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Ok ... my subject line up there is a tribute to Tropical Storm Fay. I'll talk about her in a bit.
First things first ... I want to thank *everyone* for your birthday wishes. Some of the early comments I was able to respond to privately, but ended up losing track. Please accept my apologies if you did not get a personalized thank you. I *very* much appreciated all of them, especially the ones here and on FaceBook ... LOL
My parents made the trip down for the weekend and brought my aunt (dad's sister) with them. They drove down on Wednesday and left to go home on Monday. I haven't spent that much time with them in such close proximity in a long time. Good times were had by all.
I had a birthday party on Saturday (9th) too. Chili and sausage cheese balls were on the menu, along with homemade butter pecan ice cream - courtesy my fantastic husband. We had red velvet cake from Publix. I've got a picture in my phone, but haven't sent it to myself yet so I can post it. I'll try one of these days to get that done.
We played a sort of memory game. There were 12 pictures of people or events that happened during 1968 - the year of my birth. Players had to write down what the picture was. There were some intereting answers ... One of these days I'll post those too - and see how many of you can get them right. My dad and my aunt won - with 10/12.
Less fun things ...
I was supposed to have a sleep study done last week, but had to reschedule because I wasn't feeling well. Now we're having insurance issues, and may have to postpone it indefinitely until those issues get straightened out. I'd really like to find out if I have sleep apnea ... it would explain quite a few things. I guess I've lived without sleeping properly for this long ... I'll figure out how to do it a little longer.
I mentioned TS Fay ... she's still projected to head our way. Right now she's been stalled just barely within the eastern coast of Florida, just south of Daytona. Sometime later tonight/early tomorrow, the storm is supposed to move off-shore slightly, then boomerang west by northwest over the panhandle. There's one prediction that has it moving completely down into the Gulf and heading for New Orleans. Not a pretty picture.
Anyway - even though our air pressure here hasn't dropped too much, yet, I'm still feeling it. I've been hurting a lot this week, especially over the weekend; and have had a headache all day - just won't go away. It's hard to not overmedicate ... there's the feeling that *something's* got to give. If I'm hurting this bad now, I wonder how bad it will be when the storm is right over top of us??
A little more negativity, but also ending on a positive note.
About a month ago, my maternal grandmother passed away. She was my last living biological grandparents, and it feels kind of like a link to the past has been permanently severed. Due to a host of poor life circumstances, I didn't know her anywhere near as well as I should have.
But ... here's the positive side. Partly because of her death (the other reason is irrelevant here), I've gotten interested in my family genealogy. In doing that research over the last couple of weeks or so, I've found some really remarkable items, things that mean a lot to my family. I've also "found" a way to connect with some of my family ... connections that have been been badly broken for many years.
On my dad's side - I've found the passenger manifest from when his mom and her older sister and their parents emigrated from Denmark to the US. I also found a picture of the ship on which they traveled. I also found a copy of the 1930 US Census with their names, as well as most of that grandmother's siblings (one child was not yet born). I printed copies of those out and my dad's sister has them now.
On my mother's side - I've found Census data, marriage data, siblings I didn't know my maternal grandfather had, etc. I've found information my family has not known or had forgotten. Up until the time I started working on it, the information we had on my maternal grandfather's side went back several generations. (Much of that was done by a couple of my cousins; I've greatly benefited from their work. Thanks y'all!) Yet on my maternal grandmother's side, we only knew her parents' names, nothing more.
At the risk of sounding boastful - I've cracked that "wall." With the help of clues given by one of my mother's sisters (I never would have found the info without those clues), I've figured out a couple of generations behind my mother's maternal grandmother. I've got several more generations, but not all of the data has been substantiated yet. Still ... it's been fun, and a *great* treasure hunt!
I've done some work on Don's family too, and some other branches of my family. What I enjoy the most is imagining what these people were doing, what they were thinking, how they went about their lives under the laws they had at the time. Maybe one of these days I'll post some of the things I've learned since starting this research. |
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Growing up, my dad and I did not always agree. For anyone who might have been a fly on the wall, you’ll know that’s a bit of an understatement. We are too much alike – red-headed stubborn mules with a temper to match. :D
Yet as I’ve matured, I’ve looked back at some of the lessons he taught me. Even through all that conflict – there are good things, things which I will never forget.
I remember the time when I was in a high school chorus class. It was the fall semester, and naturally, as the world is wont to do, the teacher wanted us to learn and perform certain “religiously oriented” songs about the birth of Christ. These songs were also accompanied by a piano. Nope. Not gonna do it. I even got sent to my guidance counselor to discuss my refusal to sing these songs. They even talked to my parents about it. My dad gave me the tools to make my own choice. He told me what the Bible said, he explained the differing views, and let me make my own choice. I ended up getting a C for that six-weeks grading period. Well worth it, and a lesson I’ve carried with me for a lifetime.
Other things I remember are his political choices. He’s a Republican, and taught me many of the same values. I consider myself to be Republican as well. However – I clearly remember him stating, on more than one occasion, that regardless of his political affiliation, he was going to vote for the person he thought was the best candidate – even if that candidate was polar opposite in both party and platform. I know there have been multiple times where he’s voted Democrat or some other party rather than vote a straight Republican ticket – because he felt the individual was the better choice. One particular instance was in 1976, when Ford ran against Carter. I was 8 years old then … and although I didn’t grasp the full complexities of the Presidential race, or politics in general for that matter, I still understood the lesson he was teaching. Don’t follow someone blindly … investigate, and make the right choice based on what you KNOW – not what rumor says.
Any guesses where this is going? LOL
The current Presidential election has the potential to be one of the “hottest” in terms of mud-slinging and dirty politics. Indeed – it has already started. Who among us has not received the chain email about Obama, citing that he’s “Muslim” and that he is “unpatriotic” and as such he’s a threat to our national security? Spam … all of it. I’ve received it multiple times … on several occasions, I’ve received it from Christians. Lest anyone think he/she is being singled out – it’s happened **more than once**, from **more than one person**. (NOTE: I am not going to discuss McCain here – simply because I don’t know anything about McCain, other than he was a POW in Viet Nam.)
The two biggest lies – Obama is Muslim, and Obama is unpatriotic.
Obama is NOT Muslim. Never has been, never will be. http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp
Obama *DOES* put his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance. Along the same lines – he *DOES* recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Yes – there is a picture, widely circulated, which shows him without his hand over his heart. However – there are other pictures, less widely circulated, which show him *WITH* his hand over his heart. In Obama’s words – “My grandfather taught me when I was 2. During the Pledge of Allegiance, you put your hand over your heart. During the national anthem, you sing.” Do you still doubt? Check the pic and video here. (Pictures and video also found at http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/anthem.asp.)
As far as him being unpatriotic – I think he covers that very well in the speech seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMbBuEoEYnk.
The transcript of the same speech can be found here - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/us/politics/30text-obama.html?ref=politics.
There are any number of rumors and urban legends being passed around. If you receive anything via email that is inflammatory, derogatory, or in any other way negative about Barack Obama - **PLEASE** check them out first. Go to Snopes and find out the truth.
BTW … Lest anyone think otherwise, I am not an Obama supporter. I am considering it - I have not yet decided where to cast my vote. My purpose in this post is to debunk some of the lies and myths that are being spread. Christians have no business taking part in that type of negativity.
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