There Must be a Million Stories in This.

I am going to take Rinda’s plot the photo idea and apply it to this journal entry I found on another blog, http://www.xanga.com/sayJames . (May 30th post)
All I know about the author is that his name is James and he lives in California.

Using this as a springboard for inspiration, what is the whole story? Or what happens next?

Back when I was a student at UCLA, I lived in this dorm building called Sunset Village (‘SV’). It’s a great place with lots of amenities. Great food, tennis courts and swimming pool right next door. If you plan to attend UCLA and want to live on campus, I highly recommend Sunset Village. It’s like a vacation villa.

As you know, daily meals are included in dorm living. Everyday I line up at the cafeteria entrance like everybody else. I swipe my ID card to get in. Back then (don't know about now), SV food was the best, and residents from other dorms would try to sneak in to eat here. So there was always a person (cafeteria employee) standing at the entrance to make sure only SV residents are allowed in. Most of the time the ID checker is a student who works part time. But a few times a week a middle-aged lady would be the door person.

I don’t know when it first started. One time I went to the cafeteria and the middle-aged lady was the ID checker. As I walled by her, she had this facial expression of "fear" when she saw me. I didn’t think much of it because I had no idea what was wrong. Her "feared" look continued to show whenever I walked in when she is on duty.

We are not allowed to take food out of the cafeteria. We eat all we can and that’s it, no take outs. But sometimes I try to sneak small items out anyway, and so do other students. If you get caught, they just ask you to put the food back. One time I had a sandwich in my hand walking behind another guy who had an apple in his hand. We were trying to sneak food out. That middle-aged lady stopped the guy in front of me and asked him to put the apple back. But she did not stop me and just let me waltz out of there with the sandwich. Now that did raise my eyebrows a bit thinking why did she let me go?

Here comes the good part. One day I went to get dinner. As I swiped my card and walked through the entrance, that lady actually spoke out to me. "Do you know of any angels?" she said. At first, I didn’t catch what she said. So I turned around and said "excuse me," "were you talking to me?" She repeated her question again. " Do you know of any angels?" Wow, now I was thinking what a question to ask a guy who’s just trying to get supper.

I paused and tried to think if this is a trick question. I then said, "do you mean ‘angels,’ ‘angels’?", while drawing a circle above my head with my right index finger and then flapped my arms to simulate wings. She said "yes." She then said whenever she saw me, she saw angels following above behind me. I said "oh, really?" "I really don’t know any angels, but thank you for telling me." I tried to act cool and then walked away and proceeded to get food. Obviously I had an uneasy feeling afterwards. I didn't eat much that night.

Update on Bill's House

Bill's insurance is going to cover the damage. Had it been his tree and not his neighbors, he would have had to pay a large deductable. Since it is his neighbors tree, they are sounding like they will pay the whole thing. They are rebuilding the garage roof, reroofing the whole house, and replacing the damaged fence.

1st pic - May 10















2nd & 3rd pic - May 26
The journey begins...

Da Vinci Code - Don't Trust the Critics

What the F* is going on? I went to see Da Vinci Code last night. Other than the fact it was a very exciting movie, I am hard pressed to see what all the uproar has been about.

Yes. The two main villians were members of Opus Dei. I've seen movies where the villians were Republicans, Democrats, Methodists, and members of the ladies auxiliary. So what? Didn't these people watch the movie before they started ranting about it?

Critics said it was long and boring. Except for the first few minutes, time flew by faster than in most movies I've watched. I didn't "feel" like I'd been watching a 2 hour movie. It was fast paced and very exciting. It was a wonderful movie.

I didn't see anything in it that would undermine a person's faith in Christianity. It left the believability of the main "doctrinal challenge" in the plot very vague and unprovable at the end. Basically saying, it's what you believe that counts. The only character I saw who really hated Christianity was one of the villians. (can't say more without ruining it for you.)

