Today Is The Last Day Of 2013. Before I Go Any Further Into This How Many Of You Say Twenty Thirteen? I Have Noticed The News Media Recently Been Saying This. I Suppose I Am Old Fashioned Because I Continue To Refer It By Two Thousand Thirteen. I'm Sure I Will Come Around Eventually In Saying What Is Politically Correct.
I Don't Believe Anything Earth Shattering Has Taken Place In My Personal Life In The Year 2013. No New Years Resolution From Me. There Are Some Things I Would Like To Accomplish In The Coming Year. However, If I Say It In A Form Of A Resolution It May Make Me Feel I Failed In My Attempts. So Yes I Have Hopes And Dreams In The New Year But I Think I Will Keep It To Myself.
Changing From One Year To Another Is Simply A Measurement Of Time. Tomorrow Will Be Pretty Much The Same As Today. Weather Wise Or Otherwise. Of Course There Will Be Those Moments We Can Mark On Our Calendars As A Day To Remember For One Reason Or The Other. One Year From Today I Will Be Looking Back At The Happenings Of The Year 2014. Hopefully All My Close Friends And Family Will Still Be Around. As We All Know Nothing Has Ever Been Guaranteed To Us.
If There Is Only One Thing I Have Learned Throughout My Years Is That Life Is Short. Yes I Have Heard This Phrase Numerous Times Over The Years But It Really Never Sunk In. My Defining Moment Was When I Lost My Son Bobby To Suicide. The News Of His Death Hit Us Like A Ton Of Bricks. We Didn't See It Coming. As In Most Unexpected Deaths There Comes A Lot Of Woulda's, Shoulda's & Coulda's. Looking Back Just Three Short Years Ago The Memory Of It Feels Like Yesterday. So I Suppose What I Am Saying Is If You Are Harboring A Grudge Against A Loved One, Let It Go. Only You Can Make That Decision. There Are People In This World I Really Don't Care For. If Something Were To Happen To Them Most Likely It Would Not Have Any Effect On Me One Way Or Another. In A Previous Blog I Mentioned I Have Forgiven Anyone Who Has Wronged Me. That Doesn't Mean I Am Going To Lunch With Them Anytime Soon. It Means My Heart Has Forgiven Them. However My Brain Tells Me To Be Cautious Of Them In The Future.
I Have No Idea How Many People Read My Blogs. I Want To Thank You For Your Readership. As I Stated In A Recent Blog You Never Know What Will Be Written Here. At One Point In Time I Stated I Would Never Write A Negative Blog. I Can No Longer Promise This. There Comes A Time When It Becomes Necessary To Declare Your Opinions On A Topic. At Times You Must Take A Stand Whether It's Popular Or Not. To Go With The Flow Is So Ever So Easy.
Of Course I Could Tell You I Will Write More Blogs In The Coming Year. I Could Also Say I Will Ride Naked On Horseback. One Or Both Would Most Likely Not Happen. I Think We Know What It Would Be.
In Our New Year I Think I Will Yawn More Just To Aggravate Those Who Can't Resist Following. Don't You Just Hate That? How About Asking Someone To Pick A Number Between One And One Hundred. When They Give Their Response Let It Be The Correct One. It Would Really Make Their Day. You Would Gasp At Their Response And Ask Them How They Knew.
Remember The Old Expression Take A Step Back And Count To Ten? It Doesn't Have To be An Old Expression. Keep It Real. God Bless.

The Power Of Forgiveness.

Have You Ever Been So Mad At Someone You Promised To Never Forgive Them? There Have Been Many Times I Have Been Angry. Being Angry Can Take A Lot Of Energy Out Of A Person.
I'm Going To Share A True Story With My Faithful Followers. Of Course I Must Change The Names To Protect The Innocent. Actually It Has Nothing To Do With Innocence. It Has Everything To Do With True Forgiveness.
The Story Begins A Handful Of Years Ago. Someone Had Lied On Me And Made Me Appear Untrustworthy. This Person Who I Had The Highest Respect For Betrayed Me. I Had Known This Person My Entire Life. What I Admired Most About This Person Was Honesty, But Most Of All, Godliness. For As Long As I Can Remember This Person Had A Deep Faith In God.
Yes I Know We Are All Sinners And God Will Forgive Us. All We Have To Do Is Ask. Sometimes As Humans, Forgiving Another Person Is Difficult. There Are Some Who Refuse To Forgive And Die With Hatred In Their Heart. I Am Not The Greatest When It Comes To Scriptures In The Bible, So Please Bear With Me. Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32tells us, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
One Night I Was Searching For Something In My Desk Drawer. Whatever It Was I Was Searching For I Quit After I Found A Photo Of This Person. My Heart Sank And Tears Began Streaming Down My Cheeks. I Knew The Truth. God Knew The Truth. This Person Knew The Truth. I Had Realized It Was Serving No Justice Carrying Around All This Anger Of Betrayal. As I Held This Photo, I Put It To My Heart. I Said I Forgive You. I'm Sorry It Had Taken Me This Long. I Had An Overwhelming Feeling Come Over Me. It's Difficult To Describe. I Don't Remember Feeling Like This Ever Before. The Closest To Describing It Is When You Are Under Water And Holding Your Breath. You Reach The Surface And Begin To Breathe Again. Does That Make Sense To You?
The Following Day I Received A Telephone Call Telling Me This Special Person Had Died. Do You Suppose This Is All Coincidental? I Don't. I Have Been Shocked Numerous Times When Told Someone Had Passed. This News To Me That Day Was A Joyous One. I Knew This Person Was In Heaven. How Can You Not Smile Knowing Their Eternity Will Be With Our Lord? God Knows The Exact Date We Die. When Our Life On Earth Is Finished He Calls Us Home. I Believe That. It Also Gives Me Comfort In Knowing I Had A Part In This person's Final Day. It Drew Me Closer To God That Day.
It Also Taught Me A Lesson. Since That Day, There Has Not Been A Person On This Earth I Haven't Forgiven. I Know If I Cannot Forgive You, God Will Not Forgive Me. There Comes A Time When The Light Bulb Comes On And I Finally "Get It". The Power Of Forgiveness Is A Key To Heavens Gate.

Secret Santa

It Began As Early As The First Week Of November. Christmas Movies On Hallmark, Lifetime Network As Well As Other Stations. Some Movies Are All Of The Classics We Remember While Growing Up. Others Are New To Us. However Each One Tells A Different Story.
Tonight A Christmas Movie Called Secret Santa. A Young Lady Named Jennifer Began Receiving A Christmas Card With No Post Mark. The Postman Knew Nothing Of It. Through Her Investigations Of Who Was Sending These Cards In Her Mailbox, It Turns Out To Be From A Special Childhood Friend Who Passed Away Three Years Prior. His Name Was Jack. How Could This Be? Travel Through Time As In A Quantum Leap. They Began Exchanging Cards With Touching Words Of Fondness And Love. She Knew This Would Soon End When Christmas Arrived, For This Was The Anniversary Of His Death. As Children They Would Stand At The Well And Drop A Coin And Make A Special Wish Before It Hit The Water.
When She Realized What Date It Was She Warned Him Not To Leave That Day For Anything. If He Honored Her Request He Would Stay Alive And Life Would Be Changed Forever. When Her Card Was Not Picked Up She Feared She Was Too Late. She Ran To The Well And Wished To Save Him From Death. She Jumped In The Car, Destination Unknown. A Car Accident Sends Jennifer To The Hospital. She Wakes Up On Christmas Day With Jack At Her Bedside. At That Moment Tears Began Rolling Down My Cheeks. It's December, A Month I Dread Each Year. It Had Always Been The Month Filled With Happiness And Joy. If I Was Fortunate Enough To Have Bobby Sit Beside Me Tonight, He Would Tell Me Not To Be Sad. For Almost Three Years I Have Considered December The Month Of Mourning. Instead Of Being Sad Like Bobby Would Not Want For Me, My Heart Breaks. I Have This Over Whelming Feeling Of Emptiness. I Feel Lost. I Feel Like My Heart Has Been Broken. I'm Afraid My Life Cannot Move Forward. Even Though Weeks Have Turned Into Months And Months Into Years, It Still Feels Like Yesterday. Oh Yes I Can Put On That Happy Face And Go Through All The Motions Of Life. However I Feel I Am Only Existing In Time. I Have Had My Share Of Sadness But I Feel There Is More.
I Am A Believer Of The "Bigger Picture". We All Have A Mission In Life. Our Lives With All It's Twist And Turns Sends Us To Set Out And Accomplish. I Believe There Are Many Who Do Not Fulfill Their Mission Of Life. Many Do Fulfill Without Ever Knowing They Did. It May Have Never Been About You In The First Place. We All Are In Existence For A Reason. It May Be To Influence Someone Else. It Could Be A Family Member, A Friend, Neighbor Or A Complete Stranger. Remember Hearing About Angels On Earth? Maybe Your Only Mission Of Your Being Was To Save Someone From Harm.
This Is Why I Must Continue To Look For That Bigger Picture Of Life. I Am Quite Certain God Didn't Intend To Continue Bringing Me A Lifetime Of Sadness, Or Die With A Broken Heart. There Is More To Come. I Haven't A Clue What It Is. So Through My Footsteps Of Life Maybe Joy Will Once Again Appear. I Have Been Spending A Lot Of My Time At The Bowling Alley. Will I Touch Someone There? Will I Be Touched? Maybe Through Giving To Those Living In Poverty. Not So Sure That Can Be Because It's A Never Ending Feeling To Help Someone Who Needs You. I Have Been Deeply Touched By So Many People From All Walks Of Life. So What Can It Be? Have You Ever Wondered What Your Purpose Is? You Do Believe You Have One Don't You? As The Movie Ended The Tears Continued. My Dog Cassie Came Over To Me And Put Her Head On My Leg. She Comforted Me When I Needed A Friend. It Made Me Smile. You Wanna Know Why It Made Me Smile? Because Cassie Is Here For Me. She Came To Me Shortly After Bobby Passed Away. My Sister In Law Called Me One Day And Told Me She Saw An Ad Looking For A Home For A Pug. She Thought Of Me. Ok, Now Evelyn Played A Part Of Her Mission In Life By Placing This Wonderful Dog Into My Life. Cassie Had Been In A Crate For 12 Hours A Day. Her Owner Could Not Give Her The Life She Deserved. She Just Worked Too Many Hours A Day. It Gave New Hope For Cassie And A Loving Companion For Me In My Darkest Moments. I Believe We All Need To Evaluate Our Lives And Try To Determine What Our Bigger Picture May Be. I Continue To Wait For Further Instructions For The Direction I Am Suppose To Make. I Believe The Average Person Has Many Missions In Life. Some Missions May Serve No Meaning Or Purpose. Yet Everything Happens For A Reason. We May Not Understand It At The Moment, But Sometime Along The Way It Will Become Clear.
I Suppose In Between My Missions I Have A Special Buddy Sent From Heaven, From Bobby To Comfort Me When I'm Lonely And Feeling Empty.
I Remember My Grandmother Telling Me One Day When She Was Past 90 Years Old. She Said Greg I'm Not Sure Why I'm Still Hanging Around. I'm Old And I Ache At Times. I Asked Her If Life Was Good. She Said It Was. I Told Her There Must Be More Work For Her. Why Would God Leave You Just Hanging Around If There Was No Purpose? I Believe The Lord Brings Us Home When Our Mission Is Complete.

