April 18, 2005

 Happy Birthday Mildred Harris

Now on to the good stuff..........

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

The Worm Grunt Festival

Susan Roberts

My friend Jane and I went to the Sopchoppy Worm Grunt today. I can hear a lot of you ask "WHAT is a WORM GRUNT?" Well let me tell you all about it.

Here in Florida, deep in the forests, live WORMS!! People make a living hunting them. No, they don't use GUNS, they use a wooden stake and a flat piece of metal. They drive the stake into the ground, about half way then they get down on their knees and run that metal across the top of the wood. It makes a sound, something like a gator grunting, that drives the worms to the surface of the ground. Then someone grabs them and puts them in a can or some kind of container,then they are taken to be sold to bait stores around Florida, or out of state.

Once a year they have a festival to honor the worm! They have a contest to see who can grunt up the most worms, the longest worms etc. You have to get just the right rythum to bring the worms to the top. You can feel the vibrations running up your legs. They even elect a King and Queen to rein for a year. The first year I went to the worm grunt, I practiced and practiced my most queenly wave, just in case they picked me to be the Queen of the Worm Grunt! But alas, the honor went to a little girl that had sold the most raffle tickets!

She got to wear a crown with gummy worms hanging from it!! Oh to win the title and wear that crown! Maybe one day I will, but ,,,,,,,,,,

Tonight is the big dance at the park, so I have to polish my dancing shoes! I bought a tee shirt that says

"I DID IT ALL AT THE WORM GRUNTERS BALL!"

So if you ever want to see the sights, just get in touch with me, I can show you a GOOD time!! Well, I am off to do some clogging at the Worm Grunters Ball!! Bye bye for now!!

Susan Roberts

twofamily2 @earthlink.net

About Me:

I am now married to my second husband.
We live on five acres outside of a little
town in the Florida Panhandle. I take care
of my 92-year-old mother in law. I have
two living children, two stepchildren and
seven beautiful grandchildren. I am an
author of a recently published book
GOD and The Hillbilly, published thru
publishamerica.com, about a
young woman I met online who was in a
very abusive marriage with two
little children. It is based on her life
and what happened when she
reached out for help and got out of the
situation. She was a blessing to know. I
have been blessed so much in my life with
wonderful family, friends and online
friends. If you go to
publishamerica.com and click on "search,"
that will take you to the
book site. If you click on the reviews,
you will find that I have
two pages of reviews, all giving the book
five stars. There is a
review from the Victim Advocate for the
Wakulla County Sheriff Dept.
as well.

Today's Queue Stories
~**~**~**~ 

  MEMORIES OF MOM

Kathy Whirity

As nurses fluttered in and out of the hospital room it was hard to keep my mind focused.  I looked from one solemn face to another and it left me feeling numb, for the impending event was about to forever change my life.

It seemed such a cruel twist of fate that this could be happening at a time when the relationship between Mom and I was greatly improving.  Or was it this tragedy that finally put all the pieces of our lives together?

Ours was a constant battle of wills.  I always saw my life in sharp contrast to hers.

Her life seemed to be co-dependent to my father's drinking and social insecurities.

Over the years she became emotionally beaten down by a husband who saw the world through the froth of a beer glass that was always half empty.

She always gave up too easily.  I guess shrinking into a self imposed shell was easier than striving for her own self esteem.

I remember resenting these things about her. Looking back on it now I guess I just didn't understand.

When I got married I vowed to have a fulfilling relationship with my husband, where companionship and open communication were a welcomed necessity.

Years later I knew that Mom felt like I had accomplished more in my early years of marriage than she ever could.

As a child I expected more out of her, both emotionally and spiritually, but I didn't comprehend that she had stumbling blocks and issues in her life to deal with that almost seemed to paralyze her.  Years later I would realize that there was a name for it--clinical depression. 

All of this seemed pretty fruitless now as I sat at her bedside, clutching her almost lifeless hand.

Looking down at her helpless body I found myself furiously praying for God to give us just a little more time.

With nurses coming in and out every few minutes our privacy was greatly sacrificed.  I sat there coming to terms with the inevitable, while memories flooded my mind.

The last few months had been bittersweet in forming the bonds of our mother/daughter relationship.

The tragedy of cancer had brought us together in a way that nothing else ever could.

