What else are we missing???

Since I am not at the top of my game and must concentrate on the newsletter with a deadline which looms, I am incredibly thankful my friend, Dolly, sent this to me today. I could not have said it better myself, nor could I have said it better than Joni Mitchell did in her song, "For Free". Here's the link for that song, too. Do not pass it by, because, "What else are we missing"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmzN1p5q2sY&feature=related

(click on this link to bring it up)

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money, but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

Findings:

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days earlier Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the Metro Station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and people's priorities. The questions raised: "In a common place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?"

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.... How many other things are we missing?

To see Bell’s performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOPu0_YWhw

Too pooped to party!

Here's the plan: I will sit at this desk long enough for a decent length of time to pass before I allow myself to get comfortable for the night. If I lay myself down too early and fall asleep, the entire system is out of control! I would much rather battle weariness at this point than in the early morning hours. However, those hours do allow for some lovely sunrises....hmmmm......It seems that after my busy day and feeling pretty "normal", my fever has come back slightly and my eye lids feel hot. I liked it better when I felt reasonably well this earlier part of the day!

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Soon summer will be officially over in Florida and I fear not getting any more pool time. My neighbors told me last night that the repairs on the adult pool will not be completed for a month which means the water will never heat up enough for me to venture back in. Our air temps have been in the high 80's with extremely high humidity, but this does nothing to warm the water in the teen pool to a tolerable level for me. I toyed with the idea of asking my doctor, House, to send me for physical therapy again at Brooks Rehab because then I could join as a member and enjoy their aqua therapy pools and hot tub. Martie and Chris had joined once upon a time but neither of them continued with it. The cost is insignificant for an annual membership, and quite close to my home. We shall see, although I truly do miss "riding my bike" in the pool on a near-daily basis, and my knees miss it too!

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My day began a bit later than I liked but that was mostly due to the late night TV viewing again last night. Not football this time, the Emmy Awards. Most of the programs I am totally unfamiliar with but the movie my "group" watched here, "Grey Gardens", received several statuettes. The Emmy's wrapped up around 11:00 pm and I snooped around the stations to find something for which to fall asleep. Besides a "Law and Order: CI", I found again, "Roseanne". Oh, now I can find out what happened with Dan, etc., falling for another woman and leaving his family. Wow!

*

Dan came to the door with the baby, Jerry, dropping him off after visitation. Roseanne kept slamming the door in his face until Dan finally got himself squeezed in. He wanted to talk to her, but they could find no quiet zone where big ears were not around, so they were on the porch, in the cold. He apologized up and down to her, for hurting her so badly, (she said, "It nearly killed me..."), for messing everything up with his "wanderlust" (my word of choice). She told him that yes, he did hurt her and their family. He swore he would never do that again, that she meant too much to him, and so on. He seemed sincere. She finally forgave him and agreed to go for a ride in the car to warm up. One thing they never mentioned was how the money she won had affected their lives at this point, although they had sworn it would not. Money changes everything....I should write a song! While they were in the car, they got a phone call that Darlene, their daughter, had gone into premature labor. Long story short, the baby nearly died due to respiratory problems....Okay, this was too much for me when I am supposed to sleep. Martial problems and a child dying, nope, time to find something else to watch. If only it were so simple as changing the channel.

Feeling better but still sick?

How can this be? It is possible to feel better without feeling wonderful, right? In fact, my sleep allowed a decent night's rest so I could go to church this a.m. Bible study was still going on when I finally got there, with good attendance. I was glad to offer my support to Mike C. as he gets his feet wet leading the class for us. Pastor was conducting the parenting class in the other building while Sunday school was going on.

