A VERY DIFFERENT LOOK AT ST. MARK'S

My adopted hometown paid tribute to a young man who lost his life in Afghanistan a week ago. It was doubly sad because his friend from high school, also a Navy Seal, died in the same shooting down of their helicopter. I didn't know him or the other young man or their families, but I know several people who knew one or both of them, so by extension I feel a deep sense of loss. And though I didn't attend the service, I did drive by to witness the tribute being paid. A nearby church, King's Highway Christian, offered their parking lot for the service time, and a two-block stretch for each of the four streets north of St. Mark's were blocked off for parking. Here's the newspaper's write-up.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20110814/NEWS10/108140336/Navy-SEAL-CPO-Rob-Reeves-honored?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

As I stopped at the traffic light at the main intersection next to St. Mark's I watched a young man in uniform, wearing a beret (sorry, I'm not familiar enough with Military uniforms to identify which branch) pushing a stroller with his younger child in it; following was his wife, also in the same uniform with beret holding the hand of their 3-4 yr. old daughter wearing her Sunday best on the way to pay tribute to their fallen brother. It broke my heart to think that someone else might be leading those children into a similar service for their parents sometime in the future.

I don't know what these wars are about anymore. How do we know what the objective is? How do we know when it is achieved or lost? How long do we just keep killing or being killed? What's the point?

Russia must be laughing and saying, "They learned nothing from what happened to us."

I do offer all my respect to those who offer their lives to protect and defend our country and hope those who command them hold them dear as well.

HOW'S THE HOME SELLING GOING?

In two words, NOT WELL! In nine weeks "on the market" the house has had five bookings for showings, but only four actually showed up. Two viewers felt my house needed too much "updating", one kept it in his top two and might come back, one liked it but wanted her son to take a look. Haven't had any re-showings for either of them. And I'm not sure what these individuals mean by updating. Are they talking about replacing the carpet, replacing wall paper with paint, or gutting the kitchen and bathroom? It's funny that when Jaz & I look at a house we look at it and evaluate how we would change it; we don't go in expecting everything to be the way we'd want it. Get a grip, Shoppers!

Of course, one has to factor in that we are experiencing, according to the weather guy, "excessive heat" with temps over 100 degrees for 34 days, one day behind Dallas. And then, of course, we have the Washington congressional debacle which can't make rational decisions and throws our economy as well as the rest of the world's into chaos. Everyone seems to be afraid to make a move of any sort. I am not afraid. Buy my house, and I'll go buy another.

I'm trying to keep the yard mostly green, though there are a few brown patches. So far we have not had a ban on lawn watering, but I expect that very soon. If the house were not for sale, I'd let it go now to conserve water and to keep the bill down. But, I'm a seller now, and I have to do what I can to sell the house. My realtor feels that the heat and the economy are deterrents as I do.

The realtor's company emphasizes keeping a welcoming, pretty plants entrance. Well, I did that but they've been burnt, so I planted new things last weekend.

The blue blooms are plumeria, but they seem to be burning out now. Boohoo! The white are lantana. I've cut back the begonia because they're being killed by the heat; hopefully, they'll come back.

Something that has weathered this terrible weather is a plant whose name tag has disappeared and it continues to grow and produces little red blooms though they don't show right now, but I really love it. It's such a soldier of a plant.

Mack is an added attraction. He wasn't asked to pose here. You can see he's not pleased with the weather either.

AFTER DAILY HOUSEKEEPING: How am I amusing myself once the house is showable? Well, I'm entertaining birds---numerous sparrows, a pair of blue jays, a pair of cardinals, a pair of doves, and on occasion house finches. I discovered that the finches eat seeds but also love nectar, and the hummingbird feeder that I usually have out in the summer was their greater attraction. Those little dickens could suck that pint sized feeder dry in three days. Therefore, I've left it dry for about three weeks. Unfortunately, I've seen hummingbirds on at least three occasions looking for a meal find a totally dry feeder. So sorry, hummingbirds. But it's refilled now. In fact, I have an aviary cafeteria. And those sparrows apparently know me and watch for me to refill the feeder and appear within a minute morning and evening once I fill the feeder. They also appreciate the water in the bird bath and additional pan of water I put out for them.

Occasionally there is an "Ooops" I don't really want to see. For instance, the blue jay which killed a lizard in a very brutal fashion and proceeded to eat it. At least he ate it; didn't just kill it for sport. It did spoil my lunch time appetite.

