Visiting The Palms yesterday, I hadn’t realized Taco Tuesday was a thing. The Palms is the sweetest little secret in my little town. Tucked in the back corner of a tiny Casino, I’m becoming a regular there, planning to support more Taco Tuesdays.
Morning Bible study had given me a lot to think about. Focusing on a woman’s role in the world, the words reflected the values and beliefs I grew up with decades ago. Watching successful marriages flourish throughout my family, Christian values brought the older generations of my family a sense of order in their families. After all, there can only be one captain in times of trouble. If not, mutiny would certainly follow.
Members of the Bible study reminded me of members of the farming community of my youth. Everyone being of Senior Citizen status, we shared our confusion over the state of the world today. Not that we could solve world problems as a group of ten. It was a comfort to realize others in the world share my confusion.
Not that the class participants come from similar backgrounds. Not at all. A married couple from Sacramento. Two sisters from an Asian country. Two sisters from a high Sierra mountain community. Two gentleman raised on the high desert. A Hawaiian. And me. Diversity is a complicated word. With similar skin tones, you couldn’t find a room full of people raised in more unlike environments. Each person had their own set of cultural values, slightly different from the next. God and our little town made us a mismatched family of sorts.
Sharing thoughts and questions brought such depth to an hour. I chose well in this little desert church. Like everything else in town, the simple weather-beaten building on Main Street doesn’t begin to reveal the warmth and friendship just waiting for those that walk through the door.
Ill-equipped with any deep Biblical knowledge , my time was spent absorbing background information on people like David and Job. During my youth, I learned all the main stories, riveting and wonderful. But, smaller, more delicate lessons I never heard. These classmates share Biblical names and their relevance as easily as they breathe. How magical to watch the Bible come alive during our study sessions, creating a morning pleasant and informative.
After class, I had a little time to kill before making my way to The Palms, so I stopped by a new boutique on 85A. Windy West is a darling little shop that carries a collection of casual clothing. In the darling store, I picked out a cute navy romper. I’m going to save it for my Girl’s Gone Wild vacation with Miss Firecracker in less than two weeks.
It was then a sweet woman entered the store, a counselor at a local Mental Health facility. It turns out her puppy has been driving her nuts. Five months old, her main complaints took me back two years to my experiences with Oliver. A puppy is like bringing a newborn into your life. I remember getting up every two hours for nighttime potty breaks for Oliver. Scared little whimpers brought me out of a dead sleep to race to his side. The night he was neutered, he and I slept in the rocking chair. I’m such a sucker for his superb acting skills.
In between laughter and true exasperation, we shared our frustrations about our little dachshund friends. We plan to meet for a puppy play date at some point. I hope that comes true because she was such a lovely woman. I can’t wait to meet her silly little puppy. A counselor friend sounds refreshing and helpful.
When the time arrived for lunch, I was famished. Taco Tuesday didn’t disappoint. Carnitas (pork) Street Tacos were delicious. The conversation was delightful and basic. Always fun to get to know someone new and different. Everyone has a story.
Once home, the nicest thing occurred. I received a review of a story I submitted to a contest. Entitled “The Dance”, it was a favorite story of mine about a young boy, bold and defiant, who became one of my all-time favorite students. I can see him in my mind’s eye, trying this and that to get my goat, which he did, many times. But, by the end of the year, through mutual patience, we became dear friends.
When entering my story, I chose to receive a review by professional writers. I was pretty sure it would be a computer generated review with a few standard remarks, lacking insight or personal reflection. Wrong, I received the following email. A one page review, the grammar and punctuation were irrelevant to me. The following words were worth their weight in First Place Ribbons to me.
“After reviewing your story, we wanted to let you know, we ALL LOVED “The Dance”. Although it wasn’t selected as a winner, we wanted to let you know it touched our hearts. Great Job.”
Not first place winner? Ha. Even better. Writer with fans.
Bible stories in my head, a new navy romper, and tacos in my tummy, yesterday filled my happy heart. It doesn’t get better than that! Have a wonderful day!!!