My Prayers

The pastor's job description cannot be written by a church committee, denominational council, the Chamber of Commerce, or the U.S. Congress. His job description has already been written. It is contained within the pages of Holy Scripture. Pastors are some of the most criticized and denigrated people on the planet! They constantly find themselves at the butt end of jokes and sarcasm from unbelievers and are even castigated and harangued by people within the church.

Many times church members do not want to hear the Word of God, they want the Pastor to cater to the wealthy contributors, to wiggle around controversy, and grovel before government bureaucrats, and insist that the Pastor never be confrontational. How difficult and heartwrenching this must be for someone who's sole purpose in the pulpit is to deliver the word of God. How horrid it must be for their families to live behind glass walls and worry that every word, every action, may be misconstrued by those who feel so unimportant that they must use their tongues to destroy the bringer of God's Word.

I hurt today because one of the most God loving families I know is being pushed to the brink of their faith by such church members. I hope they can feel my prayers and the prayers of all their loving friends, now and always.

Weekend photos

Clowning brother and sisters


Baby Jillian


The Chick's newest fashion statment.

Betcha surprised ain'tcha?

Two posts in one day when I've barely had time to post one in two or three days lately.

Today's been sorta kinda busy but I didn't get much done that I'd planned since I had a day off and all. Actually, I didn't get anything done that I'd planned but whatthehell, it'll still be there needin doing when I get around to it.

Jami felt that Meri Kate and Abby were doing better so I ended up taking Zach to see the doc. I'd been putting off going for myself so I made it a family thing and made an appt. for myself for the same time, but the cheapskate didn't give me a discount for the 2fer. I only had to see him so I could get refills for my drugs but I whined a little bit about having to pay him $60 bucks to ask for danged refills so he gave me a couple months of freebies of the most expensive prescription. I think he just wants to keep me alive until I pay for another of those damned exam rooms of his.

Zach has one of the bugs that have been floating around these parts and hopefully he'll be able to return to school tomorrow because they're taking some sort of benchmark test.

On the way home we had a typical Zach and Nanaw conversation,

Zach: Nanaw, why does the truck go thunk-a, thunk-a, thunk-a, when we drive down this road?

Nanaw: We're driving over the little cracks in the highway where the highway department filled them in with tar to repair them.

Zach: Oh, I thought the cracks were from an earthquake or something. Has there been an earthquake here?

Nanaw: Yep, there were some really big ones in the north part of Arkansas in 1811 and 1812 that tore stuff up down here too. (Nanaw, trying to give him some concept of how long ago) That was nearly 200 years ago.

Zach: Wow, did you live here then?

Nanaw: Do I look 200 years old?

Kids really know how to make you feel good about yourself.

After that we had a conversation about the Dust Bowl that happened in the 1930's in some states and I was waiting for him to ask if I remembered that little diaster, but he didn't.




After we spent over an hour in the doctor's office where Zach got a shot for his troubles (if we'd had the earthquake conversation BEFORE the visit I'd have ask them to use a much bigger needle), we met Jillian, Alexis, and Jerri for lunch then they followed us home to visit for the afternoon.

Jerri told me a new Alexis story. She had Jillian in the bathtub and she was fussy so Jerri asked her what her malfunction was, so Alexis also asked her what her malfunction was, only with a little different pronunciation. Jerri said that Alexis isn't quite ready for that word yet.

Ok, Nanaw's outta here now, ya'll have a great evening and a grand weekend!

Religion For Dummies

I thought this was kinda cute.


AMEN: The only part of a prayer that everyone knows.

BULLETIN: 1. Parish information read only during the homily. 2. Catholic air conditioning. 3. Your receipt for attending Mass.

CHOIR: A group of people whose singing allows the rest of the Congregation to lip-sync.

HOLY WATER: A liquid whose chemical formula is H2OLY.

HYMN: A song of praise, usually sung in a key three octaves higher than that of the congregation's range.

RECESSIONAL HYMN: The last song at Mass, often sung a little more quietly, since most of the people have already left.

INCENSE: Holy Smoke!

JESUITS: An order of priests known for their ability to found colleges with good basketball teams.

JONAH: The original "Jaws" story.

JUSTICE: When kids have kids of their own.

KYRIE ELIEISON: The only Greek words that most Catholics can recognize besides gyros and baklava.

MAGI: The most famous trio to attend a baby shower.

MANGER: 1. Where Mary gave birth to Jesus because Joseph wasn't covered by an HMO. 2. The Bible's way of showing us that holiday travel has always been rough.

PEW: A medieval torture device still found in Catholic Churches.

