Category: spirituality

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The magic of the season

Christmas has long been a magical season and this year is no different.  The whole community has pitched in to help me with all the ‘Angels’ on my tree.  Some businesses have donated items.  Some businesses have offered jobs.  Some businesses have donated food, and there is even a celebrity, which I promised not to name, that has donated $100 to every family that has an Angel on my tree.  God has blessed this little tree in ways I never imagined.

I am so proud to live here in New Orleans.  I am so proud of the people of New Orleans as they have pulled together to see to it these families and mostly the children, will wake up Christmas morning to a wonderful surprise from Santa.  There are PSP’s, Game Boys, Wii’s, MP3 players, DVD players, TV’s, PS3’s, and more gadgets than I know what they are.  Guess I’m getting old when I don’t recognize some of the presents we’re giving out, ya think?

Oh well, I’ll know it’s the right thing with all the smiles.  Oh each family is getting a disposable camera that they are to bring back to me so I can get the pictures developed.  Of course I’ll get double prints and maybe more because I want a picture of the children’s faces, and I also want to send ‘Thank you’ notes to the many people that donated along with a picture of the smiling faces of the children they helped to make this Christmas special for.  Then of course, the parents need a copy of their pictures too.

I’m worse than the kids beacuse I can’t wait!!!!!!

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More about our Angel Tree

I am still getting requests for more Angels to be placed on my Angel Tree.  Most of the Angels are gone already and the presents are starting to pour in.  I wasn’t expecting them to be brought in until around the 15th of December but I have put them in one of my rooms for safe keeping.  They are due to be given on Christmas Eve.

Most of the presents for the children will be their Santa Clause this year as there are so many in need of assistance with that more than just a present.  How about that?  I’m Santa Clause this year but no I’m not a ‘Ho’.  😉  I never really thought about it that way.  I just thought of it as doing my part for my community.

Now here’s the sad part.  I got a request from a 7 year old little boy that wants a new Daddy.  His died during Hurricane Katrina and his mother has been sad ever since so he just wants a new Daddy.  How do I find him one of those.  Hey, maybe I could find a nice man that would be a Big Brother type Daddy for him.  In fact, I know just the right man for the job.  He’s worked for me for years and is single.  He’s great with kids too.

Then there’s the request I got from a 9 year old little girl.  Her mother has cancer and her father left them when she got it.  She wants a cure for her mother for Christmas.  I’m calling several hospitals and doctors trying to see if I can get her free medical care.  I sure hope so.

There is so much suffering that we are unaware of within our own community but my little Angel Tree is opening not only my eyes, but the eyes of everyone that looks at the Angels and reads the requests.  It looks so far like most of the children on my tree will have a good Christmas after all.

I just wish I could grant each and every child’s wish but some of them have to be granted by a higher power than just me alone.  I pray every night for the wishes I know I can’t fill.  Maybe God will take over and grant those wishes.  Christmas is a very special time and I believe it can happen.

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The city is dressing for Christmas

New Orleans is a beautiful town anyway but when she dresses for Christmas, there’s a magic in the air that no one can deny.  Not if you have been here to see it anyway.  You can feel the Christmas spirit all over the city.  My place is no exception.

Christmas is my favorite time of year by far.  The love that this city shows it citizens is just heart warming and my ‘Angle tree’ has only shown me even more that this is where I was born and this is where I’ll die.  I can’t imagine another city with more heart and soul than New Orleans.

Just look at some of the famous people that have come from here if you don’t  believe it.  Look at Emeril and what he did for his employees through the Katrina mess.  He took care of everyone that worked for him by paying them every week just like they were still working until they returned to his restaurant when it was back in business.  Now that’s a man with a heart and he’s not the only one.

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Well are you as stuffed as I am?

Talk about a Thanksgiving feast, well we sure had one.  We had turkey of course but also gumbo, dirty rice, green beans, sweet potatoes and just about anything else you can think of.  I ate until I couldn’t eat anymore.  I think we have enough leftovers to feed a couple more families.

We had 5 families that we had invited for Thanksgiving that wouldn’t have had a Thanksgiving meal otherwise.  I was so proud to be able to do that for those families.  They were so thankful to us for doing what we did.  I did it for them because they have all suffered so much for so long that I wanted them to have something to be thankful for and a community that cares is something to be thankful for.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as blessed as mine was.  Mine was full of love, food, good friends and family, and new friends too.  What more could anyone ask for?

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Angel tree update

I told you about putting up an ‘Angel Tree’ in my establishment a few days ago.  Well I thought I would update you on it’s progress.  A local business has donated 10 Game Boys and 10 games for it for children on the tree.  Another local store has donated turkeys for every ‘Angel’ on the tree.  Then another business has donated $15 gift cards for every one on the tree so the children can get what ever they want.

Angel requests are still coming in as more families learn that it’s up already so as fast as an ‘Angel’ is taken, there’s almost another to replace it.  Luckily a lot of local churches have come to offer gifts for the children and families too.  There is a lot of need this year in our community unfortunately with so many still trying to rebuild their lives but that’s one of the things that makes New Orleans a great city, people really care about each other and my little ‘Angel tree’ is proof.

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Britney Spears

Britney Spears is also from Louisiana as most of you probably know.  Bless her heart, she’s finally getting her life back together.  She is a prime example of a young girl that got too much too soon and fell from grace.  She is doing much better now thank God.

