"Watch Your Mouth"...by Jim Terry

Ok, what are you going to be for Halloween this year? Over the years, I have been a ghost, a vampire, the Grim Reaper, Cat in the Hat, Frankenstein, a zombie, and the list continues to go on and on. However, as I thought about the many costumes I had over the years, including the ones into my adult years, there is one in particular that stands out in my mind as being my favorite…Sylvester the cat.

I’m sure you all remember, at least those of us that are familiar with the Looney Tunes, that Sylvester was the black and white, tuxedo patterned, cat that was always trying to chase and catch the Tweety Bird. To his dismay, and over the years, he never seemed to catch that little yellow bird. Which, and just to point out, was a really good thing for us kids too! If he had caught the Tweety Bird the cartoon would have then ended…right? 😀  So because of my love for this adorable cartoon character, I asked my Mom that year for a costume that would be fashioned like Sylvester. 

For those of you who don’t know, my mother was not only an excellent writer/author/playwright but also an exceptional seamstress. She had been taught to sew by her mother and then passed that knowledge onto my sisters that wanted to learn how to sew.  I remember the day that my mother and I went to JoAnn Fabrics to get the fabric to create, what was in my mind anyhow, “the best costume ever.”

 

Because of my excitement, I recall asking my poor mother day after day, “When is my costume going to be finished?”  Well with what seemed like an eternity to a child being seven years old at the time and with a lot of patience on my mother’s part, the day of “the reveal” had come.   I remember my first glance at my costume. Never before had I seen a costume so wonderful…so grand…so PERFECT! 

Hallows’ Eve came and what was not part of my strategy for that evening, nor had I even thought of it, was for Mother Nature to throw a wrench into my carefully laid plan to be “the envy of the neighborhood children” by sporting the perfect costume. Have you ever heard the phrase, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute?” Well, that minute, that one that would have made my childhood dreams come true, never came that night. In fact, it was one of the coldest Halloweens ever to grace the southeast Idaho foothills, which also called for “a chance of snow.”

That evening entailed gusty winds that went right through you…sleet that felt as though it would lacerate you at it hit your skin’s surface… And finally snow, which later not only started to fall but also stuck to the ground. The setting that night was much more conducive to a holiday two months away that incorporates Santa and a sleigh not Hallows’ Eve.

For those of you who want to know, we did end up trick-or-treating that night but to my dismay, no one could really see my costume that I was so proud of and would make me the talk of the town. Instead of showing off my Sylvester the Cat costume as I had planned, it was concealed by one of the most pathetic costumes ever.  I was dressed in a head to toe wrap which included a coat, a scarf, a set of gloves and moon boots because of the wrath that Mother Nature created that night. I looked very similar to Randy on the movie Christmas Story, but a bonus for me, I could at least put my arms down! 😂 

A year had passed and in my young heart I apparently really never let go of the anger and disappointment I felt the previous Halloween by not being able to show off my costume. This was evident the following year if anyone was able to witness my reply to my mother when she asked me, “What do you want to be for Halloween this year?”

With a slight hesitation, a mean look on my face and crossing my arms as I began to speak, the following sentence came out of my mouth. “I guess I’ll just be another damn Eskimo!”

Now let’s stop right here for a moment to clarify. Being only seven years old at the time, you have to realize that when I said this there was absolutely no prejudice, bigotry or narrow-mindedness at all towards the Eskimo population with what I said that day. All I knew as a child is that Eskimos had to dress really warm in order to survive in Alaska and in those “cold north areas.” This was simply my perception of what I looked like on the previous Halloween because of the cold weather we had experienced and how I had to dress the year prior. What really should be pointed out is the second to last word that I said that day.  In reference, once again, to the movie Christmas Story, remember when Ralphie was helping his Dad change the tire on the car and the word he said? "D-A-M-N," in our household, might as well have been the “queen mother of dirty words.” 

