SUNDAY DINNER – A TRADITION

GOOD MORNING WORLD

I absolutely love Sunday dinner.  I love the prep, the smells in the kitchen, the fuss and of course the eating start to finish.  The best is when the whole family is around the table ala Thanksgiving.  Even with only the two of us I still make a form of Sunday dinner.  It is now usually eaten at 5PM instead of noon.  It is also a lot simpler.

I think there are few people who do Sunday dinner anymore.  I know one young lady in Berwick, Maine who does every single Sunday still and is quite an anomaly.  Our daughter tries to do it as well I think.  Though I believe as a tradition it has gone the way of busy people and non-existent.

I am not sure how the dinners always got on the table when I was younger.  Up until Mumma died we did not go to church every Sunday so the cooking was easy.  After she died Dad went back to church every Sunday.  He would peel all the veggies and leave them in water and start them cooking as soon as we got home.  I can also remember being home and starting the veggies that were cut and peeled if I was not at church though cannot imagine how I could be let out of that.  We were told if we wanted to play on the weekend then we had to pray on the Sunday.

We had Sunday dinner at home, Dad, my sister and I, that is of course unless one of his three sisters had us over for dinner.  That was quite often.  He was a very spoiled only brother!  Those ladies were a Godsend for those two years till Dad re-married.

As a newlywed I tried to keep the tradition and we would go to my in-laws often as well.  Once children came we continued a traditional dinner unless an activity deterred us.  Sadly that was quite often.  I did the best I could to keep the tradition alive.  It made Sunday afternoons very lazy and welcomed I believe.

Sunday dinner for us as a child was a roast of some sort, breads, veggies and a dessert.  It was a more traditional English type of meal.  Later as an adult our family occasionally had salads and lighter fare.  I got to thinking about Sunday dinners and other traditions.

Of course I used my favorite tools and googled Sunday Dinners.  There is a cookbook just for them of the same name.  Publix Market has recipes especially for them.  There were pictures galore and most of them roasts.  This did not answer my question so back again I went to google and added the word ‘traditions’.  This brought me back to English traditions and roast for the most part.  I added ‘around the world’.

When I googled the words ‘Sunday dinners around the world’ I was taken to many holiday sites that gave traditions around the world for Easter and Christmas and a few other holidays.  I still had no real answer. Then I opened up dinnertool.com and an article on Sunday Suppers.  It was the same as we had at noon only for dinner.  The origins they said were English and the people usually cooked a roast beast on a spit all day long and ate at suppertime.  So I have been okay evidently in my twisting our old noon dinner to night!!! 

I still did not find out what I was looking for in this search.  I know Italians gather for a Sunday meal as a whole family as much as possible and I am suspecting that other ethnicities do the same.  Perhaps I have the beginnings of a book here if I take the time to do the research – oh well not today – have to get the pork loin in the oven for dinner!

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

‘SPECIAL REPORT’ AND BRETT BAIER AND FOX NEWS – THANK YOU

GOOD MORNING WORLD

I have to become political again in my blog this morning much to the chagrin of some of my readers.  I have watched this sorrow in Libya unfold these past 18 says, three days shy of three weeks.  I have SAID a number of times that we are being governed by the Keystone Kops.  These last 18 days are a real example of the scattered activity the Kops used to show except this is not funny.

On September 11, 2012 our embassy in Libya was attacked.  Where were the news agencies?  Some of them reported the disturbance and the attacks due to the anti-Islamic video.  One news agency went where few reporters go anymore.  FOX News Brett Baier on Special report took the time on 9-12 to give his viewers a timeline of events so that there might be some clarity in the confusion.  He started with the attack on the United States Embassy in Libya on 9-11 and brought it forward to noon on 9-12 and to what he and his team of reporters knew up to the 6PM report of news.  It was real news in the way Cronkite or Huntley/ Brinkley/Peter Jennings would have reported.

9-11 -He had the full quote on the screen for us to read of the statement put out at 6AM Tuesday

9-11 (noon Cairo time) that condemned the protests in Egypt due to the video.  This was followed by pictures of the protestors tearing down the American flag and putting up the AlQaeda black flag.  He reported that the protesters were heard chanting “We are all Osama.”  He reported that at 5PM on Tuesday the attack on Benghazi was reported with the thought that one was dead and one wounded. He showed the tweets from the US Embassy in Egypt. 

9-12 – At 5:30AM on 9-12 the news of Chris Stevens’s death was known. 

At 9:57 Hillary says, “…this was an attack by a small and savage group…”

At 10:42 in the Rose Garden the President says, “The United States condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack.”  “…will increase security and bring to justice…”

In the reporting on “Special Report” Brett Baier spoke of the Romney statement and the Obama Campaign’s response.  He reported that President Obama spoke with 60 minutes that afternoon and flew to Vegas for a pre-scheduled event.

On this same report on 9-12 Mike Rogers, Chairman of the House select Committee on Intelligence and himself a former FBI agent said, “It was a coordinated military style commando type raid that had both direct fire and indirect fire, military movements involved in it – this was a well planned well targeted event no doubt about it.”

The reports on the 9-12 “Special Report’ show went on to speak about Ambassador Stevens being carried to a hospital and dying from smoke inhalation.  It reported that no Marines were guarding the US Consulate Headquarters.  It showed reporters peppering Romney with questions about his statement.  It told us that the Pentagon had sent forces to Libya and ships were on the way. 

“Special Report” has kept on the story often coming out with information not reported any place else.  Catherine Herridge has kept on the story for the last 18 days bringing information out that is real news even before the White House says anything.  When they do it has usually confirmed what Catherine Herridge has already reported.

Last night Brett Baier gave another time line beginning on:

August 2012.  At that time an unclassified report was filed.  It was called “Al Qaeda in Libya – A Profile”.   

Sept. 5-6 – The Democrat Convention focus was Osama is dead and GM is alive.

Sept. 10th – A video surfaces of Al Qaeda’s Amir and Spiritual Leader asking for Jihadists to avenge the death of a Libyan Terrorist who was killed in a drone attack in June

Sept. 11th – Expected protest erupt in Cairo after the anti-Islam video is played.  I detailed the events of this day first in this post.

Sept. 12th – also previously written.  The horror was the announcement of the deaths of 4 American citizens.

When going through this timeline last night Brett Baier said that according to sources the US Intelligence communities know knew this was an attack and listed it internally to unlock resources.  It was believed it was Al Qaeda or Al Qaeda linked groups.  This report has since been confirmed by FOX News.

Sept 12 – Obama makes an announcement, sits down with ’60 Minutes” and goes to Vegas

Sept 12th – CBS to their credit also covers news that puts the fact that this was an attack out in the open.

Sept 13th – State Dept. says security was okay

Sept 13th -Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State disavows the video

Sept 14th – Ambassador Chris Stevens and the other three courageous men return to America

Sept 14th – Sen. John McCain calls it terror

I must add a personal note here on Sept 14th we went to see the movie ‘2016’ and the last few frames showed the Middle East in flames.  We came home and saw the same thing on our own television as reported from the Middle Eat that day.

Sept 16th – Susan Rice our Ambassador to the UN goes on 5 Sunday Talk shows to say it was not terrorist involvement it was due to a video.

Sept 17th – State Dept says we have to wait to label this.

Sept 18th – On the David Letterman Show President Obama says it is not war and blames the video

Sept 19th – Matthew Olsen the head of the NationalCounterterrorismCenter said on Capital Hill, “Yes, it was a terrorist attack.”

Sept. 20th – Jay Carney says via phone that it was self-evident that it was a terror attack

My investigative add:

On Sept 20th/21st multiple news agencies online reported that the August 2012 report said, “The report details Al Qaeda plans for Libya, including growth of a clandestine terrorist network that has attempted to hide it’s presence.  The U. S. Military has concluded that Al Qaeda is in the final phase of a three step process for developing a full-blown Al Qaeda affiliate.”   It showed Al Qaeda was currently in an expansion phase.

Brett Baier continued:

Sept 20th – President Obama told Univision ‘still under investigation’

Sept 21th – Hillary Clinton says, “What happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack.”

Sept 24th – On The View President Obama said, “…still doing an investigation, there is no doubt the kind of weapons that were used ah thth the ongoing assault that it wasn’t just a mob action.”

Sept 25th – Obama at the UN still references the video

Sept 25th – Hillary Clinton says, Al Qaeda … and other groups have launched attacks and kidnappings from Northern Mali into neighboring countries, now with a larger safe haven and increased freedom to maneuver terrorist are seeking to extend to increase their reach and their networks in multiple directions.”

Sept 27th – Leo Panetta, Secretary of Defense finally says “terror attack”

Brett Baier concluded with the fact that the FBI still is not in Benghazi. He also noted that Hillary Clinton’s statement on the 25th was just what had been in the report (I included it above 9-20/21) issued in August 2012.  Then as he does each night he ended his program with the words – ‘fair balanced and unafraid.’  

I wan to note before I conclude that in the meantime of all these days of our government acting like the Keystone Kops that CNN has been to Libya and at the scene and retrieved Ambassador Chris Stevens Diary.

I’ll leave all this information for you sadly not completed totally this morning.  Too much to review and post.  I read lots of news and do view other stations other than FOX.  In this case they were one of the few to keep their eyes on the ball and keep us informed.  Perhaps their news people really are Fair and Balanced.

