I'm writing this at nearly 10:00 p.m. on September 10, 2010. When I get out of bed in the morning, it will have been 9 years since the bombing of the Twin Towers.
I remember clearly where I was when I heard the news. I was sitting in my car waiting for my obstetrician to open so that I could have my check up. Sadly, a little over a month later, I was no longer pregnant and my son was dead.
September 11, 2001 was a devastating day for me personally and for our country. I try to keep my political views to myself, but thinking about that day and thinking about the state our country is in today, I can't help but be scared for our future.
Have you ever gotten one of those emails that starts out Dearest One? The ones I mean always come from Zimbabwe or some other far off land. At least they’re far away from where I live.
They either go two ways these emails. They say you have won such and such an amount and just give us your information and we’ll be happy to deposit this money in your account. Oh, by the way, just one small thing. We need you to pay a fee in order for us to send you the money. That’s not a problem right? Or they say we desperately need your help and can’t you just send something? My father was unjustly… My brother is being held unjustly… (Just fill in the blank with some horrible country/government/prison/accusation and we’re in business.) Those second emails always like to invoke the name of God in some way. We’ll be praying for you. God bless you. God loves you. Well thank you.
I know God loves me. I appreciate you asking Him to bless me. I even thank you for praying for me even though I’m not real sure what someone I’ve never talked to would pray for on my behalf. It’s still a nice thought. Oh, I’m sorry, what? You want me to give you money? I forgot that part…
This morning I was reading a story from the odd news section that I have on my homepage and it made me think of those emails I receive by the boxful every day (I’m glad they aren’t actual letters and are just on my computer. I think my mail lady would refuse to come to my house if they were real letters. I get that many). A man in Beijing has been arrested for swindling an American out of $109,700.
Now the story doesn’t say that he used emails to bilk this caring, kind person out of what was probably their life savings. But it reads exactly like many of the emails I’ve received in the past.
He told his victim (that’s the only way I can seem to see this poor person that lost so much) that during the Nationalists’ rule of China he was a provincial governor. He went on to say that he had government connections and that those connections could help to unfreeze assets that were being held in the United States. He just needed a little help. Money. Big surprise there huh?
Obviously they sent the money otherwise this story would never have been written. I don’t understand how they thought it was a real thing. A little research could have given them all the answers (like the fact that the Nationalists’ rule of China ended in 1949 when the Communists took over power). If we were talking about my money I would know every detail of every step. I’m stingy like that. I just don’t like to part with my money.
In a sad twist (at least sad to me) the man that did the scamming is 99 years old. 99! What in the world would a 99 year old need with that much money? I know people live past that age but come on, it’s more likely that he won’t be around too much longer than it is that he’d be living the high life on other people’s money. Can you see a 99 year old out on the town partying it up? I certainly can’t.
The Chinese courts did take his age into consideration. He was released on bail and allowed to go home. The interview by officials was done at his house rather than making him go to court. They will have a trial though and if this man is found guilty he could face 10 years in prison. That would be a terrible way to end your life. I find myself feeling sorry for him a little. But then I remember what he did and my heart goes out to the person that lost their money. I think it’s just a lose-lose situation and I feel sorry for everyone involved.
Well, it’s inauguration day. I’m sure you know that, it’s all over the place. How could you miss it? And yes, history is being made as our nations first African American president is sworn in.
I believe people have done more research on our new president than they ever did on any president of the past. With the internet available 24/7, news channels devoted strictly to politics and the front page of every major newspaper covering every tiny detail, how could you not know who Barack Obama is?
I tend to believe that people are even aware of Obama’s family. If I said he has a wife named Michelle and two daughters, most people would nod their heads and say I was right. What I’m not sure of is if people know about our new VICE president.
Joe Biden has not received the same amount of publicity that Obama has, his life is not splattered all over the place. While he and his wife did appear on Oprah I was not aware of it until I saw a tiny little story way at the bottom of my news feed.
Biden is just a backup. He’s not the important one. He’s not the president. That’s the feeling I get when I see these very few and far between stories about our new vice president. People just don’t think he’s that important. I don’t agree with that line of thought. If something were to happen to Obama (you have to admit that’s completely possible. In this day and age people would not hesitate to do harm against our president), Biden will replace him.
So who is this man that will be running our country in the event of a tragedy? What do we know about him? Honestly, I knew very little about him. I decided some research was in order...
He was born November 20, 1942 in Scranton Pennsylvania. He comes from an Irish Catholic family and has two brothers and one sister.
