Bobcats and Stuff

Do you ever watch "American Pickers"?  I sure like that show.  Frank and Mike ventured out into Colorado on last night's edisode (we DVR'd it) and located a remote homestead where a brother and sister live.  Their dad was an inspiration for them, a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy who did just about everything.

They told the story of the bobcat their dad found as a tiny baby and how they raised it, how it learned how to use the toilet, how it was famous all over town.  Mike asked, "When did he die?"  And the sister said that the neighbor shot it for its coat.  Wow.  So Mike and Frank figured that they harbored some hard feelings.  But no, they didn't.  The lady said that the high school kids toilet papered his place.  That was that.  Retribution was had.

Good attitude.  I saw something or read something the other day about holding onto resentments and angers, how they eat away at us and rob us of the energy we could use on something much more positive.  That's common sense, but the article put a little different spin on it, presented it with a statistic which of course I can't remember right now.

Oh my, what positive thinking can do!!!  Like the great story we saw last night on the news about the former Browns coach, Sam Rutigliano.  He is a class act and knows how to live, how to give, and how to find the joy in life.  Modeled after his groundbreaking program to help football players who had gotten into drugs/alcohol, he started an afterschool program for kids.  It's the Inner Circle Foundation's program, and was featured on TV 3 News -- Romona's Kids.

They read, read, read.  Then they play, play, play.  Plenty of rewards for their hard work.  Plenty of chances to work with volunteering adults.  They learn to love learning, because statistics, they said, show that when a child doesn't read well by the third grade they begin to fall behind.  Falling behind leads to more falling behind and then that leads to dropping out of school.  This program is working on breaking that barrier.  The program is also working to help steer children away from the drugs that are so prevalent, including KIDS who are using heroin.

One young mother was marveling that her daughter is now making straight A's and is doing wonderfully in school.  She is proud.  Her daughter is happy and motivated to achieve.  The girl sees herself moving onto high school at some point, and then maybe college.  Being able to read well will continue to open doors for this young person for the rest of her life.  What a gift!!

Let your charisms lead you toward activities that capitalize on these God-given strengths.  Look up the charisms online and see what you find.  Charisms are different than mere skills/abilities/talents.  When you have a charism, you have a passion for it!!  When we took the quiz to determine our charisms at a workshop I attended some years ago, it should have been no surprise that my strongest suits were in crafts, music, and writing.  But realizing that these areas I'd already explored in life were far more than just something I could do, but something that I LOVE doing made a difference.  It's changed the way I approach and use the charisms. 

I did a quick online search and couldn't find a comprehensive list for you of the charisms, but I know there's something like that around the house.  Maybe I can find it, and if I do, I'll share. 

In case you are wondering, Blackie the cat is doing fine.  She's already been around this morning and had her breakfast. 

The Signs of Age

Do you know how you know you are getting old?  It's the questions at the doctor's office.  Have you had a colonoscopy?  That would be the first clue.  The second clue was when the nurse came back into the room rather hurriedly and asked, "Have you fallen in the past year?"

I cogitated about that for a few minutes and then the doctor came in, her usual jovial self.  We had a very good visit and then right at the conclusion she asked, "Are you depressed?  Do you find that you don't enjoy the things you used to?"  AHA.  Another sign.

My answer was, "Not at all," and she said, "Well, good for another year then."  It was hilarious.

We also had a little discussion about snow rollers.  Did you get to see them?  Oh, my, what a weather treat.  They are rare and only we who live in Ohio, Maryland, and Pennsylvania got to enjoy them.  It's a phenomenon that occurs when there is enough wind to blow the type of snow perfect for snowmen across the yard; the snow goes building and building until it stops due to its weight.  There is usually a hollow core in them and they can get to be quite large.  I love it!  So when we went to pick up Papa's truck yesterday on Rt. 21 and Butterbridge, we watched for snow rollers all the way up and back.  Lauren was visiting, as you might have already guessed, but at my age I'm still not too old to look for snow rollers.

Now, when I saw the article about snow rollers in the Beacon Journal the other day, it really piqued my interest but by the time I made it to my other son's house on Tuesday, the name had changed in my brain.  The new name -- Blizzard Balls.  Be honest, don't you like mine a little better?  Very descrptive and kind of funny. 

And that reminds me of the Blizzard Bags that my two grandchildren had to work on during their absence from school.  Things like checking the temperatures for here and for another city and comparing them.  Reading, going over flash cards, that kind of thing.  Doing some math.  Ella got enough school work on the tablet that her other grandparents gave her when they got a new one.  It's loaded with a ton of educational games and so she was doing alphabet stuff, and phonetics.  Kept her from getting the cabin fever that's going around.

So that's about it for this lovely Thursday.  Other than to say that the Christians living in Alabama and Georgia had a chance to be the hands and feet of God this past week when the snow fell in that area and the roadways turned to ice.  When we think of others and do for others, we forget about becoming consumed with ourselves.  Every day is another day we can serve our Lord and we thank Him for that!!

And thanks for crockpots and soup!!

Traffic

There sure have been less cars out on the road the last few days since school has been called off.  Monday when it was absolutely dreadful out there and dark, only about half of the number of drivers on Portage Street were out and I appreciated that.

Today is "go to the doctor" day so I'll be brief.  It's just a regular checkup but because of the bad weather a couple of weeks ago, I had to postpone it until today.  Never mind it's below zero.  I'm going!! 

It looks like Blackie the cat has managed to survive another cold spell.  She ate a whole can of cat food last night and that shows she is making it.  She is avoiding the nice cat bed outside and that makes me very suspicious.  I think maybe another cat sprayed it so I'll need to wash everything.  Tomorrow is a good day to tackle that with the temperatures going up. I can have it washed and put back together in a few hours, and since she isn't using it right now, that will work out fine. 

All this reminds me of old adage about not bothering the things that belong to others.  Kindergarten stuff really.  A few months ago my husband was doing eye checks at one of the schools.  They were in a room that had some packets on the desks.  The school nurse was hurriedly moving the packets to another location and commented that the particular grade that they were checking would steal anything.  Hmmm.  It sounds like at least a few of the class steal.  Which ones?  Isn't that always the case?  There are some bad apples but the bad apples never get discovered.

A mother can be grateful if their child is discovered stealing something at an early age.  The earlier, the better.  Because if caught early, the behavior can be curbed more easily. 

Well, I'm going to let you go.  But I've been thinking a lot about heaven lately.  We went to the calling hours for Janet Harbaugh.  She was the wife of Dick Harbaugh, the Mayor of Canal Fulton.  She was a true believer and a woman of faith, an active participant in her church, a wonderful mother and grandmother.  And now she is experiencing heaven!!  Isn't that joyous?

