I Have A Confession

I Had One Of Those Days Of Reflection. Today A Childhood Friend Was Layed To Rest. I Was Told He Had A Heart Attack And A Stroke All In One Day. I Hadn't Seen Him For About 4 Years. I First Met Him At Franklin School. I Believe His Family Attended The Same Church My Family Attended. Anyway, Long Story Short. It Was A Day To Reflect On My Years Of Growing Up On Franklin Street. The Neighborhood Was Full Of Kids Both Young And Old. Growing Up Across The Street From The Grade School Was Pretty Cool Too.
As We Grow Older Our Interest In Life May Not Include A Childhood Friend. In Time, We Grow Older And Years Pass Us By. Before We Know It, We Have All Aged A Generation.
Now When We Run Into A Childhood Friend We Share Photo's Of The Grandkids.
I Have Been Recognized And Been Told I Haven't Changed A Bit! Haha, Yea Right!
Now As Far As Billie Jo, Her Facial Features Are The Same As They Were When I First Met Her In 1967.
School Was Responsible For The Friendships Of Many. As The Years Go On, I Seem To Run Into A Friend From The Past Less Often. If My Mind Does Focus On Them It's Usually Due To A Death In Their Family.
When Others Don't Share The Same Interest As You, Your Lives Don't Cross As They Once Did. It's Not Particularly A Bad Thing.
It's Just A Part Of Life.

You Are Almost There Girl....

Yes That's Right! The Big 50!
It Was January 7th And Daddy Informed My Two Brothers And Myself That Mommy Was Bringing Home A Sister. A Sister? Huh? I Can Remember Saying I Didn't Want A Sister. A Sister Is A Girl And Mommy Says We Have To Be Nice To Girls. There Goes The Neighborhood! Hahaha!!
No Seriously, 49 Years Later I Still Have To Be Nice To The Girls And Having A Little Sister For The Past 49 Years Aint That Bad Afterall.
So I Guess This Is Where I Am Suppose To Pass Along Some Good Advice To Help Pave Your Road To Fifty. Don't Eat Yellow Snow? Happy Birthday!

When It's Time To Go.....

It Was Most Definatly One Of Those You Had To Be Here Kind Of Story's.
It Was About 5:00am And My Grandson Was Sleeping Overnight This Past Christmas Vacation From School. It Was One Of My Usual Wake Up Nature Calls, And Before I Reached The Bathroom I Could Hear The Grandson Using It. I Backed Up A Few Feet Giving Him His Privacy So He Could Finish Up And Go Back To Bed. As I Stood There For About A Minute Listening To This Little 6 Year Old Boy Urinate, Crossing My Legs And Pacing The Floor Was Just Not Enough!
Either He Was Going To Share The Space Or Pappy Was In Trouble. No Way Could A Little Boy Go On For That Long! I Walked Into The Bathroom Only To Find Out The Water Faucet In The Sink Was Left On.
I'll Make Sure The Next Time Beano Sleeps Over At Pappy And Nanny's House He Is Told Not To Turn On The Water!

My Friendly Furry Friends.......

I Have Not Advanced Any Further In My Search For A Furry Companion. There Will Be A Time When I Will Someday Find The Right Pet. In The Meantime I Have Decided To Befriend A Squirrel. I Guess Maybe I Should Say Squirrel(s).
I'm Not Certain As To Why I Have So Many Squirrels In My Neighborhood Unless It's Because They Stay Away From The Main Road And Don't Become Road Kill.
Never The Less I Have An Abundance Of The Little Furry Things!
I Received Something For Christmas That Came With A Stipulation. It Was A Squirrel Feeder. A Friend Of Ours Has One But Her Yard Is Full Of Corn Stalks. The Little Boogers Like To Bury The Corn. Sooo The Stipulation Is I Only Feed Them In The Winter Months. I Agreed And Now Everybody Will Be Happy. I Purchased A New 4x4 Post To Mount The Corn Feeder Onto. I Took Advantage Of An Unusual Warm December Day To Dig The Hole So I Could Bury The Post. It's A Rather Small Feeder. It Has A Small Perch For The Furry Critter To Sit On While He Or She Is Gnawing Away At The Corn On The Cob.
It has Been Sitting There For A Few Days Now And No Squirrel. I Placed It Directly In Front Of My Bedroom Window So I Can Watch It While I Am At The Computer. Unfortunately It's Located On The Side Of My Home Where There Are No Tree's.
It Is In My Back Yard Where The Critters Tease Our Little Dog. We Have A Yorkshire Terrier Who Enjoys Chasing Them In The Back Yard. The Squirrels However Enjoy The Teasing Of Our Beloved Dog. Instead Of Running Up The Tree To Sit On A Limb The Squirrel Runs Around The Trunk Of The Tree. So Our Dog(Alaya) Continues To Run Around And Around This Tree.
So How Do I Let The Squirrels Know I Have This New Feeder For Them? Today I Decided To Bait Them. I Placed A Small Pile Of Corn Near The Tree. I Then Started Dropping A Kernel Here And There Which Leads To The New Feeder. I Hope They Will Catch On Because I Have About 50 Pounds Of Kernel Corn Ready To Go.
COME AND GET IT!

