BARACK OBAMA STORY?I received the

BARACK OBAMA STORY?

I received the following from a good friend the other day. I am guessing that she and I disagree politically! LOL! She may have meant it as a joke, however.

"RICHARD EARL FOR PRESIDENT!

From the mouths of babes...

Barack Obama, the Presidential Democratic Party candidate, is for banning all guns in America. He is considered by those who have dealt with him as a bit more than just a little self-righteous.

At a recent rural elementary school assembly in East Texas, he asked the audience for total quiet. Then, in the silence, he started to slowly clap his hands once every few seconds, holding the audience in total silence.

Then he said into the microphone, "Children, every time I clap my hands together, a child in America dies from gun violence."

Then, little Richard Earl, with a proud East Texas drawl, pierced the quiet and said: "'Well, dumb-*ss, stop clapping!"

I immediately looked this piece up on Snopes, but I couldn't find it. I tried every set of key words I could and still no luck. So I wrote to Snopes and received an answer a few days later, saying that it was on Snopes and to look under "What's New" or the hottest 25 rumors. Finally, I located it, and I also saw the problem: The Snopes version doesn't include the reference to "Richard Earl", which was what I had thought would surely be an easy couple of words with which to search in Snopes' search engine.

The genesis of this story is quite interesting, and another reason that it was hard to find. It begins with Bono, of U2, segways into Hillary Clinton, and ends with Barack Obama.

The Bono story from Snopes is as follows:

"[Collected via e-mail, 2006]

Bono, whilst playing a gig in Glasgow, got the whole crowd to be silent and then began slowly clapping his hands. He got the crowd to clap along for a while, the stadium quiet except for the rhythmic clapping...

After a short period Bono spoke, saying that everytime he clapped his hands a child in Africa died...

Suddenly, from the front row of the venue a voice broke out in thick Scottish brogue, ending the silence as it echoed across the crowd, the voice cried out to Bono "Well stop ****ing doing it then!!"


[(South Australia) Sunday Mail, 2006]

IRISH supergroup U2, due to play in Adelaide next month, recently held a concert in Glasgow, Scotland.

Halfway through the concert, lead singer Bono stood in a spotlight on stage and asked the audience of 30,000 for complete silence.

Gradually the auditorium fell quiet.

Then Bono began slowly clapping.

The audience was spellbound. Was this the beginning of a song? Did he want everyone to clap with him?

He took the microphone and said: "Everytime I clap my hands a child dies in Africa."

The spell of silence was broken when a wag in the front row shouted: "Well, stop clapping."

I was unable to copy and paste the "Update" on the Snopes Bono article, where -- down the page -- it refers to Hillary Clinton and then Barack Obama, but it is easily found by following the link in this sentence.

I guess any political figure is vulnerable to jokes such as these, but they have a way of turning my sympathies even farther towards my chosen candidate.

*****

I was able to change my bedding the other night for the first time since injuring my arm. (There was a time when even pulling the covers up at night was impossible with the right arm; it just hurt too much.) As usual, I had my helper, Silver, who attacked the sheets as I put them on. Here he is with the top sheet, which he has just bunched up:



My Flickr friend Cynthia (Philosopher Queen) commented on what a darling expression he has on his face here. I have to agree -- I think he looks awfully cute.

COUGH SYRUP POPDue to

COUGH SYRUP POP

Due to shopping at a different store for pop than usual a couple of weeks ago, I wound up having to buy diet Dr. Pepper in the cherry-vanilla flavor. When I tried drinking a can of it a couple of days later, I found that it reminded me more than anything of cough syrup. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to drink the small case of 12 cans that I had bought, but I seem to have gotten used to it in the time since then. However, I don't plan to buy more if I can help it.

*****

The following cartoon, which came in a mailing last night, reminded me of a picture of Socks when she was quite little. I am posting that shot after the cartoon:
























Hee hee -- I get such a kick out of Socks. She is very different from any other cat I've ever had.

*****

This afternoon is my appointment to have my moles checked. In the meantime, I took 1/2 a Vicodin this morning, for my still-sore arm. My nurse friend, Sheila, feels that I need to have the arm re-evaluated. I am not quite sure how to go about that. I will wait until after the moles are checked before tackling the question of the continuing pain in my deltoid. The Vicodin is making me very sleepy so I will likely nap, setting the timer so I don't go over the time I need to leave for the clinic this afternoon. I will report on the suspicious spots and the evaluation of them when I get back.

