Time for thanks, even though the seasons, time change too fast

The fireplace was cheerful and warm as I sat before it in the rocking chair purchased at our church’s bazaar, eating lunch and glancing out now and then at the yard and hill.

I must not have kept a vigil and lookout for the deer that come to add apples to their Thanksgiving dinner plans, for I couldn’t believe it to see a lone deer having dessert of my rose bushes — inside the fence.

It was a first in all the years that we have had the 6-foot fence around a portion of the place in order to grow and be able to enjoy the flowers without the deer destroying George’s hours of work, that a deer has managed to get inside. Because most of the fencing is on an uphill slope, the height is increased, so how she came to get in and how I happened to see her there is something to ponder.

Once across, I’m sure her looking at me from the other side was to see if I really meant it. I did. She ran off up the hill.

The apples are on the other side, and the later herds were welcome to the fruit no one else had chosen to pick.

Happy Thanksgiving to the animals of the forest and to you and your families. Just be thankful.

*  *  *

Have you ever laughed out loud, even when there was no one around to hear, just because something struck you funny?

I was alone quite a bit as a youngster but never felt lonely, so when this happened to me as an adult I wondered if there was something wrong with me. Could it be that I was my own funny company? No, I assured myself, feelings of all kinds come to all of us regardless of whether we are alone or with someone. You know, to laugh or cry or express pain of one kind or another. It just happens.

Laughter has been a little hard to come by this past year even though I probably put on a pretty good show, so I was a bit surprised when it happened.

Well, on a day recently, a laugh came from nowhere out of the depths and it felt so good that I then wanted to cry. And, it was over such a stupid thing. I was decorating my house with the Thanksgiving theme and was putting out small turkey-formed candles near the horn of plenty. In so doing, I picked up one of them to read the sale tag on the bottom. George had always enjoyed my putting out new decorations every month and I wanted to share this with him. The turkey had cost 12 cents. It wasn’t the price of the turkey that struck me as funny because I knew it would be a price from the “olden’’ days. It was the additional selling point listed on the tag.

“Compare with 15-cents’’ (probably at the competitors).

Maybe that wasn’t so funny, after all, when you realize that it was during a time that 3 cents meant a lot. Do you stoop over to pick up a penny from the ground? I still do.

• • •

The snow fell softly, noiselessly, as though to soften the blow of it, knowing I

wasn’t ready. It was too early in the season. Fall hadn’t yet run its course. The leaves had been chased from the trees too soon. The apples hadn’t met the juicer, the outdoor pleasure of family and friends around the apple press to help and encourage the makings of cider.

Maybe that’s the way of life. Maybe everything seems to come too soon.

Maybe we always think we aren’t quite ready for the changes, for what comes next, and yet we must move on with the forces to find some pleasure, some good fortune, to replace the season just gone by.

It would have been easy to become depressed, I sensed.

The phone rang. It was a friend checking on me just to see if I was OK with the fallen snow. We didn’t talk long, but the sun may as well have come out to shine, for the whole day looked brighter.

Someone out there cared.

• • •

I don’t remember where or when I learned that you don’t put your elbows on the table while eating. I may have been at home or in home economics class at school, but it was a given in polite society not to do such leaning while at the table.

I still believe this is a good rule and I try to follow it, but I also like to make up my own rules at times. One of them is that it’s OK to prop your elbows comfortably on the table while sipping a hot liquid like coffee, tea or hot chocolate, especially after having consumed a hearty Thanksgiving meal.

In this relaxed state, you can better contemplate life and its meaning.

Or, maybe you just want to let your mind wander at will, untroubled by the problems of the world.

So, if you see me propped with a coffee mug in both hands and elbows on the table to form a support triangle, please don’t reprimand me. I may be coming up with a truly terrific column. Oh, to have such good fortune.

Veteran newspaperwoman Dorothy Swart Fleshman is a La Grande native. Her column runs every other Friday. Reach her by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it