Musings From a Simple Mind

Updates

2007-02-09T16:35:00.000-06:00

I have been writing a lot. Not here, obviously, but have been working on a story. I was talking to a friend and she said that her therapist suggested that she try journaling, but she thinks it is a bad idea. So, I took that idea and am writing a story as if I am the patient who was told to journal. I am having fun with it, but, it is causing me to remember some things I would rather forget.

I finally found Bro O2. I signed up for a myspace page just so I could message him. He is such a talented kid. And, of course there is Shane. I loved to listen to his music while I am writing or, well, actually, doing anything.

And, I have decided to give cafepress another try. I am doing things a tad bit differently this time around. I also bought a new digital camera, which I honestly could not afford, but, hey, if I waited till I could afford things I would never get anything. This is a video, digital camera and cam for the computer, plus has an mp3 player. Guess what I will add to the mp3??

I have been tossing an idea for a video around for a while now. I am going to try to make it. It will involve puppets, hand-type puppets.

Ok, sweet dreams everyone.

Stuff

2007-02-04T23:35:00.000-06:00

First, the Justice for Kirsty link over on the sidebar. Please click on it and do whatever you can to help her family find out what happened and who the real culprit is. And, most importantly, bring him to justice.

Well, I suppose there isn't going to be a second tonight. I do want to begin posting more regularly and hopefully I will. I tried to setup a myspace page, and good lord the mess I made. Then, when I went over to forums.....where you are sent for help.....I find that I have to be a member for seven days before I can post there. So, as of now my page is dumb looking and what I want on there is not on there. Well, there are two Shane MacGowan's linked to me. I found the pages when I was looking through the site and clicked to be added to both. And, I was. Not sure which is the real one. Maybe neither.

Watched If I Should Fall From Grace With God today. Liked it.

I want to try to add a music link to this blog and change music weekly or more often.

Ok, it is cold here and Gumbo is looking too pitiful so I suppose I will turn on my audiobook and crawl....not literally....into bed.

Sweet dreams

It's me again, Ethel....

2007-01-02T20:51:00.000-06:00

Well, here I go again. This time the crazy gene put up a good fight but....I won the battle again. I am just afraid that I will win the battles but lose the war.

Not much news to talk about with me. I am keeping my youngest grandson while my daughter is in school. That is a hoot. Reese is so smart. I know, I know, but he is really. He is two years old and knows all the colors, ABCs, recognizes his name when I write it amd can count to 20. He surprises me every day. They were over for a bit yesterday. Reese stayed with me while Mike went to a welcome home party for one of her old friends. Reese and I were out front and he saw some other kids riding thei bikes in the street, so he wanted to go out there. He has this old pink buggy thing that he loves to push around. So, he takes it out into the street and runs up and down pushing it. I was with him and after a few minutes I said something about him making me exercise. He gave me a big grin and then turned around an took off down the street. I was fairly close behind him when he looked over his shoulder and said...'pma, you hineing me?'....So now we are all saying that we are 'hineing' someone when we are behind them. (Sounds odd, now that I think of it) A mocking bird flew down and landed on a telephone wire across the street and started singing. Reese stopped and looked at the bird for a few minutes, then asked me if I heard the 'knocking' bird. Mike said she didn't know that he knew a mockingbird from any others.

No, I won't be spending all my time talking about Reese, even though I could. I am startng back with my exercising and dieting. The diet was mainly for lowering my cholesterol, but I have lost 30 some odd pounds and no feel like keeping on till I get to 130.

I am also signed up for guitar lessons....boy howdy! I will play Wildwood Flower on PT or Stickam one night soon.

I have been listening to the Pogues and Tom Waits a lot. I had stopped listening to music for some reason. Tom Waits has a song, Broken Bicycles, that makes me tear up every time I hear it. He is so good. He is such a visual artist. I mean, it isn't just the music. It isn't just him standing in front of a mic and singing. He puts all of himself into the songs. And, the Pogues...well, Shane McGowan is the only sexy, no front tooth man I have ever seen. I will try to find a picture of him to post below so ya'll can see what I mean. Ok, so the pic is on top there.

Ok, ya'll. Sweet dreams for the dreamers and peace for everyone else.

Nothing much

2006-11-10T18:31:00.000-06:00

I do have things I want to write about, but I have not been taking the time to do them. After playing with Reese three days a week, and let's not forget Annie (the puppy), I usually need a day alone to just read or watch a good movie. Then, it is time to really clean house because I don't do that much serious cleaning while he is here. So, that takes another day.

Then, too, I start thinking that this is a silly thing to be doing, but, after arguing with myself awhile, I will start thinking of what I want to write about. Then, Reese is back.

So, while I have the urge and the time, I will try to catch up with my life. I am still taking the cholesterol meds and still losing weight. I have finally gotten all the junk my older son left here cleaned up and thrown away. One of my neighbors actually told me that my yard was looking pretty good. I need to cut the grass, probably for the last time before next June. I started to Monday, but my mower died, so Leslie came over and got it and fixed it for me. Now, tomorrow I will cut the grass and continue my war against the ants. I was using some ant killer....can't remember the name...and Leslie told me that she had gotten the best (which usually means the most expensive) and gave me some. The ant beds got larger. Then, I heard somewhere that bleach is a good ant killer. First you pour some bleach over the bed then stir it up with a shovel and pour more bleach. When I did that to the biggest antbed out back the inside was full of the little yellow pellets of the 'best' ant killer. Anyway, bleach works, but you have to put it on the beds everyday till they are absolutely gone. Poor Reese has gotten bitten so many times, bless his heart.

Ok, this is really boring but it is what I have been doing for the last few weeks. So............

sticks and stones

2006-10-23T23:10:00.000-05:00

My kids are having some good laughs over me. I do a lot of things at night. I don't like going out during the day. People call this house the Addams Family House. Anyway, the other night, I got a wild hair to take the small wicker waste basket and exchange it with the larger one that is sitting on the back porch. It was about 3am-ish. I went out to get the larger one, but someone had put some trash in it so I was taking it out and putting it into the smaller basket and I just fell. Just, whop. And, broke a clay planter at the same time. My first thought was that I was so happy that my kids were not there because they would have laughed themselves sick. Sick kids....just like me. Anyway, I finally got up and walked, stiffly, into my bathroom to see there was any visible damage. I have a horrible scrape on my elbow and some bruises on my side. But, nothing to write home about.

Other than trying to break my leg or arm, I have been trying to fix my rocks and posters from my trip to the GrandCanyon. I finally fixed on it today. It looks pretty good if I do say so.

Sweet dreams and don't forget 'Lost'.

this and that

2006-10-22T23:33:00.000-05:00

Well, it looks like I might have taken a longer waller time, but I have not either the time or the inclination to write here. I think it is the change in the weather. That and coming back from our trip to Utah and beyond. I saw so much beauty out there that I want to go back. I am trying to save for a car so I can take my grandsons with me. I don't think either of my daughters will let them go across town in a car that has almost 230,000 miles on it. It runs good though, which means that I will get another Nissan when the time is right.

Reese and I are getting things together to start making Christmas presents. Remember, he is the only Seymour boy carrying the line on down the road, so anything he makes will be kept for years.

First thing we are going to make will be bread dough angels and stars and Reese will be the painter and the glitter sprinkler. Then we are make 2 imprints of his hands and feet. The hands we will paint and glitter and put a pic of him on it. This will be for the tree. The foot impression I will have to work on a little bit to get it ready, I will put maw maw on one side and pawpaw on the other side, then fill it up with candy corn. It is going to be a candy dish, but only candy corn will be allowed in it

I have two crochet things to finish. These will be framed and hanged on the wall. I forget what the symbol is for, but, oh well.

Ok dudes, see you in a bit.

A Waller Weekend

2006-09-18T20:32:00.000-05:00

Ever have a waller weekend? I did this weekend. It's easy to have one and I highly reccommend that you have at least one every month or so.

First, you have to be alone. Get all the snacks you want and take them to your bedroom. You can have it in the living room, but it is so much better in the bedroom. Get some books or several movies, put on some sweats or go nekid if you want, just be comfortable.

Then, get in bed and read or watch movies and eat and sleep. Either turn off the phone or just don't answer it.

Try it, it will make a better you a better person. Trust me.

No Greater Love......Robert Minara

2006-09-11T21:53:00.000-05:00

I did not know Robert Minara. I know he was a New York fireman with Ladder 25. I know that he died on 9/11, trying to saved others in the World Trade Center. I know that he was 54 and left behind a wife and two grown sons. I know they are proud of him.

I sometimes wonder if he knew what had happened. Did he know that it was a terrorist attack and not just an airplane going off course? I am sure, though, of one thing. It did not matter to him how or why it happened or who did it. I am sure he was only concerned with saving as many people as he could. He was one of many running into the buildings as smoke made it hard to see, trying to save as many people as he could. We may never know how many he saved.

Did he know that he was going to die? Maybe. I am sure firefighters and other first responders are always prepared for that. He did not turn and run, he did the job he joined the fire department to do. America needs more men and women like him.

Another thing I know about Robert Minara is that he died a hero. And, maybe that is the best thing to know about him. God bless you Robert Minara.

A Firefighter's Pledge
I promise concern for others. A willingness to help all those in need.I promise courage - courage to face and conquer my fears.Courage to share and endure the ordeal of those who need me.I promise strength - strength of heart to bear whateverburdens might be placed upon me. Strength of body to deliver to safety all those placed within my care.I promise the wisdom to lead, the compassion to comfort, and the love to serve unselfishly whenever I am called. -Author Unknown

Back to the beginning

2006-09-04T13:30:00.000-05:00

Today is Labor Day, a day set aside to give the working man (and woman) an extra day off. It also marks the end of summer. Do NOT wear the white shoes that were perfectly good to wear yesterday.

But seriously, let's take a look back at the beginning of this country. Read this:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
In case anyone did not recognize it, that is the Preamble to the constitution.

And now this:

Bill of Rights
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Amendment VII
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Did you read those? Easy reading,huh? Now, here is a sample of the Patriot Act....ok, I will give you a link, if I don't then this post will be way to long http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html.

See the simplicity of the first two compared to the last? Why is that? Is it because more words are thrown in to confuse the reader? My son-in-law is a lawyer. He and I discuss most everything. I remember him telling me that the Patriot Act scared him. And, he is a card carrying Republican.

We have people pounding pulpits and whatever is around saying in their best W.C. Fields voice, that we need to get this country back to what our forefathers wanted. Yes, we do. However, we do NOT need more legislation or committees and sub-commutes. (Can't anyone see that the congress is looking more and more like a Monty Python skit???)

We need to follow and abide by the Bill of Rights, because, frankly, it says it all. And, in words the simple man can understand. It doesn't take a lawyer to read it and explain it.

So, yes, let's get back to what our founding fathers wanted for our country. Join www.mybillofrights.org.

Dear Lord, save me from fundies

2006-09-03T14:31:00.000-05:00

I have been trying and trying to get that cafepress logo off my blog, but have had no luck. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know what to do. In detail.

I was having a great Saturday until my daughter called from Michigan and told me it was Sunday. Well, dang.

Then, I read a letter from a fundy on an email group that I belong to and that has set me to the boiling point. He is one of the type who thinks that any time a horrendous storm happens, then it is God's punishment on the evilness of man. I wrote back and asked him that why, if what he believes is true, the French Quarter was basically unharmed. Ya'll remember the French Quarter.....Mardi Gras, topless dancing, etc. And, I asked why Las Vegas is still sitting there with not one thing happening to it.

I also asked what sort of evil was going on when Betsy blew through and almost destroyed Grand Isle, La and the tornado in the 30's that nearly wiped out Tupelo, Ms and then went on to cause havoc in other states. What about the flood in the twenties that killed so many people in Tennessee and Kentucky. This led to the Tenn-Tom waterway. Maybe those ole boys were drinking or selling too much 'shine.

I am going to post part of his email PLEASE KNOW THAT I DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS.....Some tragedies are judgments of God on the wicked. I understand that one of the cities that was hit the hardest was very wicked. Immorality, crime, murders and gambling was rampant. Maybe God allow this to judge them so others would take heed and repent and turn to Him. It is undeniable that America is turning farther away from God all the time. Many of these troubles could be God's warning that He will come in greater judgment on a wicked nation.

This man is the sort of pastor that I run from. On the one hand he acts like God speaks directly to him and then he runs from any questions.

I dare him to come down here to the Mississippi Coast and try to 'minister' to the people still living in tents, under bridges or doubled up with family.

I have seen people leave jobs and families to come down here to help. They open clinics and places where people could get hot meals....sandwiches do get old....they go door to door because they know that not all people can get to the rescue centers. I watched a group of kids with one adult supervising them, replace the roof on one of my neighbor's house. At no cost. The man just had to buy the shingles.

These are the people who impress me. The ones out living their faith, not sitting at home looking for the bad in people.

God Bless them the ones who put their faith in action.

TV anyone????

2006-09-02T12:39:00.000-05:00

Well, I went to the doc's for labwork last Tuesday. My cholesterol is 208, it was 270. I was thrilled, but apparently the doc isn't so he wants me to take yet another med along with the Lipitor. Ah well. I think that if I had not just come back from that fifteen day trip, eating things I shouldn't have, the numbers might have been better. We'll see when I go back to be checked in November.

Being short of money, for various reasons, I have cancelled the premium channels on cable. Which means that now, instead of flipping through 140 channels, trying to find something to watch, I now flip through 60, trying to find something to watch. I do most of my TV watching or hunting,at night. Can someone tell me why there are three channels with Law and Order on? Is it really, truly that good? Then, there are the shows that are trying to get you to try (buy) their way of making a million a year or the makeup ones, or the natural health ones. I found one that seems to talk about excessive fecal matter all the time. They told the world (being facious there) that during John Wayne's autopsy, the doc found forty, FORTY pounds of old fecal matter! No wonder ole John walked like that.
Someone please, dear God I beg you, please put something good to watch on late night TV for us po' folks who need something to help us get in the mood to sleep.

Bricks and ..........

2006-09-01T13:35:00.000-05:00

My youngest daughter is spending some days with me while she goes to school. I watch her son who is two and also her Boston Terrier puppy. She stays for three days and then goes home.

A couple of nights ago, I went out to put the trash can by the street and saw a small piece of brick laying by the driveway. Now, this piece of brick has lain on the railroad ties that separates the flower bed from the rest of the grass, forEVER, or near 'bout. So, of course my first thought was that I had interrupted someone who was fixing to break a window and come into the house. I didn't say anything to my daughter because I didn't want her to worry.

Until today. She called and we were just talking about whatever when I decided to tell her about the brick. As soon as I mentioned it, she started laughing. Finally, she says, that she was the one who moved it. Seems her puppy needed to go outside and while Michael was waiting on her to finish she noticed the brick. HER first thought was that someone could use it to break in on us. So, she moved it to the side of the road.

We then decided that with two crazy people living here, we need some way to keep up, so we are going to put a dry erase board up and write down if either of us do anything silly during the night.

When I was out in Utah, I stayed with my friend Leslie's mother. Her house is huge. She has seven bedrooms and five bathrooms and lives alone. Her basement runs the entire length of the house and she put two apartments down there. I spent a lot of time down there, because the upstairs was full of strangers with their kids. One morning I walked up stairs....didn't turn the stair lights on so it felt like coming out of a cave. My friend was standing in the middle on a bagillion people and saw me coming up the stairs. She put her hand to her head and said, ' oh nooooo, this means we will have six more weeks of winter'.

Maybe you had to be there.

Cow patties and meteors

2006-08-28T01:05:00.000-05:00

Welp, I finally did it. I went to Arizona and Utah....and also Texas. Just the panhandle though.

I went with a friend whose mother lives in Utah. We had a hoot of a trip. The second evening we stopped for the night in Quanah, Texas. The desk clerk told us that there was a local annual rodeo that night so, we decided to go check it out. I mean, Quanah, Texas....what else is there to do?

Actually, it was fun. The rodeo was being held in support of the local 4hers. First thing I did was buy a ticket to win a quarter horse, but when it was pointed out that I would have no way of taking him in any direction, I told the little girl who sold me the ticket that if I won, I would give her the horse. Poor thing kept her fingers crossed all evening. I didn't win.

There was the usual cowboys doing their thing, but the best part was the kids. There was the sheep riding, the ride the hide and pull the bow off the cow's tail. Ride the hide looked like fun. There were three relay teams. Each team had someone on a horse holding onto a rope with a tarp tied to it. One kid would lay down on the tarp and the horse would take off and drag him/her through the dirt (this was about half-way through the rodeo, so you can imagine what else they were pulled through) down and around a barrel and then back to the starting line. That kid would roll off and then another would jump on and off they would go.

The announcer either had a speech impediment or needed a new speaker cause he kept inviting everyone to stay after the rodeo and join Trigger Happy in a good ole country ass-whooping. I finally asked my friend if she heard what I was hearing and she said 'yep' (she seemed to be getting into the spirit of the rodeo). We kept looking around to see other people's reactions and then he announced it again. What he was saying was, that Trigger Happy was a BAND and there was going to be a country and western dance after the rodeo.

The next day we went to ice cave and walked to the top of a volcano. Oh, and no way was it a twenty minute walk. Took at least thirty and a tough thirty at that. I have some pictures that I will post, cause we we to the Petrified Forrest, Grand Canyon and the Meteor Crater. I also go an official Route 66 and area 51 license.

See ya tomorrow.

Heaven???

2006-07-25T19:53:00.000-05:00

I got this in the mail today. I loved the message and decided to share it.

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the
scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.
He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been
dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.
After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side
of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was
broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.
When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch
that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked
like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as
he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.
When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"
"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.
"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right
up."
The man gestured, and the gate began to open.
"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the
traveler asked.
I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."
The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and
continued the way he had been going with his dog.
After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came
to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never
been closed. There was no fence.
As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a
tree and reading a book.
"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"
"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."
"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.
"There should be a bowl by the pump."
They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an
old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.
The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself,
then he gave some to the dog.
When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who
was standing by the tree.
"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.
"This is Heaven," he answered.
"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road
said that was Heaven, too."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope.
That's hell."
"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave
their best friends behind."

Soooo...
Sometimes, we wonder why friends keep forwarding jokes to us without
writing a word.

Maybe this will explain.
When you are very busy, but still want to keep in touch, guess what
you do? You forward jokes.
When you have nothing to say, but still want to keep contact, you
forward jokes.
When you have something to say, but don't know what, and don't know
how, you forward jokes.
Also to let you know that you are still remembered, you are still
important, you are still loved, you are still cared for, guess what you get?
A forwarded joke.
So, next time if you get a joke, don't think that you've been sent
just another forwarded joke, but that you've been thought of today and your
friend on the other end of your computer wanted to send you a smile.
You are all welcome @ my water bowl anytime

2006-07-19T04:46:00.000-05:00

It has occured to me that I talk about my grandsons, especially the baby, but not that much about the older two. The tall one on the left is Nicholas, who will soon be 14 and the shortie on the right is Ryan, who is 12. Now, don't think I am being mean by calling Ryan a shortie. He and I have had a unique relationship since he was about 3. He is a joker and loves practical jokes....just like I do. Sometimes we write silly things back and forth trying to outdo each other in insults. Nick is quiet and a voracious reader. He read the last Harry Potter in one weekend. I has more of a sly sense of humor, and can be so funny. This pic is the only one I have of the three boys together and it is 2 years old. When they were here last April we took all sorts of pictures, but none with the digital camera. I want to get some new pics of them all. Actually, Nick and Ryan look the same, just taller.

Puppies, young boys and born gentlemen

2006-07-16T01:30:00.000-05:00

I went over to Baton Rouge today to visit my youngest daughter and her husband and son. Ok, so I actually went to spoil my grandson, who at two years old continues to amaze me with what he knows. He knows his colors, can count to ten, knows his ABCs and learned Twinkle Twinkle Little Star from the cd I gave him for Christmas. He is one smart little youngun. Here he is getting ready to give Johnny Depp a run for his money.

The other reason I went is because they got their new puppy, Annie. Look at that face! How can anyone want any other kind of dog???? Boston Terriers are the best dogs, hands down.

So, I played cars and trains with Reese and tried to keep Annie from gnawing my toes off. And, hated to leave when I did, but a friend drove me over because my van is kinda sorta falling apart just now.

On the way home I started telling Leslie, my friend, ( some people think that my friendship with her is sending me straigt to hell, but that's for another day) Anyway, I started talking about my older brother and how odd and talented he is. He once paid my youngest brother a dime to let him, the older brother, push the younger brother's face down into the mud so he could make a plaster cast to use for a dummy's head. He still has that dummy. He also has two others, both he bought. He also is an amateur magician and has designed and built several 'tricks'. Over the past few years he has been moving his dummies and tricks to a room at his bakery (he makes absolutely the best doughnuts. No one is as good.) So, even though his house got flooded during Katrina, he did not lose any of the special things he values. Anything else he lost can be replaced.

James writes and draws and just thinks of the weirdest things. A conversation with him is, you ask a question or mention something and off he goes, while you sit back and just enjoy.

He has always loved old cars and has had a 1928 Model T and a 1932 Roadster with a rumble seat. I may be wrong on the years, but I do remember that one was a truck and he had to use a hand crank to get it going. (This is one incident where he wished that he had a regular car.) This happened in a spooky house we lived in once, where weird things were always happening. Or, my brothers tried to scare me into believing they really happened. The only thing that happened there that I believe, but didn't see, happened to my oldest brother. James worked at a bakery and had to be at work at 3:30 am. When this incident happened he was there alone. The rest of the family had gone to visit my stepfather's family. James said that he got up one morning and while he was getting ready he heard a car or truck drive up and stop in front of our house. He heard men laughing and talking and sounds of equipment and doors banging. He didn't think anything of it because we had been told that the city was soon going to clear the trees and make the road go all the way to the next subdivision. He finished getting ready and went out to get in his car......he had a 1932 Ford Roadster that he had to crank....and there was nothing, not a car, truck or anyone, out there. He swore that he had heard this. He also said that he had never cranked that thing so fast before.

I love my brother. He has had a hard life. He starting working when he was 8, on a paper route. He had a good route too. Most people in our small town knew our family and that our father was an alcoholic. James' route covered the black section of town. Every so often, the newspaper would hold a drive to get more subscriptions and the paperboy got the most would get a prize. Good prizes too. So, the people on his route would all get together, sign on for taking the paper and then after the contest was over they cancelled their subscriptions, till the next contest. He got a bike, one the he road while I was standing up on his shoulders. (I trusted him and would do anything he asked.) He also got a TV. This TV happened to arrive on my 5th birthday, so nothing could convince me that it wasn't my birthday gift. (Of course, this was before my mother got so involved with the JWs.)

James used me in a lot of his magic tricks and I thought I was the coolest thing going. He also taught me to read before I started school. He brought home at least one Little Golden Book each time he got paid.

James didn't finish school. He barely finished the seventh grade. He had to work to support us, since our father wasn't going to and our mother could only get work heading shrimp. But, James is the most intelligent, scholarly man you would ever want to meet. And, he did it on his own, after work or in between jobs. He proves what makes a man great. And, it isn't the name of the school you go to or the name of the family you are born into.

It's War

2006-07-14T15:32:00.000-05:00

A friend sent this to me and it was just too funny to keep to myself. Especially since we all need a laugh now and then.

This morning, from a cave somewhere in Pakistan, Taliban Minister of
Migration, Mohammed Omar, warned the United States that if military action against Iraq continues, Taliban authorities will cut off America's supply of convenience store managers. And if this action does not yield sufficient results, cab drivers will be next, followed by Dell customer service reps.

It's getting ugly!

The Bill of Rights

2006-07-10T23:19:00.000-05:00

Below is the Bill of Rights. I decided to post it because we all, everyone of us in the United States, no matter our political persuasion, should know these by heart.

The First 10 Amendments to the
Constitution as Ratified by the States
December 15, 1791

Preamble

Congress OF THE United States
begun and held at the City of New York, on Wednesday
the Fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.

THE Conventions of a number of the States having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best insure the beneficent ends of its institution

RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.:

ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Movies

2006-07-07T22:37:00.000-05:00

Two words for you........Johnny Depp. I went to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie today. I was totally surprised that there were so many people there at such an early time of the day. We actually had to sit on the very front row of seats. And, it was worth it. I laughed most of the time and some people cheered. It is a good movie and the special effectives are believable.

But, I saw something there that I could not believe. A preview of aNOTHER Rocky movie. Yes, you read that right. A new ROCKY movie.

Lord help us.

Finally, an intelligent, funny comedian

2006-06-28T00:02:00.000-05:00

Ok. When there is a Recover post link, you would think it would actually recover the post, right? Well, it didn't and I just finished writing the perfect rant. But, never fear, I will rewrite it.

It is about one of my peeves (ain't no pet about it) untalented comedians who resort to vulgarity instead of learning their craft. It is either that or they think that we, the audience, are too ignorant to get the jokes without the vulgarity. For instance, a comedian walks on stage amd starts his/her routine. First joke goes something like this......Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side. He/she get some lame, pity laughs. So, they decide they need to turn it up a notch, or they will never get on the Tonight Show. So, here's the joke the next time.....Why did the m*****f*****g chicken cross the f*****g road? To get to the other G*dd**n side. This time the audience roars with laughter, because, after all, we can't look uncool can we? The comedian has learned that using vulgarity instead of intelligence gets the laughs.

Thinking more about this, maybe, the audience does have a huge part in this. Don't get me wrong, vulgarity does not offend me. It is the presumption that I am too stupid or ignorant to understand jokes without the vulgarity.

A friend of mine has said that AIDS has killed the really talented people in Hollywood. I am beginning to think she is right.

I had written more about this, wrote about the stupid movies that are being made. And, tell ya'll the sexiest scene in a movie I have seen, without seeing sweaty, jiggling bodies. I will do that tomorrow. I was just going over this blog, lord knows, someone has to read it, anyway, I saw that I was supposed to tell ya'll about the sexiest scene I ever saw in a movie. Get ready. It was in "It's A Wonderful Life". Stay with me here. Remember when Donna Reed was on the phone with an old boyfriend and James Stewart was standing close to her, listening? And, he slowly leaned a tad bit closer, then closer? Then, he could smell her hair. (He wasn't sniffing like a dog, but was aware of how good it smelled.) And, she kept talking and he just looked at her and got closer. Well, there it is. My vote for the sexiest movie scene of all time. It was classy, sexy, tasteful, and it gave us (the audience) credit for our intelligence of what he was thinking and that she knew what he was thinking. We did not have to see them..............oh, lawd, I can't even type what I was just thinking.

