A famous childhood actress has died.
Known for her dimples and curly hair, she was loved by all.
She single-handedly turned a bankrupt studio around with her movies.
Even at the age of five, she was the actress everyone wanted to see.

Her movies made you happy.
Life, for the time you watched her films, was a song and dance.
She brought smiles and laughter to our country during hard times.

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The county where I live has been the hardest hit in Pennsylvania during this winter storm.
At the height of the storm, 500,000 people were without power.
In this rural setting, there is no water since you need electricity to operate the well pump.
I have read reports of people collecting water in buckets from dripping icicles.

As hard as it has been on everyone, there have been many blessings as well.

Many supermarkets and many retail stores are closed due to the loss of power.
Many gas stations have no electricity to operate the gas pumps.
Ten schools in our district are without power.
Once the roads cleared, driving at night has been eerily dark.

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Long before the days of cell phones, there were wall phones.
Phones that kept you tethered to one place.
Phones that had cords that were either too short or much too long.

Growing up, everyone seemed to have black phones with a rotary dial.
Soon, princess phones which were sleek in design, appeared.
Targeted to women, these phones had a backlit number display for dialing at night.

No matter the design or the color, you were confined to where the cord could reach.
Inevitably, you needed to reach something just beyond the length of the cord.
You stretched and reached as far as you could without actually laying the phone down.

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I love words.
I love to read them; I love to write them.
I love to arrange them in such a way that they tell a story.

I was in third grade when I had a science teacher who gave us a challenge.
We were learning about making a hypothesis, an educated guess.
She taught us this magnificent word: OBSERVE.

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A few of my close friends have heard me talk about my meadow place.
Only a few trusted friends know the times I have wanted to go there.
That small handful of friends knows the things that would drive me there.

Where is my meadow place?
How often do I go?

We have all had them.
Days that begin wrong.
Mornings that are just a bit off.

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Imagine new snow.
No one has set foot on it yet, marring its beauty.
No snow angels have been imprinted.
No tracks from a fast flying sled.

Imagine a fresh sheet of paper.
Lines begging to be filled with words.
Not a wrinkle or an elephant ear to be seen.
No smudge marks from a smeared pen.

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Resolution.
We hear that word quite a lot this time of year.
Resolution is a course of action determined or decided on.

We make promises to ourselves.
Promises to ourselves, for ourselves, depending on ourselves for their success.
Resolutions are difficult to keep by ourselves.

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We have something planned after church, Mom.
Don’t ask any questions.
Those words were said with a twinkle in their eyes.
Secrets at Christmas time; I’ve learned to follow their directions.

Four years ago, the secret excursion was revealed.
A large present was wrapped, tucked next to the bookshelf.
Hardly inconspicuous, it peaked my curiosity every time I walked by.
I have learned not to peek or shake packages.

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This is the day we decorate for Christmas.
There is something about going up into the attic and bringing down the boxes.
I know what is in each box; I helped pack them away last year.
Every year it is new; every year it is if I am seeing them for the first time.

I like that the Christmas decorations are fresh each year.
I like unwrapping each item in anticipation.
I enjoy remembering where I got each one or who gave it to me as a gift.
A little bit of history packed away and brought out anew.

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We went to a dude ranch.
The children were young and it was the perfect vacation for them.
Anyone who knows me will remember that as a girl, a horse ran away with me on it.
I was a bit skeptical about riding horses, which is what you do at a dude ranch.

I had the excuse of needing to take care of the youngest.
My husband could be the brave one, the nice one, the one who went riding with the others.
I stayed behind, grateful to have four feet on the ground.
But swings sets and shuffleboard only go so far.

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