Can you believe that I have been sitting on the publishing of this post for nearly three months? I got off to a great start….the finding of the photo below kicked me into gear, but then, I got side-tracked by the chaotic day-to-day  “life of a nut”, to say nothing of the political FB postings I could just not seem to tear myself away from, but I believe that today might just be the day that I finish filling in the blanks.  Here then is how I began way, way back in early August:  “trigger warning” the photo you are about to see may shock, distress, alarm, frighten, annoy, irritate or offend you!!  LOL

What better way to grab the reader’s attention in this crazy, disturbing election year than posting a picture with DH (dear husband) and TGW (the good wife) posing in front of a casino owned by…….stand by…….another “trigger warning”…..danger ahead!….none other than the potential President of the U.S.  Never fear my dear, panicked family, I will not venture into a rant about the demoralizing state of our national politics.  I will simply explain that while searching for a photo for our class reunion, I stumbled across this long-forgotten picture from a trip Crick and I took to the East coast to celebrate 25 years of wedded bliss.  Marred, I might add, by another little “Main Street discussion” during a round of golf, which occurred on the 2nd tee.  To explain……after I had grabbed my driver and walked somewhat confidently up to the ladies tee to prepare to take my next shot, Crick decided to ask me this seemingly innocent (to him) question, “So Mare, where do you think you are going to hit your ball?”.  My reply, “I am aiming for the center of the fairway, of course!”  His retort, “No you’re not, you are aiming straight at those trees on the far right of the golf path.”  Now mind you, this was not interpreted by the “25 year” married wife as a loving correction.  I believe that what my mind heard was, “Where in the H… do you think that ball is going to land? Haven’t I reminded you a kabillion times to approach the ball and stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your body weight evenly distributed on each foot?  Haven’t I shown you to align your body to play the ball off the heel of your left foot, making sure your feet and shoulders are parallel to the target line??????” Obviously, it was not so much what he actually said, as it was the tone in which my ears heard!  Well!!!!!  If looks could kill, Crick would have been dead right where he stood obliviously smiling at me!  As I remember back to the scene of this memorable “discussion”, I believe that I did not re-position one foot, one shoulder, one grip…..I just took my club and swung as hard as I could, whereupon the ball lifted off of the tee and the next thing I was aware of was the sound of the ball smacking a tree way off to the right of the cart path!!!  To this day, I have no idea of the look on Crick’s face as I stomped off away from our golf cart to search for my ball amidst the line of trees and dirt……….I so hated it when he was right, and he never did quite get how the tone of one’s voice could be the end of a beautiful and fun outing!  Remember the song by Simon and Garfunkel…”The Sounds of Silence”?  Well, for the rest of the game, the only “sounds” that were heard other than the smack of the clubs hitting the balls, were “silence”!  The other little part of this remembrance is that there was another “discussion” (an amicable one this time) about where we would spend one of our vacation days….travelling to New York City or to Atlantic City.  I had always, always, always wanted to go to the Big Apple and not just because I have been a life-long Yankee fan.  The lure of Broadway, Central Park, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, taxi cab drivers, skyscrapers fascinated me.  Crick, however, wanted the sights and sounds of slot machines, black jack tables, craps tables and roulette wheels….and perhaps….the lure of hitting the big jack pot!!  As the photo attests, Crick won the coin toss, but lost the jack pot…the only “prize” he took home that day was moi’ :).

As my neglected diary has accumulated so many moments in time that it would overtax my senior brain and your patience to not only recall them all, but to provide a written account, I have selected just a few of the highlights and placed them in a video format. However, certain photos deserve a brief explanation. For example, the first photo in the video is of the inside of the Basilica of Our Lady of Consolation in Cary, Ohio.  The basilica is designated as a shrine to Our Lady of Consolation, Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted, and a pilgrimage was arranged by Fr. Hoover for parishioners from Immaculate Conception (Christine and myself included) to travel to the shrine for a day of reflection and prayer.  If you live in Central Ohio, I would encourage you to learn more about this pilgrimage as Cary is only a little over an hour’s drive from here.  Some of us may think, as I did, of religious pilgrimages as taking place only in far-off regions of the world, but we have a designated site right in our midst, a place where miracle healings have occurred over the past one hundred years through the prayers of the faithful to Our Lady.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_and_National_Shrine_of_Our_Lady_of_Consolation

One of the more amusing anecdotes to a highlight shown in the video was a girls’ night out, courtesy of Stephanie, who had purchased tickets to the Columbus Blue Jackets’ game with the Chicago Blackhawks.  We got off to somewhat of a late start (does this surprise anyone?!) and after grabbing a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant, sauntered over to the arena where Stephanie handed each of us our computer generated ticket.  As Jennifer held her ticket out to be scanned she was politely informed that her ticket was for the wrong date!!  Stephanie, hearing this, immediately whipped out her cell phone and began a search of her email to see how that could have happened, but of course, “how that happened” was that she had accidentally selected the wrong ticket date to print out.  So there we were, listening to the roar of the fans and picturing our empty seats, as we contemplated our next move.  We must have looked pretty pathetic, because with a wink and a nod, the ticket taker eventually ushered us all through!

In another photo is a snapshot of several family members as we sat in the stands awaiting my nephew-in-law’s race at Midway Speedway in the “modified A main” which I soon discovered had to be a code word for dirt-car racers, meaning….a dirty way to go deaf!!  LOL

Another “trigger warning”………….political commentary ahead!)……….On a more serious note, I would like to add one final thought.  Regardless of the outcome of this election, we are still going to wake up the next morning, each one of us, and “put two feet on the floor”.  It is incumbent upon us to look forward with hope as we continue to take care of our families, go to our jobs, be responsible citizens and good persons.  “Honesty, honor, godliness, industry, respect for the law, morality, and truthfulness are the wheels on which our entire republic rides” and if we as individuals are lacking in moral clarity, then no matter how well the Constitution is written, how well we are governed, or how much good fortune comes our way, America will no longer be “a shining city on a hill”, “the land of the free and the home of the brave”, or the “last, best hope of mankind” for our children and our grandchildren.

For the Lord grants wisdom
From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.
He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.
He guards the paths of the just
and protects those who are faithful to him.       Proverbs 2: 6-8 

TNT

TGW