Today

Daughter called and told me to look out my back door. I did and this is what I saw. I love rainbows. I ran for my camera and hung on her without even thinking about it.

hubby is sick

Hubby has a back ache today. He is one of those kinds who never wants to go the the doctor.He just wants to sit and suffer it out. I hear women say all the time their husbands are whiners and complainers when they are sick but he is not like that at all. He just gets very quiet and never wants anyone to make a fuss over him.. He has always been like that but he does not want to go to the doctors when he should either.

He says he just pulled a muscle but I told him if it did not get better tomorrow he should go to the dr. I hope he is feeling better.

My friend....

Over twenty years ago I began penpalling with a woman In Illinois. I never dreamed when I picked up that pen and started writing, I would start a friendship that would last a life time.

We wrote for several years before she came to visit me. I had been warned that I did not know her and god only knows what kind of people you meet by just writing to them. Right? Still, we met and instantly liked each other. This woman and I have been through marriages, deaths, and all of life's travails togehter. She helped me thru my grief of losing my mother and I helped her with hers when she lost her son to s drug over dose. She celebrated with me with each child I adopted and I celebrated her marriage to her life mate of 18 years. When I have a problem, I just have to pick of the phone and I have an understanding friend on the phone.

My life has been enriched by knowing her so when I hear people warning others about meeting strangers on the net, I think of the warnings I got when I first talked of meeting her. I would never dissuade anyone from meeting a potential friend but I will give some hints on what to do for your own safety.

1. Never meet them alone that first time. Always take a friend with you.
2. Do not meet them in a secluded place or in your home. Meet them in a restaruant and if the situataion does not feel right, get up and leave.
3, Carry a cell phone with you. When I met with her, it was at a restaurant. She had a friend with her and I had my husband with me.

I would not trade my experience with her for anything. I was one of the lucky ones and I hope that if you ever do decide to meet with someone you have been chatting with on the net, you are careful and you find a friend like Bonnie B. She is fantastic.

I think of things to blog about at the weirdest times. Today we were on our way back from visiting our daughter when the Dixie chicks song, Traveling Soldier came on. This song was written before the little faux pas over voicing their opinion about 'Bush.

-"Travelin' Soldier"
Two days past eighteenHe was waiting for the bus in his army green
Sat down in a booth in a cafe there
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair
He's a little shy so she gives him a smile
And he said would you mind sittin' down for a while
And talking to me,I'm feeling a little low
She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go
So they went down and they sat on the pier
He said I bet you got a boyfriend but I don't careI got no one to send a letter to
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you
Chorus:
I criedNever gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter said
A soldier's coming homeSo the letters came from an army camp
In California then Vietnam
And he told her of his heart
It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of
He said when it's getting kinda rough over here
I think of that day sittin' down at the pier
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for awhile
[Chorus]

One Friday night at a football gameThe Lord's Prayer said and the Anthem sang
A man said folks would you bow your heads
For a list of local Vietnam dead
Crying all alone under the stands
Was a piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read and nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair

[Chorus][Chorus]

These women were never against the soldiers, yet they were demonized by the press and the country music stations. These same country music stations that refuse to play their music will play the ones by Toby keith and others who are making money off this war. These women were against Bush and the idea that war solves our problems. I applaud them.

I am not against the soldiers. I am against the leader who sends them to such a war.

and this is how my day began.........

It started out like any other day. One of those days where nothing was going to happen. My daughter and I were going to go for a day of shopping and let me tell you, I am not a shopper. I have been doing far too much of it for my liking so I just would have rather crawled back in bed and pulled my covers over my head but my daughter loves these shopping excusions and I try to please her. We were tooling down the road about fifteen miles from home when she discovered she left her liscense at home. She informed me would drive the rest of the way without them but I said no we would go back after them.

We drove back and ripped the house apart trying to find her liscense. It was not here but a very irate husband was. We had awakened him from his nap that he takes when he is on the midnight shift and he was not a happy camper. Preceded to lecture our daughter on her forgetfulness when it comes to such things as her liscense. Alot of good that did. Right?

Turns out my dauthgers liscense was at her friends house about a hundred miles away. She needed it for her job so we made a day of circling this area of the state. Hubby drove us in to do our shopping cause she needed art supplies for her classes. Then drove up to her friends places. A lovely drive. Then we went to an Italian restaurant where the served the best shrimp scampi I have ever tasted. All in all it was a great day and I am tired. I am just too old for all this runnign around....lol

It is still funny

A friend sent me this...I am sending cause I often thought of doing something like this and the thought of doing it makes me chuckle....Anger Management
When you occasionally have a really bad day, and you just need to take it out on someone, don't take it out on someone you know. Take it out on someone you don't know. I was sitting at my desk when I remembered a phone call I'd forgotten to make. I found the number and dialed it.

