THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 3, 1996 TAG: 9607030066
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Maddry
LENGTH: 68 lines
A COLUMN last week asked readers to mail or fax some freebies which make life worthwhile.
And some - bless 'em - did. Each was a delight to read. Eleanor Skeen of Edinburg Court in Suffolk mailed in a fine list. Three items I especially like are:
You're at the mailbox one day in fall and there's a rushing noise overhead. Looking up, you see huge flocks of migrating birds.
You go for a walk in the spring and see wildflowers at the side of the road. And, in the woods, there's pink honeysuckle.
A night when it's so clear it seems you could almost reach up and touch the stars.
Speaking of stars, Jennifer Oglesby of Waterlawn Avenue in Chesapeake deserves several gold ones for a great list. Wish we could print all the freebies she mentions. Here are some I especially like:
Running breathlessly behind my 5-year-old as she rides her bike without training wheels for the first time.
Walking barefoot through a puddle.
Baking brownies with my girls and fighting over who gets to lick the bowl.
Finding the pet hamster that has been loose in the house for a week.
Listening to my children say their prayers at night. Life doesn't get any better than that.
Pat Stultz of Suburban Parkway in Norfolk writes: ``The older I get the more convinced I become that what I knew all through my life was true - the best things in life are free.''
Here are a few from her list that I really like:
Smelling lilacs and watching birds play.
Cutting an apple crosswise to find a star in the middle.
Sitting on a Ghent fire escape and hearing tugs sound in the river through the fog.
Seeing my beautiful city dress itself in lights for the holidays.
Finding fuzzy caterpillars and warm brown acorns on cold cement.
Hearing my 2-year-old grandson sing his ABCs and count to 10.
Here's a nice list from Kathy B. Silsley of Carter Road in Chesapeake who attached a note. She writes: ``When I asked my son to name some of the better things in life which are free, he immediately said: `Love, courage and friendship.' ''
Here's part of her list:
Sipping coffee on the front porch, listening to the birds and watching the sun come up.
Walking the beach in the evening when just the fishermen and the dogs are out.
Standing in the wet grass after a rain shower and seeing a double rainbow.
Howard Stanley of Bridges Avenue in Portsmouth writes a characteristically gracious letter. He has some good-uns:
When a state trooper pulls you over and you think it's for speeding. He gives you a friendly tip of the hat and tells you your taillight is not working, and please have it fixed at the next service station!
Good neighbors who share the bounty of their vegetable garden.
When someone says ``the check is in the mail'' and it is!
When one of the multimillion dollar sweepstakes writes ``because you have not placed an order with us this year, we are forced to delete you from our mailing list.''
The first time your one-and-only granddaughter says ``I wuv you, grampaw!''
As usual, readers have done a better job than I did. Thanks for the mail and faxes. ILLUSTRATION: Color drawing by JANET SHAUGHNESSY, The
Virginian-Pilot by CNB