I saw the car way ahead of me on the road.
I noticed there was colorful writing on the back window.
Since the car was a mini van, the back window provided a large canvas.
I intended to read what the writing said when I got closer.

Within minutes, I was directly behind the mini van.
I saw two stick figures drawn on the back window.
One stick figure was sad.
The other stick figure was smiling.

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A friend came over one morning last week.
As soon she got into my kitchen, she apologized for the need to make a phone call.
She was scheduling her car for some new tires.
There was a little back and forth about time and procedure.

Apparently the person on the other end of the phone call asked her name.
She answered with the inflection of a question.
She was asked her address.
Her inflection was the same.

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I have three rings that I wear all the time.
One is my wedding band.
One is my mother’s ring, which has all the birthstones of my children.
One is an anniversary, today, tomorrow, and always, ring my husband gave me one anniversary.

Twice a year, those rings have to be inspected.
The paperwork is dated and initialed by the jeweler after the inspection.
Twice a year, the rings are looked at under a magnifying glass for cracks or signs of damage.
Covid prevented me from getting my rings inspected last year.

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Vanity was a problem for the emperor.
All he wanted to do was display his fine clothes.
He hired two tailors who promised to make him the finest garments.
Clothes made out of a fabric that was invisible.
Invisible to anyone who is unfit for his position or hopelessly stupid.

The two tailors were dishonest.
They pretended to make the new clothes and pretended to dress the emperor in them.
The emperor couldn’t wait to parade in front of the people wearing his new clothes.
This caused a dilemma for the people.

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There was always that one person.
The one person in elementary school who wasn’t afraid.
The one person who had no trouble raising their hand.
The one person who asked the question we all wanted to ask.

There is always that one person.
The one person in a meeting who asks the question.
The one person who has no trouble respectfully interrupting when something is not right.
The one person who makes the comment we all wanted to make.

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I was driving to church for the 8:00 am service.
I love that time of morning.
The quiet country roads are even more serene in those early morning hours.
Experiencing the autumnal beauty refreshes my spirit.

I took the little, windy country road that is a more direct route to the main road.
Some of the curves are blind curves.
Extreme caution is necessary.
I don’t mind being cautious because there is so much to see on this particular road.

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It was an annoying pain in my heel.
The annoying pain got a bit worse.
Finally, it was time to see a podiatrist.
He said what I already knew, since I had this happen many years ago.

Plantar Fasciitis.
It is an inflammation of the fibrous tissue along the bottom of your foot.
That plantar fascia connects your heel bone to your toes.
This happens because there is too much wear and tear on your foot.

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This was originally published on September 17, 2012. For such a time as this, it needs to be published again.

I was in elementary school in the mid 1960’s.
A different time; a different era.
A time of separation.

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In this time of uncertainty and confusion, the best thing we can do is put beauty into the world.
We can add a touch here and a glimpse there.
We can change the course of conversation away from gloom and towards joy.
Yes, there is still joy.

We hear the word, contagion.
We hear the word, virus.
We hear the word, pandemic.
We hear the words, social distancing.

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There is a crooked tree.
I see it on my walk.
I love that tree.
It speaks to my heart.

I am intrigued by the lone dandelion that stands proudly in the middle of the lawn.
The one dandelion that has somehow survived the organic lawn treatment.
The one dandelion that screams tenacity.
The pop of yellow in a sea of green.

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