Tuesday, August 1, 2017

It Looked Good To Charlene!

This is Day 1 of the first annual 10 Days of Heat writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is On a hot summer's night. Please join me in checking out the other hot stories.

As is often the case, the start of the challenge arrives to find me staring blankly at my screen. The gun is fired, they're off and I am scrambling to catch up. It has been a busy summer (and a hot one, too, hereabouts). However, I've never missed a challenge day yet, sometimes flying by the seat of my pants and clinging to the last shred of my sanity, so without further excuses and whining, here we go.

After one look at today's prompt, I immediately felt relief. I have an out. Actually, I have an earworm, which I will happily pass along to all you unsuspecting souls. You're welcome. 😉

We were browsing around the store the other day...yes earworms can linger for days. Anyway, they were playing some pretty good music, none of which I remember...except this one.

They were farm kids way down in Dixie
They met in high school in the 'sixties.
Everyone knew it was love from the start.
One July in the midnight hour,
They climbed upon the water tower,
Stood on the rail and painted a ten foot heart
In John Deere green, on a hot summer night.
He wrote Billy Bob loves Charlene in letters three foot high,
And the whole town said that he should've use red
But it looked good to Charlene in John Deere Green.
They settled down on eighty acres,
Raising sweet corn, kids and tomatoes,
They went together like a hand and a glove.
On a clear day, from their front yard,
If you look and know what to look for,
Off to the east you can still read his words of love
He wrote Billy Bob loves Charlene in letters three foot high,
And the whole town said that he should've use red
But it looked good to Charlene in John Deere Green.
Now more than once the town has discovered
Painting over it ain't no use.
There ain't no paint in the world that'll cover it,
The heart keeps showing through.
In John Deere green, on a hot summer night,
He wrote Billy Bob loves Charlene in letters three foot high.
And the whole town said that he should've used red
But it looked good to Charlene in John Deere green.

Performed by Joe Diffie
Songwriters: Dennis Linde
John Deere Green lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LC



I hadn't heard that in years, but wow that took me back and had my feet tap-tapping right there in the store. I mentioned to hubby that I felt sorry for anyone who had to view the security videos.

For anyone wanting revenge, please feel free to leave your own earworms in the comments.



If you enjoyed this post, please leave your calling card in the comment section or click the visitors box below to let me know you stopped by.

Monday, July 31, 2017

Hi, What Are You?

We found this cute little fellow on our back door as we were heading out to the store. He was up near the top of the screen, so hubby snapped a picture for me.

He is known as the Eastern-Eyed Click Beetle, but those lovely spots for which he is named are not really his eyes.

He was probably about 1.5 inch long, and definitely an attention grabber. These interesting creatures are harmless to people, i.e., they do not bite or sting, nor do they damage property. 

Like other click beetles, these click or snap to right themselves, or to avoid predators, and they can also fly. 

They are actually garden friendly, so if you see them, just let them go about their merry way. I've never seen one before so it's nice to encounter a friendly critter amongst the usual bombardment of ants and mosquitoes.

If you're interested, you can read more about them here and here.




If you enjoyed this post, please leave your calling card in the comment section or click the visitors box below to let me know you stopped by.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Looking Into Your Mirror

If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?

― Jalaluddin Rumi

Image Source: Wikipedia

Maulana 
Jalaluddin Rumi was many things. He was a Persian poet, a Sufi Mystic, a Sunni Muslim poet, an Islamic scholar and a theologian. He was born in 1207 A.D. and is considered one of the greatest spiritual masters. His poetry has also gained favor in the Western world in recent years.


So what is Rumi saying here? Obviously he is not talking about taking a rag and Windex® to your bathroom mirror. The rub is any little thing that doesn't suit you. It may be something as minor as being asked for the umpteenth time to take out the trash or mow the lawn, to a personal slight, real or perceived, that leaves you with hurt feelings.

Now for the mirror part. You want to be a shining example of humanity, but you can't be that person when every irritation grates at you so much that your finish becomes dull and you are unable to shine. In order to shine again, you must find a way to change how you handle the rubs on the inside so that your surface may be polished and your inner goodness is reflected in your mirror.

How is your mirror looking these days?


If you enjoyed this post, please leave your calling card in the comment section or click the visitors box below to let me know you stopped by.