Jan 23 blog

January 23, 2011

“Are there no work houses? Are there no prisons? If the surplus population is going to die than let them hurry up about it , it is no business of mine" Ebenezer Scrooge
In the mid 1800 's Charles Dicken's wrote that dialog in the novel A Christmas Carole. The ghost of Scrooge’s deceased partner, Jacob Marley, answered Scrooge with “Mankind IS your business”

The best way to judge a society is by how it treats the weaker members. So how are you doing in that department? How do you think we as citizens of the US of A are doing? When was the last time you helped someone that had a true need? Or perhaps, when was the last time some one helped YOU when you were the one in need?
On the purely political level, poverty affects us all. On a personal level, I'm a Christian, and as such, it is my DUTY to care. On a simply non-religious but moral level-if I don't care, who will? If I don't care for my fellow man in times of need, how can I expect anyone else to care what happens to me?

I recently asked this question in the course of group conversations or when standing in a line somewhere and listening to people growl about people using food stamps or making remarks about someone’s personal hygiene or the cleanliness of their clothing. I got some answers that give me insight into the heart of a people; some of it is good and some of it is sad.
One school of thought on poverty that someone fired back at me was, “The majority of people who are in poverty are there because of the decisions they made throughout their lives. Aside from being disabled in some way, there's no excuse to be poor in this country where you can do anything you want. Government dependency is a main factor in poverty too. People want the government to take care of them instead of taking care of themselves.”
“People being too lazy or addicted to crack or whatever else their problem may be is certainly not a problem of mine. I work hard and pay my taxes and I don’t like it that my tax dollars are stolen and given to people who are too lazy to work. If someone is poor and gets handed food and shelter then what is his motivation to rise up out of poverty? There is none!”
“I'm not a christian and I’m not religious at all. Religion is all based on emotion. People should instead look at things logically - unlike you. You look at the issue of poverty with emotion rather than logic. But unfortunately, people are so hard headed that emotion seems to trump logic every time. We can care, but instituting things like welfare is a death sentence. Welfare goes against everything that is American and everything that can possibly make a country work.”


Yes I’ve gotten some answers to my questions. But my answer is still we should care, because we don't know the circumstances. We can't judge all poor people to be the same. Many people who are poor are born into poverty, which is not their fault. Many people have made bad choices or may have mental problems. Some people were doing just fine and lost everything due to some catastrophe like serious illness or loss of a job, or GASP this wonderful economy we are all struggling with.

I am not saying that I don’t have my days of having Scrooge like thoughts myself. I am ashamed of myself for having those thoughts too and I usually have to stop and pray for forgiveness. We can't pass judgment on people when we don't know what has happened. We're all on this planet together, like it or not.

January 16, 2011

Que Sera Sera. What ever will be will be. A little snow in Mississippi is an amazing thing for us and we are well aware that we don’t know how to drive in the frozen stuff. Snow in and of itself does not bother me. It’s the slushy stuff that refreezes and the black ice that strikes fear in my driving heart. Therefore I tend to stay off the roads until I hear they are clear.

Last week I stayed in doors that first Monday of the Great January Snowmageddon. I could hear all about the many snow induced accidents being broadcast over the scanner. Cars and pickups were apparently sliding and slipping into ditches and trees and each other on a regular basis. I felt quite safe and snug as a bug inside my little home perched on the hill. I did bundle up and walk down the hill to my mom’s and walked her little dog. It didn’t take him too long to find just the right spot to mark then he was ready to get his little frozen toes back inside.


My own two mutts were burrowed into their igloos. I had stuffed an old king comforter in one and some old lumpy pillows and a blanket in the other. Both of the dogs were in their padded rooms and all I could see was little noses sticking out waiting for me to come fill the food and water bowls. They were not the least bit impressed with the white stuff blanketing their yard.

I was not able to ignore my phone though. The part time work I do was put on hold because number one, the roads were slick and I was not about to get out on them and number two, the stores didn’t open because of the same reason I gave in reason one! I did start out on Tuesday as soon as I knew the roads were okay and that is when the strange weather related accident happened to me!

I had parked the van pointed toward the east and when I opened the door to get out, a strong gust of wind, caught the door and hyper-extended it. It sounded like something had ripped the door off. I got out and looked and everything looked normal until I closed the door. Another loud pop and I saw it was hanging a bit askew and had a wrinkle in it. Uh ohhh!

I had to climb in on the passenger side and drove it to the local body shop and after he got the door open the verdict was not good. The complete door has to be replaced. It seems the gust of wind popped the outer skin loose and the hinges are warped. I really hated to walk into my insurance agents office and lay that story on them because it sounded so bizarre but when I arrived the same thing had happened to one of them so it wasn’t such an oddity after all.

Now the roads are clear, all that is left of Snowmaggedon are the remnants of the snowmen that my daughter built, my husband has taken down the Christmas lights and my van is sitting in the body shop getting fitted for a new door and some work on the front fender and a paint job. So here I sit without a vehicle because of a freak of nature and I am still behind in work. Que Sera Sera

As seen on TV. Some things I think I will pass!

February 1 2010


Most stores now days have the infamous “As Seen on TV” aisle now. Anything that has ever been hawked on the TV screen is now available in your local stores for the same low price that those loud mouth guys on the infomercials are trying to get you to buy for! Without the shipping and handling!

For some unknown reason when I am in a store working, I have a clear shot at the “As Seen on TV” aisle. It’s just the luck of the draw but I can stand in one place doing my job for about and hour and see all manner of people that are drawn to that aisle like a moth to a flame. Now I am not laughing at anyone about this because I always make that trip myself.

Several years ago I was watching a little late night television and all of a sudden the Turbo Cooker appeared. I drooled over that amazing thing. But I was not about to pay what they were asking for it on the TV so I forgot about it. Until a couple of years later and Mom and I were in Wal-Mart Christmas shopping and there was a new aisle….’As Seen on TV” ……..a whole aisle of things to look at and there sat the Turbo Cooker. Mom looked at and I looked at it and we just grinned. Pay dirt! She gave me one and I have to admit that is the most used item in my kitchen. That thing is amazing and I use it all the time; when I choose to cook that is. It’s huge and bulky and won’t fit in my cabinets but I love it.

The next amazing item I happened to purchase was those fit over HD glasses. I found myself over in Amory one day and I lost my sunglasses. I have to have ‘fit overs’ because I wear glasses and I prefer the kind that blocks light coming in from the side. They look funny but I prefer driving with my eyes open. So there I was in Amory and the sun was brutal and those HD wrap around sunglasses were on the As Seen on TV shelf. I bought them and that was the best thing I could have done. They really do help not just with sunlight but during dusk and when the evening light is just a bit strange and you don’t really see those pesky deer; these crazy things help you see the deer.

Now there are snuggies which I see being bought up by the buggy loads, and twin draft guards (another of my purchases and I love that one too!), and the space bags which we love in our closets but they sometimes do lose the seal and all of a sudden your closet doors will pop open and those vacuum sealed clothes and linens will cover you like an avalanche of snow!

I introduced space bags to our two exchange students last year when they were trying to pack all of their things to go to their home countries. It was amazing what all we got back in their luggage. But it sure was super heavy and they had to pay a lot to get their luggage on the airplanes.