Background © TopTrendz.net

As the story goes, you all will be happy to know that I didn’t have to place a bar of soap in my mouth or reveal where I had heard that word before–certainly I couldn’t say I had heard it watching Looney Tunes or drag my best friend down with me and the sinking ship I was in😀–but with the list of chores I was given and the two weeks that I was grounded from seeing my friends or playing the Atari 2600 still “haunts” me to this day.

So on this Halloween make sure to have fun with family and friends, get lots of candy, be safe, learn from my previous mistake (especially if you are young), and make sure that if you do not get your way or things don’t go quite as planned, Please...“WATCH YOUR MOUTH!”

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

♦ Hope you'll let us share your stories and photos here at our residence "In a Nutshell." Email us at nutshellstories@gmail.com.   

HAPPY LABOR DAY

HAPPY LABOR DAY!!!

"Hoodoo You Know, That Wouldn't Want To Go?...by Jim and Marlene Terry

I was working on a patient just the other day and was taken back when she said, “I am taking my daughter to the mall for some back to school shopping.” 

I had to think for a moment about what she said and then responded, “Is it already that time again?” 

For those of you who are just like me in disbelief that the summer is quickly coming to an end, please check your calendar and catch up as I had to do.  It’s a sad reality that the dog days of summer and our ability to take a vacation are dwindling quickly and will soon be coming to an end. 

As I was thinking about what to write about, I thought what a better opportunity than to write about an idea for one last “hoorah” for a family vacation.  Granted all of our national parks are amazing, but there is one, centrally located in the western states, that should not be missed…Bryce Canyon National Park.

© Jim Terry-If you look close enough, those are people hiking amongst the Hoodoos.

I visited there about five years ago and had sent my mother pictures of my excursion to help her with ideas of what to write about. She, with the natural writing talent she had, articulately encompassed the details of the landscape and the formations of what makes this park so unique. Her article is also one, not to be missed. 

http://marleneterry.blogspot.com/2013/10/hoodoos-of-many-colors.html

So before the summer ends and with one more long holiday weekend coming up the beginning of next month, I wanted to give you one more idea of where you may want to take your travels.  And since I have already been there, know the beauty of the area and how that affected me, I only have one question to ask of you…”Hoodoo you know, that wouldn’t want to go?”

©Jim Terry

♦ Hope you'll let us share your stories and photos here at our residence "In a Nutshell." Email us at nutshellstories@gmail.com.   

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

"Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life."
--Bob Marley

Happy 4th of July!!!

♦ Hope you'll let us share your stories and photos here at our residence "In a Nutshell." Email us at nutshellstories@gmail.com.   

Sacrifice...by Jim Terry

Just the other day, I was lucky enough to take a long walk after work along the cliffs adjacent to a beautiful beach, designated as a state park, here in California. If one walks to the brink of the cliffs and gazes over the edge, one might notice the beach. The sand is a pale yellow that has been fashioned by the slowing eroding clay-based cliffs just adjacent to the beach that are slowly surrendering to mother nature’s fury.  As you gradually gaze along the horizon, you also will notice the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. With its never-ending movement and white caps that are formed as the crest of the waves yield to the gravity that pulls it down, one might also witness a few ships coming into and out of port. And if you keep moving your head from left to right, now gazing towards the north, you will once again observe the faint silhouette of land jutting out into the sea all the while hearing the faint cry of seagulls in the distance and feel a gentle breeze that carries the sea mist that caresses your face.  

Photo © Jim Terry

As I finally found that one vacant bench to sit upon, I decided to take a minute to reflect upon and take in my beautiful surroundings. While sitting there and knowing of the upcoming holiday, I couldn’t help but to think of and be grateful for those that I have in my life but also those people I had in my life, which have been great influences.

Of course, one of the first people I thought of was my mother. Vast expanses of an ocean view were always one of her favorite things to experience. As they say about mothers, “A mother is she who can take the place of all others, but whose place no one else can take.” There isn’t a day that doesn’t go by that I still don’t think of my Mom, her kindness, her love and her influence in my life… "thanks, Mom!”

