I'll Call It Like I See It

by sheila morris

For any who want more, complete list of all posts by month since 2011
  • Life Lessons from Downton Abbey Characters

    Life Lessons from Downton Abbey Characters


    “You know me. Never complain, never explain.”

    Actually, you might not know who “me” is because these are lines spoken by Violet, the Dowager Countess, in Season 5 of Downton Abbey.

    Pretty and I are now members of a movie group that began last week with a viewing of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale at The Nickelodeon. We loved Downton from its beginning in the US on the little screen in 2011 and needed no coercing to go see the latest (and possibly final) movie on the big screen

    I have now officially gone down a rabbit hole on quotes from Mrs. Patmore and others in the Downton series. “You can’t spend too long on a one-sided love,” said Mrs. Patmore to Daisy in Season 3. If only I’d known that sixty years ago.

    Mrs. Patmore, the cook for the family, was passing her pots and pans to the young Daisy who was next in line to take over the kitchen reins. She delivered what I found to be the most compelling lines in the Grand Finale movie: “Our lives are lived in chapters – and nothing is wrong when one chapter ends and another begins.” Hm. What do you think about that? I’ve found the lines are often blurred between endings and beginnings, especially when one person sees the ending and another person doesn’t. Chapter be damned; life is messy.

    “We must all have our hearts broken once or twice before we’re done,” said Mrs. Hughes, the head housekeeper, in Downton’s Season 4. Tell it, Sister.

    Mr. Carson was the Butler of Downton Abbey throughout the series and one of my favorite characters. “The business of life is the acquisition of memories. In the end, that’s all there is,” he said in Season 6. Make memories every day, okay?

    Finally, I’ll close with a quotation from Cora, Lady Grantham, in Season 3: “I think accepting change is quite as important as defending the past.” When Cora spoke, everyone listened.

    Thank the gods of the little screen and the big screen for Julian Fellowes, the great philosopher who was the creator and writer for the characters we came to know and love in Downton Abbey.

    Do you have a favorite line and/or character from the series?

    You know me. Never complain, never explain.

  • The Mystery of the Irregular Butterfly Visitor

    The Mystery of the Irregular Butterfly Visitor


    Migration? Visitation? Celebration?

    photo taken Sunday, September 21, 2025

    An irregular visitor to our backyard, startling me with its beauty and attempts to communicate something that remains a mystery since my first sighting of this butterfly in August, 2018, followed three years later in September, 2021, and then again in November of 2023.

    Even with my rudimentary knowledge of butterflies, which is less than rudimentary, I understand this is not the same butterfly because the life cycles of adult butterflies are measured in days or weeks, rarely months, and never years.

    But sometimes my mind takes flight in a fantasy which allows me to feel this particular butterfly that flew around me yesterday was an old friend who pops in for a visit periodically to remind me that the spirits of my family buried in the Texas soil of Fairview Cemetery in Grimes County have never been totally gone from the person I became because of them. Somehow this butterfly comforts me, gives me hope.

    And that’s a good thing, as my Aunt Lucille was fond of saying.

    See you next time, my butterfly friend. Safe journeys.

  • honesty is the best policy, or is it?

    honesty is the best policy, or is it?


    Half a truth is often a great lie.

    Actions speak louder than words.

    Once in a blue moon, we catch someone red-handed when they are trying to pull the wool over our eyes.

    Caught with their hand in the cookie jar, weaving a web of lies, playing fast and loose with the truth.

    crying wolf together

    An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

    ********************

    I’ve always been partial to idioms – stay tuned.

  • Celebrating LGBTQ+ Advocacy: A Legacy Gala Reflection

    Celebrating LGBTQ+ Advocacy: A Legacy Gala Reflection


    Being celebrated for our work in the LGBTQ+ community in the midlands of South Carolina was a remarkable experience last week for Pretty and me. We wanted to share a few highlights with our friends in cyberspace, too.

    Are you a friend of Dorothy?

    a code phrase back in the day which was translated to mean

    “are you gay?”

    Teresa (a/k/a Pretty) and me outside the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, South Carolina

    the First Lady of the event and a dear friend of ours for three decades

    Harriet Hancock, for whom our community center was named

    Pretty and another warrior friend, Nekki Shutt

    daughter-in-law Caroline with Dick Hubbard looking dapper

    Dick is an institution himself – has been in the trenches with us

    from the beginning 35 years ago

    The Legacy Award

    Pretty and I accepting award presented by last year’s winners

    Bert Easter and Ed Madden – and Emcee Patti O’Furniture

    (their words were awesome, moving, inspiring)

    Drew and Caroline made us proud for their love and support

    a bit of foolishness after the ceremony – I look like James Cagney

    A perfect evening of celebration for Pretty and me as we learned about the current projects spearheaded by the Harriet Hancock Center and met young leaders with their own moving stories like Elliot Naddell who was named the Youth Advocate of the Year, PJ Whitehurst, the Community Advocate of the Year, and Senator Tameika Isaac Devine, the Political Advocate of the Year whose support as an ally of the LGBTQ+ community is historic.

    Organizations like Can Community Health recognized as the Health & Wellness Organization of the Year, the Nickelodeon named the Arts & Culture Organization of the Year, and the Rainy Day Fund which was selected as the Community Partner of the Year.

    Teresa and I were honored to be included with these current champions of causes so dear to us. You all share our legacy of “speaking the truth boldly, loving fiercely, and ensuring that future generations inherit a state where equality is not questioned but celebrated.”

    Thank you, thank you, thank you to those who nominated us, to Harriet Hancock and the Center for selecting us, and to all our friends and family who showed up to celebrate on a magical night that stirred memories, inspired hope, and cast out fear.

    No longer a secret, never again silent. These words by the Hancock Center Executive Director Cristina Picozzi and Board President Matt Butler must be etched in our collective consciousness from this day forward. They are not just a theme for a gala but a mantra for everyday living. The struggle is real.

    Onward.

    *************************

    Guess what? We discovered over the weekend that we have lost our actual Award! There was a misunderstanding about who took the blue box containing the award home post Gala. Turns out none of us picked it up because we thought someone else had it. We have contacted the Columbia Museum of Art and the Harriet Hancock Center but, alas, no luck. If anyone has any information concerning its whereabouts, PLEASE contact us. We would love to solve the mystery!

    P.S. I would also love to credit all photos but I lifted the images from multiple places. Thank you to all who took pictures including Erin, who gets extra credit because she drove from Charleston to celebrate with us.

  • Bennie the Superstar: A Journey from Bottle to Big Boy

    Bennie the Superstar: A Journey from Bottle to Big Boy


    For the multitude of readers requesting an update on our little bottle-fed Summer Superstar, we have good news. Cheryl, Bennie’s new Upstate Mom, sends us pictures and videos showing Bennie’s good fortunes.

    Bennie learning to eat with his three Big Brothers –

    he’s a Big Boy now – one of the guys!

    he loves to run and chase the Brothers,

    but then he gives everyone a rest when he takes a break

    Thanks to the US Postal Service for preserving Bennie’s sweet face (or some other lucky puss) on a Forever Stamp. It’s a collectible, right?

    And thanks to Cheryl for the updates, pictures, videos – we miss him and are grateful to her for keeping us in touch.

    Pretty has a new bumper sticker on her work truck:

    You go, Pretty.

    Onward.