The Median Sib

Beth, at My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, writes about a REAL American hero, Staff Sgt. Martin Richburg.  Beth heard about the story from The Anchoress.  Since the MSM generally determines that we don’t need to know about such stories, it hasn’t been in the news much - if at all. Go read it.

It was 1978, and my newborn son was only two weeks old. I’d been cooped up in the house since his birth, and I was ready to get out and do something.  It was a lovely autumn day, and PawPaw suggested that we take the baby and his three year old sister and go on a picnic in the mountains to take in the fall scenery. We packed a picnic basket and a diaper bag, grabbed a blanket, and headed a couple hours north to Amicalola Falls - a beautiful park in the north Georgia mountains.

The autumn leaves were spectacular, the weather was sunny and cool, and the sound and sight of the falls were soothing. I remember sitting in the shade on the blanket near the top of the falls, holding the baby in my arms - looking at his perfect and content face - and breathing in the crisp mountain air. I watched PawPaw playing nearby with our daughter.  And, as if it happened merely a minute ago, I remember thinking, “This is the most perfect moment I can imagine.” And it was.

I just read a post by Cassandra at Villainous Company about “The Star Spangled Banner” and how so many American citizens don’t know the words and don’t sing along or show respect whenever they hear it.  Cassandra was responding to a New York Times article by Lawrence Downes suggesting that the lyrics and tune of “The Star Spangled Banner” are just too difficult, and we should replace our national anthem with an easier song, such as “God Bless America.”   Downes writes:

“The Star-Spangled Banner” is a song nobody can sing, commemorating an event nobody cares about, in a war nobody remembers. It should never have become our national anthem, but since it did, we appear to be stuck with it, at least until something better comes along.

I admit that when I read that, my heart sank.  It hurts to think that there are American citizens who feel that way. I’ve read about Francis Scott Key and how he came to write “The Star Spangled Banner,” and each time I hear our national anthem, I think of how he must have felt to see that flag still waving that morning.  That’s not how Downes views that moment, though.  Here’s his take on that moment:

. . . a punchy, sleep-deprived Francis Scott Key scribbled his fretful ode to battlefield anxiety in 1814, then grafted to it the melody of a well-known ditty of the day.

“A fretful ode to battlefield anxiety”?  A decidedly cynical view, to say the least.  It seems rather in vogue these days to be cynical.  For me, it is irrelevant whether or not “The Star Spangled Banner” is difficult to sing or the words difficult to remember.  Changing to another national anthem won’t change anything.  Cassandra hits the nail on the head when she writes:

. . . patriotism is not invested in a song. . . . It is a value we Americans no longer bother to teach our children. We no longer consider it worth the time. . . . And that, in a nutshell, is why replacing the anthem with a shorter, easier-to-remember song won’t make any difference.

Even Downes admits that “The Star Spangled BannerR” will almost certainly not be replaced with another song.  There are too many people who don’t want that change.  Yes, it is a difficult song to sing.  Apparently I’m one of the few Americans who knows the words and the tune.  I can’t hit the high notes, but I sing along as much as I can whenever I hear it.  It is so much more than merely a good way to start ballgames or an effective way for TV and radio stations to sign off for the night.

It’s not just about respect for our national anthem, but about respect for our country.  Cassandra ends her post with a paragraph that says it all:

Our material possessions mean nothing without the blessings of freedom secured by the sacrifices of those men and women who have been willing to fight to defend the ideas in our Declaration of Independence. And those rights will go away unless every one of us is still willing to stand up and defend the land we love.

Amen.

(1) PawPaw and I ordered the blueprints for our house, and they came on Friday.  We’re having a wonderful time looking at the prints and planning the house.  You can go HERE to see what the house looks like.

(2) On my way to and from work each day I pass a construction site where they’re building a house that looked very similar to the one we will build.  Each day for the past couple of weeks I’ve looked at it as I drove by and noted other details that are like our plan.  Although I was certain that the outside was exactly like our house, I figured the floor plan would probably be different.  Today PawPaw and I drove over there and walked through the house.  They’re in the middle of bricking the outside, and the inside is only framed in at this point.  And . . . . TA DAH!!!  It is our plan - EXACTLY!  It was so much fun to walk through it and see for real what our house will look like in a few months.  It just confirmed our feelings about how much we love the house and the floorplan.  The PawPaw went back over there awhile ago and the owner/builder was there.  They talked awhile, and the guy invited us to come over anytime while the house is in construction to look at it and walk through it.