Life's Tug Of War

We Have Known It As Kid's Game. It's A Show Of Strength And Endurance. In Most Cases There Is Always A Winner. The Ultimate Prize Is Bragging Rights. You Can Mix And Match The Players On Both Sides That Can Change The End Result. A Different Group, A Different Day Can Bring Different Results Depending On The Makeup Of Both Sides. But What If It Is No Longer A Kid's Game. I Will Be The First One To Say I Have Seen Many Grown Up People Acting Like Children. I View Myself As Quiet And Reserved. I'm Not Quick To Pass Judgement On Others Based On A Persons Opinion. To Be Quite Honest I Must Admit I Am A Bad Judge Of Character. I Always Assume Whoever It Is That I Am Speaking With Is Honest. If You Lie To Me Give Yourself A Good Pat On The Back. You Actually Accomplished Nothing. Don't Get Me Wrong I Am Not Declaring I Have Never Lied. I Cannot However Remember A Time I Lied In An Aggravated Manner That Would Or Could Cause Harm In Any Way To Another Individual. I Am Far From Perfect. I Have Made My Share Of Mistakes In Life. Probably More Than Others.

I Lost Count In The Years I Have Been Blogging. I Suppose I Can Take The Time To View Previous Blogs And Come Up With A Number. The Bottom Line Doesn't Matter To Me. Since Day 1 I Have Stated My Blogs Would Always Be Uplifting Or In A Positive Sense. There Will Be Times However When You Must Climb The Platform Of Your Soap Box And Wave Your Arms And Make Sure You Have Everybody's Attention. I Use To Be Very Vocal Of My Opinions On Various Issues. It's Been Awhile Since I Sounded Off.

If There Is Only One Thing I Have Learned About Life It Must Be That It Is Too Short. The Eyes That Are Reading This Blog Is Only A Speckle In Time. So Much Time Has Been Recorded Before Us. Time Will March On After We Depart. I Have Been Fortunate In Peeking In The Past lives Of Those Who Lived Before Me. I Have Read Days, Months & Years Of Happenings In The Life Of Those Who Take The Time To Jot It Down. Notable Entry's Of A Diary Can Not Only Be Personal It Can Be Informative. 

Each Day I Would Find A Date I Thought To Be Interesting In Some Way. I Would Post It Every Day On My Facebook Page. I Did This So I Could Share What I Felt Was Very Interesting. Taking A Trip Back In Time. Words That Were Written Long Before I Was Born. Even Though I Find Each And Every Day To Be Different Than The Other, I Chose To No Longer Share These Daily Post On My Facebook Page. I Did This Out Of Respect. Getting Into These Diaries Each Day, Turning The Pages, Contributes To More Than Just Your Normal Wear And Tear. I Learned This Early On When I Began Collecting Danville High School Yearbooks. The Oldest Book Dates Back To 1904. You Must Be Respectful Of Age. I Concluded Posting My Great Grandmother's Diaries On The Anniversary Of Her Death.

I Continue To Post Daily Writings From My Grandmother'd Diary. My Mother's Mother. I Recently Began Posting From Entries Of My Mother's Diaries. I Had Hoped I Would One Day Be Given Her Diary. I Call It The Book Of Life. An Open Book Of Names, Dates, Births, Weddings, Deaths, Etc. I Can Wander Back In The Years I Was Much Younger. Remembering The Good Times And The Bad.
Recently Someone Had Made The Comment To Me Posting From My Mother's Dairies Was Creepy. Since She Is Still Alive I Suppose This Person Didn't Think It Was Appropriate. What I Failed To Mention Was This Person Is Not My Mother's Biggest Fan. I Have Been Able To Steer Clear Of The Fallout Of This Dispute. I Try Not To Get Involved In Other People's Squabbles. I Am On Facebook Rather Often. Even Though This Person Does Not Like My Mother We Had Been Able To Be Civil To One Another In Spite Of Their Differences. When This Person Said It Was Creepy And "Others" Felt The Same. She Sent Me A Private Message Telling Me She Is Putting Me On Hide Because She Didn't Want To See These Diaries Everyday. Instead Of Just Scrolling Past Them She Decided To Eliminate My Post So She Won't Be Subjected To These Diaries. Of Course She Enjoyed My Great Grandmothers Diaries Because It Was Her Grandmother And It Brought Back Some Wonderful Memories From Her Childhood. Since She Did Not Elaborate Who These "Other's" Were I Made The Decision To Delete Her Entire Family. I Don't Need Negative People In My Life.
Even Though She Did Not Like My Mother I Kept Her As A Friend On Facebook. A Lot Of People Would Not Do This. We Never Discussed Between Us Her Reason Behind Her Dislike Of My Mother. Once Again I Try To Stay Positive In My Life. Once A Person Become Negative With Me They Are No Longer Considered A Friend Of Mine On Facebook. Unfortunately, When I Made The Decision To Block All Of Her Family I Knew There Were Some Innocent Bystanders That Are Not A Part In This "Situation". I No Longer Want To Have Any Contact With This Person Because In My Opinion She Drew First Blood With Me. We Have Managed To Remain Friends For Almost Three Years Without Incident. Just Because Of My Decision To Post My Mother's Diaries She Has Placed Me On Hide So She Won't Have To  See It Everyday. That's Fine, It's Her Facebook. If I'm On Hide She Would Not Miss Me Anyway And Life Goes On. So I Suppose I Will Be Put In The Same Group As The Crazy Family. Guess What? I Could Care Less. You Try To Be A Nice Person And You Get Criticized For Doing Something You Want To Do. I Don't Go Around And Tell People I Am Hiding Them Because I Don't Want To Read What They Post. It Is What It Is And Life Goes On. I Will Continue To Keep Positive People In My Life.
In Addition I Have Decided In The Future To Use This Blog Site As A Sounding Board. Please Don't Misunderstand Me, There Will Also Be Uplifting Blogs That You Are Use To Reading. I Have Always Been An Opinionated Person Who Enjoys Expressing My Views On Various Topics. You May See More Of That In The Future. You Will Also Notice I Eliminated The Comment Section. I Did This To Keep Some "Special" People From Throwing In Their Comments. My Words Don't Need Complimented Nor Criticized. They Are My Words. You Can Agree With Them Or Disagree. It Really Doesn't Matter To Me Either Way. What I Am Saying Is We All Have Our Minds To Think. We All Cannot Think Alike.
So In A Nutshell, You Never Know What You Are Going To Read Here. I Suggest If You Are Of Thinned Skin Maybe This Blog Spot Is Not The Place For You. It's Your Call. Have A Wonderful Day. I Know I Will.

Thanksgiving 2013

Our Family Gathered At Ryan's In Champaign. It Was A Nice Get Together. One Day It Will Be Just A Memory. It's Sad To See It That Way But It's True. Life Can Change So Quickly. We Need To Cherish Each Moment We Have To Be Together. Maybe Ryan's Is A New Tradition For Us. We Did It Last Year For The First Time. I Cannot Speak For Others But Thanksgiving As We Have Known It Is Pretty Much History. Christmas Is Basically The Same. We Bring Our Smiles And Try To Be Festive.
Truthfully I Would As Soon Wave Bye Bye To The Holiday's All Together. You Reach A Point In Time All The Excitement And Thrills Of The Holiday Season Lies In Years Past.
I Suppose The Memories We Create In The Present Moment Will Someday Look Back With Fondness. Both My Parents Are In Their Senior Years And Will One Day Be Gone. Maybe Doing It Like This Will Pave The Way For The Siblings Annual Get Together. I Hope So And Look Forward To Next Year. Now If I Can Get To The First Of January I Would Be A Much Happier Person.

