I'll Call It Like I See It

by sheila morris

Author: Sheila Morris

  • When Insults Had Class

    When Insults Had Class


    When Insults Had Class

    “Some cause happiness wherever they go: others, whenever they go.” – Oscar Wilde

    “His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.” – Mae West

    “I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play, bring a friend…if you have one.” – George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

    “Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second…if there is one.” – Winston Churchill, in response

    Now that’s funny…

    In March, 2007, I was working on a collection of stories that became my first book Deep in the Heart: A Memoir of Love and Longing. One of the few friends I asked for beta reader feedback when I was writing that book was Nekki Shutt, who I met when she moved to South Carolina from Florida to be near her grandparents and attend law school at the University of South Carolina in the early 1990s. She was young, ambitious, a hard worker and became a driving force in the queer community at an early age. We became friends, sister activists, and have continued to laugh with each other for more than thirty years.

    On March 09, 2007, I received an email from Nekki with the subject line “When Insults Had Class!” Good inspiration for your writing, she added.

    The quotes featured above from Oscar Wilde, Mae West, George Bernard Shaw, and Winston Churchill were included in that email I saved for eighteen years because I collect words that entertain me. I hope they entertain you, too.

    One final quote from that email was from Groucho Marx, of the famous comic Marx Brothers. “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.”

    I can say without hesitation any evening with Nekki Shutt is a wonderful one; guaranteed to be full of fun, loads of irresistible laughter, and conversation that will spark the imagination.

    On the other hand, beware Nekki Shutt in a courtroom. Congratulations to a courageous woman who celebrated her eighth anniversary this week as a founding partner in the firm Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, PA. She also was sworn in on May 15th. as the president-elect of the SC Bar Association.

    What I admire most about Nekki, however, is her love and loyalty to friends and family because that’s a core value we share in addition to our commitment to equality and justice for all.

    Nekki, Pretty, Francie and me at T’s belated birthday bash

    I remember when insults had class – but barely – I think I’ll keep this email a while longer.

  • Memorial Day 2025 – living with moral shame

    Memorial Day 2025 – living with moral shame


    Hear ye, hear ye: all those who have ears, listen to a message from moderate conservative political commentator David Brooks:

    “All my life I have had a certain idea about America. I have thought of America as a deeply flawed nation that is nonetheless a tremendous force for good in the world. From Abraham Lincoln to Franklin D. Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan and beyond, Americans fought for freedom and human dignity and against tyranny; we promoted democracy, funded the Marshall Plan, and saved millions of people across Africa from HIV and AIDS. When we caused harm – Vietnam, Iraq – it was because of our over-confidence and naivete, not because of evil intentions.

    Until January 20, 2025, I didn’t realize how much of my very identity was built on this faith in my country’s goodness — on the idea that we Americans are partners in a grand and heroic enterprise, that our daily lives are ennobled by service to that cause. Since January 20, as I have watched America behave vilely — toward our friends in Canada and Mexico, toward our friends in Europe, toward the heroes in Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office– I’ve had trouble describing the anguish I’ve experienced. Grief? Shock? Like I’m living through some sort of hallucination? Maybe the best description for what I’m feeling is moral shame: To watch the loss of your nation’s honor is embarrassing and painful.”

    David Brooks is not a writer I follow with fervor nor is he one I deliberately avoid as a conservative policy wonk; but in the May, 2025, issue of The Atlantic he wrote a piece called “Everything We Once Believed In” which captured feelings I’ve personally struggled to express since the November, 2024, election. As we remember the lives lost by those serving in the U.S. military at home and abroad on this Memorial Day weekend, I challenge us to also remember why they served.

    Shame on us when we forget.

  • Fun with Dick and Teresa

    Fun with Dick and Teresa


    Pretty’s birthday party at home of dear friends Dick and Curtis

    Saskia and Pretty all smiles while Curtis keeps watch over candles

    Dick’s birthday was the day after Pretty’s – much merriment at the dinner table

    (Dick, Bill, and Saskia share laughs)

    a toast for Saskia who became an American citizen this month

    she and her son Finn have been family to us for as long as I can remember

    Curtis, Saskia, Finn, Pretty, Dick, me, and Bill

    thanks to Curtis for the group photo!

