megan mortarboard

 This word is used in a variety of settings: An act of ridicule:-----"I think that's crazy." Uncertainty----"I think that's right." Astonishment----I think that's amazing!" Inquiry---"What do you think about this?" Warning...."Think before you act." Disagreement..."I don't care what you think." Call to action..."Don't just think about it, do something." Planning....Think ahead." At my age, 82, you experience some lapses of memory.  I think I came into this room to get something, but I don't remember what it was.  It comes with the territory. .I guess you need to feed those brain cells to tone up your memory  Maybe swallow some vitamin supplements? During covid-19 I did a couple puzzles, one 1500 pieces.  That forces you to think, examine, search and compare, to successfully put the puzzle together. Every morning I work on the Washing Post sudoku and word scramble puzzles.  Those can help start...

 My Dad was undeniably my best friend.  He didn't follow sports, which I liked.  He didn't spend time fishing, which I enjoyed.  But he did spend time with me.  As a teacher he had summers off and painted houses in our community for his summer income.  He invited me to join his paint "gang" when I became a high school junior.  I learned the "tricks of the trade" from his tutelage and patience.  I suppose not many persons get a chance to work closely with their parent like I did.  But the time spent together was invaluable to me. "We became friends, not just father and son.,"                     unkown

 I never really liked riding a roller coaster at the amusement park.  It was just a little too much for me.  However, most all of my grandkids enjoy the experience.  So I can vicariously enjoy the ride by watching them. But the real roller coaster of life, for me, came when my son, Greg, was killed.  That was the real ride of ups and downs.  I was called out of a faculty dinner meeting to return home, hearing an accident had occurred.  There were my wife and neighbors facing me with the terrible news that Greg was gone. But guess what...here I am.  Not to dismiss the agony of loss, of which I still feel, I am still standing and maybe stronger than before.  And further, we have a grandson, Greg!  Life goes on. "There cannot be Ups in a roller-coaster ride unless there are Downs." Siddharth Katragadda

 When someone asks, "How are you," a common response is "I feel terrific ."  A basketball player makes an impossible last second shot to win the game, and we say, "that was a terrific play."  We commonly associate this word with positive feeling and acknowledgement of superior accomplishments. I suppose that these mountaintop accents of terrific come sparingly to us in our daily living.  But it is important that we identify and name them.  It was terrific that you helped another in need.  That was a terrific act of courage. That was a terrific performance on stage.  The choir sounded terrific ! Have a terrific day! "I have an old brain but a terrific memory. Al Lewis