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.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
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.
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.
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.
Monday, November 26, 2012
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
Now which story is worth getting upset about?
Assad's
Troops Wipe Out a
Now which story is worth getting upset about?
Friday, November 23, 2012
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.
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.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
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.
As bad as the commercial is, the popcorn chips were worse. Nasty is giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
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.
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.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
A poem by maria
Maria • Report Abuse
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.
"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 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.
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
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.
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.
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.
Monday, November 05, 2012
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 agoISLAMABAD (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.
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.
Sunday, November 04, 2012
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.
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.
Friday, November 02, 2012
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.
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.
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.
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.
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