(3) If you read my posts last week, you know that last Sunday I babysat Sweet Stuff and Sunshine, and within a couple of hours, Sweet Stuff got sick and ended up having a bad case of strep.  Thursday night I babysat them again.  The next day Sunshine was diagnosed with strep.  I told Stinkeroo (my daughter - their mother) that maybe I was like Typhoid Mary — Strep Carol.  However, she assured me that there is strep going around the daycare center. 

(4) PawPaw had strep this past week, too.  First time ever for him, and it threw him for a loop.  He’s usually so hearty and healthy that I think it shocked him to feel so bad - and shocked him even further at how drained it left him.  He’s doing fine now, though.

(5) I feel very fortunate not to have gotten strep this past week after being so directly exposed to it not once, not twice but three times!

(6) TCAP (standardized testing) is over for the year at my school.  YEAH!  We’ll get the scores back at the end of the school year.

(7) I’ve been on a banana sandwich kick the past week. I even had one for breakfast the other day.  Just can’t seem to get enough of ‘em.  Maybe my body is needing potassium.  Who knows!

I was reading Cozy Reader, and I saw this survey.  I like the “beautiful” part, but I’m not so happy about the “forgotten” part.

You Are Fall Flowers

Beautiful yet often forgotten.

What Part of Fall Are You?

(Update, 6/12/06 - for new information on the Winkler case, click here) 

As most bloggers are prone to do, I like to check my site meter to see who’s reading THE MEDIAN SIB and what brought them here.  It amazes me the information one can gain about blog visitors by reviewing the site meter.  It fascinates me to see the search words people have used on Google, MSN or Yahoo that brought them to TMS. 

For the past four weeks, upwards of 50 or more times a day people have visited TMS because of an internet search for “Mary Winkler motive”, “Winkler Love Child”,  ”Church of Christ minister murdered by wife” or other combinations of words/phrases on that topic.

Mary Winkler shot and killed her husband, Matthew Winkler, a month ago, and I wrote several posts about it. (The other posts are listed at the end of this post).  After the last post, I wrote that I was tired of the topic.  It had been discussed up one side and down the other.   However, four weeks later, each time I check ”by search words” on my site meter, I see that the interest in the story hasn’t waned much since it happened. THE MEDIAN SIB is still getting dozens of hits a day from that topic.  And people are still leaving comments on those weeks-old posts.

Such interest begs the questions: What makes that particular story so intriguing to people?  Why are so many people still searching for information about it? 

I think it is a combination of the facts that (1)Matthew Winkler was not only a minister but a Church of Christ minister - not a lot of ministers are murdered by their wives, (2)The Winklers gave the impression of being very happy - everyone who knew them has talked of how shocked they are about it - no warning signs that anyone noticed; (3)Many people speculate about whether or not the beliefs of the Church of Christ had any impact on Mary’s actions; (4)The murder seemed so out of character for a quiet and respectable person like Mary Winkler; (5)There has been little in the news about the case the past few weeks; and (6)Mary Winkler has declined to make public her reasons for shooting her husband. 

I think the most important reason that the story has held people’s interest for so long is item #6 above.  If we knew WHY she did it, then people could let it go.  We’ll learn soon enough.  Until then, people will continue to search through the internet to find more information in order to try to make sense out of the senseless.  And I will continue to check my site meter from time to time to see just how long this interest will continue. 

Previous posts:  Tennessee Church of Christ Minister Murdered by Wife - No wonder?,  Mary Winkler - Motive? Tragedy!, My Cruel, Callous and Mean-Spirited Opinion about the Winkler Murder Case,  Women’s Place in the Church - Is the Church of Christ right? (Winkler post follow-up),

There’s a fascinating story in the news.  One account, in the Post-tribune and written by Danielle Braff, illustrates just how bizarre our society has become. 

Vikram Buddhi, a Purdue University graduate student wrote in an online message board that he wanted to kill George Bush, Laura Bush, Dick Cheney, and  Donald Rumsfeld.  He also wrote calling on his readers to bomb the United States, kill ALL Republicans, and rape and mutilate white women.

Here’s the kicker: 

Since this is a very busy time for college students, being immersed in studying for their upcoming finals, Buddhi’s attorney John Martin said he hopes his client will be released from jail Wednesday following his detention hearing so he can return to studying.

