My window to the world

I live in a very very tiny farm town in Iowa, when it is nice I am able to sit in my porch and no one sees me behind the screen. I watch the scenes in my little town unfold, sometimes everyday events, sometimes dramatic. My little brick house is set just a bit back from the road next to a church parking lot. This unfolded not to long ago.

Sitting on my porch

A car pulls up, parks in the church lot, which is not 50 feet from my view, a couple is inside.
I can’t really see inside, I hear voices. A loud discussion starts after a bit so I note the license plate, etc., I still cannot see them, a man and a woman from the voices. It gets quiet, it take a good ½ an hour before the officer arrives, the couple get out to speak to him, I see they are older in their 50-60’s. I can only ease drop on a bit of the conversation, but I gathered their daughter was there somewhere and they wanted to either get her or check on her, the officer agreed to do a “welfare visit”. I was imagining all kinds of things, really can get out of hand if I am not careful. Where was the girl, how old was she, was she in danger, did she run away, so many questions.

Believe me I did not move from the porch. Now I was being nosey, I wanted to see what happened. Another patrol car pulls up, both officers walk around the front of the church and disappear. The couple go back to their car and wait. In 20 minutes the officer comes back with a young teenage girl, maybe 18, but she was going home!!! I felt so good about that, the parents hugged her and no one was angry, the couple left with their precious child with them, I felt what a happy ending, she went home, and how terrible of a person that was that must have been harboring her.

A few days later I was doing working my other job, not my favorite one, (medical transcription). I did a dictation on a gentleman 72 years-old who was ill with diabetes, hypertension, depression. He was having a hard time with his 18 year-old grandson that lived with him and was so very distraught. Seems the grandson was in jail for being involved with a young girl!!!!! They were going to live together and the girl had been staying at their home.

Ok, now I admit, this was really strange, but it really made me think.

There are two sides to every story, if you stop to think about what is happening with a one sided view you may never know the truth of the situation. I finished my work and thought long and hard about these two stories and how my feelings were changed.

Smile for the day: Smiles are free

Three lawyers and three engineers are traveling by train to a conference. At the station, each of the three lawyers buys a ticket while the three engineers buy only one ticket.

"How can the three of you travel on one ticket?" asks a lawyer.
"Watch and you'll see," answers an engineer.

Aboard the train the lawyers take their respective seats while all three engineers cram into the restroom and squeeze the door closed behind them.

When the conductor comes around collecting tickets, he knocks on the restroom door and says, "Ticket, please." The door opens a crack and a single arm emerges with a ticket in hand. The conductor takes it and moves on.

The lawyers are impressed with this clever idea. One the way home from the conference, they decide to copy the engineers' technique. At the station, they buy a single ticket for their return trip. To their astonishment, the engineers don't buy a ticket at all!

"How in the hell are you going to pull this off?" asks a lawyer.
"Watch and you'll see," answers an engineer.

They board the train. The three lawyers cram into one restroom and the three engineers cram into the other restroom.

Shortly after the train departs, one of the engineers leaves his restroom and knocks on the other restroom door. "Ticket, please