Ring Out, Wild Bells!

Alfred Lord Tennyson gave us this more than a century ago ...

    Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
        Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
            Ring out the thousand wars of old,
                Ring in the thousand years of peace.

     Ring in the valiant man and free,
          The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
                    Ring out the darkness of the land, 

                         Ring in the Christ that is to be.

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

   Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
     The faithless coldness of the times;
       Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes
         But ring the fuller minstrel in.
     Ring out false pride in place and blood,
        The civic slander and the spite;
           Ring in the love of truth and right,
              Ring in the common love of good.

________________________
For Ruby for when the right day comes.
Grampa loves you dearly.

Gifts and Giving

Chapter I

It was Christmas time in a little gingerbread village, and on Christmas morning, gingerbread families gathered together for presents and laughter and love.

Little Ginger Breadcrumbs was excited about presents, so she bounced on the couch and laughed a lot.  Her mommy finally picked a little present from under the tree and gave it to Ginger with a smile.  Ginger opened the tiny box and inside ... inside ... was this tiny snow-globe that was bright and cheerful and just snowy globie perfect!  Ginger loves it so much, and she did a big smile.  Her mommy smiled back, and her eyes sparkled.  They sparkled!

"Mommy, mommy, why do your eyes sparkle like that?"

"Well," Gloria said with a wink, "Rather than tell you, I'll show you how it works.  It's time for you to understand a bit more about such beautiful things, now that your getting old enough, and five is definitely old enough."

"So," Gloria said as she sat down next to the tree, "I see there's a present under the tree for me ... from you!"

"Yes, yes, yes, here it is, here it is! Open it, open it!"  And Ginger handed the box to her mommy.

Inside the box, Gloria found a picture Ginger had drawn.  It was of the family in front of their gingerbread house, and all of them were smiling.  Mommy Gloria Breadcrumbs, daddy Whole Wheat Breadcrumbs, little Ginger Breadcrumbs, and baby sister Rainbow Breadcrumbs.  It was a delightful drawing, and mommy just loved it, and she smiled.  And Ginger's eyes sparkled!  They SPARKLED!

And suddenly, Ginger understood.  She'd given her mommy a gift because she loved her mommy so much, and she just sparkled when her mommy liked it.

Giving and gifts, loving and sharing, all are deep and meaningful, but it's not about gifts.  A gift can be big or small, fancy or simple, and it doesn't matter.  It's not about the gift, it's about love in the giving.

So then, what's the lesson in the story?  It's that the best choice is always to love each other, because love is huge, and it makes a huge difference in a sometimes fussy world.

_____________________________________________
For Ruby Marie, learning and growing so wonderfully well all the way up to five.  
I love you dearly,
Grampa

Ninjasaurus Rex

It was a dark and stormy night, and the monstrous wind rumbled to itself, high in the clouds, crabby about the cold, and wondering what mischief it could do ...

Down below, way down there, it saw a house among the trees and thought to itself, I can go roar around that house and scare people.  

Hahaaaaaa and away it blew, down, down to where people lived and trees grew.  It swayed the trees crazily this way and that, and leaves swirled wildly, and in the house ... mom and dad and Ruby (like the precious gem) huddled at the front window, staring outside.  The noise from the wind was huge, and the house creaked, and it was sort of scary for them, until suddenly ...

Suddenly, out of it's deep, dark cave sprang their defender, the ferocious Ninjasaurus Rex!  It's eyes were sharply focused on the front window and on the wind that blew.  "Woof," it declared mightily to the surging wind, which is a lot like, "Hey!" in ninjasaurus language.  "Woof, woof!"  

Outside the house, the furious wind heard the terrifying sound, and fear filled up its very insides.  Suddenly, the wind's strength was gone, and it squiggled back up to the clouds where it hid and whimpered.  Never had it been so scared ever, ever before.  

The family and their ninjasaurus snuggle together and watch as the calm settles wonderfully all around them, and then they go to bed, except Ninja stayed up to keep watch for awhile.

Later, Ruby told Grampa about the cool things that Ninja, their little dog, did. 

