Communism and Islamism... and a Mall

If you haven't read this, take a moment and have a look. It is VERY important.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110008318

Now, on to why we have not turned Iraq into a big parking lot.

First of all, there is no big Mall planned for the Middle East...the only reason to make a big parking lot is if you are going to make a big Mall, right?

Ok, so lets plan a Mall already! Iraq is attached to the northeast border of Saudi Arabia...and we all know what a westernized country Saudi Arabia is. People in Saudi would shop in the Mall of America...uhhh, I mean Mall of the Middle East.
They love Victoria's Secret, and Nordstroms, and frankly they have more money to shop in those kind of places than I do!

The President says over and over again that our goal in Iraq is to stop Terrorist Cell groups and to bring Democracy to the region...and I say,
"A Mall would bring about both of these changes!"

The Muslim extremeists are not going to tollerate a fancy schmancy lingere store!!! They would come out in droves to fight that kind of moral perversion! We set a trap with some hot models in push-up bras and big angel wings (we could use dummies...but Hey, wait...they ARE all dummies, and/or plastic to boot, but I digress) and then we just wait for an ambush.

The Marines will have dug a big trench around the beautiful dummies, 20 feet deep or so. The Army guys will have created some camouflauged kind of floor for the extremeists to run up to, only to have it give-way to the trench below.
And, once the Muslims fall in, the Air Force can air lift the dummies out so Jack Bauer can lob a few bombs into the trench before letting all of the armed forces use whatever methods they see fit to bring an end to the REAL perversion in the world.

Now wait...you want to ask me how communism fits into all of this, right?
I mean, it is in the title...

Ok. The reason we don't have plans to turn Iraq into a Mall and a parking lot is because Americans do not understand the danger, the very REAL and PRESENT danger of Islamism. It is not a religion as much as it is a mindset and a way to control people. Exactly like Communism, only different.

I was 10 years old when Ronald Regan became the President. I read Animal Farm when I was 11 or 12 (again with my 12 year old last year), and I knew all about the Cold War. I read 1984 when I was 16, as well as Brave New World. I knew how many people Hitler had killed, and why he killed...All under the black veil(burqa?) of Communism.

Communism was a foe we, collectively as a country, could agree to take a swing at. It was evil, anyone with half a brain in their head could see that; but we do not all see eye to eye about Islam.

Islam is something most of us do not understand. How many books are there on the subject? I read "Unveiling Islam" a few years ago and the revelations in that book are startling...ALL AMERICANS SHOULD READ IT!

President Bush has the power, and authority, and the troops already in place to bring Democracy to Iraq. In the form of a Mall, or in the form of a solid and thorough a**-kicking that will bring the infrastructure and leadership of that region to its knees, or better still--into its grave! But, until he has the support from the American people to do so...we will hang in this cycle.
A cycle of little battles with terrible men, peace keeping rituals that do not further our mission there, and then insurgents with IEDs which lead us back to little battles with terrible men.

A nice big air-conditioned Mall with a Chick-fil-A, a merry-go-round, and some neat places to shop sounds soooo much better, doesn't it?

Stop thinking of Islam as religion, and start thinking about it as a way to do business and a way to elminate your opponents. Think of it as a MONOPOLY.
A MONOPOLY...

One group that controlls everything...
Just like Communism.

Scarry huh? We should be scared.

Excuse me while I have a party!!!

I FINALLY figured out how to post a pic with my profile...
but I had to edit the poop out of the pic to get it to fit!
"Big hair...that's the problem, it's ALWAYS been my problem! LOL!

Happy Birthday Robin....BLAH!!!! :)

My sweet sister had a birthday yesterday...and she called me to tell me
that she and Mom were going out for a lunch celebration, and asked me if I wanted
to come along!
Love to!
So, as typical for me, I show up about 15 minutes late, and they, knowing me, are seated and getting ready to order :)
My adorable nephews are there, J is 4yrs , and A is 16 months old. I swear these are 2 of the cutest kids ever...really. J will talk your head off, and A just wants to love on you...
A is sleepy from having missed his nap, and J does not quite seem right, but he is chatting to us and saying,
"Scooze me, Mom...I see see something you don't know about!" :)

There are things hanging on the walls, things like snowshoes, and skis, and maps, and all kinds of strange things to look at, only most people don't look...but a 4 yr old definitely does!

Anyway...Robin goes to fix a plate at the salad bar, and A decides he needs to hold his drink cup, the kind with a pop-on lid and a straw. He is across the table from me and I don't realize what he is doing until it's too late. Yes...12 oz of sweet tea goes everywhere--all over the floor, a complete mess, well, not complete, but that is coming soon...
The waitress assures us that this is not a problem and not to worry, but Robin feels bad for the mess! The boys start to eat, well, mostly J just looks at his fruit--he is not hungry, and A adds whatever bits he can to the tea puddle on the floor.

J and I discuss the skis on the wall, and some netting, and some other things that are wildly interesting to him. I, being the good Aunt Nonna that I am, try to trick him into eating his pears...by telling him that I am going to gobble them up if he does not. I put a small bite on the fork...I open my mouth wide...he opens his mouth, and my arm has this terrible struggle going back and forth between his mouth and mine...and it is just amazing that EVERY time the fork goes near him, he chomps down on that fruit and poor Aunt Nonna never gets a single bite!!! (LOL!)

Robin goes back to the salad bar for some pudding. A has no drink in sight, so all is safe on that front. Mom and I talk about my youngest brother and how he is doing in school...Robin returns to the table.

J jumps down, runs over to his mom and shouts, "Mom, I'm gonna throw up!"
Robin's eyes get as big dinner plates, trying not to shout...

"Now??? You feel sick now? Run to the bathroom!"
Poor J, he had no idea where that was...but starts running for the front of the restaurant. He makes it about 15 steps, and BLAH!!!!
The poor thing tosses everything!!! Everyone in that section stops talking, Robin is apologizing, the waitress is running towards us...people are moving out of the way...it was awful!!! :(

Finally, J's episode is over, Robin says, "We have got to go!" I scoop up the baby from his high chair, grab the bags, and we head for Robin's car.
Once in the parking lot, J says, "Where are we going?"
Robin says, "Honey, you just threw up in the restaurant and we have to go home."
J looks at her with those big blue eyes and says, "Oh Mommy...I am sorry I ruined your birthday party!"

OH MY! What a sweet kid! Not a birthday my sister will want to repeat I am sure, but her gifts, like mine, are in our children...good, sweet, kind hearted, interesting little people...who could never ruin our birthdays, even if they do throw up at our party!

Happy Birthday Robin! I will take you out for sushi next week, but the boys have to stay with the baby sitter!
love you!

One of those days...

I'm not sad...not depressed...just out of sorts.
Ever have one of those days? Of course you have...we all do.

Days when what you've been doing doesn't ever seem like it's enough?

The people you love dissapoint you, or overlook you? And you try not to notice...pretend it doesn't matter...but it does.

Do you ever want to skip over the closest private island and just veg...for weeks at a time? (never done it, so I don't know whether or not I'd actually like it...but I'd be willing to give it a try!)

Ever want to cry, for no good reason, and then feel stupid about it?

Ever just want to climb up into the arms of someone bigger and stronger than you and admit that you aren't as brave or valiant or smart as you thought you were?

Ever feel all of these things and decide to chalk it up to being tired, but you know there is more to it than that?

In the 2 Towers in LOTR, the evil Wormtounge speaks to Eowyn and says,

"Oh, but you are alone. Who knows what you have spoken to the darkness, alone, in the bitter watches of the night, when all your life seems to shrink, the walls of your bower closing in about you, a hutch to trammel some wild thing in? So fair, yet so cold like a morning of pale Spring still clinging to Winter's chill."

And sometimes I hear that voice in my head late at night...wondering about the "wild thing" in me...and how I have clipped it's wings, and stored it away, perhaps hoping it would die, but it never does. "It weeps and it withers...and shivers with cold",

The frustration I feel with being able to only live ONE life. Laugh with me...you know what I mean...

When we were children, we wanted to be firemen, ballerinas, nurses, dancers,
GI Joes, and Barbies, and mommies, and daddies, and ride horses in the circus...and, and, and...

And all these years later, we stand in the middle of our choices, having no idea that they would lead us to this place. At times a place of joy, and sorrow, and good times and bad, but MOSTLY...SAMENESS. The way a river rushes past a boulder in the stream, everyday wearing it down, everyday taking the same course, and everyday shaping that massive rock into something smooth and curvy, something that looks nothing like it did originally.

So, it's been one of those days for me. Waiting, looking, working, cleaning, cooking, helping with school projects, picking up children, taking them to school and piano...looking at myself in the mirror and trying to figure out who I am.
Mom, wife, friend, sister, daughter, helper, encourager, doubter, reader, writer, believer, lost, found, curious...

How do all those things fit into the 2 small letters... ME?

You Just never know...

Who you will end up sitting next to on a plane!!!

I came home from an editing/proofreading and grammar class that I took out of state this past week.
I was on a plane headed to Atlanta, had a lay-over, and then I'd board a plane for home. I got to the airport very early, about 2.5 hours before take off.

I went to the ticket counter and the guy behind the desk got me checked in and asked me, if you can belive it, if I was over 15 (the braces again???), and would I like to sit in the Emergency Exit row. I said "Yes...and I am 36!" A very good friend and I had discussed earlier in the week the importance of knowing where the exits were and being close to them if at all possible, specially if we had the kids with us, which I did not.

