Just a memory:

I fell asleep last night listening to the rain falling on the first floor patio roof right outside the window of my temporary home in Hawaii. I was transported back to my 13^th summer when I spent a glorious two months in Maine. Friends of my father had a summer camp on Little Sebago Lake and they invited me to stay with them.

Their daughter, Nancy, and I shared the bunkhouse for our bedroom. It was a little out-building that consisted of a small bedroom on one side, and an outhouse on the other side. Our bedroom, just yards from the main house, was only large enough to accommodate a bunk bed, a dresser and a chair. No insulation, no heat, no inner walls. Needless to say, it was rustic. Needless to say, I loved it. There were two amenities, however: electricity and curtains for privacy.

Nancy was, and still is of course, at least three years older than me. I know that because I remember that she had her driver’s license. The fact that she pleasantly put up with a “child” such as myself (I didn’t become a ‘teenager’ until the end of the summer), was pretty impressive. Considering the difference in our ages we got along very well and had some good times together.

It was a magical summer for me. Being able to swim in the lake any time I wanted to, making new friends who lived along the same road, going barefoot almost 24/7, sleeping in the top bunk, blueberry picking (which resulted in fresh homemade blueberry pie every time) and being away from the grime and heat of a NYC summer were just some of the joys I experienced during those two months.

But I digress. Many nights I would lie in my top bunk listening to the rain fall on the roof only inches from my head. That’s a sound like no other and one that’s hard to come by these days, for me at least. I live in a home with a well-insulated roof and an attic in between the roof and the ceiling of my bedroom. Even when the rain is falling, its sound is muffled. I’m thankful for my home and for the way it protects me from the elements. But I do miss the sound of the rain on the roof.

So as I lay in bed last night, enjoying the warmth of an Hawaiian winter evening, I also enjoyed the sound of the rain that reminded me of that sweeter time in my life. A time when my most difficult decisions were which shorts I should wear and should I go swimming now or get the gang and go swimming with them?

This is something that I know--It was a good way to fall asleep, remembering that 13^th summer at the lake in Maine.

Alpha Dog

My daughter recently encouraged me to get an account on Facebook. I find it a confusing site, but nonetheless, I joined because I can see the potential advantages to being part of that community. One of the first things that occurred was that I was "tagged" to read her list of "25 Things About Me". Well, I love all that getting-to-know-the-little-known-details-about-you, so I wrote my own list. One of the items is "Rude people really annoy me" or something to that effect.

Having said that, earlier today I encountered a situation that reinforced that sentiment. Let me first say that the word "annoy" isn't anywhere near strong enough for how I really feel about rude people, but I'll leave it at that.

Some hired workers at one home were admonished quite rudely/crudely by the owner of the neighboring home about some alleged infraction. (the details aren't important) The workers included an entire family: mom/dad/teen daughters and slightly younger sons. The neighbor decided he was going to assert his alpha dog status, and he became verbally abusive to the mom, daughters and then to the husband. Let's see... He verbally berated the husband, in extremely crass language, for his weight, for his status as a physical laborer, for the fact that he didn't live in this nice, upscale neighborhood and why didn't he just go back where he came from. None of which, by the way, had anything to do with the "infraction". Let's stay on topic now!

In defense of his family, the dad became hot under the collar and the situation deteriorated into a yelling match, (and would have become a boxing match except that the mom was busy running interference), and the kids were pretty much stunned and nervous. Meanwhile, the neighbor's young son, standing in his yard, was privy to the entire scene. So alpha dog got out his trusty camera to take photos of the alleged "yard abuse", then called the cops. OH MY GOSH!!

You know, I think some humans are prime candidates for being "fixed". Did you ever notice how male dogs calm down when they're neutered?---hummm food for thought. So alpha dog strutted his stuff, feeling very pleased that he had justified himself by belittling, insulting and terrorizing some people who were merely doing what they were hired to do while trying to mind their own business.

Sin nature! How can anyone deny we have it?

This is something that I know: the only solution is God. Only the indwelling Holy Spirit can tame that alpha dog within us that is screaming for control. Another thing I know is that I should be praying for that neighbor, for his salvation and the salvation of his family. Without it 1) he will continue his relentless quest for alpha dog status, and 2) he will continue to be one of those rude people who really, really annoy me.