PROCESSION: The ceremonial formation at the beginning of Mass, consisting of altar servers, the celebrant, and late parishioners looking for seats.

RECESSIONAL: The ceremonial procession at the conclusion of Mass– led by parishioners trying to beat the crowd to the parking lot.

RELICS: People who have been going to Mass for so long, they actually know when to sit, kneel, and stand.

TEN COMMANDMENTS: The most important Top Ten list not given by David Letterman.

USHERS: The only people in the parish who don't know the seating capacity of a pew.

I guess I need more practice.

Zach came home from school today with that nasty old cough again. I doctored on him the entire long weekend but I guess some of those nasty germs lingered and took another hold on him. I reckon he'll be going to see the old Doc tomorrow for some stronger fire power. Jami called and said Abbie and Meri Kate are sick as well so if she takes them to the doc I'll let her take Zach too.

This Nanaw is just full blown worn out. I'm behind on the housework that I never actually get caught up with to begin with, and the bookwork that people expect me to do promptly just because they pay me to, and it's time to pay bills again (where the hell did February go?). I'm ready for some sho'nuff Spring weather, not just those teasing tropical breezes that we've had off and on all winter. I sure hope March doesn't turn out to be a tease.

I've been making plans to get ready for the hummingbirds to make an appearance here in late March or early April. I've found out how to make the nectar and have been studying up on how to make feeders. Might be a good idea to buy a feeder too, just in case my lack of creativity gets in the way. I'm gonna get some photos of those "fast as greased lightning" little dudes this year or else! (else what, I don't know).

I'm also still trying to capture a better shot of the Big Bird that resides down the road here. He may be getting used to seeing me in my black truck cause he doesn't fly away as fast or as far when he sees me coming now. I've thought about leaving treats for him at his favorite spot on the ditch but I'm not sure what he'd be liking and I'm not particularly gung-ho about catching frogs and other ditch critters that might possibly go to waste. I think he needs a name but the only ones I've thought of so far are Gomer or Opie and those just don't seem to be original enough for this fella. I'm open to suggestions here if you'd be so inclined. No buzzard or crow names, please.

Tuesday?

It's still a tad on the cool side this morning but it's supposed to warm up to nearly 50F today. This is good news to me cause I don't have to be at work until noon and won't have to brave the coldest part of the day.

Most of the thin layer of ice and sleet melted off the roads Sunday afternoon so these brave southern souls were back to their normal driving speeds quite soon afterwards. Apparently this wasn't a bright idea for those driving just a few miles south of here since they had a little random freezing rain on Sunday night. James said he was driving normally on dry highway and noticed the road ahead looked a little wet so he slowed down. What looked wet was actually ice and that little fact gave the rest of his drive a demolition derby aspect. There were trucks and cars off in the ditches and fields everywhere.

I haven't even braved to venture out onto my front porch since Friday evening because my luck isn't the best when it's dry so I didn't want to push it.

That's about covers my 3 day weekend except for the fact that I took a buncha naps.
Have a great week everyone!

What Are We Gonna Do About It?

President George Bush’s staff complained the day after Valentine's Day that his big healthcare announcement at Wendy’s Headquarters in Ohio went largely unnoticed because of Vice President Chaney’s shooting incident. It was probably just as well because he didn’t have much to say.

He was pumping for his on-your-own “Health Savings Accounts,” the greatest benefits of which will go to the brokers and banks who sell them and manage them. Benefits will also go to people who have enough extra money that they need to shelter it from taxes until they turn 70. This plan will drive the cost of healthcare even higher for the whole country.

We all need to understand that Bush’s plan is not about healthcare for all and it is not about us. It is yet another boondoggle, another transfer of money from the poor and middle class to the wealthy, another privatization scheme, another chunk of money in the pockets of his cronies, another attempt to blame the middle class for our own illnesses, another discriminatory scam against the poor, another way of saying, “you are on your own for healthcare,” another shift in governmental responsibility, another lie to the American people, another devastating blow to those who are struggling to get the healthcare they need. Sorry to have to be so blunt, but I want to be sure to be clear.

Bush tried to twist the issue by saying to Wendy’s employees, “Its kind of basically saying, “If you’re not making a lot of money, you can’t make decisions for yourself.” The he grinned his cock-eyed smirk and said, “That’s kind of a Washington attitude, isn’t it? ‘We’ll decide for you, you can’t figure it out for yourself.’ I think a lot of folks here at Wendy’s would argue that point of view is just backwards and not true.”