So far this year I have resisted the urge to buy the ‘Toasty Toes” foot warmers, the “Point and Paint” painting system and the “Sliders” cooking kit. Then there is the “Caulk like a Pro kit” for the do it yourselfers and the Puppy Poopie Patch. Dogs just LOVE to ‘go’ on it! I will pass on that last one.

I have noticed that some shoppers just like to look at the products and read the packages. And some, like me actually find something that is worth using. Then there are those that are specifically looking for a certain thing. I was working in a store in a college town recently when a huge group of college kids came in and they asked me where the ‘As Seen on TV’ aisle was. I pointed them in the right direction and then I stood there and observed them. I have no clue what they were doing but they stood and looked over the vast collection of unique items for a good half hour and then they made their selections, paid for them and left.

Now part of me wondered if it was something for a marketing class and then I wondered if it was to get gag gifts. But again maybe, just maybe they found something as useful as my turbo cooker.

January 9 2011 Snowfall

January 9, 2011

I have always been fascinated by the weather. I probably should have studied meteorology in school if I had thought about it, but the call of the artist was much stronger. Plus, years ago when the dinosaurs roamed, females were not exactly encouraged to go into the ‘man’s realm’ in some disciplines.

The weather is constantly amazing me now. We actually had a Christmas Day snow which is a miracle in itself and now as I sit here on Sunday evening, I can still hear the pecking of the sleet mixed with snow that has been transforming the world around me into a true winter wonderland. I am starting to feel a little like I am living in Sarah Palin’s Alaskan tundra.

My husband and I have been patiently waiting for just such an occurrence. We have not attempted to remove any of the 40,000 plus lights outside in the hopes that we would get a good blanket of snow and be able to finally get a pretty photo of our lights all aglow on the new fallen snow. I thought my fingers were going to snap off as I was outside snapping the pictures.

Where are gloves when you want them? There must be a glovezone area like there is a sockzone area where gloves and socks go to hide. We turned this house upside down looking for something to cover our hands to no avail.

My daughter wanted to do some sledding but my sleds mysteriously disappeared a couple of years ago. But she showed some creativity and blew up an air mattress and that served her well until it popped.

It has always been a source of amusement to me what people what when snow is predicted. They rush to the store and get milk, bread and eggs. Someone on Facebook said that everyone has to get up and we must all eat French toast for breakfast. Ahhhhh, now it makes sense. Except I always want to make a loaf of bread, a peach cobbler and a huge crock pot of stew or soup.

What is my idea of a snow day? Well, I am going to brew a huge cup of ‘butter toffee’ flavored coffee, cut a big slice of warm banana bread and slap a pat of butter on it, sit in my reading chair wrapped snuggly in my soft blanket and read a book and munch on my bread and sip my coffee. I might venture out to see what is going on in the world just outside my door, but rest assured that I will not be driving on any slick streets nor sliding down a hill. I am amazed by the weather but I certainly don’t want to be a statistic and have to see the inside of the ER because I decided to slide down a hill at breakneck speed and bounce my brittle body against the frozen tundra!

Playing catchup on the Blogs

I haven't blogged in a while. Well I have but I forgot to put them up on the site. They are on my facebook page. so I am going to play catchup with some of my columns and I hope that whomever reads this will enjoy how my year has progressed so far.
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December 27, 2010

Change is hard. We fight it with a passion most of the time but there comes times in our lives when we have to accept it and embrace it and treat it like a friend.

Christmas and New Years celebrations are full of traditions. Some are shared by many, some are found only within communities or are cultural and some are only shared within families. It’s never easy to break those traditions or to even ease something new in. That is when you discover that the ‘traditions’ have a capital T instead of a lower cased one!

This year during Thanksgiving, my sister decided that we would have our annual Christmas feast and gift opening at her home. I thought it was a good idea since she has a child that Santa visits. It would be much easier for her to get the young one into bed after we all left. Everyone seemed ok with the idea; even our Mom, the staunch defender of family traditions (“it has been done one way and one way only since I’ve been on this earth”) seemed ok with the change of venue. THEN baby sister dropped the bombshell as we were sitting around the dinner table eating the traditional dressing and other foods; the menu was going to be steak and all the trimmings. While the rest of us eagerly said “OH YEAH!” Mom’s face looked like it was set in stone. “uh oh” I said as I poked my sister in the ribs and nodded in Mom’s direction. Sis and I both knew we were in for a battle. I al so knew it was NOT the time to suggest that we not buy gifts for everyone in the family.

It’s not that we don’t like the same dishes we have eaten for the last 57 and 51 years of our lives. Our family dynamic is starting to change. Our daughters are nearly out of the nest and both will one day be in their own homes and starting their own traditions that will have to blend in with their future families. There just comes that time in life when change is inevitable and can be a good thing. So the planning started on the new Christmas traditions of 2010 and beyond.

Sis and I had already discussed the price cap on gifts for everyone except Moms gift of course. I did find out that my sister wanted a Keurig coffee brewing system and I had 3 of them because I have been doing demos for the product in stores since November. I called her and told her I would be glad to give her one if she didn’t mind getting the top of the line model that I had been using in the stores. Needless to say she was excited about the prospect of getting that along with the different coffees and accessories that came with it. My brother in law, on the other hand, had to find something else to give her!

Christmas arrived and all went well. The new venue was great, the new food was fabulous. Mom took up residence in the most centrally located comfortable chair in the house and Christmas Eve just swirled on around her. We had changed the family ‘Tradition’ and the earth continued to spin on its axis without even a wobble. Perhaps next year I will suggest ‘dirty Santa’ and see if that flies!

Now we can concentrate on the coming year and the changes it will bring. My husband will be without employment in this new year. His company is closing down one depot in Mississippi due to the economy and lucky us; it’s his region that will be closed. About 12 families will be affected employment wise with this change. The customers that purchased their product will just move on to something else and never really know what happened.

Even though my family is facing an unsettling New Year, I am not completely shaking in my boots. I do have my moments of panic. “What are we going to do and how are we going to do it” does race through my mind at odd times. But in a moment of peace came one day last week as I prayed and then I did something that I rarely do. I asked for a sign that all would be well. I even was so bold as to ask for a specific sign. When I told a young friend of mine what I had done, he just laughed at me.

When I went to sleep in the early hours of Christmas Day, in that time that is called the darkest hour before dawn, I repeated my prayer and my request and then I laid down to sleep with a peaceful heart. At 6:30 our daughter came running into our room saying it was snowing.

Hmmm. Snow….In Mississippi….On Christmas Day. What a miracle. I am still smiling.

mea culpa and the 3 trees

Vonda’s Views
October 3, 2010

I must plead mea culpa, mea culpa, for not getting ALL of my facts straight for something I stated in last weeks column on Social Security. I was at a Diocesan meeting last week in Jackson, when dear Fr. Bob hugged me and then said, “I read your column and you are wrong.” “Huh? Me? Wrong? Never”, I started to say and then I remembered that some things had changed and I had not quite gathered all of my facts about retired priests. Thank you Fr. Bob, for setting me back on the path of the straight and narrow.

As I look in enjoyment at my maple tree as it is beginning to go through its Fall changes I am reminded of a story of three trees that wondered what their futures might hold and what would become of them.

