Feel Good Sunday

LET GO!

Tell This

Oct 05, 2008

The Norwegian newspaper VG has reported a truly amazing story about a newly-wed trying to get to Norway to be with her husband, and the stranger who helped pay an unexpected luggage surcharge. The blog 'Leisha's Random Thoughts' has translated the story.

It was 1988, and Mary Andersen was at the Miami airport checking in for a long flight to Norway to be with her husband when the airline representative informed her that she wouldn't be able to check her luggage without paying a 100 surcharge:

When it was finally Mary's turn, she got the message that would crush her bubbling feeling of happiness.

-You'll have to pay a 103 dollar surcharge if you want to bring both those suitcases to Norway, the man behind the counter said.

Mary had no money. Her new husband had travelled ahead of her to Norway, and she had no one else to call.

-I was completely desperate and tried to think which of my things I could manage without. But I had already made such a careful selection of my most prized possessions, says Mary.

As tears streamed down her face, she heard a 'gentle and friendly voice' behind her saying, 'That's okay, I'll pay for her.'
Mary turned around to see a tall man whom she had never seen before.

-He had a gentle and kind voice that was still firm and decisive. The first thing I thought was, Who is this man?

Although this happened 20 years ago, Mary still remembers the authority that radiated from the man.

-He was nicely dressed, fashionably dressed with brown leather shoes, a cotton shirt open at the throat and khaki pants, says Mary.

She was thrilled to be able to bring both her suitcases to Norway and assured the stranger that he would get his money back. The man wrote his name and address on a piece of paper that he gave to Mary. She thanked him repeatedly. When she finally walked off towards the security checkpoint, he waved goodbye to her.

Who was the man?

Barack Obama.

Twenty years later, she is thrilled that the friendly stranger at the airport may be the next President and has voted for him already and donated 100 dollars to his campaign:

-He was my knight in shining armor, says Mary, smiling.

She paid the 103 dollars back to Obama the day after she arrived in Norway. At that time he had just finished his job as a poorly paid community worker* in Chicago, and had started his law studies at prestigious Harvard university.

Mary even convinced her parents to vote for him:

In the spring of 2006 Mary's parents had heard that Obama was considering a run for president, but that he had still not decided. They chose to write a letter in which they told him that he would receive their votes. At the same time, they thanked Obama for helping their daughter 18 years earlier.

And Obama replied:

In a letter to Mary's parents dated May 4th, 2006 and stamped 'United States Senate, Washington DC', Barack Obama writes:

'I want to thank you for the lovely things you wrote about me and for reminding me of what happened at Miami airport. I'm happy I could help back then, and I'm delighted to hear that your daughter is happy in Norway. Please send her my best wishes. Sincerely, Barack Obama, United States Senator'.

The parents sent the letter on to Mary.

Mary says that when her friends and associates talk about the election, especially when race relations is the heated subject, she relates the story of the k ind man who helped out a stranger-in-need over twenty years ago, years before he had even thought about running for high office.

Truly a wonderful story, and something that needs to be passed along in the maelstorm of fear-and-smear politics we are being subjected to right now.

Remember this was 1988, when 100 dollars was quite a bit of money, compared to today's value.

By the way, this would be the perfect antidote to the Smear E-mails going around. If anyone has a good long email chain list, shoot it out, and let it be passed along.

You Shouln't Have...Nah I Take That Back..Thanks For Selecting Me

Thanks Lisa at Brass and Ivory for giving me a Gratitude with Attitude award, it means a lot coming from you.

Some time ago, Jim kindly presented me with the "Gratitude with Attitude Award."
It is time to pass it on to some fabulous blogging friends, old and new.


Here are the rules:

* Put the logo on your blog or post.
* Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
* Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
* Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

* Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.


I am to pass this award on and there are a few MS blogs that already received this award. Too bad, I am sending it to you anyway because I truly enjoy your site. I appreciate those of you who read my site, but if live with MS you must visit Lisa, Diane, or Linda they are inspirational, informative, and comical discussing living with MS. Their sites were a Godsend when I first was diagnosis with MS and I found my way to their blogs. They are true champions for the new and old MS'ers out here in the blogosphere.