MY LITTLE WALRUSMy

MY LITTLE WALRUS

My little cat, Stevie, is getting fat in her old age. I took this picture of her yesterday, claiming my new bath rugs for her own, and I think she looks like a walrus. LOL! (My Flickr friend Cynthia -- Philosopher Queen -- thought that was rude but funny. LOL! She suggested weight loss medicine, which I can't find online.)



I would take her to the vet but I don't want to explain to my current vet about why I left the one that amputated her tail. (I didn't care for his personality.) I would also feed her less but if her bowl gets close to empty, she eats out of the other cats' bowls. The poor little thing! For now I am watching her and I will try to feed her less.

*****

Another public character is coming out with a book. This time it is Senator Larry Craig of Idaho. Yes, the man who gave a whole new meaning to the term "wide stance." LOL! I think this is another publication that I'm going to skip.

*****

After a painful day for the old arm yesterday, today seems to be better so far. I am having to put up with it because too much use of it or sleeping on it causes the pain to flare up. I am not taking Vicodin because I have just a few halves left and also I don't want to get hooked on it. I just put up with the pain. The arm has to be used or it will atrophy. So far today I am feeling pretty fair but I was icing it after I worked last night.

I always think of what Steve said when it was time to work, quoting an old donut store advertisement, in which the baker said, "It's time to go make the donuts." That is what we have to do, even in pain: Go make the donuts.

Speaking of working hard, I see each of my sons doing that, and I am very proud of them.

BTW, I have a couple of suspicious spots on the same arm. They are small but dark blue-gray and I suppose I should get them checked. One seems to be flaking off a bit. An online friend is urging me to get them looked at right away but I think I will watch them for a week or two, then contact my doctor if I feel it is warranted.


*****

I love the Ziggies again today, especially the eHarmony Ziggy. I have never thought of using a dating service, especially since I have seen the ads by an eHarmony competitor saying that eHarmony rejects a lot of applicants. In addition, I have an online female friend who had kind of a bad experience with an eHarmony match-up, as the guy had been recently divorced due to his wife's unfaithfulness and it soon became apparent that he was not over his wife. Besides, where would I find a man who would put up with the amount of time I spend online? ;-)

MY BIG JOB YESTERDAYThis was how my garage looked yesterday,

MY BIG JOB YESTERDAY

This was how my garage looked yesterday, and had looked for several weeks:



The cause of the mess was a neighborhood cat that had gotten shut in the garage without my knowing it. The clawing off of the insulation near the only window in the garage was due to the cat's fruitless attempt to get out.

It took me a while to feel up to cleaning up the mess, due to my sore arm and also because I'm not supposed to bend over (doctor's orders). However, since it's just me here, I decided that if it was going to ever be removed, I would have to be the one to do that. I used a dustpan to scoop up much of the insulation. There was a little bit of insulation on my gardening gloves but once I could remove that, I was able to wear them and protect my hands, which helped in completing the cleaning job. Here is a shot of the garbage bag full of the shredded insulation:



Since posting the above photos on my Flickr site, my Flickr friend Cynthia commented underneath the first that there was a Flickr group that this picture would be well suited for called "CSI: Cat Scene Investigation", so I posted both of the above pictures there.

I have to say that naturally the trapped cat left some unwanted momentoes of his visit, which I also scooped up with the dustpan. Thankfully, I seem to have foiled his further attempts to get into the garage.

The cleaned up area looks like this:



I did get tired and feeling like I didn't want to press my luck regarding my health after a bit so there are a few small pieces of insulation remaining, but I will take care of them later. At least the huge mess is gone!

This encourages me as far as other chores that need to be done in the house, especially some messes that Socks has made here in the office while in here during the night. More material for the "CSI: Cat Scene Investigation" group! ;-)

*****

Last night we had the weirdest weather I can recall seeing. A thunderstorm rolled in from the mountains and brought with it some lightning and thunder, although not much hitting near to me. Mostly, I watched out my back door with amazement as the rain drove horizontally across my back yard. I was glad I wasn't out in that! The cats were somewhat spooked by the thunder, with Silver taking to my lap for comfort and Socks running around as if she didn't quite know where to hide. I was glad to see that pass through! Other areas around Portland had fairly good-sized hail, but thankfully it didn't hit us here. Wacky stuff!

