Make New Friends, but Keep the Old

I know that anyone who was ever in Girl Scouts learned that song, along with Kookaburra, and other rounds sung in troop meetings. What a wonderful time that was. The photo above was probably taken around 1950 when we were in fifth or sixth grade. Most of us in that troop had begun scouting together as Brownies. Many of them went on in high school to become Mariner Scouts. The neat thing is that many of us who are in that photo still get together for lunch about once every three months, not just as former Girl Scouts, but as friends who went to school together from kindergarten through high school.

After I graduated from college, I lived in Cincinnati for five years and taught there. I have very fond memories of my years there, but after teaching there, I traveled to Haiti and lived for three and a half years and taught the children of missionaries. Most of those missionaries have retired now, and many of them live here in Bradenton at Bradenton Missionary Village, a community provided by Anthony Rossi, the founder to Tropicana Products. Whenever someone comes to visit, we take that opportunity to get together and visit.

Such was the case last Thursday. One of the missionary ladies who lives in New York came to the Orlando area to visit her son and daughter-in-law who have recently moved here. We met together for a pot-luck lunch, and as usual the stories began to be told by the men. They have the tales to tell.

As I look at these photos, I think of all the years of service that these folks gave. Most of them spent their entire adult lives in ministry to others. Some are now widowed, some are not in good health, but they rejoice in God's goodness in their lives. I have always counted it such a privilege to know them and to have had a part in the education of their children, many of whom are missionaries as well.

These are the "old friends."
I'm so happy for the "new friends" that I've met through the blogging community - SRP, AC, Coll, Karen, Debra, Judy, Tammy, Susie, Vicki, Vickie, Janice, Pastor Gordon, Lauren, Bet,Ron and the list continues to expand. My day is made brighter by visiting your blogs, sometimes lurking, often commenting. Thanks.

Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
New-made friendships, like new wine,
Age will mellow and refine.
Friendships that have stood the test -
Time and change - are surely best;
Brow may wrinkle, hair grow gray,
Friendship never knows decay.
For 'mid old friends, tried and true,
Once more we our youth renew.
But old friends, alas! may die,
New friends must their place supply.
Cherish friendship in your breast-
New is good, but old is best;
Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
Joseph Parry

A Day at the Park

On the first warm (a relatively loose term) day in March, Ella made her first trip to the park with her mommy and daddy. A great time was had by all. The park is not far at all from David and Sabrina's house. In just a few weeks, after our Sweet Adelines competition in Daytona Beach, I'll be driving to Virginia to stay for a while. I look forward to making visits to the park to watch the ducks and whatever else may be there.

Of course, I can hardly wait to see this darling baby again, as you all well know. Don't you love her hat?

A year later

A year ago I posted about Ben, a young man living and working with his wife in Columbia, South Carolina. Their lives were forever changed that day when Ben was taken to the hospital, talking funny. The result was that he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which had invaded his body and caused a stroke. This note from his wife:

Well, today is a day of mixed emotions for us. Exactly one year ago today
I received a phone call from Ben's boss at my job telling me that he was talking
funny, so they'd taken him to the emergency room. From there our lives
spun madly out of control and you all know the rest of the story. But
today marks a year that Ben has survived when he was only given a 50% chance, so
praise to God that he's still with us and doing so well.
You all have been an amazing support and we
are looking forward to the start of a much better year--post cancer and dramatic
brain surgery etc. We pray that things will only get better from here!

This also is from Liza:

Ben's going to therapy every day and I think this week they'll be ordering the "Saeboflex" glove for him to use for therapy on his arm. Here's a link to more info about the glove:
http://www.saebo.com/seaboflex.html

Ben feels like his arm is improving, so that's encouraging. His occupational therapist did tell him that he will probably not get back fine motor skills such as typing or writing, so he should continue to work on doing those with his left hand. Please pray that he would be motivated to work on those skills even though it's a disappointment that he won't be able to do them with his right hand as he used to.
Ben received something called "A Ticket to Work" from the Social Security Administration which is supposed to give him free vocational rehab, so hopefully we are going to look into that this week sometime just to see exactly what the program is all about. He probably won't actually start until he's done with therapy since that's our main focus at the moment, and since he's still not really ready to get back into a job yet.

There's much here to be thankful for and much to pray for yet.

Thanks for all your comments

I asked David what he thought might have been going through his mind when that picture was taken. His answer? "I have no idea. It was posed." I remember looking out that kitchen window one day in October after the wind had blown all the leaves from the two big tree in their back yard, and I thought to myself that someone is going to have a lot of work to do. There were leaves on the trees in the morning, but by afternoon they had all come down.

I liked Anna's thought and some of you thought Mommy stuff as well. Anna was thinking that maybe Mommy was getting some time to herself, and David and Ella were watching her leave.

They looked rather serious to me. I know that Ella's CF is on my mind everyday, and I was wondering if David might be looking ahead, wondering what the future holds. One day when Ella's older she'll be asking questions about it all. OK, that's enough heavy stuff.

Thanks again for commenting.

What do they see?

I have several favorite photos of my granddaughter and her parents, and this is definitely one of them. Looking out their kitchen window, what do they see? What are they thinking? I have some thoughts, and I'll share them at a later time, but I'm going to take an idea from Carmi and some other blogs I've read and ask you your thoughts. What do you think might be going through their minds as they look out the window?

Take Me Out to the Ballgame, Part 2

The Pirates play at McKechnie Field in Bradenton. This field and seats were redone a few years ago, and instead of building a fancy, new facility out of town, they decided to stay here near downtown Bradenton. That made us all happy. Today the Pirates played the Tampa Bay Rays. Neither team has a stellar record. In fact, I don't believe either of them had won a game before today's game, and the Pirates beat them 5-2. It's going to be a long season.

