Walked Penelope this morning under a sparkling azure sky. Not a cloud in sight and the sun was warm and clear, shining cleanly on the awakening earth. The sky just has the bluish look of fall to me but today had some summertime heat. Mother Nature is not quite ready to turn off her summer but she’s cooling things off at night. The porch was so pleasant after supper. The bird feeders were full of cardinals and the humming birds were dancing and dive bombing around their feeders on the porch. A lone, lonely train played a clickety clackety drum beat to liven up the quiet yard symphony. I am almost drunk on contentment. If only Chief were here with me. But I know he’s here in spirit and sending all these beautiful cardinals to cheer me.

The sun did not go down in a blaze of glorious colors tonight. She lay her head down in a shy virginal veil of pale creamy white, settling the dusk with an ethereal glow of golden light. So pretty but so subdued. I thought maybe Mother Nature was cleaning her brushes and opening new tubes of watercolors to squeeze on her artist palette, but while I was waiting for my favorite pinks and oranges and purples to tint the horizon, the night settled in quietly and softly and closed the door on another day.

Today has been a full day for me. Ate my bagel sitting on the porch swing this morning and pondering why the fighting finches can’t get along. I’m seriously thinking of buying another feeder just like the one they like and see if that ends the squabbling. They’re kinda like two old sisters, full of love for each other, but still arguing over everything, never agreeing to disagree. They just keep mumbling under their breath.

Went off thrift storing with oldest sister-in-law this morning to Wedowee and nothing earth shattering happened. We didn’t knock anything off the shelves and didn’t have to use the windshield wipers. I went to the courthouse to get my car tag sticker. I love going through the metal detector. My bracelet always pings the alarm. Thank goodness I had taken my pocket knife out of my purse.

Last time I was at the courthouse an older man was having a good argument with the security officers asking them why they couldn’t just hold his pocket knife till he came back through. I wondered the same thing as I stood behind him waiting and waiting while they argued back and forth. I finally said, “Just throw your pocket knife in the bushes outside the courthouse and pick it up when you go back out.” He didn’t say a word, didn’t smile, but walked back to the double doors and chunked the knife out in the bushes. Was thinking we both might get a reprimand but I continued on through, pinging the alarm. He followed me and we went about our business.

It’s really sad that American has lost her innocence. When I was in high school most boys had rifles hanging on the gun racks in their trucks in the parking lot, probably doing some squirrel hunting after school. The biggest problem I remember was the sin of chewing gum which I was constantly in trouble for. Or the cigarette smokers, banned out to the trash bins or the smoking tree, and the occasional bomb threat that disrupted everything and sent us outside away from the building. Even with a bomb threat we weren’t afraid. We were too innocent to think anyone would really bomb our school.

Now we have E cigarettes or vapes that are shaped like magic markers and a whole litany of drugs, some even disguised as candy, to cause addiction and death of our young people. When did children stop enjoying their childhoods and wanting to race at lightening speed into adulthood. Childhood is so sweet and so, so short. We need to encourage our children to be children and help them enjoy the carefree days of their youth. These days are so fleeting and once they pass they cannot ever get them back.

The thought that my grandchildren have to practice intruder drills at school is so disheartening and sad. To think a place as innocent as a children’s school can be a target for gun violence is unimaginable. I don’t know how the world became a cesspool of gun violence. As of August 23, there have been 198 school shootings this year. I have no idea how this can be solved. They’ll always be mental illness and access to guns on the streets.

I believe we all have the right to bear arms and the right to protect our families. But we also have the responsibility to train our children on how to use the weapons responsibly. We need to keep the guns and ammunition locked up and inaccessible to our children. Talking to children about guns and gun safety removes the mystery surrounding guns and makes the children more likely to follow safety rules. My family is full of children enjoying nature and learning proper gun safety through hunting and target shooting.

Let’s pray for America and her children and our children who are raising our grandchildren. Prayers are powerful! Pray the children will learn to have faith in God, and pray for our children’s protection at work and at school, and pray for God to guide them on their journey in life.

“It’s not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It’s our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless.” — L.R. Knost