by Debbie Walker

What to write about? I might have an idea for a column and in walks Nana Dee. We start talking about a thought that came to her during the early morning hours. She remembered a few words to a rhyme she knew as a child. This usually leads into a trip on the internet to discover the rest of the words and often the origin, our subject of that day. When I found it they said it was anonymous and written possibly in late 1700. Following this you will find the rhyme as found:

Mother may I go for a swim
Yes my darling daughter
Hang your clothes on a hickory limb
But don’t go near the water.

You may look cute in your bathing suit
Now act just as you oughta
Now and then you can flirt with the men
But don’t go near the water.

That brought back a memory for me. I have always loved the water. I have also always had problems with allergies and along with that came ear and sinus infections. My mother’s answer was “You can go swimming, but don’t go under water.” Not going under water to me meant I might as well stay home. Dad taught me to swim under water and then that was all I wanted to do. It seemed he could hold his breath and swim under forever! I tested myself and my cousins on how long we could hold our breath for a long underwater swim. The part about “hanging your clothes on a hickory limb” reminded me of a story I overheard Dad telling his sister one night. He told my aunt, his sister, there was one spring when his mother was puzzled by the lack of underwear she had in the laundry for her boys.

His dad had come in from a stroll by the lake and he told Gram he had seen the oddest tree, “It is blossoming with boys underwear.” So, with that discovery they went to the boys for answers. The way the story goes: the boys were also strolling one day by the water and decided to go for an unauthorized swim. They hung their pants on tree limbs and swam in their underwear. When finished they hung their underwear in the tree and wore their pants home. The problem was they had by now done this several times.

After their reprimand about the unsupervised swimming, they could no longer go near the water until adulthood! However, I always imagined after all was said and done, both parents must have had a great laugh.

I did break some of my parents rules having to do with swimming because of my being able to hear Dad and his sister. My bedroom was downstairs near the kitchen where they would chat into the early hours of the day. I caution others to remember kids hear way more than is intended for them to hear.

I’m just curious what memories might have been brought to your mind after reading the stories. Share with me, Please! Contact me with questions and comments at DebbieWalker@townline.org. Have a wonderful week!

by Debbie Walker

In Country Woman magazine, in its March/April 2003 issue, I read such a cute page and decided I would share it with you. We all need things to laugh about these days. Laughing helps to lower stress and aids in weight loss (if that’s the case I should be skinny!). Please enjoy the following:

After my husband showed our grandson the green beans he had planted. Ryan, 3, wondered “where are the jelly ones?” (Wanda Wyatt, Arkansas.)

Chatting with my granddaughter ,4, I listed the many chores I planned to do that day. “Whew,” she responded, “What you need is a Mom!” (Beth Tayson, Idaho.)

My three-year-old great-grandson came to me wearing his baseball glove and said, “Grandma, let’s play catsup.” (Wanda Thompson, Missouri.)

Explaining Colorado’s location to our grandson, his mother said it was above his home state of Texas. Promptly, Colton gazed skyward and said, “I didn’t see it!” (Nancy Roath, Colorado.)

At report card time, I told our young son he’d be rewarded for bringing home straight A’s. “That’s a sure thing,” he noted confidently. “My teacher makes all her A’s straight!” (Reba Martin, New Mexico.)

I even have one about my niece, Haliegh. It was close to her fifth birthday. I said, “Aren’t you excited, you’re going to be five years old.” She promptly told me, “NO. I don’t want to be five, I only know how to be four! ” (me) ”

“Why didn’t you have any kids, grandma?” Michael, aged 4, asked, “When I told him his mom and uncle are my children he replied “I mean kids you get to keep.” (Linda Isaacs, Oklahoma)

Thrilled by a book about dinosaurs, my then-young niece told her sister, “we should ask grandma and grandpa if they took any pictures.”

One chilly morning we passed a field full of newly-shorn ewes. “Look, mom” our four-year-old son noted with a shiver, “those sheep aren’t wearing their coats!” ( Rachel Wellman, Michigan.)