I would suggest that Bush’s plan is the kind of plan created by the healthcare industrial complex and its lobbies. This is just like the Bush Prescription Drug Plan, the current way Washington works. This the current “Washington attitude…”

The rest of us would like to have a government that cares enough about our people to protect us from greedy self-interests when we are sick and vulnerable or elderly or impoverished.

A great example is the Bush Prescription Drug Law which prohibits Health and Human Services from negotiating the price of drugs. It also insists on protecting the American people from less expensive drugs manufactured in other countries. The drug companies are allowed to charge whatever they wish. And now, the news coming into Healthcare-NOW today reveals that the majority of drugs we purchase from pharmacies aren’t even made in the United States. The FDA knows this because they inspect the plants that produce the drugs.*

BUT…I NEVER WANT TO LEAVE YOU WITHOUT HOPE… Here’s what we can do. Our country is # 37 in the world in the quality of its healthcare for its people. What would we do if our country were #37 in the Olympics? We’d get to work to change it, no?

Healthcare-now is gathering steam nationwide to be sure that every candidate for higher office this year in every state understands that we want a national single-payer healthcare plan that will cover all of us for every illness. NOW.

We want something like the H.R. 676 bill in Congress that would provide for healthcare for all so we would never have to pay another doctor or hospital, another dentist or optician, another psychiatrist or chiropractor, another prescription drug bill. And we would no longer have co-pays, deductibles, premiums, or out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE WOULD NEVER HAVE ANY MORE DENIALS FROM INSURANCE COMPANIES.

Your job? Tell every Democrat, Republican or Independent in your state and in your district what we want from them -- a commitment to a national single-payer healthcare plan that will cover all of us. We want Congressional candidates to state clearly that they will support and vote for such a plan. We want Governors to make the case – their state government budgets can no longer sustain the burden of healthcare costs that are now on their shoulders. We need a single payer.

We also want to help change the U.S. economy, putting about a third of the current healthcare costs back into the pockets of the American people instead of the insurance companies so we can send our kids to college or take a vacation or purchase a house or a car.

Go to our website http://www.healthcare-now.org/petition.php?sid=3&subid=11 to learn more about this issue and to sign our petition (if you haven't already). A wealth of information is waiting for you on this site.

We are waiting to hearing from you.

Marilyn Clement, National Coordinator, Healthcare-NOW


I think we'd best get busy with writing letters to our representatives and other government officials to let them know we're tired of the run-around the American people have been getting. Hell, the Iraqi people have been getting better health care than many, many of our American citizens. And to those who are sitting there right now feeling all safe and secure with their Health Insurance Coverage, just wait awhile, if things keep going the way they've been, you're safe and secure will be flapping in the wind.

Write to your Congressmen, your Senators, your Govenors, and even The President, and let them know how you feel about getting the short end of the stick when it comes to your health and your family's health.

I don't know about things in your area but around here, the insurance agents drive the finest cars and are getting fat and happy on our healthcare dollars.

Might freeze something necessary

Rather chilly down here today. So far we have a little, thin, layer of ice and some sleet on top of that and the outlook is for continued sleet/freezing rain/snow flurries until Monday morning.

A few of my daffodils were trying to bloom and my rose bushes were trying to bud out with a few new leaves before this stuff came a'visitin.

Delta Weather Warning

PHILLIPS-COAHOMA-QUITMAN-PANOLA-LAFAYETTE-UNION- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...HELENA...CLARKSDALE...BATESVILLE... OXFORD...NEW ALBANY 316 PM CST FRI FEB 17 2006
...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST SATURDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST SATURDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. A COMBINATION OF FREEZING RAIN...SLEET AND SNOW WILL AFFECT THE AREA BEGINNING LATE THIS EVENING AND CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY. THE PREDOMINATE PRECIPITATION TYPE TONIGHT WILL BE FREEZING RAIN POSSIBLY MIXING WITH SLEET TOWARD DAYBREAK. SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SLEET OR ICE ARE LIKELY WITH THIS EVENT. AROUND ONE QUARTER INCH OF ICE MAY ACCUMULATE ON TREES AND POWER LINES FOLLOWED BY UP TO AN INCH OF SLEET ON THE GROUND AND ROAD SURFACES. A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW... SLEET...AND ICE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

Things could get nasty for us down here in the mid-south. That last really nasty ice storm we had through here about 10 or 12 years ago I woke up thinking there was a war going on outside but after taking a look out the window I realized that the sounds that had awakened me were not gun shots but limbs and branches, and whole entire trees, cracking from the weight of the ice covering them. I hope Mother Nature spares us that this go round even though it is beautiful to see. It's just not so nice when the power lines and poles also crack and break over and down.

We've had a couple of smaller ice storms since that powerful one during the 90's and I took a few photos then.





