Catching flies with honey, Why?

On September 3, 2014September 3, 2014 By DGThomaIn Family, Food, Friends, Humor/Light Hearted, WritingLeave a comment

The real question is can you really catch more flies with honey? And why would you want to catch more flies? Not me! But a loose translation of “nice things happen when you behave nicely” sounds a little better.

You hear a lot about people doing nice things for total strangers, otherwise known as random acts of kindness. I think that’s awesome, and I wish I remembered to do it more often.

I recently had a great experience at Starbucks and it wasn’t because I had invented and ordered the largest and most obnoxious combination I could find.

My sister, Deb and I were meeting on the road midway between our respective homes. She lives on the Texas coast and I live in Central Texas.

We met in the parking lot of a shopping center and after exchanging boxes and bags; we decided to grab a coffee for the road from the Starbucks across the street.

The store wasn’t particularly crowded when we walked in which looked promising. However, when Deb tried to pay for her drink, the computers went down. A manager came and took over the register but still couldn’t get the transaction to process. My son and I were next in line and the barista and manager kept apologizing for the delay.

My son, Rich previously managed a retail store, so he just smiled and said he understood. He assured them both that it was not a problem. It was probably only 6 or 7 minutes of waiting. Rich entertained us all, the employees included, with jokes and stories. We all laughed and enjoyed ourselves despite the situation.

When my son and I were finally able to place our order, I handed them cash, since they seemed to still be having trouble with the card reader.

The manager shook his head and said, “No charge, you guys were great. I’m sorry for the wait. ” What a wonderful surprise! Maybe our drinks would still have been free if we had grumbled and complained, but the mood would certainly have been different for all of us. (And yes my sister’s drink was also free!)

I’m not saying that I am never the grumbling complaining customer, but it was a wonderful reminder that sometimes being pleasant pays off. Thank you Mr. Starbuck’s manager for making our day a little brighter!

Going home and hanging out….

On July 30, 2014 By DGThomaIn Family, Friends, Musings, Writing1 Comment

Photo courtesy of texasescapes.com/TexasPhotography/Barclay-Gibson April 2009

It seems like we never really go home until something significant happens. We visit, but we don’t go home. Recently, I received a phone call that my mother had been hospitalized. I go visit my parents fairly often, but usually I’m in and out and don’t have time to see many people or hang out. Going to the hospital in a small town forces you to slow down and just “hang out”. The hospital employees are either people that went to school with me or are the children of my classmates. The hospital in my hometown is a small 25 bed hospital. Often the census is less than 5 when I visit.

Walking toward the front door of the hospital with pecan shells crunching underneath my feet brings back a surge of memories. The pecans which have fallen from the ages old pecan trees overhead litter the sidewalk.

It seems like eons ago that I used to work at this hospital. My office was just behind that window to the right. My son was delivered down the hall to left. Many of my nieces and nephews also made their debut within these walls.

The number of times I entered through the emergency room with my accident prone son is innumerable.

I haven’t lived here in over 20 years. Now I live in a city large enough that running into someone you know at the supermarket is the exception so coming home it’s hard to get used to knowing everyone you run into anywhere you go!

Every nurse, every custodian or kitchen worker seemed to know my name or at least know who my parents are and that I am one of those “Greenway kids”.

I sometimes wish my parents lived in a larger city where they could receive the latest and best medical care. But when I see the personal care they receive here, I think that the benefits gained from the good will in this little town far surpasses any medical advances that may be available in a bigger hospital.

Walking into restaurants, grocery stores or hospital halls, it seems that everyone in town knows my mother is in the hospital and everyone is concerned. People I haven’t seen in 20 years call me by name. Many more remembered me than I was able to remember them. I guess it’s really true, home is where everybody knows your name, and that’s a good thing!

Goats, Cars and Rain…

On June 25, 2014 By DGThomaIn Animal Stories, Family, Friends, Humor/Light Hearted, Travel, WritingLeave a comment

Working full time, exercising and maintaining friendships keeps us really busy. It seems in my family, we are on the road constantly, definitely many more hours than we would like. Our commute puts us in the car over two hours a day, five days a week. Weekends aren’t much better, as we are always on the road headed somewhere.

We’ve seen some pretty unusual sights, but recently even I was surprised. We were driving in a slight drizzle and I was enjoying the sound of the rain tapping on the windshield, when my husband glanced over and said, “He has a goat.”

“Huh?” I asked, thinking I must have misunderstood what he said. “There’s a goat in that Jeep.” He repeated. Now I was interested!” Looking around I caught a glimpse of white in the back of the Jeep as we passed by.

Glancing back, my husband added, “He’s eating a hamburger.” Now I had to ask, “Which one?” Grinning, he said, “The driver.” Hey, it was a fair question.

Who would think that driving down a busy interstate, even in Texas you would see livestock riding in the back of a vehicle? With all the traffic, I just wasn’t able to get a good picture, but believe me, I was tempted to wave the Jeep to the side of the road, and ask for the story.