_____________

And because every story has a lesson, what's Ninja's lesson for us?  It's that we're a family, and we watch out for each other and help when it's needed.  😄 And friends, too.  Family and friends do that for each other.  And for others who need help, too; good people and good dogs do that.  

She was supposed to be sleeping ...

She was supposed to be sleeping ... but there was this nice elephant with a balloon ... maybe she was dreaming.  It's hard to tell, sometimes.

So she asked herself, "Should I not be riding an elephant?" ... and herself didn't seem to be worried about it, so away they went.

Pfrump ...   ...   ...  pfurump ...   ...  the slow, rolly foot sounds of the big elephant were pretty much the only noises.  The soft breeze blew silently, and the moon just floated along, and off in the distance she could see the hills and trees and maybe some snow on the mountaintops.  She quietly asked him his name, and he said it was Elijah, Elijah Elephant, and they decided right away they'd be friends.  They talked as they went along about things they liked like flowers and trees and swimming and dancing.  She hadn't known about elephants dancing before.

So, slowly they went along the trail, and the huge valley was so quiet and almost magical.  Oh, and every now and then, a star would twinkle and it sounded like a little jingle bell when it did it.  After many pfrumpy steps, she put her head down on top of the gentle elephant's head and closed her eyes.  His head was warm and comfy, and he was humming a quiet song for her.

She slept, perhaps, and dreamed she was back home with mom and dad and they were asleep, so in her dream, she ran into their room and jumped on their bed and told them about her elephant friend, and they all went outside to see if he was still there.

And he was.  He was there playing with a lot of his friends, and all the neighbors were out with them doing morning elephant bath stuff and laughing a lot.  So she took her mom and dad and joined in.  She scrubbed Elijah's feet and great big toes and scratched his back and tickled his nose and thanked him for the ride.  

Mom and Dad chatted with Elijah about happiness and about going slow, and they made plans to meet again soon.  Then she took her mom and dad and went back home and back to bed because it wasn't time to get up yet.

And because there's always a hidden lesson in such stories ... 

"I think I like elephants a lot," she thought as she drifted off to sleep.  And trees, and being outside, and in quiet places, and twinkley stars.  It's funny how being out with a friend and enjoying things slowly lets you relax and see good things.  Like peace and gentleness and friendship and love.  She liked all of that, and slept happily until time for school.
______________________________________________________
For Ruby, because she understands all that stuff. 💚
Love,
Grandpa

Everything good about life ...

I've loooong wondered about it,
the old man explained.
  There's treasure to be found,
   it's somewhere around,
    maybe under the ground,
so we'll find it.

It's maybe mostly money, many think,
as they struggle to gather it in,
   to collect in a pile
     and to live in grand style,
        but after a while,
it just stinks.

Peaceful pathways, people patiently pursue,
and what is their priceless find?
   The best part is time 
     spent with family and friends,
       or adventures to the ends . . .
of the world!  . . .
Money's myths mysteriously fall through . . .

The treasure, they find,
 is to be loving and kind.
     It's helping, and hearing,
       and caring, and living
         a life full of giving.
That's life at its best, all combined . . .
 for mankind.
    and womankind.
         and doggie-kind.
                 and birdie-kind.
                         and runny babbits and other furry-kind.

         And for teachers; they're usually kind, too.

______________________________

"Tell us the grandest most wonderful life truth," said someone in the crowd to the teacher.  

Without hesitation, he answered. "With everything in you and every moment of your life, you can live in the love of your father in heaven and know his heart," he told them, "and the second most wonderful is just like it ... you can love each other just like you love yourself.  Every good thing about life begins there."

_______________________________
For Ruby Marie, learning and growing so wonderfully well.  
I love you dearly,
Grampa

Wealth and Wisdom

Once upon a time ... except this story is mostly true ... 

So there was this sad young leader who wondered why everybody else was having fun and he wasn't.  He was rich, and most everybody else wasn't, and he'd thought being rich would be better, but for some reason, he just wasn't happy.

As he sat by the window, high up in his really fancy house, he watched everybody else smiling as they came and went about their day.  They'd greet each other cheerfully and talk about things they were doing.  Lots of times, they'd go off together to help each other on this project or that.  Sometimes they did really hard work, and still they smiled and were happy.

