My Marshmallow

Saying for the Day: Stuffed monkeys are a man's best friend.

As I write this blog a little stuffed monkey looks down on me from the top of my computer.
He is a gift from a wonderful friend.
I don’t know much about monkeys or how to name them so I have named him after a monkey I saw on a blog.
I decided to call him Marshmallow Jr.
Well I didn’t think Spot would fit nor BoBo.
He is going to watch over me as I write my blog.
Perhaps he will correct my spelling.
He might even help me to make better use of commas.
When I can’t think of a topic I will look to him and I will get inspiration.
I checked and the top of my monitor doesn’t get hot so he should be comfortable.
Stuffed monkeys don’t need much.
He doesn’t require any food or drink.
I will give him lots of love.
Every day I will read my favorite blogs to him and all the nice comments on my blog.
He will be such a happy little monkey.
I know the person who decided to give him to me wants only the best for him.
He might even inspire me to stop procrastinating and send a thank you note.
Perhaps, that’s expecting a bit much from such a little monkey.
But he can do it.
I think he can.

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News from Pigeon Falls - the little town in my backyard where the trains still run and old ladies carry shotguns– The woods around Pigeon Falls are beginning to really glow with colors. Soon they will be at their very peak. So the tourists are increasing. Dr, Fortress is bringing in three trains a day for the remainder of the color season. Toivo is running a color tour with a ten passenger van at very reasonable prices. It is a good time for Pigeon Falls.
Nancy says that a lot of the tourists stopping in for coffee and a saffron bun want to know about the White Rabbit and the Dragon. She enjoys telling the best of the White Rabbit tales,
The coach of the New Potatoes says that just because the Trojans haven’t been defeated doesn’t mean they can’t be. He has hopes for his team tonight. When we defeat then they will stop laughing at our name he said. The chance of the New Potatoes winning is not very high but you never can tell.
A week from tomorrow we have the big Pumpkin fest. The committee has heard about some town where they have a contest for people to build catapults and see how far they can throw pumpkins so they are adding that to the contest.
Eino is still waiting on the Bureau of Homeland Security to get some information about the company that owns the Hermit house. He can’t understand why it is taking so long.
Mrs. Trumble is upset because people aren’t letting her know fast enough about White Rabbit appearances. How can she shoot it if she can’t find it. She should get a hunting dog. One of those beagles. They are very good at rabbit hunting.
Bill Maki said he called her the other day when he saw the White Rabbit out by his farm but she wasn’t home. If she wants help she should sit by the phone or get a cell phone.
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Link for the Day: Delusions of Sanity- Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those singing JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total.
WE had a good day today. I worked on the coming Marathon. We made preperations for our trip to Hancock tomorrow. I printed out the nine steps of grieving for Esther. I haven't written the tenth one yet. Now we have to figure out how to get them to her. We went to church tonight.
Then we went shopping. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

A recomendation

Saying for the day: Take one in the morning to clear the mind.

There are all kinds of blogs out in the blogasphere .

Some of them make us laugh.
Some of them make us sad.
Some even make us sick.

But not too many of them really make us think.

There are lots of blogs out there that take positions.
There are lots of blogs that try to tell us what the truth really is.
But lots of those blogs are not well thought out and show very little study of the problem.

The other day I came across one of those special blogs.
It makes you think.
It is clear.
It shows that the writer knows what she is talking about.

That doesn’t mean one always has to agree with her .
She is not perfect .
But she is worth reading.

Her blog is :
"Meditations from the Messy Middle of Things"

and she goes by the blog handle of the Rev. Dr. Kate.

I really think everyone should read her “Rules of Religious Respect”.

I could, I suppose, have made her a link for the day but I wanted her to be read even by people who don’t care to play the link game.

So please give her a look and then think a bit about what she says.
It can’t hurt .

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my backyard where the trains still run and nobody runs for Mayor– We are getting closer to the November election and a feeling of panic is setting in in Pigeon Falls. The citizens remember last spring when the Mayor and the Board all resigned and the chaos that followed. They don’t want to see that again and yet nobody wants to take on the task of running the town. Everybody says they are too busy or not smart enough. But the real reason is they have seen the kind of year the Mayor and Council have had and they want no part of that.
Nancy says that fear of the future of the town is becoming a bigger topic of conversation than the name of the school teams. You know something is big when it pushes sports aside in a small town.
Speaking of Sports the New Potatoes play the Trojans this Friday. Nobody gives the team much of a chance. The school is the smallest school in the conference and the Trojans are undefeated. The New Potatoes are likely to get mashed again.
The only good news for the town is that people who used to take the train color tour and just go through Pigeon falls are now stopping in the hopes of seeing the White Rabbit or the Dragon. Locals have plenty of stories to tell them and both the rabbit and the dragon grow with the telling. Some of those waiting to leave last night got to see the real thing as the White Rabbit showed up off the end of the train station. He was wearing his red, white, and blue sweater and hopped and smiled. Those were some happy tourists. Mrs. Trumble showed up about fifteen minutes later with her trusty Dragon Slayer but the rabbit was long gone.
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Link for the Day:Avalon's Cafe-: Remember to put the words DR. John in your comments to get those coffee stained color coded JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your points.
Betty painted the trim on the garage door this morning. After lunch we left the Fortress and I finally got a haircut. Then we went to the dump and got rid of some garbage. then to Iron River and the drug store. The ride over and back was beautiful and we were sorry we didn't bring the camera.Well now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Our camp

Saying for the Day:No matter what you do it's wrong.

Soon after Peter was born Betty went back to work as a teacher.
We decided to buy a camp.
Our own place to go on vacation.
A nice place on a lake. We found a place on Chaney lake near Wakefield , Michigan.
It was about sixty miles away from where we lived.
It had two separate buildings and nice lake frontage.
We bought the camp during a long dry summer.
We painted and repaired and I even got sun stroke putting on some roofing.
It was our hideaway.
There was no phone.
The parish couldn’t call and tell me that somebody died and I need to come right back.
It belonged to us.
The following spring we drove out to the camp just after the snow melted.
As we drove into the yard we discovered that something was very different.
We sank on the road until we were stuck.
It seems that after a wet winter you couldn’t drive in.
I had to hitchhike into town to get a tow truck to pull us out of the mud.
That wasn’t the only shock.
Somebody had come through on a snowmobile during the winter and shot out all the windows.
They also broke bottles so there was glass all over the beach.
That’s when we decided that we weren’t cut out to have a camp.
We sold it and bought a travel trailer.
The price lake front property is going for now,if we had held onto it we could have made a lot of money.
But we really enjoyed the travel trailer.

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News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my backyard where the trains still run and where nobody wants to be Mayor– Nancy says that nobody is happy with the results of the School Board action on the school name. People don’t want to wait. They want it changed now. There is some talk about recalling the School Board and electing new people. That doesn’t seem likely when you can’t even find somebody to run for Mayor. One might be able to recall them but electing somebody else that’s another question.
Mrs. Moris celebrated her 80th birthday yesterday. They held the celebration over at Last Lutheran Church. All of her children and grandchildren came home. It was quite a party. The ladies from the church did the serving . They had a big cake and ice cream. Pastor Marvel said that he had figured out that in all the years she catered meals in the town she had served over ten thousand meals. Nor only that but as far as he could tell there was never a complaint about the food. He also said he couldn’t remember a Sunday when she was sitting in church, third row back on the left hand side. Her kids wanted to give her a trip to Las Vegas but she said there was no way they were getting her on a plane.
Dr. Fortress is till trying to move a piece of a mountain so the train can get through . The poor people who run the restaurant where the train used to stop now have no business except for the workers and some of them bring their lunch. This was the time of year that tourists took the upper route to see the beauty of the forest from above and the restaurant had lots of business. Life doesn’t always seem to treat us fairly.
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Today's Link: The Grubby Halo- Please remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those fishy JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total.
Neither Betty or I left the fortress today. I should go and get a hair cut. My sister called to tell me she got the blog print out and read it. She commented again on how we lived in different worlds growing up. She knew the name of the baby my mother was holding in the picture I posted. I started work on th enext Marathon which will start Wednesday. It will be different than the last three. It will run for seven days. You will need to comment on seventy blogs to complete it. There will be a different list of fifteen each day. So you can make the 70 without doing all seven days. We wills see how it works. I am also working on an auction where you can bid your usless JCPOINTs on usless objects. Apria called to tell me that they don't have the night breathing mask they promised me yesterday after all. I have come to depend on Apria to be confused and have found a place to buy it on my own if I have to. the only thing that is stopping me is I would need a letter from my doctor to the company since it is medical device. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

A Problem for Gourmets

Saying for the Day: Some things should be priced out of range.

