Please note that as of tomorrow, or perhaps even this evening, WOMEN: WE SHALL OVERCOME is going underground. Or, in other words, it's going to become a private blog you have to enter as a member. I am too tired of anonymous comments to put up with it anymore. The content of the blog will also change somewhat. I want to spend more time experimenting with my fiction -- fiction that has not been written by Lola. If you prefer not to accompany me on this endeavor, I understand completely, but I'll miss you.
Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,
Are you in what you believe to be a true partnership? Married or unmarried. Gay or straight.
Do you think the other person spends time with you out of a desire to be with you or does that person deign to spend time with you because you complain about a lack of togetherness?
Do you feel you have true intimacy with another person?
Have you ever felt you had true intimacy with another person?
If you have or have had a true partnership or if you have or have had true intimacy with someone, please tell me how it feels. I would love to know. Perhaps someone would even be willing to guest post and tell me what's it's like.
The closest thing I have to a partnership is with My Kathy, but she lives a million miles away and it's not sexual. But we can have a conversation, not see each other for years, and then get together and pick up exactly where we left off. I have never felt that My Kathy forced herself to tolerate me. We laugh uproariously at the same ridiculous and inappropriate things.
The closest thing I have to an intimate relationship (non-sexual, of course) is with my daughter. But I'm not really sure how she feels about me.
But would you tell me, please: What's it like to be loved?
This is my first big question of 2012.
Infinities of love,
Lola
My motto as an editor: Authors are the authority on their work. I'm a full-service editor. For a reasonable fee, I'm your writing coach from the first suggested revision to the correction of the final typo.
Showing posts with label The Truth Shall Set You Free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Truth Shall Set You Free. Show all posts
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
IN DEFENSE OF AMERICAN YOUTH
To NFO and those who agree with his recent post:
I realize you're reprinting what someone else said, but because you and a number of other people seem to be in agreement that this post is excellent, I feel I must say something about it. My daughter is a 25-year-old graduate student. Although she's not part of occupy Wall Street, she does attend the University of California at Berkeley.
I don't care for the generalization and the implication that "America's youth" does not care about or support the military. My child is the granddaughter of a veteran of World War II, the granddaughter of a veteran from the time of the Korean Conflict, the niece of a Gulf War veteran, and the daughter of a veteran. If any child was brought up to appreciate the military, she was.
I am particularly offended by the following statement: "The 99 percent demands that the government pay back their student loans, often for expensive degrees in academic fields not adequate to compete in today’s tough employment market."
When my daughter was an undergraduate student, she worked as a server in a Chinese restaurant, tutored students, and worked as a mentor for math classes. She has paid for her entire education on her own. She did not even accept my offer of money to pay for her textbooks each semester. Yes, she has student loans, but she knows she'll be paying them back. She certainly does not have a $300 phone. She now gets by on fellowships, and by teaching and tutoring.
The protests on the Berkeley campus frighten my daughter; however, she is not afraid of the protesters. She is afraid of the police, who injured a 70-year-old Pulitzer Prize winning poet, among other innocent people. She stays away from the part of campus where the protesters are to make sure she isn't pepper sprayed or beaten, although she has done nothing wrong and the protesters are peaceful.
As for her expensive degrees that supposedly might leave her unable to compete in the job market, as an undergraduate she majored in mathematics and physics. She graduated first in her class. Her closest friends majored in chemistry, biology, pre-med . . . all fields in which American students have trouble competing with their counterparts from European and Asian countries. After going to class and working at one or two jobs, she stayed up until 2 a.m. to study -- every night -- and graduated with the highest grade point average in her class.
Although she attended a small Midwestern liberal arts school, she was accepted to the Ph.D. program in mathematics at Berkeley. She deferred for a year to get the equivalent of a master's degree in mathematics from Cambridge University. Now in her third year at Berkeley, she works nearly non-stop to be at the top of her field. She rarely takes a day off. She visited me for three days last spring and worked on her mathematics at least part of every day during her visit.
Do you really think that you'll be flying new and improved jets without students such as my daughter? Or do you prefer that the improvements to technology in America come from other countries? We need mathematicians, physicists, chemists, engineers, computer scientists; and she and her friends are receiving excellent educations in these fields.
The writer of your post uses "let's feel sorry for the military" logic to attack the so-called 99%. Well, my daughter and her friends are not part of the 99%, and they are not part of the 1% in the military. Does this make them non-existent?
I don't want to see the military's budget cut, but if it is, it is not the fault of the students who are working so hard to get an education so they can be America's future.
I will not sit back and allow anyone to portray my daughter and the students with whom she works as free-loaders receiving useless educations.
Infinities of love to my daughter and so many other excellent students,
Lola
P.S. And on a lighter note, I want to recommend a blog I should have told you about sooner: Paige Kellerman -- There's More Where That Came From.
Paige is so funny I almost hate her. Nobody should ever be funnier than I am, but she does it consistently (I'm a little competitive). Paige is merely funny some weeks and other weeks she's almost pee my pants funny, my stomach hurts funny, and I'm afraid I'll fart and blush in the presence of my gentleman friend funny.
I realize you're reprinting what someone else said, but because you and a number of other people seem to be in agreement that this post is excellent, I feel I must say something about it. My daughter is a 25-year-old graduate student. Although she's not part of occupy Wall Street, she does attend the University of California at Berkeley.
I don't care for the generalization and the implication that "America's youth" does not care about or support the military. My child is the granddaughter of a veteran of World War II, the granddaughter of a veteran from the time of the Korean Conflict, the niece of a Gulf War veteran, and the daughter of a veteran. If any child was brought up to appreciate the military, she was.
I am particularly offended by the following statement: "The 99 percent demands that the government pay back their student loans, often for expensive degrees in academic fields not adequate to compete in today’s tough employment market."
When my daughter was an undergraduate student, she worked as a server in a Chinese restaurant, tutored students, and worked as a mentor for math classes. She has paid for her entire education on her own. She did not even accept my offer of money to pay for her textbooks each semester. Yes, she has student loans, but she knows she'll be paying them back. She certainly does not have a $300 phone. She now gets by on fellowships, and by teaching and tutoring.
The protests on the Berkeley campus frighten my daughter; however, she is not afraid of the protesters. She is afraid of the police, who injured a 70-year-old Pulitzer Prize winning poet, among other innocent people. She stays away from the part of campus where the protesters are to make sure she isn't pepper sprayed or beaten, although she has done nothing wrong and the protesters are peaceful.
