notinKansasanymore

Wow, Fellowshipper. I read about your cyclone. Nobody killed, and in my opinion, it's because the people used common sense. I surely wish that New Orleans could say that. Tom: my Ft. Worth family is cops. Thankfully, they are quite good at taking care of one another. Once, my cousin-in-law (detective) had a heart attack in the middle of the night. There were half a dozen squad cars at his house inside a couple of minutes. It's kind of fun to watch. A great big support system, augmented by radios, sirens, and badges. Once, my elderly parents were two hours late to a family gathering. They never knew that there was eventually an APB out for them. They just showed up, uncharacteristically late, with pie for the potluck. Smiles and nods all around from the cousins.

Hi, folks. I have been looking through all of my old boxes from our most recent move, trying to find the notebook of old Corps Household Newsletters, which I'd promised to send to Pawtucket. To make a long story short, I think that my sweet husband accidentally threw them away. If you have a complete-ish file of Corps Household Newsletters that you aren't using, maybe even are about to toss, and wouldn't mind sending to Paw, I would gladly pay your postage. Mine began with the first year of the 9th Corps, and continued until about 1987 or so. Please send me a private message if you'd like to donate yours to Paw. Thanks, niKa

Come to think of it, I could be wrong about where Mrs. T lived. It was somewhere in the metro area, though. We're getting rain. I don't believe that it will be enough to break the drought, but it was enough to keep a local house fire from spreading to the rest of the neighborhood. The garden is happy. FellowCheerer: Go, Australia! I hope that the cyclone isn't affecting you or any of your new family.

Tonto, Rhino, did you know "Mrs. T." (Mrs. Taylor) from Fort Worth? She was a treasure. One of the few older folks in the Texas ministry at the time. Opened her home for classes.

I remember Mary Ann and her sister (can't recall sister's name). I stayed with them once or twice, going to classes. They were awesome, strong, nice women. Speedskaters. Almost perpetually happy. Mary Ann told me once that everything she had (except her big shaggy dog) was for sale, because she didn't want to be too attached to material possessions. Very wise for a young person. Took me many more years than that to learn that lesson. Oh, I forgot. Hi, Fellow! Hi, Excie! Go, Australia!

Hey, I just realized that my previous post named three Johns, and then I complemented two of them as being extremely nice. I should have said that all three of them are sweethearts. Tonto: I got into the Word in Wichita Falls, my hometown, in 1975, which is unbelieveably thirty years ago. I took various classes in different cities, did summer outreach in Waco and also in Lamesa. This reminds me that I went to my thirty-year high school reunion a few months ago. I wore a short black dress and danced my brains out.

Ah, methinks me wee bairns fed their Ma some misinformation . . . bein' as the little darlin's were so excited about startin' the pinchin' early. Tonto: I was only involved in the barest fringes of the ministry in Oklahoma. It was the last year that I hung around, after having done twelve years in the Corps, on the field, and on HQ staff. I went to a few meetings, attended one PFAL, started going back to college, and went back to Corps Week one last time to say goodbye. Hard to recall now, but I don't think that I even stayed for the Rock that year. I remember going to twig at John Zika's house in Edmond, and hanging out with the Steve and Merilee, with Mary and Richard, with Kunkle, and with the Roberts family. They were all very nice. John Lynn would come through almost every year, and do a teaching at Richard and Mary's, and it was always good to see him. I remember going up to Wichita, KS to hear a two-or-three day Shoenheit teaching, which was great. I think that John and John are two of the very nicest men I've ever met. I continued going to those semi-yearly meetings at Mary and Richard's after my first child was born, but missed the last one or two due to family and work commitments. It was a pretty gentle parting. It's been several years, now, since I've had contact with any of them. Life carries us along in different directions, but it's on a rather smooth stream, with no rapids.

Are you wearing green today?

Meryl Streep. However, I don't think she'd sign on for the project unless I jazzed up the story a bit. Okay . . . maybe I was a DOUBLE-OUGHT SPY or something, stuck on a cult farm in Ohio, sending carrier pidgeon reports to "M" each week . . . yeah, that's it.

Oh HI, Rhino. I didn't see your response earlier. Good luck with the tomatoes. We like the varieties that can be had from starting them from seed, but have also been pretty happy with the generic (already started) plants that the nurseries sell. Just can't get any Genovese or black tomatoes from there, though. I like the Genovese because they look so weird; one year, we had one that looked like Grumpy, one of the seven dwarfs. It's so too super cool that you grow grapes. Have fun out there doing the rest of the pruning. Tom: Mr. niKa has already gotten the hoe to the liittle valleys between the rows. More importantly, we have re-inaugurated the lawn chairs. Brats and beer and conversation on a gorgeous Spring day in the back yard. That's livin'.

Why, thank you, Tom. I am enjoying the HECK out of my Spring Break. Never mind that I have a stack of essays to grade that is (not kidding, but they also include rough drafts) about three feet tall. I'll think about that tomorrow.

