A Beautiful Clouded Day



Wednesday my sister and I were driving by this scene
when I exclaimed,  "What a composition!"


More than a composition, it was such a beautiful scene to me.


There was one brown cow in the group.







My mother , before too long, will be residing right off the road
on the right of this photo.  This is so close
 to where we lived growing up.

The best news is my sister lives right off
this road, too, so close to my mother.
We all will be closer.



The morning started out very foggy and it was pouring rain.
Later in the afternoon, I can't recall when I have seen such
large billowy clouds against such a vivid blue sky.



At the top of the hill, overlooking the city and countryside,
is a cemetery.  I had forgotten the breath taking views from
this hill.

                                                




 You must not blame me if I do talk to the clouds.

                      ~Henry David Thoreau
                               1817-1862

What are people like where you live?





  



A beautiful scene from my car window early this morning
on Preston Road in Plano, Texas.



 Last week while choosing some green peppers at the grocery store, I met a woman and we had a conversation. I know, I can meet people in all kinds of situations. :-) The first thoughts we exchanged were concerning the sorry state of the green peppers.  The topic took a turn and we were discussing the Plano and the Dallas area. I had remarked that our house was on the market.  She said she and her husband were planning on moving in three years to Arkansas where "people are more like us".


She then went on to say that she and her husband had been warned before they moved here two years ago to not move to Dallas, that "the people in Dallas were so rude". She then complained about how rude people are around here. 


An old parable came to mind later when I thought of this woman: 


A man traveling by train gets off in an unfamiliar city and sees a blind beggar leaning against the old brick train station. The traveler asks the blind beggar, "What are the people like in this town?"  The old beggar answered his question with another question, "What are they like where you live?" The traveler answered, "They are unfriendly, rude and mean".  The beggar told the traveler that the town had the same kind of people, they too were unfriendly, rude and mean".   A couple of days passed and once again, a stranger traveling by train gets off at this stop, sees the blind beggar by the station and asks him the same question as the other traveler two days previously.  "What are the people like in this town?", he asked the beggar.  Once again the beggar answered the man's question with another question, "What are the people like where you live?" The traveler answered that the people in his town were friendly, kind and would help one another."  The beggar told the traveler that the people in the town were friendly, kind and would help one another".

A couple of years ago I had read a version of this parable in a Holistic magazine I pick up at Whole Foods and I think of this parable often.  The woman I met over the green peppers at the grocery story reminds me of one of the travelers stopping at the train station.  That old cliche about attitude is quite true, attitude may not be everything but a good one sure helps with having a happier and more loving life.



An antique festival held in my hometown of Clinton Tennessee
in May of 2010





My hometown ... Market Street in Clinton, Tennessee
Spring 2010





All my life I had lived in East Tennessee, mostly in Clinton, Tennessee.  Clint called not long after we had married, I was visiting my mother when I received the call.  He had received a call about a new job in Dallas and asked me, "How would you like to live in Dallas?"  I mumbled something like where ever we had to go would be fine concerning the job market ..."   After our conversation I hung up the phone and cried.


How on earth could I live in such a farway and backward place as Dallas, Texas!  Visions of tumbleweed and ghost towns filled my head. Thoughts of glamour and the tv show Dallas never entered my mind. As for the people of Dallas, Texas, it would not have been much different if Clint had said we were moving to Mars. 


One July 4th weekend over seven years ago, we drive to Plano, Texas with the temperature here being 104 degrees that day.  As we crossed the state line coming in to Texas I remarked I had never seen such horns on cows.  Clint gave me my first lesson, Texas 101, those were longhorns!


The photo at the top of this blog was one of the first scenes as we drove down Preston Road on my first visit to Plano and Texas.  I thought, "Wow, this place is beautiful, I think I could live here!"  Clint and I agree, living here has been one of the most rewarding and wonderful times of our lives. I have grown more here the past seven years than all my decades before!  You are allowed to "be" in Texas.


What are the people like where I lived in Clinton, Tennessee?  They are friendly, kind and will help one another.  What are the people like in this town of Plano, Texas?  They are friendly, kind and will help one another.



Clinton, Tennessee, where the people are friendly, kind
and help one another.