Just Can't Fix Stupid!

This is a follow up to a blog I did about a month and a half ago about a major (as they say) Department Store processing and mailing me a check (or up on Yonge Street that would be cheque) for one penny.

At the time it did remind me of the old joke where the person takes a check for one penny into the bank to cash and the teller asks him if he wants it "heads or tails".

Now, the one cent represented an overpayment from Hubby guessing the upcoming bill when paying online. A credit of one penny would have been just fine.

Hubby suggested ripping it up, but well, I don't do anything that simply . . . you know that.

Seems like I took it to the credit union and they said they could not process it. So, today, Hubby was going to the ATM with a government check for me and I suggested he add the penny check with it. He was going to a fancy new-style ATM where you insert the check into the machine. (Over my dead body, isn't that what Charlton Heston said?) I have a policy with bank machines and it is simply, that if the machine is giving me money - okay. But me give the machine money . . . oh, no . . .

So, the machine took the government cheque (ah yes, check) and that went well. Then Hubby deposted the one penny check and the machine didn't not want to do business with him.

So, Hubby had to go into the Lobby of the bank (yes, you folks up on Yonge, that is what they call it when you go inside the bank here) and hands the check for one penny to a live teller who hands him a penny.

"Does this happen very often?" (Hubby)

"Yes, all the time." (Teller)

Oh, man . . . and how much does it cost to mail that check? And how much does it cost to process it? Why does the store not just put the one penny toward the person's account as a credit?

Is this the mentality in the business world now?

We thought it was bad when they would centralize a company and then a few years later de-centralize it!

Well, now, since they are sending checks for one cent or de one cent - I guess they have de-sensed their company!

Sorry . . . just could not pass that one up, folks!

Oh, yes, since I am feeling a little like saying this,

If you are still wondering what company would do this . . . well, it is a large department store chain that rhymes with . . . not cent . . . but penny.

Yup, the same chain that back in 1977 in Miami, Florida, would not accept a Visa card from a Canadian couple trying to do a little Christmas shopping.

Christmas - Perhaps The Hardest Time Of The Year . . .

Christmas season, which should be the most beautiful time of the year, is probably the most difficult. Everything is accentuated. There are more things to do and more money to be spent.

Each group you belong to seems to have a dinner or get-together of some kind. Some of us still send cards so they have to be written. There are presents to be bought and then wrapped.

When I was a young girl - you know where I was (up in Toronto) - we had an aunt who used to climb up the steps and ring the bell. Mother would answer and the aunt E would shove three packages at her and say,

"We are just on our way to the West End."

Mother would ask Aunt E to wait and go fetch two packages for them and hand them to her. They never came in to visit.

Every year, Mother would be upset over this and then my Father suggested that she just say,

"Merry Christmas" and let the aunt go back down the stairs empty-handed if they did not want to visit with us.

Over the years I have thought about this and all the things some people do at this time of the year to truly spoil it.

One of the grandchildren quickly learned that I keep a basket of "generic" gifts for someone who might stop by during the holidays. I always have chips and dips, cookies and candies and all of those fattening things people like to eat. That's just in case someone would like to visit.

Our Christmas is centered around Christmas Eve Church service. Here it is at 7:00 p.m. Up north it was at 11:00 p.m.

Every year I enjoy seeing all the families home at Christmas time. Since I have been here 14 years, I have watched many of them grow into adults.

I love the music, the candles and especially singing Silent Night by candlelight. I think of how many people in how many places (including foxholes in war zones) have sung this beautiful carol in many languages.

We have a huge tree at church and there is a creche beside it. Actually, this year, we have a creche hand made by our Pastor. When I look at that cradle, I cannot help but think of that young couple who could not find a place to stay when the Baby Jesus was born. What a time they had on their way to being counted for the tax system . . .

The birth of our Lord is the one story we learned from when we first attended church. People who were not raised in the Christian faith still know who Jesus Christ was and they do know about Christmas.

So, if Christmas is so fundamental and so many people know about it and everyone likes to celebrate it, why is it a time when so many people have such a sad time?

This is the season when there are more deaths suicides, more accidents, and more fires. Many people are depressed - especially those who have lost loved ones during the year.

It is a time when we want things to be "perfect" but that is just the problem. There is no planned perfect. We can only do our best to have things as nice as possible for people to come and visit and enjoy them while they are with us. (Just ask all the brides who planned all those weddings we attended this past year how much planning an event takes!)

Once you are older, you start to realize what "perfect" is. Perfection is very rarely planned.

I guess for me, "perfect" are the moments I think about from all the years that can bring a smile or maybe a tear as well. The older I get, the less I think about in terms of "perfect". I think about how intense some moments were and how I just never forgot.

I think about my friend, B, and her Louisiana accent when she used to kid about, "The bright city lights" . . . and she could string that line so it became a paragraph. That still brings a smile to my face.

I think about my Grandmother who made her delicious cookies - you already know about those!

I think about my son, Robbie who was born before Christmas and died just after. Since that is 44 years ago, had he lived, he would have long ago had children of his own. I do not even have one photo of that child. I just have the image of him in my head. That makes me so sad, still, all these years later.

I think about Shih Tzu puppies playing with the cardboard cores from wrapping paper. (I think if I look hard enough I might have a photo or film of that.) There is so much fun - once you know they are healthy and progressing as they should - with a litter at playtime. I used to give them about 30 minutes in the evening to run lose in the family room. The humans had as much fun as the puppies.

I think about the year my husband, John was so ill and how he had pneumonia. I remember when they told me there was nothing more could be done and I went to the York Super Pharmacy and bought a jar of Metholatum. I took it back to his bed and put some just below his nostrils in hopes he could breathe a little better. Then I went home in the dark ice and snow and drove too fast up the driveway. (That would be the dent we hammered out before we sold the house.) That was the year my neighbour, Brianne put the decorations on a little tree for me. They had been stored in a little pink tote box. Then, on New Year's Eve, the day John died, Brianne's mother placed those decorations back in the pink tote.

To be honest, I think for me there are as many sad memories from the holidays as happy ones.

This year, I have two friends who have lost their husbands this year. (I know what that is like and how blessed I am to have found life again and married Hubby.) I think about the hospices and mortuaries here who have special services to help those survivors. Those are very special!

Right now, we are putting the finishing touches on my sister-in-law's Christmas box. She has had a hard time this year, especially adjusting to losing her eyesight.

We had the perfect present, and Hubby set it up and it was ready to go about a month ago. But you know, since 9/11, we have to think different, and it might not get there if the postman juggles the box and it says,

"9:45 p.m. . . . 37 degrees."

Yes, it would have been down that low because my sister-in-law - actually, the sister I never had - lives in Cleveland where the weather is much like it is up on Yonge Street. So, we will take the talking clock when we visit her next in the spring or summer!

So we found her something else that talks . . . on a CD.

When we have such high expectations for an event, it puts major pressure on us. Perhaps we should just do our best - have a little food ready - have a few gifts on hand.

I hope some very nice people drop by your house this year and make smiling memories with you!

As the jolly rotund fellow says,

"Merry Christmas to All . . . and to All a Goodnight!"