There is hope for us though. I just found a comedian who is funny and intelligent. And, who is a juggling fool. His name is Chris Bliss, and just because I have just discovered him just means that I am, as usual, way behind times. I wish he would put all his videos on his website. I also wish he would come to a town, or casino, near me. I would love to see him perform live. Go to his site, check him out. And, then check out his Bill of Rights page.

LQQk over there ~~~~~~~>

2006-06-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

See that CafePress thing over there? I have been trying to get rid of it, but can't. The store is closed and I am waiting on blogger to tell me how to take that off.

i-glasses

2006-06-12T18:28:00.000-05:00

So, I am getting used to the diet Barq's rootbeer. I love the real Barq's but my favorite is still the real thing, good ole Coke. But, I have been good and have not had one in over a week. One thing with this med I am taking is that it makes me not want to eat, so I have lost ten pounds this past week. I want to lose weight, but not so fast that all the skin is hanging and I would look like a human shar pei.

I haven't been posting here very much lately because I have been busy listing things for sell on ebay. See, my friend who does some silly things at times, decided about six years ago that she wanted to collect promo cartoon glasses. So, she now has about 200 of them. She asked me last week if I would list them for her. It seemed a good way to pass the time till the new Johnny Depp movie comes out, so I said yes. ( Did I say she sometimes did silly things? Well, she isn't the only one.) So, anyway, she brings out the eight, 8, EIGHT, boxes of glasses. each held 24 glasses and in some she had doubled up. So, I start. I get a glass, took a pic of it, then listed in on ebay. It was ok, but not going fast enough for me. So, I got the bright idea to take pics of them all and then crop them and save them....you know the drill. Well, this seemed a fine idea, until after I spent 2 and 1/2 hours doing it, I realized that I hadn't named or numbered the ones that are the same. So, it was back to getting a glass, taking the pic.........

So, now I have several glasses listed and several scheduled to start in a couple of days, and will also start listing again Wednesday. If anyone wants or collects these cartoon glasses, check out ebay under i-glasses, my name on ebay.

The meds are working good except that I have been have weird dreams. My two youngest kids are having a good laugh at me. Well, piddlesquat, I laugh at them too. Man, the stories I could tell about them. Like the time my son freaked out in haunted house in Virginia Beach, and the time my daughter, who's name is Michael, was signing up for a discount on some makeup at a department store. She told the salesperson her name and then was looking around, her mind obviously not in the store at the moment. The saleslady looked at her and, to check the spelling of her name, said...'Mic...." my daughter looked at her and said...'key'.....spelling Mickey Mouse. I died, right there. Poor kid. She got the name right finally and was redfaced until we left the store then we both had to sit down on one of the benches because we were laughing so hard we couldn't see where we were going. And, trust me, they are better and funnier stories.

I think that in a month or so I will publish my log of taking the cholesterol meds and the depression meds......the last I call the meds so I won't kill Phil (my youngest)

Sad Sad day in Mudville

2006-06-02T02:15:00.000-05:00

Well, it's a sad sad day in Mudville. I went to the doctor yesterday. I knew my cholesterol was high but had no idea it was as high as it is, so I am seriously going to work at getting that down.

The sad thing is, I am borderline diabetic, which means no more cokes. A friend told me that she heard that two people had been laid off from thre coke plant in Atlanta and their kids kick out of school, since I am no longer supporting them.

Diet Barqs rootbeer seems ok........but there is nothing like the real thing.

I am going to take a couple of days to mourn and then hold a ceremony in the back yard, burying empty coke cans and pouring the coke over them as we sing.........I'd love to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony...........ah well....and end of an era.

2006-05-30T23:36:00.000-05:00

The pic of the sweet baby girl is my youngest daughter's soon to be newest critter. She is trying to think of names now. Lola might be it. The puppy is three days old now.

Well, it has certainly been an interesting day. First, I went to the doctor for the first time in over two and one half years. The doctor is one I really like, he is down to earth and is easy to talk to. The last time I went to him my cholesterol was high and he prescribed some cholesterol-lowering medicine. I took one month, but stopped because it cost just way too much and at the time I could not afford

. Today, when he asked how I was doing on it I honestly told him that I
was not taking it and why. I am also borderline diabetic, which right now can be controlled with diet and exercise (aaaagggggggg!!!) so, ok, I will stop drinking cokes. This is not going to be easy since I can easily drink twelve or more a day. I will need to lose weight too. I will start walking then will start swimming again. I also need medicine for depression. So, after my exam, the doctor left the room and came back with a bag of Lexapro (for depression) and,,,oh shoot, I can't remember the cholesterol meds and I am too lazy just now to go in the bathroom and get it. Anyway, I will not have to buy meds for as long as the doctor gets the free samples. And, as soon as my prescription insurance kicks in.

I also have something funny going on with my liver. The doctor has scheduled an ultrascan to see what it might be. It doesn't hurt and like he said I am not yellow, so he doesn't think it is anything serious. BUT, I have had two brothers die from cancer, one pancreas/liver cancer and the other they were not sure exactly where his started. He only lived seven days after his diagnosis. So, I am going to be a tad bit nervous until I find out what is going on.

On a lighter side, I went to a casino for the first time in about three years. I tried craps and lost, then went to a slot machine and did pretty good for awhile. Actually, I would have come out ahead if I had left sooner, but I was playing Wheel of Fortune and it was just so much fun. I only spent twenty dollars of my money, the rest was the casinos so it was ok. The bad part was the food. Casino food is usually good. This was horrible. Even the crab legs were overcooked. But, it was fun. But, I won't be going back for a long time.

I am going to start selling Leslie's cartoon glasses on ebay for her, then when I get done with them, she wants me to put her Mormon books on there to sell. She is doing it to keep me busy, because, when I have too much time on my hands, I do dumb things. Like play Wheel of Fortune.

And...

2006-05-29T17:45:00.000-05:00

OK, the obsessions are kicking in, I can feel them now, sneaking up behind me. I suppose it is a good thing that I have a doctor's visit tomorrow. Have I mentioned how much I dislike and distrust doctors? Well, I do. But, I am going, since it has been three or so years since I have gone. So, I go, they give me meds for, oh say, high cholesterol which lowers that but eats up my liver.

You know that I am rambling now because I should be working on a story that I have had rattling around in the back of my head for a couple of weeks now. And, there is another one peeking over that one's shoulder, so, I suppose it will be another night of all night writing. I wish it were easier to write.

So....ta ta everyone.

2006-05-29T15:12:00.000-05:00

Well, it's Memorial Day.....whoooo hooo. This year I find myself wishing I could get all pumped about it. I remember the Memorial Days of the past when I would throw some hotdogs, buns , chips and cokes in the car.........and the kids...and we would head up to the nearest creek to swim all day. That was so much fun. But, now, some of the kids
have kids and the one who doesn't thinks it is silly to spend time playing in the sand with his mama, so he is off fishing and eating the flounder they gigged last night. So, today I will put in a load of clothes, get my newest NetFlix movie and snuggle down on the couch with Gumbo. That's Gumbo up there in the pic.

Nothing much has been happening lately, which is probably a good thing. It's about time things quieted down. I am supposed to go up to Michigan in two weeks to get my two oldest grandsons and bring them back here for the summer. If I can afford it. I will need to do some major praying as I do my budget for the month. Those boys need the time away from Michigan and I need them down here. Even though they spend the first week asking me to repeat whatever I say to them. They are good boys. I was looking for the latest pic I have of them, but dangit, I think I deleted them along with some stuff that needed deleting. I will ask my daughter to send me more, so I show them off too.

Ok. I may write more, but I am also supposed to be working on a story for a writing group and I have a bad case of the popitifuls, so maybe that will be for tomorrow.

Weird dreams

2006-05-26T12:44:00.000-05:00

I have been having this recurring dream. I am in an old rundown house. I am moving out, and there are people coming in and out who have bought the house and will be doing extensive remodeling. I am terrified because I know that there are pictures hidden there of my mother killing my father. And, I am the one who took the pics. There are people coming in and out, some I know from years ago and some I don't know. I keep trying to figure out how to get my father's body and the pics out of the house.

This is where it always ends, and I wake up in a total panic. My father died of liver failure in 1974 and my mother died in 2001.

Bank woes and 'christian' hackers

2006-05-24T14:42:00.000-05:00

This is going to be a complaint post. First, my bank apparently found out last summer that a some of the customers's bank card numbers were stolen along with thousands across the country. They said they notified us about this last June. I don't recall getting a letter telling me about this. If I had, I would have immediately cancelled that card and gotten another one. Apparently, our numbers were only stolen, not used. So, a week or so ago, I did get a letter telling me that some of the cards had been showing some activity and so the bank were going to cancel the cards, effective this last Monday. They were going to send new cards which we would have to call in to activate and then go to the bank to get new pin numbers. Sure enough, this last Monday, my card was no longer valid. However, I have not received my new card yet. Nor has at least one of my friends who also uses this bank. I called the bank just a few minutes ago and was told that the cards were mailed out last Friday and everyone should have theirs by this Friday. Ok, I can live with that. But, here is the problem. Since, for whatever reason, I did not know that my card number had been stolen, I did not check my accounts that closely. I know, I should do that weekly anyway, but, I trusted the bank and did not see any large amounts going to places that I did not authorize. And, since Katrina, a lot of my important papers were lost. I do not have a year's worth of bank statements to check. Now, I can go to the bank and get them for $2.00 a page, which will be around $100 or so. Because, you see, their online banking page only goes back 3 months. Big help there. So, I suppose I will be ordering those copies just to be sure.

Now for the other complaint. There is a woman who I met on Paltalk who has a blog that I read daily. This woman had the 'audacity' to question a well-known online minister's view on something. I actually heard a man say that this was the reason that women should not preach. This woman are not preaching, nor do they want to. This woman had legitimate questions about something this well-known apologist said and has/had on his website. All this happened weeks ago, the two have talked and still disagree. That should have been the end of it. However, there is a troll who has made it his life's mission to harrass this woman every chance he gets. On Paltalk and on her blog via her comments section. She deletes his comments and blocks his IP to prevent him from commenting again, and he somehow gets around the block. This person, who loudly proclaims his 'christianity' has no qualms about also being a hacker. He has bragged about it to several people. He has hacking programs that allow him to go invisibly into a chatroom, where he sits and records what is said. He then edits the recordings and plays them in other rooms.

So, my question is, would a Christian do this? And, why is he doing this? Is he jealous of the people he is recording? What should be done with someone who does this? Banning? He can get around a ban. I think I know, from listening to him for several hours over a couple of years, why he is doing this. And, to be honest, he is not the only one causing problems. The people who allow him to post things in there rooms should be ashamed of themselves. For example, he admins in several rooms. Before he signs onto Paltalk and goes into a chatroom, the conversations are good and disagreements are handled in an adult manner. But, as soon as this person comes into the chatroom, he will put something in the banner that is meant to cause strife and division. And, if noone reacts or comments on whatever is there, he will come to the mic and say...'what do you think of what's in the banner?' or something like that. He will do this several times, until an argument is started, people get their feelings hurt, or some of the people leave and go into another chatroom. Before this man came on the scene, these people, as diverse as they are and with differences in some points of doctrine, were able to discuss things rationally. Since he has been here, the group has split and some have even left Paltalk with no intention of returning. Since he has come on the scene, some people cannot discuss any differences, without insulting. People who have had issues with someone else, who before this troll, were able to lay those issues aside. Now, some use what this person does. They listen to and replay his recordings over and over. They laugh and ridicule others. They allow this troll to insult others in their chatrooms. This troll will go into a room, invisibly of course, with people who he does not like with the sole purpose of recording something he can later use.

How Christian is that? Would a Christian be a hacker? Would a Christian continually cause division and strife among brothers? And, more importantly, would a Christian allow this? Why do others who claim to be saints, allow this? Why has none of the many other Christians who know this troll and know what he is doing, not sat him down to tell him that he is wrong in what he is doing?

Soon to be a star......

2006-05-23T02:34:00.000-05:00

This evening I talked to a young man on Paltalk that I first 'met' back in 2000 or so. I thought for the longest time that he was at least in his 30s because of the way he talked and the things he said. Especially about the bible. Turned out he was only 18.

Anyway, we found that we have similar tastes in music, like Leon Redbone and John Prine and Tom Waits. This kid is very talented. He sings, writes and plays the banjo and guitar and the last time I talked to him, before tonight, he was teaching himself the fiddle. Tonight he sent me his myspace site where he has two of his songs. I like them both, but 'Suicide Blues' was my favorite. Ya'll seriously need to go there and listen to it. And, remember his name, because you will be hearing it again, most likely on CMT.

Eight months ago....

2006-05-02T00:29:00.000-05:00

Eight months or so ago my world changed forever, the physical part anyway. We are now working on a new normal. Highway 90 goes right along the beach from Bay St Louis to Ocean Springs. It is still makes me sad to drive down it. It's like a friend said, it is almost as if we are in a funeral procession, because we are still stunned to see the devastation that Katrina brought us. The beach front had some beautiful hundred year old houses and churches that are just gone.

I spent the hurricane in Baton Rouge with my youngest daughter. And, I have to admit that I did not believe that the hurricane was going to be as bad as it was. There was wind damage even in Baton Rouge and that is about an hour and a half from the coast. We prepared though. We got in extra food and diapers and bottled water. And, then sat back and waited. It was not an option to go anywhere, traffic was so bad that some of the people who did try to evacuate gave up and came home.

I slept on the couch and woke up early Monday. The wind was already howling around the buildings and the power was off. Over the next three or four hours we watched tree limbs breaking and falling. We watched the parking lot to see if it was going to flood. But, mostly we sat and wondered what was happening over here on the Mississippi Coast. If you are ever here when we are expecting a hurricane, you might hear us joking about how we need a new roof or that we wanted to remodel anyway. Trust me, these are just whistling past the graveyard jokes.

Since we had no power to watch TV and the phones were iffy, we did not know the extent of the damage. I tried to call my oldest son who sat out the hurricane up in Saucier.....which is only about ten miles north of the coast. Finally, my oldest daughter who lives in Michigan got through to us to tell us what she was seeing on CNN. I could hear the stress and fear in her voice, so I knew it was worse that even she was telling us. Just before we lost connection she said that David (my son) had managed to get through to her. That was a relief to know that he and his family were not hurt. He told her that he was told that all the houses down by my house had gotten a lot of water. My house NEVER floods. Suddenly the jokes about remodeling were no longer funny.

That was the last news we got until Wednesday, two days after the hurricane. David got through to tell me he had checked my house and it was ok, except for the roof. I started breathing a little easier. We still did not have power, which meant no news. (It also meant no A/C. And, I can tell you that it is seriously hot and muggy after a hurricane. There is not even a breeze. I will tell you too that when the guy across the street came in every afternoon and started up his generator we told each other all the evil things we would like to see happen to him.)

Finally, Wednesday evening the lights came on. The sounds of windows and doors slamming lasted about ten minutes. I am surprised that there was not a brown out from all the A/Cs coming on at once. Then, we turned on the TV and sat down to see what the world had been seeing for three days. Still, I guess because it was on TV, it did not seem real. My son turned on the computer and found a NOAA website that showed the area. He found his best friend's house. It looked as if a giant had come through and ripped the roof off the house, swept the house itself away and then put the roof on the ground.

I did not come back here till the next Wednesday. I drove over to see for myself that my house was really ok. The first thing that struck me was that there was hardly any traffic on the interstate. And, what traffic there was, was convoy's of National Guards, and of electric company trucks from all over the country. And, the smaller convoys of people from the different churches and organizations from all over the country who were on their way to help. People, ordinary everyday people, took time from their jobs, and their families to come to the coast to help. Just because help was needed.

Driving into Gulfport was surreal. The power was still off in most areas. Debris was still on the roads. People who had stayed home and rode out the hurricane had a look in their eyes. The Katrina Look. I drove down my street and when I saw the live oak tree in my front yard I stopped the car and cried. That tree was only as tall as my waist when I bought this house and now it shades the whole front part of my yard and house. Most of it was still there, but it had taken a beating. It's still lopsided, but I see new limbs sprouting, so it is going to be fine.

I did not go down to the beach that day. I was not ready. It was late October before I finally did drive down the beach. Pictures and news footage are ok. It does not compare to actually seeing the church that is just a shell now,or the yards piled with debris and garbage, or Marine Life gutted. Not one building was left untouched and most were destroyed.

My oldest daughter came down last month. It was her first time seeing it firsthand. Her youngest son was surprised to see that things were not all cleaned up and rebuilt.

The coast is coming back. Houses are being rebuilt and businesses reopening. There are still piles of debris and blue FEMA roofs though.

Hurricane season begins again in June.

What's in a name.....

2006-04-29T00:55:00.000-05:00

Well, this has certainly been an interesting night on Paltalk. I was sitting in a chatroom minding my business, listening to the discussion when I got a pm from someone I don't know, but have seen in rooms. He is a Jewish man who apparently hates Christians for daring to say that the OT prophets prophesied the coming of Christ. He asked me if I would answer a question or be like most Christians and get mad and ignore him. So, I decide to try to understand his view and told him that I would try to answer his questions. Then, I asked this.....'Why do you, as a Jew, care what I believe.'....he came unglued and cussed me out. He used extremely vulgar and offensive terms and then denied that he had done so. I tried to talk with him and for awhile I thought it was working, but then he began all over with his questions (which I tried to answer) and his cussing. I finally told him that we were going in circles and that I was tired of his offensive manner in talking to me. He then told me I was a coward. I just agreed and ignored him.

Thing is, I have never heard anyone who is Jewish being offended by being called a Jew. He wants to be known as Hebrew, which I had no problem with using. But, when I told him that I did not know that word was offensive, he told me that I probably did know and used it anyway. There was no compromise with him. He did not try to treat me with an ounce of common courtesy. And, he was offended when I told him that I was no longer going to respond to his pm and said, 'God bless'. He told me I had no authority to bless him. I pointed out that I only wanted God to bless him. Nothing worked with him. So, I finally gave it up. I was surprised when he said he preferred muslims to Christians. He said that he lived among them and they did not lie about his book. Well, I pray those muslims don't decide to visit him one day with a bomb or big ole knife.

It takes all kinds I guess.

Peeves, rants and silliness..

2006-04-28T03:57:00.000-05:00

The other day I was watching FoxNews and something on the ticker at the bottom of the screen caught my eye. Can't remember what it was now, but it was something about someone or some group doing something because of something else. The headline read something like this.......so-in-so is doing this behind so-in-so's firing them.....(more or less). This irritates me so much! I have even heard a news reader say that. And, they also say 'ahead' of some event. Do these people not have college degrees in Journalism? Or, are they just being lazy? I know kids use these phrases and words, but shouldn't the news media be a tad bit more educated?

And, this one just sets my teeth on edge. I absolutely cannot stand to hear someone say 'at ths point in time'....what is wrong with 'now'? People who use this phrase also usually use 'if you will'. AAGGGGGGGHHHHH. Imagine Shakespeare writing........'at this point in time is the winter of our discontent (if you will). See????

So, I decided to go back to CNN. No relief there. Their people must have gone to the same school with the Fox people. So, behind the news folks being so lazy I have decided to skip television news, at this point in time. If you will.

Last week my oldest daughter came for a visit with her two sons. They live in Michigan (I tried to raise her right, but she married a yankee anyway.) And, my youngest daughter brought her son over. I had them all here for a week. It was a good visit, except that my oldest daughter's husband (known as Jackie, even though his name is Bob. Jackie is short for jackass.) was here too and he is just an idiot. But, this is not going to be about him. Or about the visit. I will write about that later.

They all left Saturday and Phil went out with his friends so I was alone here. It was late and I was online, playing Text Twist and listening to the Art Bell show. It was his ghost to ghost night. People called in with their ghost stories. Some of them were spooky too. My desk is against a wall so when I sit at it my back is to the door. It was about 1 am or so. All of a sudden this huge shadow came up on the wall and started getting BIGGER. I slid back from my desk and spun around so I could catch the grabbo in mid-flight. It wasn't a grabbo at all. What it was, was Gumbo on the bed sitting up and stretching. The twerp. I wasn't scared, really. But, I did go around and check to make sure all the windows and doors were locked.

Phil made the cutest movie. Well, cute is not the right word, but since it is late and my brains are oatmeal right now, that is the best I can do. He made it for a friend of his who had to do a report for his Sociology class on cults. He filmed his friend talking about cults, then the movie switched to show another of his friends dressed in cammies, looking into the camera and then turning and running off into the woods. The narrator says....'pity the fool who is gonna die'...something MrT used to say. He was apparently a member of the cult of MrT. Another friend was the Australian cult hunter, Phil was the driver of the super cult hunting van (mine!) and they went off hunting for the cult member. It was funny. One scene was from...shoot what is the name of that movie? the 'need for speed' one. Anyway, the cult member did double duty as the flight director.....the filmed him on the side of the road waving his hands, giving the van the go ahead for take off. Then, it switched to a shot of the speedometer, then, the van took off and when they switched back to Jerry, he dropped to the ground and did the worm. It was so funny. Except for the part where they lit a cardboard box on fire at the front of my van, then filmed it so it looked like the van was on fire. Oh, and there were a couple of times when the van went over speed bumps that sparks flew out from the back wheels. The kid made an A+ on it.

Ok, I am getting sleepy-silly, so, God bless and sweet dreams.

Midnight Confessions......

2006-04-13T20:22:00.000-05:00

Well, it isn't 2nd avenue and it isn't midnight, but.......... I had written a post earlier, then my computer froze. Of course it was extremely insightful and will be a major loss to the world.

So, we have Penn and Teller insulting Mother Theresa by saying 'Mother F*****g Theresa'. I agree that she could have given more to the poor instead of using it to build convents. I also thing the TV preachers should use more of the money they take in on helping others instead of having horrible plastic surgeries and buying pink hair dye. Not to mention the private jets and huge houses.

I am not offended by Penn and Teller's using the F word either. I use it at times. What offends me is that more and more unfunny comedians use vulgarity to get cheap laughs. For the record, I have never found Penn and Teller funny.

Look at the Comedy channel. Watch the untalented comedian wannabes resort to vulgarity to get laughs. And, the audience, give the Pavlovian response, and laugh. It is almost as if vulgarity is the new laugh track.

Richard Pryor was a funny man who used vulgarity,but not to get laughs, he didn't need to. He got laughs just by standing there. So did Gene Wilder and Eddie Murphy and Billy Crystal and Mike Myers.

I am offended by people, entertainers, who think we, the audience, are not intelligent enough to get the jokes. A friend of mine told me once that AIDS had killed all the creative people. After watching thirty minutes of the new Pink Panther movie, I have to agree with her. I only made it through thirty minutes of that movie before I left the theater. Steve Martin wasn't vulgar, but he over played the character.

I made a list of PEOPLE WHO SHOULD HAVE LEFT US WANTING MORE once. I think it is time to revive it. First on the list would be Tom Cruise.

Dreams or......?????

2006-04-11T22:38:00.000-05:00

I know, I know. Everytime I say I am going to write something every day, life jumps up and demands that I deal with it. My friend Leslie spent a week in the hospital with a serious staff infection. Then, after she came home she could not wash dishes, so, as bad as I hate to wash dishes, I go over every other day or so and do them. But, her hand is well enough now that she can do her own.

I think I was going to talk about getting in touch with my family, but, I think I will wait a bit on that.

Ok, so instead I will confess to something......I am a semi-fan of reality tv. Not shows like Survivor or The Apprentice. I watch The Real World on MTV...sad, ain't I? But, I have been thinking that someone should do a Real World type show with people between 55 and 65. Imagine it. There would have to be a flaming liberal, an ultra conservative, an atheist, a calvinist, a Catholic, a JW and a Mormon. For the first season anyway. Seven people, three women and four men. One woman would be the liberal and a man would be the ultra con. I would love to see how people of these ages would relate to each other and how the men would act in the house. Would they walk around in their tighty whities? What about the women? Would they just naturally fall into the submissive role? Would the men sit and scratch their bellies expecting the women to cook? Would the liberal lead a rebellion against the mores they were all raised with? I think it would be a hit.

And, I have been listening to Art Bell too much I think. See, when I was between the ages of two and five I had what I have always considered was an ordinary dream. I know how old I was because of where we were living at the time. Anyway, in the dream a man is outside my window and wakes me up. Next thing I am outside with him, and there are two others there. They are glowing....like the greenish glow from Halloween makeup. One of them holds me in his arms and then tells me not to tell anyone about them and that they would see me again. Ok, now, I know this might could be a abuse situation, I'm not sure, but it is like most dreams....the more I try to remember details the more it fades. Like, when I first remember it, everything is clear, then starts to fade. It was also during this time that I believed that I could float. I can remember standing in a doorway, floating up and touching the ceiling. (Another typical abuse defense, the 'outside looking down at yourself' thing.)

Now, the other night I was listening to Art Bell. His guest was talking about 'shadow people' and other alien type things. All of a sudden I remembered the famous Pascagoula River alien abduction that happened back in the 70s. And, then I remembered that the house I was living in when I had the weird dream was about 500 yards (or feet, distance is hard for me to judge) from the River, and within a mile of where the abduction happened. Weird, huh? What is weirder to me is that I never made that connection till now. And, remember, when I was two or so, UFOs were not so much in the news as they are now.

So, it was either a dream, an abuse situation or I was visited by aliens. I vote for the latter. Come to think of it, I am always seeing something walking just behind me. This is what Shadow People supposedly do. Why they do this, I have no idea. And, I used to hear someone calling my name and there was no one there when I turned around.

Maybe it is time to visit the doc and try out the meds again.

I am listening to Leonard Cohen sing Tennessee Waltz....he is so good. Next up is Lyle Lovitt, Jimmy Buffett, George Jones and Delbert McClinton. Oh, and Tom Waits.

Midnight monsters and 'fraidycats

2006-04-05T23:50:00.000-05:00

I know that if I am going to have a blog, then I have to write in it at least more than once a month, but I truly have been so busy that I have not had time to read emails, much less write something here. And, I know that the more I write, the more I think to write about and the better I write. So, I am going to try to post something daily.....

