Scary Sounds! RUN, cat, run!

my faithful cat and i BOTH had a terrible scare about a half hour ago. she heard it first (big surprise!...i was busy singing), then when i saw her staring at the wall, alarmed-like, her cat-eyes bigger than usual, then i heard it too! it was that old familiar (once you hear it, you never mistake it) sound of a squirrel chewing through the wall!!!!!!!!!!!! YIKES!!!!! what th'!!! WHERE'S THAT COMING FROM????? sure enough, the adjoining wall between my neighbor and us. holy MACKERAL. that is one deTERmined animal. he sounds frantic! i'm running up and down the stairs to put my "good" ear against my wall, trying to locate it. nope, not as loud in my bedroom, back downstairs. on the landing, yes. coat closet, yep, right in the same area. MAN! the way he's chewin' he'll be through here in NO time! OMG-osh! what shall i DO??!! i pound on the wall several times, trying to scare it away but the gnawing continues. i go outside to see if it's trying to chew through the front of the house. nothing. no cars in the neighbor's driveway, so i can't ask them to check in their house. back inside, gnawing continues. i'm starting to shake, and my cat is now hiding...she scares quite easily, and was already quite frightened, but when i pounded on the wall and kicked my baseboard, that DID it. she went into her storm-shelter under the loveseat, tail all puffed out, hair on her back standing straight up. O GREAT! it's up to ME now!! call my hubby?? o sure, what's he gonna do?! he's not home; he's working and is MILES away! for sure, it is up to me to handle this. get a broom? a bag? a can? OMG-osh! WHAT'S THAT SOUND NOW???!! now i'm REALLY shaking like a leaf! i run out the door again and knock on the neighbor's front door....nothing! back in, noise is more of a clicking/bang now. wha-doo-I-DO??? i bang on the wall again, kick the baseboard a few more times--the only productive thing i can come up with! and lo and behold, out of the corner of my eye, i see my neighbor walk outside to bring in his mail...and the noise was silenced. good grief, c'mere, cat; we're safe! it's O-kay now. just the neighbor doing a little home remodeling i guess. as soon as i stop shaking, and the cat's tail is back to normal, i resume my singing. (i guess mr neighbor never answered his door cause he was busy chiseling through the wall and never heard my knocking. o for cryin' out loud!

Color Blind

ohhhh, boy; here we go! i've been tempted many, many times, to write a letter to the editor of our local newspaper in response to one thing or another, and today i DID so! the editorial page is one of the very few favorites i have in the newspaper; the others being the daily crossword puzzle and a few cartoons. i only glance at the headlines with one eye because they strike me as the worst of the worst and i refuse to be pulled into it. it wrecks my JOY!

this morning, as i read a columnist's views on a recently published book, which was written by a friend of his, the last two sentences that he ended his article with, snagged me with the same "ouch!" you feel when you pull that little piece of skin next to your fingernail. so, with the snagged feeling fresh, i did write to the editor and faxed it to the newspaper. it's not like me to respond to a Washington Post Writers Group columnist, but i thought he did a great disservice to the author of the book on which he was reviewing. i actually didn't even care for the title he chose for his review, but that was the least of what bothered me. here's a copy of my letter...
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I was raised to be color-blind, and I’m thankful for that. Once when a co-worker asked me if the new applicant interviewed was white or black, I answered, I don’t know; I didn’t ask. That said, I have a problem with the closing two sentences in columnist, David Broder’s editorial [Tuesday, 2/24/09, Analyst skeptical Obama represents total change]: “As the boundaries expand, the issues facing black politicians become more complex, not easier, starting with the question of what special obligation, if any, they owe to their African-American constituents. All that, and more, [Gwen] Ifill illuminates in her fine first book.”

It would seem to me that owing ANY constituents “special obligation” is what got us into some of the mess that we are in presently. Our elected politicians should owe no constituents any thing, but to serve to the best of their ability in a moral and legal way, to the benefit of ALL peoples.

I recently read a quote that said the only time colors should be separated is when you’re doing laundry. Oh, that ALL people would stop speaking in black and white and switch our thinking to right and wrong.
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So. there it is.

First 100...

