STORYTIME TAPESTRY

March 9 2005

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Animal awareness series endorsed by Shiloh and Hank our mascots; all stories must receive their approval.

<p> Now on to the good stuff..........</p>

A NOTEBOOK OF LOVE
Kathy Whirity

Lately it seems that going to the movies is a lesson in disappointment. No matter how enticing the previews look, once you're in the theater, popcorn in hand, you sigh with disgust at yet another waste of time and the price of a ticket.

I didn't anticipate too much while waiting for the feature film to begin. I had heard The Notebook was a good love story so I went, even though my philosophy is kind of like -- If you've seen one love story you've seen them all.

I was in for quite a surprise. The notebook is a love story whose end starts at the beginning. A gray haired couple sharing a late in life friendship at a convalescence center. It is evident, early on, that the elderly gentleman is quite committed to befriending his female companion.

Throughout the movie the man reads the woman excerpts from a book. As he reads, flashbacks take us back to a time when two young people fell madly in love, only to be separated by distance when the girl's family moves away.

Each and every day, without fail, the kindly old gentleman sits wth this same, confused, woman continuing on with the saga of the two young lovers in his story book.
Hi words bring us back in time as we find ourselves cheering them on when they eventually find their way back to one another against all odds.

The movie had me captivated as I, at first, thought this was a friendship blossoming into golden love between a couple living out their golden years in the confines of a convalescence center.

Then came the romantic revelation -- the woman has Alzheimer's and her 'friend' is really her loyal, loving husband who chooses to live with her at the home.
The story book he reads from is actually the history book of their lives, and his faithful reading is done only for the reward of briefly sparking her memory.

Occasionally he succeeds but only for a few fleeting moments would she come back, to the present, to share a memory.

This movie definitely had a message for us mid-life travelers. As gray-haired children of aging parents, we sometimes find ourselves sandwiched between our own children who need us and geriatric parents who need us even more.

I sat in the theater rethinking the semantics of geriatric love, especially since my journey to this destination is not all that far away for me. I was thinking how love, like time, is ageless and its meaning is as powerful when you're 80 as when you're 18.

Isn't it comforting to know that, with love, nothing is ever lost that cannot be found, and as this movie shows--even if it is for only a moment in time.

I won't tell you the ending since you may want to check out this endearing love story for yourself.

Kathy Whirity
kathywhirity @yahoo.com

Bio
Kathy Whirity lives in Chicago where she shares her life anf love with her husband of 28 years, Bill, their two daughters, Jaime and Katie, and two rambunctious retrievers, Hannah and Holly.
Kathy is a family life columnist for two area newspapers.
For more of Kathy's writings please visit her web page:
KATHY WHIRITY'S MUSINGS FROM THE HEART http://www.heartwarmers4u.com/members?kathyw
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Today's Queue Stories:
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LIFEBUOY SAGA PREMIER

BY LOREN MOORE

IN THE LAST EPISODE OF THE LIFEBUOY SAGAS LAST SPRING THERE WERE THREE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS. THOSE QUESTIONS WERE:

1. WILL LOREN EVER FIND OUT WHO SENT THE TWO BARS OF LIFEBUOY SOAP AND THE LIFEBUOY SOAP TIN BOX TO HIM?
2. WILL LOREN HAVE TO GO BACK TO THAT SPECIAL HOSPITAL?
3. WILL THERE EVER BE A WHOLE NOTHER STORY FOR A DIFFERENT TIME?

WE WILL SEE IF THIS SEASONS EPISODES ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS. THE WAY IT LOOKS RIGHT NOW THE LIFEBUOY SAGAS ARE GOING TO BE SEMPITERNAL LIKE ???ALL MY CHILDREN, GENERAL HOSPITAL??? OR SOME OF THE OTHER DAY TIME SOAP OPERAS. SO HERE IS THIS SEASONS PREMIER.

Loren Moore
caddo @ digitex.net
MY NAME IS LOREN MOORE AND I'M 72 YEARS
OLD AS OF 11-12 04. I HAVE BEEN MARRIED
TO MY WIFE JOHNNIE FOR 53 YEARS AS OF
11-14-04. NOW THAT I'M IN MY OLD AGE I
DECIDED TO WRITE ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS
THAT HAPPENED TO ME AND MY FAMILY. THESE
STORIES ARE 90% TRUE AND 10% FICTION. MY
WIFE JOHNNIE SAYS THEY ARE 10% TRUE AND
90% FICTION. MAYBE THEY ARE SOMEWHERE IN
BETWEEN. BE THAT AS IT MAY HERE ARE MY
STORIES. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THEM.

