dailyprompt – The Hermits' Rest

What does Cameron need?

What’s one thing that would instantly improve your city?

The town I live closest to is Cameron, Texas, with between 5,000-6,000 people. It could use many things, though it’s improving over the past few years. There’s just one thing I wish we still had, a hospital.

Cameron has had one in the past. This was on Crockett Ave.

Like oh so many small towns in Texas, Cameron had a hospital not all that long ago, the replacement for the one shown above. There were questionable management practices and it failed in 2018. The other hospital in the county, which was owned by the same company, bit the dust not long afterward.

The Cameron Hospital is now where most of the county government offices are. The Rockdale one is now being renovated as an educational facility.

All these other uses are great, but that leaves the entire county with no place to go for emergencies. It’s 45 minutes to the closest hospital in Temple, where our family spends a lot of time. I’d go to College Station and hope the extra ten minutes to get there wouldn’t kill me.

We do have two clinics, and I really like the local one I go to, where I know the people. But these aren’t for urgent care or emergency care. And there are no hospital beds in this county.

You’ve probably heard of the rural health care crisis. It’s real! Of course it’s just one piece of the healthcare problems in the US. What a mess.

But hey, I have a very pretty plant on the porch. That’s my little glimmer of the day.

I used to go places

What’s the longest trip you’ve ever taken?

Hello. I can answer this question in two ways. The longest distance I ever traveled was to Switzerland, which I have done twice, one when my children were young, and then when Lee and I went on the Rhine River cruise. the first trip was pretty much a nightmare and the second was the best vacation I’ve ever been on. I wish I could go on another Viking Cruise. Just the right mix of relaxing and seeing new things.

The longest length of time I’ve ever traveled was when I went to Toronto for three weeks to work. I had a wonderful time. It was probably the highlight of my time at Planview. I felt respected and valued by the nice people at CIBC (a bank).

Still feeling down. My Mom’s birthday was today, 104 years ago, so unlike many of my friends, I’m not freshly grieving or treasuring a living parent. But mostly the remembrance of 9/11 and all those lives lost hurts so much. (I’ll not repeat my personal tale, preferring to stick to the big picture).

Today’s coloring. Not scanned so it doesn’t look great.

And it’s so hot. Etc. So I colored and tried to enjoy football. However political ads and the fixation on gambling tamps my enthusiasm down. Whine.

So annoyed at Paxton ads that I made a drab mandala.

If pets could talk

If your pet could talk, what would be the first thing it says?

Feed me. Now I need a nap.

I’m worried about various illnesses. Dogs have bad allergies (Penney got steroids). Black widows are on the prowl again. My mental health is slipping—I can’t make myself do things i know I need to do. I just want to read.

I guess I couldn’t do much outside anyway, since they fertilized the field across the road and it smells like a very ripe diaper. I still have humor.

A book I regret reading

Have you ever regretted reading a book — which one and why?

Shoot, I wasn’t going to do the prompt today, but when I saw the question, the answer immediately popped into my head. I know the Sidney Lanier Elementary School librarian thought I was a mature child due to my vocabulary and reading skills. And I know she was aware that I loved books about horses. I’m guessing I’d pretty much gone through the entire horse collection during the hours Mrs. Atwater sent me away from the class so she could teach reading to the rest of the class in peace. But really. A ten-year-old girl is not a good candidate to read and appreciate the life lessons taught in John Steinbeck’s The Red Pony. Spoiler alert: the pony doesn’t fare well.

I don’t know if a 68-year-old highly sensitive adult woman who loves animals is a good candidate. Yep. I regret reading that book because it gave me many years of bad dreams.

Honestly, as hard as I’ve been trying, I feel like my attempts at seeing the good in the world, being friendly, and appreciating what I have can’t keep the mental struggles away. If you’re feeling down, too, I see you and commiserate. We can hold each other up. I’m here to listen, too. It keeps us connected.

Hey, look. It’s July and August of this year. Last year there were no pink days (over 100°) in the temperature blanket.

I do have things to bring a smile to my face, though. Kathleen gave me a very pretty tree of life hanging decoration and a whole set of matching coasters that she decorated herself. Each coaster is different!

Plus, I’m boosting my spirits by taking pride in doing hard things. For example, I’ve unpacked all my bags from my trip! And though I bought some shoes, I put three times as many in the donation boxes. Bonus: it’s been over a month and my closet is still all picked up. Look at meeee!

Note the empty space on the shoe shelves.

I will not dwell on the things I’ve not done that I should do. I’ll just try again tomorrow.