November 22nd

November 22nd Must Be The Most Memorable Date In History Other Than Christmas. Most Know It As The Day President John F Kennedy Was Assassinated In Dallas Texas. I Don't Recall A Single Year Thereafter The News Media Has Not Reminded Us What Date It Was. Those Who Were Old Enough To Remember This Horrible Tragedy However Don't Need Reminders. Those Old Enough To Remember Know Exactly Where They Were When They First Heard Of The President's Shooting.

Today Marks The 50th Anniversary Of His Death. Ceremonies Of Remembrance Conducted Throughout This Day. I Was Only Eight Years Old. I Was Sitting In My 3rd Grade Classroom When The Principal Whispered Something In The Ear Of Our Teacher. Tears Were Steaming Down Her Face. At That Time She Sat On The Edge Of Her Desk To Give Us This Tragic News.

School Was Soon Dismissed And For Days We Watched History In The Making Over Our Black And White Television. These Events Are Etched In My Memory Forever.

However The 22nd Of November Holds Additional Memories For Me. On November 22, 2010 I Saw My Son Bobby For The Last Time. My Brother And I Drove Him To Indianapolis To Catch A Flight To Florida. He Needed To Get Out Of Danville And Into A Larger Economy So It Would Be Easier To Find Good Employment. Most Who Read My Blogs Know The End Result. So Now For Me The 22nd Day Of November Holds More Than One Reminder. Both I Remember With Sadness.

I Miss You So Much Bobby. There Is Not A Day That Goes By That I Don't Think Of You. This Picture Taken Of You Holds Fond Memories. I Have Found It Very Difficult To Find Complete Peace. I Still Cry At Times When I Sit And Day Dream Of The Times We Shared. For Those Who Don't Understand Why It's Still Difficult Even After Three Years Have Never Lost A Child. I Have A Big Void In My Life That Nothing Can Ever Fill. It's Gone Forever.
I Try Not To Sadden My Readers By My Depressed Writings. I Can't Promise You I Won't Write About Bobby Again. I Will However Try To Find More Uplifting Topics To Share With You In Future Blogs.
For My Friends That Believe In  Prayer I Ask That You Continue To Pray For Me And My Family. I Seldom Talk About Bobby With My Immediate Family Because They Too Are Hurting And There Is Nothing I Can Say Or Do To Take That Pain Away. So We Just Avoid The Topic All Together. Don't Get Me Wrong, His Name Comes Up In Different Conversations We Have. Fond Memories. A Moment We Can Actually Smile Because It Was A Happy Time. Most Importantly It's A Memory We Can Cherish For A Lifetime.

Turn Your Clock Back

Tonight We Set Our Clocks Back 1 Hour. Why Just One Hour? I Wish For One Time I Could Set The Clock Back To A Time That I Could Make A Difference In My World. Most That Know Me Know I Would Go Back To The Night My Son Shot And Killed Himself. I Can't Imagine Going Back Any Further Than That Because I Am Content With My Life And Those Who Are In It. I Cannot Imagine My Life Without My Loved Ones In It.
Just The Other Day Billie Asked Me If I Still Thought Of Bobby. I Told Her Everyday, Then I Broke Down In Tears. I Am Sorry I Did This Because It Was Her Birthday. I Didn't Want To Spoil Her Day But Really I Didn't Know Where It Came From. It's Been Awhile Since I Last Cried So Hard For Bobby. Considering It's Been Almost Three Years I Miss Him Just As If It Were Yesterday. Those Who Have Never Lost A Child Have No Idea. The Feeling Of Emptiness Is So Overwhelming. I Would Have Traded Places In A Heart Beat. If Only I Could Turn That Clock Back To The Early Morning Hours Of  December 29th, 2010. I Am Certain I Could Have Changed What Happened That Night.
Yes I Realize I Am Wishing For Something That Could Never Be. If I Was Granted Just One Wish In This World, That's What It Would Be. Forget All The Wealth In The World, Money, Cars, Trips. None Of It Really Matters Without The Ones You Love.
I Have Suffered From Depression For As Long As I Can Remember. It's Nothing To Be Ashamed Of. To Look At Me You Could Never See It. Depression Strikes Millions Of People All Over The World. It Took Me Many Years Before I Could Look At Myself In The Mirror. I Found A Friend In Jesus. My Relationship With Him Is Special. He Truly Understands Why I Think The Way I Do. It's Because Of Him I Can Continue My Life Here On Earth. I Will Never Recover From Losing My Son. I Can Only Be Thankful For The Ones I Have In My Life Today, Which I Am Very Grateful.
At The Stroke Of Midnight My Mind May Be On Wishing It Were December 29th 2010, Yet In Reality It's Just A New Beginning For A New Day. Even Though I Don't Have The Powers To Turn Time Back, I Can Though Be Thankful For The Memories Of Yesteryear.

Yes, This Is Going To Be About Bowling Again. Where To Stand, Where To Throw. Move To The Left, Move To The Right. Move Up, Move Back. Hold The Ball High, Hold It Lower. Why Does It Have To Be So Difficult? I Have A 14 Pound Ball Traveling Down 60 Feet Of A Bowling Lane. Why Can't It Be More Simpler?
There Have Been Days I Would Go To My Bowling Center And Bowl Very Well, Only To See The Very Next Day The Results To Be The Opposite. The Old Phrase Of Practice Makes Perfect Was Just That, A "Phrase". However Today Something Happened. The Light Bulb Came On. In All Of My Years Of Frustration Of Trying To Get It Right, May Have Led Up To The Results I Got From It Today. My Biggest Problem In My Bowling Is The Inconsistency Of Putting The Ball Into The Pocket. By The Way, In The Sport Of Bowling The Pocket Is Where You Want The Ball To Be In Order For All Ten Pins To Fall Down.
I Left The Bowling Center With A Smile Today. For Years I Have Left Scratching My Head Trying To Figure Out Why I Have So Much Problem Being Consistent. Sometimes It Can Be In Your Rhythm On The Approach Or The Condition Of The Lane Itself. It Has Become An Obsession To Me. There Are Not Very Many Types Of Sports I Can Participate In At My Age. I Only Wish I Took It More Seriously In Years Past. I Could Have Been A Better Bowler Years Ago. Maybe It Wouldn't Have Taken So Long For That Light Bulb To Finally Turn On. Of Course Practice Sessions Don't Mean Anything. It's All About League Play. Statistics On Paper Separates Practice And Real Competition. Now If I Start Getting Results From All Of My Practice Sessions I May Be leaving The Bowling Center A Happier Person. Many Times I Have Left With My Head Hanging In Shame.
I Suppose Next Week Will Be Pretty Much Like Put Up Or Shut Up. I Am Pretty Pumped Up Due To The Results Of Today. Hopefully I Keep That Smile.

The Funnies Of Bowling

How Far Back Does Bowling Go Anyway? Who Knows? Maybe Back In The Stone Age. Didn't Fred And Barney Go Bowling A Lot? I Bowl A Couple Days A Week And I Just Love It. I Consider Myself An Average Bowler. I Wish I Were Better Than I Am But I Will Settle With What Ability I Have.
I Get A Kick Out Of Bowlers Reaction To What They Leave On The Alley After Their Ball Plowed Through The Pins. Instead Of Blaming Themselves For A Split Or The Infamous Ten Pin Left Standing, Their Outburst Complaint Is Awww That Was Not That Bad Of A Shot! I Didn't Deserve That. I Got Robbed! I Put The Ball Right In The Pocket, It Should Have Been A Strike.
That Was A SOB(Should Have Been)!
Face It, It Is What It Is And That's The Game Of Bowling. There Are Ten Pins In A Rack. If You Hit Nine, You Get Nine. If You Want To Blame Someone For The Pins Not Going Down I Suggest You Go To The Nearest Mirror And Take A Good Long Look.

Germ Fanatic? I Suppose I Am........

Hospitals, Doctor's Office, Schools And Most Public Places Can Be A Scary Place For Those Who Fear Germs. Bacteria Just Looming Around Waiting To Attack An Unsuspecting Soul.
I Suppose It All Started With A Cough Or Sneeze Or Maybe A Handshake. "Somebody" Blessed Me With Tuberculosis Way Back In The 1980's. I Was Selling TV's And VCR's. It Was Dead In The Winter Months. I Became Ill One Day And My Family Doctor Ordered A Battery Of Test To Find Out My Problem. Long Story Short, I Had What They Referred To As Inactive Tuberculosis. I Could Not Pass It On To Anyone. I Was On The Receiving End Of The Ailment. Of Course It Was My Doctor's Duty To Report This Case To County Health Officials. They Had Asked If I Had Been Around Anyone Who Has Been Sneezing Or Wheezing Or Maybe Coughing A Lot. Wellll, It Was Winter Time And Yes A Lot Of That Was Going On. From That Point On I Became More Aware Of My Surroundings. I Found Myself Using My Knuckle To Push The Elevator Button. My Shirt Sleeve To Turn A Door Knob.
Someone Told Me It Would Be A Good Gesture On My Part If I Would Donate Children's Books To Pediatrics. I Believe Some People Mean Well But A Little Common Sense Can Go A Long Way. Your Child May Be There To Receive A Shot Required By Their School. Whooping Cough, The Flu, Or Even The Common Cold. The Office Is Full Of All Kinds Of Germs. Magazines Or Books Are The Worse Things That Can Be Laying Around A Doctor's Office.
I Will Admit My Immune System Is Low And I Am Taking Supplements To Help With That. Just A Little Common Sense Can Keep The Nasty's A Distance From You.
I Don't Believe I Have Reached The Point Where I Would Be Considered A Germ Fanatic. I Am However Quite Aware Of My Surroundings. Things I Touch And People I Am Around.
I Ask That If You Are Sick, Please Keep Your Distance From Me. I'm Not Interested In Your Sharing.

