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A friend of mine passed away Monday, August 3. She passed in the most peaceful way and that was while she was sleeping. I don’t believe she was in any pain, and if she was, she rarely expressed it. I’d like to share a few memories of her with you, because I’m sure she was well known and loved by many. I’ll refer to her as Mrs. “C”, because I addressed her as that most of my life out of respect. It was only in the last ten or fifteen years that I was able to call her by her first name and that was after I had received her permission to do so.
I first met Mrs. “C” when she was my Sunday School teacher. I liked her immediately and looked forward to Sunday morning, when I would rush to meet her and her family as they arrived in front of the church. I would open her car door and greet her with a hearty, “Good morning Mrs. “C”. You look very nice this morning.” Pretty good manners for a ten-year-old.
There once lived a lady named Bess Myerson. If you remember, Bess Myerson was crowned Miss America many years ago. I mention this, because Mrs. “C” had a strong resemblance to Bess Myerson. I can’t remember when it started, but I used to sing out “There she is, Miss America”, whenever I would see Mrs. “C”. I think she got a big kick out of that, because she never forgot about my serenading her. We used to pass her home on Pleasant Lake whenever we were boating. We’d toot our horn, and when she came out on her deck, I’d stand, lift my arms and serenade her, much like Bert Parks would do to every newly crowned Miss America. We’ll miss you, Liz, you were an inspiration to all of us. May you rest in peace.
The original purpose of this column was to inform everyone about things going on around St. Joe County. Reasons to get Out and About. Since last March, we haven’t been getting Out and About that much, so I’ve done my best to find other things that you readers might find interesting or humorous. God knows we could all use more laughter in our lives these days.
We try to get out as much as we safely can and we are careful about who we associate with. We’ve had to turn down invitations to a few events, because we weren’t sure where everyone had been, or who they had been with. No one knows how long this nightmare will last, or what the new normal will be. I’m looking forward to hugging and shaking hands again.
There are some things we do that we can make others do, if we wish. There are two things that come to mind. The first is laughing. If you don’t believe me, try this. When you are with two or three people, think of something funny and start chuckling. Increase your chuckling into a hearty laugh. It won’t be long before the others will join you in laughter, not knowing what the laughter is all about.
The next thing is yawning. Yawning is contagious. You’ll want to start with a strong yawn, as that is the yawn most noticeable. Before long, the person nearest to you will be yawning also.
Please allow me to share a few facts on yawning. A yawn is a reflex consisting of the simultaneous inhalation of air and the stretching of the ear drums, followed by an exhalation of breath. The exact cause of excessive yawning isn’t known, but the central cause of yawning is low carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in the brain cells. A yawn may occur as a result of drowsiness, tiredness, fatigue, or sleep disorders such as sleep apnea or narcolepsy. One final cause of yawning might be an excessively long sermon on Sunday morning.
I’ll close this week’s column with a few quotes of wisdom from Randy Pausch:
“Complaining does not work as strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won’t make us happier.”
“Sometimes you can’t pay it back, so you just have to pay it forward.”
See you Out and About!
Submitted by Norm Stutesman