I also thought of several of my ancestors and how they had loved and influenced me. My Grandma Hattie was always fun because when we would stay with her she would transport us into a magical world by telling us stories about leprechauns and fairies. She had a room in her home that was “off limits” because that’s where the “fairies and leprechauns” lived. We could only peer into the room at certain times of day if we wanted to try and catch a glimpse of one.  To this day and because I believe in magic, I still believe that I had the one and only “leprechaun sighting” in my Grandma’s magical room. Oh and JFYI and because I now believe in leprechauns, I am going to totally disregard and discredit the fact that my grandma probably didn't want us in there because she had a lot of nice and breakable things that she didn’t want us kids to break! J

© www.brightersideart.com

In the morning after a good nights rest and if we followed her rules, she would also allow us to experience a small part of our Dutch heritage by making us ebelskivers filled with homemade jam or cinnamon glazed applesauce.  To this day, this still one of my favorite foods and memories I had the privilege of enjoying with my grandmother.

As I sat there, I also thought of my Grandpa Oliverson, Hattie's husband. I never met him because of his passing in 1965 at a young age. He worked for the civil service and was employed at the Toole Army Depot for twenty-four years. I have heard stories about his love of hunting and what a good man he was.  Someday, I will look forward to knowing him even better.

© www.brightersideart.com

I thought of my Grandpa and Grandma Terry and their love of the outdoors and fishing for bass at a place called Hot Creek in Nevada. One of my favorite trips every summer was to go and see them and go fishing with them in the middle of the Nevada desert. I enjoyed my time with them but also because there was a remarkable natural spring that sprang forth out of nowhere that became our swimming hole to escape the heat of the summer’s sun.

I also thought about all of my relatives that have served our country, present and past, and how important their service is to me. My Uncle Paul who served in the Army was always a fun guy to be around. His love and dedication to his family also carried through to his service and commitment to our country which also found him participating in the Vietnam conflict.

My grandmother's pendant.

My great Uncle Joe who served in the Navy during WWII was also a pilot. As the story goes, his plane was in combat and fired upon and hit­–both my uncle and his plane survived. I remember asking my grandmother one day where she got a necklace that I noticed she always wore. The necklace also included a pendant that was in the shape of a white heart.  On the face of the white heart was a hand-painted red rose.  Apparently, my great uncle had this pendant made for my grandmother from a piece of the shrapnel left inside of the fuselage of my uncle’s plane after it was fired upon. As my grandma continued on with her account, I noticed a slight break in her voice and a tear in her eye as she said he told her he made it for her because he wanted it to be a reminder of “his love of family; which could overcome any obstacle.”

As I continued to sit there on that bench and enjoy my surroundings, thoughts of loved ones and story after story filled my mind that afternoon.  As a young boy, I really never understood the Memorial Day holiday and I was always confused when I would see my Grandma cry when we would drive to Mink Creek, Idaho, year after year, to put flowers on my Grandpa’s grave.  Funny how I “get it now.”  It’s the sacrifice of others when acknowledged, that truly makes us better people. And whether that is one witnessing a loving grandmother placing flowers upon her husband’s grave in acknowledgment of the love and provisions he afforded his family or for the dedication or even the death of a serviceman or woman who serves their country, each and every sacrifice is significant. 

So on this MEMORIAL DAY, enjoy your time, be safe, be happy, enjoy your family and friends, remember loved ones lost, be grateful for those that are serving our country and always remember, “Great achievement is born of great SACRIFICE, and is never the result of selfishness." ~Napoleon Hill~

♦ Hope you'll let us share your stories and photos here at our residence "In a Nutshell." Email us at nutshellstories@gmail.com.   

A Loving Mother...by Jim Terry

As I was sitting here contemplating the other day and thinking about this upcoming holiday called Mother's Day, I couldn't help but ask myself a couple of questions...

"Where did it start?" Where did it come from?" 

Well, with a bit of reasearch–so easy for us to do in this day and age via the internet–I was able to answer some of my questions and wanted to share some of this knowledge with you. The following information was compiled from an article that was presented on history.com. If you would like to read the full article you can find it HERE.

