"HAVE A BLESSED EASTER"

On this day, I wish you and yours a blessed Easter.

So many memories of Easters past still remain with me and that's a good

thing for it is those that make me happy. I well remember how much my

mom hated finding that plastic Easter grass everywhere! Personally, I loved it.

When my sons were old enough to have their own baskets, did they have

that shredded plastic grass? Yes, they did! And I'd find remnants of it a year

later hidden here and hidden there.

Looking back, I don't think I ever ate a dyed Easter egg nor did my sons.

Who would want to eat one that had been outside rolled around and cracked?

But the joy was in finding it--just a simple pleasure.

Easter was a day of dressing up and as a young girl, I had to wear a hat chosen by 

my mom and never liked any of them. Ever. My dresses weren't so bad but they had

to be made of cotton when I was a child and almost a teenager. Flimsy organza dresses

were considered taboo--isn't that a dumb thing? But they were. And all girls had to wear

socks with black or white shoes on Easter. I came to have a long hate affair with socks

for that reason.

As I got older, it was common for teenage girls to walk around the neighborhood all dressed 

up on Easter. Think "Easter Parade" left over for years and years but we did it. And lo and

behold, we got to choose our own hats and they were humdingers if ever! Big, flowery and

now considered "retro." I wish I had a picture to show you but those have been long gone.

My fondest Easter memories were of a huge family dinner and then going for a long drive 

to our capitol building here in town and into upper scale neighborhoods just to sight see.

And of course there was the proverbial Easter basket that seemed to never change much

for me: I didn't get toys. Candy. Lots of candy and jelly beans. And there was a feeling in

the air of a brand new day--perhaps that is truly what Easter is all about aside from the

real reason.

Today I wish you and yours a blessed Easter. And hope you have many memories to draw

up on as I do.

Sherry Hill

"TODAY IS THE IDES OF MARCH"

Today is The Ides of March and it's a date in history that was not a good one at all--especially for Julius Caesar. He didn't listen to the soothsayer who told him "Beware the Ides of March." And Caesar's best friend Brutus took his life. Caesar's last words were "Et tu Brute?" [You too Brutus?] Others in the senate also helped slay Caesar. Of course it was as it has been in history, a power play--a tragic one at that which has been repeated over and over down through the centuries.

As for me, I am always cautious on this date. Always.

Two years ago, I had a series of three bad things happen that eventually led me taking to my bed. The first thing that happened was a man in a truck by the side of my house shouting "Stay there pretty girl." I was visible and thought he was talking to me. After he said that several times, he drove off the hill. Curious me went over to the other side of my car to see who the man was talking to; I saw it all right. There stood a huge pit bull and I didn't think I'd make it back to my front door. But I did.

Two hours later, a one-eyed possum appeared in my yard and it was daylight. Whoever sees one-eyed possums? I can raise my hand in that I did that day.

Feeling sort of shaky, I took the two incidents in stride, did some things around the house and then decided to fix a steak for dinner. As I was frying it in a pan, some grease dripped onto the burner and fire jumped up! Had to put out the fire and remove the semi-cooked steak, clean up the mess and by then I was exhausted. Fearing that worse would descend upon me, I took to my bed. And I guess you could say it was a good thing considering what had happened that day--March 15, The Ides of March!

If you are out and about today, be on the safe side. Why risk trouble? After all, it is March 15.

Beware! I sure do.

Sherry Hill

"DON'T LIKE DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ANYMORE"

When I was little, I loved daylight savings time--not in the winter but summer was fantastic. Loved playing outside and although it was late, it was still daylight. The older I become, the less I like it. In fact, guess you could say I loathe it. Who likes dark at 5 in the evenings in winter? Not me nor many of my friends. And this morning, we had to set our clocks ahead one hour. Sure does mess with our internal clocks that we have out of kilter now.

Maybe you don't have daylight savings time where you live and count yourself lucky.

It was started here in the US by the government during WWII to give farmers an extra hour of daylight so that they could get more work done. Well, the war has long been over. I read on twitter that the government is considering doing away with daylight savings time. I wish they would. My late mom used to say "I don't like people messing with my time." Now I understand what she meant for I don't either.

It takes weeks to get used to "springing ahead" one hour. Remember in my classroom that not only was I out of whack that first Monday after the clocks had to be set ahead but so were my students. All of us were in a semi-coma. Who likes to feel like that? And it takes weeks to get used to it.

Animals don't have to worry for they have their own internal clocks--animals in the wild that is. Domesticated animals on the other hand have problems for they are fed at specific times and that means that the owners have to be on schedule. My dog and cat are already chomping at the bit to be fed and I know that I will be late in feeding them. Not with it yet.

Good luck tomorrow at your job. I'm sure that a lot of people will be late or miss an appointment; may even miss getting to work on time. As for me, I loathe daylight savings time. Time should be left alone and not manipulated by man--it already is manipulated enough as it is. Can you or I do anything about it? Doubtful. Meanwhile, you will probably feel like the woman in the picture. Don't forget to "spring forward" if you live in the US. And give yourself a couple of weeks to get used to it. It takes that long.

Sherry Hill

*Photo from someecards.com