Anyhoo...I was happy to sit there. I've never had to open one of these doors, but I know I could if I had to. It would be an important responsibility if it had to be done, and I had no doubt I could do it.

So, finally I board the plane. My seat is an isle seat and I am sure someone is coming to sit next to me at the window, so instead of sitting down, I just wait kind of half standing, half resting my knee in my seat until my fellow passenger arrives.
I'm reading my ticket stuff, not paying a lot of attention, and I notice a tall (and quite good looking :) man walk up and stand just in front of me. I look up, he points to the seat next to the window, and I say,

"Is that your seat? I was waiting for you!" :) We both laugh,and he says, "thank you".

After we both get seated, and we kind of chit chat...I slightly lean over towards him-- with in a sort of serious tone, and I say,
"You do realize that you are sitting in the Emergency Exit row, right?"

He looks at me knowingly and says, "Yes..."

And I say, "You do know how to open that door if it needs to be opened right?"

Again...with a slightly curious tone, he says, "Yes...I know how to open the door."

I say, "Well, that's good...because if you didn't know how I think I am pretty sure that I could do it."

We both laugh, this guy is at least 6 feet tall, well built, and could have easily carried both the door and me off the plane without a bit of trouble at all.

A few more minuts pass, the plane is going to take off soon, and me being the smarty pants that I am I say to the very nice man next to me..."So, do you travel much?"

He smiles at me, folds his paper...and says...

"Well, yes. I'm a PILOT."


OH GOOD GRIEF!!!! The attendents come down, they go over the oxygen mask info, the seat belt rules, and the EXIT DOOR INFORMATION. At which point it dawns on me what an idiot I am...asking a PILOT if he knows which row he was on, and if he could open one of the emergency exit doors!!! LOL!!!

Oh...friends...I just looked at him and laughed. Leave it to me to question the one person on the plane who knows better than any of us how to open the emergency exit doors!

He was so nice to me the rest of the flight. I peppered him with questions about how often he flys, and where, and about guns in the cockpit and cell phones on the plane. He asked me questions about where I've traveled and what it was like to be in Asia and in South Africa. He is a Delta pilot and a quite a nice person.
I gave him my web address and told him to check it out...that I'd be writing about him this evening...

So, thanks Pilot Sean for putting up with me today, and not laughing at me when I got so serious about opening that exit door! Our encounter was just about the highlight of my day, and I have laughed about it more than once.

Now all of my friends, who laugh at me regularly, can enjoy the story too!
Hope each and everyone of you have a wonderful weekend!

The Problem with Blogging:

Misunderstanding

I think most people have 2 sides to them...my Pastor likes to refer to this as our "Front Stage" and a "Back Stage".

The Front Stage is what we want people to see: the polished, agreeable, friendly, somewhat spiritual, and warm persona that attracts other people to us. Or our Front Stage can be quiet and shy and reserved or even grouchy and rough, kind of a protection from people getting too close.

The Back Stage is where the maddness of producing the Front Stage takes place. The arena where we struggle with our thoughts, our insecurities, our REAL selves...the stuff we really don't want most people to know about.

I am not sure about all of points that I am going to write next, so please feel free to disagree with me (gently) or give your opinion on this matter because I really am curious...

I think that when I read some of your blogs I am getting a glimpse into your "Back Stage". I always get the feeling that I understand more about who you really are than most of the people you see everyday.

I hear you when you are having a bad day...I read the complaints you make to yourself--but you wouldn't dream of speaking them out loud to the people around you.
I read about little moments that mean more to you than if you won a million bucks. I see what you love, what you struggle with, how you process things...and mostly what I see is HOW ALIKE WE ARE!!!

And this, my friends, is what makes you special to me. If I spend time reading your blog, and replying to you, or if I send you an email...it's because I find all the qualities in you that I look for in a friend.
It is because on some level, I consider you to be a friend.

Now, it might seem crazy, but I actually talk about you to the people around me. I'll say, "One of my friends on their blog said so and so, and I thought that was a really good point, or funny, or interesting..."
I carry your thoughts and perspectives into life with me.

Now, with that being said, I have not met any of you (obviously not including my friends who read this because I bug them to!) and I have not encountered your "Front Stage".
I have to consider that not everyones Front Stage is like mine and I DO have one. Mine is outgoing, is confident, does not express much doubt, is cheerful, helpful, and is funny. It's not the opposite of my Back Stage...but it can be...sometimes I am fearful, and have tremendous doubt, and I want to be selfish to be alone at times, and I am cynical...and unforgiving, and critical too. I don't want people to know this about me! The ones I live with, they know it, but not the general public!

From what I've read about you, I FEEL like I know you...and the people who see you everyday, they FEEL like they know you...and unless the people who see you everyday read your blog, no one really knows as well as they think they do! :)

As for me, I wonder how much of my writing reveals what I think, or what I want you to think of me? I have journal...and what I write there is not for the world to see, but some of that does spill over into this blog. I wonder, if any of us met in person, how startled would we be in the difference between what we imagined and reality.

I believe the truth of the matter is that I am safe in blog world, and I think that you like me...and if I were to appear in person, my fear would be: What if you didn't like me as much?
That would be terrible! What if I didn't like you as much? How awful!

Trust me, I don't think that would happen...but I would love to read about someone who went to a blog party to meet on line friends from another state and hear how it went. Was it just like they thought it would be, or was it was just strange?
Was it fun to put accents and dialects with faces...to hear how a person conveys their thoughts as opposed to how they write them?

Ok...enough blathering on and on! Let me know what you think if you haven't gone brain dead by now! These are the questions, so you don't have to re-read anything...

1) Is it our Front Stage or Back Stage we reveal when we blog

2) Do you think you know the Real Me? Or do the people who see me
(not the ones I live with) know the real me?

3) Do you write for approval, or out of candor?

4) Have you met another blogger after reading them for a while? What was it like?

5) Have you had an incident where you have listened to a radio personality for
years and then one day SAW them...and they just weren't ANYTHING like you
imagined? (I have!!!)

Thanks for visiting and answering! :)

Worth copying...

This was on a friends blog this week (thinkposey.blogspot.com)


Stat of the Week...
Abraham Lincoln's approval rating in 1864...


*** 29% ***


Just to keep it in perspective.

Friends...

I am sorry I have not been here to update! I have been out of town with the kids, and will be out of town again next week for a writing class out of state!
Thank you for stopping by...I promise to spend one evening catching up with you. I have to tell you that I have missed going to your blogs and reading up on you! Isn't it funny how easily we attach to other people? How I think about each of you...Malinda, and Val, and Prism, and Sean...and Joe (my not-so-baby-brother!) and a dozen other people I failed to mention!
I have been finishing up the manuscript for my childrens book, The Little Cloud, and working on an inspirational piece for a Writing Workshop I'll attend in June in Georgia.
I appreciate your thoughts and prayers as I work through this. It is an exciting time, and kind of scary too...but all a part of the process, and I am so ready for it!
See you VERY soon!
hugs!
-Cora :)

Transient

Recall with me, for a moment, how it feels to stand before something enormous--
Like the sea, when the beach is empty; or the sky at night full of stars over a quiet plain.



I stand- awestruck- at the vastness that I am trying to comprehend, and yet I know that I can not comprehend it. The enormity of the ocean, or sky, or mountainside, seems to fill up my being- as if these that take up so much space must claim my space as well.

My mind, especially when viewing the ocean, likes to use the word "nothing" to describe it, as in, "nothing but sand and water as far as the eye can see", but of course, it's NOT "nothing". It's actually everything, or everything at the moment. The sea is not empty, nor is the sky, nor are the mountains. And when standing before them they eclipse and absorb me too.

Is this the "something" in our life experience that prepares us for death?
When I think about death and the finality of it I have the same feelings as when I stand before the ocean...It's huge, it's enormous...it will, or can, swallow me.

I ponder death...I peer, though not too closely, because I am not able.
And even if I were able I'm still not sure I would; and what I think I can see is deceiving.
It seems tranquil and quiet, but I strongly suspect otherwise.

What I know of death is the same as what a person knows about the ocean from a photograph...or better still, what they don't know, what they can not see.
The vastness, the depth, all the huge and tiny things swimming just beneath the suface, things that one could never imagine, existing right there under the rippling blue green water.

One of my childhood friends died almost 3 years ago, she was 33. She had battled cancer off and on since she was 12, and finally the treatment caught up with her. Her radiation therapy had caused a far worse cancer to develop some 20 years after it was administered. She passed into death, and when I saw her--in her casket-- this friend I had loved and laughed with, she was no longer there. What remained was a shell...her spirit was gone. She got caught up in the tide and was swept out, past the surf, past the big waves...way out there...where I can not reach her.

Sometimes I think of her and of all the things we learned together as children...and I wish I knew, or understood, what she knows now.
I stand at the shore and I feel so small. I stand under the midnight sky and I feel so tiny and insignificant...so transient.

Is it work, or family, or love that makes us feel more permanent and less temporary?
Or is it simply that we long for the country of our eternity...which is not here...and we will never feel as though we quite fit it because we are not supposed to?
Tell me what you think...I'd really like to know.

Worn Out Love

Yet another conversation with my daughter (JLB), while I was cooking dinner last night. I had my back to her, cooking the lima beans, and out of the blue she said:

JLB: I love you Mom.

Mom: Well, honey, I love you too...I love you more!

