From the Cobwebs: Smell, Memories, and a Good LIfe

Have you ever thought about how amazingly God designed our five senses? I am often awed at how hearing a song on the radio immediately brings back a certain memory of the exact place I was the last time I heard it. Once I even remembered what I was doing the last time I heard a particular song—turning left onto Fielder from Sanford in Arlington. Strange how sense and memory work, isn’t it?
Smell is huge with me in regard to memories. Mothballs remind me of one room in the house of an elderly member of the church in Baytown whom we visited when I was on door knocking campaigns in my Brown Trail Days. When it is dark out and I am near a restaurant cooking bacon and eggs, I am immediately transported back to Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas. In those moments, I am nineteen again and in tech school and it is 4 a.m. and I’m walking across the street—accidently in my loafers instead of my military shoes—to the crew chiefs’ dorm for breakfast.
When I notice the odor of street tar baking on a summer’s day—especially noted near the Hastings in San Marcos for some reason—I remember walking to the Base Exchange, talking with the first boy who ever really noticed I was female.
As a child, when I would awaken from slumber and rise to prepare myself for the day, I would smell Daddy’s cologne which still lingered in the hall from his early departure. Mingled with the smell memory is the sound memory of his taps clicking on the floor as he left the house. There has always been something comforting about that “Daddy” smell, yeah? And I’m telling you about it today for a purpose. I walked into Hastings to get an application and noticed a lady set up to display some books she was selling. Since I’m an avid reader, and a writer, and I understand some of the process of trying to get a book sold, I always like to go over and look at a book sales table in a book store. The woman was actually the wife of the author who walked up moments later, smiled at me. I instantly felt at home with him, partially because his smile was wide and genuine and partially because—he smelled like Daddy. He and his wife and I chatted for several minutes. We even talked about the publishing process. I was really pleased when he gave me some really important tips and offered to help me when I am ready to publish any of my books. I guess this daily blog doesn’t really have a point except to say this: go with your senses sometimes, yeah? Perhaps it is just my way to open up to strangers, but I was just about to leave the table when the author arrived, smelled like Daddy and caught my attention. I stayed. We talked. They helped me—or will—and I helped them and the day wouldn’t have been quite as cool if that interaction hadn’t happened.
Oh, and by the way y’all. The name of the author: D.V. Murray. The book they were selling today was the first in a historical trilogy and you can read more about it on wildponypublishing.com. check it out y’all. And, as always, thanks for being people who make my world a better place.
Wishing you…
Sonshine and laughter,
Me, Loralee Fabulous Ford

From the Cobwebs: Rainbow, Happily without Blue

 RAINBOW...HAPPILY, WITHOUT BLUE

written 13NOV04

up at 5 a.m. driving north alone. watching at the yellow sun comes up.

4 quiet hours at 917. Lunch just mom and me. Homemade soup in a big red cup.

At Blalack, sitting next to Daddy. Red, White, and Blue on the gym walls. 2 veterans shoulder to shoulder.

Burgers at the Orange Joint with 'Melie Mac. Talk, laughter, and thanksgiving letters to 8 soldiers.

Alone again. driving south under a black sky. 1 full day. to the brim with love.

Too busy to be blue with missing her.

this last poem was written two days after the second anniversary of the death of my mother. She died on November 11th, 2002.

 I'm really feeling weird about something that I feel like I might not be able to discuss.  Plus, I really need to read up for an upcoming class I have in an hour.  

but, I feel like i need to put it down somewhere and then, hopefully, I can let it go. (let it go. Can't hold it back anymore.  let it go. let it go....etc.)

I didn't know this, but my salary gets deducted if the boss lets us go home and he takes over.  He counts the hours and adds it all up.   Plus, if you come in and 'shadow' another teacher for how many ever days, you don't get paid for that either.  These are the kinds of things I can accept IF you communicate them to me.   But when you don't, it makes me feel like I'm going to be messed with and makes me wonder if I belong here at this location. Just saying.   

However, when I approached respectfully, the issue was 'resolved' fairly  swiftly.     It makes me uncomfortable.    That's all.   a little uncomfortable.   

however, i am the daughter of a Ford and a Peay, so....I'll figure out a way to make it alright.

the end.

SK: (South Korea) A quick (laugh out loud) catch-up and 'The Dark Shadow Rap'

I've already realized that I haven't quite kept up with 'writing once a week or so.'   First off, I was being hopeful.  My muse sometimes takes vacations.  I guess I should just implement the 'discipline' strategy and write even if it is a little boring.  But--also--in my own defense, since the 26th of July, we've been doing 'Summer Camp' at work.  Summer camp is where--from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.--we do an English 'camp' with kids helping them understand English and the world a little better.  THEN after that, we do our normal schedule, from 2:30 to 8:30.  Sometimes, we get to leave at 7:30 and the boss takes over the last class, but not always.  Thankfully, this schedule ends Friday and we go back to just teaching from 2:30 to 8:30.

