Some profundities from my friend, Betty

Remember.. Once you get over the hill, you'll begin to pick up speed.

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If it weren't for STRESS, I'd have no energy at all.

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Whatever hits the fan... Will Not Be Evenly Distributed.

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Everyone has a photographic memory.Some, like me, just don't have any film.

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I always know... God won't give me more than I can handle. There are times I just wish He didn't trust me quite so much.

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Never be too open-minded, your brains may fall out.
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Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian. Not any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

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If you look like your passport picture... you probably need the trip.
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Some days are a total waste of makeup.

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A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.

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Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.

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Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.

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Junk is something you've kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.

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Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.

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By the time you can make ends meet, someone moves the ends.

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Learn from the mistakes of others.Trust me... you can't live long enough to make them all yourself. I've tried!!

Heroes---Sung and Unsung

Because I was up so very early today, more morning news has gone through my head than would normally. After a certain point, like the second time through the same stories, I will flip to the reruns of "JAG" before coming here to the machine to listen to the radio until 3:00 p.m. Same stories, often different takes.

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This a.m.'s news stories were different today, though. Some elicited disappointment and some elicited relief. The extreme disappointment of seeing footage of America's hero from the Olympics smoking pot through a bong, published in national press and now TV.....The anchors were obviously upset about this, more so for this guy's mom, who gave up everything to help her son reach this amazing goal. She must be livid and more greatly disappointed than I could ever be. It will be interesting to hear the defense of these actions, the pot smoking and hardy partying, even saying he earned the privilege of acting this way. His future is on the line now as he was getting paid in the millions of dollars to endorse certain products like breakfast cereals and sport products. Maybe the bong manufacturers will step up and offer him endorsement opportunities! Not a hero any longer....

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There was later a clip of police officers making a gambling bust somewhere in the US, pocketing money confiscated from the bust. Ugh! What is the point of enforcing the no gambling laws while at the same time stealing the results of the broken law? Please tell me this is rare, please???? Not heroes any longer....

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My favorite story, however, was about the genuine article, a man who was "simply doing his job" and avoided an huge disaster in the course of his work. The pilot of the USAir flight that landed the aircraft on the water of the Hudson without loss of life, he is a hero! He is now free to make public appearances but is reluctant to do so, and in fact, insisted his entire crew appear with him at the Super Bowl. I wonder if they flew to Tampa or decided to drive??? Anyway, the story today was about how he made a phone call to the library from where he had checked out a book to report the book went down with the ship and would be late in getting it back. The library excused his late fee, and is replacing the book with a new one, dedicated to Sully. The subject matter of the book? Professional ethics. By any stretch, a genuine hero, through and through. I will just die if I see pictures of him at some point down the road smoking dope, because he earned the privilege to do so.........

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Its my blog, I can add a post script if I want to! We would not need to have the government growth package if more and more of the Cabinet appointees would simply pay the taxes they have not paid until being nominated! So far nearly $200,000 in taxes have been caught up with no threat of jail or other charges (because the head of the IRS won't investigate or charge himself!) facing them. This is change we can believe in!

Abundant Sunshine

Yesterday I finally made up my mind to have the window cleaners come to remove the filth from my windows, to give me some clarity of vision. You know how it is with your hair, one day it is fine and the next day it is an emergency run to the beauty shop? That is how it is with my windows, at some point I cannot bear it any longer! As I told my friend, Jen, last night---I have to give in and spend the money. She reminded me that it is not a regular or ongoing expense, and I said she was right about that, only twice a year to have the windows done. It is nothing I can do myself either, or even so, would not do well. These guys make such quick work of it, something which would take me an entire day to complete and end up breaking something in the process!

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The appointment was made for a window washer to come today but no fixed time set. I arose early to begin the process of moving my junque away from the windows and sliding glass doors, that which is in my reach. Only a few moments ago did Mike, the head guy, call me to say he thought it was going to rain today so told his guy he did not have to come, and wanted to schedule for Friday instead. I explained that my friend was arriving tomorrow at noon and that was why I wanted them done before she got here. We were both checking the weather and he called back to say he was trying to get a different guy to come as it shows "abundant sunshine" on the weather map with no rain forecast. Yippee! I am waiting to hear something firm before I clear away more stuff such as around my desk as I do not wish to do that twice!

