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My blog A place for random thoughts |
| I fell in love with the English language in ninth grade. It was because of my teacher, Professor J.D. Huggins. I even signed up for an alternative course, “Business English,” because he was the teacher. In addition to opening up the language for me, Mr. Huggins constantly affirmed my good qualities. He would make occasional comments on what I was doing right…in life as well as in the class. In my senior annual he wrote these words, “Bob, I have a great deal of respect for you.” To this very day, those words are like precious trophies, lovingly placed in the chambers of my heart. |
| “One writer tears it, (the word), from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket.” I’m BOTH! Sometimes a poem will seem to leap out of my mind onto the page. (Granted, it still needs work.) Maybe I wake up in the night. Maybe I’m driving down the street. Maybe I’m sitting in a group. And something beautiful literally spills out! I keep a digital recorder on my bedside stand…another one in my car. I want to be ready to get it down. For me, truth be told, that is not the norm. I’ll get an idea…the seed of a new poem. Maybe it will be a couple of lines. And there it sits. A new piece WANTS to be born! I long for it to be born. What to do; what to do! I realize that I can NOT tear it out of my guts. It will come gently, or it won’t come at all. So I jot down a few thoughts as they come. I sleep on it. I jot down a few more. I try a sample line or two…not necessarily in the order I’ll need them. Gradually the poem will emerge. Maybe I’ll tear the last line or two out of my guts. Then I’ll let the poem simmer. I’ll keep coming back to it over a few days’ time. And finally…finally, there it will be! As for a single word? That’s easier. When I have the lines roughed out, maybe I’ll have a word or two that are not beautiful to me. Then come the tools! A rhyming tool; a dictionary; a thesaurus: all of these tools can help a single word to emerge. So I suppose if I could carry one of those tools around in my coat pocket, then I could simply pull the word out of my coat pocket! |
| In her lifetime, my wife Margery was an absolute vitamin NUT! Whenever she heard of the benefits of yet another food supplement she would add it to her regime. When she lost interest I thought the health food store in the mall would surely go bankrupt! I did not share this enthusiasm, though I was happy enough for her to do so. A dear friend, however, gave me some life changing information: “Red Yeast Rice” will lower cholesterol significantly. I was skeptical. I tend to be! But what was there to lose? I was amazed at the results! I’m a believer to this day. Two 600 mg. tablets per day…that did it for me. Look in the vitamin section. |
| Yep, this Comma Sense class is going to be a real pain in the neck! Some of you guys work at computer screens all day…or you have in the past. Not ME! I’m not used to this! And I can’t tear my eyes (and mind) away from all this fun! It was a great friend who showed me how to remove neck pain with much success. You may already know the first part of the drill. Simply flex your neck to the limit. Use three directions: front to back, looking right and left, and then bending your neck right and left…sort of like a clown. You can continue to do these flexes as many times as you need to. The second part of the drill is the real key. While doing all of the above, extend your left arm forward. Grip the tendon just inside your arm pit. Squeeze and massage it just to the point of discomfort. I learned there is some kind of pressure point in this tendon. It relieves neck pain! |
| A couple months ago I was diagnosed as a mild diabetic. I’m 68. Before that I had made a life decision: what the hell! I was carrying some extra poundage. At 5’-9” I weighed 226. I was enjoying total laziness. My attitude went something like this: “I’ve had a great life. I’m not afraid to die. So I’m going to ENJOY sloth for all it’s worth!” In another blog we’ll speak of, “Not afraid to die.” Christians make this claim…but sadly, for many of them, there is a gnawing fear deep inside. It can follow them every day of their lives. It followed me for 42 years’ service on successful church staffs. But, like I say, that’s for another blog. So here’s old “Chubby Bobby,” sitting in front of the doctor. Did I mention that both my parents lived to be ninety? The doctor is looking at my blood sugar…212. He is saying, “Bob, you have a couple choices here. You can enjoy an excellent quality of life. Or you can totally go to pot and die young. It’s all up to you.” (Nobody ever ‘splained it to me that way before!) Fast-forward six weeks with me. I’m swimming. I’m walking. I’ve lost 26 pounds. My blood sugar is spot-on 70-105! Welcome to the best 20 years of my life…straight out there in front of me! |
| Well, not really. It takes me an hour and a half to DRIVE to New Orleans. I’m walkin’ around my apartment complex. Three times around is a mile. Just now I’m up to five times around. I used to listen to music on these walks. I wondered why I was often bored. Now I listen to the nuances of my body and soul. I drink in the sights and scenes of apartment dwellers. What do they put on their patios? What do they say when I smile at them? And what evenings will deliver a breath-taking sunset for my pleasure! |