Fooled you, didn't I? you thought i was going to talk about the president's first 100 days. Nope; rather, the first 100 pages.

i'm struggling to finish reading a book and have already violated my usual criteria: if it doesn't grab me in the first 100 pages i put it down, set it aside, bottom of the pile. more times than not, i return to it much later out of a personal obligation i feel toward the author; but not always.

this particular book was very interesting the first 50 pages so i had very high hopes for it, but it has been downhill ever since. i have at least three other books just "calling my name," waiting to be read, but i feel as if i'm letting down the author of my "struggle-book" by setting her aside and moving on. i've already given her the benefit of doubt by going as far as page 133. She doesn't seem to know how to make a point and let it lie. she beats it like a dusty carpet and just won't let it go. she also makes the mistake of giving WAY too many examples of quotes from others who agree with her and a gazillion who disagree with her. it gets to the point tho, where i am not sure if she's saying this one agrees or disagrees!

granted, she wrote this back in the early 1900's, so perhaps folks in those years were more patient. i've always considered myself a very patient person (except when i'm waiting for an elevator!), but i think i've decided to stop struggling and set her aside. as a writer (well, published only once), i've always thought the worst thing in the world would be to find something i'd written on the "bargain table" at the local bookstore. but right up there with that embarrassment, is having someone lay aside my book and not be inclined to finish reading it to the end.

i typically feel compelled to read absolutely EVERY thing a writer puts in her/his book: forward, prologue, notes, epilogue, acknowledgements, etc. if it's printed, i read it. (for some strange reason i always think there is that very outside chance that i might just know one of the people who are listed in "acknowledgements," but after my decades of reading, alas; i never have. still tho...there IS that chance!)

last year, which was my first of relifement, i started a spreadsheet of all the books i'd read. i was delighted to have tallied 29 books, only 3 of which were fiction. this year, in addition to my regular reads, i've decided to again read all through the Bible. (is it fair to add 66 to my list of books read, when i finish?)

so far, since january, i have finished Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Matthew, Mark and Luke. this will be my second time through the Amplified version, which is definitely my favorite. i forget how many times through the Bible this will be; maybe 5 or 6??? yet, it simply amazes me how many, many things i come across that i have no recollection of having read before! if only i could remember every thing i read!

i WILL say this: it sure didn't take God a hundred pages to get my attention!

Feeding Birds

just briefly today: one of the absolute JOYs of my life has always been the sheer excitement and absolute thrill of having a bird eat from my hand! there is NOTHING like it! I have had chickadees, nuthatch, hummingbirds, parakeets and canary do so! it makes my heart flutter when they show their trust in me, if only for a brief moment. (O, and i almost forgot! once, at a sports show, i had a red tailed hawk eat from my hand! imagine THAT thrill!!!!)

i have been known to stand "frozen" for long, long, blood-running-out-of-my-arms-minutes at a time, exhibiting every ounce of patience i can muster, just for the reward of having the bird land on my thumb, or sip nectar from the feeder in my hand, or grab a sunflower seed, cock its head to look in my eye, then fly....and soon come back for more!

this morning, after having one of my parakeets for five years, cloudy finally showed that trust and came to eat some celery from my hand! i think it was probably only because the newer keet came first and cloudy didn't want whitey to have what she wanted. nevertheless, as they took turns nibbling the leaves, i felt rewarded. my canary rudy has a favorite: broccoli. rudy is jittery, but he will let me hold a broccoli floret for him (til i get tired and finally set it in his treat cup).

once while visiting my in-laws in canada, i delayed filling their feeders to see if the birds would first come for the sunflower seeds from my hand, and it was such a thrill when they did so! it was one of the best half hours of my life, standing there as they came and went and came again.

O! and speaking of birds in hands, my hubby saved a goldfinch the other day, which was very heart warming! even tho we have reflectors on the windows to prevent the birds from crashing, a beautiful goldfinch plowed right into the window and fell to the ground. this big man went out and picked up the dazed little bird and held it in his hands, stroking it gently and speaking softly to it, trying to bring it warmth and comfort. after a period of time, the revived bird shook its head, fluttered it's feathers, and took off in flight and was perfectly fine! had my hubby not comforted him, he could've been plucked up by a hawk while lying on the ground. i was so happy to hear of his part in aiding the fallen little creature, who is just beginning to get his "spring coat" of yellow feathers, changing out of his "grey coat" of winter feathers.

okay, so i was not brief after all. brevity has never been my strong point. but i just wanted to share this today. there are SO MANY thrills and blessings in my life that do not cost a single cent. i feel so blessed! sometimes i look for JOY; other times it is right in front of me. Thank You, God!