The first tree said: “When I grow stronger I’d really like to be made into a cradle, and be a place of warmth and safety and protection to newborn babes. I would like my legacy to be that I fully supported life.”
The second tree spoke up: “ It is my hope when I am a large tree that I can become an ocean going ship, carrying hundreds of people from one shore to another and delivering food to those in need.”
The third tree spoke up and said: “Both of you impress me much but my dream, to be perfectly honest, is I don’t want to be made into anything. I just want to be what I am today; a tree for shade. I simply want to point my leaves and limbs upward and remind others that there is a God in Heaven who loves all people in the world.”

Years later, woodcutters came into the forest and looked at the first tree. The first
woodcutter looked at the tree and said: “Before we cut down this tree what shall we make of it?” The other replied: “Let’s make it into a manger.” The first tree protested: “Wait a minute, wait just a minute! I want to be made into a cradle.” Despite the first
tree’s protest, it was cut down and made into a manger and sold to an Innkeeper in Bethlehem. When the Savior of the world was born, He was placed in that very manger. The tree became the cradle of life, which the entire world would remember.

Some years later, the woodcutters came back among the trees and looked at the second tree. The first woodcutter said: “Any ideas what we should do with this tree?” The second woodcutter said: “Let’s cut it down and make it into a small fishing boat.” The second tree protested; “Wait a minute, Wait just a minute! I want to become an ocean going ship helping those in need. I don’t want to be a small fishing boat!” Despite the second tree’s
protest it was cut down and made into a small fishing boat. Later, a man by the name of Simon Peter bought the boat. When Jesus needed a pulpit, so He could address the
crowd on the seashore, the little fishing boat became his pulpit. From that little boat came the good news of God’s love that was meant to carry people from the shore of life to the shore of hereafter; a small fishing boat carrying more good news than any ocean liner could carry goods.

Three years later, the woodcutters came back to the grove once again. The woodcutters looked at the third tree and said: “The Romans are paying good money for crosses these days. Let’s make this tree into a cross.” The tree was horrified. It protested: “Wait a minute, wait just a minute - - I simply want to remain a tree. I want to lift my leaves and my limbs upward and remind others that there is a God in Heaven – a God who loves the world.” Despite the protests of the third tree it was cut down, made into a cross, and it was on that cross, that the Savior of the world was crucified. To this day, that tree points to Heaven as a reminder of how deep is God’s love.

The tale of the three trees points to God’s call; how He calls us, when He calls us and where He calls us may not be in the ways that we have imagined.
God calls. We respond. It’s that simple.

Todays Church in Crisis

I have been sitting and pondering about a crisis in the United States that isn’t really noticed by the media, and that is the lack of people that are going into the full time pastoral type of ministry.

Our churches nations wide, whether they are Catholic or Protestant, are beginning to suffer because of this. I don’t want to get into a debate about being ‘called by God’ and what that means and yes I know that the scriptures say that ‘all people are called to ministry’. I understand that all Christians are call to be ministers, but there are those who enter into the full-time ministry where not only are they a minister in the church, but it is their sole job and sole source of income.

Accepting the call to be a priest in the Catholic Church is something that is one of the hardest things to do because of the churches’ stand on marriage. And right now that is hurting whole church communities. Some smaller church communities may have to eventually close because there will be no one to be their pastor. Some changes have to be made some where.

I know ministers in other Christian denominations that also struggle. Some of the pastors of smaller churches have outside jobs in addition to their pastoral duties that they juggle. And those fine pastors have spouses and children. It’s a constant battle for them to find the balance but they do succeed. Yet going into the full time ministry is not an attractive choice for young people any more.

Why this lack of interest in the ministry today? Well most people, while they respect and like their pastor, don’t encourage their sons or daughters (YES I SAID DAUGHTERS!) to listen to their hearts and discern if they are getting the call to serve the Lord. They want their kids to ‘have more and do more’ with their lives. It’s all because we are such a materialist, status driven society that being a minister does not get much respect. Sometimes being the minister is not at the top of the food chain.

I ask you to think about this. Do you have a desire compelling you that is both relentless and joyful? If it is a passing desire that comes and goes, it is not relentless. If it is a desire that is burdensome, then it is not joyful.

Do you feel the need to go to study more and more theology and get a deeper understanding of the scriptures and a desire to learn about all beliefs and how they fit into the plan of Lord?

Are other believers encouraging you to get into ministry? This is very important as it is an affirmation from the Body of Christ that your calling is not just from you. God will use others in such a way. Are YOU encouraging someone to get into the ministry because you see something in them?

Are you in fear of misrepresenting God and his church? Lack of this fear evidences a dangerous arrogance. The presence of this fear is recognition of your own brokenness and will keep you before the throne of grace praying without ceasing.

Are you humble? The foundation of your calling is not your desire to help people, but your desire to represent God in truth. If you don’t have the desire for truth first, you need to rethink your calling.

I don’t think he primary qualification for ministry is not a good smile, the ability to speak and persuade and fill the pews, nor the ability to abstain from sin, but conviction. Your conviction will be infectious to all those to whom you minister. The Gospel is not just a nice option, it is the truth.

Finally, look at what is already happening in your church. Ministers in the making are all around you. It is flowing out of them and they need the encouragement to see it. It is time for believers to step up to the plate and face the crisis facing the churches in America. Being a Pastor or a Priest or a Deacon or a Brother or a Sister is not a lowly thing. It is a higher calling that should not be ignored!

Bullys walk among us and Your kid could be the one!

Vonda’s Views
August 23, 2010

Bullys are among us and I am not talking about MSU Bulldogs. I am talking about kids that bully. Last week I watched two very disturbing videos on Youtube that were made by kids in the Tupelo municipal school district. The kids that videoed them were using the new Macbooks provided by the school system there. How ironic and convenient that the very tool given to these kids to enhance their educational experience is also what is exposing the problems among our youth. Their moral compass is busted!

In the first video, a young male student was waiting at the bus stop for the bus to carry him to school. He was sitting on the corner using his Macbook, minding his own business. Several other male students came up and started making verbal jabs at him and calling his daddy crazy. Then one of the male students kicked the young man in the head. Not once did that child say or do anything to defend himself. He was out numbered about 6 to 1. Another student, a girl, had her Macbook on and the camera was turned in his direction and she captured the whole incident. She was even laughing about it and telling the others that she was going to put it up on Facebook.

The second video was at Ballard park and two highschool boys had called out another boy to fight. Again, the spectators were ready with Macbooks and Iphones in hand to video the fight. While that one was a ‘planned’ fight, what happened was atrocious. One of the pair of fighters had a mini bat in his hand and he beat the third boys’ face into a pulp. The blood was real the open gashes were real. And everyone was laughing about it!

Those of us old people that are on Facebook happened to see these horrifying images when they popped up on our pages and we reacted in a big way. It wasn’t long before the television stations and the newspapers and the TPSD were receiving the videos and emails protesting these actions.

I was a victim of bullying from 1965 to 1970. I hated going to school and nothing was ever done to the gang of girls that bullied me. I was just told to look the other way and not to get involved. Well, that was a little hard to do. I became the proverbial ‘loner geek’. When I was home schooling my daughters I also homeschooled some other kids and the one thing they all had in common was being bullied at school.

In today’s schools, it’s the lone wolf kids and geeks that teachers are told to look out for. Well maybe they should start looking out for the packs of kids and that pack mentality. In the wild, wolves travel and hunt in packs. The lone wolf is the one that has had to learn to survive alone because the others bullied and shunned it out of the pack.


Here are some alarming stats for you to mull over this week.

