Halloween SIGH

I'm ready for the Trick and Treaters.   Last year I wasn't and when confronted by a sea of bright-eyed eager faces I was stricken, apologised profusely, and the leader rushed to assure me it was all right. 

If I don't get any takers tonight - and I'm going to the movies at 7 with Pattisue - I'll take them to Emmanuel for a Wednesday evening dessert.  

And just how are the British public dealing with this major Constitutional crisis, the biggest since Edward VIII in 1936, not to mention the 16 Commonwealth nations?   And do you know, it hasn't even been mentioned here on cable news, the American public are more interested in nurses defying the Ebola ban, and crashed space flights.   Imagine!!

It does seem to have escaped these morons that Prince Charles, not Prince William is next in line of succession.   And has it crossed the morons minds that if Prince Charles - God Forbid - died tomorrow, the next in line after Prince William is the one year old Prince George, so what a long Regency that would be.   And would William and Kate inflict that upon their child.   They just have no idea, these STUPID, STUPID, morons.

Pattisue and I are going to see 'The Judge' a mystery thriller.   She is picking me up, so I won't be driving in the dark.

Thursday 30th October

A new Horse in the City has appeared...

I couldn't find out anything about it though, it is not online with the others, so I don't know who has sponsored it, and there isn't a plaque either to tell us.    I did see online though a couple I have not previously photographed and posted, so I will track them down.

It was Kiwanis of course this morning, and the little ghost story in the bulletin went down well, there were a few chuckles.

I think the speaker though was one of the worst we have ever had.   When I was doing the bulletin I asked Louise to tell me a bit about him, and this was what I got, as it was told to her......   

Mr Corrick began his writing career at the age of nine at Harrison School in Shawnee.   At age eleven he produced a short documentary.  He had a radio program that ran at one time in forty five countries.  His IQ is 181.  He took the first accredited course for Broadcasting in Washington DC in 1976.  He has taught at South West Christian University, St Gregory’s and Tel Aviv Universities.  He has also worked for Frank Keating, and has been a Federal Tax Judge.

We were not entertained (at least I wasn't, and I don't think Louise was).   Frank Keating is a former governor of Oklahoma.

It was a much happier event at noon when I went to Communion at Emmanuel, and afterwards seven of us went to the nearby Asian Diner, which was very nice, and does excellent meals - I had thick Japenese noodles with prawns (but all prawns here are called shrimp, regardless of their size) It was good company, lovely people, and all very pleasant.

I have been out and about today - this evening I went to the Art Gallery and Museum on the St Gregory's campus.   The evening started with a cheese and wine Reception.  Most of the events are usually for the general public, but this was the annual event for members, or 'Friends,' of the Museum.  To 'reward' us as it were, for being members.

Georgia O'Keefe ( 1887 – 1986) was a prominent American artist in the 1920s and has been called the Mother of American Modernism.  She made large format paintings of enlarged blossoms, presenting them close up as if seen through a magnifying lens.   Also, New York buildings, dating from the same decade.

She made her permanent home in northern New Mexico in 1949, and depicted subject specific to that area.

This evening an actress played the part of her, and described her life and work, and showed us slides of her paintings.   She did it well, and it was very interesting.

I left shortly before the end though - I think she was getting to the end - because I was getting a bit panicky about getting home in the dark, even though the drive was only 15 minutes.  I haven't been driving at night for some time, but until now I have felt alright driving around Shawnee because I know my way around, but I feel my eyesight recently has deteriorated, and I am losing confidence at driving at night.   Slipping out a bit early, before anyone else, made it easier to drive out of the campus.




  

Wednesday 28th October

I am feeling a lot better.   I had a bit of a headache this morning, but it gradually eased off during the day.   I did my chaplaincy round at the hospital, and got round quite quickly because a lot of patients had precaution notices on their doors, which means they are infectious, or prone to catching infections, and I know most of the chaplains dutifully don gowns, masks, gloves etc. but I just bypass the room.  Conscious of my uninsured state I don't take chances, and Chaplain Bill understands.

This afternoon I knocked up some chocolate cupcakes for the kiddos at Emmanuel, and also made some shortbread - which is so easy, just butter, brown sugar and flour - and it seems to go down well.

I didn't go there for the meal though, I went instead to a movie at 5 o'clock.  I saw 'Left Behind', it has been on some time so it was my last chance to see it.   I remember reading the book about 20/30 years ago but I couldn't remember it, only that  I was impressed with the book, and it was apocalyptic.   It was very, very good.  Very exciting, I'd chewed my fingernails down by the time it finished.

Halloween is a big deal here, it's not a place to live when you hate it as much as I do.  But I keep telling myself it will soon be over.

This is the house opposite me.................

 

 

I was looking for a story/joke tonight for the Kiwani's bulletin in the morning, and came across this, which I thought I might as well share with you.  It made me smile.

 

Halloween is a great time for ghost stories!  This story happened some time ago in Dublin, and even though it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, it’s true.