Ok, so, tonight, about an hour ago, my son Phil....my twenty-year old son, who is six feet three.....came into my room and woke me up to tell me that his cat had brought a baby snake into the house. I told him to take it out. He told me that he is afraid of snakes, and stood there looking so pitiful that I got up to see what was what. And, what was what, was, that Kudreau (Phil's cat) and Gabby (one of the four cats that I am keeping for my youngest daughter) were both trying to play with this litte teeninecy (south, or maybe Erwin, for very small) snake. So, I go hunting for something to pick this monster up with, while Phil (did I mention that he is 6'3?) cowers in the door to the dining room half turned so that he can run back down the hall if this man-eating critter turns towards him and the cats are fighting each other over who is going to swat the snake. I finally got a long thing and after chasing the snake around the dining room floor, while holding off the cats (who were getting upset with me for not playing fair and giving them their turn) got the snake outside. Then, I decided that I should try to keep it so we could find out if it is poisionous. So, I went onto the porch and persuaded it to go into a plastic container. Now, even though there is no way for it to get out, me and Phil both feel things crawling on us.

Tomorrow, or later today, I will write about fixing my 1995 Nissan Quest with 220,000 some odd miles on it. And, the long talk with my oldest brother's wife. I have not seen them since 2002, and that was at my mother's funeral.

Po-pitifuls

2006-03-11T20:16:00.000-06:00

Every so often I get a visit from the po-pitifuls. I never know what is going to cause them to pay a visit. I wake up and there they are. They can't be seen because they are engulfed in the dark cloud that is hanging over my head... just behind me and sort of to the left. They might be invisible but they can be heard, by me anyway. They follow me singing .....'nobody knows de trouble I seen.....' When this happens I shut down, eat too much, sleep as much as I can or watch endless Lifetime movies. And, listen to Tom Waites singing Waltzing Mathilda. And, drink way too many cokes. Oh, and, the chocolate.............

So, the other day I was watching an X-Files marathon and lusting over Fox Mulder (if he had kept eating those sunflower seeds.........oh well) Anyway, my dog, Gumbo, who usually sits on the back of the couch with his head on my shoulder, came in and jumped onto the couch and licked my foot. Before I knew it I was telling him that he was the only person I could count on and talk to. I was right on the verge of a crying jag.......

Thank God, my sane self broke out of the closet I had locked her in and told me I was getting close to lockup time, and I had better get over it. I argued a bit but she won so I started pulling myself out of it. It has taken me a few days, but, once again truth, honor and the American way won out over evil.

Actually, I felt so silly talking to Gumbo like I did that I got up and started cleaning house and took a walk.

Today was Reese Thomas' second birthday. I will tell ya'll about that tomorrow.

Percy who?

2006-03-10T20:17:00.000-06:00

So, who thought it would be a wonderful idea to name a train Percy? A train that young children who are not talking clearly, plays with? Try taking a two year old out, a two year old who has that train (and Thomas), a two year old who has trouble with 'r' words. And, have that two year old want to tell everyone he sees what the name of the train is. Makes for an interesting day.

Gotta love the logic

2006-02-12T12:46:00.000-06:00

Robin Williams, wearing a shirt that says "I love New York" in Arabic.

You gotta love Robin Williams...... Even if he's nuts! Leave it to Robin Williams to come up with the perfect plan. What we need now is for our UN Ambassador to stand up and repeat this message. Robin Williams' plan...
(Hard to argue with this logic!) "I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of a plan for peace. So, here's one plan.

" 1) "The US will apologize to the world for our "interference" in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo, Noriega, Milosevic, Hussein, and the rest of those "good ole boys", we will never "interfere" again.
2) We will withdraw our troops from all over the world, starting with Germany, South Korea, the Middle East, and the Philippines. They don't want us there. We would station troops at our borders. No one allowed sneaking through holes in the fence.
3) All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave. We'll give them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of whom or where they are. They're illegal!!! France will welcome them.
4) All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit!!!! No one from a terrorist nation will be allowed in. If you don't like it there, change it yourself and don't hide here. Asylum would never be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers or 7-11 cashiers.
5) No foreign "students" over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes, they get a "D" and it's back home baby.
6) The US will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient energy wise. This will include developing nonpolluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while.
7) Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don't like it, we'll go someplace else. They can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of the wells filling up the storage sites would be enough.)
8) If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not "interfere." They can pray to Allah or whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides most of know that what we give them is stolen or given to the army. The people who need it most get very little, if anything.
9) Ship the UN Headquarters to an isolated island someplace. We don't need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens.
10) All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us "Ugly Americans" any longer.
11) The Language we speak is ENGLISH...learn it...or LEAVE... Now, isn't that a winner of a plan? The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses. She's got a baseball bat and she's yelling, 'you want a piece of me?' "

Got this is my email today. Copy it and pass it on.......

Interesting

2006-02-11T19:17:00.000-06:00

Got this in a email today.......

Bill Clinton registers for the draft on September 08, 1964, accepting all contractual conditions of registering for the draft.

Selective Service Number 326 46 228. Bill Clinton classified 2-S on November 17, 1964.

Bill Clinton reclassified 1-A on March 20, 1968. Bill Clinton ordered to report for induction on July 28, 1969.

Bill Clinton refuses to report and is not inducted into the military.

Bill Clinton reclassified 1-D after enlisting in the United States Army Reserves on August 07, 1969, under authority of Col. E. Holmes. Clinton signs enlistment papers and takes oath of enlistment. Bill Clinton fails to report to his duty station at the University of Arkansas ROTC, September 1969.

Bill Clinton reclassified 1-A on October 30, 1969, as enlistment with Army Reserves is revoked by Colonel E. Holmes and Clinton now AWOL and subject to arrest under Public Law 90-40 (2)(a) a registrant who has failed to report... remains liable for induction.

Bill Clinton's birth date lottery number is 311, drawn December 1, 1969, but anyone who has already been ordered to report for induction is INELIGIBLE!

Bill Clinton runs for Congress (1974), while a fugitive from justice under Public Law 90-40.

Bill Clinton runs for Arkansas Attorney General (1976), while a fugitive from justice.

Bill Clinton receives pardon on January 21,1977, from President Carter.

Bill Clinton is the FIRST PARDONED FEDERAL FELON ever to serve as President of the United States.

All these facts come from Freedom of Information requests, public laws, and various books that have been published, and have not been refuted by Clinton.

After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, President Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.

After the 1995 bombing in Saudi Arabia, which killed five U.S. military personnel; Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.

After the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, which killed 19 and injured 200 U.S. military personnel; Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.

After the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Africa, which killed 224 and injured 5,000; Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.

After the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 and injured 39 U.S. sailors; Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.

Maybe if Clinton had kept those promises, an estimated 3,000 people in New York and Washington, DC that are now dead would be alive today.

AN INTERESTING QUESTION: This question was raised on a Philly radio call-in show. Without casting stones, it is a legitimate question.
There are two men, both extremely wealthy. One develops relatively cheap software and gives billions of dollars to charity. The other sponsors terrorism. That being the case, why was it that the Clinton Administration spent more money chasing down Bill Gates over the eight years in office, than Osama bin Laden?

THINK ABOUT IT!

It is a strange turn of events. Hillary gets $8 Million for her forth coming memoir. Bill gets about $12 Million for his memoir yet to be written. This from two people who spent 8 years being unable to recall anything about past events while under oath.

Sincerely, Cdr. Hamilton McWhorter USN (ret) P.S. Please forward this to as many people as you can! We don't want this woman to even THINK of running for President.

I think......

2006-02-09T14:02:00.000-06:00

I have a theory. Maybe it's a wrong theory, but, I think it is pretty close to being accurate. See, I think that one reason that muslims will riot and march and kill over something as silly as a cartoon, is the nature of their culture. They are so repressed. They are so afraid that they will do something that will bring the culture police down on their heads. So, when their imans exhort them to riot, it is almost orgasmic for them. They can set their fears and inhibitions aside without fear of retribution.

I also heard today, and I will find the reference, that it is NOT mentioned anywhere in the quran that pictures or images are taboo. Imans have pictures of mohammed. Interesting huh?

So, now, we need to all join together and boycott all muslim owned businesses. If you walk into a store or whatever and a muslim is behind the counter, walk out and go to another store, one that has no muslim employees or owners. It is time to stand up to them. Their '20-year plan' is well underway and we have a lot of catching up to do.

