He was a devil and a smoker: now he isn't.

He was a womanizer, a drunk, an abuser of legal drugs, mean to his wife, quick-tempered, a smoker and a Christian.  Somehow people have come to believe that Christians view themselves as self-righteous, church-going people who tend to be good for the most part and otherwise hypocritical.  He wanted to change his life.  He was miserable.  Attending church didn't help and neither did singing in a gospel band.  He was high on Zanax when he fell down an elevator shaft and was injured so badly he could never work again. 

Not being able to work changed nothing and no matter how hard he tried to live a good "Christian" life he could not.  The harder he tried to be good the more miserable he became because he realized he could not.  Then one day he walked into a little Baptist church somewhere south of Thomasville.  The preacher mentioned assurance of ones salvation.  The concept was foreign to him.  He grew up as a Free-Will Baptist.  It is the doctrine of Free Will Baptists that if one sins (commits as act displeasing to God or fails to complete an act that is pleasing to God)    that ones salvation is lost and one has to repent again.  It just doesn't seem right that a  person can go to church and confess their sins, ask forgiveness, and then live their life as always and still go to heaven.  Well, as it turns out, they can't. 

The man and the preacher had a long talk, about nineteen hours long.  The man began to understand that if one truly gives themselves over to God's leadership that they have to give up nothing.  They don't have to change anything at all.  God will take away the desire for things that are not good for them.  If one does not change then he must not have given himself to God.  Oh yes, he might have been sorrowful over his past actions and desired to change yet still not desired to allow God to have control of his life.  If that is the case there has been no conversion, no true repentance. 

Becoming a real Christian does not mean one becomes perfect and will never sin again.   Some mistakenly believe that a Christian cannot sin but there is no such teaching in the bible.  Christianity is not a lifestyle but a relationship, not really different from the relationship one would have with ones parent.  The child will not always understand the parent nor will the child always please the parent but the child and the parent will always have an unbreakable relationship. 

A rebellious child may not always receive the favors a parent can bestow and may not receive an inheritance but he will always be the child.  That relationship cannot be broken. 

Once the man fully understood the relationship between God and man he fell to his knees and asked God to take his life so that he may live.  He never drank again, never went to another bar, never sang another country song, never cheated on his wife again, and never abused drugs again.  But he just could not quit smoking.  He tried.  He tried all the methods and he tried for ten years.  For ten years he failed.  God had taken his desire but he wasn't willing to let go of his habit. 

He was sitting at his kitchen table one day, his wife doing the dishes, and he smoking his cigarettes.  He even had a mouthful of chewing tobacco and a nicotine patch on his  shoulder.  Too often we have a pet sin we are unwilling to let go of.  Oh. now some will claim that smoking is not a sin  because it is legal to do so.  The thing is, sinning is not something we do against men but against God.  I am a recovering smoker myself and I know that smokers stink.  Oh yes we do.  I know we can be ill when we "need" a cigarette.  I know it is a smelly, expensive, unhealthy, disgusting, offensive habit that smokers do their best to justify.  Quitting can be and probably will be, the most difficult thing a person will ever attempt in their lives. 

Well, the mans wife said to him just after he lit another cigarette "If you knew how much that hurt my heart.."  I don't know if she ever finished that sentence but it bothered him that he was still hurting his wife.  His habit, he realized, was affecting his family and not just himself.  He also knew he would never be able to quit. 

He bowed his head and prayed silently " Lord, if you will take this habit from me I will do what you have been wanting me to do." 

He spat out his tobacco wad into the trash can, snuffed out the cigarette he was smoking, pulled off his patch, threw the butts in the ashtray into the trash, threw the patch into the trash, threw his plug of tobacco into the trash, took his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and threw that into the trash, and then threw the ashtray into the trash. 

It's been twenty years since that day and he is still drug free.  Yes, cigarettes are a drug.  He is still a smoker.  From my own personal struggles with tobacco, I know that a smoker is just like an alcoholic.  No matter how long it has been since the last drink all it takes is one to be back in the condition one struggled so hard to escape from.  To me there is no such thing as an ex-smoker just recovering smokers. 

Did he ever honor his promise to God.  Of course he did.  But not that day.  Not for a long time.  Actually, it took him fourteen years to finally give up running but he did honor his promise. 

Now I know that there will be many that don't believe in God and will deny the deity of Jesus Christ and that is their right.  No one is going to punish them for that and that includes God.  In spite of what many believe the bible teaches, God does not send any to hell. 

I was a parent and I had a son and when he was in high school he had lots of friends and they spent an abundance of time at my house playing their favorite board games (personal computers were in there infancy then).  I liked some of his friends and some I didn't care for and one I actually loathe, but I didn't let that bother me for I knew that at the end of the day all of them  would be going to their own homes.  The only sleep over would be the one that belonged to me and that was my son.  I never fed any of those kids or bought them clothes or took them to the doctor because they were not mine.  Some of the kids I really liked but that didn't make any difference.  It mattered not how good they were or how good looking they were or how wealthy they were.  The only thing that mattered at days end was whether they were my child or not. 

Some believe that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell.  That only seems right.  I have come to realize that there is no one that is so good that the devil doesn't want them or anyone so bad that God can't forgive them. 

There is so much more to tell.  Ask me and I will tell you.  If you want, I'll even introduce you to the man in the story.  It is all so very true. 

Asheboro paper error

A woman was attacked in Asheboro with a hammer.  The local paper described the hammer as a ball ping hammer but I do believe the correct hammer would have been a ball peen hammer. 

A claw hammer has a forked end that is designed to pull nails out while a ball peen hammer has a round nub instead of the claw.  I'm not really positive about the use of the ball peen but I would guess it would be used to deliver the last strike or two to the nail head as it would be less likely to leave an imprint on the surface of the material the nail is being driven into. 

I suppose I could research it but I really don't need to know. 

Freaky weather

During the warm summer months it is normal for the temperature to cool when the skies become cloudy, especially if it rains.  The opposite is the norm for the cold winter months with the temperature rising when clouds trap heat nearer the earth's surface.  I've noticed that this normal is not true for the rescent past and future with the cold, rainny days colder than the drier and more sunny days.  What gives? 

Who is Who

NewsDigest magazine notified me that I was named to the who's who in North American writers.  I don't have a copy of the article yet.  I'll share it if I find a copy. 

The state of being poor

Being poor isn't always a bad thing.  I've worked hard, made the best decisions I could make and used my resources wisely.  I make do with what I have, take care of my processions and live an honest life, giving of what little I have to those that have not. 

My house is neat, my yard well maintained and my trees were all started from seed except my cherry trees and three  peach trees. 

The advantage of being poor is take I know how to live with little and I value what little I have.  I just don't understand those that have little but show no respect for their meager possessions.  Why does one live in a trashy yard in a house in disrepair?  I know some are too poor and cannot afford to fix some things around their home but with some planning and thought things can be accomplished. 

My Mom had a handyman whom she paid well and one of his jobs was to keep her gutters clean.  He did clean them out twice a year but he might as well not to have bothered.  He needed to have cleaned them as often as they needed it.  As a result of his negligence the boards behind the gutters have rotted out and allowing the water to seep along the rafters and drip into a bedroom and the living room.  Mom is disabled, legally blind and hard of hearing and is now able to walk outside and inspect her property.

If Mom were rich she would have a more capable handyman and would have been taken better care of.  I do the best I can for her now but I live so far away and i am among the poor myself.  She has one son who is wealthy but thinks of himself and offers no help to her. 

But even in her condition, her house is neat and clean and her yard is well kept.  Being poor, blind,  crippled, and old is no excuse for being lazy and nasty.    

Double Standard

"an is paying Russian women working as technicians at its sole nuclear power plant to adhere to the Islamic dress code, an Iranian lawmaker told the ISNA news agency on Tuesday. Women in Iran, ... more »"

Muslims sue constantly in American courts for the right to dress as they wish.  A recent news report was of the first Bristist palace guard allowed to wear the traditional Isslamic headscarf instead of the tall fuzzy hat other guards wear, yet they expect people from other countries to adhere to their style of dress while in their country or working for them.   

I am not who I used to be.

