Bug's Bleat - - GCF: The Diary

Volume 7, Issue 08

Hello All,

Dusty was baptized at Central Baptist Sunday morning. We’re still celebrating. Thank God for David, Bobbie, Dusty, Zac and the Brothers and Sisters at Central.
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Congratulations to Joe and Tricia Sledge! Gaby Elise Sledge was born 11:14 AM today. She was 6 lbs 12 ounces and 19 3/4 inches long. Both mother and daughter are doing fine.
~~~~~
Our Albemarle Fire Brigade has a fire truck. It’s a real beauty, in mint condition. We’re still waiting on Texarkana Door to make a way for us to park it in the Emergency Response Building.
~~~~~
One of our good friends, Pat Hammock, is recovering from a kidney stone. Pat is a great story teller and I encourage you who know him to insist he tell the story of the dog and the porch.
~~~~~
I note that Atlanta, GA is installing TV screens in all mass transit. Riders will be able to hear the programs via their cell phones or portable FM radios.
It’s inevitable; our society is almost there. The goal? Total isolation of the individual via electronic communications devices.
It’s already in place on aircraft. You sit down, pull out your laptop, PDA, or plug in the earphones to the in seat movie in front of you. It’s totally unacceptable to do more than nod to the person sitting next to you.
Families have been isolated by DVD players and screens installed in the vehicle. It’s unheard of for kids to interact with their parents while traveling (except to argue over which program to watch.)
~~~~~
Are you stressed? Need a break? 4 out of 5 counselors recommend COOKIE DOUGH for stress relief.
Coincidentally, we’re taking COOKIE DOUGH orders as part of a Fundraiser for Discovery Kids' Camp. Proceeds will be used for transportation for the June 2-5 camp.
If you NEED cookie dough, contact Annette @ 234-3225 (Albemarle Magnolia employees can order using the list on James McClellan's door.)
~~~~~
We like movies. I was raised in the Cameo Theater and Annette likes a good movie as much as I do. Our preference is for good mysteries, romantic comedies and love stories (Annette’s favorite loves story is “The Terminator.”)
Both of us enjoy movies that lift us up so we’re not too hot on depressing “real life” stuff. I watch movies to escape from the daily grind, not to remember it in better detail.
So, we tend to like older movies, the “classics” from the 30's and 40's. Problem is that our tastes usually don’t match the average movie viewer so we can’t always find the movies we want to see at local video stores.
That’s where “Netflix” comes in. They have thousands of movies and you can check out 3 at a time for a reasonable monthly fee.
This week we watched “Marty”, “The Notebook” and “Shark Tales”. Next week I’ve got us lined up to see “Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow”, “Witness For The Prosecution” and “Seven Samurai.”
http://www.netflix.com/Default
~~~~~
It was a rough week for Emergency Medical Services in Arkansas. Three ambulance workers were killed after a freight train slammed into an ambulance en route to a hospital with a stroke patient. The collision happened at 1:30 Saturday afternoon along County Road in 189 near Fulton, Arkansas.
Investigators say the ambulance, owned by Pafford Ambulance of Hope, Arkansas, was dispatched to a home to pick up a woman believed to have suffered a stroke. The woman's home is about 50 yards from where the collision occurred.
"The train had stopped and couldn't move," said witness Beuford Wyatt, Jr. Wyatt says the train hit the front of the ambulance and twisted it around, ejecting all three ambulance workers. The patient remained inside the ambulance. Wyatt says he went to the aid of one of the EMT's. "He said about two words and he died in my hands," Wyatt said.
Family members got the patient out of the ambulance and drove her to a hospital in a personal vehicle. The EMT's who were killed were identified as 37-year-old Jeffery Ferrand and 24-year-old John Rook, both of Hope Arkansas, and 23-year-old Christopher Klingan, of Texarkana. The patient, 69-year-old Charlene Gayten, remained in Surgical Intensive Care Saturday night.
Arkansas Emergency Service Network
1458 Doe Bend Road Corning AR 72422
~~~~~
Then, later in the week, a EMS helicopter out of Claremore, OK crashed in NW Arkansas. Injuring the crew and killing the patient. Air-safety investigators spent Tuesday inspecting the damaged Air Evac helicopter ambulance that crashed near Arkansas Highway 43 just north of Cherokee City on Monday.
The Air Evac helicopter was dispatched shortly after 1 p.m. from its base at the Claremore Regional Airport in Claremore, Okla., to pick up Robert Arneson, 71, of Harlingen, Texas. Arneson, who was in Arkansas visiting relatives, had been involved in a motor vehicle accident on Arkansas Highway 43.
According to a news release from the Arkansas State Police, the helicopter was dispatched to the accident scene because of the seriousness of Arneson’s injuries. The crew was taking Arneson to Northwest Medical Center of Washington County in Springdale. After departing at 1:39 p.m., the helicopter developed an apparent malfunction and descended from an altitude of approximately 400 feet.
Cpl. Larry Pipkin of the Arkansas State Police was dispatched to the rollover vehicle accident. He had arrived on the seen and saw the helicopter airborne, according to a police report. Pipkin said he heard the helicopter’s engine sputter, then lose power as the craft lost altitude. The helicopter, a Bell Ranger 206 A, struck the ground upright, crushing its landing gear.
The three members of the helicopter crew were taken with critical injuries to area hospitals. Pilot Dennis Enders, 53, of Broken Arrow, Okla., and medic Clayton E. Bratt, 56, of Hulbert, Okla., were taken by helicopter to Northwest Medical Center of Washington County in Springdale after two additional helicopter ambulances responded to the scene. The third crew member, nurse Dee Ann Miller, 40, of Bentonville, was taken by ambulance to Siloam Springs Memorial Hospital. She was later transferred to Northwest Medical Center of Washington County. "They are all doing well and their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening," said Julie Heavrin, public relations manager for the emergency medical flight service.
A preliminary report by the NTSB will be released early next week. "We have been overwhelmed at the outpouring of support we’ve received," said Andy Arthurs, director of base operations for Air Evac Lifeteam. "Everyone from the EMS agencies at the scene to the staff at the hospitals has gone out of their way to meet our needs and let us know they care. It makes us more proud than ever to be a part of this tremendous health-care community."
Air Evac Lifeteam is an independently owned air ambulance service that provides emergency health care and rapid medical transport to rural communities throughout the central United States. The company operates 43 bases in nine states.
~~~~~
I have a little concern for the people I visit with who say; "Why are we sending Missionaries, food and clothing to foreign countries? Don't we have enough problems at home?" Now, I understand that the Lord had set up different ministries in the Church and that not everyone is called to participate in every ministry. But isn't the proclamation of the Gospel part and parcel of our very being? Should we divide up the preaching of the word between our neighbors and strangers ... allocating out the message of salvation first to our own community and then, only after there is no one else to lead to the Lord, taking the good news to other lands?
I realize that the previous paragraph sounds awfully "preachy", but how else am I to say it? I get excited when I hear from "our" missionaries (Brandt and Pam, Paul and Debbie in Tanzania, Dennis in Iraq, Jerry and Linda in Mexico, David Hogan in Central America an New York, the Popkins in the Philippines etc.). When we support them, we're earning a part in their harvest. And isn't harvest, what we're working for?
Does this mean that I'm less excited when I drive up to the Church on a Saturday evening and see the parking lot full of cars and hear the Youth Service rocking the building? No, that's not any less exciting. And I'm just as deeply moved on a Sunday morning when I see new families lined up across the front of the Sanctuary, Coventing with us to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The whole of the Church of Jesus Christ thrills me. I get excited on Tuesday mornings when so many local men come together to pray for our local needs as well as the needs of our nation and our missionaries. No part of the Church is less important than the other.
Can we do everything and be everywhere? No, not in ourselves, but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. That's why I'm burdened when people tell me that they think the church should "take care of the people here first."
You see, in my eyes, those that object to ministering across this nations borders, just don't get it. They don't understand how big God is. And, if they don't know how big He is, maybe they don't really know Him personally either. And if they don't know Him personally, then I've failed to share the Gospel with them in a way that they could understand.
~~~~~
The ARKLA Amateur Radio Association 2005 Winter Meeting will be held Saturday, February 26 @ 5:30 pm at The Old Feed house, 79 By-Pass in Magnolia. You’re invited.
~~~~~
"Rockin Romania" has been invited to the White House to participate in honoring the workers who've struggled to save Romanian Orphans. We'll keep you posted.
~~~~~
We missed the First Baptist Taco Supper. I had the tickets and ended up working late. Annette was disappointed but pragmatic. “It was a fund raiser anyway and the food was just icing on the cake.” she said. Next time I’ll leave the tickets with Annette.
~~~~~
The new radios we are getting from the state grant
are 800mhz and APCO 25 Digital. Here is the website with information about APCO 25 Digital that the State Police currently have the ability to use, but don't.
http://ptig.org/index.php?s=6adbe1381943f6dff0d2610ca2a1e9e6&menu=1
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When the Attack Submarine Jimmy Carter was commissioned, one of our own was there.
Steve Downey’s youngest son Sandy is stationed in Groton going through Submarine Training. He had lunch with President Carter at the local OUTBACK after a visit to his, and other classes on base. He just happened to be in Sandy’s class when he invited them to go with him to lunch. They cleared out the OUTBACK, and spent 4 hours there.
~~~~~
This week we share excerpts from “Da Bleat” of Friday, February 25, 2000.
Here are some basic preparation tips for peanuts:
To Roast - Spread shelled raw peanuts in a shallow pan and heat in a preheated 300 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes. Stir several times.
Check brownness by removing skins from a few nuts.
To Salt - Cool roasted peanuts and slip off skins by pressing between thumb and forefinger. Add 1 teaspoon butter or margarine per cup of peanuts and place over low heat until nuts are well coated and warm. Spread nuts on absorbent paper and sprinkle with salt while warm.
To Chop - Use a wooden board and straight knife or chopping bowl and chopper.
To Grind - Use a special nut grinder. (Hint: when making peanut butter, use the finest blade.)
And how about some quick and easy gourmet flavored peanuts:
Chili Peanuts - To 1 cup roasted peanuts add 1/4 tsp. chili powder and ½ tsp. paprika. Stir over very low heat until peanuts are hot.
Garlic Peanuts -To 1 cup roasted peanuts add 1/4 tsp. garlic powder. Stir well to blend.
Onion-Flavored Peanuts - To 1 cup roasted peanuts add 1/4 tsp. onion powder. Stir.
~~~~~
We’re always looking for stories as well as jokes and other contributions. Don’t hesitate to share any offerings with us.
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Don't forget ... "Da Bleat" is now on the web. Just go to http://bugsbleat.blogspot.com
~~~~~
Feel free to share the "Bleat" with any and all. That's why we publish it.
~~~~~
www.aaa.com Regular Mid Premium Diesel
Current Avg. $1.90 $2.02 $2.09 $2.09
http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/
~~~~~
Recipe of the week; Chicken and Rice Casserole courtesy Paula Deen, Paula's Home Cooking
Episode: Cooking with Kids


Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
User Rating: 4 Stars



2 (14 ½-ounce) can green beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups diced cooked chicken
1 medium onion diced and sautéed
1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 (4-ounce) can pimentos
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
1 cup mayonnaise
(6-ounce) box long-grain and wild rice, cooked according to package directions
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
Pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased 3-quart casserole dish. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD-9936-28829,00.html
~~~~~
BREAKPOINT Commentaries
by Chuck Colson. - Prison Fellowship

Castles in the Air (and Backyard)
Perfect Parenting

February 25, 2005

You may have had a swing set in the backyard when you were growing up or, if your dad was especially handy, a tree house. Nowadays, among America’s affluent class, a “mere” swing set or tree house might qualify as child neglect.

Instead, nothing less than a castle will suffice. Really. The “Atherton Castle” comes with a two-story, seven-foot-square “fort,” and a ten-foot bridge that connects to another five-level fort with a “crazy bar” climb—all for only $54,600.

If that price seems steep, there’s a “pirate’s haunt” for only $35,000. Or if you choose to spend more, you could pick the $166,000 “Napa Valley Chalet,” complete with cedar-shingle roofs, electricity, plumbing, and footbridge. Now that’s a playhouse.

This is more than conspicuous consumption. Castles for tykes are some of the more extreme artifacts of the mania that many Americans bring to parenting. This “madness” was the subject of a recent Newsweek story by Judith Warner, author of the new book Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety.

Warner’s experience and observations led her to ask why “arguably the most liberated and privileged group of women” in American history have “driven themselves crazy in the quest for perfect mommy-dom,” making “high-pressured, time-demanding, [and] utterly exhausting kids’ activities” an essential part of parenting?

Her answer is that women “are unsupported, because their children are not taken care of, in any meaningful way, by society at large.” They must face the “harsh realities of family life” without “structures” that will allow them “to balance work and child-rearing.”

If that sounds to you like a brief for government-supported daycare, that’s because it is. But even if such daycare were a good policy idea—I don’t think it is—it wouldn’t address the major source of this “madness.” Everybody knows that parenting is stressful. But why has it driven the women Warner describes crazy?

As columnist James Lileks put it, the “madness” Warner describes is what happens when “a preposterous ideal is [confronted] by reality.” Women who grew up believing that they “had fantastic, unlimited freedom of choice” find out that they can’t be both “Corporate Warrior Princess” and “UberSuperPerfectRoleModelLove-GusherMom.”

Even women who don’t buy into the “preposterous ideal” are affected, because the expectations of Warner’s privileged class are spread by the media. A generation of American women—and increasingly men—is expected to be in the car and out of breath trying to keep up with their kids’ schedules.

What they really need, as Lileks writes, is to ignore “the set of internally contradictory expectations thrown” at their heads “like a big frozen watermelon.” Instead, they should recall that parenting, as his mom taught him, consists of: “Be there. Be consistent. Be kind. Listen. Help.”

It’s our presence, not their activities, that enrich our children’s lives. If you can’t enjoy your kids, the gifts and activities do not matter. You might as well start writing checks to their shrink now.

Of course, being present requires making precisely the kinds of choices Warner wants to avoid—which leaves many parents asking, castle or chalet?

For further reading and information:

Today’s BreakPoint offer: BreakPoint WorldView magazine will equip you to talk to your kids about worldview issues all year around: from pop culture to science, human rights, faith, and more. Subscribe today: Call 1-877-322-5527.

Don’t believe those expensive toys mentioned in the commentary exist? See Barbara Butler’s Play Structures.

Judith Warner, “Mommy Madness,” Newsweek, 21 February 2005.

See James Lileks’s blog entry on Perfect Madness (17 February 2005).

John Podhoretz, “Parenthood 101,” New York Post, 18 February 2005.

Gregg Easterbrook, The Progress Paradox (Random House, 2003).

BreakPoint Commentary No. 031118, “Bankrupt at Age Twenty-Five: Marketing to Teens, Tweens, and Kids.”