•Thirty percent (30%) of U.S. students in grades six through ten are involved in moderate or frequent bullying — as bullies, as victims, or as both — according to the results of the first national survey on this subject.

•Bullying is increasingly viewed as an important contributor to youth violence, including homicide and suicide

•1 out of 4 kids is Bullied. The American Justice Department says that this month 1 out of every 4 kids will be abused by another youth.

•Surveys Show That 77% of students are bullied mentally, verbally, & physically.

•In a recent study, 77% of the students said they had been bullied. And 14% of those who were bullied said they experienced severe (bad) reactions to the abuse.

•1 out of 5 kids admits to being a bully, or doing some "Bullying."

•8% of students miss 1 day of class per month for fear of Bullies.

•43% fear harassment in the bathroom at school.

•282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.

•More youth violence occurs on school grounds as opposed to on the way to school.

•Playground statistics - Every 7 minutes a child is bullied. Adult intervention - 4%. Peer intervention - 11%. No intervention - 85%.

•46% of males, and 26% of females reported they had been in physical fights.

Bully’s are among us and they have no place in our schools.

Old People Play Video Games too!

Video games are not just for kids any longer in case you haven’t noticed. Most people have access to computers now and it seems that a lot of us ‘old fogeys’ are playing video games on them. My personal favorites are Bejeweled Blitz and Zuma. I think I like them because of the racket they make when I blast the little jewels or maybe its because I try to get a higher score in shorter lengths of time. I do play against other people on line also.

I have some Scrabble buddies that I have never met but we are all using words we probably don’t get to use in normal everyday conversations. Its rather exciting to me to see my little notice that one of the others has played and its my turn to see if they have bested me.

At times I wonder if I am wasting my time playing games. I play them to unwind after a stress filled day or I might just use the games as a way of procrastination. Then again I might not be sleepy yet and the games are a way of making me tired enough to doze off. What every the reason, I was invited to participate in a study of ‘older’ adult gamers.
Research has found that video games have the potential to help seniors age more gracefully, keeping their minds sharp and responsive through game play. There's growing evidence that suggests playing video games actually can improve older adults' reflexes, processing speed, memory, attention skills and spatial abilities. With the advent of the Nintendo Wii, there's even the potential that video games could provide an outlet for physical exercise. Research has found that off-the-shelf video games have the potential to help seniors age more gracefully, keeping their minds sharp and responsive through game play.
I have not gotten a Wii yet but I know plenty of people that have and they love them. They like the virtual reality of the exercise. A study was conducted in a senior center in Florida and the Wii Bowling game boosted the players heart rates by 40%. The game required the players all of whom were in their 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, to hold the controller just as they would a bolwing ball and swing it to hit the pins in the virtual bowling alley. The older folks loved it because it was something they could do and it was good for them!

The potential of playing video games to stave off dementia and Alzheimers and keep minds sharp is being heavily studied right now. Is all of this game playing, whether it is playing solitaire or Bejeweled or Warcraft or Rise of Nations, going to help you rmember to take your medications or remember what you went to the store to buy? Who knows. It might improve your short term memory. It might not. That part has not been proven yet. But senior citizens, and those of us boomers that are the fast track to senior status might should consider playing video games as one of the things that we can do to keep ourselves sharp. We ain’t dead yet. And kids are usually impressed to find out that the Gparents can play a video game. So I say go for it. Play some games and to heck with what any one thinks. Play them for pleasure, play them for stress relief, play them for competition. Just play a game and tell yourself its good for you!
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GAte Crashing at USA Stadium

Well the time is tick tick ticking away until the Arizona illegal immigration law goes into effect on Thursday. I have been reading articles and seeing news clips all weekend about how it’s a mass exodus from Arizona. People that are apparently here in the US illegally are just selling what they have or what they can’t take with them and relocating to another state that is not taking the hard nosed stand that the state of Arizona is taking. They are feeling cornered as one interviewee put it and they are just going to relocate to another place for a while until they are forced to move on from there.
Now just in case you have missed this, what Arizona is going to do is make being an illegal immigrant a state crime and require state and local police, during lawful contact or probable cause, to investigate the status of anyone they reasonably suspect of being an illegal immigrant. In other words, if you don’t have a US social security card and other identification that most US citizens carry on their person, then you better be ready to prove that you are an American citizen either born and bred here or by naturalization.
Polls are showing that 65% of the US people are against illegal immigration. Yes, this is a nation of immigrants, but just sneaking into the country and not going through the proper channels is not going to cut it. Don’t get me wrong. I have many friends and acquaintances that were not born in the US. Some I suspect are not legal and I hope and pray that they will get their papers and not live in fear of being picked up and shipped back. I can see both sides of the dilemma. A young couple meets and marries and then has a child on the way. The young mother is a US citizen, the father is not. He is picked up and sent back to Mexico and he has to work hard to cut through all the red tape and go through the proper channels to come back to the US in order to be with his wife and child. That scenario happens all the time.
But look at illegal immigration another way. Look at it like its gate crashing. If you had tickets to a the Ole Miss, MSU Eggbowl, or a ticket for an airline flight, and when you got to your assigned seat you found someone else was in that seat, what would you do? You would call for a person in charge of ticket checking and have the person in your seat removed. Someone would ask for you to show your ticket, and you would gladly do so, because you bought and paid for that seat. The person in your seat would also be asked for a ticket, which they would not be able to produce. They would be the "gate crashers" and they would properly be removed.

Right now in this huge USA stadium we have millions of gate crashers. The American people have been begging security to check tickets and remove the gate crashers for years. We have been asking security to have better controls in checking at the door. We have asked security to lock the back doors. But Security has failed us. They are still looking the other way. They are afraid to ask to see the tickets. Many people say there is unlimited seating, and whether there is or not, no one should be allowed in for free while the rest of us pay full price!

Finally in "section AZ", of " USA Stadium", they have had enough of the failures of Security. They decided to do their own ticket checking, and properly remove those who don’t have tickets. Now it seems very strange to me that so many people in the other 49 "sections" of the USA Stadium, do not want tickets checked, or even to be asked to show their ticket! Even the head of Security is chastising us, while not doing his own job which he has sworn to do.

If you are going to live in the USA Stadium you need to play by the rules just like we would have to play by the rules of any other country that we might visit. If we tried to sneak into another country we would be branded as spies. We would be lucky to be imprisoned but more than likely we would be shot or beheaded.
My own ticket has been bought and paid for, so I am proudly going to show it when asked to do so. I have a right to my seat, and I want the gate crashers to be asked to show their tickets too. The only reason that I can imagine anyone objecting to being asked for their ticket is that they are in favor of gate crashing, and all of the illegal activities that go with it, such as drug smuggling, gang wars, murder, human smuggling for profit, and many more illegal and inhumane acts that need to be stopped. If you are not in favor of showing tickets, (proof of citizenship, passport, green card, or other legal document) when asked, as I would do proudly, then you must be condoning those illegal activities.

A-Tone-Ment or At-One-Ment? how about both

A-tone-ment or At-One-ment?

We have all heard of atonement. If you grew up in the Bible Belt, you know what atonement is. It is all about the sacrifice that Jesus made for us to save mankind from sin and insure a spiritual reconciliation with the Father. It’s all right there in our Bibles and we read and read those wonderful mysterious words trying to see through the mysteries to make sense of it all.

