#SoCS: Hush!

Hush!  I said Hush, Sam!  Hush!.......Good boy!

Hush!  Use your quiet voice or you will wake the baby!

Hush!  Okay, just hush!  I don't want to hear another word about it!  You know what?  Just go to your room.

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So, this is a little game.  Can you figure put to whom I am speaking in each of the three separate instances?

#SoCS: Arm

I read the word "arm" and a song begins in my head, "walking my Baby back home."  My mind's eye sees a gent walking down a street with a lady on his arm.  Flashes of old black and white romantic comedies start to play. Shy guys, full gowns, starry nights, convertibles, sweeping staircases, big bands.

Catching one on the late night or Saturday afternoon movie.  Mother humming along with the songs, visibly enjoining reminiscing. Snippets of tales from her era.  Then how she met daddy.  

Oh, she's not here any more.  Long gone from this world.   In her arms was all comfort.  Everything soft, loving and warm you can imagine.  Daddy comes into view.  His arms meant strength and protection.  Yet, somehow they empowered me.  Daddy never let me hide in them, but rather used them to support me as I tried new things and went  new places.

My mind's stroll ends with images to keep misty tears at bay:  a grandmother kneeling to wrap up grandchildren in an embrace,  chicks scurrying under a hen, a man grabbing a child and lifting them up, spinning and smiling.  Then, the face of Jesus.  And we are home.

#SoCS: Shortcut

Here I am, stinking my toe into the Stream of Consciousness Saturday.

My first thought upon hearing the word "shortcut" is skimping; not doing something the way it should be done.  Taking chances that risk loss or harm.  Why does my mind go there first?  Likely because I have lived in a blue collar world were these type of short cuts cause harm most often.

As to the "short cut" that gets a person from one point to another in less time, those can be quite handy.  I have a few I take from time to time when out driving, but what excites me the most is not a shortcut, but a back road.

One can slow down on a back road.  Take in scenery, find the quaint, the unusual.  Mom and Pop instead of chains.  There is no extra signage on a back road to block the view.  There is a feeling of adventure and discovery on these blacktop or dirt ribbons.  A calm settling rather than a hurried frenzy.

Go ahead and take your short cut, and I'll take the back road.  You'll be there before me, but I'll arrive more satisfied.

Barbara