Sinus Trouble

I was sidelined most of yesterday with a sinus problem.  While the basement wood burner is just the most wonderful thing, it does cause some problems here and there -- sinus problems can be one of them.  The heat is very drying and there is some smoke from when you open the door to add a log.  That adds up to sinus congestion sometimes, and so we have to give it a rest for a day or so.  PLUS, my sinuses were already messed up from the cold/flu I had last week.

My problem yesterday was a headache and my head felt weird because of what the whole thing was doing to be sense of equilibrium and then what that was doing to my stomach.

We're going to give it another try today with the help of some medicines.

So that's about all I've got today for you.  Sorry, I am such a DUD.

I will share a little story from my days at work at The University of Akron.  One day I had a splitter of a headache.  I felt horrible all over!!  While standing by the mailboxes at the front desk area, I was lamenting my problems and our graduate student from the Ukraine was asking me about my situation.

I told him I had a sinus headache and just wished that I could take a drill and make a tiny hole in the front of my head to drain the sinus pressure and congestion.

He got kind of quiet for a second and then said, "Oh, well, that's what we do in the Ukraine!"

Wow.  That got my attention.

Recently, I've heard ads on radio for balloon rhinoplasty.  Sounds kind of strange, doesn't it?  But what they do is open up sinus passes with the use of a surgical grade balloon which stretches out the sinus passageways that might have gotten smaller from years of sinus trouble and infection.

Apparently, it is supposed to work.

Also, on the stop smoking front, someone we know is going to have laser therapy for smoke cessation.  It is a little like the acupuncture they were doing some years ago but permanent.  Apparently, she knows someone who had it done and when she walked out of the clinic, she was a non-smoker and has remained as such.  If this seems to work, we will check into it for my husband.  The cost is around $225.00.

Thanks everyone.  Talk to you next week!!

The Memories Made at Christmas

I hope that you had a chance to make memories on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  The winds that we had been warned about for more than a week did come, but they were not nearly as damaging as they had suggested. 

By the time our family members were leaving on Wednesday night, the roaring sound that the wind makes going through our woods was very audible, but it was more of a sense of awe than of fear.  A good thing being as though we've had our run-ins with trees since building our house here in 1987.

A wonderful kind of surprise is that Ella was doing so well on Wednesday that she got to come over.  She hadn't been running a fever for a couple of days already!!  Oh, thank you God for giving us the time together.  She was a very good girl; all the kids were good.  They opened their presents in order, patiently waiting for their turn.  It made the whole process so much more fun!!

We chose to have spaghetti and sausage, garlic bread, and salad for dinner.  The sausage is Sicilian and comes from a wonderful old market in North Hill, Akron, called Devitis.  The taste is just amazing, especially when cooked over a low fire in the sauce all day long.  What makes the sauce taste so good is the aged Parmesan cheese they sell at the store.  It isn't cheap -- somewhere around $20 a pound, but its flavor just does wonders to the mixture of tomato sauce, paste, and diced tomatoes.  We brown the sausage in onions and that's another element to the flavors.

My sister gave us a wonderful gift -- a set of soup bowls that have the thick handle on the one side.  We usually end up putting bowls on a dinner plate to keep from getting burned.  I can't wait to try them out.  I think maybe when we've done something with the leftover sauce and sausage, we'll christen them by making some potato/ham soup.  It will be wonderful going into New Year's Eve.

Years ago, we used to do something on New Year's Eve, but those days are over.  We love being at home.  Plus we'll watch the OSU game that evening and stay up as long as we possibly can, maybe for all of it if we get a little nap in there somewhere. 

I hope your holiday was very blessed and merry, and that you have memories that you can "treasure in your heart," like Mary did.  These memories are of love, care, forgiveness, acceptance, and joy.  And they might fade a little, but they last! 

Christmas morning Mass was beautiful.  When we were concerned that Christmas was going down the tubes due to the flu, I kept holding onto the fact that we would be attending Mass and that we would be spending time in our special church with people we've known for years.  There were a few babies there, but for the most part, it was adults. 

So now we are moving towards 2015 rapidly.  A new year that should be marked by something far more important than doing taxes and changing calendars.  I wish all of you a glorious 2015, and I pray that the United States find its way back to God.

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas to all of you! 

One little message that resonates with me today is about attitude.

Having a positive attitude affects virtually EVERYTHING around you.  Studies have shown that being more positive and hopeful is better for your health.  Families do better when there is positive thinking.  Children thrive on positive thinking.  And our society needs it desperately.

The joy of the Christmas season is that we are loved by God and that He showed that love by sending His beloved son to earth to be one of us and to die for our sins. 

It just seems to me that God wants me to reflect that love and show it to others.  One way is by trying to have a good attitude and to try and find good rather than seeking out things to complain about.

I made a mistake the other day coming home from my son's house.  I meant to return via Portage and then stop and get gas at BJs.  I didn't zig and ended up exactly where I didn't want to go.  Belden Village on Monday at around 1:45 p.m.

What a mess.  And in the middle of that the rescue squad needed to get down Dressler.  People were treating the oncoming ambulance the way that people used to cross the railroad tracks before a train came.  It was crazy.

When I got through the bottleneck, I was so thankful to be heading home.  Home where there is some peace and quiet and sanity. 

We are a little sad this year.  Our precious Ella came down with the flu and is contagious so she won't be able to come over tonight for Christmas Eve.  I talked to her on the phone yesterday and she didn't want to hang up.  She sang songs for me and talked, said hello to her cousin, and wished us Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  She has a great attitude almost all of the time.

I'm going to so miss her tonight!!  Because that's what the holidays are all about.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from your blogger friend, Karen

I'll try and get back with you on Friday.

Germaphobia

I am not a germaphobe -- honestly.  But after listening to the news the last couple of weeks and hearing about all of the stuff out there, it's hard not to think about the microbial world that operates under the radar.  It's a good thing that our eyes aren't more keen because who would WANT to see all that stuff?

The flu -- it's BACK.  Apparently, this year's flu shot didn't quite get it right and we have a strain that it more or less misses.  Today I perused the CDC's information brochure online that discusses all of the whys and wherefores of the flu. 

And a few other sites just to be sure I'd be thoroughly confused.

Here's what I can tell you about the flu for 2014 that is going around, shutting down schools, and wreaking havoc on Christmas plans in families all across America!!

1.  So what if I am exposed to it?  You'll have to wait from 24 hours to 4 days to find out if you get it or not.

2.  So then what?  Well, if you do come down with it, you could expose everyone around you a day before you  show signs of it yourself.  That's reassuring.

3.  And if you get it?  Well, you get tested at the doctor's office or stat care or the ER by means of a nasal swab which will show the presence of the virus. 

4.  And?  Then you get a prescription for Tamiflu which should shorten your flu by about 2-3 days as long as you went for treatment within a couple of days.

5.  How long does it last?  5-7 days

6.  How long are you contagious?  Maybe 7-10 days if you are a kid.  If you are a grownup, shorter time period.  Or go with the one website that declares that if you have not had a fever for 24 hours without use of medication, you are probably okay.  It probably would help if you aren't coughing or sneezing though.

7.  How do you get it?  Exposure to the virus that is in the droplets of liquid that come from your nose when you sneeze or that are expelled when you cough.  Apparently, and this is the good news, casual contact is not generally enough.

8.  Does this mean that I might want to don a mask if I'm caring for sick kids, etc.?  You are DARN RIGHT it does.  This is my own opinion; I didn't see anything about masks, and actually, the little viruses are probably smaller and would go right through. 

9.  Does this mean that the entire family needs to know if someone has the flu or has been exposed?  Again, see the answer to #8.

10.  Does this mean that Christmases all over the U.S. are probably on hold in some cases?  Yep, it does.

What about Santa?  I'm not too worried about that right now, how about you?

So that's my best take on the whole thing, but if you are confused as to whether or not you have a cold or the flu, the symptoms are about the same in a lot of cases.  Helpful, aren't I?  Here's the big difference.  If you get the feeling that you've been hit by a Mack truck and symptoms come fast and furious, you probably have the flu.  Colds come on gradually, one symptom at a time.  The flu hits hard.  Headaches come early.  The nasal discharge is thinner, I'm thinking.

So consult the doctor, for sure.  But maybe this will help you decide if you have a problem or not.

My granddaughter, Ella, was diagnosed with flu yesterday afternoon.  So she won't be over for Christmas Eve and I'm so sad about it.  I'm sad that my daughter-in-law won't be over either.  And if Ella's brother comes down with it in the meantime, he might not be able to come either.  This is turning into a weather mess for Christmas Eve and a sickness mess!! 

Take care, good friends.  We're getting to the end of another blogging year and I want to thank those of you who keep reading.  We'll talk about 2015 soon.

Peter Pan?

(I'm feeling under the weather today -- cold.  So this is late getting posted and it might serve for tomorrow's post too.  I've got to get to feeling better before the holiday hits.  So bear with me, everyone!!)

I's deja vu all over again!!  When I was a little kid, the Broadway version of Peter Pan was brought to the TV screen.  Like Broadway, Mary Martin was the actress who played Peter Pan.  It was live TV back then and the performances were shown in 1954, 1955 and 1960.  I'm sure I saw at least two of them.