I realize that I probably sound a bit whiny and stuff about having some real winter weather but ya'll have to realize we're rather delicate down here and damn-near ignorant about how to handle winter weather and our road departments are almost completely helpless because the closest thing we have to snow equipment are a few bob trucks that'll hold a couple tons of sand.

Man, I hope the weather folks miss the call on this one.

Gotcha!

I've been trying for a year to get a photo of this guy. He stays near a ditch on the rural road leading to my house and he usually flys off before I can get my camera on and ready to get a shot of him. He landed not too terribly far off in the field yesterday so I zoomed in on him. Not the shot I want and hope to get some day but he still looks rather wise and gangly standing there. I think he's some sort of crane.

Awlright, so maybe I'm a bit fickle,,,

I get these urges (not to be confused with those of the carnal sort) to change stuff to suit my mood, or maybe my temperment, or for no reason at all except that I'm not really a pink sort of person. I had that urge a short while ago to honor Hallmark, or whoever thought up the Valentine's Day holiday, and I did the pink thing (which is way better than any red thing I might do,,, on yer eyes).

Anyhow, the urge hit me to give a little shove toward a more Spring-type atmosphere in here.

Did it work?

New Technology for Mommas

My youngest sister, Terri, is the project manager of the Triage Call Center at UAMS in Little Rock for the ANGEL program. She sent me a link today of another of the amazing things they're doing for the parents of premature babies at their hospital. I thought ya'll might like to take a look. Click on Angel Eyes for the video.

This and That

There's not much going on here in the Arkansas delta these days. I'm mostly trying to keep my feet warm and my head on straight and not doing a very good job of either. I think I've been spoiled by the mild winter we've been having so that when a few days of real Arkansas winter weather does occur, I start daydreaming about Spring, and daffodils, and warm sunshine. We're due to have a nearly 70 degree temps the next two or three days and that's supposed to bring rain and more cold by the weekend. The weatherman in Memphis mentioned some possible freezing rain for Friday night and Saturday. I hope he dreamed this cause we don't cotton much to freezing rain around these parts, it usually means we'll be without electricity. I don't like being without electricity.



I had to stop by Sears yesterday on my way to work to buy a new clothes dryer. Mine is still working but it's a hand-me-down that my sister, Paula, gave me after the fire and I think I've worn it out cause it takes forever and a day to dry a full load of laundry. I figured it was time for a new one since they have raised the utility rates so much and that old one just isn't energy efficient anymore. Some dude was in there shopping for a washer and was moaning and a groaning about the prices. When I told the gal which dryer I wanted and was paying for it, the guy said, "What's wrong with a clothes line? I like the smell of my clothes when they've been dryed outdoors on the line." I looked at him and replied, "Yeah, and I bet you tell your wife that she can get your clothes cleaner by using a scrub-board too huh? Hush and buy the woman the washer ya cheapskate." He was still bitching as I left.



I had one of my

dropeverydamnthing

moments this weekend. I made a huge pot of Chili and some hotdogs to have to eat before Alexis's birthday party. The chili was simmering so nicely on the stove and I reached up into the cabinet to get a toothpick out of a box I keep in there, all handy like. Somehow the box, that held a million and 1 toothpicks, came with my hand and those little suckers went everywhere. There were toothpicks in the chili, the hotdogs, the floor, all over the stove, I was picking up toothpicks for awhile! I think James got a pick or two when he was putting chili on his hotdog but it didn't kill him. I didn't feel so bad later when Banny (the Chicklet's other grandmother) came by. She musta been having one of those moments too. She spilled coffee, ice water, and a sippy juice that one of the kids had left too near the edge of the table. I don't think the sippy juice would have spilled except that Jillian was sitting in the floor there and happily snatched it up, upside down, and gave it a good squeeze after it nearly conked her on the head. I had this rush of near joy in knowing that I wasn't the only one with this affliction.



James gave me a box of candy and a Valentine today which was kind of a surprise since he's only remembered this holiday maybe 5 times over the past 35 years. Anyway, the Valentine was quite romantic for him, in flowery words it mentioned the reason for his burps were due to my fine cookin, the farts were due to contentment, and the snores were cause he was dreaming of me. I wouldn't mind if he dreamed of some sexy young thing if it would stop the snoring.



Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!!

Happy Birthday Chick!!

Alexis is 3 today!! Happy Birthday!!

A Little of the White Stuff

It didn't stay around long after the sun came out this morning but we did see a little snow yesterday.