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

THE BAG LADY – TOTES GALORE

GOOD MORNING WORLD                                    

I have spent the last couple of days trying to get the house decorated for fall as I clean through.  A few years ago I made, by hand not machine, two quilted fall table runners.  I know they are in this house.  Do you think I can find them?  I am positive I put them in a certain place that I would surely remember this year.  I do not remember.  Having moved so much I envy people who can put things back in the same place year after year after year.  Sometimes I go to get an item and have to think about which house I am actually living in right now.  I will find them I am sure.

Along my travels throughout the closets in this house I found many other things.  In one closet was a bag full of purses that our daughter owned at one time.  I thought I had given her back all her purses.  This child had to have a new purse for everything it seems.  I had not ever seen this before and I love it that our granddaughter is carrying on the same tradition with which our child now has to deal!!!  I will toss these leftovers in the recycle for the Vets next time they come.

I have to now hang my head and admit publicly that I found tote bags numbering well over 20 – maybe more – in all of my closets.  Perhaps my child was not the original bag lady?  Tote bags do not count right as they can be folded and do not take up much room?  Darn how can you say no to cheap or free?

I have three bags that look just alike – the Avis Bags.  I cannot remember why we have them – whether it was a trip we all took or my husband rented a car a number of times with the company where he worked.  I know a dear friend also had almost as many as we.  They are very sturdy bags and carry enough in them for a weekend away.  Four was a good number for our family and each one of us got one.  I was surprised I still have them over 20 years later.

There is a bag from Waldenbooks.  Is that store around anymore.  It was buy some get one free.  At one point I think I had three of these bags – you never know when you will need one.

You could get bags for joining groups-Doubleday Book Club, Panola Country Club, Southern Living magazine, BeautiControl Cosmetic Company.  I bought bags as mementos of trips as being an easy thing to bring home.  I have bags with French logos, Hawaiian themes and Michigan lighthouses.  Let us not even talk about all the cloth grocery bags that are in the car in case I remember to actually take them IN to the store for refilling.

One of the bags I have that I really enjoy is a bright yellow covered with blue Iris.  The colors are dramatic and it is a great size for carrying.  I must get it out again.  I am not sure where I got this one.  It does remind me of the Memphis area.

We lived in Cordova which was just outside Memphis and Germantown, TN.  My husband’s office was in Germantown.  In the spring the whole area was awash with Iris of all colors.  I went to the site http://www.wtis-iris.com/ to discover that they have over 400 varieties in the area.  It seems that most home gardens in the area had iris in them. 

I had not ever known much about the iris except it grew wild.  They were blue and sticks and did not interest me much.  As I grew older and saw how beautiful the blossom was and discovered the many varieties I had a totally different take on them.  In the spring I love to have bouquets of iris and daffodils or iris and lilacs.  Yummy!  

The end of this is what do I do with all these bags?  I suppose I could toss them.  Recycle them?  Well some of them maybe.  After all aren’t they like scrapbooks of travels???  Maybe I can use them in my decorating somewhere?  For sure I am going to take them shopping today – right!!!???  I can’t get rid of the iris bag or the convention bag or the red bag or…

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

 

tote tree – 2 hrs later

$1.16 for shower curtain rings – had macrame hanger

 

POLITICAL PANDERING PERPLEXING PERCEPTIONS OF POLLS and more…

GOOD MORNING WORLD

Yesterday I finally wrote a note to Comcast our cable provider.  For the last few weeks I have noticed a side bar on my email inbox page.  On the right of the screen is a side bar that hold ads.  No problem to me as I usually ignore them until recently. 

I’ve noticed that this space has been occupied by ads for Barack Obama.  It scrolls between pictures of him to pictures of Michelle to pictures of the two of them interspersed with ads for Norwegian Cruise Lines and a fat belly-busting product.  I decided to time them and they changed every time I hit a new email.  There has not been one ad in this space for Mitt Romney.  It became investigation time for me!!!

I clicked on the ad info that was below it and up popped a survey of sorts.  I was able to look it over and put comments in specific boxes to submit.  The Comcast disclosure said:  

Regarding candidate/political advertisements:
Comcast delivers paid advertisements from many sources that represent a wide range of viewpoints. With respect to candidate advertisements, the amount of advertising distributed for a particular candidate is determined by the candidate. Comcast maintains an objective position and will neither accept nor reject ads based on agreement or disagreement with the advertiser’s viewpoint. If you have a comment about the advertisement you saw, please contact the sponsor of the commercial, the candidate or the candidate’s political committee. The sponsor’s contact information is usually available on their website.

I filled out the survey and left this quick comment:

I timed the ads for a few minutes and on the right of my email inbox screen there is a almost continuous loop of Barack Obama and Michelle – what about equal time on a public service – is this in compliance with the laws of campaigning???  …..I believe this is partisan and not sure it is legal – think I will take it to facebook or my blog to share…your statement says you maintain an objective view – I do not see that – since I began to notice this not once have I seen an ad run by the Romney campaign in this space….

This led me to thinking about what we are hearing throughout our media.  I have written about this before.  It is the consensus I believe that most Americans believe the majority of the media supports re-electing Barack Obama.  Networks, not cable, are supposed to give equal time for ads and I believe they probably do.  They cannot however control the opinions of commentators that clearly lean left to the Democrat Party.  The polls have the potential to be skewed as well.

Last night on one of the cable talk shows that we watch there was a very interesting discussion about polls.  Karl Rove tried to demystify the information and it seemed very clear to me.  Regardless of the messenger at least let me share the message.

He had two small white boards.  One was for Florida and one was for Ohio.  The explanation that I am about to share is my interpretation of the information that I heard and I hope it makes some sense to you.  It did to me.

The way polls are done is to use a matrix and the one they use usually is the results of exit polls from the past to project the future.  Rove said the polls are not dishonest we just need to look carefully at how they are done.  So here is what he said using the exit poll matrix.

In Florida in ’08 the exit polls had +3% more Democrats voting than Republicans.  In 2004 Florida had -4% more Democrats than Republicans and in 2000 Florida had +2% more Democrats than Republicans voting.  Are you with me?

It is his contention that the CBS/NYTimes poll that has Obama (Democrats) winning the election in November by +9% is way out of reach.  This means that this poll believes there are three times more Democrats in Florida that will vote Democrat this November than there are Republicans that will vote.  Are Democrats in Florida 9% more excited about this election this year than they were in 2008?  It is for us to decide if this poll is right.  We need to have the real information about how it is compiled to understand.

In Ohio he gave the same information.   In 2008 Ohio was +8% for Democrats.  In 2004 it was a -5% and a +1% in 2000.  The CBS/NYTimes give this a 9% Democrat win as well.  While Rove believed the race closer in Ohio he believed the margin was somewhere between the +8 of 2009 and the -5 of 2004.

The other point to add here is that the polling finds that Romney is winning the Independents by 3 points so how can these margins in these two states be so high?  All this information and the margins of errors and the way they figure the polls are on the websites of each individual poll.  It has to be ferreted out and searched for and it is there to check the websites and the instruments by which they conduct their polls.  Real Clear Politics polls and Pollster.com have the race has Obama winning by 4 points.

In 2008 the Rasmussen Poll was the most accurate throughout the election cycle.  I like Scott Rasmussen when I catch him speaking.  His poll is an independent poll and he seems like a no nonsense kind of guy.  They do daily tracking of many different things.  Their last poll of the Presidential race was last week and it had the race as essentially a dead heat.  Obama was up 2 in Florida and up by 1 in Ohio.

As I have said, I believe the media is a major force in helping Obama get re-elected.  We as the electorate have to be informed.  We need to find information anyplace we can.  I believe that we have to share it as well.  What I hear may not be what you hear. I am committed to passing on all I can for everyone to make a clear choice. 

I hear you out there – yes of course I want to elect Mitt Romney.  That does not take away from the fact that we have to be informed.  Polls can keep people home from voting.  I have said it myself.  Why bother going as it is a foregone conclusion that “?” will win.  I voted anyway as I do believe with all my heart that every single vote counts.

I also believe in the American people.  I do not believe, contrary to many, that they are just sheep who can be directed to a candidate by what the media says.  Dr. Larry Sabato, the Director of the UVA Center for Politics said it very well last night.  He said, ‘People are not empty vessels into which the media can pour opinions.’  He added, ‘We all have perceptual screens and we screen out things with which we disagree.’  It is important to have all the facts to filter through those screens.

If I am wrong, and Dr. Sabato is as well, then let me add my information to the din to help all make an educated choice even if it is not for Mitt Romney.

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…  

 

DEAR STEPHANIE CUTTER, AN OPEN LETTER aka MS CUTTER LET ME TELL YOU I AM WOMAN HEAR ME ROAR…

GOOD MORNING WORLD

Dear Ms. Cutter;

I must add my voice to the myriad of posts out there decrying the comments you made on NPR’s The Diane Rehm Show entitled ‘Wooing Women Voters’.   You said, “That’s the other thing that you find most often with women. They’re not really concerned about what’s happened over the last four years. They really want to know what’s going to happen in the next four years, and that’s why the president’s convention speech was so powerful. So we’ve been taking that speech and really traveling across the country and delivering it. The president was just in Virginia this past week.”

While I did not vote for the President and will not this time, I do not like to see women taken for granted with statements like yours.  I believe you are being very presumptuous of the female voters.  We do care.  We are watching and we will vote accordingly.  In fact I know some women who have not yet made up their mind and your statement does not help.

These women have watched these last four years as this country has gone downhill economically.  We have more people still out of work and watched as the unemployment rate has stayed above 8% since 2009.  Your boss told us that it would be 5.6% at this time as he was passing a $700B stimulus bill. 

