LM, Episode 1214, 4/16/23, Emma Lou

Last week I mentioned my List of 37 Friends and one person who was on the original list was Twyla’s mom, Emma Lou. In fact, even though she has been gone for 25 years, she is still on my list today.

I was running in Tulsa one morning when two guys drove by, yelling something obscene at me. I’m filled with endorphins, thinking, “We all ought to live in peace and harmony on such a glorious morning,” so to communicate this to these two hayseeds, I raised a finger to the sky.

Apparently the good people of Tulsa find that finger offensive because they pulled over, we’re yelling at each other, when up pulls a Tulsa policeman. He says, “Okay, break it up and move along.”

I go, “You heard him, girls, the man said to move along.”

The cop snaps, “Sir, I’m fixin’ to take you to the station and I don’t mean the bus station.”

I’m telling Twyla and her mom this story. Twyla says, “Don’t call me to bail you out of jail.”

“I hadn’t planned on it, I was going to call your mom.”

Emma Lou, says, “And I’d do it just to hear the story.

One definition of wisdom is having common sense and no one ever had more common sense than Emma Lou. Her only lapse in judgment was liking me so much.

Many have said, “Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.” Much of Emma Lou’s common sense came from not being afraid to fail. She didn’t mind trying things and learning from her failures.

More than once, my back up plan was for Emma Lou to bail me out of jail. Once when I was storming out of the house to confront my boss on something, she yells, “Call me if you need bailed out.”

I go, “Actually, Emma Lou, I think a night in jail would do me a world of good.”

Have a great Sunday and always remember laughter matters.