Bones

Forensic anthropologist and author, Kathy Reichs, has a series of mystery books that I've been reading lately. The last one I've finished is called Cross Bones. It deals with a skeleton from Israel that may be connected to the Jesus family. Identification of the bones could lead to ramifications for the Jewish, Muslim and Christian worlds alike. It was a good read. Interesting and fast paced without being overly technical. Although fiction, it was laced with enough current events to be intriguing. She has a tendency to do a little "social" summary at the end of her books. This one caught my attention. She said, in short...

According to something called the Gallup International Millennium Survey, researchers sampled populations in sixty countries representing one point two billion souls worldwide, trying to learn how people feel about God. Eighty-seven percent of the respondents considered themselves part of some religion. Thirty-one percent believed theirs was the only true faith...

"But they're wrong. Despite the rituals, the rhetoric, and even the bombs, every religion is saying mostly the same thing. Buddhism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, Shamanism. It doesn't matter. Take your pick.The Torah, the Bible, the Koran. Each offers a recipe for spiritual contentment, for hope, for love, and for controlling basic human passions, and each claims to have gotten the recipe straight from God, but via a different messenger. They're all just trying to provide a formual for orderly, spiritual living, but somehow the message gets twisted, like cells in a body turning cancerous. Self-appointed spokesmen declare the boundaries of correct belief, outsiders are labeled heretics, and the faithful are called upon to attack them.

I don't think it was meant to be that way."

You know, I'm good with my "messenger". I know it's up to me to take care of the things for which I am a steward. When I get those taken care of it's a good thing to be of service elsewhere. But as another extremist tries to blow up a plane, an innocent child has needles pushed through his body by his whacked out stepfather, an African dictator commits genocide...I'm having a little moment. Just reading the newspaper can plunge you into depression. And I too, have to echo -

I don't think it was meant to be that way.

It's Not Rocket Science

I'm sure you don't mean to be thoughtless.  But FYI - when you are always "a day late and a dollar short," when you pitch a fit over the smallest inconvenience, and do a half as*!? baked job when you do get around to doing something, and then get in a snit if it's noted that it was a less than stellar performance...

One can't help but notice....

anyone, everyone, that is - except, apparently, you.
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Straight From the CDL Manual

This morning we wake up to weather. School is delayed two hours. They had snow. Here...we had ice. Getting here to there - priceless?  Great opportunity tho to pass along some driving instructions to the one who will be in Driver's Ed this spring...

As we start out I demonstrate the lack of control one has on ice.  Wheeeee, that was fun. Can we stop and spin cookies? No.

Back to driving 101. I talk about tail gating being an absolute NO, also about looking ahead, getting the "big" picture, about keeping a cushion around you, about leaving a way out. Our half hour trip turns into 45 minutes. Lots of opportunities to point out driving errors along the way. And I distinctly remember telling him "it's not just about you or your ability to control the car, at least half of it is being able to anticipate and watch out for the other guy. Make sure you're aware not only of what is going on in front of you, but beside you and behind you."

Then we start down a hill.

"Okay, so we're going to go very slowly, we're going increase our distance from that car in front of us, and we're going to look for a way to get around him in case we can't stop at the bottom where everyone is waiting for the light to turn."

The Youngest gives me the old "yeh, yeh, yeh." I am boring him to tears. We proceed and I'm going to be able to stop at the bottom - barely. I look behind me.

Here come two teenagers in a white car. It, however, is not going to stop in time. I tap the gas and as they  skid toward us in agonizing, slow motion, our vehicle crawls to the right shoulder and beside the car that was in front of us. The "boys" slide to a stop in the very place I was 2 seconds ago.

"Yup," I say, "Just like that."

There were a couple more interesting incidents before we got to school.

But you know...he looked like he was listening now.
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Bumper Snicker

I don't understand.

 I child proof my house but they keep getting back in!

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They Are Watching You

'Nother little reality check. Got a text message last nite. Didn't recognize the number. It was one of those really long, mushy (aka annoying) pass along things. The kids have unlimited text messaging but I DON'T! Seriously, we pay a premium for cell phones and not all of us consider them toys.