Being Nice To Everyone - Is There An App For That?

BFF, originally uploaded by Ronaldo F Cabuhat.

This morning I read a column by a woman I have not read before. Although I did not care for her epitaph to Elizabeth Edwards nor her picky comment about John Edwards' white shirts being too large, it did trigger some thoughts.

Have we come so far, technologically that we are now robots rather than humans?

People do things for various reasons. In the case of Elizabeth Edwards, I believe she led with her heart. (My own father used to say I wore my heart on my sleeve and he warned me about that till he died when I was 22.)

I did not know Elizabeth Edwards personally but I did know my old friend, Belinda very well. She lived to reach out to others, to make the other person feel good about themselves. She always wanted to stop and sit down with the person who was not doing so well. She was as close as it has come in my life to knowing an angel here on earth. She also died much too young and I miss her every day. (Her husband always calls me "Belinda's old friend" so I have to think that B used to tell others about her "old friend". ) We are very lucky if we have such friends in our life: non-judgmental, listening, reaching out . . . special.

Each of us is only a small part of this huge universe. If we live in the Big City (as I did in Toronto), we quickly learn that we have to get along with all kinds of people - from many walks of life, many religions, many races. Where I live now, there is not that diversity and so there are not perhaps as many ways of looking at life.

Each person counts. No matter whether you practice Christianity or some other mantra, if you sit back for a moment, you can see that.

If we were all the same, life would be very boring and in fact, there would not be much to talk to any other people about.

It is fundamental to respect other people. We don't have to agree with how they live; how they do things or what they believe. We just have to respect their right to live as they wish.

We seem to have a generation now in their late teens and twenties who feel us older folks are simply technologically challenged and unable to "get it".

Our grandparents made Canada and United States. Yes, with their hands, they toiled the soil; worked five and a half days a week; helped those less fortunate and still made time to sit down with their children at a dinner table groaning with homemade food.

There is no application (app) on your cell phone or ipad to truly connect with other human beings and their feelings.

Generations before me have thought this way and I hope generations following me will come to the realization that we must reach out to other. When we sit down and give some time to those who may be different from us, we always learn. We always benefit. We always come away feeling good about ourselves and leaving them feeling good about themselves.

It is extremely hard to understand the harassment - or bullying as they are calling it today - that is going on particularly among students.

In our area, we just lost another student to suicide this past week. How bad is that? How bad is it when my young friend on Facebook posts that this was his worst day ever?

We are only young once and it should be a great time for learning, for experiencing, for making memories that last a lifetime - and I mean GOOD memories.

Let us not judge the other person lest we be judged. (I know that has been said many places, but I am saying it today.)

Let us live and let live - again, as we used to say - and have respect for every other person to have their own ideas, their own ways of doing things.

Most of all, let us be kind to everyone - because everyone has something that is troubling them. Everyone has something they don't like about themselves. Let us not remind others of their weaknesses but encourage their fine qualities.

Let us respect all human beings. Let us remember that everyone struggles with something.

The attractive people - like John Edwards - struggle with their magnetism just as those of us with weight problems struggle with food addictions.

In high school - a girl's school - I admired several girls who were (or so I thought) prettier, smarter and trimmer than I. One girl I really felt had it all married her sweetheart who also seemed to have it all. They made the perfect couple, didn't they? Yes, perfect enough that when her sister died very young, to adopt her children into their own family and raise them as their own. All these years later, when I go back for reunions, that "girl" and I have a lot more in common than we ever had back in school.

Everyone has problems. We have them at different stages of our life.

Teaching children and friends to respect the other person helps them as much as anything else we can do for them.

. . . and there is no app for that!

Grandma's Shortbread . . . but that was in the 50s!

Homemade Shortbread Cookies, originally uploaded by mooshee85.

Mary Maude Bell Croome was her name and she was born in St.Mary's, Ontario, Canada in about 1872. She baked beautiful shortbread cookies. She only made them at Christmas time. I guess she thought they were a lot of work as well!

That was then and this is now.

Over the years, I have made the recipe and it never really comes out the same every time . . .

So, here I am in my lovely large and modern kitchen trying to replicate what Grandma did in a tiny kitchen in the High Park District of Toronto in the 50s.

We are having a Cookie Swap tomorrow at Scrapbooks & Memories running concurrent with our Scrapbooking Crop. The idea is that each of us bring some homemade recipes and a batch of the cookies. Now, I guess I was busy . . . or nervous about how well they would turn out, but here I am at the "midnight hour" with a kitchen in shambles and three cookie sheets of absolutely delicious homemade shortbread cookies.

Actually, they taste VERY good. Now, if I just adjust my printed recipe to reflect the oven temperature and put a few disclaimers about different ovens taking different times . . . I should be all right.

The other problem will be to clean up the kitchen which kind of looks like a tornado hit it. I used several cookie cutters, many spatulas, knives, three cookie sheets, a rolling pin, many knives, etc., etc. Yup, I used about 30 to 40 pieces of equipment for this project.

I knew there was a reason there are about three bakeries in town in addition to the supermarkets.

Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention

BUDDY, the Lhasa CAN LISTEN VERY WELL!

The longer I live, the simpler some things become. Bet you have not heard that too often from too many of your "elders"! (It is very true that many things become harder and the days seem shorter and energy is less.)

The other day, I found out that our granddaughter, Kyla was doing very well in school but is having trouble with reading.

As you might know, I have been a student of purebred dogs - and dogs generally - for about 39 years now. I have been seeing news on children reading to dogs to improve their reading skills.

Dogs are not judgmental and in fact, most of them are very sympathetic to their human's needs.

So, it was only minutes before I thought of writing some simple pieces for Kyla to read to her dog, Shiloh. Shiloh is a Labrador Retriever which makes her one of my favorite breeds for children. Labradors are fairly big but generally, they love children and are very patient with them.

When a child reads to their dog, the dog will just sit and listen. When a child reads to an adult, the adult often corrects them as they go. When a child reads in a classroom, well, now we are talking major scarey. All those people listening: it is like adults feel when they have to give a speech.

I thought about it and then took it one step further. I think there are lots of children who are trying to learn to read and it does not come easily. It is a major struggle. So, I thought,

"Hey, I could perhaps make it easier by doing a special blog for children to go to and read to their dogs." Most will likely print out the simple story and I envision their "Rover" listening to it over and over until the child is ready to read it to an adult.

I practice a little with our Buddy, but I can tell you that every dog I have had would sit down with me and listen while I talked or told a story. The right dog paired with a child will pay rapt attention to his or her young master.

This is a new and experimental project to me. I would appreciate your productive input and ideas you may have.

Happy reading, children and if you can read even some of this, you are on your way to being confident in your reading.

Reading skills help us every day in everything we do!

Happy Reading!

Link to Children's Reading Blog "Reading To Rover" is in the right column on this page or go to

http://Read-To-Rover.blogspot.com

Some Advice for Denise . . . And Other Parents of Teens On Being In The Know!

cookie monster texting on blackberry...?, originally uploaded by starrfall on Flickr

I know some people on Facebook might not be the same as lifelong friends, but it is nice to be connected to various people with differing views. It also lets me keep up with people very easily in these days when there is so much to do and social skills (and time) are not what we knew, say even 20 years ago.