"Mother’s Day is a holiday honoring motherhood that is observed in different forms throughout the world, and Mother’s Day 2018 occurs on Sunday, May 13, in the United States. The American incarnation of Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. Jarvis would later denounce the holiday’s commercialization and spent the latter part of her life trying to remove it from the calendar. While dates and celebrations vary, Mother’s Day traditionally involves presenting moms with flowers, cards, and other gifts.

Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.” 

© History.com

Once a major tradition in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, this celebration fell on the fourth Sunday in Lent and was originally seen as a time when the faithful would return to their “mother church”—the main church in the vicinity of their home—for a special service.

Over time the Mothering Sunday tradition shifted into a more secular holiday, and children would present their mothers with flowers and other tokens of appreciation. This custom eventually faded in popularity before merging with the American Mother’s Day in the 1930s and 1940s.

The official Mother’s Day holiday arose in the 1900s as a result of the efforts of Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis. Following her mother’s 1905 death, Anna Jarvis conceived of Mother’s Day as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children.

After gaining financial backing from a Philadelphia department store owner named John Wanamaker, in May 1908 she organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia. That same day also saw thousands of people attend a Mother’s Day event at one of Wanamaker’s retail stores in Philadelphia.

Did You Know?

More phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year. These holiday chats with Mom often cause phone traffic to spike by as much as 37 percent.

Following the success of her first Mother’s Day, Jarvis—who remained unmarried and childless her whole life—resolved to see her holiday added to the national calendar. Arguing that American holidays were biased toward male achievements, she started a massive letter writing campaign to newspapers and prominent politicians urging the adoption of a special day honoring motherhood.

By 1912 many states, towns and churches had adopted Mother’s Day as an annual holiday, and Jarvis had established the Mother’s Day International Association to help promote her cause. Her persistence paid off in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day."

© Jim Terry (background photo)

So I not only give a big, "THANK YOU" to my own mother in heaven for all of her love and support but also to Anna Jarvis. I honor her for all of her efforts in creating a day for us to honor those very important people in our lives which we all call, "MOTHERS."  So take that moment today to celebrate that very important person who not only laughed with you but also cried because you cried. The same person that watched you grow. The same person that stayed up late peering through a partially cracked front door to witness your car pulling into the drive, even though it was way past her bedtime, to make sure you arrived home safely. And that very same person that will support and love you throughout your life despite all of your shortcomings, mistakes, and faults because they can still see your potential as their child. 

So with that being said, make sure to show your Mom you care. And whether that be via a box of chocolates, buying her some flowers, taking her out to dinner, a phone call to say, "I love you," or by a simple prayer in your heart if your mother is no longer here with you, make sure you do, because "of all the gifts that life has to offer, A LOVING MOTHER is the greatest of them all!"  

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

♦ Hope you'll let us share your stories and photos here at our residence "In a Nutshell." Email us at nutshellstories@gmail.com.  

"The Noblest Art"...by Jim Terry

I have been trying to find some motivation and creativity lately for the next blog.  I sometimes find it very difficult to write about the “mundane” life that I lead and try to make it interesting for you to read, but it was with the help of an older sister that recently helped with some inspiration.  I had noticed from her postings on Facebook that almost every other day was about a movie that she recently had seen that had apparently touched her emotionally and spiritually and moved her to blog about it...five times now! She also had to go to the theatre and see it there five times and had to buy it on blu ray as soon as it came out. Isn't that right Angie? 😉 This movie is one you may have seen, stars Hugh Jackman as the lead and portrays the life of P.T. Barnum who was "The Greatest Showman."

I find it hard to get to the theatre after work and with all the hours I work in a day and during the week, I would probably just fall asleep anyhow.  So I knew once the movie was available to stream or purchase that I would definitely have to watch it to see what my sister’s excitement was about.  I have to admit that I love to watch Broadway theatre productions in person but when a musical is made into a movie or a musical production begins as a movie, I generally am not as interested in watching it. 

