People are crazy

Saturday our town had their annual Christmas parade. The parade was scheduled to start at 4:00 so we got out there about 2:00. You might think we were the crazy ones for going so early, but by the time 4:00 came around, we were completely blocked in.

About an hour into our wait, people were really getting weird. We saw several almost wrecks and tempers were flaring. Fists were popping out of windows and curse words were in the air. There's nothing like a parade to whip people into a frenzy!


Sitting in our nice, safe spot just off the road, we watched as people tried to jump into traffic after cutting through the parking lot we were in.


Suddenly, a little black...something (I think it was a Neon) came speeding through the lot and bolted into traffic almost hitting a bus that slammed on his brakes to avoid the accident. Tires were squealing, horns were honking and people were screaming. I held my breath.

There was a very heated exchange between the bus driver & the car driver. I could see a fist shaking in the wide front window of the bus, threatening to punch the driver of the car. A head popped out of the window of the car and he began screaming such nice things as "Bring your ass on out of there and I'll show you!" and "Stupid, crazy, mother f****r". I think my jaw was on my chest. If any flies had been buzzing around in the 30° air, they would have had a nice, warm place to land.

Then it was all over. The cars tires peeled out and he was in front of the bus, speeding down the road. The bus started moving again. That's when I saw the back of the bus. And I practically died laughing. I jumped out of my car and snapped a picture for you:

I tried to zoom in for you but all it did was make it blurry....Maybe you can still read it...

Not only were they "insain", they were bad spellers too.

Bad day on our highways

Everyday is a news day for me but today is a local news day. It seems like all the stories that caught my eye this morning were from in or around Houston. And most of them involved cars and speed.

A 22 year old man was reported to have been driving in excess of 100 mph when he crashed his Chevy Cobalt carrying himself and his 18 year old girlfriend into a van with five family members in it. All but the driver of the speeding Cobalt and a 59 year old female passenger in the van were killed in the accident. The driver that caused the accident is unaware that these deaths occurred yet. Killed in the accident were the 18 year old girlfriend, a 78 year old man who’s birthday is today, his brother and sister-in-law who were both 83 and his 60 year old nephew. The family members had traveled to celebrate the 78 year olds birthday.

In the second accident, a 17 year old stole a pickup truck and was spotted by police. He ran from the officers and subsequently crashed into a SUV in the intersection of South 79th and Elwood in Houston. The accident killed a 23 year old man that was driving the SUV. The 17 year old has no license and claimed to have ‘found’ the car.

A third accident occurred when a ladies vehicle was carjacked. Thankfully the carjacker allowed her to remove her children from the vehicle before he took off in it. The police chased him until he crashed into a gas meter. No one was hurt in this accident but a nearby restaurant had to be evacuated because of the leaking gas.

And finally, at a Low Rider car show one of the vehicles carrying a family involved in the celebration burst into flames. A three year old was in a car seat in the back of the car. The father managed to get his son out of the burning vehicle, but they both suffered burns and are being treated at the Medical Center.

I hate to drive. It’s a true story. I would rather be a passenger than a driver. Accidents like these make that feeling even stronger in me. Tim is an excellent driver and I would rather put my faith in him. Not that I’m a bad driver. I just get nervous and I know I shouldn’t be in control of a vehicle when I’m nervous.

I also know that accidents happen in a split second and sometimes even the most experienced and confident drivers are still involved in them. My heart goes out to the families of the victims in the accidents I’ve talked about this morning. I pray they find peace in whatever way they can. I know that’s easier said than done.

It could have been SO much worse

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.

Things that make me wonder...

I’m a self-admitted news freak. And specifically an odd news freak. The weirder it is, the more I want to know. Because of that, as many of you already know, I’m constantly scanning the latest headlines. Often I come across things that interest me. Just as often I come across things that I just don’t understand. I try to understand. It just doesn’t happen.

I wonder how people can go into areas of the world that aren’t developed and look into the faces of starving children but not feed them. You know the people taking pictures, writing stories or traveling the world are eating. You know they are eating that day. Why don’t they give their food to those children instead of just pitying them?