He has a wife as I said. Her name is Jill. While I don’t believe physical appearance makes any difference in someone’s ability to be a contributing human being, I’ll tell you she’s beautiful. And it’s not just on the outside. She speaks from the heart and doesn’t hold back (as seen on the Oprah clip below). I feel like she would be incapable of hiding anything. They met in 1975 and they married in 1977. They have one daughter together. But Jill is his second wife.
His first wife’s name was Neilia. They met in 1964 and married in 1966. They had three children, two sons and a daughter. In 1972 she and his one year old daughter were killed when the station wagon they were traveling in was hit by a semi truck. His two sons were critically injured in the accident as well but thankfully recovered.
Biden began his career in the United States Senate at the minimum age to be eligible, 30. He has represented Delaware from that January 3, 1973 day until his resignation on January 15, 2009. He resigned only because of his being elected to the vice presidency.
He's the former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. He opposed the Gulf War in 1991 and voted in favor of the Iraq War Resolution in 2002. He has also served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. And he helped create the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and the Violence Against Women Act. He unsuccessfully ran for president in 1988 and was originally running for president in this years election. He is the first Roman Catholic and the first Delawarean to be elected Vice President of the United States.
I have the faint feeling that I just struck gold. I’ve already expressed my support and approval of Obama. Now I have to say, I really like Joe Biden. I think he’s going to do our country good. I think the two of them together, Obama and Biden, may be able to make our country great again. I feel it. It’s on its way. I’m practically singing. Happy days are here again…
When my daughter was in her infant and toddler years, her father and I lived basically in the middle of nowhere. We were surrounded by woods and a wonky, practically straight down hill that had a twisting road cut through the middle of it. There was a lot of wildlife. You could watch whole groups of animals cross that road if you were quiet and sat in just the right spot. There were bears, wolves, even a panther that stayed on top of that hill and screamed like a murder victim in the middle of the night. I thought they were beautiful creatures but I’m no fool, they were dangerous too.
So we kept guns. I loathe guns. I grew up with military parents and was made to learn how to shoot. Our father would take us out to our Uncle Alfred’s ranch and set up targets and we’d all take a turn. If we didn’t do well, we’d take three or four turns. Perfection was a big thing in my family growing up. But I learned and I can handle a gun if it’s required of me.
There were many weeks that I sat alone in that log cabin with a young baby as my only company. I had to protect her as much as I had to protect myself. So the guns were there. Luckily I never had to shoot anything although one time I did fire it into the air because a brown bear was on the hill directly next to the house. I could see it out the kitchen window! And I really didn’t want it to get comfortable there.
I don’t consider myself anti-gun even though I hate them. I believe there are times that a gun is the only answer. And I don’t consider myself pro-gun either. I’d rather not have one in my house and do not have one now that I live somewhere that all the animals are either in peoples houses or behind cages in the zoo.
I saw in the news where a four year old in Ohio shot his 18 year old babysitter because he stepped on his foot. The fact that he shot someone out of anger at four years old is a whole different story but for him to be able to get to a gun and actually shoot someone is shocking. Why wasn’t it locked up? We always kept the guns in a gun cabinet behind bulletproof glass (yes, I know) and two locks with the keys being kept in different very out of reach places. I just can’t imagine leaving open access to a weapon that causes death to any child of any age but especially with a four year old in the house.
They said in the story that no charges were being filed against the four year old. Well duh is all I can think of to say. At least in the video they suggested that the parents may be charged with something. Negligence maybe? I would think so. I know I’m not perfect, far from it actually. But I also know not to leave a gun sitting around LOADED just waiting for the accident that’s sure to follow. I’m glad the babysitter is ok and I hope these parents have learned a valuable lesson.
Most of the news I share with you is from somewhere far far away from me. A lot of times it’s from all the way across the world from me. But the story I’d like to tell you about today is from right around the corner from me. Houston.
We’re 52 miles west of Houston. We rarely go into the city though. It’s so big and so many people everywhere. And a few of the places are a little on the scary side if I’m to be completely honest.
When my oldest daughter was just an infant we had quite the medical scare. We ended up driving like maniacs in the middle of the night into Houston to Texas Children’s Hospital. Christina was three months old and very sick. I was 23 and very scared.
The doctors there were extremely nice. They did everything they could to make both of us comfortable. Christina ended up having to have a spinal tap. If you’ve never witnessed that, I can tell you it’s frightening. They use the biggest needle I’ve ever personally seen. They have to get it just right, exactly in between the disks in your spine to remove some of the fluid to test. They thought she had meningitis. Thankfully she didn’t but I’ll never forget how the doctors at Texas Children’s Hospital did everything they could to solve and fix her issues.