Buddhi told investigators he posted the message, along with other derogatory messages aimed at the president, but Martin said Buddhi’s actions should be covered by the First Amendment since Buddhi would have never actually carried out his threats.

“What was allegedly said certainly is derogatory and may be inflammatory,” Martin said. “But there’s no real serious threat more than it was chat on the Web.”

Buddhi is a teaching assistant at Purdue University in the industrial engineering department.

Buddhi was arrested Friday and told investigators he is not suffering from any mental illnesses nor is he taking any illegal or prescription drugs.

How much you want to bet he not only gets off but keeps his job at the university?

Others: Random Thoughts of Yet Another Military Member, The Dread Pundit Bluto,

It’s TCAP (Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program - i.e. standardized testing) week, and that means the special area teachers (of which I am one) handle recess duty each day in order to give the classroom teachers a much needed break and planning period.  There were three recess sessions, and I helped supervise the one for the second and third graders.

Today was a stormy day, weather-wise, and that meant recess was in the gym rather than on the playground.  It wasn’t bad.  There were games, drawing paper, crayons and markers, large sheets of paper for murals and a video.  Some children sat with friends and chatted.  There were six classes of children in the gym - it was loud but organized.

As I walked around the gym watching the children as they played and stopping to chat occasionally, I started noticing t-shirt slogans - not the typical sports or restaurant shirts, but the ones that “make a statement.”  I swiped a sheet of the drawing paper and a marker and started copying them.  Here’s a sampling:

Warning!  Attitude Out of Control!

For Sale:  Parents - Buy 1, Get 1 Free

Tough Enough to Wear Pink (on a third grade boy in a bright pink shirt)

I DIDN’T DO IT!

Wanted:  Parents who let me shop as often as I want - Never ask me to get off the phone - and Always give me money for the mall!

Thankfully there were no rude or off-color slogans on any of the shirts.  However,these children were all in the 7 - 9 age range which means their parents were almost certainly the ones who purchased the shirts for them.  It gives one pause, doesn’t it?

NOTE: added Friday, 4/21/06 - Today was another stormy day - another recess in the gym.  The children were decidedly more “restless” the second day of inside recess.  More t-shirt messages.  Here are today’s”

Blame my sister

Sassy

I’m a ‘lil Redneck

(front) Angelic Outside  (back) Devilish Inside

Hottie!

Future Hall of Famer

School Computers are fun!  (Hmmm — so funny/dorky I had to include it)

Yeah yeah!  I know I’m a Princess

Then there was the assortment of Gap, Bugle Boy, XBox, Spiderman, school shirts and teams shirts. 

The pièce de résistance for the day was when a third grader came up to me to tell me his throat was hurting and declared:

“It hurts when I swallow my spit.”

My day was complete.

Thirteen Things Carol Loves About Spring

1. Forsythia

2. all the different shades of green as leaves start appearing on trees again

3. sandals

4. no socks

5. air conditioning

6. daylight savings time

7. white and pink dogwood trees blooming

8. hours of daylight after work

9. did I mention sandals?

10. spring break

11. fresh, clean air

12. new life everywhere

13. Daffodils and Tulips

Other Thursday Thirteens (Leave your name in comments, and I’ll add your link here)

Chaotic Mom

Wystful 1

Joan

Mom Nancy

Melli

Kelly

angie

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

There’s an excellent article written by Rabbi Aryeh Spero at Human Events Online.  He describes our current situation in regards to illegal immigration and terrorism.  DEFINITELY worth reading.

What makes citizens of a country submit to the demands of people who are not even citizens? What is it that makes people here for decades and centuries cower in front of those here illegally, arriving only yesterday? What is it that makes people unwilling to lay claim to their own land and country?

It is guilt. It is fear. It is a brainwashing that has convinced so many that every member of the world is entitled to U.S. constitutional and welfare “rights.” It is a society that no longer believes in itself as a specific culture or even a sovereign country. Worse, it is a society so emotionally weak that it will accept disease, terrorism, crime, bankruptcy and the disintegration of its own chosen laws rather than being called racist, even though such charges are false.

