Dr. John's Fortress: October 2006

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

An important call

Saying for the day: Some phone calls are more important than others.

After we had lived in the parsonage for a short time we got a new mattress .
It was delivered and left in the living room.
I was home alone and decided to take it up to the bedroom myself ( I was young ).
I hoisted it onto my back and started up the stairs .
In the middle of the stairs there was a landing and I reached it only to discover it was very hard to turn with a mattress on your back.
It caught on the wall.
I was struggling to make the turn when the phone rang.
Since I was alone (no answering machine) it was up to me to answer it.
I had to jiggle out from under without having the mattress push me down the stairs.
I lodged the mattress onto the landing and raced downstairs.
Out of breath I answered the phone.
It was a nice lady who wanted to tell me she wouldn’t be in church Sunday and why.
I had almost killed myself getting to the phone because she thought I was checking on her attendance.
At that point I could have hit her with the stupid mattress but I told her thank you for calling.
Then I went back to fighting with the mattress which was now stuck on the landing.
It took a half an hour to move it the rest of the way.
From this I learned two things.

One man shouldn’t do a two person job even if he can.

All telephone calls are not important.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my garage where the trains still run and tall stories are told.-The Liars Club met last night for their monthly meeting and Donna Bergall told this story.
“ Once upon a time there was a single star that had used up all the material in its stellar disk far too fast and so it had no planets. It was a very lonely star. There were no planets for it to give light to or to warm with its rays. There were no planets where beings would develop. There would be no lazy humans to see the stunning sunrise while hacking away at a tree. No slobbery children chasing creatures with wings. Of course there would be no conflicts or such horror as humans are capable of. There would be no holidays like Halloween . There were no beings in any condition good or bad. There was no football, basketball, or baseball tournament for the sun to shine on while somebody’s team would lose. There was no long expanse of sand where people kicked beach sand into somebody’s face. And the sand was hot because of the sun. There was no bossy cook making hamburger patties for a group of kids that would snuggle together when the sun went down. There would be no electric switch to turn on lights when the little sun was shining on the other side.
There would be no cushy theater seats where people saw a movie with beautiful pictures of sunrise and sunset. No our poor little sun would never know any of that. So it spent its days crying and thinking about adopting a planet in some far off system. Some little planet where some old man with a telescope would discover it and it would have a name and be talked about. Until then it would try to catch meteors and asteroids and put together a build a planet kit so that before it flamed out it could have a little planet of its own.Now if only somebody would tell it how to make people.
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Link for today- Mini Nerd-blog of Stephen- Remember to leave the words Dr. John in your comment to get those pumpkin shaped JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total.
I have decided to postpone the mini-marthon one week so that Chana can recover from this spell. I know she loves the marathon and I don't want poor cuppojoe having to write all those comments for her. Given her determination and super powers she should be well again by next Wednesday. B etty and I are scheduled to see the doctor this morning and get our flue shots. I hate shots. One last note the Bergall story this morning owes its nature to Cindra Jo. I can't enter it in her contest because it can't be anonymous . Once you have seen it here you would know it is mine and I don't have time to write two stories . Besides I looked at the two stories already in the comments on her blog and I would get my but kicked. One show off even used every word twice.
Well we went and got our flue shots. Then we brought our recyclables in to the pick up point. Then we went back to the garage and cleaned and we still aren't done. My computer is having trouble with blogger and I think it is my computer because Betty isn't having the same problem. I had trouble getting to blogs today.My sister called and thanked me for the research which forms the base for tomorrow's blog. I need a breathing treatment. Betty said no new computer and I should stop complaining in the post. I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Monday, October 30, 2006

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Forgivness for the person with no faith

Saying for the day: Forgive! It's the healthy thing to do.

Last week we looked at forgiveness as the expectation of God for those who believe in Christ.
Today I want to tell you why you should forgive even if you don’t believe in God.

Lets begin with the assumption that most people have.
They believe that forgiveness is for the one that gets forgiven.
Nonsense!
When I forgive somebody it doesn’t do a thing for them.
It doesn’t make them happier.
It doesn’t change their life.
It might even make them feel guilty and make them miserable.
This is so because if were fighting with somebody they really don’t care what we do or what we think.
Our forgiving them is not important to them.
They don’t even think they need to be forgiven.
Forgiveness is not for the forgiven.

The person that is helped by my forgiving is me.
I don’t have to be angry any more.
I don’t have to go over and over what they said or what they did.
My blood pressure can return to normal.
The stress on all parts of my body is eased.
My act of forgiveness makes my life better.
Think of how you felt the last time you were really mad at somebody.
The sooner we forgive the sooner that ends.

If this is true why aren’t we quick to forgive?
There is a part of us that wants to punish the person who upset us.
There is a part of us that wants revenge.
If we let it that part of us overrides everything else.
Then , our friends are perverse enough to feed our anger.
It gets worse and worse.
We are miserable.
The people around us are miserable.

But we can control that part.
We can decide to forgive.
We can let go of what ever we were stewing over.
We can decide to set ourselves free.
Then we must do it.

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News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my garage where the train still runs and there are all kinds of unsolved mysteries.– The New Potatoes played their last football game of the season. They lost. It gave them a perfect record of 7 loses and no wins. One cynic said the team needed a new cheer.” Are we going to win tonight? No!No!No! The coach felt bad he did his best but they didn’t have many kids come out for the team and those that did didn’t have a lot of talent. Of course the team name didn’t help any. Well there is always next year.
Eino is convinced that some government agency is involved in this Hermit Statue Mystery. He doesn’t think they are trying to solve it but in some way they caused it. But why would they do it? The answer again gives more questions.
Eino’s son Robert was home from college on the weekend and got together with some of the other s that graduated last spring. They have some kind of plan but even Eino doesn’t know what it is. But they all agreed to do something together on election day. Eino says if they write his name in he’ll decline the election and they need to know that.
Nancy says that Donna Bergall was in for her free cup of coffee and saffron bun and told another of her stories. This one was about a town with no government. It was a scary story fitting for the upcoming Halloween.
Tommy is wondering if on Halloween the dragon will fly. If he is a demon a s Mrs. Trumble says it is a fitting night. A night of ghosts , goblins, and flying dragons.
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Today's Link: Pieces of Me-Remember to put the words Dr. John in your comment to get those comforting JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your totals.
For those who are concerned I found my teeth. They were soaking in their proper container in the back of a drawer in the kitchen. How they got there is a mystery but I have my suspicions.
I worked all morning on moving th echurch web page from Publisher 98 to Publisher 2000 since that's the version that is running in the church and I need to turn the web site over to the secretary when I leave. In the afternoon Betty and I worked in the garage . The last of the Pigeon Falls houses that were damaged in the big storm have been fixed and stored. Then Betty went Christmas shoppinng in the pile of catalogues we have. Well I need a bretahing treatment .
GBYA

Saturday, October 28, 2006

HAppy Days are Here Again

Saying for the Day: You would be suprised at what makes people happy.

If I was young and didn’t have so much arthritis I would be doing hand stands right now.
Well, maybe, not hand stands but at least some kind of happy jumping.
I called our Pastor last night and asked a favor and he was nice enough to grant it.
Since they are having a going away coffee for us on November 5th I asked if I could preach one last time at the three services and he said , YES.

I am going to stand in United’s pulpit one more time.
I am going to speak the Word from God to God’s people one more time.
You can not begin to understand what that means to me.
Preaching was the center of my life.
Every week I studied and every Sunday I preached.
For 35 years I filled that pulpit.
I hated to be away from it.
Since my illness I have not had the opportunity or , at least part of the time, the strength.

