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Happy Halloween

The one thing I miss now is getting my kids all dressed up for Halloween and taking them out Trick-or-Treating.  That was so much fun.  I always dressed up too.  Guess what I went as, an Indian Chief, what else?  My oldest daughter was Pocahontas one year and then the youngest was when she could wear the costume.  My sons preferred to be the cowboys instead of Indians when they were little.

I really miss all of that.  I guess I’ll have to just hand out the candy and wait for grandchildren to take out Trick-or-Treating but I’m not in a hurry.  Did you kids hear that?  I’M NOT IN A HURRY!!!!

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Lego League

I have been volunteering with a local Lego League.  Have you heard about them?  They use the Lego Mindstorm NXT which is robotic Lego’s.  You can go to their web site at usfirst.org and check them out if you are interested in what they’re all about.  Each year they have a challenge that has to do with the environment.  Last year it was alternative sources of fuel.  This year the challenge is on global warming and what you can do in your community to help.

There is a state competition in December and the team that wins there, goes on to Atlanta to participate in the World competition.  There will be teams from China, Germany and many other countries.  I absolutely love working with these kids.  These are our future engineers.  Not only do they win trophies, but they also can get schlorships to some pretty impressive colleges just because of their involvement with this so I feel very blessed to be a part of it.

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Upholding Family Values

Obama leaves his campaign for 36 hours to visit his gravely ill grandmother. He has a comfortable lead in several of the critical states, but it is a shame he has to stop his campaign at this critical point. However, I respect his family values and hope his grandmother recovers from the illness in time to witness her grandson possibly win the election in November.

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About my family

I told you that I was adopted by a white family and that gave me advantages I wouldn’t have had otherwise.  I want you to understand why I was put up for adoption.  Adoption is not a bad thing.  It can be when a mother is hooked on drugs and loves them more than her child or if the child is abused and taken away from the parents but that’s not my case at all.

You see, my parents were young when I came along and they could barely take care of themselves and knew they could not give me what I needed.  They knew this nice white couple that couldn’t have children of their own and they offered to adopt me.  They allowed my natural parents to be a part of my life my whole life along with my natural family.  I never felt that I was not wanted by either side.

I was lucky enough to have two wonderful mothers and two wonderful fathers.  I have more grandparents than most kids have cousins and am loved by all of them.  My life has been blessed from the very beginning and I have passed all that love on to my own children who have a huge family backing them too.  So you see, adoption can be a very loving thing to do for your child.

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PBS

From time to time I have the opportunity to watch a show or two on the PBS channel. There can be some very interesting shows. The ones about opera and ballet don’t interest me at all, but the ones with rock shows, blues and jazz can be very entertaining.

I recently watched an hour show about Austin City Limits. They have always have great talent and often cutting edge artists in their lineups. This particular show had Pinetop Perkins in it. Surely this was one of his last performances. He is so old, but still banging those ivories. He looked really dapper in a bright red suit and red derby hat. He is quite the showman and a great entertainer.

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Stock market woes

Well it seems we are not the only country having problems with our stock markets going lower and lower.  It seems that stock markets all over the world are falling.  Could this be the beginning of a global depression?  Unfortunately it looks like possibly the beginning of a depression for us again if something isn’t done soon.

Sure I am very aware that every time we have a presidential election, especially when it is two candidates that haven’t either been vice president or was the president running for reelection, the economy slows down quite a bit but this is more than ‘slowing down’ it seems like to me.  No one is sure of what the future president will do so it’s almost like the economy is holding it’s breath like a frightened child.  Please get out there and vote no matter who you choose.  I’m not pushing one candidate over another but if you want your voice heard, you have to vote.

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Bought a new lap top computer

Now that I’m blogging, I needed a new computer.  My old faithful computer is about 10 years old and is getting slower and slower, kinda like me.  Not really but I have slowed down quite a bit over the past……..well over the years lets say.  I decided to check with dell.com to see what they had to offer and I’m really glad I did.  After looking around their web site, I found the refurbished laptops.  I couldn’t believe how much I could save with a refurbished laptop over a brand new one.

I ordered a Inspiron 1525 laptop and saved 35% off of what a new one would have cost.  I like saving money.  That leaves me with money I can spend on something else I want like maybe a flat screen TV.  I didn’t save that much but it’s a start.

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North Carolina Outer Banks

My adoptive father used to take me to the North Carolina Outer Banks when I was growing up every fall for a fishing trip.  It was and still is, one of the best places to go fishing on the coast.  It has a lot of history along with it.  The numerous shipwrecks in this dangerous stretch of ocean earned North Carolina’s Outer Banks the reputation as the “the graveyard of the Atlantic,” not the infamous pirate Blackbeard, who met his end here.  Coastal erosion and increased risk of damage from storm surges are the real threats facing the area now.

We used to put up tents and camp on the beach while we fished but you can’t do that now in an attempt to keep human erosion from adding to the threat already facing the beaches.  It’s a shame that things have to change like they do and when they do, it’s not usually for the better.  I guess it’s all a part of life like everything else.

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Broke his own world record

Kevin Fast who is a Canadian Reverend, has set a new record in the “heaviest vehicle pulled over 100 feet”.  He beat his previous record for this category which was 125,660 lbs.   Kevin pulled an International Loadstar truck and hauled a load of 126,292 lbs over 137 feet. Paramedics were standing by, and quickly inspected him after the attempt.

Fasts only food in preparation for the event was a cup of coffee. He pulled on a rope, anchored by a parked car. Stuart Claxton from the company Guinness World Records, has been judging record attempts for many years.  My question is ‘Why would a man risk hurting himself as badly as he could have just to pull a truck farther than anyone else?’  Just goes to show that a lot of men are all brawn and no brains but this man should have some.  He’s a reverend after all but I guess he was trusting in the ‘Big Guy’ upstairs to see him through it.  I thought the ‘Big Guy’ gave us enough sense not to hurt ourselves as a way to see us through life.  Shows how much I know I guess.

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Meet Brutus

I received this from a friend of mine by email.  I thought it was interesting and important enough that I wanted to share it with you.  Animals are very important us as human beings and here’s part of the reason why. They don’t call a dog mans best friend for no reason.

Now meet Brutus!!!  Brutus is a GOOD boy!!!!

The K9 below is Brutus, a military K9 at McChord. He’s huge – part Boxer and part British Bull Mastiff and tops the scales at 200 lbs. His handler took the picture. Brutus is running toward me because he knows I have some Milk Bone treats, so he’s slobbering away! I had to duck around a tree just before he got to me in case he couldn’t stop, but he did. Brutus won the Congressional Medal of Honor last year from his tour in Iraq . His handler and four other soldiers were taken hostage by insurgents. Brutus and his handler communicate by sign language and he gave Brutus the signal that meant ‘go away but come back and find me’. The Iraqis paid no attention to Brutus. He came back later and quietly tore the throat out of one guard at one door and another guard at another door. He then jumped against one of the doors repeatedly (the guys were being held in an old warehouse) until it opened. He went in and untied his handler and they all escaped. He’s the first K9 to receive this honor. If he knows you’re ok, he’s a big old lug and wants to sit in your lap. Enjoys the company of cats.
K-9 Congressional Medal of Honor Winner

Thought you’d find this interesting. Talk about animal intelligence and bonding with humans!