I haven't seen too many young families here this week. I guess it isn't spring break up north yet, or else they're still frozen. At Monday's game, they announced the respective scores of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as being 25 and 20. Everyone laughed. Then the temperature of Bradenton was announced as being 70, and that brought cheers from everyone.
It's always fun having a friend along. My friend Peg and I have been friends since we were in elementary school. We lost touch for a few years ago, but we reconnected after she moved back to Bradenton. Monday we ate foot-long hot dogs; today we enjoyed a slice of pizza.

Spring training runs through the end of the month. The Yankees will be here Saturday. The Red Sox will be playing too. I don't have tickets for either of those games. I believe the Braves are coming too. AC, eat your heart out. I believe that game is sold out.

I intended this post to come second, and I tried publishing this one first, so that it would be on bottom, but I didn't succeed. Oh, well.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame, Part 1

March in Florida means baseball. It's that time of year when the boys of summer get together and practice for the upcoming baseball season. Bradenton is the winter home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. When I was growing up, the Boston Braves trained here, and later the Milwaukee Braves.

My parents were great baseball fans. My mother said when she married my dad that if she hadn't learned to love baseball, she would have been a baseball widow. Long after my father had died, she remained a fan, following the Atlanta Braves.

It's always fun to go to the games with a friend. There aren't too many young families here this week. It must not be spring break yet. But the old folks are there...those who are loyal to the Pirates, no matter what. It used to be when I went to the games, I recognized the names, back in the days of the Killer B's - Bonds, Bonilla, Bream, Bell and there was one other whose name escapes me. Kevin, the young man in the picture below is back this year. He's the "Whazzup" guy. For several years he was a vendor, and you got used to his familiar cry. He was away for two years and is back this year. Monday when I went to the game, he wasn't hollering out to the crowd. He ran up to where we were sitting and said that someone had complained about his being loud. Can you imagine?! Someone told him to tell his boss that they were going to give up their season tickets if they muffled him, so today he was hollering out again. We all smiled. Some people!

Good Luck Charms

My son and daughter-in-law gave me this print, Good Luck Charms, by P. Buckley Moss at Christmas time when they came to Florida. I have just had it framed and am so pleased how it turned out. I told them I'd send them a picture, so I thought I'd show it to you as well.

P. Buckley Moss lives in Waynesboro, Virginia where my son and his wife live. She also has a studio in St. Petersburg, just over the bridge. A dyslexic child, one teacher said that she would never amount to anything, but she had artistic ability.

She has become a role model for the learning impaired and frequently is asked to speak to special education classes. Donations of Moss' original works and prints to related children's charities have raised millions of dollars for their causes. Read more about her here.

I'm quite pleased with how the framing came out. The matting is just right. The frame's true color doesn't show here. It is a pewter gray.

Scary

I do believe blogging is gettig to me. I dreamed last night that I was at a concert, and SRP's brother was singing. Many of you follow her blog and know that Stephen is an opera singer. Later he was sitting among the audience, and I passed by him to get to my seat, and I stepped on his toe.

I excused myself, and we began talking. He spoke of his niece Nyssa. However, in the dream, he was much younger and thinner. He could really sing, though.

Crazy, huh?

So much for the accents

I think the previous post pretty much debunks the accent quiz. I took it and came out Southern, and that was after I changed some of my answers, hoping it would be Southern. Tammy and AC, who are from Kentucky and Tennessee, respectively, did not test out Southern. Colleen, in Canada, got mixed results. It was fun, though. Oh, well.

Have you taken this quiz?

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The South   That's a Southern accent you've got there. You may love it, you may hate it, you may swear you don't have it, but whatever the case, we can hear it.
The Inland North
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The Midland
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

One More Thing

I taught school for 36 years. Many teachers do not throw things away. I am one of those. You don't want to throw it away, for if you do, you'll need it tomorrow. If you've been reading this blog any time at all, you know that I am thinking of relocating to live near my son and his family. My daughter and I have decided life is too short; friends are wonderful, but family is where it's at. Because of Ella's CF, it is likely that they will stay where they are for a good while since they are so close to a certified CF clinic at UVA Children's Hospital.

I have lived in the same house for 30 years. My husband and I had it built when I was pregnant with my daughter. I'm now in the process of sorting through STUFF and discarding. We don't have basements here, so my garage has accumulated a lot of the STUFF. I can park my car in it at night, however.

Books, books, and more books. Many of them are children's books that I held on to primarily for any grandchildren who might come along. Some of them I've already sent to Ella for her ever-growing library...books like The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and some gems by Jan Brett and Mary Engelbreit. Yesterday I went out into the garage to pack up some more, and there were yet more.

I've always said that if I cleaned out a spot, more STUFF would just rise up to take its place.

When my husband died, I didn't dispose of his belongings right away. Little by little, I've gotten rid of things, but it's hard to let go. The first thing to go was the drawer of socks. Whenever I bought him new socks, they went into the drawer with the old ones until you could hardly close the drawer. I know it should have been my job to keep them culled out, but I didn't always.

There is a wonderful organization in St. Pete called D&D Missionary Homes, and they operate a clothes closet for missionaries who have need of clothing. When they're getting ready to go back to the mission field, they can go into the "store" and take as much as they feel that they can use for their next term of service. If they're going back to the field with small children, they can take clothes in graded sizes, as many as they think they need. So when I finally decided to take his clothes out of the closet, I filled a couple of suitcases full and sent them there.