I get to preach on All Saints Sunday.
I think of all those people who shared with me in this proclaiming of the good news who have gone home and it seems like a wonderful Sunday to end my ministry in and with United.

I am so excited.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my garage where the trains still run and nobody wants to be Mayor– Eino’s friend from Portland told Eino that he couldn’t find anything on the company or the process in all those books. But he did find some articles in which it was rumored that the government was running secret experiments in teleportation that failed. The article said some people had to have limbs amputated because they became “ rock hard”. The writers of the articles quoted unnamed government sources.
Eino is fairly sure he knows how the Hermit Statue was made and that it wasn’t a failed teleportation but a machine that makes three dimensional statues out of paste and marble dust. But he is beginning to think the government is involved in some way. It still makes no sense.
The White Rabbit made an appearance last night at Middle Crossing. He waved to the passengers on the afternoon train as it left Pigeon Falls. I understand some took pictures. The White Rabbit had on his patriotic sweater. Somebody called Mrs. Trumble but she wasn’t home and her cell phone was turned off. But somebody must have gotten a hold of her because she was seen coming back from Middle Crossing in her truck. Well , they think it was Middle Crossing. That’s where the road goes. She could have been rabbit hunting as she had Dragon Slayer with her.
The Council voted to raise everybody’s tax bill and give the city employees a raise. They figured they were safe in doing that because they don’t intend to run for office again. People are steaming mad but not mad enough to run. One suspects the council was trying to provoke people enough to get them to run so they could change the action which doesn’t take effect until January. But it didn’t work. It just seems hopeless.
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Today's Link: Are We There Yet? Please remember to put the words Dr. John in the comment to get those friendly JCPOIINTS. Check HERE for your total.
Betty went to a Women's gathering at teh Church. I spent the morning doing some research for my sister Dawn. I also printed out all my blogs since the last set I sent her. I pulled it all together and we will mail it to her on Monday. Betty and I went to church. The sermon was good but the attendance bad. Then we went grocery shopping. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Friday, October 27, 2006

Cleaning the Desk Top

Saying for the day: You can tell a lot about a person by the pile on their desk.

Today a few things that have piled up and aren’t enough for a whole days entry.

First the church is giving us a going a way coffee on the 5th of November.
The problem with this is what if we don’t go.
Will I have to hide, going out only at dark?
Will I have to join a different church?
Will I need plastic surgery or a disguise?
If we don’t get the house will I have to go live with my son.
Which son will have us?
Don’t you just hate when people are nice to you?

Second does anyone know where an old fellow would put his teeth?
I can’t find mine and I want to eat some corn on the cob.
They used to be next to the tap on the sink in the kitchen but not any more.

Third a telephone game too short for a whole entry:
telemarketer: This is ,,, mortgage services. Is this Mr. John Lena
Me– Before I answer that tell me why you think I would be interested In a mortgage? Keep in mind I’m recording this conversation.
She hung up. I win. What a poor player.

Finally –Why do banks put their forms on 8 1/2 by 14 inch paper instead of legal size?
My copier only does legal size.
Now my mortgage company wants a copy of the mortgage on this house so I have to find a big copier.

All this junk comes together because tomorrow I have to find my teeth so I can go up to the church and use their copier.
That’s so I can get the loan and leave so the coffee wont be wasted.
All the while I’m doing this I’m wondering who told the mortgage company on the phone I was looking for a loan.
My bet is the real estate agent in Neenah.

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my garage where the trains still run and where a big White Rabbit could be the next Mayor.-Tommy, the undertaker’s kid has a big sign on his wagon that says “Elect the White Rabbit Mayor”. One wonders if he wants the dragon on the council. Perhaps Nancy will ask him/ Pigeon Falls would make the national news again as the only town to elect a rabbit as Mayor. The Rabbits slogan could be “Elect Me and I’ll Keep Things Jumping”
Eino has yet to hear from his friend in Portland but then his friend has a lot of books to go through. While he is waiting he has been looking into the machine that can make small statues of the same material as the Hermit Statue. He is beginning to think that somebody made a bigger machine and copied the Hermit. But he can’t begin to fathom why. Why make a pseudo marble statue of the Hermit and cause it to be found? What purpose does it serve? Who do they want to fool and who is doing the fooling? Every time Eino gets an answer it gives him six new questions.
Nancy says she is giving up and getting ready to live in a town with no government. She assumes the state will come in and do something. That can be either good or bad. In State elections the town has always voted Democratic and the Governor is a Democrat so that could be good. Of course after the election the Republican could be governor. It all depends on whose lies you want to believe , his or hers.
*****

Today's Link-The World According to Davenelli- Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those very club oriented JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your totals. It is Friday and Betty will draw when she gets up for the PIc a Prize contest.

Betty is up. Betty draws.

There is a drumroll ( very quiet drum)

and the winner is

Stacy

Congratulations. Now she needs to go to the Pic a Prize list and leave a comment with the number of the prize chosen.Betty finished painting the windows today. we filled out the pile of forms for the mortgage company and sent those in. I visited the Ellis Island web site and did some family research. I called my sister who wanted the information and she was very thankful. I called my Pastor but that converstaion will be the beginning of tomorrow's blog. Betty and I also went and took pictures of the quilters to use on the web site. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Uncle Marvin

Saying for the Day: It's not what you know but who you know that counts.

This is a picture of my Great Aunt Bessie and Uncle Marvin Everett.
They lived in Toldeo, Ohio and were the nicest people you could ever meet.
Great Aunt Bessie was my grandmother’s sister.

Sometimes when I was visiting my grandmother their son Paul would visit and we would explore the cliffs behind Gram’s house together.
Paul always had a good story to tell.

My Great Uncle Marvin started as a deckhand on a Pittsburgh Steamship and worked his way up to Captain.
Once he was Captain my Great Aunt sailed with him in the summer.
He used his influence to get me a job on the boats that paid for most of my college.
He had the terrible task of coming to the boat in Duluth where we were laying up because of a strike and telling me that my Finnish Grandfather had died.
He arranged train tickets and sent me home.
How lucky I was that he was there.

Betty and I had an opportunity to visit them in their home in Toledo and they treated us like royalty.
They even served steaks which in those days was quite a treat.

I’m sure there is a special place in heaven for them both and that they still look in on me from time to time from up there.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my garage where the trains still run and winter is coming.– It has been very cold in Pigeon Falls the last few days. The pond at Crippled Creek has frozen over. People are wearing heavy coats. The furnaces have been turned back on and where people are burning wood you can see streams of white smoke. For a few days there was snow on the ground but it melted. It will be back soon, however. Jack is getting ready to move to Florida for the winter as he has the last few years. One hopes that he will find somebody to run the Sauna since this is the time of year you need it to take the chill out of the bones. Of course our old Finns used to take a Sauna and then roll in the snow. Then take another one. They said it cleaned the pores. It seems about as strange as those people who cut holes in the ice to go swimming.
The deer hunters are hoping for a light tracking snow and, of course, so is Mrs. Trumble. There needs to be a delicate balance. If the snow is too deep it is hard to move in the woods and the deer hears you coming. IF there is no snow tracking is much harder. What they are praying for is some light tracking snow. One wonders what kind of tracks a two and one half foot rabbit leaves. Well we will see.
Nancy says that people really want Mayor South to stay on but she is just now willing to put up with the abuse any longer. People can be so hard on their leaders. They blame them for everything that goes wrong. They call them insulting names. They don’t even try to understand the hard choices leaders have to make. Well Mayor South will have no more of it.
IN Pigeon Falls it is not a Republican or Democrat sort of thing. The people who run for the council or who used to run for council never claimed any party. They just ran for council or Mayor. The guy that ran against Mayor South in the last election has left the area or he might have run again.
Nancy has announced that she will give a year’s supple of coffee and saffron buns to anybody who will run for the office. That’s a free cup of coffee every day and a free saffron bun. But there have been no takers. You can’t even bribe them to take the office.Perhaps, Nancy will give up trying to find somebody and run , herself.
*****

Today's Link: The Ramblings of an Undisturbed Mind-Remember to keave the words Dr. John in the comment to get your not very tool like JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your points which couuld win you what is on the Pic a Prize list.
In the morning I visited and read every blog on my new link list. I felt like I'd done a marathon.
There are just too many good blogs and nice bloggers out there and I am so selfish I want to see all of them.
In the afternoon we received a package from the mortgage company. All the things they want. So Betty and I spent the afternoon finding all those forms. Along with that there were two calls to the comapany for explanations. I need to make one more call tomorrow . Then when we get the big forms copied we can send this all in. I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Thousand Individual Points Club (TIPC)

Saying for the day: Of the forming of clubs there is no end.