If I wasn't southern I might have said I am not who I once was but choice of words has as much to do with being southern as the accent does, maybe more.  But I am not talking about where I am from but about who I am. 

I believe some people stay the same all of their lives while most people do not stray from from center.  But others are nothing like who they once were and I do believe I am one of those people. 

Of course there are many things I once liked that I still do;  white cake, my Mom's special pie, baseball, and food.  I realize that the mere fact of growing older changes people.  One would not want to act the same at twenty five as one did at fifteen or five.  Still the core of the person remains close to center their entire lives.  But I believe the last ten years has saw a transformation in me much greater than that brought on my the mere fact that I have aged. 

I react to people totally different, have different values, and I have different desires.  I do believe that I am a much better person than the person I once was.  Good for me.  And perhaps much more important, it's good for you. 

Big Hit

I lost $992.00 yesterday.  I'm struggling as it is and that is too much to take in one day.   My wife is out of work and the medical bills are piling up with no end in sight.  I need a break somewhere. 

There isn't any point in looking for the money as it was a paper loss on the stock market but every dollar loss is one less dollar I have to make it up with.  When I was working losses were esier to take because it meant each share of stock was cheaper and the potential return was higher.  But in retirement, I'm not buying anymore stock so a loss just translates into things being harder to recover from. 

I'm in a catch 22 as I can't afford to go back to work because my wife can not function without me but unless I increase our income we are both going down. 

I have no choice but to trust God.  There is no other way out.

The last day

Dec 20, 2012 is the last day unless you are a Mayan who are mostly Christian and other Christians who know how things are to end.  Some people have even put off Christmas shopping until tomorrow.  No sense purchasing presents if Christmas never comes.  Of course Christmas is the celebration of the birthday of Christ and if you know Christ as your savor then you know that December 21 is not the end of the world. 

No, December 25 is not the birthday of Christ but it isn't a pagan holiday as non-Christians would have you believe.  December 25 was a pagan holiday and the Catholic church found that donations fell off tremendously during this time period so the church decided to celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25 to increase donations.  It worked.  Because there was a pagan holiday on December 25 some people think that the paganism was incorporated into the worship of the birth of Christ but that just isn't true. 

Where was God?

One man asked that question about the shooting and many people were upset with him for asking that question but it really is a good question.  I know the man wasn't just curious about God's whereabouts but was in fact mocking God's existence.  Still, it is a question we all face and it really does deserve an answer.

In the scriptures God says he made the rain to fall on the just and the unjust.  It doesn't matter if we have served God faithfully for fifty years, two weeks or never.  Life happens to us all.. God doesn't pick sides.  Now some people claim that nothing happens without God's will and that is true.  We must remember that God has a permissive will.  God sometimes guides events and people, sometimes He directly interferes and sometimes he allows thing to unfold naturally.  The bible if full of examples of each aspect of God. 

I think most people would be upset if God made us do what he would have us do.  That is what got man into trouble in the first place and why so many people  ignore God for the most part.  They want God to help them over the rough spots, to heal people of sickness and to make everything okay but please, no interfering in my decision making. 

It is our decision after all to serve God or not to serve God.  And as long as man wants to make that decision then God will allow rain to fall on the just and the unjust. 

God is there for the little ones, the ones to young or otherwise incapable of making a decision about eternity.  He will take them home to be with him.  God is also there for others as well giving them the strength and courage to hold together and to deal with the aftermath of what has occurred.  But we must remember that God says He will if we do.  In other words, the prayers of the unrighteous will no be answered nor will the prayers of God's children if there is unconfessed and unrepeated of sin in their lives. 

We cannot impart to God the feelings and emotions we have for God is not the same as we are.  There is more about him and his plan than we will ever understand or are even capable of understanding.  But God has revealed himself to us to the fullest extent we need to know. 

God is not a crutch, an illusion, a figment of ones imagination, imaginary, dead or a lie.  God is real. 

It's not the breed. Really?

A man near Fresno, Calif., was mauled to death by four pit bulls that have since been taken away as authorities on Thursday investigated what happened.

The man was found dead Tuesday night in the driveway of a home in Selma. Animal control officers later impounded four pit bulls, six pit bull puppies and two other dogs at a house next door, NBC affiliate KSEE TV reported.
Neither the victim nor the dogs' owner were identified.
A neighbor said he wasn't surprised, saying that the pit bulls had killed his own dog about a month ago.

 

"They come in our front yard and will come in our driveway," Blake Anderson told KSEE. "I couldn't even get out of my car one time. There were like four of them, so yeah it's ridiculous."
Anderson said the owner should be held responsible for letting the dogs run free.
Authorities would not confirm if the owner will face any charges.
Liberty Animal Control Services, which handles pet issues in the area, said it had not received any earlier calls about the pit bulls.
"The owner of the animals was cooperative. He did sign all the animals over to Liberty Animal Control Services, where they will not be returned to the owner," Liberty director Daniel Bailey told KSEE.
More content from NBCNews.com

12/12/12: Fun facts about this rare day

Actually, you will have to go to MSN to read the story about fun facts.  The headline calls this a rare day but actually ever day is rare because there is only one of each day.  12/12/12 is no more rare than 11-09-46. 

I know why this day is referred to as rare but it really isn't as far as that goes I mean there was 01-01-01, 02-02-02, 03-03-03, etc and there is one every century I do believe. 

Wozniacki mimics Serena Williams?

Caroline Wozniacki stuffed towels in her bra and on her behind to make herself resemble her friend and fellow tennis player Serena Williams.  One commenter, Sam Ojekwe-nwaJehovah•2 hours ago , said               

• +

"CAROLINE WOZNIACKI'S antics were EXTREMELY RACIST, OFFENSIVE, CLASS-LESS, TASTE-LESS, COMPLETELY SILLY and TOTALLY STUPID. they were also DIS-RESPECTFUL. if CAROLINE WOZNIACKI had any regard at all for the OLYMPIC GAMES or for BRAZIL which is the country that will host the next i.e the 2016 Olympics ,she wouldn’t go around trying to disparage an international Olympic Champion in BRAZIL. if CAROLINE WOZNIACKI had any regard at all for the U.S.A, she wouldn’t go around trying to disparage a U.S.A Olympic representative ---- less so an OLYMPIC CHAMPION of the caliber of SERENA WILLIAMS."

Not all black women are built like Serena Williams nor did  Ms. Wozniack intent for her actions to represent all black women, nor does anytime anyone says anything negative about a black person reek of racism.  The only person that has the right to be upset over Ms. Wozniacki's action is Serena Williams herself. 

Monday, 12-09-12 is the big day

Tomorrow is the big day and it doesn't look good so far.  On October 17, 2012 my wife said "Oh" and then did a face plant.  Once I helped her to her feet she complained that her glasses were messed up because she could not see straight. 

I took her to the hospital and from there she was airlifted to Baptist and a week after getting released from there she was back in the hospital at Cone.  Last week she had her second MRI done and she will have to see a specialist to have a test run on her heart.  She already has had an EKG and an EEG. But tomorrow it is back to the eye specialist.  If the injury to her 4th cranial nerve was caused by the fall her vision should clear up, in about 6 to eight weeks, we were told.  If the damage was caused by what caused the fall then her vision will never be normal again.  It has been almost seven weeks and so far no improvement. 


No one knows exactly what happened and my wife doesn't remember anything from Tuesday at noon until Thursday.  It could be that she just simple tripped or she might have had a sudden drop in blood pressure due to medication or a heart condition.  The trouble with that hypothesis is that her head trauma resulted in bleeding from the center of the brain.  A fall would most likely produce an injury to the outside of the brain. 

There are two other possibilities.  One is a stroke and the other is an aneurysm.  A stroke would cause the vision problems and the fall but then again, the fall would have injuried the outside of the brain.  It seems the most likely cause was an aneurysm and the first MRI shows the blood vessels in her brain are in the shape that would be seen after an aneursym.  However, there is no signs of the damage that an aneurysm would have caused so it cannot be determined if that is the cause of her head trauma or not. 

What has been determined is the episode she had on the 28th of October and again on the 29th were mini-strokes.  She has regained her full speech back and she is more steady on her feet and seems to be improving daily in her coordination.  But there doesn't seem to be any improvement in her eye sight.  However, the testing tomorrow will determine if there has been any improvement, however slight.  Any improvement will give cause for hope.   

