Honesty and Truth

by Lois Jamieson

“The precepts of the law are these: to live honestly, to injure no one, and to give every man his due.”     –Justian 1

 

“A promise made is a debt unpaid.”    –Robert Service

 

“Don’t tell your fiends their social faults; they will cure the fault and never forgive you.”    -Logan Pearsall Smith

 

“Lying can never save us from another life.”    -Vaclav Havel

 

“Every kind of peaceful cooperation among men is primarily based on mutual trust and only secondarily on institutions such as courts of justice and police.”    -Albert Einstein

 

“The greatest truths are the simplest, and so are the greatest men.”    -J.C. Hare

 

“The truth needs so little rehearsal.”    -Barbara Kingsolver

 

“It takes less time to do a thing right than to explain why you did it wrong.”    -Henry Wadsworth

Happy Birthday to Julia

By Lois Jamieson I recently read that Julia Child would have turned 100 on August 15. Julia Child was a remarkable woman, who, perhaps, was best known for bringing the art of mastering French cooking to America. I believe that at least 100 chefs in America celebrated her birthday by serving some of her wonderful recipes. One of my very favorite movies, “Julie and Julia” came out in 2009. It was a great story and perked my interest in Julia Child and French cooking. I was discussing the movie with a good friend, and she told me she had the original recipe for Julia’s Boeuf Bourguignon. My friend shared the recipe with me. A few weeks later, my husband and I were expecting guests for dinner, and I decided to surprise everyone with this famous recipe. Two days in advance of the dinner party, I rolled up my sleeves in anticipation of making the Boeuf Bourguignon. Nine hours later I finished preparing the dish. I was almost too exhausted to entertain our guests. Everyone said it was wonderful, but I honestly thought I could have thrown the ingredients and a bottle of good red wine, in my crock pot and it would have tasted the same. Plus, I could have had a long nap. I have decided I am never going to cook anything I can’t pronounce.

Thoughts on being 90 Years Old

By Phoebe Maurer

Thoughts on being 90 years old

By Phoebe Maurer

For weeks I have been anticipating the day I would be starting a new decade on the road to reaching a century.

My face has become a road map of routes that led me to cosmetic counters selling wrinkle free creams, erasure of satchels under the eyes, and tiny bottles that mysteriously erase age spots and sun damage. Do they work? Yes, on the photographed models that are under 40. Cosmetic companies grow and prosper while we see zero results and money, not wrinkles, disappear. My daughter said, “Mom, don’t be so hard on yourself, you never look your age.”

The morning of my birthday, I woke up feeling happy. I looked in the mirror, saw a 90 year

old woman, and roared, “I am an old lady!” Later in the day, my daughter and I had a lovely time together. She took me to lunch before going on a shopping spree for clothes we both chose, while I sat with my canister of oxygen, savoring every moment.

My children, that is, Herb and mine, are self achievers. They are wise and world traveled, and I respect and admire them. I watch and listen to how they react with their children. They certainly have more patience than I think I had, but maybe my memory is faulty.

I am 90 and savoring the day. I am an old lady, with an ageless spirit, looking for the next adventure.