Out walking in the woods The Old Lady found something very dead… and very beautiful.
The shell and skeleton of an armadillo were laid out among the leaf litter like a sculpted art installation.
Both sides of the flexible shell were visible, with the dark outer scales partly worn away.
“I’m sorry the armadillo died,” said the Old Lady soberly, “but I am glad that I got to admire its insides.”
Ever since she was a little girl The Old Lady has loved mail.
“It all seems so magical,” she marveled, “things appearing in my post office box with my name on them. Wonderful!”
Today was a supermail day: not only was the box crammed with envelopes… two from actual human beings, NOT corporations!… and a small box, there was also a Magic Key.
The Magic Key shows up when there’s a package too big for the box. It has the number of a locker on it, and the lucky recipient gets to walk to the locker section while anticipating what delights may await within.
“Even if it’s something I ordered myself,” laughed The Old Lady, “it still qualifies as a present!”
The Old Lady was using her binoculars to idly scan the tree line across a stubbly field.
A friend asked “What are you looking for?”
“I don’t know yet,” replied The Old Lady with a shrug. “I never know… until I find it.”
LISTEN to The Old Lady!
While walking on a farm The Old Lady kept a sharp eye out for hawks. She has seen them there before, but her hours of searching were to no avail.
Then she rode into the nearby town where THERE WAS A HAWK sitting on top of a sign, not ten feet from the side of the street. It fixed a calm but steely gaze on the approaching vehicle. When the car stopped directly in front of it, the hawk remained standing still on its perch looking almost military in its bearing.
Finally it flew off.
“Another great lesson for me,” marveled The Old Lady. “I tried and tried to make something happen, but it was only when I let go of trying that what I sought found me.”
LISTEN to The Old Lady!
“I am The Old Lady,” grumbled The Old Lady, “but that doesn’t mean I want to feel old.”
So she signed up at the YMCA for Silver Sneakers, which is exercise for old people.
Do not be deceived!
Silver Sneaker classes move, and move, and MOVE to upbeat music.
She knew she was in for it when the first selection was a rather peppy version of the disco hit “I Will Survive”.
She found herself repeating that line to herself as the class marched, and danced, and pumped arms while the music went on seemingly endlessly…
“That which does not kill us makes us stronger,” gasped The Old Lady, sucking wind and dripping sweat. “and I don’t intend to die at the Y!”
LISTEN TO The Old Lady!
