… is to write funny. Funny ha-ha, not hieroglyphics. Ever since I was a precocious child entertaining my aunts and uncles with my fancy vocabulary (and how many jaded adults did I completely annoy the bejeebers out of?), I’ve thrived on making people laugh. I apparently told someone that my name was Agnes Opal from Constantinople (never underestimate the power of a mom who reads to you), and it stuck. To at least one uncle I’ll always be Agnes Opal.
That episode is vaguely embarrassing to me now, but the joy of spitting out genuinely funny stuff embedded itself in my psyche early on. I sit here every day and read the giggle and belly-laugh producing stuff my blogger friends post, and wish I’d thought of it. That’s me being honest, folks.
But life is life and truth is truth. And what I’m apparently programmed to write about is memories. I have a lot of them, and I now have the dubious distinction of being the eldest in my immediate family. Both sets of grandparents are gone. My parents are gone. All of my in-laws are gone. My brother is gone, and even though he was the youngest, he had the closest ties to the farm and would probably remember things I never knew. My sisters moved away fairly early on, and are both younger than I, so by default I’ve become The Keeper of the Secrets. For the most part, they’re secrets that need to be told for preservation’s sake … and the mission seems to have fallen to me.
The truth to which we’re all called to be faithful is this …
Playing for Time 
Oct 11, 2014 @ 15:31:04
Judy…Agnes Opal is a name I remember. Your Uncle Jerry must have picked up on it because I remember him tagging someone with it. Now I know who he borrowed it from. Your Dad was quite clever when it came to giving people different names too…like “Sally PuddinSnoop” etc.. He was so entertaining and he was a natural.
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Oct 13, 2014 @ 09:45:08
Uncle Jerry’s the one who always calls me Agnes Opal and I love him for it. And yes, my dad had a name or an expression for just about everyone. I really miss all that.
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Feb 24, 2013 @ 11:35:29
Nicely done, and a good chuckle. Thanks.
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Feb 24, 2013 @ 11:45:06
Thanks for stopping by — I’m happy to know you enjoyed this.
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Feb 24, 2013 @ 10:57:28
Yes the most important thing to be is honest
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Feb 24, 2013 @ 11:00:36
Above all. A discerning reader spots a phoney in a heartbeat and you’re done.
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Feb 24, 2013 @ 10:17:42
I love your stories. Your writing is witty, touching, and smart. I, too, often read what others write and wish I was that funny.
Btw, you may have been Agnes Opale from Constantinople, but I was Rella Romanash from Romania!
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Feb 24, 2013 @ 10:20:31
Rella Darling, we are sisters, there are no two ways about it. And thank you for your sweet comment!!
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Feb 24, 2013 @ 10:09:26
Being funny really is a gift.
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Feb 24, 2013 @ 10:13:45
And one that can be neither faked nor forced. My personal-best role models are the truly funny people of the world — they help make life so very happy!
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Feb 24, 2013 @ 10:19:05
So true. Do you like the Pink Panther movies?
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Feb 24, 2013 @ 10:22:14
Love them. Inspector Clouseau’s lines (and delivery) are killer!
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Feb 24, 2013 @ 10:23:43
🙂 You have excellent taste, woman!
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Feb 24, 2013 @ 10:25:55
Why thengk you.
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