Category: Ragtag Daily Prompt

“Hey, Bud”

Grammy Writes15 Comments

“Who do we have here?”, the man asked me as I walked with my grandson on the hiking trail behind my house.

I walk on the trail nearly every day and often pass this man as we go in opposite directions. We exchange brief pleasantries, usually about the weather.

One day when my grandson was visiting, he joined me on my morning walk. He had just gotten a hair-cut in preparation for his first day of Kindergarten. The cut was pretty dramatic – a mohawk – so it was hard to miss! We passed the man on the trail. “Who do we have here?” he asked me, and to my grandson he said, “Hey, Bud! I like how you cut your hair!”

My grandson just looked at him and said, “I didn’t cut it”!

The man thought that was hilarious and could be heard laughing as he continued his walk behind us.

My grandson apparently felt the need to defend himself: “Well, I didn’t cut it, Grammy! The barber did!”

“I know, honey”, I said as we walked towards home. He looked confused, but I was amused!

For Ragtag Daily Prompt: Bud

It’s Only Words #12

Footprints

Grammy Writes18 Comments

I have a love/hate relationship with words. Words on my “do not like” list include nightmare, exploit and laundry (and hate, so I really shouldn’t use it here). Then there are words that just make me feel good – like raindrops, whimsy and cookies. Another of my favorite words is footprints. It always reminds me of that poem about two sets of footprints becoming one when God carries you through difficult times. I love that! It also reminds me of the poem I wrote several years ago about my father. I used the word “footprints” in it, so whenever I hear that word – my thoughts immediately go there. Here is the poem:

MY FATHER, MY SEAGULL

I felt myself

lifted away by a mighty seagull.

I helped him scan the waves in search of food.

I held on tight

as he swooped down towards the water,

then suddenly, we headed out to sea.

He caught an updraft

and we soared higher and higher.

He didn’t even need to flap his wings.

We watched the waves

try to overtake each other, yet they

always seemed to find their way to shore; as did we.

He landed gently.

I let go of his neck and slid down slowly.

He watched me leave my footprints in the sand.

Then he left me.

I tried to catch him, but I couldn’t, so I cried

just like I did the day they told me Daddy died.

For Ragtag Daily Prompt: Footprint

It’s Only Words #11

Foto Friday #97

Grammy Writes16 Comments

… and to the Republic for which is stands,

one nation under God, indivisible,

with liberty and justice for all.

The sculpture For Which it Stands by James Haire is located at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is in reference to the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. We need to be reminded again (and again) of these words and their meaning.

For Ragtag Daily Prompt: Again

Panda Cam

Grammy Writes1 Comment

Facebook isn’t good for much, in my opinion, unless my friends post pictures of their grandchildren or I find an amazing animal video. I have been fascinated recently by the Panda Cam at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo showing Giant Panda Mei Xiang and her newborn cub. Mei Xiang instinctively knows to be attentive to the cub’s every need: to nurse it, to clean it, and because it has no fur yet – to cuddle and cradle it to keep it warm. The zoo created a den for them where they will spend the first few months of the cub’s life. Follow the Smithsonian’s National Zoo Panda Cam on Facebook to watch this precious time between Mother and Cub:

 https://s.si.edu/2xiVLKp. #PandaStory #PandaCubdates

For Ragtag Daily Prompt: Instinct

It’s Only Words #10

Foto Friday #93

Grammy Writes22 Comments

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I became unexpected friends with this adorable little goat, one of over 1,000 animals who reside at the Kansas City Zoo. He almost appears to be posing for pictures, but really he was just scratching his chin on a wood-framed opening in the children’s area. The Kansas City Zoo, located inside Swope Park, opened in 1909 with a modest collection of animals, but it has become one of the most respected zoos in the country. Nestled within valleys and rolling hills, the zoo’s exhibits range from the $15 million Helzberg Penguin Plaza to the interactive Stingray Bay to a chimpanzee habitat praised by Jane Goodall herself – a British ethologist known for her long-term research on chimpanzees.

For LCPP – Life Captured Photo Prompt: Unexpected Friends

and for Ragtag Daily Prompt: Almost

Grandma and My Best Friend

Grammy Writes24 Comments

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I can’t begin to tell you how much I loved my Grandma! When I was young, she was my best friend and my favorite person in the whole world. She was fun, she was funny, and she always said the wisest things.

     “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”

     “If you can dream it, you can be it”

     “Pretty is as pretty does”

These things didn’t always make sense to me, but I remember her saying them like it was yesterday. I always wanted to be the kind of person Grandma respected and admired.

     “Find the good in everyone”

     “Actions speak louder than words”

     “A smile doesn’t cost a thing”

Eventually, Grandma wasn’t my whole world anymore because she was no longer in it; but the older I got, the more I cherished her words of wisdom:

     “Every cloud has a silver lining”

     “You don’t get something for nothing”

     “Things will look better in the morning”

I was a young adult when God called Grandma home. Other “best friends” have come and gone since then. A few were bad choices, but most were people Grandma would have approved of.

     “A leopard never changes its spots”

     “You never know what someone else is going through”

     “Friends are the family you choose, so choose wisely”

At this point in my life it’s safe to assume that my best friend of today will probably always be my best friend. She is the personification of “pretty is as pretty does”. She is amazingly supportive, compassionate, fun and funny—just like Grandma!

If my best friend of yesterday were to meet my best friend of today, I know exactly what she would say:  “Isn’t it nice to have a friend, my Dear, whose beauty is more than skin deep?”

For Ragtag Daily Prompt: Can’t