Yahoo does it again

It's my fault that I still use Yahoo as my homepage but that may change soon.  It was bad enough that every other story was actually a video.  Now, every other story is a one liner and then there is a video one has to watch to get the real story.  I can usually get the story from the comments without watching the video but now Yahoo will completely change the story after about 5 seconds and one can't back arrow to it.  I am not being forced to watch a commercial in order to watch a video to inform me of what I am interested in.  I can always buy a newspaper and read an article as many times as I want and never have to read an ad. 

Mom doing better

My mom is being moved into a regular room from ICU because there is no treatment done in ICU that can't be done from a regular bed.  I'm glad she is improved enough to be moved although I know she is still in danger,  After all 90 year old people with pneumonia are in a precarious position. 

Serious delimna

Mom is 90 and recently got bronchitis and the doctor said she wasn't to be alone.  I spent Thursday and Friday with her and stopped in to see her Saturday after the balloon fest.  Tammy was supposed to be with her Saturday.  Regina was with Mom Sunday am and Christie was supposed to be with her Sunday pm. 
  I don't have anyway to take care of Mom, one brother tried and it was a disaster, and my other brother isn't able or willing.  I can't keep driving from Randleman to Hickory.  Neither my health or bank account will allow for that.   She refuses to leave her house and as long as she is of sound mind
she can't be made to leave.  So what am I supposed to do?  

Set-up for the future.

In December 2014 my younger brother decided to take Mom back to Georgia with him without consulting any of her children.  Now if he has asked me I would have advised him to get a small apartment near where he lived for her so she could be by herself yet close enough to check in on once in a while.  But no he took her to his home and dumped her on his wife to take care of. 
   I know she is his mother but he has been removed from her for so long he has no idea what it would be like trying to care for her.  But he is the rich one so he thinks being able to make money makes him smarter than everyone else.  In less than a month he bundles her up drives her to Hickory without stopping and drops her off at her house.  She has no running water, no food, no telephone, and no one knows she's there except him and he no loner cares.  People only discovered her whereabouts when they called wanting to speak to her and he claimed "he took her home." 
   No, he took her to a cold empty house with no way to survive on her own without notifying anyone.  Now one would think this saga would have ended there no his wife began making demands for payment of a stair climbing machine that David had purchased.  Mom refused to pay saying she never asked for the machine and never used it but once.  When she saw how much effort was required to pull her up stairs she refused to use it again.  David's wife said that if Mom refused to pay while she was living she would pay when she died. 
   Saturday David drove to Hickory from Georgia dropped off the stair climbing machine and went back home.  Mom's relationship with David is like King David's relationship with Absalom.  Even though Absalom rebelled and tried to dethrone David and would have killed the King if an opportunity arose, King David forever mourned Absalom's death.   Mom has forgiven David for all his transgressions and doesn't believe David will allow his wife to bill her estate and collect for the stair climbing machine.  Even though David is the executor of the will Mom thinks he will do the right thing.  Well so far he has demonstrated his willingness to acquiesce to his wife's demands.  She is an intelligent lady and she is also a trained accountant and I have no doubt that she will be paid for this piece of equipment, especially now that Mom has procession of it. 
   I get so tired of people trying to take advantage of old people, especially one's parents.  They gave you life and care while you grew into adulthood.  Shouldn't we at least him them respect in their old age?  David could sell the machine and he is well off enough to absorb the loss.  But the plan, I'm sure, is to dumb the machine on her and at her death to present the bill to her estate and collect payment in full. 