This stimulus bill included shovel ready jobs that ‘were not so shovel ready’ according to your boss’ own words.  He said 2 million would be raised out of poverty and 6.3 have entered it. 

He said focusing on a green economy would save us by creating jobs.  This has cost us jobs and money.  Solyndra was a huge failure and I understand we are paying $23M more, above the $528M we lost.  According to the news the U.S. government is gearing up for a fight over Solyndra’s bankruptcy plan.  There are to be a further $23 million in potential tax breaks for its venture capital backers.  According to Reuters a U.S. bankruptcy judge cleared the way for creditors to vote on the plan, and scheduled a hearing to consider approval on Oct. 17, less than three weeks before the Nov. 6 elections.  Then there were the electric cars.

He promised immigration reform in his first year and it did not happen.  He just told Univision he could not do it alone.  Thankfully they were astute enough to remind him that he had a super majority in Congress his first two years.

He said everything would be transparent and on C-Span.  I check and so far have seen nothing.  In fact when Obamacare was pushed through we were told by his Lt. Nancy Pelosi we had to pass it to be able to read it. 

Obamacare was not going to raise our taxes at all and in fact Obama said it would lower them by $2500.  Today we hear it is now going to cost us $3000.  It was not going to pay for abortions or pills and now this bill is telling the Catholic Church it has to medicate against their faith.

Your boss said he would work with all and we would be not red or blue and when he asked for help and set up a meeting where he told the members that ‘Elections have consequences …and I won.’  Inclusive – I think not.  In all my years as an adult woman voter I have not sensed more division in this country.

When I was a child I heard planes overhead during the Cuban Missile Crisis as we lived near an airbase and I was scared.  With all the unrest in the Middle East I am once again feeling those same sensations of fear.

Your boss has missed briefings, called the Middle East uprisings this month a bump in the road and we lost 4 American citizens in Libya.  Iran is still moving toward a nuke.  He said he would put daylight between us and Israel and he surely has done that.

The worst thing of all of this is he is not being honest.  This raid on our embassy in Libya was his 3AM phone call and he failed.  He did not come out to say anything right away.  He sent surrogates.  He made a quick statement blaming a video which any sane citizen knew it was not and then went on his merry way campaigning.  Where are his priorities? 

Even yesterday at the United Nations he still did not say this was a terrorist attack.  At the UN he said, “…Future must not belong to those who slander Islam.” What about Christ?? He also said “Let us remember that Muslims have suffered the most at the hands of extremists.”  May I remind you of 9/11?

 I am loath to agree with the many who say he is a Socialist and does not care about this country.  When he has people like you who have lied and been caught – do you not know that recordings and videos can be produced? – working for him it makes me wonder about his ability to choose wisely. 

 Your comment was belittling to women and is another failing for you.  Women are paying attention.  Women do care about the last four years.  Women do care about the future and will vote.  It is my hope that many of them that voted for him last time will change their minds this time.  I will not be voting for him this time either.   Let me assure you women are listening.

 Sincerely,

 KTT

 …..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE… 

 

A DESERTED ISLAND BEGS THE QUESTION

GOOD MORNING WORLD

Some days I really do not understand where my head goes or how my brain functions.  Perhaps I am certifiably insane or teetering on the edge.  I woke this morning with thoughts of what book I would take with me on a desert island. 

Now I can give some credence to this in the fact that I have been writing one book for a long time and it has not seen the light of day.  I created one of some of my blog posts, “Treasures for my Dad from Your Daughter ktsquared”, for my Dad’s 91st birthday.  I have another, a book of some of the blog posts as well, that I am investigating actually going to real print with as soon as I can figure it out.

Last night before I fell asleep I came up with another idea that deals with the doctor’s appointment I am going to have tomorrow.  My blood work which was done prior to the visit (early per my request as she was leaving on maternity leave) came back with some not so good numbers.  She wants to put me on drugs right away.  I said no let’s talk.  Now she is out on mandatory bed rest maternity leave and I am seeing a new doctor. 

This should be interesting.  The last time my numbers were high I refused to take any meds and within 3 weeks lowered my cholesterol by 50 points and got my liver enzymes back in shape.  Thinking I’d rather give that plan a whirl again rather than just be plopped on pills.  Hopefully this doctor will agree as easily as my doc in St. Louis did!!!  The book I was imagining was about documenting the whole thing.  Thus the thoughts of books and what I would want to take to a desert island.  What about you?

I’ve thought seriously about this so far this morning.  I have come up with some ideas.  The Bible of course would be my first choice as I am thinking much I would need would be in that book.  Two books that made a real impression on me in my life were Louise L. Hay’s ‘You Can Heal Your Life’ and Ann Louise Gittleman’s ‘Super Nutrition for Women’.  How funny as I see that both have Louise in their names!!!  As I type I wonder if I need them after all if I have already read them.  Perhaps for reference?  I would want my natural healing books for reference as well I think!

What about survival?  The natural healing books have the flora and fauna in them.  I think the best survival book I have read would be the Earth Children series with the ‘Clan of the Cave Bear’ being the first.  Each one has so much in it about weapons and hides and berries and medicines I could not decide and would need them all.  Betting the man in the wild that is on TV that I do not watch would have a book as well that I could use.

For inspiration I think it would have to be ‘The Traveler’s Gift’, ‘The Lost Coin’ and ‘The Final Summit’ by Andy Andrews.  It was hard to choose from his books as I like them all.  I also think I might want to bring some of his books that contain letters from successful people and how they overcame obstacles.

I am so curious I think I might have to have some mysteries or dramas or a combination.  Now I these would include Agatha Christie.  With her I get to bring a couple of friends too in Miss Marple and Hercule!!!  ‘Bright Flows the River’ is a book that sticks with me and I think I might want that as well.  As I turn around in my chair I am hard pressed to leave any of the volumes that surround me behind. 

So I am sunk literally – no small boat could carry all these – remember I moved them all last summer!  My premise is what book would I want on a deserted island?  The idea of a deserted island normally is that a shipwreck has occurred and not much survives.  I suppose if I designing the premise I can design the rescue as well.  There it is – another book I surely would need and that is ‘Swiss Family Robinson’ as they survived very well.

If you could own only one or two books what would you want?

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

 

MOVIES – FOOD FOR THOUGHT

GOOD MORNING WORLD

I keep a notebook or pad of paper (or try to) and pen by the spot where I sit while watching TV as sometimes I hear something I want to retain.  It ‘used to be’ that if I heard it I remembered it.  Now I need a little more help.  I also like to know the sources so I can check it later if I choose.  Not sure why, if or when I will use the info and yet I have it.  It at lest is important at the moment. In the last couple of weeks I wrote three statements on Dr. Oz’s face in a magazine as the notebook was missing.  I saw them as I was getting ready to toss the magazine to the recycling. 

The first line was from the movie “The Vow” and the character said, ‘We don’t speak to each other that way.’

The second line I noted was from “Barney’s Version” and the character said, “Have I not loved you enough today?”

The third line was from “Bottle Shock” and the character said, “We’re all a little stronger in the broken places.”

I wrote them down casually and separately.  I found it interesting that they all ended up in the same space.  My thinking after looking at them all together is, “Aren’t these statements a story of a love life even a marriage?”

As we are dating we come together and like twins each couple finds their own language, their patter, their uniqueness if you will.  I have observed some couples being very formal with each other.  I might judge the actions as courteous and cool and wonder what they see in each other if I were prone to do so.  Other couples have casualness about them as they fawn over each other and create a space where one might feel uncomfortable with their public displays of affections. Other couples have a combination of the two.  The fact is that every couple loves differently. 

Older couples married for years have been noted to come to look like each other.  Certainly their mannerisms are familiar to one another.  Watch a couple at a wedding that have been married for years dance.  They do so with the relaxed knowledge of the familiar and absolutely know what is coming next and they look like one unit gliding across the floor.  It is beautiful.  They are speaking their own language.

I would guess that married couples that look like this have ‘loved each other enough’ on most days.  I know from my life, as I paraphrase Rod McKuen a favorite poet of mine, that ‘every day is not shiny and bright, every night is not something to remember’.   I believe any marriage, any REAL marriage, is full of highs and lows and ups and downs.  This brings me to the last quote.

I believe we are all ‘stronger in the broken places’.  To think that we live a life without hurt is to think that Utopia is real.  While I do believe that when things are very very good in our lives we may be very close to this mythical place, the reality is that we love and hurt and forgive and heal.  We fix the broken places with tenderness and caring day in and day out.  Living a life with each other, being responsible to each other, being the best we can be – that is what makes our marriages wonderful in their own uniqueness.

Years ago the poet Judith Viorst wrote a book of poems entitled ‘Married is Better”.  I believe that marriage in not for everyone and there is a call to singleness as well.  For those who choose it I believe marriages have to ‘speak’ their own language and ‘love enough’ to ‘fix the broken parts’.

I love movies!!!  Who says they are a waste of time???

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

 

CHURCH AND FORGIVENESS

GOOD MORNING WORLD

I did not go to church this morning.  I woke with a roaring headache and had battled being hot and then cold all night.  While this could have been a normal function of my particular pattern of sleep at this time in my life, the headache alone kept me home.  I had taken aspirin before I went to bed evidently to no avail this morning.

The next thought was: ‘I have to write a blog.’  That was not met with as much enthusiasm as I normally have when I think about writing.  I groaned to myself and rested more and thought I will make a short entry and let it go at that.  Then am I writing a public journal or a blog?  This question teetered outside my mind until I drifted off leaving aches, chills and headache behind for a little longer.

