Reflections From a Country Girl

How do you feel about getting old?

Do you wish you could find the fountain of youth and be young forever? Read the rest of this entry »

Over the weekend there was a film festival in Columbia. Did you know about it? The Columbia Film Crawl has been around for the last few years and it’s a great opportunity to celebrate the creative abilities of local film talent in South Carolina. The South Carolina Arts Commission is the driving force behind it…but there are many supporters who make it happen.

I have a vested interest in it, I must admit.

You see, my son is a young independent filmmaker who lives here and has a passion for making movies.

He’s had a camera in his hand since he was four and he doesn’t want to put it down for many things.

I’ve always supported his efforts, though I am very glad he did get a degree in Media Arts at USC. Since he’s a hands on kind of guy, getting that degree was not always as motivating to him as it was to me. He hung in there, though, and I am proud of him for accomplishing that.

So when he entered this film festival competition called “The Toaster Film Festival” for the second time I was not surprised. He and some of his colleagues put the film together pretty quickly and it was off to the competition. Months went by and they heard nothing.

Then, one day a letter came. It congratulated them for taking first place honors.

Saturday we celebrated publicly at the Nickelodeon Theatre with the others that were there.

It was a great time meeting the actors, the other creative minds, the other like minded movie lovers.

Yes, we celebrated…just like the song suggests you do when you have something to be proud of.

I’m glad my son does what he does. I’m proud of him for continuing down the path he is passionate about.

My wish for you today is that, if you have children, you encourage them to follow their dreams and support them along the way. There’s nothing more fulfilling than to see your baby grow into a young man and follow his dreams. If you don’t have children, my wish for you today is that you support young people whenever you have a chance…and, of course, celebrate with them as they succeed in their efforts…encouraging them when there are bumps along the way.

~ Joellen

I love picnics.

I also love to play dress up.

I suspect I had too little time doing that as a little girl and I’ve tried to catch up with that all my life whenever I could. I’ve even been known to buy an evening dress without an event to wear it to…and THEN find one where I could slip it on and go out on the town!

Yes, it’s true.

When an acquaintance invited me to come read from my book, and sing at a special “Picnic in the Park” at Ebenezer Lutheran Church, I jumped at the chance. After all, the song Strolling in the Park One Day does talk about doing just that in the merry month of May…and that was one of the songs I love to sing.

They said they wanted me to come dressed in hoop skirt, bonnet, parasol, and other period attire and they were equally delighted when I said I could bring a gentleman friend with his frock coat, cowboy hat, etc.

We arrived at the appointed time and it was wonderful. The place was decorated like a park and “picnic” tables were set and ready for a homemade feast.

There were many women there with amazing hats on, little girls all dressed up in their finest, and a park that was decorated just right for telling stories, singing songs and having my honey play up to me during some of the activities.

There were several women there with dresses on that belonged to their mothers. Considering those women were “mature” themselves, the dresses had to be pretty old…but they were stunning. Many of the ladies had stories to tell about their unique clothing. I think there were lots of them there that still loved to play dress up – just like me.

When all was said and done, my escort was the only man there.

I have to tell you, he loved it. How many men would have the opportunity to be the only one in a room full of lovely women?

He is still talking about it days later. He just finished asking me when the next one was!

My wish for you today is that you are able to go strolling in the park one day soon. Things like this make life more interesting and certainly open opportunities for one to share their talents – or to just go and have a great time!

~ Joellen

I stopped at my favorite gas station at 3:15 this morning to get a cup of coffee.

The man behind the counter looked at me inquisitively but didn’t ask. I could tell he wondered what in the world was I doing up that time of morning. He usually sees me a few minutes before eight o’clock getting an occasional java as I head to work. I didn’t offer an explanation but the coffee was really good and I needed it.

After all, I didn’t go to bed last night till after 11.

So why was I up that time of morning, you ask?

I had some friends who were on their way to Costa Rica this morning. They will be gone of 12 days and I offered to drive them to the airport.

They had to be there at the ticket counter a little after four. Since they lived in Forest Acres and I live in Irmo, it would take me 30 minutes to get to their place and another 30 minutes to get to the airport from there.

At least that’s what I thought.

However, driving the speed limit, it took much less time both ways…even stopping to get a cup of coffee.

Have you ever driven through Columbia in the early morning hours?

It is amazing how few of the many traffic lights are red at night. I literally had to stop for two red lights and the rest were green. It’s a speeders paradise BUT not something you want to be tempted to do…especially that time of morning.

There were few cars on those roads. 126 had two drivers other than me the whole way in. Downtown was just the same…except for the one SUV that had been pulled over by a city policeman. There were three other patrol cars with that one traffic stop. I suspect they were all there because there were no other calls.

Once I picked my friends up and traveled back through town to the airport it was just as quiet.

I’ve never seen the city so serene. It was almost like time stood still…and it was a beautiful site.

Even the interstate had a different flavor at that time of morning.

My wish for you today is that you take a closer look at the city and how beautiful it is. We are often so busy getting from one place to the other that we forget to look at our surroundings to see just how fortunate we are to live here. Be aware of where you are and who is around you – but savor the blessings we have at living in such a lovely place.

~ Joellen

According to recent Nielsen Ratings, Americans are watching less television these days.

Could that really be true? Are we becoming a healthier society with fewer couch potatoes?

It has media researchers in a quandary and marketers in a tizzy.

There’s not much question to me what may be happening.

For one thing, now you can see most of the major shows on the internet…anytime you want them after the actual show has aired. That means, of course, that if you have a blackberry or some other kind of devise like that, you could literally sit on the bench in a park during lunchtime and watch that show you missed last night.

Heaven forbid that you would have to miss one if you were out taking a healthy stroll or playing with the kids in the backyard.

Right?

Then there are always the fancy DVD capabilities to record a show. I still use VHS if I feel the need to record anything but why would I even do that if I know I can get it on the internet?

No, I suspect we are watching just as much as we did before…but now we can view shows when it’s convenient for us. Before long, it may make little difference when it comes on…just as long as it’s available in other media outlets. Think about it. You can get entire season offerings of many a show on DVD at the store and just take a weekend to watch it all…with NO commercials.

Now that’s a thought.

My wish for you today is that you find a healthy balance of watching television and spending quality time with friends and family. Television is not essential, but being with family and friends can make you a much healthier and happy person.

~ Joellen

I think I’ll go for a walk.