John Bradford, a Dublin University student, was on the side of the road hitchhiking on a very dark night and in the midst of a big storm.

The night was rolling on and no car went by. The storm was so strong he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him. Suddenly, he saw a car slowly coming towards him and stopped.

John, desperate for shelter and without thinking about it, got into the car and closed the door... Only to realize there was nobody behind the wheel and the engine wasn’t on. The car started moving slowly. John looked at the road ahead and saw a curve approaching. Scared, he started to pray, begging for his life. Then, just before the car hit the curve, a hand appeared out of nowhere through the window, and turned the wheel. John, paralyzed with terror, watched as the hand came through the window, but never touched or harmed him.

Shortly thereafter, John saw the lights of a pub appear down the road, so, gathering strength; he jumped out of the car and ran to it. Wet and out of breath, he rushed inside and started telling everybody about the horrible experience he had just had.

A silence enveloped the pub when everybody realized he was crying... And wasn’t drunk.

Suddenly, the door opened, and two other people walked in from the dark and stormy night. They, like John, were also soaked and out of breath. Looking around, and seeing John Bradford sobbing at the bar, one said to the other...

Look, Paddy... there’s that idiot that got in the car while we were pushing it! -

 



Tuesday

Just to say the headache continues.   It is not too bad if I keep still and pressure is applied, so I sit up in bed with my head pressed back against the pillows.   At least I can sew and watch television while doing that.

I hope to go to the hospital tomorrow for my chaplaincy round.   I'll see how it goes.

Monday 28th October

Am not feeling too well, one of those long term headaches at the base of my skull has set in.  I dread them because they take weeks to shift.    Poor Bubbles was a casualty of it.  She likes to go out on the porch just for a short while in the evening, but before I could let her back in I had taken a pain relieving sleep aid, and fell fast asleep until 5 o'clock.  I jumped up, let her in, went back to bed, and she climbed into my arms.   She wrapped her little paws around them, was literally clinging to me (this is why I wear long sleeved night shirts)    Bless.

 

 So not done a lot....watched the news

In the news.......

It has been said that molten lava is a new kind of weather phenomenon, and the news has been following the progress of this lava in Hawaii, slowly moving and advancing...

Hundreds of people are leaving their homes.  They haven't made it mandatory, but no one is going to stay put in the face of that.

Sadly, in the Washington state shooting another child has died..  It has been revealed that the gunman, the 15 year old kid, texted the victims and asked them to meet him in the cafeteria, then he followed them in and shot them.  The remaining victims are still in very critical condition.

The school is situated on part of the Reservation of the Tulalip Indians, and the gunman was a tribal member, I think all, or some, of the victims  were as well.  I am familiar with the tribes round here, the Absentee Shawnee; Seminoles; Citizen Potawatomie; the Sac and Fox Nation; the Choctaws; and I have heard of Apaches and Cherokees, mainly from John Wayne movies, but I had never heard of the Tulalip Tribe.

I wish I'd had my camera ready when they showed a picture of the house, because it looked quite nice and sizeable, a bargain I would have thought, for £140,000.

This evening a couple of Fr Clark's friends organised a dinner for him and his wife at a downtown restaurant.    There were 20 there from Emmanuel and Shawnee Peace Fellowship, and it was very pleasant.   They leave Shawnee tomorrow, the 29th.         

Saturday 25th October

It has been hot today, in the 90s, I needed to cool down the car before I went out.

Most of the nation appears to have been pretty warm.

In the news.....................

I am sure you heard about the school shooting in Washington state.

This young lad, reported to be well liked and the son of a well known, prominent family, walked into the school cafeteria, killed one person and seriously wounded four others, two of whom were his cousins.

 

We all remember the Dunblane massacre in 1996, when 16 small children and a teacher were shot - it is etched into our national consciousness - hand guns were banned after that, and there hasn't been a school shooting since.  But unbelievably in this country, 297 people have been killed in school shootings since 1980,  and people still reckon they are safer for being allowed to have guns.  I can't fathom it, I just can't.

 

Friday 24th October

The burglars in this case broke into a house and deliberately woke up the owner, shining torches in her face and demanding money.   How brazen is that!!!!!!!!!!!!!   And how absolutely terrifying for the poor woman.  I tell you, I've double locked my doors tonight.  

They must have known she was a little old lady who wouldn't have a gun under her pillow, like the rest of the population.   And I'm now considering it, they're easy enough to get hold of, you can buy them in Walmart.

It has been another lovely warm day, it was 83 as I drove through town.   I just went out to pick up something for supper as I didn't feel like cooking, and I got a  piece of medium rare steak with a few chips  and mushrooms, for about $4, or £2.50.   Food is so amazingly cheap here.

I haven't done a lot today.  When I woke up this morning I was coughing and blowing my nose, and rang Bill at the hospital to say I didn't think I should go in for my chaplaincy round.   But a little while later I was fine.  I think it must have been allergies,   everyone here suffers from allergies, mostly caused by the cedar trees.