I have some bad news for you gourmet eaters out there in blog land.
The price of hormiga culona ("big-butt queen ants") has gone through the roof.
It seems there was a hard winter in Colombia and an increase in the aggressive lizards and birds that eat them.
This is the ant that produces the best chocolate-dipped ant on the planet.
It is tasty, crispy, and filled with protein.
This lack of ants is pushing the price of choice chocolate-dipped ants out of reach of the common person.
Watch out, however, the scam artists have entered the picture ( don’t they always) and are selling plain old American small-butt ants dipped in chocolate as if they were the real thing.
Anyone who has had the original will know there is something wrong at the first bite. American ants tend to be soggy and lack that real ant flavor .
These imitations can be found on many places on the internet so don’t be fooled.
If you want the real thing you are going to have to pay good money for it.
Make sure the add contains the words “genuine hormiga culona ants only”.
Life can be tough for gourmets.
On the other hand the supply of Australian Tarantulas is at an all time high pushing the prices down. As all gourmets know you can’t beat a deep fried Australian Tarantula for taste. Cover it with chocolate and you have a real winner. As the supply of ants decreases look for the sales of Tarantulas to increase. Isn’t that good news.

The rest of us that just eat hamburger are not touched by this problem.

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my backyard where the train still runs and nobody runs for Mayor-Last night’s school board meeting may go down in the records as the loudest Board Meeting ever. The school gym was filled to the walls with upset school district people. Every single one wanted the school team name changed. One has to give the Chairman credit he tried to keep some kind of order. Before the meeting started there were a couple of fights among the participants. They take their sports seriously in Pigeon Falls. Of course there were not just Pigeon Falls people there. Since this is a combined High School there were people from Crippled Creek and Dirty River as well. Finally the chairman handed out slips of paper and asked people to write down the name they wanted. The secretary collected the sheets.
There were 27 who wanted “The Dragons“, 26 who wanted “Wolves“ , 15 who wanted “Bears“, six who wanted “Pirates“, and fifteen other names got smaller votes. The Board then tabled any action on this issue until the next meeting and named a committee to study the problem . The committee was required to have a report ready by next month. So it looks like the Team continues to be the “New Potatoes” for at least another month. It may be just as well . What will they do with all those uniforms with the new potato symbol on them?
Eino is now certain that the man who tried to break in to his garage was the same man who helped clear out the Hermit House. So why doesn’t he just come and talk to Eino about it? Why try to steal it when it theory it belongs to them. He contacted Homeland Security and they said that they were still looking into. It is a government agency and you know how fast they do things.
Tommy, the undertaker’s kid, got into an argument on the main street with Mrs. Trunble last night. He was wearing his White Rabbit for Mayor sweater and she was carrying her trusty Demon slayer. Their argument gathered a small crowd of onlookers . It’s a good job the White Rabbit didn’t show up then as Tommy might have jumped in front of Mrs. Trumble’s gun to keep her from shooting.
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Today's link- Weird Cake-Treats from A Bipolar Mind- Remember to put the words Dr. John in your comments to get those unemployable JCPOINTS. CheckHERE for your totals.
Betty took the prizes from Monday and the blog print out for Dawn to the Post Office and then went to Tops. I spent a lot of time on the phone with my sister Dawn. She wanted to know what my brother died of. I remembered it being an intestinal problem. She called five times. She went to the hospital in Marquette but the record from 1948 weren't on the computer yet. She got the death certificate and it said heart failure ( cost her $10.) But I am sure he was operated on and his heart may have failed during the surgery. Its strange how we lived in the same house and have different memories of how things were. well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

The parsonage battle

Saying for the Day: Never make threats you can't carry out.

I started this thread several weeks ago as stories from the parsonage.
What it has turned into is not so much stories from the parsonage as stories about parsonages.

After we had been in the parish about three months the parish board decided we needed a new parsonage.
I did not request one or complain about the one they had but they knew the condition it was in . The people in the Trout Creek Church were against the new parsonage because they wanted the parsonage to stay in Trout Creek and the new one was to be built in Ewen , behind the church.
But the Ewen Church paid the larger share of the parish bills so Trout Creek gave in.

At the same time there was a vote on school consolidation and an anonymous pamphlet was sent to every home the day before filled with half truths.
The consolidation lost.
I denounced the way in which the pamphlet was done in the parish newsletter .
It seems that some of those involved were member of the Ewen congregation.

They wanted our input on the new parsonage and I told them that since Betty was pregnant we would like the space they had marked off for a half a bath set up as a laundry room instead.
They seemed to agree to this but that night one of the people that had sent out the pamphlet went into the new building and pushed a hall closet into part of the space.
This did not leave enough room for a laundry room but only a half a bath.
There was no closet in the plans.

When I saw what they had done I made the strangest threat in the history of the parish.
I threatened not to move until there was an upstairs laundry room.
I would stay in the Trout Creek parsonage.
The people in Trout Creek had no objection.
The Ewen congregation would have an empty parsonage.

Two days later they discovered they could push into the garage and create a space for a washer and dryer across from the new closet.
It worked out fine and we moved in as soon as the building was finished.

I know of pastors who threatened to move if they didn’t get what they wanted but I’m the only one I know of that threatened not to move.

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my backyard where the trains still run and little old ladies hunt rabbits.-The rabbit for Mayor sweaters are in at wink’s and Tommy bought one of the first ones. He is wearing it proudly. People are becoming a bit afraid that they might end up with a 2 1/2 foot rabbit as Mayor. Perhaps Mrs. Trumble will run some negative adds. Not that she wants to be Mayor but she certainly doesn’t want a demon to be in the office. Its enough to have demons in state and national offices without having the local mayor be one as well.
Nancy says some people have suggested Big Rudy for Mayor. He has reformed and doing so many good things. Big Rudy says he can’t because his wife doesn’t want him too. The poor guy only does what his wife tells him too.
Nancy says that everybody that has stopped in for coffee is planning on going to the school board meeting tonight. They all have ideas as to names for the school teams. Nobody seems to like “New Potatoes”. Nancy has heard “Wolves, Dragons, Green Dragons, Bears, Trojans, Knights, and Thorns” as possible names. She is glad she isn’t on the school board.
The White Rabbit continues to be seen in his new red ,white and blue sweater carrying his Mayor sign. He hasn’t started coming in to town and kissing babies yet. But he has been seen a lot. Mrs. Trumble seems to have given up trying to catch up with him. Nobody has seen her all day. Of course she could be hiding somewhere waiting to jump out and shoot the rabbit. That thought makes everybody nervous.
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Link for the Day: Procrastination At It's Best- Remember to leave the words Dr. John in your comment to get those never ready JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your totals.
I spent part of the day working on a new top ten list for the church web site. Betty washed the litchen floor and brought the stuff to recycle up to the pick up place. I just checked in and my link for the day has changed material since I looked this morning. The new entry might be upsetting to some. This linking stuff has its problems. My sister Dawn called to see if we had sold the house. We , of course, have not. Don't ask me why ask the real estate agent. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Monday Monday Monday

Saying for the Day: People who laugh live longer.

We have reached another “leave a comment Monday”.
Last week was a great week for comments. I really enjoyed the one’s left on this blog.
You are a wonderful group of people.
I also enjoyed the comments you left on the daily links.
They were creative and most often to the point.

The funniest comment of the week award goes to Cuopojoe who wrote
“You know, I was told to “put Dr. John in the comment” at this blog, but I’m a little confused… You see, I’ve never actually met Dr. John in person, so I don’t know how big he is… Still, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t fit in this comment box. It’s what? Like, 7 inches by 3 inches (give or take)?”
I almost fell off my chair laughing.

Some other creative uses of Dr.John

I was sent to you by Dr. John
He said to write "Dr. John"
I'll obey Dr. John
'Cuz he's Dr. John
And make sure I write "Dr. John
# posted by Cuppojoe : September 22, 2006

I am here to haunt your blog.....
blame Dr. John.....
# posted by Nea : September 22, 2006

I arrived here via the "Dr. John Highway" no Ouija board necessary!
# posted by W. J. St. Christopher : September 22, 2006

So I am awarding Cuppoejoe 50 useless JCPOINTS and 25 equally worthless blog explosion credits for making me laugh. Laughing is good.