Winter,,,maybe

That's sorta kinda how winter is for us here in Arkansas. We get a lot of "it could", "it might", "possibly", and "perhaps" in our weather forecasts, especially during the winter months. The forecast today is the "possibility" of from 1 to 3 inches of snow beginning about mid-afternoon, but it could be more or none, or just rain.

We're like a Taint (defination not suitable for young readers). Taint deep south, and sure taint north so we sit right where it can do almost anydamnthing, and it might,,,or might not.

We'll just carry on with business as usual and act surprised if the white stuff gets over our shoes.

Babyboomer Fashion Tips

Many of us "Old Folks" (those over 50, WAY over 50, or hovering near 50) are quite confused about how we should present ourselves. We are unsure about the kind of image we are projecting and whether or not we are correct as we try to Conform to current fashions. Despite what you may have seen on the streets, the following combinations DO NOT go together And should be avoided:

1. A nose ring and bifocals
2. Spiked hair and bald spots
3. A pierced tongue and dentures
4. Miniskirts and support hose
5. Ankle bracelets and corn pads
6. Speedo's and cellulite
7. A belly button ring and a gall bladder surgery scar
8. Unbuttoned disco shirts and a heart monitor
9. Midriff shirts and a midriff bulge
10. Bikinis and liver spots
11. Short shorts and varicose veins
12. Inline skates and a walker
And last, but not least
13. Thongs and Depends

The Visitor

He came uninvited and he's not potty-trained so he's gotta go. I'd show him the door but he's being evasive. I'd catch and release but I'd be fooling myself into thinking he wouldn't find his way back.

I bought traps today.

Ain't living with a field mouse in the house.

Discomforts, Disturbances, and Diasters

My sister has this mountain top that she'll be building a cabin on,,literally,,log by log, on the weekends and other spare moments. So far she's working on the out-buildings so she can have a dry place to do the preps before building the actual cabin. This is her dream and I'm proud that she's working so hard to make it come true. I'm also proud that she understands that a cabin atop a mountain with ticks, and bobcats, and bears, (and probably Big Foot), isn't my cup of tea although it will be most wonderful to visit her there. I'm not a town girl by any means, hell I've got one more neighbor now than I prefer (2), but I am partial to electricity, running water, and an indoor toilet so any time I lack any of these niceties, I tend to freak. My idea of roughing it is a Motel 6 on a bare stretch of interstate. I have, on two occasions, camped out, and on both trips I suffered from the three D's;

Discomfort, Disturbances, and Diasters.

The discomforts included every rock, twig, stick, and pine cone in the vicinity somehow ending up beneath whichever sort of bedding I was to sleep on. Before morning my back felt as though I'd been sleeping on boulders and the entire pine tree. There's no such thing as soft ground, not when you're trying to sleep on it. Peeing in the woods can also be included as a discomfort because I've never, ever, been able to manage it without peeing in my right shoe,, don't ask me why, but no matter how hard I try, that foot is going to get wet if I squat. Actually, I don't remember if this has been a life-long problem, maybe it didn't matter so much when I was a kid to have a squishy right shoe.

Then there are the disturbances. It's very dark in the woods at night and very noisy. I'm not afraid of the dark but I do get very nervous when I can't see what's making the noises in the dark. Of course there is the possibility that I wouldn't want to see what was making the noises but I do feel better if I know whether I should haul-ass or huddle down with a shotgun during such occasions. Trees even make strange noises at night, I betcha didn't know that, didja? Sometimes the noises will lead you to believe that Big Foot, or a dinosaur is coming right through the tent. Opossums and raccoons are only cute, little, critters during the daylight, at night they turn into people-eating carnivors. This is true! I've tried to blame these beliefs on a sleep depraved mind but that only works when the sun comes up. Anyhow, camping, in the dark, around trees, is very disturbing to me.

Lastly are the diasters. The worst of these was waking up in the morning, after sleeping atop the levee to avoid the blood hungry mosquitos, to find that you threw down your bedroll atop a cow paddy and the smell of frying bacon over a camp fire isn't the only outdoorsy aroma you've got going on. Having to try to scrub the stain and stench off in the same pond the cows are using is pretty high up on my diaster meter too. Actually, that probably wasn't as bad as having to go to the doctor the next day to get a shot so the swelling would go away from all those bites by the blood hungry mosquitos.

So there you have it, I'm no Daniel Boone, or even his wife, or step-sister. Nope, not one little bit. Sorry sister of mine.

Get well SOON Jaylen!!

Jaylen's tonsils were sick so she had to have them out last Wednesday. She was able to go home from the hospital yesterday. Eat LOTS of popcicles Jaylen! We love you!

Too Tired to Tango

For every tax problem there is a solution which is straightforward, uncomplicated and wrong.