Good Morning!
or
Good Morning, is that coffee you have there?
or
Good morni…no, don't put the umbrella back now, no, I'm in here…gotta go!
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The moon gets so close to the sun that once a month she disappears for a few days.
There is always a big smile when she returns – a cheshire smile.
I wonder what they are up to?
By the time that our lovely satellite gets to Venus, she's still smiling!
It must be nice to be the moon and be so happy, visiting all the planets
and having a sleep-over with the sun.
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Have you ever felt like you were out of your element?
These two unlikely tourists know the feeling.
They were found on the steps of a museum in Key West, Florida,
and from the looks of them their cab couldn't come fast enough.
Sometimes the holidays can push you out of your comfort zone.
You might feel like you don't have enough __________ (fill in the blank).
But you do.
The truth is that your love, your kindness, and your thoughtfulness are all that you really do have to give,
and these are yours to share as you wish.
When you do it changes things,
and you might even help the strangers on the stairs to smile and feel more at their ease.
See? I think that he is smiling!
Sort of, almost…
This photograph was taken in March, 2008 and the sculpture is by, J. Seward Johnson, entitled, "God Bless America". It is Johnson's interpretation of the Grant Woods' painting, "American Gothic". The building behind them is the Custom House in Key West, Florida, which houses the Key West Art and Historical Society.
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Graffiti, love it or hate it.
There was a secret Chinese restaurant in downtown Baltimore years ago
that was on the second floor of a narrow brick building, down the street from Shermann's Bookstore.
When you gave your order to the waitress, she would immediately call it back to the kitchen in Chinese, nice and loud,
as the small room was always crowded and noisy. In the stair well, there was usually a line of people anxious to be seated.
While waiting, the good people of Baltimore would write on the walls.
My favorite installment was this one:
"To do is to be." – Socrates
"To be is to do." – Sartre
"Do, be, do, be, do." – Sinatra
Is it soup or art?
And speaking of art, if you must go shopping today or tomorrow or soon,
do be a smart shopper and remember that artists, craftspeople, and the shopkeepers who support them,
are people too and they might have that perfect something you didn't know you needed!
And, do believe in something, even if it's the wind.
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An early morning thunderstorm left these beautiful clouds for the rising sun to shine upon.
May all the storms in our lives be blessings in disguise.
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According to some observers the pelican will actually enter the water upside down in order to catch the fish.
Imagine a pelican in the grocery store asking the pelican behind the counter,
"Is that fish wild or farm raised?"
The pelican behind the counter stands on his head and says,
"They came in fresh this morning, catch of the day!"
The first pelican is skeptical, but buys a dozen anyway, because, well, she has a family to feed.
The so called lower species seem to have things figured out much more simply than we bipeds with the complex brains.
Wake up in the morning, stretch, fluff up your feathers, shuck off the night with a shudder and you're ready for takeoff.
On your way to the beach you catch the wind over the ridge of dunes and glide gracefully over the sleepy cottages and rows of sea oats.
Then over to the ocean, and you find yourself riding the waves, your wing tips touching the water.
Ahhhh…you see fish, so you climb up the ladder of the sky just enough to let yourself drop and dive and you slice the surface of the ocean with your beak and
GULP! Breakfast!
Then you're airborne again, daring the waves to curl over you.
Like one note among many on a musical scale, you catch up to your friends and together you luxuriate in the sensual pleasure of being alive,
of being completely in your body, doing exactly what you were meant to do.
And so the day goes on into night.
Meanwhile the bipeds, also known as humans, are trying to figure out if they can afford fish today and
hoping that there is enough left over for some beer too.
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Angel's Trumpets, that's what these magnificent flowers are called.
They are blooming all over St. Augustine now.
Maybe we can invite the angels to come and play for us on these delicate instruments,
and be blessed with their songs.
We are in need of angels here and everywhere.
This is the week that our attention goes to giving thanks and we turn our thoughts to sharing –
our love, friendship, time, food and drink.
It's a time to be gentle with each other,
to recognize our fellow travelers on this journey called life and be grateful.
And maybe we should keep an ear out for the tender sound of angel's trumpets.
Once invited, the angels can't say no!
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Squirrels appear to have magnets or Velcro on the bottoms of their feet.
They really do fly from tree to tree, defying gravity.
And they never ever give up.
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Living close to water with the ocean breezes, the need for grounding arises from time to time.
In Florida the live oak tree, so grand and elegant, is the perfect antidote.
Well over 200 years old, these living monuments surprise and amaze with their sprawling limbs, thick crusty trunks and roots that reach deep into the earth.
Here you find comfort, grace, and strength in a perfect combination to soothe the wind blown heart and soul.
In this season the acorns are falling to assure the cycle of life.
It brings to mind some words of wisdom from a man who is no longer young,
"Remember that the mighty oak was once a little nut!"
Reassuring words for the dreamers among us!
Lainesblog Thinking Out Loud
Gleanings From Living Long
Lainesblog Thinking Out Loud 