Today’s JCPOINTS prize is a collectible Halloween bear.
I fell in love with the little fellow when I first saw him.
He is not only cute he is perfect for Halloween.

Good luck to you all.

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News from Pigeon Falls-the little town in my back yard where the trains still run and rabbits run for Mayor.-The bad news in Pigeon Falls is that Pastor Marvel announced that he would not run for Mayor. He felt it would cause to many problems in the parish. So now there are no likely candidates. There is going to be a special meeting of the present council to see if they can come up with a willing candidate. In a town with 921 people you think that there would be a least one willing to become the Mayor.
Nancy says that everybody that comes in for coffee has a name to suggest but it is never theirs. She has heard more reasons why one shouldn’t be Mayor than you can believe. She is thinking of writing a book entitled “ 100 reasons not to run for Mayor”. In Pigeon Falls it would be a best seller. When someone is asked to run for Mayor they can just give the number from the book and save all the explaining time. Nancy says her favorite excuse came from a lady who said “ I get a cold every winter and we don’t need a sick Mayor”
The school board meets tomorrow night and the team name will be at the head of the agenda. One can feel sure that there will be more people there for this meeting than any meeting in a long time. Will they stand their ground and stick with New Potatoes or will they cave in and find some other name?
Tourists have been arriving all week in Pigeon Falls. They have come by train just to see the fall colors which are on there way to becoming the best ever. It was a very good year for orange and red in the leaves. The tourists stop only long enough to eat and do a little shopping and then take the train back. A lot of little white rabbit statues and dragon statues got sold already and the season has only begun. Wink’s is waiting for a sweater with a white rabbit in a red, white, and blue sweater with the words “For Mayor” underneath. They think local people will buy it as well as the tourists.
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Today's Link-Jiggle the Handle-Remember to put the words Dr.John in the comment to get those never home JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total.
We will draw when Betty gets up.

Betty is up and the names drawn are....

Starbender and Friday's Child

Congratulations to both of you. Our little bear will have a nice new home.
It was a nice day and Betty got some more painting done on the outside windows. I did a little work on the computer. It is my son Peter's and his wife Lori's anniversary today. Lori's birthday is coming up on the 29 of the month. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Grief Step eight

Saying for the day: Grief is not evil making us hide it is.

Today and every Sunday for the next two Sunday’s we are looking at the steps in the grief process as described by Pastor Granger Westberg. These steps are:
1. Shock
2. Emotion
3. Depression
4. Physical pain
5. Fear or panic
6. Guilt
7. Anger
8. We function poorly
9. The breaking in of hope
10. The start of the new life
We have reached step eight in the grief process.
We find that we have trouble doing our work.
We have trouble going out with other people.
Our entire life seems to stand still.
Part of this is because of the American way of handling grief.
We hide it.
We do not grieve publicly.
There was a time when people did grieve in public.
Men wore black armbands and women black veils.
People knew they were grieving.
Now the grief is hidden.
We do not want to cry at work so we hold it in and the quality of our work suffers.
At this stage in grieving we need a friend who will let us grieve.
When we start to talk about the one who died they will not cut us off.
They will listen and allow us to move in our grieving.
People do need to share their grief.
Let us love them enough to let them do it.
This is not easy because society puts pressure on them to hide the grief.
Be happy society says.
We don’t like long faced people
So we may go for coffee and the grieving person won’t talk about the one who died unless they know it is okay.
We can say something like “I remember when you and …. Went to …”.
Then if the person cry's accept it .
That’s grief.
The tears are good not evil. Let them tell you about the departed even if you have to listen to the same story several days in a row.

This step too will end.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my backyard where the trains still run and dragons fly free– The High School foot ball team lost again last night . When they came out on the field they were greeted with cheers from the other side that went “Mash the potatoes” Mash the potatoes” . This new name is driving the players nuts. One feels that the next school board meeting is going to have some irritated parents in attendance. Some are suggesting the teams should be called the dragons. That certainly is better than New Potatoes. One has to wonder if the local dragon will approve.
The White Rabbit was seen yesterday with a red, white, and blue sweater. He was carrying a sign that said “Mayor”. The way things are going he could be the only candidate. There seems to be nothing in the law to prevent a rabbit from being Mayor. There is nothing to prevent a kid either. They just can’t vote in the election.(The law does require that one be a US citizen .Sorry Cuppojoe)
Mrs. Trumble greeted this latest news by saying this proves it was evil and demonic. The sooner she shoots it the better. If it gets elected and she shoots it can she be tried for shooting the Mayor? She has a rabbit license after all and it is a rabbit.
They have gone over the video of the person trying to break into Eino’s garage and Eino says the man looks familiar, He might have been one of those who came to clean out the Hermit’s house.
*****

Today's Link-Geek Zen Daddy- Remember to put the word's Dr, John in the comment to get five, smells like apple, JCPOINTS. Check HERE for yours.
We went to church this morning. The coffee was great as was the fellowship before church. But the service was the real treat. It was the guitar service Sunday with the guitar liturgy . The congregational songs were great. The children's choir sang. The first graders were given their bibles. The confirmands and parents were blessed and the sermon was good. Just one fantastic Sunday. In the afternoon Betty painted and I visited all the blogs that left comments yesterday and then some others from the links list. Some days are so good you don't want them to end but now I do need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

It could be worse

Saying for the Day: Cheer up it could be worse!

Feeling a bit down this morning.
Cheer up things could be worse.

For instance a man in Beijing went out for a good time with his friends to a local restaurant.
There he drank four pitchers of beer and feeling very happy went to the zoo.
Seeing a lonely panda Zhang Xinyan jumped into the cage and went to hug it. The panda bit him and so he bit the panda back and then it bit him on the other leg. He ended up in the hospital. Now think of that the next time you drink too much and only end up with a hangover. You could have a panda bite or two.

Or you could belong to one of those new but different religions like Sarah Yule who was fired as a receptionist at St. Mary's Hospital in Troy, N.Y., earlier this year because she refused to remove her lip ring at work, which she said was integral to her religion, the Church of Body Modification.
Yule insisted that her several piercings are spiritual, giving her control over her body, and she declined to accept an alternate job at St. Mary's, away from public contact.
Just think the only problem your church gives you is a headache from that really boring sermon.

Then there is Darrell Rodgers, 40, who was treated at Bloomington (Ind.) Hospital in August after shooting himself in the left knee because he felt he had to try something to end the pain there (pain possibly from having shot himself in that knee 10 years earlier).
Be thankful your pain doesn’t require you to shoot yourself just to take a pill or two.

Finally , just after the Aug. 10 restrictions were imposed, British Airways refused to allow disabled New Zealand runner Kate Horan (on her way to the paralympic world championships in the Netherlands) to carry on her prosthetic leg, as she had long been allowed to do. Her checked-baggage leg was then lost in the chaos at Heathrow airport.
And you only lost a little luggage.
It takes a great airline to lose a leg.

So you see life could be worse.
Go and enjoy the day.

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my back yard where the deer and the moose run free.– Robert came home from Northern Michigan University this week and reported that a moose came on campus this last week and broke a window in the dormitory. A state wildlife expert said the moose was looking for love since it is the mating season. Well at least Northern doesn’t have giant rabbits and flying dragons. (August 25) And Northern’s moose was sober not like the two moose that came up Pigeon Fall's main street last year.
Nancy says she wishes there was some kind of party in town tonight as she misses the dragon. Not only was it fun to watch but it was good for business because people had to come in for a cup of coffee or tea so they could tell her all about what they saw. With every telling the dragon has gotten bigger and bigger. It also keeps changing color. Nancy enjoys listening to the stories even though she has heard them many times.
Pastor Marvel may be the last person left that hasn’t said that he will not run for Mayor and will not serve if elected. He could always drag out that Captain Marvel suit and take office as a super hero. Shazam!
When Eino went to the school to check out Tommy’s alibi for his last supposed offense he discovered that Tommy was a straight A student. Why does such a smart kid do such dumb things? That time Tommy was either innocent or had learned how to be in two places at the same time. Now for a straight A student that might be a possibility.
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Link for Today-The World According to Davenelli- Please remember to leave the words DR. John in the comment to get those always found JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your points. Coming up Monday we draw for collectible haloween bears.
We had a very good day today. My son and family came from Green Bay and spent the day. We went out and ate at Fob's. We spent most of the afternoon just talking but Peter did take care of some of the odd jobs around here. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Thank you blogger

Saying for the Day:It is good to let somebody know we are thankful for them.