Brain Cheese...Linda

A Stellar Life...Diane

Merely Me’s Multiple Synchronicities (and sclerosis)

Disable Not Dead...Anne

White Lightening Axiom Redux
Delving Under the Covers...Charlene

Living! With Ms...Denver

Tias Mind...Tia lives with MS, but focus on life

Deeper and Deeper My Poetry Blog...Don writes beautiful poetry

Field Negro...aka Field a Philly lawyer that keeps it real and the people that comments are some of the best, but I must warn you there are occasional knuckle heads.

Please go check out his post “Searching for a Black Friend in the Age of Obama”.

Field could not have said it better when he said,

“Here is the thing Devin: Us black folks are like any other group. We are not monolithic, and we have very diverse opinions, taste, ideologies, and yes; even ways to have fun. So there is no such thing as a black board of directors to give black people their cues on how to act and what not to like and like. I know I joke about shit like that all the time, but believe me, it's really not the case.


And please forget this insane pursuit to find a black friend. Just relax, be yourself, and eventually some black person might just find you and like you for who you are. If not, it's not a big deal. Trust me. There are plenty black folks without white friends. It's not the end of the world. We can all live in this amicable state of self segregation, as long as we show mutual respect for each other and afford each other the dignity that we each deserve as human beings.”

Wow It's Been 26 Years

One beautiful daughter

One beautiful day

Another reason to be so proud of the person you are, to be thankful for all the happiness your bring to our lives.

Another chance to say how much you mean, how much you'll always be loved.

Feel Good Sunday

Stand By Me

MONEY Grab

I always wished I could have an opportunity to grab a fist full of money.



I finally received one of my life wishes. I paid five dollars to enter a money grab booth Saturday; it was what I thought it would be EXHILARATING.



I grabbed a fistful of money that I could have kept...




because the event was giving all the money raised to a worthwhile non-profit in my community I donated my winnings.

I HAD A GOOOOOD TIME IN THAT BOOTH!

COMMENDABLE

Although it is tough for a Democrat Preidential candidate to win in Missouri, this article is worth sharing from my hometown (St. Louis) newspaper.

The Post-Dispatch Endorses Barack Obama for President

Sunday, Oct. 12 2008

In January, nine days before the Feb. 5 presidential primaries in Missouri and
Illinois, this editorial page endorsed Barack Obama and John McCain in their
respective races.

We did so enthusiastically. We wrote that either Mr. Obama's message of hope or
Mr. McCain's independence and integrity offered America 'the chance to turn the
page on 28 years of contentious, greed-driven politics and move into a new era
of possibility.'

Over the past nine months, Mr. Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, has
emerged as the only truly transformative candidate in the race. In the crucible
that is a presidential campaign, his intellect, his temperament and equanimity
under pressure consistently have been impressive. He has surrounded himself
with smart, capable advisers who have helped him refine thorough, nuanced
policy positions.

In a word, Mr. Obama has been presidential.

Meanwhile, Mr. McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, became the incredible
shrinking man. He shrank from his principled stands in favor of a humane
immigration policy. He shrank from his universal condemnation of torture and
his condemnation of the politics of smear.

He even shrank from his own campaign slogan, 'Country First,' by selecting the
least qualified running mate since the Swedenborgian shipbuilder Arthur Sewall
ran as William Jennings Bryan's No. 2 in 1896.

In making political endorsements, this editorial page is guided first by the
principles espoused by Joseph Pulitzer in The Post-Dispatch Platform printed
daily at the top of this page. Then we consider questions of character, life
experience and intellect, as well as specific policy and issue positions. Each
member of the editorial board weighs in.

On all counts, the consensus was clear: Barack Obama of Illinois should be the
next president of the United States.

We didn't know nine months ago that before Election Day, America would face its
greatest economic challenge since the Great Depression. The crisis on Wall
Street is devastating, but it has offered voters a useful preview of how the
two presidential candidates would respond to a crisis.

Very early on, Mr. Obama reached out to his impressive corps of economic
advisers and developed a comprehensive set of recommendations for addressing
the problems. He set them forth calmly and explained them carefully.

Mr. McCain, a longtime critic of government regulation, was late to recognize
the threat. The chief economic adviser of his campaign initially was former
Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, who had been one of the architects of banking
deregulation. When the credit markets imploded, Mr. McCain lurched from one
ineffectual grandstand play to another. He squandered the one clear advantage
he had over Mr. Obama: experience.

