Click either of these National Geographic pictures to go to an MSNBC site with a slide show of rather nice pictures...
"He who cannot change the very fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality, and will never, therefore, make any progress."- Anwar al-Sadat, Egyptian President
THE LIVING YEARS
Mike + The Mechanics
Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door
I know that I'm a prisoner
To all my Father held so dear
I know that I'm a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
I'm afraid that's all we've got
You say you just don't see it
He says it's perfect sense
You just can't get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defense
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye
So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
It's the bitterness that lasts
So Don't yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different day
And if you don't give up, and don't give in
You may just be O.K.
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye
I wasn't there that morning
When my father passed away
I didn't get to tell him
All the things I had to say
I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I'm sure I heard his echo
In my baby's newborn tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye
I recently received the following e-mail from Grappler:
To Friends and Family:
I just wanted to let you know that I just purchased a cabin at Lake Tahoe. Escrow closed two days ago, and I have held off telling anyone until it was
finalized ...
I will be making it available for rental on weekends and weekdays...
Please feel free to tell your friends. It will be $100 a night on weekends, two nights minimum.
Just to let you know in advance, it's not too great for seniors or young children...some stairs to climb! It's easy to find and the view is absolutely amazing.
You can almost see the entire lake!
Please let me know if you are interested.
P.S. I'm attaching a photo so you can check it out.
So... anyone interested in checking this out further can click on either of the above beach pictures to see the photo of Grappler's latest investment.
A Cowboy Story:
A modern day cowboy has spent many days crossing the
desert without water.
His horse has already died of thirst.
He's crawling through the sand, certain that he has
breathed his last, when
all of a sudden, he sees an object sticking out of
the sand several yards ahead of him.
He crawls to the object, pulls it out of the sand,
and discovers what looks to be an old brief case.
He opens it and out pops a genie. But this is no
ordinary genie.
She is wearing an Internal Revenue Service ID badge
and a dull gray dress.
There's a calculator in her pocketbook. She has a
pencil tucked behind one ear.
"Well, cowboy," says the genie... "You know how I
work. You have three wishes."
"I'm not falling for this." Says the man. "I'm not
going to trust an IRS auditor genie."
"What do you have to lose? You've got no
transportation, and it looks like
you're a goner anyway!"
The man thinks about this for a minute, and decides
that the genie is right.
"OK, I wish I were in a lush oasis with plenty of
food and drink."
***POOF***
The cowboy finds himself in the most beautiful oasis
he has ever seen. And he
is surrounded with jugs of wine and platters of
delicacies.
"OK, cowpoke, what's your second wish."
"My second wish is that I were rich beyond my
wildest dreams."
***POOF***
The man finds himself surrounded by treasure chests
filled with rare gold coins and precious gems.
"OK, cowpuncher, you have just one more wish. Better
make it a good one!"
After thinking for a few minutes, the man says.. "I
wish that no matter where I go, beautiful women will want and need me."
***POOF***
He is turned into a tampon.
The moral of the story: If the government offers you
anything, there's going to be a string attached.
"In ratifying the Ottawa treaty, a country accepts that mines are no longer legitimate weapons to be used either in peacetime or in war. There are no exceptions to this rule"- International Committee of the Red Cross
This is the list of the 44 countries that have not signed the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty as of 25 September 2003:
ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN, BAHRAIN, BHUTAN, CHINA,
CUBA, EGYPT, ESTONIA, FINLAND, GEORGIA, INDIA,
IRAN, IRAQ, ISRAEL KAZAKHSTAN, NORTH KOREA,
SOUTH KOREA, KUWAIT, KYRGYZSTAN, LAOS, LATVIA
LEBANON, LIBYA, MICRONESIA, MONGOLIA MOROCCO,
MYANMAR (BURMA), NEPAL, OMAN PAKISTAN, PALAU,
PAPUA NEW GUINEA RUSSIA, SAUDI ARABIA, SINGAPORE,
SOMALIA, SRI LANKA, SYRIA, TONGA, TUVALU, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, UZBEKISTAN, VIETNAM.
Click on 9 year old Fanar Zekri Baker's picture...
Intelligence Test:
The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and will tell you whether you are qualified to be a "professional." The questions are NOT that difficult. Try not to look at the answers below until you have thought about it awhile...
How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door.
This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.
2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
Did you say, "Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator"? (Wrong Answer)
Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door.
This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.
3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?
Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory.
OK, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.
4. There is a river you must cross but it is inhabited by crocodiles. How do you manage it?
Correct Answer: You swim across. All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting.
This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.
According to Anderson Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong. But many preschoolers got several correct answers. Anderson Consulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have
the brains of a four year old.
Joke courtesy of Will- thank you!