As a seven-year-old, watching Peter Pan was interesting.  I'd heard of the story through the Disney version that came out in 1953 and was pretty neat!  The thing is, though, pretty early in the whole play Mary Martin bothered me.  I knew she was a woman playing the part of a boy, and it just didn't jive for me.  I was uncomfortable, maybe even a little embarrassed for her, especially when she did the "I've Gotta Crow," thing.

Coincidentally, Cathy Rigby was tapped to be the next Peter Pan on Broadway in 1990 -- the year Mary Martin died.

Rigby played the part for 30 years!  And she was on television with it too.  I was still uncomfortable although she did a pretty darn good job of "flying" due to her amazing gymnastics talents.  No matter -- Rigby was a girl playing a boy.  Just didn't work for me.

And so we have a third iteration of the whole deal.  And who did they pick for Peter Pan?  The daughter of Brian Williams -- another woman playing a boy.  And this one, sad to say for her, seemed to have neither the talent of Mary Martin nor the gymnastics ability of Cathy Rigby.  The whole production got criticized quite a bit by the critics. 

And they made fun of Carrie Underwood in Sound of Music?  Are you kidding me?  Underwood's performance to me was a LOT better.  The sets were terrific and the actors believable in their roles.

Christopher Walken was born in 1943.  He was chosen for the role of Captain Hook.  Really?  My granddaughter was going into whoops of laughter telling me that Captain Hook kept calling Smee, "Schmee." through the whole thing.  "It's SMEE," she said with an eight-year-old's authority.

I like Christopher Walken, but this just makes no sense at all.  None.  That goofy guy that used to be married to Katy Perry would have worked at least in the face.  For Peter Pan, who would you have picked.  Are you telling me that there aren't some guys out there who took dance lessons for about 12 years and who can sing reasonably well who could play Peter?  How about that kid who was runner-up for American Idol a few years ago -- David Archuleta?  He's short (5'3")and kind of cute.

Justin Bieber comes to mind, not that he'd take the part, mind you. 

But I think you can see where I'm going here.  James Barrie wrote a wonderful story for kids, absolutely wonderful.  Do it right.  Do it some justice!  Get a better casting director for heaven's sake -- because you know it's going to make it's way around again.  Why?  Because it's a story that pits good against evil, leadership against following, cowardice against courage.  It's a take-off on those stories where there are things that go bump in the night.  In other words, just outside the front door, a kid might never know what he will find.

I hear the dog was really good.

A Biblical Marketplace

My granddaughter came over last night after school and showed me what she had made at a very interesting and special place -- on a field trip.

She said that they passed by her tumbling studio on Manchester Road to get there, but beyond that she didn't know where they went.  She said the place took up two floors.

Her class went to a recreation of a biblical marketplace, something like what Jesus would have experienced as a child.  She was absolutely enchanted by the place, and learned a lot in a short time.

She made a placemat (I think it was) by weaving strips of cloth in between slits in another piece of cloth.  She said that this craft represented the art of weaving which would have been a very important part of a woman's life in Jesus' time.

She made a bracelet out of different beads which would have been yet another commodity at a marketplace. 

And somewhere along the line, she got a dreidel which is the main part of a game that Jesus would have played.  It's like an early die (singular of dice) that the children would toss.  Today it is still used by the Jewish people during Hannukkah, the festival of lights. 

For my granddaughter, Jesus was now a real boy, playing with toys and living near a bustling marketplace with all sorts of sights and sounds.  It brought Jesus' humanity to life for her -- a wonderful experience!!

We can read all kinds of books about what life was like in the time of Jesus, but there is nothing like experiencing it in some fashion.

I read an article the other day about children and how our society tends to "push" them with educational experiences too early.  The article said that children should be playing prior to school.  Children learn through play.  Have you ever watched a kitten?  Everything that a kitten needs to know in order to defend itself is learned during play.  Maybe that's a good comparison to what play is for children.  They learn the typical give and take of games, and develop their verbal and nonverbal skills to a much higher degree.  They also learn to read the faces and cues of the other children around them.  This is unbelievably important in life.  It helps make sense of all social situations.

Children who don't get that time to play and just be a kid are stifled in a number of important ways.  We need to get over this competitiveness about our kids and just enjoy them and let them develop as God intended them to.  Children are ready to read when everything else is ready for them to read; their eyes, parts of the brain, and even their motor skills.  Pushing them to read sooner does real damage, the article suggested.

I think the biblical marketplace was ingenious and wonderful.  It will be something my granddaughter and her classmates won't soon forget.  Learning by doing.

Take care and have a good Thursday, everyone. 

Wild Wednesday

I lied.  It isn't too wild, but it is Wednesday and there is always promise that comes from the dawn of a new day. 

Today I have a recipe to share.  The reason is because this recipe makes even an average cook come out a winner. 

I found it in a Woman's Day issue recently and thought it deserved a TRY.  I do say TRY because some of my attempts at desserts haven't exactly hit the mark.  But they promised that this one would be worth the effort.  Best part -- there isn't even much effort involved.

You should have a candy thermometer to make it, but they are actually pretty cheap, all things considered.  If you don't, I'd just stir until the mixture thickens and slightly changes color and take a chance.

Chocolate Crackle Toffee

Cooking Spray
1 stick butter
1 can Eagle condensed milk
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp kosher salt (I used regular)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups rice crispies (no sugar)
2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

Line 9 x 12 pan with nonstick foil and spray with cooking spray.

Melt butter in heavy bottomed saucepan.  Add condensed milk, sugar and corn syrup.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture reaches 240 degrees on candy thermometer.  Remove from heat.  Add salt and vanilla, then cereal.

Put mixture into lined pan.  Spread evenly and cover immediately with chocolate chips.  Let stand 5 minutes, then spread melted chocolate evenly over toffee using the back of a large spoon.  Let cool at room temp until firm, at least 3 hours (more actually).  Remove from pan, cut into pieces.

34 cal per piece.

It is DELICIOUS and it keeps well.  You could probably freeze it too.  Great candy.

So have a wonderful day, everyone.

Rating the Colleges

There is a Princeton Review that rates various graduate programs.  There are a myriad of accreditation processes to see that colleges provide a rigorous enough program of study in a specific undergraduate area of study, i.e., business.  There are statistics of graduation rates, employment rates, and other indicators of success in colleges. 

So guess what?  Now the White House, that ever-present, invasive, in-your-face group that seems to want to weigh in on virtually everything has gone off and decided to unveil a college rating system this month that the 7,000 colleges will be measured against. 

Why does that bother me?  Because there is no absolute rating system that is ever going to get close to measuring the worth of a college or university.  Look at the way that football programs are rated.  There have been arguments and all kinds of suggestions for YEARS about how to pit the best against the best at the end of the season.  For a while it was the BCS, and now this year it was a 12-man panel that determined the top four.  And there is griping galore on the new system already.

What rating systems can do is really harm an institution.  It is also costly, because in order to provide the data by which to be rated, someone is going to have to pore through all sorts of materials to get what the rating system needs. 

At the end of the day, a college is like a pair of shoes.  For some a pair of loafers is just great.  For others, they would prefer a more sturdy feel.  For yet others, they would like New Balance sneakers.  For others, they like spike heels.  The student is ultimately the best judge of his or her own experience at college.  And college, just like all of the rest of life, is what you make out of it.

If a student takes the minimalist approach and does ONLY that work that will get him or her the grade, and not one extra thing, then they shortchange themselves.  The rating system just doesn't apply, does it?

I think the White House has enough to worry about right now and should stay out of the rating business.  Let the private think tanks and other commercial services rate colleges and universities as they have.  Prospective parents can find out a great deal about a possible choice by doing any of the things listed below:

1. Talk to someone who went there recently.  Ask them all kinds of questions.
2. Get statistics about what graduates of the college are doing. 
3. Find out about internships and how those are handled.  What percent of students get an internship?  Who is offering them?
4. Take a look at the faculty listing for the student's possible major and see what their credentials are. 
5. Look up faculty on one of those social media rating systems to see how they fare.
6. Make a good campus visit.  Do a little exploring of your own. Go off the beaten path.
7. Find out about crime on campus and the police department on campus.
8. Find out about the grading system.  It is just letter grades, or do they provide plus and minus?
9. Check out the library and see if it seems to be a good place to study and find related materials.
10. Find out about computer labs, computer testing, and quiet places for doing homework.
11. Ask about tutoring for the basic classes that are often stumbling blocks for new students.
12. Gauge the friendliness and manners of current students while on a campus visit.
13. See what the bookstore looks like; if you can, ask existing students if they like the bookstore or where they do buy books.  (Books are a HUGE cost in getting higher education.)
14. Is the campus clean.  Are restrooms well cared for? 

So this is just a scratch at the surface of learning about a college. 

See what I mean?  We don't need another rating system.  There are better ways to handle this situation!!

Did you start your cookies?  I baked Saturday and am pooped from it.  The "killer brownies" from West Point Market that I tried turned out okay, but not as good as I'd expected.  Somewhere along the line, something wasn't done properly.  I take blame.  But everything else turned out good and I'm nearly done with all of that stuff.  Whew!!!