Atonement is about making the supreme sacrifices and living such a life as Christ did. But really look at that word for a moment. It needs to be seen in a little different way before we can fully appreciate it. All of our lives we have probably only heard it as A-Tone-Ment. Well look at it another way; At-One-Ment.

Sacrifice is certainly not a concept that anyone I know enjoys doing. Although, everyday we are hearing the word bandied about more often, due to the high prices in food and energy and the cost of living in general. Most of us do everything we can to avoid having to make sacrifices but we have to for the sake of our kids. Think of what some of us have to do in order for our kids to go to college. We have to give up something that we love to do to save the money needed for those textbooks or we sacrifice our time in order to be there for some special function.

As ironic as it sounds, we will make sacrifices in one area to keep from having to make a sacrifice in another! This just proves the human tendency to hold some part of our lives closer and dearer than others—and we are reluctant to let go of even a small bit of what we love the most.

Mention atonement and sacrifice to anyone familiar with the Bible and immediately the first thoughts are of His sacrificial death at Calvary to atone for the sins of mankind. His crucifixion was indeed the greatest act of sacrifice in the history of the world and a perfect demonstration of His own teaching in John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." His supreme offering of His sinless life paid the terrible cost of all of mankind's sins for all time.

I see that Jesus, in His human life, was all about sacrifice—His whole life was a sacrifice. And His is the life that has been exalted as the perfect pattern for our own. And are we not all called to live as Christ lived; to live as we were created in the image of God? Another mystery. Does God look like me or like you or like our next door neighbor? Hmmm. What if we have been trying to make God look like our image?

In my continued studying in theology and in comparing world religions, I find that other world religions have some of the same mysteries hidden in their belief systems. In order to understand my faith, I have had to get an understanding of other faiths.

For the Christian, all we have to do is believe in Jesus’ perfect sacrifice for us and to accept the fact that he became the atonement for our stupidity and sinfulness. His a-tone-ment became our bridge back to At-One-ment with the Father. Because of the greatest sacrifice, we are again able to be one with the Father and the Son and the Spirit. Perhaps all of the mysterious secrets of the Holy Scriptures are actually pointing us to living in At-One-Ment with the Lord because of the A-Tone-Ment of the Son. And perhaps we will one day realize the mystery of what the image of God really is.

Traveling north of the 45th parallel

The Halfway marker in Wisconsin.
Vonda’s Views
The Trip to the 45th Parallel


The semi spontaneous road trip is how my husband and I have always traveled. We have learned from experience the hard way that if we plan a trip too far ahead of time, something will happen that will snatch the trip out from under us and leave us very disappointed.

We began our married life with spontaneity. He proposed to me over a Chinese fortune cookie and I said yes. Then the idea popped into his head that we should go to Disneyworld for our honeymoon and the wedding date was chosen around the date that we could book a large enough spot for the motor home that my parents owned at the time.

I think from the time of the fortune cookie marriage proposal to the wedding itself was about one month. And so our last minute trip planning life began.

This summer has been no exception. He was able to get a few days vacation from work and my work week was free because of the Fourth of July, the girls were both home so we decided to head north to see as many of his Wisconsin relatives as we could find.

After the stop in Chicago to ride extreme roller coasters we made our way on into the beautiful country that is Wisconsin. Everywhere I looked is like a picture postcard. The classic barns, the rolling farmland, the waterfalls, the scenery is just breathtaking. One of our stops was in the Green Bay area where several of my husbands’ cousins live. We visited Bay Beach amusement park and found out that the Zippin Pippin Roller Coaster from the Memphis Liberty Land is finding a new home there on the banks of the Bay. It will have a beautiful new home and once again be the focal point ride it deserves.

Monday we got up early and loaded the car again and headed on farther north to spend time with the uncles and aunts at their summer cabins. We took a side trip to my the birthplace of my father in law and to an old cemetery where his great grandparents were buried. We stopped at a cheese factory and bought fresh cheese and then moseyed on up past the 45th parallel. I pointed out the marker to the girls that we were halfway between the Equator and the North Pole. There are a couple of markers in Wisconsin to mark that spot. The one we could get to say it’s the Theoretical point. Who cares? I just thought it was cool. I have been to the Equator before. I don’t know that I will make the same statement about the North Pole. I am content with being at the half way mark.

We spent the next couple of days enjoying visiting with his aunts and uncles and just kicking back in the Wisconsin woods. Even the rain was enjoyable. While Scott and the girls enjoyed a boat ride on the river, I stayed at the cabin and watched the deer sauntering through the side yard and seeing the antics of the chipmunks. The different varieties of birds that were at the feeders kept me mesmerized and I really enjoyed the quietness Kiss Lane. As night fell the flying squirrels came out and took their place at the feeders. And as the night grew darker we could see the brilliance of the myriads of stars in the sky.


Our time up north came to an end too quickly and we had to make the long trip back to the heat and humidity and back to the real world of getting up and going to work every day. I wish I could make a career out of sitting in a peaceful cabin the woods, far from the sights and sounds of traffic; a place where I can look out my window and see nature at its best and be inspired and nurtured to create more paintings and writing more stories.

I think I could handle living north of the 45th parallel even in the frigid cold of a Wisconsin winter. I might have to learn to plan ahead a bit better but I could still be spontaneous even in the peacefulness.

The Voyages of the Earthship Keon Family

The United States... the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the Earthship Keon Family. Its multi-year mission: to explore the different states; to seek out new adventures and new places to see; to boldly go where no Keon has gone before and to retrace a few steps to places visited in the past.

Captains log stardate 07042010. Location; Seymore, Wisconsin. We left Mississippi Friday evening at around 6PM with a final destination of Wisconsin in mind. With four licensed drivers, we figured that we could drive all night with each person taking turns to make the traveling easier. Our plans were to arrive in the Chicago area at around the time for Six Flags to open and we could take a side visit there to ride a few extreme roller coasters.

Traveling with grown kids can still be a challenge and as with traveling with little ones, a couple of portable DVD players is still a good idea. And I'm not talking about the kids using them. My husband and I sat in the back seat of the car while the girls were driving and we watched a couple of movies that we had been wanting to see. We were so good that not once did our daughters have to tell us to be nice or to go to sleep!

I guess the excitement of going somewhere for a few days does something to your sleep desire and trying to catch a few winks in a car is a bit hard to do. We arrived in the Chicago area around 5AM as the morning sun was beginning to rise over the distant horizon. It was a very clear day as the sky turned multi colors of red and purple and a flash of green just as the blazing ball of yellow sun peeked its head over the horizon.

The Chicago skyline at 5:30AM

We could see the Sears/Willis Tower in the distance. It is still the tallest building in the United States and it stood proudly reflecting the morning light. We raced in the early morning traffic around the greater Chicago area heading toward a side destination of Six Flags. we grabbed a quick McDonalds breakfast and then drove to the park entrance to join the other early risers and stopped to hurry up and wait for the park to open at 10. I took a 2 hour nap which I badly needed.

By the time the gates were opened to admit cars it was 9:30 and we drove in and got a great spot to park the car and then stood in line with our BOGO tickets that we had lucked up on. So four people went to Six Flags for the price of two thanks to some internet searching. The park is not officially open until the National Anthem is played which I thought was cool.

The weather was great for a day in the amusement park. The girls rubbed me down with sunscreen and we only discovered later that we missed a couple of spots as they turned quite red before the day was over.