A man answered, saying "Hello."I politely said, "This is Chris. Could I please speak with Robyn Carter?"
Suddenly a manic voice yelled out in my ear, "Get the right ****ing number!" and the phone was slammed down on me. I couldn't believe that anyone could be so rude.
When I tracked down Robyn's correct number to call her, I found that I had accidentally transposed the last two digits.
After hanging up with her, I decided to call the 'wrong' number again.
When the same guy answered the phone, I yelled "You're an asshole!" and hung up. I wrote his number down with the word 'asshole' next to it, and put it in my desk drawer. Every couple of weeks, when I was paying bills or had a really bad day, I'd call him up and yell, "You're an asshole!" It always cheered me up.When Caller, ID was introduced, I thought my therapeutic 'asshole' calling would have to stop.So, I called his number and said, "Hi, this is John Smith from the Telstra. I'm calling to see if you're familiar with our Caller ID Program?"He yelled "NO!" and slammed down the phone. I quickly called him back and said, "That's because you're an asshole!"
One day I was at the store, getting ready to pull into a parking spot. Some guy in a black BMW cut me off and pulled into the spot I had patiently waited for. I hit the horn and yelled that I'd been waiting for that spot, but the idiot ignored me. I noticed a "For Sale" sign in his back window, so I wrote down his number.A couple of days later, right after calling the first asshole (I had his number on speed dial), I thought that I'd better call the BMW asshole, too. I said, "Is this the man with the black BMW for sale?""Yes, it is," he said.
"Can you tell me where I can see it?" I asked. "Yes, I live at 34 Mowbray Boulevard, in Vaucluse. It's a yellow house, and the car's parked right out in front.""What's your name?" I asked."My name is Don Hansen," he said."When's a good time to catch you, Don?""I'm home every evening after five.""Listen, Don, can I tell you something?""Yes.""Don, you're an asshole!" Then I hung up, and added his number to my speed dial, too.Now, when I had a problem, I had two assholes to call. Then I came up with an idea.
I called Asshole #1.
"Hello." "You're an asshole!" (But I didn't hang up.)
"Are you still there?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"Stop calling me," he screamed.
"Make me." I said.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Don Hansen." "
Yeah? Where do you live?"
"Asshole, I live at 34 Mowbray Boulevard, Vaucluse, a yellow house, with my black Beamer parked in front."
He said, "I'm coming over right now, Don. And you had better start saying your prayers."
I said, "Yeah, like I'm really scared, asshole," and hung up.
Then I called Asshole #2.
"Hello?" he said.
"Hello, asshole," I said.
He yelled, "If I ever find out who you are..."
"You'll what?" I asked.
"I'll kick your ass," he exclaimed.
I answered, "Well, asshole, here's your chance. I'm coming over right now."
Then I hung up and immediately called the police, saying that I lived at 34 Mowbray Boulevard, Vaucluse, and that I was on my way over there to kill my gay lover. Then I called Channel 9 News about the gang war going down on Mowbray Boulevard, in Vaucluse. I quickly got into my car and headed over to Mowbray. I got there just in time to watch two assholes beating the crap out of each other in front of six cop cars, an overhead police helicopter and a news crew. NOW I feel much better.

Anger management really works.

Daughters, Beware of my curse. It may come true.

My daughters both had to have cell phones. They gave me all the pros and cons of life with a cell phone and compared it to life without a cell phone. For me, life without a cellphone meant I would not have to pay their cellphone bills. For them, it meant they would not be able to call their friends every five minutes to see what they are up to. I knew this but their selling techinque was to tell me that I would be able to talk to them when I needed to hear their sweet voices and they would pay the cell phone bill.

So why am I looking at a 180 dollars in phone bills and two daughters who will not return phone calls unless they want money or want me to do something for them? They say, 'But mom, I was going to call you but I got busy.' Or, 'Mom, janie's phone was not working and I loaned her mine for a few days.' (I felt my temperature rise at that one.)

Okay, I say, I am going to have the phones shut off tomorrow.' But mom they wail, how are we going to be able to talk to you or call you in an emergency? How are you going to call us."

I felt like telling them to use morse code but I just glared and gave them the same Mother's curse my mom gave me. I shook my finger at them and said, "Some day you are going to have kids that act just like you and I hope I am around to see it."