Take care.

Retirement

One of the least understood processes in life is retirement.  People talk about it longingly for years before its arrival, but once it happens, then you can separate the girls from the women, the men from the boys.

We prepare to enter the work force for YEARS, right.  But how much time does the average person put into preparing for retirement?  That tells the story right there.

It isn't magic.  It isn't serendipity.  It isn't happenstance. 

I don't know who it was who shared some snippets of wisdom with me, or maybe it was reading some articles about it in the paper or magazines, but I knew that retirement was going to be a challenge at first.  And it was.  Even though I had cultivated several decent time-gobbling hobbies, the first weeks of retirement were confusing and emotional.

In short, I missed everyone.  The camaraderie, the discussion, the humor, the companionship.  It was all gone in a flash.  It felt like being rudderless.  Kind of like riding down a hill on one of those round sleds.  There is no steering one of those (I found out).

Someone said that getting used to being retired would take a couple of years.  After all, when a person has been getting up early and going to a work environment for almost 30 years without stop, it would seem logical that an abrupt stoppage of this would be a shock.

But here we are now -- I'm about five years into it -- and it feels good.  Sure, I waste time but I did that before too.  And yet, there is a cadence and a rhythm to it now.  A rise and a fall.  A few peaks and valleys.

My husband does a lot of eye screening as part of his retirement.  His first so many years of retirement were full of catching up around the house.  There was a lot to finish and to repair.  But now he really seems to like going to the schools and screening eyes.  He knows it helps children, that it gives them a better chance at school and in life.  And at the end of one of those days, tired, he comes back to the place where he is most comfortable but as he says, "It's a good tired."

In retirement, there is more time for reflection and for prayer.  More time to give of oneself.  More time to donate to a cause. 

Yesterday I went to visit with my sister and also saw my niece.  It was a relatively short, but very nice visit.  It's one of those things that would never happen before retirement.  It's a blessing.

Keep praying for the people on Mrs. Barkey's prayer list, for the people who are really ailing at this time of year, for those who aren't able to enjoy the holidays anymore. 

And we do all for the glory of God!!

Postponing Growing Up

We've all heard the sayings offered when a person needs to become more adult. "Get over yourself," is one, and of course, "Grow up."

The younger generation seems to have a tougher time than older folks did when it comes to the necessary acceptance of responsibility.

I cite two instances lately that have come to my attention.

1.  Students at Columbia School of Law were offered a chance to postpone their exams if the situation at Ferguson and in Cleveland were upsetting to them.  Honestly.  A few years ago a few universities made it known that a student's dies, he/she could postpone exams.  Ditto for a death in the immediate family.  The latter examples are simply kindness and understanding, something that most professors would offer without a rule about it.

But if a student is so upset about Ferguson and Cleveland to the point where he/she can't study, or if a student is willing to dump study time to demonstrate for three days, then life is going to be very, very difficult.  Megan Kelly made a little fun of the situation last night on Fox.  She was indicating that during her days as an attorney, any such excuse would have been unthinkable.  She wonders too what these coddled students are going to do when they get a full bore dose of the "real world."  How long will they last?

2.  There was an article in the Beacon Journal the other day about students being upset that they couldn't graduate in four years.  Why?  Because the student in question changed her major three times.  Oh, my goodness.  That should not be a shock to anyone.  It is common sense.  When a person changes their major, it necessitates an entire schedule change with a new list of courses and prerequisites.  Depending on how radical a change is made, this can add some length to obtaining a bachelor's degree.  The young woman in question should have been able to accept that she was the cause of the delay in getting her degree, and if she incurred additional costs that added onto her student loans, then she needs to be able to accept that.  What could a university do about that?  The article never should have been printed in the first place.  It's more of the "entitlement" thinking out there. 

So in both cases the first statements I listed apply -- "Get over yourself," and "Grow up."

I empathize with students who have student loans that they will be paying off for years.  It is difficult, but again, college is an option.  There have been some proposals made that students willing to work in certain areas for a period of time could get their loans forgiven.  I would be in favor of that.  An example might be a student who works in a legal free clinic, or in a school that has a high drop-out rate, or who works as a nurse in the poorest areas of the U.S.

Well, that's about it for today.  Time to bake cookies!!

I have a take-away for you from the Magnificat breakfast that I attended this past Saturday at Walsh.  Kitty Cleveland, the speaker, was talking about her tendency to worry into the future about things that might not even happen.  I've heard that called "disasterizing."  It isn't just a negative outlook; it's wallowing in negativity.  Nothing good comes from it.  Kitty said that she realized something one day like a bolt of lightning.  God promises us grace to get through TODAY.  There is no future grace, so when we allow ourselves to project into the future, we aren't covered with His marvelous grace.  We're out there alone.  Doing that means we aren't enjoying life to the fullest right now, and we are treading in dangerous territory.  It takes work to stop being a disasterizer but it can be done.  She has managed to identify the problem in her own life and take the steps to address it.

God Bless all of you today!!  The manger scene is up in Canal Fulton at the corner of Cherry and Canal Streets.  When the bank burned down several months ago (and it has now been razed), the Lions lost their central location for the manger scene.  So thanks to the businessman who allowed it!!

A Look at Troubling Incidents

All of this talk about police who abuse their authority has made me take a look at some of my family's dealings.  It wasn't pretty and has left some bad feelings.

Some people shouldn't be teachers; some shouldn't be priests; some shouldn't be parents; and definitely, some should not be policemen or policewomen.

First Situation:  One of my sons was delivering appliances for a big box store driving a 24-foot box truck.  One day his boss asked for a favor -- take some appliances to Oakwood Village in Cleveland.  This is an area that borders Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights.  He agreed and his assistant came along to help.  When they entered Oakwood Village on the town's main drag, they heard a police siren but at first didn't see the patrol car because it was in the truck's blind spot.  When he did see the police, he went to the nearest drive and pulled in.  The officer was hostile and asked him why he hadn't pulled over immediately.  My son told him he must have been in the blind spot because he didn't see him at first.  The officer accused my son of fleeing.  Think about that for a second -- fleeing in a 24-foot box truck clearly marked as belonging to a big box store.  Wow.  Then he accused my son of driving a truck through Oakwood Village without reason, on a no "through" street.  My son said he had a delivery to make and had a manifest detailing that information.  The officer didn't want to hear that.  He cited my son for willful fleeing and that meant an appearance in Oakwood Village's stellar Mayor's court.

It was one of those times when I wished so much that we had some collective money to hire an attorney and get some real justice in this situation.  To prepare for his appearance, my son got a statement from his co-worker signed and notorized giving his account of the day's events.  He had to take off work to go to Mayor's court.  The Mayor seemed to realize full well that the officer was lying and as much as said so.  But then he said, "Well, we can't just let you go, can we?"  So he levied a $100 fine on my son, payable to the Policeman's Association which is apparently illegal. 

Second Situation:  My other son was moving back to Canal Fulton from Buffalo.  He rented a truck and got his dad to help him with the move.  Everything was going along fine until they had a flat tire on the way home.  A policeman came along to find out what was going on, and they told him about their situation.  He immediately decided they were suspicious characters and asked them about drugs.  At some point, he decided to call in the drug sniffing DOG to take a look inside the box truck.  Meanwhile, the temperatures that fall which had been very nice during the day and early evening began to drop and neither my son nor his dad had coats.  They were freezing.  The dog jumped into the back and began digging through the contents of the truck which had been packed carefully enough.  After a long search outside the truck and inside, nothing was found.  The officer, however, was undaunted in his vigilance that these two adults were hiding something; he just couldn't find it.  That's what he said -- no apology offered.  Just a snide comment that he KNEW they had drugs.  So with that and a long, long delay, they waited for the repair truck to come and fix the tire and then headed home, finally getting back after midnight.

Third Situation:  Another member of the family was going somewhere and had a rifle in his truck.  He made a big mistake and had the ammunition and the gun in the same area.  They are to be separated.  So he was cited for that.  When he went to court, however, the two police officers who had cited him lied outright in the court, each one backing the other's story that made the situation worse for this person. 

Fourth Situation:  There is one more situation that I won't go into that happened in Akron when I worked there.  At the end of that horrible day, the police captain or person in charge of the officers I encountered called to apologize to me. 

So let's summarize.  In the first instance, the officer in Oakwood Village was in the wrong line of work, or he needed to attend an anger management course of some length. 

In the second instance, the officer who was bent on finding drugs instead of meeting his first obligation that he swore an oath to -- to protect and serve -- abandoned that in favor of something that would get the adrenalin going a little more.  Again, this is someone who is in the wrong line of work or needs some kind of special training to work towards an attitude adjustment.

In the third instance, lying, these two police officers did not distinguish themselves.  They violated their own code by their behavior -- a worse offense than the person who made the mistake of not separating the weapon from the ammo. 

Perhaps as we have this discussion of the police, their militarization, and their training -- rather than immediately jumping to a racial motive -- we ought to demand that much better screening be done of those who would seek to be police officers. 

