My desk

The black and white framed photograph sits on my desk and leans against the green wall beside my computer.

The background of the photograph is stark black. A marbled, swirling image of planet earth as seen from deep space centers the image.

I had clipped this picture from The National Geographic in the 1960s after the first moon landing.

The poem that accompnies the photograph calls out to a troubled world.

"To see the earth as it truly is, small and blue in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold - brothers who know now they are truly brothers." -

Archibald MacLeish

Telemarketers

The phone rings and I answer it noticing that there is no number in the caller ID window area. Just "Out of area."

A recording begins. It claims to offer me 6 % interest on "all my credit card accounts" If I am interested in this offer press 9, and I will be directed to a LIVE representative. If I want to be permanently deleted from the calling list, Press 8. Of course I press 8 (do they think I just fell off the turnip truck?) When I press 8 I hear a buzz and the prerecorded voice says. "Sorry, That is NOT a valid entry"

This same call keeps on and on as weeks pass and I get tired of going to answer the phone, or ignore it when I see the incomplete caller ID. I have no way to report the calling number as it is not listed on caller ID. I get more irritated and decide one day after another month of at least biweekly calls from these nit wits that I WILL go ahead and press 9 and get to speak to a "live representative and try to get their phone number.

I press 9..."Hello" she says. "this is Michelle. Are you calling about getting 6 % interest on your credit cards?"
I tell her NO. but you MUST take me off your calling list.

Wham! She hangs up.

I keep getting the calls at least twice a week. I finally decide that I will speak to a "live representative again" I press 9

"Hello, This is Fran, are you calling about getting 6% interest on your credit cards.

Yes I am, How does this work? Do I give you my credit card numbers?

"Oh no,not at all. You simply give us the numbers of at least one Visa and one Master card."

Well, I say, it will take me awhile to locate my credit cards. Give me YOUR number and I will call YOU back.

WHAM..Fran hangs up.

The calls continue. One day I decide I will try a new approach. I press 9 and get a live rep.

"Hello, this is Debra. Are you calling about 6 % interest on your credit cards?"

Well, yes I am but also I am just SOOO lonely with no body around here to talk to and I just wondered if you would talk to me awhile?
( I use my best creaky and confused voice imitation)

"Well sure I will," Debra replies"

I say, thank you so very very much . You just don't know how lonely it can get living alone with just my 12 year old cat, Maybelle, to talk to all day.

Debra says "I bet that is lonely"

That's the god's truth, I say. And especially since I am down with my back after having my gall bladder out. The doctor said it was big as a melon. I been having some stomach upset and having to take too much Maalox for the pain and all the burping.

Debra said "Well I hope you get better soon"

Well bless your heart Debra. You are such a nice girl. But I have to tell you this Debra.,I am talking to you when I should not and I don't know what to do. what do you think I should do? . (My voice quivers)

Debra says" I don't know"

Well you see honey, I just haven't been right ever since Frank Junior run off with the Coke cans, newspapers and string I had been saving up for about 6 years. That boy has a mean streak he got from his Daddy.

"Oh," says Debra.

I just have to fess up and tell you, Debra, that I told you a little white lie because I just wanted somebody to talk to and all. You see I don't have any credit cards anymore and....



WHAM!!!!! Debra hangs up on me?

I wonder what I said?


(they don't call; they don't write anymore)

Summer memories.

The summer is slowly slipping away and I find myself remembering childhood summers of long, long ago.

What a treat it was to shuck my shoes and go barefoot all summer, mindless of the heat from the sidewalks and the rough stones and briars from the nearby empty lots and fields.

Going barefoot translated into FREEDOM for me and I loved every minute of it.

I do not understand how my feet could have survived the heat and the many cuts and bruises that occured as I ran and played and climbed the chinaberry tree in the front yard and the peach tree in the back yard, skipped down the hot sidewalks to my friends house, made mud pies and toad frog houses in her sandbox,then later walked a few blocks to the small store that sold penny candy.

With no such thing as air conditioning, the summer heat of Georgia was not as oppressive then as it seems now.

Back then I was young.

Now I am old and too tender to go barefoot in the summer.

Everyday memories are the best and most precious of childhood.

(What are some of your everyday memories of childhood?)

Laughing Baby

This video has been on YouTube for awhile but it is so sweet and funny it is worth a second look.

