More from our granddaughter in Australia.

She found the celebration during Christmas be be on a lighter note than we affect here. The people dress up in costumes (i.e. Halloween) and gather in the big Sydney Park (their version of Central Park in N.Y.) to attend a big parade. The lucky ones arrive early, mark their spot and wait under an umbrella. They bring their towels and sunscreen to mitigate the heat and sun.

Leah has fallen in love with the city of Sydney, fascinated by the architecture, an eclectic mix that ranges from beautiful old sandstone buildings to neighborhood shops in art deco buildings, others in a style reminiscent of buildings in Paris and California. There are also many very modern buildings.

The weather in Sydney, at least in the summer (our winter) changes very quickly. It can start out chilly, then get very hot, then rain, then get sunny and hot and then cold again. So, she explains, they always pack a sweater or jacket.

She has fallen in love with many of the other aspects of life down under, with one big exception; they have a huge cockroach population. She probably doesn’t remember her days in Texas. Anyway, she woke up one night to see a huge roach run past her nose and over the pillow. Her scream awakened her husband, Jon, who promised to save her if it happened again. She also mentioned she ran into a rat in the subway. This part of her Australia adventure (she says) actually made me nostalgic for New York.    

More in another blog.

Don’t you love to be around people who have a good sense of humor. Humor has always been part of our human existence and something I’ve considered essential in friends, family, politicians, writers and even church leaders.

I find that humor can bridge gaps between people of different backgrounds and viewpoints. For instance it can bridge the political divide between liberals and conservatives. I recently saw an example of this.

The first (score one for the Democrats) was by President Obama commenting on the orange skin tone of Speaker of the House John Boehner. “I used to think that it was a tan, but after seeing how often he tears up, I’ve come to realize it’s rust.”

  The other side (conservatives) was presented in The Week. I’ve edited this to make it clearer. At least I think it does. I’ll list the real name or article then the politically correct version.

“The Old Man and the Sea”                 The Still-Productive Senior and the Sea

“Crime and Punishment”                      Crime and Time-Out

“The Taming of the Shrew”                 The Taming of the High-Maintenance Woman

“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”     Are You There Higher Power? It’s Me Margaret

Remember to keep your sense of humor about things or events, it will make your life a lot easier.

Thanks to Readers Digest for both of these.

How I love dogs. I’ve always had one from my early growing up years to my children’s growing up years. They give me endorphines and fill my bucket.  

Now if people only listened as attentively as Lucy and Desi. Usually dogs don’t look you in the eye very long, especially if your scolding them them. On the whole, Desi and Lucy are very obedient little dogs, so I rarely have to scold them. Most of the time I’m telling them what sweeet, good dogs they are. When I do, Lucy looks at me with those big, dark brown eyes as if she understands every word. Desi listens with his big brown eyes and head cocked to one side as if he’s analyzing what I’m saying.

Yesterday I was mending in the family room and they were sleeping contentedly, one on the couch and one on the chair. Later, when I finished, I went into the office to work on the next book we will publish, “A Butterfly In Winter.” Before I knew it I felt a little paw on my knee. Lucy, with her big brown eyes telling me that she wanted me out of the office and back into the family room. 

When it was time to go potty outside, they stood at the back door, patiently waiting for me to let them out. Since our backyard and orchard do not have fences, the opportunities for mischief and adventure are endless. There are the chickens from the house behind us who are periodicly in the orchard; there are the neighbohood children out playing; and the neighbors cat wanders by.

When their duties are taken care of, they set out to investigate and explore, rushing from place to place.Yet, when I call them to come, they obediently, if reluctantly, return. What discipline! I give them a treat for their quick response.

I broke a small piece of cheese in two. It was all I had left. I dropped them on the floor, one for each. Lucy, being the quickest and the greediest ate hers, then grabbed Desi’s before he could locate it. I screamed, “Oh, no!” She immediately dropped Desi’s cheese from her mouth and waited for him to eat it.

How many humans have this kind of discipline?

On Sunday I recorded the Oscar ceremonies so I could watch it later. It struck me that this is just the latest (albeit the most publicized) of these ‘self aggrandizing, self congratulating’ episodes.

I watch mainly to see who won the best actor, best actress awards, and to see the beautiful designer gowns. Many of the women, or so it seemed, were engaged in the latest contest to see who could look the weirdest or show the most skin. 

Considering the time and effort this extravaganza takes, I would have been happy just to have had the results emailed to me. I must confess to one thing though. I’m always intereted in who won for best screen play.

The other day I read something that caused me to cringe. I feel compelled to offer my reaction to this, and let you form your own opinion.

The writer of this off-putting piece quoted someone as saying that a certain brilliant individual “does not suffer fools gladly.” While this particular bit of ‘praise’ was being heaped on an entertainer, I have read this phrase many times in the past in connection with some aupposedly intelligent educational or political leader.

Imagine someone wanting to establish how intellectual, how far above the crowd this particuolar person is, how he/she surrounds himself/herself only with those who could be considered as mental equals. Certainly by inference, if not in fact, this puffed up phony obviously looks down on those of us who aren’t on his/her ‘level.’

The gross hypocrisy in such a statement should be obvious. It infers that those of us who can’t see this vastly superior individual’s point of view are, by definition, ‘fools’.

The truly gifted, the truly great leaders are those who are humble in the biblical sense. I was, upon reading this comment, reminded that compared to Him who died on calvary, we are all fools. Yet, can anyone imagine Him placing any of his earthly children in such a category?

I’m well aware that there are isssues out there which someone might feel dwarf my irritation over the above mentioned quote, but I had to get it off my chest. Color me lucky to have a forum in which to do it.

Thanks for listening.