Lottery winner wants a sound financial plan

The man who won half of the 588 million dollar lottery wants to wait until he makes a sound financial plan before claiming his winnings but has decided to opt for a lump sum prize. 
That strategy doesn't make sense too me.  It just sounds greedy. 

Half of the prize money is around 294 million dollars, or 9.8 million dollars per year for the next thirty years.  I could live quite well with 9.8 million dollars per year. 

One of the biggest problems with the lump sum is people not used to large sums of money believe that it is an endless supply and some times don't realize the hidden costs of some purchases.  Take a trip but the money you spend never earns a return.  Invest in family members but most often their start up ventures end in failure and again no return.  Buy a fancy car but face the depreciation.  Huge houses are nice but the upkeep is huge too.  Without due care, one can spent it all in a short time and even end up in debt. 

But, with the yearly withdrawal, even if you blow the 9.9 million dollars this year, you have another 9.8 million coming next year.   Hopefully one would get used to having money after a years or so, most of the beggar relatives and friends have gone away, and you can really start to enjoy your money and make wise decisions with it.   

Eleven year old shoots at intruder

Stocksdale, NC. 

A boy, eleven, took a sick day from school.  Around lunch time, 12:45 pm to be more precise, the boy heard dogs barking and when he looked outside he saw a masked man so he retrieved a pistol.  When he returned to the room he saw the man inside the house so the boy shot at him, striking the TV set.  The intruder fled.

Even though the boy was a poor shot he acted quickly and bravely.  However, my question is "Why is an eleven year old child home from school by himself all day and why was he allowed access to a loaded gun? 

Apparently the deputy didn't investigate that part of the crime but I believe someone needs to look into the situation more thoroughly. 

The work at the church continues

I have tried to clear the property at the church using just the hand tools I had available without having to buy anything.  I used a loper, a small hand saw, a mattock, and a steel rank.  I fianlly gotten to the point the next thing I have to clear out is all the fallen trees.  I have three piles of trunks that I have drug out with each pile big enough to fill a pickup truck to capacity.  What I'm left with are thirty and fifty year old intact trees that need to be cut into small pieces and hand carried out. 

As you know from reading my blogs my wife illness is resulting in huge medical bills and a loss of her income (I'm on social security) so I can ill afford to purchase anything now.  God did provide for us with a little cash winfall and a permanent monthly income but that by no means even begins to replace what my wife was making.  It is enough, however, to keep us from starving and/or losing our home. 

No, I purchased a chain saw because I can't finish the job without one. I found a really good deal on a high quality one and I feel justified because I would have given the church my tithe.  I still will give the church the remainder of it but I beleieve my labor for cutting the grass (I purchased the lawn mower and paid for its upkeep out of my own pocked and mowed the grass at no charge) and the six months of labor I gave to clearing the land up to this point more than makes up   for the cost of the chain saw. 

I didn't get to work at the church today because I took my wife to the neurologist today.  He is scheduling her for another MRI and some kind of heart test.  Please say a prayer for her.  She still has a lot of healing to do.  We are both thankful for what God has done for her and for us so far.  Praises to his name. 

Dishonest people

How often do you perform a random act of kindness?

That is the title of a recent YAHOO SURVEY and 63% of respondents replied often.  It is evident that the respondents do not represent a cross section of people, most people are dishonest, or many people have no idea what a radom act of kindness is.  Helping a family member or close friend is not random and taking out the garbage because your nine month pregnant wife asked you to does not qualify. 

 

 

Update to wife's slow recovery

In the post about my wife's slow recovery I ended the blog entry by saying that I trusted God to provide for my financial needs. 

He just did. 

Retirement Plan

It seems I am most fortunate in that the fund I chose to place my retirement money into is the most profitable one in the past twelve months for the company that handles my money.  I do believe I made 5.74% last year which isn't particularly good but considering the economy, it isn't all that bad either.   I know that doesn't even compare with the seven fold increase I had in my assests from the time Obama was elected until I retired last year, but I never expected to to substain that level of growth. 

I suppose I was one of the lucky ones.    

Wife's recovery slow

The anti-seizure medication my wife has been taking apparently affected her taste buds as she has been complainng that her food doesn't taste like it should.  Her speech has returned to normal and she forms her thoughts almost as fast as she ever did and, while not completely stable, she is more so than she has been.  It would seem that she is improving to the point of normalacy except for one thing.  Her vision is still abnormal. 

She has an appointment on the tenth and maybe we will learn if there has been any improvement and if there is hope for her vision.  I don't know if that is the date they will fit her for a prism to help her see and if they do if she will be able to return to work or drive again. 

It's been difficult on the both of us.  Besides the obvious of her not being able to see well, she is stuck inside unless I take her somewhere.  I am stuck taking care of her so I'm inside more than I would normally be.  I'm just glad that the recovery period is taking place while there isn't a great deal of yard work that has to be done.  I do have a project I'm working on at the church but it isn't something I have to do on a certain time frame. 

One of the hardest things is trying to hold things together financially.  Most companies will start paying short term disability after an employee has been out two weeks but with her employer she has to submit medical records and get her short-term disability approved before she can draw.  Her accident plan may help some if they will pay.  She did have Afflack but her employer dropped them for Allstate because Afflack refused to bend to Walmarts terms.  Allstate has a reputation as being a slow pay in the supplemental insurance industry. 

We need a source of income other than my social security but after six weeks we have received nothing. 

We have a hospital bill and an air ambulance bill from Mt. Airy, a hospital bill from Baptist, and one coming from Cone.  There will be bills from her regular doctor as well as Southeastern Eye.  We also have our normal bills to take care of.  We have not neglected the health of our kittens either.

Things will get tought and rough around here for awhile but with faith in God and His help, we shall survive. 

What's worth getting upset about?

One of Yahoo's front page leading stories is about a sportscaster who thought ill of Jay Cutler walking past stadium workers and not speaking to them even when they spoke to him.  A side line story (sort of like pafge twoo in a newspaper) displayed the following headline in small type:

Assad's Troops Wipe Out a Playground Full of Children

Now which story is worth getting upset about? 

I thought it was just me but he really is a jerk.

I was a little nervous when I met my wife's family for the first time.  Her father had passed away many years before but her mother was doing well and her brother was doing well as were her sister's husband. 

Her family is a lot different than my family is.  I haven't learned anything about my wife's paternal grandfather but her mother's father was a brilliant man, having been a successful business man, college professor and circuit court judge.  He was more of an aristocrat than anything else: stern, stuffy, and authoritative.  Her mother is a small person but intelligent and learned, having earned her living as a teacher.  She is a reserved person, neat, a planner but subject to changing her  mind, a giver of pratical gifts, not affectionate but not cold nor aloft either. 

My wife, her sister, and her brother all seem to be cookie cutter images of their mother's quirks.  The family members aren't on the pretty side of looks nor are they particularly religious yet they are Christian and are genuine, nice, and keep themselves on an even keel. 

The younger girl's husband, on the other hand, is a jerk.  He is a financial officer for a motorcycle dealership and is an authority on any person around town as well as on most subjects.  Any thoughts you may have are held up for ridicule by this man and it is his habit to ignore everyone except his wife, who he speaks down to if he speaks to her at all, and his son, who one would think is his equal and best friend. 

His real jerkiness comes to light at the dinner table where is is the first to begin eating and he eats at at pace of a starving dog.  I think he eats fast so he can be the first to the dessert.  Whatever isn't taken  will end up on his plate.

It is his habit to come late, usually just in time for the meal, eat, and then be on his way as soon after the meal is finished as possible.  No one complains about his leaving though. 

Now my younger brother is arrogant too and also a jerk but he is a wealthy man and actually has friends.  My wife's brother in law is just a jerk. 

Special K Popcorn Chips

Apparently my wife likely the commercial for the Special K popcorn chips better than I did because she wanted to try them.  I like chips and I like popcorn so I figured they couldn't be that bad.  I was surprised by the several choices of flavors one has to choose from:  sweet and sour, salty, butter, sea salt and butter, and maybe another choice, I can't remember.  It really doesn't matter.  I picked up the butter flavor for her and decided to give them a try  too.

