1. Ping Pong Tournament
2. Old Photograph
3. No GA Meeting
4. Two Horses
1. Once dinner was completed, my two friends and I were looking for something to do. I suggested ping-pong and a mini tournament ensued between the three of us. Whoever won would stay at the table and play the person waiting. I won the first match and nothing else until the last match. The games were very competitive even with me! My roommate is probably the best among us as he won the most games. Winning and losing was superfluous because I had a very good time. We spent two hours playing and all of us were laughing and smiling the whole time. I likened this to a Saturday night at the Senior Citizen’s Community Center. We stayed busy and along the way had much fun!
2. My roommate showed me pictures of his parents and his dogs – a Labrador and Golden Retriever – I showed him an embarrassing photograph my mother had just sent me. It was a 24 year old picture of my wife and myself. I think my wife looked very good, but I looked “very different.” My roommate didn’t think it was me since I looked older than I do now, weighed at least 20 more pounds, and had a moustache. Anyhow he had a good chuckle of me from the past!
3. Normally my dear friends are the usually the first – or one of the first – to arrive when visiting opens. Well, visiting opened but my name wasn’t called. Another 30 minutes went by and I still wasn’t called. Normally, I am made aware of when the meeting/visit is cancelled and I hadn’t heard anything this week. I realize that with all wildfires this week, the visiting was in possible jeopardy. However, conditions had improved and I was looking forward to the visit. I do hope everyone is okay and I should find out more later when I call my mother. I do enjoy these visits so much, but I do understand my dear friends have lives to lead. I am grateful for every one of the meetings and I am beyond blessed to have these wonderful people in my life. I’m sure something just came up and they should reconvene at a later time.
4. A few weeks ago I received a narrative poem from a dear friend of mine. It’s beautiful and appropriate to my life. I hope you enjoy reading it.
Two Horses
By Anonymous
Just up the road from my home is a field with two horses in it
From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse
But if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing…
Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind
His owner has chosen not to put him down, but has made a good home for him
This alone is amazing.
If you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell
Looking around for the source of the bell, you will see it comes from a smaller horse in the field
Attached to the horse’s halter is a small bell
It lets the blind friend know where the other horse is, so he can follow.
As you stand and watch these two friends, you’ll see that the horse with the bell is always checking on the blind horse
And that the blind horse will listen for the bell and he slowly walks to where the other horse is, trusting that he will not be led astray
When the horse with the bell returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, it stops occasionally and looks back, making sure that the blind friend isn’t too far behind to hear the bell.
Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing bell
Other times we are the guide horse, helping others to find their way…
Good friends are like that…
You may not always see them, but you know they are always there.
Please listen for my bell and I’ll listen for yours
And, remember…be kinder than necessary – everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