| The other day I got the BEST advice I ever had. It’s a simple five words than can change ones whole approach to life. Life isn’t always easy, but it can be very simple. “Do the next right thing.” Is that simple enough for you? I realize I can’t always control what mistakes (or disasters) I make or cause. I certainly can’t always control what happens to me. But I CAN get up in the morning and do the next right thing. And as I have occasion during the day I can do the next right thing. For me this is a life formula I can live with. |
| I heard an interesting expression last week: “Toxic people.” Isn’t that an interesting concept? If you don’t have a toxic person, or people in your life just now, chances are you have had…or will have. For whatever the reason these people do you HARM, not good. It can range from simple irritation to devastating pain. But you see, when you identify and label them you are in good shape to cope. First of all you want to put space between them and you. If that’s impossible, then you’ll learn better how to “Take them with a grain of salt.” Perhaps you’ll realize better how to pray for them. Or perhaps you’ll say to yourself, “What the heck. They're not worth getting upset about." God bless. Bob |
| I was just thinking how much I love my life. And part of that is because you’re a part of it. I spent two weeks away from Mississippi in May. First was for the wedding of two people I love very much. Second was the annual McCraw clan gathering…it is on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend in Cleveland County, North Carolina. It is in the home of my boyhood, fraught with the tender memories of my youth. The home place now belongs to Tim and Robin, favorite cousins of mine. They have owned it two years, and they have continually made improvements and enlargements. I feel like the “old home place” is in the hands of God’s special angels. Sooooo, now I’m back home in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in my apartment I’ve rented since Margery’s death a year ago. All my memories of her are sweet. She was certainly God’s special angel to love me boundlessly since 1967 in Winona, Minnesota, her childhood home. I look around me here. I have a movie collection I love…and I have fresh new movies all the time since a friend in Melba, Idaho put me on to “Netflix.” I have a huge TV. My sons gave me a cynical look when I bought it. I have a massive easy chair strategically positioned to face the TV. I have an amazing computer built for me by a dear Muslum friend and neighbor. My air conditioner became warmer and warmer. I made one phone call to the manager of my complex. I made the call late on Memorial week end. The next day the little men with tools showed up. Now I’m my own “cool dude” again. That is always the way the Mark 5 apartment owners respond to my slightest need. I have a gorgeous grandson and a gorgeous granddaughter in Sugarland Texas…that’s Houston to you northern characters. I have two gorgeous grandsons here in Hattiesburg. Phil lives in Texas; Tim lives here. I “work” in his custom frame shop, “Frames and Panes,” whenever he needs or wants to be out of the shop. I don’t do any of the crafty work, but I smile at the customers! That’s pretty easy for me. Like I mentioned I have a deep smile of joy in my heart. I’ve learned life’s most profound truth…at least it is for me. Joy and happiness can ONLY be experienced in the present moment. Today: that’s the big day…the only day. If you and I are so fortunate as to wake up in the morning, what do we have? Another "Today!" So I hope this is a good day for you…and a good moment. God bless, Bob |
| I’ve heard it said that it takes thirty days to make or break a habit. Or maybe it was sixty days. At any rate I have a couple habits that are “sacred” to me. I do NOT break them. I wrote a blog called "Invalid Item"  . Let’s say there are three kinds of drivers: the aggressive driver, the relaxed-alert driver and the borderline driver. We’ve all been behind a borderline driver from time to time. We are usually flinging quiet curses at him for letting yet ANOTHER car go by, when he could have pulled out and made his turn five cars back. Nothing makes us madder than to be in a hurry and come up on a borderline driver!I have become a borderline drive, whereas I used to bean aggressive driver. I had a detached retina repaired about a year ago. There were some complications and I still do not have good vision in my left eye (my good eye). So I no longer dash out into traffic without a moment’s hesitation. If the driver behind me starts flinging curses at me, so be it. This brings me to my first habit. Before changing into the left lane I ALWAYS bend forward and check the rear view mirror. Bending forward allows a driver to clearly see the area called the “blind side”. Suppose I’ve been checking traffic behind me for several blocks, and I KNOW there is no car in my “blind side”. It doesn’t matter. I ALWAYS check my blind side before merging left. In the last year this has caused me to discover a car in my blind side three times…each time was a potential accident situation. My second habit involves a little squirt bottle of hand sanitizer in my car. When I return to my car I ALWAYS sanitize my hands. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a “germ freak”. I just happen to realize that a door handle, a grocery cart handle, a gasoline hose handle etc. are ALIVE with germs and bacteria. Are you one of those (many) people who believe getting chilled causes you to catch a cold? Think again. The cold is caused by bacteria or germs…no other way. The same is true for many diseases and ailments. It’s easy enough to avoid touching your face when you’re in a public place. It’s easy enough to have a little bottle of hand sanitizer in your car…and use it! |