Read:
The Avalon Project at Yale Law SchoolHamas Covenant 1988
The Covenantof theIslamic Resistance Movement
18 August 1988
In The Name Of The Most Merciful Allah
"Ye are the best nation that hath been raised up unto mankind: ye command that which is just, and ye forbid that which is unjust, and ye believe in Allah. And if they who have received the scriptures had believed, it had surely been the better for them: there are believers among them, but the greater part of them are transgressors. They shall not hurt you, unless with a slight hurt; and if they fight against you, they shall turn their backs to you, and they shall not be helped. They are smitten with vileness wheresoever they are found; unless they obtain security by entering into a treaty with Allah, and a treaty with men; and they draw on themselves indignation from Allah, and they are afflicted with poverty. This they suffer, because they disbelieved the signs of Allah, and slew the prophets unjustly; this, because they were rebellious, and transgressed." (Al-Imran - verses 109-111).
Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it" (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory).
"The Islamic world is on fire. Each of us should pour some water, no matter how little, to extinguish whatever one can without waiting for the others." (Sheikh Amjad al-Zahawi, of blessed memory).
In The Name Of The Most Merciful Allah
IntroductionPraise be unto Allah, to whom we resort for help, and whose forgiveness, guidance and support we seek; Allah bless the Prophet and grant him salvation, his companions and supporters, and to those who carried out his message and adopted his laws - everlasting prayers and salvation as long as the earth and heaven will last. Hereafter:
O People:Out of the midst of troubles and the sea of suffering, out of the palpitations of faithful hearts and cleansed arms; out of the sense of duty, and in response to Allah's command, the call has gone out rallying people together and making them follow the ways of Allah, leading them to have determined will in order to fulfill their role in life, to overcome all obstacles, and surmount the difficulties on the way. Constant preparation has continued and so has the readiness to sacrifice life and all that is precious for the sake of Allah.
Thus it was that the nucleus (of the movement) was formed and started to pave its way through the tempestuous sea of hopes and expectations, of wishes and yearnings, of troubles and obstacles, of pain and challenges, both inside and outside.
When the idea was ripe, the seed grew and the plant struck root in the soil of reality, away from passing emotions, and hateful haste. The Islamic Resistance Movement emerged to carry out its role through striving for the sake of its Creator, its arms intertwined with those of all the fighters for the liberation of Palestine. The spirits of its fighters meet with the spirits of all the fighters who have sacrificed their lives on the soil of Palestine, ever since it was conquered by the companions of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, and until this day.
This Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS), clarifies its picture, reveals its identity, outlines its stand, explains its aims, speaks about its hopes, and calls for its support, adoption and joining its ranks. Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious. It needs all sincere efforts. It is a step that inevitably should be followed by other steps. The Movement is but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the enemy is vanquished and Allah's victory is realised.
Thus we see them coming on the horizon "and you shall learn about it hereafter" "Allah hath written, Verily I will prevail, and my apostles: for Allah is strong and mighty." (The Dispute - verse 21).
"Say to them, This is my way: I invite you to Allah, by an evident demonstration; both I and he who followeth me; and, praise be unto Allah! I am not an idolator." (Joseph - verse 107).
Hamas (means) strength and bravery -(according to) Al-Mua'jam al-Wasit: c1.
Definition of the Movement
Ideological Starting-Points
Article One:
The Islamic Resistance Movement: The Movement's programme is Islam. From it, it draws its ideas, ways of thinking and understanding of the universe, life and man. It resorts to it for judgement in all its conduct, and it is inspired by it for guidance of its steps.
The Islamic Resistance Movement's Relation With the Moslem Brotherhood Group:
Article Two:
The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the wings of Moslem Brotherhood in Palestine. Moslem Brotherhood Movement is a universal organization which constitutes the largest Islamic movement in modern times. It is characterised by its deep understanding, accurate comprehension and its complete embrace of all Islamic concepts of all aspects of life, culture, creed, politics, economics, education, society, justice and judgement, the spreading of Islam, education, art, information, science of the occult and conversion to Islam.
Structure and Formation
Article Three:
The basic structure of the Islamic Resistance Movement consists of Moslems who have given their allegiance to Allah whom they truly worship, - "I have created the jinn and humans only for the purpose of worshipping" - who know their duty towards themselves, their families and country. In all that, they fear Allah and raise the banner of Jihad in the face of the oppressors, so that they would rid the land and the people of their uncleanliness, vileness and evils.
"But we will oppose truth to vanity, and it shall confound the same; and behold, it shall vanish away." (Prophets - verse 18).
Article Four:
The Islamic Resistance Movement welcomes every Moslem who embraces its faith, ideology, follows its programme, keeps its secrets, and wants to belong to its ranks and carry out the duty. Allah will certainly reward such one.
Time and Place Extent of the Islamic Resistance Movement:
Article Five:
Time extent of the Islamic Resistance Movement: By adopting Islam as its way of life, the Movement goes back to the time of the birth of the Islamic message, of the righteous ancestor, for Allah is its target, the Prophet is its example and the Koran is its constitution. Its extent in place is anywhere that there are Moslems who embrace Islam as their way of life everywhere in the globe. This being so, it extends to the depth of the earth and reaches out to the heaven.
"Dost thou not see how Allah putteth forth a parable; representing a good word, as a good tree, whose root is firmly fixed in the earth, and whose branches reach unto heaven; which bringeth forth its fruit in all seasons, by the will of its Lord? Allah propoundeth parables unto men, that they may be instructed." (Abraham - verses 24-25).
Characteristics and Independence:
Article Six:
The Islamic Resistance Movement is a distinguished Palestinian movement, whose allegiance is to Allah, and whose way of life is Islam. It strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine, for under the wing of Islam followers of all religions can coexist in security and safety where their lives, possessions and rights are concerned. In the absence of Islam, strife will be rife, oppression spreads, evil prevails and schisms and wars will break out.
How excellent was the Moslem poet, Mohamed Ikbal, when he wrote:
"If faith is lost, there is no security and there is no life for him who does not adhere to religion. He who accepts life without religion, has taken annihilation as his companion for life."
The Universality of the Islamic Resistance Movement:
Article Seven:
As a result of the fact that those Moslems who adhere to the ways of the Islamic Resistance Movement spread all over the world, rally support for it and its stands, strive towards enhancing its struggle, the Movement is a universal one. It is well-equipped for that because of the clarity of its ideology, the nobility of its aim and the loftiness of its objectives.
On this basis, the Movement should be viewed and evaluated, and its role be recognised. He who denies its right, evades supporting it and turns a blind eye to facts, whether intentionally or unintentionally, would awaken to see that events have overtaken him and with no logic to justify his attitude. One should certainly learn from past examples.
The injustice of next-of-kin is harder to bear than the smite of the Indian sword.
"We have also sent down unto thee the book of the Koran with truth, confirming that scripture which was revealed before it; and preserving the same safe from corruption. Judge therefore between them according to that which Allah hath revealed; and follow not their desires, by swerving from the truth which hath come unto thee. Unto every of you have we given a law, and an open path; and if Allah had pleased, he had surely made you one people; but he hath thought it fit to give you different laws, that he might try you in that which he hath given you respectively. Therefore strive to excel each other in good works; unto Allah shall ye all return, and then will he declare unto you that concerning which ye have disagreed." (The Table, verse 48).
The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the links in the chain of the struggle against the Zionist invaders. It goes back to 1939, to the emergence of the martyr Izz al-Din al Kissam and his brethren the fighters, members of Moslem Brotherhood. It goes on to reach out and become one with another chain that includes the struggle of the Palestinians and Moslem Brotherhood in the 1948 war and the Jihad operations of the Moslem Brotherhood in 1968 and after.
Moreover, if the links have been distant from each other and if obstacles, placed by those who are the lackeys of Zionism in the way of the fighters obstructed the continuation of the struggle, the Islamic Resistance Movement aspires to the realisation of Allah's promise, no matter how long that should take. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, has said:
"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews." (related by al-Bukhari and Moslem).
The Slogan of the Islamic Resistance Movement:
Article Eight:
Allah is its target, the Prophet is its model, the Koran its constitution: Jihad is its path and death for the sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes.
Objectives
Incentives and Objectives:
Article Nine:
The Islamic Resistance Movement found itself at a time when Islam has disappeared from life. Thus rules shook, concepts were upset, values changed and evil people took control, oppression and darkness prevailed, cowards became like tigers: homelands were usurped, people were scattered and were caused to wander all over the world, the state of justice disappeared and the state of falsehood replaced it. Nothing remained in its right place. Thus, when Islam is absent from the arena, everything changes. From this state of affairs the incentives are drawn.
As for the objectives: They are the fighting against the false, defeating it and vanquishing it so that justice could prevail, homelands be retrieved and from its mosques would the voice of the mu'azen emerge declaring the establishment of the state of Islam, so that people and things would return each to their right places and Allah is our helper.
"...and if Allah had not prevented men, the one by the other, verily the earth had been corrupted: but Allah is beneficient towards his creatures." (The Cow - verse 251).
Article Ten:
As the Islamic Resistance Movement paves its way, it will back the oppressed and support the wronged with all its might. It will spare no effort to bring about justice and defeat injustice, in word and deed, in this place and everywhere it can reach and have influence therein.
Strategies and Methods
Strategies of the Islamic Resistance Movement: Palestine Is Islamic aqf:
Article Eleven:
The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. Neither a single Arab country nor all Arab countries, neither any king or president, nor all the kings and presidents, neither any organization nor all of them, be they Palestinian or Arab, possess the right to do that. Palestine is an Islamic Waqf land consecrated for Moslem generations until Judgement Day. This being so, who could claim to have the right to represent Moslem generations till Judgement Day?
This is the law governing the land of Palestine in the Islamic Sharia (law) and the same goes for any land the Moslems have conquered by force, because during the times of (Islamic) conquests, the Moslems consecrated these lands to Moslem generations till the Day of Judgement.
It happened like this: When the leaders of the Islamic armies conquered Syria and Iraq, they sent to the Caliph of the Moslems, Umar bin-el-Khatab, asking for his advice concerning the conquered land - whether they should divide it among the soldiers, or leave it for its owners, or what? After consultations and discussions between the Caliph of the Moslems, Omar bin-el-Khatab and companions of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, it was decided that the land should be left with its owners who could benefit by its fruit. As for the real ownership of the land and the land itself, it should be consecrated for Moslem generations till Judgement Day. Those who are on the land, are there only to benefit from its fruit. This Waqf remains as long as earth and heaven remain. Any procedure in contradiction to Islamic Sharia, where Palestine is concerned, is null and void.
"Verily, this is a certain truth. Wherefore praise the name of thy Lord, the great Allah." (The Inevitable - verse 95).
Homeland and Nationalism from the Point of View of the Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine:
Article Twelve:
Nationalism, from the point of view of the Islamic Resistance Movement, is part of the religious creed. Nothing in nationalism is more significant or deeper than in the case when an enemy should tread Moslem land. Resisting and quelling the enemy become the individual duty of every Moslem, male or female. A woman can go out to fight the enemy without her husband's permission, and so does the slave: without his master's permission.
Nothing of the sort is to be found in any other regime. This is an undisputed fact. If other nationalist movements are connected with materialistic, human or regional causes, nationalism of the Islamic Resistance Movement has all these elements as well as the more important elements that give it soul and life. It is connected to the source of spirit and the granter of life, hoisting in the sky of the homeland the heavenly banner that joins earth and heaven with a strong bond.
If Moses comes and throws his staff, both witch and magic are annulled.
"Now is the right direction manifestly distinguished from deceit: whoever therefore shall deny Tagut, and believe in Allah, he shall surely take hold with a strong handle, which shall not be broken; Allah is he who heareth and seeth." (The Cow - Verse 256).
Peaceful Solutions, Initiatives and International Conferences:
Article Thirteen:
Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement. Abusing any part of Palestine is abuse directed against part of religion. Nationalism of the Islamic Resistance Movement is part of its religion. Its members have been fed on that. For the sake of hoisting the banner of Allah over their homeland they fight. "Allah will be prominent, but most people do not know."
Now and then the call goes out for the convening of an international conference to look for ways of solving the (Palestinian) question. Some accept, others reject the idea, for this or other reason, with one stipulation or more for consent to convening the conference and participating in it. Knowing the parties constituting the conference, their past and present attitudes towards Moslem problems, the Islamic Resistance Movement does not consider these conferences capable of realising the demands, restoring the rights or doing justice to the oppressed. These conferences are only ways of setting the infidels in the land of the Moslems as arbitraters. When did the infidels do justice to the believers?
"But the Jews will not be pleased with thee, neither the Christians, until thou follow their religion; say, The direction of Allah is the true direction. And verily if thou follow their desires, after the knowledge which hath been given thee, thou shalt find no patron or protector against Allah." (The Cow - verse 120).
There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors. The Palestinian people know better than to consent to having their future, rights and fate toyed with. As in said in the honourable Hadith:
"The people of Syria are Allah's lash in His land. He wreaks His vengeance through them against whomsoever He wishes among His slaves It is unthinkable that those who are double-faced among them should prosper over the faithful. They will certainly die out of grief and desperation."
The Three Circles:
Article Fourteen:
The question of the liberation of Palestine is bound to three circles: the Palestinian circle, the Arab circle and the Islamic circle. Each of these circles has its role in the struggle against Zionism. Each has its duties, and it is a horrible mistake and a sign of deep ignorance to overlook any of these circles. Palestine is an Islamic land which has the first of the two kiblahs (direction to which Moslems turn in praying), the third of the holy (Islamic) sanctuaries, and the point of departure for Mohamed's midnight journey to the seven heavens (i.e. Jerusalem).
"Praise be unto him who transported his servant by night, from the sacred temple of Mecca to the farther temple of Jerusalem, the circuit of which we have blessed, that we might show him some of our signs; for Allah is he who heareth, and seeth." (The Night-Journey - verse 1).
Since this is the case, liberation of Palestine is then an individual duty for very Moslem wherever he may be. On this basis, the problem should be viewed. This should be realised by every Moslem.
The day the problem is dealt with on this basis, when the three circles mobilize their capabilities, the present state of affairs will change and the day of liberation will come nearer.
"Verily ye are stronger than they, by reason of the terror cast into their breasts from Allah. This, because they are not people of prudence." (The Emigration - verse 13).
The Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine is an Individual Duty:
Article Fifteen:
The day that enemies usurp part of Moslem land, Jihad becomes the individual duty of every Moslem. In face of the Jews' usurpation of Palestine, it is compulsory that the banner of Jihad be raised. To do this requires the diffusion of Islamic consciousness among the masses, both on the regional, Arab and Islamic levels. It is necessary to instill the spirit of Jihad in the heart of the nation so that they would confront the enemies and join the ranks of the fighters.
It is necessary that scientists, educators and teachers, information and media people, as well as the educated masses, especially the youth and sheikhs of the Islamic movements, should take part in the operation of awakening (the masses). It is important that basic changes be made in the school curriculum, to cleanse it of the traces of ideological invasion that affected it as a result of the orientalists and missionaries who infiltrated the region following the defeat of the Crusaders at the hands of Salah el-Din (Saladin). The Crusaders realised that it was impossible to defeat the Moslems without first having ideological invasion pave the way by upsetting their thoughts, disfiguring their heritage and violating their ideals. Only then could they invade with soldiers. This, in its turn, paved the way for the imperialistic invasion that made Allenby declare on entering Jerusalem: "Only now have the Crusades ended." General Guru stood at Salah el-Din's grave and said: "We have returned, O Salah el-Din." Imperialism has helped towards the strengthening of ideological invasion, deepening, and still does, its roots. All this has paved the way towards the loss of Palestine.
It is necessary to instill in the minds of the Moslem generations that the Palestinian problem is a religious problem, and should be dealt with on this basis. Palestine contains Islamic holy sites. In it there is al- Aqsa Mosque which is bound to the great Mosque in Mecca in an inseparable bond as long as heaven and earth speak of Isra` (Mohammed's midnight journey to the seven heavens) and Mi'raj (Mohammed's ascension to the seven heavens from Jerusalem).
"The bond of one day for the sake of Allah is better than the world and whatever there is on it. The place of one's whip in Paradise is far better than the world and whatever there is on it. A worshipper's going and coming in the service of Allah is better than the world and whatever there is on it." (As related by al-Bukhari, Moslem, al-Tarmdhi and Ibn Maja).
"I swear by the holder of Mohammed's soul that I would like to invade and be killed for the sake of Allah, then invade and be killed, and then invade again and be killed." (As related by al-Bukhari and Moslem).
The Education of the Generations:
Article Sixteen:
It is necessary to follow Islamic orientation in educating the Islamic generations in our region by teaching the religious duties, comprehensive study of the Koran, the study of the Prophet's Sunna (his sayings and doings), and learning about Islamic history and heritage from their authentic sources. This should be done by specialised and learned people, using a curriculum that would healthily form the thoughts and faith of the Moslem student. Side by side with this, a comprehensive study of the enemy, his human and financial capabilities, learning about his points of weakness and strength, and getting to know the forces supporting and helping him, should also be included. Also, it is important to be acquainted with the current events, to follow what is new and to study the analysis and commentaries made of these events. Planning for the present and future, studying every trend appearing, is a must so that the fighting Moslem would live knowing his aim, objective and his way in the midst of what is going on around him.
"O my son, verily every matter, whether good or bad, though it be the weight of a grain of mustard-seed, and be hidden in a rock, or in the heavens, or in the earth, Allah will bring the same to light; for Allah is clear-sighted and knowing. O my son, be constant at prayer, and command that which is just, and forbid that which is evil: and be patient under the afflictions which shall befall thee; for this is a duty absolutely incumbent on all men. Distort not thy face out of contempt to men, neither walk in the earth with insolence; for Allah loveth no arrogant, vain-glorious person." (Lokman - verses 16-18).
The Role of the Moslem Woman:
Article Seventeen:
The Moslem woman has a role no less important than that of the moslem man in the battle of liberation. She is the maker of men. Her role in guiding and educating the new generations is great. The enemies have realised the importance of her role. They consider that if they are able to direct and bring her up they way they wish, far from Islam, they would have won the battle. That is why you find them giving these attempts constant attention through information campaigns, films, and the school curriculum, using for that purpose their lackeys who are infiltrated through Zionist organizations under various names and shapes, such as Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, espionage groups and others, which are all nothing more than cells of subversion and saboteurs. These organizations have ample resources that enable them to play their role in societies for the purpose of achieving the Zionist targets and to deepen the concepts that would serve the enemy. These organizations operate in the absence of Islam and its estrangement among its people. The Islamic peoples should perform their role in confronting the conspiracies of these saboteurs. The day Islam is in control of guiding the affairs of life, these organizations, hostile to humanity and Islam, will be obliterated.
Article Eighteen:
Woman in the home of the fighting family, whether she is a mother or a sister, plays the most important role in looking after the family, rearing the children and embuing them with moral values and thoughts derived from Islam. She has to teach them to perform the religious duties in preparation for the role of fighting awaiting them. That is why it is necessary to pay great attention to schools and the curriculum followed in educating Moslem girls, so that they would grow up to be good mothers, aware of their role in the battle of liberation.
She has to be of sufficient knowledge and understanding where the performance of housekeeping matters are concerned, because economy and avoidance of waste of the family budget, is one of the requirements for the ability to continue moving forward in the difficult conditions surrounding us. She should put before her eyes the fact that the money available to her is just like blood which should never flow except through the veins so that both children and grown-ups could continue to live.
"Verily, the Moslems of either sex, and the true believers of either sex, and the devout men, and the devout women, and the men of veracity, and the women of veracity, and the patient men, and the patient women, and the humble men, and the humble women, and the alms-givers of either sex who remember Allah frequently; for them hath Allah prepared forgiveness and a great reward." (The Confederates - verse 25).
The Role of Islamic Art in the Battle of Liberation:
Article Nineteen:
Art has regulations and measures by which it can be determined whether it is Islamic or pre-Islamic (Jahili) art. The issues of Islamic liberation are in need of Islamic art that would take the spirit high, without raising one side of human nature above the other, but rather raise all of them harmoniously an in equilibrium.
Man is a unique and wonderful creature, made out of a handful of clay and a breath from Allah. Islamic art addresses man on this basis, while pre-Islamic art addresses the body giving preference to the clay component in it.
The book, the article, the bulletin, the sermon, the thesis, the popular poem, the poetic ode, the song, the play and others, contain the characteristics of Islamic art, then these are among the requirements of ideological mobilization, renewed food for the journey and recreation for the soul. The road is long and suffering is plenty. The soul will be bored, but Islamic art renews the energies, resurrects the movement, arousing in them lofty meanings and proper conduct. "Nothing can improve the self if it is in retreat except shifting from one mood to another."
All this is utterly serious and no jest, for those who are fighters do not jest.
Social Mutual Responsibility:
Article Twenty:
Moslem society is a mutually responsible society. The Prophet, prayers and greetings be unto him, said: "Blessed are the generous, whether they were in town or on a journey, who have collected all that they had and shared it equally among themselves."
The Islamic spirit is what should prevail in every Moslem society. The society that confronts a vicious enemy which acts in a way similar to Nazism, making no differentiation between man and woman, between children and old people - such a society is entitled to this Islamic spirit. Our enemy relies on the methods of collective punishment. He has deprived people of their homeland and properties, pursued them in their places of exile and gathering, breaking bones, shooting at women, children and old people, with or without a reason. The enemy has opened detention camps where thousands and thousands of people are thrown and kept under sub-human conditions. Added to this, are the demolition of houses, rendering children orphans, meting cruel sentences against thousands of young people, and causing them to spend the best years of their lives in the dungeons of prisons.
In their Nazi treatment, the Jews made no exception for women or children. Their policy of striking fear in the heart is meant for all. They attack people where their breadwinning is concerned, extorting their money and threatening their honour. They deal with people as if they were the worst war criminals. Deportation from the homeland is a kind of murder.
To counter these deeds, it is necessary that social mutual responsibility should prevail among the people. The enemy should be faced by the people as a single body which if one member of it should complain, the rest of the body would respond by feeling the same pains.
Article Twenty-One:
Mutual social responsibility means extending assistance, financial or moral, to all those who are in need and joining in the execution of some of the work. Members of the Islamic Resistance Movement should consider the interests of the masses as their own personal interests. They must spare no effort in achieving and preserving them. They must prevent any foul play with the future of the upcoming generations and anything that could cause loss to society. The masses are part of them and they are part of the masses. Their strength is theirs, and their future is theirs. Members of the Islamic Resistance Movement should share the people's joy and grief, adopt the demands of the public and whatever means by which they could be realised. The day that such a spirit prevails, brotherliness would deepen, cooperation, sympathy and unity will be enhanced and the ranks will be solidified to confront the enemies.
Supportive Forces Behind the Enemy:
Article Twenty-Two:
For a long time, the enemies have been planning, skillfully and with precision, for the achievement of what they have attained. They took into consideration the causes affecting the current of events. They strived to amass great and substantive material wealth which they devoted to the realisation of their dream. With their money, they took control of the world media, news agencies, the press, publishing houses, broadcasting stations, and others. With their money they stirred revolutions in various parts of the world with the purpose of achieving their interests and reaping the fruit therein. They were behind the French Revolution, the Communist revolution and most of the revolutions we heard and hear about, here and there. With their money they formed secret societies, such as Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, the Lions and others in different parts of the world for the purpose of sabotaging societies and achieving Zionist interests. With their money they were able to control imperialistic countries and instigate them to colonize many countries in order to enable them to exploit their resources and spread corruption there.
You may speak as much as you want about regional and world wars. They were behind World War I, when they were able to destroy the Islamic Caliphate, making financial gains and controlling resources. They obtained the Balfour Declaration, formed the League of Nations through which they could rule the world. They were behind World War II, through which they made huge financial gains by trading in armaments, and paved the way for the establishment of their state. It was they who instigated the replacement of the League of Nations with the United Nations and the Security Council to enable them to rule the world through them. There is no war going on anywhere, without having their finger in it.
"So often as they shall kindle a fire for war, Allah shall extinguish it; and they shall set their minds to act corruptly in the earth, but Allah loveth not the corrupt doers." (The Table - verse 64).
The imperialistic forces in the Capitalist West and Communist East, support the enemy with all their might, in money and in men. These forces take turns in doing that. The day Islam appears, the forces of infidelity would unite to challenge it, for the infidels are of one nation.
"O true believers, contract not an intimate friendship with any besides yourselves: they will not fail to corrupt you. They wish for that which may cause you to perish: their hatred hath already appeared from out of their mouths; but what their breasts conceal is yet more inveterate. We have already shown you signs of their ill will towards you, if ye understand." (The Family of Imran - verse 118).
It is not in vain that the verse is ended with Allah's words "if ye understand."
Our Attitudes Towards:
A. Islamic Movements:
Article Twenty-Three:
The Islamic Resistance Movement views other Islamic movements with respect and appreciation. If it were at variance with them on one point or opinion, it is in agreement with them on other points and understandings. It considers these movements, if they reveal good intentions and dedication to Allah, that they fall into the category of those who are trying hard since they act within the Islamic circle. Each active person has his share.
The Islamic Resistance Movement considers all these movements as a fund for itself. It prays to Allah for guidance and directions for all and it spares no effort to keep the banner of unity raised, ever striving for its realisation in accordance with the Koran and the Prophet's directives.
"And cleave all of you unto the covenant of Allah, and depart not from it, and remember the favour of Allah towards you: since ye were enemies, and he reconciled your hearts, and ye became companions and brethren by his favour: and ye were on the brink of a pit of fire, and he delivered you thence. Allah declareth unto you his signs, that ye may be directed." (The Family of Imran - Verse 102).
Article Twenty-Four:
The Islamic Resistance Movement does not allow slandering or speaking ill of individuals or groups, for the believer does not indulge in such malpractices. It is necessary to differentiate between this behaviour and the stands taken by certain individuals and groups. Whenever those stands are erroneous, the Islamic Resistance Movement preserves the right to expound the error and to warn against it. It will strive to show the right path and to judge the case in question with objectivity. Wise conduct is indeed the target of the believer who follows it wherever he discerns it.
"Allah loveth not the speaking ill of anyone in public, unless he who is injured call for assistance; and Allah heareth and knoweth: whether ye publish a good action, or conceal it, or forgive evil, verily Allah is gracious and powerful." (Women - verses 147-148).
B. Nationalist Movements in the Palestinian Arena:
Article Twenty-Five:
The Islamic Resistance Movement respects these movements and appreciates their circumstances and the conditions surrounding and affecting them. It encourages them as long as they do not give their allegiance to the Communist East or the Crusading West. It confirms to all those who are integrated in it, or sympathetic towards it, that the Islamic Resistance Movement is a fighting movement that has a moral and enlightened look of life and the way it should cooperate with the other (movements). It detests opportunism and desires only the good of people, individuals and groups alike. It does not seek material gains, personal fame, nor does it look for a reward from others. It works with its own resources and whatever is at its disposal "and prepare for them whatever force you can", for the fulfilment of the duty, and the earning of Allah's favour. It has no other desire than that.
The Movement assures all the nationalist trends operating in the Palestinian arena for the liberation of Palestine, that it is there for their support and assistance. It will never be more than that, both in words and deeds, now and in the future. It is there to bring together and not to divide, to preserve and not to squander, to unify and not to throw asunder. It evaluates every good word, sincere effort and good offices. It closes the door in the face of side disagreements and does not lend an ear to rumours and slanders, while at the same time fully realising the right for self-defence.
Anything contrary or contradictory to these trends, is a lie disseminated by enemies or their lackeys for the purpose of sowing confusion, disrupting the ranks and occupy them with side issues.
"O true believers, if a wicked man come unto you with a tale, inquire strictly into the truth thereof; lest ye hurt people through ignorance, and afterwards repent of what ye have done." (The Inner Apartments - verse 6).
Article Twenty-Six:
In viewing the Palestinian nationalist movements that give allegiance neither to the East nor the West, in this positive way, the Islamic Resistance Movement does not refrain from discussing new situations on the regional or international levels where the Palestinian question is concerned. It does that in such an objective manner revealing the extent of how much it is in harmony or contradiction with the national interests in the light of the Islamic point of view.
C. The Palestinian Liberation Organization:
Article Twenty-Seven:
The Palestinian Liberation Organization is the closest to the heart of the Islamic Resistance Movement. It contains the father and the brother, the next of kin and the friend. The Moslem does not estrange himself from his father, brother, next of kin or friend. Our homeland is one, our situation is one, our fate is one and the enemy is a joint enemy to all of us.
Because of the situations surrounding the formation of the Organization, of the ideological confusion prevailing in the Arab world as a result of the ideological invasion under whose influence the Arab world has fallen since the defeat of the Crusaders and which was, and still is, intensified through orientalists, missionaries and imperialists, the Organization adopted the idea of the secular state. And that it how we view it.
Secularism completely contradicts religious ideology. Attitudes, conduct and decisions stem from ideologies.
That is why, with all our appreciation for The Palestinian Liberation Organization - and what it can develop into - and without belittling its role in the Arab-Israeli conflict, we are unable to exchange the present or future Islamic Palestine with the secular idea. The Islamic nature of Palestine is part of our religion and whoever takes his religion lightly is a loser.
"Who will be adverse to the religion of Abraham, but he whose mind is infatuated? (The Cow - verse 130).
The day The Palestinian Liberation Organization adopts Islam as its way of life, we will become its soldiers, and fuel for its fire that will burn the enemies.
Until such a day, and we pray to Allah that it will be soon, the Islamic Resistance Movement's stand towards the PLO is that of the son towards his father, the brother towards his brother, and the relative to relative, suffers his pain and supports him in confronting the enemies, wishing him to be wise and well-guided.
"Stand by your brother, for he who is brotherless is like the fighter who goes to battle without arms. One's cousin is the wing one flies with - could the bird fly without wings?"
D. Arab and Islamic Countries:
Article Twenty-Eight:
The Zionist invasion is a vicious invasion. It does not refrain from resorting to all methods, using all evil and contemptible ways to achieve its end. It relies greatly in its infiltration and espionage operations on the secret organizations it gave rise to, such as the Freemasons, The Rotary and Lions clubs, and other sabotage groups. All these organizations, whether secret or open, work in the interest of Zionism and according to its instructions. They aim at undermining societies, destroying values, corrupting consciences, deteriorating character and annihilating Islam. It is behind the drug trade and alcoholism in all its kinds so as to facilitate its control and expansion.
Arab countries surrounding Israel are asked to open their borders before the fighters from among the Arab and Islamic nations so that they could consolidate their efforts with those of their Moslem brethren in Palestine.
As for the other Arab and Islamic countries, they are asked to facilitate the movement of the fighters from and to it, and this is the least thing they could do.
We should not forget to remind every Moslem that when the Jews conquered the Holy City in 1967, they stood on the threshold of the Aqsa Mosque and proclaimed that "Mohammed is dead, and his descendants are all women."
Israel, Judaism and Jews challenge Islam and the Moslem people. "May the cowards never sleep."
E. Nationalist and Religious Groupings, Institutions, Intellectuals, The Arab and Islamic World:
The Islamic Resistance Movement hopes that all these groupings will side with it in all spheres, would support it, adopt its stand and solidify its activities and moves, work towards rallying support for it so that the Islamic people will be a base and a stay for it, supplying it with strategic depth an all human material and informative spheres, in time and in place. This should be done through the convening of solidarity conferences, the issuing of explanatory bulletins, favourable articles and booklets, enlightening the masses regarding the Palestinian issue, clarifying what confronts it and the conspiracies woven around it. They should mobilize the Islamic nations, ideologically, educationally and culturally, so that these peoples would be equipped to perform their role in the decisive battle of liberation, just as they did when they vanquished the Crusaders and the Tatars and saved human civilization. Indeed, that is not difficult for Allah.
"Allah hath written, Verily I will prevail, and my apostles: for Allah is strong and mighty." (The Dispute - verse 21).
Article Thirty:
Writers, intellectuals, media people, orators, educaters and teachers, and all the various sectors in the Arab and Islamic world - all of them are called upon to perform their role, and to fulfill their duty, because of the ferocity of the Zionist offensive and the Zionist influence in many countries exercised through financial and media control, as well as the consequences that all this lead to in the greater part of the world.
Jihad is not confined to the carrying of arms and the confrontation of the enemy. The effective word, the good article, the useful book, support and solidarity - together with the presence of sincere purpose for the hoisting of Allah's banner higher and higher - all these are elements of the Jihad for Allah's sake.
"Whosoever mobilises a fighter for the sake of Allah is himself a fighter. Whosoever supports the relatives of a fighter, he himself is a fighter." (related by al-Bukhari, Moslem, Abu-Dawood and al-Tarmadhi).
F. Followers of Other Religions: The Islamic Resistance Movement Is A Humanistic Movement:
Article Thirty-One:
The Islamic Resistance Movement is a humanistic movement. It takes care of human rights and is guided by Islamic tolerance when dealing with the followers of other religions. It does not antagonize anyone of them except if it is antagonized by it or stands in its way to hamper its moves and waste its efforts.
Under the wing of Islam, it is possible for the followers of the three religions - Islam, Christianity and Judaism - to coexist in peace and quiet with each other. Peace and quiet would not be possible except under the wing of Islam. Past and present history are the best witness to that.
It is the duty of the followers of other religions to stop disputing the sovereignty of Islam in this region, because the day these followers should take over there will be nothing but carnage, displacement and terror. Everyone of them is at variance with his fellow-religionists, not to speak about followers of other religionists. Past and present history are full of examples to prove this fact.
"They will not fight against you in a body, except in fenced towns, or from behind walls. Their strength in war among themselves is great: thou thinkest them to be united; but their hearts are divided. This, because they are people who do not understand." (The Emigration - verse 14).
Islam confers upon everyone his legitimate rights. Islam prevents the incursion on other people's rights. The Zionist Nazi activities against our people will not last for long. "For the state of injustice lasts but one day, while the state of justice lasts till Doomsday."
"As to those who have not borne arms against you on account of religion, nor turned you out of your dwellings, Allah forbiddeth you not to deal kindly with them, and to behave justly towards them; for Allah loveth those who act justly." (The Tried - verse 8).
The Attempt to Isolate the Palestinian People:
Article Thirty-Two:
World Zionism, together with imperialistic powers, try through a studied plan and an intelligent strategy to remove one Arab state after another from the circle of struggle against Zionism, in order to have it finally face the Palestinian people only. Egypt was, to a great extent, removed from the circle of the struggle, through the treacherous Camp David Agreement. They are trying to draw other Arab countries into similar agreements and to bring them outside the circle of struggle.
The Islamic Resistance Movement calls on Arab and Islamic nations to take up the line of serious and persevering action to prevent the success of this horrendous plan, to warn the people of the danger eminating from leaving the circle of struggle against Zionism. Today it is Palestine, tomorrow it will be one country or another. The Zionist plan is limitless. After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they will have digested the region they overtook, they will aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion", and their present conduct is the best proof of what we are saying.
Leaving the circle of struggle with Zionism is high treason, and cursed be he who does that. "for whoso shall turn his back unto them on that day, unless he turneth aside to fight, or retreateth to another party of the faithful, shall draw on himself the indignation of Allah, and his abode shall be hell; an ill journey shall it be thither." (The Spoils - verse 16). There is no way out except by concentrating all powers and energies to face this Nazi, vicious Tatar invasion. The alternative is loss of one's country, the dispersion of citizens, the spread of vice on earth and the destruction of religious values. Let every person know that he is responsible before Allah, for "the doer of the slightest good deed is rewarded in like, and the does of the slightest evil deed is also rewarded in like."
The Islamic Resistance Movement consider itself to be the spearhead of the circle of struggle with world Zionism and a step on the road. The Movement adds its efforts to the efforts of all those who are active in the Palestinian arena. Arab and Islamic Peoples should augment by further steps on their part; Islamic groupings all over the Arab world should also do the same, since all of these are the best-equipped for the future role in the fight with the warmongering Jews.
"..and we have put enmity and hatred between them, until the day of resurrection. So often as they shall kindle a fire of war, Allah shall extinguish it; and they shall set their minds to act corruptly in the earth, but Allah loveth not the corrupt doers." (The Table - verse 64).
Article Thirty-Three:
The Islamic Resistance Movement, being based on the common coordinated and interdependent conceptions of the laws of the universe, and flowing in the stream of destiny in confronting and fighting the enemies in defence of the Moslems and Islamic civilization and sacred sites, the first among which is the Aqsa Mosque, urges the Arab and Islamic peoples, their governments, popular and official groupings, to fear Allah where their view of the Islamic Resistance Movement and their dealings with it are concerned. They should back and support it, as Allah wants them to, extending to it more and more funds till Allah's purpose is achieved when ranks will close up, fighters join other fighters and masses everywhere in the Islamic world will come forward in response to the call of duty while loudly proclaiming: Hail to Jihad. Their cry will reach the heavens and will go on being resounded until liberation is achieved, the invaders vanquished and Allah's victory comes about.
"And Allah will certainly assist him who shall be on his side: for Allah is strong and mighty." (The Pilgrimage - verse 40).
The Testimony of History
Across History in Confronting the Invaders:
Article Thirty-Four:
Palestine is the navel of the globe and the crossroad of the continents. Since the dawn of history, it has been the target of expansionists. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, had himself pointed to this fact in the noble Hadith in which he called on his honourable companion, Ma'adh ben-Jabal, saying: O Ma'ath, Allah throw open before you, when I am gone, Syria, from Al-Arish to the Euphrates. Its men, women and slaves will stay firmly there till the Day of Judgement. Whoever of you should choose one of the Syrian shores, or the Holy Land, he will be in constant struggle till the Day of Judgement."
Expansionists have more than once put their eye on Palestine which they attacked with their armies to fulfill their designs on it. Thus it was that the Crusaders came with their armies, bringing with them their creed and carrying their Cross. They were able to defeat the Moslems for a while, but the Moslems were able to retrieve the land only when they stood under the wing of their religious banner, united their word, hallowed the name of Allah and surged out fighting under the leadership of Salah ed-Din al-Ayyubi. They fought for almost twenty years and at the end the Crusaders were defeated and Palestine was liberated.
"Say unto those who believe not, Ye shall be overcome, and thrown together into hell; an unhappy couch it shall be." (The Family of Imran - verse 12).
This is the only way to liberate Palestine. There is no doubt about the testimony of history. It is one of the laws of the universe and one of the rules of existence. Nothing can overcome iron except iron. Their false futile creed can only be defeated by the righteous Islamic creed. A creed could not be fought except by a creed, and in the last analysis, victory is for the just, for justice is certainly victorious.
"Our word hath formerly been given unto our servants the apostles; that they should certainly be assisted against the infidels, and that our armies should surely be the conquerors." (Those Who Rank Themselves - verses 171-172).
Article Thirty-Five:
The Islamic Resistance Movement views seriously the defeat of the Crusaders at the hands of Salah ed-Din al-Ayyubi and the rescuing of Palestine from their hands, as well as the defeat of the Tatars at Ein Galot, breaking their power at the hands of Qataz and Al-Dhaher Bivers and saving the Arab world from the Tatar onslaught which aimed at the destruction of every meaning of human civilization. The Movement draws lessons and examples from all this. The present Zionist onslaught has also been preceded by Crusading raids from the West and other Tatar raids from the East. Just as the Moslems faced those raids and planned fighting and defeating them, they should be able to confront the Zionist invasion and defeat it. This is indeed no problem for the Almighty Allah, provided that the intentions are pure, the determination is true and that Moslems have benefited from past experiences, rid themselves of the effects of ideological invasion and followed the customs of their ancestors.
The Islamic Resistance Movement is Composed of Soldiers:
Article Thirty-Six:
While paving its way, the Islamic Resistance Movement, emphasizes time and again to all the sons of our people, to the Arab and Islamic nations, that it does not seek personal fame, material gain, or social prominence. It does not aim to compete against any one from among our people, or take his place. Nothing of the sort at all. It will not act against any of the sons of Moslems or those who are peaceful towards it from among non-Moslems, be they here or anywhere else. It will only serve as a support for all groupings and organizations operating against the Zionist enemy and its lackeys.
The Islamic Resistance Movement adopts Islam as its way of life. Islam is its creed and religion. Whoever takes Islam as his way of life, be it an organization, a grouping, a country or any other body, the Islamic Resistance Movement considers itself as their soldiers and nothing more.
We ask Allah to show us the right course, to make us an example to others and to judge between us and our people with truth. "O Lord, do thou judge between us and our nation with truth; for thou art the best judge." (Al Araf - Verse 89).
The last of our prayers will be praise to Allah, the Master of the Universe.

Irony anyone?

2006-02-04T00:58:00.000-06:00

Does anyone see the irony of the muslims protesting cartoons depicting mohammed as a bomb throwing, gun toting wild eyed terrorist. So, what do the muslims do? They strap on their bombs, get their guns and threaten to kill anyone who does not apologize for the cartoons. And, not only the Danish are threatened, other countries are threatened. Muslims have threathened kidnapping and murder over this.

Boycots and other liberal nonesense

2006-02-02T12:36:00.000-06:00

The Islamic world is in an uproar over these cartoons and these of Mohammed. They are calling for boycotts of Danish products, and are threatening to kill people if an apology is not given. And, liberals are agreeing with them, at least over the apologys.

Jesus has been portrayed as a homosexual and as a married man. Christians and Jews have been and still are, ridiculed daily in the media. Where is the liberal outrage? Why the double standard? Why are muslims allowed to pray in schools but Christians and Jews aren't? Where is the liberal outrage? Churches and synagogues are burned and destroyed in the predominately Islamic middle east, where is the liberal outrage? Where is the ACLU? Apparently civil liberties are only for certain religious groups. Maybe the ACLU is on Islam's payroll. Who knows for sure. And, apparently, freedom of speech applies to a select few. Hate speech legislation also applies to a select few.

There is a call for all non-muslims to sign petitions in support of Denmark and to buy Danish products, as a show of support.

Prayer???

2006-01-26T00:15:00.000-06:00

According to this article, a muslim can pray in school. And, Christians can't? Has political correctness gone totally absurd?

The school my children attended had prayer, even though someone could have complained and a few teachers and administrators could have gotten in trouble, but, that never stopped anyone. One of the most touching moments I experienced happened on the evening of 9/11. My youngest son played flute in the highschool band and also played on the football team. That evening the fire dept. brought over a ladder truck and hung a huge American Flag from it. Then, the two teams walked out onto the field and instead of stopping on each side, they walked out into the middle of the field. They joined hands and bowed their heads. Then, a local pastor asked everyone in the stands to stand, and prayed. He asked for peace and that we should be free of fear. That was the end of a long day and I had thought I was cried out. I wasn't. I was so proud of those boys standing there with their heads bowed, and seeing my flag gently waving.

I think it is time we, as Christians, should put aside our doctrinal differences and take back out country.

Kinda makes me want to hurl

2006-01-20T21:00:00.000-06:00

I have about had my fill of certain 'christians' who I hear on Paltalk. I am so tired of the silly, childish bickering and gossiping. Grown men are sitting and talking about other people for such silly reasons. If they have a reason. One 'evangelist' has his wife open rooms about another person. Another is upset because someone else disagrees with his beliefs and chooses to not associate with him. The first man never lets an opportunity go by to get his digs in and then claims that the other man is 'causing division'. Another man says that there are non-essential doctrines that we should not divide over. Of course, what does he do if you disagree with that? There is another 'man' who reminds me of a chubby little boy who is not good at sports and gets picked on. So, he buddies up with the big guy. The guy others either really like or are afraid of. The little chubby kid sneaks around and listens to things people say. Then, he delights in saying...'hey, listen to this. what do you think?' If people are getting along, this twit has to remind everyone of the feud. Anything to cause trouble because if there is no feud going then he might be seen for the silly little twit he is.

All this happens and then they say.....'come sit next to me while I tell you about God.' Hello???? Why should anyone want to listen to what these people have to say when their own walk with God is such a weak one? Do they show the love of Christ? I am not talking doctrine. I am talking about loving your enemy. Doing unto others. These people seem to only be interested in having big chatrooms.