As bad as the commercial is, the popcorn chips were worse.  Nasty is giving them the benefit of the doubt. 

The holidays

First, let me clarify that the holidays I'm referring too are Thanksgiving and Christmas. I like Thanksgiving because I get to be with people I like and maybe some family members too. This past summer I planted pumpkins at the church so I didn't have to mow yet still not have the property overgrown with weeds. I sold many of the pumpkins and gave the money to the church to make improvements. What pumpkins weren't saleable or didn't sale I carved out and froze the pumpkin so now I'm baking pumpkin pies for all the church members.

I plan on planting a largger pumpkin patch next year.

The older I get the less meaning the traditional way of celebrating Christmas means to me. I no longer see my kid and rarely hear from him and the same for my wifes children. They all have busy lives and live so far away. Honestly, my church family means more to me than my relatives do because I know they care about me.

Instead of buying stuff to put under a tree my wife and I usually make a large purchase and consider it our Christmas gift to each other. One year we bourgt a new TV, last year we purchased new computers, a desktop for me and a laptop for her and this year we purchased a love seat with twin lounger/rocking chairs. Most of the items we purchased in September or October.

I find the most meaningful things about the holidays is the people we want in our lives. Not the food or the gifts but the people. Christmas, especially, is about people and Christ. I know he wasn't born on December 25th and I also know that that date was picked by the Catolic church as a way of getting people to give to the church rather than to pagan rituals. Still, we don't know exactly when the birthday of Christ was so December 25 is as good as any other day.

What is important is that we celebrate his birth. The gifts and the food and the parties are fun but the best gift we can give is our hearts to Christ. If we give him that he will give to us eternal life. And that, my friends, is what the holidays are about.

wiring to blame for no power

People without power in the Northeast are upset that it hasn't been restored this long after Sandy passed through the area.  It's cold here and I know it must be up there.  I believe they had a snow after the hurricane had done its damage. 

Many New Yorkers are not garnering simpathy from Southerns because we find them rude.  Still we can empathize with them, especially if you lived through the big ice storm to hit this area about 10 years ago.  I know I was here and still remember the misery I went through.

After several months of being homeless I had found a friend that let me have a bedroom to call home.  My homelessness was through no fault of my own and is a subject for another time.  It's only important to this story to illustrate the point that I had no money even though I was working a full time job and an almost full time job. 

The neighborhood i lived in was the first group of houses to lose power during the ice storm and the last to have power restored.  The house was heated by oil but without power the furnance didn't work.  The house did not have a fireplace nor did the owner have a space heater.  They had a friend they could stay with so they were okay. 

I had lived in Archdale  so I had not made any friends in Greensboro save for the owner of the house where I stayed and a friend of hers with whom she was staying.  I had no way of getting to Archdale or to my Moms house so I was stuck.  Besides, I had to care for the animals.  It was below freezing every night and there just wasn't enough covers to keep me warm. 

Green Ford graciously allowed me to take a shower there one day and another day I gave a hooker $10.00 to let me us the shower at her room at the old Southgate Motel.  In case you are wondering, yes the name of my blog came from that motel but that is a story for another time. 

I was in that miserable condition for ten days so I understand the peoples anger and frustration.  The power is not being turned on due to fears about faulty wiring and the possible results when a power surges through bad wiring to the homes of 40,000 people.  There could be lots of fires and lots of property loss and maybe even some loss of life.  At best, some people would be worse off than they are now for then they would have no place to live.  I've been there and done that.  I don't wish that on anyone, even if they are rude. 

A poem by maria

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"We would rather fall in love but they force us to rise in hate
Dear God, they kill Muslims all over the world, will they ever quit?

I am nostalgic, I am sad, I can’t help but frown
How peaceful the world was before their interference, I wish their warships drown

They kill indiscriminately some time by bomb some time by drone strike
Dammit! It’s all so horribly real, not a game of ‘Counter strike’!

They kill us mercilessly and the victims are presented as villains
But how can they live in peace after taking the lives of civilians?

They rape innocent girls, dreaming of becoming princess
What rotten crisis has been imposed on us!

The terror, the horror, the destruction of war
Destroyed dreams, forgotten memories, and it’s still not over

I wish they had some conscience, some sense of guilt
I wish they would leave us be so that we try to rebuilt

Those destroyed dreams, those forgotten memories
Those broken houses, those shelters, those sanctuaries

The gardens where children will play
The colonies where corpse doesn’t decay

When will their conscience come to our aid?
When will their ignorant hatred fade?

When will they learn to be fair?
When will they genuinely care?

For the weak, for the oppressed, for the less privileged
Those children who once had happy homes, but now live in orphanage

Please research about us and know well
Our hatred is not for all, just the cruel

Learn to love us and you will receive more love than you phantom
Come as civilians, come as friends to our lands and you’re still welcome"
 

What a load of crap.  It was the Afgans that hid Bin laden and trained the terroists that killed 2,000 civilians at the world trade center.  if the Afgans would put down their weapons and work with us to rebuild their country and learn to live in peace weith themselves and others then there could be a coming together.  The Afgans fought Russia and they are fighting us and they fight themselves. 

Where is the peace and love in Iran? 

Where is the understanding of our ways? 

War is hell and if you play the game you have to pay the price.

I didn't know this was a job.

Nate Silver-Led Statistics 

Nate Silver was right. The Gallup Poll was wrong. Silver, the computer expert who gave Obama a 90 percent chance of winning re-election, predicted on his ...

 

When I was in school we had to take a test that rated us with everyone in the USA in our grade and I scored in the 99 percentile in math.  I had the highest score in my high school on the math section of the SAT (college board), and I was told by the guidance counselor (based on these and other tests) that I should go into some occupation that has to do with math. 

 

The trouble was, no one told me what any of those jobs were.  I didn't know one could be a statistician.  When I was thirteen, I once calculated  (in my head when I was supposed to be sleeping)

some statistics about Willie Mays, a star baseball player for the San Fransico Giants and my favorite player. 

 

I divided the number of at bats he had from the year before (minus walks) by the number of home runs he had hit and determined the number of home runs per plate appearances.  I then took the number of games he would play and the number of bats he was expected to not be walked and calculatted the number of home runs he would hit the upcoming baseball season.  I also calculated his batting average for the upcoming season as well.  I wrote my calculations down, put them in an envelope, sealed it and then put it away for future reference. 

 

I calculated his batting average exactly and missed his home run toal by one. 

 

I'm not saying I would have ever become as famous as Nate Silver.  All I'm saying is that i just didn't know one could make a living playing with facts and figures like that.  I never saw an ad for a statistician in the paper nor met anyone who did that for a living. 

 

It seems sometimes that people who are smart in one area are dumb in others.  That's why even being a Mensa member does not mean one will make a good living. 

 

Regrets?  Yea I had a few.  But I did it my way.

 

Yes, I did and screwed it up too.    It wasn't until I decided to let go and give up control of my life and let God lead awhile that things got better for me.  No, I didn't make any more money, but life is so much better now than before.  Money can never buy what i have received by following Jesus.    

Powerful e-mails

One would think that a General and the director of the CIA would know the power of putting things in traceable documents, especially things like e-mails.  A piece of paper cas be burned, the ashes stirred in water, and the sludge flushed so that the contents can not be determined but an e-mail; is almost impossible to get rid of.   But apparently lust over ruled a smart mans mind and in matters of the heart he played the fool. 

Stock market plunge

Wow!  The day after Obama is re-elected the stock market falls three hundred points.  I know, it's Bush's fault and Obama has had only four years to straighten out the mess.  I wonder how much longer it will be before he starts accepting responsibility for his failures. 

I'll give the man credit where credit is due. 

I'm not anti-Obama. 

But I don't blame Bush for Obama's failures either. 

Invisible friend?

I don't have invisible friends.  Someone made the comment that people who believe in Jesus had invisible friends.  Jesus was a real person who was crucified on the cross at Calvary by Roman soldiers as a consequence of a ruling in a Roman court at the request of the ruling Jewish government. 

You may believe he rose from the dead and is therefor exactly who He says he is or you may choose to believe he was just an unfortunate soul who was punished for being unconventional in his beliefs and teachings but don't be so stupid as to think Jesus is not a real person. 