I think we have just seen months of Much Ado About Nothing, and very little praise for what is a very excellent movie.

I read the book and didn't see how they could possible pack in all the key points and make the movie work, but Ron Howard did it. The movie is amazing. This critic would highly recommend it to everybody.

Computer Blessing

Rinda's blog on magic inspired me.
I am lighting candles and incense and chanting this 3 times as I pass Sage over the area where my computer normally rests.
Who knows?
It might work.



Blessings on this fine machine,
May its data all be clean.
Let the files stay where they're put,
Away from disk drives keep all soot.
From its screen shall come no whines,
Let in no spikes on power lines.
As oaks were sacred to the Druids,
Let not the keyboard suffer fluids.
Disk Full shall be nor more than rarity,
The memory shall not miss its parity.
From the modem shall come wonders,
Without line noise making blunders.
May it never catch a virus,
And all its software stay desirous.
Oh let the printer never jam,
And turn my output into spam.
I ask of Eris, noble queen,
Keep DISCORD far from this machine.
http://www.witcheswell.com/

*Eris is the Greek goddess of discord and strife. She is Ares' constant companion and follows him everywhere. Eris is sinister and mean, and her greatest joy is to make trouble. She has a golden apple that is so bright and shiny everybody wants to have it. When she throws it among friends, their friendship come to a rapid end. When she throws it among enemies, war breaks out, for the golden apple of Eris is the Apple of Discord. She did this once during the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, and this act brought about the Trojan War.

Three Cheers for Todd

My computer is back with Todd!!
Great things are about to happen.
I can feel the positive energy swirling in the atmosphere.

Everyone send prayers or positive thoughts his way.
This borrowing laptops business is getting really old.

What is your World View?

You scored as Cultural Creative.

Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational

Cultural Creative 81% Existentialist 69% Postmodernist 69% Idealist 56% Modernist 44% Fundamentalist 44% Materialist 38% Romanticist 38% What is Your World View? (updated) created with QuizFarm.com

Remember the photos of the tree that damaged my brother's house in the May 11th post? The neighbor's insurance company refuses to cover the damage because they claim it was "an act of God". Bill told them he had spoken to the neighbor months earlier about trimming it and he had assured Bill that insurance would cover it. Their response was, "Do you have that in writing?"

They're all a bunch of damned crooks.

Still Crazy After All These Years

I planted some birdseed. A bird came up. Now I don't know what to feed it.

I had amnesia once -- or twice.

I went to San Francisco. I found someone's heart. Now what?

Protons have mass? I didn't even know they were Catholic.

If the world were a logical place, men would ride horses sidesaddle.

What is a "free" gift? Aren't all gifts free?

They told me I was gullible ... and I believed them.

Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to merge his car onto a freeway.

Two can live as cheaply as one, for half as long.

Experience is the thing you have left when everything else is gone.

What if there were no hypothetical questions?

I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure.

The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity.

How can there be self-help "groups"?

Is there another word for synonym?

The speed of time is one-second per second.

Is it possible to be totally partial?

Is Marx's tomb a communist plot?

If swimming is so good for your figure, how do you explain whales?

Show me a man with both feet firmly on the ground, and I'll show you a man who can't get his pants off.

It's not an optical illusion. It just looks like one.

Is it my imagination, or do buffalo wings taste like chicken?

Psalm to My Mother

Since this has been previously published in various places and it's copyright well established, I decided to publish it online for Mother's Day.

Psalm to My Mother

Before the beginning of my recorded time
she was,
From everlasting to everlasting,
the only Eve I know.
Beneath her ribs she carried me,
by her labor I was delivered,
bone of her bone, flesh of her flesh.

Hers is a sacred name,
as all our names are sacred.
And I am Betty Louise,
mother of Jennifer Ann,
daughter of Alice Louise,
my life-giver. My creator
who is the daughter of Eve called Jenny June,
who is the daughter of Eve called Clara Francis,
who is the daughter of Eve called Eliza Ann,
who is the daughter of Eve called Sarah.
And the holy line goes on, through nameless women,
gone but never in our hearts forgotten,
to the beginning of all Eves.