I HAVE BEEN REMISS!I was contemplating what

I HAVE BEEN REMISS!


I was contemplating what to write about today, and I didn't really have much of a clue as to what that would be, so I decided to surf my favorite blogs to see what their writers were saying. I went to my friend, Carly's, and it hit me like a ton of bricks that I had been remiss in thanking her for a lovely entry she posted on May 9th, wherein she said some extremely nice things about me.

Entitled "I've Got Mail," it was about how she and her husband Alan remembered that they hadn't checked their post office box for a while, and when they did do that, they found some unexpected surprises. ;-) One of those was a pad of ocean-themed post-its that I had found out at the coast, in the Tillamook Cheese Factory, I believe, that had her name on it. (A note: I am a sucker for personalized items at the coast.) In all of my years of perusing such personalized goodies, I had never seen one that said "Carly" on it, to the best of my recollection. So, of course, I had to get it for my online friend!

If you follow the link in the first paragraph, you will see a close-up picture of the post-its. Carly was very sweet in the nice things she said about me in writing her entry. You're very welcome, Carly, and I count you as one of my dearest online friends! Maybe someday we'll get a chance to meet in person, but in the meantime, it is a pleasure to know you and enjoy your friendship online. I can always count on you to be upbeat and encouraging, and those are traits that we don't seem to find enough in the world. Thank you for being the loving person that you are!

In my hurry to acknowledge and thank Carly for what she said in this earlier post, I didn't stop yet to read her most recent one, which the title said was an update on the health of her adorable kitty, Elvis, who has been diagnosed with cancer. I will definitely be going back shortly to read that, as I am very concerned about him. Like Carly, he has a very endearing personality and I wish him the best.

*****

Speaking of blogs, my LDS friend in Utah heard about an ex-Mormon blogger on TV, and she told me about her, about how funny she was supposed to be, but it took her several days before she was able to find out this blogger's URL. When I went to the blog, I learned it was Dooce, which rhymes with moose, according to the blog author, Heather B. Armstrong. I went back and read a few entries, and I saw a couple of rather droll references to her Mormon background. Mostly, the most recent posts were about her public appearance on the Today show, which I do happen to watch but not during the time slot she was on in (10-11 a.m.). I have bookmarked her site and maybe when she comes back down to earth, she will write more funny stuff about Mormonism. (My LDS friend heard that Heather had lost her job, but I didn't find any reference to that in her blog; however, stranger things have happened in the working world, especially if she lives in the land of Mormondom: i.e. Utah.)

*****

I feel I have to say how sad I am for the people in the world who are suffering right now due to the horrendous recent national disasters -- first, the cyclone that hit Myanmar, with so many casualties and a government that hesitates to allow foreign aid to come in and get it to the individuals who really need it; and second, the earthquake in China. These are the kinds of events that tend to make me ask, "Why, God?" I try to have faith that there are reasons for everything that happens in life, but I have never been put in such a horrible situation. I don't know what else I can do at the moment -- not being a rich person -- but pray for them.

You can probably see why I wanted to post this

You can probably see why I wanted to post this today, being the cat lover that I am. Sometimes, I do feel this way about Socks, though. ;-)

ALL THE PRETTY HORSESI'm not sure what was

ALL THE PRETTY HORSES

I'm not sure what was going through my mind when I put this movie in my Blockbuster Online queue, because I usually am not that crazy about Westerns. Perhaps the fact that it starred Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz had something to do with it. Also that it was directed by Billy Bob Thornton. By the time it got to the top of my queue and had arrived here for viewing, I had forgotten what had appealed to me in its description.

As I started watching it, however, I saw that it was based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy. I little light bulb went on in my head -- an "aha" moment -- as I remembered that I had read some books longer ago by McCarthy. As to whether this was one of them, I wasn't sure, and I became even less sure as the movie progressed. If I did, it was long enough ago that the plot didn't seem overly familiar to me.

The movie also stars Henry Thomas as Matt Damon's character's buddy. It is set in 1949, beginning with the two main characters' riding on horseback into Mexico with a young man called Blevins who they reluctantly allow to accompany them for a while, even though they feel he could mean trouble due to the expensive horse he is riding and about which he mostly evades questioning.

The remainder of the movie mainly takes place in Mexico, and involves the adventures of Damon's and Thomas's characters, both in love (via Damon and Cruz) and in a brutal prison. The movie came out in 2000, so it is interesting to see a younger Matt Damon at work.

