That's What She Said

I need to reschedule my ophthalmologist appointment. I was supposed to see him yesterday but the highway overpasses were closed due to ice so I canceled. I am getting very frustrated with my eyesight; it has not improved AT ALL and I just want to be able to SEE. It has been a month since my eye surgery and so far there's no improvement. After the surgery, the doc said it would take a couple of months for my retina to "reshape" itself so I guess I expected gradual improvement.

The house smells so good; I am simmering a pot of soup and getting hungry. It seems like I'm not eating as much as I used to. I fix my plate (or bowl) at dinnertime and end up not eating all of what I serve myself. I use a "salad" size plate for myself and it seems that I get full before I finish my dinner.

I remember my mother kind of nibbling when she was older so I guess I'm aging into Nibbler Mode. I think if I didn't have my husband to cook for, I'd probably live on crackers and cheese or whatever snack foods I have on hand.

I heard the guy on the weather channel saying how many people in freezing areas are without power today. I really feel sorry for anyone without power when it's cold; that is so miserable.
 
We decided to drive around today and tour some old areas of town where we used to live. Things have really changed; roads that used to be so familiar are unrecognizable. Neighborhoods and businesses are completely torn down and just...gone. It was like being in a different town except for a few familiar landmarks, like churches.

We stopped for early dinner at a seafood restaurant where we haven't been in probably 10 years or longer. It has been remodeled but is still a popular spot. We ordered too much food and it was all fresh and very good. I got a to-go box for a bunch of fried shrimp, thinking they will reheat in the air fryer later.

As we exited the restaurant, there was an older homeless man sitting forlornly on the sidewalk. He had his few belongings and appeared cold and dirty; it hurt my heart to see him there. My husband and I looked at each other and dug in our pockets for some cash. I gave the man the money and offered the styrofoam container of shrimp, and we went on our way.

That interaction reminded me that so many Americans don't have the luxury of riding in a heated vehicle with warm coats and having more than enough supper to eat. I really hate that this is reality in this land of plenty.
 
Beth Gallagher said:
We decided to drive around today and tour some old areas of town where we used to live. Things have really changed; roads that used to be so familiar are unrecognizable. Neighborhoods and businesses are completely torn down and just...gone. It was like being in a different town except for a few familiar landmarks, like churches.

We stopped for early dinner at a seafood restaurant where we haven't been in probably 10 years or longer. It has been remodeled but is still a popular spot. We ordered too much food and it was all fresh and very good. I got a to-go box for a bunch of fried shrimp, thinking they will reheat in the air fryer later.

As we exited the restaurant, there was an older homeless man sitting forlornly on the sidewalk. He had his few belongings and appeared cold and dirty; it hurt my heart to see him there. My husband and I looked at each other and dug in our pockets for some cash. I gave the man the money and offered the styrofoam container of shrimp, and we went on our way.

That interaction reminded me that so many Americans don't have the luxury of riding in a heated vehicle with warm coats and having more than enough supper to eat. I really hate that this is reality in this land of plenty.
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If we give, we usually don't give cash to homeless as you cannot govern how the cash will be used. We feel it is best to give "in-kind" donations such as the shrimp container you gave the man. @Bobby Cole may be the authority on this since he once was involved in street mission work. Good for you @Beth Gallagher for opening your heart to the needy.
 
Don Alaska said:
If we give, we usually don't give cash to homeless as you cannot govern how the cash will be used. We feel it is best to give "in-kind" donations such as the shrimp container you gave the man. @Bobby Cole may be the authority on this since he once was involved in street mission work. Good for you @Beth Gallagher for opening your heart to the needy.
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That may be true, Don, but I don't really care to govern any donation. If the man walked directly to a convenience store for wine that's fine with me. Maybe I brightened his day for a few minutes; I hope so.
 
Don Alaska said:
If we give, we usually don't give cash to homeless as you cannot govern how the cash will be used. We feel it is best to give "in-kind" donations such as the shrimp container you gave the man. @Bobby Cole may be the authority on this since he once was involved in street mission work. Good for you @Beth Gallagher for opening your heart to the needy.
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I personalized 1 John 3:17 which is (paraphrased): If I have the ability to help and yet no compassion to do so, how then can I say the Love of God is in me?

And as an alternate view: You will probably never know who that person you just helped was, is nor will be but however much you gave, no doubt, made the man feel a little more hope, a little more noticed and a little more human than before you gave. Thank You @Beth Gallagher !
 
Bobby Cole said:
I personalized 1 John 3:17 which is (paraphrased): If I have the ability to help and yet no compassion to do so, how then can I say the Love of God is in me?

And as an alternate view: You will probably never know who that person you just helped was, is nor will be but however much you gave, no doubt, made the man feel a little more hope, a little more noticed and a little more human than before you gave. Thank You @Beth Gallagher !
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Thanks, Bobby. I'm thinking I should not have mentioned the incident at all. I believe that "good deeds" are not to be published, else they are diminished somehow. It just happened that this man's plight intersected with my life today and reminded me of how blessed I am.
 
Beth Gallagher said:
Thanks, Bobby. I'm thinking I should not have mentioned the incident at all. I believe that "good deeds" are not to be published, else they are diminished somehow. It just happened that this man's plight intersected with my life today and reminded me of how blessed I am.
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Beth, it was wonderful that you shared this with us, and it in no way diminished what you did. You were sharing the whole story because you have a wonderful and caring heart, and were hurting for the plight of this man, and others like him, and not like some rich person who wants to announce how much money they donated to a charity just to have the acclamations. It is a very different thing.
Blessings to you and your husband for caring about this person.