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Okay, where was I?? Oh, yes, the window cleaner has since called back and indicated that tomorrow, first thing, I will have a man here to do my windows. Yippee! Nothing like last minute work, right? 'First thing' means 8:30 a.m. so not too early getting up tomorrow as all I need to do is clean the area around my desk and windows. Nuts, though, because I would so much have liked to have this over with and things put back to right before Linda gets here. Let's hope that is the case! I am not unreasonable, for sure, and when I called to make the appointment Mike had a guy lined up immediately due to a cancellation so it would have been perfect for today. Abundant sunshine to me is not what I would call a "rain day". Abundant sunshine works for me!

"I sense something is afoot...."

The Youth Group Super Bowl Party was great fun, with more turning out than I even hoped! Although only three of the young folks from church were able to come, my friend, Kathy's daughter plus her fiance, and his mom, joined our rabble. A parent of one of our youth group kids asked if she could stay to watch since she lives in Mandarin and did not see the wisdom in dropping him off, going home to watch alone, and then coming back. To me, the more the merrier, so let's rock 'n roll! I like nothing better than a houseful and we had more than enough food and drinks. Add to that an exciting game and it was marvelous!

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"I sense something is afoot"-----you will never guess what I am watching, or actually, listening to. Yes, an episode of "Seinfeld", where Kramer is raising a chicken in order to avoid having to eat "sweat shop" eggs, only to have Jerry point out the fact that the chicken is in fact a rooster. Kramer is startled and says, "That would explain the low egg production." At the same time, George decides to date a woman who is in prison.........go figure! Kramer ends up entering his rooster, named Little Jerry, into a cock fighting contest, not realizing that Little Jerry might get hurt. He thought it would be like American Gladiators with gloves and helmets. Little Jerry was "just a peckin' and weavin', talkin' trash....." Well, yes.....It is just a hoot to listen to this story unfold.

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The other day when Justin was here, he expressed glee when he spotted the bottle of hand sanitizer next to my sink. In his inimitable way he said, "I am getting a bit Monkish, like you!", which means he is fastidious in keeping his hands clean. Monk is a character on TV who suffers from obsessive/Compulsive Disorder, and uses baby wipes any time he touches yukky things like other people's hands or a door handle. While not a regular viewer of Monk, his show comes on the station I go to sleep to so occasionally it is on when I awaken. I think he needs a new psychologist or stronger medication! Monk, not Justin!

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I finally made the decision to have my windows washed as I simply cannot tolerate looking through them, or attempting to, any longer. The man is supposed to come tomorrow but I have not gotten a firm time as of yet. This means I will have to move much of my stuff away from the windows including my colored glass in both the family room and my bedroom. As I touch these things, of course, I will discover they seriously need cleaning, too. It always gets worse before it gets better so I will endure a mess in order to recognize cleanliness and hopefully, some clarity. Often, Mike the window man, fails to tell his cleaners, fire fighters on their off days, that I live on the 3rd floor. This might be by accident or deliberately, so as not to deter them from showing up. I will keep my mop handle ready in case the guy is ill-prepared and has to use it to extend for my sliding glass doors. At least the doors and windows will be cleaned for when Linda is here, and hopefully, long after she is gone!

A new week....

....which actually began on Sunday. Our re-formed choir, as compared to reformed, sang two times as part of the worship yesterday. One was a psalm from the CW Supplement, #37, which was sung only by the choir in an attempt to familiarize the congregation with the new psalm tone. We also sang a hymn from the CW hymnal in keeping with the Jubilee Sundays we are recognizing this week and next. Certainly next Sunday the congregation will have mastered the hymn and will be able to simply pick up the hymnal and fly with it!