And I’ll never forget their kindness. Everyone associated with the hospital was so caring and so gentle. I appreciated that so much. Now the hospital is in the news for their caring, kind ways.
The story was specifically about the Cancer Center at the hospital. It’s the number one pediatric cancer center in Texas and number three in the entire country. That makes me proud.
Now, thanks to donations and Anita Kruse, the Cancer Center offers the chance for terminally ill children to forget about their illnesses for a little while. Anita started a recording studio in the hospital where she and other staff members and volunteers help the children to write and record songs about important things in their lives.
One young lady named Jalen Huckabay wrote about her dog Jasmine or Jaz for short. Shy and unsure of herself, she quickly gained confidence once she realized she was actually writing the song just by talking about her much loved pup.
Anita is a Houston resident who sings and writes music professionally. After speaking a few minutes with Jalen, she hears the song in the young girls loving words and writes it in her notebook as they talk.
Jalen smiles as the first verse is read back to her. “MYD is my yippin’ dog. Got her last Christmas on the 23rd. We call her Jaz. She’s the Yorkie we chose. We dress her up in Build-A-Bear clothes.”
The project is named Purple Songs Can Fly and relies heavily on donations. All donations are tax deductable. I have a feeling a lot of people would donate even if they weren’t tax deductable. I know I will. It’s definetly worth it.
I often complain about silly things that happen. I have even been known to write long articles on the injustices that take place around me. I’ve also made big to-do’s over things I think are just ridiculous. American things.
Well, I take them back. The things I’ve said against America anyway. Not all of them, but a few. Like saying our government is too involved in our personal lives. I discovered this morning that it could be so much worse.
Gambia is a small country in Western Africa. As a matter of fact, it is the smallest country on the African mainland. A man named Yahya Jemmeh is the ruling president having siezed his power in a 1994 coup.
In 2002 he implemented a democratic civilian government and was then elected to the position he had seized. It is my opinion that he’s nothing more than a schoolyard bully and the people were afraid to not vote for him. He was quoted by a state journalist as saying “I will develop the areas that vote for me, but if you don’t vote for me, don’t expect anything.”
In 2006 a plot to overthrow him was discovered and many army officials were arrested while other prominent army officials, including the army chief of staff, were said to have fled the country.
Today Gambia is back in the news. A British couple that were running a missionary there have been arrested for talking badly about the government. Specifically they were arrested for sedition (covert conduct that is deemed by the legal authority as tending toward a rebellion against the established order). They were sentenced to one year in prison with hard labor and a fine. For writing emails. That’s all they did. Criticized the government in emails that they sent out to their followers. I couldn’t believe it.
The Fultons (he is 60, she is 46) were running an educational center there through their church Westhoughton Pentecostal Church in northwest England. They also provided medical care to prison inmates and terminally ill people that could only be reached by boat.
They officially apologized to the President and promised in a letter to never speak or write of Gambia or their government again. They also promised never to return to Gambia without his permission. They are asking for clemency and to be able to return to the United Kingdom with their young daughter.
As I sit here writing this, thoughts of my freedom are running through my head. I couldn’t imagine living somewhere that the government was so far into my life that I had to worry about what I said or wrote. Or wasn’t able to have my own opinions and express them freely.
If you ever had any doubt as to why our children, siblings, spouses and friends are fighting in wars, this should be an answer. They are fighting for our freedom. They are fighting for our rights. For our opinions and ideas. For our voice.
I wrote last night on the terrible tragedy John Travolta and his family are suffering through. I understand his pain as a mother who has lost a son. So I spent a lot of time last night reading stories and comments left on stories about it. It's the comments that have me upset.
I don't understand how people can take something as terrible as the death of a child and make it into a joke. I was appalled. The worst comments were on the E! Online story. E! is well known enough that I would think they'd show a little responsibility and remove the offensive comments on a story that should be about condolences.
People made jet ski jokes in reference to Jett's name. They made bathtub jokes. They made tacky Scientology jokes. They even suggested that this poor child would not go to Heaven because of his parents beliefs. Some fool even made the screen name L. Ron Hubbard to bash the Travolta's. How pathetic is what I say.
Just what exactly does Jett's parents religion have to do with any of it? It doesn't in my opinion. The only thing that should matter right now is that parents have lost their child. I know the day will come that those heartless people will be judged and I take comfort in that knowledge.