The movie was rated PG13 and it earned that rating. However, I enjoyed it and I would recommend it for most adults and older teens.

*****

Socks has gotten so that she seems to think my nap-time is her cue to romp through the house and wreak havoc in my bedroom. She may be about 2 years old, as far as I can tell, but she still acts like a kitten at times. Here is a picture of her that I caught a week or two ago, attacking one of the dining room chairs.



*****

My arm seems to be a lot better today. There are still long achy twinges radiating from the injured area, but that is mostly when I am relaxing, such as when I tried to nap earlier. I'm unclear as to whether I slept or not! I took another Vicodin a little bit ago so another nap may be in store. I should be able to cut down on the Vicodin soon -- I don't want to get hooked on it.

PROVE YOU LOVE JESUS?The following came through on one of my

PROVE YOU LOVE JESUS?

The following came through on one of my lists today:

"Knock, Knock I knocked at heaven's door this morning. God asked me...'My child, what can I do for you?' And I said, 'Father, please protect and bless the person reading this message.' God smiled and answered...'Request granted'. If you believe, send this to seven people and the one who sent it to you. By doing this, you have succeeded in praying for eight people today. 'Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.'


THIS IS PRETTY NEAT,
93 % won't forward this
























Place your mouse on the E below and drag to the U.

Even though you can't see Him, GOD is there for yo U [The portion between the E and the U was in white type, so it could only be seen when highlighted.]

When Jesus died on the cross, he was thinking of you!
If you are one of the 7% who will stand up for Him, forward
this.


93% of people won't forward this."

Doesn't putting it on my blog show that I'm standing up for Him?

I didn't say anything on the list when it came through, but I was gritting my teeth as I read it. Since I am the co-owner of the list, I felt that silence was probably the best approach. I noticed that no one on the list responded by sending it back to the attention of the person who had posted it.

It seems I get a forward like this once every few days or so. A lot of them come from my LDS friend, Fran, in Utah, who I have asked to please not send them. She has ignored that. I always delete them.

Why? Am I ashamed of Jesus?

I can tell you unequivocally, I am not! However, God gave me my brain and I use it. I can sense that people who forward things like this blindly aren't thinking very well. How did the author of this forward come up with these percentages? What gives this person the right and the power to pronounce judgment upon other people?

I have seen items forwarded that say that they must be passed on to X-number of people in X-number of minutes in order for a big blessing of some nature to come through for the person forwarding it. I wonder if the people who continually send them out and/or forward them on realize after a while that they aren't receiving these great rewards. Maybe they experience some small coincidental good event and attribute it to having forwarded on that particular e-mail.

Just for the record, I can tell you that if you send me a forward that fits any of these descriptions, I will not forward it on. I will not feed into what I feel are the fantasies of someone who authored these e-mails and who is perhaps a megalomaniac or at the very least, extremely self-righteous, by sending on a forward that isn't verifiable and may key into the receiver's fears or other emotions rather than engaging their brain.

I wrote the above last night; this morning, I am feeling more sympathetic towards the friends of mine who have forwarded these things. And perhaps a bit self-righteous, in thinking, "Of course, I love Jesus!" I do object to people telling me how and when I have to prove it.

As it would happen, I received an e-mail forward this morning that I have received before (this is the case so many times with these sends -- they have been around and around the Internet). This one was a sweet story about an elderly man and his visits to his wife, who had Alzheimer's, in a nursing home. It was very touching, except for the preaching at the end. The person who sent it used to be on a list with me and when I get these items from her, I write to ask her how she's doing. I get no answer. I wish she would realize I'd rather correspond with her than receive the forwards.

There -- I think I've pretty much vented my feelings on this subject. I welcome your thoughts.

*****

Yesterday I got a few pictures to post on my Flickr site. It seems that my spring deer are visiting already. The first picture was taken through my kitchen window, and I think she is a little doe. ("Doe, a deer, a female deer . . . " if you want to sing along with me.) ;-) The second shot is of another another deer in my back yard. He has a rather mangy coat, as you will be able to see better if you click on the shot and go to my Flickr site.





Also, my housekeeper Norma noticed that a crocheted throw my sister Kathy made for me a number of years ago had fallen behind the couch, so she picked it up, folded it, and put it on the back of the couch. Silver has claimed it as his own.