What this world really doesn’t need is another club.
There are clubs for fat people see Betty’s blog for Today and there are clubs for thin people.
There are clubs for crafty people and people who jump off of bridges.
There are so many clubs it would be hard to keep track of them.
Having said that I want to call your attention to just one more club.
It is the JCPOINTS “Thousand Individual Points Club“ or TIPC.
Yesterday there were five TIPC bloggers , Margaret, Catch, Friday’s Child, Stacy, and Chana.
Today we welcome two new members.

Cindy and Quilldancer.

Like all good clubs this one entitles you to something.
Our club perks :
1. You can refer to yourself as being TIPC and not have to drink to get there.
2. You get a free cup of coffee and a saffron bun every time you visit the real world fortress of Dr. John.
3. A beautiful membership card ( not yet sent due to Dr. John’s belonging to the Procrastinators Club.)
4. Better odds on the Monday and Friday drawings.( Why do you think they win so often)
5. First blogs to be visited by Dr. John in the morning.
6. Top place in Dr. John’s Link list.
7. Bragging rights
These , of course, are not all the perks the rest are detailed in the beautiful brochure that they received (will receive) with the card.

When you become TIPC you know you have arrived ( you just don’t know where).

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Please note that today's Pigeon Falls is owed to Cindra Jo and her 18 word challenge. The darkened words are hers and in the order in which she gave them.
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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my garage where the trains still run and ordinary people get to play detective.-Eino called a good friend who lives in Portland and asked him to go to Powell’s City of Books , a veritable wonderland, and look through the 1,ooo,ooo books they have there for books about the company that bought the Hermit House. The friend in Portland owed Eino a favor though he can barely remember why. Eino felt that an independent like his friend on a foraging expedition will do better than Homeland Security. Eino would wander through the store himself if he had the time.
Mrs. Trumble is wondering what it is that lures the White Rabbit to come out. She is offering a reward for this information or any information that culminates in the capture of the White Rabbit , dead or alive. Tom, the game warden , said she better not break any laws.
Bob Murphy , who suffers from bibliophila, has been pestering Mayor South to put books in the city bathrooms. She said she is afraid people would be tripping over them and sue the city. Bob says the flippin' Mayor doesn’t know what she is talking about. She acts so pretentious but doesn’t love books. Mayor South covets the time when she won’t be Mayor any more and won’t have to put up with this. One can predict , without fear that she won’t run again. It looks like the town will need lots of luck to get anybody to run and Bob might be one of the reasons.
*****

Today's Link:Juz Z h1yong Blog: Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those world traveling JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your totals. JCPOINTs are, of course, the doorway to the dreary world of Pic A Prize.
Betty went to Tops. I spent the morning and most of the afternoon redoing my link list. I added a bunch of new links including Rev. Dr.Kate, Smythe, Qusar9, Sunflower Optimism, Josie, Cuppojoe, Cindra Jo, Kat Campbell, Zingtrial, Candy, Butterflies, Sandy, and Sleeplessinoklahoma. I have also tested the links and they seem to work.
Betty spent teh afternoon cleaning out the pool on the layout. she drained the water and pulled the pump. She had to break the ice off the top to get to the water. She was pretty cold when she came in. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Tales from the Parsonage

Saying for the day: Watch out for the but.."

One Sunday afternoon after I had been in the Trout Creek Parish about two months we had visitors at the parsonage.
Now , to be honest with you, visitors at the parsonage when there is no Bible study and no invitation make me nervous.

The three ladies were from the middle Church in the Parish.
One of them was on the Church Council.
We invited them in and offered them a cup of coffee.
They looked very nervous.

“Pastor” the leader said, “we know you are just out of seminary”.
Now that phrase did not give me good feelings.
Then she said” We know your young.”
Now I am feeling even worse.
Its bad enough being just out of seminary but being young as well makes it even worse.
Then she said, “ We know this is your first parish”.
Now I am guilty on three fronts and the really bad word was coming.

She went on, “ You preach a powerful sermon “ then the bad word “but”.

When the word but comes in a sentence where the person just said something nice about you, then you know your in trouble.

“But your sermons are too short”!
There it was the terrible truth.
I knew it was true.
I had followed a line of thirty minute preachers and I had to stretch to reach fifteen minutes.
I was in trouble.
She pointed out that short sermons like mine weren’t worth getting out of bed for.

I thanked her and promised I would try to do better.

Hey, I was young. I could improve.

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my garage where the trains still run and so does Mrs. Trumble– The White Rabbit was seen last night in his red , white and blue sweater. He was down by the railroad station waving at the incoming passenger train. Mrs. Trumble was on the platform with her shotgun but couldn’t get a clear shot at him. She was afraid of hitting the kids playing in the school playground. After he did his vanishing act she went to see Mayor South and demanded that the city council do something to get rid of this menace. “It could have gone after the kids in the playground and hurt them” she said. It’s the job of the city council and Mayor to protect us. Mayor South was polite and told her there was nothing they could do under the law. The White Rabbit had broken any laws. Mrs. Trumble complained that by wearing that sweater the rabbit was insulting both flag and country.
Some people are afraid that if she gets too mad she will run for Mayor. She would be a one issue candidate. Her one issue would be rabbit eradication. She would use the office to get that rabbit and then quit. One has to hope that nobody suggests this to Mrs. Trumble. Can you imagine a debate where Mrs. Trumble is one of the candidates? It would be weird. But then small town politics is often weird.
Local people are going to the deer camps on Saturdays and Sundays to get them ready for deer season. Everybody has a deer camp or belongs to some group that has access to one.
*****

Today's link:-My Knitted Family- Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those highly animated JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your points.
We got another blogger cup mailed out ( four to go) and Monday's and last Friday's prizes. I do procrastinate. Followers of the White Rabbit might go to Magaret's blog and see her White Rabbit cartoon. You might also go to Cindra Jo's blog so that tomorrow's Pigeon Falls will make more sense. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Monday, October 23, 2006

Monday -Leave a Comment

Saying for the day: The saddest words that one can say are " Blogger's down".

Its “Leave a Comment Monday”.
The day when good bloggers leave a comment at every blog they visit.
This is not the day to read and run .
Comments are the fuel that keep a blog going.
They make you want to keep blogging.

Again this last week I received some great comments from some great bloggers.
So many good comments that it is hard to pick the best one’s.
A job made even harder by blogger being down two nights in a row.
I went to copy the comments I wanted and couldn’t get to my blog .
But its free.
But its free.
But its free.
This is my new mantra, But its free.
It keeps you from being too upset with blogger.
But its free.
And you don’t have to say it too often.
But its free.
I have it under control.
I do.
It’s free you know.
I will not let it upset me.
It’s free.