Click on the title of this post for link

ENJOY

More rules for writng real good

The rest of Graham Hicks

SUMMER SCHOOL DAY 2

More rules for writing real good.

1. Resist Unnecessary Capitalization.

2. Avoid mispellings.

3. One-word sentences? Never.

4. Never, ever use repetitive redundancies.

5. Who needs rhetorical questions?

6. And don't start sentences with conjunctions.

7. If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

8. Never use a big word when you can utilize a diminutive word.

9. Profanity sucks.

10. Last but not least, even if you have to bend over backward, avoid cliches like the plague.

"Rules for Writng Good"

I ran across these valuable rules that should be helpful to all of us as we compose our blogs.
They are from a newspaper column by Graham Hicks of the Edmonton Sun.


GRAHAM HICKS

SUMMER SCHOOL

"Rules for writing good.

1. A writer should avoid sexist pronouns in his writing.

2. Never use no double negatives.

3. Don't use commas, that aren't necessary.

4. "Don't overuse 'quotation marks.' "

5. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (if the truth be told) superfluous.

6. Contractions won't, don't, and can't help your writing voice.

7. Don't forget to use end punctuation

8. Its important to use apostrophe's in the right places.

9. Don't abbrev.

10. Don't overuse exclamation marks!!! "

The "Bee's Knees"

I was just reading Tracy's blog "Traces of Me" and she wrote about all her research in preparation for her upcoming knee surgery. I sent her well wishes and said I hoped her new knees turned out to be "the Bee's Knees". Then I thought, "What in the world does that phrase Bee's Knees mean and how did the phrase come about?'

So of course I Googled it and

VOILA !!!




"A bee's "corbiculae", or pollen-baskets, are located on its
tibiae (midsegments of its legs). The phrase "the bee's knees",
meaning "the height of excellence", became popular in the U.S. in
the 1920s, along with "the cat's whiskers" (possibly from the use
of these in radio crystal sets), "the cat's pajamas" (pyjamas were
still new enough to be daring), and similar phrases which made less
sense and didn't endure: "the eel's ankle", "the elephant's
instep", "the snake's hip". Stories in circulation about the
phrase's origin include: "b's and e's", short for "be-alls and
end-alls"; and a corruption of "business".

Another Test

If this posts then I guess it is finally working. I had to delete something on the post template (removed it altogether) whatever that means) I was afraid I would delete my entire blog but evidently so far so good but my fingers are still crossed.
Blogger support is no good at all. But. Hey, it's free.:(

Cheers
Chancy

None

Hi All

I am just testing to see if Blogger will let me post.

I have been having problems with it.

Have a Happy tuesday if this works.

Cya

Chancy

Test

Test

From a wise friend

I asked my wise friend " "Why can't the news take the time to educate
us on the great issues of the day?"

He answered:

"I had always believed the purpose of news programming was to shed
light on an issue rather than heat. But in looking at the 24-hour
news channels, there is precious little news to cover for the simple
reason that the newsmakers actually spend time sleeping or doing
other things. And these news channels have lots of air time to
fill. So you do your basic story and then fill the rest of the time
with "talking heads" and "experts" to analize what you have just seen.

The other fly in the ointment is that the news organizations are now
owned by big corporations who expect the news divisions to be
profitable. Profitability is translated into ratings which
translates into advertising dollars--you do the math. This is a far
cry from the days when the networks were owned by the likes of Bill
Paley (CBS), Gen. David Sarnoff (NBC) and Leonard Goldensen (ABC)
where the news divisions were considered "loss leaders" to be picked
up by the networks entertainment divisions. I believe it was during
this era that the great television documentaries were produced and
the birth of the newsmagazine format like 60 MINUTES took place.

Sad to say those days are gone. Television takes advantage of the
fact that we don't read as much as we used to as a nation. We have
become a visually-oriented society. If it can't translate into
pictures, it isn't news.


To answer your question: "Why can't the news take the time to educate
us on the great issues of the day?
Because it isn't profitable to do
so. Where "success" is determined by ratings and profitability,
issues like health care or the new overtime rules are not ratings
grabbers compared to the Scott Petersons and Michael Jacksons and now
Kobe Bryants.

As for me, I find myself paying more attention to public television
and public radio. I am finding out that when I want to be informed,
I stay away from commercial media and tune into public radio and
television. FRONTLINE is one of the great documentaries on PBS and
Bill Moyer's NOW is highly informative."






















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