*

Janet had dressed a table with a pretty cover to encourage folks to sit down, as at the Ladies' Group meeting it was brought up that no one sat down Sunday for fellowship like they used to do when the preschool was still there. What? There has to be at least 10 tables with chairs set up in that room now and no one was sitting in them??? Oh, that is just too much! The card tables formerly used for this are used elsewhere now so it is not possible to make it just like it was before. Janet did the next best thing by dressing a table. I did not stick around to see if anyone sat down or not! This is going too far as far as doing things "the way we used to do it"!!

*

After I had gotten dressed this morning, I began to feel weary again so sat in the family room to watch the news before leaving. The Tuesday evening Bible class covers the same study so I knew it was okay to miss part of it. Once I headed to church, Kathy B. called to see if I was on my way or staying home. Nice! When I arrived, I posted my items on the bulletin board, now in the fellowship hall, and got myself stationed in the back of the church to begin the greeting and attendance taking. Much to my delight, our dear member, Kathy R., came to church today after many months of being away. A group from church, her hubby and she included, had gone to eat at Athens Restaurant but sadly, I had to pass due to my illness. That is how you know I am sick, when I refuse dinner invitations! Whether the gang "encouraged" her to come back or if she came on her own, I was just so happy to see her in the flesh, as compared to Facebook only!

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Kathy B. played the pre-service music which was wonderful, including "When Peace Like a River" which I piped in on, softly. "It is well, it is well...it is well with my soul"....We used the Divine Service II this a.m. and Kathy played the parts not included on the MIDI. All went well, no problems. Like I said to Pastor after church, using these other Orders of Service keeps us on our toes. Sometimes we get so accustomed to doing the service one way and not really absorbing the wonderful message in what we are doing. The joy of liturgical worship and being able to change it up a bit. The message and intent is the same, even if the melodies are different or new.

*

The sermon series is from the book of James and has provided for very timely messages. I had to chuckle right off the bat because before church began, Janet brought me a gold ring which had been left by the sink in the bathroom. She said I could track down the owner, because "you know everybody". Well, I might not know who lost a ring, but I sure can find out! The reading from James starts out talking about not showing favoritism in the church, such as asking the person with the "gold ring and flashy clothes" to sit up front, while the shabbily dressed has to sit on the floor. Here I am, holding a gold ring and wearing a brightly colored blouse!!!! Not in the front, though, which is a relief! Janet asked me about it after church and I assured her I caught the joke. Even Pastor mentioned it as we stood together at the door to greet after church. Glad we can find some humor once in a while! I think I was set up!!!

*

Judy J. asked me to have lunch after church but, believe it or not, I declined. By this time I was bone-tired and ready go lay down at home. Darwin asked me to place service folders in the mailboxes of those absent today, something new we are starting, and I did that quickly before heading for home. Momentarily I toyed with stopping to get a burger or something to have for lunch, but I still was not feeling much like eating anything of substance. Once home I did reheat some leftovers, as I promised Joanne I would eat real food, but could not eat all my food from Koko's. Right now some pork chops are defrosting on my counter and I might, just might, make those for supper. Later, much later!!!

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Earlier I knew I felt hot inside but still had the afghan Lynn made for Timmy wrapped around my legs and feet to keep me warm. The air temp in the house is around 82 above zero (I have since opened the doors to let a breeze through!) so I should not be chilled. After a great deal of digging around, taking a trip down memory lane, I finally located our thermometer. It has been years since it was used, last time for Justin, I am sure. After shaking it down, I stuck it in mouth and walked around while the temp climbed. I was correct---although very hard to read, the temp showed nearly 100 again, as it was yesterday. My eyes and mouth are hot but my extremities cold.

*

More water, more juice, more soda (Mom asked me yesterday if the doctor mentioned my soda drinking in relation to the infection....he did not) and cool foods are the modus operandi for me so if the chops get made remains to be seen. My spirit is saddened by the game losses of both the pro football teams I support, the Packers and the Jags. I tried to listen to the Jag game on the radio but had a hard time following along, probably because I was so tired already. One thing about the cranberry juice---it makes my teeth feel furry!