As for her expensive degrees that supposedly might leave her unable to compete in the job market, as an undergraduate she majored in mathematics and physics. She graduated first in her class. Her closest friends majored in chemistry, biology, pre-med . . . all fields in which American students have trouble competing with their counterparts from European and Asian countries. After going to class and working at one or two jobs, she stayed up until 2 a.m. to study -- every night -- and graduated with the highest grade point average in her class.
Although she attended a small Midwestern liberal arts school, she was accepted to the Ph.D. program in mathematics at Berkeley. She deferred for a year to get the equivalent of a master's degree in mathematics from Cambridge University. Now in her third year at Berkeley, she works nearly non-stop to be at the top of her field. She rarely takes a day off. She visited me for three days last spring and worked on her mathematics at least part of every day during her visit.
Do you really think that you'll be flying new and improved jets without students such as my daughter? Or do you prefer that the improvements to technology in America come from other countries? We need mathematicians, physicists, chemists, engineers, computer scientists; and she and her friends are receiving excellent educations in these fields.
The writer of your post uses "let's feel sorry for the military" logic to attack the so-called 99%. Well, my daughter and her friends are not part of the 99%, and they are not part of the 1% in the military. Does this make them non-existent?
I don't want to see the military's budget cut, but if it is, it is not the fault of the students who are working so hard to get an education so they can be America's future.
I will not sit back and allow anyone to portray my daughter and the students with whom she works as free-loaders receiving useless educations.
Infinities of love to my daughter and so many other excellent students,
Lola
P.S. And on a lighter note, I want to recommend a blog I should have told you about sooner: Paige Kellerman -- There's More Where That Came From.
Paige is so funny I almost hate her. Nobody should ever be funnier than I am, but she does it consistently (I'm a little competitive). Paige is merely funny some weeks and other weeks she's almost pee my pants funny, my stomach hurts funny, and I'm afraid I'll fart and blush in the presence of my gentleman friend funny.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
CALCULUS
Dear Little Chick . . . and Anyone Else Who Has Suffered from the Calculus Blues,
Little Chick, I know you hated your calculus class, and we're so proud of you for earning an "A" in spite of it being, you know, calculus.
Photo: Little Chick kisses the Jolly Ginger Giant.
I was talking to Someone I Love about how you made it through the class, Little Chick, and I felt rather surprised when she said, I hate calculus. It's just another hoop colleges make students jump through so they can weed out pre-med students.
She went on to say that there is a movement afoot to replace calculus in the core curriculum with a statistics and probability class. SIL also said she only does calculus when she has to teach it, and she does the problems slowly because she doesn't really remember calculus. She takes her time as part of a pretense that she's helping the students keep up and understand the class.
SIL finished by saying, Calculus is a sordid business. Be sure to tell Little Chick I said calculus is a sordid business.
There you have it, Little Chick. Calculus is a sordid business.
Infinities of love,
Lola
Little Chick, I know you hated your calculus class, and we're so proud of you for earning an "A" in spite of it being, you know, calculus.
I was talking to Someone I Love about how you made it through the class, Little Chick, and I felt rather surprised when she said, I hate calculus. It's just another hoop colleges make students jump through so they can weed out pre-med students.
She went on to say that there is a movement afoot to replace calculus in the core curriculum with a statistics and probability class. SIL also said she only does calculus when she has to teach it, and she does the problems slowly because she doesn't really remember calculus. She takes her time as part of a pretense that she's helping the students keep up and understand the class.
SIL finished by saying, Calculus is a sordid business. Be sure to tell Little Chick I said calculus is a sordid business.
There you have it, Little Chick. Calculus is a sordid business.
Infinities of love,
Lola
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
MY CHILDREN ARE BULLIES
Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,
Yes, it's true. You read the title correctly. My children *sob* are bullies *whimper*. I'm so ashamed. Just last week I wrote a post in which I came down very hard on bullies. And now I've learned what my very own children are capable of doing. It's so shocking. I didn't know if I could tell you, but I feel I must take responsibility for their actions. Don't bother calling the police to report their crime. I'll deny everything and offer sexual favors until the cops run in terror.
It happened yesterday afternoon. The kids -- Harper, Scout, and Franklin -- were gathered around the rose bush in the back yard. They were obviously having a look at something and chatting about it. This is never a good sign. It means they are in collision or collution, or whatever, against something.
They were supposed to be outside playing because at times, they become a little too rambunctious in the house.
And what I saw, Oh Lord please save my children from their instincts, oh my goodness -- white feathers on the ground under the rose bush. And I knew immediately, oh yes I knew, I knew they had killed a bird.
I suspect they used their sling shots, or maybe one of them took my BB gun when I was drinking beer and watching my few remaining soaps. I don't know the truth yet. No one is talking.
But no bird was under the rose bush. I went to look around the yard. I saw it. A dove. A poor white dove in the middle of the back yard. I thought, I'll have to cover up what they've done because blood is thicker than water. They are my children and I'll punish them, but I won't allow the police to take my babies away.
I took a closer look at the dove to determine how to conceal the crime and realized he was alive. Yes, he was alive, but he couldn't move. Couldn't fly. Couldn't even get up and walk away.
What was I to do?
Should I take him to the nearest hospital, pull up to the ER, and toss him out the window toward the door? Someone might be able to help him.
I went inside to text Favorite Young Man because he is a criminal mastermind. He would tell me what to do.
I started texting him, and suddenly, Harper walked in with the dove and put it on my $750 area rug.
He was now one dead dove and there was no turning back.
I screamed in horror because I simply couldn't believe my very own boys had carried out such a vicious attack. Then I started coughing because I had screamed so loud.
I dashed out the front door
Alas, Anthony
I knocked on the door, crying, Suzanne, I'm desperate. My children have killed a dove and I don't know what to do.
She said, Would you like me to take care of it?
You wouldn't mind?
No, I wouldn't mind, Suzanne said.
Now I had a partner in crime.
Suzanne picked him up - gasp - with a trash bag, dropped him inside, tied the bag shut, AND WE HID THE BAG IN THE BOTTOM OF THE GARBAGE CAN.
Now how do I teach my children it is a sin to kill? I think it's even a commander, commando, going commando, or something in the Bible.
I sent Franklin to his room.
I lectured Scout.
But now I have even more to worry about. In the past I have seen dead mice, dead bunnies, a dead possum, dead moles, dead rats, dead squirrels, and many dead birds.
I fear my children are not mere bullies. They are cereal killers.
Please pray for them.