So much so that she’s working hard on a comeback and doing quite well with it from what I understand.  She also has gotten permission from the courts to bring her two young sons home to visit with her family.  This poor girl has fought back hard only to have one of her sons rushed to the hospital while here because of a severe allergic reaction to something he ate.  I bet that scared the living daylights out of her.  First of all just because it’s her son and second of all, because she lost custody and the first time she’s allowed to take them out of California, this happens.

Britney, honey, you are on the top of my prayer list along with your sons.  I wish you only good things and hope and pray your comeback is a total comeback and not just musically.  Hang in there hon!!!

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Angel Tree

Every year, we put up an ‘Angel Tree’ in my establishment.  Local families in need come to me with the names of their children to place on the tree with a short list of items they want for Christmas.  I have done this for many years and this year, I decided to put the tree up early to allow for more childrens names and also to give people that want to help, more time to buy the gifts for the children.

I accept names of children from newborn to 18.  The only thing that is one the Angel card is if the child is a boy or a girl, how old they are and three items they would like to have.  I have seen items from tennis shoes to PSP’s put on the list but usually there are affordable things and nothing elaborate.

One child asked for nothing for himself.  He only wanted three things for him to give to his parents and younger sister.  This was a 10 year old ‘Man’ and I took his card personally.  I guess I adopted the family that year for Christmas because I also invited them to my home for Christmas dinner.  It was one of the best Christmases I can remember having.  Yes the young man got plenty as did the whole family.

You see, they had lost everything in Hurricane Katrina and were trying to get their lives back together.  I felt honored to be able to help them.  Their mother still works for me and he even has a little part time job in the evenings taking out the trash and picking up around the outside of the place for me.  He does a great job too.  They are a very humble family and grateful for anything anyone does to help them.

So if you see an ‘Angel Tree’ somewhere, you should know that you are someones ‘Angel’ when you take that child, family or elderly persons name and buy them gifts.  We are all someones ‘Guardian Angel’ sometimes in our lives if we choose to be.  Please choose to be.

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Enough gloom and doom, let’s have a party

What is New Orleans known best for?  Their parties.  So enough of the gloom and doom of the economy.  LET’S PARTY!!!!  Halloween is tomorrow night and we’re all geared up to throw a ‘Monster Bash’ if you will.  Costumes are everywhere here so there’s no reason not to get all decked out in a costume and cast your cares to the wind, if only for one night.

Personally, I think we all need to just throw caution to the wind from time to time to keep our souls healthy. It’s good to let the problems of everyday life go if just for one night to sort of recharge your batteries so you can face whatever the next day or week shall bring so get out and enjoy yourself for Halloween but be safe too.  HAPPY HALLOWEEN YA’LL!!

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Senator Chambers of Omaha

I don’t know if you have heard about this Senator from Omaha Nebraska ‘suing’ God or not but it is the most bizarre thing I have ever heard of and I’ve heard of some pretty bizarre things in my lifetime living in New Orleans.  The case was thrown out siting not being able to ‘properly serve’ the defendant in the case since there was no address to be able to serve Him, meaning God.

Well that’s not good enough for Senator Chambers.  He said that God is supposed to know everything and therefore is very aware of the suit against Him so with that in mind, he has been properly served.  He wants a ‘cease and desist order’ more or less against God for ‘terrorist type attacks against the Senator’.  That sounds to me like he has had some pretty bad nightmares and is blaming God for them or something about that substantial.

What this sounds to me like is a case of trying to get your name in the papers, online and out there to be seen.  He must really be a lonely person to want so desperately to receive that much attention.  Maybe God will comfort him and forgive him for his……….breakdown for lack of a better word to explain his actions.

It’s crazy lawsuits like this that take up money in the courts for nothing.  He should be made to pay for every bit of the court costs for filing a law suit that has no merritt and maybe then it might stop some of this abuse of the court system and allow them to handle matters that are far more important like murder trials or am I looking at this wrong?  I don’t think so.

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Angelina Jolie

Bless her heart, she can’t even feed one of her new born babies without causing a stink.  Have you heard about it?  She is on the cover of W’s November magazine and is apparently breastfeeding one of the twins.  It’s not a full frontal picture of her breast or even the baby on her breast.  She’s sitting with the opposite shoulder facing the camera and part of her breast on the opposite side is visible.  SO?

Have celebrities not worn less on the red carpet?  Look at some old pictures of Cher is you don’t think so.  What Angelina is doing in this picture is the most beautiful thing a woman can do for her baby.  She’s breastfeeding and not just hanging her boob out for everyone to see.  It’s crap like this stink that drove women away from breastfeeding.  Sure there are some that for one reason or another can’t breastfeed their baby.  Then they have to give them a bottle and that’s okay but breastfeeding is the way nature intended for us to feed our babies.

I will admit I think there is a time and a place and also a way to breastfeed.  No woman should just whip her breast out and feed her baby where ever she is.  If she’s in public, you can very discretely place a baby blanket over your shoulder and cover the fact that you are breastfeeding and most people won’t know at all.  Or if she’s entertaining at home with both men and women, she should excuse herself and invite the women to join her in the other room if they would like while she feeds the baby but that’s my opinion.

There has been countless into the benefits of breastfeeding.  Breastfed babies usually score higher in math, they have stronger immune systems and therefore, don’t get sick nearly as often and have less severity to when they do get sick.  So what’s the big deal here?  I think Angelina should be commended – not chastised!!