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 |  My Blog....Pearls of wisdom and/or foolish mutterings.....You be the judge.... |
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A little of this, a dash of that......epic mood swings.......A LOT of foolish mutterings and occasionally a few words of wisdom. It's a crapshoot. You never know what you'll find in here... |
| Hold on a minute. Maybe I should have been more concise in my comments about Bolivar Peninsula. The small town of Crystal Beach on Bolivar Peninsula is the furthest thing you could get from a resort community and none of the residences in Crystal Beach could ever be described as "sumptious private residences." Probably 85% of the "beach houses" that were washed away - and I do mean "washed completely away" - were not vacation homes or get-aways. These "beach houses" were primary residences for regular working people just like you and me - albeit, ones who prefer living on the beach and are willing to risk their house being blown away. These are people who board a ferry every morning to go to work in Galveston or Houston or Baytown - at the chemical plants or at construction companies or in grocery stores - and then get back in line for the ferry every night after work to go home to their little house that just happens to be on the beach. Because that is where they have chosen to live, not because they have houses elsewhere and this is a second residence. These people paid their taxes, paid for their little houses - and all of them are small - Crystal Beach is a working community and people who have the money to build luxury private residences would not come to Crystal Beach to do it. I don't know if it's even possible to get homeowners insurance on a house built on a beach, but if it is, I'm sure it's expensive and the few houses that are back up are the lucky owners who did have private insurance. As for the other 75-80% of houses that now consist of nothing more than the supporting pillars that their houses were built on, most of those owners became homeless after Hurricane Ike and are either now living with friends or relatives or are still homeless. In fact, the owners of the houses closest to the shoreline lost everything - their homes, everything in their homes and even the possibility of ever rebuilding because the shoreline eroded so much that they lost their land. Their land is just gone, because the state has a right to a right of way extending back a number of feet from the water and when the hurricane changed the shoreline, those folks just lost it all. They lost even the option to rebuild and they have absolutely zero recourse. Zip. Go live somewhere else. Yes indeed, we have homelessness in Texas and it increased exponentially after Hurricane Ike. But so did our compassion. As for the infrastructure of Crystal Beach being rebuilt, well, those people have paid taxes just like all the rest of us have, so who's going to say to them, "Sorry about all that money you paid in city and county taxes over the years, but now you're going to have to do without water, electricity and phone service. We don't want to build it up just to chance getting it knocked down again."? Oh yeah, that "govenment money" that is supposedly handed out so freely? Ask any of the people in Crystal Beach what kind of government assistance they got to rebuild. Ask them what FEMA did for them after Ike hit. But you'd better be ready to run when you ask because they're liable to pick up the nearest piece of debris and chunk it at you out of pure frustration. FEMA wouldn't even go to Bolivar in the days after the storm when people were stranded there without food, water, ferry service or anything else. And even if the ferries had been running so they could go to Galveston to stand in line in one of the mismanaged and poorly operated FEMA Emergency Centers,they would have had to walk there because all of the cars on Bolivar were washed away or destroyed by the flood waters. Yep, I have a picture of all those cars stacked up, too. I won't usually debate with anyone about greed and bureaucratic incompetence in our country because there's plenty of that. However, that is not the case and does not apply in this case. My heart broke for those people today and whether I think it's crazy to rebuild there or not is really a moot point. These people are pulling themselves up by the very thin and frazzled string they've been hanging on to for the last six months and they are reclaiming their town without any help from Uncle Sam or anybody else. Not only did they not get help from FEMA (don't get me started on FEMA either, because FEMA was a big, huge joke here in Texas after Ike came through. It was the greater Houston communities who banded together and provided emergency supplies and shelter to everyone who neeed it - NOT FEMA.) These folks should be applauded, not vilified. So let's get our facts straight before we start casting stones. |