Welcome, Rum. I knew Earl Burton, also. Might you have spent time in Texas? By the way, I always thought that the 8th corps was cool. A couple of them stayed with us as Lightbearers to my hometown, during my apprentice year. They were awesome.

This morning, we found the very first little baby brocolli on the plants. It's about the size of the tip of your pinkie finger. Spring is coming. :)

Thanks, Dooj! Happy Tuesday, everyone. I'll go have a G & T in your honor. I've had Aretha songs in my head for a few days now. It's been quite a groovy week. "My sister says leave you alone. My Daddy says 'Come on home.' My doctor says 'Take it easy!' Oh, but your lovin' is MUCH TOO STRONG. I'm added to your chain, chain, chain . . . chain, chain, chain . . . chain of fools . . . "

thanks, Tom.

About a week and a half ago, I got an e-mail to pray for my Aunt Imogene (my dear-departed Daddy's baby sister). She'd gone in because of having pneumonia, and they x-rayed her lungs. Turns out that she had a lemon-sized tumor on one of her lungs. Now, this is the sweetest, most God-fearing, home-grown-tomatoes-rivalled-by-none-in-the-county, pecan-pie baking, church-attending, sweetest-hearted, never-smoked-a-day-in-her-life, doesn't drink, Baptist lady who ever graced West Texas. I've never heard her utter a coarse word, much less a curse word. The family's first response was utter shock. Their second response was to send out lots and lots of e-mails: pray for Imogene. I got one of those. "Pray for Imogene," with all the details. Lots and lots of people got them. Two days later, they bravely went back to the hospital to begin the therapies and the injections and the whatever-the-heck happens next. Tumor was gone. They re-checked and re-re-checked. She was the talk of the hospital all day. I'm buying another round for the house. Here's to God. Thanks for healing Imogene.

Have a chair! We are pleased with your company.

Do you remember in the movie, The Blues Brothers, when Aretha Franklin got all mad and went on a rant: "Don't you blaspheme in here. Don't you BLASPHEME in HERE!" Tommy, what she said.

Norman, Oklahoma. The home of sometimes winning basketball games by one point, and at the last minute (I just knocked on wood, so as not to jinx the boys); they've done that for the last four games in a row. I have a buddy who has been taking his heart medication with him to the games. Late this afternoon, the niKakids and I drove home from church with crosses drawn on our foreheads, in ashes. The fifth-graders ran the service. The grownups talked for about two minutes, everybody who wanted to got ashes, and then the whole sanctuary full of people stood around the edge of the room, holding hands, and sang "Jesus Loves Me." Then, we went home. Whole thing took about 20 minutes. I've never been to an Ash Wednesday service, but I have a feeling that Methodists do it differently than some others. That's our current brand, and I like them.

Yesterday, at the park, while the kids were running and playing and climbing trees, I sat talking with my ParkMomBuddies, and lay back on a pic-i-nick table. The clouds in the sky looked like an Impressionist painting, all swirly and indistinct; the blue sky was showing through the wisps. The trees were budding. BUDDING. As I looked up, I saw a very large bird, with eagle-shaped wings, soaring very high up. I pointed it out to the other moms. Then we noticed that the head was white. American Bald Eagle. I knew that we had some at a lake near town, but never thought to see one soaring above the park where my kids play.

Woh. So far, this thread has received 5,352 replies, and has gotten 100,489 views. Da-aaa-aaang. There's only one thing to say to that. THANKS, PAWTUCKET!!!!!!

I just found out that a sweet cat, that we put up for adoption when we moved out of the old niKa pad, has finally been adopted to a good home. He was one of the yard cats, and couldn't get along with our existing male cat. Two of the other yard cats, who were way too wild to be indoors, went to a farm out in the country; they get to share a barn with lots of chickens. The fourth and last was crippled, and is now repaired, and is our little spoiled baby kitty indoors. Fellowshipper has met her. I'll buy a round for the house, in honor of Brother the Cat. Meee-ow.

I miss phenolpropanolamine, but don't know whether I spelled it correctly. It was an ingredient in allergy medicine that could make my sinus headaches history in a hurry. I never needed it too often, but it just worked wonders. Evidently, it gave some people heart attacks. I'm tempted to say "dang that FDA," but I can't, because of the heart attacks thing. Oh, well. :blink:

Happy Sunday, everyone! How are . . . Excie's X's? Rhino's grapes and ladders? Tommy's snowcones? Simon's truck? Tuttle's computers? Fellowshipper's sweater weather? Rocky's photographs? Johnny's Lingo?

Celebrating Mozart's birthday today. Let's all rock out to a concerto! Yah, DUDE! Happy Saturday. The sun is shining, the garden survived, there's way too much grading to do, and life is pretty much normal. Bought some dressy shoes with 4-inch heels yesterday. They make me about 6'1". Old ladies out of their sensible shoes. Go figure. No, go Dancing.