I will be a fast talker today

Remember how I wrote yesterday about having to be "up in the night", probably from adding water to my diet? Well, last night was a long, wretched one for me. I had gotten home about 9:00 or so after having a wonderful time with some church friends at Gator Dockside in Oakleaf. I got my bedtime soda ready and settled in for the night.

*

I was pretty worn out from my busy day, which had included an early breakfast with Chris N. at Cracker Barrel and then a nice lunch with Justin at Bono's. After lunch he and I went to Wal*Mart for a few things including picking up some scrips. His car was at the shop getting an oil change and we showed up right on the button as to when they said it would be ready. It was fun spending even these couple hours with Justin in person, instead of just over the phone or instant messaging. He is coming here Monday to help me with a few things, when he is done working. We shall see....

*

The afternoon was spent at the computer and then resting before my night out with Jim, Janet, Lonnie, and Renee. I was the fifth wheel, although Janet scolded me for saying that. Sorry.....We were also expecting another couple but they were not 100% to make it, and did not. I had a Monte Cristo sandwich, my first since Bennigan's went out of business and it was delicious! Eating only half, of course, because it is quite a sizable portion, and leaving all the fries.

*

Anyway, back to bed....I watched the end of some program, cannot even remember what was on TV, and then turned on reruns of "Friends" to lull me to sleep. I remember hearing the entire first program and part of the second before falling asleep. At 1:30 a.m. I was jarred awake by a large noise, which I figured was coming from outside as some of the neighbors were enjoying the pleasant weather into the "wee" hours. And so began the every ten minute walks to the bathroom almost the entire night! Soon came the sharp pains on my left side, sort of like a back ache, but something told me it was not. No matter which way I laid, it did not pay to even try to be comfortable due to the constant getting up. My fear was that I would be dehydrated because I had not even consumed as much liquid as was being eliminated. After a certain point, I quit flushing in between trips for fear of causing a disturbance in my downstairs neighbors' quiet. For some reason, besides heavy footfalls, toilet flushing noise travels in my building.

*

In attempts to distract my brain from feeling like I had to go, I watched "Roseanne" for hours, seeing some episodes I'd never before watched. She kept mentioning having four children (I came up with only three in my mind....) and that they had so much money. What? They were always struggling for money when I watched it. It seems that Roseanne had a late in life baby, Jerry, and had won the lottery, getting 108 million dollars! Where had I been??? One episode just tore me up, though, and I should have turned the channel, but there just was nothing else at 3:30 a.m., you know? Dan, her hubby, had been in CA taking care of his mother who had surgery and seemed to have fallen for the mom's nurse. Oh great! Through the course of this episode, everyone kept saying they thought Dan was "one of the good ones", was the "last guy you would expect to fall", and "he is tearing up the family". When the series ended in the "wee" hours, he had packed his bags to find out what he missed in life by marrying early and such, but somehow had not quite left town. I will be interested to find out how this plays out, but I do not want to stay up all night just to watch it!

*

This a.m., after it seems I may have slept about 3 or 4 hours total, I got the phone book out to call the walk-in clinic on Kingsley to check their hours. After showering and getting myself, slowly oh so slowly, dressed and fixed up, I headed to the clinic, sample in a brown bag. The nice nurse at the desk told me my sample was no good, they needed a fresh one, if I could go. Go? I have not stopped going!!! They were nice at the clinic, with only one young mom with a small child there, and before long I saw the doctor. He kept calling me "ma'am", which is fine, and actually spent some time with me besides telling me I have a kidney infection. He asked what I do to keep myself busy so I told him, and then he was tired!!!