 I was working on a needlework project while watching television and all the horrific news of terror attacks, and a new Ebola case in New York.       This latest victim was a health worker from Liberia who had been caring for Ebola patients, and who arrived a week ago, and has since been merrily riding round Manhattan and the other boroughs on the crowded public transport system, eating in restaurants, and bowling.  People keep saying it is hard to catch, but it still seems very irresponsible to me.

And I talked to Jeremy who was stuck in traffic on the M25, and I marvelled - as I often do - at 21st century technology which makes that possible.

The Electricity Saga

Was out early, before 9 - had breakfast at the hospital.   I didn't want to explain to Mark's lad that I and my partner-in-crime, Bruno, had been tinkering with the breaker box just before all the power and lights went out on the porch and the living room.

 

So had breakfast, did my chaplaincy round, went home, and lo and behold..... all is well.  Lights go on in the living room and the porch, and the spare bedroom.   Even the electric outlet in the computer room - that same outlet that caused me to move my computer to another wall - even that outlet is now working.

 

So I have no idea what went wrong, or what Timothy did to put it right, but for now everything electrical is working fine.  And with the best will in the world I think Bruno should stick to pastoring his church, I don't know if he was an electrician in Cameroon but he is not cut out for it in the US.

 

 I was looking online for a little story to fill up the Kiwani's bulletin, and this was what I found.

A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband.

Suddenly, her husband burst into the kitchen.

"Careful," he said. "CAREFUL! Put in some more butter!

Oh my Goodness! You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY!

Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. Oh my GOD! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? They're going to STICK!

Careful . CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never!

Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind?

Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!"

The wife stared at him. "What in the world is wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?"

The husband calmly replied, "I just wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving."

   

Tuesday 21 October

This has been a funny day of more problems with the electricity in the house.   I was holding forth in the chaplaincy office, updating Bill and Bruno, another chaplain, of the saga of washing machines and televisions that go bang simultaneously, of spare bedrooms with no light and power, finally mentioning that only one out of three lights on the porch was working; and I can't change the bulbs myself because of my terror of having a fall, so I won't get on a step ladder.  

 

Anyway, Bruno offers to come out this afternoon after he's picked up his children from school, and he changes the bulbs on the porch.   So far, so good.   But I think electricity is his hobby, he then offered to look at the bedroom with no power in it (except amazingly, for the light in the closet which works) then he asked to see the breaker box with all the switches and fuses, and started tinkering with them, and it all went downhill from there.   The computer started doing weird things I'd never seen before - but fortunately that has righted itself  -  however, all the lights and power have gone out in the living room and on the porch.   So Mark's lad, Tim, is coming out in the morning at 9 o'clock.

 

Sadly, I rang Mark and Mary at the worst possible time, Mary answered the phone sounding very strained - their daughter Joanna very recently had a baby, and the baby has just died.  I was so sorry, so sad, I told them not to worry about the house, I said I'd call an electrician, but they wouldn't hear of it.

 

Bruno of course is anxious to know what happens, so I promised to ring him.   I asked him if he was an electrician and he said he was, but I'm sceptical.    He is from Cameroon and he pastors a church of African Americans, who I think are also mostly from Cameroon.   His wife is a professor at St Gregory's.

 

So that's been my day, and I hope tomorrow to report that all is well with all the lights and power in the house.

Monday 20th October

It has been a lovely summer's day, warm, sunny, 78 degrees.     I don't know what they call that season in June and July when temperatures reach 103, and I just long for it to be cold and wet,  but the very pleasant weather of the last few days has been my idea of summer.

This morning I was just running round town on my errands.  Stopped by Emmanuel to lend a hand with packing the paper sacks for the homeless lunches.   The youngsters in the church yesterday thought they'd be helpful - bless - and they packed a lot.  While appreciating their effort we did think it would have been quicker to do them all ourselves, rather than going through, checking and adjusting all that had been done.   I'm not complaining though, they are the most polite, caring and helpful teenagers on the planet.

Today in history..................20th October

1805 - Admiral Lord Nelson wins his greatest victory in the Battle of Trafalgar, fought off Cape Trafalgar. Nelson is fatally wounded in the battle, but lives long enough to see victory, and to famously say “kiss me Hardy”.

1529 - The Pope names Henry VIII of England Defender of the Faith after defending the seven sacraments against Luther.

Two momentous events.

And two big events in US history

1803 - US Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase.    A land deal between the United States and France, in which the U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million dollars.  The area extends north, right through the Mid West to Montana and North Dakota.

1864 - US President Lincoln formally establishes Thanksgiving as a national holiday.

And finally.....1968 - Jacqueline Kennedy marries Aristotle Onassis on the island of Scorpios.   I remember that.   I remember wondering why.   She didn't need his money.

Sunday 19th October

I think I have been very tired lately.   I haven't been to church today, I just joined Pattisue's little study group this morning at University Baptist, then slept for most of the rest of the day.

