Maggie`s Front Porch

Cold in Georgia

2010-01-05T14:46:00.002-05:00

It is freezing cold here in Georgia today. Last night, the low was 18 degrees with a wind chill of 8 degrees. The DOT has been busy in Atlanta where many main water pipes froze and burst.

It made me shiver to see the crews wading in the icy water trying to repair the pipe lines. As the pipes were repaired, the DOT had to put salt and sand on the roads to prevent automobile accidents.

My heart goes out to those who have to work in bad weather and also to so very many who have such little heat to keep from freezing to death. I do pray there was room at shelters for all who came seeking help.

Old Time Christmas

2009-12-25T21:13:00.001-05:00

'Twas the night before Christmas & out on the ranch

The pond was froze over & so was the branch.

The snow was piled up belly-deep to a mule.

The kids were all home on vacation from school,

And happier young folks you never did see-

Just all sprawled around a-watchin' TV.

Then suddenly, sometime around 8 o'clock,

There came a surprise that gave them a shock!

The power went off, the TV went dead,

When Grandpa came in from out in the shed..

With an armload of wood, the house was all dark.

"Just what I expected," they heard him remark.

"Them power line wires must be down from the snow.

Seems sorter like times on the ranch long ago."

"I'll hunt up some candles," said Mom. "With their light,

And the fireplace, I reckon we'll make out all right."

The teen-agers all seemed enveloped in gloom.

Then Grandpa came back from a trip to his room,

Uncased his old fiddle & started to play

That old Christmas song about bells on a sleigh.

Mom started to sing, & 1st thing they knew

Both Pop & the kids were all singing it, too.

They sang Christmas carols, they sang "Holy Night,"

Their eyes all a-shine in the ruddy firelight.

They played some charades Mom recalled from her youth,

And Pop read a passage from God's Book of Truth.

They stayed up till midnight-and, would you believe,

The youngsters agreed 'twas a fine Christmas Eve.

Grandpa rose early, some time before dawn;

And when the kids wakened, the power was on..

"The power company sure got the line repaired quick,"

Said Grandpa - & no one suspected his trick.

Last night, for the sake of some old-fashioned fun,

He had pulled the main switch - the old Son-of-a-Gun!

-anonymous

Sandra Day O`Connor

2009-09-21T20:56:00.001-04:00

It was on this day in 1981 - 28 years ago - that the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sandra Day O'Connor, making her the nation's first female Supreme Court justice. The confirmation vote was unanimous, 99-0, and she took the bench four days later, on September 25.
She was nominated on July 7 by President Reagan, who'd promised in his 1980 campaign that he would appoint a woman to the court.
Sandra Day O'Connor went to law school at Stanford, graduating third in her class - the very same class in which future Chief Justice William Rehnquist graduated first. While at Stanford Law, the two future justices dated briefly. In 1993, a dozen years after O'Connor's appointment, Ruth Bader Ginsburg (appointed by Clinton) became the second female Supreme Court justice.

Thought for Today

2009-09-19T07:28:00.001-04:00

"The colors of autumn's rainbow,Are like friends in your time of need,It's nice when they wander by."

©Steve & Becca

Three Turtles

2009-09-14T13:27:00.001-04:00

Three turtles, Joe, Bill, and Raymond, decide to go on a picnic. So Joe packs the picnic basket with cookies, bottled sodas, and sandwiches. The trouble is, the picnic site is 10 miles away, so the turtles take 10 whole days to get there.By the time they do arrive, everyone's exhausted. Joe takes the stuff out of the basket, one by one. He takes out the sodas and says, "Alright, Bill, gimme the bottle opener.""I didn't bring the bottle opener," Bill says, "I thought you packed it."Joe gets worried. He turns to Raymond. "Do you have the bottle opener?"
Naturally, Raymond doesn't have it, so the turtles are stuck ten miles away from home without soda. Joe & Bill beg Raymond to go back home and retrieve it, but Raymond flatly refuses, knowing that they'll eat everything by the time he gets back.After about two hours, the turtles manage to convince Raymond to go, swearing on their great grand-turtles' graves that they won't touch the food. So, Raymond sets off down the road, slow and steadily.Twenty days pass, but no Raymond. Joe and Bill are hungry and puzzled, but a promise is a promise.Another day passes, and still no Raymond, but a promise is a promise.After three more days pass without Raymond in sight, Bill starts getting restless. "I NEED FOOD!" he says with a hint of dementia in his voice."NO!" Joe retorts, "We promised."Five more days pass. Joe realizes that Raymond probably skipped out to the diner down the road, so the two turtles weakly lift the lid, get a sandwich, and open their mouths to eat.But then, right at that instant, Raymond pops out from behind a rock, and says, "I knew it!, I'm not going!"

