Beautiful day for porch pondering. The weather is just perfect, the wind chimes pinging soft melodies from the leftover March winds. Vivid blue sky has a few wispy clouds. The birds are flitting and finding perches on the feeders, singing their morning symphonies and hymns. The porch lizards and Penelope are taking their morning sunbaths. I love to watch the antics of the two doves that visit each day. I’ve named them Dumb and Dumbetta. They’re so funny, rocking back and forth on the power lines trying to perch regally, running from cars as they quickly bob across the street. Today they tried to land under the green bird feeder and they were buffaloed by the pine straw. They flew up and down, their wings squeaking, “Abort, abort, terminate landing.” These two doves entertain me all day with their antics. Fatty the squirrel just leaps over them when they get in his way. I’m interested to see what he thinks of the pine straw.

Ingrid Bergman said, “Getting old is like climbing a mountain, you get a little out of breath but the view is beautiful.” I love that and I do have a beautiful view at age 70. Someone mentioned once in the blog comments that getting old is not for sissies. That’s right, but I’m loving these retirement years with their easy unscheduled days. Billlie Burke said, “Age is something that doesn’t matter unless you are a cheese.” Love that! But dealing with losing muscle strength and flexibility and endurance is not fun. Knee and back pain are the worse. I’m stilling stove up from my fall two weeks ago. I did ride my stationary bike this morning then used a walking cane the rest of the day. Youngest son caught me with a few tears on my face today, frustrated as I tried to put pine straw around my rows of seeds in my flower bed. I just couldn’t do it so he finished the flower bed for me. Good thing is the average age in the United States for entering Shady Oaks is 81 years old. So I’m good for another 11 years!

I love this quote by Dixie Carter talking about crazy folks. “This is the South and we’re proud of our crazy people. We don’t hide them up in the attic, we bring them right down to the living room to show them off. No one in the South ever asks if you have crazy people in your family, they just ask what side they’re on.” I swear, I’m beginning to think I may be the crazy relative. I think Southern folks love eccentrics. They might talk about them but they enjoy their occasional visit. Gives the family something to talk about and brings on laughter. I’m not talking of disrespectful laughter, but laughter in remembering their stories and actions. Charles Dickens wrote, “There is nothing in the world as irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” My oldest son loved it when eccentric Cousin Earl visited. Chief never uttered a cuss word but Uncle Earl would always have a grumble and throw in a cuss word like a punctuation mark. Thomas loved Uncle Earl’s visits.

Found some descriptive Southern sentences to describe the Southern eccentric. Research says “a Southern eccentric is a unique blend of ‘wild as a June bug on a string’ and ‘too big for their britches,’ often acting ‘crazy as all get out.’” I love this one, “You don’t have to hang from a tree to be a nut.” And “Crazier than a dog in a hub cap factory.” This one is funny, too. “The cheese slid off that boy’s cracker.” On the whole list the only one I’ve ever heard anyone say is “madder than a wet hen.” Read a scientific article once stating that humor is a sign of intelligence so guess I’ll quit worrying.

Oldest sister-in-law and white headed lady visited me today. White headed lady and I drank sweet tea from Mason jars as we sat in the swing mid-morning talking of our late husbands and our children. We laughed and enjoyed each others company and conversation. Oldest sister-in-law visited late afternoon. We sat on the porch with my youngest son passing a pleasant hour filled with laughter. Dearest friend called me late afternoon and we laughed our whole conversation. I called my Florida friend and we had an enjoyable conversation. We always laugh, too. I’m really blessed in my friendships and I thank God for them in my prayers each night. As Winnie the Pooh says,  “A day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey left inside.”

There’s a beautiful scripture in Ruth 1:16 speaking of loyal friendship, “But Ruth said. . . ‘Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

“Friendship is born at the moment when one man says to another, ‘What! You too?’” — C. S. Lewis