St. Patrick's Day

This day is named after Saint Patrick, who died the day the holiday is celebrated, March 17th. A brief history of the man: He was born a Roman-Britain & kidnapped in his early youth, taken to Ireland. In his Confession, he claims he dreamed of God, and was told to flee captivity to the coast and board a ship returning to Britain. He then became a priest, returned to Ireland, and used a 3-leaf shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish people to save them. (A reference to Druidism & Paganism vs. Christianity, I believe). He was buried in Downpatrick, so tradition states. The color green came about when Irish soldiers rebelled from wearing the traditional uniform, and dressed ALL in green in observance of 3-17. Originally, it was custom to wear blue.

St. Patrick's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. Not really sure why, possibly because of the historical role it played, if even a minor one. Nonetheless, it is still a holiday I greatly enjoy celebrating. Have fun, be safe, and be sure to schedule a DD if you're going out to celebrate that Irish heritage, or for most of us Brit--err-Americans, celebrate for the Irish !!

the "LOST" show

My only regret is that I could have been watching this show for the last 5 years (and not listening to my sister 3 years ago when she told me how awesome it was). However, I have managed to catch all the way up to the current episode that aired last night (which I am ready to watch tonight) within 3 weeks. Weird how the 3 keeps coming up, huh? If you haven't guessed yet, I am speaking of the phenomenal ABC show 'LOST'. I just turned my DVD player off one night and caught part of "the substitute' whick aired in February, and I was hooked. The only downside, I have gone through the show so fast, I feel I may have missed some important elements, but not to worry (THE DVDs). I do have one question above all the others: What is the connection between Jacob and the numbers 4 8 15 16 23 42? My guess: somehow tied to Bible verses. Cheesy theory from a drama standpoint maybe, but if you remember back when Alex's boyfriend was being brainwashed in the DHARMA station, one of the images said, "God loves you as He loved Jacob." Then there is the whole good vs. evil theme, and I believe there was a reference to Isaac & Jacob somewhere. Kinda sad there is only 2 months of the show left.

Well, I'll Be.....

It is June 12, 2009.

This Day in History?

Clinton B Barefoot to wed Blackwell native Amanda J Locke.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

you rotten kids !!!

Death Comes As A River

Ever been on a canoe trip? I rode in a canoe on a very soft river/lake thing when I was young with my Grandpa and Mom. I took my first canoe float trip in 2006 and had a blast. Well, yesterday morning we decided to take a 12 mile float down Elk River (at right). Very relaxing trip, at least, the first 4 miles. I had until then been looking at fish, grabbed a box turtle, somehow managed to catch a baby water turtle, and they were running around the bottom of the canoe. We had a backpack with towels and first aid kit, etc, an ice chest with lunch and soda, and 2 life vests. Okay, so we're going along just fine, fairly cloudy, not too hot (so not thinking we're gonna swim) and the river decides to speed up.

No thing, been through fast currents before. Paddle, Paddle. Well, the funny thing about rivers, is that you can see where the current will take you. We had a choice - left, a small (but tight) bend with a big fallen tree, or right with many trees and branches and no way to make through. We chose left. We paddled hard. We were swung into the tree root system. I laughed REALLY hard.....and abruptly stopped. The canoe was tipping over. We tried to correct it, but the current was able to shove enough water into the canoe, that it dumped us back over. I hit the water panicking, and felt the current pull me beneath the water. (and shove me against the other trees laying on the other side) I used the canoe (which was pinned to the tree) to pull myself back up, and broke the surface, swallowing about a gallon of water, and unable to get my bearings. Josh pulled me up a little more, and I calmed a little, able to brace myself against the canoe, and go from there. The ice chest was floating, the back pack had been grabbed, and oars were pinned against the tree. One life vest floated away. (BTW my turtles were gone.) So, first thing get to shore, about 10 feet away. Josh headed with the backpack and I swung the ice chest toward shore, and then swam to shore myself. Since we had hit the tree, about 2 minutes had passed. Adrenaline overdose. We had to calm down because our canoe was pinned and underwater, except for about 2 inches of one of the sides. After about 5 minutes we headed back into the water. Josh held my arm, while I reached for the canoe and he tried to pull, as I pulled to get the boat out of the current. NO LUCK. The cell phone was water logged and we were 8 miles from the "take-out" spot. Oh, the river is not busy AT ALL during the early week, so no one was coming by. Well, I'm not very patient as you know, and do not like obstacles like this, so I headed back in. I circled to where the current was not strong enough to pull me back, and I could stand firm on the rocky bottom. I lifted the canoe out of the water (yeah, that's right, me. 5' 5" 118 lbs me) and semi -circled out of the current and let go. The current swept it down to a low spot and we were able to recover. Food was fine, but everthing else....SOAKED. We regained composure and headed back down the river. About a quarter of a mile, we found the life vest, and just a bit further, the box turtle. I was able to get a net at a river-side shop and caught 2 extremely small water turtles. All-in-all it was a great day, but after that we took every other curve with extreme caution, and even carried the canoe through a couple spots~

