Now you know why I go around the corner every summer evening, and sit on my 75 year old friend's porch, surrounded by her neighbors, the dogs, and we just sit and chat, and I bring a tin of my muffins, and the little kids come up on the porch and play with my keychains, and all just CHILL!!!

When someone sees me limping, or I'm in such pain and they go, "how are you", I always say "Hey, I'm just happy to wake up and kiss my husband". That always gets a laugh.

And sometimes, the pain goes away. For me, the pain is gone when it is 95 degrees outside and everybody is croaking and staring at me like I've lost my mind because I'm smiling from here to there.

They are pouring bottles of water over their heads and looking at me and saying 'why the heck are you so happy, it's 95 degrees, aren't you melting?" and I respond. "Are you serious??" NOTHING IN MY BODY HURTS in this weather. I could live in the Sahara Desert (if I could afford it, I probably would".

So from about May till October, everybody sits outside or we all go on Vivian's porch and just chat about what we saw on tv, or what new outfit someone is wearing. But what they all love is when I go home, and bring over some new gadget I had just bought.

You should have seen all of them, when I took out my Vidalia Onion Shopper and I was chopping my veggies on Vivian's porch.

Now it's January. But by May, when I go on her porch, I'll bring my One touch Can opener, my Reynold's Handi-Vac, and my Pedegg, and my Tater Mitts, and I'll do informercials on her porch.

They'll laugh their heads off.

That's when I say "life is good".

melody