Just My Personal Opinion, Of Course...

  Way back when AOL was the "only" way to connect online, I and others enjoyed getting to know people from all over the United States, and sometimes, even from other places... Of course, many became connected because we were interested in writing...and books! One of the men I got to know was Don. I always thought of him as my Grizzly Adams, with a smile... Don't know who that is? Well, fortunately, we can still enjoy him even these days! Somehow, we connected as a small group of those involved with publishing. Don lived way out in Oregon and did indeed live out in the woods, just like, ironically, I do now, even though I think he lived much further away from main roads.  LOL I remember that I at least got to "see" him one time since he was then acting in a local, I think, Elizabethan fair where he was performing... I thought...in costume, which he was, but I didn't realize that his costume really was exactly how he looked...full beard and all! That's whe...

  Vacation Bible School was our Summer Fun and Learning Time! Some of the videos are newer and are sometimes slightly different from what I learned...But fun and exciting to learn about Jesus! Who Could Have Known? Yes, I'd thought about writing in the past, but just couldn't bring myself to do so. I've had somewhat of an unusual life, I think... Certainly, not a "traditional" woman's role in our culture. I was born in March, which makes me a Pisces. I never paid too much attention to the daily horoscope business, but had at one time, began to consider the attributes assigned each sign, as I met and wanted to get to know people. Perhaps my being interested in knowing myself, and in relation to other people, was driven by the family structure into which I was born. My mother, Dorothy Lorraine Ellenberger Bixler, was carrying me, her fourth child when my father, Glenn, was killed in a mine accident, kicked by a horse who was pulling coal out from under ground, a...

Wow! I Loved the Creative Genius in Using a Movie  Theme To Share...Reality You may not know that my hip surgery was only the second time I've ever been hospitalized. So, you might think of me as an observer of a new experience. Also, you should know that I'm old enough to remember when a GP was the primary contact person for all things medical. Personally, I liked it that way, because the doctor got to know the patient. On the other hand, I can perfectly understand that if we want to continue, any type of medical advancement, it requires specialized training and experience. One thing I did yesterday was ask somebody a question, just because they were on my contact team list. Duh... I didn't think I should go directly to Dr. Murphy. to whom I am so very grateful for using his training, experience and, most important, his dedication to helping to heal others,  to discuss some basic issues for me. That only showed MY inexperience, as opposed to feeling my surgeon didn't n...

  It didn't start with Matthew... But I keep coming back to the beginning of my realization of what was happening... God Incident, to me, means a bit of magic when you realize that a coincident...just...might...have...been...arranged... MATTHEW was the first of many wonderful staff support helpers in the Bone and Joint Unit of the hospital where I had surgery...just a few days ago... Matthew was also the only individual who I had the wonderful opportunity to see twice during my stay. Many or most, I don't know, staff are on 12 hour shifts. What that means for the patient is that somebody new is coming in every day and night to help you through all of the personal issues that arise...you know, like, helping to get you to the bathroom, checking basic vitals, pricking each and every finger, with, yes, my getting the choice of choosing "finger of the day (or night)! More on the Unit as a whole sometime soon. My memory of meeting Matthew: Matthew: Hi, I'm Matthew, I'm h...

  First, If You Are So Excited That You Want to Immediately Start Creating, and Sharing, That's The Time You Realize That You Don't Know How To Do Everything!   Duh... So, anyway, I'm up in the early morning again wanting share a little more.  And the mechanics of it slows me down... Technology is so wonderful...and yet so frustrating at the same time... Did you ever get so excited that you wanted to share...and then when you get everything ready, your mind goes blank. Then You Just Might be a Senior Citizen now... Face It, Embrace... 'Cause I Promise, Your Body Knows What is Happening Inside Better Than Your, hopefully, still fairly alert mind... I Told you that I have no idea what is going to be happening... I can deal with that! Can You? I do have a free caricature obtained online and I tried to begin using it this morning and got hung up proving to the computer I was a real person... I am, Believe Me! Nope! That Computer program created doesn't believe me... It...

Fiddler on the Roof Preface: Many years ago, I was thrilled to first hear the musical, Fiddler on the Roof... and its story! I loved all the music, especially; and, at that time I wanted to share my love... I took several of my nieces and nephews to see the movie. Later, not to be cruel or attempt to hurt my feelings, they jokingly said that they couldn't figure out why I had invited them to see the movie. I was devastated at the time, didn't take offense, and yet, I realized that that story had been, perhaps, the first message--the first God Incident--in my life. And that I, alone, had experienced what, I believe, the creator of that entire presentation wanted to tell the world.  My overwhelming, almost, response, to other family members apparently had not occurred. Maybe because of the age difference, or maybe perhaps, different... Indeed, I began to watch and analyze interactions with all connections and, at that time, I began wondering--was I different? For some reason, I h...

  The Lord gave me another song as I woke this morning... So here I am, writing, first thing this morning... The computer and light was already on as I walked into my little home office--I had been so upset that I went to bed to read and settle down... Finally, after 5 years, I was rid of ADT. You know, that company that may be voted the best...but that has, for the most part, lousy customer service! When i was young, as a new Christian, living the life into which I was born, I sometimes would think...You know, I'd rather have peace on earth than rest in heaven some day farrrr in the future... Well, the future came really fast, didn't it? And still, there is no peace here on earth. It came to me as I was singing "There will be peace...in the valley...for me...some day..." that it really would not be much of a life if we were singing and happy all the day long. Geesh! But did sometimes it could get so very bad? When I was working, I had coined the phrase which still co...

  Seriously...have you seen them on the television lately? Shoulder Pads! Are you a fan, or not? I wore some during the first generation (or 3rd, 4th, or 20th). All clothes in the past were fitted with pads... You didn't really have a choice... Got to say, it hasn't been that long when I got my scissors out to cut the pads from a blouse that my cousin had shared with me... You may recall that often, after washing, the pads would lay doubled up...so that you had to physically go inside your blouse or top and spread them across your shoulder...NOT kidding... I still have the blouse and you can see the cut marks...LOL So I've never been a fashion follower. And sometimes they are not at all flattering... Just this week, I saw a woman on a talk show that had pads on her top.  She was a slender woman... so the pads stuck out well beyond her slender arms...and, literally, just sat there, begging to be noticed. Personally, it detracted from what the woman was saying, just because h...