Mr. McCain first was elected to Congress in 1982 when Mr. Obama was in his
senior year at Columbia University. Yet the younger man's intellectual
curiosity and capacity — and, yes, also the skills he developed as a community
organizer and his instincts as a political conciliator — more than compensate
for his lack of more traditional Washington experience.

A presidency is defined less by what happens in the Oval Office than by what is
done by the more than 3,000 men and women the president appoints to government
office. Only 600 of them are subject to Senate approval. The rest serve at the
pleasure of the president.

We have little doubt that Mr. Obama's appointees would bring a level of
competence, compassion and intellectual achievement to the executive branch
that hasn't been seen since the New Frontier. He has energized a new generation
of Americans who would put the concept of service back in 'public service.'

Consider that while Mr. McCain selected as his running mate Gov. Sarah Palin of
Alaska, a callow and shrill partisan, Mr. Obama selected Sen. Joe Biden of
Delaware. Mr. Biden's 35-year Senate career has given him encyclopedic
expertise on legislative and judicial issues, as well as foreign affairs.

The idea that 3,000 bright, dedicated and accomplished Americans would be
joining the Obama administration to serve the public — as opposed to padding
their resumés or shilling for the corporate interests they're sworn to oversee
— is reassuring. That they would be serving a president who actually would
listen to them is staggering.

And the fact that Mr. Obama can explain his thoughts and policies in language
that can instruct and inspire is exciting. Eloquence isn't everything in a
president, but it is not nothing, either.

Experience aside, the 25-year difference in the ages of Mr. McCain, 72, and Mr.
Obama, 47, is important largely because Mr. Obama's election would represent a
generational shift. He would be the first chief executive in more than six
decades whose worldview was not formed, at least in part, by the Cold War or
Vietnam.

He sees the complicated world as it is today, not as a binary division between
us and them, but as a kaleidoscope of shifting alliances and interests. As he
often notes, he is the son of a Kenyan father and a mother from Kansas, an
internationalist who yet acknowledges that America is the only nation in the
world in which someone of his distinctly modest background could rise as far as
his talent, intellect and hard work would take him.

Given the damage that has been done to America's moral standing in the world in
the last eight years — by a preemptory war, a unilateralist foreign policy and
by policies that have treated both the Geneva Conventions and our own Bill of
Rights as optional — Mr. Obama's election would help America reclaim the moral
high ground.

It also must be said that Mr. Obama is right on the issues. He was right on the
war in Iraq. He is right that all Americans deserve access to health care and
right in his pragmatic approach to meeting that goal. He is right on tax
policy, infrastructure investment, energy policy and environmental issues. He
is right on American ideals.

He was right when he said in his remarkable speech in March in Philadelphia
that 'In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less,
than what all the world's great religions demand: that we do unto others as we
would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us.
Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one
another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.'

John McCain has served his country well, but in the end, he may have wanted the
presidency a little too much, so much that he has sacrificed some of the
principles that made him a heroic figure in war and in peace. In every way
possible, he has earned the right to retire.

Finally, only at this late point do we note that Barack Obama is an
African-American. Because of who he is and how he has run his campaign, that
fact has become almost incidental to most Americans. Instead, his countrymen are weighing his talents, his values and his beliefs, judging him not by the color of his skin, but the content of his character.

That says something profound and good — about him as a candidate and about us as a nation.

**UPDATE**
I wish I was there, my hometown came out in record numbers to hear Barack Obama speak in St. Louis October 18, 2008

Who Are The Real Domestic Terrorists?

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Hard to believe the McCain/Palin HATE mob actually believes in GOD. I use to have respect for John McCain, he should have never allowed his campaign staff guide him in that direction and have Sarah Palin tap and stir up this unsettling HATE. There is something seriously wrong with John McCain picking a VP candidate who once belonged to the Alaska Independence Party and whose husband still belongs to that group.

Quote: She was an AIP member before she got elected a Mayor of a small town, but to get along to go along she HAD to join the Republican Party… *the above quote is at the two-minute mark on the video

1. DO YOU REALLY KNOW SARAH PALIN?

or ask this question

2. DO YOU KNOW THE REAL SARAH PALIN?

Senator McCain you were too late to stop this can of HATE your campaign opened up... *make sure you check out the end of the video.

You Are Invited

We had him as our guest last year for a book signing and reading from
The Legend of Quito Road, in keeping our promise...Circle of Friends Book Club is having Dwight Fryer as their guest for a book signing and reading from The Knees of Gullah Island, a prequel to The Legend of Quito Road.


Thursday, October 16, 2008
6:30pm
Neighborhood Bristo
6646 Hwy 51 North

Come have dinner, enjoy the story telling of The Knees of Gullah Island…and leave with a creamy grits and shrimp recipe...a dish that is mentioned often in the book.

Feel Good Sunday

Breakthrough
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Change Begins At The Local Level

Since I have been living here, I became tired of hearing the locals say, "That's the way it is here." My reply was, "That is NOT the way it has to be, change begins when you come to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen meetings and the other commission meetings. By not coming to the meetings, that is how officials get away with passing legislation not in the peoples best interest. However, you can stop what is not in the community best interest before the third and final reading."

Four years ago, two men ran for the Mayor seat after the incumbent decided to retire after being Mayor for thirty years. I had nothing against either man, but I did have reservations about the one candidate that was born and lived here all his life. Without a doubt, he was a good ole boy and the favorite to win. I took a closer look at the hometown favorite challenger and liked his campaign message, I particular like three of the statements he had on his brochure:


Quote: “I have not forgotten and will not forget my duty is to the people of our community, the people that pay the money, the taxpayers, YOU!”

Quote: “I will maintain an open door policy for every employee and citizen of Millington. I will remove any doubt that there is preferential treatment and ensure that everyone has equal consideration. I am committed to uniting the citizens of Millington and forming the best possible team that will ensure positive growth now and provide a bright and stable future for the City of Millington.”

Quote: “I am not in this for personal gain, I do not have any conflicts of interest and I can make all decisions fairly, because I am not obligated to any special interest. I will work full-time for the people of Millington and give them 110% or more if that is what is required to make Millington the best it can be! I stand on my reputation, my integrity, my experience and most importantly, on my commitment to the people of Millington.”

I knew the election four years ago was the opportunity for CHANGE how politics always been here. Therefore, I decided to get involved to help the outsider because I am considered an outsider (that is what we called ourselves here, if you were not born and lived here all your life.) A military base and military people who retired here support this small quaint town, it was time they embraced the ideas and talents of outsiders who consider this town HOME.

Therefore, many others and I who believed in the outsider campaign literature worked hard to get him elected. Yes, people were upset when the outsider won, but I was ecstatic about our victory. I do not know what others expected of him when he won, but all I wanted was for him to honor three of his campaign promises.

At his victory celebration four years ago and after witnessing all the @ss kissing people were doing who did nothing to help him win. I pulled our newly elected Mayor to the side and said the following, "All I want you to do is do what you promised in your campaign brochures, because if you do not, as hard as we worked to help you win tonight, we will work twice as hard to help you out of office."

I know those were some strong words, but I meant every word. I am one American citizen who is sick and tired of politicians who seek office and do not keep their promise to the people. We the people are the ones who put them in office and once they are in office, they forget that and cater to special interest, businesses and developers. That is exactly what our new Mayor did four years ago; it was less than a month into his term that he began working against the people.

We had to endure the Mayor's BS for four years; he had no problem taking advice when he was seeking office. However, he had a problem correcting or enforcing ordinances and disciplining certain police officers that were wrong towards the people, even when he was presented with evidence and facts.

The strong words I said to him four years ago came back to haunt him. He sold the people out and the people spoke on September 30, 2008 and kicked him out of office. He was the favorite to win because special interest, business people, and developers who were his strongest supporters, but he forgot the majority of them could not vote in the city.

I reminded the people we are the ones who put the Mayor in office and if we have to seat, a new Mayor every four years that is what we will do. Politicians need reminding they work for us not businesses, special interests, and developers. Maybe if more people watch what our Congressmen or women and Senators were doing in Washington, America would not be in the position she is in now.

We the people need to understand accountability begins at the local level. I hope that enough people are upset with what is happening on the federal level and will start holding their Congressmen or women and Senator accountable and vote them out when they seek office again if they are not for the people.

Understanding Politics

Whether Democrat or Republican, I think you'll get a kick out of this!

A little boy goes to his dad and asks, 'What is Politics?'