One of the poems I got from my children's lit teacher was about her daughter.  The nugget of it was that she hoped there wouldn't be an after life.  I was surprised to see that because at other times she mentions God and seems to have faith.  It's hard to figure as to why she feels that way, so I decided to  send her a thank you for the booklet along with a letter explaining why I believe in heaven. 

The very popular chief of the Brimfield Police Department was one of the students in a class I took at Akron, "Juvenile Justice Process."  David Oliver is a bright, engaging fellow and one of those unforgettable characters.  Once the teacher asked us about having character/ethics or something to that effect.  David Oliver didn't hesitate and said, "It's what you do when no one is looking."  He's popular from his blog about life in Brimfield, another small town, and from a response to Kanye West's recent diatribe that went viral.

Well, folks, time to go and beautify myself for the doctor's office.  I haven't had many opportunities to be around anyone else the last few days, so this is kind of a social outing.  Hah!!  Wow, my life is exciting!

It's going to warm up today!!!  All the way to 24 I think.

Unloading

I've been thinking a lot lately about America and how it has changed.  I'm concerned and dismayed.  Particularly, it worries me that I feel almost afraid to identify myself as a Tea Party member.  This group has been so maligned and misunderstood from the start that it is frightening.  And the disparagement has come almost entirely from the people who are supposed to be an arm of our freedom -- the press.

Here's why I joined (although I am an active participant in its activities) in a nutshell -- because it has been my opinion for quite some time that the government has gotten too large and has too much influence over our lives and that some of the things that the government has tried to manage have shown my concern to be valid.  It's that simple.  I'm a big believer in our Constitution, all 17 pages of it.  I believe that the construction outlined by our forefathers is brilliant and amazing and that it does not lose applicability with the passage of time.  And another change that has occurred in me is that it appears that my leanings are towards the Libertarians, another group that has been pigeon-holed and misunderstood.  Basically, to be a libertarian means that liberty is valued most highly.  It often means that government is not trusted, and apparently in that vein I am in good company. 

My concern is towards progressivism, a movement that got its start mostly during the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, a chief proponent.  Wilson was an academic, coming from being President of Princeton.  He was very busy during his first term, securing a number of bills that allowed the government to control elements of business for one thing.  His call to Progressivism was interwoven with his moralistic vision of the country, and yet he was quite racist and only went along with giving the vote for women when it became obvious that he had to.

His second wife (his first wife died during his first term) was related to Pocahontas and was a strong woman who actually signed papers for her husband after his stroke.  In a book on CD that I listened to some years ago about all of the first ladies, her role in her husband's presidency was well documented, including how she kept key members of her husband's administration in the dark about what she was doing.  In essence, Edith Galt WAS the president for a time.  There's nothing wrong with a woman president, but she wasn't elected to the office.

My overall impression of progressivism is that at its very core is a deep distrust of our system of government, that it will lead us in the right direction if left alone.  To me, it seems that the progressives are always tinkering.

What I see is a country that has become much more divided, especially with rich and poor at odds.  A recent poll suggests that a majority of the country wants to do something about the disparity of income, and one of the major ways that they prefer that be handled is by getting more money from the rich.  I am opposed to that concept, because we should ALL pay taxes and basically at the same proportion.  Because someone has been enterprising and successful does not mean that we have the right to claim what they earned.  It suggests jealousy to me, and a preoccupation with what the "Joneses" are doing, rather than taking care of one's own business.  It suggests that the accumulation of material goods is the end-all-be-all and is at the heart of the jealousy, when other studies have also shown that being happy has very little to do with this kind of thing. 

If there is more disparity between the rich and the poor, perhaps a good deal of the problem is the shrinking middle class.  This group has really gotten hit hard and as the stalwart backbone of the country, its influence is greatly missed.  As many have said, our children will never be able to achieve the standard of living that we have, we who came out of the ashes of World War II and were born to parents who knew what it was to sacrifice for a cause.

Look, I'm not trying to be "political" here.  I'm just worried because I see trends and patterns emerging that I've never seen before.  All of us have to be vigilant and guard against those who would trample on freedom, on our Constitution, and forget how to be thankful to God and those who came before us, those who gave so much, in order to make America truly the home of the brave.

Today I pray for America.

 

 

Snowed In

We're snowed in.  The truck is in the shop.  Down to one car and I can't risk leaving it out in the cold and then expecting it to start.

This sure has been a winter for the record books in my humble opinion.  The scary thing is that cities are running out of calcium chloride which is the only thing that actually works when the temperatures drop this low.  We have some but are starting to get low on it too. 

Yesterday I did the smart thing for staying warm -- I made soup and a dessert in the morning and had the oven going.  Felt better all day for it, and had the hot soup for dinner.  Friday night after a day of not being able to feel warm, I made hot chocolate.  It tasted wonderful and really made me comfortable.  For those who like milk a lot, try what my mother always made us.  Take milk and heat it up, then add a little sugar, cinnamon and nutneg.  It's delicious especially with some toast.

People are calling travel agencies in droves saying much the same thing, "Get me out of here."  And off they go to some other location where there is warmth and sunlight.  BUT, you always have to face returning home.  So I guess I'd rather just tough it out here and wait for spring.  We'll be rewarded.

We're supposed to be moving stuff out of the living room/dining room today in preparation for wall and ceiling painting.  Not looking forward to that either, although we can at least heat the porch where we'll be carting the stuff.  The tone of honey or honey mustard or whatever it is has just outlived its attractiveness for both of us.  It's time for a change and I welcome it!!  So that will get the juices flowing a little bit.

So take care and stay warm today, readers.  Don't get into any heroics if you can help it.  Warmer days will come.

Meanwhile, take a moment to look outside and marvel at the picture that nature has made today.  And marvel at our God who created all of this. 

"All the ends of the earth; all you creatures of the sea.  Lift up your eyes to the wonders of the Lord.  For the Lord of the earth, the master of the sea, has come with justice for the world."

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day and she was talking about one situation or another, and it all came down to one thing -- telling the truth.  "And the truth shall set you free," is a wonderful guidepost for life.  Talk about cutting down on stress!!  It is the way God wants us to live our lives.

Praise the Lord for He is good; His love is everlasting!!

Exercising

The other evening, I was showing off for myself and did a bunch of stomach exercises.  The next day I felt good, no problem.  The day after that, no problem.  But the third day!!! Yikes!!  Don't make me laugh.  Don't make me get out of bed in a hurry!  So my body gave me a real message for overdoing it.

We all tend to do that kind of thing in life.  Overdo.  Maybe we go through a spell of eating too much, of eating too much of one kind of thing (candy), of running around too much, of cleaning too much, of reading too much, of watching TV too much.  And then maybe not like the stomach exercises, but in a way more subtle we get a message too.  Things are OUT OF BALANCE.