I want to take the time in my blogging adventure to say thank you Blogger.
That’s right “Thank You Blogger”.

I know that’s not what we usually say about Blogger.
We complain when its slow.
We complain when we can’t get in to somebody’s comment box.
We complain when we get one of those “the technician has been advised” notices.
Those things always seem to come at the wrong time.
So we carp and we grumble.
And we say there goes Blogger again.

But not today.
Today I want to say that I marvel at what Blogger has done.
It has taken thousands of people with limited computer skills and made it possible to have a blog of their own.
In fact they have made it possible to have as many blogs as they want.
They have done this in such a way that it doesn’t take long to learn enough so that we can get our thoughts out to people we have never met.

It does all this and it works most of the time.
It has some pains.
They are growth pains for the most part.
They come from serving so many people that there is more of a chance of some part going wrong.

The best part is they have done this without charging me a cent.
Not one red cent.
Its free.

So because I love blogging and because I am really frugal.

Thank you Blogger. Thank you very much.

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News from Pigeon Falls-the little town in my backyard where the trains still run and old ladies hunt rabbits-Eino invited a rock carver in to look at the stone statue in his basement. Fredrick , is an old friend of Eino’s who makes his living carving stone statues. He examined the statue and told Eino he had never seen anything like it. It isn’t carved . There are no marks on the surface to indicate that it was chiseled or sanded . Further it isn’t plaster or cement but it has the feel of something that was poured. The stone seems like marble but it isn’t. It seems to be some kind of pressed rock. Fredrick is stumped. So Eino still doesn’t know if this is an elaborate fake or an experiment gone wrong. Perhaps he never will.
Somebody tried to break into Eino’s garage last night. It happened at about midnight. Eino has an elaborate alarm system and it went off. The outside camera got good pictures of the intruder. But it doesn’t seem like a local person. Eino sent a copy of the tape to the Homeland Security People in the hope that they might be able to identify him. Eino says he isn’t local but he still looks familiar.
Nancy says the big topic in the restaurant now is the school sports name. People are not happy with the “ The New Potatoes” as the name for all the teams. The students have gotten a lot of ribbing from students at other schools. The opposition cheer leaders are having a field day with. It could be worse . They could have changed to” The Pigeons”. The school board better put some more thought into this name business.
So far nobody has indicated that they would be willing to run for Mayor or Town Council. Day by day the list of non-candidates is growing. Jack said he would but he goes to Florida in the winter. It would be a long commute for meetings.
****

Today's Link: Who's Yo Mama? - Remember to leave the words Dr. john in the comment to get those almost antique JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your point totals.
We got up late this morning. Betty got up very late. We tried Tylenol PM last night and it seemed to have worked. I finished Dawn's print out. In the afternoon we left the fortress and went to Iron Mountain. There we got a new burner for the stove, ate at dairy queen, and went to my favorite collectibles store. I now have prizes through to the end of December. they are unique. You don't get this great stuff at Wal Mart. I decided I would start the Halloween stuff this Monday as it takes a long time to get to people. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Grandma Mabel could really cook.

Saying for the Day: They don't cook like grandma any more.

My sister , who doesn’t like Bush, told me that I had to blog at some point about my grandmother’s cooking.
The picture is of my Grandmother Mabel, my mother’s mother, with my Grandfather James and their son Donald.
It has nothing to do with gram’s cooking but I wanted a different picture than I had already used.

My grandmother came from a family of great cooks.
Her father and brother were about to open a bakery when they died in the mine accident.
She inherited all of that ability.

Every Christmas we went to her house for diner.
She provided a feast.
She made pies , custard (not soggy), lemon meringue , raspberry, and apple beter than any I’ve had since.
She also made saffron buns and saffron bread the taste of witch I can still remember.
I have tried but I have never duplicated her saffron buns.
She also made currant cookies that melted in your mouth.

Now if my sister were writing this the list would be longer.
She made a potato sausage that I hated but Dawn loved and some kind of tomato dish that we can’t pronounce yet alone spell.

When I would visit it would seem that she was always cooking.
She had a big wood stove that she cooked on.
There was always a pile of kindling next to it.
I used to build castles out of that.
The air was always filled with fantastic aromas.

Some of my greatest childhood memories are in that kitchen.

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News from Pigeon Falls-the little town in my backyard where even old ladies go rabbit hunting-Eino still hasn’t heard from the Department of Homeland Security about the stone man in the basement of his garage. They seemed more interested in the White Rabbit. It would seem they look on it as a threat to national security. Now our poor White Rabbit is not only being proclaimed as a demon by Mrs. Trumble but as a terrorist by the Department of Homeland Security. You would think they would have something more important to do.
Some people miss the dragon. They are hoping that it is hiding somewhere while its wound heals. Mrs. Trumble says that sshe thinks it’s never coming back.
Mrs. Harry Rajala went over to the casino in Watersmeet and won one thousand dollars from a slot machine. Dr. Fortress runs a bingo train to the casino every Thursday. It is always full but most people lose. Mrs. Rajala says she is going to have some repairs made on the house since she can’t get Harry to make them. She wonders why all husbands can’t be like Big Rudy.
A group of kids got caught swimming in the Crippled Creek lake. There are no swimming sign posted all around the lake but that didn’t stop them. It was a hot fall day and we don’t have many of those. One of the kids was Tommy, the undertaker’s son. He always seems to be in the center of trouble. They were given a warning by the DNR man that caught them and sent home.
The County Consolidated High School has renamed its teams “The New Potatoes”. Before this year they were called “The Savages” but the Indian community complained. They said the potatoes have no lobby and so the name should be safe. On the first broadcast of a game the announcer couldn’t keep from laughing when he announced that the New Potatoes are coming out on the field. When the team fell far behind early in the game he said “ The New Potatoes are really being mashed tonight”. Perhaps the school should rethink the name.
*****

The Link for Today-Live Forever or Die in the Attempt- Remember to put the words Dr. John in the comment to get those patriotic, flag waving JCPOINTS (makes no difference which flag).Check HERE for your points.
Betty went to Bible study this morning. I finished Dawn's blog print out for August. When Betty came home she painted some more windows outside. Now she has gone to work on an ELCW project.I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Religion isn't all bad

Saying for the Day: You have to be blind on purpose not to see the good that organised religion does.

As I read blogs I keep coming across blogs that are very anti-Christian .
They delight in lifting up every bad thing or stupid thing that christians or religious people do. According to these blogs the world would be a far better place if all religious people were removed from the planet since all bad things come from religion.
Without us there would be no wars, no poor, no pollution etc.

Now it certainly true that there are people who claim to follow Christ that are evil.
They are in the KKK and other hate groups.
It is not hard to find them and point a finger at them.

My problem is that these anti-Christian people pay no attention to the good that people do in the name of Jesus.
Last Sunday in the church I attend all of the front pews were covered with quilts the ladies made that are going to an agency that will distribute them to people who need them.
They will be given after natural disasters, and to people in need around the world.
The ladies who made them will never get any money or even a thank you.
But because of them and thousands like them the world will be a better place.

At the same service one of the church members got up and talked about a Crop walk for hunger.
Three people didn’t hesitate to volunteer to take part as walkers and others indicated they would be happy to sponsor the walk.
Last year it raised $4000 and $ 1000 of it went to a local food bank.

Every year my church raises thousands of dollars for World Hunger because these Christian people care.
Multiply that by thousands of Christian congregations and try to see the impact they are having in this world.

In addition I don’t think you can find a group fighting for human rights, to feed the poor, to end pollution that doesn’t contain pastor, priests and active church members.
That too has its impact.

Organized religion has its faults and its failures but it also has an impact for good.
One has to be blinded by hatred for religion not to see that.