I'm reading a terrific book: THE VICAR OF CHRIST by Walter F. Murphy. This book was published in 1979, but I find it extremely contemporary because many of the problems it discusses are still with us. It also softens my take on the Catholic church because I find it is as ham-strung as our government is, just different perspectives. I highly recommend it. In fact, you do need to read it. It is a novel, and the premise that an American Korean war hero becomes Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and eventually Pope makes it clear that it is fiction, but it doesn't negate the relevance of the content.

My third diversion is needlepoint. My last needlepoint endeavor was when I lived in Terrell and had my house for sale there; when 9/11 occurred I stopped work on it as I couldn't focus anymore. Then when I moved the project was lost; to this day I can't figure out what happened to that Siamese cat I was working on. This new needlepoint project is one I bought at an estate sale for $6.00, and I think the original price was probably about $30. Anyway, it is very colorful but I really need bright light to see where the various colors go so I work on it in the living room with the shades up during the afternoon when it is very, very hot outside. I may not be doing a very good job, but it is fun. And when I move this time I'm going to make sure that needlepoint doesn't get lost. I don't really see it hanging in a prominent place in my new home; maybe in the closet. But it will still be a source of pride for "hanging in there."

FRUSTRATIONS/JOKES: I don't even know where to start on this one. Let's take this arbitrary beginning.

Who runs this country? The Congress of the U.S. or Wall Street? My reluctant answer is the latter. We didn't vote them into this capacity; however, they have taken over, they want no oversight, and they have none.

Why is Congress no longer functioning? Republicans, and/or Tea Party members of Congress, have so set their goal on defeating the President/Democrats that they are willing to sacrifice the entire country, all of us, and the global economy to win their point. What an empty victory that will be! To think one can cut spending without raising revenue is so stupid. My experience has been that I couldn't cut expenditures for food and housing for my family; I had to take a second job---and I did.

Every member of Congress who left leaving the FAA hanging with no finance should turn over his/her salary for this month of vacation to filling the national coffers, and if that causes them a shortfall then they should take a second job. Maybe they can handle the second job; they're not doing well with their elected positions.

Rick Perry is considering running for President. Dear God in heaven, he's worse than W. Surely our country has not dumbed down to a level of seriously considering him as the leader of this country. He's done sufficient damage to Texas; would anyone really want to give him the entire nation upon which to wreak havoc? I have more respect for the GOP than to think this could happen. Don't let me down, GOP.

Maybe I've covered everything, but probably not. I'll wake up about 3:00 a.m. and think, "I forgot to mention ..." But I need to bring this to a close and go to bed. I seem to wake up much earlier with this hot drought and propelled to do whatever I have to do early on then "cool it" from 11:00 a.m. on. Of course, by then it is already 100 degrees. I thought today was cooler (106 degrees)and it was; Jazz says I'm adapting. Probably right. Take care, Everybody.

A QUIET 4TH OF JULY

Very quiet, indeed. So quiet that I awoke this morning perspiring and straining for any sound at all. The power had once again gone off, and there was no A/C, no ceiling fan, no clock to let me know the time. A rather bleak start to the holiday, don't you know?

I dressed quickly and went out to mist the orchids hanging from my wonderful Japanese maple while planning a trip to Wendy's for a cup of coffee and some kind of breakfast treat. Thankfully, within an hour the power came on---SWEPCO magic--- and I didn't have to make the trip.

Did a few other chores related to trying to keep the house neat and tidy, but not as many as I should have. 100+ temps slow me down quite a bit.

This year the 4th has been quieted by a burn ban throughout the state, and a local ban on the sale or use of fireworks by private individuals. Every year since I've lived here the pets have really been miserable because fireworks were permitted one week prior and one week following a big holiday; this year they were spared.

The big public fireworks display down by the Red River was o.k.ed, so many people were planning and did attend. There are public stages down there where various bands and performers are scheduled. There are also food vendors and souvenir sales persons. Chillax, Jaz, and I went last year, and it was fun, but I didn't even consider it this year as we have had so much 100+ weather, such a drought, that I didn't want to be out there at all. The four of us did have grilled steaks at their house last night which was yummy. And am I glad it was last night.

