Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

July 4, 2007

Today’s Announcements

Happy 4^th of July to all my American subscribers

Carol,

This is from one of my bereaved mom's.  This woman's family has faced some real tragedies. A prayer is being asked to be said for her niece.  

If you could post whatever part of this on Storytime for prayers for my friend's niece, it would be appreciated.

I have permission from Fredia to post it.

Thank you,

Sharon: 1946@bellsouth.net

I ask that each of you pray for my niece, Tiara.  She fell off of a 3rd story balcony Saturday morning and broke her back and both ankles.  As she fell....the back of her heels hit the 1st story balcony....causing the breaks, the left ankle severely.  Her back is broken at the L2 vertebrae.  She then hit, flat on her back, fortunately, she fell into a bush....or it could have been much worse.

She's scraped & bruised....she had a neck brace on for most of the day yesterday, but the neuro-surgeon finally removed it last evening.

At the time of the fall, she had no feeling in her legs....but, she's regained that now.  The CT Scan indicates that it did not damage her spine.  They will do an MRI Monday morning, prior to surgery....they're targeting surgery for the afternoon.

She's at Atlanta Medical Center, downtown.  She has to have surgery Monday on her back.  For now, her ankles are too swollen for them to attempt surgery....if they open them up, they'll just continue to swell.  They know she'll be in the hospital for about 14 days.

She's in incredible pain, more from her ankles than her back....she said she didn't really feel her back.  That concerned her doctor, but he put her through some physical tests and was very satisified at her response.  They've had a hard time adjusting her to pain meds....almost everything has made her sick to her stomach....and that's the last thing they want to risk. If she throws up, she risks asphyxiation.   She can't sit up at all...she has to lay completely flat, with no movement other than her arms.

To say she's scared is putting it lightly.  She is scared to death.  Her neuro-surgeon explains that of course there is the possiblity of something happening during surgery that could cause paralysis....but, there's a greater chance of that happening if they don't operate.

It is to her advantage that she was to run in the Peachtree Road Race on the 4th.  She has practiced so hard, going to the gym 2 - 3 nights a week to work with weights, kick boxing, running most nights.  The doctors say she's in great physical shape and that'll help her recovery.  She is so disappointed that she won't get to run....and get that coveted t-shirt.

I  had intended on taking vacation from the 4th - 6th,  leaving on the 4th for a visit to my family in North Carolina.  Those plans are cancelled....we'll be at the hospital.

Beth or Emily.....would either of you forward this email to the Systems Development & Systems Integration group mail list?  We need all the prayers we can get. Thank you all, and I'll keep you updated when I can.  I had decided to come home for sleep last night so I thought I'd send out this email before heading back to the hospital.

Thanks again!!

Fredia

Today’s Stories

~**~**~

4th of July

Dianna Doles Petry

Another 4th of July was coming to an end as I sat on a blanket spread out on the ground that felt like concrete underneath my aging flesh. This was my forty-eighth year of watching the fireworks rush up the ground into the black sky, arching over the mountain tops, bursting as they filled the late night sky with explosions and color. The beauty of the swirling lights and mixed colors of the mortars always sent a thrill to my heart leaving me breathless if only for a few seconds.

As a young girl, I was always eager for the 4th of July to arrive. At that point in my life, the day would be filled with family members getting together in the backyard of my grandparent's home. Men would discuss coal mining, gardens, sports, war stories and of course, women, while enjoying a cold beer from one of the many stainless steel washtubs filled with ice and drinks to please everyone from the age of two right up to ninety-two. ( I don't remember anyone older than that ever being present.) Women fluttered around as graciously as butterflies carrying trays of food to the tables set up all over the lawn. All of them had prepared delectable dishes of food to bring and then worked together as a team in my grandmother's kitchen to put together the added touches that would be needed such as diced onions for the hot dogs, sliced cheese for the hamburgers, vegetable trays, etc. Of course, they carried on very lively conversations about child birth, church, families in the community, recipes, the latest fashions and of course, men.

