ForumGarden

DEAR ABBY: It seems strange to write to you, but I'd like to share this story about how small acts of kindness can multiply.

On a dark, miserable afternoon, I was out grocery shopping. The woman in line in front of me had two small children and two full carts of groceries. When all her bags were loaded, she began frantically searching in her purse for her car keys. When she couldn't find them, she realized that, in her haste, she had locked them inside her car. I asked if I could drive her home to get a spare key and she agreed.

I helped her into her house with her bags of groceries, then drove them all back to the store for her car. "How can I ever thank you?" she asked. My reply was, "No thanks are needed; just pass it on."

Two weeks later, I was at a party when a couple walked into the living room and the woman excitedly said, "There she is!" It was the woman from the market. She rushed over and proceeded to tell everyone how we met.

Then she said she'd had her chance to "pass it on." I asked what she told the person who had thanked her, and she said, "I said what you did, 'No thanks are needed -- pass it on!'"

Small kindnesses bring big rewards. If anyone has been the recipient of an act of kindness, remember to pass it on. It's the Golden Rule.

Thanks, Dear Abby -- you "pass on" kindness with each column you write. -- LIVING THE GOLDEN RULE IN WASHINGTON



I believe this happens all the time. Do you?

along-for-the-ride;1452604 wrote: DEAR ABBY: It seems strange to write to you, but I'd like to share this story about how small acts of kindness can multiply.

On a dark, miserable afternoon, I was out grocery shopping. The woman in line in front of me had two small children and two full carts of groceries. When all her bags were loaded, she began frantically searching in her purse for her car keys. When she couldn't find them, she realized that, in her haste, she had locked them inside her car. I asked if I could drive her home to get a spare key and she agreed.

I helped her into her house with her bags of groceries, then drove them all back to the store for her car. "How can I ever thank you?" she asked. My reply was, "No thanks are needed; just pass it on."

Two weeks later, I was at a party when a couple walked into the living room and the woman excitedly said, "There she is!" It was the woman from the market. She rushed over and proceeded to tell everyone how we met.

Then she said she'd had her chance to "pass it on." I asked what she told the person who had thanked her, and she said, "I said what you did, 'No thanks are needed -- pass it on!'"

Small kindnesses bring big rewards. If anyone has been the recipient of an act of kindness, remember to pass it on. It's the Golden Rule.

Thanks, Dear Abby -- you "pass on" kindness with each column you write. -- LIVING THE GOLDEN RULE IN WASHINGTON



I believe this happens all the time. Do you?


Yes indeed.

I still remember a bumper sticker I saw in the early 70s, that read, "Don't repay kindness - Pass it on."

It is one of our family's "Golden Rules"

Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into. ~Henry Beecher, Life Thoughts, 1858

Flowers are without hope. Because hope is tomorrow and flowers have no tomorrow. ~Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin

Below are some of my photos of flowers:

Attached files

Let's travel to Detroit...the "Motor City"............a little nostalgia as these films were taken years ago:







Today is another story.

No, I've never been there.

Healthy takes on comfort food classics - CNN.com

Would you try these recipes? They do look good.

MNN Quiz: Do you know your backyard birds? | MNN - Mother Nature Network



I got 8 out of 14 correct. What about you?

Attached files

"May and June. Soft syllables, gentle names for the two best months in the garden year: cool, misty mornings gently burned away with a warming spring sun, followed by breezy afternoons and chilly nights. The discussion of philosophy is over; it's time for work to begin."

- Peter Loewer

Attached files

DEAR ABBY: My husband tends to be a major clutterbug. We had an argument last night about him storing a set of encyclopedias. My argument is that we have never used them and never will, since they are "dinosaurs" in today's modern world. Any information can be looked up digitally.

He was given these encyclopedias by his grandparents, so he feels they have a "deeper meaning." Although he has never once used them, he says they make the bookshelf look nicer. We recently got rid of the bookshelf and now he wants to store them in our already cluttered attic.

His plan is to pass them on to our child or grandchildren. I don't think they would want to inherit them, as they take up so much space and there are more efficient ways to find information. Please help. -- FRUSTRATED WIFE IN CONNECTICUT

DEAR WIFE: The encyclopedias do have a deeper meaning for your husband that almost surely has less to do with "looking nice on a bookshelf" than their sentimental value. They symbolize the love his grandparents had for him, as well as the idea that he can pass an heirloom down to the next generations.

Please relent about boxing them up and making room for them in the attic. At some point, your husband will probably arrive at the same conclusion that you have -- after they have been refused by the progeny for whom he has been saving them. And try to hang on to your sense of humor, because this isn't worth arguing over.



I noticed my Dad still had the set of encyclopedias that we occasionally used as children in the living room bookshelf.

Yesterday afternoon, I was really along for the ride.

The Days of wine and roses laugh and runaway like a child a play, through the meadowland toward a closing door, a door marked "Nevermore" that wasn't there before. The lonely night discloses just a passing breeze filled with memories of the golden smile that introduced me to the Days of Wine and Roses and you.