Copyright 2005 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BREAKPOINT with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries. Prison Fellowship Ministries may withdraw or modify this grant of permission at any time. To receive "BREAKPOINT" commentaries daily, you can subscribe for free at http://www. breakpoint. org/.
~~~~~

Words of the Week:
perspicacity: clearness of understanding.
legerdemain: sleight of hand.
cavalcade: a procession.
faineant: doing nothing; idle; also, a do-nothing.
perforce: by necessity.
mellifluous: flowing sweetly or smoothly.
eschew: to shun; to avoid.
blackguard: a scoundrel.
from Dictionary.Com

~~~~~
"If a dog jumps into your lap it is because he is fond of you; but if a cat does the same thing it is because your lap is warmer." - Alfred North Whitehead

"In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite." - Paul Dirac

"Nothing is more noble, nothing more venerable than fidelity. Faithfulness and truth are the most sacred excellences and endowments of the human mind." - Cicero

"Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent." - Marilyn Vos Savant

"The presidency is now a cross between a popularity contest and a high school debate, with an encyclopedia of clichés the first prize. " - Saul Bellow

"The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them." - Bernard Baruch

"Quiet minds can't be perplexed or frightened, but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm." - Robert Louis Stevenson

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
~~~~~
FLASH CARD "If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music." (Albert Einstein)
*****
FLASH CARD "Nothing's impossible I have found, For when my chin is on the ground, I pick myself up, Dust myself off, Start all over again." (Dorothy Fields)
*****
FLASH CARD "It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." (Charles Darwin)
*****
FLASH CARD "Never confuse movement with action." (Ernest Hemingway)

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GCF: The Diary

Emailed to me another humor list (Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh List) -Tom
Subscribe to Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh list at the website:
Subscribe

If this was forwarded to you, please consider your own subscription to Good Clean Fun. It's free! A smile will enhance the quality of your life. Just send an email to: good-clean-fun-subscribe@egroups.com or visit the Good Clean Fun web site http://www.slonet.org/~tellswor/ UNSUBSCRIBE INFO for Good Clean Fun is at the end of this email. This email was scanned by Norton AntiVirus 2004 before it was sent.
-----------------------------
Linda: "What's that you're reading?"

Jill: "A diary."

Linda: What's in it?

Jill: "I can't tell you that. A diary is a highly personal and confidential affair, it has important secret dreams and secret yearnings. It's private. It's not meant to be shared lightly with other people. And besides, this diary belongs to Margaret."
- -------------------------- -
GCF: Bragging

Emailed to me another humor list (Good Clean Funnies List) -Tom
To subscribe The Good Clean Funnies List, (not to be confused with this list, which is Good Clean Fun) send an email to:
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One woman was bragging to her next-door neighbor about her son, a college student. "Why, our son is so brilliant, every time we get a letter from him we have to go to the dictionary."

"You're lucky," the neighbor said. "Every time we get a letter from ours, we have to go to the bank!"
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GCF: Lost In Thought

Emailed to me from another humor list (The Funnies) -Tom
To subscribe to The Funnies, send a blank email to:
andychaps-the-funnies-subscribe@egroups.com
-----------------------------
Arriving back at the dorm late one evening, my roommate explained that she had gotten lost in the school library. No one was surprised, since the library is large and has a confusing layout.

When I asked her how long it took her to find an exit, she admitted she hadn't actually found the exit herself. She'd used an emergency phone to call for help.

Puzzled, I asked, "How did your rescuers find you if you didn't know where you were?"

"Easy," she said. "I started reading titles of books around me, and they located my position from the card catalogue.
- -------------------------- -

GCF: Vet Appointment

Emailed to me from another humor list (The Funnies) -Tom
To subscribe to The Funnies, send a blank email to:
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-----------------------------
In his younger days our golden retriever, Catcher, often ran away when he had the chance. His veterinarian's office was about a mile down the road and Catcher would usually go there. The office staff knew him and would call me to come pick him up.

One day I called the vet to make an appointment for Catcher's yearly vaccine.

"Will you be bringing him in yourself," asked the receptionist, "or will he come on his own?"
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GCF: Grants

Emailed to me from another humor list (The Funnies) -Tom
To subscribe to The Funnies, send a blank email to:
andychaps-the-funnies-subscribe@egroups.com
-----------------------------
I work in a school department that is supported by educational grants. On his first day, my new boss delivered some bad news. He said, "Unfortunately your last boss failed to apply for the grant that supports your work. You will be terminated at the end of this month. Did you know that?"
Admittedly, I was unprepared for this, but I was not shocked.

Two weeks before the end of my tenure, the new boss came to me. He said, "Before you go, please submit the lesson plans you would have used for the next three months."

I said, "Oh, I'm sorry, those lesson plans were covered in the grant.
Didn't you know that?"
- -------------------------- -
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[GCFL.net] Questions Without Answers

1. Does a clean house indicate that there is a broken computer in it?

2. Why is it that no matter what color of bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

3. Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

4. Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

5. On electric toasters, why do they engrave the message "one slice"? How many pieces of bread do they think people are really gonna try to stuff in that slot?

6. Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

7. Why is it that no plastic garbage bag will open from the end you first try?

8. How do those dead bugs get into those closed light fixtures?

9. Considering all the lint you get in your dryer, if you kept drying your clothes would they eventually just disappear?

10. When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, "It's all right?" Well, it isn't all right so why don't we say, "That hurt!"

11. Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

12. Is it true that the only difference between a yard sale and a trash pickup is how close to the road the stuff is placed?

13. In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

14. How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

15. If at first you don't succeed, shouldn't you try doing it like your wife told you to do it? And obviously if at first you don't succeed, then don't take up sky diving!

16. The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends, if they're okay, then it's you.

Received from Andychaps The Funnies.
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[GCFL.net] Security Call Boxes

A friend of mine was visiting a college, which had those security call boxes every few hundred feet. If you were wandering around the campus at night and felt uneasy about somebody following you, for instance, you could hit the button and have a security officer come investigate immediately.

On one of these phones hung a sign that said, "Out of Order."

Underneath it someone had scrawled, "Keep Running!"

Received from Andychaps The Funnies.
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[GCFL.net] Nun Pun

The convent had been presented with a new car, a red Mini Metro, the pride of its breed. Sister Lucy, the only qualified driver, became the chauffer. Every Saturday she would drive the Reverend Mother into town for the shopping.

All went well until a holiday weekend when the town was so packed with people and cars that it became evident that there was no earthly place to park.

"Don't worry, Reverend Mother," said Sister Lucy. "You go into the supermarket and I'll drive around the block until you come out."

Off sped the car, and the Reverend Mother bustled around the store shopping quickly, then rushing back to the curbside. There she stood for five minutes, ten, twenty.
No sign of Sister Lucy. Where could she be?

Eventually the Reverend Mother approached a patrolling policeman.

"Excuse me, Officer," she said. "Have you seen a nun in a red mini?"

"No," replied the officer, "but these days nothing would surprise me!"

Received from Pastor Tim.
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[GCFL.net] Sick Funeral Home Employee

Early one morning, my husband, who works in a funeral home, woke me, complaining of severe abdominal pains.

We rushed to the emergency room, where tests were performed to determine the source of the pain.

My husband decided not to have me call in sick for him until we new what was wrong.

When the results came back, the nurse informed us that, true to our suspicions, he was suffering from a kidney stone.

I turned to my husband and asked, "Would you like me to call the funeral home now?"

With a scornful look, the nurse turned to me and snapped, "Honey, he's not that sick!"

Received from You Make Me Laugh.
-=+=-
[GCFL.net] How Else Ya Gonna Learn

A father and son went fishing one day. As they sat in the boat for a couple of hours, they did not have much to do. The son started thinking about the world around him. He began to get curious. So, he asked his father some questions.

"How does this boat float?"

The father thought for a moment, then replied, "Don't rightly know, son."

The boy returned to his contemplation, but soon came up with another one, "How do fish breathe 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."

Worried he was going to annoy his father, he said, "Dad, do you mind my asking you all of these questions?"

His father immediately assured him, "Of course not, son.
If you don't ask questions, you'll never learn anything!"

Received from Andychaps The Funnies.
-=+=-
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The Atlanta School Board, has decided to designate Southern slang, or "Hickphonics," as a language to be taught in all Southern schools. Here are excerpts from the hick phonics/English dictionary:

HEIDI - noun. Greeting.

HIRE YEW - Complete sentence. Remainder of greeting. Usage: "Heidi. Hire yew."

BARD - verb. Past tense of the infinitive "to borrow." Usage: "My brother bard my pickup truck."

JAWJUH - noun. A state just north of Florida. Capital is Hot-lanta. Usage: "My brother from Jawjuh bard my pickup truck."

MUNTS - noun. A calendar division. Usage: "My brother from Jawjuh bard my pickup truck, and I ain't herd from him in munts."

IGNERT - adjective. Not smart. See "Arkansas native." Usage: "Them N-C-TWO-A boys sure are ignert!"

RANCH - noun. A tool used for tight'nin' bolts. Usage: "I think I left my ranch in the back of that pickup truck my brother from Jawjuh bard a few munts ago."

ALL - noun. (alt. sp. AWL) A petroleum-based lubricant. Usage: "I sure hope my brother from Jawjuh puts all in my pickup truck."

FAR - noun. A conflagration. Usage: "If my brother from Jawjuh don't change the all in my pickup truck, that thing's gonna catch far."

TAR - noun. A rubber wheel. Usage: "Gee, I hope that brother of mine from Jawjuh don't git a flat tar in my pickup truck."

TIRE - noun. A tall monument. Usage: "Lord willin' and the creek don't rise, I sure do hope to see that Eiffel Tire in Paris sometime."

RETARD - Verb. To stop working. Usage: "My grampaw retard at age 65."

TARRED - adverb. Exhausted. Usage: "I just flew in from Hot-lanta, and boy my arms are tarred."

FAT - noun, verb. 1. a battle or combat. 2. to engage in battle or combat.

ARE - pronoun. Possessive case of we used as a predicate adjective.

RATS - noun. Entitled power or privilege. Usage: "We Southerners are willin' to fat for are rats."

FARN - adjective. Not local. Usage: "I cuddint unnerstand a wurd he sed ... must be from some farn country."

EAR - noun. A colorless, odorless gas (unless you are in LA). Usage: "He cain't breathe ... give 'im some ear!"

BOB WAR - noun. A sharp, twisted cable. Usage: "Kids, y'all stay away from that bob war fence."

JEW HERE - Noun and verb contraction. Usage: "Jew here that my brother from Jawjuh got a job with that bob war fence cump'ny?"

HAZE - a contraction. Usage: "Is Bubba smart?" "Nah ... haze ignert."

SEED - verb, past tense of see.

VIEW - contraction: verb and pronoun. Usage: "I ain't never seed New York City... view?"

DID - adjective. Not alive. Usage: "He's did, Jim."

BAHS - noun. A supervisor. Usage: "If you don't stop reading these Southern words and git back to work, your bahs is gonna far yew!"
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The FDA is considering additional warnings on beer and alcohol bottles, such as:

WARNING: consumption of alcohol may make you think you are whispering when you are not.

WARNING: consumption of alcohol is a major factor in dancing like a jerk.

WARNING: consumption of alcohol may cause you to tell the same boring story over and over again until your friends want to SMASH YOUR HEAD IN.

WARNING: consumption of alcohol may cause you to thay shings like thish.

WARNING: consumption of alcohol may lead you to believe that soon to be ex-friends are really dying for you to telephone them at 4in the morning.

WARNING: consumption of alcohol may leave you wondering what happened to your pants.

WARNING: consumption of alcohol is the leading cause of inexplicable rug burns on the forehead.

WARNING: consumption of alcohol may create the illusion that you are tougher, handsomer and smarter than some really, really big guy named Chuck.

WARNING: consumption of alcohol may lead you to believe you are invisible.

WARNING: consumption of alcohol may lead you to think people are laughing WITH you.

WARNING: Consumption of alcohol may cause an influx in the time-space continuum, whereby small (and sometimes large) gaps of time may seem to literally disappear.
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Laugh a bit today!

Signs Your Presidental Candidate is Under-Qualified!
9. Promises to improve foreign relations with Hawaii.

8. Runs a series of attack ads against Martin Sheen's character on "The West Wing."

7. His #1 choice to work on his cabinet is "That Bob Vila guy."

6. Outstanding record as Governor of Rhode Island nullified by the fact that no one really cares.

5. Anybody mentions Washington, he asks, "The state or the DC thingie?"

4. At the debates, answers every question with a snarled, "You wanna wrestle?!?"

3. Vows to put an end to the war in Pokemon and free the Pikachu refugees once and for all.

2. Says the Pledge of Allegiance as quickly as possible, then shouts, "I win!"

1. On the very first question of the debate, he attempts to use a LIFELINE.
--
"If you race merely for the tributes from other, you will be at the mercy of their expectations."
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There's nothing the matter with me,
I'm just as healthy as can be,
I have arthritis in both knees,
And when I talk, I talk with a wheeze.
My pulse is weak, my blood is thin,
But I'm awfully well for the shape I'm in.

All my teeth have had to come out,
And my diet I hate to think about.
I'm overweight and I can't get thin,
But I'm awfully well for the shape I'm in.

And arch supports I need for my feet.
Or I wouldn't be able to go out in the street.
Sleep is denied me night after night,
But every morning I find I'm all right.
My memory's failing, my head's in a spin.
But I'm awfully well for the shape I'm in.


Old age is golden I've heard it said,
But sometimes I wonder, as I go to bed.
With my ears in a drawer, my teeth in a cup,
And my glasses on a shelf, until I get up.
And when sleep dims my eyes, I say to myself,
Is there anything else I should lay on the shelf?

The reason I know my Youth has been spent,
Is my get-up-and-go has got-up-and-went!
But really I don't mind, when I think with a grin,
Of all the places my get-up has been.


I get up each morning and dust off my wits,
Pick up the paper and read the obits.
If my name is missing, I'm therefore not dead,
So I eat a good breakfast and jump back into bed.

The moral of this as the tale unfolds,
Is that for you and me, who are growing old.
It is better to say "I'm fine" with a grin,
Than to let people know the shape we are in.

I AM FINE -- HOW ARE YOU?

Thanks to Waneta
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A Rabbi, A Hindu and a Lawyer

A Rabbi, a Hindu and a lawyer were driving late at night in the country when their car expired. They set out to find help, and came to a farmhouse. When they knocked at the door, the farmer explained that he had only two beds, and one of the three had to sleep in the barn with the animals. The three quickly agreed.

The Rabbi said he would sleep in the barn and let the other two have the beds. Ten minutes after the Rabbi left, there was a knock on the bedroom door. The Rabbi entered exclaiming, "I can't sleep in the barn; there is a pig in there. It's against my religion to sleep in the same room with a pig!"

The Hindu said HE would sleep in the barn, as he had no religious problem with pigs. However, about five minutes later, the Hindu burst through the bedroom door saying, "There's a COW in the barn! I can't sleep in the same room as a cow! It's against my religion!"

The lawyer, anxious to get to sleep, said he'd go to the barn, as he had no problem sleeping with animals.

In two minutes, the bedroom door burst open and the pig and the cow entered...

Thanks to Philip Story
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After a long career of being blasted into a net, the human cannonball was tired. He told the circus owner he was going to retire.
"But you can't!" protested the boss. "Where am I going to find another man of your caliber?"

Thanks to E. Daphne Roberts
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Thought you might enjoy this one. I did !

"Mom, I want a bike for my birthday."

Little Leroy was a bit of a trouble maker. He had gotten into trouble at school and at home. Leroy's mother asked him if he thought he deserved to get a bike for his birthday. Little Leroy, of course, thought he did. Leroy's mother, being a Christian woman, wanted Leroy to reflect on his behavior over the last year. "Go to your room, Leroy, and think about how you have behaved this year.

Then write a letter to God and tell him why you deserve a bike for your birthday."

Little Leroy stomped up the steps to his room and sat down to write God a letter.

Letter 1

Dear God,

I have been a very good boy this year and I would like a bike for my birthday. I want a red one.

Your friend,
Leroy

Leroy knew that this wasn't true. He had not been a very good boy this year, so he tore up the letter and started over.

Letter 2

Dear God,

This is your friend Leroy. I have been a good boy this year and I would like a red bike for my birthday. Thank you.

Your friend,
Leroy

Leroy knew that this wasn't true either. So, he tore up the letter and started again.

Letter 3

Dear God,

I have been an "OK "boy this year. I still would really like a bike for my birthday.

Leroy

Leroy knew he could not send this letter to God either. So, Leroy wrote a fourth letter.