I think I have asked the same question before – blog or journal and what really is the difference?  It is all a relationship with the readers after all.

The same with church – it is my relationship with our loving Lord.  My mother-in-law used to say that after 65 you were excused from going to church every Sunday.  Now I know much of the Catechism having taken a class when the new one was printed.  I do not remember this particular line though it still could be there.

Rule or not God is waiting for me every single Sunday to come to His house to enjoy the relationship with Him and our parish family.  In a relationship we want to bring our best and be there for the other.  Today I failed to be present in His house.  I also believe there is much I can do along with my church attendance and will be diligent next week to do unto others as I let Him and me down today.  I try to live my faith daily.

This brings me to the forgiveness part.  I know God will forgive me when I ask.  How certain am I of that?  Scripture tells me so.  The thing is we have to ask.  That is the same in life.  No one knows how we have been hurt unless we tell them thus allowing them to ask for forgiveness.  The other side of that is exactly the same.  If we believe we have harmed someone we must humble ourselves and ask for the forgiveness we need.  The asking for it allows the hurt person to make the choice.  Maybe they are not ready to forgive yet and you may have to ask again. 

Forgiveness is a really big part of any relationship.  For me I am sorry alone just does not cut it.  I am sorry keeps everything at arms length.  I am sorry I hurt you says I do not care what you are feeling and I am the bigger person since I recognized this and rectified it.  On the other hand if we ask ‘will you forgive me’ we are giving over the power of the situation to someone else.  Tough thing to do!

I trust my relationship with God is strong and ask Him to forgive me for my lack of determination to go to church regardless how I felt physically this morning.  I am certain there were others who made it to church in worse pain – physical or emotional – than I.  I have no excuse except my low tolerance of pain and weary body.  Perhaps the cool fall breeze may just get rid of any allergens that contributed to my headache.

It is my prayer that this entry and my trying to daily live my faith may be accepted in His book under my name as a small alternative as I did not go to church today.  

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

HOPE – OPTIMISM – THE BEST WAY TO LIVE

GOOD MORNING WORLD

THE COCK-EYED OPTIMIST from South Pacific

When the skies are brighter canary yellow
I forget ev’ry cloud I’ve ever seen,
So they called me a cockeyed optimist
Immature and incurably green.

I have heard people rant and rave and bellow
That we’re done and we might as well be dead,
But I’m only a cockeyed optimist
And I can’t get it into my head.

I hear the human race
Is fallin’ on its face
And hasn’t very far to go,
But ev’ry whippoorwill
Is sellin’ me a bill,
And tellin’ me it just ain’t so.

I could say life is just a bowl of Jello
And appear more intelligent and smart,
But I’m stuck like a dope
With a thing called hope,
And I can’t get it out of my heart!
Not this heart…

Growing up in my house we had a record player which was a huge piece of furniture.  It held a turntable and a radio all in one using the same speakers.  It was not new and we only had three LP records that I can remember. 

What is an LP you ask?  Records in those days were 12″+/- across and held 5-6 songs on each side.  They were placed on a spinning disk and you physically placed a needle on them so the sound would come out.  I am not trying to talk down to anyone.  I am trying to be clear as there may be people who have not ever touched one of these records.  The LP which stands for long-playing came in a sleeve that was heavy cardboard and decorated to tell you what was inside.

We had an LP with the music from the Broadway play ‘South Pacific’.  One was the music from the play “Kiss Me Kate”.  There were 4 as we had Tommy Dorsey Band and Glenn Miller Band records.  I used to be able to sing all the sings from ‘South Pacific’ and ‘Kiss Me Kate’.  My favorites were ‘Cockeyed Optimist’ and ‘Bloody Mary’ from ‘South Pacific’.  I loved ‘I’ve Come to Wive it Wealthily in Padua’ from ‘Kiss Me Kate’.

The words ‘stuck like a dope on a thing called hope…’ from ‘The Cock-eyed Optimist’ were specifically written for me I believe.  When I sang them I would almost scream them as important.

I live in a state of hope and have most of my life.  Full disclosure I have had moments of depression – most of my first year of college would qualify for this description.  There were other various times in my life when I have been ‘blue’ or ‘down’.   Few would know that I was feeling unhappy as I tried to not let it show.  For the majority of all these years I will claim upbeat and residing in a state of hope. 

I have been a cheerleader literally and metaphorically.  I believe it is the best way to live.  When I am faced with negativity it feels hurtful like I am being physically assaulted.  I try to remove myself from these situations as quickly as I can.  I look for the best in people.  Everyone has some ‘best’ in them I have discovered.

I refuse to look at the outcome of anything as negative.  It is my belief that looking with hope leaves one in better shape to work toward a positive result.  For instance in the case of the Presidential Election I want Mitt Romney to win.  I am upbeat and I really believe he WILL win.  The pundits say he will not win.  If this comes up in conversation I point out that it is better to live with hope and be optimistic.  I figure, and someone actually has said so, that an optimist is only disappointed once.  In this case I have lived very happily in the hope and belief that we will have a President Romney come November.  Others that want the same outcome and do not believe it are disappointed right now.  If he loses they will be disappointed again.  I on the other hand will not be disappointed at all as I am convinced he will win!!!  Take the case of John McCain.  In that case I was disappointed in Nov. only.  Lived in hope all throughout the whole race!

I believe it is a heavy burden to live a life without hope.  I believe it is visible.  Look at the homeless for a glimpse of lost hope.  Look in the eyes of an addict.  Look into the eyes of someone who is terminally ill.  Many are hopeless.  Their situations could change on a dime and yet they cannot see it as they are bogged down in the depths of a dark world. That is the reality that they may live. Yet once in a while there is a glimmer of hope.

The ill person has a good run of terrific test results and their eyes light up as hope comes into them.  Offering an addict a place to recover so they can choose to change their habits can give them a glimmer of hope.  Suggesting to the homeless that there is another way and then taking them to an agency to find it is offering hope.  Perhaps the simple offer of a cup of coffee and some company can bring hope to someone.  A phone call can bring hope.  A letter or an email can contain hope.  A smile to a stranger walking on the sidewalk or in the mall can give hope.  We have no idea what is going on in their lives.  Remember my post ‘A Smile and A Wave’.  It is simple to spread hope.  I believe our world needs it more today than ever.

Many people have referred to me as naïve.  Well fine with me as I am…’a cockeyed optimist – immature and incurably green’ AND naively  ‘stuck like a dope on a thing called hope…’

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

COMMON SENSE OR POLITICAL CORRECTNESS – ACCEPTANCE OR TOLERATION

GOOD MORNING WORLD

Yesterday on Facebook I posted a ‘confusion of the day’ note and went on to refer to the Rhode Island school that cancelled a father/daughter dance as one little girl did not have a father.  The thread went on for over 50 comments.

Before I go any further please let me state to any who might think I am a Scrooge that I feel terribly sorry for any child that does not have a parent.  I was one of those for a time in my life and it is not easy.  Even when another parental figure comes in it is different.  I believe children are special gifts and deserve love and all good things.

This was a post about one SPECIFIC incident in Rhode Island where a mother allowed the ACLU to fight the school on a gender discrimination law.  The CranstonRhode IslandSchool gave in and a dance opportunity for many other fathers/daughters was ended.  From what I read it really sounded like the school caved as the year before the ACLU had fought them as well.  From the CBS website:

(Superintendent)Lundsten says school attorneys found while federal Title IX legislation banning gender discrimination exempts such events, Rhode Island law does not.

 CBS Affiliate WPRI reports the decision comes just seven months after Cranston school officials removed a prayer banner from an auditorium in Cranston High School West after a federal judge ruled on behalf of a lawsuit filed by an atheist student.

 The city received a $173,000 bill for legal fees in that case.

 It would be my guess that they did not want to incur any further costs.  The question was is this fair? I do not believe it is fair for the many young girls in that school who have looked forward to the father/daughter dance to be disappointed.  

The further point I believe is that we as a society have moved well beyond common sense.  How is it fair for one child to be the winner over the many?  Have we not gone overboard?  Are we teaching our children about life?  Is this child’s employer going to change his way of doing things in his office if she does not like it?  Are there not winners and losers in life?  There certainly were in Rhode Island.  This little girl was the winner and her classmates the losers as through the ACLU’s actions all events of this sort were stopped including the mother/son sports events.  How is this right that the decision for one rules the many?  Perhaps this should be a post about the ACLU and their power!

What it is going to be is a short journey into where we have come as a country.   This country was established by people who thrived on individualism and their competition.  Think of the competing ideas these men had that forged the basis of our Republic.  Were there not two plans for the way to set up our government?  There was the Virginia/large state plan and the New Jersey/small state plan that was boiled down into the Connecticut/Great Compromise plan of bicameral legislature. 

In speaking with a trusted mentor and seasonal experienced winner (he told me to add the last), I shared ideas of competition.  He said, ‘our whole country is based on competition. We are where we are today through free uninhibited, without government interference, competition on many levels.  That is what will spur us forward.’  How does competition fit into the Rhode Island decision?  The ACLU decision had no hint of individuals working with competing ideas to forge a compromise.  There was no compromise in the Rhode Island case.  There was one winner and many sad people.  The question then leads to what we are teaching our children? 

Are we teaching them right from wrong? Good or bad? Acceptance or toleration? Boundaries?  To strive to be the best?  Or are we teaching them to compete or that we have to do whatever we have to do to get along so that no one is better than anyone else?  So that no one is richer than anyone else?  Isn’t that what share the wealth is all about – redistribution?  On a comment I found about the Rhode Island case that I thought was a very clever tagline was ‘redistribution of happiness’ made by a ‘Dmiller313’.  Why can’t we have gender specific activities?  Aren’t we supposed to teach our children how to live in the whole of society?  Win, lose, compete, compromise, girls only, boys only, men and women? 