When I told the little girl I babysit for that I was going to color my hair, she responded, “You can borrow my crayons!”

Eager to share a safety rule he’s learned, grandson Chad, 3 , advised, “In case of fire, stop.. drop… rock and roll!”

One day, grandson Hunter and I were studying family photos when he piped up, “that boys wearing my face!” He was looking at a picture of his daddy at age three.

Defending why he liked to sleep with a night light, our then four-year-old reasoned, “it helps me see my dreams better.”

Catching me mumbling about how his baby sister had cried and fussed all day, my four-year-old pointed out, “she’s just doing her job.”

I’m just curious if you remember some of the stories you have heard over the years? How about sharing some of yours? Contact me at DebbieWalker@townline.org with questions or comments. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

by Debbie Walker

This is another one of those columns I must ask you to not blame The Town Line editor. This is just my thoughts on a subject and my curiosity how you would want to react. And I said ‘would want to react’ because there are situations we might want to say or do __whatever________ but we maybe we are shy or, whatever.

You are on a flight home and you notice a uniformed soldier on board. You become aware he is escorting a fellow soldier who is in a casket in the cargo hold of the plane. You have just been informed the soldier will be the first to debark the plane, he will go below and march with the Honor Guard as they bring a fellow soldier off to present to his family. You are asked to “remain in your seat and quiet, please.”

Our traveling widow of a 20-year Navy doctor is on this flight. She had a thought and went to each person (before the plane began descending). She wondered ‘wouldn’t it be nice if we sang the national anthem as the procession begins?’ Most of the traveler’s thought this was a wonderful idea and there were a few who said they did not care to. Okay, so they just do not participate.

Just before landing the flight attendant comes to you and says it is against company policy to do the singing and wants you to tell the others. She said there were a few people who were not comfortable with the idea. The Navy widow decided to not co-operate. But the attendant got on the PA system again with the instructions to please stay seated and observe the request for quiet.

The Navy widow saw the singing as respectful. She felt so bad that she was not brave enough to go through with it because she was afraid of repercussions with the airlines. She was hurt thinking what her husband would say about that. She felt she let him down.

Imagine, the plane lands on American soil (last I knew Atlanta was part of the United States), they wanted to honor the American soldiers on American soil, with an American-based airline. They were instructed to not sing the National Anthem.

I want to write this for another reason besides the injustice heaped on this woman and the others. Please understand I am, of course, curious; how did we ever get to this point? An American soldier, escorting a deceased American soldier, lands on American soil and because of a couple of people were unhappy about it Americans could not sing our national anthem. What has happened to us? When? There have always been people who did not want to be ‘part of …….’ However, these days that is all it takes. What about our rights? I do not buy the line that “we don’t want to offend”. A friend of mine has a saying, heifer dust!

I understand our lady received a letter of an apology from the airline and they assured her that the attendant was wrong, they had no such policy. Oh well folks, the damage was already done.

Okay enough of that. You know what I am curious about this time. But I also want to share a wonderful event! I became a great-grandmother today to a beautiful little girl. Addison Grace came on May 6, 2020, and, of course, I am in love! We all are here! I cannot wait to see her and rock her; it’s one of my favorite things about having a baby to spoil! Rocking and reading to them.

Have a great week! Thanks again, for reading.

by Debbie Walker

My son-in-law comes up with some remarkably interesting topics on the internet and fortunately for me, he shares with me. Recently he was listening to a commencement address given by Admiral William McRaven to the 2014 University of Texas-Austin’s graduates. You can find this speech on YouTube on your computer. Look for “Make Your Bed.” It is worth your time to find and listen to it. He is an impressive speaker and has a real command over paraphrases to pass on his easy to understand instructions for a positive, promising future.

After 36 years as a Navy SEAL, he stresses he learned the following principles while in training for six months. He said it was “six months of torturous runs in the soft sand, midnight swims in cold water, obstacle courses, unending calisthenics, days without sleep and always being cold, wet and miserable.” The trainers were seeking and eliminating the weak of mind and body from becoming a Navy SEAL.