Letter 4

God,

I know I haven't been a good boy this year. I am very sorry. I will be a good boy if you just send me a bike for my birthday. Please!

Thank you,
Leroy

Leroy knew, even if it were true, this letter was not going to get him a bike.

Now, Leroy was very upset. He went downstairs and told his mom that he wanted to go to church. Leroy's mother thought her plan had worked as Leroy looked very sad. "Just be home in time for dinner," Leroy's mother told him.

Leroy walked down the street to the church on the corner.

Little Leroy went into the church and up to the alter. He looked around to see if anyone was there. Leroy bent down and picked up a statue of the Virgin Mary.

He slipped it under his shirt and ran out of the church, down the street, into the house, and up to his room. He shut the door to his room and sat down with a piece of paper and a pen.

Leroy began to write his letter to God.

Letter 5

God,

I'VE GOT YOUR MAMA. IF YOU WANT TO SEE HER AGAIN, SEND THE BIKE!

Signed,

YOU KNOW WHO
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Welcome to You Make Me Laugh, a free newsletter from Crosswalk.com, the world's largest Christian website.

Today's Clean Laugh

Chocolate

Chocolate, the 5th food group:

Chocolate is a vegetable: Chocolate is derived from cocoa beans. Beans = vegetable.

Sugar is derived from either sugar CANE or sugar BEETS. Both are plants, which places them in the vegetable category. Thus, chocolate is a vegetable.

To go one step further, chocolate candy bars also contain milk, which is dairy. So candy bars are a health food.

Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.

If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.

The problem: how to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the store in a hot car. The solution: eat it in the parking lot.

Diet tip: eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll take the edge off your appetite, and you'll eat less.

If I eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, is that a balanced diet? Don't they actually counteract each other?

Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger.

Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.

A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Now, isn't that handy?

If not for chocolate, there would be no need for control top pantyhose. An entire garment industry would be devastated. You can't let that happen, can you?

*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

“TCL”
Puppy Mark

An effusive client brought a litter of golden-retriever puppies to my veterinary clinic for inoculations and worming. She loved them so much, she couldn't keep from remarking about their cute habits.

As the look-alike pups squirmed over and under one another in their box, I realized it would be difficult to tell the treated ones from the rest. I turned on the water faucet, wet my fingers, and moistened each dog's head when I had finished.
After the fourth puppy, I noticed my hitherto talkative client had grown silent. As I sprinkled the last pup's head, the woman leaned forward and whispered, "I never realized they had to be baptized."

*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

“TCL”
Do As I Say!

An old blacksmith realized he was soon going to quit working so hard. He picked out a strong young man to become his apprentice.

The old fellow was crabby and exacting. "Don't ask me a lot of questions," he told the boy. "Just do whatever I tell you to do."

One day the old blacksmith took an iron out of the forge and laid it on the anvil.

"Get the hammer over there," he said. "When I nod my head, hit it real good and hard."

Now the town is looking for a new blacksmith....

*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

“TCL”
Shoe Fit

A man walks into a shoe store, and tries on a pair of shoes.

"How do they feel?" asks the sales clerk.

"Well they feel a bit tight," replies the man.

The assistant promptly bends down and has a look at the shoes and at the man's feet. "Try pulling the tongue out." the clerk says.

"Well, theyth sthill feelth a bith tighth."

*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

“TCL”
Tennis Talk

A manager was told by his doctor to take up some sport for exercise so he decided to play tennis. After a couple of weeks his secretary asked him how he was doing.

"It's going fine", the manager said, "When I'm on the court and I see the ball speeding towards me my brain immediately says: To the corner! Back hand! To the net! Smash! Go back!".

"Really? What happens then?", the girl asked enthusiastically.

"Then my body says, 'Who? Me? Don't talk nonsense!'"

*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

*Eye Laugh*

"Step One"
http://www.cybersalt.org/go.php?id=cw634

"Problem Solved"
http://www.cybersalt.org/go.php?id=cw633

"Dad's Cooking"
http://www.cybersalt.org/go.php?id=cw631

"Puppy Flooring"
http://www.cybersalt.org/go.php?id=cw631

"CSI Sodom and Gomorrah"
http://www.cybersalt.org/go.php?id=cw600

Daily devotionals are available at http://link.Crosswalk.Com/UM/T.asp?A1. 39. 17757. 1. 494611 You can access more information on Crosswalk's Fun page http://www.Crosswalk.Com/fun/! Crosswalk gives credit to the author of a joke when author is known. Feel free to send notification to admin@cybersalt.org in cases where credit has not been given to the author! -SUBSCRIPTION INFO- * Copyright2004 Crosswalk.Com, Inc. and its Content Providers. All rights reserved. Introducing www.Crossguide.Com Where Christians find Products, Services & Ministries.
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"Don't strive for recognition, but work for achievement." -- Vanessa Malone
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Madeleine Begun Kane Latest Columns - - http://www.madkane.com/redcars.html - - Drivers Who Make Me See Red "I probably shouldn't admit this, but I'm prejudiced against people who drive red cars. Yes, I know -- bias is bad, and I'm very ashamed. But in my defense, let me add that RED CAR DRIVERS ARE LUNATICS..."
http://www.madkane.com
http://www.madkane.com/notable.html (Notables Weblog)
http://www.madkane.com/bush.html (Dubya's Dayly Diary)
Subscribe to MadKane Humor Newsletter (weekly) here:
http://www.madkane.com/email.html
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The World's Famous Orations - - http://www.bartleby.com/268/ - - Two millennia of Western Civilization come into focus through these 281 masterpieces by 213 rhetoricians. Selected under the supervision of the greatest orator of his time, these brief persuasive addresses form both a window into historyís turning points as well as a timeless collection for any reference shelf.
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"I want my IPTV? Internet Protocol, the language of most online communications, was supposed to have revolutionized the way we watch television by now, enabling a wide range of multimedia bells and whistles: from multiple camera angles to on-screen Web searches while viewing Gilligan's Island to see which actors are still living. But just as the tech bubble's promise of "IP" telephone service over an Internet connection is only now becoming a widespread reality, IPTV finally appears to be on the verge of cracking the U.S. mainstream. Not the cable TV establishment - which questions the technology and the demand for so much interactivity - but rather three Bell telephone companies are taking IPTV off the drawing board in the United States, much as telecom players in Asia and Europe have led the way abroad."
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Presidents' Day Fact Sheet 2005 - - http://www.prcdc.org/holiday/presidentsday.html - - The forty-two American presidents (Grover Cleveland being counted only once) were an average of 55.6 years old when they took office. With the exception of James Buchanan, all were married during the course of their term, but Ronald was the only president to have been divorced. Reagan was also the oldest president; he was 69 at his inauguration. The youngest of the elected presidents, John F. Kennedy, was 43 at his inauguration. Overall, however, the youngest president was Theodore Roosevelt who was 42 at his inauguration following the assassination of President William McKinley. Related sites: Presidents of the United States - - http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ | Presidents' Day Resources - - http://www.ed.gov/free/pd.html
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Study Guides and Strategies - - http://www.studygs.net/ - - The Study Guides and Strategies web site is authored, maintained, and revised on an on-going basis by Joe Landsberger, web site developer at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota. It contains a comprehensive compendium of resources and study guides for learners available in 25 languages.
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"Experts at Cardiff University, UK, are designing and building highly sophisticated equipment, which will travel deep into space to enable scientists to look back in time to observe the formation of galaxies and stars. A team in the School of Physics and Astronomy is heading an international consortium, led by Cardiff's Professor Matt Griffin, to produce SPIRE. This is a three-colour camera and spectrometer, which will be launched aboard the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory in 2007. It will detect radiation at very long wavelengths, revealing distant galaxies - up to 10 billion light years away - which are invisible to other telescopes. This is equivalent to looking up to 10 billion years into the past, and hence SPIRE will be able to view distant galaxies in their early stages of formation. SPIRE will also be able to look at closer clouds of dust and gas in our own galaxy, and view the formation of stars in 'stellar nurseries.' "
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Our Solar System - - http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/ - - This NASA site features news, pictures and articles on the 9 planets, many moons and one sun that make up our Solar System.
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"A new procedure that could save millions of dollars annually in medical costs - and result in much better patient outcomes and satisfaction - was performed for the first time in the world at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The procedure removed growths from the airway of a patient using new technology that allows the surgery to be done in the doctor's office with the patient completely awake, and the patient to go home immediately afterward. In the past, this surgery required equipment that could be used only in the operating room with the patient under general anesthesia, and the patient was often required to spend the night in the hospital. In the procedure this week, two different lasers were used: a carbon-dioxide laser delivered by a newly developed hollow-core optical fiber, and a pulsed-dye laser delivered by standard solid optical fiber. Each is guided by a high-resolution video-endoscope, and the entire system is delivered to the patient through a tiny tube that is placed in the nose. It was the world's first use of both lasers in an office-based procedure."
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Recent US Earthquakes - - http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqs/ - - The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program provides earthquake information for current and past earthquakes, hazards and preparedness information, and education resources for teachers and students. Related site: Recent World Earthquakes. - - http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/
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"That hot cup of coffee may do more than just provide a tasty energy boost. It also may help prevent the most common type of liver cancer. A study of more than 90,000 Japanese found that people who drank coffee daily or nearly every day had half the liver cancer risk of those who never drank coffee. The American Cancer Society estimates that 18,920 new cases of liver cancer were diagnosed in the United States last year and some 14,270 people died of the illness. Causes include hepatitis, cirrhosis, excess alcohol consumption and diseases causing chronic inflammation of the liver. Animal studies have suggested a protective association of coffee with liver cancer, so the research team led by Monami Inoue of the National Cancer Center in Tokyo analyzed a 10-year public health study to determine coffee use by people diagnosed with liver cancer and people who did not have cancer. They found the likely occurrence of liver cancer in people who never or almost never drank coffee was 547.2 cases per 100,000 people over 10 years."
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The Most Frequently Asked Questions About Britain - - http://www.britainusa.com/faq/index2.asp - - Welcome to BritainUSA.com's answers to over 200 of the most frequently asked questions about Britain. A FAQ section provides easy access to information: Questions are grouped by category, including quarantine, monarchy, facts and figures, working in Britain; Use the free-text search engine to locate the FAQ you need; and Search the Britain A - Z index by keyword.
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"With military costs since Sept. 11, 2001, now expected to exceed $300 billion, the Pentagon is spending more per soldier to fight in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere than it did during earlier conflicts. High technology, the costs of paying and protecting a modern soldier, and the worldwide nature of the war on terrorism are all possible reasons, experts say. 'Every facet of military expenditure has skyrocketed since the Gulf War,' said Loren B. Thompson, a military expert with the Lexington Institute. 'The biggest reason why is because the military is more and more a microcosm of the broader economy.' The all-volunteer force, put in place by President Nixon in 1973 to replace the draft, has forced the military to compete with the private sector for soldiers, and offer better pay and benefits, he said. Sending those soldiers to war costs still more. 'The bottom-line problem with the all-volunteer force is you have to convince middle-class people to risk their lives for middle-class pay, so of course the price for each soldier keeps going up,' he said."
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Wayback Machine - - http://www.archive.org/web/web.php - - Browse through 30 billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago. To start surfing the Wayback, type in the web address of a site or page where you would like to start, and press enter. Then select from the archived dates available. The resulting pages point to other archived pages at as close a date as possible. Keyword searching is not currently supported, but there are some researcher tools that perform similar functions.
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"The federal agency that enforces laws against employment discrimination collected a record $420 million for aggrieved workers last year, when the number of complaints filed with the government was down slightly from the previous 12 months. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received 79,432 discrimination complaints against private employers and state and local governments in the year ending Sept. 30. The figure was down from the 81,293 complaints in 2003, and below the seven-year high of 84,442 recorded in 2002. Last year, the commission resolved 85,259 discrimination cases, down slightly from 2003, including some cases pending from previous years, according to a report obtained by The Associated Press. The agency had its best year recovering monetary benefits for workers."
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| Safety From The Heart |

Prepared by Donna Dotson - BRT employee

As a practicing family nurse practitioner in Baton Rouge, I am a subscriber to Prescriber’s Letter which is an organization that stays abreast on the latest, pressing topics of prescription and over-the-counter medications. This organization employs over 100 experts who review the latest evidenced research from journals, seminars and drug companies. Due to the present peak of flu season and viral upper respiratory infections, I have encountered employees who have inquired about “Airborne” the over-the-counter dietary supplement for colds. The February, 2005, Prescriber’s Letter addressed the controversy of “Airborne” and alerted practicing clinicians of the following:
RUMOR: Airborne can help prevent or shorten duration of colds.
TRUTH: Airborne is a dietary supplement used for prevention and treatment of colds and flu. It's the one that was "developed by a school teacher who was sick of catching colds in class." Airborne contains several vitamins, minerals and herbs. The manufacturer suggests taking one tablet every 3 hours at the first sign of a cold. It is important to note that one tablet contains vitamin C 1,000 mg...vitamin A 5,000 IU...vitamin E 30 IU. These amounts meet or exceed the RDA. Vitamin C taken prophylactically in doses of at least 1 gram per day seems to reduce the duration of cold symptoms by a half-day. Tell patients the slight reduction in duration of cold symptoms may not be worth large doses of vitamin C on a daily basis. Vitamin C at doses above 2 grams per day may cause diarrhea and stomach upset. In people with a history of oxalate kidney stones (the most common type), supplemental vitamin C 1 gram per day appears to increase stone risk...possibly an increase of 40%. Vitamin C is not proven to be helpful in PREVENTING colds. There isn't any proof that vitamin A is helpful in preventing or treating colds and flu. Large doses of vitamin A can cause nausea, vomiting, headache, vertigo, and blurred vision. Zinc is also an ingredient in Airborne. A lot of research suggests that zinc lozenges begun within 24 to 48 hours of the onset of cold symptoms can reduce the severity and duration of the cold. But other research shows no effect. Some experts say that flavoring agents, such as the citric acid and mannitol found in Airborne, might chelate zinc, making it inactive. Zinc is not helpful in preventing colds. Airborne also contains echinacea. Echinacea MIGHT shorten the duration and severity of cold symptoms...but research is conflicting. The active constituent of echinacea is not known so products can't be standardized. Various species and plant parts (flowers, leaves, stems, and roots) have been used in clinical studies. The amount of echinacea in Airborne is unknown. Other ingredients listed in the product have not been proven to be helpful in treating or preventing the cold. Tell patients there's no proof that Airborne is helpful in preventing or treating colds. Advise patients taking multiple daily doses of Airborne about the possibility of excessive vitamins A and C. Remind patients to also add up the amount in any daily multivitamins they might take. There's also some concern that echinacea might increase levels of drugs metabolized by the CYP3A4 enzyme...macrolides, antifungals, etc. Tell patients on these drugs to avoid Airborne. Caution patients on warfarin or other antiplatelet drugs that Airborne contains ginger and lonicera which may increase the risk of bleeding.
Reference: Prescriber’s Letter, Stockton, CA; www.prescribersletter.com

| Safety From The Heart |

Prepared by Traci Williams - BRT employee

My husband and I sat down for lunch today and discussed our plans for the weekend, mainly getting the backyard ready for spring. This is our first house so we really enjoy working in the yard… I’m sure this will pass. For all of you that enjoy or must do yard work/gardening, here are a few safety tips you should consider while preparing for the season:

According to the National Gardening Association, two out of three American households take part in some gardening activity each year.
· Avoid overexposure to sun. Limit the time you spend working in direct sunlight by gardening during early-morning or late-afternoon hours. Heat stress can also be a risk; thus keep water by your side to remain hydrated. Remember to take frequent breaks by going indoors and relaxing in front of a fan.
· Warm up. Cumulative injuries, such as tennis elbow or tendentious occur when people overextend themselves on a job they tackle only once or twice a year.
· Be careful with power equipment. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 400,000 people are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year for injuries from lawn and garden tools. To prevent a mishap, read equipment-operating instructions and be aware of your surroundings.
· Consider the following when operating power tools:
o Know how to operate equipment. Read the manual and follow all instructions.
o Wear long pants, close-fitting clothes, sturdy shoes and safety glasses. Don't wear anything that could get caught in moving parts, such as loose jewelry. Tie back long hair.
o Handle gas carefully. Fill up before you start - when the engine is cold.
o Clear the area of rocks, twigs, toys and anything that could be thrown by mowing equipment.
o Keep children and pets away from the area until you're finished. Never carry a child as a passenger on a riding mower.
o Keep you hands and feet away from moving parts. Never work on equipment when it's running.
o Don't point the blower nozzle of a leaf blower toward people or pets. Use a dust mask in a dusty or dirty environment.
o Wear earplugs when using noisy equipment, such as leaf blowers or wood chippers.

| Safety From The Heart |

Are you a dangerous driver? 10 ways to tell

Bad habits range from road rage to eating while driving. Compare yourself with these accident magnets from Boston. Do you see yourself here?

Surely you've seen them on the road: They're swerving in and out of lanes, ignoring rules of the road, and engaging in other rude -- and dangerous -- behavior. Or maybe you are that bad driver?

Compare yourself with a focus group of 30 drivers from Boston who have collectively been involved in 84 accidents over the past three years and received 49 speeding tickets, 39 moving violations and 92 parking tickets.
Take a look at these questions to find out if you fit the profile.

When you reach a stop sign and no one is coming from another direction, do you roll through instead of stopping? An overwhelming majority (87%) of the bad drivers say they should be able to speed, go through stop signs, and break other driving rules and regulations as long as no one gets hurt.

Do you talk on the cell phone while driving instead of pulling off and stopping to talk? A total of 77% of bad drivers say they do this either frequently or occasionally. Only 13% say they never talk on a cell phone while driving.
Do you take your coffee and muffin or other food and drink on the road with you, driving with one hand while using the other to eat? Some 60% of those in the study say they either frequently or occasionally eat while they're driving. In fact, several of the participants say they have spilled drinks and attempted to clean up the spill while driving.

If you're out shopping in a crowded area and are looking for a parking space, do you become so focused on your search that you lose sight of the cars and pedestrians around you? More than half of the participants say that when they're trying to find a parking space in a crowded area, they can become so focused that they become oblivious to other drivers and pedestrians and often get into accidents, whether on the street or in a parking lot.

Do you hate driving behind SUVs or other large vehicles that obstruct your view? More than 60% of bad drivers say they are frustrated driving behind SUVs because they are wide and tall and block their vision. In fact, more than 70% believe SUVs should be required to drive in a separate lane on the highway.

Does your driving change when you go into areas with higher police presence? Nearly all of the participants strongly agree with the statement that they drive more carefully when they know police are in the area. In addition, most participants say they check their rearview mirrors regularly for police cars.

Does listening to music while you drive sometimes leave you oblivious to all but the music? Some 93% of participants say they listen to the radio while driving, and 73% of them listen to music. Most say listening to the radio has often caused them to become distracted and in some cases they say listening to loud music has caused them to be more aggressive on the highway.

Do you find yourself in confrontations on the road, either through verbal arguments or hand gestures, because of either your own driving habits or the habits of others? While 87% of the bad drivers consider themselves at least somewhat courteous drivers if not very courteous, at least half also admit making obscene or rude gestures or comments to other drivers, particularly those who cut in front of them on the highway. Participants also say, however, that they appreciate a thank-you gesture for letting another driver into their lane, and often give a wave of thanks themselves when they cut into traffic.

Does your "work hard, play hard" lifestyle leave you sleepy behind the wheel at times? About 50% of those in the study say they have almost fallen asleep while driving and an additional 10% say they have wanted to shut their eyes while driving and almost did. The study found that most participants lead a busy lifestyle that sometimes leaves them sleep-deprived.

When you're driving with passengers, do you turn around to talk, taking your eyes and mind off the road? Nearly all group members acknowledged that they are distracted when they have passengers in their vehicles, and most say during conversations they'll turn their heads and stop paying attention to the road. This held true especially for drivers with small children.

If your answers agree with the answers from the focus group, it's likely you tend to be a more aggressive driver than average. Like members of the study, you may also pay more for your auto insurance. Within the study group, 53% pay a surcharge on their auto insurance because of their driving records.

Outgoing, confident, and a menace -
These bad drivers have other characteristics that you may recognize in your own life. Most say they lead very stressful lives without enough time to accomplish all their activities in a day. They all consider themselves either somewhat or very outgoing, and all have a fair to great amount of confidence in the way they behave. And 90% say they've told a "little white lie" to protect someone's feelings.

The group was broken down into three age groups, from 18 to 25 years old, 26 to 45 years old, and 46 to 59 years old. There were 19 men and 11 women in the study, commissioned by RightFind Technology, a company developing new products to help insurers make better decisions on auto insurance rates for specific drivers.

While the study is based on a small group and should be considered a hypothesis rather than a conclusion, "our study identified several personality attributes that seem clearly linked to accident involvement," says Donald Bashline, one of the owners of RightFind. "Witnessing these focus groups was a revelation."

| Safety From The Heart |

Helping Someone Move

Today's Message is from Sandy Barclay (A Houston Albemarle employee).

Helping someone move probably qualifies as one of the most dangerous things a person can do. First, you're driving an unfamiliar vehicle which feels like an 18 wheeler compared to your own personal car. This involves all the safety precautions you need to remember while on the road, and, also, that the truck may be too high to go through the McDonald's drive-through, ouch!

Then there is eye safety. If the wind is blowing the dust in the truck around, all sorts of things can end up in your eyes. Now, watch those fingers and toes. Lifting things and setting them down requires good communication skills between movers. Why is the furniture you're moving always just a little wider than the doorway? Ohhh, my aching back, all those lifting techniques really work. I wish I'd used them.

There are so many safety issues involved in a move, but I have learned a couple of things. A dolly is a mover's best friend and hire someone else to move the piano.

| Safety From The Heart |

Very Often We Get Busy
Today's Safety From the Heart message is from Eddie Zeigler.
Very often we get busy, trying to keep the plant on cycle or trying not to lose time on the process. We should always be thinking "What if?"

At the MMT-C plant the MNCl2 hopper often gets plugged due to moisture absorption. In an effort to unplug the hopper with the provided T-handle, I had to use excessive force to free the MNCl2 between the hopper and the reactor. As I was putting my weight into the T-handle, the plug broke free. With the momentum the T-handle came down hard on the side of the hopper and pinched my finger between the T-handle and the side of the hopper. I received no breaks in the skin or bones, but I have a fat, blue finger.

Try to be aware of the possibilities of your actions! "What if?" Ask for help.

Eddie Zeigler
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Our Church, Magnolia Christian Center, has the following mission statement. Our purpose is to build a great church for the glory of God through the great commission and the great commandment. MCC' Vision - That MCC will be a place hopping with children, energized with teenagers, balanced with diversity and transformed by the power of God! We want to turn uninterested people into interested people and win the lost to make fully devoted followers of Christ.
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DO IT ANYWAY

written by Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable, illogical,
and self-centered;
forgive them anyway

If you are kind, People may accuse you
of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some
false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone
could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

Thanks to Chris Watson
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Hey All...This is really good...I know where I am going... Hope all is well...Keep in touch...Love & Prayers Trina M..

Billy Graham's New Suit....

In January 2000, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, invited their favorite son, Billy Graham, to a luncheon in his honor. Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because he struggles with Parkinson's disease. But the Charlotte leaders said, "We don't expect a major address. Just come and let us honor you." So he agreed. After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham stepped to the rostrum, looked at the crowd, and said, "I'm reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honored by Time magazine as the Man of the Century.

Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of each passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his other pocket. It wasn't there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it. Then he looked in the seat by him. He couldn't find it. The conductor said, 'Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I'm sure you bought a ticket. Don't worry about it.' Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket. The conductor rushed back and said, 'Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don't worry. I know who you are. No problem. You don't need a ticket. I'm sure you bought one.' Einstein looked at him and said, 'Young man, I too know who I am. What I don't know is where I'm going.'"

Having said that Billy Graham continued, "See the suit I'm wearing? It's a brand new suit. My wife, my children, and my grandchildren are telling me I've gotten a little slovenly in my old age. I used to be a bit more fastidious. So I went out and bought a new suit for this luncheon and one more occasion.

You know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which I'll be buried. But when you hear I'm dead, I don't want you to immediately remember the suit I'm wearing. I want you to remember this: I not only know who I am, I also know where I'm going."

Thanks to Trina Montgomery
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Your Parachute

Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience!

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!"

"How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb.

"I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked !" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat; a bib in the back; and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor." Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. He also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory -- he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachutes.

I am sending you this as my way of thanking you for your part in packing my parachute. And I hope you will send it on to those who have helped pack yours!

Sometimes, we wonder why friends keep forwarding jokes to us without writing a word. Maybe this could explain it: When you are very busy, but still want to keep in touch, guess what you do -- you forward jokes. And to let you know that you are still remembered, you are still important, you are still loved, you are still cared for, guess what you get? A forwarded joke.

So my friend, next time when you get a joke, don't think that you've been sent just another forwarded joke, but that you've been thought of today and your friend on the other end of your computer wanted to send you a smile, just helping you pack your parachute.

Thanks to Waneta
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February is Black History Month, a month in which we honor the legacy and accomplishments of African Americans and the extraordinary contributions they have made to our great nation.

This year's Black History Month also honors the 100th Anniversary of the "Niagara Movement," -- the first African American meeting held to end racial discrimination. This historic and secret meeting took place in Niagara Falls, New York, and was comprised of 29 brave and progressive African Americans who met to fight the injustices that afflicted their race. As a result of this Assembly, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was born, which continues to serve as a vital force to promote civil rights and social justice in America.

In honor of Black History Month, I would like to recognize a few of the extraordinary African Americans whose roots spawn from Arkansas's Fourth Congressional District. The contributions each of these men and women have made and continue to make to our country and culture vary in scope. But the one thing they have in common is that because of their dedication and entrepreneurial spirit, our America is a little brighter -- and a little better -- than it would have been without them.

El Dorado native Lou Brock is considered to be one of the greatest base stealers of his era. After three seasons with the Chicago Cubs, Brock joined the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964, where he led the National League for bats and bases stolen, and tied with Hank Aaron for most runs scored in 1967. Brock has been a Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame since 1985.

One of the original creators of the Ragtime music genre, Scott Joplin was born in Texarkana. Billed as the King of Ragtime, his musical accomplishments created a solid foundation for the future of Ragtime music.

Wiley Jones was one of South Arkansas's most successful businessmen and influential role models for entrepreneurship during the post-Reconstruction era. Originally a barber, Mr. Jones eventually acquired a string of small businesses, became the proprietor of a racetrack, and eventually, owned the city of Pine Bluff's streetcar system.

Other notable Pine Bluff residents include Fargo Agricultural School Founder Floyd Brown, and John Brown Watson and Dr. Lawrence Davis, Sr. -- both presidents of the Arkansas Agricultural Mechanical and Normal College in Pine Bluff, respectively. These men devoted themselves to working with black students in rural communities.

Arkansas City native John H. Johnson founded and published the Negro Digest in 1942. He eventually launched Ebony and Jet Magazines, two of the most successfully selling publications in the country. Johnson is now the publisher, chairman, and Chief Executive Office of Johnson Publishing Company.

And last but not least, poet, actress, civil-rights activist, and best-selling author Maya Angelou hails from Stamps. One of our country's most treasured legends, Angelou was a National Book Award nominee for her autobiography "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

The accomplishments made by these tremendous individuals have inspired many, and their work will be forever imbedded in American culture. February may be the designated month for celebrating black history, but let us be mindful beyond this month of the continuous importance of working together as a nation to end all forms of racial discrimination and promote the achievement of racial harmony.

Sincerely,

Congressman Mike Ross
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"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. " Romans 8:28

This is a little long, but well worth the read!

A DAD'S STORY

On July 22nd I was in route to Washington, DC for a business trip. It was all so very ordinary, until we landed in Denver for a plane change. As I collected my belongings from the overhead bin, an announcement was made for Mr. Lloyd Glenn to see the United Customer Service Representative immediately. I thought nothing of it until I reached the door to leave the plane and I heard a gentleman asking every male if he were Mr. Glenn. At this point I knew something was wrong and my heart sunk.
When I got off the plane a solemn-faced young man came toward me and said, "Mr. Glenn, there is an emergency at your home. I do not know what the emergency is, or who is involved, but I will take you to the phone so you can call the hospital."My heart was now pounding, but the will to be calm took over.

Woodenly, I followed this stranger to the distant telephone where I called the number he gave me for the Mission Hospital. My call was put through to the trauma center where I learned that my three-year-old son had been trapped underneath the automatic garage door for several minutes, and that when my wife had found him he was dead. CPR had been performed by a neighbor, who is a doctor, and the paramedics had continued the treatment as Brian was transported to the hospital.

By the time of my call, Brian was revived and they believed he would live, but they did not know how much damage had been done to his brain, nor to his heart. They explained that the door had completely closed on his little sternum right over his heart. He had been severely crushed. After speaking with the medical staff, my wife sounded worried but not hysterical, and I took comfort in her calmness.

The return flight seemed to last forever, but finally I arrived at the hospital six hours after the garage door had come down. When I walked into the intensive care unit, nothing could have prepared me to see my little son laying so still on a great big bed with tubes and monitors everywhere. He was on a respirator. I glanced at my wife who stood and tried to give me a reassuring smile. It all seemed like a terrible dream. I was filled-in with the details and given a guarded prognosis. Brian was going to live, and the preliminary tests indicated that his heart was OK, two miracles in and of themselves. But only time would tell if his brain received any damage.