I just saw the post about your dad's passing. I am so sorry for your loss. Bless him for his service.

ZAP;1453490 wrote: I just saw the post about your dad's passing. I am so sorry for your loss. Bless him for his service.


Thank you, Zap. I will always miss him.

I like this....................

Attached files

along-for-the-ride;1453481 wrote:


Ava Gardner was beautiful, but I like the version below better. Do you?

Attached files

"The world's favorite season is the spring.

All things seem possible in May."

- Edwin Way Teale http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Way_Teale

Attached files

I'm almost finished reading this book:

Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations by Peter Evans — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

I can't help but think how different her life would have been if her photo was not placed in the window of a shop. She was indeed beautiful.

Attached files

Are you guilty of any of these?

Women forget their parking space men forget their passengers- MSN Money





Gotten in a car and realized it wasn’t your car: 8 percent (men: 7 percent; women: 8 percent).

Attached files

Caption please.......................

Attached files

Today, let's visit a mansion:

Inside Heiress Huguette Clark's California Mansion, Frozen in Time for 60 Years - NBC News

Today, we go up the roof...........................

Attached files

along-for-the-ride;1454340 wrote: Caption please.......................




The Real Reason Over Half of Women Say They Divorced in Midlife|Abby Rodman, LICSW



I was one of those women when I divorced my ex-hubby.

along-for-the-ride;1454403 wrote: Today, let's visit a mansion:

Inside Heiress Huguette Clark's California Mansion, Frozen in Time for 60 Years - NBC News


Executors of Huguette Clark’s estate claim she was insane | New York Post

Dear Abby: Today is my 50th birthday. I have a few close friends, but I’m not widely social.

The members of my book club knew it was my birthday when we met a few days ago. I had mentioned it before our meeting. Nothing was said when we met.

My best friend is going on vacation and hasn’t remembered. My husband asked me what plans I had made for us to do today. My sister, bless her, has been wonderful and feels responsible to try to make this day special for me.

Is it really my job to plan a celebration and remind everyone I’m close to? I’m hurt that no one feels I’m worth the effort. Am I making too big a deal out of this?

Vexed In Vermont



Dear Vexed: I think so. My dear mother used to say, “If you want something done right, do it yourself! That’s good advice when those around you are too preoccupied to be as nurturing as you would like them to be.



Has this ever happened to you? And, no, it's not my birthday.

Attached files

along-for-the-ride;1454887 wrote: Executors of Huguette Clark’s estate claim she was insane | New York Post


It's interesting that they would claim that she was insane after her death but keep silent all those years when she was alive.

Isn't that usually the case, Wandrin? She's no longer here to defend herself.



Today, some celebrity photos:

Seven decades of era-defining glamour from Cannes - CNN.com

Today...just a cute photo to maker you either smile or shake your head.:

Attached files

That's clever

It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want — oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ~Mark Twain

Attached files

"My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return." Maya Angelou

Oh yeah!

My sister and I in our backyard one summer. The water was cold on our feet and we couldn't wait for the pool to fill up.



Did you have a little pool when you were little?

Attached files

Thank you for your most interesting posts!

along-for-the-ride;1455848 wrote: My sister and I in our backyard one summer. The water was cold on our feet and we couldn't wait for the pool to fill up.



Did you have a little pool when you were little?


we had one just like that .

fuzzywuzzy;1455870 wrote: we had one just like that .


Here is a picture of our pool when I was a kid.

It is still there and still great. Should be there in a couple of weeks for a visit.

Jupiter Inlet Webcam

LarsMac;1455875 wrote: Here is a picture of our pool when I was a kid.

It is still there and still great. Should be there in a couple of weeks for a visit.

Jupiter Inlet Webcam


Nice......................



I did graduate from the kiddie pool to the ocean. :wah:

Attached files

along-for-the-ride;1455962 wrote: Nice......................



I did graduate from the kiddie pool to the ocean. :wah:


I miss the beach, these days.

LarsMac;1455875 wrote: Here is a picture of our pool when I was a kid.

It is still there and still great. Should be there in a couple of weeks for a visit.

Jupiter Inlet Webcam


veeeery nice ..........what's that written int he sand? "I love...."?

LarsMac;1456014 wrote: I miss the beach, these days.




It's fifty paces to the waters edge at high tied now .

fuzzywuzzy;1456015 wrote: veeeery nice ..........what's that written int he sand? "I love...."?


I was trying to figure that out, myself. I dunno.

FV1RC, is what it seems to be. Got no clue.

“It is the month of June,

The month of leaves and roses,

When pleasant sights salute the eyes,

And pleasant scents the noses.

Nathaniel Parker Willis

Attached files

The best thing one can do when it is raining,

is let it rain...

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Attached files

1. John D. Rockefeller - The richest Americans in history - CNNMoney

Yeah, but with all that money, were they happy?

I took this photo this morning before we left for work. Look closely and you will see the bunny under the bench in our front yard.

I took the picture through the glass in our front door so I wouldn't spook the animal.

Attached files

Meet some interesting people who lived long and well:

Live to 100: Number of centenarians has doubled - CNN.com