Blessing

i sure don't want my blog to turn into a movie review or critique, but i've been struck lately with some of the films we've watched, as evidenced by my previous postings. last night it was "the boys of baraka." WOW, what a film!

the title, for one thing, is curious enough. if you research the word, which means blessing, you'll find reference to baraka being swahili, which was the language of our current president's father, in kenya. it is also believed that our president's first name may be the anglicized version...not surprisingly, i knew none of that when i ordered the film. there is also a hebrew word that has a similar meaning, baruch.

all that aside however, the film itself is not my intention to discuss. i was extremely moved by the conditions in the inner city schools. having grown up a "thousand years ago" in a city public school, and having worked with inner city youth in past years, plus having worked in various school systems for a number of years, i am appalled at how conditions have plummeted over the years. public education, of course, could not be discussed successfully in the confines of a blog entry, and i do know that not ALL public schools are as deplorable as sometimes portrayed in a film...this one, incidentally was a PBS documentary at one time, i believe.

that said, i'm also quite sure, and quite sadly enough, there ARE some inner city schools that have classrooms so, SO not conducive to learning! it is little wonder that the dropout rate is as astronomical as it is! the children who attend these schools come from neighborhoods that are equally as deplorable: high crime, fear, filth, hopelessness. neither my mind, nor my heart, can begin to even grasp living like this day in and day out. i imagine that it must just break the heart of our loving God.

i've thought a lot recently about the name of my blog: JOY. it is a cinch to feel JOY when the sun shines and everyone is employed, the bills are paid, all goes well and smiles abound. but our country and the world--not just the inner cities-- are hurting; seriously, seriously hurting. falling apart in some cases. everyone knows someone who is touched by unemployment or hardship. everyone is having to sacrifice some thing. we feel helpless in being of help to those we love and care about.

all the talk/news has been the stimulus plan. i believe our country's spirituality needs a GENUINE stimulus plan. we all need to get off our high horses and get down on our knees. sometimes the only thing LEFT to do is pray. but, what if it was the FIRST thing we did? it might not seem like much, but it can "move mountains." what if we were ALL to pray DAILY for our leaders, our country, our world, our youth, our inner cities, our schools, our neighborhoods, our pastors, our teachers, our employers?

lately, i think that i have a better understanding of joy. it is, after all, not MY joy!

MY joy centers around situations and things; if they sour or diminish, i have to go LOOKING in all the nooks and crannies for what's left of MY joy. but, "the JOY OF THE LORD is MY STRENGTH!" (Nehemiah 8:10)

Boxing Lessons

My mother used to LOVE to watch the saturday night boxing matches, strange as that sounds! we didn't have a television, but we all walked to my grandmother's house on many saturday nights, so mom could watch them. two netflix movies we watched this weekend had to do with boxing. they were both excellent movies: Resurrecting the Champ and Cinderella Man. There were lessons to be learned in each of these boxing films, strange as that sounds. In fact, as i sat on the edge of the couch, all caught up in them, i couldn't help wondering if that "chip" from mom fell into my DNA somehow.

but aside from the pertinent lessons i learned in these boxing films, i can't help thinking back to Mr. Schur, the man i wrote about in my previous blog posting. turns out there were lessons learned by his horrible death, as evidenced by a second small article buried deep inside my newspaper the other day. as it turns out, when i listed what he and my mom had in common, i was wrong on one point, that they both "had the same amount of money, which was next to nothing." yet, there was another point that i found out from this follow-up article that showed mom and mr schur DID have something else in common: they both suffered dementia.

if ONLY someone had looked in on him. someone! mr schur's electric bill was $1,000 in arrears, but! he had a check already written out for $1,000, that was discovered AFTER his death. dementia's confusion caused him either to forget to mail the check, or forget when it was due--but the check was already written and signed by him. he HAD THE MONEY to pay his bill, yet suffered this tragic, heinous death! in addition, he had LOTS of money, and his will designated that his thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars were to be left to a hospital. all that money, but he died alone in the cold winter.....of the season, and of his life. my heart still weeps for this "poor" man.

there are so many lessons to be learned in and from life. unfortunately, i don't tune in to them nearly as often as i should. but when i do, they strike a chord so deep within. i just need to open my eyes and ears and heart to them more and let that chord resonate.