Celebrating the 4th of July meant we would enjoy the first sweet taste of watermelon for the summer, the corn should be "knee-high", and blackberry picking would soon be a way to spend Saturday afternoons. Swimming and looking for crawl dads would a daily event and we would hear warnings about the danger in the approaching "dog days."  July 4th was also the only day of the year that we could all expect to have all of the ice cream our little bellies could hold and the freedom to do a little bit of exploring along the creek bed and the hillside since the adults ushered us away to play while they enjoyed spending time together and catching up on the events of their daily lives. The end of day was signaled when everyone climbed into their respective vehicles to make the drive in to town to watch fireworks.

As the years passed by, I studied Independence Day in school and learned about the Boston Tea Party, taxes, the American Revolution and how America was born. We were taught about patriotism, or at least what they considered to be patriotism, "the love of, or desire to serve, one's country."

It all seemed so simple then. People long before my time decided to fight for the freedom to make decisions about taxes, who would represent their united voices and where they would live and die and they won. It took many years for me to really understand how important the day really is and how many people have stood fast against the enemy to keep our freedom safe.

Eventually, I married and started to celebrate the 4th of July in my own way. I held family cookouts at my own home and purchased fireworks to put on a display that made the city fireworks display look cheap.  I tried to explain to my children about the history of our flag and why fireworks have become a tradition for the 4th of July. Once, when my nephew was about four years old, he said something to me that really touched a place within my soul. "Nana," he asked, "If tears come from angels crying because the world isn't as nice as it could be, did God make fireworks because he's angry with people who make the angels cry?"

From my vantage point there on my blanket, I could hear the whistling sound of fireworks going into the air from a distance and my thoughts turned to the many young men and women fighting in a war they don't understand, or maybe understand all too well, right now. While I enjoyed fireworks, family, and the sights and sounds of people of all ages living the good life, there were men and women hunkered down in holes in the ground seeing similar displays of flashing color being shot from actual weapons. Is it patriotism that made them answer the call to duty when their government asked them to do things that go against their instincts as human beings? I am sure that it is, along with the belief that it is possible to make dreams come true only if we have the freedom to dream in the first place.

As the grand finale of fireworks went off, I was reminded of the inscription I had read in a stone in Washington, D.C., Freedom Is Not Free. I have to agree with that. Now, my 4th of July celebrations still include good food, family, music, watermelon and ice cream but it also includes a few minutes of silence in honor of the veterans who sacrificed time, love, family and often blood to make it possible for me to sit on a blanket and watch a public display of fireworks and then express my thoughts to anyone who might want to read them. Fireworks can be the most awe-inspiring, spine-tingling sight in the world and for me, a catalyst to the days of my youth and a link to the knowledge of how precious life and liberty really are to all of us.

©Dianna Doles Petry

dianna59@suddenlink.net

6/30/2007

http://diannapetry.tripod.com
http://members.tripod.com/~poemsbydianna/PoetryofLife.html
www.womenwithauniquesoul.com
www.myspace.com/diannawv

~**~**~

Happy Independence Day To All Our American Friends

Hart Dowd

The fourth of July is the most important American celebration of the year.  The “Glorious Fourth” is celebrated with tremendous enthusiasm by all Americans.

Canadians often see Americans as brash, self-confident, blunt, independent, fearless and impatient --- but we could choose no better people in the world to have as neighbours.  On this day, all Canadians join together in wishing our southern neighbours a happy holiday.

Americans are unabashedly, unapologetically proud of being American and they’re very vocal about it.  America began a couple of hundred years ago, with nothing but a few immigrants who were, generally, poor and uneducated.  In this short time they tamed a wilderness and turned it into the most powerful nation on earth.  Is it any wonder they shout it from the rooftops?

Here are some thoughts from famous Americans about their country.

Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all

By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall! ------ John Dickinson

I am not a Virginian, but an American. -------- Patrick Henry

I was born an American; I live an American;

I shall die an American. ---------------------------- Daniel Webster

O beautiful for spacious skies,

    For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

    Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

    God shed his grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

    From sea to shining sea.            --------------- Katharine Lee Bates

-         “America the Beautiful”

Happy Independence Day to our American friends !!!

H.S. Dowd

hsdowd@telus.net

~**~**~

Poetry Corner

~**~**~

A Tribute To Old Glory
Cynthia Groopman

In the soft gentleness of the dawn's early light,
My eyes are dazzled by an enchanting breathtaking sight.
For regally gracing the clear early morning sky,
Is Old Glory cheerfully waving so very high.
For dear red, white and blue you symbolize a nation of heroes
Who are so loyal, brave and true.
Like a dove of peace, your stripes are of a snowy white,
Symbolizing freedom's preciously shining eternal light.
A bright red is as fiery as a blaze,
Adding luster and brightness to the morning haze.
For dear Old Glory, you are indeed a joyful gift for us to behold,
As you picturesquely narrate a story that is remarkably told.
For you are priceless treasure and I love and admire you,
With emotions, words and sentiments that are loving true.

Cynthia Groopman

Cynthia.Groopman@verizon.net

~**~**~

 A Tribute To My Native Land, The USA
Cynthia Groopman

Oh dear USA from your glorious fruited plains to your highest purple
mountains majesty.
Your hallowed bell of freedom rejoices melodically
You are indeed a wonderful land so very precious and so dear.
Where peaceful doves fly in a sunny blue sky and where we dwell
Freely without and friendship treating each other
With respectful love.
For USA you are a cherished blessing from God above
We are a lovely woven tapestry of a multitude of colors and races.
And the sunshine of God's blessings add a joyful glow to
Our already smiling radiant faces
And when I salute your regal flag as it majestically flies so high,
My heart dances a joyful, tune of pride and tears of joy and
Happiness abide in my eye.
Oh Dear USA you are a great and enchanted land indeed a priceless and
Treasure gift from God that is so marvelously grand

Cynthia L. Groopman
Cynthia.Groopman@verizon.net
Copyright ©2004 Cynthia L. Groopman

 ~**~**~

 A Prayer For Our Nation
Cynthia Groopman

Oh Lord, please give us solace
And comfort during these sorrowful troubled times
By healing our wounded spirits, with your golden spiritual sunshine.
Let us grasp you omnipotent, righteous strong hand,
So that tragedy and blight cannot afflict our wonderful and blessed land.
Please open our hearts, our minds and our eyes,
So that we may readily see,
That all hatred must abruptly end and we must dwell in peaceful-harmony.
Let us seek refuge under your protective wing,
So that we shall no longer be tearful or fearful of anything.
Oh Lord, please soothe our strong emotional pain
And soothe our intense sorrow,
And give us beautiful rainbows
And cloudless bright blue skies as a promise
Of hope for a better tomorrow.
For we shall place our steadfast faith in thee,
So that no longer shall we be plagued with hatred,
Terror and brutality.

Cynthia L. Groopman
Cynthia.Groopman@verizon.net
Copyright ©2004 Cynthia L. Groopman

~**~**~

A Tribute To The Statue Of Liberty
Cynthia Groopman

In the harbor a magnificent lady regally stands,
with open arms, she gently welcomes all to her enchanted land.
In her hand, she gently holds a majestic beacon of light,
as she carefully watches over USA on sorrowful days and stormy nights.
Millions of the weary drown trodden you comforted in your loving arms,
For you protect us from strife, fear and harms.
For more than a century you have steadfastly stood by our side,
filling our hearts with triumph and national pride.
You are a real lady, our queen, whose beauty and charm surpasses all,
for you are a caring and loving mother to all,
watching over the defenseless, poor, frail and the small.
For you add splendor to our shore,
as you majestically open America's golden door.


Cynthia Groopman
Cynthia.Groopman@verizon.net

Copyright ©2004 Cynthia Groopman

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