Great Fire of London

2009-09-02T16:33:00.002-04:00

It was on this day in 1666, at one o'clock in the morning, that the Great Fire of London broke out at the king's bakery on Pudding Lane.

Fire was a real danger in London - most of the buildings were made out of timbers, with thatched roofs, and were built one up against the next; and on top of that, it had been a dry, hot summer. But peoples' minds were consumed by the plague, which had devastated the population in the previous two years.

The king's baker was named Thomas Farynor, and it was his house that caught on fire. One of the workers in the bakery woke up to the smell of smoke, and woke everyone else up. They went up to the roof and escaped by climbing onto the roof next door - everyone but the maid, who was too scared, and died in the fire.

There wasn't a centralized method of fire control in London. People usually took care of fires themselves, and if the danger was serious enough, they tore down adjacent buildings to make a fire break. When the Great Fire broke out, people in the neighborhood called in the Lord Mayor of London to ask permission to tear the buildings down. He didn't think it was a big deal - in fact, he said, "A woman might piss it out."

A lot of the information we have about the fire comes from Samuel Pepys, who kept detailed diaries about his personal life and the events going on around him. His maid woke him up at 3 a.m. to tell him about the fire, and he wrote, "So I rose, and slipped on my night-gown and went to her window, and thought it to be on the back side of Mark Lane at the farthest; but, being unused to such fires as followed, I thought it far enough off, and so went to bed again, and to sleep." But a few hours later, she woke him up again, and told him that 300 houses had been destroyed.

Pepys walked to a high point in the city to look, where he saw what he described as "an infinite great fire." He realized that the fire was far more serious than the Lord Mayor's reaction. So Pepys went straight to the King and the Duke of York and told them what was going on. They immediately authorized tearing down buildings for fire breaks, but by that time, it was too late. The wind was strong, and the fire was spreading. On top of all that, mobs were forming, convinced that there were arsonists. Some blamed the French, some the Dutch, others the Catholics.

The fire burned from the early hours of Sunday through Thursday. Pepys wrote, "I met with many people undone, and more that have extraordinary great losses." By the time it had finally run its course, 373 acres of the city had been burned, and 13,200 houses. One sixth of Londoners were homeless.

The dispossessed people of London wanted to blame someone. Anyone who was Catholic or didn't speak English well was considered a suspect, and many people were attacked. A French man confessed to starting the fire. Even the jury at the time believed him mentally unstable and probably not guilty, but they needed to blame someone, so he was hanged for the crime. Anti-Catholic and anti-foreigner sentiment continued in London. There was even an inscription that blamed the Catholics put on the monument to the Great Fire, and it wasn't removed until 1831, more than 150 years later.

Facts of Life

2009-08-24T21:10:00.000-04:00

On days like today
As in yesteryears
Visions do appear
Blurred by tears

As civil history shows up
Some clap with pride
Ignoring shameful deeds
Time will never hide

All history is good
When both sides are told
Of when humans sold humans
For silver and gold

And it did matter
If you were white or black
By horrible lashes applied
To a black human`s back

Slaves to the white
Worked to the bone
Only in death
Were they left alone

Finally freed from chains
Buried in a potter`s field
Relate all the history
But please make it real

Tell both sides
And what was true
Don`t forget the black
Among the grey and blue

Love (acrostic poetry)

2009-04-20T19:43:00.002-04:00

Lingering Longing
Occuring Often
Visiting Victims
Entirely Enthralled

School Days

2009-04-18T20:56:00.003-04:00

Studying was not always an easy thing to do in my home due to the fact that some of the houses we lived in when I was a child had no electricity.

Chores and home work had to be completed before dark because we only had a kerosene lamp and little light from the fireplace during the winter time.

Homework was handed out every day. If it was not completely finished and handed back to the teacher the next day, the student would receive ten smacks with a ruler on the hand.

Older kids would sometimes tease the younger or smaller students during the recess period. At times, some children dreaded going to the playground.