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my backyard where the trains still run and old ladies hunt rabbits out of season.-Mrs. Trumble got herself a small game license yesterday. A small game license entitles you to hunt rabbit, hare, squirrel, pheasant, ruffed grouse, woodcock, quail, woodchuck, crow, skunk, and coyote .Rabbit season starts on September 15 and runs until March 31. Mrs. Trumble says there is no limit in the law as to the size of the rabbit. Now she is legal.One always knew that she was a law abiding person.
Pigeon Falls has had an influx of workers that have come to work on the mountain project at Crippled Creek. These are not the type of men that drink tea and eat saffron buns so they won’t be hanging out at Nancy’s. But you can bet the Fly Inn Bar will be doing good business. On the other hand Big Rudy stops in at Nancy’s for a cup of tea almost every day. He says that since he quit drinking he has developed a real taste for tea and saffron buns. He and his wife sit down to tea every afternoon when he gets his chores done. He said he never knew what he was missing.
Pigeons don’t fly south for the winter but some of pigeon Fall’s pigeons have gone somewhere . The one’s that are left aren’t nearly as messy.
Eino hasn’t heard from Homeland security about the rock man. They promised to get back to him and he wishes they would hurry.
The White Rabbit continues to act as if it wasn’t rabbit season. He has been seen all over the area. Even some of the men working on the mountain saw it. At first they thought they had had too much to drink. You don’t see a 2 1/2 foot rabbit every day, you know. Particularly one that smiles and waves at you. Mrs. Trumble says she is going to catch up with it and then kaboom, no more rabbit.
We haven’t seen the dragon since Mrs. Trumble shot him. It is possible she really did get rid of him.
The school kids have now nicknamed Mrs. Trumble , “Terrible Trumble”. Eino thinks Tommy put them up to it.
*****

Today's Link-Meditations from the Messy Middle of Things-Remember to leave the name Dr. John in the comment to get 5 politically correct JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total.
You may have noticed what looks like a dragon flying near the Fortress. It isn't a dragon . Its a UP mosquito.
Betty went to Tops. Then she painted some more outside windows. The police man that wants to buy our pool shell stopped in but he didn't have the money with him so he is coming back again later. I began printing out the August blogs to send to Dawn.
Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Our first Parsonage one more time

Saying for the Day: Even bad things are missed when they are gone.

Several Tuesdays ago I started this thread about life in the parsonage.

Before I leave this parsonage and begin describing the next there are a few things I need to share.

I want to tell you what we did just before we moved to our new parsonage at the other end of the parish.

When we were ready to moved we decided that we did not want to take any of the various things that inhabited that house with us.
We had enough of roaches and other bugs.

So I arranged for Betty , baby Peter, and I to go to my mother’s for a few days.

Then while they sat in the car I placed Lindane bombs in every room ( they were legal then).
I turned the furnace blower on .
Then I lit all the bombs and we left.

Two days later when we came back it was as if the house had died.
There was no movement.
In most houses there is a little movement which we ignore because its always there.
Now there were no bugs, none at all.
The Lindane also ruined the material on our living room furniture.

But we could move to a brand new home with no bugs.

Next week I will share the great parsonage war.

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my backyard where the trains still run and big rabbits steal railroad Speeders.– This morning the federal officials got the result of the fingerprints found on the Speeder. There were lots of prints but only one match and that was for Tommy, the undertaker’s son. Tommy was in the system because of some trouble he had been in before. Eino went with the officials when they questioned Tommy at school. Eino thought that he might have the person behind the White Rabbit. But Tommy said they should fingerprint the rest of the class because they will match as well. It seems that Dr. Fortress had given the boys and girls rides on the Speeder as a reward for some community service they did. When the officials checked with Dr. Fortress he confirmed Tommy’s story. While they were questioning Tommy the White Rabbit showed up out at the coal loading station. It had on its blue sweater and waved and smiled (no fangs). It seems like Tommy is home free. Poor Eino is back to square one.
While the Homeland Security people were there Eino talked to them about the man of stone he has in his garage basement. They were very interested and made some calls to their headquarters. They assured Eino that somebody would be getting in touch with him. So Eino is left waiting again.
Tommy confronted Mrs. Trunble last night and warned her that if she shot the White Rabbit she would be in trouble with the DNR since this is not rabbit hunting season and she doesn’t have a license. Her response was that this is a demon and not a rabbit. They were shouting at each other when Eino stepped in to quiet them down.
Nancy said she feels better about National security now that she has seen the agents at work.
Pastor Marvel was asked what he thought about Mrs. Trumble and the White Rabbit and he said that he had learned from the Pope to be careful about what you say .The one thing he was sure of was that the White Rabbit was not a demon and not a living creature. Mrs. Trumble took this as a personal attack on her. Perhaps, the preacher , said too much.
******

Today's Link: .:mireruhana:. - Remember to put the words Dr. John (note cupojoe just the words) in your comment to get unmarried JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total.
Just discovered that today's blog is a beta blogger. If you have a regular blogger you need to use the other to make a comment. When will blogger fix this?
WE spent most of the day waiting for Apria ( my health equipment provider ) to come and check the equipment. They never give you a time just a call tthat on such a day they will be coming. Betty got out to the Post Office and the prizes got mailed out. I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Mondays Prize Cook

Saying for the day: A comment a day keeps the psychiatrist away.

Its leave a comment Monday and I love comments.
A well written comment gives me joy even if its on some other blog.
The people who visit this blog and who visit from this blog write the best comments.

Last week I thought this comment to be very clever.
“My transition from Dr. John's Kingdom into the land of elves has left me somewhat disoriented. Let me clarify: you mean nepotism isn't the name of the three colored ice cream? That's what went wrong at Baskin Robin's yesterday. They kept trying to sell me the little guy in the back who was washing the dishes. “
I almost fell off my chair laughing. It was by Quilldancer.

Your comments lift me on days when I’m down.
If I were to give an award for kind comments day after day.
It would go to Chana.
She always seems to find a nice word to say on any blog she is at.
I wish I could be that kind.

I could go on an on as there is something wonderful about each of you.
I’ll share some of it on future Mondays.

Now to today’s prizes. When I saw this little cook I said that’s a JCPOINT prize.

He isn’t very useful but he is cute.

Of course, if you have melted butter to spread or a marinade, he’s your guy.

The rest of the time he will just stand there and look cute.
For those of you who don’t cook he will still look cute.

I suppose you could use him to brush the cat or the dog.

Good luck everybody.

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News From Pigeon Falls-The little town in my backyard where rabbits drive railroad speeders– Dr. Fortress is to concerned about the upper level railroad traffic to chase after White Rabbits. He is getting ready to blow the side of the mountain despite Mo’s objections that it might ruin Crippled Creek. The Constable is wondering if one can charge a large White Rabbit with stealing. If he catches it does he have to read it its rights. What are its rights? Does it have the right not to be shot by Mrs. Trumble at this time?If you ask Mrs. Trumble then it has no rights. Tommy, the undertaker’s kid, says it should have the same rights as we do. It seems he wants to grow up to be a lawyer .
Some people showed up, yesterday, in Pigeon Falls from the Department of Homeland Security. They were concerned that if a Speeder could be stolen a terrorist could steal an entire train. They were not amused when they were told that the crook was a giant White Rabbit in a blue sweater. This may be a break for Eino since when the Speeder was brought back down the Security people dusted it for fingerprints. They are sending them in for identification. Of course most people in Pigeon Falls won’t be in the data base so it’s a long shot.
Nancy says she was out looking at pumpkins yesterday and the crop is really looking good. They are bigger and rounder than ever.
****
Today's Link- Night Panther-Remember to put Dr. John in the comment to get those picturesque JCPOINTS. Check your points HERE.
Betty is up. The slips have been cut in and the winners of the cute cook are.

Artsytartsyviray

And

Starbender

Congratulations.
Betty got a little window painting in before it got too cold. Other than that it was one of those days in which next to nothing happened . This makes it hard to describe on the blog. But now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Anger step seven in grief

Saying for the day: If you must be angry be angry at God. He will forgive where others may not.

Today and every Sunday for the next three Sunday’s we are looking at the steps in the grief process as described by Pastor Granger Westberg. These steps are:
1. Shock
2. Emotion
3. Depression
4. Physical pain
5. Fear or panic
6. Guilt
7. Anger
8. We function poorly
9. The breaking in of hope
10. The start of the new life
Of all the steps in grieving anger is probably the worst .
Deep inside we are angry because we have lost somebody we love, or because our life has to change.
We did not want this to happen. It is unfair.

The problem with anger in grieving is that it has no object.
It is just there.

So we assign it an object.
We become angry at the doctor for not saving him.
Or we become angry with the funeral director because of the way the funeral was handled.
It could be we become angry with the Pastor for the way he handled things.
All of that is not so bad.
But many people turn their anger on family.

I have seen many nice families tear themselves apart after a death.
They say things that should never have been said.
They make accusations.

All because they didn’t understand where the anger was coming from.