Weekend Crusaders

Well At Least That's What I Call Them. Don't Get Me Wrong, Not Everybody Are Just Weekend Crusader. What I Mean By This Is Those Who Attend Church On Sunday's But Don't Act Christian Like Through Out The Week.
God Has Full Custody Of Me. To Be Honest About It I Haven't Been The Most Perfect Child. I Have Made Some Mistakes And I Am Trying To Do What God Wants From Me. I Have Been Guided By Him And I Have Enjoyed The Journey He Has Taken Me On. Some Of It Has Been Rocky. Some, Smooth Sailing.
My Biggest Weakness Is My Constant Worrying. I Know I Am Not Suppose To Worry When I Put All My Trust In Him. I Have Been Praying About This And He Knows It's My Weakness. I Have Had Many Weaknesses In My Past And With God's Help I Have Over Come Them.
Thank You Lord For Being My GPS In Life.

I Recently Received A Rare Family Item. My Parents Are Currently Downsizing Their Home Preparing For A Move To An Apartment. Since They Have Entered Their "Golden" Years They Decided It To Be The Ideal Time To Find Some Place That Doesn't Require Maintenance. In The Meantime The Decision Of What Goes And What Stays Has Been A Difficult One.
I Decided Early On Not To Be A Buzzard And Swoop Down To Get What Was Being Given. I Have Tried To Be Humble In Anything I Have Requested. A Table Fan With A Mirrored Top Always Stood Out While I Was Growing Up. This Fan Has Been In The Family Since My Parents Became United.
My Father Also Gave Me A Candy Dish That Once Belonged To My Grandmother. I Have No Idea How Long She Had It But I Am Guessing Maybe In The 1940's.
In Addition I Did Request The Old Reel To Reel Tape Recorder That Contained Voices Of Years Past. The Grandfather I Had Never Met. His Clear Audio Is Appreciated By Sitting Here Listening To His Sermons. He Was A Country Preacher Of The Galloway Chapel In Western Indiana. Putting A Voice In Your Ear After All These Years To A Picture You Had Seen Is Priceless.
Listening To The Gaither Trio Before They Became Famous Was An Additional Joy. I Can Remember Sending Audio Tapes To My Uncle Fred And His Family While Growing Up. We Would Exchange Them Throughout The Years. Weddings & Family Gatherings Of People Who Have Passed On Years Ago Are Captured On These Tapes. I Wanted To Preserve My Family History More Than I Wanted Materialistic Items That Have No Special Meaning. They Will Be Passed On To The Next Generation Of Miller's With A Bit Of History Of What They Have Received. I Will Make Sure Who Ever Get's Them Will Appreciate The History Behind Them.

The Forever Building

Have You Ever Wondered How They Can Consider A Mausoleum A Place To Last Forever? Back In The Bible Days A Tomb Made Sense Because It Was All Rock. However The Modern Day Mausoleum Is A Building With A Roof. Yet They Entomb People Inside For Eternity. How Can That Be?
Both My Parents Will Be Placed Inside A Mausoleum. It Makes Me Wonder When This Building Will Reach A Point In Time Where It's No Longer Considered Inhabitable. I Have Yet To See A Building That Was Made To Last Forever. I Suppose I Won't Be Around When That Happens. I Am More Curious Than Anything. Your Thoughts?

You See One Parade You Seen Them All...

I Suppose In Most Cases One Parade Is Like Any Other. As A Child Each Year We Would Get Excited About Going. A Mad Dash For The Candy Being Thrown From The Beautiful Floats Or The Smiling Politicians. Of Course At The Beginning Of Each Parade In Danville The Police And Fire Trucks Were Always An Exciting Start. Lights And Sirens Blaring Hoping To See My Dad Riding Or Driving The Big Fire Truck. Those Days Are Far Gone But The Memory Of It Will Stay With Me Forever.
When My Kids Were Small They Too Were Excited About The Parade. By Then They May Have Caught A Glimpse Of Their Grandfather Riding An Antique Fire Truck With All The Retired Fire Fighters Riding On It. The Beautiful Floats That Took Days To Create. Marching Bands Playing Familiar Songs. Cheerleaders And Pom Poms & Midget Football Players.
I Suppose One Parade Is Just Like Another Unless Someone Special Is In It.
I Can Remember When I Use To Park My Pick Up Truck In An Empty Lot And Could See For More Than A Block Away What Was Approaching. Beckie Took AJ To The Westville Parade This Morning. I Asked Him How It Was And He Just Shrugged His Shoulders. Not Every Child Holds Onto The Precious Memories Of A Generation Before Them. If There Is Good Enough Reason To See Another Parade I Suppose I Would Go. In The Meantime Labor Day Festivities Are A Complete Waste Of My Time And Energy. Labor Day Was Created To Salute The Men And Women Of Union. I Am Sad To Say That Word Someday May Be Extinct. As I Get Older And The More I Read, The Unions Are Not Like They Once Were. When One Union Became Unsuccessful In Working Out An Agreement With Management A Strike Would Be Imminent. To Show Solidarity Nobody Crossed The Picket Lines. Other Unions Would Show Support By Not Patronizing The Business Of Striking Workers. One Day That Will All Be A Memory.
In The Meantime We Can Celebrate It As An End To Summer Time Activities. School Is Back In Session And Fall Is Fast Approaching. The Covered Bridge Festivities Will Be A Bountiful Reminder That Winter Is The Next Season To Come. Here In The Midwest That's Not Exactly Anything To Look Forward To. If It's Too Obvious About My Opinions Of Winter Time Then So Be It. There Are Times I Wish I Was A Bear. Go Into Hibernation In November And Awake In Late March.

This Is My Granddaughter Brittney Miller. She Is Only 12 Years Old. Just Got Back From Little Miss Westville Pageant. She Was Given The Honor Of Miss Photogenic. Hmmmmm, I Wonder Why?????
She Is A Wonderful Person, Beautiful Person Inside And Out. Her Pappy Cannot Be More Proud Of Her. I Was So Proud Of Her On That Stage. She Strutted Her Stuff And Then Some. She Plays Volley Ball. She Loves Cheer Leading And Is Very Talented In Hip Hop.
I Am So Proud Of Her. Does It Show??? I Love You Brittney.

Faith

Meet Haydin. She Has Not Entered This World Just Yet. She Is Due Mid To Late October. In Her Mother's Womb, Doctor's Have Already Determined She Has Some Heart Issues. Shortly After Birth Doctor's Will Place A Pacemaker Inside Her Chest. It Is The Doctor's Opinion She Will Lead A Normal And Productive Life Afterwards.

Of Course Mike And Veronica Have Their Reasons To Be Concerned. They Are The Proud Parents To Be. All I Can Say Is I Am Happy This Baby Is Arriving In This 21st Century Where Technology Has Advanced In Medicine Allowing Doctor's To Determine Complications In A Newborn Baby. Some Procedures Are Made To The Baby Before It's Even Born.

Please Take A Close Look At Baby Haydin In Mommy's Womb. Yes I Know The Photo's Are More Prevalent Than Ever Before. In Years Past You Pretty Much Had To Guess What Was A Foot Or A Hand. Again Technology Has Given Us A Better View Of  An Unborn Baby.

Look Closer. Given Our Human Behavior Of Uncertainty, We Always Worry When Doctor's Tell Us There Is A Problem. However, If We Put All Our Faith In Jesus Christ All Is Well. Trust In Him. In This Picture You Will See God's Hand On Top Of Haydin's Head. Can It Be? Of Course It Can. This Gives Us Comfort, Showing He Is With Haydin, Always.

This Is Where Faith Comes In. Can You Place All Your Faith In God? Trust Him That He Will Bring Haydin Through These Complications.

Even Though Mom & Dad Have Already Named Baby Haydin, Pappy Has Nicknamed Another Grand Baby, "Faith".

Just Ten More......

Ever Since My Mother Handed Me 1929, 1930 & 1931 Danville High School Year Books I Could Not Stop Getting Them. If She Had Just Given Me Random Books I Might Not Have Reached The Amount That I Have. In One Of Those Books Was My Grandfather.
I Pick Them Up At Rummage Sales, Estate Sales & EBay. My Mother's Picture Is In A Book As Well As My Siblings And Other Relatives. Having A Weekly Rummage Sale Allows Me To Interact With Other People And Their Interests. I Have Heard Of A Variety Of Collections.
To My Knowledge There Are Only Two Complete Collections Of The Danville High School Yearbook(Medley). The Present Superintendent Of Schools And The Danville Public Library. I Received A Call From My Brother This Past Week. He Told Me He Went On The Danville High Web Page And Noticed They Were Selling Some Of The Yearbooks For Only 5.00 Per Book. I Purchased 6 Books I Did Not Have In My Collection. This Leaves Me Only Ten Books Before I Can Declare I Have A Complete Collection. I Have No Doubt At This Point In Time That I Will Succeed And Become Complete. My Reason For Saying This Is My Missing Books Are Mostly Recent Years. The Collection Starts At 1904. I Have Managed A Book Here And There Until I Have Reached My Most Recent Purchase This Past Week. To Say I Am Excited Would Be An Understatement. Did I Mention I Have Signed Senior Pictures Of Both Dick And Jerry Van Dyke?
All I Ask Is After I Depart This Wonderful World Of Ours, Is Not To Piece These Books Out. Keep The Collection Together And The Value Will Be Much Greater. It Has Taken Me More Than 25 Years To Reach This Point. Once The Collection Is Complete The Perfect Christmas Gift For Me Would Be The Most Recent Yearbook Which Presently Is $60.00.
Some People Collect Frogs, Mice, Bells, Etc. I Want To Be Able To Say One Day If You Attended Danville High School I Have Your Picture.