JLB: NO, Mom, I love you MORE!

Mom: No sweetie, I love you MORE!!!

JLB: It is a biological and spiritual fact that I love you more, and I can PROVE it!

Mom: (Who was quite surprised at her daughters insistent tone
and surprised at her announcement that she had PROOF!)

Oh, I have to hear this! What is your proof, exactly?

JLB: Well, you gave birth to me, right? So all the love that was in you went into
me, AND since daddy helped to make me, then all of his love went into me too.
THEN I was born and I have all of this love that I made by myself...
SO, that means I have THREE kinds of love in me to love you with, and you only
have one kind of love!

Mom: (I spoke with confidence, feeling sure I had found a hole in her
proof...)
Well, what about all the love from my parents that went into making me???


JLB: (Without missing a single beat, and laughing...)
Oh, mom, THAT love wore out about 20 years ago!!!

What could I say???
Dang, she's good! But, since this is my BLOG, and I have the final word

I LOVE HER MORE!!!! :)

A very sweet moment...

Some of you know that over the last few years I have lead a "Letter Writing" Ministry through my church. In a divine moment of inspirtation it occured to me that I could do the thing I love to do most in the world, writing, and use it to help and encourage other people.

I asked a few other ladies to join me and we would write to people who were sick, or had a family member in the hospital, or send little kids birthday cards. We sent a lot of cards to people we didn't know but had been given info about them via prayer requests or through the church office.

Eventually we expanded the ministry to include soldiers. This was one of the most rewarding and difficult groups to write to. We wanted to write to soldiers that someone in the church knew personally...and not just write to random men and women in the service. It was important to me that we had some kind of a personal connection to this group, because I felt that these letters would be among some of the most important we would send.

I only knew of one soldier personally that I wrote to, and he was a friend from school when I was growing up.

So, to get to the point of my story today...
Last summer a bunch of new women members of the church came to my house one night for a ladies meeting. I was sharing about the group I led (called "Love In A Letter) and I always asked 2 things, 1) would you like to join us? and 2) do you know anyone who is serving our country that we could write to?

One lady started to speak, and then filled up with tears. She had to take a deep breath and try again. Barely able to keep her composure, she explained that her son was in Iraq...he was 20. She was very proud of her son, but it was amazingly difficult for her that he was so far away and was not in the safest of places. She gave me his address and the addresses of his friends in his unit. In all we had about 7 new people to write to...and we did! We wrote to all of them.

This morning, in the newspaper, on the front page of section B....There he was, the son of the woman who had been sitting in my living room! He had come home in December and was honored yesterday in a Freedom Salute ceremony for the Butner based 217th Personnel Services Battalion. (go to www.heraldsun.com to see the story "Guard members get freedom salute).

I was so touched! I held up the paper and showed it to T and the kids and said, "I wrote to this guy! I met his mom and got his address and sent him a letter in Iraq!"

Silly isn't it? Maybe. I prayed for this man, a person I've never met, to come home safely and to see his mom again. I prayed for peace and protection of him and the people aroud him. And then there he was in the newspaper this morning...and all my prayers for him had been answered.

It was a sweet moment indeed.

Tonight at dinner I was asked...

"Mom,
I heard that when a horse and a donkey...uhhh, re-create, they make a mule...is that right?"


Answer...
"Pro-create son, pro-create...and yes, they make a mule."

"Mom,
Why didn't you tell me about the trip you and dad took a long time ago when you saw so and so???"

Sister answers..."That was way back when they were just past their honeymoon. When they were all huggy and smoochy."

Mom: "Do you not think that daddy and I are huggy and smoochy now?"

sister: "No, you are wayyyy past that!"

Jeesh....
What do I do with a 10 yr old and a 12 yr old???? Let me know if any of you are interested in spending time with these 2!!! They will keep you on your toes!!! :)

Inspiration

I've started walking...for exercise I mean.

I've actually been walking for 35 years or so, but I just didn't go quite as far as I do now :)

Last summer T and I both needed to loose weight. I read the South Beach diet book, implimented all of the changes and made us stick to the plan. It has worked!

To "kick it up a few notches" I have started walking about 2 miles, 3 times a week, as well as lifting weights (just arms, and more reps than weight), and doing those dreaded stomach crunches and some stuff my physical therapist taught me to do a few years ago.

I've told my husband and kids that one person who really inspires me on my walks is a fellow blogger who is stationed in Iraq, his name is Sean and his link is below:

http://macme.blogspot.com/

He runs about 5 miles in the desert, and I don't know how often he does it, but it is a lot more than you'll catch me doing!

Anyway, for several weeks I've been walking, and the exercise is nothing short of wonderful...it clears my head, gets me out of the house, makes my hips ache, my feet sore, and my muscles twitch for at least 30 minutes after I cool down! But all the while I think about Sean...running in the dessert, and well, I just keep smiling and walking and telling myself that if he can do what he does, I can do my 2 pidley miles and NOT complain. Also, one of my younger sisters is a runner (for fun! ackkk!!!) and she can probably do 2 miles just aa a blooming warm up! (yeah Naomi, I think about you too!:) Anyways...

On Monday I was out for my stroll. I purposely walk down a long street with a hill so I can feel the "burn" when I walk back up it. After finishing the hill and turning down another street, I heard someone walking up behind me, kind of quickly.
I live in a pretty nice area, but I am always on my guard...I glance over my shoulder and here comes a lady who is at least 10 years older than me, and she is booking! Arms swinging, big steps...she made me look like I was just wandering around! I picked up the pace a little. She was getting closer...I swung my arms a little more...now she was about to pass me...

When she got even with me, I felt like I did when I was 16 and some boy pulled up next to me at a stop light... I'D give him a look (if his car was decent)... I'd rev the engine, shift into first gear, and pop...be out in front as soon as the light turned green!!! (and I was in a ford pinto!!! ha ha ha!!!)

Oh well, as this lady went to pass me, I turned my head to look at her, and I said,
"Hey...you wanna race???" It was all I could do to keep a straight face!
She just grinned at me, and said, "Honey, I'm too old for that!!!"
I could hear her laughing as she left me in her dust, and I was laughing too...

"Sigh", I wonder if she'll be out again tomorrow evening??? I need all the inspiration I can get :)

Darlin' Baby Girl, love you more than all the world...

Within the last 24 hours some interesting things have come from the mouth of my 10 yr old.

The first statement or question she asked me was while we were shopping...And she said,
"Mom, why do they call it Seizure salad?"

I looked at the bottle of Caesar salad dressing she was holding and had to bite my lip to keep from laughing as I explained how to say it correctly, and who Caesar was...and not the same guy as Caesar Agustus from the Bible...and why did he have a salad named after him anyway??? I didn't have all the answers on that one!

The 2nd thing she said was a total slip and gave me a peek into that little mind of hers that works like a steel trap... See, I have known for sometime that Juli processes things differently than most people. In some ways she has my problem with hearing a word...seeing it's meaning, and then coming up with something that better defines it. This is great if you are a writer, because the meaning of something has made a deep impression on you that you won't forget...it is not so good when you are trying to recall word for word something you heard or read.
Her slip was this:

"Mom, I drank a joke the other day...do you want to hear it?"

I nearly fell on the floor laughing..."You DRANK a joke???" Now, I understand what she did because I do it often,and I could really laugh at how funny her statement was. Other people would not get it I am afraid. She meant to say, "I heard a joke", but it was more than that...she had "injested" it. The joke was in her and dying to come out. You may not understand, but that's ok...just be thankful you don't have to live with either Juli or me!!!

The 3rd thing she said came after I had made her mad about something. She was being silly and I kind of brushed her off, and she was a little offended. She said:

"Mom, I bet you could even make coffee cry!!!"

I can only imagine what that meant. Coffee doesn't cry...but I guess that was the point, huh???

Oh my...she is only 10, and I may have actually met my match in the battle of words and wits in this child!!!

My Goodness!!! How I love them!!!!

To disney and back again...

The kids were gone for a week...and thankfully they are home now and life has returned to normal.

They had every experience a kid at Disney should have: Meeting chararcters they love, eating with Cinderella, riding exciting rides, buying trinkets that fall apart within 36 hours of purchase, staying at a cool hotel, and coming down with a stomach bug that kept them tossing cookies (and everything else!) for about 2 days!!!

But, from the looks of things, they had a wonderful time!

Kids are like that...and I could be more like them too--take the good with the bad.
Enjoy the wonderful things that come my way and stop looking at the stuff I can't change and can't fix.

I am trying! Enjoy the photos...there are about 120 in all, but only a few will make it on MV!

Hope each of you have a wonderful weekend!

Leadership is absent of consensus

Today, like the 100 times before, I drove through Jacksonville NC. My In-laws have a home near the coast and I have been more times than I can count. This time though, as I drove past the base housing and the main gate (Piney Green) of camp Lejeune I saw more "welcome home" signs than I have seen in the last dozen visits or so.
I read as many as I can, but today I had to pull over and take a few pictures to share with you.

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A USA Today poll over the weekend states that more than half of Americans have been touched by the war and that nearly 3 to 1 of those say the impact has been negative.
6 in 10 say a close friend, family member, or co-worker has served in Iraq, and 1 in 10 say that someone close to them has been killed or wounded there.

