Snippet 01-09-2014

It reminds me of the time I went to visit an elderly relative in an old folks home. There was this guy who I was told suffered from dementia who the first time I met him walked up and sprayed in the face with a cold water misting bottle, the kind used for tending houseplants. When I asked him what in the hell he was doing he simply replied, "My job. I work for the Misting Peoples Bureau." And, then I swore he winked and pranced of singing to himself some offbeat ditty.

When I complained to one of the attendants, I was told that he was harmless enough and was here because he was a nuts. My gut told me the old geezer was a scammer and must've had no family to take care of him so he was living off the state's nickel, much like being in the pen but with lesser restrictions and better food.

I made a note to myself to watch the old guy and when he headed for the can I was going to follow him planning on pissing on his leg while he was filling up his water bottle. When he asks what in the hell I'm doing I'm gonna tell him that I work for the Humane Society and was sent to test out a theory on how well old dementia patients like him would respond to elderly dogs treating them like trees or fireplugs.

Happy Birthday, America 2013!

Happy Birthday, America! 2013

In these tumultuous and uncertain times with the media focused upon the pain and evil that we as humans do to each other in our bid to be or remain King of the Hill, we need to also consider the good that surrounds us on a daily basis and be thankful for the bounty that is ever before us.

We need to weep with those who weep, such as the families of the 19 fallen firefighters who lost their lives in the Yamell area wildfire in Prescott, Arizona. Men such as these who put their lives on the line every day risking all as they seek to save and protect the lives of their neighbors, in many cases total strangers. We weep with not only our own losses, such as our service men and women but for other nations and cultures ablaze with war and tragedy. And, as good stewards of this precious planet we call home, we mourn the death of flora and fauna caught up in our quest to have it all.

And, we are told to rejoice with those who rejoice. So, as we take delight in our families, partying playing hard this Fourth of July Weekend, let us not forget as we light up the skies over America with aerial displays of colorful grandeur or shaking the ground with percussive emulations of historic battles of our past and saturating the air around us with smoke, grit, and odor of our glee that we take the time to remember our heritage, regardless of our familial origins, and give thanks for this great, and oft battered and badgered nation that allows us to be so free with our celebrations both great and small.

I thank God for this country. I thank God for my family, friends, and circle of influence. Though my heart aches as most news reports our ugliness towards each other, my heart soars as I see the kindness of those around me. Most are unknown to me by name, but they are the smiles of warm souls at the gas station, the grocery store, on the streets where I walk as we meet and greet. This is America to me.

Just the other day my beloved wife, Cathie and I attended our first Hungarian Picnic held at St. Elijah Serbian American Hall in Merrillville, Indiana. My wife saw it in the newspaper and told me she missed her grandmother's cooking so we went. So many attended the food service line took over an hour for me to purchase our Hungarian goodies. All lovingly handmade by the ladies of the Hungarian American Citizens Club. I saw both the good and the bad in those attending, as a younger couple standing directly behind me groused about the long line and accused an elderly couple of line cutting. It took me a while to convince them that I had been keeping the couple's place having let them sit down because the elderly woman was suffering from arthritis and after being in line for over 30 minutes, she needed to sit down. The good news is that this incident, though ugly, did not dampen my enthusiasm or enjoyment of both the food and new found fellowship. God bless us, America, we are a fine melting pot of the many cultures of the world!

This post went longer than I originally planned, but, so be it.

Let me finish with this:

No matter how disheartening the news of our incompetence, greed, or uncaring attitude of our national, states, and local governments, we must remember that people are just people and as such will seek their own best interests whenever possible based upon the biased clarity of their funneled focus. This is not what or who we are celebrating. We are celebrating the birthday of our nation with all of its diversity, peculiarity, prejudices, pride, patriotism, and most importantly those kind and generous people who surround us daily filling us with the hope of a better day and a future worth striving toward.

Remember to focus on the good, forgive the bad and the ugly, overall we are a good people worthy of second and third chances to become the best we can be. Be kind to the unkind, lovely to the unlovely, this will confuse the dickens out of them. Most of all do not allow the pressures, the media, and the ugliness that pops up on occasion to change who your are. Stay strong and live long and prosper.

Happy Birthday, America... God bless us, every one!

Happy Mother's Day 2013

To all the mothers around the world I wish you great joy, fulfilling love, abundant peace, flowers, and lots and lots of chocolate!

A Woman Is As Strong As ___________?

A few moments ago I clicked on an email link that took me to: http://betteleecrosby.com/2013/04/27/celebrating-the-strength-of-women/

While there I read Bette's endearing article honoring her mother. At the end of the article she asked for readers to submit comments as contest entries using the prompt: "A woman is as strong as ____________ ?" 

Almost everyone who commented wrote of their strong mothers. I did as well.

At first, I was unsure whether I should post a comment because the contest was listed as "for the girls". But, I felt compelled to honor my strong mother and one of my prime heroes. 

Over the years I have come to know that I get my quiet inner strength from my mother, along with my desire to serve... those whom GOD has so graciously allowed in my life, no matter how brief the encounter and my Lord and Savior King Jesus Christ.

I don't personally know of anyone as strong in their faith as my mother. She has overcome so much and recently defeated colon cancer. She never complains and is the only person I know who practices the old saw: "If you can't say something nice about someone, then don't say anything at all." She has held her family to this same standard, though I constantly fall short, I continue to do my best to honor her wishes.