Today, one of my friends, Denise, wrote a column in our paper about how her teens make her feel less than smart some of the time.

I like Denise although I don't know her well. I first met her when she was interviewing people coming out of the Charlie Wilson's War premier showing here. Charlie lived here and it was so fun that the theater at the mall was full of people who knew him.

Another time, Denise was at a park where we were releasing balloons for a charity.

She is a busy gal now that she does Charm Magazine, a weekly column and several articles each week, particularly for the Sunday edition.

Denise came here when her hubby was transferred by a department store chain and got on the local paper right away. It seemed a plum assignment that she got to go to Hollywood to cover the main premier of Charlie Wilson's War and meet Tom Hanks and be part of "the scene" even if only for a while. That assignment certainly bettered the ones I was given in a small Ontario town where I covered local township council every week and my stories included, "Is Your Water Safe" and another on a company who makes hood ornaments for cars. By the way, Denise, I was paid by the column inch. That's how old I am.

Ah, but I sat down to give Denise . . . and her counterparts a tip or two. These are the the mothers of those young people who seem to know so much more than we do. As I write this, it is shaping up to the format of, "Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus", but here goes, regardless.

You have a source, Denise - and all of you in your forties and fifties who think you are too old to be "hip"- to converse with your kids. Sorry, perhaps they don't use the word "hip" anymore, so perhaps you could start there.

"Well, Tonya, that sure is a really hip cell phone you have there . . . "

"Hip?"

"You know, very in, very with it! You don't know that word?"

Now, this is where you have to be REALLY careful, Denise and all. Do not proceed to say,

"Well, this is what we USED to say." See, there is the mistake we make. We must convey to the young people that, in fact we created these clever expressions and sayings.

Let me tell you how this worked for me last night at Catfish King. Yes, you Canadians up on Yonge Steet . . . it is sort of the Swiss Chalet of Fish.

A young lady was working the cash register, bringing out orders, replenishing the salad bar and filling the sugar and sweetener containers. Then I noticed - just about the time that we were leaving - that she was using a push broom to sweep the floor.

So, as I got up, I just had to say to her:

"Well, you are a Jackie of all trades?"

"Huh?"

"It actually is 'Jack of all trades' but I changed it because you are a girl."

"Huh?"

Now, this is the part I always hate:

"Well, since you are a girl, I changed it. It means you are doing a lot of different jobs. 'Jack of All Trades'."

"Oh, oh, that is very good. I like that!"

Of course, the expression really is,

"Jack of all trades, master of none", but you know that would get you nowhere today in an era of multi-tasking.

My grandmother had a few quaint sayings and you will have a few stored in your head from your own parents and grandparents.

How about,

"The world is crazy except me and thee; and sometimes I wonder about thee."

So, the method I am suggesting to you is so simple. You quote some of these old expressions you have known all these years, but you . . . and this is the hard part . . . you must not give credit to someone else. Make it seems like you created it and stand back for a few days to see if they make it their own and pass it on to their friends.

Now comes the disclaimer. Results are not guaranteed and what do I know? I do not have teenagers in my household.

Happy parenting in this world that is probably no stranger than my Grandmother thought it was when I was a teen!

Thinking About Yonge Street - Ian and Sylvia - Four Strong Winds (CBC TV 1986)

If I am feeling nostalgic, homesick, whatever it really is when you think about the past and where you came from, music might be part of the trip back.

[The video above courtesy You Tube includes the song YOU WERE ON MY MIND and the clip is from an Ian & Sylvia reunion concert in the 80s. All you have to do is click on the very left - or replay - and you will be able to hear this melodic duo.]

They began as Ian Tyson and Sylvia Fricker in the coffee houses that dotted Toronto's Yorkville District in the late 50s and early 60s. He was from British Columbia and she was from a small Ontario town. They married and lived in Toronto-Willowdale near Yonge & Sheppard for many years. Eventually, the marriage fell apart and Ian went to Alberta.

Yes, even people with a harmonious sound like this can grow apart and apparently that is exactly what happened.

I think about the coffee houses where we would go around 10 or 11 at night and pay a couple of bucks for a coffee upstairs in an old warehouse and listen to Ian and Sylvia before everybody Canadian and American knew them.

I have said before that one of Canada's greatest exports over the years has been entertainers. These two really stayed in Canada but their songs have been sung by artists all over the world. Ian was a very prolific writer but sometimes it was Sylvia who wrote.

One time at church, our then Pastor asked Hubby and me to sing Four Strong Winds . . . "I know you know it because it is Canadian"! I thought that was funny at the time but I think that Canadians do not realize how much of an impact they have had on American culture.

When I first came to Texas I was always delighted to see Canadians on TV but after a while I realized it was pretty common. (The reason Canadian entertainers come to United States is because the market is about ten times.)

I have kidded that Anne Murray is pretty much as Canadian as it gets, but Ian & Sylvia bring back fond memories and their songs have been sung by many other entertainers worldwide.

When we were in Toronto this summer, we came up from the West End where the wedding was, very carefully wending our way left and left and north up to see the house where I grew up. It still looks much the same even though there are a lot of "No Left Turn" Signs as you go.

One thing quite different is that the street is now paved. It used to be made of bricks, presumably so the horse drawing the milk wagon would have a surer grip.

Oh, you are so young that you never had your milk delivered? And there is no milkbox in your house now, is there? There was a little wooden box in the outside wall by the back door. It had two doors - one outside and one inside. You left your milk tickets and the milkman left your glass bottles of milk and perhaps some cream.

Hmm . . . the milkman is out of a job, and the horse not only is out of a job, he left the city . . .

Memories . . .

Seeing Some Greatness in the Common Folk

As you can see in the posting below, we've been working on a fundraiser. These are mighty tough times to put yourself out there asking for money . . . or maybe not!

We were at the Chamber of Commerce First Friday Luncheon when they announced that our United Way Campaign had gone over the top this year! One company actually matched the gifts of all their employees and that might be what did it! How special is that?

This has been a major learning experience for me, personally. Probably the first thing I learned was not to even think about guessing if someone might give or how much they might give. I was in for a few surprises.

Many did not worry about receiving a lunch; they only thought about their fellow man in need.

If we look around us; if we listen well - we can soon see that there are a lot of people not doing as well as they have in the past. Some people have lost their jobs. Some people have been stricken with diseases. That part is easy to learn.

Let me tell you a nice thing that hopefully will touch you as it did Hubby and me.

Some people have so much love (charity) in their heart that they do not skip a beat. That was the awesome part for me to see. People just heard the need, left the area, and came back with cash or check.

Others simply reached into their pocket and pulled out a couple of bills - folded and smiled without saying much of anything.

Yes, some people were not so generous and yes, some people avoided me entirely. But I am not thinking about those people. They have their reasons and perhaps they are really having trouble these days.

One thing that is a real problem is healthcare. Most of us . . . especially if we are older . . . are paying big premiums to supplement medicare and we are finding it hard to pay the prescription costs or special treatment costs. I hear that a lot.