| Today is our 32nd wedding anniversary. When we got married, we were both such babies, April 15th was just another day to us. It didn't really occur to us that we were getting married on Tax Day. Not until people would ask when our anniversary was and we'd tell them and they would say, "You got married on Tax Day?!" Now, 32 years later, ask me how many times I've forgotten my anniversary because I'm so caught up in preparing our income tax. Let's just leave it at "a lot." Charles always remembers - he's much better at that than I am. This year, he took the day off from work so we could go to Galveston for the day. We actually drove down there last night and spent the night in the historic Galvez Hotel, which was built shortly after the 1900 hurricane. It is a beautiful place - absolutely stunning. It's listed in the National Registry of Historic Hotels. The Galvez sustained minimum damage during Ike and reopened in October. Not many of the structures on the island fared so well. Galveston has made a lot of progress in the six months since Hurricane Ike. There is still much to do. I told Charles, "the enormity of cleaning up after something like Ike has to be overwhelming." We took the ferry to Bolivar Peninsula to see Crystal Beach. We are in shock at what we saw in Bolivar. There is no green on the peninsula - all vegetation is gone and the trees that haven't been cleared yet are all dead - it almost looks like they have been through a fire. Compared to the thriving community that lived in Bolivar before Ike, there is practically nothing there now. A handful of beach houses have been rebuilt, most of the destroyed beach houses have been razed, but not all. The debris that still covers the barren landscape is still massive six months after the storm. The cleanup that still has to be done is mind-boggling. I can't even imagine people having the fortitude to rebuild in Crystal Beach. But they are doing it. The infrastructure has to be completely rebuilt. That and the cleanup are the main focus still. I took picture after picture, each one worse than the last. By the time we turned our car around to head back to the ferry, we were speechless. It's so sad. I thought Galveston was sad, until I saw Bolivar Peninsula. The power of nature is awesome. I'll post some of the pictures later this week. I can't believe we are soon heading into another hurricane season. Contrary to what my entry sounds like, we did enjoy our day together. We've been wanting to get down to Galveston to check it out. Today was that day. It was sad, but fascinating. And it was definitely a day neither of us will forget. |
| Hey, where is everybody? Did Easter do all of you in, or what? I had a very pleasant Easter Sunday, thank you very much for asking. My son was home from college for the weekend (although my other son took off with friends to parts unknown for the weekend) and we had a fun, relaxing (HA! not with four rambunctious grandkids under 6 - no way), exciting day with the family. To start it off, my son and his girlfriend went to early service at church with Charles and me. It was a very touching service. As some of you know, my church is a little bit - well, different would be a good word. Easter morning was no exception. Pastor Steve started the service with a short video that flashed beautiful, hand-drawn images of Jesus' journey to the cross, with a narrative in the background explaining how His death and resurrection bought and paid for our salvation and freedom from a life stained with sin. After the video, Pastor Steve spoke about famous icons we are all familiar with - McDonalds, Coca-cola, icons that we are all familiar with at a glance. He said the most recognizable and identifiable icons of our time is the cross. Then he talked about the difference between the "icon" of the cross versus the "phenomenon" of the cross, the distinction being found in Matthew 16:24, "If anyone would follow me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." The next part of his sermon was the most powerful. He began to introduce a number of members of the church, calling each of them to come stand at the front as he called their name, prefacing each introduction with these words, "The phenomenon of the cross is..." He would then call their name and as they walked to the front and stood before the congregation, he gave a short testimony about them. For example: the first person he called to the front, was a young man named Scott. Scott works tirelessly, both at the men's home and in the church. He is energetic, enthusiastic and inspiring. When I first started going to church there about 18 months ago, I remember Scott from the very first time I saw him, because he stood out. This clean-cut young man had a zeal for the Lord that was evident without ever speaking a word to him. He's a young man - probably about 27-28 years old. This is Scott's story, as capsulized by Pastor Steve: "Scott grew up in a normal family, he had parents who cared about him. But drugs got a hold on Scott at a young age and Scott became a meth addict. He was addicted to meth for many years, before his addiction took him to prison. He served his sentence and when he got out, he heard about Victory Recovery Center and found his way there. It has now been many years since Scott has done any kind of drugs and he lives a life of victory now, helping others in their struggle against drugs or alcohol." The next person he called to the front was a very sweet, giving woman named Lorraine. I know her, and have always only known her, as the woman who works tirelessly at our Women's Recovery Home with the women there, who have all come there to find escape from a life ruined by drugs