Forty years of sick liberalism has created a public so unsure of its own legitimacy yet so sure of every other culture’s and nation’s goodness that it cannot say “no” to anyone perceived outside the mainstream. Being an outsider proffers today a nobility and entitlement to “rights” that is beyond the scope and hope of those viewed as merely regular Americans.

In fact, in today’s America, the more hostile one is to the country and the more brazen against its historic mores, the more protection and concern comes one’s way. Why? Because what greater way to demonstrate one’s “tolerance,” “sensitivity” and “understanding” than when given precisely to those who are your greatest threat. Showing goodness to your own is labeled “tribalism” while being tolerant of those that differ and even despise is the most shining example of “tolerance.”

In today’s America, tolerance is God, and the faithful will sacrifice all — even their security — to their secular God. Never in history has there been such a need for people to feel good about themselves as is happening in the West. Never have a people become so insecure that they feel unworthy absent the approval of those who deride their ways. Thus, can the foreigner in the land rise with impudence against his benefactors, demanding from them and daring them to say “no.”

Whereas common sense dictates that the way to find a criminal is by investigating the men who match the description of those seen at the crime scene, emotionally enfeebled America searches in airports for benign grey haired old ladies with blue eyes and dainty cheek bones rather than young Muslim/Arab men with angry facial muscles, simply because to do the rational may invite the accusation of profiling and thus “racism,” albeit every terrorist has thus far been an Islamic jihadist, not to mention how it is radical Islam that encourages terrorism not Lenox, Mass. Unitarianism.

NBC’s Dateline looks for racism not by Muslims against Christians but in NASCAR Christians against Muslims, even though North Carolina Protestantism does not speak of others as infidels as does today’s Islam, constantly. NBC represents the corrosive elitist notion that those foreign are harmlessly noble while mainstream Christian America is congenitally racist and must, therefore, every day prove itself non-racist and tolerant.

This already forty year brainwashing job on Americans by academia and the media has created an American public so tentative about itself and so submissive that it rarely sticks up for its own rights and needs when in conflict with a “minority” out of fear of being labeled a racist and, worse, feeling that it is indeed racist.

I can hear the “amens!” ringing out as you read this.  He continues:

. . . many spearheading the flouting of our laws regarding immigration are the Barney liberals who never believed in an indigenous American culture or a truly sovereign America. They, in fact, subscribe to a borderless America. They are universalists and transnationalists who view America as nothing special and have no understanding of how and why this country achieved its greatness. Others are simply grownup children, bereft of any knowledge of history and reality.

Many are old fashioned communists who take up any cause they see as disruptive to America, its institutions and its establishment. Masquerading as human rights activists, they are fascists craving an America socially engineered under their hegemony. Unfortunately, while most Americans do not see themselves on the left, they have been snookered by the high-sounding terms of multiculturalism and unearned “rights for all” used by the left to disenfranchise regular, good willed Americans. We have become, unwittingly, complicit in our own demise.

Though I bear no ill will to the illegals and know many of them, I’m disturbed by how this issue has revealed an American weakness that if not reversed imperils our longevity as a specific and distinct culture. I speak not of race but values; not of place of origin but a common American ethos and love and pride in Americanism.

I fear what will happen to an America ruled not by its republican laws but emotion, not by what is right and legal but by who screams the loudest — mob rule, the jungle.

A people no longer able to assert its right to say “no” out of fear and guilt as to what others will say or charge is a nation that is allowing its mores and habits, its heritage and distinctiveness, to be determined by those accusing the loudest. Not only will America loose the immigration issue but the war on terror itself.

Watching America fold to La Rasa and other race mongers, how afraid of America can the jihadist enemy be, knowing that Americans will not protect themselves if by so doing they are accused of “Islamophobia,” the latest concocted form of “racism”. To think, a great and powerful nation brought to its knees not by a power stronger militarily but simply because it was afraid of being called a name, simply because it craved its enemy’s validation over its own security.

I have not read a more succinct and intelligent summary of what is going on today.

