Sunday, August 26, 2012

Do You See Her Beauty?


She was found, on the side of the road; a tag sale discard. As soon as I saw her laying on top of a box of books, I saw her beauty. On the way home, I thought “Uh Oh....was she really worth picking up”? Her hair is crumpled, her dress is torn, there are big holes in her veil. And yet, for some unknown reason, I still thought she was beautiful.





Once home, I shared my new treasure with the family explaining “I know she's not in good condition, but for some reason I really like her”. Thank goodness they know who I really am, and they have come to understand and accept (and sometimes see the beauty) in the eclectic treasures I find. Sadly, she was put on a table and left laying there for a few weeks. Every time I caught a glimpse of her, I thought “What am I going to do with her”? “Why did I pick her up”? I thought maybe I could use her as a decoration for Angie's Bridal Shower, but then wondered what people would think about the disarray she was in. Yet, I was still drawn to her. Eventually she made it up the two flights of stairs to our “attic suite”, and stood on a chair by the window, for another few weeks.



Today, I sat in the chair by the window, put “her” on the side table and looked out the window. I was thankful for the beautiful summer day we were blessed with. Mindfully in this beautiful moment, I turned and saw “her”; I picked her up. Her dress was buttoned crookedly, there are gaping holes in her veil, the lace trim is coming apart on the sleeves, the “under netting” of the dress is safety pinned in the back to hold it up, the necklace she is wearing is definitely not original or wedding appropriate, her hair is crumpled.



Then, mindfully, I examined “her” a little more closely. “Her” eyes are a beautiful, sparkling blue; her lipstick and rouge are stately, but subtle. “Her” earrings dangle delicately beneath her lobes. I hold “her” wedding gown out to the side, as if playing and imagining me in this gown. Then I realized what “her” beauty is and why I have been so drawn to “her”, why “she” “spoke” to me. A smile came to my lips.




Once upon a time, a little girl held this Bride in her tiny little hands and imagined herself in this gown. “She” was played with apparently a lot, as shown by her condition. I turned her over, fixed her buttons, and saw where the button holes were torn a bit. Again, I smiled because I thought of a little girl unbuttoning and buttoning this dress many times over as she dreamed of her own wedding day. I started to realize why I saw “Her” as beautiful. While writing this story, she lies here beside me, and I wondered what I would have named her when I was little; June came to my mind immediately (funny thing, Angie's wedding is in June!). Here is June, a well-loved Bride (doll) who's beauty shines from love.


Friday, August 10, 2012

Back Home Again

I just love goin' back home again (to the tune of "On the Road Again").....Long Island, NY, that is!  I grew up on Long Island, and moved up North when I was 16, when my dad retired to "Upstate New York".  As my brother reminded me, when we moved to the "middle of the Island", it was country; we had a dirt road and rural mailboxes.  

Soooo many great memories live inside my mind, and I love to go back to the Island to visit my brother, and to revisit where some of these memories took place.  I did not take pictures of them this time, and I cannot find good ones on the web. 

We took a visit back to the house we grew up in, and drove around the neighborhood.  Of course so much has changed.  "The Corner" which used to be woods, where many games were played; hide and seek, war, where the "guys" "hung out".  My friend's house where we sold minnows we caught at Lake Ronkonkoma, and then sold them to the neighborhood kids, and no trip would be complete without driving down the HUGE Hill on Grassy Pond Drive!  It really is BIG as you drive towards it, you cannot see over the nose of your car!

Lake Ronkonkoma




Grassy Pond Drive HILL Sattelite view from Google
I miss the days of playing kickball in the street, curb ball, flipping for baseball cards, pocket knives, chicken, riding your bike all day long in the summer where ever you wanted to go.  Walking to Weld's Lake with some bread and string, and "making a fishing pole" with a stick and string, and mushing the bread to the end of the string for bait.  We thought we were fishing.  LOL.  So many Adventures!  

Going to the beaches - Little Africa, Long Beach, Short Beach.  And on the way to one of them, up on a hill was an old house, and we called it the witch's house....  Cannot find pictures of the beaches either!  Yikes!

I DO however, have a picture of the Smithtown Bull.  It is Ginormous!  Short story of the bull is that John Smith Saved a Squaw, and as a thank you, the Chief told John he would give him whatever land he could cover while riding a bull.  You can look this up on line and get the full story.  For some reason my older girls get a kick out of this bull, so as we drove by, the camera was clicking!


And last but not least, my brother Tommy gave me a ride in his 1950 (?) Ford Pick Up.  LOVE IT!  He even burned rubber for me (and the grand kids)





We are due back in September, just because, and we'll be reminiscing (and taking photos!)