Atlantis arrived home safely

Our shuttle had to land at Edwards Air force Base, again, do to rain here, not actually here but up at Kennedy Space Center way northeast of here, with a price tag of 1.8M for the return to here trip, each and every time that happens. But the mission was a total success having repaired Hubble, the space telescope, and sending her back out to do her job for maybe ten more years. Did you know that you can follow all of NASA’s Missions on this site: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/

As the price of gas sneaks up slowly again I thought I ought to give you something that may be helpful to get the best bang for your buck gas-wise: http://gasbuddy.com/
All you have to do when you get to the site is put your zip code in and there you go the local prices for your area! It works in Canada too. There are other sites out there, and I am sure they too are just as good; try and use them for your own savings.

With all this rain around you can only imagine how our grass has grown, and yes today it has received its second cut of the season. Although, oddly enough today we again had no rain, but noise today that was threatening.

We put our flag out today to commemorate the holiday Memorial Day, which is actually tomorrow, but it is Kosher to put it out for two of the days according to flag law, and so it will be out again tomorrow for the actual day of the occasion.
Shall I go into why we celebrate Memorial Day tonight?
OK, I will it is the eve of the holiday.
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. It’s as simple as that.
For a more elaborate explanation you can go to: http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

It’s times like these that I often wonder if our children are being made aware of why they have the day off from school, do parents explain what each holiday comprises of for their child’s awareness or knowledge or perhaps the schools do take care of all that?
I always found it appealing as a child to read the encyclopedia on topics that interested me, which intern would lead me onto other topics from one page to another; now I do it online. Do children today, I wonder still have that type of curiosity of things about the world around them? That would be refreshing to know. I don’t mean politics or sex, but animals, wildlife, holidays, science and the like? I sure hope so.
These days I think of myself sort of like an adolescent, a tween, since our sons are grown adults and we are not yet grandparents; we are out of the grand/parenting loop.
The news at times is so upsetting discussing this generation of offspring, so that is why I do question how things really are.
As a land we have proved our resilience over and over again, so I can only hope that our children’s future is the same.

On that positive note I will bid you all a good night and to all count those blessings and I will too!

Lunacy is rampant!

From the shooter in Binghamton NY who murdered thirteen and then himself and the father who felt he had no choices and took is nine year old daughter on an armed robbery in Washington State the world as we know it is changing and not for the better.
Sadly as a mirror of the harsh times we are living with, people are not handling things at all well.

Three more police officers were killed, this time in Pittsburgh and they were lured to their deaths by an ambush.

So far they have no motive for the murders in New York State, but what would be a reasonable reason, really? Just in: supposedly he had been fired from his job and was laughed at because he couldn’t speak English that well so he killed people in an English class at the facility. He hated America. These are excuses????

The armed robber insists his reasoning was right; no job and no money for quite some time, fortunately no physical harm came to anyone in that.

I swear that coping should be taught in the school systems curriculum since none of us knows how to cope in these hard times of foreclosures, job loss, death or devastating times of illness or understanding why others turn to violence to deal with our current situation.
There has to be a way to know what to do.
A pat decision on what works and what doesn’t.
Psychologists and psychiatrists now is the time to come to the aid of your country!
We all know that all these horrors are going to take time to get over, and we should also know that we must find a way to wait it out without harming our neighbors, ourselves, or our loved ones.

Our president is making new friends all over the UK and Europe and that is for all of our benefits; don’t be at all mistaken by his intentions. His behavior and respect abroad is for all our sakes; for peace on earth and literally good will towards all men and women.
What an emissary!

Off the coast of Louisiana there is an unusual sight in those Gulf waters, a pink dolphin, named Pinkie!
Yes, it does happen in nature, it is an albino one so it has no pigment, most extraordinary, but quite a sight just the same. Since 1962 there have only been 14 pink albino dolphins seen.

Checking up on my cousin this evening I called the hospital and asked for him, and guess what he was in a regular room and answered the phone and sounded just like himself! It was great being able to hear that; meaning that he sounded wonderful, and he was able to joke and everything. He was in the process of having his dinner so we only spoke for a short time and I asked when he thought was the best time to call him and he said anytime. But he also let me know that he was about to watch the play-offs, that’s basketball, right?
He sounded happy and that’s always a good sign.
He asked how we were and I said we are good as long as he is.

After all we are family, and it means a lot to know someone you love is well especially after a horrible ordeal like what he went through.