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Stand on the Merits
Claudia Kerens

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon -- instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today-- Dale Carnegie
Given how the year 2004 began and given how the last year and a half has been a juggling act of successfully gaining a MS Ed. Administration degree while still maintaining a teaching assignment along with advising a local high school paper, ???enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today,??? has not been on the top ten list of things to do.
The last year has taught several lessons in that regard.
I have been schooled not to demonstrate knee-jerk reactions; rather, stop, listen, consider and logically develop a course of action that is beneficial for ???the forest.??™ Towards the end of his life, Bob, my father, thought I was being a coward because I was not ???in your face??™ confrontational when dealing with my detractors. Ergo, many of our last conversations centered around my not following his advice to sue everyone.
At the time, I recognized that Bob was reacting out of parental love, concern and, of course, desire, to protect his ???baby-girl.??™ He knew he could not go out and protect me like he might have forty or so years ago. But, he did want justice against my detractors because he had seen enough evidence of these folks acting out of self-interest rather than for the good of all.
???The good of all??? is the key piece of knowledge one must know to understand Bob. He was a learned man who had never stepped into the public school system to receive an education. He was privately educated in parochial schools. His family was strongly connected with the Catholic Church as Cardinal Glennon baptized him, gave him first communion and confirmed him.
As we studied family roots,[without Bob??™s help] we further discovered that the same Cardinal Glennon held a very personal relationship with Bob??™s grandfather, a major 19th century entrepreneur and the last American Ambassador to the Court of Franz Joseph [Austria-Hungary] prior to WWI. In fact, Glennon, as a young priest, blessed all of the churches Bob??™s grandfather built from W. VA to CA along some of the railroad routes he developed.
All of that information- Bob didn??™t deny; BUT Bob also refused to aid us with his own personal information. Upon that realization, one has to know Bob wanted to stand on his own record ??“ not on that of his family. And, that is what he expected of his children: ???Stand on your own merit.??? That was an admonition I can recall hearing more than once.
My perception of standing on my own merit was to fulfill my professional and educational responsibilities. For my students it was to deliver the best educational service I could fathom; for me, it was to truly gain additional knowledge to learn how to maintain and operate the entire forest. While that may have been my mantra for the beginning of the school year, that was not the reality I faced after two weeks.
First of all, I started the year recuperating from major surgery; so I was not quite up to snuff but I was more than treading water. I was teaching seven class periods with five different preps. And the first part of the year is usually all about getting everyone in the groove of ???Yes-siree??”School is in session??? so it??™s time to open the books, etc.
Secondly, I had voluntarily given up my planning period, a decision made based on 25 years of past practice in the district, in order to keep the journalism class on the class schedule. This had been done the previous May in order to prevent a program from being cut. And the 25 years of past practice should have been sufficient to meet union standards.
Not! My detractors were adamant in their aura of immaturity and thirst for some kind of comeuppance [revenge] had determined this was the moment to ???get even??™ for whatever they had determined my misdeeds to be. The union that I had faithfully supported, took leadership roles in, and had worked hard for whenever required dropped an unfair labor practice {ULP} on the district for having allowed me to voluntarily cede my planning time. Need I say, I pay the same dues as anyone else ??“ ergo I should receive the same level of support?
On a Thursday afternoon, while I was instructing the new staff as to the new wherefores, etc. that we were going to initiate to improve quality and design of the paper, I received a phone call from the office telling me to send the entire class to the office as they were going to be forced to change their schedules. The class had to be cancelled due to the ULP. I replied, ???What ULP????
Yup, that??™s right. The union didn??™t provide any forewarning [remember I pay the same amount of dues]. This was an effort to make me pay in front of my students. And it was an effort to punish those students for having signed up for the class as well. Needless to say, I was stunned. It is an understatement to even try to describe the kids??™ reaction. They were mad, angry, some were crying real tears, and others were focusing on, ???What are we going to do???? The bottom line was they refused to go to the office.
Still shocked, I felt like an outsider watching a bad dream. The students were gearing up for a protest. They discussed all views and avenues they had to protest such a move. Another phone call came. I told the caller that the students refused to give up the class and hung up. I still have not voiced anything further to the students because I flat wasn??™t sure what to say. It??™s not often I am stunned speechless. This was one of those moments.
Finally a school official came to the room and said, ???Either you report to the office to change your schedules or you are going to be expelled!??? The students still protested. After several more admonitions, they struggled out the door and told me they were going to protest all over the place.
I found what voice I had and told them, ???Whatever you do, remember you are representatives of this school. This is not the 60s, be polite -use manners and use common sense.??? Also, I informed them that given professional standards, I could not play any part in directing, suggesting, or orchestrating any student response to this situation. And, I didn??™t.
Those are the professional boundaries that were required by me; though I can??™t say my detractors rose to those standards. They were too busy laughing in front of their classes that they finally nailed me.
In the end, it wasn??™t as hurtful to me that ???they supposedly nailed me,??™ it was brutal that they even thought it was okay to mess with the students to get at me. Educators who operate under that kind of aegis certainly are not to be admired.
As for standing on merits, as Bob would say - they had none.
Three weeks later, a deal was cut, the journalism class returned to the schedule. In the final analysis, the staff produced 16 issues of a paper that garnered a high school press award and they learned something about the democratic process of enacting a petition drive.
So, when it??™s not all fun and games, when the times are hard, students can still learn. This was one event the graduating seniors said they would never forget. They were also not going to forget the educators involved.
Me? Given all the things 2004 has had in store for me- I am going to take more moments to leave the ???drama??? behind and smell the roses a bit more. Maybe I will get my watercolors out and paint them.