To the Travolta family, my heartfelt condolences. It's been 8 years since I lost my son and the pain is still there. I hope they find peace in whatever way they can.
To the attention seekers and people with unbelievably bad taste, I hope you never have to go through the pain of losing a child. But maybe if you did you would understand what a terrible thing you did making jokes about a child passing away. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
I wrote today about the comedians we lost in 2008 on my Happy At Home site. I said there were two things I could not live without and they were laughter and music.
Here I am honoring the musicians we lost in 2008. They will be missed.
January 20th - John Stewart He was a member of the Kingston Trio and wrote many songs including the Monkees’ hit “Daydream Believer”. He was 68.
February 5th - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi He wasn’t really a musician but he influenced the music scene intensely when he taught transcendentalist meditation to the Beatles. He was 96.
February 28th - Mike Smith He was the lead vocalist for The Dave Clark Five. He was 64.
May 5th - Jerry Wallace Country singer from the 50’s. He had a #1 hit in 1972 for “To Get To You”. He was 79.
May 8th - Eddy Arnold Said to be the baritone voice that helped to create the Nashville sound. He was 89.
June 2nd - Bo Diddley He was known as one of the founding fathers of rock and roll. And known for calling his guitar Lucille. He was 79.
August 10th - Isaac Hayes Soul singer who was most famous for writing the theme song to Shaft. He was 65.
August 18th - Pervis Jackson The bass voice for the Spinners. He was 70.
September 2nd - Jerry Reed Country and western singer. Best known for his slapstick songs such as “She got the goldmine and I got the shaft”. He was 71.
September 15th - Richard Wright Pianist with Pink Floyd. He wrote the song “Wish you were here”. He was 65.
October 17th - Levi Stubbs Singing front man for the Four Tops. He was 72.
October 24th - Merl Saunders Musician and keyboardist for The Grateful Dead. He was 74.
December 25th - Eartha Kitt Singer who was best known for her song “Santa Baby”. She was also an actress, best known for portraying Catwoman in the Batman series.
There are a lot of different people in the world. Some are strong and reliable. Some are weak and unreliable. It seriously blows my mind (to steal a catch phrase from the 60’s) how many different forms of strength walk this earth.
The strong build lives that are good and right. They stand up for the weak. They never follow the crowd. They are leaders.
My father was a leader. He never settled for anything until it was what he wanted it to be. If we were hungry, he found a way to feed us. If he had to roll up his sleeves and dig a ditch in 110 degrees to put that food on the table, he did it. He never complained. That wasn’t his style.
And he was disgusted by weakness which is probably where I got it from. It literally makes me sick to my stomach to witness weak people following others because they can’t do anything on their own. I’m not talking about misfortunes. Don’t get me wrong there. I feel sorry for people that are having a hard time in life. As long as they are working on improving it.
It’s the ones that sit back and complain about all the bad but never get off their butts to fix it. You know someone like this I’m sure. It seems like they’re everywhere I look.
And the worst ones latch on to anybody they think will carry them along for a little while. Oh, everybody likes them, I think I’ll just agree with everything they say… I try not to hate, but I do hate that. To me it says you aren’t worth the effort it would take to try to explain to you why that’s wrong in the first place.
I don’t know what my point is exactly, except maybe to say don’t be weak. Don’t be a follower. Stand up and be strong. Ultimately it will pay off in your favor. Life is so much better as a leader. I promise.
As usual this morning I was reading through the headlines on my second best friend, my computer. Most of the time I experience a wide range of emotions while reading the stories. Everything from laugh out loud to oh my goodness that makes me mad.
Less often a story will touch me. This morning however, I read one of those stories. I sat here with tears running down my face and a huge smile at the same time. My first best friend (my husband) came in from his shower and immediately thought something was wrong with me. I assured him it wasn’t and read him the story.
I’ve lived many places in my lifetime but no matter where I’ve lived, I’ve always claimed Texas as home. I love Texas. I love most of the people in it. My guess is if it was a smaller state I probably wouldn’t feel that way. Less people = less chance for good.
The story I read was about a doctor in Yoakum Texas. Yoakum is a small town outside of San Antonio. This man, lovingly known as Doc Watson, has been the town doctor for 50 years. And he still makes house calls.
That doesn’t happen very often these days. Most doctors are more worried about the money they make and not so much about their patients. That’s sad but true. But Doc Watson isn’t one of those doctors. He’s even been known to accept baked goods and home grown vegetables as payment to the dismay of his daughter. He was quoted in the story as saying “These people have paid me with what they could. As far as I’m concerned, they’re paid in full.” How refreshing is that?