Throughout the seemingly endless hours, my wife was calm. She felt that Brian would eventually be all right. I hung on to he r words and faith like a lifeline. All that night and the next day Brian remained unconscious. It seemed like forever since I had left for my business trip the day before.

Finally at two o'clock that afternoon, our son regained consciousness and sat up uttering the most beautiful words I have ever heard spoken. He said, "Daddy hold me" and he reached for me with his little arms.

[TEAR BREAK...smile]

By the next day he was pronounced as having no neurological or physical deficits, and the story of his miraculous survival spread throughout the hospital. You cannot imagine, we took Brian home, we felt a unique reverence for the life and love of our Heavenly Father that comes to those who brush death so closely.

In the days that followed there was a special spirit about our home. Our two older children were much closer to their little brother. My wife and I were much closer to each other, and all of us were very close as a whole family. Life took on a less stressful pace. Perspective seemed to be more focused, and balance much easier to gain and maintain. We felt deeply blessed. Our gratitude was truly profound.
The story is not over (smile)!

Almost a month later to the day of the accident, Brian awoke from his afternoon nap and said, "Sit down Mommy. I have something to tell you." At this time in his life, Brian usually spoke in small phrases, so to say a large sentence surprised my wife. She sat down with him on his bed, and he began his sacred and remarkable story.

"Do you remember when I got stuck under the garage door? Well, it was so heavy and it hurt really bad. I called to you, but you couldn't hear me. I started to cry, but then it hurt too bad. And then the 'birdies' came."

"The birdies?" my wife asked puzzled.

"Yes," he replied. "The birdies made a whooshing sound and flew into the garage. They took care of me."

"They did?"

"Yes," he said. "One of the birdies came and got you. She came to tell you

"I got stuck under the door." A sweet reverent feeling filled the room. The spirit was so strong and yet lighter than air. My wife realized that a three-year-old had no concept of death and spirits, so he was referring to the beings who came to him from beyond as "birdies" because they were up in the air like birds that fly..... "What did the birdies look like?" she asked.

Brian answered, "They were so beautiful. They were dressed in white, all white. Some of them had green and white. But some of them had on just white."

"Did they say anything?"

"Yes," he answered. "They told me the baby would be all right."

"The baby?" my wife asked confused.

Brian answered. "The baby laying on the garage floor." He went on, "You came out and opened the garage door and ran to the baby. You told the baby to stay and not leave."

My wife nearly collapsed upon hearing this, for she had indeed gone and knelt beside Brian's body and seeing his crushed chest whispered, "Don't leave us Brian, please stay if you can." As she listened to Brian telling her the words she had spoken, she realized that the spirit had left His body and was looking down from above on this little lifeless form. "Then what happened?" she asked.
"We went on a trip," he said, "far, far away." He grew agitated trying to say the things he didn't seem to have the words for. My wife tried to calm and comfort him, and let him know it would be okay. He struggled with wanting to tell something that obviously was very important to him, but finding the words was difficult.

"We flew so fast up in the air. They're so pretty Mommy," he added.

"And there are lots and lots of birdies." My wife was stunned. Into her mind the sweet comforting spirit enveloped her more soundly, but with an urgency she had never before known. Brian went on to tell her that the "birdies" had told him that he had to come back and tell everyone about the "birdies." He said they brought him back to the house and that a big fire truck, and an ambulance were there. A man was bringing the baby out on a white bed and he tried to tell the man that the baby would be okay. The story went on for an hour.

He taught us that "birdies" were always with us, but we don't see them because we look with our eyes and we don't hear them because we listen with our ears. But they are always there, you can only see them in here (he put his hand over his heart). They whisper the things to help us to do what is right because they love us so much. Brian continued, stating, "I have a plan, Mommy. You have a plan..... Daddy has a plan. Everyone has a plan. We must all live our plan and keep our promises. The birdies help us to do that cause they love us so much."

In the weeks that followed, he often came to us and told all, or part of it, again and again. Always the story remained the same. The details were never changed or out of order. A few times he added further bits of information and clarified the message he had already delivered. It never ceased to amaze us how he could tell such detail and speak beyond his ability when he talked about his birdies.

Everywhere he went, he told strangers about the "birdies." Surprisingly, no one ever looked at him strangely when he did this. Rather, they always got a softened look on their face and smiled. Needless to say, we have not been the same ever since that day, and I pray we never will be.

Some people come into our lives and quickly go...Some people become friends and stay a while...leaving beautiful footprints on our hearts ... and we are never quite the same because we have made a good friend!

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present! Live and savor every moment...this is not a dress rehearsal!

Thanks to Sheri King Bell via Angie Caldwell
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Verse Of The Day ~=~ Harley E. Hudson

... to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Eph 3:21 (NASB)

Who are you? We began our study of Ephesians asking that question and a couple of others. So, I ask again: Who do you think you are? Who do you want others think you are? Who are you … in God’s eyes?

As you reflect on these three questions, I hope that your answers today are quite different from your answers at the beginning of this study. You should be seeing yourself more as God sees you … as whom God says you are. The picture you portray to the world around you … the “others” in your life … should have become radically transformed, all because you now know, at least in seed form, who you are in Christ.

As part of this study, I used several metaphors to help us see ourselves as God sees us. We talked about having God’s DNA. The metaphor was of a caterpillar taken to a biologist who studies the genetic makeup of the critter. When he is finished, he looks at you and says, “You think this is a worm, but I am here to tell you that the DNA says it is a beautiful butterfly.” When God looks at us, he sees Jesus. We are infused with the DNA of God. We are His children, adopted into His family, given full family rights, sharing in the inheritance of Jesus – equally!

We used the metaphor of Princess Diary in which a young, gangly, American teenage girl discovers that she is a real, genuine, princess. Then, we watch as she is transformed from the former into the latter under the tutelage of the queen. We are that gangly teenager, struggling daily to simply survive. Then we discover that we are heirs to the Kingdom of God … princesses and princes! We now begin to understand that the transformation we are undergoing is designed to make us mature royalty, ready to reign with Christ.

Oh, we have learned so much. Today’s verse tells us that we, the church, are God’s glory! We are the reflection of His Shekinah, His glorious appearance! What’s more, that is not a “one time event”; it is to all generations forever and ever! “Fantastic … but I still don’t feel that way … not every day … not even parts of every day … sometimes for days on end.” And that is ok. A butterfly does not become a butterfly overnight. It starts as an egg, becomes a “worm”, then “dies” in its pupae form. I have been told that if you cut open a butterfly pupae at a mid stage in its development that you will see nothing but a runny “goo” with no form at all. Yuck! However, it takes that “goo” stage for the “worm” to become a butterfly with beautiful wings, but it is still a reflection of God’s intent and glory … because that “goo” still has the DNA of a butterfly. Even that stage has a purpose: transformation, rearrangement, realignment, and recreation.

So, as we close this part of our Ephesians study, remember that God is not finished with you yet. You may be an egg, a worm, a mass of goo, or a butterfly, but you are not complete, not by a long shot! Hang in there. Be ready for more change. Go with God’s flow. Hang on. There are still three more chapters in Ephesians, and we pick the thread of Paul’s thoughts up tomorrow!

Harley
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Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called … Ephesians 4:1(NASB)

I have learned over the years that people will give you what you expect them to give. For example, when I was teaching I expected my students to produce to the best of their abilities … and more than they thought they could produce. Consequently, I was not the most popular teacher. Quite the contrary, I was almost “hated”. I was at a disadvantage anyway because of the subject, English, and my demands brought vast numbers of complaints … from students and teachers alike. However, the end result was students achieving above their preconceived ideas of attainment. Now, I have students that come back thanking me for being “tough but fair” and pointing out their mistakes so they could learn what they were doing wrong. They are all doing quite well in college because of the skills they learned.

Paul, in today’s verse, is about to drop the “tough” hammer. He is about to tell us what he, no, God expects of us now that we know our true identities. Are you ready for “the test”? Actually, it is not a test because God is seeing us through adoring eyes. We are His beloved children. We can do no wrong. So Paul tells us, implores us “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called …” And a high calling it is!

Uh oh. I sense a problem here. Does Paul really expect me to live like a son of God? Do I have to be as good as Jesus? I might as well give it up right now. I can’t do it. I quit. This is the last Verse of the Day you will ever read!

Just kidding … about all of it really. I don’t have to live like Jesus, because I can’t. God doesn’t expect me to. He knows my humanity all too well.

However, if God is laying out His expectations of me, then I know that what He believes is attainable. Like my students, I will do my best to live up to God’s standards. And, like my student’s teacher, He will be tough … but fair. He will help me to learn what I did wrong and help me to improve.

Paul has spent three chapters (he didn’t really write in verses and chapters, that came in the 4th century) telling us who we are. Now he will spend the next three chapters telling us about our calling and how to walk in it. Hang on! The ride might be a bit rough at times, but it is doable. Much like a rollercoaster, it is not fatal and at times might even be enjoyable and the trill is well worth the ticket!

Harley
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Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called … Ephesians 4:1(NASB)

I have learned over the years that people will give you what you expect them to give. For example, when I was teaching I expected my students to produce to the best of their abilities … and more than they thought they could produce. Consequently, I was not the most popular teacher. Quite the contrary, I was almost “hated”. I was at a disadvantage anyway because of the subject, English, and my demands brought vast numbers of complaints … from students and teachers alike. However, the end result was students achieving above their preconceived ideas of attainment. Now, I have students that come back thanking me for being “tough but fair” and pointing out their mistakes so they could learn what they were doing wrong. They are all doing quite well in college because of the skills they learned.
Paul, in today’s verse, is about to drop the “tough” hammer. He is about to tell us what he, no, God expects of us now that we know our true identities. Are you ready for “the test”? Actually, it is not a test because God is seeing us through adoring eyes. We are His beloved children. We can do no wrong. So Paul tells us, implores us “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called …” And a high calling it is!

Uh oh. I sense a problem here. Does Paul really expect me to live like a son of God? Do I have to be as good as Jesus? I might as well give it up right now. I can’t do it. I quit. This is the last Verse of the Day you will ever read!

Just kidding … about all of it really. I don’t have to live like Jesus, because I can’t. God doesn’t expect me to. He knows my humanity all too well.

However, if God is laying out His expectations of me, then I know that what He believes is attainable. Like my students, I will do my best to live up to God’s standards. And, like my student’s teacher, He will be tough … but fair. He will help me to learn what I did wrong and help me to improve.

Paul has spent three chapters (he didn’t really write in verses and chapters, that came in the 4th century) telling us who we are. Now he will spend the next three chapters telling us about our calling and how to walk in it. Hang on! The ride might be a bit rough at times, but it is doable. Much like a rollercoaster, it is not fatal and at times might even be enjoyable and the trill is well worth the ticket!

Harley
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… being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3 (NASB)

Phillip (a fictional character) was an athlete. Even at the age of fifty-four he was what some might call “obsessive” about exercise. He went to the gym every morning before work. He trained for running the marathon after work. He watched his diet, eating only those things he learned were “healthy” and never did dessert. Phillip didn’t have a weight problem … because he worked hared at, that is, was diligent, to exercise.

For those of you who “want something to do” with your life because all of this stuff we’ve talked about in the past is too simple, here it is. You can be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit ….” There you have it. Be diligent, work hard at, pay special attention to preserve, keep intact, save for future use the unity, oneness, cohesiveness of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit that lives within us in the bond, an unbreakable attraction, a stick-to-itiveness that can not easily be broken, of peace, the state being at one with each other and God. Whew! That was a mouthful.

Now that that is said, how do we do it? Do you remember how we started this section? We are learning how to “walk” in our new identity, our new calling. Last time we talked about humility and gentleness and patience and tolerance and concluded that these are a natural outgrowth of our walk in Jesus, as we become more and more like Jesus. So it is with peace keeping. It is something we want to do, not have to do. We want unity because we see that God was unified in His work. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were all working to achieve the same goal, the redemption of man. Each part of the Godhead had a role to fulfill, but each was interdependent upon the other. Jesus spoke only what He heard the Father speak. The Father consecrated His Son, Jesus, to pay the blood price for our sinfulness. The Holy Spirit seeks nothing but to draw attention to the Father and the Son.

The one thing the Spirit is not wanting is for us to “impose” unity upon others. We can see that in modern international affairs. The Israelis can be forced to sit down with the Palestinians, but that does not mean that either side will unite with the other to bring peace. The whole region around North Korea can beg the Koreans to sit at a table and discuss the nuke situation, but that does not mean they will be unified. Forced “unity” only works as long as the “force” is applied. I could force my daughters to hug and make up after a fight; that did not mean that they made up at all! They just went through the motions to please dad. No, the Spirit is not into imposing, but loving … and living in love … and thus bringing unity in love.

Go ahead. Walk in the calling to which you have been called. Be the son or daughter of God that you are. Live the life that God intends for you to live. In doing so, you will bring unity … unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Harley
~=~

c. 2005 Harley E. Hudson

If you received Verse of the Day as a forward and you wish to have your own subscription, simply send an e-mail to hhudson719@earthlink.net and request a free subscription.
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TGIF-Today God Is First

Fruitful Suffering
Friday, February 25, 2005
by Os Hillman

..."It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering." ~ Genesis 41:52

Joseph named his second son Ephraim. Ephraim was given to him after he had been delivered from his suffering of 13 years. Joseph said that he named him this because God had made him fruitful in the land of his suffering. Ephraim means "twice fruitful."

Joseph was fruitful in two instances. He was fruitful during his time of adversity and in his prosperity. When God brings us into a time of suffering, it can be a fruitful time. It's rare for us to see the fruit during the suffering period. But know that the roots are going deep into the spiritual soil of our soul because of our pressing in to God during our time of suffering. This is producing a work in our character that cannot be seen until it finishes the process. Such was the case for Joseph.

It was not until several years after such a time of suffering that I began to see the fruit of the trials that the Lord allowed me to experience. How grateful I am to understand some of the "why" that has led to a new life in Him that I would never have had without this period.

Samson had great anointing but lacked character. We see many today who have great anointing yet lack character. But God is rising up Josephs who not only have great anointing for these days but also great character. Suffering produces character.

If you find yourself in a time of suffering, now is the time to press into God. Let your roots grow deeper. Whenever there is a famine, tree roots are forced to drive deeper into the soil to find water. These times are designed to create such a deep-rooted faith that our natures will be changed forever.
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Copyright 2005. www.MarketplaceLeaders.org
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To contact Os Hillman, request reprint permission, or to book Os to speak in your town write to os@marketplaceleaders.org. Marketplace Leaders Website: http://www.marketplaceleaders.org/ Copyright 2004
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Please recommend this TGIF daily devotional to everyone interested in applying their faith to their worklife. Tell them to subscribe at http://www.TodayGodIsFirst.com

Os Hillman Copyright 2004
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NewsScan Daily, 2005 ("Above The Fold")