Infinities of love,
Lola
Friday, October 7, 2011
AWARDS FRIDAY
Gentle Readers,
Will you just look at what Plain Jane (except I know there's nothing plain about her) at The Evil Wife < http://theevilwife.blogspot.com/2011/09/horrible-bosses.html> (except I know there's nothing evil about her) gave to me? I love surprises and I love awards and I love Plain Jane. If you don't follow her yet, then click on the link and get crackin'.I'm going to dispense with a description of what I'm wearing to this awards show because I don't want poor Coffeypot to spend the rest of the day engaged in hand to gland combat. Suffice it to say: designer dress, diamonds, high heels, the works.
This award is the 7x7 Link Award. The recipient chooses seven other bloggers on whom to bestow the award and selects, from her own blog posts, the best posts that fit certain categories.
I love giving presents, so first, I'm passing on the award.
- http://scrapsofliteracy.blogspot.com/2011/10/every-book-has-two-authors.html a.k.a. Scraps of Literacy by the Writer Currently Known as Rory. How can I not adore Rory? He loves books so much. And dogs. He has a dog named Kitty. The minutiae of his life presented in his posts soothes me.
- http://edpilolla.blogspot.com/ a.k.a. Ed Pilolla at Ed Pilolla. This man's writing lights my fire. He's so freaking good. And he understand that my miniature copy of The Great Gatsby that can't be read is funny.
- http://thestephanieconnection.blogspot.com/2011/10/wimpy.html a.k.a. Connecting with Stephanie D by Stephanie. Stephanie is such a sweetie. If you don't love her, then I think something is wrong with you.
- http://macpossum.blogspot.com/2011/10/jay-walking-into-light.html a.k.a. Possum by Possum. The post to which I've provided a link begins with her writing that she was strolling through words. Possum, that is so cool. I love words but it never occurred to me to say I strolled through them. You have an original and creative mind.
- http://rhymetime24.blogspot.com/2011/10/warning-second-part-might-not-be-for.html a.k.a. It's Rhyme Time by Pat Hatt. This guy is a trip. He is so clever and funny.
- http://marionsmeepings.blogspot.com/2011/10/quick-update.html a.k.a. Marion's Meepings by Paxford. What a lovely person. Supporter of troops. Always sending off care packages. And she's going to have a drawing (yes, I'm entered in it) for an Australian Army Medallion that I covet.
- http://shiningpearlsofsomething.blogspot.com/2011/10/tea-bittersweet-as-expected.html a.k.a. Shining Pearls of Something by Suz. This lady is intelligent and she thinks before she writes. I learn from her.
Now, on to the posts. I hope I can get my links to work.
- Most Beautiful Yoko Ogawa (Housekeeper + Professor) = Elegance This post is my all-time favorite. It's really a message to Someone I Love.
- Most Helpful This is the post called My Husband Collection to which I attempted to provide a link a few days ago. I think it's helpful because it lets women know they don't have to tolerate men if they don't want them. Just buy the husbands and then tell them to get lost when you tire of them.
- Most Controversial The United States v. Anthony didn't cause any controversy when I wrote it, but I'm calling it most controversial because the whole "Casey The Dumb Shit Idiot Anthony" outcome is controversial. The post represents my immediate response to the verdict.
- Most Surprisingly Successful MR. ROGERS DID NOT WEAR A SWEATER TO COVER UP His Tats has become one of my most popular posts and it continues to get hits regularly. I see the search term "Why Did Mr. Rogers Wear A Sweater" on my stats page all the time.
- Most Underrated Farewell J.D. didn't get much attention and I think it's the funniest post I've ever written. Maybe other people don't see it the same way I do.
- Most Pride Worthy http://dumpedfirstwife.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-kathy.html My Kathy is pretty much a love letter to my bestest bud. She cried when she saw this and I don't think it was because she thought it was badly written. My Kathy really is Superwoman.
And this is the link to my post about meeting Pat Conroy that didn't work when I tried to post it the same day as the link to My Husband Collection. Today Blogger and I seem to be on a link streak, so I hope these all work.
Thank you so much Plain Jane for making me take this trip down Memory Lane.
Plain Jane and I want to go into business together so we can earn money for a trip to England. She suggested that our business could be closet organizing and that's fine with me because I am one damn fine closet organizer, but we have a little problem. We don't even live in the same state.
So if you'd like to make a donation to The Plain Jane and Lola Do England fund, please let me know. We want to go to Yorkshire to see where the Brontes lived. We shall wander the moors, hand in hand. I'm not sure yet which of us will be Cathy and which will be Heathcliff, but we'll work it out.
I suspect we'll want to visit a few other places too.
Oh Cathy! Oh Heathcliff?
Infinities of love and awards,
Lola
Thank you so much Plain Jane for making me take this trip down Memory Lane.
Plain Jane and I want to go into business together so we can earn money for a trip to England. She suggested that our business could be closet organizing and that's fine with me because I am one damn fine closet organizer, but we have a little problem. We don't even live in the same state.
So if you'd like to make a donation to The Plain Jane and Lola Do England fund, please let me know. We want to go to Yorkshire to see where the Brontes lived. We shall wander the moors, hand in hand. I'm not sure yet which of us will be Cathy and which will be Heathcliff, but we'll work it out.
I suspect we'll want to visit a few other places too.
Oh Cathy! Oh Heathcliff?
Infinities of love and awards,
Lola
Thursday, August 4, 2011
THE EXECUTION OF WANDA JEAN
Gentle Readers,
I watched an excellent documentary recently called The Execution of Wanda Jean
. It was very well made, and of course, it reinforced my belief that our country should do away with the death penalty.
The movie came out in 2002, and it's not easy to watch Jean's (the name she used most often) family go through the ups and downs of appealing her death sentence.
Wanda Jean Allen was in a lesbian relationship. She shot and killed the woman she loved because Gloria Leathers was leaving her. Jean had also killed once before and had received a very lenient sentence. But the second time, she received the death penalty. The lawyer who represented her during the trial openly admitted that he was not qualified to do so, and he did not present evidence of her brain damage and low IQ.
Evaluations revealed that the brain damage (she had been hit by a truck and suffered a head injury as a teenager and had been stabbed in the head) kept her from processing everyday logic that most of us take for granted, and she did not understand cause and effect relationships. Her IQ was 69.
Jean also lied and said she had graduated from high school and completed two years of college. Maybe she was accustomed to telling these stories to try to feel smarter. I don't know; the clemency board didn't seem to care that she was actually a high school dropout. They decided that if she had that education then she couldn't have such a low IQ.
By the time more qualified experts took on the case and presented the evidence that should have been provided during her trial, it was too late. No one had any mercy for Jean. Even Jesse Jackson could not convince the governor of Oklahoma, Frank Keating, to spare Jean, who was upbeat and seemingly more happy with her life as a prisoner than most people would be. I suspect the routine was reassuring to someone who had difficulty with day-to-day life.