While watching this movie and experiencing the music and the emotions of the story, I could see why my softhearted and compassionate sister would enjoy this so much. It’s a story about perseverance, family, love, successes, and failures.  Sounds like life right?  Sounds like my life.

It is the month of May and I always have to take a moment in my life to think about and mention “mothers,” but especially think of and mention my Mom.  It has literally been five years ago this month, that my mother began this blog to start her journey of hope and perseverance to continue her love of being a columnist.  Over the six months that she wrote for her blog and before her passing, she found great success. We ended up having readers in over forty countries worldwide and had an average readership of over a thousand people per post.

This blog was a medium or pathway for her to share her thoughts on life and a genuine way for us all to learn more about her. Just like all artists do, whether you are a painter, a musician or an author, each picture, each lyric to a song or each novel generally reveals a secret part of that person that created their masterpiece. I feel so fortunate to know about parts of her life in ways I could never have without her descriptive nature and talent for writing. We all have been whisked away down to the nearby ditch (canal) where “The Water Woman” lived. We learned of where her talent for writing began with her blog “Favorite Teachers.”  We also have all experienced her heart and simplistic kindness throughout her writing career, but especially with recalled experiences like “I love you too.” And last but not least, we all learned of her love of Star Trek with several occurrences, but none so much as in “It’s The Crew.”

After my Mom’s passing and with human nature being as it is, you always want to hold on to and cherish everything that reminds you of them. This blog was no different for me and for the family members that helped contribute writings to her blog. We simply wanted to continue her blog for her and continue what my mother set out to do. The goal?...to bring happiness to those who read and also whisk you away into places and adventures that you may not experience otherwise.   During this time, we, my family and myself, also found out how very difficult it is to write and articulate yourself correctly in order just to portray a simple situation or experience and in a way you want the reader to experience it.  As I referred to my mother earlier, she was a true professional, an “artist,” with her ability to do this so easily and effortlessly.

Well with it now being one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five days now since this blog started, and being the “last man standing” in contributing to this blog for several months now, I have decided to put this blog into semi-retirement. It has been a painful decision to do and has been months in the making because you always feel like you might be letting something go that you don’t necessarily want to but have to. 

What does this mean to you as the reader? We are going to continue to post quarterly and on special holidays but the monthly blog will be vacated.  Posting quarterly will also keep the website active and allow you to see all future posts but still preserve all of the past entries that have been written...especially those that were created and written by the woman who started this all, my mother!

So in going back to the movie and my sister that helped inspire today’s writing, I wanted to mention a couple of more things from The Greatest Showman.  First is the moment in the movie where P.T. Barnum takes a chance on promoting an opera singer that he has never heard perform and is blown away and rewarded by her talent once he is able to hear her sing a song entitled, “Never Enough.” (P.S. “Thank You,” Loren Allred for your amazing talent to move us all with this beautiful song). 

In the song and if you listen to the lyrics, they really mimic how I feel in my heart about certain circumstances in my life. This is the same feeling I am experiencing now by putting the blog into semi-retirement. It is because of you, that my Mom was able to achieve and continue her dream of being a writer at that time in her life when she needed it the most.

“ I’m trying to hold my breath, let it stay this way. Can’t let this moment end…Will never be enough…never, never…FOR ME.” So, "THANK YOU to you...the readers!" 

Secondly, at the end of the movie, they end it with a quote from P.T. Barnum. The quote was something that I know my mother also wanted to accomplish with her writings. When I look at all the comments, the emails, the letters received and the continued support you have given to my mother and our family over the years, I can clearly say to my mother in heaven ten times over, "Mom your mission is accomplished." 

Oh, and the quote that we should all strive to live by and the goal aspired to and realized by my mother in starting this blog...

“The noblest art is that of making others happy.” –P.T. Barnum 


♦ Hope you'll let us share your stories and photos here at our residence "In a Nutshell." Email us at nutshellstories@gmail.com.