Well I’ve pulled myself together before I hit my computer monkey.
The poor thing was really scared that I had lost it.
But I haven’t.
Just because two nights in a row I couldn’t go to or leave comments on my links is no reason to be upset.
It is just a computer.
It is just a blog.
It is not essential.
Blogger is free.

Back to the main topic if I could remember what it is.
Oh yes! The best comments for the week.
Well because I couldn’t check them out last night and don’t have time to this morning I will have to let that go.
I might get the comment wrong or ascribe it to the wrong person.
Life is tough.

Later this morning we will draw for a name in our Pick A Prize contest. The winner gets to choose from our pic a prize list.
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News from Pigeon Falls-The little town that was in my backyard where the trains still run and nobody else will– There are about eighteen days until the election and still nobody wasn’t to be the Mayor of Pigeon Falls. The council could appoint one but nobody is running for the council seats.
Nancy thinks they should have bumper stickers made for the non-candidates.
Examples would be:
Don’t elect me I can’t even part my hair without help.
Think of a bad politician I’d be worse.
Vote for me and I’ll raise everybody’s taxes.
If elected I would stop plowing the streets in the winter. It’ll save money.
Elect me and I’ll raise the Mayor’s salary to two hundred thousand a year.
Now these should help to keep people from being elected.
Mrs. Turmble is looking for a good rabbit dog . She figures the next time the White Rabbit shows up she’ll send the dog after him. Of course if the rabbit is with the dragon. The dog will get his nose burned.
*****

Today's Link: De Foto Ala Stanley- Please remember to put the words Dr. John in your comment to get those photo shy JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total totals.
I had to finish yesterday's blog today because Blogger was down again last night. I wrote today's opening last night in Publisher and couldn't set it up as a draft because BLOGGER WAS DOWN. But as you can see I took it in stride and it didn't bother me at all.
We will draw for today's Pic A Prize winner when Betty gets up.

Betty's up.....

The winner is

Quilldancer

Congratulations. Goto our PIC A PRIZE page and then leave the number of the prize you want in a comment.

We went to the bank and got the first loan. Now we wait on Thrivent for the loan needed for the Nennah Mortgage. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Forgivness

Saying for the day: For the Christian Forgivness is not an option it is a command.

Forgiveness has been in the news a lot lately.
People were astonished at the ability of the Amish community to forgive.
Even national news people seemed to think it was fantastic.

So I thought this might be a time to write about forgiving.
This week from a Christian standpoint and next week why you should forgive even if you don’t believe in God.
Lets start with forgiveness and the Christian faith.

For the Christian forgiveness is not an option it’s a requirement.
It is not a choice it is the law.
God expects the Christian to forgive.
It shows forth in the teaching of Jesus and his example from the cross when He prayed for those who crucified him.
Jesus does not say that it would be nice if we forgave , He says forgive.
Even when he teaches his disciples to pray he incorporates their forgiving into that prayer.

He does not say it will be easy.
He does not say it will change anybody.
But he does say we are to do it.

This so bothered his disciples that they asked how many times does one have to forgive the same person .
His answer was as many times as they sin against you.

How is this possible.
First we know that God, in Christ, has forgiven us.
God has decided not hold our sin against us.
God has decided to love us as we are.

If God can do that for me than I ought to be able to forgive others.

This would be a good time to sit down and make a list of the people you haven’t forgiven and then pray for God’s help in forgiving them.

Then forgive them. You can do it if you try.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my backyard where the trains still run and nobody runs for Mayor-Last night the White Rabbit made an appearance at the end of main street. He did his usual waving and smiling and was wearing his red, white, and blue sweater. It was late at night and Mrs. Trumble had gone home but he was seen by some people coming out of the Fly-Inn bar. They were not in the best of condition to report on what they saw. One even said he thought he saw the rabbit fly. But they were sure they saw him. Eino had gone home as well.
The deadline to get a petition in for the election has passed. If Pigeon Falls is to elect a council and a Mayor it will be on a write in vote. The non-campaign is in full swing. Eino has a sign on his door that says “ If elected I will not serve.” There was talk of writing him in. Mrs. Trumble has said the same thing on a number of occasions. Every time a name is mentioned that person rushes to make it known they won’t serve. Just because people get angry at the Mayor and tend to blame Mayor and Council for high taxes or no services. People have decided they don’t need that kind of stress.
Nancy is wondering if there is someplace where you can hire a temp Mayor and Council. Probably not, since they have to be voted in and be residents of the community.
****

Today's Link: Turnipville.com - Remember to put the words Dr. John in your comment to get those nostalgic, well crafted JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your totals. Tomorrow we have another Pic a Prize drawing.
This morning I closed up yesterdays blog. I set aside an hour last night to visit blogs and then to close mine only to discover that blogger was down. I couldn't even get to my blog to get to the link list. If it wasn't free. If it wasn't free. If it wasn't free.
Well blogger did it again. last night when I came to write this part of my blog blogger was down.
So I am writing it on Monday morning. We went to church yesterday and then grocery shopping. In teh afternoon Betty brought Christmas stuff down from the upstairs storage cove.( Can you have an upstairs cove?) I watched the Packers win and the Vikings ( I think they won but I fell asleep). Then I had my fight with blogger. Well now I need a morning breathing treatment.
GBYA

Saturday, October 21, 2006

The Telephone Game Again

Saying for the Day- Little brother is watching you too.

Last night while I was watching a fairly dull television program the phone rang and my wife answered it.
Wife– They want to speak to John about a vacation.
John – Hello this is John
Mary– This is Mary with vacations ……
John -Your right dear its about vacations.
Mary– John according to our records you
John – Wait just a minute. What kind of records do you have on me?
Mary –According
John– Your not the CIA are you?
Mary – No
John -But your keeping records on me.
Mary-Well we..
John– What kind of records are you keeping?
Mary– you don’t understand!
John– Did I authorize you to keep records on me?
Mary– No but
John – No buts . No buts. There must be some law against keeping records on me.
Mary-I just want.
John – What you want something else for your records?
Mary – No that’s not it at all.
John– Well you told me that you were keeping records on me.
Mary– Not exactly.
John – I want those records destroyed.
Mary – Have a good day sir.
John– How can I when you people are spying on me.
Mary –Goodbye
She hangs up. I win. Nothing like a good telephone game to liven up a dull evening.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my backyard where the trains still run and where big White Rabbits wear sweaters-Last evening the town of Pigeon Falls was plunged into darkness. The last storm had done something to some kind of power converter and it suddenly quit working. While the power was out somebody tried to break into Eino’s garage. Whoever it was didn’t know that Eino has a back up generator that comes on when the power goes off. So just after he picked the lock and opened the door the siren came on as well as all the lights. He got out of there and ran for the woods. Eino arrived to late to catch him but there was television tape mad eat the moment he opened the door. The man in the picture looks just like the guy who said he was from Homeland Security. Eino thinks that the power outage might not have been from the storm after all.
Nancy us getting so desperate to find a candidate for Mayor that she asked Mrs. Trumble again. She figures if Mrs. Trumble was Mayor she would quit chasing the White Rabbit. Mrs. Trumble, however , has no interest in being Mayor. She seems obsessed with the dragon and the White Rabbit. She is hoping that when deer season starts one of the hunters will find them and shoot them.
*****

Today's link:Its a Funny Name for a Lobster- Remember to put Dr. John in the comment to get those self efacing JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total. Keep in mind that the number of JCPOINTS you have is the number of chances you have in the Monday and Friday drawings where yo get to pic from the Pic A Prize List. This is a list of priceless prizes.
It was a good day today. My son Peter and family arrived. Thanks to them all the fancy plates are down off the wall, and the entire Pigeon Falls layout is now on the garage shelf. Lori from Swiming with the Dolphins took down the plates. She is the world's greatest daughter-in-law. My grandaughter hauled houses . I couldn't have a better family. My grandson even asked me to tell a story. Wow! It doesn't get any better than this. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Friday, October 20, 2006

Painting the Roof

Saying for the Day: Every artist uses the materials available.