I can cite many kind and caring police officers, like the ones who found my ID card/car keys when it was stolen at the JAR Arena while a group of us was walking. He found it in a wastebasket and then returned them to me.  Or Doug Swartz from Canal Fulton -- we were in the same juvenile justice class at the University.  When I see him, he gives me a hug.  And there are others. 

What is my responsibility if I have any dealings with police?  My responsibility is to show respect, to answer politely, to do as asked.  And I will continue to do that.  My charge from Jesus Christ is to forgive those who did wrong, and I'm working on that.

Meanwhile -- we need to be sure that whomever is hired to be a police officer is fully vetted and it is determined that this person has the right attitude and tolerance for the job.

Message for Us

In last night's Christmas program at SS Philip & James School, the little play and music included four students who were supposed to be working on art that depicted the first Christmas.  One of the children couldn't seem to get an idea going until the very last minute.

When he finally unveiled his painting, the other three children stared at it.  One said, "That looks like our school."  Another said, "There's Father Kevin."  And another said, "I think that's my sister."

It was really funny and cute.  Then the three quizzed the boy as to why he chose to paint his school and church rather than camels or a stable or stars or angels.  He said it was because the first Christmas is alive in his school, in every teacher, in every child, in Father Kevin.

A simple message; a profound truth. 

When someone dies, there is almost always a card or a message that says that the person didn't really die because he lives on in the hearts of those who loved him.

How about us and Jesus?  He should live in our hearts and occupy first place.

We are all guilty of trying to squeeze in some prayers, but there should be a time for prayer already carved into our lives.  Because of Jesus, we know that there is salvation, there is mercy, there is LOVE.

While people march and protest in different locations all over the United States, one minister had a different message.  He said that everyone needs to look in the mirror and see what they need to do to improve.  He said that blaming others, protesting, and all of that doesn't fix the problem when the problem IS within each person.  His video messages have gone viral and he's been a guest on a number of TV shows recently.  He said very simply that words of hate never come from God. 

People hunger for God in different ways, but our need for God is innate.  There is no substitute.  At this time of Christmas, keep alive the message that Christ's birth brought. 

Today was born a savior, Christ, the King.

I don't know about you, but a recording of the Halleluia Chorus would be appropriate right about now.

Breathe in a deep breath when you feel stressed and say something like, "Jesus, bring calm into my life.  Help me to remember what is important."

Have a wonderful Friday!!!

Interpretation

There is an episode in the Bible when a Syrian woman is begging for the Lord to remove a demon that had possessed and was tormenting her daughter.  His disciples begged him to send her away because she was bothering them with her constant crying and carrying on.

Jesus then told her that he had come to feed the children first, that is, the Israelites.  But the woman's faith in Jesus' ability to help her daughter did not falter, for she told him that even the dogs get to eat the children's crumbs under the table.  She was saying that she was a gentile (the word for dog was used to indicate a gentile), true, and not one of the chosen people but if even the dogs get the crumbs from the table, could he not help her?

He relented and at that moment her daughter was healed.  He may well have been testing her faith, but he may also have been testing his disciples' faith as well, showing them that the gentiles had a place in his kingdom.

It occurred to me that there is something interesting here.  If we place ourselves where the Lord is feeding his people, no matter our circumstance, we will ultimately find what we are looking for. 

Let me say that again, "If we by our own volition place ourselves where the Lord is feeding his people, we will ultimately find what we are looking for."  It might not be an immediate thing as was the healing of the woman's daughter, but the blessings will pour forth.

So what I've said pertains to church, to holy places, to reading the Bible where we are also fed, where people are praying, and to other situations that may apply.  By looking for those crumbs, by asking for the crumbs, we humble ourselves before the Lord of Hosts and beg for his mercy.

We do not look to man to do the work of God, for what we want and need is to be saved from our sin.

Each time you sit down for dinner, think about that space under the table, the space where perhaps a pet waits hoping for someone to remember it with a little morsel.  And remember that those of us who ask for his help, who put ourselves in the places where the Lord is feeding his people, will find the answers we seek.

The Lord is so good, oh, so good to us.

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

His goodness and mercy last forever.

God Bless You,

Karen

Starting Over

My beautician's fiancé has a couple of houses that he rents out.  He always does a 30-day inspection after he rents to someone new and he made one the other day.  The woman welcomed him in and said immediately, "I apologize that we don't have a lot of things yet.  We're starting over."

There was one mattress in the master bedroom, none in the children's rooms.  There was not one dresser for clothing.  The house was clean enough but it was obvious that this lady was going through hard times.

When we talked some more about the situation, my beautician and I agreed that it would be wonderful to offer a Christmas gift to the renters of the two houses -- gift cards for Giant Eagle.  That way they would be sure to get some food for the holidays coming and their children would also benefit.

That sentence the woman used, "We're starting over," has a ring to it, doesn't it?  The deal from God is, we have a chance to start over every single day.

We watched a movie the other night about a woman who was touched by magic in the middle of a crowded department store in New York.  As a result of the spell that was cast upon her, she had to relive the same day over and over again.  She had to start over.

In fact, she had to start over 12 times, like the 12 days of Christmas song.

The movie was corny (we watch a lot of them, it would seem) but it had a message to offer.  The final time she had to go through the day again, she had managed to help the main characters that she encountered over and over again.  Her list included a fellow shopper who came to her aid, a neighbor who baked cakes to cover over her loneliness, a woman whose boyfriend kept making her the same gift every Christmas, her parents, her old boyfriend she had started out to win back, and a blind date that she had initially and unceremoniously dumped.  She kept learning from her mistakes and making improvements..

She started over just like we can.  We can have more patience, more kindness and show more love.  The more you give, the more that comes back to you.  The more you think about others and pray for them, the less you concentrate on yourself and your own problems.

So I hope that the renter's "starting over" is just a first step in a wonderful magical time of her finding all of those things that endure. 

Last year my beautician gave one of the renters a candle -- she cried.  I think there will be some tears this year when they receive the gift cards!! 

Thank you God for being so patient with us as we "start over."

Busy Tuesday

Well, here I am finally.  It was a busy day already and it's not even half done. 

I went to Curves this morning to get rid of some of that pumpkin pie, and then came home to decorate.

It sure seemed like there were more boxes that came down that went back up, but that's a good problem to have.  Everything went up fast once I got the basics done, like removing non-Christmas items and dusting the surfaces underneath, then putting on tablecloths, etc.

The only thing left is the porch but that won't take but about 15 minutes tops.  It's just so cold out there that I'll wait until I feel like putting on the gas furnace thing that heats the room nicely.  Of course, it does make it look neat and clean, but the on/off dial is located in the back of the unit near the floor.  So you have to stretch yourself over the heater and reach way back there to control it.  The dial for how warm you want the unit to get is handy.  Strange, right?  But probably safer for kids.

I thought it was very, very sad that they found the body of Kosta Karageorge just one day after the OSU/Michigan game.  His life was gone and his body was found in a dumpster.  What a sad ending for a guy who had obviously been in sports his whole young life.  He had been a wrestler at OSU and then joined the football team as a walk-on in August.

They said he had a history of concussions.  We have not been informed as yet where these concussions occurred -- in high school or during college years.  It is yet another indication that we do not understand the human brain nearly well enough.  There is a unit that teams can purchase for right around $700 that will indicate the presence of concussion much more accurately than any doctor or team trainer could.  But it isn't just what happens right after a concussion, but what seems to follow years after the events. 

Kosta's mother said that he had a history of concussions and that sometimes he suffered from confusion.  There is a strong link between concussion and depression, I understand.  It certainly seems that this young man was in the throes of something very intense and serious.  All indications point to it being suicide, and the location of his body suggests that he got into the dumpster to shoot the gun into his head.  Like he was garbage.  Like his life didn't matter.  And he'd left his mother a voice mail, I believe it was, saying that he was sorry for the troubles he had caused.

That would have just broken my heart and my heart goes out to his mother, no matter what sort of relationship they may have had. 

Where was this large guy going at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday?  And why was he upset?  And did he have someplace to go for Thanksgiving?

So many questions, not many answers.

We need to work harder to protect the brains of our athletes, starting from the very beginnings of their participation.  Any hit to the head should be taken seriously.  And maybe some sports just aren't worth it for younger kids.

Apparently, there is another young man missing, this one from Philadelphia.  Isn't there something so pathetic about an individual who can't be found, and especially around the holidays?

We hear the stories, but these are peoples' lives!   For someone or a group of someones, life is never going to be the same. 

So I'm going to say some prayers for Karageorge and the guy from Philadelphia.

Take care, and remember that without God, there is no joy.  I pray that those who are suffering find that joy.

Shop-a-holics

Out in front of an electronics store, the TV cameras showed an orange and yellow tent.  Its occupant, a man with longish hair, who was first in line said that he had camped out before Black Friday for years.  He ate his Thanksgiving meal there, as did his family who came to spend time with him.  He had a heater inside and a little stove.  Nobody said anything about a bathroom.  That would have been my first concern.

For him, the holidays are all about STUFF.  All about being first to get more STUFF, cheaper STUFF, and plentiful STUFF.  For his family who seem to support his obsession, Christmas is all about STUFF too.

