was front page news last week. Unfortunately, it was not good news. It was announced that we would be reducing the number of hours that we are open to the public. Because state funding has been reduced, cuts have to be made. These reduced hours are being implemented in spite of the fact that the usage of our library is up by 20%. Although the number of hours I work has not yet been cut, they may be cut in the near future. Currently, my schedule is being shifted around to accommodate the new hours we are open at the library. I will be working different times on different days than I am now but will still be working the same number of hours that I have been working. This is partly due to the fact that my department is still short handed because one of my coworkers is on an extended family leave due to her daughter's health. I will also still be working the same number of hours because in order for the library to remain open, my particular position is o...