Jean was sentenced in 1988, but not executed until 2001. As she went to the table where she would receive her lethal injection, she danced and stuck out her tongue at her lawyer, whom she liked. She believed she would return to her cell in the morning.
One of Leathers' family members was aghast at her behavior, which I can understand. He lost a loved one.
But it seems pretty apparent that Jean, despite all the coaching she received from her lawyer, really didn't know what was going on.
How can we execute people who don't know they are being executed, who do not understand the consequences of firing a gun? When I lived in another state, there was a lovely woman with whom I was acquainted. She had three children, all elementary school age. Her husband kept hunting rifles in the house. One evening the children were playing upstairs and their eight-year-old son shot and killed his six-year-old sister. Should that child be executed for killing his sister?
I don't believe that Wanda Jean Allen knew what she was doing any more than that eight-year-old child did.
The United States should not execute people for the following reasons:
1. Too many innocent people have been executed or sentenced to death. The Innocence Project has proven this and it was well known even before DNA evidence came into use. The execution of even one innocent person is too many.
2. The former chaplain at Huntsville State Prison in Texas, Rev. Carroll Pickett (where they carry out the highest number of executions in the nation), accompanied 95 men and women on their journey toward death. He states in At the Death House Door -- another excellent documentary -- that prisoners who are placed in solitary confinement are so miserable they beg to be executed. So wouldn't society achieve a "higher" level of punishment by letting killers rot in prison?
3. Where there is life, there is hope. When we kill people, all hope for redemption is lost.
We can achieve separation of church and state and still behave as if we are a Christian nation.
Infinities of love and life,
Lola
I watched an excellent documentary recently called The Execution of Wanda Jean
. It was very well made, and of course, it reinforced my belief that our country should do away with the death penalty.The movie came out in 2002, and it's not easy to watch Jean's (the name she used most often) family go through the ups and downs of appealing her death sentence.
Wanda Jean Allen was in a lesbian relationship. She shot and killed the woman she loved because Gloria Leathers was leaving her. Jean had also killed once before and had received a very lenient sentence. But the second time, she received the death penalty. The lawyer who represented her during the trial openly admitted that he was not qualified to do so, and he did not present evidence of her brain damage and low IQ.
Evaluations revealed that the brain damage (she had been hit by a truck and suffered a head injury as a teenager and had been stabbed in the head) kept her from processing everyday logic that most of us take for granted, and she did not understand cause and effect relationships. Her IQ was 69.
Jean also lied and said she had graduated from high school and completed two years of college. Maybe she was accustomed to telling these stories to try to feel smarter. I don't know; the clemency board didn't seem to care that she was actually a high school dropout. They decided that if she had that education then she couldn't have such a low IQ.
By the time more qualified experts took on the case and presented the evidence that should have been provided during her trial, it was too late. No one had any mercy for Jean. Even Jesse Jackson could not convince the governor of Oklahoma, Frank Keating, to spare Jean, who was upbeat and seemingly more happy with her life as a prisoner than most people would be. I suspect the routine was reassuring to someone who had difficulty with day-to-day life.
Jean was sentenced in 1988, but not executed until 2001. As she went to the table where she would receive her lethal injection, she danced and stuck out her tongue at her lawyer, whom she liked. She believed she would return to her cell in the morning.
One of Leathers' family members was aghast at her behavior, which I can understand. He lost a loved one.
But it seems pretty apparent that Jean, despite all the coaching she received from her lawyer, really didn't know what was going on.
How can we execute people who don't know they are being executed, who do not understand the consequences of firing a gun? When I lived in another state, there was a lovely woman with whom I was acquainted. She had three children, all elementary school age. Her husband kept hunting rifles in the house. One evening the children were playing upstairs and their eight-year-old son shot and killed his six-year-old sister. Should that child be executed for killing his sister?
I don't believe that Wanda Jean Allen knew what she was doing any more than that eight-year-old child did.
The United States should not execute people for the following reasons:
1. Too many innocent people have been executed or sentenced to death. The Innocence Project has proven this and it was well known even before DNA evidence came into use. The execution of even one innocent person is too many.
2. The former chaplain at Huntsville State Prison in Texas, Rev. Carroll Pickett (where they carry out the highest number of executions in the nation), accompanied 95 men and women on their journey toward death. He states in At the Death House Door -- another excellent documentary -- that prisoners who are placed in solitary confinement are so miserable they beg to be executed. So wouldn't society achieve a "higher" level of punishment by letting killers rot in prison?
3. Where there is life, there is hope. When we kill people, all hope for redemption is lost.
We can achieve separation of church and state and still behave as if we are a Christian nation.
Infinities of love and life,
Lola
Monday, July 11, 2011
UNITED STATES V. ANTHONY
Yes, Gentle Readers, I know it was not the United States that prosecuted Casey Anthony -- it was the state of Florida.
But now it seems as if an awful lot of people in the United States want to persecute this young woman.
I was concerned from the beginning that Casey Anthony couldn't get a fair trial. The case was too well known, it generated a great deal of negative energy, and it was pretty obvious that she was guilty of something.
I did not watch the trial every minute of every day, but I followed parts of it each day that it was on TV. When it came down to the closing arguments, I felt convinced that the jury should vote Not Guilty. She is, of course, guilty of lying, and she was found guilty on those counts.
But I think the State of Florida made a major mistake when they charged her with first degree murder. First degree murder (please correct me if I'm wrong LegalMist) means that the perpetrator intends to commit murder and plans the murder in advance. It's not a crime of passion.
I've been hearing and reading hundreds of comments that Casey Anthony should have been found guilty and there was no justice for her daughter.
Well, if that's the case, tell me, please, when and how she intended to murder her daughter AND when and how she carried out her intention AND when and how her daughter's body ended up where it was.
You have no answers because there aren't any. Thus, Not Guilty. It was the only reasonable response.
If she had been found guilty, would it really have brought about some form of justice for her child? Executing Casey Anthony or even sending her to prison forever would not restore life to that little girl.
As for child endangerment, I think she could have been found Guilty on that count because she did not report her daughter missing. The jury thought otherwise. Another Not Guilty.
Manslaughter: I don't think she could have been found guilty because there really wasn't any evidence. Again, Not Guilty.
This is the United States of America, and the jury has spoken. Casey Anthony should not be threatened or harmed in any way, but she will be, and for the rest of her life, she will be known as that mom who got away with murder. She will not have one minute of peace. I think those of you who are so hell-bent on punishing her will have to accept that she is going to be punished for all eternity.
