Wasted Time

I spent most of the afternoon writing a piece for Soul Food Cafe and it didn't publish. Talk about frustrating! The only thing I can figure is that blogger has a time limit and I exceeded it. From now on, I'll just have to cut and paste from Word to be on the safe side. You'd think they would tell you that somewhere in the FAQs. Shame on you blogger!

A Moslem and a Christian

A few days before Christmas, a young Moslem woman asked if I'd show her how to write Merry Christmas so she could make 25 cards for her little boy to give to his classmates. I made a few samples and she copied them fairly well, but I could see the idea of writing so many was a daunting project for her.

I offered to write them and we began to talk. I told her I was sorry for what the decent Moslems had gone through since 9/11. I mentioned that I'd received an e-mail that quoted verse 9-11 in the Koran as saying, something to the effect, that the eagle would overcome them. When I checked on the Internet, verse 9-11 said nothing of the sort.

She told me she'd heard no Jews had died in the Towers and I promised to check. The next time we met I told her the victim's page had lots of Jewish names and they estimated that between 400-500 Jews died that day. So, two hateful myths were laid to rest.

This week she came to see if I'd receeived a gift she'd delivered two weeks earlier. While I was unwrapping a box of chocolates and a pair of candlesticks I hadn't known about, she left with a wave and an impish grin.

So, how about it world? Making friends isn't really that hard.

If you receive an e-mail or hear something aimed at making you hate or distrust, please check it out and set the record straight. Please.

From One Blog to Another

Every time I add to my blog, I check out a couple of others. The variety is amazing, just today I saw a barely comprehensible teen-age blog, sped past a pornographic one, tried to decipher one written in Slovakian, where I think the writer was apologising for being sick ( cognates) and finally came to an Iranian one.

I scanned past the Arabic just to see if there were any pictures. There was one that I couldn't quite make out and it made me uneasy. Their laws state that for murder or sexual offense a girl can be executed from the age of 9, a boy from 16.

They mentioned the case of one girl sentenced for prostitution. Civil rights groups claim she is retarded and was forced into prostitution at age 8 and had a child at 9. The government disagrees.

The site also claims 20 or so people whipped each other into a suicide frenzy against the U.S. and that Iran recently unveiled a statue or column honoring the terrorists who killed American soldiers some years ago. No, I didn't keep the name of the blog.

Add scary to the list of blog topics. What a world.

Ah, Winter!

The bitter cold we're having reminds me of a time years ago when my father and I had to transport several sick cats back and forth to the vet's. Dad was one of the gentlest men I've ever known, but he hated the cold with a passion.

"If cold was a living thing, I'd kick it in the shins!" he told me.

"And I'd hold it down," I admitted with a shiver.

"I'd pound on its head until its eyes popped," he continued.

The conversation got more gruesome each time we went out. Neither of us could believe the other could even come up with such horrible stuff.

I just went out in -2 windchill to feed the birds and squirrels--and ya' know, if winter was a living thing, I think I'd pull its hair out by the roots!

Depression

I meet so many people on the internet suffering from depression. I know one can go through it for valid reasons, but there are also times when there seems to be no justification for it at all. It's frightening and puzzling to those around us and most of all to the person who's depressed.

I have no quick fix or easy answer. I read a line somewhere that made me smile. It said, "If you're going through hell, don't stop, keep going!"

So, keep going, try, stay connected with others, ask for help. Pray. Have courage and patience. Do something you love and are good at. Be kind to someone else and understand that we all suffer in this life. Be creative, draw or write. Practice the art of appreciation; depressed or not, a flower is still beautiful, a child, or animal still precious. Pamper yourself and smile, even if you have to smile through your tears. Bake cookies. Remember to love someone--even yourself.

A Good Beginning

I used my new Keynote program today to jot down ideas for writing projects and themes for short stories that I hope to explore in the coming year. I was a little concerned when I had no idea what project to choose for January. The journal jar I received from Percy in Lookingland proved to be the answered to my question and the project chose me. I've decided to work on prompts this month and on brainstorming ideas and storylines to expand on during the upcoming months.

This evening I also reread excerpts from The Home that I posted in LL during Nanowrimo. I think it has promise and I'll return to it from time to time and write more.

Tsunami Victims Need Longterm Help

The 2004 tsunami victims need both immediate and longterm help to put their lives back together again. I cannot even begin to fathom the pain and fear they must be suffering after surviving an earthquake, a tidal wave, and God only knows what physical injuries while losing family members and friends and everything they own.
Now the threat of disease and starvation is everywhere. The need for food will go on for months and the rebuilding of entire villages will likely take years.

If you are concerned about the future these people face, please check out www.planusa.org for information on how to sponsor a child with a monthly contribution of only $24.00.

I discovered the organization, now called Childreach, and formerly known as Foster Parents Plan, after a trip to South America in the seventies. When I returned home and thought about the level of poverty I had witnessed and the lack of opportunity faced by the children I decided to see how I could help.

My parents and I returned to S.A. the following year and met our foster children. Nothing has ever touched me more than meeting Ignacia and Wilson and knowing that with our help they would eat more, go to school and have a chance for a brighter future. One of the things I admire about Childreach is their all-encompassing way of working. The foster child is helped, the family is helped, and neighborhood projects are encouraged, planned and implemented.

Please don't let the enormity of this disaster leave you feeling numb and helpless. Enormous amounts of money are pouring in now for immediate relief, but the effects will go on for years. Consider adopting a child today and experience love from a world away when you receive your first letter and picture. A life is in your hands.

Wings of Hope

It wasn't in me to celebrate New Year's Eve, all I could do was whisper a prayer of thanksgiving that 2004 was over.

Rains hamper relief efforts in Asia, but the day here is sunny and the temperature nearly sixty. Although it's just the beginning of winter, the springlike weather reminds me of rebirth and gives me hope.

Like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, I'll get past my problems, adjust to whatever changes are needed and get on with my life. I'll pray for my family and friends and this hurting world.

Lord, in the midst of war and great tragedy, offer this planet of despair the wings of hope to begin again.