Needless to say, I'm a little tired.  And, honestly I'm still getting used to all of this 'whole new world' (I hope y'all sang that like Aladdin and Jasmine.) Also, I've had to go out to get stuff for every meal because--for some reason--my fridge keeps messing up and the boss is having a hard time getting in touch with the guy who fixes it.  So, I can't buy foods and keep it in the fridge cos--even if it works for a while--eventually, it will go out and all my food will spoil.  It is a challenge and annoying. However, yesterday, I talked with my boss, told him how much money I have wasted on eating out, (I usually only spend about $200 on food a month), and he promised to get the situation fixed ASAP.  (Oh, and today I get my first paycheck, Plus the  money I spent on a plane ticket getting here!)

Anyway, that out of the way, I do enjoy teaching (for the most part).  In the day time (2:30 to 5:30), we teach classes with several tweens, usually. Those are grammar based. But, in the evenings, our classes are with older teens and adults. Those classes are geared more toward fluency, rather than learning grammar and doing it properly.  So, we generally just have conversations about life and what is going on in the world.  I try to look at what has happened that day or what has happened in history.  We discuss it. I ask their opinions and then they get opportunities to express--in English--their opinions. It sharpens their skills with the English language, yeah?  

So, last night was a rare evening.  Usually, I have two boys who are about 14 or 15 (To be honest, the calculations involving Korean age verses International age still confuse me.)  Last night, Jeff was missing, so it was only David and me in class.  David lived in Canada for a year, so has a really good grasp of English and is a very intelligent young man, so he can understand some concepts that not all of the others can (You know, kinda like I cannot understand the concepts of Rocket Science.)  

Anyway, last week, Kevin, David, and I went over a modern poem and discussed the concepts therein.  David really seemed to get the ideas, so I thought it would be a good time to go over another one.  After we went through the poem, I noticed the entry right below it on the page. (My blog page, by the way)  It was an entry of a story that I began when I was about 8-10 years old and had left unfinished. It must have been a school assignment.  Sometime around 2005 or so, I found the ORIGINAL story in some papers that Mom has stored in boxes and had given back to me.  The boxes included many items from my childhood years, including this story.  After finding the unfinished story, I decided to finish it then and there and continued the story using people from my life AT THE TIME of finishing the story. It was a very silly ending, but it was fun to finish up this story 30 years in the making.  Here is a link to that story: https://pensivepollyanna.blogspot.com/2022/04/from-cobwebs-dark-shadow.html

So, David and I read, laughing heartily, this silly story and decided to incorporate boring short stories and poetry into something HE likes, which is rap. David and I decided to write a rap about the Dark Shadow.  He didn't want to share his, but I will share my terrible effort at writing rap lyrics.  When reading, please do me the favor of attempting to read/sing it in a rap style--otherwise it may seem even sillier than it already is.   OH, by the way, before you read it, please watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puPRFGspl6w  It will give some context to the original story, plus--in reality--it is a really fun song and Leo Sayer is SO ADORABLE in this video.

So, anyway, after all of the reading and video watching, here is the rap I wrote:

                                    Dark Shadow

I heard him screamin' (The Dark Shadow)

up at his house.

I crept up toward it 

quiet as a mouse.

The sign on the door said 

'Come on in!'

I felt some fear, but

I walked up, quiet as a pin

Droppin' on the floor

of a quiet room.

But the dark Shadow had music

playin' with a loud, loud boom.

The song was talkin' 'bout the 

feelings he felt

about the girl he loved, he sho' spelt

out his feelings...She made his heart beat

But he was afraid she wouldn't 

like the sheet

he wore each day cos 

he was a ghost.

What he didn't know was

that she liked him the most

cos to Leo Sayer, he really like dancin'

And she truly believed 

it was the best way for romancin'.

The end of my terrible rap.   