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One Day A Friend Of Mine Said, Open Your Hand. I Did And He Dropped Three Rocks Into The Palm Of My Hand. I Said Ok, What's Up? He Said Those Were Taken Out Of Me. They Were His Gallstones. They Appeared As Ordinary As A Rock In The Roadway. I Found It Amazing Something Like This Can be Taken From The Human Body.
I Happen To Have Some Inside Me At This Moment. My Doctor Told Me They Are Not Causing Me Any Harm And Since My Gallbladder Seems To Be In Great Shape, No Reason To Be Concerned. OOOOOOk.... Besides, The Gall Stones Are The Least Of My Worries. I Also Have A Kidney Stone. It Took Me A Few Weeks To Pass It, Yet That All Depends How You Consider Passed. In My Opinion You Passed A Kidney Stone When It Comes Out Of Your Body. Presently It's In My Bladder And The Hospital Personnel Consider That Passed.
I Was Told To Drink Lemonade, Orange Juice Or Anything Else That Contained Citric Acid. While It's In My Bladder I Can Dissolve It. My Doctor Doesn't Seem Too Concerned About It Unless The Pain Returns. I Have Listened To Various Stories About Men Passing Kidney Stones. Each Of Them Scare The Daylight Out Of Me.
The Most Recent One Was A Post I Read On Facebook. He Is Billie's Cousin And Is A Police Officer. I Was Unaware He Was Recently In The Hospital For kidney Stones. His Comments Got My Attention And Now I Am Determined To Make Sure I Dissolve This Kidney Stone And Prevent New Ones From Developing. Someone Asked Him How He Was Feeling. His Comment Is As Follows;"I Have Been Hit By A Car. I Had My Finger Cut Off. Neither Of These Incidents Compared To the Pain I Experienced Trying To Pass That Kidney Stone".
A Kidney Stone Has Jagged Edges To It Like Glass As It Moves Through Your System It Cuts You. The First Amount Of Pain I Had Was Uncomfortable For Me. At This Point In Time I Will Consider Myself Fortunate And Pray That My Kidney Stone Dissolves.

I Have Been Asked On Many Occasions If I Attend Church. Sometimes It Makes Me Feel Uncomfortable When Asked. I Have Decided From This Point On I Will Never Feel Beneath Another Because I Choose Not To Attend. I Have My Reasons And I Feel They Are Justified.
There Seems To Be So Many People Who Like To Judge Others. No Different Than This Blog. There Will Be Someone Or Two That May Have A Raised Eyebrow Because Of The Content Of This Blog. I Don't Care. I Passed A Church Sign The other Day That Read; Love One Another. Love Your Neighbor. Yet This Same Church Has Denied Certain Individuals From Participating In Non Church Activities. I Don't Get It.
I Have Been Told My Son Was Not In Heaven Because He Killed Himself. You Can Bet That Person Got An Ear Full From Me After Making Such An Ignorant Statement.
I Was Also Told There Was No Need For Me To Be Baptized More Than Once In My Life.
I Get So Sick Of People And Their Religious Beliefs. From This Moment On I Have Decided Not To Get Into A Discussion Over Religion. If You Decide To Write Your Blog That Contains Your Views Based On Religion It Will Be Ignored By Me. Nothing Personal Because You Have Every Right To Blog About Anything You Choose. However I Don't Have To Read It. I Don't Need Bible Verses Thrown At Me To Strengthen Your Views.
So You Think I'm Going To Hell? Think What You Wish. My Relationship With Jesus Christ Is Between Me And Him. On My Judgement Day I Won't Be Judged By How Many Sunday Services I Attended. I Won't Be Judged On How Much Money I Put In The Offering Plate. I Will Be Judged By The Almighty On How I Treated Others. My Faith I Put In Him In My Daily Life.
I Suppose You Can Consider Myself A Liberal. Quite The Opposite Of My Upbringing. I Believe In Equal Rights Regardless Of How Someone Chooses To Live Their Lifestyle.
I Talked To A Minister One Day And I Casually Asked Him Of His Feeling Of Being Baptized More Than Once. He Actually Laughed. Not At Me But The Thought Of Someone Being So Judgmental Of Me. He Shared That He Has Been Baptized Several Times. A Few In The Jordan River Where Jesus Himself Was Baptized.
My Days Of Being Embarrassed Or Feeling Judged For Not Attending Services Are Behind Me. If I Feel Like Attending Services It Will Be Because I Choose To.
It's My Personal Belief That If You Live According To The Ten Commandments, Ask God For Forgiveness, Be Born Again, You Shall Have Everlasting Life With Our Lord Jesus Christ.
God Knows What It's Like To Lose A Son. I Have Struggled For So Long Over The Loss Of Bobby. I Will Most Likely Mourn His Death Until My Dying Breath. Even Though It's My Desire To See Him Once Again In Heaven I Feel It's Unlikely. Our Earthly Being Cannot Be Compared To That Of Heaven. Our Lives On Earth Is Measured In Time. Heaven Is Everlasting. I Don't Believe I Will Be Standing At The Gate Of Heaven When My Life Is Over. I Also Don't Feel I Will Recognize Anyone Who Has Passed Before Me. I Do However Believe I Will Recognize My Creator And I Will Bow At His Feet. When My Days On Earth Is Over I Truly Believe My Life Will Be Judged Based On How I Lived My Life. Not One Person On This Earth Can Say Who Goes To Heaven.
Jesus Loves Me This I Know, Because The Bible Tells Me So.

Want A Toothpick?

It Was A Hot Evening When I Realized I Was Out Of Popcorn. Each Night I Snack On Popcorn To Kick In My Medicine. I Hopped Into The Truck Heading For The Dollar Store. Once There I Realized I Forgot My Glasses. Well I Knew Where The Popcorn Was So It Should Be No Big Deal, And It Wasn't. I Seen A Long Line To The Register And Realized I Also Needed To Buy Some Kitchen Stick Matches. I Knew Exactly Where They Were Located. I Retrieved The Matches Then Paid For My Purchase. After Arriving Home I Was Asked Why I Bought So Many Toothpicks? By This Time I Had My Glasses On And Saw That Indeed I Purchased 2 Boxes Of Toothpicks That Contained 1,000 In Each Box. The Toothpicks Were In A Similar Size Box As The Match Sticks.
Sure I Could Have Took Them Back But For Some Reason I Never Did. So I Decided From Now On Anyone Who Enters My Home I Will Offer A Toothpick.
Glasses, Never Leave Home Without Them.

My Beano Is Growing

This Is A Picture Of My Grandson AJ. I Nicknamed Him Beano When He Was Just A Bouncing Baby. He Wouldn't Set Still. He Reminded Me Of A Mexican Jumping Bean. I Have Called Him Beano Ever Since.
Today Was His Birthday Party. He Turned 12 This Past Thursday The 11th. He's A Good Kid. Loves To Play Video Games With His Cousin Blake.
I Was Hoping He Would Take Interest In My Mission In Life. Helping The Ones Who Live In Poverty. I'm Not Sure This Body Of Mine Can Hang On That Long. I Am Getting Tired.
I Told Beano That I First Met His Nanny When I Was 12 Years Old. I Don't Think He Could Even Imagine Me Being Twelve. Seems Like A Lifetime Ago.

Real Men Wear Pink

Yesterday Would Have Been Bobby's 32nd Birthday. There Were A Couple Different Plantings In Our Front Yard. A Snow Mountain Tree That Jackie Purchased. It's A Beautiful Tree. It Blooms In The Months Of July And August.
I Planted Pink Knockout Roses. A Friend Posted A Photo Of Her's In Her Yard. They Were Beautiful. I Knew That Was What I Would Plant For Bobby's Birthday. Bobby Always Said Real Men Wear Pink. He Had A Pink Shirt He Wore To Prove His Point.
I Knocked On Someone's Door This Afternoon To Pick Up A Couch To Be Given To A Family. He Asked Me If I Was Bobby's Dad. It Stunned Me But I Immediately Said Yes. It Made Me Wonder If I Would Ever Be Asked That Question Again. I Must Confess It Made Me Sad. Jackie Will Be Here Through The End Of The Week. She Came To Illinois To Visit With Us For Ten Days. It Was Important She Was Here On Bobby's Birthday.
I Really Am Not Concerned What People May Say Or Think About How I Continue To Grieve My Son's Death. I Will Always Have This Empty Feeling Inside. My Heart Was Broken The Day He Passed Away. If You Are Tired Of Reading My Words About Him I Suggest You lose My Blog Address Or Remove Yourself From My Facebook Page. Some May Wonder If I Will Ever Move On. I Would Probably Say, Probably Not. My Heart Aches.
Thanks For The Memories Bobby. I Will Cherish Them Forever.

