But a few weeks before she left this universe we had a conversation. We talked about her plants. She loved plants. Flowers, trees, vines, herbs, just about anything would grow under the careful tending of her hands. She always had that intuition of what each plant needed at a certain time. Oh, she studied as well. She had many books on the different varieties of plants that she grew or wanted to grow in the future. What information not found there would lead to a trip to the nursery to discuss soil or proper feeding techniques. Although privy to many of these discussions I always had the impression she just instinctively knew. As far back as I can remember our back yard looked like a plant nursery. Back in the 1970's when macrame hanging pots were popular we had many. Ours were filled with huge ivy and various other plants plentiful with leaves and flowers.
I never had the gift of helping things grow. I never got the formula correct. It was always too much or too little of this or that. I ended up with pitiful dried up pieces of dirt. Many times she would come and help me get my yard presentable. We would dig and get the flowers just right. I had limited success. But I learned a bit along the way.
So she had some amaryllis bulbs and had previously had limited success with them. She had decided to get two huge bags of Miracle Grow potting soil and just put the bulbs in there and see what happened. It was an experiment of sorts. That was part of our conversation.
A few weeks later she was gone.
While at her house picking up some things, one of them being plants, her husband took me beside the garage and showed me two huge bags of potting soil and asked if I wanted them. I told him I knew exactly what there were, and yes, I did.
I took the bags and planted them in two pots.
The next Spring, 2004, I waited. Would anything happen? Would they bloom? Finally, the first bit of green appeared above the dirt. A sign. There was life. The experiment had worked. Those bulbs were going to make it. And they did bloom. One red, the other pink.
And they have bloomed every Spring since then. They have multiplied. I have divided bulbs and put them in different pots and given some away.
10 years of blooms.
I can't help it. I get excited to see the first signs of green popping through the dirt every year. Then when the bud starts it is amazing. When the flower blooms it is wonderous. To others it may just be a flower in a pot. Not to me.
Sometimes the simple things in life can take on a whole different meaning. The bloom of a flower can be like a sister tapping you on the shoulder and saying,
"Sister, I'm still here, look at me!"
We only have to be observant of our surroundings to find the blessings laid in our paths each day.
The flutter of a butterfly. The song of a beautiful red cardinal. The soulful eyes of a wondering dog that crosses our path. A rock shining more brilliantly than all the others. That one brighter star in the sky at night.
Lessons. Gifts. Messages.
We are only left alone if we chose to ignore our blessings.
We ain't here for a long time, we here for a good time. ~ Pitbull
And that is why I am back this morning having another delicious Manske Roll! This one with some Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.
Manske Roll opened in September 1906 and they still cook their buns fresh each day. You can certainly tell the difference in the quality. Their buns are soft and sweet. It's the actual dough that has a slight sweet taste to it. The cinnamon rolls are not too sweet. Even their hamburger buns have that slight sweet taste. The burgers come in four sizes which is great. And on Mondays you can get two 1/4 pound burgers for $2.00.
This was another good find from Diners, Drive-In's and Dives.
Heading out to San Marcos and the Bandera area today. Can't wait to see what wonders the week brings.
| Birth: | Jan. 6, 1946 |
| Death: | Jul. 7, 2006 |
| Musician, Songwriter, Singer, Artist. Barret cofounded the band, Pink Floyd, along with Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright in 1965. Their 1967 album "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" was a huge commercial hit. Of the eleven songs on the album he wrote eight and co-wrote two others. An innovative guitar player, he was never afraid to experiment with techniques for different sound. The group's distinct sound can be directly related to his experimentation. As the success of the band grew his experimentation with drugs such as LSD caused erratic behavior that increased as time went on. This combined with his mental illness led to an increasing lack of participation in the bands musical endeavors. Another guitarist was asked to join the band to compensate for this increasing lack of performance. The band members were not amused with his behavior and by 1968 he was officially released from the band. He released two solo projects. The first album "The Madcap Laughs" was produced by David Gilmour and Roger Waters. It is widely believed that the song "Dark Globe" is a self description of one suffering from schizophrenia. The second album "Barrett", took 6 months to record mostly due to his mental state. It was produced by David Gilmour. On this second album Gilmour played guitar, Rick Wright played keyboards and Jerry Shirley played drums. Most believe the songs on the albums were written in the years before Pink Floyd and that he wrote no songs after leaving the band. During these years he was not in the public eye with regard to his music. With the exception of one performance on radio all of his music was in studio. The one live performance was on June 06, 1970 in London at the Olympia Exhibition Hall. He performed with Gilmour and Shirley. Strangely, he put down his guitar and left the stage after just four songs. He disappeared for a year after a performance on February 16, 1971 where he performed three songs from "Barrett". He formed the band Stars in 1972 but it only lasted a short while. In 1975 while Pink Floyd was recording "Wish You Were Here", he showed up at the session to watch them record "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". The song was written by Roger Waters about Barrett. The band members did not recognize Barrett as he had changed so much as his mental illness had progressed. He continued to shun all public attention. By 1974 he was ready to record again. However, that session only lasted three days. At this time it appears as though he cut his ties with the music business. He sold rights to his solo albums to the record label and moved to a London hotel room. After the funds of the sale were depleted he walked to Cambridge, England where his mother lived and moved into her basement. He lived there for the rest of his life. It was at this time that he reverted back to his given name, Roger Barrett. He had taken the name Syd at the age of 15 after a well-known local Cambridge drummer, Sid Barrett. He changed the spelling to Syd to avoid confusion. From then on he lived his life in relative obscurity and seclusion, turning to graphic art for his creative endeavors. While trying to live a quiet life he was still pursued by journalists and paparazzi. At his death Barrett left an estate of almost $3 million to his two brothers and two sisters. This was largely due to his former bandmates, who made sure that Pink Floyd royalty money was paid to him throughout the years. David Gilmour was quoted as saying, "we made sure the money got to him alright". Interest in his music and curiosity over his seclusion never diminished. (bio by: Julie Karen Hancock (Cooper) Jackson) | |
| Burial: Cremated, Ashes given to family or friend. |
| Ross Shaw Sterling on Findagrave |
