Mrs. Teabody and Co. Strike Off for Diversion

  Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May. ~ The Bard

Happy, Happy May, Gentle Reader!  Mrs. Teabody sits by her window filled with fresh green hues as far as the eye can see. Unless Mrs. Teabody misses in her guess-timate, the new year's leaves are now almost completely unfurled and what a joy they are to behold! Even the copper beech is fully dressed and glowing. Lovely. Were it not for a certain seasonal respiratory disorder which makes Mrs. Teabody's head a sodden lump, all would be perfection! However, respiratory distress stories could soon fill a wastebasket, : ) and that is not the purpose of this missive. No, no. There is a short tale to share so please attend.

A few days ago Mrs. Teabody listened to an interview with Marilou Henner, the cute redhead from "Taxi." Henner has a rare trait called superior autobiographical memory. She can remember each day of her life as if it were yesterday. According to Mr. Wikipedia, the condition is also know as Hyperthymesia, piking or hyperthymestic syndrome. A study of the first person identified with this super memory was published in 2008. Mrs. Teabody strongly suspects that her youngest sibling, the darling Lady Shumleywinks may have at least a mild case of this syndrome--if, indeed, such a thing is possible. Here is a photograph of Lady Shumleywinks looking especially sporty, don't you agree?

Lady Shumleywinks

Lady Shumleywinks, Duchess Tilly and Lady Anne are Mrs. Teabody's titled siblings who embrace Mrs. Teabody's untitled existence because of their supreme kindness and because of Mrs. Teabody's unflappable optimistic outlook. A few times a year the four climb into a motorcar driven by Duchess Tilly, and off go the lot to some moderately far-flung destination for a bit of gaming diversion. Sunday's destination was Dover, Delaware and the route to secure the company of Lady Shumleywinks took them first to Frederick then onward via Routes 70, 32, 97, 50 across the magnificent Bay Bridge and then into Delaware where Duchess Tilly's long association with the area meant a leisurely drive along scenic roadways, landing the lot in Dover just as the Biggs Museum of American Art was opening. This is a wonderful collection of furniture, silver and paintings and includes a huge selection of watercolors and poetry from former Delaware Poet Laureate, E. Jean Lanyon. Well worth a visit.

From there the lot drove on to Dover Downs Resort where fine rooms, good food and company, and lots of gaming occupied their brief twenty-four visit. All too soon the four were back in the car heading home. Of course, it is within the confines of the car, the most easily sustained conversations take place and it was there that Lady Shumleywinks shared some of her vivid recollections. Many of these are quite sad recalling the deaths of parents, of aunts and uncles, but there is something reassuring, something comforting in sharing such memories, do you not agree, Gentle Reader? Loss is somehow lightened when shared. In contrast there were as well memories of great amusement, of blessings, of clarification. Every family needs a clever, in-house historian and Lady Shumleywinks represents the family impeccably. For that, Mrs. Teabody is forever in her debt.

Clare Ortega says this of siblings: "To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time." To live outside the touch of time is not an experience one should do without. Even if you don't have a sister with Lady Shumleywinks' amazing ability for recollection, Mrs. Teabody strongly suspects you have at least one sibling whose heart you know, a sibling who knows your heart. Wouldn't this be a great day to get in touch? Of course it is. After all it IS the first of May.

Ta for now, Darlings!