Sights and thoughts in the halls at work

I work in a large Medical Center.  To say it is a busy place, is an understatement.   When I leave the quiet of my office and wander down the halls, there is no telling what I will experience.

Come along with me on a "typical" walk. . . although there really is nothing typical in a Medical Center.

There is an Amish couple and three small daughters.  The man has a long, unkempt beard and the dark hat worn by the Amish.  The woman is attired in a long, simple dress with a white nylon cap.  The little girls are dressed similar to their mom.

There are people from every socio-economic background and every ethnic variety.  People who don't care about their appearance or a healthy lifestyle and those that do.

In an almost deserted hallway, I see a woman walking toward me that looks very familiar.  The person I think she is wouldn't be here in the Medical Center this time of day, I thought.  "SHERRY!" she exclaimed as she walked closer to me.  "I almost didn't recognize you without a gun in your hands!"

Uh-oh. . . I hope there are no left-wing nut cases within earshot!  It was Margaret, one of my sporting clays shooting buddies.  With my dress clothes on, minus jeans and a shooting vest, she didn't recognize me!

In another moment, I see a woman with a volunteer therapy dog coming my way.  A yellow Labrador Retriever.  "Oh, I just have to touch your dog!" I tell her.  My hands are all over this dog, Dar is his name, and he is just eating up the attention.  The hospital uses specially trained and screened dogs in the patient areas.  Research has proven this is a good approach to helping patients in their recovery and in relieving stress.  We talk "Labs" for awhile and then she is on her way.  But first, she commands Dar to "take a bow."  He goes down on his front legs right in front of me and my heart melts.

Oh, look over there!  There is an obviously proud dad, most likely going to visit his wife in the maternity area, with a toddler at his side wearing a T-shirt that says, "I'm the big brother."

A local TV reporter, whom I recognize, hurries along with her crew.  The Medical Center is a research center and over the years, hundreds of new therapies and discoveries have been made here.  In the next day or so, I would expect to see a story on the latest discovery on the 6:00 news.

Stepping into an elevator, I notice one woman looking at me intently.  I see her eyes move to my ID badge.  "Are you the same Sherry Bennett that has little twins?"

How do I answer that one?  "Uh, well. . . I do have twin sons but they aren't little anymore."

This was a woman I knew years ago from a church we went to back in the day!  I remembered her name but didn't recognize her.

When you step into the large Medical Center where I spend my weekdays, you just never know who or what you will encounter!

Homemade vegetable beef soup

I made a big pot of vegetable beef soup today.  It has lots of good, nutritious ingredients, including beef from the soup bone, tomatoes, carrots, sweet potato, garbanzo beans, pasta, garlic, and spices.  I will freeze much of it in single servings and leave enough to enjoy this week.

My new couch and love seat

My new couch and love seat were delivered today.  I won't even tell you how old my other furniture was. . . it was old.

Old Rochester!

Almost every year, I have a wall calendar hanging in my kitchen with Labrador Retrievers on it.  Well, not for 2014!

I was in Wegmans today and passed the display with 2014 wall calendars.  There was one I have never seen before. . . Vintage Rochester!  It caught my eye. . . especially one picture.  It was the old train station in Rochester circa 1906.

In the mid-1970's my mother-in-law would ride the Amtrak from her home north of NYC to Rochester to visit.  That same train station was still there, although it certainly had decayed over the years.  To be honest, it was just plain creepy.  The shell of the building was there but most of the windows were broken and you never could go in there without seeing a half dozen rats roaming around.  I think it had been years since a cleaning person had been there.  Seriously.  John and Michael were less than 3 during the years I would drive down there to pick up Gramma.  I explained to them before we left home that they were not allowed to use the rest room at the train station so go before we leave home.  I always wanted to make sure we got there before the train arrived and sometimes (most of the time) it was late.

I remember once we were sitting there waiting for Gramma's train to arrive and an elderly lady sitting next to us must have read the expression on my face. . . I'm told my facial expressions speak louder than words.  Really?  So this lady said to me, "You wouldn't believe it now, but this used to be a grand place and people would come here for dinner."  It took me a second to absorb her words.  "You are right!"  I said to her.  "I can't believe that!!!"  She began telling me of days gone by when it was a "destination."

I don't remember exactly when they tore the place down and built another building.  A plain, rectangular, much smaller, one story building.  Over the years that building has seen better days and now there are plans to tear that one down and build another one.  The new one, at least as plans go now, will be a replica of the old building from the early 1900's.