Airport survey time

What’s the best and worst airport you’ve been to?

Today I rested, as a worker I supposed to do on Labor Day. You’re also supposed to protest, so once again I’ll complain about the irony of being a contractor and being told not to work, but also not get it as a paid holiday. Sheesh. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

I’m not paying attention, Suna. I’m just glad you’re home.

I’ll just answer the blog prompt, then. You can answer too, unless you don’t fly, of course.

Favorite airport? I have a few I like, especially any airport with clean terrazzo floors. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is one I recently visited with great floors, interesting seating, and lots of light. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it looked.

Weird seats, shiny floors, lights. Myrtle Beach.

My other favorite airport is Hilton Head Island, also in South Carolina. It’s tiny, intimate, and oh-so-easy to get in and out of. I think they’re expanding it, which is sort of a bummer.

Runners-up include Greensboro/High Point, North Carolina, with just enough space for a friendly bar if you need one, and Portland, Oregon.

Least favorite airport? Just about any huge hub like Dallas, Houston, or Atlanta. I have PTSD about O’Hare thanks to being there on 9/11, so I’ll add it to the list.

Outside the US, I like Toronto and I really don’t like Heathrow. Thanks to marrying a non-flyer, I don’t get to go many places outside the US anymore.

Feel free to share your favorites!

I’m glad to be back to be with all the birds. I missed them. I restocked the feeders and sat in the birding hut a while, even though it’s still darned hot. The new shades that were put up for me help a lot. My garden spider companion didn’t mind me one bit!

Air can come through, but the sun is blocked

I’m also glad to be back with the family, too. Travel is fun but regular routine and being a hermit are also good.

I was really happy to have Penney take a nap on my lap this evening. She seems less anxious about Benito being around.

Blessings abound

What’s something you do completely differently from how you were raised?

Since I’ve been near the area where I spent my childhood, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about how my nuclear family of origin worked. I’ve also been thinking what a blessing it was to spend time with my long-time friend, Vicki. Thus, the answer to the blog prompt jumped right out of my subconscious.

I do not say a blessing before every meal. However, our semi-non religious family felt the need to say these words.

God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food. By his hands we are fed. Thank him for our daily bread. Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Amen (including hand gestures).

This gave young Suna much to think about. I did attend Presbyterian Sunday School, so I knew who God was. But why did they try to rhyme “good” with “food?” and hey, we did not eat bread every day, just on weekends. And why the crossing of ourselves after the Protestant blessing? The answer was that Dad came from a Methodist family and Mom from a Catholic one, so we did both things from some loyalty or something. I didn’t get a good answer as to why we did the meal ritual if we weren’t religious. Nonetheless, this was done until Mom died, even though I was a tree-hugging atheist at that point. Even when Dad later became a Quaker we were exempt.

Anyway, no, I don’t do Christian rituals by rote anymore. I do send out good energy in thanks for animals and plants who nourish me, and I say a blessing when I see dead animals on the side of the road or whenever I experience awe. I do still count my blessings, though I think they come from Spirit, whatever that is.

The spirit in the sky! Where I’m gonna go when I die, or some kind of song lyric.

Well, I’m done with that topic now. Although I must warn you that tomorrow I will have more encounters with unholy ghosts of my mother’s past.

I need protective feathers! (This is from a Wild Turkey)

Today, though, was a vast improvement over yesterday. Lee kindly drove me back over the three state park loop again, so I could photograph the scenery. There was no negativity, complaining, or grumpiness. (He may have used it all up yesterday, which was a bad day for him).

I even made him look at the Fairchild Oak and the seeping creek.

We also enjoyed getting to watch the pool at the condos get repaired. It’s so much fun to watch guys pumping and smoothing the coating. Then they started filling it up! I guess if I’d waited a week, I could have gone swimming here.

Work was much more interesting today, too, and I enjoyed helping folks until we had a final dinner with Vicki, back at Angelina’s, across from the condo. I’m glad I made the trip.

Phone apps, or favorite activities

What are your favorite 5 apps on your phone?

Today featured a four-hour workshop with much complaining, so I’m not up for any deep thoughts. I’ll share some photos of a quick visit to watery areas of Tomoka State Park here in Ormond/Daytona/Orange Beaches in Florida, as well as beachy and river-y views from happier parts of the day as I list my five favorite phone apps. I bet you can guess some!

Little Blue Heron, a hint at two favorite apps.