HMMMM...Lets see. In general, and I am including myself here, most Americans are spoiled, tender bellied, and mostly after the pursuit of happiness.
A great deal of the generation in charge, the Baby Boomers, are among the most self centered and apathetic group of Americans that our history has yet to produce. Their parents, who fought in WWII, and whose grandparents fought in WWI, as well as lived through the Great Depression were determined that the next group of kids to come along would have the American dream and it is a nightmare we live with to this day.

The people of my parents generation, and my dad turns 60 this year...My mom 56, were given creature comforts, technology, education, and opportunities like no other generation before them. I suppose it is possible that at the time of the Egyptians, the privileged classes did the same to ruin their kids, but I can not read the writing on the walls, so to speak, so I don't know!

I do know that in the era of my parents teens we faced the first real protest against war. Prior to the 60's everyone got behind the push and did what was necessary to make the USA succeed. The 60's roll along and suddenly we've got moms and dads and mushy headed teenagers...Not ALL mind you, but quite a few, who have a French mindset and just don't want to fight anybody, for any reason. Make love, not war...

My dad was on a sub towards the end of the Viet Nam conflict and did not see any action, my Uncles were both in combat. My mom, who was a teenager when her brothers went to fight, as well as being a Coast Guard kid, was heartbroken and horrified at the reactions people had about the war. I will never forget my moms insistence that supporting the troops was the most important thing she could do, and would stand up to anyone who had something negative to say about the soldiers.

I continue in her stead.

As far as the poll I mentioned above stating that the war has had a negative effect on many Americans, I have to say, "DUH!!!"
No one likes war. No one likes the toll it takes on the country. Ask any American if they could choose between Easy or Hard, most would pull out their "Easy" button from Staples. Most of us do not want to work as waiters, or fry cooks, or check-out girls at Wal-Mart, this is why so many immigrants have jobs here!
And war??? You mean, you want me to go to war? And stop killers, and build schools, and dig ditches??? Are you crazy?

A NEGATIVE impact is what is to be expected...War hurts.
BUT THERE IS NO VICTORY WITHOUT DEFEAT!
AND NO PEACE WITHOUT VICTORY!
Let me say that one more time...

THERE IS NO VICTORY WITHOUT DEFEAT!!!
AND NO PEACE WITH OUT VICTORY!!!

I am tired of the hits on President Bush. I am not in his inner circle but I believe in him. I know he is a Baby Boomer, but so was Bill Clinton, and by Heavens, there is a difference in the 2 men!

There are layers and layers of political and economical crap that we have to sort, shift, and cut through to understand what is happening in Iraq. If we lower our eyes and listen to the way the liberal media presents it's findings, you will discover yourself in a bog of information that is both mis-leading, and depressing.

I REFUSE to be either...And so should you.

The one thing I find comfort in, the one thing that makes me want to dig in and yell a little louder, is that the President has not wavered in his stand against terrorism. He is pushing forward, eyes on the prize, and to Hell with CNN and the Democratic party pushing against him.

2nd thing, in my neck of the woods, troops are coming home. Men I know, men I have prayed for, and many that I do not know...but have prayed for, are on their way back, at least for a while.

Negative experiences do not always result in negative outcomes. Ask any mom about the delivery of her baby...Most will tell you it hurt like mad, was scary, and nearly ruined their bodies for a while...But would they do it again? I have yet to meet one who said NO.

Can you imagine a group of pansy liberals around the bed of the mom deep in labor and their comments?
"Oooo, this is terrible!" "You had better not let this thing be born!" "Dr. we need drugs, lots and lots of drugs!!!" "Look honey, you don't have to do this...there are other ways around this..." "Oh, the price you will pay for this is too high!!"

And the mom says..."Look out and shut up...I am about to PUSH!!!"

In her case, as in the Presidents...Leadership is absent of consensus

And even though it does not really matter to him, I would say to my President,
"I agree with you."

Philadelphia, 8-30-2005

Yesterday I got into the city of Philadelphia-
I saw the Liberty Bell and toured "National Hall", and drove past the PA Art Museum.

On the way back to the hotel yesterday I heard about an exhibit at a London Zoo where humans (voluntary-I hope?!) are on display in a "natural" setting.
I suppose it is alot like the scene in Slaughter House 5 where Billy and Montana are on display in an alien zoo on another planet.

The people who run the Zoo (the one in London) are trying to make the point that humans are merely animals ("Humanimal" is the word I think) and there is not much difference between us and them.

I think a better experiment would be to put the Zebras and Lions in charge of the office and see if anyone notices a difference in the administration and care of the Zoo. Truly, some people are very stupid.

However, earlier in the day I had walked though historic areas of this country-- which was crafted, drafted, and created by somewhat ordinary men in an extraordinary time and place. In the midst of much thought, character, values, integrity, courage and ideals between some 50 men, our country was established.

The power and creativity of the human mind seems to have no limits. Our ability for greatness and absurdity, goodness and evil, courage and cowardice, extends beyond even our power to comprehend it. Just as we can not ever know how far the universe
extends, because it continues to expand, we also can not know--or even fully guess-- the limits of what the human mind can accomplish.

It struck me as rather profound that I would experience the 2 extremes in the same day. Of course, a trip to the Bone Marrow Transplant program at Duke Hospital, and then a quick visit to the local Wal-Mart would have given me a similar experience!

Anyway, we as a nation seem to have lost touch with our roots. We as humans (well, some, but not me!) seem to have lost touch period. I would ask anyone who thinks we are "just animals" functioning on a higher plane, to walk into a neurological unit at any hospital, or take a close look at an Black Hawk Helicopter at your local state fair, or just read anything by Tony Blankley! (Or CS Lewis, or Emily Dickinson, or Robert Frost!)

The folks in London, for whatever reason, want to give humans yet another reason to just be stupid. I say, let the lions in...see how many idiots we can eliminate from our gene pool, then send a few over to congress. I imagine good old Ben Franklin would heartily agree!

At Costco today...ancora

I don't know how well this pic will upload, I took it with my phone and emailed it, right from Costco, to my earthlink email address!!

**Side note, I felt so cool and technologically advanced after I emailed the picture to myself that I turned to T and said,

"I just uploaded the schematics to CSI and they should have a blueprint of the store in just a few minutes!"
He looked at me as though I were crazy...as did a few other people :)***

So, it is not everyday that I see my name in anything...it is old fashioned and you don't meet many people with it. SO, when I do see it, it jumps out at me.


Hey, I don't even know who these guys are!!!
You can not see me in the pic at all, but just between the third and fourth guys on the right you can see a BRIGHT LIGHT...

For sure, I said, "That MUST be me!!!" :) ha ha ha!

T said it was more likely that the light was coming from a car, being driven by me, and that this photo was the last one ever made of the group before I ran them down with my crazy driving!

(Kidding, he did not really say that...because I am an excellent driver...and he is too smart to mouth off about my driving...way too smart :)

Steamed Oysters and Fried Grub Worms...

I LOVE steamed oysters.

This past weekend I ate almost a whole peck by myself...mmmm, cooked medium, slurpy, dipped in butter and then the home-made sauce...my jaws are aching just thinking about them!

T, on the other hand, does not like them at all. He said as much at the oyster bar and one of the other customers there said, "Have you tried one in a while?. T said, "No, actually I haven't". The customer suggested that T give it a try.

I slopped one in some butter and sauce and put it on his plate. He looked at me, the customers were looking at him, and, well...he ate it! Not bad, he said...and I jumed on the chance and said, "Want another one?" I knew I was pushing my luck but didn't care. He eventually ate 3, which was about all I was willing to share.

On the way back to the hotel, he said, "Cora, you should be proud of me for eating those oysters..." And I just laughed and said, "It's not like I asked you to eat fried Grub worms!"

Now, I don't care for fried Grub worms, but while in East Asia 4 years ago I was dared, by my pastor no less, to eat the local food we were served and the worms were on the menu.
I ate 2.

Somehow I don't see T going with me to Asia anytime soon...there is no way to tell what I might slop onto his plate!!! ;)

Crystal Coast, Emerald Isle, NC

Our room with a view, the first day was windy, but just like summer from then on...



The "Old Man" (ha ha) and the Sea...



Dolphins!!! They were jumping and playing for quite a while...unfortunately my digital camera has a delay on it, so I got a lot of shots of just water!!! This one was good though...well, better than the others!

I decided to come home. Not that I will be painting or anything! I actually have an important appointment tomorrow...which could have been changed, but more about that when the time comes.

Sun, fun, and drunks...

The weather here at the coast could not be more lovely...highs in the low 80's, sunny with a few clouds, dolphins jumping around just past the surf, and less than 30 people on the beach--looking as far as you can see in either direction!

Yesterday, while reading and relaxing on the shore, we were greeted by a dude who decided we looked like a friendly couple to hang out with. He was staying at the same hotel as us and He was drunk. Talking to drunk people is more fun, I think, if you are drunk yourself, which of course we were not! First he said he was a musician, then when pressed to tell which instrument he played, he had to confess he was a songwriter.

By this time T was sending LOUD subliminal messages to me not to breathe a word about his own musical ability...which I did perceive and said nothing. (This kind of telepathy can happen after many years of being with the same person. The frustrating thing is that when it is something REALLY important that you want your mate to understand ...it DOES NOT work!) This guy told us he had worked with Van Halen...even spoke of Alex on a first name basis! Wow, I thought--to have come this far in life--to end up drunk on the beach next to a couple of people you have never met--and your one accomplishment is to have worked with Alex Van Halen on a song or 2! That is sad! He was trying so hard to impress us. Oh, it just made me feel bad :(

My son, who is 12 going on 17, recommended a book to me..."Bud, not Buddy" sometime last week, after I recommended that he read "To Kill A Mockingbird". He and I have been doing this for a while now, suggesting books and then following up with questions and conversations...it has been a wonderful way for he and I to connect when so much of the time he seems like an alien and not my sweet little boy!!! Anyway, he made a great call on this one, I was sitting on the beach crying my dang eyes out over it! It was not sad, not sappy, just well written and very touching at the end. Read it! It is a great story!