And, while all this happens Christians in Egypt are harrassed and killed. Christians are at risk in the Middle East. A Christian cannot have a bible in Saudi Arabia. While this is happening, christians I have watched and listened to on Paltalk are acting like spoiled brats. It is enough to make me hurl.

Rednecks anyone??

2006-01-18T17:37:00.000-06:00

It seems to me that people have become so politically correct they will not speak out against what is happening in our society. Maybe it is because they are too afraid to be thought of as ignorant racists that they will not stand up to the Islamic propaganda, the militant gay agenda, and just the general deterioration of morals in our country. The fear of being called narrow-minded is keeping good people quiet at a time when good people are needed to stand up and stand firm for God and morals. It has become a joke to be a proud American. To say that you are a Christian opens you up to laughter and ridicule. Ugly people like Bill Maher are given a platform for their obscene denigration of God. It is ok to idolize Bill Clinton, even after we all learned that he is a liar and an adulterer. Our military is called thugs and worse by elected officials on the floor of congress.

Anyone who does speak up is immediately branded a redneck. But, like the song says, 'what this world needs is a few more rednecks'.

Stuff

2006-01-16T23:50:00.000-06:00

Phil has to dress in his 'good' clothes for work and he does look sharp. However, he seems to think that you wash one outfit at a time. So, I took pity on him and have started washing his clothes for him. (He and I came to an understanding when he was a senior in highschool. It was time that he learned to do these sorts of things.) He also thinks that he should not empty his pockets before he brings his clothes to the washroom. I did try to tell him why he needs to....ink pins for instance, are bad news in a washer. And, since I don't want his clothes to be ruined, I empty the pockets. So far this week I have gotten $36.87. I have a jug that I use for change and every so often he will count the change and tell me how much is there. He does not realize that three-fourths of that is what has come from his pockets. I am saving for a new computer.....

@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~

I think it was about twelve years ago that my OCD decided to let me know that it was still here. I had been doing good for several years with only minor flair ups that I could deal with. Medicine has never helped me, and I have tried a lot of different ones. I have been med-free for over three years now, except for an occasional xanax when the anxiety got too bad to handle.

I have been able to live very well with OCD with anxiety, I think mainly because somewhere in the back of my mind I realize that when an 'attack' is over, I will laugh. Laughter has gotten me this far in life. Well, laughing at myself anyway.

When I have a bad day, it takes forever to get things done. And forget leaving the house. If I have to, and it usually has to almost be a life and death issue, I have to start about an hour before I really need to leave. I have thrown away a countless number of pots and pans and clothes and utensils. Bleach is always on my shopping list.

Usually though, my life is just a series of tics and rituals. I count words and numers by twos and it has to come out even. I even things, like whatever is on tables etc. Sometimes I swallow till my throat is sore.....I mean, dry swallowing, without having eaten or drinking anything. I rarely do that, but when the urge comes over me, it is a hard fight to resist it.

Sometimes, when I am driving, I will go around the block or turn around and go over where I have just driven to make sure that I have not hit someone. A friend told me once that one day I will turn around and go back and then think that I hit someone on the way back so I will go back over that route and then think that I hit someone THAT time and turn around.......well, you understand. One day I may just turn into butter.

And, now, with the computer and stores that deliver, people who have agoraphobia do not have to fight it if they don't want to. They can pay bills, buy practically anything they want over the internet, and have their groceries delivered. I don't have agoraphobia. I don't have a problem with being outdoors. My problem is believing that the house and everything in it is ok......so no one will be hurt.

hummmmm, not a heretic.....

2006-01-15T12:00:00.000-06:00

You scored as Chalcedon compliant. You are Chalcedon compliant. Congratulations, you're not a heretic. You believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man and like us in every respect, apart from sin. Officially approved in 451.

Chalcedon compliant

100%

Nestorianism

67%

Apollanarian

50%

Adoptionist

50%

Modalism

33%

Gnosticism

33%

Docetism

33%

Donatism

17%

Arianism

17%

Albigensianism

17%

Monophysitism

Monarchianism

Socinianism

Pelagianism

Are you a heretic?
created with QuizFarm.com

Memories.....

2006-01-14T15:46:00.000-06:00

Well, I was going to write about resolutions. You know, those things we make at the end of each year and promptly forget when the new year starts. I wasn't going to list any for me, since I don't think I have ever kept one in my life. So, I decided to make some resolutions for other people....like, telling Tom Cruise to stop smiling that maniac smile. But, since the main reason I started this is to give some family history to my kids......not that any of them know that I am doing this. I will leave my name and password to this in my will.....

That being the case, here is something I started thinking about last night. Late last night. Started laughing and upset Gumbo so much that he got off the couch. (Mike is here with her husband and baby and I gave them my bed.)

I am the only girl and the youngest in my family. I was both spoiled and.....well, I don't know what I would call it. Anyway, I loved playing jokes on my family (usually I was the only one who laughed). I went through a spell of thinking it hilarious to pretend to pull the chair out from under one of my brothers as the started to sit. I would laugh like crazy when they would sit half-way and then jump up to keep from falling.

One night, my mother (who was a bingo fanatic) talked me and two of my brothers into going over to State Line and playing bingo. Afterwards, we went to a local diner for burgers. At least, that was the plan. The diner has been there forever, I think, and is really small, four tables max and maybe eight stools at the counter. This night the were maybe six people there including the cook and waitress. Everyone was sitting at the counter with their backs to the tables. We, mama, Bobby Joe, Wayne and me, walked into the diner and headed for a table. Mama sat down, then I sat next to her. Wayne pulled out a chair and sat across from us. Just as Bobby Joe pulled his chair out, I got this uncontrollable urge to nudge his chair just a tad, enough to startle him. The chair shot across the room and in slow motion Bobby Joe started to sit and proceeded to go all the way to the floor and lay flat out on the floor. He immediately jumped up, picked up the chair and threw it at the table, yelling at me, then turned and stomped out of the diner. Mama looked at me like she could easily choke me and got up and left too. Wayne gave me a 'you a** is grass' look and left too. That left me to walk out alone with everyone at the counter turned around on their stools looking at me.

I was surprised that they hadn't driven off. I think if Bobby Joe had been driving, I would have been looking for a ride home that night. As it was, it was an hellacious ride home. Mama was talking about how she never got to do anything fun and enjoyable. Bobby Joe was cussing me and telling me that he was never going anywhere with me again, and wondering what the people in the diner thought when he just layed out on the floor. That got me to thinking about it. See, not one of the people sitting at the counter saw anything. They were all sitting with their backs to us. And, the chair made no noise as it slid across the floor (I swear the floor must have been waxed that day because I barely nudged the chair, honest) and Bobby Joe made no sound as he slowly went down. What the other customers saw and heard was four people walk into the diner, then, suddenly one of them starts yelling and cussing and throwing a chair, and then we all walk out again.

It would have been better on me if I had not thought about this. I got a laughing fit. The kind of laughing where you snort. Bobby Joe got madder. Mama got more pitiful. And, Wayne kept looking at me like I had totally lost my mind.

It was at least ten days before I was forgiven. Or, if not forgiven, then plans were being made to get even.

Update.........

2006-01-13T15:43:00.000-06:00

Ok, so it has been a long while since I have posted. But, other than being busy settling back into my house, my other excuse is, I have had nothing that I wanted to write about. If I ever had. So, I think I will make this a update post.

First, I am back home. My older son, David, was supposed to buy this house, but he decided about six months into it that he would rather live out in the country and not in town. Which is ok. BUT, he took forever and a day to move out and when he did he left the house in a sad shape. I have several holes in to patch, from doors being banged into walls. Two doors to either replace or fix. I can fix this, because I have done it before, but still.......Besides that, he decided that he did not need to pay bills...utilities, etc.....for the last three months, so I have been hit with paying the past due electric, water and cable bills. And, he has left a mess of stuff in the yard that I will be removing for weeks at least.

On the other hand, Phil, my youngest son, is doing amazingly well. He started a 'real' job three weeks ago and has already gotten two raises. People love him. People are always telling me what a fine young man he is. When he was younger, his teachers and other parents would complement me on the way he acts. He got the Best Citizen award so many times, it was a big deal when he did not get it. Sometimes, in the middle of one of his hissy fits at home I would wonder if they were talking about another child. But, I suppose he had to act out somewhere and where better than some place he felt secure.

And, I raised these two boys exactly the same. The only exception is that Phil is so much younger and was nine when his father died, which made us extremely close.

My daughters are doing well. Connie, the oldest, did not go to school this semester, so I did not go to Michigan. I will go up in May and then bring the boys back here for the summer.

Michael, my youngest daughter, is having so much fun with her son. Reese will be two in March. Michael was the lucky recipient of at least two generations of genetics, she has some of my mental problems. Like, going outside, sometimes. Sometimes we have no problem, then again..... But, she is doing good now. She told that it is just her luck to be extremely shy and have a son who talks to everyone he sees. This forces her to say hello at least.

This week alone I have 'won' six lotteries, been chosen by at least eight people in Nigeria as the one person who can help them recover an ungodly amount of money. I have started answering the emails and telling them that since I have won so much money that I cannot accept anymore, to please give it to someone else. Do people actually fall for this? I suppose the must, but good lord in heaven, why? Greed? Oh well.

Gumbo is almost completely neurotic now. Poor thing, he has had to deal with so much so far this year. First, trying to get used to pooping in snow that covered his stomach alone was so stressful that he tried every way he could to get out of it. Then, he spent the hurricane huddle against me on the couch, scared of the howling wind. When he was almost over that, we went to a friend's house to stay till we could come home. My friend has a huge yard that is full of shrubs and trees and possums and squirrels and unknown critters. Gumbo went out one evening, squealed (that is the only word for the sound he made) came running to me shivering and then refused to go out into the back yard alone again. From then on, he either went out front or I went out back with him to protect him from the grabbos. THEN, we come home and he seems to almost remember living here. My cat remembers him and rubs all over him. Gumbo does not remember her and freezes when she comes near. He does that weird thing dogs do, he gets very still, stares at me and every so often glances over at the cat. As if to say....see? see what I have to put up with?.....poor dog.

I am saving for a new car. My Nissan van has over 260,000 miles on it. It is still a good car, but I am afraid that it is going to die and leave me stranded. I love that old van. I have been so many places in it. And, I would trust it still to take me on more ramblings. I am thinking of taking a ramble over toward Natchez soon. Then, drive along the Trace for a bit. There are so many things to look at there. I also still am planning a rock hunting weekend soon. That will have to be with another car though.

So, there it is. My update.................

My son Phil

2005-12-14T17:49:00.000-06:00

I have to tell ya'll, I am so proud of my youngest son. He is doing so good, despite losing his father when he was nine. I did take him to a therapist for a few months after his father's death, and that may be one reason he is doing so good now.

He and I have had our disagreements, but Phil never did anything to seriously worry me. I remember worrying about that one night, till a friend of mine told me how silly I was being. The only thing he does now is smoke. I want him to stop and I am praying he will.

Phil is twenty now and in his second year of college. He gets good grades. He could do better, and I think he is this year. Last year was his first time to really be away from home and he did get a little silly. He won fifty dollars by drinking a gallon of milk at one sitting, something I am told can't be done without the person throwing up. Phil didn't throw up.

This year, between our finances and Katrina he has had to stay home and attend the local community college. He applied to Ole Miss last week, so he will be heading up there next year. He is leaning towards the law, but he is such a good writer that I suspect he may be a journalist. Maybe he will do both.

Today, a woman called me looking for Phil. She is a lawyer and Phil had applied to be a runner for the law firm she works for. I told her that he was at school right then, but I would have her call him. She then told me how impressed she had been with his resume. She said that I must really be proud, which I am and which led me to write this tonight.

Dennis would be proud of Phil.

Red state blue state.....ONE country...

2005-12-11T16:05:00.000-06:00

I just got done watching a video slide show of pictures that a local EMT took of Katrina. Mostly the damage, but some of the actual storm. I can never watch something like this without getting all teary. Mainly from looking at the faces of the people who stayed through the storm and stayed on duty for days afterwards, but also, from seeing the people who left their homes and jobs and families and came to help. All the political, red state blue state mess forgotten. Thank you is just not enough.

I am going to see if I can post this on one of the online picture slide shows, so others can see it.

Grinches abound

2005-12-07T15:45:00.000-06:00

The PC Grinches have been working overtime the past few years to rid the world of a horrible, nasty and racist expression that has been in use in the United States (if not the world) for hundreds of years. The phrase? Merry Christmas. They are watching and keeping their lists and checking them twice.....(ok, ok) They want us to say Happy Holidays instead. They want people to stop saying "Merry Christmas" or putting a sign in a shop window with "Merry Christmas" on it. And, of course, they want to stop schools from having "Christmas" anything.

Let's take this a step further. What about the Christmas songs?

" White Christmas" would be....

I'm dreaming of a white Holiday
With every Holiday card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all you Holidays be bright

Or....

"We wish you a Happy Holiday"

And, how's this?

"Have yourself a happy little holiday
Let your heart be light
From now on,
Our troubles will be out of sight"

Or....

"rocking around the holiday tree"..

Or..

The Twelve Days of Holiday????

Or..

"Silver Bells" 'there's a feeling of HOLIDAY in the air'?

Or...

"O' HOLIDAY Tree"?

What about Feliz Navidad? Which means Merry Christmas in Spanish, will we have to just trash that song?

And, what about 'yuletide'? Or 'yule'? Will we have to throw out "The Christmas Song'? I mean, we can change it to 'The Holiday Song', but what about the lyrics...'yuletide carols being sung by a choir'? Yuletide means Christmas Season. If we cannot make that fit the new Happy Holidays theme, will we have to just stop singing it?

And, for goodness sake, what will we do with 'Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer'? Singing, 'Grandma got run over by a reindeer, walking home from our house Holiday Eve', just does not sound right.

And, 'then one foggy HOLIDAY eve, Santa came to say'.....please people, get some sense.

There are so many songs and traditions that will have to be changed or stopped completely, if the PC grinches continue. I have never been offended by seeing Hanukkah candles or seeing Hanukkah greeting cards. Nor, has it ever bothered me when Muslim oo-workers celebrated or observed Rahmadan. Why is it just Christmas that is being targeted by the PC grinches?

Come on, get real and take on the real issues. Like starving children all over the world, even here in the US. If you want to make a difference in someone's life, buy clothes and food for a family. Is it that you don't actually want to make a difference? Is it that you want your name on the news and maybe a hundred years from now, someone might come across it doing a history report? I hope the report is about the 100 Fools of the 2005. And, I hope that YOUR name will be right on there on top.

Falls and........

2005-12-06T13:12:00.000-06:00

I am one of those people who laugh like crazy when they see someone fall. You know the falls I mean. The ones where a person does more damage trying to stop the fall than if they had just gone with it. I don't like to see people hurt, and I will do whatever I can to help them, all the while laughing hysterically. This is the only reason I watch AFV.

Last night, while watching AFV with my friend Leslie, she decided to tell me about a fall she had recently in Branson, Mo. (Leslie is a wonderful,sweet friend who is a large woman,and who insists on wearing dainty shoes, especially sandals.) She said she was walking on an even paved surface when she stumbled over her own feet (read, silly sandals). This fall was one of the running two or three steps to try to save yourself from falling variety, which only makes you look sillier and you fall anyway. Let me add here that Leslie has a wonderful discriptive way of telling her experiences, so by the time she told me about sitting in her car surveying the damage, I was choking with laughter. I could just see her dance-running across the parking lot. I tried to be sympathetic as she described her injuries, skinned knees, skinned elbow, and a skinned nose. The nose is what did it. I lost it. She then told me that she still wonders why she puts up with me as a friend.Thing is,she does the same to me. I once almost stepped on a snake and she still tells people how high I jumped.

My mother went through abou three years of falling. She fell in downtown Moss Point, Ms once, during the worst of the 'shipyard' traffic. (Shift change, in other words.) We were walking to a taxi stand to order a taxi to take one of my brother's to work. She saw a cute little puppy and just as she pointed to it and said,'Oh look at that puppy.' She stepped off the sidewalk and went down. I helped her up, but I could not help laughing. She then said something that just hearing it now makes me laugh...'You would laugh if I killed myself'...Another time, she was rocking one of my neices when the rocker just kept going backwards. There she was, laying on her back, holding my neice, looking like she was still sitting up. Same position. I managed to hold my laughter and went to help her up. I looked at Wayne just as Mama said it...I nearly peed myself that time. Another time, we lived across the street from a laundromat. I was working nights and when I woke up, I heard her in the kitchen. I went in and there she was, standing by the sink with the whole of the rear of her pants wet and muddy. I never did find out why she would rather try to jump the ditch instead of going down the driveway. It was not any closer. Anyway, I walked into the kitchen, she was standing there looking out the window, drinking water. I did not make a sound. Then, she said it. I was always able to not laugh, well, at least not until I was away from her, unless she said it.

I have fallen. And, I laugh just as hard when it is me. Once, when I was about seven months pregnant with my youngest son, I was walking in the mall with Michael (youngest daughter). She grabbed my arm to show me something and down I went. She was afraid that I was hurt, so she did not laugh, at first. Then, the both of us were laughing so hard, I was almost unable to get up.

So, if you fall in front of me, and I laugh, please understand that it is the falling, the rediculous way you look trying not to fall, that is so funny. And, know too that I will help you as much as I can while I am laughing.

Christmas Magic

2005-12-05T23:29:00.000-06:00

Christmas, or rather, the Christmas Season, is usually a time of gloom and doom for me. As much as I try to be different, I usually don't get into the 'Christmas Spirit' until a day or two before Christmas day.

Part of the reason for this is being raised a Jehovah's Witness. JWs don't celebrate holidays. But, I think the real reason I am the way I am is my weird family. My father was an alcoholic who rarely supported us and my mother was slowly going mental, probably starting when she lost her entire family.

Anyway, as JWs we could not celebrate, but, sometimes my parents would get me and Wayne gifts. Nothing spectacular, usually dolls for me and cap pistols for Wayne. But, they would not let us take them around any of our friends until after Christmas. That way the JWs would not know that we had gotten Christmas presents and our friends would think we had. Kids remember dishonesty.

The year I was eight was the first Christmas after my parents had divorced. Times were even harder for us financially and we did not even pretend to think we would have anything for Christmas.
About two weeks before Christmas, our older brother told us not to go into his room because he had painted the floor. Wayne and I tried to think of ways to get in there, but knew we would leave footprints. A few days later we pushed our fingers under the door as far as we could to see if the floor was still wet, but James came home just then and scared us off. Neither Wayne or I thought that there was anything in there for us. However, James was so cool. He loved magic and had all sorts of neat tricks in his room. And, he was a ventriloquist and had two dummies. (Remind me to tell you how he made the face of the first one.) James also had been thinking up and building tricks on his own, and we thought that he had finally gotten his duck trick finished. (That's another story.) But, what with school being out and our mean middle brother watching us, we had no other chances to sneak into James' room.

I had made something for my best friend, who lived next door. I can't remember what it was, but I remember putting it into a matchbox and using tin foil to wrap it in. Christmas Eve, I whined until Wayne walked next door with me to give it to Ronnie. He (Wayne) tried to run ahead so he could hide and scare me, but I was a faster runner then. So, we walked back home arguing about something silly. As we got closer to the house, he ran ahead through the back door and into the kitchen. Then he stopped. I came in and pushed him, fussing again because he was in the way. Then, I saw it. Standing against the living room wall was a brand new bicycle. Brand new. So new it was shiney. My mother was sitting at the kitchen table and said something about weren't we going to go look at what was in the living room. Until then I had no idea that there was anything other than that beautiful bike. Wayne went directly to it and I walked around the corner into the living room and found a record player with a stack of records, a Jerry Mahoney dummy and instruction book. I was afraid to touch anything. Finally, my mother told us that James had decided that Christmas was going to be special for us. He had been saving money for and buying these things for the past month. And, hiding them in his room of course.

I will never forget the look on his face as he sat on the couch watching me and Wayne that Christmas. That was magical. A truly magical Christmas. I keep trying to get that feeling that I felt all those Christmases ago back again and give a taste of it to my children. I don't know that I ever have.

Grabbos avisiting

2005-12-02T13:37:00.000-06:00

The old OCD grabbo has decided to come visit for awhile. That is why I have not been posting here or anywhere else. I am dealing with him right now.

Shopping????

2005-11-28T20:09:00.000-06:00

There is no way I will go out and fight the crowds for Christmas presents, just no way. I stay at home on 'Black Friday' and even today I did not order anything online. Today is the biggest online shopping day of the year. But, I ordered everthing I am going to order last week, so today I was just going to piddle around the house and read and watch old movies. But, my back and left shoulder have decided to make my life miserable. I have been taking aspirin for the pain, but today it was not working. My friend gave me ( I know) a couple of pain pills she had...something with codine. Now, I don't want anyone to think that I routinely take meds that are not mine or that I am some sort of abuser, but I was hurting. So, I had her rub some Emu cream over my back and shoulder, took two pills and lay on the couch with the heating pad. It took about an hour but the pain finally went away. I am getting to the point of almost deciding to go to the doc. At least I will have my own meds to take. I might even try to chiropractor, he did help me a couple of years ago. Anyway, this is the reason I have not been writing as much as I want to.

I have been reading though. And, listening to some books on CDs while I waller in bed trying to find a comfortable way to lay so my shoulder will stop hurting. Ya'll tired of my whineing yet? I am if ya'll aren't.

Good news is that I may, just may,be back home this week. My son almost has his place ready to move into and, I am going to make him start paying the house note again in December. That might make him hurry up and move.

Reese Thomas actually sat in Santa's lap last Friday (my daughter is like me and would rather not go out on the busy days, but she went with her husband to the mall) Mike, my daughter, told me that Reese saw Santa and took off running to get to him. He is twenty months old and has no idea about Santa or Christmas. But, she said he tried to push past two other kids. Then, when it was his turn, he sat in Santas lap with a big smile on his face. This is the kid who does not want anyone touching him or talking to him if he does not know them. And, he has yet to go to see his pediatrician without crying. I will get the pic of him on cd and post it for ya'll to see how sweet he is.

My other two grandsons are in Michigan and I have not seen them since last June. I was going to go back for this school year, but Katrina changed my plans. I hope to go back after Christmas and spend the rest of the school year with them, then bring them back here for the summer.

I love this time of year because of all the old movies and cartoons that we have watched for years. Like, 'It's A Wonderful Life', 'Scrooge' and the Grinch and the Wizard of Oz. I think that is really the best thing about the season, that and getting all the family together. This year all my kids will be in one place again.

Ok, enough rambling about nothings....and to all the Scrooges out there I say...Bah! Humbug! to you and your doom and gloom.

Thanksgiving aftermath

2005-11-25T18:00:00.000-06:00

Well, Thanksgiving is over for another year. I am still recovering from eating more than I should. I won't eat like this again till Christmas dinner. Then will spend the time till next Thanksgiving dieting.

Today I bought most of the gifts that I am giving over the computer. I love it. My youngest daughter and I have a few things in common. One of those being that we don't like crowds. We agreed that the internet is the best thing for agoraphobics. It allows them to function without leaving home.

Hope everyone's holidays are blessed and safe.

Thanksgiving

2005-11-23T18:36:00.000-06:00

Well, it seems that I will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. Of course, I have already started it. I cooked the ham and am mixing all the other stuff up so all I will have to do is put them in the oven tomorrow. This is going to be a good Thanksgiving. I

I had thought that I would just ignore it this year, since my older son still has not moved out of my house and I am still at Leslie's. Leslie and my youngest son do not care for each other, so, I was going to get Phil and the two of us were going to hang out. Then, today, Leslie asked me if I wanted to do Thanksgiving here. Then said that since Phil has made significant effort the past few months it is time to let all that silliness go. Amazing. This has only taken six years. I sometimes wonder who the adult was in all this dumbness.

So, tomorrow we (Leslie, Phil, Mike, Jamie, Reese and moi) to turkey and dressing (not stuffing) ham, sweet potatoe casserole, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy (if the gravy god decides to bless me) rolls and sweet tea. With apple pie, pecan pie and cherry pie, (all either bought or with bought filling and frozen pie crusts, I am not sadistic).

I pray you each have a blessed day and that we all remember why we should be thankful. And, go hug someone you have been on the outs with.

An-ti-ci-pation

2005-11-23T12:15:00.000-06:00

Whatever happened to anticipation? Remember dreaming of a first date? A first kiss? First car? Seems nowadays no one waits for anything anymore. No one gets to experience the thrill of anticipation. It's all gimme now! Twelve year olds are dating, dressed to look as if they are twenty. Kids used to get a car when they graduated. Now they get one as soon as they learn to drive and pass the driver's test. And what is with 'friends with benefits'?

I had a long discussion with a co-worker several years ago. She said that she believed spirituality is what is missing and causing children to react or act out the way they do. At the time, I said that it was a lack accountability, that children aren’t made to be responsible for their actions. I still believe this, but I also think it is the constant feeling of wanting more and bigger things. Instead of allowing a child to enjoy the anticipation, things are given too soon. Children are also being robbed of truly appreciating and enjoying the gift or their stage in life.

Remember how it felt to anticipate? Why not let our children feel that also. What is so wrong with making a child wait for the next step in growing up?

And,,,,

2005-11-22T13:15:00.000-06:00

More Mississippi Trivia

14. S.B. "Sam" Vick of Oakland, played for the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. He was the only man ever to pinch hit for baseball great Babe Ruth.

15. Blazon-Flexible Flyer, Inc., in West Point, is proclaimed to make the very best snow sled in the U.S., which has become an American tradition. It is of course called THE FLEXIBLE FLYER.

CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI

16. The world's first human lung transplant was performed at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, in 1963. The world's first heart transplant was performed at the Center the following year.

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Well, I got caught up in the xbox madness.........Bill Gates is a marketing fool, whatever else he in.......even though I never thought I would be. My son-in-law does not have computer access just now so my daughter called me last night to order one from Sears. So, I was online, with my mouse finger ready at mdnight. Went to the xbox section on the Sears site and.................nothing. My son-in-law called the online help line and got this.....'Welcome to the Sears online store...xbox are on sale now, just keep hitting your refresh button. Was there something else I could help you with?' Jamie had not said a word. So, it was back to hitting the refresh button. I stayed up until 3am, but never did make it to the site. This morning it is easy to get there, but, of course there is no more xboxes in stock.