In my garage are boxes of empty spray paint cans.
We used the paint to color mountains and buildings on the Pigeon Falls layout.
I thought that we held some kind of record for spray painting until I read this news article:

“Another painter, California graffiti artist Paco Rosic, set out to facilitate what he called his life's ambition in January when he and his family bought an abandoned warehouse in Waterl

oo, Iowa, so that he could re-create with spray paint a near replica (in half-size) of Michelangelo's fresco on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The Los Angeles Times reported in September that he has used 2,000 cans so far and eventually will cover about 2,500 square feet of newly installed curved ceiling in the warehouse“. [Los Angeles Times, 9- 22-06]

Can you imagine using 2000 cans of spray paint.
I’d be afraid that right in the middle of an important piece of the work the can I ‘m using would run out.
Would the next can be the same?
How do you get subtle differences in shading?
Does he have somebody to run up the ladder to bring him cans or does he have a back pack.
I wish I could be there to watch him.
It seems like some television show should go there and film the process.
Some day he might be known as the Michelangelo of the spray can.
Then we wils see a recreation of his work on the history channel.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my backyard where the trains still run and rabbits wear sweaters– No sign of the White Rabbit or the dragon so Eino hasn’t had the opportunity to put his new plan into effect. It is possible that it is so cold that both the dragon and rabbit are hibernating. Of course we know nothing of the hibernation habits of dragons and giant rabbits. Perhaps the dragon flies South for the Winter and takes the White Rabbit with him. If they hibernate or go South Eino is out of luck.
Eino is not having much luck with the stone man either. He can’t find out who the man was who said he was from Homeland Security. His efforts to get more information about the company that owns the hermit house have reached a dead end. Homeland Security itself keeps saying that they will get back to him.
Nancy says Donna Bergall was in for another free cup of coffee and entertained with one of her famous stories. She is so much fun to listen to that Nancy is thinking of giving her free cups of coffee when the cups Donna won in the contest run out.
The Liar’s club is thinking of putting out a little book with all the entries from the recent contest. It would be called chasing the White Rabbit-Almost True Stories.
*****

Todays Link- Ivory's Unfinshed Thoughts- Remember to put Dr. John in the comments to get those animal like JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total points.
It is Pic a Prize Friday and Betty will draw when she gets up.
A friend sent this http://www.bluemountain.com/view.pd?i=149549234&amp;amp;amp;m=4772&rr=z&source=bma999
Go there if you want a good scare. It is not for the weak hearted or children.We finally did the drawing and the winner is :

Kristin (Ginger's Mom)

Congratulations. Pic k a prize from the pic a prize list and leave the number in a comment.
I visited every one of the blogs on my link list today and left comments on most of them. In the afternoon our power went out for a half an hour. Then we worked in the garage and began bringing in the buildings from the layout. My son Peter and family will be here tomorrow.
I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Uncle Donald and the deer

Saying for the day: Shooting the bullets is a better way to kill a deer than throwing them at them.

This is a picture of my uncle Donald and my father (Donald is the tall one).
He was my mother’s brother and a good friend of my father.
They often went hunting together.
As soon as deer season started they would set a time to go hunting.
On that day off they went to Muck’s Swamp.
Now I doubt that was the official name but its what everybody called it.
I still remember the first time they went deer hunting together.
It was my uncle Donald’s first time hunting deer and he was very excited.
Now Uncle Donald was a World War II veteran and new a lot about guns .
He really wanted to get his first deer.
It was the middle of the afternoon and a big buck strode out onto the road about thirty feet from where my uncle stood.
My uncle had a brand new repeating rifle ,with a pump-action .
The action is operated by a moveable fore-end that goes backwards and forwards to eject, extract, and chamber a round of ammunition.
He took aim at the deer and then in his excitement he repeatedly pumped the gun ejecting all the bullets.
Instead of pulling the trigger he pulled the pump mechanism.
My dad never let him forget the day he tried to kill a deer by throwing bullets at it.
The next year he got his deer but the story lived on.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town where the trains still run and where little old ladies fight dragons– Eino is not talking about his plan to catch the White Rabbit. There have been a number of secret meetings at his newly repaired garage. Now I guess we wait for the White Rabbit to show up.
Neither the White Rabbit nor the dragon have been seen since the big pumpkin festival. Mrs. Trumble is telling everybody they are afraid she is going to get them so they are in hiding. She also told Nancy that Tommy can stop at her house as often as he wants but she won’t stop going after the dragon or the White Rabbit.
Tommy went in to Nancy’s after school and had a glass of pop and a saffron bun. He told Nancy that Mrs. Trumble is the most stubborn person he has ever met. She won’t listen to reason. He has tried to explain to her the danger of running around with that shotgun but she just laughs. She does make good cookies though, he had to admit.
The next big festival is not until November 14 which is a Monday and the day before deer season. There is a big street dance planned and a big meal at the Masonic building . All of this for the deer hunters who will fill the town as they get ready to bag their buck. Deer season starts the next day. If the dragon and the White Rabbit wait until then it could be pretty cold. One would suspect they might show at some lesser gathering like a wedding or a party of some kind. Though the White Rabbit has been known just to show up for the passengers on the train.
Nancy says there is still nobody willing to run for Mayor or council and time is running out.
*****

Today's link- Accidental Housekeeper- Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those sober JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total.
Well if you want proof that Dr. John is getting old. Last night when I closed up the blog before my breathing treatment I hit the save as draft instead of the publish button. So some of you never got to see yesterday's post. Not that was a tragedy or anything. It was just mundane facts about my life but it cut off the link and denied our linkee a comment or two. I wish I could promise that it will never happen again but alas at my age who knows.
This was one of those days that starts out great and then goes downhill. The real estate agent called and had to rewrite part of the offer because we were now using money from a loan on my house instead of the sale of my house as downpayment. She faxed us the new copy and we faxed it signed back to her. She also called the place where we are getting the big loan and made them nervous so they called us twice. Now I think everything is in order again. Things would be so much better if we could get this house sold.
Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Gimme Five

Saying for the day- If you swim in the ocean long enough something will bite you.

In response to Margaret’s Tag - Gimme Five
1) Five Minutes to yourself. How would you spend them ideally?

- Looking at Christmas catalogues.
- Meditating
- Work on the Pigeon Falls story
- Nap.
- Pray.

2) Five Dollars to spend right now. How or where would you spend it?

- Prizes for pic a prize( that tells you what their worth)
- a Grocery store pie
- Another figure for the layout
- A can of spray paint
- Lunch at Dairy Queen

3) Five Items in your house you could part with right now?

- Nine porcelain cups with religious sayings on them. Couldn’t even give them away at the garage sale.
- The entire VHS tape rack because they collect dust and I never watch them anymore.
- My old Canon printer..
- Two scanners that I replaced with a combination printer/scanner.
- The desk I made when we were first married.

4) Five Items in your house you absolutely, positively could never part with?

- My grandfather’s bible
- My computer.
- The White Rabbit Figurine. (Sentimental)
- My computer monkey.
- My o27 train layout

5) Five Words (or phrases in my case) you love to hear?

- "I love you." (Yeah I know, still not so original.)
- "Grandpa you tell the best stories." (A true rarity.)
- "I won’t need to see you for three months” ( From my doctor)
- "That’s a really great layout you have there.”
- "Go ahead get a new………”

Warning– I will forward all my junk mail to the next person to tag me.