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Two men whom I did not recognize were sitting toward the back of the church, one younger and one a bit older, as though father and son. Both went to the Lords' table so I assumed they were WELS and knew what they were doing.

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On the way out of church, I whispered to them to make sure they filled out the Friendship Register which they did. After church I broke away from the huddle and grabbed them as they were leaving, and introduced myself. They told me their names and the older of the two explained that this nephew helped him sail his boat down here to Green Cove Springs where the older man (probably in his 60s) is going to live. Neat! They came from VA with the boat but the man said he was from Fond du Lac which "launched" me into some excitement. I told them I was from Manitowoc and pointed out some others with WI origins, and he expressed to me the joy he has in worshiping in WELS churches because of the assurance of being taught Law and Gospel, and familiarity of the hymns, etc. Good!

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He said he would be coming back again to worship since he lives so close, just a few miles down the road from me but his nephew was flying back to CA where he was from. The older man asked me if I attended MLHS and I said I did, as well as my 4 other sisters! It turned out that his sister, Carol, was in my class, and his other sister, Connie, a few years behind us!!!! Imagine my excitement! In fact, I was so excited I have totally forgotten their names but can only assume the older guy's last name is the same as his sisters was in high school. Good thing I prompted the Friendship Register signing!!! Evidently Carol and her hubby had lived on the Gulf Coast for a while, with him serving as a principal in St. Pete or another congregation in that area. The search begins!

Oh, my aching back!

Let's see....where did I leave off with my earlier posting???
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Oh, yes, I made a passing remark about the celebs we recognized and about those we did not, at Billy's memorial service. Prior to the memorial as folks trickled in and sought seats, Justin and I read our service folders which included a lengthy biography about Billy. There is mention about where he was born, being in a military family and so on. Where he went to school, about his music teachers and his desire to study musical theory what has become FCCJ. Little was mentioned about his family, wife and kids, or his extended family, which, I guess, is expected, depending upon who wrote the biography.

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The service was orderly, not one bit of irreverence or whatever could have happened at a high-profile event like this. As Pastor remarked this a.m., even a non-Lutheran funeral can be reverent. We expected music and got it, but were not fully expecting to hear and see Bob Ritchey (a.k.a. Kid Rock) singing a gospel song, nor did we anticipate Hank Williams, Jr. to recite his father's hit: "I Saw the Light" , by heart. When Kid introduced Hank, he called him "Bocephas" which comes from Hank Sr.'s nickname for his son.

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One of the less spectacular moments but certainly memorable was when Billy's son, Brandon, went up front to play a song in honor of his dad. Another young man sang the hymn as Brandon played one of the other "performers" guitar, for which he thanked them. At first he was a bit choked up but once they got started and his friend sang the song, it went better. At the end, though, both young men were in tears and hugged each other in thanks and comfort.

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The preacher was a personal friend of Billy's and was not the official pastor of this church. He spoke about how Billy lived large, but remembered the small. Once in awhile he slipped in remark about how Billy knew the Lord and vice versa but mainly the theme was about living large, Billy's generous nature, extravagant gifts, and so on. He did modify his theme to include "live for something eternal", and also commented that Billy's life was filled with blessings as well as demons which he battled daily. Those demons went unspoken but most of us knew what they were. I only wish I could have gotten closer to Ellen, and hold her hand or squeeze her shoulders. Maybe during the week when the hubbub is over.....

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One of the more exciting things for me was being able to stand in that church and "sing with everything we got", as coaxed by the preacher, "Amazing Grace". This means that Justin, me, and everyone else who participated were singing with Lynyrd Skynyrd!!!! Just another day in the life of Kim!

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My life is so exciting I can barely stand it, and in fact, today I am best friends with my heating pad again. The vacuuming and such yesterday plus getting ready for the Youth Group Super Bowl party is killing my back!!!!!

Whew! What a day yesterday!