As a "Yonge-Street-Texan", this is a big difference for me to fathom because healthcare and prescriptions for seniors is covered in Ontario. In defense of the American system, I should be fair and tell you that the wait times for surgeries and treatments in Ontario are long.

The longer I live, the more I keep learning . . . about people, about love, about hard times . . . but I do keep on learning. That truly makes for a beautiful life.

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not

reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

II Corinthians 9:7

BBQ Lunch Plates and Bazaar at First Lutheran - Saturday, November 13

On Saturday, November 13, 2010, there will be a BBQ Lunch Plate available from 11 AM to 2 PM at First Lutheran Church, 1001 Atkinson Drive in Lufkin. Each Plate is $6.00 and includes a BBQ sandwich, drink, cookies and chips. To-go plates are available.

The Ladies of First Lutheran will be hosting their annual bazaar from 9 AM to 2 PM. There will be Christmas decorations, handcrafts and baked goods.

Additional funding will be provided by Thrivent Fiancial for Lutherans through its Care Abounds in Communities program. This BBQ lunch is organized by Angel of Joy Lutheran to raise funds for Oran and Jo
White to help with medical expenses.

Tickets are available through Angel of Joy Members and Friends. For more information, call 936-639-1577.

Wow - World Series Again - and just like the Toronto Days!

Texas Rangers Card - Nolan Ryan #92 1991, originally uploaded by Jimmy Tyler.

This Texas Rangers Baseball Card shows Nolan Ryan, then #92, signing a baseball for a young fan. Today, as you probably know, Nolan Ryan heads up the group who own the Texas Rangers. He is a little older and a little plumper but no less enthusiastic!

This picture was taken in 1991, and the next year, the Toronto Blue Jays were in the World Series. It was a very exciting time for Toronto and I think that this time, the Eyes of Texas will be upon this World Series.

This is super and I hope you will tune them in and root for them as we will! (Oh, sorry, did I forget to mention they will be playing the San Francisco Giants?)

Oh, yes . . . in case anyone wants to see the 1992 World Series, I just happen to have brought the VHS tapes with me when I came to Texas almost 14 years ago! That was when Yonge Street was so crowded that broadcasters had to stand on the tops of their vans to do their remotes. And the only damage was to windows that got broken with the push of the crowds of people in the street.

Toronto was very proud to be part of that and I think that not just Dallas, but all of Texas will be rooting for the Rangers . . . not to mention one of their former owners, George W. Bush and his wife Laura. (By the way, Laura was once quoted as saying one reason she loved baseball so much was that you could actually socialize with the person next and still follow the game.)

If you haven't been a baseball fan, now is your chance . . . and oh yes, I need to find a couple of Rangers hats!

Penny-Wise

Penny-Wise, originally uploaded by mortonphotographic.

If you are like me, you think a lot about the economy these days. I wonder if we will ever be back on track. Like my friends, I wonder if investments will come back because we seniors counted on that money to help us live a good life.

It has been very discouraging to see that many large corporations have people at the top who having been receiving bonuses even when the companies are doing badly. In other words, they are being rewarded for bad performance.

So, today, when I opened my mail, I was not feeling too good about a department store that would cut a check for one cent (yes, $0.01) and mail it at a cost of 35.7 cents on a U.S. postage meter.

So, we overpaid our account by one penny. No need to go into "overdrive" and refund that to me. It would have been fine to leave it on account for me.

So, now, I can truly get that answer we used to joke about many years ago, when I take this check to the credit union,

"How would you like that: heads or tails?"

Angel of Joy Fall Festival - Sat., Oct.16, 2010

(Photo courtesy 2010 Pendleton, Indiana Fall Festival & Heritage Fair, originally uploaded by Pendleton-Gazette.com)

ANGEL OF JOY FALL FESTIVAL

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 16. Church sponsored food booth, bake booth, jewelry, crafts, beauty, candles, jellies, household and recycled items booths. (No garage sales.) BBQ Plate Lunch $5.00 from 11 a.m. The church is located at 4003 Daniel McCall Drive, across from Angelina College, Lufkin, Texas.

This Is What Scrappers Look Like!

Each year, Sue Knox of Scrapbooks & Memories in Lufkin Texas hosts a SCRAP PINK. All we gals who love to scrapbook or "crop", put on our pink shirts and get scrapping! All proceeds to go the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Look Out - Here It Comes Again . . .

It is not my intention to give a dissertation on the Charles Schulz' Peanuts Comic Strip. There is lots of material available online for you to learn more about this strip and its late creator. There is now a Museum in California and you can even purchase items online from their store. Every weekend in our newspaper, they post a "Peanuts Classic" strip so we never forget the lessons Mr. Schulz tried to teach us.

My Canadian minister, Rev. David McBride had a collection of Peanuts ties and once lent me a book about Mr. Schulz who had a background of Christian education.

This weekend, I was reminded vividly of one of the most famous strips. It is repeated and repeated, but still - despite several other teachings from psychology and conventional wisdom and the vision of this particular strip, I and I am sure many others, continue this behavior.

What behavior is that? Well, someone is mean to you - or at the very least, not particularly nice. You feel bad about how they treated you. Then, maybe a couple of months later, that person appears up close and personal, seeming very pleasant. You presume they may have changed how they feel and you respond with a well-intentioned response and . . . WHAM . . . they "get" you again!

The repetitive behavior that replicates this is Charlie Brown starting the Football Season fresh in the fall. He is going to kick the ball and Lucy is there holding the ball for Charlie to kick. Charlie remembers how Lucy has behaved in the past, but he always gives her the benefit of the doubt. He is just sure that this time, Lucy is going to be nice.

Wham . . . Charlie moves forward to kick the ball and at just the "right" moment, Lucy removes the ball and Charlie . . . well, Charlie falls flat on his fanny.

Yup, it happens every time. Why? Because Charlie always gives Lucy the benefit of the doubt. Charlie always tries to see the good in Lucy.

It is a metaphor for how so many of us try to forgive and forget and often it works just fine. But, sometimes it does not. Our teachings tell us that we must always keep on trying . . . and I guess there will always be lots of Lucy's in our lives!

Pondering 9-11

Could 9-11 have happened in Toronto? I say Toronto, because of course that is my hometown. But do you wonder if it could have happened where you live rather than in New York City?

Why do you think terrorists picked New York City? Well, first off, there are lots of people there. Secondly, there are people of every nationality there. Third, there are lots of high-rise buildings in NYC.

So could that terrible day have been in Toronto? Probably!

Do you ever think how you would have felt if one of your loved ones had been in one of those buildings that day, nine years ago?

We have a grandson who had just left one of the buildings at the World Trade Center and we were really relieved to hear he was all right.

Do you remember Peter Jennings actually crying on the air during the long hours he spent at his ABC news desk that day? (Peter was born in Toronto, you know.)

Do you remember what it felt like to see planes purposely crashing into skyscrapers? Was there a sick feeling in your stomach, in your heart? Was your head clouded with "why"?

Then, this year, did you have a sick feeling in your stomach when a minister in Florida thought he could square it away by burning the Koran, the Muslim holy book?

Tolerance for others and their beliefs is part of what Christians learn and try to live. If you live in New York City or Toronto, you learn about tolerance or you move away. People of all ethnicities live in both of those cities.