We really need to take inventory of what we can be happy about.
Trying hard on a daily basis to know what is good in our lives no matter what else is happening.
If things aren’t doing that well and you cannot find any happy at all ask a professional for help, be it a clergy person, a friend, or a medical professional, but get some help.
Don’t ever let those problems run you, you run them.

On that note I will wish you all a good night and count those blessings and I will too!

Emails that are very one sided, and tell only half a tale

Today I received a disturbing email from one of my four nieces, the eldest, and the one I always thought was somewhat of a free thinker, nearly Bohemian in nature.
She was an excellent student, straight A's, and was offered a scholarship to become an aeronautical engineer, but opted out due to falling in love.
She married at 19 and soon became the Mom of three gorgeous blue-eyed blond daughters each 2 years apart, and she had them at home with the assistance of a mid-wife in the tub under water, so I was told. Free spirit … free thinker!
She and her family are vegans.
And she also home schooled the girls and then mainstreamed them into the public school system where they were several grade levels above their peers. Made sure they learned musical instruments and played sports, winter and summer. They are all well rounded young ladies.
I love this child, and if I had a daughter I would want her to be just like her.
Now the problem is that she lives all the way across the country in Washington State, and we haven't seen or spoken face to face in years. Well, once, a few years ago she and her husband and girls popped in from visiting with their church at Disney World in Orlando. We are 3 hours from there, but they just magically appeared without warning, and I was delighted, and begged them to stay but they visited for just a few hours and then left. I think we showed them a good time in that short period that they were here, at least I hope so.
We are a diverse family, as most are today, and our immediate extended family consists of three common religions, Catholicism, Judaism, and Lutheran.
Which is not at all unusual today? Which also allows us to celebrate all holidays if we so desire!

But for some reason this email disturbed me because for some crazy reason I think she thinks that we are Atheists, not there is anything wrong with that.
I believe that everyone has the right to believe or not believe whatever they want to as long as it isn’t going to hurt anyone else or isn’t considered illegal.
Isn’t that what America is about; the home of the free and the brave.
Our ancestors, many of them came here to be allowed to go to the church or temple, mosque, or synagogue of their choice without people telling them they cannot worship where or when the wanted to.
Religious persecution was the reason many of our grandparents escaped to the land of the free.

With that said, I also believe what has been going on in the country has nothing to do with taking God out of the schools, and questioning public displays of holidays that to me have actually lost what their religious content was and have become way too commercial an entity.
Today ask any pre-schooler, even the ones that more than likely went to Sunday school, as I did. What’s the best part of Christmas or Hanukkah?
And I just bet they say …PRESENTS!
Not saying that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth, and that Hanukkah is the celebration of the 8 days that the miracle of the oil lasting when the Jews escaped from persecution.
If parents have done their jobs right children would still be going to after school programs like in our day when they went to religious classes after school and were incorporated into their schedules with soccer, hockey, tee-ball, football, etc.
But more and more two parent homes both parents are working, and no one has the time or ability to keep up with everyone’s schedules.
We both worked raising our sons who didn’t get involve with drugs or the cops, both are college grads, and making good livings today at 32 and 36 years of age.
They too had extra curricular activities that we made sure they went to some how some way, it takes a village comes to mind. Grandparents, knowing their friends and their friend’s parents helped to stay on target, and helping one another. They also rode their bikes or walked in some cases. Where there is a will there is a way.
And they were the generation before this one without prayer in the schools just like my niece who is now 37.
And she is also great!
Except for her concerns that she can’t do the same for her kids because of no God in her schools, or religious displays at government buildings during the holidays?
I think she doesn’t know that it has always been in the parent’s realm to teach what they want their children to know, and that we all have that power within our souls as human beings.

No one but us is responsible for how we think and how we live our lives.
I keep hearing over and over in my head what I was told as a small child in my own religious Sunday school classes along with the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule that God helps those who help themselves. Why has this changed?

Please dear niece that I think so highly of, do not think less of me because I DO believe in separation of church and state, and will not be brainwashed to thinking that excluding it from our government including the public schools that we will all go to hell in a hand basket!
We have many parochial schools available to those who so desire that complete daily training and that is why they have been around forever. Public buildings are for everyone not just Christians, but Jews, Muslims, Catholics, Protestants Baha’i, Baptists… you get the point.
In order to be fair, to all at these public places, all religions would have to be represented not just a few select ones, and I am sure that when you really think about that you will understand where I am coming from.
I believe in everyone’s right to believe or not believe in anything they care to, and let me close by saying that I do believe that you have the right to believe whatever you so desire, but not the right to try to recruit others to your beliefs.
We must all learn to accept each others differences.
And that is all I am saying.
Good night to all.