Stranger ~ Sunday Scribblings

This week's writing prompt from  Sunday Scribblings is the word "Stranger".  I immediately thought of the great song by Billy Joel (currently playing on my blog's playlist) called The Stranger.  The song is about how we all really have more than one personality, the one we show everybody, and the one we don't.   The lyrics are below.  How often have we accidentally been caught showing our darker side without meaning to let it be seen?  How often have we been forgiven for being the nasty version of ourselves and how often have we extended forgiveness for others who have done the same?  We are all guilty of sometimes being a "stranger" to those we know and love.

Well we all have a face

That we hide away forever

And we take them out and show ourselves

When everyone has gone

Some are satin some are steel

Some are silk and some are leather

They're the faces of the stranger

But we love to try them on

Well, we all fall in love

But we disregard the danger

Though we share so many secrets

There are some we never tell

Why were you so surprised

That you never saw the stranger

Did you ever let your lover see

The stranger in yourself?

Don't be afraid to try again 

Everone goes south

Every now and then

You've done it, why can't someone else?

You should know by now

You've been there yourself

Once I used to believe

I was such a great romancer

Then I came home to a woman

That I could not recognize

When I pressed her for a reason

She refused to even answer

It was then I felt the stranger

Kick me right between the eyes

Well, we all fall in love

But we disregard the danger

Though we share so many secrets

There are some we never tell

Why were you so surprised

That you never saw the stranger

Did you ever let your lover see

The stranger in yourself?

Don't be afraid to try again

Everyone goes south

Every now and then

You've done it why can't someone else?

You should know by now

You've been there yourself

You may never understand

How the stranger is inspired

But he isn't always evil

And he isn't always wrong

Though you drown in good intentions

You will never quench the fire

You'll give in to your desire

When the stranger comes along. 

Friends Retreat

The children and I just got back from a two day trip to the mountains of Virginia with my best friend Lori and her children.  The trip was way too short, but so nice!!  The leaves were at their absolute peak of fall colors and the weather was perfect.  

I absolutely love trees!  Our house is surrounded by trees, and I am always "oohing and aaahing" over the fall colors.  I hate to see the leaves go because winter is my least favorite season, but they sure do go out in style!  The song I have playing today on my blog is one of my favorites and seems an appropriate song to go with the beautiful fall pictures.  I've included the lyrics at the bottom of the post.

We were blessed enough to have free lodging thanks to a certificate that my parents gave me so we only had to pay for gas and food.  We both brought snacks and drinks so we didn't have to spend too much.  

We both voted absentee and didn't have to wait in lines to vote on Election Day.  I usually spend the entire Election Day volunteering and then anxiously awaiting the results.  This time, I am very glad that I was able to bypass the emotions and exhaustion I usually associate with Election Day.  It is always great to get away, even if just for a couple of days, to refresh and have some fun.  Here are some pictures that I took of the scenery and one of our 10 year old Mini-Schnauzer Smokie who came along!

In our days we will live 
Like our ghosts will live:
Pitching glass at the cornfield crows 
And folding clothes 

Like stubborn boys across the road 
We'll keep everything:
Grandma's gun and the black bear claw 
That took her dog 

When Sister Lowery says, "Amen" 
We won't hear anything:
The ten-car trains will take that word 
That fledgling bird 

And the fallen house across the way 
It'll keep everything:
The baby's breath
Our bravery wasted and our shame

And we'll undress beside the ashes of the fire 
Both our tender bellies wound in baling wire 
All the more a pair of underwater pearls 
Than the oak tree and its resurrection fern

In our days we will say 
What our ghosts will say:
We gave the world what it saw fit 
And what'd we get?

Like stubborn boys with big green eyes 
We'll see everything:
In the timid shade of the autumn leaves 
And the buzzard's wing 

And we'll undress beside the ashes of the fire 
Our tender bellies are wound around in baling wire 
All the more a pair of underwater pearls 
Than the oak tree and its resurrection fern