I seem to have a little, teeny bug coursing through my veins... a picture of which is shown at left. I am hoping to be over it well before I get my flu shot later this month.
"I can't believe I ate the whole thing."- line from Alka-Seltzer advertisement
Jay has told me that every day when he goes to work there is a line of people across the parking lot just waiting to get into the Value Village thrift store.
The other day he took a picture so that I could see this remarkable sight.
We have come up with several theories but have, in the end, been unable to phathom this daily ritual. In lieu of any valuable insights, lacking as I am at this time of illness, I offer some quotes from my collection:
"Meetings are an addictive, highly self-indulgent activity that corporations and other large organizations habitually engage in only because they cannot actually masturbate."- Dave Barry
Chief of Police of Montgomery County, Md., was quoted in the 11/13/02 Washington Post on the public's improved opinion of police after the sniper incidents: "People have been very positive. They're now waving at
us with all five fingers, and that does feel nice."- Charles Moose
Jay found a wonderful site with all of the "ACME" products from the Warner Bros. cartoons- just click on any of these pictures to go there. Of course if you order the one on the left, you will need the one on the right...
So, Grappler's current hometown of Sacramento now has a new guy to occupy "the big house"...
It has been an interesting spectacle to observe- didn't California try having an actor for Governor before? I guess sometimes we replay or re-enact scenarios in our lives, hoping for a different outcome. Oh well, I like Arnold the actor- we always hope for the best. Oh, and oh yeah... I put on the frogs because I was thinking "yumping yiminy" regarding this topic. If you click on them they link to a real audio sound clip...
That eating thing... click the (picture).
We built a structure for our greenhouse- it uses "starplates" for structural strength. Earlier in the year we had painted the back door with spray paint, leaning it up against an old shed on the ouskirts of the yard, and it left a door outline on the side of the building- apparently a door to another dimension. I have yet to determine how to open it. Given that this door is in the background of the pictures on the page both of these two pictures link to, I have come to the realization that our new greenhouse is likely, well actually, a stargate.
Click on either picture...
"Did you hear about the preacher who took all the church money?
He went to Vegas and spent much of it on women, booze and gambling and then squandered the rest?"
Thank you... Rev. Will
This household here, with Jay and I, generally, almost always, hold within it a jar of peanut butter. It is a very versatile, handy food- especially for vegetabletarians...
And now they have confirmed: peanut butter- the health food diet...
Story sent by Doreen:
T-Bone Steaks, Yellow Roses, and Friendship
I walked into the grocery store not particularly interested in buying groceries. I wasn't hungry. The pain of losing my husband of 7 years was still too raw. And this grocery store held so many sweet memories.
He often came with me and almost every time he'd pretend to go off and look for something special. I knew what he was up to. I'd always spot him walking down the aisle with the three yellow roses in his hands.. He knew I loved yellow roses.
With a heart filled with grief, I only wanted to buy my few items and leave, but even grocery shopping was different since he had passed on. Shopping for one took time, a little more thought than it had for two. Standing by the meat, I searched for the perfect small steak and remembered how he had loved his steak.
Suddenly a woman came beside me. She was blonde, slim and lovely in a soft green pantsuit. I watched as she picked up a large pack of T-bones, dropped them in her basket, hesitated, and then put them back..
She turned to go and once again reached for the pack of steaks. She saw me watching her and she smiled.. "My husband loves T-bones, but honestly, at these prices, I don't know.." I swallowed the emotion down my throat and met her pale blue eyes. "My husband passed away eight days ago," I told her.
Glancing at the package in her hands, I fought to control the tremble in my voice. "Buy him the steaks. And cherish every moment you have together."
She shook her head and I saw the emotion in her eyes as she placed the package in her basket and wheeled away.
I turned and pushed my cart across the length of the store to the dairy products. There I stood, trying to decide which size milk I should buy.
Quart, I finally decided and moved on to the ice cream. If nothing else, I could always fix myself an ice cream cone. I placed the ice cream in my cart and looked down the aisle toward the front.
I saw first the green suit, then recognized the pretty lady coming towards me. In her arms she carried a package. On her face was the brightest smile I had ever seen. I would swear a soft halo encircled her blonde hair as she kept walking toward me, her eyes holding mine. As she came closer, I saw what she held and tears began misting in my eyes.
"These are for you," she said and placed three beautiful long stemmed yellow roses in my arms. "When you go through the line, they will know these are paid for." She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, then smiled again.
I wanted to tell her what she'd done, what the roses meant, but still unable to speak, I watched as she walked away as tears clouded my vision.
I looked down at the beautiful roses nestled in the green tissue wrapping and found it almost unreal. How did she know? Suddenly the answer seemed so clear. I wasn't alone. Oh, you haven't forgotten me, have you? 