Only the fastest kids got to the swings, sliding board or checked out the jump ropes at recess. Sometimes, a few of the children played marbles which was brought from home. If anyone got angry at losing and tried to start a fight, the teacher would take all the marbles and put them in her desk.

Lunchtime was hard to wait for each day because the wonderful odors of home cooked style food filled the halls at the school.

Dusting the erasers and cleaning the blackboards were chores most all the children loved to do. The teacher would usually pick two of the most behaved students in class each day to do this chore.

Apple days in grade school were a treat. The minute we would step inside the school, we could smell them. A large basket would be placed outside each classroom door in the hallway. They were large red apples which were given to the schools from the government and believe me, they were delicious.

Years have passed and so many changes have taken place with the students, teachers and schools. More time seems to be spent these days on sports and having fun than learning Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.

School days are not as safe for students now as it was when I attended school. It is true we had bullies at times but a trip to the principal`s office could cure that problem in a hurry. These days, children are killing each other with guns, knives, drugs and beating each other to death.

Don`t Rightly Know, son

2009-04-07T22:18:00.002-04:00

A father and son went fishing one day. While they were out in the boat, the boy suddenly became curious about the world around him. He asked his father, "How does this boat float? The father replied, "Don't rightly know son." A little later, the boy looked at his father and asked, "How do fish breath underwater?" Once again the father replied, "Don't rightly know son." A little later the boy asked his father, "Why is the sky blue?" Again, the father replied. "Don't rightly know son." Finally, the boy asked his father, "Dad, do you mind my asking you all of these questions?" The father replied, "Of course not, you don't ask questions, you never learn nothin'."

Veterans Affairs

2009-03-17T14:58:00.001-04:00

Caring for veterans is matter of American honor

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON (AFRNS) -- Caring for veterans is a responsibility and duty for all Americans, and the employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs are those who are charged with repaying "that debt of honor," President Barack Obama said during a ceremony here marking the department's 20th anniversary March 16.

The president promised the VA employees that he will make good on his promise to create a 21st-century department.

Veterans Affairs, formerly called the Veterans Administration, became a cabinet-level department in 1989. The employees are charged with providing education, training benefits, health care, home loans and cemeteries for American veterans.

"It's a commitment that lasts from the day our veterans retire that uniform to the day that they are put to rest, and it continues on for their families," the president said.

American servicemembers are the country's best and brightest, President Obama said.

"They are our bravest, enlisting in a time of war, enduring tour after tour of duty, serving with honor under the most difficult circumstances and making sacrifices that many of us cannot begin to imagine," he said.

The department must take care of these people and of their families, he added.

The VA mission always is vital, President Obama said, but it is even more so during long and difficult conflicts like today's.

"Last month, I announced my strategy for ending the war in Iraq, and I made it very clear that this strategy would not end with the military plans and diplomatic agendas, but would endure through my commitment to upholding our sacred trust with every man and woman who has served this country," the president said. "And the same holds true for our troops serving in Afghanistan."

The president has requested an extra $25 billion for the department over the next five years. The agency -- under the leadership of retired Army Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, former Army chief of staff -- is reviewing its operations.

"With this budget, we don't just fully fund our VA health care program," the president said. "We expand it to serve an additional 500,000 veterans by 2013, to provide better health care in more places and to dramatically improve services related to mental health and injuries like post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury."

President Obama said technology also will help to cut red tape and ease the transition from active duty. He promised new help for homeless veterans, "because those heroes have a home."

"It's the country they served -- the United States of America," he said. "And until we reach a day when not a single veteran sleeps on our nation's streets, our work remains unfinished."

He called on VA employees to help to implement the GI Bill for the 21st century. Just as the veterans of World War II formed the backbone of the progress after that war, the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan too, can be the catalyst for progress. The deadline for putting the rules for the new GI Bill in place is Aug. 1.

"That's how we'll show our servicemen and women that when you come home to America, America will be here for you," President Obama said. "That's how we will ensure that those who have borne the battle, and their families, will have every chance to live out their dreams."

Transforming the agency is a tall order, President Obama said, but he added that he has the fullest confidence that the men and women of the department can do it.

The United States will "fulfill our sacred trust and serve our returning heroes as well as they've served us," he said.