 

Last Thursday our Kiwanis speaker was an ardent campaigner for water conservation, and gave us a few facts about water conservation.    Here are a couple I picked out (in italics)

 

There's as much water in the world today as there was thousands of years ago, it is actually the same water.   The water from our taps could contain molecules that the dinosaurs drank, and Columbus might have sailed across.    I am not quite sure I can figure all that out.

 

Every glass of water brought to your table in a restaurant requires another two glasses of water to wash and rinse the glass.   As nearly 70 million meals are served every day in US restaurants more than 26 million gallons of water could be saved if one person in four declined their complimentary glassful.     I've got a better idea.  Don't bring glasses of water to everybody in restaurants, it's not necessary, we don't do it in Britain, so think of all the water we are saving.

 

In spite of glasses of water to diners in restaurants  less than 1% of the treated water produced by water utilities is consumed.  The rest goes on lawns, in washing machines, and down toilets and drains. 

 

 Sustainable Shawnee organised a competition in the local schools to produce a bumper sticker on the subject of water conservation, and this was the winner.

 

I have to confess to being somewhat resistant to campaigns to conserve water, recycle, save the planet, and Be A Good Citizen, and although I don't deliberately waste water I find myself feeling somewhat defiant, for example, when brushing my teeth under running water.   I think I resent the constant prodding at my conscience.   

Saturday 18th October

Oh!!! my failing memory.  I was supposed to co-host Family Promise this evening at Emmanuel from 5.30 - 8.00.  I wrote it down on my 'to do' list, but that is not a lot of good when one forgets to look at the to do list.

 

I spent literally hours this afternoon engrossed in the most time wasting, stupid activity. Half a skein of yard had become hopelessly knotted and tangled and I began unpicking it, knot by knot.  It took hours, and I kept questioning why I was doing it, why didn't I just throw away the half skein of yarn, I didn't need it - and clean my fridge.  But it eventually became a perseverance issue, and I had to finish it.

 

Anyway, at 7 o'clock while I was persevering away, there was a ring at the door and even seeing my friend Elizabeth standing there, the penny didn't drop.  I was horrified that I'd totally forgotten my Family Promise commitment, but she kept assuring me it was alright, someone else was there, they just wanted to make sure I was alright.   She told me forgetting has happened to lots of people.

 

I did remember to go to the monthly AARP meeting this morning, but didn't stay when I found Phyllis wasn't there, she had been ill with bronchitis, so I went home and rang her up.  We had a long chat, and she's feeling better.

 

Last night, Friday, Bruce and Rosalyn kindly invited me to the local theatre to see "On Golden Pond", which had been a hugely successful box office film in 1981, but I'd never seen it, so the play last night was all new to me and I enjoyed it very much indeed.   The theatre itself is in the round, and I love it that the audience and actors all mingle together, chatting, at the end.   It was a lovely evening and I was so grateful to them for including me.

 

I've been taking some pictures.

Someone on television a while ago put some fruit in a dish, then sprinkled over it a packet cake mix, then topped it with very cold butter.  And it was emphasised that the butter had to be cold and straight from the fridge.  I didn't see how this would work, but was intrigued enough this evening to try it.  And this was the result.............

I haven't tried it yet, it's still cooling, but it looks alright doesn't it.

 

There was a fish and chip shop in Shawnee which had been closed for a long time, then it was re-modelled, and that took a couple of years.  Finally, recently, it opened and I thought I'd get some for lunch today.

The place looks quite nice doesn't it.  And this is what I got.

I was asked if I wanted two fillets or three, and I imagined - in my naïveté - that they would be the size they are at home (even though the whole deal was only $2.99!)  And although I deep down, really knew better, I was so carried away with this 'fish and chips' lunch that I even expected the chips to be like ours.  I'd forgotten their 'chips' are deep fried crisps.   And coleslaw with it is a personal idiosyncrasy of mine.

 

Memo to my loved ones  - please take me to a chippie when I come over.  I'd love a real piece of fish from the North Sea, and proper chips.

 

But just before I leave this subject - I took this picture inside.

No messy bottle of ketchup on the table.  No, one takes a dinky little container and pumps out the tomato ketchup, tartar sauce, or any of the other sauces on the right of the picture.  Very sleek, very 21st century.

 

And in the news............

 

 

There are so many illegal immigrants - or rather, "undocumented persons" as they must now be called in this politically correct society - running amok in the country and breaking the law, the jails are overflowing with them, so they are all being turned loose back into society.  

 

You have all heard, I'm sure, of the Ebola crisis over here,  A Liberian, where the disease is rife, comes into the country feeling ill  and goes to the ER,  but because he is poor, black, and uninsured he is given short shrift and sent home with a prescription, whereupon he gets worse, is finally admitted to hospital and dies of Ebola.   And all hell has broken loose.   Everyone in contact with him, or in contact with hospital staff who - eventually - looked after him, has had to be traced and quarantined, including children of contacts, so entire schools are being closed down.  