*

My orders were to get the prescription filled, drink lots of cranberry juice and water, and get plenty of rest. I was so weary I could barely hold up my head so resting is not a problem. Last Thursday night when we had our "Breakfast for Dinner" themed event, Martie had brought cranberry juice to serve. She had meant to take it along home as it was hardly touched but forgot it. Sure will come in handy for me this week as I take my medicine, drink my juice and water, and rest. My thoughts are that I will be able to attend church tomorrow but we will see how tonight goes. The doctor said that I should see results in three days, but I was hoping for today. Only a moment ago, Justin sent me a text message saying that he loves me very much and hopes I feel better soon. Now I do feel better, because he sent me such a lovely message in the middle of the day!

Sweet dreams

When I signed off of Facebook last night, several people wished me a good night or sweet dreams. I had the sweet dreams part although I found myself "up in the night" more than once. All I can say about that is---before I starting drinking water, I did not necessarily have to get up in the night! Humphf!

*

My dreams, which took place after my last time to wake in the "wee" hours, were not the waking-up-sobbing kind at all. Instead I awakened feeling as though I was smiling. Again the way of dreams is erratic and this one, being no different, had us, an intact family yet, moving into a new place. Whether it was a house or an apartment or motel room is unclear as nothing looked familiar, but I do remember putting things away. I might have been thinking about Mom's new place or something. Mom was giving Timmy a bath before his first day of school. She put an outfit on him that was okay but somehow not just right. His dad had gotten out a different outfit for him to wear, it was one Timmy loved and one I recognized. A short sleeved blue shirt with a button front, blue plaid shorts and suspenders. We had to work with him to change from one outfit into the next, not easy once a kid is dressed. Still about preschool age or so, it seemed. He ate his breakfast in a highchair (we did this in reverse order, as he most assuredly messed up his clothes, but that's dreams!). My nightie was hanging over the back of his chair and it appeared as though that was what he wore to bed. Maybe with the move, we could not find his pj's or something. I put blue socks on him and his little saddle shoes. At this point, it could be either son as the child's face blurs. Oops, a tear just found its way down my cheek, sneaked up on me. I was fine until I wrote about the shoes....

*

It was a sweet dream!

Groggy good morning

My bro-in-law, a singer/songwriter, or as he would probably reverse that billing, I will simply refer to as David, sent an e-mail reporting an upcoming house concert at their place October 4th. As I visited the house concert website, I found this photo taken the last time this same artist, Heather Waters, performed there, and I just love this picture!!!!! Lori, my sister, has an excellent flare for decorating, as you can see, and the photographer used the light so very well for the room. I had an opportunity to be in WI when they had planned a house concert last year but opted to skip going back to their side of WI before catching my plane out of Milwaukee for home. My loss! David has been practicing making deep-fried cheese curds to serve this musician and I happened to be at their home when Lori made the first batch in her frypan. In my opinion, those were delicious and perfect but David claims they have moved beyond the frypan and are into the fire---actually a deep fryer on the deck! Of course, I had to chuckle because in the e-mail, David had to remind folks that the Packer/Viking Game is NOT on the same day as the house concert, but on Monday night, so no excuses for not coming!!!

Lori and David's living room is set up for the concert. They host several a year and puts David in his happy place! By day, he is runs production at WinCraft in Winona, MN and every other spare moment is wrapped in his music. Lori works at her church as Director of Education and runs the house, devours books and designs/creates jewelry into the wee hours of the morning. Their son, Dustin, just moved an hour and a half away to attend college. I do not think this household will not suffer from empty-nest syndrome any time soon!

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Before beginning my day at this keyboard, my "instrument" of choice, as compared to the guitar or dulcimer, I got out my trusty Clorox wipes to clean the keys and mouse. Somehow, my keys get sticky and crumbs fall between them, and the mouse feels grungy. It might be because I eat at my desk---ya' think??? Cheese popcorn and computer keys are not a good mix, nor are the white pages of a book...

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The mistake I repeat week after week is stopping to get my mail, which results in bringing yet more paper into my house, onto my desk. Much of it goes into the wastebasket without even opening the envelopes but some must be filed or in some way dealt with. Which means, piled on the desk! Overflow goes on my "organizer" (ha!) next to my desk. My nightmare would be a terrible storm coming off the river and breaking my windows, blowing my papers all over the room. THEN, I would have to actually do something with them. The rest of my home must be neat and orderly but somehow this rule applies not to the desk!