The fact that Jesus arose from the dead is made believable because he rising was first reported by women.  At the time, women's word was not considered valid in a court of law so if the disciples were trying to perpetuate at false story about Christ rising from the dead they would not have chosen women to make the first citing.

Secondly, they reported their own unbelief at His rising from the dead.  If they were trying to make others believe a lie they would have presented a united front. 

Thirdly, there were too many witnesses for it to have been a hoax.

Fourthly, all the apostles were killed because of their assertions that Christ rose from the dead.  If they knew it to be a lie, at least one would have admitted that lie to save his own life yet none did.

Fifthly, why would Paul, a Pharisee, vowed to arrest as many Christians as he could, become the apostle to the Gentiles claiming that he saw the risen Christ if it was not so. 

What man, beaten almost beyond recognition, stripped naked, nailed to a cross, given vinegar to drink, and made fun of, could keep of the ruse and announce that he forgave his tormenters and doubters?  No one could love others that much. 

He could have saved His own life with one word yet he choose to lay down his life willingly.  No mere man would have done that, especially knowing that his closest friends and allies had already forsaken him. 

No, Christ was not only real, bur He is the son of the living God and the way to salvation. 

I accepted christ as my Lord when I was ten years old but I was always afraid of giving him control of my life, afraid that I would not be able to enjoy life and afraid I would be made fun of.  It wasn't until I accepted Christ as my Lord also that I really started to live.  He is no less real because I can't see him physically than my wife is real because she is in another part of the house or my mother is real because she is in another city and I cannot see her. 

Christ said he has gone to prepare a place for us and I have no doubt that is true. 

Choose this day whom you will serve.  As for me, I will let Christ lead me. 

Congratulations.

Congratulations to Barrack Obama, Pat McCrory, and all the other winners in yesterdays elections.  I voted some Republicans, some Democrats, and some third party candidates.  Some that I voted for won, some didn't. 

Not Sure?

A poll on MS NBC asks if a person has voted, not voted but plan too, have not voted or not sure.  Out of 203,000 people who responded to the poll, 1,624 people said they were not sure.  How can you not know if you voted or not? 

Seriously.

Free CD's or DVD's

If anyone else would like a copy of a sermon by Rev. Charles Garrett, lease let me know and I'll furnish you with your choice of a CD or DVD.  Great things are happening at the little church.  People are getting saved, healed, blessed, and rejuvenated. 

When I say healed, I don't mean the hitting them in the head and knocking them over backwards like you see faith healers do.  I am talking miraculous, prayer driven, divine intervention heling that only God can do and he is to get all the glory for His mighty works. 

I'm not a religious fanantic and I have plenty of faults and still much maturing to do to be truly a service to Christ but I do know fact from fiction and it is a fact that Jesus Christ is God.  It is not just what I believe but what I know.   Come, walk with me and you shall know also. 

I searched all over heaven for you

"I searched all over heaven for you"  will be playing at 6 pm Saturday Nov 10, 2012 at New Salem Baptist Church.  You really don't want to miss this play. 

Pakistani parents killed daughter for eyeing boy

Pakistani parents killed daughter for eyeing boy

Reno Gazette-Journal - 54 minutes ago
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani couple accused of killing their 15-year-old daughter by pouring acid on her carried out the attack because she sullied the family's honor by looking at a boy, the couple ... more »

Only time will tell

The question is "Did the fall cause the injury?" or did an injury cause the fall?  It's not so much an injury but a specific injury or event.  The doctors are led to believe it was an aneurysm that caused the original fall and so it would seem that the fall caused the injury to the 4th cranial nerve that is causing the double vision.  If that is indeed the case then the vision should slowly come back to normal in a few months. 

On the other hand, if the fall was caused by a stroke then the double vision is a permanent ailment and having a prism installed in the glasses is about the only corrective measure.  The doctor at Southeastern Eye Center won't know the answer for several weeks.  The doctor's at the hospital won't ever know the answer to the two questions.  An aneurysm normally leaves a trace of itself behind but not always.  There is evidence of several mini-strokes but a stroke is not likely to cause the bleeding in the center of the brain  nor is a fall apt to cause that type of bleeding. 

Whatever is going on, I hope that the double-vison will clear up and life can get back to normal one day. 

A Thanksgiving Tradition

     My dad was not a football fan.  He didn't understand the game nor was he much interested in learning so it was a great surprise when I was fourteen when Dad expressed a desire so play a Sunday evening game of football with his three sons.  For several years we played almost every Sunday afternoon and it wasn't long until the sides were my Dad and I against my older brother and the youngest of the three boys.
     I can't remeber exactly when we started keeping our win-loss stats but they were one-sided for sure.  When we played our last Thyanksgiving Day game Dad and I had won thirty games in a row spaning several decades or more.  How old I was I can't remember   but I know my Dad was well into his sixties.  Dad never was much of a passer but it was a lost art form for him by the time we played our last game. 
When I was young, we won mainly because I was quick.  My brothers could not stop me once I had the ball.  since Dad could not pass well I ran the ball most of the time and almost always scored a touchdown.  The scores were mostly lopsided in our favor.  As the years went by the scores began to even out some but were never really close but once. 

For our twenty-ninth contest, my brothers had a 8-2 lead on us and we played to 10 (one point per touchdown).  We still won, 10-8. 

At that time in our lives we didn't get to play every year   due to military service, jobs, family, etc so it was a couple of years later before we played our final contest.  As soon as the game started I realized we were doomed.  Dad could no longer throw a ball let alone one with any accuracy.  My once dazzling quickness and blazing speed had been replaced by layers of fat and old tired legs. 

My older brother was heavy too but then him and the younger one never depended on speed.  The youngest brother was still slim and trim and was the only one of us who could run the length of the field without calling for oxygen. 

They wom the game 10- to zero but their was no gloating on their part.  I don't even know if they considered the victory sweet after all those defeats.  But I was inspired.  During the following year I managed to lose all my excess weight and now felt that I could run circles around my two brothers again.  But it took two to make a team. 

Dad could no longer play and my brothers were never to be at home on Thanksgiving with us again. 
The tradition lives own in my memories.  It wasn't the wining that I enjoyed so much but the little slice of time in which my family enjoyed each other. 
   
 

To the Unbeliever

I know that some will read the story about my wife and how I believe that God intervened and they will remain unconvinced.  "If there is a God, why did He let your wife fall?"  would probably be their first argument against there being a God or one that cares anyway. 

The scriptures tell us that God "made the rain to fall on the just and the unjust equally."  Stuff happens and it happens to whomever it happens to.  Be ye bad or good, rich or poor, black or white, an American or not, a believer or not, stuff happens.  The fact that she had an aneurysm has nothing to do with her as a person and was not caused by God.  I know some Christians claim that nothing happens unless it is Gods will and in a way that is true.  God has an active will and he has a permissive will.  God's permissive will allows things to happen to whomever they happen to.  He does nothing to cause or to prevent some things. 

The evidence is there to support the theory that my wife's fall was caused by an aneurysm  which put her life in grave danger.  I firmly believe without the power of prayer she would have died that day or shortly afterward from one of the strokes. 

I do know that I am giving and will continue to give God the praise and glory for answering the prayers of his people and intervening in my wife's health and saving her life.  There is no other logical explanation for what has happened.  Doctors are two of the finest hospitals in the state will tell you the same thing. 

I know the answer to the doctors question

On October 17 of this year my wife fell and landed on the right side of her face.  She appeared to be briefly passed out but only for a few seconds.  When she was able to get back on her feet she was concerned about her vision, thinking something had happened to her glasses.  It wasn't long before I realized something was wrong and took her to the hospital.  The local facility could not help her so transferred her to Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem. 

There it was determined that she had a brain hemorrhage.  After a three day stay she was released.  She was told she could return to work in a week and that her vision should recover shortly and her headache should go away.  The only thing they recommended was she keep an appointment with her regular doctor on the 24th and return to see them on 11-12. 

Her vision did not clear up and her headache did not go away.   Sunday, the 28th, I was summoned out of church and found the paramedics, relatives and police at my house.  Along it was obvious that something had happened to my wife she was lucid enough that she could not be taken to the hospital against her will.  The next day, Monday, around ten am I found her on the floor.  This time I sent her to Cone in Greensboro. 