Yesterday began with a thud as we had no water and did not get water service restored until early afternoon. My heart was breaking for my neighbor, Ellen, who had to get ready for her husband's funeral and probably had a houseful of company with no flushing toilets. Many folks took the initiative of scooping pails of water from the swimming pool to use for the toilets. Imagine in the Bible days, and even presently in some countries, the people carrying water in giant jugs on their shoulders. You just do what you gotta do. I did not see anyone bathing in the pools, however.

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When I arrived at church to clean, some ladies were already there making preparations for the funeral later in the day. Carol was there tending the altar and such so we got to chit chat a bit before I got busy. I did manage to vacuum the chapel but just as I was getting to the breezeway door, the suction part of the vacuum cleaner quit working. The beater kept going but no picking up. Humphf! Instead, I picked up the obvious schnibbles (sorry, Lisa!) and considered it good enough. Maybe Richard can take a look at it to see if it needs a fresh bag or has an obstruction or something like that. I was not about to do that at this time.

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Carol told me the tragic tale of losing her "pocketbook" on the way to a wedding in VA last weekend. She inadvertently left it in a booth at a Wendy's and by the time she realized it was not in the car with her, they had traveled an hour and a half from the "scene of the crime". By the time they got back to the restaurant, it seemed as though the workers had sort of put together a denial as to any knowledge, claiming another lady called to report the missing purse and described it to them, so they gave it to her..............yeah, right.....Not pointing any fingers or anything, which would be without proof, they had to set about cancelling credit cards and such for protection. Their cash money was in the purse as well as car keys, all her identification, medication, irreplaceable information often found in ladies' purses. She does not wish to discuss it anymore though because it is so upsetting, as I heard her tell this to someone at the funeral reception last night. I told her about Lifelock, a type of insurance one can get to secure your identity and such in these situations. She may look into that so this will not happen again! Fortunately, Joe had his credit card with him or they would not have been able to buy gas or make other payments the entire weekend with their own cards being stopped.

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Originally I had planned to wash my hair at church but since the kitchen was being used to prepare food at the time, I thought it best not to even try putting myself in the kitchen. I would just take my chances that the water was back on at home and I could clean up there----not!

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Justin and I were privileged to be personally invited to the funeral service of my neighbor, Billy Powell, and I was charged with asking a select few of the other neighbors to attend as well. All came that were invited so The Palace had a good showing of support. Justin came here first but since I was going to another funeral later and he was driving his friend, Jesse, around, we took two cars. Arriving in plenty of time, we found the church without problem and were not bothered by the security. I wore my red coat in honor of Billy and because it was blame cold outside.

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Some of the neighbors were already seated so we went in the row behind them. Two went up to see the memorial display in front of the church so I did, too. There was one beautiful photo of Billy at the piano, leaning back and laughing---yup, that was him! Others were some awards including the induction into the Hall of Fame. The sound crew was still getting things fixed up and were not reverential but we were early so I excused them. As more folks arrived we kept wondering who was who, and Justin made the remark to me, "Look at all those mullets!" Must be trademark, especially in aging rock 'n rollers. Lots of hugs and 'good to see ya's' were going around, as I imagine many of these people hadn't seen each other in a long time. It was interesting to watch the interaction and reaction of people and speculate privately over who was who.

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As we left the condo, two huge limos were parked in front of Ms. Huntley's house, apparently waiting to go pick up the family and entourage for the funeral. Just before the service was to begin, a set of doors in the front of the sanctuary opened and in they came. At least 5 or 6 rows of people came in, the band and their spouses or "dates", family, close friends, Kid Rock, and Hank Williams Jr...............Yes, you read that correctly. Ellen came in toward the end and sat in the front row, aided by her daughters and a walking stick. From our vantage point it was difficult to see her but what we could see just broke my heart.

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On a screen pre-service was a slide show with background music by the Christian band Billy used to play with, Vision. Most of the shots were of his career but the most moving for me were the family shots, their wedding, eating wedding cake, Billy playing with the kids, Ellen and Billy in the back of limos on tour, and so on. Quite moving! And the way, we, his neighbors, remember him, a family man, out walking his dogs.