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NewsScan Daily is underwritten by RLG, a world-class organization making significant and sustained contributions to the effective management and appropriate use of information technology. NSD is written by John Gehl and Suzanne Douglas, editors@NewsScan.com.
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"ABOVE THE FOLD"

BATTLING THE SPIM-MEISTERS
Almost one in three instant-messaging users in the U.S. have received some kind of "spim" (unsolicited commercial instant messages), according to a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Results indicate that users age 30 and younger are more likely to get spimmed, compared with the next older age cohort (31-49). Other than the age discrepancy, however, no other demographic trends were discernible, says Pew: "Instant message users in all income brackets and in all racial and ethnic groups are equally likely to receive spim. Somewhat surprisingly, broadband users at home are no more likely than dialup users to receive spim, even though, presumably, those with always-on broadband connections keep their instant message programs running for longer periods of time than dialup users." The survey found that 52 million Americans -- 42% of the online population -- use instant messaging, and among the 30-and-under age group, it's 66%. (Pew Internet & American Life Project 21 Feb 2005)


FIRST SPIMMER ARREST
An 18-year-old New York teenager has become the first person to be arrested on suspicion of spimming. Anthony Greco allegedly sent 1.5 million messages hawking pornography and mortgages to users of MySpace.com's IM system, and was arrested in a sting operation in the Los Angeles Airport last Wednesday following an extortion attempt on his part. Greco believed he was flying to LA to seal a deal with the president of MySpace.com, whom Greco had threatened with publicizing his spim techniques if he were not granted an exclusive marketing arrangement that would have legitimized his spimming activities. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Hoffstadt says that while Greco's case marks the first criminal prosecution of instant message spamming, there may well be more to come: "We're just beginning to get the tip of the iceberg. This could be a new wave as online communities start up." (CNet News.com 21 Feb 2005)


U.K., AUSTRALIA TOP TV PIRACY LIST
Australia and Britain have been revealed as the world's biggest markets for pirate TV downloads. The trend is being driven by tech-savvy fans who are unwilling to wait for popular U.S. shows such as 24 and Desperate Housewives. Australia ranked as second largest downloader of TV programs after Britain in a study of the phenomenon by U.K. technology consultancy Envisional. The U.S. was in third position. (The Australian 18 Feb 2005) rec'd from John Lamp, Deakin U.


USERS BYPASS NAPSTER COPY PROTECTION
Users have found a way to skirt copy protection on Napster's portable music subscription service just days after its high-profile launch, potentially enabling them to make CDs with hundreds of thousands of songs free. Such users are already providing instructions to other would-be song burners through technology websites like BoingBoing. Napster is offering a free trial of its new Napster To Go service, which will enable users for a monthly $15 fee to download as much music as they want and transfer it to a portable device. They can also pay 99 cents for each track they want to burn to a CD. That "rental" model for digital entertainment, backed by giant software concern Microsoft and others, is getting its most serious mass-market tryout yet with Napster To Go. But, according to various Web sites, thwarting the intellectual property protections of the service is as easy as a free software patch. (The Age 18 Feb 2005) rec'd from John Lamp, Deakin U.


MOBILE PHONE VIRUS INFILTRATES U.S.
The world's first mobile phone virus "in the wild," dubbed Cabir, has migrated to the U.S. from its point of origin in the Philippines eight months ago, infecting phones in a dozen countries along the way. Experts say the mobile-phone virus threat will increase as virus-writers become more sophisticated and phones standardize technologies that will make it easier to for viruses to spread not just across devices, but the whole industry. Up until now, disparate technical standards have worked against fast-moving virus infiltration, but Cabir has now been found in countries ranging from the China to the U.K., spread via Bluetooth wireless technology. The biggest impact of the relatively innocuous virus is that it's designed to drain mobile phone batteries, says Finnish computer security expert Mikko Hypponnen. Last November, another virus known as "Skulls" was distributed to security firms as a so-called "proof-of-concept alert, but was not targeted at consumers. (Reuters/New York Times 21 Feb 2005)


ENGELBART SEES POWER OF THE WEB IN 'COLLECTIVE IQ'
Douglas Engelbart, who's credited with pioneering online computing and e-mail while using the world's first mouse, says we're only a few steps into the long journey toward realizing the power of our "collective IQ" -- the harnessing of humanity's collective intelligence made possible by widespread collaboration using computers. "There's a real basic opportunity to build what I call a 'dynamic knowledge repository," says Engelbart. "This would be a place where you can put all different thoughts together that represents the best human understanding of a situation. It would be a well-formed argument. You can see the structure of the argument, people's assertions on both sides and their proof. This would all be knit together. You could use it for any number of problems. Wikipedia is something similar to it." (San Jose Mercury News 21 Feb 2005)


EDS SHIFTS CALL CENTER WORK TO INDIA
EDS, a company that manages many corporate computer systems, plans to close 21 call centers in the U.S. and Europe by the end of 2006 and shift some of that work to India. EDS already operates three centers in India, where salaries are much lower in the United States. EDS says that any U.S. job losses would be by attrition and would be part of the 15,000 to 20,000 job eliminations that were revealed by the company last fall. Currently, about 30,000 of the company's 120,000 employees work on software applications, 27% of them in India and other "offshore" locations. (San Jose Mercury News 23 Feb 2005)


LEGISLATION AGAINST BUSINESSES THAT OUTSOURCE
Colorado state senator Deanna Hanna has introduced legislation to require that state to stop doing business with companies that outsource work overseas instead of hiring U.S. workers. But critics of her bill say it would actually cost the state millions of dollars, because so many companies now rely on the practice of "offshoring." U.S. Bank economist Tucker Hart Adams says Hanna's bill "will cost the state in terms of jobs, creating a healthy economy, a good place to do business. Closed economies don't work." (AP/USA Today 23 Feb 2005)


U.N. PANEL HOPES TO END WEB WAR
A U.N.-sponsored panel aims to settle a long-running tug of war for control of the Internet at a Tunis meeting this November at the World Summit on the Information Society, where global control of the World World Wide Web may be decided. At present, the most recognizable Internet governance body is the U.S.-based non-profit corporation called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), but developing countries want an international body such as the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to have control over governance over Internet issues -- ranging from distributing Web site domains to fighting spam. (The Australian 22 Feb 2005) Rec'd from J Lamp, Deakin U.


ATLANTA SUBWAYS TO FEATURE TV SCREENS
Atlanta's subway system, MARTA (the Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority), will be the first in the country to offer TV on its trains, and will begin showing closed-caption local news programming this spring. An Atlanta company called the Rail Network, which is providing the technology, will pay MARTA at least $20 million from revenues derived from commercials shown on half-hour local newscasts provided by Atlanta TV station WSB. The TV screens will be visible from every part of MARTA's rail cars, and audio in English or Spanish will be available to passengers with headphones attached to radio FM tuners or cellphones with adapters. (Atlanta Journal Constitution 23 Feb 2005)

PROTECTING YOURSELF AGAINST IDENTIFY THEFT
Consumers worried that their personal and financial data may have been captured by the criminals who scammed the ChoicePoint company are being assured by the Private Rights Clearinghouse: "If you don't receive a letter from ChoicePoint within the next 10 days, you can be assured you have not been a victim of this identity theft." Even so, you should always check your monthly bank and credit card statements to make sure all charges are valid, and you should review your credit reports at least once a year. If you do get a letter from ChoicePoint, follow its instructions, visit the FTC Web site, and obtain the affidavit credit bureaus require to place a long-term fraud alert on your account. And keep reviewing your credit history! (Washington Post 22 Feb 2005)


NETWORKED HOMES SPELL TROUBLE FOR CONSUMER ELECTRONICS
The vision of the "networked home" is driving the digitalization of nearly every consumer electronics device, and eventually could lead to the disintegration of the consumer electronics industry as we know it, says Columbia University public policy expert and economist Eli Noam. Caught in the upward spiral of Moore's Law, the chips that run consumer electronics devices will become evermore powerful, and many stand-alone products, such as Blu-Ray Disc players, TVs and PCs, could entirely "disappear," says Noam. In fact, it's already happening: consumer PCs now come with built-in TV and recording functions, and vendors are selling DVD, CD and VHS players packaged as single units with hard disk drives. And while Noam predicts a bonanza for consumer electronics makers in the near term -- the next seven years or so -- ultimately, many of the networked products will be replaced by a single box or hub. "The good news is that this will mean an initial spike in demand for makers. But it also means fewer hardware boxes being sold," says Noam. As the trend continues, and consumers demand easy-to-use and glitch-free home networking, a new breed of specialized services, called CSPs (Consumer Electronics Service Providers), could emerge, who would integrate home, community and work-based networks, providing services based around content provision, security and assurance. (ComputerWorld 16 Feb 2005)


THREAT OF THE 'L' WORD MAKES SOFTWARE MAKERS SHUDDER
Major technology customers are fed up with spending millions to fix shoddy software and are starting to challenge software makers to assume at least some responsibility for costly repairs. So far, it's just a low rumble, but even the thought of the dreaded "L" word -- liability -- sends shivers through the software industry. One leading proponent is GM, whose chief information-security officer says: "Can you imagine if GM produced a vehicle and said, 'We did a pretty good job of engineering this. It worked in the laboratory. Here it is, consumer, you go crash-test it.'" GM is pushing for penalty provisions in new contracts that could hold vendors liable if they fail to meet security requirements. Other customers are seeking to add liability clauses to their "service level agreements" with outsourced technology providers that would limit the number of times their systems can go down. Meanwhile, some companies are taking matters into their own hands: BJ's Wholesale Club last year filed suit against IBM for providing software that allegedly allowed thousands of BJ's customers' credit-card information to be stolen by an organized crime ring. And even the Business Roundtable, a Washington association of CEOs, last year issued a call for "shared responsibility" between technology users and suppliers. (Wall Street Journal 24 Feb 2005)
(sub req'd)

ADS EMBEDDED IN NEWS STORIES RAISE CONCERNS
In the never-ending pursuit of profits, online sites are generating new revenues by selling advertisements that appear when users click on certain keywords, but when the practice is extended to words in news articles, critics say it could create the impression that advertisers are influencing the reporting. Business news articles in yesterday's online New York Post included words highlighted and underlined in green, which, when a mouse was rolled over them, produced a box with a link to the "sponsor's" Web site. Aly Colón, who teaches journalistic ethics at the Poynter Institute, says the biggest risk may be alienating readers: "If we want to be taken seriously for the work that we do as journalists, we should try to devise a way of presenting our material so that the users, the readers, know that we are first and foremost about the news." A Nielsen/NetRatings analyst says news organizations' recent experimentation with embedded advertising reflects a dearth of online advertising opportunities: "There is definitely a shortage of supply [of online content]. That leads to this kind of experimentation." (New York Times 24 Feb 2005)


IBM RELEASES 'HYPERVISOR' CODE
IBM has quietly released the source code for its Research Hypervisor software (rHype), which enables a computer to run multiple operating systems simultaneously. Big Blue's timing potentially competes with two commercial products -- Microsoft's Virtual Server and EMC's VMware -- as well as the open-source Xen software. Analysts say that in the case of Xen, however, IBM's release may boost its capabilities, enabling it to move from its current base of x86 chips to IBM's Power. Xen founder Ian Pratt has expressed interest in incorporating the rHype software directly into Xen, because both are governed by the General Public License and are based on "paravirtualization," which runs faster than full virtualization products such as VMware and Virtual Server. (CNet News.com 24 Feb 2005)


E-TAGS FOR AUSTRALIAN PEDOPHILES
Dangerous pedophiles could be electronically tagged and subjected to strict curfews after their release from jail under new laws before the Victorian parliament. Under the scheme, child sex offenders considered risks can be put under supervision orders administered by the adult parole board. The supervision conditions can include electronic bracelets allowing the offenders to be tracked, restrictions on where they live, curfews, and restrictions on movements to block their access to children. "We take the view that protecting the community, particularly vulnerable children, has to be our highest priority," Police Minister Tim Holding said. "We think these laws are an effective and appropriate way of protecting Victorians from serious child sex offenders who show a real likelihood of re-offending," he said. (The Australian 23 Feb 2005) rec'd from John Lamp, Deakin U.


STUDY: BRITS FEEL LOST WITHOUT MOBILES
Millions of Britons admit feeling lost if parted from their mobile phone or e-mail, according to a survey published yesterday. The problem gets worse if the technology is out of reach for more than a few hours. The findings have led to the emergence of what has been dubbed Mobile and Internet Dependency Syndrome (MAIDS). Nearly two-thirds of those questioned in the survey for Lloyds TSB admitted feeling concerned if they left their mobile phone at home and 3% even said they felt "freaked out and panicky." When asked what they would do if they realized within 15 minutes of leaving home, 15% would make time to go back and collect it. (The Age 23 Feb 2005) rec'd from John Lamp, Deakin U.


SONY TO DROP PDAs
Sony will stop making personal digital assistants for Japan in July, completing its withdrawal from a market hit by multi-functional mobiles, and casting a shadow over the devices' growth potential. The move was widely expected after the electronics and entertainment conglomerate said last year it would stop selling new handheld digital assistants outside Japan, striking a blow to PalmSource, whose software powers the devices. "The PDA market is being encroached by mobile phones and other mobile devices that can offer similar functions, making it difficult for PDAs to maintain their position in the market," a Sony spokeswoman said. (The Australian 24 Feb 2005) (J. Lamp, Deakin U)


PRIVACY ISSUES AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Privacy advocates are saying that a committee set up to advise the Homeland Security Department on privacy issues is skewed too heavily toward corporations such as Intel, Computer Associates, IBM, and Oracle. George Washington University Law School professor and privacy expert Daniel Solove says, "The strong privacy advocacy community seems underrepresented on this list." But Homeland Security Chief Privacy Officer Nuala O'Connor Kelly says the committee represents a cross-section of viewpoints, including people "who have gone to companies that have had challenges and tried to fix them." She pointed to several privacy advocates on the board: Tara Lemmey, former executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation; Lance Hoffman, a George Washington University professor; and James Harper, editor of Privacilla.org and a strong critic of government surveillance. (AP/San Jose Mercury News 25 Feb 2005)


THE PODCASTING BUSINESS
Is "podcasting" the next big thing? A San Francisco start-up company called Odeo is hoping to make a business of podcasting -- the process of creating, finding, organizing and listening to digital audio files on portable iPods and other devices that handle files in the MP3 audio format. And last week, Audible.com, which in 1994 pioneered the use of the Internet for downloading audio books and other material to personal computers, announced it is planning to enter the podcasting fray. (New York Times 25 Feb 2005)
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/25/technology/25podcast.html?

BRAIN DRAIN CHANGES DIRECTION
Whereas a few years ago the "brain drain" of Indian talent to the West represented a $2 billion annual loss to India, the recent growth of the tech industry in India is bringing home as many as 45% of the Indian high-technology workers abroad. Some engineering schools are already claiming a 50% decline in the number of students leaving the country, and V. Kalyanaraman of the prestigious engineering school IIT in Madras says: "Students are finding interesting and challenging jobs in India. The pay is also better than it used to be, and they find that they can have a good quality of life." (USA Today 24 Feb 2005)


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HONORARY SUBSCRIBER: HORACE LIVERIGHT
Today's Honorary Subscriber is the colorful 20th century publisher Horace Liveright (1884-1933), who contributed importantly to the creative ferment of the Nineteen Twenties by publishing new works by unknown authors destined for later fame, such as Theodore Dreiser, Sherwood Anderson, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Hart Crane, E.E. Cummings, Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and Eugene O'Neill.
Born in Osceola Mills, Pennsylvania, Liveright's family moved to Philadelphia when he was in grammar school. His family was decidedly bookish, providing a home environment that turned young Liveright into a voracious reader by his early teen years. At sixteen he dropped out of school and began working as an office boy in a Philadelphia banking and brokerage firm. He lost this job when his employers found out he used to enjoy having a drink during his off time. He then moved to New York City where he tried his hand at composing and selling popular tunes. His most memorable composition was "Mammy," which he sold in 1900. After that he wrote an opera that went nowhere.