We've talked about this kind of thing before in the blog, but it always bears repeating, because we're never going to get it completely right.  Tweak a little of this, tweak that, but the key is identifying what we are overdoing earlier in the game and gathering the strength to break the cycle.

Now, I don't have a gambling problem.  I don't like it at all.  I don't even like movies about it.  Slot machines leave me perfectly cold and disinterested.  Gaming tables even more so.  Dark rooms with noises and lights -- not for me.  But people who have a gambling problem can't afford to have even the tiniest slip-up.  Same for those with a drinking problem or a smoker. 

Most resolutions for a new year center on dealing with something we overdo.  Or perhaps underdo -- like spending time with family and friends.  Back in the day when I worked, it bothered me so much not to be at home when my sons got there from school.  So to make up for that I guarded the time from when I got home to bedtime.  There was no time to socialize or join a club or any of that.  My job already took me away from home too much as it was, in my opinion.  When Greg went off to college is when I joined the folk group and started singing/playing guitar on Sundays with them.  It's been almost 20 years now. 

So stick to your guns when you know the decisions you are making are right for God, for family, for friends, for work -- right down your priority list.  God gives us time to use for His glory.  If it is in His will, we will get that time at the RIGHT time.

So here we are -- freezing again today.  It will pass.  We will make it.  When you find yourself getting down in the dumps a little bit because of the cold, say a prayer asking God to fill you with His abounding joy and the feeling will pass.

Be safe, all my blog friends.

A Day Late

So sorry.  I meant to let everyone know that yesterday I'd be in Westlake visiting my sister and wouldn't have an opportunity to update this blog.  The class reunion committee meeting was Tuesday night and we stuffed the invitations, labeled, and stamped them for mailing this week.  It's in September but our reunion chair is very experienced at her job and she knows that an early warning works best.

One of the most wonderful things about life is its connectedness.  About six years ago, I was able to find an address for my former Children's Literature professor at Kent State, a class that I loved and took in Spring 1968.  Jacqueline Jackson was an inspiring teacher and one no one would forget.  She had an easy, down-to-earth sense of humor and a sense of appropriateness for everything big and small.  Surprisingly, I got a response and we've been corresponding off and on since.  Jacqueline is in her 80s now, and was driving between her home in Springfield, Illinois to Vermont once every year until about four years ago when she had to give it up. 

She writes a poem for the Springfield newspaper and then collects a grouping of them for an annual collection.  My copy arrived a few days ago.  So with a little background information about her, I thought you might like to read her April 11, 2013 poem.  Jacqueline lives in an old house on 5th Street in what they call Enos Park.  It's an historic neighborhood where Abraham Lincoln once walked, lived, where he once visited her home.  His house is close by in fact.  For Jacqueline, the death of her daughter three years ago has been very difficult.  She is incredibly close to her four children, having raised them by herself.  I should also mention that Jacqueline was a professor at the University in Springfield for many years and she is much loved by the community.  Apparently, Jacqueline recently read a book called, "Team of Rivals," about Abraham Lincoln.

north fifth street poem #17 - Jacqueline Jackson

seventy score and seven runners passed
my door this morning many in blue t-shirts
the Lincoln half-marathon:  I've lived
in lincolnland over 40 years now; one gets
inoculated though I used to take classes to
his home on Mary's birthday give cake to
passersby I've been slow to read teams of rivals
finished it last night fought tears throughout
his later years the repeated deaths fought the
depths of my child's death though I have not
walked through battlegrounds strewn with
bodies sprawled thick as stones on a scree
touching the dying no wonder his profound
sadness punctuated by the humor he needed
to endure no wonder mary was as she was I
see her now living across this street a recluse
dishonored estranged from the remaining
child who committed her I see Lincoln in my own
foyer 1860 exchanging banter with the workmen
he who shook 1700 hands in a white house hour
it's a true legend this house visit it fits and now
I watch 1700 runners, thinking how different
our country would be had he lived had his
children lived he of the 70 times seven
griefs did not spurn individual ones how I too
would be different were my child here loving
this spectacle: my house, our street, these running
feet we are all hallowed by his presence among us

On the envelope of the book of poems, Jacqueline writes, "If I were still driving to Vermont, I'd come see you."

Medical Marijuana

Well, I learned something on Saturday.  A little more about "medical marijuana" that's been in the news now and again, and the legality of which is being discussed in Ohio.

Medical marijuana can be used to treat a variety of illnesses with virtually no side effects.  The type of marijuana plant that is used to make one kind of medical marijuana was botanically created to eliminate the hallucinogenic properties of the plant -- and only keep the "cannibis" part of the plant.

The resulting medication is a liquid that can be taken orally.

There was a young boy, about 10, and he'd had seizures since he was six months old.  He'd been on 17 different drugs at various times in an attempt to bring his seizures under control, but nothing would give him a seizure-free life.  That is, until he was put on medical marijuana.  He is seizure-free and is off all of the other medications.  His family, for the first time, got to meet this boy who had always been doped up from his medications.  He is learning, growing, blossoming before their eyes.  My granddaughter, Ella, is on two medications and is also more or less doped up.  We don't get to know the real Ella either, and if she could just be allowed to try medical marijuana, it would be a wonderful thing.  She might be able to live a more normal life!

The same can be said for some Parkinson's patients and other conditions that respond to this marvelous plant extract. 

If you get a chance and become aware of any drives or petitions for the legalization of medical marijuana (the kind I'm referring to), please put your two cents worth in.  Write to a Congressman, or sign one of the petitions, or in some way make your approval known.  The stigma of marijuana is what is at the root of the objections -- people like myself who didn't understand until Saturday what a miracle this can be for so many deserving people. 

If we want to just talk about money, well, then we can bring that up too.  The cost of Ella's medications would drastically go down, and she would also be much better able to care for herself, be more physically active, and less likely to have other health problems in the long run. 

I'm going to do what I can to express my approval of legalizing medical marijuana.  Maybe you feel the same way now that you know the real story.  Check it out on the web, although some of the stories refer to the "other" kind of marijuana, the kind you smoke.  I'll have to do some more reading and get back to you.

Thanks for reading.  Take care.  See you tomorrow!!

A Quick Post

This is going to be fast today, because we are leaving at 7:45 a.m. for Strongsville to attend the Epilepsy Walk at the mall there.  This is about the fourth year we've been doing this, I think, or maybe even the fifth.

The Epilepsy Association in Cleveland sponsors the event which starts at 9:00 a.m., before the mall stores are open.  Representatives from the Cleveland Clinic, Rainbow Babies & Children, specially trained individuals with dogs that warn of an impending seizure, and many local organizations (including a dance team) come and set up tables.  There are prizes and demonstrations and of course, walking.  This year they added a two mile walk to get people going a little faster.  Mostly, we saunter. 