I always wondered what it would be like when Mom died. For years she suffered with emphysema and yet, through it all, she continued to smoke.  I got indifferent to her condition.  So many trips to the hospital. They'd treat her acute problem of barely being able to breath, and then she'd return home to her deadly habit of chain smoking.

Soon I began turning a deaf ear to her mounting complaints.

There was no turning a deaf ear to what the doctors had to say now.  Mom had lung cancer that spread to her spine and liver.

The only thing doctors could guarantee was that, medically, they could keep her comfortable.  There would be no getting better. I braced myself for the worst.

I felt great fulfillment providing for her needs.  She followed doctor??™s orders to the letter.

When chemotherapy was suggested she was all for it.  This was no longer the weak willed woman I knew, with the throw in the towel attitude, when the going got rough.

She was a trooper in every sense of the word.  She was fighting to endure.  I saw strength in my mother that I had never seen before and I was deeply proud of her.

It took a devastating illness to bring us closer together, but there we were sharing a space with love and compassion.  I was her eldest daughter and she was counting on me.  I took pride in that too.

I was finding comfort in my thoughts when the doctor's presence brought me back to reality.

It was time to disconnect Mom from the breathing machine that was helping to keep her alive.  Her body was slowly shutting down and the force of the machine pushing air into her lungs was causing her needless pain.  She lay there frail, but fully alert.

As we heard the sound of the machine click off we all stood around the bed waiting for something to happen.

I wasn't ready for this to be happening but the look on Mom's face told us that she was.

For a few long minutes she took the opportunity to look at each of her children.

She was much too weak to talk, but she stared with such intensity I knew her soul was soaking up the last glances of the people she loved so dearly. I could tell by the tears in her eyes that she was saying good bye.

She laid for hours, in and out of a coma. Occasionally she'd nod her head when one of us would lean over and whisper in her ear that we loved her.   I took comfort in the fact that she knew I loved her.  It was important to me that she knew.

She left this world in quiet dignity after giving it the fight of her life.  My mom was 63 years old.

Diagnosis to death had been only a matter of 2 months, but they were the most important 2 months I had ever shared with my mom.

Months after her death I found myself going through suitcases of pictures from her attic. As kids, my brothers, sister and I would rummage through them, laughing at all the old pictures.  Looking at the old photos of Mom, I now see a beautiful lady.  I never really looked at her as a woman, independent of us, until she was gone and I was a woman myself.

Today I am a middle aged woman with grown daughters of my own, and though it's been 11 years since Mom went home to heaven, I still miss her terribly.

There are some things I regret about our relationship.  I regret we didn't have more time.  I regret the loss of not having a mom to share these gray haired years with.

Nobody knows why things happen the way they do but I believe that everything happens for a reason.

In the end my mom showed me what it's like to have courage, even when the odds are stacked against you.

There was a time when I was adamant about never turning out like my mom.

Now I only pray I'll have half the grace she possessed in her greatest time of need.

I know that she's smiling down at me.  I know because I'm consumed with peace when I think of her.

Lessons are sometimes taught when you least expect you have anything to learn.

I've learned a lot from Mom's death

I've learned that as along as God creates mothers and daughters they will always share a complex bond.

When death inevitably separates their union love will fill the soul and memories will live deep within the heart.

I am grateful for the quality time I had with the woman I knew as Mom, but came to know as friend.

*Author's note

Two days after my mother's burial I was admitted to the hospital for a scheduled surgery.  It was suspected that I had ovarian cancer.

Watching my mother die and then having to return to the hospital to face an uncertain fate was the scariest thing I have ever experienced.   Ironically it was drawing on my mother's example of strength and courage that got me through my own medical ordeal.

I am happy to report that surgery was performed, no cancer was found and as I travel on this never ending road to recovery of my heart and soul, I thank God for these lessons of life that I am only too grateful to learn.      

 Kathy Whirity

Kathy Whirity @ yahoo.com

Kathy Whirity is a newspaper columnist

from Chicago where she lives with her

husband Bill of 28 years, her 2 daughters

and her 2 rambunctious Retrievers, Hannah

and Holly.  Kathy's writings can also be

viewed online.  She has been published in

Storytime Tapestry, Hearts with Soul, Warm

Fuzzy Stories, and Write2theHeart,

She has contributed to "The Golden

Formula, The Joy of Alzheimer's, When

Tears Are Dried With Laughter and

"Journey of the Mind.

Kathy welcomes your e-mails.