At eighteen he became a bonds salesman and idled away his time until 1910 when he married Lucille Elsas, whose father Hermann had created the International Paper Company. He spent the next six years working for father-in-law's companies. But in the fall of 1916 he met Albert Boni and the two found they had a mutual interest in starting a book publishing company. Their firm, Boni and Liveright, was established to produce a modern library of recognized classics and books that would become such. Up to that time the American book industry had very cautious and conservative. In contrast, through promotion, advertising, and publicity. Liveright would compel the same attention to his books that Hearst had compelled for his newspapers.
Some idea of the dynamics Liveright brought to the publishing world can be gathered from the staff he hired: Bennett Cerf, Lillian Hellman, Louis Kronenberger, and Richard Simon (Simon & Schuster), to name a few. Boni & Liveright through their Modern Library editions would publish the first works of "radical" writers as well as time-honored classics.
Liveright believed in new ideas, and the Boni and Liveright book list was filled with books of originality and rebellion, not a few of which public authorities considered obscene or affronts to decency. Liveright vigorously opposed any form of censorship and was willing to take on the anti-vice societies. Although other publishers would benefit from Liveright's costly legal battles, he did it all on his own dollar.
In 1925, Liveright's need of money prompted him to sell Modern Library to Bennett Cerf, who built the present-day Random House on its solid foundation. Liveright's financial troubles continued to grow and in 1930 Boni & Liveright went out of business. Liveright then went to work at Paramount, moved to RKO, and later returned to New York City. In 1933 he died due to pneumonia and emphysema. Although nearly forgotten today, it was Horace Liveright -- a man ahead of his time -- who modernized American book publishing.
[To find a library copy of Tom Dardis's biography of Liveright, "Firebrand," visit RLG's RedLightGreen service at

-- or to purchase a copy go to:

We donate all revenue from our book recommendations to adult literacy programs.]

MAILBAG: THE WORLD AS WE FIND IT

LESS CENSORSHIP, MORE RESPONSIBILITY
Re:
A NewScan reader says: "We need not be ashamed of censorship rightly exercised; there is a time and a place for it." (Richard Lanser). I disagree! We should not be ashamed of censorship, we should be frightened by it! As long as we have different definitions of what constitutes "a moral people" or "an upright society" we will have different ideas of what should be censored.
We need to be responsible for our words and actions but censorship goes too far. Few would be happy with what I would like to censor, just as I would not be happy with what other people would want to censor. I would rather reduce the censorship and increase the responsibility. (Howard Peck)

MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES, HANGNAILS, & PINKEYE
Re:

Extending dependence on technology makes me nervous. I worry that my typing is not sufficiently consistent and that I'll appear to have multiple personalities. Suppose I come in with a hangnail on my thumb and the resulting pain causes me to type differently? Does pinkeye cause a retina scan to fail? Do I really want to put my faith in controlling access to my most privileged data to a security system running on Windows? Oh, wait, I already do! (John Beck)

ARTHRITIS, BROKEN WRISTS, BABIES, PETS, SODAS
Re:

This is an interesting but pretty scary idea. While it's probably true that most individuals have distinct typing patterns, I cringe at the thought of using those patterns to validate or reject a password for access to a needed resource.
Typing patterns can vary due to many random factors, which programmers can't possibly predict. Is the arthritis in your hands bothering you today? Are you typing one-handed, due to a broken wrist? Do you have a baby in one arm? A soda in one hand? A pet on your lap, who wants to be stroked? Etc.
I like the idea of truly reliable bio security measures, like retinal scans. But this idea disturbs me...
As always, thanks for a thought-provoking newsletter! (Carol D. Mortimer)

'THE REAL DR. FORBIN, AN IMPOSTER!'
Re:

It was a plot point in the novel ad movie "Colossus: The Forbin Project" that the out-of-control computer would not be fooled by someone else typing in place of Dr. Forbin because it would notice differences in style. My recollection is that it was described as minute differences in the physical act of typing (but it's been a long time, so maybe they were talking about style of language). (Bill Carpenter)

MULTIPLE PERSONALITES AT GARTNER?
Re:
What Worker Shortage? Is it the same Gartner that just issued a report that says that by 2015, 40% of IT Jobs will be Lost to Automation? Do they ever talk to each other at various Gartner's practices? (Nahum Goldmann)

NOGUCHI AT THE COOPER UNION
Re:
http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit-view?table=honorary-subscriber&id=891
Thank you for selecting Isamu Noguchi as today's Honorary subscriber. But you didn't mention my Absolutely favorite Noguchi sculpture -- the Cube outside Cooper Union, in New York City. Anyhow, keep up the good work. (Barbara Beeton)

IMMEDIACY IS NOT THE SAME THING AS PRIVACY
Re:
This article reminded me of the high demand in the UK for region-free DVD players. Not so that users could play pirated DVDs as Hollywood claims, but so that they can purchase and watch region 1 movies that have yet to be released in Britain. I can accept the need for copy protection on movies, but not the system of regions so that Hollywood doesn't have to release their movies globally at the same time. Whether it's movies or TV shows, there's a clear demand for immediacy, which shouldn't be confused with piracy. (Neil Bradbury)

EINSTEIN AND KERN
Re:
I loved your juxtaposition of Einstein to Jerome Kern. Thanks for boosting the bio beyond fascinating (all his songs you mentioned were friendly memories), and helping us think in new ways about Einstein. (Sharon Cramer)

HIT BEHIND THE EARS WITH A STUFFED EEL-SKIN
Re:
Friends at NewsScan, I was thrilled to see the Jerome Kern lyrics selection in NewsScan, and only sorry that there was no sample from one of Kern's famous early partners, P.G. Wodehouse; he and Guy Bolton were close associates of Kern and worked with him on many early musicals. Boulton provided the "book" while Wodehouse wrote the lyrics. The most famous Wodehouse/Kern song is probably "Bill," which was originally included in "Oh Lady! Lady!" in 1918, but revised by Oscar Hammerstein II and included in 1927's "Show Boat."
Wodehouse (1881-1975) is far better known today for Jeeves and Bertie Wooster and his many other comic characters set in pre-WWI Edwardian England. His active role in Broadway and London West End musical theater is largely ignored or forgotten today. Wodehouse's rich and long and interesting life has been recently retold in "Wodehouse: A Life" a new biography by Robert McCrum. I've nearly finished with it, and found it nearly as interesting as one of the books written by "The Master" (so named by Evelyn Waugh).
Wodehouse's career nearly came to an end when he was captured by German troops while living in France at the outbreak of the Second World War. Wodehouse always cocooned himself in his work, taking no interest in world politics or the affairs of society. His naiveté made him woefully unprepared to deal with the challenge of being a captive of the Nazis, and he innocently agreed to produce a series of broadcasts in English describing life in German civilian containment camps with the same light-comic "voice" of his popular stories. Though these five broadcasts never condoned Nazi policies--and seem perfectly innocent out of context--they were seen in their day as the words of a traitor and enemy collaborator.
Wodehouse never fully recovered from this error, a decision he later called "loony." However, by making his home in America after the war--rather than his native England--Wodehouse was able to eventually return to his art and continue to write of the now-deceased world of butlers and London gentlemen's clubs.
When a search on past NewsScan "Honorary Subscribers" did not include Wodehouse, my reaction "resembled a minor prophet who has been hit behind the ears with a stuffed eel-skin."
There are thousands of Wodehouse quotations worth including in the daily mail--too many, perhaps. But here's a suggestion: "There is only one cure for gray hair. It was invented by a Frenchman. It is called the guillotine." But my reason for starting this letter was Jerome Kern song lyrics. So don't forget these written for "Bill" by PGW:
"I know that Apollo would beat him all hollow, And I can't explain it's surely not his brain That makes me thrill. I love him because he's wonderful...Because he's just old Bill."
Only painful self-discipline keeps me from writing flagrant responses like this every week. Keep that NewsScan coming. I've loved it years... (David Reitmeyer)
***
[Well, David, since you've raised the subject: We're going to let NewsScan Daily go dark for awhile, starting Tuesday, March 1st. However, we plan to return, once we've had a break the duration of which we do not yet know. We'll make an announcement on Monday.]

HONORARY SUBSCRIBER: LILLIAN WALD
Today's Honorary Subscriber is the nurse and social worker Lillian Wald (1867-1940), who in 1893 founded the internationally known Henry Street Settlement House for social services on New York City's Lower East Side, which she later expanded into a training center and headquarters of a visiting-nurse service.
Wald was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and graduated from the New York Hospital School for Nurses in 1891. She then worked for a year in an orphanage, where she quickly became disillusioned with the prevailing conditions of institutional care of children. She undertook studies at the New York Woman's Medical College and, with Mary Brewster, she moved to the College Settlement House on Rivington Street. With support from the New York financier Jacob Shiff, the two women soon opened their own settlement house, first on Jefferson Street, and soon thereafter in the more spacious facility on Henry Street.
Wald was a support of woman suffrage and a pacifist, but during World War I she nevertheless she provided nursing care for soldiers and joined the Council on National Defense. After the war she represented the United States at several international conferences concerned with medicine and public health. In 1918-19 she organized the fight against the influenza epidemic and chaired the Nurses' Emergency Council. In 1931 she retired as head at Henry Street, but remained as president of the board of directors until 1937.
She wrote two books: "The House on Henry Street" and "Windows on Henry Street." When she died in 1940 she was hailed as a beloved symbol of what was democratic, cosmopolitan, humane and practical in American social tradition.
[To find a library copy of "The House on Henry Street" visit RLG's RedLightGreen service at

-- or to purchase Clare Coss's biography of Wald go to:


WORTH THINKING ABOUT: POPULAR SONG LYRICS
In another of our occasional tributes to the great American song lyricists, today we feature excerpts from lyrics written by some of the artists who collaborated with composer Jerome Kern (1885-1945):
***
ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE
You are the promised kiss of springtime
That makes the lonely winter seem long.
You are the breathless hush of evening
That trembles on the brink of a lovely song.
(Oscar Hammerstein II)

A FINE ROMANCE (WITHOUT KISSES)
A fine romance, my good fellow
You take romance, and I'll take jello
You're calmer than the seals
In the Arctic Ocean
At least they flap their fins
To express emotion
A fine romance with no quarrels
With no insults and all morals
I've never mussed the crease
In your blue serge pants
I never get the chance
This is a fine romance.
(Dorothy Fields)

THE FOLKS WHO LIVE ON THE HILL
Someday we'll build a home on a hilltop high,
You and I,
Shiny and new a cottage that two can fill.
And we'll be pleased to be called,
"The folks who live on the hill".
Someday we may be adding a thing or two,
A wing or two.
We will make changes as any fam'ly will,
But we will always be called,
"The folks who live on the hill".
(Oscar Hammerstein II)

I'M OLD FASHIONED
I'm old fashioned
But I don't mind it
That's how I want to be
As long as you agree
To stay old fashioned with me
Oh won't you stay old fashioned with me
Oh please stay old fashioned with me
(Johnny Mercer)

I WON'T DANCE
I won't dance! Don't ask me;
I won't dance! Don't ask me;
I won't dance, Madame, with you.
My heart won't let my feet do the things they should do!
You know what? You're lovely,
But oh! What you do to me!
I'm like an ocean wave that's bumped on the shore;
I feel so absolutely stumped on the floor!
But this feeling isn't purely mental;
For heaven rest us, I'm not asbestos.
I won't dance! Why should I!
I won't dance! How could I?
I won't dance! Merci beau coup!
I know that music leads the way to romance:
So if I hold you in my arms I won't dance!
(Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh)

I'VE TOLD EV'RY LITTLE STAR
I've told ev'ry little star,
Just how sweet I think you are,
Why haven't I told you?
I've told ripples in a brook,
Made my heart an open book,
Why haven't I told you?
Friends ask me:
Am I in love?
I always answer "Yes",
Might as well confess,
If I don't they guess.
Maybe you know it too,
Oh, my darling, if you do,
Why haven't you told me?
(Oscar Hammerstein II)

THE LAST TIME I SAW PARIS
The last time I saw Paris her heart was warm and gay,
No matter how they change her I'll remember her that way.
(Oscar Hammerstein II)

LIFE UPON THE WICKED STAGE
Life upon the wicked stage
Ain't ever what a girl supposes,
Stage door Johnnies aren't raging
Over you with gems and roses.
If some gentleman would talk with reason
I would cancel all next season.
Life upon the wicked stage
Ain't nothin' for a girl!
(Oscar Hammerstein II)

THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE ME
And when I told them how beautiful you are,
They didn't believe me. They didn't believe me!
Your lips, your eyes, your cheeks, your hair,
Are in a class beyond compare,
You're the lovliest girl that one could see!
And when I tell them,
And I cert'nly am goin' to tell them,
That I'm the man whose wife one day you'll be.
They'll never believe me. They'll never believe me.
That from this great big world you've chosen me!
(Herbert Reynolds)

LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY
Long ago and far away
I dreamed a dream one day
And now that dream is here beside me
Long the skies were overcast
But now the clouds have passed
You're here at last!
Chills run up and down my spine
Aladdin's Lamp is mine
The dream I dreamed was not denied me
Just one look and then I knew
That all I longed for
Long ago was you.
(Ira Gershwin)

LOOK FOR THE SILVER LINING
Look for the silver lining
When e'er a cloud appears in the blue.
Remember somewhere the sun is shining,
And so the right thing to do,
Is make it shine for you.
A heart, full of joy and gladness,
Will always banish sadness and strife.
So always look for the silver lining,
And try to find the sunny side of life.
(Buddy DeSylva)

PICK YOURSELF UP
Nothing's impossible I have found,
For when my chin is on the ground,
I pick myself up,
Dust myself off,
Start all over again.
Don't lose your confidence if you slip,
Be grateful for a pleasant trip,
And pick yourself up,
Dust yourself off,
Start all over again.
(Dorothy Fields)

[To find a library copy "The Jerome Kern Songbook" visit RLG's RedLightGreen service at
-- or to purchase a copy of the CD "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook" go to:
.

HONORARY SUBSCRIBER: JEROME KERN
Today's Honorary Subscriber is the popular American tunesmith Jerome David Kern (1885-1945), who composed a long string of memorable musicals and hit songs for Broadway and Hollywood. His 1927 musical, "Show Boat" (with libretto by Oscar Hammerstein II), inaugurated the serious musical play on the American stage. His solid popularity with the public was built on such hit songs as the classic "Ol' Man River," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," and "All the Things You Are." He received Oscars for his film songs "The Way You Look Tonight" and "The Last Time I Saw Paris." Critics have praised Kern's music for its natural flow of rhythm and for the infectious quality of its melodies that makes them linger in the listener's memory. Between 1905 and 1945 Kern composed nearly 700 songs for 117 shows and films.
Kern was born in New York, to a first-generation Jewish-German family. Although his mother recognized his talent and encouraged him in music from an early age, his father insisted that he join the family retail business. Later his father recognized that Kern had little business aptitude and relented, allowing him to enroll at the New York College of Music. This led to a job as a song-plugger and in-house composer for a New York publisher. Next the 19-year-old Kern decided to move to London to learn what he could about musical comedy and European operetta. He soon succeeded in having his own songs used in West End shows.
In England he also met his wife Eva. They were married in 1910 and remained together for the rest of their lives. When he returned to the United States he spent several years writing songs that enhanced the scores of European musical imports. Following that period, he began writing entirely new shows for the Broadway stage. Together with his collaborators, he wrote about believable people, turning to modern American life (especially new dance crazes) for inspiration.
During the early 1930s he moved to Hollywood where he began composing for the new "talkie" films. Despite the excitement and the glamour of working in cinema, Kern missed Broadway, and he was delighted when Hammerstein asked him to collaborate on the planned 1945 revival of "Show Boat." Sadly, he never saw his revival performed. He died of a heart attack in November 1945. At his memorial service, Hammerstein remarked: "He stimulated everyone. He annoyed some. He never bored anyone at any time."
[Tomorrow we'll feature excerpts from lyrics written for Kern's music by Hammerstein and other collaborators.]
[To find a library copy of Gerald Bordman's biography of Kern, visit RLG's RedLightGreen service at

-- or to purchase a copy of the DVD of "Till the Clouds Roll By," a musical biography of Kern featuring Judy Garland, go to:


Note: We donate all revenue from our book recommendations to adult literacy programs.]

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Activities and Events of Interest
~~~
March 5 Camden 7:30 p.m. Premier String Quartet
~~~
April 3 El Dorado 3:00 p.m. Xiang Gao, Violin
~~~
MCC Tanzania, Africa Mission Trip, July 2005. Get your passport!
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"September 11 WDYTJWD" W. P. Florence
Justice first, then peace."
"September 11" Never forget.--Tony Moses
"ONE NATION UNDER GOD ...the only way"--Phillip Story
"We have nothing to fear but fear itself." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Keeping my head down but face toward Heaven" - - Jody Eldred, ABC News Cameraman in Kuwait
"Remember Pearl Harbor? Remember 9/11!" --"Bug"
Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. - - George Carlin
"Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead, tell the storm how big your God is!" - - Queen E. Watson
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NEVER FORGET! We're listing the names of our soldiers killed weekly. These records can be found at http://www.defenselink. mil/releases/ This posting covers the last two weeks.