If I were Casey Anthony, I would do whatever it takes to move to another country and start over with a new name. I hope I would also seek the help of mental health professionals because it's obvious that something is not right with that young lady. She lives in some alternate bizarro universe in which telling lie after lie -- even when your daughter has vanished -- is acceptable; and naming someone as the nanny who kidnapped your daughter is fine; and having some sort of culpability in the death of your child is not a problem.
The entire Anthony family needs our prayers, not our condemnation. Leave it to them to condemn themselves and allow the case to rest where it belongs -- in the hands of God.
Infinities of love and prayer,
Lola
But now it seems as if an awful lot of people in the United States want to persecute this young woman.
I was concerned from the beginning that Casey Anthony couldn't get a fair trial. The case was too well known, it generated a great deal of negative energy, and it was pretty obvious that she was guilty of something.
I did not watch the trial every minute of every day, but I followed parts of it each day that it was on TV. When it came down to the closing arguments, I felt convinced that the jury should vote Not Guilty. She is, of course, guilty of lying, and she was found guilty on those counts.
But I think the State of Florida made a major mistake when they charged her with first degree murder. First degree murder (please correct me if I'm wrong LegalMist) means that the perpetrator intends to commit murder and plans the murder in advance. It's not a crime of passion.
I've been hearing and reading hundreds of comments that Casey Anthony should have been found guilty and there was no justice for her daughter.
Well, if that's the case, tell me, please, when and how she intended to murder her daughter AND when and how she carried out her intention AND when and how her daughter's body ended up where it was.
You have no answers because there aren't any. Thus, Not Guilty. It was the only reasonable response.
If she had been found guilty, would it really have brought about some form of justice for her child? Executing Casey Anthony or even sending her to prison forever would not restore life to that little girl.
As for child endangerment, I think she could have been found Guilty on that count because she did not report her daughter missing. The jury thought otherwise. Another Not Guilty.
Manslaughter: I don't think she could have been found guilty because there really wasn't any evidence. Again, Not Guilty.
This is the United States of America, and the jury has spoken. Casey Anthony should not be threatened or harmed in any way, but she will be, and for the rest of her life, she will be known as that mom who got away with murder. She will not have one minute of peace. I think those of you who are so hell-bent on punishing her will have to accept that she is going to be punished for all eternity.
If I were Casey Anthony, I would do whatever it takes to move to another country and start over with a new name. I hope I would also seek the help of mental health professionals because it's obvious that something is not right with that young lady. She lives in some alternate bizarro universe in which telling lie after lie -- even when your daughter has vanished -- is acceptable; and naming someone as the nanny who kidnapped your daughter is fine; and having some sort of culpability in the death of your child is not a problem.
The entire Anthony family needs our prayers, not our condemnation. Leave it to them to condemn themselves and allow the case to rest where it belongs -- in the hands of God.
Infinities of love and prayer,
Lola
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
CHICKEN POX
Gentle Readers,
When are the people who write TV shows and movies and novels, all set in contemporary times, going to figure out that a diagnosis of chicken pox doesn't make sense anymore?
THERE IS A VACCINE KIDS GET NOW SO THEY WON'T END UP WITH THOSE UGLY POCK MARKS AND WON'T HAVE TO ITCH FOR DAYS ON END.
When Someone I Love was in high school (she graduated in 2004), one of her teachers asked, How many of you have had chicken pox? Most of the students raised their hands. The teacher then said, You are among the last generation of children who will have chicken pox.
To learn more about the vaccine, please click here.
Yes, I know some people think vaccines are dangerous and would rather let their children take their chances with mumps or chicken pox or whatever, or they are too stupid or too lazy to have their kids vaccinated, but from now on, most people will never have chicken pox, which can actually be dangerous. I know it seems like no big deal. The kid is fussy and itchy and covered with little red bumps that turn into scabby things that eventually dry up and go away, but chicken pox can be accompanied by infection and/or a high fever. When I was a reporter, I had to write an article about a child whose parents took her to the ER, where she died. She had chicken pox. It was before chicken pox vaccine.
So are we all on the same page now? Do we know about chicken pox vaccine?
If you answered yes, then what's wrong with people who do the research for medical shows or movies with children in them? Figure it out, researcher/writer types. Chicken pox is pretty much dead and gone. Leave it out of your plots because you are annoying me, and that is not a good idea.
If you need a diagnosis for your show, then try Lola Pox because I say, A pox be on you if you use chicken pox in your plot.
But I still love you all no matter what.
Infinities,
Lola
When are the people who write TV shows and movies and novels, all set in contemporary times, going to figure out that a diagnosis of chicken pox doesn't make sense anymore?
THERE IS A VACCINE KIDS GET NOW SO THEY WON'T END UP WITH THOSE UGLY POCK MARKS AND WON'T HAVE TO ITCH FOR DAYS ON END.
When Someone I Love was in high school (she graduated in 2004), one of her teachers asked, How many of you have had chicken pox? Most of the students raised their hands. The teacher then said, You are among the last generation of children who will have chicken pox.
To learn more about the vaccine, please click here.
Yes, I know some people think vaccines are dangerous and would rather let their children take their chances with mumps or chicken pox or whatever, or they are too stupid or too lazy to have their kids vaccinated, but from now on, most people will never have chicken pox, which can actually be dangerous. I know it seems like no big deal. The kid is fussy and itchy and covered with little red bumps that turn into scabby things that eventually dry up and go away, but chicken pox can be accompanied by infection and/or a high fever. When I was a reporter, I had to write an article about a child whose parents took her to the ER, where she died. She had chicken pox. It was before chicken pox vaccine.
So are we all on the same page now? Do we know about chicken pox vaccine?
If you answered yes, then what's wrong with people who do the research for medical shows or movies with children in them? Figure it out, researcher/writer types. Chicken pox is pretty much dead and gone. Leave it out of your plots because you are annoying me, and that is not a good idea.
If you need a diagnosis for your show, then try Lola Pox because I say, A pox be on you if you use chicken pox in your plot.
But I still love you all no matter what.
Infinities,
Lola
Monday, May 30, 2011
MEMORIAL DAY: AFTER THE FALL
Gentle Readers,
Memorial Day, for most of us, is a day to honor our fallen heroes. But for a particular hate group in my home town of Topeka, Kansas, every day is a day to despise our fallen heroes.
Yes, you may have heard of them before: It's Fred Phelps and his family, who use their Westboro Baptist Church as a front for their campaign against the people they call fags. According to the Phelps, 9/11 was caused by the fags because God was showering his wrath on the people of the United States. And people who serve in America's military are fags, and I'm a fag, you're a fag, everyone except the Phelps family is a fag, fag.
(By the way, they call their church Baptist, but they are not recognized as such by any other Baptist churches.)