Now that I'm getting serious about cleaning out STUFF, I looked in the closet this morning. There, hanging, were two suits that I had bought for Don in the early years of our marriage. They are in wonderful condition, and as far as I know, are not out of style. I loved them when I bought them, and I still do. I hope that someone passing through D&D Homes wears a 44 Long. They will find two nice suits.

When I lived in Haiti, clothing would come there in "missionary barrels." The missionary kids were funny when they talked about where they had gotten their latest fashions. Our field director was bemoaning the fact that he never got any suits because he said, "No one ever dies my size."

So, as I took the clothing to my church this morning, to be picked up and taken to D&D, I held those suits one last time, remembering.

Take a look at these

Many years ago, when I was much, much younger, I lived in Haiti. I was a schoolteacher of children of missionaries. Three and a half years were spent doing a job that I loved in a land that I loved as dearly.

Probably one of the things that I always found interesting was how people carried things...on their heads. Little children began by wrapping a cloth in a ring, placing it on their heads, and then placing their load, whether it was a book, or a small dish, or perhaps some fruit.

I was always amazed at how erect the people were as they carried their loads, and while I'm not a student of physics, I'm sure that carrying things on the head makes much more sense than holding the load in front of you or propping it on your hips.

A former co-worker of mine sent this link today. Take a look at it. None of the loads are being carried on the heads, but I believe that you will agree with me that these individuals do not lack in their ingenuity. Who needs an SUV or a pickup? They're already green.

All About God's Amazing Grace

For several weeks the previews at the movies have been shown for the movie, Amazing Grace, which came out in theaters today. Almost every Saturday some of my Sweet Adeline friends and I go to see a movie and then out to dinner, and today was no different.

The movie is about William Wilberforce and his efforts to bring about the abolition of slavery. Its release today,February 23, 2007, coincides with the 200th anniversary of the date the Parliament of the United Kingdom voted to ban the transport of slaves by British subjects. He worked many years in Parliament to see this day.

The title of the movie is taken from the song "Amazing Grace" written by John Newton, a man who had formerly carried slaves on his ships. He later became a Christian and penned the words that were later set to music.

The theater was full, as I hoped it would be, and I hope it will continue to have a good showing. It's too bad that it isn't being shown in more theaters. There is certainly a movement to bring worthwhile movies to Hollywood, and this is certainly a good movie to see. It certainly has a strong Christian message, as well as telling the history of the abolitionist movement of that day.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, Who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.

from Cyberhymnal
According to Cyberhymnal, the last verse was not in the original poem, but was added later.

Thursday Thoughts

I seem to have been around the world reading blogs the last two days. Some blogs are such fun to read; some are beautiful; some are very thought-provoking; some are very emotional. Yesterday the gamut ran from reading about poop at the zoo to reading someone's very emotional reaction to his ex-girlfriend's abortion twenty years ago.

My blog has no theme to speak of. I post a photo occasionally, photos of Ella often, post something I read in an e-mail. I read a post yesterday that made me pause and think for a while about the Lenten season that is upon us. I was not raised in a liturgical church, and so observing Lent had never been part of my Christian experience. In just the last few years, though, in part because of my son, I've gotten out of what I would call my comfort zone in my somewhat narrow view of my Christianity.

When my husband was taken in an accident almost five years ago, David had just graduated from Penn State and was still in State College working with a campus ministry organization. While a student, he had been mentored by another student who was a member of a reformed Presbyterian church, and David became acquainted with the liturgy of the church and really grew to love it. When he came home for the service for his dad, a young man named John came down to be with him during that time.

We were sitting around the table talking one evening talking, and we began talking about churches and modes of worship. John told me that he worshipped in an Episcopal church, and one of the reasons he worshipped there was that he said is is so ADHD that he could concentrate on his worship, unlike what he had experienced when he went to church with a girlfriend of his, in a service that was, shall we say, not so formal.

One of the authors that David introduced me to is Lauren Winner, who has written a book, Girl Meets God. In this book, she speaks of her journey to faith in Christ, and she speaks of embracing the liturgy of the church. She is a bibliophile, and when Lent came about, someone asked her what she was going to give up. She thought about it and decided that she would give up reading for Lent. That would be for her truly like going without eating for those forty days.

In a blog I read yesterday, the author stated that she would once again not be blogging during the season, but rather would direct her thoughts Godward. That gave me a lot to think about.

This is a wonderful season for the Christian as we look forward to the day when we remember the resurrection of our Lord, as we do each Sunday, but more so on Easter. In writing this, my mind goes to a hymn that we used to sing a lot during our communion services at church.

I gave My life for thee, My precious blood I shed,
That thou might ransomed be, and raised up from the dead
I gave, I gave My life for thee, what hast thou given for Me?
I gave, I gave My life for thee, what hast thou given for Me?

My Father’s house of light, My glory circled throne
I left for earthly night, for wanderings sad and lone;
I left, I left it all for thee, hast thou left aught for Me?
I left, I left it all for thee, hast thou left aught for Me?

I suffered much for thee, more than thy tongue can tell,
Of bitterest agony, to rescue thee from hell.
I’ve borne, I’ve borne it all for thee, what hast thou borne for Me?
I’ve borne, I’ve borne it all for thee, what hast thou borne for Me?

And I have brought to thee, down from My home above,
Salvation full and free, My pardon and My love;
I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee, what hast thou brought to Me?
I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee, what hast thou brought to Me?

Frances Havergal

Have I given anything?

Hymn from Cyberhymnal

Dog's Worst Nightmare

There was a little turtle.

I love turtles. When I was in third grade, before we were afraid of all the germs, I had a pet turtle. It was very popular to own them in those days. That particular turtle had his shell painted with Jack Benny's name on it. I don't remember whatever happened to him.