The goal was to ride roller coasters and the first one we could find was the Batman. It is an extreme ride but not the most extreme it could be. All four of us were buckled in the seats, glasses well hidden in the depths of buttoned pockets and shoes laced up tightly so not to lose them. Our legs were dangling as the chain pulled our seats to the apex of the ride and then faster than you could say "beam me up Mr. Scott" it suddenly released and the ride began.

With my eyes firmly clamped shut, I felt the G's as we made the first sudden drop and the moment I opened them we were in a series of loop de loops which led to a corkscrew. I was screaming like a banshee at that moment keeping my head from going side to side because I knew I would be sick as a dog if I didn't. The fleeting thought of 'Have you lost your ever loving mind' was there too. Roller Coasters are not for the faint of heart and I sure was hoping that I was not going to find out that my heart was the fainting kind. Then as suddenly as it began, it was over. the suddenly stop was actually the worst part I thought.


After we got unbuckled and out of our seats i ws a bit disoriented and I sat out the rest of the roller coasters because I had fluid in my right ear and it was making me a bit dizzy. I became the official purse and phot holder while everyone else rode the rides. I sat in the shade and kept filling up my Six flags super cup. that was the best money I ever spent. The soda machines were $3.50 for a 20oz. drink so I figured I could get the Super Cup and make it work. I was filling that thing up at every drink station we passed. So we got my moneys worth out of that cup.

When we could not longer stand the heat or another extreme ride the family headed back out to the car and proceed to head north for further adventures with family in Wisconsin. I am hoping we can get in a tour of one of the cheese factories here and a brewery or a winery. We are in Wisconsin after all and this the story of the Earthship Keon Family and we seeking out new places to go and see.

Vonda’s Views
June 28, 2010


"Why are there so many songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions but only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide" Kermit the Frog singing in the swamp.

Last week was very stressful week and I was having to make some tough decisions. As I usually do during times like that, I was praying that I was making the right moves and I asked the Lord to show me a sign that I was moving in the right direction. Wednesday evening I got the first one. A brilliant rainbow popped out in the eastern sky. I was just mesmerized by it. But I did not think too much about it after all, it was just a rainbow after an afternoon thunderstorm.

Some times it takes a slap upside the head to get my attention. The next day, Thursday, was a long day for me. It was crammed full of back to back things that I had to get finished and as I was heading home from Water Valley I had just turned south on to 9W at Paris when I saw it in the distance. Another beautiful rainbow. Then I noticed it was exactly the same time as the one I had seen on Wednesday. I felt a little tingle on my neck.

I stopped to take a photo of the pretty half bow and then went on my way. A few miles down the road, that one had faded and then I saw another one appear and it was a double. I pulled over and took a photo of that one which was to the south west of the highway. As I stood admiring it, I glanced to the east side of the highway and in the distance I could see another one forming.

I am not an expert on rainbows but I was starting to realize that seeing this many rainbows in a space of 10 miles and 15 minutes times was not a normal thing.

As I drove on home admiring the beautiful rainbows the closer I got to them the brighter they became. Then I passed them by and could not see them unless I turned and as I came into the city limits the sun produced another magnificent rainbow in the southeast. It was the largest arc I had seen. As I snapped it photo I thought about it being number 5 for the day!

I came home and excitedly downloaded the photos on to my computer so I could look at them. I was amazed at the idea of seeing 5 rainbows in one afternoon and 6 in a 24 hour span. Saturday evening added another vision and more photos to my rainbow collection. That time my husband and daughter were with me and they say it also. We saw another double bow and this time we could see the complete bow in the evening sky.

Many cultures in the world believed that rainbows led to God. Some tribes of North American Indians called the rainbow a "Pathway of Souls." In Japan, a rainbow is the "Floating Bridge of Heaven." In Hawaii and Polynesia, the rainbow is the "path to the upperworld." People in the Austrian Alps say righteous souls go to heaven via the rainbow.

Throughout history, rainbows have been considered either very good luck or very bad luck. It is bad luck if a rainbow's end rest on water and it is good luck if the ends of the rainbow rest on land. Similarly, a rainbow that appears the day a child is born is considered good luck. Some people believed that looking at the base of a rainbow would bring death. Others believed that pointing at the highest point of a rainbow would bring bad luck (anything from being struck by lightning to losing a finger).

Interestingly enough, although rainbows are scientifically explainable optical phenomena that occur when white light is refracted into its spectrum of colors, an illusion, the dictionary still defines rainbows as Noah did: a symbol of hope.

And that is what I believe the 8 rainbows that I saw last week were; Symbols of hope that I have made the right decision. Now I look forward to the next rain to see if I can add any more rainbow visions to my collection and maybe just maybe I can figure out what the rainbow connection is that the Lord wants me find. Sing it Kermmie.

"So we've been told and some choose to believe it.
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me."

Summer time and Livin's not easy in this heat!

Vonda’s views June 21, 2010
Summertime, an' the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin' an' the cotton is high
Oh, Ya daddy's rich an' ya' mama’s good lookin'
So hush, little baby, don't you cry
Mercy me! It’s the first day of summer as I write this. Its already so hot all I want to do is find me a kiddie pool to fillup and lay in it under a big shade tree with a cooler full of iced tea ( we live in dry counties so that is all we can talk about!) and a good book to read. Unfortunately for me and other adults I know, we have to put on work clothes and get out in this wretched heat plus humidity and work while the kids are able to sleep late and then get up and forage for some food in the kitchen and then go and get in a pool somewhere.
If you saw me you would know that I don’t do swimming pools in the day light hours. I am about as fair as one can be and not be an albino. And I just don’t do heat well. I have always maintained that I don’t like cold weather but I CAN put on enough clothing in the cold months to keep myself comfortable. Now in the summer time that thought cannot be reversed. You cannot take off enough clothes to get cool. You are still hot and sweaty and running around in your birthday suit is still illegal in Mississippi.
I was talking about the heat to a California transplant just last week. We were both working in a store and I asked him how he liked living in the southern part of the US so far. He said “what is the deal with this heat? It’s so Hot!” In true Mississippi fashion I answered him with “oh this is nothing. You just wait until the Dog Days of Summer hit. Now that is hot!” he looked at me with fear in his eyes at the prospect of even hotter temperatures.
The dog days haven’t even gotten here yet and my poor Mary the wonder pup and her remaining litter of girl pups are all laying around in the shade and lapping up cool water in copious amounts. Bless their little doggy hearts, when the Dog Days of summer do arrive they will be begging me to shave their already short hair off.
My husband gave them all a bath over the weekend and even though their daddy was a Labrador, they have their mothers’ absolute fear and loathing of the water. They will swim but and they don’t like it one bit. You can see the gears working in their little heads when they see a puddle. I can just visualize a little devil dog on one shoulder whispering ‘jump in! you know you want to’ while the little angel dog on the other shoulder is whispering, ‘you know you don’t like the water except to drink it. walk around it and go rest under the hydrangea bush’.
I understand their dilemma. Part of me wants to stay home and paint or read a book in the cool comfort of my home while sipping tall glasses of iced tea while the other part is poking at me telling me to get up and go on out in the heat and do some work because there are bills to pay.
Too bad Summer time can’t be easy for everyone and we just work in the cool hours and rest during the hottest hours and then get back at it after the heat of the day has passed. But then again this is the South and the heat of the day seems to go on into the night!