She spent 5 days there and extensive testing was done including an MRI.  After all was said and done it was determined that the blood on the brain did not appear to be in a section of the brain where one would find blood from a fall but no evidence of an aneurysm was present.  No cause could be determined for her double vision or the tinkling/numbness in her left hand.  She did have evidence of
seizures or mini-strokes most likely caused by the flaking of the drying blood. 

I know why the doctors saw no evidence of the ANEURYSM that caused the initial fall.  Just after she arrived at the hospital in Mt. Airy I called my pastor.  He imitiately called the evangelist in charge of the church fellowship who alerted all the churches.  Then our pastor called the church members.  I called my mother who called her church and my brothers and her brother and they called their churches.  Then Mom called the churches that had given her support over the years.

That is a lot of churches praying in such a quick fashion that over 27 churches were involved before my wife ever arrived in Winston-Salem.  The main request was that she be healed from her aneurysm. 

Now I know that that all aneurysms leave evidence of themselves for CAT scans and MRI's to pick-up but from the amount of blood on her brain and the central location of the injury the aneurysm should have been large enough to detect.  Exactly what has happened has the doctors puzzled but I believe that prayer changes things and that is exactly what happened here.  God is truly wonderful. 

Bodies of missing 2- and 4-year-old brothers found in NYC

While it is a tragedy and my heart felt sympathies go out to the children's family, there was no need for the two children, ages 2 and 4, to have died.

The story relates how a woman and her two children fled their home amid rising waters.  The mother was trying to reach her sisters house.  As the mother was driving along in her SUV water swept through and washed her children from her arms. 

The story goes on to relate how she left the vehicle and searched throughout the most empty neighborhood for her children to no avail.  She flagged down an emergency vehicle and a search party was organized.  When her SUV was found child safety seats were found.

What is it about people that makes them think that they can drive through water?  What is it about people that makes them think that safety measures are for others?  What is it about people that do not allow them to ask for help before a situation gets too far out of hand? 

First the woman should have recognized the fact that if the water is rising in her home it is rising in the streets and if it is rising in the streets it is unsafe to drive. Secondly, she should have called for aid before she needed help for the lost kids. 

Thirdly, if no help could be given and no other alternative could be found and her only chance for survival was to flee in her vehicle, the children should have been strapped in their car seats.  The very last place they should have been was where they were--in the arms of an operator of a motor vehicle. 

This is just an example of the many ways people lose their lives or cause the loss of life of others through stupidity.   As much as people like to think they are rational intelligent thinking individuals, life shows over and over again that we are emotional reactionaires unless forced to be otherwise. 

Giants win, cowboys lose

I'm talking about the baseball Giants winning the world series.  I think the football Giants beat the Cowboys but I understand that was a sloppy game of mistakes.  The final game of the world series went into extra innings and was a thriller. 

I love baseball.  Some claim the pace is too slow but football only has 11 1/2 minutes of actual play to the average game.  Baseball has intensity from the first pitch until the last one.  Unlike other sports there is not a certain score or certain time limit.  One plays until the game is finished.  Basketball is about tempo and shot selection and being tall or quick.  Football is about being fast or strong.   There comes a time in football and basketball when the losing team has no chance to win.  Not always but often enough.  In baseball a team is always in the game until it is over. 

A team can be down 9-0 and it could be the bottom of the ninth with two out and an 0-2 count on the batter and that team can still win.  A game can change quickly with a swing of the bat or the wrong pitch selection. 

The Giants were only behind once the entire series which they won by winning the first four games of the best 4 out of 7.  Their fielding was superb , their pitching almost flawless, and their offense was potent. 

I've been a Giants fan since I was 11 and Willie Mays played center field and the team was still in New York.  I haven't enjoyed watching a particular player play since Willie as I have watching Buster Posey.  Like one of my all-time favorite players and definetly favorite baseball character, Yogi Berra, Buster is a catcher.  Still only twenty-five, he is one of the big reasons the Giants are winners and if he stays healthy I believe he will go down in baseball history as one of the all time great catchers, along with the likes of Roy Campenela, Yogi  Berra, and Carlton Fisk, to name of few of the great. 

What makes him so great?  He is a good hitter, has a good arm, and catches balls most cathers can't.
Not only that but he knows how to call a game.  Even most baseball fans believe that the pitcher controls the game but that isn't so.  It is important for the pitcher to know the opposing batters and to know what they can hit and what they have trouble with   but it is also equally important that the catcher knows such things too.  The catcher calls the pitch selection, the speed, and the location.  The catcher also controls the pitchers tempo .  Buster is really good at what catchers are supposed to do.

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants for their victory, their second World Series championship in three years.    

No, I really didn't say that.

According to all the political ads I've seen or heard from the Presidential campaign, the only choice we have this election is this:  Do we want to be screwed by the white guy or screwed by the black guy?
  No matter who we vote for, we are promised that we will be screwed. 

Church service interrupted by the police

I was in the midst of teaching Sunday School when the church doors opened and a man appeared.  He was dressed all in blue and had a gun strapped to his side.  Even though he had a badge, it is still a little disconcerting to be facing down a policeman in church.  Horror of all horrors he was there to see me.

With apologies to my class had had to leave and head home.  It seems my dear wife had an episode while talking with her mother.  Without warning she started laughing hysterically and then just as suddenly became unresponsive. 

It is frightening to arrived home and find a rescue squad at your house, the street full of gawking neighbors, and a front porch full of concerned folks and no idea what is going on. 

On Oct 17th, in celebration of my wife's birthday we had taken a trip to "Mayberry" and   were having a good time when my wife suddenly fell forward, doing a beautiful face plant.  Oh course she cried a few tears and when I was able to help her up there was an obvious swelling of her right cheek.  Other than that she seemed fine but a few minutes later she didn't know where we were so I took her to the hospital.  A CT scan revealed hemorrhaging on the brain so she was airlifted to Baptist.  After three days there she was realeased.  She has regained some of her memory but has not been anywhere near her old self. 

It is going to take a while for her to get better.  This morning she seemed to be doing better than she had been in awhile, actually sitting at the table and having a little breakfast.  She was more alert than usual so I had high hopes she was finally showing some progress.  It seems I had no such luck. 

The church is praying for her.  If it wasn't for prayer I may not even have her around any more.  God is good. 

Poll: Disappointing trend in racial views

I do believe when America voted  for Obama 4 years ago there were two primary reasons; one being a vote for Obama was a vote against Bush, and the other reason is that many people voted for Oabma because of his skin color.  Now I know most blacks are Democratic but I do believe a higher percentage of blacks voted in the last election than would have normally voted. 

That is only normal and natural that blacks voted for Obama because of his skin color.  After all we dislike people because of their skin color or like them based on their looks.  It is highly likely the person we dislike because of their skin color may be the nicest person and the beauty may be a total ass.  Actually, I find that to be the case more often than not. 

Now the slip in racial attitudes hasn't been a big one, just two or three percentage points, but it is disappointing, has the headline states.  (You may view the article on Yahoo under the same title).
What the Yahoo article doesn't discuss is the reason for the slippage in attitude. 

I think there are several reasons.  When I went to work 5 days a week, I noticed that blacks hung out together and seldom acknowledged whites outside of what was necessary.  Even when blacks and whites were friends, the greetings were different and the conversations were different. 

I do believe when people feel left out they tend to feel not so good towards the   people who ignore them or treat them different.  And another reason is that I do think many blacks thought their lot in life would be better under Obama  and said so.  I think some people feared that Obama would favor legislation that gave blacks more advantages. 

I also think another reason is that true racists are more vocal, especially on the Internet.  Some people might be persuaded by their attitudes. 

As far as Mexicans are concerned, so many of them came here as undocumented aliens, or illegal immigrants if you prefer and seem to be pushing their culture unto us rather than trying to blend in. 

I may be correct, somewhat correct, or totally wrong. 

I do know that dislikeing people different from us comes natural.  We have to learn not to distrust or discriminate. 