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News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my backyard where the trains still run and big White Rabbits move around freely– Eino has been talking to Bree again and he says it is time to put an end to the White Rabbit thing. He says he has a plan to solve the mystery bit he isn’t telling anybody. Mrs. Trumble says if he doesn’t do it soon she will solve it for him with dragon slayer.
Mrs. Maki says she saw Tommy, the undertaker’s kid coming out of Mrs. Trumble’s house late yesterday afternoon. One has to wonder what he was doing there since they are almost enemies over the White Rabbit thing. When asked what he was doing there he said he delivered her groceries and she tips well. Never let personal feelings get in the way of finances. Besides Mrs. Trumble makes a good glass of lemonade
Mayor South said that she has ask

ed the state of Michigan to help pay for a new snowplow and she is hopeful they will get some aid from the state highway fund.
The great coffee war has begun . The White Rabbit Café has dropped its price for a cup of coffee to sixty five cents. When Nancy found out she dropped hers to sixty cents. Now you can get a cup of coffee and a saffron bun for just a buck sixty. And it comes with the best gossip in town.
Given the early snow the Lesser America amusment park is going to close next weekend. They are having a special weekend where one ticket gets you two days. Dr. Fortress is running a special train and hopes it won't snow.

****

Link for today: RcktMan's Launching Pad- remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comments for those fast moving JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your totals.
This was Betty's Top's day. When she came back we went to the bank and we will get the money for the loan on Monday. We have three days to turn it down. Called the real estate person and began shifting dates. If everything goes right we should be in the new house by November 17.
My sister called and I told her how things were going. I finished three more blogger cups today and we packed up those and the Monday prize and will mail them out tomorrow. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Saying for the day: Always look a gift dog in the rump.

Soon after we arrived we decided we need a dog ( I decided we needed a dog).
Since my boyhood dog was a Springer Spaniel I wanted my kids to grow up with one as well.
Now a pure bred Springer with papers was not cheap and it seemed like an impossible dream.
Then we saw an advertisement in the paper where somebody wanted to give away a pure bred Springer.
So we went to the home and sure enough we got the dog for free.
We were so happy.
Duchess that was the dogs name was house broken.
She was gentle and kind.
She was the perfect dog.
Well almost perfect.
Soon we discovered why the previous owner gave her away.
She was always in heet.
The yard filled with male dogs the day after she arrived and they kept coming.
Soon we had our first litter of puppies.
Now the parsonage had more dogs than we ever wanted.
I think we found homes for all of them.
Now of course we would have her spayed.
But then we didn’t think of it and nobody suggested it .
My dad rescued us by taking her to the farm where she died birthing puppies.
I learned that you can’t repeat your childhood.

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News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my backyard where the trains still run and nobody runs for office.-Eino still can’t use the garage but the work on it is progressing. Mrs. Trumble has given up on the snowmobile idea. She says they are too expensive. Besides , last winter, the White Rabbit didn’t show up once.
Nancy says that she still hasn’t found anyone willing to run for

Mayor. Lots of people saying that it’s a real shame but none willing to put in the effort and take the heat. She thinks that may be the reason we often get such poor leadership. The people who would lead us well don’t want to go through the fire of political office.
The Other Angel Catholic Church is putting in an elevator so the old people can get downstairs with ease. It’s being done at the order of the Bishop and a lot of local people are unhappy. Its sad that sometimes we have to be told to do what is right. The people who are unhappy wanted to put in air conditioning instead.
Mr. And Mrs. Bill Maki were going to go to Hawaii for their anniversary in two weeks but now that there has been that earthquake they are not sure the trip is still on. Even little Pigeon falls is touched by things happening far awy from it. They have been saving up for this trip for five years and were really looking forward to it. Her sister was coming or maybe is coming to take care of the kids. It was to be their first real vacation without the kids in eight years. Bill even arranged for somebody to take care of the farm. The cows would be milked every day and all the animals fed. A farmer can’t just up and go , you know. Maybe they could go to Disney World instead.
*****

Today's link- Some Things are Better Left Unsaid- Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comments to get those very boney JCPOINTS. C heck HERE for your points.
Well I have looked at all twenty comments for yesterday and I appreciate all of them but I need to chose . So I have picked two. The first is by a lady who day after day leaves the kindest, sweetest coments not only on my blog but on every blog she visits. That , of course, is Chana. Sometime ago she said she didn't want blog explosion credits so I will give her 50 JCPOINTS instead. The second winner is Cuppojoe. The Dr. John song made my day. I think it will be sung at the Fly Inn whenever Dr. Fortress ( Dr John Fortress) comes in for a glass ( milk of course).
Cuppojoe gets fifty blog explosion credits.
In the morning we got the blogger cups out to England, Canada, and the Phillipines. We will finish four more tomorrow and get them out. Then we have to wait for four more cups to come in. Betty and I worked in the garage all afternoon and are almost ready to begin bringing in the buikdings from the layout. The bank called and we get the loan tomorrow. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Monday, October 16, 2006

Monday and things change

Saying for the Day: Sometimes you have to try a bribe when all else fails.

It’s “Leave a Comment Monday”. The day when everyone is expected to leave a comment on the blogs they visit.

This is not 30 second Tuesday when the idea is to see how many blogs one can visit to run up blog explosion points .
But if you want blog explosion credits I will give 50 credits to the best comment of the day on this blog or the link for the day.

Now I am resorting to bribery to get comments.
What have I come to?
Am I comment addicted.
Is there a blog comment addiction group out there somewhere.
Is there a five step program ( I don’t have time for twelve steps I’m too busy leaving comments)

Last week I was so busy counting comments that I didn’t get to leave many.
I have tried to catch up and I missed some very good blogs.

My favorite comment of the week was on my wife's blog. She had the same pictures of folk dancers up for a week and QuillDancer said...
These kids have been dancing for over a week! I bet they are exhausted!

Today we bring in the first change in the Monday prize contest since we started it.
Starting today we will draw one name on Monday and one name on Friday.
The name chosen will then pick a prize from a prize list with at least six different prizes on it.

Now instead of being stuck with the worthless prize of the day (woops I mean priceless prize) you will have a choice from a list of priceless prizes.
See the list HERE.
Good luck everybody.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my backyard where the trains still run and that gets no help from Washington-Well clean up in Pigeon Falls, after the big blizzard, has begun. Washington said the town didn’t qualify for federal aid . So we called B,E.T.T.Y. This is a state agency and they came with all the help you could ask. The gas station is back in or

der. Two buildings have no roofs and the B.E.T.T.Y. group is working on Eino’s garage wall.
Eino’s basement closet is still locked and he has a guard at the garage for fear someone might try to take advantage of the situation and steal the Hermit statue.
The man who visited the other day seens to have just vanished leavening questions without answers.
The town is all excited because the Tigers are in the World Series. Twenty years is a long time to wait for a winner. The two football teams they support , Packers and Lions, aren’t doing well. But their Tigers are just roaring.

The same can not be said for the New Potatoes. They have lost still another game. It doesn’t look like they will win this season. The school board has yet to come up with a solution to the name problem. It is going to be a long year.
The churches in town are planning a joint thanksgiving meal. It will be held at Last Lutheran Church but all three churches will contribute. Its for lonely old people whose children have forgotten them and for those who are too poor to have a good Thanksgiving meal. There is no charge. Pastor Marvel will bring his usual apple pie that he makes at the grocery store.
*****
Link for the Day-Original Art Work by the Mad Artist- remember to put the words Dr. John in the comment to get those artistic but still worthless JCPOINTS- Check your points HERE.
We will draw the prize winner for the day when Betty gets up.
Betty is up and we have our first winner under the new system.
and the winner is

Jafabrit- Congratulations- Now go to the PRIZE LIST and pick your prize.