Related Sites:
Department of Veterans Affairs

Sweet Shrub

2009-03-15T00:00:00.000-04:00

Sweet Shrub
Sweet Shrub is native to the Appalachian stream banks of the Smokies, where it is also known as Carolina Allspice, Strawberry Bush, Sweet Shade, and Bubby Blossom. Women used to place the flowers in their bodices as a perfume, hence the name "Bubby Blossom". Sweet shrub was once commonly found as an ornamental around colonial homes, especially south of the Mason-Dixon line. Several large bushes can fill a small yard with the combined fragrance of strawberry, cantaloupe, spiced apple, and burgundy wine. Sweet shrub has a distinctive maroon-red flower about 2" across. It is pollinated by small beetles that were the first pollinators of flowering plants and were instrumental in the evolution of flowering plants, long before bees and flies appeared on the scene. When the flower first opens it has the fragrance of spiced apples as it opens over a period of 7 to 10 days. Flowers first appear in mid-March with a flush of flowers in April, and a trailing out through May. Even the leaves are fragrant when rubbed, and in the fall they turn a sunny yellow. In colonial times the cinnamon-flavored bark was used as a seasoning. Sweet shrubs are ideal for planting close to the house near a window where the fragrance may drift indoors. Plant additional plants by a favor-ite path or sitting area. Will flower splendidly in full sun, but is best adapted to light shade. Flowers in 2 to 3 years from seed. Medicinal: Useful for damp spleen. An excellent herb for moving stagnant chi. The leaves, twigs, and buds have diaphoretic properties. An emmenagogue, and possibly has some anti-viral activity.I have a large sweet shrub bush close to my kitchen window and it is in full bloom at this time.The first time I ever saw or smelled a sweet shrub bush was when I was a child and my grandmother introduced us in her front yard. I fell in love with this bush and I can tell you ... it has an odor like no other bloom I have ever encountered.My grandmother told me that the sweet shrub grew wild in the woods and it was a very special thing to get one to grow in a person`s yard...I feel blessed.

The Best Teacher Ever

2009-03-03T12:31:00.000-05:00

There's a story from many years ago of a primary school teacher. Her name was Mrs. Thompson and as she stood in front of her fifth grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children a lie. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said she loved them all the same.
But that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.
Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed he didn't play well with the other children, his clothes were messy and he constantly needed a bath. Teddy could be quite unpleasant.
It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold Xs and then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers. At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last.
However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise. Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners. He is a joy to be around."
His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."
His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."
Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class."
By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful paper and tied with pretty ribbons, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper he got from a grocery bag.
Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my mom used to."
After the children left, she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead she began to teach children.
Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class, and despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets."
A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.
Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.
Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had in his whole life.
Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time, he explained that after he got his Bachelor degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now, his name was a little longer. The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.
The story doesn't end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he'd met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the place at the wedding that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course Mrs. Thompson did.
And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together. They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you, Mrs. Thompson, for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me I could make a difference."
Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."

--Unknown Author

What I Believe

2009-02-28T16:28:00.002-05:00

I believe there is no justice
but that cottongrass and bunchberry
grow on the mountain.

I believe that a scorpion`s sting
will kill a man
but that his wife will remarry.

I believe that, the older we get,
the weaker the body,
but the stronger the soul.

I believe that if you roll over at night
in an empty bed
the air consoles you.

I believe no one is spared
the darkness,
and no one gets all of it.

I believe we all drown eventually
in a sea of our making,
but that the land belongs to someone else.

I believe in destiny.
And I believe in free will.

I believe that, when all
the clocks break,
time goes on without them.

And I believe that whatever
pulls us under,
will do so gently.

So, as no to disturb anyone,
So as not to interfere
with what we believe in.

©Michael Blumenthal

SHADOW DANCING (acrostic)

2009-02-22T15:43:00.003-05:00

Slowly began the music
Helping two hearts blend
As they reached in anticipation
Dancing to a different beat
Oblivious to any other
Watching the birth of a union

Darting in and out
Apart from the world
No longer in the shadows
Crowds soon disappeared
In each dancer`s eyes
Noticing only each other
Gliding with heated emotions.

