It's Saturday evening and all I can hear on the other end of the house is my mother watching TV, sounding much like Lawrence Welk...by that I mean the "tiny bubble" music. If you don't know what "Tiny Bubbles" is, then don't ask. Growing up, every Saturday night for a number of years, we ate supper just down the road at my Uncle Orian and Aunt Vi's house. While Daddy and Uncle Orian were out back grilling, we either sat and looked at old yearbooks, or watched Lawrence Welk. That was our choice. Forget the Dish or Direct TV, as we probably only had about 4 channels...an ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS channel and you had to get yourself up off the couch or chair to change the channel...a remote control was unheard of. For supper, we kids got the hamburger or hot dogs while the grown ups got steaks. We usually ate first, and moved out of the way where they could enjoy their meal without us around (so they could talk grownup), then we'd go outside and run it off. We scared our parents in later years when we told them what we used to do when they were in the house eating. If we have any older ones reading, you'll may recall the old skates that had keys to them. You used it to shorten or lengthen them. My uncle and aunt lived up on a hill and their road was paved in front of the house, you could enter or exit from either of the two entrances they had that led down to the highway, state road 121. They had big oak trees that graced their yard, so there was always moss hanging down which we found to be useful. We'd get a wad of moss and set it atop the roller skate for "padding", then we'd sit on it and someone would give us a shove as we'd skate down the hill. We've "skint" an arm or leg a few times, but we always got a thrill when we could balance good enough to get all the way to the bottom at the highway. We'd wait until it was dark before we tried another stunt in which we'd look both ways for cars, then run out into the highway and lay down on it until we saw a car top the hill a quarter of a mile down the road, then we'd see who could lay there the longest before we jumped up. We'd even take pennies and lay them in the road to see if a car could flatten it, and we got a few smashed pennies that way, but most got smashed down into the tar that patched some of the holes in the road. It wasn't long before we'd hear mama or daddy stick their head out the door and holler to tell us to get ready to go home. We'd gather the skates and take them back inside till the next weekend. Little did they know what we were doing with them...because less then 10 years before this, I was hit by a car just a few feet from where we played. Yes, I was 3 years old and walking to my aunt's with Pam, Wes, and my cousin Mike. We were going down there where mama was having coffee with my aunt, and Anneil (my oldest sister) was visiting with Mike's younger sister, Cathy. Wes and Mike ran to the other side, and I misunderstood them telling me not to cross the road, and crossed over as an older couple came by at just the right time and I got hit. I suffered a broken arm, leg, fractured skull, and concussion, but over a few months time, I recovered from the accident well. Fortunately, 121 wasn't as busy back then. The old man died about a month later from a heart attack. You'd have thunk we'd have learned our lesson...unfortunately we didn't, because this was a typical Saturday night for a few years for some of the Smith kids. In later years I learned the hard way again, only the injuries were more serious and confining...but grateful to have survived. You know if I didn't know better, I'd think Satan didn't want me around. But I hope every morning I open my eyes he's saying to himself, "Oh no, she's awake again". If I can encourage someone with a smile or laugh, give a word of warning, hold someone up in prayer, or lead someone in the right direction...then that's my way of getting back at him.
In 1 Thessalonians 5: 14b-17 it says: "We ask you brother and sisters, to warn those who do not work. Encourage the people who are afraid. Help those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. Be sure that no one pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to do what is good for each other and for all people. Always be joyful. Pray continually, and give thanks whatever happens. This is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus.
7 years ago