When I started teaching, I didn't have a turtle in my classroom, but my roommate and I had a pair for pets. We went away one weekend, or maybe it was longer, and we left them with a friend of ours. I'm sure they would have survived o.k. by themselves, but when we returned and they heard our voices, they just about crawled out of the bowl.

Recently in the news I read about the golden retriever who swallowed the pet turtle, and the turtle survived. When the family realized what had happened, they took the dog to the vet, and the turtle was removed, alive. His shell was a little bit damaged, but none the worse for the wear. I'm not sure about the dog. I'll bet he had a sore throat.

News flash from a paper in the UK. Turtle found 1.8 miles from home after being on the loose for 8 months.

I love turtles. Here in Florida we have the turtle watches, where people go to the beach and set up barriers for the loggerhead turtle's eggs, and then when it is time for them to go into the gulf, encourage everyone to keep their lights dim or out, so that they don't become disoriented when trying to find their way into the water. I wonder what per cent of them actually survive once they reach the water. Many of them end of being some other sea animals dinner.

I haven't taken any photos of turtles. I wish I did. I'm never sure about copying photos from the internet. Very often they are copyrighted and are not available for free.

I'm reminded of the poem that I learned as a child, taught it to my children in first grade, and to my own children.

There was a little turtle.
He lived in a box.
He swam in a puddle.
He climbed on the rocks.

He snapped at a mosquito.
He snapped at a flea.
He snapped at a minnow.
And he snapped at me.

He caught the mosquito.
He caught the flea.
He caught the minnow.
But he didn't catch me.

Vachel Lindsay

Chocolate, anyone?

In the lobby by the elevators on the first three floors of the hotel in Nashville were these chocolate creations done by the chefs of the hotel. The first day that I was there, I glanced at them, but upon looking more closely, discovered that they were made of chocolate.

Since Nashville is "Music City," the sculptures were very appropriate, reminiscent of the early days of the Grand Old Opry.

Some thoughts for you about chocolate.

The 12-step chocoholics program: NEVER BE MORE THAN 12 STEPS AWAY FROM CHOCOLATE! Terry Moore

Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands - and then eat just one of the pieces. Judith Viorst

Seen recently on a tee shirt ~ EMERGENCY ALERT: If wearer of this shirt is found vacant, listless, or depressed, ADMINISTER CHOCOLATE IMMEDIATELY

This guy found a bottle on the ocean, and he opened it and out popped a genie, and he gave him three wishes. The guy wished for a million dollars, and poof! there was a million dollars. Then he wished for a convertible, and poof! there was a convertible. And then, he wished he could be irresistible to all women... poof! he turned into a box of chocolates.

Here's My Valentine

I'll try once again to post a photo. I spent the last four days in Nashville with Ella. Her mom was attending a financial aid seminar, and so I went up to take care of Ela while her mom was in meetings. We had a great time! I left home in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday to fly up to Nashville. We were at the Renaissan*e Hotel that was connected to the convention center, so it was a very pleasant place to be.

I actually arrived in Nashville before they did, so I went walking around a bit. The Ryman auditorium, which used to house the Grand Old Opry is right across the street. I didn't go inside since I had been there last spring. The building has quite a history. The acoustics are better than Carnegie Hall, and it is quite a popular venue for artists to perform.

Of course, I'm not prejudiced about Ella, but she is absolutely adorable. She is so good natured. She doesn't fuss when her parents do the chest p.t., even when they wake her up to do it. We played a lot and went for walks around the hotel. I didn't venture out with her because it rained on Monday and Tuesday, and then when it stopped raining, the temperatures dropped. Schools were closed on Wednesday in the area, mainly because of the ice.

When I made my reservations for travel, I got a cheap rate. However, I had odd hours for flying. My flight home left Nashville at 6:32 on Wednesday night, flew to O'Hare, and then to Tampa. As it turned out, it worked out well since flights had been delayed all day. My flight in Nashville left about a half hour late. I was a little concerned about getting to the next gate at O'Hare, but when I checked the screen, it said the flight was leaving at 10:15. It ended up leaving around 11, which, of course, was 12 in Tampa. We landed about 2:15. By the time I got my bag and my car, it was 3. I had a hair appointment at 9:30 this morning, so I thought I'd just sleep in my clothes and get up and go to the beauty shop, but that didn't work. I went to bed around 4, got up at 8:20, got my hair done, and I haven't done much else the rest of the day.

It was so good to be with this baby. I just kept drinking in the joy of being with her again. It was a Happy Valentine's Day for me.

Going to Nashville

I'm flying in the morning to Nashville, where I'll be taking care of Ella while her mother is attending a conference. Needless to say, I'm excited.

I wrote a post yesterday, photos and all. When I first looked at it, the photos were there. When I went back later, all that was there was a square with the little symbol in it. Does anyone have a clue? I, like the rest of you, finally switched. I had no problems before. Thanks for any help you might be able to give me.

Update on Anthony

Anthony had his bone marrow transplant today at 11:45. It took all of five minutes, with two teaspoons of marrow being transplanted. The doctors said that the first hour after the transplant was the most crucial, and they will be watching him very carefully for the next three days for any signs of rejection.

This e-mail was received after the hour had passed.

Good afternoon, I just spoke with Sergio. Anthony has come through the first hour like a champ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! His blood pressure is down to normal and he has had no pain meds for two days. Sergio (his dad) asks everyone to please continue to pray for the next three weeks that the cells multiply. They are praising God for all His miracles!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A pastor asked a little boy if he said his prayers every night.
"Yes sir," the boy replied.
"And, do you always say them in the morning, too?" the pastor asked.
"No sir," the boy replied. "I ain't scared in the daytime."

from Pastor Tim, Cybersalt

Hi, everyone!