When you play a game there is a winner and there is a loser.  Why do we watch the NFL/NHL/NBA?  If it did not matter who wins why bother with the Super Bowl/World Series etc. The larger point might be are we not creating a perverse sense of acceptance when every child on a team gets a trophy? That kind of acceptance is not the reality of the world.  How do you explain winning and losing?  How do you tell a child it is okay to be really upset when your team does not win when they do not experience winning in their own games?  It takes more than one person to be a team or a community. Wouldn’t it be beneficial to analyze the situation (win/loss) and discover what was good in your expectations and perhaps find ways to do better the next time?   

Please do not misunderstand; I believe every child must be the star of their own family and that in raising them they know they are the best.  That is helping them create a sense of self for them. It is our responsibility to create a desire in them to do their very best. It is also a parent’s responsibility to let them know that there are consequences and that there are others that do things differently.  One child does not normally rule the outside world like they may do in a family unit.

Did not the ACLU hold this school hostage by this action?  Did the mother consider this a selfish act?  Was this a case of political correctness over common sense?  All little girls must be treated with love and compassion not just one. 

What about the political correctness in other areas?  When did it become wrong to sing the National Anthem and yet a teacher had kids sing a Justin Beiber song instead.  Little girls on the play grounds cannot hug their BFFs?  Can kids play kissing tag anymore – probably not?  I’m not sure we were supposed to do it either actually though we were not punished if we were caught!

There is more.  I do not like our President and when I say so I am attacked as being a racist.  It has nothing to do with his black skin color. I do not believe the man has the experience to run this country.  Black gangsters can call themselves ‘nigger’ yet anyone else now has to use the term n-word.  How insane.  It is a word and any person on this earth who respects their fellow man would not use a term that is to them distasteful. 

I am fat and that does not give anyone the right to call me that and most people do not.  It is not out of politically correctness I believe.  It is being kind and tactful.  I disagree with many people’s views on abortion and same sex marriage.  I am not a bigot.  I simply have a differing opinion and in America that still is okay.

The Boy Scouts of America do not allow gay males in their ranks.  They are not bigoted or narrow minded.  They have a charter that calls them to a different standard.  If a boy wants to join he has to agree and meet that standard.  It is not wrong it is different and okay.  The Girl Scouts do not allow boys to join their ranks as the Boy Scouts allow girls in the Explorer program. It is not wrong and it is okay.  It is perfectly okay to have rules and regulations for organizations.  They do not have to be inclusive of all.  If I have a book club that reads only romance novels and you want to read science fiction it is perfectly okay for me to say you cannot join my club.  It is not discrimiation, it is acceptance of the guidelines of my organization.  If you do not meet them you cannot join.  We have gone so far in an effort to legislate inclusiveness that we are breaking our own standards.

The Christian Church has a standard.  The Catholics have some differing views within the Christian Faith and that is okay. The Jewish Faith has a standard.  The Muslim Faith has a standard.  The Mormons have their standard.  None of these are wrong they are simply different.  In this country we used to practice acceptance of all faiths.  Now in this politically correct world we are hard pressed to observe tolerance.  There is a difference. 

Briefly let me go a little further.  Acceptance is allowing all to ‘receive with approval’.  Toleration is to ‘endure without complaint’.  Acceptance means it does not matter to whom I say Merry Christmas as they will understand it as a greeting of the season from my particular heritage.  If a person says Happy Hanukah to me I understand it is from theirs and accept it as a greeting of the season.  Tolerance leads ALL to say Happy Holidays as we do not want to offend.  At that point might I ask if it would not be better to just say nothing?

Try this example: Acceptance is sitting in a room with a cat and patting it and enjoying the contact.  Toleration is knowing the animal is there and sitting far away so as to not have to interact with the cat.  Acceptance is a warm welcoming hug and toleration is acknowledgment and distance.  Acceptance is working in a food kitchen for the homeless and experiencing the whole of this sad situation including the smell and noise.  Toleration is sending money to help. I see acceptance as common sense and toleration is political correctness.

By the ACLU bringing this case did they not set this child further apart from her peers?   She is now the child that got these events banned from their school.  Is this competition leading to compromise or winning to control, acceptance or toleration, common sense or political correctness?   

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

 

THE BUCK STOPS HERE – A CASE FOR RESPONSIBILITY

GOOD MORNING WORLD

I heard someone on the TV casually say, ‘the buck stops here’.  I do not remember who it was as I was not paying attention.  I have the TV on most of the time as white noise, which a lot of it is actually!!!  The comment had me thinking about the statement and what it meant.

It was President Harry Truman that brought this saying to a famous status.  We have seen the sign in person at his library.  When we lived in the St. Louis, MO we made a point to see as much of the state as we could.  That is our ‘m.o.’ – pardon the pun – wherever we live to make the most of our logistics!  So away we went to Independence, MO.  We spent a lot of time in the library and the area.  There was only one ticket left so we did not get into see President Truman’s home.  Below is the info about the sign.

                                                     “The Buck Stops Here” Desk Sign

The sign “The Buck Stops Here” that was on President Truman’s desk in his White House office was made in the Federal Reformatory at El Reno, Oklahoma. Fred M. Canfil, then United States Marshal for the Western District of Missouri and a friend of Mr. Truman, saw a similar sign while visiting the Reformatory and asked the Warden if a sign like it could be made for President Truman. The sign was made and mailed to the President on October 2, 1945.

Approximately 2-1/2″ x 13″ in size and mounted on walnut base, the painted glass sign has the words “I’m From Missouri” on the reverse side. It appeared at different times on his desk until late in his administration.

The saying “the buck stops here” derives from the slang expression “pass the buck” which means passing the responsibility on to someone else. The latter expression is said to have originated with the game of poker, in which a marker or counter, frequently in frontier days a knife with a buckhorn handle, was used to indicate the person whose turn it was to deal. If the player did not wish to deal he could pass the responsibility by passing the “buck,” as the counter came to be called, to the next player.*

On more than one occasion President Truman referred to the desk sign in public statements. For example, in an address at the NationalWarCollege on December 19, 1952 Mr. Truman said, “You know, it’s easy for the Monday morning quarterback to say what the coach should have done, after the game is over. But when the decision is up before you — and on my desk I have a motto which says The Buck Stops Here’ — the decision has to be made.” In his farewell address to the American people given in January 1953, President Truman referred to this concept very specifically in asserting that, “The President–whoever he is–has to decide. He can’t pass the buck to anybody. No one else can do the deciding for him. That’s his job.

The sign has been displayed at the Library since 1957.

Mitford M. Mathews, ed., A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1951), I, pages 198-199.

 http://www.trumanlibrary.org/buckstop.htm

It was my intention when I began this post to compare some of the news items where people have placed blame instead of accepted responsibility.  When I got into the Truman Library site I found that President Truman had actually said it all as far as the highest office on the land is concerned.

How many moms are there that have uttered the words ‘do not blame someone else’!  Or ‘did you do that’?  OR even better – ‘I do not care what the others are doing’?  One of the hardest jobs a parent has is to teach their children responsibility.

Teaching children is the major job of a parent.  A question was asked on a TV show recently about building character in children.  The response was that ‘do what you say you are going to do’ should be imprinted in every child.

I think about that in my own life.  I will not break a promise to our children or grandchildren.  I am very careful what I say I am going to do as I need to set the example.  I was raised that if you say you are going to do something then you are going to do it.  That is being responsible.  That is being accountable for your actions.  That is not easy many times so we must be careful what we say.  Parents set the example.  Perhaps that is part of our problem in our country today that parents are not setting the examples?

Doing what we say we are going to do might be a good thing for politicians to review.  Those words have been dubbed the #1 principle of leadership.  It is a way to succeed in business and impress clients.  It is keeping your word.  Our ‘word’ we were taught was all we had.  If we broke our ‘word’ then we lost credibility. 

Responsibility?  Accountablility?  Our word?  Do what you say you will do or DWYSYWD?  The buck stops here.

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

JINGLES OR TAG LINES – BEST FORM OF ADVERTISING?

GOOD MORNING WORLD

We have a new toothpaste.  We discovered it last summer when we were away leaving our toothpaste at home!  Hi Ho Hi Ho it’s to the store we go.  The toothpaste we found is a very old brand and the jingle was ready on our lips and running through our heads.  So do you know what we got?

The Jingle:  ‘You’ll wonder where the yellow went when you brush you teeth with_____!

It got me to thinking of jingles and tag lines.  The show ‘Two and a Half Men’ was based on Charlie Sheen’s character Charlie and his stay at home job as a jingle writer.  What is a jingle?

Dictionary.com

jin·gle

Show Spelled [jing-guhl] Show IPA verb, jin·gled, jin·gling, noun

verb (used without object)

1.to make clinking or tinkling sounds, as do coins, keys, or other light, resonant metal objects when coming into contact or being struck together repeatedly: The keys on his belt jingled as he walked.

2.to move or proceed with such sounds: The sleigh, decorated with bells, jingled along the snowy road.

3.to sound in a light, repetitious manner suggestive of this, as verse, a sequence of words, or piece of music.

4.to make rhymes.

