Saltwater Cure...by Mike Terry

Photo Courtesy of Mike Terry

Sacrifice...by Jim Terry

What does the word sacrifice mean to you?  In my life, I could name several things or circumstances that could be attributed to the word sacrifice…

My Dad was and is a homebuilder and there were those times that were tough when the housing market wasn't doing so well. I remember experiences when Mom and Dad would go without in order for their kids to have “stuff” they wanted or the medical services they needed. One of those experiences I am going to tell you about relates to my dental health.

I was about ten or eleven at the time and I remember my Mom taking me to my dental appointment with Dr. Johnson.  Before we left home that day, and months prior to this occasion, my Mom would remind me time and time again to “brush” at least two times a day.  As kids do—and I now know this from working in dentistry—kids never brush their teeth correctly. As kids we satisfy Mom’s wishes of brushing our teeth by simply wetting down the brush, put a little toothpaste on the brush, quickly do a couple of strokes ONLY on the front teeth and then suck the rest of the bubblegum flavored toothpaste off of the brush to enjoy the flavor. Does this sound familiar to those of you with kids out there?

So as I went into Dr. Johnson’s office that day, I was confident that I was going to “show my Mom” by having no cavities because as I kept telling her...“nothing hurt.”  Well to my dismay, I was awarded not with one but six cavities that were diagnosed that day.  I will never forget the smile on my Mom’s face when the Doctor told her “the news.” She then proceeded to tell me “I would have to work hard to pay for all of that dental work.”

She never told me until later in my life, because I pressured her to tell me the truth, that she sacrificed going to the dentist that summer herself because of the costly  mistake of her DUMB—my adjective for myself not my Mom's—little blue-eyed boy. 

Moms seem to sacrifice all the time for their kids but sacrifice can also be recognized in several different areas of life and in everyday life situations in the world…

  -   Have you ever seen someone give up a seat for someone else on a train, in   

       a bus or on a flight? To the person receiving that seat, that can be viewed as a sacrifice.

-       Did you know that over 600,000 people died in the civil war alone, either from combat or disease, to provide our freedom? 

-       Fifty to eighty million people died in World War II from combat, famine or war-related

    disease. Truly an incomprehensible sacrifice.

-       Have you ever seen a child share a toy?  To the child doing the sharing, that may be a BIG

     sacrifice.

-       The cost of the Statue of Liberty was funded by contributions from both

                 the French and the Americans. In 1885, a New York newspaper entitled

                 “World” announced that $102,000 had been raised from donors, and that

                 80 per cent of this total had been received in sums of less than one

                 dollar.

-       In November 1930 a bond passed where people put up their own properties as collateral to
    construct the Golden Gate Bridge.  During the construction of the bridge, eleven men died.

I could go on and on about sacrifice but it made me recognize, as another week starts and another fourth of July ends,  that there are all types of sacrifices that are all around us everyday. They don't have to or need to be as large as some of the examples listed above either. Try to remember to look a little deeper into every structure, situation or setting you might be in and be grateful and recognize the sacrifice that may be happening right in front of your eyes. 

The most recent "sacrifice" in my life, which happened only a little over a week ago, was when a sister came to California.  She was here for a seminar but sacrificed part of her time at the seminar to see her brother. We were able to spend some time together and experience one of the sacrifices mentioned above while we took a stroll over the Golden Gate Bridge..."Thanks Lor and come back soon." 

Oh and one more sacrifice and getting back to my before mentioned dental “issues”…I ended up having to sacrifice most of my summer that year by working hard to help pay off the bill to Dr. Johnson’s dental office...So for those of you who claim to be a math whizz out there, how many hours of shoveling horse poop, weeding gardens and cleaning up construction sites does one have to put in to pay off a $600 bill at $2.50 an hour?  J

Happy Tuesday and what sacrifices have you noticed in your life?

♦ Hope you'll share YOUR stories and photos with us at: nutshellstories@gmail.com. 

Bubbles...by Mary Hazlett

When I say the word, "Bubbles" what comes to your mind?  I think of bubbles that you blow, bubbles that are made in the dishwasher, bubbles in the washer, and bubbles in the tub.  I love all those kinds of bubbles.  It seems to just make me smile because something is either getting clean or relaxing in it.     Now, most of you know my son...yep, the getter upper at 5:30 am despite his late night, and run you around until you fall on the ground one.  Well, he has always loved his bath time especially with bubbles.  There were times that he was a grumpy mess and I would just start the tub water running and put him in it and soon he would emerge an entirely different person.  Even at four years old this trick works for Benson.