I whispered, with tears in my eyes. He was still with me, and she was his angel.
Every day be thankful for what you have and who you are.
Article courtesy of Rhetta...
Daily Choice Turned Deadly: Children Left on Their Own- The New york Times
Above links to a very sad article and commentary on our society. In searching for sites to link the pictures to I ran across a site about the terrible state of day care (availability, cost, etc.) in the UK. We are not alone in our shame.
Perfection of means and confusion of goals seem,in my opinion, to characterize our age. - Albert Einstein
I am briefly home, leaving work early today.
Yesterday we had the most rain EVER in a 24 hour period here- over five inches. I live in Skagit Valley, on the "flats". There is a lot of nice farm land, a lot of flower bulb farms, tree farms, organic farms...
They have ordered our area evacuated. The local Chevrolet dealer has his large, rather obnoxious, lighted billboard message today requesting volunteers to fill sand bags rather than announcing a truck sale or something...
Anyway, for posterity I copied the html for the Emergency web site for Skagit County and this links to it.
Later, got to run. :)
Well, we are still here... the dikes held, and the river has receded some. It remains several feet above flood level and water did creep up into a couple of parks and onto a parking area near downtown. But the sandbags worked and we hold our breaths, anxiously looking at the rain sprinkling down this afternoon. It is supposed to clear by this weekend. So far, so good.
I ran into an interesting site tonight and copied a picture from it that is below. He/they sell posters and CDs of the pictures and they are pretty incredible- check them out by clicking on the picture:
"People change and forget to tell each other."- Lillian Hellman
An extremely modest man was in the hospital for a series of tests, the last of which had left his bodily systems extremely upset.
Upon making several false alarm trips to the bathroom, he decided the latest episode was another and stayed put.
He suddenly filled his bed with diarrhea and was embarrassed beyond his ability to remain rational.
In a complete loss of composure he jumped out of bed, gathered up the bed sheets, and threw them out the hospital window.
A drunk was walking by the hospital when the sheets landed on him. He started yelling, cursing, and swinging his arms violently trying to get the unknown things off, and ended up with the soiled sheets in a tangled pile at his feet.
As the drunk stood there, unsteady on his feet, staring down at the sheets, a hospital security guard (barely containing his laughter) who had watched the whole incident walked up and asked, "What the heck is going on here?"
The drunk, still staring down replied: "I think I just beat the shit out of a ghost."
Happy Halloween !!!
And once again, it is Halloween. Barbara's house was the happening place Saturday night...
Click on the ghost for pictures of the event.
More Halloween stuff...
Click on the Jack-O-Lantern or the Martha Mask to go to a Forbes site with free masks you can print of CEOs, Billionaires and Dead Celebrities.
We just got back from a brief vacation on Lopex Island. We stayed at a lovely place called Lopez Farm Cottages- quiet and lovely cabins made for couples. There were lots of rabbits abounding and we saw a doe and buck across from our cabin. We got good exercise from chasing the rabbits- and the stew was wonderful! (Just kidding...)
Both pictures link to the site for the cabins, while this links to a page of pictures we took. We had a good time.
The last couple of months have been difficult- driving 3-5 hours per day to get to work in Seattle and back home again. It has been challenging and it has also been fascinating to watch as the actions taken to get me into this place have played out.
Things appear to be working out and I have been offered a job much closer to home that is a promotion- thanks to several friends who offered support, prayers, guidance and spoke on my behalf. Thank you.
Life sometimes sends us on our way and we find ourselves confused by the signs and lights along the way.
Both pictures link to a site with amusing things...
"It's a dangerous business going out your front door."- J. R. R. Tolkien (1892 - 1973), The Fellowship of the Ring
"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be."- Douglas Adams, (1952 - 2001)
Just a reminder...
most pictures posted on my pages link to somewhere in the cyberworld... don't forget to click on them.
Afterall, this dimension that exists on your screen is representational- it too is "real".
We are all linked.
I LIKE THE POETRY OF WALT WHITMAN...
He likes to put...(yes, the three dots...) in his work, just like I do...
The picture at left is when he was younger, the picture at right is Walt Whitman in 1887 (Photograph by George C. Cox, New York). He lived from 1819 to 1892. Clicking on the left picture will take you to a poetry site about him.
(Poetry Page last added to 10/12/03) WALT WHITMAN
CLICK for ongoing writings/quotes from JUDITH VIORST'S book: Necessary Losses
(Last Added to 09/07/03...)
If you have comments on my topics or content, please send them to me at:
thecindyj@hotmail.com or click: MAILTO
Comments received can be viewed by clicking on our mailbox picture, at left.
My dear old friend Ken, AKA: Grappler, was the originator of the idea for this...
Music: Click on the Licking Lips Page Created October 2003 |
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