Ella, my granddaughter, wears her special shirt identifying her as a person with epilepsy, and she is joined by her cousins, Lauren, Lissie, Emmy, and her brother, Drew.  And then there are four grandparents, two aunts and two uncles, plus mom and dad.  We have a little coffee at the end of the walk, and share conversation as we go about the mall.  One of the Fox 8 Cleveland news personalities is usually there because Bill Martin has a special place in his heart for epilepsy.

Last year, the event was a little quiet compared to the first year they did it.  As we came down one of the mall walkways, the dance team was doing their thing.  Ella, Lissie, Emmy, and Drew stood mesmerized as the girls went through their routine accompanied by boom box music.  Ella started moving with the rhythm and two of the girls came out of the group and held out their hands to her.  She went with them happily and danced with the team!  It was just wonderful.  I was so impressed with the maturity of these girls, who also did face painting.  They treated Ella like a princess.

Lauren watched and you could tell she wanted to dance too, but she was feeling somewhat shy so she stayed back.  I'm hoping this year she decides to throw caution to the wind and give it a whirl.

One thing the event does is it makes you realize that you are hardly alone in this fight.  It makes you realize that there are people out there who care and are making a difference.  And it is good for the whole family, Ella's family, to get together.

So as I have come to realize that epilepsy is far more common than people realize, please think about all of us at the walk and all of the parents who are dealing with this disorder daily. 

It's 29 degrees!

We're over the January hump, reader friends.  And it's five months to strawberries!  Am I looking forward to spring?  You betcha!

One of my friends from our folk group at church was telling me that years ago Father Chuck was saying Mass.  His normal procedure was that he would nod to her when he was ready to start.  On this particular Sunday he appeared ready but he never nodded.  So she waited for a while.

Finally, thinking that surely it was time to start Mass, she gave the signal to the folk group and they started to first song and Mass began.  When Father Chuck gave the sermon, she got a huge shock.  The whole sermon was about patience and he used her as an example.  She couldn't wait; she'd been impatient.  He knew she would do what she did.

I know she was really embarrassed by this incident, because it is etched in her memory.  But she'll never forget the lesson on patience.  We are an impatient people and there are signs to me anyhow that it is getting worse over such silly things as shoes, cell phones, and driving manners. 

And while we are impatient, God is infinitely patient with us, giving us every chance to see Him, to follow His ways, to hear His voice.  It is humbling to compare ourselves to God, isn't it?  There is no way we ever win that argument.  So while it is the human tendency to do as the Pharisees, and compare ourselves to other humans who seem so much worse than we are, it is not the other human beings that we have to reconcile ourselves with.

Having patience with children is very important.  By not rushing from this to that, we give them the time to react to things, to talk about what they've seen or done, and to get their perspective on life from an early age.  And by doing this, we show them that what they think and feel is important to us, important enough that maybe if we are lucky they will continue to share with us through those rough teenage years.

Advice people say take a deep breath.  Breathe in deeply, expand the lungs fully, and then slowly let out the air.  Breathe out the stress.  Just doing that here and now was very relaxing.  It stands to reason that at the high point of stress, taking those few moments to take deep breaths would help us cope, would help us regain our balance, and would help us be patient.  And then the next step we could take would be to breathe in deeply, thinking of someone we want to pray for, and then as we breathe out, meditate on that person, on their needs.

I'm going to take my own counsel today and try to do the breathing thing.  Won't you join me?

Thanks for reading.  See you tomorrow.

My Manifesto

I understand that the master planner for the September 11, 2001 attack, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, has issued a manifesto.  It was provided to the court during his trial and deemed not to be a threat and so it was made available to the public.  It was published in the Huffington Post two days ago.  Equally disturbing is the other publication that he mailed to a penpal of his in England, a healthcare worker who first wrote to him, with the promise of a Part II and a Part III.

So maybe we all should have a manifesto, defined in this way by Merriam Webster's online dictionary:  A manifesto is a published verbal declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government.^[


Here is mine, loosely inspired by one of my favorite publications of all times, Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, except that mine includes my faith which always tops the list.

I will know, love and serve God.
I will love others as I already love myself.
Love will be the center post of my life, the love that I learned from God.
It is not my job to judge others, or to determine the fate of others, but only to offer them what God always offers me -- understanding and compassion.
I will plant roots that will tether me in the wind and the storm, and I will not plant roots in the sand which shifts and changes.
I will recognize that each day on earth is a miracle, a gift from God, and not to be squandered.
I will laugh and find humor in life, because we were created to laugh and enjoy one another.
Life is too short to waste on getting upset about the little things.
Don't wait until the doors of the churches are closed to see that our liberties and freedoms are being questioned and challenged.  This is not a little thing.  Get upset.
If there is anything that I do well, it is because of God.  So therefore, I do not boast, but only give the glory to God in everything and in every situation.
Like my mother always told us when we went for a picnic, leave the place as clean or cleaner than how you found it.
If the eyes are the window to the soul, then let my eyes feast on what is beautiful in the eyes of God.
Finally, let me marvel at the wonder of creation and the value of every human life and live my own live accordingly.

Okay, these are pretty lofty, aren't they?  But according to the definition, these are my intentions, my motives and my views.  KLM's manifesto covered some 36 pages.  I'll stick with mine.

God Bless You!!!

Bully and Bullying

When I was a kid, there was a boy down the street who liked to bully me.  I might have told you about him before.  His name was Jimmy and his bullying took on different forms depending on what time of the year it was. 

In warm weather, he took my bike on the way home for lunch just before I got home and then he rode around on it until just before it was time to go back to school.  If I had been more clever, I could have said something like, "So you like riding girls' bikes?"  But I wasn't all that clever and what he did bothered me a lot.  In cold weather he followed behind me and hit me with snowballs that melted and went down my shirt until I was even colder.

So I knew what it was to be bullied. 

And it made me afraid and hesitant, especially in the mornings.  After a while,. I didn't want to go to school and sometimes I'd fake being sick.  Believe it or not, I did the old thermometer in the hot chocolate trick and it worked.  Even with the mother's famous rule -- if you say home you stay in bed -- I'd still be happy to be at home rather than go to school.

Somewhere along the line, Jimmy must have moved because I just don't remember him anymore.  After kindergarten, I had kids to walk which was much, much better.

But whenever I hear about bullied kids, it's hard not to remember that feeling. 