Tuck

This Is My Brother Tuck. Today Is His 60th Birthday. It's Not Every Day You Turn 60. It's A Milestone In One Sense Yet In Another It's Just A Number. For Him It's A Little Of Both. He Likes To Say I Am 18 With 42 Years Of Experience Of Being 18.
He Is Always Cracking A Joke. If He Can Put A Smile On Your Face, Mission Accomplished. I Would Say He Has Been A Good Brother To Me. He Has Always Been There For Me. Whether It Be Advice Or A Helping Hand, I Know I Can Always Count On Him. He Is A Good Euchre Partner. He Is A Great Team Mate In Bowling. We Both Bowl On The Same Team Two Different Days. He Lets Me Use His Garage When I Need To Store "Stuff".
He Pointed Out To Me The Other Day I Have Not Written A Blog In The Month Of June. Why? I Have No Idea. I Am So Busy In The Summer Months. However, Today Being A Special Day For Him I Had To Create This Blog Especially For Him. I Chose This Photo Of Him Because He Loves Playing Santa For The Little Children. This Has Been A Tradition For Many Years Now.
I Could Not Ask For A Better Brother. I Know We Never Say It But I Love You Bro. I Cannot Imagine Life Without You In It. Happy 60th Birthday. I Wish You Many More. We Can Celebrate The Entire Weekend If You Want. You Have Earned It.

Whenever in Doubt, Google It

As Long As You Own A Computer You Will Never Wonder Why Or How. I Have Found Out How Amazing Google Is. I Can Simply Type In A Question And "Poof" I Get Pages On Top Of Pages Giving Me Anything And Everything That Has Been Written About The Topic.
Recently I Have Been Facing Some Health Issues. I Have Learned A Lot About My Possible Medical Condition. What Causes It And What Fixes It. Google Takes The Wonder Out Of Everything.
I Felt Every Bit Of My Age On The Truck Today. This Season Marks My 27th Year In What I Do To Help Face Poverty. I Knew One Day I Would Take Notice That I Cannot Do What I Have Been Doing For Years. At This Point In Time All I Can Do Is Take One Season At A Time. I Will Have To Admit This Year Has Already Taken A Toll On Me. I Was Hoping I Had At Least Another Ten Years In Me. I Am Guessing A Lot Of My Problems Are The Extra Weight I Put On Last Winter. I Am Still Lugging It Around With Me. I Had Hoped Since We Are Finishing Up The Month Of April I Wouldn't Have All The Aches And Pains I Normally Have At The Beginning Of The Season. I Have Found Me Taking Pain Medication In Anticipation That I Will Be Having Pain. That's How Well I Know My Body At This Moment. I Think If I Could Lose Ten Pounds It Would Make Things Easier On Me.
I Know It Has Been Awhile Since I Posted A Blog. I Must Have Had Writers Block. I Will Try To Get Back In It. Maybe The Next Blog Will Share The Fun Of Passing A Kidney Stone.

The True Test Of Love

Illinois Is In The Midst Of Mushroom Season. Since The Passing Of My Son In 2010 I Have Yet To Go Mushroom Hunting. Ever Since He Was Old Enough To Walk, Every April Bobby And I Would Venture Out Into The Woods In Search Of What I Call White Man's Soul Food. I Would Like To Say It's A Tradition That's Been Handed Down Through The Generations Of My Family.
It's Been Three Mushroom Seasons Since Bobby Passed Away. The Mushroom Season Before He Passed Away He Shared His Favorite Spot With Me. Very Few People Disclose Such Vital Information. He Showed Me This Mighty Elm Tree That Was Rather Tricky To Get To. He Had Been Going To This Spot For A Few Years. He Told Me He Always Found Mushrooms There Each And Every Year. One Year After His Find He Ran Across Another Gentleman Walking Close By. In Their Exchange of Greetings Bobby Was Told By This Gentleman He Also Hunts Near That Tree. So Basically It Was A Matter Of Who Get's There First. He Was Right By Saying That. Even Though I Have Visited This Tree Numerous Times In The Years Of 2011 & 2012. No Mushrooms Near This Tree. Yesterday I Visited The Tree For The Second Time This Season. It Was As If Bobby Was Shining The Sunlight Upon Four Mushrooms Near What I Will Always Refer To As Bobby's Tree. The Biggest Grin Came Across My Face As I Plucked The Mushrooms From The Ground. I Walked Around For Another 30 Minutes Or So And Found No More. If Anything It Was A Proud Moment That I Finally Found These Mushrooms By "His" Tree. If That's All I Find This Year It's Ok With Me. However After Finding Them It Gave Me A Moment To Reflect On How Much We Enjoyed The Companionship Each Year In The Woods.
I Would Like To Think Bobby And I Were A Lot Alike. I Don't Think He Would Want Me To Stop Going Mushroom Hunting Just Because He Is No Longer With Us. I Think It's Long Over Due That I Take My Grandson With Me And Teach Him What I Know About Mushroom Hunting. Hopefully He Can Pass On To His Son And Grandson The Love Of Mushroom Hunting.
So Does The Title Of This Blog Confuse You? Let Me Explain. I Was Taught To Have The Mushrooms Soak Overnight In Saltwater To Draw The Bugs Out. So Basically I Slice The Mushrooms In Half Making 8 Pieces To Be Soaked Then Fried. Everyone Seems To Have Their Way Of Preparing Them To Eat. I Like To Enjoy The True Taste Of The Mushroom So I Prefer To Lightly Flour Them And Fry Them In A Skillet. I Will Admit I Am Not Fond Of Cooking. This Afternoon I Asked My Vegetarian Daughter If She Would Fry These 8 Pieces Of Mushrooms. She Understood Why They Were Important To Me. I Told Her I Would Split Them With Her. I Thought Maybe Once I Got The Taste Of The Mushroom I Would Go Out Again In Search For More. We Have Been Getting A Lot Of Rain Recently And The Grass Has Been Growing A Lot And With The Additional Weight I Had Put On Has Really Slowed Me Down In The Woods. Yet I Was Certain Just The Taste Of These Long Sought For Mushrooms Would Encourage Me To Find Even More Before The Season Ends.
I Found Myself Excited To Eat These Mushrooms. She Brought Them To Me And Explained She Didn't Care For How They Turned Out So She offered Her Share To Me. I Thought In My Mind, How Can You Not Enjoy The Taste Of This Eloquent Fungi? She Handed Them To Me On A Saucer. I Asked Her Where The Fork Was And She Said I Didn't Need One. I Picked Up A Mushroom And It Was As Stiff As A Board. I Took A Taste Of It And The Taste Was Unexplainable. I Immediately Placed The Uneaten Part Back On The Saucer And Told Her I Didn't Like It Either. This Is When She Admitted To Me That She Accidently Dipped The Mushrooms In Powdered Sugar. There Was Simply No Reason To Be Upset About It. I Achieved In Finding The Mushrooms In Bobby's Special Place. That Was The Most Important To Me.
After The Find Gave Me Reason To Continue The Family Tradition In Hunting The Morel Mushroom. I Always Joked About Why I Enjoyed Taking Bobby When He Was Just A Young Boy. Being Short When He Was Young, He Was Closer To The Ground. I Can Still Remember Walking Out Of The Woods With Bobby Riding On My Shoulders Asking If We Were lost. I Assured Him We Were Not Even Though We Were.
Sugar, Flour? The Overall Picture Is I Love My Daughter More Than The Mushroom. Did I Just Say That? Yes I Did. Bless Her Heart.
Memories Are A Gift From God. We Need To Keep Making Them So Others Can Enjoy Them In The Years Ahead.

Chapter 58

Chapter 58 Begins In April. The 21st To Be Exact. So It Doesn't Sound So Complicated Today Is My Birthday. Yep You Guessed It, My 58th. I Look At Life In General Like A Book. In Your Book Of Life Hopefully There Are Many Chapters.
Tomorrow Begins Chapter 59. I Have No Idea What Chapter 59 Holds For Me But I Hope For Peace And Love In My Life. Sometimes When I Look Back I See Happy Times And Sad Times. It's Incredible How Much A Person Can Accumulate Throughout The Years. I Am Referring To Life's Memories, Life's Moments.
Today My Parents Took Me Out To Eat To Celebrate My Birthday. Yes That's Right, My Parents. I Suppose I Am Blessed To Have Both My Parents At My Age. They Are Still Rather Active And We Try To Be Involved In Each Others Lives. 58 Years Of Memories Of Them And Other Family Members Are Precious To Me. My Childhood Memories Sometimes Seem So Vivid And I Can Replay Those Moments In My Head Many Times Over. 1967 I Feel Was The Very Best Moment Of My Life. I Was Only 12 Years Old. It Was My Last Year Of Little League Baseball. It Was Also The Year I Met Billie. We Met In Church One Sunday Morning. Her Cousin Brought Her To Sunday School. That Was The Day. Do You Understand What I Mean By That? Most Everybody Has Them. Fate. For Example My Being Would Not Be In Existence If It Weren't For My Parents Of Course. It Was Fate That Brought Them Together. My Father Worked At A Furniture Store. On His Dinner Break He Would Go To A Restaurant. This Particular Evening The Restaurant Was Closed. He Found Another Small Restaurant. My Mother Had A Waitress Job There. That's How They Met. If It Weren't For Fate That Night I Might Not Be Here. There Are Many Chance Meetings In A Lifetime. For My Parents It Was In The Winter Months Of 1952. Their Chance Meeting Is The Reason For My Being.
I Was Born In 1955. 58 Years Of Fate And Memories Have Been Built Ever Since. I Am Sure There Will Be More In My Future And Yours. Fate Plays A Very Large Part In Our Lives. We Just Don't Take The Time To Notice And Smell The Flowers.
When Fate Happens To You, Which It Will, Smile And Be Thankful For It. Everything Happens For A Reason. That Reason May Not Be Relevant At The Moment, But In Time It Will.