You may drop her a line at 

Kathywhirity @yahoo.com

~**~**~

Victory is an Accomplishment ??¦ ANY Accomplishment?

By: Jan Verhoeff

               Did you ever watch a bird in flight?  Especially ducks or geese as they take off from the water?  The take off is not the soaring grace of flight; it is a struggle, an accomplishment to get the bird out of the water and into the air.  The REAL victory of flight is not the feat of soaring on air currents to a final destination, once in flight the bird has relative ease from his struggles.  The real victory is in getting past the struggles of starting, just getting out of the muck. 

               If you are asking how this relates to you - personally starting your business, well, I??™ll tell you.  I??™ve watched as people whom I felt were successful in life started new businesses.  They all start out flapping their wings and running for thin air, only to find themselves knee deep in muck at the water??™s edge.  They have all the same equipment as the ducks soaring on the air currents high in the sky, but they don??™t have what it takes to get out of the water.  So, the question is, what does it really take to achieve victory?

               You??™ve got to get out of the muck!!!  Leave the quagmire behind, walk on the water, lift your spirits and fly into the wild blue yonder.  BUT, how?

               Step 1 - Look up!  If you can see the clear blue sky above you the quagmire doesn??™t seem so safe.  Set a goal, then look toward that goal, and set your sights there.  Don??™t look back; keep your eye on the goal.

               Step 2 - Put everything you have into your goal!  Give it your best shot, don??™t stop and don??™t slow down until you get where you want to be.  Remember how hard and furious geese flap their wings to get out of the water.  Don??™t stop until you??™ve found victory and you are soaring in the wild blue yonder.

               Step 3 - Believe in your abilities.  You are the only person who can get you out of the water.  If you don??™t believe in yourself, no one else will believe in your either.  Ducks and geese fly in a group, but each one flies for himself.  No other goose will do the work for a lazy or disabled goose; each one has to flap his own wings.  Believe in yourself and your abilities.

               Step 4 - Have Faith.  When geese take off for warmer country, many of them have never been there before; they have faith in their instincts and follow them.  There is no roadmap of assurance to get geese from Canada to South Carolina; they have to fly on faith that South Carolina will be warmer than Canada.  Have faith, fly into the wild blue yonder and fulfill your dreams.

               Step 5 - Have a plan.  Geese fly south for the winter and north for the summer.  Get a plan and stick with it.  Remember that some things change with the seasons and plan accordingly. 

               Step 6 - Create a support network.  Geese fly in a group and almost never alone.  This offers protection and company for the trip.  It??™s always nice to have friends along the way and someone to chat with when you get there.  Network with people who have similar goals.

               Step 7 - Delegate the work.  Geese fly in a ???v??™ and change lead geese frequently so the one in the wind doesn??™t get so tired.  If you have a group of people working toward the same goal, none of them have to work alone.  It always helps to have people working with you - and new minds creating ideas. 

               Step 8 ??“ Be yourself.  If you are born a goose, you aren??™t likely to ever become a swan.    It isn??™t that you can??™t become better than you were/are.  You can become the prettiest most talented goose with the best education, and you may become the best leader in the flock.  However, you will NEVER be able to become something that YOU aren??™t.  Be who you are and be the very BEST you that you can be. 

               It??™s really difficult to recognize every achievement, so as a society we often overlook those who are not at the top of the heap.  It takes a few at the bottom, to keep those at the top elevated, so if we realize that, we have to acknowledge the part they play in the lives of those at the top of the heap.  By recognizing their part in the whole of society, it would be beneficial to notice them and acknowledge their victory.  Simply getting above the muck and into the air, means victory for the goose ??“ he??™s airborne ??“ even if he never becomes a leader in the flock ??“ he??™s a victor! 

               As members of society, we need to recognize those who just barely get out of the muck.  Their success may not be as grand or extraordinary as the flight of an eagle, but it is no less victorious.

Jan Verhoeff

janverhoeff @yahoo.com

More recently, Jan's writing interest leans toward mystery and behavioral humor. Both are included in her latest endeavor due to be released in March 2005 "Out of the Box", a publication about the triumphs and joys of home based education, and the processes she's found that work best with her children and others.