I tell people when you become angry after a death become angry at God.
Now that sounds odd for a clergy person to say but it makes sense.
When the grief is over God will still love you.
However, if you turn on your relatives they may not.
God knows your grieving and God understands.
God will forgive you.
If you must get angry God is the very best target.

You can of course, since you now know that the anger comes from the grief, say to yourself “ I am angry because I am grieving . It is nobody’s fault and I don’t have to blame anybody”.
If you do that it will pass.
You can even ask God to help you.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my backyard where trains still run and little old ladies carry shotguns.– Dr. Fortress wants to get the trains running again and so he is going to try blowing up that section of the mountain rather than putting in a new tunnel. He thinks it will be much faster.
Dr. Fortress brought in a Speeder , which is like a small car on the tracks, to ride out and look at the tunnel. While he was up talking to Eino somebody or something stole it. At first Eino thought it was Tommy, the undertaker’s kid, but the man at the coaking station said that when it went by it was being driven by a big White Rabbit in a blue sweater. The Rabbit waved at him. He couldn’t see anybodyelse in the Speeder. Later it was found abandoned just where the track starts up to the mounatin. Mrs. Trumble said that people can see what kind of Rabbit this is that goes around stealing people’s property. She seems bound and determined to save Pigeon Falls from the Rabbit. Of course nobody was hurt and Dr. Fortress was only slightly inconvenienced. The mountain waited for him to come.
Mo is back. Remember she was the state inspector who approved the tunnel at Crippled Creek. She is not sure it is a good idea to blow up the mountain. She is afraid it will do something to the springs that feed Crippled Creek and it could go dry. She doesn’t really have the authority to stop the attempt but she has filed a complaint. Her brother , Dr. Fortress, has stopped speaking to her again just like last summer. The Methodist ladies are happy to see her . She makes great pasties. She brought with her a new safron receipe for Nancy.
****

Today's Link: Categorically Unoriginal- Remember to leave the same old Dr. John in the comment to get those unoriginal JCPOINTS. Check your total HERE.
.Went to Church this morning. I went early enough to have coffee and got to see a lot of people I haven't seen for a time. It was fun having coffee with them. The service was good , the singing great. I even learned some things that I will share in Wednesday's post. After church we went grocery shopping. Ran into the wife of my real estate agent and she said to hang in there. My daughter has a showing of her house today so it could happen. Betty worked on the mountain for a bit. My sister, who doesn't love Bush called to see if we had sold the house. Well I need a breathing treatment.

Mutant Deer

Saying for the day: If it looks like a deer, and it walks like a deer , why isn't it a deer?

After much thought and study I have come to the conclusion that our local deer are mutants. They have a different DNA then the average deer.
Why do I think this?

1. The smelly stuff that keeps the average deer away (guaranteed) doesn’t phase them at all.
You can soak the plants in it and they still eat them. ( TC that means Tiger poop wouldn’t work either)

2. The sound thing that is supposed to drive them off with a sound they can’t stand has no effect on them.
They ignore it and eat the plants.

3. Ordinary deer are chased by dogs.
These deer are not only not afraid of dogs they chase them.

4. We planted only flowers that the seed catalogues said the deer hated and wouldn’t eat.
They ate them anyway.

The only possible reason for all of this is that this is a new strain of deer.
It seems to me that this deer season we should get a local hunter to send a sample of local deer blood for DNA analysis.

These may even be deer from some spacecraft that escaped from their handlers.

There has to be some explanation for their behavior.

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News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my backyard where the trains still run and so does the White Rabbit– The town has a new problem. The tunnel over at Crippled Creek collapsed or to be more exact sunk. The engine can’t go in without hitting the roof. Dr. Fortress has had to reroute everything through the lower tunnel. This means no business for the restaurant just at the fall season. Dr. Fortress sent up a crew but it doesn’t look like there is any kind of fast solution on the horizon.
The White Rabbit showed up last night in a new blue sweater. The people that saw it said they liked the pink better. Mrs. Trumble said it makes no difference to her she will shoot no matter what color sweater the demon is wearing.
Eino announced today that he is nor running for Mayor. He does not want the job. He will not take the job. One by one the people of Pigeon Falls are standing up and counting themselves out.
Somebody suggested Pastor Marvel for Mayor. One of his members said that if he runs or gets elected that she would quit the church since the Church has no business in politics. Pastor Marvel, himself, has not commented.
The council and the Mayor are now a bigger item of conversation at Nancy’s than the White rabbit and Mrs. Trumble. People are beginning to worry that come November they will have no government. But at the same time none of them are willing to run.
The group in charge of the Pumpkin Fest are asking for ideas as to thematic things to do. There will be pumpkin carving, of course, and the pumpkin street dance. There will be a pumpkin pie throwing contest. But these are all old hat. They want something new this year.
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Link for Today: Elf Ink- Remember to put Dr. John in your comment and get five elfish JCPOINTS. Check your total HERE.
We had hoped to fix the mountain today and got a good start on it when it started to rain. That shut us down. I notice that the blog I picked foir the day has the new blogger beta blog and is giving some trouble in making comments. Margaret has some direction in one of the comments for the day on this blog. Thanks Margaret. Betty and I have decided to go to church tomorrow. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

The Drive In Church

Saying for the Day: You can worship God from the privacy of your car.

Everything these days seems to have some drive-in component .

There are drive-in banks, drive-in pharmacies, drive-in restaurants, and even drive-in funeral homes.

All this drive-in activity caused me to remember when United was a drive-in church.

I got up one morning and looked out the living room window of the parsonage.
What I saw was a truck that looked like it was parked too close to the Church.
I said to Betty “ Isn’t that truck parked awfully close to United?”.
To which she responded,” It’s not parked close its parked in the Church”.

The truck had stopped with the front end in the church and the back end sticking out.

It had been parked on the hill when some vandal let the break off and it rolled down over the curb and in through the wall.



We then had the only drive-in Church in town or in all of Upper Michigan for that matter.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my backyard where the trains still run and little old ladies carry shot guns.– Despite the many recent sightings of the White Rabbit Mrs. Trumble has not been able to catch up with it. She has been seen at many of the places where the White Rabbit appeared but just a little too late. Eino asked her who was tipping here as to the White Rabbit sightings but she wouldn’t tell him. She is saying that one of these days she will catch up with him and poof he will be gone forever.
People are really looking forward to the Pumpkin Festival because the street dances always seem to be full of White Rabbits, dragons and Trumbles. Dr. Fortress says the train for that day is already booked up and he is thinking of running another one.
Eino says he is going to have television cameras located on the roofs of buildings in town and will record the pumpkin festival to see if he can get some answers. Of course if it’s a real demon you won’t be able to get it on tape or at least that’ s what they say.
They were planning a meet the candidates night for the candidates for town council and Mayor this coming week. The only problem is there are no candidates. Nobody wants to lead Pigeon Falls into the future. This may be the only election where people spend money to keep from getting elected. Mayor South took out an add in the paper that in effect said she was not running and would not serve if elected. One wonders if Money spent to keep from getting elected has to be reported to the State Election Commission . Does it qualify as a negative add?
*****

Link for the day: Life in the Corner-Remember to put Dr. John in the comment to get those bad little JCPOINTS. Check your points HERE.
THe owner of yesterday's blog still hasn't come home to moderate his comments.So yesterday's link comments are not in the totals.
We got all of the prizes and certificates out today. Betty puttied some more windows. I ran the trains only to discover that the tunnel aon the top in the middle has sunk and the engine now hits the roof and can't go through. We m ay have to lower the mountain. So I worked on the church web site. I added a new top ten list.( Top ten uses for Water) and pictures from the Fall Congregational Picnic. Now I need to get a breathing treatment.
GBYA

I remember playing

Saying for the Day: The things you do today are the memories you have tomorrow.
The other day I got an E-mail from a friend named Ralph. In part it said
"Close your eyes...And go back.......Before the Internet or PC or the MAC……..Before Playstation, SEGA, Super Nintendo, even before Atari.......Before cell phones, CD's, DVD's, voicemail and e-mail........way back......way.....way.....way back.....

* I'm talkin' bout hide and seek at dusk
* Red light, Green light
* Red Rover....Red Rover.....
* Playing kickball & dodgeball until the first...no...second...no...third streetlight came on
* Ring around the Rosie
* London l Bridge
* Hot potato
* Hop Scotch
* Jump rope
* Duck....duck....GOOSE!!!
* YOU'RE IT!!"