Another Thing I Know

So here's something I know. I know that, in the United States, murder is still illegal and punishable by prison sentences of various lengths, leading right up to the death penalty in certain states. And pre-meditated murder usually carries the most intense penalties.

Murder is killing a human being. I know that a pre-born baby is a human being. Abortion kills a human being, therefore, ABORTION IS MURDER. I'm not quite sure what is so difficult about that concept, but it seems to elude many people in the world these days.

Our newly elected president, just a day or two after wowing the country with his inauguration, "quietly" (meaning without press coverage), rescinded the existing ban of funding, with our tax dollars I might add, international abortion. So he basically has declared that murder is legal. He is, therefore, an accessory to murder!

Of course he, and all the others who think abortion is okay, and those who participate in it in one way or another either actively or passively, will sail blissfully through this life thinking they are doing womankind a great favor. Thinking that it's a woman's prerogative, and after all, it should be a matter between the woman and her doctor, in which case it doesn't hurt anyone, so everyone else should "butt out".

Well, let's say you disregard the father, each set of parents, any other children in the families, friends, aunts, uncles, work acquaintances & social acquaintances, there is still someone that it does hurt. The baby. Show any two year old an ultra sound of a baby, and they can easily identify it as "baby". Wonder why it's so difficult for allegedly intelligent adults to see that reality?

So, while sailing through this life as a proponent of abortion (and therefore murder), consider what the payback will be in the next life. Rest assured, there is a "next" life. And it won't be pretty.

Here's another thing I know. God is more concerned with the moral character of His people than He is with the economic policy they espouse. We should all be on our knees, begging His forgiveness for allowing Obama to be elected. God help us!

What I Know About

I just realized that I didn't explain why I've started this blog, on this blog. I gave the explanation on my existing blog, imagesisee.blogspot.com. So I guess I need to clarify.

I've just begun an online course for Writing for Magazines. It's through www.ed2go.com If you've never heard of it, check it out. They have some really nifty courses--short and sweet and very, very informative, and nicely priced. Anyway, the course started yesterday. It's 6 weeks long, two lessons/week. In the first lesson, the instructor said, "if you want to write, write about what you know, or what you want to know about". Hmmm sounds easier than it is, I think.

So here's a list of "what I Know About" (ranging from knowing very little to knowing something--and not necessarily in order of the amount of my knowledge--on a percentage scale, maybe 2% to 50%):

Glen (my home town)
cats
being a friend
being a mom
pizza
photography
being a church secretary
being part of an organization
travel
NY state
Maine
attending church
being a Christian
loving music
writing a blog
reading
growing up in NYC
attending college in ND
homeschooling
being an only child
cooking
baking
knitting
sewing
cross-stitching

"What I want to Know About". Now that's much trickier. If I don't know about it, how do I know if I want to know about it? Well, here are a few things:

organizing travel tours
going to Europe
forensic photography
outrigger canoe racing

See! I already can't think of more things I want to know about. Hopefully ideas will come to me along the way. I'm keeping a pen-and-paper-journal as well as this blog, so even if I don't list the things here, I'll hopefully have them written down somewhere.

Here's something I do know however. Driving around in Honolulu is an exercise in(1) patience (oh my gosh, it's rush hour--which it seems to be most of the time--and the traffic is bumper to bumper), (2)imagination (well if I take that turn, will I end up in Waikiki or the North Shore?), and (3)hoping you have enough money in your wallet to fill the gas tank after idling in traffic for hours and/or going miles and miles out of your way because that really wasn't the correct turn to take 10 miles and one hour ago.

So maybe that's my first writing assignment (whenever I get an assignment)--writing about driving in Honolulu. Last year I heard someone on the radio say this: the streets in Honolulu resemble the aftermath of a spaghetti fight in an elementary cafeteria. So, so true!

And So It Begins

I didn't realize when I titled this post that I was really speaking about two things today. I was originally thinking about the birthing of this blog, but as I sat here working on it I was watching a rerun of the presidential inauguration. It occurred to me that a new season in American (and world) history is beginning as well.

I decided to take some photos from the tv screen. In spite of being miles away from Washington, DC, I probably got some better photos than the majority of the people present at the inauguration. Of course, they're nowhere near the quality I'd like, but they're well worth printing and saving as a momento of this historic event.

Americans turned out in record numbers today to witness the inauguration. Hopes are high, as are expectations. Time will tell.