Jan is the Editor/Publisher of Your Hometown News,email to:
your_hometown_news-subscribe@yahoogroups.com NEW ---------- Check out the new website http://windmill29.tripod.com/ Bid til October 31, 2004 on the Golden Lights Original Oil Painting by Southeastern Colorado artist Jan Verhoeff.
janverhoeff @yahoo.com

Poetry Section

~**~**~

Here are a few more that might interest you and I must say that I am thoroughly enjoying your site.  You really have some fantastic contributors who can and do really show their talents.  From my perspective, I haven't read anything yet that isn't really FIRST CLASS MATERIAL.  Keep it up Carol; you are truly doing a fantastic job!!!

RESPECT

Gorden K Warner

Have you ever thought to spend some time with the older folks you know?

to be with them and listen as they let their feelings show.

They are so very honest and they're eager to share their day

and they always seem so grateful that you have come their way.

They're so glad to tell you stories but its history you're listening to

as they tell you of the things they did and what helped to see them through.

They oft times tell of all their problems and at times they are in pain

but every single one of them will tell you that they'd do it all again.

They really are so precious and we owe them oh so much

and we can prove it's more than just a duty if we try to keep in touch.

So when they tell you of their troubles and you notice they're in pain

please try your best to show compassion and smile, don't lay blame.

After all we wouldn't be here if they hadn't done their part

for that they definitely deserve a special place deep within our hearts.

God's greatest gift to us is parents and we must share that role with pride

because the load for us they willingly carried simply cannot be denied.

Some day soon t'will be our turn to walk along that road

and the graces that are spent for us should match the ones we've sowed.

Pop Warner

God Bless

Pop Warner

gkwppw1963 @cox.net 

 ~**~**~

GOD'S MESSAGE

Gorden K. Warner

Here I sit with mixed emotions as the time keeps slipping away

knowing that I should tell them but too afraid of what they would say.

It's obvious they'd misinterpret, clear they just wouldn't understand

just why I bring this message to them but I know what is at hand.

There are many that will reject it; it's so clear upon their face

not ready to meet their Maker, cause they're still a part of the race.

They don't have time to pay attention or to really search the Word

They'd rather go with what they see and not with what they've heard.

To tell them that Christ died for them, yes He came and paid the ultimate price

probably wouldn't even phase them or they might mutter "Oh that's so nice".

But it's hard to just ignore them, to turn and walk away

persistence is the measure that will win their hearts someday.

Only then will they understand just what I've been trying to say

when the light finally goes on and they realize that God's there to show them the way.

God Bless

Pop Warner

gkwppw1963 @cox.net 

~**~**~

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

Gorden K. Warner

Have you ever wondered bout a rose or why it is so red?

or why the tulips seem to grow when they're in a fertile bed?

Seems that all that's really beautiful has to have a special place

so the sun can shine upon it and give it stature poise and grace.

A flower is like a woman, if nurtured, it can grow

give it lots of care and tenderness and beauty it will show.

So when you look upon its beauty and your heart is filled with pride

don't forget that it gave up its shell just to show you what's inside.

Make sure you always remember, it takes gentleness and care

for without it you will never see just how much it has to share.

So, when you're looking at a rose or any other flower

remember about the love it needs to give it all its power.

Just like the woman that you cherish, roses are such fragile things

and if you don't mistreat them, there's no end to the joy that they bring.

Pop Warner

God Bless

Pop Warner

gkwppw1963 @cox.net 

Announcements

Seeking pastors and writers to submit articles for a monthly Christian newspaper, which will begin Jan. 2006. Stories pertaining to the intervention of God's hand in people's lives and uplifting the Lord Jesus Christ. E-mail james4436@charter.net

SENIOR WRITERS

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

Boda, Ginger;  Bryant, Sharon;  Buhagiar, Victor; Cassady, B.J.;  Crider, Mark; 

Deming, Barb; Goodier, Steve;  Harris, Kathy Anne; Hunt, Sharlette; 

Jacobson, Gary;  Kiser, Roger Dean; Kerens, Claudia; Jenkins, Pamela;

Liles, Norma;  Mazzella, Joe; Ojeigbe, Georgewaters;

  Petry, Dianna Doles; Roberts, Susan;  Shaw, Bob; Sims, Richard; Vaknin, Sam;

Walker, Bill;  Walker, Joe; Warner, Gorden K;

Whirity, Kathy;  White, Robert;

STORYTIME TAPESTRY STAFF

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Moderator: Thelma Hartselle-co founder

Moderator: Clara Westerfer

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