| Thanks to my great friend SensualRoses for this little tidbit! "Actually, what you might think about doing is rotating them. (your sigs) If you type in ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** It will only show one sig at a time but it will automatically rotate which one shows." Neat! image:1502059,1494185,1473505,1473338,1414585,1366619} |
| Fair Wages Let’s say it’s your lucky day. You are offered a job for thirty days, and you need a job. The employer gives you a choice of two pay plans. The first plan is simple: he will pay you one hundred thousand dollars for the thirty days. The second plan is this: he will pay you one cent for the first day, two cents for the second day, four cents for the third day and so on. Each day, your pay will be twice the amount of the previous day. Which plan would you choose? We were asked this question in high school. Obviously, most of us raised our hands for the hundred thousand dollars. We would have been wrong. If we had chosen the second plan, our income for the thirty days would have been ten million, seven hundred, fifty five thousand, four hundred and eighteen dollars and twenty three cents. That’s right…over ten and three quarters’ million dollars! Do the math. Tell me I’m wrong. |
| Asking the Right Questions Knowing the right answers is a good thing. Asking the right questions is even better. So often I have asked the wrong question. If something terrible happens to me, it is almost a knee-jerk reaction. I want to know why? Why me? This is the wrong question. A better question would be “What now?” or “What can I learn from this?” A person of superior strength and ability might ask the question, “Will I use it to do the right thing?” A compulsive person might ask, “What don’t I need to do?” One can’t solve all of the world’s problems; only some of them. There are enough to go around. Go back to the question of something terrible. If an American gets sick, he is outraged. “How dare this happen to me?” He will have the problem corrected at once, sparing no cost. The attitude is different in European countries and elsewhere. Take France. French people know that first you live, and then you die. It’s not an outrage. It’s been happening since the dawn of time. It has to happen to me. The only question is when? Of course I want to cure the little things. But I have to choose my battles. Some diseases have a very poor cure rate; maybe ten percent in five years. And that’s after truly horrible treatment. The right question might be “Who needs it?” What is life’s most important question? I’ve pondered this one for quite some time. I lived most of my life assuming it was “What does God want me to do?” This can be very hypocritical. It can be a thinly veiled excuse for doing what I want to do. A better question might be, “What do I want? What do I really, really want?” I believe this is life’s most important question. It “cuts to the chase”. It removes a lot of the smoke screen. It clarifies what actions I should take. It gives me an idea how to best spend my day. |
Tonight I was researching the "Haiku". So many people use this form and love it. I have never liked it. But I opened my mind...it is always good to open ones mind!  During my research, I found this little guide to the proper use of punctuation: : = a full stop, anticipating what comes next ; = a half stop or pause ... = something left unsaid , = a slight pause -- = saying the same thing in other words . = full stop. This is NOT to say I'm going to start doing it correctly all the time! Punctuation has never been my great giftedness. It's nice to know the information though. Hope this is helpful. Bob |
| Ah yes! Once again my friend, Destiny Dances, saves my life on a "How To" item! Follow these instructions 25 items at a time, if you have a folder that contains more than 25. Number the first 25, then click the "order of items" link, it will open the box and then click "update order of items" Then go to the next page, and continue your numbering. If you number ALL of them, before hitting "Update" it will sort the top 25, and ignore the remaining ones. See how each item has a blank little white box on the left side when you're looking at your list in your folder? 9999 would list an item first... then mark them all in the order you want them 1st 9999 (or even 5000, whatever, as long as you have the item you want listed first with the highest number) Then continue listing them in descending order. 9998 (4999, whatever) would be listed number 2 and so on... As Always, Thanks, My Friend! Bob |