Year Of The Bible

Rep. Paul Broun introduced a bill to the House of Representatives in order to declare 2010 as the "Year of the Bible. This has in fact been done in the past during the 'rein' of Ronald Reagan. Reagan announced this same law (Public Law 97-280) on 2-3-1983 and the reasons are quite similar. (SOURCE: http://www.moseshand.com/studies/reagan.htm) Basically, it would allow for a law declaring that 2010 is to be known as the year of the bible, in order to "...commemorate those acts of patriotism that have unified our country..." http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/politics/GOP_2010_Year_of_Bible_May_11_2009

So, while my personal opinion being that I believe this good book is great, this view is not shared by everyone in America. Although no law can be made with unanimous approval of the people, there are times that the people, even if they disagree as to what is being pushed through as law, and even if it's a law they themselves personally want, should say "wait a minute." I don't believe that this is so much as a tribute to patriotism, as it is a way for the government to take something that has been done in the past, and use it as a silhouette of things wanting to be achieved in the future.

Although the previous passing of this law sets precedence, a renewed sense of this bill is going to cause problems. We are already seeing a rise in Capitol Hill control. Unfortunately, it seems people are becoming more and more complacent with the shortcuts, fast making laws, and etc, etc... I hope not.

Also, even though the Christian (Prodestant/Catholic) community (don't quote me on this stat) make up the majority of the religious sect in America, think about if you were pagan, Islam, Buddhist, Atheist, how would you feel about this law. Again, we can't please everyone, but when the GOVERNMENT puts a foot into religious beliefs, I have to say there is a problem. Our law-makers are put into a position of power to make laws that will benefit and further the progress of the USA, not direct it toward, or favor, ANY sect there within. This is one area the government needs to stay out of. Separation of church and state, right? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state_in_the_United_States)

Last point: At this time in our economy, and all of the other things taking place up on 'the Hill', is this something that really needs to be ushered around up there? Why isn't concentration being used on solving problems, rather than creating what will be another one?

The Truth about Dogs...& Cars.....

You know how you can be driving down the road, and some stupid dog decides to kamikaze your automobile (generally, after it's brand new, detailed, new paint, etc) and you swerve or say "Well, it's his fault if I run him over."? I always swerved, telling the dog off, and going about my business. I have 2 dogs that have decided to be just like this, so we have spent the better part of 2-3 years trying to train them to refrain from doing this. Is it working? NO NO NOOOOOOO!!!!
A couple of weeks ago, Willow (above) decided that our landlord's car was ripe for the picking, and ran after him. I yelled at her to come back, her obedient instinct failed, and..........she was hit. She seemed fine at first, but at a closer look she had that gravel dust smacked on her face, and cuts all over her legs. I immediately started shaking (right along with her, I might add) and panicking. We rushed her to the vet, whom she abhors, and he gave her some cortizone, other shots, and a couple of staples. No internal bleeding or head trauma. Thank God!!! To my amazement, she no longer runs after vehicles with the determination she used to, and is listening when she starts chase after them. To that end, the other dog, Buffy, who saw the whole thing, doesn't go anywhere. Blessing in disguise???

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Okay. So, for those of you who agree that Joss Whedon is the greatest creative mind ever to hit TV, check this out. I just came across it after reading about his brother Jed in an article, and of course, it is AMazInG !!! (BTW his brothers caught that creative gene too, it seems) Anyway, if you have 42 minutes and 25 seconds of your life to spare, check out the link.

From the guy that brought us Buffy:the Vampire Slayer - need I say more? (of course with only one follower at this time, I'm not sure how many people will see this...)