Twas The Night Before Christmas.....

And All Through The House....Nah That's A Different Story.
How About Your Christmas Past? Is There A Memorable One? Is There One That Stands Out More Than Another?
There Were Plenty Of Memories Of Christmas Past While Growing Up. I Grew Up In A Large Family Where There Were Plenty Of Activities Every Christmas Morning.
I Would Have To Say That The Christmas That Stands Out The Most For Me Is The Christmas of 1969.
I Was Only 14 Years Old At The Time. I Was At The Age Where Hanging With My Friends, Playing Sports And Ofcourse Girls Were The Norm.
I Have No Idea Of The Gift I Received That Year From My Parents. No Matter What The Gift Was Or Even The Value Of The Gift, It Would Never Come Close To The Gift I Received That Year From An "Old" Friend.
Her Name Was Emma Clifton, But I Always Called Her Grandma Clifton. She Lived Alone In A Dilapidated House That Looked Deserted And Abandoned. Even Though She Had Family, They Were Either Too Busy Or Never Cared Enough To Visit Her On A Regular Basis. I Befriended This Lady By Helping Her As Much As I Could. She Was 83 Years Old And Was Too Weak To Go Into The Basement To Put Coal In Her Furnace.
I Found Myself Getting Up At 5:30 Every Morning In The Winter Months To Fire Up Her Furnace Before I Got Myself Ready For School.
Christmas Of 1969 Will Always Have A Special Memory For Me Because Of Grandma Clifton. On Christmas Eve We Decorated A Small Tree And Sang A Couple Well Known Carols That You Never Seem To Forget.
On Christmas Day I Proudly Carried My Gift To Grandma's House, Along With A Plate Full Of Christmas Dinner Prepared By My Mother.
The Moon Landing Was A Big Deal That Year And It Seemed That Was What Everybody Was Talking About. Grandma Clifton Didn't Own A Television Set So She Never Had The Opportunity To Watch The Landing Like Alot Of Us Did. That Year I Gave Her A Model Of Apollo 11 And Neil Armstrong With The American Flag.
With Her Toothless Smile As She Thanked Me, It Melted My Heart. A Tear Rolled Down Her Cheek That Day And It Disturbed Me Deeply. She Told Me She Didn't Have Anything To Give Me. I Took her Frail Hands And Told Her I Never Expected A Gift From Her. So Why The Tears I Asked? She Told Me How Lucky She Was To Have A Person Who Really Cared To Spend Christmas Day With A Lonely Old Lady.
I Will Never Forget The Joy She Had On Her Face That Day. I Knew It Would Last A Lifetime For Me. It's As Vivid To Me As If It Happened Just Yesterday.
Even Though It Has Been Memories Ago, The Feeling It Brings To Me Today Is That Of Gratitude And Thankfulness And Sharing.
The Lessons That Life Brings To Us Can Never Be Found In A Text Book.
Each Year On Christmas Eve I Always Remember That Special Day In 1969. There Are Other Grandma Clifton's Out There Someplace And It's Our Duty To Spread The Love, The Joy, And The Giving Of Ourselves.
Happy Birthday Jesus!

A Christmas Miracle?