The homelessness we have is becoming an epidemic, for sure, and not just because the person wants to live on the streets. Some if it is because of addiction, and some because of losing their job, or other things beyond their control.
This country has been housing the illegals who come in, while leaving our poor and addicted people homeless and hungry. I believe that once we have deported the illegals , stopped the drug trafficking, and have better programs to actually help these homeless people, things will be better for them, and we will not have so many living out on the streets.
 
I didn't want to come across as humble bragging. The point I wanted to make was that I seldom come face-to-face with people who truly have nothing, and it shocked me out of my comfort zone. It's easy to proclaim "why don't they get a job" from the safety and warmth of my comfortable home, but the truth is we have no idea of the misery and desperation that other people endure.

It was honestly a "there but for the grace of God" moment.
 
Beth Gallagher said:
Just kicking off the diary section. Y'all remember how I like to blather on about nothing. When I can see better I will bore y'all to distraction. As the Great One* used to say on Saturday nights... "And away we go!"
To the moon, Alice.
________________________
* Not a reference to Wayne Gretsky, but to Herbert John Gleason known as Jackie Gleason, an American comedian, actor, writer, and composer also known as "The Great One".
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Beth Gallagher said:
I didn't want to come across as humble bragging. The point I wanted to make was that I seldom come face-to-face with people who truly have nothing, and it shocked me out of my comfort zone. It's easy to proclaim "why don't they get a job" from the safety and warmth of my comfortable home, but the truth is we have no idea of the misery and desperation that other people endure.

It was honestly a "there but for the grace of God" moment.
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Went to Catholic school, and one day, Mother Imelda, my fifth grade nun teacher asked me to help her with gift baskets for people in need.
As I was leaving, when the baskets were done, Mother Imelda
called me back and said, William, this is the basket for your family.
Very embarrassing. Never felt that we were poor.

Bill
 
Bill Johnson said:
Went to Catholic school, and one day, Mother Imelda, my fifth grade nun teacher asked me to help her with gift baskets for people in need.
As I was leaving, when the baskets were done, Mother Imelda
called me back and said, William, this is the basket for your family.
Very embarrassing. Never felt that we were poor.

Bill
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I was raised on a farm in south Georgia, and we were poor. Like you, I never even realized that we were poor because we had everything we needed and a few things we wanted. It was a great life for a kid, really.
 
Today I noticed some spots on my kitchen window, so I spent an hour or so climbing on the countertop to clean it. The window is pretty big...6' wide and about 3' tall with a wood blind. I had to get all my little plants and doo-dads off the sill, clean the window, clean the blind, then put everything back in place.

Then I decided to check on my patio plants that are in the portable greenhouse. I was really surprised when I unzipped that thing; it must be 10 degrees warmer in there than outside, plus it was as humid as a rain forest inside. Water was literally dripping from the ceiling and walls. So I checked a few of the smaller pots to make sure they weren't dried out, watered a few, and closed it back up. I'm really pleased with that thing so far, but we haven't had any high winds to give it a real test!
 
We were just having our usual early dinner and the doorbell rang. Husband went to see who it was and came back to the kitchen carrying a dozen long-stem roses. My son (who recently got a new job) sent them to me. I told that kid to STOP spending his money on me, but it's like talking to a wall.

Gotta admit, I do love surprises. :D. 💐
 
Beth Gallagher said:
We were just having our usual early dinner and the doorbell rang. Husband went to see who it was and came back to the kitchen carrying a dozen long-stem roses. My son (who recently got a new job) sent them to me. I told that kid to STOP spending his money on me, but it's like talking to a wall.

Gotta admit, I do love surprises. :D. 💐
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How sweet of your son to do that!
 
So I was just over on the Honda forum because I'm the type that always goes whole-hog when I purchase a vehicle. I like to know what problems other people are having, get a few answers that aren't in the 10,000-page ultra small print manual, and compare owner experiences. Some guy posted a video clip of a problem he's having with his infotainment screen rebooting randomly.

I knew immediately he was a codger when I noted the custom dashboard cover that looks like carpet, and when his screen rebooted it popped up with Sirius Radio on the 70's channel. :ROFLMAO: I decided to scroll on by because those threads can get tedious when the "experts" start chiming in about the Flux Capacitor and other nonsense.
 
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I went to the eye doctor today and got good news and bad news. First, my retina has smoothed back out and is almost normal again, so he pronounced the vitreotomy a success. Then he said the cataract has grown in my left (surgery) eye and is now large enough for surgery, though he recommends waiting on that for a while. So all afternoon today I had "vaseline goggles" after having another dilation. I really hate that.

I got all my whining out of the way about not being able to see, but he said my actual vision results show a marked improvement since last October. Luckily, I can still give someone the "side eye" and I dished one out. :cool: :cautious: He recommended that I try new glasses before any more surgery, so I have an appointment with the optometrist tomorrow.

I'm going to ask the optometrist about wearing contact lenses again. I used to wear them but I got tired of messing with them, but I'd like to try them to see if I can see better with them. They used to give a trial pair of lenses to wear before buying a full prescription so we'll see.
 
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