One. The Camera app, especially the one on this iPhone 17. I love all the zooms, the lenses, the Live Photos, the grid that helps you crop, and the indicators that tell you if your image is level. I have a ridiculous amount of fun taking pictures wherever I go, documenting all the life forms I encounter.

Sunset looking at an island full of roosting White Ibises

Two. Merlin Bird ID. Merlin brings me so much joy. It’s given me something to focus on that’s positive and educational, even in these troubled times. Days when I don’t get to go out and look for birds (like yesterday) are few and far between, which is fine with me. Now if only they made apps for identifying frogs and cicadas.

Three. iNaturalist. So far, none of these surprise anyone who’s ever read this blog. Right? Anyway, I’ve always wanted to know what I am looking at when I’m out in nature. This fantastic app helps me learn about my surroundings and allows me to teach others. I am in awe at the variety of living things around me, large and small. And iNat lets me learn and contribute to scientific knowledge. So much fun.

Four. Finch. It’s a game kind of app where you and your “birb” friend explore new things, work on mental health, and interact with friends to cheer them up. It borders on silly, but it helps center me in the morning and before bed. It can be very helpful for people dealing with an anxiety and depression.

Ada is my birb. She currently has a pet corgi.

Five. Crossword Puzzle Redstone. Lee plays this a lot, so I’ve joined him. The Hard ones are just right to keep my brain active and keep me from thinking I’m in mental decline. There are many different authors to choose from. We both like the G. Johnson ones. One good thing about the Crossword app is it keeps me off Facebook so much!

Runners up: Facebook, JetPack/Wordpress (blog app), Clime (NOAA weather), Apple Maps, Google.

I’d love to know which apps you like! Because I’m feeling better, here are other photos from today. Love that phone app.

Final note. Lee went to dinner with me and Vicki, but wasn’t feeling well and only ate a sweet potato. The place we ate was Aunt Catfish’s, a perfect old Florida seafood place. I could eat there again!

My kind friend

What’s the kindest thing someone has ever done for you?

(Today there were no parks visited and my only outings were to return the rental car because our car is here now and to eat lunch at the sparkling clean diner across from the condo. Thus I’ll answer this question, since the answer lies close to here.)

I have to share at least one flower. It’s a perennial peanut, Native to Brazil.

First, many wonderful people have been very kind to me throughout my life, and I strive to remember kindnesses and forget the other stuff.

Meme I saw of three “saints” of recent times. My friends aren’t saints, but are still appreciated.

One kindness always comes to my mind, though, and it made me grateful for lifelong friendships. What happened is that when my father died, I was hit hard—he was in an accident at the age of 80, which seems to be a common age for outstanding humans to pass on. I felt very alone, even though I had Lee and the kids.

My friend Vicki knew I could use some support, and as the closest non-family member friend I had, she drove over from where she lived in another part of North Carolina to be with me and make sure I was taken care of. She had known and loved my parents, too. I know her presence helped me be strong during the funeral and the endless receiving line (Dad was very popular, and the church couldn’t fit all the people).

High school Vicki. We met in chorus class.

Everyone deserves friends who are there when you need them, and Vicki is one. It was important for me to come see her here in Florida and remind her that she, too, has a friend who loves her exactly as she is.

Quite a few of you reading this blog are among my circle of dear friends, even if we see each other seldom or have trouble meeting up. Just remember that you have a friend in me.

Take me back to Antelope Canyon

If you could relive one day from your past, which day would it be and why?

If I could, I think I’d endlessly relive the day Lee and I visited Antelope Canyon in Arizona. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. Plus you have to give money to Navajo people to see it.

The drive to Page from Sedona takes you through the Navajo Nation, so I got to see some hogans. It was a great day, even though the visit to Cameron Trading Post was a different day (fry bread and someone weaving a large rug).

But mostly I enjoyed the beauty of the slot canyon, especially when I could get away from other people and the (sweet) tour guide. It’s a magical place, exuding copious good vibes (for a tourist site), and getting there and back was also interesting. I could do it again.

I’m sure you want more photos. Ok!

BYW, this visit was on June 15, 2024. A greeeat day for me.

If I could mess with time

If you could erase one event from history, what would it be?

I think I’d rather stick with “the devil you know.” The possibility of preventing one atrocity that leads to a worse one makes me leery of even contemplating erasing an event. There always seems to be another evil lurking in the wings after one’s eliminated.

That’s also why I don’t wish anyone, even my least favorite human, would die earlier than nature intends. Just think about what may happen next. Or not. That leads to disregulation.

Breathe and think about birds, trees, or cute little dogs. I happen to have an example dog. This is a series of Benito playing.