On another occasion when I was probably about ten, we went to Westgate Mall.  Across the street from my house was a crossover street that ended at a park.  If you walked across the expanse of the grassy park, it ended up at Westgate Mall, a new mall but uncovered.  There were at least three of us walking that day and when we reached a point in the hike where we were the most vulnerable in the grassy expanse, a car appeared out of seemingly nowhere and it chased us.  Let me tell you, being chased by a car is terrifying.  The boys who did that should have been seriously punished but they weren't.  We weren't even clever enough to get their license plates.  We just ran as fast as we could.

So from that point on, I didn't want to go to Westgate Mall via the shortcut. 

The anti-bullying programs seem to work, but they only work if the bullies are identified at as young an age as possible.  Bullying behavior is a sign of something that needs to be fixed. 

Today I think about the two kids from Brunswick who committed suicide.  One of them for sure was bullied.  Let's pray for them and all of the other kids who are on the wrong side of a troubled kid's aggressions.

Inspiration

Early yesterday morning, the puffy clouds picked up the pink from the rising sun and made a beautiful contrast with the azure blue skies.  It was inspirational.

What really inspires you?  What makes you want to try something you've never tried before with a sense that you "can do this?"  What gives you a sense of purpose, a renewed vigor for life?  What reassures you that although life constantly changes, there are some things that never do?

Honestly, we need these little touches of inspiration in whatever form they come.  This is what colors life so that the ho-hum is pushed away. 

Here are some ideas for how to find inspiration, things that have worked for me, even when I wasn't trying:

1. The Bible -- Read the psalms if you want to experience a range of emotions from despair to pure hope.  You'll know then that you are most assuredly not alone.
2. A meaty conversation with a friend who knows you well.  Speak openly.
3. A magazine with pictures of do-it-yourself projects.
4. Find something to repurpose in your house and make plans on how you will do this.
5. Look at travel materials about visiting sandy beaches and seeing the beautiful aqua blue water of the Caribbean.  Just the colors alone will be a feast for your eyes.
6. Watch someone doing a simple work-out routine.  Adapt it for your own use. (Start slow)

That's all I can think of at this moment.  I got an inspiration from a magazine a couple of days ago.  It's in the Martha Stewart Living this month.  A woman down south dies her own fabrics for draperies, pillows, etc.  She has a work area in her house for this purpose and this is what she does for a living now (left corporate America).  I'm sure she uses block printing with the kind of ink made for fabrics (like silk screen).  But the results are really nice and it made me think that I could do something like that using simple muslin cloth in an off-white shade. 

Rather than the silk screening inks, I'd use acrylic paint, possibly with some water mixed in.  For the blocks, I might try using an almost-dry sponge cut to shape and mounted on a wood block.  It would work a little like stenciling a wall.  I'd have to use some old scraps to give it a try first.  I'd use the custom-color design to make some valances for the kitchen and dining room.  Then maybe a couple of pieces for pillows.  The idea would be to put the color on the fabric so that the color would go on unevenly.  In other words, not like a big colored blob.  After the design starts showing up, it would look beautiful, I think.  Different.

At our church in Canal Fulton, we are still waiting for the custom doors that were ordered in November, I think.  They did come in, but they were the wrong size so we had to start all over again.  Once they are in, then on Fridays I'll start making a holy hour at 2:00 p.m.  During that time, I'll start out reading a paragraph or two from the Bible and then just meditate and think about it for the rest of the time.  If I find my mind wandering, I'll read another passage.  Hope it works.  My mind is notorious for wandering!!

Take care, and have a great day, friends. 

Mist on the Canal

On a rainy, dank morning it seemed the right thing to do to go to Lieberman's for donuts.  The air is warmer than the ice covering the river and the canal, and so there was a spooky mist in the wooded areas bordering Erie Avenue.  For photographers with a lot of stamina and patience, it would have been a good morning to capture one of those memorable pictures, the kind that evoke emotion.

Apparently, some of the stuff I've said in this blog over the past year is accurate.  Journalists have a terrible reputation among the populace and are not believed.  This is very troublesome.  As I've said before, the job of the journalist isn't to create news, adapt news, or skew the news.  Their job is to report news as accurately as possible.

Depending on what station you choose for your news reports, you may not be getting a true representation of what is going on.  Some stories are covered up, others are promoted unceasingly.  If a certain story would make a certain person look bad, you might not hear about it on some stations. 

Being a reporter is very interesting.  There is no routine, no humdrum, no boredom.  Each day brings new stories, new people, fresh challenges.  Depending on how much energy a reporter has, stories can have many layers of meaning.  You can seek out someone else's take on the story.  You can research more facts, dig deeper for information.  And yet, there are those who can't seem to stick to the basics.  Is it a power thing? 

Without balanced news, people who vote regularly in national and local elections don't have the information they need to cast an informed vote.  I think this has influenced a number of key races in the past few years.

Will it ever change?  I don't know.  But it is terribly wrong to abuse this position.  It's a sin. 

Journalists have always been taught to go after the story but to handle it professionally, as accurately as possible.  At least that's the way it was.  When does the corruption start?  When a journalist gets higher on the totem pole?  When the boss puts pressure on the reporters to report this, not that?

The best bet is to move around the channels for the news.  Don't stick to just one broadcaster if you want to know what is going on.  If you get your news from the Internet, then check out various sources for that as well.  Compare and contrast.  Who is saying what?  That will give you an idea of what sort of spin a particular news source is likely to take.

See what the newspaper says and then check an on-line source, for example.  Read the same story in both media. 

There was a time when politicians feared the media because they could change the game plan overnight.  But now it seems as though the media insulate and shelter politicians -- and that is definitely not the way it ought to be.  The news media should be politicallly unaffiliated.

Do you know something?  We're getting close to the year-a-versary of the blog.  It's been great for me, and I hope you have gotten something out of it.  If you have ideas for postings, let me know.  If there's something you would like to hear about, let me know that too.

Take care.  It's around 44 degrees out!  Feels pretty good too.  Enjoy.

A Great Little Appliance

The microwave oven is one appliance that really earns its keep.  So today since it's so cold and nasty outside, it seemed like a good day to take a closer look at how it came to be.

The oven was invented by Percy Spencer from technology that came about during World War II.  The first oven, known as a "Radarange" was sold in 1947.  Then Raytheon developed an oven under the Tappan brand in 1955 for home use, but it was too large and bulky for most families.  The more familiar countertop microwave oven was introduced by Amana (bought by Raytheon) in 1967.

My brother-in-law was in the vending business and learned about microwave ovens in that way.  He bought one and it was quite the topic of conversation!!  This was in around 1975, I think.  When I got pregnant with Greg, it was the one thing that I really wanted.  They weren't available in just any store, so my brother-in-law bought one and then we paid him back.  It cost around $400 which was a tidy sum in 1976 but it was a great purchase.