 **This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.

Take the time now to raise a glass in tribute to all the girls we’ve loved before:

Brigette Bardot 71
Stella Stevens 68
Sophia Loren 71
Gina Lollobrigida 78
Deborah Kerr 94
Lena Horne 88
Kay Starr 83
Patti Page 78
Annette Funicello 63
Barbara Eden 71
Angie Dickenson 74
Doris Day 81
Joan Collins 72
Julie Christie 64
Leslie Caron 74
Carroll Baker 74
Ann-Margret 64
Debra Padget 72
Julie Andrews 70
Ursula Andress 69
Rita Moreno 74
Jean Simmons 76
Julie Newmar 72
Kim Novak 72
Jane Powell 76
Debbie Reynolds 73
Shirley Temple 77
Jane Russell 84
Kathryn Grayson 83
Esther Williams 82
Elke Sommer 65
Gale Storm 83
Jill St. John 65
Liz Taylor 73
Mamie Van Doren 74 

Life is short.  No matter how young and vital you are today, you’ll hit old age and wonder where the time went.  Make the most of each day.  Live life to the fullest.  Go for whatever it is that you want out of life.  And remember that the best way to be happy is to do something for someone else.

h/t to my good friend, Patti

Entire text of the following is cross posted from Right Truth:We already have a ‘guest worker’ program for illegal immigrants (criminal invaders), but most people don’t know about it.  On the surface the “H” Visa appears to allow only highly skilled, or professional, workers into the US.  But that is NOT the case.  Skilled, unskilled and agricultural workers  can all enter the US under the “H” Visa.  According to Bill West’s article in FrontPageMagazine:

What we do historically have, and have had for many years, is…a guest worker program.  That is the “H” Temporary Worker visa.  Seldom in the current clamor over illegal alien workers and legalization and “guest workers” is the existing “H” visa program even mentioned.

“H” visas traditionally have been used by many high-tech employers, especially in recent years employers like computer engineering firms, to bring in well educated foreign technicians, engineers and scientists who, while on paper are paid the equivalent of their US counterparts, in reality are paid less.  This brand of white-collar corporate fraud has not been aggressively investigated by INS in the past and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) currently, thanks primarily due to lack of manpower and other investigative priorities set by management.  Congress has essentially ignored this issue.  Therefore, this “H” visa abuse became widespread and mostly ignored.

The understanding of the “H” Visa is misleading.  It sounds  like ONLY highly skilled workers can enter the USA on this visa, but in fact, “A review of the “H” visa system reveals that it is actually quite broad. The H-1B category, the most common one encountered, covers “specialty occupation” workers.  H-1C is for nurses.  H-2A is for temporary agricultural workers.  H-2B is for other temporary workers, both skilled and unskilled. “ Another very important fact that Mr. West makes is that there is already a procedure in effect for legalizing illegals who are already in the country. It is called ”Cancellation of Removal and was revised under the 1996 version of the Immigration and Nationality Act and is found at Title 8 US Code,  Section 1229b.”

Essentially, an illegal alien who has been in the US for ten years or longer, … will be eligible for cancellation of removal and would be allowed to remain permanently in the US and eventually be allowed to apply for naturalized US citizenship.

One of the key elements to obtaining cancellation of removal, however, is the alien must be in removal (deportation) proceedings before an Immigration Court. This means the alien, if not caught by immigration authorities, must surrender himself to those authorities to be placed in such proceedings so they can apply for the relief. source

Excuse me, but doesn’t that sound a bit retarded?!?! We who are fighting against criminal invaders to our country don’t understand why current laws are not enforced.  But, if this law were to be enforced, thousands and even millions, might turn themselves in to authorities and the entire “system now would very quickly collapse”.

Essentially, an illegal alien who has been in the US for ten years or longer, who meets the qualifications noted above, will be eligible for cancellation of removal and would be allowed to remain permanently in the US and eventually be allowed to apply for naturalized US citizenship.  One of the key elements to obtaining cancellation of removal, however, is the alien must be in removal (deportation) proceedings before an Immigration Court.  This means the alien, if not caught by immigration authorities, must surrender himself to those authorities to be placed in such proceedings so they can apply for the relief.

Mr. West suggests that while we are debating all these new potential bills and laws, we might just want to look at the laws that are already on the books and try enforcing them! Good luck with that Mr. West!