And our seeds shall endure,
be established as the moon,
as a faithful witness in heaven.

Amen

coyright Betty Becquart Sanders

My Brother's House

Remember the rain and wind storm that moved through OKC in the early morning hours Tuesday night?

Look at the gift it left my brother.

This is his neighbor's tree. The neighbor he has been telling to be trim back his tree because it was getting too heavy and would blow over into my brother's "back" yard with a good gust of wind. (Neighbor's response: "I'm not worried. That's what insurance is for."


This is my brother's front yard after the tree came down.

















This is the side of the house and part of the roof damage the tree caused. He doesn't have pictures of the back and roof yet. The impact there was worse.

















The neighbor's response when Bill knocked on his door and told him what happened. "No Big Deal. I've got insurance." Of course, Bill has yet to hear from the company or the adjustor. And, if you'll notice in the 1st photo of the tree, it didn't even damage the neighbor's fence.

Grrrrr

Rate My Life Quiz

Who makes these things up?

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	9.1
Mind:	8.7
Body:	7.7
Spirit:	9.2
Friends/Family:	7.2
Love:	9.1
Finance:	8.5
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

I'm writing the name TODD into my list of Heroes. & 6 Meme

I was at Sheila's house last night.

Todd has FIXED MY COMPUTER.

It took almost a week and he had to replace the operating system. Some of my downloaded programs will be gone and I will need to reload them. He thinks he managed to save all my documents. I'll need to double check all e-mail addresses. Repairing it was a major job. I so owe this man.

It will be a while before it is back online with everything reloaded, etc. (Maybe Sunday or Monday) I miss my desk. I miss my chair. I miss my stuff. I'm hopping up and down with excitement.

I'm almost back. "The mother and child reunion is only a motion away!!!"


6 Meme from "M" and "Xdell"

I’m a certified scuba diver.

I’ve photographed a total eclipse of the sun.

I’ve danced naked in the rain and posed as a nude model.

I had to get rid of a couple thousand books to make room for my husband when we got married. (I’m getting ready to do another clearing out. We can’t just keep buying bigger houses.)

At one time I was a publishing poet and won a lot of awards. (Also made very little money. Sort of like novels when you think about it.)

I have historically had the blackest thumb in America, maybe the world. In the 12 years we’ve been at this house, I’ve planted 4 gardens and killed them all. I can’t bear to think of the time and money I’ve spent killing things. This year I am following a book called “Square foot Gardening”. It is a form of container gardening where you create your own soil. I had a Master Gardener, who is a close family friend, come and tell me exactly where to build the garden plot. So far things are looking taller, and greener, and I’m holding my breath. This may be the year I break the jinx.

I've met Bill and Hillary Clinton.

And these are only the things I can print in a public post. (It reminds me of the joke about an old maid's tombstone. It read, "I may have been a Miss, but I didn't miss much!")

**If you are counting these posts then you probably have realized there are 7 instead of 6. One is a lie. The question, my friends, is which one? I'd love to hear guesses and why you chose it. After a few days, I will disclose the truth.

Rayke's 1st Blogger Post is Up

It has happened.

My friend Rayke has joined us in the realm of Blogger posters.
Drop by his site and read his introduction. Introduce yourselves.

We already know he is a good story teller.

I'd repost his photo but my computer is still out and blogger won't let me download photos from the laptop. It also won't let me make comments at some sites. (Rinda, yours is one of them and I wrote a really neat story based on your photo!!)

I had a great night last night. I went to Edmond and danced around a MayPole with a group of my friends. Who knew it could take so long to cover a pole with ribbons? I think either the ribbons were too long or the pole was too skinny. We still had a lot of fun and a big feast with lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, and chocolate. Mmmm.