      

Good Cop/Bad Cop

    I just saw an article on the meltdown of a little girl who blames her "Barbie" for her nail polish disaster and wonder how is it that's gets national exposure when some really heart warming stuff goes unnoticed.  I know we see stories abut bad cops all the time and occasionally one about a good cop: like one who purchased a pair of shoes for a homeless man without any or the two policemen who bought a buggy load of food for a family living in a car.  But what about the average person, the me and you people, who work hard, pay our taxes, and whose only contact with the police is when we get stopped for speeding?  Isn't there any angels of mercy out there that would just give us a little hope and faith in our fellow man, someone to give us a helping hand, a smile and a little encouragement?  
     Well, for one lady who had always been a hard worker, never even got that first speeding ticket, and now is entering the last days of her life, her turn has come.  She is ninety years old, almost deaf and blind but still managing to take care of herself.  It all started with a tragedy when someone burst out a window in her house to gain entry and steal.  Yes, they were eventually caught and normally that would have been the end of the story.  MPO Vang of the Hickory police department came over to the ladies house on his own time and at his own expense and repaired the damage to the window.  MPO Roberts also did her part by helping this lady get back and forth to the bank helping her recover the $900.00 that was stolen from her. 
   Those act alone are commendable and they were as the ladies son wrote letters to the city, the local paper and to the police department about the good deeds.  But even policemen with hearts of Gold have families and needs their downtime to pull themselves back together.  They have received their accommodations and one who think it's time to move on.   Yet, on Wednesday these two people came over to the ladies house and cleaned broken limbs and debris from off her roof and cleaned out her gutters and raked her yard. 
   You may feel like it seems the vocal majority of Americans do and cops.  But there are good ones out there and then there are some that are truly special.  Officer Vang and Officer Roberts are two angels in blue.

"I'm a Christian" death sentence

    It is rumored that the Oregon shooter asked people what their religion was and if they replied "Christian" he killed them.  If they answered differently he either wounded them or didn't shoot them at all. 
    Herein lies a dilemma.  If you consider yourself a Christian and someone points a gun at your head and asks what your religion is and you deny being a Christian in order to save your life, will Christ deny you?  But what if you answer you are a Christian and you really aren't, what then. 
   I know the likelihood of you, me, or any one else being in that situation is very remote but it did happen to those college students overseas about a year or so ago, it did happen in Colorado at that high school and it is believed to have happened in the recent shooting in Oregon.  Those people had no idea it would ever occur to them. 
    There are thousands of people murdered in the USA every year.  I have two friends that have had children murdered and back in 2000 when I was living in Greensboro, NC I was acquainted with  all the people murdered in that city that year but two.  How many people die in automobile accidents?  Add to those who die suddenly of heart attacks, industrial accidents, sports injuries, or some freakish method that one would never dream of, and you have a lot of people who die each year that had no idea when they got out of bed that day it would be their last on earth. 
    80% of Americans claim they are Christian, 50% of Americans belong to a church, and only about half of those attend church at all.  Many people think as long as their name is on a church roll somewhere, or they have been baptized, or they acknowledge that Jesus was a real person they are a Christian.    Are you sure you are One? 

Who is a terrorist?

Some people complain that whites who commit shooting at work, schools, and colleges are referred to as mentally while people of color are called terrorists.  Why? 
   I don't suppose it has anything to do with skin color or lack thereof but the motivation behind   the crime.  If a person commits a mass shooting or bombing like was just happened in Oregon or what happened in that movie theater or the college in Virginia and the reason for committing that crime is revenge or anger or just to see what it was like the shooter or perpetrator is classified as mentally ill.  But if the person who di such acts commits those acts  does so in support of a movement or greater ideology espoused by an organization or country  then that person who be a terrorists. 
  The two men who did the Boston Marathon bombing did so not because marathon runners bullied them but because they made easy targets and the act was in support of their Muslim beliefs.  They felt they were part of a greater cause.

Will gays go to hell?

