Month: July 2021

Today is my mom’s birthday, as many of you know she was born in 1913, no, that is not a typo. My parents were older when they adopted me, the older I become the more I realize what a special upbringing I had. As usual I will be telling you one of my memories of my mom. Today I am going to share one of her memories as she told it to me. So here we go, buckle up, it will be a wild ride.

Shortly after my mom turned 80 I was visiting her, per usual I was waxing on about how perfect she was in my eyes. Not in a sarcastic way, I really believe my mom was perfect.

well, that day she really had had enough, she look at me and said in an exasperated tone that she was not perfect, none of us are perfect. We all sin and we all come short of the Glory of God and should live our lives accordingly. She really wished I would stop saying that especially in front of other people.

I said fine, tell me one time that you sinned, just one, I’ll take anything. She said, well ok then, and we sat there, and sat there and sat there. She finally said, when I was 5 years old, I interrupted her and said you had to go back 75 years! I can go back 75 seconds and tell you one of my sins! I may have gotten a little loud, she said do you want to hear this or not. I said I absolutely do, she she began to tell me the story of what changed the whole trajectory  of her life. 

Before I tell you the story, you have to remember she was 5 years old in 1918, that was a very different time frame than now. Think Little House on the Prairie, it was rural Oklahoma and life was very different.

On this particular day they were doing laundry, that consisted of a big fire, a huge caldron and homemade lye soap. It was my moms’ job to make sure the fire didn’t go out, she was very resentful of this job. She wanted to go play like the boys got to, but she had to stay and help with the laundry.

Her mother told her to mind the fire she was going into the house to get the clothes now that the fire was hot enough and water was boiling. She was told not to let the fire go down, she had a stick she was poking at the fire to make sure the flames stayed just right.

She was mad, she was resentful and she was 5 years old. That is a ripe combination for something bad to happen. Just then their old barn cat walked past, my mother hated this cat, the cat was mean, and she had been scratched more than once. So she took the stick she had been poking the fire with and bopped the cat on the back to make it go away from her. She wasn’t thinking, the stick was on fire, the cat yowled and she saw smoke coming from the fur. The cat ran away from her and right under the house. 

She was horrified, she knew without one doubt the house was going to catch on fire. Her mother came back, she didn’t say a word. She watched that house all day, nothing, she just knew it was going to happen when everyone went to bed.

When night came and she was in bed, she stayed awake all night praying to God. Please don’t let the house burn down, she thought to herself it will kill my whole family. My brothers, my baby sister, my mom and dad. 

Morning came and she ran outside, that cat was sitting not he porch giving her the evil eye. Not burned, just a little singed, she ran inside and got it a saucer of milk. Her mother yelled at her and told her not to give that barn cat any of the milk but she did it anyway.

She said that was the day she knew God was real and she made up her mind at 5 years old to live a life that was dedicated to the Glory of God. She wanted to be like Jesus, she said it wasn’t easy at all, no matter what people see on the outside. 

That day could have been devastating for her family, she said that it could have been devastating for the community. Houses back then were not like houses of today, they were old wood, that could easily catch on fire.

As she ended the story she told me that life is never easy, it is not easy making the decisions that align with Christ, but it is a life worth living.

I never loved my mother more for telling me that story, for showing me she wasn’t perfect and it was a struggle for her as well. 

I still believe my mother would have been canonized if we were Catholic, nothing will ever change my mind about that. 

But knowing she was human after all makes her even more perfect to me.

Happy birthday mom, I know you are having the best time with Dad, Jim, Jesse and Michael. 

Thomas Alexander, today is the day, I can’t believe it has been thirty years since the day you made your first appearance on this earth. It was an amazing day, both your dad and I were so happy to meet you.

You were always so happy and adventurous, you brought so much sunshine and love into our world. You completed our family, until the moment you all grew up and started having families of your own. Then you all added to our family and made it even more complete.

I have always been amazed at your capacity for learning, you are so intelligent, I hope you never lose the love of learning new things. My grandfather used to say that once you lose the will to learn anything new it is time to leave. 

My one word of advice to you comes from him, never become complacent, complacency leads to stagnation and stagnation leads to death. 

I am so proud of the man you have become, you have such an incredible soul, your ability to love and accept others for who they are comes straight from my mom, your grandma Testerman. 

She would be so proud of you and how you have grown up, on this day, your birthday, I want you to know that not only am I proud of you, I look forward to where your future takes you.

I love watching you grow and become who you are supposed to be. You are strong, mentally, physically and emotionally, I know whatever life throws at you, you will be able to take and not only handle it but make it your own.

I hope you know how proud of you I am, how much I love you, how much I look forward to the years ahead. I can’t wait to see what life has in store for you.

Happy Birthday Thomas Alexander Graham Bell, I hope it is your best one yet.

Love, 

Mom.

I am rewatching Smallville, for the I don’t know time, it is one of my favorite Superman incarnations. Not my ultimate favorite, we all know who holds that place in my heart.

I will admit it is a little hard watching Chloe, knowing everything that Allison Mack was doing. Thank goodness Kristin Kreuk had enough sense to not get involved in that mess. 

I digress, I am to the part where Lois has made her entrance,  I like this Lois. All Lois’s have spunk and curiosity. This one has street smarts as well, she is every inch a military brat. I really like they kept her dad a Colonel in this one. In my favorite he is a doctor, Colonel explains so much of Lois’ attitude. 

This one is sassy, fast talking, bad attitude thrown in with a sense of loyalty. Erica Durance plays her to perfection, with a skip in her step and a penchant for jumping before looking, she is a delight to watch.

Others have done a great job as well, but we are talking about this incarnation.

Tom Welling is the perfect mixture of boyish charm and sex appeal. Much like William White on TikTok these days.

He plays a young Clark Kent finding his way in this world with extraordinary abilities. It shows his humanity, he stumbles as any teenager would, he makes mistakes and he is guided by true Middle American sensibilities. Something we could all use a little of these days.

Lana Lang is much more fleshed out than I have ever seen her. She has depth and an actual storyline, not just a love interest for Clark Kent.

My ultimate favorite character on this show is Lex Luthor, he is complex, not just bad. It shows the relationship between Clark and Lex, which had to be there for Lex to hate him as much as he does. True hate doesn’t just happen, it springs from perceived betrayal. The casting of Michael Rosenbaum is perfection, he plays Lex exactly the way I have always pictured him.

I highly recommend this series if you are a Superman fan, it is a fun ride and you get a real sense of how Clark Kent became Superman. What he gave up along the way to achieve that status. What he gained as well, a sense of purpose, love with Lois Lane, who in her own right wants to save the world. 

Brilliant casting with John Schneider and Annette O’Toole as ma and pa Kent, they aren’t called that here, just mom and dad. 

There is also an episode that gives a nod to Schneider’s Hazard roots.

I have often said the CW does DC right, they pay homage to the shows and actors that came before. Casting Christopher Reeves, Dean Cain, Margot Kidder, Helen Slater and Terri Hatcher, to name a few.

I hope everyone has a great day, I have something I am dying to talk about and cannot. Soon.