 

One of the contacts was a nurse who looked after him - and unbelievably - flew from Dallas to a bridal shop in Cincinnati, Ohio,(don't they have bridal shops in Dallas, I wondered) and she has been confirmed to have Ebola.    So her little shopping expedition has left a trail of hundreds more contacts and widespread panic.

 

I have just had a little bit of that pudding/dessert, and it works, it was quite nice.

 

 

Thursday 16th October

The weather early in the morning is a bit chilly, I went to Kiwanis with two layers of sweaters.  A little later in the morning, when I was trundling my cart out to Walmart's car park it was in the 80s.

 

Driving out of said car park I stopped to take this photo of a new eating place about to open.  You can see from the photo what a lovely summer's day it was.

I think I saw somewhere that it was 'gourmet' Chinese, I look forward to it opening.  I didn't think there was a significant Chinese population here, but heard that Oklahoma Baptist University has been expanding with new buildings, and I understand they now have a large body of Chinese students.  Perhaps that is who this restaurant is hoping to cater to.

 

I think I am going to call this little segment 'US Justice' and will leave you to form your own conclusions.

A home invader is what they call a burglar who breaks into a house when the owner is inside and asleep.   And this is such a stupid thing to do on so many levels.  In a state where 99% of the population has a gun and takes no prisoners, what - I asked myself - was this idiot thinking.   He would have had more success, and less chance of fatal injuries, trying to rob a bank.  And the returns would have been higher.   And the guy who shot him is facing no repercussions whatever.

This spoiled kid  ran amok with his (wealthy) grandmother's credit card, racking up thousands of dollars in debt, then went to a loan shark to try and pay it off.  When that didn't solve his problems he - as it says - killed his parents and his sister to inherit the family money. 

We all know that in Britain he would at least have a psychological evaluation, but in this country, in this state, there's no such thing.  There will be no ifs and buts and maybes, he will get the death sentence.

Our Kiwanis speaker this morning was from the Water Department, talking mainly about how much water is wasted in Oklahoma.   I threw in my two pennorth when the subject was opened up for debate, saying that in Britain where water is so scarce that if we have more than a week of dry weather a hose pipe ban is enforced, and no one can water their gardens, so we have taken to hard landscaping our gardens.   They were certainly doing that in my neighbourhood in Seaford.   He just muttered something about the US being "behind the times".

This evening Pattisue rang to suggest the movies, she wanted to see "The Good Lie".   I wasn't over excited, but I came round.   It was a lovely film, and am so glad she suggested it and I went along.
Rather than try and tell you what it was about I've copied this review of it.

The Good Lie is essentially three films in one. The opening act is set in South Sudan, where a group of children are left to their own devices when civil war ravages the area in the early 1990s. They embark on a perilous journey to safety, which will see their ranks shrink to four by the time they reach the refugee camp that becomes their home.

Act 2 takes place a decade later, when the four young adults win the lottery – the prize being a flight to the U.S., the cost of which they will have to reimburse the American government.
Abital (Kuoth Wiel) is sent to Boston while her brother Mamere (Arnold Oceng), Jeremiah (Ger Duany) and Paul (Emmanuel Jal) end up in Kansas, where they are met by employment agency counsellor Carrie Davis (Witherspoon).

Hilarity ensues as the three adapt to their new surroundings. But Falardeau never loses sight of his goal, using the humour to highlight poignant truths about the vulnerable humanity of his central characters.

When the guys lay their mattresses side by side on the living room floor, or laugh hysterically at the oldest joke in the book (why did the chicken cross the road)  it’s both funny and moving, revealing the deep affection that bonds them together and which has helped them survive great hardship.
Things get convoluted in the homestretch, as the movie tries to tie up every loose end in overly tidy fashion; a good 15 minutes could have been shaved off the nearly two-hour running time. That said, try not to shed a tear as these gentle souls struggle to find their place in the world.
Falardeau’s heart, as always, is in the right place. And he impresses by weaving together such a tonally complex narrative without making any major missteps.

As I said, it was very good.

Tuesday 14th October

The weather has calmed down.  It's been chilly though, and I kept reminding myself I was looking forward to this when it was searingly hot.

 

Was running about town this morning doing my errands.   Had lunch today with my friend Sandra - goodness me, I can go months without 'doing lunch' then go two days in a row.  We went to a sandwich shop, I enjoyed having lunch with Sandra, and the place had a good selection of sandwiches, but no hot drinks.  None at all, not even coffee.  An eating establishment that doesn't provide a hot drink!!

 

Sandra passed on to me a couple of books.  I started the first this afternoon and it is very good, I've nearly finished it.  It's a fictionalised account of life in a Devon village during World War II, written in the form of letters to a soldier, a childhood friend in the British Expeditionary Force in 1939/40.   Although Sandra enjoyed the books, she said parts of them were difficult for her to understand.   I guess one has to be British to recognise the stereotypical village characters, and the foibles, or nuances, of the British upper middle class during the war.