Phil wants a gun for Christmas. His best friend is a hunter and has had a gun or been around guns for most of his life. Phil told me today that he has signed up for a gun safety course and wants to start hunting with his friend. I know the boy's father and know that he taught his son to be responsible, which he is. He is one of the few friends Phil has had since the sixth grade that I have consistently liked. But, if I do buy a gun, a hunting rifle, then I will have fresh worries. And, I know Phil is twenty and all that, but still. What to do, what to do.

I still have the weirdest thing going on with my left hand. It started back in February with my arm from my elbow down aching. I figured it was the way I used the keyboard so I changed the setup and added more support for my arm. Then, it started going numb, you know that sleepy foot feeling, all the way to the tip of the little finger. This spread to the next two fingers and stayed that way for weeks. Then it slowly started to fade away. Oh, and the aching stopped when the numbness started. Now, I get cramps in my left hand and the little finger still has a numb feeling. (My youngest daughter, Michael. told me that I better not be having a stroke cause she is not changing any diapers. ) And, of course, I have not seen a doctor. I hate going to a doctor, not because I am afraid of them, but because I feel like, if I am not seriously ill, then I am wasting their time. Of course, as much as the charge, they are not exactly wasting time. But, I think I will see how this goes.

Ok, the holidays always make me weird (er). So, there is no telling what I might write here in the next few days.

At least the grabbos have let me sleep at night. Gumbo has taken to 'burying' his bone under the bathroom rug, so it is becoming tricky to go in the middle of the night.

I am a Frog???

2005-11-20T18:18:00.000-06:00

You Are A: Frog!

Independent yet still part of a large community, frogs are unique creatures known for their distinctive sound and ability to hop. As a frog, you spend your days sitting on lily pads or climbing trees, searching for delicious insects to eat. While there are some frogs that aren't exactly cute, you are certainly not one of those!

You were almost a: Turtle or a Bear Cub
You are least like a: Bunny or a Groundhog Cute Animal Test!

A frog!! Good lord. Ok, here is a joke.....

A census worker is goes up to a house in the mountains of Tennesee. A woman comes to the door and he asks her...

'How many children do you have and what are their ages?'

She says, 'Well, there are the twins Seth and Beth, they are 16. Then, there is Penny and Jenny, they are 14. And, then there are.....'

The census taker stops her and says,' Good lord, did you get twins every time?"

The woman laughs and says,' Lordy no, some times we didn't get nothing at all.'

The environment and other wounded creatures...

2005-11-20T17:48:00.000-06:00

A week or so ago, Oprah did a show with Leonardo deCaprio (I think that is his name) about the environment and how we can become more user friendly. There were some good ideas that we all can start using, but, while I was watching it, I thought about the average person who does good just to pay rent and feed his/her kids. How can someone who is existing on minimum wage or welfare supposed to buy a hybrid car? Or, faced with the choice of buying eco-friendly light bulbs that cost like $7.00 each (but which do last longer) or buying the 49 cent special, how can they think six months down the road and take the eco-friendly one? When you see someone driving an old clinker down the road with black smoke pouring out the tailpipe, do you get all holier-than-thou and sneer at them? Or, do you think that maybe that is all they can afford to get back and forth to work.

This has been rolling around in the back of my mind since I watched the show. What are most people in this country supposed to do? (I will wait till another post to holler about the people who can afford hybrids but who buy Humvees and SUVs). Is there a website with info for the common man? Something that people can slowly start doing? If not, why not? I am going to spend some time in the next few days searching for one, and if there is none, maybe there is info spread out that could be collected all together on a site.

And, then, there is another thing. How many of the people who are on welfare, etc have computer access? And, if they have, how many of the older people are computer savvy? There is a need in this country and it is not being met. Getting all superior acting and saying how the environment is dying and that we need to do something is all well and good. But, to those in the know, get the info together for those who are subsisting. Have any of you had to decide to buy food, pay the electric bill or buy $7.00 light bulbs? Get real.

Southern folks....

2005-11-19T23:45:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I got a cell phone and called my children to give them the number. Today, I decided to check the ringtone...I hate those obnoxious loud ringtones....so I used the hosue phone to call my number so I could hear the tone. I waited, and waited, then put the cell phone up to my ear and heard someone saying hello. I figured that I had dialed the wrong number, so I told the person and then told them why I was trying to dial my own number. She was nice about it and laughed. Later today, I was wondering why not one of my kids had called me so I called my youngest daughter. She laughed and told me it was because I had given out the wrong number. So, the poor woman I had talked to earlier today had gotten calls from two of my children and one of my grandchildren. The grandson, Ryan, talked for quiet awhile telling this stranger about the new Harry Potter movie. She was nice to all of them. She never, at any time, got all upset and hostile with us.

Then, this afternoon, three people from a church in Georgia came to the door to invite us to a program they have setup this Tuesday. There will be singing and some preaching and they have 20,000 turkeys to give away. These people have come here to help the victims of Katrina. One of the ladies was an older woman who did most of the talking. She was the sweetest thing. She told me that she just wanted to hug my neck. Then, she told me that the group she was with had been taken on a tour of the most devastated parts of the Mississippi coast. We talked for quite a bit, then she said they had to go to more houses. She had asked me if I had children or grandchildren, then asked their ages. She said that she didn't have anything that the oldest two would like, but, that I could choose from what she had to give to the youngest. She was just a sweet, caring lady.

See, this to me, is true southern temperment. The first woman did not get tootie when she kept getting my calls. She even listened to us! She took the time to be gracious. And, the second lady took time out of her day to talk to me and offer whatever help she could. This is typical southern behaviour. I know there are some deviants that I am ashamed to call southern, but the way these ladies acted to total stranger is the typical attitude you will see down here.

So, even though I know this will make some people mad, this is what I see as the difference with southern people. People care about you and want to know what you think about things. And, they listen to you when you talk to them.

I know that the whole country has sent aide to us down here. I don't mean to dismiss that. I know there were people who have survived because of the kindness of strangers. Strangers from all of this country. Actually, this isn't even about aide or anything like that.

Toenails, cellphones and rambles

2005-11-18T19:10:00.000-06:00

More Mississippi Trivia

11. Guy Bush, of Tupelo, was one of the most valuable players with the Chicago Cubs. He was on the 1929 World Series team and Babe Ruth hit his last home run off a ball pitched by Bush.

12. During the 1930's one of Mississippi' s most famous pilots, a barnstormer by the name of Roscoe Turner, of Corinth, was proclaimed to be one if the best speed pilots in the U.S. But he was perhaps best known for flying with his animal mascot named Gilmore, an African lion cub. A world renowned aviator, Turner is featured in the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institute and is the only three time winner of the Thompson Trophy Race. In Corinth, during August. visitors can enjoy the Annual Roscoe Turner Hot Air Balloon Races, which offer a weekend of fun, festivities, food and entertainment.

13. Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, of Civil War fame, was reared in Benton County and was pronounced by military historians and critics alike to be the foremost calvary officer ever produced in America.

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Took Gumbo to PetSmart to get his toenails cut and have a bath, but they were full so I made an appointment for tomorrow. Which I won't keep. I am not an 'appointment' person. I hate them. I usually decide to do something and just go do it, instead of planning it out. I do keep doctor's, dentist and hairdresser's appointment, but even those are hard for me. The evening before and especially the morning of I think of all sorts of reasons why I shouldn't keep it. Actually, I rarely make an appointment for my hair. I usually just go as a walk-in. Anyway, I did manage to spend over $80 at PetSmart, on a new leash, food and toys. Then, when I was in the checkout line some doofus standing there holding a bag with a fish in it had the nerve to talk bad about Boston Terriers. I told him that he had obviously not spent the time to socialize his dog, and that Gumbo had never been a chewer. He, the doofus, gave me this superior, hippy smile and told me that he preferred fish to dogs. I told him that his fish won't keep his feet warm at night and can you imagine holding a fish while you cry over some movie? Will his fish snuggle up with him and try to make him feel better? I think not. Some people just don't get it.

While I was out I broke down and got a cell phone. I called Connie, Mike and Phil to give them the number, then hooked it to it's charger, and got irritated when it rang. (It was Mike telling me that she had taken Reese to the doctor and that he had some virus that is going around.) One reason I have waited so long in getting a cell phone is that........I hate phones. I sometimes will not answer the house phone. I only want to talk when I want to talk and resent it when someone calls me. I know I am odd. But, this is why only four people know my phone number. I used to have a message on my answering machine that basically told people that I was there but chose not to talk to them, but that I do check messages, so leave one and one day soon I would call them back. This is really good for the telemarketers. My kids knew to let the phone ring twice, hang up and call back. I would know then it was someone I wanted to hear from so I would answer it.

So, now I am the proud owner of a cell phone, but if anyone catches me shouting into it while I am in a restaurant or answering it in a theater or sitting next to anyone while, you have my permission to tell me that I am a hypocrite. And, lord help me if I talk and drive.

Mike called the other day to tell me that genetics is alive and well. Seems she was laying on the couch watching TV while Reese was playing. He came over and climbed up on the couch and slid down between her legs and the back of the couch to watch Elmo's World. A few minutes later she saw that he had fallen asleep. So, yet another generation has fallen to the Crook. The Crook is the shape your legs make when you are laying on your side. Mike wants to get a picture of me on the couch with Reese in the crook, since Mammaw is not here. She is the one who started it and all her grandchildren have slept in the Crook. Not to mention her children.

Leslie told her mother tonight that we will most likely not be there next week. Leslie wants to have her roof finished before she leaves. I do too. So, we will most likely not go till after Christmas. That's ok too. I am thinking of forcing Phil to go on a weekend ramble with me. If I do, I will try to go someplace interesting and take pictures. I would suggest the Nstchez Trace, but Phil might just mutiny. But, there are some places along the Trace over by Natchez and Vicksburg that we have not been to in several years. I think I will threaten Tupelo first, the concede to someplace closer. That way Phil will think he suggested the Trace.

Winter finally finds us....

2005-11-17T17:30:00.000-06:00

More Mississippi Trivia

8. Lawrence "Rabbit" Kennedy, of Amory, was the most decorated soldier in the U.S. Army.

9. Oxford is home of John Grisham, author of THE FIRM, PELICAN BRIEF, THE CLIENT, and A TIME TO KILL.

10. General Frank Gregory, of Shelby, is one of the principal developers of the helicopter.

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It's finally cooolllldddd here. It was 33 degrees (F) last night, during the night. Tonight it is supposed to be even colder. This is our winter and will most likely last three or four days. Then, it will get up into the low to mid 70s through February.

Last year I was in Michigan. I loved the snow....as long as I was inside in front of the fire, watching the snow through the window. I did go out and have a snowball fight or two. And, I sort of helped with a snowman. But, when it was deep enough for a snow fort, I told them they were on their own. Another thing I found out, snow changes the look of places enough that some people (who have never had to deal with this much snow at one time) get lost trying to find their way back home. Down here, everything shuts down when it snows. And, our snow is like a hard frost up north.

Gumbo had his own tough time dealing with the snow. I think he still has nightmares. It is hard or a short dog when the snow is higher than his belly. Kind of takes the needing to pee to another level. I swear I could almost see Gumbo grit his teeth before he would jump off into the snow.

My rant for the day....PUBLIC RESTROOMS...is there any reason that these cannot be kept cleaner than they are? A, who is designing the stalls? I went to the newest movie theater last week. I went to the restroom and, since it is new, it was clean. Actually, surprisingly clean. Then, I went into a stall. I almost had to back in at an angle and the huge toiletpaper despenser was practically in my lap. And, I am not that fat, good grief. I know the aim is to get as many stalls as possible in the huge metroplex-type theaters, but for heaven's sake.

Almost as bad are the restrooms that have been modified to allow for handicap access. Before you start, I am all for handicapped-accessed everything. But, some places with three or four stalls will make one stall bigger, by moving the stall wall over. Which cuts into the space of the other stalls. So, not only are handicapped people discombobulated in the restrooms, so are everyone else. I think a grassroots protest should be started to force restroom owners and builders to THINK about the process that is happening in restrooms nationwide.

Next, we will start a movement for CLEAN restrooms.

More nothings.......

2005-11-17T01:45:00.000-06:00

It's funny how we can be lead to believe something. Take the Wicked Witch of the West, in the Wizard of Oz. We grew up thinking of her as someone completely mean and hateful. But, take another look at it. First, before she went of Oz and was just Elvira Gulch, Toto BIT her. She did not do anything to that dog first. And, then after she is in Oz, the house lands on HER sister and kills her and then, her Ruby Slippers are stolen and given to Dorothy. Where is the fairness of this? Everything she did afterwards was justifiable. Absolutely. But, then that is the media slant isn't it? Just like today's media.

Oh well, that is it for my tirade tonight. It is getting cold here, finally, and my feet are too cold for me to think straight. Hey, that's as good an excuse as anything. Besides, I really do need to get to bed. I have to take Gumbo to have his nails clipped tomorrow. And, I do need to get somemore books. I am down to two. One is my bathroom book and the other is one I read in bed. The bathroom book changes weekly. It is just a plain ole book that I only read in the bathroom. Sometimes it might be one that Ihave already read, but usually it is a new one. I remember reading Sanctuary years ago over and over again in my bathroom. It is such a good book.

So, sweet dreams everyone.

Dangit....

2005-11-16T16:27:00.000-06:00

Well, dang. I wrote a post last night and when I was ready to post it, I lost internet connection. It was a good one too. It was all about Do As I Say, Not as I Do, by Peter Schweizer. I read most of it yesterday and am totally disgusted at the hypocrisy of the people he 'exposed'. Not disappointed, because I did not listen to them.......well, take heed of what they said anyway.....but, still.... Anyway, I do think people should read it.

I also gave the receipe for making poo. That is, for making fake poo. It looks like the real thing. I will tell you sometime about when I made some at work one slow day and then put it into the mopbucket of a totally AR guy who worked in housekeeping. Took him awhile to get over that one. But, we were always do practical joke type things to each other. I don't recall his getting me back for that one though.

What do you do when people, adults, you like and respect are in a feud? And, you can't think of anything to make them stop? It is sad that this is going on.

Ok, got to go get tickets for the new Harry Potter movie. If I go now I won't have to stand in line Friday.

More musings...I think I gave this blog the perfect title...

2005-11-15T00:28:00.000-06:00

And, yet more Mississippi Trivia.....

5. William Faulkner, one of the literary giants of the twentieth century, was born in New Albany. His accomplishments include winning the Nobel prize for Literature, two Pulitzer Prizes and the National Book Award. He is considered to be the greatest writer of fiction during the first half of the 20th century. His novels include THE REIVERS, THE SOUND AND THE FURY, LIGHT IN AUGUST, and ABSALOM, ABSALOM! His home, Rowan Oak, is in Oxford, and is open to the public. At Rowan Oak, the visitor can view Faulkner's room where an outline for A FABLE, has been scribbled on the wall by the author's own hand.

6. Tupelo, is the birthplace of the "King of Rock and Roll," Elvis Presley. Here can be visited the Elvis Presley Museum, Chapel and the two-room, "shot-gun" style house where he was born.

7. The world's oldest Holiday Inn is located in Clarksdale.

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If I were as smart as some of the other bloggers that I know, I could make some fancy-dancy page dividers of my own. As it is I will have to use the......whatchmacallit button.

Ok, I went to Stone Mt and could not overcome my fear of gondolas......well, it isn't the gondolas so much as the gondolas hanging from that little tee-ninesy cable 900 feet up. So, we walked up the whole 900+ feet to the top. It wasn't too bad. We were able to sit down on some conveniently placed boulders and rest every so often. Of course, my OCD kicked in big time and I had trouble looking at the horizon. And, had trouble letting my son get to far from me. He was so embarrassed. But we made it up and, more importantly, back down again.

One note of clarification. About making a decision to go to Utah was making me see grabbos......it isn't Utah, it is the stress of thinking about all the things that could possibly happen if I go. Things like, nuclear war, fire (there and here), armed men breaking into my house while I am gone or aliens taking my son........it is usually silly things that get me. I don't actually believe any of those things will happen, but, my OCD does not listen to reason. So, I will most likely go on the trip and enjoy the rock hunting as well as the scenery. Mainly because I will regret it if I don't go. I went to Alaska in the summer 1999 and for the most part, that was a good trip. Even though I had to think of all the things that could possibly go wrong so I could do preventive maintenance. The only thing that did happen and one I did not think of, was that the toilet in the back bathroom leaked and ruined the carpet in my bedroom and the hallway. And, my other dog, a shi tzu, got a hotspot and almost died. And, my oldest daughter decided that, yes indeed, she would marry Jackie...errr, Bob. I call him Jackie, short for jackass.

Goodnight and good luck. I will maybe one day think of something interesting to write about....but, don't hold me to it, ok? Maybe tomorrow I will tell you about my trip up to Oxford, Ms to visit Faulkner's house.

About Me....

2005-11-14T18:08:00.000-06:00

Me and a friend on top of Stone Mt in Georgia.

Some things about me....

1. I am from Mississippi and except for last winter, I have lived here all my life.
2. I enjoy traveling.
3. I was born on November 28th which makes me a Sagittarius
4. I think astrology is bogus.
5. I was raised a Jehovah's Witness, but don't worry, I no longer knock on doors.
6. I am the youngest and only girl. Both my parents and two of my brothers are dead.
7. I don't have much contact with my two surviving brothers.
8. I love to hunt for rocks and fossils.
9. I love history.
10. I love to read.
11. I listen to audiobooks when I am traveling or going to sleep or cleaning house.
12. I am a CRTT (Certified Respiratory Therapist) and a CRPFT (Certified Pulmonary Function Technician)
13. I have OCD and have added hours to a trip because I will go back over a route to make sure that I haven't run over anyone.
14. I seldom drink, but when I do it is something like a margarita or a daiquiri ( on day-queery, which is how I used to think it was pronounced.)
15. I am a Christian, Libertarian politically and a heterosexual woman.
16. My best friend is an atheist, liberal and male to female transsexual who is currently in a relationship with a lesbian.
17. I am a CocaCola fiend. I have to limit the amount I buy because I will not stop drinking them until they are gone. (Yes, I know it will eat the battery acid off a battery and will sone eat all the lining off my stomach.
18. I like Garrison Keillor's humor.
19. I am tired of Stephen King's books.
20. I like eminem, Outkast, John Prine, Delbert McClinton, DireStraits, Jimmy Buffett.........to name just a few. I suppose my musical tastes could be called eclectic.
21. I love old black and white movies. Even the bad B-movie 'horror' movies.
22. I hate rude people.
23. I really like animals. I have one dog, a Boston Terrier named Gumbo and one cat, named Sassy. I am currently pet-sitting for my son's cat, Kudreau, and my daughter's four cats, Ferris, LuLu, Gabby and LB.
24. I hate people who drive like they own the road.
25. I live a mile from the beach, on the Gulf of Mexico, but would rather be living in the mountains.
Well, there is no way I can get to 101 things about me. I am lucky that I got to 25.

Owls, grabbos and old dead men

2005-11-14T01:55:00.000-06:00

Well, I made it through the day without another visit from the Grabbos. Sometimes those pesky critters will hang around for days. Has anyone else had this happen? Have you ever been sitting or standing somewhere, usually alone, and suddenly you think you see someone out of the corner of your eye? This happened to me several times yesterday and I think that is why the Grabbos visited last night. And, the man who owned this house before Leslie bought it died in the bedroom I am using. Normally, this would not bother me, but yesterday and last night it sure did. I am thinking that it might have something to do with me trying to decide if I am going to go to Utah at the end of this month. I want to, but for some reason, I am feeling like I shouldn't go. Ah well.

I hate what is happening in France right now. Riots and rioting have never made sense to me. I can understand that some people might think that this is the only way to either resolve a problem or to gain recognition of a problem. (PROBLEM sounds like an insignificant word right now.) I also think that with the 24/7 news coverage we have now, all the rioting does not have the same effect on people who live on the other side of the world, and are watching it on TV. The Watts riots seemed so much worse somehow. Maybe it was because I was so young and watching news bulletins breaking into the soap operas but they seemed more horrendous somehow. I don't think it is because the riots are happening in France and the Watts riots happened here. I don't think I am that bigoted. But, back to the riots in France. What can be done to stop them and more importantly, what can be done to prevent them in the future?

I have been doing some reading about socialism lately. I know that I have just started, but it does seem like it would be easy for one group to gain control, thereby controlling everything. Simplistic, I know and I will be doing more reading about it.

Speaking of reading, I have decided to definitely go back to college next year. I will only take the courses that interest me since I do not plan to try to go back to work. (I am afraid that my OCD and work just do not mix.) I know that I will be taking geology and anthropology classes. I hope to volunteer for some digs too. I had planned to do that this summer, but life got in the way and I wasn't able to. There is a dig going on near Wetumpka, Al. My son was talking about it the other day. One of his teachers at Auburn was in charge of the dig. There has been some exciting artifacts found there about the early Native Americans.

There are so many things I plan on doing, but unless I get control of the OCD grabbo, I won't be able to do them. So, I think that maybe I should go on that Utah trip.

Ok, it just happened again. I am the only one up, Gumbo has even deserted me for the bed. Just now, I swear I saw someone walk across the doorway into the living room. This is getting weird. I don't hear anything unusual yet, so hopefully if it is the old man who died here, he will be nice tonight. No, I am not crazy, even though that is debatable according to some. I used to hear someone calling me by name. No one else could hear it. I read the book, 'I Heard The Owl Call My Name' a few years ago. In it, the native Americans...(or were they Canadian? It is all the same I suppose.)....believed that if you heard an owl call your name, then you were going to die soon. I kinda got a bit spooky after I read that. I maybe should stop now, before I convince everyone that I am loony.

I just thought oi something. I can see behind me because of my glasses. There is usually a reflection in the lenses if someone gets close. So, maybe that is what is happening. Maybe it isn't an old dead man walking around in here. Maybe it is someone sneaking up behind me. Or, maybe I can see the old dead man in the reflection on my lenses.

Ok, ok. I have rambled enough that everyone will think I am totally crazy.

Goodnight Mother.

Grabbos come calling

2005-11-13T05:57:00.000-06:00

For the past month I have been staying at a friend's house. This is an older house that she bought the month before Katrina. It has all the old house moanings and groanings that I have not paid any attention to....till tonight. My friend went away for the weekend and I am here with just Gumbo. Everything all nice and cozy until I go to bed. I make sure all the doors and windows are locked (but I do this every night anyway) and then me and Gumbo go to bed. Less than five minutes later I hear a crash. At first I say to Gumbo that it is just a possum or squirrel on the patio. Then, the 'are you suuuuuurrrrrreeeee-s' start. So, I get up and creep around the house looking for grabbos. Nothing. I walked all through the house again, still nothing. So, I tell Gumbo what a silly dog he is and head back to the bedroom. Then I see it. There on the living room floor is one of my grandson's toys. It had fallen from the wagon and made the crashing noise. Ok, that was easy, so back to bed I go. Till I ask Gumbo how exactly did that toy fall to the floor. Maybe someone..........or THING.......bumped the wagon and made it fall.

Now I am beginning to get a tad bit scared. I have no weapons. No gun or anything like that. The phone is in the kitchen, so I couldn't call for help unless I made it past whoever......whatever.....is causing the noise. Finally, I go into my friend's room and take a knife that she has left over from her other life and open it. Holding this I creep out into the hallway and make it to the kitchen to get the phone and then see the super-duper bug gun she has. This is a bug spray that you can pump up till it spews out at least six feet across the room. Great! So, I take the knife, phone and bugspray into my room and fix them all within easy reach and go back to bed. (What will I use the bugspray for? Crazy, to shoot the Grabbos in the eye so I can make a run for it.)

An hour and a half later Gumbo wakes me up to let him out. Still no sign of anyone. But that is how those grabbos work. You never see them until the have you and by then it is way too late.

I am going to go spend the night with my daughter next time.

Gumbo

This and That

2005-11-12T22:08:00.000-06:00

Ok, today I will give you three trivias of Mississippi.

2. The University of Mississippi Blues Archive in Oxford contains the world's largest collection of Blues music.

3. The world's first round trip transoceanic flight was performed in 1928 by H.T. Merrill, from Iuka. The flight to England was made in a plane loaded with ping pong balls.

4. Vardaman, is the Sweet Potato Capital of the world. Each year, in November, the Sweet Potato Festival is held in Vardaman.

Surprised you again, huh?

Does anyone else think there is something spooky about Tom Cruise? I mean, that smile is just too........icky. I have never thought he is a good actor, but that is beside the point.

I watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last night. It was a good kids movie, but, well, I am glad that I didn't pay movie theater prices for it. I am going to get H2G2 soon. I know I will like that, who didn't love the book?

Ok, this is a nothing post again. Sorry

P.S. I DID IT!!! FINALLY, I was able to add links. The random one is a blog I discovered last week and I highly reccommend it. The other is an online television with several countries available for people to watch. I will be adding other links soon, now that I have it figured out.

What I think.......

2005-11-12T02:18:00.000-06:00

Politicians make me sick. All of them. None of them think twice about talking out of both sides of their mouths, if it means getting a vote off someone. For instance 'Sens. Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid and Dick Durbin have accused President George Bush of ,lying about Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction, insisting he "lied us into war." They are even floating the suggestion that he be impeached.' (This is taken from the Federalist Patriot)

Ok, now, this is not meant to be a post on whether or not we should be in Iraq. It is a post about politicians who well......I already said that.

So, we have these people jumping on Bush. Here are their accusations:

"The Bush administration misrepresented and distorted the intelligence to justify a war that America should never have fought." --Ted Kennedy

"We all know the Vice President's office was the nerve center of an operation designed to sell the war and discredit those who challenged it. ... The manipulation of intelligence to sell the war in Iraq...the Vice President is behind that." --Harry Reid

"I seconded the motion Sen. Harry Reid made last week. Republicans in Congress have refused, despite repeated promises, to investigate the Bush administration's misuse of pre-war intelligence, so Senate Democrats are standing up and demanding the truth." -- Dick Durbin, who recently compared U.S. troops to the Nazis and Pol Pot.'
<end quote>

Ok, fair enough. BUT, look what these people said just a few years ago...

'Harry Reid: "The problem is not nuclear testing; it is nuclear weapons. .... The number of Third World countries with nuclear capabilities seems to grow daily. Saddam Hussein's near success with developing a nuclear weapon should be an eye-opener for us all."

Dick Durbin: "One of the most compelling threats we in this country face today is the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Threat assessments regularly warn us of the possibility that...Iraq...may acquire or develop nuclear weapons."

John Kerry: "If you don't believe...Saddam Hussein is a threat with nuclear weapons, then you shouldn't vote for me."

John Edwards: "Serving on the Intelligence Committee and seeing day after day, week after week, briefings on Saddam's weapons of mass destruction and his plans on using those weapons, he cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons, it's just that simple. The whole world changes if Saddam ever has nuclear weapons."

Nancy Pelosi: "Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology, which is a threat to countries in the region, and he has made a mockery of the weapons-inspection process."

Sens. Levin, Lieberman, Lautenberg, Dodd, Kerrey, Feinstein, Mikulski, Daschle, Breaux, Johnson, Inouye, Landrieu, Ford and Kerry in a letter to Bill Clinton: "We urge you, after consulting with Congress and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions, including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."'

Now, who is playing with the truth here? Are these people concerned, truly concerned, for the welfare of the US and the world? Or, are they spewing whatever will get them recognition now, for votes in the future?

I suppose I can be called a Libertarian.

Maybe it is time the United States had a third party.

I believe that terrorists, no matter what language they speak, should be stopped and that anyone supporting those terrorists should be fined and/or sentenced to some sort of jail term. There is no good reason for terrorism. Just because the IRA has such cute accents, does not give them license to bomb England. Just because Muslims disagree with the west does not give them the license to bomb.

Somehow, this has to be stopped. Do I have the answer. Nope. But, I will not change or try to cover up my opinions come election time.

Oh, and one more thing. The Democrats have been scrambling, trying to figure out why they lost the last election. I can tell them. It's the CANDIDATES, STUPID!

Thank you and God bless, all Veterans

2005-11-11T00:15:00.000-06:00

I want to say a huge THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS to all veterans. Thank you so much for doing what you did.

My friend Leslie is the only Veteran that I knowpersonally. Well, the only one who actually was in a war. I have two brothers who were in the Army. One, Wayne, was in Germany most all of his tour and the other Bobby Joe was in Germany, France and spent a year as a clerk in Viet Nam. He told me that he spent all his time in Saigon and did not see any fighting. Still, I thank them and honor them for their service.

Leslie is unique to say the least. Some people do not approve of the way his life has progressed, but that is not what this post is about. This is about how he, as and eighteen-year-old boy, joined the 101st Airborne and was sent to Viet Nam. He got there just in time for the TET Offensive in 68. I had planned on writing about him, but he has done it so much better than I can so,I am going to copy what he has said about that time from his diary, because there is no way that I can tell his story any better than he can. So, here it is.........

3/3/2000

It was my job to be scared. Barely eighteen, I had almost no idea of what was going on. I didn’t know where we were or why. All I had to hold on to was my training, my leaders and my friend, Craig. At twenty, he was practically middle aged…. But every bit as scared as I was. I don’t know how to explain how close two men can get in some circumstances. All I can say is that we knew each other. We had trained together in Kentucky before coming to the blistering jungle of Vietnam. We had been in our first firefight together. Seen our first killed soldiers together, and we had agreed together very matter-of-factly that we would not survive a year here.

In the first week of February 1968, our company was in Quang Tri province, not far from Hue, when the famous Tet offensive broke out across the country. We were members of the 101st Airborne Division. I guess you could think of them as the Marines of the Army. We were, in fact working jointly with the Marines in that area. I don’t know for sure what we were trying to accomplish on the fourth of February. All I know is that nightfall found us in a clearing, setting out claymore mines and organizing a night perimeter. It would be another night of sleeping on the ground in the rains that were just shaping up into the monsoon season.

Sleeping isn’t the right word for how we spent these nights though. Sleeping is something you do when you feel warm and safe. Something you do when you can let go of your mind for a few hours and let your body rebuild.

What we were getting ready to do was spend two hours shivering in the mud, wrapped in a thin poncho to try to cut the chill night breeze while we relied on our buddies to keep a sharp eye on the surrounding shadows. After two hours, we would change places and spend two hours trying to keep exhausted eyes open so our buddies could take their places on the ground. I was always tired in Vietnam. It’s the single thing I remember most.

But no one would get any sleep on this night. It was already nearly dark as we dug holes to try to improve our position. The unlucky ones had already been chosen to go out into the trees in front of our hasty perimeter. There they would lie motionless all night, waiting and listening to the jungle noises with their claymore detonators in their hands, ready to blow those anti personnel mines and run back to the perimeter at the first signs of trouble. I can’t think of anything more dangerous than running right up the barrels of the guns of a bunch of exhausted and jumpy soldiers. It was a terrible job.

By eight o’clock, we had been supplied with C-rations and extra ammunition by helicopter. Our area was still alive with the clinks of shovels and scraping of empty C-Ration cans. Some of the guys were finished, and the sweet smoke from cigarettes was hanging in the air. Squad leaders were moving around in the darkness, checking on their men and their preparations. We were looking forward to the quiet. Then the first mortar rounds landed in our midst.

Suddenly, our little hole was in no way deep enough or wide enough for both Craig and I. In the panic of the first moment, we rolled in and tried to weasel under each other. The air was filled with shouting. Someone was hurt. The cries of ‘medic’ rising above the shouted orders from the sergeants. It was all punctuated by the sharp thump and deadly blue flash of mortar shells pacing back and forth across our area. Then we heard the claymores fire and heard the LPs screaming as they ran, facing fear from all directions. They were screaming "Hold Your Fire!! Hold Your Fire!!" until they reached our perimeter. Then the hot popping corn sound of small arms fire broke out and seemed to spread like a cancer until it engulfed us. We were being attacked.

(to be continued)

There are some big holes in my memory. Things I can remember everything before and everything after. But, in between, it’s as if aliens abducted me. The attack of 2/4/68 is one of those things. I know it happened. I remember the LPs coming in, and the mortar attack. I can only guess at the events after that. I know it happened though, because last year I obtained a copy of our Battalion logs and the attack is mentioned there. According to the log, our company was ‘credited’ (gotta love that word) with 250 confirmed kills of North Vietnamese Army troops. The battle went on until 0300 the next morning before the NVA broke contact and withdrew.

But even though my mind won’t remember, my body remembers everything. It remembers an electric fear… so intense; it feels like being shocked. And the feeling of time slowing down, so you can’t move fast enough. Heart pounding like it’s going to explode. The blood roaring in your ears until the other sounds are all but wiped out. Today, my therapist would call that a panic attack, but I don’t care for the word and refuse to apply it to myself. It’s panic under wraps. Controlled panic. I think it must be something most people never experience.

So whatever happened that night was bad. My guess is that it was what I had feared in other firefights coming true. I think we must have come very close to being overrun that night. Outnumbered and with limited ammunition.

My memory sneaks back to me on the following morning. It’s daylight. There are a couple of mules there, the little flatbed four wheel drive platforms they used then. We were loading equipment onto the mules. Packs, canteens, guns. I remember getting a rifle from one of the mules. I couldn’t find my own. I still don’t know where mine went. I got one of the new-style bladder canteens too. It was a lot lighter than my old one and it held more water. The stuff we were loading onto the mules was what had been left behind when the dead and wounded soldiers were flown out of there.

Before long, we were back on the trail. I didn’t know it at the time, be we were engaged in a recon in force. That means we were out looking for the NVA forces we had fought the previous night. My platoon Sergeant, a stocky red-head by the name of Hicks assigned me to walk left flank for our unit. I’d been there before. I think he liked me there. While the rest of the platoon, even the point man, would be walking along a trail or road, the flank men had to scramble through the brush, trying to keep up with the group and acting as a sort of sideways point man. I had been on left flank when I killed my first Viet cong face to face.

So, off we went through the jungle towards a village named An Lo. The trees were tall and the jungle floor was cool and quiet. The trail we followed was little more than a footpath. I was used to sweating as I labored to squirm my way with a fifty-pound pack through heavy undergrowth, but this was different. Either it was easy going or I was becoming an expert. In a few places, I could even catch a glimpse of the cloudy sky through the tops of the trees.

It seemed a short distance, maybe two miles, before we came out of the trees to a river that flowed across our path. On the other side of the river were rich green rice paddies, and a village beyond. I didn’t know the name of it at the time, but it was An Lo. Off to our left was a two-lane road, which went across the river on a steel bridge. On the far side of the bridge was a round concrete structure that looked like an old French pillbox bunker, long since abandoned.

In another universe, our platoon might have crossed the river using that bridge, but we got the order to wade the river. Its brown, muddy water was slow moving and only came about chest-high, but I hated getting in it. Getting wet wasn’t so bad, but I didn’t like leeches. On the other bank, there was a small embankment, about three feet high. We spread out along that embankment and got a short break while everybody got across and got organized again. I was the furthest person to the left along the embankment. Craig was right there next to me and we took advantage of the halt to drop our packs and smoke. We weren’t talking a lot that day. I think we both were just too tired. But it was comforting just to sit there for a minute.

Too soon, we were told to get ready to move again. We put on our packs and climbed the embankment to start across the rice paddies. We only got a few yards though, before we heard gunfire coming from the village. I could hear the rounds snapping and buzzing as they flew by. It was heavy gunfire. Lots of it. Without waiting to be told, everyone just knew to get back to the embankment. It was the only cover between the village and us. I remember this firefight very well. Everyone was returning fire. We had two M-60 machine guns with us, and those guys got set up pretty quick. Even though the bullets were flying just over my head, I wasn’t as scared. I felt good behind the embankment, firing my rifle into the village along with the rest of the platoon.

Then, as I was getting another clip of ammunition, I noticed the mud kicking up behind me…. Behind the embankment. In the chaos and confusion, I had completely ignored my assignment to watch our left side. There was an automatic weapon inside that concrete bunker and they were firing on us too! There was no safe place to be.

I grabbed Craig and showed him what was going on. My pack was already on the ground as I told him to fire over my head into one of the peepholes in the bunker. Now I was scared silly, but all I could think of was that I didn’t dare let my sergeant down. Didn’t dare let my platoon down. I thought it was up to me to do something. With Craig targeting the peepholes, I had a chance to sprint over to the bunker. I would have been cut down otherwise, but he made those guys keep their heads down until I got right up against the rough concrete wall under one of those little windows.

Craig had stopped shooting then, for fear of hitting me, and I heard the automatic rifle open up again. I pulled the pin on a frag grenade and let the handle go. The fuse on a grenade has a five-second delay. I counted to three as slow as I dared and then just reached up and dropped it through the window. God! it was just like John Wayne! I only heard a little scuffling inside before the grenade went off, shooting a puff of dust, smoke and concrete chips out of the window.

We were still under fire as I ran back to my position, but I felt a lot safer again… and satisfied somehow. Craig was very impressed. He slapped my back and told me how cool it was. I thought so too. But only seconds later, we heard our sergeant hollering to move out. Unbelievably, we were about to assault the village. I was back to scared again. There are things you just don’t want to do, and this one of them.

What I wanted or didn't want didn't really count for much out there. Our platoon was going to assault the village. For our part, craig and I would work together. He would fire on the village while I ran ahead to whatever little cover I could find and threw myself down on the ground. Then I would fire while he ran up to me and beyond to the next spot. Assuming one of us didn't get killed, we would just kind of leapfrog this way until we got to our objective. I didn't have a good feeling about leaving the safety of the embankment. But then I never had a good feeling about exposing myself to gunfire.

Mankind has created some wonderful sounds. Music, mostly. But there's a sound that's more wonderful to me than and symphony. It's the life-giving sound of the main blades of a UH1E 'Huey' helicopter as they whop-whop through the air. Although there are far fewer of them flying today, I can still identify a huey from the sound alone. As we heard the order to move out on our assault, I could hear the hueys coming up from behind us. I knew then that we would have a chance of success. The helicopters would fire rockets and miniguns while we made our assault. That was good.... but it was bad too. We had obviously discovered more than a few VC in a remote village. We were attacking an NVA stronghold. That's why the helicopters were there.

But as it turned out, none of this mattered a bit. I had just adjusted my pack and topped the embankment while Craig was firing when I felt someone hit me right across the back of the knees with a baseball bat. At least, that's the impression I had. It knocked my legs right out from under me and threw my onto my back. It was disorienting and maddening. I couldn't understand who would play such a trick while we were in the middle of a serious business. I sat and looked around but no one was close. No one was laughing. I laid back again, thinking... trying to figure out this puzzle. Suddenly, it occured to me that I may have been shot. I sat up again and looked at my legs. How had I missed it the first time? My left leg was at an odd angle and there was a huge bloody hole in the thigh of my pant leg. That's when the pain began.

Women bear children through pain, and there are just a few who never tire of telling men that they don't know pain until they have a child. I guess I can understand that but, with all due respect, I think I know a little bit about pain. As the shock of the round passing through my muscle, bone and nerves began to subside, the pain came over me in waves that simply took my breath away. I had to scream something, so I started screaming 'medic!'. I was enveloped in a cocoon of pain; my mind turning inward upon it. It just hurt real bad.

Craig was there. Every time he touched me it seemed the hurting kept on doubling. It never got smaller, only bigger. But he touched me anyway. He tore the compress bandage from the strap on my field gear and pressed it onto my wound. It felt like a lightning bolt was striking me over and over. Then a medic appeared kind of miraculously out of the dark fog around my eyes. I heard him telling me it was OK, that I would be OK. I didn't believe him for a second. I know he gave me a shot of morphine, but I didn't feel it go in. And it didn't stop the hurting. At best, it semed to clear my head a little bit, becasue I could hear the medic shouting to someone that we had to get these men out of here.

Suddenly, I realized that there was no way out. I imagined myself, in this condition, being drug back through the filth and mud of the river behind us. I knew it would kill me. And I knew I was bleeding to death on the spot where I lay. I understood in a very calm and convicted way that I was dying. It helped me lose any fear of death I had left. I wasn't scared. I only felt a great sadness as I realized I had had only eighteen short years to bring me to this place. I was sorry for the things I was going to miss.

But it seems like there was little time for this kind of thinking. The medic vanished as mysteriously as he had appeared, but a couple of other guys came and helped Craig manhandle me onto my poncho. I was in a very bad mood and had no patience at all about this. I screamed in pain and begged them not to take me across that river. That seems like the only thing I could think of.

Apparantly, the assault had failed. There was a lot going on, all up and down the embankment. A lot of shooting. A lot of shouting. It seemed mostly unimportant to me. Like a dream from which I would soon awaken. Maybe the morphine kicked in, because laying there on my back, I could see the huey gunships as they made their turns, circling around for another run on the village. I was getting dreamier.

My dreaming came to an abrupt end. When I felt the four corners of my poncho grabbed by four men. They yanked me off of the ground and ran with me. It hurt too bad to even to scream. I was blacking out, but I felt them throw me onto the embankment, climb up and then grab me again. Half carrying, half dragging, they hustled me to a helicopter that had landed there on the flat ground. THe doors on both sides were open, or had been removed. In one of the doors, facing the village, was a gunner, firing a machine gun non-stop. The floor of the chopper was already greasy with blood. My tormentors threw me into the huey so hard that I slid across the floor and halfway out the other side. The gunner grabbed me and was still struggling to haul me back in as the pilot lifted off and sped out of there.

Halfway upside down, my head hanging out the door, I turned to see Craig standing alone as the other guys ran back to the riverbank. He was just standing there, watching me go. It was the last time I would see battle and the last time I ever saw Craig.

So, now, anyone who disapproves of how Leslie is living life, well, you are sad and small-minded. If anyone has earned the right to be who and what he.....she.....wants to be, it is Leslie Smith.

And, anyone who wants to get into how wrong Viet Nam was can do so, that is not the point of this post. And, if you do not know what the point of this is, then I am sorry for you.

Thank you Veterans. We, as a nation, cannot thank you enough. God bless you all.

Nothing important.......

2005-11-10T18:39:00.000-06:00

Has anyone out there had a situation like this? You have a very good friend who you have a lot in common with, and they also have a friend who you cannot stand? For instance, Bee is your friend and you enjoy doing things with them, they have a friend, Cee, who you cannot stand, have nothing in common with and do not want to be around. How can this be? Seems like you would have things in common with Cee, but no, you don't. Weird. I have talked about this to Bee and she understands how I feel and says that yes, indeed, Cee does have some less than attractive habits. Maybe Bee is more tolerant than I am or she sees something in Cee that is worth maintaining a friendship over, who knows.

Today was a lazy, foggy day. I spent it watching old Bette Davis movies and working, sometimes, on a Christmas ornament. I am crocheting around the beads on a gold garland....gold colored of course.

I should be trying to write, but I just can't make myself do it. Things are still all up in the air for me. I have found someone to re-roof my house, and that is going to make my son mad, but he will have to get over it. And, I am going to tell my son that starting December he is going to have to start paying me rent. Unless he has moved out by then. He has been telling me that he is going to move since June, but still we wait.

It looks like the trip to Utah is actually going to happen this time. I am excited about seeing the area and cannot wait to hunt for rocks. It will tickle me to death to find some fossils too. I will be taking pictures and posting them here.

Which Horrible Affliction are you?
A Rum and Monkey disease.

Bits and pieces

2005-11-09T18:18:00.000-06:00

Mississippi Trivia

1. The event which led to the creation of the TEDDY BEAR occurred near Onward, in 1901, when President Theodore Roosevelt, acting upon the suggestion of some friends, visited the state on a hunt for wild game. A bear was located by a member of the hunting party and was held for the President's pleasure. The bear was exhausted and possibly lame, some claim it was a mere cub. In any case, Roosevelt refused to shoot the helpless bear because he found it unsporting. News of the President's refusal to shoot the bear spread far and wide. Soon after, Morris Michtom, a New York merchant, made toy history when he created a stuffed toy bear and labeled it "TEDDY'S BEAR." Mr. Michtom placed the bear in his candy store to draw attention. His success was so great that it led to the formation of the Ideal Toy Corporation in 1903. The TEDDY BEAR remains today a favorite toy for children everywhere.

Bet you didn't know that didya? I have decided to start adding litte trivia items here. Not always about Mississippi, but for awile I will. Mississippi has a bad reputation.....one we deserved........but now I think that people need to see another side of us. We have come a long way. You know, if Morgan Fairchild, a man who can live anywhere he wants to, and who chooses to live here, then we are doing something right. We aren't perfect by any means, but we are better than we were in the fifties and earlier.

I still cannot get my 'links' to work. I have read the directions and followed them, but, nothing. I will keep trying because there are some good blogs out there that I want to link to,

Ya'll, take a look at my shop at cafepress....I am proud of the things that I am selling and I think you will like them too.

Well.....

2005-11-09T12:51:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to change my template and add a links list. Neither one is happening, so I am going to lunch and a show (movie for everyone north of the Mason/Dixon line). I will post something later....maybe.

Check out the email I got in my spam folder.......wonder if he will get any hits? I was nice and deleted his name and email addy.

From: "xxxxxxxx"
Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2005 18.20.38 +0100
Subject: LADY READ ME PLEASE

Hi

This is a legitimate appeal for ladies only.
If you are interested or if you want to unsuscribe email me at
xxxx@mail.win.it

I'm an Italian guy,I live in Italy and my name is Maurizio.I live in
Roma.
I'm sending this message to the people because I'm bored to live in
Italy,I'm looking for a lady what could invite me in usa.I seek a
millionaires american lady who desires a young guy for marriage.

I would love to find a wealthy lady who lives in one of the following
places in usa or nearby:
1) "The treasure coast",I mean north east Broward County or east
Palm Beach county(FLORIDA)
2)Honolulu (Hawaii)
3)Reno(Nevada)
4)Las Vegas(nevada)
5)Atlanta(georgia)
6)Jupiter,Stuart,Coral Springs,Jensen Beach,Boynton
Beach,Deepwater,Hutchinson
Island or Miami(Florida)

Considering that I like the mature women, I'd love to find a lady of
45-60yo age range.
I'd love to find a gentle long haired lady who lives in a swimming
pool house near the sea (as I like to swim) .
I seek a lady without young or old children,a no smoker lady who could
be widowed,separated,single ,divorced.
I would need a sugarmamma figure at the beginning .

I seek a bisexual woman that figures out of the years,looks young and
feels young :
it's not a problem if she's not beautiful because she should be
beautiful inside and most of all ,she should desire a younger soulmate.(She
could be overweight too)
The thing I desire is to fix a serious stable relationship with a
lady who gives me the opportunity to have a better life.

ABOUT ME:

I have long black hair,my weight is 65 kilos(145 lbs) and my height is
about 1.80 metres(5.11)...
I'm no smoker /drinker and I'm good looking.

If you could be the kind of woman I'm looking for, write me soon
please!!!!!!

Thank you very much for reading my letter .
I think there must be a woman for me out there.

Cheers

xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx -Italy

Some ramblings........

2005-11-08T21:12:00.000-06:00

Last night I was piddling around, unable to sleep, TCM had no good movies on and Gumbo was snoring too much for me to read, so I went surfing. I am not sure how I found the first blog that led me to the blog that I am going to reccommend, but, that is neither here nor there. I spent all night reading this blog, read all the archived posts and everything. If I knew how to add a 'blogs I read' section to my sidebar, I would list this one there. So, here it is http://randomreality.blogware.com/.
I know you will like it as much as I have.

Reading his blog made me remember working at the hospital. I am a Respiratory Therapist, but stopped working in 1999 because of my OCD (nasty thing). I tried one time to go to England to work. I have been a Britophile (I think I made that up) for so long now. I decided to call a contract company who hired nurses and other medical types. Their biggest potential employers were in Saudi Arabia, but I knew that there was no way I could live there without offending someone. Not intentionally, but, well, it is a known fact that if I had to think before I spoke, I would never say anything. Ok, so, I get up at like 3am one morning and call this company in London. The man I talked to was very nice but told me that at that time they were not hiring foreigners to work in the UK. I was totally shocked and told him that I was NOT a foreigner. He was nice when he told me that to the UK I was. We kept talking and the end result was that if I could get a work permit there, then he would give me a chance. But, he also told me that the UK does not have Respiratory Therapists, that Physical Therapists do most of what we do. I am not sure the RNs do what we, as RTs did. I was trained to intubate, manage ventilators, insert arterial lines as well as the routine breathing treatments. At the hospital where I worked, a Veterans Hospital, we had a lot of responsibility. For instance, one night in the Cardiac Care Unit, I intubated a patient. Placed him on the ventilator. Managed the ventilator (settings, etc)and inserted an arterial line.

But, I digress. I never made it to England, dangit. And, it looks like I may never make it there just to visit. I have major issues with flying. Actually, it is the crashing that I have issues with. I am not afraid of dying. It is the time of terror prior to hitting the ground that I want nothing to do with. I have a friend who tells me that if I will go to Thailand with her, she will go to the UK with me. Right. She says we will go to my doctor and get anti-anxiety meds for the flights. I don't think there are enought drugs available to get me on the plane. I would have to have IV meds and be wheeled on in a wheelchair, then given an aisle seat with no one sitting next to me so when I slide over, comatose, with slobber sliding down my chin, I won't get any on anyone else. Then, I would have to do it all over again when I get ready to come home.

And, a more realistic note, I finally got the insurance money for the damage my house got during Katrina. So, now I can get the roof, chimney and ceilings fixed. I have decided that I am going to plant bamboo along the fence line. That way I won't have to get a privacy fence. And, bamboo has the added benefit of helping fix (resolve?) some of the pollution.

This brings up another issue. Not the pollution. Fixing my house. See, my oldest son does roofs. But, he and I have never had good business dealings. I am not sure he will do his best on my house. So, I am having other roofers give me bids. Now I have to figure out how to tell him this without hurting his feelings.

Some more Katrina stuff...

2005-11-07T21:38:00.000-06:00

I have been looking for this since Katrina hit. It is before and after pictures of some of the historic sites damaged. http://www.mississippiheritage.com/HurricaneKatrina.html
I know that many people lost their lives and homes and jobs. Everyone living in the path of Katrina were affected. Somehow, though, seeing the damage to buildings that have survived for over a hundered years, makes me more depressed and I have a hard time thinking about working to bring things back to the way they were before. Beauvoir came through Camille with hardly a scratch. Sad.

Update, I just found out that the photos I had posted as being from Katrina were fake, well, not fake, but not from Katrina and also not from the actual photographer.

Yeah, well we all get this way sometimes.........

2005-11-07T16:05:00.000-06:00

http://bored.com/

There it is folks. Anytime you can't sleep or the world is being to demanding or just plain mean, go to that link and have some fun. It helps to clear your mind so you can think straight and deal with the things you need to think about. It works, trust me.

I am finally figuring out how to use all the neat little things blogspot has for us to use. Like the link maker. It is just too neat. Gonna play around with things and see what I come up with.

I did a salt water cleanse this morning and I must say, cleanse it did. I thought I would be cleanseing for the rest of the day. I feel better, but I don't know if it from the cleanse or just that I am out of the bathroom. Leslie told me to start writing down all the weird things I do so she will know what to tell the EMTs when she has to call them. I found this cleanse in the Master Cleanser book so I knew it was safe.

Ok. enough for now. Will try to get back here later.

Life goes on...

2005-11-07T04:45:00.000-06:00

When I started this blog last....February, I think.....it was meant to write about my experiences as a member of the JWs. I did too. I told everything I could remember about my childhood in that group as well as my chaotic homelife. Then, for some reason I stopped for several weeks. When I finally got back to the blog and read over what I had written, I decided that I didn't want this to be just about me and the JWs. So, I deleted all those entries and started over. I have not had as much time as I would like lately to post, but hopefully that will change soon. I have finally met with the insurance adjuster and should be able to move back into my house soon. It has to be soon. I am not sure how much longer I can stand living with my friend Leslie without one of us taking a knife or gun to the other.

Just joking of course. Leslie knows when I need alone time and does exactly that...she leaves me alone. Sometimes she will stick her head in my room to ask me if I am still living, but mostly she leaves me to waller in it until I am sick of myself and haul myself out of bed and start living again. Last week was one of those weeks. I did however, manage to finish several Christmas ornaments that I am crocheting. And, I read two books. Life goes on.

And, since life goes on I will be going out tomorrow and doing something. Anything.

Su DoKu anyone??

2005-11-04T22:15:00.000-06:00

Leave it to the Brits. There is a new puzzle that is driving people crazy. It is a number puzzle and believe me it is addictive. And, irritating. Go here and try it http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,23509,00.html. It is fun.

Things are mosing along at about the same pace. Am waiting for the insurance check so I can have a new roof put on. And, I am still waiting to move back into my house. Maybe by Thanksgiving?

I took Phil out to supper and an show Tuesday. He is TWENTY now. Anyway, we went to see Saw........I know, I know, but I had to do that. I only sat through that because it is what he wanted to see. But, it brings up a pet peeve of mine. What is wrong with moviemakers nowadays? It seems if someone isn't being hacked to death then they are in bed with someone going on and on. I have never seen where watching someone have sex helps the plot. I mean, do you watch people in real life? Well, I don't. You know people are doing it but not too many people feel the necessity to watch. So, why do people who make movies think we need to see that? Ah well.

And, now we have Michael Moore, Hilliary and Kennedy getting busted. About time. I have no respect for what I call 'gliberals'. They are quick to tell us how we should think and if we don't accept what they say then we are 'sheep' being led to the slaughter. Meanwhile they are getting richer and richer doing exactly what they are condemning others for. They make me sick. Like. all the moviestars who think they know more than anyone else, who blast Bush for because he is not doing enough (in their opinion) for the environment, yet they own several SUVs and not only that, most own stock in all the major companies that pollute. So, I suppose as long as no one knows about it, they can continue being snakes and talking out of both sides of their mouths. I recommend this book Peter Schweizer's new book, "Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy." I am fixing to order it.

The Who Would You Be in 1400AD Test

2005-10-31T22:50:00.000-06:00

The Lord
You scored 21% Cardinal, 51% Monk, 47% Lady, and 62% Knight!

You are of the intellectual breed and yet you are also very interested
in war. You are of the aristocracy and head the cavalry a safe distance
from the carnage of the front lines. You believe in defeating your
enemy with not only might, but also wit.

You scored high as both the Monk and the Knight. You can try again to
get a more precise description of either the Monk or the Knight, or you
can be happy that you're an individual.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 4% on Cardinal
You scored higher than 64% on Monk
You scored higher than 60% on Lady
You scored higher than 80% on Knight

Link: The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test written by KnightlyKnave on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Laughter and.........

2005-10-31T22:48:00.000-06:00

Well, it has been a while since I posted anything. It isn't easy sometimes to do that, since I am borrowing my friend's computer and have to wait till she is done. I can't wait to get settled in my house. Funny, though. Two years ago I could not wait to be out of that house. I hated that house. I might still hate it, but at least it is mine and I can do what I want when I want.

I was looking over www.bored.com. Some of the games are fun, at least there is a variety so it is hard to get bored with it. I found the music video links and watched Johnny Cash's 'Hurt'. I can hardly watch that without crying. Bless his heart.

There is also a link there that let's people tell their most embarrassing moments. Some don't seem to be that embarrassing, but, I suppose if I was the one it was happening to, then that would be another story. One of the stories reminded me of something my son-in-law did. Back before he decided to go to law school, he worked for a chemical company that was based in New Orleans. Jamie (my s-in-l) has some weird habits. Like, he goes to the bathroom at 5pm everyday. He says that he has a 'window of poo' opportunity and if that passed then he waits till the next day. Well, this one day he did not feel good and went to the restroom. He went to the one on the first floor because not many people took the time to go to that one. Ok, so he goes into a stall and gets comfortable. A very short time later someone else comes into the restroom and goes into a stall next to Jamie's. Everything was quiet for a few minutes, when suddently the other guy says,'Hey,' Jamie was a bit startled but ignored him. The guy says hey again, then says,'How's things going?' Jamie, being the nice guy that he is does not want to hurt the other man's feelings, so he says, 'oh, I am ok. How about you?' The other man says,'How about getting together later?' Jamies by then is ready to just leave, but still, he is considerate and does not want the man thinking that he is being rude, say,'Well, I have plans with Mike (my daughter) later, but..........' Finally the other guy says, 'Hold on a sec.' Then tells Jamie that he is on his cell phone.

A friend of mine is really a typical male. He knows all and is the best at doing ANYTHING. Just ask him. Once he and I took my son Phil and some of Phil's friends over to see the USS Alabama. I had just gotten a new videorecorder and everyone wanted to be the one doing the video. Finally, my friend said that HE would do it, because HE had a lot of experience and knew what he was doing and that was that. He hung the camera to a belt loop and started off toward the gift shop. All the kids moped into the gift shop and muttered about it while I got the tickets. Meanwhile, my friend decided to use the restroom before crawling all over the humongeous ship. The day turned out to be a good one, except for the fact that it was hot and I was out of breath most of the time from going to the very bottom of the ship and then back to the top......the tip top, too. That night, we got comfortable in my living room with popcorn and cokes and put the tape in to relive the 'awesome' event. We were treated to shots of the parking lot, the gift shop floor (all this while listening again to my friend telling us how he KNEW what he was doing)the walk into the restroom and then my friend hanging the camera on the hook on the stall door.....and..well, let's just say that it the kids have yet to let my friend live this down.

Now, I suppose you all think that I am going to tell you something that I did that was embarrassing. Actually, I can't think of any. I mean, I did things that embarrassed me, but they don't seem so awful now. Like the time my mother, God love her, bought me a new outfit. I hated dresses. This one had an underskirt that was attached to the blouse. It was all satiny and shiney and see-through. I had the bright idea to wear JUST that to school one day. I can still see the look on my mother's face when I walked in from school that day. Not a pretty sight. Another time, and this really did embarrass me, I was at the Pix Theater with my brother Wayne. There was hardly anyone there. I went to the restroom and came back and flopped down next to Wayne. He sat up straight real quick and I was asking him what in heck was wrong with him when I saw him looking back over his seat at me. He laughed about that for years.

Well, this is not where I meant to go today, but heck, we all do dumb things at times and besides, I needed the laugh.

Oh, check this out.....
Well, I will have to post it in a separate post........here it comes.

Well, golly gee.....

2005-10-25T20:01:00.000-05:00

You Are 30% Weird

Not enough to scare other people...
But sometimes you scare yourself.

How Weird Are You?

Tuesday with the adjuster

2005-10-25T19:57:00.000-05:00

Well, I have been lazing around here watching old movies on TCM. Sunday it was Abbott and Costello (slowly I turn, step by step). And, Saturday my daughter, Michael, and I watched Arsenic and Old Lace. Last night was Alfred Hitchcock night......well, it is Hitchcock all week. His movies are just not scary to me. Never have been. But, I like to watch them. Michael and I want to try to find a 'haunted' house or maybe a graveyard to walk through at night. We will have to sedate her husband, he is such a wimp about things like that. He has yet to watch the Exorcist....which I think is not scary at all. We are thinking of planning something for when my older daughter, Connie, and the boys come down for Christmas. It should be fun. But, Jamie (Mike's husband) and Nick (my oldest grandson) will have to be tricked into going with us where ever we go.

I finally met with my insurance adjuster today. I will finally be able to fix my roof. David (my oldest son) had taken pictures of my house and yard the day after the hurricane. I had not seen them before. When I was finally able to get from Baton Rouge to Gulfport to see about my house, David had already cleaned things up a lot. It was a bit of a shock to see the pictures. And, I am glad that I did not see the actual damage. Anyway, now I wait for the insurance check.

Speaking of insurance, I have heard some horror tales. My youngest son ( Philip) told me that his best friend's father is having to sue one of his insurance companies. They lived a block from the beach and had an attic left. Literally. All that was left on the property was the attic. They had flood insurance and had no trouble with that company. But, they also had wind and hail insurance with a different company. That company told them that their house did not receive wind damage, just water damage. This seems to be happening to a lot of people. One lady (she lives next door to my friend Leslie) was told by her insurance company that her roof was old, and that is why there was a six foot wide hole in the middle of it after Katrina. This is sad. If you have a mortgage, you have to have insurance. And, it is not cheap. But, when you need to file a claim, you are treated as if you caused the problem. My husband's brother was a CPA and had no insurance. He said it is a racket and that people come out better by putting the premiums in the bank for themselves. But, of course, the only way to not have insurance is to buy your house for cash or pay it off as soon as you can and then, stop the insurance.

I have been working on some Christmas things. I will be in Gulfport for Christmas and all my Christmas things are in Michigan. So, I have been making angels and snowflakes, etc. Just call me granny.

Googleing

2005-10-19T23:55:00.000-05:00

Hummmm, Carla at http://carla_rolfe.blogspot.com gave this assignment on her blog. I would link to it, but me and links are not communicating. Anyway, the idea is to google your first name and needs and then write down the top ten results that pertain to you. Below are mine.

1.Ann needs to find her inner-child (I KNEW something was missing)

2.Ann is in desperate need of surgery(ahhh, well?)

3.The ANN needs the current grade, ie how well you remember an item now.(and I didn't even know that I was outmoded)

4.Ann needs something shoulder-length with layers

5. ann needs to get into modeling she is a gorgeous indian female(yeah, right)

6.Ann needs to call her accountant because someone's been skimming her checks(I knew it wasn't MY fault)

7.Ann needs to start behaving like a proper young lady, learning to knit, cook, and manage a household(ok, who's been peeking???)

8. Ann needs to check for an important e–mail,(like the one from Nigeria or the British Lottery?)

9.Ann became much better prepared to attempt to(be the first)

10.Ann needs to be indoors only. (no comment)

This was silly and fun. I may leave a link at Carla's site.

Rocks, fossils and ghosts......

2005-10-19T01:44:00.000-05:00

I have been feeling depressed lately. I have not done any of the things I had planned for the summer and then Katrina happened and my daughter had to hurry and move......well, things have been hectic. I was at a point where I could not see that I would be doing anything other than fighting with the insurance adjuster (who, FINALLY called today to set up an appointment), filling out forms and such. Then today I met the man who lives next to my friend Leslie's house.

Leslie was out working in her yard and I was inside with a severe case of the po-pitifuls. I heard her shut the lawnmower off and then several minutes later she came in to tell me that her neighbor has been collecting rocks and fossils for twenty some-odd years. Leslie told him that I was a rock hound too and he invited me over to look at his collection. It was totally amazing! He has one room devoted to his rock/fossils. He had bookshelves built so he can display them easily. I have never seen such a large a diverse selection in a private person's collection. I could have stayed there talking with him and looking at his collection for hours. But, he had to go get his new glasses so I left with an invitation to come look at them anytime and, to bring whoever I wanted to. I will take my older grandsons when they come here.

He has his collection catalogued and each specimen was sitting on top of a 3x5 index card with the latin name, age, and location where he found it. He told me that Wolf River is a great place to go rock/fossil hunting. Wolf River is about 10 miles from my house. I am going to rent a boat, or borrow one, and go down the river and see what I find. And, he told me that there are a lot of fossilized clam shells up around Tupelo. Tupelo is where my family is from and I go there often. Well, mostly I go through it on the Natchez Trace (which is another thing I like to do....drive the Trace) I am so excited. Only thing is, all my geology books are up in Michigan at my older daughter's house. I am ordering a new one tomorrow though. Then, I am go on a hunting expedition. I will take my camera and will post pictures of anything I find.

Speaking of the Natchez Trace. If anyone is close enough to drive it, and you haven't yet, well, why haven't you??? It is such a serene drive. And, if you are there near sundown, stop and walk a ways down the old Trace. People walked and rode that for hundreds of years. If you are quiet and listen carefully, you can almost hear those people walking by you. And, if you close your eyes, you might even feel them brush against you as they pass. There is an old church and graveyard between Vicksburg and Natchez that will spook you. Well, it did me and my kids. Have I mentioned that I like graveyards? The older ones. Anyway, one weekend when my older kids were young, we packed a picnic lunch and headed for the Trace. This was when we lived in Jackson. We pulled over at a picnic area that is next to the church. After we ate, we decided to check it out. There are signs telling you about the town that used to be there and then you walk through some trees and there is the church. Spooky. My older daughter and I went into the church. Inside was dark and we stood there letting our eyes get used to the change from bright sunlight to dark whenwe heard a scratching sound. Connie looked at me and we walked closer to each other. Neither of us could see what had made the noise and it stopped, so we started walking toward the front of the church. Then, before we could react further we heard a huffing sound. That was did it, we were leaving. As we turned around, Connie felt something on her leg and let out a squeak. I think she was too scared to do anything else. Just then, Michael, my youngest daughter opened to door. Standing between us and the door was an old female hound, wagging her tail. So, no ghosts for us. Course, we still left the church and went out to look at the graveyard.

Isn't this an awesome picture? I love walking down the Old Trace. Imagine the people who walked it. All the native Americans. And, Daniel Boone...just to name one well-known person. Merriwether Lewis was either killed, commited suicide or had a fatal accident at a way-station on the Trace. There is a monument to him there. There are several Indian Mounds along the Trace. I do wish you were allowed to look for arrowheads and fossils and other old things there. But, like most National Parks, you can't. There is a settlement called Frenchman's Creek that has been restored there. It is so neat. I am serious people, if you get a chance, drive the Trace. You will love it too.

Wayne

2005-10-18T04:43:00.000-05:00

I don't know if it is the changing seasons or the time of year, but I have been thinking of my brother, Wayne, a lot lately. I have been reliving the call when he told me that he had cancer. And, worse than that one, the call that he had died.

I was on my way to him and had stopped at a rest area just south of the Ohio stateline. For some reason ( and I still don't know why) I went to a payphone there and called his house. No one answered, but his wife had left a message telling me to call her son's house. I started shaking. I called and she told me that Wayne had died during the night.

The last time I talked to Wayne, the day before, I told him that I was leaving Mississippi right then to come to Columbus, Ohio to be with him. He told me to be careful, then said, 'hurry, cause I really want to see you girl.' His daughter told me a few days later that he had talked about me a lot during the days before he died. When someone would ask him if he wanted to do this or that, call another doctor, etc, he would say, 'my sister is coming, she will take care of it' or 'my sister will do that'.

See, he and I were the two youngest in the family and were extremely close. I was a tomboy and fought at the drop of an insult. Just let someone say something to me that I didn't like and I jumped on them, swinging. And, lord help the person who dared say or do anything to Wayne. I did not just fight kids, I attacked my older brothers. Mostly because they said or did something to Wayne. Over the years our roles changed. Wayne joined the army and went to Germany. I went crazy and became known as 'weird'.

But, when my brother called to tell me about his cancer, time flipped. I heard the fear in his voice and was immediately in attack mode. I would have fought the cancer grabbo to the death, but he sneaked past me and got Wayne.

After I talked with Wayne's wife. I called my older brother at his bakery. His wife answered and gave him the phone and he was talking about all sorts of trivial stuff. I was furious. I interrupted him and said, 'James, Wayne is DEAD.' I could not belive he was being so trivial when the world was spinning sideways. Then, I hung up on him. I was so mad. That anger got me to my car, then I lost it. I don't cry in front of anyone if I can avoid it, but that morning I did not care. I tried to continue driving because my OCD does not allow me to ride with very many people driving. My friend was with me and took over.

About two months later I was thinking about that day and realized that my older brother had known Wayne was dead, and knew that I was trying to get there. When I called him he did not know that I knew and he did not want to be the one to tell me.

Wayne was a beautiful person, with a beautiful soul. I miss him. I will always miss him.

Crystal Ball Anyone???

2005-10-14T19:03:00.000-05:00

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Banished Fortune Teller.

Where You Lived: Mexico.

How You Died: Dysentery.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

Stuff

2005-10-14T18:55:00.000-05:00

I have not been able to sign onto Paltalk for several weeks now. I was staying with my youngest daughter, but she was forced to move into a small one bedroom apartment. There is just not room enough for her, her husband, their baby boy and me to live comfortably there, so I am staying with my friend Leslie until I am able to move back into my house in Gulfport. Leslie does not want PT on her computer because she says that the last time I downloaded it to her computer it fried her hard drive. I have been able to visit the forums that I own and the ones that I subscribe to and it that way have kept up a bit with my friends from PT.

Something is happening. People are being hurt. Why? What is causing people who have been friends for years stop speaking? People who do not agree on each point of doctrine, but who liked and cared about each other until the last few months. Why? I don't know the arguments and don't want to know all the details. I see the result, and it ain't pretty. Can someone take a step backwards and look at the situation and try to see where it started to go wrong? I pray someone does. I will also be praying for all involved in this. God bless them.

To change the subject, I have told you about how my daughter's landlord called them the Thursday after Katrina hit and told them he was selling the townhouse they have rented for the past three years. He told them he was selling it to a friend's daughter who had lost her home in New Orleans. This put my daughter and son-in-law in an extremely difficult spot, because with all the refuges from New Orleans, available house and apartments are scarce in Baton Rouge. They were finally able to move into a small apartment that one of the associates at Jamie's law firm owns, but this is temporary. Yesterday, my daughter's friend, Laura, who lived next door the them at the townhouse called to tell them that her boyfriend had called the number on a for sale sign posted out by the road. No house number was given on the sign. Anyway, it turned out to be the number of the man who owned my daughter's apartment. Seems he was less than honest. And, he is asking way too much for the townhouse. Some people are just too greedy for words.

I am still waiting on the insurance adjuster to call me to set up an appointment. He left a message on September 26th saying he would be calling within the next few days to make an appointment to come over to look at the roof, etc. I have not heard another word from him. So, today I called the main office and they are trying to contact him. I wish he would hurry up and do something. I am going to keep calling till I get some results.

Life will never be back to pre-Katrina for us here, I don't believe. Highway 90 is out for probably months. That leaves one main road for everyone to drive east/west. Add the trash trucks to the mix and a quick trip to the store is out of the question. There is really no good time to drive it. I used to go shopping late at night because I hate crowds, but now everything is closed by 10pm.

Oh well

Space, life and.......

2005-10-11T03:38:00.000-05:00

I am reading a great book......well, I am listening to it. I have it on cd an listen to it each time that I drive for any distance. The title of it is 'A Short History of Nearly Everything'. I cannot remember the author just now and am too lazy to get up and go look. I will get it for you later.

Anyway, the author is a travel writer who was coming back from a trip somewhere in the Pacific. On his flight home, he was looking out the window and realized that he knew next to nothing about this planet and the universe. He set out to change that and the result was this book. I won't give a book report here, I just wanted to talk about one thing that he said that has kept me thinking for the past few weeks. It is about the beginning of the universe. The Big Bang.......which by the way, a scientist coined as a derisive name for what Christians believe happened.

See, before anything was created, a space had to be created for it. The nothingness we think about is wrong. There was no THERE there, for something to begin in. I have always thought of a huge black void that was suddenly filled with light and everything else. But, there was not even a void, much less a huge black one. Kinda hard to get my mind around that. And, everything has to be just right for the universe and all life in it to continue. A millimeter off either way and what we know would not be. How can this be an accidentally random meeting of some elements? Remember, there was nothing there to bump into each other.

How can anyone not see the hand of God in creation?

2005-10-10T02:00:00.000-05:00

Your Blogging Type Is Thoughtful and Considerate

You're a well liked, though underrated, blogger.
You have a heart of gold, and are likely to blog for a cause.
You're a peaceful blogger - no drama for you!
A good listener and friend, you tend to leave thoughtful comments for others.

What's Your Blogging Personality?

Katrina, and more

2005-09-15T20:20:00.000-05:00

It seems that bad things are just going to keep happening to us....my family. Tonight my youngest son-in-law took a friend of his from work out for supper. He called my daughter and told her that his friend was upset and needed to talk. When he came in, he told us that his friend is being laid-off........or as the British say, he is being made redundant. Then, my son-in-law told us that he also might be losing his position. The New Orleans branch of the law firm he works for is of course closed. All the partners and senior associates from that office are now at the Baton Rouge office. This means that quite a few of the Baton Rouge associates will be losing their positions. This comes just after the owner of the townhouse they rent told them they have to be out by the 2nd of October. They were upset at first, but then a partner at my son-in-law's firm told them about a house for sale that they can afford. Now of course, everything is all up in the air. They do not want to buy here if Jamie has no job. Mike has been wanting to move home (Mississippi) and maybe now they will do that. I believe that Jamie can get a position there and work as a legal assistant until he takes the Mississippi Bar in February. Still, this is stressful.

I talked to one of my brothers this morning. He went to my niece's son's funeral yesterday. I was not able to get there, but I did talk with my niece. I am going to try to call tomorrow. My brother, Joe, told me that my oldest brother's (James) house got four feet of water and roof damage. His bakery also was damaged and he may not re-open it. Of course, stubborn James stayed at home instead of leaving for Katrina. His wife (Shirley) said that they sat on the stairs and watched the water rising. She and my brother took turns going downstairs to rescue things. I have no idea what they were able to salvage. They have been staying with my niece, but I do not think they were there when he son killed himself. I am waiting on State Farm to come look at my house. I have been told that it might be as long as three weeks before they get to me. I will be leaving the weekend after next to go to Michigan for the winter and I wanted this all to be resolved before I left. But, Phil is there and can talk to them for me. I have not applied to FEMA, but I am being told that I should. I may.

All this reaffirms my belief that God is in control. I am not sure if I could get through all this if I did not believe this with all my being.

May you all be blessed with God's peace and mercy.

Genetics and......

2005-09-13T14:45:00.000-05:00

For some, genetics are a blessing. Inheriting your great-grandmother's beauty or your grandfather's intelligence, for instance. For others, genetics is a bitch.

In my family genetics has not always been kind. We have our mother's mental illness and predilection for suicide married to our father's addictions, plus his own mental illness. For most of us, we fought the addictions and created successful families of our own. Some have not been as blessed. My oldest nephew is an addict. My second oldest nephew is in Parchman, Mississippi's state prison, for assault and rape. His brother just finished a sentence there for assault. My youngest brother's son is an alcoholic. Others have fought mental illness. Thanks be to God, none of my children are addicts.

Last Saturday, both sides of the family tree met up in my oldest niece's youngest son. He called her and told her he loved her, told her that he could no longer live with the drugs and felt that he could not stop. He hung up the phone and shot himself in the head with a shotgun. His funeral is tomorrow.

Names and things etc

2005-09-08T23:13:00.000-05:00

Jo wrote that she did not get the tickalock thing. I suppose I did not explain it well enough. See, 'tickalock', is the sound a key makes when it is locking a door. Well, it is when you use your voice to make sound effects. So, tickalock-all-way-round, is the sound the key is making while you lock all your doors.

I used tickalock for awhile when I first came into chats. I started getting unwanted odd emails and pms from screen names like MasterDude, etc. I changed to tica2 then until my son got an AOL admin mad at him one night and cancelled my account. I worked that one out but had to make a new name. So, since I am a cocacola freak, I came up with cocatica. Then, when I came to voice chats, I created ticatoo.

I hope that clears some things up.

My youngest grandson will soon be 18 months old and is so smart! He is learning colors now. He knows wed,buh and lello. He knows so many words that other kids his age don't know or say. He is learning and doing more and more everyday. And, no, I am not exaggerating because he is my grandson.

Names and things.......

2005-09-07T13:34:00.000-05:00

Every so often someone will ask about the two screen names that I use.....cocatica and ticatoo. I use ticatoo for Paltalk. People are curious about why I chose these nicks, especially ticatoo. It is a long boring story, but since I am stuck in the room taking care of my sick son, I think I will tell it.

Years ago, when my brother and I were little, we played a form of tag where, if we were away from homebase, we could stop, say 'tickalock' and we would be safe, because our door would be locked. But, if we wanted to be truly safe we had to say 'tickalock-all-way-round', then our front and back doors would be locked.

Years passed and my brother had a falling out with the family and just disappeared. He got a job working at nuclear power plants around the country and traveled a lot, but he made no attempt to get in touch. I was devastated and tried to find him, but had no idea where to start. About twenty years ago, give or take, he called our oldest brother and came to visit. Things began to be sorted out and I was in heaven. Then, our mother did something that was so cruel, I am still stunned by it. My brother was trying to get custody of his youngest son from his ex-wife. And, he needed to. My sister-in-law was so enmeshed in her own mental illness, that she could not take care of the child. The conditions that child lived in was horrendous. My sister-in-law knew that as soon as the child left, she would no longer get the child support. She fought for full custody. Court time came, and my mother was a witness for her, instead of helping my brother help his son. My brother was so hurt and furious that our mother would do that, especially since she had never liked his ex-wife anyway. Plus, my mother knew the sort of living conditions my nephew was living in. My brother was so angry and hurt that our mother would do that, he disappeared again. He did not speak to my mother ever again.

During the second time my brother disappeared, I got my first computer. I signed up for AOL and tried to think of a good screen name. I thought too, that if anyone in our family would have a computer, Wayne (my brother) would. I wanted a screen name that he would recognize and check out. Yes, I know how silly that thinking was. Anyway, I decided to use tickalock, thinking that my brother would surely want to check it out if he ever came across it. Turned out that my brother had a computer, but did not like using it. His son did, but we never met up on AOL or any of the chat programs.

Time passed and tickalock was getting some unwanted attention, so I changed it up a little. But, I wanted to keep it similar so that people I had met would know it was me. So, we come to ticatoo. Aren't you glad I told you all this?

Nothing much

2005-09-07T00:05:00.000-05:00

I finally got in touch with StateFarm this evening and started that process. Have no idea how long it will take. I know that my house is not as damaged as most of the others in Gulfport. It is at least livable.

My youngest son, Phil, still has the flu and seems to be getting worse instead of better. Tonight the nausea started. It might have been the toast and jelly he ate, but anyway, he now has anti-nausea medicine to go along with all the other. He is aching and having chills and fever still. I am praying that this passes soon. I am praying that no one else here gets it, especially the baby.

Speaking of the baby, I gave him his first popsicle today. He is such a funny little thing and so independent that he does not like for anyone to feed him. I kept handing him the popsicle and he kept turning his head until I held his head still and rubbed the popsicle across his lips. He was pulling away for a bit, then stopped and looked at me and then reached out for the popsicle. Later, he was sitting on the floor, sharing it with Gumbo. This last tidbit we will not tell his father, but I figure it is good for him.