It's empty and sad, if you ask me.  All that time he sits in that tent waiting for the store to open, he could have been spending that time with his own family making memories.  I wonder if any of them could even list one thing they got five years ago after waiting in front of a store through a beautiful holiday.

Last night at our house, fake food was flying all around the room as Uncle Greg was pelleting Drew with one thing after the other and Drew was taking refuge behind a chair.  There were shrieks of delight.  And after a while, I even got into the act, chasing three munchkins across the basement floor to the steps, warning them that they had to stay on the landing, "or else."

Of course, I was baiting them, and they loved every single minute of it. 

From my own memories, I know that it isn't the things that made the holidays; it was always the people.  Can you pick a year when you were say, 10, and name even one thing you got that year?  I can tell you one thing I received at age 13 because it was a sewing machine and I still have it and use it.  And because it was one of my mother's last Christmases.

We could all do with less STUFF.  I realize that, but the measure of the problem is whether YOU own the stuff or the STUFF owns you.  This year for Christmas, an early present, I bought us some new coffee cups and we used them yesterday.  They are large and hold a good deal of coffee, plus hold the heat pretty well.  Since we got the Keurig, we were limping along with a hodgepodge of cups that were of different sizes, shapes and colors.  The new ones are just lovely and I think everyone enjoyed them.  It was a good decision.

Have a great Saturday, Sunday and Monday -- everyone -- and I'll be back Tuesday.  Go Bucks!  And I pray that they find the missing OSU player.

What Some Braved

As I walk into church this Sunday, I'm going to think about how easy we have it.  I walk up the steps, grab a hold of the door handle and pull.  The huge door breaks inertia and moves toward me, and I enter into the church.

The smell of the church is distinctive -- a combination of old and incense and beeswax candles.  The Stations of the Cross are lit by low watt bulbs, giving them a beautiful glow.  The altar is adorned in autumn colors. 

There is no one standing outside telling me I can't go in.  There is no one with a gun threatening my life if I enter the church.  There are no bars on the door.

But these are things that faced the Mexican people in the 1920s.  Being Catholic was against the law.  Many, many people were killed for their faith and their refusal to deny it.  And there is a movie that chronicles this awful time in history.

It is called, "For the Glory."  It was recommended by a friend of mine from church.  She said she was glad she watched it, that she never thought so deeply about what some have had to experience to keep the faith, but she isn't sure she would ever watch it again.  "It's too rough." 

Last week, Fr. Kevin told us about the saint for that day -- a man who lived in those perilous times in Mexico and was martyred for the faith.  He would disguise himself so he could go out among the people and distribute Communion or say Confessions.  Mass would be moved around here and there and always held in secret.  He escaped with his life more than once from their clutches, sometimes with help from the people in that town.

He died with the name of God on his lips, by firing squad with no head covering.  He looked his assassins in the eye, but also forgave them.  Sound familiar?

At any rate, I am just echoing the message of Thanksgiving and taking it into another time/day.  This Sunday.  Like someone always says and it is so true -- we should be thankful every single day for all of our blessings.

The movie Pollyanna -- do you remember that one?  She was always looking for something to be grateful for rather than pouting about what she didn't have.  Her attitude changed a whole town!  It's corny, sure, but who says we can't become more happy, more positive, more grateful? 

A researcher person was on TV yesterday talking about how when we smile and look happy, we actually begin to change inside. 

Four weeks until Christmas.  The time for family gatherings and present giving, but also a time to remember to be thankful, grateful.  To share with others.  To pray for others.  To forgive others.

Take care, faithful readers.

Karen

Thanksgiving

There's not much to say today except, "Happy Thanksgiving," to all of you faithful readers.

I like that tradition that some families have of everyone at the table sharing that which they are most thankful.  It's always heartwarming to hear children say that it is their family.

Someone we know is more than 40 and expecting her sixth child.  She is joyful.  One of her children made a sign that said, "Happy Family, Healthy Baby."

On one of her Facebook postings she mentioned that one year ago to that day she was getting rid of all of the baby stuff in the house.  Isn't that always the way it is?

So whether you watch the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade which should be stepping off soon, or check out a football game, or take that much needed nap, or cook all day with an apron on, or just wait patiently until someone calls out, "Supper's ready," enjoy yourself and remember why we have this day.

It is to thank God for all of our blessings.  Just as General Washington did in 1777 when his troops paused for a moment in a frozen field to offer their gratitude, and when Abraham Lincoln made it formal many years later -- creating Thanksgiving -- we acknowledge that there is a God and that He has blessed us.

I'll be back tomorrow!

Karen

Eyewitness

Many years ago in a class at Kent State, it might have been English, the door of the classroom suddenly opened and a guy walked across the room, dropped off something and exited very quickly.

We were all a little stunned and waited for the professor to say something.  What he did say was that our job was to write a full description of the man who had just crashed our class (he had it set up).  So we started -- hmmm, did I actually see his eyes?  Was he medium-height or taller?  What kind of shoes was he wearing?

Quite soon, it became obvious that we all saw something different from one another, and it was also quite obvious that we were not trained observers of life.  After about 15-20 minutes or so, when we'd finished our descriptions, the professor had the young man come back in again.  Yep, we'd gotten it wrong in many different ways.

Yet, it has taken courts and police and just about everyone else a long time to admit what should have been obvious  all along -- eyewitness observations are not very accurate.  What our eyes tell the brain is not always what is.  Given time and the input of others, what we saw or though we saw had become even more skewed, and can even become false memories (that is, something that never happened at all.)

People have spent years and years in prison because of inaccurate eyewitness testimony.  Most courts now cast doubt on cases using mostly eyewitness statements and well they should.

There is a CSI game that is on sale this Christmas.  It makes a person use their powers of observation, and that can't be a bad thing for anyone -- kid or adult.  It makes the mind keener, more alert, more involved.  We could all use a little of the CSI game.

And another thing we could use -- an admission that what we see isn't necessarily what happened.  We need to understand that in a moment of fear or surprise, the events might not have unfolded as we remember.

With the advent of video cameras everywhere hiding in peoples' phones, and cameras on many streets, why try to use only the observations of a witness when you can see the actual thing?  Or check DNA instead of relying on someone's memory?

A guy from our general area went to prison years ago because his relative named him as the killer in a particularly gruesome murder.  He always proclaimed his innocence and he was finally exonerated.  In Cleveland last week, the identification by a 13-year-old was finally thrown out because the boy, now a man, admitted he hadn't told the truth.  So two more people went free.

Helping kids learn to use their eyes might be a good to learn in school.  Not to find criminals necessarily, but just because it makes good sense!  It's better than having their faces glued to a phone screen.

I'm going to check on the CSI game.  Meanwhile, test yourself.  See what you can notice.  Challenge someone as to who can get the most information.

God gave us eyes and ears to pay attention with.  We might as well use them to the fullest.

Take care -- talk to you tomorrow.

Mr. Gilly

There's a great children's book called, "Trashy Town."  It was one of the picture books included in a set of 100 different books on CD that I bought years ago.

Mr. Gilly is the garbage collector in Trashy Town and he has an important job to do -- pick it up, smash it down, drive around the Trashy Town.

Ella loves the book!  Part of it is that the clever art work is paired with clever music as Mr. Gilly goes bouncing along down the road, with a pair of mice on top of the hood of his trash compactor.  The mice are the narrators of the story.

Monday is trash day in some parts of Canton, and on our way to Ella's school we see all of the full cans out by the street.  Then we watch for Mr. Gilly all the way to school, and sometimes we do see him -- or one of the many different trash trucks.

When we do see one of the trash trucks, Ella gets so excited.  And we say the little rhyme -- pick it up, smash it down, drive around the trashy town.

Drew was surprised to learn that there is a trash truck that stops at Ella's school.  Actually, I think he thought that the REAL Mr. Gilly was going to Ella's school.  It doesn't matter to Ella if it is Kimble or Republic or something else.  She just likes trash trucks.

After we watched Mr. Gilly, we watched another cute book, "Say Goodnight to a Dinosaur."  Pretty soon, the sounds from this book brought Drew over and he took a spot on the couch.  As a little boy turned into a dinosaur, I heard him mumble, "How did he do that?"  He's still at the age when his imagination and reality haven't necessarily collided yet.  Isn't it great?

But yesterday brought some good news, some excitement.  A few months ago, I nominated Mark, Dani, Drew, and Ella to be one of the featured families at the 2015 Winter Walk for the Epilepsy Association out of Cleveland.  The whole family has been attending Epilepsy Association events for years, but especially the winter walk.  I don't know how they do it, but whatever date Epilepsy Association picks, the weather is absolutely horrible.  One year we couldn't even get out of our driveway to attend, but other than that, we've gone every time.  The event is MC'd by Tracy McCool and Bill Martin and this year they are having it only at the Strongsville mall, rather than also in a Cleveland area  eastern suburb.

Yesterday, we found out that the Tarles are going to be one of two featured families this year!!  I'm really happy for them and it will help make the winter just a little bit brighter this year.  We'll make sure that one of our vehicles is at the top of the driveway so we can get out, no matter what!