I remember a time when I was a teen and my older brother John and I were arguing about something I no longer have a memory of when I called my brother a jerk. My dear little 4'8" Japanese mama walked up to me with a stern face and pointed at me and said, "That's your brother, so what does that make you?"

I replied as I often did, incorrectly. Through gritted teeth I said, "The brother of a jerk."

Mama proceeded to judo-slap me so hard that my head shoulda spun like the little girl character in the movie: The Exorcist. 

Now that I am much older I have come to realize that my brother is not a jerk and never was. He is a wonderful brother, husband, and father. My admiration for him grows daily... as does my love and gratefulness for my strong mother.

I pray everyone can feel and say the same of their mothers.

Protect Your Hearts...

It has been raining quite a bit lately... and the rain has come down hard and heavy. There is flooding throughout the area, but so far, we are still unaffected. Chicago is experiencing major flooding and incoming flights are being cancelled. I just saw a news report showing a sinkhole that opened up on the South Side, it swallowed a car, the driver suffered minor injuries, and then two more cars and drivers piled in atop the first one. From the roadside view, the crumpled rear portion of a silver or white car could barely be seen. OUCH!

This morning I awoke to news that a fertilizer plant down in Waco, Texas blew up like an atom bomb in the midst of firefighters working to put out the original fire. They are still unsure of the amount of casualties to both firefighters and local residents. Latest estimates were 5-15 dead, mostly firefighters, and 180 injured. Whole blocks of houses were blown apart by the blast impact. Most of the residents were eating their evening meal when this occurred. According to an ex-CDC director, the scene is much like the aftermath of a battle.

Just the other day our nation was jolted by a horrific unprovoked attack upon the City of Boston during its most celebrated annual event: The Boston Marathon. Two of four bombs placed within trash receptacles at the finish line exploded killing and maiming many people. I don't know the count... my heart was heavy enough after the three funerals I attended last week. I had to turn away from the television news reports. So far, they are still investigating in hopes of discovering the perpetrator(s). It is being treated as a terrorist act. Several of my friends who work in large cities like Chicago, were sent home from work early in fear of there being other attacks around the country.

All I can say is how horrific are any such attacks no matter where they occur. There prime purpose is to instill fear into the populace and governments. I might revisit this subject in a different post. For now I want to remind you that Jesus Christ said that in the end or latter times that people's hearts would fail them because of fear. And, I see that this is certainly the case. Heart attacks and strokes are still the leading cause of death in our society and the trend is continuing to climb at an alarming rate, especially among women.

Jesus also told us to not let our hearts be troubled or afraid when we see or experience these horrible situations of disastrous proportions in weather, industrial accidents, wars, and acts of terrorism. He told us to keep our eyes on Him and trust in Him as we trust in God and He would see us through these times... for He declared that He has already overcome the evil, the pain, and the tragedies of this world.

The Winter of Springtime

This past Friday, April 12, 2013, I attended two funerals. One was a close friend and fellow church member, the other was a close friend and family. Both were strong, beautiful women as was the one who had her memorial the previous Saturday, April 6th. She was the mother of one of my best childhood friends.

Wowsers... three awesome saints gone within a few days. God bless their families and friends.

The weather on Friday was unusually cold with mixed rain and sleet. Not the best weather to be standing by a gravesite. Still in retrospect, perhaps even nature mourned along with us at the loss of the presence of these precious souls? It is a nice thought that warms me while the lingering winter still chills me.

Have a wonder filled life and be sure and enjoy those around you. Shalom.

MIA or What?

Sorry for being missing-in-action... but, I have been exceptionally busy with other projects as well as still dealing with kidney stones and pain... lots and lots of pain.

I thought getting a laptop would help me to keep up with things here in cyberspace. So far, I am still off the main shipping lanes hoping to get back in the groove soon.

Haven't even had opportunity to start taking the new writing course I posted about earlier.

To those who've been checking out my blog and finding it static and stale, I apologize with all of the sincerity I can and thank you for your patience hoping you will come back again. I do have some new short stories I am working on and one for the new KINDLE ALL-STARS ANTHOLOGY: FanaticFiction. This anthology is open to EVERYONE who wants to submit a story. Find out how on our fearless leader's official blog post here: Klaatu Barada Necktie, Mother Frakkers

I've gotta come up with an article for Billie A. Williams monthly newsletter:  You can check it out this month's issue on Evernote via this link: The Mystery Reader's Connection - April 2013 If you would like to subscribe to this FREE newsletter, you can do so here at: http://www.billieawilliams.com/ The subscription link is on the right-hand column. Billie is an awesome friend and a wonderful writer of mysteries (winner of many awards for her many published books) as well as a writing coach.

Last thing, if you would like to check out HOLLY LISLE'S HOW TO THINK SIDEWAYS: ULTRA COURSE along with me and many other published and aspiring to be published authors, please consider doing so via my affiliate link. I do get compensated should you join us... and, I'd appreciate it. The money I make will go toward paying for my course and the other courses I plan on taking after I've completed this one. If you've never read any of her stories or her excellent online articles, do yourself a favor and do so. Holly is a straight shooter, no BS sorta gal who I trust and highly respect; as an author, a teacher, and a wonderful human being. Here's the link: Holly Lisle's How To Think Sideways ULTRA

Thanks again for stopping by, should we not connect again, have a wonder filled life.