Then my sister stopped in and we remembered playing a game with my mom and dad that had a can, a bat, and a ball. If the can got knocked down that was an out. We spent many evenings playing that game. The pictures are of some of the cousins we played with. The first picture has me, my sister Dawn, and my cousin Carol. The second has my cousin Edward, Me,My Cousin Ann, and Dawn.Then there were the neighborhood kids, Pogi, Stetson, Reveloe, and Pepin. So much fun all outdoors .

I am glad I grew up then.

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my backyard where the trains still run and little old ladies are pretty smart– Fredrick Olson III left today for the war in Iraq. His parents, are staunch Republicans, but are opposed to the war. But they are still proud of him. They are so afraid they won’t see him again. Pigeon Falls has been lucky so far and hasn’t lost anybody in the war. It has three young men that are serving in the military.
Tom Johanson and Michael Bispola got in a fight over at the Fly Inn Tavern last night. Tom thinks we should pull out of Iraq and was saying so in no uncertain terms along with calling the President a few choice names. Michael took it for as long as he could and then hit him in the mouth and then they really went to it. They used to be such good friends. War has a way of dividing people.
Pigeon Falls is a strange town indeed. Not only do we have the White Rabbit and the dragon but last night a deer chased a dog down the main street. It was a pretty good sized dog too.
Nancy said something seems to get into people as the Fall weather cycle begins and whatever it is isn’t good. People are crabbier and tend to react quicker. Even the animals seem to be effected. She says it will pass and one has to hope we all survive until it does.
The White Rabbit was seen again last night . Mrs. Trumble wasn’t around to shoot it as she went shopping in Iron Mountain. The Rabbit seemed to have an even bigger smile than usual.
Eino is rethinking the entire thing based on suggestions from a couple of blogging friends that he shared the problem with.
****

Today's link: decamel.net -Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those back to school JCPOINTS. Check your points HERE.
Betty went to get her hair done this morning. I finished the certificates for Catch, Margaret, and Chana. Now I am caught up until Monday's drawing. In the afternoon Betty calked windows and I worked( played) with the outside layout. I put in some new track and redid some wiring. The trains on the Pigeon Falls end of the layout are now running very well. Two people stopped and enjoyed the train. A lady had stopped in the morning. Well I need a breathing teatment.
GBYA

One Red Paper Clip

Saying for the day: Sometimes a paper clip is just a paper clip.

I am sitting here looking at a red paper clip.
It is made of plastic and I can’t remember where I got it.

But this little paper clip could be worth a house.

Please don’t laugh.

There is a man in Canada who started with a red paper clip and over a year he traded and traded until at the end he had a house.
His name is Kyle MacDonald and his new home is in Kipling, Sask.

The town was so happy over the publicity he brought them that they threw him a party.

So I sit here and look at my red paper clip and I know it will never become a house.
It will hold a few pieces of paper together and that’s it.

But still one can dream and after all Kyle did it.

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my backyard where the trains still run and little old ladies chase rabbits- Our White Rabbit has been popping up all over the place. It’s as if he saying look folks I’m very much alive. Mrs. Trumble and Demon Slayer have been following after him but never seem to catch up with him. One wonders how she is finding out so quickly where the Rabbit appears. Does she have some kind of anti-rabbit network that tips her off? She says that the Rabbit is afraid to face her directly now that she has the right bullets.
Nancy says that people are more afraid of Mrs. Trumble and her gun that they are of the rabbit. Some have even suggested the Rabbit should run for Mayor. They were joking of course.
Poor Eino is walking around muttering to himself. First he thought Mrs. Trumble lied about shooting the rabbit the first time but this time he saw her shoot and the pellets apparently go through the rabbit. But he can’t figure out how this was possible. The Rabbit couldn’t have a bulletproof vest or the pellets wouldn’t have hit the billboard. What happened isn’t possible.
Mayor South is counting the days until the November election and the end of her term as Mayor. She has made it very clear that she won’t run again. Nobody has said that they would be willing to be the new Mayor and time is running out. Being Mayor of Pigeon Falls is a thankless, difficult, low paying job with no fun attached. Tommy, the undertaker’s kid, said he would write in the White Rabbit but he’s not old enough to vote. He has a sign on his wagon that says White Rabbit for Mayor.
One thing is for sure the White Rabbit has been good for the town. With all the publicity in national grocery store tabloids and on television the town has become well known. Tourists come in by train and they eat up the White Rabbit stories. Sometimes they get to meet Mrs. Trumble and she tells how she blew it away. You can often find her down the street from Nancy’s on the big park bench with her trusty shotgun waiting for the Rabbit. The stores have White Rabbit and Dragon merchandise and a little Demon Slayer shotgun key chain. All this stuff hasn’t hurt the town at all. Unless of course you don’t want to live in a town that’s famous for impossible events and that has giant rabbits, dragons, and stone men to contend with.
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Today's Link:The Foo Logs-Remember to put the words Dr. John in the comment to get those highly soothing, crisis ending, JCPOINTS. Check your totals HERE.
Betty went to Tops. I worked out our finances on the house. We may have to take a loan on this one in order to get the one in Neenah. When Betty came home she took the mail to the Post Office and did some checking to find the neighbor who's brother might be interested in this house. Since nothing is happening with the real estate people we went to see him. He is going to call his brother . We have until the start of October and then if we are going to get a loan we have to act. Betty is going to hear the Bishop's wife talk about her visit to Tanzania. I thought of going but this has been a rough breathing day. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

First Parsonage Revisited

Saying for the Day: One needs to learn to be happy where you are.

Last week I started a Tuesday entry around the theme of tales from the parsonage.
I began by describing our first parsonage.
I want to expand that picture a bit today.

The parsonage came with a fireplace and a sauna so all was not bad.
It also had a nice enclosed study where we kept my books and Polly our parrot.
Betty was pregnant and having the laundry room off the kitchen was nice.

We were very happy there.
On a cold winter night we could snuggle up in front of a roaring fire and all was well with the world.

One other nice thing it had was a bulk gas tank at the end of the garage.
We got gas at a lower price than at the gas station as long as I got home and filled it up in my garage.
A number of times I ran out of gas trying to get home to the lower cost fuel.
To get the gas you had to back the car into the garage.
I am not a great driver and one of those attempts lead to my hitting the back wall and pushing the garage back on its cement block foundation, back but not quite off.

From this garage I served three congregations and drove fifty thousand miles a year.
It was good that gas didn’t cost $3.00 a gallon in those days.
I was happy to have the opportunity to serve God.

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News from Pigeon Falls-the little town in my backyard where the trains still run and a big white Rabbit in a pink sweater still survives.– The White Rabbit is back. There have been numerous sightings since the street dance when Mrs. Trumble’s buckshot seemed to have gone right through it. Eino simply can’t figure out because he saw Mrs. Trumble shoot and he says she aimed right at the rabbit. But he has also examined the buckshot spread on the billboard and there is no break in it. It came from the gun and hit the board and was stopped by nothing. He keeps saying that he saw it but he doesn’t believe it. Mrs. Trumble is telling everybody it proves the White Rabbit is a demon and wasn’t hurt because she didn’t have her special Holy Bullets. Next time she says she will be ready.
Nancy says that people coming into her little place seem happy that the White Rabbit is back. Nobody understands how the Rabbit wasn’t hurt when Mrs. Trumble shot it but at the same time they are glad it wasn’t. Despite Mrs. Trumble very few are afraid of the smiling , waving , Rabbit. Mrs. Trumble says that they will be afraid when they see the fangs that she has seen. According to her the White Rabbit just pretends to be a nice bunny when it suits him.
Tommy, the undertaker’s kid, says that when he saw the White Rabbit swimming it didn’t have any fangs and it didn’t even know he was there.
The town is now gearing up for the pumpkin festival which will come the first Saturday in October. Locally grown pumpkins will be judged in term of size and roundness as well as color. Of course there will be another street dance and all the other things that go with a festival. If there is anything Pigeon Falls loves it’s a festival.
*****
The Link for Today: Just Me and My Creation..Remember to put Dr. John in the comment to get those hand carved JCpoints. Check your total HERE.
The great procrastinator finally got three of the Dr.'s degrees out today. I still need to hear from Catch, Margaret, and Chana as to what name they want on their certificate. You can send the name to me at linnajohn@sbcglobal.net . My sister who strongly dislikes President Bush stopped in today and took us out to lunch. She was so down on the President I was almost tempted to defend him but I didn't yield to the temptation. We did have a good talk and a journey down memory lane. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

9/11

Saying for the Day: Real Freedom is costly.