    It seems many well meaning people who consider themselves Christian claim if one is gay they are condemned to hell.  It's a shame that so many people think being a Christian is abiding by a set of moral codes and being a good person and nothing could be further from the truth.    No one is condemned to hell  because of what they do or who they are.  Hell is not a place of punishment for doing bad things.  Hell is a place of torment created by God for Satan and his angels.  However, man is a sinful creature and God cannot condone sin.  He has declared that no sin shall enter into His presence.  Only sinners will go to hell.  The scriptures declare that None are righteous, no not one.  We all are sinners and if one claims he is not a sinner he is a liar.  So how does one escape hell?
    It certainly isn't by attending church or reading one's bible or by telling people their lifestyle will send them to hell.  None of us are good enough to make it on our own.  It has become popular today to make salvation too simple.  Many people today believe that because they accept that God is real that they are heaven bound.  Others think because they joined a church or was baptized they have made it into heaven.  Well, that isn't true either.   The scriptures tell us that there will be many who will claim that they did so and so in Jesus name and therefore are qualified to enter heaven and they will be told to depart because they are not known. 
  No one gets into heaven by being moral or good or by attending church or anything else one thinks that they need to do to feel righteous.  They can't get into heaven by following or preforming rituals. 
The only way to enter into heaven is by having a personal relationship with Christ. 
   It is true that the Bible looks upon homosexuality as a sin but it isn't grave or serious sins that condemn one of hell.  There is only one sin and that is the sin of unbelief.  It is equally true that if one accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior that they will no longer have a desire to sin but have a desire to live their lives as Christ would have them live it.  We will still make mistakes because we are still wrapped in this body of flesh.  If one continues to practice sin after claiming to have become a Christian then there is something wrong with their claim.  If they still sin but have a desire to follow Christ then that is evidence of salvation.  A sinner doesn't become a saint at conversion   any more than a fetus because an adult at birth.  It takes time to grow into maturity both as a human and a Christian. 
   One cannot interest another in Christ by condemning them but by showing them the love of Christ. 

High School reunions

    My classmates just celebrated our 50th reunion with 168 (out of 435) in attendance.  I declined to go.  High School wasn't the best of experiences for me and it seems the people I was close to either didn't graduate or haven't been heard from in years.  My very best friend disappeared in 1966 when he joined the Navy. Going to the reunion would be pointless to me.  I see no benefit to hanging around with a bunch of old people I don't know and will only see every five years for a few hours. 
   Honestly I would rather remember them as the young vibrant people we were back then rather than what we have become. 
  

Talking about funny signs

  Really, we weren't but our sign maker at the church has made another funny one.  Actually they are never intended to be funny but the man can't spell and is to lazy to find out how to spell a word correctly.  One Way Baptist is having a revival from Sept 14 through the 18th starting at 7 pm. 
Our signs now read "revival 14 thu 18".  That's all.  No time, no date and I have no idea what thu means.  It's funny but a pathetic funny. 

Hassles, delays, and other irratating stuff

Hassles are things that should be easy but turn out not to be, delays are things that should be happening now or very soon but won't be, and irritating stuff is every thing else that doesn't go as we think they should go.  Life has been like that for me lately. 
  I suffered through some losses (including the most recent stock market slide) and because of the loss of my vehicle I had to get another one.  I no longer hand a way of towing my trailer so I sold it to pay for the denture brined I broke.   My newer vehicle had some dings and dents and chips on it so I though a little tube of touch-up paint would do the trick. so eight days ago I went to the dealership and ordered a tube for my car.  "It'll be here in a couple of days, probably closer to the end of the week (that would have been Friday).  Well, I'm still waiting. 
   The same day I had my rider mower picked up by the repair shop hoping I'd get it back by Friday.  The same thing is wrong with it now as it was this spring, just on the opposite side.  In the spring I got the mower back the day after I dropped it off but that place no longer repairs mowers so I sent it to a different place.  I questioned the mans ability when he put the mower in reverse and slammed it into my brand new car, then claimed there was transmission trouble because he had to put it in 8 to get it up the ramp but I always mowed in setting two or three and use one to put the mower in my utility building which is as steep and much longer than the ramp to his trailer. 
   Stopped in the shop yesterday morning and was told they were going to start repairing mine "right after lunch".  I honestly don't believe they have. 
   I like to play Sugar Crush but I'm not reading and signing a 41 page document to continue to play (I'm on level 206).    
  So, what's bugging you lately?    

Church Work Day

We got a late start.  We scheduled  a work day for 9 am but people just straggled in but we finally got going.  The church building received  two coats of fresh white paint today. 

Sugar Crush

Sugar crush had an electronic agreement I am supposed to read and sign before I can play the game again.  The agreement showed up on my wife's computer as well.  I haven't checked my Kindle but I'm sure it's on there as well and probably on everyone else's copy of the game.  I don't know why it is necessary.  At first I thought it was because I had reached level 200 but as it turned out it doesn't.  Anyway, I decided it better to  delete the game rather than  read and sign a multipage document.  In fact I think there were more than one agreement to be read and signed. 
  Anyone know why?

Gardening News

I still have a couple of watermelons that look good enough to eat, albeit, they are small but the end of season melons have been better this years although last years crop was sweeter and the melons were two to three times as large.  I took down my tomato garden and pulled all the green tomatoes off the vines in the plants I set out in the melon garden. 
  I canned 12 pints of green tomatoes and hot peppers.  Some jars I used Anaheim peppers, some jalapeno peppers, and others I used a hot pepper a friend gave me.  Not quite sure what kind they are.  I changed my formula this year and added a little sugar to the batches at my Mom's suggestion. 
  I didn't replant anything this year but I seldom ever do.  I did pull up an apple tree yesterday.  It seems the truck was decaying below ground level, maybe from insects. 
  I finally see some red clover growing in my peach orchard.  It's not really an orchard: just 8 trees planted together but I'm not sure how many peach trees it takes to make an orchard so I'll call my little group an orchard unless someone objects.  Anyway, clover is supposed to add nutrients to the soil that the peach trees need and the clover should help control weed growth as well. 
  I just can't hardly wait until next year.  I should have a good crop of berries, cherries, and peaches  and maybe even an apple or two. 

Roll-a-coaster Stock Market

Even though the market made a good recovery yesterday I'm still down $800.00 from the 14th.

Shooting of reporter again brings up talk for the need for gun control.

     Taking guns away from American citizens is not a good idea.  During WWI and WWII the American soldier was the most feared soldier in the war.  There are two reasons why.  The first is the Americans grew up handling weapons and were much better shots than people from other countries, including the professional soldiers of Germany.  The second reason is the fierce independence of Americans.  The American soldier did not always react the way enemy soldiers expected and that unpredictability made us fiercesome.   
    What is happening is that there are too many guns in the hands of the mentally unstable and the criminal element.  Where the problem lies is in second hand sales between private citizens and lose of weapons because of theft.  If we could solve those two problems then we can let private, law abiding citizens have their weapons in peace. 

I know what the sign says but....

I know the sign at the church says we are having a yard sale but we aren't.  The man in charge of changing the sign hasn't done it yet.  We are, however, having a painting party the Saturday. 
Talking about yard sales, someone purchased a cat tree at our yard sale but I forgot to give him all the pieces.  If you hear of someone complaining about that then have then come by the church on Saturday and I'll get then the missing piece.  They'll know which church even if you don't. 

Things evened out today but that's not necessarily good.

Found someone to fix and mower and they even came to pick it up and they are local.  That's good but when the man went to load my mower he put it in reverse and slammed into my brand new car which I haven't driven except to bring it home from the dealership. 
  The stock market opened 600 points up but closed 200 points down.  I'm afraid to look. 
I had to send the police to Mom's house because her phone has been off the hook since at least yesterday afternoon.  Glad she's ikay. 