Have Faith

As We Are In The Holy Week I Must Ask You If You Have Faith. Do You Believe In Jesus The Son Of God? If You Do I Say Hallelujah.
Last Week We Had A Rather Large Snow Storm Predicted For The Midwest Region Of The Country. For Me I Sincerely Hope It Was Mother Natures Last Howrah And Springtime Would Be Around The Corner.
I Knew This Storm Was Suppose To Come In Two Phases. Saturday Night We May Get An Inch Or Two When We Woke Up Sunday Morning. Phase 2 Would Come Mid Day With Much Heavier Snow And Accumulation.
Shortly After Noon My Wife Asked Me Where This Big Giant Snowfall Was. I Told her It Was Coming And We better Be Prepared Because It Was Going To Be A Big One. She Gave Me One Of Those Looks And Said Yes I Know, They Say We Are Going To Get Something Bad But It Always Misses Us. I Assured her It Was Coming. According To My Computer Radar It Was Big And It Was Moving Rather Slowly. When It Moves Slowly It Usually Means It Will Dump Lots Of Snow Before It Moves Out Of The Area. The Radar Shows It Rotating In A Circular Motion And Moving Very Slowly. It Began To Lightly Snow. From The Other Room I Hear Is This The Big Snowfall You Are Making A Big Deal Out Of? I Said Yes, It's Only The Beginning.
As The Snow Began To Get Heavier And Heavier You Could See The Inches Of Accumulation Begin To Rise.
My Reason For Telling You This Story Is Because It's True. I Love My Wife And I Don't Think She Would Mind Me Using This As A Reason To Make My Point. Just Because You Don't See The Snow Coming Doesn't Mean It's Not Coming. If You Want To Literally Stand Out In Your Yard And Become A Human Snowman To Be A Believer Be My Guest.
This Coming Sunday Is Easter. In Order For You To Believe In Easter You Must Believe In The Son Of God. His Name Is Jesus. For God Gave His Only Begotten Son, That Who Ever Believeth In Him Shall Not Parish But Have Eternal Life. Just Because You Have Never Seen God Doesn't Mean He Doesn't Exist. I Believe In The Son. I Believe He Died For Our Sins.
Personally There Was A Moment In My Life Where I Met The Lord. I Have Not Spoken About It Because I Was Told Not To. I Don't Know Why But I Was Told God Has A Plan For Me.
I Was As Near Death As One Can Be. There Are Certain Things I Can Remember Yet Other Things Feel Foggy And Unsure. What I Know For A Fact Is God Is Real And I Believe. I Have Faith That God Will Give Me Eternal Life With Him. I Do Remember Begging Him To Take Me Then Because Life Was Not Worth Living For Me At The Time. He Had A Bigger Plan For Me.
Maybe I Am Doing It Now With The Work I Do For The Poor. Maybe He Wanted Me To Meet New People And Be An Inspiration To Them Or Them To Inspire Me In Some Way. I'm Not Sure What He Plans For Me. Since Then I Have Married And Had Two Children. I Have Met A Host Of People Since That Time In My Life. Maybe His Bigger Plan Has Nothing To Do With Me. Maybe I Will Be Just A Pawn. What I Mean By That Is Maybe I Will Be A Part Of Someone's Life To Make A Difference For Them. I'm Not So Selfish To Think The Reason Is Just For Me. If I Am Part Of The Big Picture In The Lords Plan, So Be It.
I Have Faith In God. I Don't Have To Die To Know He Exist. I'm Also Not Telling You This Because I Have Seen Him. I Was Raised In A Christian Home. My Father's Father Was A Minister Of God. I Was Baptized Not Once But Twice In My Lifetime. On A Side Remark I Must Say I Was Criticized By Someone Because I Was Baptized For The Second Time. Their Belief Is Once You Are Baptized Your Sins Are Washed Away. My Relationship With My Lord Is On A Personal Level. If I Had The Opportunity To Be Baptized In The Same Water Jesus Was Baptized In I Most Certainly Would. I Don't Need To Be In A Building Of Worship To Feel Close To God. My Personal Feelings About Church Itself Is It's A Useful Tool In Keeping Fellowship With Other Christians.
I Feel Humbled To Be Serving Him And Being A Part Of His Bigger Plan. Each One That Reads This Should Feel Humbled Because They Are Part Of God's Bigger Plan. I Suppose When He No Longer Needs You In His Plan You Get His Gift Of Everlasting Life. What A Comfort To Know.
This Takes Us Back To Faith. Believe In Him And You Will Have Ever Lasting Life. You Don't Need To Step Outside When It's Raining And Get Wet To Prove That It Is. You Don't Need To Touch The Fire To Know It Will Burn You. Just Because You Don't See It Doesn't Mean It's Not There.
Have A Wonderful Easter. He Has Risen!

The Calm Before The Storm

It's A Familiar Phrase We Have All Heard Throughout The Years. The Meaning Can Be Used For Different Circumstances.
This Blog Is Being Written On The Eve Of An Approaching Storm. This Being The 23rd Day Of March. One Would Assume A Thunderstorm Is What We Are Preparing For. I Wish It Were. If Temperatures Were Warmer That Would Be The Case. However The Central Part Of Illinois Is Bracing For The Largest Snowfall In Recent History. 9 Inches Is Predicted Within A 24 Hour Period.
We Were Hoping For An Early Spring Since That Is What A Rodent In Pennsylvania Predicted Seven Weeks Ago. As I Have Shared On Numerous Occasions I Do Not Believe In Any Kind Of Old Wives Tales When It Comes To The Weather.
Since We Are Only One Week From The Beginning Of April And One Week After The First Day Of Spring, It Was My Hopes Temperatures Would Be More Considerate. Some Of The Signs Of Spring Have Already Taken Place. I Have Seen Flocks Of Robin's. The Traditional Ice Cream Shops Have Announced Their Openings For The New Season.
After The Storm Has Passed And The Snow Has Fallen, The Most Precious Photo Of All Is That Taken Of Danville's Most Popular Ice Cream Establishment Open For Business, With Piles Of Snow Around Reminding Us All Who Really Is In Charge.
I Know Better Than To Predict The Weather On Any Level. I Am Just A Simple Human Being Who Will Take Whatever God Decides To Give Us. It Is Him Who Has The Final Say. I Believe The Reason For That Is To Remind Us Mortal Souls Who Is In Control. God Has Steered This World Since He Created It. Keep In Mind You And I Are Just A Speckle In Time. There Was Life Before Us And There Will Be Life After We Are Gone. The Course Of This Planet Has Always Been Guided And Directed By It's Creator.
Trust In Him. I'm Not Telling You This Because We Are Entering Into The Holy Week. I Tell You This Because It's The Truth.
It Will Be What God Decides It To Be. Trust In Him.

 Yes I Know You Have Heard The Wind Blow Before. I Consider This Moment On The Same Level Of When I Decided To Finally Quit Smoking. The Very First Thing I Learned In That Very Long Struggle Of Trying To Quit, You Had To Do It For Yourself. A Lot Of People Could Care Less Whether You Smoke Or Not. I Had My Reasons For Quitting And It Was So Important To Me I Finally Was Able To Quit. I Tried Prior To That But Always Failed.
I Believe Once You Reach A Certain Level That You Consider The "Breaking Point", Your Chances Of Succeeding Has Increased To An Even Higher Level.
I Feel You Can Only Achieve Success At The End. My End Was The Cigarette Butt I Taped To The Bathroom Mirror Reminding Me It Was The Last Cigarette I Smoked And A Symbol To Remind Me Of All The Reasons I Quit.
Today I Face A Different Battle. A Battle I Am Determined To Win. Some Call It The Battle Of The Bulge. I Began Putting On The Excess Weight Shortly After I Quit Smoking. Every Time I Wanted A Cigarette I Would Put A Mint In My Mouth. The Package Said Fat Free So I Figured It Was The Perfect Thing For Me. Wrong! It Didn't Contain Fat But It Sure Did Contain Calories. 50 Calories Per Mint. It Didn't Take Long For Me To Go From Minus To Plus Size. I Had Been Skinny Most Of My Life. Weighing In At 126 Pounds When I Joined The Navy. My Grandmother Told Me I Must Be Either Sick Or Had Worms. Back Then I Ate To Live. Today I Live To Eat. What A Big Difference Between Then And Now.
I Believe A Person Reaches A Certain Point In Their Life When They Put Their Foot Down And Say Enough Is Enough.
When I Finally Smoked That Last Cigarette I Knew In My Heart It Would Be The Last. You Just Know. I Loved My Cigarettes, So I Thought. I Believe The Final Breaking Point Was The Cost. It Just Did Not Make Sense In Spending That Much Money Just To See It Go Up In Smoke.
My Goal This Winter Was To Keep The Weight Off That I Lost Last Summer. I Had Lost 17 Pounds. I Figured The Best Time To Lose It Was When I Am Most Active. All I Had To Do During The Winter Months Was To Maintain What I Had Lost. I Failed Miserably. I Had Gained 16 Of The 17 Pounds I Lost Last Summer. I Will Quit Eating All Together If I Have To. I Must Eat Breakfast In The Morning. The Most Important Meal Of The Day. It Gives Me The Energy I Need To Function Throughout The Day.
I Know A Couple People Personally Who Lost A Large Amount Of Weight And Have Kept It Off. My Goal Is 175 Pounds. When I Reach My Goal. Did You Notice I Said When? Once I Have Achieved, I Have Vowed To Keep It Off. I Realize I Must Change My Lifestyle If I Want To Shed This Unwanted Weight. I Will. I Can!
In Just 2 Weeks I Will Be Getting Started In My Big Truck. I Must Get My Butt In And Out Of It. This 16 Pounds Is Like Carrying Around A Bowling Ball With Me All The Time.
If You Want It Bad Enough It Will Happen. Mark Today On Your Calendar. It's The Day I Become A Determined Person. It's The Day I Drew The Line And Said No More. It's The Day I Said The Buck Stops Here.