Today we went into a cool antique store, T found about 350 shark teeth (he is counting them as I write) in a jar for $25. He's like a little kid at Christmas! The disturbing thing was this...(Remember this is an antique store) we found boxes and boxes of old records, and inside were things like old Neil Diamond (who I like), and old Rolling Stones stuff, but wait...they also had BILLY IDOL's REBEL YELL!!!
Of which I have been singing in my head all week!!! In the midnight hour, she cried more more more.... Oh, I thought I'd be sick! Billy Idol, in an antique store...$5 for the record. Yes, I bought it! :P

I also found stuff like old medals and service pins for the military and police. Lots of really neat things I remember seeing at my Grandmas house, even an old humidifier that my mom used for me when I was little, yeah, I bought that too, and I'll bet it still works!

Ok, the beach adventure is over tomorrow. I might go to Charleston SC, my birthplace, and hang out there for a day or 2. T will have loads of work to do when he gets back and I'll be in an empty house. I have lots to Blog about, so it's not like I won't have anything to do...not to mention that I should be re-painting the hallways, organizing the pantry and linen closets, getting my tomato beds ready...blah! Yes, there is plenty I could do! We'll see how it goes...

See you soon! :)

Another "Fluff" Post

My kids are getting the dream trip of a lifetime...
Granny is taking them to Disney for a week!

I am also going to benefit from this little excursion, I will be just "Cora" for 8 days, not "Mamma"...and I can hardly tell you how excited I am about it!
Of course, once a Mom, always a Mom, but they will be in great hands and well cared for, and I could use the break :)

T and I are going to the coast, Emerald Isle, at least that is the plan. Things at work are ever in flux and if he has to renegotiate on this trip, well, I will go with out him, or go with the kids! I think all of our plans are "a go", I really hope so!

I probably won't get to update Maydens Voyage while I'm away...but if I can sneak into a library for a bit, then I will do what I can. Not that any of you are hanging on my next set of words to have a good life! :) But I do enjoy this, and I've really enjoyed getting to know you. One of my sisters, who lives a few hours away, told me she felt more connected to me because she was getting to hear about all the stuff she misses out on. I thought that was about the sweetest thing she could have said, and that alone is worth keeping this up!

So friends, family, and lurkers who never say hello...I bid you farewell for a little while, but I'll be back before you know it. With beach pic's to make you long for summer! It will be in the 80's this weekend...I may actually get a little sun!!! I need it!

Bon Voyage!

Photo Essay

Kramer taking a nap in the Dining room


Just me... I took the photo in color, but liked in black and white, but the B&W would not copy to the blog. SO...I took a picture of the B&W and posted that!
A true blonde no doubt!!! :)


My flowers are blooming...


A new tea set for Easter. Isn't it cute?!!!

Ok, so now you know a little more about me...you have seen my flowers in my front yard, a pic, one of my cats, and a new tea set.
Obviously I am bored this evening, and I have lots to do actually, but don't feel like doing it. T is working VERY late again, I had hoped we were past this.
Oh well, he can long onto my blog and see what he is missing! :) Not too much from the look of things! :)

From Here to Eternity

A friend recently posted about heaven, and whether or not it existed. The consensus on the Blog was that the only heaven a person could count on was the one you made here on earth.
Sounds politically correct enough...Not for my Muslim friends, or for the people I go to Church with, but for lots of people this sounds pretty good.

***This is not a religious post, so don't run off!!!***

I was telling my girlfriend about this over the weekend, and she was ready to tic off scripture verses and references about the reality of heaven when I stopped her and said..."Well, according to CS Lewis they are kind of right." She gave me a very queer look.

In THE WEIGHT OF GLORY, Lewis explains that when we come to the end of our lives, if we are "Believers" (he was a Christian) we would look back over our lives from the point of our conversion and see that we have been in heaven all along. Those who were crossing over to hell would find that they had, in fact, been living in hell all along.

Now, as I get older, I find it to be a little disturbing to meet people who are obviously in hell...Right now. Even some who claim to be "Believers", are not living in what I'd call heaven. I am not talking about economic conditions, or poor choices in a partner, or even people who are sick, or caring for a loved one who is sick. We all walk through Hell from time to time, but we don't have to live there.

I KNOW you know what I am talking about. There are any number of blogs we can read and be certain that the writer lives at 666 Brimstone Lane. They are angry, bitter, jealous, petty, proud, mean-spirited, selfish, and acidic. Everyday they marinade in some ugly stuff, and it spills out in the things they say, and onto the people around them.

The opposite is true of other people. Some may call themselves "Believers", and some may not...but they emit a kind of light and happiness that is easy to recognize but at the same time hard to define. I am drawn to these kinds of people. I realize that I am one of these kinds of people, inspite of the way I feel when I get up on some mornings :)

I do put my best face on, in almost everything. You might never know from this blog, or even if you spent loads of time with me, that I grew up in a home below the poverty level for many years. We got free cheese and p-butter from the Salvation Army, and on more than one occasion I went to the Health Clinic for a check up because there was no $ for a private Dr. My clothes were hand-me-downs from very nice people in the church. In 5th grade I had exactly 3 pairs of pants for the entire school year...one red, one blue, one green. I remember them well because I was sick to death of them in about 2 weeks...but I wore them for at least 36.
My sister and I loaded and stacked firewood, for our house in the city, so the woodstove my dad put in the basement would keep the house warm and keep the electric bill at bay.
There were loads of us kids...too many some would say, but we all survived and none of us went to bed hungry. We had cereal or scrambled eggs many nights, and mom always made it sound like a fun event to have breakfast for dinner...but I know now that she could feed 4-6 kids on $2.00 with milk and cereal, or eggs and bread.
In an era where my friends had alligators on their shirts, my mom was not above MAKING clothes for me. She didn't do this much, thank goodness, but I had at least one home-made purse and a skirt or 2. It was all I had, and my parents EXPECTED me to be thankful for it.

Herein lies the key...Gratitude. Thankfulness for waking each day, taking stock of what you have and being glad you have it. Not always having what you want, but wanting what you have.
It is not always easy.
I admit that I complain sometimes about any number of things, but usually I try to see the good in whatever situation life presents me with. If I have a cold, thank God it is not the flu. If I have run out of money, then I'm thankful that I know how to be resourceful. No one could stretch a dollar or a chicken further than my mom, and she taught me a lot.
I suffered from a back injury from the time I was 13 until I was 30. After years of being seen by Dr.'s, a physical therapist figured out what was wrong, and corrected it (with exercises) in about 3 weeks :)
I was sexually assaulted as a teenager and learned a valuable lesson in trust, and listening to my gut no matter what. I was verbally (and psychologically) abused by a man who should have been a mentor...my pastor, who jaded everything I saw in the church for a very long time. I made some terrible decisions at 16 which I still live with to this day.
However, nothing that has happened to me has been for nothing. In every case, and I mean EVERY one, I have been able to help another person because of my experiences.

Whatever and Whoever exists out there, and I believe it to be God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, they have given us the capacity to choose. To love, or to hate. To be grateful, or to be selfish. To give, or to always take. To listen, or ignore the people around us. To embrace this life, to love the people we meet, to cherish these moments and the time we are given, or fritter it away with worry, and envy, and anger. We get to choose, everyday. We get to decide about our own eternity, as well as getting to decide about our tomorrows.

I do believe in heaven. I do believe in love. I do believe in eternity. I do believe we are given terrible choices sometimes, and we can make the best of it, or much, much less. I hope I am on the path to heaven, and so far, as I look back, I am mostly not sorry for the bad or difficult things that have happened to me...because I can see where my pain has been a benefit for someone else...for someone who needed to know they could live through whatever they were facing because I did, and they had a friend who understands them.

We walk from here to eternity.
I am thankful for the people I am on this journey with...and some of you know that I am talking about YOU!!!

Much love,
-me :)

"Dad's back from Iraq"

I wish I had a picture!

Yesterday my daughter called me around 11 to tell me she was sick, and needed me to pick her up from school. I drove over and came through the parking lot, as I rounded the corner, there was a van with writing all over the windows.
In big letters, it read,

"Dad's back from Iraq!!!" On another window it said,
"Daddy's home!!!" and on another, "We love you daddy!!! Welcome home!!!"

The sight almost took my breath away. My eyes filled up with tears, and I just sat staring at that van for a moment...trying to imagine what is has been like for these elementary school kids to have been with out dad, for any length of time. And his wife, what about her? I pulled into a parking space, and without thinking twice, I had to find a piece of papaer, the back of envelope, to tell her how much the decorations on her car meant to me. I had to tell her thank you, and to thank her husband. I had so much to say, I can not even remember all the words that poured out of me on to that bit of paper. I did not know these people, we have never met, and yet, I wrote to that Mom as if she were my sister. And I meant every word I said.
I had to get the kids to piano later, fix a meal for guests who were coming to dinner, and finish tidying up the house. At some point while I was out, I got a call from the woman I had left a note for. I had not left my #, but I did sign my name, and we are the only T & C B---- in our city, so it was easy to figure out.
She left a message...to thank ME...for leaving a note on her car!!!