Troubles come in bunches

It was said that troubles come in threes but that would be nice if they stopped there.  I've already told about the computer system going out on my van, leaving me stranded, and causing me to have to junk my van.  What I didn't mention was my lower bridge broke.  I know the original cost was $240.00 to make a mold.  I go get my new bridge or my repaired one today. 
   Either one of those is bad enough but I lost a lot of value n my stocks from the big slide the market took the other day.  That's my three but there is more.  My rider mower has a broken left spindle so it only cuts with one blade  so I have to take it to be repaired.  Only trouble is, the vehicle with the tow bar is sitting in a junk yard somewhere. 
   And it's only Monday. 

Busy week, rough Thursday

  I had much to do on Thursday.  Since Mom's burglary her banking has been up in the air so I needed to help her with that.  I needed to mow, help her clean, and take her shopping.  I also needed to pick up some cakes for her and get them delivered.  In anticipation of the big day I woke up extra early and left Randleman around 6 am for the 2 hour drive to Hickory. 
   I always hate driving through the road construction in Statesville.  If you haven't been there, I--77 and I-40 intersect there and I-40 is being widened to at least six lanes through Statesville so one has to maneuver around orange barrels and weird traffic flows.   The speed limit drops from seventy to fifty-five so when I got to that point I cut off my cruise control and just let my van slow itself down.  When it got to 55 I was just about to give it a little gas when the engine revved and the speedometer zoomed up to seventy and then just as quickly settled back down.  I thought it strange but not so worrisome.  After sneaking my way through the construction, traffic had thinned out and it was again safe to drive with cruise control except my had quick working.  At least that explains the sudden jump in speed or so I thought.
    Everything was fine until I pulled off the interstate in Hickory.  At the first intersection I had to stop and when I did my engine stalled.  The van quickly restarted   and I thought everything was again okay until I stopped the second time.  The engine stalled again.  I knew then something was wrong and I needed to get it checked out.  I thought maybe an hour or two and a couple hundred dollars and I'd be back on my way but I got no where near a garage.  The third time my van died I was moving forward and not stopped.  Fortunately I managed to pull it off the highway   into a parking lot of a business that was not yet opened.  It was 7:55. 
    I called my auto club and a wrecker was dispatched.  I didn't arrived until 9:10 and it was so dilapidated I wasn't sure if it could pick up my van or not but it finally did.  I didn't get to the garage until   9:30 but the technician who could diagnose the problem didn't come to work until 10 and I was told it would be an hour to run the diagnostic.  After making all the appropriate phone calls and waiting patiently I walked up the street at 11:00 to have a bite to eat.  Around 12:30 the garage told me I had to have the van towed to the dealership because the computer system had blown out.  The same tow truck showed up and it took longer the second time to pick the van up than it did the first.  After another 1 mile two my van was dropped at the dealership around 1:30. 
    I had called my wife to come to Hickory.  She could at least help me with Mom as it was way too late for me to get much done by myself.  While waiting for her I decided to dump the van as it was now a piece of junk (it was a 2004 but only had 76,000 miles on it) due to the cost of the repairs.  The dealership generously allowed me $500.00 for it.  I picked out a 2014 Optima and it was 3 o'clock by the time all the paperwork was done except for running my credit and signing with the financial officer.  My wife showed up at the very moment I needed her input but by the time everything was done it was 5. 
  We hurried to Mom's, took her to purchase groceries and put everything away for her.  After a short prayer Debbie and I hit the road. stopping only at Burger King for a well deserved meal.  It was 8:57 pm when I got back home; just enough time for a bathroom break before out 9 o'clock prayer. 
   Bad stuff happens to good people so my troubles for the day was taken it stride.  I was very thankful that the van didn't leave me stranded in Statesville.  When the tow truck came to take me to the first garage I had the thought that it needed to be towed to the dealership but in the heat of the day and the waiting for the wrecker to work the thought slipped my mind.  Sometimes even the most dedicated Christian misses the voice of God giving us instructions.  I wished I had listened but I do give God thanks for keeping me safe.