William Rohrer

I Have Fond Memories Of My Uncle Bill. One Afternoon He Stopped By My House When I Was Only 10 or 11 Years Old. He Said I Heard You Like To Fish. I Said Yep, Sure Do. Grandpa Taught me. He Gave Me A Wink And Told Me I Learned From One Of The Best. He Said Hop in The Car And You Can Go Fishing With Me And Aunt Bev. I Can Remember The Exact Spot We Fished.

They Would Soon Move Away To Bloomington Indiana. Throughout The Years We Would See One Another At Family Functions. Our Last Personal Memory Moment Was When He Got Lost In My Danville High School Yearbooks. He Would Ask Me If I Had This Year Or That Year And I Would Nod Yes To Him. That Big Wonderful Grin Of His Would Appear And He Got The Opportunity To Revisit The Days Of Yesteryear. He Told Me I Had One Real Good Collection And I Should Never Part With It. I Assured Him I Would Not. It All Started When I Was Handed The Yearbook That Had My Grandfather's Photo Inside.

I Always Admired My Uncle Bill For His Ability To Work With His Hands. As Long As I Have Known Him He Suffered With Crippling Arthritis. In Spite Of His Ailment He Managed To Paint Many Portraits Of Scenery And People. It Became His Passion.

The Last Time I Saw My Uncle Bill Was At A Family Reunion. I Bid On The Pool Stick He Put In The Auction To Raise Money For The Next Reunion. I Will Never Part With It.

One Thing I Know For Sure. His Wife, His Children, And His Grandchildren Were The Most Important Thing In His Life.

She Held Him In Her Arms As This Song Played.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GtMpyAejUo

Tonight He Is In A Place Where He Will No Longer Experience The Pain He Has Been In. My Prayers Are For The Ones He Left Behind.

Gotta Dime?

Sure You Do. Everyone Who Reads This Has At Least One. The Dime I Am Referring To Represents Every Tenth Year Of Your Existence. This Thought Came About Earlier After Reading A Friends Poem About Quarters. He Related To Them As Quarters In Time Or Rather Life.
It Was A Wonderful Poem He Compiled Just One Day Before He Suffered A Heart Attack. He Survived The Ordeal And Is Still Living And Has Change In His Pocket.
For Me However I Would Rather Measure My Life On Earth With Dimes. In Tenths Or Decades, Upon Looking Back I Can Recall Some Wonderful Moments In Time, Along With Sad Ones Too.
My First Dime Was Spent Growing Up On Franklin Street. The House Directly Across From Franklin Grade School Where I First Learned My ABC's And 123's. Growing Up With That First Dime Was Special Because I Was Living With My Hero. So Many Young Boys Wanted To Grow Up To Be Firemen Or Policemen. My Father Was A Fireman. A Perfect Role Model For A Boy Growing Up In A Small Midwestern Town In Illinois. October Of Every Year Was Fire Prevention Month. Teachers Would Show And Demonstrate Fire Safety. They Would Conduct Fire Drills And Show You How To Evacuate A Building In An Orderly Fashion. The Final Drill Of That Month The Fire Department Would Be Present To Observe The Evacuation Of Students. I Always Hoped That Final Drill Would Bring My Father To The School That Day. It Did And That Was Far Better Than Any Show And Tell Day I Ever Had.
The Second Dime Was Spent On Growing Pains(Girls) And Baseball. 1967 Had Always Stood Out Because It Represented Something I Have Clung Onto For Years To Come. My Last Year Of Little League Baseball (1967), Was Also The Very Same Year I Met The Girl Of My Dreams. At The Time I Wasn't Aware Of It, But One Day I Would Come To Realize It. I Had A Rather Tall And Slender Body. The Perfect Size For The last Year On The Little League Diamond. Looking Back Years Later It Was A Moment In Time My Father Would Be As Proud Of Me In My Second Dime Of My Life As I Was Of Him In My First. My Second Dime Was Spent Growing Up In The Days Of The Hippies And The Flower Child. The Viet Nam War, The Civil Rights Movements And The Assassination Of Robert Kennedy And Martin Luther King Jr. The Peace Sign Was Everywhere. We All Hoped For It But Still Not Sure If We Ever Achieved It.
I Hated School And Considered It A Waste Of My Time As Well As The School Having Me Sit In Their Seats. My Father Gave Me The Choice To Either Buckle Down And Attend School As Required Or Join One Of The Armed Services. My Older Brother Already Had Left Home And Was Presently Serving Aboard A Ship Based In California. The Results Of My Decision Came In The Early Months Of 1973. Uncle Sam's Canoe Club Sent Me To Nantucket Island For A Period Of Two Years. Actually I Was Far Too Young To Appreciate Where I Was During That Two Year Stint. Even The Thought Of The Island Today Always Bring A Smile To My Face. My Son Was Born There. The Kennedy Name Was Everywhere You Looked. That Two Years Moved Along Swiftly And I Returned Back To My Roots Of Danville Illinois.
It Was In The Early Months Of My Third Dime Of Life When I Became A Civilian. I Landed A Job That Fulfilled My Life. Transportation For The Seniors Was More Of A Pleasure Than That Of A Job. I Always Considered Myself As A People Person. This Job Allowed Me To Interact With Clients As Well As Others Who Were Fulfilling The Same Mission As I Was, Helping People.
Life Between The Second And Third Dime I Consider The Rockiest. Lot's Of Up's And Down's In Life. The Good Things In Life Came When My Daughter Was Born. Shortly Afterwards My Son Was Born. I Consider That Dime Well Spent. The Children Were Young While I Was Working In Sales Management. I Began Having Medical Issues. Not Knowing Which Direction God Would Lead Me. My Doctor Scheduled A Battery Of Test, Which Would Show Right Off I Had TB. Tuberculosis Was The Least Of My Worries. Something Much Larger Was Going On. The Final Test Results Indicated I Had Epilepsy. A Treatable Condition That I Would Have To Live With And Eventually Accept As Part Of My Future In Life. I Refused To Allow It To Defeat My Passion For Life.
One Year Into My Fourth Dime I Was Determined To Create A Pathway That I Would Find Rewarding Within My Soul. After Bankruptcy And Looming Through The Darkness Of Poverty I Was Determined Not To Let It Defeat Me. Realizing There Must Be Others Who Are Like Me. I Found It Stimulating By Helping Those Who Also Were Struggling With Every Day Issues. It Was A Beginning Of Larger Things To Come. I Just Didn't See It Until Years Later.
In The Meantime I Would Help As Many As I Could Without Questioning Their Need. As Long As My Health Would Allow It I Would Continue My Mission To Help Those Living In Poverty. I Spent My Fourth And Fifth Dime Determined To Make A Difference In People's Lives.
Today As I Hold Onto My Sixth Dime I Still Have Much To Accomplish. I Find My Duties More Challenging As The Dimes Add Up. Still Determined By Trying To Maintain Good Health So My Mission Can Continue For Years To Come. It Was My Hopes My Son Would Eventually Take Over And Continue The Good. Those Dreams Were Shattered When He Passed Away In 2010.
I May Have To Wait A Few Years Longer To Pass That Torch To An Even Younger Generation. My Grandson Has Shown Interest In The Work That I Do. The Summer Of 2012 He Rode Along Side Me And Was Able To See First Hand How Many Lives Are Touched By The Work God Challenged Me To Do.
At This Moment I Am Preparing For A New Season. Each Year I Find Different And Challenging. No Two Years Are Alike. So Many Families In Need. This Sixth Dime That I Hold Represents Life Is Still Moving Forward. More Work To Be Done. Yet I Cannot Lose Focus Of What Life Has To Offer. Family And Friends Are The Most Important, Surrounded By The Strength Of God's Leadership I Will Continue The Path Of Life. I Still Have More Dimes To Spend.
It Doesn't Matter How You Measure Your Life. You Can Do It In Years, Quarters Or Dimes. It's A Matter Of How They Are Spent That Really Matter. Treat Each Day As If It Were Your Last.
One Day You Will Be Looking Back At All The Dimes You Spent. Hopefully You Can Say You Got Your Money's Worth.
The Answer Is Love. Surround Yourself With Those Who Matter Most In Life. Let Them Know What A Difference They Made in Your Life. If You Can't Bring Yourself To Tell Them, Then Show Them. Those Three Little Words 'I Love You' Seem Difficult For Many To Say. When You Begin To Run Out Of Dimes Try Not To Have Any Regrets. There Is Nothing You Can Do About Yesterday. Today's Dime And The Dimes You Spend In The Future Matter The Most. Spend Them Wisely.