Please, leave someone else in peace.

   Having grown up with a single mother for many years, a common phrase in our house was "As long as they're talking about me, they're leaving somebody else alone". When I did finally 'get it' as a child, I had taken it to mean that my mother felt she could carry that load which would seem a burden to many others among her peers. Having grown quite a bit since then, I began to see the deeper value in that simple gesture. What she was doing was distracting the scandalous talk in town from those she felt mercy on, that is to say, the other women of the day who had it worse than she did. She was ever thankful for what she had in life. 

   As my mother did before me, I, too, remain thankful for what I have and, often times, for what I don't have. The fact that people talk so much about things they know not, we cannot stop. We can be aware that we are doing a great service for others by simply distracting evil doers and their scandalous talk. So, please, if you read this, go out and talk about me, and leave someone else in peace.