Another thought occurs to me as I contemplate this heat. Perhaps there is a reason the Bible Belt has so many churches. It’s hotter than blue blazes in the South. Maybe some folks realize this is as hot as they ever want to be!
One of these mornin's, you gonna rise up singin'
Then you'll spread yo' wings an' you'll take the sky
But till that mornin', there's nothin' can harm you
With daddy & mama standin' by

Anna Lives in our Hearts and our hearts do go on!

Anna leaving our house for the last time.


May 13th was a tough day for us. We had to take our exchange student, Anna, to the airport and say goodbye. My husband and I never in a million years would have thought that it would hurt us so much to say goodbye. But it did. We have hosted before and we loved them also but something different happened to our whole family this time when Anna arrived.

I remember when I first saw her photo on her application; I saw the spark in her eyes. We all looked at her application and essay and agreed that she was the one and we never looked at any others. I did place other students with other host families and we got close to those students also. But not like we did with Anna.

The moment she stepped off the plane last July we knew we were in for a treat. She had a bounce in her step and an “I can do anything because I have just flown half around the world to get here” attitude. We were driving back home and she was taking in the country side and making observations about things and the subject of the internet came up. My husband asked her if they had high speed internet in Armenia and she looked at him and said just so matter of fact, “We are not cavemen you know.” Scott said she had him at the point. For me it was a few days later as I watched her enjoying a BBQ chicken sandwich on one of our first little day trips. And so our adventure began

Hosting an exchange student can be a great experience for everyone. The student exchange program is a program in which a student chooses to live in a foreign country to learn, among other things, language and culture. These programs are called 'exchanges' because originally the goal was an exchange of students between different countries. No exchange is actually required, so a student is allowed to go to another country without finding a counterpart in that country to exchange with. Students live with a host family, who are unpaid volunteers and can be a traditional family, a single parent, or a couple with no children at home. Host families are vetted by the organization coordinating the program and the Department of State conducts a criminal. background check.

The exchange student typically stays for 6 to 10 months and sometimes they receive academic credit for their school time here. Some countries don’t accept the credits earned here and those students have to repeat that school year upon their return. The student do have that year of living here as an American which helps to increase their understanding and tolerance of other cultures, as well as improving their language skills and broadening their social horizons. Students are expected to integrate themselves into the host family, living as a natural child would, immersing themselves in the local community and surroundings, and upon their return to their home country are expected to incorporate this knowledge into their daily lives, as well as give a presentation on their experience to their sponsors and to other students that are thinking about coming to America with these programs.

I am not going to tell you that hosting an exchange student will be like a Disney Fairytale. For some people it is not. There are times when there are just unrealistic expectations on both sides. Things like culture shock and not realizing that life in America is not like the movies can come into play and most kids don’t have a clue as to the size of the US and they don’t understand why they can’t go to Disneyworld one day and the Grand Canyon the next. And our own ignorance of what life outside the US is like comes into play also.

That aside, I do heartily recommend that you try hosting a student one time at least. AYUSA is a great organization that we used and the Regional Representative live right in Vardaman. Truthfully I can tell you that for now our hosting days are over. This time it hurt too badly when we said goodbye. We have had a wonderful 10 months with a very extraordinary young woman named Anna from Armenia. She will live forever with us in our hearts.


Anna's plane taking off from GTR.

Saying goodbye to our exchange student Anna

Time is rapidly drawing near that I will be driving our exchange student, Anna, to Golden Triangle Regional Airport and watch her fly off into the blue sky back to her home country of Armenia. The past 10 months have been a wonderful experience for me and my family since Anna arrived to live with us for the school year to experience life in the USA.

It’s been an eye opening experience for her in many ways. She has found out that all American people do not agree with the political climate in the US and are quite vocal about it; especially at our house. I think that has been somewhat of a surprise. And ask her about sweet potatoes. The ones grown here are exceptionally sweet apparently; and we continue to ‘doctor’ them up by adding more sugar and cinnamon. She has enjoyed Corky’s Bar B Que, pizza sticks, grilled cheese sandwiches, and Bubba Gumps Resturant and Maharaja’s Indian Cuisine. There really isn’t any food that I can say is ‘typically’ American since all of our recipes and favorite food usually originated in another country to begin with.

She arrived with a list of things that she wanted to try and do and we have tried to mark off as many of those things as we could. We’ve had many adventures with her and our game plan turned into how many different states can she go to on a shoestring budget. She is even taking home a large wall map with all the places we have been marked. We succeeded in making it 16. Over Spring Break we hopped a bud and let Greyhound do the driving and went from Memphis to Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois. Add that to Mississippi and Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Washington DC and she has been one very busy young lady.

We went to Disneyland, and that was a pilgrimage for me. My first trip to Disneyland was the year it opened in 1955. I can still remember all the rides and it still holds a sentimental spot in my heart even after all the changes and growth. Anna saw how it really was a fairytale place. We walked through La Brea tar pits and went into the museum there. We strolled Rodeo Drive and looked up at the balcony that Richard Gere and Julia Roberts stood on in Pretty Woman. We saw Las Vegas in the day light and it still glitters in that dusty desert. She saw the extremes that the US can be from farm land to hills; from river deltas to deserts; from ocean front beaches to majestic snow covered mountains; from salt flats to the birth place of grand canyons and colorful mountain ridges and land formations. She even slept through a California earthquake although I sure didn’t!

She has seen small towns and medium sized cities and megacities like Los Angeles and Chicago. She has seen the tallest building in the United States and several state capitols including Mississippi’s as well as our nations Capitol. She has seen that American people are not all rich and famous and that we are not all glitz and glamour like in the movies or on TV. And speaking of movies, she has seen more movies in the past few months than she probably will ever see again. She has stood on the beach of the Pacific Ocean at Santa Monica, stood on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi in Memphis and witnessed the power of the wind on Lake Michigan in Chicago. She has experienced the hustle and bustle of city life in LA and Chicago and the slower laid back sweetness of life in rural Mississippi and tent-camping on the banks of the Tenn-Tom waterway at Aberdeen.

We took several little day trips to do things, like ice skating in January in Tupelo and movies and up to Huntsville to the Space Museum and down to Jackson to see the Capitol. She was surprised to learn that the largest cities in states are not always the state capitol and not all state capitols have super tall buildings. What we consider old and historic here pales in comparison to her country. Our nation’s history dates back over 200 years while her nations history is over 6000 years with Noah’s Ark of 4000 years ago the part we usually think about.

She will leave here on Thursday and return to her land and her family and friends. She will finally be able to wake again and see Noah’s mountain from her bedroom window again. She will eat dolma and get hugs from her grandmother again. She will see her brother come home from the Army and take her college entrance exams.

So our year as a host family is now at an end and we say good bye to our Anna as she is leaving for even more of life’s adventures.
We will miss her very much and can only hope that she will remember us fondly and all the memories that we tried to make for her. She has been very much a part of our family since the day she arrived and we tried to figure out this tiny person’s personality. She arrived quite bubbly and full of questions and opinions and she leaves us pretty much the same; still opinionated and full of questions but there is a major difference now. There is a level of maturity. We know that what ever she sets her mind to do, she will achieve it. Good Bye dear Anna. We love you.

Beware of the Wolf you Don't See

Warning! Warning! If you don’t believe in terrorists or that we are still at high risk of being attacked on our own soil, then stop reading this column right now; because you won’t like what I think today. Now, if you get all hot and bothered about the current politics surrounding our safety and well being then by all means, read on.