*****

I am pretty worried about the economy. Maybe I shouldn't watch CNN. I saw blurbs running across the bottom of the screen saying that the economy is in the worst shape since the Great Depression. That is certainly not good news. All we can do is keep chugging away, doing our best in whatever our life's endeavors are.

For myself, I try to have faith in Jesus.

THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK

THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB

My Australian friend Lynne mentioned some time ago that she had seen the movie "The Jane Austen Book Club" with her daughter, and that they had enjoyed it a lot. Consequently, I put it in my Blockbuster Online queue and it came this last week. I watched the movie last night.

I found it enjoyable but a bit over my head as I haven't read the Jane Austen books that were discussed; I had just seen a number of the movies made from them. However, life events were taking place with the members of the book club that were very interesting, so despite my ignorance of some of the book plots and the discussions taking place from time to time in the movie about them, watching the film was a nice distraction for a couple of hours.

The only major actors that I recognized in the movie were Jimmy Smits and Lynn Redgrave, but despite that, the acting was fine. I recommend it to book lovers, but especially fans of Jane Austen.

*****

I have two photos of Socks to post today. She was in one of her frequent playful moods yesterday and I caught these shots of her chewing on the pretty silver ribbon that adorns one of the birthday gifts my sister Kathy sent me and also playing with the chair to the dining room table, upside down.





Socks and I seem to be entering a phase where she will play with me but never with her claws extended, and I reward her with hugs and cuddles, which she tends to shake off at the time but she seems to keep getting more content and gentler. I would say the positive approach with her is working well.

LOVE IS WHERE YOU FIND IT

LOVE IS WHERE YOU FIND IT
by Lynn Perrier
This is a love story.
The love story of my cat, Sophia. She was truly smitten.
Unfortunately for Sophia, it is more like a Greek tragedy.
I wasn't much worried when Sophia, my youngest cat, fell in love
because I am a responsible cat owner and she had been fixed months
before her infatuation took hold.
Still, it's sometimes hard when a mother has to sit by and watch
her little four legged baby grow up. I guess it happens to the best
of us. That was how I was feeling when I realized Sophia, my little,
almost-grown 10 month old kitty, had fallen in love for the first
time in her short life.
Now you should know that I am a strong advocate of spaying and
neutering pets. There are too many unwanted animals in this world
and the only way we will eventually conquer the problem of homeless
and abandoned animals is to make sure we pet owners do the
responsible thing. Still, being spayed didn't prevent Sophia from
falling head over heels.
It all began when I went out shopping and came back with what
turned out to be her new love interest. I didn't expect Sophia's
reaction to the newcomer. I set it down on the floor when I walked
in and went about putting my other purchases away.
When I came out, Sophia had already made her presence known to
the object of her affection. As a matter of fact, she was in a mad
embrace and completely oblivious to my presence. She was rubbing it
all over while her four paws held on to it for dear life. There was
no way anyone was going to separate them.
Sophia was purring so loud I could hear her from the doorway.
She was in the throes of absolute and complete ecstasy.
Now Sophia has a brother by the name of Fellini. I have had
them both since they were two weeks old. Until now, they were
inseparable and Fellini is very much Sophia's big brother, protector
and constant playmate. It now appeared this was about to change.
Poor Fellini stood off to the side looking totally dejected as
he watched this salacious scene between his sister and the
interloper. Totally unimpressed and obviously feeling left out, he
moved his attention to the container in which this newcomer had
arrived. Just like any rejected male, he found it necessary to show
his displeasure and proceeded to bat it around the room with a fierce
resolve. It was apparent he held it responsible for alienating
Sophia's attention and was intent on demonstrating his disapproval.
I guess he thought that trashing the container would, in some small
way, alleviate his hurt feelings.
I watched with fascination as Sophia continued in her attempt to
attract the attention of her new friend. She was kissing it and
gazing at it with longing in her eyes as she held on for dear life,
her paws wrapped around its neck like she would never let go.
Unfortunately for Sophia, her new love interest didn't feel
quite the same. In spite of these amorous overtures it just laid
there and refused to react. It didn't respond to Sophia at all.
Although Sophia bit it and rubbed is some more, purring her heart
out, it just refused to return her affection. I wondered how long it
would take her to realize the feeling wasn't mutual.
I wasn't looking forward to watching her inevitable rejection.
Visions of my first dance came to mind. The boy I thought was the
coolest cat in school never asked me to dance. He just ignored me
too. I understood how Sophia was feeling. I could see the writing
was on the wall and I was afraid she was in for the let down of her
young life.
Why?
Well, you see, her new love interest was my newly purchased toilet brush!
I may have to buy another one just to make sure she doesn't
romance this one after it has already been used for the purposes it
was meant for. Poor Sophia.
This story does have a happy ending, however. I have no doubt
that as soon as Sophia realizes her affection is not going to be
returned, Fellini will regain his position of favoritism in her life
and the episode of Sophia's unrequited love will never be mentioned
again.