Do we have ‘jingles’ anymore? 

http://www.advertisementjournal.com/2011/12/how-the-jingle-went-out-of-advertising/

‘As the world turns, the consumers change as well. The sweet, innocent, naïve, jingles like the “Jolly Green Giant” or “Everyone Loves a slinky,” just doesn’t sell. People just don’t want a cute product anymore. This kind of jingle may have been desirable in the sixties, but here in the turn of the century, we need more to get us interested. “Instead of extolling the virtues of the product, the idea was to celebrate the lifestyle of the consumers of the product,” said Roger Enrico, the former PepsiCo CEO. It isn’t about the product anymore, it’s about who is using the product. This is what launched the new Pepsi campaign generation.’

What brought this all to mind this morning was a commercial on TV.  It showed various people hysterically laughing.  I found my self watching it and then reading the words as I had a smile on my face.  So the commercial elicited a happy feeling in me.  This according to the advertiser I am thinking would make me want to buy the product.  I previously have had this product.  I may actually one day in the future buy one of these again.  I am not certain the advertising worked.  Today, I believe, advertisers are not looking for the ONE ad.  I believe they go along with the sales mentality that it will take consumers 6-8 times of seeing information to actually purchase. 

Question for you – who advertises their product only with laughing people and the line, “It’s not the miles- it’s how you live them.”?  Perhaps the last line will help.  The last screen showed these words with the logo, “The power of German Engineering VW (in logo form).”  Did that make you want to go out and buy a Volkswagen?  I may yet again one day and will only pray they have fixed the heaters.  Do not know anyone that owned a VWBeetle that had a working heater!!

So Jingles………name the product…

‘You wonder where the yellow went….’

‘Brusha Brusha Brusha with the new…’

‘MMgood MMgood that’s why……’

‘Oh I wish I were an…..’

And what of tag lines???

‘Where’s the beef?’

‘That’s a some spicey meataball-a.’

‘I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.’

If I had a choice I think I like the jingle best.  I understand the new look to go for demographics and evidently it works. Which do you believe is the better form of advertising?  Give me a song any day!!!

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

 

ODE TO FALL – SEASONAL RESET

GOOD MORNING WORLD

Before I begin I must make note to yesterday’s post.  It was a very long day.  Last night I went to bed at 11:00PM and woke at 5:05AM.  Would have preferred 7:05AM in an effort to reset my sleep clock and will take the 5 time.  If I could do this for one solid week in a row I will believe that I have the reset taken care of for sure!

As I attempt to reset my clock the season clock is swiftly moving to the actual first day of fall.  I can feel it in the air.  I can hear it in the migratory birds.  I can see it with the color coming on the trees.  Fall is beginning to open the seasonal door.

It is time for fall cleaning.  I am not sure that anyone actually does this anymore.  The Flylady.com website has many of us convinced that it is better to clean all year round so we are not hit with a huge job all at once.  Great idea and yet it takes away from the seasonal reset. 

There is more to a fall seasonal reset than just the cleaning.  I have to admit it was a chore when I helped (what little I did) as a kid.  We had to wash everything in the bookshelf including the gargoyles which were very ornate vases.  We helped Mumma take down the English ivy that she trained to grow up our sheer curtains in the living room so she could change the curtains.  It was pretty and a pain in the neck to take out all those straight pins that were hidden behind leaves so the vine looked like it was growing free.  The windows were washed inside to be ready when the outside and putting on the storms happened later in the fall. 

Lots of work.  After it was done there was a real sense of clean and snuggled in as we all had our winter bedspreads on our beds.  Our curtains had been changed to keep out any drafts.  We were ready to enjoy fall and prepared for the coming of winter.  The squirrels store their nuts.  Bears get ready to hibernate and we cleaned.

Now I clean.  It is not such a chore as before.  I do not worry about curtains with thermo pane windows.  I do change our bedspread with a tweak or two to the curtains to match.  It is more a mood change than a need change.  It helps me move through the seasons.

This morning as I was typing this I heard the Canadian Geese squawking above migrating.  I so enjoy their formation along with the story of their loyalty to each other.  They mate for life.  If one is harmed and cannot fly they stay with each other until they are well or gone.  Many people do not live that kind of life of support for others who are ill, depressed or dying.  Many suffer alone and that is sad.

I love the movie, ‘Fly Away Home’, about the little girl who trains them to fly.  What this movie failed to show is the fact that these are really dirty birds.  I wish I had not learned this.  I wish I could still look at them with awe.  I cannot.  They made a home in the ponds by our church in their travels.  We had to be careful walking in to worship.  Ultimately the ponds were filled in leaving them no place to land so they moved on to anther spot. 

The cool is welcomed as I am not a heat person.  That is another item of fall cleaning – the changing of the wardrobes in our closets.  We had boxes in the attic full of fall and winter clothes and mothballs.  Boy did those mothballs smell while keeping moths out of the wool clothes.  It was like getting a new wardrobe even though they were your old clothes.  Out they went to air on the line.  Away went the summer shorts, skirts and dresses.  All of this was usually completed as the days grew shorter and surely by Halloween.

The color is glorious as the green of summer perks up to the reds, oranges, yellows and purples of fall.  Each tree seems to have its own special hue.  Maples turn red and oaks turn golden.  Together our landscape is re-painted with a blaze of colors.  How many of you remember ironing leaves between wax paper to preserve them for decorations?  I am sure those in areas with fall leaves did it every year.

I am certain these activities still happen in some homes.  My fall cleaning is more of a clean as I have to since you cannot walk without sticking to the floor.  I no longer iron leaves.  I may take up my watercolors to attempt to capture their beauty.  Our wardrobes are more year round then seasonal.  I change out table runners, dishcloths and the powder room towels to reflect the season. This is my acknowledgment that fall is here despite my readiness to welcome it.  Now it may send me into a panic that Christmas is almost here.  It also means another year has almost passed all too quickly.  Despite the things I no longer do at this time of year, the one thing I do is enjoy it!

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

PROJECT ROBBERY LAST NIGHT

GOOD MORNING WORLD

Well no real robbery.  It was a theft of sleep.  The Sandman did not arrive.  The Dream Catcher had nothing to catch.  The night was only 4 hours long.  It is going to be a long day.

I have been trying ever so diligently to follow the best advice available to make a night of good sleep.  I know the difference now as I have had glimpses of what a good nights sleep can do for you.  In fact Saturday night was one of those so last night I was very hopeful to repeat the experience.  Oh well I live in hope!!!

As I was tossing around I was trying to pinpoint what the problem could be this time.  It came to me that it might be the new project that popped in my mind yesterday out of the blue.  Perhaps that was it.

A new project brings about excitement.  It brings with it planning.  It brings with it organization.  If I am making a quilt a new project brings in color.  When I choose colors I keep in mind who the color palette of the recipient.  What colors do they wear?  What colors do they use in decorating their homes?

A new project to me is reminiscent of falling in love.  It begins with the flirting with the idea of the project.  To understand better we ask the questions to know more about the project.  This is followed by the times when you take out the thoughts and try them in different settings to see if they work.  Next is the final decision to engage the project and make a date to actually complete it.  Time is spent to make the plans.  Lastly is the execution of blending all this into a union to bring the project to fullness.  The analogy works for me!

With all that flowing through my mind it is no wonder I could not sleep.  I did get up and write out a plan thinking that it would get this out of my head.  Evidently that was a good choice as I did finally sleep for a few hours.

Projects are so much fun for me.  The burst of energy in the beginning is addictive.  The follow through can be as much fun.  Then again it can become a chore.  Take the floors – what a good project idea that was and ended well.  It was all the work in the middle that was an issue.

I have so many projects going that I in all good sense I should not start another.  I have to do the fall cleaning.  I have three embroidery samplers I’d like to finish.  I have 4 quilts in the works.  I have a bookshelf full of books I want to read.  I have things on my list that must be done before the deadlines!  AND surprise above all other things Thanksgiving is only 10 weeks away.  Christmas is coming and gifts need to be purchased wrapped and delivered!!! 

There it is – the thinking.  Got to turn off my flights into the future and project world!  With this kind of thinking I may not ever sleep again!

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

SUNDAY QUESTIONS FROM CHURCH

GOOD MORNING WORLD

This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it has been running around in my head all week long.  It is telling me that I planned to write something about faith all week long.  I simply did not know to what direction until this morning at church. 

I left church with two questions.  Deacon Watts left us with the words, “If you were on trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?”  The question before that came from the scripture when Jesus asked ‘Who do you say I am?”  It is almost too much to think about for one Sunday morning.  This will certainly give me something to ponder all week long and isn’t that what we are supposed to do – take the service home with us further than the parking lot?

The first question I have written was actually the question with which Deacon Watts ended his homily/sermon.  Would there be enough evidence to convict me?  That is a real life examination I believe.  There is a famous quote that says the unexamined life is not worth living.  Well I have enough to examine this week.

Are my efforts to help people enough evidence to convict me?  I think this goes more to just help physically and financially.  I believe this also calls us to examine our words that we have spoken to others.  Does what we say leave others uplifted or browbeaten?  Do we speak in the tongues of angels or like a clanging gong?  Do we revere our Lord and sing His praises? Do we give Him time by our prayer?  Do we honor him by visiting His house weekly or more?  I am going to have a thoughtful week with that question alone.

On top of all of this the Deacon reminded us that Jesus asked who did we think He was.  Who is He?  This question is the easiest of all for me.  Jesus is our loving Lord who told us that where two or more of us are gathered He is there.  He told us that whatever we do to the least of us we do for Him.  So these words lighten my burden a little.  I can see clear things I have done for others.