From the Cobwebs: Toothless and Angry (2007)

 Current mood: contemplative

A person with whom I work takes an anger management class every Wednesday night. When I see him, he often regales me with very interesting stories and descriptions from his classes. Sometimes, he describes the cast of angry students. He has told me that the class largely consists of burly, mean, angry-looking men, but there are a few women, also. There is a beautiful middle-aged black woman; a young, cute, blond coed; and a old mushy-faced woman with no teeth. It is this last description which really caught my attention. While describing her, he has said that he thinks perhaps she had gotten caught up in a life of drugs and alcohol. Things just slowly spiraled downward for her because of it.
It got me to wonderin'...do you think, at age 16, that it occurred to her that it was even possible that she would let drugs and alcohol consume her to such an extent that she would choose them over food? And, as a consequence, she would become so malnourished that her face would have that sunken look which is often associated with those people who have no teeth? At 25, when she was in the bloom of her life, did she imagine sitting, by court order, in a dilapidated classroom with gray paint peeling off of the walls for two hours EVERY SINGLE Wednesday night for six months? Just before her 37th birthday, do you think she foresaw this outcome?
I imagine that it never occurred to her that her life would be where it is today. Not at 19. Not at 25. Not 3 weeks shy of her 37th birthday, and definitely not when she made that first decision to step in the direction of sin. You see, every choice we make has subsequent consequences, whether they be good or bad. What we choose to do at 16, at 26, at 36, at 46, all affect whether or not we'll be sitting in a classroom, with gray paint on the walls and a sunken face at age 56.
So then, what do we do about it? Firstly, choose your friends wisely (I Cor. 15:33) As young adults, were surrounded by school and work mates, some of whom dont know God very well. Some of them have not heard of Him at all, as crazy as that is to imagine. While we need to know them in order to affect them for good; we dont need to make them our best friends. In my own life, Ive noticed more spiritual growth on my part when I have surrounded myself with like-minded people. The apostle Paul, after being beaten and bound in chains, rejoiced and sang with Silas, his fellow preacher and prisoner. (Acts 16: 22-33) They encouraged one another during that difficult time of turmoil. Their determination to be happy no matter the circumstance even helped bring a soul to Christ. (Phil. 4: 11-13).
What else can you do? Learn about God!! (II Tim. 2:15) In other words, study so that you know how to think, speak and behave in a godly manner. In I Tim 4:12, Paul tells a very young Timothy not to let anyone look down on his youthfulness but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Your behavior can be such that people notice a difference and start to wonder about what (or Who) it is that makes that makes you different. Be the one who says Follow me as I also follow Christ (I Cor. 11:1) Even the young can change the world for the better. The more often you are striving to study, grow, and be godly, the less likely it is that youll take very many of those steps toward sin.
And lastly, why dont you just get busy doing good? Have you heard that old saying: Idle hands are the Devils playground? While the words aren't precisely biblical, the idea certainly is, isnt it? We can always find work to do. Galatians 6 is FULL of commands for us to do good. In verse 2, we're told to help each other out when we're in need or we're suffering. In verse 10, we're to do good to all mankind especially to our brethren. In James 1:27, we're encouraged to help the widows and the orphans. In Acts 16, there are two great examples of servants of God. Immediately after obeying the Gospel, both Lydia (in verse 15) and the jailer (in verse 34) provided a place to sleep and food to eat for Paul and his fellow workers.
There is a lot to do. Even as young adults, you can be great fellow-helpers of the truth. (III John 1-8, esp. 8). You can grab some of your peers, eat lunch, and then head on over to the nursing home and have a devotional with the senior citizens. You can save up a little money and buy one of those bulk boxes of cards at Walmart and send little envelopes of encouragement to those who are sick, grieving or hurting. You can be an assistant to the teacher in a bible class. You can volunteer to prepare communion. You boys can lead prayers and singing, and help pass communion on Sundays. You can help clean up the kitchen and dining tables after a potluck. You can invite school chums to worship or devotionals. The list really does go on an on, ya know?
In the end, it comes down to this fact: We've got to GET and STAY busy doing good so that we can step toward good and not evil. In 40 years, you dont want to be sitting--toothless--in a dingy classroom, do ya? Instead, you want to be smiling with a mouth full of healthy teeth, Helping, Serving, and Loving God WITH ALL YOUR HEART! You want to be happy instead of angry. The thing is though...that road toward happy instead of angry? It starts now. It starts today with the very next decision you make.

From the Cobwebs: 2006--I'm the luckiest girl in the whole wide world!!

My

 I'm the luckiest girl in the Whole Wide World!!

(I wrote this last July '06)
Current mood: happy
Category: Friends


So, I'm at Chipotles on Brodie after Bible class last night. We were all

eating and talking and laughing. We were having one of those fun

conversations that you can only have with a small group, ESPECIALLY

if two of the small group are Daniel and Bryant!!

