My Almost Unbelievable Story About Theo of Golden

 When I heard about Theo of Golden  I was immediately attracted. Now at age 88, I kinda plod along in a book, reading and rereading to make sure me old memory retains important parts; but ALL the words in Theo were important. I kept wishing I had journaled my impressions as I read, but I would never have finished. I did, however, write down one portion which moved me to my core.

I won't tell you which of the beloved characters is speaking, or what occurrences sparked the exchange so that there will be no "spoiler" involved. Here we go...

"There's justice and there's mercy. If you're not sure what to do, and you've got to choose one or the other, I say always choose the mercy way. If you make a mistake, make it for mercy. Bad mercy don't hurt nearly like bad justice. And always remember, the eye of God can see."

Today I read an interview on Facebook with Alan Levi, the author of Theo.

He was asked if he had a favorite portion or character from the book. Of course, that was a difficult question, but he did mention one segment which was very special to him. He only said it was later in the book and mentioned the character who spoke it. I cannot describe how I felt as I read his words and realized he was relating the very one thing I had written down

from the whole book.

 

I'm always uneasy about posting anything that might seem braggy! It is NEVER my intent. Anything good about me is JESUS. But this was just too amazing 

for me not to relate. What are the odds? (1) That the interviewer would have even asked this in the first place. (I would never have thought of asking the author to narrow his magnificent book to one anything.) (2) That out of all the things I read and wanted to remember, this is the one I wrote down. (3) That I would even 

see the article on Facebook today. I can't find it now!

I have never read anything quite like Theo of Golden.

I felt like I was nestled into a cocoon of peace as I cherished 

every word and loved every character.

Yes, my world was impacted.

The Lynn Girls' Staycation!!!

No passport required for my recent staycation! My cousin Sarah did have to deal with plane delays coming here to join me from Colorado, but I tracked her from the comfort of my home, our destination for the week. We had sunsets as pretty as a cruise ship, but that's where  the comparison stops! No room service or tidied room or lavish entertainment. We "made do" quite well, however!

Sarah's "Stateroom"

It was almost Mother's Day, so I had treats for our first day sent by Jay and Terri! Flowers and amazing cheesecake delivered to our vessel!!!

We couldn't have planned better entertainment than we had on the night after Sarah arrived. She and I had both read the book Remarkably Bright Creatures, and we were able to watch the movie together on Netflix. 5 stars from us!

Saturday we met my lunch bunch at the Blue Mound Cafe for Monte Cristo sandwiches. Out of the six of us in the group, 5 wear hearing aids so there were lots of "huhs?" and yelling! And lots of fun and laughter! Honestly, that's kinda like some of the tables at which I've sat on cruises! We were remiss about taking pictures, but Sarah got a couple...one of 4 of us checking out and then our extraordinary effort at a senior selfie!

I know you wish you could have been there!!!

We had a great Saturday afternoon celebrating Mother's Day early at the Metzgers! The drought on pictures continues. Susan had set beautiful tables for 13 of us to have pizza and her homemade Mama's Pizza salad! We raked in quite a lot of gifts and ate quite a lot of pizza! It was so much fun. Random pics:

Sarah and I enjoyed my unique Mother's Day gift from the Metzgers--King's Hawaiian pizza bites with cheese dipping sauce. Very special! My daughter knows me well!

All the moms got those pretty cups of kalanchoes!

There was a pool prettier than any cruise ship pool, but Sarah and I passed on the swimming!

Sunday morning we went to "Sunday School" with my lovely class of friends.  Sarah has been with me before, so she was warmly welcomed back. We stopped at Taco Bueno for a very exotic lunch of Taco salads! 5 stars for those, too!

No visit could be complete with breakfast at Old South Pancake House. We are piggy about the German pancakes. 

Another must for us it Gracie Lane and its Rose Garden Tea Room and shopping! We had a delicious lunch, brought our coconut and chocolate pie slices home, and bought new almost matching sunglasses! Actually, it was quite embarrassing that I parked myself in their "Man Cave" while Sarah shopped!

 

Sarah was an accomplished thrift shopper even before it became a craze. So we went to Nu 2 U Resale in Pantego as our next stop. She found several amazing items. It is a fun place to shop!

The only television show we both watch faithfully is Survivor on Wednesday night. For our watch party we ordered Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes from The Cheesecake Factory. I cannot describe these, but nothing says party like they do IMHO! 

Oh...and I mustn't forget our feast at Mac's Bar & Grill. I had my old faithful chicken fried steak, and Sarah had orange roughy, which were only slightly better than the Mac's salad and bread we had for starters! And our darling server actually had an aunt who lives in Cedaredge, CO, which no one has ever heard of but is where Sarah lives! Quite surprising!

Sarah so generously makes memory books for me for all our visits together--whether here or there! Fancy, elaborate memory books. I have always wanted to place them in a display basket. 

We did some basket shopping, and this is what I now view about umpteen hours a day as I lounge in my recliner!

There are so many hours of joy represented in that basket.

It is a constant reminder of happy days.

I haven't mentioned how much Sarah helped me while she was here. My stamina and energy seem to have retired, and hers haven't. She fixed our meals and snacks and tidied up while I lounged. She is very neat and ambitious. She tucked me in at night and prayed for me. It was pretty heavenly. 

There's a lot to be said for a good staycation if you're with a 

Sarah Ellen Lynn Festger (SELF)

I can't wait for the next one!