I don’t understand how people who have more than they’ll ever need can walk right past someone who could desperately use their help. Even if it’s just a $2.00 hot meal or a $5.00 pair of shoes.

And what about clichés? People all over the world repeat them. But do they mean them? They say laughter is the best medicine, why don’t doctors write jokes for their patients instead of medicines that most people can‘t afford to pay for? How about ‘Stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about’? um, aren’t I already crying? Or ‘The writing’s on the wall’… Where is this wall and why are we writing on it?

These are the kind of things that run through my mind all the time. It’s the way my mind works. If you want the perfect example of MY BRAIN it’s this: as I wrote the last two sentences I saw a little furry man running around inside by head, over the bumps and crevices of my actual brain, fiddling with the clockworks that turn and grind and make me think.

Now you’re thinking “this woman is crazy”. I know you are. It’s ok. I am a little crazy. I think the crazy part of me is what keeps me sane. And I enjoy it. It’s fun.

I’d like to leave you with one to think about: If a fool and his money are soon parted but money is the root of all evil, isn’t that a good thing he lost it? I wonder...

Singing together makes everything better

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.

Read more about Jalen Huckabay

Read more about Purple Songs Can Fly

Read more about Texas Children’s Hospital

Read more about Texas Children’s Cancer Center & Hematology Service

Dear soldier, thank you for my freedom

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.

Ringing in 2009...around the world

What a beautiful start to 2009!



Happy New Year Everyone!

The songs will carry on

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.

Be very very quiet...

I just had to share this video with you that I found while reading the news! The cat just cracks me up with his sneakiness!

Ninja Cat @ Yahoo! Video

Which one are you?

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.

Kudos Doc Watson!

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.”

Click here to read the original story

Pop! Pop! Yay!

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!

Click here if you’d like to purchase a Bubble Calendar

Attack of the 20 foot man! ...or something like that

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.




Click here to read related Snowzilla stories in the Anchorage Daily News

Click here to watch the video of Billy Powers stating his case

A little history of the man who's made history

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.

Just relax and chat

Out of sheer boredom one day about four years ago I was playing with my cell phone and I came across a chat room. I thought it looked interesting so I joined it. I found it fun most of the time and quickly became a regular. I’ve made many friends there, some of whom will be lifelong.

And believe it or not, I found love. I know several other people who have done the same and are very happy with the mates they found online. I think being in the chat room lets you be less afraid. A lot of people are so self-conscience that they can not relax in a traditional dating scenario. And so many people are obsessed with physical appearances. Chat allows you to get to know the person on a different level.

So now over a year has passed and I am still very happy and satisfied with our relationship. Tim has shown and taught me things I doubt I would have ever seen or learned about without him. We are from different parts of the country and have lived very different lives up to the point of meeting each other. I guess my point to this blog today is to encourage you to try new things. You just never know what the result will be if you don’t. My advice is: Go For It!

I’ll leave you with a ‘chat‘ cartoon.. I thought it was cute… Smile! Today is a new day!

It IS a crazy adventure

I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching lately… I mean A LOT. I don’t know why this sudden need to discover who I am or what exactly it is I’m trying to discover. But I do know it has consumed my mind for the last month or so. My mind has been wandering through the years. Remembering moments. Remembering people.

Maybe it’s my age. I heard somewhere that when you turn 40 your whole idea of what life is changes. Things you used to like you now hate. Things you used to hate you now like. Your ideas change. It’s a very confusing time for me.

I also heard that by the time you are 45 things kind of settle. If that’s true I only have 3 years to go! I hope it’s true. I’d like to feel settled. I used to think I knew EXACTLY who I was, what I believed in and how things were supposed to be. Now I just don’t know. But I’m having a good time trying to figure it out even with the confusion. It IS an adventure and as long as I keep that knowledge deep in my heart, I know it will turn out for the best.

I’d like to say thank you to the people who have played a part in making me up to this point. You may not think you have made any difference in my life. I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong about that. Every statement, every action, every single thing whether positive or negative has influenced my life and formed who I am. Every single one. So Thank You. You are all important to me.