I used it to heat formula and then later Greg's cereal, and we saved time, energy and money by reheating leftovers much more efficiently.  We were early adopters but very pleased with the purchase.  The oven performed great for years until the handle broke.  That's all that was wrong with it.  And of course, the number of watts was probably fairly low.

How does it work?  The oven heats food by bombarding it with electromagnetic radiation in the microwave spectrum causing polarized molecules in the food to rotate and build up thermal energy in a process known as dielectric heating.  The particles bump into one another, causing friction and heat.  Heating is fairly uniform and even. 

One of the neat things about the microwave oven is that even gourmet cooks can use them, especially for bringing butter to perfect consistency and for heating chocolate. 

Today, we made eggs.  Here's how it goes -- take a coffee cup (or a bowl but it will be hot to handle) and add a scrambled egg and a little butter.  Microwave for about 30 seconds and then mix it a little, add cheese if you like and microwave again for about 20 more seconds or to taste.  The eggs are fluffy and delicious.  No pan to clean and no extra calories from oil.  It's great for dieters.  We had toast with the eggs.  Just keep a good watch on what's going on in the oven for the first time, because I'm not 100% sure of the timing.

So that's our little posting for today.

The microwave oven -- it's hard for me to use one without thinking of my brother-in-law who died six years ago.  He was so kind.  One of these days I'll write about him. 

Have a wonderful day, and let us all thank God for a new beginning, a fresh start.

Blank Page

Today the white of the page in front of me is like the white of the snow in the driveway.  So here we go.  Let's fill it.

We watched "ET" last evening with my granddaughter.  On a broader level, ET might be seen as a movie that shows how children can accept strangers, creatures far different than we are, and find ways to communicate and appreciate them -- even offer them love. 

The amazing thing about the movie is that somehow the viewer begins to care about this alien being and wants him to survive, to return to his home. 

This morning, the big discussion on one of the talk shows is whether or not 12-year-olds should work or not.  My own feeling is no.  They are too young to work, but they are definitely not too young for chores around the house and for volunteering or helping neighbors.  Like our posting yesterday about the void within us that looks to be filled, kids will find something to do.  Better they should be engaged in something with purpose, making them feel useful and needed.

When ET showed up at Eliot's house, mostly because Eliot coaxed the creature there with M & Ms, the three children suddenly had a goal, a purpose.  They rallied together, put aside their differences with one another, and worked toward that goal with great effort.  This kind of response is common at schools who have some kind of service project going.  The children just blossom in these situations.  Children want to be involved in something bigger than themselves.  Don't we all?

They just need a little guidance.  A little inspiration.  A little organization.

Children who grow up in a loving home, where that love is shared outwardly with others feel that sense of purpose at a younger age and grow up knowing that they can make a difference. 

"We are many parts; we are all one body," is a hymn that we have been singing for years in the church.  "And the gifts we have, we are given to share."

And then, "May the Spirit of love, make us one indeed.  One, the love that we share.  One, our hope in despair.  One, the cross that we bear." 

Isn't that just beautiful?  So all of our gifts are given to us so that we might use them for God's purpose. 

No day can be so gray that a smile or a gesture of friendship can't brighten it.  Let our lights shine. 

Prayers for the people in the Avon area who have a water shortage, and to the people who still do not have natural gas.  Prayers for the people who are dealing with burst water pipes and flooded floors. 

Blackie, the cat, survived the storm and is in her house right now.  The heating element in the bottom of the cat bed has made her much warmer and she is content.  She got warm water and wet and dry food this morning.  The only thing she missed was some coffee!!

Take care.

Professor Lamin Sanneh

In the most recent edition of The Liguorian Magazine, Professor Lamin Sanneh was interviewed by Jeannette Cooperman (a writer) about his life and his conversion to Catholicism.  Professor Sanneh, born and raised in Gambia, is considered to be one of the foremost scholars in both Catholicism and the Islamic religion.

Sanneh is the son of a Muslim who had many wives, his grandfather an Islamic scholar.  And yet, even as a little boy he wanted to be baptized.  His conversion was a quiet and personal journey, and that makes sense given that he admits to being shy and timid until his conversion.

His story is chronicled in a book, Summoned from the Margin.  It sounds like a worthwhile read.

Here are a few snippets from the interview:

"Conversion didn't come with the idea that I had the answer to life's questions and others didn't.  No, no, no.  I just felt humbled by the experience, and it allowed me to understand why people were kind to me and did me favors.  I knew what to do with that.  People were not just there to fulfill my needs.  They were put there by God to teach me something.  Since that day, in every situation I've been in, every country I've lived in, I've always asked myself, 'Now what is it that God wants to teach you here?'"

How did he learn about the faith?

"The two books I read immediately were the Acts of the Apostles and St. John's gospel -- and then the epistle of Paul to the Romans.  The idea of a God of love was so revolutionary for me that, at first, it upset me."

Sanneh returned to his family in Africa for the express purpose of telling them he loved them.  His father had never said that to him.  The idea of love was alien to Sanneh's upbringing.  He says that once he discovered that love, everything made sense to him.

For Sanneh, becoming a Christian meant being able to love people in a way that he couldn't have as a Muslim. 

An interesting portion of the interview is when Sanneh explains how there is a void that has to be filled in each individual.  If not with faith, then what?  In many cases, Sanneh has seen people adopt a nationalistic outlook, which almost always means that the individual can't accept the culture of others. 

What he got from Africa -- that kindness to strangers is one way God measures faithfulness.

What he got from the Islamic faith -- the utter transcendence of God. 

What he got from Catholicism -- the extravagance of the grace of God.  God's generosity.

Our faith in a loving and merciful God shows us the way on our life's journey, allows us to go one day at a time without rushing, and tugs at our clothing to share what we know about God's love with others. 

I'm reminded of two hymns -- Mercy is Falling is the first.  "Mercy is falling, is falling, is falling.  Mercy it falls like the sweet spring rain.  Mercy is falling, is falling, over all over me."

And another one that says, "They'll know we are Christians by our love."

Our acceptance of others comes from the divine mercy of God towards us.  We do not stoop down to love others.  We kneel down with them.  And mercy rains on us day by day.

Football

The BSC championship game was on last night and right now, I don't know if Auburn or Florida State won.  We went to bed thinking about the people and cats out in the frozen air.

I've kind of fallen out of like with football.  It didn't happen overnight, but gradually over the last several years or so.  The pro game a couple of nights ago is a case in point.  They were hauling guy after guy off the field with injuries!  It was so bad the announcers were commenting on it.  It was a slugfest out there on the field.

Some of the injuries might have been "mild" but one injury that has proven to be troublesome is the head injury.  Older players are now coming forward in numbers stating that they suffer from various neurological problems because of the head injuries they suffered while playing in college or pros.  One of them is Terry Bradshaw, who said he suffers from short-term memory loss. 