I'm smiling because I'm going to see my grammy in four days.

 

Tuesday Thoughts

This morning I drove to Sarasota for the annual Penn State scholarship breakfast. When David was at Penn State, the SW Florida alumni group gave him a small scholarship each year that helped greatly with the cost of books. During this time, I became good friends with many of the folks and have maintained a relationship with them. Every year during football season, the faithful gather at a local sports bar to watch the games and cheer the team on.

The program was presented by three high school students from Port Charlotte High School. All three were representing the Model United Nations, a club which competes with 30 other area schools in a two-day mock United Nations simulation. Students must have a working knowledge of current history and advanced skills in research and public speaking. Their group has one the regional competition for the last six years. In fact, the leader told us that they were asked not to return this year. I'm not sure if that was in gest, or if the powers that be wanted to give other groups a chance to win.

They have traveled to Yale, Harvard, Georgia Tech, and some other universities to compete, and they always win. It was wonderful to sit and listen to these young people speak with confidence and poise. And they were dressed in business suits. There was no fluff here. It was reassuring to hear and see them.
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On another note, Anthony is scheduled to have his bone marrow transplant on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 10:30 in the morning. He is at Children's Hospital in Cincinnati. He has completed his chemo, and he has not been as sick as the doctors expected. He had radiation either today or yesterday. He had to go to another hospital for the radiation. While there, the power went out because of the cold, and they had to start all over. He is in quite a bit of pain right now.

His spirits are good. You can visit him here. Where it says "visit," type in anthonynegrin, and it will take you to his page.
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This note is from Ben's wife. "Hey everyone, Thanks for your continued prayers. Ben has lost about 20 lbs of the water weight, so we're thrilled about that. The incision is healing well, and he's no longer needing to use much pain medication. His dad should arrive tomorrow while I'm at work, so we're looking forward to seeing him. My throat is much better as of Friday, so another praise!

Please pray as I transition back into work. It's a little overwhelming, but will probably be good for me to be back. "

This was dated Jan. 29. I haven't heard anything new.

Welcome to sunny Florida! Not!

Welcome to Florida, land of sunshine. The Super Bowl is played in warmer climates...just not always sunny. Rain was forecast for tonight's Super Bowl in Miami, and rain it did. Even though it was predicted that Indianapolis would win, I'm sure that there are many who thought that they might freeze up in the nasty weather, especially since they play at home in a dome, but they didn't. Yippee!

I had planned to have a Super Bowl party at my house, but all the people who were planning to come were sick. I had been invited to another party, and when all my guests canceled out because of illness, I called to see if I could still come to that one. So I took the food that I had prepared, and off I went. There were eight of us there, seven Colts fans, and one Bears fan. The Bears fan was very quiet during the game, but a good sport about it all.

A cartoon in the St. Pete Times today had a picture of two bears sitting at the edge of the forest. One of them was holding a sign that said, "Go, Colts!" The other bear's sign said "Off his meds!" I went to the store after church at noon, and there was hardly a parking place to be had. Everybody seemed to be excited about the game. I don't know if it was that way everywhere, but there was an excitement here for Tony Dungy, especially since he had been here for several years as the Bucs' coach.

When he was fired by the owners, he never said one word against them. The only things he says is that he thanks them for giving him the opportunity to coach. Tonight when it was said for the umpteenth time that he was the first African-American coach, he mentioned those who had in coaching positions before, though not a head coach, who had paved the way.

What a gentleman. What a Christian.

And then there's Peyton. As friend AC said, "Peyton looks good in tights." In fact, she was going to watch her first Super Bowl game tonight.

Well, that was a good first game to see. It wasn't the prettiest game, but the outcome is the one that we were looking for.

G0, Colts!

All Snuggly and Warm

I e-mailed Ella's mother the other day and routinely asked how Ella was. She wrote me back and said that her last throat culture came back positive for staph. That just makes my heart sick. I have so prayed that she would be the exceptional cf child who would get through without infections. I believe she visits the cf doctor again soon. Right now she's on antibiotics for the infection. 

A Wonderful House Guest

I mentioned briefly in my last post that I had a house guest for a week from Estonia. T. came to Bradenton as a representative from her church in Tallinn. Our church has established a friendship relationship with hers. Three years ago, almost four now, a large group of us went over to visit and to see in what ways we might be of help to them. We decided that it would be good for all the folks in our church to meet someone from over there, and so T. came.

Estonia is a country that was dominated by the Soviets until 1991. Freedom is fairly new to them, and they have made great strides in a short time. Situated on the Baltic Sea, right next to Russia, Estonia is a fairly small country. The people are very friendly and have welcomed us warmly. Tallinn has a walled city, called Old Town, that dates back to 1154. It has become a very popular tourist stop for cruise ships. After I was there in 2003, I had a couple of doctor's visits after my return, and both of the doctors had been in Tallinn that summer.

I mentioned in the last post, that being Baptists, we ate ourselves through the week. The first day that she was here I took her to eat at Riverside Grill that has seating outdoors. Right now in Estonia, there are only four hours of daylight, and so I figured she would enjoy the sun. The next day the pastor and his family took her to the beach for a potluck with friends. The next morning she was taken to the beach again for an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. And it went on and on throughout the week.

I tried to think like a tourist and take her places that would be representative of our city. Mixon's Fruit Farms is a favorite place for tourists. There is a great gift shop there with all kinds of "Florida-ish" type things, as well as very nice gifts. We were able to see how the fruit is brought in, sorted, washed, and packed. You can buy fruit right there, or you can have it shipped.

