I'll Call It Like I See It

by sheila morris

storytelling for truth lovers

  • Happy Birthday to our own Millenials

    Happy Birthday to our own Millenials


    Last night we celebrated our son Drew’s birthday with dinner at Dee’s Wings for his favorite ribs in town (mine, too) plus another all-time favorite of his (and everyone else at the table): the brownie sundae dessert. I asked Drew at dinner what words of wisdom he had when he considered his life on his thirty-ninth birthday. He looked thoughtful and said I’ve learned family is the most important thing in life. I believe he’s right.

    This morning I searched my archives and found we celebrated another birthday dinner five years ago in 2019 with our own favorite Millenials. Enjoy!

    Number One Son and Pretty Too

    This week Pretty and I had dinner with our Number One Son (Drew) and his wife Pretty Too (Caroline) to begin the celebration of their August birthdays. They are our very own Millenials and we love them dearly.

    This picture was taken recently by a friend of theirs – they are all smiles because next year they hope to be holding one Ella Elisabeth James, their daughter who is expected in October.

    Pretty and I are all smiles, too! Our children and grandchildren are our hope for not only our family but also for our country. May the promises of America become a reality in their lifetimes.

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

    Two new little girls have been added to the family courtesy of our two Millenials since that birthday celebration in 2019, and last night after dessert we walked outside to visit a local street fair where a woman brought smiles to all by making balloon art and princess headbands. 

    Ella Elisabeth James was, indeed, born October 01, 2019, and younger sister Molly followed on January 26, 2022. Pretty happily morphed into Nana when Ella started talking, and I became Naynay. We’ve never looked back.

    Molly looking for Birthday Daddy

    (who was resting in the car to let brownie sundae settle)

    Stay tuned.

  • laundry, laundry, everywhere – and not a Cat to see

    laundry, laundry, everywhere – and not a Cat to see


    Today was house cleaning day at our place, and I made a poor decision by choosing to do laundry for one of my chores plus cleaning two bathrooms for the other one while Pretty wisely opted for changing sheets on our bed and vacuum duties. I had forgotten how many piles of laundry were scattered around the house, but I got an early start to tackle the job, took breaks whenever I needed to walk Carl outside to make sure he stayed away from the empty chasm that was our pool a mere two days ago. We needed a new pool liner which is not accomplished by waving a magic wand.

    Pretty still smiling, thank goodness, in the midst of pool chaos

    (must be her new hairdo!)

    I miss the little Cat that kept me company, made me laugh

    laundry, laundry, everywhere – and not a Cat to see

  • what a difference a month makes

    what a difference a month makes


    The Presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President DonOLD Trump on June 27th. sparked a cataclysmic chain reaction that saw eighty-one-year-old President Biden change his mind about continuing his re-election campaign on July 21st., endorsing the candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris instead. And the race was on with the Dems suddenly energized, emptying their pocketbooks with support for Harris.

    Meanwhile, the games of the XXXIII Olympiad began three days later on July 24th. with more than 10,000 athletes competing in Paris, France across so many events Pretty and I couldn’t possibly keep up with them for the next seventeen days of nonstop coverage streaming on a gazillion TV channels from five o’clock in the morning until way too late at night. But we tried our best. Tennis in week one, basketball in week two with track and field, swimming, diving, equestrian, fencing, even surfing in Tahiti in French Polynesia which is a long, long way from Paris. We did draw the line at break dancing which was new to the Olympics in 2024 and a bridge too far for us to cross. Maybe in 2028.

    I took a break from live streaming sports Tuesday in the midst of Hurricane Debby to tune in for the excitement of VP Harris’s running mate selection. Governor Tim Walz, or as I have dubbed him Coach Happy Tim, was announced on August 6th.; his choice has been a popular one so far with the Harris/Walz ticket drawing extraordinary support in their rallies across the country this week.

    The Olympics ended today which left me feeling at a loss over my prospects for next week’s streaming opportunities, particularly in those early morning hours when Carl’s wakeup call sounds at 5:30 a.m.

    What a difference a month makes. Life seems to be speeding past this year with record winds blowing change in every direction, or maybe hurricane season is beginning.

    Hang on. Stay tuned.

    Our Cat after Hurricane Idalia one year ago

    (missing since July 3rd.)

  • between the lines, outside the lines – who defines the lines?

    between the lines, outside the lines – who defines the lines?


    Hurricane Debby’s destructive force slowly zigzagged across Georgia and the Carolinas this week following its first landfall on the Florida Gulf Coast; bringing tornadoes, flooding rains, and swollen rivers along its path toward a final destination in the Northeast. At least eight deaths have been recorded from the hurricane according to PBS. While our Midlands area in South Carolina was spared the deadliest blows, the rains started early this week and reminded me of the biblical tales of Noah’s Ark. I felt like it had been raining forty days and forty nights when it was only Tuesday.

    Yesterday the granddaughters’ summer day camp was closed because of the hurricane which meant four-year-old Ella and two-year-old Molly had to stay inside at home while Mama Caroline worked from home. Nana and Naynay joyfully reported for duty to help, bringing french fries from Rush’s.

    both girls happy to see fries

    Naynay encourages sharing while Nana takes pictures

    Molly had show and tell for her antibiotic –

    Ella worked on vision therapy

    As if by magic, Ella learned to color lines and inside the lines this summer so our morning activities included extensive coloring by both girls. I told Ella her Naynay had always colored between the lines which made Pretty LOL while she reassured Molly not everyone colored inside the lines all the time. That Pretty, always the rebel.

    Rivers not far from our home continue to rise from the heavy rains, neighbors and friends struggle to remove downed trees, to have power restored, to clear debris from roads, to begin the long recovery process from Debby’s disastrous forces.

    We give thanks not only for our safety but for all the first responders who continue working to expedite the recovery process. I hope our followers in cyberspace will join us as Pretty and I remember the families of those who lost lives, homes, everything they held dear.

    Meanwhile, our granddaughters returned to their summer camp today. I believe Ella will color between the lines, but trust me. She will question who created the lines.

  • mind your own damn business, says Governor Walz

    mind your own damn business, says Governor Walz


    Yesterday Governor Tim Walz became Vice President Kamala Harris’s personal choice to become her Veep in the 2024 campaign. Of course Pretty had vetted the governor before I even knew who he was. We both sat and watched their first campaign event together in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, the birthplace of America.

    When the topic is women’s reproductive rights, follow the yellow brick road repaired by a Wizard named Walz in his home state of Minnesota six months after the Dobbs decision by the Supreme Court in June, 2022, that took away a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion. Minnesota became the the first state to restore personal freedom of choice for women in January, 2023, an effort championed by its governor Tim Walz who understood from his own experience that personal health decisions must be personal.

    4-year-old granddaughter Ella watches at Aunt Coco’s house

    Daddy holds 2-year-old Molly while Uncle Seth watches with them

    both granddaughters will grow up with a woman President (hopefully!)

    I like Tim, or as I have decided to call him, Happy Tim. I also had a Civics teacher in junior high school who was a football coach, and I credit that course with sparking my interest in understanding the importance of separation of powers in our government. Coach K smiled a lot, too, but our football team wasn’t nearly as good as Coach Walz’s.

    Onward.

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

    P.S. Thanks to Mama Caroline for pictures used here.