Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Hotter Than Hades

008

Sheila went back to jail today.  What’s that all about, people have asked, and we’ve enjoyed playing coy with some.  But it’s serious.  She has joined a prison ministry through her church.  From what I understand, nobody is trying to get converts or thump on the Bible or lecture anyone on their sinful ways.  They’re mainly visiting the prison to listen and to provide a measure of quiet comfort. 

Today there were about 15 women and 6 men making up the two prisoner groups; Sheila and one other person providing the ministry.  What do the prisoners talk about?  Well, a lot of them talk about how much they miss their children.  They talk about what’s good in their lives and what’s not.  They talk about the better choices they hope to make when they get out.

Sheila worries each time (but a little less each time) about how well she will rise to the occasion.  I’ve been the beneficiary of her listening ear and her quiet comfort countless times, and I tell her not to worry.  She’s the right person for this job.  Last time, a prisoner seated next to her sobbed and sobbed.  Sheila handed her a Kleenex.  Then another.  And said, “You’re going to have to stop crying.  I don’t have any more Kleenex.”  If you knew her, you’d smile to yourself and you’d know that it’s all part of her ministry, and her gift.

Since I last posted here, a few non-routine things have happened.  I lost part of a tooth.  The result is that I will have to have the tooth “crowned,” and I absolutely understand why it’s called a “crown.”  It costs a fortune. 

Our darling new greyhound, Carmen, got out of the yard during a distant thunderstorm and wasn’t found until the next morning.  We were sure we would never see her again, or that if we did, it would be her dead body at the side of a road somewhere.  I thought during the search, “Our lives will never be the same, and they will never be good again.”

A couple of dozen people helped us look until late at night.  Some were complete strangers; others were good friends and close neighbors.   Our friends were back at it early the next morning, but as it turned out, we were all looking in the wrong places.  Carmen had run a long way, and when found by Animal Control near the Country Club (we’ve heard some jokes about that) she was almost unconscious, with mangled paws.  Now it’s been a little over two weeks, and she is fine.  She is fine!  Two dear people fixed the low spot in our fence, and we don’t take our eyes off Carmen when she is in the yard, but she has not shown any interest in jumping again. 

Oh, and two nights at the Emergency Veterinary Hospital cost about the same as four crowns. 

In the middle of the Carmen incident, I got a call from my high school reunion committee.  I thought it was someone calling about the lost dog flyers.  Our 50th—gah!—reunion is in 2012, in California.  I have not attended any of the  reunions so far, and only keep in touch with one person.  What do you think?  Have you been to your high school reunion(s)?  Good idea or bad idea?  (I weigh about 70 pounds more than I did in high school, have chins and would have to use a cane.  Is this important or unimportant?  It suddenly seems like it is.)  Experiences, please!

That’s the news from here.  Stay well and keep in touch.

4 comments:

  1. I went to my first and second reunion. Our 40th will be this July and for some reason I have no desire to go. The last few, I was hoping for 5 or 6 of my closer friends to come and they did not go so it was a big disappointment to me.
    If you have never gone, you may like to...most people as they get older don't look the same..we have all gained weight or changed for the worse (ha) so no one really cares about that stuff and after the first reunion, no one is out to impress each other any more either...you may enjoy it!~

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi there, Sharon. I'm glad to catch up with what's going on in your life. God bless Sheila for her prison ministry---she is doing important work.

    Ouch. So sorry about the tooth. I can certainly relate---both to the tooth loss and to the ridiculous price of crowns. That's why I have almost no teeth on the left side of my mouth. It's been twenty years and I still miss those teeth.

    Thank God you found Carmen. Also thank God you have such good friends. You are blessed.

    I'm not sure what to say about the high school reunion except to say that I'm quite sure you won't be the only one with chins and a cane.

    (By the way, that reminds me of a joke I heard Joan Rivers make years and years ago. She said she [or maybe it was someone else since she often insults others] had more chins than a Chinese phone book. Cracked me up at the time.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Like yours, mine is also in 2012--if they have one. I am thinking about it--it will have been five years since I have gone back to that city, and 50 years since I have seen all but two of my former classmates. If I can combine the reunion with a visit to my daughter, I might go. I have a while to cogitate on it!

    On the other hand, we could go to one another's reunions and really confound them. LOL...

    ReplyDelete
  4. You'll never know, if you don't go, how much you might have enjoyed yourself. It can be pretty incredible to see old friends and acquaintances. I love when that happens.

    ReplyDelete