I'm not going to provide a link to any of the Phelps' Web sites. You can find their crap if you want. I write this to call attention to their activities in case you are not aware of them, and because my dad served in the military and died on Memorial Day. I know my parents detested the behavior of the Phelps.
The Phelps like to protest. They go out with their signs and call people fags and blame the fags for everything that's wrong. Worst of all, they protest at the funerals of our fallen soldiers. Because of them, President George W. Bush signed a law that prohibits protests within a certain distance of military cemeteries before, during, and after a funeral. But that doesn't stop them from protesting at other cemeteries and it doesn't stop them from protesting at other venues and it doesn't stop them from protesting at other times. They also protest at the funerals of gay people. They were there for Matthew Shepard's funeral, as if his family hadn't already suffered enough.
I've seen some news clips about various ways people deal with the Phelps, and don't think the Phelps are just a Topeka problem. They show up all over the place. In one town, the Phelps obtained permission to picket on a certain corner. So, many people in town showed up and parked their vehicles near the corner so the Phelps would have difficulty getting a place to park their bus, and then the townspeople took over the corner and left no room for the Phelps, who actually gave up and left. When they protest at a funeral, sometimes motorcyclists show up and form a ring around the family and rev their engines to drown out their noise.
Yes, the Phelps family is entitled to freedom of speech. But families should be entitled to bury their loved ones in peace.
I recall Fred Phelps mostly from his days as a lawyer, when I was growing up in Topeka. His antics were always in the news, and eventually he was disbarred for unethical conduct. Some of his 13 children have become lawyers and they now fund the protests with the money they earn from the family law firm, according to an article I read in the Topeka newspaper. Although Topekans hate what the Phelps do, one person admitted that if you want to win your case, you go to the Phelps. It's a shame Kansans don't boycott the firm in a shared commitment to dry up their money.
Recently I watched a documentary about the family called Fall From Grace: Westboro Baptist Church
. It was made by a young man named K. Ryan Jones, first as a short film for a film class he was taking at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, and then it became a full-fledged documentary. As Jones himself says in a DVD extra, he had to try very hard to be fair to the Phelps because "everybody hates them."
As I watched Fall From Grace, there I saw one of the boys, now in his fifties just as I am, but with the same face he had when we were in the seventh grade together. And I saw one of the girls, who was in the ninth grade. I sometimes saw the girl in the ninth grade laughing and talking with other kids, but the seventh grade boy seemed to stick pretty close to his brother, who was in the eighth grade. Those boys looked so sad, and I have never forgotten the miserable and embarrassed silence that fell over the school cafeteria the day those two boys came to school with their heads shaved. Guys did not shave their heads then, and we felt so sorry for them.
Other students who had known the Phelps for years explained to me that Fred Phelps had shaved his sons' heads to punish them, just as they were punished by having to run to Lawrence from Topeka and then back home again. They also had to sell candy for hours after school to support the church. One of them came to our door once, and my mother said NO immediately. She mentioned afterwards that she knew the money went to the church so she wouldn't buy anything from the Phelps.
What I didn't know was that the children and Mrs. Phelps were severely abused, according to two of the children who have left the family. One of them, Nate Phelps, writes a thoughtful and intelligent blog that I suggest you check out. Nate is interviewed by telephone during the documentary, and he recommends ignoring his family if you should encounter one of their protests. They are definitely attention whores, so cut them dead (figuratively of course). Don't engage them in an argument; don't give them what they want so desperately.
Why do they do what they do? Who knows why such evil lives in the hearts of humankind? Fred Phelps is a sick man and his sickness has infected most of his children. And now his grandchildren, right down to the youngest ones who are barely understandable when they speak, parrot what they hear from their parents and their grandfather, although it's obvious they don't know what they're saying. They are already brainwashed and if someone doesn't help them, it will only get worse.
I found it fascinating that in the documentary one of the Phelps daughters says, My father had 13 children. Hmmmm . . . did he become pregnant and give birth? Mrs. Phelps is never mentioned, I think because her husband's control over the family is so complete.
Thus, I recommend the documentary; I recommend Nate Phelps' blog; and I recommend ignoring the Phelps family if you should ever have the misfortune of seeing them in your town. They have fallen. Don't let them take you down with them.
Infinities of love,
Lola
Memorial Day, for most of us, is a day to honor our fallen heroes. But for a particular hate group in my home town of Topeka, Kansas, every day is a day to despise our fallen heroes.
Yes, you may have heard of them before: It's Fred Phelps and his family, who use their Westboro Baptist Church as a front for their campaign against the people they call fags. According to the Phelps, 9/11 was caused by the fags because God was showering his wrath on the people of the United States. And people who serve in America's military are fags, and I'm a fag, you're a fag, everyone except the Phelps family is a fag, fag.
(By the way, they call their church Baptist, but they are not recognized as such by any other Baptist churches.)
I'm not going to provide a link to any of the Phelps' Web sites. You can find their crap if you want. I write this to call attention to their activities in case you are not aware of them, and because my dad served in the military and died on Memorial Day. I know my parents detested the behavior of the Phelps.
The Phelps like to protest. They go out with their signs and call people fags and blame the fags for everything that's wrong. Worst of all, they protest at the funerals of our fallen soldiers. Because of them, President George W. Bush signed a law that prohibits protests within a certain distance of military cemeteries before, during, and after a funeral. But that doesn't stop them from protesting at other cemeteries and it doesn't stop them from protesting at other venues and it doesn't stop them from protesting at other times. They also protest at the funerals of gay people. They were there for Matthew Shepard's funeral, as if his family hadn't already suffered enough.
I've seen some news clips about various ways people deal with the Phelps, and don't think the Phelps are just a Topeka problem. They show up all over the place. In one town, the Phelps obtained permission to picket on a certain corner. So, many people in town showed up and parked their vehicles near the corner so the Phelps would have difficulty getting a place to park their bus, and then the townspeople took over the corner and left no room for the Phelps, who actually gave up and left. When they protest at a funeral, sometimes motorcyclists show up and form a ring around the family and rev their engines to drown out their noise.
Yes, the Phelps family is entitled to freedom of speech. But families should be entitled to bury their loved ones in peace.
I recall Fred Phelps mostly from his days as a lawyer, when I was growing up in Topeka. His antics were always in the news, and eventually he was disbarred for unethical conduct. Some of his 13 children have become lawyers and they now fund the protests with the money they earn from the family law firm, according to an article I read in the Topeka newspaper. Although Topekans hate what the Phelps do, one person admitted that if you want to win your case, you go to the Phelps. It's a shame Kansans don't boycott the firm in a shared commitment to dry up their money.
