Bedtime Stories: Jack and the Magic Beans

Once upon a time there was a young boy named Jack. He lived with his mother in a small village. Unfortunately, Jack and his mother were very poor.

One day Jack’s mom told him to take their scrawny cow to town and to trade it for some food. Jack was an obedient boy, and even though the cow was his friend, he wanted to honor his Mother’s wishes, and they did need some food, so with a heavy heart, he left for town.

On the way there he met a little man, who told him that he would give Jack magic beans in exchange for the cow. The man said that if Jack took the magic beans and ran some water over them, that they would make him more money than he had ever seen.

Jack didn’t really feel like walking all the way to town, so he said “sure” and made the trade.

As he started going back to his house, he realized what an idiot he had been to believe a stranger and trade his cow. His only hope was that the beans really were magic. He ran to the river and let the water run over the tin cup which held the beans. The beans didn’t jump, or talk, or any other magic thing.

Feeling hopeless, he returned home with the gross looking bean water. When his mom saw it and heard the story, she was so mad that she threw the beans and even the cup into the fire. She then started crying as the cup of bean water steamed. It was only a minute or two before a strange smell started wafting from the fireplace.

She fished the cup out of the fire and took a slow sip. It was wonderful. She felt so alive! She knew then that the beans truly were magic, and she hugged her son. Then they stayed up all night planning their marketing strategies and lived rich and happily ever after.

And now you know how coffee was invented.

Hobbling Around the Issues: Assisted Suicide

There are some things in life that are difficult for me to understand. This issue is one of them.

I can’t understand why it is ok to put our dog out of its misery when it is old and can hardly eat, but when it comes to our grandfather…well, that’s just inhuman. We explain to our kids how “the right thing to do” is to put our cat down after being hit by a car, but when our loved one can only speak long enough to beg us to help them go quickly…we are appalled by the thought of “murdering” them.

We (as a society) say that it is okay to have an abortion, but when our own grandmother, who has lived a long, full, dignified life is now unable to control her bowels and bladder, not to mention her mind…it is best to just clean her up and pretend that she wants to exist as long as possible in a hospital room that she is frightened of each morning.

On movies and in reality, we often hear people say “at least he/she died doing what he or she loved.” Meanwhile, the father who gave 30 years of his life in service to our country is in so much pain that he can’t even see or hear his kids because his head is thrown back in screams of horror…it would have been okay if he died in the war, but we are going to make his life as long as possible here on our soil.

It is one thing when our loved one wants to fight, wants to live, tries to deal with the pain since it means they can still see their family and friends, etc.

When people are in horrible pain; when they are scared of each new day and in brief moments of sanity, beg us to kill them; when days or weeks of helpless humiliation are all they have left before they pass away…how can we ignore the real issue and only focus on serving our own purposes. Are we really that selfish? If you think the quality of life is not important…well, I don’t understand that.

Maybe you can help…

Hours shopping for 10 minutes of unwrapping?

I have just wasted the weekend. Well, I say wasted, but some might call it “shopping around” or “expertly sniffing through a million prices that change every day so you have no idea if you should go ahead and buy …

80 years old and still sexy

I must admit that I am not 80. That being said, I feel like I’m 80. Being in a wheelchair, using a walker for short distances, and taking a drawer full of medication each day tends to make you feel old. …

Sometimes it is better not to sleep.

After being awake for a few hours tonight, I decided to try going back to sleep. In about another hour, I finally did fall asleep.

For whatever reason, when I fall asleep after being awake for a while, I usually dream…really realistic, vivid dreams.

Anyway, in my dream some person from highschool came to my house, which was weird and interesting. We also have a small tree in the back yard, which in my dream was really, really tall and had a cat and a friend perched on it.

As I talked to my friend (who had magically come down from the tree without climbing or falling) we started walking toward the gate to the front yard. (Ok, here is the I should have never gone to sleep part, remember, this is only a dream…thank God).

In our front yard we have a small tree as well. The neighborhood kids love to climb in and play on this tree, but in my dream one of the neighborhood kids and an adult (maybe a dad or something) were sitting on a branch. As I watched, the branch bent down, and as if in slow motion, broke, suddenly turning as big as a tree trunk and falling on the group of children gathered underneath.Two of which were mine.

As most of you know, I am in a wheelchair, but I can use a walker for short distances. In this dream, I had my walker and I hobbled toward the branch looking desperately for my two. I soon saw their faces and torso’s and they were alive and moving a little, but you know when a kid gets hurt so bad they don’t even cry right away? That was the case. I started screaming lift it off (which now that I think about it might have been the wrong thing to do with compression injuries, but I was dreaming, and freaking out, so cut me some slack), and then I thankfully woke up.

Anyway, I know I usually write humor, but I am still really shook up from the whole dream, so just pretend you read my blog for more than just laughs. I am working on a life-changing, humorous post, but it is taking a long time because I have to do research.

That being said, I think I am going to make some coffee cause it will probably be a long day. I do feel better after writing it out, but I could use some prayers to get through the day on a few hours sleep. Thanks for listening.