Had to call back. And depending on who sent it was I was prepared to laugh and say...well thanks for thinking of me, or if it was someone with some common sense - kick their butt for passing junk "mail" along.  Sure glad I had decided to be flexible before I started because, of course, it was a really off the wall kind of thing. Gal I used to work with enthusiastically informed me she'd got religon and life was wonderful! Someone had sent the text to her, she thought it was really cool, but the only one she could think of to send it to who would appreciate it was me....

Ohhh okay.

You know, It's great she thinks that I'm a strong, wonderful woman, and that I'm a good example to her, and that God loves me....And I'm happy that she's happy. Truly.  Life hasn't always been easy for her. It was nice to talk to her again. But mostly I'm grateful I carefully considered my options on how I would respond before I called.

Obviously, I'm not always the most "politically correct" person on the planet. Unfortunately some eyebrows raise when my name is mentioned.

Fortunately there are also those to whom I have been able to present myself in a positive fashion. You know - the way that you'd like to be remembered for being at your funeral....

So note to self: When you think what you say or do, or the impression that you leave, doesn't matter... remember they are out there, and they are watching you.

As Maya Angelou said:

     People will forget what you said,

     People will forget what you did.

     But people will never forget how you made them feel.

And if you haven't got it right - there is no time like now to try and fix it...
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Padwon

This is my beautiful Paddywon... She is a Haflinger and a classy little lady. But funny. Unique personality.

The green grass and leaves are gone.

The pretty golden girl is still there.

Staring at me through the window.

Wondering where her food is....

One of Each Please

It seems the female population is all atwitter over Twilight/New Moon's young, scintillating, ambassadors of unrequited love. #1 Daughter even caved and went to New Moon with her buddies. She said they tricked her into it - told her they were going to another movie and showed up at this one.

Oh. Okay.

Anyway that's her story and she's sticking to it.

But even the ultimate "jock" allowed that it wasn't too bad. Hmmm.

 I have to admit their publicity photos do seem to be getting, ahhemmm - better.

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Making Headlines

Ahhh, poor Tiger. Why is everyone picking on him? Well....I know I'm unhappy because here was a young man with talent, with money, with a beautiful wife and two darling children, and I was so pleased that he seemed to be getting it right, was setting a good example (a rarity for sports figures these days), living what appeared to be a well deserved "good life", but...

Whoops, no, never mind.

One, two, three affairs that we know of and he's joining ranks with the rest of the entitled brats. His "friend" who employed Elin (as the family nanny) stated: I guess I owe Elin an apology for introducing Tiger to her....

So - you knew they'd be coming.  (And by the way Tiger, thanks for adding more fodder to the...don't worry if you can't get it right...list.)

Without further ado:

The New Tiger Woods One Liners

Tiger Woods is so rich that he owns lots of expensive cars. Now he has a hole in one.

What's the difference between a car and a golf ball? Tiger can drive a ball 400 yards

What were Tiger and his wife doing out at 2:30 in the morning? They went clubbing.

Tiger crashed into a fire hydrant and a tree...apparently he couldn't decide between a wood and an iron.

Since Tiger drives an Escalade, can he blame the accident on his caddy?

They tell us Ping just offered Elin an endorsement contract pushing her own set of drivers. They're going to call them Elin Woods..."clubs you can beat Tiger with."

And last but not least...

Tiger just changed his nickname but he's still keeping it in the cat family - his new name: Cheetah.

Bah da Bing!

That's it for tonight folks.

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All Better

This started out as a draft that had been sitting in the files waiting to be published. I had issues. I tinkered with it trying to succinctly express my ire. It wasn't cute, funny or bitingly witty. Nor was it profound, philosophical, etc. Started with taking a swing at Tiggger who, as we know, ended up on the wrong end of a nine iron the other night and commented that he might want to re-examine some of the choices he's been making lately, then moved on to my job and some choices that other people had been making that were effecting me negatively.

That's when the tinkering, twinking and such began. I just wasn't happy with what I was writing. Didn't want to let it all hang out. Couldn't not let it all hang out. And after revisiting it for several days I finally realized I was through. All done. Not that I was going to change the situation but I had worked through it, virtually beat it to death, changed my reaction to the problem and could now just let it go.

I figuratively borrowed Elin's nine iron and whacked it into submission and deleted the rest of the post.

One issue down, 999 to go.

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Bumper Snicker

Farm Boy calls today on his way to work. He has found a bumpersticker that I think we're going have to copy for one of our vehicles...

I'd tell you to go to hell, but I work there

and don't want to see you every day.

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