We three gals (Rachel, Abbey, and I) were being relatively quiet and

the boys were doing

most of the talking. They were both in very silly and quite entertaining

moods. We were discussing and mimicking Harry Potter characters,

laughing over memories, faux arguing over whether or not Rachel and

I looked like family. It was beautifully fun. At one point, I was literally

watching a fun and silly conversation between Bryant and Daniel. Bryant

was doing that thing he does with his eyes that make them bug out, and

Daniel was being equally silly. I was just SO HAPPY to be there and so

happy that these wonderful people are a part of my life. I looked at

Rachel and smiled at her and she smiled at me. I think she understood

what I was feeling. I just stopped right there and thought to myself

, "I'm the luckiest girl in the WHOLE WORLD!! I hope that I am part of

these conversations

and that these people are part of my life until the day I die."

And then, as we were leaving, we had another faux argument about

whether or not Bryant called me stupid and even if he did, I know he

didnt mean it.

PS. The photo is from my birthday pizza dinner in 2007

From the Cobwebs: Pastelitos

 #FMSPHOTOADAY 03AUG17 'C is for' ... CELEBRATION!!! This is a local Venezuelan food joint called Pastelitos. I went yesterday to celebrate an upcoming birth with a new friend. She forgot about it, but I had an awesome time. The people who work here are awesome! They recognized me immediately!! One of them found out that it was my birthday last Thursday, so they combined my Birthday with one of the cooks. They bought a cake and sang to the worker in Spanish and me in English! The owner even introduced me to everyone in the restaurant. 'This is a newcomer. This is her second time visible is, but it is her birthday, too.. Her name is Loralee. Let's sing to her! ' Everyone in the place and happy birthday. A customer sitting next to me told me that it is part of the Venezuelan culture to celebrate friendship, life, big events, and fellow human beings! How awesome,!!!!! Y'all need to get over here for a meal , QUICKLY!!!!! 

See less

— at Pastelitos Cafe and Bakery.

From the Cobwebs: What do we call her?

I wrote this long ago and just ran across it in my Facebook memories

I wrote this note in response to a post on the churchofchristsingles.com...so just in case it seems a bit disjointed, you now understand.

We could also call ourselves "the Pillar and Ground of the truth." However, whatever we call ourselves, we DO need to call ourselves a biblically approved name. Additionally, we need to understand that the church is a group of people who a) belong to Christ and b) are obedient to Him and his rules and regulations.

Remember the old example of a new husband who was blindfolded and put into a room full of women? He was supposed to find a way to eliminate all of the women and find his new bride? Here is how he did it:

He called out things about her to the crowd. "If you weren't born in Rome, New York, please leave." He'd say. "If you don't have three sisters and two brothers, please leave." He'd request. "If you don't have hazel eyes, please leave." He'd command. "If you don't have lovely auburn hair, please leave." (a husband might say that, yeah?) And on and on and on until there were very few women left in that room that began with hundreds of them. Finally, he made his last request of the women in the room. "If you don't wear my name, please leave" And finally, every woman EXCEPT the one who could be called Mrs. John Smith (or whatever) left the room and he was left standing with only his bride.

The point is this: The name IS important. However, the characteristics are just as important.

-Does this church teach and practice that you must understand the truth, believe it, repent of your sins, confess that Christ is the Son of God, be baptized for the remission of your sins, and be faithful even up unto the face of death in order to enter Heaven?

-Does She observe all five aspects of worship and partake of the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week in order to remember the death of the Savior?

-Do they ( as a congregation) strive diligently to encourage and teach and uphold the members of that group?

There are many other "do theys", but perhaps you see my point already. The name is important. We could walk into a building that does not bear the name church of christ on the sign our front (as long as it is a scriptural name) and see the characteristics of that congregation AND we could recognize our brethren. WE COULD. However, since most of the world (and ourselves) recognizes us as "the church of christ", we call ourselves that name out of an expedient of sorts. It's a great name, really. Just as I might sometime (in the future) like to be introduced as "this is the wife of So and So" I don't mind the possessive/ownership name of Church of Christ since, as was pointed out in an earlier post, that just denotes ownership, belonging, etc. Christ owns the church. We belong to Him. Call me old fashioned, but I don't mind it. We should call ourselves a name that would make us recognizable to those who are looking for us, yeah? Those who know me in this world, know me as Emma-Knightly or Loralee Ford or Lolly or Fabulous. If someone walks into a place looking for me, they will ask for me using one of those names. If they didn't call me by one of those names, it would be harder to find me. So should we in regard to the church.

However, the characteristics are important, also. We must be able to walk into a building marked "church of christ" and recognize her just as the husband recognized his wife in that room full of hundreds of women. Both descriptors are important. If someone walked into the building and couldn't remember my name, they might be able to find me by describing me. "She never meets a stranger." or "She has lots of freckles" or "that girl who grew up in everywhere." or "She's about this tall." or "she has lovely auburn hair." (haha) See what I mean? Both kinds of descriptors are important to find the one for whom you are looking. You cannot rely on just one of them.