    A jolly group – thanks to 14-year-old Finn for lowering the group’s average age, and no thanks to Dick and me for doing the opposite.

    Happy Birthday to Pretty and Dick! We celebrate friendships that have stood the test of decades with laughter and love – that anchor holds us together, and we are grateful.

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

    P.S. Strawberry birthday cake and chocolate covered strawberries courtesy Always Original Bakery in West Columbia. Strawberry cobbler courtesy of Curtis. Strawberry jam made by Saskia. Who thinks Pretty loves strawberries??!! Yummy!!

  • I hope you dance – and they did!

    I hope you dance – and they did!


    In April, 2022, I published this piece which has always been one of my favorites. Fast forward to May, 2025, and well, you’ll see…

    For my actual birthday week, Pretty took me and our granddaughters to the zoo. She carried two-month-old Molly in her car seat, diaper bag on her back, often carrying two-year-old Ella in her left arm while I tagged along with my two bionic knees. We had a small parade of our own. Please know that I offered to rent a stroller when we entered, but Pretty said the line to rent one was too long to wait. There were two people ahead of me. Pretty has never been known for her patience.

    I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,
    You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,
    May you never take one single breath for granted,
    God forbid love ever leave you empty handed,
    I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
    Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
    Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance,
    And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

    I hope you dance… I hope you dance…

    Ella danced with a spoon to the music in her mind

    I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,
    Never settle for the path of least resistance,
    Livin’ might mean takin’ chances, but they’re worth takin’,
    Lovin’ might be a mistake, but it’s worth makin’,
    Don’t let some Hell bent heart leave you bitter,
    When you come close to sellin’ out reconsider,
    Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance,
    And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

    I hope you dance… I hope you dance

    (lyrics to I Hope You Dance by Tia Sillers and Mark Sanders)

    The day was a memory maker, and Pretty deserves an award for creating a magical time for the four of us. I love all my girls.

    I hope they both dance…

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

    And they did!

    Molly and her dance partner in the school recital this past week

    Ella with magical moves – no spoon necessary

    Hey, wait a second. Who’s this little boy?

    Three months after our zoo trip in 2022, Caleb was born to Caroline’s twin sister, Chloe, and her husband, Seth. Caleb loves to dance, too, and we love him. God bless the children.

    (Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along,
    Tell me who wants to look back on their years
    And wonder where those years have gone.)

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

    Slava Ukraini. For the children.

  • Losing Carl

    Losing Carl


    Pretty and I were privileged to share our home and family for the past five years with a little old man named Carl. He was supposedly 12 years of age when he came our way, quite a mess health wise but full of courage and spunk. Carl’s world had shrunk dramatically in the past few months due to a total loss of hearing, limited vision, stage four heart murmur, and arthritis in his back legs that made any movements difficult. His sideways gait seemed to make his sundowner pacing in the afternoons more agitated. On Friday, May 9th., 2025, we said our final goodbyes to this terrier mix. Our pain was one we recognized and remembered, a pain that was still fresh from Spike’s passing six weeks ago.

    Carl reminded me a little of The Red Man –

    I hope they get to meet somewhere to swap stories

    Red could tell Carl about the Lexington County Animal Shelter where Pretty rescued him, and Carl would have a few stories of his own that only he knew. Pretty also rescued him; they could compare notes on how she managed to keep them without running their redemption past any other family members. Pretty knew best.

    Carl in July, 2020 when he came to us

    Carl the dog with nine lives in April, 2022

    Carl on patrol in back yard – he loved his yard

    Carl looking dapper after grooming (April, 2022)

    Carl sharing space with Charly next to my chair in den – 2024

    Carl in April, 2025

    Pretty and I still grieve the losses of Sassy, Smokey Lonesome Ollie, Paw Licker Annie, The Red Man, Tennis Ball Obsessed Chelsea, and six weeks ago our other old man Spike – Carl was loved with that same passion. We will miss his spunk, spirit, bravado, loyalty, and adoration – our home won’t be the same without him. His urn was engraved Carl Williams Morris: A Warrior Heart.

    May he go to the Place of Endless Treats and rest in peace.