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Yesterday afternoon I spent time finishing a book I was reading while also watching a tear jerker movie, "P.S., I Love You". Gerard Butler is the male lead and Hillary Swank, the star of the movie "Freedom Writers" which I enjoy so much, plays his wife. Wow, talk about a double-whammy! I had seen the movie with Lynn when my family was here visiting at CHRISTmas in 2007 while the others went to a different non-tear jerker movie. Never had I a desire to visit Ireland until I saw the scenery in this movie. There is a line in the movie where the young couple first meet each other and "Holly" is freezing as she walked down a road in Ireland. She did not have a coat along because, as she told Gerry, "The paper said it was going to be warm." He said, "It is warm, warm for Ireland..." I get that, I get that!!! Warm for WI is cold for me, often. And that is why I wonder if I would ever pick Ireland over the Greek Isles.

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Last night was choir rehearsal, a good one, although one important alto voice was noticeably absent. We have a wonderful communion hymn we are rehearsing which will be sung a cappella and we surprise ourselves by sounding halfway decent. Afterwards a group of us recessed to the Fellowship Hall to put up "bulletin boards" without any boards. Thanks to the teachers in our group, colored paper sheets were applied with staples to the walls with corrugated ruffled edges to look like a frame. Voila! Janet had punched out giant-sized letters at her school that day so we have one area for posting "Activities" and one dedicated to the Sunday school! Talk about adding some color to the room. Teachers really have the best ideas! And best resources!

No green river today!

As I wrote to Judy R. this a.m., the sky is cloud-filled grey but bright, which means the sun must be in there somewhere! At the time I wrote to her, the fringe along the horizon was orange but this now has vanished. Only one fisherman remains bobbing just outside our basin, one boat as far as the eye can see. I just reheated my leftovers from Koko's but it took only a few spoonsful to satisfy my hunger. There is too much in this box to justify tossing it so will carry the balance to the fridge.

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Morning was broken up by a doctor appointment, which I had hoped could be avoided. I am still burned up by being charged last time for two office visits in one appointment because we talked about more than only my "well-woman" stuff. What? Are you kidding me? See? I am still burned about that! They know what they prescribe for me, or should know, and yet they have to ask every time. I guess my taking the baggie with the medications and OTC things for them to enter into my record put me over the top!

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This time, however, went smoothly and I trust will be billed as only one visit with my guy, Dr. House. All my blood work came back within limits except that I am supposed to be more faithful in taking my multi-vitamins as one of my "crits" showed a bit low. Sometimes I am less than religious about taking the OTC products but only one to show a "problem" was the vitamin. The young nurse told me I looked nice and colorful today, and I told her it was my theme. As she took my blood pressure, which was perfect, she said it was probably the brightness that kept my pressure low. Yes, that and the pills I take for it! No one wrestled me onto the scale, I simply gave her what my bathroom scale reported this morning, and not one word else was spoken regarding my girth! I paid extra special attention to both Lauren and Dr. House and not once was anything uttered regarding my weight, no suggestions about changing habits or anything. Yippee!

*

He did tell me that I would be put on a waiting list (not weight!!!) for the flu shot when the product comes in. When I objected to this, he said his son and entire family of five just spent several days down with the flu in South Florida, with temps of around 104, so he said it was important for all to have the shot. Plus the H1N1 vaccine, back-ordered, will be administered to his patients when it comes in. He told me a 28 year-old woman died last week in Clay County from this flu and he said I was still a young woman. So, there you go! What a sales pitch---tell 'em they are still young! He wants me to have blood work again in January which I think is far too soon but I guess I can only delay this type of thing so long. But, at least now I know where the lab is located!