--Lynn Perrier
petpntr@yahoo.com

I received this story from a friend on one of my chat lists. As usual, it appears to be making it's way around the Internet. I think it's very cute -- I would love to have a picture of Sophia with her temporary love interest. ;-)

*****

I heard from my DIL Kamie last night and it appears that my trip to see her, my son Tony, and grandsons Michael and Alex is on for May 16-19. I am very much looking forward to that!

Previous to that, DIL #1, Kris, had mentioned the possibility of the kids and grandkids in this area taking me out for lunch or dinner for my birthday, although due to scheduling conflicts, that will likely need to be in May, too. I think that will also be enjoyable.

I love my family!

*****

I couldn't help but catch the story last night on CNN about the 400+ children that had been taken from the polygamous compound in Texas started by imprisoned polygamist Warren Jeffs. This caught my attention and concern for personal reasons related to my family history as well as my wondering where they are going to put all of those children to get them into safe settings. I really can't help but believe the whole situation is just a mess. I will be watching for developments.

*****

I have hardly been watching any of American Idol this season, even though there is a girl from southern Oregon who has made it through thus far. Somehow, I couldn't get interested in it. I have caught little bits of it now and then, when I had nothing else to watch that held my interest. This week is the American Idol Gives Back show that did so well last year. I may not view it this time but I think it's a very good cause. Besides, it's nice to see Simon acting like he has a heart. ;-)

NO RESERVATIONSI was really looking forward

NO RESERVATIONS

I was really looking forward to watching "No Reservations", as I like Catherine Zeta-Jones a lot, so I was happy to settle down with a bag of smart-pop popcorn Saturday evening and start watching it. I had seen previews but they didn't prepare me for the sadness at the beginning of the movie. It hit a bit close to home and so I had to take a break from watching it after a while before I could get back to it.

I was glad I continued viewing the film after my time away from it as the character of Nick, played by Aaron Eckhart, was a very enjoyable one and played very nicely off of Zeta-Jones' well-acted character, Kate. And Abigail Breslin was great as Kate's young niece, Zoe.

Kate was a chef who became confronted with a close family tragedy as well as her own feelings and actions in the restaurant where she worked, especially after her boss hired Nick to work there as well.

It ultimately was a rewarding movie and I enjoyed it very much. I recommend it highly.

*****

There has been a lot of fuss about Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and some very controversial comments he has made in sermons in the past 6 or so years. I have been debating whether to write about my own opinions regarding what Rev. Wright said and Obama's response. For some reason, I feel too tired today to get into it. Maybe tomorrow, or next week, or -- if it remains an issue -- next month. I still support Obama, and that is, I suppose, the bottom line at this point.

*****

Many years ago, when I was a Mormon, I attended temple ceremonies where I took death oaths, agreeing by my affirmation and acting out, various ways in which I would suffer my life to be taken if I ever revealed what I had experienced there. (In my own defense, I had no clue before I got into that situation what was going to take place.) I left the Mormon church in 1984 with my late husband, who had also gone through these ceremonies with me, and my children, who didn't go through the ceremonies -- thankfully, the endowment ceremonies were only for adults.

I had basically forgotten about the ceremonies, especially as my mother wrote me in 1990 and I also learned from an ex-Mormon newsgroup I was on that the death oaths had been removed. This was a great relief to me, mainly as far as what my Mormon relatives were now experiencing in the temple endowment ceremonies, as by then I had no desire to go back to the Mormon church, even though that change had been made.

At the time we left the church, there was a family in Salem, Oregon, who also left, and they were interviewed and a large story about them was published in the Salem newspaper. In it, the husband said that he was afraid for his life, due to having taken the death oaths in the temple. He was worried that a fanatical Mormon might want to make him pay for breaking that oath. I thought he was probably being quite paranoid, although I could see why he might have those thoughts and feelings. (He worked as a prison guard, BTW, so he was not generally a fearful guy.)