We had a nice day. We worked in the garage in the afternoon getting ready to bring in the buildings from the layout. we were going to leave them out this winter but discovered from that first storm that some simply wouldn't hold up. My sister called. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Good Grief

Saying for the Day: No two people grieve the same!

For the last eleven Sundays we have looked at grieving.
We have examined what Pastor Granger Westberg called the ten steps in grieving.
His book which is not very big called “Good Grief” is available form Amazon.com .

Today I just want to make a few last statements about grief.

First no two people grieve the same.
Grief is the path from our old life with the person that is now gone to our new life without them.
The more of ourselves we have invested in the old life the harder the path to the new.

A friend of mine was a missionary in Africa when his father died.
He received word.
He grieved for a day or two and then life went on as normal.
Why?
Because his father was not part of his life on the mission field.
Several months later when he went home on furlough and he stood in his old home he was almost overcome with grief.
His father was a central part of his life there.

Even when we have done everything right there can come things that trigger a short new grief experience.
It might be a song on the radio or entering a place the two of you enjoyed.
This is a very normal thing.

Sometimes we do most of our grieving before the person dies.
WE know the person is dying.
We watch them go down hill and we grieve.
Our life is already changing.
Sometimes people who have grieved in this manner feel guilty because they didn’t have much grief after the death.
But they shouldn’t the grief had already taken place.
Their life had changed and now they just feel relief for the person who doesn’t have to suffer any more.

The best thing we can do for somebody who is grieving is to be there for them.
Let them tell the story a hundred times.
Let them cry.
Pray with them and for them.
But be there.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my backyard where trains still run and a b

ig White Rabbit keeps the tourists coming.– Pigeon Falls was hit by a blizzard and we are including some pictures to show you how bad it was. This is October. The roofs fell in on two buildings. One wall collapsed on Eino’s garage. The old snowplow can’t get the city street free from snow. If this keeps up it will need the dragon fire to keep it warm. It looks like a long winter ahead.
The train did get through and dropped off a young man in a trench

coat who went to visit Eino. They had to go to Nancy’s because Eino had people trying to restore one wall of the garage. The fellow told Eino he was from Homeland Security and the government wanted him to be quiet about the Hermit statue . It was a matter of national security. But he wouldn’t tell Eino any more than that. Eino asked for some identification and the man got up and left. Eino had to pay for his coffee. Eino called Homeland Security and they denied that they had sent anybody. Now Eino is more confused than ever.
Mrs. Trumble says she is going to buy a snowmobile so she can go hunting that rabbit in the snow. It will leave tracks and she can follow them.
******

Today's link: Mando's World: - Remember to put the words Dr. John in the comment to get those pretty JCPOINTS. Check your points HERE.
Yesterday Margaret violated the one rule this blog has. "Thou shall not tag Dr. John". It was a gross violation of the rule. Now rules exist for a purpose. When Dr. John gets tagged he gets all tense, his hair stands on end, his heart rate goes up, he sneezes, he gets cranky, and his concentration is lost. Poor Betty has to calm him down, put an ice pack on his head and say soothing things to him. You see he plans out his blogs a week in an advance. He is over organized. Upsetting that organization derails the train. Where will he put the tag? Which great and deep thought must be discarded to be replaced by tagged drivel. Ordinarily he would ignore the tag . But this is from Margaret who single handedly saved the marathon with her copy of list five. This is Margaret who always leaves good comments. He has a moral obligation to respond. So despite his need to help you understand the universe Dr. John has decided to replace Wednesday's blog which was entitled " The answer to everything", in which he would have given you the key to life and the universe, with the tag. Because of his need to stay with the organization Dr. John will simply discard Wednesday's original blog.
WE went to early service this morning. The sermon was good and the singing not bad. Had coffee afterward. The coffeew was good. Then we went grocery shoping. In the afternoon I worked on the prize list for tomorrow's drawing. Betty worked at fixing the outside layout. She has to climb up on top to get to things and that leaves me out. She then took pictures of the entire layout as we get ready to close it down for the year. Well I need a breathing treatment.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Respect or lack of it.

Saying for the Day- In the end respect is earned.

There was a comment yesterday from Stacy that said “I miss the days of when you showed the President respect just because he was the president.”
I agree with her that the President should be given respect.

Name calling is out of place for the one that holds that office.
One can call attention to what you consider to be his mistakes without the vitriol.

The problem is there never was a day in the history of this country that we didn’t insult the President.
It was one of those things that came with free speech.
We could do it and so we did.
If you had done that to the kings of old they would have had your head.
But here in America the President was and is fair game.

If you think this is something new go back and read what they said about Lincoln while he was President.
In fact some of the things they called him make it look like the press is being nice to President Bush.
Or look at old video tapes of college students calling Lyndon Johnson a murderer and asking how many boys he had killed today.

The President is important to us and we tend to love him if he is doing what we think is right and hate him if he isn’t.
It probably shouldn’t be that way but it is.
In the end a President earns the respect that is given in history .

In the present every President will have those who think he walks on water and those who think he is full of hot air.
One group will cry to respect him and the other lead the insults.

In a perfect world it would not be so.
But this is not a perfect world.

As for me I try to respect everyone.
Those that agree with me and those who don’t .
I try never to resort to name calling.
I try to do the best I can.
Long ago I learned that God loves the good and the bad.
God even wants to save them all.

Who am I to insult the people God loves.

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News from Pigeon Falls-the little town in my backyard where the trains still run and coffee is $.75 a cup– Well the storm really blew in to Pigeon falls and the town gas station collapsed. Between the wind and the snow something gave way. And just as fast the snow has melted and is gone.
Nancy says people are upset by how long its taking to get the main street plowed. The town really needs a new plow but doesn’t have the money for one. When people complain Nancy tells them that they should run for town council and fix things. Then they decide things aren’t so bad. Last year at this time they were blaming everything on the mayor but now nobody dares. At least people are acting a bit kinder. When you begin to understand the nature of the job it is harder to lay blame.
Eino heard back from the lab this morning that the stone man is made out of almost microscopic marble chips held together with anew kind of glue. He said that a machine had been developed that works like an ink jet printer but is driven by a laser beam and makes three dimension models. The beam sweeps the object sends the information to a computer and the “printer” layer by layer builds the object. But the only machines he knows of are too small to make the hermit statue . This leaves Eino with more questions. If this is the way the statue was created who built the bigger machine ? Why did they build it. Why put a hermit statue in Pigeon falls? He is going to keep looking for answers.
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Link for the Day: Sister Raya-remember to put the words Dr. John in the comments to get those dreamy JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your totals.
Well the snow came back and really messed up my garden railroad town. Eino's garage collapsed. Two houses lost their roofs. I'll put some Pigeon Falls pictures in tomorrows Pigeon Falls report.
Betty got up late today . Her sister from Evansvile and her husband came to visit. It was very interesting to hear of the treatment she got for the brain tumor. She certainly seems fine. We decided to go to church tomorrow. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Friday, October 13, 2006

Where is the President?

Saying for the day: It is a political truth that it can't hurt a candidate to be seen with the President.

It used to be that on the off year election candidates for governor that were of the same party invited him to campaign with them.
It might only be for one day but pictures were taken and used over and over.
The implication being that since they were from the same party the state would get more help from Washington.

I have been watching the adds for governor in both Wisconsin and Michigan and I have yet to see the President in any Republican add.
Not only that but the Republican candidates don’t even say they are Republicans.
This says something about how President Bush is viewed.

If that wasn’t a good enough clue there is an add with the Republican candidate for governor in Michigan that shows the President and the candidate.
It says that you can’t tell the difference between the two and its run by the Democrats.
In the add the candidate morphs into the President and back again to himself.
The Democrats are so sure that the President is a liability that they want us to see the Republican and the President as being on the same bad team.