Color Full Existence

2009-02-19T12:01:00.003-05:00

Just lying here thinking
About a color line
Looking at this body
And the skin of mine

I can tell you this
Is not in my sight
No where, in my being
The color of white

When I look at people
Called black or white
It is the hues of a rainbow
Which comes into my sight

A deep rich chocolate brown
Or a golden light tan
Is a beautiful covering
For a woman or man

While many speak visual
Calling some people white
This color only brings
A ghost in my sight

Never, should any person
Be equated by a color of the skin
Because the value of anyone
Is found deep within

Beyond the aspect
Of a taught society line
Lives the true beauty
Both yours and mine.

Black History Month

2009-02-17T11:14:00.010-05:00

This is the shortest month of the year in days but the longest month of the year in some people`s mind.

This is a time set aside by our government to celebrate and study the history of a race of people who have been denied a voice for over 100 years.

What bothers me is the fact that no one has gotten it into their head yet that this short month seems to many as enough time to devote to a long ignored population of people.

People tiptoe all around discussing issues from past and present as carefully as if everyone is walking on a high wire with a fear of falling.

I am called, "White".
My best friend is called, "Black".
We call each other, "Friends".

We can not go about our daily life today in ignorance about the things which did happen and things which still happen.

Perhaps when we all really tell the truth about the past as we know it...then, maybe we can begin to grow in a new tomorrow where we can all share equally in the bounty of the USA.

America was founded for all people to have freedom from persecution. I am happy to say I learn something new almost on a daily basis. Let us all learn to love each other and work in harmony.

River of Dreams

2009-02-17T10:54:00.001-05:00

I love the "River of Dreams" by Billy Joel

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
From the mountains of faith
To the river so deep
I must be lookin' for something
Something sacred I lost
But the river is wide
And it's too hard to cross

Even though I know the river is wide
I walk down every evening and stand on the shore
I try to cross to the opposite side
So I can finally find what I've been looking for

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the valley of fear
To a river so deep
I've been searching for something
Taken out of my soul
Something I'd never lose
Something somebody stole

I don't know why I go walking at night
But now I'm tired and I don't want to walk anymore
I hope it doesn't take the rest of my life
Until I find what it is I've been looking for

(Two beat Pause)
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the jungle of doubt
To the river so deep
I know I'm searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the blind
In the middle of the night

(break)
I’m not sure about a life after this
God knows I've never been a spiritual man
Baptized by the fire, I wade into the river
That is runnin' to the promised land

(Long Five beat Pause)
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the desert of truth
To the river so deep
We all end in the ocean
We all start in the streams
We're all carried along
By the river of dreams
In the middle of the night

Springtime Is Near

2009-02-16T16:23:00.001-05:00

We are having a beautiful sunny day here in Georgia.

My neighbor across the street from me has some pretty yellow daffodils in full bloom and in my own front yard, I have a large Bradford Pear tree which is trying to bud at the tips of the limbs.

The grass is a pretty dark green and bushes are getting new growth. It will not be too much longer until the sound of lawnmowers will be heard in the neighborhood.

I am going to wait about two more weeks and then I will fill the hummingbird feeder on my front porch.

I can hardly keep seed in the feeders for the other birds because I have several greedy squirrels and they always take more than their share of the food.

Come on! SPRING... I am ready.

Apathy

2009-02-08T16:15:00.000-05:00

how much does love weigh
how much does love cost
is it worth searching for
when ever it is lost

is love felt by many
or is it only felt by a few
does love grow stronger with time
is love more valued when it is new

does love have a value
beyond earthly cost
will love be missed
when true love becomes lost

is love any different
when connected by birth
can love be stronger
connecting with another on this earth

does love always speak truth
or can it sometimes lie
when the truth in love is gone
will the love die

one can not be too upset
when all is done and said
love is like all living things
to survive it must be fed

© Maggie Lee Scott

A Dream

2009-02-07T15:58:00.000-05:00

Usually, I do not dream and I was like awake while I was asleep last night. There in a two story house, I was trying to study in a medical book which made me think of Webster`s dictionary. I was told to study a certain portion in the book but when I turned to where that information was located, I found about a dozen pages had been stapled together and I could not turn the pages or see what it was telling about the heart.

On each side of me was a child. One a grown daughter, who was now little and a grandson, who spoke like an educated man. The daughter was asking me questions about the book which I had on a low table in front of us and the grandson was answering her questions as I looked at the two of them. All of a sudden, I heard screaming and I went to the open window which was nearby. I could see woods in the distance and coming out of the woods was a swirling, rushing red river of water.