Later we went to the South Florida Museum where Snooty, the manatee, resides. He's always fun to see. Whitaker, a young manatee, who was injured by a boat's propeller is recuperating there, but he will soon be returned to the wild.

Later in the week, I took her to my father-in-law's house so that she could pick some oranges. Talk about excited! I remember being in Chicago with a group of ladies for a conference once in February when it snowed. Boy, were we excited, and those who see it all the time, looked at us like we were nuts. I reminded my friends that when those people come to Florida, they get all excited about seeing oranges growing, so there's really no difference.

T. publishes Christian books for the believers in Estonia. She is always looking for books which she can get translated into Estonian. It is very expensive, because the damand is not great, and so part of her time is spent raising funds to underwrite these (she calls it "begging for money.")

She said that their winter had been very mild with very little snow. They like the snow because it brightens their days. This is the picture the sent after she got back home. She had a wonderful time while she was here. I believe that she went home with a very good impression of us Americans. She said she was going to have a slide show when she gets home to show everyone. We loved having her here. She said several times that she would like to come back.

A group from our church is going to return this summer to keep our connection with them. Hopefully, I'll be going again. 

An update on Ben and Anthony

I've had a guest in my home from Estonia for a week. She came last Wednesday night and is leaving in the morning to return to her home. Our church here in Bradenton has a friendship relationship with her church in Tallinn, and so we invited her to come this year so that our congregation could get to know her a bit. Being Baptist, we've eaten our way through the week. Yesterday I had some ladies in for lunch so that they could get to know her a little better, and we had a grand time. Eunice came. She's the lady who sees that all the animals get fed when she's at her home in Georgia. She's also the lady who, when she called Verizon about her DSL, got Jesus on the line. I think I wrote about that. He told her she could talk to him anytime. He is there twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week...a true story! But that's not what I wanted to write about at all.

Ben, the young man, of whom I've written several times, had what was his final surgery just after the first of the year. He is recovering, but he has a long way to go.

His wife writes: "Dr. Christiansen said that Ben is considered 'in remission with resected tumors.' That just means that he's had tumors removed. So, at this point, he's clear, no more further treatment that we know about. He's actually been in remission since June, so we will continue seeing Dr. C monthly for blood tests and scans until next June, then we'll see him every two months for the next year, and it keeps going down from there for the next 5 years. It's hard to believe this is really over, especially since he's still feeling so bad. But if we can make it through these next few weeks, I think we'll start seeing a rapid improvement.

The swelling in his legs has gone down, but his belly is still uncomfortably large. He is eating a tiny bit more, so that's good. I, however, have come down with a dreadful sore throat, so you can pray that the antibiotics will do their job, and I'll be better by Monday when I go back to work.

Thankfully Ben's dad is coming up on Monday to stay for the week. I will feel a lot better about getting back to work knowing that he's got someone here with him.

Sometimes when I think over the past year, I marvel that we have any friends left considering the amount of drama and trouble we've been. But you all have stood by us and really helped in so many ways, so we really thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And we thank God for His goodness in spite of all of this pain. "We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name." Ps 33:20-21

Continue to pray for Ben and Liza.

Anthony, the young man who needs the bone marrow transplant for Fanconi's anemia, is in Cincinnati for the procedure. About half the money has been raised, but the doctors said that it could not wait any longer. The transfusions were being needed more frequently. The donor has rearranged his schedule to be available for Anthony. He is not a perfect match, but is close.

Anthony is a student at Bradenton Christian, the same school my children attended. At one of the basketball games not too long ago, the referees presented the family with a check for $3,000. The refs from their association had each given up a night's pay to give to him. BCS's arch rival, Sarasota Christian, had a fundraiser for him last week. All the proceeds from the food sales that night were given to him. Someone donated all the food, $14,000 was raised; someone matched that amount, and then I was told that someone drove up to the school and gave $1,000. He had heard about the fundraiser on the radio.

Dick Vitale, the voice of college basketball, who lives in Sarasota, sent a present to Anthony. Inside was an autographed basketball, shirt, poster, book and note of encouragement.

At on of the local public high schools, the basketball coach is finalizing plans for another basketball benefit Feb. 3 when their team hosts BCS. Proceeds will help not only Anthony but also a senior varsity basketball player from the public high school, who has non-Hodgkins lymphoma, the coach said.

The upcoming benefit deeply touched BCS Coach David Magley.

"Both of the teams are affected with players who are sick," said Magley. "This is a pretty big deal for a public school to do something like this."

Please remember these boys in your thoughts and prayers and their families as well.

Do you remember 30?

I was living in Haiti when I turned 30. My field director told me, "Beverly, the happiest ten years of a woman's life is between 29 and 30." Sarah was well feted on her birthday today. She spent the day with her friend Heather and her husband, Barry at the Big Cat Rescue in Tampa.
After she got home, I took her out to eat at LeRoy Selmon's restaurant here. Selmon was on of the original Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He works now in the athletic department at University of South Florida (he may be the director, I'm not sure.) His restaurant features ribs, pulled pork, chicken and many other good things. On our way there, Sarah said, "I'm not getting dessert, because Suzanne, Darcy, Emily, and I are going to the Coldstone Creamery for ice cream. I smiled to myself.

Suzanne had planned a surprise birthday party for Sarah, and it was to take place after dinner. After we finished eating, we came back to my house where the party was to be held. Entering the house, walking back toward the kitchen, Sarah heard "Surprise!" and she truly was. Friends from church and high school were there to help her celebrate this milestone birthday.
Earlier in the day, as I stated, Sarah went to Tampa with her friend Heather to the Big Cat Rescue. There are over 100 big cats there...lions, tigers, ocelots, panthers, jaguars. Many have been rescued from fur farms. Some were orphaned cats. They all have an interesting story to tell.
As SRP said, "Now she can begin having anniversaries of her birthday." I have a friend here who used to say she was forty-fourteen, etc. I guess that makes me fifty-fifteen. 