 

And speaking of war.   ISIS is advancing on Baghdad, they are within 15 miles of the airport, Khobani is about to fall, and when it does thousands will be massacred, Obama's bombing campaign is having no effect whatever - and it won't until he sends in ground forces - but he is confidently asserting that his strategy (whatever that may be) is working, and the US is winning.  His popularity, his credibility, is plummeting.   What is the war looking like from over there?

 

 

Columbus Day

I wanted to write this up last night but the thunderstorms were so severe, and lasted hours, I didn't even try and turn on the computer.   And I can't begin to describe how the rain comes down, literally in sheets.   We had some more this morning, so I thought I would try and do this while I can.

 

This is a bank holiday weekend, not that you'd notice unless you wanted a bank, because banks and Federal offices are closed but for everyone else it is business as usual.

 

This is the day Columbus discovered America, but for the politically correct that was a very BAD thing, he should have stayed away, because he brought into this Utopia all the white man's diseases and bad habits, and everything else you don't want in the Garden of Eden.

 

Some people had the bright idea of calling it 'Indigenous Peoples' Day' but that is not going down too well with Italian Americans, who feel 'disrespected' and say America wouldn't be America without Christopher Columbus.  Of course it wouldn't, it wouldn't have all the nasty diseases etc. that ravage the country, for which Christopher Columbus is apparently responsible.

 

Furthermore.........and it gets worse............Christopher Columbus wrote in his journal... that when he initiated trade with the Tainos people he decided "they would make fine servants, and with fifty men they could subjugate them all and make them do whatever they wanted".   SHOCK, HORROR!!!

 

And before I leave the subject of political correctness here are a few examples plucked from the internet -

 

1.The governor of California has signed a bill into law which will allow transgendered students to use whatever bathrooms and gym facilities that they would like…

Transgendered students in California will now have the right to use whichever bathrooms they prefer and join either the boys’ or girls’ sports teams, thanks to landmark legislation signed by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday.

The law stipulates that each student will have access to facilities, sports teams, and programs that are “consistent with his or her gender identity,” rather than the student’s actual biological composition. A male student who self-identifies as female could therefore use the girls’ bathroom, even if he is anatomically male.

 

2.  According to a new Army manual, U.S. soldiers will now be instructed to avoid “any criticism of pedophilia” (when did paedophilia become acceptable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

 

3 The Obama administration has banned all U.S. government agencies from producing any training materials that link Islam with terrorism.  In fact, the FBI has gone back and purged references to Islam and terrorism from hundreds of old documents.

 

4. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, it is illegal for employers to discriminate against criminals because it has a “disproportionate" impact on minorities.

There are loads more examples, I have just picked out a few.

And to change the subject...what have I been up to lately.   Not a lot.  Yesterday, Sunday, I had to pick up the donuts for Emmanuel and read at the 8 o'clock.   In the evening, and prior to the thunderstorms it was quite a pleasant evening and I was feeling fidgety, so I drove out to the evening service at the Chapel near the Lake, of which Larry (the former hospital chaplain) is now officially the pastor.   He and Vicki warmly welcomed me, and it is good to keep in touch.

 

Today, Monday, I went out to lunch with Mary, Mark's wife.   We went to a high-end deli, which also has a popular restaurant attached to it.   And that was very pleasant.

 

So I have managed to beat the thunderstorms  before they shut down the computer.  There is a "severe weather advisory" popped up on my computer, so I guess there's more on the way.

 

 

 

 

Saturday 11th October

I just saw this and thought, golly me, if it's not the neighbours with their guns and pit bulls, I could come to an untimely end at the car wash, who knew.  I'm a regular customer at that car wash, and it's not like I can just drive through, I need to get out of the car to push the wing mirrors in, then pull them out again.

The Queen has probably got as much Alzheimer's as I have.  When we are 85, or pushing 80, we have all got plaques and tangles in our brains, and forget things.   But Alzheimer's isn't forgetting where we have put the car keys, it's forgetting what they are for.

And I saw her on television yesterday with - I think it was Angelina Jolie - and she looked far from dying to me, and very aware of where she was and what she was doing.    I did notice a little curvature in her spine I don't think I'd noticed before.     Being Queen Mary's grand daughter she has had a ramrod straight back all her life, she's entitled to be a little bent at 85.   According to Princess Alexandra that's where they got their ramrod straight backs, a lifetime of sitting up straight, not slouching like the rest of us.

I don't think I have been up to very much the last couple of days.  Kiwanis Thursday morning.  I was saying that now Fr Clark has gone I will probably be sitting on my own, but a kindly member (although they are all kindly) came and sat with me.  It is like kindergarten isn't it, "will I have a best friend to sit next to me".

It is my little job  there to take notes of what the speaker is saying, and write them up in the following week's bulletin, but the speaker was the Oklahoma Senator reporting on the latest legislative business in the state capital.   I told Louise I couldn't even begin to do that.  He started with education and was talking about something called 'common core', a subject with which everyone is familiar, unless you are a foreigner, in which case it is totally over your head.