Ella loves the winter walk, but especially she loves spending time with her cousins and the whole family.  Here are the folks who attend:  Mark, Dani, Ella, Drew, Grandma Sue, Grandpa Phil, Uncle Dave, Aunt Megan and their three children, Uncle Greg, Aunt Joanne and their Lauren, Grandma Karen and Grandpa Eric -- and maybe this year a few more friends will join the parade.  It is that kind of event, and there are lots of smiles to go around.

Have a great day and watch out for Mr. Gilly!!

Pumpkin

Isn't the taste of pumpkin something special?  I always wonder why we reserve this time of year to make pies when we could enjoy a good pumpkin pie just about any time.  But I'm as guilty as the next one.

We will have two of them on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, when the whole clan shows up for the holiday experience at our house.  It's usually chaos with kids running all over, cats hiding under every piece of furniture, and the downstairs warm from a fire in the wood burner.

It's a simple time with lots of conversation and maybe some football here and there.  It's a prelude to the Christmas season, although my favorite radio station already converted to 100% Christmas music already.  I turned it off yesterday as soon as I heard it.  Really.  I'm just not ready for that and they play the same 50 songs over and over again.  When was the last time you heard a really good NEW Christmas song?  I think it might have been Kelly Clarkson about four years ago.  Otherwise, it's the same old, same old.

When I forgot and turned it on again later in the day, it was Elvis Presley singing one of his classics.  By the time Christmas comes around, I can barely stand it anymore.

They do play, "Oh, Holy Night," on the station which is wonderful whether it is Josh Groban's version or someone else's.  In fact, any of the REAL Christmas music that celebrates the birth of Jesus is fine by me.  It's the silly stuff I can do without.

Thanksgiving barely gets an aisle in the stores before it is marked down 50% and then taken over entirely by the Christmas stuff.  This year I don't think I am getting one thing for decoration.  Usually, I'll find some doo-dad but this year I made things and will have a good time trying them out.  There was a great idea on the Internet for cranberry/popcorn garlands and I made about 12.  It was rather tiresome crocheting all of the individual popcorn pieces, but the result is good and will last for years and years.  Stores easily too and the garlands don't tangle either. 

I love candles and will use some of them this year as usual.  The glow is so peaceful and calm.  We have a few battery operated ones for use around the kids.

Well, today is OSU football and they claim that the team can clench the Big-10 (really Big 13) with a win over Indiana today at noon.  Or that's what I saw when I was looking up the game time. 

Now it's off to do the bathrooms and the tub, and some other stuff too.  I sold my first painting!  A guy from my high school class bought one of them.  We were conversing via email about one of our deceased classmates and he asked me what I'd been doing.  I told him about our wonderful watercolor class and he wanted me to send him some pictures.  So I did.  And now he bought my "Yellow Coneflowers at Stan Hywet," painting.  I told Peg that this will be known in the future as our "Stan Hywet Period."  Of course, we laugh about this.  We laugh about a lot of things while we are working on our art.  It turned out to be the best class ever!!  And I did send a picture of the coneflowers to my University of Akron continuing education art teacher who now lives in Illinois and she loved it.  That was really awesome for me.

I'll find some cardboard and pack up the watercolor to send to Bay Village, and I sure hope Mike and his wife like it. 

Have a wonderful weekend!!

The Graduate

In the 1967 movie, The Graduate, directed by Mike Nichols, Benjamin has just graduated from a college in the northeast and is drifting.  He did everything in school, being a star on the track team, working on the school newspaper, and a host of other involvements.  Too many for any college student I could imagine, perhaps done that way intentionally in order to create contrast.

While Benjamin is supposed to be selecting a graduate school in order to use the prestigious scholarship he won, he doesn't seem to have a clue as to what to do next.  He camps out at his parents' house, avoids meaningful conversation with adults, and worries despite the advice of some that he should just sow his wild oats for a while.

His father's partner's wife enters the picture -- the infamous Mrs. Robinson -- and Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson begin seeing each other in secret at the Taft Hotel.  When the Robinsons' daughter returns from Berkeley, Benjamin is pressured by his parents to take her on a date.  Despite his attempts to be rude and uncaring, he ends up having feelings for Elaine.  And this sets off  a firestorm in Mrs. Robinson who is normally so cool and collected.

At the end of the movie, Benjamin is able to win his Elaine, much as he won the scholarship and the accolades in college.  Elaine who believes that Benjamin loves her deep in his heart is beginning to realize at the end of the movie that Ben simply wanted her because he couldn't have her. 

Now that he has realized his ambition, he and Elaine sit in the back of an old bus heading down the road from Santa Barbara to nowhere.  He doesn't have a job.  His Alfa Romeo is out of gas somewhere on a roadway in the other direction.  Elaine is wearing her wedding dress, has no luggage, and they have no money to speak of.  Benjamin's quest is over; he sits calmly and in a daze.

There are plenty of people who might not go to the extremes that Benjamin did, but nonetheless they are on a race towards what they think they want -- and it becomes an obsession. 

Some might even say, "Yeah, I rode on that bus."  And I'm going to tell you that I DID ride on that bus.  The crazy story though it sounds made-up is true.  Kent State was looking for some buses and needed them in a hurry.  The campus had grown in 1968 and students were complaining about the long walk from the far away dorms.  KSU bought a number of rust-free buses from California -- and you guessed it -- one of them was used in filming the last scene in The Graduate.  No lie.

And I rode on that bus many, many times during my senior year in college.  How did I know?  Because Kent put a placard on the bus where advertising was probably placed over the years that told us just that.  And a number of couples chose to ride in the rear seat just for fun.

The obsession of Benjamin's kind of goes along with that old saying, "Be careful what you wish for."  But on the other hand, Benjamin went far beyond wishing, and sometimes so do we.

Always we must keep in mind what we learn in the Bible, "Do all things to the glory of God."  If we do that; if we stay the course; if we persevere, then we are in the race all right, but we are in the right race.  We have no idea of what is going to happen to Ben and Elaine when reality continues to set in.  It's one of those mysteries.  Optimists might point out that the two of them had more in common than not.  The pessimists might point out that Ben and Elaine don't have a future whatsoever.

"Do all things to the glory of God."

God Bless.

Rhoda Again

Suzanne Stratford of Fox 8 has done another story on the Rhoda Wise Home in Canton, Ohio.  After her first series of stories more than a year ago, many more people came to the modest home off 25th Street to see what all of the buzz was about.

In her life, Rhoda Wise helped many people by her prayerful and faithful life.  She was healed twice of serious health problems in the very house where she lived with her husband.  She died in 1948 and 14,000 people attended her funeral. 

Rhoda bore the hallmark of many saints -- the stigmata.  That is, she bled from her hands and her forehead without any explanation whatsoever. 

One woman who heard about the Rhoda Wise Home visited because she was having problems.  The next time she saw her cardiologist, she was floored when her doctor said that her condition -- a heart valve problem -- was gone.  Not a little better, but gone.  Other radiologists and doctors looked at the results of her tests and all said it was a miracle because valves just don't spontaneously fix themselves.

She gives all the honor and glory to God, and knows that her visit in the Rhoda Wise Home was the catalyst for her healing.  While she was there, she smelled roses to the point that it was overpowering.  It was St. Theresa, the Little Flower, who promised the rose petals that fell in the house once when a little girl came for a healing and got one.  And so it is the smell of roses that tell some visitors that their visit was blessed.

I believe that Rhoda Wise is a saint, and investigations by the Diocese of Youngstown may herald that acknowledgement at some point in the future. 

When I visited there, there was a combination of awe  because the place definitely touches hearts, and mixed emotions because the place is so ordinary, other than the altar in her bedroom and the large statues. 

But when the woman who runs the home told us that there are no roses anywhere in the home, and people sometimes smell roses -- I knew that something was happening at the Rhoda Wise Home in lowly Canton.  Because I smelled the overpowering scent of roses when I was there!!

Many people leave the Rhoda Wise Home without a cure, but never without hope.  The woman who so patiently endured the pain and suffering of illness and the taunts of people who would not or could not believe has left her mark on this world.

God Bless You.

The Hawk

At this time of year, what I'd like to do is be oblivious, go down the basement, and sit in front of the far doing some crochet work.  Sometimes I can.

But living here, there isn't much chance of that a lot of the time.  Why?  Because I have to be like a hawk and watch what the weather is doing.  Thankfully, down in the basement the big window doors of a French door allow me to see if it is snowing.  And I glance over that way a lot.  Another thing is that our cat, Fred, believes that the weather in Ohio changes even more often than it does.

He goes nuts being stuck in the house and he thinks that if he just tries the door one more time, it will be something more tolerable.  He has this whine that is just the absolute worst in terms of annoying.  It just grates on my nerves!  So then, say, I do let him out for a bit.  He'll either run up the steps and crouch pitifully by the front door or he'll run out into the yard for some distance and stand there, sizing up the situation.

Another one of our cats has assumed the job of being a look-out for Fred, and he runs his paws up and down the glass if Fred is outside and wants inside.  They don't even like each other!!  Go figure.