There has to be respect for the differing beliefs of all those people. Lots of people do not believe the same things you do. That is part of what makes the world rotate on its axis. Learning to understand that is a prerequisite for living in a multi-cultural environment. That is tolerance.

Those same people with difference ideas and perhaps different appearance from you also keep the economy growing, invent new objects and ideas. Some have wonderful knowledge about technology. In both those cities there are lots of people of different ethnicities and backgrounds. Those people work hard to be there and many work hard to put themselves or their children through university. Those very people may one day invent a cure for cancer or one of the other diseases that plague us on a daily basis. They may eat different foods, believe different truths and have a different appearance than you. But if you look inside their hearts, you will find there is a lot we have in common.

In every society, every race and every ethnicity, there are good guys and bad guys. Remember the Cowboys and Indians you watched as a kid? Of course, that is not too politically correct these days, but perhaps it is a similar concept.

Today we have bank robbers, home invaders, drug dealers. People ride around using their cars in a fashion that makes you think they are about to get someone killed, so perhaps it was not all that outrageous that someone thought to pilot a plane into a skyscraper. That literally took violence to a new level.

I cannot tell you why some people believe their action against United States on that day gave them a special place in the hereafter. I just know that in my religious beliefs, that special place is probably a lot worse than what we ever have to endure here on planet earth.

No more than you, do I have an answer as to why someone got an idea to turn an invention - the air plane - that has allowed us to travel in short times what would have taken days on a steamship, train or automobile before - into a weapon like no other.

Nine years later, we have still no answer for that.

What we do have to know is that each of us must do the best we can in our own little part of this world. We volunteer to help; we quietly do things for others that they do not expect; we do our job - at home or at work - the best we know how. We love our children, our families, our neighbours and we believe and hope that each day will end with some quiet restful time.

There is no place in our hearts for hatred of people of other cultures, other skin colors, other ways. Our ways are not everyone else's ways. We must pray that tomorrow and every other day goes smoothly and peacefully for not just for where we live but for everyone everywhere.

Don't forget to put your flag out and God Bless us All!

FIVE DOLLAR BILLS - Where To Keep Your Money These Days . . .

FIVE DOLLAR BILLS, originally uploaded by chego101.

In our morning paper today, there is something interesting in the Police Column. Well, it was interesting to me because I truly try to see the light side.

No one needs to be a rocket scientist these days to know EVERYBODY is suffering economically . . . well, at least 95% of the population!

So, imagine my surprise to see that a house was broken into and money was stolen from a mattress!!

If you recall, a mattress was always considered a pretty safe place to keep your money. And today, well, you only get about 3/4% less on your money in the mattress than from the bank.

If there is a moral to this, it would be to not tell anyone if you have money in your mattress.

. . . and no, there is no money in our mattress so don't wreck it looking for five dollar bills!

Facebook - Could You Possibly Learn Anything From It?

There is one game on Facebook that I really enjoy playing. It is Farm Town. I have played another farm game but Farm Town is interactive. This means I can hire others to harvest and plow on my farm and actually make more "coins" and "XP" (Experience Points). Or, I can work on someone else's farm.

What do I learn from Farm Town? Well, I learned a long time ago that if I "hire" someone from the Marketplace to work for me, I should look for someone with grey hair. Well, that is, their avatar has grey hair!

Actually, I have pretty grey hair in real life, but I do not on Farm Town. And I have a different name. Sometimes I get some interesting comments, but generally I just keep on working and racking up my points. I have five farms and lots of "toys" in the way of housing, pools, lakes, cars and equipment.

I also have been playing Family Feud which may or may not be more intellectual.

I learned a long time ago that we never stop learning and that often our best lessons come from people we do not really know at all. In a way, that is what it is like while playing the games of Facebook.

I enjoy keeping pace with what others are doing and getting notices of what is coming up and going on in our community as well as across the nation. I get to keep in touch with friends and relatives across United States, Canada and anywhere in the world.

If a friend and I are online at the same time, we can type messages and conduct a conversation, as it were.

Lots of people post pictures and let you see just what they have been doing.

It is very true that some people post every little insignificant thing they are doing, like a sports play-by-play. So be it, if they either think they are that interesting or if in fact they are so bored and lacking for something to do, there is an easy way to "hide" that person's comments. Another type of person you might want to hide is one who uses bad language or discusses what you might consider inappropriate remarks.

There has been a lot of press recently about privacy concerns, and Facebook is one of the targets.

Well, it just makes sense not to be specific about when you are leaving your home unattended and exactly when you are leaving. Better to mention what you did after you have done it.

Facebook is a great way to let people know when you have a special event or fundraiser coming up or a fundraiser. It gets the word out to more people right away.

The whole thing is that Facebook is instant.

It is still a learning process for us older people to adjust to all the tools we have to keep in touch with people all over the world, more or less in a heartbeat.

Facebook Outage - Memories of Powerless Nights in Northern Ontario

Up on Yonge Street (Toronto), when the lights went out, well, you got out a flashlight, turned on a portable radio or sat and talked to the person you were with. Some of you remember talking to people . . . right?

Up in Ontario cottage country - for me it was Muskoka, lots of beautiful places have no electricity, so that was good training for the times we have lost power here in East Texas. When it was 'way too cold, we could get in the car and turn the heater on.

How did we survive? Quite well, actually. We heated water on a wood-burning stove to wash dishes, wash ourselves. Of course, we had all that water from the lake and we also had a nifty creek which not only yielded water but also small fish. We usually cooked on the barbecue. Ah, to recall the time some of the fellows wrapped some stones in foil to replace Uncle Jimmy's potatoes. There was lots of kibitzing!

What did we do up there in the evenings? We played cards or board games by battery-powered lanterns or candles. We sang - my favorite was an improvised, "I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskokee" . . . a knock off from Merle Haggard's famous hit.

I guess I forgot to mention we also had an outhouse and an uncle who liked to scare us with bear noises after dark. No indoor plumbing?

There is a phenomenon in Ontario where people work very hard to purchase a beautiful, fully equipped City Home and then when they have really made it, they purchase a place up in Northern Ontario where they have no amenities. They rough it, as it were. Roughing it . . . camping . . . it is a nice way of life, really. People interact with each other and have lots of good times. We have lost the ability to sit down and talk to another person, to sing songs, to tell jokes and stories.

Here in Texas, we lose power because it is hot and all the air-conditioning systems tax the electricity sources. Sometimes we lose power because there is a storm - heavy rainstorm, hurricane, tornado - and the lights go off.

When the lights go off in Texas, especially in the summertime, we got trouble - yup, Trouble Right Here in River City, as the song went. We have had an extremely hot summer this year and there are some people who live in small homes who don't have enough to eat, much less air-conditioning. Those people - hopefully - are visited by neighbours and church members who take them to somewhere cooler.

Well, when the power goes off, so do computers, internet, TV - you name it!

We have come to rely heavily on communication and automation and frills which we consider necessities. We do not live better, just different.

So, today, it looks like Facebook - the love it or hate it social network is down - at least for a while. Guess we will have to talk to someone in person!