This idea for this column started forming Saturday after we made a trip to Columbus to bring home all the ‘stuff’ that our college kid needed to move home for the summer. We took a little detour to Aberdeen Lock and Dam so our exchange student could see how an interstate waterway system functions. We discovered that civilians can no longer go to see the locks or dams up close. There are concrete barriers and chain linked fences and locks and gates and more gates with no admittance signs everywhere thanks to 9-11.

As we drove around the rest of the area and saw all the beautiful beaches and picnic areas and boat docks for the fishermen and on into the serene stillness of the camping area, I thought how sad it was that a place a such beauty was held hostage by some goof ball somewhere. THEN I heard the news on the radio about a suspicious vehicle being found in Time Square.

The Smoking Vehicle was seen by your Average Joe working class street vendor who noticed that a white male had parked that older model SUV, left the motor running and then took off down the alley. That was certainly suspicious behavior so the street vendor went to investigate and alerted the authorities about smoke emanating from the vehicle and, after pedestrians had been cleared from the area, a bomb squad discovered that the SUV was packed with what was intended to be lethal incendiary materials.

The device inside the SUV was described as "at the bottom of the food chain when it comes to explosives." The large amounts of fertilizer surrounding the gas and propane tanks in the car was good for growing plants but bad for explosions; BUT if the propane and gas had ignited, the SUV would have exploded in half, spraying shrapnel with enough force to kill innocent pedestrians enjoying a warm summer evening in a busy Times Square.

Now I am not a bomb disposal technician but I do think things through and puzzle through things and if that device "was" pretty crude and wasn't going to work the way they wanted it to” the first thing that crosses my mind about this is this was the one they wanted to be found. Unless Al Queda's bomb making skills have really gone down the toilet it was just too obvious and amateurish to have been their best shot.

It was the everyday entrepreneurs on the sidewalks that spotted the suspicious vehicle. The plot was foiled by sheer luck and quick-thinking civilians.

Now to my way of thinking, a vehicle packed with propane tanks, nestled inside some bag of fertilizer with timers attached , parked right in front of the Viacom building which is home to that highly irreverent Southpark cartoon that depicted Mohammed in a bear suit or something is pointing some racial profiling fingers.

This isn't rocket science people! This might have been a lone wolf act; it might have been a decoy. But it was still an act of terrorism against the American people and we all need to be as vigilant as that American Street Vendor who happened to be a Viet Nam Veteran. We need an active public who will never be intimidated or dependent on government protection. That street vendor in NYC ACTED and the police reacted....we need 300,000,000 active citizens to be more like him. That Patriot acted!

The cavemen with guns are NEVER going to stop and we must beware of the wolf we DON'T see.

Helllloooo! Is anyone else out there in the Universe? ET don't phone home

am a NASA junkie. I watch every space launch and landing that comes around. I waited for the double boom BOOM of the Space Shuttle as it flew over Mississippi on its way to landing at Kennedy on Tuesday morning. I love space exploration. But what if we are not alone?

I was watching a new documentary titled "Into the Universe With Stephen Hawking" Sunday night on The Discovery Channel. The British physicist says aliens are out there, but it could be too dangerous for humans to interact with extraterrestrial life. Why? The 68-year-old scientist said a visit by extraterrestrials to Earth might well be like Christopher Columbus arriving in the Americas , "which didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans. We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet," Hawking said. "I imagine they might exist in massive ships ... having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach.”

I mulled over what he was saying and you know…he is probably right. Throughout history, there have been UFO’s reported. People that see the UFO’s are regarded as nut cases by the people that didn’t have the experience. But just because you never have the close encounter doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Think Area 51.

Are we really so arrogant to believe that we….the inhabitants of the 3rd rock from the sun that we have called Earth…. Do we really think that we are the only intelligent life in the Universe? Is God so limited in His imagination that we are it?

I have to admit that I agree with Mr. Hawking. One only has to look through a telescope into the myriad of stars in the vast night sky and look at the million and billions of pinpoints of pulsating lights and realize that we are probably just one of several spots in the unknown swirling galaxies that are probably supporting some form of intelligent life. And they are probably not all lovey dovey and benevolent. When you factor in the 100 billion galaxies in our universe, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational. The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like.

I don’t really think that it might be the perfect idea to be trying to communicate and let ET know that we are sitting here. Aliens might prove to be beyond human understanding. I suspect there could be life and intelligence out there in forms we can’t even begin to understand. And they (ET) probably would not understand us. Just as I can’t understand quantum theory, there are aspects of reality that are beyond the capacity of our brains.

What if the visitors are predatory? Do we really think that we can outsmart them? After all, they are the ones that traveled through the time space continuum to reach us. If they have that kind of travel technology then they surely have weapon technology beyond our puny imagination.

So I will keep my telescopes handy and continue to star gaze and wonder. But I am not too sure that I really want to find out about any other intelligent life forms that might be out there. What if?

Jesus loves us equally. Is that a bad thing?

Vonda’s Views
April 5, 2010

Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Red and yellow
Black and white
They are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

I can remember during my informative, inquisitive childhood years, learning this song in Sunday School. Various teachers each week would teach from the Holy Scriptures that Jesus loved us ALL. So I believe that Christ does love us all. That means he loves us all equally does it not?

Yet in recent days I have run across statements that people have made that appear to me to be exclusionary. Equality is not something they want or even believe in. Oh yes I would love to have equality of wages for men and women. I have long been an advocate of that. Especially when I once worked in an office where I was more qualified and experienced than my supervisor yet I was paid a lesser wage because I was a woman. No I didn’t fight it because that was not an option back in that time frame. I did move on though when the next best opportunity arose.

But what about equality in religion? Are there really people that believe that we are not all equal in God’s eyes? Sadly I think so from comments that I hear and from things I see in print.

Jesus died for all the children
All the children of the world
Red and yellow
Black and white
They are precious in His sight.
Jesus died for all the children of the world.

Is being equal such a bad thing? Is it wrong to have a vision of a day when every one is equal or is that some sort of evil indoctrination plot? When the time comes for each of us to meet our Maker, we all will be standing one on one in front of the Lord and he will be looking at us. Not at our skin color or whether or not we went to church every time the doors opened. It’s not going to matter if we helped out a local charity or gave someone the shirt off our back. Its not going to matter if we grew up in the 60’s and 70’s and was a hippie for a while or if we grew up so sheltered that we didn’t have a thought for ourselves.

So what if there was that girl in your class that got pregnant and had a kid out of wedlock? Did that mean you were “better” than her? What about the guy that wore his hair so long he tied it back in a ponytail yet you wore yours in a buzz cut? What about the guys that didn’t want to be drafted and your brother was and he died in Viet Nam? Is that “draft dodger” any less important in God’s eyes.

The point I am trying to make, in my small allotted space, is that religion, particularly the Christian Faith, is about Gods love for us, not about our love for God. He loved us FIRST. And he loves us just as we are. It is because of HIS love that we are changed and we come to love Him. Through that love we seek to change our ways and be more like Him.

Jesus rose for all the children/people
All the children/people of the world
Red and yellow
Black and white
They are precious in His sight.
Jesus rose for all the children/people of the world.

Jesus loves us ALL equally. So equality can be a good thing.