I could see no other houses or people outside the window but the cries of terror sounded close and as I turned my head, I saw the two children looking at me. It was as if they wanted me to tell them everything was going to be OK and I knew there was no way we could get away from the raging flood. At first, I felt a sense of hopelessness and even, some fear, as I thought of what I needed to say to the two children. I looked once more out at the rising waters and then closed the open window. I went to where the children were still sitting and sat down beside them. I reached over to a bookcase and chose a fairytale book which they loved for me to read to them.

I opened the book and pointed out the pretty pictures painted on the pages. The screams from outside was no longer heard as I started telling them the story which had been told so many times through the ages. I wondered for a while how long it would take for the waters to reach the place we were at and also how would I handle the fear of the children as well as the fear which I knew I would have because I knew we were not going to live. I really had mixed emotions as I kept reading. It was a feeling of fear and peace at the same time.

I woke up!

Moon Light

2009-02-06T15:52:00.000-05:00

I was just thinking about how different the moon looks at different times. I recall at times when I was a child walking along a moonlit dirt road to get to a phone so my mama could call someone to come and get us and take us to my Grandma`s home. On occasions like that I walked in fear and anger. I was mad at my daddy for causing this to happen to us and I was fearful of what tomorrow might bring.

Then, there was a moon I saw when I was nineteen and in the USAF. I was stationed in Belville, Illinois and I was riding down a moon lit dirt road. The moon was so huge that it seemed to reach from the top of the sky and reached the ground below. It was so bright and full. We just parked the car and sat for a while admiring the moon lit fields of corn nearby...it was almost like a magical night.

It burned into my memory and I can see it at most any time when I wish to recall it.

First Born

2009-02-05T15:46:00.000-05:00

The 31st of December is the birthday of my oldest daughter, Rebecca Ann. She was born when I was 20 years old. I came home to my mom`s home in Villa Rica for her birth. My husband, Dave was in the USAF and we were stationed in Lousiana at the time. The year was 1957 and I wanted to be with my Mom when Becky was born. A friend of mine drove her car and brought me to Georgia for the birth of my daughter.

My friend`s name was Terri and she was in the USAF. Becky weighed 7 lbs, 8 ozs. when she was born and she had a bald head. In the center of her chin was a small indenture ... just like her daddy had and she was a remarkable image of Dave. When she grew older and started getting hair, it was thick and curly, just like her daddy`s. She always complained about her curls and at one time when she was in her early teens, she had me take her to a beauty shop to see if they could make her hair straight. It did not work and to this day, she has a head covered with thick, curly hair. At an early age, Becky ann married a fellow named Johnny and they had three children. Steven, Stephanie and Christopher are the names she gave to her three children. When the youngest son, Chris was only about two, she divorced Johnny due to drugs and alcohol abuse.

A few years later she married a man named, John. I was not too crazy about John when Becky first introduced him into the family but in later years, he became a favorite son-in-law. He took care of Becky`s children and raised them as if they were his own and they all three call him dad. I have to say that their own father was never there for them and never supported them in any way. Becky Ann finished high school after she was married to John and later got some college credit. She has a very good job now. All three of her children are married and Becky has four grandchildren.

A few years ago, Becky and John had a new home built in Carrollton, Georgia. It has a lake at the edge of their property and they enjoy fishing there. At this time, Becky and John are already talking about looking forward to their retirement days together. I am proud of Becky Ann and at times like today, I see the smiling baby I held in my arms so many years ago.

Fishing

2009-02-04T15:42:00.000-05:00

My daddy was a fisherman and all of his family...Men, women and children also loved to fish.

My daddy took me at a fairly early age and taught me some about the art of fishing. One of the first things he taught me was that if I went fishing with him, I was expected to bait my own hook. He taught me the best places to find where the earth worms would be just waiting for us to get them. We did not use store bought fishing poles. We considered our self fortunate to have a good cane pole. My daddy made a strainer for holding the fish from a branch on a tree. A few good places to find fish bait was near an old barn, in the woods under damp leaves and sometimes close to a fish bank.

Once while we were fishing we came upon a man who had caught a fish hook in his hand.

My daddy cut it out for him.