I mention who our speakers are at Kiwanis, but not so much what we do.  So to give you an idea, the Board  decided at the last meeting to donate $150 to the Early Childhood Development Centre to purchase bicycles again this year to promote perfect attendance; donate $150 to the Shoes that Fit programme (a lot of children don't go to school in proper shoes) and donate $100 to the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club.   I think I have mentioned that the Mission Statement of the club is to help children.

On Friday I was at the hospital in the morning, then had lunch with Bill and that was very pleasant. 

Friday

This is just to say we are having some very bad thunderstorms, and in view of the computer disaster earlier in the week I am keeping the computer turned off during them.  Even my television picture keeps going down, I'm regretting leaving the cable company.

Hope to be back soon.

Wednesday 8th October

I am afraid this is another 'woe is me' post. I am not having a good week.  I thought my computer/electric problems were resolved, but when I tried to run off the Kiwani's bulletin for the morning, I found that the printer wasn't connected, and amid the chaos of cables I couldn't even find one belonging to the printer. 

See what I mean by 'chaos' of cables, and trying to find one that connects to the printer is like looking for the proverbial needle.....It's unbelievable. Two power strips and all those cables for my computer.  I suppose it could be argued that there is also all the internet paraphernalia.

I'll just ring Louise in the morning and tell her I couldn't do the bulletin, members will have to miss it for a week.   And I'll tell the computer guy about the printer, if he can't sort it out I'll give up.

It was Kiwani's bake sale yesterday and I bought the usual brownies to support it, but Beth rang to say one of the youngsters belongs to a cookery club at school and wanted to make cookies, so I put the brownies in the freezer.    I debated about going to the meal because I'd had a very late lunch and wasn't hungry, but decided I'd go for a little social interaction and I was very glad I did.   Talking to friends was just what I needed.  

And in the news..................

Obama's Presidency, his leadership - or lack thereof - is in crisis mode.

 All the top military personnel and generals have been trying to tell the President that he has got to put forces on the ground.     So they all had a high level meeting at the Pentagon which I am surmising was along the lines of..................."you might refuse to say the words "war"  "terrorists" "ISIS"  (he refuses to have them in his vocabulary) but the fact remains that ISIS has declared war on the US, and you have to do something about it, and sooner rather than later, because dropping bombs on empty buildings in the middle of the night is not going to cut it".

The latest I heard tonight is that he is still refusing to do anything about it.  I can see all the generals resigning, they are that hacked off.

And competing with the war for news headlines is the Ebola outbreak.  Chaplain Bill said he had been to two meetings this week on the subject and told me of the protocols, and the preparations, that are being put in place in hospitals all over the nation, as they get ready for the massive outbreak that is expected.

I heard that there is a suspected case in the Dallas suburb where Larry's cousin lives - there is a large Liberian community in that suburb - I tried to call them but just got the answerphone.  I am guessing they have gone away somewhere.

Monday 6th October

My word, I have been busy today.  Last night there was a severe thunderstorm which affected, first of all, the computer, it knocked out the power strip.   Following, is a blow by blow account of the rest of the day, which you might find a bit boring but it helps me process events.  You can always skip over it and come back tomorrow.

 

The local downtown computer place is very helpful, and they didn't want to have to come out and charge me $85 to fix something I could do myself.  So I took the computer in, and it worked fine when they connected it up at the shop (great relief, I feared something dire had happened to the hard disk) Then they suggested I get a new power strip, so I went to Staples, and although it was needed because the old one had been knocked out, it didn't resolve the problem.   It was then suggested the fault may be in the electric outlet in the wall, and I should try plugging a blender or something into it to see if it worked, and it didn't. 

 

The next step was moving it all to another outlet, but by then I was ready to pay $85 to have someone come out and take care of it all for me, so computer guy came and moved it to another outlet on the same wall;  it all worked, we thought everything was resolved, I gave him a cheque, he went on his merry way.............then a little while later, not only does the computer go dead, but it makes loud banging noises.    Computer guy comes straight back and everything is moved to another wall.  It is a blessing that there are abundant sockets in every room.

 

As if all this wasn't bizarre enough, the television was also making weird noises, and tonight when I turned the washing machine on, they both went bang and stopped simultaneously.  I'll ring Mark in the morning.

 

I kept asking myself all day when did life become such hard work.

I did take a bit of time away from the computer to stop by Emmanuel and helped make up the sack lunches for the homeless.

 

Each sack contains - if I remember rightly - a bottle of water; can of Vienna sausages; container of apple sauce (yes I know, that's weird, the first time I encountered it I was looking round for the pork chop) either chicken or tuna in a can with crackers; pkt of sweet biscuits; pkt of biscuits filled with peanut butter; and some lemonade crystals to put in the water.

 

The homeless come to the window between 11.30 and 12.30 and a sack is passed out to them.

