December 4 – “Nudity on Yucca”

Well, I should have done some confessing yesterday.  See, while we were doing the decorations at church, I blundered with a pair of scissors and cut a nice furrow into the tip of my index finger.  It was a definite bleeder, so I quietly washed my hands good, and then went into my office and got the first aid kit.  It was not very easy to get the bleeding stopped and wrap the bandaid around it, but I finally got it done and returned to the task at hand.  That’s when it hit me.  Not one, but two of the people hanging greenery were paramedics.  Think they could have handled the situation for me?  Oh, well.  Guess I was just too embarrassed to ask them, although I told myself I didn’t ask because they were really on a roll and I didn’t want to bother them.  Yeah.  That was it.  I was just being noble, not stupid. 

I spent some time with Mom while Chris went to the bank and the store.  It didn’t take her long to notice activity at the house across the street, the one that used to be hers.  I think she remembers some connection to it but can’t quite put her finger on what it should be.  The couple that lives there now was out in the front hanging more Christmas decorations.  Mom made her way to the front door, and the neighbor snooping began.  I remember she used to do it all the time when we were growing up.  She would sit outside with the neighbor, Mrs. Hedi, and the two of them (actually three when my grandmother was still alive) would comment on cars that passed by or which other neighbor was doing what and how good or shabby their yard looked or what the latest scoop was on the strange street one over, Yucca.  One day Hedi couldn’t wait for their evening appointment.  She actually called Mom on the phone with an exclusive.  Unfortunately Mom wasn’t home when she called, so she left a message.  And we saved that immortal message for weeks after, replaying it and laughing every time.  Now Hedi had come over to the United States from Germany, and her accent was still very thick.  So imagine that heavy accent coming through over the one of those antique phones that were stuck to the wall and had to have a cord connecting it to its base.  “Oh-lee, we have nudity on Yucca.”  That was it.  No further explanation.  Now we found out later that indeed a person on Yucca had been taken to a mental health facility after he was found wandering around with no clothes on.  But I have to say, the news report didn’t have nearly the comedic appeal of Hedi’s announcement.  

So with that kind of background, it is no wonder that neighbor-watching is the one time Mom gets very verbal.  Last time she did this it was a running commentary: “Why are there more cars on that side of the street? Who is that walking over there?  What is he taking out of his car?  You don’t want to walk down there on that side of the street?  Oh, he doesn’t have a shirt on, either.  Where are they from?  He’s going in that driveway.”  This time was similar, but she wasn’t quite as adept with words.  She really struggled to find the right ones, and often never did, so she just picked one that felt right to her.  It made it very difficult to follow what she was talking about.  Interestingly, she got the colors right on, red and green.  She couldn’t come up with “ribbon” or “bow,” so I filled in those blanks for her.  We ended up sitting on the porch for a while so she could see better.  It didn’t take long for her to get cold, though, so we came back in and she resumed her position on the couch, snuggled under a blanket. 

Psalms 32:8 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”

Father, thank you for being the All-seeing Neighbor-watcher over us.  Amen.