So, here on the 4th, what happened. Thunderstorms actually moved into our area starting about 7:30 p.m. The big fireworks display should have been over by now, but I don't think it's even started. We haven't gotten much rain from this, but we have gotten a little, and we are most grateful for that. Thunder is still rumbling, and there has been plenty of lightening but not really the cloud to ground type.

I did look for my annual viewing of 1776 and called Jaz and Dagromme (sorry to have waked you) to tell them when it would be shown on TCM. Guess what? I recorded it this year; now I don't have to be beholden to the library or channels that might show it. It's mine for all the coming 4th's of July. YEA! I love that production. Of course, I'm the only person on this continent who still uses a VCR. What the heck?

To be very serious for a moment: The signing of the Declaration of Independence was a momentous event in history. Certainly I'm no authority or even a student of its gifts to us, but I intend to study it more closely and decide whether we are living up to its inspiration. Since our nation began in this way I think we should give it close scrutiny and make some choices. What do you think?

MY FAVORITE BLOGGER

Though I love seeing what my family of bloggers writes there is no one who give me more pleasure than Helen. She is so spot on with all the things I'd like to say but am too timid to do so (Can you believe that?). Her latest is a masterpiece.

http://margaretandhelen.wordpress.com/

If this doesn't link, then copy and paste the web address in your browser, and settle in for a good read. Oh yeah, those under 14 should not do this activity. Helen's language is a little rough, and I'm sure she doesn't write anything you haven't heard, but as a grandmother I don't want to lead you there. On your honor now---and mine.

GIVE ME A BREAK!

I just flipped over to the weather channel and on came a commercial for EZ Cracker. For only $20 (two easy payments of $10.00 each) you can get the ultimate egg cracking device. Included in this offer is an egg separator which you will see in the picture, and a device for "scrambling" an egg inside the shell. Unfortunately, the picture shows a fried, not scrambled, egg. All of this fine product is made of plastic. Believe me, I was slack jawed by this one. Then I started laughing and could hardly stop. If you don't think there's a problem with education in this country then here's your proof.




If anyone out there is paying twenty bucks for this product plus almost $7 for shipping and handling can we use this evidence to withdraw this person's voting privileges and deprive him/her of a driver's license? Furthermore, he/she should not be allowed to be a sperm/egg donor. I ask you.

Bit of advice: IF YOU CAN'T CRACK AN EGG STAY OUT OF THE KITCHEN!

FLASH FORWARD: SEPTEMBER, 2008

It was supposed to be a leisurely stroll through the earlier months of this year to catch you up, but some things just can't wait---like bi-weekly hurricanes. And it's so like three years ago with Katrina and Rita. With the first we had the big influx of refugees, and with the second we got the weather and some refugees. With Gustav we certainly received a huge number of people and thankfully the damage was not so great as with Katrina, and they were able to return home much more quickly. With Ike we didn't have as much damage as with Rita, but there were still some hits locally. Lots of people have downed tree limbs and debris, but damage reported in the newspaper happened to be from my neighborhood and the southern part of the city.

This is a fallen tree/damaged house two blocks behind my house. Note the big green bandaid on the house.



My street is only one long block long, and I live on the southwest corner of the block. Here's what happened to the house on the northeast corner at the other end of the block which has a triangular shaped lot. Their house faces another street, but their driveway comes from my street.



Between that house and mine another tree went down in the street, and I really have to hand it to our city crews for prompt attention to getting it out of the way. They were out there Saturday afternoon shortly after it went down and before the worst of the storm came (which was probably 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.), that is to say the strongest winds, and had that tree out of the street. As you can see it still has to be cleared away; it stretches across three home lots, I think.


My heart goes out to those who actually live on the coasts. Somebody has to live there to take care of our coastal business, fishing, oil drilling, whatever. But those of us who live three to four hundred miles inland suffer also from these storms---while we try to harbor those who have fled in our direction. And here's my point: Can't we just keep trying to improve how we care for one another as we deal with the natural threats of life? Do we really have any business making life worse for others and ourselves through warfare, shunning those less fortunate than we, denying differences of opinion as unworthy or "unAmerican", political sniping? Who knows where the next house will be flooded or tree falls?

All of these pictures I took the day after (today), and this last one was this evening's sky. There is no rainbow, but I feel in it a promise. It seems that we must now make a covenant with each other to gain the fulfillment of that promise.