Mrs. Teabody Greets the Day

Kristy L. Richards, PhD, MD, Incomparable human being The Changing Path I always walk this path on days When I just want routine, Predictability, The sense of safety that comes with the familiar, the known An unquestionable firmness underfoot. My walk begins in comfort: A flat stretch into a long, gentle mound A curve through woods with no fright in them A less gentle but forgiving decline then Civilized on the right by fenced back yards and purposeful dogs On the left a verdant bank, perfect for sliding And there, straight ahead, as steadfast as ever The sweep and bump and height of blue mountains Against an even bluer sky. Caught up in my history With this familiar and beloved horizon, I put one foot in front of another Breathe the crisp air Hear birds peep and distant motors racing. I move on. Today, this last day in March I wake to words I never wanted To hear or read in my lifetime. Crisp. Black. Heavy. " . . . at 11:40 last night . . ."  Time becomes irrelevant ...

Someone mentions a picturesque town, an amazing structure, a scene in nature of  breathtaking beauty and my mind locks it in a box and I vow that someday, some way I WILL get there. Good Morning from rainy Meadow Grounds where Mrs. Teabody is finding it important to speak with some clarity regarding toast toppings.  Jam is a food made by boiling fruit and sugar to a thick consistency.  Jelly is  a soft somewhat elastic  fruit product made by boiling sugar and the juice of fruit.  Marmalade is   a clear sweetened jelly in which pieces of (usually) citrus fruit and fruit rind are suspended. Are we clear? Good. What's on your toast these February mornings? If ever there was a time of year to open up all those delicious jams, jellies and marmalades you either concocted yourself or received from generous friends at Christmas, that time is Now. Mrs. Teabody does not usually have anything sweet before noon, but when Cindy Glessner gifted...

"There are no mass production miracles. They come intimately to one and to another until, across the tired darkness of this world, there is, from within, peace on earth, good will to men." Standing outside a lovely cottage along one of the prettiest streets I have ever walked are two small tables laden with baked goods. Next to the baked goods is a little sign explaining prices for goods and a second sign saying "Please put your money through the letter box." The baker goes on to say that hers is a "business" based on trust. I'm in a picturesque village near Bath, England having this experience but two similar places back home in rural Pennsylvania immediately come to mind. The first is at Stoner's Apiary a few miles north of my hometown which offers fresh local honey and the other is a farm along Route 416 near Welsh Run where one can buy "brown eggs" on the honor system. In a world that seems by times devoid...

“Let your boat of life be light, - - packed only with what you need." ―   Jerome K. Jerome I recently stumbled across a photograph taken of me when I was in my 20's walking the sandy beaches of Ocean City, MD clad in denim cutoffs and a long-sleeved tee shirt. My friend and I had decided on a spur of the moment weekend trip to the "shore"  and we'd stopped by my flat for everything I needed for the trip. All of it -- change of underwear, a clean tee shirt and a swimsuit along with all the cosmetics one needs at that youthful stage in life (lip gloss and eyeliner and a tube of Coppertone) - - are in the nifty burlap bag slung on my shoulder. "Packing" (as it were) had taken less than five minutes. Ah, youth! Ah, simplicity! Flash forward twenty years to my first trip to Europe -- a doozy as I'd be staying for six weeks needing clothing for classes, theatre and sightseeing. I packed as most women making their first pond-crossing packed -- t...

Blame the rain. Someone should. Blame John Mulaney's horse that's loose inside the hospital . I do. Blame  frustration for the world as we know it. Why would you not? But all of this blame-making wants clarification. That is what Mrs. Teabody does best. So pour yourself a cuppa of your favorite freshly-brewed loose leaf tea and get comfortable. We're in for a bumpy and extended ride. And do I actually have to tell you to turn off the tv? I thought as much. At least have the decency to push pause . Ta very much. Let's lead with this: I watch too much television.  Perhaps you do, too. With a few decades here and there when I BY CHOICE eschewed the companionship afforded by the  glowing tubes, I have been watching television for more than sixty years. SIXTY. Now that's a helluva lot of Mickey Mouse Club , American Bandstand , Twilight Zone ,  and Johnny Carson. That is decades of Days of our Lives ,   Search for Tomorrow and wondering for an entir...

" . . . Before I built a wall I'd ask to know What I was walling in or walling out, And to whom I was like to give offense."  - Robert Frost "Something there is that doesn't love a wall. . ." One day as I sat on our porch, I heard a rumble and before I knew what was happening a large dump truck had driven onto the property adjacent to ours. Shortly after that, I heard the beepbeepbeep of a construction-style vehicle backing up and a few seconds later the truck tilted its bed and somewhere close to ten tons of "mixed materials" of asphalt and concrete cascaded toward our property. This was only the first of dozens of such trips. Someone somewhere was breaking up (or breaking down) a parking lot and what that "someone somewhere" no longer wanted was being hauled away to the woods, OUR woods, where nobody cares. It was not pretty.  During the succeeding days, more and more trucks arrived and the mound between us grew hig...

An acquaintance of long-standing, FactFree Frankenfurter visited my little tea emporium last week. He's a droll character and as smug and self-satisfied a man as one would ever hope to encounter.  FactFree Frankenfurter is that rarest of birds in this 21st century: the Know-It-ALL (ba-dump-bump). Now, never you mind that FactFree does not read a newspaper, has his television set tuned to one channel only and leaves it on 24/7 so it never cools down. He is a man long on opinions but a man short on facts. This is how our conversation went: "Why are you closing the store for a couple days this week?" FactFree asked. "Oh, I'm going to the New York gift show to look for new merchandise. You know I go twice a year." "You're going BACK up to THAT city? How can you stand to be around all them foreigners?" he asked. "Oh,  you might say that's part of the reason I do go.  ' Them foreigners ' as you call them are artists an...