Recently I watched a documentary about the family called Fall From Grace: Westboro Baptist Church
. It was made by a young man named K. Ryan Jones, first as a short film for a film class he was taking at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, and then it became a full-fledged documentary. As Jones himself says in a DVD extra, he had to try very hard to be fair to the Phelps because "everybody hates them."As I watched Fall From Grace, there I saw one of the boys, now in his fifties just as I am, but with the same face he had when we were in the seventh grade together. And I saw one of the girls, who was in the ninth grade. I sometimes saw the girl in the ninth grade laughing and talking with other kids, but the seventh grade boy seemed to stick pretty close to his brother, who was in the eighth grade. Those boys looked so sad, and I have never forgotten the miserable and embarrassed silence that fell over the school cafeteria the day those two boys came to school with their heads shaved. Guys did not shave their heads then, and we felt so sorry for them.
Other students who had known the Phelps for years explained to me that Fred Phelps had shaved his sons' heads to punish them, just as they were punished by having to run to Lawrence from Topeka and then back home again. They also had to sell candy for hours after school to support the church. One of them came to our door once, and my mother said NO immediately. She mentioned afterwards that she knew the money went to the church so she wouldn't buy anything from the Phelps.
What I didn't know was that the children and Mrs. Phelps were severely abused, according to two of the children who have left the family. One of them, Nate Phelps, writes a thoughtful and intelligent blog that I suggest you check out. Nate is interviewed by telephone during the documentary, and he recommends ignoring his family if you should encounter one of their protests. They are definitely attention whores, so cut them dead (figuratively of course). Don't engage them in an argument; don't give them what they want so desperately.
Why do they do what they do? Who knows why such evil lives in the hearts of humankind? Fred Phelps is a sick man and his sickness has infected most of his children. And now his grandchildren, right down to the youngest ones who are barely understandable when they speak, parrot what they hear from their parents and their grandfather, although it's obvious they don't know what they're saying. They are already brainwashed and if someone doesn't help them, it will only get worse.
I found it fascinating that in the documentary one of the Phelps daughters says, My father had 13 children. Hmmmm . . . did he become pregnant and give birth? Mrs. Phelps is never mentioned, I think because her husband's control over the family is so complete.
Thus, I recommend the documentary; I recommend Nate Phelps' blog; and I recommend ignoring the Phelps family if you should ever have the misfortune of seeing them in your town. They have fallen. Don't let them take you down with them.
Infinities of love,
Lola
Friday, April 29, 2011
THE PERP WALK
Gentle Readers,
I've never actually had to perform the perp walk, but I thought it made for a more interesting post title than THE DEPRESSION WALK.
I've been doing the depression walk on and off since I got fired. It consists of barely moving my feet while my head hangs forward and my shoulders droop. Thank God I live in such a small house now. When I did the depression walk in my big house, sometimes I'd have to stop and just lie down on the floor because making it from one room to the next was too much.
As you may have guessed, I've had no luck finding another job. It took me 18 months to get the last one. I was teaching. At a failing school. And by that, I mean their grade from the state was a big fat F.
I kinda doubt I'll get another teaching job. I think I've been blackballed because I was a whistle blower, but I don't know what difference my whistle blowing made because nobody did anything about it. I guess the problem is that now I'm a known whistle blower and so oh Dear God I might do it again.
I think all states now have standardized tests students have to take as a way of judging the school. And the schools have to be judged because of No Child Left Behind. I certainly don't want children left behind, but oy vey, what I saw at that school. Those children were already so far behind I don't know how they could ever recover.
It's really a shame that so much money is spent on the tests and practice tests and materials to prepare for the tests instead of putting the money to work for the kids. Smaller class sizes and more individualized instruction seem like a couple of good ideas to me.
But anyhoo, back to the whistle blowing. The afternoon that I started working with my students, they had taken the state writing test that morning. Some of them told me that the teacher who gave them the test wrote all or part of their essays for them. They wouldn't tell me who the teacher was. One said, I ain't no snitch.
So at the end of the school day, of course I reported what the students had told me. The folks to whom I reported wanted names. I promised to investigate. I think it was my downfall. I know those kids would have talked. They would have told me more as soon as they got to know me.
So, man, I was out the door for no reason in less than a week. You see, here in the hinterlands, teachers can be fired for no reason during the first three months of employment.
I think the administration didn't want to know who cheated. I've read quite a few articles about cheating on the state-mandated tests. They all say it's to the schools' advantage to cheat, and of course it is. They want the money from the state that the school receives for improving. The teachers want the merit pay they get because their students have shown improvement.
They want higher scores.
Especially if the school's grade is F.
I reported all this to the teachers' union and to the appropriate people at the schools' central office. I even fired off a letter to the Superintendent of Schools.
Guess what?
Nobody cares. There was no investigation. No one asked me a single question.
The only response I received was an angry email from the principal who fired me telling me if I wanted to talk about the school I should contact him. Why in the hell would I get in touch with the guy who fired me? We're not exactly on a send each other Christmas cards basis.
The saddest thing about all this is not that I lost my job, although it brings out the depression walk in me.
The saddest thing is that taking the test for the student is tantamount to saying, You're not good enough. You can't do it, and rather than let you do what you are capable of, I will teach you to be helpless.
We should all be doing the depression walk over that.
Infinities of love,
Lola
I've never actually had to perform the perp walk, but I thought it made for a more interesting post title than THE DEPRESSION WALK.
I've been doing the depression walk on and off since I got fired. It consists of barely moving my feet while my head hangs forward and my shoulders droop. Thank God I live in such a small house now. When I did the depression walk in my big house, sometimes I'd have to stop and just lie down on the floor because making it from one room to the next was too much.
As you may have guessed, I've had no luck finding another job. It took me 18 months to get the last one. I was teaching. At a failing school. And by that, I mean their grade from the state was a big fat F.
I kinda doubt I'll get another teaching job. I think I've been blackballed because I was a whistle blower, but I don't know what difference my whistle blowing made because nobody did anything about it. I guess the problem is that now I'm a known whistle blower and so oh Dear God I might do it again.
I think all states now have standardized tests students have to take as a way of judging the school. And the schools have to be judged because of No Child Left Behind. I certainly don't want children left behind, but oy vey, what I saw at that school. Those children were already so far behind I don't know how they could ever recover.
It's really a shame that so much money is spent on the tests and practice tests and materials to prepare for the tests instead of putting the money to work for the kids. Smaller class sizes and more individualized instruction seem like a couple of good ideas to me.