and/or alcohol (ruined to the point of losing families, being homeless, in jail, etc. - RUINED.) This was Pastor Steve's commentary on Lorraine. "Lorraine grew up in a loving family. But when she left home, she liked to party and she fell in with the wrong crowd. After several years, Lorraine was a metro city bus driver who had been addicted to crack for many years." "CRACK?" I thought to myself. Lorraine?" It was impossible to reconcile that image with the Lorraine I know today. Next, Frank and Theresa. Of these two, Pastor Steve said, "Frank lost everything to his addiction to drugs - his home, his family, wife, children. Thirteen years ago, Frank was one of the first men in our Men's Recovery Home. He had nothing left to lose and was tired of living a defeated life. Frank and Theresa had both been through very painful, hurtful divorces. They met here at the church and about a year-and-a-half ago, Frank and Theresa were married. They are happily married and are a wonderful example of the experience of the cross." Frank is the Director of the Men's Home and the Associate Pastor at our church. Theresa has been at the church for a very long time. In fact, she and her ex-husband (who left her and divorced her) were the youth leaders when Pastor Steve and my son-in-law Abel were in the youth group there years ago. Pastor Steve introduced several others, all with incredible stories of lives redeemed who are no longer living defeated lives. By the time he introduced my daughter and son-in-law - Abel and Breeann - I was already in tears. Breeann had not forewarned us, but I should have guessed that they would be one of God's success stories that Pastor Steve wanted to speak about. Of Bree and Abel, he said, "Breeann and Abel have been married for a number of years. They had some very serious issues in their marriage. They should not be standing here before you today. They should be divorced. But because they chose to fight for their marriage and Breeann forgave Abel and Abel forgave himself, they stand here before you today holding hands and happily married." Abel leads praise and worship at our church, Breeann teaches a girl's youth group and helps Abel lead praise and worship. Yes, I am extremely proud of them. The phenomenon of the cross is David," Pastor Steve went on, as David came to stand at the front. Just a few short months ago, David was shot five times at point blank range. He stands here before you today as a testimony of the protective power of God. Even though he was shot at point blank range, th bullets missed every major artery, every organ; and he stands here today with a new level of faith in God's power to protect and preserve those who serve Him." You''ll remember David from my blog several months ago. I wrote of his experience of stepping outside his home and being confronted by two gun-wielding men, one in the bushes beside the front door, who shot him as he stepped outside and continued shooting him as he ran around his van to get away, only to be confronted by the second man, who shot him in the chest. Then, as David lay face down on the ground, dying, the second man stepped up beside him and shot him in the head - at the precise moment that David raised his arm over his head to protect himself. The bullet shattered his wrist, but did not go into his head, as the shooter had intended. David has made a full recovery, except for pain from nerve damage in his arm from the shot in his shoulder. His miracle is still in progress. Finally, Pastor Steve said, "The phenomenon of the cross is myself and my wife, Julie. He stepped down to join the others, as Julie met him at the front and took his hand. We got pregnant as teenagers and got married. Everyone gave us a year at the most. We just celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary and I think we have some pretty great kids." By this time, everyone was in tears. It's not that we didn't know most of the stories (or at least the general gist of them.) But the simple act of relating each one of those miraculous stories of lives restored and seeing all of those people that are so beloved to all of us in that church; all of them standing together as a silent testimony - it was just overwhelming. And very powerful. Pastor Steve said, "I know I haven't spoken very long this morning, but there is nothing I could add to the message presented by everyone standing here." Then he said, "If your life has been changed by the phenomenon of the cross, would you please stand with us this morning?" All over the church, people were standing up, until everyone I could see was standing. It was one of the most powerful church services I've ever witnessed. And one of the most unique Easter sermons I've ever heard. But what could be more fitting than illustrations of lives destroyed that have risen from the ashes because of the redemptive power of Jesus? The rest of the day was a blur as kids and grandkids arrived at my house and the pandemonium commenced. We all had a great time and I took hundreds of pictures (literally!) which I will mercifully spare you.  But I love my new camera - it's awesome! Hope you all had a blessed Easter! |