I will miss the Farm (Farmville/Farm Town - take your pick) but I think I can survive.

There is lots of talk these days about Facebook - a 1600 pound gorilla that is probably not going anyplace any time soon. It invades our privacy, causes people to divulge information they may later be sorry they did. Some people make comments that they might not even realize could be hurtful to someone. Some people make inappropriate remarks that someone they did not think would see it, in fact does see it and has hurt feelings from it.

Some people give a burglar a perfect opportunity but telling everyone with access to their page when they will be leaving their home.

I won't go on, because you know the the good, the bad and the ugly of Facebook and Twitter.

I kind of like Twitter, especially, because I can quickly let people know I have posted a new blog and more people will read it.

But mostly . . . just miss the farm.

Up On Yonge Street - That's Where We Were . . .

After being in East Texas almost 14 years, I can tell you that one thing that absolutely defines Texans is their vehicles. They like them big and when they pull up to your house, well, they just pull up to your house!

Well, in Toronto, land is at a premium - because that is where everyone comes to get a job. (Must mention here also that Toronto's TTC - Toronto Transit Commission is among the best and there is nothing quite like The Subway.) There are tidy curbs on every street and you park your car parallel to the curb. A driveway at someone's house . . . well, that generally is occupied, probably with one of the owner's vehicles.

We have not been back very long from our trip to the wedding of "This Bride" (see blog below) and one of the fun things was the wonderful family party at the bride's father's home the night before the marriage. (The rehearsal was during the week - how organized is that?)

Hubby & I checked into the hotel and got ready to go to the Party. Then Hubby went to bring the car around from the Parking Garage. (No, we do not have even one of those in the city where we live northeast of Houston.)

How was Hubby to know that there was a space M-14 on all four levels of the garage?

So, we were late arriving at the Party and Hubby looked at all the cars parked on the street. I think he was thinking we would have to park elsewhere and take a taxi . . . Lo and behold, as we came right to the house, there was one tiny spot in the driveway.

"I think we can fit in there!"

Hubby: "Do you think we should park there?"

"Oh yes!"

Our Texas-size SUV just fit and we got out and went up to the door.

This bride's sister-in-law was waiting at the front door and we were escorted inside and eventually out to the deck where you see Hubby and Daddy chatting in the photo above.

Caribana Festival was being held that weekend and so we were blessed to have several musicians play in the garden for us.

For me, it was like being home. I have known this family for about 52 years and their offspring must have heard some of the stories and those they had not heard, I told them.

Like when B left me to watch Daniel the baby while she went to the convenience store back when they lived in a small apartment on Avenue Road. I tell you, I did not know babies could cry that much and I sure didn't know that people upstairs would bang on the floor to let me know that was too much noise!

I didn't know a lot about babies, so I was rocking him and gently asking him,

"Don't cry, Danny!"

Those upstairs neighbours taught me to ask Dan just a little louder to "Hush Little Baby, Don't You Cry".

Yes, yes, I had to tell Dan about that. I don't think he was embarrassed. He and his wife, Carol had flown in from London, UK and I think that story was the least of what they were thinking about.

We were treated like royalty and so were others who flew in from Washington State, Italy and Iran.

Oh . . . This Bride . . . well, you might have to wait to see her picture. But, I will tell you she was radiantly beautiful and her groom was very handsome.

And B . . . my Dear Friend, B? Oh, you could feel her presence. She was the Angel in the hearts of all of us who had come to see her only daughter marry her college sweetheart, the I.T. fellow with the droll sense of humor who we met many years ago.

Like it was yesterday:

"And what are you studying?"

"I.T., Sir."

And silly me, just had to ask, "I am sorry, exactly what is that?"

"Information Technology, Ma'am."

You stick around a fellow like that, you get smart! You stick around a family like that and you feel pretty special!

Willam In Port Hope Writes Today's Blog - How About a Letter to the Troops?

Hi - I am William in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada and I am a guest blogger here today. I am almost 8.

My friend, Martha in Texas is visiting today.

We just wrote a letter to the troops for the Legion to put in the boxes for August. I hope that those boxes have neat stuff in them - like hard candy, cookies, soap, and other things those men and women would like to have.

Have you donated anything to put in those boxes that get shipped to the soldiers?

You could write a letter or give some toiletries for those boxes?

If you do that, it will make the soldiers feel good! We were talking about it, and we know if you do that, it will make you feel good too.

So, this is William in Canada signing off the Yonge-Street-Texan blog!

This Bride

I met her mother, B (as she referred to herself) 51 years ago, at college in Toronto. She and I had great times - laughter and serious times. Her mother would help anyone in need - any person, any animal. Her biggest salvation - literally - was probably a horse named Paddington, and what a beauty he was. There was always a dog too, of course.

If B was your friend, you hardly needed another. There was the angel she promised her friend in the hospital, too sick to think about anything else. Do you know you can courier a glass angel door to door, 1650 miles in less than 24 hours? Well, you can - if you want to or need to. Do you know that National Film Board of Canada will ship to anywhere? B knew that and she wanted me to watch a program she had seen.

Before I met her mother, B, I knew her father. A group of us loved to have parties and enjoyed playing tennis. Not gonna tell you anymore about her father. He is quiet and to the point, a great friend who calls me an "old friend" and gets away with it.

Kinda seemed back then that we probably would never grow up . . . guess that is what our parents thought.

You had to know her mother and her grandmother to truly appreciate This Bride. That will be her identity for this blog.

Her grandmother was petite and I was always taken with how great she looked at 8:30 in the morning when she answered her front door. She would be wearing a shirtwaist dress and lipstick and offering me her latest find, a product called Coffee Rich that made your coffee literally sing with flavor. She's gone now too.

On a night in September after a Clint Black concert, we got the word that B had had a stroke. That was when I cried and screamed and carried on. How could that happen to B? After she was settled in at the hospital and tests were run, it got worse. B also had cancer. I think that is one of the saddest times of my adult life.

Here was this terrific gal who would do anything for me, for you, for someone she did not even know. Here was this gal who didn't care about fancy jewelry, make-up, pretense of any kind.

So, it is with honor and pride that I (with Hubby, of course) will watch This Bride marry a handsome, wonderful, charming and light-hearted man next week.

She is herself, her mother, her grandmother, a special person whom I am honored to know.

Speaking of honor, This Bride has called Hubby and me FAMILY! Wow!

If you have been following the weddings Hubby and I have been going to over the past year and if you also know I have lost weight during this time, then perhaps you are wondering, "So, what is Martha wearing to this special event?"

Well, I will wear the green dress. Yes, I feel very comfortable in the green dress. And when you are being treated like royalty, it is good to feel comfortable!

Hey - you - "This Bride" - you will be so beautiful and I will see not only you, but your Mother, but your Grandmother that day.

Sometimes - if we sit back and look at our lives - we see how truly blessed we have been.

May "This Bride" have a beautiful wedding, a fine marriage and may she carry on all those traits that made these women such good friends to everyone they knew.

Love you, "This Bride"!

Is There Some Way We Can Go Back?

Mostly because I like to be current, to keep up, as it were, I have maintained a Facebook page for some time now. (Also, I get to tell people when I put up a new blog, as I will when I finish here.)