I was watching a re-run of the Cosby show in which Cliff filled in as moderator of a ceremony in which the old President of Hillman stepped down and the new one took over.  A charge was made to the graduates that in life when they encounter a struggling, new, Hillman graduate that they should support them because they graduated from Hillman. 

That is just as wrong as giving someone a job just because they went to the same college or belonged to the same fraternity or are the same skin color as the person doing the hiring. 

There are so many reasons people hate.  Boston hates Yankee fans, LA sucks if you are a Celtic fan, Muslims hate us because we aren't Muslim, and die hard Demorcrats hate Republicans. 

Will we ever stop hating others that are different?  Not likely.    Will things ever get better?  Maybe by 2 or 3 percentage points.

What a suprise

I worked for two of the companies listed as worst in customer response times via telephone:  Rite Aid and Ruddick Corp.  Rite Aid I can understand.  I haven't worked for them in decades but way back when the telephone was a pay phone in the managers office so when the phone rang one had to unlock the office and climb the stairs to answer the phone.

The big surprise for me was Ruddick corporation listed as Ruddick, owner of Harris-Teeter prides itself on customer service and its standards are high for store employees to respond to customers.  What is the biggest surprise is not only are they bad but they were dead last.   

Enjoying Ones Job is Simply

When I worked for a non-defunct major food retailer, the company was plagued by a high turnover rate among employees so a consulting firm was hired to determine what needed to be done to turn things around.  The results of their investigation showed that 80% of the comments from management to employees were negative and 19% were neutral.  Give positive feedback and employees would be happier was the conclusion. 

The company didn't listen.  I'm not going to touch the subject of why they went out of business but I can say with certainty that the company's refusal to change was the reason employee turnover remained high. 

For your boss to give you a hardy "Well done"  everyday would soon lose its impact  but when an employee steps up in a tough situation a hardy thanks goes a long way.  Managers are quick to point out mistakes, to ask us to work a little harder, or to work over time, or correct us in mid job either because they think they know a better way of doing the job or just don't understand out thought process.  But just let us step up when a co-worker is out or we just received a rush order, or you discovered a more efficient way to do a task, and getting a well done from the boss is almost as hard as finding a magic lamp at the flea market. 

But feeling appreciated is more than the boss giving us a compliment now and then.  Employees like to feel they are important to the company so keeping them in the loop is important too.  I know companies are going to institute new policies without consulting employees  and often that is the best way to handle change.  But rather than just change things and expecting the employees to be happy about that change, what if the managers ask the employees how best to implement those changes.  Knowing that your opinion counts makes one feel better about themselves. 

I had planned to retire in November of 2011 but actually retired in June of last year.  The day I decided to retire I was scheduled off at 4 pm.  Chris left at two as always and I was the wrapper that day.  I ran out of labels at almost the exact moment I was handed a list of items that needed to be cut.  Rather than make things hard on whomever was to take my place on the wrapper, I went to achieve a fresh roll of labels before I started on my cutting list. 

The market manager, mistakenly thinking I had locked my knives away, made the following statement to me:   "This is my bar and I will make the decision on last call, not you." 

I have always set the bar high for myself and after working with this man for eight years, if he thought so little of me as to cause him to say such a stupid thing, then he is welcomed to own the bar but I certainly did not have tto patronize his place. 

Sometimes I was asked to work over.  Never did I receive a thanks for that but I was always reminded  of how much overtime I had and that I needed to that that time off. 

I do a lot of things I'm not compensated for.  I mow the grass at the church, volunteer for any and all work porojects, and take the videos for the shut-ins.  Not only that, but I purchased the lawnmower to cut the grass with and I purchased the video camera to make the videos with.  The last work project we had, I ran all the errands and furnish half the equipment and tools.

I have been working on clearing some property at the church, planted a pumpkin patch, and shared the harvest from my own garden with everyone who goes to church there.  I get paid zilch  but I know my efforts are appreciated.  Sometimes that is worth a lot more than money. 

Fans got it wrong in Duke/Carolina incident

I'm a Duke fan (I like Carolina too but prefer Duke)  so my prejudice in any controversial play would most likely go towards them.  The play I make reference too is the play in which a Duke player is injured when a Carolina player is coming onto the field and the two players make contact. 

The healines of the incident on MSN suggests that it was a flagrant act that the refs missed.  At the time the regs explainned that the Duke player was moving backwards and no foul was called but in watching the video it at first seems that the incident was intentional and the the UNC player hit the Duke player in the back on purpose.  It does not appear the Duke player was moving at all.  But this is not the case at all.

The reason most people missed the real cause of the incident was that the eyes are naturally drawn up to the upper body area of the players and from that point of view it seems obvious the incident was flagrant and poor sportsmanship on the part of the UNC player. 

Slow the video down, even to one frame at a time, and watch the foot action.  One can see the Duke player is moving and just as the man from UNC is about to pass behind him, the Duke player takes a steps backwards and trips the UNC player.  There is nothing flagrant about the incident.  It isn't due to Carolina being behind, or the fact the one player was white and one was black, or that the player from Duke is considered their best player.  If one were to access blame for the incident it would have to be placed on Duke and that would not be correct either as it seems obvious the Duke player did not realize anyone was behind him. 

The most distrubing thing about the story is the amount of hate spewed by commenters on the story calling the Carolina player racial names, referring to him as a criminal or even as an animal of the primate family.  Such talk is inflamatory and totally unnecessary.  If the incident had been between two white players I doubt the UNC player would have been called a hood or an ape or even a thug. 

This incident reminds me of the number of times we make snap judgements based on our prejudices
or preferences and without looking at the situation from all angles.  I just wish people were more level headed and less emotional in their decision making. 

The skunk was actually a 9 year- old girl

By Isolde Raftery, NBC News

A 9-year-old Pennsylvania girl was shot in the shoulder with a shotgun at a Halloween party Saturday evening by a relative who mistook her for a skunk, a Beaver County dispatcher confirmed to NBC News.

Follow @NBCNewsUS

The shooting, which took place in New Sewickley Township, Pa. came in at 8:02 p.m. on Saturday night. Police told WPXI.com that the girl was wearing a black outfit and a black hat attached to a white tassel.
The girl was transported to Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pa., about 50 minutes away, where she underwent surgery, WPXI.com reported.

Exactly how big do they grow skunks in Beaver county? 

Confidentially to men

Hey Guys.  It happens.  Sometimes the woman we want doesn't want us or doesn't want us anymore.  sometime we screw up a job.  Sometimes life just sucks.  There are like at least 7 billion people in the world, over 307,000,000 of which live in the USA and there are some that are even citizens.  Half, at least of all those people are female.  Some are screwed up.  Correct that many of them are screwed up.  But so are many guys. 

So you believe the one you got is screwed up and did you wrong.  That only leaves 3,000,000,000 or more women left to try.  Lordy, they are being born faster than you can get to know one. 

As far as jobs go, if you take care of the one you have, chances are if you lose it so does everyone else who works there.  If you just happened to screw it up or acted so weird that peop0le were afraid to have you around, the get help. 

As far as life sucking, it does, regularly.  But guess what.  One day you're are going to die.  Just live this life so that the next one is better.  Believe it or not there is another one.  God said that it is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgement. 

If a women treats you wrong (or maybe you just didn't treat her right), you got sacked at work, or you find that life just sucks, deal with it.  You have no right to hurt anyone else, even the ones that hurt you. 

I getting rather tired of reading about men who kill people in high school, college, malls, the work place, or because you don't agree with their place of birth or their religion, or shooting their family and friends/acquaintances just because things didn't go their way.  Grow up already. 

Reason for fall undetermined

After several days the exact cause of my wife's fall has been left undetermined.  The doctor's did discover a small problem with her heart that will need future monitering but ruled out that and all other normal medical conditions as leading her to fall, 

There was one possibility though and that was her blood pressure medication.  Without having taken it and under very stressful situations, her blood preesure at the highest was 120/60 and would range from that to a low of 106/58.  Those readings indicated that she did not need to be taking blood pressure medication which could lead to a sudden drop in blood pressure causing her to temporarily blackout and fall.

She was a step behind me when she fell and there was absolutely nothing there for her to have tripped over.  Her fall wasn't executed the way one would have normally fell if they had tripped which lead me and the doctor's to believe there was a non normal reason for her to fall. 