When I do see the flakes of snow starting, I become the hawk and determine just when it might be time to move the car up to the top of our hill.  That way, no matter where or when I might have to leave, the car is already up there ready to go.  And that spares my husband the unenviable job of bundling up and getting out the monster snow blower thing we have -- an auger-type fitted to the front of a garden tractor.  The noise is unbelievable so we try not to bother the neighbors too early in the morning.

Once he gets going, it doesn't really take him all that long.  Then he has to get out the seed spreader and load it with safety salt, then go up and down the hill to evenly disperse it.  Using the spreader saves a lot of money!  Of course, with the car up at the top of the hill, that means that it is often covered with snow when I need it.  And that means a thorough sweeping and cleaning of the car before I leave. 

I saw someone the other day in a tiny car and it had about a foot of snow on the hood and the roof.  She had maybe half of the windshield cleaned off but not well and it looked like a snowball going down the street.  It's just not safe! 

So we all have our challenges, I guess, and I'm grateful for a warm house and something to eat.  We are so blessed.  They showed a hotel in the Buffalo area this morning and the parking lot was covered in three feet of snow.  A bus was trying to get through on the roadways and finally stopped in a four foot drift, unable to go farther.  The entire load of passengers had to get out and make their way to the hotel, many not wearing good snow clothes.  They were freezing and exhausted when they got to the hotel, but they too were grateful for a warm place to stay and food.

Poor Buffalo.  They get hammered a lot with lake effect snow.  One other city around that same area got 60 inches of snow.  The folks there must be hardy and they too must take on the hawk persona at this time of year -- making good decisions about when to leave the house and how far to go.

So be careful out there, and dress warmly or at least have warm stuff with you.  A blanket, some water, and all of that emergency gear is an excellent idea.  If you have someone on your Christmas list that travels a lot, an emergency car kit would make an excellent gift. 

God Bless.

Ferguson

Boy, I'd be worried if I lived in Ferguson.  The lives of the people there have certainly been changed by everything that has transpired, and soon the Grand Jury's decision will be made known.

The case shouldn't be tried in the court of public opinion, but that is what happens so often these days.  We all know a lot of details about this situation, just from watching news stories.  A young man and his accomplice robbed a store of tobacco products and walked out into the street.  A policeman got the call on the radio about the robbery when the owner of the store notified police.  An officer just coming back on duty after answering a call, saw two guys walking in the middle of the street and he stopped them.

At this point, there is some disagreement as to what happened next.  Either the young thief reached into the cruiser and tried to grab the officer's gun which went off in the vehicle, and then the officer got out of the cruiser and confronted the thief -- and fearing for his life since the young man was charging him -- shot him.

OR, the young man and the officer got into some kind of entanglement, and the young thief decided to raise his arms in surrender, but the officer shot him.

Both accounts state that the young man was unarmed, but he was big and strong, a football player.

So ... the Grand Jury convenes and considers all of the evidence brought forth by the prosecution.  The defense attorneys do not present their case at this time in the justice system.  Based on the amount and veracity of the evidence brought forward, the Grand Jury votes by a count of at least 9-3 to either charge the officer or not to charge the officer for his role in the shooting.

Apparently, in this case since the federal system has become involved, even if the Grand Jury chooses not to indict the officer, the U.S. Attorney General plans to bring the matter to a federal Grand Jury for their review.

When the incident happened, it wasn't just locals in Ferguson who chose to riot and loot.  It was outsiders too who probably used the whole thing as an excuse to get something out of one of the stores.  Charged up on adrenalin, hatred, and who knows what else, a lot of people acted out and broke the law.  This behavior didn't help the family of the deceased young man, and certainly didn't help the citizens of Ferguson whose town's reputation has been totally trashed.

Who would want to buy a house in Ferguson now?  Or open a business?  Or join the police department?  Or go to school there?

We'll just have to see what happens either tomorrow or the next day ... because the decision is supposed to be coming soon.

I just pray for Ferguson and all of those who call it home.  Stay home, mourn, pray, deal with what happened in some meaningful way.  Let the system work.

There just isn't room for taking the law into one's own hands. 

Take care, readers.  Talk to you tomorrow then.

Animals

My granddaughter got to meet a German Shepherd puppy yesterday when she got out of school.  He was on a leash held by the father of one of her classmates.  The puppy was so pleased to be at school.  He showed it by every move he made and by the cock of his head, the sharpness of his eyes and his ears which stood at attention.

He was adorable.

He kept stopping along the sidewalk to look at me.  I don't know why he thought I was interesting, but we had a moment.  I liked the dog.  It happens once in a while that I feel a connection to one of our beautiful living creatures.  Then when my granddaughter came out of school, she made a bee line towards the dog to pet its head.  The dog was absolutely happy at being surrounded by a bunch of kids, a good sign as to what kind of animal he's going to be.

When we got in the car, my granddaughter was telling me that the dog was one of God's living creatures. 

And then she said, "God must loves dogs a lot, because D-O-G is G-O-D backwards."

When you go to someone's house who has a pet, and the pet has obviously become a special member of the family, you can tell.  The family knows the pet, every nuance of its personality, its likes and dislikes, fears.  The family is respectful of the pet's fears, and helps the pet in a variety of different ways.  The family speaks to the pet in a loving manner with nicknames and gestures.

The family has stories to tell about the pet, usually very funny ones!! 

Getting to know a pet helps children learn how to know other people.  When you pay attention to your pet and spend time noticing little things, it carries over into the rest of life, does it not?

Sometimes when I'm cleaning the house and encounter some cat fur, my feelings are not quite so generous, but then I think -- what would our lives be like without the cats?

Not nearly as interesting or as full, I suspect.  And they are a good way for the rest of the family to get to know each other -- through meeting the cats, laughing at the cats, etc.

I'm always amazed when they show the cats and dogs on TV that are looking for a good home.  The price is usually $40, but there was one event this weekend for only $10 for a cat.  There isn't another choice you could make that brings as much joy and humor into a household as a pet.  And I know that it's not for everyone, and I respect and understand that.  Some days it's not so much for me either, but we shoulder on and better days come.

So today we go to Cleveland to get a rescued kitten and take it to its new "forever" home.

Wonderful!!!  I'm excited.

Rescuer

My niece is a rescuer.  She has been doing it for years.  Their neighborhood, for some reason, was home for a number of feral cats and the cats returned to her backyard area to have their babies.

My niece always seems to know that there are kittens and where to find them.  She waits for about three weeks and then takes the kittens away from the feral mother and introduces them into a comfortable room in her house.  She feeds them bottled formula from the vet's office, lavishes affection on them, carries them around the house, and plays games with them.  In time, they follow her all over the place and they play games like fetch.

This particular little group of four, two boys and two girls, are just beautiful, she says.  They have long fur and beautiful eyes.  She notes that the long-haired cats don't shed as much and when they do, the fur is fine and doesn't tend to stick.  She said that they are amazingly soft and their fur doesn't mat.  She saw the father hanging around and she says that he is a beautiful cat as well.

Friends and acquaintances who have adopted these kittens say that they grow into amazing adults, playful and very attached to their owners.  They are very intelligent.

My niece has an arrangement with a reputable pet shop in her area, and they really love getting the kittens that she has raised.  She doesn't charge them a bit, and she also sees that all of the kittens that she raises see the vet and get their first shots. 

She has them eat different foods as they transition to solids, so that they aren't picky eaters and will go for most all cat foods. 

I've seen her with kittens before.  They just gravitate towards her and love spending time with her.  Her husband is in on this task too, and he spends as much time with the kittens as she does.  This makes it good for dads in the family where they go -- because sometimes the lower voices scares kittens.

She has caught many female feral cats and had them spayed, but this particular mother she hasn't been able to get a hold of. 

We have four cats already.  I know we don't need another one, but it is tempting, believe me!! 

The other night my husband had Sassy on his lap and I had Gracie.  Then a little while later, Gracie left because she can only take so much body heat, and Fred came along.  So of our four cats, we have four that love to spend time close by or in the lap.  Nice!  It's great on a snowy evening when it's cold outside and we are just relaxing.  Happy cats, happy family!!

No Explanation

Yesterday, the Lions were screening eyes at one of the schools.  A child's outcome was extremely poor, at a level that would make it very difficult to perform well in school not to mention being a safety hazard.

The school nurse remembered that the child should have had glasses and asked about it.  The child affirmed that he has glasses.  The nurse asked him where the glasses were -- and he said that they were at home and his parents told him he doesn't need them!!

This has happened before.  It isn't a common occurrence but it has happened often enough.  Why would someone do this to their child?  Because they are in denial that the child needs help?  What?  I'd like to understand what goes through people's minds on something like this.  Meanwhile, the poor kid is at school not being able to see distances, probably missing a great deal of what is being shown to him by the teacher.

A lot of times the situation seems to be that the parents have trouble getting through life themselves.  Their denials also extend to their own performance, their own perceptions of themselves, their own failures.  So why drag an innocent kid through their own mire?

The school nurse was obviously upset by this, and the parents will be getting a call from the school.  But the school nurse has no real clout.  She can't do much more than make repeated calls, and they often do this.  There is little recourse.

My husband feels that when children are not being cared for properly at home, not sent to school with the tools they need for success, and not being adequately understood by their parents -- it is enough of a red flag that child protective services should be brought in.  Probably the only thing that would scare these parents into doing the right thing is if someone got extremely tough with them.