I learned to text for the same reason (QWERTY keyboard indeed).

Of course, I am on Twitter also to alert people who might be interested in my blogs. I have a rather nifty following of dog-related groups there!

All my life, I have been a communicator. Even as a grade-schooler, I would go downstairs to a room by myself and write both poems and prose. Always got my best grades in English Composition. Always enjoyed writing!

I must say that I have met some really interesting people on Facebook who I probably never would have met otherwise and I do get to keep in touch with a few people who are several thousand miles away.

Mind you, if I were not on Facebook, I probably would have the time to sit down and write a nice personal letter to those friends and relatives in Ontario and Nova Scotia.

I have re-connected with some people who have left East Texas and that is also fine.

Last week, I took my "Friend" list and well, I did a lot of clicking! I pared it down to about 40 people.

Hubby, smart Engineer that he is, simply deleted his page. Period. That's the kind of person he is: very straightforward and to the point.

I am held hostage at Facebook by a nifty game I like to play called Farm Town. Can't play Farm Town elsewhere.

Tonight, I saw two postings from my friend's daughter that really broke my heart. Yup. They almost broke my heart as much as the one I saw about myself a few days ago.

Family. You really cannot choose family, only friends. When a friend does you in, you generally get rid of them.

We live in the toughest times of our lives. We have a horrid economy, natural and man-made disasters that strike us down routinely. We have people "in charge" stealing from us. (Oh, I am so sorry, if anyone is offended that I think perhaps some major executives have stolen from taxpayers and investors.) And, of course, we are at war.

We have lost the art of sitting down with one another and talking.

I do not think that either family comment would have been made to someone in the flesh.

People have computer skills but alas they have no heart.

If they were to put their hearts and brains into what they were thinking, they would not make hurtful remarks like they do. Why? Well, the person on the receiving end would tell them they were full of blank and that would be the end of the conversation. (By the way, BLANK is just about what is in some of these minds.)

We have a major obesity problem in United States right now. Well, I guess so. A person hurts another's feelings and the first person gobbles down the first high calorie snack they can get their hands on. Unless, of course, they reach for a bottle of something stronger.

What is the matter with people? Families do not support one another and in fact, they are extremely competitive.

I remember my first father-in-law coming over to our apartment to tell us in no uncertain terms that something had been said about a cousin and we were to fess up. I knew it wasn't me and even though I did divorce him, I don't think it was my then husband. But, Pop - as the head of the family - was going to get to the bottom of it all.

Today, parents are afraid of their children . . . heck, teachers are afraid of children.

So, the generation who are now in their twenties have many among them who go 'way beyond Clark Gable in not giving a damn. These people don't care about family, "friends" or really anyone beyond what they need for the next 24 hours.

Has social media contributed to this? Do people not realize that what they write goes to friends of friends of friends. Or is it more like: they do not care? Have they no heart at all?

My readers, here we are in the year 2010 and we have come a long way . . . backwards and beyond.

I think we need to sit in a recliner with eyes closed for a while and just think. Is there some way we can go back to enjoying people and life?

Changing Face Of The Workforce

We may have grey hair and walk a little slower than we used to. We have more aches and pains. But we do remember the work ethic that made this country (and Canada too, of course) great!

Yes, there is a lot of technology we did not have when I first worked at a heavy equipment jobber in Toronto (a.k.a. manufacturers agent). But dealing with people is still at the heart of a lot of business.

"Good Morning, Furnace Department, Miss Croome speaking: how may I help you?"

Used to take a lot of ribbing but that was how I was to answer the Department's phone!

I hammered out letters, proposals and invoices on a Remington Noiseless that was probably the noisiest machine ever. I transcribed letters from my shorthand notebook. My shorthand was Pittman (from England) but some of you used Greig here in the United States.

I walked one block to the Nortown trolley (electrically powered) on Avenue Road. It swung the corner at Eglinton and turned left on Eglinton, over to - yes - YONGE STREET - to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Subway System. (The line went from Eglinton to Union only back then and was about eight years old.)

I walked down a flight of stairs and took two escalators to get to the actual subway car that would noisily take me downtown. I got off at Front Street - by Union Station (the Railway Station).

Then, I walked past the attendant at the turnstile with my paper transfer to get me into the area of the buses and streetcars.

I took the bus over to Jarvis Street to the building where I worked.

So, that was a lot of walking and three public transit vehicles just to get to my first job.

Even with some references from my father, I was interviewed by forty (40) different people for this first job that paid $195 Canadian - per month. (By the way, the Canadian dollar at that time - 1960 - was a little higher than the American dollar.) That is a little more than $45.00 per week for a person right out of Weller College with honors and typing of over 60 words per minute and shorthand of over 120 words per minute. So, I was well qualified, but not experienced. I had just turned 20.

Notice that people interviewed me; I did not interview them, as we hear now.

The Office Manager's name was Mr. Lilly and he was an accountant, totally lacking in personality who dealt strictly in facts.

Williams and Wilson, whose head office was in Montreal, had various departments on the second floor with a central switchboard. In Lufkin, we have a mural downtown of a woman using a central switchboard - historical of course! The main floor was a showroom for the heavy equipment. The building was large and there were lots of employees, including sales staff, managers, and executives.

I started at 8:30 in the morning and finished at 5:00 p.m. We had 20 minute coffee breaks morning and afternoon in a nice break room and one hour for lunch.

At lunch hour on Fridays, I would walk across to Bay Street (the equivalent of Wall Street in New York City) to get my hair done. They knew how to do a bouffant hairstyle and get you out of there in 40 minutes smelling of a stinky hold called Princess Patricia Hair Spray. That got you through the wind and back to your office on time.

Fridays I ate my lunch at the salon. I took a lunch from home every day unless it was payday - twice a month, when I would do my banking at The King Edward Hotel Branch and eat in their cafeteria downstairs. That was up on King Street and required brisk walking and quick eating. My boss was less than kind, taking us to a Christmas lunch at Letros Tavern (not so high class) and requesting my presence back at the office for more typing while the sales and accounting staff of the Furnace Department went home.

I guess I forgot to tell you that my high heels were kept in my lower desk drawer and I wore laced up Hush Puppies to make good time comfortably.

When I logged about a year at that first job, I was able to advance to New York Life Insurance where they purchased the newly invented IBM Selectric typewriter for me and I moved into the big time! I had a kind boss and made friends but we still had a strong work ethic.

I describe this from 50 years ago because it is people like me who remember what working conditions used to be who will be hired to clean up the messes in today's workplace.

There will have to be some special allowances. I will be 70 in a few weeks and I cannot do 7 or 8 hours a day, five days a week. Some of us will need ramps and railings and certainly will not be able to transverse public transit systems as I did back then.

Why will we be coming back to work, if we are healthy enough?

Well, times are tough - very tough. The "Golden Years" are not 24 carat and we cannot afford to have some of the nifty inventions like flatscreen TV, bright red appliances and furniture to replace the old.

You might be surprised how well we can navigate a computer - I know my Hubby and I do pretty much everything needed.

When you call my employer and I answer the phone, I will enunciate my name and you will understand me - even with my "accent, eh?" - no will be asking me my name or to repeat what I said.

