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
  • Ella’s first soccer match

    Ella’s first soccer match


    four-year-old Ella with her coach (Daddy Drew)

    two-year-old sister Molly on the move behind them

    kids that play together…don’t hate each other when they’re four

    some confusion about where to kick ball

    on final play Ella went down the field and scored

    (luckily for her team!)

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

    Special thanks to another grandmother Lolly for these great photos which captured the joy and innocence of young children. Ella’s Nana and Naynay were far too entertained by the team’s goalie who stood behind the goal to avoid balls being kicked toward him. Focus on the game, grands.

    Unfortunately, Coach Drew will not be available for the next few weeks. He’s having a medical procedure related to an injury he suffered playing league basketball several weeks ago. No genetic testing necessary for Ella’s competitive spirit, and fingers crossed for Daddy Drew.

    By the way, the Republican Primary in South Carolina coincided with Ella’s first soccer match. The results after the polls closed later that evening heavily favored an ex-president who was on the ballot again – thank goodness for the soccer match in the morning which gave me hope for a future generation that focused on the things where, as Maya Angelou said, human beings are more alike than unalike.

  • meet Cassidy Carport Cat

    meet Cassidy Carport Cat


    Yes, I have named the cat that adopted our carport as his home. Pretty and I have searched for a loving home for this little fellow for more than a year, but it turns out he found his own home with us. Sigh. I have resisted the pleas of our family, friends, even followers in cyberspace to name him because I felt that would make him less likely to find an indoor home. This week, though, I talked with Pretty, and she agreed Cassidy is a fine name. I added Carport Cat in honor of our beloved Carport Kitty who was our first feline love.

    Carport Kitty stole our hearts and then…

    and then broke them when we lost her in October, 2022

    No more stray cats in the carport, I declared through my tears to Pretty who nodded. But the best-laid plans of mice, men and me go where? go oft astray? oh no, they go to the strays.

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

    Slava Ukraini. Remember the children.

  • scenes from my hood this week

    scenes from my hood this week


    Remember Cat? He loves snooping in the car when he finds an open door – he still needs that good home with someone who will let him live inside, sit in their lap with pets and purrs aplenty. He has had all his shots, the worrisome knot removed and has been pronounced fit as a fiddle. Won’t you please give him the home he deserves?

    Someone went to the groomer this week – Carl looking good. 100% deaf, sundowner issues every afternoon, still loathes Spike, legs tremble from old age, but the little guy has spunk in spades. He could win an old dog sprinting contest, tail wagging contest in any age group. Plus, have you ever seen a cuter face?

    On a morning walk this week, I passed a tree with premature blooms that will surely freeze next week. Every year when we have warmer weeks in February, the blooming trees are deceived by the warmth, happily burst forth in colorful blossoms, and then frost bites them you know where.

    Valentine’s Day brought sweet wishes from Dawne and Darlene in the upstate – and a good laugh from our friend Rob –

    Speaking of the ex-president, the bad news kept pouring in.

    (MSNBC)

    That’s all, folks. Enjoy an extra day off tomorrow in the US for President’s Day holiday!

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

    Slava Ukraini. For the children.

  • for Pretty on our twenty-third anniversary


    (1) There once was a woman named Teresa

    Who loved a good shrimp quesadilla.

    To Cancun she did roam in two thousand one,

    And when she came home still red from the sun,

    She’d found new love with her best friend named Sheila.

    (2) There once was a woman named Sheila

    Who loved a good shot of tequila.

    To Cancun she did roam in two thousand one,

    And when she came home her journey was done,

    She’d found true love with her best friend Teresa.

    (3) An anniversary of love in twenty twenty-three

    The best of the best has been you and me.

    Wherever we’ve roamed

    We’ve always come home

    Together, believing the best was yet to be.

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

    Happy Anniversary, Pretty. To quote Tina Turner, you’re simply the best – better than anyone could ever have been for me. I am forever grateful that you were the little girl who said yes.

  • In Memoriam: Dianne Barrett


    RECORD THE PAST, INSPIRE THE FUTURE

    Two lesbians who believed in the power of oral history through the preservation of our stories, Dianne Barrett and her wife Marge Elfering, had a vision for a project which became the B-E Collection. In June, 2022 I participated in the first of three interviews with her for that project. I learned yesterday of Dianne’s passing on December 17, 2023 and wanted to celebrate her life well lived with a piece I originally published in the summer of 2022 following that first interview.

    I recently had the privilege of being interviewed by Dianne Barrett who is a co-founder of the B-E Collection. As a personal historian who identifies as lesbian I am, of course, drawn to projects that celebrate oral histories of lesbians and our lives. This is the Mission Statement of the B-E Collection:

    My spouse, Margaret Elfering, and myself, in conjunction with archives such as the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives and the Gerth Archives and Special Collection at California State University Dominguez Hills, will contribute an ongoing series of interviews of lesbians and their careers.  The collection will be known as the B-E Collection: Lesbians and Their Careers.

    The “B-E” of the collection is a shorthand for our last names (Barrett – Elfering).  However, there is a second meaning to our collection’s name:   the verb “be” is also defined as “to exist” or “to occur or take place”.  Our collection is a means of bearing witness to the stories of lesbians of different generations, from different walks of life.

    The mission of this collection is to dignify the accomplishments, pride, and effort lesbians put forth in their careers on their journey in life.  We make oral histories to document our existence then and now.  Many of us had the “don’t talk – say nothing – you are wrong” experience.  Now we are talking.

    We would appreciate a referral of lesbians who might be interested in participating in our project.  We would be more than delighted to speak with anyone who you think would be interested in participating in the B-E Collection.

    Your support is always a gift.

    https://www.b-ecollection.org

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

    Dianne Barrett (December 13, 1941 – December 17, 2023)

    Rest in peace, Dianne, but we will remain restless as a result of your inspiration.

    Onward.

    ​

    ​