So one day, this teacher was talking to folks about how to be truly happy, and crowds gathered to hear him talk and ask questions.  The rich young leader decided he'd go hear what this teacher had to say; maybe he knew a secret.

Down the stairs and through the grand rooms and out through the huge doors he went.  Down the road to the spot where the teacher and all the gathered people were sitting and talking ... the rich young leader just barged into the middle of things and asked, "Teacher, what do I need to do to have a happy life like these folks have?"

The teacher looked right into his eyes, and after a moment, he told him, "You should go and sell everything you have and give it to people who need help, and then come follow along with us.  Then you'll have a happy life."  
        oooOooooooh, there was such a hush across the crowd as the words settled on them all.  The rich young leader didn't know what to say.  In his head, he saw all the fancy stuff he had and his treasure in boxes in the basement, and he just couldn't bring himself to give up his fancy life.  Without saying anything at all, he turned away sadly and went back home.

Out at the edge of the crowd, a really old fellow commented to his really old wife, "Wealth is like strawberries, sort of.  If you have more than you can eat, they just get mushy and make a mess in your house.  It's more fun if you give them away, and other people get to eat, too."  The really old wife smiled.  They'd learned a long time ago that giving is better than having, and that helping others was really the best part of a happy life.

A little girl overheard their conversation and remembered her friend who really likes strawberries, so she got up and went to gather some.  While she picked the strawberries, she ate some and saved some for her friend, and she smiled, thinking of how happy George and maybe Levi would be when she came with strawberries.
_____________________________________

So wealth is only a problem if wisdom fails.  Too much wealth is like too many strawberries in the kitchen; it's just stupid, especially if you can give them away to somebody who doesn't have any strawberries.

For my smart granddaughter who knows wisdom is important.  It's how you tell good from bad.

When Grampa was little

'Twas oh so many years ago
   in village down by the sea,
   that among the old rocks lived a little old crab
   by the name of Fiddle de Dee.
The whole of his heart for all of his days
   was to play in the sand and the sea.

He was an old crab and I a brave lad,
  and the years between us were many,
Yet our time there was grand,
   as we walked in the sand
   with Mum and others, or not any.

Dee was a fiddler; not a good one, it seems,
  eerk eearp was his best refrain.
Mum winced when he played
  and grimaced and swayed
  to the sound like the wreck of a train.

Then one day, through the mist and the haze,
   a pirate ship did appear.
It was pointy in front 
   and tall in the middle,
   and shaped rather round in the rear.

Dee swam to the ship,
   gave the lookout the slip,
   and climbed up the mast to the nest.
"Tis a good life for me,"
   said Fiddle de Dee,
   now a pirate, just like the rest.

Time passed, and more,
  and Dee missed the shore
  and the sand and the waves at his feet.
Still, a pirate was he, with a high perch to see.
It was nice, if you want to explore.

Then suddenly before
  came a glimpse of a shore.
Dee saw it first, and cried out,
"Land Ho!" (more like "land ho.",
  because crabs can't talk very loud.)

          "I shall not leave this land unexplored,"
            yelled Fiddle de Dee to the waves.
          So alone, o'r the side, 
            to swim with the tide,
            leapt he with a 'shout', so brave.

Dee reached the shore
  where we'd sat before,
  and he glared rolly-eyed at me.
"I haven't seen you since morning," I said,
  "and it's nearly quarter to three."
"Perhaps for chips and asparagus tips,
    you'd come share Mum's tea with me."

"But of course I shall.  I've got stories to tell,
   of all the wonders I saw."
"And I've conquered this land
   by my own hand,"
Dee proclaimed while waving his 'claw'.

So passed the day, and we laughed at the way
   it all seemed so wonderfully free.
Two friends could piddle
   and imagine and fiddle
   in the sand and the surf by the sea.

The end.

Oh, yes, the hidden lesson.  
Just because they're little and crabby doesn't mean they don't have some good stories to tell.

(For my imaginative granddaughter whom I admire so much for her courage.)