No one wants a kid to have to wear glasses.  My grandson just got them a few weeks ago and I feel bad that he has to wear glasses, but on the other hand he notices how much better he can see with them.  At first he was just wearing them at school but now he carries them back and forth in his book bag because he wants to be able to wear them at home while riding his bike or doing other activities.  In time, maybe he'll get a pair of sports type glasses that can take a little more of a beating.  So far, he has been kind to the glasses and they are holding up pretty well.

His mother wears glasses and so she figured that maybe one of the children would end up needing them.  That's why they were already getting yearly eye exams besides the screening being done at school. 

That's what parents are supposed to do -- care for their children and deal with what comes along -- not bury their heads in the sand and tell the children obvious lies.  When the child took the exam and knew he did badly -- how could he not -- then he has already gotten a taste of the fact that he can't trust his parents to do right by him.  That will translate into a whole host of other problems that will dog him throughout life.  Not fair, is it?

I'm with my husband.  A warning sign of abuse whether physical, emotional or by means of neglect is not seeing that a child has the tools needed for success at school.  If not heeded, the warnings are there for yet another generation sent out into the world damaged and failing.

Makes me angry!!

Let's say a prayer today for all of the children who have this situation at home.  May God's love permeate the lack of care and attention at home and show this child through someone in their lives that God loves them dearly and cares about them dearly.  And may God awaken their parents to the role that they must play in their children's lives!!

Amen.

Bones Tell Stories

There is an article on the fox.com website this morning about two infant skeletons found in Alaska.  The bones were well preserved and the infants were buried with darts, another weapon, and salmon.  They are native American bones, but they will do further DNA testing on the bones to verify all of that.

There was care taken in the burying of these children.  One of them was stillborn, the other died at around three months, and they were both buried in the summer. 

So isn't it absolutely amazing what stories the bones can tell?  I think it is fascinating.

How would they know, for example, that the child was stillborn?  It might have something to do with the skull but I am only guessing. 

The scientists are particularly excited about this find because these are the oldest remains they have found of infants.  They were buried more than 11,000 years ago.

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On another subject, when I was a kid we celebrated Armistice Day.  That was changed to Veterans Day to honor all vets, not just those who fought in the WWI.  I thought that there were a lot of really good programs on yesterday to honor our vets, and news shows mentioned them.  There seems to be much more of a sense of appreciation for our vets than ever before, or at least possibly since WWII.  That would be my take on it anyhow.  And that is a good thing.

A guy from the American Legion was on radio on Monday talking about the role they play in aiding our servicemen.  The vets of the American Legion make it their business to find the families of men currently serving and make sure that they are doing all right.

One troubling statistic, however, is that there is a growing number of homeless among American women who served their country.  Is this another example of untreated PTSD or what?  I didn't get a very good explanation.

So today promises to be a good one -- a nice, brisk walk this morning with a friend.  Then get something done around here.  I have a jeans dress that I bought and really like but it is just that much too long.  I have to find a way to hem it without destroying the thing.  And I've spent some time trying to figure out what I'm going to do, but there is no good answer.  I'll give it a try today and see what happens.  I know what I SHOULD do and that would be to take it over to Karen's Sewing in Canal Fulton and have her do something, but with the holidays coming and everything, I just don't want to spend the money.  I'll update you on this exciting project ... excuse the lack of enthusiasm in my typewriter voice.

So take care, all of the blog friends!!  Stay warm.

Stan Hywet

In September on a day warm enough to make us sweat, my friend and I went to Stan Hywet.  I told you about it before, but the dividends of that trip keep paying off.  It's like the trip that keeps on giving.

We took photographs -- maybe 37 of them in my case.  They were thoughtfully taken, not helter-skelter but with some sense of balance and color.  Peg took one of the steps leading down into the English Garden.  Then at my class for class she sketched the scene with a lot of care and attention to detail. 

Then she masked in some areas that she wanted to keep white.  This is done with masking fluid that goes over the watercolor paper and seals it.  It's removable at a later time when the artist is ready. 

After that she started on the stairs and then the walls, weaving in purples and greens for shadows and moss.  The final area was in a corner where a large plant dominated the scene.  She recreated the leaves of the plant perfectly!!  When you look at the picture, it takes you right back to the English Garden, but no one would mistake it for a photograph.

Some realists achieve something akin to that -- a photograph.  While it is technically amazing, there is something missing when we don't get a hint of the artist's eye in the work.  Peg's has all of that in spades!  It is a real achievement for her in the painting that we do on Thursdays.  You might say that she has graduated!!

I was kidding the other day when I commented, "We are sure pleased with the teacher that we hired."  Of course, there is no teacher -- it's just us.  But boy, have we learned.  Trial and error sometimes, videos on the Internet, books, magazines.  It is all starting to make so much more sense. 

With acrylics, for example, you move from the dark background to the lighter in the foreground.  With watercolors it is just the opposite.  Light in the background and then successive washes and details in the darker colors. 

The painting I chose from Stan Hywet is Birch Allee.  It is a wonderful scene in fall of the birch trees leaning over the pathway, still mostly green but with dropped yellow leaves built up on the sides of the concrete path.  The birch trunks are very visible among the chaos of the leaves, lights, darks, and shadows.  It's early in the process, but so far I'm liking it a lot.

We have two more classes left before we take a holiday break.  Both of us have the usual holiday preparations to make, including cookies and shopping, wrapping and cooking.  The art work would suffer for the lack of concentration.  We'll start again in January and we can figure out how we will do this to work around the weather and my driveway.

What a wonderful plus the classes have turned out to be!  I have had a great time learning and experimenting as an artist and finally feel some confidence that I can pull something off decently well. 

Here is something really strange -- it wasn't until several years ago that I found out my mother used to paint.  I think she did watercolors too!  Isn't that crazy?  She had done a couple of landscapes and had them framed for our living room, and how I wish we still had them.  For some reason, she didn't continue on with her hobby.  Maybe she was a little like me -- she tried violin, did the watercolors, landscaping, then wood burning, and then she painted on wine bottles.  I could concoct a list something like that, but now I think maybe art will always be a part of my life, as long as I'm around.

God Bless all of you today.  Enjoy the weather.  Say a prayer for our veterans.

Karen

Absentminded

Walked out and left my street shoes at Curves.  That's really not so bad, is it?  Hitched a ride into town to get them with the old man who lives at this address and drives a white truck.  His hair kind of matches the truck, come to think about it. 

A few snippets from a household that has cats.  When your cat is a little "under the weather," and of course, we know already that cats have staff, it's amazing what you will do to comfort the furry little creatures.

My cat, Sassy, is Siamese, an apple-headed Siamese.  What does that mean?  She does not have the skinny body, skinny elongated face, etc.  She has a full face and a nicely rotund body, honed from years of relaxing and lack of exercise.  Her choice.  She gets some when the grandchildren come over and she gets caught in the basement!  Oh, my yes.  Never saw a cat move up a set of stairs like Sassy does when kids come over here.

Well, I figured that Sassy needed to eat.  It's important.  Cats are one creature that without eating for a few days can actually DIE.  They just quit eating permanently.  She's been down this "I'm sick and not eating" road before and needed shots to get her going again.  This particular day she was doing one of her usual things -- she climbs under the Matelassé coverlet on our bed and gets herself as cozy as a cat can get.  Her head is pointed towards the point of exit.  Or I was hoping it was her head.

So I picked out a select grouping of her favorite cat treats and delivered them to her -- oui la -- a cat's breakfast in bed.

She made a little noise to let me know she was still alive and then beneath the covers, I could hear it for sure!  The sound of crunching.  Yep, she was definitely dining on the treats.  Once I knew she was eating, I knew that she was on the mend from her sneezers that she had the other day.  You've got to give me some credit -- didn't I train well?

So she now has her shots current, and her sneezers are gone and her eye is better.  Fred got his shots and his eye is better.  He's very concerned about an interloper on the property -- a dark tabby cat that is certainly male and certainly a predator.  Fred came to an arrangement with him over the spring/summer that he could have the backyard and Fred can have the front.  That agreement was reached after a couple of fights.  I HATE cat fights.

But the interloper doesn't respect the terms of the agreement and keeps encroaching.  Fred is aware of this and is hyper-vigilant these days, especially since Blackie isn't around.  He's been looking for her, but as I mentioned, she was buried last weekend. 

The interloper is really afraid of people -- he runs even if all I do is open the sliding glass doors in the backyard.  So this might be good because I don't really want any more fighting around here.

Why don't we just keep Fred indoors?  Oh, yes, in theory it sounds good.  We did try.  It was a terrible experiment and didn't work out well at all.  Fred's temperament hit an all-time low and he was taking out his frustrations on everyone. It was most unpleasant.  So the logical thing was to allow Fred to be the cat he came as -- an indoor-outdoor cat.  That costs at least $20 a month for flea treatments, but he is in a much better mood.

Well, have a good Saturday.  The last of the leaves are being removed as I speak.  The "old guy" doesn't do too bad and I kind of like him.

Take care, friends.