| Oh my gosh! Charles and I just watched the movie 7 Pounds!! I can't tell you anything about it, because if I do, it will spoil the entire movie, but I absolutely loved it. Charles thought it was a really good movie too. I cried my eyes out, so if you watch it, be prepared with some Kleenex. It's available on DVD and if you're looking for a good one to rent, get this one. I'm still sniffling. Great, great movie. Okay, I'm going to bed. Happy Easter to everybody!! |
| A woman in Haltom City, Texas (Dallas area, I believe) called 911 from a restaurant to report that she didn't get enough shrimp in her shrimp fried rice. She was quoted as saying, "what has to happen to get a police officer up here?" Excuse me, but can I just say: ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME? HOW MANY KINDS OF STUPID DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO CALL 911 OVER SHRIMP FRIED RICE? Unfortunately, when the police arrived, the woman was gone. That's a shame, because if you're stupid enough to call 911 for something like that, you darn well need to go to jail. ======================================================== And in other ridiculous news.... A Saudi man has divorced his wife by sending her a text message. He followed up his text to her with phone calls to two relatives stating his intent to divorce his wife. A court in Jeddah has finalized the split. Saudi Arabia practices a strict form of Islamic Sharia law. Under the law, a man can divorce his wife by repeating the phrase "I divorce you" three times. Evidently, a text message counts. ========================================================= Unfortunately, our next story comes to us from Texas again. (Fellow Texans, don't shoot the messenger, please.) The Oakwood, Texas Chief of Police has been fired and jailed for using a taser gun on his wife. IDIOT. No other details are available. ======================================================== I'm sorry, but this one is just too funny to leave out. Again, from Texas... Five men from Houston were sharing a Waco motel room on Tuesday night. (Wait, it gets weirder.) Two of the men were eating in the room and one of them apparently needed some Beano in the worst way. His flatulence so angered one of the other men that the man threw a large knife at the gassy man, cutting his leg. I guess the leg cut didn't prove his point (pun intended) well enough, so he then stabbed him in the chest. I can hear the conversation now: Knife guy: Stop farting , man, or I swear I'm throwing this big-ass knife at you. Gassy guy: PPPPlllllllttttthhhhhhh!!!!! Pppppplllllttt---Owwwww! Whadja do that for? Knife guy: I told you to stop farting man. It stinks in here! If you do it again, I'm stabbing you in the chest. Gassy guy: Whatever. Ppppppllllltttthhhh, Pppppllll--------- ======================================================== All of these stories are real live news stories that actually happened. Which is proof positive of two things: 1. Truth really is stranger than fiction. 2. Life is hard when you're stupid. |
| Well, I watched all of the episodes of In Treatment that I had DVR'd, so I got my Gabriel Byrne fix. He is one good-looking man. I don't know how long I'll be able to keep watching it though, because it just irritated the heck out of me. Maybe last year when I was watching it, I was overcome by Gabriel Byrne's good looks and charm to the point that I overlooked the tedious (where have I heard that word recently?) plot line of whiney-ass people arguing with their therapist for 30 minutes at a time. His patients are even more whiney-ass this year and to make matters worse, now the good doctor is in therapy himself. That was the last episode I watched last night. Gabriel Byrne's character, Paul, went to visit an old friend, Gina, who is a therapist herself and they had the most ridiculous conversation, back and forth all night long (30 minutes actually) that went like this: Paul: I only came to see you as a friend, Gina. Gina: But how do you feel about that, Paul? Paul: Dammit, Gina, I told you I don't want to go into therapy! Gina: Okay, Paul, let's talk about something else. Paul: But I think I might need to go into therapy, Gina. Gina: Well, Paul, let's explore that. Paul: What's to explore, Gina? Who am I kidding? I came her to ask you to treat me. Gina: Okay, Paul, yes, I'll see you as your therapist. Paul: Thank you, Gina. Then the previews for the next episode of the "Gina" episode went like this: Gina: What would you like to talk about today, Paul? Paul: Gina, I don't know what I was thinking last week. I don't want to go into therapy. I can't do this. blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,blah........ There was also an episode of a patient played by Frasier's dad, Martin Crane (who knows what his real name is, who cares?) He's a smart-ass CEO with a bad case of self-important-itis who spends his entire time having the same damn conversation with Paul that Paul later has with Gina. AAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!! I'm pretty sure even Gabriel Byrne isn't worth this kind of torture. I still wasn't sleepy (quite amazing, actually, after that riveting show) so I switched hats, put on my best West Texas drawl and gorged myself on Dog, the Bounty Hunter episodes. That's one of those shows that you don't actually have to watch, you can do other things and just listen to it. The only time you actually need to look at the screen is when Leland is on there because he's so darn cute. For those of you who are woefully uninformed about Dog, the Bounty Hunter, Leland is Dog's hunky son.  I finally fell asleep after numerous episodes of Dog. I have managed to tidy up my DVR list of recordings over the last week. I'm feeling quite accomplished over that. |