We keep getting faster and faster -- remember the 100 yard dash in the last Olympic games?  They break records all the time in the sprints, and football is basically a game of sprints.  So as they get faster and faster, they hit each other harder and harder, particularly on punt returns but it happens on other running plays too.  The game is violent, even with new rules that are supposed to protect the quarterback and protect players from head injuries.

In the next few weeks as players prepare for the NFL draft, they will participate in something called the Combine.  The players are put through a series of drills that showcase their speed and agility.  Some of them are so packed with muscle that they lumber down the track, their bodies encumbered by their mass.  My son who is a speed and agility expert agreed with me when I commented on what I was seeing at last year's event, that they appear muscle-bound.  At the combine players wear numbers and rotate among the various drills in groups. 

At first glance, it reminds a person of a cattle auction.  The would-be NFL players look like specimens on display, and commentators make observations on their performance as though they WERE cattle.  In other words, the game has become one that objectifies the participants.

Years ago at The University of Akron, a former athlete would show up at virtually every sporting event drew numbers on campus holding a sign that said that UA used black players.

I don't think that UA "used" black players per se.  Athletes get primo treatment at most universities and good coaches don't treat players like things.  But in a sense, when you watch the combine and hear some of the TV commentators at the games, it increasingly seems to be the case.

The great benefit of being in college football is the scholarship -- the chance to get a degree.  What an athlete really takes with them after graduation isn't a ticket to the pros but a ticket to a better and more fulfilling life.  And that's another thing -- more and more of the "stars" leave the game early to try out for the pros.  So that only adds to the objectification and diminishes the college performance platform to one of preparatory school for pro athletes.  That doesn't sit well with me.

So I'm out of like with football and find myself watching less and less of it.  My boss at UA for 17 years talked a lot about his aching knees and his messed up shoulder from playing a little football.  And he never played in college or pros. 

And next -- all we'll hear about in the next few weeks is going to be the Superbowl.  Oh brother.

Bonus --- Bonus

It's 16 degrees and I heard the wind roaring through the trees last night at around 2:30 a.m.  The polar vortex is here.

Usually, I skip Mondays but due to the weather and the fact that rather than babysitting this morning, I stayed home, it just seemed like the thing to do.  School is cancelled and my son is there with Ella and Drew so they'll be fine.  I'll probably go over one other day this week in the morning to get things going (to make up for not being there today).

Authorities are recommending that people do not go out if they don't absolutely have to.  I agree. 

Blackie is in the cardboard house by the front door, in the heated cat bed.  I'm glad for that, and he got a whole can of cat food this morning too.

So -- one of the ideas I came up with for New Years was going through recipes.  That's on the agenda for today!  And then I have some photos to go through as well.  And we have a jigsaw puzzle downstairs that needs to be finished.  We've got food, electricity, heat, and shelter.  We are indeed blessed.

I'll write again tomorrow.  Be careful out there.

Boxes

Time to put away all of the Christmas decorations -- Christmas in a box.  When I look at the photos in July, it will seem so long ago.

I read an article one time about how buying things can't compare to making memories, that is, doing things and going places.  We've kind of gone over this before in the blog, that for instance, I can't remember my birthday presents very well but I can remember a lot of details about our trips to Deep Creek Lake, Maryland.

The house where we stayed most of the times was a Lincoln construction.  In other words, a foundation with an A-frame roof.  There was no garage but plenty of parking in the driveway.  On the lowest level was a bathroom and a couple of bedrooms, plus a large recreation room.  On the main floor was a kitchen, dining area, living room and bathroom.  On the top level was three bedrooms and no bathroom, a definite disadvantage.

But the house was cozy and roomy and had a wonderful deck off the main floor.  It was not "lake front" but we had lake access, a small windy little pathway through some woods to the dock and a small clearing where there was a fish cleaning table.  In the morning before the boats stirred up the lake, you could see the huge boulders that lay under the dock.

The rocks in this part of Maryland were flecked with a lot of purples.  People used the rocks as their yard in a lot of cases.  I brought one home, a small one, to serve as a memory and it sits in a special spot in our yard even today. 

One other time, we somehow won a weekend in Deep Creek and we stayed at a motel on the water's edge.  Other times we stayed at an old motel that still offered a lot of amenities.  At that time they had small cabins dotting the property that you could rent.  The room doors in the back opened onto a huge deck that spanned the whole structure.  There were walkways and of course, the lake.  Down the street was a great deli that we often visited for quick grocery purchases.

The four and a half hour drive to Deep Creek went pretty fast, and yet we were always surprised that so few Ohioans visited there.  We scanned license plates in the parking lots of various places we visited, as well as the lot at the motel when we stayed there.  There were Maryland, West Virginia, and Washington DC plates mostly, but very few from Ohio. 

When we visited there, one of the neatest places was a sanctuary on the lake, a section of land jutting out and rimmed with carefully tended evergreens.  It belonged to the Catholic Church and it was a retreat.  From our dock at the Lincoln house, we could see the tip of it especially when it was really clear.  It was sold and huge expensive houses were built on the land.  They built roadways into it where there had only been just the one. 

Other changes are that more really expensive houses have been built and they are rented out for large family gatherings, such as what you might find on the Carolina coast. 

So all of that for just a few weeks spent in another state.  Lots of memories.  If you are able to go places, do it.  You don't have to run it into the ground.  One of the reasons why I remember so much is that we don't travel very much.  When we do, it's quite the occasion.

So Christmas is in the boxes, ready to go to the attic.  But the memories of this Christmas are stored in my head.  God Bless You, and please, be careful and stay warm.  We're in for some really bad weather.

No Hurry

No hurry to get out today!!  The driveway is covered even though we did make one pass with the snowblower yesterday.  Blackie, the cat, survived the night in his box by the front door.  Today we may get the cat bed from the garage (that has a heating element) and put it in the cardboard box so that Blackie can make it through the frigid temperatures that are supposed to set in.

I found the cat bed on a website called Cozy Winters.  It has padded sides and the whole thing is covered in a soft fabric we can wash.  The heating element is covered up and promises to remain at an even 102 degrees which is optimal for cats.  It's been working now for a number of years and has lived up to every promise.  They also make a heated cat mat that is excellent for outdoor use.  The price is around $60 but spaced out over the probably six years we've had it, that doesn't really seem like all that much.

The reason for it being in the garage is that Fred, our inside/outside cat gets a little "moody" sometimes and he needs a time out.  With the cat bed, he is warm and cozy and has a great place to adjust his temperament. 

So far, I've been following some of my own advice and getting the Christmas stuff gathered up.  I went through all of the leftover stuff before putting it away.  We rearranged our medicines and vitamins, etc. and got rid of anything out of code.  We put the mugs and cups in the cabinet above the coffee maker, which seems much more efficient (as soon as we get used to it).