Claudia Kerens
mina1986 @ midwest. net

About Me:

General Bio - 51 year old educator who has
worn several hats in the broadcasting,
office and restaurant worlds. Turning 50
is a freeing experience thus most of my
writing revolves around lessons learned
and wisdom to pass on so that others don't
hit the same brick walls I did. The sooner
folks love themselves, they can give love
to others. And that, is the greatest
gift of all.

 DREAM CATCHERS
By: Joseph J. Mazzella

On the wall above my bed there are two very beautiful dream catchers that my wife bought. They are red and brown willow hoops decorated with feathers, horse hair, and beads. They have a wonderfully delicate, spider web design in the middle of them. At the very center of the web in the very middle of the dream catcher there is a round hole. The Native American Lakota Tribe believes that the dream catchers represent the web of life. Their people believe that hanging them above your bed or in your house will sift your dreams and visions. The good in your dreams will be caught in the web and carried with you, but the evil in your dreams will pass through the hole and no longer be a part of your life.
I enjoy looking at these lovely dream catchers, because they always remind me of what I want to do in my own life. I want to catch only the good within myself. I want to capture only the highest, wisest, best, most loving, most giving, and most joyous part of myself and let the rest fade away. I want to become the person that God meant for me to be and live the way that God meant for me to live. I want to become a wonderful part of the web of life and share only love and joy with others and the world.
The glorious truth is that you, I, and everyone else in this world can do this too. God loves us all so much and God gives us the strength and ability to become our highest selves. We can choose to be the person God meant for us to be. We can fill ourselves with love, joy, and light and then share them with the world. We can capture the angel within and allow the worst parts of ourselves to fade away. We can live as a true Child of God sending smiles, giving love, offering joy, scattering sunshine, and creating laughter wherever we go. We can catch the dream of the person we always wanted to be and make it a reality.

Joseph J. Mazzella
joecool @ wirefire.com

Joe lives in West Virginia with his wife
and three children. Various dogs and cats
have adopted Joe and his family for their
own. Joe enjoys his family, beauty, love
and hearing from his email friends. Joe
likes to take the time to smell the
roses and enjoy the beauty around him
s he goes about his daily life.

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Writers Feedback     

I too have a special respect for RCMP officers. Some years back my wife and I went on a guided hunting trip to British Columbia. Our hunting guide was a RCMP officer on vacation picking up a little extra money.
We were having a great time then one morning I discovered that I had not taken my four shot derringer out of my shaving kit. Yes, I have guns hidden everywhere, never more that two or three steps from a loaded and chambered, ready to work one. Texans you know.
They are forbidden in Canada, no excuses, and we didn't know what to do. We finally decided to tell him about our mistake since it was an honest one. He laughed and said if it was found, to have the finding officer contact him and then he gave me all of his personal numbers. He said he would take care of it so we wouldn't have to jump through a bunch of legal hoops.
That was so nice of him and we went on to enjoy the rest of our stay there and got back with no problems.
Mark Crider
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Announcements

Please note that my two daughters will be walking 60 kilometers in August to raise money for cancer research to end breast cancer. Each daughter paid $75.00 for the right to walk in the big event. Each daughter has promised to raise $4000. in the walk. They each have already raised over $1000. and their progress can be seen on their respective web sites.

