Random Thoughts: Turning tide causes disappointment
Recently I was eating lunch at my kitchen table. There was a pretty bottle of Carapelli extra virgin olive oil, produced in Florence, Italy, setting there. The summer sun sent a bright beam through the oil, such splendor of brilliant golden color you have never seen! All at once, my mind went back to a trip I took years ago to Italy. I don't remember the olive trees, but there were vineyards everywhere and on top of each hill there was a village.
The tour went from Rome to Florence to Milan and to Naples. At Naples we took a boat out into the Mediterranean. It was to take us to see the Blue Grotto. The Blue Grotto is a cave beneath the sea. When the tide is out you can take a small boat and enter the opening in the grotto where you will see the beautiful blue interior.
Well, I was certainly looking forward to that. When we arrived each passenger would step into a small, flat boat and be taken by one of the sailors from the large boat. When it came my time I gingerly stepped into the small boat and as directed lay down in the bottom. The sailor bent down and we were just ready to enter when he stopped the boat. No, we cannot enter as the tide was now filling the entrance and that is how I missed one of life's most exciting experiences.
I have just read "Rebel With a Cause," by Franklin Graham, first published in 1952. He not only tells of his early life as a rebel, his religious journey, but also his experiences with "hurting" people in the mid-east, Africa, and South America. A great change came over him and he felt he had some important things to do in helping those people.
We hear about these parts of the world now, sometimes we wonder if they will ever improve their situation.
— NORMA HANNAFORD