Happy Birthday, Sarah

January 20, 1977. We had to be at the hospital at 7 in the morning to have my labor induced. As we drove past the bank and looked at the temperature, it read 26 degrees. This was in FLORIDA. What a winter we had! I had been on bed rest for a month. One morning when I woke up, it seemed so cold in the house. We had no lights and no heat. The power company was doing rolling blackouts to be able to provide power to all of the homes in the area.
Later that day, at 2:25 Sarah made her entrance into the world, bringing much joy to her father and me. Today she is 30. It's hard to realize that many years have gone by. Sarah is a real source of strength to me. When I was very ill in 1991 and spent a lot of time in the hospital. In the eighth grade at the time, she took over the household duties and carried on, doing well at school and doing so much at home.
I salute my daughter today. She is a caring, giving person who gives 100% in whatever she does. She recently transferred to another department at her work. One of her clients upon hearing that she wouldn't be dealing directly with them anymore told her that she was the reason they had kept their business there. Another client told her that he was going to write a letter and put it in her file, stating that she is the epitome of customer service.
Sarah's definitely her father's daughter. When I look at her, I see his smile, the way she throws her head back when she laughs like he did. I see in her work the same hard work ethic that he had, and it makes me very proud. He would be very proud, and I'm sure he's looking down on her today. Happy birthday, Sarah.

A daughter is a little girl who grows up to be your friend.

A daughter is the happy memories of the past, the joyful moments of the present, and the hope and promise of the future.

Small Thoughts

Judy often sometimes posts one-liners that she receives in e-mails. I thought I'd do the same since I'm getting ready for a house guest, and I don't want to have to think too hard (not that I do that too much anyway.)


I dialed a number and got the following recording:

"I am not available right now, but thank you for caring enough to call.
I am making some changes in my life. Please leave a message after the beep. If I do not return your call, you are one of the changes."
~~~~~

My wife and I had words,
But I didn't get to use mine.
~~~~~

Frustration is trying to find your glasses without your glasses.
~~~~~

Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.
~~~~~

The irony of life is that, by the time you're old enough to know your way around, you're not going anywhere.
~~~~~

God made man before woman so as to give him time to think of an answer for her first question.
~~~~~

I was always taught to respect my elders, but it keeps getting harder to find one.
~~~~~

Every morning is the dawn of a new error.
~~~~~

The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:

"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding,
severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with
the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good
time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

  

Equal time

In a previous post, there was a picture of Ella in her first Penn State t-shirt. Her mother decided there must be equal time! Actually, she received this t-shirt from a Kenyon friend before the Penn State t-shirt came on the scene. Sabrina graduated from Kenyon, and then after working for a while, went to Penn State to get her master's degree. That's where she and David met.

While we're talking about Penn State, how about the football bowl games! Penn State beat Tennessee, Michigan got beat, and Florida, yes Florida, beat Ohio State. Go, Gators! I got so tired of the analysts excusing Ohio State for playing poorly because they had not played for 50 some days. They clearly were outplayed. However, on any given day, I suppose anything can happen.

As you know, Ella has cystic fibrosis, and I read a forum daily where parents and patients write, ask questions, offer advice, and describe their lives as cfers. I recently discovered through this forum a blog, Breathing Deeply. I encourage you to read this young woman's blog. She, in my opinion, for as much as I know, has a very balanced approach to her life. Her post today is particularly good. She also has a blog, Pools of Grace, which is a daily devotional. I find her writing very encouraging, and I hope you will too. Tell her I sent you.
*************************************************************************************
Speaking of blogs, I have added hers and two others to my sidebar. Can anyone tell me why I have the space between the titles? There is no space when I put in all the coding. One I've added is Vicki's blog. I met Vicki on Thursday in St. Petersburg, the first blogger I've had the opportunity to meet in the flesh. I hope it won't be the last meeting with her, and I surely want to meet others. The other is Just Ask Judy. I would have added them much sooner, but I'm a little bit on the lazy side. They are both daily reads for me.

Send in the clowns

Someone sent me this video the other day. There is such nostalgia there.
Besides listening to Frank Sinatra sing that song, one can watch all those marvelous comedians who have gone on...those comedians who didn't find it necessary to use profanity to be funny. They didn't offend. They entertained. Enjoy the trip down memory lane.

At the airport

See how happy Ella was to see her aunt Sarah and her grammy at the airport when they came Christmas Eve? I'm sure that she was glad to be off the airplane and on terra firma once again. She and her parents arrived at the airport in Tampa on Christmas Eve. Whenever I meet anyone at the airport, I always park in the parking garage and take my time window shopping inside the airport. The airport at Tampa is really quite a user-friendly place. You don't have to walk far at all to get anywhere.
When it was time for the family to leave, I drove them back to Tampa. Because I didn't want to just drop them off, I said that we would park in the garage and then go down. When you approach the terminal, there are signs that show you where to go for whatever airline you're traveling on. As we approached, the signs indicated to go in the red area for Southwest, so we did, or so I thought. We went to the ticket counter, got them checked in, and then since Sabrina hadn't eaten, we went to the food court and got some breakfast. After visiting for a little while, they decided it was time to go to their gate and go through security.

