Beauty in Granite Shoals

Here are some more pics from our visit to the Marble Falls area of Texas. We saw our first bluebonnets this year, which is the state flower of Texas. We managed to grow them once in our front bed, but our over zealous mulching and treebark smothered them and they didn't come up the next time around.

We got to play at an old playground that Brian remembered from his visits as a boy. Ivan loved the teeter-tooter, which we have already noted are non-existent in "modern" playgrounds. He found a swing just his size. I didn't dare get on it, for fear of never getting up again! Brian swung on it and his jacket swept the dirt under him. Either the ground has built itself up over the years or the engineer of this thing thought infants highly advanced and able to swing on their own, 'cause even Ivan was too big, his feet dragged on the ground.

After Brian's grandmother died, his grandfather married one of her friends, who happened to live across the street. Her name was Totsie. She worked at one time at the Farmhouse restaurant, where we ate our last meal before leaving the area, perhaps for the last time. She and Brian's granddad used to eat there a lot. People treated her like a celebrity and they had a group of friends who got together each month to celebrate whoever's birthday it was. Unfortunately time had it's toll. As the years progressed, the waitstaff changed and people no longer recognized Totsie. Then the members of the birthday club started dying off, until there was no one left to celebrate the occasions of another birthday.

I really believe that our unattachment with the elderly and more specifically our own grands is a shame on our society. So many other cultures value, honor, respect and involve those who have lived longer, but as a whole, I think we, as North Americans do a pitiful job of loving, valueing and caring for our older generations. We have many elderly who live on our street and it's sad to see that some do not have good relationships with children, or have grown bitter or don't seem to have meaning to their days. I know some are involved with their friends, but like Brian's grandparents, there is not much cross-generational relating. I think we are all missing out. What do you think we can do to change this? Especially with neighbors or family who are growing older and more separate?