 

Sunday 5th October

I have been running about today, missed the 8 o'clock, which I had intended going to this morning.   At 9.45 I joined Pattisue at her Bible Study at Oklahoma Baptist .

As the membership of her church largely comprise the professors and students of the University they are rather more intelligent and well read than the other Baptists in town (and there are over 100 Baptist churches in Shawnee, which I guess to be about the size of Seaford.

From there to Emmanuel and was in time for the Communion half of the morning service.   Time for a quick bacon sandwich, then back to Emmanuel.   Ten days or so ago, I went with a group to the Hebrew congregation at Seminole for their Rosh Hashanah service.  Last night marked the end of Yom Kippur, and the Jewish High Holy Days, and the visiting student rabbi - en route to the airport for his flight back to his rabbinical college in Cincinnati, Ohio, came to Emmanuel with another member of the congregation, and there was an interesting discussion group.

I was fascinated to discover that this guy - who in every respect is the epitome of a fine, upstanding rabbinical student, en route to becoming a serious rabbi - has another profession.   Professionally, he is a stand up comic. 

I wish I had taken a photo of him at Emmanuel, or Seminole, looking like a rabbi.

Saturday 4th October

 Not a lot on today.   Because the needlework I am working on is rather taxing I gave my brain a rest this afternoon and went to the movies, saw "If I Stay", this was the synopsis -

"Mia Hall thought the hardest decision she would ever face would be whether to pursue her musical dreams at Juilliard or follow a different path to be with the love of her life, Adam. But what should have been a carefree family drive changes everything in an instant, and now her own life hangs in the balance. Caught between life and death for one revealing day, Mia has only one decision left, which will not only decide her future but her ultimate fate".    It sounds better than it was, it was very slow moving, I have seen better films, but it gave my brain a rest.  It practically went to sleep.   I went by myself because I wanted to keep my options open, not decide until the last moment whether or not to go.


This day in history......

1880		The first ball-point pen is patented on this day by Alonzo T. Cross.  I thought they were more recent than that – like my lifetime.   When I was at school we had inkwells in our desks, and dipped our pens in them.   Golly me, how old fashioned is that!!!!
1882		Outlaw Frank James surrenders in Missouri six months after brother Jesse's assassination.

1969

Monty Python's Flying Circus debuts on BBC One.   I hated Monty Python, it was the most stupid programme EVER. October 4 In 1957, the Space Age began as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, into orbit.   October 5 In 1947, in the first televised White House address, President Truman asked Americans to refrain from eating meat on Tuesdays and poultry on Thursdays to help stockpile grain for starving people in Europe.

Thursday 2nd October

Charles and Streisand - who'd have thought it...........

We didn't have a Kiwanis speaker this morning, the officers for the coming year were installed.  I hadn't expected Fr Clark to be there as he resigned last week, but I think he came for one last time.  The sale of his house is going through, also the purchase of the place in Sand Springs;  he expects to be moved in at the end of October.  We sat chatting for a long time after the meeting was over, and with e-mail will keep in touch.

 

Watching the news (what else) I saw some video footage of George Bush giving a speech in 2007, saying that if troops are pulled out of Iraq everything will get much more serious.  Everything he was saying in that speech is now coming to pass.   I have to say he was very modest about it, there was no hint of "I told you so".

Bush was asked how he knew what was going to happen, and he said he knows his enemy, that they are murdering and beheading thousands of Christians and other innocent people, they are dangerous...............

 

 

Wednesday 1st October

Weather has been really pleasant lately, not too searingly hot, in the 80s and - as always - with a breeze which varies in intensity.   I went to the hospital this morning and one of the patients was telling me, appreciatively, that a doctor had prayed with them.  It wouldn't happen in an NHS hospital, but this is the Bible Belt, and people are more religious generally, also it is a Catholic hospital.

 

I didn't need to do desserts for tonight as team Mexican, who were responsible for the meal,  bring Mexican cheesecakes.  I debated whether to go to Emmanuel for supper, as I was settled with my cross stitching, but was glad I did when I found someone had taken the trouble to put aside a non spicy taco for me.

 

Other than this I have just been stitching away, watching WWIII unfolding.   I am not sure if I have got this right, but it is my understanding that Obama has given Iran concessions which is enabling them to develop their nuclear weapon....in which case we are headed for WWIII because Israel will not wait to be attacked.    That's my opinion for the day.

 

It is said that we know we are getting old when policemen start looking young, and policeman have looked young to me for a long time, but now judges look as if they have just left school this morning.

 

 

I wondered if this had been a 'normal' picture of Camilla which this rag had doctored to make her look like that.

 

This had me very perplexed and wondering where on earth one is supposed to put their food scraps if not in the trash.   I've been here long enough to know that 'trash' is American for rubbish.

 

I took this on Sunday morning at St Crispin's.   The guitarist on the left  of this jazzy group is Beth, the Youth Minister.   It was terrific what they played, they really rocked, I would have loved an encore.