But anyhoo, back to the whistle blowing. The afternoon that I started working with my students, they had taken the state writing test that morning. Some of them told me that the teacher who gave them the test wrote all or part of their essays for them. They wouldn't tell me who the teacher was. One said, I ain't no snitch.
So at the end of the school day, of course I reported what the students had told me. The folks to whom I reported wanted names. I promised to investigate. I think it was my downfall. I know those kids would have talked. They would have told me more as soon as they got to know me.
So, man, I was out the door for no reason in less than a week. You see, here in the hinterlands, teachers can be fired for no reason during the first three months of employment.
I think the administration didn't want to know who cheated. I've read quite a few articles about cheating on the state-mandated tests. They all say it's to the schools' advantage to cheat, and of course it is. They want the money from the state that the school receives for improving. The teachers want the merit pay they get because their students have shown improvement.
They want higher scores.
Especially if the school's grade is F.
I reported all this to the teachers' union and to the appropriate people at the schools' central office. I even fired off a letter to the Superintendent of Schools.
Guess what?
Nobody cares. There was no investigation. No one asked me a single question.
The only response I received was an angry email from the principal who fired me telling me if I wanted to talk about the school I should contact him. Why in the hell would I get in touch with the guy who fired me? We're not exactly on a send each other Christmas cards basis.
The saddest thing about all this is not that I lost my job, although it brings out the depression walk in me.
The saddest thing is that taking the test for the student is tantamount to saying, You're not good enough. You can't do it, and rather than let you do what you are capable of, I will teach you to be helpless.
We should all be doing the depression walk over that.
Infinities of love,
Lola
Sunday, April 10, 2011
AT LAST
I asked God to take away my habit.
God said, No.
It is not for me to take away,
but for you to give it up.
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said, No.
His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary.
I asked God to grant me patience.
God said, No. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations;
it isn't granted, it is learned.
I asked God to give me happiness..
God said, No.
I give you blessings;
Happiness is up to you.
I asked God to spare me pain.
God said, No.
Suffering draws you apart from
worldly cares
and brings you closer to me.
I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said, No.
You must grow on your own,
but I will prune you to make you fruitful.
I asked God for all things
that I might enjoy life.
God said, No.
I will give you life,
so that you may enjoy all things.
I asked God to help me LOVE others, as much as He loves me.
God said... Ahhhh,
finally you have the idea.
God said, No.
It is not for me to take away,
but for you to give it up.
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said, No.
His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary.
I asked God to grant me patience.
God said, No. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations;
it isn't granted, it is learned.
I asked God to give me happiness..
God said, No.
I give you blessings;
Happiness is up to you.
I asked God to spare me pain.
God said, No.
Suffering draws you apart from
worldly cares
and brings you closer to me.
I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said, No.
You must grow on your own,
but I will prune you to make you fruitful.
I asked God for all things
that I might enjoy life.
God said, No.
I will give you life,
so that you may enjoy all things.
I asked God to help me LOVE others, as much as He loves me.
God said... Ahhhh,
finally you have the idea.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
A WOMAN'S HEART
IT'S CHRISTIAN WOMEN WEEK
AND YOU SHOULD SEND THIS TO ALL BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN WOMEN
When I say that 'I am a Christian', I am not shouting that 'I am clean living. I'm whispering 'I was lost, but now I'm found and forgiven.'
When I say 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.
When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.
When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed and needed God to clean up my mess.
When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect.
My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.
When I say 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches so I call upon his name
When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!
Today is Beautiful Christian Woman's Day.
Pretty is as Pretty does but, Beautiful is just plain Beautiful..
I'm supposed to send this to Beautiful Women, and you are one of them!
If you share this with other women, you will boost another woman's self esteem,
and she will know you care about her!
Be Blessed, Be a Blessing.
A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
THUS SPOKE GOD
Gentle Readers,
God once spoke to me, and He didn't say "You are going to hell" and He didn't say "You're a Nazi." No, he told me I wasn't going to die. Favorite Young Man was a busy two-year-old and I found myself in quite a bit of pain that worsened as the day went on. My husband took me to the doctor, where I fainted, so the doctor passed me off on the hospital and my husband hauled me out of the doctor's office with the help of some nice woman in the waiting room. (Isn't it amazingly wonderful how so many people will step in to help without even being asked?) I was in my hospital bed in screaming pain, worse than being in labor, and I bet and hope most of you women didn't know it was possible to experience more pain than labor. The thought entered my head that I was going to die, and as soon as it did, the thought was deposited in my head, No, you are not going to die. You will live to raise your son.
God didn't speak to me from a burning bush. He simply planted this knowledge in my head and went about His business. A few other people had need of him too. I was in the hospital for a long and unhappy ten days, but obviously I lived to raise F.Y.M., with whom I drank a margarita just a little while ago.
I think God speaks to us all the time. Fortunately, I don't need the drama of a hospital bed and impending death to hear him every day. If I pay attention, he pokes my brain and lets me know what to do. What's right in this or that situation? I pray and ponder. He tells me -- not always as quickly as He did in the hospital, but when He's ready, He reveals the plan to me.
Dr. Robert Schuller of the famed Crystal Cathedral in Anaheim has written that oftentimes when things become difficult, Christians think that God doesn't want them to embark on a project. Ha! I say to that and so does Dr. Schuller, though he doesn't use Ha! We need to look at the situation and pray and ask what the Lord wants us to do. A challenge can simply mean that He wants us to try harder. And there's no shame in trying and failing if pleasing God and walking in His footsteps is your aim. But if you fail, then often some good will come of it. A door closes; a window opens. But failing at first can also be exactly that -- failing at first. Keep running the race, or walking, or crawling if need be, and you can bypass failure like the tortoise passing the hare and give God glory for every minute of the journey.
And I got kibble today, so we're o.k. here. Lord, please let me sleep tonight. But if I don't, I'll find something to do. There's always prayer, or prayer, or some prayer might be a good idea, accompanied by some reading of the Bible. A little digression: Have you ever noticed that in the Bible, Jesus doesn't accuse people who try to do good of being Nazis? I thought President Obama gave a good, solid State of the Union Address. The one thing I wish he would have said, and the thing I would like to hear a heck of a lot of people say is the following: Let's stop calling each other Nazis. Being a Liberal or a Conservative does not make a person a Mein Kampf-reading follower of Hitler. Cut the Nazi crap, America. Nazis are on Lola's Mob Rule shit list, but I do not personally know any Nazis, and I promise you I will not call you a Nazi just because you disagree with me politically or religiously, as long as you are not spouting the rhetoric of Herr Hitler. Plus, a brown shirt can simply mean that someone works for UPS.
Infinities of love,
Lola
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