My volunteering at school for years, my volunteering to help the parks and rec program of our town all helped the kids so that will probably be a good mark for evidence.  In the course of my life I have served in groups that were two or more so another point covered.  I think you all can look at your lives in these terms and come up with some good evidence that you can say you know Jesus through some of your works.

The best place I see Jesus is in my everyday life.  I see Jesus as a woman helps a stranger with her bags at Wal-Mart.  I see Jesus in my parents as Dad at 91 continues as the head of our family to keep us all in his prayers.  Millie, mother and wife, does the same with her prayers as well as take care of Dad.  I see Jesus in our children, siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends as they care for their families and we care for each other. 

I saw Jesus in Mr. and Mrs. Fuller every Sunday, as I said in an early post, when I was younger as they cared for each other.  I saw Jesus in every person in the town of Southwest Harbor, Maine as they brought food to Dad and my sister and I when my mother died young at 35.  I know what it is to grow up in a village that takes care of everyone.  It is warm and wonderful like I believe it would be resting in Jesus arms.  I saw Jesus in Rev. William Mitchell as he came by our house daily to see how Dad was doing with two little girls age 10 and 12.  Mr. Mitchell stopped by our home at least once or twice a week for a very long time.  It did not occur to me until years later that he was being Jesus in our midst.  He left his own wife to fend with their three little children and ministered to us.  I was blessed to have the opportunity to write him a letter telling him that I saw Jesus in him and to thank him for his ministry.

The same is true for Rev. Bradford Payne.  My step-mother Marie died after she and Dad had been married for 10 years only.  The town and Mr. Payne repeated what we had experienced many years earlier.  Jesus came to visit our home yet again.  Jesus brings joy and peace and these men were living examples of this for us. 

This morning in church Jesus was Clare and Lewis and their parents sitting next to us.  This morning Jesus was at home in the tender touch of my husband as he put his around me while I was making coffee and said he liked to be close to me.

This all seems so familiar like I have written it before.  If I have I apologize and believe it can stand repetition.  The larger thought is: Who is Jesus for you today?   An even better question may be – How can you be Jesus to another this day?  Make it a great one.

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE….

CONFESSIONS OF A STAY AT HOME WORKING WOMAN

GOOD MORNING WORLD

Yesterday I was up early in the morning well before 7AM.  I came down and went right to work at the computer.  I checked emails and facebook and the news and started writing my entry for my blog.  I knew what I was going to write about and it came out fairly easy.  I cleaned it up, ran spell and grammar check and posted it.  I then went to work on some presentations that I have to organize, add some writing to in spots and file them.  There were 7 of them and luckily they were almost complete.

I was still in my robe/lounge dress – the name changes depending on what I am doing.  My husband argues about this with me often.  He says they are robes.  Actually they are sold as lounge dresses that I wear as robes as they are not fluffy or hot.  Just cotton dresses with pockets in a larger size that work for me as a robe!  I decided to stay in lounge mode and continue working thinking that when I am done I would go shower and change at 11AM or so.  I had no appointments nor was anyone coming to see me.  The job of organizing the presentations would be behind me and I could look to the rest of the day with a clean slate.

The first presentation went well.  I had a lot of typing to input information into that one so it was the longest I believed.  I was coming up to 10AM-ish feeling quite confident about the job and the timeline I had set for myself.  Spent some time in assembling old and new and sorting files on the computer that corresponded with what I had in front of me as hard copies – paper.  I went to look for another presentation to complete.  I wanted this particular one as it too had more work than the others.  Do the hardest first is usually my mantra.  The clock said 11AM was gone! 

I spent the next hour in a panic as I could not find the papers I wanted.  There was another presentation of the same group that was missing as well.  I went from room to room.  I went into the trash.  I looked over papers once, twice and three times. Back to the trash, to the coffee table, to the file cabinet in case I had filed it with other papers. THEN I thought to call my husband and see if perhaps he had taken them to work.  It was now well after 12:30PM when I had the answer that yes he did.  In all this time I was frantic.  A lot of work goes into these and I did not want to have to do it all over again.

I am betting some of you have felt that feeling of frantic looking for something that you  are certain that you know where it is in your house.  I was feeling frantic and overwhelmed all at the same time.  This overwhelmed feeling was heavy on my chest.  My shoulders felt low as if I were a milkmaid carrying a long bar with two heavy cans of milk on it one on each end.  My breath was coming in short spurts and I was feeling like I was going to lose it.  My eyes were darting looking for just anything that might be the papers I needed.  I was  looking up.  I was at the desk looking.  I was at the counter thinking it was there.  I was very uncomfortable.  On top of that I still had not gotten dressed at all this day and our bed was unmade.  I judged myself as a failure.

Imagine going from good to frantic in such a short period of time!  Well I did!  Looking back on it the whole incident was ridiculous.  I could have recreated what I needed yet I HAD to find THOSE pieces of paper.  I had allowed myself to get worked up and frantic over nothing to anyone else I am sure.  To me, yesterday, it was a judgment on myself as a very unorganized person who cannot keep much straight.  We are of course all hardest on ourselves are we not?

Once I located the papers and realized what I had done to myself I let go of it all.  I said a few words I will not write here and relaxed.  I decided not to bother fretting about getting dressed any differently.  I did have on a lounge DRESS after all!  It is clothes!  I made my lunch and read the paper and attempted the crossword.  My brain was not ready for that though.  Further I let myself chill and sat in the ‘Grandmama Chair’ (named as it is perfect for me and a couple of kidders) and watched some TV.  What a day!

The good news is I did accomplish something.  I had finished one presentation and managed to get my lunch. After watching TV I picked up and cleaned some in the family room.   It was okay that I did not complete my list totally.  One major, any, accomplishment for yesterday was good enough!  I got in the shower at 4:30PM and we went to a movie and out to dinner using a gift card we have had for about 6 months!!!

The additional good news is that while watching TV I was blessed to catch the arrival of our four heroes from Libya.  What a beautiful ceremony.  We live in the best country!  It really put my silly panic and overwhelmed feelings into perspective. 

Today I am going to make home made baked beans for my husband for supper and look for a misplaced credit card.  It will be a better day I am just sure of it!

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

WINDOWS – LOOKING IN OR LOOKING OUT

GOOD MORNING WORLD

I think I am on a follow-up kick as I am once again writing about windows.  Truth be known I love windows.  I was the kid with her nose on the window of the store looking in to see what they had inside.  I kept a look out with my sister from the window of our bedroom awaiting our grandmother’s arrival from Florida each spring.  Even washing windows has joy in the job as you see the sparkle.  I especially liked Glass Wax as it created a film and when you cleaned it off you were removing dirt with the chalky film leaving a clean window behind.

Yesterday on my travels I passed by a lovely home.  It was a brick colonial and the shades were down.  In the middle of two windows in one room were two statues standing in the middle pane between the two locks.  I was stopped at a stop light and am assuming there were locks on the windows as there are on ours.  It was the statue that caught my eye.  Who lived in this home that they had two identical giraffes in the front windows?

Giraffes seemed like an odd ornament for what I believed was either the living room or dining room.  What did the rest of the room look like?  Were there larger giraffes elsewhere in that area?  Were the colors of the room gold or yellow and beige or brown? Did the giraffe have some connection with their ancestry? The rest of my travel to the store was wrapped around that quick glance at the windows of this home.

What would people see if they looked at our windows?  Is there warmth emanating from our home?  Are our windows inviting to others?  What of the door?  Does it ooze welcome?  Or are our shades pulled?  Are our windows covered with heavy curtains?  Light airy curtains?  Are the windows clean?  You see it was a long trip to the store.

I actually keep that in mind when I am decorating our home.  What does the front of our house say to others?  Come in or stay away?  I am hoping it is inviting.  I try at least to make it so.  The curtains in the dining room cover the whole window as I do not want the table to be hit by direct sun.  The curtains are sheer so I am hoping it is welcoming.  In the living room on the same level I have sheer curtains in a café style so that the top is wide open.  The second story has similar curtains to the first.  I like some symmetry.

I could live in a glass house.  I love windows.  I do not like the cleaning of them anymore and that is one job I have outsourced!!!  I have usually had a window around most of our houses that look out on trees or a natural area.  I like looking out at nature.  I like watching the rabbits, squirrels or birds that inhabit those areas.  It is restful. 

My memories of windows have me leaning on the sill in my tiny bedroom on the second floor of our house on Main St.  I watched for Grammy to arrive.  I watched for my friends to come over on their bikes.  I watched the bus go by and knew it was time to start walking to school.  I watched funeral processions.  When I look at pictures of that window and that house I see love.

There is a country song released a couple of years ago where the singer shares that his favorite view of his house was his front porch looking in.  What would you see looking through your windows?  Looking out from them??

I am hoping my windows and doors say welcome. I am certain that the winter plaque that I hand-painted to look like my home church in snow that has been by our door all year says this lady needs help!

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

FOLLOW-UP aka TAKE STOCK THURSDAY

GOOD MORNING WORLD

I could have saved this for tomorrow and called it a ‘Follow-up Friday’ post instead of a ‘Fired-up Friday’.  Or perhaps I could call it ‘Take stock (as in review) Thursday’ if I need a tag line that is catchier than the above, I think I will add that to the title.

I have been looking at this blank white page everyday since June 1st.  It really is intimidating some days.  Today it is not as I have a couple of post partially ready.  Still I have in me a need to review and see the trail I left behind.  I want to look to see if there has been any impact from what I have written.  Well I took stock looked back and the answer is there has been feedback and impact.