I have called her again, and had to leave a message...I hope we will meet. I hope we will have dinner together. I hope my family can meet her husband and kids, and be able to say thank you in person.

THANK YOU soldiers, where-ever you are, when ever you served, (that includes you Dad, and Grandpa Alverson, and my Uncles Jerry and Steve, and my Great Uncle Harold who was at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked!!!) for all that you left behind, and for all that you faced in defending our country. I simply can not tell you often enough how much it means to me...
Love,
-Cora :)

Eleven

Just for the fun of it...
If you have not seen Spinal Tap this might not make a lot of sense to you.
My husband plays the Bass guitar (and anything else that falls into his hands!) and he has an amp that weighs about 80lbs. When he brought (lugged) it home and showed it to me, the first thing I asked him was if the volume went to "11"...at which point we both fell over laughing. Here's why:

(Scene from Spinal Tap...Nigel explaining why his amp is better than others in an interview)

Nigel Tufnel: The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and...
Marty DiBergi: Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten?
Nigel Tufnel: Exactly.
Marty DiBergi: Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder?
Nigel Tufnel: Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?
Marty DiBergi: I don't know.
Nigel Tufnel: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?
Marty DiBergi: Put it up to eleven.
Nigel Tufnel: Eleven. Exactly. One louder.
Marty DiBergi: Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?
Nigel Tufnel: [pause] These go to eleven.

Ponder this for a moment...

Complaining is the refuge of the powerless.

I don't know who said it, but I wrote it down in a note book and tucked it away.
I found it the other day and it speaks as loudly to me now as it did then.

Do SOMETHING friends. Mend a wound, fix a flat, be grateful for the people who love you, and for people who used to love you. Hug your kid, call your mom, give a compliment...

Have a good weekend!!!
:)

Oompa Loompa Augustus Gloop Work Out

This morning my sister and I "worked-out" at her house.
She has one of those "Bow Flex" type machines and I had never used one before, and she was more than happy to show me the bow, (instead of the ropes...funny?).

Anyway, trying to get warmed up was a problem this morning because it was cold and raining...which we could endure like any soldier (had to throw that in before someone called me a wuss or something!)but her kids are 1 and 3 and would have to endure the nasty weather too and we didn't think that was a good idea.

So, she got the bright idea to warm up to the Oompa Loompa's Augustus Gloop dance routine on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
This is one of my favorite movies, and I am wild about Deep Roy...he is just so funny! We had to practice, and by no means did we have it down pat by the time we were finished, but I have never laughed harder or had more fun doing a warm-up ...EVER!

When we were done she looked at me and said, "Cora! When we have this memorized we will be able to do at weddings and stuff!!!"

Oh, heaven help me! She will make me learn it, and I guarantee you at some point I will do this crazy dance at a wedding (sober?). But don't expect me to tell you when or where that might be!

And to be clear, we did not actually eat any chocolate at any point during the work out...I'll have to see about fixing that next week :)

I said as much...

It has been an "off" day for me.
Not "off" as in I took the day off, but "off" meaning that I crossed a few lines I probably shouldn't have.

I reacted early in the day to something a friend said, someone I really care for and admire. I should have listened more, and been more careful with my own words so as not to sharpen an edge between us...I am sure no real damage has been done, but it's left me feeling like I could/should have been more careful. I am guilty of just being "me" sometimes, and while this can be an endearing quality in certain encounters, it can be unattractive in other ones.

Then a neighbor came over, a sweet older lady that I have enjoyed getting to know on certain occasions, and she knocked on my door with a petition. A developer is planning to build on the land behind our neighborhood. Of this I have been notified, met with the developer, and spoken to the planning Dept at City Hall.
I am as well informed on the situation as anyone, perhaps more than most.
Her daughter wrote a scathing letter to all the homeowners in the area about the developer. The letter was full of inaccurate info and borderlined on one big falsehood. I was upset when I got the letter and tried to call her about it.
No answer.
So, when sweet old Virginia comes over and tries to get me to sign the petition (and I did not know it was her daughter who wrote the original note), I was pretty plain about my issues with the letter. She was as nice as ever, and left a few minutes after hearing my complaint, and left without my name on the list. I would have bought the land behind us and made everyone...neighbors, deer, chipmunks, extremely happy...except the guy wanted $750,000.00!!! We live in a lovely area, and in a free country. I have no problem with new housing, even if it is in my own backyard. If I don't like it, I can move.
And as far as I am concerned, Virginia's daughter can move too. I said as much.
Ouch!

Oh...my words!!! Mine and mine alone.

Then, tonight as the kids and I are heading out to Bo'Jangles, we get behind the AWFULEST driver ever!!! An old lady, driving down the middle of the road, going about 20 miles under the speed limit. I blew my horn at her (I swear I do not usually do that, to anyone...they might have a gun!) to get her to move over. She did, and I scooted on down the road, arrived at my destination, and guess who pulls in about 5 minutes behind us??? The AWFULEST driver ever! The kids are saying, "Hey mom, isn't that the lady you blew off the road a few minutes ago?"
Jeeesh!!! Thank heavens she pulled around to the drive thru, if she had come inside I don't know what I would have done!

My husband called a few minutes ago to tell me he won't be home until after 11pm... again. I just gritted my teeth and said, "It's ok honey, I understand."
So, here I am once more...9:30 pm, holding down the fort.

I just wish I could hold my tongue...

Questions that need Answers...

Join Me! :)

Someone gave me these questions ages ago. I have been answering them yearly and have kept all my past responses...it is interesting to see how some things change from year to year, and how some stay the same.
It will only take a few minutes to answer. My answers are in brackets :)

1. If I had one wish it would be... [To go away to an island for a few weeks
with my journals and all the books I am trying to read at present.]

2. I'm happiest when...[I'm writing alone in my house-or playing a
game with my kids]

3. I get angry when...[Needs are recognized and go unmet by the only
person who can meet those needs}

4. People think I am ...[funny, warm, outgoing]

5. I think I am...[Critical, not smart enough, caring]

6. I don't like people who...[harm other people, or make me feel insignificant]

7. Something I do well...[is create stuff, write, make fun things for my kids]

8. Something I am getting better at...[being honest with myself, taking more time
to see what I need before trying to help everyone else]

9. I don't like people to help me with...[things I already know how to do!]

Have fun! Answer! You might discover something you had not realized about yourself!
Have a wonderful day :)

New Bumper sticker

Just too funny not to post!

"I'd rather hunt with Dick Cheney than ride with Ted Kennedy"

Me too!

"Agga-Naagga-Bee-Sigh"

We, like many, have had an awful time with telemarketers.
I've subscribed to the Do Not Call list, which has helped.
However, before that came around I decided that instead of getting frustrated, why not turn it into a game?
So, one night the kids and I sat around the table and came up with a few ideas to try on the next caller. My husband and son are of the same name, so when someone called for "Dad", I would put "son" on the phone, who had been rehearsing and dying to take a call...it went like this.

(me) Ring...Hello?
(dude) Hello, may I speak with T?
(me) Uh, yes, hold on a minute...(I call the son)
(son) Hello
(dude) Is this T?
(son) Yes it is (and he was not lying)
(dude) I wanted to talk to you about signing up for the BlahBlahBlah phone plan
(son) (pause) Would you like some cake? (he can not say this without laughing a little)
(dude) What? Excuse me?
(son) Would you like some cake? I've got cookies too...in case you don't like cake. How about leggos? I've got loads of leggos...I love my leggos...leggos and cake!
(dude) WHAT??? Is this T???
(son) Look dude, do you want some cake or what?
(dude) CLick

And we all fell on the floor laughing. T had to stick to cake, cookies or leggos in the conversation. Just ignore what they say and ask the same questions over and over again, like they do to us.

The next call got even better...

Ring, Ring...
(I can tell it is a telemarketer (with 99% accuracy) because the phone said unavailable) I answer the phone by saying--in my best radio DJ voice:

HI!!! This is G107, you are the 10th caller and you've won!!!
(caller) Ummm, uuughh...Can I speak to Cora B____? (they ALWAYS get my last name wrong because it is difficult, Norwegian!) SO I repeat myself:

You are the 10th caller!!! You've won!!!
(Caller) What?! Are you serious? I won something? You're kidding!
(me) (Smiling while I speak with a strong voice) Yes, you are the 10th caller, and if you can tell me what the last 3 songs were, you win the prize!!! What were the last 3 songs?
(caller), Uhhh, oh, I don't know. (sounded dejected)
(me) in my fake sympathetic voice...I'm sorry M'am, try to be a better listener next time!
I hang up.

We all fall down again on the floor laughing.
Sometimes I answer in a made up foreign language. I heard someone on TV answer the phone in Tahiti- or someplace- and they said, "Agga-Naagga-Be-Sigh", which I thought was the coolest thing ever and started answering the phone like that no matter who called. Everyone who calls me has heard me say it, so they don't act like it's anything anymore, but it throws the telemarketers!

If any of you reading this are telemarketers, I apologize, but I guess it's better than getting sworn at, which I would not do. They have a job to do and I appreciate that fact, but so do I. Part of it includes teaching my kids how to deal with people in creative ways when they are bugging the stuffing out of you.
It is all about attitude, all about how you look at things and decide how you are going to let it affect you. Have fun. Take the medicine with a pinch of sugar.
Have a great day today! :)

Knowing Something

Whatever the wonder-
Whatever the care.
Whatever the secret,
Buried deep in your lair.