Ma

2009-02-03T15:39:00.000-05:00

We always called my daddy`s mama, "Ma" and her husband, "Pa"...I was named for this grandma. Her name was Maggie Roland before she was married. As I think back, I recall sitting on her lap and hearing her sing to me. "Hush, Little Baby", "Paw Paw Patch", "Pore Little Fly On The Wall", were some of the songs she sang as she rocked me.

I recall being very comfortable and feeling her love when I was around her. She was a young woman when she died and I was a young child. I think she was in the early fifties and I was five. When they were burying her, three men stood on each side of the deep hole. The men held on to strong ropes which were lowering the coffin-box which held my grandma.

I recall seeing the coffin hit the side of the hole and I wondered if it hurt her while she was put in the ground. The men started putting dirt on top of the box where my grandma was and it upset me because I was thinking she would not be able to get out and it would be hard for her to breath. I do not think I fully understood that this was the last time I would see my grandma on this earth. I missed her for a long, long time and when my grandfather married again several years later, I just never could see her as my grandma and I do not recall ever calling her by a name. I know her name was Ethel and she was a very good woman who loved my grandpa but it was very different from when Ma was alive.

Later that year my daddy enlisted in the Navy and went away to the War...It was a sad time for me...

Depression

2009-02-02T15:34:00.000-05:00

It is a horrible thing to live with depression at any stage of your life and in any circumstance. I think I first met depression in 1941 when my grandmother died and my daddy went to war in the Navy. At that time, I felt a large part of my life had a deep hole in it and I was just beginning to really know a bit about life. My doctors have told me that I have a chemical imbalance and that it is inherited. I am not saying they are wrong it is just that different things seem to mess the chemicals up and it is hell when they get off balanced.

It is a sad thing to have to deal with depression when you are all alone. I really can not blame anyone for not wanting to be around me when I am fighting a battle with the depression. I really can understand why some people get tired of fighting a battle where they will never be the winner. How can you explain darkness to someone who is standing in the sunshine and who wants to hold an umbrella full of holes when seeing a storm. I know what it means when it is said, "laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry alone."

I have made many choices in my life. Some were made because I wanted to chose what I chose and then there are the choices which were made because of pressure from living without much choices. There were many times in my life when I feared death and fought it with all my strength but I have found as I grow older, death is not as much to be feared and at times can even become a welcome guest. Things which I so desired to have in the past seem less and less important as time passes.

I have had a good life and many wonderful times. I have know heartaches and I have felt horrible physical pain. I am blessed to have children and I love all of them. Some of their choices I do not understand but I am sure my mom probably felt the same about me. During my lifetime, I have had many friends but only one, best friend...I will always be so thankful for receiving that gift.

"Tomorrow, tomorrow, the sun will come out tomorrow..."

Banana Softie

2009-02-01T15:26:00.000-05:00

Back in the mid 1940`s, my daddy found this great fruit and vegetable stand in Mableton. The man at the stand has great fruits, vegetables and nuts but that is not what attracted my daddy. Every since I can recall, we ate ice cream in our family when we had enough money to buy all the ingredients that it took to make it. My daddy liked to try new kinds of ice cream and I do not know how he learned about the place which sold the banana treat. Mableton is located about 12 miles from my home town. You get on hwy 78 and go east toward Atlanta. I had tasted ice cream from home churns, drug stores and grocery stores but this was different.

In the early 40`s there was no place called the Dairy Queen that I had ever heard of or seen. The man at the stand had a machine sort of like the ones which make the soft ice cream with a curl on the top. He used real bananas, milk, sugar and flavoring in it. There was nothing artificial in it and he did not have it all the time. I never will forget the first time daddy took my mom, two sisters and younger brother to get one of these special ice cream treats. I honestly do not think I had ever tasted any thing that was so good. The cones were fresh and crispy and the ice cream was frozen to perfection. The flavor was out of this world and I felt I could have ate a dozen if I had of been allowed to try. We always bought the ice cream and ate it on the trip back home. It was so good that mine, my brothers and youngest sister`s ice cream was soon gone. My middle sister always took little licks and she would have half of hers long after all of ours was gone. She would then tease us about not having any.

Daddy would take us to the stand at least once a month and we sure looked forward to going. A couple of years later, a place opened down the road a couple of miles called the Polar Bear. They sold all different kinds of ice cream and it was almost like the Dairy Queen of today...except, much better.

Even today when I think of the vegetable stand in Mableton, I can almost taste the wonderful banana ice cream treat...