Admiral McRaven started with his important points to use for the rest of their lives:

1. If you want to change the world, start off each day by making your bed. It is a simple task, but important in your daily life to realize if you can’t do the little things right; you will never do the big things right.
2. If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle. You cannot change the world alone; you will need some help. It is going to take friends, colleagues and the good will of strangers.
3. If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart. SEAL training was a great equalizer. It is your will to survive, not your color, ethnic background, education or social status.
4. If you want to change the world get over being a “sugar cookie” and keep moving forward. For failing the uniform inspection, students had to run fully clothed into the surf zone and then, wet from head to toe, roll around on the beach until every part of their body is covered with sand. Being “sugar cookied” would last the rest of day.
5. If you want to change the world, do not be afraid of the circuses. If you failed any of the challenging physical training at the end of the day you were invited to a “circus.” It was two additional hours of calisthenics.
6. If you want to change the world sometimes you must slide down the obstacle headfirst. In my words this would break down to succeed, sometimes you must change the way of doing something.
7. If you want to change the world, do not back down from the sharks. The students are given instructions about their long swim in shark infested waters. The premise being to survive the swim you must not show fear of an approaching shark, meet it fearlessly and punch it in it’s snout.

There are three more points to be made but I am running out of space. Please know I cannot leave the same impression the Admiral makes with his speech. It is worth the ‘listen’ if you can.

I am just curious if I have sparked enough interest for you to look and listen. Contact me at DebbieWalker@townline.org. And thank you Edgar for your assistance. Have a great week!

by Debbie Walker

Whether threats to our security are real or perceived they impact our mental and physical well-being.

Fear can interrupt processes in our brains that allow us to regulate emotions. It impacts thinking and decision making in negative ways, leaving us susceptible to strong emotions and impulsive reactions. All these effects can leave us unable to act appropriately.

Fear can affect memory by making it difficult with the forming of long-term memories and cause damage to parts of the brain. This makes it difficult for one to regulate fear and leave them anxious most of the time.

Fear can cause physical health problems. It can weaken our immune system and can lead to accelerated aging.

All the previous information I gathered from University of Minnesota, titled “Taking Charge of Your Well Being“. Please continue your reading of the next information from Dr. Eugene K Choi found on Mission.com, it’s the one titled “One important Recommendation You May Not Be Hearing“. He started out by making sure that people knew; “First let me say yes it’s important to take the necessary precautions I am not writing this to argue about that.”

Fear can be very disabling. If it is strong enough it can throw you into the fight-flight-freeze response. When you are in this state your body produces a steroid, cortisol weakens your immune system.

If we are stuck somewhere in the 3-F’s process because of worries or anxiety, our bodies are wasting a ton of energy because it actually thinks it might die at that moment. All that energy wasted makes us even more susceptible to get sick.

In the 3-F mode you are in a selfish, self-protection state. You literally lose the capability of thinking of or having empathy. It’s what prevents us from thinking or having empathy and can wind up making things worse. Same goes for the “in denial’ people, they go out unnecessarily and put family, friends and other people at risk.

Fear is what sends people to the doctors office when their symptoms aren’t even related. This takes valuable time away from people who are actually infected.

A good idea would be to do things to build up your immune system. Do the things you can do on your own and put your body into a healing and resting mode.

You can practice the act of focusing on things you are grateful for. Think about the things you have. Some of these, others don’t have. Take notice of things until you feel grateful.

Spend your time connecting with your special people. Laugh a lot, it’s healing. Spread appreciation for our loved ones and the people working in jobs that are at risk but know their services are needed.

Try not to listen to information from the media. Look for information that is science based and limit that as well.

Please understand I am only doing a book report of what I read to pass the “interest” on to you. This is in no way is attached to the paper or people in my office.

I’m just curious if maybe this helps a couple of you in this time of “lock-downs'” and quarantines. Any questions or comments please email debbiewalker@townline.org.