Hopefully she will be okay in time. 

Fall in Mt. Airy

This is a beautiful time of year to be in Mt Airy so the wife and I took a day to go visit the little town. We enjoyed some museums and having lunch at Snappy's. The pork chop sandwich was really good. After lunch we decided to walk down to the Smith house, an old main who left her home open to free tours. It was during that walk my wife did a face plant in someones front yard.

If she had not bumped into me on her way down she surely would have hit the sidewalk full force with her head but bumping me changed her trajectory just enough so her face hit the ground. I wish I had seen what caused the fall but the ground looked perfectly fine and I saw nothing that could have caused a trip. Her right hand was folded underneath her and her left hand was about shoulder high but not under her body. It just didn't look like what I would think a person should look like after they fell forward. But then it could just be how she reacted.

She complained about her vision being blurry and she was concerned the fall damaged her glasses. As we walked on she couldn't remember the name of the museum and i thought it strange as it was a place she had talked about all week. I asked her what day of the week it was and she didn't know. I took her back to the car and when she asked where we were going I told her to the hospital. She asked why and I said it was because she fell. She didn't remember falling.

At CT scan revealed a hemorrhage so she was transported to Baptist in Winston-Salem. There we learned that it wasn't an aneurysm. After her first night there she remembered some of the day before; lunch at Snappy's was the last thing until seeing me at Baptist. The stay at Mt. Airy hospital and the ambulance ride are lost forever to her mind.

She still has blurry vision but she can finally retain information. The staff is running test to determine if it was a medical condition that caused the fall or if she just tripped.

I still like fall in Mt. Airy, just not the kind my wife had.

Dog loses snout

I have no details on how the dog lost its snout but it occurred when the dog saved the lives of two young girls.  The incident occurred in the Philippines.

I was stationed in San Miquel in the Philippines in 1971 where I was one of just a few that was allowed to live off base.  I had a dog who I named Isaac Von Braun.  I called him Braun and he was an unlucky puppy.   It seems he was the target of all the other dogs and I had to watch him closely as other dogs seemed to want to attack him.  His only friend was a small kitten.

When I feed Braun he would eat half his food and then go get the kitten and sit and watch over the kitten until the kitten ate the rest of his food.  It was the only time he showed bravery as he would protect the little cat.

After I returned to Vietnam for my second tour of duty Braun was injured in an attack by another dog and his new owner was afraid to keep him fearing he had gone mad.  I had an opportunity to return to the Philippines one day and it was late when I walked down the street towards my friends house.  I suddenly found myself surrounded by a pack of wild dogs and was afraid for my well being.  As the dogs were growling and circling me one of the dogs looked familiar.  I called out "Braun" and one of the dogs quit growling.  I called out his name again and he came up to me.  When he recognized me  he wagged his tail and let me hug him.  Then he turned and ran off with the other dogs running behind him. 

Had he not been my friend I certainly would have been seriously injured or killed that night.  Dogs are amazing creatures and it breaks my heart when people mistreat them.

I'm glad that this dog will be flown to the US where he will be treated for his illnesses and then have reconstructive surgery to build him a new snout. 

Inside One Way Baptist

These are shots of the inside of One Way Baptist Church in Randleman, NC as of 10-14-2012.  Yes, it is small, only seating 39 people plus the pastor.  With the new chairs, the stain glass window wallpaper, and the fresh paint, the santuary looks brighter and more open.  Attendance is starting to grow but more importantly, 12 people have accepted Christ as their savior at One Way Baptist is the last 2 1/2 years

Church Chairs

The chairs for our church arrived yesterday at noon so I went over to accept delivery and yo start setting them up.  The preacher, Charles Garrett, joined me around 2 and we worked until 6.  I went back over to the church today and locked the chairs together and spaced the rows.  With the remodel and the new chairs the church building looks brighter and larger.

We purchased the chairs from a company in Georgia called church chairs for less.  We ordered the beige chairs  with the  4 1/4 inch cushions with 12 chairs having a book rack.  The company charged us extra for the special chairs plus extra for the book racks.

It turned out that the book rack fit either chair and the cushions were only 2 1/2 inches thick.  The chairs were yellow.

We decided we could live with the color but the cushion thickness is a problem.  Instead of feeling like one is sitting on a marshmallow the sensation is no different than one would get sitting on any padded pew.  Another problem is some of the chairs had small picks in them.  It is like we were shipped second quality merchandise.

I would not recommend doing business with this company. 

On their website they offered a discount for orders over fifty but that discount is not available to churches.  They informed us the earliest we could get the chairs was on the fifteenth but they came on the eleventh. 

In spite of our disappointment over the chairs, the idea of having them instead of pews remains solid, especialy in such a small church building as ours. 

Even though our building is small and our numbers are few, we have a wonderful pastor who is also an excellent preacher.  Twelve people have accepted Christ as their savior at our church.  If you like good preaching and believe in the old time gospel, then One Way Baptist could be the place for you. 

pumpkin pies

I'll be baking pumpkin pies from fresh organic pumpkins for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  These will be deep dish, extra thick pumpkin pies with or without whipped cream, whichever you prefer.  You can place your order anytime for pick-up whenever you want.

Pies will be available for pick-up at 604 Sunset Av. in Randleman (One Way Baptist Church) up until Thanksgiving Eve and Christmas Eve.  There will be enough pumpkin for about 11 or twelve pies and they will be $4.00 each so if you want one get your order in early. 

Mila Kunis named Esquire’s sexiest woman alive

I have to admit that I was attracted to Mila Kunis the first time I saw her on "That 70's show".  That program isn't the kind of TV I enjoy but I did watch it just because she was on it.  I also like Sandra Bullock and the woman that starred in "Silence of the Lamb".  My wife will watch anything with Morgan Freeman in it but just because I think someone has a quality that I find attractive, whether it be acting style, character, or beauty doesn't mean they are sexy.

The sexiest thing I've ever seen is Sarah Michele Geller's opening dance on Buffy the Vampire Slayer but it's not like she should win an award for it. 

I think one of the reasons why I like Mila on that 70's show so much was that she was so vain and while she was pretty enough to be vain over, she wasn't all that sexy so her vainity was actually funny, which was the whole purpose of her character.  Things (and people) can be pretty without being sexy.  I'm not saying that she isn't sexy but I saw many women far more sexual attractive than her in Asheboro this week at the Fall Festival. 

Now if Esquire wants to select her as the woman who uses sex to promote her career the best in 2012, the maybe she is a winner.  Otherwise, no.

Cleaning up a credit report

Cleaning up a credit report implies that one can fix bad credit which one can't.  What a person can do is try to get erroneous items removed from the report.  Mistakes do occur but even if an item is legitmate, one can solve the problem with some tough negotiation. 

After my divorce I wanted to purchase a house but I had some items on credit report that prevented
me from doing so.  My ex told her creditors, after she filed bankruptcy, that I would be responsible for making the payments on her vehicle.  The vehicle was licensed in her name only and the loan was in her name only.

Another item on my report was where I had helped my wife's sister with a line of credit so she could purchased some airline tickets for her kids (another story we will not go into here).  She was making scheduled payments until she decided she wanted a car so she borrowed to the max and then couldn't make the payments. 

The first order of business was to call the bank and work a deal to pay off my sister-in-laws debt.  I agreed to pay so many cents on the dollar that very day if they would have any bad entries removed from my credit report by issuing a statement that the entry was made in error.

After several calls to the bank about my ex's vehicle with a promise to correct the entry but with no action taken by the bank to do so, I finally had to personally visit the bank.  I saw the man who was responsible for making the entry and asked him to correct it and he said he would.  I sat down in a chair in his office and he asked me what I was doing.  I told him I was waiting and he said he would get things done at his convenience.  I didn't move.  After he urged me to leave I informed him I was going no where until he took care of the matter. 

Sure, it made him angry but he finally made the correction that allowed me to purchase my house.

Now, had I made late payments or defaulted on a loan or filed bankruptcy or over extended my credit I would not have been able to correct or fix anything.  If there are errors sometimes only you would know    and sometimes it requires doing some things strangers aren't going to do for you. 

If an entry is wrong fix it.  Otherwise learn to do better.