This last week was a time for an emergency bath,  because life was just too hard for him and he needed a break.... well look at the result....

Wouldn't it be great if we all had something so magical that could just take all our cares away like those bubbles do for Benson?  (Mine is a quiet room and a cold Diet Mountain Dew!)

Happy Monday everyone!! Hope you had a wonderful 4th of July and that today you can find some BUBBLES for relief!

**Share your stories with us at nutshellstories@gmail.com 

The Home of the Brave...by Mary Hazlett

I thank my teachers for so much that I have been taught by them.  Why am I mentioning teachers on this amazing day of United States patriotism...well, because I will never forget Mrs. Hill.  She was my outstanding 8th grade World History teacher.  She would start every class with this, "Before I teach you of World History, I have to teach you about this wonderful country you live in".  Mrs. Hill would then deliver a most patriotic story of a hero or heroes in the United States history, usually she finished her stories with at least a tear or two and with a permeating love of her country.  After her amazing story told to us, the class would stand and sing all four verses of The Star Spangled Banner.

I still know all the words to our beautiful national anthem.  What a beautiful story it unfolds.  Do you know all the verses?  Well, take a minute and read them.  

The first verse asks a question:

O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?

And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

The second verse answers the question:

On the shore, dimly seen thro’ the mist of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep.
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream
‘Tis the star-spangled banner. Oh! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

The third verse is about the siege of the English failing and our home constantly being threaten to return to English rule:

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footstep’s pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

The fourth and final verse....says it all!  It has the perfect mix of patriotism, piety, and honor.  

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation,
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n – rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, for our cause is just,
And this be our motto–”In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

So, now that I am a grown woman with children of my own, I LOVE my country.  With tears in my eyes, I salute all the service men and women of this country.  Thank you for protecting my home, my family, my faith, and my future.  And some of you may wonder how I begin my Fourth? ...  Well, with this awe inspiring presentation of "The Star Spangled Banner" blaring through my speakers with windows and doors open!!!

"Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just, and this be our motto- 'In God is our trust'."

***Share your stories with us at nutshellstories@gmail.com

"Let Them Eat Cake"...by Gina Waite

Friday is the 4th of July and at my house we will be busily readying all the food for our family get together!  Of course we will have already dressed ourselves (and even our dog) in hand-picked patriotic t-shirts sporting our beloved and revered, "Old Glory!"  Now, I'm not certain how big a deal the 4th of July is at your house, but at ours...the celebration and traditions that have been passed on, and created, make for one of our favorite, and most memorable holidays...but it's our BBQ...that "takes the cake"...let me explain!

About ten years ago most of my brothers and sisters traveled to my house to celebrate the 4th together!  As I wanted our time to be enjoyable and memorable, I busied myself with ideas of fun activities, food and fireworks!  As the day neared when my family would arrive, I finalized little details of what would be on our 4th of July menu!  Knowing my Mom would be in attendance, I quickly determined brownies needed to be an option as a treat...but still looked over magazines (remember...pre-pinterest days) and books to find the coup de gras of ALL 4th of July desserts!  Then, I found it...a colored picture of a perfectly recreated flag...all encompassed in the sugary goodness of yellow-butter, cream cheese frosted, fruit-lined cake!

The rest of the 4th of July BBQ, as good as it would be, would pale in comparison to this butter-infused behemoth and as the stars and stripes would be recreated by using fruit, and in keeping the fruit fresh, I realized I would need to make it on the 4th of July!  Hoping my time in the kitchen would not consume the fun-filled day...I baked the cake on the eve of the 3rd and planned to decorate the cake mid-morning while most everyone would be engaged in activities and set-up!  

 As I started to spread the cream cheese frosting as a base-layer for the stars and stripes, I realized that a small audience of family onlookers had begun to form!  My brother Richard recommended that I try to have thirteen stripes of red raspberries.  My sister Mary asked if she could count out the fifty pre-made star sprinkles...and before I knew it, I realized that creating the flag cake would become a memorable 4th of July activity, for ALL of us!  ...And much to my delight, it tasted great too!