He began his career after graduating from the Baylor College of Medicine in 1958. Back then he charged $3.00 for an office visit and $5.00 for a house call. Some of his patients have been lifelong.
One of those patients is 80 year old Lou Olsovsky. As Doc Watson examined Lou he gently asks about his wife who passed away four years previously. When the doctor asked if he was ready to go meet his wife, he was told “I was supposed to go first, but she wouldn’t let me.” Lou still wears his wedding ring. That just broke my heart. It was what made me cry.
It makes me happy that there are still men like that in this world. Sometimes I wonder about our planet and the way it seems to be going downhill. Then I read something like this story and it gives me hope.
I’d like to tip my hat to Doc Watson. I hope he has many more years taking care of his town. According to him he has no plans to quit anytime soon. He said “When I can’t do crossword puzzles anymore, I’ll know it’s time to quit. But as long as I’m reasonably healthy, and have a little sense, I’ll keep doing it.”
Well Christmas is over for another year. I’m sure a lot of you have wrapping paper, torn boxes and toys covering your floor. And I bet quite a few of you have some bubble wrap laying around too. You know those sheets of plastic with air filled bubbles that protect the contents of packages and drive you crazy with people popping them.
I’m one of the poppers. I just can’t help myself. And I have to pop every single bubble on the sheet. I’m not happy until I have. And each bubble must be popped individually. It’s an obsession.
A man in Brooklyn has turned this obsession into a money making deal. It’s actually a very cute idea. He’s made a bubble wrap calendar. You get to pop a bubble every day! I’m not sure if this would be a good gift for me though. I’d probably pop the whole year when I hung it up.
I wonder if he uses recycled materials to make these adorable calendars? If he does, I think I wouldn’t be able to resist buying one. You can currently buy one for $29.95 with free shipping in the United States. They are also available in different languages. And all major holidays are printed on them as well.
If I were still a kid (and I am) I would say they were really neato. Way cool. Totally awesome dude!
Snow is harmless right? Specifically snowmen. Kids out of school for Christmas break that live in places where snow falls abundantly build them all the time. They don’t come to life and wreak havoc on our neighborhoods. They don’t have any magical powers. And they don’t build themselves. Or do they?
According to a man in Anchorage Alaska a 25 foot tall snowman, dubbed Snowzilla by his family and neighbors, just magically appeared in his front yard on Christmas morning. Call it a Christmas miracle. He practically does in his interview.
This is the fourth year that Snowzilla sits in the front yard of the Powers family. He’s equipped with all the snowman details including a stovetop hat and corncob pipe. Halfway through the building of this years Snowzilla, the city stopped Billy Powers and his seven children from finishing the snowman citing noise and traffic complaints.
A notice was put at the base of the snowman as well as on the front door of the Power’s residence to cease and desist from erecting the snowman. The city says it is a nuisance because of all the extra traffic and noise from people wanting to see the snowman with their own eyes.
They also stated that it was a safety hazard. I imagine it takes a lot of snow to make a 25 foot tall snowman. I can actually see the cities side. But I also think he should be able to do what he wants in his own front yard. And I would love to see Snowzilla for myself. I’m torn between which side I stand on in this debate. Maybe by the time Christmas 2009 arrives I’ll have decided.
I was going to write about Odin for you today but instead I decided to post videos. The one here is Celine Dion singing Happy Christmas (War Is Over). Besides her beautiful voice the video is full of beautiful images. Merry Christmas everyone! Have a great one!
How much do you know about our new president? I'd like to share a little Obama history with you...
Barack Obama was born in 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father was a foreign student from Kenya at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. His parents divorced when he was two and he only saw his father once more before he died in a car accident in 1982. His mother was from Wichita, Kansas. After divorcing his father she remarried and they moved to Indonesia in 1967. She passed away from ovarian cancer in 1995.
When Barack was 10 years old, he moved back to Hawaii and lived with his grandparents until completing high school. He graduated from Columbia University in New York City in 1983 with a BA in political science specializing in international relations. He then attended Harvard Law School beginning in 1988, graduating in 1990 magna cum laude.
He continued in politics securing a spot in the state legislator from 1997-2004. On January 4, 2005 he was sworn in as a senator. He made history then as the 5th African American Senator and he made history last night as the 1st African American President of the United States.
How he performs as president will have to wait to be seen. I personally am hoping that he can do all he has promised to do. I believe this country needs a strong leader with fresh ideas. And I believe Barack Obama may just be that man.
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