I will not be using my cell phone for texting (yes, I can do that) during office hours and you would never find me on the internet unless my Boss asked me to google some information or post something on his website.

I don't look bad for an old gal (as Anne Murray, the singer would say) but I will wear appropriate attire that covers what should be covered.

You see, business is business - or as the French say, "Les affaires sont les affaires".

No one should be paying you for personal tasks or amusement. Government, a professional or company pays you for your time dedicated to work to advance their business, efficiency, image and (for business and professions) profit.

It was pretty bad when we learned the staggering bonuses executives were making at major companies. It was real bad when we, the taxpayers, had to bail out banks and major corporations with household names. But, it is over the top when we learn that there are government employees who have been spending long hours on websites not quite as gentle as Facebook.

So, have a smile for that grey-haired person who greets you next time you are in an office. That person knows how to save us from ourselves!

"Good Afternoon, Furnace Department, Miss Croome speaking: How can I help you?"Changing

America - The Land Of The Free: Have We Distorted The Meaning Of That?

Joe Biden's zipper is open, originally uploaded by DonkeyHotey.

This week I was just sort of wondering if perhaps some people take our Freedom a little to extremes.

So, this is The Land where the Vice President can say - quite clearly, while a microphone is open - an obsenity as he is introducing the President?

So, this is The Land where a teenager posing with others for a photo of their "Against Drugs" Group with a skirt just barely covering her thighs and high heels?

So, this is The Land where an 80-year-old former Astronaut (Buzz Aldren) thinks it is a good idea to compete on the rigorous, not to mention foolish and sometimes rude Dancing With The Stars?

What are these people thinking? Yes, we have the freedom to be as foolish as we wish, but perhaps that is not what our Founding Fathers were hoping for!

Please remember to pray every night for President Barack Obama. In case you have forgotten, if anything should happen to him, Joe Biden, or next in line, Nancy Pelosi would become President.

2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver - A Warm Fuzzy Feeling!

OLY: DEC12 Olympic Torch Relay Day 44, originally uploaded by TotalPhoto (Leon).

Pictured: Elizabeth Manley (1988) and Barbara Ann Scott (1948)

Probably because I am one of the few Canadians living here in East Texas, lots of people were asking me what I thought about the Olympics held in Vancouver.

I have been waiting to write this probably because I wanted to put it all into perspective and explain how I felt and what it meant to me to see Canada showcased like that.

The 1988 Winter Olympics were held in Calgary and I remembered the wonderful opening ceremony and I remembered Elizabeth Manley winning not a Gold, but a Silver medal in Ladies Figure Skating. (So like Canadians . . . make sure your guests are having a good time.) I am sort of kidding about that, but it is true that Canadians just love for you to visit. I hope that many of you who watched this wonderful event will think seriously about taking a trip to somewhere in Canada sometime soon.

To help readers not quite so familiar with the geography of Canada, let me explain that Vancouver is on the West Coast Mainland in British Columbia and Calgary is in Alberta (oil country). I am from Toronto (Ontario) and lived just east of there in a small town called Port Hope before moving to East Texas. I also have relatives in Nova Scotia which is in the eastern part of Canada or The Maritime Provinces.

I am truly blessed to have seen nine of the ten Canadian provinces and there are differences just as you can think of differences between American states. It is also interesting to note that 90% of Canada's population lives within 100 miles of the American border. Looking at a map, one sees the huge expanse of Canada but might forget just how cold it can get toward the Arctic Circle.

Lower British Columbia is one of the more temperate provinces and I recall in 1982 seeing spring burst forth there in May, back home in Ontario in June and in Newfoundland in July.

One thing this event made me think about is that Canadians do not leave Canada because they want to leave Canada. We leave because there is an opportunity for us. In my case, of course, I met and married an American (born in Illinois) who was living in Texas. Many entertainers move to the United States because there are more opportunities for them.

All of us feel very strong about wanting to go back home on a regular basis. I have been truly blessed to be able to go "home" just about every year and a couple of years we went twice and once, by driving across the border from our niece's, we were able to have lunch at Swiss Chalet and say we'd been in Canada three times!

The Closing Ceremony featured Michael J. Fox and William Shatner among others but the Opening Ceremony was the one that had me crying.

Much as I am very proud of him, you can see Wayne Gretzky lots of places, so it was not him. He grew up where my father was born - in Brantford, Ontario - and his father used to freeze the backyard for him to skate when he was a kid. So did my Dad, but I'm no Wayne Gretzky! (Yes, they would hook up the water hose and flood the backyard. I have to tell you, it was not the smoothest skating I did!)

My real thrill was watching the flag being hoisted by lots of people I remembered well, including singer Anne Murray who actually lived around the corner from me near Thornhill Pond, just north of Metro Toronto. She looked a little nervous for her, actually. She used to try to sneak into the supermarket up Yonge Street and she never wore makeup, just pinched her cheeks for color. She was beautiful. You might not have picked her off if you had not heard that speaking voice - that Alto just like when she sings.

Betty Fox was with them. Betty Fox is the mother of Terry Fox who lost a leg to cancer when he was in his late teens. He was from British Columbia and started walking across Canada from Newfoundland. (Yes, you would have to get on a ferry or plane to get to the mainland.) He walked right past my house in Thornhill one summer afternoon - I think it was August - and we contributed to the Cancer Society as did everyone. He had freckles, and curly brown hair. He was tired: you could see it. I wished him Happy Birthday and he told me it would not be until the Monday. (Terry only made it to Thunder Bay where they realized the cancer had spread.) There is a statue in Thunder Bay to honor him now. He flew home and I think he lived for about another year. His mother, Betty, has been at every Cancer Research Fundraiser she could to honor her son. What a special lady! (I think in many places there are still Terry Fox Runs each year.)

Then I saw Rick Hansen. He is known as The Man In Motion. He has a website where you could learn about this fellow. Rick also went across Canada - in his wheelchair. He raises funds and organizes events for people with various disabilities. He is a living legend of a man who cares so much about others!

Now, I am coming to the one who really had me actually crying! Barbara Ann Scott. She was an Olympic Figure Skating Champion in 1948. There she was . . . also hoisting the Canadian flag.

When I was a little girl, I went to school at Havergal (yes, as in Frances Ridley Havergal, the hymn writer whose name is in your hymn books) , Barbara Ann and her mother would stay at an apartment on Avenue Road across from the school when they were in Toronto. We would look and see if we could see her perhaps standing on a balcony. (Her home was in Ottawa.)

My letter to Santa Claus that year went like this:

"Dear Santa, I have been a good girl. Could you please bring me a Barbara Ann Scott doll for Christmas? You can find it at the B & W Store on Eglinton Avenue. Love, Martha"

Oh yes, I did indeed get that doll and to actually see Barbara Ann Scott, after all these years out of the limelight - living in Chicago, I believe - hoisting the Canadian flag . . . well, that really made me cry!

Yes, Canadians love for you to know about their country and all the indigenous peoples dancing and singing in their special dress. We like for you to know about all the entertainers we have sent to United States. We would love to show you Canada - all of it - each province different from the next.