| From a good friend and occasional mentor: I think (I'm not sure) that the period goes inside the parentheses, if the whole sentence is within them. (This is the way I'm doing it right here.) I think the period goes on the outside of the parentheses, if there is only part of a sentence within them...like this: (but I'm not sure). ---------------------------- See? Another case of momentary laziness! I'd rather post this...for my reference...until I get around to looking it up!  Thanks, Friend! |
| For most of my life, I was led to believe the common cold is caused, or at leased enhanced, by chill. If I dove in the pool when it was too chilly, I might get a cold. If I played outside in the rain, or on a cold day, without my warm coat, I might get a cold. Let me pose a question here: how many times do your children play outside without their warm clothing, yet never get a cold? Enter the real truth. The common cold is caused by viruses. More than 200 different types of viruses are known to cause the common cold. We cannot prevent colds by keeping ourselves warm. And be comforted. When you get chilled, you do NOT enhance your chances of getting a cold. Why is this important? First of all, I can enjoy the chill to the full extent of my enjoyment, with no concern for a cold. If I get caught in a rain storm, I do not have to worry about a cold. But more importantly, I can begin doing the things that WILL prevent a cold. Wash my hands, faithfully, even to the extremes. Do NOT drink after your child or grandchild when he has a cold. Yes, I always figured, this is a small person’s cold. It won’t matter if I kiss him or drink from his cup. How WRONG I was! Some of my worst colds have come from my little grand sons. Beware of shaking hands, kissing, or breathing closely to another person with a cold. Avoid surfaces. When you do shake hands or contact a surface, wash your hands! So. With proper knowledge, we can forget some of our previous “taboos”, while guarding against “enemies” not recognized enough in the past. |
| When you go back into a person's poem it will have the average rating, below that it will have your rating... next to that will be "clear" in red... click that and it will clear your rating, then you go back below and do it again. At this point you can change the rating, and also send a fresh message to the person. (Thanks Des!) |
| You can look at your own public reviews from your profile page (select "public view" in the black bar above your name). You can look at another writer's public reviews by going to their portfolio page and clicking on "public reviews" (the red link under the bio block). That is the fastest way to look at an individual member's public reviews. To look at all the public reviews, go to the white bars on the left of this page - click on "item jumps", this will open another box - click the 2nd box down "public reviews". My thanks to Destiny Dances for this little bit of information! |
| Click the white bar that says "Site Tools" - here another list will pop up, near the bottom of that list click "WritingML Help". This will open a new window. Click the first option "Basic Tags" scroll down a little and you will see italics, and some others. If you're as much a slacker as I am, you sometimes forget the most basic stuff. Again I place it here, so I (we) can easily find it. Good day! Bob |
| My friend, Felix, just wrote me, at my request, explaining how to store and use singatures...picture signatures. A couple other people have told me this before...blush...and I was ashamed to go back and ask you again. I'm a poet, not a techie type! Anyway I decided to post it here! Then I can come back (in a year or two) when I need to use another signature, and (of course) have forgotten again. A special thanks to the two of you who once helped me with signatures. You know who you are. And with that, here's an explanation that makes it clear, even to me: Hello Bob, Here is a step by steb guide to signature storage and use: use The signature can be used anywhere which can display it. No copyright exists as the image was created from Public Domain, Royalty Free stock photography and then personalized with Adobe Photoshop by me. How to download for WDC use As soon as you chose the option to download the jpeg picture attachment, your computer will prompt you for details of where you want to store it. If you use the same computer, day in day out, store it into a file on that computer. If not, store it on a portable storage device (usb, floppy disk etc.) Once this is done you will need and Upgraded Account, or higher, at WDC to display it here. Go into the "site navigation" pane on the left hand side of your screen. Cursor over "Site Tools" and click on "create an item" Choose "image" and fill Section 1 - 4 as you would any static item In "Section 5" click browse and access the area of your computer/storage device, which contains the image. Once clicked the 'browse' field will fill with locator infomation Scroll down the screen to "Save and View" Your image should now be stored and you can see it. Using your signature Now you have created the image you will want to show it off. Like a bitem link, type {image:####} substituting # for the ID number of the image you want to display. If you want to display it regulary, add it to your signature block by clicking on "my account" then click on "edit signatures and put the image ID number in the default settings and press update If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Felix. |
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