The Department of Defense announced the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died Feb.16 in Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah, Iraq, when a roadway collapsed, causing their vehicle to roll over. The Soldiers were assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 155th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized), McComb, Miss.
01. The soldiers are Sgt. Timothy R. Osbey, 34, and
02. Spc. Joseph A.Rahaim, 22, both of Magnolia, Miss.

03. Sgt. Carlos J. Gil, 30, of Orlando, Fla., died Feb. 18, in Humaniyuh, Iraq from injuries sustained from an improvised explosive device detonation. Gil was assigned to the 377th Transportation Company, 181st Transportation Battalion, Mannheim, Germany.

04. Spc. Clinton R. Gertson, 26, of Houston, Texas, died 19 Feb. in Mosul, Iraq, from injuries sustained from enemy forces small arms fire. Gertson was assigned to 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, Fort Lewis, Wash.

05. 1st Lt. Adam Malson, 23, of Rochester Hills, Mich., died Feb. 19 in Baghdad, Iraq, from injuries sustained while on patrol when an improvised explosive device detonated. Malson was assigned to 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, Fort Drum, N.Y.

06. Spc. Seth R. Trahan, 20, of Crowley, La. died Feb. 19, in Baghdad, Iraq, from injuries sustained while on patrol when an improvised explosive device detonated. Trahan was assigned to the Army National Guard's 3d Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment, Crowley, La.

07. Cpl. Kevin M. Clarke, 21, of Tinley Park, Ill., died Feb. 19 as a result of hostile action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.

08. Cmdr Adrian B. Szwec, 43, of Chicago, Ill., died April 12, 2004, of a non-combat related incident. Szwec was assigned to Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

09. Cpl. John T. Olson, 21, of Elk Grove Village, Ill., died Feb. 21 as a result of hostile action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

10. Lance Cpl. Trevor D. Aston, 32, of Austin, Texas, died Feb. 22 as a result of non-hostile vehicle incident in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve’s 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Austin, Texas.

The Department of Defense announced the death of three soldiers who were supporting Iraqi Freedom. They died Feb. 21 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated as they were exiting their military vehicle after it had rolled over. The soldiers were assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 151st Field Artillery, 34th Infantry Division, Montevideo, Minn. The soldiers are:
11. 1st Lt. Jason G. Timmerman, 24, of Tracy, Minn.
12. Staff Sgt. David F. Day, 25, of Saint Louis Park, Minn.
13. Sgt. Jesse M. Lhotka, 24, of Alexandria, Minn.

14. Spc. Jacob C. Palmatier, 29, of Springfield, Ill., died Feb. 24 in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle. Palmatier was assigned to 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3d Brigade, 3d Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.

15. Sgt. Nicholas J. Olivier, 26, of Ruston, La., died Feb. 23 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was on foot patrol. Olivier was assigned to the Army National Guard's 3rd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment, Pineville, La.

16. Staff Sgt. Daniel G. Gresham, 23, of Lincoln, Ill., died Feb. 24 in Camp Wilson, Iraq, when a second improvised explosive device detonated while he was responding to a first device. Gresham was assigned to the 797th Ordnance Company (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), 79th Ordnance Battalion, 52nd Ordnance, Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

17. Staff Sgt. Eric M. Steffeney, 28, of Waterloo, Iowa, died February 23 in Tuz, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated. Steffeney was assigned to the 184th Ordnance Battalion, 52nd Ordnance Group, Fort Bragg, N.C.
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Remember that for every soldier killed in modern war, 10 are wounded. Don't forget to pray for them and their families.
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Join the Delta Diamondbacks 24-hour prayer team sponsored by First Baptist Church of McNeill by calling Debi Scott at 695-3403.
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War Prayer list for those in harms way.(12/24)

Remember to pray for the American soldiers stationed everywhere around the globe and especially in Iraq. Times have been and are very tough and it would be nice if you would all just say a prayer for their safety and for their families. Our own Delta Diamond Backs, local national guard personnel are now patrolling Bagdad. They are part of the 1st Cavalry Division's, 39th Infantry Brigade.

Please update us when you know of someone who comes home (or is activated for service.)

Command Sergeant Major Tom Broom - U.S. Army - Kuwait
Kyle Burleston - U.S. Marines - Iraq
Jim Carrol - U.S. Navy Intelligence
Greg Davis - U.S. Army - Bagdad - Mark Davis's oldest son. Greg has two children; Jhett, 12 and Baily 3
Lang Doster - National Guard - Iraq - Angel Cranston's Brother
Sgt. Douglas E. Chappel - Kuwait
Alaina Downey - USAF - Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri - Steve Downey's daughter
Michael Drake - U.S. Navy - Persian Gulf
Lisa Dyson - U.S. Army Intelligence - Johnny Dyson's daughter
Jeremy Lee Eades U.S. Army - Roger and Jerri Eades son.
John Ford - U.S. Army Korea - Steve and Sharon Ford's son
Dickie Hartsfield's son - U.S. Army - In Bagdad
Warren Haynie from Lewisville - Serving in Iraq
Matthew Johnson - Marines
Robby Johnson - USAF C-130 Crew Chief
Brennan Jones - U S Marines - Iraq
James A.Jones - US Navy
Pat Keister - USMC -
Terris Lyons - National Guard - Back home in Minden
Mick McDaniel - U.S. Air Force, unknown location - Richard Matherne's son-in-law
David Mitchell - U.S. Army - In Bagdad
Opheline Moore - USArmy -
Brian Morgan - US Navy - in the Gulf somewhere
C.H. Osman - CAPT USN - Pentagon
Andrew Paladino - US Army SRA - Don and Ronda Paladino's Boy
Nick Paladino - US Army Ssgt - Don and Ronda Paladino's Boy
Bob Polk - Kuwait
Todd Raymond - USAF - Germany - Another MCC young man.
Bryan Ross - Wayne Specie Roy and Loretta Specie's
Jason Varner Deployed to an unknown Location Roy and Loretta Specie's
Lloyd Young - USMC - North Carolina - Cindy Martin's son
Please let us know of any updates to this list. James F.McClellan - KC5HII@Magnolia-Net.Com Also, at kvma.Com they have a list of people over seas.
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Scheduled Activities
~~~
Alcoholics Anonymous meets at 8 p.m. Monday - Friday. At noon on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and at 7 p.m. Sunday at 914 N. Vine
~~~
Columbia County Amateur Radio Club meets Every second Thursday @ 7:00 p.m. Union Street Station. And YOU'RE invited. Net is every Sunday at 20:30 on 147.105.
~~~
Columbia County Diabetes Support Group - Every third Monday, 7:00 p.m. room 222, Magnolia Hospital
~~~
"Focus on the Family" with Dr. James Dobson weekday afternoons at 1 PM on KVMA am 630 it's a great show!
~~~
MCC - Abraham Prayer - Sunday at 5:00 p.m and Wednesday from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
~~~
MCC - Early Morning Prayer - Monday - Friday, From 6:30 am to 8:00 am
~~~
MCC - "Beth Moore" Video Class - Thursday nights at 5:45 pm
~~~
MCC - "Faith Builders" Small group meets at 1051 Columbia 36 the second and fourth Tuesdays, 6:30 pm to 7:45 pm.
~~~
MCC - Firm Foundations Class, Sunday 9:30 to 10:15 a.m
~~~
MCC - Meadow Brook Nursing Home Ministry Tuesday from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m
~~~
MCC - Mom's Day Out - Every Tuesday and Thursday from 9 to 2.$10 for the first child, $5 for the second. Call 234-3225 for reservations.
~~~
MCC - Nursing Home Ministry - Meadowbrook Every Tuesday from 10 to 11 am. Taylor, the last Thursday each month.
~~~
MCC - Over comers: Fridays @ 7:00 p.m- Director, Traci Foster invites you to a 12 step Christian support program. For anyone with a life controlling problem. Child care is provided.
~~~
Men's Prayer Breakfast held every Tuesday morning at 6 AM in Miller's Cafeteria. If you aren't a regular participant at the Men's Prayer Breakfast, you're missing some great food, fellowship and inspired teaching of the Word. Hope to see you there.
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Emergency Phone Number 911
(Fire, Police, Ambulance, Sheriff, etc. )
Central Dispatch 234-5655
(Non - Emergency Number)
Direct Numbers
Ambulance - 234-7371 (24 Hour)
Jail - 234-5331 (24 Hour)
Poison Control - 800-222-1222 (24 Hour)
http://www. aapcc. org/
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"Fight till you win!" - - Mark Brazee
"Bring 'em on!" - -President George W. Bush
"There is not enough darkness in the world to put out the light of one candle."
"Laugh whenever you can and cry if you need to." -- "Bug"
"I read the end of the book. We win!" -- "Bug"
"We may not be able to cure the world, but we don't have to make it sicker." -- "Bug"
"There just ain't enough fingers for all the holes in the dike." - - "Bug"
"If you can read this e-mail, thank a teacher. - - If you read it in English, thank a serviceman."
"A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in ... and how many want out." - - Tony Blair
"Information is the currency of democracy." - Jefferson
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - - Margaret Mead
~~~~~
Hope you enjoy the newsletter.
Again, thanks to all our contributors this week.

God bless and GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
1 Cor 15:32-34 Psa 23:1-3 1 Cor 6:19-20 James 2:14-17 Acts 22:17,18,21
God is Good and Faithful CU 73 IC JFM CSP NREMT-I KC5HII

P. S. If you'd like to be added to the distribution, just drop us E-mail at KC5HII@Magnolia-Net.Com. We offer "Da Bleat" as text, a "Blog" and as a newsletter with pictures in Word and PDF format.
For the "Blog" version just go to http://bugsbleat.blogspot.com/ to see the latest issue.
This week, "Word" and "PDF" subscribers get to see photos of Tracy Rabb watching as Kevin Hollensworth helps the driver from Chicago unload our new fire truck. And a shot of the truck after we got it running and on the ground.
Let us hear from you if we can switch you over to the "Word" or "PDF" version of "Da Bleat".
If you'd prefer to read "Da Blog" version, just drop us a note at KC5HII@Magnolia-Net.Com and we'll switch you from e:mail delivery to "Da Bleat" Blog. Of course "Da Bleat" is now on the web. Just go to http://bugsbleat.blogspot.com to see the latest issue (usually updated sometime Friday evening or Saturday morning. We appreciate your encouragement. We also appreciate your communication when you desire to be taken off our mail list. If you are on this mail list by mistake or do not wish to receive "Da Bleat," please reply back and tell us to discontinue service to you.