Fast forward ten years...almost the same people, planning the same details:  the food...will be fantastic, the family...missing our amazing Mother but most of us will be together, the fireworks...incredible to behold, but it's our flag-cake-decorator that may surprise most of you!  For with tradition, the transmission of this most beloved activity is being passed on from my generation to the next!  ...And I must say, she's a pretty fantastic little cake decorator!  Happy 4th of July everyone...enjoy your family and "let them eat cake!"  

♦ Hope you'll share YOUR stories and photos with us at: nutshellstories@gmail.com. 

  

Star Spangled Banner...by Francis Scott Key

"Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light, 

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming, 
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, 
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? 

And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, 

Gave proof thro’ the night that our flag was still there. 
Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave 
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!"

 
- Francis Scott Key, The Star-Spangled Banner, 

September 14, 1814

Picture courtesy of Gene Petty

"Live"...by Jim Terry

I always find it interesting in the English language, as in other languages, that a word can mean something totally different contingent upon the context it is used in even though it is spelled the same.   For instance…the wind blows verses you wind a clock. You go to the fair verses Life is fair.  Do you bow to the audience or ride on the bow of a ship or does that girl have a bow in her hair?  For my purposes today; however I wanted to examine the word “live.”

Let’s look at the first meaning of that word…

- One of my favorite shows on television due to his comedy routines is “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon. As you know, this show is taped “live”. 

- If you go to a nightclub or even a restaurant they will sometimes have “live” music.

-  Newscasts can sometimes be broadcast at a “live” scene.

-  If you’re an electrician and work near “live” wires, you need to be careful.

The second meaning to this word can be associated with some of the examples given below and is the definition I want to focus on today…

-  You “live” your life.

-  I had to “live” on the college campus, while I was going to school.

-  I wonder what it was like to “live” in the 50ties.

-  She was diagnosed with cancer and may not “live” much longer.

And why am I pointing this out might you ask? Well, I was able to witness a wonderful person and great man that I know, that helped put into perspective what it means to really “live.” 

Within a short five-month time frame within the past year, this person not only lost his wife of fifty-one years but also his own Mother who almost made it to one hundred years old.  He has also withstood several ups and downs of the economy with his business over the years.  Those of you, who work in an industry that fluctuates with the economy like construction, know all too well how hard it can be financially when times get tough. And when those times were tough, he was the first to sacrifice anything he had for the sake of his family or for others in need.  This man has also survived being the father of eight children and withstood the elements and factors in life that can tear a family down or apart by being their protector or as his late wife put it…"their Superman.”

If you are familiar with the movie, the comic book or the character of Superman, you all know that he had one weakness…KRYPTONITE.  Kryptonite was a radioactive substance from Superman’s home planet on Krypton that rendered his powers feeble and absolutely useless.  

Again in reference to this man that I know who lost his wife and his mother within five months of each other, you would think that something as traumatic as this would be one’s kryptonite right?  In this case; however, I believe it only strengthened his armor and his will to “live.” 

This man one night was feeling a bit defeated and was crying from, what I thought was, the loss of two very important people in his life.  I asked him if there was anything I could do to help?  He looked at me with his pale green watery eyes, tears running down his cheek and said, “I’m sad because I also am approaching the end of my life and I still want to “LIVE!”  Being dumbfounded and astonished at what I just heard, I also began to cry with him.  

Isn’t it normal or definitely EASIER for us to find the room of self pity and say, “I can’t live without them” or “I don’t want to live anymore” with a situation such as this or when we experience the death of a loved one? 

I can proudly say that this man I speak of—SUPERMAN—is my Father.  He didn’t even let this, in spite of his heartache and what might be a very negative and detrimental situation for most of us, become his kryptonite.  He is an amazing person, parent and best friend that has once again taught me, and hopefully all of us, another powerful lesson.  Don’t just “live” your life…”Love the life you LIVE and LIVE the life you love!” 

"Thanks Dad. I love you!"

P.S.  It has been just over a year now since my Mother started this blog.  Thanks to all of you who have commented, liked, posted and shared with us...You have helped the Terry Family "LIVE!" 

HAPPY TUESDAY and "LIVE" it as if there is no tomorrow!