B is for Boob

Not the breast kind of boob. I mean the kind that knows she has made ABC notes on a particular pad of paper and that pad of paper is somewhere in this house, but still she can't find it.

Boob, blunderbuss, blockhead. That's what I feel like. I've just spent the better part of an hour - the time I should have used writing - looking and re-looking in every spot I could have put said paper. Then, just as I gave up hope, there it was, under the only stool I didn't turn upside down twice.

Blunderbuss is a pretty good "B" word - appropriate and timely. But I woke up this morning think about Winnie the Pooh and his love of balloons, which matches closely my own affection for helium filled laytex smile makers. Even before balloon bouquets became popular I believed that big handfulls of colored balloons with curly ribbon tails would make perfectly lovely surprises that easily say, "I love you!" "I'm sorry," "Happy Birthday!" "Get well," or, as in a story my sweetie recently shared with me, "Will you marry me?"

Get this ... a guy spends a considerable amount of money on an engagement ring he is sure will capture both his true love's eye and heart. He decides a rather unique way of presenting the ring is to put it inside a helium balloon. Well, you know what happened without my even telling you. Yes, before he was able to fall to his knees, declare his undying love, and pop the question, a gust of wind snatched the balloon out of his hand and took it to that place in the sky where all carefree balloons go. Talk about feeling like a blunderbuss!

And that is not the end of the story. Seems that the woman of the man's dreams did not take the news too well that her engagement ring was riding a jet stream of air to unknown destinations. In fact, it turned out their communication styles were totally out of sync. The man soon decided that marriage to this unforgiving woman was not in his romantic stars. Saved by a wayward balloon!

One of my favorite balloon stories is the time when members of our church were asked to pray for and try to cheer up a young man who was unfortunately dying from cancer. His days were numbered. His spirits ebbing. I didn't know the man, but I wanted to do something. I believe that a multitude of prayers can work miracles. However, I felt like the situation called for something more tangible. So I called a flower shop and asked that they deliver a great big bunch of brightly colored balloons. I mean, really, how can you go wrong with a rainbow of inflated laytex? For that particular day and time, the guy was able to forget about his illness and spend some time smiling. I'm really glad I trusted my gut on that one. If you're ever stuck in a situation like this, go ahead - err on the side of balloons.

This same guy's son is in the Army, serving in Afghanistan. We don't know each other, but I've sent a few letters, again, trying to come up with something that might take his mind off the fact that he's so far from home and all the people he loves, and, oh by the way, in the middle of a war zone. How fun would it be to send him some balloons? Maybe he'd share one or two with little brown-eyed Afghan children whom, I'm sure could use a little pick me up. Now that would make me smile.

Here are some other fun "B" words:

bodacious

bruhaha

bouillabaisse

booger

bezerk

bugaboo

birthday

balloon belly as in: "I couldn't pronounce Arnold Schwarzenegger, so I called him Balloon Belly."
(Joe Gold)

My favorite "B" people would have to be: the Belchers

Signing off, I'm headed for my "B"ed,

Merry ME