Fast forward to the other day, when I took my mail out to the mailbox and a man with a tightly-tied hood was walking up the road not far from me. I looked at him briefly and smiled slightly, but his responding look was one that made me feel that he held nothing but ill will towards me. I looked away and got my newspaper and hurried back into the house. It had been hard to tell who he was, but I thought he looked like a Mormon neighbor from down the way. I felt quite scared and actually totally creeped out. Paranoid? Maybe. But I felt my aloneness here at home more keenly.

I have started locking my doors during the day, rather than only at night. That probably is just good sense, anyway. Most likely, if it was that neighbor, he was harmless. However, there are some nuts out there and I have wondered if a fanatical Mormon who was a bit off his rocker and who had taken those death oaths and knew that I had, as this man would have known about me, might not take it upon himself to make me live up to the oaths that I had taken in the temple those many years ago.

I know this probably sounds like a story fit for a Dan Brown novel, but if this guy was trying to scare me, he succeeded. I will likely not be writing so much about Mormonism, at least by name, although I might still allude to experiences I have had without naming the church.

(It's kind of interesting -- I was feeling sleepy, but in writing about this, I must have gotten my adrenalin going, as I am not feeling tired now at all.)

I was wondering, too, if the new LDS church president inherited a Nixon-like enemies' list from the one who just passed away. I am just kidding about that, though. Likely no one in the Mormon hierarchy knows or cares about my little blog. Still, I am going to act prudently and try not to give a reason for anyone to hate me because of what I am saying about a religion.

*****

Socks is up on the monitor right now. She has been a lot better since that one episode of scratching and biting the other day. I am going to be getting off here and taking her downstairs with me in a little while, so she doesn't have a chance to start getting aggressive like she does sometimes due to causes unknown. (Perhaps she can't resist my flying fingers as I type on the keyboard?)

IS THERE A CAT

IS THERE A CAT PSYCHOLOGIST IN THE HOUSE?


The other night, past both Socks' and my bedtime, Socks was here in the office with me. She wandered around for a while, then settled down between my keyboard and monitor and started going after my typing fingers with her extended claws, which stuck into my skin. I tried to get her to stop and she started biting me. I had time to end the e-mail I was writing to a friend with the comment, "Socks is being a monster," after which I picked her up as she continued to claw and bite. I set her on the office bed, turned off the light, went out and shut the door.

The next day, I mentioned the above episode to several of my online friends. This isn't the first time I had complained about her biting, I might add. An online friend suggested in response that since Socks continued to bite, it might be a good idea to take her to a cat psychologist or animal behaviorist of some kind.

I thought about it but I had to conclude that Socks has in general gotten better and it is rare that she attacks my hands like that. Also, living out in the country, there aren't cat psychologists in the area, and in fact my even broaching the subject with my vet might easily bring a reaction of amusement.

I think I can figure out on my own why she reacts like she does, and it very likely could go back to her being abandoned by her mother when she was so tiny, and having to adjust to my household with two established cats in it, especially Stevie, who acts like she's queen of the roost and started off disliking and showing her displeasure towards Socks from the very beginning. These are just my ideas, though -- if anyone has any other good ones or any solutions, please let me know.

I have thought about trying to give Socks away but I am attached to her and I have seen great improvement in her, and especially, I wouldn't want to inflict her biting episodes on anyone else.

*****

There is a great deal of significance to me in the cross graphic above, as I have been thinking a lot about today being Good Friday and what that means in the Christian world. There are various ways of marking it in different churches, especially with a service. My church, Zion Mennonite, will be having a communion and foot washing service. I attended this service once many years ago, and although I understand the meaning behind the foot washing (as Jesus washed his disciples' feet), I found that I wasn't real comfortable having someone wash my feet. I guess that was my own particular quirk -- it just felt too personal to me. Also, it seemed like most of the women had arranged in advance to do the foot washing with a friend, which hadn't occurred to me, so I wound up with a lady who I thought was nice but who I didn't know at all well. Being a rather shy person, I would have felt better if I could have done the ceremony with a person that I knew and considered a friend. I had a Catholic friend tell me this morning that Catholics also do foot washing, which I had never known. It's all very interesting and meaningful, but I prefer to observe it from a distance.