Did I mention that our Arby's burned to the ground here in Pasa-get-down-dena? Yep, it did. Half the town was gathered around the area that was roped off with yellow tape and police cars, watching it burn as a ladder truck dumped water on the roof and thick gray smoke billowed out from the eaves. Like any typical curious good citizen, I parked my car a few blocks away at Auto Zone and, with my IPhone in hand, trekked over to the parking lot across from the burning building and started snapping pictures with my fellow citizens of the Pasadena/Deer Park area. Here, let me show you:     Yessiree, we know how to party down here where I live. Did I ever mention that I watched Gilley's Nightclub (of Urban Cowboy fame) burn to the ground? It was years ago, when we had first moved to Houston and I was driving an old blue Chevy Nova that made a noise like gunfire when it backfired (which it did a lot) and every time it backfired, the kids and I would duck our heads reflexively because we thought we were encountering gunfire. Anyway, we sat in a vacant field in that old blue Nova, along with lots of other curious people and watched Gilley's burn. Sorry, no pictures of that one. Speaking of that Chevy Nova, my kids used to make me drop them off several blocks from the school when I took them to school in that car. Ingrates. Oh, and it also had a problem with the fuel filter and when the filter would get clogged up, that car would just start going slower and slower and slower. It usually happened when I was trying to drive over the toll road bridge, which has a very steep incline. I would keep pushing and pushing, harder and harder on the gas pedal until we finally limped over the top of the bridge and coasted down the other side. By then, we would have built up some speed, so I would turn around and go back home, but through the tunnel this time, so Charles could clean the fuel filter. We bought that car for $500 and we were glad to have it (well, not all of us - the kids weren't in love with it.) By the way, I will henceforth be calling my husband by his given name of Charles when I speak of him in my blog. He told me last week that he hates being referred to as "Hubby." So, Charles it shall be. He also told me he doesn't read my blog regularly because it's tedious. But that's another fight for another day. He did counter that with saying that he reads the other items in my port - the short stories and stuff. Good enough. Now I know that it's not necessary for me to censor myself in my tedious blog and I can speak freely when he pisses me off.  Mind you, this is the man who bought me a Glock 9mm for Christmas. One would think he might be a bit more prudent with his off-the-cuff comments. Does he not remember that I ran over his ass with a full-size van and burned his butt with a hair dryer? Accidentally, of course. Especially the van thing.I wouldn't want you to get the wrong idea and start thinking of me as a Clara Harris-type or anything like that. But, by God, when I say "Get in the van," I mean it, and most assuredly don't turn and walk the other way instead of getting in the van. I don't drive well in reverse. I mean, really, who does? Well, that's all for today. I think I need to go clean my gun now. Ha ha! Just kidding. |
| I am a member of ABC Club (the name has been changed to protect the innocent - namely me) and periodically receive emails from them - well, advertisements in email form. Take a look at the subject line in the one I received today: Portable tasking is not so tasking with ABC Club Normally, I just delete the emails without even looking at them, but I just had to open this one. Surely, I thought, the error in the subject line won't carry over to the email itself. So, I clicked to open the email and, lo and behold, there it was, in big, bold color: ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I am speechless. |
| Well, well, well, well, well. I have the most incredibly good news. The timing of this news is uncanny, given the subject matter of my blog yesterday. (And BTW, thank you all for your very supportive and encouraging words!) I'm sure you have all guessed the nature of my news by now, but no matter, I'm still compelled to spell it out. I received the following email this afternoon: We received the signed Order approving the Final Account and discharging you as Administrator today. A copy is being sent to the Bond company so that they can discharge you from the Bond. I'll ask Debbie to drop a copy of the Order in the mail to you as well. I read the email from my lawyer and I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I just sat there and cried. I haven't been able to make myself close the email yet; the best I could do was to minimize it. It took me a full thirty minutes of staring at it before I could even do that. This is going to be the best weekend I've had in four years. I hope you all have stupendous weekends, too. |
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I'm so far right the Tea Party looks like a bunch of hippies!