Sunday, May 1, 2011

Today's fortune: May 1, 2011

Today's fortune: Now is the time to call loved ones at a distance. Share your news.

Okay okay, I admit... I did not make a phone call to a loved one at a distance today. But that doesn't mean I didn't call.

Let me explain. There's an old, nearly forgotten definition for the word "call" that I'm invoking here. Let's turn to trusty Dictionary.com for more:

"To cry out in a loud voice; shout; to command or request to come; to telephone or try to telephone a person; to make a short visit."

It's that last entry that interests me. You see it in old films sometimes:

"Would you like to go to the moving picture show with me tonight, Esmerelda?"

"Why, that sounds keen, Raleigh!"

"Bully! I'll call at six."

Let me interpret that into new-timey language. Raleigh, that cad, doesn't plan on phoning Esmerelda at six o'clock; he's stopping by her place. But they're not going to the moving picture show. As everyone knows, Esmerelda's a bit of a tramp.

So in that sense of the word "call," I did in fact call relatives at a distance. My mother and I made the three-hour drive (four hours since my mother had to stop several times to pee) to central Missouri to visit my cousin Adam and his girlfriend Kayla.

But we weren't sharing any news of our own - we were there to celebrate their good news.


That's little Adalee Rose, who was born five days. Eight pounds, five ounces. She's the newest member of the family, and she's perfect. Adalee is so brand-new, in fact, there's still a price tag attached to her belly button. But they tell me that'll fall off in a few days.

GREEN WEEK: DAY 1

On our trip to central Missouri, my mother and I stopped off at a greenhouse to fulfill Day 1 of Green Week.

If you're ever in the Frankenstein, Mo., region, be sure to stop by Dudenhoeffer Countryside Gardens, the best nursery in the whole darn state.

This is not an illusion; that's not a tiny potted plant held close to the camera. That's a GIGANTIC pot nearly four feet tall. Don't believe me? Check how many flowers are planted inside.

My aunt Kathy and uncle Ralph (the grandparents of little Adalee) run the nursery, and they do a wonderful job. Today business was booming, and everything is lush and green.


Mom and I each stocked up on hanging baskets. By the time we left, the back seat of my truck looked like the Brazilian rain forest.

5 comments:

  1. I don't think Esmerelda is getting a very fair shake in all of this.

    ReplyDelete