8a. 53 years / 8b. Grandma: understanding

One month before Christmas, and you are sure Owen and Brennan are getting excited. You are excited too, but for today. For the first time in decades, you and Carol are eating out for your anniversary; this is your Fifty-Third. You remembered at five-twenty on the clock last night, and you both rushed to Hallmark (also a tradition) for the card exchange this morning. Last night you also thought you'd pull a joke on sister Cathy and send a note asking if they wanted to go to 101 for dinner at five o'clock. Surprisingly, she said yes – you thought it was too close to Thanksgiving (as you always do) for evening restaurant food. So, now you are going. Tomorrow morning Carol is baking a crispy custard pie (her Mom's recipe), which everyone loves. She bought an apple pie from Kroger as a second choice or if anyone wants a second piece or both. One pie will do six to eight people in your family. – Ms. H. 

1251. We cleaned up this morning, and Carol is taking a needed nap. It has been a good day, which began with a delightful kiss, not the usual peck (if any) for a retired man's get up and stay the day. We snuggle. 1254.

You are reminiscing your first date with Carol. Carol's roommate was your sister, Cathy. This was her first semester at King Hall, Otterbein College (now University). Cathy wanted to go to the Varsity Club (a restaurant) across from the OSU football stadium on a Friday night. I was to provide transportation. I decided to ask our cousin David Short to come along, so he did. This was the makeshift date. We were sharing our first pitcher of beer and sandwiches when I noticed David was attracted to Carol. I was acting like an older brother, which I was, and didn't like that Carol was attracted to David but not in the same way David was attracted to her. At least, this is how I saw it at the time. I immediately discovered I was jealous. I couldn't believe it. Carol was my sister's roommate, and I was about five years older. David was four years older. Later, and time to take the girls back to the dorm, you dropped David off at his house in Westerville and took the girls on campus. Once at King Hall, you asked Carol out, and she accepted, assuming I would be a fun and safe date. Cathy was not too happy, not at all. Cathy's boyfriend was back in Cleveland (where Cathy lived with your parents) going to Cleveland State. On most of the early dates, Cathy came along with Carol. You didn't mind because the three of you had a good time checking the local bars around the OSU campus. Westerville was a dry town at the time, famous for being dry. Students who wanted to drink had to bring it in (not allowed on campus) or go to the bars outside. This is your heart talking, of course. – Ms. H. 

1327. It wasn't that long ago. We were married in 1967 in Alexandria, Virginia, at a Methodist Church near where Carol's parents lived at the time. Dad Hammond was at the State Department on two-year home leave from the American embassy in Saigon, after which he and the family returned to South Vietnam to live. Mom Hammond took Carol's three sisters out on the last government loaned plane. Dad stayed until the last moment at the embassy with other American and foreign personnel trying to get their South Vietnamese employees and their families out to the United States before the Fall of the country. 1337.

Those are the quick memories that come to heartanmind. This personal memory business will not be typical, Mr. Orndorff, because this blog is not about you per se. It is about how understanding some things is, at times, more important than actually knowing things. – Ms. H. 

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Understanding how to fish is better than knowing how to fish. Reinforcement below. – Grandma Earth

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understanding - noun 

 

the ability to understand something, comprehension: the emotional heart

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• the power of abstract thought; intellect: the human mind

 

• an individual's perception or judgment of a situation: this is between the heart and the mind

 

 

• sympathetic awareness or tolerance: empathy in heartanmind

 

• an informal/unspoken agreement or arrangement: trust in heartanmind

 

 Selected and edited from the Oxford/American dictionary

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What role, if any, does the soul play in human understanding? Ask I, Grandma Earth.

What role, if any, does the soul play in human behavior? Don't forget to define "soul" from your perspective before expanding your private thoughts on the subject if you have any. If you don't have any thoughts on why you do or do not have a soul, this is not the blog. Have a good day in any case. – Ms. H.

You, Carol, Cathy, and Tod had a good red wine with dinner, your treat. Everyone enjoyed the conversation, and Joe, the head chef (and their son-in-law), stopped by a couple of times to chat before and after your eating – a quite enjoyable wedding anniversary dinner. Cathy was at the wedding, and Tod was almost family at that time. They were married on August 3, 1968. Carol was in the wedding, and you were an usher. – Ms. Havisham

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