However you keep it-
However it thrives.
However it lingers,
You keep it alive.

It weeps and it withers,
It shivers with cold.
But the ghost of "What might have been",
Is worth more than gold.

The time has now come,
For the phantoms release.
LET GO of the shackles,
Endure.

-Cora- 12/26/03

It's an odd feeling to write something, particularly a poem, and after re-reading it to say,
"That's good...I think I know what it means."

How can I write something and not be sure of what it means?
It is the genius of poetry to drive everyone mad with the wonder of what the words mean. The only one not going mad is the author who simply gave birth to words that came out a certain way. Words that describe a moment of feeling, a moment of voices, a moment of images that the author feels and sees in her head.
The images are recalled to me when I re-read the poem, but who else in this entire world can possibly see or know or understand it?

The longing to understand, the longing of the reader, is what drives us back over and over again to the words on the page. If only we knew what they mean...We would know something!

(Emily Dickinson often makes me feel this way. This poem was written with her in mind, and in the light of circumstances I was dealing with at the time.)

Chipmunk Victim

***Important Disclaimer*** If you've been bitten by a chipmunk, or rodent of any kind, seek medical attention as quickly as possible. Risk from a staph infection from a rodent bite is as serious as Rabies and equally life-threatening. ***


Let me set this story up:

It is early summer. My back yard, which backs up to 26 untouched acres, is glorious.
The acreage is lush with dogwoods, Hickory trees, old Oaks, towering Pine trees, lots of deer and many lovely little woodland creatures.

About 5 pm one evening, with the sun still high in sky-- basking in the lengthening of his days, I was standing in the kitchen taking in the view. I noticed my lovable kitty, Margaret, who is the gentlest cat I have ever owned, coming out of the woods and into our back yard. I stared at her for a moment because something did not seem right, something about her face looked unusual--there was something in her mouth...and it was moving.
"What does she have in her mouth?!" I said aloud, to no one. Tossing down the dish-towel I was holding, I ran to the door and out onto the deck. "Margaret!", I called, "Drop it!"
Now, if you have ever had ANYTHING to do with a cat, you will know that this was a silly thing to sayÂ…Margaret does as she pleases, as all cats do.
The tiny creature is squirming, and yikes! I can see it is a Chipmunk, my very favorite of all little rodents and Disney characters. My heart is beating a bit faster now, I know if I do not get the chipmunk from Margaret it will die a chewy death, and I just love little chipmunks!

I kind of corner Margaret and she stops moving. She drops the poor creature on the ground, it tries to scurry away, but it is so disoriented that it actually runs back to Margaret and tries to hide under her!
So, now I begin talking to the chipmunk, who is quite pitiful. If my antics had been recorded it would sound a bit like thisÂ…and mind you, I was all by myself in the back yard.

"Oh you poor thing! Come over here and let me help you! Margaret! Don't you, No, don't pick it up again! Here little Chipmunky! I will save you!"

About this time the 2 of my other cats start to notice the commotion (did I mention that I have 3 cats in all?) And they start to cross over into the back yard as well. Now I am no military genius, but I can spot an ambush when I see one. This is going to call for desperate measures, I am going to have to just go in there and scoop the poor little thing up in my hands before I watch a massacre unfold.

So, with no more thought than that, Mamma to the rescue! With one swift movement, I reached under Margaret, who was now growling at me, and grabbed the trembly and somewhat punctured chipmunk, just in time for the other 2 cats to arrive right at my feet.
For a split second, I thought I was a hero, but then things went dreadfully wrongÂ…

Unfortunately, despite all my conversing with the chipmunk, and pleading with the cat to let it go, it did not understand that I was saving it; nor did it take kindly to being scooped up. With lightening speed it sunk all 4 front teeth into my pointer finger on my left hand. I was in shock! So much so, that I raised my hand, and watched, in horror, the chipmunk dangle from my finger, then I looked up towards the sky (did I think God was watching?) and I yelled, at least 2 times, "I don't believe this! My gosh, I do not believe this is happening to me!!!"

However, within a few seconds, the searing pain of all 4 teeth, overlapping each other and sunk in real tightÂ…I had to admit that I was now being chewed on.

It would not let go! It just clamped down with all its might and held on for dear life.
All 3 of the cats are standing at my feet, looking up at me, almost as if to say, "Mamma, now why did you go and do that? Just put the critter on the ground and we will take care of things."

Well, so much for the love affair with the chipmunk, with 2 hard flings he finally let go, and I didn't give a rat's fanny where he landed!

Bleeding profusely I ran into the house, grabbed the dish-towel, headed for the couldn'tnd washed vigorously. I couldnÂ’t get over the fact that the little bugger had bitten me!
I thought it'd be ok to simply put some Neosporin on it and a bandage, but I called my sister to see what she thought and she freaked out. Robin said,

"You got bit by a chipmunk! You could get rabies! You HAVE to go to the hospital or urgent care!!! DonÂ’t wait, this could be very serious! If you won't go, I will come over there and haul your butt to the Dr. myself!!!"
And, no doubt, she would have.

So, absolutely dreading going to the ER, I called the closest Urgent Care clinic to see how long they would be open. Just my luck, open till 9pm!

I grab my cell phone on the way out the door, and I call my husband and tell him to meet me at Urgent Care.
He, of course, wants to know why.
I said, "Well.. honey...I've been bitten by a chipmunk."
He said, "What? You have been bitten by a what?"
I said, "You heard me, A chipmunk. Margaret was trying to eat it, and I tried to save it, and then it bit me!"
He starts laughing.
I say, "This is not funny! Really not funny! *sniff-sniff* Robin said I could get RABIES! (I am starting to get a tiny bit concerned)
He is still laughing, I have to wait a second or 2 for him to re-gain his composure.
Finally, he said,
"Ok Cora, I'm leaving work, I will be there as soon as I can."

I get to the clinic and check myself in.
"Hello", I say, "I need to see a Dr. I have an animal bite."
Nurse says, "What kind of animal bite?"
I say, "Well, I was bitten by a small rodent."
"Oh dear." Says the nurse. "Was it a squirrel, or a rat? They can be pretty nasty bites you know."
"No", I replied quietly, "I was bitten by a chipmunk."

There was a laugh from the other side of the counterÂ…another nurse was snickering. The nurse I was talking to tried not to laugh out loud in front of me and had to speak with a clenched jaw to ask me to fill out my paperwork.
Fortunately, I am right handed, I fill out the forms, turn them in, and I notice the nurse wonÂ’t look me in the eye, but she is grinning.

Finally my husband arrives. He is all smiles. My finger is throbbing, I could, at that very moment be being poisoned by nasty-rodent-teeth-germs, and he looks as if he can barely contain himself!

He says, "How are you doing honey?"
"Well, I have had better afternoons at the dentist's office!" I snapped.
He puts his arm around me, "Everything will be fine. Why in the world did you try to pick up a terrorized chipmunk? You should have at least put gloves on!"
Oh, great, now I get the lecture!
And all the people in the waiting room are listening and starting to giggle, even the sick people!

"Look", I whispered in a dangerously hot voice, "I have caught 3 or 4 chipmunks in the last few years and I have never been bitten before! And besides, that dang Steve Erwin jumps on alligators, snatches up poisonous snakes, and plays with deadly spiders, ALL in one episode and never gets a scratch! You would think I could rescue a little critter and not end up at a Dr's office!!!"

My husband notices that I am a bit huffy and decides not to converse with me for the next few minutes. I go and sit in corner and wait for the Dr and whish that the other patients would stop looking at me!

Finally, another nurse comes out and says, "Mrs. B, follow me." I jump up, cradling my bloody finger (it really was not that bloody), and say, "Thank you". I follow the nurse back and she puts me in a little room, my husband walks in behind her.
The nurse asks, "Now, Mrs. B, what happened to you today?" With a straight face I recount the afternoon events.
The nurse smiles, she is so kind not to laugh at me, and says, "May I see the bite?"

"Of course" I say, and unwrap the paper towel and show her some cute little teeth marks that go all the way through my skin.
Then the nurse asks me, "Mrs. B., were you able to keep the chipmunk so we can be sure he did not have rabies?"
Well! I replied, raising my voice a little, For goodness sake, no I didn't keep him!!! I had to fling him off to make him let go! Besides, I am pretty sure one or more of the cats ate him for supper."
"Well, that is too bad", says the nurse, "The Dr will be in to see you in a moment."

And in just a moment the Dr. did arrive. He was smiling from ear to ear. He said, "Mrs. B. I am Dr. So&So and I hear that you had an encounter with a chipmunk."
"Yes", I said, returning his smile. "I was trying to rescue it from a cat."

This earned me no sympathy points at all...

The Dr. smiled again, and said, "Well, Mrs. B. cats are supposed to catch chipmunks, next time I would advise you to just let nature have her way and leave the chipmunks alone. Let me have a look at the damage."
"Such good advice!", I said cheerfully, "I just wish we could have had this conversation before today!" I was smiling, and did sound respectful, but there was a slight growl in the tone of my voice.

He took a look, called another nurse, and moved me into the surgical room...which I did not take as a good sign. We talked about rabies, he called animal control, and there were no reported cases of rabies in our county or any of the surrounding counties. He also called the CDC and discovered that while chipmunks can theoretically be infected with rabies, there were actually no reports of such in all of North America.