No matter where events are being held, no matter which country, in the end we shall all benefit!!!

If you would like to visit their web sits here is the address.
addresses for web pages:
http://cl05.endcancer.ca/site/TR?px=1107743&fl=en_US&s_tafId=3910&pg=personal&fr_id=1000 THIS IS LAURIE'S SITE

http://cl05.endcancer.ca/site/TR?px=1108340&fl=en_US&s_tafId=1192&pg=personal&fr_id=1000 THIS IS DEBBIE'S SITE AND SHE HAS A PICTURE OF MYSELF, WITH MY THREE KIDS ON HER SITE.
This picture was taken back in 1988 when my son Jason was still alive.

By the way, my dad had cancer. My younger brother died because of cancer. The father of my children has terminal cancer. My sister-in-law died at age 34 of cancer\. My niece just had one breast removed last month in an operation to stop the cancer. This horrible disease will visit every family in some way! We all need to be behind the research... !!! Ellie

REGARDING THE WEE\KEND TO END BREAST CANCER Walk...

PLEASE FIND TIME TO VISIT THE WEB PAGES OF MY TWO DAUGHTERS, DEBBIE AND LAURIE. THEY have each paid $75.00 to earn the right to walk the 60 kilometer walk on one weekend in August. THey must raise each a minimum of $2000. or they will not be allowed to walk in the event. They have each pledged to raise $4000. to help with breast cancer research.

HERE ARE THEIR E- MAIL ADDRESSES IF YOU WISH TO SEND THEM WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT.
LAURIE laurie.j@3web.net
DEBBIE meechan@shaw.ca

addresses for web pages:
http://cl05.endcancer.ca/site/TR?px=1107743&fl=en_US&s_tafId=3910&pg=personal&fr_id=1000 THIS IS LAURIE'S SITE

http://cl05.endcancer.ca/site/TR?px=1108340&fl=en_US&s_tafId=1192&pg=personal&fr_id=1000 THIS IS DEBBIE'S SITE AND SHE HAS A PICTURE OF MYSELF, WITH MY THREE KIDS ON HER SITE.
This picture was taken back in 1988 when my son Jason was still alive.


http://cl05.endcancer.ca/site/TR?px=1107743&fl=en_US&s_tafId=3910&pg=personal&fr_id=1000 THIS IS LAURIE'S SITE

http://cl05.endcancer.ca/site/TR?px=1108340&fl=en_US&s_tafId=1192&pg=personal&fr_id=1000 THIS IS DEBBIE'S SITE

No matter where events are being held, no matter which country, in the end we shall all benefit!!!

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Prayer Requests

Hi Dear friends and prayer warriors. I just got word that my son is being relocated to fort Dix to prepare for going to Iraq. I know that this has been coming for a long time but it doesn't keep the fear from creeping into the very fiber of my body and soul. Please pray for him and all the men who are going over to fight to keep our world free.

Bill was in the Gulf War and came back so thin I almost didn't recognize him. He's still having nightmares. I pray that this won't be too much of struggle for him.

My sister in law said that she would pray that he wouldn't have to go at all. I don't see that happening but then I'm limited in my thoughts right now. Please if you would pray for him. Thanks and God Bless you all Barb. 

Please pray for Miss Leni, I work with this lady and her arm is
hurting very badly. Plus she has arthritis and lots of pain all the
time.
Also for her brother. I do not know hs name but she calls him Dee Dee.
His foot is hurting and the doctors do not know why. 

Lisa M

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SENIOR WRITERS

Agee,Vance,  Apted,Violet,  Baker,Kathy,  Batt,Al,  Berry,Nell,

Boda,Ginger,  Bryant,Sharon,  Cassady,B.J.,  Crider,Mark,  Deming,Barb,  Goodier,Steve,

Harris,Kathy Anne,  Hunt, Sharlette,  Jacobson, Gary,  Kiser,Roger Dean,  Jenkins,Pamela, Liles,Norma,  Mazzella,Joe,  Moore, Loren,  Ojeigbe,Georgewaters, Sims,Richard, Vaknin,Sam, Walker,Joe,  Whirity,Kathy,  White,Robert

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