I Rarely Speak Of My Passions In Life Primarily Because I Have Traditionally Kept Alot Of My Private Life In A Low Key. I Despise The Spot Light Because There Are So Many People In This World Who Deserve Recognition For So Many Different Achievements.
By Admission, Poverty Stricken People Are My Weakness In Life.
Those Who Live In Poverty Are No Different Than Anyone Else. Let's Face It, There Has Always Been Poverty Since The Beginning Of Time And There Always Will Be.
We Can Choose To Ignore Them And Look The Other Way Or We Can Do Our Annual Obligation By Dropping A Few Coins In The Red Bucket At Christmas Time.
Personally I Don't Need The Calendar To Dictate To Me When I Should Spread Goodwill Toward Mankind.
For The Past Several Year I Have Been Acquainted With A Family Who Have Been Living In Poverty. However For The Past Year This Family Has Been Without Running Water. This All Came To Be After The City Of Danville "Traded" Homes With This Family. Without Going Into A Bunch Of Details The Long Story Short Is Briefly After The City Gave The Home To This Family The Water Bills Began Arriving. First It Was More Than A 100.00 After A Week In Their New Home. The Next Month It Was Over 400.00. Ofcourse This Bill Was An Outrage And They Went Directly To The Water Company. Water Officials Informed Them They Must Have A Leak Someplace. Well, DUH!
This Family Lived In A Flood Plain And The House They Moved Into Was Going To Be Demolished Unless It Was Brought Back Up To Code. Ofcourse This Family Appreciates What The City Of Danville Had Done For Them But This Issue With The Water Bills Were Becoming Unbearable. These Bills Continued To Rise Which Resulted To The Water Company Shutting The Service Off. With No Visible Signs Of A Leak In Either Inside The residence Or Out This Family Was Totally Dumbfounded.
This Family Has Relatives Who Live In One Of The Southern States So They Decided To Live With Them Through The Winter Months. After Returning Back To Danville They Were Aware Living Without Running Water Would Be A Challenge. One Of The First Things To Greet This Family Home Was Another Bill From The Water Company Yet For An Even Higher Amount Owed. This Amount Accumulated While Their Service Was Disconnected.
As An Advocate For Poverty Stricken Families I Advised This Family To Approach The Water Company To See If Their Was An Agreement That Could Be Worked Out. Unfortunately All They Are Interested In Is Payment In Full. They Pleaded To The Mayor Of Danville Who Felt The City Had Done All They Could For This Family.
The Conversations I Have Had With The Mayor Was Fruitless. He Told Me It Was His Opinion This Family Wanted Someone To Pay Their Bills! This Could Not Be Further From The Truth! I Became Outraged After That Remark And This Made Me Determined To Do Whatever I Could To Resolve This Matter. Shortly Before This Past Election In Early November I Thought Maybe By Making It A Political Issue I May Get Better Results. A Popular Representative From The Danville Area Was Seeking Re-Election And I Felt Maybe A Feather In His Cap Could Help His Campaign. He Took Offense To My Maneuvers And Considered It An Insult By The Suggestion. So Much For Politics!
Since The Election This Family Still Remains Without Water. I'm Sorry Folks But I Just Cannot Help But Think Of This Family Everytime I turn On My Water. Everytime I Wash My Clothes And Everytime I Bathe. I Cannot Get This Out Of My Mind.
I Have Only One Hope Left And That Is A Christmas Angel. I Have Been In Contact With One Of The Local Television Station Who Had Done A Story About Our Organization Months Earlier When We Were Trying To Purchase A Building For Our Organization From The City.
My Last Conversation I Had With The Mayor Of Danville I Was Told He Thought It Was Unfair To This Family By Having A News Story Of Their Personal Life Broadcasted For All To Know. HUH? What Do They Have To Lose? I Have Not Done Anything To Embarrass This Family. I Have Been In Constant Contact With Them And They Have Been Aware Of Every Step I Had Taken With This Matter.
My Last Hope Is A Christmas Angel. An Angel Who Will Be Touched By This Wonderful Family. This Family Is Unable To Help Themselves Out Of This Situation. Hopefully After A Plea To The Community About This Family A Christmas Miracle Will Happen. Just In Time For Christmas, With The Media's Help, Maybe This Family's Nightmare Will Soon Be Over.
I Will Keep You All Informed If Anything Happens.
If Nothing Else Happens, Let It Be A Reminder That Poverty Is Not A Dirty Word. It's A Reality Of Life And Unless We Decide To Make A Difference In Someone's Life Then You Are The One Who Is Missing Out On The Gratification You Receive From It.

Happy Birthday To Danville Natives Son.

Happy Birthday Dick! 12-13-25=83

When A Door Closes......