When Democrats run adds with the Republican President and the Republican candidate you know things have gotten weird.

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News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my backyard where trains still run and White Rabbits drink tea– Donna Bergall had her first free cup of coffee at Nancy’s today. Nancy told her if Donna would bring in the White Rabbit she would give him a free cup of tea and a piece of carrot cake. Donna told her that you can’t believe everything you hear.
The first snow of the fall came and went. School was closed for the day and there were kids everywhere. One has trouble understanding how the weather is too bad to go to school but they still can be out playing all day.
Eino still has not heard from Homeland Security about the stone man.
A national magazine said that they had heard the government was developing a new device to move people from place to place. It seems that the project had a set back of some kind but was now going forward again. The article said a reporter was going to check out the location where the first experiments took place to try to find out if this is a true story.
Eino broke a small piece off the shoe of the stone man and sent it to a laboratory in Lansing where a friend of his works. There is no information back from that lab yet but he hopes there will be soon.
The town is in the process of getting a grant for a new sewer system and people are afraid of what will happen if there is no government after November, Mayor South said that even though she won’t be Mayor she will stay with it until it is approved.
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Todays Link-Don't Get Around Much- Please Remember to put Dr. John in the comment to get those singing JCPOINTS. Check your totals HERE.
This morning Betty and I got the first two blogger cups ready to send when we realized we didn't have the address for our friends in Hull. So we packed them and they sit waiting to be addressed. Betty went to her birthday club for lunch. I waited for the prospective buyer to come and take some pictures. When she came home we dsicovered the gas station on the outside layout had collapsed. It could have been the wind or somebody might have thrown a snowball. In any case it has to come in for repairs. The prospective buyer came and took pictures. I hope that is a good sign. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Thursday, October 12, 2006

In Gramp's Foot steps

Saying for the Day: A wise man knows from whence he came.

When Betty and I were in England my Great Aunt Dora took us to an old Methodist Church in the middle of a field.
It wasn‘t locked so went in and looked around.
Aunt Dora pointed out where my grandfather was sitting when he responded to an old fashioned altar call and gave his life to Christ.

I held in my hand my grandfather’s Bible which I had brought with me to England.

For a moment I could almost feel Grandpa standing there with us.

It was one of the very special moments of that trip.

Here I touched my religious roots.

I wanted to post some pictures of the church but all the pictures we took were slides and my scanner won’t handle slides.

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my backyard where the best Liars get awards– The Liar’s Club judges met last night and announced the winner of the White Rabbit story contest. They felt that there was no question who the better story teller had been. They picked Donna Bergall. She gets the Liar’s Club sweater that says “Ask me about the White Rabbit” on the front and on the back it says “ Have I got a story for You”. Donna says that if the White Rabbit stops in she’ll give him the sweater. She also received coupons for ten free cups of coffee at Nancy’s. Now Nancy can keep up on her stories.
It snowed in Pigeon Falls today. This is only October. What happened to global warming?
Mrs. Trumble hasn’t been to town since the pumpkin festival . People think she is plotting some new way to get the rabbit.
Nancy says with the festival over and the dragon excitement ending the town is back to worrying about the next Mayor. People should be turning in their petitions to run and not one has been received. If somebody doesn’t come forward soon there will be no names on the ballot. It seems everybody in town has been asked at least twice and turned it down. The same thing is true of the council. In November Pigeon Falls may have no local government. People are starting to worry but not enough to say “Here am I . Elect me!”
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Today's link- Thoughts from Oklahoma- Remember to put Dr. John in the comment to get those flowery JCPOINTS. Check your totals HERE. Marathon totals now added in. The final results of the marathon can be seen HERE.
Well I finished up the marathon material and am now getting the blogger cups and certificates ready to mail. It will take a bit because i have to get four more cups. The people who looked at the house today are coming back tomorrow to take pictures so I guess there is a possible sale there. We will see! I read on my daughterinlaw's blog that she is having thanksgiving at her mother's. We hadn't even thought about it until yesterday when we discovered my younger sister had invited my older sister and her entire family ( 11 people) to Peter's house for Thanksgiving. She assumed that because we were all together there last year we would be again this year. Its good the older sister turned her down. Life takes very strange turns.
Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

At last an end

Saying for the day:Murphy's first law-If anything can go wrong it will!

A week ago we started our fourth blog marathon.
Over that period 36 people at one time or another participated.
Some did a little then quit.
Some did an entire day and then quit.
The process became complicated as the list didn’t work for a day and one half.

At that point Margaret stepped in and published a workable list five in the comments.
Thank you Margaret.

Because of the confusion I will finish the count by late this afternoon and will publish the results tomorrow morning.
What have I learned.
1. Don’t do an extended blog marathon.
. . . a. Too many things can go wrong.
. . .b. It’s very hard to trace participation.
2. Some people don’t want comments on their blog.
3. Lots of people enjoyed our comments.
4. As usual you left great comments.
5. Some people followed the list , left comments , but no Dr. John. That, by the way, is fine.
6. Somebody thought I was a leader of some blog cult.
Please I have enough problems and I don’t have any Kool-Aid .
7. Some blogs change dramatically from the time I scouted them until the time you visited them.
8. Some blogs changed so seldom that you were back commenting on a blog you already commented on.
9. I really loved your comments on your own blogs which may have been the most creative comments of all.
10. I have to get some more blogger cups as the number reaching the goal exceeded past numbers and my expectations.
Next month I will run a mini-marathon on the first Wednesday in November. There will be no Marathon in December .

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my backyard where the trains still run and liars get awards.– The last story teller in the White Rabbit contest was Donna Bergall and this is her story.
I want to tell all of you nice people right out if you came to find out the origin of the White Rabbit you are out of luck. I haven’t the slightest idea where he comes from. I don’t know if there is a hole in space, an alien space ship, or a government experiment. I am sure he is no illusion. I know this because the White Rabbit visits my farm two or three times a week. He can talk you know. He likes tea, carrot cake, and vegetarian pasties. He likes to play catch with my children. He likes to watch television and he doesn’t like President Bush, He thinks Ugly Betty is a pretty funny show. He is scared to death that Mrs. Trumble is going to shoot him. He really likes people but he is afraid of crowds. He is a hero. I say this last thing because he rescued my son. It happened up at Crippled Creek. My son was fishing and fell in. His boots filled with water and he was being pulled under when the White Rabbit jumped in and grabbed him. Using his big feet he pushed the boots off and pulled him to shore. Without him he would have drowned. We will always be grateful to him for this brave action. He left the boy when he saw somebody coming. It was Tommy, the undertaker’s kid, and my son made him promise not to tell anybody that the White Rabbit had saved him. Tommy, however, couldn’t be altogether silent so he reported he saw the rabbit swimming. There are other people he has visited but they won’t talk about it. So I am telling you this is a good rabbit, a kind rabbit, and we should leave him alone. Mrs. Trumble should be told to stop shooting at him. Let him live in peace.
Our judges will decide on the winner and announce that person tomorrow.
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Todays link-New Kid on the Blog- Remember to put the words Dr. John in the comment to get those erudite JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your point total still without last marathon.
I worked on tha marathon all morning. Betty went to Tops. The bank called and our loan has been approved. The real estate office called and someone is coming to look at the house tomorrow. I have finished the marathon totals and they can be seen by clicking HERE. If the number of visits is less than your total , which given the way this went is really possible then please drop me a comment and I will fix the totals. If it is higher than you think you did, also really possible, consider the extra points a bonus for good comments and don't make me change them. Now I really need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Dr. John's Fortress