Dad says, 'Well son, let me try to explain it this way:

I am the head of the family, so call me The President.

Your mother is the administrator of the money, so we call her the Government.

We are here to take care of your needs, so we will call you the People.

The nanny, we will consider her the Working Class.

And your baby brother, we will call him the Future.

Now think about that and see if it makes sense.

So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what Dad has said.

Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him.

He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper.

So the little boy goes to his parent's room and finds his mother asleep.


Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny's room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny.


He gives up and goes back to bed.

The next morning, the little boy say's to his father, 'Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now.'

The father says, 'Good, son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about.'

The little boy replies, 'The President is screwing the Working Class while the Government is sound asleep. The People are being ignored and the Future is in deep shit.

Author Unknown

Opened My Doors To Help...They Ended Up Helping Me

Shelly enjoyed all the extra LOVE and they wanted to take her back, but she was not having that...she immediately jumped out the trailer after the picture was taken.

My household went from two adults and a dog to a household of ten people and a dog (Shelly). My brother and sister in law with their 22-year-old adult son and three teenagers ages 17, 16, and 15, an adult niece and her ten-year-old son rounded out the evacuees living in my house for what I thought would be three to five days, but turned out to be eleven days.

Many of my friends and other family members thought I would be pulling my hair out having so many people in my house. I have to admit I wondered if I could handle it after they all arrived. Truth is I enjoyed every one of the eleven days my evacuees were here. Having them here and making sure they were comfortable did more for me than they know.

What my family, friends, associates, and blogging community did not know was for over a year, I have been silently suffering from anxiety and panic attacks every morning when I wake up to an empty house. I fight the attacks all day off and on and do not completely relax until my husband arrive home from work. Everyday I was tempted to call my husband, daughter, friend, or anyone when I was battling the anxiety and panic building in my body. The attacks started after the third time I had a serious medical problem and I was home alone with Shelly.

I allowed fear to engulf me when I am alone at home or driving it altered how I go about my day. I once tried taking medication and I prayed often-begging God to take away that dreadful feeling. The attacks are not as severe from when they first started, but they are scary nonetheless. After receiving the phone call from my family asking to come here to escape Hurricane Ike, I immediately dismissed my fear of having the attacks. I prayed asking God to help me keep it in control because the last thing my family needed was to worry about me, when they could possibly lose everything when Ike hit their city.

I am happy to say the entire time my evacuees (which is what I fondly call them) were here, they never seen me have an anxiety or panic attack. To ease the anxiety they were feeling wondering about the damage Hurricane Ike was doing. I made it a point to have their stay with me and mine feel like a vacation.




They had the opportunity to see what could be the last time Goat Day’s would be an event in my city.




They had the opportunity to enjoy the last Mid South Fair held in Memphis.

They went to the movies, park, and mall.

They went to Tunica

They went to Beale Street


As they were packing up to leave, it felt good knowing I accomplished what I set out to do when they said, "We felt like we were on vaction instead of evacuees. The people we been talking to who are stuck in hotels, shelters or stayed at home are jealous. Our house is the bed and breakfast, ES house is the home away from home, your house is the evacuee house."

I replied, "No, my house was your home away from home, but I will accept the title house for the evacuees. Adding, if I were you all I would not talk too much about the good time here because other family member will try to beat you here if there is another evacuation, but you all have first call since we survived eleven days together under one roof. It has been years since I had teenager in the house and I enjoyed every minute of it. Had your children been bad @ss kids…I would have shown you all the door on day one."

When they pulled off and I returned to the house I had a beautiful gift, card, and a check thanking me for the hospitality.

What they do not realize is by coming here to escape Ike they helped me..my anxiety and panic attacks are few and far between since they left and for that reason, I am grateful that Hurricane Ike sent them here to seek refuge. Their homes did not suffer major damage and they are back to their daily routine.

Regardless, at the end of the day…there is no place like home and having your house back :)

I Am BACK :)

First, let me say I am okay, problems with multiple sclerosis is not what kept me away for a month. I thank those of you who commented on my last post and all of you who emailed checking on me. I just finished mid-terms yesterday and now I can get back to blogging. My life has been a whirlwind since Hurricane Ike and I am just now getting a break...stay tune I will catch you all up by the end of the weekend.

I will be stopping by soon to visit...