Instead I had to be content with finally catching a glimpse of the goat as the driver moved into the far left lane and passed us. The rest of the trip was spent inventing scenarios, explaining how a goat ended up in the back of a Jeep, driving down the interstate, traveling across Texas. A lovely rainy afternoon spent spinning tales of goats, cars and rain.

A Herd of Runners

On June 11, 2014 By DGThomaIn Exercise, Friends, WritingLeave a comment

Running in Austin, Texas can be fun, challenging and seldom dull. You never know whom or what you might see on the trails and streets.

The Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike trail winds around scenic Lady Bird Lake near downtown Austin. Most people in Austin still refer to it as the Town Lake trail. The trail includes several pedestrian bridges to allow access from one side of the reservoir to the other. The Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge connects the south side of the trail to the north side at South Lamar and allows access to downtown.

Routinely, the trail is filled with runners, walkers, baby strollers, bicycles, pets, and even an occasional rooster on the northwest end of the trail.

I have collected a lot of fun memories and stories about running the trails in Austin. One of my favorite memories was meeting Hannah as we crossed the Pfluger Bridge. Crossing the bridge from Barton Springs road toward downtown, the scenery is beautiful. The sunlight reflects off the water, flower boxes full of colorful blooms line the sides of the bridge and the downtown Austin skyline is the backdrop for the scene.

On one early morning run, as we neared the center of the bridge, I noticed a group of runners up ahead with a dog trotting along behind the group. I wondered briefly if the dog belonged to someone in the group. It seemed odd that the dog was following behind and not trying to run ahead or keep up with a specific runner. Suddenly, the dog dropped back further and began trotting along behind me. “Poor thing” was my first thought. “She is lost”.

Startled, I felt the dog nudge me from behind. I wasn’t sure if she actually touched me or just brushed me by mistake, but I moved forward toward the dog’s original running group as she moved toward my running partner and actually seemed to push her forward as well. I was confused as I noticed the dog drop back behind several other runners.

I heard a young man up ahead call out, “Hannah? Here, girl!” Hannah, I realized was the dog’s name. Laughing as he looked back for Hannah, the young man explained. “Hannah is an Australian Shepherd. She is a herding dog.”

It seems that even though the young man was running with one friend, thanks to Hannah, he now had an entire herd of runners following him. As we veered to the left and the young man and his entourage ran to the right, we just waved at he and his friend. Hannah fell back to round up some new stragglers.

Puzzles

On May 22, 2014May 22, 2014 By DGThomaIn Friends, Musings, WritingLeave a comment

Puzzles…. there are jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, number puzzles, logic puzzles and the list goes on and on. Some people enjoy a nice challenging puzzle and other’s consider them frustrating or a waste of time. Whichever side of the debate you fall on, I think everyone would agree, that people can also be a puzzle.

Often, we think we can predict how people will react and we think we know exactly what the other person is thinking and saying. Watching people interact, I have discovered that people often say one thing but the listener actually hears something entirely different. By bringing our previous experiences to any interaction, we introduce bias in our relationships. Recently, I witnessed a situation, where by trying to protect each other, two people complicated everything. If each of them had just said what was on their mind without filtering by what they thought the other person wanted, they would have prevented a lot of confusion.

So even though I know that sometimes a filter is important, I am going to strive to listen and hear what people say to me. I will resist the tendency to form my answer before they finish talking. Hopefully it will make for a more enjoyable exchange.

Who knows, I might even solve a few puzzles along the way!

Collecting…… and letting go

On May 15, 2014May 16, 2014 By DGThomaIn Friends, WritingLeave a comment

I love to wander through books stores, (yes the brick and mortar stores). I get such a feeling of companionship when I hold a book in my hand. I love the feel of the paper and the colors and images on the cover or dust jacket. I easily get lost trying to find a story line that intrigues me.

Although I do love the crisp new pages of a newly released edition from my favorite author, a meander through the aisles of a used book store is an entirely different adventure. Browsing through the pages I often find loose paper used as book marks. Instantly, my mind begins to imagine the previous owner of this book, which has found its way into my hands. I start to visualize the person, securing their reading glasses on the bridge of their nose to begin reading. The door bell rings….. they grab a slip of paper, or bookmark and save the page. Suddenly, I’m creating a scenario regarding who might be on the other side of the door! Such fun and entertainment. What a joy!

As I lug my bags of new-found treasures home I can’t help but wince a bit as I imagine the shelves filled with previously garnered treasures and wonder where the new ones will make their home. It feels like losing a good friend when I have to part with a book. I almost always, think that I may get back to reading it again. However, space and organization dictate that I must set some free in order for others to take their place.

The very best option, is to find a new home for my books with family and friends, but if that isn’t an option, I like to donate books to someone who can enjoy them as much as I do. I know that a book is simply an inanimate object, but the pleasure of turning the pages can make any day a little bit brighter.