July 30, 2008

Epiphanies, head gear and lubricant...


When was the last time you had an epiphany? An honest to goodness epiphany about something...or someone?

I had one recently about my Soul Sister.
And it was a doozy.
For me.


The epiphany came recently when I stayed with her at her parents house.
They have what is referred to as the Stuff Wall.
The Stuff Wall is a random collection of items her family has gathered over the years.
Let me show you a few items of interest on the wall.

In case you can't tell what type of hat this is, let me clarify it for you.
It is a solar operated fan hat for those hot southern summer days.


This turtle shell is from the turtle her mom decided on a whim to make into an entree of Turtle Soup. She found the recipe in "an old cookbook that also told how to make squirrel stew, and possum pie". I kid you not.

She told me it "was extremely difficult to remove the turtle to get to the meat. Heather's Dad finally had to use a hammer and other various tools".


Here's the kicker: My dear Soul Sister had proudly brought a group of new girlfriends home from college to have a nice relaxing weekend. (Her parents house is very large. Very large. And very beautiful.) And you guessed it...they were unknowingly served the said soup.


I'll spare you the details.



This is my very favorite section of the wall because it had a ton of childhood items that belonged to my Soul Sister.


Along with those sweet, red patent leather Mary Janes and little, white church gloves is her metal head gear from her braces years and a pair of dirty gym socks...



Here's where the epiphany took place.


It was here, while exploring this section of the Wall, I realized no matter how close you are to some one, no matter how alike you are, no matter you'd give them a kidney if they needed one...there are some things better left unsaid and unknown.


Like what kind of rubber glove is that? And why, on all things holy, is it on the Stuff Wall?


Olympic Lesson of the Day

Y'all remember this courageous young man? He and his brother learned how to do gymnastics in their family's barn loft in Wisconsin. He fought through a very painful injury with nerves of steel to help the U.S. clench the gold in Athens?

The Shooter family can't agree on our one most fave sport in the Games. We love swimming. We love the skeet shooting. We love rowing. We love track. And we love men's gymnastics. Especially ones this young man excelled at. Boy Child (who was almost 6 then) remembers him vividly from Athens. And couldn't "wait to see what he's gonna do for the United States this time".

Today they learned their first lesson from these Games.

Paul Hamm stepped down from his spot.

You see he has an injury that he feels may not heal enough for him to perform at his very best. And since "giving your very best is what the Olympic spirit means. It's what the Olympic oath says...", he just can't in "good conscience continue to hold a spot on the team."

The disappointment in the Shooter house was harsh.

But the lesson was unbelievably clear.

In what had to be young Mr. Hamm's most difficult, disappointing moment, he showed honor, pride, unselfishness, and unbelievable character.

Now how often will I get the chance to teach on a powerful life lesson like that?

We, in the Shooter household, are thinking of you tonight Mr. Hamm. You are a true gentleman.

Love Note to my Big Shooter: Thank you for showing the same gentlemanly character young Mr. Hamm showed today, everyday. We don't acknowledge it enough or say thank you enough for that. So, Thank You.

12 comments:

Fawn said...

Weird? Quirky? Unusual? Odd? Wrong?...I'm stickin' with weird.

Anonymous said...

Interesting!
Lovies
Dad

FIL said...

SweetDIL,
I had a glove like that once.

Love ya.
FIL

Unknown said...

WOW - my parents put that kind of stuff in a box on the top shelf in my closet...except I don't have a rubber glove...hmmmm....

Anonymous said...

Soul Sister...I laughed until my side split...Oldest, "aren't you embarassed?" NO...

Queen B said...

Super freaky. I'm more than slightly disturbed... :)

I was so sad about Paul Hamm. It is so refreshing to see someone be so honorable, though.

WomanHonorThyself said...

hey thanks for the vis and comments at WHT!..youre always welcome...and thanks for the personal museum tour!..Heh

FerLee said...

I'm curious about the glove as well...hmmm, maybe we should have a talk with dear Soul Sister about that one. Get to the, ahem, bottom of it...so to speak!!!

Awesome courage and spirit for our young Mr. Hamm. So far the good ole US of A has shown some amazing spirit!!!

Flea said...

That wall o'stuff is disturbing. :) Oddly enough (or not), I have a similar cookbook, with recipes from people I knew growing up. Garr balls, anyone?

Good for Mr. Hamm. I'm sure the disappointment is strong, but what a sterling example.

Christine said...

I think the glove belonged to a whale's proctologist.

And can I just say I am SO PUMPED about the olympics, too!?!!!

ShEiLa said...

That is quite the WALL of stuff.
I guess you don't know your soul sister as well as you thought... or is it that you wish you didn't know what they do with that kind of glove? or that you don't want to know. I have seen a glove like that used back in my country living, hog sloppin', milk the cows & feed the chicks days. I never hung one on our wall at home.
So maybe a guest blogger post is in order as an explanation of sorts??? Maybe she wants to keep the answer private. ???
ToOdLeS,ShEiLA

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