________________________________________________________________________________

Related reading:

From My Country - My View, “Corpus Christi, TX - KRISTV.COM - Minutemen using aircraft to report illegal immigration to Border Patrol
Thumbs up to our Minutemen! Doing the job that our government won’t,  Go read her article here

From Ace in the Hole, ”Georgia Governor Signs Sweeping Immigration Law”

The state of Georgia approved a sweeping measure on Monday to crack down on illegal immigrants and the people who hire them as a passionate debate on immigration heats up in the United States.
Go read it all   From Yahoo! News
Cross Posted with: Public Figures…Beware
And now Michelle Malkin is on the job too… The more the merrier…

From Blogbat, May 1st, 2006,Mark Johnson of Human Events Online has posted a fun little piece reminding us of the upcoming holiday: Conservative Shopping Day, or, as I call it, Shop America Day. Excerpts below:

As you no doubt know, illegal aliens and their handlers plan to hold their next Senate intimidation rallies on May 1,

From Mike Jerihco at Adversus Monstrum, “Small Oversight”

Suspiciously blonde Hispanic man temporarily overlooks the fact that the Hispanic peoples originally came from Spain. Meanwhile, in New England, counter-protestors who have the temerity to point out that illegal aliens are, well, illegal, are righteously beaten by righteous people:  Go read it all and see the picture

UPDATE: Always on Watch has an excellent article today, you must go read it: “Profiting From Illegal Invasion” Below is an excerpt, but she has graphs, links, advice, …. Go on, scoot and read it.

When I saw the television coverage of immigration demonstrations throughout the United States, including the Heartland and areas with which I did not immediately associate a high population of immigrants, and the above graph, I wondered, “How did they get to be all over the United States?”

Greg at DeMdeiacratic Nation says to our politicians, “Don’t Just Pass Anything…”

“If the Senate wants to be successful in passing immigration reform, its first priority should be to approve a bill to secure the borders and increase interior-enforcement infrastructure .” Go read it

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**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.

One of the fun aspects of wandering over the land where PawPaw and I are going to build our home is seeing all the different wildflowers.  We bought a Tennessee Wildflower identification book — which PawPaw has.  I took some pictures - not the greatest in the world, but okay for identifying the flowers.  The “Sweet Betsy” is the most unusual — three spotted leaves (are they called “varigated”?) with a dark red flower spiking up in the middle.  The whitish flowers are “something-or-other Toothworth”.  I remember the toothwort part, but not the rest.  They’re pretty, aren’t they?

I heard on the news that Jane Fonda was asked in an interview why she wasn’t touring the United States speaking out against the war.  She said (and I’m paraphrasing here from what I remember from the news report) that she decided not to do that because she has too much baggage as a result of her protests during the Viet Nam war.  Also, she said, Cindy Sheehan is doing a much better job than she could.  Does anyone take Jane Fonda or Cindy Sheehan seriously anymore?   At least we can thank God for Jane’s baggage.  Without it, we’d be subjected to even more of her self-serving political idiocy.  Some people don’t learn from their past.

Enough of Jane. 

I read a great post by David at Third World County.

Make yourself watch an evening of MTV analytically. Or do the same with any network or cable TV channel. Heck, watch The History Channel analytically. In any and all of those examples, among the many, many media outlets I could cite from Hollyweird to Nashville and on, what we generally view as harmless entertainment is framing our references.

David is so right. I challenge you to give it a shot.  Listen and watch with a critical eye.

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I just read the latest post at Blue Star Chronicles (my sister) and found out that my nephew is home for a few days! Surprise! He is in the army - serving in Germany currently and due to go to Iraq soon.

Go read the wonderful story of his visit home. Sure wish I lived closer and could drop by to visit for awhile before he heads back to Germany.

PawPaw has a confirmed case of strep - and my daughter thinks that she and Sunshine both have it, too. I doubt if anyone wants to visit my branch of the family tree any time soon.

Today as I read TCAP to my small group of six students, my throat started hurting. But I’ve had strep before, and it just wiped me out. I remember feelling “put-me-out-of-my-misery” sick. And I feel okay now except for a little scratchy throat, and that could very well be because I had to read every single test item (stories, questions and all possible answer choices) aloud to the children.

I’m in the middle of making homemade chicken soup to take over to PawPaw’s house. Everybody deserves a little pampering when they’re sick.

Recipe for CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP:

Put four or five boneless chicken tenderloins in a saucepan. Cover with water, add a chopped onion and some grated carrots. Season with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Bring to a boil. When chicken is cooked, remove it from the pan and cool. Once it is cool, dice the chicken and add it back to the pot. Add a handful of egg noodles and cook until the noodles are done. You can add a little yellow food coloring to make it look nicer, you can also add some chicken stock if you need more volume, and you can add a little flour or corn starch to thicken it. Yum!