Just something to think about y'all.

SK: Trip to the bookstore in City Centre

The gate to our home, complete with the paper trash that is supposed to be picked up today.

An Interesting intersection in Daegu City Centre with SIX crosswalks. All the cars stop at the same time and all six crosswalks are free for walkers.  SOOOOO interesting.

The Kids dancing!

The Ferris Wheel behind the park.  I think is actually  housed on a rooftop. Didn't get close enough to check though. Next time!!

 I decided I needed to do something away from home, but not too far away today.  I heard that there is a bookstore that has an English Language section, so I hopped onto the bus from the stop about a two minute walk from my apartment.  It dropped me off about a 4 minute walk from the book store, so--after a few missteps trying to follow the map in the wrong direction--I arrived at the book store.  I had to take the escalator (what?!?!) up to the second floor.   I had no clue where the English language section was, but I saw a cute young man with a name tag, so I approached him.  I tried to remember the word for English, but it slipped my mind. I took a chance and he understood me and directed me right to the section.  It is smallish; however, there are plenty of books that I would enjoy reading, so--I can spend every bit of birthday and Christmas money there if I want to do so.  They had a great children's section and a classics section and even a non-fiction section about stocks and self-help.   I'm sure none of you will be surprised when you discover that I bought the first book in the Harry Potter series.   I thanked my helper (in Korean--I remembered that much.)  He said something in return that sounded suspiciously like what might have been 'you're welcome' or 'It was my pleasure" or something similar.  I paid for the book and walked down to the street level.  As I walked back in the general direction of the bus stop, I noticed a few stores that were located downstairs.  One thing I've noticed here in Korea is that every building seems to have  basement level shops.  Another thing is that every other shop is either a) a coffee/bakery, b) a coffee/dessert shop c) a coffee shop d) or a bakery.  Also, just like in the States, there seems to be 7-11s on every street corner.  

Anyway, so I went down to the basement level and wandered through a kitschy souvenir/stationery store. On my way out of it (wisely having decided not to buy anything), I noticed what looked like a WHOLE 'nuther store on the other side (basically directly beneath the street).  After I entered the store, it turned out that it was a whole MALL directly under the street where the cars drive.  It didn't have anything I needed today, but I certainly no where to go if I need shoes or phone cases!

After entering back onto street level, I turned right down a street that had a TON of activity. It was like a strip mall version of the Domain in Austin.  I saw nearly every shoe store I'd ever seen in the States located somewhere on this 8-10 street shopping community.  I also noticed a ton of coffee shops (ha!) and a group of kids, about 16 in number doing performing dance numbers together in front of a camera.  It was adorable and made me smile.  Ahhhh, the hope of the future found right smack dab in the middle of a group of dancing teenagers in Daegu, South Korea.  Their enthusiasm was beautiful.

After awhile, I got back on the main drag and headed back toward the bus station area. I passed a beautiful, small park and sat down to read a bit of my newly acquired HP book. I also noticed a Farris wheel and a really cool sculpture of the earth taking a dip in a little pond in the middle of the park.  I should have taken a photo...but maybe next time. Later I walked passed an elderly man (a homeless person, I suspect) who saw me and began spouting all the English he knew (which was church phrases).  It made me wonder if he thinks all white people are Christians coming to Korea to preach.  I just smiled and waved and kept walking. I didn't have anything for him.  

I caught a different bus home, except I stopped at a burger joint first. My co-worker, Sara, suggested it to me and it was delicious. It had the added benefit of several things:  a) American music playing on the overhead, and the cashier who--with his mask on--looked a lot like my little bro, Douglas Paul.  He was pleased by my comment, checked on me during my meal, and smiled when--as I left--I said, "Kamsamhabnida, Namdtongsaeng."  which is basically, "Thank you, Little Brother."  

As I finished the 20 minute walk home, I put on my headphones and listened to Motown.  It turns out that I walked 10,334 steps today, so I'm not going to feel any kinda guilty about that burger and half, and small order of fries I ate at the burger joint.  The first part of my journey was hot and sticky, but this final section (the walk home after dinner) was just gorgeous.  Although, admittedly, Motown in my ears may have added to its beauty. 

So, anyway, I'm home now.  I'm going to try to make myself study some Korean so that I know how to say more than 'Thanks, Little Brother!"  It should be about 6:25 at the beginning of your Saturday and I hope it is a beautiful one!! :)

Love y'all!

P.S. I'm too tired to spell-check, so--if there are mistakes, please forgive. :)