I am pleased to share from the WHO AM I REALLY posts that I have even more genealogical information from my cousin so that I have more knowledge of my family trees.  I think the only one that is lacking now is my father’s mother’s line.

The CELEBRATION CONTINUES is the best one as it does continue.  Surprising our granddaughter was great and the few days at the spa were heavenly.  I am looking forward to what I can plan next to enjoy this birthday year.  I wanted one big thing to commemorate it.  I bought myself a Troll/Pandora bracelet!  It was fun adding the beads to get exactly what I wanted.  I love it!!!

I heard from the negative person I mentioned briefly in the ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE post.  They were not happy with what I wrote and sent me a nasty note.  I have yet to understand how they found out the post was about them unless someone else thought they were negative as well? I followed up with a calmer letter of my own and an invitation, when they were ready as I knew them to be well intentioned, to get together and heal the situation.  I have heard nothing yet.

The post entitled DECLARATION was intended to state my values.  I no longer post on that person’s wall as requested.  Interestingly enough I discovered yesterday that I was ‘defriended’ on Facebook by a young woman, a daughter of an old friend.  I challenged a couple of her political posts and followed up with facts.  Evidently it was not welcomed.  I got a chuckle out of the whole situation and sent her another friend request which of course will not be accepted.  

The good news of  WITNESS WEDNESDAY is that our daughter is all settled in her new home.  The children are in school.  Her husband is glad to have his family back together and she is looking for a job.

NUMBERS is calling me to responsibility that I have to make a doctor’s appointment to get the new numbers for myself.  Think I could lose 65# by next week?

I have written often in several posts about the media and the treatment given to our political process.  It is my belief, fortified by many others opinions, that our mainstream media is biased.  There was another example of this on Wednesday.  I watched the news off and on all day as I was working about doing my chores.  [[[By the way, is anyone else aware that right leaning people are heavier than the left?  Kid you not, this was a mention on one of my facebook threads.  It seems there is a study that says that right leaning people sit and listen to news more than others.  Got to tell you I would love a time to just sit and listen to news.  Have not had a chance to research this and plan to for a future post.]]]

I watched the press conference with Mitt Romney.  I listened and listened and it seemed they were all asking the same question over and over.  Come to find out a young eager reporter overheard a conversation between an NPR reporter and one from CBS and they were coordinating their questions.  I thought reporting was a competitive job and that reporters wanted the best scoop? The young man who made note of the coordination certainly did his job!!!

I am very pleased to share the results of  TACT etc…  I DID write the note to my friend telling her how I was hurt even though I did not think she meant what she said.  She answered with an email and note of thanks.  I believe our friendship is stronger now.  I am so glad I took the leap of faith and challenged what I heard over lunch.  Friendships are very important to me.

Lastly, SHARP KNIVES was probably one of my favorite posts.  I smile when I hear the words ‘but wait’.  I have to share that I fell prey once again to a hawker in Walmart.  This time the hook was a potato peeler and the buy was a slicer (mandolin).  It is wonderful!  Besides the free peeler we got another as well as the slicer and an extra cheese grater.  With this one buy I replaced three items in my kitchen.  BUT WAIT…………

Before I close I thank everyone – those I know and those I do not know – for your comments.  You spur me on.  I especially thank those I do not know for reading this blog.  It is more of a job than I anticipated and I enjoy the challenge I set forth for myself each day.

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

NO RED LINE FOR ALLIES – ENEMIES GIVEN WITHDRAWAL DATE -NO CONSISTENCY

GOOD MORNING WORLD

This mornings post may be better for a small facebook post as it is full of questions.  I am terribly confused.  Are we not supposed to stand up for our friends through thick and thin?  What is going on with our government?  How can we not react to the death of a US Ambassador?  They stormed our embassy and tore down the flag in Cairo.  Where is our reaction to that?  The crisis in these areas came about due to a obscure 14 minute internet movie trailer???

The first response to these actions was to apologize for the movie?  On the 9-11 anniversary Hillary Clinton condemned the actions and the President disavowed it and Mrs. Clinton contradicted him and gave the same apology.  Who is in charge?

The President came right to the podium when Trayvon Martin was killed.  Ambassodor Chris Stevens was killed in Libya and where is the President?  We received a written statement?

Our President has refused to meet with the Prime Minister of Israel and is going to be the David Letterman show the same week?

The President spoke out against Scott Walker in Wisconsin when the unions went on strike against Walker.  There has been no word from the President on the matter of the teacher’s strike in Chicago except that he wishes to remain neutral.  Where is the consistency in this?

I have to say this morning I am very unsettled about our country and the leadership.  It has more to do with this President’s lack of experience than it does with partisan politics.  It is reminiscent of Jimmy Carter.  Weren’t there hostages taken under his 4 years in office? 

The facts scare me.  Obama’s inexperience scares me.  Our President reportedly has only attended 60% of his briefings.  He has been to 200 fundraisers.  He apologized his way across the world when he first took office.  He believes that it is okay to lead from behind.  He has spent these last almost 4 years blaming Bush for what he is not accomplishing.  This morning I heard this quote, ‘blame never solved a problem’.  We are still having problems and need leadership.  Obama is still in charge and inconsistent and I think he needs to ask for help.

I have no way to judge these situations as they are ongoing.  I only know from my life experiences that if I want people to follow me in whatever I am doing I better be saying the same thing all the time.  With children you do not say one thing and do another.  You do not tell them one thing and then have the other parent say another.  We must present a unified front.  I do not see it.

I heard Bruce Herschenshon who is an American political commentator and a senior fellow of Pepperdine University School of Public Policy and served under Nixon and was on Reagan’s transition team.   (Herschensohn has been a Distinguished Fellow at the Claremont Institute and a fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has taught politics at the University of Maryland, Whittier College and at Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy)  He calls these latest acts, ‘acts of war’.  He said these embassies should be as safe as our own homes.  He calls for the President to go back to work and stop campaigning.

K.T. McFarland and Victoria Clarke, both former assistant Secretaries of Defense, agree that this is an act of war.  They called for the President to get to a podium and look the American people and the world in the eye and tell everyone that this will not be tolerated. 

They also noted that it seemed odd that these occurred on 9-11.  Perhaps Obama will take time to speak sometime later today.

Perhaps we will understand this better later.  For now, I can only share that I do not want to see us go to war and am very uncomfortable with the world today.

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

9-11 REMEMBRANCE

GOOD MORNING WORLD

Eleven years later there are still tears in my eyes as I hear the names read aloud over the television.  The children of those lost are grown.  Wives and husbands are still grieving a loss.  Parents still missing their children.  Such loss. 

Why do we continue this demonstration of grieving each year?  Of course we wish to honor those who gave their lives and to never forget.  Each year I make a point to watch as my way to pray for the souls of those who died.  It is hard to watch the children speak their parent’s names in tears.  The same with husbands, wives, nieces or nephews or parents who read their relatives name aloud.  

Where were you?  I was at my kitchen sink in O’Fallon, MO making coffee and listening to the TV that was perched on the refrigerator.  

What was your first response?  I picked up the phone and called my husband who was in Louisiana. I said, “I am not sure what is going on in the world and I love you.”  I went on to tell him what had happened.  We hung up and I called our children with the same message.  The second plane hit.  Alone in my kitchen I did not know what was happening in our world.  I could only sit and watch the horror.

Then the day went on.  My group of friends decided we would indeed gather for lunch as planned.  Without saying it it was understood that we seemed to need each other.  Most of our husbands traveled and most were away.  Instead of sitting at the beautifully set table we all gathered around the TV and had our lunch and watched and prayed together.  We were together when we found out that all the husbands had plans and ways to return home.  Planes were grounded and it was difficult to find travel.  My husband was called by his travel agent and told to not return his rental car and to drive it back to Missouri.  The world stopped. 

This is one of those moments that are in our souls that we will know where we were at this specific time.  It is the same with the Kennedy assassination.  We all know where we were that day I am sure.  I imagine our parents had similar reactions to Pearl Harbor Day.  Our job and our mission must be to never forget these days and to honor our heroes.

A few years ago we heard from a friend, who was working in D.C. that day 9-11-2001,  her story about the plane that hit the Pentagon.  She watched from across the street knowing many who were in the building.

We had the opportunity this past year to visit Shanksville, PA and the Flight 93 National Memorial.  It was powerful.  I believe I began crying at the very minute our tires touched the beginning of the long drive into the memorial.  I couldn’t understand why the emotion.  The only thought is that I knew more about the people involved in this memorial.  I knew of the heroism of the people on this plane who banded together to stop the terrorists with a “Let’s Roll”.  

It is a long drive into this memorial and then a long walk to the actual site.  Perhaps this was planned for the opportunity it gives one to pray each step.  It is a simple powerful memorial.  It is funded through a public-private partnership so we all have an opportunity to be a part by sharing of our on gifts as donations.  I am including information at the end.

I think the thing about Shanksville is that these people worked together and were alone in that field for some time.  In New York and in DC first responders were running INTO the buildings to help.  In Shanksville people were trying to figure out where this plane had landed.  These heroes landed and waited quietly for attention.  That quiet is honored in the memorial.  A nondescript field holds heroes forever.  It is a very simple moving place.

The stories of this day will be remembered over and over.  Let the prayers for these people, our nation and our leaders be remembered the same and never cease.

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

Flight 93 National Memorial Campaign
The National Memorial is being built through a public-private partnership with approximately half the funds coming from the private sector. The National Park Foundation, the congressionally-charted partner of the National Park Service, is leading a national campaign to raise the necessary private funds. To donate or learn more, please visit www.honorflight93.org or call 202.354.6488.