*****

The following picture was sent to me by my son Jeff and is the original of a copy that he sent to Shutterfly to have thank you notes made up for gifts from granddaughter Emily's 2nd birthday party on February 23rd. I had scanned in the shot from the thank you as I thought it was so cute and sent it to a myriad of friends, thinking that I wouldn't be able to blog it since it was a Shutterfly-produced card. I mentioned this to Jeff via e-mail and that's when he sent me this original, which he said would work fine on my blog, so for those of you who didn't see it, here is the picture of Emily with her thank you sign:
























I was happy to receive a lot of responses to my mailing it out last night, with e-mails coming in from family and friends I haven't heard from in a while. Answering them will keep me busy for a while!

*****

Sen. Barack Obama was in Portland for a rally this morning. I watched a little bit of his speech during times when I was taking brief breaks from being on the computer. I like him a lot. He is the only political figure I can think of in recent years who I would have even considered attending a rally to see and hear. However, I do get bored with political subjects quite easily, so at least -- here at home -- I can turn the channel if I find my interest waning quickly. LOL!

Just Like Heaven

I watched another movie having to do with death yesterday; these last movies I have watched with that theme have come at such a coincidental time, because I put them in my queue months ago. It was "Just Like Heaven," starring Reese Witherspoon, who I like a lot. I especially liked her in this movie, as a spirit entity who is fighting a new tenant for her San Francisco apartment, and only he can see her. It was rather far-fetched but a cute romance and it fit the bill as being what I needed at the time.

*****

The Ziggy above is also quite ironic today as I learned something on my son J.D.'s blog about our truck driver that I hadn't known, and if you're interested enough to find out what, go to the link earlier in this sentence. I don't know if there has been any suspicious activity or not -- no one has told me -- but this has added to the concerns I have these days.

*****

I was feeling very ill last night, and almost living in the bathroom. Today has been a little better but not much. If I continue to have difficulties, I may not be able to go to the funeral home tonight, as it is about a 45-minute drive one way. I have sent a large standing spray arrangement of flowers that will arrive at the church before Ron's memorial service tomorrow, so the family will know I'm thinking of them, hopefully, even if I don't get there tonight. (As you may recall, I am babysitting grandchildren Noah and Emily tomorrow afternoon so DIL Steph can go.)

I had thought my internal troubles might be because of the Glucerna bars I ate yesterday, so I have been staying away from them today. Or it could well be medication side effects. Or maybe it's a case of what stress does to my diverticulosis. Or maybe I'm actually ill?

*****

I have gotten involved in writing this entry and forgot that I let Socks come in here and have forgotten to take her out again. So far, she has been very good, but I am not going to hold my breath so I am going to end this before she can roll over on the on/off switch on the surge protector or something like that.

Just Like Heaven

I watched another movie having to do with death yesterday; these last movies I have watched with that theme have come at such a coincidental time, because I put them in my queue months ago. It was "Just Like Heaven," starring Reese Witherspoon, who I like a lot. I especially liked her in this movie, as a spirit entity who is fighting a new tenant for her San Francisco apartment, and only he can see her. It was rather far-fetched but a cute romance and it fit the bill as being what I needed at the time.

*****

The Ziggy above is also quite ironic today as I learned something on my son J.D.'s blog about our truck driver that I hadn't known, and if you're interested enough to find out what, go to the link earlier in this sentence. I don't know if there has been any suspicious activity or not -- no one has told me -- but this has added to the concerns I have these days.

*****

I was feeling very ill last night, and almost living in the bathroom. Today has been a little better but not much. If I continue to have difficulties, I may not be able to go to the funeral home tonight, as it is about a 45-minute drive one way. I have sent a large standing spray arrangement of flowers that will arrive at the church before Ron's memorial service tomorrow, so the family will know I'm thinking of them, hopefully, even if I don't get there tonight. (As you may recall, I am babysitting grandchildren Noah and Emily tomorrow afternoon so DIL Steph can go.)

I had thought my internal troubles might be because of the Glucerna bars I ate yesterday, so I have been staying away from them today. Or it could well be medication side effects. Or maybe it's a case of what stress does to my diverticulosis. Or maybe I'm actually ill?

*****

I have gotten involved in writing this entry and forgot that I let Socks come in here and have forgotten to take her out again. So far, she has been very good, but I am not going to hold my breath so I am going to end this before she can roll over on the on/off switch on the surge protector or something like that.