When I worked at The University of Akron, there seemed to be two schools of thought.  A messy desk meant that someone was really busy and getting things done.  Or a neat desk meant that someone was organized and on-the-ball, doing tasks and moving paper.  I was the neat desk person.  It gave me a sense of order and kept my ADD brain from overloading on clutter.  I bought organizers for pencils and file folders and cleaned the office on a regular basis.

One of my favorite days (kidding) was Butt Mark Day.  If you sit in an upholstered chair day in and day out, dust settles everywhere your rear end isn't.  Right?  So after a while, there is a butt mark on the chair and it is not attractive.  So I'd bring my R2D2 indoor/outdoor vacuum cleaner to work with me (riding shotgun in the car) and wheel it from office to office, sweeping the office and desk chairs and going over keyboards at the same time.

The faculty members warmed up to the idea and it got so that on Butt Mark Day, faculty members actually wheeled their chairs out into the hall so I didn't have to work as hard.  I guess they did appreciate the extra effort and it made the place look so much better. 

Hope you are keeping warm, dressing in layers, covering your ears if you venture outside, and drinking hot beverages.  Every little thing helps.  God bless the people working to keep our power on, and say a little prayer for Allie Rohr who is a patient at Akron Children's Hospital.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Wintry Thursday

The driveway is pretty much covered with a fine misty snow this morning, so that means we're stuck down here in the "holler."  A good day for doing some straightening, cleaning, and cleaning out.  And a good day for blogging.

Blackie, the feral cat that we've been feeding for about two years, has found herself a new home.  It's been so cold lately and we know that she bunkers down somewhere near the house so I made her a cardboard home with an old towel on the bottom to keep her paws warm and a couple of my favorite old sweaters to nestle in.

She ignored it for about three days but this morning she's in the house and quite happy about it.  Her paws have to be happy too.  Life for a feral cat is not very long.  Without shots, they most often succumb to feline leukemia or a virus, or they get into a fight with another cat or animal and get injured (and can't hunt).  We'd love to help Blackie but she is really wild and won't let anyone get near her.  So we do what we can.

Blackie is an innocent, a sad little cat that's just trying to get by.  She doesn't trust us but she needs us.

Sometimes in helping others less fortunate WE are helped more than they are.  The poor have much to teach us.  A professor from The University of Akron once told me that the oft repeated verse in the Bible that says, "The poor will always be with you," should actually be translated, "You will always be among the poor."  Interesting. 

People who visit other countries and encounter the so-called poor are always struck by the joy and constant smiles of the people.  They come back realizing that we need very little to find the wonderful gift God gives us -- JOY.  One woman is trying to help by paying for tuition, uniforms and such for children in another part of the world.  The orphans she assists would have absolutely no other access to schooling or a better life without this support. 

Each day when we wake up and have another glorious day to do the work of God, think of this -- imagine looking down on the ground and finding a small stone.  Smooth from first the river that ran over it and then from the hands that have held it.  Imagine picking up the stone and knowing that within it was the JOY that would last that whole day.  Imagine carrying that stone with you wherever you go and letting others hold it for a moment to share the joy with you. 

So each morning, let us start the day with a prayer thanking God for another day and then start the day's journey by glancing down on the floor and looking for that imaginary smooth stone -- your gift -- and start smiling!!

Late, Late, Late

Well, I never mentioned that we might have a day off from the blog today -- being that it's a holiday and New Year's Day (and we went to church).  BUT, since I didn't, we'll have a short one to celebrate.

Last night our neighbors on Portage started shooting off some fireworks at around 10:00 p.m. and then at midnight, I awoke to a big boom and thought a tree fell.  It must have been an M-80 or something, and that was followed by a bunch of gunshots.  That's pretty unnerving.  Never a good idea, besides the fact that the property was annexed to the city and now residents there need to abide by Canal Fulton's ordinances (that prohibit shooting a firearm in the city).  I'm just glad that no errant ammunition found its way over here.

Years ago a farmhouse on Rt. 93 was hit by a bullet, a big one.  It broke out the second floor window and embedded itself in the ceiling.  The baby who normally slept in that room was not napping at the time, thank God, otherwise there would have been shards of glass in his/her crib.

We started investigating at the newspaper and my first thought was perhaps it might be the range off River Road where the police practiced.  No one thought that made any sense, but it kind of did to me.  They checked all of the ballistics of the weapons fired at the range that day and guess what?  One of them matched, thus it was one of the police department's bullets that careened out past River Road, across State Rt. 21, and into the farm house ceiling about a mile and a half away.  Scary, isn't it?  They shut down the range after that.

One charitable organization is gathering together toy guns and giving kids some kind of reward for turning them in.  You know, with all of the research that's being done out there, some of it dubious at best, I bet someone has done something on whether or not kids playing with toy guns are any more likely to use real ones when they get older.  My first guess is NO.  My brother and I each had six-shooters and played with caps all the time.  The one rule was you weren't allowed to point the guns AT anyone.  No matter that they were toys.  It was my mother's rule and we usually obeyed, but if we didn't we THOUGHT about what we were doing.

I've never shot a real gun and don't have any plans on doing that any time soon.  Yet, when I was little pretending I was Dale Evans was high on my list of things I liked to do.  Could it be something like using a rake?  A rake can be a pretty scary weapon in the hands of a disturbed individual, can't it?  And yet, how many people use a rake as a weapon?  Or for that matter a nail gun.  Or a blow torch.

Just saying. 

The real problem with guns in our society is the disintegration of the family unit.  Throwing money at the problem, confiscating toy guns, and making more rules for registering the real ones just doesn't get at the heart of the problem.

Family, or the lack of one.  The family unit, even when it isn't perfect, is the means by which we raise children.  When the dad is missing, or there are drugs in the house, or no one can be counted on for anything -- we end up with kids that are neglected physically and emotionally and who are actually raised on the streets by their peers. 

So we're starting the new year today, and I hope you found one or two of my helpful hints from yesterday useful.  I think maybe this year I'm going to really pray about what I can do to help families. 

Oh, and one other thought.  Last night, two members of The Five, the talk show at 5:00 p.m. on Fox ushered in the new year with their own show.  It was really awful, I've got to say.  They interviewed a few of the partyers about their resolutions.  One young woman actually said, "I'm going to try and eat less cheese."  Oh, my gosh.  That's it?  Eating less cheese?  Well, what does that do for others?  How does that move a person from self-centered to others-centered?  It doesn't, does it?

So this was going to be short and now it is rather long.  Sorry about that.  Tomorrow maybe I'll have something more positive to say about 2014.  God Bless You.