I'm Sure Many Of You Have Heard The Old Expression When A Door Closes Another One Opens. Have You Experienced This Before In Your Life?
Recently I Have And I Want To Talk About It Briefly In My Blog. We Tend To Treat Each Day As If It Is Any Ordinary Day. At Times We Take For Granted Of The Things We Have In Our Lives. Some Think Things Will Never Change And Stay As It Has Always Been. I Have Found That My Life Here On Earth Is Always Changing Whether I Want It To Or Not. Not Everyday Is The Same.
Nearly 20 Years Ago I Had People Tell Me I Should Do It This Way Or That Way But I Was Pretty Much Set In My Ways And Wanted To Do It My Way. The Only Way I Knew At That Time. It Took A Mans Death For Me To See Things In A Different Perspective. I Guess Maybe When Somebody Says There Is A Reason For Everything But Yet We Don't Know What That May Be Until Sometime Later.
Fast Forward 20 Years And I Am Faced With A Different Challenge. It's A Challenge I Have Little Doubt That I Will Overcome. Yet I Want To Be Sure It's Done In The Correct Manner, Where It Will Have A Lasting Effect On The Lives Of Many.
I May From Time To Time Ask Opinions From Just The Ordinary Joe, So I Can Get A General Idea How The Average Person Feels About Ordinary Everyday Issues We Face As Human Beings.
I Say Human Beings Because I Mean Just That. We Have Rich People And We Have Poor. We Have Older People And We Have Younger. We Have A Variety Of Races As Well As A Variety Of Religions. The Decisions I Make Some Day May Have An Effect On Someones Life Which I May Or May Not Even Be Aware Of.
That's Why The Decisions I Make Here In The Next Few Months Will Have An Everlasting Impact On Lives Years From Now.
Life Is Somewhat Like A Book. As You Turn The Page It Allows You To Feel Anticipation For Things To Come. As You Enter A New Chapter It Gives You New Prospectives And Fresh Idea's.
Ofcourse There Will Be Times When I Will Say I Should Have Done It This Way Or I Should Have Said It That Way. This Is Why It's Important To Surround Yourself With Wise People In All Walks Of Life. To Give You Input In Areas Where You Are Not That Knowledgeable. You Can Never Have Too Many Good Brains.
So, For Those Who Have Not Yet Figured It Out I recently Had A Door Close. What I Choose To Do About It May Have A Lasting Effect On So Many People. This I Believe Is Opportunity Knocking. I Feel It's My Duty To Open A New Door. Those Who Follow Me Through That Door Will Be Embraced By Love, Kindness And Generosity. I Am A Firm Believer That If You Are Unable To Give These Things You Are Not Worthy Enough To Receive It.
I Have Been Fortunate To Be On Both Sides Of The Fence. I Have Given To Others Freely And I Have Also Been Given To. As I Sit Here In Remembrance Of Those Two Sides I find It Difficult To Describe Which Meant The Most Or Had The Biggest Impact On My Life.
Even Though I Have Been Giving For So Many Years And Seen All The Good That Has Come From It I Also Get The Satisfaction With The Humbling Experience When I Know The World Is Still So Giving. Giving. Everybody Has Something To Give. You Don't Have To Be A Rich Person To Give To Another. If You Can't Give A Material Item Then Give Of Yourself. Share One Of Life's Experiences To A Young Person. Go Out And Take A Photograph Of Something Beautiful And Share What It Means To Someone Who Is Blind.
Read To A Child. Hold The Hand Of Someone Who Has Nobody Still Living In Their Family. Assure Them They Are Not Alone.
Experience Every Season God Has Given The Earth.
When All Else Fails Tell All Your Problems To A Dog. I Have Found That To Be Both Therapeutic As Well As Confidential.
I Want To Wish All My Friends And Family A Wonderful Thanksgiving Even Though It Should Be Celebrated All 12 Months Of The Year.
I Am Most Thankful For.....

Faceoff At The Pharmacy

Today's Encounter At The Pharmacy Was Just A Speckle In Time When It Comes To My Many Opinions Of The Pharmacutical Empires. Today Is Not The Day For Me To Shout Out To The World My Feelings Of Unjust cost To The Consumers. Big Business And Pharmacutical Company's Report Record Profits! I Will Save It For A Different Day.
Today I Went To Pick Up Billie's Prescription At Walmart. Her Medicines Usually Cost About 4.00. After Telling The Clerk The Name She Went To Retrieve The Meds. When She Returned She Informed Me I Had To Sign The Little Box Then Hit Enter So It Will Show I Payed The Co-Payment. I Told Her I Didn't Have Insurance. She Looked At Me In Disgust As If It Was My Fault I Didn't Tell Her This First! Hmm, Well Anyway After This Remark It Became Apparent To Me Why She Thought This Would Be Charged On Insurance.
The Clerk Looked At Me And Told Me It Would Be 4$?.00. I Looked At Her And Said, WHAT? She Then Leaned Forward And Said In A Much Louder Tone, The Amount is 4$?.00.
I Said, Yea, Yea, I Can Hear Just Fine Mam, I Was Just Startled At The Amount You Had Just Given Me. I Told Her I'm Not Going To Pay That Rediculous Price!
I Did Pay For My Crackers At The Pharmacy.
It's Funny How We Etch Certain Things In Our Minds Of Importance. I Will Always Remember The Clerks Words Coming From Her Mouth In Slow Motion...4$?.00. That Clerk Won't Even Remember Me Tomorrow...Go Figure.

Yep, It's Bowling Season Once Again!

I Have Found That By Getting Older, My Ability To Participate In Sports Continue To Decline. Bowling Had Always Been My Favorite Sport To Participate In. I Wish I Had Started Practicing At An Earlier Age. The Sport Of Bowling Is Not A Physically Challenging Endurance For Me. I Find Myself Getting Frustrated Because I Usually Excel At Most Of The Things I Face. The Sport Of Bowling In My Opinion Is A Mind Over Matter Type Of Finesse.
This Season Started Off Differently For Me Because Of An Abrupt Change In Equipment.
I Had Been Bowling With A Conventional Ball And Decided To Switch To Fingertip. Had I Made This Change In Mid Summer It Would Not Have Effected My League Average. It Took Me A Good Three Weeks To Just Get The Hang Of This All New To Me Kind Of Release. If Given The Opportunity To Do It Over Again I Would Have Got Acquainted With It Long Before The Winter League Started. I Believe My League Average Would Be Much Higher Than It Is, Because Of Those Weeks I Did Poorly Due To Me Not Having A Clue To Where My Ball Would Be Traveling.
With All That Behind Me Now All I Can Do Is Focus On Helping My Team Create Wins. The Team I Bowl On Have all The Ingredients Of Becoming A Very Talented Team. With The Season Still Young, Anything Can Happen. Presently Our Team Is 10 Games Out Of First Place. League play Is 35 Weeks Long. We Just Bowled Our 12th Week.
I Take My Game Seriously And I Play To Win. I Try To Practice As Much As I Can So I Can Become A Better Bowler.
I Think This New Ball Of Mine Gives Me Hope For Better Games In The Future. I Set A Goal For Me To End The Season With A Minimum Of A 170 Average. Next Season My Goal Would Be Much Higher.
My Father Continues To Bowl And I Am Honored To Be On His Team. My Mother Saw Her Season Cut Short For Health Reasons.
I Serve As President Of The Bowling League. I Am One Of The Youngest Members Who Bowl On The Senior League.
I Have Met Some Wonderful People On This League. It Has Also Led Me To Reinstate Old Friendships With People From My Past.
I Love The Game And Hope I Can Bowl For As Long As My Health Allows It.
Oh Yea, My Bowling Idol Is None Other Than Walter Ray Williams Jr. He Will Go Down In History As The Best Bowler Ever In The Sport Of Bowling.
I Have Watched Walter Ray Compete In Tournament Play In Indianapolis Every Year. I Also Watched Him Pitch Horseshoes. He Has Won Several Events In That Sport As Well.
What Makes Him Stand Out More Than Any Other? He Is A Hall Of Fame Bowler With His Right Hand And A Champion Horseshoe Pitcher With The Left Hand. How Can You Not Respect The Ability To Achieve Greatness In Two Different Sports Using Opposite Hands?
As For Me, I Will Continue To Bowl My Best Game. I Will Continue To Stockpile The Memories Of My Father And I Bowling Together. Not Very Many People Have That Opportunity. My Brother Tuck Began Bowling Again Last Season Where He Lives In San Diego. He Will Be Joining Our League Once He Retires And Relocates In Danville. Of course He And I Have A Friendly Wager On Who Ends The Season With The Highest Average. There Is No Doubt In My Mind Who Will Be In The Victory Circle In The Springtime. I Wish You Good Luck Bro!