I left them there and took the red elevator up to the fourth level where we had parked the car. I walked out of the elevator, turned left to where my car should have been, but it wasn't there. I walked back to the elevator, again turned left. The car still wasn't there. "This can't be," I thought. Someone has taken my car. I walked around for a little, still looking, and a gentleman said to me, "There is another red elevator." I went to that one, but when I turned, it just wasn't right.
I know how I have looked at little old ladies coming out of Wal-Mart, or the parking lot at Publix, looking in dismay, wondering where on earth their cars are, and I used to think, "Poor things." Well, they had nothing on me that day. I called David on my cell phone and asked him if we had indeed parked on the fourth level. "Yes, mom, and when you come out of the elevator, you turn left, and the car is right there." But it wasn't. I can't begin to describe the sick feeling I had. I've never had a panic attack, but I think I was about to have one.

I finally thought to myself, "Maybe we parked by the blue elevators", so I took a walk down that way, and sure enough, there it was, right where I had left it. As I got in and drove through the lane to pay, the gentleman told me that it would be $1.25. I thanked him and told him that if I had found my car, it would have been free. (The first hour is free.) He said to me, "Well, one more minute, and it would have been $2.50."

I was so glad to drive away, cross the Sunshine Skyway and arrive safely at home.

If you want to read an interesting story about picking people up at the Tampa airport, go to Vicki's blog, and read her account with the Keystone Kops who patrol outside of baggage claim. Warning: Strong language, but hilarious. I'm going to meet this lady on Thursday, and I am so excited!!! 

Beauty Is Soul Deep

Steve Goodier has done it again. I look forward so much to his e-mail posts on Wednesdays. Those of you who read this blog, I know, has that "soul deep beauty." But I think that you will enjoy this one.

Abraham Lincoln loved to tell stories on himself. One of his
favorites concerned itself with physical appearance.

In the days when Lincoln used to be on the circuit (traveling on
horseback from one county court to another), he was once approached
by a stranger who said, "Excuse me, sir, but I have an article which
belongs to you."

"How is that?" Lincoln asked in astonishment.

The stranger took a jack-knife from his pocket. "This knife," he said
"was placed in my hand some years ago, with the injunction that I was
to keep it until I found a man homelier-looking than I am myself. I
have carried that knife for many years. Now I pass it on to you."

Lincoln added wryly, "I've carried that knife ever since."

One of Lincoln's greatest assets was his ability to laugh at himself.
And he frequently laughed at his physical appearance. But history
does not remember him as an "ugly" individual -- in fact, often just the
opposite. His outer appearance was clothed in magnificently beautiful
garments: character, honesty, humor and courage. But there are other
clothes he wore equally well -- such as humility and forgiveness.

We say that beauty is skin deep. But it isn't really. It has very
little to do with the skin. True beauty is soul deep. It is a fabric
that is woven in the soul and worn in plain view.

The Bible speaks of something similar. It teaches us to clothe
ourselves with "compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and
patience." Then "over all of these put on love, which binds them in
perfect unity." Regardless of how good looking we may otherwise be,
it is these clothes that will determine our actual beauty.

This was taught to me by a woman who used to think that if she were
granted only one wish, it would be to be beautiful. She saw her
wheel-chair dependent body as unsightly and, therefore, she missed
her more attractive assets. But when she was finally convinced of
some of her beautiful personality traits by her friends, she came to
a different point of view. Today she says, "Now I know I AM
beautiful. Very beautiful."

Beauty is soul deep. Learn that and you may realize that you are far
more attractive than you ever imagined!

Your Cat's New Year's Resolutions

My brain is dead after watching almost thirteen hours of football yesterday. I went to Lakeland to watch the Penn State/Tennessee game with an elderly friend. She lives alone, loves Penn State, and when she found out that I was a fan, has wanted to me come watch as many games as possible with her. This lady was camp director at the camp that I went to as a girl and then later on worked there through high school and college.

Upon arriving home, of course, the first thing that I did was to check my e-mail. Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh had the following offering. I know that there are many of you who will appreciate these. Maybe someday soon I'll have a thought of my own to write about. Until then, enjoy these.

My human will never let me eat their pet hamster, and I am at peace with that.
I will not slurp fish food from the surface of the aquarium

I will not eat large numbers of assorted bugs, then come home and throw them up so the humans can see that I'm getting plenty of roughage.

I will not lean way over to drink out of the tub, fall in, and then pelt right for the box of clumping cat litter. (It took FOREVER to get the stuff out of my fur.)

I will not use the bathtub to store live mice for late-night snacks.

We will not play "Herd of Thundering Wildebeests Stampeding Across the Plains of the Serengeti" over any humans' bed while they're trying to sleep.

I cannot leap through closed windows to catch birds outside. If I forget this and bonk my head on the window and fall behind the couch in my attempt, I will not get up and do the same thing again.

I will not assume the patio door is open when I race outside to chase leaves.

I will not stick my paw into any container to see if there is something in it. If I do, I will not hiss and scratch when my human has to shave me to get the rubber cement out of my fur.

If I bite the cactus, it will bite back.

When it rains, it will be raining on all sides of the house.

It is not necessary to check every door.

I will not play "dead cat on the stairs" while people are trying to bring in groceries or laundry, or else one of these days, it will really come true.

When the humans play darts, I will not leap into the air and attempt to catch them.

I will not swat my human's head repeatedly when they are on the family room floor trying to do sit ups.

When my human is typing at the computer, their forearms are *not* a hammock.

Computer and TV screens do not exist to backlight my lovely tail.

I will not puff my entire body to twice its size for no reason after my human has watched a horror movie.

I will not stand on the bathroom counter, stare down the hall, and growl at NOTHING after my human has watched the X-Files.

I will not drag dirty socks onto the bed at night and then yell at the top of my lungs so that my humans can admire my "kill."

I will not perch on my human's chest in the middle of the night and stare until they wake up.

I will not walk on the key board when my human is writing important adagfsg gdjag ;ln.