Bewtitched, Bothered and Bewildered

Nothing moves me as much a music does. I think it really does soothe the soul if it is the right kind of music. It all depends on the mood I am in as to what kind of music moves me.

Right now I am listening to something I never thought I would actually enjoy listening to and that is music from the forties and early fifties. For some reason I decided to order a set of cds Rod Stewart put out Called American Songbook and there are five volumes I think. I two of them.

I guess I ordered them because the songs were songs my foster sisters listened to when I was younger. And as I listen to them now, I think of the long summer walks we had. The talks they gave me about life, love and men in general. The giggles as they shared some of their experiences with me. It was during those times they treated me like a real sister and I could pretend I was their sister. Happy times for me.

Sometimes I play country music and think of my biological mother and all the good times we shared once I got to know her as a good friend. We would listen to Dolly and Porter as she shared her thoughts on life with me. Then we would visit my aunt who taught me to crochet and we would crocehet and and listen to country music for hours while she told me about my biological family and many of the things you all grew up hearing, I was hearing for the first time in my life. It was comforting to me to realize I could look at her and my biological Mom and see someone who resembles me. Good times for me.

My foster mom was very religious and only gospel music came from her finger tips as she played 'I'll fly Away' or 'Amazing Grace'.

So the next time you are blue or feeling like the world is closing in on you, just turn the world off and listen to the sound of whatever music moves you. If you really let it, it can take you away to another time.

Respect for the elderly...

I heard a woman tell her son how he should show nothing but respect for the older generation. I agree with this woman and taught my kids to always respect those who are older then they are but I often wonder if the older generation always deserves their respect at all times.

I am out and among older people and I often hear them say nothing but nasty stuff about this younger generation. They are rude to the kids. They yell at them and call them names. They talk about how stupid todays kids are all the time and how they had to work so much harder than the kids of today.

Yes many of the elderly had it tough. But so do many of the teens of today. While they are belittling the young ones who was being the lazy layabouts some call them, they are forgetting the millions of teens who get up and go to school or college for the day then go to a job that helps pay their way thru school or for whatever things they might need in life and I have seen kids go out of their way to be respectful of adults only to be sworn at or called names for the silliest reasons. They often feel they have the right to push kids aside and be first in line and such things simply because they are older. I have seen some even elbow smaller kids out the way when walking. It's as though they are shoving them aside and saying, 'get out of the way.' Instead of quietly saying, 'excuse me, please.'

Not only are the physical about it at time but you always have those little old women who like to sit and gossip about the younger generation.

I think that so many forget what it is to be young . Not long ago I heard a woman belittle a young woman who was pregnant. Appareantly this woman forgot that she was in the same vote several years ago and people were talking about her. I just looked at the woman and said, 'well, some of us should not talk.' She did not know what to say but there are countless times I have seen that happen and have wondered if these women think we have all forgotten what happened when we were that age.

I was raised by an elderly person. She was wonderful and knew how to relate to people of all ages and one of the first things learned from her was to show respect for others. Not just elders but for people in general and it seems to me that we are lacking that in todays world so we, as part of the older genearation should show our young people what many of us were taught. Show them respect when they deserve and when they make a mistake, teach them that it is alright to do so without belittling them.

I tell old and young alike, if they want respect they have to earn it.

3 A.M.

I would like to do a long blog again but it is too early in the morning for my brain to function so I doubt this will be as long.

My daughter and her gay brigade may come home this weekend. She is in college and she does not have a boyfriend at this time but she has several gay male friends who make sure she is safe and has a date if she feels the need to go out to a movie or something. Her college has had a rape and a couple of killings on it so her friends tell her to call them if she wants to go across campus or out for an evening and no one will mess with her. She was out the other night and called Mike to walk back to her room with her. Now, Mike is not a wussy gay man. He is short but built like a bull and can beat the crap out of just about anyone. He works out all the time and she feels safe with Mike and some of his friends.

My husband was a little concerned about this cause people are calling her a fag-hag but I was called that, or something similiar when I was young too. I guess I am an old fag-hag. I have some great male friends that are gay so I I guess she is taking that after me.

I like it when her friends come with her. They are great guys and they love my cookies.

Now some may think my daughter is lesbian and one person even asked me that cause of all the gay men she hangs out with. I said, no she isn't but it would not matter to me cause I would love her any way. She is mine!' Gay or straight. I told her about it and she just laughed and said, "Trust me mom, I am not gay. Just cause Clyde and mike(mike's ex) are gay, that does not mean I am. I date guys mom."

Anyway, I have to get up early and make sure I have food here for the weekend.