First of all the usual Monday business.

We draw today for two cute teapot tea bag holders.

Now you too can have a place to put that messy teabag.

Each name drawn will get one tea bag holder.

Enough of business/




Today is the anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the United States.
Five years ago everything changed.
We suddenly were not in a safe nation with all the terror out there somewhere.
Out there was now here.

Since then little has happened to make us feel more secure.

So today is a day to ask questions about the reality of life.

Ask yourself how much freedom you want to give up to feel safe.

Ask yourself what is the meaning , if any, of 9/11.

Ask yourself why are we at war in Iraq.

Ask yourself what kind of religion drives a person to blow himself up in the name of God and in order to kill others.

Ask yourself if we can change things in the November elections.

I suspect that we will come up with different answers.
We still have the right to do that.
We are still free.

Because of 9/11 the link today will take you to a blog remembering one of those who died then.

Please do not put Dr. John in the comment today. It would be in bad taste.
We will go back to the silly stuff tomorrow.
We are free to do that.

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my backyard where the trains still run and bullet proof rabbits hop through– Pigeon Falls is almost shut down today. The town council voted to make this a day of remembrance of 9/11. This afternoon the names of all those who died will be read by the three local clergy from the bandstand at the center of town. All the flags are being flown at half mast. It is a solemn day that will be long remembered .
*****

Today's Link: Shelli's Sentiments - do not put Dr. John in the comment. Check your JCPOINTS HERE.
The names drawn this morning are Catch, and Annette Burkette
Betty had to serve at a funeral today. I played some computer games and watched some of the memorial services on tv. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Guilt step six in grieving

Saying for the Day: Mea culpa! Mea Culpa!

Today and every Sunday for the next four Sunday’s we are looking at the steps in the grief process as described by Pastor Granger Westberg. These steps are:
1. Shock
2. Emotion
3. Depression
4. Physical pain
5. Fear or panic
6. Guilt
7. Anger
8. We function poorly
9. The breaking in of hope
10. The start of the new life
When we grieve we almost always reach a stage of feeling guilty.
Deep inside of us we feel somehow responsible for what has happened.
We say things like “ If only I had been there” , “ I should have made him go to the doctor” or “ I should have checked the batteries in the smoke alarm”.

Often this guilt adds to our feeling of depression or isolation.
There are two type of guilt in grief namely deserved guilt and undeserved guilt.

Deserved guilt comes from things you should or shouldn’t have done. You shouldn’t have said those things to her. You should have visited more often.

Undeserved guilt comes when you feel guilty for things you couldn’t change.
You couldn’t have made him go to the doctor unless you tied a logging chain around his neck and attached it to the truck.
You couldn’t spend all your time visiting her in the hospital.
When you hold undeserved guilt up to the light of reason it evaporates.

For the Christian the solution to both kinds of guilt is the same
You need to ask God for forgiveness and then you need to forgive yourself.
You have to forgive yourself and let go of the guilt.

Because God forgives you then you can as well.

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New from Pigeon Falls-the little town in my backyard where the trains still run and sweet little old ladies carry shotguns.– Last night was the wildest potato festival dance in the history of Pigeon Falls. The Trusty Trumbles were playing and lots of people were dancing. There were a few just drinking. They were all on the end of main street in front of the Pigeon Statue. Mrs. Trumble was seated on a bench about a quarter of the way up from the other end of the street.
Suddenly Tommy, the undertaker’s kid , who was recording the band, suddenly hollered out there it is.Everybody looked in the direction he pointed and there was the White Rabbit wearing its pink sweater. It hopped out into the street just as Mrs. Trumble took aim and fired. She could not have missed. He was directly in front of her and she fired both barrels. The White Rabbit , turned , looked at her, and then hoped back towards the woods still smiling and waving. Mrs. Trumble ran to the end of the street but he was gone. “The pellets went through him”, she said, over and over. Then she said “the wrong shells” . Apparently she had regular shotgun shells instead of the silver ones with a drop of Holy Water in them.
They tried dancing after that but it wasn’t the same. The White Rabbit was back and Mrs. Trumble, whatever her excuse, had failed to destroy him. One wonders if Vicki will have to add another verse to her Trumble song.
This morning Eino checked out the billboard that was behind the White Rabbit. It was covered with shotgun pellets in a perfect spread. They do seem to have passed through the White Rabbit. Eino says that’s not possible. But half the town saw it.
*****

Todays link: kat's random thoughts....Remember to put Dr. John in the comment to get those highly scheduled JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total.
We don't have to wait for Betty since the daily contest is over.
I read all of the comments on yesterdays link. It seems good that there was a dialogue between teachers and a disgruntled student. Each got to look at things from the others perspective. Teachers saw through the eyes of a student and the student through the eyes of a teacher. I think Quilldancer did a marvelous job and as a former teacher I applaud her. This sort of give and take is one of the things that blogs are all about.
I transfered the credits for blog explosion to Chana, Catch, Cindy, and Margaret. That leaves Nea and Betty. Betty doesn't have a blog explosion account and I don't know if Nea does or not.
In terms of the degree certificates I have names for three of the seven. I still need a name for the certificate from Catch, Chana, and Margaret .
Betty and I went to the churcvh picnic today. It was nice to see so many people.
Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Another Phone Game

Saying for the day: A game well played is a reason for pride.

Yesterday I had a call that was not a recording and I had a chance to play the telephone game.( The idea of the game is to get the salesperson to hang up without ever getting to his main presentation.
The call went like this.

Me..Hello
Salesperson.. Is this Mr. John Linna

Me.. Yes it is.
Sa. I am calling for General Motors Credit Card..

Me. General Motors isn’t that a big company.
Sa. Yes it is.

Me. I got my car from them.
Sa. Good . I’m calling for General Motors.

Me. You have the wrong number.
Sa. Aren’t you John Linna

Me. Yes but you want General Motors .
SA. No,no, No I am calling for General Motors.

Me. But this isn’t General Motors. I don’t even work for them.
Sa. You don’t understand I am calling for General Motors.

Me. That would be the local Chevrolet Garage.
Sa. What.

Me. Wait a minute my wife will get that number for you . Betty
Sa. No-

Me. Its okay., It’ll just take her a minute she has to find the book. Honey look under the paper on the shelf.
Sa. No , I don’t want the garage.

Me. Well look I don’t work for General Motors . Do I have the same name as a Vice President or something?
Sa. Let me try again. I am calling for General Motors not to talk to them.

Me. You are calling General Motors but you don’t want to talk to them. That doesn’t make any sense.
Sa. Have a nice day.
Dial tone…..
I win

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my backyard where the trains still run and sweet little old ladies carry shotguns.– Still no sightings of the White Rabbit or the Dragon.
Tonight the big street dance for the Potato Festival. Big Rudy offered to clean the potatoes for the big potato eating contest. What has goten into that guy? A local group “The Trusty Trumbles” will be playing. You might know them as the “Dragon Fires” but they changed their name in the light of recent events. Tonight there will be plenty of beer and lots of French fries . People are waiting for the White Rabbit to show up. Mrs. Trumble says she will be ready. Eino is trying to find some way to prevent her from coming with that shotgun but so far he has had no luck.
Mrs. Trumble seems upset by all the attention she is getting. She says she just wanted to serve the community and save it from the demons. She doesn’t want any praise.
Nancy says she wishes for the good old days wjen people talked about other things than Mrs. Trumble and the dragon. Isn’t anybody cheating on their spouse anymore. Isn’t anybody on the edge of divorce. Hasn’t Tommy done anything worth talking about. All she gets to hear is Trumble, Trumble, Trumble. She is afraid that when Vicki gets her song done people will come in singing it. She thinks the town is suffering a bad case of Trumbleitis . There is no real cure for that either.
*****

Link for Today: Dust on a Dusty Road.. Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comments- to get those very wise JCPOINTS.Check your totals HERE.
We don't care when Betty gets up since the contest is over. We are going to wait a bit before starting the next one. Can't take the stress of waiting for a winner. We are considering other uses for those piles of worthless JCPOINTS. Perhaps an auction.
Didn't do much today. My sister who doesn't like the President called. Her son's football team ( the team he coachs) won today. Sometime life is good. Betty and I went to church. Then we went grocery shopping. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA