This and That

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.......

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

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.......

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

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.....

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........

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...

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.........

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...

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??

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

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.........

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.....

You Are 30% Weird

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

How Weird Are You?

Tuesday with the adjuster

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

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......

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

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???

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

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.......

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?

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

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......

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

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.......

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

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.

Young, yet wise in the Lord

There is a young woman I have the priviledge to know. She is wise beyond her years. She has a deep love for the Lord and a hunger to share the gospel. She isn't perfect, but then who is? She makes mistakes, but, she acknowledges those mistakes and apologizes for them, especially if they affect others. She has a blog that I belive everyone should read http://josmessage.blogspot.com/ Go there to be blessed.

Friend's house after Katrina

Click on the picture to make it larger. This is my son's best friend's house after Katrina.

Mississippi???.....hello.........

It has been seven days since Katrina wiped out the Mississippi Coast. New Orleans has been getting the majority of the media coverage, so a lot of people do not know how bad it is on the Coast. Check out this link, look at the pictures:
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/

These people need as much help and sympathy and media coverage as the people in New Orleans. Why is it not there?

My son-in-law went to D'Iberville, Ms to help his mother and father recover as many pictures, etc from their house as they could. They are both past retirement age, but both have continued to work because they cannot afford to buy their medicines if they don't. Their house is beyond saving. The contents, furniture and appliances, are ruined. They spent the last two days recovering pictures and other mementos of forty years together. Today they went to church. Their faith has not been shaken. They cried and prayed with people they have worshipped with for most of their lives. They will recover. They will not re-build on that lot, but they will re-build.

Other people are suffering. A shelter was evacuated because of an outbreak of suspected dysentery. People are waiting for help. But, they are not sitting there moanin and groaning. They are doing as much as they can to help themselves. They are working on cleaning the limbs and debris from their yards and then helping their neighbors. They are watching out for each other.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301680.html

Read the Washington Post link. I am sick of people blasting President Bush. Put the blame on the people who should be blames. Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans and Govenor Blanco of Louisiana. They knew before Katrina the status of the levees. They knew they had at least 100,000 citizens who would not be able to leave. If they had a car they most likely had no money for gas. Forget about a motel room for a week or so. Why were those people not given help to leave? The mayor could have stood up like Guilliani of New York and taken control. He could have ordered city buses and gotten private buses and school buses to get people out. What did he do? He said........ya'll leave. This is real. So find a place to go.........He waited till noon on Sunday to let people start entering the Superdome. Did he send help to people who maybe had no way of knowing that they could go there? HE went to Baton Rouge. Now he gets on tv crying and cussing and blaming everyone else because this turned out this way. I think all he is doing now is politicking for the next election.

Katrina come and gone

We got ready for the hurricane, called all the family to see where they would be and then hunkered down to wait it out. I was not worried till about 3am Monday morning. I woke up and started thinking about how bad it would be here if New Orleans got a direct hit. Baton Rouge is too close to New Orleans. Then, everyone else woke up and we watched news till we lost power. Then it started getting interesting. We had windows open because it was so hot here. My daughter lives in a small complex of about 18 townhouses that face each other across the parking lot. The wind was whistling and whining through here and it was LOUD. Reese, the baby, got scared from that and we took turns holding him and playing with him. It was mostly all over with by noon. There was still a lot of wind and rain, but the worst thing was no power, which meant no A/C.

That evening we read and ate by candle light hoping that the power would be on Tuesday at the latest. We had no way to get any news. Finally, my daughter in Michigan got through to us and told us how bad it was. I could tell it was worse that we expected for the coast because I could hear the fear in her voice.

We spent the next two days watching all the houses around us get lights and more important A/C. We sat outside and talked with the neighbors till late at night. We did drive around a little on Tuesday, mostly to get out of the heat.

Wednesday, I was getting worried about my grandson, he is 17 months old, and the heat was getting to him. He was just limp. We sprayed him with water and fanned him almost constantly for two days, but it was not enough. I took him outside and sprayed him down with the hose. We stayed out for over an hour. Then, I decided to go get some cold drinks. It felt so good to be in the A/C that when I got back, I sent my son in to get my daughter and we sat out in the car for about 3 hours. I know that gas is going to be a problem now, and I will promise not to drive for a week to make up for it, but my daughter and grandson needed to get out of the heat. My daughter is very small and when she gets too hot she cannot eat. I was afraid that she and my grandson was going to get dehydrated.

Power came on again after 9pm last night. We were outside eating burgers and everyone started dancing in the parking lot......not for long though, because we wanted to get the A/C on in the house. When we checked, the temp was 95 degrees inside.

My son-in-law went back to work Tuesday. His firm's New Orleans branch closed of course and they are having to accommodate the lawyers from there. People are so worried. His father is 67 and still works because some of his medicines are so expensive. He was worried that not only was he going to lose his house but that he was also losing his job. No word on the job, but his house got some major damage. The house is between Biloxi and Ocean Springs, in a small town called d'Iberville. He and Jamie's mother are doing good. They will be staying with one of their daughters while they decide what they are going to do.

So, right now things are slowly, very slowly, getting back to normal.