"Whew!" I said, "I am so glad to hear that! I guess I came in here for nothing, didn't I?
Finally, I laughed! The Dr. grinned, and shook his head no. "Cora, while you will not get rabies from this, the bite is still very serious. A rodent's mouth is extremely dirty and with out treatment you could actually die from blood poisoning in a matter of days."

"Good Heavens!" I exclaimed. "Who would have thought a little chipmunk could be lethal! It's like the killer rabbit in the Holy Grail (Monty Python), the one with BIG SHARP POINTY TEETH!!!" And I did a slight imitation of the Wizzard Tim.
The Dr. nearly fell over laughing! As did the nurse, and my husband...and I am finally laughing too, …though my finger is hurting quite a bit by now.

The wound was soaked, disinfected, and given a shot. Then they bandaged my finger, then wrapped in gauze, and then put on a partial cast, and wrapped it again! I said, "Why all the bandages? I look like I have been bitten by an alligator!"
The Dr,chuckling, said, "I do not want you to move your finger at all. The bite is near the joint, can not really be stitched, and needs to be immobilized. Also, you have to keep your hand higher than your heart for the next 24 hours, as well as take an antibiotic for the next 7 days."

"But", I protested, as I began to ponder the implications of what he was saying,
"How will I get dressed, or go to the bathroom? Or cook, or work at the church tomorrow??? I can't have my left hand out of commission. I've got 2 kids!"
My husband is grinning for a different reason and chimes in, I'll help you get dressed and undressed...and it's only for 24 hours. I think we can manage."

And we did manage...and he learned that while he had mastered the art of being able to remove certain undergarments, putting them back on me was another matter entirely.
He had to wash my hair that evening, and help me blow it dry. He had to do a lot of things that all of us take for granted, all of us with 2 hands that work most of the time.

The hardest part was the next day, wearing that cast, keeping my hand above my heart, and explaining to everyone that I had been bitten by a chipmunk, which was just hysterically funny to everyone, and even to me by the time the whole thing was over.

My pastor, who saw me when I was helping answer the phones at the church office, just shook his head and laughed like it was the funniest story he had ever heard.

He actually said to me,
"If another member of the Church had told me about this, and had asked me to guess which person had been bitten by a chipmunk, without hesitation, I would have said it was you-- Cora!"
Thanks, I think!

My backyard is still lovely, and the cats catch everything from moles, to snakes, to squirrels...and when I see the carnage taking place, I just turn my head and walk away.

I have learned my lesson:
I was a chipmunk victim; don't let it happen to you! ;)

Something Sweeter

One night, several weeks ago, we had just gotten home from the beach and it was very late. The kids were exhausted and went almost straight to sleep. After unpacking a little and putting things away, I was the last one awake--washing my face and getting ready for bed. I was tired, and I spook easily when I'm really tired...So I was not crazy about wandering around the house in the dark.
However, I decided to walk down the hall and check on the kids, stopped and thought it was silly because I knew they were fast asleep, and then went down the hall anyway. When I walked into Juli's room and pulled the covers off of her head (she does this a lot)--her eyes were wide open and she said, "I just had a terrible dream", and I could tell she was really frightened. It was a crazy dream, sci-fi-ish, but it had seemed very real. Under her covers, she had been praying--that the Lord would send
an Angel, or Jesus, or Mommy.

Immediately tears came to my eyes...I had almost NOT walked down the hall, and I don't usually. But that night, tired and ready for bed myself, I just felt I had to check on my daughter. And there she was, praying that one of 3 of us would come.

I don't know how often, if ever again, my name will be listed among Christ or His Angels...but I can not put into words what it felt like to named alongside them, and by my daughter no less. I know that my being there for Juli was a comfort to her and that she fell asleep quickly afterwards...but it was I who walked away with the greater blessing. I am thankful that my daughter thinks so much of me, that she prays first when she is frightened, and that God heard her and answered her prayer almost immediately. I know it doesn't always work this way, but on that evening it did.

With a full heart,
-BellaCora :)

GI Joe to wed Air Force Jane...

Army Teaches Troops How to Pick a Spouse

here's the link:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,183809,00.html

an excerpt...
"The "no jerks" program is also called "P.I.C.K. a Partner," for Premarital Interpersonal Choices and Knowledge.
It advises the marriage-bound to study a partner's F.A.C.E.S. — family background, attitudes, compatibility, experiences in previous relationships and skills they'd bring to the union.
It teaches the lovestruck to pace themselves with a R.A.M. chart — the Relationship Attachment Model — which basically says don't let your sexual involvement exceed your level of commitment or level of knowledge about the other person.
*************************************************************
I was reading over something a friend had emailed to me about PR issues with the White House and it got me to thinking of how few of us are Professionals.

We, as a culture, have become Hollywood-ized, by this I mean, we want everything neatly packaged...With a beginning, conflict, climax, and tidy ending. We want this on TV, in our relationships, even our food (the packaging) looks like this.
Ever noticed the "Granola group" at the grocery store, the ones who bring their own bags to the check out and only buy organic stuff? Have you raised an eyebrow as you watched them exit the store, wondering to yourself..."What the heck are they doing? As if saving a few plastic grocery bags will stop global warming or something...which is hogwash anyway..." (It would prob. be best not to divulge anymore of my private thoughts here...) These folks took the time to THINK before they left their house, they had a plan, and I can barely remember my grocery list!

Anyway, the FOX news story this morning again me think of how unprepared for life most of us are. We are in a constant cycle of learning, or we should be. We learn how to cope and how to choose a spouse from watching our parents.. If you can look at your mom and dad and see what a great job they did in picking a mate then you might have done OK. Sadly, the divorce stats say that not too many of us are in that category.
There is nothing wrong with taking a more scientific approach in evaluating that "significant other" when making a life long commitment. How about taking this approach with most things in life?

I have become wary of packages that are too neat. I have looked at the mistakes the administration has made, from PR problems, to the way the president stumbles through some of his sentences, and I see honesty. I see real people, doing a very difficult job, and doing the best with what they have. President Clinton was just too slick for me, with a southern drawl to throw some people off, fairly good looking, and all the while just looking for some action when the door was closed. A good ole' boy, no doubt...but all the while I loved Ross Perot. "Sigh" I was 22 and he reminded me of my Grandfather. Hillary is another beast all together, and I trust her as far as I could throw her.
Why do you think the Democratic party is so in love with Hollywood, and vice versa?
My friend (mentioned above) pointed out to me the real difference between a liberal and a conservative...the Left is dreaming about how things could be, and the Right is focusing on the here and now.

There is nothing wrong with day dreaming, with hoping the guy/girl you are seeing is the one to commit your life to, or hoping the advertising on your mac and cheese is telling the truth about the 0 cholesterol bit; However...if you are sleeping on the job, or get smacked by the one who loves you, or you start having chest pains...it is time to wake up. Time to get educated. Time to take a hard look and make some hard decisions. Time to become a Professional at whatever it is life is handing to you at the moment. I agree that our White House should be as professional as possible and they have dropped the ball in many ways. I hope for a glorious ending with this war, and I hope our soldiers come home soon, and make good choices in life long partners based on the info below. But I know...that what lies at the root of the problems in Iraq (the Middle East!) is Evil. A mindset in leaders (of the enemy) that suffocates goodness and truth and freedom. Not an easy thing to fit into a neat little package and drop off at the gates of hell.
-BellaCora

Jack Bauer :)

Fuuny!

http://www.thenoseonyourface.com/jackbauerfacts/

The folllowing came from the above listed web-site...go look at it, if you are a 24 fan! :)

Little Known Facts About Jack Bauer
Much has been made about the formidable powers that Chuck Norris possesses, and justifiably so. Due to the sheer quantity and quality of beatings he has administered, Norris has earned the right to have his name spoken in hushed whispers by a Chuck-fearing nation.
However, there is one man too powerful for even Chuck Norris to confront. And that man is Jack Bauer.
We feel it is high time that everyone learned a bit more about the man entrusted to safeguard our national security:

• When in Jack Bauer's presence, Chuck Norris urinates sitting down.
• Jack Bauer can squeeze through spaces that would make a spider claustrophobic.
• Tired of the incessant whining and complaining, Jack Bauer found the dogs and let them right back in.
• Jack Bauer's saliva is bullet-proof.
• After receiving repeated roundhouse kicks to the head from Chuck Norris, Jack Bauer was heard to ask,"Can you go a bit lower? I was crammed in an air conditioning duct between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and my back is killing me."
• Jack Bauer can eat five times his body weight in terrorists.
• Concerned that his dog would break under interrogation, Jack Bauer snapped his neck and turned him into the bag which he still carries to this day.
• Jack Bauer has the ability to smell sounds.
• The only thing elephants used to fear was mice. Until they hurt one of Jack Bauer's friends.
• If Jack Bauer crawls out of an air-conditioning duct and sees his shadow, it means that there will be 24 more hours of terrorists getting s***-hammered.
.
• Under intense interrogation by Jack Bauer, the fifth dentist cracked and admitted he recommends Trident for his patients who chew gum.
• Jack Bauer actually wrote an episode of Three's Company in which there was no misunderstanding in the plot.
• Jack Bauer helped U-2 find what they were looking for.
• Coffee cannot start it's day without being drunk by Jack Bauer.
• GI Joe plays with a Jack Bauer action figure.