no.364

Mr. and Mrs. Webster

They were the parents of my best friend Meggie.  Next to Meggie, they were the best thing that happened to me when I was a kid.

My parents were very good parents.  They did a very good job raising us.  Sometimes I just needed unconditional acceptance though.  Sometimes I needed to go somewhere where if I put my elbow on the table or accidently talked with my mouth full I wouldn't be chastised or sent to my room.

At the Webster's house kids could be kids.  There were six of them.  Three boys and three girls.  Their house was THE house to go to on the street........and I had an open invitation because Meggie was my BEST friend and I was hers.  Oooooo, I felt sooo special. 

Mrs. Webster was a stay at home mom until all of the children were in school and then she went back to teaching.  That's how things went in those days.  Mr. Webster had graduated from Harvard.......we never knew in what, but we knew that he did.  No one understood why he was just a "candy vendor" but Meggie and I didn't care.  Their garage was filled with old cigarette and candy vending machines and we would use them to climb to the loft at the top where we would wile away hours dreaming of what we would be when we grew up and what we would do with a million dollars if we ever had it.  Meggie liked to draw and I liked to write.  We started  The WebRock newspaper, the name taken from both of our last names.  I wrote the editorials.  She drew the fashion page and did other illustrations. 

We didn't care about pedigrees or college degrees.  We only knew that Mr. Webster was the candy man.  Once a week he would bring all the "stale" candy home.  He would pull up in the driveway and children of all ages would come running..... no  more like swarming......  to the old stationwagon he drove.  It didn't matter, to us or to him, that it was almost dinner time.  The Reese Cups and Necco Wafers couldn't wait.  Hands were outstretched............waiting....... grabbing ......... begging.........mouths salivating at the thought of a Snickers or a Baby Ruth.   "Thank you Mr. Webster...............thank you Mr. Webster..........." filled the air.  A candy bar in 1963 was a treat beyond compare.

We sure loved the 'candy man' and his wife.  Me more than anyone, I think.  They gave me something that I might never....no.....I would never.....have known......ever....... if I hadn't known them. 

Meggie and I were best friends from Kindergarten to Seventh Grade.  When we went to high school she started wearing long skirts, frilly blouses and beads and she started smelling funny.  The smell was something like cigarettes.....the way the smell permeated the material of your clothes...........it just smelled different.  I didn't know what it was.  I started wearing short skirts and fishnet stockings and smelled like Tabu and Shalimar.  We never talked about it......and we never had a fight.....we just drifted away from each other. 

When I think of her I can't seem to seperate her from her family.  They, the whole family, were God's provision for me at that time.   A place I could be myself........a place where no one cared whether I was perfect or not...........unconditional love..........what a rush.

Oh, it didn't take me long to find the background I wanted for our weather today. The sky is dark...it was almost black when I took the kids to school at 7am. It is supposed to rain all day today.....not storm....just a constant rain.

Okay, now I have taken a challenge from Ruby, of Ruby's Slippers. She said to think of someone every day (I'm not sure if I'm getting the details right) who has crossed your path in your life and say something about them. I am going to start today. I will try, in addition to whatever other post I am doing that day, to do that. The key word in there is that I will try. Thanks for the idea Ruby!

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No. 365

My choice for today is my second grade teacher, Mrs. Crider. She was a lovely woman. She had prettily coifed hair and smelled good. She had the nicest smile.

I was always a napper when I was a kid. In kindergarten I would always fall asleep during the 15 minute "rest time". It didn't help the "coolness factor" that I snored. Then again maybe being cool isn't that important in kindergarten.

One day, in second grade we were watching a "filmstrip" as they called them back then. I put my head down on my desk and promptly fell asleep. When the filmstrip was done, there was POH, snoring away. Instead of embarrassing me, she told everyone that they were going to have a "rest period" also. She turned off the lights and made them put their heads down on their desks too.

I don't think I was asleep more than a few minutes but I woke up with a start. The teacher smiled the sweetest smile at me and told me that I had a good idea so they copied it. A couple of the boys snickered at me, and I was still embarrassed, but her sweet as honey ways endeared her to me. I have never forgotten her and she is one of the reasons that, although I never finished my degree, I wanted to be an elementary school teacher.

Thanks Mrs. Crider.

Whether you like the style of preaching that I do or not, this short message means alot to me. This is why I worship God. Not for what He does for me. But because of Who He is. Like Jakes says...even if I have nothing...........and no one........I will worship Him......because He is WORTHY to be worshipped. selah.